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#I barely slept last night and got up four hours early so I knew I'd barely be functional at work
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Been having a "rough time™️" as the kids say. Called out sick, went to the craft store, and had a normal conversation with the attendant cutting my fabric. Bought a tiny cake next door to take home with me. The human body is so trivial, but that was somehow exactly what I needed to feel better
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dinasweden · 2 days
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WEEK 8
The final week.
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The kitchen that myself and Asier had managed to keep in immaculate condition for four days of tidy and sterile bliss could not withstand the first hours of our flatmates' return. But by this point I knew it would soon no longer be any of my concern. Thursday I was treated to a farewell lunch by my company. I unfortunately forgot to take photos but it was delicious and afterwards we got a tea and Cardamom bun and sat in the sun for awhile and chatted. That evening had Max Burgers on the menu one final time (Dameon and Marvin would leave the following day). Fortunately I remembered to take a photo and it was delicious:
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I packed all my stuff the next day in preparation, I was beginning to feel an immense amount of stress around the trip and barely slept that night.
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I woke up at 6am and had one last mini pizza for breakfast:
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I prepared some sandwiches for the trip, said bye to Isa and headed out into the foggy morning. It was silent and cold and bittersweet as I walked away from the Slott towards Borgeby bus stop one last time.
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I breathed in cold clean air and reflected on the past weeks as I waited the 20 minutes for the bus to arrive. Once in Lund, I bought 10 cardamom buns from Bruder Jakobs to share with my family back home, looked around, said my goodbyes to this quaint little town and then got on the train to Malmö.
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I had managed everything and I was 4 hours early to the Flixbus stop. Thankfully, the air became warm as the sun rose further in the sky.
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The bus came 15 minutes to noon and I got on and settled in for the departure. Another 9 hours after that we crossed the border into the warm, borderline tropical (in comparison to Sweden) Berlin evening. My partner waited for me at the bus stop and I felt such pure elation as the bus pulled into the station. We caught up on everything as we headed home where I finally, after two months, collapsed into my own bed with the cuddles of our cat that I'd missed so sorely, and fell asleep.
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calyxaomphalos · 2 years
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The Ghosts of Windy Ridge
Turn #29, three components
location #19 - Cloudbreak Mound (4)
neighbor #9 - Zebediah, "Zeb" commonly, of course - human who is very quiet (6) (Capricorn)
event #18 - unsettling shadow
8 April 2022, Friday Morning
I slept reasonably well, considering what had happened at the church the night before. When I woke up, I was feeling energetic, with a need to get out of the cabin and try to find Cho, if I could. I'm sure she'd have some interesting thoughts on what Dani had shown me. As it's a Friday, I could beat some of the weekend tourists if I headed out to Cloudbreak Mound first thing today. I'm sure the museum/gift shop/ranger station thing will be open before noon today and Cho said that was her day job.
The parking lot at the Mound was empty. OK, maybe I'm an hour early. I walked over to double-check the hours and then looked at my phone. Yup, OK, climbing the Mound it is. It'd be a long-shot to find any more of those Alchemy cards, which I'd totally forgotten to ask Dani about last night. Then again, a broken deck may have been broken for a reason and some spidey sense about that kept my mouth shut.
I went back to my car and got my bag with my water bottle then went to climb. It seems to take less and less time every time I climb it. The view is lovely. I'm surprised I don't see more people when I come here, I thought, and then remembered that I'd run into Andy up here the other day, before I'd seen him up at the mine with his cutting torch.
I spent maybe an hour or so sitting quietly on top of the Mound, eating my breakfast and admiring the view, thinking about the people I'd met so far. Almost none of them knew Mo. Many had heard of him or had met him only briefly. A deep shadow passed overhead and I could swear I felt the temperature drop a degree or two for that one brief second. Not a cloud in the sky, though, so I had no idea what had caused it.
Time to head back down, I figured, so I packed up my towel and made sure I hadn't left any trash, then headed back down the Mound. I saw that there were a couple more cars in the parking lot, one down at the far end, which is where Cho parked, but it wasn't her car. Not unless she had more than one. The other car was parked one space over from mine. The further down the Mound I got, the closer I was to the main building. I saw a family come out of the museum's door and head toward the stairs I'd just come down.
I waved and said "Hello," but the family was busy trying to keep four kids under control. The dad smiled and nodded, then helped his wife herd their children up to see the sights. I went into the museum and looked around for Cho, just in case it was her second car or something. She wasn't here, though, not that I could see right away. There was a guy behind the counter, dressed in an official Cloudbreak Mound docent's button-down shirt. He was thin, with thin scraggly light brown hair. I was guessing he was pushing 50, though if he'd spent some time with meth, he could be a hard 30-something.
I went up to the counter and asked, "Hi, is Cho in today?"
I'm glad I almost knew what answer to expect, as his voice was barely above a whisper, "Cho paints on Fridays."
I looked at the nametag on his shirt and then said, "Thanks, Zeb! If you see her, tell her Serren says hello."
Zeb smiled and nodded. He may have said something like "sure thing" before I was sure that I heard him say, still very quietly, "Have a good day!"
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helloalycia · 3 years
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teenage dirtbag [four] // wanda maximoff
summary: Things finally explode between you and Nate, and Pietro decides to get to the bottom of whatever is going on between you and Wanda, though in usual Pietro fashion AKA not subtly at all
warning/s: none.
author's note: this is very beefy, i must admit, but i think you'll all enjoy the outcome 😂💘
part one | part two | part three | part five | masterlist | wattpad
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Dinner with the Maximoffs wasn't as strange as I envisioned. Her parents were sweet and the twins did their best to make me feel comfortable. Wanda still seemed mildly frustrated whenever Pietro and I would talk though, and I figured she may have thought I was lying when I told her I didn't like him like that. I hoped that wasn't the case.
After dinner, Wanda took me upstairs to show me her bedroom. I'm not sure how to describe it other than it seemed so Wanda.
"I'm guessing red is your favourite colour," I said when I saw the hints of scarlet in her bedroom. On her walls, in her bedding, on her pillows. Just like her car and her jacket, they were all bright and very her.
"Great observation, Sherlock," she teased with a sly smile.
I returned the smile, sticking my tongue out at her playfully, before having a walk around and coming across her massive CD collection and CD player. Her music taste was actually quite similar to mine, which I definitely didn't expect. It just made her ten times more attractive to me which wasn't good, but oh well. I was here for a good time, not a long time. And my crush on Wanda Maximoff would surely be the death of me.
"D'you have any CDs at all?" she asked, joining my side when she noticed me staring at the shelf.
I crossed my arms, glancing at her. "Don't get me wrong. I'd love to collect them, but it's just so much easier to have Spotify, y'know?"
My intention wasn't to make her laugh, but God I was glad I did when her eyes crinkled and the sound rang around the room, making my heart pinch with adoration.
After giving me some of her pyjamas, the two of us got ready and brushed our teeth before I realised she wanted me to share bed with her.
"You wanna watch some TV before bed?" she asked, clearly not registering my hesitance to slide into her Queen-sized bed.
I swallowed hard. "S-sure."
She turned on the TV at the end of her bed as I slipped in beside her, still a bit rigid as I kept a fair distance from her.
"What you feeling? Comedy? Drama? Horror?"
"Anything is fine with me," I said, still tense.
She hummed in acknowledgement before leaning down on her pile of pillows behind her, edging closer to me. My heart was hammering in my chest as her hair tickled my arm from where she was laying.
"You comfortable?" she checked in, leaning backwards so her head was upside down to see me. "I have more pillows if you need them."
I offered her a small smile, hoping it disguised my nerves. "I'm good."
She nodded before flicking through the channels and eventually settling on reruns of The Office. It took time, but I eventually overcame my initial shock of sharing bed with the girl I had a major crush on and instead relaxed, getting comfortable under the covers.
After watching some TV, we called it a night and fell asleep quite quickly, the day taking its toll on us. For once, I wasn't panicking about doing something stupid. I simply fell asleep, trying to ignore the heat she emanated from beside me.
It was a peaceful night – her bed was super comfortable – and I woke up to the sound of Wanda moving about in her bedroom.
"Shoot, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" she asked when she saw me moving about under the blankets. I tried to blink away the sleep as she continued, "I was gonna wake you soon. School starts in an hour."
I rubbed my eyes, yawning, before sitting up and seeing she was practically already dressed. That meant she would have been up for a while, meaning she would have seen me fast asleep. God, I hated when people saw me sleeping. It always felt so weird.
"It's okay," I got out tiredly, before running a hand through my hair.
"You sleep well?" she asked, spinning around in her chair, her makeup half done. "I tried my very best not to use you as a teddy bear."
She was joking, but I felt my neck grow warm at the thought and damn, it was just way too early to be flustered.
"Yeah, I slept great," I settled, feeling her gaze on me. "Thanks again for having me over."
"Anytime," she said, and something told me it wasn't just a friendly response but that she actually meant it. Maybe it was the kind smile on her lips as she said so. "Just like last night, if you wanna use anything in the bathroom, go for it."
I gave her a thumbs up, taking a moment to wake myself up a little more, before heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I returned to Wanda's room, I saw she'd already made the bed and had laid my clothes on top of it.
"I've got a shirt you can borrow," she said when I grabbed my jeans.
"Oh, I can just wear the same thing again, it's no biggie," I told her, already grabbing my shirt.
She pouted before grabbing a shirt from her closet. "Just hold on. You'll love it."
In no time, she came out from her closet and held out a Paramore tee shirt on a hanger towards me.
"I got it from the last concert I went to," she explained. "I thought you'd like it."
I couldn't help but smile at the thought. "Wow, Wanda. Really? You don't mind?"
She nodded, shaking the shirt as emphasis for me to take it. I did, having a look over it and smiling to myself.
"I'll wash it and give it back to you tomorrow," I promised, taking it off the hanger and holding it with my jeans. "Thanks."
"You can keep it," she said, scratching the back of her head apprehensively. "I've got loads."
"Oh, no, I can't do that," I began to deny, but she shook her head.
"It's fine, I'm giving it to you," she said, before smiling sweetly. "I'm sure you'll look better in it anyway."
Again with the warmth spreading up my neck...
"I doubt that," I quipped with a small smile.
"Go! Go get changed," she said, already pushing me towards the door. "I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast."
I snickered, letting her shove me into the hallway, before heading into the bathroom to get ready. The shirt was oversized, so there was no need to be worried it wouldn't fit. It was actually really nice, plus I liked it that extra bit more knowing Wanda gave it to me. Though I knew I wouldn't keep it. It was hers and she was just being nice.
When I finished making myself look presentable, I headed downstairs and found the twins at the kitchen counter, chatting between themselves. Their chatter ceased when I walked in, with Wanda biting her lip and looking me up and down with satisfaction.
"I was right," was all she said, making me nervous. "You do look better in it than me."
The day after that, I did as I said I would and returned Wanda's shirt to her, washed, folded and ironed. Knowing she wouldn't accept it without a fight, I left it in her bag when she wasn't looking during class.
I should have expected her to approach me at my locker afterwards.
"It was supposed to be a gift," she said, and I saw her pretty face reflected in the mirror hung inside my locker.
I turned around, already knowing what she was talking about.
"I told you I couldn't accept," I said politely, giving her a small smile. "I appreciate it though." She seemed disappointed which obviously didn't help with my feelings for her, so I took a leap and added, "Maybe I can get my own at their next concert. In the summer, right?"
She picked up on what I meant and smiled, stifling a laugh. Running a hand through her hair, she met my gaze and I found myself frozen in place as always, unable to look away. I wondered if she knew what she was doing when she did that, knew that she was giving me heart palpitations every time her lips turned into a playful smirk and dark eyes studied me curiously.
My eyes drifted to her lips subconsciously and she must have put on some lip balm or something, prior to finding me just now, as they looked shiny and pink and just so damn kissable. Nate was one lucky guy.
Having faced issues with Nate three times now (AKA the three times he happened to launch a football at my head), I'd figured I wouldn't be seeing the last of him. He was a dick, meaning he had a natural inclination to piss people off, particularly me. But I never thought he'd go for Y/BF/N.
We were chilling by our lockers, chatting about his film project, when his books suddenly got knocked out of his hands and he was shoved against the lockers. I straightened up when I saw it was Nate, looking pissed off as he had Y/BF/N's shirt bundled in his fist.
"What the hell are you doing?!" I shouted, trying to shove him off, but he merely pushed me back.
"This isn't your business," he said to me before glaring at Y/BF/N, who was quiet with panic. "You. You've been hanging around my girlfriend and I don't like it."
The colour drained from Y/BF/N's face as Nate slammed his hand to the lockers beside his head, startling him.
"I want you to stay the fuck away from Wanda!" he ordered, and students were starting to pick up on the fight that was clearly about to break out. "You fucking hear me, you nerd? Stay the fuck away!"
Poor Y/BF/N nodded his head, eyes avoiding Nate's. Meanwhile, I was angrier than Nate probably was. Y/BF/N had done nothing wrong. Maybe Nate had just seen Wanda hanging with me and because Y/BF/N was always with me, assumed the worst. Either way, this was no way to handle the situation and I was not gonna let this dick threaten my friend.
"Get the fuck away from him, Nate," I said through gritted teeth, glaring a hole into the side of his head.
Nate barely glanced my way. "I told you this isn't your business, honey."
"Five seconds," I said, standing behind him as a crowd began to form. "You've got five seconds or I'm gonna kick you."
He seemed to ignore me as he tightened his grip on Y/BF/N's shirt, only pissing me off more.
"Five," I began to count down, the grip on my books tightening with nerves and anger. "Four."
He still didn't look my way, just kept slapping Y/BF/N's face to scare him.
"Three, two, one," I said quickly, tired of giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Without waiting anymore, I kicked him between the legs with full force, watching as he instantly let go of Y/BF/N and doubled over. Everybody began to laugh, some making 'ooh' noises, but the consensus was clear – it definitely sucked to be Nate right now.
I tried not to laugh as I watched his face scrunch with pain, turning red. I was starting to appreciate my choice of wearing my doc marten boots today.
"No more balls for the guy who keeps throwing them at my fucking head," I got out, jaw clenching.
He looked up, his face crossing with realisation as he recognised me. In response, he glared in my direction, but it didn't faze me.
"Come on, Y/BF/N," I said, looking to my startled friend. "Let's go."
"What on Earth is going on over here?!" a teacher's voice rang out in the distance, and I groaned internally.
When I turned to leave, I heard Nate from behind me, grunting with dissatisfaction.
"Fuckin' dyke," he mumbled under his breath, and I paused, clenching my fists.
"Y/N, don't–" Y/BF/N tried to stop me, but I was too pissed to care.
I spun around and punched Nate square in the face, feeling good as his smirking face scrunched in pain and his back hit the lockers from the impact.
"Woah!" a teacher came out of nowhere, shoving herself between us and pushing me away from him. "What the hell is going on here?!"
I shook my hand to ease the pain on my knuckles, though the pain couldn't stop the grin on my lips as Nate raised his hands to his face, holding his busted nose. Students were going crazy, egged on by the potential fight, and for once, I didn't mind the attention. Nate had that coming for a while now.
"Everybody back to class! Now!" the teacher yelled, glaring all around her, before her eyes settled on Nate and I. "You two. Nurse's office now."
Nate glared at me behind his bloody nose and, once again, I tried not to laugh. Y/BF/N patted my back, amazement written on his face, before letting me leave with the teacher and an unusually silent Nate.
Kicking Nate in the groin and punching him in the face wasn't something I did to get attention, yet that's exactly what happened. Word of the incident spread around the school quite quickly, so much in fact that even students from other grades became aware of the situation and were approaching me to tell me how awesome I was. The whole thing was definitely strange, but I could tolerate it.
What I couldn't tolerate was having Chemistry after lunch and wondering if Wanda knew.
Would she hate me for punching her boyfriend? I wasn't sure. I just knew that when she walked into class and sat next to me, I felt everyone's eyes subtly watching us as if waiting for her to explode at me.
I'd been given an ice pack for my bruised hand after my visit to the nurse's office earlier whilst Nate had been treated for his broken nose (the fact that I'd broken it was hilarious to me, since I knew I wasn't even that strong). The principal had a very angry yell at us both in his office, neither of us willing to reveal the premise of our fight, before giving us detention every day after school for two weeks straight as punishment. Of course, Nate got his two weeks at a different time to mine for fear I'd punch him again (he definitely didn't like that, but he couldn't exactly say that to to principal).
I didn't bother using the ice pack in Chemistry for fear Wanda may ask what was up. I successfully managed to hide my hand and as a second surprise of the day, Wanda mentioned nothing about the incident. Not one thing about her boyfriend, about Y/BF/N, about any of it. I thought she might hint at it, trying to get me to bring it up. But she didn't which made me think she actually had no idea it even happened. Had anyone told her? Had he told her? Nah, probably not. His fragile masculinity probably caused him to change the story to something else so he didn't look like a wimp in front of his girlfriend.
Whatever it was, I was safe for now.
Thinking I'd got away with a confrontation from Wanda, I went about the rest of my day as usual. Well, that was until I was replacing some books in my locker at the end of the day and saw Wanda at her locker behind me, arguing with– yep, you guessed it. Nate.
Y/BF/N was collecting some books from his own locker beside me and we both exchanged looks as we saw the two lovebirds in a heated argument. Just when we were about to leave, someone cleared their throat from behind us, making us turn around.
Wanda was stood there, backpack hanging from her shoulder, beside Nate, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else but here.
