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allyouneedisbuck · 3 years

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magnetic force of a man

summary // loving him in the summer is warmth and radiance.

or; three summers showcasing the growth of your relationship with bucky. [bucky barnes x fem!reader]

words // 4.5k

warnings // post-endgame bucky & softness & kind of corny

notes // inspired by taylor swift’s lover. somehow this just came out, i’m not sure how i feel about it.

my writing is free and it will stay free, but if you enjoy it and you have the resources, consider donating to my ko-fi!

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

| Summer of 2025 |

You meet Bucky at the Farmer’s Market in June when you both reach for a red delicious apple. It’s awkward laughs and friendly introductions.

You’ve heard of him before; Janet who runs the apple stand talks about him and how perfect of a match you would be. Unbeknownst to you, Eugene who runs the plum stand, says the same thing to him.

“You’re the man Janet won’t shut up about.” You smile sweetly. Your eyes scan his small basket of fruits and vegetables. He’s got a lot of different things. He must cook, you think. “I’ve been told I would like you.”

Bucky laughs. His eyes scan your basket too, you wonder what he thinks of all your choices. “You must be the woman Eugene won’t stop talking about.” He leans towards you and in a mischievous tone whispers, “I think they’ve been trying to set us up.”

It makes you laugh. “You’ve got a beautiful laugh.” Bucky compliments. His smile is genuine and he’s got blue eyes that are filled with kindness. You can see why Janet had been trying for so long to get you to meet him.

“Thank you.” You step towards him when another man rushes past you. “I have to ask, what have you heard?”

Bucky shrugs. “Just that you’re beautiful and you make the best apple pie Eugene’s ever tasted.” Bucky leans towards you again. “So far, he’s spot on.” The implication makes heat rise to your cheeks and you smile down at your basket.

“Guess I’ll have to make you some pie so you can see if he’s two for two.” You look back up with a teasing smile. Bucky’s eyes light up in excitement.

He shakes his head in amusement. “I hope I’m not being too forward, can I have you number?” You’re already pulling your phone out of your pocket to hand over.

That’s the beginning of your story.

˚《

Your first date is the last week of June. After weeks of texting and even some phone calls, Bucky had finally asked you out.

He takes you to a drive in up in Warwick and you park in the middle row of the second screen to watch Grease. The sun is still out when you arrive, so there’s some time to get snacks and settle in.

“Did you know it was throwbacks weekend?” You ask as Bucky flips through his radio stations in search of the correct one.

He shakes his head. You can see his fingers shaking a little nervously as he looks up at you. “Is Grease okay? I’ve uh, I’ve never seen it. It looked cute.” He grimaces and it makes you smile.

“I love Grease.” You say softly, reaching your hand out for his. “Are you nervous?”

Bucky laughs awkwardly. “Am I that obvious?” Your eyes trail over his gloved hands, his left hand resting on his thigh as you hold his right.

“I think it’s sweet.” You reassure him. “You must be hot in these. It’s June.” You flip his hand so it’s palm up and trace your finger over it.

“I haven’t done this in awhile.” He admits. There’s a red tint to his cheeks, one that’s not from the summer heat, and it makes you giggle. He eyes meet yours and he smiles tensely. “I’m uh- I-“

“You don’t have to say it.” You pull the glove off hastily so his flesh hand is revealed to you. “I know who you are. You can keep them on if you want, but you don’t need to.” You place the glove back in his palm and wrap his fingers around it.

Bucky watches you for a moment. “You know who I am and still want to go one a date with me?” You frown at his self-depreciating tone.

“I know who you used to be. I don’t know you though. The real Bucky Barnes. That’s why I want to go on this date with you.” The radio begins reciting rules of the drive-in and you look at the screen. The sun is setting behind it quickly.

When you turn to look at Bucky again, he has a grin on his face as he watches you. “Come on! Let’s get snacks before the movie starts.” You turn to push open the car door and Bucky follows after you easily.

You don’t know it yet, but that’s the beginning of your pull over him. Bucky thinks he would follow you to the ends of the earth if you asked him to.

˚《

Your first kiss is two weeks later after watching a movie in central park. It was Dirty Dancing this time. You’ve been on five dates.

You’ve learned that Bucky likes going to these throwback playings and experiencing the movies he missed while under Hydra’s control. You’re happy to indulge him, truly.

You just wish he would do more than hold you hand. Which, okay, maybe that isn’t fair. Sometimes he’ll wrap an arm around your shoulder and you’ll lean your head against his chest. He’ll even give you a kiss on the cheek goodnight, but he still won’t kiss you on the lips and you’re starting to think he just doesn’t want to.

One date? Okay, he wants to be respectful and not move too fast. Two dates? A little weird, but he was from a different time. Three? Did they just not kiss back then? You can’t imagine a charming Bucky Barnes who didn’t steal a kiss from a pretty girl. Four had you on the edge of your seat waiting for the kiss that didn’t happen.

Now, as Bucky walks you home, you think of all the ways you can bring it up. You even think of just kissing him yourself, it was the twenty-first century and women can make the first move.

Except, you can’t help but think, what if he doesn’t want to kiss me?

“You alright?” Bucky’s hand gripping your elbow gently forces you out of your head. You look up at him with wide eyes and nod a little too hastily. “You sure? You’ve been silent for like, fifteen minutes.”

His eyes are concerned pools of blue as he stares down at you. The words just come tumbling out of your mouth, “Why don’t you want to kiss me?”

Bucky just stares at you in shock. You feel heat on the back of your neck and shift in uncomfortable embarrassment at your outburst. “I’m sorry!” You blurt out. “I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable. I just want you to kiss me and if you don’t want to that’s fine!” You suck in a deep breath. Bucky is still watching you silently, so you continue on. “I would just rather know now if you don’t want to kiss me instead of finding out later.”

You finish quietly with Bucky still watching you. If you weren’t so panicked, you would probably recognize his look as him digesting the words. But the panicked feeling mixes with the sting of rejection and you begin to back away. “Well this was great. Hope to never-“

Bucky’s hand wraps your waist and he hauls you back into him. His lips meet yours harshly, but it’s not painful in any way. It’s somehow gentle and his lips are soft against yours. Your eyes close and one of your hands comes up to rest on his cheek while his hands hold steady onto your waist.

When you pull away it’s with a gasp of air. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since that day in the Farmer’s Market.” Bucky admits breathlessly.

“So why’d you never kiss me?” You ask curiously. Cars speed past you on the street and there’s a group of teenagers who all gag as they pass you, but none of it matters with Bucky in your arms like this.

Bucky smiles. “I told you. I haven’t done this in a long time.”

˚《

By August, you and Bucky are going steady. You go to the market together most weekends and Bucky calls you his girl to the people you’ve both become regulars of.

He’s even talked about introducing you to his friends and going out together one night when they’re all free.

It makes your heart race and your fingers twitch with excited nerves. You think you love him, which seems crazy when you think of how you’ve only been seeing each other since June, but you do.

Thinking of him makes your heart beat faster and your face warm. You want to spend as much time as can with him and hang onto every word he says.

It seems like he feels the same way too, but you’re just not sure. Fall is right around the corner though. That means schedules pick up again and the weather gets colder, so you’d like to know if Bucky feels the same way or if this was just a way to pass the time in the summer.

You just don’t know how to say it though. Every time you think of saying the words your nerves get the best of you and you blurt out something he finds endearingly awkward and doesn’t think anything of.

“I still can’t believe a show like this exists.” Bucky murmurs in awe from beside you on his couch. You’re not really pay attention to the random reality show you’ve put on though. You’re focused on the way his eyes shine curiously and how he smiles whenever the host makes a shitty joke.

Your feet are settled in his lap and he pinches your shin when he turns to look at you. “You’re not even watching the show.”

“I love you.” You blurt. That’s one way to do it, you think. You were afraid you would regret the words when you said them or even feel embarrassed, but you don’t. All you feel is lighter, like you’ve created a better world by letting Bucky know somebody loves him, even if he doesn’t feel the same. “I don’t know if you wanted this to be summer fling or-“

“Summer fling?” Bucky laughs. His hand moves up your leg. “I’m not going around calling you my girl to everyone who’ll listen because you’re some fling.”

The words make you laugh. “I love that laugh.” Bucky admits quietly. When your eyes meet his again, he smiles sweetly. “I love you too.”

When he leans towards you for a kiss, you meet him halfway happily.

| Summer 2026 |

Being with Bucky has made you far more confident in yourself. His reassurance and constant support pushed you to be better and you knew he felt the same, so you figured moving in with him was the next step.

You had the perfect plan on how to ask him too. You had recruited Sam, who had taken a liking to you immediately, and gotten an extra key to your apartment cut with the word home engraved onto it.

While you spent the day getting the key cut and making room for Bucky’s things in your space, Sam spent the day distracting him. By the time you hear Bucky knock on your door, you’re about to burst with excitement.

You smooth down the front of you skirt and suck in a deep breath. “Hey!” Bucky’s eyes trail over you in surprise.

“Hey. Did I forget a date?” He looks up nervously, but his shoulders relax when you shake your head with a bright smile. “What’s this then? Not that I don’t love you in this skirt.” His hands find your hips and trail up your sides.

You pull his hands off and pull him inside the apartment. “I have a surprise for you!” He follows you into the kitchen easily and you pull out the small box containing the key.

You rock back and forth on your heels excitedly as Bucky begins to slowly unwrap the box. He watches, completely bemused by your excitement, and moves even slower to tease you.

“Stop!” You laugh and he shakes his head before tearing the rest of the paper off. He inspects the box slowly before opening it.

When his eyes land on the key, he doesn’t say anything and your smile drops. You watch as he stares and your excitement diminishes by the millisecond.

“Do you… Do you not like it?” You ask, unable to handle the silence. Bucky swallows thickly before looking up at you. Your heart drops as the burn of his rejection settles beneath your skin. “You don’t.” It’s not a question.

He reaches for you, but you step out of his grasp. “It’s not that I don’t like it, I just… I’m…” He doesn’t know what to say or how to actually say no to you. It’s obvious.

“You mentioned your lease was up soon and that you didn’t want to resign. I thought…” You trail off. You feel like you can’t breathe. You and Bucky were so good together, this seemed like the logical next step.

Had you read everything wrong? “I meant… I was looking at places closer to you.” Bucky says like it’s supposed to make you feel better.

“But you don’t want to live with me?” Your back hits the counter and you flinch at the harsh feeling. Bucky raises a hand, as if to comfort you, but drops it at the last second. “I don’t… Understand? I guess?”

Bucky runs a hand over his face. “I’m just not ready to live together yet, sweets.” He says softly. His face is grimaced as if the words pain him.

Join the club, you think. “Can I ask why? It seems like the next step, you know? We’ve been together for a year. I figured we’d move in together, start talking about marriage. Our future.”

Bucky’s eyes flash to yours. You hadn’t even thought it was possible, but it feels like your heart drops even further. “Do you not want to get married?” You ask slowly.

“I don’t know.” Bucky answers hesitantly. “I never planned a life. I never thought I’d get all this.”

You know he’s trying to make you feel better about the situation, but his words only hurt you more. “So being with me hasn’t made you think about your future at all?” You question. You think those words are what breaks you. The tears come rushing to your eyes and your face is hot with a mixture of anger and hurt.

“That’s not what I meant.” Bucky’s getting upset too. He’s clenching and unclenching his fists, something you’ve learned he does when he’s stressed. “I just meant I’m not sure what I want.” A beat of silence. “Shit. I mean-“ He groans in frustration and you sigh.

“I know I want you. A future with you.” You say quietly. You move to the close the box, key still inside, before shoving it into one of your kitchen drawers. “So, I think you should figure it out. What you want. So I know whether or not I should move on.”

Bucky watches you with tears brimming his own eyes. “Sweets-“

“I think you should go home, Buck.” You cut him off in a gentle tone. “Think for a few days.” You begin to move towards your hallway, ready to fall into your bed.

“Like… Like a break?” He asks tightly making you pause. You look at him over your shoulder and shrug.

“If that’s what you want to call it. I think you just need some time to figure out what you want for yourself. If it’s not me, that’s okay, but you should know.” You look back down your hallway. “I deserve to know too.”

You wait until you hear your front door slam shut to fall into your bed. When you notice Bucky’s shirt draped over your vanity chair, the tears come.

Not how you imagined your summer starting.

˚《

The month of June goes by, blossoming into July and Bucky doesn’t reach out. You’re heartbroken over it. Though that doesn’t sound like the right term because it really feels like your heart has been torn from your chest, but there wasn’t really a word for that.

You know you were the one who had suggested the break, but you figured he would have cared for you enough to give you a formal break up. Had you really ever known Bucky? What had gone wrong?

“You weren’t with Bucky yesterday!” Janet gushes when you stop in front of her booth. Your heart cracks at his name. “He always has such sweet things to say about you! Why don’t you two come together anymore? Your work schedules mess you up?”

Your eyes flash to her in confusion. Had Bucky not told her? “Janet… We broke up.” You say quietly. You’ve mastered the art of sounding cold when explaining to your friends and neighbors Bucky wouldn’t be coming around anymore.

She shakes her head like you’re not telling her the truth. “He was just talking about how he was trying to learn his mama’s famous peach cobbler recipe to make for you.”

“Must be another girl.” You say in a heated tone. “I haven’t spoken to him in weeks.”

She frowns. “He said your name, darling. That I’m sure of. Called you his girl and everything, just like he always does.” She explains softly.

“He’s delusional then.” You hiss. You stomp away from her cart. You’ll apologize to her next week, but for now, Bucky has somehow managed to ruin your day.

˚《

There’s a knock on your door that night. Your heart almost stops when you recognize the pattern that Bucky always led with.

When you check the peephole and confirm it’s him you almost don’t open the door, until you notice the tin-foiled dish in his hands.

“What are you doing here?” You ask harshly before he can say a word to you. You lean against your door jam, effectively blocking him from setting foot into your apartment. “And what is that?”

“A poor attempt at peach cobbler.” Your pulse quickens. “And I’m here to apologize.” When you look up and see the sincerity in his eyes, you sigh.

“Come in.” You step aside and he smiles gratefully as he steps past you. He places the dish on your counter and turns to face you nervously.

You stand still across from him. You had never thought you would feel this awkward around Bucky. “I’m sorry for… for hurting you that night.” He starts off quietly. “And for not reaching out, but you were right, I did need to figure my shit out.”

“You could have told me that.” You say softly. “Hey, you’re right! Let’s take a break and figure stuff out. Going ghost on me? That broke my heart, Buck.” You cross your arms over your chest like they’re a shield.

“I know.” Bucky says in the same apologetic tone. “I just… I was embarrassed because I made a fool of myself. Because I wanted to say yes. You have no idea how badly I wanted to say yes, but I was too scared to.”

You shake your head. “Scared of what? It’s me, Buck. I love you. You know I love you.” You hadn’t imagined having this conversation with him and you can’t keep the emotion out of you voice.

“What if you see parts of me living together that you don’t see now that make you not want me?” His tone is resembling that of a broken man, one you’ve only heard stories of.

The Bucky Barnes you know is healing. He’s charming, soft and intimidating but full of life and happiness. Not this. It breaks your heart and against your better judgement, you reach out to cup his cheeks in your hands. “There isn’t a part of you I won’t love, Bucky.”

“I still get nightmares. So bad I wake up screaming and unable to breathe.” He says softly. “It takes forever to get out of them.”

“I’ll hold your hand and help you through them.” You say without hesitation. “Bucky. The point of a relationship is to grow together. I want to do that with you, do you want to do that with me?”

His hands reach up to grip yours. You almost sigh in relief at the feeling of his hands in yours after weeks without it. “I do.” He says steadily. “Can we… Can we not be on a break anymore? I miss you.” He admits quietly.

A part of you thinks you should pull back. He had hurt you and you were still upset. But another, larger part of you, missed him more than he had hurt you.

“Yeah.” You say after a moment. “No more break.” You pull him towards you. He meets you readily in a kiss.

˚《

By the end of August, Bucky’s got a drawer full of things in your bedroom and his books have started to overcrowd your coffee table.

You communicate better. He shares more about his nightmares with you. He talks about the future he sees with you, one with a family and dogs in the backyard of the house he hopes to build.

You’re still nervous to bring up moving in together again. In the end it doesn’t matter though, because Bucky is the one who brings it up.

“Can we…” He starts nervously one night as the two of you eat dinner. “Would you want to talk about moving in together again?”

You look up at him a little shocked by the question. “What do you mean?” You shake your head. You know what he means. “Do you?” You ask quickly.

He nods slowly. You can see his nervousness in his tense jaw and clenching and unclenching fists. “I would like to move in together.” He’s talking kind of robotically, like he’s been practicing the words so they came out perfectly.

It’s sweet, you think. The gesture makes you laugh softly. “I would like to move in together too.” You reach across the table and wrap a hand around Bucky’s wrist.

His shoulders drop and you move to unclench his fist. “Yeah? You would?” He asks, less robotic in tone and more excited.

“Yeah.” You nod in confirmation. Bucky gives you a bright smile that’s impossible to not return.

Come fall, Bucky’s given up his apartment and has got an entire bookshelf taking up room in yours.

| Summer 2027 |

It’s July again and Bucky wants to propose.

Over two years together and the Farmer’s Market feels like the perfect place to do it. It’s where you had met and had become a daily part of your guy’s routine.

The only issue is, he’s pretty sure you’re thinking the same thing. Not that you’re onto him, that you want to propose too.

And, okay, Bucky is all for what women have accomplished in the almost century he’s been alive, truly. But proposing is his thing, it just is.

You had been the first person the say I love you. You had been the one to originally ask him to move in together. He wanted nothing more than to be the one down on one knee with his mother’s ring that he had begged and begged some museum curator to give up.

Which ultimately means, he has to beat you to it. So his plans are a little rushed. He had originally wanted to do it at the end of summer, when fall was rounding the corner and leaves were turning brown, but July would work.

July was when you had gone on some of your first dates and was when you had shared your first kiss. July was meaningful and July would work.

“Are you okay?” You ask as you absentmindedly run your fingers over the apples in front of you. Bucky’s eyes shoot up to look at Janet behind the stand, who smiles at him knowingly. You turn to look at Bucky with raised eyebrows. “You’ve been fidgety all day.”

Bucky lets out a fake cough. “I just feel a little off.” He lies. It’s a poor lie and it makes your lips quark up at the corner.

“Want to go home?” You ask, already stepping away from the apple stand. “We ca-“

“No!” Bucky’s hands grip your shoulders and he forces your to stop. You smile at him in question and Bucky quickly drops his hands back to his side. “I mean, no. Probably just allergies.”

“Uh-huh.” You say in obvious disbelief. “The super soldier suddenly has allergies.”

Bucky sighs in defeat. “You know, don’t you?” He asks and you laugh softly. Your hand finds his and you interlock your fingers together.

“Only because you left the ring on the counter last night and I saw it when I went to get water.” You say apologetically. Bucky drops his head so his forehead rests against your shoulder and lets out a groan.

You press a kiss to his temple before nudging him away. “Ask me.” You urge softly. Bucky wants to say no, that he wants to do it right, but this seems almost fitting.

You were what pushed him to be better, so maybe it made sense for you to be the one who pushed him in this too. He wasn’t sure he would even be able to without it, honestly.

He sucks in a deep breath before dropping to one knee in front of you. There are gasps of people passing by, but Bucky keeps his eyes on you as he pulls out the ring. Resized and cleaned, ready for your finger.

“I have a speech so just, bear with me. Okay?” A smile spreads across your face as you nod. “This is the third summer I’ve spent completely in love with you. I didn’t know I could feel this way about someone. Sometimes I’m still shocked that you wake up everyday and choose to be with me. But I promise I don’t take it for granted. Not for one second because I love you so much and I wake up every morning ready to show you forever. And I… I um.” Bucky swallows. “I had more planned, but I’m so nervous and I just want to ask you already.”

“Ask me.” You whisper with a bright smile. A group has gathered around you two by now, everyone murmuring in excitement but you and Bucky can only stare at each other.

“Will you marry me?” Bucky asks softly. He can see his hand shaking as he holds out the ring to you even though there’s no doubt in his mind that you’ll say yes. “Please?” He tacks on for good measure.

You nod quickly, holding your left hand out to him. “Yes. Yes. Of course!” You cheer. Once he has slipped the the ring onto your finger, you pull him up by the collar of his shirt.

You kiss him without a care in the world. Bucky’s hand comes up to rest on the back of your neck as excited cheers resound from all around you two.

When you pull away you’re smiling brighter than he’s ever seen. Bucky can’t do anything but return it.

His eyes move around the crowd and find Eugene, the man who runs the plum stand. He smiles kindly at Bucky and mouths I told you so. Bucky laughs to himself before pressing a kiss to your head.

This Farmer’s Market was probably the best decision Bucky had ever made.

It had brought him you.

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

notes // what did i say about soft!bucky? that he was all i knew how to write!!

reblogs and replies are always appreciated, especially if you read and enjoyed this piece!

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes oneshot #bucky barnes x fem!reader #bucky imagine #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes fluff #james bucky barnes x reader

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 3 years

Text

Baby, It’s Cold...

Warnings: this fic includes dubious/nonconsent, fingering, lying, manipulation, and general Ransom naughtiness

This is explicit. 18+ only.

Summary: You go to meet your online admirer but not all is as it seems.

Note: Our Chris-mas fic is here! I tried to keep the holiday details as vague as possible and hope you all enjoy what I came up with. As a reminder, y’all chose Ransom Drysdale + Sugar Daddy + Silverfox (= yes please)

I hope y’all enjoy!

Let me know what you think! (Like, reblog, reply, leave some words, a gif, nonsensical emojis)

Your nerves wouldn't stop. It was the tap of your fingers, the urge to chew your thumb, and the way you shifted in your seat just when you got settled. The flight was long enough to calm down and definitely not long enough to prepare yourself.

You scrolled through your phone, offline for the journey. You swiped through the photos saved in your gallery. Hugh had paid for the ticket. A gift for the holidays he said; his gift, he added, was you. It was cheesy but it made you smile. He always had a way of surprising you. One moment, he was stern and demanding, the next he was flirty and fun, and sometimes, he could be sappy. He was different than any man you’d met; well you hadn’t exactly met yet.

It had started on your Insta. You liked to post pictures of pretty things; flowers, birds, critters, and the odd monument. Sometimes, even, yourself. He messaged you about some photo of a vintage book. It was random and awkward. You weren’t quite sure how you managed to bring the quality to text but you did always find a way.

But it continued and you got to know him. He knew a lot about books; he said he worked in publishing. As a photography student, you weren’t as impressive. You assumed he was older; a few years, he said. Well, that wasn’t so bad. He also suggested you keep some prints; it could make for a good coffee table book. You liked hat he humoured you but you were like any other arts major; you were waiting for your green apron.

As they announced the landing over the speaker, you buckled in. You played with the locked buckle. You had lied to your mother. You told her you were staying on campus for the winter break. What would do if she knew if you were meeting a stranger? Huh, you were meeting a stranger and you had kept it all a secret. Your romcom had just become a horror in your mind.

Well, you had the app on the phone. The one that would send your location if you didn’t log in within the next eight hours. But it could be too late by then. Shit, this was stupid. So stupid. You could hide and tell him you missed your flight. Well, fuck, you’d texted him just before boarding.

As the plane descended you went through every worst case scenario; catfish, liar, murderer… Hugh was hot as fuck and you had to admit, a rich guy with eyes like his, was way out of your league. You bit your lip as you looked at the pic of him at the beach; was it the abs that made you so dumb or the smirk?

The large wheels rolled over the tarmac as the pilot steered past the other planes and into position. You waited as disembarkment began and the attendants reminded passengers to remain seated until told otherwise. You felt the wine in your stomach swish. Hugh had paid for first class; you had enjoyed the complimentary drinks a little too much. The first had been for courage, the second for foolishness.

Finally, it was time to get up. Time to face your naivety. Why did these things seem like a good idea until the last minute? Rather, why did you think they were? This was like that blind date in your freshman year that turned out to be a prank by your roommates. Sophomore year saw you relocated.

What if the same was going through Hugh’s head? What if he was disappointed? It was easy to seem cooler than you were behind a screen. It wasn’t exactly like you broadcasted the fact that you spent all your time in the library or the fact that your study group was the majority of your socialization. Well, maybe you’d both be let down and you could laugh about it together.

You grabbed your carry-on and followed the rest of the passengers down the ramp and into the tunnel. You felt like you were in a movie or a dream. It was surreal. Had you really flown all this way to meet this online pal?

As you reached the escalators, you turned your phone off of airplane mode. There was a message waiting for you. ‘At the gate.’ It was all too real as you sent back an emoji and neared the belt to grab your bag. You extended the arm and rolled it behind you as you headed for the last barrier. You were waved through customs and met another set of escalators. You bounced your leg as you descended.

You got to the bottom and walked around as you searched those waiting around the gate. Blonde hair, you couldn’t miss it. Blue eyes, tall, broad shoulders… he was the type to stand out in the crowd.

“Hey,” you felt a large hand on your back and another on the handle of your bag. “Right here.”

The deep voice was the same from your phone calls. You smiled and looked over as he took your bag entirely and wrapped his arm around you.

“I can’t believe you’re finally here.” You turned to him and his hand rested on your hip as he faced you.

The air went out of you and your lips parted. You blinked and sputtered. “H- Hi.”

“You okay? How was the flight?” He asked.

You were in shock. Your entire body jittered and your breath was trapped in your chest. It was Hugh but he was about twenty years older than his photos. Most of his hair was silver, with only a few strands of blonde, and though he hadn’t aged poorly, the difference was stark. Handsome as he still was, he had lied.

“It was… fine.” You forced out. “I…” You shook your head and pouted as your thoughts raced, “Hugh, you’re… older than I expected.”

“Call me Ransom. Everybody does.” He leaned it, “Why don’t we talk about this in the car?”

You looked around. You couldn’t really just turn around and go home, could you? You lowered your chin and sucked in your lip as you thought. What else had he lied about?

“Sure,” you said thinly. “I…”

“Babe, it’s me,” he coaxed, “I’m exactly who I said I was. And you, you’re even more gorgeous in person.”

You glanced at him and nodded. You hooked your shoulder bag over your arm and he grabbed your hand as he pulled you with him. The wheels of your suitcase rolled loudly behind him as the buzz of the crowd drowned out your panicked mind. You let him guide you, in disbelief. You didn’t know what else to do.

You were outside as the haze cleared. You approached a car, sleek and sporty, though you were never good with types. Hugh, or Ransom, opened the trunk and dropped your bag inside. He went to the driver’s side and opened the door as you stared across at him. You mirrored him and lowered yourself into the passenger’s seat. The doors closed almost in unison and you stared through the windshield at the unfamiliar parking lot.

He cleared his throat and turned the engine. You snapped your belt into place as he shifted into gear. You flinched and crossed your arms. You peeked at him in the rearview and his hand crawled onto your thigh. His eyes met yours in the mirror and he smirked. You were paralysed as he steered with one hand and his fingers tapped against your jeans.

“Merry Christmas, babe,” he said, “Or… happy holidays. Whatever’s politically correct.”

He laughed and you only managed to choke on your spit. You felt like you should be mad but did you have any right to be? He hadn’t exactly catfished you. Not completely. And he had paid for your ticket and from what you could tell, he was just as rich as he claimed. Yet, that wasn’t exactly why you’d come. Sure, it was all just in good fun, you didn’t expect a whirlwind romance, but it was still jarring.

“Why don’t you just relax?” he purred, “I know it wasn’t too long a flight but flying always takes it outta me. And you’ll need your energy. I have lots of surprises in store for you.”

You nodded and leaned against the door. You hugged yourself and lifted your leg over the other and Ransom’s hand slipped away. He seemed unbothered as he sat back in his seat and turned his attention to the road.

The radio flicked on and filled the tense silence. You clung to the unknown lyrics to keep from drowning in fear.

🎁

Despite your doubts, you couldn’t help but be astounded by Ransom’s house. Almost four years in a dormitory and the Holiday Inn was like a palace to you, but his place was even more than that. A modern façade with a blanket of store across the sprawling yards which seemed to have been perfectly laid to match the straight lines of the structure.

You stayed in the car as Ransom climbed out and took your bag from the trunk. You jumped in your seat as he tapped on the window with his knuckle. You looked over at him and undid your belt. You got out, your bag dangling from your wrist, and he touched the small of your back again as he led you forward.

“We’ll have dinner and then you can open your gifts,” he said, “That’s when the fun will start.”

“Mmhmm,” you hummed as he unlocked the door with a code and ushered you in.

You watched him hang his jacket and reluctantly unzipped your own. You put your bag down but kept a hold of your phone.

“You’re nervous,” he intoned.

“Why did you send me those pics and not something more recent? You lied.” You said.

His mouth slanted and he raised his brows. “They were me. Not much of a lie.”

“Enough of one, don’t you think?”

He chuckled. “I think you at least owe me a little leeway. Considering.”

“Considering what? You offered to pay. Don’t hold that over me.”

“I’m not but… you’re young, you’re impulsive. I mean, you came all the way here and now what? You’re going to tuck tail and run home? Spend the last of that bursary money so you can hide?”

“Don’t patronize me,” you huffed as you stepped out of your boots.

“I’m not.” He said firmly. “I’m giving you advice and it’s hard to see when you’re young but we both know you’re smarter than your age. We both know what this is and me being older isn’t going to affect that.” His eyes roved over you, “Is it?”

You lowered your lashes and thought. You wetted your lips and looked down at your phone. You unlocked it and opened the app. You keyed in your password and turned off the alert. You’d come this far and you were fairly certain he wouldn’t murder you. Besides, your mother would kill you once she found out you’d come all this way.

“It’s just gonna take me a bit to get used to it,” you tucked your phone away, “But promise me, that’s it. The only lie.”

“Promise,” he said gently, “Now, dinner should be here soon so why don’t you get changed.”

“Changed?” You snorted, “What--”

“Up the stairs, the room at the end of the hall, there’s a red box on the bed. It should fit. If it doesn’t, I’m sure it’ll still look great on you.”

You smiled as your cheeks burned. He was older but he still had charm and had aged into his looks and not out of them.

“Alright,” you said, “I… what’s for dinner?”

“Another surprise,” he replied as he neared and leaned in, “I’m more excited about dessert.” His breath tickled your cheek, his lips too, and you shivered. “Now go, we’ve both waited long enough for this.”

You drew away and turned to head up the stairs. He tapped your ass and you squeaked. You looked back over his shoulder and he winked. “Can’t help myself,” he raised his hands, “But I’ll try.”

You continued up the stairs and tried not to gape at what had to be expensive art. The furniture was no less extravagant and as you entered the room at the end of the hall, you closed the door and pulled out your phone. You typed in Ransom instead of Hugh Drysdale and pages of results popped up. Editor, Publisher, and Owner of Blood Like Wine Publishing. Jesus Christ, were you really that daft?

Well, he was famous enough to reassure you he wasn’t going to kill you. You tossed your phone on the bed beside the box and carefully untied the black ribbon around it. You shimmied the lid off and revealed the red velvet. You lifted it up, a short little piece trimmed with white fur. It was the most ridiculous thing you’d ever seen but scandalous nevertheless.

You stripped as your nerves only got worse. You slipped into the dress, it was tight around your chest and the short skirt had a slit along the thigh. You wanted to laugh at yourself. There was a pair of heels at the foot of the bed and you sat to slip on the stilettos. You stood and wobbled. You felt so dumb but a glance in the mirrored door of the closet gave you pause. Not bad.

You slowly made your way down the stairs. You held tight to the railing and as you came to the bottom, you looked around at the airy halls. You wandered into the next room and back to the kitchen. You stopped in the doorway as Ransom looked up from the counter. He carefully plated the food from the containers surrounded by paper bags. Expensive, boujie take out.

“The other way,” he smiled, “Past the stairs. I’ll be in shortly.”

“Oh, okay,” you spun and caught yourself on the wall.

You found your way to the room across the hall. There was an artificial fireplace in the wall burning and a low table with two cushions planted deliberately on the floor. There was a bucket with ice and champagne in it and two glasses waiting. You crossed to it and touched the petals of the stemmed roses in the tall crystal vase.

You turned as you heard footsteps. Ransom entered with two plates. He passed you and set them down on the low table. He spun back to you and took in every inch of you. “Wow, you look… great.”

“Thank you,” you shied away and he caught your hands. He pulled you close as the candlelight gleamed along his silver hair.

“Come here,” his hand grazed your arm and he caught your chin, “Amazing.”

He brushed his lips against yours and pressed them more firmly. You let him as you heart hammered and he pulled away as he nibbled your bottom lip.

“Let’s eat,” he breathed. “Before it gets cold.”

You followed him to the table and sat on the cushion. It was difficult as your skirt rode up and you bent your legs beside you awkwardly as Ransom popped the cork. He poured the wine and you sipped at the foam. You could still feel the glow of the grigio you’d downed on the plane.

“So, did you bring your camera? Tomorrow we might go out and you can get some photos. It’s beautiful in the winter. Cold but makes warming up all the better.”

“Yeah…” You took a bite of the salad. “So, why didn’t you tell me who you were? If your age doesn’t matter, then--”

“You didn’t ask me for money. Not even when I mentioned it. Most women, I tell them who I am, they google me, and they do a poor job of tiptoeing around my checkbook.” He shrugged. “And I like you. I wanted to get to know you without everything else.”

“Get to know me?” You scoffed. “That’s what you call it?”

“My intentions were innocent. At first. I thought your pictures might make a good book and then I found one of you. Business isn’t everything.”

“Oh,” you fluttered your lashes, “It’s not?”

His hand snaked over to your thigh and he squeezed. He played with the fur along your skirt.

“I have enough money.” He said, “What I want isn’t so simple.”

🎁

You finished dinner and washed it down with the champagne as Ransom cleared the plates. As came back, you sat on your knees and watched him cross the room. There was a table stacked with presents in the corner. You only just noticed it as he looked it over and picked out one wrapped in gold paper.

He neared and held it out to you. You took it and ran your finger over the edge. “Your gift is in my bag,” you tried to stand and he waved you off.

“Later,” he said, “Open it.”

You slid your finger under a fold and tore. You slowly unwrapped the box; black and shiny. You crumpled the paper and dropped it on the table. You wiggled the lid off a revealed a pair of black furry cuffs. You giggled.

“Thanks,” you looked up at him.

“Stand up,” he said.

“W-Why?” You tilted your head.

“You gotta try them on,” he grinned, “Come on. Just a little bit of fun.”

“I don’t know, I never--”

“I know you didn’t come here just for steak so come on, get up.” He demanded, “And turn around.”

You bit down as you stared up at him. You wanted to laugh but the lines in his forehead warned you he was serious. He bent and took the cuffs from you and set the box aside. You stood, numb and shaky. You didn’t believe it. He wasn’t going to--

He spun you around and swept your arms behind you. You tried to pull away as he caught your left wrist in a cuff and quickly hooked the other. They closed tight around your wrists and he tugged on the link as if to test them.

You stared at the artificial flames licking at the glass. He cupped your ass and dragged his hands around to grip your hips.

“They look nice,” he purred, “Oh, baby.”

He bent and nuzzled your neck as he brought his arms around you and kneaded your tits. He pushed them up as he nibbled at your skin.

“These… are perfect,” he kissed you and teased your flesh with his teeth. “Fuck.”

He pulled down the top of your dress and bared your chest. You wriggled and he hugged your waist he kept you close.

“What are you doing, baby? Where are you going to go?” He tweaked your nipple, “Dressed like a little slut.”

“Hey,” you gasped and he retracted his hand to smack your ass.

He hushed you as his fingers crept down your thigh and he rolled up your skirt an inch at a time. “What are these?” He snapped your panties, “You don’t need those.” He pulled them below your ass and they fell to your ankles. “Let me show you what an old man does better than any kid.”

He reached around you and tickled your pelvis. He raised his head and inhaled the scent of your scalp as his hot breath glossed over your head.

“Don’t be shy now… or would you feel better with a camera?” He taunted. “Hmmm?”

“Hu--Ransom,” you uttered.

“Come on,” he forced his hand between your legs and flicked between your folds. “What did you think this was? How long did you think I’d wait?”

“No, but--” You gasped as he toyed with your clit, “Ransom.”

“Say it again,” he swirled his fingers.

You gulped and moaned as he rubbed harder. Your legs quaked around his hand as he slid his fingers further back. You felt your arousal slicken as he spread it over your cunt and poked around your entrance. He slid a finger inside of you as he wiggled his crotch against your hands.

“Is this what you came for? Or did you want all of me?” He pushed another finger in. “You want me inside you, baby? Stretching you?”

You groaned as he curled his fingers and pressed the hell of his hand to your clit. He rocked his hand and cried out. Your legs cramped as your feet curled in the high stilettos.

“It doesn’t really matter what you came for,” he pushed on your shoulder until you bent forward. He caught the middle of the cuffs and held you like that. “I’m gonna get what I want.”

