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#and now she’s dead asleep hanging out of a window with a shadowy figure over her and you think she’s just a little stressed?
danascullysjournal · 2 years
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“I definitely saw some dark shadowy form that looked like a large bird or something sitting right next to my BFF who, by the way, was hanging OuT oF tHe WiNdOw fast asleep…
She seems WAAAAY more pale than she should be and there are bags under her eyes, oh also she was holding her neck and moaning so she’s probably just worried about something poor dear.”
~ Mina Harker, who has literally watched her bestie getting morbed twice and is still trying to explain it away as “nerves”
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hanniiesuckle17 · 4 years
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Pros and Cons
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A/n: im sorry it took so long for me to do this bb! This is for @poeticallyspaghetti​ you've done so much for me lately. you were there for me when no one else was. I love you and I hope you like this! I also can’t wait for our collab together
Look out for Checkmate on both of our accounts!
(not thoroughly edited)
Member: Bangchan ft. 3RACHA, Jae & Dowoon of Day6
Word Count: 20.2k
Warnings: POV switching, censored cursing, mentions of theft, slight violence, mentions of the mob, sensual themes?
Summary: Y/n L/n has lived her whole life locked up in a fancy penthouse. Chan has spent his whole life living one adventure from the next. When fate brings them together by accident Chan takes on the task of whisking her away from her seemingly perfect life, but little do the both of them know bigger problems arise forcing them on the run.
Genre: Con-artist au!, romance, scammer!au, Non-idol!au, comedy, a little bit of angst?
Y/n’s POV
The sound of violins floated across the grand foyer of my parents' penthouse. Well...my penthouse. Really, the presidential suite of the nicest hotel in Seoul. The older I got the more the luxurious mansion in the sky seemed like a prison instead of a palace. Once again my mother was throwing one of her high society parties. The parties were one of the few chances I got to actually interact with the outside world. My parents were convinced that I was some delicate flower that needed protection and isolation.
The closest I got to the outside world was the balcony in my room.
A man over half my age was talking to me about the stocks my father held in one of the many corporate companies in Seoul. “So, it would mean a great deal to our organization if you could pass the word along to your father.” I nodded and downed the rest of my champagne. Now would have been a great time for friends to come in handy. But, there was no one but myself to save me from this dreadfully boring situation.
“Excuse me, sir,”
The man nodded graciously and let me walk away, my heels clicking across the polished wood floors. A hand grabbed my elbow, yanking me in the opposite direction my feet were moving. “Y/n would you be a dear and go talk to the Minister of Education’s daughter.” My mother’s voice nagged in my ear. Her smile was basically permanently plastered on her painted face. “The two of you would be terrific friends. Also, your father needs more pull in the Cabinet.”
My eyebrow rose as I looked across the room to the Minister’s daughter. “Mother she is eight.”
“Yes and?”
“Can’t I have friends my own age?”
“Yes. When both your father and I are dead. We can’t have you hanging around boys and other bad influences. You could ruin your father’s reputation.” She then took my wrist and spun me around taking in every single inch and fiber of my being. “Darling, who dressed you? You look thoroughly underwhelming.” I rolled my eyes as she started unlatching the heavy and bling filled diamond necklace from her neck.
“Mom-”
“Don’t fuss. Photographers are here tonight.”
My chest instantly gained a little under a pound as the close to twenty-thousand dollar necklace was clasped onto my neck by my controlling mother. After it was safely secured on my neck, my mother pushed me in the direction of the little eight-year-old girl snacking on hour devours. “Hi, you’re Jisoo- right?”
I sighed and prepared to sit next to this tiny little girl for the rest of the evening.
Bang Chan’s POV
Several shouts could be heard behind me as I raced down the hall of the hotel. I can’t believe some people live here permanently. My fingers hurriedly started unbuttoning the black button-down I used to pass off as a waiter. The staff's hall was practically empty as I walked through and tossed the button down onto a laundry cart. I shivered feeling the cold air on my arms. 
My hands latched onto the black backpack I stashed behind a potted plant. I pulled out my flannel and threw it on over my tank top. “There he is!” A quick glance behind me showed three overly buff goons chasing after me. Maybe swiping that dude’s watch was not the best idea. But this was easily like $3,000. He didn’t need it given what I heard the waiter saying his meal cost. “You won’t get away with this!”
“Yeah, that’s what you think,” I whispered, shoving the watch in my pocket. Maybe I should stick to cons and leave the pickpocketing to Jisung. The one time I try and pickpocket I get caught. My pace quickly turned into a run and burst through the nearest door. 
Smells of gourmet food flooded my senses as I weaved through the kitchen. “Where is he?” I pushed passed another waiter, shoving the backpack over my shoulder. Please tell me there is a back door somewhere. My eyes frantically searched for an escape. 
“Ha! Score!”
An old dumbwaiter came into my sights. Most hotels had them but didn’t use the mechanisms anymore. I opened the door and climbed in slamming the up button before closing myself inside. It was close to one a.m so hopefully, the guest in whatever room I ended up in was asleep. 
Y/n’s POV
The party was wrapping up as I trudged down the hall. I had spent the past several hours talking about cartoons and other childlike things with Jisoo. The sound of mt parents talking with some final guests could be heard behind me. A random staff from the hotel walked passed me as my feet carried me down the hall. The hotel usually lent staff to help with our parties.
My tired body pushed the door to my room open to be greeted by the dark and looming space. Moonlight streamed through the patio door that led to my balcony. I kicked off the painful heels my mother forced me into and took out the tight pins and tie in my hair, walking over to the mirror. My hands shook out the tightness and threaded through my H/c strands. 
A large thump had me turning to the far wall. My eyes searched the dark in panic. Blindly, my hands grabbed for an object behind me on my bureau. I looked to see a lamp in my grasp. Well, better than nothing. 
“Hello.....who’s there?”
My eyes picked up on a dark shadow standing up from the floor. My heart pounded against my chest. the shadowy figure hulked on the other side of my room, clearly looking around. “The f***?”   
“Who are you? Stay where you are.” The head turned at my words. I tried to steady my hands and voice; both were shaking. The figure inched closer and I raised the lamp over my head. 
“Oh sh**!” 
The figure made a break for the window and I tossed the lamp. The sound of it crashing against the wall filled the room. I grabbed a heavy candle on my dresser. My eyes searched the dark for his movement but the string of panicked curse words gave away the intruder.
“SUCK ON A EUCALYPTUS MINT CANDLE, YOU THIEF!!”
I heard a loud thud and the room was quiet. There was no movement. Inching forward I saw the body of a boy about my age slumped on the floor. The candle lay about a foot away from his head, the glass cracked. Cautiously, I nudged his shoulder with my foot. When he didn’t stir I started to panic.
“Oh crap. I killed a guy. Now, mom’s never gonna let me leave the penthouse.”
A knock on my door sent me jumping out of my skin. “Y/n? Y/n. Open this door. We heard a crash. Is everything okay? Y/n, open this door.” Smoothing down my hair, I rushed to the door and opened it enough to stick my face out. She studied my face and tried to look passed me. “Y/n, what the hell is going on? You should be going to sleep soon.”
“I’m fine, mom. I just tripped and knocked over a lamp.” 
She rose a brow and folded her arms. “Really? It sounded like more than that.”
I kept my grip firm on the door, knowing she might try to push through. “Yeah. I’ll leave it for Soonyoung to clean up in the morning. I’m gonna shower and go to bed. Night Mother.” Before she could say anything else I slammed the door and locked it. 
Okay. Dead body. In my room. What the heck do I do? Who do I call? I pulled out my phone and opened my contact list. Empty. Okay, so I’m on my own. I paced the floor, staring at the boys with shaggy brown hair. On instinct, I lightly kicked his stomach and he let out a groan. 
Okay, not dead. Good. Not dead. Bad for me. I dragged the chair from my vanity to the middle of the room and grabbed some pantyhose and scarves from my closet. It took all of my might to lift up the heavy boy into the chair. “Good grief. How much does this guy weigh?” 
With a final grunt, I threw him into the chair and started tying him up with the sheer tights. When I was finished I stuffed a scarf in his mouth and looked at my work. “Who is the fragile one now, huh Dad?” I said, hands on my hips. Another soft groan had me jumping across the room and grabbing the heaviest book near me. 
There was no way I could just leave him here. There was also no way I was sleeping in this room tonight. So instead I grabbed a fluffy bean bag and dragged it in front of the chair. I was going to sit and watch this dummy intruder all night. Or....until he woke up.
The sound of a muffled grunt sent me shooting out of the chair. I had fallen asleep while watching the thief. I readied my weapon: The Complete and Full Works of William Shakespeare. I had hurt many a toe dropping this thing.
The boy was looking around wildly before his dark eyes focused on me. “Who are you?” I asked, the heavy book ready to swing. He sighed and nodded his head before I realized what he was referring to. “Oh...sorry.” He sighed when I took the scarf out of his mouth and stretched his neck. 
“I’m Chris.” He replied in English. “Do you speak English?” He asked adjusting in his bonds. I scoffed and kept my Shakespeare weapon at the ready. 
“Yes, I do. But, you speak Korean. I heard you last night. Don’t play with me.”
He sighed and hung his head. When he looked up I saw his stare flash to my neck. His eyes turned to saucers before coming back to my face. “Alright, alright. What do you want to know?” The boy, Chris, answered back in Korean. Slowly, I lowered the book and sat down on the bean bag.
“How did you get into my room?”
“I climbed in the dumbwaiter and got off on a random floor.”
“Why were you in the dumbwaiter?”
Chris looked around my room before turning back to me. “Would you believe me if I told you I had a crazy ex-girlfriend. I’m sure you’ve got a crazy ex or two. I’d do anything to get away from her.” He shrugged his shoulders and plastered on a smile. The kind I had seen all the boys wear in movies. The kind that made your knees go weak.   
“Really? An ex?”
“Yeah.” I watched him gulp and look down at my necklace. 
“Is there something wrong?” He shook his head and looked away, squinting. 
“No. It’s just the sun is bouncing off the rocks on your neck. You trying to blind me or something?” I glanced down at the necklace my mom gave me last night. Then I turned to find the sun rising up above the Seoul skyline. 
“Yeah well....deal with it. You broke into my room.”
“By accident! Look, I’ll be happily on my way if you would let me go. What is this- underwear?” He said struggling against his DIY restraints.  
“Pantyhose.”
My parents would be up soon. My father would be going into the office and my mother would be attending numerous social events to further my father’s reach in the political parties. Or shopping it was a 50/50. “What are you? Sixty?” I scoffed and shoved the scarf back in his mouth. “MMmrrpphphh.”
“Yeah, no wisecracks now, huh?”
“NRRgghhrrgggg!”
“You gonna behave, pretty boy?”
“.....Mmpph.”
Smirking I grabbed the scarf from his mouth and tossed it onto the bean bag.  Chris shot me an annoyed glare. “So, let’s say I believe this whole ex-girlfriend thing. There’s no way I can sneak you passed my parents. Even if they both left early the staff is coming up to clean. We had a sort of gala in honor of my father last night.” I started pacing the floor, the sunrise leaking into my room.
“Oh, a ‘sort of gala’. Unlike a full f***ing gala. Those are for royalty.” Chris mocked in a British accent.
“Shut up.” 
He watched me pace the room and nervously tug at my messy hair. He sighed and hung his head, his chest resting against the tight make-shift bonds. “Look. As long as your parents leave, I’m sure I can make something up with the staff. Then we can go our separate ways and you can go back to shopping in Gangnam or whatever it is girls like you do.”
“I’ve never really been out of the penthouse...so I wouldn’t know what girls like me do.” He blinked at my response. 
“You’ve never left? That’s insane.”
“You haven’t met my parents.”
“I don’t think I want to.” I saw his eyes flick back to the necklace and an idea popped in my head. My fingers dragged across the diamonds and I tried not to break a smile when his eyes widened ever so slightly. 
“You like this don’t you?”
“I mean,” He shrugged, pursing his lips and looking out the huge door that led to my balcony. “It’s not bad. I’ve seen better.” I smirked and gently played with the necklace causing him to glance between me and the window. 
“Oh...I would agree. $20,000 is basically trash. Chump change really. They could have ripped me off for fake diamonds.” Chris’s eyes bugged out of his head.
“$20,000?!” 
I rushed to cover his mouth, looking to the door. “Shhh! My mother is a light sleeper.” After waiting a few moments I brought my hand away from his mouth. His eyes couldn’t help but bulge out at the payday sitting inches away from him around my neck. And I knew it.
My fingers undid the clasp behind my neck and I dangled the necklace in front of his face. It was like dangling a carrot in front of a mule. The diamonds swung back and forth slightly, his eyes tracking every move.
“You want it?”
All he did was gulp and look back up at me. He let out a heavy breath when I backed away still holding up the necklace. “What’s the catch?” He asked, still eyeing the diamonds.
“Take me with you. Get me out of here.” 
“Won’t your parents notice your gone.”
“My mother will miss these diamonds before she’ll miss me. And she won’t even notice they’re gone until tomorrow. She’s got tons of these.”
Chris seemed to be thinking about the deal. I was finally getting my hopes up. I could maybe start a new life. Earn my own way. Have friends. Have freedom. “Okay, are we talking like get you out for the day...or...’get you out’?”
“I can’t stand being here anymore. Get me out. I can always come back if I want to.”
Chan’s eyes followed the bling as I swung it back and forth. “Deal. Untie me.” I dropped the necklace on my dresser and untied Chris from the chair. I saw him make a break for the dresser, but I beat him there, grabbing the necklace. “Hey! Deal is a deal!”
“You haven’t gotten me out of here yet. You aren’t getting this necklace until you completely finish the job. If you know what I mean. And I think you do.” Chan sighed and crossed his arms.
“So you didn’t believe the girlfriend story?”
“Not for one second.”
“Da**.”
“Sorry, pretty boy.”
He backed away from me and shrugged. “Okay, princess. Change out of that freakshow dress and get ready to leave. I’m gonna show you what the world really looks like.” A huge grin overtook my face.
A few hours later I slipped out of my room and stuffed a backpack behind a plant near the door. First I had to sneak Chris passed the staff, then I was one step closer to freedom. Quietly, I snuck back into the room where Chris was lounging on my bed.
“I still don’t know why you want to leave. This thing is the softest blanket I’ve ever felt.”
I scoffed and started grabbing a pair of jeans from my dresser. “Yeah. I would trade freedom for those blankets and everything else in a heartbeat.” Chris sighed and started rummaging through my drawers. Probably looking for more stuff to steal or at least clues about my personality. 
“Is it really that bad?” I nodded and grabbed my favorite shirt and a jacket from my closet. After closing the bathroom door I started to change. “They don’t let you have any friends?”Chris called through the door. 
“I mean, Dowoon and Jae. But, they work for my father. Jae has always been...nice to me. But, my father hardly ever leaves them alone with me.”
A smile twitched on my lips thinking about Jae. He had been working for my father as a PA for almost five years. I had always had a big crush on him, but I could never know if he liked me back. He was always a stickler for my dad’s rules. 
“You ready?” Chris asked as I exited the bathroom fully changed. With a nod,  the two of us headed towards my bedroom door. Cracking it open I verified that the hallway was clear. “Okay let’s blow this popsicle stand,” Chris said as I motioned for him to follow. 
The staff seemed to be minding their own business in other rooms of the penthouse. Chris carefully followed me into the living room, quietly marveling at the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. My ears picked up on the front door opening. “Get down!” I whispered.
“Where am I supposed to hide? Everything is out in the open?”
“I don’t know just get down!”
Finally, I shoved him behind a white couch and sat on the arm just as a pair of leather shoes rounded the corner. A nervous smile graced my lips seeing who it was. “Y/n? What are you doing out here?” Jae asked. He looked insanely good standing in the pressed black Italian suit. It hugged his lean figure in all the right ways. 
“Uhhhh, Jae? I..uuh-..wanted some air?” I said the first thing that came to mind, instantly regretting it. I heard a groan come from Chris so I carefully kicked my leg behind me to keep him quiet.
“Miss, you have a balcony...”
“Yeah well, the air in here is better than in my room?” Come on Jae, just buy it. 
“Miss, the hallway air is exactly the same as the purified ultraviolet filtered air in your suite. Is the filter broken? Should I check on it?” 
He started advancing towards me but I pressed my hands against his chest stopping him from moving past the couch. My eye darted over to Chan who was quietly watching the whole scene from his hiding spot. “Uh..no! Umm....I just...heard you come in and....wanted to see you...” 
My voice trailed off at the last part and I looked up to see a light dust on Jae’s cheeks. “You wanted to see...me?” Jae’s voice was soft and he chuckled before looking around the room. I saw a thought flash through his mind before he backed away running a hand through his blonde hair. “Well- uh...your father forgot some papers for a deal with China and asked me to come get them.” 
I nodded and shoved my hands in my pockets. This was usually how most encounters with Jae went. Hopefully, he didn’t suspect anything. “Oh...okay. Do you know if he’s gonna be home for dinner.”
Jae shrugged and gave me a smile that screamed pity. “Sorry, I don’t know.” Jae turned around and headed for my father’s office. A few minutes later he came back out a file in hand as well as a briefcase. Jae gave me another smile sending heat to my cheeks and butterflies to my stomach as he existed the penthouse.
The second the front door closed, Chris shot up from his hiding place. “So....you like that guy or something?” He said dusting himself off. I shrugged and stood back up. A hand to my cheek told me my skin was still hot. 
“Oh...that was just Jae. I told you about him earlier.”
“Jae......?”
“Yes, Jae.” I couldn’t help the smile on my face when I said his name. Chris scoffed behind me as I grabbed the backpack I stashed. I glanced back as the two of us walked out the front door and into the hall. “What’s with the attitude?”
“Nothing. It’s just I thought you would have better taste.”
“What?”
“Please. He’s just some pretty boy with skinny chicken legs in a nice suit,” Chris took the lead, as we approached the elevator. He pressed the button for the basement and turned back to me with a smirk. “No muscle on him at all.” 
“Okay, pretty boy. Whatever you say.” Before Chris could make a retort the elevator doors opened and we entered, leaving him fuming. We rode the first two floors in silence. Then Chris opened his mouth.
“You know your little boyfriend was packin’ right?” My eyes went wide and I felt another blush rise to my cheeks. I tried to keep my stare forward. Chris chuckled at my expression.
“He’s not my.....-what do you mean- HOW WOULD YOU KNOW, YOU PERVERT?” 
Chan smirked and rolled his eyes. “No. I mean, your little chicken boy- he had a gun on him. I don’t know any personal assistant who carries that’s all.” Jae had a gun? He was with my father twenty-four seven. Maybe Dad wanted extra protection?
“So, why are we going to the basement?” I asked changing the subject.
Chris handed me a black cap from his bag. “We can’t just go out the lobby doors. Your a chaebol’s daughter. We’re gonna go out the loading dock. I’ve got some friends Itaewon that can maybe help you out.” Nodding, I put the hat on and sighed when I had to tighten it. Before the door opened Chris shoved the brim down over my face and threw an arm over my shoulder. “Pretend to talk about something that pissed you off.”
The doors opened and a couple of busboys stood in front of us. They looked the both of us up and down and then up to me when I started to speak to Chris. “So, this random girl jumps in front of me and steals my cab. Like who the hell does that? I was already late for work and I literally heard her tell the guy to take her uptown. No one works uptown!” Chris smirked and pulled me closer as we walked past the busboys. 
“That sucks, babe.” 
“I know! I was fired for being late. That freaking hag in 705 reported me for being late to clean!” Chris glanced back and then dropped his arm from my shoulder. “Good job, princess. Let’s bounce. The train for Itaewon leaves in fifteen minutes.” 
“Isn’t Itaewon....”
“Yeah. Don’t worry you’ll love it. Jisung does anyway.” 
Bang Chan’s POV
Y/n sat next to me, backpack in her lap. The boys were probably chilling at my place waiting for me so I knew where I could find them. The train doors opened and I motioned for Y/n to get off. She followed me out into the streets of Itaewon. A couple girls at the station called out to me and even to Y/n. She smiled at them, but I pulled her to my side. 
“Don’t talk to them.”
“What, why? I was just being nice.”
“Just keep walking and stay close to me. You’re practically a walking dollar sign.” She shrugged and walked closer to me. No way was I gonna let someone else scam my prize. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Y/n pull out her phone. She called out when I grabbed it.
“Hey, give that back!”
“We’ve gotta scrap it. Parents like yours are bound to have put a tracker on this.” She quieted and let me search through her phone. Sure enough, a quick search through it showed a program embedded into the software. It would take way too long to remove it. My eyes scanned the street we were on and landed on a pair of girls on the street corner. 
Y/n followed me as I walked towards them. “Hey!” Their heads turned and they stood up a little straighter. Their painted lips turned upwards into a smile. “You girls work for Yeji?” One girl nodded and crossed her arms. “Tell her I said hi. Also, here take this. Give it to one of her rookies.”
“And who should I say sent the message,” the girl with pink hair inquired, twirling a strand around her finger. The other pocketed the phone.
“Tell her Bangchan sent it.” The girl nodded and motioned the girl in the opposite direction. “Okay, princess let’s go.” Taking her arm I led her towards the burrows of Itaewon. 
“Who were those girls?” Y/n asked. I ran a hand through my hair as we walked through the streets. I was hoping Y/n didn’t look too out of place. Hopefully, Changbin would have some clothes that might fit her. He was small enough. 
“Well let’s just say Yeji provides girls to people seeking private entertainment.”
“Oh.” 
“Yeah. That’ll be fun for your mom to find.” I heard Y/n laugh behind me. “You think that’s funny?” I asked confused. She shrugged and looked around her. She seemed fascinated by everything around her. It was almost endearing. 
“I think anyone would think that’s funny.”
“Jisung is gonna looooove you.”
A few blocks later we stood in front of a two-story brick building with trees that hid most of the house, and what wasn’t hidden was fenced in by a wall. “You’re a pretty private person, aren’t you.”
“Yeah. Congratulations you are officially the fourth person to know this location.”
I opened the gate door and closed it behind us before walking up to my front door. My fingers quickly entered the key code and the security system beeped letting me know the door unlocked. “DADDY’S HOOOMMMEEE!” Someone screamed inside.
“Who the heck is that?”
“That’s Jisung. Try not to touch him. He may or may not have fleas.”
She chuckled and walked through the door. Jisung lounged across my couch and raised his arms when he saw me. “Chan! Channie! What’s up, dude? Where have you been?” I threw my backpack on the couch and motioned to Y/n behind me. 
“Got a little held up.” Jisung’s eyes went wide as Y/n rounded the corner. He stood up and brushed off what seemed to be Cheeto dust from his jeans.
“Hyung, who’s the chick with the great ass?” 
Jisung started walking towards her but I grabbed the back of his collar pulling him back in front of me. “She’s a payday.” His eyes widened and that mischievous grin lit up his eyes. 
“SHE’S GOT CAKE AND CASH!”
“Shhhhh!”
“My type of woman.”
I rolled my eyes as Jisung continued to ogle Y/n’s backside as she looked around. “Where’s Bin?” Jisung shrugged, his focus still on Y/n. “Hey! Can you not? Look she’s got a huge payday and I might split it with you.” That perked his attention.
“50/50?”
“Try 90/10.”
“60/40?”
“80/20.”
“85/15!”
I paused. “Yeah sure. I’ll split it 85/15. You drive a hard bargain.” Jisung laughed and shook my hand. His blonde hair bounced as he went over to Y/n. I climbed the stairs in search of Changbin. “Yo, Bin! You up here? I’ve got a favor I need.” 
Changbin was indeed upstairs. He was hidden behind multiple computers, typing away at lightspeed. The office door was open allowing me to see him. At my voice, he peeked out from behind the monitors and then returned behind his technological shields. “Chan I’ve done enough favors for you. Remember Gangnam?”
“Yes. I do. And that was very generous of you to help.
“No ‘ands’. No more favors.”
“1,000 bucks?”
“Sold. What am I doing?”
I laughed and sat at the edge of the desk. “YO, JISUNG! GET UP HERE!” Changbin shook his head and continued working on his previous project while Jisung took his sweet time climbing the stairs.”Can you find someone just off a first name?” I asked Bin, as Jisung walked in. 
“I can find someone off the first letter of a nickname.”
“Search for ‘Y/n’.”  I turned to Jisung. “So, what did she tell you?” He shrugged and picked up a random half made device on the desk. 
“Put it back,” Changbin said without looking away from the screen.
“Not much. She just told me you were helping her get away from her parents.” Jisung drummed his fingers on his thigh. The boy had enough energy to power half of Seoul. “So how big are we talking about?” Jisung questioned, his tongue swiping over his bottom lip. 
“Found her,” Changbin said, leaning back in his chair. “This better not be your favor.”
“Already?”
“Her name popped up in a google search along with a picture.” Jisung and I both moved to peer over Changbin’s shoulder. He was right. The screen showed a picture of Y/n in a very nice dress standing next to a very powerful looking man. A man I recognized. My eyes widened as I saw her full name listed under the photo. Y/n L/n. 
“Oh, f***...”
“What? She's loaded.” Jisung said next to me. He took the mouse and clicked on images. He scrolled through all the photos of her at high society parties. “Da**. She is one hot chick.”
“No, idiot. Look at her dad.” Turning I saw Jisung’s face pale. 
“Dude, we are so f***ing dead.”
*Later That Same Night*
Jae’s POV
I stood hands clasped in front of me as I stood off to the side in the L/n dining room. Dowoon stood next to me. We listened to the soft clink of silverware against china as Mr. L/n and Mrs. L/n ate their dinner. “Have you seen Y/n today, honey?” Mr. L/n asked his wife.
She shrugged and continued to daintily eat her food. If I knew anything about her she would be throwing it back up within the next two hours. She was obsessed with image. It made me sick how she always had to control everything. Even Y/n. 
“No. I haven’t. I was out all day. She’s probably still sulking in her room like always.” I tried to hide the frown on my face, but Mr. L/n saw it. 
“Jae. Have you seen my daughter?”
I cleared my throat and glanced at Dowoon. “Yes sir. I saw Y/n-Miss Y/n earlier this morning. She seemed a little off-put.” Mr. L/n sighed and rubbed his temples. 
“Dowoon, please go check on my daughter. I’d like to speak to her.” 
Dowoon nodded and bowed to both the lady and the boss. Without a word he left the dining room and headed down the hall to Y/n’s room. I drummed my fingers against my hand. I hoped Y/n was feeling better. She was acting a little weird this morning. I blushed thinking about what she said to me.
Feeling a tap on my shoulder I turned to see a nervous Dowoon. He leaned in to whisper to me. “Uh, hyung...she didn’t answer the door. I knocked like four times. What do I do?”
“She must still be upset or something. I’ll check on her.” 
Dowoon nodded and went back to his place watching over Mr. and Mrs. L/n. I walked across the penthouse to Y/n’s room and sighed when I saw the lights off from under the door. Gently, I wrapped my knuckles on the door and waited to hear her voice. When I didn’t, I called out for her.
“Y/n?” 
No response.
“Hey, Y/n? It’s Jae. You wanna talk?”
Nothing. Again I knocked.
“Y/n? You okay, beautiful?” 
There was no response. Something was wrong. “Hey, Y/n, I’m coming in.” My hand found the doorknob and turned. I was surprised to find it unlocked. My eyes quickly adjusted to the low light in the room. 
“Oh sh**.” 
The room was empty. She was gone. “Y/n? Please tell me your hiding somewhere, beautiful.” I started searching the room. Under the bed. In the closet (Some of her clothes were missing, but the staff did laundry today). In the bathroom. On the balcony. Then I saw it. The dumbwaiter. It was open. My heart started racing, panic starting to set in.
“Jae is everything okay-”
I turned to find Dowoon standing slack-jawed in the doorway. “She’s gone.” I rubbed the back of my neck. Mr. L/n was gonna kill me. Literally. It wasn’t official, but not only was I in charge of his safety and affairs but also Y/n’s. I can’t believe I didn’t check on her when we got back to the penthouse. This was all my fault.
“What’s that?” Dowoon pointed to the center of the room. I walked over and picked up a cheap pair of headphones from the floor. These weren’t Y/n’s. “Those aren’t hers, right? We’ve gotta tell the boss.”
I nodded, pocketing the headphones and leading my partner back into the dining room. Nervously, I walked up to Mr. L/n and whispered in his ear. “Sir.....we...can’t find her. She’s missing.” I winced, waiting for the storm.
His face reddened and he slammed down his silverware and stood up abruptly, startling the whole room. “Jae. Dowoon. My office. NOW!” Mr. L/n stormed into his study, not waiting for us to follow, which we did. Quickly.
I closed the door after us, knowing exactly what was to be discussed. As I turned around a large hand flew across my cheek, causing me to stumble into a bookcase. I touched my cheek, feeling blood. Mr. L/n adjusted his cuffs, a furious expression on his face. His ring had sliced my cheek. 
