#and forever never not be normal about the not-so “steely gazes”
Text
Saw this text post and was immediately transported to this room
#will forever never not be normal about these two#and forever never not be normal about the not-so “steely gazes”#the screenplay for this movie is certainly a thing#oceans 11#danny ocean#rusty ryan#ocean's eleven#oceans trilogy#ocean's 11#ocean's trilogy#dannyrusty#danny x rusty#ryocean
136 notes
·
View notes
Text
Pacify Him
(arven x reader ficlet)
(notes: kinda crackfic, less romantic, mostly humorous, academy shenanigans, reader and arven are adults, perspective shift but no first person pov lol; warnings: suggestive themes, spoilers re: clavell)
tagging @superstition13 and @wyverndollface96 for requesting and @snartalacarte for sending in that ask about arven content (✧∀✧)/
“It’s not what it looks like!” is quite possibly the worst thing you could have said in this situation.
Fortunately, it was not what you said.
Unfortunately, it was what Arven said.
A loud choking noise that could best be described as a mightyena’s laugh escapes Dendra. The rest of the professors whip their heads in her direction, which gives you a quick second to spare an incredulous look at Arven.
He returns a look that conveys, ‘I panicked.’
Not that what you two were doing goes against academy rules. There may have been some light… brawling, but neither of you really punched or kicked the other. Your little disagreement just escalated a tiny wee bit. It definitely did not require such an audience.
It went like this.
In preparation for midterms, the two of you commandeered the Home Ec room during free period. Arven, in particular, had been anxious to improve on his Meal Points. Within the first five minutes of your session, you had made one too many jokes at your classmate’s expense, and he retaliated by raising your ingredients above his head. In an attempt to secure your precious prosciutto, you may have tickled his surprisingly sensitive sides. With his free hand, he pushes you away in the face, and vision obscured, you wildly flail your arms. You’re not entirely sure with the details, but somehow you found yourself laying with your back flat against the tile floors caged between Arven’s arms.
Nurse Miriam almost sounds innocent, but you’ve hung out with her enough times to detect the twinkle in her eye. “What does it look like?”
Dendra cackles.
With that, Director Clavell ushers out the rest of the staff, save Professor Jacq. An almost strict parental aura emanates from the normally stoic man. Clavell turns his steely gaze at Arven which makes your companion honest-to-Arceus flinch. The gaze you’re given is somehow kinder.
“I know and trust that you two are sensible adults. I respect whatever choices you make regarding pursuing relations…,” he coughs. “Err- relationships.” You stifle a groan, and Arven stiffens in fear beside you. “However!” Clavell’s voice pitches up. “We have to respect that this is an institution for learning. Kindly display some decorum.” Almost like an afterthought, he adds, “Your dorm rooms are yours to use as you please.”
You’re nodding in an attempt to get him to move things quicker, but Arven would not shut his trap as word vomit after word vomit of “That’s not what—,” and “I would never—,” leaves his mouth.
This just serves to further incense Clavell. “Young man, do you see me a fool?”
The poor backtracking from Arven draws a sliver of pity from you, and you decide to put him out of his misery.
“Clive, my man.” Arven looks at you like you had gone absolutely mad, but Clavell stares curiously. “Me and this dude weren’t boning in here. Nor were we planning on boning.” The director has a poker face on, but you can see all his hostility earlier has vanished. “Bro, you know I’m a bit of a rebel — that’s why you and I vibe — but I would never do something so shameless.”
Arven gapes like a magikarp at the two of you. You’re patting the Director’s shoulder like you were best buds. The man is nodding enthusiastically, and whispering, “I see,” over and over again.
He flushes when you look back to send a quick wink, before sharing some (Oh, Arceus) ‘hot goss’ with Clavell— or Clive. He honestly didn’t know anymore.
A tap on his shoulder reminds him of another presence in the room. Professor Jacq is smiling sheepishly, Arven could only offer a grimace in return. The man’s next words slightly tempt Arven to just drop out of the academy forever.
“Misunderstanding aside. If either of you have any questions, remember that I’m not only your thesis advisor, but also a Biology professor.”
Unintentionally going in for the kill, he offhandedly mentions, “Oh, and Miriam texted me to remind you the nurse’s office has protection. Just ask.”
Right on cue, Arven realizes he had just stepped on some ham. Right. A deep sigh leaves him. Somehow, everyone seems to think you and Arven were making more than just sandwiches.
While picking up wasted ingredients, he flushes when he recalls how he had accidentally pinned you on the floor. The white tiles shine mockingly up at him. He focuses his gaze on the occasional pop of color alerting him of scattered bell peppers. He tries not to listen too attentively to your voice as you excitedly swap stories with Clavell and Jacq.
You were always good at that.
Winning over people naturally, that people knew who you were even before you met them. He was, after all, one of those people. Everyone knew who you were, and they all wanted to get to know you. Yet, despite that, you still pay attention to him. You could, by all accounts, have the more powerful and influential classmates eating at the palm of your hand, but here you are in an almost empty classroom essentially wasting time because he asked you to be here.
“Alrighty, y’all. Respectfully, get out! We got sandwiches to make, and a class to pass!”
Who even are you? Speaking to the staff in such a manner would have any other student marched down the steps of the academy, but the two older men simply jovially chuckle. Arven feels himself smile despite attempting to restrain it.
You walk back to your table, just as Arven is getting up. You offer him your hand, which he demurely accepts.
Smiling, you ask him, “What were we making again?”
He snorts. “Well according to the staff groupchat, a scene.”
You let out an even less dignified snort which draws a chuckle from your friend. Soon enough, you’re both deep in belly laughs to the point of tears.
Professor Saguaro doesn’t know what to do with himself upon returning and finding his two students heaving, and a table full of unused ingredients. A lone plated piece of bread sitting pathetically in the middle.
When Arven gets called out in class for not knowing the very thing you were meant to tutor him on, he couldn’t find it in himself to care. He feels you kick him in the side from your seat. Nope. He does not mind at all.
648 notes
·
View notes
Text
Yours Forever - David Powers (the lost boys)
Pairing: David x Reader
Warnings: This story deals with abuse and the aftermath. Do not read if this will bother you.
A/N: Look, I'm writing for another blond vampire that no one asked for. yay me.
Divider by firefly-graphics
“What are you doing here, princess?”
The oh so familiar voice sent a shiver down your spine. Words couldn’t possibly do justice to the rich sound. You turned from where you’d been looking through clothes at one of the little shops that lined the boardwalk. You were in desperate need of a few items. That wasn’t a conversation you wanted to have with the man in front of you however. God, he was going to be pissed when he found out you had nothing more than some cash and the contents of your backpack.
You turned and offered a small smile. “Just picking up some things I need is all, David.” He hadn’t changed at all, not that you’d expected him to. His white-blond hair was still spiked and a cigarette hung from his lips. He wore more leather than anything. He peeled off his gloves as he closed the distance between you.
He stepped forward and traced a finger down the side of your face. You clenched your teeth to keep from jerking away as he hit a tender spot. “You know you aren’t supposed to be on the Boardwalk alone after dark. Why didn’t you find me or one of the boys to go with you?”
“I didn’t want to bother you. It won’t take me very long.” You shrugged as if it wasn’t important.
David hummed and glanced around before turning that steely gaze back on you. “And where’s that boyfriend of yours?”
Hatred practically oozed from the word ‘boyfriend’. None of the boys liked him much. They were all a bit overprotective. You’d grown up under their watchful eyes after all. Your mother was always a little too lost in her own head. When they found ten-year-old you wandering around on your own, they’d fed you and kept you company. It wasn’t long before you were seldom seen without at least one of them attached to your side. David was the worst of all. Of course, you were his mate, even if he didn’t know that.
You’d seen his mark one day when he was changing his shirt. You hadn’t said a word. He would never want you and you couldn’t stand the thought of him rejecting you. You’d seen the women that he picked up. They were nothing like you. Look at Star. You were simple and plain and they all thought of you as a little sister. Besides, he put up with you but he didn’t want you to stick around forever. The one time you’d mentioned becoming one of them he’d brought you to tears with the harshness of his rejection.
It was better for you all if you just kept your mouth shut and found a way to leave without completely breaking your heart. So, you came up with a plan. Never let David know who you actually were to him. Find someone else to fall in love with. Make a new home for yourself. Stay friends with the boys.
Then you’d met Matt. He disliked the boys even more than they hated him. He demanded more and more of your time and you’d had less and less to spend with the boys. It wasn’t normal to stay up all night and sleep all day, so he’d made you flip your schedule. Suddenly, months had passed without you even going to the Boardwalk. Somehow though, you found it impossible to forget about that platinum blond vampire with that sexy as sin voice and that little smirk.
By the time your boyfriend started smacking you around, you were too humiliated and ashamed to return to your friends. Your mate. You’d left men that had never shown you anything but love and kindness for a man that beat the shit out of you on more than one occasion. You’d finally fled a week ago with the clothes on your back and the backpack you’d kept packed waiting for your chance. It had taken three days for the hurting to subside enough for you to leave the hotel room.
You’d been hanging around the boardwalk knowing that it would be the last place Matt would come, even if that meant you took the chance of running into one of the boys. This was the first time you’d been out past dark since but most of the shops didn’t open until late afternoon as they catered to the tourist crowd. You’d thought you’d be able to get in and out with them being none the wiser.
A hand hooked around the side of your neck and a thumb traced the line of your jaw. You jerked back to awareness to find David studying you with worried eyes. “Are you alright? I lost you there for a moment.”
You nodded once and cleared your throat. “Yeah. Sorry.”
He studied you a moment longer before stepping back. His hand dropped only to wrap around yours. “Come on, princess. Let’s get you something to eat.”
When he started to steer you to the Chinese place, you pulled him to a stop. You loved the food there, but it was far too brightly lit inside. Your makeup would only hold up under so much scrutiny. David frowned as you tugged him back to you. You smirked as you stole the cigarette from his lips. “I’m gonna sit out here and wait for you. You know what I like.”
He licked his lips and nodded. As he turned to go, he said, “If you take off, I will find you, princess.”
You perched on the back of a bench to wait. After a couple of puffs, you put out the cigarette. It had only been an excuse for you to stay outside after all. When he came back out, he seemed surprised that you’d actually waited. The look quickly morphed into a smile. “Let’s go.” He offered you his hand again, his gloves back in place, and led you to his bike.
You couldn’t remember the last time you’d been on his bike. Any bike. You’d missed it. The rush of the wind and the howls of laughter from the boys. Why had you ever thought it was a good idea to give any of this up? You climbed on behind him and wrapped your arms around him, keeping them low. You didn’t want to accidently brush his soulmark. That was not how you wanted him to find out.
When you reached the cave, he turned so you could hop on his back. You couldn’t refuse though you knew it wouldn’t be the most comfortable position for your ribs. Once you were settled in place, he placed one arm behind him to hold you up. “I brought you a present, boys,” he announced as he stepped into the cave.
After sliding off his back, you moved out from behind him and offered a wave to the others as you dropped your bag on the floor. They all stopped what they were doing to stare at you. A beat later you were surrounded by three excited vampires and David’s laughter floating through the air. He moved to his throne, setting your food on the table on his way by. Marko hugged you first, pulling you into his chest with a hand on the back of your head. “Damn, we missed you, girly. Don’t ever be gone so long again. We thought you forgot about us.”
You huffed a laugh. “I don’t think that’s possible, Marky.”
Dwayne grasped your arms to turn you and you swallowed a shout. Your arms were better, but they were still bruised. “My turn,” he said with a grin and wrapped you in a gentle hug as if he were afraid you would break. He always thought the others were too rough with you. You weren’t about to complain. He just held you for a long moment and you let yourself enjoy it. You’d missed this.
You should have known Paul would be your downfall. He had never been what you would call gentle. All noise and chaos. And when he grabbed you and lifted you in a bear hug you felt ribs shift. A cry of pain escaped before you could even try to stop it. Everyone froze except Paul who lowered you gently to your feet. Your hand cradled your side, not that it would help much.
Dwayne shoved Paul away from you. “What the hell did you do to her?”
“Nothing! I swear.” He held up his hands in a gesture of innocence.
Dwayne shoved him again.
“It’s not him. It’s not his fault.” You forced out as you panted in pain. Your voice wasn’t loud but they were vampires. They heard you just the same.
“Whose fault is it then?” David’s voice sent a shiver down your spine again. This time it was a tremor from being in the presence of an angry predator. A glance showed his jaw was set and his hands were clenched at his sides. The two of you locked gazes and you were surprised to see as much worry there as anger.
Marko distracted you by taking your elbow to lead you to the couch.
“I think you better start talking, baby girl,” Dwayne ordered as he stood in front of you with his arms crossed over his chest.
Tears ran down your face as you bit your lip. You kept your gaze on the floor so you wouldn’t have to look at any of them. How did you even begin this conversation? They were going to be so disappointed in you. “Could you hand me my bag?”
In a flash your bag entered your line of vision as one of them placed it in front of you. You opened one of the pockets and pulled out one of the wipes you kept there. You used it to gently clean the makeup from your face. When you finished you slid out of your jacket to reveal the bruises on your arms. Only then did you lift your head, though you kept your eyes closed not wanting to see their reactions.
At least one of them growled and another hissed, but none of them said anything. So, you broke the silence. “It was slow, you know. Subtle. The way he twisted my life around to suit his needs. To fit his ideal. By the time I realized what he was doing, I hadn’t seen you in six months. He made certain you were completely out of my life. That was when he hit me the first time.”
“This happened more than once?” You’d never heard Marko so angry. So disappointed.
More tears ran down your face. This was a bad idea. Stupid. You’d known they’d be disgusted by you. You opened your eyes but your vision was blurred by your tears. While you couldn’t tell who was who, you could see how far away they all were from you. “I should go. I never should have let David bring me here. I just missed you. But I knew…I’m sorry. Gods, I’m so sorry.”
Suddenly one of them crouched in front of you and wiped your tears away. You sniffed and wiped your eyes with the back of your hands so you could see. David’s striking eyes looked you over. He was still angry, that was easy enough to see, but if the tender way he was treating you was any indication, it wasn’t directed at you. “You have nothing to be sorry for, princess. And you’re not going anywhere.”
You nodded in acknowledgement. He settled himself beside you on the couch before picking you up and placing you sideways on his lap. He tugged you down to lean against his chest and you sighed. He’d even taken off his coat and gloves so you’d be more comfortable. How had you ever found the strength to walk away from this man?
“Now. You need to talk to us, sweetheart. No one’s mad at you but we need to know what happened while you were gone.” His chest vibrated beneath you as he talked bringing you a strange sense of comfort.
“What do you want to know?” You still kept your gaze turned from the others afraid of what you’d see there.
You were surprised when it was Dwayne that spoke instead of David. “When did he hit you the first time? How long ago?” His voice was calm but he nearly choked on the word ‘hit’.
“Five months.”
“Why didn’t you leave? Why didn’t you come home?” Marko sounded so broken. You moved your eyes up to find him sitting on the arm of the couch in front of you. Pure anguish covered his features.
Looking at him you realized you couldn’t tell them anything but the truth. “I did.”
David stilled beneath you and Marko’s mouth dropped open. Movement caught your eye and you glanced to where Paul sat on the floor. His head had jerked up to look at you. Tears ran down his cheeks. He shouldn’t be crying for you. You weren’t worth it. Dwayne must have been somewhere behind you.
“When?” a choked voice asked. You wouldn’t have realized it was David if you hadn’t felt the word as he said it.
“Three days later he pushed me down the basement steps. He left the house and I pulled myself up the stairs and came here.” You moved from David’s lap and you were surprised when he let you go. You strolled over to the fountain and sat on the edge so you could see them all. “It was daytime. I’d planned on just hanging around until you woke up but I needed to see you. It had been so long. You three were where you were supposed to be but I couldn’t find David. I finally came across him in my old room, laying in my bed, a naked Star spread across his chest.” And god, hadn’t that broken what remained of your poor heart.
You shook your head. “It reminded me of the reason I left in the first place. I wasn’t needed here. I’d only get in the way. I needed to find a new life to live.”
The silence stretched until Paul finally spoke. “I thought you left because of Matt.”
You took a deep breath. “No. I left because my mate didn’t want me. I was just trying to find someone else to love me.”
“Your mate rejected you?” Disbelief dripped from Dwayne’s voice.
“He didn’t have to. Besides, I don’t think I’m right for him. He needs someone better than me. It’s okay. Really.”
“It’s not okay,” Marko insisted. He hopped up and began pacing the floor, chewing on the end of his thumb. “Anyone that doesn’t want you is an idiot.” Paul and Dwayne chimed in their agreement. David just continued to watch everything with those beautiful eyes of his.
Warmth settled in your chest and you smiled. “Thank you, boys. I appreciate it.”
“Leave us,” David ordered.
The others looked as surprised as you felt but they weren’t going to argue with their leader. David never once looked away from you as the others left. Once they were gone, he stood and moved closer. He brought his chair over to sit in front of you.
“What you saw that day with Star wasn’t what it looked like.”
Well, that wasn’t what you’d expected him to say. You’d been expecting a lecture on you thinking poorly of yourself, not an explanation of his tryst with Star. “It’s none of my business, David.”
“I think it is.” A muscle twitched in his jaw and he sighed. “I’d taken to sleeping in your bed when I missed you. Your scent lingered there for a long time. Star had been trying to get into my pants pretty much from the day you left. She got into the bed after I passed out. I found her like that when I woke. I kicked her out. Her and Laddie are living with Max.”
“So, you were in my bed because you missed me?”
He arched a brow. “Is that so hard to believe?”
“A little, yeah. Why are you telling me this anyway?” You frowned, your brow furrowing with the movement.
“Because.” He stood and kicked the chair to send it rolling across the floor. He paced the floor in front of you. “I have been in love with you for years. It almost killed me when you left. I don’t give a shit about your mate. I want you to stay here with me.”
It suddenly became a little hard to breathe. “That’s not possible. You don’t want me. Not like that.”
His low, dark laugh rolled through you. “And who are you to decide that? Don’t you think I know what I want?”
You stood and stepped in front of him, pointing a finger in his face. “I know because when I asked you to make me one of you, you flipped. You told me in no uncertain terms that was never going to happen. If you loved me, if you wanted me, you’d have said yes.”
He knocked your hand away and stepped forward closing the little distance between you. “Or maybe I was contemplating an eternity of never being able to have you. Of changing you and you wanting nothing to do with me beyond friendship. I don’t know about you but that sounds like a pretty miserable fucking existence to me.”
You closed your eyes and clenched your teeth. If he was telling you the truth, all of that pain and misery could have been avoided. “You fucking idiot.”
He huffed a laugh and you wrapped a hand in his shirt to keep him from moving away from you. “Why don’t you tell me what you really think, princess.”
Instead of answering, you took your free hand and laid it over his ribs where his soulmark was. Warmth spread through your palm and he hissed in a breath in surprise. With your head still bowed, you looked up at him through your lashes. You couldn’t read the expression in his eyes as he stared back. Finally, he took your wrist in his hand and moved your hand so it was under his shirt but resting in the same place. The sensation came again, but stronger this time.
You jerked in surprise as his hands cupped your face. He tilted your head back and his lips found yours in a hungry, pleading kiss. It only took you a second to return the kiss and you gave him instant access when his tongue traced your lips. When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against yours. “How long have you known?”
You bit your lip. “A couple of years.”
His hands grasped your upper arms and he pushed you back. Seeing your wince as he pressed on the bruises, he immediately released you. “You knew who you were to me and you still went to Matt? You-you let him touch you knowing you belonged to me?” He was shouting by the end and his vampire face was on full display.
You’d seen it before and managed not to flinch. He wouldn’t hurt you. Not David. And vampire or not, you could get just as angry as him. So, you yelled right back. “You didn’t want me. You made me feel like you could picture nothing worse than being stuck with my presence for an eternity so you bet your ass I found someone else.”
“Well, you did a damned fine job of that, didn’t you?” Regret flashed through his eyes the moment the words left his mouth but it was too late for him to take them back.
You clenched your teeth and stepped back from him as tears welled in your eyes. “Fuck you, David.” All the heat was gone from your voice. You turned your back on him with your arms crossed over your chest. When you closed your eyes, a tear ran down your cheek. Fucking brilliant.
“Hey.” His voice was soft and pleading as he stepped up behind you. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.” His arms wrapped around you and he pulled you back into his chest. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your skin where your neck met your shoulder. “It was a dick thing to say.”
“It was.”
His lips laid a line of fire along the line of your neck and you couldn’t stop yourself from tilting your head to give him more access. When he reached your ear, his lips brushed against it as he spoke. “Forgive me.”
Chaos returning to the cave caught your attention before you could respond and you both turned to find the boys had come home. Only it appeared they’d brought dinner with them as they dropped a beaten, bloody body on the floor.
“Sorry to interrupt, but we wanted to bring our girl a present,” Paul said with a grin.
“Me?” Your brows shot up in surprise.
“Yeah.” Marko nodded excitedly before pulling the head of their victim up to reveal your very recent ex.
David groaned and raked a hand a through his hair. “Don’t you think we should have discussed this?”
The other three exchanged a glance before turning back to him. “No,” they responded in unison.
You couldn’t help the burst of laughter that escaped your lips.
Your mate shot you a look but you could tell he was amused as well. “Well, he’s your present, baby. What do you want to do with him?”
“He’s not dead?” You were genuinely surprised by that. Not only did he look dead, you didn’t think the boys would have that much restraint.
“Not yet,” Dwayne said before nudging Matt in the side with the toe of his boot. A small grunt of pain confirmed his words.
You glanced at all of them before your gaze stopped on David. “Well, he looks like a delicious first meal to me.”
His eyes sparked and he smiled as he took you back in his arms. “You sure about this?” he asked in a low voice before kissing your temple.
“I’m yours forever if you’ll have me.”
You didn’t think you’d ever seen him happier. “I think that can be arranged.” He bit into his wrist and held it to your mouth. “Drink up, love. We wouldn’t want to keep your guest waiting.”
#david powers x reader#the lost boys fanfiction#david powers fanfiction#david the lost boys fanfiction#david the lost boys x reader#tw: abuse
287 notes
·
View notes
Text
Jamil, Sebek: How the Other Half Lives
I’m going to attempt to write a short fic about each birthday boy and their interviewer for the second set of birthday cards. These fics won’t necessarily be set on a birthday, but could be leading up to it or set after the party (since the Union birthday cards already tell a complete story from start to end). We’ll just have to see how things pan out!
First up, Jamil and Sebek! Two servants with two very different views on their masters...
Unrelated side note: it’s funny how Jamil says he would want to be in Ignihyde, but he’s celebrating his birthday kidnapped and being held in a dark room until Idia pulls up to experiment on him--
***Mild Happy Beans Day! Lyreless Brawl, Camp Vargas, and Scalding Sands Fireworks events spoilers! + Jamil Union Birthday card spoilers!***
Imagine this...
Kalim pressed a warm, wet washcloth against Jamil’s cheek. Moving in a circular motion, Kalim gently swept away the clouds of whipped cream dotting the grimacing birthday boy’s face--casualties of an annual tradition. Afterwards, he wrung the dirtied cloth over a bucket, coloring the water within a milky white.
Plip, plop. Drops rippled in its surface, the disturbed face of a mirror, before the contents of the bucket stilled once more.
Jamil caught a glimpse of his reflection. His face had slightly slimmed over the course of the past year. His eyes, sharper, and his hair, longer--now reaching the small of his back. It was still him in every sense.
Older, wiser.
More crafty.
“Sebek got you good, huh?” Kalim laughed, clapping his friend on the back. “And it looks like you got Sebek good too!”
“He got what was coming to him,” Jamil said flatly. His eyes briefly passed over to the aforementioned first year, who was busy cleaning himself up from the aftermath of retaliation. Jamil allowed himself a small smirk, relishing in his victory.
“Gahahah! Well, as long as you’re enjoying yourself, then I’m happy.” Kalim hung his washcloth on the rim of the bucket and straightened. “You haven’t had the chance to eat anything yet, right? Since you just got pied, how about some pie?”
“Pie is the last thing I want to see right now.”
“Okay, so a slice of cake instead! I’ll grab you one, just wait right here!”
“That’s kind of you, but I’m capable of fetching my own... aaand he’s gone.” Jamil held his head in his hands and sighed. Kalim had dashed off halfway through his sentence, making a beeline toward a table filled with food and crowded with party guests.
Best to not interfere... Not that interfering would stop him.
“Ohoh! I’m jealous of you, Jamil-senpai!”
His eyes cut to the owner of the booming voice--Sebek. “... Really, now? Jealous of me? I can’t imagine why.”
“Is it not clear?” Sebek clenched a hand into a fist. “To have your master fret for your wellbeing...! Being personally wiped up and hand-delivered food from one’s master...!! Are you not overjoyed?! THERE CAN BE NO GREATER HONOR!!”
Jamil winced at his spiking volume, his mouth pursing into a frown. “I’m absolutely overflowing with happiness. Can’t you tell that I’m ecstatic?”
He paused, just to let the sarcasm-soaked words sink into his junior’s mind. Then Jamil spat, “Those are normal, everyday things. I do not see what is considered to be an ‘honor’ there.”
“Tsk! You are ungrateful for your blessings!” Sebek scoffed, eyebrows angrily knitting together. “Or is it that you have become so accustomed to Kalim-senpai’s kindness that it no longer fazes you?! Oh, what I would give to have been childhood friends with the Young Master... Yet here you are, taking it for granted!! FOR SHAME!!”
“You seem to be misunderstanding a great number of things.” Jamil groaned, shaking his head. “To begin with, we did not choose to be ‘friends’. It was a fate already determined for us from the moment we came into this world. Secondly, that kindness of Kalim’s that you speak of is more of a hinderance than a help. And lastly...”
His eyes shone darkly.
“My position is certainly no blessing.”
Sebek looked aghast. “You don’t mean that!! There is nothing more grand than protecting and serving one’s master!”
“For you, perhaps. But consider that not everyone possesses the same mindset as yourself.” Jamil folded his arms, his gaze turning steely. “You chose your life of knighthood. My fate is already laid out for me. The same one as my ancestors, and surely the same as future incarnations of the Viper clan. Forever bound to the Asims... Servants in the shadows. Surely you can see why I would have my reservations.”
“Hmph! If you are unhappy, then you do not deserve to serve as you currently do. Simply resign, and allow Kalim-senpai to find a more fitting candidate!”
“If that were possible, I would have done so long ago.” A barely discernable bitterness had seeped into Jamil’s voice. The slight, metallic tang of poison slipped into one’s drink. “Kalim can only live as carefreely as he does because he is ignorant. He will never truly understand me.”
Through clear skies and rain, the sun ultimately cares not for the shadows it casts. It shines superficially, its golden light gilded.
“... That’s not true.”
“What?”
“I said,” Sebek bellowed, “THAT’S NOT TRUE AT ALL, JAMIL-SENPAI!!”
He jolted back, startled by the loud declaration. “You... What would you know? You barely understand my predicament yourself.”
“It’s true that the Young Master and I lack the same history that you and Kalim-senpai do. Even so...!! That is all the more reason for you to be open with one another!!!”
“Open with one another? You must be joking. As if Kalim could possibly--”
“How do you know?” Sebek demanded, cutting him off. “How do you know if you’ve never tried?!”
“That’s...” Jamil faltered with his words.
The first year continued. “Though I have devoted my life to the Young Master, I do not claim to know him in his entirety. There is so much more I have yet to learn. So much more I want to learn. With every new detail gleaned, I find myself respecting the Young Master more and more. That’s why... you should make the effort as well, Jamil-senpai!”
“I can already name Kalim’s likes, dislikes, fears, and faults off the top of my head.”
“Surface level details!” Sebek slammed a hand against his chest--over his heart. “I doubt you have ever had a true heart-to-heart. Expressing your genuine, most raw emotions to one another... Then, and only then, can you ‘understand’.”
This coming from the person who cried because he was not on the same team as Malleus-senpai... And threw a fit when he had to leave for camping and leave his Dorm Leader unattended to... And cried again because the cookie he was gifted from Malleus-senpai was crushed...
“... Why does it matter to you that I do this? Worry about yourself and your ‘Young Master’.”
“Hmph! Is it so wrong of me to wish the birthday boy happiness?”
“You think I will find happiness in understanding Kalim? And in him understanding me?” Challenge rose in Jamil’s tone. “Is that right?”
“You won’t know until you try. Admitting defeat before even attempting... that is a COWARD’S way out!”
“Are you calling me a coward?”
“I’m calling on you to change. It is a new year, full of new possibilities. There is no better time to improve oneself--so you can look back on your next birthday, and be proud!”
“Sebek... ” Jamil closed his eyes. For a moment, he looked thoughtful. Contemplating something he alone could fathom. When his eyes flared open again, they glittered with mischief. “I appreciate the advice. Let me thank you for it with another free pie to the face.”
“Wha--”
SPLAT!!
Fast as a viper lashing out, Jamil grabbed a whipped cream pie from a nearby table and chucked it at Sebek. It was a direct hit on the unsuspecting first year, who stumbled back from the impact, his back slamming into the wall. Cream clung to Sebek’s eyebrows, cheeks, and chin, giving the appearance of bushy white brows and a beard.
“YOU COWARD, GOING FOR A SNEAK ATTACK!!” he roared. “YOU SHALL RECEIVE YOUR COMEUPPANCE--”
“Sorry for taking so long, Jamil!” Kalim cried, skidding inbetween the two boys. He balanced a large slice of cake in his hands, a fork piercing it. “I saw some friends at the food table and got caught up in talking to them!”
“... Eh? Am I interrupting something?” The Scarabia Dorm Leader paused, glancing back and forth between Jamil and Sebek. Then, Kalim broke out into a wide smile. “Ohhhh, I get it! You’re making a new friend! Gahahah! That’s great, Jamil!!”
“Right... Friend.”
More like another headache and a half.
#Jamil Viper#Sebek Zigvolt#twisted wonderland#twisted wonderland imagines#twisted wonderland scenarios#twst#disney twisted wonderland#Kalim Al-Asim#imagine this#something no one asked for#Jamil birthday takeover#spoilers
170 notes
·
View notes
Note
could you do a blurb in fatws where bucky and the reader have feelings for each other and zemo is trying to flirt with the reader?
Warnings: use of pet name [bunny], mention of toys, references to sex, possessive!Bucky, language, minors dni
A/N: Yuh, I would love to have Bucky and Zemo fight over me so here we are 😇
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
You looked at Bucky’s back, biting your lip as you contemplated your next actions. You know what Zemo was trying to do; his half-masked attempts at flirting were not exactly subtle. And for some reason...you weren’t totally abhorred by the thought of Helmut Zemo making a move on you. He was handsome, that was easy to see, and it had been a while since you’ve had...anyone. Quite frankly your hand and toys weren’t cutting it anymore.
It wasn’t like you could wait for Bucky for forever. At some point you’d have to accept that either he didn’t feel the same way or he just wasn’t ever going to make a move. Over the past year your little back and forth with him continued to grow but it never amounted to anything besides a lingering touch here and there or longing looks thrown in the other’s direction when you thought they weren’t looking, and very flirtatious banter. But still...you could make a move on your own, but you were too stubborn - just like him.
Maybe Zemo wasn’t a bad choice after all. He’d been more friendly lately, making his desire for you known to everyone. In some ways it was a little bold and exhilarating; to have someone be this brazen in their desire for you. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t warmed up to the possibility of having him.
“Tell me,” you accepted the drink he slid across the island at you, leaning over on your elbows so he could see down the front of your loose shirt. It wasn’t a subtle move, but at this point it didn’t matter, “when’s the last time you’ve been with anyone, Baron?”
Zemo almost looked startled by your question - almost. He kept his cool and took a long drag of his drink, finishing it off and setting it back down on the cool granite. The corners of his lips pulled into a wolfish smile as he studied you for a moment. You put on your best poker face as you tried not to let any of the cracks show, “it has been a while. Why little bunny? What’s got you so interested?”
“You look like you know how to touch a woman,” you threw back the rest of your drink, hoping it would work like liquid courage. Despite not being particularly loud, you could sense that Bucky heard you across the apartment, seeing his head turn slightly from the corner of your eye. This was a dangerous game indeed, and yet you were thrilled with it, “like you know just how to give me what I need.”
“Have you ever been with a man?” he asked suddenly as a tingle spread throughout your body. He took a step closer, slowly making his way over to you, “or have they all been boys?”
“Umm,” you were speechless as he leaned over and put his hand on your face, slowly stroking his thumb over your cheek. Your lips parted as you looked at him like a deer in headlights. He was close enough to where you could smell his aftershave and count every little freckle. He really was handsome, “n-no.”
“Are you scared little bunny?” he leaned in so his lips were just shy of yours and part of you was screaming to close the gap and kiss him, “you weren’t so shy before. Or are you afraid that you can’t handle it?”
“I-I can handle it,” you gasped as he ghosted his fingers along your jaw and down the column of your throat before lightly putting his whole hand around your throat. He was squeezing ever so slightly, but it was just enough to dizzy you and leave you wanting more, “please.”
While the two of you stared at each other, it was like the world had stopped existing and Bucky wasn’t in the adjacent room. He’d overheard every word, seen every little moment, attempting to compose himself, but it was getting harder with each passing second. You were his, not Zemo’s.
“You have such a smart little mouth,” he said slowly as he licked his lips, “I wonder if you’re able to put it to good use for something other than talking back. Are you going to let me-”
“Get your hands off of her,” the voice was cold as ice as the two of froze and slowly turned to find Bucky standing there, nothing but anger in his eyes. You swallowed the lump in your throat as Zemo removed his hand from your throat and crossed his arms over his chest, “she’s mine.”
“I wasn’t aware she belonged to anyone,” the two men stared at each other intently as you weren’t sure what to do, “I think the little bunny is free to do whatever she wants. Tell James what you want.”
“I…” you stared at the floor for a moment, studying your feet while you felt the two men studying you intently, “I...dunno.”
“Come on little bunny.”
“Umm…” you slowly looked up and then found your eyes wandering over to Bucky. He met yours with a steely gaze that caused a shiver to run down your spine and a tingling in your lower belly, “James.”
Zemo tuttled lightly, a small sound of disappointment as he looked between the two of you. He took a step back and nodded; the Baron was a lot of things, but he wasn’t about to impose or force himself on anyone. As soon as his name had left your lips, you seemed surprised that you’d said anything, a warm flush creeping into your neck and cheeks.
“And so she has made her choice,” Zemo said as he poured himself another drink, unfazed by the whole situation, “if you should ever choose to come to a different conclusion little bunny, do let me know.”
Without another word, he nodded at the two of you before clutching his drink and walking out of the kitchen, humming quietly under his breath. It was almost dead silent as he retreated and closed the door to his bedroom, leaving the two of you to stare silently at each other. Bucky’s gaze was unwavering and intense, and you felt as though you were slowly coming undone in front of him. When the silent became too great, you cleared your throat, ready to scramble away to your own quarters.
“Just where do you think you’re going?” Bucky reached out and grabbed your arm in gentle, but firm grip, effectively stopping you in your tracks. You swallowed thickly as you turned to look back at him with nervous eyes. When you didn’t say anything, he raised an eyebrow, “I asked you a question: where do you think you’re going?”
“I…” you trailed off as you watched him look at you with hungry, dark eyes, pupils completely blown with lust, “just leaving.”
“I’m not done with you yet,” he practically growled as you left all of that go directly to your already aching cunt, “I meant what I said - you’re mine.”
“I thought you didn’t feel the same,” you were looking at much with such surprised innocence that it was a miracle Bucky didn’t take you then and there, “you never-”
“Guess I jus’ needed that asshole to remind me of how much you mean to me,” he released his grasp on your arm and gently reached up to touch your face. After all this time - you’d never been reading the signs incorrectly at all, “just the idea of him touching you disgusts me.”
“What are you going to do about it then, Buck?” you gripped his wrist and pulled his hand away, a challenging look on your face as you tilted your head to the side, “so far you’ve been all talk.”
Maybe the alcohol was suddenly working as a confidence boost. Normally you would have shied away or let him take full control but today you were feeling...confident. The fact that two grown men had all but fought over you didn’t hurt either.
“You want this?” he licked his lips as his eyes instinctively fell to yours. Of course you wanted this; you’d practically been throwing yourself at him for the last year. You nodded slightly and his smile just grew, stretching from ear to ear, “you better be real sure sweetheart. I won’t be gentle and I won’t be nice. You are mine in every way and you will do what I say. Understood?”
Your jaw was clutched in his hand and his grip was practically bruising. Your whole body was burning with lust and desire, wanting him to use you and mark you up as his, “I’m yours, Bucky. Use me as you please.”
“I’m going to like this,” this was a side you’d never seen before of him and you suddenly wondered why you’d never tapped into it before. Despite his words, you knew he would never truly hurt you, “you’re such a good little bunny, aren’t you?”
“Mhmm,” you sighed, head already empty except for thoughts of him and what you wanted him to do to you, “I’ll be good.”
“Then on your knees,” he insisted as you readily complied, letting your knees hit the cool tile of the floor, “and do as I say.”
“Yes.”
“Good girl.”
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Marvel Taglist (add yourself to a taglist here!)(strike-through means I couldn’t tag you - please check your settings!)
@qhbr2013 @greeneyedblondie44 @april-showers-and-flowers @softboiipascal @im-an-adult-ish @patzammit @niki-xie @xxlovingfandomsxx @startrekkingaroundasgard @welcometothepedroverse @actual-spawn-of-satan @punkerthanpascal @lazybeeches @someday-when-you-leave-me @justgivemethekeys @salome-c @rosiefridayrogersunday @neptunesglow @artsymaddie @haildoodles @amneris21 @star017 @irepostthingsiwanttoseelater @its–fandom–darling @ayamenimthiriel @alyispunk @djarinbarnes @edencherries @ashamed23 @sunsetskywalkerr @nikkixostan @spookispunk @cable-kenobi @ironicfoxes @cc13723things @gooddaykate @natthebattygeologist @sociallyantisocialbutterfly @n3ssm0nique @daughterofthenight117 @riddikulus-obsessions @imaginelover88 @saint-bvcky @sleep-tight1 @missstef23 @moonlacebeam @asylummara @wakandabiitch2 @hoodedbirdie @mysweetlittledesire @reallyloudstarlight @vintagepigeon @froggyy06 @fleurydelacoury @veil-of-time @queenbeean @deedepee @kenzieam @luxeavenger @dobbyjen @bbl32 @frickin-bats @caprisunsister @bucks-bunny @starlightcrystalline @jensenswinchester @simonedk @keithseabrook27 @cloverrover @jedi-mando @allforkook @bibliophilewednesday @doozywoozy @drayshadow @milkxxkookies @ironicfoxes @livstilinski @lunaserenade @siriuslyslyslytherin @leyannrae @randomfavtingswall @bbl32 @jeremyrennerfanxxxx123
#bucky barnes#bucky barnes x reader#bucky barnes x you#sebastian stan x you#sebastian stan x reader#sebastian stan#zemo#helmut zemo#oh to be in a bucky and zemo sandwich
316 notes
·
View notes
Text
Stuck on You (Levi Ackerman x Childhood Friend! Reader)
A/N: Hi, guys! I just want to preface by saying that this is a TWO (maybe a three if i decide to write an epilogue drabble) PART SERIES, and I have just a few more scenes to write before I can post it! I don’t expect this one to do so well, to be honest, but it’s been so long since I’ve written anything I’m proud of and I think I’m happy with how this turned out. So yes, stay tuned for part 2 which i will link at the end once it is posted. Hope you enjoy!
Warnings: Angst, season one/no regrets ova spoilers
Word Count: 3.5k
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5 years ago
“Why is it that you always seem to be on my case the most?” Your frustration was obvious and your patience dissipated, feet shuffling in their spot as you finally turned to face him. “You never nag Isabel this much.”
For a moment, Levi didn’t respond, scanning your body for injuries. After asserting that you were indeed okay, he stepped over the unconscious man who laid on the ground, jaw set in anger as he walked forwards until he was so close you had to tilt your head slightly to keep eye contact.