You closed your eyes and whined as he pulled his fingers out of you. You quivered and he spanked you before he withdrew his hand entirely. You felt him fumbling behind you as you shook your head. As you had been since you met him, you were off-balance. You couldn’t decide if what he wanted was what you wanted too.

You felt a prod along your ass. He brushed his tip down your cheek and poked between your legs. He wetted himself on your folds and pushed along your entrance. Slowly, he slid into you, grunting as he sank past his tip. Deeper and deeper until you threw your head up and moaned. He filled you completely; painfully and delightfully.

“Yeah, you want me.” He hissed as he thrust and jerked your body. “You want to be mine, don’t you?”

You hummed as he moved against you, your shoulders straining as he tugged on the cuffs.

“Say it. Say you want to be mine.”

“Ah,” you moaned, “I want-- to-- I-- I’m yours.”

“You’re mine, baby,” he snarled, “All mine. Aren’t you?”

“Y-y-yes,” your eyes rolled back as he sped up.

He rammed into you so hard your legs buckled. He growled and followed you down. He bent you over the table as swept the bucket and vase out of the way. He got to his knees as he pinned you over the top and crushed your hips against the edge. Your cheek was hot against the cool table as he jolted you.

“Mine,” he grunted, “Baby, all mine…”

He rutted into you as his voice mingled with yours. You whimpered as your legs tingled and your core bloomed. You let out a feral whine as you came, convulsing beneath him as he gripped the table above your shoulder.

“You want me.” He rasped, “You want me to cum in you.”

“I-I-I…” You twisted your hands as you struggled to think; struggled to do more than murmur wildly.

“Fuck.” He swore and you felt him burst.

He slowed as he slapped the table and when he stilled, he held himself over you and his breath sent a shudder through you. He sat back on his knees and slid out of you. His cum spilled down your thigh and you slumped down against him. He pinched the velvet bunched around our waist.

“You got more gifts to open, baby,” he slapped your ass as he stood, “You think you can keep up with an old man like me?”

#dark!ransom drysdale #ransom drysdale #dark ransom drysdale #knives out #ransom drysdale x reader #fic #one shot #request #merry chris-mas #seasonal #holiday fic

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angryschnauzer · 3 years

Text

Just What I Need

Summary; Working in a coffee shop you meet all sorts of people, but one customer in particular is always friendly, a local Detective from the nearby precinct. When one night he orders through a delivery service rather than in store, you get more than a tip when you make the delivery.

Fandom; Nomis (Night Hunter) Movie, Henry Cavill

Pairing: Detective Walter Marshall x Female Reader (no race or size specified)

Trope: Coffee Shop Meet Cute

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, Flirting, Masturbation (male), Oral Sex (female recieving), unprotected sex, Vaginal Sex, Snowstorms.

I do not operate a tag list but instead please pop over and follow @angryschnauzerwrites and put that blog onto notifications, then you’ll get an alert every time i post a new story. My Masterlist got too long and tumblr ate it, so all my past stories can also be found on my AO3, link HERE

A/N: I am considering expanding this story, depending if people like it and want me to? Let me know! <3

Just What I Need

Running the steam through the coffee machine you wiped the nozzle and smiled, there were just fifteen minutes until closing and the coffee shop you worked at was all but abandoned. Just your manager in the back counting the cash takings, and you were getting ready to box up the remaining muffins and cookies for the homeless shelter volunteer to collect dead on closing time.

You didn’t mind working the late shift, in fact you preferred it over the early shift opening up at 7am. The 7am crowd were grumpy, rude and always in a rush. The 7pm customers were tired, quiet, and always thankful for whatever caffeinated delights you provided them with.

The bell over the door rang as it opened and you looked up over the cups that were stacked on top of the machine, smiling at you saw the weary familiar face coming towards you;

“Good Evening Detective” you smiled as the beast of a man stood at the counter. His face softened as he saw you, his shoulders dropping a little as he relaxed.

“Hey… Sorry I’m in so late… you’re still open, right?”

You glanced at the clock;

“Another ten minutes. What can i get you?”

You watched as he cast his gaze up to the handwritten chalkboard menu’s above the counter;

“You got any Chilli left?”

“Sure, a couple of pots in the fridge. Want me to warm it up?”

He paused for a moment, as if trying to process the most technical question through his tired mind;

“No… yes… urghhh…” he took a deep breath; “Yeah… if you wouldn’t mind. I’m so fuckin’ tired i think I’d burn my apartment down if i tried to use the stove”

“Sure thing” you said with a smile as you got to work.

You made small talk as you prepared his order, pulling out the sides and condiments that came with the Chilli meal;

“Hey, you want a free muffin?”

“I’m not really into sweet things this late at night… what flavours you got?”

“How about an Apple Cinnamon? It’ll last overnight and still be fresh enough for breakfast”

The Detective smiled and nodded, pulling his wallet out as you finished bagging his order and rang it through for him, paying before you handed the bag to him;

“Have a good evening Detective”

As he turned he smiled at you;

“Call me Walter”

Three days later and you were on the late shift again. Again it was quiet, just the soft sound of tyres driving through slushy snow outside the only noise since around 6pm as just a couple of customers nursed steaming mugs of coffee from their window seats. You saw the big silver truck pull up in the space outside the coffeeshop and smiled, there was only one customer that drove a truck that huge and if you were being honest with yourself you were developing quite a crush on the curly haired Detective.

The moment he walked through the door you were smiling at him;

“Detective” you greeted him happily

“Didn’t i say to call me Walter last time i was here?”

“I like Detective, has a nice authority ring to it” you said with a wink; “What can i get you tonight?”

He paused for a moment, and as you reached for a notepad to jot down his order you missed the slight eyebrow raise and smirk at what you’d said before he cleared his throat;

“What have you got that i can eat in my office without facing the wrath of my Lieutenant for making the department stink?” he said with a grin as he leaned on the counter.

“I got Mozzarella and Pesto Subs? Tuna Melt?”

“Tuna is a no. The case isn’t going well, no fish. Gimme two Mozzarella Subs, and the largest black coffee you do”

“Sure thing. I’ll put a fresh pot on and get those sub’s on the press”

As you started to prepare his order his phone rang, and you couldn’t help but to listen in;

“... i’ll be like five minutes, i ain’t eaten all day… yeah ok… i’ll grab a box…”

He hung up and nodded to the cakes;

“Can i get a dozen muffins to go too? Got some grunts that are jealous that i got to escape the paperwork…”

“Sure thing”

Loading a box you picked what you knew were the best flavours and the freshest bakes;

“You know, we’re on Uber Eats. As much as its nice to see a friendly face, we can deliver to the Precinct”

“I… I have no idea what that is…”

“Its a food delivery app. Here, give me your phone…”

He unlocked it and set it down and rested his elbows on the counter as he watched;

“You go to the app store and just download it. Put in your location and it’ll bring up nearby eateries and you can search for us. It has all the standard menu on. Save your card details or link it to paypal, and its super easy, it even keeps you updated when the order is being prepared or its out for delivery”

He smiled as you pushed the phone back to him, locking the screen and pushing it back into his tight jeans;

“That’s all well and good, but then i wouldn’t get a chance to see my favourite coffee shop girl now, would i?”

You leaned forward and grinned, keeping your voice low;

“Order between 6.45 and 7pm and i snag the deliveries and do them on my way home”

Walter pushed the key into the lock, opening the door to his apartment and groaning as his body ached from tiredness. He should be elated, they caught the killer, the evidence was logged and couldn’t be disputed… and yet he was tired to his core. He’d been at his desk for longer than he’d been home, and when the Lieutenant had finally ordered him to go him a little after 5pm, it had still taken him the better part of an hour to finish up and leave the building.

Shutting the door behind him he felt his stomach rumble. He didn’t even need to look in the fridge to know it was completely empty, devoid of anything even vaguely edible. Checking his phone he saw that it was a little after 6.30pm and a thought fired across his mind, a smile forming. Fifteen minutes later he’d added far more to his online basket than he ever would have done in store, but for the first time he was able to see exactly what the creations were whereas in the store it was just a big pile of weird looking cakes and bakes. By 6.50pm he’d entered his card details and completed the order, the little update screen stating delivery would be by 7.30pm, just enough time to grab a shower, after all if it was you that would deliver, he should probably shower for the first time in 72 hours having rushed out of the apartment three mornings in a row due to new leads in the case.

The shower was far too enjoyable to rush, and after he’d washed his hair he started on his body, soaping over his chest and stomach before he paid extra attention to his dick. The anticipation of just the possibility of seeing you had him hard in seconds, and resting his head back against the tiled wall he quickly worked his hand over himself. He got lost in the moment, his mind taking him to places it shouldn’t, imagining his hand was yours, thinking about that time he saw you wearing over the over the knee knit socks and a skirt, how your ass was the perfect roundness, how your lips would look stretched around his dick… he came with a groan, thick white ropes falling to the shower floor as every ounce of stress left his body, his body shuddering when he was finally spent.

He was halfway through drying himself when he heard a knock at the door to his apartment, he eyes going wide when he saw it was 7.20pm;

“Fuck!”

He’d gotten carried away in the shower, and now he had to quickly rush to wrap a towel around his waist as a second knock came just as he reached the door, taking a deep breath before opening it and seeing you standing on the doorstep shivering in your padded coat, holding two takeout bags;

“Hey! Come in, come in, Jeez its freezing out there…”

Stepping into the apartment you couldn’t help but to look him up and down, attempting to hide your reaction as you could clearly see the distinct outline of something rather large bulging against the fabric of the fluffy white towel;

“Hey D-d-detective… Y-y-yeah it’s d-d-dropping fast out t-t-there… radio s-s-said it was g-g-gonna be a wind chill of minus t-t-twenty nine by eight o’clock… what a n-n-night to have my b-b-bike, huh?” You carefully dropped the two bags onto his coffee table as you spoke.

“You cycled here? On that pedal bike that is always chained up outside the coffee shop?” he asked incredulously, immediately forgetting his current state of undress. Shutting the door he immediately wrapped his arms around you, pulling you to his chest; “You’re gonna stay here until you’re warmed up, i’m gonna make you a hot coffee and to warm you up from the inside too...”

“I ain’t gonna complain to that” you mumbled, your face pressed to his chest as you suddenly melted against him, warming your cheek against his firm muscles before turning your head to warm the other one and he let out a little gasp as your cold hands pressed against his sides.

“I also said for you to call me Walter…” he said quietly.

Pulling your head back you smiled at him;

“Thank you, Walter. You’re the best… though you’re the first delivery i’ve made where i’ve been greeted by someone in just a towel”

“Sorry, let me go put some clothes on…”

You tighten your grip around his waist;

“I wasn’t complaining…”

There was no poignant pause, no longing gazes, his lips met with yours and the kiss was fierce and hungry. He was pushing your coat down your arms and you reluctantly released your hold from his waist to let it drop to the floor, your sweater following soon after. Your lips met again and he was lifting you, wrapping your legs around his waist as his hand rested on your ass beneath your skirt as he walked you through the apartment before dropping you on his bed.

He was pulling your boots off your feet as you scrambled up the bed, your hands reaching for your thigh high socks when he suddenly caught your hands in his;

“Leave those on…”

You paused and grinned, before his lips met yours again and he was on top of you, his hands sliding up your skirt and bunching it around your waist as he pressed a trail of open mouthed kisses down the valley of your breasts and over your stomach, before briefly lifting his head enough to pull your panties down your legs and toss them aside.

As he lowered his mouth to your core his gaze was intense, vivid blue shining through the dim light of his bedroom, his tongue pushing through your soaked petals and parting them as his beard brushed against your skin, heightening all of the sensations. Wrapping his arms around your thighs he pulled you closer to his mouth, his tongue pushing into you and he started to fuck you with it whilst his bearded face tickled your clit. You were squealing and struggling to stay still, needing to anchor yourself on something as your hips bucked and your orgasm started to rapidly approach, your hands finding their way to his still wet hair and your fingers wrapping around the dark curls as he pressed a hand to your stomach to keep you still, growling at your taste on his tongue as he felt you shake as your orgasm took over.

When your body had finally stopped shaking Walter pressed a chaste kiss to the inside of each of your thighs before he sat back on his haunches, licking his lips where he could still taste you on them. Pushing yourself up onto your elbows you grinned at him, your gaze travelling down his thick chest to his stomach, and the trail of hair that led beneath the towel;

“You gonna show me what you’ve got under that towel, Detective?”

“You ready for what i’ve got under this towel darlin’?”

Pushing yourself up to sitting, your legs spread and bent either side of him, you hooked a finger into the towel and tugged, your eyes going wide when you saw his thick meaty cock standing hard and proud between his muscled thighs. Wrapping your hands around it you relished the feel of his silky skin as it moved over the hardness beneath, your mouth against his;

“I need you inside me”

“I… Fuck… this wasn’t planned… i haven’t got any protection…”

“I’m on birth control, I want to feel you bare…”

With a growl he surged forwards, capturing your lips with his own before he pushed you down onto the bed. Holding himself up on one hand he hooked your leg up over his hip, opening you like a winter blossom as he rubbed his dick through your soaked folds, dousing himself with your slick wetness. You whined at the teasing, the way his tip would brush against your hole only to move up to your clit;

“Walter, please… you promised to warm me up from the inside…”

He paused, a smirk on his face;

“You want me to get you a coffee? ‘Cos i can stop…”

“NO, i need your diiiiiiiiii….FUCK!” He’d pushed into you as you were mid sentence, the feeling of his meaty girth splitting your walls wide open overwhelming you and your eyes rolled back in their sockets; “OH MY GOD!”

“You like that Darlin? You feeling warmer now?”

“Please… please fuck me…”

He grinned and shifted his hips, grinding into you;

“Well, as you said please…”

You had been expecting him to pound you into the mattress, you had not been expecting for his technique to start off with sensual rolls of his hips, filling you tenderly and carefully whilst you got used to his size. It was almost overwhelming, completely surrounded as he caged you in with his massive arms, his chest pressed against your own as his hips worked utter magic. He pulled his legs wide apart, shifting to rest on your open hips and he got even deeper. Pressing kisses to your lips and neck he soon had you moaning and begging for release, every push and pull hitting just the right spots and you were almost embarrassingly wet from the arousal but it only added to the sensations.

You could feel yourself coming, the pleasure too much to hold back, and with a long low moan your body betrayed you and succumbed to the orgasm that had been building in the pit of your belly. Walter kept up the same speed of his thrusts but pushed a little harder, a little deeper with each one;

“Can feel you fluttering around me, you gonna cum for me? You look so fucking beautiful all fucked out and wanting, feel so fucking amazing…”

Just as your orgasm was at its peak he tensed and you could feel his cum flooding into you, the twitching of his dick as he filled you with his seed prolonging your high. When you had both finally finished you could feel his weight start to get heavier on top of you, before with a sudden and surprising act of nimble dexterity he rolled the pair of you over so you were laying atop of him, his softening dick slipping out and you felt the trickle of his seed flow out of you. With one massive hand he pulled the duvet across your bodies, and you snuggled up to his chest;

“That was the best tip ever” you giggled; “In fact definitely more than the tip”

At that moment you not only heard but felt his stomach growl, looking up and seeing him grin sheepishly as he spoke;

“I just want you to know this is not how i usually treat food deliveries… do you want something to eat? Or drink?”

Nodding you smiled;

“That'd be nice”

A while later you were cleaned up, Walter having given you one of his massive t-shirts to wear which came to the tops of your thighs. He’d grazed through half the contents of his order as you nibbled on a muffin, having eaten at the coffee shop during a very quiet last hour of your shift. You’d laughed and chatted as the pair of you had eaten on the comfort of Walters couch, before you’d suddenly stopped mid sentence;

“Shit, i left my bike in the lobby… will it be safe there until i go home?”

Walter smiled at you, his hand curling around your thigh;

“Have you heard that weather out there? I’d be surprised if you could even ride it home through three foot of snow…” he paused for a moment; “Stay the night…”

You went to object, decline politely but you caught yourself, why? Why shouldn’t you spend the night? Taking a deep breath you smiled;

“I’d love to”

_____________________________________________

Part 2 >>>

#walter marshall #walter marshall x reader #walter marshall x you #henry cavill #walter marshall smut #walter marshall fanfiction #walter marshall fanfic

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thefallenbibliophilequote · 3 years

Text

The Other Ending

You Tried To Change the Ending- Alternate Ending

Bucky x Reader

"I knew you, stepping on the last train, marked me like a bloodstain;

I knew you tried to change the ending, Peter losing Wendy"

Summary: You love him, but he made it clear he didn't want anything to do with you. Can a trip to the future give him a new perspective about the present?

Read the ACTUAL FIC first with the actual real ending, you can't read this without it!

Word count: 1,274

Warnings: angst, character death

A/N: I felt the need to write this one down, especially after Evermore came out. With how much you talked about this ending and how you feared it… I just had to write it. It was a little hard and I cried while writing it but I hope I did this other, much sadder ending some justice just as I did the first one. I just had to find out what would have happened if he didn't go back to her room.

A/N: I tagged all those who commented on the fic, and just a reminder that you do not have to read this, this is not a follow up, this is just a whatif I decided to post, the happy ending is the real ending.

James wept the minute you disappeared in front of him, he decided to pick up flowers before going to visit you. It was almost the two year mark anyway.

"I saw you today," he talked to you. "Well, it wasn't you, not mine at least. My own past flashed before my eyes, I got to hug you again…"

He trailed off, remembering your touch, you were warm.

"He was there with her, he was stubborn but you'd know that, you know me." James thought back about how he was so distant with you, how he denied his love for you. He will always hate himself for that.

"I saw you again, you were alive and breathing and you smiled at me-" his eyes brimmed with tears now. "I never thought I'd get to see you, to feel you again."

"He was there and I realized that it was right after she told him. He tried to hide it, but I saw the way he looked at me after I hugged you. I wanted to keep you- to keep her with me, to ask her to stay, to give her the love she wanted. But she wasn't mine.

I did try though, I talked to him, I told him everything that happened to you. I told him about the foolish mistake I made. I gave him all the knowledge I wish I had known, if only I could've saved you. I hope he did. But I don't know if it was enough, I don't know if I did enough for him to save her, if I didn't then-" he tried to catch his breath, wiping the tears from his face. "If he didn't listen to me, if I didn't do enough to save her, then I let her go for nothing. I just let her die. I could have kept her here with me. Do you think she would've said yes? I know she is not you, but I couldn't bear to know that she died too.

I hope he listened to me, I hope she is okay. I'd do anything to bring you back, I hope he won't have to get to this point. I hope he did everything to keep her with him.

I couldn't save you, but I hope I was enough to save her."

You didn't say anything when you walked to the elevators with Bucky. He cleared his throat when the door closed behind you.

"So," he started a conversation with you to your surprise. "What are you doing this weekend?"

"Oh, I'll be out on a solo mission, so nothing much"

His face turned pale when he looked at you- head forward as you tightened your ponytail before exiting the elevator to your floor.

Without a goodbye.

It was a different timeline, right?

He went back to his room, sitting down on the bed, forgoing showering he took off his armor and laid his arms on his thighs, head falling down.

He knew what was going to happen before he even felt the sting behind his eyes, he knew his look would match the look of his future self.

He was scared as hell, more scared than he'd been his entire life. He couldn't help the frustrated breakdown, torn by the knowledge.

Knowledge could be such a horrible burden to have, but he didn't know, not really. It was a different timeline, this could be just another mission.

He was used to sleepless nights, so this one wasn't hard. It was different than the rest where he pondered about himself and all the horrible things he had done, now it was for another- now it was for her.

If he went to her and welcomed her in, would it end up being another addition to his hurt and pain? Would he break her as well? He didn't need that guilt. He didn't need her.

It was a different timeline.

It was a few days later when he made his coffee in the kitchen. He watched as you hugged your friends, they wished you good luck and you wished them goodbye. He didn't get a goodbye.

Two days later, it was radio silence from you and so he was on the quinjet heading straight to where you should be. He had to go hide from everyone, trying to suppress the panic in his chest that took every bit of oxygen he tried to breathe in. He remembered the look on James' face.

Soon enough the quinjet landed and they got out to see the building in ruins.

Bucky moved his hands through his now short hair.

He decided to pick flowers, he decided to go visit your grave a few days early. It was almost the two year mark.

He sat there in the graveyard wondering where you could be now. He talked to Strange a hundred times, both to see if he can bring you back, and to try to calm the guilt in his mind.

Different timeline, different ending.

He wondered if he could've changed this awful ending of your life, instead to give you an ending with him, where the two of you would be older with gold rings on your fingers just relaxing at your house out in the country.

But he pushed you to the edge and you, you were too polite to leave him and his heart behind you, so you kept him in your heart.

Did he freeze you over?

He never got to say goodbye.

He tried to tell himself that he couldn't have known, but it was two years ago and he couldn't even forget the look on James' face when he saw you, so full of love- he wished he could see you again. He couldn't shake what he saw in that old collapsing building. Blood covered his hands as he searched for a pulse. It took both Steve and Tony to pull him away from you, he threatened Wanda from using her powers on him, he didn't even care when he saw she had tears too.

All he saw was you. From the moment the quinjet touched the ground, he ran inside, gun ready as he searched for something he didn't want to see, but he saw it anyway. Between the ruins of the building, there you lay with your eyes closed. He dropped his gun and ran to you, screaming your name, trying to coax you out of your endless sleep. He saw the blood on your stomach through your suit, he didn't care when he clung to you, taking your wrist, and then the side of your neck, but he didn't find anything to calm his racing heart. He couldn't find your beating heart. He couldn't find any shred of life in your now cold body. You were too cold, unaware of the tears and the heartbreaking sobs that Bucky let out all in the open. He didn't even notice the others behind him. He mumbled to you endless apologies, countless wishes for you to come back to him, thousands of love confessions.

But words like that mean so little when they are a little too late.

He stood now, two years later, next to your grave, staring at the tombstone with your name on it. He put your favourite flowers down and leaned against the cold stone as he sat on the ground.

It was getting colder and colder now as the sun started to set in the distance. But he wouldn't leave you. He won't leave you.

"I loved you too, Y/N. I still love you. I always will love you." He closed his eyes.

Tags:

@lehuka123 @americas-ass-assins @ayybtch @spideyxstarks @oogabooga-ooo @gearhead66 @roserose26 @naomiiiiiiiiiii04 @onceupona-happilyeverafter-love @chase-your-dreams-away @delicatetimetravelarcade @princess-and-the-super-soldier @callmeluna @bucky-the-thigh-slayer @je-suis-prest-rachel @distinguishedgardenroadbonk @justagirlinafandomworld

#you tried to change the ending #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #my writing #angst #bucky barnes #marvel #bucky barnes fic

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supercalvin · 3 years

Note

Hello, may I request a Merthur ficlet where they’re teens during war ish times and they dance to O Children I just know you’re a potter head and thus there is no way you don’t know which scene I’m referring to �� (Also I’m actually frequently on your page and we’ve interracted and I’m so fun and quirky that I decided to go anon for this one just to spice things up hoho) BONUS POINTS for soft cheek touching and sweet first kissing but whatever yk not that important 👉🏼👈🏼

This is a hilariously late reply to this prompt. Thank god tumblr doesn’t put dates on asks, because I’d be too embarrassed to post this ficlet. Anyways. I had to look up this scene lol, but it was very cute and I loved this idea. Soft cheeks kisses here we goooooooo.

ficlets

---

The radio on Merlin’s shoulder crackled, and he quickly turned it down. The forest was quiet, and Merlin’s magic hadn’t detected anything besides animals in a mile radius, but that didn’t mean he was going to let a radio give away his position. He crouched down and waited for a minute, listening to the sounds of the forest around him. The pack of supplies dug into his shoulder, but with only a mile left to go, he knew he had better keep it on his back and feel the relief later, rather than try to get it back on his sore back.

With another quick spell to ensure that no one was around, Merlin continued on his route. His boots crunched in the autumn leaves and the air was crisp. Merlin could feel the magic in the forest like electricity before a storm.

There was limited access to electricity in the forest, it was mostly used for lights and any emergency medical equipment that Gaius needed. Otherwise everyone endured without it and magic was used when it wasn’t being used to defend the camp. Before the war, the thought of living without constant electricity seemed unreal, but after three years of living in the forest and running supplies between encampments, it was hard for Merlin to remember what life was like before.

When Merlin pictured the end of the war, the only luxuries he longed for was a warm bed and a large bath. Mostly he wished for his people to be free once again.

When Merlin entered the edge of the camp, he felt the wards shimmer around his form. Although invisible to most people, Merlin could always see the magic, it glimmered in the light like dust motes in a sunbeam. As soon as he passed through the wards he heard the commotion. His hackles raised and instinctually looked around for danger, before he realized that the sound wasn’t screams of fear but rather the raucous sounds of celebration.

The supplies tent was at the back of the encampment, where it could best be protected. Merlin wound his way around the tents until he found the large green tent. When he stepped inside, he was greeted by a young Druid woman, Ferridel.

“What’s happened?”

“Oh Merlin, you’ve returned. The battalion came back with news of victory while you were gone. We’ve taken the valley.”

Merlin nodded, his heart racing in his chest. Too many questions to ask, he was left dumb.

Merlin dropped off the supplies, but he was too anxious to stay and speak with Ferridel. He rushed to the center of camp, where a large bonfire was blazing and soldiers were gathered with tankards in hand. Their coats and rifles were strewn about the benches around the bonfire. Some soldiers raised their hands in greeting, but Merlin was looking for a familiar face.

“Looking for someone?”

Merlin whipped around to see exactly who he was looking for.

“Arthur,” Merlin said, his breath leaving him in a whisper.

Arthur smiled, looking far too pleased with himself as he cocked his head to one side. “You look awful, Merlin. What have you been doing? Rolling in the dirt while we fight this war?”

“You’re an ass,” Merlin said, but his harsh words were soon softened as he engulfed Arthur in a tight embrace. Arthur’s arms wrapped around him and he could feel Arthur shake a little. Despite his bravado, Arthur wasn’t a fool. Every time he stepped onto that battle field, it could be the end. Merlin knew that when Arthur left last month, it could have been his last time seeing his best friend’s smile.

Arthur pulled back and gripped Merlin’s shoulder, “Now you look like a man who could use a nice glass of scotch.”

“You have scotch?” Merlin said.

Arthur tilted his head towards the residential tents. “Come on,” He tugged on Merlin’s jacket.

Before Merlin knew it, Arthur had gotten Merlin a warm basin of water and a large pile of food. As Captain of the battalion, Arthur was granted some privileges, and usually Merlin would tell Arthur he was a spoiled prince for it, but now the warm water felt nice and the Merlin was starving. When he was travelling between encampments Merlin usually only ate jerky and whatever bread hadn’t gone stale.

As Merlin ate, Arthur told him about the battle. He was brief, very limited in his details. Merlin was grateful. He hated hearing about battle plans but he also knew that for every positive note Arthur said about the battle, there was a price they had paid. Merlin knew that as the men celebrated their victory, they also mourned their fallen brethren.

“So where is this infamous scotch?”

Arthur smiled, crooked and sly. He opened up a trunk and pulled aside clothes that cushioned a large bottle of amber liquid. Merlin raised his brow. Alcohol was hard to come by nowadays. Merlin ran essential supplies between encampments, and alcohol was rarely on that list.

Arthur cut the wax seal with his pocket knife and poured a heavy serving for both of them.

“To victory,” Arthur raised his glass.

“To freedom,” Merlin said, and clanked his glass against Arthur’s.

The scotch was warm as it ran down his throat. He coughed, not used to the feeling anymore. Arthur laughed at him and pounded his back. They drank and told each other stories of friends and foes alike. They talked about before the war and they dreamed about afterwards. Soon enough, both of them were laughing in drunken delight. Perhaps on a different night the scotch would have made them somber. But not tonight, after an essential victory.

Music had started to play outside and Merlin could hear the shuffle of people dancing and drunkenly singing along to the music.

Arthur stood on unsteady feet, a warm smile on his face as he reached for Merlin.

“What are you doing?” Merlin laughed as Arthur hauled him to his feet.

“Dance with me, Merlin,” Arthur whined, pouting like a spoiled child.

“You don’t want to see me dance, Arthur. You know how clumsy I am.”

“That’s not true,” Arthur pouted. His hands had settled on Merlin’s waist. He was warm from the alcohol, and it burned Merlin to be this close to the sun. “You’re not clumsy when you do magic. Come on, do some magic for me.”

“You’re such a spoiled prat.” Merlin held his hands against Arthur’s chest, but did not push him away. Despite his words, Merlin was not one to deny Arthur anything, especially when he was inebriated. So he let his magic loose. Dozens of small lights filled the tent, bobbing in the air like fireflies.

“Beautiful,” Arthur said, but he hadn’t turned his head to look at the lights.

The song outside was slow, but the tune was uplifting. Arthur took Merlin’s hands off his chest, cradling one in his palm and the other he slid up so that it rested against Arthur’s shoulder. They danced, albeit horribly, but nonetheless they did dance. Merlin stumbled over his own feet and Arthur did not know how to keep a beat, but they laughed and that was more important than skill.

As the music dwindled, they heard cheers outside. Someone was speaking to the crowd by the bonfire. Then someone started playing a somber tune, the same they always played at the end of any victory or defeat. They lost men, no matter the outcome. Their mood had changed just as quickly as the songs had changed.

Merlin felt his throat close up. He reached up to touch Arthur’s face, cradling his jaw in his palm.

“Thank the gods,” Merlin said, the rest of his sentence stuck in his throat. The thought of losing Arthur was too overwhelming, any words to express it were lost to Merlin.

“I’m right here,” Arthur said, holding Merlin’s wrist, “I’ll always be here.”

Merlin shook his head, “You can’t promise that.”

“I’ll always come back to you.”

Merlin shook his head, feeling tears run down his cheek even as he closed his eyes against them. He was always an easy crier, and usually Arthur would make fun of him for it. But Arthur stayed silent this time.

“Oh, Merlin. I hate when you do this…” Arthur shook off Merlin’s hand and cradled Merlin’s face in his own hands, wiping the tears with his thumbs. “I fight this war for you… For your freedom. For your happiness. One day, I will never see you cry again.”

Before Merlin could answer, Arthur leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Merlin’s cheek and then pulled away and kissed the other, right at the edge of his lips.

Merlin gripped Arthur’s wrists, his eyes flickering between Arthur’s trying to read his expression. But he was so grimmly serious, as if Arthur was vowing that he would fight every enemy soldier himself just to protect Merlin.

“Live through this war...that’s what will make me happy.”

“I will,” Arthur vowed with a solemn nod.

Just a few inches of air separated them, but they felt like miles. Arthur looked Merlin in the eye, and then down, and before Merlin could register what was happening, Arthur was kissing him. Merlin gripped him tight, feeling Arthur’s hands tighten on his jaw.

Arthur pulled back, “Is this...? Are you alright with…?”

“And you say I talk too much,” Merlin said, and shut him up with a kiss.

***

Ficlets

#merthur #merthur fic #merthur fanfiction #merlin fic #ficlets

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wonderswritings · 3 years

Text

Fighting For... Shifting Sands pt. 1

Summary: We survived. Though we’re no longer together, separated by space, we survived the end of the human race. There were losses, but in the end, we survived. Six years is a long time. We’re no longer the same, hardened by our time in the unforgiving ground. We’ve managed to survive everything thrown at us so far, but this time, this time, this might be what breaks us. And we might not be able to come back from it.

Warnings: The 100 Themes so blood and gore I guess

Pairings: Bellamy Blake x Reader, Clarke Griffin x Twin!Fem!Reader, Bellamy Blake x Echo

I almost didn't post today. I haven't really worked on this since last week. I'm just not really feeling it but I was able to work on it today. I had to split this part into 2 parts so pt2 will be posted on Wednesday.

Fighting For… Masterlist

S5 Masterlist

Previous // Next

Updates every Monday!

Tags are Open!

Previously:

“I can stop this Kane. Let me stop this. Only the guilty fight in the arena.”

“We’re all guilty.”

“This has gone on long enough, hasn’t it? This fight between you and her. Wonkru isn’t really Wonkru when Dokworkru exists now is it?”

“This fight has a reason Marcus and you know it.”

“What if she didn’t do it? Did you ever think about that?”

“You know she did. There were witnesses. No one ever said it wasn’t her, and neither did she.”

“My daughter is dead because of her. Her hands killed my daughter. There was no justice, no fighting in the arena. My daughter died and you still chose her. You chose her and Abby chose her. I’m offering you the chance to live when she wants to see you dead. Remember that, when you’re fighting for your life.”

“We’re getting out of here.”

“Another queen.”

“Nyxlana.”

“It’s okay. She’s my sister.”

“How are you- Octavia said you weren’t in the bunker before the radio cut off. How are you here?”

“They came for me.”

“They’re my people too, YN.”

“No, no they’re not. They stopped being your people after you did what you did.”

“Our differences started because of you. You got power hungry, and it cost me everything. Everything! She was my skaifaya and you took her from me.”

“For whatever it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

“Too little too late, Blodreina.”

“Nyxlana doesn’t kneel to anyone.”

“Don’t you ever say her name again, natrona. Or I’ll kill you.”

“You can have her, and Kane. After all, they chose you, remember?”

“The valley is ours. Any attempt to get there will be met by overwhelming force. As long as you stay here, we won’t have a problem.”

“I trusted you. We trusted you.”

“This is your fault.”

“Blodreina. Nyxlana. What do we do now?”

“Now we go to war.”

“They don’t know we’re coming, so all three northern passes will be wide open. But the village will be fortified. Where’s the water source?”

Indra tilted her head to the side, making a face.

“Why? What are you thinking?”

“My question exactly.”

Octavia looked up, glaring at Miller who shrugged.

“I know my orders. I think we should listen to what Clarke has to say.”

“You can’t take the sea route.”

Octavia made a face, tilting her head to the side.

“Why? You said the sea is gone. Is it passable or not?”

Clarke nodded slightly, sighing.

“Yes, maybe. But you have to understand-”

Octavia moved towards the door, nodding slightly.

“Maybe’s good enough for me. Let’s move out.”

Bellamy moved in front of Octavia, shaking his head.

“O-”

Octavia glared up at Bellamy, shaking her head as he guards moved towards them, lifting their weapons, aiming for Bellamy.

“Stand down.”

They lower weapons as Bellamy looks down at Octavia, sighing softly.

“Please, O, just hear us out.”

Clarke stepped forward, looking at Octavia.

“Octavia, we’re all on the same team. No one wants to get to that valley more than me. It’s my home. But this way is too risky.”

Indra tilted her head to the side, looking over at Clarke.

“Risky how?”

Octavia huffed, glancing at Clarke as she waved towards the map laid out in front of her.

“Show me.”

Clarke walked forward, pointing to the map as she looked over the path they had marked.

“You chose the shortest route, which makes sense, but the dry seabed is hit by almost constant sandstorms.”

“We have the tents from the second down. Sand won’t be a problem.”

“It’s not just sand. Some of it crystallized in Praimfaya. I’m talking shards of glass like razor blades. Your tents will be torn to shreds and so will you.”

Kara stepped forward, glaring at Clarke and Bellamy, shaking her head.

“Blodreina is right. Besides, we can only carry rations for seven days. The sea route will take six. The next shortest path adds fifty miles. That’s two days if we’re lucky.”

“How do we know there won’t be sandstorms on the longer routes?”

Octavia shook her head, slamming her hands onto the table.

“Enough. We’re doing this. The hydrofarm is barely feeding us now, so if this is the last living valley on earth, then it should be ours.”

Bellamy took a small step forward, shaking his head.

“Diyoza thinks the same thing.”

“And so we fight.”

Octavia turned, nodding slightly.

“Someone find Nyxlana. Tell her the plan.”

Indra sighed, shaking her head as she looked over at Octavia.

“She won’t agree to this.”

Kara stepped forward, scoffing as she clenched her jaw.

“She hasn’t agreed to anything for four years.”

Clarke and Bellamy shared a look, Clarke shrugging slightly as Kara shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter what she thinks. She’s not Wonkru.”

Indra glared at Kara, moving to say something when Octavia looked up, glancing at Kara, shaking her head.

“No, she’s not. She’s Dokworkru, and she saved my life at the risk of her own. Now go find her and tell her the plan. The Dokworkru are now our allies. They are no longer the enemy.”

Octavia walked out of the tent, her guards following as Indra stopped at the door, turning back towards Bellamy and Clarke.

“Your sister needs you, Bellamy. I'm glad you’re here for her.”

She motioned towards her right, drawing their attention to the bags. “There are packs with the rations here by the door.”

Clarke stepped forward, turning from the bags to look at Indra.

“Indra, what happened between YN and Octavia?”

Indra looked over at Clarke, shaking her head.

“Six years is a long time. It- it wasn’t easy and things happen.”