He came back with a second blow. Dowoon watched, hiding his fear. I would rather take it than him. “MY DAUGHTER WAS IN YOUR SAFETY.” He screamed, backing away from me. Mr. L/n started pacing, his hand twitching with agitation. “SHE MIGHT HAVE BEEN TAKEN BY ANOTHER KINGPIN!” 
Dowoon and I flinched at his words. “We apologize, sir.” We both bowed low. 
“Jae,” I looked up, hesitantly. “While I am furious...I trust you more than anyone else in the syndicate. If you can find her and bring her back unharmed...I will give her to you. It was in discussion already.” My eyes went wide. I knew there were plans to marry off Y/n. Mr. L/n wanted for her to marry within the syndicate so she could be protected.
“Sir, you mean-”
“Only...if you bring her back to me. I’m hoping your infatuation with my daughter drives you even more to find her. And you WILL find her.”
“Yes sir.” The blood slowly trickled down my cheek. I fought the urge to wipe it away. His eyes bore into me. Mr. L/n was one of the most dangerous men in Seoul and he loved his daughter very much. He had many enemies that wished to harm him and his family, so this job might have been near impossible. But, it was Y/n.
“I will find her.”
Y/n’s POV
Jisung raced out of the room closest to the stairs and leaned over the balcony.
“YOUR DAD IS A F***ING MOB BOSS?!?!?!”
“My dad is a what?” I asked as I watched the wide-eyed blonde boy on the staircase. Chris followed him out and started pushing him down the stairs. Another boy with dark hair, much shorter than the other two, appeared on the landing. He was seemingly unfazed by this shocking news. “What do you mean my dad is a mob boss? He’s a cabinet secretary. He works for the president.”
“I hate to break it to you princess, but that’s not all he does,” Chris said sitting down on the plush sofa in his living room. Jisung stood near me, a tentative and slightly wandering hand on my waist. I slapped it away making the silent boy chuckle. “Your dad runs one of the largest and most dangerous mob syndicates in Seoul.”
“And he doesn’t like Chan too much either.” The silent one said while scrolling through his phone. 
“Changbin, shut up will you?” Chris said throwing a pillow at him.
“I’m sorry, who is Chan?”
The other two boys looked at Chris. Jisung backed away from me and rubbed the back of his neck. Chris hung his head low and half-heartedly rose his hand. “That would be me.” I was very confused. 
“But you told me your name was Chris?”
“Yeah, that’s one of the many names I go by.” I looked to Jisung who just shrugged and gave me a nervous smile. Tension hung in the air. “I’m what some people call a hustler.”
“He’s a con artist. Quit beating around the bush.” The shorter boy, Changbin said.
Chris, or Chan, sighed. “Your dad hired me to scam a couple candidates into giving me their campaign plans. It worked. Piece of cake. But, your dad refused to pay me the agreed amount,”
“Yeah...he can be a little cheap,” I said rubbing my arm and sitting down across from him. Jisung followed like a loyal puppy, listening intently with me, even though he had probably heard this story many times before.
“Anyway, I made the not so great decision and I sort of...swindled $10k from him.”
“That’s nothing to him-”
“And a Porsche.”
“Oh......” My dad was really serious about his cars. I did remember him telling me about someone stealing one of his sports cars about two years ago. “That was you? Jae told me someone swiped it while it was in the shop.”
Chris laughed and Changbin high fived him without looking up from his phone. “Here’s the thing,” Changbin said still laser focused on his screen. “With your dad being who he is, it will be harder to get you under the radar. Your dad has eyes and ears everywhere. I’ve got to completely erase you from the system.” 
I felt a touch on my shoulder and I turned to see Jisung pulling away from me. “Were you smelling my hair?” I asked crossing my arms.
“......No...”
“Jisung can you not be a thirteen year old for a second?” Chris said rolling his eyes. Jisung scoffed and spread out on the couch, purposefully pushing his thigh against mine. He yelped when I slapped it away. “So, Changbin, how long before we can set her up with her new life?”
The boy sighed when Chan pulled away his phone, trying to see for himself what the boy was working on. “I should be able to get off the grid within the next 32 hours. Getting her new ids shouldn’t be a problem. Jisung can swipe me some templates from that guy...what’s his name?”
“Minho?”
“Yeah, him.”
“Minho is not gonna like me ‘borrowing’ his things again,” Jisung awkwardly shifted on the couch next to me. “Last time I barely made it out with my head. He threw a f***ing toaster at me.” I had to stifle my laughter with my hand. 
“Y/n, you can stay here until we get you new ids. I’ve got a house in Jeju we can set you up in after that.” Chan said pushing himself off the sofa. I watched him walk around the back of the couch before he turned back to me again. “Jisung, sleep on the couch tonight. Y/n, you’ll sleep in his room.”
“What! That’s not fair! She should sleep in your room. You’re the one who brought her here!” Jisung stood up from the couch to continue whining but Chan stopped him.
“Who’s the one who accidentally burst all the pipes in their apartment with a boomerang?”
Jisung shuffled back and forth on his heels. “....Me..”
“And who’s the one who has been letting you stay here for the past six months rent-free?” The blonde boy quieted and looked at the ceiling. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” While the conversation seemed light hearted, I knew Chris meant business.
Changbin grabbed back his phone. “You all should sleep. Chan you’ve got that deal tomorrow and Jisung you’ll have to give Toaster Man a visit.” Jisung groaned, stuffing his face in a couch pillow. “I’ll stick around and start working on her stuff.”
Soon everyone dispersed. Jisung showed me to his room like a gentleman. Unfortunately, I had to physically push him out like a four year old. I put my backpack at the foot of the bed. I slipped under the covers and tucked my hand under the pillow only to be met with a couple crumpled up candy wrappers. I laughed and tossed them into the trash can before returning to the bed. Soon, I fell into a deep sleep. 
Jae’s POV
Eighteen hours had passed already. It took me eighteen hours to remember that her mother put a tracker in her d*** phone. Dowoon sat in the passenger seat of my car, a computer in his lap. 
“Turn left up here.”
“What the hell is she doing in Itaewon?”
“They have good fishcakes.” Turning I saw Dowoon’s innocent smile. It fell when he saw my serious expression. We drove in silence for the next few seconds. “Dang it. Now I want fishcakes.”
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I hadn’t slept since yesterday morning.  In the rearview mirror, I could see the beginnings of dark circles forming under my eyes. I wouldn’t rest until I found Y/n. 
“Okay, the tracker says she’s in that building over there.” I sighed and pulled the car over onto the side of the street. Dowoon and I got out and I squinted in the afternoon sun. The building ahead of us was unmarked but several women, wearing revealing clothes stood out front talking amongst each other. 
“Hey, cutie,” A girl with long red claws said, gently grabbing Dowoon’s arm as we walked past. “You got time to talk?” She twirled a strand of hair around her finger while looking at him with big doe eyes. 
“Actually I-”
“Sorry, we’re working,” I said dragging him away and through the door. 
“What’s wrong? She was being nice? We could have asked her about Y/n.”
“She was gonna give you more than that.” My eyes scanned the large room we entered. Dowoon stood next to me trying to decipher what I just said. Several girls, scantily clad, milled about. Some had men on their arm.
“I don’t get it. What else was she gonna give us?” Dowoon asked confused. I sighed and pressed forward. A girl with blonde hair walked up to me, pressing her hands against my chest.
“Looking for some fun, hot stuff?” I opened my jacket and the girl backed away seeing the gun I had stashed there. “Sh**, a simple ‘no’ would suffice.” The girl walked away and I checked my phone. The tracking program said Y/n was upstairs.
“What is Y/n doing in a place like this?” The thought sickened me. I knew for a fact she wouldn’t be here voluntarily. 
“I don’t know but these all seem like nice girls. Maybe a little cold not wearing a sweater in here. But, they seem friendly.” Dowoon was a great shot. He could shoot an apple off someone's head from an entire building away, but somehow be completely innocent in the weirdest ways.
I checked my phone seeing that the tracker led behind a closed door at the end of the hall. I pulled out my gun and motioned for Dowoon to follow me.  Pressing my ear against the door, I listened for voices in the room. I picked up the muffled sound of a female voice that sort of resembled Y/n. Nodding to Dowoon we burst through the door, guns aimed. 
The girl screamed and rolled off the bed, scrambling to find a sheet or a shirt. “Oh My- Dowoon, cover your eyes.” I blindly grasped his face trying to hide his view. I looked away giving the half naked girl who was not in fact Y/n some privacy. 
“What the f*** is going on here?” The man the girl was with asked. 
“Sir, I need to talk to this woman. Please get out before I decide to make you.” The man’s eyes widened and he quickly ran out of the room. My eyes landed on a phone on the bedside table. I picked it up and saw the case was Y/n’s.
“Hey! That’s mine!” 
I looked up to see a girl with pale pink hair. She had managed to slip on her shirt and now stood furious on the other side of the bed. “This?” I asked holding up the phone, gun still trained on her. “No, this- this is not yours.” Her body obviously tensed up under the barrel of a gun. “What’s your name?”
“Jae, can I look now or?” 
I turned to see Dowoon still with his eyes closed pointing his gun in the opposite direction. I pointed his gun in the correct direction and elbowed him. His eyes opened and he let out a nervous chuckle before he focused on the girl. 
“My name is Irene. Look, that’s my phone. It's used though. I don’t know anything about the previous owner.” I lowered the gun and put it back in its place. 
“Who gave it to you? When?”
“Yesterday. Some guy came up to me and a co-worker. Said he knew our boss, Yeji, and that the phone was a gift.” Dowoon lowered his gun and got out his phone. We would have to report back to the boss soon.
“What did he look like?” 
“What are you cops or something?” Irene said sitting on the edge of the bed. 
“No. We aren’t cops. But, we do have quite a few of the police on our payroll.” She visibly gulped, shifting uncomfortably under my stare. I was so close to finding Y/n, I could feel it. “Now tell me everything you remember about this guy.”
“I don’t know. He had brown hair. He looked like a foreigner, but he didn’t have an accent. I don’t remember his name. He was really cool looking, to be honest. Had that whole boy next door look, but you knew he was a bad guy. In a good way. Oh! He had a girl with him. I remember because she didn’t look like she was from around here and she was way out of his league.”
I listened carefully, a scowl forming on my face. Dowoon noticed my change in demeanor immediately. “You know who he is?” I nodded, turning towards the door. I was furious. Dowoon followed me out the door, eager to hear my answer.
“It’s Chan. Bang Chan. He’s got Y/n. And I’m gonna kill him.”
Y/n’s POV
This morning I woke up early. I wanted to thank the boys for helping me finally leave that hell hole. Their kitchen was useless. Chan had practically nothing stocked and what little food there was Jisung devoured. So, instead in ordered them takeout.. 
Chan was set to come back around the time it got dark. Changbin was still holed up in the Pit, that’s what Jisung called his computer room. Jisung and I had taken over Chan’s living room, takeout, and soda bottles on the coffee table as we screamed at the drama playing on the huge TV.
“NO, YOU LOVE HER DON’T PUSH HER AWAY!” Jisung said as he grabbed onto my arm. Through tears, he reached for another slice of pizza.
“JISUNG WHY ARE WE WATCHING THIS? IT’S SO SAD!” 
He shook his head next to me and wiped his tears. “Because your teenagedom was deprived of sleepovers. And I am dubbing myself your official best friend.” I cried harder not only because Jisung was my new best friend but because the lead actress was chasing her lover through the rain. Jisung and I clung onto each other and continued our rant at the screen.
“Um.....what pre-teen girl tornado blew up in my house?” Turning we saw Chan walking through the front door, a confused look on his face.
“DADDY’S HOME!”
“Jisung stop screaming in my ear!” I yelled as he jumped over the couch. I then took in Chris’s attire. He wore a white coat and he had a stethoscope draped around his neck. His dark brown hair was pushed back and parted, exposing his (as I was just noticing now) handsome features.
“Someone answer my question.”
“I was showing Y/n  what it’s like to actually have fun with people her own age.”
“Since when were you or Y/n thirteen year old girls? What’s that I smell?” Jisung slowly moved his hands behind his back. “Holy sh**. Jisung you let her paint your nails?”
“What are you talking about? Jisung painted mine than practically forced me to do his.” Jisung’s eyes went wide and he turned around and made the shushing motion towards me. “What’s with the getup?” I asked Chris, changing the subject. “You look like a doctor.”
“Oh- it’s just uh....some business I had planned before this stuff happened.” I crossed my arms coming to stand next to my new BFF. Jisung glanced at me before crossing his arms like me and listing his head and pursing his lips.
“You know you can be honest and say you were working a con.”
“Fine, princess. I was working a con. Happy?” I shrugged and patted his shoulder.
Jisung chuckled and gave Chris a thumbs up before throwing an arm around my shoulder. “I think we should all call it a night. I’m starting a new life tomorrow after all!” With that, we left Chris standing in his fake doctor's coat in the living room. 
“Are you guys gonna clean up?”
“Nope!”
A crash sent me shooting up from the bed. “What the hell?” I drowsily asked myself. Another one sent my eyes flying open like saucers. The bed shook and I practically screamed. Jisung shot up from the bed, drool on his mouth and blonde hair sticking up in all directions. 
“Jisung! What the hell? What are you doing in here?”
“The couch was lumpy. What’s going on?”
The third crash sent me rocketing out of bed. Suddenly the door burst open. I grabbed the closest thing which was the lamp on the bedside table. Chan burst through the door in sweatpants but lacking a shirt. 
“Oh- Sh**! WHAT IS WITH YOU AND LAMPS?”
“WHAT IS WITH YOU AND NOT WEARING A SHIRT?” 
“I’M SORRY IF I DIDN’T BOTHER TO PUT ON A SHIRT WHEN YOUR CHICKEN LEG BOYFRIEND IS ATTACKING MY HOUSE!”
“What? Jae is here?” I asked putting the lamp back The sound of gunshots confirmed Jae’s presence. “What is he shooting at?” I asked as I grabbed my shoes and started slipping them on.
“Wait, Jisung what are you doing here? You know what- nevermind. UH- Changbin. He’s throwing plates at your boyfriend and his monkey friend.” Chan started rummaging through the closet and throwing a bag and clothes at Jisung. “Get your stuff, princess. We’re about to make a getaway. Jisung meet us at the hideout in Gwanak. Get Bin out of here after we leave.”
“After? What about us?”
“You are gonna give us a head start,” Chan said pulling me out the door. 
“SO I’M BAIT?”
“Chan, are you gonna leave like this?” I asked, shouldering my bag. A peek over the railing revealed several men in black suits brandishing guns. Except they were clearly thugs and not agents looking for aliens. 
“I’ve got a getaway bag in the car.” He kept a strong grip on my hand and looked around him. He looked up and grabbed a metal pieced of artwork before adjusting our hands. “When I tell you to run, run. Got it? You run for the garage and don’t look back.” I nodded and he held the metal sheet in front of both of us. 
Chan pulled me down the stairs. “Hey! There he is! He’s got the girl!” The pounding sounds of gunshots rang against the metal sheet less than a foot away from my face. 
“Chan! I’m gonna kill you!” I heard the familiar voice of Jae scream. “Y/n! Come on let me take you back to your dad! Come back with me, beautiful.” If Jae really wanted me to come back with him sincerely he would tell Dad’s goons to stop SHOOTING AT CHRIS AND ME. 
“RUN, Y/N! NOW!” Chris yelled just as Jae charged him ripping away the metal sheet he was using as a shield. Following his instruction, I bolted for the garage. When I looked back I turned to see Jae land a pretty hard blow just above Chris’s eye. 
“Chris!” 
“Y/n, GO!” I sighed and burst through the garage door. That little-....There in pristine condition sat my father’s favorite lightning blue Porsche. I tossed my bag in the car and jumped in. My hands frantically searched for the keys. The sound of gunshots had my heart pounding against my chest. I found them in the glove compartment just as Chan burst through the door.
“START THE CAR!” 
“I’m going! I’m going.” 
The car started and Chan dove into the car. I opened the garage door, but it was only halfway up when the garage door opened again. I turned to see Jae and Dowoon in the doorway. Jae was bleeding from the nose and Dowoon hand a pieced of a plate in his cheek. “Y/n-GO!” 
“I can’t! The door!”
“Just GO!”
Screaming, I slammed my foot on the accelerator and the sports car shot forward, erupting through the garage door. “GET IN THE SUVs!” I heard Jae yell back into the house.
“How are Jisung and Bin gonna get out?” I asked keeping my eyes on the road, frantically looking behind me. 
“Don’t worry about them. They’ll meet us in Gwanak.” Chan reached behind him and pulled out a bag from behind the driver's seat. He slipped on a shirt he pulled out from the bag. “Woah! Wrong side of the road! Move over!” Chan screamed grabbing the wheel and steering the car onto the right side of the road. “What’s wrong with you? Do you not know how to drive?”
“NO I DON’T!” 
“YOU’RE DRIVING WITHOUT A LICENSE?”
“YOU SCAM PEOPLE FOR THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND YOU CARE ABOUT THIS!?” I said frantically and sporadically looking from the rearview mirror to the road ahead of me as we drove at top speed in the middle of the night. My skin went cold as I saw tow black SUVs appear behind us. “Chan...what do I do? They’re right behind us!”
He turned around and muttered a string of curse words. “Okay...um...We are gonna switch places.” Chris said turning back to me. 
“Chan we are going ninety-three miles an hour!” 
“Do you trust me?”
“.....Yes.”
“Okay, princess. On the count of three, I want you to let go of the wheel and take your foot off the pedal okay?” I nodded and got ready to do as he asked. In my peripherals, I saw Chan reach near my seat and I nervously looked behind me. “Ready, princess?” I nodded and gripped the steering wheel. “One...two...three!”
I let go of the pedal and steering wheel and Chris jerked my seat back and climbed over me. “Great job, love! You can move over to the other seat!” My heart was pounding against my chest. I was sure any second now I would fall into a panic attack. When I was safely in the passenger seat Chris pulled his seat forward and shifted the gear of the car. 
Chan did his best to shake the two tails we had on us. “Your boyfriend is seriously crazy,” Chan said shaking his head, turning down a narrow alley still going at top speeds. I gripped the door handle in fear. “He is seriously determined.”
“Again, not my boyfriend!” I said turning around to check how far away the sedans were. 
“Hold on tight, love,” Chan said, throwing his arm in front of me as we drifted into another tight alley. This time, Chris slid the car to a stop and shut off the lights and engine. “Get down, baby girl.” He said pushing my head down below the windshield. After a few seconds, we heard the SUVs race by us. Chan and I stayed down, his hand on the back of my neck and our heads inches away from each other.
“Well.....that was fun?”
Ten minutes later Chan was pulling into another dark alley. We had finally made it to Gwanak without anyone following us. “Is this the safe house? Where are Changbin and Jisung?” Chris shook his head and shut off the Porsche. 
“No. We’ve got to make a stop first. We’ve gotta go deep undercover. Your face and mine are about to be plastered everywhere.” Chan got out of the car and before I could reach for the handle he was running around the front to open the door for me. “Come on, let’s hope he’s home,” Chris said quickly ushering me to a dimly lit back door.
“Who are we talking about?”
“An old friend,” Chan said pounding on the door. He kept his hand firmly on my waist. Every few seconds he scanned the alley, making sure we were still not followed. “Hey, it’s Chan! Open up!” 
“Chris, we should keep moving. I know Jae. He’s gonna figure out where we are soon enough.”
“All the more reason to be here.” He pounded on the door again. “Dude! Come on! You owe me! Open up!” While Chan continued to yell at the door I watched the ends of the alley, hoping not to see Jae or Dowoon rounding the corner.
“I’m coming, I’m coming. F***...” A muffled voice said from behind the door. Chan stepped back from the door and took my hand, dragging me further into his side. “F***ing sh**. Chan, d*** it. It’s two a.m!” An angry voice said as it approached the door. I flinched as it flew open. A giant of a man with bright red hair and dressed in a fancy robe appeared. “What, pipsqueak?”
“BamBam. Long time no see.”
“What do you want, Chan? I was asleep-.....who’s this hottie?” The cherry headed man, BamBam, said leaning on the doorway looking me up and down. 
“This is Y/n L/n,” Chan said his hand gripping onto my hip. BamBam’s eyes went wide and he slammed the door in our faces.
“NO! NO! I AM NOT DEALING WITH L/N’S SYNDICATE. NO. CHAN YOU CAN’T MAKE ME. A FAVOR IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE BORROWING SUGAR. NOT BRINGING THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN SEOUL’S DAUGHTER TO MY DOOR!”
“BamBam you barely eat carbs let alone processed sugar.” The door opened and he stuck his head out. “Come on, Bam. We need your help. Or at least your bathroom.”
“Bathroom?” Both BamBam and I both questioned. 
“What is this place?” I asked as BamBam lead us through the first floor of the building. It was covered head to toe with clothes and hats and crazy objects. 
“It’s my personal treasure trove. Everything your man Chan uses for his little schemes most likely came from here.” BamBam said picking up a policeman’s uniform and throwing it behind another rack of clothes. The giraffe with red hair rummaged through the piles of clothes and costumes. “Here, Chan. You need this.....and Y/n.....look through these.” BamBam tossed Chan a brown bottle and handed me a container with a bunch of hair in it.
“Wigs?”
“Don’t worry. They’re all the finest synthetic hair. Bathroom is back there, you two.” He said pointing a long finger in the correct direction. I smiled and tightened my hold on the box Chris’s weird friend gave me. “Stay as long as you need. I’m going back to bed.” BamBam dragged his feet up some stairs that probably led to where he was previously sleeping.
“You wanna help me with this, princess?” Chan said holding up the brown bottle in his hand. I shrugged and followed him to the back of the building. My eyes trailed down Chan’s shoulders as we looked for BamBam’s restroom. “Ah, here we go.” Chan opened the door and let me enter first. I dropped the big box on the toilet seat and started searching through them.
I heard Chan pull a chair into the bathroom from the hall. “Why does BamBam have all these? Chan shrugged and searched something up on his phone. “There are some weird colors in here.” He laughed as I threw a neon green wig at him.
“Oh yeah. That’s perfect for you, princess.” He laughed and tossed it back. “Have you ever bleached hair before?” Chris said looking at the bottle. I laughed seeing the familiar brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide. The bottle was a familiar sight from my mother’s bathroom counter. 
“Not personally.”
“Do I just like...pour it on?”
“If you want to permanently fry your hair! We can’t damage those cute curls you’ve got.” 
Without thinking I ran my fingers through Chris’s dark brown and tangled mop. His eyes looked me up and down, a small smirk. “Cute?” He asked, poking my side. He laughed when a rosy dust fell on my cheeks. “You want to help, princess?”
Chan sat down in the chair and handed me the brown bottle which I immediately put down. I looked around and grabbed two bottles from the shower. Chan watched me struggle to get the cap open like an idiot. “You good there?”
“This plastic bottle of.....designer conditioner....is smarter than me.” Chris laughed and reached for the bottle. In less than a second, the bottle popped open for him. He laughed when I sent him a glare. “I loosened it for you.”
“Sure, baby girl. Whatever.” He leaned back in the chair and looked at the ceiling,  a genuine smile on his face. Heat flushed to my face at the new pet name. Chan seemed unfazed by it. Nervously, I turned on the sink and began washing his hair. “What’s your favorite candy?” Chan asked as I was rinsing the conditioner out of his hair. 
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I’m bored. Entertain me, princess.”
“Okay...um...I like Milkyways.”
“Milkyways? Really?” 
“You bash my candy choice, pretty boy, and I’ll make sure your hair turns orange.” He laughed, his eyes turning into crescents. Chan continued to ask me random questions while I bleached his hair. It was fun getting to know Chris...well the real Chris. “You must really be dedicated if your bleaching your hair.”
“Bleaching my hair....or dying at the hands of your boyfriend. I choose the former.”
“Again. Jae is not my boyfriend.” I said squeezing hydroperoxide into his hair. Thank goodness BamBam had gloves in a cabinet otherwise my hands would be messed up. “Jae is just Jae.” I was surprised when I didn’t feel myself smile as I said his name. 
I took off the gloves as Chan sat forward, waiting for his hair to dry. “What’s the deal with you two anyway.” He asked poking my arm. “You two were totally into each other back at the penthouse.”
“Well...I think my feelings have changed after he shot at us.”
“Well, he was mostly shooting at me.”
“Yeah...guess he was, pretty boy.” I smiled looking down at Chan. He grabbed my hand and swung it back and forth. I glanced down and then back up at him. 
“Hey...it’s gonna be okay, Y/n. I’ll take care of it.” I scoffed and rolled my eyes. He tugged on my wrist. My feet shuffled forward making me stand between his legs. Chris brushed his thumb over my hand. 
“Take care of what?” 
“Of you. I’ll make sure you get what you want.” Chan stared up at me with a look I had never seen before. It was hard to tear my eyes away from him. Like he had this hold on me. But, I felt safe with him. I felt fully myself. “We’ve got twenty minutes. Why don’t you try on some of those wigs? Put on a little fashion show for me, baby girl?” He said with a smile, leaning back in the chair, his hand still attached to my wrist. 
Chan laughed as I tried on all the crazy wigs BamBam had in the box. After his phone timer went off, I helped Chan wash his hair again. Then he let me towel dry his hair. “Woah,” I said, pulling the towel away. 
“Is it that bad?” He asked standing up and rushing to the mirror. He ran his fingers through his new blonde hair and he stared into the mirror at his locks. 
“No...you look really good.” 
He smirked and messed with the new blonde strands before turning to me with a bright smile. “You think so?” His hands rested on my waist, his thumbs grazing over the fabric of my t-shirt. There was a tension in the air. One that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. 
“Yeah, I do...” 
Hesitantly, I let my palms press against his chest. Was he going to kiss me? I could feel my stomach start to do somersaults. Chris leaned down, only barely enough for me to notice. He was. Chan was going to kiss me.
“HEY LOVEBIRDS! I NEED TO PEE!” BamBam said pounding on the door. 
The two of us burst apart, Chan scratching the back of his neck. “We should probably....- Bin and Sung are probably waiting for us.” Chris nervously grabbed my backpack and I grabbed the closest wig to me, stuffing my hair inside it. 
“Yeah totally.”
Chan opened the door for us to find a pissed off BamBam. “Can I pee now?” Chan laughed and took my hand, pulling me out into the hall. 
“Thanks for letting us hideout and stuff!” Chan called back to his friend who was already in the bathroom. Chris pulled me back out the Porsche, which was still sitting safely in the alley. Like a gentleman, Chan opened my door before sliding across the hood and getting in the driver seat.
He spared me a glance and cast a smile my way. “Short and Dark is a good look on you.” I brushed the wig’s bangs out of my eyes and blushed, turning away from Chan as he started the car and drove off into the early morning.
Jae’s POV
“F***!” I exclaimed slamming my hand on a nearby table. Stressfully, I ran a hand through my hair. Dowoon just stood off to the side, awkwardly watching our guys rummage through the house. 
“That did not go the way I expected.”
Daggers flew from my eyes. He instantly shut his mouth. “Dowoon...she was right here. I missed her. She just...slipped through my fingers.” Dowoon waved off a man who was trying to ask him a question before turning back to me.
“You know she more ran...than slipped.”
“You’re right. She did run away.” I said standing up straight once again. “She practically flew when Chan told her to run.” My eyes returned to the door I watched Y/n run out of. 
“Why do you think she ran?”
“Chan’s probably got her brainwashed or something. I wouldn’t put it passed him.” I reached for the mail that was left on the kitchen counter. “Remember I want this entire place searched!” I called out to the men. “Man, she knew I was here for her. Why didn’t she come to me?” I said tossing it onto the marble island.
“Maybe she’s just not into you dude.”
“No. That’s not it. It’s got to be Chan. He must have told her everything about her dad and then freaked her out. It’s all his fault.” Dowoon, sifted through the week-old envelops I had tossed.
“What’s this? Does this Chan guy go to university?”
“What- no?” I scoffed and leaned against the counter. “He barely has his highschool diploma.” I watched Dowoon pick up a magazine and flip it over.
“Maybe one of the guys that were here. The blonde one looked kind of young...and dumb.” Dowoon flipped through the magazine smiling at some of the pictures.
“Why do you ask?”
He shrugged and tossed it to me. I flipped through the magazine and saw it was a college-based magazine. Student made. “Well...that magazine is only sold in Gwanak. Near Seoul University.” My eyes went wide and I looked at the cover of the magazine. 
“I’ve got a call to make. We need another pair of eyes.”
“More than the thirteen guys we have now.”
“I just want her back Dowoon...” I said pulling out my phone. I scrolled through my contacts until I found the one I needed. Pressing the name, I brought the device to my ear and waited for the dial tone to end.