"Hi," he started quietly, making Wanda clear her throat. He glanced at her before looking to Y/BF/N. "Look, man, I'm really sorry about earlier. I was wrong about what I said. We cool?"
I tried not to laugh at the way Nate was being forced to apologise by his girlfriend. Y/BF/N glanced to me with questioning eyes, so I simply shrugged.
"I guess...," he finally answered Nate, still a little awkward.
Nate nodded before looking to me. He still had his reservations, judging from the twitch in his expression, but for Wanda's sake, he kept his cool.
"I'm sorry for treating you badly," he said reluctantly. "With the football and just generally."
God, it was so hard not to laugh in his face right now. His nose had gauze taped to it and it made him look like an idiot. I fake coughed to disguise my smile, before meeting his gaze.
"It's, er, cool," I said, not in the mood to be an arsehole to him, even though he deserved it. I'd punched him – I think we were equal for now.
He nodded, before staying quiet. Glancing to Wanda, he waited for her to say something. She rolled her eyes and nodded for him to leave. When he was gone, she sighed tiredly.
"I only heard about what happened after Chem class," she said, mainly to me, a guilty expression on her lips. "I'm so sorry he acted like a jerk."
I chewed my lip, unsure what to say.
"It's okay, Y/N here took care of it," Y/BF/N said, smiling with amusement at me. Okay, well now she definitely knew.
"Yeah, sorry you felt you had to do that," she said with a grimace. "I guess he deserved it though."
"Kind of," I agreed, before noticing the regretful frown on her lips. "He apologised though. It's already happened. I kinda broke his nose... No point in dwelling on it."
She smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Yeah..." Her eyes fell to my bruised hand before lifting it gently. I winced at the ache, but let her hold it, studying the purple bruise painted across my knuckles. "That looks bad."
It felt good punching him though, but I wasn't about to say that since it was her boyfriend I was talking about.
"It's alright," I said dismissively, shrugging. "Nate kind of got it worse. I'll live."
The pad of her thumb stroked the bruise gently and I held my breath, the feeling of her hands holding mine sending shivers up my arm. Her eyes flickered to mine, softened with guilt, before she let go of my hand.
"I should head home," she said after a pause. "I'll see you both tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow," Y/BF/N said for both of us, sensing my loss of words.
Wanda held my gaze once more, eyes half lidded as they glanced down. Before I could even question what she was looking at, she waved goodbye and left.
"She's either starting to realise what a dick her boyfriend is or she's just really into you," Y/BF/N said, patting me on the back. "Maybe both, who knows?"
"You definitely cheated," I told Y/BF/N once we finished yet another round of air hockey. "Nobody wins six times in a row like that!"
He laughed at my expression. "Tell me, dear Y/N. How would I cheat? The concept of the game is simple, really. It's not my fault you're terrible."
I rolled my eyes lightheartedly. "Seventh time's the charm. C'mon."
He chuckled, about to put more money in the machine, before his eyes got distracted by something behind me. "Well, would you look at that. The Maximoff twins are here."
"Very funny," I said with a knowing look. "You can't throw me off like that. We've established I'm already terrible. Now c'mon. Let's go!"
"I wish I was joking," he said, shaking his head.
I scoffed, not believing him, and turned around to prove him wrong, but I was surprised when I saw Wanda and Pietro walking into the arcade we were in. They seemed to spot us instantly, waving in our direction before approaching us.
"Fancy seeing you here," Pietro teased with a smile as they stopped before us.
I cracked a smile as Y/BF/N joined my side. "We're hanging out. And you?"
Wrapping an arm around his sister's shoulder, he tugged Wanda close to him. "Sibling bonding time."
Wanda rolled her eyes at his childishness, but I could tell she found it endearing all the same.
"Well, if you want, you can hang with us," Y/BF/N offered, and we all looked to him, myself raising a brow his way. He seemed to sense my reluctance, it egging him on as he grinned at them. "Y/N doesn't mind. Do you, Y/N?"
I swallowed hard as I looked between the twins. "'Course not."
And that's how I found myself playing arcade games with the Maximoff twins that Saturday afternoon. It was actually pretty fun, with Pietro being as competitive as I was and Wanda being the sweetest loser with everything she played. It was so adorable, but I ended up letting her win some games of skee-ball just so I could see that cute nose scrunch of hers as she realised she'd won.
"You gonna let me win like that, too?" Pietro caught on as he took his sister's place in playing against me. He had a mischievous grin on his lips and I felt my mouth go dry at what he was implying.
"You wish," I said, playing it cool, though I wondered if he cared that I clearly let Wanda win. He wouldn't read into it, right?
Pietro took his go as he spoke. "So, I heard what happened with you and Nate at school last week."
I closed my eyes, cringing at the reminder. Pietro merely laughed.
"You kicked him super hard, right?" he asked excitedly. "I heard his face went so red with anger that you could fry an egg on it! And don't forget that punch, goddamn what I would pay to have seen that!"
"Pietro!" Wanda scolded from behind us as her and Y/BF/N played air hockey. "Don't be a tool!"
I felt my face heat up with embarrassment as Pietro continued to laugh. Y/BF/N joined in whilst Wanda tried to hide the smile dancing on her lips.
"You're not even together anymore," Pietro called to Wanda between laughter. Wait, did I hear that right?
"You and Nate broke up?" Y/BF/N asked with disbelief. "Our grade's 'it' couple broke up?"
Wanda ran a hand through her hair to distract from her flittering eyes. "He treated you horribly last week. Both of you." She glanced my way before looking at her shoes. "He was a jerk. It was long overdue... Also, I would have broken up with him there and then had I known what he'd said to you. I'm sorry he said what he did."
She stared at me with apologetic eyes and I wasn't sure what to say or do other than nod awkwardly and look away. The fact that she'd broken up with him put a smile on my face though.
"I just think it's awesome," Pietro admitted, before saluting playfully to me. "Thank you for your service. I knew you were awesome, but this is a whole new level."
I sighed, attempting to hide my smile, before straightening up to play. Pietro and I played some skee-ball before I decided to have a go at the claw machine. Wanda was at the one beside me, attempting to win herself a fluffy black cat plush toy. She'd had three goes before giving up, admitting to defeat.
"Typical Wanda," Pietro teased. "Giving up when the going gets tough."
She punched him in the arm, making him jump and rub it. That elicited a smile from her, making me laugh at their immaturity.
"How about Wanda and I go and get a table in the diner next door whilst you finish up winning whatever it is you're trying to win?" Y/BF/N asked, looking to me, as if assigning blame.
"I already told you, I'm not leaving this machine until I win at least one thing," I stated stubbornly.
"The amount of money you've put into the machine won't make up for whatever you win," Y/BF/N teased with amusement.
"Just go," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "I'll be there soon."
"I'll wait with her," Pietro said, resting a hand on my shoulder, making me shrug him off jokingly. "See you soon," he added with a laugh, to his sister and Y/BF/N.
When they left, I looked to Pietro with an amused smile. "I don't need you to look after me, y'know."
He shrugged and looked through the glass of the claw machine. "I know. But I stayed to give you some advice, princess."
"Oh, really? And what advice is that?" I asked, before putting some coins in the machine to have another go.
"People usually tend to win these things for people they like, right?" he asked, nodding to the plush toys in the machine.
"Or for themselves," I corrected with a curious smile. "Take Wanda for example. How badly did she want that cat?"
He crossed his arms, smiling with amusement. "You could win it for her, y'know."
"What?" I asked, half paying attention as I attempted to grab a teddy bear.
"Win the cat for my sister and give it to her?"
I ended up dropping the teddy from the claw as I looked to Pietro with shock. He laughed at my expression, leaning against the machine.
"You do like her, right? Otherwise this is awkward," he added as an afterthought, looking down and smiling to himself.
My jaw hung open. "I– er– I never really– I don't–"
"She must definitely like you," Pietro noted, glancing at me.
I licked my lips as I found my words. "Did she," I cleared my throat, "did she say something?"
"Well, no," he said, "but she looks like she wants to murder me every time I hang out with you."
"That's just a coincidence," I said, shaking my head and looking back to the machine. "She's not–" I thought about, before shaking my head again. "No."
I appreciated Pietro's help, but Wanda definitely didn't like me like that. She was just protective of her brother and friendly to me. It didn't mean anything.
"Look, you don't have to listen to me," he said, straightening up and looking at the machine as I slotted another coin in. "But you could give it a shot. See what happens."
I glanced at him, his blue eyes watching me knowingly, a matching smirk on his lips.
"Fine," I gave in, hoping it wouldn't backfire. "Let's see what happens..."
608 notes · View notes
apixrl · 3 years
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DROWSY.
levi ackerman x fem!reader
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WARNING(S): none
word count: 3.4k
song: before i close my eyes // xxxtentacion
note(s): soft levi lives in my head rent free and that's perfectly okay he can stay for as long as he wants to
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Your hand pressed against your back as you stretched, stifling a yawn that echoed through the hallway. You swore you could hear your joints wailing out in distress, every step feeling as though you were dragging a weight behind you that was five times your size. Your bed was calling out to you in more ways than you could count, the idea of snuggling under the covers absolutely heavenly.
It had been a long and tiresome day, to say the least. After waking up early and in bright spirits, you made the decision to go on a long morning jog. To ready yourself for a presumably easy day. But those words came back to bite you when Captain Levi dropped you and your comrades into an intense training segment that lasted all morning. Then proceeded a heavy clean of headquarters in the afternoon. Ordered to rid the underside of the tables of dust and to clear those sneaky corners of muck that had festered far too long. To put a long story short; you were about ready to drop dead on the floor by the time evening rolled on by.
You loved Levi with all your heart, but unfortunately, your relationship with him didn't come with any bonuses. Yes, you saw a softer side on occasion, but the man never allowed bias to take over during work hours. You were treated the same as the others; a soldier in the ranks. A member of Levi's squad. When you did right you were praised and when you did wrong you served the consequences. Levi would set you on a thirty lap run around the camp perimeter if he saw fit, and there was no getting out of it. As much as you could complain, you knew it was for the best. When it came down to it, Levi was your superior as well as his partner and there had to be some line between the two.
Plodding along the hallway, your bedroom door up ahead was your saviour. You could practically taste the sweet rest waiting for you on the other side. Though just before you could reach your salvation, a voice from the neighbouring room stopped you in your step and tore you away from it.
"Y/N,"
Levi.
It would be lying to say you didn't whimper, so close to a good night's sleep yet so far all in one go. But you weren't so selfish that you'd ignore your lover's call because you were simply exhausted. Yes, you considered it... but resisting the urge gave you credibility, right?
Regardless, you exhaled a sigh knowing it would be wrong not to respond. That man you called your partner had ears like a cat anyway. He probably heard you make your way down the hall or noticed your shadow under the door and had sensed your halt upon his call. So dragging your eyes away from the vision of your wonderfully made bed (Levi having been the one to tuck the sheets in that morning since he was the last one up. So no wonder you were fantasizing at the idea of collapsing on there) behind the door of your room, you set your gaze on the door to Levi's office instead.
You realised it was open just a tad, explaining Levi sensing your approach so easily. Pressing your hands against the wooden frame, you pushed it open and popped your head around the door, forcing your eyes open no matter how much they pleaded to close against the candlelight.
As expected, Levi was seated at the chair of his desk. Neck-deep in papers that he'd been working on most of the night. One shorter pile to the left and a taller one to the right - one pile waiting to be looked at whilst the other sat completed. You wondered which one that was... and prayed for Levi's sake it was the tallest pile to allow him a good night's sleep.
His greyed eyes didn't look up upon your entry, something you just managed to notice through the strands of wispy black locks atop Levi's head. That seemed to indicate he was focused on the task at hand, especially from the way his hand efficiently worked at the pieces of paper like it was on autopilot.
"Yes, love?" You asked, resting against the door for a brief moment as your tiredness caught up with you. If you had reacted to it a second later you believed you would have tipped over from loss of balance, and you were relieved when Levi spoke up once more - his voice jolting you upright.
"I need you to take some papers down to the Commander for me," Levi stated, a certain tone in his voice indicating his own form of tiredness. But you knew that rarely stopped him and his work, the man willing to stay up until the early hours of the morning just to get it finished.
His words made your body panic, unsure if it could muster a journey all the way to Erwin's whereabouts. You had barely walked up the stairs of headquarters well, let alone travelling back down them and then all the way back up again.
"It can't wait until tomorrow?" You tried, chewing the inside of your cheek gingerly. From the way Levi glanced over his wad of papers, grey eyes filled with doubt, you knew it was a longshot. "It's just late, that's all. You need to rest,"
"No," Levi ceased all action, slouching down in his seat briefly as his fingertips held the bridge of his nose. His version of a short break and a way to bury his annoyance down. It appeared to be one of those nights, where he was swamped with work and didn't have the opportunity to simply 'head to bed'. "I'm still nowhere near done, and I don't have the time to take the ones I've already looked at to Erwin because of that," It was there his hand propped up, elbow resting on his other which has splayed over his chest. He motioned you over, eyes skipping between you and the seat opposite him until you got the message.
You were delayed in realising, feeling guilty at your inability to proceed Levi's words. You heard them, but fatigue seemed to seize hold and throw them out the window before your brain could comprehend the meaning. You hoisted yourself off of the doorframe, letting the hinges squeak the door shut behind you as you made your way to Levi's desk. You then sat yourself down, hands pressed to the chair arms as your attention steered to your partner.
"Okay... so which pile am I taking?" Was your question, forcing a small smile to at least seem interested. The black-haired man straightened up, eyes skimming over the papers on his desk and seemingly on the floor too. That made your brow raise, head tilting to the side ever so slightly in wonder. What was behind the desk?
Levi proceeded to push his chair back with his feet, his head quickly disappearing under the table as if to grab something. You rested your cheek in your palm as you waited, a hint of a frown as you waited. Your assumptions were correct as, after a few seconds of scuffling around, Levi reappeared from under the desk - standing up to place yet another pile of paper wherever his desk had the space to hold it.
"This one," He addressed, exhaling heavily once he was comfortable in his seat again. Just when you thought that was it, Levi pushed the taller pile of papers forward as well, and it would be wrong to say you were joyful of the sight. In fact, you were very much dismayed, the sight of the multiple piles of papers meaning more than one trip.
Suddenly you wished the shorter pile was the finished one.
"And this one," Levi spoke with little character as per usual, gazing upon the piles of papers like they were nothing more than a pile of dirt. Clearly, he had experienced little joy going through them, but work never got done whilst complaining. The only words ringing in his mind to convince Levi to get his head down and focus. "You'll probably need to take two trips,"
"You don't say," You commented and sighed to yourself. For hours you had awaited your mattress and now look at you, even further away from reaching it as before. It was a big shame you woke up in such an energetic mood and was ending the day feeling like you couldn't lift a finger. "And if I cant find Commander Erwin?"
"He should be in his office," Levi returned. "But if not, place the right pile on his desk," He then gestured to the left, hand pressing on top for emphasis. "This one will need sorting, however. Just separate the tags in the stack and the drawer they belong in is on there. It shouldn't take you too long, just make sure the files are in the right place or Erwin won't be pleased. Oh, and try not to drop them, please? I'd rather not lose four hours worth of work because of your two left feet -," Levi was cut short by a sound he was not at all expecting. A snorting noise caught him off guard, but when he looked up at you in question the answers quickly came pouring in.
It appeared in Levi's ramble you had grown bored. As there you were, head lolling forwards as your arm tried to prop it up, eyes closed and snoring away to your heart's content. Levi quirked a brow at your behaviour, then scoffed lightly. The man couldn't say he was surprised, of course you would nod off to sleep exactly when he needed your help. At a time where he was swamped with things to do and an extra pair of hands wouldn't hurt.
"Y/N," He tried after a minute or so passed, Levi frowning at the lack of response. If anything, the snoring grew louder. It was there he tried again, a little more firmly and loudly but still, nothing.
Typical.
Levi sat there in silence and disbelief, watching your frame rise and fall with each intake of breath. Meanwhile, you simply slept on without a care in the world, but it's not like he could leave you there. Leaving you sleeping in such a way was bound to cause a nasty neck and backache the following morning. So with a sigh, Levi hoisted himself out of his chair and walked around his desk to your side. Then he knelt down to your level, hand landing on your shoulder to give you a gentle but firm shake.
"Y/N," Levi spoke, a little softer this time, all whilst trying to nudge you awake. It appeared you had only lightly nodded off, as, after three or four shakes, you stirred out of your little nap. Your eyes shot open to meet Levi's observing you closely, a hint of a frown to his face as he did. In your state you barely noticed though, too busy trying to shake off your drowsiness but failing miserably as your eyes merely drooped more.
"Levi?" You mumbled tiredly, lifting your gaze towards your lover, puzzled over why he was so close to you. "What is it?"
"You fell asleep," Levi said with hesitancy, glancing away from you for a second before he continued. "Is everything alright?"
"Hm? Yes... everything's fine," You reassured, sending him a reassuring smile. Levi narrowed his gaze, prompting you to keep going. "It's just been a long day, that's all,"
"I see," Levi nodded, noticing your lack of attentiveness and sleepy demeanour. All of which you tried to force back through your smile. But Levi knew you better than that. He could see straight through the façade just how you could see straight through his, acting as though you were fine when it was truly quite the opposite. That was enough for Levi to suspect something was up, and that little switch in his head that differed between his role as Captain and partner flipped in an instant.
"Sorry... y-you were saying something before I dropped off weren't you?" You asked and pointed to the papers on the table. "Something about them?"