Clarke shook her head, sighing softly.

“Indra please, what happened? They’re our family."

Indra shook her head, stepping back.

“It’s not my place to say.”

Indra turned, walking out of the room, Bellamy turning towards Clarke.

“Am I crazy, or were they gonna kill me for getting in her way?”

“Looked that way to me.”

Clarke sighed, shaking her head.

“What are we gonna do?”

“Raven and Murphy are in trouble, so I have to go with them.”

Clarke nodded as Bellamy grabbed the packs, pulling his on as he handed Clarke hers.

“Six day hike through sandstorm country with gladiator cults. What could go wrong?”

Clarke shrugged slightly as she looked down at her pack.

“What is it?”

Clarke shook her head, looking over at Bellamy.

“Indra had a point, YN won’t agree to this. I- she probably didn’t mean it in the way that I do, but YN won’t agree to this.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to talk YN out of it. Whatever happened between them, YN leads her own clan.”

“Nyxlana.”

Clarke nodded, slightly making a face.

“Shadow queen. YN has a say in what we do. I have to believe that if she knew the dangers of taking the pass, she wouldn’t take it.”

Bellamy nodded, looking over at Clarke.

“Well, let's go then.”

Clarke made a face, tilting her head to the side.

“What?”

“Lets go talk to YN.”

“YN.”

I turned, my guards moving to the side, smiling when I saw Clarke, my smile falling when I saw Bellamy walking behind her.

“Hey. What’s up?”

She looked around as they came to a stop in front of me, waving her hand around as everyone was getting ready to march.

“You agree with all of this? With Octavia’s plan to cross the seabed?”

I tensed, shaking my head.

“If it’s the only way to get to the valley, then we have to take it.”

Bellamy shook his head, looking over at me.

“It’s not the only way to the valley YN. It’s the quickest sure, but it’s not the safest.”

He stepped forward, his hand moving out towards me.

“Please.”

I took a step back, his face falling as Clarke huffed, shaking her head when I said nothing.

“Fine then tell me what happened between you two? Blodreina? Nyxlana? I don’t recognize you.”

She turned, waving her hand towards Bellamy.

“And Bellamy-”

I clenched my jaw, shaking my head. “It doesn’t matter.”

I looked over at her, sighing softly.

“What matters is that Wonkru and Dokworkru are marching. You can either march with us, or you can stay behind. Either way, we are marching.”

I walked past her, hearing my guards following me as I walked towards Octavia, stopping in front of her when she turned towards me.

“Are you ready?”

I nodded, biting the inside of my cheek as I looked down at her.

“We’re ready.”

She nodded, turning.

“Today we march to our new home, as one.”

I turned, moving to stand beside her, looking everyone over.

“Today Dokworkru and Wonkru work together. From this moment, we are no longer enemies, but allies. Working together towards one common goal, the valley.”

I tensed when Octavia grabbed my hand, shooting her a look as she lifted our arms, everyone yelling and cheering. I turned, looking back at the crowd, seeing the looks Clarke and Bellamy were making, Delani glaring at Octavia as she squeezed my hand.

“I don’t like this.”

I clenched my jaw, glancing up at Delani.

“Is this how it’s gonna be for the entire trip?”

Delani looked down at me, opening his mouth to say something when I cut him off.

“This passive aggressiveness in you, saying you don’t like my choices.”

Delani shook his head, huffing.

“That’s not it.”

“Then what is it, Del? Because it sounds like you don’t trust me.”

Delani moved so he was standing in front of me, causing me to huff as I came to a stop, looking up at him as the others passed us, my guards moving to surround us.

“I trust you, YN. After all this time, that should not even be a question.”

I sighed, looking up at him.

“Then what is it?”

“I’m worried.”

He shook his head when I went to say something, placing his hand over my mouth, shooting me a look.

“Octavia used to be your best friend, your sister, and then she hurt you. She took a part of you, and she became the enemy.”

He shook his head, huffing.

“And now you’re trusting her? She’s done nothing but hurt you since we brought you back to the bunker.”

I shook my head, looking up at Delani.

“I’m not trusting her. You’re right, she’s done everything to lose any ounce of trust I may have held for her. Which is why I’m not trusting her. And no matter how much it pains me, we need Wonkru’s help to get to the valley. Which means we need her help. I’m doing what's best for my people. They have always been my priority.”

“Nyxlana.”

Delani tensed as he turned, glaring as Kara came to a stop.

“Blodreina wishes to talk to you.”

I nodded, stepping forward, placing my hand on Delani’s arm, walking past him. Kara clenched her jaw as she turned, causing me to roll my eyes as I followed after her, hearing footsteps behind me. I turned my head to the side, seeing Delani following after, causing me to grin slightly as I shook my head.

“This is where we are.”

“We’re almost there.”

Octavia nodded, looking over at me.

“Yes.”

“It’s getting dark. We should make camp for the night.”

Octavia nodded, walking towards me.

“Then we’ll make camp.”

Kara scoffed, causing Octavia to turn towards her, tilting her head to the side.

“Is there a problem?”

Kara clenched her jaw, shaking her head as she glared at me.

“No Blodreina, there’s no problem.”

Bellamy and Clarke were sitting a ways away from the group, looking over at Octavia and YN as they sat around a campfire. They lifted their rations, Octavia’s voice carrying.

“We honor those who died-”

She turned towards YN, slightly nodding at her. YN turned, slightly raising her ration a little higher than she was holding it.

“So we might live.”

They both spoke at the same time, causing Bellamy to make a face.

“Omon gon oson.”

They watched as they broke their rations in half, passing the remaining piece off.

“All of me for all of us. It’s kind of beautiful.”

Bellamy made a face, looking over at Clarke.

“How so?”

“They lost four hundred people. That’s a third of everyone in that bunker. They had no idea if they’d ever get out. Yet look at them, strong, unified.”

She shook her head, sighing softly.

“Even though they have their differences, they’re strong. They’re unified in their people, and in their beliefs. I can see why my mom was terrified, but you gotta admit, it’s impressive.”

“So is surviving alone. How’d you do it?”

Clarke shook her head, looking over at Bellamy.

“Well, I wasn’t alone. I had Madi.”

She looked back over at YN, shaking her head as she handed Bellamy her ration.

“I’m tired, you can have the rest of my rations.”

Screaming filled the camp, causing everyone to move, grabbing their weapons.

“It’s the scouts!”

I pushed my way through the crowd, seeing Miller running towards us, holding Obika against him.

“Medic! We need help!”

I helped Miller lower Obika to the ground, reaching out and pushing his hair back out of his face, trying to calm him as he thrashed around, screaming. I looked up when I heard footsteps, seeing Octavia and Indra running towards us, a few of her guards following behind them.

“Are we under attack?”

Miller shook his head, looking down at Obika as I held him.

“I don’t know what’s wrong. Please, hurry! Someone help him!”

“Out of my way! I can help!”

Kara blocked Clarke, shaking her head.

“Octavia.”

I rolled my eyes, glancing up at Kara.

“Let her in.”

Clarke rushed forward when Kara moved, kneeling down on the other side of Obika, checking his pulse.

“He’s alive, but his heart’s racing.”

“What the hell happened out there?”

Miller shook his head, his chest heaving.

“We separated to cover more ground. Then I hear him screaming out that they’re everywhere. I get to him and there’s nothing. It’s just more screaming and-”

I helped Clarke lift Obika’s shirt, my eyes widening when I saw something move under his skin, leaning back.

“There’s something inside of him.”

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euphoriara · 4 years

Text

By Your Side

you turned up with casual clothing the next day. and the first time he saw you with normal clothing, he could only stare with his mouth agape, like a fish out of water. you look smaller with the oversized sweatshirt, hair styled naturally instead of the usual professional look you go for. you're also slightly shorter since you forego the boots you usually wear for a pair of comfortable sneakers. the only thought that ran through his head at the time was "find you a woman who can do both."

alternatively

you just want to get your job done, but it seems like jungkook is determined to get in your way (and steal a spot in your heart in the process).

pairing: jungkook x bodyguard!reader

genre: action, fluff, tiny pieces of angst sprinkled throughout, bodyguard!au

word count: 22k

warnings: swearing, violence, weapons, abduction, implied/reference to sleeping pills, politics. (it sounds like a lot but it's not too much, promise. they're mostly at the first half of the story)

a/n: ahahahaha hey, i deleted the first part and decided to re-upload it as one part bc posting the second part was giving me a headache so here it is as a one piece instead. apologies to the people who read it before, there was like 7, im sorry lol. hope you can find it again since the first part left at a cliffhanger im so sorry. i still suck at summary but like at this point who's surprised anymore. but here it is, the longest thing ive ever written probably. to the people reading, thank you for giving it a chance, i appreciate it a whole lot, have a good day!

the cold air causes jungkook to nuzzle deeper into his sweatshirt, pulling up the hood to maintain his body temperature. outside of the convenience store, the busy street has started to wind down, only a few stragglers walking home from a long day at work. he pulls up his mask to cover more of his face, gripping the bag of snacks tighter to his body before opening the door.

when he steps outside, he's too busy ruffling through his snacks to realize there's someone sitting at the plastic chair in front of the store, who quickly stood up when they saw him making his way out. it isn't until he feels the slightest press of cold metal against his back that he realizes something is definitely wrong.

"just pretend like nothing's going on, walk normally and i won't hurt you." the girl is just as tall as him, whispering the muffled threat right into his ear so nobody else can hear it. from outside perspective, it might look like just two friends catching up with each other, with the girl having an arm slung over his shoulder from behind while her other hand concealed a dagger behind his back.

he quickly schools his expression into a mask of calm, though his mind is racing with how to escape this situation. he follows her instructions when she subtly shoves a knee to his thigh, signaling him to walk with her. "if you want money, i can give it to you right now. don't hurt me, i promise i won't tell anyone."

the girl scoffs next to his ear, "be quiet, I'm not letting you go. just listen to me and you won't get hurt. i said that already."

jungkook tries to hide the tremble in his hand by holding the bags tighter, nodding in response because he's too scared to talk. he's worried if he does try to talk, a sob might escape.

the girl shifts so she's walking by his side, arm with the weapon now wrapped around his waist, playing into the illusion of a couple taking a walk together.

unfortunately for jungkook, they didn't encounter anyone on their walk. nobody that he can signify to ask for help.

she leads him into an alleyway, and that's when jungkook's legs start to shake as well, causing him to lag behind. fear starts to course through his veins faster, heart beating a mile a minute.

he sees the girl raises one of her perfect eyebrow, eyes impassively staring at him. the rest of her face is concealed with a mask, just like him and she wears a baseball hat to hide the rest of her hair. "for fuck sake, i told you already I'm not gonna hurt you. you don't have to worry about your pretty little face, alright?" her tone is annoyed, patience clearly running out and jungkook just nods, afraid he might set her off if he doesn't.

he will himself to walk normally again when he sees another person emerges from one of the dark corners of the alley. a male and he's holding a gun, he realizes right away. he can't help himself when he audibly gulps at the sight of the weapon, fear rooting him in his place, unable to move.

"don't worry, he's just a precaution so you won't try to run away. we're not stupid." the girl tries to reassure him but all he could think about is the gun that the male has shoved into his jacket pocket.

they walk by his side now, and with the assurance of a gun, the girl pulls back her knife and shoves it into her pants pocket. jungkook tries to will his mind into coming up with a plan, but he's too scared to try anything with a threat of a gun next to him.

he scans his surrounding area, but couldn't find any loophole for him to make his escape. they eventually make it into the other side of the road where a black SUV is waiting. she opens the door of the car and gestures with her head, "get in."

he hesitates in his steps, if he climbs inside, there might not be a chance to escape anymore.

"i said get in, I'm not asking again." he feels the press of a gun on his lower back and decides to listen. he climbs into the car where somebody is already waiting at the driver seat. another person is sitting next to him, possibly to prevent him from jumping out of the car.

the male from before hops in next to him, while the girl climbs into the passenger seat in front.

he takes the down time to memorize details, not that there's many, since everyone in the car, including him are wearing a mask to cover their face and a hat, and have their hood up. each person only reveals a sliver of their eyes, hair hidden away by the hood of their jackets, and hands covered with leather gloves. their whole person is covered by clothing, making sure no skin is exposed.

when the car starts pulling out of the side of the road, the person next to him dangles a black cloth in front of his face. "now jeon jungkook, we need to cover your eyes and tied up your hands to make sure you don't become a loose ends." he faces the girl next to him, her voice is deceptively sweet and jungkook can't tell if she's faking it or not. despite not being able to see her face, he knows she's smiling from the way her eyes crinkle and the revelation brought a shiver up his spine.

the driver chuckles, causing jungkook to whip his head to stare at them on the reflection of the mirror.

they made a brief eye contact when the person looks back, holding his gaze in curiosity before his vision becomes dark.

he feels the male next to him shift, taking the bag from his trembling hands and tying his wrists with a cloth. he gives it a few tugs and when he's satisfied, he moves back to rest against the seat. "don't worry 'bout your snacks, pretty boy. I'll keep them safe." his voice is deep, raspy, amusement clear as day.

he drawled out his words, a clear sign that he's relaxed. jungkook thinks it's unrelatable.

the whole ride was silent, except for the music playing from the radio. jungkook tries his best to listen to his surroundings in hopes of being able to find clues of where they're taking him. but alas, the sound of the music is loud enough to drown out any other noises. he tries to focus on the direction of the car, tracing it inside his mind from the starting point when he got into the car.

however, it seems like his captors knew this because jungkook can tell they've been driving aimlessly for the past 20 minutes or so. it's not until 10 minutes later jungkook hears the difference in the road they're driving. briefly, the car drove through gravels before smoothly going back to pavement. and then going back to driving through dirt road.

at this point, jungkook has lost any sense of direction and has no idea where he is and where they're taking him, so he slumps against the seat, trying to come up with something else. he doesn't know what they want with him.

well, he does have an inkling about what they want.

another 10 minutes later, and the car finally stop. he hears the door being opened and closed, feels the people next to him climb out of the vehicle. except, he stays rooted to his spot, not knowing what to do since nobody instructed him to get out.

then, a hand reaches out to him, causing him to flinch when he feels someone grabbing his arm. "chill, it's me, come on. get out." it's the guy from before, tugging him by his sweatshirt.

he feels the gravel beneath his shoes which turn into soft grass after a few steps. when he steps inside the building, the first thing he notices is the smell. smell of old, rotting wood and dust.

somebody yanks the black cloth off his head, revealing an old empty warehouse with a chair in the middle. that's where he'll be spending his time, he guesses.

he hears the crinkling of his bag from the side, looking to see the guy from before dumping his snacks into the table next to the window. "minhee, tie him to the chair. I'm just gonna take a look at his taste in snacks."

the girl who threatened him steps forward, shoving him in the direction of the chair. "sit here, pretty boy."

the driver from before brushes past his side before he got the chance to move, murmuring, "please don't worry. we're not gonna hurt you. i promise." oddly enough, jungkook believes her.

after the reassurance from someone he doesn't even know, he complies with the girl, that he now know as minhee. for the first time in the last hour, jungkook finally opens his mouth. "are you not worried about revealing your name like that?"

minhee raises her eyebrow and scoffs, husky voice laced with amusement, "if it's not safe then do you think he'd have said it?" she yanks the rope around his wrist harshly, "i told you, we're not stupid." she doesn't elaborate, not like jungkook was expecting her to.

"haeun, did you queue the message?" she turns to look at the girl who sat next to him, the one with the terrifyingly sweet voice. a cheery voice replies from somewhere in the warehouse, "yup! all set. he'll receive the message first thing in the morning!"

"and did you take care of any possible recording or evidence?" he sees the guy opening one of his chips, turning away from him to pull down his mask to pop a few into his mouth. his voice sounds clearer without the barrier of the mask.

the sweet one, haeun, scoffs, "what do you think of me, yoongi? an amateur?" he sees yoongi shrugs, "I'm just making sure. no need to be salty 'bout it."

jungkook is thoroughly confused, why are they using their name so freely like that? are they not worried he'll tell authority about them? though judging from what minhee said, they have reasons to not be worried. he wonders what that means.

a new voice pipes up from one of the doorways, the girl who drove the SUV. she's the one that hasn't had a name associated with her yet. "yoongi, don't forget to feed him and give him some water."

yoongi turns around, mask now back in place, and frowns. he sighs loudly before grabbing a container and a water bottle from a bag he didn't notice before. "I don't understand why I'm stuck with the babysitting duty."

"oh shut up, all you gotta do is feed the kid. it's not that hard of a job." minhee snarks from where she's sitting near the window, eyes glued at the phone in her hand.

"the kid's hands are tied, how's he gonna eat and drink?" yoongi ignores her, making his way in front of jungkook. "i told you, you feed him." driver says, clearly amused at the way yoongi grumbles and complains.

begrudgingly, yoongi opens the bottle and tilts it towards jungkook, telling him wordlessly to drink. obviously, jungkook hesitates. what if the drink is poisoned?

the driver answers his question without him having to voice it out loud, "it's not poisoned. we're just trying to keep you away from dehydration and starvation."

he looks up at yoongi, who has one dark eyebrow raised in question, before deciding to trust her again. seeing how they have kept their promise of not hurting him, he doesn't see why he can't accept the food and water.

yoongi makes him finish the whole bottle of water before feeding him pieces of kimbap. offhandedly, he thinks the kimbap is delicious. so much so that he's tempted to ask his captors where they got them from before resisting the urge to open his mouth and make a fool out of himself.

when he's done eating, yoongi goes back to the table with his snacks, once again facing away from jungkook to probably finish the rest of the chips he opened. the driver speaks up again from where she's standing, now perched next to the snacks table with her hip resting against the side. "don't worry too much, you'll be home in no time and we really do have no intention to hurt you. you're just…" she trails off and stares outside the window.

"a helping hand to get us what we need."

and then it clicked in jungkook's mind. he was right, these people wanted money and holding him hostage is a quick and surefire way of getting it. clearing his throat, he decides to brave himself and ask for confirmation himself. "what do you want from me?" he holds the stare of the girl, curious and amused eyes staring back at him.

it's minhee who answers his question, "it's not what we want from you. it's what we want from your father." she stands up from her seat and sends a cold glare his way.

"money."

---

"Good morning Governor Jeon! What a lovely day today, isn't it? What a shame your son isn't able to see the sun himself today! But, don't fret, we can surely change that.

Now, Governor Jeon, all we ask from you is your cooperation and we won't hurt your precious son. Cross our hearts! We know how much you love him, so please don't worry too much. You just have to listen and comply.

Our only demand is, you guess it! Money! We want $5,000,000 in cash, delivered at an address we'll send to you after confirmation that you had prepared the money. After you give us what we want, we'll send you a location where you can find your lovely boy. He's quite a charmer, isn't he? And his taste in snacks is pretty good, if I say so myself. Sour cream and onion potato chip is delicious.

I must remind you however, do not try to get any authority involved or we can not promise your son will return unharmed. Do not try to trick or fool us, Governor Jeon, we have eyes on you and a gun in the same room as your son.

We know you're fully capable of giving us what we want so no negotiations, I'm afraid. Once the money reaches the location, open the bag and show us that you're not fooling us and then leave the premises and do not return back. Do not send anyone either or you won't get your son's location.

Now, as I've made clear before, if you or anyone else for that matter, violates one of the rules I've set in this message, I'm afraid your son will have to pay for that Governor Jeon. We would hate for that to happen, wouldn't we?

Anyway, you have 24 hours, starting from the moment you close this message.

Say Governor Jeon, isn't it lucky that the people that got your son are kind people who won't hurt him? Well this time at least. You should up your security around him, don't you think? It was quite easy for our people to get to him. What if somebody else got him again, but they're not as nice as us? You and him would be in big trouble, huh? Consider this as a friendly reminder from friends to friends, yeah?

Lovely time talking to you Governor Jeon! Hopefully we'll see you soon! Here's to no one getting hurt! Wait for our information!

---

jungkook quickly fell asleep last night after finishing his kimbap. it's no brainer since by the time he got to the warehouse, it must have been along the time of 1 in the morning.

he woke up uncomfortable, back and neck complaining at the awkward angle he had to sleep in. there's a shuffling sound close to him and when he turns his head around, he sees yoongi, with new clothes but still covered from head to toe, walking towards him with another container of food.

wordlessly, he opens the box, revealing a stack of pancakes with a side of fruits and a bottle of orange juice. he muses that at least they give him good food and one that's appropriate with the time of day. silently, he starts eating the food offered to him, eyes occasionally scanning over the room. though there's really not much to see.

the warehouse is empty save from a few scattered chairs, and a table. he notices the window from last night had been covered this morning, no natural light coming through the gaps. the only source of lightning is the few lightbulbs scarcely hang around the room.

there's a few doors to his right, but he couldn't see what's beyond it. although he can faintly hear the sounds of keyboards clicking from one of the doors, so he guess that's their temporary workspace for now.

"what time is it right now?" he asks after finishing the last of his orange juice. "almost 10 in the morning. here's to hoping your father fulfill his end of the deal, huh?" there's an underlying threat laced around his playful remarks and jungkook can only sigh at the statement.

"hopefully, i have assignments to finish and essays to write." at this, yoongi laugh, low and deep. "you sound much more composed than last night."

that's true, jungkook is a lot calmer now, talking about this whole situation like it's a minor convenience. but it's because he trusts that these people genuinely won't hurt him or they would have done so by now. also because he knows one way or another, his father will somehow get him out of here.

yoongi seems like he's expecting an answer from him, so he truthfully tells him his reasons. despite not being able to see his lower face, jungkook can tell he's smirking after he finished relaying his thoughts. "yeah well, maybe you should worry. we can't promise we'll let you go unharmed if he doesn't comply."

that brought his thoughts to a screeching halt, doubts and fears starting to plague his mind again. "we did promise not to hurt you, but only if you and your father listen to our demands. so your second statement is still up in the air. there's no 'one way or another" jeon, there's only one way if you want to get out safely."

one statement and his facade of bravado crumbles. what if his father doesn't comply? what if he makes a mistakes? what will happen to him? what will they do?

before he can scares himself further, minhee calls out for yoongi from the other room.

"that's my cue, be patient, pretty boy. you'll be out of here soon." even in the haze of his anxiety, he can't help but frown at the nickname. "stop calling me that."

"whatever you say, pretty boy." he hears yoongi's footsteps fade, and sighs to himself again. he cuss himself for forgetting his phone at his coffee table last night, and tries to move his wrists to see if he can loosen the tie.

unfortunately for him, the knot is too strong. so strong that he thinks it might be the impossible knot. he scans the room for any sign of weapons, only to come up empty. which means two things. one, his captors have all the weapons. and two, he won't be able to defend himself even if he got loose.

he hears a slight commotion from one of the rooms on his right. a second later, yoongi emerges, walking slowly towards him with his hands inside his pockets. "guess your father cares after all." before jungkook gets the chance to ask him what he means, he feels his eyes getting heavy, mind hazy, unable to fight it when his senses become dull.

"sorry 'bout that." and then everything becomes dark once again.

---

jungkook wakes up to a hand gently tapping his cheeks and a mean cramp in his neck. he slowly blinks his eyes open to see a stranger in a uniform crouching in front of him. when the stranger sees that he's awake, he's quick to gesture other people to start working on his bind, loosening the tight ropes around his wrists and legs.

"Mr.Jeon? Can you hear me?" he blearily nods at the question, mind too hazy to start speaking just yet. he slowly looks around the room to see crowds of people searching the perimeter. he doesn't see any signs of his captors however, which probably meant that they got away after rendering him unconscious.

he's lead to a Lexus RX that's parked outside of the warehouse, but not before being bombarded with questions from what he assumed are the paramedics. he tells them that he's fine and that they hadn't hurt him. they run a quick check on him and seem to be satisfied by his answer, letting him climb into the familiar leather of the car.

he tells the driver to drive him to his apartment, head heavily resting against the cushion of the car, "but Mr.Jeon, your father wanted to see you."

"tell him I'll meet him when i can, right now i just want to go home and rest properly." he doesn't want to deal with his father just yet, not knowing how he's gonna react. would it be anger? concern? indifference? he tries not to think about it too much.

thankfully his driver listened, sensing the exhaustion rolling off his being, and drove him straight to his apartment without any more questions.

he slams the door and make sure to check that it's locked before going around his apartment to make sure it's safe. he double checks every window and room, a slight anxiety still lingering at the back of his mind. he makes his way towards the bathroom, planning on taking a shower to rid him of the heavy weight pulling his limbs down.

on his way to the bathroom, he sees his phone lights up from where it's perched on the coffee table. curious, he snatches the phone to check the message. it's from an unknown number.

"Hey! What did we tell you, we won't hurt you right? We kept our promise! Just messaging you to tell you that Yoongi's sorry about the orange juice. We needed you to be unaware of what we were doing while we were preparing for your retrieval. Oh, and also tell your father to not investigate further too. Or something unpleasant might work it's way to your building. We wouldn't want that, do we?

And don't even try to track this message, you won't find anything. I guarantee. I'm good at my job. Anyway, don't forget to close your windows and lock your doors, wouldn't want a repeat of last night huh? Alright have a good day now Jungkook!

-Haeun"

he doesn't realize he's trembling until the phone almost slips out of his grasp, the taunts only adding to the growing anxiety at the back of his mind. the fact that she's brave enough to send a message to his phone, with yoongi's and her name in it means she's confident that they can't and won't be tracked. imagining the sweet voiced girl brought another shiver up his spine. he doesn't know why but haeun terrifies him.

he decides to delete the message and try to forget about the event from the last 24 hours, making a beeline towards the bathroom where he hopefully can wash off the reminder of the exhausting night.

once he's refreshed from his shower, he flops onto his bed and stares at the ceiling on top of him. he tries to rearrange the chaotic thoughts inside his mind.

concerningly, he thinks, he's not necessarily afraid of his captors from last night. maybe it's from the way they repeatedly assure him that they're not gonna hurt him. or from the way they fed him actual food, delicious one at that, and water.

no, it's the thought that he's a pawn in this game that terrifies him. the fact that he's stuck in this game of politics, money and power all because his father is the governor. the thought of being taken by another group that won't be as merciful is scary. years have gone by with his father involved in the politic scene but his family had never been threatened before. should he start worrying now?

before he can overthink like he usually does, the phone in his hand ping with another message. it's his father, asking for him to meet tomorrow to talk. closing his eyes, he sighs, shooting a quick agreement before trying to fall asleep to the sound of rain that starts pouring outside.

---

the next day finds him sitting in front of his father, fidgeting hands placed on his lap. his father doesn't mention anything, doesn't ask about what had transpired that night. jungkook can't help but think that his father had changed.

"i will be assigning you a bodyguard from now on, to ensure your safety." so there won't be a repeat of last time. "she will be with you at all times, except for when you're at home. and even then she will be staying at the apartment in front of yours so you can easily ask for her assistance. you are not permitted to leave and go anywhere without her. understand?" i will not let you cost me my reputation and money again.

his voice is cold, authoritative, daring jungkook to disagree with him.

jungkook bows his head low, muttering, "i understand," without making eye contact with the man in front of him. one he's not sure he recognized anymore.

"call her in."

jungkook hears the door open, two people coming in to stand next to his father. he sees you facing him and looks away before you can catch him staring at you.

"her name is (y/n)." you bow your head in his direction, face carefully blank when you look up again. your hair is styled neatly, suits tailored to fit. "it's nice to meet you Mr.Jeon." he blinks at your voice, not expecting you to speak to him. "oh! uh, nice to meet you too."

his father claps once to bring the attention back to him, "alright, you're dismissed, you can leave now."

he quickly stands up, bowing at his father before making a quick exit. the room feels suffocating and cold. he hears you trailing behind him but doesn't turn around until he's in the elevator, going down.

he debates on how to start a conversation with you, but you beat him to the punch. "no need to worry about making pleasantries with me Mr.Jeon. you can pretend that I'm just a shadow following you." he turns to see you with a slight smile on your face, before trailing his gaze to the holster strapped underneath your suit jacket.

"right…" he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, "you can call me jungkook. no need to address me so formally like that."

he sees you nod in confirmation before falling back into awkward silence. for him, at least, it's awkward. but you seem content with it.

he walks toward the awaiting car in front of the building, his father had sent someone to drive him around in the meanwhile, not yet allowing him to leave on his own. "i heard you're moving to the apartment in front of mine?" he hesitantly asks when you settle into the seat next to him in the car.

"yes i am. my belongings are being moved right now, actually. i will settle in tomorrow." he nods at your answer. "so, you'll be with me for," he frowns, "24 hours?"

"not necessarily, i won't be intruding on your personal space that is your apartment, but i will be accompanying you whenever you go outside."

"including university?" he doesn't think he likes the sound of that.

you purse your lips sympathetically, "I'm afraid so."

he stays quiet after that, looking out the window at the passing scenery to distract himself. he doesn't know what to think of this whole situation. in one hand, he's slightly relieved at the extra protection but on the other hand he's slightly uncomfortable at the thought of being followed everywhere he goes. at least, he thinks, he still has his home as his personal space.

a few minutes pass by in silence before jungkook feels you shifting next to him, body leaning forward to talk to the driver. "someone is tailing the car."

he guesses you have intended to whisper as to not worry him, but he hears you anyway. body immediately going rigid, he moves to look at you anxiously. "what?"

you lean back after the driver nodded, sending a curt nod his way, "a car has been following us ever since we left your father's building. we will try to shake them off before reaching your apartment." jungkook feels the car turning into a busy highway, now surrounded by more cars than before.

he anxiously glances between you and the rearview mirror, trying to find the car you're talking about, but with various cars in the highway, he can't tell which one is following him. you seem to understand what he's trying to do, "black honda accord."

he briefly sees the car you're talking about before it slips past him and speeds up, leaving him confused in his seat. when he turns to look at you, he realizes he's not the only one confused by the turn of events. you frown at the fading car, before blinking your expression back into a state of neutral.

"why did they just, leave? what do they want?" he asks, breaking the tense silence between you. "I'm afraid i don't know either jungkook. don't worry, i have their plates memorized, I'll make sure to tell your father about it."

the statement doesn't comfort him all that much, but he chooses to stay quiet. soon enough, he reaches his apartment building. he had always thought his apartment is safe, located in a building with strict security, but that doesn't make being followed home any less scary.

when you step out, you make sure to asses the surrounding area first, making sure nobody is following the two of you. once he reaches his apartment door, he asks you one last question. "do i have to call you when i want to go to the convenience store too?"

he sees a slight amused smile pulling at the corner of your lips, "with all due respect jungkook, it was going into the convenience store by yourself that got you into trouble, so yes, i will be accompanying you to the convenience store too."

embarrassed, he quickly nods and opens his door, bidding you a good night before disappearing into his apartment. he makes sure to check his whole space again, locking the doors and windows like haeun had reminded him yesterday.

he falls into his couch, turning on the tv to some news about an anonymous donation to fall asleep to. he lets his eyes close and sleep to overtake him, trying to shake off any remaining anxiety weighing his limbs.

---

having you as his bodyguard is not that bad, jungkook thinks. on the first week, you had been quiet and serious, accompanying him whenever he went to school and hanging back whenever he went out with his friends. though he received some strange looks at school because of your presence, it also brought a sense of security and calm for him.

after the first week of adjusting with having a bodyguard, he started breaking the ice between the two of you, occasionally striking conversation with you and asking about trivial matters. you were quiet, but you keep up with his conversation well, firing back questions after an answer to keep the conversation going.

by week three, jungkook considers the two of you as friends. he even managed to convince you to wear normal clothes instead of the suit you always wear, when you're not going somewhere formal. a feat that he's proud of.

"it'll look weird if you wear suits when accompanying me to the convenience store." he had said one afternoon while at the library. he's procrastinating his essay, choosing to strike a conversation with you instead. "this is basically a uniform, jungkook. I can't not wear a uniform while on the job." you leaned back in your seat in front of him, arms crossed in front of your chest. he tries to not let his gaze lingered too much.

coughing, he averted his attention to the highlighter next to his laptop, "but come on! wouldn't it look suspicious if you keep wearing that everywhere we go? why is it necessary for you to wear a uniform anyway? I'm sure they're not as practical. and they're probably not mandatory for your job." you had sighed but stayed quiet to let him speak.

"don't you need to be more subtle? and i bet it's a lot of work having to put on a suit every time i need to go out to get a cup ramen." he saw you mulling over the proposition before relenting. "fine, I'll start wearing more practical clothing but i still need to wear a suit when it's formal." jungkook nodded, "i understand, don't worry."

you turned up with casual clothing the next day. and the first time he saw you with normal clothing, he could only stare with his mouth agape, like a fish out of water. you look smaller with the oversized sweatshirt, hair styled freely instead of the usual professional look you go for. you're also slightly shorter since you forego the boots you usually wear for a pair of comfortable sneakers. the only thought that ran through his head at the time was "find you a woman who can do both."

by the second month of you being his bodyguard, he has started inviting you into his apartment to hang out with him. he often challenges you to play video games with him, competitive nature resurfacing everytime you win. though, he never asked to go to your place and you never offered.

your presence lets him forget about the events that took place many months ago, providing a calm reassurance everytime he walks. now, he doesn't check his apartment obsessively anymore, merely making sure to lock the doors and the windows. it also lets him feel normal for once.

despite being someone who works for him, you don't let that become a gap between the two of you, befriending him who sometimes finds it hard to make friends due to his status as the governor's son.

all in all, jungkook thinks having you as a bodyguard isn't that bad.

---

walking at night doesn't feel as scary as before now, with your warm presence next to him, steps aligned with his. he chatters away about his upcoming project, asking for your opinion once in a while about a certain topic. it isn't until he feels your hand on his bicep that he realizes you had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, eyes cautiously trained in front of you.

he frowns, turning to look at you, "what's wrong?" he follows your gaze to see two people standing at the other side of the road, appearance reminding him of those people that had captured him all those months ago. a hat, mask and a hood to conceal their identity. hands shoved into their pockets to conceal any weapon they have.

he tenses when he feels you shift next to him, fight or flight instinct sounding in his head when he sees them slowly making their way over. he's too caught up in his mind to realize that you had drawn out your gun, shoving it into his trembling hands. "jungkook, take this. if any of them tries anything, aim and shoot."

"wh- what? what about you?" he'd be embarrassed of the tremor in his voice if he weren't so scared. these people don't look nice.

you throw a smirk his way, "don't worry about me."

any reply dies on his tongue when he sees one of the people swings their fist towards you, one you quickly dodge by stepping to the side. he sees the other person charging towards him, moving away from the direction he pointed the gun at to tackle him down.

they both fell to the ground, his back hitting the cold pavement with a loud thud. the male pins jungkook to the ground with his knees, gun having fallen away in the moment of scuffle. he draws back his fist to punch him but jungkook manage to throw him off balance by slamming his knee against his back. he pushes the male away from him, wrapping his arm tightly around their neck while searching for the gun with his other hand.

he's momentarily distracted when he hears you yelp in pain, looking over to see you hunched over a few feet away from him. he sees the person you're fighting aiming a knife at your shoulder, sending him into panic. when he grabs ahold of the gun, he shots the person in the thigh.

the knife clatter to the ground, a hiss sounding from the person standing in front of you. he sees you stand up to neutralize them, throwing a punch and stepping on the thigh jungkook had shot before. he then turns to the person in his arms, debating on what to do. the male senses his hesitation, using their strength to throw jungkook over their shoulder, causing jungkook to loses his grip on the gun once again.

in the moment of weakness, the guy had managed to grab the gun from him, the barrel of a gun now pointing at his forehead. jungkook closes his eyes and brace himself, fear gripping every inch of his body, replacing the adrenaline.

but the shot never rang. instead he hears a heavy thud, and when he opens his eyes again, you stand in front of him, gun pointed at the guy kneeling in front of you.

"who sent you?" you ask, voice cold and emotionless, it reminded him of the first sentence you've spoken to him. the person doesn't answer, eyes trained on you while occasionally flickering to his friend still laying on the ground, obviously in pain.

"you're not gonna answer?" your question sounds more like a statement, and a few seconds after you finished your sentence, jungkook hears the telltale sound of the police cars. you must have alerted the authority the moment you saw them.

he sees the male nervously glancing around, fidgeting like he's trying to find a way to escape.