“Hey. It’s me. Look, I need you to find someone. This asshat took her...She’s somewhere in Gwanak, we know that.” I listened to him speak while drumming my fingers on the counter.
“Yeah. You’ll get the money when you get her and bring her safely back to me.” I pursed my lips, feeling myself getting angry as he asked his next question.
“I don’t care what happens to the guy she’s with. Just get her back.” With that, I hung up the phone.
Chan’s POV
Jogging around the blue car, I opened Y/n’s door and helped her out. She grabbed her bag and started walking towards the dark apartment building. The sun would be rising in a couple of hours. I reached for her hand and led her up the stairs to the top level. 
She laughed when we came to the door. “Another passcode? Mr. Privacy?” I smiled and shrugged my shoulders, taking her backpack for her. 
“The code is #0325.” She turned to me and smiled. 
“You trust me with the code to your safehouse?” I shrugged and tried to hide the smile on my face. I watched as her fingers touched each number gingerly on the keypad. She smiled when the bright tone notified her that the door was unlocked.
“Y/N’S HOMMMMMEE!” Jisung yelled. I heard his feet thundering down the small hall. I rolled my eyes when Jisung tackled Y/n out of my grasp, hugging her tightly. With serious eyes, he turned to me, still holding onto Y/n. “From now on, Y/n and I are inseparable! You will not drag her into messes and get her killed! She is my best friend!”
I sent Jisung a hard glare and took one step towards him making the blonde squeal, hiding behind Y/n. “Sorry, Chan. Nevermind take her she’s yours. I can see now that I clearly overstepped my boundaries.” Jisung said, words flying out of his mouth faster than I could comprehend. 
“What’s going on?” Y/n asked. I saw Changbin saunter into the hall and join us. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and face stoic.
“Don’t worry. Chan just wants you all to himself.” The short boy said smirking at me.
“WHAT?!” Both Y/n and I exclaimed looking from each other to Changbin. Y/n turned to me, a curious look on her face. The same one from when we first met, except this time my head didn’t hurt.
“Well...this isn’t awkward at all,” Jisung said, coming out from behind Y/n. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and puffed out his cheeks, looking around the four of us. “Hey, Y/n, lemme show you something!” He practically dragged her out from the hall and towards the bedroom. Fearing for what he did to my apartment, I followed.
“So, what is it you're showing me, Sung?” Y/n asked and Jisung guided her into my room. Wait. Sh**. My room.
“This was originally Chan hyung’s room, but I figured with a few touches you would like it better! I figured since he loves you and all he can sleep on the sofa.” They entered the room a few feet ahead of me. “It’s his turn to have back problems. Y/n gasped. I rounded the corner and my jaw dropped.
“JISUNG, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY ROOM? HOW DID YOU EVEN GET ALL THIS?”
My room was plastered with posters and pictures of unicorns and rom-com movie posters. It looked like a fourteen year old girl from a Disney channel sitcom threw up their essence all over my bedroom. There were boyband posters and albums everywhere and heart shaped hangers in the closet. My clothes were in a huge black pile in the corner marked ‘Chan’s Sh**’. One wall on the far side was spray-painted pink and stuffed animals were all around the room. 
“When did you have time to do all of this? We got here two hours after you! Where did this all come from?” I said picking up a Super Junior album that was sitting on what used to be my dresser.
“You’d be surprised,” Changbin said standing in the doorway. 
I sighed and turned to Jisung. He turned to me with an innocent smile as I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out into the hall while Y/n continued to marvel at the room. “Sung...you do understand she’s not staying right? We are just helping her get to Jeju so she can start a new life.” He stared down at the ground, fiddling with the rings on his fingers. His light blonde fell in front of his eyes as he looked back up at me.
“You don’t really want that...do you?” 
I looked into his eyes. My friend looked genuinely sad. No, that wasn’t what I wanted. Not now at least. Maybe before, but it wasn’t what I wanted now. “What I want doesn’t matter. It’s what she wants.” I said patting his shoulder. “Do you understand?”
“Yeah...of course...”
Jisung sulked back into my room, which I would be burning after Y/n went to Jeju. “Jisung! Thank you so much! I love it!” Y/n said hugging a huge stuffed toy.
“Sung, how did you even pickpocket a three foot tall stuffed rabbit and four B.A.P posters?” I asked looking at the toy Y/n was holding in her arms. I tried to suppress the thumping against my chest at the sight. 
“Chan I don’t remember asking for your opinion, but it’s called talent, okay?”
Y/n laughed and set the bunny down next to my bed. She gasped and picked up a heavy purple candle on the bedside table. “Oh, a candle! I love these! I always had candles and stuff like that in my room at home!” I saw Jisung’s face turn soft and he ran out of the room.
“HOLD ON ONE SECOND!” He screamed through the less than small apartment. He returned with a hand full of candles. 
“Oh no no no no no,” I said pushing him back out of the room. 
 “What? Y/n says she loves candles.’ Jisung said shrugging and trying to push past me and back into the bedroom, where we heard Changbin and Y/n talking. 
“Jisung I will not have candles in my house after she attacked me with one!”
“What about incense?”
“NO SMELLY THINGS!” I shivered at the thought of what Y/n could accidentally do to me with burning incense. My eyes found Y/n walking out of the room holding the lit candle, her eyes happy. 
“Chan, thank you so much for helping me and for all of this! And Jisung, I really love the candle.” With that, she went back into the room and jumped onto the bed.
Jisung turned back to me with his eyebrows raised. I crossed my arms and then looked back to Y/n sitting happily on my bed watching the candle flicker happily. I felt Jisung nudge me bringing my attention back to him. “Okay...one candle.”
“Bro, you are so whipped.”
“Shut up before I throw you off the roof with all those candles strapped to your head.”
“You wouldn’t...”
  ♛
Y/n’s POV
Chan slept in his room that night. Well, he rested. He said it would be hard to sleep with all those pop stars and animals staring at him. I had told him I wasn't tired, so I scrolled through the phone Jisung had pocketed for me. 
When the boys awoke a few hours later, I had prepared breakfast for them. This place was actually stocked with food. I gasped seeing Jisung emerge from the guest room. He had bruises on his shoulder and the strong scent of candles came from him. 
“Sung, what happened to you?” I said taking his face in my hands. He glared at Chan as he exited his bedroom and sat down at the kitchen table. 
“Ask your newly blonde boyfriend.” He said sitting in the farthest seat from Chris. 
When I turned to Chan he just gave me a sweet smile and turned back to the breakfast I had made. “This is good, princess.” He said slipping a strawberry into his mouth. I blushed and sipped on the mug of tea I had made earlier. 
“So, what’s the plan today?” I asked, setting the cup down.
Chan took a sip of the orange juice in the glass near him and looked to me. “Changbin still needs templates to get you IDs. Jisung knows where to get some, but I’m not gonna leave you here so you’ll come with us to the meeting.” I nodded and took another sip of tea.
“Sounds good.”
“We’ll leave in like...an hour?” Chan said.
 Jisung turned to me, mouth full of toast and berries. His eyes turned down and his cheeks were full, but somehow he still managed to frown with toast sticking out of his mouth. “I’m gonna need more than an hour. It’s just too good.” Jisung muttered with his mouth full.
“Fine. Y/n just go get ready, princess. Don’t forget the wig.”
The black bangs of the wig kept blowing in my face. It was about noon when we finally left Chris’s apartment. “Stay right here, princess. Jisung and I are gonna go pick up the templates.” Chan said stopping in front of one of the many stalls around us. He had taken us to a local thrifting fair. A bunch of college students milled about, helping us blend in. 
“Okay, what should I do while I wait.” 
“I know the shop owner, so they’ll let you stay at the booth.” His hand rested gently on my arm as he spoke to me over the noise of the crowd. “Just pretend you are looking for a gift.” He motioned to the wares the vendor was selling. “I’ll be back soon. If someone asks, just say you’re waiting for your boyfriend or something.” 
Chan and Jisung left and I watched them disappear into the crowd. Running my fingers through the short locks of the wig I waved to the vendor who sent me a polite smile. There was plenty to look at from the booth. The woman was selling very pretty handmade silver jewelry.
I picked up a very simple chain necklace with a small silver ring on it. I thought about how nice it would look on Chan. Maybe I had enough cash with me to get it for him?
“That’s very pretty.” A voice said behind me.
A man came to stand beside me. He had shaggy black hair and a boxy smile. His long fingers picked up the necklace and held it up to the light before gently giving it back to me. “Thank you,” I said, keeping my answer short.
“Is it for you or is it a gift?” The boy asked again.
I sighed and avoided looking at him. “Um...a gift.” He nodded and began looking at other necklaces. Every so often he would cast a look my way. 
“I’m Wonpil, by the way.” I nodded and gave him a tight-lipped smile. Why would he not go away? I put the necklace down and moved further down the table, pretending to look at other things. “What’s your name?”
“Uh...Jessica...”
I said turning back to the table. He nodded and moved down the row as well. He moved o the other side of the table to look there. However, he was clearly intent on talking to me. “So, Jessica...are you here by yourself, or are you with friends?” I nervously laughed and looked in the direction Chris left.
“I’m here with my boyfriend. I’m waiting for him to come back.” 
Wonpil gave me a kind smile and went back to looking at jewelry. I glanced up at the boy. There was something off about him. He was just barely too old to be a university student. Maybe he just lived near here?
“So, is it a gift for him?” I nodded, then turned my attention to the box of rings near the middle of the table. “What’s his name?” Should I give Chris’s name? No. That would be a bad idea. I don’t want him to get hurt.
“His name is Chanyoung.”
Wonpil nodded and continued pursuing the wares and jewelry. Come one, Chris. Where are you? “Has he been gone long? You seem nervous.” I laughed and shook my head.
“He and our friend just went to go pick up something. He’ll be back...any minute now.”
“I’ll wait with you if you’d like?” Wonpil suggested, that kind smile on his face. He came around my side of the table and placed a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head and backed away.
“I’m fine, really-”
“Hey, baby girl! Sorry to keep you waiting.” I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist and lips press against my cheek. I turned to see Chan with a cool and composed smile on his face. “We didn’t mean to be gone for so long.” His hand came up to my cheek and he pressed his lips against mine like he had done it thousands of times before.
Not wanting to break the charade I closed my eyes and let him kiss me. Chan pulled away and pecked my lips once more before Jisung coughed and gently kicked him. “Oh- sorry. I’m her boyfriend. Who are you?” Chan said holding out his hand to shake.
“Oh, you're Chanyoung. I’m Wonpil.” They shook hands and I could see Chan’s face sour for just a second. His eyes glanced at me and then doubled back. 
“Oh, baby, you’ve got a bug on you!” 
“I’ll get it!” Jisung shouted, eyeing my shoulder. He swatted the bug away, grabbing it in his fist. I looked at the two boys wondering what was going on. “Hey, we’ve got lunch plans so we should go soon,” Jisung said, sticking his hands in his pockets.
“Did you get what you needed to get, baby?” I asked, palms pressing against Chan’s chest. His grip was still firm around my waist, keeping me as close as possible.
“Yeah! Let’s go get lunch, baby girl.” Chan said kissing me again. “It was nice to meet you Wonpil,” Chris said waving goodbye before steering me in the opposite direction of the booth. Jisung followed us and sped up to keep our pace. “Y/n, who was that guy?”
I shrugged and looked back. Wonpil was no longer at the booth. “I have no clue.” Chan shook his head and gripped my side tighter. 
“He’s gotta know who you are.” The three of us walked through the streets of the thrift fair quickly hoping to evade whoever it was Wonpil actually turned out to be. “He actually planted a bug on you. That’s why Jisung and I freaked out.” I shivered. My feeling about Wonpil had been right. We walked a little further before Jisung spoke up again.
“So...like, can we actually get lunch though?”
The little bell rang as the three of us entered a little sushi shop Jisung knew about. “Jisung didn’t you have sushi like four days ago?” He shrugged and led us to a secluded booth in the back. A few waitresses waved at him as we passed by.
“Chan, you can never have too much sushi. Plus I get discounts here.” 
“How do you get discounts?” I asked.
“Used to date the owner’s daughter. She dumped me. He still liked me so... free sushi.”
I nodded, still not quite understanding as I slid into the booth. Chan scooted in next to me, his leg just barely touching mine. My hands reached for the menu, but Jisung quickly whisked them away. “Nope. I’m ordering for us.” Chan laughed and pressed his hands to his temples. The waitress came by and Jisung ordered practically everything on the menu and sake.
“Jisung that is a lot of food.”
“I’m a lot of hungry.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Chan said throwing his arm over the back of the booth. Jisung shrugged and started blowing bubbles in his water with the straw. “You are such a child,” Chris said laughing.
“Speaking of, I need to pee,” Jisung announced. I grounded and shoved my face into my hands. Jisung hopped out of the booth and shuffled to the restroom. That left me and Chris...alone.
“So...”
“So...”
We looked at each other and burst out laughing. “You kissed me,” Chan nodded and looked away. I was surprised to see a dark blush on Chan’s ears. “Thank you. For saving me from whoever that guy was.” Chan shrugged, a shy smile lighting up his face. His fingers tapped against the booth. 
“My pleasure.”
“Your pleasure saving me, or your pleasure kissing me.”
“Would you be mad if I said both?” 
It was my turn to blush and look away. My fingers locked onto the cold glass filled with water and I took a heavy sip, before turning back to Chris. “Not...entirely,” I said unable to keep the smile from leaking onto my lips. Chris looked around the restaurant before looking back at me.
“Would you be mad if I did it again?”
“Not entirely,” I said, a smirk flirting its way onto the corner of my mouth. 
I felt Chan’s other hand reach for min under the table, making me smile. “If I kiss you, you promise you won’t whack me with like a lamp or something right?” I laughed and rubbed my thumb across his hand. He smiled when I shook my head ‘yes’. Slowly he leaned closer until he was only a breath away. 
“You gonna make me wait for it, pretty boy, or what?” 
He let out a soft breathy laugh before connecting his lips to mine. He tasted like the strawberries from this morning; sweet and decadent. Chris deepened the kiss and laced his fingers with mine. My heart pounded against my chest as his lips ghosted over mine. He pulled away just long enough to smile before coming back for more. It felt like Chan and I were the only two people in the world.
“WHY THE F*** ARE YOU KISSING MY BESTFRIEND?!”
I heard a loud clang and several shouts and pulled away to see Chris grasping the back of his head and Jisung standing there holding a waitress’s tray. “What the hell man?” Chan exclaimed.
“STOP! KISSING! Y/N!” Jisung said, whacking Chris each time.
“Jisung! Chill out! I wanted him to!” I said to the tray maniac in front of me. “It’s okay! I wanted him to kiss me.” Jisung slowly lowered the tray, giving Chris a wary eye. Chan rubbed the back of his head and I cupped his face checking to see if anything was bleeding.
“Okay...fine. Sorry. I got a tad bit overprotective.” Jisung said completely lowering the tray and sitting back down. “Oh- here this is yours.” He said handing the metal tray to the confused waitress. “Don’t worry, I’ll leave a big tip!” Jisung said with an innocent smile as if nothing ever happened.
Nervously, the waitress walked away to get our food. Now, safe from Jisung’s wrath, Chris gently reached for my hand under the table. I smiled feeling his thumb gently rub circles on my skin.
“Jisung, don’t you think that was a little overkill?” Chan asked as the waitresses set down mountains of sushi in front of us. He shook his head and dived into the flavorful bites.
“Not at all. A psychic once told me my spirit animal was a vicious chihuahua.”
“I can attest to that,” Chris said before placing a roll onto my plate. I smiled at him and ate the piece. “Okay, let’s eat and get out of here.” We all nodded and ate quickly, enjoying every bite.
“I don’t know if they’ll let me back in here,” Jisung said after we paid the bill.
The three of us rode back to the safe house in the Porsche, Jisung sat with his legs squished to his chest in the back. When we got out Chan punched in the code and we all spilled across the living room in food comas.
“What happened to you guys?” Changbin said wandering into the living room.
“Sushi coma,” I said laying across Chan’s lap. Changbin nodded as if completely understanding. I looked over to see Jisung lying face down on the sofa, his butt sticking up in the air. 
“Did you guys get the templates?”
Without speaking Jisung started rummaging around his pocket until he pulled out what looked like a blank passport and ID card and raised it in the air. His head was still thoroughly buried in the cushions.
“Great. I should have these done in like...four hours. Then you can start your new life.” Bin said checking the templates. I watched him leave the room before staring back up at the ceiling. My fingers tucked under the hairline of the wig and I pulled it and the wig cap off my head. 
“I like your natural hair better than that old thing,” Chan stated, pulling the hair tie from my updo. He ran his fingers through my hair, shaking it loose as I stared up at him. “You better not change it too much once you get to Jeju.” I laughed and tossed the wig onto the coffee table. 
“Y/n, do you really have to go?” Jisung whined. He had turned his face just enough so he could speak without sounding like he had cotton balls in his mouth. “I’m going to miss my new best friend so much!” 
“I don’t think it’s safe for you all here. The longer I’m with you the more Jae is going to come after me.” 
Jisung sighed and put his butt down, fully laying on the couch. Chan and Jisung eventually fell asleep in their places, but I stayed awake thinking about what was to come. I was less excited about leaving Seoul than I was before. Jisung was in Seoul. Changbin was in Seoul. Chan was in Seoul. I would be in Jeju. All by myself.
I felt like they were my family now. Chan stirred in his sleep, his fingers twitching on top of my stomach. Gently, I traced light patterns on the back of his hand. “Did you not sleep?” He asked drowsily, lifting his head.
“No.”
“Thinking about Jeju?” I nodded and played with his fingers. It was easy to tell I was nervous. “You know, Yn,” He whispered, wrapping his hand around mine. “I could always stay with you the first couple of days. Just to make sure everything is alright of course.” Chan shrugged, but couldn’t stop the little smile edging itself onto the corner of his mouth.
“Oh, of course. Just to make sure everything is alright.”
“Yeah, just for that.” 
I laughed, keeping it quiet hoping not to wake Jisung. “Oh, I have something to give you. Actually two things.” I said, getting up from the couch. Chan watched me bring my backpack from his bedroom and sit back down next to him. He waited patiently as I dug through the bag. “Here is the first,” I said. Chan’s eyes widened when I pulled out the diamond necklace.
“But, I haven’t gotten you to Jeju yet?” I shrugged, placing it in his hands. 
“You’ve already been through so much for me.” He looked from me to the jewels in his hands. He gently placed it on the coffee table, before pulling me close and kissing my cheek. “And... the second thing. Hold on.” I tried to hold back my grin as I pulled the silver chain out of my pocket.
“Where in the world did you get this?” Chan said, as I delicately placed the necklace in his hand.
“Jisung may have taught me a few things. It’s from the booth you left me at.” He laughed and looked at the simple piece of jewelry. “It’s nothing much. I just saw it and thought of you. It can be something to remember me by.”
“Baby girl it will be near impossible to forget you.” I smiled as he traced his finger along my jaw, bringing me closer. His lips brushed over mine, sending butterflies into wild flight patterns in my stomach.
Chan pulled away, a soft smile lighting up his eyes. I watched as he draped the necklace over his neck. “Would you really come with me to Jeju?” He nodded, his grin growing as I cupped his cheek.
“Guys get a room. Some of us are trying to take a nap!” Jisung said throwing a cushion at us.
I looked at the passport and ID in my lap. Changbin had done an incredible job. These looked immaculate. My fingers brushed over my imprinted picture. “You take a pretty good photo,” Chan said, glancing over at me with a smile. 
He sat beside me in the driver’s seat of the Porsche, watching the road. “I’m sure you do too.” Chan shook his head, checking the rearview mirror.
“Nah. No pictures. Part of my job description.” 
“You don’t have any pictures of yourself?” I laughed bewildered, as he shook his head. Chan shrugged, pulling into the line for cars to board the ferry. “How far away are we?” Chris let out a hefty sigh, dropping his hands from the steering wheel as we inched forward closer to the boat. His fingers reached over and held onto mine.
“Um...I’d say about forty-five minutes on the boat and another twenty to get to the house.” Chan leaned his head against the seat, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand. “You’re almost there, Y/n.” I turned in my seat, leaning against the headrest.
“Thank you, Chris. For everything.” The blonde shrugged it off, a shy smile spreading to his cheeks. Soon we made it onto the boat. Chan parked the Porsche near the bow of the ferry. With both our stomachs rumbling, Chan went up to the top deck before bringing us back down cheap slices of pizza.
The radio played softly while Chan and I laughed and ate the subpar pizza in his car. I giggled when Chris took one of the crusts from my plate and stuffed it in his mouth. “Don’t steal my food!” 
“Can I steal something else then?” Chris said turning to the setting sun.
“If you’re gonna say something cheesy like my heart, I’ll toss you over the railing.”
He laughed, taking my hand again. “Fine, I won’t.” I played with the silver bands and rings around his fingers. It felt so normal to be with Chris. Everything about him felt...good. Wonderful. “Please let me finish! Y/n I haven’t been cheesy in so long.” He almost whined, bringing our hands up to his forehead. 
“Fine...” I groaned though a smile was still creeping its way onto my face. “What are you going to steal then?” I said cringing and closing my eyes. They opened when I felt his hand on my jaw.
“First I was thinking, a kiss...” His lips ghosted over mine, leaving a lasting sensation when he pulled away. “Then maybe another...” His lips pressed against mine again, his thumb running over the back of my hand. His forehead rested against mine. “Why don’t you just give me your heart?” He whispered,
“Why should I do that, pretty boy?” 
He smiled, glancing at the sunset before his eyes looked back into my own. “Because you already have mine.” My teeth dragged across my bottom lip, desperately trying to hide the grin I was threatening to give him. Tilting my head, I pressed a kiss to his cheek and then again on his jaw. 
“Do I really now?” Chan nodded his head softly. His eyes twinkling in the setting sun. “Well, that was fast,” I whispered before leaning forward and kissing him.
The sun was almost gone from the sky when we pulled up to the house in Jeju. I was surprised to find it right on the beach. The house was lined with huge windows on every side facing the ocean. “Chan, you can’t be serious right? This is yours?” 
I watched him come around to my side of the Porsche. “Nope. It’s not mine.” He said wrapping his arms around me from behind. He smelled like cinnamon. His long fingers wrapped around mine before pressing something into my palm. “It’s yours, baby girl.”
Opening my hand, I saw a set of keys. “Chan this house...it must have cost a small fortune. I can’t take this from you.” He shrugged, kissing my shoulder. 
“I’ve got the one in Itaewon. The apartment in Gwanak. And maybe...a small place in Bora Bora.”
“Excuse me?” 
“Come on! Let’s go inside and see your new house!” Chan said dragging me inside. I laughed and let him pull me inside. He showed me every inch of the house. It was bright and open and gorgeous. I covered my mouth as Chan led me out into the sunroom. The walls were entirely windows and stairs to the right led down to the waterfront. “You like it?” Chan asked.
I turned to see him standing in the doorway holding a bottle and two glasses. “What is this?” I asked with a laugh. He smiled and sat on the day bed on the porch. 
“This,” He said popping the bottle open. “This is your housewarming party.” I watched with a smile as he poured me a glass of champagne. His fingers brushed against mine as I took the flute. “I know it’s not the parties you’re used to.”
I took a small sip of the bubbly drink and smiled. “Are you kidding?” I said, standing between Chan’s legs and looking down at him as he poured his own glass and took a drink. “This is the best party I’ve ever been to.”
The waves crashed on the beach behind us. A cool breeze blew through some of the opened windows, but I felt warm near Chan, his hands around my waist. “You’re just saying that cause I’m here,” Chan whispered.
“So what if I am. It’s the truth.” I said running a hand through his hair. 
“Come here, baby.” He whispered, pulling me down onto his lap. I took another sip from the champagne, before reaching across Chan and setting it on a table. “F***, you’re beautiful.” He whispered, pushing a piece of hair away from my face. I smiled, draping my arms around his neck. 
“You keep saying things like that and I’m going to have to keep you here with me.” 
“Do you see me leaving?” 
He smiled when my fingers carded through his blonde locks. His arms wrapped tightly around me, pulling him closer to me than I thought possible. My lips reached down for his desperate for even more of his touch. 
I felt a cool breeze on my back as Chan’s hands pushed up the hem of my shirt. I shivered feeling his hands on my bare skin. His lips attacked mine as if I was the only thing in this world keeping him alive. I let my fingers drag down his chest. He smiled against me, feeling me play with the hem of his shirt.
His teeth dragged over my bottom lip giving me goosebumps. My hands traveled under his shirt. I was surprised to feel so much muscle under my hands as they rested on his stomach. Chan smirked before he turned his attention to my neck. 
Having had enough of the barrier between myself and Chan I tugged his shirt off, holding onto him tightly as he marked my neck. “Chan...” I whispered, bringing my lips back to his. 
“Sh**,” 
Chan let out a content sigh and pushed me down onto the cushion of the day bed. “How about...we move this somewhere...you know....not outside?” I said between heated kisses from the man above me. He nodded before kissing down my jaw. “Chan, did you hear me?” I asked the breath leaving my chest feeling his teeth graze my skin.
“Sorry...I got a little distracted,” Chan admitted with a smile. I laughed feeling Chan pick me up. “Into your house, we go!” I laughed as he carried me in his arms through the dark living room and down the hall. The master bedroom was full of moonlight from the huge windows on the far wall. I screeched as Chris tossed me onto the big bed. 
“CHAN!” 
He laughed and jumped onto the bed. I smiled as his lips rejoined with mine. His body fit perfectly into all the curves of my own. I sighed against his lips feeling his hips press down against mine. I tangled my fingers in his hair pulling on the blonde locks. 
I watched the moon glisten over the ocean before my eyes closed, the only thing on my lips the name of the man with me.
Jae’s POV
My fingers drummed against the wood of the desk. Not my desk. No. I didn’t get a desk. This was the desk of an old friend. A friend who was late to meet with Dowoon and me. “Wasn’t he supposed to be here an hour ago?” Dowoon said, messing with some of the books on a shelf. 
I kept my feet propped up on the desk and my stare focused on the door. To keep myself busy I had been disassembling and reassembling my firearm and timing myself. “Don’t worry. He owes me more than one favor.” I said slamming the gun down on the desk.
The door creaked open and both our eyes shot to the door. “Woah! You guys scared me. Jae, you look like the f***ing Grim Reaper himself.”
“I will be if I don’t find her. Then, believe me, Wonpil, if I don’t find her and kill that bastard; then there will be too many souls for the gates of heaven to hold.” In the corner of my eye, I saw Dowoon shiver.
“Dude.....that’s creepy,” Wonpil said, tossing a folder onto his desk.
“Jae just really loves Y/n,” Dowoon said with a dopey smile.
I rolled my eyes and picked the gun up off the desk. “What did you find?” Wonpil stat on the edge of the table, casting me a side glance. Dowoon picked up the file my friend entered with.
“I planted a bug on her, but one of the dudes with her snagged it.” Wonpil got up and shooed me from his chair. Reluctantly I complied. He stuck a flash drive from his pocket into his computer. 
“The guy who took the bug- dark hair, foreign-looking?” I asked.
“No.” He said opening up a program. “Both of the guys with her were blonde. She also went by a different name. She called herself Jessica.” I sighed, rubbing my temples. Chan had definitely gotten in her head.
“Sh**.”
“You’re really not gonna like this. One of the guys she was with- she called him her boyfriend. Not gonna lie, she looked happy.” Everyone jumped when my fist slammed into the nearest wall.
Taking a few deep breaths, I calmed myself down and waited for Wonpil to access whatever file he wanted to show me. “The bug should still be going, though.” With a few clicks, Wonpil started playing a live feed.
The sound of two male voices filled the office. “Dude...I’m gonna miss Y/n so much!!” One yelled. Wonpil sighed.
“That’s one of the guys she was with. Not her boyfriend, the other one.” Wonpil stated.
“Don’t worry, Sung. Chan will be back from Jeju any day now. He just went with her to make sure she settled in alright.” I pushed myself off the wall I was leaning in. She was in Jeju. With Chan. I was fuming. 
“Are you sure she was taken?” Wonpil asked. “Because it sounds to me like she was paying these guys to take her.” Dowoon laughed and poked Wonpil’s shoulder.
“No way. Y/n loved her life in the penthouse.” 
Wonpil shrugged and continued to listen to the live feed. “Do you even know where is place is in Jeju?” The rougher voice asked. The one called ‘Sung’ laughed. 
“Of course not. That was Chan’s special place. He never took anyone there.”
“And he’s just giving it to her?”
I sighed rubbing my eyes. “Okay, can you track this thing?” I asked looking over Wonpil’s shoulder. He nodded and tapped away on the keyboard. Impatiently I waited to see where these little sh**s were hiding.