Levi turned to look at where you gestured, seeing the papers that still needed taking to Erwin. He contemplated still asking for your help, but it was obvious from just the way you looked alone that you were long desperate for rest. So exhaling a small sigh, Levi reluctantly cast his gaze back onto you and shook his head.
"No, don't worry about it," He allowed his hand to leave your shoulder and moved it to your face. Where he tucked a few loose strands of your H/C hair behind your ear, continuing. "It can wait until tomorrow,"
"Are you sure?" You asked through a yawn, leaning into the hand that Levi proceeded to support your cheek with. The subtle graze of his thumb over your cheekbone relaxing you to the point sleep nearly stole you from him once more.
As much as he disliked tampering with his organised routine, Levi knew sending you on errands whilst so tired would do you no good the next day. Perhaps he had pushed you a little far without realising, the thought running through his mind later on in the morning. You'd been lagging behind your comrades more than usual. Much opposing to you typically being at the front of the group and urging them on over the other way around. Whilst it wasn't as obvious in the afternoon, the strain in your expression as you scrubbed the floors and countertops had peeked its way through to him. Levi knew you in and out, and the frustration displayed ran much deeper than that of germs and bacteria. That was blatant now more than ever, so the least you deserved was a good night's rest. Just because he could run on little hours of sleep didn't mean you could.
"Yeah," Levi admired you under the dim light of his office after he spoke. Your inattentive gaze somehow continued to hold such focus as you looked back at him. The way you smiled with such love and yearn. How your cheek felt warm in his palm like he was holding the entire world. Which he was really. He was holding his entire world.
"Oh... okay," You said and your eyes drooped shut, not reopening. That brought Levi to act, blinking out of his daze and pulling himself to his feet with a sharp inhale.
"Come on, let's get you to bed," He said and slipped his arms around you, lifting you into their secure hold. You didn't protest, too tired to make a sound as you adjusted to the new position. A comfier position that ensured security and safety. One hand supported your back as Levi's bicep acted as your pillow and his spare arm hooked under your legs. You could feel the ever so gentle thump of Levi's heartbeat close to your ear, much opposing to his regular temperament - curt and firm and even quite harsh at the most.
Levi carried you out of his office, using his foot to open the door as he proceeded to venture down the hall to your shared bedroom. The place you had been going to before you were called to his aid. You kept your eyes closed the entire time but didn't nod off just yet, the bobbing motion of Levi's walk both drifting and stirring you from sleep. It wasn't long before Levi was pulling back the sheets whilst he only just managed to hold you with one arm. You made it easier by wrapping your legs around his waist and your arms around his neck, giggling lightly to yourself when you almost slipped. Somewhere in Levi's silence, he found it amusing. Perhaps not verbally placed, but you sensed it nonetheless. Still, he downplayed it with concern, his hand pressing against your back to hold you closely against his frame.
He placed you down with care, hand only leaving your back once it rested on the mattress. Sliding it out, it returned to the sheets as he placed them back over you. Meanwhile, you watched through half-lidded eyes, following where Levi's gaze trailed. Mainly sticking to the sheets he tucked in for you out of the goodness of his heart, though flickered back to you on occasion. His eyes contained a warmth that opposed their normal grey colour. A warmth that he usually failed to place into the spoken word and resorted to showing it rather than saying it.
Eventually, Levi finished, his hands stopping their skilful movement and pressing into the pillow on either side of your head. He was silent for a moment, observing your tiresome state and realising just how fatigued he was too. He battled the urge to collapse on the bed beside you, pull you into his arms and fall fast asleep. To ignore his duties for just one night. Give himself a treat and spend the night snoozing away like the everyday citizen. But Levi knew that was irresponsible. He had been irresponsible enough leaving the paperwork so late. It also wasn't the life he had been fated to lead, regardless of how pleasant the idea may be in the subconscious of his mind.
"I still have a lot of work to do," He uttered no louder than a whisper, exhaling deeply in an apologetic sigh and hating the idea of traipsing back to his office to work. "I'll have to join you later but I'm guessing you'll be asleep,"
"It's okay," You hummed, head tilting to the side as an innocent smile formed on your face. "Do I get a kiss good night, at least?"
Levi couldn't fight the small chuckle that escaped him, head proceeding to hang forwards and shake too and fro at your words. He truly felt he didn't deserve you and the love you gave him. Always so understanding, never complaining about his packed work schedule. How you made him feel steady and kept him sane. Perhaps it was because you were a soldier too and knew how time-consuming the job was, but Levi was grateful for all of it. The man met your eyes, a certain radiance in them that he'd refrain from showing to anyone else other than you.
"You're twenty-nine years old and you act like a child," He remarked with no ill intent, the laugh that elicited from you music to his ears.
"Yeah, and you chose to -," You were cut off, Levi leaning forwards to press his lips to yours in a tender kiss. You hummed in approval, forgetting the words you planned to say and instead enjoyed the display of affection. Levi lingered longer than usual, an indirect apology for the fact he had to leave you with the bed half cold. You didn't question it, knowing Levi's work never truly stopped and granted him a break. The fact he'd even paused just to tuck you in comfortably was enough to satisfy your needs, whether Levi would believe that or not was up to him. But your eyes fell closed, both from bliss and sleep catching up to claim control.
Gradually your lips loosened on Levi's, indicating you had nodded off. He opened his eyes and pulled back in question, watching your head tilt faintly to the side as your pillow held its weight. Levi exhaled deeply, leaning down to plant one final kiss on your forehead. Then he hoisted himself off of the bed and walked to the door.
"Good night, Y/N," He said once there, glancing back at you one final time. From where he stood, you appeared merrily at peace. Finally grateful for the embrace of your bedsheets after a dragging day of nonstop training. Levi did feel somewhat bad for being a cause for your tiredness, knowing that he could sometimes be cruel when playing his 'Captain' role. But he couldn't favour you just because of his feelings, and the fact you rarely made that an issue provided him relief like no other. Still, Levi's guilt asserted as he closed the bedroom door quietly behind him.
Why... it wouldn't be terrible if he let you sleep in a little bit past the wake-up call, would it?
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lstories · 3 years
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Emma and Gaudi(um)
(Safe, Soft, Unwilling, Vore, accidental fearplay.)
Original idea by @mangotangovoredango. I just put my own spin on it and used my own oc's
"Owww." Emma woke up, her back was killing her. "Every God damn night." She muttered to herself still half asleep, she tried to grab one of the blankets to cover herself and fall back asleep as the morning sun crept in. She flailed her arms to no avail, looking down to the foot of her bed Emma realized she had kicked off all her blankets trying to get comfortable in her sleep... again. Every night was the same, waking up in weird positions and her muscles aching from working and resting. She didn't have to work, she didn't have to do anything. She was the CEO of a nationwide electronics/shopping chain and didn't have to work in store but, she wanted to help more than shoot ads and work as a telephone line between the board of directors. She still had to work as the CEO while also working in store and it was starting to catch up to her.
She didn't want to fall into the category of not having to work a day in her life so she worked retail in her own company. After laying in bed for almost an hour, waiting for the alarm to get her out of bed she was not expecting a knock at the door to be the thing to fully wake her up. "Why is anyone out here, and why right before work." She thought starting to sit up. Putting her slippers on. Emma lazily walked over to the front doors. She wasn't expecting anyone and she lived a few miles out of town so nobody should be here. "Hey! I told you this was her house." Emma could recognize the voice immediately without needing to see their face. A few of her work friends stopped by with a car parked out front. That would be great if she didn't have to take a shift in an hour. "Hi, work starts in an hour, what are you doing here?" Emma said trying to sound as awake as she could. "You signed up for the carpool, remember? It was a four person pool and you signed up as the third person in ours. Also why aren't you ready for work yet." Hope said, a bit confused and concerned.
Emma started to remember, she just thought it was another paper for her to sign and now the pictures started to make more since. She didn't want to let her friends down so maybe a week would be ok before she stopped to not hurt their feelings. "I... guess it just slipped my mind, I'll get dressed really quick." Emma said closing the door and walking back to her room. "MAKE IT QUICK, WE GOTTA BE THERE SOON!" Paige yelled threw the closed door. Emma started to get dressed as quickly as she could. Stoping only to grab a small tied bundle of physical cash she put into a side pocket in her purse. She was still so tired, she couldn't keep going to work with how she's been sleeping, mostly less than an hour or two a night. She also refused to drink coffee, it was too bitter and it only made her feel even worse after a while. She walked out the door, just barely remembering to lock it as Paige basically dragged her to the car. "WE GOTA GO NOW!" She yelled as Hope started to drive off before Emma could put her seatbelt on.
"What is your rush, we have over an hour and a half before work starts." Emma said finally getting her seatbelt on. "No, it starts in half an hour and we're 10 miles away AND we have to pick someone else up!" Paige said as she frantically looked threw map and clock apps. Emma couldn't help but peek over the seat and look at her phone, and then she realized something. "You remembered daylight savings, right?" Emma said tiredly, showing her phone to Paige. She looked at the time on her phone, then the time on Emma's phone, back and forth until editing her time. "My time was off." She quietly said. Hope started to laugh her ass off. "Looks like we'll be able to stop and get coffee too." Hope said as her laughter started to die down. "Oh... cool." Emma said, a little annoyed that she couldn't go back to sleep for this. She tried to drift off, her head resting into the soft cushion. She almost fell asleep until the car stopped and another person got in the car. The briefcase they were carrying hit Emma in the legs and she winced in pain. "What the, why's there a forth person. Who... Faith?" Emma exclaimed rubbing the side of her leg that was hit by the briefcase.
"Oh, sorry Emma. Were running late and looks bad when the manager shows up last." Emma slightly glanced at her, annoyed that she couldn't sleep. "Did you-" Emma tried to talk before she was interrupted by Paige. "Daylight savings was last week and we were late but Emma showed me that my clock was fast and now were heading to the coffee shop because were early, is your clock fast?" Paige said. She didn't seem to need to breath when she talked. "Oh, I guess it is. That's embarrassing. Where are we going for coffee?" Faith asked as she started to settle down. Emma couldn't believe it, this was the first day of the car pool she didn't remember signing up for. They were uncoordinated and didn't plan for time, and she wouldn't expect anything less from her friends. "Theres a coffee shop on the corner and the new guy there makes amazing drinks. Should we go there?" Hope said, turning the corner before anyone could answer. "Guess that's a yes." Emma said under her breath. They all talked and waited in line and Emma just tried not to fall over. "Hi, what can I get ya." Gaudi exclaimed. "Hey your the new barista that Hope has been talking about, didn't you just move here because the old coffee shop you worked for closed and you were transferred here because you were so good and did you know Amy she was a regular there." Paige said, a giddy smile on her face and no falter in her breath. "Like a walking plot machine." Emma said under her breath. Gaudi slightly laughed at it, but no one else heard it. No one was supposed to hear it, she knew she said it quietly enough so nobody could hear it, let alone someone on the other side of a glass pain while she was in the back of a crowd.
"Ya, I knew Amy. She always got a hot chocolate instead of something caffeinated." Gaudi said, his face going from concerned back to chipper in an instant. "Anyway, what can I get you all?" He said. Everyone ordered their cups and last was Emma to order. She had never ordered coffee before and she didn't want to start now. "I heard something about hot chocolate, could I just get that." Emma said, her eyes were too heavy to hold open for very long. "Its not my specialty but I can load it with sugar if that's going to help you threw the day." Gaudi said, slightly laughing. "If can get me threw the day I might come back tomorrow." Emma said, placing 100$ on the counter. "You can keep the change." She said walking back to her friends. Gaudi was shocked, he looked at it and back at her. He wanted to make her drink perfectly, would it be so selfish to use a bit of magic to help her and himself. She seemed nice and she was cute so why not have her around sometimes, and maybe she might give him another big tip someday. He started to work on all their drinks, once he got to Emma's drink he made it as normal before lightly scratching something into the side of the cup. Emma couldn't stop looking back at him, there was something about him that she couldn't shake. It wasn't bad but she didn't trust it.
"Here you go everyone, and we hope you come back soon." Gaudi said while handing everyone their cups. Emma took one sip and immediately her entire body seemed to wake up. It was super sweet and she took another sip. Once she finished she felt like she had slept an entire day. When Gaudi wasn't making anything or helping anyone Emma came up to talk to him.
"What did you put in my drink? I haven't felt this awake in months."
"Magic."
"You put magic in my drink?"
"Ya, a small awakening spell."
"Come on, what did you put in it. I need to put it in my own drinks at home."
"If you won't accept magic then it's my personal secret."
"So you want me to come here every day to get your drink."
"I'd be able to see you every day and that would be nice."
"You want to see me? Can't tell if that's flirty or stalkerish."
"Well you said you would come back if the drink woke you up."
Emma started to talk once again before getting cut off. "We gotta go now, work actually starts soon." Hope said walking out the door with the others. Emma walked away without saying anything, trying to catch up to her friends. "Guess I'll see you tomarow then." Gaudi said with his head on his hand and a big grin on his face. Emma spun around, her cheeks were slightly red. She was about to say something before turning around and following her friends out. They all got into the car, everyone was eerily quiet. Emma had one last glance at Gaudi threw the window, he was helping a customer and was able to slightly glance back at Emma for just a second before Hope drove away. "So... You like him, don't you?" Faith said looking over at Emma. "No. Quiet, I'll fire you if you dont be quiet." Emma said, her cheeks brightening. "You do, you think we didn't notice." "Of course you do, and I think he likes you." They kept talking about how cute it would be if they were together, Emma just buried her head in her hands until they got to work.
Timeskip: Next Day
"Ugh" Emma's back was killing her... again. This time she had to get up even earlier for the car pool. She got up, got dressed, and waited outside for her friends. Her mind started to wander, she thought about what would happen at work, what the board of directors would be arguing about and all that. Then she started to remember what happened yesterday, Gaudi, the drinks, her friends, and how they would probably bring her back there. Oh and speak of the devil's, her friends pulled up at that moment. She lazily got into the back seat and they drove off, Hope and Paige were talking about her. "You were more productive yesterday and you seemed happier." "Maybe its because of the new barista." They kept pestering her about it. Soon they picked up Faith and she joined in, joking about her and the new barista. Not even five minutes later and they were at the coffee shop. They all gave their orders, leaving Emma to talk to Gaudi at the other counter.
"So, your back."
"I said I would be."
"Well, what can I get you today."
"Another hot chocolate."
"Will do."
Gaudi got to work making her drink, once she sat down he put another scratch into the side of her cup, covering it with the sleeve. Emma took a sip, her body started to wake again. If it kept waking her back up she was going to come here every day without complaint, other than her friends annoying her. They all talked, Emma actually able to commit to the conversation now. Before they left Emma put 200$ in the tip jar, smiling at Gaudi on her way out.
Timeskip + Brief Summary: 4 months later
Emma continued to go nearly every day. She stopped going in the car pool after a while but still met up with her friends there. She gave a sizable tip to Gaudi almost every day, but his coworkers were starting to get annoyed. She experimented with the drink, staying up for almost two full weeks with no sleep and no repercussions. She kept wondering and pestering Gaudi what he put in her drink but she never got an answer more than "magic". They started to get to know each other more, eventually Gaudi got her number and they watched a movie at her house. He was amazed at how big her house was, he didn't believe it when he saw it. Eventually, Emma had to go on a business trip and couldn't take Gaudi with her.;
Gaudi was glad the day was over. His shift was getting long and he just wanted to get home, well, as much of a home as it was. Working at a coffee shop didn't pay much, Emma's tips did help but it wasn't enough to buy a house. He walked down his normal route to home, letting his mind wander on the day. He was sad that Emma had to leave today but she told him what it was for and it made enough sense. He only had to wait 2 more weeks before she would be back and they could watch another movie or something. He walked threw a back alleyway, and into the nearby forest. It didn't take more than 30 minutes to walk to the small clearing in the forest. He could feel his wings and tail getting restless, whenever he turned into a human all of his draconic features turned into a shadow of what they were. He could still feel his tail, wings, the horns on his back, etc. They weren't invisible, but they weren't not there. Either way they needed to move, every night he turned back to a dragon to sleep and he never needed to worry about someone seeing him because they believed that there was a monster in the forest. He was a little bit sad though, his friends were getting mad that he was getting huge tips from a single customer. They all split the tips so he didn't understand why they were mad. He didn't really think on it too long before falling asleep, surrounded by his collected "treasures".
Timeskip: next day (again)
Emma couldn't belive how boring this was. She thought this work trip would be a little more fun but it was just signing more papers and agreeing with the board of directors and signing off with the marketing department. She wanted to leave and go back home, even being with her family would be more entertaining than this. She did read that 2 people went missing on the same day in her home town and that would be fun to look into. If she did have to go threw this, she wasn't going to do it tired. She called Gaudi, his phone rang for a few seconds before he picked up.
"Hey Gaudi"
"Hi, how are you"
"I was wondering if you could tell me how to make the drink, everything is so boring and I'm to tired to deal with anything."
"You know I can't tell you how to make it, it's my secret."
"Come on, how long have we known each other."
"Long enough to say that I will tell you someday, but i can't today."
His voice sounded broken and sad, she couldn't see him but she knew that he wasn't happy. He was always happy about something so this was different.
"Are you ok, you dont sound too good."
"Oh... ya, dont worry. Everything's fine."
"Well, ok. See you when I get home."
Emma couldn't stop thinking about what might have happened to Gaudi. He was never sad, he always seemed to be happy about something so hearing him like that worried her. This was going to be a long trip if she couldn't stop thinking about it.
