#Oh; oh; oh - and I might try a touch of daily/weekly free writing too so that might appear on here at some point too. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

byunbaekby · 4 years

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title — the following pairing — demon!haechan x female reader, slight jaemin x reader featuring — jaemin as reader’s roommate and crush word count — 6.9k genres — horror, angst warnings — language, religious concepts in accordance to demons and angels, mentions of murder, psychological and physical torture, elements of haunting, choking, degradation in a nonsexual context (donghyuck often refers to y/n as feeble or unintelligent), minor character death inspiration — monster by red velvet

“under a single light, why are there two shadows?” “i’m a little monster, be scared of me / i’ll bother you by making you only dream of me.” “see i’m just playing, no bad intentions / try to come out of the dream but monster lives forever.”

author’s message — for the #neohalloween event hosted by @nct-writers. this is my first time ever writing something of this genre, so i’m very excited and nervous to put this forward. thank you to @give-seconds for proof reading this and making it 100x better! much love ♡

also, this entire scenario is loosely generated from a superstition in hmong culture that you shouldn’t pick up anything you find laying around in public, for you might bring home something else with you.

“Y/N? Is something wrong? Why are you calling me?”

Your roommate’s voice rings clear on the opposite side of the line. Though you’re shivering as a result of the cold, barren winter air, you try to get a response past your shaking lips. “I-I’m walking home, Jaem. Can you… can you stay on the phone with me?”

“Oh.” He immediately gets it; it’s never safe for a young woman to walk home alone, especially not in your neighborhood. “Of course… Where are you?”

You turn into the shortcut, your feet meeting the soft, pliable ground. The cemetery; it’s probably the worst shortcut you could ever take, but it cuts your walk home in half. “The cemetery…”

“Again? I told you that you should stop cutting through there, it’s not safe.”

You register his words in your ear as you eye a black bird resting atop a gravestone, peering at you with bright eyes. Casting your sight away from it, your teeth bite down on your bottom lip, roseate tier captured beneath the sharp incisor. “Walking down the street at this time isn’t safe either. At least here there’s nobody else around.”

Jaemin sighs on the other side. “Even worse, anyone hanging out in a cemetery at…” He pauses, likely to glance at his watch. “10:28 PM, is probably going to be weirder than someone you find out on the street on a Friday night.”

“Hey!” You tell him, clutching your bag close to you. “I’m a person hanging out in a cemetery at 10:28 PM.”

“My point exactly.”

You roll your eyes, a laugh leaving you, but you’re glad for Jaemin’s teasing. It helps get your mind off the fact that the hill you walk past casts a dark shadow over the path. As you walk past, engulfed in what seems to be the darkest area of the entire graveyard, you attempt to make easy conversation with your roommate to get it off your mind.

“Did you eat dinner already?” You ask him, voice low as if someone were listening. Who knows, someone might be.

Jaemin easily sees through what you’re attempting to do, but he follows along anyway because he’s nice. “I did. I tried to wait for you, but you took too long.”

“Sorry,” you say sheepishly. “Time passed by me in the library.”

“I know. Like damn, you should really lay off the studying sometimes and have fun.”

“I know, I know. You tell me, Renjun tells me, Professor Kim even—woah!”

You drop to the floor, the air flying out of your chest and dissipating into nothingness as you fall forward onto your chest. All the contents of your bag spill out, along with your phone, which lies a few feet away on the dirt.

Groan escaping your lips, you look down at your white jeans. Completely stained and covered in dirt. Damn.

“Y/N? Hello? Y/N, you there?”

You can hear Jaemin’s muffled worried tone from where you are, but you focus on gathering your things from your bag first before you grab the phone. In the darkness of the night, you can’t even see everything, you just hope you manage to grab everything. It would definitely be your worst nightmare if you lost your Calculus homework due on Monday to the graveyard because you hadn’t grabbed it.

When you finally return everything to your bag, you press the phone to your ear. “Hey, sorry, I tripped.”

“You had me worried there! I was about to run out there myself,” nags Jaemin, and you can see in your mind the way his dark eyebrows must be furrowed in distaste.

“Sorry Jaem,” you apologize to him as you scurry down the path, ready to be free of the cemetery’s unsettling aura as soon as possible. “Please tell me you saved me some food, I’m starving...”

He feels it when you walk in. He senses the irrefutable change in the air, smells your delectable scent with his sharpness. His grave sits at the very top of the largest hill, giving him the perfect place to watch you from. The cemetery becomes alive with your entrance.

Ironic, isn’t it?

Sitting rather stylishly with his thin, gauntly body atop his gravestone, Donghyuck watches you with sharp, focused eyes. You’re so pretty. He smirks, observing the way you flutter through the graveyard, feet barely touching the ground in your feeble attempt to escape the ominous lot as soon as possible.

“Walking down the street at this time isn’t safe either. At least here there’s nobody else around.”

That’s where you’re wrong.

The dark demon can hardly keep the devilish grin off his tiers, watching you. Beautiful, you are.

He’s seen you a few times, in the handful of times you’ve dared to cut through the cemetery on your way home. With an amused, almost teasing shake of his head, he tsks. “Bad decision, little lamb.”

“Did you eat dinner already?” You ask whoever you’re speaking to on the phone. Donghyuck can barely remember what human food tastes like. As a demon, he doesn’t eat humans, let alone get hungry, but if he had a choice, you’d definitely be his first choice.

Your soul is good. He wants it.

If he can’t have you, at least he can play with you a little.

It doesn’t take much. The moment you glide through the path and under the darkness of his hill, all it takes is the slightest snap of his fingers to send you flying forward. He’d love to make you stay down there, perhaps drag you down below with him, but that would be no fun.

Rather, he plucks off one of his rings, one of the many decorating his hands for absolutely no one to see, and tosses it seamlessly into the pile of your things spilled across the path. As he watches the way you carelessly shove everything back into your bag, his Cheshire grin grows even wider. Now, he has a reason to leave.

As you scurry away, Donghyuck jumps off his grave which he had occupied for decades, and lands on his feet. With a wipe of his hands on his jeans, he watches you go.

“Stupid little lamb. Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to take things that aren’t yours?”

The rest of the walk home, you can swear there are steps behind you matching yours.

When you get home, you quickly slide into your bedroom amid Jaemin’s nagging sounds and slip off your white (well, brown now) jeans from your legs. After getting on some more comfortable clothes, you grab your dirtied jeans and make your way to the bathroom.

The restroom, however small, still has room for a washer and dryer, which you’re thankful for, seeing as you and Jaemin don’t have to pay a laundromat for your weekly laundry. You toss your jeans in the washer; normally you wouldn’t wash just one garment, but the dirt would likely stain your perfectly white jeans. After pressing start you make your way to the kitchen, where your roommate is reheating dinner for you.

The image of Jaemin’s broad back standing at the stove makes you smile to yourself for just a millisecond, so quick that it’s fleeting. Before you can take another moment to admire your roommate however, he turns to you with his trademark smile. “Hey, pick a movie. Let’s watch something.”

About fifteen minutes later, you’re eating your leftovers on the couch, Jaemin’s arm spread over your shoulders while the beginning scenes of The Conjuring play. You don’t have much, the apartment barely enough for the two of you to inhabit, and Jaemin is only your roommate, but you’ve gotten used to these kinds of nights. Simple, easy, sweet.

The light remainder of Jaemin’s daily cologne mixed in with his gentle cotton scent pervades into your senses, and you lean your head onto his shoulder with a smile. You’ve always wanted to be more with Jaemin, but you could settle for these comfortable nights of movies and platonic cuddling.

It’s something about having a full belly, Jaemin’s warmth, and the everlasting light traces of his scent that has you falling asleep, eyes drooping closed slowly into a peaceful suspension of consciousness.

You wake the first morning.

You don’t even remember falling asleep, but it doesn’t surprise you when you wake up in bed. Recently you’ve developed a habit of falling asleep on movie nights, and Jaemin is always kind enough to place you gently back in your room.

Wiping the sleep from your eyes, you let out an unearthly sound as you sit up and stretch your arms above your head. When you unsheath the blanket from your legs, your unprepared toes meet the cold wooden floor, causing you to flutter across the room quickly and into the living area.

It’s Saturday, but Jaemin volunteers at the hospital on Saturdays, so you only prepare a bowl of cereal for yourself. If your roommate were here, he’d probably scold you for the lack of nutrition, so you toss a couple of berries into your frosted flakes.

After you finish up, washing your bowl at the sink, your eyes widen in realization; you left your jeans in the washer! Falling asleep mid-movie had caused you to completely forget about them, not drying them before you slept like you had told yourself. God, they probably stink by now, sitting wet for hours.

But when you slide open the door to the bathroom, you see your jeans resting atop the drying machine, folded neatly like they had been waiting for you. Perhaps they were.

Ah, you realize, mouth parting just the slightest. Jaemin must have dried them and folded them before he left for the hospital this morning. Another grateful smile spreads across your visage; you really do have the best roommate.

You spend the rest of the day studying, and prepare a nice dinner (which also means going grocery shopping) for Jaemin, as a little thank you for always being so thoughtful. He appreciates it when he comes home to a fully cooked meal, and there’s something about the way he smiles that has you feeling as though you’ve finally done something good to amount to all the times he’s saved your ass as a roommate. When the night ends, you both retire to your rooms.

In your lovesick daze, you fail to recognize that under the single lighting of your room, there are two shadows.

VII.

On the seventh day, Donghyuck’s displeasure is enough to choke him—that is, if he needed to breathe.

He had wanted to tease you, follow you home and play with you a little before revealing himself. But God, you are so dumb; he should have expected as much from a feeble, stupid little sheep anyways.

That first night, testing the waters, he had done your damn laundry for you. It was just a little fun, to get the ball rolling. Any superstitious person would have known. And what did you do? You had thought it to be your roommate. As the days went by, his teasing grew in quantity and intensity; hiding your keys, ripping apart your essays, perhaps all the menial and annoying things that some stupid schoolboy would do to grab the attention of a girl he liked. But your attention is lost, and he is not a stupid schoolboy. No, he is far from it.

Even as his antics have built up throughout the following days, you always found some excuse to play it off; you must be more clever than he thought. No, you weren’t; you were either extremely clumsy and forgetful, or you were simply denying his existence. It’s time to make himself known.

VIII.

It’s the eighth night when he appears in your dreams. No, not he. It.

You can sense it, the moment your suspension of consciousness becomes overtaken by him and you find yourself in a simple black room. It seems to extend in every which direction, as though you could run off in any given direction and never hit a wall. But you feel it watching you.

He’s behind your shoulder, and the moment his low, amused chuckle is heard in your ears you swipe around to face him, eyes wide. He’s beautiful; dark brown hair, smooth skin, a captivating honey color, and dark eyes.

Those eyes.

They pierce into your soul, as though they can see right through you. They probably can. He is not a person, you know. He is… more.

Dark eyes once overtaken with curiosity are now characterized by bleak amusement. Your breath hitches, and his voice comes out low. “Welcome.”

“What is this? Where am I?” Your voice comes out rapidly, shaking. You know nothing of this… thing before you but you can’t help but feel unsafe under its gaze.

“Now, that’s not very nice. I am very much a person, not an it,” he smirks beneath the shadow which casts itself upon his visage. You freeze; he can hear your thoughts.

This realization only further widens the Cheshire grin across his lips, and instinctively you take a step back further into the black nothingness. “G-Get out of my head,” you threaten to no avail.

The same mocking laugh leaves his lips. “Sweetheart, this is your head. This entire place is of your making. If you hate it so much,” he says, and suddenly he’s in front of you. His hand leaves the pockets of his black bottoms, lithe digits suddenly cupping your chin and tilting it upward so you are staring right into his dark empty orbs which come to life with the image of you. His fingers, dressed in various shades of gold rings, grip you. You should feel his warmth on your skin, you should feel the radiating human heat that you so often feel with Jaemin.

“Erase me from it.”

But you don’t feel anything behind his callused skin, and that’s what scares you the most.

Your throat runs dry and when he parts his lips, even his breath is cold. “But you’re scared.” When you fail to respond, he licks his lips, and his next words are characterized by sarcastic rancor. “What’s wrong? There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“Unless…” At this point, under his burning gaze that contrasts the ice-cold emptiness against your skin, your knees begin to buckle. The smile which accompanies his next words, revealing his pearly whites and perhaps his intentions, is sinister: “You’re not afraid of demons… are you?”

IX.

You wake in a cold sweat, and you’re more aware of Jaemin’s soothing voice telling you to breathe than the fact that you’re not breathing. Chest heaving and eyes wide, you search for something in Jaemin’s eyes to tether you back to earth, back to reality.

He’s not real, he’s not real. He can’t hurt you.

It was just a dream.

“Hey, hey,” Jaemin calls out to you, hands on your shoulders to steady you from your previous thrashing. You had awoken him with your screaming. “You okay? Breathe, Y/N, just,” he takes a pause to take a deep breath, silently instructing you to follow with him. “Breathe.” In a few moments, when your breathing pattern has begun to return to normal, steady breaths, he asks again, voice dripping with nothing but pure concern for you, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” you nod. It’s the first word you’ve spoken, so your voice comes out scratched and you’re reminded just how much air you need to actually speak coherently. “It was just… a bad dream.”

“Sounded a lot worse than a bad dream…” He responds, taking his respectful hands off of you and tucking them into the loose pockets of his fleece pajama bottoms. An image flashes before your eyes: that… person, hands tucked leisurely into their pockets, ominous smile enough to make you wonder what they were hiding in there.

You blink, closing your eyes tightly and shaking your head, as though it could shake the image from your mind. When you open them once more, Jaemin is still standing next to your bed. “I’m okay, I promise,” you tell him, though it feels more as though you’re speaking to yourself. “Thanks.”

“Any time,” responds your roommate, who offers you a reassuring smile and another worried look before slipping out of your bedroom. When you’re finally alone, you bring a hand up to your forehead, where sweat has made your skin clammy and sticky.

You’re warm. He is not.

XII.

“You’re a demon.”

You say this on the twelfth night, finding yourself once again stranded in the same dark and endless room with the sharp-eyed devil. This time, there are two chairs and the two of you sit facing each other. He sits as though he has all the time in the world, and perhaps he does. Legs crossed leisurely and arms over his chest with his head tilted at you, he stares.

With your tense posture in your own chair, you wonder fleetingly how enough light exists in this black room that you can never seem to avoid staring at his mocking facial expression. You gulp, gripping onto nothing as you tighten your fists to prevent them from trembling. He’s not real, you have to remind yourself.

“When did you figure that out, little lamb? When I told you, probably?” His tone is insulting, as though you were stupid. You narrow your eyes, biting the flesh inside your cheek.

“Aw,” he coos, grinning at you with dark beguilement. “You’re frustrated.”

“Duh, I’m frustrated,” you huff, blowing some air from your mouth to push away a strand of hair that has fallen into your face. “You keep bringing me here with no jurisdiction or knowledge of who you are.”

“Fine,” he acquiesces. “Three questions. Don’t make them stupid, though I know that’s hard for an incompetent human like yourself.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I haven’t quite figured that out yet. Next question. I’ll even be nice enough to abstain that as a question,” he responds, as though he’s doing you a favor.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Being a demon is rather boring, you see. Not here, not there.” He waves his hand around, as though pointing to heaven and its counterpart. “I found you, and you intrigued me.”

He leans forward, resting his chin in his palm. “Or rather, you found me. You invited me in.”

“I never did that,” you reply, indignant.

“But you did.” A dark eyebrow raises at you, and you bite down on your lip to prevent your anger from rising. “You never checked your bag, did you? Never found a gold ring, maybe?” He lifts his chin off of his palm, stretching out his fingers as though they were cramped. “Maybe one with DH engraved in it.”

You had. You had found the ring in your bag on Saturday and had figured it to be one of your own negligible accessories, tossing it into your jewelry box. Had there been letters engraved on it?

At the look on your face, a smile spreads across his features. “So you do remember.”

Despite the umbrage bubbling in your stomach, perhaps more feisty than you should be in the presence of a self-proclaimed demon, you have another question. Leaning forward just the slightest you ask, “Why haven’t you hurt me? Isn’t that what demons do?”

There’s a glint in his eye, and the easy-going expression on his face is quickly replaced by a darkened simper. “Do you want me to hurt you?”

Your fists tighten again. “N-No…”

“Don’t tempt me.” His voice is dark now, his earlier lilted tone now descending into a deep pit. It’s almost demanding, as though he’s daring you to push his buttons and send him plummeting into a torturous rage. At the look of fear that swipes across your face, he chuckles once more. “Relax, little lamb. I’m just playing, no bad intentions here.”

You don’t believe him, not even for a second. If he’s really what he says he is… why does he torture you in this way, making you only dream of him? You push the thoughts from your mind, knowing that he has full access to your brain. “What’s your name?”

“Now you’re asking the good questions. You may call me…”

The corner of his lips tug upward into a smirk.

“Donghyuck.”

XIII.

The titles should shock you more than they do.

University Student Pleads Guilty to Murder of Three Female Students

College Killer: More Murders Revealed In Trial of Lee Donghyuck

Lee Donghyuck, Murderer of At Least Thirteen Victims, Sentenced To Death Penalty

He’s real.

