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tteokdoroki · 4 years

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what he lost | k.bakugou.

⇝ pairing: katsuki bakugou x fem!reader.

⇝ word count: 5.4K

⇝ rating: for everyone.

⇝ genre: pro hero!au, exes!au, angst.

⇝ summary: back then; he was young, dumb and a little too prideful, taking your love for granted. now, years down the line he wonders if he’ll ever stand a chance in getting you back or the one in which katsuki bakugou grew up a little too late.

⇝ warning(s): please read ! heavy angst, no happy ending, mentions of toxic relationships, emotional distress, mentions of violence ( explosions, fight scenes, knives, blood ) and cursing all around.

⇝ author’s note(s): greetings everyone!! i hope you’re all doing well, today’s one-shot is a request from @killakatsuki, i know you wanted a happy ending but i got a little ahead of myself eee !! anyways thank you all for 400+ followers, i love you all :(

⇝ masterlist | requests

“katsuki bakugou if you leave me right now, please... please don’t come back.”

bakugou had always hated that, he thought, casting his gaze elsewhere in the room. he always hated how you cried when you were angry, red hot tears stinging a pathway down the apples of your usually glowing cheeks.

he couldn’t quite place the reasoning as to why. maybe it was because you rarely ever found yourself angry or perhaps it was how pathetic you looked when your bottom lip wobbled and your harsh words were laced with watery sobs.

or maybe it was because he didn’t want to feel sorry for you, didn’t want to comfort you when he was too prideful to admit that you were right. “whatever, don’t tell me what the fuck to do.” he spits, eyes and voice full of a venom he barely ever uses against you. he watches with a scarlet gaze as you falter, as if a knife has dug deep into your heart and cut you all up but bakugou only scoffs and continues to pack his side kick costume into the duffle bag he’s got on your shared bed.

every fibre of his being is tell him to reach out for you and apologise, he knows that he’s wrong. keeping his late night shifts from you, working extra hours— of course you were going to worry but he needed you to understand that being a hero was his dream above all else. the last thing he needed was a distraction like you.

something in you changed that night, both of you. as the rain hit hard on the roof of your shared apartment, even as you took his things and threw them out into the hall and even as you gave him one last chance on the doorstep. “you can leave now and not comeback or you can stay and we’ll talk this through—“ your eyes spoke to him in a silent plead, asking him if he would really give up the life that you’d built for lies and a better job?

but you knew the answer already.

“like i said,” katsuki rolled his eyes as knowing sobs wracked your body. “i never needed you anyways.”

you slammed the door before he could walk away and forget the tears in your eyes.

six years later and katsuki is pissed.

he’d been irritable since this morning when his interns fucked up the paperwork at his agency— leaving him to clean it up and then when his assistant brought him the wrong coffee and forgot to notify him of the pro hero meeting he was currently attending right at this very minute.

of course heroes of all different calibers were present; including none other than the number two, shoto todoroki, who was in charge of directing this week’s patrol missions but something about that only grinds the explosive pro’s gears even more. although, he could see himself being even more pissed if the number one; deku had shown his face instead of being away on an overseas mission. the schedule for this week’s patrol sits heavily in bakugou’s hand and he almost wants to burn it to pieces just at the thought of working with his future partner.

‘yn ln.’

the sight of your name printed in block capitals next to his has the ash blonde reeling, glancing up to send a blazing scowl towards shoto. he feels set up, as if the half hot, half cold bastard is dangling you right in front of him— its not like todoroki doesn’t know the history that sits between bakugou and yourself, after all, he had been the friend you’d ran off to during the fight that ended your five year relationship.

it’s like todoroki had a sixth sense because by the time he’d finish announcing the pair ups, he’d tiredly caught wind of katsuki’s heated stare. “bakugou—“

“i wanna fuckin’ switch, icyhot.”

“you can’t.”

bakugou stands from his seat next to kirishima ( who only looks apologetically at his colleagues ), annoyance rippling through his veins as he approaches the taller male. “why the fuck not?” he growls, small explosions sparking in the palms of his sweaty hands ( he was undeniably nervous because of the impending patrol ) the group of heroes simultaneously sigh— having been used to the explosive pro’s usual outbursts.

todoroki sighs, running his cooler hand over his face. “because the pairs have been matched up by quirk and strength, on top of that they were done in advance so if you really have a problem with it then i suggest you take it up with the number one—“ the dual quirked hero falls silent, a triumphant smirk appearing on his lips as red riot pulls his friend away before it’s too late.

“dude, you can’t just go blowing people up!” the red head scolds beneath bakugou’s sailor mouth, wrestling him over to the couch.

katsuki feels defeated, there’s no way to get out of this situation. he’s done his best these last few years to avoid you like the plague. it was somewhat easy, considering you were lower in the ranks compared to him, so there wasn’t much time to interact anyway. but katsuki hated the fact that he had always thought you would fall below him.

nonetheless; he took to switching event time tables around, rejecting hang outs with his old high school friends... all to avoid you, and now that he had to see you face to face, he wasn’t sure how to react. would you still hate him? how did you feel about working with him?

there’s not much time to dwell on the thought for kirishima is already patting his back and guiding him out of the meeting as it ends, the promise of drinks at an ‘heroes only bar’ hanging in the air.

“you’re so handsome, ground zero ! thank you for protecting japan !”

bakugou can feel the bile rising in the back of his throat at the words from the sickly sweet fan, so he gives a nonchalant grunt in response as he finishes up his signature on her notebook before continuing his march to your hero agency. it’s been a few days since the meeting between the pro heroes and all the number three wants is to make it to your agency without being fawned over by more obsessive fans.

he gives the fan a casual wave, ignoring the look of disappointment on her face— either she was expecting his number or for him to grow bashful under her flurry of compliments but katsuki was never one for fan service.

he hated fans that expected something from him, ones who wanted more than a casual chat with their favourite pro hero but he wouldn’t let them in. they didn’t want the intimate, vulnerable sides of katsuki bakugou like you had— maybe that made the ash blonde stuck on you.

yn ln was the only girl in his life who had tried to understand the many layers of the hot headed hero, you saw past his aggressive nature and touched the deepest parts of his soul…parts that you longed to love and keep safe.

you’d loved him for who he was below the surface, not for the money and fame he had come to amass as number three in the ranks.

behind scarlet eyes are the best moments of the hero’s life, each shared with you. katsuki had took for granted the seconds you had been with him, even from the very start— he didn’t care for the way that you held him after he’d been kidnapped, clinging onto him like he’d disappear or would never return to your arms, he should have cherished the tears of worry you shed for him too but katsuki was too prideful at the time.

too full of himself even with his raging nightmares that you had managed to soothe.

you’d comforted him after he’d failed the licensing exams, promised him he’d still get to be the greatest hero of all time and still, bakugou had cared for none of this. now that he’d thought about it, he hadn’t been good to you, he didn’t know how you’d dealt with they way he undermined your quirk and doubted your ability to protect him when he should have been the one to protect you.

your love was wasted on him, and for that bakugou needed to apologise.

hands in his pockets, katsuki’s mind could have been said to be away with the fairies, haunted by the night he came home with a half hearted apology on his lips to an empty apartment and a note from you. something about staying with the icyhot bastard and not to contact you.

that is until he collided with the back of someone in the crowd. “hey!” he’s quick to growl out to the figure, a slight snarl to the words leaving his mouth. “watch where you’re going, shitty extra—“

“ah, katsuki! nice to see you haven’t changed,” your voice sends shivers down the blonde’s spine, bright red eyes focusing on you and only you. your smile is bright, dazzling under the hot japan sun and even if katsuki hadn’t changed, you certainly had— your pretty eyes he used to get lost in, he used to watch glimmer with tears now hold a different kind of light, they greyish hue that dulled you over your time with him had finally cleared.

you looked healthy, happier and bakugou realises how much your relationship must’ve wore you down.

he feels like he doesn’t deserve the grin that you give him; the one you would save just for him in the early mornings you’d spent together back when you were dating. maybe that makes his heart jumps out of his chest.

“y-yn— “

he hadn’t prepared himself for your sweet, airy giggle that fills the space between you. “ground zero getting shy on me now? don’t tell me you forgot about our shift today, did’ya?”

“n-no, ‘course not, dumbass.” fuck, katsuki’s heart thumps against his ribcage so loud that he’s afraid you might hear it with the little distance between you. since when did you make him nervous? despite the pet name, you still give him a laugh as a flicker of fondness twinges in your bright eyes.

it’s quickly replaced when you blink it away, beckoning ground zero into your hero offices. “nice to see that sailor’s mouth hasn’t changed either ,” you mumble more so to yourself than him. bakugou walks a few paces behind you while you explain to him that you have to finish assigning your sidekicks and interns a few low level missions before you can head off for the day.

the group of young heroes are excitable, seemingly loving the opportunity to work with you— their chatter is loud but it gives katsuki time to drink you in.

crimson eyes travel over your form while you talk— your hero costume has changed a lot since your U.A and sidekick days.

you’d interned under the number two at the time, hawks, thus leading you to have become one of his most trusted sidekicks. no doubt; his skill level had not only improved your abilities, how you controlled your quirk but your costume as well.

your quirk was known as lullaby, if you could sing a tune in the right pitch to certain groups of people, it allowed you control over the abilities and to put them to sleep. this obviously however meant you were poor at short distance attacks— something bakugou always teased you for, so he was excited to see how you’d improved.

your suit had a visor that allowed you to amplify your quirk, while patterns of the night sky dressed your body— paying homage to your hero name ‘nightsky’.

katsuki felt bad to imprinting the image of your skin tight, midnight blue suit into his mind but back when he had known you like you were his, your costume hadn’t been nearly as advanced as this.

snapping fingers pull him from his thoughts before they can get too hazy.

“eyes are up here, explosion boy.”

katsuki’s gaze snaps up to meet yours, an angry red to rival his gemstone eyes spreading like wildfire across his cheeks. “i wasn’t staring.” he tries his best to defend himself, but your knowing look tells him that you’ve caught him red handed.

“of course you weren’t, sidekicks left about ten minutes ago so we can head out now—unless you want to keep glaring daggers at my boobs, katsu.” you’re teasing him, voice dripping like honey off of a spoon as you waltz back out onto the streets of japan and leave a bewildered ground zero behind you.

you’ve changed so much since your relationship ended with bakugou, you’re stronger, a vixen and more confident in yourself.

and he hates knowing that he’s the one that kept you down all this time.

patrol remains uneventful even as the afternoon goes on and the stress of japan begin to fill with citizens for the oncoming rush hour.

the lack of action has lead your conversation to die within the wind and leaves katsuki alone with his thoughts for the time being— you only really speak when you catch the blonde staring you down or when he accidentally walks into something ( highly unusual for him ) but he enjoys the seconds where your teasing voice tickles the tips of his ears and you smile so wide his own lips pull into somewhat of a grin.

bakugou doesn’t know why he’s so quiet, not when the storm in his mind brews all the words he should have said to you years ago. the apologies, the grateful thanks that you deserved; none of these could fall from his tongue.

he liked to say he never had the opportunity, which was partly true you were both up and coming herores yes, but you had damn well made sure you’d never have to encounter bakugou unless the situation required it. and it seemed, that years down the line, he was still doing the same.

the thought alone cause nerves to choke him from the inside out, building up in his throat until all he can do is grunt in frustration— kicking an empty can along the road you’re currently walking down.

“that’s unlike you,” your chuckle cuts through the thick fog of katsuki’s mind, drawing deep red eyes towards your frame. you walk in front of him now, arms folded behind your head while you step backwards— the sight almost comical to anyone passing by. bakugou must look just as shocked because some how he manages to pull the cutest snort from you, even as his face morphs into a snarl and he marches forward to fall into pace with your steps. your eyes dazzle with your next words. “the great katsuki bakugou, quiet? never thought i’d see the day.”

you’ve always been able to read him like an open book, seeing right through the front he puts on. “i haven’t changed.” he grunts through his teeth.

katsuki stops walking when you do, now standing a breaths width away from you. electricity jumps between you both, static forming in the finger tips that just barely brush against bakugou’s arm.

your eyes spell it out for him, clear as day, as you finally reach out to touch him. His own close at the brief gesture, the pain from having lost you blooming across his chest.

“you did.” you breathe out, the warmth of your soft voice making katsuki’s eyes screw shut.

he could never get a lie past you.

“we both did.”

vermillion eyes open, trying to seek you out in the light of the day as bakugou wills and prays that he can say what he needs to right now, to get you back but he doesn’t have the chance as an explosion cuts through the building on your left.

bakugou manages to wrap his arms around you, shielding you from the blast before you hit the ground. the impulse sends you both rolling down the street, small grunts escaping you until you roll to a halt and end up on top of katsuki— straddling him.

dust and debris surrounds the pair of you, creating a thick smog in the air as sirens and screams sound off in the distance. the explosive hero groans in pain— no doubt with a litter of bruises forming under his suit but he has no time to register the sting properly before he’s noticing you on top of him, smirk on your face, devilish glint to your eye.

you’ve been waiting for some action all day.

you’re gone in the blink of an eye, so you must have a plan. katsuki remembers from high school that you made up for strategy where you once lacked in strength, so it’s no surprise to him that you’re already on the move. meanwhile; you manage to slide undetected through the smoke, moving fast to take out the low level criminals.

it’s only a robbery, but the explosion could have caused more casualties than you would have liked. you trust that bakugou can take care of the civilians and bring them out of harms way as you do your best o sus out the ringleader.

the grey tinted fog that sweeps over the area allows you both to work quickly; neither of you need to say anything, for one it would give away your position and secondly— there’s an underlying trust in one another that the two of you had built up when you worked together while dating.

bakugou, through his end, tackles down the small group of criminals after clearing the area and making sure no one was hurt. emergency services had been alerted and were already on their way, all there was now, was to predict your next movements and follow your lead. he’d never liked being bossed about, but the look in your eye made him believe you knew what you were doing.

you were right, you’d both changed. you might as well have been a better hero than him.

the ash blonde follows the trail of unconscious wannabe villains to your whereabouts, he only knows that they’re unconscious because of your ability to put people to sleep with your quirk— all you had to do was get close to them, which wouldn’t have been hard as katsuki knew first hand that these guys’ quirks weren’t shit.

“it’s almost funny, how you thought you could pull a stunt like this on a day when all of japan’s biggest heroes are in one place,” bakugou’s ears pick up on you teasing the criminal leader with that smooth chocolate voice and he follows it deeper into the air that’s heavy with debris— glad you were able to find him before the smoke cleared. “even with the number one out of town, tsk, you should have known better…”

the hot headed pro spots you, holding the hooded ringleader in a choke hold with only your thighs as you sit on his shoulders— eyes wide with victory.

he recognises the dip in your voice as you adjust your tone to put the guy to sleep and call it a day. you’re powerful, a great pro and bakugou watches with awe while you get ready to take this guy down once and for all.

“so cocky, nightsky— why do you think we chose attack the street you were on?” the guy spits through clenched teeth, resisting the urge to succumb to your lullaby of a voice.

brows furrowing, you decide not to dwell on the criminal’s words before leaning down to whisper. “sleep...” but katsuki’s body comes alive with fear as the villain wannabe jams a blade into your thigh, causing your grip on him to loosen enough for him to throw you to the floor and put a boot to your throat. “oh miss nightsky, you really rely too much on your quirk and not enough on your senses. hmm, i think it’s time we say goodnight, don’t you?” the guy chuckles while you squirm under his foot— the need for air burning sharply at your lungs.

bakugou, who’s remained hidden this entire time feels himself snap— a heavy explosion loading up behind his gauntlets while he launches himself right into the scene. he won’t let you struggle for your life, not on his watch. “GET YOUR FILTHY FUCKIN’ HANDS OFF OF HER!”

he reaches the criminal just before your eyes roll back into your head, an explosive right hook colliding with their cheek and sending them flying down the street.

the ash blonde reaches down to pull you up into his chest, that very same one heaving with laboured breaths; you’re shaking but it’s nothing you can’t handle even with the red lines at your throat.

“you good?”

“better, thanks to you.”

there’s a look that you wear right now, one that katsuki recognises from years of training and running into fights with you— you want to do the move. he nods at you, vermillion eyes lighting up with a bright fire while you grip onto ground zero’s wrists.

just as the villain stands, you kick your feet off the ground and in the meantime bakugou begins to twirl you in circular motions until you’ve built up enough momentum for him to throw you towards the criminal.

you collide with his back foot first, knocking him to the ground as your eyes glow a bright white. “i said, go the fuck to sleep.”

the criminal drops to sleep and you roll to the ground after taking him out. you smile to yourself at the familiar wail of sirens in the background but don’t bother to make an effort to stand up, letting the exhaustion, pain from the wound in your thigh and bruises at your neck finally flood your body.

sitting beside you, bakugou smirks and holds a fist out to you. “still got it,” he gestures between the pair of you, the same signature move you’ve been doing since high school having worked successfully once again.

“still got it.” you look up to the now clear sky, fist bumping bakugou right back.

he’s going to do it, he thinks, he’s going to apologise.

after everything you and bakugou had been through, something in his chest was relieved to know that you didn’t hate him, something in him is lead to believe that you’re going to give him another chance.

katsuki watches you now, an attendant from the paramedics that you called working on patching up the gash in your thigh while you rub a salve into your neck.

despite the pain you must be in; you’re still glowing, still smiling even when fans ask you for autographs or tell you how brave you were during the fight. you’re so genuine, such a ray of sunshine in the world and bakugou can feel himself falling for you all over again.

“Is that all mr. ground zero, sir?” an officer asks, taking down notes for the report about the incident. the hero nods, waving the kid off after giving them all of the details from today. they thank him and he finds himself marching over to you almost immediately, now that you’re all bandaged up.

“walking already, ln? are you sure it doesn’t hurt?”

you beam up at the ash blonde, hopping out of the back of the ambulance and rubbing at the tear in your hero costume where the cut is. “it’s good, stings a little but i’ve seen worse on you,” you comment to him, beginning your stride back to your agency.

“and who’s fault is that, dumbass?” a genuine laughter bubbles in bakugou’s throat, albeit raspy, its not a foreign sound to your ears and it makes you laugh along with him.

he knows you’re referencing the many times you’d kicked hiss ass when sparring from high school to your side kick days. back then you‘d have traced every scar that littered his pretty body and told him how much you loved him.

katsuki aids you while you head back to the nightsky agency, you insist that you don’t need help to walk but you’re limping and the explosive pro hero is stubborn as hell— he’s not about to let you get hurt again, even if its physically and not mentally like he had done to you before.

with the lighter mood, memories flitter between you both— you mention how katsuki used to love his food so spicy you would cry and he brings up the time you had given him and kirishima a bout of food poisoning when you’d come up with an alternative to the latter’s cooking. the stories don’t seem to end even as you lean into him more; trusting him again.

“about what i said earlier…” you begin after finally coming to a halt outside your agency building, a scarlet gaze full of fondness lands on you. you turn to face him with the softest of smiles, half chewing on your bottom lip— something he knew you did when you were nervous. “you’re different, to how…how you were back then and it’s good, katsuki you’re so good…”

there’s a breath of silence, only filled by the quiet hum of city traffic where people are travelling to and from home. “i’m glad i had time to become good,” bakugou offers, forgoing the words ‘for you’ and pausing instead. “i regret who i was back then, with you… thought it made you hate me and that you wouldn’t fuckin’ work with me today.”

you shake your head, breaking contact with bakugou to paw at the stupid tears preparing to make their way down your cheeks. “i-i did hate you for a while, after everything…but we were young and dumb and—“ you freeze as the ash blonde wipes a stray tear from your cheek, you not having realised that it’d escaped. “and i’m so thankful to have met you, to have shared a love with you, you taught me so much and that i could never hate you for.”

“yn...i—“ i love you. i’m sorry. i should have loved you better. the words are there, the ones that katsuki always told himself he would say to you if he had the chance but he finds himself frozen and unable to speak. why? why now? when the perfect chance sat right in front of him, the perfect time for him to make it up to you.

to start over.

“yes, katsuki?”

to get you back.

“yn i’m sorry—“

“—guess who?”

a sing song voice full of positivity bursts through the moment while a pair of hands clasp their way over your pretty eyes and hide them away from the world.

bakugou instantly recognises the voice as belonging to none other than his childhood rival and number one pro hero, deku. he seems to have changed— grown taller, green hair shaved at the sides for an undercut.

the ash blonde isn’t very sure what else has changed, but then again they hadn’t seen much of each other as sidekicks, working under different agencies with different missions.

it was only as they started competing for the top ranks that they started to run the same circles— but bakugou had no idea how you would’ve come to know deku since the blonde hated him and you were dating each other for most of that time.

katsuki is just about to tell the green haired idiot to ‘fuck the fuck off’ for ruining his moment when you do the unexpected.

you clasp your hands over midoriya’s, cheeky smile gracing your lips as you attempt to pull them away from your face. “let me think, could it be? izuku midoriya?” relenting to your cheery voice— deku pulls away from you, hands falling to grip your waist sweetly. possesively. horror flashes behind bakugou’s raging red eyes. you turn in his rival’s strong arms, smiling so hard that it delves deep into the apples of your cheeks. “izu ! when did you get back? i thought you wouldn’t make it in time for today…”

“flew in this morning doll, i wanted to surprise you—“ the number one beams down at you and bakugou’s world crumbles when you cut him off while pressing a chaste kiss to deku’s lips right in front of his eyes.

this couldn’t be happening...since when were you and the damn nerd a thing? why didn’t he realise? why didn’t he grow up and try and get you back sooner?

he has no choice but to sit and stare, a dark cloud now sitting over his shattered heart.

all the while, you’re giggling into deku’s lips, fumbling over his hands that pinch at your sides just to get you to gasp enough for him to kiss you more. the painful ( well, only for the explosive pro ) lip lock ends when you both come up for air and your eyes land on your ex boyfriend.

“ah, katsuki ! you remember deku right? wait that’s a dumb question you were literally childhood friends—“ you start to ramble, mind getting away from you and katsuki barely registers anything that leaves your lips. his crimson eyes lock with the emerald ones that stare right back at him and hurt swells in his chest.

to deku, he must look like a kicked puppy. a weakling. a loser.

all the things he had labelled izuku midoriya when they were kids.

when bakugou tunes back into your excited rambling, his heart cracks even more in his chest. “this green giant flew all the way in from overseas to come home for wedding planning ! can you believe it?” the answer to your question is an obvious no.

he had no idea that you had been seeing the number one, let alone being engaged to him. the hot headed hero freezes in his spot when you reach down the chest of your hero costume to pull out a silver necklace.

on the end of it, an engagement ring with a tiny emerald in it’s centre.

katsuki bakugou feels sick, bile rising up in his throat. he’d really lost you. really. “...pretty thing that is, congratulations.” he mentions blankly, eyes trained on midoriya once again. you don’t notice, but deku does and bakugou hates the sympathetic, apologetic look that the fucking nerd gives him.

“mhm ! izu put it on a necklace for me because, well you know, i’m clumsy and didn’t want to lose the thing,”

you’re so clueless that it hurts, burning katsuki from the inside out. that should be him. it should be his arms around you, his lips on yours, his engagement ring on that fucking necklace. not deku’s, not anyone’s. the green headed hero beside you seems to notice the distress ebbing away at your ex and tilts your head up to look at him. “doll, why don’t you head inside and change into something more comfy real quick? we’ve got cake tasting in an hour…”

the tail end of deku’s words are drowned out by your happily animated squeal and with a quick nod you press a kiss to his freckled cheek and bounce inside— missing the way bakugou winces at your display of affection.

it’s quiet despite the bustling sounds of the city but neither if them know what to say, even as the minutes pass.

bakugou knows that you’d be better off with deku, he would treat you right and give you the love that you deserved all along. but that didn’t make it any less painful.

“kacchan, look...“ the number one says eventually, green eyes swirling with guilt. “i’m sorry—“

the blonde shakes his head, spitting his words out through gritted teeth. “don’t...just,” fuck, it hurts to breathe. “just…take care of her for me, you got that deku?”

“yeah, of course…”

the pair of childhood rivals don’t have much time to speak after that, for you’re already bounding out of your agency wearing a comfortable mint green summer dress and pair of red sneakers to rival deku’s, despite the thick bandage to your thigh.

“ready to go?” you ask your fiancé, face as warm and as bright as it had once been when you used to look at bakugou. izuku nods, delight dancing in his eyes despite the nervous chew to his bottom lip, before letting you turn to your ex lover. “great ! well, see you around kasuki, don’t be a stranger ! we’ve got to catch up again sometime, alright?”

you link arms with izuku midoriya, your fiancé, after that—walking away and leaving ground zero in the dust.

he doesn’t know how long he stands there for, heart in his hands even while he comes to the realisation that you hadn’t gone to todoroki that night when you’d left. no, you’d only told him that so it hurt a little less when he found out midoriya had been the one to look after you. you’d lied because you’d loved him.

you lie because you love him.

and it was only now that katsuki bakugou had realised what he’d lost.

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tact-and-impulse · 3 years

Text

For the ‘longing’ prompt, a historical AU that would suit Trouble, @shepherds-of-haven!

homestead

Her bonnet strings are loose again, and she absentmindedly secures the knot, as the wind blows past. The prairie grasses bend, rippling westward. She wonders whether she can grow vegetables here. The seeds are still in their paper packets, underneath the rest of her clothes in her valise. She hasn’t even unpacked yet.

It’s been three months since she replied to the advertisement for a mail order bride, one month after her departure from New York, and two days now, with her new companion. He’s not Mr. Reen, the bachelor she was arranged to marry, but the deputy sheriff was at the train station when night had fallen and she remained waiting alone. Given the late hour, he had offered to look after her.

“No need for any Mr. Alder nonsense, they call me ‘Trouble’ around these parts.” He said by way of introduction, helping her onto his wagon. “I’ll track down your missing husband-to-be, ma’am.”

So far, it isn’t promising. They’ve traveled to Mr. Reen’s homestead, and the house is empty, save for a few letters indicating his mounting debt from gambling bouts. No sign of where he’s headed to. The situation had caused Trouble to itch for his pipe, and his teeth clench upon it.

“It’s alright, Trouble. You’ve been such a help, and I appreciate your effort.” She says.

“It’s the least I can do. I’ll tan his hide if I ever see him.” He darkly mutters, the tobacco smoke escaping his lips. One gloved hand runs through his golden hair, mussing it further. “I’ll let the marshal know what he’s done, and we’ll investigate.”

“I suppose he’s forfeited his claim on the land?”

“That too.”

Keeping her tone mild, she decides to make her offer. “If so, I don’t mind taking over the acres. I’ve brought my own seeds, and I’m ready to start a new crop as soon as I can.”

“You don’t want to go back East?”

“No, I answered the advertisement, so I could start a new life on the frontier. My family’s farm was sold long ago, after my parents died of cholera.”

“I’m sorry.” Trouble apologizes. “My mother also passed when I was young.”

“My condolences.” She murmurs.

“Ah, it’s fine.” The corner of his mouth does lift in gratitude anyway. “But I’m glad you’re staying. The West is gorgeous, isn’t it? Open air and land, for miles and miles.”

“Yes, it’s the freest I’ve felt in years.” She surveys the area with renewed appreciation. The paperwork needs to be finalized, but God willing, this will be hers. “Do you have a homestead?”

“I’d like to, if I could grow a damn thing! Pardon my language, but I’m not much of a farmer. I like caring for the livestock and I pitch in with the harvesting, it’s just the…” He helplessly gestures.

“The planting and watering.” She smiles.

“That’s right, ma’am.”

“Oh, please, I said you could call me by my name.”

“You’re still a lady, so I’ll treat you properly.” He gives a boyish grin.

If only he was the one who wrote the advertisement, she thinks. Her gaze drops to his hands. “Are you not interested in marriage?”

Flustered, he chokes on his tobacco. She pulls out her handkerchief, but he waves it away, his face red. “It’s not that I haven’t considered it, but a man who can’t farm the land he owns isn’t the most eligible of husbands.”

“Then, you just need someone who can do it for you. Marriage is about sharing, after all.”

He laughs boisterously, and his eyes are sparkling when he retorts. “Is that all marriage is about?”

Despite the instant warmth in her cheeks, she cheerfully says. “Of course, in every aspect.”

He stares at her, the pipe slackening between his teeth. The intensity of his expression rivals the heat of the noonday sun. His fingers twitch, and she holds her breath in anticipation. Then, the moment ends, as he coughs and scratches the back of his neck. “Uh...if you ever need a fellow to lend a hand with the livestock or harvesting, you know where to find me.”

She has to bite her tongue to keep from groaning out loud. To be fair, she’s a newcomer, and although there’s no engagement ring to pawn off, her situation is ambiguous. In this unfamiliar place, she can’t help feeling drawn to the one person who’s been kindest to her. “I do. Is there anything else I should know about living on the frontier?”

“There may be snakes. Do you know how to shoot a gun?”

“My father taught me. I’m a pretty good shot, I’d be happy to demonstrate.”

He’s the deputy sheriff for a reason, and he eagerly agrees to the possibility. “Sure, I have a practice range on the outskirts of town. Use it when you like.”

“I appreciate it, though I’m not sure where it is. Could you show me?”

He agrees, and they stroll to the wagon. Once he snaps the reins, she takes another look at the house. It seems sturdily built and while on the small side, the interior was cozy. It’s quite nice, actually, and it’s a shame there’s no one to live in it. For now.

“Are you upset we didn’t find him?” He abruptly asks.

“Not particularly. I only pray he hasn’t run afoul of any danger.”

“Whatever’s happened to him, Lazu Reen needs to answer for abandoning his homestead and leaving you stranded at the station. I’d feel better knowing he’s in custody, instead of prowling the territory or lying dead in a ditch.” He hesitates. “After that...then, maybe…” There’s that heated look again.

She hopes she’ll see it often.

“I understand. In the meantime, I’ll become accustomed to my new home.” A sudden breeze pushes her bonnet, the knot sliding under her chin, and she notices how Trouble’s eyes widen at the sight of her hair. This time, she doesn’t mind her modesty, and enjoying the fresh air, she imagines what the land will look like in autumn.

#shepherds of haven #i grew up reading the little house books so it was nostalgic trying out this setting

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harryspet · 4 years

Text

good girl. bad habits. [2] peter parker

[Warnings] alpha!peter parker x omega!reader, omegaverse, boarding school au, dystopian au, soultmate au, suppressant pills, misogyny, hella angst, heat, intense sexual content (wear a condom kiddos)

A/N: this took way toooo long but overall im happy with how it turned out!

part one

In which Alpha Peter is persistent and you tried to hold onto your power.

word count: 4.5k

taglist: @peterztinglez @lovelynerdytraveler @buckybarney @hollandsdream @micki-smiles @buckybarnesplumwhore @arts-ismything @saharzek @lovemassivelybeautifulbouquet @what-is-your-wish @marvelslut-musicalnerd @brattypeony @hermayone @buckysugar @yanderepeterparker @ttqueen05 @belleknows @write-from-the-heart @sad-ed-noise @quaksonhehe @halparkebitchb @bangtaninyourareaxox @blondesforlife

Wanda was lucky it was Sunday. It was easier to skip Sunday service than regular classes and her severe hangover told you that she wasn’t getting out of bed anytime soon. You walked over to her twin bed and, although you had your own right across from her, you snuggled into her bed.

“Ugh,” Wanda groaned.

“That better not be for me,” You frowned.

“It is for you,” As you laid down, she wrapped her arm around you, resting her head on your shoulder, “You’re the one who gave me the booze.”

“It’s not my fault you can’t handle your liquor,” A small smile tugged at your lips until Wanda’s next words met your ears.

“Goddess, you smell like Alpha.”

“And what do you think you smell like? Is your virtue even still intact?”

“A lady never tells,” Wanda giggled but you scoffed, “I can’t believe that you of all people landed yourself an Alpha. A rich and powerful one too.”

You wish you could react like Wanda. You wished that you could switch a flip and you could see the world through rose-colored glasses, “I wouldn’t say I landed him. He was just acting like a territorial jerk like the rest of them. Who knows, maybe he has a thing for lots of girls. Being a council member's nephew … I’m sure he’s popular.”

“I don’t think so,” You could tell she was smiling by the way she was talking, “Peter didn’t dance with any other girl at the Ball. You’re like Cinderella and he’s your prince charming. Just promise you won’t forget me when you’re royalty.”

“I hope you know I’d rather swallow a knife than be associated with that family.”

Wanda didn’t listen to you as she continued, “Maybe it is true that opposites attract.”

Word spread fast around the Stark School and every question someone asked you was about Peter and whether or not you were mates. You denied any connection that you had with him and you made sure to have a scowl on your face when you did. This whole situation was hurting your reputation and making you appear weak. Before the ball, girls didn’t dare approach you out of fear that you’d poison their precious minds.

You preferred when people were scared of you.

To make matters worst, you woke up thinking about you-know-who and almost all your thoughts were starting to revolve around him. That was enough to drive you insane.

You decided that for the next few weeks you’d be on your worst behavior. You managed to break your previous record for your number of infractions within a single week. Every teacher that tried to scold you for misbehaving, you snapped back at. Your skirt got shorter and your makeup became even more extravagant.

Today, you finally managed to get back at the girl who always kicked your shins when you played soccer in physical education. Once she shoved past you, you reached back to grab a fistful of her hair. She cried out as she fell back and you heard the screaming of a whistle though you ignored it.

It was like all the frustration of your life had reached its boiling point. You hated everything about how your life had turned out. You knew the world wasn’t fair but now it just felt cruel.

Wanda had to pull you off of her to keep you from punching her, “Y/L/N, off the field now!” You heard your teacher say. Wanda was saying something, trying to calm you down, but you shrugged her off. You were already walking away from the field and towards the bleachers.

You figured you’d walk all the way back to dorms to let yourself blow off steam but you found a familiar face waiting behind the bleachers.

Your face fell and you thought your knees might give in. Clad in his uniform, his red tie, and a blazer that held the Asgard symbol completed the look. He looked put together unlike you. Your knees were bruised, your hair a mess, and your gym clothes were now covered in grass stains.

“What … What are you doing here?” You asked the young Alpha and, as he looked you over, he almost seemed concerned.

He stepped closer, his eyes burning holes into your skin, “I came to watch you play but … I don't think you’re making the team anytime soon.”

“Don’t you have your own life to worry about? I don’t know, maybe school? Or does your uncle have too much influence for you to have to worry about pesky things like grades?” Peter opened his mouth to retort but you interrupted him. His lips pressed into a thin line of frustration as he let you finish, “You know what, Alpha-boy? I really can’t do this right now.”

You gritted your teeth as you turned to walk away, only for a strong hand to wrap around your wrist. You turned to last out but, like a candle blown out by the wind, you felt your anger melt away. The calm settled on the features of your face and then it traveled through the rest of your body.

You looked down at his hand touching your skin, realizing that he was the source, “I meant what I said last time,” He spoke calmly but you could hear the seriousness in his tone, “You’re mine, Y/N.”

“How did you do that?” You asked, your eyebrows furrowed. Your voice was small once again and it made you wonder how long you had been raising your voice.

“Do what?” Peter smirked and, as much as you wanted to scowl, you couldn’t, “Isn’t this better? Having a moment where you’re not so angry at the world? If you’d just give me a chance, I could help you.”

“And what’s in it for you?” You already knew the answer. There was a part of him deep inside that craved the intimacy you could give him. He wanted someone to care for and to protect but he also wanted territory that he could claim and heirs to carry his name. As Peter searched your face, he could tell you already knew his answer, “I’m never going to want to be someone’s property, no matter what magic you try to work on me.”

“It’s not magic,” Peter insisted, “It’s a mate bond. I think … I think our souls are somehow connected.”

You couldn’t deny that you thought it was true. You could resist him but not the connection you were feeling, “Then we’ll break it-” Your mouth shut as if your body was mad at you for even letting those words escape your lips.

His eyes turned black, “Give me time with you. I’ll convince you otherwise.”

You finally pulled your arm away from him as a group of girls walked past, heading back towards the school. Some stared in awe and others whispered to each other, “I can’t believe this,” You whispered, letting the anger seep back in, “There will be no us time because you’re not even supposed to be here.”