(Before the call) Gaudi walked back to his work, he was always the first there to open shop. He never had any trouble before and he always did everything right, if he got fired he wouldn't know where to go other than back home. Once he got inside he unlocked the doors and started to turn on the heaters for the drinks. Soon enough his colleagues started to come in. They were all staring at him and watching the windows, eventually the boss came in and called Gaudi into his office. He started to get worried, the boss only ever called someone into his office if something was wrong. He sat down on the other side of the boss' desk, his leg shaking. "Gaudi, your track record and work ethics are astounding, but we've been getting complaints about you." The manager said, his face still as uncaring as when Gaudi first saw him. "Who put in the complaints?" Gaudi chocked out, his throat felt swollen. He feared the worst from what his boss would say, he didn't know why but he knew that something bad was about to happen. "Your coworkers have all been complaining about you, that you haven't been working as hard and that you have been fraternizing with a customer. We are sorry to say this but were letting you go. By signing this form you will be given a full year's pay as compensation if you leave today." He said. Gaudi's mind raced at this, where he would go, what he would do, how he would explain why he had to leave to the only friend he had here. His mind went darker and he wanted to turn into his dragon self and bat the manager around, like a cat and a ball of yarn. It wouldn't be hard and the manager did resemble a ball.
"Yes, I'm sorry sir and have a good day." Gaudi said sadly, signing the papers while holding back tears. He walked out a few of his former colleagues were smiling at him as he walked outside while the others didn't seem to care. He walked home finally laying down defeated, on the verge of tears when his phone rang. It was Emma, he didn't want to talk to her despite her probably being the only thing able cheer him up right now. He answered after letting his voice return to normal and calming down a bit. He didn't want to worry her so he wouldn't say anything about his job right now. He reassured her that everything was fine but still couldn't explain how her drink worked yet, especially over the phone.
Timeskip + brief summary: 3 weeks
Emma got threw the excruciating 2 weeks of mindless board meeting and peptalks to a camera. Once that was over, she reunited with her family for a week. Her youngest brother had finally made a friend and she believed she saw a dragon at the edge of the forest her brother was running to. She tried to stop him and ran after him only to find his new friend with cutout of a dragon and a flashlight. He did seem a bit confused while he was holding them tho. Gaudi was miserable, still sad over losing his job. Sitting in the parks most days to feed off the joy of people walking in the park. He started to use it more as a drug than a food source at this point. He couldn't stop himself, until he got a call from Emma.;
Emma got up from her seat, tiredly stumbling off the plane. A limo pulled in next to the private jet and the 2 other people on the plane started carrying bags from the plane to the limo. Emma got in, trying to go back to sleep. Eventually the limo started moving, jolting Emma back to consciousness and the man driving it started to talk. "Where should I take you mam." Emma tiredly mumbled to him before showing him the address of the coffee shop Gaudi worked at. After a few minutes of driving they arrived, Emma got out of the limo and stumbled into the coffee shop looking for Gaudi. After a bit of waiting she walked over to one of the counters, the persons face was ecstatic that she was walking over.
"Hi, how can I help you."
"Is Gaudi here today?"
Their face slumped a little in disappoint when they heard that the rich CEO that gave out hundreds of dollars in tips was asking for a specific barista.
"Gaudi? He was fired almost 3 weeks ago."
"What! He didn't tell me he was fired."
"Ya, he was fired a few days after you stopped coming in. Is there anything I can get you?"
"No, I'm leaving."
Emma walked out, getting back into the limo and driving off. She called Gaudi to ask where he was. It took a while for him to pick up. He told her he was at the park and she immediately started to head down there. It didn't take long for Emma to find him but his usual smile was replaced by a cold frown. For the first time ever she saw Gaudi sad. It started to break her heart and she walked over, sitting next to him on the grass.
"So you were fired?"
"Yep."
"And you didn't tell me? I talked to one of your colleagues and he said it was the same day I called awsking for your drink recipe."
"Auctly, it was after I was fired. I just didn't want you to worry."
A tear started well in Emma's eyes, rushing in for a hug. She was able to force herself from crying, and she saw the smile return to Gaudi's face. He couldn't hold back his tears as he returned the hug, he felt a wave of emotions wash over him.
"I... I have to leave soon, I just wanted to stay and say goodbye to you."
"What! No, you can't leave. Why are you leaving?"
"I wanted to get away from my family, to live my own life and now that I'm out of a job I need to go back."
"Wait, because you dont have a job you have to go back home? What if I hire you."
"For what? I was fired from the only thing I'm good at."
"That's it. You could be a personal at home barista. It would pay your what your monthly salary of your last job daily, you would have a new place to stay, and you wouldn't have to go home. You could stay with me, here."
"You would do that?"
"I could print the documents in the limo and we could hire a moving team to get everything from your home."
"I don't own a house."
"Your appartment?"
"Nope."
"Where have you been living?"
"In the forest neer the lake."
"You've been... what did you have, is there anything you need to pick up?"
"Nothing important."
"Do you just want to go home?"
"I could make you your drink."
"Or we could finish watching the movie series we started."
"That would be nice."
After a few silent minutes they eventually got up from where they were sitting, Emma had forgotten how tired she was. The adrenaline she had from needing to help her friend was enough to forget she hadn't slept for the past few days. Gaudi sat down next to her, some tears still pooling in the bottom of his eyes. She typed away on the computer she had in the car until they got to her house, Gaudi silently watching the entire time. When they got home she printed out the papers and Gaudi signed them. Emma showed him his new room, it was massive, deffenetly big enough for him to sleep in his dragon form. She showed him where the supplies he would be using were until she could get a full side bar set up somewhere. Gaudi immediately began to work on a quick drink for Emma, the soothing taste and the quick energy fix was needed. Soon the day came to an end, he had unpacked the one bag he was going to use to bring his minor belongings home. Emma had put on a movie in the private theater in her house. Soon a scene came on, a monster showing it's true form to their friend with them immediately accepting the monster as they had known each other. Gaudi couldn't help but want to tell Emma. Gaudi stood up from his seat and motioned Emma to follow him. She followed Gaudi into the front yard of her house. She didn't know what was going on but she thought it was going to be fun.
"So the monster scene that was just on in there, this is kinda that. I'm... I know its weard but I'm... I've wanted to say this for a while that... I know what im trying to say here."
Gaudi kept getting caught up in his words, wanting to just show her. Emma was confused but more happy than anything, it was cute.
"Ok, I'm just going to show you, but I want you to know that I really like you and that I would never do anything to hurt you and I will only ever try to protect you."
She didn't know what he was talking about but it didn't really matter, but her calm face soon went from calm and happy to horrified in just a few seconds. Gaudi's skin started to shift and ridges soon formed, and those into scales. His limbs started to extend as his clothes started to undergo the same process as his skin. Wings and a tail started to form from nothing and grow with him. And in a matter of seconds, a full dragon stood in front of Emma, the dragon of Joy. His pink scales glistened in the moon light. Gaudi fell onto all fours, accidentally shaking the ground with his weight. Emma instinctively took a step back, her face only held one emotion, fear. She was to afraid to move, her muscles were frozen and her heart was racing. Gaudi, tried to keep his smile, but his face was burning with worrie and confusion. Emma took a step back towards the house and Gaudi's instincts started to kick in. He lowered his back closer to the ground as if to pounce on Emma while his face stayed the same. They stood in silence studying each other for a few seconds. Emma made the first move, running toward the front door to get to the safety of her home.
Gaudi jumped, missing the door and jumping past her, trying to reach out his claws to stop her from entering the house. He tried to tell her to wait but she ran threw the door without listening. Emma grabbed her phone and started to unlock it as Gaudi reached threw the open doors and grabbed her. She screamed as a claw came up and flicked the phone out of her hands. He gently pulled her out of the house, holding her in front of him so they could talk. She was punching at his claws, screaming and begging to be let go, trying everything to get away. Gaudi knew she was making to much noise, trying to calm her down. "Please, I'm not going to hurt you. You wanted to know how I make the drink and I told you, magic, It's ok, your safe just please be a little quieter for just a minute so I can explain. " Emma kept screaming for help, her voice barely able to travel to the nearest house. Gaudi kept trying to reassure her that everything was fine when something caught his eye. The neighbors light a ways down the road turned on as a silhouette walked near the blinds. Gaudi ducked between the house and the lake as Emma kept screaming. There was a scene in a older movie that had a monster eating something whole and making it completely silent. He had swallowed a few squirrels and birds when he was younger and put them in his storage stomach to transport them so his mother who could heal them but nothing as big as a human. With a sorry look on his face he shoved Emma into his open maw, making sure not to hit his teeth. He gulped again and again, the sound of Emma's pleas getting quieter and quieter. The taste of chocolate was so strong and he couldn't help but let out a sigh, his eyes widened as he did. He forced himself to gulp faster to stop it from happening again. Eventually her head reached his stomach, a thin shallow liquid pooling at the bottom, covering her already drool covered face. Gaudi closed his mouth, one final powerful gulp and he let gravity do the rest of the work. Gaudi held his throat high, he let out a sigh as his stomach started to expand, a tear started to well in his eyes as he thought about what he had done. His ate his only friend who helped him stay away from his family, and it felt amazing. He knew it was safe but he didn't know if Emma knew, he wanted to help her but he didn't know how. Emma slowly slid into his stomach, the mussels of his throat and stomach started to crush her and she had to pull herself into a ball. After a few seconds of contemplation she started kicking the walls of his stomach and stretching as far as she could when she was fully in. She begged him to let her out, offering money and whatever else, she was fully crying and hearing her cry started to make Gaudi cry.
She couldn't believe it, her friend, the only person she felt she could auctly confide in betrayed her. Gaudi didnt know what to do, his mind raced as his stomach started to hurt. Maby he could make it all seem like a dream, marking a sleep spell into the dirt and raising his hands to his stomach. The clear liquid pooling around her started to glow, more of the liquid started to seep from the muscles of Gaudi's stomach even faster. A blue dust was mixed into the new stomach fluid. She touched a bit, her mind started to swirl and the tips of her fingers went numb. She tried to stay away from the new stomach fluids but it was no use, she begged gaudy not to digest her. A small amount of the liquid driped onto her head, her legs and mid torso were already numb and she couldn't think anymore, she kept awake for as long as she could, but her mind was falling and she couldn't help but drift off.
Gaudi started to calm down, he could feel Emma slowly drifting off to sleep, she stopped fighting his stomach walls and her begging turned into quiet mumbling and sobs. He started to think of how he could spin this so she wouldn't remember what had happened. He could clean up and stay in his human form, putting her back in bed and pretend it was a dream when she wakes up. His mind started to drift and his eyelids were heavy, he laid down on the grass between the house and the lake. He started to think about how he could help her, and if she found out would she let him stay. The grass was so soft, Gaudi's mind started to swirl as he unknowingly let the sleeping spell take him.
Timeskip: Morning
Gaudi woke up to the sound of birds chirping, he looked over to his side and saw a house, the morning sun bounced off his scales and onto the white walls of the house. His gut felt amazing, he hadn't felt this full ever but he didn't remember eating anything. He rolled onto his back, the weight of whatever was in his stomach pressing onto his back was nice but he wanted to know what happened. He rubbed his distended gut for a while, it was so sensitive he almost passed out from the feeling and went back to sleep. As he massaged his stomach he thought he could feel it moving. He sat up, his claws lightly dug into the ground as he watched his stomach. He held his breath for a second watching his stomach slowly, ever so slightly expanding and contracting. If his stomach was moving while he was holding his breath then what did he eat. He laid back down and extended his neck around the corner of the house, there was a limo in the driveway and the doorway looked familiar. He realized he was at Emma's house, had it worked, did he tell her that he was a dragon, but if he was out here than were was..... EMMA!
He rolled over, immediately grabbing his stomach and pushing it forward and forcing himself to get her out. His stomach started to hurt as he pushed Emma up his throat, he couldn't stop thinking about what he had done. If she was awake she would deffenetly call the cops and he would have to leave, and if she wasn't awake how would he fix this. Gaudi was finally able to push her out, he positioned his tounge over his teeth and she slid off of it like a slow sticky slide and onto the grass. She was still somehow asleep but covered in stomach fluids. Gaudi picked her up and hastily blew off all the fluids that were on her, he couldn't feel anything in his hands or claws when he set her back down on the grass. He quickly shifted back to his human form and cafully picked her up and carried her inside. He put her on the bed in the middle of her bedroom with her head resting carefully on her pillows and lazily threw the covers over her before he quickly walked out of the room. He started to make her drink, it was still his job and he would only be fired if she remembered. He worked as fast as he could and looked for a cup, eventually finding a water bottle and peeling one of the stickers down to scratch in the rune. He put the sticker back on and as he poured the drink into the cup he heard slight movement from Emma's room.
Emma woke up slightly moving her arms, somehow the blancket was still on her bed when she woke up. She was getting ready for the surge of pain whenever she wakes up but it never came. She opened her eyes expecting them to stay heavy and her not wanting to get out of bed, but she was fully awake, she sat up in her bed and looked over to her clock seeing that it's an hour until she has to be at work. She got out of bed already dressed, but her clothes were a bit wet for some reason, oh well. She walked out of her room seeing Gaudi pouring a drink into a water bottle. He was already smiling and it only grew as he saw her walking out of her room.
"Goodmorning, it's nice to see you awake"
"Morning Gaudi"
"I tried something new for you. A white hot chocolate, courtesy of your new personal barista Gaudium"
"Thanks, it's nice that... wait, Gaudium"
"Right, I've never told you my full name before"
"I thought your name was just Gaudi"
"Ya, well... I put my full name down for my last job and no one wanted to call me that so they called me Gaudi and I've just been using that ever since"
"After all this time I'm just now learning your name? Why didn't you tell me before"
"I guess it never came up"
"Huh. Well work starts soon so I should get going"
"Alright, when you get back we could finish that movie we started last night"
"Right... it was getting good to, why did we stop watching"
"Oh umm... I don't remember"
"Well I better get going, thank you for this and I will see you when I get back"
Emma walked out of the house, Gaudium was still smiling at her as she walked out. Whenever he smiled it made her happier. She walked down the intricate brick pavement to her car but, something to the right caught her eye. It looked like a liquid splatter, it was thick and was left in small clumps around her tree and on the lawn. She walked across the lawn and knelt down to get a better look at one of the bigger clumps. There was tiny blue specks in it and it looked like they were glowing. She stuck two of her fingers in it and brought a small amount of it closer to her eyes to get a better look. It was sentless and it was silky smooth but also sticky. The blue specks in it started to move closer to her fingers and once they touched her fingers it started to numb them. Her mind started to swirl as she couldn't keep a thought strait. She flicked the substance off her fingers and wiped the rest off on the grass.
Once she got into her car she took a sip of her drink, her mind started to straighten and she kept thinking about the substance. She had seen it before while she was terrified, she thought hard on it and eventually it clicked. The pink scales, the flesh surounding her, falling into his stomach... Gaudi's stomach. She rubbed the pocket of her pants leg, it was still slightly damp. Once she felt it her face slowly shifted to pure terror and she started to shake, he eyes quickly started to well with tears. She looked at the window to the kitchen in her house, Gaudium was silently sweeping away at the floor. He seemed focused and scared but once he looked out to Emma his smile reappeared. Emma couldn't help but smile back, it was involuntary but she still felt happier when she looked at him. She pulled out of the driveway and started to think about everything that happened, shaking all the way. She was eaten whole, how was she still alive, she should have been digested, why did the slime make her numb, how could he do this? She had so many questions she couldn't think strait, all she could think about was how her friend betrayed her. She instinctively parked not realizing where she was, her mind still raced as she looked up and, all at once, it stopped.
She instinctively parked outside the coffee shop and when she realized it her mind slowed to a stop. She sat in her car for a while just trying to process what she was doing and slowly her mind became more active. She started thinking about how he worked there, her friends forcing her to meet him, the happy times they had together in and out of this shop. He was a friend, he always looked out for her and he thought he could trust her enough to tell her something probably nobody else knew about him. He may have ate her but she was fine, and for the single second she remembered not struggling it was almost peaceful. Like the biggest hug he could give her, and somewhere deep down she felt protected, almost enough to stay there. She started to remember what he said before he was a dragon and as he was a dragon and like he said, she was safe. He fully trusted her and she trusted him. She started to drive to her work, she thought about what she would say to him when she got home, maybe he'd be willing enough to show her again... and possibly eat her again.
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outlawsworld · 4 years
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Trusting Strangers - Chapter 10
Arthur Morgan x Female reader
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Summary: Reader and Arthur's relationship is growing. You go on a job together and end up with a night under the stars.
Warnings: violence, mentions of rape and a whole lat of fluff.
Notes: This chapter was so much fun to write! I hope you are still enjoying it and don't forget to let me know what you think and like and reblog ❤️ I've got so many ideas of what's going to happen so please bare with me! 🤠
Chapter 1
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You walked into your tent feeling the rush of excitement wanting to burst out of you. Every inch of your body was ecstatic and you jumped around your tent quietly letting a small burst of your happiness out before you exploded. Your cheeks started to ache from smiling so much and you could feel the hot redness filling them. The last thing you expected from tonight was to end it in Arthur's arms again, with his soft lips against yours. Only this time he didn't pull away from you, he didn't leave you standing in the woods alone. You undressed into your nightwear and laid on your cot staring at the tent ceiling. Your eyes were dry from such a long day but you couldn't sleep with the thoughts of the night flooding your head. It must have been the early hours of the morning before sleep finally took over your body. When you woke up your body were sore. You hadn't had much sleep over the last couple of days because of everything being on your mind and it was starting to take it's toll. As you sat up from your cot your eyes suddenly widened as you realised that what had happened last night wasn't a dream. Quickly you pulled on your trousers and blue shirt. You fell over whilst trying to pull your boots on, rushing, eager to see Arthur. As you stepped out of your tent you saw the rest of camp was already in full flow. Everyone was already going about their daily chores, the sun was high in the sky and the morning birds had already sang their songs. You must have slept in, which was a first for you. As you scanned the camp you found that Arthur had already gotten up and left, Dutch and Bill too. Then your eyes landed on a very angry looking Mrs Grimshaw. Your eyes met which meant there was no escaping her wrath now. She marched over to you as you still stood in front of your tent, looking very much bewildered by the fact you had slept in.