It’s Friday night again, and you find yourself back at the library. Except this time, it’s not calculus nor world history that you are pondering. It’s not your psychology textbook that you are poured over.

No, the archives are open, and all it took was a little keyword into the filter to find just what you’re searching for. The only word you needed: Donghyuck.

He hadn’t been lying. Not about his identity or his demonic status.

When you read over the headlines and their accompanying stories, you don’t realize the way your pupils begin to shake, or the way that your heartbeat begins to accelerate as the truth dawns upon you.

He is real, he is dangerous, and he is haunting you.

XIV.

“So you know who I am.” It’s less of a question, more of a statement. Tonight, there is only one chair and you are sitting in it as Donghyuck walks circles around you. There are no chains, no straps to hold you down to the chair but you cannot move. Despite what he had told you the first night, that this is all your dream and that you have the ability to change anything, the opposite seems true.

He disappears behind you, and suddenly his voice is in your ear. Your breath hitches at the sudden gust of cold air on your sensitive skin as he speaks. “Are you afraid?”

“No.”

“You forget I’m in your head, sweetheart. I know everything, so don’t lie to me.”

He’s caught you.

You say nothing, and so he stands straight and makes himself present in your vision again. “It’s okay to be scared. It’s in your feeble nature.” His finger starts at your hand, bringing a chill down your spine. As he drags it slowly up the scope of your exposed arm, you hardly resist the instinct to shiver. “I just want to know, what are you afraid of?”

“Is it…” he speaks softly, teasingly throwing each word in your ear, like tossing small bites to a starved dog. “That I know each of your thoughts the moment you think it, and you only know my name? That I’m a dark spirit and can bring you enough pain to make you forget your name with just a snap of my fingers?”

His trailing hand, once tracing over the curve of your clavicle, suddenly grips your neck. Though only a light pressure is applied, you feel the wind knocked out of you by his sudden, unforeseen movement. “Or is it that because of me, sixteen women died and you might end up the same?”

With the little air you have left, you manage to squeeze out, “They said thirteen.”

Amusement shows on his visage before he finally lets your throat go, and you heave as you attempt to refill your lungs with air. “No,” he corrects, moving back to his original space, circling you like a shark locking its prey in uncharted waters. “They said at least thirteen. They never found the other three.”

The thought is enough to make you sick, but before you can manage to swallow down the bile attempting to rise up your throat, he speaks. “Don’t worry about them too much, my little lamb. You’ll join them soon.”

“You’re lying,” you spit out. “You keep threatening me, but you’re all talk and no proof. You can’t do anything to me, that’s why you only bother me in my dreams.”

Your sudden and unexpected quip seems to, rather than upset him, entertain him. “You think I can’t do anything to you outside of this box? Funny,” he scoffs, though he still maintains that grin on his lips. “Humans are so cocky, I learned that after they killed me.”

He stops pacing, and instead kneels before you, his face placed before yours. “I’ve done things, sweetheart. Remember the pants? The essay you spent five hours on torn up the morning after you printed it out? How about the dress you bought that I cut up until there was nothing left but shreds? You got really mad at your friend for quote-unquote, ‘pranking’ you.”

But Donghyuck is nothing if not honest. You’ve learned this.

“But on some level, you’re right.” His hand reaches up once more, but instead of resting it on your shoulder again, he gently caresses your cheek. It would be soft, romantic in any other case. But no, his touch makes your skin crawl. “I can’t hurt you, and I don’t know why. Don’t worry, I want to, but outside this dream…” His hand stops, and grips your chin instead. “I physically can’t. Tell me why?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“You have a cross on you somewhere, little lamb? Or, a guardian angel?”

“I said I don’t know,” you repeat, voice louder as you turn your head sharply, ripping your chin from his grasp. In your ear, he tsks.

Now you’ve done it.

“Getting too comfortable, aren’t we? You’re forgetting who’s in charge here,” he says, voice dipping into dangerous territory as he reaches forward, gripping your throat once more. But this time, he digs his nails into the softness of your skin, and your choked scream is caught in your throat by his hands before it can ever leave.

“Y/N! Y/N, wake up!”

Jaemin’s voice is the only thing carrying you back to sanity, and when you finally force your eyes open he’s before you, gripping your arms once again to prevent you from thrashing about. “It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream,” he coos out in worry as you finally come to.

Your hand immediately flies to your neck which is, to your relief, not at all sore. The moment your eyes fall on him and you realize that the hand around your neck is no more, you fall into a bout of tears. Instinctively, your roommate holds you to his chest in a protective hug whilst you sob into his chest.

It’s not real, it’s not real. You keep telling yourself this like a mantra in your head as Jaemin rubs your head soothingly. But why does it feel so real?

“It’s okay,” Jaemin continues telling you, voice soft as his sweet familiar scent pervades your senses once again and your tense muscles begin to relax.

Minutes pass before you’ve calmed down, outright sobs now quiet whimpers. Jaemin begins to set you down back into bed, but you grab at his wrist before he can set you down. “What, what is it?” He asks, eyes immediately scanning your body for any sign of distress.

“Can you… can you stay with me?” It’s a large request, perhaps much too intrusive for someone who is supposed to just be your roommate. But lately, Jaemin feels… much more. Every night as you’ve been plagued by Donghyuck’s presence in your haunting nightmares, he has come to save you when you’re falling apart in screams.

He feels like a friend, and a… a protector.

Not at all fazed by your sudden request, Jaemin wears an abiding smile and nods. “Of course,” he says, sliding into your bed whilst you move over to make room for him. You feel much safer with him around, and now with him in your bed, your personal dreamcatcher, you naturally find yourself in his arms once more while you drift away into sleep, Donghyuck’s presence no longer occupying your dreams.

Neither of you take the time or attention to look, for if you had you would have seen, in the corner of the room furthest from the window, where the darkened corner seems to extend into an infinite world of black, Donghyuck looking less than pleased.

Your roommate needs to be handled.

XXI.

Something seemed to have changed that night when Jaemin first slipped into your bed. You have since not dreamed of Donghyuck even once, and you definitely do not miss him. Perhaps he is gone for good.

How stupid of you to think so, even knowing what Donghyuck is capable of. Perhaps you never truly knew, not before now, just how powerful he is, or just what kind of chaos he can incite.

It’s 3 PM on the twenty-first day when you finally find out just how evil he is.

Jaemin is in the hospital.

You had gotten the call on the bus ride home from campus; your roommate, jokes and boyish smiles for all the time you’ve known him, had been hit by a car just outside your apartment building. Now, he is in the hospital with broken ribs and a herniated disk, barely holding on for his life in a coma.

You’re not allowed in his room, but you do catch a glimpse of your roommate when his physician enters, and just the sliver of him that you see is enough to make you turn your head away.

You know who is responsible for this.

The door to your bedroom is thrown open, and before you can recognize the emptiness of the apartment without Jaemin’s presence around, you’re screaming into the void.

“I know you’re listening, you dick! Show yourself, fucking coward!”

The obscenities that leave your mouth seem to do the trick because before you can register it, you’re on the floor. As though the carpet is pulled out from under you, you go flying forward and the wind is knocked out of you as you meet the ground chest first.

You don’t have any time to breathe or recover, as immediately there is a force pulling you up by the shirt, and suddenly you’re no longer standing on the ground.

You see him.

You’ve seen him before, of course. He’s appeared in your dreams enough to have his sinister expression sewed in your thoughts at all hours of the day. But now… now he looks stronger. Less pale and more colorful. Even the aura which exudes from him… is more dangerous than ever.

Yet, he still wears that shit-eating smile on his lips as he watches you float in the air, collar squeezing at your throat and looking completely powerless. “Now, little lamb, those are not very nice words,” Donghyuck chastises as he approaches you. When he’s finally before you once more, he twitches his eyebrow upward just the slightest. “Missed me?”

“Not at all,” you manage, gathering the spit in your mouth to chuck it out at him.

Not even fazed, he simply wipes at the spit on his face, flicking it off in a negligible direction. “I’m not feeling welcomed,” he comments.

“Because you’re not,” you retort, thrashing about to no avail. “What did you do to Jaemin?”

The mention of your now critical roommate only makes his grin grow wider. “You see, sweetheart, I thought you’d be pretty proud of me. I found out what was keeping me from being able to inflict any real damage on you,” he says whilst his cold hand comes out to squeeze at your cheeks. “Your guardian angel has been taken care of.”

Wait, what? Then it dawns on you.

Jaemin is… your guardian angel.

“You look surprised. That’s okay, I didn’t know either.” Donghyuck releases your face, instead choosing to pace left and right before you, though he never lets his eyes leave you. “But then he started sleeping with you, and I couldn’t get into your mind. I put two and two together. With him around, I’d never be able to touch you.”

The glint in his eyes turns feral. “And you have an embarrassing school girl crush on him, so I was able to kill two birds with one stone. With every second that passes, his life is draining away, and I’m only getting stronger.”

“Why are you doing this?” You cry out once again, though your voice is more desperate than it had been the first time around. “What do you want?”

“You see, I figured that out too.” His mocking tone begins to seep away and is instead replaced by that familiar dark timbre of his as he approaches you once more, gripping your chin again in his fingers. Tilting your head up harshly, he stares endlessly into you and whispers, “I thought I was done with those petty murders, that the sight of women begging at my knees like dirt for mercy wouldn’t excite me as much anymore. But no… I want you to suffer. I want to destroy you, take away your happiness, and break you piece by piece, until you’re just begging for me to take you out of your misery.” The semblance of a smirk quirks at his lips. “Just like those other girls. Except this time, there’s no limit to what I can do. And when you do die, I’ll be right here to welcome you back.”

Tears sting your eyes at the horrible things he whispers to you, but you refuse to capitulate to him. “I’d rather die than do anything you say.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be dead just as soon. The fun hasn’t even started yet,” he teases. Suddenly, it’s as if the paranormal restraints on your limbs are cut free, as your body immediately falls to the floor, collecting in a pile. You hardly have the energy to lift your head, but you register the sound of Donghyuck’s voice as he walks away from you. “Rest up tonight, little lamb. You’ve got a long eternity ahead of you.”

Then he’s gone. You swear you will make use of the last twelve hours of your life.

First, you visit Jaemin again. You know you’re not allowed in, but you know his room number and there’s no one coming in to check up on him, you hope.

You don’t know if he really is your guardian angel, but above that, he is your friend.

“Hey,” you say softly, making your presence known as you sit down in the chair beside his hospital bed. It’s arbitrary… you know Jaemin doesn’t have parents around, and perhaps that only lends to the possibility that he really is someone sent here to protect you.

“How are you?” You scoff at yourself. “That’s stupid of me to ask, you’re in a coma. I don’t know if you can hear me, or if you really are an angel, but thank you, Jaemin. For always… always being there for me, protecting me. Walking me through the cemetery, making dinner for me, chasing my nightmares away.”

Sitting there, staring at your friend’s lifeless body laying on the bed looking gray as a sheet, tears begin to sting your eyes. “I’m sorry for bringing you into this, I should have listened to you when you told me to be careful. And if I have to lose someone as amazing and… pure-hearted as you, I don’t think I can live with myself. So please, even if you don’t make it out of here, please… stay by my side.”

As your first tear breaks the barrier and begins to coast down your cheek, you reach out and grab his hand. It’s cold.

XXII.

It’s a little past midnight and though your fingers shake from the cold, you throw everything of yours that he’s touched into the bucket.

Even the things you weren’t completely sure of, you toss away anything that could have been influenced by his dark magic; the leftover shreds of your essay that you had recovered from the recycle, the pieces of fabric that he had obliterated your dress to, the white jeans you had worn that first night, and more. Finally, you throw in that godforsaken ring that had started it all.

You swore that you would never return to the cemetery again, but here you are. This time, you really can see everything at the top of the hill. You turn your head back to glower at the tombstone before you.

Lee Donghyuck.

What a piece of shit.

Though your fingers shake, you light the match without trouble. When you toss it into the basket of forsaken belongings, it is only a matter of seconds before Donghyuck appears, tethered to his tombstone once more.

Gripping at his body, he snarls out at you, “What the hell are you doing?”

That, you hardly even know. Following only the speculations found on the internet, you had unknowingly lured your monstrous demon back to his home.

It seems to work, as the greater the fire grows, the more pained Donghyuck’s expression seems to become.

Your voice finds its strength as you announce your intentions. “Erasing you.”

“You can’t do that to me, you don’t get to win!” Donghyuck yells in growing anger, reaching out to you but failing. With this inability of his to touch you, you tilt your chin higher, the orange tint of the flames reflecting off your strengthened pride.

“I believed you all this time, I let you scare me into thinking that you could overpower me. That you could hurt me,” you muse, staring without remorse at his pained form. “But I was wrong. You only exist as long as I let you. You can only hurt me as long as I believe you can.”

“I’ll be back,” declares Donghyuck as the fire roars, only sending him further into a realm of pain. Whilst he grips his limbs in pure fury, you shake your head.

“No, you won’t. Because you were right, this is my world. I’m the one with the power here: I have blood flowing through me, I have oxygen in my lungs, and I have a soul. You have none of those.” With your anger bursting at the seams, you kick over the metal bucket burning from the inside, instead tossing the trash over the dirt of Donghyuck’s grave. “And because of that, I’m not scared of you.”

As the fire burns out at the final thread, and the spirit which had infested your mind for twenty-two days begins to fade away in a fit of rage, you offer him the same powerful, mocking smile he had tattooed into your mind.

“Goodbye, Donghyuck. Rest in hell.”

CCCLXV.

“Hey, did you do the notes from the last lecture?”

Flipping through your binder, you nod and pull out the said notes, handing them over to the student sitting next to you. At this point, you’ve learned enough about her to know that on Mondays, she always asks for the notes. You’ve started printing extra copies for her.

It’s been a year.

You had taken a year off of university to return home. After everything that had happened and Jaemin’s death, you simply couldn’t bear to even step into your old apartment anymore. Over time, you’ve found that you’ve healed and you are no longer afraid.

Not afraid to return to school, at least.

“Here you go,” you tell her as you hand over the notes. “You can keep that copy.”

The look she wears is grateful. “Thanks!”

“Hey,” calls a voice on your right. “Do you have a pen?”

“Sure, I—” You start, reaching into your pencil bag, but stop when your gaze falls upon the owner of the voice.

No, it can’t be. It just can’t.

Before you is Donghyuck. Except it’s not. He’s… different.

His hair is no longer brown, but rather a light shade of blonde that accentuates his honey olive skin tone. Rather than all black, he is dressed in a cream-colored sweater and a pair of light washed ripped jeans. Most strikingly of all, his signature sharp eyes are no longer clouded by dark evil, but are light with the sweet smile that he wears on his lips.

No… it’s not Donghyuck. After your return home, you had begun to see his face everywhere, and have since learned to distinguish between reality and trauma. When the stranger catches you staring, he tilts his head, smile growing further. “I’m Haechan.”

Shaking your head slightly to clear the thoughts, you go back to searching for a pen in your bag. “Uh, hi Haechan. Here you go,” you say as you hand the pen over to him.

When your fingers brush just the slightest, he’s cold.

You pull your hand back quickly, as though you had been burned. No, you tell yourself. It’s cold in here, the air conditioning is always on in the lecture hall. Turning back to face forward in your seat, you try to calm your breathing, pulling your cardigan closer to cover you. The stranger next to you pulls out a notebook from his bag, and in full view, begins to write in the corner.

Your professor is speaking, clicking on his projector, when Haechan slides his notebook over to you. There, written in perfect handwriting…

I told you I’d be back.

#NCT-WRITERS #neowritingsnet #dreamwritersnet #mlznet #neothestars #haechan angst #haechan fanfic #haechan scenarios #nct angst #haechan x reader #nct fanfic #haechan horror #neohalloween

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musicanddancingthroughlife · 3 years

Text

Shklance - I Died

I feel like I basically dropped off the face of the planet, and for that I apologize. I have no excuses, except stress and mental health have been a huge problem lately and I’ve just been trying to find balance in my life. I can’t promise anything in the near future, with holidays coming up, and I have finals in like 3 weeks, and then my husband and I are moving at the end of the year, and then my little sister’s wedding is a few weeks after so I’m helping with that, and basically my life is just a mess right now, but I am still working on stuff, comments are always welcome and really do help to get me motivated, and hopefully I can get back into the groove of writing daily and posting weekly!

This story is probs gonna be a part 1 of 2. Hopefully. As is, I wanted it to be a stand alone, but I’ve been drafting it for almost a month now and I just want to throw it at you guys. So know I’m working on a part 2, where they talk about the whole thing and you see everyone’s reactions to what happened. This was actually a request someone made of me on my Ao3 account, but I’ve always loved reading stories dealing with everyone finding out about Lance dying. Just never thought I could do it justice haha. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

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

Lance knew that this was going to be an emotional day for all of them, but seriously, this was a little overkill. He knew he shouldn’t have gotten out of bed today.