Your snappy behavior was uncharacteristic. It only fueled his temper. The raven shook his head in disapproval, trying to keep his anger in check as you glared at him defiantly.
“Isabel doesn’t make such careless mistakes,” he pointed out coldly. “You almost got yourself hurt, (Y/N)! What would you have done if I hadn’t shown up to cover your ass?”
The both of you stood there in silence for several minutes, gazing at each other and listening to your uneven breathing. His face, unlike so many others, never really did reveal everything he was thinking. Feeling. You were dared to search for something else in his steady gaze besides disappointment, but for once, you could not tell what you saw. It was infuriating, humiliating, and hurtful.
“Sometimes I wonder if there’s even a brain inside your thick fucking skull.”
His harsh words didn’t normally cut you, but this time you flinched, looking away from Levi as all the fight drained out of you.
Wearing your jewelry out at night was a careless mistake, that you could admit. What was hard to swallow was the fact that you had just been mugged, and nearly assaulted, yet all Levi could do was find the time to scold you, not seeming to care at all if you were shaken up by what happened.
It didn’t scare you that the other man’s hands found their way onto your skin. It didn’t scare you that something bad could have happened had Levi not knocked him out. You weren’t afraid of any of it; you were afraid that all the raven-haired man could see you for were your mistakes.
“So you think I’m a burden then?” you asked, choking up.
Your change in tone caught Levi’s attention. You suddenly looked smaller, and more vulnerable than the last time he looked at you. He sighed again, shaking his head softly. It took all your strength not to shy away from his fingers as they threaded through your hair, stopping on your shoulder and tugging you against him. You let Levi do it nonetheless, knowing this was his way of saying sorry; knowing this was his way of saying: “I’m tough on you because I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
You pressed your ear against his beating heart, letting the sound soothe you.
“No, brat. I don’t think that. Let’s just go home, and forget about it,” his voice was more gentle this time.
You sniffled and nodded, chest bursting as Levi placed a feather light kiss on the top of your head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You never thought you’d miss the Underground. Especially when taking into consideration the miserable days after Levi, Isabel, and Farlan took that fateful deal, and were forced to leave you behind.
Your feelings on the matter were conflicted, of course, but you were relieved and happy that the people who mattered most had such a big opportunity. They didn’t need to see you crying, nor hear about how scared you were to be by yourself. Each one deserved better than that, so you put on a brave face as they reassured you over and over that they’d come back. You beamed as brightly as you could, sending them off with words of encouragement as you continued fighting off the lingering feeling of dread as they left.
You didn’t want to be a nuisance. Never wanted to be the reason they’d hold themselves back.
Although he didn’t show it, Levi took it the hardest. He implored you to stay alive, in a scolding tone that he only ever used when he was worried. You could hold your own, but weren’t a fighter like the other three. The stern male had only ever been thankful of your gentle nature in the past, surprised to be cursing it now that he couldn’t protect you. But for him, you’d try your hardest, knowing that with a little faith and patience, you could be reunited in the future.
The goodbye had been bittersweet, your lips slotting against his for the very first time. In a way, the way he kissed you seemed more like a promise than a farewell. His arms were wrapped around you all night, warmth lulling you to a sleep that otherwise, would never have been able to claim you.
Parting afterwards the following morning became all the more difficult because of it.
When Levi pulled a few strings with his newfound respected status and got the military to sponsor your citizenship, you were over the moon. Becoming a soldier was the last thing you expected out of your life, but wherever Levi and the others went, you would gladly follow. You felt at home again, throwing your arms around the man for the first time in months and giggling at the fact that while he accepted the gesture and patted your head awkwardly, his lack of affection never changed.
But you were quickly learning that the ideological existence that lived right above your head was just an illusion. You came only to find your friends dead, and Levi more closed off to you than he’d ever been before. Up here, things were far from perfect, and as time went on, you instead yearned for the past if only to appreciate it better a second time around. And although things slowly got better, life was not yet finished throwing its hardships your way.
The last person you had left slowly became out of reach, as time apart inevitably distanced the two of you and gave someone else the opportunity to fill that hole in his heart.
Reality, you found, was much crueler under the blue of the sky.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“You don’t have to deny it, Levi. I know you better than anyone. I see the way you look at her,” you whispered, wringing your hands together in a feeble attempt to rid of the painful churn in your stomach. “I see it because you used to look at me that way.”
It was admirable, at least, the effort you put in to keep your voice even. But the silence that followed those broken words was pitiful. The silence made it even more difficult to meet the gaze of the man in front of you. Levi had every opportunity to deny the truth of your burning statement; to bring you back into his arms and reaffirm his love like he used to. Like he would if maybe things were different.
You knew, he had no desire to do that now. Instead, the Captain’s eyes screwed shut and a light sigh escaped his perfect lips, the warmth of it tingling your skin. It was nostalgic, almost, being alone with Levi like this. His face was nearer to yours then it had been in months, enough so that you could make out every tiny detail. The irony of it seemed mocking: for once, you couldn’t bear to look at him. Not that you needed to, with every feature of his sure to forever haunt your memory.
But now all you could see were the interactions they had. Your vision consisted of watching as their bond and understanding grew. It was created in such a short amount of time, but hardly unpredictable with the amount of time Levi and Petra spent together. Even if Levi himself had not realized it, for you, it was plain as day. You knew him better than anyone. Could see that there was no pain in Levi’s eyes when he looked at her. Afterall, unlike you, Petra wasn’t a painful reminder of the past.
Despite his physical closeness, this was the most detached you’ve ever felt from the male. The space between you was strange and unfamiliar. Lonely and cold.
At your words, he exhaled through his nostrils.
“I would never be unfaithful, (Y/N). I never have been,” he spoke firmly, in that certain tone of speaking only he could manage. “I promised I would never leave you.”
A tear spilled down your cheek, despite your best brave face. It was too much to handle, even for a calloused girl like you. Because despite everything, Levi had always been there. It seemed scary to have life any other way.
Said man took your hand gently, handling it like porcelain. It wasn’t until his skin touched yours that you realized your fingers were shaking, and your facade was crumbling. His gesture was another reminder of what once was. The familiarity of his skin a testament to all the time spent simply existing with one another.
How did it come to this?
“A lot has changed since then, it seems,” you laughed softly, for once pulling away from his touch. “I bet you can’t even look at me without thinking about those two, huh?”
You never once thought it was his fault. Even if you told him that, you knew Levi would always take accountability. Knew he would blame himself for taking Isabel and Farlan away from you. You should have seen this coming. It was inevitable that your love would be tainted, and that he’d find it somewhere else, even if it was unintentional.
“(Y/N), wait—“ there was a small panic that awoke in the raven’s steely eyes that only those who truly knew him would be able to detect.
“—You know how I feel about you, don't you? I want to be the one who you'd wake up next to every morning. The person you'd trust enough to spill all your secrets to, the one you want to hold close, the one who would make it hurt too much to ever let go. I want to be the person who can make you smile, or laugh until you can't breathe. Your first and last thought of the day, and the one you wonder about even when they’re not around.”
You swallowed a whimper, fists clenched at your sides as your restraint came undone. It was all you’d ever wanted since you were small and starving and Levi was all you had to hold onto.
"But more than anything I want you to be happy. You deserve it.”
And because that’s how much I love you.
“I’d spent the rest of my life with you, if you asked me to,” the stoic Captain stated, as simply and mindlessly as if reciting the weather.
You knew it was true. You also knew better than to let your mind wander to that fantasy, or to let a world come into fruition in which you stopped Levi from pursuing his happiness; held back simply because his loyalty knew no bounds. You refused to be that selfish. You’d rather die a miserable death, a thousand times over. Rather endure this anguish for as long as it resided in your heart then watch his indifference turn to hatred as years of a one-sided relationship droned on and on.
He doesn’t want you anymore.
“I know, Levi.” You paused for a long moment. “Petra's wonderful. I don't hate either of you, I want you to remember that."
You wrapped your arms around yourself, trying desperately to forget the feeling of Levi’s lips on your skin, your face against his chest. The warmth between your ribs or the butterflies in your stomach, or the fireworks of passion that only he could make you feel. Tried to forget the rare but special, secret words of affirmation only your ears got to hear, and the goosebumps they’d send across your skin.
You wanted to erase it all, if only to make it easier to walk away with the knowledge you’d never feel any of that again.
It was pathetic.
There wasn’t anything left to be said. So with the task near impossible, looked at your lover, your best friend, your rock, your Levi, and turned away.
You only managed three steps before a voice followed you and a hand closed around your wrist.
“Is this what you want?” He sounded apathetic, but you knew better. His underlying worry only made the pain feel worse.
“I don’t know.” At the very least, you were honest.
"Will I see you again?"
As adaptable as he was, Levi was never a fan of the unconventionality that was “change.” He was never surprised, quick to go with the flow, even if he preferred certainty and steadiness.
This conversation, though, was one he never expected.
"Of course," you forced a tiny smile, knowing it was more convincing than it felt. "I just need a breather. I'll be back for dinner." The words tasted bitter in your mouth.
That was the first and only lie you'd ever tell Levi Ackerman, having handed in your resignation papers to Erwin just yesterday.
Forgive me, Levi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Snow fluttered down from the sky, coating the local shops and roofs of buildings with a thick, white blanket. Merchants and store owners alike grumbled their disapproval, bustling to sweep the front of their shops. The air was crisp and biting, yet you relished in the feeling and absorbed the atmosphere. Drunk garrison soldiers loitered around merrily, cheeks flushed from alcohol, catching the flakes in their hair and occasionally slipping on hidden ice in their drunken stupor. It made you chuckle softly, the residences of Wall Roses’ inconvenience the source of your contentment-- this was your first time seeing snow, the real thing a thousand times better than anything you read about in any book.
You strolled through the marketplace, a basket holding bread, dried meats, cheese, and several fruits resting in the crook of your elbow. Your coin purse felt lighter than it had that morning, yet you carried on nonetheless, curious as to what Wall Rose had to offer. Children ran past you, throwing snowballs at each other and nearly running into you because of their haste. The sight made you grin as one of them bumped into one of the street market’s booths, knocking over a few items as he went.
The woman behind the counter chastised them, her shouts growing louder when they barely spared her a glance and blended into the crowd of shoppers. Nick nacks and books were left scattered in their wake, askew on the cobblestone ground.
“Need help, ma’am?,” you asked her, picking up the objects from the ground.
“Thank you, dearie,” she sighed gratefully, taking them from your hands. “Kids these days, so reckless and always in such a hurry.”
You laughed airily, mirth swimming in your eyes.
“You’re just lucky they didn’t steal anything,” you joked, reminiscing about your own thieving past. Your attention turned towards the noting the soldiers now dozing off on top of their card table nearby, tutting their behavior lightheartedly. “Levi, if only the police were like that back when we--”
Out of habit, you turned around to meet his gaze, heart clenching when you remembered he wasn’t there. Your fists clenched to prevent you from smacking yourself at your carelessness. He’s not here, dumbass.
“What was that, hun?” the woman behind the counter inquired, preoccupied in sorting her things.
You put on your best smile, shaking your head before your thoughts could fill with images of a certain raven-haired, steele-eyed, heart-stopping male. The back of your eyes stung, the momentary joy of your first real winter quickly fading away.
“Nothing important.”
This is for the best, (Y/N). You’ve only ever gotten in the way, his whole life. Let the man be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been a few years since that last encounter with him. Part of you still wondered if Levi tried looking for you after realizing your true intentions of never coming back. You hoped he didn't, imagining instead that he'd made the most of the opportunity you'd given him. Prayed that it wasn't all for naught and he instead pursued what (or who) truly made him happy, instead of worrying about other people. In truth, you became content with life, learning to look back on memories fondly and being thankful for their existence.
Residing above ground was enough reason to be grateful in itself, and you did your best to make the most of it. Your days were now spent in ways that paid tribute to your humble beginnings: individuals from the underground who managed to secure citizenship to the surface were put into your care. You helped men, women, and children alike assimilate into living on the surface, which included introducing the area, and assisting in finding housing and jobs. It was rewarding work, but more than anything, reminiscent to be able to see the wonder when their eyes meet the clouds for the very first time. The flickers of hope from your clients were things you carried with you every day. Your chosen profession left plenty of free time, however, as it was relatively rare for individuals to pay the hefty toll of climbing up those stairs.
Your life was average, and for the most part, uneventful. The quietness that accompanied mediocrity proved to be comforting, however. It was a far cry from the days of constantly looking over your shoulder and needing to carry a knife in your boot, just in case.
At first, it was difficult not to cry at the thought of the stoic, raven-haired Ackerman. The heartache weighed down in your chest for a good amount of time. The simplest things reminded you of Levi, but after a while, instances where he’d cross your mind became fewer and further between. With a nicer home than anything you previously owned, a livable income, and an overall peaceful existence, you didn’t have any regrets.
At least, that was what you told yourself until you heard the news.
On off days you worked as a waitress at one of the many taverns within Wall Rose. Large tips were one of the many perks that drew you in originally. The chatter of the customers and frequent bar-goers was a welcome ambience, and an opportunity for you to combat the occasional feeling of loneliness.
Occasionally, Scout Regiment gossip would filter through, especially about Humanity’s Strongest and the new titan shifter Eren Jeager. Updates were nice, knowing Levi was safe and thriving in what he did best. But as you placed a pint of beer on one of the tables and overheard a heavy set man babble loudly to his comrade, dread splashed over you in waves.
“The Captain was the only survivor in his squad. He wasn’t even with them when it happened, poor guy. He must feel terribly guilty.”
Your vision became hazy as you tried not to panic; of all the rumours that filtered through the drunk mouths of customers, you had never heard bad news like this before. The last you’d heard, human kind was given a beacon of hope, and things were looking up after Eren Jaeger managed to plug up the hole in Trost.
“Excuse me, but which squad did you say this happened to?” you heard your voice say.
Across the table, the other man took a swig of his drink, and grunted indignantly.
“Levi Squad, the best in the military I heard. A shame, but I suppose even the top in the Survey Corps are still just suicidal maniacs when it comes down to it.”
No, no, no, no. This wasn’t supposed to happen!
After that, everything became white noise. You could only register every third movement, heart thundering in your ears. The tray you’d been holding to carry the drinks clattered as it fell to the ground, causing a few gasps and strange looks to be thrown in your direction. In your horrified state, dread weighed down like lead in your body. You rushed to the back room, tears clouding your vision as you tried not to stumble.
You gripped the edges of the washroom sink, dizzy with this newfound information.
Levi has now lost more people that he loved, and was probably experiencing the same survivor’s guilt as he did with Isabel and Farlan. He was most likely suffering alone right now, never having been one to let people see his vulnerability so easily.
You did not witness first hand what your friends’ deaths meant to him. When the Captain waited for you at the top of the staircase, his expression never seemed out of the ordinary. Levi was kind enough to let you enjoy your first few days up with him simply enjoying the newfound freedom. He made the excuse that your two other comrades were out on business somewhere, and would be back to see you soon. Maybe, at the time, your excitement blinded you from the deeper emotions hidden in his voice.
When you found out the truth, their passing broke you. The fact that Levi shouldered any blame, however, is what twisted the knife. He had been grieving by himself; feeling that pain without anyone to comfort him. He had to put on a brave face just to see you; secretly spending that last month alone, probably relaying over and over how he would break the news to you.
Your remorse increased tenfold when it was him who held you, and him who put you back together, just like he had to for himself. And now he was by himself all over again.
I have to do something.
Splashing water on your face, you straightened up and looked in the mirror, a sudden surge of guilt coursing through your veins.
You refused to let Levi be alone this time around, no matter how he might feel about you now.
~~~~~~~
Part Two!
#snk levi#levi#levi ackerman imagine#levi ackerman gif#levi ackerman fanfiction#levi ackerman x reader#levi ackerman#AoT#attack on titan imagines#attack on titan#shingeki no kyojin#snk#snk fic#aot fic#levi x reader
1K notes
·
View notes
Text
this maze inside my heart
Jon/Martin, 6439 words, rated T. Angst with a happy ending. Spanning from S1 to MAG 159. Also on AO3!
written for day 6 of @jonmartinweek, for the prompt 'lost & found'.
content warnings: depression, self-esteem issues, child neglect/emotional abuse, isolation. references to bugs, blood, death, explosions, eye trauma
There are many ways to be lost.
Martin Blackwood has encountered so many of them over the years that he fancies himself a curator of them now, confident he could collect and catalogue them all, put neat labels on them and preserve them in his own little archive. He could create a chronicle on disorientation, alienation, that unshakeable feeling that no matter where you go, you will never find where you belong. It’s the only subject he considers himself an expert in.
There are the literal ways to be lost, of course. Those are simple, basic, beginners’ stuff. They’re easy to categorise, less ambiguous, free of the diffuse murkiness that comes with being lost inside your own head. Martin remembers racing through the labyrinthine tunnels stretching out beneath the Institute, terrified of ending up as worm food and even more terrified of being left behind forever; remembers wandering the shifting, treacherous corridors of the Distortion alongside an increasingly irritated Tim; remembers that time as a young boy when he strayed too far into the woods on his way home from school and was picked up by a police officer hours later, exhausted and dehydrated. Those memories aren’t exactly pleasant, needless to say, but at least he knows what to make of them. It’s normal to spiral into panic when you can’t identify your surroundings; it’s to be expected, even.
It’s much harder to justify being lost within a crowd, among a sea of familiar faces. Lost within a throng of excitable schoolchildren, so obviously out of place with his second-hand uniform and his insecure smile. Lost at the most excruciating job interview of his life, stuttering through his fabricated credentials while Elias Bouchard’s steely gaze bored into him, giving him the unnerving suspicion that he could see right through all his lies. Lost on the bustling streets of London, lost at a pub night where his wavering voice was drowned out by the raucous laughter of his co-workers, lost in the waiting room of a care home in Devon as a tired-looking nurse explained to him once again that his mother didn’t wish to see him. Yes, the figurative ways to be lost are far more manifold, and far more insidious.
Martin has learned the hard way that there are much fewer ways to be found.
Well, perhaps not for everyone. Perhaps other people are found every single time they stray from the right path, perhaps some people are lucky enough to never get lost in the first place. But he has never known that luxury.
That hasn’t stopped him from dreaming about it, of course. For weeks after his father left, he waited patiently for his return, spending hours sitting by the front door and staying up long after his bedtime to listen for the sound of a key turning in the lock. He was so sure that his dad hadn’t meant to stay away for so long, that he’d just gotten a little lost and would find his way back to his family any day now. But of course he didn’t return, and in the end, even poor, delusional eight-year-old Martin was forced to admit that his dad had left of his own free will, and that he was never coming back. He’d begun to draw comfort from a different illusion then, one even more ridiculous than the first one: that one day, some perfect picture book family would show up on their doorstep and whisk Martin away to their beautiful house with its sprawling garden and their three dogs, take him far away from the shabby council flat with mould creeping up the walls, from the bitterness in his mother’s eyes and the vitriol in her voice, from his dull, pathetic life, and shower him with all the toys and affection he could wish for. He could lose himself in that fantasy for hours when his mum was knocked out by her pain medication and didn’t need his help, watching re-runs of saccharine children’s shows on their grainy TV screen while doodling crayon pictures of his daydream family, a stick figure rendition of himself placed right in the middle with a huge smile on his face. He would glance over to his mum’s bedroom every few minutes or so, just to make sure she was still asleep, feeling, even then, a vague sense of guilt for even harbouring these dreams, as if his imagination alone was a form of betrayal.
He grew out of that fantasy soon enough, as children grow out of so many things, and realised that this wasn’t a fairytale. No one was coming to save him. That simple, brutal truth stuck with him for decades to come. Sure, he would occasionally dream of being found, of having someone grab him by the hand and steer him to a safe haven. Over the course of his early adulthood, he went through a handful of unsatisfying one-night-stands and a couple of even more unsatisfying relationships, but all of those men turned out to be locked doors instead of corridors, all of them were just further meanders in the labyrinth that was his life. Eventually, he gave up on the whole pointless endeavour entirely, contenting himself with stealing furtive glances at attractive strangers on the tube or in the breakroom at the Institute, never long enough for them to return his gaze, absorbed for just a moment in a fleeting fantasy of a life he could never have. It wasn’t such a bad way to exist, truth be told. It was almost comfortable. It hardly even registered as loss anymore.
It wasn’t until he was transferred to the Archives that the real trouble started. The issue wasn’t that he was lost there, although he certainly was, more so than ever before – first badly out of his depth and constantly berated by the pompous prick who called himself his new boss, then trapped inside his own flat for two terrifying weeks with nothing but cans for company. No, the trouble began when he was hiding inside an airtight Document Storage room, faced with the very real possibility of imminent death, and his aforementioned arsehole boss confessed that he had been feigning scepticism all along, and then, out of the blue, asked Martin if he was a ghost. Despite the direness of the situation, the sheer absurdity of that question startled a laugh out of Martin, a laugh more genuine than he’d been able to produce in a long time, and in that moment, something clicked into place. Something important. Martin was well aware he’d been nursing this ridiculous crush for a good few months now, but he’d just taken it as further proof of his terrible taste in men, and preferred not to dwell on it. Now, though, amid all the chaos of a worm attack on his workplace, an unbidden thought entered his mind, loud and clear as a divine epiphany: he would rather like to be found by Jonathan Sims.
He just about stifled a frustrated sigh as he reached over to turn off the tape recorder, then slumped back against the wall. Shit, he thought to himself. Shit.
Of course, the following months only saw him, and everyone else working in the Archives, getting more lost. Jon was descending into paranoia, Tim was turning into a bitter caricature of his former self, there was something off about Sasha that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, and Martin was… well, Martin was hanging in there. Or trying to, at least. He had been lucky enough to not have dozens of worms burrow into his flesh, after all, so the least he could do was keep it together for the sake of the others. Try to talk some sense into Tim, make tea for Jon and nag him to eat lunch or go home to get some much-needed rest. He’d always been a helper, could never imagine a purpose for himself outside of doing things for other people, and so helping was what he did, even if his none of his ministrations seemed to lead to any tangible change. Even if, for all his effort, he was as invisible as if he really was a ghost. At night, he tossed and turned for hours on end, trying in vain to shake the indelible images of Gertrude’s rotten corpse, the bullet holes in her chest. His ears constantly perked up for the dreaded noise of Jane Prentiss’s knuckles rapping on the wood of his front door, an echo of which haunted him even during his waking hours. He’d get up in the morning, bleary and disoriented from lack of sleep, and go to work pretending like nothing was wrong. He was fine, he told himself, clinging to that hollow denial like it was his lifeline. He was fine. And yet every step he took seemed to move him further from the fabled exit of this grand maze he was trapped in.
There was one day he remembered in more detail than anything else. He was out for lunch with Jon – Jon who maybe kind of thought Martin was a murder suspect; Jon whom Martin was still harbouring a stupid, stubborn crush on, despite the glaring warning signs – and they were eating overpriced sandwiches in a mediocre coffee shop, and Martin said something that he thought quite trivial and silly, really, and Jon… smiled. A proper smile, one that showed a hint of teeth and made his eyes gleam with mirth and a fondness Martin hoped he wasn’t only imagining. The kind of smile he hadn’t believed Jon was even capable of. It was a moment so monumental and ephemeral that Martin wanted to preserve it in resin, wanted to hold on to it for the rest of his life like a precious keepsake. It was like being found just for a fraction of a second, before losing his way again. It was so fleeting that it shouldn’t make any difference in the end, but somehow it did. Somehow, it made all the difference. For one brief, shining instant, Martin’s world was still alright.
Martin couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment he had fallen in love with Jon, when his intense, but still superficial infatuation had turned into something deeper, but he wasn’t surprised to find it had happened. It was inevitable, in a way. It was always going to be like this. Jon was bright and distant as a star, and Martin was always going to be sucked into his orbit. It didn’t cause him any grief; he found he rather liked the feeling. It was no coincidence that they called it ‘falling in love’, not just a random turn of phrase. It perfectly encapsulated how dizzying it was, how disorienting, how much like being lost. But if being lost could feel like this, he would gladly be lost for the rest of his days. He didn’t hold out much hope for Jon to return his affection, or for them to be in any way a suitable couple even if he did, but that wasn’t the point. The point was to sit with his feelings, clutching them close to his chest like a secret treasure yet never letting them see the light. The point was pining from afar, the point was furtive glances across a crowded room, the point was halting, awkward conversations that Martin cherished like love songs. Sometimes he felt like he could live on those little moments alone, like they were all the nourishment he needed. Jon was gone far more often than not, out of the Archives or even out of the country, and even when he was around, he wasn’t really there, would just rattle off a list of research requests before setting off on his next doomsday mission. Martin lived for those rare times he was in the same room as Jon, even just briefly, even if they hardly spoke. It was like he spent most of his days in a deep slumber, still going through the usual motions but utterly numb inside, and the only time he was awake was when he was with Jon. That couldn’t be healthy, he knew that only too well, but when had he ever been able to form a healthy attachment?
Jon called him, once, all the way from America, just as Martin was getting ready for work. It was deep into the night over there, but Jon, as usual, couldn’t sleep. His voice sounded hoarse, almost raspy, roughened by exhaustion and things Martin could only guess at. He paused in the process of rooting around in his overflowing clothes drawer for a clean jumper and allowed himself the momentary indulgence of picturing Jon, stretched out on a hotel bed, his thin frame huddled beneath the duvet, the side of his face pressed into the pillow. His phone placed close to his head, almost as if Martin was lying there beside him. He wondered what Jon wore to bed. If he let his hair down. If he was a restless sleeper or as still as a stone, if he hogged all the blankets or threw them off because he got hot, if he talked in his sleep…
But then Jon asked him a question about Gertrude’s arrest records, and Martin had to force himself out of his embarrassing (and tragically hopeless) reverie, cursing the light tremor in his voice when he answered. The first part of their rather brief conversation was taken up by professional matters such as those (if preventing the apocalypse fell under ‘professional matters’), and Martin was sure that Jon would hang up the second he had gotten all the information he needed, but the lull that ensued when Jon had run out of questions stretched on for longer than natural, both of them breathing down the line and oddly hesitant to end the call. To his surprise, Martin found himself filling the silence by babbling on about whatever trivial topics came to mind, meaningless snippets from what little life he had outside the Institute, disconnected rambles about his poetry and the sci-fi show he was watching at the moment and the cute dog he’d seen in the park the other day. He broke off with a sheepish chuckle when he realised he’d been talking about himself for far too long, and asked Jon about his travels, receiving an equally rambling response about jetlag and roadside diners. He tucked his phone between his ear and his shoulder as he slipped into his trousers, smiling to himself. This was all so normal, just ordinary small talk between co-workers, maybe even friends, maybe even… no, he shouldn’t go that far. Not for the first time, he was spellbound by Jon’s voice, the rich timbre and careful inflection making even his sleep-deprived musings on hash browns sound Shakespearean. Martin knew with perfect clarity then that even though he was standing inside the flat he had lived in for the past decade, his home was an ocean away stuck inside a dingy hotel, his only anchor was a voice travelling to him across the phone.
He reluctantly brought their aimless stream of conversation to a close after Jon had failed to stifle a yawn for the third time, making him promise to get at least a few hours of sleep before leaving for Washington D.C. the next morning.
“Good night, Jon,” he whispered, once more letting himself, just for a few seconds, imagine that he was right beside him on that hotel bed.
“Good ni- Ah, I mean, good morning to you, I suppose,” Jon said awkwardly, and Martin smiled again. “I- I’ll see you soon.”
Martin stared down at the phone in his hand for at least three minutes after the call disconnected, replaying Jon’s words inside his head and scrutinising them for hidden meanings. He hoped nothing would disturb Jon’s sleep. He hoped talking to Martin had granted him even a small fraction of the comfort it had given Martin. Was Jon also staring at his phone with a soft smile on his face this very moment, all the way across the Atlantic Ocean? Would he fall asleep cradling it close to his chest, would he dream of being wrapped in Martin’s arms? But no, that was absurd. Martin wasn’t in this for reciprocation, because he knew all too well how astronomical the odds of that were. If anyone was ever going to find him, rescue him from the labyrinth of his life, it was not going to be Jon, he had no illusions about that. What was the use of getting his hopes up? Of making up silly fantasies about his unattainable boss? Of course, what complicated matters slightly was that in recent times, his unattainable boss had also become the only person in the world he might truly call his friend, but that didn’t have to mean anything. He’d learned from experience it was best not to open his heart, lest it become irreversibly broken. Still, when he went to work that day, his steps felt much lighter, like an immense weight had been lifted from his shoulders, like he was walking on air.
Given that the majority of the following weeks was occupied with preparations to stop the end of the world, and given the deteriorating mental state of most of his colleagues, Martin felt a little guilty to admit that those weeks were among the happiest of his life. For once, he felt like an active participant in his own life, not just a silent bystander doomed to watch from the sidelines and never intervene. He had come up with a plan, and he had a crucial part to play in that plan, even if it was still closer to backstage work than the lead role.
He hadn’t seen all that much of Jon since the latter had returned from the States, busy as they both were with getting ready for the Unknowing, but the snatches of conversation they shared here and there made everything worth it, and made it clear that their relationship was moving towards… something. Martin wasn’t quite sure where it was heading, but he was excited to find out. On the night before Jon left with the others, Martin gave in to the impulse to hug him goodbye. Instead of immediately pulling away as Martin had feared, Jon melted into the embrace and let out a contented sigh, like he had secretly always wanted this and been too afraid to ask. Martin’s heart made a dangerous little leap in his chest. They lingered in the hug for what must have been a full minute at least, neither of them willing to let go, and when they parted at last, Jon brushed his fingers against Martin’s in a gesture too fleeting to comment on but too emphatic to be accidental. Martin felt the imprint of his touch all through his sleepless night, like a dull phantom pain where Jon’s hand should have been, where his slender fingers would fit perfectly in the gaps between Martin’s. Once Jon was back from Great Yarmouth, Martin vowed to himself, he would ask him out for… a drink, or something like that. Something wonderfully mundane, just a commonplace outing between two co-workers who might have some kind of feelings for one another. They’d go for a drink, maybe even dinner, and then they’d take it from there. One day at a time. Maybe Martin shouldn’t give up on the hope of being found just yet.
What a difference a single day could make.
How quickly everything could fall apart, shatter into a thousand jagged shards that could never again be assembled into an unbroken object.
How laughable to think he’d known loss before. He’d known a feeble imitation of the real thing at best, had only glimpsed its flickering shadow, while now he saw the true creature in the terrifying flesh. All his life, it turned out, he’d been walking with an invisible safety net beneath his feet, a thin protection that kept him from slipping through the cracks completely. Now, he knew what it was like to experience that net being ripped away from you. Every misstep might hurtle him into a vast abyss from which there was no escape.
There was no way to spin the tale that contained even a tiny grain of hope. No gentle lies to tell himself to make his situation bearable. The man he loved was comatose and would probably never wake up, his mother had always hated him, a colleague he had once called his friend had died in a brutal explosion, and the Lonely had taken over the Institute. At least that last point made sense, didn’t it? The Lonely had always been a part of him, running through his bloodstream and engrained in the marrow of his bones, even long before he had encountered any of the Fears. And right now, he was more alone than ever before.
When Martin decided to accept Peter Lukas’s offer, he didn’t do so because he wanted to be found. He wasn’t naïve, not anymore. He knew that the Lonely could never offer him a home, but at least it could give him a space where his solitude didn’t feel out of place. Where being lost was the natural state to be. Where his grief and anger and despair were dulled around the edges until they seemed almost merciful. It gave him a twisted sense of purpose, that what he’d viewed as a personal failing all his life could instead be his destiny, his true vocation. The Lonely told him no lies. Didn’t try to seduce him with beautiful, treacherous hope.
Maybe Jon waking from his coma should have changed things, but it just fuelled Martin’s determination to see this through to its bitter end. At least Jon had been safe inside that hospital room, even if it came at the cost of him being all-but-braindead. Now that he was awake and swanning around like nothing had happened, walking and talking and getting into unnecessary trouble, Martin was all too aware of everything that could hurt Jon out here, all the ways he might still lose him. But Peter had promised his protection, and while that was a doubtful assurance at best, right now it was the best chance Martin had. And if it required even more isolation of him, required him to lose himself more with every passing day, then what about it? Any sacrifice was a small price to pay if it meant keeping Jon safe. Martin could be Ariadne, handing Theseus the thread he needed to escape the labyrinth after slaying the minotaur, then being left behind on his own while his almost lover set sail for more promising waters. He was used to loneliness, after all; he excelled at it.
It would be much easier, however, if Jon could just accept that. If he took Martin’s withdrawal as proof of his devotion, not as a rejection. Instead he seemed hellbent on catching sight of Martin, with the help of his strange new powers, and roping him into a conversation, no matter how hard Martin tried to evade him. He asked about his poetry, offered his condolences for his mother’s death, told him he missed him, for Christ’s sake. All those things that Martin had dreamed of, that he had never thought possible, and now they were just sharp blades in his chest. It was like everything he had ever wanted was being dangled right in front of his nose, but he was drowning in the fear of losing it again, too weak to keep his head above the water. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down around Jon, much as he might long for it. It wasn’t safe. On each of the select few occasions that Jon had managed to hunt him down, there was an incandescent heat radiating off him, even with Martin keeping his distance as much as the narrow corridors would allow, like there was a furnace at his core. Like his whole body was made of light. Despite everything, part of Martin couldn’t help being drawn to the flame, circling around Jon like a poor, doomed moth. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt warm, and he couldn’t just blame it on the glacial outside temperatures. The heating in his office had broken months ago, in tandem with the one in the flat he rarely returned to anymore, and he hadn’t bothered to try and get it fixed. Even his thickest jumpers failed to give him a modicum of warmth. If he tried to touch Jon, he wondered, if he just lightly brushed their fingers together like Jon had done the night before the Unknowing, would it burn his skin? Would it be worth the pain?
But he resisted the temptation to reach out to Jon. To let him in. It was for the best, he reasoned with himself. Martin was already much too far into the labyrinth to ever find the exit, but there was still hope for Jon, he had to believe that. One day, Jon would come to understand that as well. One day, he would realise how pointless it was to waste his energy on someone who had always been, and would always be, a lost cause. Maybe then he would stop seeking Martin out, and maybe then all this would stop hurting so goddamn much.
Time got funny, after a while. The days still passed – the bottom right hand corner of his computer screen displayed a different date each morning – but they had become insubstantial, intangible, impossible to hold onto. He would blink his eyes and hours, days, weeks would have gone by, and he had nothing to show for it, nothing to fill the great emptiness. It was a relief, in a way. If time passed him by, at least that meant he wouldn’t have to wait so long for… whatever it was he was waiting for. For this to be over, he supposed. For better or worse. Probably for worse.
There was a mug of tea sitting on his desk. One of the collection of Sports Direct mugs that had accumulated in the breakroom over time, not one he would have ever picked if he had the choice, though it had been a long time since he’d cared about things like that. Had he made it for himself? He must have, even though he had no memory of the act, because who else would make him tea these days? Who else had ever made him tea? Peter had supplied him with a spacious office that included its own kitchenette, freeing him of the necessity to enter the breakroom and risk running into people there. Most days went by without Martin exchanging a single word with another human being, barring the occasional visit from Peter. He was grateful for that, secretly, though he’d never express it to Peter. People were… difficult. Exhausting. Unpredictable. He couldn’t understand why he had ever bothered with them. Why he had run himself ragged in his futile, ridiculous mission to gain their approval, their affection. It was better to accept that he would never get it, and that he didn’t need it anyway. He didn’t need anyone.
He took a cautious sip of the tea and found it to be ice cold, bereft of even the faintest echo of warmth. Less like it had cooled down, and more like it had never been hot in the first place. He left the rest of it untouched.
Even now that winter had given way to spring and then to summer, temperatures rising and leaves sprouting on the trees without him taking notice of any of it, warmth still eluded him. On the rare occasions where he ventured outside, the heat of the sun didn’t seem to touch him, like his entire body was encased in a thick shroud of ice, impossible to melt or break through. He’d started to make his peace with that. The cold barely even bothered him anymore. Maybe warmth was simply a luxury he couldn’t afford anymore.
He'd almost forgotten what warmth felt like when Jon came bursting into his office after months had gone by without any kind of contact, his eyes alight with desperation and something dangerously close to hope, proposing his ridiculous, harebrained scheme like it had any chance of succeeding. Gouging out their eyes and running away together. Like the premise of a macabre romance novel. The heat waves emanating from him were even more intense than they had been before, and Martin was sure that if he came any closer, they would both be set on fire. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad outcome.
He kept expecting Jon to falter, or to reveal that the whole thing was just a cruel joke, but his voice was as sincere as the unguarded expression in his eyes, and Martin realised, with a jolt of horror, that he was completely serious. He truly believed that he’d found a way to escape the labyrinth, and while it would hurt like hell, it might all be worth it in the end. His steadfast faith was enough to break what was left of Martin’s heart.
He was so close to saying yes. To saying of course I’ll do it, Jon, of course I’ll come with you, I would follow you anywhere. To throwing over everything he had worked for in the past year and risking it all on a plan too ludicrous to possibly work out. Risking everything on the sheer hope of it all. But even if, against all odds, Jon’s plan was successful, even if they managed to escape the clutches of the Institute, Martin knew, deep down, that they still wouldn’t be able to find their way out of this maze. They would both be blindfolded in a very literal sense, stumbling around in the dark without ever finding each other, without ever finding where they were meant to be. More lost than ever before. No, they just weren’t the kind of people to have a romantic elopement that didn’t end in tragedy.
But Jon – bless him and damn him – was too stubborn, too caught-up in his foolhardy idea, to accept that unless he witnessed it for himself, and Martin couldn’t do that to him. So he opted for the fastest approach, which was also the cruellest. Keeping his voice as cold and level as possible, not letting the slightest hint of emotion shine through, he told Jon that he didn’t want this, not really, that his only reason for asking Martin was to have an excuse not to go through with it. It wasn’t the truth and they both knew it, but the harsher Martin was now, the more walls he built around himself, the sooner Jon would realise it was futile trying to save him. And that would make it easier for both of them, in the end.
The crestfallen expression on Jon’s face pierced right through some part of Martin that hadn’t calcified yet, that was still soft enough to hurt, but he swallowed down the pain like he swallowed down all other feelings these days. When the door fell shut behind Jon and Martin was left alone in the lifeless void of his office, he almost wished he still knew how to cry.
There are many ways to be lost. Martin used to think that he knew them all, had recorded every single one of them in the private collection of his memory. But nothing could have prepared him for what it’s like to be truly lost. To pass the point of no return. The surprising thing about it is that it doesn’t feel like being lost at all. Like most human experiences, after all, being lost is defined by its opposite, and in the absence of a concept of being found, it simply ceases to exist. Just like everything else. There is nothing here, save for the soft lapping of waves on some distant shore and the faint scent of sea salt in the air. Here, the very idea of being found is absurd, like some fairytale notion that only children believe in. All that remains is the firm knowledge that he will never find a way out, that there is no way out to be found, an ironclad certainty that is almost comforting in its lack of ambiguity.
As Martin wanders the icy shores of the Lonely, he knows deep in his bones that no one is coming to save him. When he was a child forced to take on responsibilities that most grown adults would struggle with, no one came for him. When he was trapped inside his flat for two full weeks while Jane Prentiss and her army of worms stood guard outside his front door, no one came for him. When everything he had ever loved had been taken from him in the span of two horrible months and he had no choice but to turn to the Eldritch manifestation of loneliness, no one, nobody, not a single living soul came for him. Why would anyone come to his rescue now?
But Jon does. Of course Jon does, because for all his Knowledge, he is still the same old fool who can’t see the obvious truth right before his eyes. As usual, the fierce heat radiating off him warms the frigid air around them, and as usual, Martin recoils from his warmth. He speaks to him, though, because he can’t quite stop himself from doing so, but only to tell him to leave. To finally, finally give up on him. His voice echoes, and sounds alien even in his own ears, like it doesn’t belong to him, like he isn’t really here. And maybe he isn’t. Maybe he’s just an echo himself, a fading ghost of the man he used to be.