''Miss (Y/N)'' Mrs Grimshaw was now directly in front of you. ''Are you feeling well rested?'' she looked at your face sternly waiting for an answer.
''I guess, Mrs Grimshaw'' you looked at your feet trying to ignore her gaze.
''Good, now get to your chores. Seen as this is not a usual thing for you I will let you off'' she smiled at you. ''Don't let it happen' again'' she pointed her finger at you before marching over to Pearson. You smirked under your breath. You knew she was the one that let you sleep for so long, she must have known how little rest you were actually getting. However, she needed to act tough in camp and if anyone knew you had gotten away with it then there would be hell on. Charles and Kieran had already done all your chores with the horses so you spent the day washing clothes in the river. You didn't mind it so much when you were now able to sit on the sand and look out across the water. No one disturbed you except Sadie who came to wash the pots beside you for a bit. She was curing Pearson again for treating her like a maid.
''I'd love to shove that stew pot up where the sun don't shine'' she giggled. ''Damn bastard''.
''I won't be eatin' my food from that again'' you both laughed as you carried on with your chores.
''So....'' she paused looking at you with a intrigued smile on her face. You glanced at her furrowing your brow in anticipation to what she was about to say. ''Where did you and Arthur sneak off to last night?''. You felt as if your heart momentarily stop beating and a flush of heat rose to your cheeks.
''Sadie Adler'' you shook your head at her. ''I didn't take you for a gossipin' kinda gal''.
''Oh I ain't but I saw the way you looked at each other whilst dancing'' her voice was soft now and joking aside. ''then you run off into the woods'' she cocked her eyebrow at you before a devilish smile appeared. ''Can't fool me. I know something goin' on. You two have been ignorin' each other for days and then suddenly you are back smilin' again. I ain't a gossip, I'm just nosey''. You couldn't help but laugh at her comments. Sadie was probably the only girl you trusted with something like this, she was the most like you. She wasn't a fan of gossip and you knew she wouldn't tell the others. Your rose cheeks had already given away your secret. ''I won't tell anyone, I promise'' she pleaded whilst motioning a cross on her heart. You scan around to make sure no one was lurking or close enough to hear your convocation. 
''Alright, alright but you don't tell a sole'' you sighed, defeated. ''I ain't good at this and to be honest I didn't want anyone knowin' until we had figured it out'' you took one more quick look around before closing the distance between you and Sadie. ''So, I kinda care for him....a lot. We've been spendin' so much time together that I didn't even realise I had feelin's for him. Nothing too excitin' happened in the woods last night. We just talked and.....Well... we kissed but that's it'' you spoke in a whisper. Sadie's jaw dropped slightly before she smiled.
''I knew it'' she cheered quietly. ''So why the hell were you both igorin' each other for so long?''. You explained the situation to her and spoke about all the confusing feeling you had. Sadie listened to every word intently, you didn't realise how relieving it was to actually speak to someone about everything. It was as though a big weight had been lifted off of you and you could understand your feelings a lot more. You had learnt to keep your feeling to yourself but being able to talk to someone made you feel so much lighter.
''Well I'm glad, for both of your sakes, that you worked it out'' she smiled sweetly at you. ''Can't believe out of all the men in the world to be sweet on, Arthur Morgan, was the one for ya'' she teased you. You both giggle as you finished the last of the clothes that needed washing before gathering them up and heading back into camp. Sadie stayed at the river side, trying to prolong facing Pearson again. As you were hanging up the wet clothes to dry you heard Uncle call you which drew your attention to him. He was stood by one of the big trees in camp with Arthur, who must have returned from his job this morning. Uncle also called Bill and Charles over to him which made you wonder if you were going to be asked to go on a job. You slowly made your way over to the four men smiling sweetly as you and Arthur briefly made eye contact.
''What are you talkin' about?'' Bill asked, clearly irritated by the old man.
''Arthur, is above a little stick up I heard about'' Uncle teased which Arthur immediately took offence to and was quick to defend himself.
''No I'm not'' he growled.
''But you just said.....''
''Hey I'll do it'' he cut Uncle off before giving a devilish grin. ''As long as you ride with us'' he pointed at Uncle who's face went pale. You, Charles and Bill all glanced at each other amused by the shock on Uncles face.
''I got a serious medical condition'' he fumbles for an excuse. Arthur started to laugh in the old mans face.
''Yes, you are a compulsive liar'' Arthur chuckled whilst taking a drag from his cigarette.
''No need to be like that'' Uncle turned his attention to you and Charles. ''Charles, (Y/N), have I ever lied to you?''.
''I hardly know you'' Charles responded confused by the question.
''Don't look at me, I've been here for less time then Charles'' you smirked. Arthur wouldn't back down, if Uncle didn't ride with you all, then the job wasn't happening. It didn't take long before Uncle gave in and agreed to help before mounting up. He explained that it was a supply wagon carrying payroll which supposedly won't be guarded.
''As long as we get paid or you get shot, I'm happy'' Arthur bellowed before putting out his cigarette and mounting up. You couldn't help but giggle under your breath at the way he antagonised the old man. Charles, Bill and yourself also mounted your horses and followed Uncle out of camp. You rode beside Arthur and noticed the Deputy badge pinned to his shirt.
''Law man now, huh?'' you teased pointing out the golden badge.
''Seems like it'' he smirked back at you. ''Somethin' to do with Dutch's plan apparently''.
''I hope you don't get too attached to it or you'll be takin' us all in yourself''.
''I guess we will have to see'' he teased you back. Your heart lit up when he looked at you, he always managed to spark something warm inside your chest whenever your eyes met. When you reached the location that the wagon would be passing through your mind was elsewhere, so much so that you almost ran into Charles' horse. Your cheeks blushed with embarrassment as Arthur watched you fumble back into reality with a smirk on his face. The five of you waited patiently for the wagon to appear over the hill. Uncle was right, it wasn't guarded, just the driver and one other man. You rode over as it turned off at the crossroad. Bill heckled them to pull over and Uncle stopped his horse in front of them so they had to stop. Bill had his gun on one man and you had yours pointed at the other while Charles and Arthur looked in the back and grabbed what they could. You looked over your shoulder and saw another wagon quickly coming down the track.
''Shit, we've got company'' you yelled. The wagon coming down the track was being followed by men on horses with guns who had spotted you trying to rob the other wagon. Before you knew it they were coming after you. ''Charles, Arthur, hurry up. We need to get outta here''. They quickly jumped from the wagon and mounted there horses before the five of you galloped away from the on coming attack. Bullets were flying past you, barely missing you and the men were gaining speed. You spurred Dallas into a faster gallop as you grabbed your rifle from over your shoulder. Arthur and Bill were already shooting back at the men who were on your tail. You turned in your saddle, hoping Dallas would follow Uncle and Charles, as you began to fire back at the men. A bullet flew right past your shoulder and you aimed your rifle at the man who fired it, taking him down with one headshot. The three of you managed to pick off a couple of them but there were too many.
''Quick, get of the trail. Into the woods'' Uncle called out to you all. You turned back in your saddle and followed him with Arthur close behind you. The five of you galloped through the trees, getting hit from small branches that you were unable to duck under. A small house with a barn was just on the other side of the trees which would be a good place to hide and lay low. You followed the boys by dismounting Dallas and giving him a small slap to flee the area before going into the barn to take cover and rest. For now it looked like you had lost them but you knew the best thing was to wait until it was dark before leaving for camp. You went to the back of the barn, hidden behind a stall wall, and sat down with your back leaning against the wooden panel. This would be the last place to look if someone came in as it had great cover, just in case you fell asleep. The others stayed at the front of the barn, out of view from you but you could hear their mumblings. Charles was on watch and you soon heard the light snoring coming from Uncle and Bill.
''You alright?'' you looked up to see Arthur's tall figure stood looking down over you.
''Yeah, how about yourself?'' you asked in a hushed voice. He came and sat right next to you, not leaving much space between the both of you.
''I'm alright'' he smiled sweetly at you. ''Shouldn't be too long till it gets dark and we can get outta here. He's a fool that old man''.
''Better then delivering letters'' you smirked trying to lighten the mood. Arthur nodded in agreement. You wanted to carry on the convocation but you knew it was better to keep quiet in case there were any men looking for you outside. Instead you shuffled closer to him and rested your head on his broad shoulder. He slightly tensed at first but then rested his cheek on your head as he relaxed. It was a good job the others couldn't see you now or they would definitely know something was going on between the two of you. The comfort of having him right beside you meant you slowly kept on falling in and out of sleep. You felt his warmth as you leant against him, each deep breath he took and the hitch in his breath whenever you moved because he didn't want to disturb you. When you woke up fully, you realised Arthur had also fallen asleep next to you with his head still resting on yours but it had gotten dark outside so you knew you had to wake him. Gently you placed your hand on his chest and shook him. He was an extremely light sleeper and that was enough to alert him, he sat upright before turning to you. His eyes looked deep into yours as he moved his hand to gently caress your cheek before placing a light kiss on your lips. The small gesture ignited the warm feeling in your chest and you couldn't help the shy smile you gave him as he stood up to wake the others. You took a deep breath to remind yourself of the situation at hand, rather then keeping your mind on Arthur, and stood up to return to the others. There was a light coming from the house as a couple of men approached the front door. It was a couple of the men from earlier asking the owners of the property if they had noticed anyone running through here.
''Damn. L-L-L-L-Let's just....Keep this calm'' Arthur instructed. ''See what happens''. You all took cover in the barn hiding behind pillars and stall walls. You found yourself in the same place you had been in all night, crouched down, occasionally looking around the stall wall to see what was happening. The owner pointed out that he heard noises at the barn where you were currently taking cover. Two men approached the barn quietly and began to look round. The five of you remained still as the men searched the barn.
''The place looks empty to me'' one of the men shouted to the other. He was about to walk away when Bill kicked an empty can by his foot which caused the man to turn back realising we were all hidden there. God damn it Bill. Is he not capable of staying hidden.
''Shit'' Bill cursed as he shot the man at the front of the barn. The men from the house were alerted by this and started firing on all of you. You got up from your cover and ran to the front of the barn to shoot at the men coming from the house. It was dark and misty which made it hard for you to see where the men firing at you were coming from. You could only see outlines of people as they moved and they now had you surrounded. Charles and yourself were still based at the front of the barn, gunning down anyone coming from the house while Arthur, Bill and Uncle took on the others coming from the side. The men were coming out of nowhere and there was no way of telling how many were firing at you. There was a bright glow coming from the corner of the barn, you turned to see that one of the men had thrown there lanterns which had smashed setting fire to the dry wood.
''Shit.....Fire'' Charles shouted to all of you. The fire grew rapidly, like an untameable stallion rising up. Before you knew it the fire had spread to the roof of the barn and the smoke was burning at the back of your throat everytime you took a breath.
''If we don't get outta here soon....we're gonna be charcoal'' Arthur was now by your side, blocking the small bits of debris that was falling from the roof from hitting you. You took a step back, looking up to the roof that was about to concave and engulf you all in flames.
''This way'' you herd Bill call out to you from the back of the barn. He had found a small opening that you could climb through to get out. The heat from the burning wood was kissing your skin and you could barely see through the smoke. You followed Bill and Uncle out of the small gap with Charles and Arthur right behind you. Taking a deep breath of fresh air as you ran back towards the trees for cover. You decided to split up into two groups. Arthur was with Uncle and Charles with Bill.
''(Y/N), with us'' Charles beckoned you to follow him. You and Arthur quickly glanced at each other not wanting to leave one another but you had no time to think or argue. Following Charles and Bill, you quickly ran through the woods and tried to find some cover. "If you do anything stupid Mr Williamson, you're on your own" Charles threatened as Bill scoffed back at him. There were some big boulders that the three of you managed to hide behind. You managed to catch your breath while crouching down for cover, listening to any oncoming people. A small group of men soon appeared in the tree line with their rifles at the ready. The three of you remained quiet as you aimed your guns at the men walking in your direction. You waited for Charles to give you the signal to shoot but you heard shots being fired from deeper in the woods. They were coming from where Arthur and Uncle had gone. The group of men turned their attention to the sounds.
''Come on boys. That way'' one of them spoke up. Just as they were about to run off to the noises. Charles stood up shouting at you to fire. All three of you were now shooting at the group of men. They immediately took cover but between the three of you, you managed to take some of them out. Your shots were now useless as the bullets were bouncing off the trees. The best way of getting to them was to flank them. You shot Charles a quick look which he nodded at, knowing exactly what needed to be done. Charles and Bill both stood trying to draw the men's fire as you took the opportunity to sneak round and attack them from behind. You kept crouched down as you quietly made your way around them, keeping yourself in the shadows. There were four men left and you had a good shot on all of them from your new position. You took cover behind a tree and noticed Arthur and Uncle had now joined Charles and Bill behind the rock. Arthur managed to kill one of the four men as the man glanced out from behind his cover. Leaving only three to deal with. You aimed your rifle at the first man, taking him out smoothly. The other two men turned to you as you had now given away your position. Shots were now being aimed at you, you crouched behind the tree for cover knowing that this would give the boys the opportunity to approach them and take out the last two men. Arthur and Bill did just that and the two men fell down dead.
''We all still alive?'' Arthur asked. You stood up from behind the tree and regrouped with the four men.
''Just about'' Bill answered gruffly.
''Yeah, I'll deal with you later'' Arthur turned his attention to Uncle. His brow was furrowed and his face had gone red with anger.
''We got some money, didn't we?'' Uncle defended himself.
''Leave it, go on, get out of here'' Arthur shooed them all away. ''Everyone split up, come on, get going''.
''Good luck gents, (Y/N)'' Charles nodded to you and you watched as they all left in different directions. You were about to run off in another direction when Arthur gabbed your arm.
''Not you'' he smirked. ''You're comin' with me Darlin'.'' the rumble in his tone made you shiver. You followed him through the woods as he whistled for his horse. Dallas was nowhere to be seen but you suspected he would have gone back to camp. Siego came cantering over, through the trees to you both . Arthur mounted then held out his hand to help you to sit up, behind the saddle. Once you were both on you wrapped your arms round Arthur's waste to keep balanced and he kicked Siego into a steady canter. You had plenty of practise riding bareback so keeping stable on the back of the horse wasn't too hard a task for you. The smell of cigarettes and whiskey reminted from Arthur's shirt as you clung onto him. ''You alright back there'' he shouted to you as he placed on hand to rest gently on your lower thigh.
''Yeah, just fine'' you smiled at his touch. ''Where are we goin'?''.
''I wanna show you somethin'.'' you rode together quietly until Arthur turned off the track and up a steep hill through some trees. You stared blankly through the trees to try and understand why he had brought you to this place. ''Here'' he pulled Siego to a halt and dismounted before helping you down. ''Follow me'' he pulled out his lantern and lit it as you followed him up the rest of the hill until you came to a clearing where Arthur stopped. It was a small patch of open grass right on the very peak of the hill. You turned to him, cocking an eyebrow at him, confused to why he brought you to this little area. He smirked when he saw your confusion. ''Look up''. You did as he said and looked into the pitch black night sky.
''I don't see much, just a couple stars'' you pointed out.
''Keep lookin'.'' Arthur spoke softly as he blew out the lantern. Suddenly the black sky was filled with millions of stars that filled the darkness with light and colour. You had never seen anything so beautiful in your whole life. Each star was visible and glowing so brightly that you didn't need any lights to see. Your jaw dropped and your eyes widened at the spectacle of the night sky.
''It's beautiful'' you spoke breathlessly. ''How did you find this place?'' you didn't want to look away in case your eyes were playing tricks on you.
''I stumbled across it one night as I was out thinkin'. Thought you might like it'' Arthur sat in the grass. You decided to lay down next to him and stare at the sky, he followed you and laid his back on the grass.
''What were you thinkin' bout?'' you turned to look at him. The light from the stars twinkled in his eyes as he faced you too.
''You'' he admitted. He lent up on one elbow so he could hover almost above you. ''You're all I ever think about'' he paused looking deeply into your eyes. That warm feeling in your chest came back, you bit your bottom lip whilst he looked over you. Every inch of you was trembling with a mix of excitement and nerves. Heat rushed to your cheeks and you could feel flutters in your stomach. He was so close to you that you could feel his breath on your skin. You longed for him, looking at his lips, only inches away from yours. He took your glances as a plea and leant in to kiss you gently. Your whole body began to tingle as he moved his free hand to your hip. You moved your hand and tangled your fingers in his light brown hair. As both your lips moved against each others the kiss slowly became more intimate. Arthur's hand started to wonder from your hip down your thigh to your knee. He grasped a hold of the back of your knee and brought your leg over his hips until you were straddling him. Your torso now pressed against his and using your elbows on either side of his head to balance yourself. You didn't break the kiss, still desperate for one another. The feeling of his warm body in-between your legs made your thighs burn. His hands started to wonder up and down your body leaving warm trails where he touched. It was perfect, just the two of you under the beautiful night sky. The way you felt in this moment was something you had never experienced in your entire life. It was as though everything you have ever needed in life was right there with you and nothing could break you apart. You could feel his heart racing in his chest as you were laid over him. Each time you took a breath you would look into each others eyes and melt back into the kiss again. The kiss started to become passionate and hungry for one another. Both your tongue's dancing together in synchronisation. You felt how hungry he was for you as his manhood grew under his trousers. Suddenly, you panic. All the good that you were just feeling was flushed from your body and panic overtook it. Heat rushed from your body to your skin leaving you feeling cold inside but sweating in pure fear. You broke the kiss, got off his hips and stood up in a mad rush. Each breath you took seemed to get harder and harder until you felt like you were suffocating.