“Winter Break,” He spoke simply, not paying the girls any mind, “You’ll come stay with my family. My Aunt May wants to meet you and Pepper thought it would be inappropriate to ask you herself …”

You blinked, wondering why the hell he wanted you, of all people, to meet his family, “The answer would’ve been no … I have to shower before Calculus.”

You turned away, your arms crossed but he called for you as you walked away again, “Where will you go then?”

“I don’t know, I’ll have Christmas with the nuns and the groundskeepers or something.”

You looked back to see he wasn’t chasing you. He only took a deep breath and stuffed his hands into his back pockets, “I’ll see you around, Y/N.”

Peter was used to quiet dinners with his Aunt and Uncle. Usually, when he talked, Tony would respond with something snappy and condescending. Peter had learned over the years not to shake things up but that only led to anger and frustration being built up within. Peter was an Alpha but Tony was an Alpha of Alphas.

“You’ve been skipping school,” Tony didn’t meet Peter’s eyes as he brought a piece of steak to his mouth. Peter tried not to freeze or show any hint of guilt on his face.

Peter had come to visit you multiple times after the situation on the soccer field. As he expected, you rejected him with every chance you got but that didn’t stop him from trying to get to know you. His friends teased him for falling head over heels for someone he barely knew. Alphas were supposed to be above that and let the Omegas crawl to them but Peter enjoyed chasing you.

“Who told you that?” Peter asked casually.

“You don’t think I have eyes everywhere, genius?” Peter's lips pressed into a thin line as he gripped his fork tightly, poking at his food.

“Pepper finally confessed. She’s been going behind my back in order to help you,” He felt cornered and the fact that Pepper wasn’t here to defend him only made him more uneasy, “All this for a rebel sympathizer?”

Peter often disagreed with the man who sat upon his golden throne. Within the walls of his million-dollar home, Peter doubted there was a way Stark could possibly even understand the grievances of the people below him.

“She’s … she’s my mate,” Tony paused and shot Peter a hard glance.

“I’m sorry, she’s what?”

“I have a feeling, sir.”

Tony rolled his eyes, “A mate? My nephew has a mate …” Tony spoke to himself, “If I want you to be anything like me, Peter, then I should allow you your independence. However, I won’t have her embarrassing this family, so whatever you have to do to correct her behavior, you’ll do it.”

Peter instantly nodded, “I will, I promise.” Peter felt a glimmer of happiness at his Uncle’s acceptance.

“Who knows, maybe converting her will be good for my image. Our image, Peter.” It didn’t surprise Peter in the slightest that Tony’s mind was now working to see how it would benefit him.

The quiet dinner continued until Pepper arrived with news that would surely steal any light Peter felt in his own heart.

You had finally escaped the Stark School.

The city was cold but the people were colder. The harsh winter and the busy, holiday season left people tired and caused their words to be terse. It was why you preferred the hustling and bustling city of New York. The rankings existed but it seemed everyone was rude to one another. It was nice to see.

Besides that, in a city of millions of people, you were invincible. With the suppressants you were now on, no one could outwardly tell your ranking and, as long as you kept your head down, no officers asked for your identification.

The first couple of weeks were stressful but everything seemed to fall in place. You moved your way in and out of shelters, picking up jobs that paid under the table in order to earn money in order to buy more suppressants.

Omegas were almost as rare as true Alphas. Most people were middle ranking which meant the council controlled them but they were at least treated like human beings. If anyone found out, the council was the least of your worries.

That’s why when you thought you were having an allergic reaction to them, you stormed down the alleyway where you usually met your dealer, fire in your eyes, “You gave me a botched pills,” You pressed the bag of pills into Loki’s chest.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” He pushed you back with ease, causing you to stumble backwards as he casually stuck his hands back into the pockets of his black jacket. He looked around, trying to seem inconspicuous.

It was freezing outside but your body was overheating and your anger was boiling over, “Look at me,” You spoke with gritted teeth, “Do I look okay to you?”

“No, you should probably see a Doctor, darling,” His lips turned up into a smirk, “If you don’t mind, I have other matters to attend to.”

As he stepped around your body, you felt a weight on your shoulders. You tried to take a deep breath as you realized how much you were panicking, “Please,” You called after him, grabbing a hold of his arm, “I just need pills. Real pills. I’ll give you the rest of the money that I have.”

Loki looked over his shoulder and down at you, “Council is cracking down on suppressant sellers. They raided a ship carrying them a few nights ago so I wouldn’t expect anymore for a while.”

The man who called himself Loki searched your face, noting the look of desperation in your eyes, “What am I supposed to do then, huh?”

If he cared for your situation in any way, he didn’t show it.

Your hands balled into fist as he walked away but, in doing that, you realized how much your muscles were aching, “Don’t, please,” You walked after him, wincing in pain with every step. He didn’t seem to slow down for you as you tried to catch up to him on the sidewalk. Pain shot through your body and fire surged through your veins.

As your vision began to blur, you lost him in the crowd of people. Snow fell around you but that didn’t ease any of the burning pain. You tried to push yourself further, somehow find shelter, but with each step you felt even more helpless. When your knees finally gave in and you bit down on your own lip so hard that you tasted blood, no one paid you any mind. To them you were a simple bump in the road.

The place you woke up was the opposite of the buzzing city. The quietness was serene and the cool white light shining down on you was calming. You turned your aching head, wondering what new mess you had gotten yourself into. You found yourself staring out a window, the city outside but it was clear that you were on one of the highest floors of the hospital.

As someone cleared their throat, your head snapped in the other direction, as you lifted yourself up in the hospital bed. With wide eyes, you stared back at Tony Stark who was comfortably sitting at the chair beside your bed. As you moved, you realized that there was metal keeping you chained to the bed.

“Morning, sunshine,” Your head began to pound again, most likely because of how fast you had sat up. You knew you weren’t anyone’s favorite but you never thought your deviancy warranted a visit from one of the most powerful men in society … but then you remembered Peter, “... from what I’ve heard, you’re not known for being quiet.”

You shut your eyes tight as you tried to clear your racing thoughts, “Are you here to personally escort me to prison?”

“Sadly, no,” He said, folding his hands as he looked over you, “None of the council members know I’m here and no one knows you’re here either.”

“... so then you’re killing me yourself?”

Tony grinned, “No, sweetheart. Why do you think I had someone patch you up? That poison was making you malnourished and then your heat was draining you even more.”

You froze, “My what?”

Tony raised an eyebrow, “I’m guessing this is your first one but I’m sure you’ve read up on it in your studies. They say meeting your soulmate can trigger it …” It looked like he was connecting the dots in his own mind, “There were a lot of things you didn’t consider, Y/N.”

“He’s not …” The words burned as you tried to let them out.

“Or maybe you ran because you knew the bond was real. Your body, naturally, probably didn’t like the fact that you were rejecting him. Did you consider what it would do to him?”

Something pulled at your heartstrings as you finally thought about how Peter reacted when he found out you’d ran away, “... did something happen?”

Tony cocked his head to the side, “No damages big enough that I couldn’t pay for … am I sensing remorse?”

“I’m not sure how you could when it’s something you’ve never felt,” Tears stung your eyes, the reality of your world settling in, but you still held your head high, “If you’re here to preach, I don’t want to listen. And you’re not getting any gratitude from me.”

He could end your life with the snap of his finger yet that didn’t stop the venom on your tongue.

With a hard glare, he stood from his seat and took a step towards the bed, “I already agreed with Peter that he will be the one to take care of your … attitude. I truly hope that the next time we see each other you’ll be worthy enough for my nephew. You’re a pretty thing, this anger doesn’t suit you ....may the Goddess with you.”

The black car traveled down the gravel road surrounded by evergreen trees. Snow fell lightly and dropped onto the window glass and you watched it melt away as you neared your destination.

You were expecting doom and gloom as you pulled into the driveway. You didn’t expect the cabin to actually look like a home where happy people could live. Calling it a log cabin wouldn’t be fair to the money that probably went into building the luxury home. You could practically smell the expensiveness as you exited the car, not bothering to let the driver open the door for you.

You spun in a circle, your boots crushing the ice beneath your feet, as you took in the sight. You saw rolling hills of snow, tall mountains, and a blue-purple sunset that painted the sky.

When you saw him this time it was different. So much had happened since that night at the Halloween Ball and you didn’t expect him forgive you for being so cold to you but-

He called for you and, as you turned to face him, arms were tightly wrapped around you, “You could’ve died,” Were the first words that left his mouth. You didn’t embrace him back, you weren’t sure how, but your body instantly relaxed against him. It was the same feeling you got at the soccer field.

You were still speechless when he finally pulled away. His hands were still grabbing your arms as he looked you over for wounds. You were sure that your only flaw was the bags around your eyes from the lack of sleep you’d had over the last few days.

“Do you understand that? Someone could’ve taken you or you could’ve killed yourself.”

“I know-” He smashed his lips against yours, taking the words from your mouth. You pressed your hands against his chest but you didn’t push him away. The kiss was long and deep and, for a moment, the earth stopped spinning on its axis, “I don’t know how to do this, Peter.”

Your foreheads pressed together and his heavy breath fanning against your skin, the two of you tried to catch your breath, “Y/N, it’s okay,” Your name on his tongue was heaven, “This is real and I know you’re scared but it’s okay to accept this. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Do you promise?” You asked, weaker than you’ve ever been. As much as you wanted to blame it on the raging hormones of your heat, you knew what you wanted deep down.

“Yes,” Peter breathed, “And I’m not going to let anyone else hurt you.”

Peter led you into the warm home, helping you out of your coat, and keeping his hand on the small of your back. Your meeting with Pepper and May was brief. They sat in the kitchen sipping their hot cocos and they only gave you kind glances as Peter informed them that he’d take you up to your room. He could sense that you didn’t want an audience to your pain.

There were photos on every wall and sentimental ornaments. You had a feeling that by the end of winter break you’d know the story of each item.

“This is where you grew up?” You asked, your eyes wandering your new room. It was more spacious then any place you’d ever lived and the heat from the fireplace only added to the coziness the room provided.

“We spend every winter here. My Uncle Ben built this place,” Peter spoke succinctly.

“It’s straight out of one of those lifestyle magazines,” You felt Peter’s eyes on you as you slowly walked around the room, “... how did he die?”

“Someone shot him,” His gaze seemed to darken at the memory.

“I’m sorry,” You meant your words but you couldn’t help but feel a sense of deja vu.

“Don’t be,” He shrugged, “I mean, it was a long time ago … I guess I’ll leave you to settle in.”

You sensed he was trying to avoid a touchy conversation and you were more than willing to let him. Just being in his presence was calming but extremely overwhelming. The smallest things he did would cause your thoughts to race and, lately, those thoughts hadn’t been pure. Your mind had been replaying that kiss a million times in your head in the past twenty minutes.

As his hand gripped the door handle, a sudden wave of heat traveled beneath your skin, “Ah,” You rested your hands against the bed as you bit down on your lip to keep from crying out. It was the same overwhelming fire that you felt that day with Loki.

“Y/N,” You looked up, realizing that he hadn’t left. He walked towards you hesitantly, “.. you should take off those clothes.”

Your eyes widened, “What? No. I’m fine-” You winced as another wave passed through you, “I’m fine!”

“You’re overheating!” Peter exclaimed and it seemed it was taking everything within him not to do it himself.

“Peter, I’m fine,” You spoke through gritted teeth, “I can handle it on my own.”

“No, you can’t,” Peter stated nervously, “Sit down on the bed. Let me help you.”

“No,” You said again as you panicked, “I don’t need your stupid Alpha hormones messing up mine. You’re making it worse!”

“I said sit down,” He didn’t raise his voice but there was something different in his tone. Powerful. Your body moved like it never did before. Your body, against your will, sat down on the bed obediently.

You were left speechless for a moment and Peter seemed to stare at your abnormal behavior but not for long. He kneeled down and began to pull off your shoes and socks, “Peter-” You clutched your side.

He tossed the clothing to the side before standing. He leaned over you, pulling off your sweater and undershirt. When he finally made it to your belt, your eyes connected, “Don’t say no to me, Omega. I don’t like it, ” Again, your body moved before your mind and you nodded.

Stupid Alpha hormones.

Without the clothes, you instantly felt better but there was still burning in your veins, “Lay down,” Peter’s hand connected with your shoulder and you felt a coolness soothe the area as he pushed you down. Your back pressed against the soft mattress as you felt your jeans being undone, “There you go.”

“It hurts, Peter,” As the words left your mouth, you felt a kiss against your stomach. Your senses were completely out of whack and the simple touch sent waves of pleasure through your body. He kissed down your stomach to where he was pulling down your jeans. He pulled them down the length of your legs before deciding to rid himself his own clothes. You sat up on your elbows as you watched him reveal himself.

His body was perfectly crafted, the sight of him causing your core to ache for him. You moved up on your elbows as he stalked closer once again, “Bare your throat to me,” He demanded, lust in his eyes. Your heart began to race and you slowly moved further and further back on the bed as he followed you, “You want me to quell that fire inside, don’t you? I can take that pain away …”

It wasn't a command. He wanted you to go against every standard you’d set for yourself and willingly show him the ultimate sign of submission. He grabbed your hands, moving them so they were pinned above your head, as he settled between your legs. You felt his growing member pressed against your crotch, teasing you.

“Please don’t,” You begged and you watched his lips tug into a small smile. He leaned down closer, holding your smaller hand in his tightly, and you couldn’t run from that feeling anymore, “Peter, I can’t-”

“But you want to, Omega. You want to be tamed. You want me to be by my side, protected and loved for the rest of your days,” Peter grunted, pressing himself further into you. All you wanted was his lips on you again, “Now be a good girl for me.”

Your eyes shut tight as you turned your head, exposing your neck to the Alpha that called you his soulmate. He took the sign of submission as a green light to ravish your body. He pressed his lips against the skin of your neck, leaving rough bites along your skin, and you thought you might go deaf from how loud you were screaming in pleasure.

Peter kissed every inch of your body and you found yourself desperately trying to taste him as well. You realized that a switch had flipped inside of you a long time ago and you weren’t sure how you managed to resist it for long. Like a predator who finally captured his prey, Peter devoured you.

Your first times were nothing like the movie. You didn’t feel any sort of pain and your bodies were so synced that you felt anything but awkward. You felt like you knew him completely in this life and your past lives before,

“Please, please, please.”

He sunk deep inside of you, rocking the furniture and destroying the room, “You take me so good,” You nodded eagerly, the sound of his wanting voice driving you insane, “Fuck, get on top of me.” He smacked your bottom and your lips tugged into a tired smile.

After taking you in missionary, you switched positions, and you rode him until your second climax. Your arms wrapped around each other as you moved your hips. When he finally came he was deep inside you, his moans were enough to send you over the edge for the third time, “Peter, I’m gonna--again!” Your arms wrapped around his neck, you kissed passionately as he filled you with his warmth.

“You were fucking made for me,” Peter breathed against your lips, “Thank the Goddess.”

Tears slipped down your cheeks but Peter brushed them away with his thumb. You hadn’t realized the love you’d been lacking until now. You didn’t know a stranger's love could be so unconditional but it seemed he wasn’t a stranger at all. Whatever consequences came from this, you thanked the Goddess that you could feel again.

i might write a part three to this but i left it on a happy ending in case it takes me awhile to get to it!

#dark fic #peter parker x reader #peter parker smut #dark peter parker #alpha!peter parker #omegaverse #omega!reader #a/b/o smut #avengers a/b/o #peter parker x y/n #dark!peter x reader #dark!peter #black!reader #peter parker x black!reader #alpha!peter parker x omega!reader #dystopian au #wanda maximoff #peter parker #peter parker au

1K notes · View notes

mythiccheroacademia · 4 years

Text

“I done been down so long, lost hope, I done came down so hard, I slowed. Honesty, forever, all a real nigga want.” —Kendrick Lamar

Word Count: 1.3K Pairing: Kirishima Eijirou x Reader Context: Mafia!AU. Kirishima’s last relationship was pretty shitty and he’s scared of it happening again :/ Warnings: explicit language, mentions of cheating

All Characters are 18+

A/N: Bakugo should be a relationship counselor or something. He’s a little rough around the edgeds, but he makes some pretty good points. Enjoy <3

Kirishima Eijirou | Loyalty

“I don’t fucking like this.”

Kirishima sighed as he swirled the drink in his hand. “I heard you the first time, man.”

“There’s other ways to get what we want besides walking into enemy territory like idiots.”

“This is the only way to get the information we need tonight Bakubro and you know that.”

A matching pair of red eyes irritatingly glared at him. “So you’re just alright with what they’re doing?”

“I never said that.”

“Whatever,” Bakugo hissed. He smacked his teeth before looking away at the bustling crowd.

To finalize a truce, the Bakugo family had been invited to their old rival’s weekly mansion party. It was a cheap way to make amends in Bakugo’s opinion, but considering how exclusive the Rior family was with their parties, it was basically a peace treaty.

The young yakuza leader hadn’t planned to go. However, his intel heard wind of a foreign group regarding illegal dealings on their turf. So they were here to scope out the place, leaving his stealth team—you, Sero, Kaminari, and Mina—to dig up some info. Bakugo and Kirishima were back up.

Bakugo dug a finger beneath the corner of his mask to itch his skin.

“Shitty mask—who the hell does masquerade balls anymore?” he grumbled.

“We’ll only be here for an hour more and then you won’t have to worry about the stupid mask again,” Kirishima reminded.

The slightly sharp tone from the red-head’s voice made the explosive blonde glance over. Despite his aggravation, Katsuki was well aware of the fact that Kirishima didn’t like this mission any more than he did.

Not because there was a good chance the party would get shot up. Well, that was a heafty part of it. But it was mostly because it involved you confronting your ex who happened to have some information they were looking for.

Eijirou’s feelings for you wasn’t a mystery to anyone—including yourself. He made it clear that he only had eyes for you. You luckily returned his feelings. Yet, he still held back.

And it was because of that one night where a bottle of whiskey and a couple of tears gave him suspicion that you might still be hung up about the man who last broke your heart.

The same man that Kirishima had been eyeing like a hawk for the past twenty minutes.

Bakugo followed his line of sight to see that you and Awase were deep in conversation. To anyone else, it appeared like old friends catching up. But they knew otherwise.

Awase took whatever chance he got to touch you. Whether it was to tap your arm after a corny joke or to move you away from uncoordinated guests. He laughed a little too hard and smiled a little too wide to be considered friendly. But what really sold him out was the longing gaze he bore.

He wanted you back. You knew that and you played it to your advantage.

From what they could hear in the earpiece, you were working the hell out of him. And as much as he didn’t want to admit it, it rubbed Kirishima the wrong way.

“Stare any harder and you’ll set the bastard on fire,” Bakugo snorted.

The crimson-clad man blinked out of his trance and turned away in slight embarrassment.

“I was just making sure they were okay,” he muttered.

Katsuki hummed unconvincingly. An uncomfortable silence passed over the two. Kirishima’s tense aura was throwing him off and he hated how it even bothered him in the first place.

He put his hands in his pocket and inwardly groaned over the conversation they were about to have.

“You really like Y/N, don’t you?”

Kirishima made a surprised sound in his throat.

“Huh?”

“You heard me, shitty hair,” Bakguo gritted. “Don’t make me repeat myself!”

There was another pause before a low chuckle left Kiri’s lips. “Oh. That obvious?” He looked up at you before his gaze softened upon seeing you smile. “Yeah. I do. More than I can say.”

“Do you trust them?”

“…Bro, what?”

An angry vein nearly popped out of the blonde’s forehead. “Are you dumb or are you deaf!? Stop trying to make me fucking repeat myself!” he yelled.

“Sorry! Sorry! I’m just not used to having these kinds of conversations with you!” Kirishima nervously laughed.

“Well if you don’t want my help then you can fuck off—”

“No, that’s not what I meant!” he interrupted. Eijirou adopted a solemn expression as he rubbed his arm in thought. “I—Of course I trust Y/N. Just like all of you. I trust you all with my life.”

Katsuki put a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to meet his gaze. “Now you know that’s not what I meant. You and Y/N obviously have a thing for each other but you two are dragging the other along.”

“It’s more complicated than that, Bakugo. I’m trying to give them space to heal—”

“For them or for you? As far as I’m concerned, they’re just fine.”

“But that night—”

“That night was three months ago, Kirishima. Y/N is not your ex. Let it go.”

Kirishima glowered at his friend and snapped. “Easy for you to say! You weren’t the one that got cheated on for two fucking years!”

The volume of his voice created a small feedback within the earpieces.

“What was that?” Sero asked.

“Is everyone okay?” Kaminari followed up.

Mina tuned in. “I’m good.”

You quickly hummed in affirmation before going back to your conversation.

“I hit my earpiece. My bad,” Kirishima mumbled.

With that being said, everyone went back to their duties. Bakugo coolly waited for his friend’s breathing to calm before speaking.

“You good?”

“Yeah,” Kirishima sighed. “I didn’t mean to blow up like that. Sorry.”

“I get it. Touchy subject,” Bakugo curtly noted. “I’ll just say this. Not because I really care about what happens between you two, but because your moping pisses me off.”

A smirk spread across Eijirou’s lips. He shook his head but listened for his friend’s words.

“The only person getting in the way of you two being together is you. I know you’re wary because of that shit rag you dated before, but you can’t expect every partner after to treat you the same way. Y/N already trusts that you won’t do them like their ex did. If you love them, why can’t you do the same?”

“How do you know they trust me?”

Bakugo tilted his head. “Maybe if you opened your damn ears up, you’d know where their loyalty lies.”

“Huh—?”

“Thank you for this!” you said as you slipped the note into your pocket.

“Anything for you, bambi,” Awase smiled. You were about to take your leave when he held your waist. “Actually, Y/N. I was thinking we could plan something later. To catch up and maybe continue where we left off?”

Kirishima tensed as the blue-eyed man pulled you closer. He was about to turn away when you removed the hands from your waist and took a step back.

You weren’t hesitant in your answer.

“I’m sorry, Awase. But no. You were the one that said we wouldn’t work, remember? Besides, I have someone else I’m waiting for.”

Kirishima’s eyes widened.

Awase looked saddened but nodded respectfully. “Ah. Another man stole your heart.” You gave him an apologetic smile to which he chuckled. He brought your knuckles to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on them. “Whoever he is, he’s a lucky man.”

“I would be lucky to have him.” You pulled back your hand and met defeated cerulean eyes. “Goodbye, Awase.”

“…Goodbye, Y/N.”

You watched as he left and waited until he disappeared before telling the team you retrieved the info. As they cheered, your eyes wondered into the crowd before they met a pair of crimson irises that sparkled with something you hadn’t seen before.

Despite your curiosity, a wide smile spread across your lips as you gave the two men a thumbs up.

Eijirou remained frozen until a hand nearly shoved him towards the ground.

“Well, shitty hair? What are you waiting for?” Bakugo grunted. He gave him an encouraging smirk. “Go get your s/o.”

Kirishima grinned. He didn’t need to be told twice.

#Kirishima Eijirou #kirishima x reader #bnha scenario #mha drabble #honorable mentions:#katsuki bakugou #mina ashido #Sero Hanta #kaminari #awase tsume #can you tell i'm a lil obsessed with the mafia/yakuza trope?#2.5k follower event and celebration!

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lildevyl · 3 years

Text

DSMP FanFic Recommendations I

So, a few days @nastiiuu did a nice Recommendation of a DSMP FanFic called Evermore. So, per request, here's a list of different DSMP Recommendations that I have from my History, Mark For Later, and from my Bookmarks! Sorry, @nastiiuu that it took me a while to get this up! But I hope you all enjoy!

Stay safe and I will put the Summaries and Tigger Warnings in as well!

So, I will start off with the one the @nastiiuu recommended a few days ago!

Evermore

Summary: Prince Theseus, a child of blonde and blue, a child of isolation and a crave for touch. He's the youngest in the Royal Family, and somehow the most forgotten. The most neglected. The most alone.

Tucked away in his tower, the young prince watches the world move on without him, watches his family welcome two new princes into their arms, and yet reject him when he cries desperately from nightmares or shivers from a painful wound.

"Wilby?" The child had murmured, all curious and hesitant at once. He was tucked in his older brother's lap, watching as his other sibling sparred with their father. "We'll always be together, right? Forever and ever?"

Wilbur smiled. "Of course, Tommy. Forever and ever."

The Hanahaki rising in young Theseus' throat says otherwise.

TW: Isolation, Hanahki Disease, Angst no happy ending, Character Death, Villain!Dream, Manuplation.

The Exchange: My Life for Yours: I'm still reading this one, I'm on chapter 17 and it's ssssssssooooooooo good right now!

Summary: Tommy was a liability. Too annoying and too loud.

Techno didn't care about this child.

"Unless of course, you want call on that favor"

"Ok"

Then why he suddenly did?

TW: Villain!Dream, Canon Diverse, Kidnapping, Demons/Dreamons, Demon!Dream, Dreamon!Dream, Isolation, Manipulation, "A Deal with the Devil."

The Inevitability of Change: I just got caught up with this one and oh my Ghoul! This is intense and so good! I can't wait for the update!

Summary: Fuck it, he was allowed to do this, it would be better for everyone else anyway. They could do whatever they wanted and he wouldn’t be in their way. He wouldn’t cause problems anymore and he could have the perfect life that he had always wanted.

The egg extended a blood vine out to him. "Do we have a deal?" There was a level of smugness that Tommy recognized all too well from all his wars with Dream, it was the sound of an opponent knowing they’d won.

“We do, you dumb ugly bitch.”

Tommyinnit hated change. He'd witnessed so many people he cared about in his life change and hardly ever for the better. He just wished things could go back to the way they were when he had everything he ever wanted, a loving family who cared about him, a best friend who was always by his side. He craves this so badly that he makes a deal with the egg to get everything he's ever wanted.

or or

Tommy becomes a coraline kinnie

TW: Derealization, Unreality, Manipulation, Child Abandonment, Violence (later chapters), Explosions (later chapters).

Ties of the Puppet

Summary: Tommy hates how his mind feels trapped at that moment with Tubbo. The look in his eyes one Tommy had been forced to see far too many times. Wilbur’s eyes.

Tommy struggles with the trauma of his life and unhealthy relationships, Wilbur tries his hand at redemption, Phil and Techno learn to heal what's been lost.

TW: Mental Health Issues, Violence, Abuse, Redemption Arc for Tubbo, Healing for Tommy/Phil/Techno, some of the characters will seem a little OOC, Canon Diverse.

Forged By Truth (Or the Lack there of)

Summary: After his escape from exile failed spectacularly, Tommy only needed to be reminded that Dream saved his life a few times before it starts to sink in. Once his exile can continue again far away from any more distractions, Dream proceeds with his plan to craft the perfect weapon.

TW: Manipulation, Mention of Character Death (Character doesn't really die but the other characters don't know that), Suicidal Thoughts, Violence, Protégé AU, Tommy becomes Dream's Protégé, Angst, Whump.

Mask: I'm still working on this one but it's really, really, really good! A lot of Angst and Manipulation. So, please be careful when reading!

Summary: Dream knew Tommy was a naturally clingy child. That's why he found such satisfaction in having him exiled.

Dream didn't plan on Tommy clinging to him.

Dream was going to take advantage of the situation.

All Tommy needed was a bit of a push and then he would be completely broken.

Ready to be remodeled into the perfect weapon.

TW: Suicidal Thoughts, Attempted Suicide, Manipulation, Emotional and Mental Manipulation, Protégé AU, Broken!Tommy, Angst, Angst (possibly no happy ending but I'm not sure), Whump.

Lion's Cup, Tiger Stripes: I just finished this one and it's so good! Exile Arc but with a twist! Guest Appearances by Sad-ist, Late-August, Derivakat.

Summary: Tommy Innit knew what Dream was doing and was sure as hell not going through with it. So, by the third week of exile, as Dream starts to escalate his punishments, he leaves. One month later he runs into Purpled and hires him as a bodyguard while he travels.

Or Tommy runs away, stays in one village for a month to clear his head and decides to go travelling while dragging Purpled with him.

Or road trip pog.

TW: Angst, Angst with a happy, Found Family, Violence, Testing, Scares, Explosions (later chapters), I think that's all.

Valley of Serenity: This is a very long fic! It's about 60+ chapters so feel free to read in increments but this is a really good fic! Redemption Arc and Healing for the SBI Family!

Summary: After blowing up a nation, Wilbur throws a sword down at his father's feet and begs to be killed.

Phil, however, takes one look at the state of his children and decides he has other plans.

(post november 16th au where wilbur doesn't die. instead a family leaves the smp entirely, and learn how to live with each other again.)

"Fuck, I - I can't forgive either of you right now," Tommy says quietly. Despite the words, he hugs Wilbur tighter. "One day, though. I think one day I will."

"And we're still brothers, right?" Wilbur dares ask. Techno inhales sharply beside him.

They get a choked laugh in reply.

"Yeah. Brothers."

TW: Angst, Mention of wanting to die, Healing, a long road of healing, Mental Health Issues, Family Bonds, Angst but I think there is a happy ending, Violence, Mention of the L'Manburg exploding. Redemption Arc, Healing.

Breathing's Just A Rhythm: I finished this fic a few weeks ago and my ghoul! This is so good! Time Travel Fic with Dream, Schlatt, Tubbo, Tommy, and of course CHAT!

Summary: POGTOPIA??? WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?? TIMETRAVELBLADE. technotravel

“Chat, I did not time travel,” Techno said exhaustedly, “I don’t know what gave you that idea, but please calm yourselves.”

The voices started obnoxiously whispering at the top of their lungs. HE DOESN’T KNOW. PANIC

Or: Tommy, Tubbo, Jschlatt, and Dream all end up in the past. (Oh, and the Chat comes too) (mcd is a villain, this fic has a happy ending)

Or OR! Dream attempts to Time Travel in the past but winds only go back a few months ago during Pogtopia Area and he winds up bring a few unexpected victors with him! MEANWHILE: Karl is trying his damnest to fix everything with Time Travel Fiasco that Dream caused! B/C the Future selves and the past selves switched!

TW: Graphic Violence, Bodily harm (later chapters), Kidnapping (later chapters), Explosions (later chapters), Betrayal (later chapters I won't say who!), Isolation, Manipulations, Mental and Emotional Abuse, Trauma, Therapy (Finally these boys gets some), Good!Schlatt, Villain!Dream, Redemption Arc Wilbur and Schlatt.

I think I got them all?

Wrong Place for Redemption: This one of the stories that helped inspired Breathing is Just a Rhythm! Time Travel Fic!

Summary: -Previously titled Time Will Decide. Name taken from lyrics in 'A Sadness Runs Through Him' by The Hosiers

“Okay, why don’t you go see him.” Tommy didn’t know what he thought the afterlife was going to be like, hell he didn’t even know if it was a real thing. Maybe he’d see Wilbur, possibly Schlatt, but he didn’t expect to see a white castle and Karl.

Or where Tommy looses his final life to Dream in the prison only to be teleported back in time.

OR where Tommy is given a second chance and isn't going to blow it, not even if things start to get revealed (things that change everything) and discoveries are made.

This whole book has TW's: Child abuse, violence/murder, gore/blood, implied/referenced suicide, suicide, drinking, etc.

Parental Rights: Another good on going fic for me! Can you tell that I love some SBI/Found Family Fics here?

Summary: Sam wants to be there for Tommy. Wants to be his dad. Wants to be the one Tommy comes to when he's in trouble or excited over something. He'd happily legally adopt Tommy, but well... Tommy's actual father is in the way of that. Sam thought with how distanced Phil was with his son it would be easy to persuade him to give his parental rights over to Sam. But well... Tommy's stubbornness had to come from somewhere, right?

TW: Sleep Walking, Mentions of Exile, Healing Arc for Tommy, Healing Arc for Sam, Healing Arc for Tubbo, SBI, Healing Arc for Techno.

Allium: This is still on going, but oh man! This is getting really good!

Summary: What if Dreams plan for the Disc War finale had worked?

Tubbo dead, Tommy in the prison, SMP under his control. Allium Ashes.

TW: Major Character Death, Ghostbo (Ghost Tubbo), Manipulation, Isolation, Imprisonment, Prisoner Innit, Making someone believe they are responsible for something they didn't do, Kidnapping, Rescue Mission.

And How Can I Compete (With The World At Your Feet): God AU and this is really Fangtastic! Rated M for Graphic Violence and Attempted Sacrifice.

Summary: Tommy has been kept away from the world and held captive for four years, and now he’s about to be used as a sacrifice to a god. A blood god, to be specific. The Blood God. But, instead of accepting his captor’s sacrifice, the Blood God is in debt to Tommy. And he’s going to save him.

A universe where Technoblade, Wilbur, and Phil are all gods who have become quite protective of a mortal fifteen year old without a home.

This concept was based on a text post I saw, I think! I can’t find it anymore, but if you see it let me know!

TW: Blood, Violence, Attempted Sacrifice, Villain!Dream, Villain!BadBoyHalo, Occult Setting, God AU, Blood God!Techno, Angel of Death!Philza, God!Wilbur, Angel!Tubbo, Angel!Ranboo.

Death's Forest: This is a nice little One-Shot for the SBI, and Dadza fans! Set during Tommy's Exile. Don't worry! Dadza to the rescue!

Summary: “Can I see him?” Phil asks, blinking owlishly, as if he’s simply just asking. As if he’s not holding a threat behind those light words.

“Don’t push your limits.” Dream responds, and Phil only smiles with a slow nod.

The next day, Dream wishes he had answered differently.

Phil isn’t quite human. He wants to visit Tommy during exile.

TW: I don't think there's any TW here, but if there is, please let me know!

Prince Theseus: Royal AU! Hybrid Tommy. Prince Tommy (Theseus).

Summary: Prince Theseus Craft of the Anartitic Empire, A child who could bring joy to anyone's day left to be forgotten by his family left to spend his days in his tower with nothing but his Maid and dear friend as company

Left to watch his older brothers laugh and smile as his father looks at them with love and the eyes of a proud parent he never saw directed to him, watch them both receive the love he craved so desperately from his father. Left him to envy his brothers yet grow jealous as that jealousy turns to a small flame of hatred growing steadily as time passes leaving him to make his final decision.

No longer will he be known as Theseus but as the Amazing Tommyinnit who could do anything who will prove his former family wrong and show he is better than what they think.

Which leads him to where he is now, a runaway prince who finds a new family brought together by hardship and their love of traveling the endless seas.

AKA :

16 yr old Prince Theseus changes his name to Tommyinnit and runs away from his royal family who neglected him and finds a real family on a ship who just so happened to be pirates as well.

TW: Isolation, Mention of a Minor Character Death, Running Away, Royal AU, Hybrid Tommy, SBI, Neglect, Pirates, Found Family, Angst, Hurt and Comfort, Magic.

Therapy Marriage: Okay, I'm adding this one for some Wholesomeness, and Fluff with some Angst but there should be a Happy Ending!

Summary: but for some reason, tubbo (and possibly ranboo, although he doubted this was his idea) had got it into his head that tommy needed therapy or some shit.

which, fine, maybe he had a little bit of an issue. he did freak out at damage, and weapons, and he had reached out to puffy, but he was okay! he didn’t need tubbo to pity him.

but- here was where the weird part came in- tubbo wanted tommy in his marriage.

TL:DR Tubbo wants to help Tommy and decides that the best method is by marrying him as well. Ranboo just goes along with it.

*****

Okay, this post has gotten very long! I do apologize for that! So, I'll add others to another Post!

#nastiiuu #fanfic recommenation #dsmp #dream smp fanfiction #dreams smp fanfic #ao3 #dsmp fanfic recommendations #long post

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httpjeon · 4 years

Text

BY CHANCE — KTH (M.)

synopsis. on an adventure, you stumble upon a jackalope. the creature ends up saving your life, leading to an unexpected turn of events.

pairing. taehyung/reader genre. angst, smut, fluff au. mythical!au, jackalope!taehyung, shifter!au wordcount. 11,847 contents. major character death, blood, light violence, tae gets mad, crying, loss of a loved one, size kink, messy sex, squirting, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, dirty talk, light voyeurism(?), oral (male rec.), fingering, doggy style, spooning position note. this was originally meant to be posted september 15 of 2019 but never got past the preview stage. so it’s now being released on here!

blog masterlist. book of beasts masterlist.