Sure, it was the one-year anniversary of the day they all saved the universe, ended the war that had gone on for decades, blah blah blah, but getting up also meant that he was going to have to see everyone again.

Not that he wasn’t thrilled to see them! He and Hunk especially had been waiting for this day for months, and he couldn’t wait to see Pidge and Matt again, either. Last Lance had talked to them, they had been working on some seriously neat stuff. They were sure to be a lot of fun.

Hell, he had even been looking forward to seeing Allura again, even though things had never really been the same between them after Allura broke things off. Though, considering how hurt he was still feeling about their break up, it was probably a good thing she had canceled last minute. She’d said that she needed to focus on helping the universe heal. Lance had wanted to go with her, but she rejected him. He knew she was trying to be kind, telling him that he “deserved the time to rest” and that she “knew how much he’s been missing his home planet.” But really, all it had done was serve to remind him that he wasn’t actually necessary.

Not like Shiro and Keith were.

Allura hadn’t had any problems taking them with her, even though everyone else (even Keith) and agreed that if anyone deserved the down time, it was Shiro. Especially since Shiro had seemed a little weary when he accepted the invitation from Allura. Personally, Lance believed the only reason he agreed to go was because he knew that Keith wouldn’t be happy staying in one place anymore, and of course, there was no way they were going to allow themselves to be separated again, not after everything that had happened…

And Lance was even looking forward to seeing Keith and Shiro, since he had probably missed them the most. But he also knew that it was going to be hard. It was always hard seeing them together, but knowing that they’ve been doing so much good out in the universe, that they’ve gotten to see so much more of those worlds than he had… That was going to be hard.

Not to mention Lance still hadn’t managed to shake the crushes he’d had on them for so long now.

Or the fact that while everyone else was off changing the universe, traveling the galaxies, creating newer and better technology and inventions, Lance had done nothing? Okay, so farming wasn’t nothing. And no one could deny that Earth needed some TLC after the trauma of the war had nearly destroyed it. But as much as he enjoyed the simple hard work involved, that didn’t mean he didn’t understand it was stupid. It was pathetic. His friends were still fighting, in their own ways, and Lance felt as if he had simply given up. He couldn’t figure out what he wanted to spend his time doing, what felt most worthy of his time and attention, and so he had allowed himself to fall back on something easy.

And he wasn’t sure that he could face his friends while knowing the truth about himself, that he was a coward and had no mission or goals in life.

******

So, maybe Lance was a bit of a drama queen, because things had actually been going better than he expected. Everyone looked good, older and more experienced. Hunk had even grown out some facial hair, though it was a little sparse coming in. Lance knew that wouldn’t be the case for very long. The most shocking was Allura’s news about expecting a child (Keith and Shiro had passed it on in her absence). That hurt way more than Lance thought had a right to, but he tried hard to suppress that pain until he could process it in private. Possibly while crying over a tub of ice cream.

And as far as their actual dinner and celebration went, well… it really had been inevitable that their discussion would become heavier. And, as usual, Lance couldn’t keep his own mouth shut.

“We had some good times, though, right?” Lance laughed easily, trying to direct the conversation back to something lighter, something easier (at this point he’d had a couple decades to cement his masks, and he was good at pretending like nothing was wrong). “I mean, we might have been injured, and tortured—”

“Lance,” Hunk warned. He darted a quick, concerned look to Keith and Shiro, but thankfully neither of them looked too worried. Instead, they were staring at Lance with such sappy looks Hunk was irritated Lance wasn’t paying enough attention to notice on his own. A shared glance with Pidge told him that at least he wasn’t alone in his annoyance.

Lance continued thoughtlessly, “and I mean, maybe a couple of us died, but hey! In the end, it all turned out okay, and look at everyone, living their best lives!” (Lance was firmly ignoring the fact that he had spent most of his free time leading up to today pouting in bed. No one else knew, and therefore it didn’t count.)

Pidge opened her mouth, but Shiro spoke first. His brows were furrowed, and his nose had scrunched up a little. Lance wanted to melt at the cuteness of it. “Did someone else die? I thought I was the only one. Who else died?”

Lance’s jaw snapped shut. He couldn’t remember if it had even been brought up or not… It had to have, right? There’s no way his friends – his team – had just gone on for this long without knowing! He thought they were just ignoring it! Things had been crazy, and they’d never really gotten a chance to slow down and breathe, let alone discuss everything that had happened. And that was fine! That was to be expected! But now he was supposed to believe they just didn’t know??? Did that mean they didn’t care? That they didn’t notice all the nightmares that had become the norm after his death? The way he was jumpier for months after that battle? And if that were the case, then was it even worth bringing up now, so long after it had happened?

Lance’s face was burning, the warm flush traveling up to the tips of his ears, and possibly all the way down his neck. He could feel his eyes welling up, but he brushed it away, pretending his face palm in order to hide the movement. He glanced at his friends, unsurprised to find Hunk staring at him intently. Pidge was muttering to herself, obviously trying to determine what had happened on her own. Lance couldn’t even bear to drag his gaze to Keith or Shiro.

He tried to get out of answering Keith.

“Oops haha, must’ve miscounted, I meant to say that one of us had died,” Lance laughed again but unlike earlier, this one was decidedly uncomfortable. “Because. Obviously. One of us… did. Sorry, Shiro. But like, you died. That happened. And it was weird and we got a weird clone out of the deal, which was weird – did I say that already? – and like he wasn’t a great dude, so I’m glad you didn’t stay dead, you know? You’re much nicer than that clone was, he was kind of a jerk. No offense, Shiro. I mean, not that you’re the clone or anything, cause you’re Shiro, and that was Not-Shiro—”

Oh dear God why wouldn’t they shut him up? Lance was so busy panicking about what he was saying that he didn’t notice Shiro and Keith slowly standing, approaching him from each side. But Hunk and Pidge could almost see the concern rising off them.

“But he was mean, and he yelled at us a lot. Although I guess he really spent most of his time yelling at me, which really, makes sense, but again, not something you would’ve done, Shiro, so I’m glad you didn’t stay dead or anything, because Not-Shiro was a terrible replacement and—”

“Shiro yelled at you?” Keith had come close enough that he could lay a warm, gentle hand on Lance’s shoulder. Lance almost flinched at the contact, it had been so long since someone had touched him like that. Sure, he saw his family way more often than he had while they were fighting in space, but, come on. They were fighting in space. He never saw them back then! Anything was an improvement over that! Anyway, the point was, he knew he was lonely. He ignored it. It didn’t matter. His friends were happy, his family was safe.

“Weren’t you listening when I said it was Not-Shiro?” was all Lance could think to say. Keith rolled his eyes.

“Why did he yell at you?” Shiro asked. Lance shrugged.

“Lance had some good advice to share. Though honestly, I’m thinking that Lance’s plan just wouldn’t have suited the clone’s purposes and he wanted to make sure that Lance would stop pushing. So he yelled, knowing that would be enough to shut Lance down,” Hunk said. He shot Lance an apologetic look as he did so. Smart, because Lance was Not Happy with him. Now wasn’t the time to share petty hurts!

“Personally, I believe it was because if anyone was going to find out he wasn’t really Shiro, it would’ve been you,” Pidge shrugged. And really, et tu, Pidge? This wasn’t fair at all. Not to mention, now Lance could feel the now-familiar guilt from knowing he hadn’t been able to tell.

And that was what finally had Lance speaking up. “Oh come on, guys, that’s not even the worst any of us suffered out there! Lotor joined the team! I died! Shiro died! Keith left! We had bigger things to deal with!”

There was a brief silence following this, long enough for Lance to squeeze his eyes shut and briefly mutter “Fuck” to himself, and then—

“What do you mean, you died?”

Lance’s ability to make things worse every time he opens his mouth really should be considered a wonder of the world.

He opened his eyes hesitantly to find that everyone was watching him intently. Tears were welling in Hunk’s eyes, and Lance knew that if he paid too much attention to his friend, then he would break almost instantly. He avoided looking in that direction, lips pursed shut, determined to stay quiet now. But they were just as determined to make him talk.

“Lance, please, what happened?” and since when the hell does Pidge beg? That’s just wrong. But effective, because that wrongness made Lance jerk his head up, eyes accidentally locking with Shiro.

He looked so sad…

“It really wasn’t a huge deal, I was just saying that there was a lot happening. It was pretty much impossible for all of us to keep up with each other, what with Lotor and Allura, and Keith disappearing then coming back, and the search for Shiro… and Hunk, Pidge, you guys had a great team thing going on there. That was a lot of fun! And then remember Coran had us playing Monsters and Mana? Good times!”

“You played what?” Keith asked, confused. Then he shook his head. “Stop distracting us, Lance. Answer the questions.”

“Um. What questions?”

Keith’s face hardened, eyes doing that dangerous flinty thing that Lance had always loved to see when he got mad. But before he could say anything, Lance’s phone went off. He really did try to hide the relief on his face as he stood, but the way Shiro set his jaw made him think he was not successful.

Before Lance could answer the call, he felt his phone plucked from his fingers. He lunged for it, and Keith slipped it into his own back pocket, out of Lance’s reach. Even worse, his lunge for it brought their faces way too close. Lance jerked back, face flaming a bright red, but he felt himself crash back into Shiro’s firm, solid chest. He started to stammer apologies, but Keith’s hands settled on Lance’s shoulders, pulling him away, and then he and Shiro pushed him back down into his chair. As Shiro moved to kneel next to Lance’s chair, Keith held him there, grounding and sure. He leaned down, putting his mouth close to Lance’s ear and then murmured “Please. We need to know. We’re horrible friends for not already knowing, but we’re asking now and we need you to tell us. Let us help.” And Shiro gripped Lance’s arm, thumb smoothing against his darker skin, making it harder and harder for Lance to want to move.

Lance knew that they were blowing this out of proportion. But he still felt touched. He’d thought they were just ignoring his death because other things were happening at the same time, but maybe that wasn’t really the case. Maybe they truly hadn’t known. Maybe Allura had never said anything, and Lance, expecting Allura to say something, hadn’t said anything either, and so maybe they just didn’t know. Maybe sharing it now would be okay.

#shklance #takahsi shirogane #keith kogane #lance mcclain #shklance fic #vld #vld fic #voltron #voltron fic #voltron legendary defender #protective!shiro #protective!keith #langst #i guess #jessi rambles #mywriting #my writing #its been so long Idk if im missing any tags #sorry

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peachyaone · 3 years

Text

sparks

pairings: sugawara kōshi x gn! reader

warnings: mild angst/fluff, brief mentions of sh. ex to lovers.

plot: after the two of you part ways, an event requires you to need him much more than ever. (timeskip!sugawara)

A/N: this became a little of a vent fic, and also wanted to start writing for this cutie. also, this is kinda based on sparks by coldplay!!!

Did I drive you away? I know what you'll say You say, "Oh, sing one you know"

You didn't know what came over you today, you just felt the urge to cry. Problems after problems kept on coming non-stop, ever since you've graduated.

For example, you broke up with Sugawara, your high school sweetheart. It was a mutual kind of break, the two of you agreed to part ways, he wanted to move to Tokyo, while you had to stay in Miyagi because you needed to take care of your ill brother.

You text each other quite often when the two of you had any breaks in your work and daily life. But time passed and the two of you didn't talk as much.

You were working multiple jobs, to pay for your brother's medications, but nowadays the prices for simple medicine are high and your jobs weren't paying enough. Ukai, the coach of the volleyball team at your former school, took you in. He gave you a job at his family shop. He would give you free lunch, much to your protest of letting you pay for it.

But ever winter begun, things have been much harder. The illness that your brother had worsened and you were desperate. You brought him to his weekly checkup, the doctor said that your brother might not make it.

But I promise you this I'll always look out for you Yeah, that's what I'll do

That's what brought you to where you are right now, your head in your hands, crying your heart out. Your throat raw and scratchy from shouting. You never felt so helpless, so hopeless. And the fact it was almost Christmas made you feel worse.

Your phone buzzed.

[5:30 pm] Suga: Hey Y/N!

[5:30 pm] You: kōshi...

[5:30 pm] Suga: hey, what's wrong?

[5:31 pm] You: ...

[5:31 pm] Suga: I'm calling you.

A second later, your phone rang,

"Hey, Y/N?" You hear his voice through the phone, you missed it. The tears came back. "Hey, are you crying?" He said, worriedly. You heard rustling. "Suga..." "What is it? Did something happened?" You sobbed. "Everything happened." You choked out.

"Oh my, Y/N, I'm so sorry." He said. " 'need you, kō." You said. You heard him take a deep intake of air. "I'm heading over to Miyagi later tonight." He said. "Kō-"

"No objections. You need me right now, I promised I'd always look out for you, don't you remember? Even if we broke up." He said. You did. You would never forget the things you did together, even if you tried. "I'm staying until Christmas." He said again. "Are you sure?" You said. "Yes. I'm not leaving until you're okay." He whispered.

"Thank you. Kō." You whispered. "No problem Y/N, you still put the spare key at the same place right?" You hummed in reply. "Alright, I'll see you then. Bye." He said.

My heart is yours It's you that I hold on to Yeah, that's what I do

Sugawara was packing his clothes in his bag as quickly as he can, he didn't want to waste another minute. He needed to know that you, physically, are okay. That you didn't... hurt yourself or anything. He rushed to a supermarket to buy a fruit basket for your brother.

He called his parents to tell them that he's coming over and that he would be staying at your house in the meantime. They were ecstatic. He ended the call and made his way to the train station.

He couldn't wait to see you again.

You were at the hospital. Your brother was in a bad shape. He was still bedridden, too weak to stand but strong enough to sit up and move his arms. You stroked through his hair, he liked it when you did that. You felt him leaning towards your touch. Your heart broke and you start to tear up.

"Hey, kiddo." He said, his voice raspy. You looked at him, with a smile. "Hey there, big bro." You said. "Are you crying? Please don't cry." He said, his shaky hand reached up and wiped your tears. You held his hand and place it on the bed. "Save your energy," you said. "You need to get better okay? I know you can." You whispered. He nodded. "I will. And when I do, I'll pay you back for everything you've for me." "Oh, there's no need-" He shushed you. "Don't think I don't know that you've been taking extra shifts at Sakanoshita's." You sighed. "You caught m-"

"S-Sugawara!"

Turning around, you saw him.

He still kept his usual go-lucky self, but you could tell he was out of breath. From running, you guessed. He still looked so good as the last time you saw him. "Kō." You gasped. His eyes connected to yours and he was love-struck all over again.

"Y/N." He said, breathless. He placed the fruit basket next to the hospital bed. He greeted your brother, gave him a light shoulder pat and he finally looked at you. He hugged you gently, taking his time to feel you in his arms again. "You okay?" He whispered. You shook your head against his neck.

"Get a room you two."

The two of you pulled away, flushed.

You went to your brother, lightly smacking his head. "Ouch~" He whined. You sighed and kissed the spot where you hit him. He beamed. "I need to head out now. Remember to take your meds, and remember to eat the food that they gave you-" You rambled. "I know, kiddo. I'll be fine for now. Go reunite with loverboy over there." He teased. You hugged him before saying goodbye.

——————————

The two of you were sitting on your couch. You were nervous, fiddling with your fingers. He was sitting next to you, his eyes giving you small glances every now and then.

“So, do you want to tell me what happened this evening?”

Sighing, you turned, moving to face him, you were looking down at your hands. It was hard, there was a lump in your throat, tough to swallow.

Seeing you were having trouble speaking, he slowly brought his hands up to hold yours, rubbing circles with his thumb, both to soothe you and ground you. "Take your time," he said, softly.

You were looking at him, teary-eyed. "It's so hard," you said. "What's hard?" he asked. "I've been taking multiple jobs. Working day and night, first, the cafè we used to go to." Taking a breath, holding back your tears. "Then at Shimada Mart, the restaurant down the street, and then at Sakanoshita's ." You said. "I was struggling financially. The money I worked so hard for, wasn't enough for my brother's treatment." You started sobbing.

Sugawara instinctively pulled you into the crook of his neck, but you pushed back with equal force, shaking your head. "I don't want to get you wet with my tears," you whispered. He lifted your chin with his finger. “You can cry on me.” Honestly, it would make him feel better- he wanted for you to seek comfort in him like you used to. While still seeing the slight hesitance, his worries increased tenfold. "Y/N..." he said.

"Kō.." You sobbed.

And I know I was wrong But I won't let you down Oh yeah I will, yeah I will, yes I will, yeah I will

His heart ached.

“Y/N, Look at me,” he cooed, he gave you a small smile, trying to put on a tough front for your sake, trying to conceal the way his heart was beating faster, the way his lips was twitching every so often, betraying the anxiety he was feeling inside. “Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" He whispered. "I would've come sooner."

You looked at him. " But you have children to teach-" He shushed you softly. "There's a thing called substitute teachers, remember?" He reminded you. "You're way more important," he confessed.

You leaned forward, placing your head in the crook of his neck, your body slightly shaking. "The doctor's said that my brother might not make it-" you cried. "I was supposed to tell him earlier. But I couldn't bear to." You felt his arms wrap around you tightly. You almost had the nerve to cry harder, right then and there- you felt so hopeless while Sugawara, felt guilty.