“I really loved you, you know,” he says. The mournful past tense, grieving not what once was but what could have been. What was never meant to be.
Jon leaves in the end, but only to retreat deeper into the bowels of this unending labyrinth, not to find an escape as he should have. Maybe there isn’t an escape for him anyway. Maybe he knew full well when taking on this suicide mission that it could only end in tragedy. Once upon a time, Martin might have felt anger at that, or grief, or guilt, but all his emotions have turned dim and muted, blurred shapes glimpsed through a murky window, too distant to touch him. This place only has room for numbness, and he tries to tell himself it’s a mercy. What use have feelings ever been to him, after all? It’s best to exorcise them, to cast them out before they leave a lingering mark.
When Jon returns, he is drenched in blood and radiant with purpose. Martin can’t bring himself to mourn Peter Lukas, or to have any emotional response whatsoever to his death, which he supposes is what Peter would have wanted. He longs to disappear like he did before, to dissolve into thin air where even Jon’s all-seeing eyes cannot ferret him out, but he finds himself drawn to Jon again, and this time he’s powerless to resist the pull. Jon is the flame and Martin is the helpless moth, and he’s doomed to circle around his only source of light even as he knows it will be the death of him. Even as he knows that so much brightness will kill him.
“Look at me and tell me what you see,” Jon says, and the words sound like the very essence of Beholding, but they’re all Jon, the dread powers relegated to a distant afterthought. Jon wants Martin to look at him, to see him for what he truly is and not flinch, and Martin wants nothing more than to follow his order, but he’s so afraid. Scared that it would be like looking straight into the sun, that even one glimpse would burn his eyes forever.
Look at me and tell me what you see, echoes in Martin’s head. Isn’t it funny, how he believed his whole life that he would never be found, held on to that certainty so hard that he lost sight of himself? Perhaps there were always people willing to find him. Perhaps that was never really the issue. Perhaps he couldn’t be found until he found himself first. And the truth, as simple as it is earth-shattering, is that he is still here. Even as a mere shadow of who he once was, even as a paltry spectre of who he might have been, he is still here. And that has to count for something in the end. No matter how far he has strayed from the realm of the living, he can always find his way back to it. It’s not too late for him to find his way back to himself. And there’s nothing wrong with needing a little guidance along the way.
He looks at Jon, and Jon’s gaze finds his, and his gaze finds Jon’s, and the fog evaporates. For the first time in ages, maybe his entire life, he can see clearly.
“I see you, Jon,” he says in a voice free of echo. “I see you.”
Jon’s relieved smile melts the residual ice within Martin, and he takes his outstretched hand without fear of burning himself on Jon’s incandescent skin. It turns out to be the perfect temperature to warm his frozen fingers.
“Let’s go home,” Jon says, and Martin follows him without hesitation. It’s been so long since home was a place he could point to on a map, but now he knows it’s less about the coordinates and more about the connection. His true home, his magnetic north, is a warm hand pulling him out of his own misery towards the light.
There are many ways to be lost, and nowhere near as many ways to be found. Martin has learned that over the years, but he has also learned that other people can only find you once you have found yourself. Once your body doesn’t vanish into smoke at the slightest hint of intimacy. He has also learned that no matter how strenuous the way out of the labyrinth may be, it’s much easier to navigate alongside someone else.
There are many ways to be lost, which is to say there are many ways to be alone. But Martin Blackwood isn’t alone anymore.
#jonmartinweek 2022#tma#the magnus archives#tma fic#jonmartin#my writing#this one's my personal favourite :3
13 notes
·
View notes
Note
Reggie/Alex enemies to lovers
"Reginald," Alex sneered.
"Mercer," Reggie replied, voice icy, giving Alex a curt nod as the various assistants and interns pinned and straightened the clothes they would be modelling today. They had done numerous shows together, so this frostiness wasn't new, so the harried workers and designers paid it no mind.
Reggie had no intention of having Alex hate him right from the start, but it's what had happening. They had met at an open casting for male models, Reggie bouncy and enthusiastic, Alex more reserved and nervous. And a nervous Alex tended to be biting and sarcastic, almost mean. Reggie had taken it to heart, immediately putting up his walls, having had enough of harsh words and puts down through his childhood thank you very much. And he could bitch back just as well, made all the worse when they were both cast, and then just kept getting cast together.
People liked how their looks contrasted, how they they looked together, and thus they kept working the same lines, often being requested together, much to their joint chagrin. Yet, however terse they were to each other, they remained professional on set.
Today, however, Alex wasn't sure how he was going to survive. They were in sleek suits, with Reggie pulling Alex down by his tie, Alex's fingers popping the buttons on Reggie's shirt. They were sharing a smoldering gaze, noses a hairsbreadth apart, hair tousled, giving the whole thing a sensual air if it weren't for every aspect of it being a photo-shoot.
Then a light blew, making everyone groan and sigh. "Okay guys, can you please hold that pose? We'll have this fixed in a jiff," the director asked, and both of the models gave subtle nods, but otherwise not moving.
Of course, a jiff in photo speak meant forever when you have to stay still Alex was sure he could feel a bead of sweat working down the back of his neck. Reggie let his tongue wet his lips, his big green eyes never leaving Alex's steely blue gaze. They both ignored the pounding of their hearts, the slight desire to lean in further, but the want, undisguised and palatable was there.
Look, neither of them were idiots, they knew they were attractive, and the other was equally so, but admitting it was not something you did, not in this world where jobs were few but models were plenty.
Yet, when it turned out that they needed a PA to go get a replacement bulb, Alex and Reggie didn't bolt away from each other. Reggie lead Alex to the green room with a flick of his head, and shut the door quietly behind them. He turned and pinned Alex there, brushing his jawline with his nose. "Tell me no and I'll walk away." he said, voice low and sultry.
Alex smirked and pushed Reggie off before twisting them around, trapping Reggie against the door. Reggie grinned, and pulled Alex down by his tie, the kiss fiery and passionate right from the get go. A fueled back and forth that had tongues lashing and teeth nipping in a fight for the upper hand that neither wanted to surrender.
They kept kissing as jackets were slung off, ties tossed aside, buttons opened so that mouths could slide down necks, onto collar bones, back up to play at earlobes. "The stylists are gonna kill us," Alex groaned, but when Reggie tried to pull back, Alex held him fast, uncaring about the stylists as long as Reggie kept doing that thing with his tongue.
A few moments later, there came a knock on the door letting them know that the shoot had to be rescheduled due to an error in bulb ordering. The men looked at one another, their rumpled state, and their now free evening. "You wanna get into our normal clothes and we can share a pizza at my place?" Reggie offered. "A real one with gluten and cheese and loads of meat?"
"Can we eat it in bed after we work some of this tension out?" Alex asked. Reggie beamed and nodded wildly. Alex grinned, pulling Reggie in for another kiss. "Then I say throw in some garlic fingers and I'm all yours.
"Mmm, I like the sound of that," Reggie purred before running off to get dressed and hopefully not browbeaten too much by the designers. Alex just shook his head and ran off before Reggie could blame the state of their suits on him. After all, he now had much more fun plans for his evening than explaining the wrinkled state of his suit jacket or the small line of marks up his neck.
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
(AoT/SNK) Reluctant Hero: Levi X Abused!Reader
You looked around nervously and pulled your sweater sleeve down farther as you walked into the school building. You didn’t want anyone to see the new bruises on your arms, let alone on your neck. You hoped the turtleneck sweater would hide them. You knew the sweater looked suspicious since it was late spring, borderline early summer, and the temperatures called for lighter clothing, but you really had no choice. You tugged the neck up higher and scurried off to your locker, hoping everyone would ignore you like they normally did.
“Hey ________, what’s with the sweater,” your best friend Max asked, scaring you near shitless, “Isn’t it a little warm?”
“Ah…,” you muttered, panicking slightly, trying to come up with an excuse, “I’m not warm at all! You know me, I’m a fucking ice cube, I’m cold all the time!”
You cringed internally, knowing it sounded like a terrible excuse, but you prayed to whatever god there was out there that she bought it. You breathed a silent sigh of relief when she laughed.
“Yeah, you’re right.” She said, smiling.
You grabbed your books and shoved them into your backpack. You slung it over your shoulder and winced in pain as it hit a particularly nasty bruise on your back.
Max looked at you concerned and asked, “Hey, are you ok?”
You quickly nodded your head and said, “Yeah, I’m fine! I just hurt my back last night trying to move my couch.”
“Why were you moving your couch?” She asked, confused.
You racked your brain for any lie possible and quickly spewed, “I was trying to clean under it.”
She seemed to buy it and you breathed another quiet sigh of relief. You finally bid your friend goodbye and hurried to your first hour class, pre-calculus. You immediately sat in your seat and took your book and notebook out, getting prepared for class. Class began and you wrote down everything your teacher did exactly as she did, but you still didn’t understand it. When you finished the notes, she began to hand back your last test. You got nervous, knowing that you didn’t do very well. When she placed it on your desk, it was upside down, and she gave you a sad look. She continued on down the rows and you sighed, flipping the test over, groaning quietly at the red “f” at the top. Next to it, also written in red letters, was a note that said, ‘See me at the end of class please – Mrs. Palmer’. You sighed again and looked up, only to have your (e/c) eyes lock with steely grey irises.
‘Shit!’ You thought, blushing lightly and looking away from him.
His name was Levi Ackerman, a fellow senior at Shiganshina High, and he was a student aid for Mrs. Palmer first hour. You’d known Levi since you were in fourth grade when he had moved from France to Shiganshina. You were never friends, but he had been in both your fourth and fifth grade classes and several classes after that in middle and high school. You’d learned a little bit about the boy by watching him from afar, but you had never talked to him more than just a passing encounter during class about an assignment. You’d heard from other people that he was a very unpleasant person, but from the few brief encounters you had with him he didn’t seem that bad.
“Alright, that’s all for today,” Mrs. Palmer said, snapping you out of your thoughts, “Either review your test or start on your homework.”
You chewed your lip as you rose from your seat, beginning to walk towards Mrs. Palmer’s desk. You eventually came to a stop before her desk and played with the end of your sweater, dreading what she was going to say.
“________, do you know that you’re failing?” She asked quietly so that only you could hear her.
You swallowed and nodded almost guiltily.
“Why is that?” She continued.
“I just don’t understand the stuff…,” you muttered, looking down, “I write down the notes exactly how you write them, but I just don’t understand how to do it….”
She frowned and said, “That’s what I thought. Would it help if you had a tutor?”
You thought for a moment and nodded. Your teacher nodded as well and motioned someone behind you over. When that someone stopped beside her, you looked at them and resisted the urge to gasp. It was Levi.
“From now on I’m going to have Levi tutor you,” she said, gesturing to the short male with her hand, “He’s amazingly good at math and he’s tutored many students before so I’m sure he can help you.”
You nodded and looked at him shyly.
“Do you have a lunch or a free hour?” He asked, crossing his arms.
“Um, both, actually…,” you said, voice shaky, “I have lunch fourth hour and IA eighth hour.”
“Alright,” he sighed, nodding, “I’ve got lunch fourth hour and I student aid for Mrs. Palmer again eighth hour for pre-calc so were meeting both those times, got it?”
You quickly nodded.
“I’ll find you at lunch, so just sit where you normally do.” He said, picking his bag up from the floor.
You nodded again. The bell rang and he nodded at you before walking past you and leaving the room. You quickly gathered your things and made your way to your AP psychology class. You took your seat next to your best friend and stared off into space.
“Hey,” Max said, snapping her fingers in front of your face, startling you, “Earth to ________! What’s up with you today?”
“Well, I wasn’t feeling the greatest this morning, but then last hour I found out that I’m going to be getting tutored twice a day by Levi Ackerman.” You said, shaking your head.
“Wait, you’re getting tutored by Mr. Forever-Pissed-Off-With-A-Stick-Up-His-Ass?!” Max asked, surprised.
“Oh come on,” you said, rolling your eyes, “He’s not that bad.”
“You’ve never seen him mad then.” Max said, shuddering.
You shook your head and tried to pay attention to your psych teacher.
You grabbed you lunch and sat down at your normal table, across from Max.
“Why are you over there?” She asked.
“Cause I’ve gotta get tutored.” You answered, pulling your book and notebook out, getting ready for number hell.
A minute later, a book and a tray were placed beside yours and a body settled onto the bench next to you.
“Alright brat, you ready for this?” Levi asked, cracking his knuckles.
You flinched at the sound and began to shake.
“U-uh, excuse me…!” You said, jumping up and running from the table, heading towards the bathroom.
Levi watched ________ run off with confused grey eyes. The girl looked terrified. He turned his perplexed orbs to her best friend, hoping she could shed some light on the situation.
“Is she alright?” He asked.
Max sighed and said, “She does that sometimes. She’ll randomly cringe and suddenly run off, most times to the bathroom. I feel like it’s got something to do with hearing or seeing something but I can’t figure it out.”
The girl looked worried about her friend and Levi wanted to figured it out as well. He wondered if it was something he had done or said. He frowned and looked in the direction that ________ had run off and saw that she was coming back.
You quickly pulled yourself together and left the bathroom. You headed back to the table, an embarrassed blush coming to your cheeks as you saw Levi looking at you.
“Sorry,” You said quietly, pulling on your sleeves, “I get these little nauseous spells and I tend to run away when they happen… you know, just in case….”
You hoped the lie sounded believable, because if they didn’t buy it you were in big trouble. Luckily they both nodded and Levi dove right into the tutoring lesson. Mrs. Palmer had given him all the things that you’d need to go over and he luckily started at the beginning. You didn’t get to go through much, but what you did get through you finally understood.
“Alright, so eighth hour, just go to Mrs. Palmer’s room and we’ll pick up where we left off, alright?” Levi said, packing his things up.
You nodded and did the same, shoving you book in your bag. You slung it over your shoulder and flinched again as it came in contact with the same bruise from that morning. What you didn’t know was that it didn’t go unnoticed by both Levi and Max, who shared a worried look.
Eighth hour you headed to Mrs. Palmer’s room, your pre-calc book in hand. It was an odd feeling but you accepted it. When you reached the room, you were relieved to see that Levi was already there.
“Back here,” he said, leading you to a table in the back of the room, “We’ll be going over things back here while she teaches and she’ll probably drop in and check up on us at some point knowing her.”
You giggled slightly, knowing he was right. You sat down and began studying again. Levi really was a good tutor because you were picking the material up really fast now. Soon the bell rang, signaling that you were released from prison. You both let out a breath and began to slowly pack up your stuff.
“Thank you for tutoring me…,” you said softly, causing Levi to pause in his movements, “I know Mrs. Palmer probably asked you to do it, but still, it’s really helping me already so… thanks….”
“Actually,” he said, beginning to put his stuff away again, “I offered to do it.”
“What?!” You said, looking at him in surprise.
“She was grading tests and she started talking about how she was sad about a student not doing well and she started ranting to me, as she often does, and after she was finished, I offered to tutor you.” He said, looking at you.
You blushed lightly and looked back down at your stuff, shoving the last thing in your bag.
“Well, thank you….” You said.
He nodded and you both stood. You excited the classroom and parted ways with a quick goodbye. You stopped by your locker to drop off a few things before leaving the school. You groaned loudly when you reached the door and saw the light sprinkle turn into a downpour. You sighed and were about to accept your fate when a voice sounded from behind you.
“Are you walking home ________?”
You turned around with a start and saw Levi standing there, backpack over one shoulder, umbrella in one hand, and car keys in the other.
You looked back out the door for a second before returning your gaze to the male and answering.
“I have to,” you said, your shoulders slumping slightly, “I don’t have a car….”
He frowned and shook his head.
“I’m not letting you walk home in this kind of weather,” he said, walking up to you, “I may be an asshole, but I'm not that much of an asshole.”
You opened your mouth to argue but a clap of thunder sounded, cutting you off. You flinched at the loud sound and began to shake. You nodded your head, agreeing to letting him drive you home. He walked to the doors, you right behind him, and opened one. He opened the umbrella and stepped outside. He grabbed your backpack and pulled you out and under the umbrella with him, keeping his arm around your shoulders. He led you through the parking lot to his truck and unlocked the doors. He opened the passenger side door and helped you into the truck before closing the door and getting in himself. He tossed the wet umbrella into the backseat and started the truck.
“Where do you live?” He asked.
You swallowed hard and told him where you lived. He looked at you with a strange look in his eyes but began driving anyway. You looked down at your hands shyly. You didn’t want him to know you lived in the really nice neighborhood. When he pulled up to your house, you blushed more. It was really big.
“Um…,” you muttered, looking at him shyly, “Thanks for driving me home Levi….”
“Yeah, anytime.” He said, a strange look in his eyes.
You grabbed your bag and quickly jumped out of the truck, running into your house. You watched through the window as he pulled away and sighed. You trudged up the stairs to your room. You entered the barely furnished room and set your bag down on the floor. You locked your door and sat on your bed, bringing your knees to your chest. You reached over to your bedside table and picked up the framed picture that was set there. You looked at it and felt tears roll down your face. It was a picture of your family from when you were little. Your mother was holding you and your two older brothers were standing beside her, hugging you two, their heads on her shoulders. Your father wasn’t in the picture since he was the one who took it, but it was all for the best since you hated the man. You hated him because he didn’t even want you. He had never wanted you. He’d only wanted sons. The only reason you were born was because your mother wanted you. She loved you with all her heart and you shared the same adoration. But then she was taken from you when you were six. She had been hit crossing the street while she was out shopping one day and died before the paramedics even arrived.
“I miss you mom….” You whispered, letting more tears flow.
Your phone rang and you sniffled, wiping your eyes. You grabbed your (f/c) phone and looked at the caller ID. You saw that it was your older brother Mason and smiled slightly.
“Hi Mason.” You said, voice still shaky.
“________,” he said, sounding concerned, “What’s wrong? You sound off.”
“Nothing. I'm fine, really. I was just looking at the picture of me, you, Joshua, and mom and got a little sad, that’s all.” You said, smiling to yourself.
“Ok, well as long as that’s all that it is. Don’t be afraid to tell me if there is something though. Cause I’ll cut a bitch, and you know it.” He said.
You giggled and said, “Yeah, I know.”
He chuckled and said, “So how’ve you been little one?”
“Holding on.”
“School kicking your ass?”
“Yeah….” You trailed off a bit.
Your brother laughed and asked a few more questions before ending the call. It was hard having twin older brothers who were ten years older than you. You had a great relationship with them but they didn’t know what was happening with your father.
“________!”
Speaking of your father….
You flinched at the yell you heard and knew you’d be getting a few new bruises.
It’d been two weeks since Levi started tutoring you and since you got a few pretty new bruises on your back, arms, and neck from him. It was beginning to get too warm for long sleeve sweaters, so you were wearing a tank top under and light hoodie, trying to hide as much of the bruising as possible. Levi also started driving you home every day, insisting that you shouldn’t have to walk if he could drive you. When you got into the truck, you dropped your phone, so you leaned over to grab it. You weren’t careful when you leaned though, and Levi got an eyeful of bruising on your neck and chest.
“Shit ________,” he said, staring at you, wide eyed, “What happened to you?!”
You looked at him confused before realizing what had happened. You blushed and pulled you hoodie around you tighter, trying to cover the bruising. You began to shake, fear coursing through your veins at what was to come.
“________, did someone hurt you?” Levi asked softly, startling you.
You’d never heard Levi use that tone of voice before. It almost sounded like he was talking to a frightened small animal. Which, in some respects, was what he was doing, but still. You swallowed hard and stared at him, (e/c) locked with steel. You contemplated telling him or not. No one knew what was going on, not even Max.
“________...,” Levi’s soft voice brought your full attention back to him, “Please, tell me what’s going on….”
You broke. Tears began to form in your eyes and chocked sobs began to escape your throat against your will. Levi quickly, but gently, pulled you against him and let you sob into his chest. After some time had passed, you finally calmed down enough to speak.
“My father….” You whispered, voice hoarse.
“What?!” Levi uttered, shocked.
You swallowed the lump in your throat and rested your head against his chest before elaborating.
“My father has been abusing me since I was six,” you said, sniffling, “It wasn’t as bad when I was little because my brothers were still at home so he couldn’t really do much, but then they went to college when I was eight. That’s when it started to get bad.”
“Why would he do this to you?” Levi asked.
You smiled bitter sweetly and said, “He never wanted me. He only wanted sons, but my mother wanted me. But she died when I was six, so I lost my only real protection. Then when my brothers left, I was left completely defenseless.”
Levi was quiet and you looked up at him. His jaw was clenched and he looked angry.
“Levi…?” You said quietly, putting your hand on his chest.
He looked down at you and said, “When would your dad be home?”
You were confused but answered him anyway.
“He won’t be home until later… why?” You said.
“Because you’re going to go grab a bag of your stuff, and then you’re coming to live with me,” he said, his arms tightening around you, “No arguments. I'm not going to let that bastard hurt you anymore.”
You stared at him with wide (e/c) irises and he suddenly began to blur. You burred your face in his chest and began to cry again.
“I’ll keep you safe,” he whispered into your (h/c) hair, “I promise….”
“Thank you…!” You cried, nuzzling into his chest.
You sat there for a little while longer before heading to your house. You threw what little belongings you had into a bag and left with Levi. He drove you to his apartment and he settled you into the spare room he had.
“Why do you live alone?” You asked, looking at him as you sat on the couch.
“My parents decided that they wanted to go back to France, but I didn’t want to leave,” he said, bring one knee up to his chest, “I was already eighteen at the time so they decided to get me an apartment so I could finish out high school and figure out what I want to do with my life.”
You looked at him and thought he looked a bit sad. You smiled faintly and leaned your head on his shoulder. He rested his on top of yours and you just sat there in a comfortable silence until you both decided it was time to turn in for the night.
“If you need me for what ever reason, just come in,” he said, leaning on the doorframe to his room, “Chances are, I might still be awake. I don’t sleep very well most nights so it won’t be any trouble.”
You nodded and smiled at him before going into your own room. You changed into your pajamas and crawled into bed. You closed your eyes and were able to fall asleep fairly quickly.
Your eyes shot open and you sat up in bad, your breathing ragged. You took a shaky deep breath and closed your eyes, only to gasp and quickly open them. All you saw was his face when you closed your eyes. You took another deep breath before getting out of bed and heading across the hall. You quietly opened the door and slipped inside, closing it behind you as quietly as possible.
“________?” Levi asked, sitting up slightly.
It looked like he had been awake, so you didn’t feel that bad about coming to him. You walked over to his bed and sat on the edge. He sat up all the way and put a hand on your shoulder. As soon as he did, you lunged at him and buried you face in his neck, your body shaking from the fear.
“Nightmare?” He asked softly, stroking your slightly messy hair.
You nodded and shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable. He pulled you down to lay beside him and cuddled your shaking body against his, trying to take your fear away. No matter what he did however, your body wouldn’t stop trembling. So he gently took your chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted your face upwards to face him.
“I told you that I would protect you didn’t I?” He whispered, slowly leaning closer.
When you didn’t pull away, he closed the distance between your lips and kissed you. You kissed him back after the initial shock wore off. He pulled back after a few seconds and rested his forehead against yours.
“That felt good….” He muttered, a breathy chuckle leaving his lips, tickling yours.
“Yeah….” You breathed your agreement.
“Be my girl?” He asked quietly.
You smiled and kissed him again.
“I don’t think it’s even a question….” You said, kissing him again.
He chuckled and nipped your lip, kissing you deeper this time. He was defiantly not letting anything or anyone hurt you now.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Joshua ____(l/n)____?”
“Yes, who is this?”
“I’ll explain in a minute. First let me get your brother on the line as well.”
“Hello?”
“Mason ____(l/n)____?”
“Yes?”
“Ok, good. Now that I have you both, my name is Levi Ackerman. I'm your sister’s boyfriend. We recently got together, she hasn’t been hiding it from you. But that’s beside the point. The reason I called you both is because I need your help. ________ is currently living with me because your father has been abusing her. I have pictures of the bruises he left even.”
“He what?!”
“That bastard! I knew something was wrong when I’d call and she’d be crying!”
“Like I said, I need your help. I know it’s short notice, but if you could make it out here within the next few days, I want to get him where he belongs.”
“I’ll be on the next flight there.”
“I’m in the car in an hour.”
“See you soon.”
You heard a knock on the door and got up to answer it.
“Joshua, Mason?!” You exclaimed, extremely confused.
They both enveloped you in a hug together, confusing you even further.
“What are you doing here?” You asked, hugging them back.
“I called them.” Levi said from behind you.
“What?” You were now completely confused.
“We’re putting that basted where he belongs,” Mason said, clearly upset, “Why did you never tell us?!”
Your eyes widened and you turned to Levi.
“You told them?!” You asked.
He nodded and said, “I need their help to put him where he belongs to make sure you’re truly safe.”
You sighed and sat down on the couch. You listened to them plan and scheme about how to get your father arrested. You rolled your eyes and finally spoke up.
“How about we just go file a report with the police,” you said, looking at them, “We’ve got plenty of pictures of the bruises and I’ve got some scars I can show them.”
They looked at each other and seemed to agree. So they took you down to the station and you did just that. And they arrested your father. You wouldn’t have to deal with him for a very, very long time.
It’s been a few months since all the excitement of getting your father arrested. You and Levi graduated along with your friends. And speaking of your friends, you and Levi set up Max and one of Levi’s friends Mike, so they were having their own summer adventure. But as for you and Levi, you were traveling around Europe together for the summer. And in the fall, you’d both be starting at a university in France.
“Oi, brat, why are you staring out the window?” Levi asked, snapping you out of your thoughts.
You looked at him and smiled. You went over to him and startled his lap, wrapping your arms around his neck.
“Because I had some stuff on my mind,” you said, kissing his neck, “But, I think I know something else that’s on my mind now.”
Levi smirked and flipped you over so he was hovering over you.
“Great idea.” He said, nipping at your neck, trailing his tongue lower.
You wrapped your arms around his neck and smiled.
“I love you ________....” Levi murmured against your chest, placing a kiss to your heart.
“I love you too Levi….”
73 notes
·
View notes
Text
Unexpected Part 2
Harry Potter Marauders Era AU
Link to Part 1
Pairings: Regulus Black x Reader
Rating: M-minor smut
_______
Regulus couldn’t get away from Sirius soon enough. The last thing that he really wanted to deal with was Sirius asking questions about his love life. Regulus was already regretting what he admitted to his brother. Saying that he didn’t love you was a bit harsh. While he didn’t exactly know what love was, Regulus was sure that there was something of it inside him for you.
Stepping into the house, he remained in the hallways but focused his attention on you specifically. You sat talking to Lily with Halley in your arms.
I do care for her more than she knows...I suppose that I do love her
The past four months had been crazy for both of you. Crazy was putting things lightly. Before Halley was born Regulus never had any interest in having a child. The day that you had come to him with the test results, Regulus almost fainted. Remembering the day was enough to make him nervous again.
Regulus stood in the hotel room looking at the muggle pregnancy test as you stood waiting for him to say something. He had paced around the room a few times and was close to losing the stronghold that he had on his temper. Regulus needed an answer and you were only looking at him for an answer on how to feel.
“Are you sure? What if it's faulty?”
You looked up at him with a confused expression. Regulus was trying to remain calm and you could see it. He was trying not to upset you and for that, you would be eternally thankful.
“Six of them?”
Regulus ran a hand through his hair. Six of them wouldn’t lie. One could be faulty but you clearly covered your bases...smart clever girl.
“Is there anyone else that the child could belong to?”
Your face immediately went from worried to shocked. That comment you clearly didn’t expect and Regulus regretted asking it immediately. He was the one that had taken your virginity that night and you only made time for him from that night forward.
“I’ve only slept with you! We have been seeing each other a lot lately...if you’re suggesting that I am some loose tramp just forget what I’ve told you and I’ll handle it on my own with no help from you.”
You quickly gathered up your things and turned to leave without another word. Regulus stood motionless a moment longer before taking off after you. He ran through the hotel room and skidded into the foyer.
“Y/n, wait! I’m an idiot.”
Your hand was on the door handle as you turned to face him. What color Regulus had in his face had vanished leaving your lover paler than normal. His young face was etched with worry as you began to speak.
“No, you’re just a prim and proper boy who wasn’t trained to have unprotected sex with some stupid girl who is on the other side of the tracks.”
Regulus had to agree with you on that one. His mother would have a fit if she knew what her youngest son had done. Regulus couldn’t let her know...not yet. Walburga would expect you to “get rid of it” and that wasn’t something that he wanted to happen. Regulus wanted nothing more than to protect you and his child...even if it meant disappointing his family.
He quickly closed the distance between your bodies. Reaching out Regulus pulled you into his arms. What he was doing...he had no idea. Holding you seemed like the best option that he could come up with.
“Let me take care of you...We did this together and to be honest with you, Y/n, I’ve become taken with you.”
His words from that day were still accurate. Regulus was taken with you and he didn’t see that changing. Maybe he wasn’t ready to say love then and in some ways he was afraid to say it now but deep down he knew that he loved you. You would be the one that would prove to him that love exists.
Halley crying pulled Regulus from his thoughts. Any time the child made a noise, Regulus was on his feet. Had he ever expected to love the child so much? No. The moment that Halley was put into his arms the first time, Regulus was in awe of her. For someone only being minutes old, she already had him wrapped around her finger.
The baby’s arrival made Regulus question his own relationship with his own father. Orion had always been closed off and didn’t want to be bothered with his sons until they were older. Regulus wasn’t even aware if his father knew who he was until he was at least six. When he was older and not as interested in causing havoc (as Sirius) Regulus finally became closer to his father.
The last thing Regulus planned on doing was letting Halley feel this way. That was the thing that he liked about being in Paris alone (without other family involved). It was just the two of you looking after Halley alone. The two of you only relied on each other to make sure that the baby was happy and healthy. Now...Regulus was afraid that would change. When your parents and his parents decided it was time to sink their claws in, things would become difficult between Regulus and yourself. Would he side with what his parents wanted (which would involve Halley being raised in a life of privilege and pureblood shenanigans) or what your parents would want (still a privileged childhood but no pureblood bullshit that would piss his parents off)? Regulus already made a personal promise to himself that he would put his foot down and tell his parents no...should it need to be done.
You, meanwhile, had stood up trying to lull the child back to sleep. Meeting Regulus’ eyes, you gave him a small smile. Regulus couldn’t help but smile back. You were stunningly beautiful and you were his.
I really am an ass.
Regulus thought as you came to join him.
“Is everything alright?”
You asked, softly. Regulus nodded. He gently kissed your forehead, earning a scowl from Lily in the other room.
“Everything’s fine, darling. How about here? Are they plotting my murder?”
You rolled your eyes before giving him a sly smile.
“Nothing of the sort. Would you like to come upstairs with me to get the baby to sleep? It will be a bit before my parents arrive.”
Regulus nodded. He was more than happy to snag a few moments of silence with you. After the disastrous meeting with James, Regulus needed some time to prepare for meeting with your parents. He already expected your father to not be pleased with him. What kind of father would be pleased to find out that their daughter hastily married a man that she had a child with secretively? If there was some kind of father that would be okay with this then they must have something wrong with them.
“Y/n, you can put Halley in Harry’s crib if you would like. He’s not due for a nap for a while.”
You gently placed Halley down in the crib. Making sure that the baby was sleeping, you turned and went back into the bedroom that Lily directed you toward. Regulus lay back on the bed with his hands behind his head.
“It didn’t take her long to go to sleep.”
You commented before easing your shoes off. Regulus gave you a smile.
“Normally at this time of day, it isn’t too bad. I was thinking...maybe we could go look at some houses or flats tomorrow? I would feel a lot better if we had our own place and didn’t have your brother looking down his nose at us nonstop.”
You moved to lay down beside Regulus on the bed. Snuggling your face into his chest, you gently petted his cheek until Regulus rolled himself to look down at you. His steely gaze kept your eyes locked on his.
“Is that what you want?”
You asked. Regulus nodded.
“We need our own place for our family. I know that you’ve missed your brother but we can’t stay with them forever. I have a feeling that I will be in a fight with James if we stay too long. I wouldn’t want to rearrange your brother’s face too much.”
Regulus was relieved when you didn’t become annoyed. You were well aware of the animosity between Regulus and James. Their relationship had been rocky since childhood at school and you didn’t see that changing much into adulthood. You had a feeling that Regulus would be more receptive of a cordial relationship with James but your elder brother wanted nothing of it. James was still furious with the Black family for how they did Sirius (and you understood that). Regulus, in James' mind, was a pampered little prince that knew nothing of the world. Regulus was the little brat that became Slytherin’s seeker and helped the Slytherin team crush Gryffindor into the ground. There were many other petty things that led to James’ disapproval of Regulus. Now James had your marriage and Halley’s birth to add to his list of reasons why he didn’t like Regulus Black. What James didn’t see was that Regulus lost his own brother that night and suffered greatly when Sirius left. He didn’t see that Regulus was only going through the motions after Sirius left.
You pulled yourself from your thoughts before looking up to Regulus.
“You’re right. We’ve gotten used to our privacy. I’m not looking forward to keeping quiet or worrying about silencing charms anytime that we want to touch each other.”
Regulus’ eyes fluttered open at that. He gave you a small smile.
“We have to watch ourselves to not wake up the baby. I am not about to take extra care to not give your brother nightmares….or….”
You immediately put a finger to his lips.
“Don’t be mean. Trust me, James is probably already brooding over the fact that we have sex..making him hear it would be just cruel.”
“I never claimed to be nice”
Regulus commented before leaning down to kiss you. You eagerly kissed him back. Slipping your hand down his chest to the buckle of his belt. Regulus’ hand quickly covered yours.
“Do we have enough time?”
You nodded.
“We’ve gotten used to quickies, unfortunately. Lucky for us, Halley sleeps like her father and won’t wake up for small noises.”
Regulus rolled his eyes.
“Very funny, smart mouth. You know, I think that I am in love with you.”
The two of you shared a smile before Regulus stood up to remove his trousers while you pulled your skirt up enough to spread your legs. You watched your husband with a pleased smile as he slid his trousers down his slender hips.
“Funny, I think that I’m in love with you too.”
You replied as Regulus took his place over you. Regulus gave you a needy kiss. He was as desperate as you were for some “closeness.” You groaned against Regulus’ mouth and he gently pushed inside of you. As much as you wanted to lay about and make slow passionate love to your husband, there wasn’t the time. The last thing that you wanted to do was face your parents looking thoroughly fucked. Things were about to be awkward enough without turning up with messy hair and swollen lips.
“Maybe we can con Lily and James into keeping Halley for a few days so we can have some private time alone. We haven’t had any of that from the day the child was born.”
You suggested as Regulus set up a steady pace. His eyes snapped open and rolled up to you.
“Don’t talk about your brother when I’m making love to you.”
Regulus hissed. You reached up and pulled Regulus down to you.
“Then kiss me and don’t be so loud.”
It seemed like the two of you had just gotten your clothes back on when there was a knock on the door.
“Yes?”
You called out. Lily’s voice came from the other side.
“Sweetheart, your parents are here.”
Regulus muttered “fuck” under his breath as the color drained from your face. It was time to face one part of the firing squad.
“Okay...be right down.”
It took you a few more moments to start downstairs. Regulus had gone into Harry’s room to get Halley. You waited outside of the room until Regulus stepped back out with Halley in his arms. The baby looked confused as she held onto her father’s shirt.
“It's going to be alright.”
Regulus said, hoping to sound confident. You only nodded before turning to walk down the stairs.
Taking a deep breath, you walked into the living room where your mother and father sat. Both were gleefully talking to a very quiet James. Your mother was the first to turn. She immediately stood with a smile.
“Y/n, darling!”
Euphemia moved to hug you but stopped the moment that she saw Regulus and the baby. Her mouth dropped as your father noticed the same thing.
“Y/n…”
Your mother started as James came in.
“It's exactly what it looks like.”
You narrowed your eyes on your brother as the annoyance began to build up.
“Shut up, James. They don’t know everything nor do you.”
Your father frowned. Neither James nor yourself ever argued with one another so this sudden venomous attitude was a shock.
“Y/n, what is going on, dear?”
Fleamont questioned as he turned his attention back to you. You took a breath.
“Before the both of you get angry, let me explain. Regulus and I got married and this is our baby. We didn’t tell anyone because we were afraid that someone would get hurt. If a letter with the information fell into the wrong hands...it could have been disastrous.”
Euphemia was clearly surprised as she put a hand over her mouth. She had a granddaughter that she didn’t know about. Shocked was the best feeling that she could come up with. James stood up.
“You know he is right?”
Euphemia immediately gave her son a displeased scowl. Of course, she knew who Regulus was. When Sirius turned up half dead at her doorstep, she wanted nothing more than to take Regulus away from his parents too but the boy wouldn’t hear of it. He had too much loyalty to his family.
“Yes, we know who he is James. I’m not angry with you, Y/n. I understand given the present situation with the times but I would have liked to have been there...for everything.”
Euphemia wanted to say more about her internal displeasure but it would make no difference. She could have told you that she missed every mother’s dream of watching her daughter walk down the aisle. Euphemia wanted nothing more than to have been able to be there with you while you were pregnant...that was taken away from her. In time the wounds would heal.
James’ mouth dropped.
“You’re both okay with this?”
Fleamont turned to his son. Your father’s displeasure was clearly written on his face but he didn’t speak of it.
“There is no point in beating a dead horse, James. What’s done is done.”
He finally commented as Euphemia stepped closer to Regulus with a warm smile. Regulus still looked like the shy boy that she remembered so well.
“Let me see this baby.”
She said cheerfully as Regulus slowly put Halley in her grandmother’s arms. Euphemia smiled immediately before gently stroking the baby’s cheek.
“She’s lovely.”
Euphemia commented before smiling up at Regulus.
“She looks a lot like you and your brother, dear. How old is she?”
“Four months, ma’am.”
Euphemia nodded with a smile before meeting her husband’s eyes. Fleamont had finally stood up and came to look at his granddaughter.
“She’s a perfect little girl. Harry will have a little playmate now.”
James looked up at that. You were pleased to see that realization had finally washed over your brother’s face. He hadn’t even gotten a good look at his niece due to him acting like an overgrown child. James looked at you apologetically. He made a mental note to talk to you later when Regulus wasn’t hovering over you. It would be easier to talk to you without the little pampered prince around. You would be his sister again...not Regulus’ wife.
James smiled down at his niece who was snuggling her grandmother.
“I only hope that Harry and Halley are as close as Y/n and I were.”
James said with a pleased smile. It was a genuine comment too. He wanted nothing more than for his son to be as close to his cousin as the two of you were as siblings. James could only hope that he could repair whatever damage he had caused that day.
For the next few hours, everything went smoothly. To your delight, your parents seemed as pleased with Regulus as you were. Your mother gave you a pleased as punch smile that let you know everything was alright with your family.
One set of parents down...one more to go...
When they left, you went to get Halley ready for bed. Regulus had remained in the living room attempting to talk to a very non-receptive James. You knew that it would be a very long road between the two.
As you walked up the stairs, you heard Sirius and Remus talking. The moment that your name came up, you froze outside the door. Sirius’ voice was the first one that you heard…
“Regulus doesn’t even love her. He said he hopes to fall in love with her someday but at this time he doesn’t love her. I think that it's a bit mean of him. Empty words hurt and you know how lovely Y/n is.”
You felt both your mouth and heart drop as Remus spoke.
“He actually admitted that to you?”
Sirius quickly spoke again with a sigh.
“That’s exactly what he said to me. He married her because it was the right thing to do. He didn’t want people talking about her. What I think is he didn’t want people talking about him. My brother is such a selfish little git. Makes me want to go punch him...he has a good wife. Y/n loves him so much and he just…”
“Sirius, maybe Regulus doesn’t know his own feelings. You know how you were over admitting to not knowing what love was at first…”
“Don’t care...Y/n is the mother of his child and he says I love you...he needs to mean it.”