"go on, try to run, I'll make sure you end up like your friend over there." bleeding, unable to walk, let alone run.

slowly, the male moves his hands out, holding it up in the air in surrender. your hold on the gun tightens momentarily before relaxing again when the police arrive to apprehend the two.

he sees them being handcuffed and lead to the awaiting police car ready to take them to the station. you drop your hand to your side, still clutching the gun in precaution.

an officer walks towards the two of you, placating hands in front of his body. "are you two okay? do you need medical assistance?" it's not until he mentions it that jungkook notices there's an ambulance parked next to the sidewalk, a few medics tending to the guy he had shot.

you turn to look at him, scanning him head to toes for any injuries, "do you need medics? are you hurt?" he shakes his head, hands still shaking, "no i- I don't, i don't think so." you frown at his answer, taking a hold of his wrist gently, "still, you need to get yourself check out. let's go."

jungkook is tempted to hold your hand but managed to refrain from it. he needs some comfort, but he's not sure if he can ask it from you.

you lead him to the ambulance, the male from before had been taken away to the hospital, so there won't be any awkward encounter between the three of you. "he might have a bruise on his back, he was thrown to the ground twice." you tell the medics.

he didn't realize he might've been injured too, but your words makes him realize there's a dull pulsing on his shoulder blade and his back. the medic nods, gesturing to his shirt, "may i check?" offhandedly, he nods, letting him lift his shirt to check his back, but moves to grab your hand when you turn to walk away.

"where are you going? you need to get checked out too, you probably sustain more injuries."

"I'll get checked out later, I'm going to give you some privacy." you smile at him, hand gently prying his from your wrist.

he furrows his eyebrows, "i don't mind, really. you should really get yourself checked." he eyes the cuts and bruises on your knuckles. "did you know your knuckles are bruised?"

you look down at your hands, chuckling to yourself. "did you forget this is my job, jungkook? this is not a big deal."

thankfully, the other medic is quick to agree with jungkook. "come here, let me tend to your wounds." she doesn't let you disagree, sitting you down and making quick work to clean the scrapes on your hands.

he hisses when he feels someone poking the bruise on his shoulder blade, "just some minor bruising on your shoulder and your left lower back. when you get home, you should ice it and rest to let it heal by itself." he quietly nods and watches as his medics move to help tend to you.

"and you, miss? any other injuries besides the knuckles?" he asks as he crouches behind you.

you turn your head to the side, pondering the question. "probably just some bruising too since he managed to get a couple of punches."

the medic nods, "is it okay if i check your torso?" you purse your lips, eyes flickering to jungkook at the back of the ambulance. "sure."

jungkook averts his eyes when the medics start to lift your shirt, only looking back when the male starts talking again. "there's a shallow laceration on your side, quite a few bruises too. do they hurt?"

"not that much."

he sees them nod, "alright we'll take care of the bleeding wounds and then you can go. don't forget to let the bruises heal."

a few minutes later, you're walking home, side by side. he eyes the gauze around your knuckles, heart heavy with guilt.

"I'm sorry." he mutters.

you stop to look at him, eyebrows raised in question. "for what?" "you got hurt protecting me."

"it's my job, jungkook. you don't have to feel sorry." he sighs, kicking at nothing. "i know, but still."

you place a comforting hand on his biceps, "and it's not your fault. don't beat yourself up." he can only nod at your statement, still uneasy at the thought of you getting hurt. the rest of the walk is blanketed with silence, millions of thoughts running through his head. he thinks about who those people were, about what they wanted. he shivers at a particular thought. what if you hadn't been there with him? what if he were alone, like that night at the convenience store?

he doesn't want to think about it.

when he arrives at his doorstep, you place a hand on his shoulder to stop him from entering his house. "don't forget to ice your back." jungkook blinks, he just remembered that. how is he gonna ice his own back?

he sees amusement dancing in your eyes, it's like you can read his mind. "do you need help?"

embarrassed, he quietly nods, opening the door and inviting you in.

"lay down on the couch, I'll get the ice."

he complies wordlessly, laying on his stomach on the plush couch and closing his eyes. he hears you move around in the kitchen, and struggles to keep his eyes open. he hears you ask him if it's okay for you to lift his shirt, answering the question with a short grunt.

you lift the shirt off his back, hissing when you see the bruise on his shoulder. "damn," is the only thing you say before placing the ice pack at the right spot. he tenses for a moment at the cold sensation, before melting back into the couch. "didn't they say there's another bruise, jungkook? where is it?"

at the mention of his other bruise, his eyes pop open, realizing where it's located. "uh…"

he waves his hand around, "don't worry about that one, i can take care of it." he can't see you but he's sure you're frowning in confusion. "i thought they said it's on your lower back?"

"ye- yeah. yeah it is. it's um…" he's too embarrassed to tell you it's on his butt. "don't worry it's fine."

it's silent for a few minutes, jungkook thinks you might let it go but then he hears you trying to stifle your laughter. he pouts, "don't laugh! i fell on my butt when he threw me off his shoulder!"

you let out a single laughter before composing yourself, patting jungkook on the head. "it's okay. that's good actually, you didn't fall on your tailbone and risk injuring it." he hums at the compliment, good point, kudos to him for moving his body slightly to the side when he was up in the air.

"you sure you don't need my help compressing it?" you tease, moving off the couch back to the kitchen. "m'sure."

"do you want warm milk, jungkook?" you call from the kitchen. "yes please!" milk sounds nice right now.

when you come back, you place the warm cup of milk on the coffee table, "i put some honey in it, like in that movie you showed me last week." jungkook's heart clenches, you're so cute. he mutters a thanks to his folded arms, trying his best to keep his eyes open. "I'm gonna go home now, rest and take care not to aggravate your bruise too much, okay?"

he moves his head to the side, "do you need help? with your own bruises?" you shake your head on your way to the door, "nah, it's fine. i can do it myself, i didn't get thrown to the pavement." he throws another pout your way.

"good night, jungkook." the door closes before he can say it back.

---

a few weeks pass by without any more incidents, his body returning back to its normal condition in just a few days. for a couple of days, you diligently helped him iced his shoulder, not forgetting to tease him about the one on his butt each time.

everytime he offered to help you with your own injuries, you always shot down the idea, telling him you can take care of yourself. so jungkook decided he'll help by going out less to let you rest a bit more, so your cuts and bruises can take their time to heal.

he invited you over more often, offering to watch movies together with him or to play video games. sometimes you had to decline, telling him that you still have some things to do, but more often than not you'll sigh and roll your eyes fondly before agreeing.

this week however, he hadn't seen you that much except for when you accompanied him to school. mostly because he had been cooped up in his own apartment, only leaving for his exams in the morning, studying and focusing on his big project for the rest of the day.

he'd given you a heads up before the week started, as to not worry you when he doesn't knock on your door to ask to go the mall.

"I'm gonna be pretty busy next week," he had said over a plate of fried rice, sitting on his dining table with you across from him. you raised one eyebrow in question. "finals week means i have to study everyday and i have to finish a project I've put off long enough."

he chewed the fried egg, gulping it down before continuing, "so i probably won't go anywhere except for school. think of it as like a vacation for you." you had nodded and smiled at him, but didn't say anything, scooping up more rice onto your spoon. jungkook didn't notice your smile didn't reach your eyes.

today is the last day kf exams for him, every finals done and project sent to his professor 15 minutes before the deadline. he flops down into the floor in a heap, exhaustion rolling off every inch of his body. he had only gotten a total of 25 hours of sleep this week, and had not been taking care of himself properly.

he groans and stands up when he hears his stomach grumbles, making his way to the kitchen to look for some food. there's a slight headache at the back of his head, vision blurring for a moment before returning to normal. he shakes it off as exhaustion, opening the fridge only to see it empty. he tries the cupboard but comes up with the same thing.

throwing his head back, he decides he'll have to go out to get some food, it's not too late at night yet, clock showing 8:15. walking to the door to get you, his vision blurs again when he reaches his door, hand gripping the doorknob to prevent him from falling. he definitely needs to get you now.

when he opens the door, he finds you conversing with someone in the hallway, opening the door to let them in. he can't exactly hear what you're saying but the other voice causes a flicker of familiarity to light in the back of his mind. your eyes quickly snap to him when you realize he's standing behind the person, widening in surprise and… nervousness? fear?

he was about to ask you who it is when the person turns to look at what made you freeze, jungkook's body going rigid at the realization. the voice, the eyes, he remembers them, memories from the events all those months ago surges to the front of his mind. his vision blurs again, this time slowly going dark around the edges. only one name crosses his mind.

"minhee."

---

you watch as jungkook's body goes rigid when he sees minhee turning around, he had obviously recognized her. you hear him mutter her name before going limp and move to catch him before he collapses, supporting his weight so he won't fall to the ground and hurt himself. grunting, you adjust his body in your arms, "minhee, a little help?"

she sighs loudly, moving to stand next to him and slinging his arms around her shoulder to help you carry him to your apartment. "the fuck are we supposed to do now?" she asks, kicking open the door and helping you move him to your couch. "i have no fucking idea."

your mind races with all the possibilities, trying to come up with a solution to the new problem in your hand. you unceremoniously drop him to your couch, feeling his forehead to check his temperature. he doesn't have a fever, though he look pale and exhausted. you figure he hasn't been taking care of himself.

haeun emerges from the kitchen, holding a bowl of seasoned popcorn. she munches and raises her eyebrow at the sight, "what's going on?" she looks at the boy on your couch, "why's he here?"

you pinch the bridge of your nose, pacing in front of the door while minhee sits on the chair next to the tv. she answers haeun question for you, "pretty boy here, recognized me and then fainted."

haeun chuckles, "he fainted because he saw you?"

"no, i think he fainted from exhaustion and possibly dehydration, seeing minhee just add to the shock. how long do we got until he wakes?" minhee clicks her tongue, "few minutes? maybe? I don't know but you need to figure something out, quick."

you talk out loud so minhee can hear you, maybe her opinion can help. "well, one thing for sure is we can't let him go and pretend nothing happened, can we?" she shakes her head no.

"but, maybe we can? i can just say that he hallucinated because he was tired? do you think that would work?" she shrugs her shoulders.

"do you think he'll believe me if i told him that?" she nods her head yes.

you stop your pacing, "what? you think he'll believe me if i told him he hallucinated?" she plasters an innocent look on her face, blinking at you from where she sits. "i think so. pretty sure he'd believe you if you tell him the cashier at downtown McD is an alien."

you tilt your head to the side, not understanding what she meant. "what?" before she can respond, haeun places a glass of water on the coffee table and you shoot her a grateful look. "okay you know what, you two go hide in my room. I'll try to see if i can get him to believe nothing happened."

"no, he's not that stupid. you know that's not gonna work," a voice is heard from your doorway, and when you turn to look, it's yoongi with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

you groan in frustration, "then what am i supposed to do, yoongi?"

sighing, he walks into your apartment, closing the door behind him. "I don't know yet but i think we should take him with us." he stares at the sleeping boy on your couch, using his shoes to nudge his knee. "it's too big of a risk if he knows and we let him go, you know that. we can't let him walk around with that knowledge, not yet. he now knows of your identity and hers. we'll figure out what to do after our main goal is done."

minhee and haeun stay quiet, letting the two of you figure out what to do with the governor's son. "if we disappeared, they would no doubt be suspicious of me, and then my cover will be blown." yoongi sits at the table, legs crossed, "I'm sure you can figure out a reason, right?"

you drop your head to your hands, racking your brain for any solutions. "whatever you come up with, you know I'll be able to help you with." haeun offers, watching your eyebrow furrows in deep thought.

you look at jungkook, it's been a few minutes and he hasn't woken up yet, which probably means he won't wake up for a little while.

hesitantly, you let them know of your plan, "i can tell his father he's going on a trip with some of his friends to celebrate and that I'll be accompanying him. I'll tell him he won't be able to reach us because we're going somewhere secluded but I'll keep him updated and that it's an impulse trip."

you turn towards haeun, "can you deal with the logistics of all of that? tie up any loose ends and cover any tracks so he won't get suspicious. I'm going to message him right now and see what his response is and then we can go on from there."

haeun nods, and you trust her. you trust that she'll be able to handle it, she's good at her job after all, and a genius on top of that. you quickly send the message, receiving a reply in less than 5 minutes.

"Alright, keep him safe. I'll transfer the expense to you once you return. Tell him not to do anything stupid."

you scoff at the response, you can't believe that would actually work. he doesn't question why jungkook didn't tell him himself? doesn't question jungkook going on an impulse trip with his friends? you wonder about his relationship with jungkook.

but you guess right now, it's a good thing that he doesn't question you and he trusts you that much.

"minhee, can you pack me my bags? in case anyone checks, we need to keep up the illusion of going on a trip. I'll go to his apartment to pack his." she nods and makes her way to your room, while you order yoongi to keep an eye out for him.

you quickly walk to his apartment to pack his bag, grabbing only the necessity and some pieces of clothing, turning off all the lights and electronic appliances and taking his phone and laptop with you. once you're done, you walk back to your door, briefly musing about the security cameras. you'd need haeun's help to take care of that later.

when you get back to your apartment, you see minhee holding two bags, standing next to yoongi while jungkook stays fast asleep on your couch. you shove the bags you're holding to haeun so you can lift jungkook with yoongi, making sure everyone have their mask on before leaving the apartment. you tell them not to wear their hood as to not rouse any more suspicions and make your way to the parking lot downstairs where you deposit him in the passenger seat of your car.

fortunately, you didn't meet anyone on your way down or you'd have a hard time explaining the unconscious boy in your arms. climbing in to the driver seat, you pull out of the parking lot, driving to a place you know to be safe.

"haeun, can you take care of the security footage?" she hums from the backseat, "don't worry I'm already working on it." you nod at her words, glancing at the boy next to you.

"I'm sorry, Kook."

---

when you reach your house, you take jungkook to your bedroom to let him rest and ask minhee to get some water for when he wakes up. you need to assess the situation after he wakes up too, to determine if he remembers what happened or not, maybe you can still convince him that nothing had happened and take him back.

10 minutes later, you see jungkook stir as yoongi and minhee steps outside your bedroom, so you gesture for them to hurry up. when jungkook fully wakes up, they're both hidden from sight, door closing quietly behind them.

he groans from his position on your bed, hand coming up to rub his forehead. you sit next to him on the floor, tentatively touching his shoulder. "jungkook?"

he jolts when he hears your voice, scrambling to put a gap between the two of you. "hey, hey it's okay. you're alright, you're safe." he keeps quiet, eyes wary, and you can't tell if he remembers seeing minhee or not. you keep talking in a soft voice to placate him, "you're okay. you fainted from exhaustion in front of my door. i heard a knock and when i opened the door, you collapsed before i could ask you what happened."

you place your arms on the bed, showing him you're not gonna hurt him. "you look really pale when i opened the door, do you want some water?" you gesture to the glass on your nightstand.

he furrows his eyebrows, glancing at his surrounding, confused eyes scanning the room. you think he might have forgotten until he opens his mouth, "are you gonna poison me?"

you freeze, blinking at him. "what are you talking about? of course not, why would i?"

he blinks back at you, face blank and void of emotion. "so you can use me as a "helping hand" to get what you need." he repeats the word you said to him that night, proving that he remembers. you try to play it off, "jungkook, i really don't understand what you're saying."

hesitation flicker in his eyes for a moment before disappearing again, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "minhee," is the only thing he says.

you frown, "who?" "the tall girl in front of your door earlier." you purse your lips, he remembers.

you sigh, dropping your shoulder and gesturing to the water, "at least drink some water first, i promise you it's not poisoned." you reassure him the same way you did that night.

he doesn't move so you take the glass, taking a gulp of water to prove its harmless before offering it to him. he eyes the glass with distrust, gazing at you for a few moments before taking it from your hand. you notice he tries to not make any contact with the hand you have wrapped around the glass.

"jeon jungkook, if you don't forget and pretend nothing happened, i can't let you go." you sit at the couch on the left of the bed, putting more space between you so he'll be more comfortable. you put on your persona and offer him a chance to walk away.

he scoffs at your statement, "where am i? and what the fuck are you talking about? you want me to forget that you were with the person who captured me all those months ago? and goes on with you as my bodyguard? don't you think i need an explanation?" he slams the glass on the table, hand raking through his hair in frustration.

the way he phrases it captures your attention, does he not know that you were also there?

"you're in my room, and if i tell you, jeon jungkook, i can't let you leave this house. i don't want you to get more involved than you already are."

"stop calling me that!" he nearly shouts. you widen your eyes in surprise at his volume.

he lowers his voice, hands gripping the sheets underneath him, "don't call me jeon jungkook, don't put distance between us."

softening your eyes, you cross your legs, softly calling his name, "i can't tell you, jungkook." he snaps his gaze towards you, recognition dawning on him.

he throws his arms up in the air, "even if you don't tell me, there's no way you can let me go anyway, right? i know about you and minhee, i know you were the one driving the car."

there it is. confirmation.

"but if i tell you, you'll get tangled in this mess."

he scoffs, "like I'm not already?"

"you might hate me if i tell you," you worry, biting your lips in an effort to not let it all spill out. the moonlight shines through the blind on your window, providing a dim light that illuminates the room. there it is, the reason you're so hesitant on telling him.

he purses his lips, "what makes you think i don't already?"

your heart drops to your stomach at his words, tears unconsciously welling up at the corner of your eyes.

it's a fear of yours that manifested the moment he invited you over to play games. a worry at the back of your mind when he convinced you to wear casual clothes. you know you shouldn't have let your guard down so easily, but he had been scared, lost, sad, lonely. so you give in, opening your heart for him to nestle himself in.

you close your eyes and will them back, fisting the blanket on your couch. eventually you nod, deciding you owe him an explanation at the very least. "okay."

"that night, we staged the capture. we were never planning to hurt you in any way, money also wasn't the reason." you see him starting to relax, hands fiddling with the string on his sweatpants. "we needed your father to hire someone to protect you, so i can infiltrate my way in to gather intels. we have someone on the inside, someone who will make sure I'll be the one he chooses. i also needed to keep an eye out on you to determine if you were involved."

"the two people who attacked a few weeks ago wasn't us. they were people who wanted to get you because they realized your father will pay them if they managed to get their hands on you."

he knows that, but keeps quiet, letting you continue with your explanation.

you stay silent for a minute, before, "your father is involved in multiple cases of money embezzlement. he had been taking funds from a few public projects, and had also been receiving bribe money from certain companies." jungkook freezes at the reveal, mind going numb at the information.

"we are here to gather information, to reveal it to the public in due time. we are also working to expose the authority so that when we come out with the evidence, it won't be swept under the rug." you shift in your seat, wringing your hands in front of you. "i figured you weren't involved and had no idea about it."

it's a question masks as a statement. dazed, he shakes his head. "he started doing it one year ago, and our mission had been on going for around half of that time. our information wasn't enough just yet, so we needed a way in. i had been collecting evidence, sending them to my team for them to process."

jungkook is still bewildered, mind starting to connect the dots. before he can spiral, however, you intervene his thoughts, "don't worry jungkook, the illegal money is all in an offshore account and had never been used until that night with the 5 million dollars and to pay people to keep quiet about his secret."

he snaps his gaze towards you at the mention of the ransom money, "what did you do with those money?"

you smile sympathetically at him, "we gave it back to the institution." his mind flashes back to the news of an anonymous donation the next day after the incident and a small weight lifted off his shoulder.

you sigh, leaning back on your seat. "I'm sorry to say but right now, you're in my room, in my house. not the apartment."

he blankly stares at you, waiting for more explanation. "unfortunately we can't let you walk around with this knowledge, not now. but once we reach our main goal, I'll make sure you'll be able to leave safely. please believe me when i say we won't hurt you." your words are sincere, eyes gazing at his to convey your honesty.

he hears the door to your room open before he could open his mouth, two people walking in. the smooth voice of minhee cuts through the air, laced with amusement, "so I'm guessing your plan of lying to him didn't work?"

you glare at her from your spot, "don't act like you didn't hear our conversation min." you lay down on the couch, eyes closing in exasperation. "so, what are we supposed to do now?" he recognizes the voice as haeun, a slight shiver running down his spine.

"I'm not gonna say anything." he hopes he sounds convincing enough.

minhee scoffs, rounding the room to sit next to you, lifting your legs and placing them in her lap. "even so, we can't risk it. our identity is on the line, you have to stay here under surveillance until we can figure out what to do with you."

"i don't see any reason why you need to keep me captive if i promise not to tell anyone. nobody will know and your identity will be safe if I'm the only one who know," he argues back, he knows it's probably pointless but it's worth a shot.

"he has a point," you mutter, haeun coming over to lay herself on top of you, crushing you with her weight. minhee swats at her but doesn't complain.

"absolutely not, we can't let him go." a new voice speaks out from the doorway. when jungkook turns his head to look, he found three males standing there, one he recognized as his driver.

he suppresses his gasp at the fact. they walk into the room, closing the door behind them.

"and why not?" you question from under haeun, who is squishing your cheeks with her palms, like you're too cute for her to handle. jungkook doesn't understand why she's doing that.

"he knows too much, simple as that." it clicked in his mind when he hears the drawl of the voice. it's yoongi.

you sound more muffled now, "but he's not gonna tell anyone, i believe him." his heart skips a beat at your declaration. yoongi raises his eyebrow at him, "yeah? but i don't."

minhee is the one who speaks up next "so how long are we planning to keep him here?"

yoongi shrugs and drops to the floor in a starfish position, "as long as it needs."

his mind reels, for the topic of conversation right now, all of you seems to be very relaxed, not worried about jungkook running away and ratting you out to someone. you're basically in a cuddle pile for fuck sake. he confusedly look around, catching the eye of his driver who lift his hand to wave at him.

"oh yeah, that's taehyung. he's also one of us. he's the one who's in charge of getting the information at first, but when we realized it won't be enough, we had to find another way." you had successfully pushed haeun away from you, rolling over so you're now lying face down on the carpet. you sigh loudly "yoongi, what are we supposed to do next?"

the man in question snorts from his place, "i don't fucking know, isn't it your job to figure it out?"

jungkook can stand up right now, he realizes. he can stand up and bolt out the door and away from whatever this is since all of you are distracted. oddly, he doesn't feel the need to.

you roll over on your back, "oh! and that last guy is jimin." the guy in question lift his hand and wave, offering jungkook a friendly smile.

"so you basically kidnapped me, again?" jungkook asks as he leans back on your bed, staring at the navy blue sheets.

"uh… i guess? in a way?" you sound so confused, so unsure, it reminded him of the other version of you he thought he knew. he realizes the two of you would need to talk it out later.

"you're not worried about my father?"

"oh, well, you see, i told him that you impulsively decided to go on a trip with your friends to somewhere where we can't be reached, but i told him I'll keep him updated and he agreed."

he nods, storing that information for pondering later when he can't sleep at night.

the room is quiet after that, each person caught up in their own world. he sees haeun poking minhee in the face, while the girl type something in her phone. taehyung, his former driver is conversing quietly with jimin while you and yoongi appear to be asleep.

he sighs loudly to announce that he is, in fact, still here, garnering your attention from the floor. "this is too much information for one night, can you all leave, i would like to be alone."

they all wordlessly stand up from their spot, yoongi had to be pulled up by both minhee and taehyung, and steps outside your bedroom.

except for you.

you scooch so you're sitting next to the bed, staring up at him, "please don't try to run away or you might get hurt in the process. we have plenty of surveillance and guards that will prevent you from leaving and i can't promise they won't hurt you while doing so."

he holds your gaze, reading the emotion behind it before closing his eyes. "fine but we need to talk."

nodding, you gently take his hand in yours. "i know, we'll talk tomorrow okay? you should get some rest, you did faint after all."

you stand up, letting go of his hand and walking out the door, "finish the water, I'm going to get you some food and then you can go to sleep."

the door shuts behind you, leaving jungkook alone with his thoughts. he wanted badly to stay awake and process all the information but after finishing his meal, his eyes can't help but droop and he decides this time to let sleep overtake the chaos in his mind.

---

when he wakes up the next morning, the curtains are drawn, letting him sleep undisturbed by the blazing sun outside. he rolls over and groans, trying not to think about his situation too much or else his head will explode.

for now, he's just gonna go out on a limb and give you a little bit of his trust, you said you trusted him last night with the identity of you and your whole team, despite how dangerous it is if people found out so he thinks he'll give you back that trust, even just a little bit.

he was about to fall asleep again, the plush bedding and warm blanket lulling him back before the door cracks open and someone walk in. he pretends to be asleep, not knowing who it is.

he feels the bed dip at his side, a hand caressing his head gently. he will his body to relax so the person won't realize he's awake.

"Kook, I'm sorry." it's you, whispering because you think he's still asleep. "i didn't want you to get involved in this mess but I guess… i guess I'd gotten you involved the moment i became your guard, huh?" you're rambling to yourself, hand still gently stroking his hair. "Or maybe the moment i decided to staged that incident."

he hears you sigh, low enough that he thinks you still don't know he's awake but loud enough that he can feel your frustration through it. "i really am sorry, Kook." you whisper one last time, before standing up and tucking the blanket around his shoulder. he hears the door close, and opens his eyes, staring at the wall in front of him.

it's the first time you call him by his nickname.

///

you watched as his friends drove away, waving from inside the car and shouting at the top of their lungs despite only being a few steps away. "bye, kook! We'll see you later! Don't forget to send us your part of the project or I'll hunt you down!" he laughed at the threat, shouting back his confirmation before turning back to you. "come on, let's get inside before we freeze out here." he ushered you inside, bright smile still plastered on his face.

when the both of you were standing in the elevator, you turned to face him to see a thoughtful look on his face. "hey, (y/n)." you hummed in answer. "we're friends, right?"

you blinked at his question, honestly not knowing the answer yourself but he had continued, not waiting for you to answer. "you know, i was thinking, since we're friends, why don't you just call me by my nickname? it's probably a hassle to call me by jungkook all the time, right?"

you hesitated in answering him, because you don't know if you can. it's a warning that minhee gives you everytime she comes over, "don't get too comfortable." it floats around in your mind, plastering itself at the front of your head everytime you give in to his request in trying to befriend you.

he silently stared at you, waiting for your answer. you pursed your lips, trying to lightly brushed it to the side without hurting his feelings too much. "hm, i don't know jungkook. i think I'll stick to calling you by that name, i need to maintain an air of professionalism, right?"

his shoulder dropped at your answer, turning his body to stare at the elevator door in front of him. he sounded dejected when he replied, "yeah… i guess you're right."

not wanting for him to be upset, you quickly reassured him, "but i am your friend, jungkook. just because I'm not calling you by your nickname doesn't mean I'm not." he's still tensed at your response, nodding to signified he doesn't want to talk about it anymore.

you wordlessly complied with his request and he eventually let it go, never bringing it up again in conversation.

///

he ignores the loud chatter inside his mind, all the confusion and doubts cruising through his head. he'll make sure to talk to you later to quiet them. for now, he's going to get some breakfast. looking at the clock which read 8:43, he stands up from your bed, making his way to the door.

only to realize he's completely unfamiliar with the house and won't know where the kitchen is. he debates on waiting for someone to get him, but his grumbling stomach protests his decision, causing him to try to brave through the house by himself.

opening the door to your room, he's greeted by an empty house. he takes his time admiring the place, it doesn't look too big, but it does look luxurious. with marble flooring and ivory walls, the house looks like it's sparkling. he turns right to make his way down the stairs, observing the left of your room has another set of stairs that go up.

he finds himself in what he assumed to be the living room, a place that looks more cozy down here than when he's looking at it from above. he sees a door at the side of the room, walking towards it when he hears people talking.

he walks into the space to see haeun placing two slices of bread at the side of taehyung's face while jimin sits at the counter, giggling. "what are you?" haeun screams. taehyung answers with a deadpan and blank face, "I'm an idiot sandwich." causing jimin to laugh harder, folding in on himself, jungkook fears he might tumble off his chair.

"okay, I'm not eating that bread, it touched tae's face. haeun! stop wasting our bread!" he doesn't realize that minhee is standing by the fridge with a bowl of cereal in her hands. "it's fine, this is tae's bread." the male sighs, taking the bread from haeun and walking over to the toaster. he pops the bread into the toaster before turning around, catching sight of a confused jungkook standing at the doorway.

"oh hey, you're awake. help yourself to some breakfast. we've got plenty." he gestures to the array of food on the table, ranging from fried rice to waffles. "why is there so much food?" is the first question that comes out of his mouth.

"soomin stress cook." minhee answer simply, grabbing a piece of bacon and french toast and plopping them into her empty bowl. jungkook shrugs when nobody else bothered to elaborate, grabbing a plate and scooping a plate of fried rice and some noodles on the side. "dining room that way." taehyung points to the hallway that leads to the side, "(y/n) is there, i think."

he nods at taehyung in thanks, making his way to the dining room after grabbing a glass of milk for himself. he sees you sitting at the table in the middle of the room, laptop and documents splayed out in front of you while you mindlessly munch through your plate of waffles and fruits. two other people sit at the table with you, yoongi on one side and another girl he doesn't recognize on the other.

yoongi notices his presence first, gesturing for him to sit down at the table in front of him. jungkook frowns, is he allowed to be here right now? it seems like you're working. "yes you're allowed, we're not working on anything confidential right now." yoongi answers, apparently he had voiced his question out loud.

nodding, he sits on the table, occasionally glancing at you from the corner of his eyes. you smile at him when he catches your eyes, mouthing "we'll talk later, i promise" before going back to your laptop.

"hello, my name is soomin. i don't believe we've met yet." he snaps his gaze to the girl who just spoke, offering an awkward smile her way. "oh, uh. I'm. I'm jungkook."

she smiles warmly at him, "i know, I've heard about the situation, don't worry. i believe (y/n) told you everything already, right?" he shyly nods.

"then please don't worry, we won't hurt you as long as you don't try anything." his body goes rigid at the thinly veiled threat, hand freezing with the spoon tightly grasped between his fingers. "soo, don't scare him like that, i already talked to him." you step forward when you see him react, trying to quell the tension that suddenly fills the room.

soomin smiles at him before looking back at you, "i know. I'm just making sure. this is our whole team we're talking about here so i just want to make it clear."

you close your eyes and sigh, "i… i know. i just." he turns his gaze to see you biting your lips, eyes staring at the dark wood in front of you.

"I'm so sorry." your apology sounds so small that he's sure he wouldn't have heard it if it weren't for the stillness of the room. soomin's gaze softens, hand moving to squeeze yours that lay on top of the documents, "no, hey. it's okay. it's not your fault."

there's an odd feeling sitting on his chest. a stuffiness that he can't explain everytime he hears you apologize. he decides he doesn't like it. doesn't like it when you blame yourself, doesn't like it when you sound so small like that, doesn't like it when you keep things from him.

yoongi purses his lips at the exchange, "soo, let's go to the kitchen to get some more coffee?" he stands up with his plate and mug, (y/n)? you can take a break and enjoy your breakfast." soomin nods, leaving the two of you alone in the big dining room.

you close the laptop in front of you, gathering the papers into one neat pile before storing them in a briefcase he didn't notice were there. the two of you stay quiet for a while, each enjoying your own breakfast at your own pace.

eventually it's you who break the silence, "any questions you wanted answer to, jungkook?"

he ponders it for a while, starting with "was the you i knew then was real?"

you frown into your plate, lips forming an adorable pout that had jungkook almost cooing at the sight. "well, yeah. why wouldn't she be real?"

he purses his lips, "did you befriend me because you have to?" this time you shake your head, "no. in fact, i wasn't supposed to. i was actually told time and time again to keep my distance."

he gulps at your confession.

"but i chose to be your friend anyway, because…" "because?"

you look up to meet his gaze, honesty coloring your eyes, "because i wanted to. and because i saw that you needed, no, wanted a friend too." his gaze softens at that.

you continue, "everything between us was real, it wasn't because it was my job to be your friend, gain your trust and betray you in the end. i-" stuttering, you bring up your hand to wipe a stray tear. "i didn't want to hurt you, even though i guess in the end, i would have regardless."

because in the end, your goal is to take down his father, essentially betraying him in a sense. befriending jungkook wasn't part of the plan, it was something you didn't see happening while you were mulling over the plan to take down the governor.

jungkook stays quiet, processing the information you just laid out for him. you stand up with your plate, sensing the conversation is over for now. when you pass by him, you place a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it once to provide reassurance. just before you walk out of the dining room, you ask "and jungkook, you know that I have to reveal it to the public, right?" i have to take down your father, is left unsaid.

he nods because he knows. no matter what, the people need to know about the corruption, the authorities need to do something about it, and his father needs to own up to his actions.

you nod at him, sending a quick smile before leaving him by himself so he can think.

---

a few hours later, he finds you crouching in the garden next to the house, watering and tending to a variety of vegetables. he hesitates on how to strike up a conversation.

"so, uh, the bedroom I'm staying in is yours?" you flinch when you hear his voice, not expecting someone else to be in the garden with you. you look up at him from your position, hands midway to picking a tomato off its vines, "oh! uh yeah." he nods awkwardly, eyes scanning the content of the garden. "where are you staying then?"

you pick the remaining ripe tomatoes off, placing it in the basket next to you, soomin is going to be overjoyed that they've grown so well after that disastrous harvest. "in the guest bedroom next to the dining room. it's usually unoccupied so i can stay there as long as i need."

he crouches down next to you, grabbing a tiny shears to help. you watch curiously from the side, wondering if he knows which one to pluck off and which one to leave behind. you pull out the pesky weeds next to your precious cucumbers, keeping an eye on jungkook to make sure he's not going to accidentally ruin your crops. soomin will murder both of you.

curiouslyly, he knows exactly what to do with his tiny shears, removing the excess branches and cutting off any dead leaves and buds. "can you show me around later? around the house? it's… uh… a pretty large house."

you eye the patch of leafy greens at the side, debating if you should pick them today or leave it another week. "yeah okay, sure."

the air is tensed between the two of you, but you can't exactly pinpoint the reason. is it you? did the talk affect you more than you thought? or maybe jungkook just doesn't trust you anymore, given the circumstances. maybe he decided that you're-

you feel him grabbing your wrist before you can finish your thoughts, staring at his wide eyes in front of you. "you were spacing out while holding a scissors." frowning, you look down to see that you are indeed holding a scissor that look too close to your other hand for comfort. you mumble, "sorry."

jungkook huffs at that, gentle but stern when he talks, "why do you say sorry so much? i don't think you have anything you need to apologize for." widening your eyes, you stare back at him, not understanding what he's saying. he sighs at your expression, shaking his head at you before continuing with his task.

you decide to let it go for now when you see his annoyed expression, watching as he cuts dead leaves off your cucumbers plants. curious, you ask, "how do you know about pruning?"

he huffs a laugh this time, "i think even without gardening knowledge, anybody will know that you need to cut off these stems and leaves."

"yeah, but you pruned the branches of the tomatoes, the new ones." he hums at your question, "i used to help my mom when she worked in her garden." you blink at the unexpected answer, you don't think you've ever heard him talk about her in all the months you've worked alongside him.

a small "oh" leaves your lips, not wanting to pry any further. it garners an amused smile from him. "currently, she's in another country, had been for the last two years. but we keep in contact quite often."

you purse your lips from trying to ask a question but it seems like he reads it on your face anyway, "they both have a pretty good relationship, he's pretty supportive of her pursuing her interest." and he leaves it at that.

the two of you work in silence for the next few minutes, making sure there's no pests or weeds left that risk ruining your, well soomin's, perfect garden.

you stand up once you're done, almost falling over when you realize your legs fell asleep while you were working. thankfully, you caught yourself, wrapping your palms around jungkook's biceps to prevent yourself from face planting into a patch of cabbage.

again, soomin will murder you if you damage her precious veggies. you don't know why she's so protective over her cabbage in particular.

jungkook snickers at your blunder, placing the shears on a toolbox next to his feet. you immediately let go of him when you feel the muscles shift underneath your hands, resisting the urge to slap yourself out of it. he moves to grab the basket full of vegetables, placing a hand between your shoulder blade to help you walk.

you turn your face away, hoping he didn't see your flaming cheeks. absentmindedly, you think, the two of you are okay.

---

you stand in front of the door with jungkook next to you, hands on your hips, "this is the front door." he blinks at you, "yeah i know?"

you point at the room behind it, "that's the living room." "I'm perfectly aware."

you throw your hands up, "you said you wanted me to show you around!" he laughs loudly at that, "i already know about the first floor. beside! we're standing outside the house right now! I'm 100% we look ridiculous. you're pretty bad at being a guide huh"

you pout, "fine," and walk inside the house, flopping down onto the couch in the middle of the living room. "I'll explain it verbally instead. first floor is the living room, the kitchen, dining room, a bathroom and my bedroom."

he maps it in his mind, your bedroom must be at the back of the dining room. "second floor is the rest of the bedroom and a family room, next to the bedroom you're staying in right now. that's just where we hangout usually."

he looks up at the second floor at that, counting the doors, "how many people are there?"

"10 including you."

"there are only 7 rooms on the second floor."

you nod, grabbing the remote at the coffee table in front of you. "jimin and tae share a room, mirae and narae also share a room."

you turn on the television, stopping at a documentary channel, "there's also two more bedrooms on the third floor, along with a gym room, an office, and a game room."

"big house, huh." he mutters.