"Whoa, easy" Arthur was by your side before you knew it. He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close to his chest whilst whispering softly to you. You could feel the tears stinging your eyes and you buried your face in his shirt, gasping for breath. He held you while you cried trying to calm you down. "Easy. It's alright. I'm here" he whispered to you. You listened to each word he said, hearing the raspiness from his thick acent. As you breathed heavily, you took in his smell and the feeling of his muscled chest beneath your fingertips. Focusing on him, every breath he took and sound he made brought you slowly out of you panic until you managed to catch your breath. He didn't let his grip on you go until your breathing was back to normal and the sounds of your whimpers had stopped. Quietly he took a step back just releasing you enough so he could see your face. "You alright? I didn't mean to scare ya" he spoke softly. You raised your head to look at him. Your eyes were bloodshot from crying and small wet trails ran down your cheeks.
"It ain't your fault" your voice was shaken. "I'm just damaged goods" you shook you head as you stepped away from him. You were so embarrassed and frustrated by your blind panic that you daren't look at him. You found a spot on the grass and sat down with knees hugged to your chest. Arthur came and sat by your side again and you hid your face from him in your knees.
"You ain't damaged goods" he nudged you, trying to cheer you up. "Wanna talk about it?" you looked up from your knees to catch his concerned look. You felt sick to your stomach at the thought of how you just made him feel. He had done everything to make this moment perfect and you screwed it up. You owed him an explanation.
"It wasn't your fault. I guess I just panicked..." you paused to take a deep breath. "I've only ever consented to this sorta thing once and that was before.... For a long time I was forced into lettin' those men touch me and use me at their own pleasure. They would hold me down or beat me until I gave in. Or they would just force themselves upon me. I guess I just associate being touched in that way to....well, to back then. It wasn't you at all Arthur" you looked into his eyes. He looked at you the same way he once did when you were tied to the wagon, you saw the sorrow in his expression. Tears threatened to leave your eyes again. You wanted more than anything to be intimate with Arthur in this way but ghosts from your past haunted your mind. "I've never been more comfortable with anyone before. I just got memories that flash through my head and I just panicked. I'm sorry".
"You have nothin' to be sorry for (Y/N)" he cut you off. "What happened to you, I'm surprised you let me touch you at all" he gave you a sweet smile as he laid down on the grass. "Come 'er" he held his arm out for you to lay down with him. You laid on your side next to him with your head on his shoulder and arm over his chest. "We don't have to rush into anythin' your not comfortable with. I promise you, no one will ever hurt ya again, not as long as I'm around" he pulled you in tighter to his body and you felt safe and secure. You were so glad he understood, he didn't force himself upon you because he was in the mood. All your fears slowly drifted away as he held you in his warm embrace. You knew you could trust Arthur but now he confirmed that he would never hurt you. Not just with his words but by his actions. The night sky was still full of bright stars, glistening down for just the both of you to enjoy. You spoke sweetly to one another for a couple of hours until you felt your eyes getting heavy. You can't remember when you fell asleep but you knew you had never felt more comfortable then in Arthur's arm's that night. As though nothing in the world could hurt you as long as he was there.
--
Chapter 11
@nena-ma
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crystxlclear · 4 years
Text
sudden desire
chapter three: so, maybe i’m not okay
part four of sudden desire
prologue / one / two / masterlist
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in which two best friends won’t admit they’re in love so decide to have a baby together instead.
pairing: marcus pike x original female character
word count: 2.5k (short lil chapter today!)
warnings: mentions of illness? other than that, none that i can think of? maybe the tiniest smidge of angst if you squint
Coraline has always been close to her father. One of her very first memories involved her perched on his shoulders at a Fleetwood Mac gig. He'd managed to sneak Cora, her brother, Daniel, and her heavily pregnant mom side-stage — the perks of him managing the venue at the time, in between jobs — and he'd cried when he'd heard her singing along to his favourite band. The show was all she'd talked about for a solid two weeks. Sure, the memories were a little grainy and probably warped by a crackly VHS tape of her mother's that she used to watch almost every day, but they were memories she held onto it as tightly as she could.
It was her father who took her first (dreadful) headshots, and him who she'd turned to when her sister died, and him who'd persuaded her that leaving everything and everyone she knew and loved back in Michigan to settle down in California (and then, later, D.C.) was a good idea. She owes her dad a lot, which is why the phone call has been playing on her mind all day.
The call came at 3am. She'd only fallen asleep two hours earlier, after Loren had arrived to pick up Maisie an hour late, hair a mess and rushing to apologise. Marcus had left a little while later and she'd practically collapsed into bed a few minutes later. She'd been woken by the low humming of her phone vibrating against her bedside table as it shot light through her dimly lit bedroom. She'd groaned uncomfortably and reached for it, cheek wedged awkwardly between her pillows and the mattress and legs tangled wildly in the sheets (Scott had always said she wriggled a lot in her sleep, but she'd always assumed he was exaggerating, until she slept alone).
She'd scowled when she'd seen it was her dad; he knew her schedule, and she'd told him she was up early when they'd spoken earlier that day. He never rings her late and it takes a moment for the frustration of being woken early by her phone to bleed away into worry and concern.
"Hello?" She'd croaked our groggily. "Are you okay? Is mom okay?"
She'd been met with a chuckle. His voice was low and gruff when it came, unusually thick and strangled. "Hey, Corrie." There was shuffling on the other end, hushed voices floating in and out of focus, until the phone went silent enough to think that maybe he'd hung up and hadn't meant to disturb her at all.
She'd scowled but her phone assured her he was still on the line. "Dad?" She'd called out to him. The panic had begun to rise when it wasn't his voice that replied.
"Coraline," her mother's soft voice breathed out. It was like a sigh of relief. "Sorry to bother you." Her French accent tipped the corner of her words. It always got stronger when she was upset or worried or scared, and it was especially thick now.
"What's wrong?"
Another pause. "Your father is in the hospital."
"What?" She’s suddenly holy upright, fear turning her blood to ice.
"He's fine, don't worry." She'd assured her. "He’s had some problems with his breathing again. They're doing some tests."
She'd almost booked a flight back to Michigan, almost abandoned filming and ran back home to make sure her dad was okay. The last time he'd been in hospital, it had been touch and go, and they'd spent an entire day huddled at his bedside in fear, just in case he'd stopped breathing. It was touch and go, and she couldn't live with herself if the worst happened and she never got to say goodbye to the man she owed so much to. She'd been in the process of scanning over the next flights on her laptop when her dad had taken the phone back from her mom and practically demanded that she stay in D.C.
Eventually, she'd relented. He'd promised to update her and she'd told them she loved them both before hanging up. But the phone call had sent her entire day into a tailspin.
She’d tried to sleep the extra hour and a half before she had to haul herself to work but her mind was running too wild for that. Even despite the reassurances, worry was plaguing her thoughts and panic was forcing her eyes open. Everything was just too much.
The last time it had happened, she'd had Scott. It was back when things were good, and he'd held her as she'd finally fallen asleep, curled up against him in an uncomfortable hospital chair.
But, now, he’s gone. Now, then, she was stood on set alone, trying her best to bite back a yawn and the tears, with so much concealer hiding the dark circles under her eyes that she can feel it clinging desperately to her skin. And, of course, life had picked the day when they had the most action scenes to film to deprive her of sleep.
Her entire body ached. She isn't sure how she's still standing after the first hour of work, with her legs protesting with every movement. Two hours of sleep and the running and the jumping and the endless stunts had sapped every last scrap of energy from her bones. She'd carried on stoically for most of the morning but she's truly never been more grateful for a lunch hour before, when she finds herself curled up against the couch in her trailer, passing out even despite the panic still swelling in her chest. She'd been surprised when she hadn't cried — maybe she was just too exhausted and her body simply couldn't muster the tears — but she's grateful she manages to keep the tears in because she doesn't want to haul herself back to set with mascara tears on her cheeks.
She’s even more grateful when she makes it home after a day that feels like five rolled into one and the scattered couch cushions look far too inviting for her to ignore.
It's an uncomfortable sleep and she wakes with the beginnings of a headache thrumming through her skull and a stiffness in her spine that she can't seem to straighten out. She's not sure how long she's managed to sleep — barely half an hour, she assumes — because she's woken by a soft knock on the door instead of the alarm she'd set on her phone. It wakes her with a jolt and she can't help but groan at the aching protests her limbs give when she stands. She shuffles across the apartment to the door and Marcus is stood there, smiling, his suit jacket and tie draped across his arm.
She's half dressed too - only he looks a damn sight better than she does, because his hair isn't dishevelled and messy and his shirt isn't twisted half way around his torso. She shouldn't have slept in her clothes but at least she had the hindsight to take off the stiff jeans. Except, now, she’s startlingly aware she’s standing before Marcus in nothing but her underwear and an unforgivably tight tank top.
"Good evening, Sunshine." He grins, that smile that makes her think that maybe he should be the one she called 'Sunshine'. "I brought you coffee." An odd offering at nine on a Wednesday evening but she’d been complaining, via text, about the lack of quality caffeine all day. Marcus offers her a polystyrene takeout cup as he steps inside.
"Lifesaver," she mumbles as she grabs it by the flimsy top and shuffles towards the kitchen to pour it into her unused Death Cab for Cutie mug — the mug her brother bought her three birthdays ago — and sips on the coffee. It's far too hot but she doesn't care; she needs the caffeine just to keep her eyes open. She grabs the blanket that she’s been sleeping under and wraps it around her waist, hyper-aware that she’s still wandering around in her underwear. She’s almost too tired to care.
"Are you okay?" It’s almost like he can tell. Though, she’s sure it probably has something to do with the dark bags beneath her eyes. She’s sure it probably looks like she’s been punched square in the face.
She shrugs. "I'll be fine. 'm just tired," She hums. Coraline slumps back against the couch cushions, pulls a thick blanket back over her body and lets her eyes flutter shut again. She groans and pinches the bridge of her nose.
"Bad night sleep?" There’s bags and piles of fresh laundry piled on the chair he usually sits on, a product of Coraline’s half-hearted attempt at productivity. Instead, he resigns and sits down beside her at the opposite end of the couch, lifting her legs absentmindedly to rest in his lap, sipping on his own drink, and smiling at her sympathetically as she stifles a yawn against the back of her hand.
Her eyes drag towards him when she opens them again. They rest on his face, studying everything from the softness of his brow and the curve of his prominent nose, to the scattering of facial hair that dances across his jaw, small patches of grey poking through at the edges. She’s glad he kept it after whatever undercover work he’d been assigned to before they’d even met. "If I tell you it was the worst night sleep I'd ever had, in my entire life, would that make me sound dramatic?"
"You? Dramatic?" Marcus scoffs and a smirk tugs at the corner of his lips. His free hand rests on her leg; he draws patterns against her skin but she’s not even sure he realises he’s doing it. "Never."
“Shut up.” Coraline glares at him but smiles, regardless. "Well, I think I'm allowed a pass today."
His face falls at her words. "What happened?"
She sighs and takes a hand through her hair. "My dad-" She eyes him as he watches her intently, brown eyes soft and comforting. "-he's ill again."
Cora had told him about her dad's illness, about how she worried he'd wind up back there again, in the hospital, that things would be worse this time. He'd listened to her like what he was saying was the most important thing in the world and she'd almost cried when he'd held her in a hug a little longer than usual. It was that night that she’d tried to ask him about his past; she wasn’t sure if he was trying to avoid telling her because he didn’t trust her or because it held things he didn’t want to relive. She half-hoped it was the latter, but she hated to think that he might be bottling things up, things he didn’t want her to know or didn’t feel comfortable sharing.
She wishes he’d tell her things. She’ll understand, no matter what it was. She’ll listen, like he does to her, for as long as he needs, as long as he wants.
It’s almost comical how different they are in that sense. Marcus is reserved, closed off, but in way that doesn’t suit him. It’s like whatever exists there, whatever memories lingered, had been withered by sadness, by something or someone, until there’s a barrier guarding his secrets and story that he hasn’t meant to build. She sees the softness in his eyes when she tells him her stories or shares her fears, like his heart is aching to spill the details of his past. Like he can’t let it out. It works for his job — undercover work, secrets, classified information — but somehow it doesn’t suit the smile and the softness of his words as he illuminates Coraline’s darkness.
Coraline, on the other hand, finds her words spilling from her chest before she can even hold them back. She’s not sure if it’s just him — the reassuring smiles, the soft brush of a hand, the gentle voice — but they pour from her at an almost embarrassing speed, like a waterfall of words cascading at regrettable speed. She’s not even entirely sure that she won’t spill her secrets to the next stranger in the street who offers her a smile. But that works for her job; people prying, picking her apart like vultures, scavengers of information found tucked away out of reach. It’s the worst part of the job description, to expect someone to know every detail of your private life, but she often thinks she’s open enough to sate them, until they leave her alone at last.
On paper, they make no sense. Jobs, the polar opposite, necessary privacy mixed with relentless publicity. Open and closed doors. But Coraline thinks, perhaps, that’s why they work. It balances them both out.
Marcus reaches over and catches her hand in his. There's barely any space between them because of the way they’re sat, with her feet prodding at his knees. "I'm sorry, Cora," he whispers, his thumb running over her knuckles softly.
After a shaky smile, gazes locked for maybe a little too long, Coraline stands up and smooths out her shirt. As much as she appreciates it, and appreciates him, she doesn't want to cry. Not today. "It'll be okay." She scrapes her thumb under her eyes, brushing away the black smudges that she's sure have formed underneath her eyes, and finishes the last of her coffee. "Everything will be okay."
Cora isn't entirely sure she believes that.
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breathebangtan · 5 years
Text
Of Sinners and Stars
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Part 1
Members: OT7
Genre: Mafia!au
Synopsis: After losing her father, her life gets turned upside down when she gets in trouble with the Mafia and ends up with no choice but to join them
Eventual Pairings: Jimin x Y/N (x Hoseok) / Jungkook x Yoonji / Seokjin x Namsoon
Warnings: violence, cursing, blood, mentioning of gunshots. Gang related things
Word count: 6.3k
A/N: like always enjoy! If you do, please do like and reblog!
~
Living life on the run was starting to get exhausting, and man did that make me happy to be in Seoul, where all my problems end. If only my mom could be here, all I could hope for is that she’s alive, her and auntie. Keeping hope this whole time was hard, but maybe now it’ll be easier to find them both.
I take a deep breath and relax myself before getting out of the train. I hadn’t realized that the view of the ocean would be so close to the terminal. “A little detour couldn’t hurt, right?” I sigh as I whisper to myself. I wasn’t going to move on with the plan until the morning. Finding a hotel to stay in was my priority at the moment, but I could spare a few minutes to catch some fresh air. After a four hour train ride, I think I deserve that much.
It isn't a cold night, but the fresh breeze the ocean waves brought in left chills on my bare arms and legs. It was nice after being suffocated inside a train. I closed my eyes to take in the fresh air, but suddenly I heard gunshots. They were getting closer to where I was. My eyes shot open immediately looking to find where the sound was coming from. Once I located the noise was, I bolted in the opposite direction. I wasn't sure where I was going, I just knew I needed to be far away from whatever that commotion was. I'd just gotten to Seoul, I wasn't about to die now.
In the midst of my running I stumble across a boat dock. There's dozens of boats stationed, no one in sight, at least that's what it seems like. Thinking on my feet, I jump onto one of them. I could hide it out here until it's safe.
“Someone’s on the deck, go check it!” I heard one man say and shortly after, footsteps echoed. I panicked and ducked behind some boxes they had out on display, as a matter of fact they had many boxes. I covered my mouth so he wouldn’t hear me and wondered what kind of things they had in the boxes. If the voice wasn't so aggressive I wouldn't have had such thoughts, but my guess was they were carrying something illegal, if they reacted like that. “Did you find them?” I heard the same voice ask. Here I was, hiding on a vacant boat in order to not get shot, just to find out it isn’t vacant, and end up in a worse situation. “Not yet.” A voice much closer to me responded and I started crawling towards another box and sat behind it.
“I’m sure I heard a thud, they couldn’t have disappeared, we would have heard a splash in the water.” The first voice spoke again and I felt my heart sink, as I realized that the boat had started to move. If I jump they’ll hear me and know where I was, and even if they couldn’t catch me fast enough those gunshots were still audible, so I had to choose quickly. Jump and risk being shot or stay on the boat, get caught, and possibly kidnapped.
With panic pumping in my veins I stood up and sprinted towards the edge of the boat and jumped as I heard the man's voice. “Get her!” He said, I hadn’t realized just how close one of them was to me until he caught me by the waist mid jump and brought me back down. I started kicking and yelling but he covered my mouth. As I was about to bite his hand he removed it just so his partner could cover it back up with tape and then my head with a black bag. “Tie her up quickly and I’ll finish packing up the boxes into the boat. The boss is going to love this.” He told the man holding me, a chuckle leaving his throat. My body felt cold with fear as to what awaited me.