He should've been there for you. But that doesn't matter now, because he was here with you. "He can get through this, I believe it," he said. "He's a fighter, like you." He whispered. You moved to look at him and chuckled sadly. "I'm no fighter, Kōshi," you said. You felt a poke on your forehead. "Negativity begone~" He joked softly. You smiled a little. "There's the smile I love-" He stopped suddenly. His cheeks were flushed. "I'm so sorry I-" You shushed him. "It's fine, Kōshi." You smiled.

The two of you sat in comfortable silence, in each other arms. You broke the silence. "Do- Do you still love me? After all this time?" You asked. He went silent for a minute before answering. "I do. I still do." He said. You looked at him. "I couldn't stop thinking about you ever since I moved to Tokyo." He continued. "I still haven't gotten used to you not being there, I still reach for you when I'm sleeping, and I still call out for you when I wake." You quietly exhale. He clasped your hands, his eyes looking for yours.

"Do you?" he asked. You looked at him, confused. "Do you feel the same way?" he said.

You nodded.

"I still do, Kō. I feel the same way." You say tears filled your eyes again. He smiled. And his hands reached up to caress your cheek. He stared into your eyes. You were nervous, the way he looked at you, with so much love and care. It was overwhelming, in a good way. You could feel that Sugawara truly loved you, truly cared for you. You felt butterflies in your stomach, just like the first time.

His eyes were on your lips, flickering back to look at you with a question, "May I kiss you?" he asked. Your tears welled over as you nodded. "Please," you whispered.

When his lips touched yours, you swore that you saw sparks. It reminded you of the first time the two of you kissed. His lips were soft and warm against yours. You missed this.

The both of you pulled away, breathless. "Did you see what I saw?" You quietly asked. He was crying too. Smiling as he nodded,

"I saw sparks."

Yeah, I saw sparks Yeah, I saw sparks And I saw sparks Yeah, I saw sparks Sing it out

#sugawara x gn! reader #sugawara x genderneutral reader #eli writes #haikyuu fanfics #haikyuu x reader #sugawara fanfiction #kōshi sugawara x gn! reader #kōshi sugawara #karasuno x reader #pretty setter squad

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superpuppies · 4 years

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WWC River’s companion.

This is the story that started it all, I don’t recall the exact date because I didn’t start the challenge until about a year later but this is the story that triggered it in my head. Truthfully I don’t even remember the prompt. (I have a bit of a better system for that now.)

For the first half or two third of this story my main character doesn’t have a name and that started as me just refusing to give another voice any foot holed in my head as I have way too many characters who just pop up and tell me a short story randomly anyway. But it finally got to a point where I have two female characters in one room and we needed one. And as those who were around me when I was writing this one can tell you in the beginning it was going to be shorter but halfway through the two main characters meeting each other I just knew they were soulmates and so it went on.

So, if you like detectives, sweet and snarky-ish bar keeps and a touch of the supernatural this is a fun little romp of a tale.

This story contains implied sex, so now you know.

Word count: 11,746

To read this story & all of 2019′s weekly challenge stories check out the Archive link Here Or keep reading below.

River's Companion

The cold grey walls, to dark to be clinical but pushing heavily into industrial were barren. The two-way glass shines in the fluorescent light washing out her reflection. Her soft peaches and cream skin and ashen brown mid back length hair tied back into a messy fishtail braid look almost white in the glass. Her hands are folded on her lap almost primly. The officers that had brought her in here had left her in the room alone in an attempt to make her sweat. She’s been through things similar to many times to be concerned by it. Though she does get a small amount of pleasure from watching their confusion as they observe how calm she is. To help pass the time she pops her shoulders and rolled her neck.

The door opens and a disheveled, unkempt man in what she assumes is his late thirties though it is clear that stress and lack of sleep have aged him onto looking like he was in his late forties, stomps in pushing the door closed behind him. “I’m Detective Rolif,” He says opening the manila envelope he had tucked under his arm. “And you have some explaining to do.” He locks eyes with her for the first time and she notes they are a soft gray green and hardened by the human tragedy he deals in daily.

“Oh?” She gives him a gentle eyebrow raise before attempting to continue but stops herself when he tosses a pile of photos onto the steal table. She glances down at the photos and immediately sees herself at the latest inauguration a dark smile on her face. She shifts her gaze to Detective Rolif to confer that he actually wants her to look through them. He gives a slight nod. She pushes the inauguration photo to the side and finds another one of herself in the protest line against the Vietnam War. The next image is at Pearl Harbor as she assisted in the treatment of wounded soldiers. The next had her at the trial of Baby Face Nelson, yet another showed her in the crowd at the opening of the Eiffel Tower in 1889. She lifts her eyes back to detective Rolif, a picture of pure confusion.

Detective Rolif leans across the table towards her. “Who are you?” his voice is low, almost threatening.

A dark smirk creeps onto her face as she watched the curiosity play in his grey green eyes. “That isn’t what you want to ask me.” she keeps her eyes locked on his. They could be pretty, if it weren’t for the dark bags under them and the frown lines around them.

“It isn’t?” He frowns.

“No, it isn’t.” The smirk grows on her face.

“What do I want to ask?”

“Mhmm?” She gives a small shrug.

“What are you?” He slams his hands down onto the table in frustration.

A smile brakes out across her face, confident and cocky. “Ah, there it is.” His eyes narrow. “What do you think I am?”

“Stop that.”

“I’m just curious.”

“What are you?” He leans farther over the table.

“Currently, I am watching a man try to intimidate me for reasons unknown and as such am mildly confused.” He shifted back slightly. “Has it occurred to you that I might be a model who does a lot of historically themed photo shoots?”

“These aren’t recreations.” He stands back up and crosses his arms over his chest.

“Oh, really? Maybe they are just really good ones.” She leans back in her chair.

“They are not recreations.” He narrows his eyes at her in bubbling frustration.

“Okay let's say they aren’t recreations. What does it matter?”

“What are you?”

“Why does it matter to you?”

Detective Rolif lets out a heavy sigh. “As far as I can tell you are at least two hundred years old, how is that possible?”

“Two hundred? Two hundred! The oldest photo you have here is from the opening of the Eiffel Tower which was march of 1889, so at most, by your logic I am one hundred and thirty.”

Detective Rolif smirks thinking he’s got her cornered. “The oldest photo in that pile is from the opening of the Eiffel Tower. I have older ones.”

“Older ones, oh no!” She puts her left hand to her cheek with a soft shrug. “They can’t be that much older. I mean do you even know when the camera was invented?”

The detective finally sits down across from her, a haughty smirk on his lips. “It doesn’t matter, I have paintings and sketches of you.” She places her elbow on the table top with a low hum. “They date back to the sixteen hundreds.”

“Do they?” She places her chin in her palm as she leaned forward. “I’m starting to think you’re obsessed with me. Do I need to get a restraining order?”

“What are you?”

“Why does it matter?”

“What are you?”

“Why does it matter?”

“You are going to tell me what you are, what makes it so you’re still alive.”

“Until you tell me why you want to know I’m not going to tell you a damned thing.”

“Do you want to be locked up?”

“Two-part answer.” she leaned back in her chair again. “First, what in the world would you arrest me for? Second, according to you I have all the time in the world, what’s a few years to me then?”

He watches her for several long heartbeats. “Were you made into this or have you always been one?”

“One what? I still don’t know what you think I am.”

“I don’t know, a, a vampire or something.” this time the frustration softens him and he slumps down in his chair.

“Is that what this is about? You think I’m a vampire and what, I’m going to go on a murder spree, possibly create a hive of my own?”

He glances down at the table, a small show of embarrassment. Her head tilts to the left ever so slightly as she wonders if she’s hit the nail a bit too hard on the head. “No, not exactly.”

Her face softens. oh dear, this has to do with someone in particular. she inhales deeply. “No, I am not a vampire.”

He lets out a soft sigh, it might be relief. “Can you make more like you?”

“Not the way I’m guessing you want me too. In answer to an earlier question, I was not made this way I simply am this way. If there are to be more, they will be born this way.”

“I see.” The dejection is palpable. “So, what are you?”

“I am an eternal, I pose no threat to you mortals. I am simply an observer.” He scrunches his face up and frowns. “I have a question for you Detective Rolif, why did you bring me in here?”

“I’m dying.”

“Are you now?”

“Testicular cancer.”

“That is a shame for a man so young. It’s a rather unpleasant way to go.”

“That's why I was hoping you could change me.”

“Ah yes, I’m afraid that isn’t possible, but I will offer you this. I have watched thousands of friends die and I will be here for you should you seek someone who understands loss.”

Detective Rolif gives her a soft quick smile, she reaches across the table motioning for him to hand her the pen in his breast pocket. He handed it over without question. Opening the folder again she writes her name and number. “Thanks.”

“Of course. Now is there another reason I’m here or did you pull me into your place of business for a personal reason.”

“Right,” He re-bundles the photos back into the folder. “About that, you witnessed a robbery last month.”

“Yes.”

“We have reason to believe that the robbers were part of the white dragons and that they are attempting to locate any and all witnesses.”

“I see, so what am I supposed to do with this information?”

“I,” He paused and glanced at her. “I don’t know, can you die?”

“AH- so you think they aim to kill me.”

“Yeah, can they?”

“Kill me? Yes, not that its ever stuck before though.”

“Oh.” Detective Rolif chuckles unnerved.

“So, what would you like me to do, if I suspect these Dragons are nearby?” She folds her hands back onto her lap.

“You should call us, well me.” He looks down at the tabletop tapping his pen against it.

“So, you’re the officer assigned to me.”

“Yes,”

“You do, of course, realize how creepy everything you've just done comes across.”

“I’m starting to. I can see about having someone else assigned as your contact.”

“No, it’s fine just as long as you’re aware.”

“I am.”

“Good,” She claps her hands to her knees. “Do you have a card or something.” Detective Rolif reaches into the inner breast pocket of his jacket and pulls out a silver card case. Opening it he hands her a card. “Thank you, now if there isn’t anything ells. I have appointments to keep.”

“You’re free to go.”

“Thanks for the warning, and do feel free to call me if you need to talk or if you just want a drink.” she stands and pockets the card.

“Thank you for coming in today.” Detective Rolif offers her his hand and they shake farewell.

“Of course.” She turns and walks from the room.

It was seven weeks later when her phone rang at eleven forty-six in the evening. Detective Rolif’s name flashed onto the screen, she sat up from where she had been lounging across her sofa, soft ethereal music drifting from the speakers on the far wall. She smirked to herself and swiped across the screen to answer. “Hello, Detective.”

“Uhg, Hel, hello.” he sounds surprised that she answered though it could be surprised that he called in the first place.

“Is there something I can do for you, Detective?”

“Umm, I, I'm sorry for calling so late.”

“It’s fine.”

“You said I could talk to you about my…” His voice fades out.

“Of course. Would you like to meet? I know of a quiet bar where we can have some privacy.”

“I don’t know about that. I”

“I, by no means, want to pressure you but most people find these conversations easier face to face.”

He sighs heavily then goes silent for several long heartbeats. “Yeah, that’s probably true. Text me the address.”

“Of course, I can be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Right, see you then.” He hung up, she sent the address and cleaned up her cup of tea before changing.

Ten minutes later she walked through the old brass doors of Styx. Stopping at the bar she tapped her knuckles on the counter. “Hey, Boss lady, what brings you back here? Or do you just hate having time to yourself?”

“Marcus, I have a guest coming shortly, a Detective Rolif. When he arrives get him whatever he likes and bring him to my booth.”

“Sure thing, you want your usual?”

“Yes, and some of those nibbles I like. If you would be so kind.” Marcus smiles his award-winning smile at her. She simply narrows her eyes and turns towards her booth. She’s seen to many young women fall for that smile in their time together.

“I’ll have them to you in two shakes of my sweet, sweet ass.”

“Don’t hurt yourself now.” She smiles walking away from him, towards the booth in the back-left corner. The bar is quiet, though that is to be expected of a Wednesday. Only the regulars are settled in their places, some reading, musing and listening to the soft violin music being piped in tonight. She settles into the soft leather of the high-backed booth and pulls off her hooded sweatshirt.

Five more minutes had barely passed when Marcus leads Detective Rolif over to the booth along with her whiskey sour. “Have a seat Detective.”

Detective Rolif slid into the booth, a bourbon on the rocks glass in his hand. “I’ll have those nibbles out to you in just a bit.” Marcus tosses over his shoulder, walking back to the bar.

“Thank you, Marcus.”

“You come here often?” Detective Rolif asked looking into his glass. She tilts her head to the right with a quick smile.

“You could say that, you didn’t look into me at all after we spoke did you.”

He shakes his head slightly, looking up at her. “Should I have?”

A warm smile eases onto her lips. “No need, I will gladly share my story. I own Styx.” She motions around them to the bar. “It’s a place of quiet reflection for me in the noise of the city.”

“It’s nice,” He glances around the dimly lit room. “Quiet, Comfortable.”

“Thank you, most nights we have live music. You should come by and see it.”

“That would be nice.” He sips his drink turning back to her.

Marcus slid a plate of mini quiches and meat pies onto the table between them and disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

“Was there something in particular you wanted to talk about or did you just want to see how it goes?”

“I think, I just wanted to talk. To be honest I can’t believe I called you let alone came down here to meet with you.”

“I see.”

“I don’t mean to offend you. I know how bad that sounded. I just don’t know a better way to say it.” he drops his gaze to his drink again.

“I never did ask you; how did you find all those photos of me?”

He keeps his eyes on his drink and lets out a nervous chuckle. “Well actually, my niece is in art school and the last time she came to visit me she was showing me some of the photos her professor had been talking about in class. And I noticed your face kept popping up over and over again. I didn’t think too much of it, you know how some people look like historical figures.” She nodded but he isn’t paying attention. “But then maybe two or three days later I was at a crime scene and one of the uniforms was taking your statement and you looked so familiar. My instincts just kind of took over and the next thing I knew I had found you all over the world, all throughout time.” His face lights up as he laughs a genuine sound. For the first time she sees he is a handsome man, his face is creased by stress, worry and laughter. The salt and peppering of his auburn, short fluffy hair offsets the warm gray green eyes. “I sound like I’m obsessed with you; I promise I don’t mean you any harm.” He sobers from his laughter and locks eyes with her. “It’s just that you’re the only person I’ve told about my cancer.”

“Why haven’t you told your family?” She leaned on the table, concerned that he would talk to a stranger instead of his family. This question opened the floodgates. His concern of over worrying his sister and niece. How he feared losing his work before he was ready to should they find out he was sick. While the detective spilled out his concerns Marcus moved silently in and out refilling drinks and nibbles.

“Excuse me.” Marcus politely interrupted. “It’s time for me to head out, is there anything else you two need before I go?”

“Go? What time is it?” She asked glancing down at her watch, a quarter to five glared back at her. “Wow, okay, is everything closed down?”

“Yes ma'am, patrons have gone home, tables are bussed, kitchen is closed and cleaned, cash collected and locked up, everything is done except for your table.”

“Alright, thank you. I think we are good here. I can take care of anything else we’ll need. Get some rest, I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yes Ma'am, See you tonight.” Marcus turned toward the door, “Text me so I know you got home safe.”

“Thank you, Marcus!” she shouts after him, he waves as the door clicked shut behind him. She turned back to detective Rolif shaking her head. The detective was looking down at his own watch.

“I’m so sorry.”

“What?” She tilted her head confused.

“I didn’t mean to keep you out so late. I’m so sorry, I should head out and let you get home yourself.” Detective Rolif said standing.

“It’s fine, there is no need to rush off.”

“No, you’ve been so kind already, I couldn’t knowingly keep you up any longer.”

“If you’re sure.”

“Yes, Thanks for this. I feel a lot better.”

“Well that’s good to hear,” She stood and collected their glasses. “If you need to do it again, you are always welcome to call or stop by.”

“Thanks.”

She locked the door behind him and finished cleaning out their booth before heading home herself.

To her surprise, three nights later, Detective Rolif walked into Styx, ordered a drink and stood watching the string quartet. She watched him watching them for a few minutes before walking over. “Detective,”

He started and turned to face her. “Hi, where did”

“Won't you have a seat?” She begins leading him toward Her booth. “I’m afraid I'm still working on a few things, but I can join you shortly.”

“Oh, right, sure.” she left him at the booth and stop the young waitress, Kari, telling her to check in on the detective.

Marcus walked into her office, hung his coat. “I see your visitor is back. What have you gotten mixed up in?”

“Nothing you need to worry yourself about. Would you please finish this order for me before heading out to the bar, he’s been waiting almost a half hour already.”

Marcus shoots her the side eye. “Alright.” She ignored him heading out into the bar.

“Detective,” She slides into the booth across from the Detective. “What can I do for you?”

“You didn’t have to rush back, I’m just tired of being at my house.” She smiled her understanding and they settle into watch the quartet. Marcus slides a plate onto the table between them before heading behind the bar.

Detective Rolif was the last to leave again, this became something of a pattern though the times between his arrivals fluctuated slowly becoming shorter.