“Looks like the bug is in an apartment complex near Seoul University,” Wonpil said pointing at the screen. I nodded to Dowoon, who took the file from earlier and stuffed it in his jacket.
“Thanks, Wonpil. We’ve got some business to take care of.”
Y/n’s POV
Three days had passed. Three incredible, wonderful, magical days. All spent with Chan. Spent drinking wine on the beach, spent making homemade dinners in the amazing kitchen, spent in bed where Chris whispered sweet nothings into my ear as I fell asleep.
I opened my eyes to be greeted with the morning light seeping in through the large windows of my bedroom. I sat up in bed watching the waves crash against the sand. This was my life now, I thought a sleepy smile spreading across my face.
I looked beside me to see Chan missing from his side of the bed. “Chan?” I called out. Maybe he was in the kitchen. “Babe?” My bare feet pressed against the cool wood floor and I grabbed Chan’s black shirt from off the floor. The fabric brushed against my thighs as I walked into the kitchen.
“Chris?”
“Out here, baby girl,”  I followed Chan’s voice out into the sunroom. He sat on the day bed most of the windows cracked open and the doors were propped letting the warm morning breeze flow through the room. His blonde hair blew slightly in the wind. “Hi, baby.” He said setting down a coffee mug.
“What are you drinking?” I said crawling over him and nuzzling into his side. 
“Tea. You want some?” 
I shrugged feeling his arm wrap around me. “I’ll get some later.” I closed my eyes and enjoyed being next to him. He sighed as I ran my fingers up and down his chest softly. 
“Is that my shirt?” 
“Maybe...”
“It looks good on you.” He whispered, placing a kiss on the top of my head. I draped my leg over his and rested my head on his chest. “Did you sleep well?” His arm wrapped tightly around my back, rubbing my side. I nodded and looked up at him.
“What were you doing out here?”
“I was trying to get in touch with the boys,” Chan said pulling out his phone. “Jisung isn’t answering my calls, which isn’t far from normal.” He sighed and scrolled through various text messages. “But, neither is Changbin.” His brows furrowed and he placed his phone next to the mug.
“Do you need to leave early? To check on them.”
“You couldn’t rid of me if you tried.” 
I laughed looking up at him. “You keep saying things like that, but how do I know you’ll actually do it?” He scoffed and sat up. I scooched upward so I could still lay on his chest. 
“You see that out there,” Chan said pointing out into the ocean. “That whatever is out there.” He smiled, looking down at me before he turned back to the sea. “Japan, the Philipines, whatever is in that direction. I would swim there and back if you asked me to, without hesitation.”
“You don’t know what’s in that direction?” I said with a laugh.
“Y/n you are missing my point!” Chan said chuckling.
“No, I get it. I was just teasing you, Chris.” Leaning up I pressed my lips to his. Chan smiled and pulled me fully on top of him. His fingers tangled themselves in my hair. I felt his heartbeat going crazy against my hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than I am now,” I whispered against his lips.
“You make me happy,” Chan whispered, looking up at me. “I swear if you tell the boys I ever said something like that I’ll be so embarrassed.” I giggled watching him cover his face, hiding the blush growing on his cheeks.
“Don’t worry, I wo-”
I was cut off by a crash coming from inside the house. Both our heads shot towards the sound. “Did you leave something on the edge of the counter?” Chan asked staring at the door leading back into the house. His grip on my waist tightened when I shook my head.
“No...Chan, what’s going on?”
The door burst open and I screamed seeing Dowoon aiming his gun at the both of us. “Jae they are out here!” He called back into the house. 
“Dowoon!” I screeched, pulling down Chan’s shirt further over my legs. Before I could say anything else, Dowoon grabbed Chan roughly by the arm and pulled him away and into the house. “Let him go! Dowoon!” I screamed and pounded on the man’s back. 
My eyes widened as he threw Chan down onto the floor in the living room. Right at the feet of Park Jae. The man who used to make my heart skip a beat. Now I was furious. “Chan!” I screamed, holding onto him. 
“I’m fine, just stay behind me.” He whispered to me, getting up. Chan stood tall, though his height was no match for the whopping half a foot Jae had on him. I did as Chan told me, sending a glare at Jae from behind Chris, my fingers holding tightly onto his arm.
“Really, Y/n. You’re with this guy!?” Jae screamed pointing his gun at Chan. “What about us?” Jae said quieting down. He looked genuinely hurt. 
“Jae it wouldn’t have worked...” Chan laced his fingers with mine, still keeping his eyes on Jae and Dowoon. 
“Look, Jae...I remember you from a couple years ago. This isn’t you. Let’s put the gun down and handle this like men.” Chan said with a calm tone. Jae scoffed. 
“Fine.” Jae tossed his gun to Dowoon and nodded to him. “Let’s settle this like men.” I heard the sound of his fist making contact with Chan’s face before I saw it. Chan reacted immediately pushing Jae off him before landing a punch of his own. 
My eyes widened when I heard the front door opened. During the scuffle, Dowoon had exited and was now dragging in two men. “HEY MAN WATCH IT! I bruise easily.” I would know that voice anywhere.
“Jisung?” His blonde head turned to me eyes wide.
“Y/n! Y/n, save me from this Mad Monkey Man!” 
“CHAN STOP! They have Ji and Bin!” Chan’s eyes widened and he looked up to see his friends being held by Dowoon. I pulled him off of Jae, who stood up and dusted off his suit. He smirked seeing our reaction to the boys. Jae shrugged off his jacket and turned to our friends. Even Bin looked a little scared. “Jae, leave them out of this.” 
“I can’t do that Y/n. I know for a fact...this one,” He said grabbing the back of Jisung’s hair and lifting up his head. “Was seen helping you make a getaway in Gwanak and he was at the house in Itaewon.” Jisung struggled against Jae’s grip. “Gave Dowoon quite the scar on his cheek.” I turned to see in fact Dowoon had a fresh scar on his left cheek.
I let out a short scream as Jae’s fist flew across Jisung’s face. My friend glared up at him and spat on the floor, a dark red substance falling from his lips. “don’t hurt him.” Jae’s eyes widened and a surprised smile spread over his face.
“Well, seems both men have got you wrapped around their finger, Y/n.” He said taking Jisung’s face in his hand. “The question is,” He said turned to me and reaching behind him. “Which one matters more to you?” Jae pulled out another gun and aimed it at Chan. Dowoon pulled his out as well and pressed it against Ji’s temple. 
In the corner of my eye, I saw Chan’s hand move behind him and reach into the lampshade. When his hand reappeared he was grasping a gun. I held onto his arm and shook my head ‘no’. Chan watched as I stepped between him and the barrel of the gun. 
Jae scoffed. “You’ve got her brainwashed pretty well, don’t you?” I scowled and stood still staring down the barrel of the gun. I knew he wouldn’t fire if I was standing between him and his target. “You probably tried to take advantage of her. Luckily she’s not dumb enough to fall for that sort of f***ing scam.” 
I heard Chan scoff behind me and I shot him a look. He ignored it, however, stepping forward. “Really?” He asked with a smile, listing his head. “From what I remember...she came on to me.” I could see Jae getting angrier and angrier. “Man, you should have been here the past few days. Things were pretty crazy,” Chan said with a smirk.
“D**MMMMMM BRO! THAT’S COLD!” Jisung laughed. Another punch from Jae silenced him.
“You’ve got a right to be jealous,” Chan said, grasping my hand. That was the last straw. Jae launched at Chan, taking him to the flower. Dowoon, thoroughly confused as to what was going on, dropped Changbin and Jisung. Bin ran over near me, wanting to be as far away from Dowoon as possible. Jisung on the other hand stayed over there, enthralled by the fight.
“YES. STEAL HIS GIRL CHAN! SHOW HIM WHO’S BOSS!”
“Jisung, dude, she wasn’t his in the first place,” Bin said narrowing his eyes at our friend. Jisung looked from me and then back to the fight.
“.......KICK HIS ASS, HYUNG!” 
Both boys rolled around on the floor throwing punches and wrestling for dominance. “Stop it!” I screamed pulling on Jae’s shirt. “Stop!” They kept on fighting, not hearing me over Jisung’s trash talk to Jae and his cheers fro Chan. “That’s it.” 
My eyes scanned the room for something relatively heavy. I raced over to the end table and grabbed the purple object before slamming it against the back of Jae’s head. “ENOUGH!” I screamed. All the boys stopped what they were doing and stared at me, eyes wide with fear.
“Chan you were right....what is with your girlfriend and candles...” Jisung whispered to his friend who lay at his feet. Chan looked up and then let his head drop to the floor. I looked to see a Black Cherry Merlot candle in my hand, the lavender tinted glass cracked from the impact of Jae’s cranium. 
Jae rolled off of Chan and held the back of his head. “Enough. Stop this madness. I have had it up to here with you all.” Dowoon flinched at my yelling and I almost felt bad. Jisung helped Chan up from the floor and I dragged Jae by his ear to the kitchen. 
“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow...” He whined all the way.
“Shut up and listen okay?” Jae nodded and silently watched me grab a bag of frozen peas from the freezer. “I’m not going back with you,” His eyes saddened and he opened his mouth to say something but I stopped him. “I left on purpose. I hated it there. I wasn’t living my own life. I felt like I was locked up in a prison.” 
Jae nodded and pressed the vegetable bag to the back of his head. “So, you really love him?” He looked broken. I still loved Jae, very much. But, not in the way that I used to. His head fell when I nodded. “Your dad is going to kill me, you do know that right?” There was a tiny laugh in his voice, but the words were more true than I would have liked to believe.
“Give me your phone.” 
He passed me his phone and I scrolled through the contacts until I found my father. I waited, arms crossed for him to pick up. “Jae! Have you found my baby girl?” My father’s voice exclaimed through the phone.
“Hi, daddy!” I said, looking around the mess of my new house. Changbin was helping Chan and Jisung was having a sort of staring contest with Dowoon. He flinched away when Dowoon uncrossed his arms. I tried not to laugh.
“Y/n! My darling! Please tell me you are coming home.”
“Daddy, I love you,” I started. He went quiet hearing those words. 
“You aren’t coming home are you?” I shook my head before telling him what he didn’t want to hear. I told him all about my deal with Chan and how he kept me safe until he got me to Jeju. I told him about how I never expected to fall in love with someone like him, but it happened. 
“I’m happy, Dad.” I heard a slow sigh on the other end of the call. I could just picture my father rubbing his temples in his study. 
“If you are happy and you are safe... then I trust you.” I smiled hearing those words. I wanted to jump and scream and sing all around the house. I wanted to run into the ocean and bask in the sunlight. “Please promise me, that you will come visit us.” 
I agreed and told him I loved him before hanging up the phone and giving it back to Jae. “Would you and Dowoon like to stay for lunch? Chan and I were going to grill some shrimp and other stuff.” Jae seemed shocked by the offer. 
“That would be nice.” I smiled and patted his shoulder. 
“The bathroom is just down the hall, but I’m sure Jisung would also like to clean up his face...so I would run.” He gave me a confused look. “He is a strong supporter of ‘dibs’. So, I would run before he calls it.” Jae nodded and turned to leave. 
My hand on his wrist stopped him. “Jae, I’m really sorry. About us. About everything.” He gave me a tight-lipped smile and placed a hand on my shoulder. 
“It’s okay. As long as you're happy with...Chan...then I am happy for you.” 
I smiled and reached up to give him a hug. “Now go before Jisung calls dibs.” He smiled and walked down the hall, breaking into a sprint when he saw Jisung was doing the same. 
Chan and I watched from the sunroom as Jisung and Changbin pushed each other around on the beach. Jae and Dowoon had left after lunch. Now the sun was setting and Chan was grilling up some more food while I sat and talked to him. I laughed watching Changbin throttle Jisung into the ocean.
“How into this are you?” Chan asked flipping some vegetables over on the grill. I gave him a lopsided grin and stood from the daybed. I wrapped my arms around his waist feeling the muscles beneath his tank top.
“Into what? This? Us?” He nodded. I pretended to think about it, making him smile. I let my lips trail down his shoulder. “Very.”
“You’re saying that you want to be my partner in crime?” I rose a brow and he gave me a nervous laugh. “Okay, semi-legal partner in crime.” I laughed and kissed his shoulder again. 
“Let’s start with ‘girlfriend’ before I break the law with you.” He smiled and closed the grill. 
A scream called our attention back to the beach. I was relieved to just see Jisung running away from Changbin. Unfortunately, Jisung wasn’t fast enough and Changbin had his hands around his shoulders, shoving Ji down under the waves.
“I’m friends with literal children.”
 “Yes, yes you are.” He leaned down and pressed a heated kiss onto my lips. I was seriously falling in love with this man. “What do you want to do now, handsome?” I smirked seeing him roll his eyes, but a rosy blush tinted his ears. 
“I don’t know,” He shrugged.
“Something good? Something bad?” I played with the ends of his hair before kissing the corner of his lips. “Bit of both? Whatever you want, pretty boy.” Chan sighed and wrapped his arms around my waist. His eyes turned to the sunset, twinkling in the light. 
“Bit of both then.” He said with a smirk, leaning in for another kiss.
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foulserpent · 4 years
Text
the siege of kvatch
martin has a bad night. 3659 words
cw: death and violence and brief gore, child injuries, implied mass death, description of injuries
Something had jolted Martin awake. He blearily forced his eyes to open.
He was on his back, staring up at the low, cracked ceiling of his home. His surroundings were tinged a deep navy blue, with shafts of moonlight casting cool haloes on the ridges of his blanket.
Martin hoisted himself up, squeezing his eyes shut in irritation and flicking a small light into being with a simple spell. This was hardly unusual. He rarely slept a solid night, and it was a near futile task to fall back asleep unassisted once he'd been awakened.  
He shuffled across the room towards his kitchen cupboards, pausing for a moment to glance out the window for any sign of a disturbance. The dried herbs hanging above rustled gently in the breeze, and the night beyond was still, but for the distant chirping of frogs. He sighed.
The clink of bottles seemed deafening in the night air as he searched for the right potion, a simple sleeping aid. Some of the other priests frowned on medicating like this, something he never really understood. This was why he didn't live in the undercroft anymore. He could take the guilt of a negligible lack of devotion any day over the pestering from the rest of the faithful any time he didn't leave every facet of his health to the Akatosh. He figured he'd be of more use to the Dragon well rested.
Martin swirled the clear liquid, debating whether to just drink from the bottle, when the hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle. He froze, straining to discern what had set him off. The dull clatter of the bottle settling unused into the drawer seemed even louder than before, and it hit him. The frogs had gone silent.
Suddenly, Martin felt a sensation as if the air was being sucked from his lungs, and the blueish moonlight burned away into a deep red glow. Then came a rumbling, a low moan from deep below the earth that set the window rattling. Then silence. A stream of dust hissed down from a crack in the ceiling, bathed a dirty rose in the ever-brightening crimson glow.
Martin shakily set about putting a robe on and slipping on a pair of sandals. The red light was only growing brighter as he cautiously stepped outside. He shuffled out of the alley and toward the source of the light, and froze.
There was something massive and black looming over a swath of houses a block away, framed by an even more colossal structure that towered high above the city walls and painted the night in crimson. It was ringed by black stone, hooking out from the earth like some half-formed ribcage, and between it swirled a shrieking vortex of fire and starstuff that crackled with streaks of white lightning. Martin's stomach dropped. He recognized, with painful familiarity, what he was looking at.
This was some kind of gate to Oblivion.
His attention was caught again by the black shape moving, setting a spiny leg through a house. The roof was pierced as if it were nothing, and there came a muffled shout that was drowned by the groaning of wood and something far deeper as the thing moved. The hulking mass slowly waded through the building on six legs wider than oak trunks, stepping almost delicately, as if it thought itself stealthy.
Martin stood frozen in place as the thing began to emit a noise,a low groan that raised into a brassy wail that shook the earth in a long, eerie note.  At its center, something began to glow the deep red of molten metal. The air seemed to grow still, sluggish, bending in a profane gravity towards the building heat and the hovering black sphere in its center, looking as if a bloody red eye. The light shifted from red to orange to hot-white, air shimmering under the infernal heat as the groaning crescendoed to a shrieking buzz. Martin briefly saw a halo of beady insectoid eyes glow into view through the waves of heat, saw the rim- no, throat quiver in feverish anticipation.
Then, the pressure snapped.
Martin flung himself to the ground.
A pillar of flame streaked through the air high above him, bathing the night an unearthly white brighter than any daylight. Martin closed his eyes and flattened himself into the mud as shrieking heat radiated down upon him. There was a great roar in its path, and the light that pierced through his eyelids began to simmer into a dull orange. He dared a glance upward.
Fire. Half of the city, the half he had just stumbled out from, was a flattened smear. It was as if a gigantic hand had raked the earth and casually wiped it clean, and in its place left a wall of flame. The mighty wall behind it lay in a smoking heap, and as he watched, the pointed arrowheads of another gate sprouted like some vile mockery of a flower in its remains.
As his hearing faded back in, he began to pick up the sound of screams. The streets around him were beginning to flood with people, stumbling out of their homes in nightgowns and bare feet and gazing in terror upon the half of the city that had just been wiped out of existence. Above it all, the great beast stood gleaming in the firelight. Its head looked to be blown off, chunks of flesh falling to the earth as it vomited liquid fire at its feet. And there was something swarming at its legs, shadows darting in and out of view. Large reptilian beasts were advancing from the gate, and behind them the horned and armor clad forms of infernal soldiers. Dremora.
Martin staggered to his feet and began to look around for an avenue of escape, but the red glow of those gates mocked him from every direction. They were being opened strategically, blocking off every exit from the city. There was a more mundane glow now lighting up the whole perimeter, under a sky blackening with smoke. They were setting fires. They were smoking the people of Kvatch out. Why?
He turned towards the southern end of the city, away from the swath of destruction. The chapel stood tall there, laid with thick stone and guarding a network of tunnels and crypts. If there was anywhere to hide, it would be there.
"Get to the chapel!" He choked out at the fleeing people around him. "It's daedra, get to the chapel!"
He waved frantically in that direction, panic mounting as the shadowy forms of daedra drew closer. The soldiers fanned out to either side of the street and stormed their way to the doors of homes, splintering the cheap wood with brutal kicks of thorny boots. How many people were still in their houses?
“Get outside!” He shouted, voice cracking.
“Get outside!” His neighbors echoed as they ran.
The smallest daedra were now plainly visible, charging forth at a steady lope, their hooked beaks glittering wickedly in the red light. He saw one veer to the side with a shriek, leaping at a man that had just emerged from his door with four clawed limbs outstretched. He was pinned underneath with a yelp, and the beast, with an almost delicate avian movement, ripped out his throat. Martin began to run. He would be no use to anyone if he was dead.
As he bolted down the streets the ground resumed its shaking. He chanced a look behind him, and saw that the giant insect-beast was now charging blindly through the city. It scrambled over houses and shops with a speed that defied its massive size, dribbling its molten core and setting fires with every step. Martin lost sight of it as it crested the arena district to his right, the earth still rumbling in its stead. He picked up the pace.
A large pack of citizens had fallen in beside him as he approached the chapel grounds. This part of town was in flames as well. A group of daedroth were busying themselves with picking off people that ran from their burning homes. One of the smaller beasts, armor clad and bearing a staff, turned to face their group and opened its spiny jaws. It barked an order at the other two, giant beasts that loomed almost a story above the ground. Martin cursed under his breath as the others began to scramble past him into the chapel.
A few armed civilians and a guard came to his side, her dark face streaked with sweat.
“You should get inside. Are you any good in a fight, priest?” She asked.
“Not really,” Martin panted as he readied a spell.
Two of the larger daedroth had ignored their commander, instead choosing to fight over what he hoped was a corpse.  Martin concentrated, collecting moisture from the air and cooling it between his hands. His will became a thorn of ice, and he sent it flying towards one of the larger daedroth. The ice tore through its neck, and the beast began to thrash wildly.
The other large daedroth dropped to all fours, and charged. They scattered, and the beast barrelled past and spun around, its massive tail smashing a dent into the doors of the chapel with the momentum. There was a scream from inside.
The armed men and women bore down on the beast as Martin readied another spell, turning to deal with the smaller daedroth. But it had disappeared from sight, leaving the grounds empty save for the flames. He had no time to wonder why it had gone. There was a cry of pain from the group. The daedroth had seized a man by the leg and begun to roll, splintering the limb like a twig. The others took the opportunity to stab at the beast, sinking their blades into its neck and stomach. It too began to flail, dragging the man by his ruined leg along with it until it finally lay still.
After the injured man was dragged inside, Martin took one last look around the grounds. An antlered straggler was scrambling over a pile of rubble. He looked to be in nightclothes and covered in blood, barefoot and shirtless and holding a blazing sword in his right hand.
"Over here!" Martin called.
The man's ears perked and he whirled around to stare him down. His chest was heaving, starkly cut by- a wound? No, a massive scar. His face was inscrutable from this distance, but the exasperation with which he threw out his arms was unmissable.
"What?"
"Over here!"
"What?!" the man yelled. "I'm not- what the fuck!?" He dropped his arms and bolted in the opposite direction. Towards the city's main gate. Towards one of those burning tears in reality.
Martin cursed. There was no time to care. He took a deep breath and stepped inside.
There were about thirty people who had made it into the chapel, most singed and bloodied. The stronger men and women were set about barricading the doors, while throngs more just sat in shock or in huddled, wailing masses. He recognized most of the faces in the crowd, people he had seen every day on the streets and in the markets, people who had come through for his services and made friendly conversation, or who gutted him with casual quips about how good it was to see men like him practicing the true faith and left him wondering what about him they meant. They were all familiar, all masked in the same veil of dust and blood and fear.
"Is anyone wounded?" Martin asked. A stupid question.
"Over here, priest." Someone croaked. There was a good dozen people lying on the floor towards the altars, huddled over by other civilians who busied themselves in slowing their bleeding and setting their limbs. Martin made his way over, ignoring the searing pain in his own legs from all the running.
The conscious survivors mumbled greetings to him, and pointed numbly in the direction of six of their number. Martin could smell the burnt flesh from here.
"Do any of you know healing spells?" Martin asked.
One man looked up, a younger fellow with blonde hair. "I know a little but- but Nothing for wounds like these." He said, frantic.
Martin cursed to himself. Inexperienced healers in situations like these could do more harm than good. Just one moment of panic as a major artery or ruptured organ was attended to could warp flesh like wet clay.
"Keep working on the bleeding. Don't worry about the internal injuries for now, don't try to heal any deeper than the surface. Just stop any bleeding."  
Martin breathed hard as he looked between the most grievously injured. The man with a crushed leg, face pale and clammy as he stared at the torn piece of meat that had been a leg. Two women who were mauled almost beyond recognition, being hurriedly bandaged by a few other survivors. A badly burned man, blackened in one arm and angry red all over, breathing hard. A little girl who choked and clutched at her bloody chest, curly hair wet with blood.
He quickly made a decision, and brought himself down over her. He set to work with trembling hands, feeling for where she was injured. She was still breathing, but the sound was strange and labored and her eyes were glassy.
"Try to stay awake, please." He said.
She looked at him, then stared into space.
"Can you tell me your name?" He asked, hoping to keep her mind off the pain.
"A..." She said. “...Ah..”  It dribbled across her dusty lips alongside a drop of blood. Martin's heart sank.
"D-Don't speak, don't. I'm sorry." He took a deep breath and gently pulled aside her torn nightshirt. There was a wound between her ribs, foaming pink and hissing with each breath. He swallowed hard.
"Can you breathe out for me, as much as you can?" He asked, readying a spell. She let out a shaky breath, and he drew his hand back, pulling fluid from her lungs along with it and flinging it to the side. Ignoring the blood now coating his fingers, he covered the hole with again as she finished her breath.
"Good, good, keep breathing." He concentrated, sending out waves of healing into her chest, feeling the flesh stir to attention. Her lung had begun to heal, and he bit his lip in concentration, feeling the waves of the spell as if it were an extra limb. Her lung needed to be closed first with great delicacy, not letting the flesh of the vital organ grow too wildly or blend into the surrounding tissue, but gently coaxing the cells into mending themselves as if they had never been torn apart by something that should have never, never happened.
"Please, help me!" The burned man screamed. "I'm dying, I'm dying."
"Hold ON!" Martin barked, immediately regretting his words. "I-I need to concentrate, I'll be right there, just hold on."
He pitifully glanced back at the other survivors that crowded near the doors.
"Do ANY of you know any healing spells?"
They looked among themselves sheepishly. Before anyone could say what he already guessed, the door thudded with a mighty impact and they scrambled to brace it. There was a splintering sound, and a great clawed hand burst through the wood. The daedra knew they were there.
Martin let out a cry of frustration, and turned back to the little girl to finish the spell, doing his best to ignore the chorus of thumps against the chapel doors. The girls eyes were closed and she had given in to unconsciousness, but her breathing was now steady. This was all he could do for now.
He moved to help the burned man, but the woman next to him coughed a spray of blood and began to choke, and he moaned in panic. He cupped her ribs and sent pulse after pulse of the spell into her, coaxing the fluid out from her choked lungs. Martin glanced upwards to her face to check for alertness, and felt his blood run cold. Her head was visibly dented on the side, bleeding into the floor. How had he not noticed? How had no one noticed?
He scrambled, returning to her chest. She needed to breathe first, then he could fix her head. But as her ribs began to lock back into place, the pulse of his spell faltered. His hands gave off a weak glow, and then nothing.
The burned man screamed, and the blonde man attending to the other wounded began to hyperventilate. Martin felt as though he was suffocating.
Breathe, breathe, you can't cast if you aren't breathing.
He dragged in breath after breath, trying to stay calm.
Mara, my hands are yours. He prayed, straining to cast the spell.
The woman began to choke again.
Akatosh, give me strength. Please help me.
His hands remained useless.
Please help me.
As the moans of pain around him came to a crescendo, he began to sob.
----
It wasn't unusual. One hears about it all the time, in situations like these. Healing spells could be fickle, what with how heavily they rely on the caster's own body rhythms. Moments like these were nothing like when some mercenary is dragged in by a friend with a grievous wound, still managing to crack jokes even as she chokes on blood, and the natural anxiety of the situation metastasizes into a knife-edge focus. People still go about their days outside, and you know whatever happens, in the morning the world will be the same as it ever was. Your magic flows like honey, and the wounded leaves with "thank you"s and weary declarations of "I'm never going into the salt marsh in land-dreugh season again". Or they don't recover as smoothly, or you lose them, and it eats and eats at you but your spells still flow because it's nothing so bad as to leave you unsure that the sun will rise tomorrow.
In the burned out shell of everything you know, magic will lose your command. It will sputter, grow lean and feeble, or fade out entirely, leaving you helpless and useless as you try to work by hand what can only be done by the most skilled of surgeons, and life bleeds away through your fingers faster than you could ever hope to hold it in shape.
Martin sat next to the two surviving wounded in a heap. The young girl breathed steadily at his side, and one of the mauled women shivered into the robes offered by the other survivors. No one wanted to take from the dead.
Before him lay a hasty scattering of offerings and prayer materials. Just some candles the other survivors scrounged from around the chapel, with his own blood let and offered to the fires in bitter urgency. For hours now, he had spoken the rites again and again. He prayed through every splintering of the door, every distant scream, until his throat was sore and mouth was dry. Martin had begun to cry again, finally just begging for a sign that anyone was listening, the slightest abnormal flicker of a candle, a faint breeze, anything he could take and delude himself with that his god gave half a shit about what happened to some piddling little mortals in a burning wreck.
Now, his eyes were bloodshot and glassy as the dead, and he breathed slow and deep. He stared across the chapel, past the human shapes cloaked under straw prayer mats and curtains and blankets pulled up from the undercroft.
The chaos outside had long choked and begun to still, and the barricade was kept sealed tight. A cursory glance through the holes showed that the animal daedra still roamed the streets in great numbers, now settling into picking apart the dead. Soft rains had begun to fall, and it seemed that if there was to be any mercy on this night, it would be a slow death to the fires that still raged across the city.
A teenage girl approached with a loaf of bread. She held it towards Martin silently, brow raised in concern. Martin willed his eyes into focus. He recognized her. This was the daughter of one of the iron smiths in town. Her tusks had grown since Martin had last seen her, and her eyes were tired beyond anything someone that young should ever be.
"I'm not hungry." He said, wincing at the hoarseness of his own voice. "Thank you."
The girl turned away, then started at a small commotion. Something had gotten the people watching the barricade excited.
"What is it?" she called.
"There's someone outside! They're saying the gates are gone!" The guard responded.
The girl perked up and ran towards the entrance, leaving Martin to stare through the space in her wake.
He could only hear brief snatches of the conversation. There was fighting on the streets now, it seemed. The daedra were being faced by armed survivors and the remnants of the town guard. He could now hear it. More clashing outside, the shrieks of the beast daedra and raised voices.