You couldn’t listen anymore. Wanting to cry, you were tempted to go downstairs and yell at Regulus. This conversation would need to happen in private. Words couldn’t describe how heartbroken you were. Regulus had always made you feel loved and when he said “I love you” it felt so genuine. Now that you knew it was all a lie, you couldn’t formulate how to describe your feelings. Knowing Regulus only married you to keep himself “in a good light” was the worst feeling in the world.
It was another thirty minutes before Regulus came into the bedroom. He froze seeing you sitting at the end of the bed with tears in your eyes. Regulus immediately frowned. You didn’t cry.
“What’s wrong, love?”
You shook your head.
“Don’t call me that.”
Regulus blinked a few times before raising an eyebrow.
“I always call you that. What have I done?”
“Don’t tell me that you love me ever again! Never try to fool me with empty words. I know what you told Sirius outside. You married me out of some sense of duty so you wouldn’t be made out as the bad guy. It wasn’t out of us being in love. I was a fool then and I suppose that I still am. I would have been better off with people talking behind my back…”
Regulus’ cool composure didn’t drop. Inside, however, was a different story. He was about to panic over the knowledge that you had heard what he told his brother. The bigger question was how did you hear it? Did Sirius tell you? If he did, Regulus was going to strangle him!
“I do love you.”
He argued as you stood up. You took off your wedding ring and put it on the bedside table. Regulus could do with it what he wanted. As far as you were concerned, you had no idea what would happen between Regulus and yourself now. That sacred trust, that you thought was there, clearly wasn’t.
“Just stop! We have to stop! This has to stop!”
Regulus was beginning to lose his temper now...especially with himself. If he had just kept his mouth shut earlier then none of this would be happening. He would have a happy wife that loved him not one who was sobbing and hated his existence.
“If you are wanting me to leave you it isn’t happening.”
You rolled your eyes before starting for the bedroom door. Regulus moved to stop you but you shoved him out of the way.
“Well, I might just wash my hands of the whole stupid thing. I regret ever meeting you, Regulus Black.”
Regulus didn’t move to go after you. He was in too much shock to move. You had never said something so cruel to him. Not that he blamed you, had the rolls been reversed Regulus would have been as upset.
I really am an ass.
Regulus thought before lying down on the bed silently praying that he wouldn’t wake up.
A few hours had passed when the sound of Halley crying woke Regulus up. He sat up quickly and flipped on the bedside lamp. Yawning, Regulus glanced down at the clock that read 2:45. Halley had the fun habit of waking up around 3:00 every morning. Why would this night be different?
The soul-sucking depression hit Regulus like a brick to the stomach. The realization that you weren’t beside him made Regulus want to cry in frustration. He hadn’t cried in years but the night's events were enough to make him want to. Had this happened in France, he would have found a bottle of brandy and drunk himself to sleep.
Getting out of bed, Regulus slowly stepped into Harry’s room to only find the sleeping boy in the crib. The sound of you talking gently to Halley quickly grabbed his attention and Regulus turned in the other direction.
You sat in the living room gently rocking Halley who was eagerly playing with your necklace.
“I’m just fine on my own.”
You commented, not looking up to meet your husband’s exhausted face. If you had, you would have seen the depressed expression on Regulus’ face. You weren't sure if you would care or not though. At the moment, you wanted him to realize just how miserable and heartbroken that you were. You had considered telling Regulus that he could just go and be a typical 19-year-old and chase skirts if that was what he wanted. You weren’t going to stop him or keep him in some “loveless” marriage that he thought was the best idea in the first place.
“We always do this together.”
Regulus sadly commented. You kept your attention focused on your daughter’s face.
“Maybe it's time for a change. Go be a typical husband and go back to bed.”
______
@amelie-black
@truly-insatiable
@realgaytrash
@lucasfilms77
@exhsle
@spiderxalmighty
@mrspadfoot4
@brokencasbutt67-writer
@authoressskr
@fandom-trash-worth-it
@hankypranky
@summer-novak
@shaylybaby2032
@emiwrites3reads
@li0nh34rt
@tas898
@marichromatic
@maggioli-m
@untoldshortsofthefandoms
@sprnaturallover
@deanwherescas
@shitfaceddaniel
@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts
@knight-of-gleefulness
@wontlookaway
@mycuddlycorner
#Regulus Black#Regulus Black x Reader#Sirius Black#Remus Lupin#James Potter#Lily Evans Potter#euphemia potter#fleamont potter#walburga black#orion black#timothee chalamet as regulus black#ben barnes as sirius black#andrew garfield as remus lupin#aaron johnson as james potter#harry potter marauders#young marauders#marauders post hogwarts#marauders au#harry potter fan fiction#regulus black fics#regulus arcturus black#sirius orion black#Unexpected#Unexpected Chapter 2#update
145 notes
·
View notes
Text
Sunrise | Hwang Hyunjin
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。 .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。
Genre: Angst, Romance, Drama, Comedy
AU: Beauty and the Beast au
Pairing: Hwang Hyunjin x fem!reader
Word Count: ~26k
Warning(s): Minorly dark themes, vague mentions of suicide, sparse censored language
A/N: It’s finally done! <3 | For Kumi, my dear friend. <3
Playlist:
Lighthouse → Hope
forever rain → RM
Tag List: @hanniiesuckle17 @distrikt9 @hanstagrams @hyunsunq @smolboiseavey (let me know if you want to be added!)
ღ Stray Kids M.List | M.List ღ
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。 .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。
| Zero ❧
It was no lie that Hwang Hyunjin was what he was. A monster. A crook. A fiend.
But had that been his fault? No. Had it been his intention to piss off the old hag who showed up at his doorstep looking for shelter, who also happened to be a witch?
...Well, yes, technically. But in his defense, he hadn’t known she’d been a witch. He just assumed she was another ex-royal his father’s company had put out of business, bankrupt and seeking reconciliation. Another pawn knocked off the chess board.
So then was any of this really his fault?
Not in the slightest.
Late November was when colorful bouts of leaves piled in the corners and around the front doors of Everain Palace, when icy winds took hold from north arctic fronts and chilled all those who inhabited it to the bone, or at least, those unfortunate enough to end up imprisoned in the steely corridors below. Dank, gray shadows fell over the surrounding dark atmosphere of the cold stone walls, seeping in elongated coverage that fell over the once festering city of New Amber, now reduced to nothing but a sickly small town until the return of the harvest season. If anyone even bothered coming back.
It was no secret why no one ever wanted to come back. Everyone knew about the curse. Rumors spread fast, and as the head of his father’s company Hyunjin couldn’t hide his scarred face forever. Afraid of becoming infected, afraid it would spread, half of the town vanished within the first few days. Another half of what was left disappeared over the course of the following two weeks, and the number of residents continued to dwindle even after that, until Hyunjin couldn’t even tell you how many remained as of today, six years later. Ten, maybe twelve royals, some small groups of peasants temporarily settling in until they too were told about the curse, and the dark secrets of the young man who lived beyond its walls.
He was once beautiful until he ticked off the wrong old lady. Now he lives out his days staring at a reflection of who he once was.
The part he hated the most was that he couldn’t deny it was the truth.
“Mirror!” he called, clapping his hands once, twice, three times. “Where is my mirror?! Where the hell did you put it this time?!?”
Begrudgingly with a sigh a shadow cascaded down along the stone wall, manifesting into something three-dimensional only a moment later. Blue hair fluttered softly around smooth, rounded features, a lone earring sparkling faintly in the pale moonlight, accentuating ripped jeans and the confines of a pitch-black hoodie.
The whole ensemble was tacky and incredibly outdated. “Here…” His shadow said, holding out the small ornate mirror. His contractor grabbed it with anxious greedy hands, claws already beginning to form far too early thanks to the autumn equinox.
He paced away eagerly, collapsing to his corner of comforting feather downs and soft silk sheets, as he stared at a reflection of who he once was, who he used to be. How he would look today had he just pretended not to be home that ill-fated night.
“Jisung!” He barked, glaring angrily over his shoulder. “Come here.”
The boy-shadow sighed once more, nodding slowly as he had no right to refuse the man who had complete control over him. So he slowly sulked over toward the bed, shimmering at the seams as he passed through the inanimate threshold like a waking dream. Carefully his edges began to dissolve, bit by bit, until nothing but a faint air of smoke remained, settling dispersedly around the dim-lit bedroom.
Hyunjin never took his eyes off his past-in-the-present self, who only stared back at him with vacant, mournful eyes. “Show her to me.” he demanded, gently leaning a few inches forward. “Where is she?”
With careful swirls like a rippling tide the mirror faltered, spiraling and transforming the glass picture until the prince’s face was gone, the image of a girl taking his place.
Then another one. Then another one…
The mirror suddenly cracked. His hands tightened around the steel handle, a low growl resonating from behind parted lips curled up in a snarl.
“I’m sorry…” the mirror muttered, Jisung suddenly appearing out of the cracks to stand before him. “She’s still not here. I don’t know what you want me to do abo--”
“I don’t want you to do anything!” Hyunjin snapped, throwing down the mirror and shattering it into a million more pieces. “I just want her here! What’s taking her so long? Where is she?!”
“I--” Jisung winced as a few stray shards transpired through him, the feeling still foreign even after all these years and past mirrors similarly broken. “...I think these things just take time--”
“Time?! TIME?!?” Hyunjin was beyond livid. The moment he stood his servant shrunk back, nearly folding himself into the safe confinements of the old chiseled walls. “Time is something I don’t have. You know this, Jisung. If this goes on any longer I’ll…” His voice trailed off and he gulped, snatching a fistful of hair in his sharp dark claws. “...Why isn’t she here yet? What are you not telling me?”
“Telling you? Wha--”
“Shut up and answer me!” He demanded, slamming the boy against the wall. The poor guy would have sunken through had he, again, not been under such a binding spell. Instead the only thing he could do was resentfully comply, doing all he could to spitefully avoid eye contact.
“I’m sorry, Hyunjin. I don’t know--”
“You’re working with her, aren’t you?” Hyunjin continued with narrowed eyes. He began to shake him, tightening his chokehold around the boy’s throat.
Jisung gasped a bit, nails gritting against the echoing stone walls. “I-I really don’...” He tried to choke out. “...I really don’t know. I swear. Honest.”
“Lies.”
The tightening intensified. Jisung felt like he was nearly going to burst.
That’s when he’d gotten the idea.
“Y-You’re right! I lied! I know where she is!”
The moment he was let go Jisung gasped for breath, grateful as the heavy sinking feeling of doom left his vacant bones. Hyunjin blinked once, twice before narrowing his eyes again, taking a careful step back.
“...I knew you were lying to me. Where is she?”
After holding up his hand for breath, his shadow slowly looked up from his knees, straightening and readjusting his strange, stretchy cufflinks of the hooded cloak he wore. “She’s lying dormant somewhere. I can get her for you.”
“Where?”
“Under...erm,” He awkwardly coughed. “...O-Over that way...out yonder.”
Hyunjin didn’t seem very keen on the way his servant waved his hand dismissively in the random direction of “out yonder”; but it was a risk he was willing to take. He was desperate. Three more days and...and…
“Fine,” he answered at last, lavishly turning his cape away from him to pace towards the half-opened window. “You have until sunrise to bring her to me. I won’t wait a moment longer.”
“Wha?! But she--”
“Fine! Twenty-four hours. And you better return with the right one, or else.”
He gave a precise gaze over the slender curve of his princely shoulders, and that was all it took for his shadow to sink out of sight into the folds of stone-pressed cement below, the clouds blotting out the last rays of moonlight around them.
| One ❧
“Y/n~ Y/n, hurry up!! C’mon, we’re gonna be late!!”
“Yes, yes, I’m coming…”
Your friend Rei ran another ten yards ahead, impatiently stopping for the umpteenth time for your slow-leisurely pace to match up. “Uuuugh, c’mon already!”
“I said I’m coming…!”
...Sheesh.
Autumn season. It was the time when the leaves changed their colors, one final requiem of individuality before fluttering away in the cool breeze, carried off somewhere to decompose and fall victim to the circle of life. It was also the time you and your friend Reiya, who you casually referred to as just Rei, spent all hours of the short-lived days travelling from village to town, in order to sell the wares of your fathers’ goods. They were both merchants, you see; it’s how the two of you had met, many years ago. But they were old now, the circle of life creeping up on them as well, and since all the men in your town were either taken or losers not worth your time, each of you vowed to take over the family business, carrying it wherever the wind decided.
...And anyway, neither of you were interested in the prospects of marriage; being tied down? And taking orders from some mustached buffoon? ...No thanks. It’s not that you hated the idea of settling down, just...not in your town. Not at your age. Not yet.
This way, things worked out well-- you and Rei got to travel the continent, avoiding arranged marriage and spending time in each other’s company selling your fathers’ wares and in turn, helping them out. They were free to enjoy a peaceful retirement while you added memories of wondrous places and escaped the evil clutches of a life tied down to a broomstick and a kitchen stove. It was perfect.
...Except for days like now, when you’d both woken up late and were at risk of losing a good place to set up shop. Your bad this time.
“Hurry up!!” Rei whined, doing her famous one-tap-two-step-hurry-up dance. The balls of her slippered feet hardly touched the stone pavement of the path leading to the city, her arms flapping like a chicken as she readjusted the triple-stacked backpack of goods from falling off her bony shoulders. “Let’s go let’s go let’s go!!”
“I told you, I’m coming!” You groaned, having been stuck with cart duty. It may have been nearly empty, but it sure didn’t feel like it. Normally it took two people to steer, in addition to horsepower by your trusted steed, Carrots, but unfortunately…
Carrots had too many carrots last night. And she wasn’t doing so well.
It wasn’t serious, but it would be at least another few hours before she got it out of her system, so this blissfully unfortunate morning it was you and Rei having to wing it...with you having pulled the short end of the stick.
“Nnnneiiigh,” Carrots groaned from behind you. You gave her a gentle pat while trying your best to nudge the cart over the last hill.
“It’s alright, girl. We’re almost there. Just a little farther.”
She let out a whine, almost seeming to nod in understanding.
“Ahh, hurry!” Rei called again, making haste for the city gate’s checkpoint line. All merchants and traveling businessmen (or women) were required to have their items evaluated and checked by city officials before being licensed a temporary warrant to sell.
When you made it to the top of the hill, already out of breath, you deflated-- then just about fell over when you saw how long the line was.
Oh man. This is all my fault. We shouldn’t have stayed up so late…
“You look like you could use a hand.”
You turned around to find a tall...ish, slender boy, with hair the color of chocolate and big, round eyes to match. A single silver earring hung from his right ear. “Oh, uh, that’s okay…”
“...Han,” he clarified, gripping one side of the cart. “Han Jisung. Just let me handle this. You should probably go help your friend; she looks like she’s about to fall over.”
You peered around the other side of the small wagon to see that, indeed, Rei was playing a game of balance, swaying a bit too far this way and that as she wobbled on flat calloused feet toward the back of the long line. But you? Leaving your father’s shop in a stranger’s hands? Even if it was in a populated area, and he did seem genuine…
“That’s okay.” You told him, grabbing tighter onto your side. “I can take it myself, I’m used to it. Thank you for the offer, though.”
“...” He blinked at you a moment, doing nothing at all but staring. Just when you were considering calling for Rei to come back, though, he laid off, tossing smooth hands in the air before shoving them in the front pocket of the strange cloak he wore. “Alright, alright. Didn’t mean to scare you or anything. If you insist, I’ll be on my way.”
He let go, and you felt the full weight of the cart pull your body downward, gravity affecting you in the worst way. ...Maybe…
“Um, hold on!” You shouted, and he stopped a quarter of the way down the hill, glancing up at you expectantly from over his left shoulder. Curse him. “Yeah?”
“...” You set your pride and suspicions aside. “...It would actually...well, I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to help. Just to the base of the hill.”
His eyes did the smiling for him, and was back at your side in seconds, taking the right flank while you managed Carrots and the left.
“Mind if I ask you something?” He pipped just steps later, eyes peering at you from over the cart as he jumped like a small puppy trying to see over a counter space. You groaned.
“I suppose I have no choice, so, sure. What is it?”
“Well…” He was beginning to mumble. “I know this may seem kind of sudden but, I have this...friend…”
“No.”
“Huh?”
The cart stopped rolling, delaying your schedule that much farther. “If this is headed where I think it is, I’m sorry but, I’m not interested. I’m very busy and I don’t have time for...love. Or a relationship. Other than the one I share with my customers.”
“Oh! No, no! Hahah…” Han had let go of the cart as well, scratching his cheek. “I-It’s not that! Nothing like that...I…”
His explanation was cut off by your sudden gasp, lunging forward to grab the cart as it started to descend down the steep slope. But it was too late; it slipped out of your grip like butter in a frying pan. “Oh no!”
The cart raced down the hill, gaining momentum and speed the farther it went. Crowds of people gasped as well, jumping and throwing themselves out of the speeding wagon’s path, until…
It reached the bottom, but it kept going. And it was headed right for Rei.
Horror-stricken, you jolted, racing down whilst cupping your lips to scream out a warning call. “Rei! Look out!!”
Rei turned around. Her eyes widened.
But she remained unscathed. In the blink of an eye something dark and ink-like had raced over the pavement and grass fields; it manifested beneath the wheels, and the cart just...stopped.
“Rei!!” You cried, letting go of Carrots to plunder to her side. She’d fainted, but Han was there to catch her.
Han…
You stared him down nervously from the other side. “...How did you get here so fast?”
He carried your friend to the shade of the forest surrounding the city walls, others whispering and already beginning to spread gossip. You tried to block it out and ignore the intense stares and glaring from eighty-or-so business-competitors, following Rei’s limp body and coming to rest beside it, pulling her head into your lap.
Though you were out of earshot, the whispering and curious eyes still followed you; so not good for business.
“Hey. I asked you something,” you said again, making sure to keep one eye on him, and one on the cart. “How did you get down there before I did? I didn’t even see you move.”
The strange boy didn’t say anything, save for laughing a bit. He then proceeded to ask you the oddest thing: “A man, or a beast...do you think we have a choice? On what we want to be?”
“What?” Your brow furrowed to form one solid unibrow. “Don’t ignore me. I asked you first. How did you get down there so quickly?”
Still, he refused to answer. “Technically, I asked you first. So you have to answer me.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” you replied, “but I will call for help if you don’t answer me right now.”
Seeing the anger on your face, the boy calling himself Han looked out into the near-distance, at the line steadily encouching forward and now forming a beeline around your abandoned shop. “Well, given that we are out of earshot...it’s not much of a threat, but...still,” he shrugged, almost to himself. “I suppose we wouldn’t want that.”
He set himself down criss cross applesauce, next to Rei’s spaghetti legs. You huffed, attempting to protectively heave her a smidge closer to you. “Alright, well, go on.”
He gave you the goofiest grin. “Well, it’s quite simple, really! I just swooped under the wagon, and jimmied the breaks! Worked like a charm!”
You frowned, not at all appeased with that answer. “You...jimmied the brakes?”
“Yep!”
“And it just...stopped.”
“That’s right.”
“...You dove beneath a speeding wagon and managed to attach yourself underneath?”
“That’s what it sounds like~”
“That’s what it sounds like?!”
“Look, we can point fingers all day at who-did-what, but if you don’t hurry and get back in line, you’re not gonna have any place at all to set up your little shop of knick knacks or...whatever it is that you sell. Is that a snow globe?” He asked, reaching for Rei’s bag. You swatted his hand away.
“...Fine, whatever. Thanks for saving her, I guess…”
“And?”
You pressed a kerchief from your pocket to Rei’s forehead, smoothing ebony locks from her face. “And?”
Han smiled. Again. “You gotta pay me back somehow, right?”
“For doing a good deed? Do I?” You scoffed. “And here I thought you were doing it just to be kind…”
“Well now you know~ ...I mean—“ He swallowed at the glare you gave him. “...What I mean is, I did do it. To be kind. But I’d love if it you could still pay me back by coming with me to—“
“I’m not going anywhere with you or your dumb friend, if that’s what you’re asking. Just save it for the birds.”
Rei was starting to stir, twitching slightly, her eyes squinting in and out of consciousness. You began patting her cheeks and calling her name, but unfortunately, she still wasn’t fully there yet. That, and the annoying man at the other side of her wasn’t finished. “I have a proposal for you,” he stated.
“A proposal?” You didn’t like the sound of that. “...I’m not interested. Look, I’ll just, give you something from my shop, and you can be on your merry way, okay? Here, what about that snow globe you were eyeing before?” You reached over Rei’s body, fishing it out and handing him the novelty. “Take it. It’s yours.”
The glass globe held the contents of a small gray castle, surrounded in a sea of red roses. Han took the globe from your hand, examining the structure and looking almost nostalgically somber as he watched the fake snow fall. “...Thank you, but it’s not what I want.”
“Then what do you want?” You groaned. “Look, just take whatever. I don’t care, it doesn’t matter. I have more important things to worry about right now.”
“...What I want,” Han said, ignoring that last part of your statement, “is for you to answer my question.”
“What? What quest— aah, I told you already, I’m not—!”
“A man, or a beast? As individuals, do we have a choice?”
The way he’d cut you off and stated his query so seriously made your head spin; it certainly caught you off guard, that was for sure. “...I’m sorry...I don’t understand the question.”
“Hmm…” Han thought. “...Imagine you were put under a...spell. A spell that turned you into a hideous monster, with fangs and claws and fur in places you’d never imagined...but it comes and goes, this curse of yours.” He tilted his head. “Are you still human? Or are you now a beast?”
Thoughts slowly circled your mind, not knowing what to think. You had no idea where any of this had come from, the only responses coming to mind countering questions: who is Han, what is he up to, why did he want to know what you thought of such a peculiar idea…
“Well?” He egged, leaning backwards.
“...I...I don’t know,” you confessed, listing your gaze aside. “I really have no idea where you got such a crazy idea from.”
“Okay...then let me ask you this. I’ll help you out.”
What? Help you out?
He leaned forward this time. “Do you think we have a choice? Is it possible to define ourselves as one or the other?”
“Well...yes, I would think so.” Your eyes met his, hoping that if you gave him an honest answer, perhaps he would leave. “We all have a choice— to be monsters, or men. It is not a matter of blood, or a spell, but a condition of the heart.”
You didn’t know it, as you’d turned away; but the moment those words left your parted lips, his eyes shone with the hope of a thousand suns, dawning the horizon after the longest winter storm.
You’d turned away to shuffle for a bucket and some more handkerchiefs in Rei’s Bag of Wonders, holding out the bucket without turning your eyes away. “I changed my mind. Make yourself useful and get me some water from the nearby stream, or in town, whatever. Just—“
But when you cast your eyes back to where Han was sitting, he was gone.
| Two ❧
“You must have been having one hell of a dream to stay passed out for so long.”
“Ahaha…” Rei buried her fingers in her hair, entangling them in the sea of ebony that flowed behind her and came to a steady delta tied near the ends. “Sorry about that. It was like I wanted to wake up, but I just couldn’t. Like something...some kind of invisible wall was preventing me from doing so.”
“Hmm…”
The two of you had made it into town safely, with little trouble other than what you’d previously gone through with that strange boy, Han. After getting checked in and circling the shopping district three times, your luck finally began turning around when one of the vendors apparently felt ill and decided to turn in early; bad for him, but great for the two of you. The spot couldn’t have been more perfect, either: positioned right in the center of all the hustle and bustle, it attracted plenty of attention, and the moment you set up shop, customers came lining up at the window.
The two of you worked for hours to make up lost time, grinding your fingers to the bone, shuffling around each other to count coins, search for wares, and sign receipts of official purchase. By the time the lunch bell rang, you and Rei were about ready to fall over.
“I’m tired,” Rei moaned, collapsing to her knees and digging under the counter for your grocery supply. Woefully, her hand came back...empty. “Ah, we’re all out of bread! And apples…”
“What about that bag of trail mix you bought two days ago?” You asked while organizing receipts. Someone had to do it, and you knew Rei sure as heck wasn’t going to.
She sighed, shaking her head. “Carrots and I polished it off yesterday. ...Oh, carrots.” Her stomach growled right on cue, a forlorn sigh escaping dry lips. “...I’m so hungry...”
Something about that previous statement made you pause, inclining your head to the right in thought. …Carrots…Carrots…?
...Oh no. Oh hell’s bells, you’d completely forgotten about Carrots!
Without a moment to lose you dropped the stack of receipts you’d been tidying up onto the counter, hopping out of the wagon and running as fast as your boot-clad feet could take you. Your knees were still stiff and exhaustion weighed you down, but you couldn’t allow that to stop you. Not when that poor (dumb) horse was wandering and hopefully still waiting for you.
“Hey!” Rei yelled, her head leaning out the window. “Where are you going?! You forgot your coin purse!” She waved said object in the air, as if asking for a thief to come and swipe it. “I want lemons and some gum drops! I saw a candy shop about a block down!!”
“You can’t have candy for lunch!” You hollered back. “And I can’t right now, you’ll have to get lunch yourself today. There’s something I forgot.”
Her confused expression said everything else for her, but you didn’t have time to chat about lunch plans. You had to get that horse.
You ran with all your might (what little you had left) out of the shopping district, down three blocks, and past the city gate...that is, until a guard stopped you.
“Woooah there, little miss.” The man grabbed your arm, effectively pulling you backward; and he had quite the grip to boot. “I’m afraid you can’t just go hauling eighty out here like that. I’ll need to see some I.D.”
You cast anxiety-riddled eyes to the man, making sure each gesture showcased your anger. “What? To leave the city? ...But I’m leaving, not entering!” Your anxious gaze sought out into the trees, the pastures of bitter decay and spooky autumn silence where Carrots was last seen. “Please, I need to get out there. My horse is missing, I’m afraid I forgot about her after a...mishap...and ended up abandoning her. She’s sick, so I don’t have time to play games!”
“That’s all fine and dandy, ma’am, but rules are rules. Show me your I.D., please.”
“I…! …”
Reluctantly, you yanked your arm away, digging for…
...Nothing, because you’d forgotten your coin purse. The image of Rei waving it with pride and worry left a bitter taste in your mouth. And your vendor verification permit was left in the shop, as well. “...I don’t have any. My permit is with my co-partner, back in the shopping district.”
“Hm. Well, you’ll just have to go back and get it, then.”
“What?! I don’t have time for that!” You turned pleading eyes to the officer, prayerfully searching for understanding alongside a missing horse. “Please sir, she couldn’t have wandered very far. I’ll be right back! I’m only going--”
He shook his head. “Sorry miss, like I said, rules are rules. Because of the recent string of kidnappings, all residents and visitors alike are required to provide valid identification before coming in or leaving city walls. Mayor’s orders.”
You’d been thinking about making a run for it or finding another guard to reason with until the word kidnappings made its way into the conversation. Normally you would have been curious and not too concerned...however…
...That’s considering you heard it from a local paper floating in the breeze, or along the gossiping grapevine from one vendor to another, one chatty socialite to the next whispering to each other among the lively bustle of city life. Why were you just now hearing about it here? From an officer? How long had this been going on?
In all the questioning silence, you basically forgot about...what was it you were looking for again? “Um, forgive me for prying, but...kidnappings?”
“...E-Er...that’s...” The officer flinched, taking a half step back. “...Um...well...dammit all…” He removed his thick uniform hat, scratching his head a moment before readjusting it to fit tall and proud. He cleared his throat. “...Please forget I said anything. If you wish to leave the city, I’ll need to see some valid I.D.”
“......”
He simply stood there, pretending as if nothing had happened. The only proof you had was the sweat swimming along his forehead, but surely he’d blame that on the nonexistent autumn heat and the fullness of his uniform.
You had no choice but to reenter the masses.
- ❧ -
When you return to the gates, the same officer approved of your vending license (still sweating from that “autumn heat,”) signalling for the men in the tower to let you through. It was late afternoon now, the skyline growing dangerously close to dusk; when you’d returned to shop a while earlier, you couldn’t admit to Rei that you’d lost her best friend next to you (though some friend she was having no idea about the whole thing...), so you were left with little choice but to play along and have lunch until it was time to work again. The late-day crowds were always far less stressful than morning shifts, so confident she would be fine on her own you took back off for the South entrance the moment the work bell rang.
“Carrots...Carrots...looking for a food-poisoned horse…”
Sigh. The words were a groan from your lips as you trudged about a floor of dead leaves and twisted bare tree branches. The skyline was starting to wear thin, every step you took noisy and either resulting in startling a field mouse or alerting a wandering bear out of hibernation of your whereabouts. Not an ideal situation to be in.
I’ve been wandering these woods for three hours now. Dang it, where is she?! ...Normally, Carrots was a good horse; she followed you around, did as told, and when you did lose her (...as this wasn’t the first time…) she stayed put and waited for you to return; like that time in Cresentmoon Harbor (for it was literally shaped like a crescent), when you and Rei had been so distracted by some dashingly handsome fisherman named Minhee and wanted to hear his tales of the rough blue sea that you’d, yes, left your horse astray, where a group of thugs almost snatched her.
That had actually been a fun day, watching Rei throw apples and trinkets and club the ringleader with his own beatstick. This time, however, you’d known exactly where you left her. You were sure there were no gangs or thugs near a place like this; not a clean-cut, safeguarded place like Westwind...any yet, Carrots hadn’t been there. Not at the top of the hill where you left her, or beneath it, beside it, or anywhere nearby.
...Although...didn’t that cityguard mention something about kidnappings?!
That stupid horse. I knew I should have overruled Rei and named her Dumdum. She went and got herself kidnapped! URGH, I had to go pulling the short end of the stick today--
A sharp wind blew by without warning, causing you to shiver. Mournfully, you wondered if maybe you should turn back and enlist Rei’s help after all...have her summon back that courageous, beatstick-smacking frenzy…
Oh, but how heartbroken she’d be to hear of Carrot's disappearance! ...It was all for naught, though...
Carefully, you turned around and began walking the way you came, one step, then two...then stopped. Looking out into the moors, the forest beyond, the stretch of trees and forest decay that went on for miles and miles seemed...different, somehow. It went on for miles and miles and...miles and miles and miles. It didn’t seem to have an end.
I know I didn’t walk that far… Now now, Y/n. Can’t see the forest for the trees, hm? It’s no big deal, I just wandered a bit farther than I thought. I’ll start heading back now.
Because Rei was the fun-loving, clueless bubbly-type, you had to be the strong one (not including Wild, Pissed-Off Rei). You were the confident, analytical, and ambitious of the two. You prefered logic and data, and relied almost whole-heartedly on common sense, with few exceptions. And as any rational person of your nature would, you’d made sure to mark the entire way you’d come; so it was no big deal, wandering out a bit farther than you had intended.
...Except...
...The first marker never came. Not after five minutes, not after ten. You walked in the opposite direction for precisely 1,000 steps and counting, and all that greeted you were the same exact scene of bare trees and dead leaves. In the same order. In the same tones and volumes and shapes.
It was going to start getting dark in the next two hours. You stopped, thinking. Running numbers. Fishing for data…...fishing…...fish…...Minhee...heheh…
No, no! Staying on track was crucial at a time like this…!
But you ended up standing there, for another ten, twenty minutes maybe, not sure what to do. There was a strange vibe in the air, you could feel it. The way it wafted through the air and settled on your skin. Rattling your bones. It almost felt like it was bribing you in another direction.
So you did an illogical thing unlike your nature: you kept walking straight ahead, ignoring it for as long as you could. But dammit, the scenery never changed! Not after an hour, not after two…
You were tired at this point, collapsing hopelessly by the same tree you passed a hundred times...and then you got an idea, like a fog lifting from your brain (Why hadn’t you thought of this sooner?!). Grabbing a twig, you made a small notch in the tree. Then you took off running, jogging at a brisk pace. Never making a single right or left turn, not even in the slightest. Headed only one direction, following alongside the setting sun.
That same notch bid you a pleasant hello eight and a half minutes later. To make sure it wasn’t just a coincidence, you walked another eight and a half minutes; same notch, same place, same twig resting lifelessly to the right. Same tree.
It was getting dark now. Soon the sun would be completely gone over the horizon, tucked away for twelve hours of sleep before returning to shine light on a new day. And you had no horse to show for it; more importantly, you were lost. Trapped in some kind of...weird bermuda triangle of decaying forest with no sign of life anywhere.
Great, just great. I hate my luck… wait…
...Ah, yes. Conveniently, just when you’d thought to possibly scream out your frustrations into your work apron, rattling on about how much luck despises you, and how you despise her back, maybe shed a few tears since no one was around, a tower of billowing smoke caught your attention, a sign of life that hadn’t been there before.
. . .
You should have been more cautious. Normally, you would have been. But given recent events…
“Hello…?” You called softly, pushing the door open; though, let’s be honest, the door really seemed to just...open itself. “Is anybody here?”
The house was old and worn. A small cottage just big enough for one, it must have been at some point; now, it was practically all but decayed along with the surrounding forest. Another heap of dead wood and rotted roots among many. A faintly ripe and sickeningly sweet scent wafted about the torn chamber, wrapping around sagging furniture, torn drapes, and a half-caved roof that gave clear sight to the full moon, bulging and cackling in a clouded manner.
It was a stark contrast to the decrepit old woman beckoning you from within.
“Yes, yes… Come in, my child.”
| Three ❧
A few hours earlier, Han Jisung had just been minding his own business, a faceless shadow of a dark hood browsing Westwind goods, humming a fiery tune, all while coming up with a plan for smuggling an innocent human girl into the cursed city of New Amber. He was pleasantly aware of the time; he had exactly ten hours left before he was due back at the palace, girl in tow, in order to keep his handsome blue-haired head and devilishly charming eyes.
He had time. The two cities may have been four hours apart on horseback, a diagonal stretch of twisted forest and steep valleys between them, but being a shadow he could just-- ...zip...and zig...and...zag...right beneath the… … …
...He wouldn’t be returning alone. He was transporting a human girl. That had no magical curse or powers to speak. The only way to return was the old-fashioned way...which meant…
He only had half the time he thought he did. Balls.
Making his way through the afternoon crowds, he followed three winding back alleyways before making sure the coast was clear of wandering eyes, seeping into the broken cobblestone and dashing through history below, long forgotten structures and fossils of stories past: a mineshaft, a tavern sign, a snuffed-out bonfire. At just a block away he set out a brisk pace for where he last placed a tracking mark upon the one known as Rei.
It had been a simple plan; since Y/n was impossible to get near, he merely embedded a small tadpole of his shadowy spirit into the other. Since they traveled together, where one was found, the other wouldn’t be far behind. Find Rei, find Y/n.
But beside that fact, it was starting to itch; being without a part of him for too long caused an empty, nagging feeling to rise and fall through his bones like a waxing, waning tide, going back and forth, back and forth. It got downright maddening after a while, almost like an addiction, to the point where eventually, he couldn’t stand to be without himself any longer. If he wasn’t whole, what was he?
...For a shadow...being whole meant everything.
“I see you’re feeling better,” he greeted her, the girl whose life he very well saved. Rei turned around from her stockpile of cash, where she placed many bags of coins in the Candy For Me! ♫ pile and few in the Dumb Taxes :( pile.
“Oh, hey, I know you!” Her face lit up tenfold; an oddity given the fact she should have been unconscious for ninety-percent of their previous encounter... “You’re the guy that saved me before! I thought you looked familiar!”
She threw a tarp over the stacks of cash she’d been organizing before, as if that was going to...protect it, or something. She rested her chin in palm, elbows propped upon the counter space. Smiled.
“So what brings you by? What can I help you with? Oh,” she smirked, wagging a single brow. “Could I interest you in this love potion?”
A bottle of perfume made its way between them from out of nowhere, dangling like mistletoe. It...Han couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of it.
“You wouldn’t happen to be looking for Y/n by chance, would you~?” Rei asked.
The proposed bottle had the painted label scratched off, where the replaced paint job read Love Potion No.9, along with a price tag of thirty-five coins. Han chuckled, doing his best to play off the awkward gesture. He had to tear his eyes away from it.
“Thank you, but no,” he stated, gently lowering her arm to the table. The sliver of his missing portion swam back into him, through his fingertips and up his arm, and this didn’t seem to go unnoticed by Rei, though he distracted her into shrugging it off. “I actually am looking for Y/n, if you happen to know where she is? I suppose you’re right about that part, actually.”
“Oh? Really?!” Rei’s face lit tenfold...again. She squealed. “Eeeeek, I knew it! Oh, I just love when this happens!”
Her face thrust straight into his, nearly close enough to kiss. It startled him into backing distance.
“What is it?!?” She cried excitedly. “What do you need to see her for?! Oh, please tell me it’s to exchange letters! Or trinkets!” She looked like the shadiest business woman ever in the next second. “Y/n may have said she was organizing paperwork, but I knew what was really going on. Tee-hee!”
“...Ahh…” ...Shoot, what the hell was he supposed to say?! This girl didn’t seem like the type to appreciate being let down... “...There’s something I…” He gulped. “There’s something I wish to show her. Before setting out, that is.”
“Oh…” Her frown encased her disappointment. “I see...well, actually…” She twirled a strand of sleek black hair away from her tan complexion. “Y/n left about an hour ago...no, it has to have been longer than that…” Her frown deepened, looking off into the distance. “She took off as soon as lunch ended, and she hasn’t come back yet. I think she said she was looking for something…? But…”
Now she was looking down vacantly into the counterspace. There was a dull sheen in her eyes.
“...I’m starting to worry. Y/n never just runs off for hours on end like this. It’s not like her at all. ...What if something…”
Han put a stop to that thought: one, because he hated seeing girls cry, and two, because he could tell she was the messy-crier that would get snot and tissues everywhere, including his hair and earring; also there was three: his ass on a silver platter, courtesy of His Angry-Cursed-Forever Highness. If he failed to secure Y/n…
He didn’t wanna think about it. Which is why he swiftly set Rei upright, patting her shoulders and promising that he would go out and look for her. She couldn’t have wandered far, seeing as her whole livelihood was on the line (and in the hands of someone like Rei…whom he didn’t know that well, but still…)
“Can you give me an idea of where she may have gone? Which way did she go?”
“Yeah, sure! She went that way, and, oh yeah, she took our vending license with her! Do you think she could have gone to City Hall, maybe…?”
It was unlikely. City Hall was in the other direction, to the north-east; and according to Rei, Y/n had ventured south. The only thing there was lower-class common folk and the city gates, meaning the only conclusion he could come to was that she needed to verify her legitimacy in order to continue business, or she needed out.
After questioning some guards under a guise of glamour and shade (which was necessary for...private reasons), he was at last directed to a middle-aged man who claimed to have allowed the girl to leave some three to four hours ago. Before they could get an answer out of him as to why he wanted to know, Han vanished into the shadows like a thief in the night, slipping through the straying crowds towards the nearest alleyway, where he plopped down, zipped below, and popped right back up on the other side of the great city wall.
Removing his hood, he looked around, scanning the area for any clues of Y/n’s whereabouts. But, of course, nothing.
Dammit, it was getting late! It was already late!
Han bit his nails, fuming. Pacing. He was going to be in so much trouble if he didn’t…!
...Sigh. Screw it all. He’d just have to look for her. If he found her fast enough, he could come up with some plan to make it back to Everain before sunrise.
He began his search heading South, into the clamour of trees. Past one tree, two, five, twenty. Deeper and deeper he traveled, gradually becoming one with the earth and expanding his search among the elements. Beneath the earth, brushing against roots of trees and flowerbeds, he could “see” everything-- as far as a twelve mile radius.
His shadowed extensions stretched over the land, covering all ground within reach like the hands of a clock, time traveling faster and faster until…!
...He found it. Er, her. His senses zoomed in on a house, caved in from years of age and resentment, crumbling to dust even now outside the confines of Y/n...and……someone else…
...Someone he knew.