As time passed, she learned about his niece, his sister and the passing of his parents. She helped him find a lawyer to set up his will and some affordable life insurance. He began asking about her life, all that she has seen and done.

Marcus grew suspicious as the weeks turned to months and the months to years. before they realized it this pattern of theirs and been going on for two years. And yet now she found herself waiting for him, disappointed when he didn’t arrive and worrying over him whenever she heard of a, police involved shooting.

One afternoon she and Marcus where checking in an order when the radio announced that the white dragons had opened fire at Rolif’s precinct. Marcus watched her freeze in mid motion as the story washed over her. “Do you want to head down there?” Marcus asked taking the clipboard from her hand.

“No,” she straightened back up. “No, I would just be adding to the mess.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’ll, I’ll go or call him later. If I go now, they’ll just wonder.” Marcus watched her silently. “They have enough to worry about, they don’t need me getting in the way.”

“Alright,” Marcus gave her shoulders a quick rub. “We’ll call over later.”

“Thank you.” She shot him a quick smile; Marcus nodded.

“Let's get this bar open.”

The violinist arrived and started, bringing with her a rather large crowd, creating a constant stream of work in the bar leaving both she and Marcus constantly running back and forth.

Finally, a loll came and she went back to her office to complete some paperwork. Rolif walked through the brass doors, disheveled, exhausted and headed straight to the bar. “Marcus.”

Marcus turned at the sound of his name, his eyes going wide at the sight of Rolif. “Rolif, You’re here. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, can I get a bourbon on the rocks?”

“Sure, no problem.” Marcus turned to grab the bottle, handing over the glass. “She’s in the office.

“Right.” Rolif took a sip from the glass, turning for the office.

“Rolif,” He turned back to Marcus. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks.” Rolif’s lip twitched in something of a smile, Marcus nodded returning to the other patrons.

She was sitting, going over the payroll when the office door opened. The clink of ice against glass made her look up. Instantly her chest tightened at the sight of him, she rose from her chair in a daze. “You’re here.” She moved toward him.

“Yeah, I hope that-” her arms wrapped around him, startling both of them.

“You’re here and you’re not hurt.” Her hands scratch into the back of his jacket as she fought to wrap her brain around the fact that Rolif was standing in front of her.

“I’m not hurt, it’s okay.” He moved slowly but his arms came up around her as well.

Her ear found his heartbeat and for a moment she is reassured, suddenly she can’t stop the words from rolling off her lips. “I heard what happened on the radio, I was so scared. I wanted to come down and make sure you were okay but I didn’t want to know if you weren’t.” without realizing what she was doing she stretched up him and brushed her lips against his.

Within an instant his tongue brushed over her lips easing into her mouth. The glass slid from his fingers while hers dug into his hairline, shattering on the floor as he pulled her tighter to him.

In all of her previous encounters she had never felt so hazy before, her skin tingles from his touch.

He led her through the room toward the sofa on the far wall. They sank down into the soft leather, his hand sliding up her side to squeeze her breast.

A wave of frightened screams came from the bar, breaking the spell they had fallen under. Their lips separate and that stared at each other until the screams came again. They moved in unison for the door, she entered the bar a step before him.

A man stood with a shotgun pointed at Marcus, while another stood watching the front door. She moved into action immediately, quickly and quietly working her way toward the bar. She picked up a half empty bottle of wine from one of the tables as she passed. “Hey!” she shouted throwing the bottle at the man with the shotgun. He turned just in time to get a bottle to the face while Marcus reached across the bar and disarmed him, turning the gun on the other man.

Rolif burst through the crowd his hand gun drawn, they moved toward the would-be robbers with a somewhat threatening ora. She put a foot over the downed man's genitals before nodding at Marcus, who then put the shotgun down behind the bar to call the police. Rolif cuffed the man by the door first and sat him at the bar. He then turned to her and the gunman. “I got him.” Rolif said reaching down to grab the man by his arm, “Get up.” she removed her foot and stepped back.

“She threw a bottle at me!” the man shouted.

“Yeah she did, but you tried to rob her.”

“Seems like a fair trade.” She snapped, Rolif smirked watching her move to sit at the bar and wait for the patrol car to arrive.

Once the car arrived it was a thrill for her to watch Rolif take full charge of the scene. In under two hours the would-be robbers were carted away, witness statements taken, paperwork was completed and the patrol car had pulled away. A few of the regulars came to check on her and Marcus, once the commotion had settled down. Rolif sat next to her at the bar while Marcus slid her a rum and coke. “You want anything?” Marcus asked him while signaling to the band to start back up.

“Na, I’m good.” Marcus nodded leaving them to talk. “You’re surprisingly prepared for things.” Rolif turned his full attention on her.

“This is hardly the first time I’ve had someone try to rob me.” She chuckles taking a sip.

“You’ve certainly been around long enough.”

“Oh, har har.”

He smiles and her chest tightens again. “So, I hate to … whatever this was and run but,” He glances down into her glass, just so he didn't have to look her in the eye anymore. “I don’t know how to end this and it super weird. So- I’m just gonna go.”

She couldn't help but snicker as he stood. “How about dinner in a couple of days?”

“Yeah, sounds good.” He reached for his wallet.

“Don’t worry about it,” he glanced up at her. “Did you even drink any of it before it smashed all over my floor?”

He shrugs. “Maybe a sip or two.”

“That hardly counts.”

“Thanks.” she waved it off while he pulls his coat straight. As he turned for the door, she grabbed his wrist, stopping him. “I’m glad your okay.”

“Thanks.” he leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Me too.”

“Go get some rest, I’ll see you soon.”

He plants another kiss on her cheek. “See you soon.”

Four days later she was called out of the office just after opening to speak to some gentlemen who wanted a word. There were three of them, two with army short hair, probably in their early thirties. The other is in his late forties with long hair and a receding hairline along with a broken Italian nose. She plastered on a placating smile. “Gentleman, what can I do for you?”

“You the owner?” the oldest one asked clearly accustomed to speaking for the group.

“I am.”

“I understand you know a colleague of ours.”

“Do I?”

“I also understand he was here a few nights ago while you were being robbed.”

“It was an attempted robbery; they didn’t manage to get anything for their trouble. And I’m afraid there were a number of people here at the time so you’ll have to tell me your colleagues name.”

“Hmm,” He snorted condescendingly. “So, you’re telling me that Rolif has a shit day at work and then a shit night.”

He tried to imply something though she didn’t have the patience to entertain him. “I’m sure it wasn’t exactly what he had planned for the evening. It certainly wasn’t how I envisioned mine.”

“Where was he when it happened?”

“He was in the office with me.” She can feel the path of their eyes down her body as they give her a lecherous once over.

“What was he doing in there?”

“Talking, he’s a friend who came to see me after having, as you said, a shit day at work.”

“Your friend.” they scoff. “How long have you known him?”

“Right around two years.” she wove her fingers together and cracked her knuckles. Marcus looks over at the sound, taking it as the bad sign it is.

“Alright, how did you meet him?” The older man popped his neck to the left with a dark smirk, her eyes narrowed slightly.

“She was a witness,” Rolif answers from the door, a heavy scowl on his face. “Why are you here, Costa.” Rolif settles himself next to and slightly in front of her.

Costa instantly takes on a false friendly, innocent persona. “Just trying to figure out where you’ve been running off to the past few years. Guess now we know.” Costa shoots her a quick leer.

“Well, look at that you found me, maybe you have actually learned how to do some of your job. Now go away.”

“Now, now, don’t be like”

“Go away.” Rolif gently turned her away from Costa and the other men, walking her toward her booth. “I’m sorry about this, I should have known shit was going to get around the precinct after the other night.”

“Rolif,” Costa shouted after them. “Rolif, don’t you turn your back on me!”

“Leave.” Rolif turns back to Costa a dark fire blazing in his eyes. “Now, or I’ll have you escorted out in bracelets.” they stared each other down for several long tense moments before Costa and the other two turned and walked out the door.

She waited for the door to close before turning to Rolif, poking his shoulder. “What the hell is going on?”

“Costa’s an idiot.” Rolif explains rubbing his shoulder.

“That may be, but why are you concerned about the precinct knowing about you being here. Are you trying to hide the fact that you know me from them? Why is Costa looking for you with such a darkness in him? So, help you if you brought shit to my door!”

“No, No I didn’t, at least I don’t think I did.”

“Then explain.”

Rolif glanced around clearly hoping they weren’t so public despite there only being one other party in the place. “I just like having a place to myself.” She tightens her face but remains silent. “Look, I’m sorry Costa showed up and all, but I came over here today kinda hoping we could go get that dinner you talked about last time I was here and talk about a few things.” He looked up at her with sad puppy eyes.

She sighed and rolled her eyes through the room. “Fine,” crossing her arms she turns for the office. “Let me get my purse.” She marched past the bar, sure this conversation was going to be a long and weird one. She walked into her office.

“Rolif.” Marcus waved Rolif over. “I just want you to know that I saw that.”

“What?”

“The other night, I saw that.”

“What, are you talking about?”

“You behave yourself tonight.” Marcus wiggles his eyebrows a devious little smile on his lips.

“Marcus, you good if I head out early?”

“Sure am, I’ll call your cell if we need you.”

“Thanks.”

“Yep,” Marcus leaned on the bar closest to her. “Have fun on your date.”

“Don’t even start right now.” She and Rolif walk towards the door.

“Have fun you two!” Marcus called after them with a chuckle.

Rolif had them seated in a quite booth in the back of a mom and pop Italian restaurant. They sat in awkward silence well after ordering, neither sure how to start the conversation. “Okay so,” Rolif started. “I get how what I said may have made it sound like I was embarrassed or trying to hide you. But I swear that’s not what it is. Truth is I don’t like Costa, he’s loud and a dick.”

“I kinda picked up on that.”

Rolif smirked. “I have to deal with him all the time, his desk is right next to mine and it drives me nuts. So, I really did just like having a place that the others didn’t know about. I didn’t want you to have to deal with their Bullshit and everything. I’m sorry they showed up today.”

“Okay, that’s fine. It is. Though I just want to point out to you that they seem to have some particular issue with you.”

“Yeah.” He shifts in his chair. “So, the other day when we were moving into defend the precinct. I was in the back of the line and while heading in I was hit,” her gut tightened. “With this ridiculous pain, it toppled me right there. They didn’t notice, not that they would there was a hell of a lot going on but a few of the guys were shot two died on scene and three others are in the hospital. Costa thinks I froze and if I had been there, they wouldn’t be where they are now, and he is you know, pissed about it.”

“Do you know what it was?” She motioned at him.

“I ducked out early today to see the doc and guess what’s back.”

Her stomach dropped. “Oh no.”

“Yep, and with a vengeance this time.” Rolif lifted his eyes to hers. “He wants me to start heavy chemo in two weeks.” She reached across the table, taking his hand. For some reason this wasn’t something she had thought would happen again. “I know it’s a lot to ask you, you shouldn’t have to go through this with me again, but I don’t think I can do this alone.”

“You let me know when your appointments are and I will make sure I’m available. You can crash at my place afterwards as well. You know you don’t have to ask.”

“Are you sure?” There was a twinkle of something she couldn’t quite decipher in his eyes.

“Of course.” she squeezed his hand and he smiled at her.

The awkwardness faded and the dinner conversation turned much lighter. Before the night was done, he kissed her cheek once again and got in his car. As he drove off, she wondered how such a simple action sent such tingles shooting through her body.

When the first appointment came do she had the office prepped for him to crash in and the guest bedroom ready for when he thought he could manage the stairs. He held her hand through the entire treatment, chuckling as she told him stories to keep him occupied. He fell asleep on the sofa in the office for several hours’ afterword. The following day he swore he was well enough to return home and begrudgingly she agreed.

Two days later as she and Marcus were preparing for opening, she received a text from Rolif. “Come get me.” everything stopped and they headed for the car, while she called him and Marcus explained what still needed doing to the two waitresses.

“Where are you?”

“Precinct, hurry.” His voice was strained with pain.

Marcus dropped her in front of the precinct as he searched for parking. She darted through the building pushing past the main desk to the detective’s bullpen. Rolif was hunched over in his desk chair, vomiting violently into his trash can. Most of the other detectives stood watching him, weaving her way between them she placed a hand on Rolif’s shoulder. “What that hell are you?”

Rolif began to laugh, still vomiting. “Don’t make me laugh,” He spits into the can and wipes his mouth. “It hurts.”

“Who’s trying to make you laugh, you should be at home resting.” he turns enough to look at her and she can see just how much pain he’s in etched into his face as sweat pours down it. He began vomiting again and she reached out to stabilize him in his chair as is body rocks from the force of each heave.

“Your uncle is on his way.” Marcus stated waving between the still ogling detectives.

“What! Why?” She snapped whipping her head around to face him.

“Because I called him.”

“Again, Why?”

“Because you didn’t.”

She does a slow angry blink. “What is wrong with you, we don’t have time for him.” Her voice is strained as she tries to control her anger. Rolif began to slide from his chair as a new wave of heaves overtook him, she caught him under his arms and kicked the chair out of the way sinking to the floor behind him to support him herself as he rode the wave out. “Help me get him in the damn car.” she growled at Marcus.

Rolif leaned his head back against her shoulder, she wipes the sweat from his face with her sleeve.

“What is it I have to come see right, oh.” A tall thin man in an expensive suit and an intelligent sweeping haircut stops next to Marcus.

“Edgar, that’s Rolif.” Marcus motioned to Rolif without need before kneeling down to scoop Rolif up off the floor.

“Oh, my.” Edgar watched her balance the trash can on Rolif’s stomach.

Marcus turned to head for the door. “Talk to her.” he says to Edgar as he passed.

She picked up Rolif’s jacket from the back of his chair and began digging through the pockets. Deciding she needed to head over to his apartment and pick up some clothes for him. Once she had his keys and wallet in her hand, she started past Edgar but he reached out and grabbed her wrist keeping her next to him.

Edgar ripped the keys and wallet from her hand and pressed them in to his assistant’s, telling the assistant to do the same as she had planned to. He then dragged her out of the precinct toward his waiting car, ignoring her protest as they went. He pushed her into the car then shouts something to the driver. All through the ride he sent out texts offering only disappointed glares in her direction.

She folded Rolif’s jacket over her arms and huffily looked out the window. She knew she shouldn’t have been so surprised when they pulled into Lizzy’s driveway but that didn’t change the fact that she was. “Oh God, why are we here?” she meant to sound angry but it came out as a whine.

“You need to talk to her.” Edgar said leading her from the car into the house and down the hall. Edgar pushed her into a chair as they entered Lizzy’s home office,

“Rude.” she spat at him refolding her arms and hunching down in the chair.

Lizzy smiled up at them, clearly not surprised by the mid day interruption. “Now Edgar, River is never going to like you if you keep manhandling her like that.” There was a slight chuckle to her voice. Lizzy had her black hair braided over her left shoulder; she was sitting at an outrageously ornate desk writing out checks by hand.

“You need to talk to her. I assume you know about her latest boy toy.”

“Boy Toy! He’s hardly a boy and neither is he a toy, have some tact for god's sake, man.” River huffed but Edgar ignores her watching Lizzy nod that she had heard that River had one.

“I just saw them together, she glows.”

“Oh my.”

“I what?”

“You Glowed. As in were glowing.” His stare pierced through River.

“I did not!”

“You did.” He turned back to Lizzy. “Talk to her.” with that said Edgar marched from the room, leaving the two women looking at each other.

“Hey, Lizzy.” River shifted uncomfortably under the older woman's gaze.

“Glowing,” Lizzy raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

“I find that hard to believe.” River scoffed.

“Really? I don’t.” Lizzy put down her pen and closed the checkbook.

“Why?” River realized she was still hugging Rolif’s jacket and quickly put it down on her knees.

“You’re the only one of us who hasn’t found their companion and now, my dear, it appears you have.”

“My companion?” She swallowed a snort of laughter.

“Of course.”

River sank farther down into the chair, put off by the seriousness of Lizzy’s face. “My companion, how could that. That can’t be right.”

“Oh, come now. I know you haven’t been actively looking but you can’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“He can’t be my companion.” River glances down.

“Why not?”

“He’s dying.”

“Oh, dear girl, that doesn’t matter at all.”

“How can that not matter,” River straightened up in the chair. “It’s kind of a big deal.”

“It doesn't matter.” Lizzy stood and walked over to stand beside her. River looked around the room, suddenly sure that she was the butt of some joke. “Men are made, only women are born.” Lizzy said settling into the chair next to her. River stared at her a bit wide eyed. “I know it’s been a long time since one of us was born and the last one was the only one you saw. You probably thought nothing of the fact that it was a girl.” River nodded slowly. “But all of our children are female.”

“How, can that be, Edgar’s been around forever. And Marcus, he’s younger than me.”

Lizzy smiled. “As I said, men are made.”

“But what about all the things you drilled into me. We can’t heal, we can’t make others like us. Why say it if it isn’t true?”