When he brought me to what I assumed was the inside of the boat, I felt him push me from the stairs and I hit my cheek and eye. That side of my face started pounding and I could feel blood come down from that area. I suddenly felt the man tie my hands behind my back and my legs as well. After that he tossed me down again and I hit my arm and the back of my head this time.
Now all I could feel was a really heavy darkness come over me and I felt myself drifting asleep. I tried so hard to stay up but I couldn’t, the fact that I hadn’t slept since how many hours ago and now I’ve hit my head twice was obviously getting to me. The last thing I knew before giving in to the sleep was that I could feel the boat start to move faster.
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“Hey, wake up! It’s time for you to meet the boss.” A familiar voice said to me and I wasn’t sure why it was familiar, nor where I was. I blinked my eyes a couple times and then a sharp pain came from one side of my face and the back of my head. I also realized I had a bag over my face and that’s when I remembered where I was.
Before I had time to think anything more, arms were wrapped around my waist and I was tossed over one of the man’s shoulders. When he stepped out of the boat I could see through the bag over my head the tiniest bit, as the light from the sun made it somewhat see through. From what I could make out there was water behind us and we were on top of a boat dock, then briefly concrete and then grass. Lots of grass, after awhile of walking in the grass I saw we entered a path and on each side there was huge trees and the more we walked away from it, I could tell it was like a fence of trees surrounding something. Maybe a house? But my question was answered eventually, when we entered huge doors that I knew only mansions had. Of course, I would know having lived in one, It was a mansion the trees covered, without a doubt. The question now was, who’s place was this, and why was it covered?
The men came to a left turn after entering the doors and not too long after stopped and knocked on a door. I was just praying they’d sit me down somewhere fast because the man's shoulder was starting to poke my rib cage. After a minute or so the door finally opened and I heard three different footsteps walking around now, including my kidnappers. The man holding me dropped me on the floor, hitting my shoulder blade and head in the process. At this point I might as well have a damn concussion.
“Fuck.” I mumbled to myself, as more pain was added to what I was already feeling.
“Untie her.” A new voice said, and this voice sounded like it was attached to a much younger man, someone in his twenties. It had a nice tone, it was deep but not exaggerated. Not like the men from earlier who sounded more worn out and attached to someone in their early forties or late thirties. One of the two men got closer to me and untied my wrists and I rubbed each wrist after.
“About time, those fucken ropes were killing me.” I whispered to myself, but unlucky for me the man heard me and started kicking my side. I couldn’t help but groan and cough, I could practically feel the bruises forming.
“Who do you think you’re talking to?” He said to me as I winced and covered my body with my now free hands.
“That’s enough!” The young man said to them, authority very clear in his stern voice. “Get. Out. Now.” He instructed them, and shortly after I heard them walk out and doors close.
I flinched at first when I felt two strong arms help me up but I relaxed when I didn’t get hurt. Instead, he guided me to a chair and sat me down.
“There, that’s better right?” He asked me as he took the bag off my head, the tape that was placed over my mouth last night barely attached to the side of it now. I nodded slowly as I looked at him blinking repeatedly to adjust my vision, peeling the tape off. The man before me was wearing a suit, hair pushed back and parted mostly to one side. The color of it was an interesting choice, it was ash gray that really fit him. I was right, he was young.
The way the sun entered the room from the window made his eyes shine in such a beautiful way. If it wasn’t for the situation we were in I would have asked his number, although he might have responded he was too old for me, not that, that bothered me. He proceeded to pick up my backpack from the floor next to his desk.
I figured that one of the men from earlier brought it, as I remember one of them taking it off me before tying me up. I watched the young man sit in his luxurious chair and set my backpack on his desk. He quickly unzipped it and poured everything out. At that moment I was just thankful that my bras and panties were in the smaller compartment inside the bag.
“Chae Y/N, huh? You’re 19, are you?” He asks as he looks at my ID in one hand and holds my wallet in his other.
“Yes, I am.” I answer his question in a small voice.
“Did you graduate high school recently?” He asks me and I nod instantly. “Interesting, if you’ve graduated, why are you wearing your school uniform?” I wish I would have thought of a lie like I did to the hotel clerks. Saying I was still in high school and had summer classes, which was very common, and no one ever questioned.
“I wear it so that I can get cheaper prices when staying at hotels. I tell them I’m getting abused at home and that I need a place to stay while I figure things out and they feel sorry for me.” I explained to him, which I wasn’t completely lying but truth be told, there was more to the story. I was supposed to graduate the day my father was killed. I was finishing last minute preparations for it in our kitchen when I heard men yelling and gunshots coming from the entrance of our mansion. I was still wearing my uniform through the whole ordeal. After escaping I went to a hotel to figure things out and that’s how I realized I could get them to give me practically a free room.
“Manipulator, I see.” He says to me as he puts my ID back in my wallet.
“Call it whatever you want, I call it survival.” I told him and I realized I was speaking a little boldly to the man who I should be more kind to or at the very least compliant with, or else who knows what would happen to me.
“Designer clothes? Did you steal them?” He asks looking at my clothes one by one. I wasn’t sure how to answer that, would agreeing to it make me seem bad or good? Or would telling him that I’m from a wealthy family put a price over my head?
“Aren’t you going to answer? The fact that you’re hesitating makes me doubt what you’ll answer.”
“I didn’t steal them.” I answer honestly, I figure that even if it put a price over my head, that price would be erased as soon as he realized my father is dead and mother is missing. “So you bought them? Tell me, are you from a wealthy family? Do you live in a mansion? But if you do, what was the motive for being on my boat trying to steal my things last night?” He tossed questions around and by the end of it he accused me of trying to steal from him, which left me confused because that never happened.
“I’m sorry, tried to steal? I would never steal from you, I swear there was a misunderstanding and I can explain.” He leaned back In his chair after I was done speaking as if inviting me to continue.
“Look, I swear I didn’t steal or try to steal from you. I was on that boat hiding because I heard gunshots and panicked. I didn’t think anyone was on the boat so late at night and I was going to leave as soon as the gunshots stopped. I swear it’s true.” I explained the situation to him. He clasped his hands together and had a look on his face as if thinking.
“Why were you out so late? You say you come from a wealthy family, you have designer clothes in your backpack. Yet you say you use your uniform to get cheap prices at hotels. Why the need for cheap prices if your rich? As a matter of fact why would you need a hotel to begin with? Either something happened to your family, or you lied and really did steal these clothes and the reason you stay in hotel rooms is so you can have people up there with you behind doors and get paid for the things you do for them. So which is it?” He asked, but by the tone of his voice it sounded like he had already made a conclusion. While I was baffled by his speculations, I didn’t know what to feel, whether to be shocked by him being spot on or offended by his last accusation.
“Alright you don’t have to answer, I already know.” He confirmed my thoughts on him having already made up his mind.
“It’s the first one correct. Your facial expressions gave it away. When I mentioned the first one you seemed disturbed and pained and your eyes became glassy, but at the mention of the second you seemed offended and disgusted. So I’ve got you all figured out now.” I let myself take a deep breath and release it before I panicked again. As I did he reached for his phone and I watched him carefully as he did to me. “Hoseok, bring the boys to my office, we have someone to discuss about.” He spoke to the phone and seconds after he did he hung up. From there he leaned in his chair again and stared at me with such a look that I felt intimidated by it.
The waiting time for the person he called, Hoseok as I was now aware of, didn’t take long. Five minutes tops, but under his gaze it felt like an hour, each minute was agonizing under his presence. I dreaded what they all needed to talk about, why couldn’t they just let me go? I understand he thinks I stole, or at least tried to, from him but I thought I’d explained it to him. I didn’t do anything. So why couldn’t he just let me free? Why did he need them to come? What did he need to discuss? Finally the door opened and I heard multiple footsteps come in.
“Where are Yoongi and Jimin?” The man asked as he stood from his desk and walked over to me, abruptly turning my chair left of his desk, where a couch was.
“They’re preparing the last bits of information for your meeting this afternoon. They’ll be here soon.” A new man responded, whom I assumed was Hoseok. He was dressed casually in contrast to ‘The Boss’, as the men from earlier called him, just ripped jeans and a loose cardigan sweater with a tee inside.
“Is this who we’re talking about?” He asked as he sat down in the middle of the couch directly in front of me, with the other three men who came in with him. At least I knew one name out of the five men who were here. One of the men had a nice suit on, except the blazer was replaced by a doctors coat, two pens tucked into the breast pocket of it.
Another man with very light almost faded green hair let out a sigh as he looked at me briefly, then to the young man who sat next to him who had dark brown hair. They too, had on casual clothing. All of them were dressed in expensive pieces of clothing, that much I could tell. They all looked very young, I guessed they were between early to mid twenties.
“She’s quite beautiful, isn’t she?” Hoseok asked as he winked at me. I didn’t know whether to ignore it or to flirt back in hopes that it would help me survive. So I crossed one leg over the other, showing slightly more skin and gave him a daring stare.
He was about to respond to what I was doing but the door opened one more time and I looked over to see the two men we were waiting for come in. Yoongi and Jimin. Now I just needed to figure out which name belonged to who. Then I would know three names out of seven.
The two men had on slacks, but one of them had on a sweater which was blue and white, the other man wore a button up. The ladder shook his head lightly, as he closed the door behind himself, as to fix his almond blonde hair. The man who accompanied him ran his hand through his hair, which was pink and purple in a nice mix of splotches. I guess I found it interesting that these type of men would have dyed hair, because of how intimidating they were. He sat down next to Hoseok, and stared right at me as soon as he had, making me nervous.
“Let’s begin, shall we?” The man behind me walked over to the others who were seated on the couch, giving them what looked like my ID and backpack. I would be lying if I said the vibe they gave off wasn’t utterly intimidating, but somehow I was drawn to it.
“A high school student, as expected from her uniform.” The one in a doctor suit stated looking over my ID.
“And a rich kid.” Big green says as he looks through my clothes and shows the rest.
“Happy belated birthday, it says here your birthday was last week.” Hoseok says, as he looks over my ID. He gives me a smile, and the man behind me completely disregards it, continuing with my interrogation.
“Oh, she’s not a high school student. Go ahead, tell them why you’re wearing your uniform.” The man behind me urged me to tell them. I swallowed hard before I explained. “I wear my uniform to get cheaper prices at hotels. I tell them I get abused at home and that I need a place to stay to figure things out, and it usually works well enough to get me nearly a free room.” I avoided their eyes and looked down slightly as I knew that they most likely were thinking the same thing the man behind me thought when I explained it to him.
“Dirty.” Big green says, confirming what I thought. I looked at him with anger in my eyes, glaring at him. I was trying to get myself killed, I know it. I always had this problem since I was younger. Yes, I could be panicking and afraid but somehow, I could still manage to be bold and careless.
“Why would you need cheaper priced hotel rooms? You’re rich aren’t you? Actually, why would you need a hotel room to begin with?” One of the two men who came late asked. “I don’t know Yoongi, what is telling you the truth going to do for me?” I asked in a very bold and daring way.
I had a 50/50 chance of getting his name right, and by the look of his expression and frankly the rest of the men, I got it right. I pinched myself discreetly in the thigh, because the more I thought about this situation, the more it was clear what they were. Nice suits and expensive clothing, mansion with dogs who retrieve goods for them, the man behind me gets called ‘boss’. It was more than clear. Yet here I was acting bold risking being killed by them.
“How’d you know his name?” The other of the two asked. “Oh, that’s a simple answer, Jimin. When the others came in, your boss here asked Hoseok where the two of you were at.” I explained to him, pointing at the man behind me and Hoseok who was sitting in front of me.
“Impressive, but how’d you get my name?” Hoseok asked. “When he called you, obviously.” I replied and I honestly wanted to slap myself silly. If they didn’t kill me it would be a miracle.
“Why is she even here?” One of the men who hadn’t spoken yet asked. The one with dark brown hair.
“Well last night at around twelve she got on one of our boats and tried stealing from us. She says she wasn’t stealing but was actually seeking shelter because she heard gunshots near by and panicked. What do you guys think?” The man behind me explained to them and waited for them to respond. I couldn’t believe he still thought I was stealing, but I guess he wouldn’t believe a stranger so easily.
“Maybe it’s true, why would she steal if she’s loaded?” Big green gives his opinion.
“If she was rich why would she stay in hotels? She probably stole the clothes in her backpack. I always take care of the trash. Let me take care of her.” Yoongi offered as he got up and walked towards me and in a panic of not knowing what to do I stood up and backed up, making them all rush to their feet.
“W-wait… wait! I can do anything you want me to, I know how to fight, you’re a mafia right? I can do whatever you need me to. I swear I didn’t steal from you, I-I-I’ve killed before,” I looked down to my feet and swallowed hard. I let myself fall to my knees as I continued to plead with them.
“I can do it again if you need me to. I’ve been trained to kill. I’ll be wasted potential if you kill me because I have so much to offer. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it, just please let me live.” I pleaded to them and they all looked at each other.
They looked like they were all in deep thought until the boss spoke again. “Alright, someone take her to a room. Keep her locked in their until I get back, I have a meeting. We’ll finish discussing this at dinner.” No one offered themselves to take me though. I couldn’t help but look down at my hands and wait. Honestly, I’d been so nervous and panicked this whole time, which may be a surprise to anyone else because I seemed calm and even careless but truly, I was a mess on the inside.
“Alright, no one's going to offer up to take her?” He asked them again, but Jimin stepped up, “I’ll take her, don’t worry.” He told the man.
“Great, you’re in charge of her from now on, got it? I’ll see you all later.” He picked up his briefcase from his desk and walked out. Everyone else started to leave too as I just stared at Jimin as he reached for my stuff and handed it to me.
“Follow me, I’ll show you to your room.” He said as he walked out, and I of course followed along. We walked towards a big staircase. It was wide at the bottom and at the top it split up to the right and left.
“You have a really nice mansion. Makes me miss mine.” I whispered the last part. It wasn’t that I was a spoiled rich kid who didn’t care for anyone who was ‘below me’ but I did miss the comfort of my own. It was all I knew.
“So you weren’t lying about being rich? You can be honest with me, I won’t hurt you.” He gave me such a kind smile that made me think I wasn’t even in such a terrible situation. Like I wasn’t even in trouble with the Mafia, but the authority his vibe gave off told me otherwise. Even if their vibe drew me in.
“I know your boss thinks I was lying, but the truth is I do come from a wealthy family and the clothes are mine. I know it looks sketchy because I used my uniform to get cheap hotel rooms and I was on your boat, but I can explain all that.” I told him, and I was sure I would have to explain because his boss made it clear we’d discuss it later. Once we reached the top of the stairs I noticed glass doors that lead to what looked like a lounge room, but it was full of plants and flowers, and couches here and there and some tables. The room was big and further down there seemed to be a balcony. It had a greenhouse vibe and it complemented the mansion very well. From there we took a turn into a hallway with many rooms.
“He’s not my boss, all seven of us are. He’s considered the boss, well more accurately, the leader, between us seven, but we all hold power. Regarding your situation, I believe you, don’t worry.” He smiled at me as we walked passed a living room, before there was more rooms.
“That’s an interesting set up for a Mafia, and thank you, I really appreciate that at least one of you believes me.”
We didn’t walk down much longer before stopping in front of a door. He unlocked it and let me in. “My room is right in front of yours so if you need anything just scream. Feel free to shower or get comfortable. I’ll be back later for dinner.” He let me know before closing the door again and locking it.
The room was absolutely beautiful. From the door, the wall was made of a beautiful dark colored brick. Once you walked away from the entrance and stepped down the steps, the floor and wall was made of wood and I was met by a glass wall with a sliding door which was open and at both sides there was a big grey curtain that hung from the ceiling to the floor. The color matched the color scheme of the bed which was only separated from the glass wall by a wide bedside table which had multiple drawers of different sizes. On the other side of the bed there was another. The wood was a very pretty brown that gave a warm feeling to counter the cold vibe the gray furniture around the room gave.
On each side of the bed above the bedside stands there was a yellow square made of wood that seemed like a painting. In the middle of it there was a smaller brown square which was covered by a light bulb hanging from the ceiling. I turned the lights on and the yellow background that the square offered the light made the room warmer. In the ceiling itself there was three lights on each side, inside it. I set my bag down on my bed and wondered if I should explore the room more or shower like Jimin suggested.
I choose the former and looked to my right and was met by more glass walls. The door was near the opposite wall from the original entrance and I pulled it open, walking into the room. There was a tv mounted on the wall. The couch in front of the tv matched the color scheme which was grey and yellow. The coffee table was made out of glass as well and rested on a light blue, yellow, and grey carpet.
Further behind the couch, there was a small room with a desk inside it. The glass door was closed and I decided to walk back to the main part of the room to figure out where the bathroom was. I walked back towards my bed closing the door I came in from behind me. On the end of the room, the wall was completely black, but there was also a black glass door, and I figured it was the closet so I grabbed my bag and walked inside. It was a walk in closet and at the end of it there was another door which lead to the bathroom. Since I was in here, I decided to take a shower. The bathrooms luxury matched that of the bedroom and mansion in general.