Dawn was approaching, and it was far from over. Morning light had begun to filter through the intricate stained glass, painting the triple-faced images of Akatosh onto the cold stone around him. It made his stomach churn. Martin closed his eyes, though he knew no sleep would come to him. His head was split with pain, and his mind was little but a dull buzz. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter. A few of the devout doggedly knelt nearby saying morning prayers, and he made no move to join them. Their desperate calls to the Dragon were little more than indistinct murmurs, muffled by the sounds of distant violence and the soft rain.
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hectabdr · 3 years
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Dragon Raja IV - Chapters 9 & 10 (Abridged)
Hi everyone, in today's update we start learning a little more about Johann's father and that vision that Luminous experienced.
Previous Chapters
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Chapter 9
Luminous woke up in a white room. In front of him there was an old man in a white doctor's coat. He explained that once Luminous left the library, he fell and hit his head on the pavement, so his friends brought him to a hospital to check if he had a concussion. Behind the mirror, however, they were being watched by two psychiatrists, next to them, Nono and Finger observed as well. Luminous had to answer many questions, he answered as logically as he could. According to the lead doctor, this wasn't a good sign, a person who knows that they're suffering from some sort of mental disease will always make an extra effort to demonstrate their sanity and Luminous was definitely going the extra mile.
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They actually brought him there after Finger threw a rock at his friend's head and knocked him out. Truth be told, they already suspected the doctor's diagnostic, their friend was schizophrenic. Luminous's tantrum didn't help his case either. The young S-Rank was yelling, then threatened the personnel to let him go and almost flipped the table. Minutes later, he was already constricted by a straitjacket, resting on a small hospital bed.
Trying to ignore the other patients with whom he shared a room, he slowly vanished under the effects of a sedative injection. As soon as his eyes closed, his body felt the cold sensation of heavy rain. He was in the number 0 highway all over again, trapped in that same vision, the one where Nono would die in minutes, yet the shadowy creatures were not trying to eat them alive, but frozen like statues, while a small figure walked among them. Carrying an oversized umbrella, the little devil greeted his brother and made an interesting contribution.
The dream that Luminous experienced was not simply a prediction, but a simulation of it, and as such, it could be experienced all over again. In fact, he could repeat the same scenario as many times as he needed to find the one where Nono would survive. It was like the "save" feature in a video game and there was no need to exchange a quarter of his life for this service.
-Odin, what is he?
-You could understand him as a dead soul, trapped in this Nibelungen. He possesses infinite power, yet for some reason, he couldn't leave this place for many years, until now.
Odin's restriction was about to end, after all, he managed to lock Nono with the Gungir lance and it was a matter of time before he could leave the Nibelungen to reach her. Once you're locked by the lance, you're doomed to die, however, it cannot be locked on the same target twice, since theoretically said target should be dead already. Therefore, the solution was simple, if Luminous managed to prevent the lance from hitting Nono, Odin wouldn't be able to try for a second time. According to Ming·Z, someone in the past already escaped the Gungir lance, he just didn't know how. Luminous would have multiple chances to find a way, with a clear objective in mind, he started the second round.
The scenario resumed and the creatures started moving towards them. The pair once again fought for their lives, with a big difference: Luminous performed exceptionally well. Being able to remember the behavior of the servitors allowed him to know exactly how and where to shoot them, leaving Nono speechless. She was particularly surprised when he blew up her car, since he forgot the part where they agreed to escape in the Maybach. Wasting time to explain his course of action, a servitor took advantage of their distraction and cut through Nono's neck with its hands, killing her in an instant.
He woke up in his hospital bed, extremely frustrated. Ming·Z·Lu left a phone in his bed with a message that invited him to try again. The only problem was that he couldn't fall asleep. Luminous threw tantrum after tantrum until the nurse came in and he requested another sedative injection, which surprised her. According to the doctors, these sedatives weren't addictive, so Luminous had little to no reason to want another one. He had to lie about his condition, saying that there were voices in his head yelling to one another. The nurse injected him again and he fell asleep, ready for his third attempt.
In the middle of the battle, he noticed that one of the servitors had a little number next to it, just like the stats in an RPG, and the creature was a "level 600 enemy". According to Ming·Z, a very strong regular human should have a combat level of 100, so this thing had six times the strength of a tai chi master. Enemies that strong should be avoided in close combat and shot from a distance instead. Odin's power level and other stats were displayed as a bunch of question marks. It was a sign of their abysmal difference in strength. When Luminous tried to analyze Ming·Z·Lu, his stats were hidden by question marks as well.
Chapter 10
Days later, Finger and Nono were drinking in Luminous's old bedroom, trying to figure out what to do next. They believed they understood the situation, their friend was mentally ill. He knew about this boy called Lu Mang, who died in an accident and he created an imaginary version of him. He projected most of his own accomplishments into this made up president of the Lionheart club and got two of his former classmates involved in his delusional quest.
Finger suggested giving Luminous back to the college, despite of the risk that it might represent to his safety. If they apologized for their actions and brought back the number one target of the secret party, they might have been able to get pardoned. Maybe Caesar could ensure his well being. Nono still insisted in analyzing the inconsistencies on everyone else's perspective on Luminous and Finger suggested that she just couldn't accept the truth of her sidekick's mental condition.
Finger's suggestion was tearing her apart on the inside, because she knew that she was supposed to be the one who suggested they give up on Luminous, then Finger would be offended and start defending his old roommate, this didn't make much sense, why was she the one who was hesitating? She expressed her disgust at his proposal and left Luminous's old house.
-Even if he's the disoriented puppy that you say he is, it's still mine! I'm the one who picked him up from the women's bathroom!
Meanwhile, Luminous just lost his 46th attempt at saving his former senior. After all of those attempts, he suffered 22 serious injuries, including 12 fractures, 7 deep wounds and 1 broken finger. His previous attempt was devastating, he managed to get in the car with Nono, but the death servitors lifted the car up in the air and they couldn't accelerate anymore. Nono was visibly terrified, while the creatures destroyed the vehicle, they sat down, waiting for their end to come.
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Ming·Z tried to dissuade Luminous from pursuing Nono, or even saving her, but his brother refused. The little devil was confused about his brother's feelings and revealed that he had been writing a small webnovel inspired by the real life relationship between Luminous and Nono. His readers weren't particularly happy with her character and wanted her to be more clear about her intentions.
-I learned more about humans to understand the feelings that you have for your senior sister.
-Did you find your answer?
-Yes, your feelings are in all the wrong places.
-Nonsense!
Perhaps there was something he could do. Ming·Z couldn't stop the Gungir lance, but he would be able to kill Odin if Luminous was willing to trade his last quarter of life. As expected, Luminous refused, so he gave him another gift: he would provide him with any weapon he could ask for on his next attempts. Luminous asked for an apache helicopter but Ming·Z forced him to settle for something smaller, a bazooka.
The next round started and Nono freaked out when she saw Luminous's new rocket launcher, where did he get it from?
Back in the real world, Nono arrived at an abandoned building that belonged to the Media Asia Group. The boss of the Black Prince Group was an old acquaintance of hers, a devoted one at that, the same young man who lend her the red Ferrari: the young master Shao. His business card was enough to allow Nono to request information about an old employee: a man whose last name was Chu.
The middle aged man that guarded the old building was curious about this girl and her credentials. She went straight to the point and asked for the long deceased man, Mr. Chu. The guard recognized the surname immediately, his full name was Chu Tianjiao. Long ago they used to be colleagues and drank together from time to time.
Tianjiao was married to a dancer and had a young son, he wanted to earn more money, so he quit his job working as a driver for members of the taxation bureau and became the personal driver of a wealthy man, who owned the Maybach that Tianjiao drove every day.
Nono kept asking for more information, but there wasn't much to say, he loved spicy chicken wings and braised pork belly, he barely spoke unless it was to brag about simple things. But there was something more, Tianjiao lived in the factory, so she asked the man to take her to Tianjiao's room. In her way, she noticed a reflection in the window, powerful flames, but it only lasted a second.
Tianjiao's bedroom hadn't been opened for many years, but the air inside was surprisingly clean, just a little dusty. The furniture was simple, a double bed, a bedside table, a writing desk, a chair and a mini-refrigerator. Some strings in the corner of the room were used to dry his clothes and a jacket was hanged in them. This was everything that Chu Tianjiao had. Nono stepped in, asking to be left alone and she closed the door to allow her profiling ability to fill the missing details. She analyzed every aspect of the small place and came across a photograph. A family of three, a boy who was five at most, a woman with a bright smile and a man in a white shirt and woolen pants combing his hair, hugging his wife proudly. Was the boy Johann Chu? She couldn't recognize his face.
Nono sat down on the bed, closed her eyes and allowed her ability to put her in that man's shoes. She saw him, a man with no name arriving at the town for the first time, carrying nothing but a suitcase. He sat down at a food stand and ordered braised pork belly, but the vision was interrupted by the pain of heavy mental exhaustion. 
Her skills were demanding and she found herself trapped in that state, feeling like the was sinking in deep water as she desperately tried to escape. The experience sent her back to the Three Gorges Dam, where she almost died, a monster came to her aid and yelled "Don't die! don't die! don't die!"
She wasn't completely sure about how she survived on that mission. Caesar and Luminous put a story together, in which Norton approached the diving bell and attacked her, the dragon then attacked the Monach, where Caesar skillfully slayed the monster. Luminous brought her back to the boat, where she woke up in her boyfriend's arms.
But there was more to it, a monster, one that ordered her not to die and saved her with powers that broke the rules of the world she knew. Was that an illusion?
Nono felt the whole place trembling and got out of the room, outside, the rainfall had flooded the building and the whole structure was sinking in the muddy ground in which it was built. Nono tried to make her way out, she was trained for this, swimming as fast as she could, she got trapped by the tons of stored garbage and slowly passed out from suffocation until someone finally grabbed her wrist.
She woke up in an ambulance, where she discovered the identity of her savior: the boring middle-aged man that guided her to Tianjiao's room was in fact an olympic swimmer who almost joined the national team! He even had an 8-pack and all, Nono wondered, when did that old man become so interesting?
Anyway, while everyone clapped and celebrated the local hero, she contemplated the ruins of the sinking building. Her last connection to Chu Tianjiao was now lost.
In a simulated combat situation, inside of his dreams, Luminous was now on his 62nd attempt to save Nono. His routine was well practiced, not a single bullet was wasted. He pushed Nono back into the Maybach and prepared to fire the Bazooka at the death servitors, but the projectile exploded inside of the cannon, killing them both in the resulting explosion. Ming·Z excused himself for the defective product, after all, Luminous already used dozens of them so at least one could be expected to have some sort of flaw.
77th load, by this point he already managed to make it out oof the servitor battle and they drive deep into the highway. He tried to pass through the toll booths but accidentally hit a concrete isolation block.
He woke up again at the hospital and asked the nurse for another sedative. He had been sleeping for five or six consecutive days with the help of those injections, only waking up to eat and occasionally chat with his fellow patients. The nurse was growing suspicious of him but he faked a mental episode and the nurse ran away to ask for the doctor's instructions.
Finger showed up to visit him and brought some apples, he also reassured him about Nono's trust in him, informing Luminous of Chen's quest to find more clues about Johann's dad. They also found more about Chu's mother, who probably developed her psychological pregnancy after the death of her real son.
To lighten up the mood after the arrival of the nurses, Finger turned the TV on and they watched the news together. Apparently the airport was closed due to the incessant rains, and they were showing the departure of the last plane right before the lockdown, but something startled Luminous.
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Odin's flames were reflecting in the water, the god swung his lance and the wind and water were quickly turned into a blade that cut through the airplane like butter. The airport was covered in flames and some of the passengers were injured.
Luminous tried to warn everyone in the hospital and begged them to call the police, but his apparent prediction meant nothing to them, after all, the footage shown in the news was a repetition from days before. They pushed him back into his bed and sedated him immediately.
Odin was indeed too much for regular humans, and he was about to start tormenting the city, just waiting to get out.
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greenninjagal-blog · 4 years
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Roman Prince, Psychic pt1
Hello, I’m back with another au!
Summary: Roman reads minds, loses his job and makes it his mission to get his brother a boyfriend.
Pairings: Anxceit, (future) Logince, and brotherly Prinxiety
Word Count: 6014
Quick Taglist: @chelsvans​ @faithfulcat111​ @holliberries​ @jemthebookworm​ @killerfangirl3​ @stricken-with-clairvoyancy​ @treasureofpriam​
Read on AO3 || My General Writing List
Roman has lost twenty two jobs in the past three years, which is offensive on many levels. First of all, twenty two was a number that could only be divided by two and eleven, which is much worse than twenty eight minutes ago when he had lost only a total of twenty one jobs in the past three years.
Twenty two only ever brought bad luck.
Additionally, he had been fired from all of his previous jobs so that meant that he had technically failed twenty two times before. Roman was not a fan of failure, not a fan of other people (Virgil) knowing about said failure and lording it over him.
And, of course, there was also the fact that Roman was a grown adult and suddenly money was an issue when he wanted to not be evicted from his apartment. Or, you know, eat. 
So when his brother picks up on the third ring, Roman knows that Virgil already is aware what he’s gonna ask.
“Again?” Virgil says instead of the usual “hello”. He sounds tired, worn out, but Roman gets the feeling its not really directed at him. 
“It was an accident,” Roman whines, slumped over steering wheel of his car. “I swear!”
“That’s the second this month.”
“I can’t help it, Emo Undertaker.”
Which is a lie, because he definitely can help it and has helped it before. Roman is just bad at helping it. He thought he was doing well! He was really trying this time! He had managed to snag an editing job for a newspaper that required barely any talking to other people! He could make it through the day without actually talking to people and then there would be no issues other than his crippling desire to hold a conversation which was easily overlooked in the grand scheme of things-- 
But really, he should have guessed. No one, not even his absolute idiot of a(n ex) boss said “I’m gonna schedule you because you’re the only one stupid enough to say yes” to someone’s face.
Perhaps on his next resume he should title it Roman Prince, Psychic.
On the other side of the phone, Virgil huffs distantly, “No its my brother, Pat. He got fired again.”
“Patton is there?” Roman asks.
He can almost see Virgil cringe on the other end of the phone, “Uh yeah.”
Roman’s lips twist downward on his already not-great mood. “Virge, it’s been months--”
“I know!” Virgil says, “I know! There’s just some stuff we have to do first.”
“We?” The word is short on his tongue, bitter, leaving Roman’s tongue chasing down syllables for the empty space.
“Hey weren’t we talking about your lack of a job?” Virgil says suddenly.
“I do not want that creeper using you, Virgil.” 
“Hey, Pat’s not a creeper.” Virgil says sounding more annoyed than Roman’s sure he has a right to be. “New rule, I don’t tell you to stop reading minds, and you don’t tell me to stop seeing dead people.”
“There’s a difference between seeing dead people, and seeing dead people Virgil.”
“Hey have you considered shutting up?” 
“Look, he may be cute, but he’s been dead for twenty years--”
“Roman.”
“I’m just saying! He is old enough to be our dad, dude!”
“I’m hanging up.”
He does before Roman can say anything else. Roman flips his phone in his hand three times (a good number, Roman’s favorite) and senses the on coming text before it arrives. He twists his keys in the ignition of his car and listens as it rumbles to life with a story of the previous owner (Harold Johnston, who purchased it new, drove it for a while, hit two deer, and got four speeding tickets on before passing it on to his son who crashed it once in a drowsy driving accident that resulted in it being sent in a reused car dealership where Molly Keller bought it----).
By the time Roman makes it through the seven stop lights (three of which he squeezes through because Carl Smith is out jogging and pressed the crosswalk button at just the right time), there’s a message from Virgil in his inbox with a list of new places that were hiring.
It wasn’t that Roman has never thought about starting his own business, because he has. Many times, all the time. Every time he fell asleep. He imagined a cute little office off mainstreet: A psychic shop with charms in the windows that glowed at all hours, colorful draperies and scented candles that would make the shop float on mystery and otherworldness. He’d emerge from the back of the store in elegant clothes, like an ethereal being to startle any customers who dropped in, and he’d whip up a facade of a crystal ball, hide fans around the shop, and electrify the table in the middle of the room to sell the bit.
Roman has thought about starting his own psychic business before. But unfortunately, no one wants to be told things they already knew.
Which of course was the only psychic thing Roman can do. Read minds and see inner dreams with absolutely no ability to confirm them happening and-or not happening. 
(And you only tell a person once that they’re getting a puppy for Christmas before you learn your lesson.) 
To be perfectly honest, which Roman tries to be as he flicks on the lights to his apartment three times, Virgil would have much more luck maintaining a psychic shop. They’re almost opposites, if true opposites were a thing that exists. 
Instead of reading thoughts, Roman’s younger brother hears murder stories. Instead of seeing dreams, Virgil sees dead people wandering the streets.
It made growing up and having friends a real challenge. If Roman had a nickel for every time Virgil had grabbed his arm with his cold fingers and looked him in the eye before asking if Roman could see the person in front of them, he’d have three nickels. Which wasn’t a lot, but there was something upsetting about hearing the complete terror in his little brother’s voice when he couldn’t tell the living from the dead.
The dead also like to talk to Virgil, like to hover around him because he gives off a shadowy aura that works like a drug on ghosts. It makes them feel a bit more alive, makes them more corporal, makes them more dangerous. And once they’ve had a taste, they come back for more, and more, and more.
Ghosts are good for getting information, but rarely good for anything else. 
(Roman does not trust Patton. Not since Virgil told him the ghost had shown up, not since the last guy had whispered all the things he would do to Virgil if Virgil tried to leave or cut him off, not since Roman had put a hole in the hospital waiting room wall because that was his brother and he should have been there.)
Roman calls Virgil back just before dinner time after he had gone over the list (seven places, another good number) and it rings only twice before his brother picked up. 
“Hey Ro, I’m kinda busy right now--”
“Busy?” Roman asks, “On Tuesday?”
“Yes!” Virgil hisses, “Very busy-- ow! Don’t touch that!-- I’ll call you later, Ro.”
“Are you raising the dead again?”
“What? No! I’m, uh,” There was a shuffling, a swear word, and a distant, “at the movies?”
“Right, I’ll pretend I believe that.” Roman says, “I was just checking the list. Your coffee shop is on here.”
“Yes, it is.” Virgil shifts the phone, “Remy fired a guy last week for purposely giving people regular coffee instead of decaf. I thought Remy was gonna kill the guy.”
“Are you sure you want me to apply there?”
There is a swatch and the telltale sound of a match lighting, and the phone shifts again, “I had an idea.”
Roman traces his fingers over the edge of his counter top, absently counting the corners, and grating his skin when it comes up even numbered. “Oh?” 
(wrong wrong wrong. Its too short)
“Yeah, maybe you’ve been going about this all wrong. Instead of cutting yourself off from people, maybe you should embrace them-- ow!” Virgil makes a hiss and Roman guesses plops his fingers in his mouth quickly, “Fucking candles. I hate lighting matches.”
“Stop trying to raise the dead for a second and help your dearest brother understand,” Roman says. “What do you mean “embrace them”?”
His fingers slice the edge of the counter, four four four isn’t enough, is too much, its wrong. 
“A customer came up to me yesterday and demanded a refund because I didn’t put whip cream her latte.” Virgil explains. “I was angry because she didn’t tell me that she wanted whip cream and its not like I can read minds-- and then I remembered my brother can read minds.” The phone shifts again, “Besides you love talking to people and don’t even try to deny it. That editing job was slowly killing you.”
Roman is quiet for a moment, because, really what is he supposed to say to that? Reading minds isn’t all that great, the same way as seeing their childhood cat that died seven years ago wasn’t all that great. But Virgil was also right: Roman missed talking to people, missed the days when he could show up without having to study for the “pop” quizzes and when he could do little magic tricks to wow his friends in between the classes. 
And even if everyone thought his psychic abilities were just parlor tricks, Roman still misses the attention.
“I’ve gotta go, Ro,” Virgil says, “McDonalds nuggets get cold fast, and the dead don’t like cold food.”
“Picky, are they?”
“Very much so.” Virgil agrees, “Just send in an application. I’ll put in a good word to Remy, and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll figure something else out.”
Roman’s fingers hit the corner of the counter again, for the seventh time and he flings them back like they were burning. “Right, yeah. Sure.”
“Bye, Ro.”
“Yeah, thanks, Casper.” Roman says and means it deeply. 
Virgil ends the call. 
Roman twists the phone in his hand three times as the call screen closes. The puzzle game on his phone is about two minutes 120 seconds from reminding him his game hasn’t been played yet today and wouldn’t play at all today if he ended up in the hospital waiting room because something his brother got food poisoning from McDonald’s--
Roman fingers tap the call button again.
First ring, “Ro?”
“Sorry,” Roman blurts out, “I-- am? Damnit! I really am sorry, Virge.”
Virgil’s quiet for a moment, but then he says softly, “I get it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Roman’s mouth snaps close. He ends the call and lets his brother go back to raising the dead on his Tuesday night where he is not going to get food poisoning. He leaves his phone on the counter and flicks the switch three times before leaving the room to go find his computer and fill out the online application.
***
Roman enjoys his twenty third job interview much less than Remy Dormire does. It lasts slightly less than twelve minutes, and by the end of it Roman is ushered behind the counter and given a brown apron (with a single hole at the bottom) and a nametag with his name on it. 
(First name only, and it makes the back of his mouth taste like bitter oranges.)
Virgil gives him a rare smile on his way back out, and finishes making two drinks at once, and ships them off to the customers waiting patiently at the end of the counter.
It wasn’t quite the calm Roman was used too, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Thoughts flowed over Roman like a river, dangerous but exciting. He felt a type of connection to everyone in the store, a type of connection that came from understanding the blurbs and fragments that made up a consciousness. 
It was strange to think that no one else felt like this, felt like they were touching and being touched in a way that was closer than physical contact. How could anyone not want to feel like this? 
But how could anyone know what they were missing when they had never had such a feeling before in their lives?
He had tried explaining it to Virgil once, twice, thrice before. He wishes he could send thoughts the way he read them.
Roman leans over the other side of the counter watching Virgil pour coffee into a styrofoam cup, “You’re off in a minute right?” He taps the the dividing wall, “Wanna grab lunch?”
Virgil hums, his eyes flicking to the side just enough for Roman to guess who might be standing in the empty space.
Roman taps again, “Unless you and Ghost McGee already have fun plans.”
“They can be changed.” Virgil says, and slides the drink over the counter, “Logan!”
Roman shuffles to the side so a guy with glasses and a plaid button up can get his drink. “I don’t want to get in the way of your ghost time. And I definitely don’t want you bringing undead dilemmas to our lunch.”
“I don’t have--” Virgil huffs, “Patton has things to do this afternoon anyway.”
Roman frowned. “Things to do? The guy’s dead.”
Virgil scowls darker than usual. Actually now that Roman is looking, he notices that Virgil’s eyeshadow is a shade lighter than normal: as if he’s trying to make his skin look less pale by comparison. His fingers tap the dividing wall again as Roman narrows his eyes at his brother and tries to remember if he’s ever looked his drained after a night of summoning the dead for a ghost party.
“Five minutes,” Virgil says abruptly, “I’ll see you then.” He wipes the counter with a purple rag and then uses it to slide right away from Roman entirely.
Its a cheap tactic. Roman’s almost offended. The buzz of the cafe hums around him, through him, and causing goosebumps right down his spine. Its exciting, being close to people, almost exciting enough to distract Roman from the predicament of Virgil being cagey-er than before (which he hadn’t thought was possible). His knuckles tap the wall three times and he turns on his heel to settle into a chair for the next five minutes.
(Five was an okay number, Roman supposed. Seven was better, and Three was the best. But Five wasn’t an even number so it was something. At least, no one ever got cancer when he counted to five.)
Roman’s never been good at singling out thoughts in a busy location: too little practice, not enough reason to need to. The process itself required a lot of focus and will power and it felt a lot like pulling out teeth (something he had done when he was seven and Virgil was five and he had lost two teeth in a row and it was wrong, and he couldn’t figure out how to explain it to his parents when they came to figure out why the doors kept slamming). Cutting out the thoughts that weren’t even in order, had no logical reasoning: in the span of a minute a person could go from thinking about a TV show, to thinking about the color of the tile floor, to the scent in the air, to a birthday present for a friend, to, to, to. And with multiple people? In a small space like this coffee shop? It was easier to stop a mountain slide than cut off one person from himself.
Roman’s never been good at singling out thoughts in a busy location, but just this once he’s makes an attempt.
Roman’s never been good at singling out thoughts in a busy location-- 
Virgil is his brother, and so that means that Roman is obligated to figure out why he’s being cagey. Especially if he’s going to bring the moping to their lunch. And Roman’s absolutely not patient enough to wait five minutes to figure out what is causing him distress.
Virgil's thoughts feel exactly like him, Roman thinks. He's a little cold, a little clammy, a little crafty. His presence is like a cat evading capture by any means and when Roman was particularly bored as a child he used to chase after them, chase the feelings, and the scraps of emotions and impressions that sped by like he was actively running out of time to think them.
Virgil is thinking about coffee. He’s thinking about how to punch buttons into the computer they use for the register and how the person currently ordering is an actual idiot because they don’t serve a “Vanilla Chai Tea Latte” because this store is not a freaking Starbucks, its either a  “Vanilla Chai Tea” or a “Vanilla Latte” and fuck, Roman get out of my head before I send a Zombie after you.
So Roman blinks back seeing his brother at the counter, using that customer service smile to please the middle aged woman digging through her purse, but his eyes are dark when he shoots Roman his patented don’t-mess-with-me glare.
I said five minutes, fucking wait will you.
And Roman debates for a moment, less than a minute, just 21 seconds staying there in Virgil's mind that feels a lot like a sweater in the middle of the winter. But in the end Virgil’s mind moves on to the ingredients in a Vanilla Chai Tea and someone else and the girl in the corner has the top third song of the week stuck in her head on a loop and Roman is ever so easily distracted by the repetition of the three lines--
He falls out of his brother’s mind and back into the connective conscious of humans as a whole. There's nothing jarring about it. It's just simple acceptance, like the course of a river gently rolling over him. 
If he closes his eyes it feels like safety and warmth and calmness.
The next thing he knows there's a shove as his shoulder that nearly nearly knocks him off the chair. Virgil's standing there, his hair sticking up from where he yanked off his visor and his mysterious purple eyes glowing with annoyance and irritation and a bit of worry.
"I've been calling you," He says, "Are you alright?"
Roman offers him a blinding smile, that most likely comes across dopey, "Absolutely, Graveyard ghoul!”
Virgil stares at him for a moment longer, mouth curled downwards. “Holy shit, just how socially starved are you? You look like you’re on drugs.”
Roman’s vision is a little blurry. He rubs his eye to clear it, and is surprised when it comes back with tears. Was he crying? “I’m perfectly fine!” He flicks away the tears, because honestly they’re happy tears, and they mean so much and absolutely nothing at the same time.
He gathers his stuff and stands up, (tall enough that he can count the three inch difference between him and Virgil), “Are we going to lunch now?”
Virgil keeps staring at him for a moment, and Roman can only glimpse fractions of impressions from him before his eyes narrow with suspicion.
“Fine. Yeah.” Virgil says, “I know just the place.”
****
“Really, this place?” Roman asks and almost can’t quite believe it. 
Virgil, in all his brother loving glory, does not give him a response. Since he was the one driving he puts the car in park (“not this spot! Use that one!” “Is this necessary?” “Do you like your current car insurance number, Virge?”) and then kicks the door open with more force than necessary. In the car is a lot quieter than in the cafe, but Virgil spends the entire drive thinking of musical numbers rather than what is bothering him.
The only things that Roman learns from the twenty minute drive to a sandwich shop in the middle of the city is that, Virgil is really into The Guy Who Doesn’t Like Musicals for someone who doesn’t like musicals, and that he’s three times a better driver than Roman can ever hope to be.
“Why here, Virge?” Roman asks getting out of the car and stumbling around the edge of the trunk. His brother is already across the parking lot by that time. “We passed nine other shops on the way here!”
Virgil’s hand goes flying up and snaps close in a silencing motion. Roman thinks that its way more effective on ghosts than on living being that he can’t control, but he goes quiet anyway. Virgil huddles by the storefront glass doors turning his around with his hand to his ear-- is he seriously pretending to be on the phone right now?-- and is peering into the shop as inconspicuously as he can.  
Roman is beyond confused.
Virgil takes a deep breath, and nods to himself apparently seeing whatever he was looking for. He grabs the door and then waves Roman inside quickly like he’s embarrassed to be seen with him.
“What is happening?” Roman asks.
“Just shut up and follow my lead.” Virgil says. 
And proceeds to go up to the counter and order a sandwich like a normal person. Roman frowns at the implication that he doesn’t know how to order a sandwich from a shop. His fingers knock the counter (Ew the last customer did not wash their hands after using the restroom, ew, ew!) and he gives the tired sandwich maker a dazzling smile. 