“It is true, for the men that we make.” River shook her head trying to clear the confusion. “This world has always been more interested in the affairs of men then those of women. Several decades before you were born an ancient man of science, an alchemist, realized what we are and caught one of the men. He was a good man, never revealed that there were others. The alchemist experimented on him for months, killed him time and again. Thankfully we became aware of where he was being held and a few of the other men went to collect him. They took all of the alchemist’s notes and burned down his lab with the cruel man trapped inside. Much of the alchemist’s work is what you were told. Men can not heal or create more of us but we had already known that wasn’t true for us women. Now I will admit that we probably should have told you about this before you found your companion but we usually do when the younger ones start to show interest in finding a companion and you never did. You kind a snuck in here on us.” Lizzy gave her an apologetic smile.

“So, I could have fixed him when he first asked?”

“Yes, yes you could have, but”

“Why would you hide this?!” River shot forward in her chair, her fingers tightening in Rolif’s jacket.

“We don’t want just anyone joining the ranks. The main side effect of healing people is eternal life.”

River stares at her unable to process what she’s heard. How is this possible, how is she going to explain to Rolif that she could have stopped all his pain from the day he asked her. River runs her hands through her hair and lets out a frustrated groan.

“River, my dear, don’t worry about it so much. I’ll tell you what. We’re having our yearly get together in what,”

“Thirteen days.” River supplied automatically.

“Yes, so why don’t you bring him along. Let us have a look at him and if we think he’s a good fit, I’ll tell you all you need to know.” River looks up at her completely lost. “Don’t dwell on it too much, it will be over before you know it.” Lizzy said shuffling River toward the driveway and into one of her cars.

Rolif is asleep in the guest bedroom, River settled on the beds edge to watch him sleep. She brushed some wayward hair from his eyes, noting how his face had softened in his sleep.

River awoke to fingers sliding across her cheek. “Hey.” Rolif smiled at her softly.

“Hey,” She mirrored the smile.

“So, your uncle is the deputy Mayor?”

“Yea-h”

“This never came up before because?”

“You never asked.”

Rolif wiggles closer to her on the bed. “Fair enough.” He brushed his lips against hers and she leaned into the kiss happily. His thumb rubbed soft circles over her cheek. “Where did you go?”

“He dragged me off to see my aunt.” River shrugged and pulled him in for another kiss before he could ask another question. That kiss leads to another and then another until it becomes a chain of slow lazy kisses.

Marcus shouted down the hall that River needed to get moving. Rolif smiled at her as he watched her huff and roll out of the bed.

For the next twelve nights River found herself curled up beside Rolif. Some mornings they would talk and others were warm and quiet. She told him of the coming gathering and asked him to join her. Rolif readily agreed and indeed seemed to look forward to it. He was doing much better these days, up and wondering most of the day light hours.

The day of the gathering Rolif was called down to the precinct to fill out some paperwork. River was glad for his absence as she was overwhelmed enough with the food prep. Marcus drove Rolif to the precinct on his way to pick up a last-minute order.

The others began to arrive just after four and the bar began to fill with noise and liveliness. Lizzy made a point of being one of the first to arrive and stood in the kitchen watching River, her eyes burning with curiosity. The feel of those dark eyes so fixated on her made River shiver. The reinvigorated noise from the front as another group arrived finally got Lizzy to leave River be with her work.

When five thirty rolled around River was balancing trays of finger foods on her arms as she walked out into the main bar. A heavy bell ring, rang out as she eased the trays onto the table. with an exaggerated sigh she, along with everyone else, turned toward the door. “Who the hell put that bell on my door?”

“I thought that was new.” Rolif chuckled softly, though in the sudden silence of the room it seemed like a small boom. “Hi.” He greeted the room, the unease he felt, apparent in his voice while they all simply stared at him.

River started towards him and was surprised herself when the group separated for her. their collective gazes shifting from River to Rolif in amazement. “Did everything go alright?”

“Fine,” Rolif let go of the door, letting it close behind him with another heavy ring. “Why are they looking at you like that?”

River glanced at the others, “Because my idiot uncle told them that I glow.” she rolled her eyes at Edgar with a glare before quickly turning back to Rolif. He had an oddly endearing, questioning smile on his face.

“You’re always glowing.”

“What?” River’s steps slowed.

“You’re always glowing, did you not mean to be?”

“No, why would I?”

“I don't know, I thought it was some make up thing. I’ve heard the ladies at the precinct going on about the glowing look. So, I just thought, why are you looking at me like that?”

“I don’t wear makeup, why would you say that?”

“I didn’t say you did, but what else am I supposed to think it is?”

“Oh my.” Lizzy chuckled from the bar.

“Why would you say that?” River can't tear her eyes from him as panic begins to bubble in her chest.

“Well it's true, you always look like your glowing.”

“I think you have found your companion, River, dear.” Lizzy laughs out right.

River snaps a glare at her the strange spell suddenly broken as the panic turns to rage. “If you’re going to be an ass, I have things to do.” She turns pushing her way back to the kitchen. The strange moment turned embarrassing as she ran from it.

River pressed her four head against the cold steel door of the refrigerator. The kitchen door from behind the bar swung open as Marcus walked over to her. “Lizzy is talking to him.”

“About what?” She whined, hating herself for it, as she turned desperate eyes to him.

“Mom.”

“Oh, hell.” She bangs her head against the refrigerator. “Oh! Hell!” She turns back to Marcus, who just shrugs. She rushed past him, skidding to a stop at the door and peering out the window. Part of her wanted to bust through the door and separate Lizzy and Rolif though she knew she would only make herself look like some crazy woman if she did. Marcus came to a stop beside her and nodded at the floor. “Thank you.” she whispers sinking to her knees. He nodded again and pushed the door open, letting her move out ahead of him.

“You can what?” Rolif’s voice has the same authoritative tone it did when they first met though it is definitely angrier.

“So that is all you’re after, how disappointing.” Lizzy sighed.

“Of course, it’s what I’m after, I’m dying! Why wouldn’t she tell me about this?”

“Well now, there are side effects, the main one being the whole eternal life thing, so you’ll forgive us if we don’t go advertising. Also, River didn’t know until I told her thirteen days ago.”

“Thirteen days!” Rolif’s grip tightened around his glass.

River squeezed her temples between her palms in an attempt to stop herself from jumping up and strangling Lizzy.

“Don’t hold it against her, she was never all that interested in finding a companion, so we never revealed the truth to her.” Lizzy paused adjusting herself in her chair. “Can’t say I blame her she only had her mother to guide her. Her dear mother was obsessed with finding a companion, the quest possessed her and led her into one bad relationship after another. When those failed to find her the company, she sought she decided to make her own. And so River was born but that too proved to be no consolation. Young River watched her mother’s self-destructive path, hearing nothing but stories of companions as if they were fairy tales. We did not gather then as we do now. Until finally River was old enough to be on her own and she abandoned her mother to her fruitless search.” Marcus slides a fresh glass of bourbon to Rolif while Lizzy continued. “River embraced her freedom and found herself in many key moments of history. Some two hundred years after their separation her mother had finally met her companion and had married. The man was a widower with a son, he and his son were terribly injured in a car accident, both dying. you see, River’s mother revealed the truth to her husband, offering to save him but he declined. Instead insisting that she save his son, she did as he asked. As soon as her husband was buried, she took her son and moved here, bought the bar and called for River.

River reluctantly arrived in time to hear her mother's story meet her new brother and inherit the bar before her mother passed away.”

“Wait, I thought you couldn’t die.” Rolif had calmed while engrossed in Lizzy’s tale.

“In order to save Marcus things had to be changed, so instead of sharing a life she had to give one. In essence she gave Marcus her eternity.”

“Wow.” “Yes, so you see all River had ever really known of companions were fairy tales and death. I think she actually believes that she has to die in order to save someone. So please don’t hold her reluctance against her.”

“That is fucked up, Oh sorry.” Rolif immediately corrects himself.

“No, no, you’re fine.”

Marcus nudged River’s hip with his foot before waving her back into the kitchen. He propped the door to the kitchen open as he leaned in to grab something off a shelf. River slid across the floor and propped herself against the refrigerator, this was hardly going to any sort of plan. She brushed the dust from her legs and folded her arms over her knees. She had not felt this young and small in decades. The oven timer buzzed forcing her back to work, she pulled herself to standing and silenced the annoying sound before washing her hands.

“Lizzy, left him gazing into his drink and now,” Marcus struggled for a moment picking up a tray laden with plates beside River. “The others are bombarding him with questions.” River lifted the second tray on to Marcus’ other arm. “You really should go rescue him.”

“I would but I can’t.” River shrugs, continuing to plate the next course.

Marcus snorted turning back to the door. “Such a chicken.”

“Shut up Marcus!” River snapped, embarrassed.

“Nice one.” Marcus smirked letting the door swing shut behind him.

“Is that really the best you can do?” Lizzy asked from behind River. The plate River had just picked up clattered loudly against the counter top as it slipped from her startled fingers.

“Damn it, Lizzy!” River turned on her with a sharp glare.

“Have you thought about it?” she asked coming to stand beside River.

“Thought about what?” River turned back to plating food with a huff.

“What you would do if he was gone?”

“Yes, it’s all I can think about since our little chat.” River spit the words with a sad venom.

“And?”

“And, I don’t like it.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why not?”

“Why not? Why not! I’ll tell you why not.” her eyes flashed at Lizzy for a moment. “How am I going to convince him to forgive me when I can’t find a single reason to forgive myself. And what if once it’s done, he just disappears?”

“I don’t think that will happen and neither do you. And if it does, we’ll all just hunt him down and fix it.” Lizzy chuckles at the dark implication. “Besides You know what I think. I think you’re just concerned that you’re turning into your mother.” River glanced up at her in hopes that that can’t be true. “You and your mother are two very different people. You will never be the desperate woman she was.”

A small smile crept onto River’s face. “So, let’s say I did decide to do this.”

“Mm-hmm”

“How would I go about it?”

“It’s quite simple actually.” Lizzy smiled brightly, lifting herself onto the counter top.

River finally joined the others out in the bar only to find the majority had already finished their meal and were separated into smaller groups, talking softly. Marcus was leaning against the bar picking at a plate, talking with Rolif. River took the time to sit in her booth and watch the groups as she thought things through. Photos where being snapped and shared, laughter floated about the room. It was comfortable and peaceful; River rested her head against the back of the booth and let her eyes slide closed.

“Hey, River” Rolif gently rocked River awake. It took her a moment to realize where she was in the gloom of the now empty bar. “Hey there, why don’t you head up stairs. Marcus and I have everything just about done.”

River rubbed her right brow looking past him. “Done? Where is everyone?”

“They went home.” Rolif chuckled. “Go to bed.”

“Went home? What time is it?” She perked up as the realization that she had slept through the entire event hit her.

“Four fifteen now go to bed, your useless like this.” Marcus growled walking past them.

Rolif backed out of the booth letting her slide past him. “I can help at least a little. Thanks.” She nods to Rolif as she followed after Marcus berating him. “You should have woken me. You don’t have to do all this work yourself.”

Marcus stops wiping down the bar and stared her down, she simply stared right back at him, he let out a huff. “You needed the rest, you’ve been up the past two weeks getting him squared away,” he waved the towel at Rolif. “And prepping for this stupid party. You should have postponed the damn thing, but No!”

“Postpone it? Do you have any idea what size mess that would have been?”

“Yeah, yeah. Go to bed.”

“If you’re going to be a pouty baby about it, I will.”

“So, go.”

“Fine.” With a playful smirk River turned and headed for the stairs beside her office.

Fifteen minutes later she heard them coming up the stairs, another twenty and there was a soft rapt of knuckles on her door. “You told me to sleep.” River folded her arms over her chest as she lay in bed.

“Actually,” the door creaked open slowly. “Marcus told you to go to sleep, I told you to get up.” Rolif’s head popped into view a shit eating grin plastered on his face. She can’t help but smile back at him.

“So, you did. Well come on in and tell me what’s on your mind.” she waved him into the room.

“Why thank you.” he stepped into the room wearing the beat-up t-shirt and boxers he usually wore to bed. He made a point to shut the door behind him while she patted the mattress as an invitation. It was quickly accepted, he settled next to her on his back and turned his head so that he could see her without the intimacy of being full face to face with her. “So, I had a chat with your aunt Lizzy today.”

“Did you now, and what did she have to say?” River kept her voice light and playful but at the mention of Lizzy’s name she wanted to do nothing more than sink through the mattress.

“A Few interesting things.”

“I’m sure she did.”

“So, this is going to seem like a shift but,” River glanced at him from the corner of her eyes a small smirk playing on her lips. “I want to kiss you all the time.” She turned her head to look at him fully, her eyes wide and confused he just gave her a quick nervous smile. “Bare with me here,” he continued. “I do want to kiss you all the time, like all of the time. I have for quite a while now but I didn’t want to upset the relationship we already have going. But then the night the White Dragons hit the precinct, you kissed me, and I thought I was going to explode. But we got interrupted and then it was over and we never talked about it. I convinced myself it was just us caught up in the moment.” He shrugged. “Then the other morning I woke up and you were next to me and I couldn’t stop myself from running my fingers through your hair. When you woke up kissing you just felt so natural. God smiled on me when you kissed me back but then once again, we never talked about it, what it meant if anything. Though I did get to wake up beside you again.”

River bit the inside of her lower lip as she watches him, unsure what to say. He flashed her that nervous smile again before continuing. “You’re probably wondering what this has to do with me talking to your aunt. She told me that there might be away for you to fix me.” River turned away from him, her face pinched with frustration. “Now just hear me out. That’s not what I’m asking you for.”

She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes again, this time highly suspicious of him. “Then what are you asking for?”

“Mostly a kiss, like a real one where you know how I feel about you and where you feel the same, then maybe a date and when that one goes well, another one.”

A genuine smile slid across her lips. “So that first one is gonna go well is it?”

“Well, I mean, I have known you for a couple of years now. I think I can put together a pretty good date.”

“Do you?”

“I do.”

“Okay.” River rolled on to her side to face him. “What would we do?”

“First,” he rolled onto his side so that they paralleled each other. “I’d take you out for a nice dinner, not even in this part of town.”

“Oh, fancy, then what?” she laughed.

“You like movies, so we would head off to see a movie.” A playful glint sparked in his eyes. “Then we would walk through the park eating ice cream.”

“That sounds ridiculously corny.”

“And you love every second of it don’t you.”

Her smile broadened. “Maybe a little bit, I do.”

He chuckles a sound like honey, a small shiver ran down her spine. “So, you want to go on a date with me?”

Her smile softens into a gentler one as she shifts closer to him on the bed, she placed her hand on his cheek and stroked it gently with her thumb for a moment before pulling him into a deep lingering kiss.

His lips fallow after hers as they break apart for air. “I would love to go on a date with you.” He pulls her back for another kiss. “If we’re having ourselves a moment of honesty, can I share something with you?”

“Oh, I suppose so.” he rolls his soft puppy dog eyes with a mock dramatic sigh.

“I had already decided to help you.” His eyes snapped back onto her disbelief clear in them. “I know Lizzy told you a lot of embarrassing things about me but she and I also had a chat. So, this is how it has to play out. In small stages, this is for your benefit as well as mine.”

“It would be weird if I just showed up perfectly healthy one day.” He said as clarification.

“Exactly. So little by little, but here’s the main thing, once it’s done you can’t just disappear on me. If you do, we’ll find you, we’re all over the place and we do know how to kill each other. Not a threat just letting you know.” Rolif narrowed his eyes playfully. “This by no means, means you are trapped with me. Edgar and Lizzy have separate lives 90% of the time but you can’t just wander off.”

Rolif rested his forehead against hers. “Promise.”

“Good.” she smiled placing a quick kiss to his lips. They moved closer together arms wrapping around each other and settled in for sleep.

Despite her better judgement they spent the next day in bed. The warmth of his skin and the weight of his body was an intoxicant she had never before encountered. It set the glow of her skin higher than he had ever seen it before, to the point where she began to cast out actual light. The process of healing him began and it was more fun then she had thought it would be. their bodies were slick with sweat and utterly spent by the time the sun set.

Rolif’s health improved quickly and despite its lack of romance and spontaneity they made sure he got a dose of her after each round of chemo. Until another year had passed and he was declared back in remission as well as in near perfect health. He was looking better than he ever had in the time she had known him. the wrinkles around his eyes had eased, color returned to his cheeks, it made him look almost ten years younger. While they were nearly completed with the change, River also noted how much happier they both seemed as the year had passed them.

The gathering had quickly approached again and River was busy with preparations. The bar was noisy and warm, Marcus was behind the bar, Lizzy's distinctive laugh cut through the air. River felt Rolif arrive, a side effect of the change in him and the connection they now shared as almost companions. the hair on the back of her neck stood up as if a cool breeze had brushed past her. She turned and smiled at him as he came through the door, then quickly went back to work.

The sound level dropped in the room. “River,” Rolif said from behind her. She finished placing the last dish before turning to find him down on one knee, a hand in his jacket pocket.

“What are you doing down”

“Will you,” he pulled a small box from his jacket pocket. “marry me?”

She blinked at him several times as she tilted her head to the right while she processed the scene and question “Yeah, all right.” Rolif's brow twitched. “Yes, yes that would be good.”