Despite being born and raised in a region filled to the brim with witches, there was still lingering disdain for the race. Centuries ago, non-magic born humans had hunted down witches and slaughtered all the ones they could find.

It wasn't until the last 300 years that witches had once again gained footing in the region.

You personally weren't a witch, you didn't possess any magical abilities so you couldn't even learn magic. That didn't stop you from being curious, however, your natural inclination and hunger for knowledge never being satiated.

You didn't expect for the village elders to find the books you'd acquired for reading and suspect you of being a witch.

Unfortunately for you, the village you lived in was one of the few with hatred towards witches. You were lucky to be simply cast out rather than strung up and killed for the 'crime'.

Instead of finding another place to live, you decided it was the perfect opportunity to learn.

Thus, you adopted the title of wanderer.

You left your home of Phixhull behind to see the safe places you read about; seeing the snowy land of Wrila where you'd read of the Griffin creatures that protected forests all the way to Saipia which was home to a large walled-in city that you couldn't enter due to reasons unknown and instead decided to wander among Disier Forest to gawk at the beautiful White Stags that took refuge there. You didn't dare to visit the dark, cold land of Trance in fear of the werewolf stories you'd heard.

After what felt like years on the road, you happened upon a land you'd been warned about time and time again through stories passed down by elders.

Yonio; a place told in stories to scare children.

Legend told that it was once a place overwhelmed with magic but something happened that decimated everything. Magic was all but wiped from it; leaving the plants and magical creatures to die.

When you stepped foot onto the land, you felt it immediately. It felt dead; cold and empty. There wasn't even a breeze, no birds chirping, or sound of cicadas chirping.

It was deathly silent.

The grass crunched beneath your feet as you walked, wrapping your arms around yourself as you noticed the cold nip in the air. You couldn't deny that it was scary with how still and void of life it seemed to be.

The sun was high in the sky with a slight cloud overcast that blocked out the suns rays every once in a while. The environment was reminiscent of autumn with the dead leaves crunching on the ground and the lack of green life anywhere. But it didn't hold the same, cozy feeling the season should have. It just felt...dead.

It wasn't until the sun began its descent to the horizon that it dawned on you there was no place for you to spend the night.

Trees surrounded you from every angle, making you confused as to where you were and what direction you were meant to go. You didn't know where you came from and you didn't know the land well enough to navigate to shelter.

Before long, the sun was nearly set — only a wash of vibrant red streaking across the sky in left to light the way.

You were resting up against the trunk of a large tree trying to warm yourself up as the temperature continued to drop when you felt the ground beneath you begin to rumble. You stood up straight, looking around — the tree shook in time with the rumbling.

Fear pulsed through your veins when you began to hear the heavy beat of footsteps in time with the vibrations. You were paralyzed, desperately looking around for the thing that was making such loud movements.

It didn't take long before the creature came into view — towering several feet above your own frame. It was black as night and emitting black smoke from beneath its skin with horrible jagged teeth protruding from its mouth. Its eyes were inhuman red as they scanned the area before landing on you.

Before you could even think twice, you were taking off running as fast as you could. The creature gave chase, its footsteps violently rumbling and stomping behind you as the trees trembled in the wake of the impacts.

You shrieked when the monster let out a deafening roar of rage. You weaved between the trees, sobbing when the creature easily knocked them down.

You tripped, an exposed tree root being the cause of your stumble. When you hit the ground, it was hard and the air was immediately knocked out of you.

Turning over on your back, the creature's form was distorted by your tears and red. Reaching up, you realized it was blood gushing from a wound on your head.

It smiled, a menacing sharp-toothed grin as it stood looming dangerously above you.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a fast bolt of brown flashed before you. It grabbed the creature's attention, making its attention on you wane.

You sat up, wiping your eyes as you realized it was too distracted by the...jackalope.

It was small but fast and mighty, biting at the creature wherever it could sink its sharp teeth into — making the beast roar in anger as it attempted to squash the poor jackalope.

You weren't sure why such a tiny animal would be attacking something it knew was a threat, but you didn't have time to dwell on it. With your head still swimming, you ran away — not stopping until everything was silent once more.

This time, you took comfort in the quiet atmosphere.

Your reprieve was short lived as the adrenaline died down and you were left alone in the middle of a cold, dark forest with a murderous creature roaming.

You wrapped your arms around yourself, sinking to the ground to huddle against a tree to conserve warmth. Your head ached from the blow you'd received when you'd fallen and it was making you feel woozy.

It was hard to not think of the possibility that you would die in the forest.

Just as the thought entered your mind, you felt a small tug on your jacket. You jumped, expecting a threat only to see the wide doe-eyes of a jackalope.

"Hey...it's you," You muttered, gasping when it tugged your sleeve again. "Do you want me to come with you?" Another tug.

You struggled to get to your feet, doing your best to follow as the little jackalope through winding trees and shrubbery.

To your surprise, you were led right to a small wooden cottage. It was situated in the middle of a clearing. There was a dim light coming from the open window, which the jackalope jumped in and disappeared through. Little flower pot hung empty alongside the door and stairs leading up to the porch. You raised your hand to knock, blinking your eyes rapidly to clear the haze that settled over them.

Two solid knocks were all you could get in before you crumpled to the ground with a harsh thud. The second you felt the soft touch on our forehead, it sent your cut stinging waking you up.

Blinking to clear your sight, you were surprised to see a young man kneeling beside the bed he'd seemingly put you on.

He had pretty, sparkling eyes and long brown hair that hung in them. Atop his head, the most shocking part of him, were the two large bunny ears twitching behind a pair of miraculous antlers.

"Oh you're awake," He muttered, a small smile gracing his pretty lips. His voice was much deeper than you'd anticipated hearing but it was soothing. "My name is Taehyung and...you're in my home."

"I'm ______," You replied. "You...you're a shifter aren't you? The jackalope?"

"Yes," Was all he said, going back to tending to the wound on your head. He didn't offer any further conversation so you fell silent, allowing him to finish cleaning your cut.

He was very good looking with a sharp jaw and uneven eyelids, a small freckle sat on the underside of his nose. As he leaned over you, you got the sweet scent of peaches that wafted off of him and you couldn't help but inhale. If he noticed, he didn't say anything before sitting back up with a tiny smile.

"Get some rest," He whispered, blowing out the candle lit beside your bed. "We'll talk in the morning."

The first thing you learned about your savior, jackalope shifter named Taehyung was he had a quiet sense of kindness to him. He was quiet, usually setting a plate or bowl of food beside you and scampering to hide away and eat on his own. You never saw him for very long and he barely spoke to you but he was kind; washing your clothes for you and making breakfast, lunch, and dinner for you.

Though he survived off of a mostly vegan diet, he had a knack for spicing it deliciously.

When you asked him how he managed to get fresh fruits and vegetables he did which led to him showing you a little garden he cultivated nearby.

What was striking about it, though, is that around the ground the grass was dead and brown but where the garden was held miraculous vibrant green grass. He seemed proud of his garden, leading you to the little tomatoes that were growing healthily.

Taehyung was timid, easily startled by loud noises that made the large rabbit ears on his head witch back. The first time he demonstrated his aversion to noises was when you accidentally dropped a plate and the wood clamored obnoxiously. He jumped 12 feet in the air and took off to the opposite end of the cottage so fast your eyes couldn't even track his movements.

Every once in a while, you'd spot him hovered over a box that sat huddled in a dark corner of the bedroom. Sometimes he would return from somewhere with objects wrapped in cloths which he would place in the box.

It got your curiosity up, seeing him dig through the box like it housed treasure.

Such curiosity is what led to a mistake.

They say curiosity killed the cat, after all.

He had been gone for hours, leaving you to lay in bed all by yourself waiting for his return. You weren't sure what he was doing since he never told you where he went or what he liked — aside from gardening.

So you crawled out of bed, the floorboards creaking beneath the shift in weight as you took the short stride to where the box sat. Normally, is sat covered in a black silk cloth that he only removed when he was out to collect things for said box. Now, however, it wasn't covered.

You easily unlatched it, the lid opening to rest back against the wall to keep it from slamming shut.

Once your eyes fell on the interior, your breath cut short.

Inside were a variety of objects; some shiny, some old, and some pure strange.

You reached inside, running your hand along the jagged edges of a crystal before tapping against the old, leather bound journal with worn out words engraved on the front. It was dirty and seemed to have been ripped or cut in several places.

Just as you were about to pull it out, however, the door creaked open to reveal Taehyung had returned. He cradled something in that black silk cloth, close to his chest as he stared at you for several long seconds.

"What are you doing?" The dark, cold tone of his voice sent shivers down your spine as you backed away from the box.

"I uh...was curious..." You admitted, shame filling your heart at the pained look in his eyes.

"Curious?" He growled, storming forward, gently placing the covered object in the box before slamming it shut harshly. You flinched at the sound but he didn't, despite his sensitive hearing to loudness. "Do all humans just put their noses in things that don't belong to them or is it just you?"

"I—"

"Get out," He snarled, making you gasp. "I want you gone!"

He roared the last word so loud that it had you on your feet and running past him. You didn't bother slipping your shoes on, too scared of what Taehyung would do if you lingered in his space for too long. So you ran down the stairs, the freezing ground beneath your bare feet making you whine.

You kept running until the cottage was gone from sight and all of its light vanished. Left in the pitch black, your heart plummeted.

You were outside in the dark and that monster was no doubt lurking in the shadows. You were wearing a night dress Taehyung had on hand with no jacket of any kind to shield you from the bitter cold.

A breeze cut through the air, rustling the trees and making you shiver violently. Goosebumps rose up on your skin and you finally had to stop to huddle down. You pulled the nightdress over your knees as you held them to you chest — doing your best to conserve body heat.

Despite your predicament, you were sad.

Taehyung, who had treated you with quiet kindness and sweet gentleness, had cast you out of his house into the dangerous forest without a second thought. Part of you felt bitter over the fact his stupid box of treasures were more important than you.

Truthfully, you couldn't blame him; it wasn't your place to go through something that was obviously important to him. You didn't have a right to be angry with him for yelling but he had to know you would die out in the open like you were.

You didn't know how to navigate the forest and you were, in fact, already lost. With no clue where you came from, you couldn't even turn back to go apologize to him.

Any creak from the branches or rustling of the wind made you jump. Knowing that creature was out no doubt prowling set your heart ablaze with primal fear.

You would die. There was no doubt about it.

The door slammed and Taehyung was left alone, glaring at the box. It held things that meant a lot to him — knickknacks he'd meticulously collected and kept safe.

The anger he felt vanished the second he smelt your sweet scent waft past him as you ran away.

Why had he done that? It was so unlike him. Taehyung wasn't the type of person to cast someone out in the night alone because he was angry. How could he have done that to you?

You hadn't known the treasures were special and you surely meant no harm, he realized when he looked back in the box and found nothing disturbed. Sighing, he unwrapped the newest addition — a stone slate he'd found buried with interesting engravings.

He closed the box once again and placed the cloth over, looking at the bed — his bed that he'd been allowed you to sleep in. It was messed up like you'd been laying in it prior to his finding you on the floor snooping through his box.

Curiosity was a natural human emotion, he knew that. Even he himself was a curious creature, that's how he came to collect things.

You had been expressing such a natural feeling and he'd yelled at you and thrown you out like some kind of monster.

His head snapped up.

Monster.

He was on his feet quickly, running to the door to see your shoes still sat there. His heart broke — you hadn't even gotten your shoes on.

There was no way you could survive out in the cold — if hypothermia didn't get to you first then the monster surely would.

He ran down the stairs, his feet pounding against the wood. The second his feet hit the ground he was running — ears twitching towards every little sound he could hear in the darkness.

He could still smell you — the sweet homemade soap he made still lingering in the air. Following it, he blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the dark. He could see far better than a human could, but it was still even dark for his night vision.

The trees and wind whipped past him as he ran, the scent of you getting closer and closer with every step he took.

Finally, you came into view, up ahead facing him. You were sitting with your knees to your chest and your nightgown pulled over your legs. He could tell, even from the distance that you were shivering and crying. His heart ached — he'd made you cry. You were no doubt scared and hurt by his behavior.

His relief of finding you was short lived when he realized you were in danger.

The monster, dark as the night itself crept along behind you — deep red eyes set upon your vulnerable, unknowing form. It raised a thick, clawed hand in the air preparing to swing down and strike you.

It would be a killing blow for you.

But perhaps not for him.

Without a second thought, he threw himself overtop you. You were knocked down with a loud 'oof'. Taehyung felt the claw slice through his back, it burned more than actually hurt for some reason.

Instead of the creature going in for another strike — a devastating, final blow no doubt, it let out a loud, distorted shriek. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the creature backing away holding its hand in the air. The black skin visibly sizzled and bubbled where Taehyung's blood had splattered across it.

Then, to his relief, it ran away into the night — heavy footsteps once again making the ground shake.

"O-Oh my god, Taehyung!" You cried, gasping when he flopped off of you onto his side with a groan of pain. "Wh-Where did that thing come from? Are you okay? Why did you do that? Where did it go?"

He couldn't help but chuckle at your rambling. Humans — so easily overwhelmed.

"I-I...We have to get you home," You whispered, standing up and grabbing his arm. "I don't know how to do this."

"It's alright," Taehyung groaned, allowing you to wrap his arm around your shoulder as he rested his weight against you. Though he kept himself lighter on you since your smaller frame couldn't handle all of his weight.

It was a slow limp back to his cottage, he had to direct you of the way since you'd gotten lost. He could feel you trembling against him, though he wasn't sure if it was because you were cold or still panicked from nearly dying.

You smelled so sweet still and he felt his eyes fluttering once the cabin came into view. He couldn't fall asleep yet, he needed to apologize to you for his behavior!

Everything seemed to pass in a daze from when he hobbled up the steps with you until his front hit the bed. The second his face was buried in the pillow and your scent overwhelmed him, mixed a bit with his which still lingered, he succumbed to the darkness.

You hovered over him, watching as he slept soundly. The back of his gray t-shirt was slashed open, allowing you to see the gaping cuts on his back still gushing blood.

So you needed to stitch him closed.

Okay. You could do that.

It took ages to scour his house to find things that would allow you to tend to his wounds.

As you placed the linen cloths, alcohol, needle, and thread on the table, you stared at him on the bed. The best position would be to look at it from above but if you stood beside him, the bed would cause him to be too high to be comfortable.

So, with taking a final glance at him to make sure he was still asleep, you crawled onto the bed with him. Straddling the backs of his thighs, you tried to ignore what it felt like to be on top of him while wearing a dress.

Pushing his shirt up, you hissed at the angry red slashes on the otherwise pristine, tan skin on his back. Grabbing one of the linen cloths, you doused it in alcohol before placing the bottle back down.

Carefully, you pressed the cloth to one of the cut.

He jolted awake immediately, reaching back to grab at your thigh beneath your dress — setting your face aflame, though he didn't realize what he'd done.

"What are you doing?!" He whined, nails digging into your skin. "That hurts!"

"I-I know," You whispered, hands trembling as you dabbed at the cut again — making him cry out. "I'm sorry. I need to clean it!"

He moaned in pain but eventually relaxed, growing accustomed to the stinging pain. His grip on your thigh weakened and he fell limp again but you could tell he was awake.

Finally, you were finished and dropped the blood-soaked cloth on the floor with a wet slap. It could be cleaned later.

"Um...I'll have to stitch it," You whispered, watching as the cuts continued to ooze blood. "It's going to hurt a lot more and...you'll have to stay really still."

"Okay..." He whimpered, sounding so small it made your heart ache.

"I'll do my best to be quick and painless, okay?" You asked, beginning to thread the needle.

He didn't offer a reply but reached back, once again, to grab hold of you. His grip landed lower than last time, resting comfortably on your knee.

For comfort, you noted. He'd probably never had stitches done before. You had experience, often stitching yourself up during your travels because of stupid accidents.

Steadying yourself, you pierced the flesh and froze when he let out a little sob of pain.

"I-I'm sorry, Tae," You whimpered, stroking your hand over his shoulders for comfort. "It'll be okay."

He squeezed your knee in response while the other clutched the pillow beneath his head so hard the material groaned.

It was such a change in demeanor to what he was before; from shouting at you, to protecting you at the risk of his own life, to the trembling man beneath you. Part of you was happy as he allowed you to see the different sides of him, even if they were unpleasant. He was a more dynamic person than what you first thought of him when he was just a timid, quiet man who avoided you.

Every time the needle pierced through, he would tense up. Some places were more tender than others and drew a whine or cry from him. His bunny ears and little, fluffy bunny tail twitched and flinched in time to your movements as well as his pain.

By the time you were finished, he was drained. The way his eyes fluttered lazily as he fought sleep was the first indicator. He could barely bring his gaze up to you and you helped him strip out of the ruined shirt in favor of a new, softer one that hopefully wouldn't irritate the wounds.

Turning out the lantern, you whispered goodnight and allowed him to sleep in peace.

You woke up to muffled calls of your name, making your heart race in panic. Worried if Taehyung's stitches had torn open in his sleep and he was bleeding out by himself had you on your feet and in the bedroom in a flash.

The suns rays were golden as they sparkled across his skin. You could see his eyes water in the light and you couldn't help but coo when he held his hand out for you.

"What is it, Tae? Are you okay?" You asked, kneeling beside him on the bed where he still laid on his stomach.

"I just..." He sniffled and you realized he was crying. "I feel so guilty."

"Tae..." You whispered, squeezing his hand as tears fell from his eyes to the pillow beneath him.

"I c-can't believe I treated you like that and threw you out," He sobbed. "I-I've never acted like that to anyone before and I'm so sorry, ______."

"Taehyung, it's okay," You whispered, scooting forward to stroke his hair. "I shouldn't have gone through your things like that, it was rude of me."

"N-No matter what you didn't deserve that," He whimpered, voice wobbling. "If I had been even just a minute late you'd be dead a-and then what? I'd have to live with the fact that I killed you!"

"That wouldn't have been your fault and," You argued, sighing as your brows furrowed. "You got hurt in the end anyway so that's not a very good alternative!"

"Th-This is my punishment," The way he said it was so small and fragile. "I deserved to be punished for treating you like that."

"No, you don't deserve to be hurt, Taehyung!" You gasped, shocked at hearing such words come from him. He dissolved into sobs, leaving you sitting there stroking his hair to sooth him.

"Th-The truth is..." He sniffled. "I don't want you to go at all. I-I really like having you here and you make me feel less lonely."

"I..." Your heart felt warmed by his admission.

"E-Everyone went away when the Creature came and ever since it's just...been me," He whispered. "B-But you make me feel...happy, _____. I like you."

The confession trailed off as sleep seemingly overcame him. His grip loosened before his arm flopped off the side of the bed, making you smile. Being as gentle as possible, you placed his arm back beside him on the bed so his shoulder wouldn't ache when he woke up.

Then you set about trying to make him some food for when he awoke, no doubt he would be hungry.

You bumbled around the kitchen, humming softly to yourself as the mid-day sun warmed your skin through the window.

You had just pulled the soup off of the fire, smelling it with a smile, when you heard the bedroom door creak open.

"_____...smells good..." Taehyung limped into the kitchen, making you gasp. Placing the bowl on the counter, you rushed over to him to help him out and support his unsteady weight.

"You shouldn't be up! You should be resting!" You chastised, though you were secretly happy to see he was feeling okay enough to move around.

"'M sorry..." He mumbled sleepily, a yawn tapering off at the end. "Got lonely."

Sighing, you helped him sit on the couch. He winced when his wounds met the back to the couch.

"Well, I made some food," You said, placing the bowl carefully in front of him. Steam wafted off the top, showing that it was still quite hot. "I don't know all the herbs and spices you have but I just added what I thought smelled best."

"It does smell good," The grin he showed blindsided you; a contagious, boxy smile that made his eyes scrunch up.

It seemed Taehyung healed much quicker than a human would. Why wouldn't he? He was a creature made of magic.

Soon enough, you were able to remove the stitches from his back — albeit, with some whining from him. The skin was still sensitive, with three, large, puffy pink scars showing the evidence of his wound.

You were sitting at the table in front of the couch one day, stitching up the holes in the back of his shirt so it would be wearable again. You knew he didn't have a huge expanse of wardrobe so it would be best to salvage what you could.

You head Taehyung grunt followed by something heavy being dragged across the floor.

To your surprise, he was dragging his treasure box into the living room. There was sweat beading over his brow when he finally stopped in front of you.

"What're you doin'?" You asked with a smile, resting the shirt in your lap as you finished patching up a hole.

"I wanna..." He cleared his throat, ears burning bed as he flicked the latch open. "I want to show you my treasures."

"Really?" You asked, perking up immediately in curiosity.

He nodded his head, his little bunny ears bouncing with the movement. One by one, he began to pull things out of the box; the crystal, the journal, some silver dishes, a jeweled gauntlet, a pink gemstone, and a silver dagger. There were still more but the table could only hold so many things.

"Can I?" You asked, gesturing to the objects. He nodded, watching with wide eyes as you picked things up one by one.

You examined the objects with a small smile, Taehyung's expectant gaze sullied with nervousness.

"These are all so beautiful, Taehyung," You complimented, nearly cooing when his ears popped straight up as his eyes brightened.

"Really? You think so?" He sounded so excited that you couldn't help but laugh.

He was so endearing.

'I really do. I like them! Especially," You picked up the pink gem and held it up to the light. It reflected, causing light to bounce off the walls. "This gem is...beautiful, Taehyung. Where did you find it?"

"Th-There's a cave," Taehyung explained, scooting closer so he sat on his knees beside where you were perched on the couch. "It's too dangerous to enter but there was just this sitting outside the entrance one time!"

"There's a gem cave here?" You asked, eyes still glued to the gem.

"Mhmm, maybe I can...um," You jumped when he suddenly rested his cheek against your knee, smiling at where you twisted it in your hands. "I can show you one day, yeah?"

"I think that'd be nice," You agreed, leaning forward to place it back on the table.

"Hey can you..." He trailed off sitting up straighter as he avoided your gaze.

"Can I what?" You asked, glancing between him and the table of objects.

"Um...I just want to see what it's like to...if you, I mean," He cleared his throat, ears a vibrant red from embarrassment. You couldn't help but smile at him all shy and stuttering as he struggled to word his request.

Finally, he seemed to grow tired of his own inability to say it and grabbed your hand and placed it on his head. You watched for a minute, where your hand sat against his folded back bunny ears.

"Do you...want me to pet your ears?" You asked, mindlessly moving your fingers against the soft fur. He didn't offer a verbal response but nodded his head in response.

You sat like that for several minutes, Taehyung's head resting against your thigh as you stroked his ears. Every once in a while, you'd venture to graze against the soft surface of his antlers — discovering they were covered by fine little hairs all over.

Then, you grabbed the journal off the table, making Taehyung whine when you paused in petting his hair. When you struggled to open the journal, he easily popped it open to reveal yellowed, torn pages.

"I can't read so," He admitted, looking blankly at the pages. "I haven't gotten a chance to figure out what this journal is for but it was a humans I'm sure of it. I didn't really even look inside."

"You can't read?" You asked, mindlessly flipping past pages with ink too worn out to read.

"No I never learned," He easily admitted, nothing indicating that it bothered him in the slightest.

Suddenly, when you turned a page your body stiffened at what you saw. He hummed and looked up at you in question.

"Tae..." You whispered, turning the book to show him what you were seeing. "What are you seeing here?"

"Hey!" He perked up immediately in recognition. "That's the Creature! What's it say?"

"I-It's hard to make out everything," You admitted, bringing the book closer to see if you could make out anything. Shaking your head, you flipped a couple pages until you you were able to make out the text.

"Okay," You breathed, running your fingertips over the paper before reading what the pages held.

The month is Tluelp, day Pror of the year U9;

The trees have just begun their transition to oranges and reds. Unfortunately, it doesn't feel as if autumn is upon us. There is no comfort in the air that usually comes with the change in seasons.

The air is bitter and cold; the flow of magic is slowing. We suspect it has to do with Her.

We are doing our best to stop her, the black magic she plays with is defiling this land. It's too overpowering and it is killing.

We are going to have to do something. And soon.

"U9?" Taehyung asked, looking at the page although he couldn't read it. "What year is it now?"

"U15," You breathed, flipping over a couple pages you couldn't read.

"This journal is from 6 centuries ago?" He gasped. "What else does it say?"

The month is Tluelp, day Plerq, year U9;

The Witch is no more. We failed to kill her.

The magic, it has taken over her. It's horrible. It surrounds her very body.

Her humanity is gone and nothing but a Monster is left in her place.

I fear she will come for us soon. There is a bloodlust within her; she has slaughtered any magical creatures that come across her path.

So far she has remained in the forests but soon she will run out of creatures to feast upon.

Soon, we will be the only ones left.

She will come for us. It is only a matter of time.

"Did you know anything about this?" You asked him suddenly.

"Well," His brows came together in deep thought. "I know there were humans here at one point. I see some of their old villages, there's lots of cool things there but it's so open that I get scared it'll see me."

"Taehyung..." You realized there was something you never asked him. He hummed, flipping a few pages past some torn ones you wouldn't be able to read. "How come you're the only magical creature I've seen here?"

"I..." He paused, gnawing on his bottom lip. "I really don't know, ______. It just never...looks for me. I'm sure it knows I'm here but it never comes."

"I wonder why..." You mused. "It said in the journal it went after all creatures it could. I wonder why it spared you..."

"I wonder that too," He confessed, shrugging his shoulders as he frowned. You could sense the sullen change in his demeanor and quickly went back to the journal.

The month is Tluelp, day Cels, year U9;

I know now that my days are limited. I can only hope someone will find this and read what I have to say.

There is a slate we have made. Engraved on it is a map.

I beg that you follow the map.

Find it and accomplish what we could not.

Stop her before it is too late.

I can feel her footsteps now. She's coming.

This will be my last entry.

"A slate with a map engraved on it..." You mumbled, jumping when Taehyung suddenly hopped to his feet. His antlers just barely missed your face as he stood. "Tae?"

He began digging through his box again before pulling something out and running back over to you.

In his hands was a broken piece of a slate and you could immediately tell it was engraved with a map. It was too small of a fraction to be able to make out what it was for.

"Taehyung," You suddenly stood up, making him look at you as you put the journal back on the table. "Can you take me to where you found this?"

"Yeah!" He smiled, standing up as well. "Come on."

The sun was still high in the sky, offering a bit of warmth. You still wore a jacket to keep yourself even warmer.

You were thankful that the forest was far less menacing during the day, but it still held oppressive air that made your chest feel heavy. In one hand was Taehyung's hand. He started holding your hand tightly once the cottage was out of sight, glancing over his shoulder every other second to check on you.

It was sweet of him but truth be told, you kept glancing down at that fluffy little bunny tail.

Suddenly, there was a break in the treeline and you were out in the open.

You stood there, Taehyung's hand in yours, baffled by what was before you. Old homes made of sticks were in ruins in the remains of the centuries old village.

It filled you with a bittersweet feeling, knowing that these people weren't there living in the homes anymore. Remembering that it was all the Witch's doing filled you with new determination and you urged Taehyung to lead you to where the journal and slate were.

It was through a mess of a fallen house, a gap in the debris allowing you both to crawl through.

"This is where you found it?" You asked, voice echoing slightly in the enclosed space.

"Yeah, it was buried a little bit so I had to dig it out," He explained, beginning to sift through the dirt beneath him.

You followed his lead, pulling chunks of dirt away in random places in hopes to find something. There was dirt uncomfortably packed underneath your nails that you were dying to get out.

The two of you were silent for several long minutes. Suddenly, he gasped and yanked something so hard from the ground that he was knocked over by his own force when it came free. Dusting it off, he proudly showed you that he found a piece of the map.

You placed your part on the ground and matched the new addition together like a puzzle. It showed there were three fragments missing to the entirety of it; meaning you had just one more chunk to find.

Reassured that the pieces weren't scattered to kingdom come, your vigor in searching was renewed. You coughed as dirt particles wafted into the area, polluting the air quality in the confined space.

You let out a cry of victory as the slab came into view. Eagerly pulling it out, you dusted it off and added it to the other parts to show the completed map.

"It's too dim in here..." You complained, shaking your head before grabbing a piece and crawling out. Taehyung held the other two parts as he followed you out and into the sunlight.

"Hey there's stuff carved in the back," He suddenly said, looking at the unfamiliar letters.

"Let me see," You mumbled the two of you standing together so you could read what was written. "The blood of the pure hearted is what kills her. Follow the recipe for the potion."

Beneath, it was too worn out to read it as the engravings had eroded away over time. You sighed, shaking your head.

"What does that mean? Blood of the pure hearted?" Taehyung mumbled, flipping his pieces back over to gaze at the broken map.

You hummed, mulling over the words for several seconds before you perked up with an idea.

"Do you remember when it ran away because your blood got on it?" You asked eagerly. He nodded, cocking his head to the side as he waited for you to finish. "I think it's because you have a pure heart, Taehyung! That would also explain why she doesn't bother you and lets you live in peace! Your blood is her weakness!"

"But we don't have the recipe for the potion," He sullenly pointed out.

"Let's see this map again," You said, putting the pieces together once again. "Look...this reads...'you'll find what you need where the sacred tree lay roots'. I wonder what that means."

"I know where they're talking about," He muttered before grunting and adjusting his grip on the slate. "Let me fix it first."

You watched in awe as it began to emanate a bright yellow light from where the cracks sat before miraculously sealing up before your very eyes.

"I didn't know you had powers like that," You gasped.

"Well I am a creature of magic, _____," He giggled. "But I unfortunately don't have a lot of magic. It usually comes from what the land gives but with it dying...I can only channel so much."

"Incredible," You whispered before leveling him with a firm stare. "We'll fix this, Taehyung."

The sun was beginning to descend as you began your journey to the tree. Taehyung mostly knew the way, it seemed, but still regarded the map to be sure.

You struggled to keep up with his pace, his long legs and rabbit-like attributes making it difficult to match him. Still, he kept a firm grip on your hand with your fingers laced together. His skin was warm and soft to the touch, comforting.

"S-So what is this place?" You asked softly, stepping over a stray rock.

"It's just a special tree," He said, shrugging his shoulders. "It's always been there. I used to play on it with some friends back before..."

"Hey Taehyung..." You muttered, making him hum. "How old are you?"

"Hmm...you said it's the year U15?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder to see you nod. "I was born in U...13?"

"You're 2 centuries old?!" You cried, jogging to walk beside him. He kept his grip on your hand firm, not willing to let you stray away. "Are there...other magic creatures living here?"

"Hmm...yeah," He nodded, using his free hand to move a downed branch in your way. "There are still others alive and living but it's a constant battle for them. They don't have permanent homes like I do because the Creature hunts them down."

"Why do they choose to stay if that's the case?" You mumbled.

"I guess just..." He sighed, squeezing your hand. "Because it's home."

The two of you fell into silence, only the sound of your footsteps crunching on the grass. Anytime there was a new or strange sound, Taehyung would shield your body with his. Though it seemed subconscious, it was still incredibly sweet of him to protect you.

"It's up here!" He said, suddenly picking up speed so you had to jog to keep up.

You kept your eyes forward, scanning the area for what you were supposed to be looking for. It seemed it came into view when Taehyung made an 'ah-ha!'.

You came to a stop in front of a large tree. It appeared to be no different from the others in species but it was in a much further state of dying than any of the other trees you'd seen in the forest.

Though you weren't a creature of magic, you could feel the heavy energy coming off the tree. It emanated a foul, black smoke from within and the closer you got the more exhausted you became.

Taehyung seemed to be feeling the effects as well, albeit to a lesser extent than you. His magic abilities no doubt helping him keep his strength in the wake of such dark magic.

He released your hand and the two of you began looking around the tree.

"It said where the sacred tree lay roots..." You muttered, kneeling on the ground. "Maybe it’s been buried!"

"Good idea," He gasped, following your lead and beginning to shovel away dirt with his bare hands.

He was able to move faster than you, as the weight of the dark magic was fully hitting you. Small grunts left his lip suddenly as he seemed to struggle with pulling something free. You moved closer to him to help him, realizing there was a metal box buried.

Finally, it was pulled free and Taehyung rested it in his lap and flipped the latch open. Inside, the box held a rolled up script of paper and a clear vial containing a shimmering, vibrant red liquid.

He pulled the paper out and undid the knot of thread keeping it rolled up. Then he handed it to you, eyes watching you expectantly.

Looking down at the paper, you read what was scrawled in black ink.

If you followed the map, it led you here.

The Witch's dark magic makes her weak to the blood of the pure-hearted. Though we failed in our attempt to stop her, we managed to create a single vial of potion that can kill her.

If you fail with this, simply follow the recipe you have to make another batch.

In our attempt, we injured her but she was too powerful for us to handle. She wiped us out one by one and now there are only a few of us left. The hope for humanity to live here is gone now. Until She is gone, no life will thrive in these lands.

Our only saving grace is that we managed to create the map, recipe, and the one vial before our deaths. Coat an arrowhead in the potion and pierce her heart. It's the only way.

Whoever is reading this, please stop her.

Use this potion well, use it for those of us who failed and died in our attempt to save us and the magic.

Once she is gone, the tree will birth new, pure magic. And life will once again bloom.

"I uh..." Taehyung placed the paper back in the box and locked it shut again. "I can use a bow and arrow."

"You do?" You gasped, watching Taehyung nod quickly.

"In the winter I hunt animals for skins so I've gotten pretty good at it so I don't have to hide in the snow for hours," He proclaimed the fact proudly, making you smile.

"Do you think you can do it?" You asked softly.

"I know I can," The conviction in his voice was startling but comforting. Then, he looked up and sky and stood up. "We should get home before the sun's gone."

He took your hand in his once again and began to trek back to the cottage. By the time you were walking up the steps, darkness had covered the forest and you were eager to get back inside where you felt safe.

"Let's prepare what we need," Taehyung said, grabbing a leather bag of arrows and placing them on the table beside the metal box. "We'll coat the arrows in the potion and we'll do it tomorrow, okay?"

"How will we find her?"

"It may take a while but she'll be easy enough to find if she's on the move," He explained, pulling the cork out of the vial.

It smelled sweet, almost floral once opened. Then, the two of you fell quiet using your fingers to carefully smear the potion on the arrowheads. He carefully placed them back in the leather bag before moving on to the next arrow to coat.

You didn't sleep very well that night, the arrows sitting on the table taunting you alongside the empty potion bottle.

It felt like you were laying alone in the dark for hours until Taehyung's bedroom door creaked open and he wandered down the hallway. He lingered in the entryway to the living room for a moment before you spoke.

"What is it Tae?" You asked, making him jump.

"You're awake," He breathed, walking closer.

You sat up a bit, letting him sit down before resting your head in his lap. It was comfortable and when he gently threaded his fingers through your hair, you felt your body relax significantly.

He had such a profound impact on you and you appreciated having him there in that moment.

"Can't sleep?" You asked him.

"No," He admitted, head resting back against the couch. "Thinking about how important tomorrow is."

"Yeah..." You sighed. "We can do it, though, Tae. I know we can."

He fell quiet,mindlessly stroking your hair as you slowly began to drift off. Somewhere in your subconscious, you could hear him whisper 'i hope so' before he began to softly hum a melody.

The next morning, as you stood in the doorway, you couldn't deny the way your heart was pounding in your chest.

Taehyung pushed your hair off your shoulders and put it up in a ponytail, tying it with a pink ribbon. His bunny ears twitched mindlessly atop his head and you couldn't help but smile.

"What is it?" He asked, giggling down at you.

"It's just...your ears are cute," You confessed, watching as his ears began to turn red.

"Y-You think so?" He reached up and scratched at one of them while avoiding your gaze.

"Yeah I do," You smiled, biting your lip when his gaze finally met yours.