I was paying too much attention to the details of this room, and I knew exactly why. Because I hadn’t had time to grief over what happened to my father and not knowing where my mother is, was eating away at me. It had been two months but I didn’t give myself time to grief because I hadn’t found a plan yet, and I knew that if I broke down I wouldn’t be able to get up again. All that went to hell as soon as I stepped in the shower and closed the door behind me. The moment the water touched my body I let the tears fall down. My loud sobs sounding like thunder and the water reminded me of rain, and I decided to let myself submerge into the thunderstorm that I was feeling inside myself. Before coming in here I noticed the clock that sat on the bedside stand marked that it was 11am, so I decided it was okay to give myself time in here. I wasn’t going to get out this room until dinner tonight, like they had said.
Before I knew it two hours had gone by and I finally turned off the water and walked out. I reached inside my backpack, which was on the sink, and pulled out some ointment. I rubbed some on the cut that was left on my cheekbone, and the side of my eyebrow from last night. I headed back into the closet, not sure if to place my clothes in the empty cabinets and shelves. Was I going to stay here? Or were they still thinking of getting rid of me? The man with gray hair told Jimin he was in charge of me from now on, it sounded as if I would be here for a long time, but I wasn’t sure.
I gave in and just started organizing my clothes and picked out an outfit to wear. I choose to wear a gray tracksuit. I kept the jacket unzipped and under I was wearing a cropped tank top. The fabric of the tracksuit was very soft and the sweats weren’t tight, but they weren’t baggy either, they were just right. I looked at myself in the mirror of my closet and noticed the dark bruise on my side. It was the same place the two men from earlier had kicked me with such aggression. I had known it would leave a bruise, I just didn't think it was that bad. I sighed and went to put my shoes on and walked to the bed again, contemplating whether or not to call the cops as I brushed my hair.
The only reason I hadn’t already was because my father warned me that if something like this were to ever happen, to lay low and not make my whereabouts be known. The reason being the people who were after him being after myself as well. The sole purpose of me traveling to Seoul was so I could get help, but I wanted to get help far away from where it all happened. However, this is the Mafia we’re talking about, was calling the cops going to help anyone? I laid back on the bed and closed my eyes, wondering what I should do. My mind wanders off into dreamland.
However, it felt more like nightmare land, as I relived the night of my father’s death. I sat back up suddenly in a rush, I had the numbers dialed and my finger on top of the call button but I was afraid to click it. Before I could actually do it though, I hear keys and the door being opened. I quickly turn my phone off and shove it under one of the pillows, before getting up in a rush.
“Dinners being prepared, let’s go down.” Jimin instructed as he beckoned me, and I obeyed. With the whole closet organization, and long shower, and now my small nightmare, I hadn't noticed it was nearly 5 in the afternoon. He closed the door behind us and I wondered if I could out run him, but even if I could, they had guards. Before I could make a decision he was walking in front of me and I followed.
“You okay? I know you must be scared, but I can assure you that we won’t harm you.” He tried comforting me and I nodded in response. He looked into my eyes and I realized he’d only asked because my eyes were red and puffy from all the crying.
They were much less intense than earlier, but he still noticed it. We reached the stairs again and he lead us down them. We entered a hallway which then lead to the dining room which was viewed by the kitchen. The kitchen was huge and modern. There was two separate counter tops, one with a sink and another with a stove on it. The whole thing was made out of a beautifully dark brown shiny wood, with many cabinets. The actual counter tops were made out of a very pretty white and gray marble. There was quite some space between them and to the far left of both there was another countertop and cabinets under it and a sink as well of identical color scheme. Above it on the wall was multiple glass cabinets filled with wine glasses. From one of the separated countertops, the one with the sink, there was a table coming out from it. It was a bit longer in length from each side compared the counter top, but not by much. It had one chair on each end and eight along the side.
“Sit here with me, the others are on their way.” He informed me and we sat in the middle of the table. Behind us there was two large couches and two smaller ones with a coffee table in the middle with a huge floor to ceiling window that gave a view to the outside. I let my feet rest on the white tile floor. The more nervous I felt the more I looked around and observed the kitchen. I was admiring the three light bulbs hanging from the ceiling of each end of the table when I suddenly saw familiar faces. The others were here.
My nervous were skyrocketing now because a new thought popped into my head. I told them I had killed before and that I could do it again if they needed me too. That was the sole reason they decided to keep me around up until now. So the newest thoughts inside my head were that I’d probably have to prove myself to them. That made me panic, but of course I didn’t show it, I just stabbed my nails into my palm slightly to bring myself out of it. It didn’t work completely but it gave some results. I watched as Yoongi sat down left from us at the end of the table.
Hoseok sat next to me, and next to him was the brown haired man. Next to Jimin sat big green who was talking to the doctor next to him. We were waiting for the man with ash gray hair. Honestly, I was getting tired of having to distinguish them by hair color. I only had three names so far, and it was frustrating not knowing all of them. Pulling me from my thoughts, new people came into the room bowing at the men as they did. They must have been staff because they started taking out pots and pans and ingredients out. Some of them started washing and cutting vegetables some started cooking the meat or boiling water.
I looked to my side and saw Jimin messing with his rings, it wasn’t a nervous tic but more like something he did. He looked at the staff with such an instance stare. I knew that if I was under his stare, there was no way in hell I wouldn’t have fucked up by now. Mid way through the cooking process the man of the hour arrived.
“Mr. Kim, welcome.” The staff bowed at him, as he walked and sat on the opposite end of Yoongi. At least I had his last name now.
27 notes · View notes
ketzwrites · 7 years
Note
Is this send me a pairing thing still valid? :D Because I'd like Malec + “Can we pretend I didn’t just say that?"
Not anymore :D yours is the last one, darling.
But I gotta say, I’m particularly proud of that one. I’m sorry it took me a lifetime to write it. I hope the wait is worth it
Huge, huge thanks for @sargentcow 
Magnus Bane was an expert in flirting. There was no denying it. Some people were born as great artists, some people were mathematical geniuses. Magnus Bane had been blessed with the ability to charm. For the better part of his life, he had been exulting on pure charisma alone, entrancing the people around him with a few well-placed smiles and a couple of witty comments. It came naturally to him and he barely had to think before speaking anymore, he just did.
In retrospect, that was probably what made everything go so horribly wrong when tactless, no nonsense, practical Alec Lightwood stormed into his life. Because when a born charmer falls in love with a pragmatic, disaster strikes.
Not that Magnus could’ve foreseen the completely fiasco of a relationship, judging by its start. The night Isabelle had introduced him to her dear brother, Magnus and Alec had hit it off right away. Sure, Magnus’ innuendos were often lost on Alec, but he laughed at his silly puns and, by the end of the night, they had exchanged phones numbers and more than a few lingering stares.
After that, a date was inevitable. Alec was the one to ask Magnus out, to their mutual surprise. They had spent a lovely afternoon at the Natural History Museum and had ended the date at a lovable sushi place after laughing all day long.
Okay, they had actually ended the date in Magnus’ loft, more specifically his bed, but alas, some of us are trying to sound romantic here, people.
Second date came, and then the third. By the fourth date, they were calling each other boyfriend and having fun at their friends’ expanse by having inside jokes. Their relationship was the best thing that had happened to Magnus since he had discovered makeup and he had never been that happy with anyone else.
Alec made life seem like happy summer days. He was impossibly smart and twice as kind. His eagerness to please was only surpassed by his stubbornness and Magnus was reminded of what real honesty was every time they talked.
But Alec wasn’t flawless and he could also make the sunniest day feel like the depth of winter. He was short-tempered and tended to lash out when he felt cornered. He internalized most of his feelings and a lifetime being pressured to be the perfect son, brother and man by his parents’ distorted standards had made it impossible for him to cherish who he really was in the light of who people wanted him to be. Alec had no problems to let his siblings take advantage of him and he didn’t care to be civil to people he disliked, which, truth be told, was most people.
At that time, Magnus had attributed all of that to Alec’s age. Being eight years older than him, Magnus had more often than not let rude comments and frankly obnoxious behavior slip by because he thought Alec would grow out of it. That is, when he wasn’t downright patronizing with sighs and the occasional “Oh, Alexander, just shut up and kiss me”.
It wasn’t only Alec’s flaws that Magnus would brush over, though. Magnus had an issue with opening up himself, thanks to some past lovers that shall remain nameless in her French fashion, so more often than not he’d prefer to ignore problems than to talk them through. Rationally, Magnus knew that was a recipe to disaster, but whenever he saw the frustrated and almost desperate look on Alec’s face as they started fighting, he felt it was better to change subjects. Desirably, to the bedroom.
Needless to say, their relationship crushed and crumbled after little more than an year together. At least it had been a mutual consensus and they had ended that chapter of their lives with the knowledge that although they had lost a lover, they still cared too much for each other to keep on hurting like that.
By then, however, both Alec and Magnus had earned their places in each other’s group of friends, which meant there was no staying away. Magnus was Clary’s and Izzy’s first choice for a shoulder to cry on or a fun night out after a stressful day at work. Simon was still trying to impress him, or at least make Magnus remember his name. Even Jace liked hanging out with him, despite their not-so-friendly arguing from time to time.
At the same time, Ragnor absolutely adored Alec, since he did not take Magnus’ bullshit and that was frankly refreshing. Catarina had adopted Alec after he got into med school and they could spend hours talking. Tessa had once told Magnus that if he did not marry Alec, she would have one of her boyfriends do it. Not to mention Raphael, who had taken a liking into Alec when they realized they hated the same things.
There was no avoiding each other. Which was fine, totally fine. Magnus was glad to realize that he cared so much for Alec, he’d gladly stay friends with him. They still had hour long talks, they still discussed their favorite books and movies, they still drank together.
But only when there was at least two more people around and as long as those two people weren’t a couple. That was the first unspoken rule that everyone knew and nobody disputed. Magnus and Alec never hung out alone, although they secretly still had a private chat on their phone nobody knew about.
The second unspoken rule was that if one of them was seeing someone, the other could not vent about them where the single one could hear. That rule was established when Alec ranted about a guy he had been dating during movie night at Clary and Jace’s and Magnus proceeded to mistreat the guy so much afterwards - purposefully forgetting his name, arranging restaurants reservations so there was no place for him to sit, outright telling him to his face he wasn’t good enough to even breathe the same air as Alec -, the guy broke up with Alec.
Magnus did not regret that one, especially because he could see the relief on Alec’s eyes beneath the anger when he came to confront him after the break up.
It was ridiculous, but the rules had been working fine for the last four years, which was everything that Magnus needed. He had dated and/or slept with a fair number of people since then, but Magnus was starting to grow worried. He was almost thirty-seven now and it looked like New York simply did not have anyone that was right for him.
At least, nobody who made him feel like he did when he was with Alec. Nobody who Magnus could love despite their flaws. Nobody that could love Magnus despite his flaws.
But alas, it’s no use crying over spilled milk. Alec had done a lot of growing up in the last couple of years and Magnus was proud of him, of the person he had become. It wouldn’t be fair if Magnus didn’t let go of his old crush and got over it. They were friends now and friends didn’t pine after each other forever.
It was good, then, that Isabelle had called for an emergency night out. Magnus hated feeling like he was going to die alone and he would gladly drink those thoughts down with his favorite people in the world. Ragnor had confirmed, though he said he was going to be late. Simon and Clary were coming too, though Jace was stuck at the precinct. Raphael had said drinking on a Tuesday night was beneath him and Cat was out of town.
Magnus had arrived early, to his standards, which meant he was right on time. His last client of the day had wrapped up their meeting after Magnus told him to shut up and listen if she wanted her house to look the slightest bit decent.
You see? Magnus definitely needed a drink.
He walked into the wolf’s den checking his messages to see if anyone was already there. Such a weird thing to do, wait for the rest to arrive.
“Magnus!” A familiar voice called and, of course, it was Alec. He was sitting at their usual table alone, but for a bottle of beer.
Blinking, Magnus put away his phone and smiled, gesturing to the bar. He got himself a cosmopolitan before joining Alec at the table and drunk half of it on the way there. “Just the two of us for now?”
Alec nodded, but he didn’t seem worried. “Izzy said she’s on her way and I just spoke to Ragnor. He finished the chapter he was working on, so he should be coming too.”
“Brilliant,” Magnus said quietly. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been alone with Alec like that and it was making him nervous.
Especially because Alec looked so calm. In the almost six years knowing each other, Magnus ought to have gotten used to Alec’s cool façade but he hasn’t. There was something in his sharp beautiful lines and the eye Alec’s hazel eyes always seemed to be reading the situation with absolute precision.
Magnus cleared his throat. “So, how have you been? It’s been, what? Weeks since we last talked?”
“I guess.” Alec nodded and took a sip of his beer. “I’m okay. Passed all my exams.”
“That is great! Not that I had any doubts you would.” Magnus smiled proudly. Alec had always been hard-working and never more so than after getting into med school. “How’s the internship going?”
“Rough, but good.” Alec smiled a little and Magnus could see he seemed tired, but impossibly happy. “How about your clients? Anyone wanting to paint their walls vomit-green again?”
Magnus sneered and shook his head. “Not recently, but let’s not get our hopes high. I’ve expanded business to New Jersey.”
“Oh no.” Alec snorted. “That’s just asking for trouble.”
“You know me,” Magnus said with a shrug and batted his eyelashes at him. “Trouble is my middle name.”
Alec just shook his head, but he was smiling behind the bottle of beer he busied himself with drinking. They stayed quiet for a couple of minutes and Magnus checked his phone for any news of their other friends. There was nothing.
“You don’t think…” Magnus began, but he stopped mid-sentence. The puzzled expression on Alec’s face made him chuckle. “Sorry, I’m being ridiculous.”
“What?” Alec asked, still confused.
Magnus pushed his lips together, but then he stopped, because that was Alec’s habit to do, not his. “It’s just… You don’t think they set this up, do you? Pretend to settle a night out and then bailed so it would be just the two of us?”
“Why would they do that?” Alec frowned and he seemed even more at lost. “They know we don’t… We don’t hang out alone.”
“That’s why.” Magnus suddenly felt unable to stare at Alec’s eyes, but he powered through it. A bit. It would’ve been easier if his heart wasn’t racing so fast. “Maybe they thought we could, you know, use some alone time.”
If Alec was feeling how Magnus was, though, he was doing a remarkable job in pretending otherwise. “To do what?” He asked in a way that made it sound like an accusation.
Magnus huffed. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe talk? About us? About the fact that neither of us had ever had a stable relationship since we broke up? Or the fact that we are still each other’s first choice to talk on our phones, but we avoid to be physically alone together like the plague? Or the fact that I always go to that necklace you gave me when I need to be confident about my outfit? And that I see you doing the relaxing techniques I taught when you’re anxious?”
When he finished his rant, Magnus could see the emotions shifting in Alec’s expression. He went from confused to alarmed to guilty and finally to perplexed. But it wasn’t just Alec’s face that Magnus was paying attention to. He also looked at the way Alec was rubbing his thumb on the inside of his hand and how he pushed his lips together, about to speak but saying nothing.
Until he did, in a small voice that did not match the strong man he was. “What are you saying? I thought… I thought you had moved on.”
“Well, I clearly didn’t, despite my great efforts.” Magnus inhaled sharply. “And I think the others know it too and they have set us up so we could talk this through. I blame your sister.”
Alec nodded. “That’s something Izzy would do.”
Sighing again, Magnus drew strength from the necklace he was wearing. Not for nothing, it was the one Alec had gifted him on his birthday when they were together. “Okay, I’ll start. I love you, Alexander, and that is very clear because I do not hide it. What I try, and obviously fail to, hide is that I am still in love with you. I have always been and I don’t think that’s changing anytime soon. So there. That’s how I feel.”
It took Alec a moment to get over his astonishment. When he did, there was a new determination on his eyes and his hand moved in the direction of Magnus’.
And then a voice sounded from a few feet away. “Hey guys!” Isabelle said, coming in the bar in a rush and taking a seat besides her brother. “Sorry. I know I’m late, but Simon offered me a ride. He’s parking the car with Clary, they should be here any moment now.” She smiled and placed a kiss on Alec’s cheek. “What are we talking about?”
Magnus smiled, showing all of his teeth. “My stupid client and her stupid ideas.”
“My favorite topic, then. Because I too have a stupid client with stupid ideas.” Isabelle smiled and then waved at the door as Clary and Simon walked in.
Using that moment of distraction, Magnus got his phone out. It had been stupid of him to think anyone aside him was still milking on that story. Of course not. Damn, Alec probably was about to tell him he had been over Magnus for ages now. He had to make amends  before it blew up on his face.
Can we pretend I didn’t just say that? Magnus typed and sent. Thankfully, Alec had his own phone in his hands and he looked at the text as soon as it arrived. As Clary and Simon sat down, Alec threw an unreadable look at Magnus’ direction that could only mean one thing. Yes.
And thus began the worst night of Magnus’ life. He tried to pretend everything was fine and that he was having the time of his life talking amenities in front of the man he had just confessed his still very alive love for. Never mind that Alec had fallen into introspective silence for the rest of the night, Magnus couldn’t stop himself from looking at him from time to time, waiting for anything. A look, a sign, a word. Anything.
But Alec gave him nothing but silence. He didn’t even look in Magnus’ direction for the rest of the night.
Magnus was pretty sure their friendship was over. When that realization came, he lost his will to keep pretending he was alright. Magnus just excused himself, not even bothering to give an excuse as simple as a headache, and went home.
He was still crushing the Chairman against his chest when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
A text from Alec. No. No, we can’t.
Tired and feeling sincerely hopeless, Magnus didn’t have the energy to fight. He simply closed his eyes and put his phone down, wondering if he could buy a ticket to Siberia in the morning.
But then another text came. Because I’m still in love with you too.
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