"it does have 9 people living in it so yes, it needs to be large to be comfortable, don't you think?" a voice speaks from upstairs. when he looks up, it's soomin. "i- yeah. i guess so."

he watches as she walks down the stairs, and freezes in alarm when she stops in front of him. "I'm sorry about this morning, by the way, i was just protective of my team."

her gaze flicks to you when she says, "surely you understand, right?"

he purses his lips together, brows furrowing. "yeah." his gaze moves to you for a second before going back to her, "i understand."

she nods in satisfaction, hiking her backpack higher before addressing you, "well i gotta go now. I'll be back in a few days, don't cause any trouble while I'm away, okay? please keep haeun away from my garden."

you nod distractedly, eyes still glued on the tv in front of you, "bye! stay safe!"

she fondly rolls her eyes before sending a quick smile his way in curtesy. she closes the front door behind her and a few seconds later jungkook hears the sound of a car driving away.

"by the way, do i get any access to internet? phone? computer?" he knows the answer but no harm in asking. he sits at one of the comfortable armchairs next to the couch.

you hum from your seat, "I'll see what i can do but I'm afraid I can't give you your own phone or computer. haeun will probably do something about the phone situation and if you want, you can go to our game room to use the computers. everything's been secured there."

you side eye him, "we can't really risk you making contact with anyone outside. just, you know. a lot of, uh" you stutter, obviously trying your best to not insult or hurt his feelings. he had to bite his lips to keep from laughing at your endearing reaction.

"it's okay, i get it, really." you sigh in relief at his reassurance, nodding at him before going back to focus on the tv.

he hears a door open somewhere, haeun emerging from the kitchen with a bag of chips in one hand. jungkook averts his stare, she still scares him a little bit, not a lot, just a little. on her way to the stairs, she tosses a box in his lap and when jungkook looks down, it's a brand new phone.

"it's been secured, no way you can contact anyone without me finding out so don't even try." and then she disappears into one of the rooms upstairs just like that. he notices her room is the one to the left of yours.

you smile at him, "sorry, you're gonna be off the grid for a while." he shrugs at that, he thinks he doesn't mind it too much now.

---

he's only been here three days, but he already finds himself getting comfortable around your friends. once the wariness had wore off and they're sure he could be trusted, they had started warming up to him.

jimin had been one of the first one to approach him, asking him if he wanted to work out with him in the gym room. jungkook had accepted the invitation and now jimin had dubbed him as his workout buddy since yoongi and taehyung won't budge when he asked them.

they usually spend a few hours in the gym, exercising together and making light conversations. he finds jimin to be very friendly, sometimes a little too friendly for someone he literally just met a few days ago.

taehyung had been the second person he befriended. apparently, walking into the game room had been enough to get taehyung to open up to you. now, taehyung pesters him to game with him anytime he has time to play, complaining that no one else in the house is interested in playing with him except for haeun who's busy most of the time and jungkook is happy to entertain him.

on the other hand, he doesn't see the trio all that much around the house, and the time he does, the interaction is usually short lived and curt. but he does feel that they're trying to be nicer to him. it's just that, with the history of their past interaction, it gets kinda awkward sometimes.

he also doesn't see you as much as he would like now, only seeing you in the morning for breakfast and at night for dinner in the dining room, each time always checking up on how he's doing. he doesn't know where you go for the rest of the day.

truth be told, he misses hanging out with you.

he rolls over in bed, standing up to close the curtains when he hears a knock on his door. tilting his head to the side, he wonders who it is and opens the door to you standing in front of him, hair wet like you just took a shower, flustered.

"uh hey."

"hey."

"so- sorry. I'm just here to grab some stuffs?" he remembers that this is, in fact, your room. "Oh! Of course," and steps to the side, allowing you to come in.

you make a bee line to your wardrobe, throwing the door open to grab your clothes. he hesitantly sits on his, well, your bed, hand awkwardly placed in his lap while he watches you sort your clothes into a bag you have with you.

he coughs to get your attention, "um, you know. you can just stay in this room?"

you freeze in your place when you hear him, "wha- what. what do you mean?"

he notices how he phrases his question, quickly backtracking to avoid embarrassing himself, "i mean! maybe you can just stay here and i can stay at the guest bedroom you're staying in right now? this is your room after all and all of your things are probably here while i have my things in a bag and can easily relocate to the other bedroom, i also don't want to intrude on your private space."

you turn around to sit next to him on the bed, "are you sure?" "yeah, it's fine."

you mull over his question for a while, "no, it's okay. this room is closer to the other's rooms."

he deflates at that, he thought you trusted him? "so it doesn't feel as stifling as that one since it's so far away." you shift your body towards him, "this room feels a lot more comfortable, so i would like for you to stay here instead so your stay here would be more comfortable too." he perks back up at that, heart skipping a beat at your thoughtfulness. "this room is also bigger."

"you're really cute." oh shit, he said that out loud. your expression doesn't change, most likely because you're so surprised but he does see pink tinging your cheeks.

"tha- right. oh! i mean, thanks. i- i guess?" you're really cute, he thinks. you quickly stand up, going back to your wardrobe with impressive speed, "right i need to, uh i need to pack some more clothes."

you start shoving clothes into your bag, and jungkook worries he made you uncomfortable.

"sorry, i didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." he apologizes, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

you stop packing, a black garment in your hands when you turn back around to look at him. "no! it's not- I'm not- don't apologise- it's-"

he raises his eyebrows at you,

"I'm, I'm just embarrassed, sorry."

"you don't have to apologize."

"right! right, sorry."

he chuckles at that, redirecting the conversation to another topic to avoid prolonging the awkwardness, "so, um." he doesn't really know how to bring it up but he decides to just go for it. "where have you been lately? i haven't seen you around that much."

you continue packing some clothes and move to the desk to grab some more things. "oh, I've been kinda busy lately, with some-" you cough, "with some work. it's just some documents and things and yeah."

he senses that you're trying to not to reveal too much which probably means it has something to do with why he's here. he decides to let it slide, not wanting to pry too much into it. "i see."

you zip up your bag once you're done, turning around to sit back beside him on the bed, "why? is something the matter?"

"oh, no. it's just." he hesitates for a brief moment. "i just miss you, it's all." he grumbles underneath his breath, kind of embarrassed.

you take his hands in your and squeeze, "I'm sorry. i know it must be hard to adapt to a new environment without someone you're familiar with, right? I'll try to make more time, okay?" he wants to tell you he's perfectly adapted to his new environment and that he just misses spending time with you but he keeps his mouth shut, running his thumb across your knuckles.

he nods but stays quiet, staring at your hands between his. "how about we go watch some movies? I'm free right now," you offer after hearing his prolonged silence.

his shoulders perk up at that, "really?"

smiling, you nod enthusiastically. "yeah! you can go pick a movie and I'll get some snacks downstairs." you stand up, pulling him with you out the door and guiding him to the room next door.

he's never been to this room before. "I'll go get the snacks!" you shout as you quickly run downstairs, to the direction of the kitchen.

the room is large, being one of the master bedroom, and cozy. half of the floor is covered with comfortable rug, soft enough to lay on with a large tv pressed against one of the walls. a shelf sat underneath it with a coffee table in front of it, surrounded by large sofas and multiple bean bags covered with blankets.

he makes his way towards the shelf under the tv after turning on the light, browsing through the movie selection of the house. you come back a few minutes later with three large bags of potato chips and two bottles of water, dumping them on the coffee table before joining him in browsing for the perfect movie.

he settles on the floor after picking the movie, leaning against the couch behind him so he can be closer to the chips. you lay down on the couch behind him, hand dangling over his shoulder to steal some of his chips instead. "you haven't seen this one yet, right?" he asks around a mouthful of chips.

"no." you mumble into the couch, one hand unconsciously massaging the knots on his shoulder. he shivers at the sensation, willing himself to stay put. "do you know what kinda movie this is?"

"no."

"it's a horror movie."

"oh."

he twists his body to look at you, "are you okay with that?" you blink sleepily at him, lips curving down into a confused pout, "yeah I'm fine with that." he nods at that and focuses back on the screen.

he's pretty embarrassed to admit that he flinches more than you despite being the one who picked the movie but the feeling is overshadowed by his feelings of contentment to be able to spend some more time with you.

one movie turns into a marathon and before he realizes it, the both of you had fallen asleep, comfortable in each other's presence.

---

contrary to what you said, for the next couple of days, he actually sees less of you than before, only seeing you in the morning for breakfast. in fact, he had seen less of the others in the house too. it's like he's back in his apartment again, alone, just in a bigger space.

today is the first time jimin had asked him to go to the gym again, citing that he was busy the last few days and unable to work out. he walks into the gym expecting to find jimin already on weights but is surprised when he sees you and yoongi at the corner of the room, sparring.

"hope you don't mind." jimin says from next to him, wiping the sweat on his forehead with the towel around his neck. he jumps in surprise when he hears him, quickly shaking his head to bring his thoughts back, "no i don't mind it's okay."

he steals a quick glance at you, eyes scanning over your practice clothes. flustered, he coughs when he sees you throw a punch to yoongi's rib, and averts his eyes somewhere else, feeling his cheeks heat up.

not looking back at where you are, he makes his way to the treadmill at the other side of the room, putting his headphones on so he won't be tempted to look back.

it's not like it's the first time he's seen you in a more casual, more revealing clothing. it's just that the sight amplifies the odd butterflies he feels on his stomach.

he feels his heart beat a little quicker but he doesn't think it's the treadmill. for now, he'll shove it all into a box labeled "later" for him to address another time.

these past few days, he can feel the tension in the house rising without a single word being exchanged, and seeing you practice with yoongi confirms his thoughts. all of you were planning on something, he just doesn't know what.

when he's done with his run, he takes off his headphones and moves to the weights. focusing himself on his exercise instead of you, snapping his gaze up when he hears the door to the gym open. "(y/n), yoongi, come with me. we need to talk." soomin says, turning around to leave before receiving a confirmation.

he sees you and yoongi stand up, gulping down water before walking out the door without so much of a nod of acknowledgement. before you close the door, you send an apologetic smile his way.

he hopes everything's alright.

---

that night, he couldn't quell his curiosity and finds himself walking to your door after dinner. you didn't come down from the office for dinner, only appearing for a short while to grab a cup of coffee before disappearing back into your room. he knocks on the wood and waits, shifting his weight around when he doesn't hear any movement.

he was about to turn around to leave when the door swung open, revealing you on the other side. if jungkook pays close enough attention, he can see the faint dark circles underneath your eyes. "hey jungkook. what's up?"

"can i… can i talk to you?" he toys with the zipper on his jacket, gaze bouncing around to avoid looking at you.

you step to the side to let him in, "sure. what do you want to ask?"

"it's just, I'm just wondering." he sits on the chair next to the door while you take a seat on your desk where he can see piles of papers scattered on top of it. you tilt your head to the side in question, urging him to continue his question.

"why is everyone so busy lately? it seems like everyone's a little tense?"

you freeze at his question, eyes going wide for a split second before you sigh, slumping into the leather chair. "i guess i should tell you."

he frowns, crossing his legs and placing his hands on his lap. "tell me what?"

"we're publicizing the information tomorrow. regarding your father."

he tries to process the words, he really did. tries to find a place in his mind where he can store the sentence, but he just couldn't. he doesn't know what to think. should he be upset? angry? terrified? sad? relieved? he doesn't know.

he just feels numb.

you continue when you don't hear him speak, "he will be arrested and the money will be seized by the government. I'll try to damage control as much as i can so your family doesn't get the brunt of it."

he didn't realize that you had moved to crouch down in front of him, placing a reassuring hand on top of his to bring him back from his mind. "we'll be returning from said vacation in about two days in pretense that we heard the news, and then I'll either get fired or resigned so my cover won't be blown. and i," you trail off, gripping his hand just a little tighter.

"i really hope that you don't betray my trust. i know that, that it's risky. it's so, so risky to let you go with the amount of information you have on us. especially now that you know significantly more than anyone else ever involved with us. but i just, i can't let you get tangled in this mess much more. so i really hope that once all of this is over, i can let you go and you can move on with your life, try to forget about us. put all of this behind you and live happily.

"i hope that me trusting you with all of this won't be my downfall. because i know how easy it is for you to just walk to the authority and reveal everything you know about us. but i really really hope that my choice to believe in you won't hurt my team because i really don't want you to get hurt anymore either."

his mind runs through every concerns you just revealed to him. pulling you onto his lap, he wraps his arms around your waist, face dangerously close to yours. "i don't want to forget about you." his voice is so faint that you doubt you'll be able to hear it if not for the proximity of your face.

he closes his eyes and sighs, resting his forehead against yours. you place your hand on his shoulder, eyes softening at the emotions coloring his face. "it's my turn to talk now, okay?" he opens his eyes to stare at you, gaze more intense than that time he lost to mario kart. you nod mutely at his request.

"i know you're scared of me holding this knowledge with me because you're scared that i might be angry at you and your team for what you're doing but it's not true." his gaze softens when he looks at you, soft lights framing your worried face. "I'm not angry at you, what you're doing is necessary, I'm more angry at him, angry at myself for not knowing but mostly angry at him for letting greed overcome him. so don't worry about me going to the authority, i won't."

he rubs comforting circles at the small of your back, watching as your posture relax slightly in his hold. "i also don't want to move on and forget about you. i don't want to lose you, don't want to put you and everything else behind me." it's obvious you want to interject, but you kept your promise of letting him talk.

"despite it all, your team had become my friends too so i don't want to forget about them either. i hope that once this is all over, you'll let me stay by your side and be around you. i feel safer with you, I'm happier with you." he'll keep the rest of his confession to himself for now, deeming it not the right time just yet.

you rest your head on his shoulder, hands unconsciously playing with their hair on his nape. "but i can't let you stay, it's dangerous and complicated."

you sound so confused, so lost, unsure and uncertain, that all jungkook wanted to do is hold you tight to him and assure you it'll be alright.

he rests his head against yours, "we'll figure it out. I'll be by your side, i promise."

---

"Governer Jeon revealed to be involved in embezzlement."

"An anonymous tip was received last night, revealing that the well respected governor had been embezzling money from multiple public projects and storing them in an offshore account. Other than taking money from the goverment, it's known that he had also been receiving bribe money from multiple companies for various reasons for the past year. Many questions how he had been able to avoid detection for quite some time.

Since the information had been revealed, Governor Jeon had been arrested this morning and taken into custody to await for trials. All of the money will be seized by the goverment and will be redistributed back to the projects with lacking funds.

It's revealed that all the money has never been used before other than paying other involved parties, except for a withdrawal of 5 million dollars a few months ago, apparently after the kidnapping of his son. Some posit a theory that the 5 million donations the next day have been from the people who took his son, determined to get the money the former governor had stolen back to it's rightful owner.

Staffs and family members will be questioned by the police, but it is believed that none of his family members had been aware of his secret, being that he had never withdrawn the money for anything else, suggesting he was hoarding the money for himself for when his reign as the governor end next year.

Read more to find out about the full evidence submitted last night and other parties involved in the scandal."

---

jungkook busies himself by staying at the game room today, not in the mood to talk to anyone or accidentally listening to the news. it's not that he's angry at you and your team, he just doesn't want to know what kind of look they will give him. remorse? pity? disdain?

he knows that they know he's not involved and that he's against it as much as them but he can't help but fear how the reveal might change their perspective on him. thankfully, they didn't bother him, letting him have his time alone to process everything. that, or maybe they're busy. he'd like to believe it's the former.

he also needs to brace himself for the hectic days that's to come when he gets back, no doubts he will be questioned by the police and quite possibly run into some news reporters, eager to write the story.

he's glad that it's his break or he might lose his mind if he has to go to school on top of everything. he's restarting another game when the door opens, internally groaning to himself, he really doesn't want to be bothered today.

he feels someone placing something on the desk next to him, it's a plate of noodles and a glass of milk. he turns his head to find you standing next to him, sending a quick smile before turning around to leave.

he reaches for your wrist before you can take a step, patting the chair next to him when you pivot to look at him in question. you wordlessly comply, sitting down and scooting the chair closer to him.

he's the first one to break the silence, "what am i supposed to do with the police and reporters?"

"answer the police truthfully, they already know you're not involved, it's all just for show and protocol. same with the reporters, they just want confirmation for what they already know. I'll still be your bodyguard for the next few days, so I'll help you deal with them."

" and if it makes you feel any better, your mom has arranged you another bodyguard for the time being."

he straightens at that, turning his chair to face you. "really? how did you know?"

"she contacted me, said she'll assign another person to help because one probably won't be enough for now. at least until everything has settled."

nodding, he grabs the glass and chugs the drink inside. you'd think he's taking a shot if it doesn't look like a glass of milk.

you place a hand on his back, and he muses he likes it when you touch him. "it's gonna be okay jungkook. I'll be by your side, okay?"

"i know."

you spend the rest of the day in the game room with him, watching him play games by himself and occasionally making snarky comments from the side. nobody else came to bother him that day, a fact that he's grateful for.

---

the morning came too soon for his liking, the day he has to go back and deal with everything causing his heart to beat loudly in nervousness. he hikes up the bag on his shoulder, waiting in the living room for you to come out of your room.

haeun tosses his phone back to him and when he checks, he has hundreds of unread messages. some from his mom, a few from unknown numbers, and a lot from his friends. true to your words, it seems like everybody believes that his family and himself is in no way involved with the incident. most texts are asking if he's heard the news, if he's okay and to contact them back when he can.

everyone seems to be aware that he's on a supposed vacation where he can't be reached and he's sure it's haeun's doing.

he's still scrolling through his message when you come to stand next to him, with your own bags to make it look believable. "ready?" you ask.

shrugging in response, he shoves his phone into his pockets, deciding he'll deal with them later. "i guess."

"alright, there's a car that'll come pick you up in a minute and it'll drive you back straight to your apartment." haeun tells him, walking up the stairs with a loaf of bread in her hands to get back to her room.

a second later he sees a car pulling up to the front of the house, a sleek black SUV waiting for him. you settle yourself on the back seat, but he hesitates briefly before climbing into the car, this time without a threat of a gun pressed against his back.

the drive is silent for the rest of the way and he's ought to thank you for that. he doesn't really want to think, let alone speak. instead, he spends his time going through his messages, replying to every message and deleting the unnecessary one, namely from press. he should probably change his number after this.

soon enough, he arrives at his apartment building where a few reporters are waiting outside. it's not as crowded as he thought it'll be and he's glad for that. you slide out of the car before him, putting on your bodyguard persona once again before opening his door for him when you deem it safe.

they immediately rush to him, throwing questions after questions without listening for an answer first. thankfully, with your presence next to him, they don't crowd around him, standing far enough that he can still move around. he listens to what you told him last night, answering the necessary questions truthfully and that seems enough to placate them into letting him walk inside his building and away from them.

before he gets the chance to get inside the elevator however, he's stopped by your hand gently clasping around his wrist. "your mom's bodyguard is here."

he looks to see a tall man walking his way, with a suit similar to yours and sleek back dark hair. "hello. I'm kim seokjin, your temporary bodyguard."

he curtly nods in greeting, he just wants to get back to his apartment, not feeling like exchanging pleasantries with anyone. without saying another word, he speed walks to the elevator, pushing the buttons in agitation.

in record speed, he reaches his door and before entering, addresses the both of you, "i want to be alone for the rest of the day, please. I'll come get you if i need to go outside."

you nod in understanding, sending a glance to seokjin who also nods before walking to the end of the hallway. "are you gonna be okay?" you ask once seokjin is far enough. he purses his lips, "eventually," and close the door behind him.

---

for the next few days, jungkook is preoccupied with the police and press, and when he's not going out to attend the meetings with the authorities, he stays inside and shuts himself out. you're starting to worry about him, but you know he really does need the time to himself.

in the meanwhile, you familiarize seokjin with everything he needs to know, telling him that your contract is about to end and there's a possibility you're not going to be jungkook's bodyguard anymore. he had nod in understanding and promise to you that he'll do his best to protect him.

you knock on the door to his apartment, nervously shifting in your place. when he opens his door, he looks exhausted, prominent dark circles decorating his face. worried, you frown, stepping inside his apartment and placing your hands on his face to examine him.

"are you okay? you look like you haven't been sleeping."

he closes his eyes at your touch, "yeah, yeah everything's fine, i don't know I'm just." he wraps his arms around your waist to pull you closer, resting his head in the crook of your neck. "there was just some things i needed to take care of. everything's fine now."

you nod, bringing a hand up to rub his back. "i came here because i needed to tell you something."

he hums, arms slightly tightening their hold on you. "i know, your contract ends tomorrow, right?"

you hum in answer, pulling away from him to guide him to the couch. he sits close to you, resting his head on your shoulder and holding your hand between his. "so after tomorrow, you're not someone who works for me anymore."

"uh huh."

"so should i tell you i love you after your contract ends or can i tell you now?"

you freeze in his hold, not expecting him to bring this topic up right now. both of you had been skirting around the conversation long enough. your heart skips a beat at his statement, and you try to supress the smile playing on your lips.

"well, do you want me to tell you i love you too after or before my contract ends?" you don't know when you realize you were in love with him, but you have a feeling it's before he even fainted into your arms and had to be taken to your house.

the realization wasn't a loud declaration, but more of a soft whisper at the back of your mind. when you told minhee about it, she had barked out a laughter and said "took you long enough to realize."

he squeezes your hand, turning his head to place a tiny kiss on your jaw. "tomorrow then."

laying on his bed that night, jungkook thinks tomorrow can't come soon enough.

---

the next day, you walk out of the office with lighter steps, your mission is done, your undercover role is thoroughly finished and you can finally go back to your house again.

while packing your bags in your former apartment, you can't help but think about how jungkook will fit into the puzzle. he had stated that he wanted to stay, and had been pretty determined in his stance. you entertain the thought of him joining your team for a whole second before throwing it out the window.

you don't want him to get hurt, you don't want him to be involved in something so complicated and confusing. you want him to be able to live normally and happily.

a knock on your door startles you out of your thoughts, you zip up your bag before placing it on the ground, opening the front door to find jungkook standing there with a big smile on his face.

"can i come in?"

you smile back at him, stepping to the side to let him in before closing the door behind you.

you turn around to see him standing behind you, hands reaching out to pull you close to him. "I love you. I'm so in love with you."

you wrap your arms around his shoulder, burying your face in the crook of his neck. you mutter loud enough for him to hear, "I'm in love with you too."

the confession fills you with warmth and makes you feel lighter at the same time.

he moves the two of you back until he can sit down on the couch with you on his lap. "can't you just move into my apartment or something." he grumbles to your hair, hands splayed on your shoulder blade.

you chuckle at his tone, peppering light kisses to the side of his neck that cause him to squirm. "no, i can't. I'm sorry."

he sighs, "i guess it's fine." hesitantly, he asks, "i can still meet you and go to your place, right?"

you pull back to look at him, pursing your lips in thought, mulling over the situation, "not yet."

he frowns at that, "what do you mean?"

"seokjin is your bodyguard now, you can't go anywhere without him and we can't have someone knowing about where we live or who we are, even though he has no idea about it."

biting his lips, he closes his eyes in frustration. "so? am i supposed to wait until he's gone to see you?"

you take his face between your hands, smoothing his eyebrows with your thumbs, "hey, i can still come over and meet you. you just can't go to our house. it'll be fine."

his frown turns into a pout, one you want to kiss until it turns into a smile. so you gently place your lips on top of his, feeling as the corner of his lips turns upwards. he reciprocates the gestures, capturing your lips between his and pulling you impossibly closer to him. you pull back when you need air, jungkook chasing your lips before opening his eyes. you muse on how beautiful he look.

"how about you come over to my apartment right now?" he playfully smirks at you, hands moving slowly down your back. you bit back a smile at his offer, "yeah? what for? i should be heading home right now, you know."

he moves closer to your face, "just, you know. to play games." you try to contain your laughter, "no can do. gotta get going, have some errands to run."

he pouts at your answer, moving to steal another kiss before relenting, "fine."

standing up from your seat, you grin at him, slinging on the backpack and grabbing the bag you have with you, "maybe next time, kook."

his face breaks out into a large smile at the mention of his nickname, eyes scrunching cutely. he stands to accompany you, reaching for your hand to intertwine with his. you meet seokjin on your way down, nodding at him in goodbye and gratitude. jungkook orders him to not follow him, garnering a protest from seokjin that results in a back and forth bicker between the two. you watch with amusement as seokjin lectures him, jungkook shooting back rebuttal in a playful manner.

eventually jungkook wins, letting the two of you have more time alone before having to depart. once you reach your car, you squeeze his hand one more time, reaching to plant a kiss on his cheek. he seems unsatisfied with it, moving to capture your lips between his once again.

you giggle into the kiss, feeling him smile underneath your lips. reluctantly, he parts way from you when minhee taps on the window impatiently.

"I'll call you, okay?"

"okay. I love you."

you softly smile at him, eyes crinkling in endearment, "I love you too," and climb into the car. as the car drives away, you think, the two of you will be alright.

---

the sun shines brightly through the windows, causing you to groan and roll over to avoid accidentally blinding yourself when you open your eyes. the person next to you stirs, grip around your waist tightening momentarily before relaxing again. hoarsely, you cough out a question, "babe, did you forget to close the curtains last night?"

jungkook mumbles in his sleep, something that sounds like "what are you talking about? what's a curtain?" you're not quite sure but it sure doesn't sound like "i didn't close it, I'm sorry." so you roll over again until you fall to the carpet, sitting up and dragging yourself to the window to pull the curtains close so you can go back to sleep.

when you flop back onto the bed, you mumble sleepily into his ear, "kook, it's already 20 minutes past 8, you should probably hurry to your meeting with mirae and narae." at your words, he bolts up from his position, looking more awake like he had chugged 3 cups of coffee in one sitting. that's the effect the twins have on people, they truly hate it when people are late.

he scrambles to change his clothes, not even bothering to go to the bathroom to freshen up, muttering a chant of "fuck shit they're going to be so fucking pissed. fucking damnit."

he doesn't forget to kiss you before bolting out the door, slamming the door shut behind him as you hear his footsteps echoes through the house. if the twins don't get to him first, yoongi will, since you're sure he just woke him up.

2 months ago you completed your mission and moved away from your apartment. 2 weeks later, you find jungkook at your doorstep with a proposition in his mind and no seokjin behind him. a week later, you watch as jungkook chugged a glass of beer mixed with hot sauce, something taehyung and haeun dubbed as "initiation" but jimin preferred to call it a "celebratory" drink as jungkook officially joined your team.

it's been a little over a month since he settled into everything, and it seems like he adapted well enough into his new life. you smile to yourself at that. sure, you'd been apprehensive at first at the prospect but when you see how determined he is, you decided to relent and follow along.

unsurprisingly, he's good at whatever task soomin threw his way, easily completing it in record speed and usually leaving her speechless when he goes to report to her. he also learned martial arts pretty quickly, something you know yoongi is pleased at because of how he call him his "best student" and "(y/n) it took you 5 months to learn this move and this guy got it in 2 days." which cause your eye to twitch in annoyance that you have to supress the urge to throttle yoongi.

he hadn't been assigned any significant mission just yet, only helping others with theirs for now, but by the look of it, yoongi and soomin might let him lead his own mission soon, impressed by his capabilities.

you look over to the clock at your bedside table, groaning to yourself when you see the 8:58 blinking back at you. deciding you won't be able to fall back asleep, you drag yourself downstairs to get some breakfast, remembering that yoongi is cooking today since soomin is out of town. the thought of yoongi cooking relieves you since the last time both of them were out of the house, haeun had managed to burnt 3 pots and broke two cups while taehyung stands to the side with a bucket of water in case something caught on fire.

when you reach the kitchen, you find it to be empty, plates of waffles neatly stacked on the counter with some foil over it to keep it warm. you fix a plate for yourself and jungkook, sitting at the counter with a glass of orange juice next to you.

before you finish your plate, you feel someone wrapping their arms around your waist from behind, jungkook's head resting against your shoulder. "i narrowly escaped their wrath."

"yeah? how angry were they though?"

"angry enough to keep me on garden duty while soomin is out of town."

"huh, not too bad. once, taehyung was late for literally 47 seconds and they had his games restricted for a week." he hisses in sympathy, "yikes."

"uhuh, they're going easy on you. i fixed you a plate of waffles already, and there's a new carton of milk for you in the fridge." you detach yourself from him, putting your dishes on the sink before turning to look at him. "i have some documents i had to send, so I'll be at the office, alright?"

he kisses you deeply before you leave, one hand resting on the small of your back while the other holds the side of your face.

"bro! this is a kitchen! take that shit somewhere else, some of us are single!" haeun screams from the doorway.

you part way from his lips, laughing loudly on your way out. "I love you babe."

he shouts back from the kitchen, "I love you too!"

yoongi shouts from his room. "shut the fuck up!"

the house breaks into a laughter at that, and you reckon, the house feels warmer now.

#btsghostie #bts scenarios #bts drabble #bts imagines #bts x reader #bts fanfic #bts au #jungkook scenarios #jungkook drabble #jungkook imagines #jungkook x reader #jungkook fanfic #jungkook au #dear koo #writings

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mannien · 3 years

Text

Mornings in Sheffield Park | TH - CHAPTER 1

The one with stress, takeout food around the world, late night walks, and Disney dreams.

Word count: 6.6k

Warnings: some stress, some anxiety, mention of sex, and a lot of smiles

Masterlist

Fourth week into the morning pitch meetings at BBC, Millie felt lifeless and drained. The room was usually exploding with ideas, creative energy, and a lot of constructive feedback to the few interns who were allowed to join the conversation with editors, writers, and producers. That morning had started ugly enough for her: with an overwhelming number of e-mails about the schedule and missing content for Politics Live.

When she first landed her spot at BBC, Millie was over the moon. She was constantly calling it a dream come true, a once in a lifetime opportunity for her to begin a writing career in media. Her degree seemed to be the best choice for her future and Millie was ready to prove that graduating from humanities can actually land her a decent job. Her first days were filled with morning preparations, early commute to the city centre and exceptionally smoothed out shirts. The work environment in such a fast-paced industry felt inspiring and daunting at the same time, but Millie felt obligated to use this experience to its full potential. Each day she attempted to learn more than the day before and possibly show off a tiny bit more of her creative skills to her superiors. She spent her evenings researching topics and people, trying not to fall out of the loop. Being one step forward was hard work, one that Millie desperately wanted to ace.

The second week of her internship brought a slight shift to her agenda. After grasping the general concepts of working for a major radio and TV broadcasting company, she was aware of the production processes. She tried to happily follow up all the details about the work of a writer, a researcher, or an editor – just so she could be prepared for the follow-up of the introductory week. And as she hoped her interview was remembered and she would soon contribute to any program touching upon music or pop culture, her dreams and calls were slowly fading away. The intern manager ascribed her to the team devoted strictly to politics and daily news, having no vacancies for the popular radio programs. Even though she took whatever spot was offered, it was only to get more insight and experience.

Having already managed to speak up a few times during the morning routines in the conference room, Millie eased herself into the work environment and was treated like a regular employee. But the first wave of success quickly passed, especially when she was hit with growing emptiness in her brain. She did not enjoy politics, so as far as she could, she attempted to sneak in a sociological aspect into the context. But her tactic had an expiration date.

A couple of heads were expectantly turned at Millie when she was unsurely stuttering her weak ideas for the upcoming programme. She knew it wasn’t going well and she was mentally cursing herself for trying to impress the producers that much so early on.

“This isn’t gonna work. We’ve covered this enough in the evening news. Let’s take five, and maybe you’ll come up with a different angle. I’ll give you another shot here.”

Hugh, the head writer took off his glasses and watched her fidget in her seat. She nodded and took a deep breath, before leaving the room for a short break. Her mind was racing in panic; she wasn’t ready to admit that she didn’t have any idea. She walked back and forth through the corridor until she cursed quietly and walked away to the main hall. She pulled her phone from the back pocket and without overthinking this anymore, she called her boyfriend. He picked up after the third ring.

“Babe, can I call you back…”

“No, Frank,” She felt determined and fierce. Her hands shook from the pure view on board members slowly coming back from the kitchen with fresh coffee mugs. They were probably waiting to hear her another take on the TV show which Millie, wholeheartedly, was beginning to hate. “My work on the programme is too basic and I’ve been roasted for the past fifteen minutes or so. Hugh has me in the spotlight in front of everyone. Help me, please?”

“It’s not your fault they’ve given you a job you’re not good at, babe. It’s just an internship, they will roast you anyway.”

Millie’s lungs were ready to stop working and suffocate her. She feared she might start hyperventilating, or at least meet up with a panic attack from the nerves. Franklin’s reaction seemed to be absolutely unfair and inconsiderate of her actual feelings, and he must have felt that through the piercing silence on the line.

“Look, I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t worry so much about it. They will probably just give you another placement where you’ll fit more, I don’t see why it’s such a bad thing.” And just like that, she started doubting herself and her right to overthink her situation. It didn’t sit well with Millie and she could feel anger slowly making its way through her veins.

“Can’t you just fucking help me? This one time?” She lost her temper, she lost her patience. At the same time Riley, one of the end writers, started waving at her from the end of the hall as to show her that her time is coming to an end. “I need a hook, or something that would spark a debate. Brexit-themed, maybe. Can you think of anything?”

Frank groaned loudly. He wasn’t exactly happy that she made him break down his ambitious wall and let her in on topics he was too invested in. Millie could hear him moving around as he left his desk of the equally large office of The Guardian, until the line went surprisingly quiet. Her anger and fear made her clutch her phone tightly to her ear, while her legs started carrying her slowly to the terrifying conference room.

“Think internationally. See what the Spanish had to say about May’s resignation from the Office. Think economics in the EU. Try to stand on the Union’s side and do some fair judgement.”

“Give me facts, not ideas. You’re the one who knows politics.”

“Spanish government says that May’s resignation is bad news. Compare it to the popular opinion that she was the worst Prime Minister since the 18th century and the American war on independence.” Millie breathed in, trying to desperately grasp all the details he just provided her with.

“That’s a… harsh and history-digging argument,” She mumbled in surprise, “where did you get that from?” She grabbed a yellow post-it note from the reception desk and quickly scribbled the key words on it. Her briefing on politics was never something like this and she could feel the embarrassment making its way into her heart. It wasn’t her way of thinking and she felt like a fraud.

“I can’t tell you that.” By the end of the single sentence Millie could feel the blood escaping her face, making her look pale and scared for dear life. She didn’t want to have heard that sentence, she was definitely happier not knowing how did he come up with a story like this. That was one of the many reasons she tried not to talk business with him.

“An opinion entry. A column for The Guardian. Shit, you just busted one of your colleagues.”

“Sometimes I hate it that you’re smart. Did I ever tell you that?”

“You just saved my internship!”

“Please don’t say that. I will pretend that we just talked about the weather.”

“I’ll spend them the details. You’re the best, Frank.”

“Alright, go kick ass.”

And that she did. Franklin did save her internship, mainly because Millie avoided the specifics about who and why said something so harsh about the resigning Prime Minister. However, it definitely did spark interest among the production board. Afraid of not being so lucky next time, she decided to politely suggest a replacement for her permanent internship division within BBC, due to her ‘personal discomfort with discussions over issues of such importance and potential shame to their glorious country.’

Millie felt bad for using her boyfriend’s knowledge for survival at work. She wasn’t genuine and her idea didn’t come from her hard work - it was sourced in fear and anxiety-driven reactions. This situation proved to her that she wasn’t fit for the position, but it also raised her stress levels around the fact that she couldn’t get by on her own in the industry. She didn’t want others to navigate her through it all, but the conversation she had with Frank had also made her uncomfortable. Her need of support in a stressful situation was primarily turned down, so—naturally to her character—she started to worry even more.

With a heavy heart and two bags of Wagamama takeout, she walked up the stairs to his apartment. She was usually working until later hours than Frank, so all she really needed was for him to open the door for her. She leaned on the doorframe as she waited patiently for the two turns of the lock. He opened still in his work attire – tailored jeans and a light grey button up shirt. He was holding his phone next to his ear and humming approvingly to the speaker when he looked her up and down. He winked at her and let her in, as he continued to talk with someone.

Inside, Millie found the TV turned on with a football game playing. His work jacket was still hanging on the back of the tall stool in the kitchen, and the grocery bags laid unpacked on the table. She took off her shoes and made her way to the kitchen, where she made a little room for their food on the countertop. Pulling off her sweater, she peeked into the shopping bags – she wasn’t surprised to find a couple bottles of beer and food essentials, a multipack of tissues and a large box of condoms.

“What’s all this, babe?” Franklin came up to her and briefly kissed her on the lips, before looking into the boxes with deliciously smelling food.

“I just thought it might be nice to eat some goodies,” She smiled, trying to sniff out his mood first. He smiled back at her with approval and reached for the plates in the cupboard, so she continued, “also, it’s a ‘thank you for being my saviour today,’ kinda thing.”