Marcus burst out laughing from behind the bar. “You can't have expected a different answer.”

“I guess I shouldn't have.” Rolif agreed over his shoulder before turning back to River with a careful smile. “So that's definitely a yes then?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Good, now help me up.” River smirks as she offered her hand and hoisted him back to standing. “Thanks, though I was hoping for more of a gushy response.”

“I'm not all that gushy of a person.” River shrugged.

“Yeah, I guess.” Rolif opened the box revealing a modest amethyst and sapphire set in a white gold band. A warm smile spread across her lips. “Sorry it's not as grand as you deserve but you know what a detective's pay is like.” He apologized taking the ring from the box and slipping it on to her finger.

“It’s perfect.” She lifted his chin and kissed him to the outburst of cheers from the others.

Once the others had left, Marcus shoved Rolif and River out of the bar claiming their displays of affection were making him nauseous. River had found it difficult to keep her hands to herself after receiving the ring, often running her fingers through Rolif’s hair while they spoke with others or interlocking their fingers. So, when Marcus pushed them through the door neither put up too much resistance. The two fumbled up the stairs together, River’s fingers worked to undo what seemed like an unreasonable number of buttons on a man’s shirt. Every brush of his fingers on her skin brought an ever-building pleasure into her. They left a small train of Rolif’s clothing to River’s bedroom and shed the last of it before they fell onto the bed itself. It became one of the most passionate and intimate couplings, setting off a glow in her that filled the room.

Rolif and River married in the fall, Marcus moved into Rolif’s apartment and Rolif moved in with River.

River was introduced to Rolif’s sister, a lovely robust woman despite all that overwhelmed her, and his niece. The young woman's hands stood out most to River calloused and ink stained as they were. The young woman was a credit to her work and her mother. More of the detectives began to come by Styx.

The years passed and Rolif, River and Marcus didn’t age. Marcus and River began to worry, this was the first time they had been so known in a long time. They sat Rolif down and began to explain their concerns. Thankfully they found that Rolife himself had started to wonder about it as well.

Different locations were discussed until the three settled on a small island in the south of France. Marcus and River worked out an arrangement for the youngest of the eternals to come and start learning how to run the bar. Things were falling into place now they just needed to wait for the right opportunity to make their exit.

They didn’t have to wait long; the White Dragon’s came raiding the precinct again. Rolif saw it for the opportunity it was and saved a fellow officer by taking the bullet meant for her. As soon as River got word, she called Edgar and the wheels began to turn. She set herself into a state of shock and grief as best she could manage.

Rolif’s memorial was hard as she had to lie to those who cared for them. Rolif’s sister was by far the hardest the only grace River had was that Rolif had already set out to their new home and didn’t have to witness his sister in such a state of grief. His wish to let his sister know that everything was alright might have led him to reveal the truth, but instead River pushed down the need to comfort with the truth and kept the dear woman in the dark.

A month after the memorial River signed the bar over to her cousin and she and Marcus left to join Rolif in their new home. Settling into the new town and their new names they found Rolif who was now Rupert had already made great progress on the new business. A bakery that he had dubbed River Cakes. Marcus who was now known as Matthew would take position as head baker while Rupert would be manager. River would take a step back from the controls for this round let the boys have a go at being the boss. She would work the counter and run the home, it would be a nice change of pace until she got board and took the whole thing over.

“Helena… Helena?” Rupert’s voice drew closer. “Helena?” River snapped to attention as she remembered that was her new name and popped up from behind the counter.

“Yes?” she couldn't help the smile on her face as she sees him in the new shop uniform, a crisp white high square collared button-down shirt with deep blue apron and slacks, it’s adorable.

“There you are, I’m about to go on a supply run. Do you want to join me?”

“Why, Rupert, are you asking me on a date?”

“I am indeed.” The matching laughter glitters in their eyes.

“Why I would love too.”

“Oh my god, would you just go already. And make sure you get what’s actually on the list this time.”

“Such a grump.” Helena chuckled walking around the counter. “Don’t worry Matthew you’ll find someone to play with sooner or later.”

“GO, leave me to my work.” He shouted walking back into the kitchen.

“Alright, alright.” Rupert waves dismissively at Matthew’s back then offers his arm to Helena. “My Lady.” they linked their arms together and walked out onto the quiet street. They were the very picture of a silly Hollywood romantic cheese fest only better because for them, for now at least it was their life.

“You know, this place is starting to grow on me.” Helena said squeezing closer against his arm.

“It’s not too bad, is it?”

“Nope, but we have to get Mar-Matthew a date soon.”

“His pouting is starting to wear on me.” Rupert nodded.

“Yeah, I’m kinda surprised how inactive he’s been, not his usual.” Helena leaned her head against Rupert’s shoulder. “But hey, we never know what we’ll find at the market.”

Helena and Rupert laughed as they turned into the first stop of many.

The end.

#original story #Weekly Writing Challange #writting #detective stories #supernatural tales #2019

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aupairadventures · 5 years

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Retracing my Ancestors’ Footsteps in Budapest, Hungary

I promise that I have a good reason for not writing and publishing a blog post in over a month! Since the beginning of April, I’ve been away traveling, exploring new places, making memories, and having a blast.

After spending a little bit of time in Paris, I set off for my first destination: Budapest, Hungary. Due to my grandmother’s Hungarian family ancestry, visiting Hungary has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. I’ve always been very close and had a special connection with my grandmother. Ever since I was young, I always loved hearing her funny, touching, and wild stories about her childhood and growing up in a Hungarian immigrant family. I especially love my grandmother’s stories about her grandmother, a strong, bold, and colorful woman named Anna Zvolanek. As my grandmother’s story goes, Anna left Hungary when she was only 16 in search of new opportunities. She immigrated to the US, passed through Ellis Island, and then began a new life in Long Island, New York. She soon fell in love with my grandmother’s grandfather, another Hungarian immigrant named Edward Cheslock, and the two began a family of their own. According to my grandmother, Anna was a phenomenal cook and pastry maker, and was famous in the neighborhood for her incredible apple strudel, poppy seed roll cakes, and apricot “rugelach.”

According to my grandmother, Anna grew up in a small village just outside of Budapest. My grandmother says that when she was a child, she remembers seeing Anna often returning to Budapest to visit her extended family. My theory is that during my time in Budapest, I must have unknowing walked down the same street that Anna once did or visited the same place that once was familiar to her. It’s for these reasons that my journey to Budapest didn’t feel like any regular trip, but rather like an important spiritual pilgrimage. During my time in this beautiful city, I feel that I truly learned the importance of returning to your roots, learning about your family’s history, and retracing your ancestor’s footsteps. This experience made me feel even closer to my grandmother and gave me a better understanding of everything that has led to my existence and made me who I am.

I was so happy to have my friend Gabriela by my side during this journey, and I have her to thank for this amazing time spent in Budapest. Several months ago, after Gabriela read in one of my blog posts that it was my dream to one day travel to Hungary, she reached out to me. She told me that she also had been wanting to explore this country and asked if I would want to travel there together. I responded that yes, of course, I would, and a plan was created!

I’ve known Gabriela since we were tiny students at Morris Elementary School in Lenox, Massachusetts, and our houses were on the same street. Gabriela and I both attended high school at Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where we grew close while participating in our school’s Theme Committee. Since Gabriela is a year older than me and was in the grade above me, I’ve always looked up to her as a role model and thought of her as a hardworking student, compassionate community member, strong young woman, and great friend. After traveling with her, I’m glad to add “Amazing travel companion” to that list! After our time together in Budapest, I’ve become convinced that we’re a traveling-match made in Heaven. Years ago, who would have thought that Miss Hall’s two girls from Lenox would one day be living abroad, one in Italy and the other in France, and would decide to meet up in Hungary?

Throughout the trip, the two of us had an absolute blast together. Almost every moment that we spent together was filled with the best conversations. We talked about everything from how our adventures abroad have been to the 2020 American presidential election. We talked politics, feminism, had deep philosophical conversations that made my head hurt, re-lived old Miss Hall’s memories, shared silly stories, and laughed non-stop. I always love the conversations that the two of us share. We could talk for hours about everything and nothing all at once, and somehow never run out of things to talk about.

The moment that I fell in love with Budapest, I fell fast and hard. While I had never visited this city before and everything was unfamiliar to me, I simultaneously felt so comfortable and so at home. Every ray of sunshine or gust of wind seemed to be calling out to me, “Welcome home, Shanti. We’re so happy to have you back.” Budapest is without a doubt one of the coolest cities that I’ve ever visited. The streets are filled with such distinctive character, and the city radiates an intriguing, funky energy that I’ve never encountered anywhere else. Whether you’re exploring the Jewish quarter, visiting a stunning cathedral, trying a new kind of traditional Hungarian food, watching a breathtaking sunset, or seeing the city’s sparking lights at night time, there’s always something new and exciting to try out. There’s never a shortage of interesting things to do, and “boring” is the last word that anyone would ever use to describe this place. This city always keeps you guessing, and there are surprises waiting around every corner.

It goes without saying that I highly recommend visiting Budapest to my fellow travelers! Here are some of my favorite places that you absolutely have to visit:

Not too far from our hostel (a lovely little spot called “Meander Hostel” that I would recommend that my fellow travelers on a budget,) was St. Stephen’s Basilica. While this building might look a little surprising and not like a traditional church, (“Oh! I thought it was a government building!” exclaimed Gabriela when she saw it for the first time), it is nonetheless a beautiful and fascinating piece of architecture. If you think that the outside is gorgeous, just wait until you see the interior. With its colorful, golden, mosaic ceilings, the inside of this basilica was so beautiful that it made my jaw drop. On Sunday morning, I joined Gabriela as she attended an 8 am mass at St. Stephen’s. While I am not at all religious myself, I still greatly enjoyed this experience. I thought that the ceremony was so interesting and beautiful, and it made me understand why attending mass each Sunday morning is so important to so many people around the world. While I still don’t consider myself a religious person and don’t think that attending weekly mass will be a part of my life, I will happily join my religious friends when they attend mass, if I’m invited. Thank you, Gabriela, for sharing this experience with me and answering all of my many questions!

One of my favorite places in Budapest is Fisherman’s Bastion, an absolutely gorgeous terrace located on the Buda side of the Danube river. Featuring 7 fairy-tale like towers, this site offers the perfect view of the beautiful city of Budapest. While standing on the terrace, you can see a panoramic view of the city and see some of Budapest’s most famous sites, such as the Chain Bridge, St. Stephen's Basilica and the Hungarian Parliament Building. Budapest is beautiful at all times of day, but it’s especially breathtaking in the evening. I recommend going up to Fisherman’s Bastion to see a beautiful sunset and then watch nighttime fall over the city as the lights come up and the city begins to sparkle.

One of the most beautiful places to visit at night time is the Parliament building. When the sun goes down, this building is lit up with gorgeous golden light and looks like a star shining at the edge of the Danube river. I highly recommend taking a stroll along the river next to the Parliament building in order to see this magnificent sight. Remember to walk to the back of the building to see the reflection in the water mirror, as pictures below:

Just behind Fisherman’s Bastion, you’ll find St. Matthias Cathedral. This cathedral, with a gleaming white exterior and an intriguingly unique and colorful roof, is another beautiful site. A short walk away from Fisherman’s Bastion, also located on the Buda Hill, you can find the Buda Castle. (We didn’t visit this site this time around, but we saved it for our next trip to Budapest!)

When in Budapest, you absolutely have to visit one of the thermal baths. Gabriela and I visited the Szechenyi Thermal Baths, and I can say with full authority that it was worth every penny. The warm, healing water felt absolutely incredible; our poor feet were so sore after all of the walking we did in the city, and the water definitely helped! The baths that we used were located in a large outdoor courtyard surrounding by a stunning, buttercup yellow, palace-like building. Going to the thermal baths was a great way to spend a sunny morning, and I highly recommend this activity to my fellow travelers. My only complaint was that this specific location was very touristy and quite crowded, as it’s the main thermal bath spot in Budapest. While we didn’t visit it, I’ve heard good things about another thermal bath location called Gellért, which I’ll check out the next time that I visit Budapest.

On my last day in Budapest, I went on a free walking tour about the history of Budapest’s monuments, which I found to be very interesting. During the tour, I learned a lot about this city’s rich and complex history, which further deepened my understanding of this place. Our tour guide was lovely and enthusiastic, and the tour was a blast. I highly recommend doing one of these tours on your first day in Budapest, as it will help you get a good understanding of the layout of the city, and your tour guide will give you great recommendations for things to do, places to see, and delicious food to eat. You can find these daily tours with the organization “Budapest Free Walking Tours” on the steps of St. Stephen’s Basilica. If you want to join a tour, don’t worry about signing up, just show up!

The organization offers tours about the history of Budapest, communism in Hungary, and the Jewish Quartier in both English and Spanish; just check the website to find out the schedule. And of course, remember to give your tour guide a well-deserved tip!

One of the many great things about Budapest is that the food and restaurants are super cheap, making it an ideal city for travelers on a budget. The food in Budapest was seriously amazing, and Gabriela and I truly ate our way through this city. As a result, we have lots of recommendations for must-have traditional dishes and great restaurants. Here are some of our favorite spots:

Lion’s Locker: One of the absolute best places we went to was Lion’s Locker, an adorable little cafe and breakfast spot located on a tiny side street. We were so glad that our wanderings lead us here, as the food was great and the staff were almost as sweet as the raspberry jam “Hungarian crepes” that I had for breakfast.

Espresso Embassy: If you’re searching for the perfect coffee shop, look no further than Espresso Embassy. I swear, I had the best chai tea latte of my life there, (which is really saying something as I’m quite addicted to them and tend to order one everywhere I go.)

Hummus Bar: On a tight budget, but still craving something delicious? Try Hummus Bar, a super cheap yet very healthy and insanely good hummus and falafel restaurant. This place is quite popular in Budapest, and you can find their different locations all around the city.

Làngos: Another great option for travelers on a budget are langos, a super-not-good-for-you-but-so-good traditional fast food made of fried dough, sour cream, copious amounts of cheese, and vegetable or meat toppings (A bit like a deep-fried pizza!) If you’re looking for something cheap and quick for dinner, try a langos food truck. So unhealthy, but so delicious! Just a warning: Food truck langos can be a bit difficult to eat with your hands sometimes, and can result in sour cream ending up all over your face and pieces of cheese spilled all over you: This is probably not the best option for first-date food.

If you’re craving langos but want to feel a bit fancier, try the Langos Papa restaurant. It’s just as delicious, but with toppings like arugula, goat cheese, honey, and walnuts, it feels a bit more gourmet.

Another great restaurant, located just a few doors down from Langos Papa, is a traditional Hungarian restaurant called Kantin. There, we tried some traditional dishes like goulash, creamy mushroom soup, paprika mushroom noodles, cottage cheese dumplings, and cherry strudel, all of which were incredible.

Karavana Food Truck Market: Located in the Jewish Quarter, this lively food truck market is perfect for a casual night out. Here, you can find lots of different kinds of cuisine: everything from traditional Hungarian dishes to french fries and burgers. (Or, the perfect combination of the two: Langos burgers!) My personal favorite was a food truck called Las Vegans, which offered delicious vegan veggie burgers and healthy fruit and vegetable smoothies.

Szimpla Sunday Farmers' Market: You can also find this awesome farmer’s market every Sunday morning in the Jewish Quarter. Located in an old “ruin-bar,” this was without a doubt the hippest, coolest, and the most interesting market I’ve ever been to. Gabriela and I came here for breakfast after mass on Sunday morning and ended up spending hours here. There are lots of stands with fresh, local vegetables, freshly baked bread, cheese, mouth-watering pastries, and traditional Hungarian cuisine. At the ruin-bar counter, you can also find coffee and tea, of course. The tables set up in the courtyard in the back make it the ideal place to grab breakfast or lunch, try some delicious food, and get lost in conversation.

The Great Market Hall: If you want to go to a market on a day that’s not Sunday, try the Great Market Hall. Here, you can also find lots of vegetables, meats, and yummy pastries. This is also a great place to pick up some souvenirs, gift, and postcards. However, speaking honestly, the Great Market Hall doesn’t come close to the Szimpla Sunday Farmers' Market. After hanging out in that adorable, picture-picture market, the Great Market Hall, unfortunately, felt a little bit underwhelming. But, that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth a visit!

Gelarto Rosa: For some dessert, try the Gelarto Rosa gelato shop. The rose-shaped treats are almost too beautiful to eat, but oh-so-delicious. Located right next to St. Stephen’s Basilica, you can enjoy your treat on the church’s steps or by one of the fountains in the square.

Chimney Cakes are another popular dessert that I highly recommend. These pastries are made of dough, cinnamon, and sugar, or chocolate, and are baked in a cylinder shape with a hollow center. When you pull a piece off, the cake begins to unravel and resembles a slinky toy. Cool, right? A cinnamon and sugar chimney cake was the perfect afternoon snack for Gabriela and I after we got caught in an unexpected rainstorm and were in need of some warmth and cheering up.