He looks a little old to be working in food retail in honesty. Much more Virgil and Roman’s age than the high school teenagers that are manning the cash register a few feet over. His eyes are gold and brown and very interesting to look at, along with with the dusting of concealer that is all over his cheek covering up something. His name tag is strategically missing in the moment but Roman doesn’t think it matters too much in the grand scheme of things.
The guys name is Dante Ethan Ekans. He’s tired. Overworked. Not paid enough.
He got a nice voice though. He keeps glancing between Virgil and Roman and Virgil, Virgil, Virgil. So much so that he puts way too much mayo on Roman’s sandwich.
Roman grabs a thing of chips and throws them on the counter at the same time as Dante the sandwich maker puts his carefully wrapped flatbread sandwich next to the register to be rung up. Instead of sliding to the back, Dante leans on the counter next to the sandwiches ignoring the high schooler ringing them up and grins at (a blushing????) Virgil.
“Back again, Raccoon?” Dante the sandwich maker says flicking his tongue out just enough to show off a tongue piercing. Its not something Roman thought could be attractive, but somehow he makes it attractive. 
And if Roman can tell that from two feet away, Virgil’s hopeless as the target of such an action.
“Yeah,” Virgil says, “I mean- I just-- I wanted lunch.”
“I can see,” Dante says with a smile. “You’ve made a habit out of coming here for lunch. A guy has to wonder if thats the only reason you keep coming back.”
Roman looks at him, and then Dante the sandwich maker, and thinks he almost understands what is going on.
“Virgil, quick question….”
“I’ll buy you a cookie if you can hold your fucking tongue for three more seconds.” Virgil snaps out loud and then thinks so horrifically loud in his head that Roman resists the urge grimace.
Say it out loud. I dare you.
Virgil is glaring at him again. Dante is staring at him like he’s just now noticing that Virgil came with someone, despite the fact that the man made his sandwich. He pushes off the counter suddenly, with his eyes darting between Virgil and Roman and his thoughts becoming clouded with a sudden flurry of unhappy impressions then he clears his throat and hums a self dismissal.
“And Ice cream from the parlor on First Street.” Roman whispers quickly.
“Roman!” Virgil snaps.
“Deal or no?”
“I hate you.”
“What type of brother would I be if you didn’t hate me?” Roman says loudly without even looking at Virgil. Dante stumbles his steps towards the back. Roman thinks he glances back, but its so quick that Roman really only has the unraveling of the sandwich makers shoulders to take as assurance he was heard.
Roman leans towards his brother in a much, much lower voice, “is this why you’ve been distracted? Because boy troubles?”
“Shut up!” Virgil hisses back and elbows him.
“That will be $23.36.” The cashier says effectively keeping them from breaking into a brawl at the counter.
Roman taps his foot in a series of three while Virgil pays with a debt card and takes their sandwiches and drink cups to a table.
“He’s flipping amazing,” Roman says once they’re sitting and Virgil’s stopped blushing through his concealer. “What’s the problem?”
“Can you read his thoughts right now?” Virgil hisses back. He does a great job of flicking a piece of lettuce off his sandwich.
“Can I-- YES!” Roman presses a hand to his chest in mock offense. “I am insulted you had to ask at all--”
“Just do it.” Virgil snaps and then folds his arms on the table and burrows his head into them without even attempting to eat his sandwich at all. 
Roman imagines that Patton is floating over Virgil’s shoulder even if he can’t see the ghost. He hopes the ghost is as confused as he is, but he seriously doubts it.
“It shouldn’t be that hard.” Virgil mumbles, “He’s probably always thinking about him.”
Roman’s stomach drops for his brother, “A boy friend?” (He frowns at the needless separation of the words)
Virgil moans, “Worse.”
“He’s not straight,” Roman mumbles, because at least that much is obvious.
Virgil doesn’t give him a response, so Roman goes deeper. Dante’s thoughts are at odds with his actions, which throws Roman off when he goes to single them out from Virgil’s and the other workers and the small family that was eating across the dining area. Where he comes off as smooth and suave and absolutely sure of himself….
HOLY FUCK BROTHER DOES HOT RUN IN THE FAMILY WHAT THE FUCK--
...His thoughts are not. Roman chases the screaming through the astral plane with mild amusement. Even when the man is cleaning dishes in the back or checking bread or pacing the back, his thoughts are shouting with panic and he keeps coming back to the snapshot of Virgil at the counter. There’s fragments of emotions with it too, amusement, happiness, self embarrassment, as if he can’t believe he really called Virgil a Raccoon and Virgil let him. 
Honestly with how much Virgil comes up in his mind, Roman can’t see why his brother isn't launching himself over the counter and dragging the sandwich maker to the freezer for an impromptu make out session. 
Or at least he couldn’t.
Then Dante’s thoughts take a leap to the cook time on the last batch of bread, and then the clock, and then the current time and then--
“Dad!”
Roman’s head jerks as he lets go of the isolated thought process and comes back to reality. Virgil does not look up but half his sandwich is gone. Its looks very much like Virgil is throwing himself a pity party while Dante rounds the counter to catch a small child in a hug.
Its undeniably adorable. Roman’s own heart is melting at the sight. The kid can only be four at max, and he’s wearing a backpack almost as big as he is, with a spiderman theme. When the kid talks, he prattles on, and Dante listens to each word with adoration in his eyes.
“So he has got a kid,” Roman comments. He taps Virgil’s foot under the table, “Don’t tell me a kid is a turn off.”
“Roman, you know how I am with kids,” Virgil says. “I’m worse with kids than I am with adults! Which is saying something! The last living person I talked casually to called me a freak and threw a kickball at my face.”
“That was middle school, Miserable Mortuary.” Roman points out, and taps Virgil's foot again, “And if you remember, I beat the snot out of Alfred Hitchcockopolous for saying that. Not to mention, we are talking right this second.”
Virgil grunts sullenly, “Whatever. I’m still bad with kids. I give off that dark energy aura, remember? Give it an hour and Thomas will be running for the hills! There’s no way I could court his dad if he hates me. I’m not gonna drive that wedge between them.”
“You don’t know that yet! Have you talked to this Thomas?”
“And get labeled as a pedophile? No way, not happening.”
“Virgil,” Roman says pointedly (and taps Virgil's foot again), “I’m not saying approach the kid and offer him a joy ride in your crappy used silver Scion. You don’t have to even wait until Dante is out of earshot. Ask him about his favorite color.”
Virgil makes a rather pathetic noise in response. “It’s Dee. He hates being called Dante.” 
Roman glances back at Dante the sandwich maker and Thomas the kid. Dante was getting him set up at a table by the counter where he could color in a cheap Star Wars coloring book. He hadn’t come in with anyone. Which was odd. It wasn’t like anyone would let a four year old ride the buses around town either. But surely if there was another parent in the mix they would have at least come in to see that Dante had received the kid, right?
Roman chews on his sandwich for a moment. His eyes are narrowed at his brother as the melody of thoughts roll over him. He’s seeing, feeling glimpses of something else from his brother something that’s making him even more upset than the whole Dad issue.
“What is it?” Roman says, because he’s terribly impatient for his brothers cryptic dance around thoughts.
“You know how I was busy last night?”
“Summoning the dead on a Tuesday?” Roman nods three times.
“Yeah,” Virgil says and drops his head again like a moody teenager. “Yeah that.”
Roman gets flashes of flash night from Virgil’s point of view: Patton kneeling beside him, McDonalds kids meals, too many melted candles, too many slight variations to the chalk circle, a long night. There’s an unsatisfied tinged to them, an unhappiness, a frustration and a nervousness. 
It takes Roman a moment to work out what it means.
“Oh,” Roman says, “oh no.”
“Yeah,” Virgil bounces his head on his arms staring into his lap, “Thomas’s mother, Dee’s girlfriend, died in childbirth.”
The sandwich tastes foul in Romans mouth. Too much mayo and bad feelings from it. Virgil stuffs a chip in his mouth and crunches on it sadly.
Overall, it's not how Roman was expecting the lunch out to go.
"It's been four years though, right?" Roman tries, because even if Virgil and him give each other grief all the time, he never wants to see his brother unhappy. "He's definitely in to you, Vee. I have proof. He's moved on."
"That's not the issue," Virgil whines. His eyes flick over Romans shoulder where there's absolutely nothing there, which means that Patton the ghost is witnessing this exchange at least. "Ghosts are tricky businesses. For all I know, me dating Dee will cause a tremor in the afterlife and will bring a vengeful ghost down on the three of us."
"Isn't that an extremely rare occurrence?" Roman says.
Virgil huffs glaring to the side, "Not helping, Pat. And to answer your question, Ro, it is a rare occurrence. But I'm also a magical fucking beacon of dark energy that draws ghosts to myself. Do you really think that the odds are in my favor for this one?"
Roman squints at his brother, "Yes, I do? That is why I'm telling you to go talk to the kid?"
"I'm not going to talk to the kid," Virgil says stubbornly, "Not until I know I'm not gonna endanger him or Dee or… myself." He rubs the insides of his arms, and Roman gets flashes of an emergency room and his own fist in the walls. Neither of them say anything for a moment, and from the glassy look in Virgil's eyes, Patton chooses to be quiet too. 
Then Virgil shakes his head and wards off the thoughts. "It's fine. Or whatever. Patton and I are going to do some deep research and I'll find a way to contact Marissa. If she gives me permission, I'll go ahead and talk to Dee again."
He wraps up the rest of his sandwich neatly and leans back in his chair facing the counter where Dante is replacing the produce selection. As if sensing him watching Dante's head tilts up and he winks towards Virgil with another snake like flick of his tongue piercing.
Virgil goes red in the face and stands up. "You know what, I'll be outside!" 
Roman catches a glimpse of a dopey, stupid, lovesick smile on his brothers face and cant believe that hes not in a Hallmark movie. Really it's insulting now. This is drama gold and no ones even writing it down. 
Dante frowns as Virgil flees the scene, and head to the back again with the clear intention to mope in his thoughts. Roman is left alone at a table, with half a sandwich. Which is fine! All fine!
Roman packs up their combined trash and saves the second half of Virgil's sandwich before he gets up and strolls across the restaurant to the trashcan near where Thomas is sitting. Once he throws his stuff away he stops by the table where the kid is sitting.
"Oh my lord!" Roman says, "Look at this magnificent art work! The colors, the lines, the texture! How very bold! Tell me artist, are you the one who crafted such intricate works?"
Thomas grins up at him bursting with joviality. "I am, mister! Who are you?"
"My name's Roman Prince, young artist!" Roman says, "I am trying to solve a problem that I think you can help me with."
"Me?" Thomas says, "What is it?"
Roman thinks that this kid would be very easy to kidnap.
"Well you see, my brother comes here quite often and he thinks your dad is very super nice." Roman explains the best he can, "He wants to be your dad's friend but my brother is very shy around people."
Thomas taps a red crayon to his lip, "He's that scary man that was over there, right? Dad talks about him a lot."
Roman smiles, "My brother talks about your dad a lot, too!" It's a lie, but really it's for a good cause. "I want them to be friends because they seem very happy together. How about I write down my brothers phone number and you give it to your dad for me?"
Thomas nods easily at the words, and then excitedly, "Then they can set up a playdate! Even if Mr. Purple is really scary, I think he makes dad laugh a lot. And Uncle Emile says laughing is good!"
Roman laughs at that. He scribbles out the numbers for Virgil's personal phone in red crayon on a napkin and gives Thomas a fist bump for teamwork. By the time Dante appears in the front again (with a cloud of suspicion and terror that a stranger is near his son) Roman gives him a cheery wave goodbye and is out the door. 
(Virgil is lying in the middle of the parking lot just behind his car and asks Roman to run him over and put him out of his misery.)
(Roman does not run him over.)
(It does take twelve minutes to convince his hopeless brother to get off the asphalt and into the car for the ride back to Virgil's apartment.)
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s-dwinchester05 · 4 years
Text
Little Witches | A Supernatural Story
Whole story summary: Sam and Dean’s brother got away, but when he’s dragged back into the hunt, a whole load of drama is to follow.
summary: Dean had to collect his brother, Nathan, to help him find their Father. This is where Nathan’s drama filled journey begins.
warning(s): angst, mention of suicide, sadness, supernatural level violence, fighting/arguing.
actor(s): Timothy Granaderos as Nathan Winchester Riley and Parker Busby as Destiny and Sapphire Winchester. (he’s shorter than Jensen in real life so for the sake of the story they’re about the same height)
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Nathan's house
Dean hummed along to the music as he drove through a nice, ordinary neighbourhood. He was on his way to pick up his younger brother after not seeing him for 5 years. The brothers have only called a max of 6 or 7 times since he left.
As He finally came to a stop, staring at the house, feeling slightly guilty that he had to get his little brother away from what looked like a happy life. The house was a little blue home with a small garage on the side and the car his brothers had since he was 19, was sitting in the drive way. All lights were off indicating that everyone who lived there was asleep.
Dean pulled himself out the car, headed towards the window that was slightly open at the side of the house. Slipping through it skilfully, he quietly made his way towards what looked to be the living-room.
As he walked down the hallway, he saw pictures hanging on the walls of what looked like to be two little girls, all blonde haired and posing in a silly way at the camera. Another one of what looked to be a couple on their wedding day, with big smiles on their faces, staring at each other in the most loving way.
He entered the living-room doorway, looking around to see a big silhouette on the couch sleeping with a small child laying on their chest. Dean accidentally hit the tip of his shoe on a toy, making a loud noise bounce around the room, alerting the sleeping figure on the couch.
The male slowly turned over to lay the child on the sofa, gradually getting up so the intruder didn't see any sudden movements from him.
When he fully got up and made his way round to the shadowy figure who was cussing, he pounced onto him.
Fist we're being throw left, right and centre. Finally Dean had his brother pinned to the floor, out of breathe from the fight they just had. The light had hit Deans face letting the male see who he was finally.
"Dean?!" he whisper-shouted.
"Nathan!" Dean exclaimed rather loudly.
Nathan struggled beneath his brother trying to get up, eventually getting it so he could swig it around so Dean was on the floor, instead of him.
"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked, his brother hadn't seen him in years and knowing Dean, it wasn't a good reason for why he was here.
"Daddy?" A little voice came from behind the brother, not giving Dean the chance to reply.
The lights were turned on, the men turned around to see two little girls, one up on the tips of her toes reaching towards the light switch, looking slightly scared after her sister went to wake her up after being startled awake, with her father missing beneath her. Dean stared opened mouthed at the girls, not knowing what to do. His baby brother was a father! Dean couldn't believe it. The girls stood there in matching pyjamas, wided eyed, looking up at their father.
“Babies,” Nathan replied. “What are you doing up?”
"We heard noises coming from in here" The smallest one said, hair sticking up in all different ways. Tears had slowly gathered up in their eyes, making Nathan's heart break seeing how scared his little girls were.
"Hey, hey. No tears. I'm fine, you're fine." Nathan comforted them, opening his arms up, they all but ran into his arms wanting the comfort of the father.
Nathan stood up with two of them in his arms, mumbling sweet nothings to calm them down. Turning around to look at Dean again, cringing slightly at Deans shocked expression.
"Dean, this is Sapphire," tilting his head to the one who called out Daddy, "and Destiny." He finished, point towards the smaller one who turned on the light switch.
"Girls, this is Dean, your Uncle." He said, introducing them to him.
————————————
Nathan had finally got his girls to go back to sleep in their bedroom, that they shared. Nathan closed the door behind him, heading back towards where Dean was.
"Dean," He sighed, "What are you doing here?"
"Dad went on a hunting trip and hasn't been home for a few days," Dean replies after a moment of hesitation.
Nathan started to panicked, no matter how horrible his Dad was before he left, it was his father he going to be worried.
"What do you mean missing?"
"Dad's never been missing for this long, and I need yours and Sammy's help." Dean replied.
Nathan looked down thoughtfully, he couldn't leave his girls but his neighbour did always babysit for him when he goes on his own little hunts.
"We'll have to leave tomorrow," Nathan decided, looking up towards Dean, "What was he hunting?"
————————————
The Impala
Dean and Nathan sat in a awkward tension, neither knowing what to say to the other. Music played in the background, Nathan looked out the window watching as the trees flew by, worried about not only his dad but now his daughters. What the rest of the Winchester family didn't know that his daughter's mother (His wife) was a witch, meaning that any day now the girls should show some kind of magic. Nathan rarely ever left his daughters with his neighbour, only doing it on really dangerous hunts, he normally took them with him.
"So, you're a father?" Dean finally asked, tired of the tension.
Nathan hesitated, not knowing what his father had exactly told his brother when he left them. "Yeah...It's why I left."
Dean looked over at his brother in sadness and shock. His father, like Nathan thought he would, never told him the real reason why Nathan left. Just that he abandoned the family to have a 'apple pie life'. Which was the furthest from the truth, Nathan had quit hunting for three years before starting again. No matter what Nathans life was never going to be normal.
Nathan sighed already knowing what his dad told them, turning hid head to look at Dean, "I know what Dad told you, that I abandoned you three to have the 'apple pie life'. I never left that life, the hunting, the killing of demons and other monsters." He silence for a second, "I started hunting again two years ago, three years after stopping."
"Why?" Dean asked curiously, there is always a reason why someone starts or stops hunting and it was clear in the sadness of his brothers voice that there was.
Nathan looked away trying to hold back tears, he could feel them burning at the back of his eyes. Clearing his throat quickly, "urm... My wife, Danielle, got killed on a hunt." He told Dean, completely lying, Nathan would probably never tell the truth.
His wife had always suffered with Depression and other mental health issues, but on 19th of August 2003, it finally caught up to her. Danielle died lying in her husbands arms after he had rushed home, to stop her. Nathan knew she struggled, he supported her through everything, even the days where she couldn't drag herself out of bed; he'd lay down and cuddled her all day just so she wasn't alone. After this, He was colder to everyone who wasn't family or Rebecca his neighbour. The day she died had haunted his sleep ever since, only ever finding comfort with at least one of his daughters in his arms.
Dean quickly changed the subject seeing how tore up his baby brother was, Nathan clearly didn't want to speak about it. Dean could see the unshedded tears in his eyes just before he turned away.
The rest of the way the boys talk about anything and everything but Nathan's wife. They spoke about the case their father was working on, how Sam got away by going to college. To say Nathan was shocked was an understatement, Sam had always rebelled against John but not to the extent of leaving. He was happy his little brother got the normal life he always wished for, they had stayed up late nights talking about Sam going to school and getting a job in the Law. Nathan was proud of his baby brother, though he felt guilty for having to go collect him for the thing he ran from.
————————————
Outside of Sam's Apartment
Nathan has waited outside, reading further into the case their dad had gone on, wanting to avoid the fight Dean and Sam are going to have. He knew Dean would do exactly what he did to him, sneak his way him and battle till he had Sam on the floor.
Fifteen minutes had passed before two tall, dark figures crossed the street to the Impala. Nathan opened the door slightly, gawking at how grown up his once small and skinny teenage brother is. Sadness hit him when he realised just how much of Sammys life he missed out on.
"--some normal, apple pie life?" Nathan heard dean ask, just as he opened the car door fully.
"No. Not normal." Sam disagrees. "Safe."
"And that's why you ran away." Dean concluded.
"I was just going to college. Just like me and Nathan had always talked about. Anyway, it was Dad who said if I was gonna go, I should stay gone. That's what I'm doing." Sam's eyes flickered towards Nathan, eye widening in shock. He hadn't expected Dean to get Nathan after so many years.
Nathan smiled up at Sam from where he sat with his body facing out of the car. Nodding his head in a greeting, Nathan didn't do hugs, unless it was Sapphire and Destiny, everyone knew that.
"Yeah, well, Dads in real trouble right now. If he's not dead yet. I can feel it." Dean tried reasoning, though it wasn't working as much as he planned. Sam fell silent for a second.
"We can't do this alone." Dean tried again, getting a point look from the 25 year old in the car.
"Yes you can." Sam instantly came back with, these two were two of the best hunters he knew when he was younger.
Nathan finally butted in after getting a small pleading look from Dean, "Yeah, well, we don't want to."
Sam sighed looking down, thinking about whether he was going to go or not. Dean knew Nathan would be the one to get through to Sam, it always had been like that. Nathan was the peace keeper between the three of them but if you got Nathan pissed then well let's say it never ended well for either of them. Nathans anger was like a volcano when he was mad, he was impulsive and it all came at once, and took awhile to calm again.
"What was he hunting?"
Nathan's gaze turned to Dean, brows raised. He had explained it all to him already, but he had forgot it all with the overthinking all the way to the University. Dean opened the trunk and lifts the compartment, propping it up with a shotgun, mumbling. "Where the hell did I put that thing?"
"And why didn't you go with him?" Sam continued.
"Nate, you know where the files went?" Dean asked. Nathan walked around to the back of the car, spotting it as soon as he got there. He plucked up the files and handed them to Dean. "I was working my own gig," Dean says to Sam. "This voodoo thing down in New Orleans."
Sam and Nathan looked at each other confused, "Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourself?" Nathan asked, their father never let them do that.
Dean looked to them with furrowed eyebrows, slightly offended. "I'm twenty-six, dude."
Dean pulled some paper out of the folder, "All right, here we go. So dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside of Jericho, California. About a month ago, this guy."
He handed a piece of paper over to Sam, "They found his car, but he vanished. Completely MIA."
The paper was a printout of an article from the Jericho Herald, it was headlined 'Centennial Highway Disappearance' and dated September 19th 2005; it had a man's picture, which was captioned 'Andrew Carey MISSING.' Sam finished reading it and glanced up at his brothers.
"So maybe he was kidnapped." He concluded. Nathan rolled his eyes, Sam clearly didn't want to go, now finding any excuse not to.
"Yeah. Well, here's another one in April," Nathan said, tossing another article which he snatched from Dean. "Another one in December 'oh-four', 'oh-three', 'ninety-eight, 'ninety-two, ten of them over the past twenty years."
Dean took back the articles from Sam and the one Nathan tossed down when explaining, putting them back into the folder. "All men, all the same five-mile stretch of road."
Dean pulled out a bag from the arsenal in his trunk, "It started happening more and more, so dad went to go dig around. That was three weeks ago. I hadn't heard from him since, which is bad enough."
Dean grabbed a handheld tape recorder, holding it out so they could both hear. "Then I got this voicemail yesterday."
He pressed play. The recording was staticky and the signal was clearly breaking up. Dean never showed this to Nathan before. Nathan was slightly pissed that he didn't till now but didn't comment on it.
"Dean...something big is starting to happen...I need to try and figure out what's going on. It may... Be very careful, Dean We're all in danger."
"You know there's EVP on that?"
"Not bad, Sammy. Kinda like riding a bike isn't it?" Nathan joked, getting a chuckle from Dean and the shake off the head from Sam.
"All right. I slowed the message down, I ran it through a gold wave, took out the hiss, and this is what I got." Dean explained.
"I can never go home..."
"Never go home." Sam copied, seeing if he had heard it from somewhere but came up with nothing.
Dean dropped the recorder back in the trunk, put down the shotgun from where it was propped and shuts the trunk, to then turn around and lean on it. "You know, in almost two years I've never bothered you, never asked you for a thing."
Nathan kicked Deans shin for guilt tripping their baby brother, he watched as Sam looked away sighing.
As Sam looked back up to the boy, he said, "All right. I'll go. I'll help you two find him."
They nodded at him, silently cheering on the inside that he was coming with them. The three of the were back, that's all Nathan cared about in that second. But Sam broke in his inner cheering by what he said next.
"But I have to get back first thing Monday. Just wait here." Sam turned to head back to his apartment, started to walk away before Nathan cut in.
"What's first thing Monday?"
Sam hesitated replying, he knew Nathan would be happy but Dean however he didn't know how he'd feel. "I have this...I have an Interview."
"What, a job interview?" Dean asked, "Skip it." Which earned his a smack at the back of the head by Nathan.
"It's a law school interview, and it's my whole future on a plate." Sam replied, a small but proud smile appeared on Nathans face. Sam had got what he wanted finally.
"Law school?" Dean asked, smirking.
"So we got a deal or not?"
The brothers said nothing, leading Sam to go back to Jess and try and explain the situation as best as he could without telling the truth.
Nathan headed back to the passenger seat to call his daughters and tell them goodnight. Dean watched him while he called them seeing Nathan run his hands through his hair, it was his tell-tale sign that he was either stressed or worried. Dean wondered what sort of Dad Nathan was to the twins, after all he didn't exactly have the role model father himself to go off.
————————————
[2632 words]
6 notes · View notes
queen-scribbles · 4 years
Note
Marcid for Emiri?
Marcid– incredibly exhausted
“Emiri! Emiri, wake up!”
She jolted to consciousness with a ragged gasp, the pressing nightmares scattered like smoke, dimly aware of the hands on her shoulders, and blinked the world back into focus.
To be met by a pair of worried blue eyes. “You back with us, ‘Mir?” Edér asked quietly, jaw tight with concern.
Emiri nodded shakily.”…Yeah,” she mumbled, sitting up and pressing the heel of one hand to her eyes.
“Good.” Edér’s hands dropped from her shoulders, but the worry in his eyes remained as he studied her. “Much longer an’ I’da decked ya.” He tried to smile, but the lingering concern kept it from reaching his eyes.
She shot him a bemused look. “I thought a bucket of cold water was the next step…”
“Heh, yeah, well…” He leaned back, rubbed one hand over his beard. “Get a Dyrwoodan nervous enough, we’re liable to skip steps. You were thrashin’ somethin’ awful, ‘Mir. Didn’t want you to hurt yourself.”
Emiri nodded again. Her heart still pounded and she could almost see after-images of her chaotic dreams hanging in front of her eyes. “Thank you.” She took a deep, mostly steady, breath. “I think… I think I’ll be alright now.” He didn’t look convinced, so she rested  hand on his arm and dug for a reassuring smile.  “I will. Go back to bed.”
“Haven’t made it that far yet,” he said, giving her a meaningful look. “You ain’t been asleep long.”
“Oh. Suppose I’ll have to try again, won’t I?” Emiri patted his arm, trying not to let her own concern show. It’s getting worse... “Don’t worry about me.”
Edér still didn’t look happy. “Too late,” he muttered, but caved to her urging and stepped away as she lay back down.
                                                        —
Another hour or two of trying, hearing her companions drift off one by one, and Emiri gave up. The whispers wouldn’t stop, and the images that came with sleep weren’t letting her past the faintest doze. She shoved down the covers and climbed out of bed to pad over to the window. There likely wouldn’t be much to see this late, but it was better than the frustration of laying in bed when she couldn’t sleep.
This was the fifth night in a row. She wasn’t sure how much longer it would take to become a serious problem. Rate things are going, I”ll find out, she thought wryly, curling up in a chair by the window.
She sat there until she heard Aloth and Sagani stir, then hastily returned to her bed and feigned sleep. She’d get up shortly after them and pray they didn’t ask. Wouldn’t want her friends to worry.
                                                       —
“…hardly friendly to outsiders.” There was a long pause. “Emiri?” Something nudged her shoulder.
She shook the fog from her wandering thoughts. “Huh?”
Aloth and Kana were both looking at her, brows furrowed in concern. “Another… Watcher moment?” Kana asked after a pregnant pause.
“…No,” Emiri mumbled. “Just… just tired.” She blinked owlishly as it sank in they’d been walking while they talked. And she’d still drifted. “What was the question?”
“We hadn’t asked one,” Aloth said slowly, exchanging a look with Kana. “We were discussing the best course for our visit to Twin Elms, as the locals aren’t exactly welcoming to kith not of their tribes.”
“Oh. We’ll just be nice.” Gods, why was thinking so hard? “And… respectful? That should work, shouldn’t it?”
“Emiri…” Aloth hesitated. “How much sleep have you gotten?”
“Enough,” she dodged.
“Aye, an’ I’m the fuckin’ mecwyn!” Iselmyr snorted. Aloth’s ears twitched as he pushed her back. “Not. The time. Emiri-”
“Let’s just focus on catching Thaos,” she cut him off, striding forward to catch up with the rest of their group. “I’m fine.”
                                                       —
She was not fine, but it wasn’t until Kana had to haul her bodily out of the path of a frenzied Ethik Nôl warrior that she even sort-of admitted it was affecting her reflexes, at the very least. 
“I’m a little short on sleep,” she mumbled. “Thank you for the save.”
He nodded, studying her with worried eyes. “How short?”
“…Two or three hours.” She rubbed her arm.
“Emiri.” Kana’s gaze softened. “Is that how much you’ve lost or how much you’ve gotten?”
Emiri squirmed and grimaced at the floor. “Gotten.”