"______," He whispered, stepping closer so your bodies were just barely touching. Cupping your chin between his thumb and forefinger, he drew your head upwards. "I know you're nervous but I'll protect you."

"Tae..." You felt breathless when his lips slowly descended upon yours. He gave you a split second to change your mind, but when you didn't, he kissed you softly. The kiss seemingly lasted an eternity, and when he pulled back his cheeks were pink and yours were burning.

"I think you know what I want to say but...I'll save it for when we come back home successful," He grinned, kissing your forehead before turning around and grabbing the bow and arrows he had waiting by the door. Taking your hand in his, he tugged you out the door.

Your heart was still pounding violently, but Taehyung was the cause this time.

It felt as if you were trekking through the forest for hours, following Taehyung around as he seemed to be drawn by different noises that would lead him to change direction. You were growing tired but you fought it, knowing you needed to be alert through the fight.

You were holding onto him, your hand in his and holding onto his bicep. It felt nice to have him close and you kept thinking about the kiss you'd shared.

You hoped to experience more.

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble in time to footsteps. You both froze where you stood, Taehyung quickly pulling out his bow out and positioning an arrow — ready to fire the second he needed to.

The sound of trees falling and you held your breath, looking around to locate where it would be coming from.

Finally it came into view, knocking trees over as the black magic physically wafted off of it — polluting the air immediately. It paused, red eyes locating the two of you — specifically you.

It roared, making you flinch and cover your ears with your hands. You could only imagine how it hurt Taehyung's ears. Still, he stood strong and pulled the string back, ready to shoot.

The creature took another stop and Taehyung took it's shot. You both watched as it arched before dropping fort of its foot — embedding in the ground.

It stepped forward, crushing it beneath its weight before advancing forward on the two of you.

Panicked, Taehyung took another shot and missed. You heard him cuss before the deafening crack of a tree erupted.

"Move!" Taehyung screamed at you, pushing you so you fell to your side with an 'oof'.

The tree fell and slammed against the ground right where you had been. You were panting, listening to the creature shriek when an arrow Taehyung shot hit its arm — enraging it.

Still, it kept its sights locked on you and began to make its way over to you. Taehyung shot again but missed, you knew he was panicking too hard.

"Taehyung!" You shouted over the fallen tree. "I have an idea!"

"No! Don't do anything!" Taehyung argued, but you ignored.

"I'll just distract her so you can get a clean shot!" You explained before getting back to your feet.

You waved your arms, jumping up to entice the creature to watch you. It was paused, keeping its eyes on you as you ran, getting it to turn its torso more towards Taehyung.

You looked back to see Taehyung dropping the arrow he had in his hand. Distracted, you missed the root of a fallen tree in your path and plummeted to the ground.

Immediately, a searing pain erupted up your leg and cried out.

"______!" Taehyung shouted, lowering his bow.

The panic between the two of you seemed to lure the creature into action. It was jutting its clawed hand forward, preparing to kill you where you laid vulnerable on the ground.

Everything happened in a flash when you felt the warm spray of blood over your body.

But no pain.

Opening your eyes, you felt a sob tear through your throat. Taehyung's back was to you, the tip of a claw poking out of his back — having been impaled on the creature.

"T-Tae..." You choked, watching as he used the last of his strength to aim his bow.

His hands were shaking and he had his own blood on them. But he pulled the string back and let it go.

The close proximity allowed him to get a clean hit. The creature shrieked, its claw ripping free from Taehyung's body — making him cry out and crumple to the ground.

All at once, a brilliant yellow light erupted in a ring around the creature and surrounded it. It continued to shriek and flail even as it was slowly swallowed up until nothing but pure green grass was left.

You hovered beside Taehyung as his blood pooled beneath him on the ground. You could barely acknowledge the way the trees and grass came back to life, and the oppressing black magic disappeared as you watched the blood drip from Taehyung's paling lips.

"I really," Taehyung swallowed thickly, wincing as he did it. The sight of your tears broke his heart but you still looked beautiful in the light. He could feel the shift in magic, the change in atmosphere. "I really love you."

You couldn't even get your response out before his eyes were fluttering shut and he let out a final exhale.

"Tae?" You whispered, shaking him, sobbing. "Tae?! Taehyung!"

You cried out when the grass began to spring up around him — covering his body slowly. Vines wrapped around him and slowly his body began to sink into the grass. You reached out, hand on his until it disappeared and you were left grasping solid ground.

"But...I love you too, Tae," You cried, shoulders shaking as you bent over to rest your forehead against where he once was. "Please don't go..."

You were there until the sun began to set. It was difficult to stand up with your ankle in pain but it was most difficult to leave that spot — where Taehyung had been.

You barely acknowledged that there were crickets chirping, breaking the silence that had been raining since you arrived.

Walking up the stairs of the cottage took a long time, having to use the railings to support your weight. You also really didn't want to go inside but you knew you had to.

Inside, it was cold and lifeless the second you stepped foot on the wood floors.

Sitting on the table was the potion vial and metal box you'd found with him just yesterday. Wandering to the hallway, you passed the treasure box he had never brought to his room. Inside the bedroom, you let your tears fall once again. The bed was unmade, evidence that he had been there though it was now beginning to feel as if he was never even real.

Kicking your shoes off, you crawled into the bed and wrapped yourself in his blankets. His scent overwhelmed you and you curled up into a ball to cry yourself to sleep — thinking over the last words he spoke.

'I really love you.'

The feeling of something softly dabbing at your forehead. It was so gentle that it barely roused you.

Something being wrapped around your ankle — the soreness of it coming to the forefront of your mind. Waking a bit more, you could hear a soft humming of a melody.

Your eyes fluttered open, struggling to adjust to the light of the morning. Something moved into your vision.

Antlers, twitching bunny ears...and the soft smile of Taehyung.

Immediately, tears were falling down your cheeks, making him frown and cock his head.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, tucking some hair behind your ear. "If anyone should cry, it should be me. You didn't take very good care of yourself — your ankle could have been broken, you know."

Not offering a response, you threw your arms around his shoulders and pressed a harsh kiss to his lips. You clung onto the back of his shirt, whimpering when he began to return the kiss.

Pulling back, you buried your face in his neck and relished in the feeling of his arms wrapping around you.

"I-Is it really you?" You sniffled, wiping tears from your cheeks as you pulled back.

"Yes," He smiled when you stroked the soft fur of his ears and caressed his antlers. "The land it...thanked me. With its magic returned, it healed me so I could return to you. It could feel your sadness."

"I was so scared, I didn't know what I would do without you, Tae," You confessed, wrapping your arms around him in a hug again — needing to feel him close. You could hear his heartbeat in his chest and closed your eyes against the rhythm.

Before long, you were locked in another kiss. It became more passionate and heated with every second that passed.

He crawled onto the bed, body hovering above yours as he settled his weight on both hands on either side of your head. His tongue met the seam of your lips and you eagerly granted him access.

He sighed into your mouth when your hands slipped beneath his shirt to caress the smooth skin of his sides. Dropping onto one of his elbows, he gripped your thigh with his free hand to spread your legs for him to settle between them. The close proximity of your bodies allowed you to feel the way he was hardening in his pants, his length pressed against your thigh.

He followed your lead and slid his hand up your shirt, fingertips ghosting over your ribs to your chest where he discovered you weren't wearing a bra. He groaned, cupping your breast and rolling your nipple beneath his thumb to feel you tremble beneath him.

He suddenly sat up, a string of saliva connecting your lips briefly. You felt the air get knocked out of your lungs when he pulled his shirt off — revealing the tanned expanse of his body.

He was built nicely, evidence of an active lifestyle in the way you could faintly see abs.

You followed his lead, tugging your shirt off to throw it to the floor somewhere. He groaned, covering your body with his once again as he enveloped one of your nipples in his mouth.

His tongue was hot as he flicked the bud, fingers coming up to pinch the other one.

"Tae..." You whispered, threading your fingers through his hair, being mindful of his ears and antlers.

"Sound so pretty..." He mumbled, swapping to lap at your other nipple — paying it equal attention until he felt it was enough.

"Please touch me," You begged, reaching down to cup his length in his pants. He was painfully hard and obviously big, it made your panties dampen.

"Is that what you want?" He asked, nosing at your jaw to press kisses against your neck.

"Yes, please," You whined, beginning to push your pants down your thighs.

Taehyung immediately leaned back to watch as your panties were exposed before helping you shed them completely.

Immediately, his hand was between your thighs cupping your heat. You spread your legs, silently inviting him to touch you all he wanted. He took you up on the offer, middle finger prodding between your folds — the material of your panties against your clit making you whimper. The sound made Taehyung's cock throb in his pants but he ignored it, wanting to make you whimper and whine more for him.

He wanted you to beg for him.

Slipping the crotch of your panties to the side, he sunk one finger into your hole — making your back arch at the unexpected fullness. Your were already so wet but he wanted you wetter.

Crooking his finger, he found that spot inside you that had you gasping and grinding down. He easily fit another finger in, the slight stretch making your walls spasm in pleasure. His constant abuse on your g-spot made you gush, coating his fingers in your juices.

"T-Tae...your mouth..." You whimpered, fisting his hair.

He smirked. "What about it?"

"I want it..." You whined, tugging his hair impatiently.

"Oh?" He had a cocky smirk on his face that you wanted so badly to smack off it.

"Tae!" You complained, arching your hips up in hopes to entice him into giving you what you wanted.

"Where exactly? Here?" He trailed his fingers up your thigh. "Oh maybe here?" Fingers on your hip. He chuckled when you suddenly whined again. "Oh, I see...here."

His thumb was suddenly on your clit, grinding against the bud until your knees spasmed closed. With an impressive show of strength, he forced your legs apart again, pinning your knees to the bed to leave you completely exposed.

Then, his mouth was on you — sucking your clit into his mouth. He groaned at your taste, slowly beginning to fuck his fingers into you — the wet sound of your cunt going right to his cock. He licked your clit, the bud hard and swollen beneath his tongue — so sensitive and needy for him.

"'M gonna make you cum," He groaned, doubling his efforts. The feeling of his hot, wet mouth on your clit and his fingers fucking your g-spot just right was quick to push you off the edge.

You came hard.

You felt him moan against your clit as you gushed around his fingers, the way he fucked you through it making you squirt. He loved it, his cock throbbing so hard he was sure he could have cum.

You reached down and stopped him, pushing his head away from your cunt. His face was coated in your juices and he didn't waste any time popping the fingers that had been inside you into his mouth. His eyes rolled back into his head at your taste and he chased it by licking his lips clean as well.

"You made a mess," He teased, hooking his fingers into your panties to tug them down. Your legs were trembling from the force of your orgasm, making his heart swell with pride.

"Y-You made me make a mess," You pouted, eyes not leaving his form as he began to push his own pants down.

His cock sprang free, slapping against his stomach and leaving a spot of precum on his skin. You were right about him being big and you couldn't resist reaching out to wrap your hand around the base of him. He was hot and heavy in your grip, throbbing incessantly in time to his heartbeat.

His fringe hung in his eyes, making his gaze look darker as he stared down at you. You kept your eyes on him as you leaned forward, mouth opening to take the head of him into your mouth. His lashes fluttered the second your tongue met the slit of his cock, tasting his precum.

He wrapped his fist in your hair and whimpered when you took even more of him into your mouth. He was so big that you could only take so much before he was pushing your gag reflex and you had to pull back. He quickly collected the drool that had collected on your lips and used it to lubricate his cock as he wrapped his fist around himself.

It was hard to believe this was the cute Taehyung who asked for you to pet his ears. He had his bottom lip trapped between his teeth as he stroked his cock.

"Lay back and spread your legs," He ordered, voice thick was lust.

You did as he told you, spreading your thighs so your swollen, wet cunt was exposed to his greedy gaze. His grip tightened around his cock as he cussed and you whimpered, watching him resume stroking himself.

It dawned on you that he was jerking off to the sight of you spread beneath him. The thought alone made your cunt clench and gush. Taehyung didn't miss it, smirking and angling his cock to run through your folds — collecting your cum on the head of him.

Suddenly, he laid three consecutive smacks against your clit with his cock. You gasped, fisting the bedding beneath you at the feeling. He chuckled, prodding at your entrance.

"Please, Tae," You begged, reaching down to take his cock into your grasp.

He let you, releasing his own hold to watch as you popped the head of him into your entrance. You both moaned at the feeling and it was all Taehyung needed to sink in completely.

His bumped your cervix, making you sob and flinch.

"Y-You can't even take all of me..." He whispered, more of an observation than dirty talk but it still made you clench and gush around him. He chuckled, mindlessly reaching up to cup your breast. "Does that excite you? Taking me even though you can't even fit all of me?"

"Y-Yes, I love i-it Tae," You confessed, circling your clit as you ground your hips down to stir his cock inside you. "Y-Your cock is so big, feels so good."

He chuckled, pulling back — the drag of his thick cock against your walls making you tremble. When he pushed back in, he grazed your cervix once again but the spike of pain only increased the pleasure.

You cried out, wrapping your arms around Taehyung to pull him into a deep kiss. His pace didn't falter, he continued to fuck you clenching cunt even as your walls started to flutter around him again.

"Coming!" You sobbed, knees tightening around his sides as you came again.

Taehyung ground, watching as your juices splattered all over him — making you gush more every time his cock grazed your g-spot.

"Messy..." He growled in your ear. "Love that you're so messy..."

Suddenly he pulled out, your hole clenching pathetically at the emptiness. He gripped your hips and helped you roll over onto your hands and knees. Gripping your ass, he pulled your cheeks apart to sink back into your soaking cunt.

You cried out, mindlessly grinding back to get more. He obliged, setting an even faster pace than before. You were so sensitive that you felt yet another orgasm mounting inside you.

"G-God Tae!" You cried, tossing your head back.

He helped you sit up on your knees, back against his chest as he cupped your breasts. He was panting in your ear, whispering soft curses mixed with whimpers of his own. His cock was throbbing inside you, signaling that his own end was near.

"I-I'm gonna..." He warned, biting his lip as he found your clit with two long digits.

Two quick circles on the sensitive bud had you falling over the edge. He came with you, hot cum gushing inside you and making you gasp. It dripped down your thighs, mixing with your own cum as you gushed around him again.

He ground into you some more and let you fall back to the bed.

As you caught your breath, he settled in behind you and pressed kisses against your shoulder.

To your surprise, he lifted you leg in the air and gently sunk back inside you.

"Oh! Tae!" You whined, reaching down to grip his hand as oversensitivity set in.

"I've got you," He cooed, all darkness in his voice gone as he peppered whatever skin he could with kisses.

You panted, whimpering and trembling as he fucked you. It was a much softer pace and you could feel his gaze on you.

When you looked over your shoulder, he leaned down and pressed his lips against yours. You moaned into the kiss, legs twitching as his angle shifted to graze that sweet spot inside you.

"I love you so much," He confessed, words immediately bringing tears to your eyes.

"Tae I..." He pulled out of you, shifting you onto your back so he could fit back between them again. "I love you too."

He met your lips in a soft kiss when he sunk back inside you. His face was buried in your neck, panting against your skin as he kept his thrusts shallow. His pelvic bone ground against your clit, quickly bringing you to the edge.

He took your hand, lacing your fingers with his as he rested his forehead against yours.

"With me..." He ordered.

He squeezed your hand as he felt you clench around him, back arching as you came. It was a much gentler high — it crested and faded as he pumped you full of even more of his cum. It was hot inside you and you felt it gush out of you when he pulled his softening cock from your walls.

He pecked your lips, still hovering above you.

"I really do love you," He whispered, kissing you again.

"I know," You smiled. "I love you too."

"How about we go down to the creek," He smiled, sitting up slightly. "And clean up."

Without his body covering yours, you could feel just how...wet your body was. A mixture of your fluids between your legs and down your thighs. Taehyung was in no better shape.

"That sounds nice," You giggled, letting him help you stand up.

When you woke again, it was deafening how loud it was after so long in silence. Birds were chirping, frogs were croaking, and bees were buzzing.

You sat on the stairs outside, watching as rabbits and deer frolicked and munched on the freshly livened grass.

The door creaked open, indicating Taehyung's arrival. He sat down beside you, the black cloth he used to protect his treasures in his hands.

"What's that?" You asked, resting your head on his shoulder.

"It's something for you..." He whispered, fingers shaking as he unraveled it to reveal the pink gemstone from his treasure box. "I want you to have it."

"Taehyung..." You smiled, taking it from the cloth and clutching it tightly. "Thank you, I love it."

He grinned, kissing your cheek softly.

"That means you're really mine now!"

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klarolinelibrary · 3 years

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Hi KC Readers,

We have reached the end of the week which means we have new weekly releases for you! The stories below were updated during the week of May 1st - May 7th.

Happy Reading!

FFN

Gods on High

Author: slstmaraudersjple

Rating: K+

Length: 1,257

Summary: "In ancient times, they called her Hera. But when she was born, she was named Caroline." Greek mythology AU featuring Klaus and Caroline as Zeus and Hera.

Date of update: May 1 2021

Klaus POV - The Trouble with Spells (Chapter 23)

Author: ilovetf

Rating: M

Length: 91,722

Summary: The Trouble with Spells as seen through Klaus's eyes and his POV. Over the years, people kept liking this story and some even asked for Klaus POV, so I decided to give it a try.

Date of update: May 2 2021

Cinderella's Beast (Chapter 15)

Author: Sci-fi Christian

Rating: T

Length: 59,065

Summary: He was a beast. An arrogant beast who carried his comments a little too far one day. Now, he may just discover that she is not what she seems. She's a Cinderella in disguise and his heart is the glass slipper she may leave behind.

Date of update: May 2 2021

Fortitude (Chapter 8)

Author: G.M.Portraepic

Rating: M

Length: 15,256

Summary: Post TO 5x13: Even in his death, the key to Klaus Mikaelson having everything he has ever wanted, all at once, lies buried somewhere in the world. Can Caroline Forbes find it?

Date of update: May 5 2021

AO3

Without Pause Without Doubt

Author: ThrowMeAStory

Rating: M

Length: 3,679

Summary: 4x16, au. Part 9. Klaroline vs Damon.

Date of update: May 1 2021

Between Reality and Madness

Author: Eliliyah

Rating: G

Length: 8,395

Summary: When Caroline Forbes, Hogwart's resident Potions Mistress, is bitten by a werewolf, her father, the Minister of Magic, immediately orders she be taken away and imprisoned in a so-called "Rehabilitation Facility," mysterious camps from which no wolf has ever returned. Dodging curses, she runs for her life. Her only chance is to find the one person who seems to know a thing or two about wolves: Headmaster Klaus Mikaelson.

Date of update: May 1 2021

Our Time Now (Chapter 2)

Author: perfectpro

Rating: M

Length: 23,970

Summary: Caroline is going to spend her senior year getting into the law school of her choice, leading the cheerleading squad to a nationals title, and passing her sorority presidency to someone who will continue a legacy of excellence. She doesn't have time to take a bubble bath, much less to figure out what's happening with her relationship with Klaus. Not that it's much of a relationship to begin with.

Date of update: May 1 2021

no goodbyes (Chapter 11)

Author: deadofwrite (dead_of_write)

Rating: E

Length: 78,975

Summary: “Last night shouldn’t have happened,” Caroline whispered. Guilt. Shame. Regret. It was all the emotions he feared. And it was written all over her face. aka. a college/cheating au

Date of update: May 1 2021

All You Never Say (Chapter 6)

Author: misssophiachase

Rating: T

Length: 18,967

Summary: One wedding involving a best man and maid of honour who've grown up together but don't know quite how to reconcile their unresolved feelings.

Date of update: May 2 2021

A smutty anniversary (Chapter 8)

Author: kcatdino

Rating: E

Length: 5,414

Summary: Caroline and Klaus celebrate 3 months together with a day full of smut.

Date of update: May 2 2021

Darkness Becomes Thee (Chapter 3)

Author: BelleMorte180

Rating: E

Length: 12,317

Summary: Austria 1300s When Klaus met a young girl on a riverbank, he knew that he would one day come back for her. When he looked into her bright blue eyes, he could see a reflection of his own soul, a darkness that lingered inside both of them. When the young girl turned into a beautiful woman with a thirst for blood, his fascination with her turns into obsession. He wants not only her loyalty but her eternity, a possessiveness that is equally returned.

Date of update: May 2 2021

One of a Kind, Two of a Kind, or the Three Musketeers (Chapter 11)

Author: Phandancee74

Rating: T

Length: 24,114

Summary: Caroline recognizes how hard it is for Elena to be a doppelgänger, her fate predestined as well as her face. It's pretty tough being the last of your kind too though, and Caroline is determined to protect them both, with some very helpful Bennetts on their side.

Date of update: May 2 2021

Klaus’ Thousand Year Plan to be Her Last (Chapter 2)

Author: anncatherine

Rating: T

Length: 2,867

Summary: So these are some missing Klaroline scenes from my Elena/Elijah soulmate fic that I couldn’t include because they either didn’t fit or needed to be form Klaus or Caroline’s pov. I think it would be helpful to read at least the first couple chapters of that for background, but basically at twelve people’s soulmate’s birthday shows up on their wrist.

Date of update: May 2 2021

Cloud 9: A Collection of Klaroline Fusions and Crossovers (Chapter 11)

Author: klarolineagainnaturally

Rating: G

Length: 5,597

Summary: Various fusions and crossovers with Klaus and Caroline including Much Ado About Nothing, Ready or Not, and Tangled!

Date of update: May 2 2021

The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 8)

Author: MorningStarGirl666

Rating: T

Length: 58,507

Summary: He was the Big, Bad Wolf of this story, there was no doubt about that. But Caroline? She was the light to his darkness, the moon that shone brighter than even the stars in a sky of endless void. Like every wolf, he fell in love with the moon, and every month, he was destined to cry for a love he would never touch.

Date of update: May 2 2021

Destination Wedding (Chapter 5)

Author: PumpkinDoodles

Rating: T

Length: 10,294

Summary: The first rule of going to your ex's wedding is 'make sure you look good,' but Caroline's seriously worried that this British Guy is going to make her late. And she cannot be late to Rebekah Mikaelson and Matt Donovan's wedding at a Virginia winery.

Date of update: May 3 2021

We are young (Chapter 14)

Author: kcatdino

Rating: T

Length: 16,153

Summary: Basically, Klaroline flirt in front of their kids who they are barely older than, and Landon is appropriately confused.

Date of update: May 3 2021

Road to Ruin

Author: Cupcakemolotov

Rating: ?

Length: 2,122

Summary: Caroline comes home for Elena's funeral two years after she made out of Mystic Falls to NYU, and meets Klaus Mikaelson, one of the enigmatic brother's who claimed Elena as their own.

Date of update: May 3 2021

Time Heals All Wounds (Chapter 2)

Author: khaleesiofthewolves

Rating: ?

Length: 4,393

Summary: Does time really heals all wounds? Deeply scarred by his past, he would beg to differ. Klaus never thought the midnight shift at the hospital would change his life and yet it did. When a certain blonde is brought in with severe injuries, Klaus will learn that sometimes doctors need healing as well. Will their inner wounds and scars help them grow together or just tear them apart?

Date of update: May 3 2021

Caroline in Wonderland

Author: BelleMorte180

Rating: E

Length: 25,491

Summary: London, 1903 On the day of her wedding, a young boy collides into Caroline's legs, all but knocking her to the ground. Seeing that she is dreading walking down the aisle, any moment stalling her from heading to the church is welcome. However, when she follows the young boy down a London street, something impossible happens and Caroline finds herself in a magical world that she had been told about as a young child- Wonderland. She embarks on a journey through Wonderland to find out who she really is, where she belongs and towards a man who she had thought was nothing more than an imaginary friend.

Date of update: May 4 2021

A Bee A Tulip and a Meddlesome Sister

Author: KatherineBee1814

Rating: M

Length: 15,107

Summary: Newly arrived in London from Kent Lady Rebekah Mikaelson quickly catches the eye of infamous Rake and rouge Lord Anthony Bridgerton but Andromeda will be damned before she lets him marry her favourite sibling.

Date of update: May 4 2021

Soulmate visions (Chapter 6)

Author: kcatdino

Rating: T

Length: 11,445

Summary: On your soulmate's eighteenth birthday, you see through their eyes for an hour, but they don’t know. And if your soulmate turns eighteen before you are even born, you never get a vision. Klaus gets his soulmate vision right after he orders Tyler to bite Caroline on her birthday….

Date of update: May 4 2021

White Winds Blow (Chapter 2)

Author: perfectpro

Rating: T

Length: 17,704

Summary: Caroline Forbes waits anxiously in the Riverlands to hear of the return of her betrothed, Elijah Mikaelson, from the uprising against the mad King Silas. Instead, a letter arrives from his younger brother, Lord Niklaus, telling her of Elijah's death and offering to uphold the joining of their houses himself. She will become the Lady of Winterfell, but Lord Niklaus, waiting at the heart tree, is a stranger.

Date of update: May 4 2021

later on, we'll conspire (Chapter 3)

Author: PumpkinDoodles

Rating: M

Length: 7,292

Summary: Caroline asks Klaus to choose her over revenge at the Winter Wonderland Party.

Date of update: May 5 2021

KC Drabbles 2021

Author: CandyCane1287

Rating: T

Length: 8,303

Summary: C1: Hybrid Klaus meets human Caroline earlier and they fall in love. But there’s more. Ps, Katherine didn’t turn Caroline and she’s still human. He used Elena for the sacrifice but Elijah revived her. He got Tyler to bite Caroline but Klaus healed her. Tyler and Caroline broke up cause he cheated on her and they weren’t that in love. A bit of talk of Damon, but doesn’t go into too much detail. I suck at summaries btw.

Date of update: May 5 2021

Revenge of the Fifth - TVD Edition

Author: kcatdino

Rating: M

Length: 4,057

Summary: A star wars AU for vampire dairies for May the Fourth Be with You! Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena are padawan learners at Luke Skywalker’s new Jedi training academy, desperate to prove themselves by taking down some of the new Sith Lords that have popped up. The problem is, those Sith Lords are the Mikaelsons, and each girl has a Mikaelson brother obsessed with them, unwilling to let them come to harm. Will that make it harder or easier for them to triumph over the Dark Side?

Date of update: May 6 2021

The Beach House (Chapter 2)

Author: kcatdino

Rating: M

Length: 3,812

Summary: When Rebekah blackmails Klaus into pretending to be her friend Caroline’s boyfriend for the weekend, he expects sand, sun, and horrible people who never left high school. And while Caroline’s friends may ‘suck’ (her term, not his), he increasingly enjoys the time he spends with the bubbly blonde. But nothing can happen, even while sharing a bed. Caroline might feel bad for dragging Klaus away from his infant daughter for the weekend, but the little intimacies and kisses for their performance build up and start to feel very real. And now she wants him bad. If only Rebekah hadn’t warned him off.

Date of update: May 5 2021

Author: VintageLilac

Rating: T

Length: 156,908

Summary: New York was home to the richest families in the in world. They were the elite and spent their days traveling the world, making money, and earning power. Although Manhattan wasn't just their home, it was their kingdom. Left with little parental supervision, no rules, and copious amounts of money, the infamous teenagers ran the city and as people say, long may they reign.

Date of update: May 6 2021

That Kind Of Power

Author: ThrowMeAStory

Rating: M

Length: 3,375

Summary: 4x16 au, Part 10. Caroline vs Elena.

Date of update: May 6 2021

Reasons Not to Date a Mikaelson (Chapter 5)

Author: kcatdino

Rating: T

Length: 9,517

Summary: Bonnie and Caroline gain a new roommate for their freshman dorm when a vision leads them to tracking down a pregnant Hayley in the Rockies. Also, Bonnie may or may not have raised a certain dead Original instead of Jeremy and Klaus takes a job at Whitmore teaching, to be annoying. He’s very good at it.

Date of update: May 7 2021

LITTLE TENSE (Chapter 3)

Author: wincefish16

Rating: T

Length: 3,592

Summary: Klaroline's life together as they work in Mikaelson and co. Different snippets of their life.

Date of update: May 7 2021

FFN: The Exclusivity Clause (Chapter 3)

AO3: The Exclusivity Clause (Chapter 3)

Author: slstmaraudersjple

Rating: M

Length: 12,529

Summary: When Klaus receives a call that his soulmate has been found after searching for her for almost a century, he sets off to claim her before his enemies can harm her. But his soulmate is human this time around, innocent and irresistible, and his wolf wants nothing more than to mark her. Soulmates Reincarnation AU.

Date of update: May 1st

FFN: Louder Than Thunder (Chapter 39)

AO3: Louder Than Thunder (Chapter 17)

Author: khaleesiofthewolves

Rating: M

Length: 256,589

Summary: All Hell was about to break loose. After dying while protecting a grieving Klaus, Caroline finds herself sent back in time, and she's not who she once was. She's more. Back in Mystic Falls, something else is stirring. After the arrival of a mysterious figure from Klaus' past, it all comes to a head. It really is louder than thunder.

Date of update: May 3 2021

FFN: Caroline the Not So Teenage Witch

AO3: Caroline the Not So Teenage Witch (Chapter 15)

Author: klarolineagainnaturally

Rating: T

Length: 35,304

Summary: Continuing the drabble inspired by Sabrina the Teenage Witch, young witch Caroline Forbes must learn to live with her old flame turned cat. Antics ensue as they try to get along and fix what has been done.

Date of update: May 3 2021

FFN: A Beautiful Symmetry (Chapter 155)

AO3: A Beautiful Symmetry (Chapter 155)

Author: Uppity Bitch

Rating: M

Length: 419,840

Summary: A collection of random AU one-shots featuring Klaroline. Chapter 155: Part 2 — Fright Wedding. This is a sequel to Chapter 141: Fright Wedding. The alliance with the Mikaelson kingdom failed when they declared war, but Caroline was certain Klaus would be an excellent ally. Or hostage. Or possibly something more?

Date of update: May 3 2021

FFN: Royals of New York (Chapter 28)

AO3: Royals of New York (Chapter 27)

Author: VintageLilac

Rating: T

Length: 162,215

Summary: New York's royals spend their days traveling the world, making money, and earning power. With little parental supervision, no rules, and copious amounts of money, their children have New York as their own personal kingdom. May their reign be long and prosperous.

Date of update: May 6 2021

#klaroline library #KCL weekly releases #klaroline fanfiction #klaroline

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mieohmy · 3 years

Text

𝖨𝗇 𝖺 𝖥𝗅𝖺𝗌𝗁 | 𝖢𝗁𝗐𝖾 𝖵𝖾𝗋𝗇𝗈𝗇

PAIRING: the Flash! chwe vernon x reader

GENRE: fluff, humor, angst, friends-to-lovers, superhero! au

WC: 4.4k

NOTES: mentions of violence, trauma, FIRE, injury, nothing major (when Vernon is acting as the Flash, his voice is altered to protect his identity (duh) so that’s why y/n is obviously not able to tell who he is ^^ )

SUMMARY: it started with cookies. that’s all you wanted, really. but you got a bonus with it, except you wouldn’t really call it a bonus- just a... lovely addition that happened to steal your heart in a flash, whether you knew it or not.

❧

“Don’t touch that!” you whisper exasperatedly to your little cousin. You were exhausted. How did parents do it? You planned on going to the mall to get some cookies from the best bakery you’ve ever gone to, and your aunt conveniently wanted her kids to see Santa at the mall. So you offered to take them there with you, to give her a break because you knew a four-year-old and a six-year-old were a l o t of work.

You were waiting in the line for Santa, your little cousins bouncing and messing with the decorations. You stared ahead, counting the number of people in front of you. You sighed. One more kid until I can get my cookies.

You loved your cousins, really, little Camden and Hana. But the E N E R G Y. You frowned, were you like that when you were young? As soon as you finish that thought, the line moves up, and you’re at the front! Camden looks up at you. “How much longer?” he whines. You smile. “We’re almost there. Just wait a little more, alright?” Hana pouts, and you grab her tiny baby hands and swing them, hoping to cheer her up.

As she giggles, one of the worker elves calls out, “Next!” You look at them with a bright expression, gesturing them forward before being interrupted by a loud CRASH and BOOM.

You immediately look around, hearing screams and chaos. You’re frozen, until a strange whiz! passes by you, hair blowing back from the speed. You recoil before remembering the kids(!!) and look down. Camden’s near you, ears plugged, and you sigh in relief. Then suddenly, the image of Hana pops into your mind, and you inhale.

Head whirling, you search the place. You hear more screams, and is that the smell of burning? Where is she???? She wasn’t standing next to you, and you have absolutely no idea where she went. You feel a wave of fear course through you. You bend down to Camden, grabbing his shoulders. You don’t notice your hands shaking. “Listen, Camden. Wait here and do not move. I promise I’ll be back soon ok?” He nods, hands plugging his ears as you leave. You run around the central plaza where Santa was sitting.

You see flames, hearing the roar and shiver, still frantically scanning the area. People are disappearing, probably escaping as they should be, but you can’t leave Hana. You run around the circle until you hear a familiar whimper. Your eyes zero in on a miniature house that was a part of the Christmas decorations. You squint, and you think you see a little girl’s body huddled inside the house. You hear the roars and crackling growing louder, but you ignore it.

Running to the house, you crouch and look it through the window holes. Hana’s inside, huddled and whimpering. You’ve never felt such relief run through you before. “Oh god. Hana...” you murmur. She looks up at you, tears at the corners of her eyes. It almost causes you to tear up as well. Voice shaky, you call her name. You feel waves of heat from behind you, but you focus your attention on her. “Hana, please come out. We need to get out of here.” She shakes her head. “I’m scared... it’s really hot in here..” “I know,” you look back, seeing flames surrounding the area, causing your heart to clench. “But you need to get out. Then we’ll be safe, alright?” You slowly open the door to the house and hold out your arms. Hana slowly creeps forward, and you immediately take her into your embrace.

Turning around, you see the fire encasing you two. Letting out a shaky breath, you just hold Hana tighter, squeezing your eyes shut and thinking, “Is this it? Oh no.. I left Camden alone. What kind of person am I? How-“ You don’t get to finish as you feel a gust of wind and maybe a hand around your waist.

You open your eyes and suddenly, it’s like you’ve been teleported outside. Glancing down, Hana’s still in your arms, staring at you. Sighing in relief, you bury your face in her hair, letting out muffled thank god’s and we’re safe.

You hear a noise and look up, mouth opening in surprise. The Flash?! He looks down at you two, eyes widening in shock. He coughs before asking, “Are you two alright?” You can only slowly nod, processing everything. He’s about to leave when you grab his hand. Sucking in a breath, you look him in the eyes. A familiar warmness to them. “I- just, thank you. You have no idea how indebted I am to you.” The Flash nods. “It’s no problem. It’s my duty.” He looks around before mentioning, “Didn’t you have uh- a little boy with you two?” It didn’t dawn on you how he knew, but you were distracted with what he said.

Shooting up, you immediately think of Camden. Shoot. You spot him with his parents, crying as they comfort him. Once he sees you and Hana coming over, he runs into your embrace. You tightly hug him and Hana, looking back at the Flash with a small smile on your face. He returns the smile before disappearing in a second.

❧

Your friends rush to hug you, all talking about the “Unexpected explosion at the Westpointe Mall.” You laugh, “I’m fine. It was honestly scary, and I’m a little traumatized, but everyone’s okay.” “Thanks to the Flash,” your friend adds. “I owe my life to him,” you say, eyes sparkling as you imagine him saving you. Your friends let out an ooooh, and you groan before denying anything. You chat with them for a little before receiving a text.

It’s from Vernon. You quickly tell your friends you have to go, them all teasing you about your ‘date’ (that you dismiss with an eye roll).

Walking out, you spot him, and he quickly brings you into his arms. You didn’t exactly know what your relationship with him was. You always denied it, saying the classic, we’re just friends, but anyone could tell you two definitely had something more.

You inhale, smelling his comforting scent. “I heard about what happened,” he mumbles into your hair. You just nod, enjoying his comforting embrace.

You pull back, and he leads you to his car. Settling inside, Vernon plays some cringy old love songs, and you giggle, the both of you singing along. When you arrive at the cafe, you both order before finding a seat. “So,” Vernon starts. “What, uh, is the whole story?” You swallow before recounting the whole incident.