“Ah, yeah. I bet everyone on my floor will hate BBC’s guts for that.” Frank said it so casually, with a shrug to follow up, that Millie struggled to understand the dynamic he had at The Guardian. He seemed to be a great fit for his team, because a week into his new job, he was already invited for Friday drinks and talked about his co-workers just like anyone would about their long-time friends. She couldn’t understand how was he getting so lucky at any step, but the last thing she wanted to do is doubt him. Any time worries and competitiveness clouded her brain, Millie was making extra room for compassion and support.

Frank unloaded some of the curry on his plate and started eating with a fork, and then made his way to the living room where he spread out on the sofa. He didn’t say anything else, somewhat scaring Millie that he will let her know he’s uncomfortable randomly, on a promisingly good day. Trying to figure out her brain, she followed his actions and took some extra food to the coffee table, before sitting down next to him.

“But you’re not gonna get into trouble for that, are you?” she was biting the inside of her cheek hard, definitely not used to not being judged for using someone else’s help.

“Nah, I don’t think so. They don’t know I’ve got a girl at BBC, so I should be just fine.”

Millie ate her curry in silence, suddenly at loss of words driven by his surprising statement. She didn’t want to raise an argument or seem overly sensitive. But for some reason she hoped that he would talk about her at work, especially considering his already formed strong bonds in the office, and a definitely higher success rate in his position. Ever so charming Franklin, he always glowed among people. She couldn’t really fight with this, so she just kept any comments to herself and focused on her food.

Frank switched the channel to the evening news and pulled her to his side once they were done eating. It comforted Millie to know that at the end of the day, they could both enjoy each other’s company, no matter what was happening at work. She didn’t pay much attention to the news, but rather focused on the way he reacted to it and what he enjoyed. She felt too tired to get invested in another load of politics, so she just soaked in his warmth and curled more into his side. He smelled of coffee and heavy, musky cologne that he liked to reapply frequently. Millie closed her eyes and breathed out the stress that weighed her down after a long day, finally finding peace.

“I’ll go grab a beer, you want one?” he abruptly stood up, making her slightly loose her balance and lean back towards the pillows. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips in a thin line.

“I’m good, thanks.”

“You sure? You’re awfully quiet today.” He spoke already from the kitchen, not even catching a glimpse of her pursed lips.

“I just need to wind down. It’s been stressful day.” She pushed a little smile on her cheeks as he came back with a frown. He took a few large sips of his drink and put it on the table, before lowering himself on the couch and leaning over Millie.

“I can help you relax, if you want.” He raised an eyebrow in a flirtatious manner, leaning into her and leaving a series of delicate kisses on her lips. He then moved onto her jaw and sucked on her skin, but never left a mark. Slowly massaging her waist, he slid his hand under her shirt and sprawled his fingers across her hip to pull her closer.

Millie enjoyed the warmth that started to spread through her body, but she couldn’t find any energy to give some of it back. She felt drained and exhausted, so a mere thought about participating in sexual activities was sure to make her at least slightly uncomfortable. Unless Frank was willing to change something about it.

“Okay, hold on,” her chuckle and a light push at his chest made him narrow his eyebrows in confusion, “I don’t think I’ve got enough energy today, Frankie.” Her whisper was followed by a reassuring smile. She weaved her fingers through his short hair and kissed the tip of his nose.

“What if I provide you with some energy first?”

“What, you’ll give me an energy drink?” She laughed at her poor joke and he chuckled, too, but more at her silliness than anything else. He laid her down comfortably and cautiously peppered her with kisses on her neck and the tiny bit of cleavage that was available without unbuttoning her shirt. She was slowly giving in, allowing him to get lower on her body and touch her. Frank either wanted to make her feel better, or was really horny. But whatever the case was, she didn’t want to stop him and ruin his enthusiasm. The glow in his eyes and admiration painted across his face were too intoxicating to back away. His touch was filled with sparks of emotions and a kind of drive that Millie was addicted to. She felt wanted and needed, and that’s what made her return the heated kisses despite her hooded, weary eyes.

They walked hand in hand through the chilly evening, sometime after she persuaded Frank to walk her to the nearest tube station. The wind was slightly tickling her neck, but other than that she felt at peace. She let her hair down, flowing gently with each blow of the air and lightly caressing her face like a safety blanket. They swayed their hands until they had to make room for a group of people passing by.

“Jane texted me about a little get together this Friday,” She mumbled into the night, trying not to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere around them.

“Ah, yeah. Aaron told me about it, too. I guess we’re going, right?”

“Yeah, it might be nice. The girls mentioned this new club near their apartment? I think that’s where they wanted to go.”

“Cool. I could use a little break.”

As they continued their walk, Millie mostly focused on leading the way through tight London streets. Franklin’s parents rented him an apartment in the city centre, close to everything you could dream of in London. It also meant crowded streets at any hour, so to have a nice walk around the neighbourhood usually requested it to be late at night. But it didn’t matter to him, as long as he had a short commute to the office and all other things that life requested from him, within reach. There were times when he would mention coming back to Manchester and supporting his parents at their law firm, but Millie saw how much he preferred his growing career as a journalist. Mathilda and William were a generous couple, so they shared their resources with him and tried to help him get into the business as smoothly as possible. Sometimes she wanted to ask him about his permanent position at The Guardian and whether his name had anything to do with it, but she never felt comfortable enough to do it. Some things were better left unspoken.

Reaching the staircase to the station, Franklin stopped and made her turn to him and look up at his smiling face.

“Thanks for coming over tonight. I had fun.”

“Yeah, me too.” She smiled shyly, nodding her head in reassurance.

“I wish you could finally move to the city, though. It would be so much easier if you were a few blocks away.”

“You do realize that even if I moved out, it wouldn’t be anywhere nearby?” Her chuckle resonated through her body, almost as if she wanted to humour herself at the topic that had started to come up more often in their conversations.

“I could ask around the office if anyone has a room available to rent.”

“But I don’t want to share my personal space with strangers, you know this. Don’t try to change my mind about it.” She smiled tightly.

Frank has been trying to persuade her into moving out for months. He wanted to be closer to her, within a short train journey, rather than a whole commute in and out of Kingston. He felt comfortable in the business of London, and Millie liked to call him out on being spoiled by having an apartment on his own in such a lively part of the city. But she wasn’t financially ready to leave her family home in equally comfortable Southwest London, where she had all she needed within her reach, and her social life was just a tiny bit longer train trip away. It was a source of their small disputes from time to time, because it was Millie who spent more time on going to his place and spending time there. Naturally, it made her feel more engaged in their relationship and Frank tried his best make up for the difference. But one thing that never occurred, was Millie staying over for longer than a night. Even a night’s sleepover was a rare event, somehow always blessed by excuses from either one of them.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” he pecked her lips and brushed her cheek with his thumb. “I talk about it out of concern, okay?”

“Okay. But I like my train rides and I like Kingston. So let’s just deal with it for now, yeah?”

“’Course,” He sent her a tight smile before giving her one last kiss. “Text me when you get home.”

“Will do.”

Millie was one of those people who could be easily judged as thinkers. Years of taking trains and buses in and out of central London taught her to cherish every moment of peace she gets during her journeys. That’s how she learned to create playlists for each season – summer commutes were always different than autumn ones; they required different sounds and lyrical quality. Intense months during university semesters also showed her how to read fast between the stops and how to juggle standing on the tube and holding an open book without falling, as the train slowed and rushed every few seconds.

As she was approaching her station in Kingston, she stopped the music but kept her earphones in. A bunch of other people was hurrying to get out of the train and get home as soon as possible, but after leaving the station, she would have a lonely 15-minute walk to her neighbourhood, so she always tried to stay alert in the evenings. Getting on the sidewalk in the busiest area of Kingston, she closed her book and put it back in her backpack, pulled the jacket tighter around her middle and continued her steady walk.

The air was getting crispier with each minute outside. It was refreshing and calm, disturbed only by a few laughs from the pub across the street and two cars passing her by. She turned into one of the quieter streets, where the buildings were becoming shorter and more separated from each other. Brick fences and trimmed hedges adorned the concrete sidewalks on both sides of the street, illuminated only by a few lanterns. Most of the light was coming from the windows in a row of semi-detached houses that Millie has known for a good chunk of her life.

Right when she wanted to cross the street and take a right, she heard a subtle clicking of a dog collar and a leash. Soft padding from the back was slowly approaching her and becoming louder, as well as someone’s whistle.

“Tess, come here!” a hushed call didn’t disrupt the peace of the night, but rather added the familiarity that Millie adored. She slowed her walk and turned around, just in time to be met with lightly jogging blue Staffordshire Bull Terrier. She panted lightly with her tongue out and reached Millie’s legs, where she tucked her head and mewled timidly.

“Oh, and who do we have here?” Millie chuckled at the dog’s persistence in keeping close. She scratched her head and patted her on the back, “are you on your evening walk, Tessa? Is that right?”

“We didn’t mean to scare you, Millie,” Dominic reached them and sent Millie a kind and apologetic smile, “good evening.”

“Hi, it’s good to see you.” She beamed at the middle-aged man, whom she learned to adore like a family member.

“Likewise, yeah. Heading home?”

“I am, just got off the train.”

“We will keep you company, then. Is that alright?” He fixed his glasses and leaned down to attach the leash to Tessa’s collar. Millie’s insides warmed and her mind calmed down at the idea that she will get to spend a few minutes with a friend.

“Absolutely, thank you.”

“Ah, don’t mention it. I bet Tom would have my head, hadn’t I offered,” they chuckled at the mention of his son. Their laughter died off comfortably and escaped into the night air, while Millie reminisced about the caring nature of the Hollands. “How is it going at BBC?” he asked after a moment, letting her go first through a narrow passage.

“It’s… going,” she smiled shyly, not sure how to dress up her words. In Dominic’s company she always felt one step behind in her creative skills; his writing and comic abilities exceeded her capabilities, or so she thought. “but I feel like I’ve definitely hit an end with politics. I know it’s only been a month, but it’s just… it keeps on proving that I should be writing about something else.”

“Oh, it’s totally understandable. Rest assured, you’re not the only one stuck like this,” They turned the corner onto her street. “but I wish you luck there. They have some sensible editors, so I assume you’ll get a chance at something else as well.”

“I hope so. Today I asked them about switching departments and the intern manager told me she will think about it, so there is a tiny light.”

“Something will always work out. You’re smart, you’ll find your way there.”

Dom and Millie continued down the sidewalk, until Tessa stopped near the gate to Millie’s house. She sniffed the pavement and turned back to the girl who crouched down to pet the Staffy one last time.

“Thanks for walking with me,” her smile was genuine, coming straight from her heart. “please say hi to Nikki and the boys. Is Sam still home?”

“He is, he starts his practice at the end of June. So, we all will be here to celebrate your birthdays.”

“Oh, that’s great! It’s been a while since we’ve all been together.”

“That’s true. But you’re welcome to stop by anytime.”

“I know, thank you.” With fondness painted across her face, she scratched Tessa’s ear and stood up straight, reaching for the keys in her pocket.

“Have a good night.”

“You too. Bye, Tess!”

Whenever she got the chance to interact with someone from their family, Millie instantly felt their love and care penetrate her straight to the core. It was this kind of relationship that had been built through the years, only making it stronger and bringing it closer to the concept of family.

Nikki, Dom’s wife and Anna, Millie’s mother met shortly before Millie and Tom were born. At first only neighbours, soon they became best friends to the point of engaging their families in a kind affair. Greetings at the doorstep turned into late night family dinners and weekends away with the kids. They were used to spending most of the birthdays and holidays together, especially when Millie and Tom’s birthdays two days apart brought them all closer. She raced her best friend in Anna’s womb and came out to this world right before the brown-haired boy. Ever since the Beavers celebrated the birth of their third and youngest daughter, the Hollands began their journey with four boys. They always stayed close and treated each other like family, deeming it necessary to nourish their friendship and turn it into something everlasting. The example of their parents taught Millie and Tom to mimic the closeness and made them create their own little world.

Millie’s older sisters also treated Tom, Harry, Sam and Paddy like brothers, but not as much as Millie did. Samantha and Liz were already grown toddlers when the families got together, so they figured more as the female patrons of their youngest sister and her adventures with the boys. But Millie and Tom’s friendship turned into something so effortless and harmless that no supervision was necessary. They were each other’s partners in crime, best friends from next door. Their mothers had signed them up for the same dance classes, helped them get to the same summer carnivals, and let them have late nights in makeshift dens. Millie was one of the first people their dog, Tessa, got familiar with. She missed him dearly when he started his journey as a young actor, but Nikki made sure he always made the time to call his best friend when the time zones were somewhat cooperating. They nurtured their friendship through Millie’s education and Tom’s career, not stopping even for a moment. He was there for her always, carrying her home when she scratched her knee after falling off the slings. She would help him with homework whenever he felt too embarrassed to ask his parents. Tom escorted her home from her disaster of a prom; he was the first one to understand her anxiety and help her through it. And Millie always read the books and scripts Tom needed to prepare for auditions. Just like that, they always found home in one another.

Their house smelled of baking and freshly watered plants. As quietly as possible, Millie took off her shoes and tip-toed into the kitchen, turning on only the least invasive, small lights. She put down her backpack and lightly stretched, letting out a tired, yet content breath. Her eyes scanned the kitchen in search for the source of the sweet scent, and there it was, on a cooling rack in the corner, covered with a tea towel – fresh lemon sponge cake, the favourite of Millie’s mother. Lightly dusted with powdered sugar, it added an extra layer of sweet comfort to the late night’s atmosphere. She left the cake untouched, but put the kettle on to quickly make herself a cup of tea for a good night’s sleep. She let out an overwhelming yawn and rested her hips on the side of the countertop, patiently waiting for the water to boil.

She felt her phone vibrate in the back pocket of her jeans. The brightness of the screen was almost blinding, until it adjusted to the low lighting in the room. She could feel the anticipation growing in the back of her head as she noticed a new message.

(Tom) I got you something today

After a second or two, a picture loaded under the message. Millie gasped and smiled like mad, when he showed her a pair of Minnie Mouse sequin ears. It was an artefact that Millie has always dreamt of, not having an opportunity to go to Disneyland ever in her childhood. She awaited the chance with high hopes and wandering mind, but she knew the trip had to be thorough, well-planned, and wholesomely happy.

(Me) You were in Disneyland????

(Tom) yeah we did promo for spidey today

(Me) I’m so jealous rn

(Me) THANK YOU FOR THE EARS!!!!!

(Tom) it’s alright

(Tom) I didn’t get any weird looks at all

(Tom) Just casually carried around this shiny sparkling beauty

(Me) I bet you loved this feeling

(Me) I bet you bought yourself a pair too

(Tom) Don’t tell anyone

(Me) You could always pretend they’re for Tessa

(Me) I just saw her and your Dad btw

Whenever her and Tom texted, it always sparked a never-ending conversation about sweet nothings. They mocked each other, talked about their days, spoke about all things home. It allowed them a safe space from their daily hustles; Millie was able to breathe lightly and happily, and Tom had a chance to detach from the world he desperately tried not to drown in.

Almost spilling the tea, she slowly made it upstairs without losing the sight of her phone screen. She struggled to turn off the lights in the corridor without making a noise but somehow, she managed not to disturb her parents too much, as she reached her bedroom. Safe within her own little space, she put down the mug and let go of her backpack and jacket. She threw herself on the softest bedspread and waited patiently for Tom’s reply.

The text bubble stopped and a massage didn’t appear, but her phone started ringing. Millie answered the FaceTime call and waited for the camera on his phone to adjust and show his familiar face.

“I had a meeting with Disney and they want me to participate in one of their projects for a Marvel-themed ride at Disneyland,” from a crooked angle she could see his neatly gelled hair and uneven eyebrows. Tom was walking somewhere, but then sat down and perched his phone on the mug that stood on the coffee table, so that she could see him better.

“That’s exciting, right?”

“Oh, yeah!” She could see him rummage in a brown paper bag and pull out a box with some takeaway food. “But I’m telling you this because we could turn it into our Disneyland trip that you’ve wanted, right?”

“That would be nice, yeah.” She smiled back at the screen, but a terrible yawn sneaked in to her expression. Tom scrunched his forehead and took a large sip from a bottle of water.

“I didn’t wake you up now, did I?”

“No, I just came back home. I am tired, though.”

“Yeah? How was work?”

“Stressful and not nice. It wasn’t a good day.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Wanna talk about it?”

Tom spent the next minutes carefully listening to her words and trying not to spill his soup on his fresh clothes. He hummed to some of the stories and asked little intrusive questions, to get the whole picture. She kept rubbing at her eyes and stifling her yawns every now and then, at last making a mess of her mascara and getting it all over her skin. Despite the seriousness in her voice, Tom smiled fondly to himself at the view of her ruined face that probably mimicked her current mental state. It wasn’t something he should laugh about, but it was rather endearing to have her so comfortably sharing her lows with him, while he casually ate his lukewarm, very late lunch.

“Why are you laughing at me?” She returned his smile, knowing it was probably something she did.

“You made yourself look like panda.” He chewed on a chunk of chicken from his second plate. The wrinkles by his eyes deepened with each of her chuckles and proved to them that this is the lightness they need in their daily routines. “Well, it’s good you asked for a new placement. You should be comfortable in your work environment. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks,” she yawned again and stopped herself mid-rubbing her eye again, earning a wholesome, groggy laugh from her friend, “your dad thinks they will give me another chance.”

“I mean, he knows some people there, so he probably has a point.”

“Yeah, I just don’t want to get my hopes up too high, you know?” A comfortable silence rested between them after he nodded and continued munching on his food. Millie stood up from her bed and took the phone with her, but also started to slowly get ready for the night.

“You will know when the moment feels right and shows you something worth a shot. Trust yourself, Mills.”

“I guess…” she trailed off, making her way to the closet to find fresh pyjamas. “I’m glad my panda face entertained your… what is it, lunch break?”

“Sort of, yeah,” he chuckled, enjoying the playfulness of her tired self, “I should be coming back in two weeks. We could hang out then, if you’ll have the time.”

“Oh, for sure.”

“Alright, I’ll let you rest. Text me anytime, yeah?”

“I will. Thanks for the Minnie ears!”

“You got it, Minnie Mouse. Sweet dreams.”

* * *

After her little mishap with Politics Live, Millie tried her best to keep up the hard work, but stay low. She tried not to focus too much attention and just assist other workers in their tasks, only coming up with ideas when necessary. She strived to come back to her public voice, but she knew she needed it to have a comfortable outlet, preferably in another setting and on different topics. She was greeting the intern manager with additional caution and kindness, trying her best not to leave her case forgotten.

Segregating files for the research team seemed to be the best solution to her temporary creative break. Her attention to detail and wholesome care about the task being done to its full potential came in handy. She volunteered to help the group of meticulously scribbling and researching men in keeping their documents in order.

The soft mumble of the radio in the background was interrupted by a guy named Tim. He always wore rock band t-shirts under his jackets and Millie swore she had seen him participate in a wild dance routine during the last year’s Glastonbury Festival. He stopped typing on his keyboard and started to quietly hum a song that was definitely different to what Scott Mills was announcing on Radio 1.

“Oh my God, do you guys know this song? I can’t get it out of my head!” he groaned in frustration, making a few people in the open space office chuckle.

“Do you know any words, maestro?” Millie’s head snapped up at the sound of Kim, the intern manager’s voice. She was passing by with a bunch of files and a coffee, before she perched herself on his desk, obviously making fun of her friend.

“It’s got this very cool, mariachi-like trumpet between the lines,” he mimicked a trumpet player and hummed some more, “and the guy sings something about stopping a feeling…”

“Justin Timberlake?”

“You know he’s not my jam, Kim! It’s an old-school song.”

“You’re the old-school one here.” Kim’s comment earned a couple more laughs at poor Tim, who was genuinely struggling. “you’re the researcher, have you googled it?”

“Of course I googled it, stop mocking me! People are watching.”

Their little light-hearted exchange brought a breezy atmosphere to the office and made Millie smile some more. She kept on looking up at Tim to check if he’s found the song he was looking for, but without luck. Her fingertips started to tingle with each swipe through the pages in a file, because she felt like she knew the song. Deciding to come against her decision to lay low, she gently cleared her throat and swallowed her nerves of speaking up in a new environment.

“Hey Tim, have you tried to find it on Spotify?” they both looked at Millie with playful smiles, as anyone would to the up and coming intern fresh out of university.

“I don’t think it’s the title of the song, so I won’t find it there.”

“But you actually could,” she offered, biting her lip nervously “since the recent update, you can now type in the lyrics into the search bar and the results will show you all licensed songs with the same or similar lyrics.” Tim instantly reached for his phone and started typing away.

“Oh really? I didn’t know that, let’s see…” Kim looked into his phone and watched his progress.

“And since you’ve remembered a catchy verse, it’s very possible that others also tried to find this song through the same words. So, it will probably come up within the first few results.”

“Alright, smarty.” He shook his head in amusement. Millie watched as Kim’s face got ridden of any emotion and just stared at Tim’s work.

“But if nothing comes up, you can always try ‘Hooked on a Feeling’ by Blue Swede.”

Millie waited with racing heart at their reactions. Tim clicked on one of the results and raised the volume, filling the room with a sound so familiar to Millie’s memory. She smiled shyly and internally patted herself on the back, before coming back to her task.

“How did you know this song?” His triumphant smile was radiating, as he did a little dance in his seat and twirled on his rolling chair. “It’s such an old tune, I didn’t think your generation would know it!”

“Yeah Millie, how did you know?” Kim encouraged his question and watched her carefully, almost as if she was studying her intern.

“It’s in the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy. I wrote a paper on it.”

“Hm.” Kim’s unreadable expression was giving Millie chills, but in a positive way. She liked to be asked about things that interested her and prompted her to be creative, so the way this situation evolved was close to burst her heart into passionate flames. “I’ll ask the Radio managers if they want a music and pop culture geek, how’s that sound?”

It sounded like Millie put the trust in herself at the right time.

****

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suitofvibraniumarmor · 4 years

Text

Light in the Dark

Summary: Avoiding Bucky seemed to be the thing to do after the two of you broke up, until a mission gone wrong shows you how much you have to lose. Pairing; Bucky x Reader Word Count: 2415 Warnings: Language, angst, canon typical gun violence, GSW, blood. Square Filled: Post-Breakup AU for @marvelfluffbingo. Square Filled: Second gif within the fic (Y2) for @buckybarnesbingo. [Rating: Teen/Mature] A/N: I feel like I maybe ended another fic with a similar line? Anyway, don’t call me out, ha. Happy Reading!

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“So, ending it. That’s what you want?”

Tears were brimming in her eyes and the lump in her throat stopped her from answering Bucky’s question. She sniffed, hoping it would stop her emotions from falling down her cheeks. One blink though, and she was betrayed.

“It’s not what I want, Buck.” Her tone was bordering on pleading. “But you and I don’t want the same things. I want to move forward, you want to stay stuck. You won’t open up to me, you haven’t touched me in weeks — and I’m not even talking about sex. You won’t hold my hand, won’t stand within two feet of me.”

He pressed his lips to a thin line and sighed. He started with a measured tone, partial words stumbling out until he got so frustrated at his inability to form a sentence, he let out a loud growl and pounded on the table nearby.

“You don’t get it! All right? You don’t know the things that are still in my head, you don’t know how much fear I live in, every mother fucking day, that I’m going to lose it and hurt you.” He squeezed his eyes shut, raking a vibranium hand through his hair. “This is more than you can handle, Y/N. There are days when — when I don’t wanna talk and you think things are worse than ever. That’s not always the case. Some days I just need the quiet. Everything in my head is so loud — that’s not the point. The point is, I’m not good for you.”

Her tears came to an abrupt stop. “Are you fucking kidding me? You think I don’t have demons of my own? You think the things that I have done, the lives I have taken, don’t haunt me in my sleep? At every waking moment? I see their faces, every time I close my eyes. You are not the only one with blood on your hands, Bucky Barnes.” She stood and clenched her fists at her sides. “If you think that I’m one of those agents who was bred into this because my parents were in the first wave of S.H.I.E.L.D agents, who can handle all of this and then sleep at night like it’s nothing, you don’t know me at all.”

She stepped up to him and took his face in her hands before kissing him softly. She wiped her taste away with her thumb before taking a step back.

“Goodbye, Bucky.”

For weeks after the split, they avoided each other at all costs. If she rounded a corner and saw Bucky coming her way, she backtracked and took the long way around. If Bucky was headed to the common room but heard her singing along to the radio before he made it there, he turned on his heel and got what he needed elsewhere. Every now and then, he could bribe someone into getting what he needed, but the whole crew was running thin on that arrangement.

“You could talk to her, you know,” Sam suggested.

Steve nodded his agreement. “At least work out a schedule of who can be where and when. That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard, but hey, at least then you two can have a more normal life and the rest of us can stop making money off of your awkward situation. Besides, it’s been … how long has it been? Surely long enough for you two to be adults about the situation.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “If she wanted to talk to me, she’d come to me and say what she needed to say.”

Nat came into the room and sighed. “Not necessarily, Barnes. I’ve talked to Y/N about it and she doesn’t want to be in your way anymore than you want to be in hers. To be honest, I’m not so sure that this break-up is really worth the trouble when the two of you could just talk it out and work through your problems.”

“We wanted different things,” Bucky mumbled, “and that hasn’t changed. What I want hasn’t changed.”

Nat rolled her eyes. “Her. You want her, stupid. The rest of it is called compromise. You should look it up sometime. Y/N can stop moping around, you can come back from the dim place. Everyone can be back to their normal lives.”

“The dim place?” Sam repeated.

“Yeah, you know. Not the dark place. He’s been in the dark place. This sucks but it’s not as bad as the dark place.”

“Makes sense,” Steve commented; Bucky looked to him for confirmation that his best friend agreed with Nat. “Hey, it’s not bad advice. I mean, she's also the one who told me to ask out the chick in accounting with a lip piercing.”

Nat punched Steve playfully in the shoulder. “Hey, she was nice!”

They all laughed about the idea of a freshly-thawed Steve dating a girl with a lip piercing; Bucky had to admit, it was nice to have the attention off of him and Y/N and on to a different subject.

Attention rescue team; emergency extraction call received. Departure in three minutes and counting. Rescue team; extraction mission imminent. Three minutes and counting.

FRIDAY’s voice pulled most of them from a steady — or not-so-steady — sleep and into action mode. A team raced for the quinjet, in uniform and ready for a debriefing as the jet took off.

“Secretary of State was abducted by a Russian militia organization. Our job is to go in, extract, get him home. I’m waiting now for reports on what kind of arms they have on the ground,” Tony informed as he set their destination into the navigation system.

Y/N buckled in and let out a deep breath. Flying was something she was getting more used to, but she did better when she knew the flight was coming. Several minutes into the flight, her tension was redirected from a few bumps of turbulence to the unexpected hand on her shoulder.

“You doing okay?” Bucky asked.

She pulled her shoulder from his touch. “Yeah, fine. I’m always fine.”

He smirked just a little. "I know you are, but the flying …”

“I’m great, Sergeant Barnes. Just peachy.”

Bucky pressed his lips into a thin line and he sat back in his seat. Y/N kept her eyes forward, her expression stoic, even as Tony took the jet higher. Her jaw was clenched though, giving away her nerves. Bucky decided the best thing to do would be to keep an eye on her; be supportive from a distance.

The mission started out well enough. They located the Secretary easily — too easily, really. Nat, Wanda, and Clint went ahead of the group to keep the path clear back to the quinjet; Tony and Rhodey were on either side of the Secretary; Y/N and Steve were right behind him; Bucky brought up the rear.

No one was quite sure where the first shots came from. The Secretary groaned and grabbed for his left shoulder as more bullets whizzed past the group. Tony and Rhodes took one arm each and flew him back to the quinjet while the rest of them went on the defensive.

Y/N was taking a mental head count of everyone running in front of her; Nat, Wanda, Clint, Steve — check all. Where was Bucky? Emotions took over and she spoke into the comm.

“Barnes, send back.” When no answer came, she stopped in her tracks. “Barnes! Send back!”

Still no answer. Her eyes met Steve’s for a brief second before she was turning and running the other direction, away from the rest of them. Steve was yelling behind her but she wasn’t about to stop and wait for whatever it is he had to say. As she got back to where the shooting had started, she started calling Bucky’s name. Her heart raced with frantic emotion at the million possibilities that could be keeping Bucky behind.

A Russian militiaman was positioned over Bucky, fists flying. Bright red blood pooled under Bucky’s thighs and spurting with each heartbeat made Y/N panic that his wounds were fatal as is, without a beating on top of it. A feral yell rumbled from deep in her chest as she rushed the other man, knocking him away from Bucky and tackling him to the ground.

Her own fists were flying now, lashing out at the man who might dare to take Bucky away from her. Somewhere in her mind, Y/N knew that getting Bucky medical attention needed to be a priority, but she couldn’t stop her anger from taking control at that moment.

“Y/N, hey, come on! Enough!” Steve yelled, finally catching up to her. He pulled her away from the Russian, who had gone unconscious at some point. His face was bloody and mangled, but his own people would have to take care of him.

Steve assessed Bucky’s other injuries while Y/N used her belt as a tourniquet around his leg. Between the two of them, they managed to get him back to the quinjet without much more incident; the second the were on board, Tony raised the bridge and took off.

“What happened?” Nat questioned, helping to get Bucky laying down. She grabbed for a first aid kid and found some gauze to place over the bullet wound while Y/N threw her gloves off and took his face in her hands.

“Bucky! Can you hear me? Look at me, Buck! You stay with us, all right? We’re going to get you back, they’re going to take care of you. But you have to fight too, you have to stay with me,” she pleaded, tears filling her eyes when his eyes met hers. “Please, Bucky. You can’t leave me like this, okay? We’ve got too many days of awkward interactions ahead of us.”

Bucky’s mouth pulled into a weak smirk as his cold, shaky hand came up to her cheek. Y/N leaned into it, still pleading quietly with him not to leave her like this.

“Everything’s okay,” Bucky whispered, only a couple of seconds before his eyes closed and his hand fell away from her face.

Hours passed in agony as you waited outside the medical bay for any updates on Bucky’s health. She didn’t change out of her uniform, didn’t bother to get cleaned up, only followed his gurney as far as they would let her go. After that, she found a chair and fell into it, determined not to move until she had some concrete information.

“Here,” Nat said, nudging her with an elbow. “Water and coffee. I’ll bring you food when you can stomach it.”

Y/N took the water bottle first, downed half of it, then set it aside and sipped at the coffee. She probably did need to eat, but the very idea of food make her stomach churn. Nat stayed but didn’t speak. Y/N waited a full minute before she broke the silence.

“He was trying.”

Nat frowned. “Bucky?”

Y/N nodded. “On the quinjet. He knew I was going to be anxious about the flight and he asked if I was okay. I blew him off. I didn’t want his sympathy because I’m still so mad at him. How could he think that I was — that I couldn’t understand where he was coming from? Maybe not to the extent that it was happening, but I’m not innocent, Nat.” She scoffed. “And how could I not be more understanding? How could I walk away from him and not show him how much I love him. How much I need him.”

“You need each other,” Nat offered.

“Yeah. I think you’re right.”

She sat silently with Nat for the next several hours. There was still no word, and no one would let them into the medical bay. Nat had finally convinced Y/N that she needed to shower when Dr. Cho came out to update them. Y/N bumped into Nat, she turned around so fast after hearing her name being called.

Helen drew in a deep breath. “Bullet nicked his femoral artery, but fortunately, I think his advanced healing process saved his life. We did the rest of the surgical repairs and I believe if he can pull through the next couple of days, he should be in the clear.”

Both Nat and Y/N breathed a sigh of relief. The women hugged briefly before Y/N asked if she could see him.

Helen smiled. “Of course; he’s been asking for you. We wanted to give him time to pull it together after the surgery.”

But Y/N only the first of Helen’s sentence. She raced into the medical bay, stopping once to ask which room Bucky was in. When she got there, she was nearly breathless.

“Wondered if you were gonna come see me,” Bucky mumbled, giving her as much of a smile as he could manage.

She stood next to his bed and took his vibranium hand. “Bucky, I’m so sorry …”

“Hey, you’re not the one who shot me.”

“Don’t joke,” Y/N scolded. “You know what I mean. I shouldn’t have walked away, shouldn’t have brushed you off in the jet. What if you hadn’t made it?”

Bucky squeezed her hand. "Hey, c’mon, sweetheart. I’m all right. I’ve been through worse than this.”

“But not with me so mad at you,” she whispered. “I don't want to do this anymore, Buck. I don't care how much we fight or how much we push each other away. I don't want to have the horrendously gigantic cloud lingering over me that one of us could die and you wouldn't know how much I love you.”

Bucky reached up to caress her cheek; this time, his hand was warm, steady. “I can't promise to give you everything you want right away. I still am who I am, Y/N. But I sure as hell can try.”

She leaned over to place a soft kiss on his lips. “Who you are is exactly who I fell in love with. Trying is all I ask.”

He pulled her in for another kiss. There would be plenty more to be discussed, when Bucky was fully on the mend and ready for it. The fights would come, the darker days would come. As long as neither of them gave up on each other, though, there would always be a light in the darkness.

AllOfTheThings: @captain-s-rogers @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @hurricanerin @horsesandbandsforlife @im-not-an-armrest-im-short @shynara51 @sea040561 @pinknerdpanda @xtina2191 @gifted-burnout @beakami @heartsaved @fullprunerebelstatesman @blackwidowismyhomegirl @averyrogers83 @jennmurawski13 @connie326 @disastersoldierbucky

Buckvember (Not already included in AotT): @peace-love-hobbitness @rebekahdawkins @wonder-cole

#marvelfluffbingo2020 #buckybarnesbingo2020 #bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #buckvember #buckvember queue

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amindofstone · 3 years

Text

Match-up, No. 1

Anon asked:

"oh hi hello! i just saw the match up posts and i got super excited cause i love your writings and i never had to chance to send an ask like this lol! i'm 19 years old but i'll be 20 this year. i'm pretty tall for a girl (173 cms!) but still i'm on the chubbier side because i eat a lot and im proud of it lol. i have green eyes, and raven black hair, medium length with short bangs, because i dye it regularly, but normally i'm a blonde! also idk if this matters but i'm straight!

i really like cooking, it's a big passion of mine, i also love singing! music is a big part of my life, i cannot go a second without listening to something and i've always been like this. even though i'm not talented about it, i love to listen to it. i'm a big hopeless romantic so i'm a sucker for anything that's romantic, like movies, songs, books etc! i really wish nothing but for real and pure love! i also collect toys and figures cause i didn't had the chance to buy them when i was little.

i really dislike being left alone. i don't have many friends or loved ones, but whenever i have to leave them for something it hurt's me a lot. i don't like too much people around me but i really adore the ones who i care about. other than that, i hate the way i look most of the time. since i was a little girl i was never comfortable with my body and had lots of issues with it but im trying to do my best to love myself!

i know this was too long but i couldnt stop myself so i hope its okay! im so much lookinf forward to this match up thingy! thank u soooo much for the chance! take care ❤️"

a/n: First of all thank you so much. I'm so so glad to see that you like my work. This is a great motivation for me to keep writing. This really made my day. 💙 And I really hope that you'll be liking what will come next. I really hope that I didn't disappoint you my dear anon. This is my first time doing something like this and going honest I'm really insecure and anxious when it gets to my work. I'm never happy or satisfied by the outcome... But that's not the point. It's about you. So if there is something bothering you please don't hesitate and DM me or anything and tell me. Other than that happy reading! 🙈

Match up rules can be found HERE.

Warning(s): maybe some grammatical or spelling mistakes since English is my third language and I'm still improving in every aspect. (Please have mercy on that))

!!! Please do not steal my idea or work. Credit me if this is shared or published in any other platform or any other way. Please respect me as the writer and my work. Picture is not mine. Credits to: Lord know who. IF anyone knows who did it please tell me so I can give credits. Thank you. :) !!!

• I think that you and Sanji would give a great pair.

• There are a lot of traits of you that resemble that of Sanji in my opinion. And exactly this was the reason why Sanji started to spend more time with you and get to know you more than Nami or Robin.

• Whenever Luffy screams from the top of his lungs "SANJI! FOOD!!" you scream back from wherever you are right now "Gimme a minute and I'll get you something!", before Sanji can react to the food loving man.

• Sanji loves it when you join him cooking because you two seem to be able to work together without having to communicate. But even if Sanji would like to talk to the beauty that was next to him he wouldn't dare saying a word because as much as he loved talking to you he loved listening to you sing while you prepared anything you were on at the moment. Sometimes he would just stop in his tracks and just watch you dance around the kitchen whenever one of your favourite songs starts to play in the radio. He would watch every of your moves and smile like a idiot.