My journey to this city was nothing short of magical. I left this city feeling in love, deeply moved, and closer to my family’s heritage than ever before. I boarded my return flight to Paris with a happy heart, dreaming of my next trip to Budapest; I can’t wait to come back to this city and learn even more. I feel so proud to say that my family comes from this beautiful and fascinating place. Thank you for everything, Budapest!

#budapest #travel #hungary

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marrincostello · 4 years

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Growing a Following: Tips From Michael Stelzner : Social Media Examiner

Do you want to be recognized as a leader in your industry? Wondering how to build an audience that expands your reach and influence?

To explore the topic of growing a following, John Lee Dumas joins me for a special episode of the Social Media Marketing Podcast.

John is the host of Entrepreneurs on Fire, a daily podcast where he interviews entrepreneurs. John also runs the Podcasters’ Paradise community and has published three guides: The Freedom Journal, The Mastery Journal, and The Podcast Journal.

You’ll discover how to create an influential presence in any industry and how to expand your reach quicker by collaborating with others.

Listen to the Podcast Now

This article is sourced from the Social Media Marketing Podcast, a top marketing podcast. Listen or subscribe below.

Scroll to the end of the article for links to important resources mentioned in this episode.

Growing an Audience Who Knows and Shares You

As an introduction to Fire Nation, John asked me to share something interesting about myself that most people don’t know. I haven’t told many people that I created my very first business with my younger brother when I was 10 or 11 years old. We would go out in the backyard with a flashlight at night and pull these big night crawlers out of the ground, and the next morning, we would go out on the curb and sell them to fishermen.

That business lasted about a month, but it was my very first business venture, and I was hooked. Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur.

I created Social Media Examiner over 10 years ago so we’ve been at this for a while. We’ve seen a lot of people come and go, many of whom I have privately mentored, advised, and coached. One of the big things I’ve noticed is that everybody who becomes known seems to also become more successful.

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When people are ultimately thinking about a person or a company, who pops into their mind? When you’re able to establish a name and a specific niche, you start getting organic leads. People talk about you. They become your evangelists. You don’t have to pay hand-over-fist for ads on Instagram and Facebook.

When someone’s inside a Facebook group and they say, “Hey, I’m looking for somebody to help with this,” and people say, “Oh, you’ve got to go to Person Y,” even if they’ve never worked with Person Y. If you’re Person Y, that’s awesome marketing for you. What ends up happening is that all of these opportunities start falling into your lap. You’re asked to speak on stages. You’re asked to be on podcasts. Your business model grows and you can take it to the next level. That’s the promise that comes from being really well-known.

John points out that we do this at our world conference where we bring in industry experts and we highlight them on stages. We also highlight them on our YouTube channel and podcasts. Many of the people who have come in become known for what they’re doing. And as noted, they become more successful as a result. Every person you can think of who has spoken at Social Media Marketing World has done this.

Mari Smith is out there all the time talking about what’s new in the world of Facebook, and as a result, she’s the one people think of when they’re looking for a Facebook expert. She’s the one businesses partner with and want to hire. Jay Baer keeps writing books and doing podcasts, and he keeps getting keynote gigs and opportunities to moderate big stages. And he gets opportunities to build his consulting pipeline without having to pay anybody for the privilege.

Another great example is what John has done with Entrepreneurs on Fire. John was relatively unknown 7 years ago. He came out of the military and had a prior career that not a lot of people knew about. Most of his content was focused on what was in the minds of other people and a lot of that rubbed off on him. As a result of building those relationships and developing that content, he’s been able to launch all sorts of products and services that have accelerated his growth. Now he’s living the dream.

There Is Room for You

Right now, a lot of people are thinking about starting a podcast. Instead of just going to YouTube and searching some videos, their friends are telling them about John’s completely free podcasting course, freepodcastcourse.com. The intake form for John’s paid podcasting community, Podcasters’ Paradise, asks people how they first heard about the program.

Most of them say that a friend told them about the free course or a friend told them to Google John. That word of mouth is the primary way that John is getting more leads, more audience, and more revenue through enrollees in Podcasters’ Paradise.

No matter how crowded your space is, there’s always room for you to become known.

The food industry is probably one of the biggest in the world. There’s a YouTube channel called Cooking with Dog. It’s just a woman cooking with her dog—that’s her unique angle—and she’s got 1.49 million subscribers. There’s a blog called Love and Lemons, and all they do is talk about food with lemons. There’s a podcast called A Taste of the Past where they talk about old-fashioned, traditional foods.

Those are just a few examples to show you that you can find your own unique angle, no matter how crowded your niche is. So let’s get to how you can do that.

Determine Your Why

One of the most important questions to ask yourself before you get started is, “What is your why?” Why do you want to be well-known? Do you want to be well-known because you want to be famous? Fame doesn’t pay the bills. You’ve got to have a bigger reason for wanting to become well-known.

I wanted to be well-known because I wanted to make a difference in the world. I knew that if I could give away the content in my blog, on my podcast, and on our YouTube channel—things that others were basically keeping pent up inside of them and, as consultants were charging people for—I could draw an audience.

I also knew that I would only need a tiny little fragment of that huge audience to be very successful and that every person who shared that content would increase the footprint of the business. I also knew that 99% of the world that I touched would never become a customer—and I was completely OK with that because I had a bigger purpose.

Figure out what your why is. It’s OK if your why is to make money or to buy that dream house. Just have a why. But fame alone isn’t good enough.

Research the Competition

Once you know what your why is, it’s important to do a competitive analysis.

When John started his podcast, his biggest question was, “What do I love about the podcasts that I listen to?” Even more importantly, he asked himself, “What do I feel is missing from the shows that I’m listening to on a consistent basis?”

Start looking at people who might be competitors—but don’t think of them as the evil empire that you’re out to destroy. Instead, look at them as marketplace justification. They’re proof that there’s somebody out there talking, writing, and creating videos about this. Figure out what it is about them that you like and don’t like, and how you can learn from them.

You can also research people in other spaces who are not competitors and find someone whose work you really love. For me, it was a guy named Andrew Goodman, who was really big in the SEO space. I just loved everything about his business model. I wanted to take that and apply it to the social media marketing space.

Identify Your Unique Differentiator

After you research your competition, try to figure out what your unique point of differentiation is. John’s unique point of differentiation is daily podcasts. Everyone else was doing it weekly or maybe twice a week. John decided to do it daily because he knew there was an audience that was in their car or on a train every single day, and he wanted to be in front of them. He knew that he didn’t need a huge audience if he was in front of them every day.

In my case, my unique differentiation is that I ask questions on my podcast that others are thinking. If my guest says something like an acronym that my audience doesn’t know, I’m going to stop them in their tracks and ask them to explain it before they go too far down that trail.

My audience tells me that I ask the exact questions that are on their minds. So one of my unique differentiators is that I try to put myself in the position of my listener, to make sure that they get something by listening to me.

What’s your unique differentiator? Maybe you’re funny. Maybe you’re analytical. Maybe you have a unique view of your industry that nobody else has. Maybe you come from a different world: maybe you’re an attorney who’s become a chef and you can draw some parallels between the world of law and the world of cooking. Maybe there are laws of food that we haven’t even thought about. So try to figure out what your unique differentiation is.

Test Your Message

The last thing is to start testing your message. This is really important. At the core of everything we’re talking about today is the fact that to be known requires the creation of something. You need to talk on a stage or a podcast, create video, or write.

In the beginning, when you’re creating that message, you have to think of everything as a great experiment. And just like a cooking experiment, it might not be well received the very first time. So start testing your message by creating the message. Then analyze the message to try to ascertain what works and what doesn’t.

A lot of things have changed since John began Entrepreneurs on Fire. At first, he was focused on the fact that he didn’t yet have skills as a podcaster, interviewer, or host. He didn’t really know how to guide or dig deeper. So he stuck to a very structured message for 5+ years. He did around 2,000 daily episodes with essentially the same six questions. But John continued to test his message, and a year and a half ago, he made a big break.

He decided to switch from a podcast to more of an audio master class: to have the top experts in their specific industry come on and give an actual course on a specific topic. That way, he could go really deep and talk with them in a much more fluid, intense manner. That change came from continuing to test, getting feedback from his audience, and continuing to say, “Now that my strengths have grown in these areas, how can I utilize them in a better format?”

By pivoting and calling it a master class, John sends a signal to everyone who listens that they’re going to learn something. This isn’t just a conversation between two bros; this is something that’s got an intent and it’s been thought about. Hopefully, listeners will walk away richer as a result of it. That alone, just creating a different label for what he’s doing, is smart marketing.

Another important thing is to look over the horizon to see what’s next because something is always coming. John has heard so many people complain, even on Fire Nation, about missing the podcasting train. But while they were complaining about missing the podcasting train, Instagram happened. While they were complaining about missing the Instagram train, TikTok happened.

John doesn’t feel everyone should necessarily be getting on these trains. But something is always coming next. Keep your eyes toward the horizon and see how your why can fit into that next thing that’s coming. Get in on the earlier side of things and completely dominate that niche.

Social Media Examiner Testing YouTube

In the past, we had an episodic documentary called The Journey. We brought cameras into the office and sewed together a storyline over many, many episodes. After I hired a director of marketing, I decided that I wasn’t the central character of this show anymore and we couldn’t continue on.

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We decided to go all-in on YouTube in the fall of 2019. The goal here was to fly people in from all over the world to film article-quality video tutorials on almost anything you could possibly imagine. Along the way, I decided that I also wanted to get back on camera. I felt like I had a message to share with my audience about the thing we’ve been talking about today, which is how to become known.

As I alluded to earlier, I’ve coached and mentored a lot of people and most of my business model has been about getting knowledge out of other people’s brains, not necessarily my own.

We’ve been batch-filming these videos. Between scripting and filming, it takes me about 2 hours to create each one. We then send the footage to a Hollywood producer to generate these super-slick but also inspirational and tactical videos. It’s just been a blast. We’re showing the audience a different side of me and they’re loving it.

It’s also been really exciting for me to test out something new. I’m watching for certain kinds of feedback; if that feedback is really strong, then maybe there’ll be some more coming from me down the road.

Create, Maintain, and Analyze

To really know what’s working, I have a three-step process I refer to as create, maintain, and analyze.

Imagine it like a clock. You spend a little bit of time creating, you spend a lot of time maintaining, and you spend a little time analyzing. So many people just create things and maybe they maintain it. Or maybe they maintain it really well, but they don’t know whether it’s working. What we’re talking about right now is how to know if it’s working. There are some subjective metrics to look for in the very beginning, and these are the metrics that are very important.

First of all, when you create something, you want private messages. You want comments from people saying, “That was freaking amazing,” or, “This is exactly what I needed. You read my mind. This is so, so valuable.” Or you want them to share it on Facebook and say, “This is something you don’t want to miss.” When you start hearing those kinds of comments, that’s a good sign.

Maybe 10% of your audience—if you’re lucky—will ever send that signal. There’s another 90% out there who will never tell you how good this stuff is but you’re watching for those subjective signals from others. When you get those signals, you know you’re on the right track. When you don’t get those signals, then you know something’s off track.

When people in John’s podcasting community get upset that their podcasts only have 10 reviews after a few short months, he reminds them that they’ve got to extrapolate those numbers. Those 10 reviews aren’t just 10 listeners: there are 100 or even 1,000 people listening for every one person who actually goes on to leave a review.

When you get some kind of feedback, that means there are a lot more people hiding in the wings who are consuming that content. They’re still thinking about it and getting value from it. When people are communicating with you, you’ve got to hold onto that.

Try to figure out where those people come from, what they really like about it, what they don’t like about it, and most importantly, what they’re struggling with. Then you can keep creating value for them in a meaningful way—and maybe even create products, services, and communities for them.

Spotify, Apple, and YouTube all provide retention graphs. Look at those retention graphs to see whether people are skipping over sections of your podcast or video. Watch for the percentage completion rate. Some shows are going to be higher than others. Separate out the highs and the lows; look at the differences between them. Was it the substance? In other words, was it the way it was done and what was said? Was it the topic?

A lot of times, certain topics are going to outperform. Look at those signals and say, “Okay, it seems like my audience is really hot on these kinds of topics.” In my case, it’s all Instagram. I can do almost anything on Instagram and it will perform. So that’s a good signal. That shows me there’s a big appetite for that kind of content. But if I do something on Pinterest, I don’t get the same kind of response. It’s that kind of metric that you want to look for.

YouTube provides some of the best metrics if you want to get really granular. It’s absolutely amazing the way YouTube works. If you imagine a funnel, YouTube will take your video and show it to a sampling of your subscribers and a sampling of your non-subscribers. They’ll track the click-through rate on the thumbnail and title of that video. They’ll also track the retention time or how long they’re watching the video.

YouTube wants people to stay on the platform. If your video contributes to longer on-platform time, then in the end, they’ll allow you to change that thumbnail so you can see whether that click-through rate goes up or down.

If you have a really good retention rate on your video—meaning people are getting through most of it—then it’s a matter of deciding how to get that click-through rate to go up. Simply changing your thumbnail and getting that click-through rate to go from 3%–5% can almost double the number of video views.

This is where mathematically, you can start doing some really fascinating calculations. We have a video that is at 17,000 views and it’s getting about 500 views a day. If we tweak it a little bit more, we anticipate that this video will be one of the big winners on our channel. We believe it will have more than 100,000 views within a year.

It’s also contributed to new subscriber growth on the channel more than any other video. So we’re putting that one right up front on our YouTube channel so that when people go there, they will see that video first. It increases the likelihood they will become a subscriber. That’s where you can get ninja crazy with your metrics.

One thing John loved about The Journey was the “loops” that we opened up in each video. When the video started, we’d open up a loop that made viewers want to stay until the end. I’d say, “By the way, don’t go anywhere because before this video ends, X, Y, or Z is going to happen.”

Think of it as a teaser when you watch television. Sometimes shows will tease you with a few clips early on of what’s going to happen later in the episode. You want to stick around to see those things because they haven’t happened yet. Reality TV shows especially do that all the time. The idea is to give someone a reason to stick around.

Most people are going to make a judgment call on your video in the first few seconds; that’s called the hook. The idea is to hook them in. After the hook comes what’s called your bumper: “Here’s what this show is about.” You want to keep that tight; in our case, it’s 3 seconds. Then you want to get into the content. Once you get into the content, say a little bit more about what they’re about to learn. Then offer the hook, “And if you stick around, there’s a bonus tip at the end.”

Another thing we’ve done is put a progress bar on some of our longer videos. Imagine a green line moving from the top to the bottom, with icons all the way along the right side of the video. As they’re watching the video, it’s like a progress report. That green line is coming down to the next icon, filling it in, and going down to the next icon. That’s just a little psychological trigger that we’re using to get people to keep watching because it shows how much progress they’ve made.

John recaps my whole process with “Hook, bumper, content, that bonus tip, and of course, a progress bar thrown in there as well.” We do have great success when it comes to collaborating with others and have done so for more than 10 years. But John wants to know how those people who are just starting out—or maybe getting a little initial momentum—can collaborate with others to accelerate their personal growth.

Collaborating With Others to Accelerate Growth

There’s a simple formula for growth from my second book, Launch. Great content, plus other people, minus marketing messages, equals growth.

We’ve talked about great content. The “plus other people” is the secret sauce. You can only go so far on your own but you can go really far when you work with others. This has been John’s secret recipe to growing his podcast but it’s not a secret anymore.

When you collaborate with others to co-create content in any form—like John and I are doing right now—the benefit of getting others involved is a huge accelerant to your content. It’s what people do on YouTube, it’s what you do any time you interview someone and write an article that features them. The key to doing that well is just to think creatively.

When I started Social Media Examiner, I hired a guy with a camera to come with me to a conference called Blog World. I interviewed 10 or 15 people on camera, asking questions, creating these little 10-minute videos. Afterward, I emailed them a copy of the video. They were blown away because nobody was doing that; nobody else was out there making them look good on camera.

That’s the kind of stuff that you can do and that’s what we do right now. I mentioned that we’re flying in people from all over the world to film videos for our YouTube channel. We’re the ones promoting this and helping to grow viewerships. The benefit of their participation is they’re getting in front of our audience; it’s a win-win. So the goal is really to find the right people, figure out how you can make it a win-win, and things can really blow up for you.

A podcast is the easy road. Just get Skype and start doing some podcast interviews. If you want to do live, you can do live as well. You can easily use tools to do live video, like Ecamm or Crowdcast. You can do a live show where you bring on guests like we do every week and talk about the news. Those guests are your remote experts; correspondents adding their opinions. If you’re a writer, you could write about something going on in the industry. Then you could reach out to a few individuals to ask them for their thoughts and sew that into the article.

For John and me, the big takeaway from our combined podcasts today is this: If you want to be more well-known, the absolute key is to create content. And that content can be stuff you do from a stage. It can be something you do in front of a camera. It can be something you do in front of a microphone. It can be something you do in front of a keyboard. The idea is to ask yourself what kind of content you can create.

Try to create the best conceivable content you can. Ideally, it needs to be a little unique for the niche that you’re in. Then people will start recognizing you. They’ll start calling your name. They’ll start giving you opportunities. And with that, you can accomplish almost anything.

Key Takeaways From This Episode:

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