“And then the Flash suddenly comes in! I owe everything to him, he saved Hana and me. He was so cool and brave..” You realize you’re rambling before looking back at him. His ears are red, and he’s smiling slightly, you note. “Wow. Well, uh-I guess he seems like a nice guy ?” Vernon replies awkwardly. You raise an eyebrow. “Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?” He chokes on his drink. “What? ha, whaddya mean?”

You narrow your eyes at him. Then it hits you. Your eyes widen, and you snap your fingers. “I know what it is. You’re-“ Vernon suddenly reaches up and covers your mouth with his hand, you’ve never seen him so panicked before. In the process of doing so, he accidentally knocks your fork, but quickly catches it with his other hand. Your eyebrows raise in shock at his incredibly fast reflexes, then you remove his hand from your mouth. Leaning in, you speak in a hushed voice, “Vernon... it’s okay to be jealous. It’s not a big deal. Besides, I’ve known you for years and only met the Flash once. Of course, I would choose you over him, dummy.”

Vernon dramatically sinks back into the seat in relief, placing his hand over his face before sitting up and returning to you. “Yeah sure, you’re right. I shouldn’t be jealous..” You laugh and place your hand over his comfortingly, not removing it until you two leave the cafe.

❧

“-crime rates are rising. Be careful when you go out, people! Especially in places with large gatherings! Well, that was your-“ you shut off the TV. It's been getting more dangerous recently, you think. There have been more and more bombing attacks going off, and the Flash has been rescuing the people from all of them. You shiver, remembering the heat. Flames flickering over you. Hana’s cries. Your respect for the superhero grows. You shake your head, getting into bed.

You didn’t tell anyone so they didn’t worry, but you had been having recurring nightmares after the event at the mall. Sometimes it was just flames burning you or you not being able to save Hana and Camden. But whenever you woke up, there was always a bitter, smoky aftertaste in your mouth. It got really bad sometimes, so you would either watch social media and eventually pass out or stay up the night, unable to fall back asleep.

Today was unfortunately one of the latter nights. You throw off all the blankets, it was wintertime, but you could only feel the heat. The images flash in your head again. Bright. Loud. Pain. You exhale shakily. Your first instinct is to reach for your phone and call Vernon.

“y/n??” you hear his raspy voice. Your whole body sweating, you reply in a small voice, “Can you please come over, now?” There’s a pause before he responds, “On my way.”

All you say to him when he arrives is, “I can’t sleep..” and he guides you to your bed, going in after you. He wraps his arms around you, probably already drifting off. It was really hot before, but Vernon’s heat was comforting and tranquil. You slip off before you know it.

❧

You’re walking to the grocery store when you’re stopped by the sound of police sirens and disorder. Another bombing, you overhear. “There are so many bombings. What’s really going on?” you wonder. Your curiosity gets to the best of you, and you walk over to the commotion. There are police talking to huddled people, obviously traumatized.

And then you see him. The Flash. He was talking to a policewoman, and you continue to stare at him. He seems so familiar to you, but you can’t place where and when you might've seen him before, excluding the one time he saved you. He must’ve noticed because he says goodbye to the police and walks over to you.

You’re surprised. You didn’t think a superhero had time to talk to a normal person like you. He stops in front of you. You look up at him curiously, admiring his suit. “So how’re the kids?” You’re confused for a moment, but then you laugh. “They’re fine, I think. Luckily you saved them so hopefully, there are no scars,” unlike me. He smiles. “Where are you going? Uh, just to be safe. Don’t want someone walking at night by themselves.” You allow a small smile to form. “I can take care of myself, but thanks anyway. I’m just going to the mart. Don’t you have other things to do?” He shrugs as you two continue walking down the street. “Not unless there’s another bombing.”

When you arrive at the front of the mart, the Flash awkwardly shifts from foot to foot. You glance at him, confused. “I, um, shouldn’t go inside there, you know. My suit and all.” You laugh. “That’s what you’re worried about? The suit? I would expect the fan girls rushing to take a picture with you, but don’t worry, I won't ask, mr. superhero.” He grins. “I’ll wait for you here then.”

You don’t actually expect the Flash to be there when you exit the store, things in hand, but he’s there. He spots you. “Finally, it was getting weird standing here alone. Luckily no one asked for a picture.” You smile, before shuffling through your bags, “I bought some snacks as thanks for you, but the only place I think is open at this time is my place. We could go there to eat if you have time, that is..” You don’t know why your cheeks feel hot. He pauses for a minute, before shrugging. “Sure.”

You open the door, saying, “Please excuse the mess,” as you let the Flash into your apartment. You might be internally freaking out. He walks in as if he’s been here a thousand times before. “Oh, nice place?” You smile. “Thanks. We can go to my balcony and eat. It’s pretty tonight.”

Leading him out, you show the snacks you bought. It was mostly snacks that Vernon forced you to try and were now your favorites. You look at him nervously. “I hope these are okay?” He seems pleasantly surprised. “Yeah, these are fine.”

You two chat about your life, his superhero stuff. It was surprisingly refreshing as you gaze at the night, clear and stars shining bright. You turn to look at him and find him already looking at you. Your breath hitches. It suddenly feels a lot warmer. You think he’s leaning in, maybe you’re leaning in until a sudden breeze blows past and you shiver. The Flash inhales. “You should uh, get inside. It’s cold and getting late..” “Right,” you said, breaking out of your trance.

But before you go in, you look back. “Will I see you again?” He only smiles. “Take care.” And then he’s gone in an instant. You fall asleep that night, no nightmares.

❧

You do see the Flash again. Around two weeks later, he comes crashing into your apartment. “Oh my god, you-“ He groans, collapsing on your couch. “What happened??” He coughs. “Another bombing. Got everyone out in time but barely.” His suit is all scorched and red. You wince at the burns.

Hesitantly, you ask, “Can you remove your suit? T-to treat the burns?” He can only nod. Grabbing your med-kit, you sit on the ground next to him. “I won’t mess with your mask..” you softly murmur, “but if it’s bad, I’ll promise not to look, cause you’re in no shape to do it yourself.”

You assist him in taking off the top part of his suit. You remind yourself to focus and not get distracted. The burns are red and harsh, and you shudder at the thought that you could’ve been through that if it wasn’t for the Flash. Taking the burn ointment, you warn him before softly rubbing it on top. He groans in pain, and you try your best to soothe him, gripping his hand tightly with your free one.

It goes on for the rest of the night, and he passes out on your couch. The next morning, he’s gone with a simple scrawly thank you written on a notepad. You wonder how he found it because it was in a drawer that he did not know about, or at least you thought. Your thought is momentarily forgotten as you remember to text Vernon.

Recently, Vernon had been busy and wasn’t texting you often, which you understood. But today, you were supposed to meet up later with him, just to hang out because you felt like you haven’t seen him in so long.

Once you get there, he’s sitting down, anxiously bouncing his knee. You immediately brighten. “Vernon! I missed you.. What’ve you been up to that’s been taking you from me?” you pout. He nervously smiles. “Just school and work ya know??” You frown, but mumble “Alright..” You two catch up, and you tell him about the Flash, recounting that one night under the stars. You leave out the ending, though. Vernon’s eyebrows raise comically. “Geez, that’s cool. A superhero hung out with you? I’m jealous..” You nod excitedly. You decide not to tell him about the one night with the Flash’s unexpected visit. It didn’t seem right.

As you two get up to leave, you notice Vernon limping. “Vernon?” you ask. He looks back at you. “What’s up?” You examine his body. He’s slightly hunched over like he’s injured. “Why are you limping??” He freezes. “I-well- I didn’t want to tell you.., but someone spilled their hot water over my legs... and yeah.” You open your mouth, but Vernon stops you. “It was an accident, alright? No need to get angry.” “I just care about you a lot,” you huff. He assures you by enlacing your hands together. You sigh but decide to let it go.

❧

The Flash shows up at your place several times. By that, you mean at least once a week. The bombings are getting more and more frequent, and you’re not sure why. All the attacks are random, and the CIA still haven’t found any information on the bombers yet, so it’s up to the Flash to save them. Each time, he comes back with more and more injuries.

Around the ninth(?) time he shows up, you frown in disapproval. “Listen, this is too much. There are so many bombings going on, and everyone expects you to save them all. You can’t keep doing this by yourself. Where are the police and security?” He just shrugs in defeat. “It’s my duty to help the city. This is my job, and if I have to save people from bombs daily, then I will.” You pout. “It’s not fair. Why can’t I be a superhero too so I can help you?” He laughs before wincing in pain.

You tend to his injuries once more. Yes, he had accelerated healing, but constantly getting burned and hurt was taking a toll on him. Plus, you could tell he was just physically and mentally exhausted. Once you were done, you stare at him. His eyes were closed, so you assumed he had fallen asleep, but suddenly they flicker open. That’s when you notice the dark eye circles underneath them, even with the mask on.

He just stares back at you, before softly muttering, “I’m so tired..” You’re about to respond, but he grabs your arm and pulls you forth, so your face is a lot closer to his than before. Frozen, you open your mouth to say something, but he leans up and places his lips on yours. Your eyes instinctively close. You’re not sure how long it lasts, but you’re finally able to pull back. He’s already half-asleep, exhausted. You quietly turn off the lights and leave him to rest.

❧

Vernon was drained. Balancing his superhero life and normal life was getting difficult recently. With all the attacks, he was constantly stopping by your place as the Flash, then zooming back to his place to be Vernon again. His life was getting extremely hectic and busy, but he knew it came with being the city’s hero.

He doesn’t know why he started stopping by your place, especially risking his identity being exposed. Maybe it was just the exhaustion or wanting to see you. It was really difficult to hide his identity from his friends, especially you. He was so busy and had no time to hang out with anyone, constantly saving lives and then going to classes and work immediately after.

Finally having some free time to do his schoolwork, Vernon types away on his computer. He needed to take full advantage and catch up, because well, his grades weren’t doing too well. A notification catches his attention. It’s an email from... the CIA?

The CIA contacted him? They’re the only ones who knew Vernon’s identity and promised to keep it a secret in return for working alongside them. He’s shocked when he reads the email. It’s simple. Meet up at a restaurant today. 3 pm sharp.

Once he gets there, he sees an officer waiting for him, beckoning. After he sits, the officer leans in. “We were able to track the bombers down and find the whereabouts of their next attack.” His eyes widen. They tracked the attackers down? The officer continues, “The next bombing is tomorrow, 7 PM at the Art Galleria. Get the bomb before they can set it off. We’re gonna be closing it but get all surrounding people out if necessary, and we’ll take care of the rest.” Vernon nods, processing the information. The officer gives him a last, don’t be late, and sets off, leaving Vernon to sit alone.

❧

The next morning, you’re texting Vernon, telling him about your exams in the afternoon and asking if he wanted to go see ‘Picasso’s art’ with you around dinner time after you finish. He texts back a small, “No sorry I’m busy later :/“ thinking about his “plans” for that evening. You respond with “awww, it’s ok. I’ll go by myself and I’ll be safe! Promise! Also- don’t text me during my exams, my phone will be off!” Vernon smiles, putting his phone away in his pocket.

He carries on with his day until around six-thirty. He’s visualizing the plans that’ll happen in about thirty minutes while also thinking about how he can make it up to you for not being able to go.

Then it hits him. Picasso’s art? That’s at the art galleria. Which meant you were going to the art galleria later today. Around dinner time. The next bombing was in thirty minutes. Shit, he thinks, hand reaching for his phone before remembering your text.

Your phone is off. You’re probably concentrating on your exams, then going to the art galleria without knowing anything. He sighs, running his hand through his hair. It’s fine. He’ll just somehow find you before you get there and move you to a safer place.

He ignores what you said and texts you anyway. He types, ‘Y/n, don’t go to the galleria, no matter what. Just listen to me please.” Vernon also texts your friends, hoping one of them will catch you and give the message.

Groaning frustratedly, he decides to put on his suit and go look for you. Making up an excuse in his head, Vernon runs around the art galleria, passing by everyone with a gust. But he can’t find you. Vernon was getting annoyed. It was getting closer to seven, and he needed to find the bomb. Where were you?

He spots the police. They’re surrounding the whole place, getting ready to help people once he gets them out and preparing to arrest the bad guys. Vernon searches, but you’re nowhere to be found. He can only hope you’re not here. He zooms past the guards, going in and flying through the whole place. He grabs every person in sight and moves them out in 5 minutes. Now to find the bomb.

He frowns. Why are there so many people at the galleria today? He just wanted to know where you are. He dashes into one of the exhibits, filled with paintings. He immediately stops.

It’s you. You’re held by a hooded man, three other dark figures in the room next to what he figures is the bomb.

Vernon’s heart plummets. How did he not catch you before? He can only look as the man laughs, holding you close with his arm tightly over your chest. Vernon can’t read the expression on your face, but you’re rigid, and your hands and feet are tied. The man grips you harsher. “Well, if it isn’t the little Flash. Move one inch and the bomb goes, along with the girl.”

Internally, Vernon scoffs. He could take this whole group out in two seconds flat. But he was worried about you. He contemplated his chances, before lunging forward. He deals a few blows to the man before moving to you, undoing your arms and legs. Then he wrangles everyone and brings them out front to the police, everyone in slow motion.

Strolling back into the galleria, he smashes the bomb with his foot. All in a few seconds. You gasp when you see suddenly him by your side, huddled over you. “Are you alright?” You could’ve gotten seriously hurt,” anger seeping through his voice. You frown. “I’m fine. I said I could take care of myself.” Raising his voice, he snaps, “You could’ve died! How did you even get in here? I went through the whole place, and you were the only person I wasn’t able to get.”

You sigh. “Why do you care so much? Is it because you’re actually one of my closest friends?” He freezes. What?

“Vernon,” your voice cracks. “Why didn’t you tell me?” His eyes slowly land on you. You’re sitting on the ground, arms around your knees, and staring at the ground like a hurt child.

Vernon tried to respond, but nothing comes out. You stand up, shaky, but manage to take a couple of steps before he grabs your arm. “Y/n... I-“ but you interrupt him. “Do you like me? Like actually like me?” you ask softly, trying to catch his eye. He finally looks at you, swallowing. “Yeah.. and no. I love you Y/n. And I’m sorry for not telling you, no one knows except for the CIA. I just wanted you to be safe, and especially after today, I can’t lose you.”

You think you feel tears form in your eyes as you throw your arms around him. He relaxes, relishing in your warmth. You’re about to release him, but he tightens his arms around you. You look up, and Vernon leans down to capture your lips with his. It feels warm and you ignore the fluttering in your stomach.

Breaking the kiss, Vernon realizes something. “Wait.... how did you know I was the Flash?” You roll your eyes, a grin on your face. “It was so obvious, whenever I brought it up you acted soo awkward.” He squeezes your waist playfully, letting out an oh my goddd. You look at him in amusement. “But really, it was after the Flash-I mean you- kissed me that one night. I dunno, it felt like I was kissing you.. and then after that, it just kinda clicked.”

Vernon thoughtfully nods before saying, “You know, we’re literally just standing in the middle of an exhibit. We should probably get out of here. I’m thinking Chinese tonight?” You smile widely. “Whatever you want, mr. flash-who’s-also-my-boyfriend-now?” He grins before picking you up in his arms, zooming off into the night.

❧

You think it’s pretty cool to have a superhero boyfriend. Especially one that can take you to get cookies at your favorite bakery in exactly 2.4 seconds (yes, you timed it).

#seventeen #seventeen vernon #vernon chwe #chwe hansol #chwe hansol x reader #vernon x reader #vernon imagines #vernon scenarios #seventeen x reader #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #vernon chwe imagines #vernon fluff #hansol vernon chwe

109 notes · View notes

corvusravenette · 3 years

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Fan Fiction: Qi Ye

Title: I Thought of You and Yet You Came Based on Original Work: Qi Ye Author: Priest Genre: BL Warning: Gore and Violence Rate: Teen / Young adults Pairing: M/M (Wu Xi + Beiyuan) Chapter: 4 of 5 (... maybe 10. I don’t know. We’ll see...) * This fiction might have a few more chapters extended. I ran away with the plot again. Too much coffee does that to people. I also started a Mafia AU on WenZhou. The first few chapters will probably be up in a couple of weeks. We’ll see... +-+-+-+-+-+- “We… want to see him if he’s alive, his corpse if he’s dead! Someone! Come here!” the Emperor bellowed hysterically, almost dementedly. Wu Xi stared at him fixedly, unblinkingly, apathetically. His decision had been right. There was no way this man could be allowed to know the Beiyuan was still with him. He would not allow it in this lifetime or any other lifetimes. As the imperial doctors and attendants hurried into the room, Wu Xi turned amidst the chaos and left without saying anymore lest his face betrayed his disgust. He knew that this would not be the last time he had to deal with the Rongjia Emperor. +-+-+-+-+-+-

He was not as calculative as Beiyuan but his despicable beloved had taught him in a short span of days how easy it was for the Prince to manipulate and to lie through his teeth. A spark of anger was ignited in his heart. How was he to forgive this betrayal? Did he not understand he was his man? That in this lifetime, it can only be him, to live and die for him, no one else but him? They were supposed to stay together, fight side by side together… die together. Was he the only one who believed in that? Did he think he needed protection against a bunch of barbarians and dimwitted power-hungry courtiers? He was no longer a child! How was he to forgive Beiyuan for throwing him away after leading him on, making him believed that there was no one else in his heart but him, and taking him to bed? How dare he use his own drug on him after making his heart bleed open with a love so beautiful, so painfully obsessed, so wretchedly enraptured by him?! What was he to do now when the love of his life was comatose and bedridden, and on death’s door? Did the damn bastard realize just how much he loved him? That he would have died for him and taken his place on the battlefield? Did he not understand the significance of his own life? Did he not care whether he lived or died? Did he not care about… me…? Can he not see that without him… without him, I cannot breathe? Can he not see.. without him, I do not want to live…? Without him, there is no point in me… living…? Hot tears pricked his eyes and he lowered his gaze to the ground, blinking away rapidly as this small voice whispered his deepest pain and fear, buried in the abyss of his heart. A few of the guards who were stationed outside the inner courtyard escorted him out, struggling to keep up with the Great Shaman’s long strides. He was taller than most Great Qing people, and had an air of powerful but cruel nobility about him, now that he had inherited the Illustrious One’s position as the Great Shaman of Nanjiang. He was paler than most Great Qing people as well, his bone jade skin a stark contrast to his pearl-black eyes and thick eyebrows. Beautiful, yet menacing at the same time. The guards escorting him towards the outer courtyard stole furtive glances at him, their hearts admiring and fearing him. They had barely rested after the battles were over, many of their comrades dead although many more were saved by the timely arrival of the Nanjiang-Great Qing border army as well as the Great Shaman’s own personal troops. The shortage in personnel had forced them out of their resting beds and onto guard duty at the Imperial Palace now that the Emperor had return to the dragon throne despite barely recuperating from their wounds. As their eyes followed the Great Shaman on the long trek to the outer courtyard, they noticed that he was still wearing the very same robes he wore on the battlefield, he had not changed at all, his fingers were still caked in blood and traces of dried blood was visible on his clothes. The image of the Great Shaman swooping into the battlefield like he was the reincarnation of Asura himself was still fresh in their minds: his long saber swinging and slicing through countless Vakurah necks; the bloody crimson arcs that accompanied the flying heads; the horrendous screams that were cut off mid-voice as he slaughtered his way through; the thick aura of death that clung to him as blood splattered on him, soaking him to the skin. They would be awed and haunted by the brutality of the Nanjiang warriors as they stormed the battlefield in all their might that day. They were a different breed of people: taller, more muscular, more unforgiving, more ruthless in their approach than their own soldiers. It was the Great Qing’s blessing to have this fearsome race on their side for once. They were their saviours but they were also a double-edged sword. If that sword had turned on them, they would not stand a chance… like the Battle of Nanjiang, where the Great General Feng was entombed in the grasslands of Nanjiang, along with four thousand of his elite knights. In their hearts, they knew that the Great Qing dynasty owed their lives to these Southern warrior race for turning the tides of this war. Right now, there were thousands of Nanjiang warriors camped outside the city. Despite being a vassal state of Great Qing, their pledge of loyalty was only to the Great Shaman in front of them. They only needed one word from this man, and protector could turn conqueror overnight. The guards shuddered at the thought. The black stallion was making its rounds on the grounds of the outer courtyard, waiting for its master to come back. At the sight of him coming down hurriedly from the stairs, the stallion neighed, shaking its head away from the guard holding on to its reins and pulled towards Wu Xi as though it could sense his tumultuous heart. The familiar sight of the man seemed to have calm the warhorse down, as it butted its head against his face. Wu Xi didn’t smile, but his heart settled a little. He always had an affinity with animals: the sable, the little viper he now kept in a cage lest it got injured in the war, the tigers and wolves he kept back home in Nanjiang… Patting the horse’s neck, Wu Xi saddled it, gave a nod to the saluting guards and galloped back where he came from – back to the large posthouse located quite close to Martial Order Gates, back to his heart, his beloved, back to what he had to do to keep his man safe and sound. Judging from the Emperor’s reactions, he would follow suit soon. Smiling grimly, he thought of Beiyuan. You would be proud of the bastard I’m becoming Beiyuan, you taught me how to do this, what a brilliant teacher you are. Spurring the black beast on faster, he reached the posthouse in record time. It was heavily guarded by his own intimidating warriors and his fearful neighbors steered clear of the area, affording a wide berth of privacy for him and his men, and more importantly, for his beloved. There were curious stares as Wu Xi made his way through the streets. Hawkers and vendors were just setting up their stalls, shops were just opening their doors and about to do their morning sweeps, and inquisitive neighbors had started milling about their compounds. There was still fear of a future unknown, but life needed to go on. The war had ended, and the people picked up where they left off. Like every other war before this, the National Treasury would suffer a large blow: to feed, clothe, weaponize and support an army numbering in the tens of thousands would drain what few luxuries their country had. It didn’t help that years of idleness and corruption made it even worse. Life would be difficult for some ten or twenty more years, more so for peasants and farmers who were already struggling to make a living. It would not be easy to rebuild but they have done it before, and they would survive again. The posthouse was converted from a private mansion with its own four-walled compound. It was a lot smaller than his residence behind Prince Nanning’s own personal residence but large enough for a man of his standing. It was also hastily prepared for the Great Shaman given the circumstances of the war. Helian Yi must’ve had someone run ahead to get it ready. It was within reach of the Imperial Palace but its stone throw’s away vicinity to Martial Order Gates was also tantamount to how much Helian Yi unconsciously wanted to keep the Great Shaman at a certain cordial -if not cold- distance. Regardless the reasons, Wu Xi could only thank Gazh for his lucky star aligning. Its location afforded him a hiding place for Beiyuan, as well as time needed to do what was necessary to accomplish now. With the posthouse coming to view, and the familiar banners of his Nanjiang colors snapping against the wind in this frigid morning, Wu Xi’s heart settled more even if it was just a smidgen. It might not be home, but these familiar colors and the sight of the Nanjiang warriors guarding the entrance six feet apart from each other warmed the cockles of his cold soul. The political tide was going to turn in their favor, he would force Helian Yi into submission or risk a second all-out war. He knew that Helian Yi would feel threatened enough with the Nanjiang encampment just outside of the biggest gates to the city. He only needed to say a word, and they would assemble and attack at a moment’s notice. He was no longer a hostage, and he had been crowned the new leader of his people, he had the power of Nanjiang in his hands, and unlike his Mentor, he was crueler in nature. He would make this proud city blessed by Heaven bend to his will.

Receiving the salute of his men patrolling the entrance and around the compound, Wu Xi got off his stallion, gave it a good pat and a whisper of thanks in his native language before letting one of his guards take the horse away for rounds, water and hay. Ashinlae and Nuahar came out of the main house, greeted him in unison and informed him that a certain visitor had come. Wu Xi listened carefully, the tones of both men had changed – there was a solemn urgency and seriousness in Nuahar’s voice, unlike this morning and Ashinlae, the more hot-headed of the two also seemed to have a change of attitude. Wu Xi nodded. “Lead the way,” he instructed simply. His voice uninflected and unperturbed. His face a cold mask of indifference. He had learned the hard way, the fastest way to remove all traces of emotions from his face. He had his beloved to thank for the forced enlightenment. There was an unyielding bitterness in his heart, and nothing anyone could say would heal this hurt. “Nuahar, have the servants ready hot water and new robes and my veil for me. If my guess is right, within the next hour or so, the Emperor will make his way here. I need to take a bath,” “Immediately, Great Shaman,” Nuahar nodded, excusing himself from the receiving room of the main house. They had brought several of their servants from Nanjiang as well, and though this mansion had their own servants, it was better to have their own people serve them. Those ‘borrowed’ servants were only too glad to make an exit. No one wanted to work with the Poison King. They had heard horror stories over the years from the mouths of the Great Shaman’s previously hired Imperial Tutors. How he would let poisonous critters crawl around freely in his now former residence. How he would experiment with toxins and venoms of vipers and scorpions on himself and his warriors. How he would leave weapons tipped with poison drying out in the open, that if someone had accidentally stepped on it or nicked themselves on it, would suffer a pain unlike no other. No, no one wanted to work with him. They were only too glad to be allowed to leave in one piece. Aside Prince Nanning’s own servants who were familiar with Wu Xi over the last ten years and were comfortable with his eccentricities, everyone else opted to leave the very night they could. Wu Xi turned his unwavering gaze to the man waiting for him. Unlike the night before when he had slunk into the posthouse to remind him of the Emperor’s impending visit, today he had cleaned himself up and had discarded the torn garb he had on yesterday. He no longer hid his face from view, and in its place was the clean, misleadingly trustworthy face of a young man, possibly in his early twenties, maybe older than Wu Xi by a couple of years. He was even more good-looking in his imperial guard uniform, his facial features gentle yet unreadable, his frame slender but hiding the forms of a master martial artist, his eyes focused on the Great Shaman yet not betraying any of his own tumultuous inner thoughts. Wu Xi thought to himself, this was a man not to be trifled with, he was a master con artist, a master of disguise, an assassin working in the dark for the Emperor. A blind, unwavering loyal follower. Wu Xi could not fault the man, he could not fault a man for his loyalty, no matter how misplaced he believed it was. If it was another lifetime, he would welcome this man as a friend. Beiyuan and himself had good affinity right from the start, Wu Xi lamented, two peas in a masquerading pod. “Master Zhou, are we ready?” Wu Xi questioned, a nod and a frank remark all in one in a manner of greeting. He was not known for beating about the bush. He had no patience for mere trivialities. He hit the mark immediately. “We are. Come away, Da Wu,” Zhou Zishu replied. His heart the lightest it had been in so many years of toiling about in the dark in the name of the Emperor, his hands never recovering from its bloody stains. He led the way to an opposite exit from where Nuahar had left. The posthouse had several main rooms, and several smaller ones – usually reserved for the lower family or the concubine family. Zhou Zishu explained that he had Ashinlae locate the remotest room in the posthouse, preferably an inner chamber and they had helped him move the Prince there. It was done quickly and with as little hassle as possible, only keeping the bare necessities in the room. They came up to an unassuming door after what seemed like a maze of steps, twists and turns. Zhou Zishu knocked thrice and the door opened to a darkened room. Ping An stuck his head out and saw who it was, stepping to the side to let them in. It was akin to a treatment room: clean, sterile, practical. Wu Xi was greeted with the sight of Beiyuan sleeping on the bed, a medicine table by its side, and several bottles of his personal concoctions arranged on it by labels. There was also a small medicinal stove in one corner, and an unpleasant smell was currently wafting from it.

“Beiyuan…” Wu Xi whispered softly, lost in himself for a moment as he approached the sleeping Prince. His features soften as he watched Beiyuan’s serene face. He sat on the bed, the thin mattress dipping slightly under his weight, and took Beiyuan’s wrist in his hand. Checking his pulse, he nodded and stood to lift the cover of the brewing pot in the corner. He took the ladle on the side and slowly stirred the contents of the pot, scrutinizing its color and smell. Lifting the ladle to his lips, he took a small sip and frowned from the biting bitterness. Turning his head to Ping An, he instructed in clipped tones to feed Beiyuan one bowl of the medicine in approximately half a shichen. “Where’s the corpse?” Wu Xi asked Zhou Zishu curtly, earning him a reflexive shudder from Ping An who knew why the Captain of the Imperial Guards was here for. “Da Wu, are you alright?” Ashinlae asked worriedly, his eyes staring at the black stains on the Great Shaman’s lips. He knew Nuahar had added Manchurian scorpion venom to the concoction, “Is… is the remedy working?” “The poison is reacting well with the herbs,” was all the answer Ashinlae was going to get from him before Wu Xi stepped out of the room with Zhou Zishu in the lead. It was enough for Ashinlae to believe him. Ping An on the other hand looked up sharply but the warrior warned him to stand down with one look. “Trust our Great Shaman, I know you are worried for the Prince, but you have seen how strong his medicines are. He will save your Prince. It isn’t a choice for him,” With that said, Ashinlae closed the door behind him and ran to catch up with his leader. Ping An stood staring at the closed door long after it was shut, shaking in his boots as he turned trembling gazes over to the insignificant pot brewing quietly in the corner on the stove. Poison? He was going to feed the Prince… poison? He turned his eyes back to the shut door and nodded vigorously, steeling his resolve. If poison would revive the comatose Prince, he would pour all the poison in the world into his mouth. He was sure of it. He had to be sure of it. He had to trust the Great Shaman. Wu Xi followed Zhou Zishu back to his own compound, noting that the doors were shut tightly and a few of his Nanjiang guards were stationed there. It was quite heavily guarded. Voicing their salutes, they stepped aside to let their leader in. Wu Xi cracked opened the door and he immediately had cause to pause in his steps. He recognized the man lying down on the bed but he was clearly also, very dead. Finally gaining his senses, Wu Xi stepped in, and walked closer to inspect the man’s body. He had similar wounds to Beiyuan, a long deep gash from shoulder to abdomen, a similar physique to his beloved as well: tall, slender and lean. If he had not been lovingly intimate with Beiyuan, he would easily have mistaken him for his Prince as well. The similarity was too striking. As morbid as it sounded, this would work in his favor. “Master Zhou, are you sure?” Wu Xi probed out of courtesy. “He’s…” “Yes. It’s what I should do. He would’ve agreed as well, I know he would. It would be just like him. He had a fondness for the Prince, and we’ve shared many a jar of wines together,” Zhou Zishu replied, “Let him take the Prince’s place,” Both of them stood by the bed, a heavy grief in the air as they looked upon the young man who had a future so bright but was taken too soon from them. “Rest well, dearest shidi,” Zhou Zishu whispered. His hand caressing Liang JiuXiao’s pale face, his lower lip trembled, his face breaking into a rare sliver of emotion as a tear fell from his lashes. Even in death this child always seemed like he was smiling, he thought fondly as his heart contracted painfully from his sorrow. Wu Xi bowed his head in a reverent prayer to his Almighty Gazh, closing his eyes and entering a semi-trance like state. He prayed that this young man who – even in death would serve his final act of goodness – that his next reincarnation be a happier, more fulfilling one. Wu Xi casted his prayers into the heavens, and just as he opened his eyes, a slight breeze floated in from the open window, carrying with it the telltale scent of peach blossoms. He nodded to himself, as though it was a sign from the heavens. “Go in peace little brother, may we meet again in the next lifetime. Let us be friends once again then,”. To be continued. +-+-+-+-+-

Click here for previous chapters: [1] [2] [3] [4]

#qi ye #fan fiction #jing beiyuan #wu xi #xiyuan #zhou zishu #lord seventh #priest #I thought of you and yet you came

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hanniiesuckle17 · 4 years

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Just For A Week

WARNINGS: Swearing, partial smut (Maybe but like not really but also like just gonna but it in for Tumblr’s algorithm), drinking

Summary: Seungmin and Y/n have been friends for years. Their schedules finally coincide and they decide to take a vacation for a week. However, it is a little too expensive for both of their wallets. Y/n finds a discount that is just perfect for them. The only thing is that they have to pretend to be married.

Genre: Romance, friends to lovers!au, fake marriage!au

“Are you serious??” I screamed into the phone. Hearing his laugh on the other end made me smile even wider. “Yeah! I’m off schedule all of next week.”

Seungmin was always busy as of late. There was always some variety show, practice, or tour that kept him occupied. I hadn’t seen my best friend in what felt like forever. My apartment didn’t feel normal if Seungmin wasn’t in it and rearranging my things constantly.

“We have to do something. This is never going to happen again.” I could hear him pulling out his laptop and his fingers tapping on the keys. “Let’s go on a trip. Just us. Like when we were younger!” My mind flashed back to Seungmin’s trainee days where we would get on a random train with $200 and spend a weekend somewhere fun and new.

“I’m down.” Seungmin tapped some more and listed locations all around Korea. “I’d rather go to the beach, especially while it’s warm out.” He hummed in response and looked some more. “What about Jeju? There is a resort right on the beach. They have one room left…and two beds! Also, they are offering a discount!”

“Seungmin book the damn room before someone else does!” I said with a laugh. “And done!” Both of us cheered over the phone. We made plans and bought plane tickets for two days from now. It had been so long since I had seen Seungmin. We still texted a lot and there was the occasional facetime, but I still missed him. Even with all his quirks and weird slightly annoying antics. Happily, I threw clothes and swimsuits into my suitcase and begin to fantasize about my upcoming vacation with my best friend.

The plane ride was uneventful. Seungmin and I met at the airport and a great reunion was made. We both slept on the plane and when we landed in Jeju, we immediately rented a car to take us to the hotel. Seungmin drove us to the beautiful resort and parked in the circular driveway as hotel staff came and retrieved out bags. As I stepped out of the car the sundress I was wearing blew slightly in the wind. Seungmin thanked the attendants and walked over to me with a smile. “A little swankier than our normal adventures isn’t it?” I joked as we walked inside.

The woman and the desk greeted us with a smile. “Hello, welcome to our wonderful hotel! Are you checking in?” Seungmin nodded and replied, “ Yes, the room should be under Kim Seungmin.” She tapped on her computer and a bright smile lifted her already high cheeks. “Wonderful. Here is your key card and congratulations you two!”

“I’m sorry, what do you mean ‘congratulations’?” I asked. Seungmin looked confused as well. The woman’s smile faltered. “It says here your discount is for newlyweds. We are a very popular honeymoon destination. Was there a mistake-”

“No! Thank you. My wife and I were just wondering that’s all.” Seungmin said latching an arm around my shoulder. I gave her a hopefully not too fake-looking smile. “We also have many tourist attractions near the campus perfect for young couples. Would you like a brochure for LoveIsland?”

“NO!” “NO!”

We both exclaimed a little too loud. The lady looked shocked and very confused but slowly pulled the brochure back from on top of the counter. I cleared my throat and placed a hand on Seungmin’s chest. “What we mean is, we already have the planned itinerary the hotel sent and we really just want some time to relax in our room.” A small smile quirked up at the edge of her lips and I instantly regretted my choice of words. “Well, we hope you enjoy your stay. Dinner is served at eight. Please do not hesitate to ask us for anything at all. Your bags will be brought shortly.”

Once Seungmin and I were a safe distance down the hall from the lobby our facade dropped. “What the hell, Seungmin?” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know! All I saw were the words discount!” I stared at him in disbelief. “Why did you agree with her? We are not married. That’s lying! This might be fraud!”

“Y/n have you seen how expensive this place is? This gets us a discount on literally everything! Why can’t we just pretend for a week?” Seungmin stood in front of our door fiddling with the card. Just as the words left his mouth a couple maybe a year or two older than us walked out of the room next door. A snarky smirk latched itself onto the beautiful girl’s face as she clung to her husband’s arm.

“Oh, trouble in paradise already?” She said in a silky smooth voice. “Hope the rest of your honeymoon goes better.” The man said. He looked like he came straight out of a Calvin Klein ad. With just a quick glance between each other, we had already agreed that these two were agreeably the worst people on the entire planet with huge sticks up their asses. Instantly I latched myself onto Seungmin’s arm and laid my head on his shoulder.