Out of breath, he nearly choked in the enclosure of his own realm, eyes wide and heart frozen stiff. It took every last bit of strength to push himself free, for he couldn’t escape fast enough; not when a demonic witch like her was around.
Except...he’d started to run the wrong way. And then he stopped entirely, unable to move.
He hated that decrepit old hag. After everything that happened...the magic, the sorrow, the black fires of hell...he wanted nothing to do with her. He’d sworn that the moment he saw her again, it would be too soon. The witch that had taken his humanity.
It was she who had cast them all to hell in a handbasket, after all.
Standing there beneath the blotted night, gentle caresses of wind cascading and percolating through strands of brown and blue, he looked down to his bare hands, setting focus to the rivets of small scars where rivers of shadow flooded his veins.
A knock at the door. A sneer. A warning glare.
He tightened his grip on the air, so free and billowing carelessly in contrast to him.
A push. A harsh remark. A confident smile.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
Anger… Resentment… Fire…
And…then…
He gasped for air once more. Not now. Now was not the time to think. He needed to act, to push all of this past him. It was the only way to break the curse and save Hyunjin, and in return, himself. The entire palace of Everain— the whole city, perhaps— was counting on him.
...Shadow. The only thing I remember...is black.
Cringing, he threw caution to the wind, where fear was meant to reside with the birds.
- ❧ -
The house was as old and vile as the woman who lived there. Vines snaked and slithered their way around the entire enclosure like a brood of thorned vipers, between cracks in the wall panels and over the steps leading to a gaping front door, just asking to trip its prey into it’s dark clutches. Into her clutches; those wrinkled leathered hands dripping with metaphorical blood and darkness.
Han hated all of it. He’d known about the Witch’s home for a long time, but he refused to ever step foot on her accursed soil (...until now, that is). The problem was, her biome was always changing, shifting and teleporting all over the place. Few unlucky souls who had survived to see it dubbed it Howl’s Moving Castle.
That title entirely ruined the book for him. Not that he particularly enjoyed reading, anyway; but he refused to lift it or so much as look at the book’s spine resting in the lavish, dusty library back home.
“Hey,” he called, marching right in. There wasn’t time for cold feet or second thoughts; if he didn’t have Y/n, there would be no point in going back. Returning without Y/n meant certain death via Hyunjin, but going through the Witch’s Biome meant likely death via whatever disdainful plot the Witch could come up with. At least facing the Witch’s path, he had a slim chance of making it out alive. If he were fast enough.
He’d thought about it on the way over: before, he had no powers to speak of. He’d been a regular, average teenage boy just trying to make it up and through adulthood, figuring out what he wanted to do with his life. But with the Witch’s curse, all that changed; he was essentially one with the darkness; and darkness was everywhere. Especially here.
Assuming Y/n was conscious and able to move, he calculated that with high enough confidence and self-esteem, he should have no problem distracting the foul old hag long enough for his last hope to escape. (And Lord knew he had plenty of that to go around...)
Darkness clouded the entire room, choking out all light save for a few small rays of moonlight. The temperature seemed to be dropping 10 degrees every second. “Hello?” He tried again, checking left, right. “I...I know you’re here. Witch.” He was already beginning to seethe. “Come out. Where is Y/n?”
There was no response. Nothing creaked, no one croaked. Not even the wind outside made a sound.
Then something darted behind him, to the right, and he parried the opposite direction, biting his lower lip. Here it came. The worst part.
A single field mouse made its way into the faint slivers of rooftop moonlight. And there it sat, perched on its hind legs, whiskers twitching and tail dancing rhythmically across the uneven floor.
“How do you like?” came a creaky frail voice from beyond. Her voice was a sour note to his ears.
Han gritted his teeth, tasting blood on the horizon. “I’m not here to rate your latest experiments,” he spat. “That better not be Y/n. Show yourself, now.”
A lingering moment passed before the fleabag chuckled, stepping ancient bones into the small pool of light. “Alright, alright,” she said, in a mockingly chiding tone. “No need to get so angry. That’s what got your friend into so much trouble, after all. And look what it did to you.”
Two minutes in, and she was already hitting a nerve. Nerves that needed to remain untouched were his plan to go smoothly. “Don’t tell me what to do. I don’t take orders from you. You already ruined me. What more could you possibly do?”
A dark foreboding thought brewed up a storm in her eyes, just lingering on the edge of sanity. “Believe me,” she rasped, “I showed you both mercy.”
Han flinched. He couldn’t help it. He wanted to explode, yet cower in terror, all at once. He was livid, yet terrified-- anxious-- and a little sick to his stomach. “Give me Y/n. Right now. I didn’t come here to chat.”
The old woman smiled. “I can’t,” she simply stated, not moving an inch.
“Why not?!”
“Because you’re standing on her.”
Horrified, Han shot his gaze downward. Corsarn, he didn’t think he’d been standing on anything but the…!
But there was nothing but paled wooden planks. The Witch laughed. “Ahahah, not physically on her, dear. Though this house is so old, you may as well be...I’m surprised the floors haven’t caved in to match the roof.”
After holding her gaze a moment too long, he took a step back, flitting his eyes between Witch and supposedly underground wardrobe. “Open the door. Slowly.”
“Oh, so now I’m supposed to be taking your orders?” She scoffed, sighing at the end. “My, how times have changed…”
“Just do it!” he ordered.
The Witch gave a stern, slight scowl. “Oh, fine. I’m out of enough magic to put another curse on you anyway,” she muttered. Tapping her ancient walking stick once, twice upon the rotting floors, something clicked below, and the square space where Han had been standing swung open. “Just so you know,” she added, “I took the liberty of having a little fun, as you probably already guessed. She’ll be out for a few hours, but I don’t foresee death in her future; at least, not in the near one,” she chuckled.
“You--!” ...Rrgh. He still had to bite his tongue. His lip was already going to be busted and sore tomorrow.
Trotting down steadily with caution, before the gaze of a putrid old smile he descended the hidden staircase, never once letting his guard down. The girl he sought was safely snoozing in one piece, lying like a waking dream...other than being unconscious.
He gathered her up, using shadow to cross the room, just in case a trap was lying dormant on the way over, and with Y/n in his arms, he almost thought about attempting to drag her into the Shadowworld with him, just so he didn’t have to face the old has-been again and make a clean getaway.
But it was too risky. And likely, it wouldn’t work; so carefully, he placed one nimble foot in front of the other, across the blank room, up the stairs, and into the familiar darkness from moments before. The Witch was still waiting for him, still as a statue in the exact location she had been. She followed him all the way to the door, tittering at his suspicion of the whole thing.
She then watched as they made it off the porch. “Here,” she announced, sensing his urgency; for he’d just been about to make a run for it before she called him.
Nervously, he turned around halfway, holding Y/n tighter.
The bat continued her chuckling. She scooped down surprisingly swift, tossing something gray and furry into the air. It landed haphazardly onto his arm, clinging for dear life to his sleeve with a faint squeak! before scampering up to his shoulder. “Take him,” she said, making a shooing motion with her hand. “I have no need for the pitiful thing. He can keep you company on your way back.”
Company? Oh, no no no. He didn’t think so. He wasn’t stupid; Han knew of her tricks. The rat was probably a spy, or some kind of ticking time bomb. Forcefully, he shifted his grip on the girl, snatching the creature from its place--
...Except, he meant to throw it back. He did. He would have tossed the wretched thing to the ground and stomped on its brains without a second thought.
But it’d cried. Shrieked. Wailed. He knew the sound of terror when it howled.
Glancing up, he saw that it was crying. Actually crying.
Something was off. It had to be human...or at least, have some sort of intelligent wit.
Loosening his grip, he allowed the creature to squirm and wiggle its way free, scampering up his arm and tucking itself fearfully in the pouch of his hood with a nosedive. Sensations of trembling fell against his upper backside.
“Take care on your way home; you may need it.”
A twisted smile. Tch.
Glowering amongst the laughter, he left the darkness behind him.
| Four ❧
“How may I assist you, dear?” The old woman asked.
Your eyes scanned the area, dilating and adjusting to the faint light. “I’m sorry,” you began, giving a small, polite bow. “I didn’t know anyone was home.”
“Oh, now, that’s alright~” The woman insisted, beckoning you farther in. “Come, come, sit! Make yourself a home. I’m the one who invited you in, yes?”
“...” Carefully you nodded, moving with caution to take a seat at the dusty worn table.
“Now,” she said, popping joints as she settled across from you. “What can I do for you today?”
“...Do for me?”
She chuckled. “Yes, yes…” Her eyes were impenetrable, boring into yours. You had trouble looking away. “No one comes here without a purpose. There are no happy accidents.”
“......” Again, you found yourself hesitating, having trouble forming the right words. Words were becoming a limited resource all of a sudden.
“Well~?” the woman pressed.
“...” You swallowed dryly. Something just wasn’t right; but who were you to lie to an old woman? In her own home, nonetheless. “I’m looking for someone...my horse, actually.”
“Hmm, I see…”
“She wandered off...well, no, that’s not true.” You sighed. “I left her by accident. I abandoned her without meaning to, out front of Westwind city. We’d woken up late, my friend and I, and in our hurry and a near-death experience thanks to someone, I ended up forgetting all about her. When I went back to fetch her and bring her home, she was gone.”
“Oh, my…” The old woman was still smiling. “That sounds like some adventure the two of you had! Though, tell me…” She tilted her head. “Who is this “someone” that got in your way?”
“Hm? Oh,” You sighed, again. “Some strange boy that just showed up out of nowhere and offered to help me move the cart downhill. He’s no one special.”
The woman chuckled. “Well, he must be to have stepped up and offered you assistance in this day and age,” she replied. “What was his name?”
There was an intensity you didn’t like. As if she were interrogating you for answers.
Dryly, again, you swallowed.
“Han-something, I think. Han...Jisung.”
That’s when it had been over. But you hadn’t known that; not yet.
“Han Jisung…” The woman repeated. She was clearly searching the archives.
Then she found what she was looking for, and curving crooked fingers skyward, she beckoned your hands to be placed atop of her on the table.
“Give me your hands, dear. I know just what it is that you need.”
If only you hadn’t listened to her…
- ❧ -
You were no fool. You saw what the witch had done to you, just before falling unconscious.
Stirring now, you curled into the weight of something dark and soft, something sheltering and warm against the cold night air. Whatever it was held you tighter, the world slowing down.
“Y/n? Are you alright? Can you hear me?”
Ow. Yes.
One of the side-effects must have been a splitting headache…
“Yes...I can hear--”
Rrpt! Hold on a second. You knew that voice…!
In all haste you shot upright, only to collide foreheads with Han Jisung, the both of you growling in pain. Your headache just got ten times worse.
“Ow…! Sh*t, of all times and places…” After counting one, two Mississippis for the pounding to decrease, you sent him a glare, blurry vision mixed with clouded judgement. “What are you doing? What’s going on, where are you taking me?!”
The foolish boy snorted, ignoring you to continue walking. As your eyes cleared of drowsiness, you could see the two of you were alone, out in the middle of the forest. “A simple thank you wouldn’t hurt, y’know. I did just finish saving your life a few hours ago.”
“You…?” Hesitantly, you looked around again, pressing a hand to your forehead in feeble attempt to decrease anymore throbbing heartbeats. “...Where are we? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Put me down this instant.”
“You sure do ask a lot of questions for someone who was just cursed and knocked out.”
“I said, put me--! …”
You paused. The whole world seemed to.
Carefully, slowly, you turned your face back towards the sunlight. “...Wh...What did you say?”
Han snorted. Again. “You heard me. You waltzed right into the Witch’s Biome like an idiot, and now you’re one of us. I don’t know what I’m going to tell Hyunjin…”
...You’d stop listening towards the end. Everything just naturally tuned out, your eyes falling aimlessly to stare vacant holes into the dimensional rift of the traveling space around you.
“In case you’re wondering,” Han’s voice cut through, calling for your attention once more. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m taking you to my friend; well, he’s really more of my...uhm…”
You waited vacantly for an answer.
“...Uhhh…”
You didn’t have time for this. Not that anything mattered or made sense anymore. Still, you weren’t going to idly sit here and listen to Tweedle Dee make dumb noises the rest of the night. “He’s what?” you pressed, aggravation clearly showing. “Is he your master or something?”
Han Jisung nearly dropped your hungover cursed arse. Which told you you were right, even if he kept insisting you were wrong. It was pretty funny to see him fuming and hot under the collar the rest of the walk.
Speaking of walking, you had fidgeted and demanded to walk by yourself, but after nine nos and a tenth yes, you found you had absolutely no strength in your wobbly, jelly-like legs. Resulting in Han carrying you like an unfortunate groom once more.
Yes, you’d argued for him to take you back. But no, he refused.
Which meant he had to be that kidnapper the city guard mentioned after all.
This lead you to be afraid, and rightly so; what if Han killed you?! What if he actually was dangerous, and he had been lying to you from the start. Nothing he’d been saying up until this point made sense anyway; and just look at the way he was dressed. Only crazy people wore such strange, unusual attire, so futuristic and bizzare-looking.
And, you noticed, the closer you got to...wherever he was taking you...the more and more his appearance changed.
It was gradual, slow at first; just a random strand of hair, a speck of color in his eye that hadn’t been there before. Then, out of nowhere, it was like time sped up around him, and his eyes became a solid, bright blue, his hair a darker contrast, and that lone earring he wore shimmered with a paradoxical bright darkness, like shadows giving birth to light.
It was...insanity. Yet, regrettably, you had to admit he’d grown incredibly attractive.
Han didn’t speak much the second half of your trip, and neither did you. You were too busy trying to process what was happening, and he was lost in his own world, eyes never leaving the road ahead except to occasionally check on you. It was a nonverbal communication: Are you still doing okay? / Yes, I’m fine. Quit staring at me. / Yeah, okay, you’re welcome.
About two hours later, the two of you arrived at the gates of an old, rustic castle, and a city that looked all but lost.
| Five ❧
Your headache had at last subsided by the time you arrived at Everain Palace. ...Or at least, that’s what the sign said it was called. You were barely able to read it through the layers of rust and vines, however. “This is the place?”
“Yep,” your entourage announced, setting you down beside him. “It’s been a few hours now, so you should have the strength to walk again, at least to your room. But I’m sure I can get some lackey somewhere to carry you the rest of the way if you can’t manage.”
“Hold on...what?”
“What?”
He finished setting you down, and you wobbled your way back a few steps, leaning against the gate’s archway for support. “I’m not staying here. I can’t. I have to get back to Rei and find Carrots, my stupid horse. Then, I’m renaming her Dumdum and we’re sweeping all of this under the rug.”
Instead of laughing, or perhaps getting a little angry even, Han Jisung stared at you with the most pitiful glance anyone had ever given another human soul. It was dreadful, but soft, somewhat loving, and oozing with regret.
And then he said those abysmal words you were scared of hearing all along.
“I’m sorry, Y/n. But I’m afraid you won’t be traveling anywhere anytime soon.”
You stared at him dumbfounded. This was it, you thought. The truth revealed. He really was a kidnapper; and now, you were his next victim. The whole charmingly dopey and idiotic act had been just that: an act. And you’d fallen for it.
So you did the next thing you could think of, seeing as fighting and running away were out of the question in your weak and disoriented state.
“KIDNAPPER!!!” You screamed. “THIEF! HUMAN TRAFFICKING!! HELP!!!”
But soon you remembered your surroundings, where you were at this time: a rundown city that appeared to have been abandoned for years, closed off in an eternal slumber. Everything was covered in vines and dust, and hardly anything made a sound.
You were doomed.
Han rushed over quick to keep your mouth shut while sweating at the seams, but a chomp to his hand did him right good, and while he was bouncing around and airing out his hand like a blubbering buffoon you tried making a run for it. Keyword: tried.
In the end, you only made it as far as the circle of trees isolating this town before something pierced the back of your neck, and you were a prisoner of sleep all over again.
- ❧ -
You aren’t quite sure; perhaps you slept for eight, nine hours. All you knew is that when you awoke, there was sunshine pouring through the curtain-laced window like the brightest waterfall.
A...curtain-laced window...and silk sheets… … …
You hopped to it the next second that thought circled your mind.
No. Oh, no…
...This certainly wasn’t your room. Your room was with the stars, the ocean, the grassy plains and trees, Rei at your side. This was an actual room, complete with a bed, canopy, dresser and wardrobe, a nightstand, and an additional table with matching chairs, four to be exact; two large windows, standing side by side at opposite ends of the room to your left. One beside the table, one near the door.
There was a note left for you on the nightstand (to your left) as well.
Y/n -
I’m sorry I had to knock you out like that. But you’re one of us now, and I can’t afford to let you leave. It’s important. Lives are at stake. You have to trust me, please.
There’s someone I’d like for you to meet. More like I need you to. I’ll explain more later, when you’re awake. If you read this and you still don’t feel well, feel free to take another couple of hours to yourself, to get your bearings; but don’t sleep for too long. I’ll wake you when we’re more pressed for time.
Again, I’m really sorry about all this. I hope you can find it in you to forgive me, but I get it if you need more time. Just promise not to take it out on Hyunjin, if you happen to run into him first.
Signed, Han, your kidnapper
There was an additional piece of paper that fell from behind the original.
P.S. - That was just a joke. Don’t freak out. I’m not a bad guy, really. At least, not as bad as you probably think I am.
…
You didn’t know what to think of anything anymore. This was all just too much. What on earth had happened to you? How did you get roped into all of this? ...You’d just wanted to find Carrots, and bring her home so Rei wouldn’t be sad and you wouldn’t feel guilty and the two of you could save the trouble of having to buy a new horse, train him, yadda yadda yadda. Instead you stupidly and ill-fatedly stumbled upon the home of an actual witch, walked right in, and told her things you probably shouldn’t have. You didn’t like the way she’d looked at you when you mentioned knowing Han Jisung.
The Mark of the Rose, the witch had slurred, eyes wide with a sinister grin. A blessing, and a curse.
Then she’d spouted some sort of riddle:
When sunrise comes and all is lost,
Look upon the oldtown cross
There you’ll find just what you seek
This aging woman’s prophecy
But if yet still you manage to bend
And find and seek what storm’s may rend
May fortunes smile and bring you light
For the many remaining days of your life
...She hadn’t told you what the heck any of that was supposed to mean. For one, how could plaguing you with a mark from some wicked sorcery be a blessing?! And, what’s more...how was it a curse…? ...Her strange chanting hadn’t made any sense, though that last part had sounded nice...maybe that was the blessing?
Something made a skittering, scuffling sound. Turning to your left, something small and fuzzy caught your eye, climbing up a chair leg and coming to rest on the cushion above. It was...holding a crumb of cheese. Sitting there like a person, flat on his bum.
It was some kind of rodent.
You bristled all over, hair standing on end. “A RAT!!!” You shrieked, leaping from bed to dresser. Thankfully it had been bare atop the surface, minus the unlit candle and some kind of ornate mirror, which was an unfortunate accident. Seven years of bad luck was just what you needed, on top of everything.
The moment you let out a cry of alarm, the mouse similarly screamed-- possibly louder than you-- spasming out of the chair and running in circles with sweat flying from its brow until it ran into another chair leg and clocked out, rolling into the path of sunlight.
You’d been about to grab that discarded candle as a weapon until the room became incredibly bright. Clouds parted from outside, sunlight magnifying to flood the whole room.
And then, when the sunlight narrowed to pierce the unconscious vermin straight through its heart, he became a boy.
Hair the color of sunset and cheeks flushed rosy pink, full of freckles scrunched his nose, squinted, and wearily stared back at you, upside down. Prayerfully, by some miracle, he was still wearing clothes.
That didn’t change the fact that you had no idea what to make of this sudden development. You stood there, hunched frozen atop the dresser, candle half off the floor and jaw nearly there.
“Hn-- nnnngh…” he groaned, sitting up with a hand to his head, much like you had leaving the Witch’s Biome-- that’s what Han had called it, right? “...Ouch...that’s the last time I go exploring on my own…” He glanced at you over his shoulder, giving a kind, tired smile. “Thanks for turning me back! I’m sorry I scared you, Y/n.”
Your candlestick went flying across the room.
“OW!!!”
“WHO ARE YOU?! HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!” you yelled. An accusatory finger followed. “This isn’t funny, and I’ve been through enough now! I’m sick of playing games, give me an answer right now or I’m throwing this broken mirror next!”
The door burst open. “What’s going on in--?! …”
Han Jisung was staring at Mouseboy curiously at first, widen eyes unblinking, you on the dresser second, a careful blink there...but the moment his eyes landed on the cracked mirror, he fell to his knees, hands in his hair.
“OH SH*T!” He shrieked, panicstricken all over. His voice was more pitched than (should be) possible. “What the hell did you do?! Who did this?!?”
Innocently, Mouseboy pointed to you, as if he had any right to be part of the blame game. “It was an accident, though,” he vouched (like that was supposed to make it better!). “I did the same thing when I woke up and saw myself an hour ago; you should have seen it, I broke five of those things! Talk about unlucky!”
He laughed. Han screeched, looking like The Scream. “YOU DID WHAT?!?!”
There was going to be a river running through the room by the time he finished sweating, pacing all over the place while nearly showering the floor and furniture with strands of blue hair. Mouseboy scratched his speckled-cheek, shifting to rest on the calves of his brown-clad work pants (He’d obviously been some kind of farm or errand boy before all this). “S-Sorry about that...it was an accident, really…” He bowed his head. “I-I can maybe get my boss to cover any property damage, but man, I’ll be working forever to pay it off…”
He sighed. You almost (almost) felt bad for him. But it was gonna take a lot more than just looking cute and pitiful to sway your emotions.
When at last he’d finished his...episode...Han stood from where he’d kneeled in prayer on the pinewood floor, swiping a hand over his face, shaking it off, and placing determined hands on his hips. “Okay,” he declared. “It’s alright. I’ll just have to convince Jeongin to pull an all-nighter and fix everything. Good thing he knows a thing or two about craftsmanship!”
Jeongin? …
You faltered, repeating the name curiously as you hopped off the dresser, now that the vermin crisis was over. Thankfully, your absent-mindedness didn’t cost you any cuts or bruises, seeing as there very well could have been shards of broken glass on the floor…
Han smiled your way, nodding. “Yeah, that’s right. We have a lot of introductions to get out of the way, so if you’re ready...well, you might want to get dressed first.”
Even more curiously, you looked down to examine yourself.
An eggshell, lace nightgown greeted your eyes.
… … …
Who changed you...?!?!
| Six ❧
“Right, so,” said Han, pointing to each stranger in a misfit-lineup. “This is Seungmin, Jeongin, and...Felix, right? ...Yeah, okay, Felix.” He smiled, gesturing to you next. “Family, this is Y/n.”
Everyone either waved or bid you their own form of greeting, some shy, others more open. Now dressed in a sea-green gown with white-lace trim and possibly the most gaudy over exaggerated bow in the back (smaller, matching ones on your shoes and hair), you did your best to curtsey, though it was awkward and embellished to say the least, and really you’d just used it as an excuse to hike up your quarter-calf socks that refused to stay put. “Yeah, alright...nice to--”
“And this...is Hyunjin.”
The air got a little colder all of a sudden; both metaphorically and otherwise. You glanced up from rebuckling the annoying Mary Jane’s on your feet. Froze.
A tall, slender man stepped forward from where he’d been leaning against the wall beneath the cloak of shadow in the hallway. Now, stepping forward in the light of a grand, deserted chapel, his dark hair combed back by rough fingers pressed for time, he was…he was…
He was staring at you as if you’d hung the moon in the sky. His eyes were so round and...big. Practically moons themselves.
“......” Han cleared his throat, voicing everyone else’s discomfort. “Yes, well...okay, then. This is great! See?!” He motioned to you as if you were some kind of showcase prize. “I brought her back, just like you asked! Now there’s no need to do anything rash or bloodthirsty! Hahah…hah…! …”
Everyone was strangely silent. Looking at each face in turn, though many were staring at you, none could look you in the eye; and no one dared to so much as peek in this Hyunjin fellow’s direction. In fact, the red-headed boy, Jeongin, seemed...almost...rather afraid.
“Hang on,” you interjected (though there was nothing but silence for sometime now). The gears in your mind cranked back to the letter folded messily on the nightstand: Lives are at stake. I need you to meet someone. “So you’re saying you brought me here because...your friend wanted me here?” You huffed. “I don’t understand. You said that lives were at stake. Who’s dying?”
Quiet. A somber aura fell over the small gathering; maybe that had been a little brash of you to ask outright…
But you needed answers! Why were you here? What was going on? “...Han,” you said, and instantly the boy looked up at you. “Why did you bring me here? What’s going on? …” You scanned the other four faces of boys around you. “What did you mean when you said...I was…” You shook your head. Doubts were flooding in like a dam had just snapped. “This better not be a set up.”
...More quiet. Han cleared his throat once more, stepping back in line. He had no answers to give; his features only hardened. The other three boys in line were looking anywhere else-- the floor, the walls, the ceiling. Oh, look at that beautiful glass window up there. And look at that one!
Hyunjin just kept on staring at you as if staring right through you; like he couldn’t comprehend your existence. He was completely locked in a trance.
After you’d carefully righted yourself, and had just begun turning away to get the heck out of Dodge, it was Seungmin that spoke next. “You’ll have to forgive him,” he called, scratching his head. You turned around. “It’s been a while since any of us have seen another human being before, nonetheless one that isn’t cursed--”
Han flinched, just out of the corner of your eye. Twitch. “...Oh, you mean…”
Your eyes locked with Hyunjin’s, still stuck in outer space. Seungmin nodded. “Yeah...and as for him--” He flicked his eyes on Han. “He’s just stupid.”
“Hey!” The man protested. Seungmin simply rolled his eyes.
“Well it’s true! I bet you failed to explain anything that’s going on to this poor girl. Just look at what you made her wear!” He gestured rather violently to your ridiculously (somewhat childish) outfit. “She looks like she stepped out of a dollhouse. The cheap, tacky kind they used to sell down the street at Aunt Marie’s.”
“Um, actually…” You scowled. “I dressed myself. There wasn’t much to go off of in the closet other than old-era gowns and...well, that was basically it. Speaking of which, though…”
You stomped forward. Everyone (minus Trancy) jumped.
“Which one of you changed me before?! I don’t recall wearing or even owning some fancy nightgown before getting the lights shot out of me.”
Seungmin’s jaw slacked. “You drugged her too?!”
“Only because she was trying to escape!” Han griped. “I didn’t want to have to shoot her! Besides, it wasn’t like I used anything heavy…”
“Still,” Red-headed Jeongin said, siding with his buddy. “What would Hyunjin say if he weren’t lost in his thoughts again? And did you even consider Y/n?”
Han scoffed. “I brought her back, didn’t I? I’m pretty sure that’s all that matters.”
“Regardless,” Seungmin spoke, “You still basically brought her here against her will. That’s kidnapping. I’m pretty sure the curse isn’t going to--”
“Hello?!” you yelled, waving your arms. “I asked you all which one of you changed--! …”
Your eyes landed on Felix. The boy blinked, innocently processing, then bloomed another shade of rosy pink. “O-Oh, no…!” He waved his hands. “It wasn’t me, honest! I’ve been stuck as a mouse since last Tuesday! A-Also, you were already...I-I mean, I suppose if it wasn’t you, someone else had already…”
His voice trailed off; too modest, and he had a solid alibi. It couldn’t be him. In the background, Han and Seungmin were still arguing, with Jeongin occasionally chiming in to support Seungmin’s case.
“Let me guess,” Seungmin mused, arms crossed. “You probably stole them from Lady Verena down the road.”
Han made an urk! sound. Seungmin sighed.
“I knew it...no wonder she’s dressed so gaudy…” He and Jeongin turned to you with kind eyes. “Listen, Y/n. We’re really sorry about all this. If you need anything, from now on come to me or Jeongin. We’ll be sure to take care of you. Heck,” he grumbled, “even the new guy Felix could have done a better job…”
Felix smiled awkwardly. You and Han both fumed; for different reasons. “That’s not what I--!”
A low growl cut through the lowly-chaotic atmosphere. Everyone ceased their bickering.
The assumed head of the palace had awoken.
- ❧ -
He walked circles around you. Circles and circles and circles…
You were starting to get more than a little dizzy.
“Fascinating…” Hyunjin mused. It was as if he were the only one in the room, and you were merely a lifeless figurine on display. While he spun himself into further insanity and far too strong curiosity, Seungmin and Jeongin both sent you sympathetic looks to “hang in there” and “just go with it.”
But you didn’t want to go with it. You wanted to go out-- away-- back home to the caravan, to the wagon that had Rei and Carrots and all your useless junk people gave life to, and you a profit. “I’m sorry,” your voice cut the mostly vacant air, save for the headmaster’s mumbling and strangely heavy breathing. “Am I missing something here? If you like or...don’t like my outfit, just tell me and I can either say “thank you” or change and we can all move on to more important topics, like, say...why I’m here? What’s going on?!”
Hyunjin froze a quarter of the way to facing you from the left, his brown eyes strangely wide (though really, everything about this man was strange). In the back, Seungmin and Jeongin once again made faces attuning to the atmosphere; in this case, nervous frowning.
They were all treating Hyunjin like some sort of ticking time bomb. Han obviously feared and weirdly resented him, it was plain and simple on his face, and even Felix was picking up something about this guy that you couldn’t sense. When he wasn’t distracted by colorful art or the dirt under his nails, he was sending highly strung vibes his way.
...In all honesty, you weren’t sure why you didn’t just walk out. Nothing was stopping you...really. There was a clear path from here to the great big hallway Han had escorted you down, Felix in tow, and from there a million other doors, all leading to someplace that had to be better than here. One of them-- at least five, or ten-- had to lead to some winding hallway that would take you to the great outdoors.
Just when you’d thought to inquire further on that, Hyunjin finally began speaking, and not mumbling. “You appear to be real…but…”
He closed the (little) distance he’d given you in a single stride, and without warning placed both his hands on your shoulders...very...tentatively. Then, he trailed his fingers up to your cheeks.
You latched onto his wrists, on instinct. A synchronized gasping chorus filled the room like a daytime tragedy soundtrack.
But Hyunjin did nothing, if not for widening his eyes yet again to stare into the depth of your face like he was amazed at your reaction. Like it wasn’t normal or something.
“Hyunjin,” spoke Seungmin, “perhaps it would do you well to give the girl-- Miss Y/n-- her space. She is a human, just like the...er...ahem.”
...That was a sour note.
“Actually…”
All eyes were on Han except yours. Even Hyunjin snapped out of his trance to glare skeptically with concern, with Seungmin having to carefully pull him away so you could stop smelling his pungent breath.
“...Ahaha...ahahahahaha…” ...Han wilted. “I sorta...maybe...well, okay, I didn’t do it, but--”
“What did you do?” Hyunjin spoke. All eyes flew to him, then back at Han in anticipation. Like some sort of thriller novel. The daytime tragedy continued. Maybe you were in a tragic play of some sort, and there was a hidden audience just waiting to jump out and announce that you’d officially been pranked.
“………” He took a breath. “TheWitchcursedhertoo…!”
And then he covered his mouth, wincing moments too soon.
The decaying chapel gasped. Hyunjin’s face turned hard, then slowly, bewitchingly, menacing.
“She did what?!”
Jeongin’s eyes went wide. “Y-You’ve been cursed too?” he asked, mournfully, almost with pity. Everyone appeared to display a sadness teetering on the edge between fear and hopelessness.
It was insane how quickly the airspace had shifted; though nothing normal had happened yet, everything had at least been more or less steady. Now, it was as if the room had been thrown off its hinges at the mention of the woman...the Witch. Which you were hoping had been a dream, but seeing as Felix was here, and Han bringing it up...definitely not.
Han whimpered; actually whimpered, like a child being scolded for breaking a vase. “I-It was an accident, honest!” He begged. “She didn’t know she was headed into the Witch’s Biome, and I lost track of her! BY ACCIDENT! When I found her, I swear I did everything I could to protect her, honest! Th-That’s where I met Felix, though I didn’t know he was really human at the time...and I brought them both back here.”
Seungmin made a curious face of urgency, almost seeming to sweat as he crossed diagonally forward to move you back, even going so far as to stand in front of you as a shield while Jeongin took care of Felix, tugging the mouse-turned-boy’s twine-sewn sleeve to take shelter behind some discarded pews.
What happened next wasn’t a dream, but surely a thing of nightmares. Right in league with the Witch’s hideout.
There was a swirling mass of black and deep red as something foreign and sinister took hold of the feared so-called Master of the House. Hyunjin began to grow bigger. Sharp, pointed fangs protruded from tight chapped lips pulled back in a snarl. His eyes told of hunger, bloodshot. Pitched daggers made of shadow and bone formed and crystalized along his fingertips.
You lost your voice. You could barely breathe. You weren’t even sure how you were able to stand.
“Hyunjin,” Seungmin warned, a sternness to his voice. “Think about what you’re doing. Y/n is here.”
Hyunjin growled, no longer a man anymore but some sort of...foul, hideous beast. He bore murderous eyes at Han. “I don’t care,” he growled, “I’m going to—!”
“You’re scaring her.”
… … …
That seemed to get his attention. Though the same couldn’t be said about yours; for though you stood still, frozen in time and space, your wandering mind was making a break for recalling the nearest exit. An empty, dizzying numbness choked your thoughts.
Hyunjin...if he could even be called that anymore...glared at you with wide, mournful eyes. Eyes full of fear and insecurity. Doubt. A horrible realization.
In the blink of an eye-- for you literally just had to blink-- he was back to normal. He stood apprehensively still, the rage and miasma gone, staring a hole into your Mary Janes. Perhaps staring at the reflection back at him.
Though he stood impossibly still, his voice gave him away in slight, wavering cracks. “...Forget what you just saw. It was merely an illusion. A trick of the light.”
“Uuuuh,” Felix interrupted. “P-Pretty sure that wasn’t-- mmph!”
Jeongin gave him a silencing, terrified eye. “Shhh!”
“......” With a passive grunt, Hyunjin continued. This time his eyes were directly on you; a wave of nervous energy pooled over your skin. “Dinner is at six p.m. sharp.” he said. “You will be there. ...We will have an encore of introductions, no...an entire reestablishment.” He turned his head viciously over his shoulder. The boy his eyes landed on squeaked.
“Han,” he uttered. The said boy bit his lip.
“Y-Yes…?”
Hyunjin deadpanned, in the most unamused, lifeless way. “Come.”
“Ahahahah, a-actually-- whAAA!”
A vase at the far end of the room shattered. Literally exploded, a few shards lodging themselves into innocently bystanding portraits and landscapes. When your attention strayed back, you could see Hyunjin had thrown something.
Han quickly bowed, visibly starting to sweat all over again. After a tense moment he stood, saying in the softest voice, barely a whisper, his agreement.
Then, wringing the rings on his fingers, he nervously followed him out.
| Seven ❧
Dinner was set to be at six p.m. Attendance was apparently a requirement, given the formal invite Felix slipped beneath your door, turned back to a mouse once more (something about moonlight turning him into a...weremouse? ...The rules of his curse were rather complicated).
However, that didn’t mean that you had to be there.
“...And so that’s how I became a real boy again!” The mouse cheered, setting off a small party steamer Jeongin had granted him to lift his spirits. His tiny rodent eyes crinkled in delight as he beamed up at you from the dining table of your guest room, where the two of you were currently seated. You twitched your nose in timing with his, having stared at him and his life-story-since-last-Tuesday for far too long.
You shifted your weight to the other cheek. “So, really, all you had to do was make contact with sunlight. But you were too scared and kept to the shadows all this time.”
“Precisely! At least, I think that’s how it works!” He plopped down, digging some...cheese crumbs out of his coat. “That, and the old hasbeen wouldn’t let me leave every time I tried. Do you know when the last time I saw the sun was?! Go on, guess!”
“...Last Tuesday?”
He looked at you with wide-eyes, paws shoved up his piehole. He took a few minutes to chew and swallow. “...Oh, you’re good. No wonder you’re the chosen one to break everyone’s curse!”
You huffed, snorted really, leaning back to cross your arms in thought. A movie reel spun its way around your brain, projecting the late afternoon’s events on a white screen:
…Hyunjin’s retreating figure left some sort of impression in your mind, and Han seemed to vanish like ink washed off of a page. The moment they’d both gone, your knees buckled beneath you, hands hitting the cold pavement. Seungmin was down to your level in an instant, with Jeongin and Felix scurrying around pews, bits of rubble and broken glass.
“Y/n, are you alright? …” Seungmin asked, reaching out to you. He paused briefly to think. “...I’m going to check your pulse,” he announced.
As his fingers found their way around your wrist, Jeongin flanked to your other side with a first aid kit he’d salvaged from who-knew-where. Felix kept his distance, wringing his cap the way Han had wrung the rings on his fingers, but one look at his face told you he was just as concerned for your health as the others…he simply didn’t know what to do.
“Here, put this on her!”
“I’m alright,” you mumbled, pushing away an ice pack with sloth. Jeongin gave you a distasteful glare of sorts.
“But you nearly fainted--!”
“I’m fine...really.”
“......”
Everyone laid off after that.
Which you took as your cue to exit. In your retreating haste, albeit, you failed to see the sorrowful eyes that followed your fleeting back; but you could feel them, and it wouldn’t be long until they found a voice to stand upon.
“Come on, Felix,” you said. “I’ll see what I can do to get you home. I don’t know where you originally came from, but if it’s anywhere near Westwind, my friend and I can give you a lift.” ...It was the least you could do, after all. Felix hadn’t done anything wrong; he wasn’t the one that kidnapped you, or put a “curse” on you, which you weren’t even sure was real, by the way. Sure, some crazy stuff happened, but you didn’t feel any different. What if Han and the Witch and that Hyunjin guy were really all in kahoots, and this was just some kind of crazy...outrageous propaganda stunt?
Jeongin continued to stare, now in an incredulous manner. “Y/n…”
“Let her go,” Seungmin insisted, lowering Jeongin’s hand. The boy grasped the air weakly, the pulsing of his fingers mocking his faintly beating heart, breaths shallow and longing, feebly succumbing to trembles. It would have been painful to watch, had you known him better.
Felix, keeping a low profile as best he could in such tense situation, removed the beret he’d just finished placing back on his head, squeezing it before him. “...A-Alright,” he agreed after a moment. He paced over gradually at first, then broke into a nervous, jagged jog as he scuttled to your side. “Thanks…”
You smiled to hide the fear and insanity of what you’d just witnessed before. A man turning into a beast— a boy becoming like a shadow— everything that had happened up until now; it was just a dream, Y/n. A bad propaganda stunt. “Don’t mention it.” You turned over your shoulder. “...It was nice meeting you.”
Seungmin smiled, bitterly so, as Jeongin closed in on himself. “Same to you. Please, take care. I apologize for any trouble we caused you.”
With a nod, your footsteps echoed into the once-lavish corridor, Felix trailing nervously behind you. But then…
Those sorrowful eyes found their voice. “Wait, Y/n! Please, don’t go yet!” Someone was running after you. “Please stay, just for dinner at least! Please!!!”
...Your footsteps faded. Waiting.
“Please, Y/n…” Jeongin paused some ten feet away, falling to his knees to beg. “Cursed or not, only you can break the spell. I know how this must look to an outsider like yourself, but what Han said to you before in his letter...I’m sorry but I pried before he left it. He’s right. You’re one of us now. But you’re also you. And only you can save him. We…” His voice trailed off, eyes following, focusing on something in his hands...a locket of some sort? “...We gave up on ourselves a long time ago. But as weird and annoying and frustrating as he is, we made a promise to never, ever give up on Hyunjin. Like it or not he’s our boss, and our dearest friend. He’s been good to us for so many years...after all he’s done, we at least need to save him!” His eyes searched for yours, gripping his hands tightly, pleading, crying out with anguish and hope. “It might be too late, but we have to try! We can’t do anything like this...only you can save him. Please, Y/n…”
You’d been paying attention this whole time, but it was just now that you were starting to see: something dark and lively wrapping its way around Jeongin’s neck, then his right cheek. It was like a tattoo, only...alive. And moving. Black vines with thorns and heart-shaped leaves mapped their way across half the boy’s face, finally tangling into his bright, unnaturally red hair that sploched into ebony black, the color of Rei’s hair, only darker maybe, and then…
He began to fade. “...Please help him. He’s not as bad as he seems, honest! Please say you’ll stay and save him!”