He gave her a compassionate smile. “We’ll find Thaos–or some other way to help–soon, I”m certain of it. All of us would hate for anything to happen to you.”
She managed a wan smile. “I hope you’re right.”
                                                       —
By halfway through Sun-in-Shadow, Emiri was no longer sure if the shadowy figures around them were opponents or figments of her imagination. Either way, her aim and her reflexes were so terrible now she wasn’t much help fighting them.
“Emiri, is…” Aloth hesitated, glanced toward where the others were examining the path forward. “…is there any way I could help?”
She snorted softly, pinched the bridge of her nose. “No. I  appreciate the offer, but we’re close enough, I’ll just grit my teeth til we reach Thaos.”
He crossed his arms. “And if Thaos doesn’t help?”
“He has to!” Emiri said sharply. Fear welled in her chest at the possibility Aloth was right. If Thaos couldn’t–or wouldn’t–help with her condition…. “He has to,” she repeated shakily. “I don’t know what I’ll do otherwise, Aloth. I haven’t slept more than an hour or two a night for near on a month. I can’t…” Her voice broke. “…I can’t keep this up.”
He took her hand and squeezed. “If he won’t help then we will. However we can. Until we figure something out,” he promised.
Tears pricked her eyes as she smiled. “Thank you.” She left unspoken her deep-abiding fear if Thaos didn’t help her, nothing could. “I hope it won’t come to that.”
“As do I,” Aloth murmured. He let go of her hand, but they walked side by side toward the end of the road, and even that was a comfort.
                                                       —
Thaos lay dead, the ancient machine spun to life, and as the glow from the essence of uncounted souls inside it increased, Emiri felt the unclouded pull of sleep.
She surrendered eagerly, and nothing woke her for a long, long time.
19 notes · View notes
spoon-writes · 3 years
Text
Ends of the Earth | Chapter 5
Fandom: The Mandalorian
Pairing: Mando x OC
Read on FFN or AO3
Summary: When Sinead's husband is ripped from her, she escapes the Hutt Empire and goes on a quest to find him. Since being a runaway slave in the Outer Rim isn't exactly easy, she makes the Mandalorian an offer he can't refuse and soon they travel across the galaxy, looking for her missing husband.
Chapter index
Chapter 5 - Tatooine
Sinead turned the memory bank over and over, the metal warming up between her hands. Most of her life she'd found herself in close proximity to a mechanic, so learning proper droid maintenance had never been a priority, something she regretted now, looking down at the lifeless box.
A pleasant and familiar hum surrounded her as the ship hurtled through the dark void, lulling her into a sense of calm she hadn’t felt since leaving the ruins. Even now, hours later, she felt the presence of it lurking in the back of her mind.
Suddenly, the world tilted, and Sinead crashed to the floor. The memory bank few out of her hands and skipped across the floor. She pushed herself up on her hands and knees, when the ship rocked violently, making her cling to the bunk to keep from being thrown clean across the ship.
Two alarms started wailing in tandem.
She gritted her teeth and grabbed hold of a rung on the ladder, climbing into the cockpit before the ship shook and tipped wildly.
The Mandalorian was in the pilot’s seat, his hands flying across the dashboard, flicking switches and trying to stabilize the ship. The kid was strapped into his seat, his head swirling around to look at all the light coming to life.
Sinead sat down and pulled the safety harness over her shoulders.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Company."
The Mandalorian jerked the steering handles and the ship spun away, a volley of blaster bolts whizzing past the window.
According to a screen on the console, a small starfighter flew directly behind them, firing every time the Razor Crest was still for long enough. They'd never be able to outrun or outmaneuver it.
Cold dread expanded from the base of her spine, making her muscles twitch and tense. Every sound seemed dull, like she was hearing it from inside a vacuum.
The starboard turbine was hit, showering the cockpit in sparks as the shock traveled into the main engine. A third alarm joined the cacophony.
Sinead swallowed hard and found her voice. "Doesn't this hunk of metal have any shields?" She grabbed the armrests so hard her knuckles turned white.
The stars turned into streaks as the ship careened to the side, another round of lasers streaking past the window.
It had to be pirates, not many were brazen enough to attack a gunship, even out in the Outer Rim. Maybe this time she’d die instead of-
A shadowy figure flickered to life above the dashboard. "Give us the child, Mando," it said, its voice clipping in and out. "I might let you live."
Sinead looked at the child, who gurgling nervously to himself. She wanted to reach over and reassure him, but the harness was too tight. Why would anyone want the kid badly enough to attack them for it?
And explosion rocked through the ship, and underneath there was a sound of metal groaning.
Flashing lights danced on the Mandalorian’s helmet.
“Hold on.” Mando sent them into a wild spin, the stars turning into white streaks as all sense of direction spun away as quickly as the ship.
It felt like Sinead had been dropped down a bottomless well.
The hologram warped as power redirected. “I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold,” it said before cutting out completely.
There was no way the other ship wouldn’t blast them to smithereens the first chance it got.
Mando hit the brakes, and the ship hung unmoving in the air, before the starfighter screamed past it, scraping against the Crest with a sound like an old hovercart in a trash compactor.
Mando fired once, and the laser ripped through the small vessel before it had a chance to spin around and attack. The ship exploded, leaving glittering debris like stardust in its wake.
Sinead sat back in her seat. Her entire midsection felt bruised from the harness, but the alternative was being a smear on the window so she couldn’t complain.
“Nice flying.” She didn’t mean for it to come out sounding so sarcastic, but fear and adrenaline still coursed through her veins, making the blood rush in her ears.
The Mandalorian either didn’t hear or ignored her, as he checked the status of the ship.
“Losing fuel,” he mumbled mostly to himself.
Sinead undid her safety harness and reached over to the child. “Are you okay there?”
The kid laughed as the power went out and they found themselves in complete darkness.
“I think he’s okay,” Sinead said, gently booping him on the nose. “Please say we’re not stranded out here.”
“I think I can redirect the power,” the Mandalorian said, getting up and flicking a switch at the back of the cockpit.
The ship came to life, a sad, sputtering one that wouldn’t last long, but enough so that Mando could propel it towards the nearest planet, an orange dust ball hanging in the void.
“Are you gonna tell me who’s after the kid?”
Mando glanced at her over his shoulder.
“You know, this whole silence thing is getting old. At least come up with a lie like the rest of us.”
Mando glared at her, and Sinead offered him a sharp smile.
The planet was getting closer and closer when Sinead leaned forward. “What is this place even? Or are you not going to answer that either?”
“Tatooine.”
“Oh, that’s just great.”
The Mandalorian adjusted their course toward a small smidge on the planet’s surface. “The Hutt’s been dead for years, and he hasn’t been replaced yet.”
Sinead made an uncertain sound. “Yet, but I’m sure the clan’s just waiting until the region is stable again. They’re not exactly the type to give up a planet without a fight.”
“You been here before?”
“No, but I’ve heard it’s a desolate hellhole.”
Gold-orange crags and sand dunes took form as they cruised over the surface, the ship groaning with the effort it took to keep them in one piece.
Sand. She really hated sand.
The comm came to life and a scratchy voice filled the cockpit.
“This is Mos Eisley tower, we’re tracking you. Head for bay 3-5. Over.”
“Copy that. Locked in for 3-5.”
Mos Eisley was nearly impossible to see, a sandstone city poking up through the sand which piled up at the walls making the squat houses look like igloos in the desert. A communication tower rose from the center of the city, its blinking lights the only reason most travelers spotted the city from the air.
The ship wobbled as it made ready for landing, and new alarm blared. The Mandalorian turned it off with an irritated slap on the console.
The kid had fallen asleep sometime after the excitement of the dogfight died down, and the Mandalorian left him sleeping on the bunk, while Sinead retrieved the memory bank, which had ended up on the other side of the ship and stowing it away in the nearest compartment.
Mando looked at her. “Maybe you should stay in the ship.”
Sinead blew out a deep breath. “As you said, the Hutt’s long dead. I can take a look around his old palace, see if there���s something we can use.”
“Just be careful.”
Sinead snuck a glance at the Mandalorian. He wasn’t looking at her.
“Sure.”
Even before the ramp was down, Sinead felt the hot, unyielding fingers of the desert close around her throat. Dry heat snuck under her clothes, making her mouth feel as dry as the surroundings. Cold, unwanted memories pushed to the forefront and she took a second to put them back where they belonged, a dark and unused corner of her mind where they wouldn’t get in the way.
Three pit droids hurried toward the ship the second the ramp touch down, their rusty bodies bouncing over dusty ground like springs.
The Mandalorian pulled his blaster and shot once at the ground in front of the droids, who screeched and collapsed into small heaps, cowering in f-ear.
Sinead yelped and pressed a hand to her racing heart. “Fuck, Mando! What is it with you and droids?”
“Hey!” A shout rang out from inside a cluttered garage, and a short human woman wearing greasy overalls stormed out from behind a safety barrier. Her short stature was almost made up by her rather gravity defying hair. “You damage one of my droids, you pay for it!” The way she was brandishing a heavy wrench left exactly how he’d pay for it up to interpretation.
“Just keep them away from my ship,” Mando ground out, shooting a look at the droids who scurried away.
The mechanic gave him an unimpressed look. “Yeah? Do you think that’s a good idea, do ya? Let’s take a look at your ship.”
She walked around it, noting every dent and scratch on her datapad. “Look at that,” she said, holding a scanner up to the ship. “You gotta lotta carbon scorching building up top. If I didn’t know better, think you were in a shootout.”
Sinead stepped forward before the Mandalorian had a chance to reply. “We ran into a meteor shower out by the Torq. Barely made it planet-side, to tell you the truth.”
“Uh-huh,” the mechanic lifted an eyebrow, but she stopped asking questions, turning around to continue her inspection. “… a special tool for that one. Oh yeah, I’m gonna have to rotate that.”
The Mandalorian rolled his shoulders, and Sinead bit the inside of her cheek. That all sounded very expensive.
“You got a fuel leak! Look at this, this is a mess. How did you even land?”
“Like I said, just barely.” Sinead shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “How much for it?”
“The repairs you need ain’t exactly cheap-”
“I’ve got five hundred Imperial credits,” the Mandalorian said.
The mechanic grabbed the credits and have them a good look. “That’s all you got?” When the Mandalorian didn’t magically procure more money, she looked at the droids. “Well, what do you guys think?”
The droids tittered in unison, and the mechanic shrugged. “That should at least cover the hangar.”
“We’ll get you your money.”
“Mm, I’ve heard that before.” She gave both Sinead and the Mandalorian a skeptical look.
“Just remember- “
“Yeah, no droids. I heard ya’. You don’t have to say it twice.”
Sinead looked back at the ship as they left the hangar, a thin pillar of smoke was rising from the turbine and the mechanic had already started banging around underneath it.
The second she stepped out into the blaring sunlight, her face stung with sand being blasted through the street. If she never had to step foot in the desert again, she'd die a happy woman.
"So, what's the plan?" She asked the Mandalorian, who didn't look bothered in the heat. Of course, since she couldn't see his face he might be dying underneath the helmet. The T-visor seemed completely black in the sunlight.
"I’ll head to the cantina, see if I can find work. Don't get too close to the palace, the Hutt's guards might still be around."
Sinead gritted her teeth. "Right, I have been in these kinds of situations before you know: I'm not helpless."
"That's not-" the Mandalorian blew out a sharp breath and shook his head. "Never mind."
Sinead made her way to the Hutt's palace alone, reminding herself to breathe regularly, not too deep and not too shallow. She was just a tourist walking alone, not a runaway slave from the very clan that until recently had an iron grip on the planet. The people walking past her weren't staring, they didn't recognize her at all.
She clenched her hands so they'd stop fidgeting. It felt like someone was watching her, a burning spike to the back of her head.
A market had been raised in a big square, rows and rows of hastily put together stalls crisscrossed in a confusing jumble. Shouts from the many vendors mingled in the air into an incomprehensible wall of sound. A Besalisk was grilling sweet meats over an open fire, holding a skewer in each of his four hands. The meat sizzled as Sinead walked past.
Two Jawas screamed in unison at everyone who came close enough to their stall, doing little to entice anyone to stop. Piles of scrap spilled into the street, and the Jawas screeched in indignation whenever anyone accidentally stepped on it.
Sinead ambled down the rows, trying to look like she was browsing the goods without attracting so much attention that anyone would talk to her. Most of the wares being sold were practical, tools and dried food, spare parts for droids. Under a moth-eaten pavilion that offered little in the way of shade, she found a small booth filled with trinkets that looked like they had been ripped straight out of the bowels of a ship. There were brooches made of twisted metal and rings that doubled as lug nuts.
An old woman sat on the other side of the stall. She wore ragged clothes that at first glance made her look like a scarecrow left out in the sun for too long, and it wasn't until she moved that Sinead noticed her. Her face was disproportionately small for her body, resembling a walnut someone left on top of a pile of old laundry.
"See anything you like?" Her voice sounded like a trash compacter filled with rocks. "I make 'em myself."
That wasn't hard to believe. Sinead hummed politely and picked up a brooch made from cogs and a rubber binding. "I’m afraid jewelry isn't that high of a priority right now."
Her wrinkles deepened as she pursed her lips. "Meh, people don't even know what they need until it's right in front of ‘em. Tell ya’ what, I'll give you a good deal, okay? The earrings for fifty creds."
Sinead couldn’t help but snort. The earrings in question were made from old circuitry, the hooks so rusty that wearing them was a surefire way of getting a nasty infection. "Fifty is a bit steep, don't you think?"
The old woman grinned, showing her one snaggletooth poking over her lower lip. “Low price to pay for beauty, innit?”
Tapping on the table Sinead though for a second before saying, "tell you what, I'll buy one of your-" she gestured to the assorted jewelry- "wares … if you can give me some information in return."
The old lady grinned again, her tooth a terrible distraction, looking like a broken roof shingle. "Let's hear it then. What'ya want?"
"Oh no, information first, then the sale."
A shadow fell across the woman's face as she glared Sinead, her watery eyes studying her face. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you didn’t trust me."
Sinead kept her face carefully neutral. "Past experiences have taught me to hold payment until after I get what I want. I’m sure you understand, right?"
There was a cruel glint in the old woman's eyes. "You bet I do. Ask away, dear."
For one long moment, Sinead blanked on what to ask her. She wanted to talk about the Hutt, but the old crone had done nothing to inspire trust.
"The entire galaxy was turned upside down when the Empire fell. How was it here?"
The old woman cackled and folded her wizened hands over her stomach. "You haven't seen our little art project out by the wall, have ya’? A little parting gift from us to the Empire."
"Who controls the planet now? The New Republic-"
The old woman spat on the sand.
"... right."
"We control ourselves, dearie." Sinead had never heard a term of endearment used with so much venom. "We ain't need anyone come here and tell us how to run our own damn home. After they got the message, most of the bucketheads left. The ones who didn't, well, they make a good decoration, don't they?"
"A place outside the grip of the Empire and the Republic sounds nice."
"Sounds like you have something to hide."
Sinead shrugged. "I don't like tyrants or bureaucracy."
"We got rid of our old tyrant years ago, ain't ever looked back since," the old woman sneered,
There we go.
Sinead shifted her weight and leaned closer. "Heard about that on the subspace, that's nasty business. Any chance the Hutt's head is hanging with the others? I'd like to go give my goodbyes in person."
The old woman peered at Sinead. "Sounds personal."
"As far as I'm concerned, hating the Hutt clan is everyone's business, and those who don't are either terminally stupid or, well, part of the Hutt clan.”
"That kriffin' piece of blubber is probably still out in the Dune Sea somewhere. I doubt even the bloatflies'll touch his stinking corpse."
"He was killed in his palace? I heard that place is a fortress."
"My boy went out with some of the others, just to have a little lookie-loo at the place, but the slaves didn't wanna let nobody in. Said they’ve taken over. Been coming in from all over the galaxy, the buggers."
"They still out there?"
The old woman seemed to remember herself. "You ask an awful lot of question, dearie. Maybe it's time you hold up your end of the bargain, hmm?"
Sinead opened her mouth to protest. If Tatooine had managed to rid themselves completely of Hutt control, then maybe other systems would follow suit. The dangerous look in the old woman's eyes told her, however, that pressing on would be a bad idea.
"Sure," she said, looking earnestly at the merchandise. "Uh, yeah … how much for the necklace?" It was the only thing that, if you squinted and stood five meters away on a foggy day might resemble jewelry. It looked like an old optic unit ripped from a droid and attached to a leather string.
"Hundred creds."
"You're joking."
"My information doesn't come cheap, girl. I can always call the guards, say you robbed me of my hard-earned knowledge."
For once, Sinead was momentarily lost for words. "That doesn't-"
"Since the Empire left, we've had to handle justice ourselves, you see, and sometimes the new guards can be a little rough."
Sinead bared her teeth in a smile. "I'll give you twenty."
"Eighty."
"Thirty."
"Seventy-five."
"Thirty-five."
"Seventy-five."
Sinead tossed some credits on the table. "Forty. That's literally the last credits I own."
The old woman snatched the credits with remarkable speed, squirreling them away in her dirty cowl.
"Pleasure doing business with you," Sinead said, stuffing the necklace into her pocket before moving on from the stall.
When she got back to the hangar, the suns had reached the top of the sky and it had impossibly gotten even hotter.
Mando came walking from the other side, his gleaming armor standing out between the bedraggled denizens of Tatooine. He sped up when he saw Sinead.
"You should stay in the ship," he said, when they reached the door to the hangar at the same time.
"You know, people usually greet each other before starting to bark commands, you should really try it."
The Mandalorian shook his head, grumbling under his breath.
“Did you manage to find work, or do we have to go back empty handed? I have a feeling that won’t go over too well with the mechanic.”
“I did, but look … does the name Fennec Shand mean anything to you?”
The color drained from Sinead's face.
"She's hiding out in the Dune Sea with a bounty on her head. I have to bring her back."
"Alive?"
"Yes."
"What a shame."
Fennec Shand’s name brought with it a very special kind of dread. Every Hutt slave had heard stories of Shard bringing back runaway slaves in a condition where they wished they were dead.
“I’ll stay in the ship.” Sinead looked around, like she expected Shand to jump out from behind the nearest hover-cart. “How long will it take?”
“I don’t know. I’m bringing this kid … it doesn’t matter.”
Sinead bit her lips. “Just make sure you get her. I don’t want her coming to Mos Eisley in a murderous rage.”
The Mandalorian moved towards the entrance to the hangar, and when the door opened, the smell of oil and metal hit them.
She wanted to get off this planet, doubly so now she knew that a vicious killer for hire had made this her home. There was nothing to do but wait.
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lyesera-thoughts · 4 years
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Therapy: Sleep paralysis vs Shadow People
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For a long time as a child, I had a very FIRM belief in the afterlife. I was raised in a predominately Catholic home. My father is a Protestant, however my mother’s family was the closest to us when I grew up and they are all Catholic. Neither my father nor my mother would agree to give up the “religious right” to their children.
My brother and I have never been baptized and are even bastards to my mother’s church as my parents were married outside of the Catholic church (in fact in no church) due to my father’s refusal to join the Catholic church. For other reasons, this has caused strife in my family as I have never been religious and my parents seemed to think they raised me differently. That’s a post unto itself.
However, while I have never grown to have a belief in a singular sect of religion or in a God(dess) of any sort, I did, 100% believe, there was a life after this. Of some kind. And that ghosts and spirits were real.
I also used to believe that I had proof. Experiences of supernatural origins that couldn’t be explained in any other way...
That was until I got older. We’ll get into that.
I have always been afraid of the dark. Until I was 15 or 16 years of age I would not sleep in the dark. My parents would compromise with leaving a hall light on and leaving doors open. As it was, when we finally stopped that, I started sleeping with a stereo on. This stereo had a bright blue led that lit my room up entirely. To this day I despise being in a room in the complete dark and have “episodes” where I actually feel like I’m being hunted in the dark and cannot sleep unless the light in the room is on.
When I was very young, elementary age years, I used to wake up in the middle of the night, just about every night. Sometime after midnight, before early morning hours that my parents would wake up for work. Probably between 2 to 4 AM. And I would stay up all night, in the living room, because it was where I felt safe. I would turn on every single light surrounding me and watch TV because I couldn’t stand the silence. Or more specifically, the noises in the silence.
When I entered my teens, I started sleeping more through the night, but still had a common occurrence of waking up in the middle of the night. I would just stay in my room until sunrise. One night, when I was 14 years old I woke to a noise.
My bedroom at this time was laid out as such:
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The scale isn’t perfect, but I had a full size bed (hand me down from my parents when they replaced theirs), that I shoved in a corner because I couldn’t feel safe enough to sleep if my bed wasn’t in a corner. I slept up against a wall. When I sat up and leaned over the other side of the bed, I could see clearly into the hallway. The light to the hallway was immediately outside my door, as my room was nearest the steps to the downstairs.
I heard this noise, as I said. It sounded like it was something right outside of my room. I sat up and leaned over. And there was a figure under the light in the hallway. A bright, white light, and this figure was humanoid and black.
The stereotype non-human black. A shadow black. It wasn’t much taller than me or my brother, so older child/teen sized. It’s shape made me think male but what terrifies me still to this day were glowing red eyes.
I shoved my ass into the very corner so my back was against the wall, upright and facing my open door. I pulled my legs up and hugged them as I waited to see if this picture of nightmares would walk into my room.
I stayed there for hours, until the sun came up. Only then did I dare look again. There was nothing. I tried to tell my parents about it. They wrote it off. “You were dreaming”. “It might’ve been your brother using the bathroom” (when they heard how tall). Yes my room was across from the bathroom, but I knew it wasn’t him. His eyes didn’t glow red.
My next memory was when we moved. My parents got their own house finally. A one floor, three bedroom, not that far from where we used to live; where I had the first “encounter”. I’m about 16 or 17 now. My new room looks like this:
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Again not to scale. It’s smaller than my old room, I had to trade that full sized bed for a twin. I also had a closet, which had a shelf next to it. It was a wire shelf with a bar for hangers. I had some every day use items hanging from it. Coats and such.
It’s early morning, but not night. It’s like, people are awake and I can hear them. It’s what wakes me up, them moving around and talking. There’s sun coming through my window’s curtains. I don’t wake up suddenly, it feels like my normal return from sleep. Slow and easy. Comfortable. Until...
I can’t move.
Not a single finger or toe. I can’t talk. I can breath and I can look around with my eyes and there is a little shadow girl by my closet door.
Again, the figure is completely cast in black. Shadow black. But there’s a shape that makes me think girl wearing a dress, with a poofy skirt. She’s just standing there, across from me, just in front of the things I have hanging from that shelf. I can’t move and I am terrified.
I have this strangely clear thought of “move my toes”. Like that Kill Bill movie, but before that came out. I manage to move a toe, then my fingers, and just as I scream for my mother, who I can hear moving around, the shadow is gone.
My mother is there in seconds, fully dressed. My brother and I are the last to wake, mom and dad already had a friend over. I tell her what happened, she looks suspiciously at my closet then tells me to get dressed and come get something to eat.
This time, she takes me a bit seriously. She believes in an afterlife. She had been getting strange feelings from the house. She confessed to me well after I moved out of the house (my parents still live there) that while she was having medical problems that were affecting her sleeping, she stayed in my old room so not to disturb my father. She woke up with an intense feeling of being watched. She never slept in my old room again. That feeling had scared her so much.
I felt a little validated.
But then...I left for college. I met my fiance who does NOT believe in an afterlife. He’s very science oriented and without my parents around I’m not being exposed to religion anymore, nor do I have anyone who listens and believes when I talk about the afterlife.
Years go by. I have night terrors/nightmares. I am working through this in therapy, as it has apparently caused me to have full conversations with my fiance while I’m dead asleep. I mention my old “encounters” and how I used to think they were something supernatural and how I do kind of mourn that lost piece of my childhood. I had a belief in something and now I don’t. 
She tells me about sleep paralysis. How it’s common to see shadow people during that. I do some research and apart from the first time, it makes perfect sense to me, scientifically.
And some months after this I have my third experience. We’re in our new room, significantly larger. 
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I’m alone, it’s not very late at night and my fiance is still downstairs. Sleeping nearest the dresser on a king-sized bed that, at the time, was on the floor as we hadn’t invested in our frame yet. At this point, I have finally moved past the sleeping against a wall necessity. I wake up to a feeling of being watched and open my eyes. I was expecting to see my fiance.
I’m sleepy, but I realize I can’t move. I have a very short burst of fear as I see a tall figure at the end of the bed, looming over me. A shadow wearing a hat. Like the Indiana Jones type hat, maybe a fedora? The hat is also shadow but I can make it out as well I could make out the dress on the girl. Again, despite being all black, the shape makes me think this is a man. 
And I’m just...done. I’m still recovering from constant pain and anxiety. My sleep is precious and needed. The fear goes away and I tell myself “this isn’t real” and I blink. I can move and he’s gone.
This is, as of right now, all the sleep paralysis moments I can remember. I don’t recall if I had them before, but I have a vague-ish feeling/memory of possibly seeing a shadowy someone sitting on a chair that was in my childhood bedroom. Which is why I may have kept escaping to the living room way back then.
I expect to have it happen again.
There are still nights that I have to talk myself out of the feeling of being watched in my own room when the lights are out. There are still nights I wake up anxious and feeling not safe.
I don’t know what it is. There’s a part of me that still wants to believe in an afterlife. That these are other entities and that my life is more than the time I have on Earth. 
But at the same time, there’s serious doubt that this is anymore than my brain fucking with me. As I already know that I have anxiety and depression, which are indicators that my brain chemistry and functionality is already different.
So take from this what you will. It just was a curious exploration into old memories and recent memories.
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Shadowing- Chapter One. A New Adult Horror Short Story -  TW: Crime and poverty
I loved our home, it had light lemon-coloured curtains and a sofa that we could fall asleep on if we were too tired to go to bed. Even though Mum was a single parent we always had food on the table. Six months ago she died. It left a bit slice in the middle of our lives. Olive’s five, I’m nineteen and her sole carer, we bumble around is this creaky terraced house getting by. Social services don’t want to know, the fact that I am ‘of age’ apparently means I am equipped to be a parent. 
One night I woke to the sound of crashing glass spraying across our wooden floor boards. Olive and I waited in the dark for half an hour, (“best to be safe”), as we didn’t want to meet the intruders. When we emerged like the survivors of a tornado, the curtains in the living room were hanging from the rail looking torn sails. ‘Who was it?’ Little Olive asked.
“I don’t know, you better get back to sleep.”
They could’ve still been there. Lurking.
Olive took a quick look at the glass confetti on the floor before padding back to her room. Then I heard the sirens.
The police came in as though they were crashing a party. They didn’t speak at first, one officer put the kettle on and they helped themselves to biscuits I’d been saving. They bent down to look at the glass as if it would confess to the crime. 
“And you saw no one.” said the glass-inspecting officer, his wrinkled forehead bunching up like those fancy blinds I couldn’t afford. “No, we stayed in our rooms. I was scared they would have a weapon.” “Good call. You never know what it may be these days.”
The second officer poured a cup of tea like it was a present, taking long, gurgling gulps and only said one thing the entire time, 
“Time to go.”
We’ve had no windows for weeks since then. Well, that’s not strictly true. We have the frames but not the glass.
A few nights later, I was leaning out the hole in the wall for a smoke when I saw it for the first time. At first, I was so tired that I forgot to do anything. It wasn’t a person exactly, but a shadow of a person. It was sat in the sash window frame of a shattered window of an abandoned house a few cars down. Its hands (?) hung over the half open frame like a man in the stocks on one of those programs about medieval people. 
It slithered down the side of the house and I forgot to inhale my cigarette. My lungs clenched.
The shadow approached the house opposite, climbed onto its front wall and smashed the window with a dark fist. At first I thought it was human. But its figure bent into grooves of mortar and stuck to surfaces like a thin layer of paint. It was like the dark stain of a dead body’s outline. It had a lean, tall figure. It reminded me of a paper chain of flat men Olive had cut out for her birthday. She’d drawn smiles on every single man and they’d concertina’d in the draft of the hallway. 
The shadow pulled itself up and through the smashed window opposite, it was then that the spell was broken.
“HEY!” I screamed, “BURGLAR! NUMBER 89!” 
At first the ditch of terraced houses trapped my voice. It echoed out into the lonely night. A couple of icy breaths later, a weakened light appeared in Number 89’s bedroom like a glowing mist. The street lit up like fairy-lights. 
“OUT! YOU FUCKER!” came the reply from Number 89.
I reached for the broom that was leaning against the wall and chucked it down onto the acne’d pavement. I limbo’d my gangly limbs under the picture-frame of our front ‘window’ and clutched the drainpipe. Consciousness rippled up the street. Lights flickered in my periphery vision and I swung my body onto the drainpipe, perching my feet on the brackets at the side. I climbed down, grabbed the broom with it’s splayed bristles and ran over to Number 89. Len from Number 86 was at the front door, banging on it, a shard of glass from the smashed window raised in his hand like an icepick. 