• After some time passing Sanji manned up and asked you out in the most romantic way. Sanji prepared a picnic with some snacks under that one tree with the wing (I hope you know what I mean 😂). Everything was set. You were in the girls cabin reading a novel when you heard a light knock. You didn't look up and just told whoever was there to come in but the person simply knocked another time what made you stand up with a scuff. You were ready to scold anyone that was there for ruining your peaceful reading session but there was no one except of a huge bouquet of red roses. It had a little note in it saying that someone is waiting for you down on deck. With a huge smile on your lips you stepped out of your room just ro realise that the way down to the deck was decorated by flower pedals. The sight in front of you made your heart race. You didn't wanted the feeling that grew with every second in you to stop. But you made it down and was greeted by the blond man you were always fond of. He took your hand in his and lead you to the swing and made you sit down.

• He took both of your hands in his and looked you in the eyes while giving the most sweetest confession ever made. And of course you said yes and wanted to date him

• dating him was the best thing that happened to you. He was sweet and caring. He spend every free second with you. If you were close to him he would always grab your hand and intertwine them. Sometimes he would appear out of nowhere and give you a kiss and compliment a different part of your body just to leave you dumbfounded and confused with a racing heart.

• There was this island the straw hats docked on and to their luck there was a festival planned for the night of the day they came. So Nami and Robin took you shopping and made Sanji go have fun on his own. Unlike these two you wanted something fancy that wasn't a dress but they still brought a few for you to put you in later on. And they managed to get you in a short sleeveless pretty blue-black dress. They did your make-up and theirs and ran out when Franky yelled that the fireworks were about to get blown what was the sign for the beginning of the festival. But you didn't came out because you felt uncomfortable in your current state.

• Sanji sensed that something was wrong and made his way to you only to find you standing in front of the mirror and looking at yourself with a tilted head and slight pout. Sanjis eyes widen at the sight of you. Because of 1. He couldn't believe how good that dress locked on you 2. He was shocked because he knew that you didn't like the way you looked.

• "How dare you!? How dare you not love this beautiful sight?! Baby! Darling! Love! Please don't. You look stunning. Simply gorgeous now please allow me to take you to the festival and brag with the fact that I can call the most beautiful woman mine."

• As you can see Sanji doesn't, can't and won't tolerate you being insecure so he took it upon himself to push your ego and make you love yourself as much as he loves and adores you.

• On the festival Sanji would never let go of you. He would constantly have you close to him so he could protect you no matter what happens. He makes sure to once in a while ask you if you're alright or if you want to go back to the sunny since he knew that you're not a fan of crowed places.

• Sanji left you alone for a few minutes but sat you down on a less crowded and also quieter place to get some drinks. You were happily looking at the ocean when a guy approached you and started a conversation with you. You were clear not liking it but still tried to talk nicely. But the guy seemed to understand your friendliness in a different way and got closer. You told him to keep a distance but he laughed it away and simply acted as if you said nothing. You felt uncomfortable and suffocated so you were about to stand up when Sanji came and kicked him out of the chair with a sweet smile upon his lips saying "Thank you for keeping my seat warm but now move your pathetic stupid ass away and leave me alone with my girl."

• When the guy left he took you in his arms and apologised while sitting you down on his lap while asking you probably a bunch of times of you're doing good or if he hurt you.

Bonus:

• While Sanji confessed his love to you Zoro was in the crows nest watching you two with a disgusted and confused look while silently praying for you to reject him but sadly you didn't. In fact you even kissed him. "TF is that stupid woman doing?!"

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starrywhump · 3 years

Note

Hi can you post more Nico angst Maybe some stripping, gagging, tying up, etc

Thanks for the ask! Here is some Nico angst, it’s very much emotionally whumpy as well as the physical aspect. Please excuse typos I’m a terrible proofreader. Hope y’all enjoy!

First | Previous | Next

Nico shivered, he could still feel Rhea’s hands on him. She had left hours ago, after thoroughly enjoying the final break of Nico’s defiance. But he could still feel her hands invading his space. He scratched at his neck, trying to get rid of the feeling of her touch. It didn’t help.

Nico was the cleanest he had been since he was captured, but he felt dirtier than ever. A disgusting layer of humiliation laid on his skin. He had to do it, he knew that. He wasn’t just going to let Rhea shoot Ash, but his just blatant obedience made him sick.

Even worse than that, he cried, he let Rhea get to him. He felt like vomiting at the thought. He tried to tell himself that just because he submitted to Rhea’s will this one time, it didn’t mean he gave up, but it sure felt like the beginning of the end.

More and more the little voice in his head told him how much easier it would be to just stop fighting.

Nico dug his fingers into his neck, focusing his mind on the dull stinging left in the wake of his fingernails. It helped a little.

“N-Nico?” Ash’s voice was weak, it barely traveled across the cell to where Nico was sitting.

Nico got up quickly, moving to sit next to Ash in the middle of the floor, “Right here,” he said softly.

Ash smiled weakly, dried blood around his lips cracked a bit as his skin moved.

Right after Rhea had left earlier, Nico had, with some difficulty, untied Ash’s hands. But even now he wasn’t restrained Ash could barely move. Nico didn’t know the full extent of his injuries, but he looked pretty horrible.

“you... ‘k?” it seemed to take a lot of effort for Ash to get the words out.

Nico scoffed, “I don’t think I’m the person to be worrying about right now.”

Ash laughed, or tried to, it came out more as weak cough. He winced at the movement.

“Are you... what’s wrong?” Nico’s voice was filled with concern.

Ash shook his head, unable to speak through his spluttering coughs. Red flecks became clear on his lips.

“You need to be upright come on,” Nico spoke firmly, not letting his worries show in his voice.

Ash didn’t seem to hear him, his eyes were filled with panic as he tried to get a moment to breathe.

Nico carefully put a hand under Ash’s head to support him as he lifted him to a sitting position.

Ash’s eyes squeezed closed as Nico pulled him up.

He collapsed forward onto Nico's shoulder, blood trickling out of his mouth onto Nico’s shirt.

Nico knew he should try to say something to comfort his friend. He opened his mouth but couldn't think of the right words.

Ash’s breath was ragged, desperately trying to get air into his lungs.

"Shushh, just... it's ok. Just- just try to breathe, slowly,” Nico’s tone came out more awkward than comforting.

"t-trying.." Ash stuttered out.

"It's gonna b-"

Nico was interrupted as the door to their cell swung open.

"Awww, what a pair of darlings," Rhea cooed.

Nico bit his cheek, stopping himself from instantly snapping at her. For Ash's sake he couldn't, if he did something to make her mad it would only hurt him. He couldn’t let her get to him.

"He needs a doctor."

"Well he's still alive so he can't need one that bad," Rhea stepped into the room, letting the door close behind her.

"He's coughing up blood, that's not good. He needs a doctor." Nico grit his teeth, trying to keep himself from yelling.

Rhea pondered for a minute before shrugging, "Well I have three of you, if it's really that bad, he isn't integral to my little experiments."

"You're fucking sick," Nico growled.

A groan from Ash cut off their conversation, more blood spilled from his mouth. Nico felt Ash’s body go slack in his grip, passing back out.

Rhea moved on, ignoring him, “Today is a particularly special day. I have a nice little surprise for you all."

Nico's heart dropped, he knew that Rhea's words could mean nothing good.

Rhea reached to her belt for her radio, "bring it in please."

No no whatever it is keep it the fuck away.

“You should be excited,” Rhea smiled.

Nico wrapped his arms protectively around Ash, “I’m not.”

Rhea gave him an exaggerated pout. She opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by a knock at the cell door.

The door creaked open and one of Rhea’s men, carrying some kind of metal tool and what looked like a car battery. Rhea watched with excitement as he set his armful down, she gave the guard a nod towards Nico, “put him back up on the wall please.”

Nico’s chest clenched. The last thing he wanted was to be chained up away from Ash, unable to stop Rhea from doing whatever she wanted to his friend.

The guard nodded and made his way towards Nico, grabbing him roughly by the back of the shirt.

“Wait! Wait, let me let him down, so he doesn’t fall.” Nico felt a pang of humiliation rush through his body, his voice sounded dangerously close to a beg.

The guard paused, looking up to Rhea. She nodded silently with an amused smirk.

Nico put his hand back behind Ash’s head as he lowered him back to the ground.

As soon as Ash’s back was against the floor the guard pulled at Nico’s collar.

Nico elbowed back at the guard, “Just wait a second!” he growled.

Nico managed to push Ash to his side, albeit a bit rougher than he would have wished for, at least he wasn’t going to choke on his own blood.

With a yank from the man behind him, Nico was forced to his feet. He was slammed back into the wall, the air knocked from his lungs.

Nico coughed violently as the guard grabbed and fastened his wrists into the cuffs above him. Nico was still gasping to regain his breathe when the guard stepped away.

Rhea dismissed the man with a silent wave, leaving Nico and Ash alone with just her.

She turned to fiddle with what the guard had brought in. From this new vantage point, Nico could clearly see Rhea’s newest implement of grief. But he still couldn’t exactly tell what it was. One piece of it was a large battery, a cord ran from the battery to a metal rod, about as long as his forearm, there was a flat disc of metal at the end of the rod.

Rhea held the rod by its black handle, she turned slightly to adjust something on the other side of the battery.

As she twisted Nico could see the bottom of the disc, in risen metal letters he could make out the words “Property of Rhea” with a small heart underneath.

His eyes widened in horror as he realized what it was, “No! No... you can’t be serious!”

Rhea flipped a switch on the battery, and a faint buzzing filled the room, “What a smart boy you are, figuring it out all by himself. Though I am disappointed I didn’t get to tell you all about it myself.”

“You-” Nico stopped the insults from rolling off his tongue, if he wanted any chance of this not happening he couldn’t make her angry.

“If- If- the cops ever saw it they’ll know your name, you can’t-”

“Do you really think I have only one? And even if this was my real name, without a last name it's practically useless.”

no no no no no no.

Nico’s mind was racing, there was no way this was happening, this couldn’t be happening.

Rhea placed the brand on the floor, walking over to Nico, “I know, it’s a lot, it’s scary, but I know you can do it,” she ran a hand through Nico’s hair.

Nico jerked his head to the side, there was nowhere far enough to escape her touch.

Rhea smiled at him, a warm smile that may have even been comforting in different circumstances, “It needs a few minutes to warm up, and after that, it will be over before you know it.”

“You- you can’t fucking brand me,” Nico tried to stop from stuttering.

“Language Nico, you had been doing so well.”

Rhea released his hair, she took a few steps back to look at both boys, “So who wants to go first.”

shit shit SHIT.

Nico hadn’t even thought of Ash. He mentally kicked himself for being so selfish, worrying about himself when Ash was over there passed out on the floor.

“You can’t do that to him now.”

“I can do whatever I want, both of you are getting it today.”

“Look at him! You almost killed him he can’t handle anything else! He’s already coughing up blood you can’t fuc-” Nico stopped himself, “you can’t burn him on top of all that.”

“Hmmm,” Rhea made a mockery of thinking it over, “last I checked you don’t get to say what I can’t do.”

Nico felt hopeless, there was nothing he could do, nothing except, “What do you want me to do?”

Rhea gave him a questioning look.

“There’s always something you want from me. Something I haven’t done yet that you want me to do. I’m the one you can’t break, can’t get to do what you want. Well, I will now, what will it take for you to leave him alone?” Nico’s breathing quickened anticipating whatever horror he had just signed himself up for.

“Well,” Rhea’s face spread into a grin, “that is a delicious proposition. So you’ll be branded? And do whatever I want?”

“If you leave him alone.”

“He’s going to get it later on anyway. Is all that pain, the humiliation, is it really worth it?”

Nico knew it was. He wanted to help Ash. This would take away the one real thing Rhea hadn’t been able to steal. She could beat him and cut him however much she wanted but there was no way to force his obedience. Now he was bartering it away for a temporary save.

“He goes to a hospital too.”

Rhea gave an exasperated shake of her head, “I can’t do that, you-”

“Then medical care, at least- it can be here. This is obviously some kind of criminal base or something and you must have a hospital or medical center. Ash gets the care he needs, nicely, with pain meds and stuff not as another way for you to torment him.”

“You really think of everything don’t y-”

“And Hazel, she gets it as well. Both of them, fixed up, and out of pain.”

Nico wracked his brain trying to think of anything else he could ask for. The more panicked he got the harder it was for him to think.

Rhea paused as if thinking it over, “I suppose... I might agree, but it would have to be very enticing to be worth it.”

“What do you want me to do?” Nico repeated.

“Submit, fully. Do what I say, beg when I ask, no fighting, no cursing, no attitude. The second you slip up the deal’s off.”

Nico tilted his head up to try and stop tears slipping out of his eyes, his voice shook slightly, “I won’t slip up.”

“Well,” Rhea turned back to the brand, “good then, as long as you keep being good, they will receive medical attention, they won’t be hurt. I expect your very best behavior and your active participation, can you do that?”

Nico nodded.

Rhea held the brand, turning back to Nico and raising an eyebrow expectantly.

Nico realized his mistake, “yes ma’am,” he corrected himself.

Rhea didn’t look satisfied.

What did she want?

Nico’s lungs felt tight, it dawned on him what she wanted, “Please, uh... please do it,” he could barely force out the words, “brand me.”

“You can do better than that.”

Nico took in a stuttering breath, “please, please I want you to... it would uh- make me happy, please Rhea please brand me.”

Nico let the words tumble out of his mouth reminding himself over and over he didn’t mean it.

Rhea nodded, smiling she stepped toward Nico with the brand. With one hand she traced her fingers along the hem of Nico’s shirt, gently lifting it up to expose his bare torso.

“Hold this,” Rhea pushed the fabric into one of Nico’s cuffed hands.

“Yes ma’am,” Nico took it quickly, the tee-shirt now covering his view of Rhea. He was breathing fast and heavy, having a hard time getting enough oxygen.

Waiting for it to happen felt worse than-

That thought was quickly disproven as the red hot metal met his ribcage.

He wasn’t sure if he screamed or not, he probably did.

Everything just whited out for Nico, his vision, hearing, all just white, blinding pain.

Worse than anything Nico had ever felt before.

It felt like an eternity before the blind white screen faded back to Rhea’s face in front of him.

Now he could tell he was screaming.

His throat burned as he cried out, gasping for air.

Rhea held Nico’s tee shirt up, Nico must have dropped it in his surprise, she was murmuring reassurances Nico couldn’t hear over his own sounds of pain.

Finally, Rhea pulled the brand off of Nico, it pulled on his skin eliciting a yelp from her captive.

Nico was breathing hard as he tried to regain his composure.

It hurt.

It hurt so incredibly bad.

All thoughts of strength or regaining his dignity were gone from Nico’s head.

Broken sobs came from the boy as he tried to get through it.

“Shushhh, good job darling, good job,” Rhea’s hands were in his hair again but Nico barely felt it.

His side felt like it was on fire, his tee-shirt brushing against it was unbearable.

“Tell me what you feel,” Rhea’s voice dripped with a sick fascination.

Nico barely processed what she said, he looked up at her confused.

“Tell me what you feel,” Rhea repeated more slowly.

Nico knew he had to, had to give his complete cooperation.

“H-hu-hurts,” Nico struggled to talk between sobs.

“Mmmm I know, I know it hurts darling, but you did so good.”

Nico was limp in her hands as Rhea maneuvered his head to rest on her shoulder, “You did so good for me, don’t worry.”

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sapphirestarxx · 4 years

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Customer Service

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SUMMARY: Customer service is a thankless job, a fact Kagome knows well. Customers can be downright nasty; that’s just to be expected. What she isn’t expecting is for one of those customers to get physical or for a handsome and gruff stranger to swoop in and save her. How can she thank him? ONESHOT.

NSFW. SMUT. Lots of smut at the end.

This is a birthday fic for @lavendertwilight89!! Her birthday isn’t for another couple days but I thought I would post this early after the terrible day she had yesterday. I hope you love it dear!~

Also, thanks go out to @neutronstarchild for helping me brainstorm some ideas out and to @fawn-eyed-girl and @hnn-wnchstr for being kind enough to beta it.

Tag Wall: @lavendertwilight89 @hnn-wnchstr @cstormsinukagblog @fawn-eyed-girl @ruddcatha @liz8080 @itzatakahashi @kagometaishostory @neutronstarchild @bluejay785 @ravisk @dangerouspompadour @omgitscharlie @arcprz

***********

Kagome was not having a good day. It had gotten off to a terrible start and showed no signs of improving with the day’s passing.

Her alarm hadn’t gone off, and when her eyes finally opened, she’d only had five minutes to throw on her things before racing out the door, skipping breakfast. She hadn’t gotten very far because her car hadn’t wanted to start and she had fought with it before finally resorting to shocking the engine with her reiki in a last ditch effort. It had appeared to work (much to her surprise) but she had no idea when the effects would wear off or if it would even work again. Not that she had had time to worry about that, because the whole ordeal had made her roughly forty minutes late to work, where she proceeded to receive a lecture on punctuality from her boss, even though she had never been late before. And then, to make matters worse, she had used her entire break trying to call auto places to get her car in. Turns out every nearby place was booked out for the next two weeks because of course they were. So not only had she been unable to schedule an appointment for her car, she hadn’t eaten all day either.

Her car was a mess, her mood was a mess, and her life was a mess. And her store was also a mess.

Stifling a sigh of frustration, Kagome tucked the wayward strand of black hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear and straightened the apron she was wearing. Just another year… she just had to deal with this job for another year until she finished her Masters in Reiki Manipulation. In the meantime this job was vital for her income. Customer service had never been her first choice but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

She had been working at Shikon Styles for roughly four years, give or take a few months. After the first couple years as an associate, she’d been able to work her way up to manager. With that title came the guaranteed hours, benefits, and most importantly-- better pay. Still not even remotely close to what she felt like she deserved considering everything she had to put up with, but wasn’t that always the case?

She finished cleaning up the mess someone had left behind (because no one seemed to know how to pick up after themselves ), and scanned the store to see if any shoppers appeared to need help. Turning her head towards the entrance of the store she saw another customer enter and her heart stuttered in her chest for a few beats. The person who had just walked in was quite possibly the most attractive man that she, Kagome Higurashi, had ever seen in the entire twenty-five years of her life.

He was tall with a lean but muscular build, the features of his tanned face chiseled and sharp. The effect was softened slightly by a mane of gleaming silver hair that hung all the way to his no doubt perfect ass, but more intriguing to her were the dog ears atop his head; white and fluffy, and her fingers twitched with the need to touch them. And his eyes . Even all the way across the store, the piercing gold of them was unmistakable. When those gold eyes turned her way, she felt the blood rush to her cheeks in equal parts awareness and embarrassment. She couldn’t have been more obvious about checking him out. She also couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from his, completely caught in his spell.

His face had been set in a scowl, but at the sight of her blatant staring, the edge of his mouth kicked up, hinting at a smirk. She felt lightheaded for a second, her heart beating faster while butterflies stirred in her stomach. She flushed further, but this time for... other reasons. It was like everything around her had just fallen away and there was only her and him. She wanted to get closer, feeling an almost magnetic pull towards him. It was ridiculous and crazy but she couldn’t seem to help herself.

Her feet started moving his way as she licked her suddenly dry lips in preparation to give some semblance of a greeting, but the sound of one of her employees asking for help over the headset quickly curtailed that plan.

“Can I have a manager up front please?”

Kagome frowned at the distress in the girl’s voice. Her momentary annoyance was replaced with concern. Normally a bright and cheerful girl, Rin sounded close to tears. The radio picked up the slight sounds of someone raising their voice and once it clicked off, Kagome could actually hear the irate customer from where she stood near the back of the store. Several of the nearby customers were turning their attention towards the source as well. This did not bode well.

“I’ll be right there,” she responded.

With quick steps Kagome made her way to the registers, mentally preparing herself. With that much yelling, she wasn’t expecting a smooth resolution. As she drew near, she saw that the customer in question had his hands on the counter and was leaning close in a move meant to be intimidating. It was a boar youkai, and she held back a wince; they were not known for their sweet temperament. Rin’s eyes were wide and she had her hands raised in a placating gesture. When she caught sight of Kagome the relief on her face was palpable. Kagome pasted on her customer service smile and came to stand beside the young girl.

“What seems to be the problem?”

“The problem is this bitch won’t give me what I’m asking for! I’m a paying customer, dammit!”

The use of the word bitch had Kagome’s mind screeching to a halt as she stared at him in stunned silence. She'd had lots of customers get nasty before, but few had resorted to actual profanity. Finding her composure again, she attempted a polite expression, even though inside she was seething. How dare this youkai use obscenities, especially at such a sweet girl like Rin! She was one of her best employees and Kagome didn’t care for the way he was trying to bully her.

“There’s no need for such language, sir. I’m the manager here and would like to assist you if possible. What exactly is the issue?”

He scoffed at her rebuke, rolling his eyes, and her blood boiled. Asshole.

“You said you’re the manager?”

“That’s right.”

“Good. Maybe I can actually get some real help from someone competent, who knows how to take care of the customer.”

It was a struggle to keep her fake smile from slipping but she somehow managed. Ugh, she hated this man already. Rin was doing nothing to hide her own expression of displeasure and Kagome couldn’t blame the girl.

“I’m listening,” she said.

“I’m spending 31,000 yen today but this dumb girl can’t give me any discount. I even have a coupon!! And she tells me you don’t have your gift-with-purchase available anymore and she can’t give me anything in place of it, either! My girlfriend was looking forward to it. You guys never have any left when I come in! This is BULLSHIT!!! I demand SOMETHING!!!”

Ah, profanity again. With more yelling.

“As far as the GWP goes, unfortunately they are only available while supplies last, and if you look closely on the back of the GWP coupon, it says it was only good until the 10th of last month. They tend to only be valid for a week before they end,” Kagome explained with a patience she did not feel.

A month. The man came in a month after it started and expected them to still have any left? She wanted to tell him maybe waiting too long was the reason he was always unable to receive one, but she held her tongue. Instead she reached her hand out for the other coupon he held, already sure of what it was going to say.

“May I see the other coupon, sir?”

He practically threw it at her and she blinked. Okaaaay…this man was seriously getting on her nerves. Feeling like her face was about to crack from the force of faking a pleasant expression, she picked it up and looked at it. Just like that, her customer service persona shattered. Her face went slack in disbelief. She looked up at him and met his angry red eyes.

“Sir...this coupon expired four years ago. On May 2016.”

“So? I’m here now!” He insisted belligerently, his lip curling as a nasty look overtook his face. The tusks on either side of his mouth stood out in sharp relief at his anger.

One thing working in customer service had taught Kagome was the sheer entitlement of some people. It truly baffled her, the things people thought she should do for them. They all thought that an exception should be made for them for whatever reason. You’re not special and the rules do apply to you, she wanted to say to them all.

And honestly, there was a similar public offer currently available on the website, and if he had been nicer maybe she would have mentioned it and taken care of him. But no. He was being a complete asshole so she wasn’t inclined in the slightest to help him in any way. She just wanted him out of her damn store.

“Yes, but the coupon you have is very expired. I’m very sorry but there is nothing I can do for you.”

“That shouldn’t fucking matter! You’re just as useless as that bitch, you damn cunt!!”

Alright, that was it. She was pissed.

“Sir, you need to leave.”

“Excuse me?!”

“I said you need to leave this store now. We do not tolerate abusive language towards anyone.” There was an edge to her voice now, but she didn’t care anymore. Let him know she was angry.

“Fine but I’m takin’ all this shit!!” The youkai snatched his haul off the counter after slamming down a few bills and started to stalk towards the doors. A quick glance revealed it wasn’t nearly enough to pay for the items he had grabbed and she rushed after him, cutting him off at the end of the registers. And then her bad day became worse.

“Sir, you still nee--”

That was as far as she got before he pushed her roughly. She hadn’t been expecting to be physically assaulted and the move caught her off guard. Stumbling backwards, she fell hard on her side. There were gasps from her employees and the other onlookers. What the hell?!

“Out of my way! You want me to pay for them then give me my discount, bitch!!” He spat over her form.

Kagome was so angry she was literally shaking. Her breath was coming in pants and her reiki was beginning to swirl around her in a cloud in response to her strong emotions. If she thought she’d been pissed before, it was nothing compared to the rage that now coursed through her veins.

“How dare you!!!” Rin was yelling at him while rushing over to her side.

Don’t zap him, don’t zap him, don’t zap him. Kagome chanted it like a mantra in her head, trying to tamp down the urge to fry the asshole with her power. You need the money, so far the only one here at fault is him. Don’t touch him

“You just gonna lay there like the pathetic bitch you are?”

Fuck it.

Pushing herself to her feet, Kagome was prepared to rain down fury on this customer, consequences be damned. Rin helped her up, then gasped, tightening her grip on Kagome’s arm. Kagome looked up to see what had elicited the sound of surprise from her employee. If this asshole had done anything else… Her eyes grew wide, the death glare slipping from her face as shock replaced it.

The hot guy from earlier was there and holding the nasty customer by the throat. It was a testament to his strength how he was able to lift the youkai off the floor with his grip alone.

“Wh-what do you think you’re doing?” The boar youkai wheezed around the man’s grip on his neck. The merchandise he had been about to make off with lay at his feet in a pile.

"You need to leave. Now. She's been nothin’ but nice while you've been a total dick. Get the fuck out," he replied in a dangerously low voice.

“I barely touched her.”

“You shouldn’t have touched her at all. Period.”

“Let go of me!”

“Are ya gonna leave?”

“Yes!”

The sound was pitiful but Kagome couldn’t find it in her to feel sorry for him. She was still shaking slightly from the sheer force of the anger that had gripped her moments earlier. Her temper was now fading, the sight of this man serving justice in her stead somehow calming her down. Perhaps it was petty, but she took great satisfaction at his discomfort. It was what he deserved, in her opinion. Judging by how no one was protesting his treatment, everyone else in the store seemed to feel the same.

She took a closer look at her savior while his attention was fixed upon the boar youkai. His dog ears twitched in irritation, the scowl back on his handsome face. He was even more attractive up close, the muscles of his biceps and triceps standing out in the red t-shirt he wore as he flexed his grip once more before releasing the customer.

The boar youkai coughed a bit before glowering at her rescuer.

“You’re brave for a half-breed, putting your filthy hands on a full-blooded youkai.”

Half-breed? Kagome frowned at the slur, wondering if it was impossible for a kind word to pass the other man’s lips. That must mean this man was a hanyou, and probably an inu youkai if she had to guess, based on the fluffy ears that were still calling her name. She longed to touch them but that would be all kinds of inappropriate.

The inu youkai scoffed at his words, seemingly unbothered by them.

“Whatever. I could still kick your ass. Wanna find out?”

The boar youkai sputtered in indignation for a few moments before collecting himself, trying and failing to intimidate the hanyou as he puffed his chest out.

“That’s it! I’m going to leave a complaint!”

The hanyou rolled his eyes.

“I don’t give a shit. I don't work here so good fuckin’ luck with that. Now get the fuck outta here."

Walking back to the counter to grab the money he had left by the register, the man then beat a hasty retreat. He deliberately walked over the items he had left piled on the floor and Kagome rolled her eyes at the childish move, just grateful he was finally leaving. Never in all the days and years she worked there had she ever had someone lay hands on her. She would have to call her boss, who had already left for the day, and probably file an incident report about it later. What a pain in the ass.

“You okay?”

Kagome blinked, turning her eyes from the doors, where the man had just exited, back to the hanyou standing in front of her. His eyes were the most beautiful shade of molten amber and her heart rate kicked up again when she found herself swallowed up in his gaze. She cleared her throat in an attempt to find her voice.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Good.”

He turned and began to walk away and for some inexplicable reason Kagome felt her stomach drop at his absence. It was strange. As if fate had presented her with an opportunity that she was letting go to waste. She had no idea why she felt this incredible pull towards him, but the feeling didn’t appear to be mutual. And why would it be? She had literally just met this man. She didn’t even know his name. Why would he stay and chat?? You’re being ridiculous. The thought did nothing to dispel the notion that she had let this chance slip through her fingers.

“Get his number!” Rin whispered in her ear before returning to the registers to ring out the next customer. The show was over and people were ready to resume making their purchases. Rin was happy to gossip about it with all of them and Kagome didn’t have it in her to reprimand her about it. Instead, she chased the unknown man down.

“Wait!”

He stopped, turning to look at her. A dark brow was raised in curiosity. She faltered a bit, her sudden confidence from Rin’s encouragement fading a little. It was hard to read the look that passed over his face but what appeared to be his trademark scowl was taking hold again.

“What?”

His tone was laced with annoyance. Not exactly a promising response. Kagome tried to stay positive by reminding herself that the actual target of his ire had already left the store, so she didn't hold it against him. Much. He was just another customer, one who had stepped in to help her when he'd had no reason to. There had been nothing in it for him. She wasn’t sure why he had, but it didn’t really matter.

“Um, I wanted to thank you. You didn’t have to step in but you did.”

“Keh. It was nothin’.”

“It wasn’t nothing. You probably saved me in more ways than one.”

“Listen, a thank you is fine. Don’t get all mushy on me. It was no big deal.”

“I would have probably lost my job if you hadn’t intervened. I was about to fry him with my reiki, I was so angry. So thank you. Really,” Kagome insisted.

She wasn't sure why he seemed so determined to brush aside her thanks, but her confession of potential violence seemed to catch his attention. He looked at her with new interest, giving a short laugh and exposing the tip of a fang. Amusement sparked in his eyes.

“Now I’m sorry I did.”

“I’m not because I would have probably been fired.”

"Eh, don’t mention it.”

He looked a little embarrassed now. It was faint but there was definitely a light flush across his cheekbones. Kagome had to bite back a grin at the sight. Maybe he just wasn’t used to kind words from a stranger? She didn’t have a chance to ponder that too much, though. She wasn’t sure what possessed her, but she found herself speaking before her mind caught up with her mouth. It had to be Rin’s influence.

“I want to repay you somehow! Like...with more than words. What can I do?”

The scowl disappeared and in its place was that hint of a smirk she had glimpsed earlier at his entrance into the store. Her knees went a little weak while her breath caught in her throat. It wasn’t fair for someone to be so incredibly attractive.

“Do ya always ask out your customers?”

“I-I’m not asking you out! I’m just trying to thank you…” Kagome stammered, her cheeks flushing pink. Ugh, she was failing miserably at this. “Like maybe a drink?”

Something shifted in his eyes that she couldn’t quite put her finger on while she waited for his answer. This wasn’t like her at all. She didn’t chase after guys. But she really did want to thank him and if that meant she got to spend more time with him in the process and learn his name then so much the better. It wasn’t like this was going to be a date; it was just a show of appreciation for him saving her ass.

“Your boyfriend won’t mind?” he asked, his scowl deepening.

“I-I don’t have a boyfriend,” Kagome answered, blushing harder.

He considered her words, his expression lightening at that.

“Fine. You can buy me a drink if that means you’ll shut up about thanking me.”

Okay, not the most encouraging response but she would take it. At least he wasn’t scowling at her anymore.

“What’s your name? And your phone number?”

“Inuyasha Taisho. Gimme some paper…” He peered at her name tag and grinned. “Ka-go-me.”

She had no idea why he had said her name in such a drawn out way but she decided right then that she loved it, and she wanted to hear him say it again. And again. God, what was wrong with her? She had met plenty of attractive men before, and her exes had all been pretty good-looking. But none had ever affected her so strongly before.

Retrieving a sticky note from her apron along with a pen, she scrawled her name and number onto it, then held it out to him.

“Here.”

He took it from her, his fingers brushing over hers. A tingle of electricity ran through her at the contact and sent her heart racing. His golden eyes sharpened and it occurred to her then that with his inu youkai senses he could probably pick up on little things like that. She was so obvious.

“Um...I should probably get back to work. Unless you need help with something?”

“Nah, I’m good. I have everything I need.”

He held up the piece of paper with her name and number, the tilt of his lips turning into a devastating smirk, then walked away to continue shopping. She wondered for a minute if there was a double meaning behind his words or if she was reading too much into it. Shrugging it off, she resumed her managerial duties, continuing to make sure everyone on the sales floor was taken care of. After several minutes she realized she had forgotten to get his number, too, and glanced around. She caught sight of him just as he was leaving and sighed. Chasing him down once was enough; she wasn’t about to do it twice. Oh well. If she didn’t hear back from him then that was that.

A few minutes later as she was finishing up with another customer she heard her phone chime and glanced at it. It was a text from an unknown number.

[Hey it’s Inuyasha. Text me the days you’re free.]

He had texted her! A flood of giddy excitement rushed through her.

“So did you get his number?”

That was Rin’s coy voice over the headset. Kagome couldn't contain her smile, feeling a sense of triumph. At least something had gone right today.

“I did.”

She could hear Rin cheering loudly all the way from the front of the store.

*****

“It’s not a date.” Kagome told her roommate and best friend for the fifth time.

“It sounds like a date,” Sango insisted, sitting on the foot of her bed as Kagome finished up her makeup, sipping her soda. “Look at you. Putting on makeup, dressing up. Going for a drink. With a man you find attractive. We call that a date, Kagome.”

Finishing the swipe of cherry-red across her lips, Kagome capped the tube of lipstick and turned to face her friend. Ok, so maybe Sango had a point. She had definitely dressed a bit more flirty than casual attire called for, wearing a pleated knee-length skirt in green that flared at the hem and a white off-the-shoulder blouse to go with it. Her long hair was hanging free in natural waves, the silky black a stark contrast to her porcelain skin.

“It’s just a thank you. He basically saved my job,” Kagome mumbled, but even she wasn’t convinced anymore.

Sango rolled her eyes.

“Well have fun at your not-date. Maybe it will lead to an actual date.”

"Yeah, yeah. Alright, out of my room. I'm leaving."

Sango laughed and threw her a wink before rising to her feet.

“I want to hear all about it when you get back home.”

“Sure, sure.”

Kagome grabbed her purse and car keys, slipping out of their apartment. Sango managed to get in one last remark just before the door shut.

“Let me know if he has any cute friends!”

“Good bye! ”

It had been three days since her encounter with the hanyou at her store, and aside from the rather short texts asking about her availability and figuring out the where and when to meet, there had been no real conversation between them. She had been hesitant to come across as too eager and he hadn’t exactly been forthcoming either. It’s not like it’s an actual date, so it doesn’t matter.

Maybe if she told herself that enough times she would start to believe it.

She hoped that maybe texting just wasn’t his thing. A lot of guys were like that, after all. Also, he hadn’t exactly struck her as the talkative type, but more so a man of action and gruff words. It was also entirely possible he had just been busy. She had no idea what he did for a living, or anything else about his life, for that matter.

Whispering a quick prayer, Kagome turned the key in the ignition. When her car started, she released a relieved breath, beginning to drive to the bar they had agreed upon. Her car hadn’t given her any problems since that day, but Kagome knew it was only a matter of time. Most of the drive it behaved...until it didn’t. And then, as if her thoughts had summoned everything terrible in the universe, her car shuddered and started making a sound she was pretty sure cars weren’t supposed to make.

It sounded like a cat was dying beneath the hood.

“No, no, nooo! Come onnnnn.”

The car remained unmoved by her desperate pleading. A glance at the dash revealed every warning light lit up like a Christmas tree and flashing at her. The engine stalled and her car began to slow, despite her frantic pressing of the gas pedal. Admitting defeat, she turned on her blinker and managed to pull over onto the side of the street right before it idled then completely died.

She turned the key again and nothing happened.

Giving the steering wheel a smack of anger, Kagome then lowered her head to rest upon it for a moment, releasing a scream of all her pent up frustration. She banged on the dashboard some more. Her eyes grew wet with the promise of tears and her throat hurt from the effort of holding them back. Why did everything always seem to go wrong for her? This sucked. She had almost made it there. Well, halfway. Digging her phone out of her purse she typed out a text to Inuyasha.

[I’m so sorry but my car broke down. I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it.]

Wrapping her arms around the steering wheel, she lowered her head back down and just sat like that for a bit, sniffling. She was allowed to wallow in self pity for a few minutes. Surely she deserved that much. Her phone chimed in her lap and she groaned, unlocking it and looking down at the new message.

[Yeah I can see that. Look up.]

What?

Kagome raised her head and yelped in surprise. Standing in front of her car, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, was Inuyasha. His hands were in his pockets and he looked like he was fighting to keep his expression neutral. With a growing sense of horror she wondered if he had witnessed her mental breakdown. The answer was most likely yes. She groaned again. Way to make a favorable impression, Kagome. Meanwhile he was just as hot as she remembered. As she stared at him confusion mingled with surprise. How…?

He walked around to the driver’s side and rapped on her window with a knuckle. Sighing, Kagome undid her seatbelt and opened the car door. He moved back as she stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut harder than perhaps necessary. He raised an eyebrow at the excessive force and her bleak expression.

“Having another bad day?”

“It was going fine until my stupid car decided to break down!” Kagome answered darkly, giving one of the wheels a solid kick.

“Kickin’ it ain’t gonna help.”

“Well it’s helping me because it makes me feel better!”

“What’s wrong with it?” Inuyasha asked, grinning at her antics.

“I don’t know! Everything!” She wailed.