...After that, Seungmin ran over and gave Jeongin some kind of shot that turned him back to normal and stopped him from disappearing, but…
What were you supposed to do when he started crying like that?! You weren’t expecting the waterworks…
Because you were both nice people, you and Felix hurried back to help, too, though all the two of you could really do was run circles around each other and agree to stay for just a bit longer. Just until dinner, you’d repeated. So we have the strength to travel.
...You would go to dinner. Really, the plan had been to just send Felix down. That wouldn’t do, though, now that you thought about it... Well, then, you certainly weren’t staying; you’d simply pop in to make sure that Jeongin kid was still alive, grab a roll or two, and then you’d be off to the nearest motel or campsite, because you certainly weren’t spending a night here. Come morning, you and hopefully Felix could hurry back to Westwind and after you took the boy home, or someplace close, you could get back to a normal life traveling and selling wares and running away from fate and customs.
“I’m pretty sure it’s just Hyunjin I’m supposed to fix,” you mumbled, getting back to the small conversation. You never thought in a hundred years you’d be sitting down in some old castle out in the middle of nowhere, talking to a rat (that was really a person, but still). Your eyes scanned the window beside you, out into the foggy gray beyond where nothing but trees and old abandoned buildings greeted you, lifeless along the horizon.
Mouse Felix was still stuffing his face with crumbs of cheddar and swiss. He seemed to have found some bread crust to pair with the former ensemble. “I mean, I guess. I think I heard that one guy, Seungmin, mention something about it being for everyone though? Or I could have just been hearing things…” He swallowed, stacking another small tower. “Wow, I’ve never had such an appetite until last Tuesday…”
“......” You rolled your eyes, counterproductive to your set jaw. How the heck were you supposed to save anyone? Why you, of all people?
That annoying chant the Witch had said replayed in your mind...maybe, if you could decipher it, you’d have some answers...how did it go, exactly…?
When sunrise comes and all is lost,
Look upon the oldtown cross
There you’ll find just what you seek
This aging woman’s prophecy
Sunrise. So when the sunrise came...but, lost? What was lost?
A cross? You surveyed the area, but you didn’t see anything like that.
What you seek...was this you, or was you someone else? What was it you, or they, were looking for? You just wanted to go home…
...All you got from the last part was that this witch was crazy. Then, the rest went something like…
But if yet still you manage to bend
And find and seek what storm’s may rend
May fortunes smile and bring you light
For the many remaining days of your life
Okay, seriously, what were you bending?! This had to be metaphorical. So bend...what, your will? Heart? Find a loophole somewhere?
Were you finding what was lost? Would you find it if you found a loophole? Or had a change of heart?
Fortunes would smile upon you...something good would come.
For the rest of your days…
…You smacked your head against the table, startling poor Felix. Who were you kidding?! You’d already decided, that old hermit in the woods was crazy. Trying to translate some old ramblings was a waste of time…!
...And effective in giving you a headache. You groaned, massaging your temples as Felix detangled himself from your locks to scamper a safe distance away.
“Y/n? Are you alright?”
“...Yeah. Fine.”
“...You don’t sound fine. You sound like Chan when he’s had a long night working on a new project and drank more coffee than he got work done. And I don’t think he even likes coffee.”
You turned your head. “Who’s that?”
Felix smiled. The only mouse that knew how to. “My boss, sort of. We both work for an entertainment company, at least...I did, before this happened.” He regarded himself sadly. “Ever since last Tuesday--”
You groaned again. “Urgh, I know, I get it already! Last Tuesday may as well be your catchphrase at this point.”
“...Sorry.”
“......” You peeked back at him, flicking a crumb of cheese his way. It seemed to take away all his problems like a one-way train. You sat up, grinning just a little at how cute he looked, nimbling innocently. The only rodent you’d ever find to be cute. “...Tell me more about it. About Chan, was it? And this entertainment company of yours. I honestly thought you were a farmer.”
“A farmer?” He thought. “Oh...yeah, my clothes! I grew up on a farm, and our company is relatively small. I just threw those on when I went exploring the woods.”
“And what were you doing exploring the forest on your own?”
“Uh...well,” he blushed. “I’ll tell you about Chan and the company first.”
His small, yet surprisingly bass voice carried on into the dimly-lit atmosphere. Maybe you just needed to take your mind off things. You were getting too wound up in something you weren’t even committed to being a part of. Once you saw Jeongin was okay, you’d be forgetting all about this place. So for now, you just needed to relax.
And who knew mice told such fabulous, intricate stories?
| Eight ❧
“Hyunjin, please…!”
Crash!
Another mirror. Terrific.
After their departure from the old art gala, Hyunjin had led the two to one of the many old studies that lied grungy and muted like the rest of the palace. In the circular room resided one dusty old curtain over a weathering window, a few bookshelves chalked with books likely to never be read again, a small table with various junk, a chair, another chair, a small loveseat, a slightly larger small grandfather clock...and a calendar with much angry scribbling, stains, and tears.
“Hyunjin, Jeongin can only fix so many mirrors at once...you know how this all works…you break a mirror, something in the castle vanishes. Then I take the heat for it!”
The beast growled. “You don’t think I know that? Are you talking back to me right now?”
Han flinched. If he were human, surely he would have died from a thousand ulcers and the tight sensations of horrid anxiety by now… “N-Not by any means...Hyunjin,” With gritted teeth, he bowed his head. “Please, listen to me for a second. Let me explain.”
“Oh, that you will,” the beast grumbled. He gracefully spun himself into a red velvet chair, lifting another looking glass from the small table beside it in order to glare at himself broodingly. It made the small hairs of Han’s neck stand yielding, doing a little dance of anxiety.
“V-Very well,” He said, standing back up straight. He gave an awkward glance at the broken mirror shards before deciding he’d better start talking his way out of another beating, and clean up later. “Our journey begins in the outskirts of Westwind city--”
Hyunjin raised his right arm, the mirror held precariously in the balance. “Too far.”
“NO DON’T!”
...Phew.
Removing the handheld treasure from the prince’s hand, his shadow took a few steps back, peering into it. Watching the door and bookshelf behind him, as shadows had no reflection. “...I traveled around...out yonder, just as you asked. Just like I said I would. I let the wind and my intuition, my hope, guide me, and within less than a day’s travel I came upon Westwind city. That’s where I found her, just outside the gates...she was accompanied by another, a young woman of close age. They looked too different to be related, so I assume it was a friend, or maybe a distant...distant relative. Anyway--”
Hyunjin sighed.
“...Anyway, I--”
“How did you know she was the one? And so close? So close to our village...it seems too good to be true. And I thought you said she was lying dormant somewhere.”
Han blinked, eyes flitting forward. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. It took all his willpower not to flinch or show anymore signs of weakness. “W-Well, yes, she was, but uh...she escaped?”
“Oh really?”
“Yes. And so, I put her to the test.”
Hyunjin narrowed his eyes. “You put her to the test? What does that mean?”
“I quizzed her. I knocked on the door of her heart...and she ignored me quite a few times, but eventually, I got in. In exchange for a favor.”
“What favor?”
Han smiled with pride. “I’d saved her friend’s life. Or...distant, distant relative. After that, I asked her carefully, very seriously, of her thoughts.”
“...About…?”
“The curse.”
“You told her outright about the curse?!”
Seeing as Hyunjin was near fuming, Han turned on the sprinklers, fanning his arms about. “No, no! Not outright! I was very tricky! I used lots of metaphors and figuratively-speakings! She had no idea to the core of the matter, really!” ...And anyway, did it even matter anymore? Y/n was well aware by now she wasn’t exactly in Kansas anymore...
“......” Hyunjin relaxed back in his chair. “So, what did she say?”
Han searched the dusty floorboards for a minute, before slowly twisting the mirror 180 degrees. “Well, sir, it was what I said first. I asked her…”
- ❧ -
“A man, or a beast? As individuals, do we have a choice?”
“...I’m sorry...I don’t understand the question.”
“Hmm…” Han thought. “...Imagine you were put under a...spell. A spell that turned you into a hideous monster, with fangs and claws and fur in places you’d never imagined...but it comes and goes, this curse of yours.” He tilted his head. “Are you still human? Or are you now a beast? Well?”
“...I...I don’t know,” you confessed, listing your gaze aside. “I really have no idea where you got such a crazy idea from.”
“Okay...then let me ask you this. I’ll help you out.”
He leaned forward this time. “Do you think we have a choice? Is it possible to define ourselves as one or the other?”
“Well...yes, I would think so.” Your eyes met his. “We all have a choice— to be monsters, or men. It is not a matter of blood, or a spell, but a condition of the heart.”
- ❧ -
Hyunjin leaned forward in his chair, eyes wide as saucers.
This time, he knew it, too. But he didn’t care how he must have looked. That fear died a long time ago, having stared at the many faces of Hwang Hyunjin over the years.
He simply couldn’t believe it. It really was true, then. It had to be her. The girl that would solve all his problems…!
...For the record, one should never put all their faith into one person in regards of “solving problems” or “fixing them,” but this was different. In this case, this girl really was the answer to lifting the curse plaguing his home and body for so many moons, so many long, hard-watched seasons…
And she was going to be having dinner with him. Not only that, but he only had a handful of hours left until it was all over, and everything set into stone.
The door behind Han slammed open, Seungmin entering the stage and stealing his spotlight like he normally did. Even before the curse, the boy who’d been his father’s auditor-in-training was always bursting in to bask in the limelight with his savvy knowledge, goody-two-shoes this and boring document question that.
He swears this was never the case, but Hyunjin knew better. “Do you mind? I’m having a discussion with--”
“Not now.”
“Excuse me?” Seungmin was rummaging around the room, spreading knick-knacks around, tossing books off shelves after quickly examining covers or flipping through a few pages, even going so far as to demand that Hyunjin stand so he could upturn all the seat cushions. “What are you doing?”
The boy genius frowned. “Jeongin had an episode after Y/n almost left. He—”
Hyunjin found himself shaking the boy in the next second. “Did he stop her?!”
“...Shouldn’t you be asking if he’s alright first?”
Hyunjin just continued to stare. Seungmin rolled his eyes.
“Yes, I was going to say, he managed to stop her. I did say almost left. By the way, Jeongin’s in peril right now, so if you could be so kind as to release me, I’d like to get back to ensuring his safety as soon as possible.”
As soon as Hyun dropped him, the boy got right back to work; tearing the room apart. Han pursed his lips.
“He had an episode? Did you give him a shot?”
The boy sighed. “Yes, but I’ve told you both before they’re only temporary. I’m looking for lavender oil, and the vine clippers. I don’t remember the original recipe to stop the ebb and flow, but I think I can make a close replacement from what I’ve read in the past.” He glanced over his shoulder a moment. “What were you getting so hot under the collar about, anyway? Is this about Y/n? Being cursed?”
Shoot, by the day, that was right. He was still angry about that. What if Han had blown it? What if this Y/n was defective now because she’d been touched by the Witch’s mad hand?
Oh, he was so going to get it if…!
“Eeek!” Han shrieked, already knowing what was to come. “Dammit, don’t remind him of that! I had just managed to get on his good side!”
Seungmin rolled his eyes again. “You’re never on his good side. All you two do is bicker and fight and run from or after each other until you’ve become one with the walls and he passes out from anger or resentment or both. ...Ah!” He smiled. “Found the clippers. Now for that oil…”
“Forget the oil!” Hyunjin roared. “We don’t have time for this! Ahh…!” He gritted both hands in his hair, looking out the window, up at the old miniature grandfather clock. “Time’s running out. Since she’s the one, we may still have a chance. Cursed or not we only have three days...two days…!”
It was at this point that Seungmin made a quizzical expression, pausing in his endeavors to pace rather calmly over to the calendar, checking the date. “...The anniversary of your curseday isn’t until next month. You have a whole season, almost.”
A...season?
“Let me see that,” Hyunjin demanded, shoving the kid aside. He peered anxiously at the line up, the rows of weeks in the calendar month that said… … …
Seungmin was right. He’d misread the date, in all his anxious spite.
He had until the next season. Until the first snowfall. Starting tomorrow, his clock would begin.
...Oh, who was he kidding?! His clock started tonight; with dinner.
In a tizzy, his whole attitude changed. No longer was he a grumpy, repulsive, bitter soul trapped in a cursed body. Mindlessly resenting his father, his past actions, the old beggar who’d shown up on his doorstep. He was a nervous young man about to have his first date in what felt like forever, because truthfully, it had been. “What am I going to wear?! ...Oh my gosh, she saw me transform…!” Horror filled his lungs with a ragged breath, hands flying to sunken cheeks. “I can’t let her see me now! But I have to! I have to break the curse...I mean, she has to break the curse! But what if--!”
“Hyunjin!” Han clamped his mouth shut. A bold move for someone that was normally terrified of him. “Calm down! I think that’s step one!” He looked around while Seungmin continued his search. “Step two would be...uh…”
“Finding an appropriate outfit?” Seungmin offered. Han beamed.
“YES, finding an appropriate outfit! Genius!”
Again, the boy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, who would have thought…?”
“C’mon!” The two flew past him, Hyunjin too preoccupied with his previous behavior, overwhelmed by too many truths, to even-- …
He rushed back into the room. “Did you say Jeongin was--?!”
“Let’s go,” Han ordered, yanking the househead by the collar. Leaving Seungmin alone to his bumbling foragery.
My, how times quickly changed.
| Nine ❧
Another spaghetti noodle found its way into Felix’s hair, alongside a half-eaten slice of garlic bread.
In the great dining hall, chandeliers hung like clouds in a desecrated chamber, all covered in dust and cobwebs. A long, very long table stretched from one end of the wide room to the other, all set with dining ware meant to feed the entire Royal Family and their second cousins. A rainbow of food covered the crimson-draped platform, starting with English scones and biscuits on one end and ending with an Italian pot of gold on the other, complete with pastas, pizza, and a basket of garlic bread nestled to Felix’s right, who was seated at the table’s end. All along the walls sat candles lit with a hazy tint, casting shadows like lingering ghosts, light dancing across the faces of those present.
You slid your hand down one side of your face, safely hidden amongst the confines of two large chambers doors with one slightly askew. Good grief. You were simply waiting on Jeongin to show, to ascertain he was alright; until then, it was Felix’s one job to stall. What on earth was that foolish mouseboy doing shoving food in his hair?!
Seungmin, seated to the absent head’s left, and the only other soul in the room, cleared his throat loudly enough to be heard over the cultural expansion of what was meant to be one supper. “Felix!” he called, “Might I ask why you’re storing food on your persons? You’re...not a mouse at the moment.”
Unfortunately it didn’t reach far enough, as Felix continued to store and gobble down food. “Mm… What’d you say, cuz?”
Seungmin frowned. “I said,” he repeated, raising his voice, “you’re not a mouse anymore!”
Felix blinked, pausing red-handed while sliding a breadstick into his shirt pocket. “...Aren’t I?” He examined himself. “...Oh.” He blushed. “I suppose you did give me one of those fancy needles, didn’t you? I’m not used to being a real boy at this hour.”
Seungmin sunk back into his seat; a sigh.
Oh, but for Pete’s sake, where was Jeongin?! Seungmin could at least mention his current condition, so you could skedaddle your way to the nearest exit with a salad to-go. Better yet, some pasta and a pound of those chicken tenders sounded all the better…
No, no Y/n! Now was not the time to be thinking about food...even if it’d been a while since you last ate...more like a day…
...Ooooooh...pizza and...shrimp cocktail…
A pile of desserts rested center stage. Was that German chocolate you were seeing...?
“So,” Seungmin called. “Will Y/n be joining us this evening?”
Your attention snapped back to reality. Felix shook his head alongside tearing into a drumstick. “‘Fraid not,” he replied.
“Mm…” the other boy nodded. “...May I ask why? Is she feeling alright?”
Felix paused again. Forgetting the pasta and German chocolate, you pressed yourself against the closed door in order to be as close as possible, ear resting just next to the shaded chandelier and candlelight.
Just like we practiced, Felix. Come on, just like we rehearsed.
“Uuuh,” Felix stammered. “Th-That’s…”
His head listed aside in thought. Ugh! No, what was he doing?!
Felix chewed much longer than he needed to while racking his mouse-sized brain for an answer. Your fingertips pressed into old polished wood, silently begging the boy to remember what you’d just discussed twenty minutes ago.
Remember...think, dang it!
Suddenly, he swallowed. “Oh!”
Seungmin shook his head, as if waking up from a trance. “Yes?”
Felix grinned, probably with salad or something stuck in his teeth. “Y/n will not be attending this dilatory gathering due to a symptom...of her curse, that makes her quite drowsy at this late hour!”
Chink...! That was the sound of your hope cracking like a broken mirror. That sounded totally rehearsed! The lie was supposed to be that your curse made you tired and you didn’t want to be disturbed. It was perfect, since you knew one of them would insist on butting in to see for themselves, but surely would respect a young lady’s wishes to be left alone…
Though it was hard to see that far, Seungmin appeared to be grinding gears in his mind to make sense of such a suspiciously wordy sentence when, heaven’s to Betsy, the door at the far side opened, and in came a blue-haired shadow. It was the only way you knew how to describe him; he was simply put, like ink off a rain-washed page… “Wassup?!” He announced, swinging out the right-side chair.
Seungmin deadpanned, appearing to squint just slightly. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Ink-boy dropped a handful of rolls onto his plate. “...Like wha— oh!”
He leapt for the door again. Seungmin rolled his eyes (something he seemed to do a lot), dabbing the sides of his mouth before placing the cloth back over his lap. “Yeah. Oh.”
At the far end of the room, Han held both hands raised, as if he were a magician about to reveal a magic trick. “May I present to you, Felix, His Royal Highness, Prince of Everain Palace, Ruler of Finance, Master of Trade, Prosperer of...prospering, President Hwang’s birthright successor of the greatest industry of all time, Hyun— …”
Crickets.
You couldn’t visibly see it, but you knew it was there: a single drop of sweat that rolled down the side of Han Jisung’s face, as he stood frozen, one hand hovering over the engraved door handle.
“Ha...hahaha…” He did his best to smile. “...Wh-Where’s Y/n?”
Felix bobbed his head, holding up a finger while finishing off a bite of lasagna. “Mm...one second mate…” He dabbed the corners of his mouth like Seungmin had done, taking his time to tuck and fold the elaborate cloth upon his lap.
Han twitched. Felix surely smiled, taking a painfully slow inhale.
“Y/n will not be attending this dilabitory...dilatory gathering due to a...symptom?...yeah, a symptom of her curse, that makes her quite drowsy at this late hour!”
… …
“She whAT?!?!”
You sighed. While Han had another spastic encounter with the dust-coated floor, Seungmin hollered and tried beating the boy out of it with various hard-mattered foods, the two falling into the same bickering as they had before. Felix continued to happily stuff his face like nothing was bothering him. And you, idly residing in the cold hallway, still had no idea how Jeongin was. Not a word.
Sliding your back down the door, you pursed your lips, lightly smacking two fingers over your wrist; better check yourself before you wreck yourself, just in case.
Fifty-eight...fifty-nine...sixty. Yep, normal.
But the marking on your wrist wasn’t.
You jumped back, hitting the door and causing the noise outside to dip for a moment before returning to...what was currently normal. You covered your right wrist with the opposite hand. Held your breath. Counted to three.
Removing your fingers, slowly, something sinister stared back at you. Something...elaborate, foreign, but distinguished. Some sort of...strange dome shape, a mark made of...ink, maybe, resembling a chapel window. Or a door, perhaps?
Upon closer inspection, in the faint light from the other room, it seemed to pulse with...some kind of...energy… …
...When sunrise comes, and all is lost… Hmm…
Fwoosh!
You snapped your head back, peering through the sliver of dancing light. The far door ricocheted against its adjacent wall; an ambrosial aroma wafting through the air. The candlelight...illuminated...
...A beastly man with silky black hair.
- ❧ -
You’re pretty sure you heard a noodle slip off the fork wound tightly in Felix’s hand, who nearly dropped it all the same.
There he was; the man who’d become a monster and nearly murdered Han just hours ago, right before your eyes. The black and red miasma, honed claws, sharp teeth; all of it came flooding back to your mind like a tidal wave.
The sudden drop in temperature made you long for candle warmth, yet flee farther into the shadows of the empty hall. Seungmin paused with a scone held once proudly and threateningly in the air, now placed delicately on his plate as he nervously slid back into his seat. Han, once choking on a fistful of salad mix, managed to wash it down and did the same, quickly and quietly so after pulling out the beastman’s seat.
Hyunjin sat down with vigor, the legs of his chair scraping harshly to the floor. He made a peculiar face, something like embarrassment albeit just a second, before hiding it behind the fluffing of his napkin and folding it onto his lap. Then he made a fleeting...was that nervous?...glance straight head, to the far opposite end of the table.
The candlelight seemed almost hesitant to cast it’s erratic glow upon the prince’s face. When his eyes met a head of orange hair, he froze, glaring. Hotly. “Where is Y/n?”
“The million dollar question,” Seungmin mumbled. It managed to echo, along with the kick beneath the table and following hiss escaping his lips a moment later.
Hyunjin snorted, turning his gaze back to Felix. “I said,” he repeated. “Where is Y/n?”
“Yes, I heard you loud and clear, cuz,” Felix replied with an OK sign. “Gimme just a sec...ahem!”
You (silently) banged your head against the solid matter before you. Oh, sweet stars, please no…
“Y/n will not be attending this—”
“She’s not feeling well, Your Grace,” Seungmin interrupted. Phew. “Apparently she’s rather ill as a side effect from whatever curse the Witch gave her. She’s resting in the same guest room upstairs.”
Yes! Now, someone mention Jeongin’s name so you could leave with a clear conscious!
Hyunjin blinked. “Go get her, then.”
… Huh?
Seungmin nearly swallowed wrong, apparently thinking the same thing. “I’m sorry?”
Hyunjin, again, snorted. “I said, go get her. It’s rude to keep everyone waiting, especially royalty.”
Felix, who had long started his meal prior to anyone’s arrival, stopped and hurriedly shoved any evidence under a spare napkin from the empty seat beside him. “Ahaha, yes, right! Waiting…! …”
He awkwardly wiped his hands clean. Seungmin frowned. “Hyunjin…”He placed his fork down. “She’s sick. Resting. And after today, I don’t blame her for wanting to be left alone right now…” He eyeballed Felix a moment, leaning in with a hushed voice. “Remember, you have more time now...it’s better to be patient. Let her adjust first.” He turned back toward his meal. “I got the hint from Felix’s message, she wants to be left alone. Everyone’s already started eating, anywa—”
“That’s enough!”
The room swiftly grew colder. You shivered, ducking your head even if you technically weren’t present in the dining atmosphere. Oh, greif.
Hyunjin slammed his hands on the table, rocking himself upwards. “If you’re just going to back talk and give me excuses, I’ll get her myself!”
He made his way toward you, crossing the dining room on Han’s side in angry strides towards the vaguely slitted door.
Gasping, you bit your lip hard, frantically searching for a place to hide; but there was nothing. No furniture or randomly placed junk littered the path leading to the great hall. Could you outrun him, maybe? Would it make a sound? How good was his hearing? Did beastmen have the same sensitive hearing capabilities as a wolf, or a fox?
“Pardon me!”
You whirled around, witnessing the brave, possibly last, antics of Felix the Mouse...boy. His whole aura radiated positive, jittering energy, hopping lightly from one foot to the next as he put his old entertainment skills to use, all for your sake.
Hyunjin grunted, having been stopped in his tracks. He glared down heatedly. “What is it? You’re in my way.”
Felix saluted him. “Right on, bro! ...Except, that…”
You held your breath. Put on a good show, Felix. Or, better yet, ask him about Jeongin. That’s all I need to—
“...I need to pee. Mind showing me where the bathroom is?”
… …
Oh…he just had to...go…
You deflated like a popped balloon. Of course.
After staring almost incredulously at Felix, like trying to understand his existence, Hyunjin made some sort of irritated noise you assumed all beastmen made, shoved him aside, and continued his striding.
You made it as far as a few paces from the first available turn before a cold voice stopped you.
“Just where do you think you’re going?”
Urk! …
...You really should have just looked for Jeongin yourself.
| Ten ❧
“Where’s Jeongin?”
The room had long ago settled into an uncomfortable silence. Bitterly, you shoved a stuffed olive into your mouth, letting the salty tang of the brined fruit coax over your tongue before shivering from the sensation.
You were getting drowsy. But that also could have been from the wine Han insisted on pouring for you, and you being stressed and unsure if an evening around a beastman would be at all possible without the effects of alcohol, accepted.
You were seated across from the beast now, in Felix’s place. The boy being forced to your right...until the effects of whatever had made him a boy again wore off. As of ten minutes ago, he was a rodent yet again, nested happily in the garlic bread basket. You squinted eyes at him over your wine glass.
You totally failed the mission. Be grateful I’m having a hard time staying mad at you. And that you can safely ingest garlic.
“Why do you wish to know?”
Hyunjin’s voice boomed across the grand hall, in no more than a calm rejoinder. How he could speak so lowly and yet fill an entire hall was beyond your drunkenly buzzing comprehension.
“I just want to know,” you simply replied. “Where is he?”
Hyunjin didn’t respond. Instead, Seungmin cleared his throat, excusing himself from the room.
“Wait,” You stood. “Where are you going?”
The boy awkwardly shifted his gaze from you to the door. Hyunjin suddenly stood as well. “Why do you want to know? Why are you asking so many questions?”
“Okay, okay,” Han dabbed at his face, easing the beast back into his seat, and motioning for you to do the same. “Everyone take it easy. Y/n, please excuse Seungmin, he has many responsibilities here. Hyunjin...Your Princeliness,” he corrected, “why don’t you have some more wine? I think we all just need to have a nice long drink and—”
“Be quiet,” Hyunjin ordered, scooting himself in. His shadow didn’t need to be told twice, turning back to his dinner with a small eye roll.
Steadily, with caution, you lowered yourself back into your seat, only able to watch as Seungmin gave a brief bow to you before disappearing behind closed doors. “Please excuse me,” his voice trailed behind him.
Great. He was likely the only one who’d have been bold and honest enough to tell you anything. Now you were stuck with a beast, a shadow, and a mouse that’d fallen asleep in the bread basket.
...Then this happened.
“Ahem,” Hyunjin swallowed a swish of sweet, fermented grape juice. “...T-Tell me about yourself.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I said…” He swallowed again, for no particular reason this time. He kept a staring contest with his steak. “Tell me about yourself. What kind of...stuff do you like?”
“What kind of...stuff?”
A stifled noise came from Han’s lips, as he did his best to hide a smile. He spared you a polite grin before quickly whispering something to Hyunjin, like a lawyer to a client. “...Never mind!” The beastman awkwardly bleated, to which crimson coated his cheeks. He angrily picked at his plate, and the room once again fell into silence.
That was weird. Switching gears, you glanced down to your wrist. The mark from a bit earlier was still there, now lit up beneath the flickering light. Tentatively, you slipped a spare napkin, rubbing at the ink.
It didn’t budge. You tried wetting the cloth with a bit of wine when the others weren’t looking; thankfully, Hyunjin was too...enthralled in his steak, or something, and Han was too busy whispering to him.
The ink didn’t smudge, either. It was as if the markings were a part of your skin.
When sunrise comes, and all is lost…
“What do you do for fun?”
“Wha?!” Your head shot up, focusing to see all four eyes on you. Han and Hyunjin glaring at you expectantly. You gulped, taking a deep breath to clear your thoughts. You just couldn’t get that old bat’s wacky slogan out of your head… “...What do I do for fun? Is that what you asked?”
Han gave a single nod, encouraging another conversation attempt. You lowered your head, thinking. It couldn’t hurt to participate in mindless chatter. Just until I get the information I want.
“I like...selling things. And making people happy.”
Hyunjin’s eyes grew just a little. “Is...that what you do for a living?”
“Mm-hm.”
Both men were silent. Hyunjin, in particular, looked like he may have been experiencing indigestion of some sort. Then he scowled. “Shouldn’t you be home with your parents? Taking care of them? Doing something more decent?”
You scoffed. What the heck? Where did that come from? “This is how I take care of them. Almost all the proceeds go back to them. What do you mean, more decent?”
Hyunjin had opened his mouth to speak when Han cleared his throat, jumping in on the conversation. “Does your friend work with you? Her name was…”
“Rei.”
“Yes, Rei! You both sell artifacts and collectibles, right?”
“That’s correct.”
Hyunjin blinked. “Oh…” He relaxed, indigestion cleared.
Placing both hands on your lap, you sat up a little straighter. “So where’s Jeongin?”
The beastman’s face resembled one of annoyance and grief. “Why do you keep asking about him?”
“I…” You took another swing of wine, swirling the contents afterward. Watching as your reflection altered. “I’m just curious is all. Is he doing okay?”
Something like...jealousy?...resided among the beast’s brow and set jaw. “He’s fine. Quit asking. I want you to tell me about yourself. Where are you from? How old are you?”
It was at this point that you’d at last had perhaps one too many swigs of sweet relief and numbness, for you placed down your glass after chugging the last bit. One out of...how many refills of this stuff have you had? “Can’t,” you stated, standing. “I got what I came here for. Now I’m leaving.”
“Leaving?”
Hyunjin...the beast, regarded you incredulously. “Yes, leaving…” You giggled. “Leaving. Leeeeeaving… Like leaves blowing in the wind, leaf-ing.” It was a hop, skip, and a jump to the door some ten or whatever paces away. “I know that Jeongin is okay now...er, wait.” You frowned. Turned around. “How do I know you aren’t lying to me?”
A brow was raised. “You think I’m lying? About my Jeongin?” He snorted. “Why do you care so much about him? Do you know him from a past life? Was he your lover? Do you like him now?”
“Hyunjin…” Han muttered, glaring. “Cool it...please.”
“I will not!” He rose to his feet with twice as much vigor as before, chair flying backward. Han eep-ed. “This dinner is supposed to be about you, and me. Why do you keep bringing up my blacksmith? Tell me!”
Because you were already pretty numb (good gravy what was in the wine?), you just laughed at the fact a beast was getting this angry over something so trivial to you. “Why do you care so much? Do beasts always get this angry?” You groaned, like it was all such a bother. “If you really wanna know, he had a nervous breakdown or something and begged me to come to dinner. But he got all weird...like...there were these moving images, and he started vanishing. I could see right through him!” You sighed, making your exit again. “I just wanted to know if he was alright. Turning into air like that can’t be healthy.”
“Absolutely not.”
You chuckled, nearly at the door. “Exactly, that’s what I’m say—”
“NO!”
Boom! Chik!
...You flinched. Gradually, bit by bit, you inched yourself to partially facing the dining hall.
A chunk of the table was missing. A decently-sized, pretty big chunk, torn right off the left corner. Han, on the opposite side but right next to the disaster, was twisted up like one of the noodles that’d been trapped in Felix’s hair, his face ghostly white.
Hyunjin was seething. “You are not going anywhere outside the confinements of these walls. That is an order.”
Han coughed, waving away dust and floating wood chips with minimal effort so as not to draw too much attention. “O-Okay, easy there, Hyunjin…technically…” He smiled. An apologetic one, voice skittishly squeaky. “Technically, you can’t order her to—”
“I’ll do whatever the hell I want!!! This is my manor, my life, my curse!!!”
“That doesn’t give you the right to order me around!” You screamed. “How dare you raise your voice to me! Over something so stupid and absurd!”
His eyes narrowed to slits, head twitching aside. “What did you just say?”
You mirrored his image. “You heard me. Don’t pretend like you didn’t hear. Surely, as a beast, your hearing is as good as a dog. Or a bat. Or some kind of vermin.” Pushing open the door, you whipped your head around. “I said, I’m leaving.”
Hyunjin’s eyes went wide...then nearly vanished behind a curtain of vexed, enraged brows. “You wanna go so badly? Fine! Get out of here! Go to your room!!!”
“Who do you think you are, my father?!”
“Obviously, running amuck from your parents has left you with a lack of discipline.”
Your jaw went slack. “What did you just say?!?”
Hyunjin smirked, a sarcastically snobbish and mocking tone to his voice. “You heard me. Don’t pretend like you didn’t.”
“Uh!” You raved. “Whatever! I’m going to look for Jeongin myself, since I can’t trust that you’d tell me anything sincere. Then, I’m out of here.”
“What does that mean?!”
“It means I can’t trust anything you say, because you’re a monster!!! Then, I’m going home!”
You couldn’t quite see it, but there was a hint of pain in Hyunjin’s eyes, mixed with scars and years of regret. But everything quickly flooded back to anger and bigotry before you could count to three. “...Get back here! You’re not allowed to leave the manor! I forbid you to go anywhere except straight to your room! Do you hear me?!”
“No!”
“Yes!!”
“No!!”
“FINE!!!”
“Fine!!!”
…Slam.
| Eleven ❧
The rain coming down that night was the only thing stopping you from leaving. Not that you were afraid of a little rain by any means; no, not in the slightest. Rather, it was that you weren’t going to kill yourself over a stupid argument just to get away from a beast. You couldn’t risk catching pneumonia or a silly cold and leave Rei to handle taking care of you and the fort. Plus, there was the matter of Felix...you’d be responsible for him as well. You already told him you would.
...All of that, and it was raining pretty hard.
So here you sat, out in an old web-infested barn, slack atop a stack of hay a few feet away from the open barn doors, just watching the rain fall. Praying it would let up so you could escape. Praying no one would find you here, out in some shabby old building behind the kitchen. And what a nightmare that had been, by the way.
From your left shoulder, Felix did a nervous little jig, spinning in circles twice before bridging across your back to the other side. “Y/n…I don’t know what happened, cause that cheese and wine got me pretty good, but…” He heaved a small mouse-sigh. “...Do you think you maybe overreacted? You don’t seem like a person who gets worked up so easily.”
You scoffed. Wasn’t that right. “Yeah...you’re right. I’m not.”
“Then what happened?”
“......” It took you a moment to gather your thoughts. What did happen? Why did I get so worked up like that? Sure, there was the alcohol. That definitely had an effect. But it wasn’t everything, because now that it was wearing down, now that your mind was clearing and you’d had some time to settle down, to breathe in solitude, you...knew it was something more. There was truth in the midst of all that anger.
Felix was waiting for an answer. So were you.
“I—”
Chunk! “Y/n!!!”
You took a startled breath, turning toward an old door you could have sworn was sealed shut. “Jeongin…?”
It was Jeongin. The red-haired reason you’d decided to stick things out, albeit a little longer. The boy greeted you with flushed cheeks and a lazy smile; he still didn’t look all that well. “Y-Yeah...I came because I heard...you…”
He hunched over, out of breath. The face of another appeared behind him. “Jeongin! I told you to slow down, you’re in no condition to be running around like…” He stopped, blinking into the darkness. “Y/n? Why are you here?”
Brown hair, matching eyes. Mr. Excuse-Me-From-This-Horrifically-Awkward-Dinner. You just smiled, lazily in response. “Hello, Seungmin.”
The young...caretaker nodded, acknowledging you before being swatted away by his patient. A flash of vacancy lit up the night sky as you turned the opposite away, facing the other two in a triangle. Jeongin hustled to shut the barn doors despite Seungmin’s protests, and pretty soon the three...four of you, with Felix taking a nosedive for the hay, sat in awkward silence.
It was almost an encore of dinner not but twenty or thirty minutes ago, though not as worse. It was obvious the two of them wanted to say something, but neither wanted to be the first to speak. Finally, after twenty-odd seconds of nose scratches, unnecessary shifting, and forced coughs, the only employee with a braincell sat up a little straighter.
“Listen,” Seungmin began, using his hands to speak. “About Hyunjin—”
The beast. No thank you. You swatted your hands before you. “I do not want nor need to have another conversation about that ill-mannered buffoon.”
“...I’m pretty sure this is the first one.”
“Second,” Jeongin inquired. “...Right?”
“I’m not counting the first encounter,” Seungmin...countered. “Those never count.”
Jeongin nodded. “Yeah, I can see why—”
“Enough!” You yelled. “...It doesn’t matter if this is the first or second or even the tenth time. I can tell you one thing, it’s definitely the last.”
Seungmin gave you a pitying look. “We all have to walk on eggshells around him.” His voice sounded pleading, borderline apologetic, and all-over exhausted. “...It gets rough, I know. I understand he’s not the easiest person to get along with. He’s very different and outcast and behind the times. But if you could just hear me out for—”
“Hear us out,” Jeongin corrected. He gave you the cutest, saddest smile a boy of his caliber could possibly manage. It made your heart melt; it didn’t help that he was still ill to boot. “I heard what you did for me, Y/n. I really appreciate your concern. No one has ever stayed, especially when one of us...has an...episode.”
His gaze grew sad and distant. You could feel your heart sizzling in a pool of pity. “...This has happened...before?” you whispered.
Jeongin nodded, Seungmin averting his eyes. “...Yeah.” He said. “Twice to Jeongin, three times to Han, Hyunjin too many to count...and uh…” He scratched his cheek, holding up an index finger. Eyes peeking shyly under the hood of neatly-groomed bangs. “...Once I may have...had a bad day.”
“Wow…” Felix mumbled, head sticking out of the hay barrel. The boy looked like a stray whack-a-mole project. “That sounds rough. Been there done that.”
You rolled your eyes, shoving him down with two fingers. He let out a muffled squeak on the way down. “So…” ...You sighed. “...What is it that you wanted to say, then? This is the last time I’m listening. I only went to that banquet to make sure Jeongin was okay.” Another crack of lighting pierced the sky, followed by the ominous rumbling of thunder. “You have maybe ten minutes, since the storm isn’t letting up anytime soon. But after that, I’d like to be left alone in peace until I can leave this joint. Go.”
Seungmin nearly beamed nonexistent sunshine. “That’s plenty of time.”
“Get to the basics. Just the essentials.”
“The company fell under a long time ago.”
“I’m sorry?”
He huffed, running a hand through his hair while Jeongin glanced nervously at the door. “The company, this place. The first thing you need to know about Hyunjin is that he wasn’t always this way. And I’m not just talking about the curse. He’s the son of a wealthy businessman; this is his estate. He owns the whole town...or at least, he did.” His eyes scanned the walls and dusty interior, as if checking to see if someone else was watching. As if taking in the entirety of the estate. “...Now it belongs to Hyunjin. Everything.”
You crossed your arms. “I could have put that together myself. He’s obviously a rich, spoiled brat.”
“There’s more. The people that know him personally know him for who he really is.”
You huffed. Unbelievable, really. “And what would that be?” You pressed. “A monster?”
A bitter silence flushed the room. You instantly felt a pang of resentment at that remark. Perhaps...again, that was a bit too harsh.
“...I’m sorry.” Your arms laid in surrender across your lap. “Please continue.”
“......” Seungmin glanced to his left. “You wanna pick up from here?”
He leaned back, Jeongin lifting himself to take the lead. “...Hyunjin is a pain in the ass. He’s a pain in the morning, we basically play rock paper scissors to see who has the unfortunate task of waking him up and handling his breakfast, and to decide who’s turn it is to do laundry and lunch we place bets on when he’ll randomly combust in a daily rage or which book he’ll throw across the room first.” He counted on his fingers, listing them off one by one. “For dinner and his bath we usually draw straws or play an old board game, but Han often cheats, so…”
...His voice trailed off, eyes intently examining his mental checklist. You frowned. “...What does any of this have to do with…” Shook your head. “What are you saying again?”
He smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry,” he bowed. Cute. “What I meant to say was that deep down Hyunjin is actually a very kind person, but...I just ended up making him sound like an overly-dependent...man...child.”
You couldn’t help but chuckle, twirling a piece of hay around your finger. “Well he sure does seem like it. His manners at the dinner table were atrocious and incredibly beast-like.”