“Don’t mind us. If we are too loud by the way, just knock on the door. We’ll try to keep it down, but no promises.” Seungmin said with a new air of confidence as he laced his fingers with mine. A shocked look plastered itself onto the couple’s face. “The same goes for you too. We can also get pretty loud, so just knock.” With that, the man and woman strutted down the hall and towards the pool.

“Okay, now we have to sell this,” I said with a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know why but I really want to kick their ass,” Seungmin said through gritted teeth as he still stared down the hallway. “I know right! We are a fake couple and we are totally already less fake than them. And better too!” “And better too!” Seungmin said in agreement as he opened the door to our hotel room. I froze at the sight.

“Why is there one bed?” Seungmin asked as he tossed his stuff onto the couch.

“I thought you said there were two beds?”

“Yeah, it said double beds!” I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried not to scream.

“Min, did it say double beds…or a double bed?”

“A double bed. What’s the difference?”

“Seungmin a double bed means that it is one bed! A bed that is double the size of a normal bed!”

He looked at the bed in defeat. “Shit.” I sat down, the white comforter soft against my bare legs. “It’s fine we can share the bed.” The words came out more like a sigh. There was a silence that fell over the room. After a moment, I couldn’t help but laugh. Then Seungmin started laughing too. “This is a great way to start our vacation, isn’t?” I said through soft laughter. “Definitely will be memorable.”

I sighed and kicked off my shoes. “I’m gonna shower. Do you want to go swimming after?” With a smile, I nodded and grabbed my phone from my purse. Seungmin closed the door of the bathroom and I saw the light turn on from under the door. I walked over to the nightstand to plug in my phone until I realized I forgot my charger. Remembering some hotels put chargers in the drawers I opened it only to let out a scream a the contents.

Seungmin burst through the bathroom door and ran to me on the other side of the bed. “What? What’s wrong?” I laughed and pointed to the drawer. “Sorry, it just shocked me.” Seungmin pulled open the drawer further to reveal an entire string of condoms branded with the hotel’s name as well as a bottle of lube and ironically a bible. “That’s funny in a twisted sort of way,” Seungmin said with a chuckle.

A blush rushed to my cheeks when I realized in his hurry to make sure I was okay, Seungmin didn’t put his shirt back on and only stood bare-chested in his jeans. I had always known Seungmin was attractive, it was kind of a requirement for being an idol. But, it was astonishing and ironic that I was just now noticing the fact as he was standing in front of me- shirtless- and holding a string of condoms.

Maybe it was just the fact that I hadn’t gotten laid since the beginning of university? Yeah. That made sense. Seungmin returned to his shower and I started unpacking. We spent the afternoon playing in the pool and relaxing on the pool deck. It was so nice to catch up with Seungmin and hear what he had been doing. Seungmin had called ahead and confirmed it was a private property and no press would be allowed on campus.

“Okay, so what does our fake honeymoon package get us?” I asked flipping over onto my stomach so the sun could reach my back. Seungmin lounged on the beach chair next to me, his brown hair blowing slightly in the breeze. He pulled out his phone to answer my question.

“We get a dinner experience with all the rest of the couples, several planned activities, spa package, and we have tickets to the Jeju music festival at the end of the week.” Seungmin scrolled more on his phone, reading something else on the hotel website. A young waiter came by carrying a tray of drinks. “Would you like one, beautiful?” He said leaning down and giving me a wink. My cheeks started to heat up as I gratefully took one of the Mai Tais.

“Hey, chill. That’s my wife you’re flirting with!” Seungmin said standing up in front of the waiter. I tried to hide my shock at his reaction. “Sorry, dude! I didn’t see a ring. My bad!” The ring! Oh my god, we were so stupid. “Oh- I left it in the room, babe. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to lose it.” I interjected quickly, hoping to distract from the fact that Seungmin and I had no actual explanation for not wearing wedding bands.

The waiter stared as I wrapped my arm around Seungmin’s waist, drink in my other hand. “I apologize,” He said before walking off. Just when we thought we were out of the woods, “What was that commotion all about?” Walking up-of course looking like she came out of a Victoria’s Secret catalog- was the woman from before, her husband trailing behind. “Oh, it was nothing! I left my ring on the nightstand so I wouldn’t lose it-” “And the cabana boy over there just started hitting on her. I took care of it. Seungmin wrapped his arms around my waist and moved behind me.

The lady scoffed before holding up her hand. “I would never take off my ring! It’s too precious.” She said smiling at her husband next to her. Her ring was huge and sparkled in the light. It had to cost at least $10,000. The woman herself was drowning in designer and expensive products. I mean she was wearing heels at the god damn swimming pool.

“I don’t think we have been properly introduced. My name is Kwon Si Hyun and this is my wife, Jin Ae.” She waved politely but that arrogant smirk was still stuck on bother her and her spouse’s face. The sight of it just made me want to smack her. Instead, I put on my nicest smile and my hand found Seungmin’s cheek resting on my shoulder.

“I’m Y/n and this is my amazing husband, Kim Seungmin.” Seungmin smiled, but I could see he was just as disgusted as I was. “Kim Seungmin? Why is that so familiar?” The man asked shaking his head. Jin Ae’s face lit up. “Yah! You are an idol! From that group Stray something!” Seungmin’s grip tightened and he tried to hide his annoyance. “Yeah, Stray Kids.”

She playfully smacked her husband’s broad chest. “I knew we should come back here! They are always saying celebrities stay here!” She eyed Seungmin up and down and instantly I felt very angry. “Yeah! Minnie is great! He is just so busy all the time so I am left by myself so much.” I turned around to face Seungmin and took his face in my hands. He glanced over at Si Hyun and Jin Ae briefly before smiling back at me.

“I know how that is! Running my company can be time-consuming, that’s why I take Jin Ae out so much like this.” Si Hyun gave her a playful smack on the ass before kissing her cheek making her squeal. Slowly Seungmin and I inched apart. Jin Ae grabbed my hands. “Kim Y/n, we should play while our husbands talk about business!” Before I could object she dragged me off to the other side of the pool towards the hot tub. I gave Seungmin a sorry look over my shoulder as I watched Si Hyun clap him on the back and hand him a beer.

Two hours later I slammed open the door of our hotel room. Seungmin let out a gasp from where he lay on the bed, dropping his phone. “Hey! Don’t scare me like that.” Seungmin had changed into jeans and a shirt and was playing on his phone, while I was standing cold in my bikini from sitting in the pool for hours.

“I hate her.”

“I hate him.”

“I want to smack that fake tan and boob job right off her.”

“Be careful they’re right next door!” Seungmin said with a laugh. He tossed me a towel from the counter. Quickly drying off, I sat on the edge of the chair. “We need rings if we are gonna pull this off.” He nodded from the bed. “All Jin Ae would talk about was how she and I would make such great friends and how we should meet up and drink daiquiris when we get back to Seoul. She’ll take me shopping because my swimsuit is just so last season.” I said mocking her high pitched voice.

I turned and walked to the dresser. I didn’t notice the way Seungmin’s eyes followed me as if just now realizing I was standing before him in a bikini and water still on my skin. “Okay well, I could find a pawn shop near here and get some rings?” I nodded pulling out a dress to wear for dinner. “If you leave now you have just enough time to make it back and change for dinner.” He shrugged. “What’s so important about dinner?”

“Another happy coincidence, “ I said dryly pulling some heels out of my bag- a pair that I had wanted to hopefully go clubbing in. “Jin Ae asked around and managed to get us switched to her table…for the rest of the week. apparently, we are now their partner couple. You know all those awesome activities. Thanks to that bitch we are doing it with them!” I said throwing the towel onto the bed.

Seungmin walked over and took my hand. “Hey. We can still have fun okay? Anywhere I am with you I’ll have fun.” He looked at me sincerely and pulled me into a hug. “You’re the best, Min.” With a sigh, he pulled away and grabbed his keys and wallet. “Okay. I’m off to get us wedding rings! Wow. I never thought I’d say those words.” He laughed and exited the room leaving me an hour to get ready for dinner with the dreaded Kwons.

Dressed in a nice white dress that hugged my curves and my favorite pair of blue pumps I played with my earrings waiting for Seungmin in the lobby. He ran up to me, hair styled and his shirt was switched our for a dress shirt he had half-tucked. I couldn’t deny the fact he looked good. He eyed me up and down before handing me something.

Opening my hand revealed a beautiful silver diamond ring. “Seungmin! This must have cost a fortune!” My eyes went wide as I tried to keep my voice down. I watched as Seungmin slipped a matching silver band onto his left hand. Seungmin smiled. “No, it’s okay! Think of it as a gift.” Seungmin took the ring from you and gently pushed it onto your ring finger on your left hand.

“So, better half, you ready for an excruciatingly long dinner?” Seungmin said with a laugh, offering me his arm. “Only for you.” Together we ventured outside to the huge outdoor restaurant. The ceiling was covered with vines, plants, and dangling lanterns. The hostess greeted us with a bright smile. One that seemingly everyone in the hospitality industry had. Did they have a class for it or something?

“Name?”

“Kim? Kim Seungmin.”

“Ah right here! If you and your wife would follow me this way to your table for the week.”

Grabbing two menus, she led us through the beautiful restaurant and to our table in the middle of the floor. Not surprisingly, Kwon Si Hyun and Kwon Jin Ae were already seated and sipping on wine. “Don’t forget to smile,” Seungmin whispered through clenched teeth. Nodding I put on the absolute nicest smile I could manage and waved to Jin Ae. Seungmin sat beside me and next to Si Hyun. The minute I sat down Jin Ae pulled my hand to look at my ring.

“Yah Kim Seungmin! You have such classy taste. Maybe a little understated compared to mine, but who could compare to me!” She said with a snobby laugh. Seungmin took my other hand and laced his fingers with mine atop the table. Maybe it was the drive to prove we were better than this snobbish egotistical couple, but things like this with Seungmin were starting to become more natural and it made me wonder.

“Y/n is the only pretty one in my eyes,” Seungmin said looking at me. “Seungmin-ssi! Don’t you think I am pretty enough to be an idol?” Jin Ae said in her annoying voice. I struggled to hide my disdain, instead choosing to drain the glass of wine in front of me.

Dinner was exhausting. Seungmin and I barely survived by glancing at each other as pretentious remarks were thrown back and forth between the other couple. After finally escaping their company Seungmin and I headed back to the room. “Oh my god, they are so terrible.”

Seungmin laughed and opened the door. “Why did we agree to go clubbing with them tomorrow night again?” I sighed kicking off my shoes and throwing them somewhere near my bag. “Because I like clubbing and not even she can ruin that.” “You sure?” I glared and he laughed happily. “This isn’t so bad. It honestly isn’t that different from how we usually act.” He said changing into nightclothes.

I shrugged thinking back on tonight. Did Seungmin really see no difference? Was I the only one who noticed? He hopped into bed and played on his phone while I changed. “I’m glad I’m on vacation with you though,” I said climbing onto the other side of the bed. “I missed you. I love the boys, but hanging our with you is different.” Why did that make my heart skip a beat?

“Yeah, you too.”

“Goodnight,”

Turning off the lights the both of us drifted off to sleep. The warm island breeze softly blew through the open window drifting over us like fairy dust. As if it was casting a spell over our eyes so that the next morning we would wake up seeing differently. Or at least one of us would.

Seungmin and I took breakfast in the room the next morning. Not even we could deal with the chaotic mess that was the Kwon’s first thing in the morning. We played in our room and lounged on the patio. To be honest we were hiding from Jin Ae and Si Hyun. Seungmin and I sat in PJs and simply talked the whole day, something we hadn’t done in a while. The boys called to check in and I joined in on the video call.

“Y/n! Jisung called out once my face appeared on the screen. I leaned over Seungmin’s shoulder to see all eight faces on his laptop. “Oh? Sungie? How are you guys?” Catching up with the boys was fun but I could see how Seungmin could easily get exhausted by them.

As night grew closer I actually began to grow excited about going out. “Seungmin, which should I wear?” I said holding up two dresses. A faux hunter green velvet dress and the white dress from last night. “You know you’ll never hear the end of it from Jin Ae if you wear the same dress twice.” I sighed knowing he was right. Slipping on the tight dress, I fiddled with some earrings before finally deciding on a pair. “Why do girls take so long to get ready? I swear you take longer than Hyunjin.”

“Really?”

“I take that back. No one takes longer than Hyunjin.”

Chuckling I finished applying some eyeliner and lip tint. “Whatever I wear Jin Ae will outshine me, so this will do.” I zipped up my shoes securing the three-inch chunky heeled boots to my feet. Seungmin looked me up and down his eyes widening slightly. “Don’t be silly you look great.” Seungmin stood in heavily ripped black jeans and a black button-down with some of the top buttons undone. He had rolled up his sleeves and for some reason, his ring was more noticeable. Maybe because I knew he never wore accessories.

Seungmin handed me my purse and grabbed his phone and wallet and then we headed to meet Jin Ae and Si Hyun at the club. Seungmin and I drove into the city and sang along to the music on the radio. We pulled up and heard the music from the club before even reaching the building. “Seungmin,” I said grabbing his arm, stopping him from exiting the car. “What?” I pulled open my bag and grabbed a piece of black fabric.

“We aren’t at the hotel anymore. Someone could see you.” I pulled him back and gently placed the mask over his face. He stared at me while I tucked the fabric behind his ears. “Thank you,” For some reason, he didn’t pull away. At first, I was confused, but I quickly grew comfortable with how he was looking at me. Just as he was about to speak my phone rang. Sighing he pulled away and let me answer my phone.

“Oh, Jin Ae?”

He looked over at me as we got out of the car and walked across the street to the club. “Yes, we are walking up now.” Aggressively pushing the end call button I turned to Seungmin. “She gave our name to the VIP bouncer, so we can just go in.” He nodded and walked up to the bouncer outside. “Name?” He said without looking up. “Here,” Seungmin said pulling out his driver’s license. The bouncer’s eyes went wide and he did a double-take. “Welcome, Mr. Kim! Please enjoy your night.”

I smiled feeling the vibrations of the music and the bright colored lights flashing throughout the room. “You want a beer?” I yelled over the music. He nodded and I left his side to walk up to the bar. “Two beers!” I yelled to the bartender. He nodded and went to the other side to get them. Suddenly I felt a hand grabbing my ass. “Hey!” I yelled turning around. My eyes widened to see a very attractive man behind me, a handsome smile on his face. “Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else, but what’s your name?”

He leaned against the bar and his hand brushed against my arm. Normally I would love this kind of attention from someone as hot as he was, but I could smell the alcohol on his breath and oddly my mind went back to Seungmin. “Listen, buddy. You can fuck off. I’m married.” I said holding up my hand and showing him the ring. He scoffed and took my hand. “Oh please! Girls these days are wearing rings like this all the time.” The bartender handed me my two beers, but the man stopped me from leaving.

“Come on, baby stay a while.”

“I told you, I’m married.”

“Really, where’s your husband? I don’t see him anywhere.”

Where was Seungmin? My eyes looked everywhere not seeing him. I tried to shrug off the guy’s grip but he wouldn’t let go. “Dude fuck off!” I yelled. “Come on, you lied about your husband! No one is even here!” He said getting too close for comfort.

“What are you talking about? I’m right here.”

The man turned around to see Seungmin, still wearing his mask. He honestly looked intimidating with his fists clenched and a glare piercing into the other man. “Really? You’re her husband? Man, your taste in men is shit. He can’t be.” Seungmin tugged me by the waist into his side. Before holding up his left hand. The man gulped as he looked at the silver ring glinting in the lights. He scoffed.

“Yeah, whatever. The bitch wasn’t that hot anyway.”

Seungmin took his beer and lifted his mask to take a swig. “Come on, we should meet up with Si Hyun.” Seungmin led me to the VIP lounge upstairs. His hand latched tightly onto mine, making sure I didn’t lose him in the crowd. The bouncer let us in and immediately Jin Ae waved to us from their table.

Obviously, the both of them had started drinking long before we got there. “Y/n-ah! You are my dongsaeng now! You must call me Unnie!” She said draping herself all over me. “Yeah, of course, Unnie.” She poured us a shot of whatever liquor was on the table and handed it to me. Seungmin talked with Si Hyun as Jin Ae pounded shot after shot. I drank but only enough to get a little buzz going.

“Hey, you two should do a love shot! Come on get the night started!” Si Hyun said with a bright grin. Jin Ae happily clapped along in agreement before pouring us two shots. “No, I’m driving tonight-” “Come on, Seungmin! Don’t be a downer!” Jin Ae whined. He looked at me briefly before picking up the shot. After linking arms, we were so much closer. Seungmin looked into my eyes before saying, “Cheers.” We both took the shot and heard loud cheers from the other couple.

“Si Hyun, come dance with me! Y/n, you should come too!” She said pulling Seungmin and me out of our seats and drastically changing the topic in her drunken state. Si Hyun followed happily as Jin Ae dragged us to the VIP dance floor. We dance for hours and had a few more drinks. Soon we ended up back in the booth, Jin Ae and Si Hyun sucking each other’s faces off like some creatures out of the movie Alien. Seungmin, sat next to me his arm lazily draped behind me over the back of the booth.

“Yah! We can’t be the only two kissing!” Si Hyun said suddenly, his words slurring. “Seungmin, kiss your woman. Show her you love her!” He let out a nervous laugh. “Hyung, we don’t normally do that type of stuff.” Jin Ae whined in her annoying voice. “What?! You don’t kiss?”

“No! What he means is, we don’t usually kiss in public. We can get carried away to easily.” I interjected. They seemed content with my answer. “I certainly know what you mean there!” Her lips captured Si Hyun’s in a sloppy kiss, causing both Seungmin and me to cringe and roll our eyes. “Still! We are all friends here! No one cares if you get carried away! Fuck on the couch for all we care!” Jin Ae said over the music.

The two of them looked at us expectantly, waiting for us to do as asked. Fuck, I couldn’t think of a way out. Seungmin desperately glanced at me, hoping I would think of something he hadn’t but I came up empty. “Fine, you want to see us kiss so badly?” Seungmin asked. I’m sure they couldn’t tell over the blaring bass but I heard Min’s voice shake as his arm came down to rest on my shoulder, pulling me closer to him so that our sides were pressed together.

“Yes! Do it! I’m eager to see this uncontrollable passion Y/n says you have!” Jin Ae said wiggling her perfectly plucked eyebrows. God damn it. Why did I have to say that? Seungmin turned to me already a very short distance away. Gently I pulled down his mask revealing his face fully. His left hand came up to my cheek and he looked into my eyes. There was almost a silent question he was asking. It was one of the things I loved about Seungmin- that we could have entire conversations with just a simple look.

My breath caught in my throat as I saw him move closer. Our eyes met briefly before I looked down at his lips. Why wasn’t he making the move? If he didn’t do it soon they might suspect something? Growing impatient, I closed my eyes and smashed my lips onto his closing the tiny distance. Seungmin hesitated to kiss me back but soon he took control. His hand slid down my body to rest on my thigh. The touch sent shivers down my spine. As he kissed me again he pulled part of my leg closer to him, pulling me almost into his lap.

I had never thought kissing Seungmin would be like this. I had never thought about kissing Seungmin. His grip tightened on my thigh as he continued to press rough kisses on my lips. instinctively, my hand went to his jaw and traveled into his hair. He smiled against my lips and his thumb rubbed across the bare skin of my leg. His teeth snagged my bottom lip, pulling at it gently and muffled sound escaped my throat bringing me back to reality. I pulled away out of breath and looked at Seungmin.

We had crossed a line. A sort of invisible line there was in every friendship between a boy and a girl. Kissing to convince them was one thing, but something felt different now about the way Seungmin was looking at me. “Y/n,” I turned to find once again Si Hyun and Jin Ae making out with full force. “Really? Are they that horny and self-obsessed?” I said sighing. I didn’t even worry about them hearing me.

By the time it was three a.m, all four of us were slightly stumbling to our rooms- some more than others. Seungmin had an arm thrown casually over my shoulder and we watched as Si Hyun raced down the hall with a squealing Jin Ae on his back. I rolled my eyes and looked at Seungmin who scoffed. It always seemed like they were putting on a show for someone.

“YAH! DONGSAENG!” Jin Ae screamed. “Unnie, be quiet! There are people sleeping!” I said putting on another fake smile, but she was too drunk to notice. “Shhhh! I expect you to fuck him good tonight! Right? Give your husband what he deserves!” She slurred. “I’m sure it won’t be as good as how well I’m going to fuck my Si Hyun, but do well!” She hung off of her husband like a wet curtain smiling with a crazy look in her eyes as she began to kiss all along the side of his neck.

“Seungmin! You use protection! You and me…we can’t have kids with our careers too early.” With one last clap on the shoulder, Si Hyun opened their door and they disappeared within the room. We walked into our room only to be met with a loud bang against our wall followed by some very lewd sounds. “Holy shit! Are our walls really that thin?” Seungmin quickly put a hand to my lips keeping me quiet. “What?” I mouthed to him. “They’re showing off! They are trying to prove they are better than us at you know….” He whispered.

“Fuck them. We can’t let them think that!”

“Are you really suggesting we-”

“Seungmin!”

“Sorry, that’s what you were implying.”

I scoffed as Jin Ae loudly and dramatically called out Si Hyun’s name. “What should we do? They are probably listening.” Seungmin whispered. Suddenly an idea popped into my head. I walked closer to the wall and as loudly as I could manage I let out a strangled moan. “Ahhh Seungmin!” I looked over to see Seungmin frozen in place. A crimson blush flooded his cheeks and ears. The sight was almost as cute as it was funny.

“Wha- what ar- what are you doing?”

“Shhh! Just follow my lead.”

He jumped as my hands pulled at the hem of his shirt. “Shhh Just trust me!” I said with a laugh. He let me pull the shirt over his head and push him over to the bed. Loud and overdramatic sounds were still coming from the room next to us. “Okay now grunt, really loud.”

The sound he made sounded more like he was constipated and I did my best to hold back my laughter as I sat next to him on the bed. “No, like grunt, moan, sex noises. Come on!” He tried again but only slightly improved. “Come on Seungmin we have to make this convincing!” My hand flew across his cheek and he screamed in shock. I shoved Min’s shirt into his open mouth muffling the sound making it sound more like a moan. “See more like that!”

“Ahhh Seungmin! Again!” I moaned. Seungmin arched a brow and took the shirt out of his mouth. “Shit, Y/n! Just like that!” He groaned loudly, a bright smile on his face as he tried not to laugh at the situation. “Oh fuck!” I whined, making Seungmin fall back onto the bed trying to keep in his laughter. “Quick get up on the bed!” I whispered. Seungmin stood on the bed with me and looked to me for what to do next. “Okay jump!” Both of us started jumping causing the headboard to bang against the wall.

“Oh fuck! Harder, Min!” I screamed. I started jumping closer to the head of the bead so the sound would be louder. The sounds from their room started to dwindle until suddenly there was a loud combination of moans and strung together curse words. “Come on Seungmin we can last longer than that!” I whispered. “God-Y/n!” He moaned again, the sound becoming more natural.

“Seungmin! Fuck I’m so close!” The two of you laughed as you continued to jump on the bed faster. I let out a strangled set of moans before a loud and high pitched whine at the end that could almost be a scream. “Keep jumping!” I whispered. He nodded and continued to groan and string together some dirty talk I didn’t know he had in him.

“Fuck, you take me so well! Ahh!” I couldn’t help but giggle interrupting the moan I was previously imitating. Seungmin pressed a finger to his lips with a smile. “Okay, big finale. Just trust me, okay.” Seungmin nodded with a grin as he continued to jump. I stopped jumping and caught my breath. This was almost as much of a workout as actual sex. To seal the deal I gave Seungmin a hard and swift kick to the balls sending him crumpling over and letting out the perfect groan that to any ear would sound perfectly convincing.

I joined him in letting out another strangled moan. Seungmin lay on the bed, his hands between his legs. “I fucking hate you,” Seungmin whispered his voice considerably higher. “You love me,” Rushing over to the mini-fridge I grabbed a cold bottle of Coke and handed it to Seungmin who immediately placed it against his crotch.

“If it helps, it sounded very convincing,” I said with a laugh. Seungmin glared at me from his spot on the bed. “Oh wait!” I said sitting up and grabbing Seungmin’s hand. “Pinch me!” I said. He pinched me very hard on the wrist. “Ah! Not there, you idiot!” Bringing his had up to my neck he nodded. He pinched the skin on my neck hard. “Again.”

His hand moved lower to just below my collar bone and he pinched hard there as well. I rushed to the bathroom and checked the marks. They were red, but not as convincing as the real deal. You could tell when you had a hickey. This didn’t look like one. With an aggravated sigh, I returned to the bedroom and pushed Seungmin onto his back. “Hold still. Mine don’t look real.” Seungmin froze in shock as I leaned over and pressed my lips to his neck, near his jaw.

“Okay either move your head, or I’m getting on top of you,” I said when Seungmin lay frozen looking up at me, his head unmovable from looking straight forward. Rolling my eyes, I threw my leg over his waist and leaned back over so I could finish making it look real. My teeth must have grazed over a sensitive spot because my movement froze when Seungmin let out a tiny low toned moan. Choosing to ignore it, I moved down to his collar bone and shoulder leaving a couple of marks there too.

I pulled away to see a blush covering Min’s ears. He simply looked at me, his lips parted slightly. It was then I noticed his hands and wandered to rest on my thighs. I don’t know what compelled me to say what I said next. Maybe it was the adrenaline. Maybe it was the leftover alcohol still circling my system.

“Now, you.”

“What?”

“Do you know how?”

His brows furrowed as he sat up. He was so close now that our noses softly bumped together. I couldn’t tell if he nodded, but Seungmin didn’t say anything. His stare flicked from my eyes to my lips before he leaned over and placed his lips just under my jaw. I could feel his teeth softly bite the skin there. A shiver went down my spine when I felt the cooling touch of his tongue soothe over the spot. My hands pressed against his bare chest as he moved to the other side of my neck. On instinct my body let my head roll back, giving his lips full access to my neck.

A shaky breath escaped my open lips as his hands moved from my thighs to wrap around my waist, one of them coming up and around to just below the base of my neck. “Seungmin,” I whispered as the bites became open mouth kisses all along my skin. He stopped and let his lips drag up to my jaw. It was like every fiber of my being was standing at attention, waiting for what he would do next.

I stared at him through hooded eyes, while his gaze never left my lips. After what seemed like an eternity his lips met mine in a soft and slow kiss. A sort of fog overtook my brain and my body went into autopilot. My hands moved to his neck and wrapped around him. Seungmin pushed me closer to his chest as his lips moved against mine.

The blaring of a telephone broke us apart. My head started to spin. In some sort of a daze himself, Seungmin picked up the phone. “Yes?” He listened to the speaker intently and then his face visibly changed. “What’s wrong?” I asked, finally finding the courage to speak. He ignored me and continued to listen to the person on the other line.

Without warning, he got up from under me and walked towards the patio, but didn’t leave the room. I watched Seungmin with tired eyes and a slightly drunk mind as the lean muscles in his back shifted with his movement. Shaking my head I tried to push through the alcohol’s effect.

“Okay, yes. Thank you.”

Seungmin turned back to you a stressed expression filling his face. “Min, what’s up?” He looked back over at me before sitting on the edge of the bed. “I can’t talk about it now.” Nodding I moved to give him more space. “Is there anything I can do?” He shook his head and laid back down on the bed.

“No. I just want to sleep.”

I stayed silent and got up from the bed. Going to each light I turned it off and then quickly changed for bed. When I returned Seungmin was already under the covers and staring up at the ceiling. I wanted so badly to reach out and comfort him, but clearly, he didn’t want that. I climbed into bed and turned away from him to give him space. Maybe he would tell me in the morning.

A morning breeze once again blew through our open patio door. I turned to find Seungmin gone from his side of the bed. My ears picked up on the sound of the shower running. Sitting up, I clutched my head cursing my past self for drinking so much. Tequila shots were not a good idea. Memories from last night slowly crept to the surface of my mind. We went to the club. Seungmin saved me from that douche bag. We drank with the Kwons. We….kissed.

We went back to the hotel. Jin Ae was a bitch. We had what could only be described as a fake sex-off. And Seungmin…kissed me. He kissed me. Like a real kiss. Not a fake one like at the club. That was a full on fucking make out session. I mean I was drunk. He was tipsy. It probably didn’t mean anything. Why did that thought disappoint me?

Looking over I saw a glass of water on the nightstand as well as a bottle of ibuprofen. Smiling a took the pills Seungmin left me and pulled my phone out to look at the time. The door opened and Min walked out in shorts and a hoodie before. “Morning,” I said. He looked over and nodded at me before sitting at the table with his laptop. “Thanks for the medicine.” He shrugged his shoulders and continued typing, but I swore I saw the tiniest smile.

“Looks like breakfast is in a couple minutes.” Seungmin nodded again and continued to look at his laptop with a serious expression. Getting up and grabbing clothes from my suitcase I went into the bathroom to change. Immediately, my eyes landed on my neck and I almost screamed. Scattered across either side were dark hickeys all down my neck.

“Hey, Seungmin!” I called out. “Yeah?” “Will you grab my concealer from my bag?” After some shuffling, Seungmin knocked on the door before entering. His eyes instantly went to my neck and stayed there while he handed me the makeup. “You’re covering them up? I though the whole point was to see them.” I turned back to the mirror just in time to miss Seungmin’s smirk as he looked at the dark marks he made all over your neck.

“I’m just gonna cover up this one.” He nodded and left the bathroom. I went about covering the biggest mark and then changing clothes before applying a little bit of makeup for the day. As I exited the bathroom Seungmin was getting off the phone with someone. “Y/n we need to talk.” Sitting on the bed, I nodded and looked back over to him. “Okay.”

“It’s about last night.”

I tried to hide the blush as the heat flooded every inch of my face. “What about last night?” I asked innocently. Just play dumb. I can always say April Fools if he asks me about it. Wait-fuck it’s not April.

“There was a picture of us taken last night.”

“Last night?”

“Yeah at the club.”

He tossed me his phone, a page already pulled up to a very popular gossip blog.The picture clear as day showed Seungmin and I making out in the booth. It also hand a close up of my hand which was on his jaw. The ring sparkled in the colored lights. The headline read: Stray Kids Main Vocalist, Kim Seungmin Spotted With His Secret Wife At Jeju Club.

Scrolling down I saw more pictures of the two of us. In the club. Walking out with Si Hyun and Jin Ae. Even Seungmin opening the car door for me. More articles popped up in the recommended. Titles like: Seungmin’s Hidden Marriage, Seungmin’s Mystery Girl, STAY’s Response to Seungmin’s Secret Marriage.

“Oh my god,” I looked up to see Seungmin had started to wander outside. Probably giving me time to process the situation. His ringtone sounded in the room making me jump. Looking down I saw the stupidest picture of Jisung.

“Hello,”

“Y/n? Have you heard what’s going on? Are you okay? Wait why do you have Seungmin’s phone?”

“He stepped out for a minute. Yes, I saw the articles.”

“ARE YOU ACTUALLY MARRIED TO SEUNGMIN?”

His voice was so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear. Rolling my eyes I brought the phone back to my ear. Running a hand through my hair I couldn’t help but chuckle at my friend.

“I don’t know how to explain it. It’s kind of complicated.”

“Man, Y/n. I thought you and I were endgame. Way to betray me.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Jisung and I were close friends. Sure we flirted sometimes but we both knew getting together would be a terrible idea. For much the same reason that Seungmin and I were now in trouble.

“But, really are you and Seungmin married?”

“No.”

“But you’ve kissed him?”

“….yes….”

“And you have a ring?”

“…..yes…”

“What more to marriage is there?”

“Well for one thing legal documents, dumbass.”

His laugh could be heard probably even without the phone. “So, it’s not real?” “No,” I then started to explain everything that had happened to us in the past few days. Even the part about last night. “You kicked Seungmin in the balls!” Now hearing it out loud it was pretty funny.

“But, seriously. The…other stuff…Do you like Seungmin?” Did I like Seungmin? I watched as he stood on the patio. He looked really stressed. My thoughts drifted to last night and the last couple of days. Did I really like Seungmin? Friends definitely didn’t do what we did last night. And they certainly didn’t act like how we were acting. But, it was all because of the fake marriage right? All for a discount? But, then again. I didn’t have to say I was married to that guy in the club. And Seungmin could’ve let that guy hit on me if he wanted to.

“Are you dramatically rethinking the entirety of the last couple of days?”

“Shut up.”

“So, I’m taking that as a yes?”

Maybe Jisung was right. “I think so? Maybe… I don’t know. We’ve been friends for so long. I don’t really know if I can tell.” A sigh escaped my lips filling the empty room. Now my thoughts were running a a mile a minute through my head.

“Can I give you some advice?”

“Sure, why not.”

“If someone seriously wants to be a part of your life, they will seriously make an effort to be in it. No reasons. No excuses. Seungmin does that for you.”

The thought made me smile. Did Seungmin really care about me that much? Quickly I finished up the conversation and walked out onto the patio, joining Seungmin. “Jisung called.” He gave me a half assed smile before taking back his phone. “Come on. We should head to breakfast.”

Perhaps it was the conversation with his hyung, but I couldn’t help but notice Seungmin’s hand on my back as we walked back inside to leave. The staff all smiled at us as we made our way back out to the restaurant. As usual Si Hyun and Jin Ae were seated at the table. Seungmin took my hand without warning as we approached the table.

“Y/n! I had so much fun last night!” She said in her shrill voice. “Me too! I loved clubbing with you!” Seungmin tried not to laugh at how fake my voice sounded as we sat down. Lightly I elbowed his stomach and he regained his composure. He draped his arm behind my chair letting his fingers brush my arm when he saw the waiter from a few days ago walk up to our table.

“I’ll have a mimosa. My hangover is killing me.” Jin Ae said not even sparing the boy a second glance. Si Hyun ordered a black coffee and before I could speak, Seungmin ordered for me. “I’ll take an americano and she wants a chai latte with a glass of orange juice too.” Seungmin turned back to me with a surprised smile.

“You remember what I drink in the morning?”

“Of course.”

“That’s so sweet,”

He smiled and leaned in to place a kiss on my lips. It shocked me at first, since I had been the one to initiate our “fake kisses”. He chuckled when he pulled away, seeing my face. “Yah, dongsaeng. That’s quite the love bite on your neck.” Jin Ae said with a smirk clearly pointing at my neck.

“Yeah, we heard you guys last night. Didn’t know little Minnie was so rough in bed.” Si Hyun sent Seungmin a look and he scoffed before sipping on his water. “Ah, hyung. Let’s talk about something else.” He laughed and thanked the waiter as our drinks arrived. The conversation finally drifted away from last nights events and onto today’s schedule and ordering.

Breakfast was delicious despite the company. Seungmin and I did our best to ignore them and spend time with each other. That was what we came here for in the first place. Right? This time it was Seungmin who threw us under the Kwon bus when he absentmindedly agreed to accompany them to the beach for something called the Couple Comp.

The second we were out of eyesight I slapped his shoulder repeatedly making him laugh. “Hey! Stop!” “Seungmin what the fuck!”’ He laughed as he ran back to our hotel room with me right on his heels. “Why did you agree to go?” He opened the door and jumped back onto the bed. “Because I love the beach and you love kicking their ass. Well I also love kicking their ass, but I’m excited about the beach too.”

Rolling my eyes, I pulled a swimsuit out of my suitcase. “I thought we needed to figure out the whole photo thing.” Seungmin shrugged and pulled out his phone. “I called my manager this morning. We talked and figured something out. He said he will release a statement tonight after talking to the CEO.” Did they really fix things that quickly? I thought a scandal like this would be more….scandal-y?

“So you aren’t getting kicked out because of me?” Seungmin shook his head with a laugh. The biggest sigh of relief left my chest and I jumped on top of him giving him the biggest hug. He laughed and hugged me back. “Yah, come on. We can celebrate this later. We have pretentious asses to kick.”

“You’re completely correct. Let’s go.”