“I can take a look at it, if ya want.”

Kagome threw him a sidelong glance.

“How did you find me out here, anyways? Are you some kind of stalker?”

She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, to be honest. Inuyasha scoffed, looking offended at the idea.

“Please. I got better things to do than follow ya around.”

“So you’re telling me you just happened to be here?”

“Listen, I live nearby. I was walkin’ to the bar when I heard that god awful screechin’ your car was makin’. Looked over and saw it was you.”

Yeah, he had definitely seen her mental breakdown. Perfect.

“You want me to take a look at it? I’m a mechanic,” he offered.

“What?”

“I can probably fix it for ya.”

“No! Absolutely not. Then I’ll owe you even more.”

He paused a moment, seeming to hesitate before speaking again.

“Just call this a date and we’ll call it even, then.”

A date? All the blood rushed to Kagome’s face as her cheeks reddened. He had managed to make it sound so casual, despite his slight hesitation. Had he thought she would say no? The thought was oddly endearing but did nothing to dispel her nerves. She stammered a little bit before finally managing a response.

“O-okay,” she squeaked.

He graced her with one of his fanged smirks and her heart pounded wildly, trying to escape her ribcage. A thrill of excitement zipped through her and she silently conceded that Sango had been right. He’s actually interested in me, too!

Although she had hoped for it, she hadn’t really been expecting it. His demeanor around her had been less than enthused, after all. But then again, he had come to her rather valiant rescue days earlier. And he had seemed pleased when she had given him her phone number. Maybe the trick was learning to read between the lines with him.

Inuyasha pulled his phone out and made a quick call. Kagome tried not to be too obvious but it was impossible not to listen in.

“Hey. I need ya to come out here. Her car broke down.”

Inuyasha’s expression darkened before he rolled his eyes in response to whatever the person on the other end of the line said.

“Look, just get the fuck over here with the tow truck, would ya?...I don’t fuckin’ know, Miroku. Ask her yourself.” He made a disgusted sound. “Damn straight, you better.”

He rattled off the street they were at and then hung up the phone.

"It's a shame we won't actually make it to the bar because I could really use a drink right now," Kagome said morosely as they stood there.

Inuyasha barked out a laugh and Kagome found herself taken in at the sound.

"Yeah, it's too bad. Maybe another time."

"Mmm. So who was that on the phone? You sounded close."

"My friend. We work together," he said by way of explanation.

"Surprised you have friends with that surly expression you always wear," she teased.

"You tryin' to pick a fight?"

"No, just stating a fact. Your glare could make small children cry."

"Oh yeah? Well at least I didn’t stare at a mirror so hard that it broke, Miss Misfortune."

“Are you calling me UGLY?”

His ears twitched as he realized how it sounded and she did her best to keep a straight face.

“No, not at all. Just tryin’ to figure out how many black cats you pissed off.”

Kagome gave a mock gasp, feigning offense, and Inuyasha grinned.

“I hope you step on a Lego,” she said, unable to contain her own grin.

“Really? That’s all you got?” He chuckled. “I think your luck has been cursed enough for us both, girlie. Don’t tempt the Lego Gods.”

“Rude!”

They were still trading barbs when a tow truck pulled up to their side of the street in front of where they were standing. They were so engrossed in each other that it wasn't until the man in the truck rolled the window down and spoke that they realized he was there

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said cheerfully.

Kagome turned her gaze to the newcomer and took in his appearance. He was handsome, with dark brows, high cheekbones, and full lips. His most striking feature, however, were his indigo eyes, brimming with amusement at the display before him. A light breeze floated through his open window and teased the strands of his black hair, currently pulled into a short ponytail. His arm came up to rest on the window sill almost lazily.

"About fuckin' time," Inuyasha greeted him rudely. The other man, presumably the Miroku from his phone call, just shrugged.

"I got here as soon as I could," Miroku replied, unperturbed by Inuyasha’s attitude.

"Um, hi. Thank you for coming out here on such short notice," Kagome said politely.

At her words his attention turned to her. He blatantly looked her up and down before settling his indigo gaze back upon her face, smiling pleasantly.

“My pleasure; I’m Miroku. You’re the girl?”

“Um...yes...?” The girl? Had Inuyasha been talking about her?

“I can’t believe you agreed to go on a date with this brute here.”

“Hey!” Inuyasha protested. “I don’t want to hear that from a pervert like you.”

"He seems feral but I promise he's house-trained," Miroku went on.

"He doesn’t seem too bad to me, aside from his permanent scowl." Kagome felt compelled to defend him but she couldn't keep the smile off her face at their banter.

“You’re far too lovely for my friend. Are you sure you have the right guy?”

“At least I don’t flirt with anything female,” Inuyasha shot back.

“Please, I only do that to see their faces light up. Meanwhile, you make every woman run away crying. Except for this one, apparently.”

“At least I have standards.”

“Hey! I have standards, too,” Miroku insisted.

“Then you need to raise them.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Miroku agreed amiably. “I’m turning over a new leaf tonight.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Inuyasha scoffed.

“So you're clearly off-limits, but do you have any pretty friends?” Miroku pushed on unabashedly, turning his attention back to Kagome.

She giggled and Inuyasha glared.

“It’s funny because my roommate said the same thing."

"Same thing?"

"To let her know if Inuyasha had any cute friends,” she explained.

Miroku looked delighted.

“What is this roommate’s number?”

“Don’t you have a job to do?” Inuyasha cut in, rolling his eyes.

“Of course. Can’t keep a lady waiting.” He winked at Kagome and it was her turn to roll her eyes.

Together, Inuyasha and Miroku got her car loaded up. And by ‘together’ it was mostly Miroku doing the work while Inuyasha stood on the sidewalk making disparaging comments about Miroku’s skills. He took it in stride and made some cleverly sharp comments of his own right back.

“Sorry about the tight squeeze,” Miroku apologized as they all piled into the truck. “This isn’t exactly made for three people.”

“No, it’s totally fine. I appreciate this. Both of you,” Kagome replied.

She was squished against the door with Inuyasha sitting to her right. He had refused to let her sit in the middle lest she be pressed up against ‘that damn flirt.’ She didn’t particularly care, to be honest, but his slight possessiveness warmed her. Or maybe that just was his body heat seeping into her, making her skin tingle in awareness.

The drive passed surprisingly quickly and they arrived at the garage as the sun was starting to dip below the horizon. The place was quiet and Kagome realized it must be after hours for them now, which made sense. She suddenly felt kind of bad about Miroku coming out after what had likely been the end of his shift.

“Sorry, you were probably about to head home when you came to help me out,” she said, her voice contrite.

He waved her apology off. “It was no big deal.”

“Is that why you bitched to me about it over the phone?” Inuyasha snarked.

“Now now, let’s not split hairs. Dealing with you is different than dealing with a pretty lady.”

Inuyasha snorted.

The two of them got her car set up and then Miroku turned to Inuyasha. “You want me to stay and help?”

“Nah, I can handle it,” Inuyasha replied. “Get out of here.”

“Then on that note, I’ll take my leave. It was nice to meet you, Kagome.” Miroku said, giving her a nod.

“It was nice to meet you, too.”

“So about your roommate’s number...” He let the sentence trail off, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

“I’ll ask her about it. Goodbye!” Kagome said emphatically, but she was giggling.

After Miroku had taken off, her attention returned to the hanyou examining her dumpster fire of a car. He had removed his t-shirt, leaving him in a white wife-beater and a pair of jeans. His back was to her and he was putting his hair up in a bun to keep it out of the way. She watched his motions, observing the way the muscles of his back moved beneath the fabric, the corded strength in his arms as they bunched and flexed. A rush of warmth pulsed through her as he popped the hood of her car.

“Fuck, woman. When’s the last time you got an oil change?”

“Huh?” She looked up, snapped out of her reverie; she must have zoned out for a minute. “Um...I’m not sure, to be honest. Maybe a year or so ago?”

“You fuckin’ serious?”

“What?” She said defensively.

“You need to be gettin’ it changed every 5k miles. Everybody fuckin’ knows that. And that sticker on your windshield? It tells me ya should’ve gotten it done 3k miles ago.”

“I’ve been a little busy to think about things like that!”

He scoffed harshly but said nothing else as he...well she wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing, to be completely honest. She knew next to nothing about cars. The same was obviously not true for him, which was fortunate for her. He leaned over, getting a good look at her car’s inner workings and giving her a good look at his ass. It was perfect, just as she had suspected.

“You seem more relaxed around me than you were before. I thought you didn’t like me,” he commented as he continued his work.

Kagome’s eyes snapped from his ass to the back of his head, feeling almost guilty about the way she had been checking him out.

“I thought you didn’t like me ,” she admitted.

He turned around and gave her an incredulous expression.

“Why the fuck would you think that?”

She just looked at him and he sighed.

“Right. I s’pose that’s fair.”

“You seemed so...annoyed when we first met, and I didn’t know if that was because of the customer or me,” she explained.

“Definitely wasn’t ya. Sorry you got that impression.”

“It’s okay.”

“When you insisted you weren’t askin’ me out, I thought...well...”

“What??”

“Because I’m a hanyou.”

“But that doesn’t matter to me. It was because I just didn’t want to seem...forward, I guess. I don’t know, this kind of stuff doesn’t really come easily to me.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re fuckin’ beautiful.”

Kagome blushed furiously and he looked a little embarrassed at his honesty.

“Th-thank you,” she stammered, caught in the spell of his amber eyes. She resisted the urge to bite her lip out of nervousness. “I guess I just don’t tend to think of myself that way.” She gave a slight shrug.

“Well, ya should.”

With that pronouncement he turned back around and resumed his work on her car. His words had warmed her more than sunshine on a cold day. As she watched him work, something else began to warm her. She walked closer to get a better look at what he was doing and to keep her eyes from wandering to places they shouldn’t be.

“Why the fuck didn’t ya get this fixed sooner?” Inuyasha demanded suddenly, raising his eyes to meet hers. “This is a mess.”

She blinked.

“Well...I mean, it’s been giving me problems for a while, but every place is booked out for weeks now. I don’t have the time between work and school to drive far away to an auto place in a car on the verge of breaking down. With my luck it would die in the middle of the highway.”

“You have a point.” He laughed, and she suppressed a shiver at the sound. It washed over her in a wave, husky and rich.

"You know, your customer service is lacking," she teased. "Do you talk to all your customers like this?"

"Sometimes. Miroku usually has to smooth things over," he admitted.

"You could learn a few things from me."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Not cursing at your customer, for starters."

"But you're not really a customer, are ya?"

"I guess that's true." She smiled.

She didn’t know how much time passed as he worked. The conversation between them was light and fun and didn’t touch on anything too serious. He took parts out of her car, put parts in, occasionally asking her to hand him a specific tool then making fun of her when she didn’t know which one it was. At those moments she would jokingly threaten to zap him with her reiki if he wasn’t careful and he would just chuckle at her empty threats.

The longer he worked on her car the harder it was to keep her mind from straying to less-than-innocent places. There was a fine sheen of sweat coating his arms, making his muscles glisten faintly. Her eyes took in every dip, curve, and swell, her mouth going dry at the sight. The way he was handling himself with confidence and ease spoke of his skill and it was...attractive, to say the least.

“So. A miko?”

Kagome mentally shook herself, trying to fight her growing arousal.

“It seemed like the natural choice; it’s always come so easily to me. It’s like flexing a muscle, an extension of myself. It’s part of who I am. While I could have chosen something else...why would I?”

��Makes sense,” he grunted.

“Did you always want to be a mechanic?”

“Well, I’ve always been good with my hands,” he shrugged.

I’m sure you are, she thought, biting her lip, her eyes inevitably drawn to those hands now. They were large and covered in black grease, tipped in claws. She wondered idly what those claws would feel like tracing the lines of her body and felt heat curl low in her belly.

Inuyasha inhaled, his nose twitching, and jerked upright, nearly hitting his head on the hood of her car. She frowned for a moment, wondering what had caused him to jump. Then realization dawned and she turned tomato red. Oh God. Embarrassment filled her.

Inuyasha was an inu youkai hanyou. He could smell her. His gold eyes practically burned as they turned her way.

She swallowed, fidgeting with her hands, and her cinnamon eyes skittered away from his form, hoping that would help to quell the rising desire in her. A desire for him and his touch. The force of it surprised her; she barely knew him! Despite that, everything with him just came so...naturally. She felt like she had known him forever, and feelings that normally took days and weeks to form had taken mere hours. It was insane, but she couldn't deny it.

She liked him so much it was crazy.

Silence stretched between them as her mind cast about desperately for something to talk about. Something to divert attention away from the change in her scent and what exactly that meant.

"So, have you taken many dates to your garage?"

"Nah. You're the first lucky lady who's had the honor," Inuyasha replied with a fanged smirk, giving her a long look before turning his focus back to her car.

Kagome breathed a soft sigh of relief and let out a small laugh at his answer.

"They really missed out. This is so romantic," she joked, gesturing about with a hand for good measure.

"Yeah, sorry." He lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. "This is probably a shitty date, but at least your car will work tomorrow."

"It's not, though," she told him sincerely. "I'm actually really enjoying myself. I have had way worse dates than this. This doesn't even rate on the scale."

And no date has ever had me so ready to be pressed up against the nearest surface with the need to have their hands all over me. Her mind was veering into dangerous territory again. She was completely ready to forget all propriety. Not good.

"You're kiddin'."

"Definitely not."

"Yeah? Then what's the worst date you ever been on?"

"Oh, let's see. There are a few contenders for that spot."

Kagome seized on the question. Talking made it easier to focus on something other than the way his lips would feel against hers. Or the way he might use his fangs to gently nip at the sensitive skin of her neck…

She needed to get a grip, and fast, or he was going to start smelling her again. She hastily tried to tamp down her libido with minimal success.

"There was the time I went on a date with a guy and he got so drunk he kept falling asleep at the bar,” she said, relieved when her voice came out steady and not breathless.

“Shitty, but not that bad.”

“Oh, it gets worse. So I paid for my tab while he was in the bathroom; I just wanted to get out of there. As I was getting in the cab, he came running out after me, trying to keep me from leaving.”

“Guy obviously couldn’t take a hint.”

Kagome gave a small laugh. “No. And well, just as I closed the door he projectile vomited all over the cab window.”

Inuyasha laughed so hard he had to stop what he was doing for a minute and Kagome grinned at his obvious amusement. It had been a gross and terrible experience at the time, but it definitely made for a hilarious story now.

“Ok, shit. That’s pretty fuckin’ bad.”

“It was horrifying. Then he texted me the next morning asking about a second date.”

Inuyasha laughed harder and Kagome began to laugh too.

“Needless to say, I said absolutely not.”

“Somethin’ tells me he didn’t take no for an answer,” Inuyasha grinned.

“I ended up blocking him,” Kagome confirmed. “So what about you? What’s your worst date story?”

Inuyasha straightened, surveying the innards of her car and seeming to come to some sort of conclusion. About what, she had no clue but he seemed satisfied, giving a short nod. Then he faced her, the corner of his mouth tilting up.

“I dunno about the worst, but probably the weirdest. I went out with this chick, and after we had dinner she said she just had to pick somethin’ up. We stopped at her twin brother’s place and there was the weirdest vibe goin’ on between them.”

“You don’t think…?” Kagome gasped.

“Fuck, I got no clue but they both basically ignored me and focused on each other ‘til I said I was leavin’.”

Kagome giggled. “Yeah, that’s pretty weird.”

Inuyasha lowered the hood of her car then grabbed a rag and wiped the grease off his hands before tossing it aside into a bin. When he looked her way again he stretched and his shirt rode up, exposing a tantalizing glimpse of his taut stomach. It whet her appetite for more and with a jolt she realized she was staring. She was also more than a little turned on. Even if she hid it well, there was no hiding her scent; Inuyasha would know exactly what kind of shameless thoughts were circling in her head. There would be no shrugging it off a second time.

She wasn’t that type of girl! But something about Inuyasha made her want to be.

“All done a-already?” She stuttered out, her eyes fixed firmly on the floor in front of her now. Her heart was beating faster, making it nearly impossible to keep her breathing even. She cleared her throat.

“Yup. All done. Was a fuckin’ mess but thankfully I know what I’m doin’,” Inuyasha answered.

His feet came into view as she continued to stare at the floor. They stopped right in front of her, but she didn’t need to see his feet to know that. Her awareness of his body so near to hers was a signal all on its own. His aura brushed up against hers and she swallowed nervously, her cheeks warming.

“Y-yeah, for once luck was on my side. Thank you so much,” she said, still looking at the floor.

“You thankin’ the floor?”

She hesitantly raised her eyes to his face and heat flooded through her at his expression. An answering heat burned in his golden orbs while a smirk teased at his lips. He knew. He knew and he was not going to let her off lightly. Not this time. That thought allowed some of her ardor to cool and she scowled. He was standing incredibly close so she pushed against him, her hands lingering on his stomach, noting the ridges of his abs beneath the thin fabric of the wife-beater he wore. He retreated a single step and no more.

“Thank you,” she said again, this time looking into his eyes as she spoke, and his smirk widened. She wanted to be annoyed but that look was giving her butterflies and making her knees weak. Or maybe it was the look in his eyes that made her feel almost hypnotized.

“You hungry?” he asked in a low voice.

“A little,” she replied, unable to look away. But I’m more hungry for you.

“There’s a takeout menu on the fridge in the living space through that door. Go ahead and order whatever ya want.”

Without breaking eye contact, he pulled his wallet out and removed a card, then reached down to grab one of her hands. Her breath caught as he placed it in her palm then curled her fingers over it, his claws lightly scraping over the skin of her wrist before pulling away. She couldn’t suppress the shiver it caused.

“O-order?”

“What? Ya need help orderin’ food?”

“No! Of course not.”

Kagome tried to muster up a glare but failed miserably. Inuyasha just looked terribly amused and smug. Ugh.

“While you order I’m gonna go take a shower.”

“You need help with that?”

Kagome tried to make it sound like a joke, to play off his previous words, but her voice came out breathless instead. The teasing smirk disappeared from his face and his eyes sharpened as he crowded her space, standing so close his body heat warmed her. Leaning down, he spoke, his breath brushing over her lips.

“If you’re offerin’.”

Kagome’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to reply but no sound came out. All the desire she had been trying to keep at bay rushed back, overwhelming her senses for a moment. Her brain short-circuited as lust flooded her, making it impossible to fight.

“I-I wasn’t being serious,” she finally managed. “Your customer service needs work.”

He leaned closer, and she became acutely aware of how little space there was between their lips.

“That’s not what your scent is tellin’ me.”

He definitely knows. Oh God. Mortification and arousal vied for dominance, arousal winning out. And Kagome suddenly found she didn’t care that he knew anymore. For once, she didn’t want to be a good girl; she just wanted to give in. But still, she couldn’t make the first move.

“What is it telling you?” she whispered, hoping he would.

And he did.

Instead of answering her, he closed the last bit of distance between them and pressed his lips against hers. It started out soft at first and she sighed in bliss, leaning into his kiss while her hands ran up his stomach to rest upon his broad shoulders. His credit card dropped between them onto the floor, forgotten as they kissed. The taste of his mouth sent her head spinning. His hands reached up to cradle her face as their lips moved against each other and she shivered at the delicious heat spreading through her body.

It quickly turned from sweet and hesitant to something more demanding and deliberate. Kagome offered no resistance, opening her lips to him almost reflexively. His tongue dipped into her mouth while she traced the length of his fangs with her own and he growled in approval. At the same time, her hands moved to his head, reaching back and undoing the bun holding his silver hair in place. The silky mass tumbled down his back and she ran her fingers through it as their kisses grew more insistent. Her blood was singing in her veins for his touch and, as if he could read her mind, his hands began to roam her body. They slid from her face to her shoulders, down her back, skimming her waist and coming to a stop on her ass.

His hands cupped her, pulling her flush against him and allowing her to feel the evidence of his own arousal. A soft whimper caught in her throat and she clung to him tighter. He dragged his mouth away from hers, his eyes almost wild, as if surprised at the force of the connection between them. They were both panting as they stared into each other’s eyes.

“It’s telling me you wanted that. And more. Fuck, I want more,” Inuyasha said, his voice husky.

“So do I,” Kagome told him hotly.

“If I kiss ya again, I dunno if I can stop.”

Kagome smiled at him shyly, her cheeks heated with a blush.

“What if I said I didn’t want you to stop?”

She wasn’t the type to have sex on the first date, but whatever was building between them was undeniable. For once, she wanted to throw caution to the wind and indulge herself, and if the bulge she felt in his pants was anything to go by, he wanted her just as much as she wanted him. And this thing between them was more than physical; at least it was for her. She only hoped it was the same for him, too.

“Then I ain’t gonna stop.”

“I-I don’t ever do this, especially not on the first date, but I just feel something so-- so--...”

“I feel it, too.”

That was the only reassurance she needed. Her hands moved across the expanse of his muscled back while his lips captured hers again. She felt like she could get lost in the feel of his mouth over hers, the taste of his breath, the way his fangs nipped at her bottom lip. The need to touch him was strong and she tugged at the wife-beater he wore in silent demand. Breaking the kiss, he smirked at her and removed it in one fluid motion. She stared, transfixed, her eyes charting every ridge and dip of his abs and pecs.

He was beautiful .

Before she could lose her courage, she leaned forward and ran her mouth over his skin, pressing kisses over his bare torso while her hands mapped his body. His breathing quickened and he growled, the verberation from the sound tickling her lips as her tongue darted out to lick the sweat from his skin.

While she explored him, his hands went to work, running down her back in a caress before gripping her ass possessively. He squeezed, relishing the feel, then surprised her by using his grip to effortlessly pick her up. She squealed, instinctively wrapping her legs around his waist and pressing her core right against the hardness of his cock. Gasping at the sensation, a rush of hot arousal raced through her system and left her lightheaded. She barely registered him carrying her until he set her down on the hood of her car as he kissed her. Then his lips trailed from her mouth to her ear, down to her neck, where his fangs played at the sensitive skin there.

“You smell so fuckin’ good,” he said, his breath hot. He inhaled deeply, breathing her in.

Moaning softly, she shifted her hips against him, hoping to ease the ache that was beginning to build at the apex of her thighs. Heat jolted through her core at the intimate contact as he groaned.

"Clothes...off…" Kagome managed, her mind in a haze.

Inuyasha complied, removing her shirt and tossing it aside. Without wasting any time, he reached behind her to unclasp her bra, his claws lightly brushing against her porcelain skin as he slid the straps from her shoulders. Nervousness gripped her again as her bra fell away and left her bare to his gaze, but excitement quickly replaced it at the hunger in his eyes.

“Fuck, you’re perfect.”

She held her breath in anticipation for his touch while he stared, drinking her in. The look in his eyes made her feel like a goddess. He didn’t keep her waiting long, his large hands reaching for her and lifting her breasts, savoring their weight as a calloused thumb brushed over each nipple. They pebbled beneath his touch and a soft sigh passed her lips as he repeated the motion before massaging the globes. Then his mouth took the place of his hands and Kagome cried out as he sucked at her nipples, his fangs gently scraping over the sensitive buds.

As he lavished his attentions on her breasts, her hands buried themselves in his hair, holding his head in place. Unable to help herself, one hand freed itself to stroke along his soft ears and his grip tightened on her in response. She grinned wickedly; they were clearly sensitive. Lightly running her tongue along the edge of one of his furred ears, she gave it a small nip. He growled, the sound rumbling through his chest and sending pleasurable vibrations through her body, making her moan. Liquid heat pooled between her legs.

Slowly, he kissed his way from her breasts all the way down her belly until he reached the waistband of her skirt. He gave it a playful bite while the longing in her grew stronger.

"Inuyasha…" she breathed, his name a plea.

Sliding his hands beneath the green satiny fabric, he ran his palms up her smooth thighs and took hold of her panties. She lifted her hips in consent and he removed them, his claws trailing along her pelvis and the inside of her thighs. A small whimper lodged in Kagome’s throat as the tension inside her built.

Rather than toss them aside like he had her shirt, Inuyasha held them up to his face. The crotch was soaked with her arousal and she watched as he slowly and deliberately dragged his tongue across the wetness, closing his eyes as if savoring the taste. Then he gave her a wicked smirk, locking eyes with her.

It was the hottest and most erotic thing she had ever seen. Lust gripped her, hot and immediate. The pressure was almost unbearable now, she was so fucking turned on. She throbbed with the need to feel that tongue licking and teasing her dripping pussy.

"You taste amazing. But it'll taste even better right here," Inuyasha said, dropping her panties to the floor in favor of spreading her thighs.

"Do it. Taste me," she panted, her fingers curling into fists at her side to keep herself from grabbing his head and pressing him into her.

Then his mouth was on her and oh. Fuck. Her skirt bunched around her waist as his tongue lapped at the juices pouring from her opening, darting in and out and making her breath catch. After teasing her entrance, he gave her pussy a long, slow lick, flicking the tip of his tongue over her clit. Kagome gasped, her thighs tensing, as he spread her folds and licked at her faster, mercilessly tonguing her bundle of nerves. She cried out, her back arching.

“Ah! Ahh! Yes, oh fuck!”

Tracing fast and hard circles around her clit with his tongue, he positioned one of his hands at her opening and slid a finger inside her, being careful of his claws. Her response was instant, her hips bucking up against him to take his finger all the way inside her as she moaned loudly. Yes. God yes.

Inuyasha gave a growl of approval at her reaction and the vibrations went straight to her clit, enhancing the pleasure. It was pure bliss. His tongue worked her nub furiously as he fingered her, adding a second digit to the first and causing a cry to escape her again. His fingers moved in and out in a quick rhythm, stretching her and making a slurping sound as wetness continued to spill from her. As he continued to devour her hungrily.

Her head fell back as she lost herself to the sensations, feeling the coil of her release wind tighter. The cool metal of the hood of her car against her skin was a stark contrast to the heat of her body as she burned from his touch. She couldn’t believe she was doing this , here, on her car, but she was too far gone to care anymore. Fuck, she was so close .

And then he began to suck on her clit while his tongue and fingers continued to stroke her and Kagome lost all control of herself. Moaning incoherently, uncaring of how loud she was being, she writhed under his mouth. When he gently scraped one of his fangs over her sensitive nub she came apart, her hands grasping for something to anchor her while the ecstasy took her sky high.

“Ah! Ahhh! Inuyashaaa!”

“Delicious,” she heard him say, and thought he might have been licking his fingers of her essence. She wasn’t sure.

The world spun for a minute while she panted, trying to catch her breath. When her eyes refocused she looked up and saw Inuyasha had divested himself of the rest of his clothing and stood in front of her, gloriously naked. He looked like one of those statues of a Greek god, his body chiseled and well-defined with muscle. There was one notable difference between them and him, however, and it was the rather large appendage jutting out from between his legs.

Kagome stared for a second. He was definitely bigger than average, and she wondered for a moment if he would even fit inside her. Her eyes must have given her away because Inuyasha chuckled, pulling her close and kissing her senseless, and any doubt regarding that faded away.

He was going to the best she ever had: she just knew it.

As he kissed her, her hands caressed his ears again, rubbing the edges between her fingertips. Inuyasha’s own hands traced patterns up and down her back, one of them breaking away to grab a fistful of her hair. Languid warmth bloomed inside Kagome from the way he was making her feel and she wanted to return the favor.

“Your turn,” Kagome whispered against his lips.

Holding onto his shoulder to steady herself, her other hand trailed south across his skin. The muscles of his abdomen clenched under her feather-light touch before she reached her target and gripped his cock firmly. Squeezing, she ran her hand along the length of him, the pad of her thumb pressing against his tip and spreading the precum around in soft circles. He hissed out a breath, snarling softly.

“Fuck, your hand feels so good,” he groaned, burying his face in her neck.

Dragging her fingernail gently up the side of his cock as she pumped him, her hand tightened its grip, moving faster. He grunted out his pleasure, thrusting in time with the rhythm of her hand while his tongue rasped over her neck. Her head lolled to the side, allowing him better access as she stroked up and down, her hand giving a twist with each upward motion. His breathing became harsh, coming in pants, and Kagome gave a moan herself at the way his fangs scraped against the column of her throat.

She was already wet for him again.

“Smell amazing...fuck, gotta stop or I’m gonna....”

His voice was thick with desire and the sound sent tingles down her spine. Giving her neck one last nip, he raised his head and, reaching down between them, grabbed her hand in his, stopping her. She looked at him in confusion, uncertainty quelling her own desire, but the look in his gold eyes put any insecurities to bed. They were molten embers that burned for her and made her ache for him. A slow smile spread across his face and her body flushed.

“Why...why did you stop me?”

“I’m not gonna cum in your hand on the first date.”

But I came on yours . The words never made it past her lips as he spread her legs wider and rubbed his cock over her soaked pussy, pressing the head against her clit. She whimpered, falling back against the hood of her car as he repeated the motion before lining himself up at her entrance. She held her breath, waiting, and looked into his eyes. It might have been her imagination, but she thought she saw a hint of red at the edges and it thrilled her.

Then a thought occurred to her.

“W-wait! What about-- about protection?”

“Not to be weird, but I can smell ya, and you ain’t fertile right now.”

She blinked, absorbing this information, and felt equally aroused and appalled that he could apparently smell every facet of her being.

“You still want this?” His voice was a deep rasp.

“I still want it. I want you,” she answered.

The blunt head of his cock pressed against her and, at her consent, he slowly worked his way inside her until every inch was sheathed within her hot, dripping core. She moaned as sparks of pleasure danced over her skin and he gave an answering groan of his own. He was stretching her to the limit and the feeling was incredible. It made a delicious ache begin to swirl within her, radiating out from where he was buried so deep inside. And he hadn’t even moved yet.

“Ah, God,” he breathed, holding still for a moment as her body adjusted to the size of him. His hands were on either side of her head as his body loomed over her. “Fuck, you’re so tight. You’re not--?”

“--no. But it’s been a while,” Kagome breathed back. “Please, keep going. Don’t stop.”

Inuyasha growled and withdrew before thrusting back into her and she gasped, her breath hitching on another moan. And he didn’t stop, pumping into her hard, while her wet pussy gripped his cock tightly. She shifted her hips up against him with each thrust, trying to take him even deeper. The demanding ache inside of her was building and it needed more. She needed more. The shaft of his cock rubbed against her walls with each urgent movement, pressing against places she hadn’t even known were sensitive until they began to send jolts of ecstasy through her body while he fucked her.

Some distant part of her mind registered that Inuyasha was fucking her on her car. And she didn’t care. She loved it, wanted more, all her inhibitions slipping away. Each fierce thrust was making her breasts bounce wildly, something that didn’t escape his notice. Her back arched into his touch as he brought a hand up to possessively grasp one of her breasts, claws playing with her nipple as he squeezed the flesh.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” he grunted as he pounded into her. “Uhn!! So fucking good!”

She didn’t even realize she was crying out at first, but she couldn’t seem to silence herself either, helpless against the way he was making her feel. Looking into Inuyasha’s face she decided she didn’t want to, anyways, because at each sound of pleasure that fell from her lips his eyes seemed to glow brighter, his breath catching, and his thrusts coming faster.

“Ahh! Ah! Inu-Inuyashaaa! I-- please-- Mmm! Yes!”

The coil of her release was wound so tight she was going to come apart any second. Inuyasha leaned down to scrape his fangs over her exposed neck, his tongue licking away the sting. When he moved his other hand from her thigh to her clit, rubbing in taut circles, the feeling sent her over the edge. She came hard, her legs trembling as she moaned loudly, her whole body shuddering.

“That’s it, Ka-go-me,” he panted at her, still thrusting into her wet, hot core and she whimpered.

Then he withdrew from her and she blinked, in a daze, wondering why he was stopping; he hadn’t reached his own release yet. She never got a chance to ask, his lips claiming hers in a kiss so tender that it belied the intensity of the way he had just been fucking her. Pulling away, his hungry eyes traced the length of her body before he gently picked her up, putting her feet on the ground, and flipped her over so her stomach was now against the hood of her car, her back to him.

Hands spread her thighs and in one swift motion he was buried inside her welcoming heat again. She whined as his cock stretched her, her fingers fisting. God, he made her feel so fucking good. Those strong hands of his held her in place as he began to thrust in and out, one splayed around her waist while the other slid around her front to play with her breasts.

“Ya didn’t think I was stoppin’, did ya?” His breath teased the shell of her ear.

A shudder of need ran through her at the feeling.

“Good...don’t stop!” She managed before the pleasure took her over again.

All she could do was moan his name as he fucked her harder, his cock hitting deep. Filling her up in the most delicious way possible. With each rapid thrust she was pushed up against her car, causing her clit to rub up against it and sending tiny shocks of euphoria through her body that left her gasping. The delicious friction of his cock pistoning inside her, coupled with that, had her crying out again, moving her hips back into him as she keened.

Inuyasha was groaning and grunting behind her and the sound turned her on even more. The noises he was making were almost animalistic and it excited her. Desire shot through her, the evidence of how good she was making him feel intensifying her own arousal, and the coil of her release tightened in response.

Raising her head, Kagome caught sight of her reflection in the windshield of her car and her eyes widened as she stared. Transfixed, she watched, her breath coming faster. Watched as she was fucked from behind, against her car, by the only man who had ever made her act in such a way. A man who should by all rights be a stranger, but who made her feel like no one ever had before. She had never witnessed anything like it, and a hot, sharp wave of lust pulsed along every nerve-ending before coiling low, right at her core.

The blissed out look on her face, the almost feral expression on Inuyasha’s... It was such an erotic vision, one she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from. More liquid heat pooled between her legs as her arousal and need heightened, the pressure building to unbearable levels.

His rhythm quickened, his breathing turning shallow, and Kagome could tell he was close to his climax. She was close, too. Her heart was a staccato beat in her chest, her breathing ragged, her skin slick with sweat. The slapping sound of skin and their moans, harsh pants, and gasps permeated the air. Reaching behind her, she grabbed onto his perfect ass, rolling her hips back into him, meeting his hard and deep thrusts.

“Inu-Inuyasha--ahh! Ah! Oh fuck, yes!” she cried out.

“Fuck...Kagome, I’m gonna--” Inuyasha grunted, leaning over her to wrap his arms around her as he thrust. Harder. Deeper. Faster. His mouth found her neck again and she threw her head back.

“--do it! I want it!” she said breathily.

His body went rigid behind her as he spilled himself inside her, breathing heavily and groaning from the force of his release. The warm sensation of his cum shooting up inside her combined with everything else sent her over the edge and she came right after, her orgasm almost blinding her in its ferocity. It spread through her like wildfire, strong and immediate, more intensely than she had ever felt before. For a moment, she saw stars and the world fell away. When she came back to herself Inuyasha was smoothing her hair to the side and pressing kisses to her shoulder.

“You good?” he rumbled into her ear.

Kagome smiled, almost laughing at the question. She was completely sated.

“More than good.”

“Good.”

He pulled out of her, turning her around so that she faced him. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tightly while she waited for her legs to support her again. As the languid heat of her satisfaction began to dissipate, other thoughts took hold again, making her heart beat faster for an entirely different reason.

“Oh, God,” she whispered, suddenly feeling almost horrified. It made no sense after everything they had just done, but her sense of shame was returning along with her good sense.

Inuyasha frowned, his ears flattening.

“What’s wrong?”

Kagome buried her face in his chest as she spoke.

“I--I can’t believe I just… I mean, I know I said I wanted to, and told you not to stop, but--”

“--you regretting it?” His voice was low.

Kagome didn’t miss the underlying emotion of hurt beneath it. She rushed to explain.

“No! No!! Not at all. I just… I never do this. And I did. On the first date. I just feel something so-- so strongly for you, and I wanted it so much, but-- God, I can’t imagine what you think of me...”

Inuyasha seemed to relax at her confession, and he had the audacity to laugh. She glared against his chest.

“You said somethin’ like that before everything got heated. Listen, I told ya already. I feel it, too. And besides, I think you’re the hottest, most interesting woman I ever met.”

She raised her head from his chest to cautiously peek at his face. He gave her a fanged smile and she relaxed against him, sighing softly.

“You mean that?”

“Absolutely. Though your luck is cursed and the way you take care of your car is a crime.”

“Such sweet words. Keep talking to me like that and I just may believe you,” she teased, smiling back at him now.

“So...would it be weird to ask ya for another, actual date, now?”

“Not at all.”

She leaned up to kiss him and he returned it with interest. His mouth on hers, his body pressed against her...it was intoxicating. It was perfect. When they broke apart they were both breathing heavily again.

“Now, what was that about my customer service lacking…?” Inuyasha said, his gold eyes burning for her.

“I changed my mind. Five stars. Glowing reviews,” Kagome replied, her smile turning seductive.

And he proceeded to earn every word of praise.

#Inuyasha fanfiction #Inuyasha fanfic #inukag fanfic #InuKag #Inuyasha x Kagome #Customer Service #SMUT #LOTS OF SMUT

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