“But you don’t know him like we do,” Seungmin insisted...then smiled, apologetically so, sitting up straight again. “...Forgive me. But what we’re trying to say is, Hyunjin is really a nice guy, he’s just...stuck. You definitely didn’t help with that daily ledger,” he scolded beside him. Jeongin bowed again.
“Well, sorry, I was just trying to—”
“Stuck?”
That lone word rang out like a gunshot. Seungmin and Jeongin both turned to you with sour eyes, the former swallowing a bit uncomfortably. “...Yes, stuck.”
“In what? Time? Space? Adolescence?” You tilted your head. “Because he never learned to grow up?”
“Exactly! ...Sort of.”
You glanced down to the hay-riddled fabric adorning your lap. It’d never really occurred to you to analyze or care anything for Hyunjin’s personal life, mostly because you weren’t planning on staying and the moment you saw him transform, you didn’t want to know. Your instincts told you to run, to flee, to flood your system with a coping-mechanism gene and forget and ignore what you just saw. You wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but you were scared...and who in their right mind wouldn’t be?
...But hearing this now...even given the smallest sliver of insight…
...Well, your mother had often scolded you for being nosy. “So you’re saying he never learned how to...grow up.”
Both boys nodded. “That definitely can be said.”
“And so, that’s why he acts out.” You looked around, questions popping up about the hedge maze in your mind from every direction. “How long has he been alone here? Where are his parents? …How old is he?” Your eyes focused on Seungmin. “What happened to him, exactly?”
“......” Seungmin and Jeongin shared a look. It all but drove you crazy how long it took one of them to answer. “...Do you have longer than ten minutes?”
| Twelve ❧
“Hyunjin was born to a wealthy mother and a poor, impoverished father in the year XXXX. No one knows where or how they met; Hyunjin is very selective and quiet on the matter. However, documents of his mother’s family buried in one of many attics claim they met at some time around the Summer harvest festival, an annual event that used to take place here in New Amber.
“It was the responsibility of noble families to uphold the annual harvest ceremony at the start of the season. As a part of tradition, many noble families and a few middle class families with connections to noblemen and their wives would use this great gathering to announce engagements and arranged marriages, in order to shift the power to new families and invite a sense of balance to the community. Hyunjin’s mother was reportedly sixteen years old at her time of arranged marriage, to the wealthiest family in New Amber next to the king; a family called the Song’s.
“The Song family oversought all affairs in the king’s absence; which he was absent a lot, given his aloof nature and uncaring attitude towards politics. The Song family basically ruled the city with an iron fist; many offers came to them from pushy mothers or greedy fathers who wished for their sons and daughters to tie a knot to the family name, connecting a chain to their own. A man by the name of Yun Jeongsun, Hyunjin’s grandfather, was one such parent. He weaseled his way into the Song’s good graces, and they offered their youngest son to be wed.
“Hyunjin’s mother, Yun Haerin, was against the marriage from the start. She had no interest in marriage, and instead wanted to craft her own trade to be of use to society. She wished to work alongside the Song family, rather than become one herself. As you can imagine, this angered many people; not only did it go against protocol at the time, but refusing an offer from the ruling family was considered a huge offense. And the Song family took it that way.
“As she was packing to leave the city one night— as she’d decided to melodramatically run away from her problems— she was met with Hyunjin’s father, a dirt-scratcher named Hwang Jihoon. The Hwang family had fallen on hard times ten years prior when their oil company snagged a few false investments, and the company went bankrupt and fell under. Having learned to fend for himself and adapt to life on the streets, Hwang Jihoon saved Yun Haerin from some typical back alley bandits, and finding her fancy offered to escort her to her new life outside of town.
“As you can probably guess, the two fell in love during their travels, and settled for a simple life outside of New Amber. However...Hwang Jihoon wanted more for his family.
“No one in the Hwang family ever forgot or gave up resenting the hardships they faced. And no one especially more than eldest son Jihoon. To summarize and keep this short...Hwang Jihoon became a tyrant. He used Haerin’s maiden name to forge a new path for the Hwang’s, and eventually, the nameless city they had escaped to fell flat. It couldn’t withstand the intense amount of economic tyranny and inflation. The taxation without representation. Hwang Jihoon had swindled his family to the top and drained the entire community dry.
“So they went back to New Amber. For stability. For revenge. Now having the security and stability he needed, which he stole from others, the Hwang family came back with an iron fist of their own. Due to a current drought and a bad economic year, not to mention the king up and abandoning his people, not even the Song family could stand up to them. And promising a new resurrection of New Amber, Hwang Jihoon took the throne.
“He crowned himself King of New Amber and tore half the city apart drilling for oil. As luck would have it, the community had been sitting atop a natural oil reserve that flooded the country back into promising times. Things were actually quite peaceful for the first five years...until they ran out of oil. Taking the snag in stride, however, Jihoon used his deceit and backhanded tactics to manipulate the economy, trading and stealing from other cities. Because he was so crafty, no one caught on until it was too late.
“Hyunjin had been born just a year before. Upon his birth, Haerin and Jihoon began having marital problems, according to a diary entry by Haerin. In it she claims to have regretted her choice in marrying Jihoon, and that she’d fallen out of love with him. She claims that his only interest was power and revenge, tearing down the social hierarchy to make everyone pay— and the unfortunate effects it was having on everyone.
“In her last entry, Haerin claimed to fear for her life. She wrote that Jihoon had violently threatened to forfeit her life if it meant continuing his reign. She was never seen or heard from after that…”
...Seungmin’s voice grew faint for a while. Tension in the air rose higher, the thickness suffocating.
You couldn’t believe such a tragic and long-rich history had occurred in such a wasteland. It obviously had fallen eventually, but…
You needed to hear more. “...So he killed her? Then what happened?”
Seungmin nodded, slowly. “It likely wasn’t him. Due to his constant appearance in the public eye, it’s more probable to say he hired someone to do the job.”
You shivered. How awful.
As Jeongin fished out and dusted off an old blanket for you, his light coughs echoing around the barn, Seungmin continued. “With Haerin gone and the Yun family name no longer needed, Jihoon continued to thrive and plunge the city to new heights— and a harder fall. He manipulated the economy to continue spinning in his favor; meanwhile, as years flew by and he became older, he began having thoughts of the future, and who would succeed in his place. Because he was a man with no trust in anyone but himself, he summoned his only son— Hwang Hyunjin— to be molded in lessons of business and trade. How to lie, cheat, and steal.
“Supposedly the brainwashing began around the age of nine. Hyunjin had been a clueless child sent away to be cared for by a few nuns from the community in a remote location before; he’d grown up without any friends, never knowing the love of a mother or father. Only the required care provided by the Sisters of the Church. However, that does not mean he was never unhappy; the sisters did a fine job of raising him, and they truly did grow to love Hyunjin as their own.
“Of course that all changed when he was taken back to the palace. From then on Hyunjin spent his days locked away in the estate’s highest tower, like a prince out of a fairytale; forced into the education of topics he could scarcely fathom. Another maid who kept a journal of her own reported the occasional, almost frequent scream coming from the prince’s tower. She noted them as punishments for incorrect responses and behavior.
“Hyunjin was fourteen when his father died. Five years of torture and humiliation, along with a healthy dose of effective brainwashing, formed him into an angry and bitter soul. Originally, he wanted nothing to do with his father’s company. He wanted nothing to do with the position of king; but being outnumbered and powerless against the force of countless impoverished civilians forced him to make changes.
“...I did the best I could to help him. As an advisor in training to Jihoon, I truly did what I could. Honestly, seeing him that one day...the day of his coronation...it fascinated me. There, I thought. Up there on the highest balcony. That’s the boy rumored to be the source of the screaming at night. That’s the boy who is Jihoon’s only son. His flesh and blood. The son of the late Haerin, a lasting survivor of the Yun legacy.”
Seungmin took a deep breath here, sighing out into the open space between you. Watching him flashback nearly took your breath away.
“...And so it came to be that Hwang Hyunjin took the downfall of his father’s handiwork. The moment he sat down at the throne, all the lies his father weaved came unraveled. All the shortcuts and manipulation tactics came back to haunt him. All the stolen time and resources were forced to be paid back in full. Hyunjin could hardly bear the weight of it all; the toll was almost too great. Many people saw him as cursed, and up and fled the palace to be with their families in poverty. But they hadn’t seen anything yet...”
“So…” You hesitantly reached a hand forward, then flinched, retracting it. “...I’m sorry to interrupt. But how did he...um…”
Seungmin gave a bitter half-smile, nodding. “Yeah. I’m almost there.
“One night at the head of a harsh Winter, an old woman showed up seeking shelter. Hyunjin was out stalking the palace halls lamenting his position, and upon answering, turned her away.”
Your eyes widened. “She was...the Witch of the Biome. Er, whatever her name is…”
Seungmin nodded. “Yes, that’s right. The Witch revealed herself to Hyunjin, and put a curse upon all who were present within these walls. At the time that was...well, there were a few others, but before you ask about them...they’re gone now.”
You listed your head a moment before realizing what he meant. “...O-Oh...I’m so...sorry…”
The advisor shrugged. “It was a while ago. There was nothing we could do about it. It was their choice…”
Sniffling filled your ear from down below. You bowed your head to find Felix with tears in his eyes, turning to you in need of comfort. Gently, you lifted him onto one leg, hovering cupped hands around him. “And then?”
“Then...well…” He gestured around him. “Here we are today. After the people saw what he had become, families and villagers left, some in hoards, others more sparingly. But eventually the whole city was left to erosion. Hyunjin couldn’t hide his curse forever; and neither could we.”
He stood suddenly, dusting stands of hay and a few piles of dust from the atmosphere away from him. Outside, the sounds of clarity of nightfall graced your ears.
“So now you know. This is Hyunjin’s story...and our own.”
“So then, why am I here?”
This question seemed to catch Jeongin by surprise; but Seungmin smiled as if anticipating the notion. “The Witch tends to spout riddles about how her curses can be broken; it’s like some weird tick or bad habit while she’s casting them. Or maybe it’s just the incantation itself; no one really knows. However…” He scratched his cheek, looking to Jeongin for confirmation. The red-head nodded. “We were hoping you would be the one to break the curse. You see, the incantation, according to Hyunjin, went something like this:
“Lips to lips and mouth to mouth
Calls the speaker of the shrouds
Summon forth your courage and might
In order to love and end within night
But yet if still ye cannot fathom
Ending here the chilling anthem
Suffer still and face your demise
For all the passing days of sunrise.”
The smallest gasp escaped your lips. Sunrise...sunrise. When sunrise comes, and all is lost...
“...Hyunjin sort of lost his way after the curse was cast. Well...no. He’d lost his way a long time ago. I guess what I’m trying to say is, he never found his way to begin with. So he really lost it after the curse hit, and he was forced back into hiding. He didn’t know what to do with himself. Everything was so...messed up. It was just a mess. His whole life had been a dark, night-infested wasteland...much like this town, almost...and then it was like someone came and dropped a hedge maze over it. He didn’t know where to go or what to do. He was already lost. So he just...screamed. And cracked. He broke, like many of the mirrors you’ll find around here. Covering it up with a delusional fantasy. That’s why he acts the way he does; sort of like he’s just existing, and nothing is really wrong. Inside...it’s chaos inside his mind. Just an ill-chosen coping mechanism to disguise the front of war. So, Y/n…”
You flinched at the mention of your name, sitting up straighter. Seungmin looked down upon you with an intense fire.
“Now that you know the story, what will you do? I didn’t tell you all this to guilt you into staying, so I hope you don’t feel that way. Nor did I tell it to scare you. You have nothing to fear but fear itself; something we’ve been trying to teach Hyunjin for a long time…” He sighed.
You glanced around the worn-down barn. At the empty hay barrels, the decaying wood structures, the various puddles of rain seeping in. What were you going to do? It was a tough decision to make...and a lot of information to process.
Your eyes traveled down to the lone marking on your wrist, now appearing to have settled into something bolder. It was definitely a petal, or an ambrosial symbol of some sort. The Mark of the Rose…
You swallowed hard. It would seem your destiny had led you here. Even if it was a sudden destiny, a fate you never asked for. If you were going to get your old life back, well, it looked like you were going to have to take a detour. “I think...I’m going to do what I have to.”
At the other side of the barn, Seungmin blinked, remaining ever calm and collected since the moment you first met him. Jeongin, on the other hand, bore his eyes into you as if waiting to hear the climax of the story. “And what’s that?” Seungmin asked.
You stood, placing Felix on your shoulder. “You’ll see. Just watch me.”
| End Act One ❧
ღ Stray Kids M.List | M.List ღ
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。 .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。
#stray kids#hwang hyunjin#stray kids imagines#stray kids scenarios#stray kids reactions#stray kids preferences#stray kids au imagine#stray kids masterlist#stray kids angst#stray kids soulmate au#hyunjin#hwang hyunjin imagines#hwang hyunjin scenarios#hwang hyunjin au imagines#hwang hyunjin oneshot#hyunjin imagines#hyunjin fantasy au#hwang hyunjin fluff#hwang hyunjin angst#hyunjin au imagines#hyunjin au#kpop imagines#kpop au imagines#stray kids fantasy au#stray kids royal au#hyunjin royal au#han jisung#lee felix#yang jeongin#skz
494 notes
·
View notes
Text
No One Lives Forever- CH11
(AO3 link)
Stardust Crusader Wolf Pack AU
[From the beginning- CH1]
<Previous Chapter Next Chapter>
The sky is painted bright orange and red by the time the pack arrives at the next camp site. The fall colors on the trees make the world look like it’s made of gold and rubies cemented to black cast iron trees in silhouette. The path to the camp ground is narrow but still large enough for the truck to navigate as Avdol drives carefully down the one lane trail. Kakyoin had kept in mind the need to be able to transform at will tonight and found a private campsite that promised a ‘true survival experience’ according to the reviews online.
Your attention is dragged away from the fall scenery outside as Jotaro shifts in his sleep, his head resting in your lap as he lays sideways on the bench seat of the back row. You adjust the hoodie you’d thrown over his sleeping figure and gently brush back his hair before returning your hand to rest on his arm. He’d been exhausted after the last fight and started nodding off almost as soon as you had set out. After the third time he leaned too far forward and jerked himself awake you gave in and decided to risk the embarrassment of the others teasing -or worse, Jotaro’s rejection- and offered to let him lay down. He looked confused for a moment but you patted your lap in invitation. He snuck a quick glance to the rest of the pack before shifting and laying down. You were both tense at first at first but you hesitantly ran your hand over his hair and he loosened up considerably. Soon he was fully asleep on you.
Joseph and Polnareff also seem to be sleeping, or close to it in the middle row seats, but a particularly rough bump in the road shakes the truck enough to wake everyone. Jotaro grumbles as he sits up, sweatshirt falling off and revealing the tank top and bandages on his shoulder. He looks it for a moment before handing it back to you with a gruff ‘thanks’, his voice raspy with sleep.
“It’s no problem. Feeling better?” you ask as you bundle the sweater on your lap.
“A bit. Still sore as hell.” He tries his best to stretch in the confined space. Another bump in the road almost causes him to bump his head on the roof and he slumps in his seat to avoid it happening again as the bumps and rocking get more extreme.
“Ah, that must be the camp site ahead.” Kakyoin says as he looks up from the map on his phone and points to the clearing now visible after cresting a small hill. The truck is barely still for a second before Polnareff jumps out and starts stretching. The rest of you follow his example, the cramped car ride after transforming and fighting not doing your muscles any favors. Like the site you just left this one was also empty but located much deeper in the forest. Perfect for keeping off the grid until morning.
The last campers had left some firewood under the cover of a nearby pine tree so you work to quickly clear the ashes from the fire pit. With the help of Jotaro’s lighter, a good size fire crackled happily to life just as the sun set. The rest of the pack had split up to investigate the clearing and into the woods beyond while you built the fire, but the rustling of bags draws everyone back in. Joseph makes his way over carrying as many bags of snacks as he can, “Dinner time! Looks like the choices tonight are beef jerky, chips or candy.” You all gather and take a seat on the logs laying near the fire and start passing around the bags.
While a meal of snacks wouldn’t be filling for long, for now it was enough to leave you all satisfied. Joseph is sitting with Polnareff and Avdol across from where you are seated between Jotaro and Kakyoin and sets off the first contagious yawn. You can hear his back crack as he stretches, your own eyes watering from the strength of your yawn. Polnareff laughs and slaps Joseph on the back, “Ha, looks like it’s past the old wolf’s bed time!” Joseph can’t refute this as he goes to reply and gets caught by another epic yawn.
“We should go over sleeping arrangements though. The truck is too small for all of us to sleep in and we only have a fire because the last campers left some wood.” Kakyoin says as he leans forward toward the fire and rests his head in his hand. He moves his sharp gaze around the clearing looking for any other supplies or natural resources that could be used. He heaves a sigh and drops his gaze back to the fire.
Jotaro hums in though as he looks around as well. “With all the encounters we’ve had just today I think we should take shifts on patrol. The truck can probably hold two people if we fold down some seats. The rest of us will have to spend the night transformed, for safety and for warmth.” The rest of the pack nods in agreement. “Avdol, are you ok driving the rest of the way tomorrow?”
Avdol tilts his head at the change of subject. “Yes, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Good,” Jotaro leans back and stretches a bit as he explains, “you and the old man can sleep in the truck tonight, the rest of us will pair up and patrol in shifts.”
“Well wait a moment Jotaro, I can patrol too!” Joseph slaps his hands on his legs as he leans forward toward Jotaro. “I know I joke about it a lot but I’m not that old!”
Jotaro sighs as he closes his eyes and crosses his arms. “One of these days your age will catch up to you. Besides, you’ll need to be well rested to navigate for Avdol tomorrow. And you need to manage whatever is going on at the new headquarters once we get there.” He opens his eyes again and fixes Joseph with a steely gaze. Joseph scratches at his beard and looks away, not ready or willing to challenge Jotaro on this. You can’t really make out what he grumbles under his breath other than ‘not that old’.
Polnareff laughs and slaps Joseph on the back, “Ha! I’ll remember you said that next time you try and get out of trouble using that ‘frail old man’ card!” Joseph just grumbles more as everyone chuckles; you see a small smirk on his face as he turns away though.
“Fine, fine. Us old guys will sleep in the car while you young whippersnappers brave the cold out here. But don’t come knocking on my door in the middle of the night!”
Jotaro grins at his grandfather’s antics before turning his attention to the rest of the ‘youngsters’ in the pack. “I think we’ll be fine if we spend the night as wolves. The temperature shouldn’t be so cold that we can’t handle it. As for patrol and watch,” he pulls out his phone to check the time, “we’ll pair up for the night and morning shifts, that way all of us get at least a few hours of sleep.” Just the word sleep has Jotaro suppressing a yawn. “I’ll take one spot on the morning patrol, anyone else have a preference?”
You nod and speak up, “I’ll stay up for night shift, I’m not an early riser.” You blush and turn away from Jotaro as you realizes he’s seen you in action- or inaction- two mornings in a row now.
“I don’t really have a preference.” Kakyoin says from your other side, he must have interpreted your movement as looking for his answer, not just avoiding Jotaro.
“I guess that makes me the deciding vote, I’d rather stay up for the night watch than wake up early as well.”
With the patrols figured out for the night everyone starts to prepare for bed. It turns out though that you’re the only one with rough camping experience as the guys watch perplexed as you start gathering a pile of leaves to make a more comfortable spot than just the hard ground. “What, you guys never camped without gear before?” Three sets of eyes look away, embarrassed as Joseph starts cackling in the background.
“You’re going to have to show these city boys the ropes (Y/N)! I’m sure you can handle it.” Joseph says as he climbs into the cleared space in the back of the truck and shuts the door behind him.
“Wait, seriously? None of you have camped out without tents before?”
“Unfortunately, Mr. Joestar is right,” Kakyoin explains as he takes a step forward to better observe what you are doing, “is it really more complicated than just transforming to stay warm?”
“Well, that will keep you warm but it won’t make it more comfortable to sleep on the ground. Help me gather up some more leaves, we’ll make a two-person pile to use as a mattress. Then I’ll help you guys bundle up some pillows out of clothes so they don’t unravel overnight.” Jotaro raises an eyebrow but just shrugs and does as you instruct, the other two falling in line as well. Soon a pretty decent leaf pile is collected and you spread it out large enough for two adult males to fit comfortably. After showing the guys how to roll up pillows tight enough to withstand the tossing and turning that comes from sleeping on the ground you all scavenge the area for branches and sticks to keep the fire fed overnight. “Excellent! I’ll make campers out of you guys yet!”
“How is it you know all this anyway? You said you traveled a lot, but is this how you normally got from place to place?” Kakyoin asks as he drops off the last pile of sticks from his arms.
You wave off the comment, “Oh no, I usually had enough money to get a motel room or something. In a pinch I could sleep in my car for a night if I absolutely needed to. I actually learned all this camping stuff from family reunions. I have a lot of family when you start counting cousins and second cousins, and every year there is a reunion at the beginning of summer. We spend the whole weekend as wolves, hunting, racing, sleeping, occasionally fighting…” you smile and slap your hands free of dirt. “It’s really a great time, living wild for a weekend. Gets a lot of pent-up energy out, you know?”
“That sounds like a rather nice tradition.” Kakyoin gives you a kind smile, “Perhaps we should consider adopting it?” he turns his head towards Jotaro who just hums contemplatively before nodding. Another wave of contagious yawns overtakes the pack and you all decide its time to get some rest.
You all quickly shed your human forms for wolf fur, your senses sparking alive as your form shifts. Colors dim as your new sight allows for better night vision at the cost of reduced variation. You inhale deeply, expecting only the smells of woods and campfire but something slightly sour hangs in the air. Closing your eyes and lifting your nose to the wind you try and follow the trail but it’s gone as suddenly as it appeared, the wind chasing it away from you through the trees. You shake your head and snort to clear your nose. It was probably just some trash or something a previous camper forgot in the area.
Jotaro and Kakyoin get situated on the bed of leaves and Polnareff motions for you to join him at the edge of trees for your first patrol. The journey through the woods is slow going at first, both of you slightly on edge, not knowing what to expect. While you had more experience ‘living wild’ as you called it, Polnareff obviously had more experience hunting and tracking. He makes it a point to stop often to mark your trail with scratches on the trees and brushing up on other shorter bushes to leave his scent. He laughs at you a bit when he catches your curious gaze on the tree he just mauled, “What’s the matter? I thought you were used to camping out in this form?”
“Well yeah, but… I was always stuck hanging out with the pups. My dad and uncles split up patrol duty.”
“Ah, well in that case let me show you. I usually do this when I’m on a job to find someone in the city; its much easier to follow your nose back rather than loose track of a target because you were looking at a map.” He gestures to a tree ahead, “Go ahead and help out. It will probably help keep other animals away too if they smell too many predators in the area.”
“I was wondering why I didn’t hear anything moving around tonight. You think we scarred everything off?” you sniff the air again; you could tell some deer and rabbits had been through recently but only their scent remained now.
“Probably. They’d have to be pretty ill equipped to stay in an area with a bunch of wolves roaming about- or humans for that matter.” He lifts his nose and jogs ahead a few paces to a large boulder, “Here- this is where we started at. Now we just turn left and we’ll be back at camp.” You blink perplexed, you hadn’t really thought about how many turns you’d taken during your walk. Perhaps you were more tired than you thought.
The fire is burning low when you get back to the camp so you feed it some of the branches collected earlier, keeping the coals burning hot enough to reach the sleeping men and keep them a bit more comfortable. You take a seat next to Polnareff and grab one of the drink bottles from the snack pile. It’s a little tricky with your hands being larger and less dexterous than you are used to but you manage to open it and hand it to Polnareff before grabbing one for yourself. The lack of animal sounds around the campsite is still a little unnerving but you’re soon distracted when Polnareff turns to you and starts telling you about the time he had to covertly chase a target through an office building while dressed as a mailman, trying to catch the target in the act of cheating with his co-worker.
You take turns trying to one up each other with ridiculous stories, keeping an eye on the fire and the woods at the same time. You can’t help but let your attention drift every so often as Jotaro or Kakyoin move around in their sleep. Polnareff’s pointy elbow is suddenly nudging your side as he laughs at you, apparently, you’d been staring at the alpha long enough for Pol to notice. You quickly turn away even though your fur would cover any blush on your face. Standing up and moving to the woods again you initiate another patrol round, Polnareff snickering as you follow the trail left last time and refresh the scent marks.
The rest of your night on watch goes smoothly, and by the time your last patrol comes around you’re feeling a bit sleep drunk, playfully pushing Polnareff around on your walk as he teases you for being so concerned with keeping the fire warm and setting aside snacks for Jotaro and Kakyoin when they woke up. Really you were just trying to keep Polnareff from eating all the good snacks. You laugh and give a shove and he makes a show of exaggeratedly falling into a tree.
“Such violence! Just wait! I’ll tell on you to Joseph; we’ll see who’s laughing then!” the large wolfman throws a hand to his forehead like a swooning southern lady and points an accusing finger at you.
“Tell on me? What, you’re going to admit you can’t hold your own against me? He’ll just laugh and call you a spoiled pup again.” You continue slowly on the patrol path and wait for him to catch up.
“No, I’ll just tell him how you were making googly eyes at his grandson all night. You will never have another moments rest!” his triumphant smirk is infuriating even in his wolf form so you shove him off the path again and race back to camp, laughing as he playfully shoves you off course as he passes you.
Back at camp your eyes immediately go to the sleeping wolves and you have to admit maybe Polnareff has a point about you making ‘googly eyes’ at Jotaro; he and Kakyoin are tangled up in what would be a puppy pile if they were younger. You’re very tempted for a moment to not worry about waking them up for their patrol shift and just join the pile yourself, but your rational mind overcomes your instincts and you carefully wake them. Kakyoin wakes up quickly and makes his way to the remaining snacks near the fire. Jotaro however looks half asleep still so you keep him seated for a few moments longer on the leaf pile as you check the wounds on his shoulder hadn’t opened up or gotten too dirty in his sleep. You help him brush some crumbled leaves from his fur and you both make your way to the fire and sitting logs.
You grab a few packs of jerky and some drinks to help Jotaro wake up and you can’t help the startled yelp as he grabs your hand and pulls you down to sit next to him. You’re almost uncomfortably close, your side brushing against his any time either of you inhales. Jotaro doesn’t seem to notice how tense you are, he still looks half asleep as he mechanically eats the snacks you offered him while staring into the fire. You ignore Polnareff’s snickering and Kakyoin’s knowing looks from across the fire pit and hand over a drink to the alpha at your side. His arm brushes against yours as he takes it and you shiver as the contact marks you with his scent, even if it was accidental it is a highly intimate thing, usually reserved for very close pack mates.
“Did anything interesting happen while we were asleep? Anything we should know about?” Kakyoin tries to draw in Polnareff’s attention before he can start teasing you or Jotaro.
Polnareff is hyper focused on the opportunity to tease you though, “Non, non. In fact, you are witnessing the most interesting thing to happen all night,” he gestures to you both. Jotaro must be more awake as he looks back over his shoulder in confusion before he realizes what Pol is implying. You hear him mutter something as he shifts away from you, but only by a few inches so you were no longer joined at the hip.
“Seriously Polnareff?” he yelps and fumbles with a water bottle you throw at him. “But really, it has been pretty uneventful. We must have scared off everything around here.”
Jotaro tenses next to you and you look at him with a questioning tilt of your head. “You haven’t seen any animals around? Not even on perimeter patrol?”
“Uh, no. we just assumed we scared them all away.” Polnareff scratches his head, also confused by Jotaro’s concern. “Isn’t it natural to flee a place is a group of hunters moves in?”
“Maybe at first, but at least the animals in the trees should have come back by now…” Jotaro rubs his eyes and lowers his head with a huff, “Whatever, I’m probably over thinking it.” You glance around the camp site again, the peaceful quiet now more ominous as shadows cast from the fire dance behind trees and bushes.
“Oh, thanks a lot Jotaro. Giving me the creeps right before I go to bed.” Polnareff’s fur is standing on end making him appear comically fluffy. “I’m blaming you if I get no rest tonight. And after (Y/N) and I did such a good job on our watch.” He huffs as he attempts to smooth down his fur again.
The red wolf next to him just chuckles and shakes his head, “Well no one said you have to go to sleep. You’re free to stay up and keep an eye on camp if you want.” Kakyoin stands up and stretches as Polnareff mumbles to himself about needing his beauty sleep and shuffles over to the leaf bed.
You and Jotaro rise from your seats and you give another skeptical glance around at the trees before grabbing hold of Jotaro’s arm as he starts to walk away. This may be becoming a habit for you, grabbing onto his hand for reassurance. He faces you and tilts his head an you search for words as you make eye contact with him. “I…um… just…” you glance away and refocus on his face when he gives your hand a squeeze “Be careful?”
He nods and his stoic features soften slightly as he smiles, “We will, don’t worry. Go get some rest.” His hand lest go of yours and trails up your arm and around to your back to nudge you in the right direction. Too tired to put up any resistance, you follow his order. You’re asleep almost as soon as you lay down next to Polnareff in the leaf pile.
Kakyoin waits patiently at the entrance to the patrol path you and Polnareff created as Jotaro checks around camp. Avdol and the old man still asleep in the truck, the coals of the fire still hot enough that the heat reaches your sleeping spot, and there should be enough wood to keep it that way till morning. He’s satisfied with the state of things and casts one last critical glance to the shadows beyond the tree line before joining Kakyoin on the path. The silence of the forest is unnerving but easy to ignore, Polnareff was probably right about the animals keeping a wide berth around a group of predators.
His concentration is pulled from the surrounding woods by Kakyoin. “(Y/N) seems to be really fitting in well with the pack.” The red wolf faces ahead with a straight face, but there is a glint in his eyes as he glances back to Jotaro to gauge his reaction. “I don’t think I’ve seen you warm up to anybody as fast as you have to her. It’s a bit shocking you decided to trust her so soon if I’m honest.” He tries to keep his face neutral, but Jotaro can see the beginnings of a smug smirk.
“You saying I shouldn’t trust her?” Jotaro throws the statement back at him, years of experience turning Kakyoin’s teasing comments on their head coming into practice.
“Ha, no, not at all. She more than proved herself today.” He pauses, a more serious look on his face as he continues, “But even you have to admit, you’ve been acting very strange since you met her.”
“It’s… complicated. I don’t really want to talk about it.” Jotaro shakes his head and continues moving on.
Kakyoin stops in his tracks, “You know I wouldn’t push you unless I was worried about you. This may be your last chance for a while to get it out in the open. No audience, just us and the trees.” Kakyoin gestures to the woods and waits as Jotaro stops and contemplates his options.
He heaves a sigh before continuing to walk and Kakyoin grins knowing he’s won. “It’s complicated because I don’t really understand what’s going on myself. I know I don’t really know her yet, but at the same time I don’t care about that at all.” Jotaro ruffles his hair in frustration and embarrassment. “The old man thinks its my instincts trying to tell me she’s my mate, or potential mate at least. Logically, I know I should take it slow and get to know her first like a normal person, but…”
“But we’re not normal people Jotaro.” Kakyoin nods sagely, the internal issues clearer to him now. “But she’s not a normal person either. From what I can see, she’s just as eager to get closer to you too.” He can see Jotaro’s shoulders slump in relief as they keep walking the path. “You do have options here, but you need to figure out what you want first. And you don’t have to take Joseph’s words to heart. We’re not going to have the same thoughts on pack bonds and mates as the full wolf members of the pack do.”
“True.” Jotaro sighs again, “Maybe it’s just my human half making me over think this. Gramps and the others don’t seem to have a problem just following their instincts wherever they lead to.”
“Well, that doesn’t always work out perfectly either. That’s what my father did all his life and you know I only call home for mother’s sake these days.”
“I don’t think that’s a trait limited to wolves in that regard.” There is more of a growl in his voice than Jotaro intended. He clears his throat and continues, “Some fathers are just like that.” The rest of the walk back to camp is silent and Jotaro makes himself busy tending the fire when they arrive.
Kakyoin is equally subdued and takes a seat on the log next to Jotaro after raiding the drink selection. He hands over a bottle of beer and Jotaro quirks his head in question. Kakyoin just shrugs and pops the cap off his own, they each take a long swig and stare into the fire.
After a while its time to walk the perimeter path again, the red and black wolves moving quietly to the edge of the camp. Jotaro can’t help but sneak one more glance to where you and Polnareff are sleeping before giving the whole area one last critical look. He joins Kakyoin at the entrance but is stopped by Kakyoin’s outstretched arm before he can continue on the path. The red wolf has his nose tilted to the air so Jotaro follows suit. A slightly sour smell, like a mixture of garbage and deer musk assaults his nose before a breeze makes him loose the scent. Kakyoin must have lost it too based on the way he opens his eyes and searches the woods around. Nothing seems out of place, all the trees around silent and still. The animals have still not reappeared and the silence makes each footstep loud and clear as a bell. Another strong breeze makes the trees creak and groan, leaves shifting and rattling on the ground.
The soured smell is back again as they reach a landmark tree indicating they need to turn left soon, but as they pass it by, they are met with unfamiliar woods in front of them. The trees groan in the wind again, but Jotaro notices no leaves shift from their spots on the ground. They both freeze and turn in place, Kakyoin barely catches movement from his right where the landmark tree is, the roots undulating and creeping like snakes before quickly resettling.
“Jojo, the trees…”
“Yeah, I saw it. Not just the trees though, look at the branches on that bush.” The shrub in question was undoubtedly larger than it was a few seconds ago, its branches and twigs looked like they were caught in the wind but were using the movement to disguise how they grew and stretched themselves towards the wolves.
Jotaro’s fur stands straight up, there was no telling how far off the path they’ve been led. Were they even in range of the camp to hear if anything was also going wrong there? They’d have to rely on the scent trail to get back before… The sour smell from earlier is suddenly overpowering as a few trees about fifty feet away move on their own to make way for a giant creature lumbering towards them. Its beady eyes are focused on them and it grins, revealing jagged teeth as it lifts its arm. The plants around them writhe and tangle themselves at the leshin’s command.
Kakyoin growls loudly as he cuts away reaching branches with his claws. Jotaro focuses on the creature before them, looking for any obvious weaknesses. Its body is gigantic, probably twelve feet tall even though it was hunched over and dragged its knuckles like a great ape while it walked. Rough textured skin peeked out between ragged pelts and tufts of mossy hair on its body, probably the most vulnerable targets at a glance. On its head it wore a deer skull like a helmet, the antlers scraping branches above it with each bob of its head.
It’s distracted with pushing a tree out of its way to make room for its body and Jotaro uses the moment to rush forward, Kakyoin following right behind him. They quickly close the distance and lunge at the beast leaving deep gouges in the creature’s skin. No blood rises to the surface of the cuts though, in fact, the leshin makes almost no note of the injuries. They repeat their attack, but the rough patches only splinter like tree bark as they make contact. It retaliates and swings a fist at them but it’s too slow to connect.
They quickly fall back out of range to regroup. Jotaro growls lowly with his hackles raised, “Its skin is too thick to break through.” The leshin raises its arms again and they cut away the creeping branches.
“We can out run it though. Get back to camp and get everyone out of here.” Kakyoin pants as he slashes at vines threatening to anchor them to the ground. Jotaro nods and turns towards the woods, Kakyoin leading the way back to camp. The creature catches onto their plan though and with a chilling wail the trees in front of them weave into a solid wall before their eyes.
Roots spring up from underground and snare their legs too quickly to cut away. The creeping vines quickly climb up past their hips and tangle their claws when they come close enough. Their struggle is fruitless and the leshin lumbers closer to them making up for its speed handicap by totally immobilizing its prey. It reaches for Kakyoin and its massive hand is large enough to completely wrap around his torso as it plucks him from the ground.
Jotaro’s eyes widen and redoubles his efforts to get free as Kakyoin is lifted towards the creature’s mouth. He glances around desperately looking for something that can aid him before it’s too late. The trees and roots are still undulating wildly, rocks and dead branches pushed out of the way for the living plants. Living plants. Of course, it was only able to control living things! He’s finally able to free one of his arms and grabs a rock laying near his feet. It flies free of his grasp and shatters the nose of the dear skull on the leshin’s head sending shards of bone into the creature’s forehead and eyes.
The leshin howls in pain using its free hand to brush away the shards and lowers Kakyoin towards the ground. Kakyoin had been scratching and clawing at the gigantic hand still squeezing him but uses the opportunity to grab onto a large rock as he’s swung low to the ground. The creature recovers and swings Kakyoin back up towards its mouth. The rock Kakyoin is holding slams into its face as he swings his arms with all his strength and the creature wails in pain again.
Keeping hold of the large rock, Kakyoin quickly shoves it into the mouth of the screaming leshin, sinking his arms up to the elbow to lodge the rock in its throat. He’s barely able to withdraw before the leshin snaps its jaws shut. Its wails and cries now reduced to gurgling choking as its eyes begin to bulge and look franticly around the woods. Panic is starting to set in as it’s unable to draw in air, its grip on Kakyoin finally releasing and control over the plants waning. The drop to the floor is jarring and Kakyoin scrambles to regain his footing, one arm braced across his stomach where the leshin’s grip had tightened painfully.
Jotaro is finally free of the vines and roots that kept him bound in place and sprints over to where Kakyoin is hunched over, grabbing him under the arms and dragging him away from the creature as it fumbles and thrashes. Its gnarled hands grasp at its throat, clawing and scraping away at its own bark-like skin. It rises to its full height and stumbles backwards, beady eyes rolling in their sockets and tongue hanging from its gaping mouth. One of its arms flails wildly before making contact with its mouth, pushing fingers into its own throat to try and dislodge the rock but only pushing it deeper. The lack of air finally makes it loses consciousness and it falls back into the trees with a crash.
Kakyoin stands, panting as they watch the leshin twitch in its death throws, both he and Jotaro winded but thankfully just bruised from the encounter. The woods around them are again still and silent, trees and roots creaking and groaning in protest to their new locations but no longer moving on their own. They keep their eyes locked onto the creature as they catch their breath but as soon as they recover, they turn back to the path. The markings on the trees can’t be trusted to lead them so they rely on smell as they run through the woods back to camp.
They burst past the line of trees into camp and take stock of the scene. The fire is burning low, but everything else seems to be just as they left it. Jotaro motions to the truck and Kakyoin nods and makes his way over to wake Joseph and Avdol. From where he’s standing, he can see you and Polnareff are still sleeping, your face pushed into the white wolf’s back for warmth and Polnareff has wrapped himself around one of the makeshift pillows. Jotaro shakes you awake first; you grumble and reluctantly roll over to look at him. “We’re leaving early.”
A kick of adrenalin feels like ice shooting through your veins, fully alert and stiffly sitting up to look around the camp for danger. Nothing seems out of place so you turn your attention to Jotaro. He’s panting slightly but seems fine other than some random leaves and twigs stuck in his fur. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?” you ask as you stand up from the leaf bed and keep a careful eye on the woods.
Polnareff is grumbling as he’s woken up too but Jotaro turns to you and answers, “We encountered a creature, I’m not even sure what it was.” Another spike of adrenalin rushes you, “We took it down but I don’t want to take any chances that it had friends out here. I’ll explain more in the car when we’re out of here.” You and Polnareff nod and help him to quickly pack up camp.
Joseph and Avdol make their way out of the truck just as you finish smothering the fire, Kakyoin behind them and once again in his human form. Jotaro drops his transformation as Joseph approaches him and claps his hand to Jotaro’s shoulder as he looks him over for new injuries. A few new scrapes have appeared on his skin but you were correct earlier when you didn’t see any serious ones. He huffs as he completes his visual check and pulls Jotaro into a tight hug. “We’re really having some shitty luck lately, aren’t we son?” he pulls away with a grin as Jotaro mumbles out his trademark ‘good grief’, but you see the small smirk on his face too. “Kakyoin told us the… thing… out there is dead?”