Quickly we changed and raced down to the beach. Seungmin signed us into the contest and returned with two matching purple Hawaiian style shirts. "They said each couple had to wear these." He handed me mine and tossed his white t-shirt off to the side with my stuff. He slipped his arms through the shirt and then helped me put on mine. "At least you back won't get burned now." He said laughing.

Hand in hand we walked over to Jin Ae who was sipping on a margarita. Si Hyun was next to her sporting the same yellow Hawaiian shirt as his wife. Surrounded by other couples in brightly colored shirts we waited near a stage for further instruction. Seungmin and I talked just like old times. We joked and laughed. He told me funny stories about the boys, making time fly by faster in his company.

By the time the MC stepped on stage, the sun was high in the sky and burning down on us. Seungmin stood behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist, acting a sunshade for me with his shadow.

“Welcome, welcome, welcome!” The happy man said. “Are you guys ready to find out who the best couple is?” The crowd erupts into happy screams. Jin Ae blows my ear off next to me and Min cheers from behind me. “The first challenge we are going to do is for the men!” Everyone cheers once again as the MC starts to explain. The first competition was a relay race where the first twelve men moved on with their partners.

We all walked over to the course where the men lined up. Jin Ae gave her husband a huge smack on the lips. With a smirk he tossed her the yellow shirt revealing a very...very...very toned torso. The kind of torso that sent cartoon hearts popping out of my eyes and sirens playing in my head.

“Hey. You gonna wish me luck or not?” Seungmin said turning me to face him. There was a harsh look on his face and I noticed him shoot a glare at Si Hyun. “Oh, yeah. Sorry. Good luck!” His face softened when he saw my bright smile. Without warning he kissed me, his hand dropping to my waist and his free hand tangling his fingers with mine.

My heart skipped a beat. Closing my eyes I kissed him back resting my palm on his chest. My head started spinning when I felt his teeth pull on my bottom lip before Seungmin pulled away and kissed my cheek. “Hold this?” All I could do was stare Seungmin in the eye, frozen, as he removed the purple shirt and put it in my hands.

Seungmin was slim but toned in all the right places. “Cheer for me, gorgeous?” He laughed at my frozen state and raised an eyebrow. “Y/n,” Shaking myself out of hot Seungmin world I nodded and smiled at him. He waved as he went to join the other guys.

The relay was really challenging. The boys were doing a really tough relay race that ended with them swimming out to a platform, grabbing a flag and then swimming back to shore. I screamed at the top of my lungs as Seungmin grabbed our purple flag. Si Hyun was only a few yards ahead of him. Jin Ae cheered as her husband crossed the finish line. Seungmin followed soon after, running up to me out of breath.

I wrapped my arms around him, not caring that he was still soaking wet. He gave a breathy sigh and weakly draped his arms around my waist. My fingers tangled in his hair and I held on tightly to his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t win.”

“No! I’m proud of you, Min! I’ll kick her ass in the next round.” The boys dried off and the next challenge began. The remaining twelve girls got up onstage with the MC as he announced the next challenge. “For our wonderful ladies we have a beauty contest!” Jin Ae cheered next to me along with the other girls. I saw Seungmin and Si Hyun cheer and move up towards the front of the stage.

The girls shed their shirts and begin parading around in their swimsuits for the judges. Seungmin gave me a thumbs up as I walked on stage in line with the other girls. I put on my biggest smile and tried not to think about the big ass omelette I had for breakfast. Of course Jin Ae was in front of me with her big boobs and freaking thigh gap.

The judges deliberated and announced there was a tie for the first slot. They told two of the girls they were eliminated and went through the lineup until they got to me and Jin Ae. “The judges have determined there is a tie between these to beautiful ladies!” Everyone cheered as the MC walked over to us with the mic. “What’s your name?” The man said eyeing Jin Ae up and down. She grabbed the mic and waved to the audience. “Hello! I am Kwon Jin Ae! This is my dongsaeng but don’t think I’m going to go easy on her!” She cheered happily giving me the side eye. The audience cheered and some of them pulled out their phones.

“What about you?”

“Oh, I’m L/-- uh Kim Y/n. She may be my unnie but I about to kick her ass.” Seungmin cheered and I waved to him before handing the mic back to the man. “Okay these ladies are each going to pick a song and the best performance based on the crowd’s reaction wins!” The crowd cheers and my eyes light up. All those nights dancing in my living room with Seungmin or my roommate would finally pay off.

“What is your song choice, Jin Ae?” She thinks about it and then finally says. “I want to do Devil by CLC!” The crowd cheers and pulls out their phones once more as the MC motions me off the stage so she can perform. Seungmin latches on to me immediately. The music starts and Seungmin turns to me with a big smile and says, “Y/n you’ve got this in the bag.” I grin and turn back to watching her performance. She doesn’t do terribly. She only forgets a couple moves but makes up for it by jumping around and winking at the judges. She finishes and the crowd claps and cheers. Seungmin kisses my cheek and then sends me back up on stage.

“How about that guys? What about you? You think you can do better than that?”

“Oh for sure. My husband would be disappointed in me if this is the challenge I failed at.”

“So, what song are you picking?”

“Um...Let’s do Lip & Hip by HyunA.”

The crowd cheers and the MC goes over to the stereos to queue up the song. The familiar tune comes on and I roll my hips like in the video and I hear the crowd go crazy. I just let my body do what it remembers and I focus on what Seungmin told me was the most important thing in a performance. Charisma.

I just channeled being Queen HyunA and strutted across that stage and danced like I was one of her back up dancers. I rapped along to the song and made sure to hit every beat. As the chorus hit I dropped and danced along. The crowd went crazy and I saw Seungmin cheering like crazy with wide eyes.

For the second chorus I didn’t have a partner so I just free styled and had fun with it. Seungmin cheered me on and filmed me on his phone. God, if only HyunA could see me fucking slaying this song. The last note played and I posed and smiled. The crowd cheered and Jin Ae joined me on stage a sway in her step.

“Wow! What a performance! Who votes for Jin Ae?” The MC takes Jin Ae’s hand and the crowd cheers making her grin and do that fake humility thing everyone hates. “Who thinks Y/n did the best?” He takes my hand and the crowd erupts in noise. Everyone is screaming and cheering for me and I can’t help but laugh and blush. “It’s pretty clear who the winner of this challenge is. Congratulations, Kim Y/n you and your husband have a guaranteed spot in the next challenge!” I cheer and Seungmin runs up on stage and spins me around before pressing his lips to mine.

I was too excited to even think about the fact that I kissed him back without hesitation. Everyone cheered and we moved on with the competition. Several challenges later it is just down to us and the mother fucking fake ass Kwons. The sun is setting and we have spent the entire day trying to prove that we are in fact the ultimate couple. How ironic.

The last challenge was called “How Well Do You Know Your Partner.” We went head to head answering questions about each other for points. They were ruthless. But we wanted it so bad. It was down to the final question. “Y/n. You are tied with the Kwons. If you get this question right, you and Seungmin win.”

I nodded clutching the whiteboard in my hands. Seungmin rested his hand on my knee next to me. A warm wind blew across the stage and the waves good be heard over the music they were playing.

“Y/n...What did Seungmin want to be as a kid?”

“Oh I know this.” Seungmin laughed at me and wrote his answer on his whiteboard. “Y/n, what is your answer?” I flipped my board and said, “Seungmin wanted to be a professional baseball player. A pitcher if you want to be specific.” The MC turns to Seungmin who flips his board to reveal his answer.

“WOW! That is correct! Congratulations, Kim Seungmin and Kim Y/n! You are the best couple at Jeju Island’s Luxury Resort!” They give us weird graphic tees and a huge gift certificate. At the corner of my eye I see Jin Ae glaring over at the two of us as the rest of the crowd cheers. “Congratulations again! Now we have bonfire party for everyone on the beach so go have fun!” Everyone heads over to the beach and starts swimming and partying as the sun goes down.

Seungmin and I wander off as the night goes on, beers in hand as we walk down the shoreline, firelight fading in the distance. “You know what I just realized?” He shook his head and took a swig from his bottle. “I haven’t checked my phone all day. I had so much fun just hanging out with you.” He laughed and slung an arm around my shoulder.

“Well, we are still trending if you were wondering.” I reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. “Why do guys’ swim trunks have pockets? That is so unfair.” Seungmin scoffed and looked at me as I put in his passcode. “Are you saying you could fit pockets in that tiny thing you’re wearing?”

“That is irrelevant I want pockets.”

He laughed and looked up at the night sky while I scrolled through Twitter. He was right, we were still trending. STAY and other fans were going crazy over the photos. Apparently a couple people from the crowd had posted the video of me winning the contest with Seungmin. I laughed and read a tweet a loud to Seungmin.

“Seungmin’s girl is a boss ass bitch look at her dancing to HyunA! JYP cast her NOW!” Seungmin laughed and turned to me, stopping our little stroll. “I’m tired, you wanna sit?” Nodding, I kept looking at the responses on Twitter. Seungmin sat next to me his hair blowing softly in the wind. I was very aware of him watching me and laughing at me reactions to the posts.

My brows furrow as I see a post from JYP Entertainment’s official page. I clicked on the post and read the statement.

Hello, this is JYP Entertainment.

We would like to address the rumors about one of our idols, Kim Seungmin from Stray Kids. We appreciate your patience and hope you will continue to support Seungmin and his members. Yes, Kim Seungmin is in a relationship. He is not married to the person shown in the photos taken by Dispatch, though.

We have been in contact with him while he is on his break. He has addressed this personally and would like to clarify that it is not a wedding ring, but a promise ring he gave as a gift. At this time we cannot release the name of the woman Kim Seungmin is seeing but we hope you can support Seungmin and his love for her.

“Seungmin, what is this?” He gently takes his phone back from me before reading the post. “It’s the statement addressing the rumors. Why?” Fully turning to Seungmin, I tried to read his expression in the dark. “Why? It says were dating. This could destroy your image! You could lose fans.”

He smirked and looked me up and down. “You haven’t said no.”

“What?”

“You haven’t said we aren’t dating.”

Blinking a few times, I just stared at him in the dark. Did he just say what I think he said? Did Seungmin....my best friend really just say that. That cocky little shit. He laughed at me and grabbed my hands, still holding the phone. “Seungmin, you prick! Is this your way of asking me out?” I said smacking his shoulder.

“You have to do it properly, you jerk!”

Laughing, he took his phone and slipped it back in his pocket. Giving me that signature smile of his that drove thousands of girls wild, including me, he took my hands in his and looked me in the eye.

“Hey, Y/n L/n, will you go out with me?”

“No.”

“What?”

“Sorry I was just in it for the discount.”

Seungmin stared at me. I saw real disappointment flash across his face and he started to let go of my hands. “I’m just kidding! Of course!” Seungmin let out the biggest sigh his hands covering his face. “Y/n!” He yelled falling on his back. “That was so cruel!” I couldn’t help but laugh and lean over him to see the look on his face. He moved his hands and looked up at me with a smile on his lips.

Reaching up he pulled me down to his lips. Seungmin smiled against my lips before he pulled away looking up at me. “Does this mean I can give you name to the press?” He asked, pushing a piece of hair away from my face. “Only if you take me to the next HyunA concert and I get to cuddle with you in bed tonight.”

“I guess to the first one and the second one is a definite. Duh.” Laughing, I leaned down and pressed another kiss to his lips. “Now we can really kick the Kwons’ ass in couple world.” Seungmin played with my fingers and chuckled. “Didn’t we do that just now?” “Yeah, well that didn’t count.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, you better take us back for Valentine’s Day so we can beat Jin Ae and Si Hyun to the ground.”

“Not cause you want to spend time with me?”

“.....yeah...that too!”

Hope you all enjoyed! I apologize if there were spelling errors!

Requests are open!

Masterlist

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hawkbucks · 4 years

Note

is- is that royal aus post some ask prompt thing? bc if so I would just die for some of that muse playboy tony and instructor bucky au please say yes 🥺🥺🥺 also I love your aus so much!!!

It’s James’ job to notice the little things. Little openings, little hesitations, little mistakes, all those could mean the difference between carrying on in battle or being run through with a sword, and considering that his pupil is none other than Antonio Stark, heir to the Stark throne, Muse of the Valley, Ever-Ethereal, the Golden Heart, and 6 other superfluous, flowery titles, he would really rather like it if Antonio weren’t impaled on a blade should he have to partake in any conflict.

It’s James’ job to notice the little things. That’s why he can see the way Antonio oh-so-subtly sticks out his backside whenever he approaches. He can see the way Antonio looks up at him through his lashes, fluttering them coyly. He can see the way Antonio chews on his bottom lip, leaving it bright red and plump and shiny.

(Okay, those aren’t exactly little things--Antonio may as well be shouting his interest across the kingdom--but the point still stands that James notices them.)

James can see all of that. And he’s not interested.

(He may be a little interested. Antonio is a beautiful young man; there’s a reason he’s heard many men and many women lamenting the fleeting time they have spent with the young prince, but it would be a major breach of his ethics if he were to get involved with a student of his, no matter their beauty.)

“I do believe this is the fifth time I’ve had to correct your stance, Your Highness,” James says as he stands behind Antonio, ignoring the way the young Prince presses his back against his chest. “You’re holding your sword far too high.” With a gentle hand, he reaches over and grips Antonio’s forearm, lowering his arm. “Relax your grip. It’s too tight.”

“Many people have said they like my tight grip,” Antonio disclosed, tone on the lascivious side.

James scoffs. Heat rises up on his cheeks. He’s glad Antonio isn’t facing him. “I’m sure they have,” he responds, putting as much neutrality into his voice as possible. “Unfortunately for you, your sword doesn’t.” He looks down. “Spread your legs further apart.”

“How forward of you, Sir Barnes,” Antonio teases as he does so. “Not even an offer of dinner first?”

“Focus,” James grunts, the heat spreading to his ears. Lord, but he wishes that Antonio was more dutiful, more concerned with his training than unlacing James’ breeches. “I’ll be sparring with you personally today.”

He doesn’t need to see Antonio’s face to know that the man is smiling.

“Your shirt does not need to be unbuttoned,” James blusters.

Antonio winks at him, undoing the third button on his shirt. “It makes it easier for me to move, sir Barnes.” His hands fall to his sides, and James can see the way his chest is framed, tan skin a compliment to the madder-dyed fabric.

James’ throat clicks as he swallows. He bows his head and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Very well. If you feel like it would help.”

“It will.”

James unsheathes his own sword and tosses it into the air, catching it by the hilt. Cocky. “It won’t.”

Antonio ends up below him, splayed in the dirt, the tip of James’ sword settling underneath his chin. “Do you not pay attention to anything I teach you?” James asks, affronted and frustrated. “Every move I made could have been easily deflected. If you were more concentrated on your training and not on trying to b--”

James’ back hits the ground as his feet fly out from under him, eyes going wide.

Antonio crawls on top of him and straddles his stomach, the edge of his blade pressing against the skin of James’ throat. “Maybe if you were not running your mouth,” he countered before getting up and laughing. “You should see your face.”

James shakes his head to regain a modicum of composure. “That was a dirty move, Your Highness.”

“If you really want to see a dirty move, you should join me in my quarters tonight.”

James sighs heavily. He lets his head hit the dirt.

“What will it take for you to visit me at night? It is cold when I am by myself,” Antonio whines, draping himself over the back of James’ chair and resting his chin on James’ shoulder. “You are but three summers older.”

“I’m still your teacher,” James says, taking a bite of his apple. “Three summers or not, you’re still my student.”

“And if I were not your student?”

James pushes the side of Antonio’s face lightly. “I may consider it.”

Antonio giggles.

Oh, Lord.

James’ blissful sleep is so rudely interrupted by knocking at his chamber door. “Sir Barnes?” someone calls out from the other side. He recognizes the voice as belonging to Sir Rhodes, Head Imperial Knight, and one of Antonio’s oldest childhood friends. “His Highness Antonio Stark requests your presence at the training grounds.”

James scrubs the side of his face with a hand and groans quietly. He squints his eyes, realizing that sun is not even shining through his drapes just yet. “Is His Highness aware that not even the roosters are up?”

“He is aware. He is also very persistent.”

“I see,” James grumbles. He likes to think he knows Antonio quite well--besides the knowledge he’s gained from the various rumors swirling around the castle and the kingdom--and he just knows this has something to do with the conversation he and Antonio had a few days ago. “Tell him I’ll join him in a handful of minutes.”

“Very well, Sir Barnes.”

“James!” Antonio calls out, waving from his spot in the middle of a ring of lit candles. They barely provide any meaningful light, but they do well in helping James find out where Antonio is.

“Do you have any idea what time is it?” James asks in lieu of a greeting, mouth shaped into a frown.

Antonio leers at him. “Was I interrupting any dreams?”

“No.”

Antonio waves a dismissive hand, then cocks his hips. “Pity. As it stands, do you remember what you said to me? About how if I were not your student--”

“I’d consider courting you?” James finishes, raising an eyebrow.

Antonio nods enthusiastically. “Yes! I have chosen to take the route where I, the student, become the master, and therefore you wouldn’t have to be my tutor anymore. Then, we may--”

James holds up an index finger, silencing Antonio. “If you become the master. I’ll consider yourself no longer under my tutelage once you can make me hit the ground three times. None of those dirty moves from last time.”

“Continue to teach me, sir Barnes, and I will tell you when I feel I am ready to challenge you in an honorable duel.” Antonio actually bows, showing respect that James is honestly unaccustomed to seeing from him.

Antonio, surprisingly, hasn’t flirted with James even once throughout the past couple of weeks that he has decided to take his training seriously. Not once has he attempted to unbutton his shirt, and not once has he found any excuse to press himself against James.

He listens to everything James tells him with rapt attention, and the fluidity and grace with which he moves is inspiring. Antonio has always been called a genius, a prodigy, and James is now starting to understand why. Few can learn at a rate like he can; his mind absorbs information like a sponge.

Antonio manages to block a couple blows.

James smiles at him, and Antonio smiles back.

Antonio’s sword comes down against the strong of James’ sword, and, before James has any time to react, Antonio grabs James’ blade with one of his hands and shoves his sword up until both of their rain guards are meeting, wrenching downwards and ripping James’ sword away from his hands.

“You’re learning!” James exclaims.

Antonio drops both of their swords and runs in for an excited hug.

James gladly accepts it.

Antonio’s back hits the dirt for the nth time. “I was so close,” he groans, rolling around without care for his garments. “I keep getting close, but you always do something!”

James helps him up. “We’ll work on it.”

James’ back hits the dirt. “Wow,” he says. “You didn’t have to kick me or anything.”

Antonio snorts. “That was one time. I have to do this two more times, right?”

“In a row.”

Antonio crosses his arms.

Antonio continues to learn, continues to improve. He starts to anticipate what James’ moves are going to be before he even makes them.

James will admit that he’s been going easy on the lad, but now he thinks he can ramp it up a bit, make him sweat, make him work for it.

Antonio lands on his ass so many times that he calls for a break in the middle of the session, saying he needs to go sit on a cushion for a while.

James laughs heartily, then offers to grab Antonio a pillow, granted he doesn’t try to sit on it in the dirt.

“We’ll duel in a week!” Antonio promises as he runs into the castle to get himself firmly planted on that plush chaise lounge he has in his quarters.

James lands on his stomach, sword clattering a foot away.

“Two more times, right?” Antonio asks from above, sounding positively giddy. They’re both drenched in sweat, and Antonio has some dirt smeared on his cheekbone.

“Two more times,” James agrees, pushing himself back up.

This time, it’s James who lands on his ass. “Where did that come from?” He’s kind of in shock. The move that Antonio pulled off is sure as hell not one that he taught him.

“I can think on the fly,” Antonio says. “One more time?”

Lord, James thinks, Antonio might actually win this. Not that James would mind, honestly. These past few weeks have really... opened him up to the idea of possibly having Antonio as a lover, although he’s still hesitant to start anything while Antonio is under his tutelage. Again, ethics.

Time slows down to a crawl as James falls once again. He swears to the Lord that he can see his life flash before his eyes, the pollen carried by the wind.

“Oh,” he groans as his back, indeed, hits the ground.

Antonio straddles his stomach, much like he did the first time. “I am going to be honest,” he chuckles, “I also got some training from Sir Rhodes.”

“That’s cheating,” James mutters, looking up at Antonio.

“Maybe, but I think I have proven that I no longer need you to tutor me, correct? It does not matter where my knowledge comes from, as long as I am able to apply it.” Antonio places his hands on either sides of James’ head, back dipping. He lowers his head, bringing his mouth closer to James’ until their breaths are mingling, then--

He sits up. “I enjoy daffodils,” he says, “and my favorite dish is beef bourguignon. I believe that would be sufficient enough information for you to court me?”

“You are a wretched creature,” James breathes out, eyes hooded.

Antonio takes James’ hands and guides them to his hips. “I have the utmost faith in you, Sir Barnes. Perhaps you will have me courted by the end of this month.”

#Me: Wow I love the name Antonio for Tony sure wish that was canon (in more universes).#Me: Wait this is an AU.#Me: I MAKE THE CANON.#Tony has buttons on his shirt that's how you know he's royalty.#winteriron #filled #There be some harlots in his household.#ALSO THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS!#I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKE MY AU'S KLASJLDS #anon

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kisskunimi · 3 years

Text

𝔦𝔱'𝔰 𝔠𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔡 𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔢

kunimi akira wordc; 8k+ cw; 1970s!au, post-war!au, soldier!au, mention of unrelated violence, mature and degrading language, suggestive moments, reader is a sex worker, !shinjū - love deaths!

if you are not familiar with the story, please take the warnings seriously. based on the short story Kamāra shinjū by Sueko Yoshida.

Ⅰ

In the dead of night, from somewhere across the river, a clarinet. It fills the silence that is left behind the steps of men in uniform, lately outings solidly cemented in it’s rhythm. With your hands wrung tight in your jacket, vice like, you soak in the cold. The cobbled paths of Osaka are covered in a light layer of powdered white, crackling softly under the feet of a passerby. Your fingers are red, numb, with only your hard bones to peek through the hardened skin, and with these clumsy touches you drop open your jacket to fall around your elbows.

This way your shoulders and chest are almost entirely bare, and though you should be used to it by now, there’s a part of you, small and evergreen, that probably will never. Another set of soldiers passes under the lowly light of the theater building, trampling the last remains of cherry blossom with little care. The men are warm as they pass you by, stern in the face but with the playful smell of tobacco and whiskey to carry behind them.

You smile, as you look up at one of them, taking his slowed steps as a certain involvement. “Good evening, Sirs. Can I help you tonight?” The blond with a mustache, broadly built and towering above you, looks you up and down once, then twice, his eyes shaped with a hardness that most men have. The jazzy music seems to blend into the distance until is merged with the silence. You try to get rid of the shivers of your body, and give your most charming smile. “One night is only 20$ for soldiers.” Lies. One night is a fifty for any other girl here, soldier or not. But you don’t get to be picky, working so far outside the professional district.

“You speak English quite well for a foreign whore,” the other smiles, teeth bared with a viciousness resembling a rabid animal, “but not tonight, little mouse.” His dark brown hair is shiny with pomade, slacks held up by tan suspenders. His words don’t sting anymore.

You just pout and blink from under your lashes, hiding your shaky hands between your thighs in hope for a little bit of warmth. The blond soldier stares for a little longer, blatant eyes gliding over your chest and legs, before he slides his hand into his pocket. From out of the black uniform appears an old, red box.

“Would you like a smoke?” he asks, placing a cigarette between his own lips smoothly. His voice is heavy, thick with some kind of European accent, you’re not sure which one. In the last years, many a countries have deployed their soldiers here, though most of them American. They carry stories of cities bigger than life, buildings higher than the sky itself and though you know you won’t, you wish to see them some day. His rough fingers reach over to you, taking your hand in his.

“No, Sir,” you reply quickly though, tracing the cobbles of the road with the tip of your foot. His grip on your hand tightens slightly, calling for attention. The skin rough on your own.

“You should head farther up the street, girl. That’s where all the lovely ladies hang out. And that’s where all the soldiers get out of the bars.” He drops your hand to squeeze your shoulder instead, and puffs a cloud of white smoke into the dark night sky. With some more gazes at your thinly veiled body, he takes a step back. You know this, of course, it’s hardly your first time out here. But lately, the men have been getting both more scarce and pickier, forcing you to drop your prices lower and lower.

“Come on, François. We’re going to be late if we don’t keep going. I won’t have Nakayama show us up on yet another thing,” a swift grimace your way, “definitely not for the cheap price of a twenty.” He smacks the blond’s shoulder, and laughs then. “Move out, Sergeant.” The taller man gives a short nod at his friend in reply, waves you a slight goodbye, and turns on his heel.

The two saunter down the street with obnoxious story telling of the brunet ringing behind them. The lights twinkle in the darkness, bright to dim over and over. You huff and roll your eyes when they disappear behind the corner, watching the warm air from your lungs warp into clouds. Your jacket is pulled closed again, shaking like a reed as you look around. The streets are too lonely here, tonight.

It’s not your night, you feel it already. You glance behind you to peek at the clock in the facade of the building, and take a breath. A quarter past three already. Shit. Deciding swiftly, you wrap your jacket tightly around your body, and start walking the opposite way. Your heels tap on the street, mixing up the music in the background. You run the back of your hand under your eyes swiftly, before crossing the street, as a car speeds by on the next lane.

You pass some civilians and another set of soldiers, drunk and jovial, and come to a halt at the tram stop. The old faces of the houses here have their charm, you think, wishing just a second that you could see them from the eyes of just a visitor. Someday, maybe.

The tram makes a blaring, rattling noise at it comes to a stop. You get on quickly, ignoring the blatant looks of men and women alike. You could probably try in Naha today, hoping there’s more people there on a cold day like this. You take a seat, settling as the vehicle starts moving again, metal cold against your thigh. You only have a couple thousand yen left. Hopefully you’ll make it through tonight, and make at least a little bit of money. Otherwise, it’ll seem like a very cold, long winter.

You pass by men in business suits at a swift pace, almost blowing the top hats off their heads, which makes you smile. It might be a sad, lowly night, but at least the blurred streaks of lights in the distance are pretty.

You arrive in the next district quicker than you expected, and jump out to cross the street with a giggle, ignoring the honking of an angry driver. The smell of hot dogs fills the street here, a few people lining up on the sidewalk.

group of a dozen soldiers mingle under the roof of the bar. But your eyes instead glide to the man standing a little bit outside the group instead, taking him in as he chugs the last of his beer, and leaves his bottle on the windowsill of a neighboring house. His black hair is slightly wet from the snow, and his uniform hangs open to reveal a white undershirt.

You’ve always found it easier to approach men when they are alone. The cold wind sends you on your way, heels tapping on the smooth stone, under the gazes from the few other strangers. At least you’re still being noticed. That’s a good sign. As you take a deep breath, a memory wraps around your mind like a warm scarf.

It was a night like this one indeed, when you met him. When you get close enough, the stranger’s eyes flick up to you, eyebrows rising slightly. Though you wish to drift away into thought, you’ve got more important things to do. So you push any memories to the back of your head, and drop your jacket open as you come to stand next to him. “Evenin’,” the black-haired, young man mumbles, turning his head to look at you better. You smile, and nod at him, before leaning into the wall.

“Good evening indeed.” His mouth twitches with a smile, as you purse your lips. “Want to go somewhere with me, soldier?” He waits for a second, until another late car passes and after he’s glanced at the men further up the street. You wonder if he’s sober enough to understand why you came up to him in particular. It’s not like he’s that handsome. His hand is stuffed into the pocket of his creased slacks.

“Where do you want to go?” he asks, dark eyes gliding down your neck to your chest.

You giggle, fighting the urge to roll your eyes. “To make love.” A few years ago, these words would have made you a blushing, stuttering mess. But sadly, you’re not a few years ago now, and life isn’t as easy as you prayed it would be. When you look over your shoulder at him, you can see his slight clumsiness of movements, the slight slowness that alcohol delivers you after three o’clock.

“I’m broke,” the soldier admits, and for one, you believe. It seems everyone is, these days.

You sigh, but lean into him a little, grabbing his arm softly. This is the tricky part, you know this from experience. If you’re too eager, you’ll scare him away. But if you’re too slow, he might just slip through your fingers. His muscles are hard, proof of a hard day of work. “Twenty dollars,” you bring out, hoping with every fiber this man realizes what that number even means. It’s less than half of what most girls on the street are used to asking. A steal, in his eyes. And for you, well, what choice do you have? You’re broke.

And indeed, the man’s eyes glide up to yours at that, his eyes shining with sudden interest. “Twenty?” he repeats, slightly disbelieving.

With another look at the men to your left, catching the eyes of one of them, who gives you a sleazy grin, you nod. “Yes. Let’s go get warm, come on. Wherever you want to go, we’ll go.” You pull on his arm a little, feeling relief fill you as he moves from the wall without any more asking. You were already fearing this night would be totally wasted. And you really didn’t have the money to waste. “What’s your name, soldier?” you prompt, ignoring his cold hand as it travels into your shirt and up your back.

“Peter,” he mumbles, “Peter O’Sullivan.” You hum softly, and cross the littered street with him, under the soft music of the bar.

Ⅱ

You’re awoken by a soft thump next to the bed. When you open your eyes, the soft light of the sun peeks through the curtains onto your face, ceiling covered with the slight swirling of the incense smoke that burns on the bedside table. You glance to your side, at the slowly moving shape that takes up the rest of your bed. Kunimi is already looking at you, probably has been for a little while judging by his expression.

With a quick swallow, you turn on your other side, and pull the blankets up to your neck. In the light of morning, he can see your every flaw, and you’re not ready to lay that openly in front of him. You probably never will be.

His soft breath fills the silence, as you shut your eyes tightly. Kunimi wants to leave. You know this. You see it in his eyebrows, laced together with frustration that fills him top to bottom, in the fearful look he gives you when he thinks you’re not looking. The sadness in his motions, every second of every day. His eyes, though deep as the night sky, are those of someone with doubt in their heart and soul. You wish you didn’t care to pay enough attention to see it.

He wants back to his unit. He has the darkness of a person who’s suffering under the weight of the world, a man who’s fading with the time and the pathetically boring reality that is the life of a deserter. And it comes out in his brisk walk, and the sharpness of glass when it’s late. He’s started to loathe being near you, since you have become the only face of his life. Day in and day out, and you can watch it seep out of his seams when he’s around you. He’s tired of running, you know this.

The Military Police isn’t even looking for him. The patrol and police cars have been sent out in mass numbers just as little, leaving him with the blank reality that people don’t care. There’s no excitement left in being a fugitive, and so there’s no excitement left in being with you, either. And pretty soon after this, he came to the conclusion that being a deserter is painfully, sadly unmemorable.

The boredom is twisting up his insides. It is easy to read it on his face, easy to imagine that any day now, he’ll get up and he won’t come back to you by the time evening comes. Any second now, he’ll get up and walk all the way to Camp Courtney, with the ugly, chipped, green gate that separates it from the street. ‘It’s me’, he will admit, ‘I’m the fugitive.’ And the MP will arrest him and throw him in a cold, lonely jail.

But no matter what— you’re sure he’ll go. It could be tomorrow, or today, or in a week, that much you can’t predict just yet. But one day he will get up and walk all the way to that ugly, green gate with the aluminum roof and there’s nothing you can do to stop him.

You hear him climb out of the bed, feel the slight movement of the mattress at the lack of his weight, and listen as he opens the windows. With one smooth move, he slides open the curtain further, dousing the room in a light too bright for a cold morning like this. You pull the blanket over your head entirely, turning the other way again so you can look at him through a thin sliver of unobstructed view.

He takes a deep breath, and sits down on the rickety chair on your balcony. The breeze plays with his fluffy hair this way, tossing and turning it in all kinds of fun shapes. You let your eyes travel from his dark hair down, his ears peeking out cutely, following the thin lines of his neck to a broad, muscular back that flexes slightly as he leans forward to watch the cars drive past.

And though the light annoys you, this is Akira at his finest. After getting up, he travels to the kitchen to get a glass of water, stretches out, walks over to the window and watches the world awaken. Always. If you’re lucky, he crawls back into bed with you for a little longer after that, because he can.

Lately he’s been avoiding it, avoiding you and though you want to be mad for it, you don’t think you are. The man is tired. Of this apartment. Of you. Of life. You understand that feeling better than most. When a bird chirps from the rain gutter of the house across the street, he takes a deep breath, and turns to look at you. You, a lump under the thick blankets.

You lower the blankets a little to expose your eyes to him, and yawn. “Nimi?” Your voice is quite thick, most likely an oncoming cold from any of the nights you’ve spent outside lately.

He nods, and brings his eyes to connect with yours, attentive and kind, though the lazy lilt of his head says enough. “Hm?”

“Please close the window and the curtain if you’re done, the light is too bright.” Without saying anything, he does. The windows are shut, the curtains closed, making your home feel dim, and you almost immediately feel bad calling him back. Kunimi puts the old chair back in it’s place, and comes to sit at the edge of the bed, his side.

“Come here,” you breathe, opening the warm blankets for him in the hope that it’s enough to keep him settled for just this little while. He runs his slender, soft fingers through his hair, brushes it out of his way a bit, and slides into the blankets like you ask, his warm hands finding your sides almost immediately.

“You were out last night,” you note, melting into the bed more as you tilt your head back a bit to look at his visage. It’s not much of a question, at this point. The young man hums in response, and lets his hand travel to the small of your back, his lips opening and closing over and over as he thinks.

It makes the image of a fish out of water flash in front of your eyes, darting around desperately. You can’t help but think it fits the situation perfectly, fits him perfectly. “What time did you come back?”

“Uhm,” Kunimi frowns a little and looks up to the ceiling as if thinking about an answer, before letting out a sharp breath through his nose. “One, maybe? It could have been two, I’m not sure.” You know he came in at five last night, you don’t mention it. Instead you bring up your hand, and brush your thumb from his chin to his cheekbone, resting it there with tiny circles.

He’s young still, for a soldier, you think. And knowing that he already served for a while, means that he was much too young when he started. He’s also too pretty to be a soldier. Now, you know that the army doesn’t make exceptions like that, but he could have been anything he wanted to be, back home.

You never asked, but every reason escapes you when you think of why he could have possibly joined. A gorgeous thing like him, who hates the army more than anything. It seems backwards in many ways, but then again, that too— is Akira at his finest.

You decide not to think of it, since it won’t make a difference in the long run. He takes a few breaths with closed eyes, pulling his nose into an adorable little scrunch every few seconds. “You went to sleep with your pants on?” you ask, feeling the rough fabric on your skin when your legs tangle together.

“Yeah,” the brunet sighs, scooting a bit closer so he can lay his head above yours on the pillow, “too much work to take it off.” His warmth so close, smell so unmistakably Kunimi that it almost makes you homesick, in a way. Because even when he’s right here, under your fingertips and holding onto you, you know he’s so far away from you and your dull, boring apartment that any tenderness serves no use.

So you don’t respond, and press your body as close to his as it can get, nodding your head with the smallest movements you can make. Your lips press to the base of his throat a couple of times, letting your forehead rest against his skin.

“Where did you go?” you breathe.

With the soft words again, he pulls back a little and gives you a look, staring so openly at your face that you feel yourself getting red. “To Iwa’s. Iwaizumi Hajime, you know? I told you about him, that friend from the same division I left from. He lives nearby. I went to visit for a while.”

You now hum, listening to the little bird from earlier as it sings through the silence. You drop your hand from his face, and roll to your back, watching the last wisps of smoke floating by the eggshell ceiling, and at the tea pot that stands steaming on the counter. You hate the emptiness you feel when his hands travel over your thighs, brushing over your underwear.

“As long as you stay in a friend’s house, okay. But if you walk around too much during the day, the MP will find you and lock you up. You should be careful.” You don’t understand the army, honestly. It’s been six months since Kunimi left his unit in a hurry and ran off into the city, yet nothing— no one seems to be so much as looking for him in the slightest. He doesn’t behave like a deserter, and basically runs around day and night without a care in the world.