“Yeah, but I’d rather we get out of here as soon as possible. We don’t know if it was the only one here.” Avdol nods at the order and gets to work arranging the seats and loading gear into the truck. You and Polnareff are the last to drop your transformations and the chilly morning air causes you to shiver. It’s still a few hours till dawn, but soon you are all ready and seated in the warm truck, Joseph is acting as navigator as Avdol drives carefully out of the woods, the last leg of your journey to New York City now underway.
<Previous Chapter Next Chapter>
Author’s Note:
I just keep falling further and further behind, don’t I? I try to write for at least an hour a day on my lunch break, but between this chapter being SOOO long and my lunches being shorter lately... well better late than never!
#werewolf#pack#family pack#jjba fanfic#jojo's bizzare adventure#jojo part 3#stardust crusaders#jjba anime#jjba au#jotaro kujo#joseph joestar#noriaki kakyoin#jean pierre polnareff#muhammad avdol#jotaro x reader#reader insert#au fanfiction#jjba strength#leshin#camping trip gone wrong
27 notes
·
View notes
Note
Jaguar! Tom discovers his wife is having an affair. He murders his rival. Reader's wrists are tied to the chair. Tom caresses her cheek. He tells her: You're mine. She says he forced her to marry and she isn't love him. Tom smiles and tells her : You will never leave bedroom. You will stay there forever as my lovely wife.
Trigger Warning: obsession, yandere, murder
Word Count: 1536
Character: Jaguar!Tom/reader
Summary: your husband finds out you're having an affair. And he is filled with pure anger.
POV Thomas
He was angry. Very angry. Anger filled him. But also, in a sense, I was a little confused. How could his beloved wife dare to cheat on him? Why? Didn't she love him?
But didn't they have the most beautiful and pure love in the world? Weren't they happily married together? In Thomas ' opinion, she had everything: beautiful and expensive clothes, a husband who idolized her, delicious food, comfortable conditions. What was wrong with her?
Thomas spent most of his free time with you. Spent time with you, even bathed you when you were sick. And in the end, what? And in the end, she just ignores his feelings and throws a knife in his back. Not literally, of course.
But why with him? Why did she cheat on him with a stranger? A man who wasn't even her type! Thomas knew about his wife's tastes. You liked the dangerous ones, the courageous ones, and most importantly, the smart ones. Who would even like a stay-at-home person? Some nerd, what does he do, what does he read about morality?
No, his doll was only interested in gentlemen like him. And she won't need anyone else. Period.
Thomas sighed, clenching his jaw tightly, squeezing his snow-white teeth. He blinked a couple of times and his gaze returned to the body. On a dead body. On the body of his wife's lover.
What a freak. These were Thomas's thoughts, and he kicked with a little lethargy, his shoes already stained with blood. The blood of the bastard who tried to steal you from him.
Thomas didn't like Ben. That was the man's name, Ben. The towering man slowly savored the name. He didn't like it. What kind of idiot would give his son that name. Although St. Benedict...
But no. Beliefs were alien to him, and he had never had much sympathy for any religion. Although thanks to them, it is easy to manipulate people, which was certainly a plus for all politicians.
Thomas quickly squatted down, spreading his legs and raising his left eyebrow. And how could this man only attract the attention of his wife?
Benedict's red hair lay in an unpleasant and sticky arrangement. Was he poor, since he couldn't even afford a normal gel? It was possible, especially if you looked at his clothes, which were old, worn jeans and a loose red sweater. More like a jumper, though. Thomas didn't know much about it.
He didn't want to believe that those disgusting hands were touching the body of his doll. He couldn't imagine this freak stroking her back.
No, he wouldn't dare touch his doll like that. Her beautiful soft hair, which was convenient to grasp during acts of love, soft and innocent eyes that always looked into the eyes of the interlocutor. This is a beautiful face, the beauty of which can not be compared with anyone from the existing person.
Still, Thomas hoped Benedict hadn't touched her in that particular way.
The man stifled a sigh.
"Thank you for not even torturing you. My tortures can be quite brutal, by the way, " Thomas lamented, getting up from his crouch with a loud gasp and adjusting the black frosted pants from the new Westwood collection. And why was he only wearing that suit? I knew I'd get it dirty. And his favorite shoes.
Thomas turned to the other men who were standing by the door, watching the scene, and said quickly::
"Get out of here, and quickly," he waved a hand in it. "I don't want the police to notice the murder of this senseless man," Thomas said in a steely voice, quickly scanning the perimeter for other people.
"Get ready, doll, because you're going to get hurt," he muttered to himself, clenching his fists tightly.
***
"I love you, doll," the man mumbled happily, holding his beloved's small hands tightly in his big and wounded ones.
The girl only smiled in response, resting her head on the strong shoulder of her beloved Thomas. He just smiled, blissfully closing his eyes.
"Me too," she murmured back.
***
POV Your
Fucking freak. A complete freak, incapable of even the slightest feelings of compassion. How could you ever meet someone like that? Why exactly are you? Why exactly do you get into all sorts of unpleasant situations with crazy psychos?
You sighed softly, feeling your heartbeat quicken again, getting faster and faster. You didn't want to think about what would happen when Thomas, your husband, came here. I didn't want to. You were sure that this betrayal would be followed by the punishment that your, you slightly grimaced, husband, so often spoke of.
You blinked a couple of times and looked at the door across from you. Freedom was so close and yet you couldn't get it... Although even that plan did not seem to be very implemented.
Your last plan, which Thomas revealed, was to have an affair with a man behind his back. With a man who would do anything for you, even write a book! With a man who will love you with a sincere and pure love, and not the way Thomas loves you.
You don't even want to say his name in your mind.
But in the end, the plan failed because Thomas installed a small sensor in your body, as painful as it was to realize, that would monitor your location.
But how did he know about it? After all, you did everything secretly, there were no inaccuracies. You checked everything! And in the end, Thomas somehow doubted your "loyalty" to him and decided to track you.
But even apart from that, you didn't stop dating your beloved Benedict. After all, he was so cute! Infidel, one of the best people there is.
***
Thomas's intense and watchful eyes were watching you. Watching you change into a pair of light pajamas that consisted of long shorts and a white nightgown.
You turned your brooding gaze on him, looking at Thomas in a little confusion. He took your gaze and cleared his throat, lowering his eyes.
"Tell me, do you love me?" he asked incredulously as he sat down on the soft, spread-out bed. You stifled a sigh and sank down beside him. It was getting harder to wake up and fall asleep next to him.
Trying to smile, you turned off the light.
"Of course I love you," unfortunately, or fortunately, these words had to be said constantly and through force.
***
You pressed your lips together. Being in this room right now was just disgusting. You never liked her, but you knew that if you said a word against Thomas ' word, you'd be in trouble.
Although it would seem that the usual room of a rich man. The white walls matched the white bed, the legs of which were dark in color. There was a large beige sofa next to it, a large-screen TV in front of it, and bookcases with books and clothes next to it. And of course, in the corner of the room, you could see a small camera. Thomas loved to dominate the situation.
Yes, everything would be fine, but only if Thomas didn't force you to have violent sex in this room and everything here wasn't bought with stolen money.
And although you used to like this beige sofa, standing next to the bed, now you just hated it fiercely, as well as the bed itself. And all why? Because you were sitting on it right now, and the ropes were tied to the bedposts, rubbing your skin very painfully.
Suddenly, the wooden door opened loudly and closed with an equally loud bang. You looked up reluctantly. Your husband, who was apparently in a complete mess, was walking straight towards you, angry with Thomas. It seems that not now will definitely not be good.
You've never found Thomas eerily handsome. Yes, he was good-looking, in your opinion: that black hair, gelled, thin lips, brilliant blue eyes that you could drown in, a great style in music, clothes, books, after all, but still something about him always seemed suspicious. He was too perfect.
Suddenly, he was right in front of you, grabbing your sore cheek with a strong hand. You stifled a painful groan. Damn, this is so unpleasant. But you will have to endure, because it is better not to show Thomas your fear and resentment, otherwise he may be bitterly angry.
"You're mine!" he roared loudly, through his teeth, like a lion about to pounce on its prey.
You sighed softly, feeling the uncomfortable feeling in your hands again, where the hard rope was rubbing painfully against your wrists, and feeling your cheek tighten again.
"I'm not yours!" No, it was just unbearable. You're not a toy and you don't belong to anyone. "I will never be yours, because you just forced me to marry you, you freak!"you snapped back, already feeling that Thomas would slap you, so you prematurely closed your eyes.
However, the blow did not come. Blinking, you saw Thomas smiling at you with a sickly smile. She's always terrified you. It meant that something was about to happen.
"You just don't understand. You just don't get it, do you, doll? But no, you understand perfectly!" he growled again, barely able to contain himself. You saw the veins in his neck bulge. All of a sudden he just calmed down. "You will never leave this room again. You will stay here forever, as my beloved wife.”
#tom hiddleston#obsessive#yandere#yandere loki#yandere tom hiddleston#obsessive tom hiddleston#obsession#tom hiddleston smut#tom hiddleston x you#tom hiddleston x reader#yandere jaguar tom hiddleston#jaguar!tom hiddleston#jaguar tom hiddleston#jaguar#loki x you#loki x reader#dark loki#loki
28 notes
·
View notes
Text
ice prince (post-script) | jjk
summary: you travel the world together as the country’s favorite ice dancing couple and celebrity romance, but you can’t help but wonder what the future has in store for you and jungkook.
{established relationship!au, ice skating!au}
pairing: jeon jungkook x female reader
genre: fluff
word count: 1k
warnings: none
a/n: thank you to @sopseokjin for commissioning this piece and donating to the #blacklivesmatter movement!! i had so much fun revisiting the ice prince couple. if you remember me writing the entire 22k fic in 4 days, you qualify for a veterans’ discount.
There is something different about hotel windows.
They’re always enormous, always spanning the size of the wall, a big Plexiglass screen separating you from the world outside. They always come with two curtains, a semi-transparent one that lets you see into other people’s rooms, and a thick one with the pattern of an old wallpaper or vintage couch.
And they always make you feel as though you’re both looking out into a sea of lights, into a city slowly beginning to fall asleep, and as if you were trapped inside, the window being your only source of contact.
It’s no wonder you always find yourself staring out of it, wrapped in a white robe after hopping out of the shower, a long day of competing and skating behind you. Normally, you’d soak your feet in the bathtub as well, letting the water wash away of the soreness, but you feel quite light tonight.
You gaze out into the city, looking over the roofs of buildings, over the air vents and grey cement that covers all of the skyscrapers that surround you. The yellow glows in the top-floor windows of the buildings are your stars tonight, lighting up an otherwise empty navy blue sky. It’s such a shame that there isn’t a cloud in the sky, and yet you cannot see a single star. Your window doesn’t even face the moon.
“A penny for your thoughts?”
You look up to see Jungkook standing behind you in the reflection of the glass, soft brown hair tousled and messy, like he just got out of the shower and let it dry as is. He’s wearing an old shirt from your home rink and some shorts. Comfort clothes.
“Just looking out the window,” you tell him, letting him come over and watching your reflection as he wraps his arms around you, swaying softly.
“It’s pretty,” Jungkook meets your eyes in the window.
“Is it weird that, no matter what city we go to, I always feel the same when I look out the window?”
Jungkook pauses for a moment, then says, “No. I feel it, too.”
Does he?
Does he feel the way that even if the world changes you feel as though your place in it has remained stagnant? Feel like you’re trapped repeating the same few days over and over and over again? Ice skating is perhaps one of your truest passions in life, something that you seldom dread doing despite all of the injuries over the years. But it is as though you do not exist without your skates. That your sense of belonging is defined by being on the rink rather than off of it.
You wouldn’t know who you are without ice skating. It’s brought you so much joy, so much love. It carried you to Jungkook.
“I shouldn’t be complaining.” you say with a shake of your head, pulling yourself out of his grasp and settling down on the side of the bed. The sheets are tucked into the bed frame so tightly you’re half convinced that they might rip if you pull them any further. “We get to go to so many nice places and stay in fancy hotel rooms and skate for a living.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t find negatives in what we do,” Jungkook says with his eyebrows turned down as he joins you on the bed. “You can be grateful and critical of things at the same time.”
“I just feel like…” you sigh, unable to find the right words. You aren’t by any means discontented with your life, with what you get to do. Every morning you wake up and look forward to what the day has to offer, look forward to tugging on your skates and getting onto the ice, look forward to seeing Namjoon and Hoseok and Taehyung and, especially Jungkook. “Like we’ll be stuck doing this forever.”
“You know that’s not true,” Jungkook tells you, reaching out to take your hand in his own. He strokes the back of it with his thumb, calloused fingers pressing against your skin. “We can dp whatever we want with our lives.”
“I don’t really know what I want,” you admit. You’ve always been rather indecisive. It is one of your greatest flaws.
“You don’t have to know,” Jungkook assures you. He has always been so driven, so focused. He looks to the future fondly, rather than in fear. His heart guides him through each and every day, and even if he makes a mistake he knows it will never steer him in the wrong direction. “You just have to see where life takes you.”
You turn to him, watch his eyes grow bigger as they stare into yours. “Where do you want life to take you? When this is all over, what do you want to do?” When younger skaters far more talented than you will usurp you, will achieve far more complex jumps and challenging lifts, effectively sending you on a slow decline out of the top leagues. When the spotlight will no longer shine on you, lighting up your path on the ice, when no more medals will hang around your neck and no more trophies will be placed into your hands.
“I’m not sure,” Jungkook says. “I’ve always wanted to learn piano.”
“You can do that now,” you remind him.
“Not with our schedules, I can’t,” he says.
“There’s a piano in the lobby,” you remember. It’s an upright, nothing too fancy, but no staff seems to play it and barely anybody spares it a second glance. “You can try.”
“Maybe some other time,” Jungkook says with a laugh, letting you rest your head on his shoulder. You’re still facing the window, but it’s different when you’re sitting down, further away from it. Like you’re watching a late-night movie. Like you’re not a part of the scene at all. “I’d also coach, maybe. Like Namjoon and Hoseok, I think that’d be fun.”
Ice skating will never leave him.
“You think we’ll still be together after all of this?” You ask. It’s a weird, hopeful sort of ask. Like you hope he says yes even if the odds are against it. There’s a part of you that fears, that has always feared, that ice skating was your only link, the only thing keeping you connected. You would not have known Jungkook without skating, and you know him now as someone who is just like you. But what will happen when all of that ends?
You feel the way Jungkook sits up straighter, feel how he stiffens, making you look up at him. It’s an honest, candid question. What does the future hold for the two of you? Is there even one to begin with?
“What do you mean?” He asks. “Of course I do.” A pause. “Do you… not?”
“No!” You tell him. There is nothing you fear more than being away from him, than losing the last part of your life that preserves what little personality you have left. “I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I just—I wasn’t sure.”
Jungkook reaches his other arm out, both of your hands wrapped up in his own, and he squeezes tightly, making you look at him. He’s got that steely, certain look to him, the same determination you see right before a competition performance.
“I don’t know what goes on in that head of yours,” he begins, “but you have nothing to worry about. Not about ice skating, or competitions, or our future, or me. Because I love you, and I’m proud of you, and I know that whatever you end up doing will be beautiful and meaningful to all of the people whose lives you have touched. And I will always stand by your side, even when we stop skating, even when we are cranky coaches, and even when we are old and lazy.”
The words are music to your ears. A soft smile draws itself on your face, and he lifts a hand up to press it under your chin, leaning in to place a soft kiss on your lips. It’s incredible, what he makes you feel.
“I’ll marry you, one day,” he promises. “And we can live wherever you want. We can have cats and dogs and plants and, maybe one day, we can have kids too.”
“If we do have kids, I hope they don’t inherit your ego,” you tease, making him laugh.
“No,” Jungkook says, shaking his head. “They’ll inherit my devilish good looks, instead.” You giggle, and Jungkook shuts you up with another kiss, taking away all of the breath in your lungs, making your skin tingle. “I love you, did you know that?”
You grin. You did, but you love hearing the words anyway. “I love you, too.”
↳ links are broken, but don’t forget i’m still taking commissions!
#jungkook fluff#jungkook angst#bts fluff#bts angst#bts scenario#jungkook scenario#bts imagine#jungkook imagine#bts au#jungkook au#w: ice prince
308 notes
·
View notes
Note
What about, the prompt number three for Brank? *Puppy eyes*
I’m sorry this took forever but I really loved writing this even when I wasn’t making much progress. I hope you enjoy it!
Brank + 3. touching foreheads
Read on ao3
Billy hated hospitals. He hated everything about them, from all the people always coming and going, the oppressive and glaring fluorescent lights overhead to the constant lack of quiet, be it from the sounds of beeping machines or humming equipment or just the constant sound of conversation. Even the smell, so bracingly potent in its cleanliness seemed to put him on edge. It probably didn’t bother most people, but everything about this place made Billy uncomfortable and ill at ease from the moment he knew he’d have to go inside. Places like this, any clinical setting really, reminded him too much of his past, especially around the time he’d found his mother, practically on life support after she’d nearly drugged herself into oblivion one too many times. The place she was in now still made him uncomfortable, as though he could smell the scent of people’s suffering just from entering the building. Just one more reason he preferred not to see her.
Today though, today he was here for a different reason and if it had been for any other reason, he probably wouldn’t have come simply to avoid stepping foot in another hospital. But he wasn’t here for a friend or even a family member, he was here for someone far more important than either of those designations.
Billy had taken care of everything personally as soon as he’d been given word. He’d made sure the room was the biggest and best available, had only the best staff on duty with more just a call away if need be and he was sure he could have a jet waiting and ready in under 30 minutes if shit suddenly decided to hit the fan, which Billy always assumed it would even if it never really did. It was the soldier in him he supposed, always having to be prepared for the worst case scenario. He’d learned a long time ago that it paid to have all your bases covered and he was definitely a man with the means to do exactly that.
The ride in the elevator was excruciating, both because of such an enclosed space and the length of time it took to move up several floors even though in actuality it probably wasn’t any time at all. Mostly though, it was because of the series of knots that had formed in the pit of Billy’s stomach, starting the second he got the call. After that, he’d started ringing contact after contact to get everything in place here before ultimately making the trip here himself.
Finally, Billy reached the correct floor and found it blessedly less crowded and a bit quieter, mostly because Billy had demanded the best and was willing to fork over the cash for a bit of privacy. Still, his heart sped up as he made his way down the hall, his expensive Louis Vuitton’s echoing against the tile with every step.
There was a rather broad man in a black suit standing in front of the door at the end of the hall. His arms were crossed over his chest and his gaze steely. If he was listening to the chatter he was surely hearing from his earpiece, it registered no change in his expression. Billy didn’t have to say a word, the man knew who he was just from sight alone and immediately stepped aside, opening the door and allowing Billy to enter before closing it once he was inside.
The room was silent except for the steady sounds of the machines that were inescapable in a hospital. It was a rather large space for a hospital room, with an oversized couch and several chairs, some decent wallpaper, and windows that overlooked the city.
“You didn’t have to do all this.”
Billy had avoided looking at the man sitting in the hospital bed until then, exhaling a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding when he finally managed a look. His eyes landed on the other man’s face, saw the myriad of cuts on his body, some deep enough to require stitches while others were simply bandaged. Not that Billy could see most of his body, just his face, and arms, the rest covered by a gown and the thin blanket that had been placed over him. Still, Billy could see the beginnings of bruises along with other abrasions. He worried about the injuries that he knew he couldn’t see.
It took a moment for him to find his voice as he took everything in. “It’s you. For anyone else, I wouldn’t have but you’re not anyone else.”
“So I’m royalty now, huh?” Frank’s voice sounded rough and more than a bit tired, but just the sound of it made Billy’s heart beat faster, even as he remained rooted to the spot, still taking in the state of the other man. Leave it to Frank to try and make light of his current situation.
Billy sighed softly then, taking a step toward the bed. “You act like I should’ve done nothing.”
“It’s really not that big of a deal, Bill. Whatever happens to me isn’t your fault.”
“But you could’ve died!” Billy burst out, drawing back a second later, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him.
“We’re all going to die sooner or later. You’re still making more out of this than you should be.” Frank insisted.
Billy let out a noise of disgust. “Oh spare me that bullshit. Just because we’re all going to kick it one day doesn’t mean we should just act like we have no control over our lives. We shouldn’t just let shit happen as it may, paying no mind to our own safety, just asking for the universe to come and off us.” He shook his head before meeting Frank’s gaze. “Is that what you want? Do you have some sort of fucking death wish that you haven’t told me about?”
Frank scoffed. “You know it’s not like that. I do what I do because I have to, because nobody else will. You know it’s a little more dangerous than some office job.”
“I do but you’re not an untrained idiot who decided to do this for his own jollies either! Would it really be so hard to be a little more careful? Every day I wake up and wonder if this is the day I’m gonna get a call that someone found your maimed corpse in some burnt out warehouse!” Billy was trying so hard to rein in his feelings but this was Frank and nobody else got to him quite like he did and it didn’t help that Frank didn’t seem to understand why Billy would go to such lengths just to make sure he was okay.
“And so what if I end up dead, Bill? You’d be fine, you’ve got everything anyone could possibly want and if you don’t, you’re more than capable of paying someone to get what you want. The whole fucking world is in the palm of your hand. Compared to all that, why do I even matter?” Frank asked him, watching Billy with almost curious eyes, unused to seeing the other man this way.
For a long moment Billy stood silent. His gaze had moved from Frank to somewhere on the floor, but it soon returned to his face and Frank wasn’t sure he quite understood the emotion he saw playing in Billy’s eyes when everything about him was normally so guarded.
“Don’t you get it?” Billy finally asked him. “Don’t you understand that without you, I’ve got nothing? No family, no friends, or at least none that matter anyway. I’ve got the money and the high powered job and everything that comes with that but none of that matters if you’re not here. How am I just supposed to fucking go on without you, huh? How am I supposed to move on and act like everything is okay knowing damn well I’m never gonna see you again?!” Billy demanded, his voice rising as he began to pace, not knowing what else to do with himself.
Frank found himself unsure of what to say. It hurt him to see Billy like this, to see him so clearly unhappy when he was usually so calm and practically unflappable in any situation. When they’d been overseas, he’d been a lethal sniper because of his ability to remain in control at all times besides having a perfect shot. He was even like that when they were deep in a firefight. Billy could handle anything. Frank couldn’t remember a time when he’d seen him like this.
“Bill...I-I don’t…” He couldn’t seem to find the right words.
Billy had crossed to the other side of the room where the windows were, now leaning his hands against the ledge beneath the glass, his eyes trained on the view of the city outside.
“Sometimes...Sometimes I think about trying to convince you to go away with me, to give up all of this, this life you’ve chosen. I think about convincing you to let me take you away from here, off to anywhere in the world that we could want to go as long as it got us out of here and I’d never have to worry about losing you again. We could just disappear, never have to worry about anything anymore. I don’t care about where we’d end up, as long as we’re together.” Billy sighed heavily then, shoulders sagging. “But I know there’s no point in asking. I know I could never get you to agree to it. I may not be able to live without you, but that doesn’t mean you feel the same way about me.”
Frank had never heard Billy speak like that, never understood just how much he cared, not really. He’d always done such a good job of hiding his emotions, but perhaps this time had been one close call too many for Billy.
“Bill, fuck, I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t realize how you felt. I’m so used to not caring too much about my own survival that I assumed if I was gone, maybe you would be sad, but that it wouldn’t mean nearly as much as it clearly would.” He swallowed, finding a lump had formed in his throat. “But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be lost without you.” Frank managed, his voice much softer now. “I know how important you are to me but I don’t think I’ve been showing it, not nearly enough. I didn’t realize how my own disregard for myself would affect you.”
Frank’s eyes stayed on the other man as he remained in place by the window, not saying a word. He couldn’t help worrying that Billy wouldn’t say anything else and that he would simply walk out. Frank didn’t want that, didn’t want there to be this tension between them.
“Bill? Will you come over here? Please? So I can stop looking at your back?”
For a long moment, Billy still didn’t move. But eventually, he straightened and turned, approaching the bed. Frank recognized the expression on Billy’s face, one he was very much familiar with, the calm, cold look of detachment Billy kept up around nearly everyone and almost all the time. Frank was one of the few people around which he could let that mask disappear and allowed himself to really feel things, but usually only if they were alone. Frank didn’t take offense to Billy refusing to do that now, knowing that the coldness was just his response to his control slipping earlier. It was a defense mechanism for Billy, one he relied on, a sort of self-preservation against rejection or unwanted pain, something he’d been forced to learn from years of being used and having his wants disregarded by people he thought he could trust. He didn’t know how else to handle emotionally charged situations where feelings mattered more than anything else. For Billy, he’d much rather storm a fortified bunker than try to navigate his own feelings.
Frank wasn’t quite like that, but he understood well enough and he honestly wasn’t much better considering the emotion of his that he was most familiar with was rage.
But the good thing was that he was also one of the few people who could coax Billy into letting his guard down after he’d thrown every wall back up. It wasn’t always easy, but it seemed Billy responded to him in ways he just didn’t with other people.
Frank pushed himself up in the bed so he was sitting better, so he could try and get Billy to meet his gaze. “You mean everything to me, you know that?” It wasn’t easy for him to say these things out loud, but they needed to be said and at least they were alone. “I never say it and I clearly don’t show it enough but you’re all I’ve got, Bill. I know I’d never make it if you were gone but I never realized that you would feel the same way about me.” He exhaled a deep sigh, looking down at his hands, the knuckles wrapped up as they’d been split and bloody when he came in. “You’re the only one who even remotely understands the shit that goes on in my head. I don’t have to act like I’m something I’m not with you. You don’t look at me the way some people do, like I’m a ticking bomb they don’t know how to defuse. You’re the only person I know that won’t let me down…” He looked up, surprised when he found Billy’s eyes on him.
The look in Billy’s eyes was unreadable, those dark eyes revealing little though Frank felt like Billy was studying every bit of him, as though he were peering into Frank himself, picking up on all the things the other man had left unsaid.
Frank didn’t move when Billy stepped closer, didn’t shy away when the other man carefully reached to touch his cheek despite having several cuts on that part of his face. He didn’t care honestly, he wasn’t afraid of Billy in any sense, but he definitely wasn’t going to pull away now, not when he saw the way Billy’s expression changed. Those eyes were no longer distant, instead, they were now watching Frank in a way he couldn’t quite describe, though he found this look familiar. He’d seen glimpses of it when Billy thought Frank hadn’t been paying attention, only for it to disappear as soon as he realized that Frank had noticed. Frank wasn’t entirely sure what it meant, but he didn’t look away, leaning into Billy’s hand as the man’s thumb brushed over his cheek. Billy so rarely gave out affection, not that Frank was much different, but it was even rarer that Frank received affection nowadays from anyone so he relished it while he could, the look in Billy’s eyes making him feel things he thought he’d long since left behind.
Frank had been so caught up in trying to piece together the thoughts going on behind Billy’s expression that he didn’t even register when the other man moved, not until Billy was already kissing him, almost hesitant at first. For a moment Frank froze, his surprise immobilizing him until his brain came back online and he registered just how good all this felt, from the warmth of Bill’s lips against his own, how unbelievably soft those lips were, to the hands that were now framing his face, cradling his cheeks with the utmost care.
Frank hadn’t kissed anyone in a long time, enough that he couldn’t even pinpoint the last time in his mind, but he couldn’t recall any of his past experiences making him feel like this, that despite his multitude of injuries, all he could feel was how good kissing Billy felt.
His bandaged hands reached forward, grabbing handfuls of Billy’s suit to try and tug him closer as he leaned in, kissing Billy back, not expecting the swell of emotion that rose up inside. It felt this was something he’d been waiting to happen for years, like Frank’s whole world suddenly made sense in a way it never had before.
When they parted, Billy didn’t go far, resting their heads together as his thumbs continued to stroke over Frank’s cheeks. “You’re it for me, Frankie. If you’re gone, then I might as well go with you. If you’re not here, then nothing else really matters.”
Those words hit Frank especially hard, the look on Billy’s face that he’d been trying to understand beginning to make a lot more sense. “I’m not going anywhere.” He promised softly, reaching up to gather Billy’s hands in his own, pressing his lips to the other man’s knuckles. “I won’t do that to you, Bill, I’m not gonna leave you.” He leaned up and Billy didn’t hesitate, meeting him in the middle to kiss him again as Frank squeezed his hands.
For a moment they remained that way, neither in much hurry to move. But when they did separate, Frank briefly worried that Billy would change his mind and act as though none of that had just happened. But much the opposite happened.
Billy slipped out of his suit jacket and for a second Frank didn’t understand why, not until the other man returned to the side of the bed and Frank quickly understood what he was silently asking for, even if Billy couldn’t bring himself to voice the words. This wasn’t unusual either, they always seemed to be on the same page about almost everything.
Frank carefully shifted himself on the bed, moving his body to one side in order to leave enough room for the other man’s long frame. It wasn’t easy and it took a good bit for both of them to get comfortable, minding the wires and tubes attached to Frank as well as his numerous injuries. But soon Billy was tucked under Frank’s chin, a careful arm secured across his torso, his head resting so he could hear the other man’s heart beat.
Frank wrapped an arm around Billy, nuzzling his nose into the softness of his hair before pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Billy responded by lifting his head to press a kiss beneath the curve of Frank’s jaw.
“You don’t ever have to be without me if you don’t want to be, okay?” Frank’s fingers traced down over Billy’s arm. “I’m yours if you’ll have me.”
“Yeah?” Billy responded, “You sure about that?”
“More sure than I’ve been about anything in quite a long time.” Frank tightened his hold on Billy, tugging him impossibly closer. “I know what I’m asking for, Bill. I know you and I know everything that comes along with you. But you know me too and you know all the bullshit I’ve got hanging on me, always going on inside my head. If you can accept all that and take me anyway, then I know I can do the same for you. I just wish I’d made this decision a long time ago.”
Billy said nothing for several minutes, listening to Frank’s heart and the steady sound of his breathing. He’d avoided shit like this for years, refusing to let anyone get close enough to be with him like this unless it was some sort of fling and those never lasted long. He’d always moved on eventually. But Frank was different. Frank had been his one constant since they’d met and he was the only person to look every horrible thing about Billy straight in the face and not flinch, not even a little. And if they were going to get to have more moments like this, then wasn’t that all he’d ever wanted all along? No one had ever touched him like this, wanted him like this. If Frank wanted him, would it really be so bad to let Frank have him when he wanted Frank just the same?
This time when Billy lifted his head, he made sure he met Frank’s gaze, looking into those brown eyes that he had always found so welcoming whenever they were on him. “You and me, huh? This mean you’re gonna propose too?”
Frank’s face broke out in a smile at that, one that made his laugh lines come out and his eyes light up. “Whatever you want, sweetheart. I’d be content to spend the rest of my life making you happy.”
Billy had to kiss him again when he said that, sure this would be just one of many more to come. And as he once again made himself comfortable in Frank’s arms, Billy found himself at ease inside a hospital for the first time in his life. Funny how being with that right person could change things completely.
#brank#frankenbilly#frank castle x billy russo#frank castle/billy russo#the punisher#the punisher fic#my writing#thefuckisaid#answered
29 notes
·
View notes
Text
Under Enemy Fire PT. 2
A Shay Cormac x Reader Story
Word Count: 1,670
Warnings: Explicit Language, Mentions of Death
Author’s Note: Hi...I have no excuse for not updating this :D. Enjoy! -Thorne
“Did you know she could fight, Master Haytham?” His eyes flit from the pages of the book to the man sitting across from him.
He inhaled, snapping the book shut with a crack that seemed to echo inside the carriage. “Surprisingly, Shay…no.” He paused, gaze shifting to the window. “But a great deal of things are now becoming clear about her that had been hidden before.”
“Like?”
“She’s been trained. From birth…much like I was when I was a child.”
Shay regarded him a moment. “Did your father teach you?”
Haytham nodded. “He did, as did other teachers when he died. I suspect Lady (Y/N) has had masters of all kinds train her.”
“Why keep it hidden?” Shay wondered aloud, arms crossing over his chest. “If she’s the only living child of one of ours, that means at some point she’ll have to take over for him. Why not go ahead and establish herself in the Order?” He looked to the templar across from him. “I think we can both agree that she’s strong enough to hold a high position in the order…higher than me.”
Haytham went silent a moment, then hinted, “Perhaps she’s been waiting for a more opportune moment to reveal herself.”
“And when would that be? When she’s found a suitable partner?” He frowned. “If that happens and she marries, she’ll lose the inheritance. She—” Shay shut his mouth, a look of amazement crossing his face as he remarked, “That must be the reason she’s refusing all the suitors. So that she can keep her inheritance.”
Haytham merely tipped his head to the side. “We’ll never know until we ask.” The hunter turned his eyes to the manor in the distance, settling back in his seat as they arrived.
The doors opened and as they climbed out, they were met by a stoic man. He turned, letting them pass before addressing, “Masters Kenway and Cormac, welcome to the (L/N) manor. I am Jameson, the family butler.” They nodded. “I regret to inform you that Lady (Y/N) has yet to return from her morning activities.”
Shay cocked an eyebrow, quipping, “And what are those? Balancing books on her head and needlework?”
The butler simply looked to the manor doors. “Swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat, in fact.”
The templar went silent as Haytham let out a rare snort before asking, “Shouldn’t she be practicing in the manor?”
Jameson hummed as they climbed the steps, and he opened the doors, letting them inside. “She was earlier, but then she went off into the woods for a bit of hunting.”
“What’s there to hunt?” Shay had taken to picking at the trays of food on the dining table, much to Haytham’s dismay.
“Other than the normal wild animals such as bobcats and deer, nothing special. She simply leaves and returns hours later with a few pelts.” The butler handed Shay a handkerchief, watching as the Irishman thanked him. “A few years ago, there were poachers on the lands. After multiple requests for them to leave, she gave them a final warning to leave the land or she would take matters into her own hands.”
Haytham arched an eyebrow. “I assume they didn’t take her seriously?”
Jameson nodded. “She came home that night covered in blood. We did not ask…and she did not say.” He cleared his throat, motioning to the table. “She requested you to stay in here if she had not returned in time. But I suspect she should be back soon.” The two nodded and he bowed his head. “Then I shall take my leave.”
He disappeared down a hallway, and Haytham reached over, whacking Shay’s arm. “Quit eating!” He hissed, glaring as Shay dodged another swing to shove one of the hors d'oeuvres into his mouth.
“Oi, it’s here for us! We might as well eat it!” The Grandmaster grunted, turning his eyes to the forest behind the manor; he could feel Shay lean close, gazing out the window as well. For a moment, neither spoke, then the hunter muttered, “Please don’t tell me we’re going to do what you’re thinking about.”
Haytham stood straight, making his way to the back door. “We are.” He opened the door. “Come along Shay, we’ve a huntress to collect.”
Shay groaned, but conceded, keeping in step as they made their way across the field. “This is going to take forever.”
“It certainly will if you keep blathering about it.”
“Well begging your pardon, sir, I didn’t expect to be tracking down a master huntress.”
Haytham tossed a look over his shoulder. “That’s your possible betrothed you’re speaking of.”
The hunter felt is cheeks warm and he grunted, stepping over a fallen tree branch. “It’s a little early to call us that. We just met a week ago.”
“And yet, you seem captivated by her already.”
“Speaking of betrothals, if her father is the one having her meet with members of the order…have you and her…you know…”
Haytham let out a sigh, reaching up to run a hand down his face. “Oh, for God’s sakes. That’s where you’re taking this conversation?”
Shay shot him a grin as he passed in front of him. “I was simply wondering if the two of you were set up for a possible marriage. What are you talking about, Master Haytham?”
The other templar shot him a pointed look. “It’s honestly surprising that you haven’t been shot yet.”
“Oi, I’ve got the scar on my shoulder blade to counter that.” He waved a hand. “Really though, were the two of you introduced at some point?”
Haytham hummed. “We were. That’s how she and I met a few years ago. I’m surprised I didn’t see through her façade back then.” A silence stretched between them and he glanced over, ribbing, “Don’t think about it too hard, Shay. Your brain might explode.”
Shay snorted and shook his head. “You seem to enjoy her presence…you definitely respect her. The two of you are from well-known and respectable families…why didn’t the two of you marry then?”
They stopped in the middle of a clearing, and Haytham said, “I do respect her. I can count on one hand how many women I genuinely enjoy being in the presence of and she is one of them. I asked her if she would want to marry, but she politely declined.”
“Any reason why?”
“I didn’t ask.”
Neither spoke and Shay looked into the forest, sighing, “We’re never going to find her. This forest spans hundreds of acres.” He met Haytham’s eyes. “She could be anywhere.”
Before he could respond, a voice sounded from above. “Giving up so soon?” The two templars reacted like startled deer, spinning on their heels to gape at the woman crouching atop the hunting platform. “I figured you would at least try and find me.”
Shay cocked an eyebrow. “How long have you been following us, Lady (Y/N)?”
She turned her head, nodding to the way they came. “I saw you come up the pathway…then I heard you enter the forest.” (Y/N) looked back at them before descending the platform, landing a few feet away; she stood, slinging the musket across her back as she made her way past them. “With all due respect, Master Shay, you are rather loud.” Haytham let out a chuckle as the hunter began to silently gripe. “I apologize for not being back before now. I made the mistake of leaving my pocket watch.” (Y/N) paused, looking at them. “I do hope you can excuse me for my tardiness.” They waved her concern off and she nodded, turning back towards the manor. “Not that I do not mind the visit, but I am curious as to why you are here. This does not feel like a friendly house call.”
At that, Haytham finally spoke up. “We came to speak to you about your position within the order.”
Though her steps faltered a bit, she was quick to hide it. “Even though I am not a templar?”
“You’re good at lying, Lady (Y/N), but you’re not flawless at it.”
(Y/N) spun on her heel holding a challenged spark in her eye. “I have seemingly fooled you and the rest of the order for a few years now.”
Haytham stood apart from her, steely gaze matching hers as he countered, “And now it is crystal clear that you were the one who helped to conquer the bases in Boston from the assassins a few years ago.”
She pursed her lips, then tipped her head in agreement. “That is a fair point, Master Haytham.” (Y/N) waved a hand. “So, what is my position within the Order? I cannot imagine many will be accepting of me taking up a spot.”
“Why do you say that?” Shay inquired.
She glanced at him. “Have you met half the men who are Templars? They are sexist pigs who would rather order a woman around than listen to one.” (Y/N) sent a withering glare to Haytham. “If you even think of putting me under any of the men from Boston, especially Hickey or Lee, I will put them six feet under.”
He narrowed his eyes with a rather amused fashion. “You truly hate Thomas and Charles, don’t you. Lady (Y/N)?”
“I despise them.” She corrected. “Hickey is crude and salacious, and Lee cannot seem to pull his head from where he has shoved it up his ass since becoming a Templar.” She let out a huff, then took a deep breath to calm herself. “They might be efficient at their jobs, but they sully the Order with their actions and behavior.”
“I think you’ll do fine where I’m going to position you.” Haytham said.
“And where will that be? Here in New York? My standing already dictates I oversee much of the business within the city, even Templar business.”
He smiled at her, though his eyes were holding a humored look. “Oh, have no fear, Lady (Y/N). I’m actually putting you on the Morrigan.”
She and Shay both had the same reaction. “WHAT?!”
#shay cormac x reader#shay cormac x reader imagine#shay cormac x reader imagines#shay cormac imagine#shay cormac imagines#ac rogue imagine#ac rogue imagines#ac rogue#assassins creed#assassins creed imagine#assassins creed imagines#assassins creed rogue#assassins creed rogue imagine#assassins creed rogue imagines#haytham kenway#templars#assassins
43 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
inky-curves
Inky Curves
karls-knithat
--_--
skincaremurahuntukkulitkering
ORDER WA
0853-1465-0575 Ella Skincare Solo Pencerah Wajah Peraw
lagarbosa
Sem título
thechickentest-blog
Bryce Johnson / brycej