If you hadn’t read it in the paper yourself, you’d never even believed that he was on the run. Kunimi doesn’t respond to this, so you look back at him, sitting up on the plush. “Take off your pants,” you mumble, ignoring the coldness when it travels over every inch of your skin. Your entire top half breaks out in goosebumps. With a slight pause, the brunet follows your request, and tosses the piece of fabric on the floor.

He sucks his bottom lip into his mouth when you settle over his body, leaning down to his tummy. Your hands travel down his ribs and waist, squeezing with gentle touches in his soft skin. You press kisses down his navel towards his crotch, as you pull his last layer of clothing down his legs. Kunimi shakes a little when your nails dig into his muscular thighs.

His beautiful hands settle on both sides of your face as you go to work, breath heavier than normal. He cocks his head back in pleasure. You can’t drag your eyes away from him for a second. He’s so pretty, he really is.

His skin warm, like running honey, in stark contrast with his dark head of hair. Dark, calculating eyes that would put the blade of a sword to shame, and the kisses of sun that are littered across his cheeks and nose with a gentleness only heaven can give. God must have worked hard on this one, you think, as you watch the fluttering of his lashes.

Ⅲ

As you walk down Gate street, small snowflakes start coming down from the clouds, landing on the tip of your nose and the length of your lashes. You pull your woolen hat down further, and hold your hand up to protect your eyes a bit more. Can’t have your make-up running. You pull your empty shopping bag closer to your thigh, and speed up your steps a tad.

It wasn’t a day like this, but it was right here, you recall. You were waiting for some soldiers to finish their drink, walking over to them with a little smile. However, they were both far past drunk, so you quickly steered away. It was only midnight, and a figure came out of another bar, clothed in dark clothes but with slightly too long hair peeking from under an ocean blue newsy cap.

“Hey,” you call as he passes you by on the sidewalk, trying to catch his eyes in the process. You are just about to give up on him too, when he stops walking. He takes two steps backwards to send you an intrigued look without flinching for a second. You noticed he still looked younger, then too. Unmarked by the crows feet and stubble your other clients are so easily recognized by.

You clear your voice and lift one of your brows at his expression. “Twenty dollars,” you say.

The young man responds without hesitating, dropping his narrowed gaze for a slight twitch of his lips. “Ten dollars.” This makes you scoff, shaking your head at the ground in disbelief. Does he really think that he can get a woman for a pathetic two thousand yen? No one in their right mind would sell that body for that price.

Your first instinct is to get mad, at the ridiculous offer that dares cross his lips. But when you look up, possibly to cuss him out, you catch his eyes again. His face still has the certain go-lucky calmness most people have lost through the years, and surprisingly, it calms the fire in your chest almost instantly.

You notice truly how handsome he is as you try to form a response, bright in the night light. Unbelievably so. And you— you’ve always had the bad habit of leaving a soft spot open for good-looking men. He looks lost, you have to admit, like he dropped a piece of himself earlier and is desperately looking for it.

Though his handsome face isn’t what eventually makes you agree. You’ve been out in the shadow for almost three hours already, and you’re exhausted. At this point, you just wanted to sit down. Preferably with a warm body pressed to your own on a soft bed, free of charge if you must. Kunimi appears in a moment of emotional weakness of your heart, and stays there for the days to come. He’s alone, soldiers are hardly ever alone at this hour.

You walk straight past the hotels of B.C. Street and take him to your apartment in Kamara. When you enter the living room, where your bed also stands, you put out your hand and wet your lips. “Ten dollars.” He takes a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and smooths it out in your palm, giving you a small, crooked smile. “Do you really have nothing more?” you ask, fighting the frown on your forehead.

“I swear,” he nods, pursing his lips cutely, as he rocks on his feet, back and forth over and over. “It’s all I have left.”

You close the door with a sigh, and loosen your ponytail to let your hair spill out over your shoulders, sitting down on the bed. “If that’s true, how are you going to pay a taxi to get back to the base?” you ask, cocking your head sideways a little. What an interesting person, you think, the blush on his cheeks from the cold painting him in contrast with your dim home.

His black jacket is missing one of it’s gold painted buttons. So it’s true. You raise your arms to take off your sweater, and toss it onto some of your other clothes, as Kunimi averts his eyes to the floor. “Well?”

“I’m not going back,” he admits.

Now, your curiosity is definitely peaked. “What do you mean, you’re not going back?”

The brunet takes off his cap, and lifts his shoulders with a lost expression. “I ran away.” You just respond a quiet ‘oh’, and swing your feet close over the floor for a moment, thinking it over. Though you know that many soldiers leave before their time is done, you’ve never actually met one.

After a few seconds, you look up to study the face of the boy—man, really now. His face is clear, with well-sized features and wild hair that rests over his eyebrows and is pulled behind his ears without much care. He frowns, slightly unsure, as he leans against your counter.

“Whereabouts were you?”

He taps his fingers on the wood as he answers, warming up slowly but surely in the confinements of your small home. “Camp Courtney.”

“So you were a marine?” you fire back. Kunimi nods, looking out the window for a second, until you talk again. “What are you going to do next, now you’ve run away?” This seems to puzzle him for a second, like he didn’t expect your interest in his story. Honestly, neither did you. But you’ve never seen a soldier quite like him. He doesn’t seem to have the same self-importance most of them have when they walk your streets.

“I hope to find a way to get enough money to cross to Honshu. From there I wanna get to Korea or the Soviet Union if I have to.”

“Christ!” you respond in surprise, lifting your brows in doubt. You’ve never deserted. Is that really what a person must do to escape the army? Kunimi just shrugs again, nonchalant with the words. The slightly wet paper you twirl between your fingers stills for a moment. But well, same here. You don’t hand him back the money.

The young soldier, thick blankets pulled up to his chin, stares at you when you walk out the shower and towards the bed. Your gazes cross, and he quickly looks away, which amuses you more than you expect it to. But the longer you look, the colder you feel. You feel a devouring sadness for him, and you don’t know why. It drives you without your own will, wanting to wrap him up in your arms and to press a kiss to his forehead, to make him believe it’s going to be okay.

Maybe it’s the warm light of the lamp in the corner of the room, but his face is filled with a certain loveliness. Despite the calmness he seems to spread, his dark eyes are fearful. You don’t bother putting on your lace panties before you crawl into bed. You lean forward gently, and press a kiss to his cold lips, before taking his hand and placing it on your body.

Kunimi has nowhere else to go that night, and you let him stay over in your apartment. In the morning he leaves, without knowing where to. The next morning, there’s a little something in the paper about him. You read it when going to the top apartment to get your hair done, letting your eyes travel the grayed paper.

‘Marine from Camp Courtney stabs multiple people and runs.’ it says. It’s a short, little article, but you immediately understand it’s about him.

‘On the 7th, a marine of first class (20), stationed in Camp Courtney, got into an altercation over a trinket with his superior sergeant John W. Anderson, on the exercise field of Camp Hansen. He stabbed the sergeant in the gut with the bayonet he had on hand and ran away from the camp. Sergeant Anderson is heavily wounded, and will need a month of recovery. With the aid from the Japanese police the marine is doing everything in their power to track down the young man.’

That you’d slept with someone who stabbed a person, doesn’t scare you. You guess he must have been pretty ruthlessly bullied like all those men in the army are by their superiors. He must have lost his self control at a point. In the last couple of years, you’d seen enough bloody fights between soldiers. Once, you’d even seen a person shot in front of you. A simple stabbing doesn’t scare you in this regard.

When you travel back all the way down, back home, Kunimi sits patiently waiting on the stairs to your flat. When he spots you, he sends you a tiny nod, face carrying the distinct marks of exhaustion. “Hi,” he breathes. You respond with the same, and come to sit next to him on the stairs, putting down your groceries at your feet. His uniform has the distinct smell of sweat, most likely because he’d have to put the same clothes on when he left.

“Where’d you go?” you ask, looking over your shoulder at him, and the way his skin glows in the light of the sun. Even in a moment like this, he looks bright. Huh.

“Isabama,” the brunet responds carefully, lacing his hands together between his knees. “That’s where a friend of mine lives, he’s from the same place I’m from. I was at his place, but he tossed me out.” You nod, understanding. Harboring a deserter probably isn’t appreciated in the marine corps.

“You were in the paper,” you admit, figuring he hasn’t had the chance to check. Akira’s lips pull into a tight line, so you guess you’re right. “They say you stabbed a sergeant in the gut.”

“Stabbed lightly,” Kunimi immediately claps back, glancing at you with wide eyes, “just a little, he’s not going to die.”

“He’s going to need a month of recovery,” you point out, picking at the remnants of your nail polish mindlessly. Baekhyun’s dark eyes catch yours again, as he lets out a breath through his nose, and ruffles his hair to calm his nerves.

“He deserves it. I—” You interrupt him though, taking his hand in yours, feeling the cold digits shake in your hold.

“Don’t bother, you don’t need to give me a reason for your actions. But if you stay out here like this, they’ll catch you in the next hour, though.”

Kunimi nods, and looks at the speckled cement under his feet again, clearing his throat. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” He flushes a bit pinker, and gives you a look of uncertainty. “Could I please stay in your flat for a little while? Even if it’s just two, three days?” He takes a deep breath, before continuing a little more.

“Just until the money from my mother arrives at my friend’s house.” To your surprise, an image of the night before crosses your mind. His gentle touches, the honest adoration with which he held onto your skin like you’re the only woman he’s ever had. And you hate to admit how much it warms your heart. Maybe you’re really getting emotionally weak here.

You’ve never been so happy to accept so little money. That’s the only reason he sits here, on your staircase now. And if you could do your life over three times again, you know for a fact that you’d never get the chance to breathe the same air as a man like Kunimi again. So you sigh, and stand up from the cold stone to look at him, picking up your groceries in the process. “All right. You can’t stay here forever, but for now you can come in.”

The next morning you awake late, which Kunimi by your side. You get up, brush your teeth and walk back to the bed to pick up a darling dress that you put on over your white lace, when an impatient knock comes to your door. When you look through the peephole, there’s a policeman in front of your apartment.

There it is, already. You rush to his side and shake him awake, helping him leave through the window. You open the door.

“Oh, hello,” the officer says, taking off his uniform cap to give you a slight bow. You return it.

“Can I help you, Sir?” With your toothbrush still in hand, you look the young officer up and down.

The officer nods, and takes out a little notebook from his pocket. “Probably, Miss. Do you mind answering a few questions?” he asks, and you hum in response. The man starts his speech immediately at that.

“Well, we are looking for a deserted marine. Do you have any idea where he could be? An employee at Pinocchio Hamburger told us he saw a soldier who matches the descriptions. As you know, many soldiers collect there. This employee says he saw you and the soldier leave in the direction of Kamara. Does this sound familiar, Miss?”

You pout though, and lift your shoulders. “When was this, exactly?”

“Three nights ago, Miss.”

You put your hands on your hips, and look at the floor in thought, before giving the officer a lost look. “And what did the soldier look like?”

“A young man, quite tall. His hair is dark and longer than is in style. A marine first class…” The man gives you a short description, along with the note that he’s committed a terrible crime, something you’d never expect from someone that age. You nod, feigning understanding.

“Well, I did meet a soldier near Pinocchio that night, but the description is off. The man I met was a foreign soldier, and he was about twenty nine or thirty. Maybe you can ask the man at Pinocchio again— the employee?” you prompt.

The officer waves his hand in dismissal, and puts his notebook away swiftly. “Ah, this will suffice, miss. I know enough. He’ll show up around B.C. Street eventually. Those guys don’t have anywhere to run, you see. We’ll definitely catch him.”

With that, he excuses himself again, and leaves the building swiftly after. You watch the officer through the window until he gets into his car and drives off down the narrow street of your home, lights disappearing in the distance. Kunimi comes back when night falls.

After that day, the police don’t show themselves again, and for all you know, the MP couldn’t care less about him or where he could be hiding. Though he has hope for a few days, the money of his mother never comes, and instead of getting the rest of your pay, you’re the one feeding him and clothing him for the next six months.

After about two months you had fought up the courage to ask him for your money, but Kunimi simply didn’t have any to give, and he could hardly look for a job being a fugitive. The situation changed ever so slowly. Because more and more, you started feeling grateful that you even had him in your life.

He was a quiet, soft-handed man, who did enough to help whenever you needed it. You weren’t as lonely anymore. And you started to realize that you were sleeping with a man that seemed carved from marble, and the price you paid seemed little for it in comparison. In what world would you be allowed to hold an angel in your arms for only a twenty thousand yen a month? You started feeling heavy of heart, because you really, really didn’t want him to leave.

Ⅳ

When you round the corner at the paint store, you can see the light burning in your apartment. You speed up your walk, stuffing the fifty dollars you made into your jacket pocket and hurrying up the stairs of the apartment. White light beams through the small window next to the door. You turn the doorknob and sigh, kicking off your shoes easily as you enter the heated room.

“Nimi,” you call, lifting the bag of French wine in your hand higher in case he looks over at you. There’s no answer. “Hey,” you call again, looking around the small room with a frown. In the living room, there’s no Kunimi to be found. His jacket, his shoes are all gone, leaving you nailed to your spot in the middle of the room with a heavy feeling creeping into your belly.

The silence feels thick, surprising you with the weight of it. You put the plastic bag on your counters, and look around once more to be sure, before frowning. Had he really gone back to his unit? Had he given up on trying to cross to Honshu or Kyushu so suddenly, without a word to you? Where could he possibly have gone?

You grab your bag and rush back to the door, jamming your feet into your shoes painfully tight, already slamming the door behind you again. You run the opposite way you came from, looking left and right every few seconds in hope for the familiar face, adrenaline rushing through your exhausted body with a feverish pace.

You rush back towards B.C. Street, past the bar the Caravan, towards the house of Mr. Irihata, a man Kunimi has befriended not too long ago. Maybe he’d gone there. You start walking even faster when you arrive at the beginning of the crowded street, wrapping your scarf around your neck and covering your nose.

You suddenly feel the urge to sob, overwhelmed with the idea of it that you preemptively brush your hands under your eyes. When you get at the house, you walk around the side, and call out towards the window there. “Corporal Irihata?” The window opens almost instantly, revealing the face of the older man with his thick, bushy eyebrows and a stern face.

“Oh, it’s you,” he sighs.

“Is Kunimi not here?” Your voice is slightly shaky, eyes wide as you watch his expression change, but just barely.

“Oh, that deserter?” he asks, slightly surprised.

“He came here quite often, didn’t he?”

“Yeah,” the older man sighs, “but not today. Is everything okay?” You nod his worries away, too shaky to give into your sadness for now.

“Yes, I’m fine. He’s probably in a bar here somewhere.” You rush out of the street and past the bars along the street, peering inside quickly. No Kunimi to be found anywhere. You arrive on Goya Boulevard, and rush past that too. One by one, you check the windows for his familiar shape, without success. Where would he possibly have gone? Did he really go back to his unit, after all?

Your legs are shaky, knees weak. You’ve heard that deserters are arrested and brought to Kawasaki right away, and brought back home to be sent out again. Did he give himself in knowing that he’d be sent back all the way home, even as a criminal? You can’t even grasp the idea of that. No, that can’t be right. He probably went back to the flat already, he just went out for a walk.

Before you know it, your legs are carrying you back towards Kamara, up the windy, asphalt road to your building. Eyes stinging from the cold breeze and the heaviness in your stomach. When you look up, you notice through the window that the light is on. You’re pretty sure you turned the lights off when you left, so you rush up even more quickly than before, hands shaky. Your heart feels like it’s dancing, but you’re not sure if it’s a happy or unhappy one.

The door opens without any effort, the room bathing in the bright, white light. Kunimi is not here.

With a deep sigh, you shut the door behind you, and drop backwards onto the bed. You must have ran out with the lights still on then. For a long while, you don’t even move. You’re barely breathing, you think, staring at the imperfections on the ceiling like they are the reason for all your misery. If Kunimi went back to his unit, you wouldn’t see him ever again. You stand back up and walk over to the window, pressing your hands against it with a thick, heavy swallow.

He couldn’t have just left like that, he wouldn’t. But where could he possibly be at a time like this, with no money to his name? Suddenly, as with a hard gust of wind, the door blows open and Akira walks in. His dark hair is messy, tucked under a finely woven hat you bought him. And everything that was suspended so delicately in mid air in your mind crashes to the floor.

Your shoulders drop in relief, tears welling up in your eyes where you can’t stop them. “Where did you go?” you bring out. Your voice is shaky, bottom lip pulled harshly between your lips.

“I went out to Gate street for a while,” Kunimi mumbles, eyes slightly concerned at your tone.

He walks over to you as he unbuttons his jacket, and lays his hands on your shoulders, pulling you closer than you’ve been used to the last few weeks. “If you walk around too much outside, the MP will find you,” you whisper, catching his eyes in the process. The young man presses a kiss on your forehead, and walks past you to drape his jacket across the second chair in the room. He drops back in the bed like you had done not too long ago, and lays there, unmoving.

“Don’t think about it anymore,” he calls, closing his eyes against the bright light, “it’s all over anyway.” He doesn’t speak after that, and so neither do you. The silence lasts for a while, as you stare at the man you’ve grown hopelessly attached to over the past months.

Kunimi sounds so sad, so defeated. Like every bit of energy has been sucked out of him, and you hate that you’re left in limbo trying to help him. When he suddenly speaks again his voice is grated, pretty lips forming a slight pout. “Is there any beer?”

You move from the counter to sit on the rickety, wooden chair. “No,” you truthfully admit. “Would you like me to go get some? I got paid.” He takes a deep breath before shaking his head, and spreading his limbs out like a starfish. ‘Never mind’ he mouths. The silence that follows is even longer than the first, and by the time either of you move the sun has lowered behind the horizon so far the sky colors red.

The next time he speaks, you already know what will follow. It’s a cold feeling, piercing through bones and keeping you in place, though you’d rather run away yourself right now. “You know I called, right?” he breathes, and you hum in response. Your fingers are still ice cold, your legs still tingly from the back and forth earlier. “I decided to turn myself in tomorrow, at ten o’clock.”

It feels as if someone has hit you over the head with a pipe of lead, echoing around your mind like the bells of a church. And you try to smile, for him, but your face feels so tense that you’re not sure if it comes across. You lay down next to him and sigh deeply, closing your eyes against an onslaught of tears. Kunimi’s cold fingers brush over your thigh, but you feel like slapping them away. Your body seems to sink through the springs of the bed, so ridiculously heavy.

You swallow, and turn into his arms, fisting your hands into his shirt and your nose into the crook of his neck. “Run away with me, Akira. We can go to my hometown, where I was born. No one will look for you there. And there’s a bunch of abandoned houses,” you say, trying your best to keep yourself from begging, but at this point you know you’re not above it anyway.

“It’s almost fully uninhabited. The houses are old, but they have a garden and a lot of ground. I’ll plant grass in our yard, and cook us something better than eggs for breakfast. And you can fix the floor tiles.” It stays quiet again, you can feel his slow heartbeat against your cheek. But then he shakes his head, and you want to scream until your voice breaks. “If they arrest you, you’ll get sent back home. And you don’t want that, right? That’s what you told me.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” he responds just as quick, swallowing. “I’m tired.” And for one, you believe him. It seems everyone is tired these days.

After your shower, you walk around the room on tiptoes. Kunimi lays in bed, his face peaceful in his sleep, twitching slightly as he dreams. You smile at him for a few seconds, before putting on your favorite lace underwear, and your favorite summer dress. You drink a cup of tea, and a second one, and stare out the window mindlessly for what feels like an hour, but you’ve always been bad at keeping track of time.

Your lover’s dark hair stands up straight, in crazy spikes on his head, making him look ever so small. You move to sit in front of your mirror for a while too, putting on your favorite chap-stick. It’s sweet, like cherry. He once told you he loved the taste of it, and so you loved to kiss him with it in return.

And then you lock the door, and shut the window tight, squeezing the lock until it’s almost impossible to open. You walk to the kitchen, bending to turn open the propane gas. You turn all three gas taps open fully, leaving open the door from the kitchen to the living room and bedroom.

You lie down, and the bed creaks softly under you as well. Like the cry of a child, or the weeping of a loved one missing a lover. You know it well.

Kunimi turns on his other side in his sleep, facing you now. He’s beautiful, every inch of him, head to to. Eternal, in a way. It’s easy to believe in someone like that, isn’t it?

You close your eyes, and decide to count to a thousand.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five...

You take the lighter that always lays on your bedside table, the one to light the incense, and turn to lay on your belly. Face down in the pillows.

The clock ticks easily in the quiet of the room. Heavy breaths.

And you reach a thousand.

And you, with full determination, push your thumb against the spark wheel.

♡ fin.

#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #kunimi #haikyuu angst #kunimi fluff #kunimi angst #kunimi akira #haikyuu kunimi #kunimi x reader #fluff #angst #haikyuu x you #oneshot #hq x you #hq!!

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writing-the-end · 3 years

Text

LoL Chapter 33- One For Two

Masterpost

A Wizard Hermits tale (AU, designs, ideas belongs to @theguardiansofredland)

The architechs face their most dangerous battle yet, alone against the Magistrate himself.

And not all survive.

Warning: This chapter features major character death (temporary), blood, impalement, and other dark themes of death. Please use caution proceeding

______________________________________

“Mumbo? Mumbo wake up.” Grian hisses, his wings puffing up at the sound he hears in the distance. Iskall has already run out of the tent the architechs were in, going in search of the noise. But nothing can muster consciousness from his best friend, and unfortunately Grian must resort to ulterior measures.

He drags Mumbo’s bedroll out of the tent, clambering to hold the limp form. And takes off into the air. The sudden jolt skyward does wake Mumbo up, and he sheds his bedroll like a butterfly from it’s cocoon. “G-Grian, put me down! This wasn’t funny the first time, it’s not funny now!”

“Maybe if you weren't’ such a spoon and wake up this wouldn’t happen. Iskall and I heard something. It was getting closer, so he went to look.” Grian chuckles, and can’t help but give Mumbo another scare. He lets go of the multi-mage, but only for a second. Less than that, before he grabs hold of Mumbo by the pits. His cackle is only as loud as Mumbo’s scream, and they both return to the ground.

The nice, safe, hard ground. Mumbo is still trying to reclaim his heartbeat, though the sound of lightning crashing nearby does little to help. A second later, Iskall runs from the brush of the forest. “It’s a husk, a nue.”

As if in response to Iskall’s words, an eerie cry bounces off the bark and through the canopy. All three architechs are attracted to the bonechilling noise, the magic of the beast calling them closer. “We have to find it- there has to to be a reason a husk would be here.” Grian states, picking up the pace, following the noise through the forest. Leading him deeper. “Maybe there’s a crystal, or something that Dolios is doing here.”

Iskall chases after Grian, after the noise, and Mumbo stumbles after them, taking up the rear. Sometimes he catches just a glimpse of the beast, the grey and black stripes or the snake tail passing between brambles and bushes. He can’t stop himself from following the beast, the whimpering cry luring them all deeper and deeper into the woods.Until the trees part, and the moonless sky opens up.

And sitting in the center of the clearing, an enormous, ebony gem eeks it’s black tendrils into the verdant grass. Iskall peers into the darkness, noting how little the crystal has spread the dark magic. “It’s brand new. It was just placed here.”

“Perhaps the nue was it’s first victim.” Mumbo shakes his head.

“Or it was sent with the crystal to protect it as it made root.” Grian adds, stepping forward. His wings ruffle, the feeling of being watched a second too late.

“Neither, as a matter of fact. It was purely to lure you in.” His voice is so clear, so crisp, running ice down their spines. They turn, eyes settling on Magistrate Dolios and his charismatic, calm smile. He’s sitting on a rock, resting against the boulder like it’s a throne, cheek pressed against the palm of his hand and legs crossed. He almost looks bored, would it not be for the easy smile, the hunger in his eyes. The nue appears beside the magistrate, smoke and ash billowing from the fragmented figure. Dolios reaches out, fingers running from the glowing white eyes of the monkey head, running down the spine, before twisting the cobra tail between his fingers. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? A fresh crystal, ready to gather as much magic as it can hold.”

Iskal summons his magic, iskallium energy ricocheting up his arm as he stands ready for battle. “I’m going to destroy that crystal. Then, we’ll destroy you.”

Dolios’s smile never fades, even as he shakes his head. “You never stop, do you? These past few weeks, you and your band of heathens have been going all over Lairyon, destroying all my hard work. These crystals are important to me, you know. I can’t just replace every last one in the blink of an eye. It takes time.” Dolios stands, striding past the three. The purple fabric of his robes dance along the grass, sauntering to stand before the crystal. “But I’m quite proud of this one. It took me weeks, and you get the honor of being the first people to see it work.”

Mist swirls from the stone, then strikes out. Like whips, they bend around their master, who continues to smile with his hands tucked behind his back. Grian bowls to the side, knocking Mumbo out of the way before the magic can take hold. Iskall lets loose the ball of energy, sending it flying into the mist. Dispersing it, and crashing into the crystal. Another attack, this time with Grian warding off the magic. In a heavy beat of his wings, slashing the air with wind, he skips above Dolios and the gem, flanking him from the side.

Dolios shakes his head, not focused on Grian or Iskall. His eyes remain trained on Mumbo, who’s struggling just to summon his magic. “So much magic, wasted in such a pathetic form. You don’t even know what to do with it all. I don’t need your magic- just the power.” He looks over his shoulder, stepping aside when another sheer wind threatens to even ruin his hair. “The angel, on the other hand. What I wouldn't give for his magic in my repertoire.”

“You’re no multi-mage!” Iskall shouts, throwing a rod of iskallium at Dolios’s feet. Giving Mumbo a second to flee, to focus on his magic. “You’re just a mega thief of doom!”

“Quite the hyperbolic speech, young man.” Dolios snickers, grabbing Iskall by the arm with nothing more than his mind. No matter how hard iskall fights, he can’t get free. “An S-Class of your caliber is quite enticing as well. This whole team you’ve got is stronger than most of those idiots that call themselves the Council.”

Iskall continues to fight for his freedom, while Grian is battling off the mist that threatens to engulf his friend. Dolios is so focused on capturing Grian, on draining Iskall’s lifeforce that he’s completely ignored Mumbo. Why would he bother? Mumbo can’t even summon his magic at will.

But if there’s one way to bring Mumbo’s powers to fruition, it’s hurt his friends. Black mist squeezes past the winds that flow from Grian’s wings, striking through Iskall like an arrow through the chest. Iskall stumbles, skin growing grey and pale, flaky. He continues to fight through the pain, despite his strength being sapped.

Mumbo’s shaking hands go through the motions of summoning his magic. Palms out, coming together and fingers blooming like a flower- or a redstone circuit. Driving his magic from within, organizing it in a way he can control, until the circle glows bright and lightning appears in his hands.

No one hurts Mumbo’s friends. He gives Dolios a taste of his own medicine, sending the bolt of lightning straight into his chest. Dolios stumbles backwards. Red appears beneath the blue capelet, burn marks and blood crawling from the magistrate’s neck. He turns, eyes boring into Mumbo’s soul, and for a second Mumbo worries if Dolios can drain his power just by looking at him- like a gorgon or something. Dolios only chuckles, brushing his hand and waving the mist away. “I knew it was in there somewhere. You’re just too weak and naive to find true power. Unlike me.” Dolios summons his circle, dark magic coursing through each skittering line and curve. “Don’t make me waste my time on you, I still have to steal the angel’s magic. Just become a good, useful husk alongside your fri-”

The sound of cracking silences Dolios. The magic circle disappears, the magistrate whipping his curly ponytail around to see what is going on behind him.

He was so busy berating Mumbo, he didn’t notice Grian and Iskall. Despite Iskall’s weakened state, looking almost husklike, the two S-Class wizards pool together their magic, and launch it into the iskallium spike thrust into the core of the gem.

It shatters to pieces, fragments raining down over Mumbo and Dolios. The dark magic fizzles and dies, the energy stored in the gem returning to the earth. Where it belongs, rather than trapped in Dolios’s machinations.

But with each crystal fading back to it’s milky quartz color, the magistrate’s eyes grow darker. An anger fills his eyes, turning his smile into a sneer, lips curling and bearing perfect white teeth. Iskall laughs, whooping and dancing. He already feels so much better, the rosy color returning to his cheeks and the brown of his beard flourishing. “Take that, creep!”

Dolios stares at the broken crystal, then drags his gaze to the architechs. “Do you know how long that took me to corrupt? And you two cretins destroy it on it’s maiden voyage?” He chuckles and closes his eyes. Sts a hand against the sun-shaped clasp at his throat. “I’ll admit, there’s more power in you than I thought, Iskall. Your strength would have been so filling for me and my creation, you’d make such a good husk. Shame I have to kill you now.”

His eyes snap open, the hungry fervor for blood filling the ambered blue eyes. A predator stalking it’s prey, cornering it for the final blow. His smile holds no joy, none of the calm, charming light it masked the monster with. Now it was a cold snarl, teeth baring for his quarry.

Without a snap or a wave of his hand, Dolios’s circle appears and is cast. Power surges around the magistrate. He crosses the length of the clearing in two long strides. Grabbing Iskall by the collar and pinning him against a tree. “Why don’t you just hang awhile, Iskall?”

Dolios steps back, a branch has grown through Iskall. Bloodsoaked leaves and wood snagged through clothes. Iskall no longer struggles. He no longer spits curses or taunts. His head is limp, eyes closed.

Horror is written across Mumbo and Grian’s face. They knew Dolios was a murderer, a monster that was leading all of Lairyon behind a veil of prosperity, but to see it in action…

And he wasn’t done. He turns, and advances towards Mumbo. Grian tries to stop him, blowing gale force wind, but Dolios raises his hand. The blades of grass grow, forming a wall between him and Grian. Not even the feather shaped throwing knives could penetrate the greenery.

A scream echoes the clearing.

Then the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. From behind the grassy screen, Dolios steps over a limp hand, redstone mixed with blood. The grass shrivels and dies, revealing Mumbo’s body. Despite the blood on his throat, Mumbo’s mustache was still perfectly combed. “Mumbo?” Grian whimpers, “Mumbo wake up.”

A weak whimper escapes Grian, forced to stare at his two best friends dead before him. And him- the guild healer- was unable to stop it. Grian’s vision turns red and purple. Dolios digs his shoes into Grian’s gut, sending him sprawling across the ground. “Now that they’re cared for, let’s get onto more important matters.”

“I’ll cut you down!” Grian shouts, rising to his feet. Not a thought in his head, singularly focused on one thing- avenge his fallen brethren. One moment, Grian is halfway across the clearing. The next, his fist is colliding with Dolios, the force of a hurricane behind him. As his hand collides with Dolios, a crack of thunder echoes from the storm above. Summoned by Grian’s magic, the anger boiling with his blood.

Lightning cascades from the sky. Ripping through the air, directed towards the magistrate. Volts of electricity barreling to destroy him where he stumbles back from the punch.

The lightning strikes.

Not Dolios. A shimmer of light ripples between the bolt and the magistrate, magical shield turning the lightning back on it’s wizard. The bolt bounces off the light shield, and strikes into Grian’s chest. One second Grian is standing, ready for any battle that Dolios offers. The next, he’s on the ground, body spasming against the shocks that run across his nerves, burns spreading from the impact. “You’re different from the last angel.” Dolios muses, snapping his finger. The husk nue, disappeared in the night until needed by it’s master, presses massive clawed feet onto Grian. Dragging sharp claws into his back and wounding him further. The primate face snarls, foaming for the hope to rip Grian to shreds. “At least you had the dignity to stand and fight. But in the end, I always get my quarry.”

Dolios turns away, flicking his hair over his shoulder and peeking back at Grian. And he starts to walk away. The shadow beast disappears, returning to it’s master’s side. Grian struggles to rise. “Where...get back here! I’m not done with you!”

“No, but I am done with you. You’ve lost, little bird. You know where to find me- make it easier for yourself, and come without a fight. You’ve lost, just accept it.” Dolios turns away, stepping out of the clearing.

And Grian is left alone. Left in the destruction, the death. Left in the shattered pieces of the crystal and his life. Left with himself, the only living soul, surrounded by his dead friends. Tears mix with blood, his chest aching and pain growing as he heaves a sob up his throat before ripping across his lips. They lost. They may have destroyed the crystal, but Dolios got away, leaving only destruction and death in his wake. Like the very magic he spreads across Lairyon.

Grian stumbles to his feet, his muscles refusing to work against the pain of the lightning bolt and the overwhelming grief. Blood falling from his back, strength sapping away. But this doesn’t have to be the end. Not for Grian, not for Iskall or Mumbo. Grian is a sky angel- a healer beyond all mortals. He just has to be fast enough, strong enough.

He pulls Iskall free, collapsing under the weight and sorrow. Rolling his friend over, he places his hand on Iskall’s chest and focuses in.

Light radiates from Grian, and halo appearing over his matted, bloody hair. His wings triple, spreading wide and exuding blinding energy. Each feather is alight in a holy flame, rays beaming from the halo and glowing white eyes opening. The angelic magic twists and dances down from Grian’s wings, running over his own wounds from battle and pulsating through to Iskall.

Pain sears up Grian’s body, but he ignores it to focus on Iskall. Beneath his hands, Grian feels the wound close. Shrink until all that’s left is a raised scar. And then a heartbeat. Iskall’s chest rises and falls, shallow at first but growing deeper with each new breath. From the clutches of death. Iskall bolts upright, his dying cry falling from his lips. Faced with the sight of Grian’s archangel aura blinding him.

Grian doesn’t pause, wings beating against the air and ground. He rises into the air, swooping over to Mumbo. Hands shaking, placing gentle fingers against the wound on Mumbo’s neck. Light sweeps from wings to fingertips, cascading across Grian’s own mortal wounds. Light as bright as the noonday sun, ebbing from Grian’s body and flowing into Mumbo’s corpse.

A gasping breath rasps through Mumbo’s rattled body. He aches, his throat burning like he just choked on something dry and was whipped by a mishappen hand against his adam’s apple. Bright light blinds him. He blinks away the spots in his vision, hand reaching for his throat.

The last thing he remembers is something sharp against his skin, and the Magistrate’s cold, sharp grin in his vision. He doesn’t even know what happened to him until he sits up. Iskall nearly barrels him over, voice swirling around Mumbo but never really reaching him, just a din of death and decay.

He died. Dolios killed him. Killed Iskall, then him. Cut them down without ever easing his smile. So how is Mumbo still alive? He and Iskall both look around, searching for their healer. They discover Grian crumpled between them both. The halo above his head shatters, light fading and feathers falling apart in the wind. Blood pools beneath Grian, his breath faint, eyes closed. Mumbo presses shaking, pale, cold fingers on the fallen angel’s chest.

Nothing. No, wait. It’s still there. But faint.

Iskall and Mumbo don’t waste a second. With Iskall carrying Grian, the architechs flee the forest. Begging for Grian to hold on, just a little longer.

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

Walking away from the clearing, Dolios smiles. That cool, calm smile he knows all of Lairyon is addicted to. Deceived by. He doesn’t need to deal with dragging Grian back to the nearest crystal- he’ll give himself up. Just like they all do, when their hopes are crushed and left with only giving up. Giving in to Dolios. He’ll turn himself in, and save Dolios so much time and effort.

And Dolios cannot wait to finally have angel magic. He won’t waste such rare, unique abilities by simply sapping Grian’s lifeforce, turning him to a husk. No, he intends to take the magic for his own. Leaving nothing left but sky angel magic. His to claim, growing his repertoire.

Dolios laughs, and places two crossed fingers over the golden sun that clasps his cape together. “That cretin that calls himself an angel is being quite the nuisance. But alas, I will succeed in taking his magic. And you would want me to succeed, right dear friend?”

He may have won this battle, but the war is far from over. Dolios’s smile fades. They’re getting too strong. Even with those three out of his way, he needs to deal with the hermits.

Directly

#hermitcraft #light of lairyon #lol #wizard au #hermitcraft fanfic #hermitcraft au #wizard hermits #wizard mumbo #wizard iskall #wizard grian #architechs #mumbo jumbo #iskall85 #grianmc #violence cw #temporary character death cw #major character death #blood cw #death cw

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