“She’s not answering!” Len said, half looking at me. 
The door creaked open. Mrs Bellamy stood in a nightgown and a pair of knitted socks she’d made. Her arms had bubbling goosebumps. 
“I’m not sure where he is!” She said, stepping aside to let us past. It wasn’t the first time she’d been burgled. Burglaries were not uncommon these days, what with the mines being closed for 6 months and savings running thin. Miners were used to applying physical force to get what they needed. Broken shards of glass had become like diamonds for many of those in need. 
We spilled into the living room, there were 5 of us now, all neighbours, wanting to catch the thief. Mrs Bellamy’s living room comprised of a white painted wooden table with no table cloth, a small hanging light in a rose design that blearily projected onto the ceiling. There was a freezer, stove, two chairs, a small work surface, kettle and clock, along with several framed photographs of her sons from when they were children on the walls. The room was a light green colour and I had sat many times recounting my day to her on one of the chairs as she cooked Olive and I supper. 
Mrs Bellamy gestured for us to go upstairs with an arm that reminded me of a broken wing. As I climbed the stairs, I thought of Olive first learning to walk and how I didn’t know what I’d do if the burglar killed me. Len was in the bedroom on his hands and knees, glaring under the bed.
“Bastard’s not under the bed!” he growled. 
The wardrobe doors were wide open, Mrs Bellamy’s ghostly clothes huddled together inside it, swaying in the breeze. The burglar wasn’t in the other rooms either. We called to the neighbours in the street but they hadn’t seen anyone come out.
The officers came again but they didn’t bend down to look at the shards of glass or put on the kettle this time. It was me, Len, the two officers and Mrs Bellamy left in the kitchen. I remember I was stood against the wall with the clock on it, the steady ticking reminding me that I’d missed several hours of sleep. Len was propped up against the refrigerator. The bobbie that had put the kettle on at mine was sat in a chair, his arms were crossed too. It was clear he was more interested in the pictures on the wall than solving anything.
“And what did he look like?” asked the wrinkly-forehead officer, his stocky silhouette pronounced against the twitching thin green curtains. 
“Dark, thin, I never saw a face.” said Mrs Bellamy. The bags under her eyes were much more pronounced than they had been earlier.
“Was he carrying anything?” said an officer, gripping a small notepad in his fingers like a grenade, the pin-thin scratched pencil clutched in his other hand. 
“No, but I remember him running past me and then he slammed the door of my bedroom on the way out. That’s when I got the drawer from my bedside table…and I saw him standing on the stairs and I went to try and scare him you know, like this..”
She made a waved her fist, it made an echo of movement up her arm that disappeared under the sleeve of her nightgown.
“I screamed at him.”
She was perched uncomfortably close to the edge of the seat as if ready to take off at any moment. I walked forward slightly, the ticking clock was beginning to irritate me. She turned to look at me, then frowned,
“He looked like, like..,” she fumbled with her thought, “that.” She pointed at my shadow that was leaning against the wall.
All their eyes turned to me, but the officer who was writing seemed bored.
“So he was a slim build man, dark and you never saw his face but he moved quickly. Seemed young?” read off the officer more to himself than anyone else.
“Yes.”
“Alright Mrs Bellamy thanks for your time, if you can I would get that window boarded up as quickly as possible and we’ll let you know if we hear anything.” “Thanks officers, I’ll let you know if I remember anything else. I’ll show you out.”
Later that day I went down to the beach, Olive was at school. I waded into the water and let myself float for a bit. A dark shadowy arm wrapped itself around me. It pulled me under. The water went shadowy black and I couldn’t escape.
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thenightling · 4 years
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In Search of New Dreams (A Sandman fan fiction)
In Search of New Dreams:
Disclaimer: This is a Sandman fan fiction inspired by the events of Swamp Thing: Volume 2, issue 84.   Sandman belongs to Neil Gaiman and DC Comics.  Matthew Cable was originally created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson.
This story is at least partly based on this illustration by John Totleben. 
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In Search of New Dreams:
  So I’m dead?”
“Yes.”
“Heh. So that’s it then?  What happens now?”
“Now you make a choice.”
 Matthew Cable stood beside The Lord of Dreams in the most unpleasant of settings. His own death.  He looked down at the hideously emaciated corpse.  The body, whose organs had been harvested while he still breathed.  The eyes were empty sockets.  Tubes and wires were plunging in and out of him.  There were scars from unrequested surgeries to remove organs for the black market. They had never thought he would wake up nor did it look like they cared. If he had woken up the “good doctors” probably would have “Helped” him along anyway.
 When Abby had found out what was done to him, she had intended to put him out of his misery and end his possible suffering.  She was going to pull the plug.  But with the aid of Morpheus, Matthew had been able to wake up just long enough to knock over and unplug his own life support equipment. “Forgive me, Abby… Then… forget me…”
 He couldn’t remember much after that.  It was like falling asleep.  He didn’t feel himself suffocate or his heart stuff. He just felt like he had drifted to sleep, gently, peacefully… But as he stood there, watching his own body, sensing the other entity beside him, he saw the creature on the floor wheezing, gasping for wretched breath and finally…stop.
This extraction before death had been an act of mercy from The Dream Lord and he knew it.  
Matthew’s experience in The Dreaming had not always been so kind.  He had been there for some time before his own death. Had it been months or weeks?  He wasn’t certain.  Time was distorted in such a place.  He had spent that time in a cave, in the haze of a dream.
And in that dream he was married to a beautiful woman who called herself Eve. He had mounds of treasure and material possessions, like a dragon’s hoard. And in that dream he saw his own stupidity, his cruelty, his misogyny.  He would see and feel himself starting to become an abusive ass. He remembered how terrible he was when he drank and cringed to think of the anger in him that seemed to only manifest with the drinking.  Demanding she fulfill his manly needs and boy did Eve make him pay for all of that!
 In a strange way he came to love Eve for it, for every lesson she taught him on his own previous awfulness.  When he finally had crawled out of the cave, Morpheus had been there waiting for him. Morpheus had been there to congratulate him on his growth and he told him what he must do… to free Abby of her past with him forever…
His body had been dying anyway.  There was no returning to that life.  Now he had to let go for Abby’s sake…
 And so now Matthew looked down at his own body.  Morpheus stood beside him.  The figure next to Matthew was no human man.  Morpheus was tall and improbably thin.  He had black eyes, black like the eyes of a leopard gecko. He had only seen one leopard gecko once as a little boy and he had never forgotten about the strange, wide, black eyes. He had almost thought they were pretty, and strangely expressive.  And to see them now in a face that resembled the face of a human man was peculiar and yet, though he’d never voice it, kind of beautiful…  He liked those eyes.
 Morpheus had wild black hair.  And his skin was as white as bone.  He wore long, billowing, black, robes.
 “Choice?” Matthew asked.  “What kind of choice?”
 There was a bright light only a few steps from his body.   Matthew raised his arm (or was it just the illusion of an arm?) to shield his eyes even though the light didn’t really hurt.   The light looked like a brightly illuminated doorway. And from that doorway he could see the silhouette of… A girl?  Matthew doubted himself.  The glowing door seemed to take on the on a shape, an ankh.   And the shadowy form of the girl became easier to see.
  The girl had black hair. She sort of looked like Morpheus.   But her eyes were grey-blue, more human-like.  She wore a black tank top and form fitting black jeans. She had on black ankle boots.  And at her neck hung an ankh pendant that appeared to be silver.  The girl, herself, had an eye of Horus tattoo (or was it makeup?) around her right eye. She looked like she couldn’t be more than nineteen-years-old.        
But what Mathew saw behind her, he could almost guess the man he stood with could not see.  The girl had these beautiful, massive, bright, white wings.  They were elegant and large. They were like the wings of an angel, or what he imagined angel wings should be like.   They were so large, and each feather bore a strange iridescence, like they were made of some substance that contained its own light.  They glittered and shimmered and it was hard not to look at them.  
“Hello, My sister.”  Morpheus said to the girl.
“Hey, Dream!  Hi, Matthew!” She waved as if they were old friends.
The girl seemed friendly, the way she smiled at him and it felt like he had known her his whole life.
“You have your choice.”  Morpheus said.  “You can stay with Eve in her cave in my realm, The Dreaming.  You will be transformed.  Your human life is over now.  You would serve me as my raven.   I will not own you, you always own yourself, but you would be my subject.    You can do this or…  You may go with my sister to where you are supposed to go.”
 “Shit. Where I’m supposed to go…?” There was some dread to those words as Matthew repeated them.
The girl tilted her head slightly at Matthew.  “It’s all right, Matt.  You tried to do what’s right in the end.”
“But I was such a screw up.  I did things… Really bad things…”
“Lots of people do bad things.” She said gently.  “I’m not here to judge.  You know, forgiveness is a thing, Matt.  It doesn’t have to be bad, not if you don’t want it to be.  Believe it’ll be all right and it will be.”
She looked at Morpheus (or Dream as she had called him).  “It’s not really a choice if he’s scared to go, you know.”
Morpheus frowned.
Matthew was looking behind her.  The ankh-door was something else now. A corridor, long and dark with something glowing at the far end of it.   And… It felt good. It felt welcoming.  
 “You have to forgive yourself, Matt.  Then let go.” She said gently.
“I already let go.  I mean… I’m not that man anymore, right?   I can be anything.”
“Yeah.” She said reassuringly.  “Anything.” But she was probably talking about the possibility of reincarnation, not the choice Morpheus had offered him.
“Okay… So...”   Matthew raked his hand through his hair.  At least in this dream or soul-self he still had hair.  The ravaged and harvested corpse didn’t have hair, or eyes… or much of anything worthwhile left...
“You know…  Okay, so I did some crappy things near the end there.   I’d like another chance.  Not in that life.  I made a rotten human.  Maybe I’d be better as a bird. Let’s give it a try.”
“You’re sure that’s what you want?” the girl asked in a kind tone.
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“All right.” She said with a smile.  “There’s no wrong answers here.  My brother picked you for a reason.  You’d probably like it.  Good luck.”  
She backed away and turned around. “Be seeing you!”  She waved and was walking through the lighted passage that faded with her.  As she walked he could see the massive wings unfurl behind her, and he heard a heavy flapping as the whole image faded away.
 But as the image faded he realized the flapping was not coming from the now gone spectre of Death.   No. The flapping was his own.   He hadn’t even really felt it happen.   It felt that natural and organic to him.  It was like the transition from sleep to waking. Matthew figured that most people don’t really remember the precise moment sleep becomes waking.   He fluttered and swooped before he even realized he was doing it.  And his sight- everything was suddenly so clear.  It was as if he had never truly seen before.  It was like his entire life he had been looking at things through a mesh of stocking or fog.  He saw tiny details and distance in ways he could never have imagined in his human life. He loved it!
He flew out the window, which he wasn’t entirely sure was supposed to even be openable. He did not realize Morpheus had opened it for him, knowing his excitement to experience his new flight.  
 Matthew glided over the swampland on velvet wings.   Flapping to gain altitude and catching the wind currents to glide as if it was the easiest and most natural thing.   He didn’t even miss having thumbs.  He thought he would at least miss that.  
Matthew was having such a grand time in his flight that he barely noticed the passage of time. It was late in the evening of the following night when he finally landed on a tree limb in the swamp to rest.  Maybe he could find Alec, apologize to him too… For… you know…  all of it…
 He landed on the low hanging branch near the water and suddenly Morpheus was beside him.  He knew it before he even saw it.   He turned his head.  “How’d I know you were there?”
“Don’t be afraid, Matthew.”  Morpheus was now dressed in a dark grey t-shirt under a long black jacket.  He also had on black jeans and black shoes. And he was somehow untouched by the muck of the swamp.  
“I’m not afraid.”
“You and I are linked now, you can feel me.  As one of my subjects we are now linked.”
“I… guess I’m okay with that.  You know my thoughts aren’t always that nice.”
“I’m not constantly searching through your thoughts and memories.”
“That’s good to know.  You know, it’s strange… I almost feel like I was always supposed to be a bird.  It’s like… I’ve been-“
“Liberated?”
“Yeah. Everything I was I can just leave behind.   I’m glad I don’t have to be that guy anymore.  That guy was a jerk!”
There was something that almost looked like a smile on the pale face of the Dream King.  Matthew could feel his amusement more than he could see it.  
“It’s strange.  But I think I like it.”
He also felt like The Dream King somehow understood him and his stance.  And for the first time he really noticed the eyes weren’t exactly black.  They had tiny pupils that twinkled like stars.  Tiny, glowing-white pupils that twinkled.  Strange how he hadn’t noticed that before.  Maybe because when he was still sort-of a man all he could see was darkness.  Now he could see the light in the darkness.  
“Hey, uh… Can I ask a favor?”  Matthew asked, trying not to stare at Morpheus’ eyes.  The way they reflected light, they were more beautiful to him now as a bird than they had been before.
“You may ask.”
“I never wanna be who I was before.  I just want to be Matthew The Raven now.”            “You never have to be that man again.”
“Good. I just...  This is gonna sound weird but…  Can we go to my funeral?  Assuming there is one… I feel like I should say goodbye… To him.  Have some closure, you know.”  
Morpheus held out his arm and Matthew understood what the offer was for.  He moved to perch on the arm, careful not to dig too deeply into the fabric of the jacket with his talons.  
“You don’t need my permission for that, Matthew.  I have granted you the ability to come and go from The Dreaming and Waking World.  You will need to be able to do that to serve me.”
 “I mean…”  Matthew felt ridiculous, vulnerable, and even a little angry at the thick headedness of his new boss.  “I mean…. Will you come with me?  I don’t want to go to my own funeral alone.”  He was physically much smaller as a raven than as a man but now he felt utterly tiny.
Morpheus’ expression became blank, confused and then slowly showed signs of warmth.  “You want me there with you?”
Matthew didn’t answer. He felt like he was about to be made fun of.
“I will come with you, Matthew…”
 Just as he had predicted there weren’t that many people there at the funeral. Matthew felt strangely reassured by Morpheus’ quiet presence.  No one saw them there.  Though some of the mourners may have thought they saw a raven fly out after the services, fly high over the grave and then far, far away from the life of Matthew Cable…
  The End. The Beginning.
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the-ship-maker-2 · 4 years
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The Shadow Queen (book 1)
This is the first book in my series that I'm writing. Its entirely original and all of these characters are mine.
Rated:M for mature. There's some strong language in here so if you're sensitive please don't read it.
Warning(s): character death and violence. If you're sensitive please do not read and I'm not saying who it is.
Summary: Two demon princes from the underworld of Hell go up to the forbidden land of the living (Earth) on a loose trail of a prophecy that could potentially change Hell for better or for worse. What happens when they find the main part of the prophecy? A human infant no more than six months old baring the gift of The Sight. A rare gift that is naturally born with. Could this be what they're looking for?
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Prologue
"Are you sure about this?", asked the demon prince, Kael as he eyed the baby in its crib in a mixture of distrust and disgust with his golden brown eyes.
He didn't like humans as it was especially live ones and especially tiny ones. There was just something about tiny humans that made him automatically distrust them. They were always planning something. Also humans dead or alive were always useless and primitive, far less superior then he and his friend was.
"I'm positive I wouldn't have pulled so many strings just to drag you up here for nothing", said his friend Jorggon,"this is the one Satan himself said that this was the one" he picked up the infant that was already squirming in its crib.
"Right but are you sure we can trust him? I mean he could be wrong. We could be wrong. I mean we came all the way up to Earth for that?", Kael gestured to the baby in Jorggon's arms.
"I have no reason to believe that he would misinform us. I mean what reason would he have to lie to us? You just don't like the fact that she's not all grown up so she can take care of what she needs to take care of now. You were always so impatient", said Jorggon as he stuck his tongue out at him and went back to smiling at the baby.
Kael sighed and crossed his arms and looked away. They have always been complete opposites. He has always been a warrior type. Which explains his muscular well toned body structure. Rough and tumble style, fight or die attitude. Jorggon was more of an intellectual type with a lean body. Jorggon's pale skin made him look like a ghost in the infant's dark room. Even in his shadowy mist form he was easy to pick out. Whereas Kael had a dark tan complexion. It made him even harder to pick out in the pitch black room. And in his shadowy mist form; everyone will be none the wiser.
He took a moment to really take in the room around him. The room was pitch black. You could only make out a shape that was most likely a dresser. The walls were bare white and the crib was made out of oak wood with a mattress in it and on the side of the wall that the crib was pushed up against had what he assumed to be the baby's name hung up. The floor was made of unfurnished creaky wood that was gray and black from the dirt and the old age of the house that they were in.
The room was plain and bare. Most likely the infant's family didn't have much to work with. They were poor.
"We're just lucky that the princess is only an infant for now like that thing over there and who the hell names their child Talura?", Kael pointed to the name hanging up on the wall.
"Apparently her parents", said Jorggon,"pay no mind to him Tal". He nuzzled the baby.
"You're giving it nicknames now?!", he exclaimed exasperated and in disbelief.
The baby giggled and looked up at Jorggon into his pale blue eyes with her unnaturally wide blue-green eyes. Taking in all his features.
"This is definitely the one", confirmed Jorggon.
"How do you know?", asked Kael unsurely.
He handed baby Talura over to Kael as she had a fistful of his curly blonde locks. Kael retreated further into himself practically hissing.
"I'm not holding that thing!", he refused.
"Stop shouting you'll wake up her parents! Wait where are they anyways? Normally parents run into their children's bedrooms if they hear their children in the night" Jorggon whispered hissed.
"They're either heavy sleepers or very neglectful", huffed Kael,"besides we can easily cloak ourselves in our shadow form and no one will be able to hear us. We can do that you know"
"Stop being a little bitch and hold Tal and look at her eyes", said Jorggon getting annoyed holding the baby out for Kael to take.
Kael sighed and reluctantly took the child. He held her out away from him and inspected it suspiciously.
"What's so special about this thing? She seems relatively healthy. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her. There's no way that she could possibly be- oh my dear sweet darkness", he realized in thought.
Those eyes. Those eyes. Those eyes.
He couldn't look away even if he wanted to. His golden brown eyes met her blue green ones. But they were so unnaturally wide. She was definitely going to get bullied for that as she grows up. But he was sure that she could deal with it when the time came. Her eyes were like windows to the soul and right now she was still so very still. She looked at him with her mouth slightly agape. He sucked in his breath not daring to make a sound or move. Then she suddenly broke into a smile and a fit of giggles. She reached her hands out trying to grab his slicked back dark chocolate brown hair.
"Ah ah I ain't falling for that one", he told her as he held her out as far away from him as possible. "Here take her back and put her in her crib please".
"Do you believe me now?" He took her back and gently laid her back down.
Kael nodded, "she's gifted, she has The Sight. Not many people are born with that. Normally they either get it by sacrifice or after death. She is The Sight part of the prophecy"
"You know we're both going to have to train her how to use The Sight", said Jorggon as he looked back at him.
"I know but you know I can't do much", said Kael softly as he looked down.
"Then do what you can when you can", said Jorggon as he ran his hand over baby Talura's head and to her temples and whispered a spell to make her sleep.
Baby Talura yawned and her eyes were beginning to get droopy. Satisfied with his work he turned to Kael.
"We should get back before you get into trouble".
He turned into a mass of shadowy mist and went through the wall. He popped back out.
"You coming?", he prodded.
Kael nodded.
"Yeah in just a few minutes"
He shrugged his shoulders "okay just don't stay too long".
And with that he disappeared into the wall. That just leaves Kael alone.
He walked over to baby Talura's crib quietly, careful not to disturb her. He looked down at her sleeping figure. Her head leaning to the right and her arms up, her chest slowly rising and falling as she's taking rhythmic shallow breaths.
He took a deep breath.
He looked down at her with pity. She was destined to be a coward. With that she wouldn't be able to survive in either Earth or Hell. It was unlikely that she would have many friends or a good family to support her.
He couldn't do much as his time was running out and he was unfortunately limited in his powers. But there was one thing that he could do although it was very risky for both him and her. If his Queen found out anything about her being part of the prophecy she would destroy her in no time. He didn't mind the punishment for himself he's willing to make that sacrifice.
But he believes in fair punishment people should get punished for their own stupidity not someone else's. He just doesn't think he can live with himself knowing that he helped ensure killing an innocent's life before it even began.
But if he wanted a hell's chance in even remotely having the prophecy come true he was going to have to risk it.
Yes he was being selfish. And he knew that but he quickly justified it with what he'll do is for her own good and he can leave with a semi clear conscious.
He looked back and forth to make sure no one was watching.
"Alright little one I'm going to do something that will only hurt for a moment but it will be for your own good and one day you'll thank me", he whispered cooed to baby Talura.
She shifted in her sleep as Kael took her tiny hand. With his other hand he took his sharp nail and poked his hand and her hand to draw blood. She began to cry.
He sucked in his breath as he felt a twang of pain in his heart as he heard her cry. For a moment he almost knew what it felt like to be a parent.
"I know, I know little one but the pain will subside soon", he whispered as he was trying to reassure the crying child.
He pushed away any feelings of guilt and pain and he got down to business. He put his bleeding hand into hers.
"I hear by swear on everything that I am and everything that I was that I give you the gift of Intuition. This will help you see what's really there and to help you make decisions based on what you think is right. I believe that I'm doing this with benevolent intent and this promise-gift is now bonded by blood and it can never be broken as a blood promise", he whispered,"And you always keep your promises"
He used his magic to heal them both and ran his hand over her head and whispered the same spell Jorggon used to make her fall asleep the first time.
By a few minutes later she was fast asleep again.
He sighed in relief but then he was overcome with worry.
"Although I gave her a gift, whether she uses it or not is on her. It could be potentially useless. And it's not an exact science. She'll need to practice and hone that just like The Sight. She's going to be wrong most of the time and not to mention people that will cut her down and try to break her….", he was letting his thoughts ramble.
He took a deep breath and shook his head to clear it. He realized that he had something that he hasn't had in a long time.
Faith.
He had faith that she'll grow up to be enough of a person and she'll practice and hone her gifts. Despite what anyone says or does. He chuckled to himself. He had quite the feeling that she'll be someone who makes their own way regardless.
Satisfied with what he did and his worried thoughts put to rest for now he really needed to get back before his Queen suspects anything. He changed into a mass of shadowy mist and went through the wall to get back. He popped back out to take one last look at the sleeping child.
He went back alone with his thoughts. He hoped that he put his faith in the right place. He hoped that he was right in what he did and thought.
And right now that's all he really can do.
Hope.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4 Years Later
It's been four years since that fateful night. Talura was a small petite child with a head full of short wavy hair that couldn't decide whether it wanted to be brown or red. She still had those unnaturally wide eyes that fluctuate from blue-green to blue-gray or to sometimes a mossy green. They framed her face in such an awkward way but when she grew into them there's no doubt that she'll be considered some form of attractive. She had fair tan skin from playing out in the sun all day. She was small for her age due to slight malnourishment but that didn't stop her from anything. She was a big ball of contradictions. She was timid yet very excitable. Bold and daring yet wary and cautious. She was a whirlpool of emotions. Jorggon thought that it was charming that she was, to put it nicely, unpredictable.
Kael on the other hand found it quite annoying. He couldn't pinpoint a pattern with her. Yet another reason why he wasn't fond of children. They were always changing and springing surprises on adults. He didn't like their unpredictableness. She was an open book but he didn't know how to read her. The one thing he could see blatantly was her emotions. He sincerely hoped that she'll grow out of that as he firmly believes that no one has the luxury to be vulnerable with their emotions in any world.
But what they could both agree upon was that they were happy that she was practicing and honing The Sight.
Jorggon was more patient than Kael was because Jorggon was there more often than he was. From the ages 1-2 Jorggon got her to take her first steps and got her to form simple, incomplete polite sentences. They taught her that she could not just simply run up to them. It took her awhile to catch on to that concept but eventually she did. She learned to wait patiently and say "come please". It wasn't guaranteed that they'll always show up to teach her that she can't always get what she wants. But most of the time they came to her. Only in their shadow form to make it easier on them. Results varied from her throwing a temper tantrum when it didn't work to her just gracefully accepting it and focusing on something else. By the ages 3-4 she learned to be patient and accept that sometimes The Sight didn't always work to the best of her ability. She started forming simplistic but more complete sentences and talked non stop. Sometimes it was about her day or what was bothering her or what was just on her mind. Although she didn't know anything about them as far as she was concerned they were just shadows that sometimes showed up and she'd talk to them. They would always take the time to listen to her however serious, dull, amusing or confusing as it may be.
Kael didn't show up often as he had other things to take care of. But when he did he was always amazed at how fast she was developing. Whether it was with her gifts or just growing up. He was always secretly proud when she learned a new skill set whether it was mundane or had to do with her actual gifts.
What he was most proud of was that she was always using his gift of Intuition. He didn't think that she fully realized that she was using it but when she gets older she'll realize it more and hopefully use it to its full potential. She was wary and cautious so she didn't get into as much trouble as other kids her age. But make no mistake that she made mistakes so she got into some trouble as that's what children do.
He was relieved that his efforts were not in vain and that was good enough to him.
Kael would never admit this to anyone especially to Jorggon, his closest and oldest friend. But he was sort of getting attached to the child. Like a reluctant big brother. He felt sorry and angry for the child. Her mother was either busy working or sleeping. I mean she always made sure that there was always food Talura could get. Bless her soul her mother was a good person but she wasn't very strong in any way. Her father on the other hand was a brute and a bully. Always beating on her mom or just neglectful towards Talura. He felt sorry for her because one of his predictions came true. She's going to have a tough home life. But hopefully the Intuition will help her stay on the right path. And he feels angry towards her parents because they won't take care of her properly and she doesn't deserve that. He almost decided to say fuck it and just bring her with him and have Jorggon take care of her. Raise her in his royalty status and give her the best life and when the time came they could fulfill the prophecy. But he always decides against it. She needs to stay here to keep her safe. It may not be a good place but it's safer than Hell. And she needs to go through all these hardships because that's just the way it has to be.
However what he has been doing to protect her somewhat is developing and casting a protective cloaking spell made specifically for her very little at a time since he's limited in what he can do. It's not much but at least she can be safe and stay under his Queen's radar until she gets distracted by something else. Just in case shit hits the fan and they can't be there to protect her.
And they both knew it would happen, it was only a matter of time…
It was just like any other night really. Kael was waiting for Jorggon at the portal gates. That's not what they're actually called. But that's what everyone identifies the place as. You just say the portal gates and immediately everyone in Hell knows what you're talking about. But like the gates and landscape the real name has long since faded away.
Don't get me wrong it used to be a beautiful place. Although all of the colors have been drained out of Hell over time. You could once tell that the gates were of gold color with vines and brambles long dead growing in between and up the bars. However, the plants still haven't completely taken over yet as you can still see through some of the bars to see what it was and what it might have been. You could see stone benches scattered throughout that was overcome by shrubs and other plants. The grass was long overdue for a cut. The trees were dead and barren. Nothing has grown on them for a long time. Most likely due to neglect the ground was stripped of its fertility and nutrients that it can no longer support any living life.
Not only was the place at one point in time breathtakingly gorgeous in some angles but it used to be a place of myth and legend. As little boys he and Jorggon used to love hearing stories about the portal gates. Legend has it that the darkness herself came here from another world through that clearing and founded Hell and the ways of the afterlife. It was said that she even taught Satan the high lord of Hell himself everything that she knew when Satan first arrived. But all of that was just myths and legends.
What can be confirmed though is that there used to be a coven of witches and warlocks that used to use this spot for their rituals, celebrations and to practice their craft. The Coven of the Earthen. Or The Earthen Witches to put it simply. It was top secret since no one really knew what they were up to. Only the very elite, rich, gifted, or intelligent could be invited and initiated to join. But no one except the people within the coven knew how to go about that. The original first generation of the coven was made up of five witches and warlocks. One for each of the main gifts that they were naturally born with. Sight which included visions (most prophets have The Sight), and can see right through people and other paranormal things. They are often truth seekers and always have the executive decision. But The Sight is the rarest gift to be naturally born with. Next, we have Hearing. They are very good listeners and make very good spies. They can truly listen to what their mind, body and soul wants hence they are very balanced in their emotions and logic. They also listen to what nature tells them if you listen closely you can hear the whispers of the wind. Next we have Touch. They are more sensual and sensitive of the bunch. With this gift they can often feel the emotions of other people and objects. They can often read people better. Next, we have Taste. Taste is very interesting. People who have this gift have a better sense of fashion and food and like to live the high class life. But they're able to sense if anything has been poisoned. Same thing with people who have the gift of smell. They follow their intuition with their nose. The original coven is made up of the top five witches and warlocks alike. They are the ones who get the executive decisions. Those gifted with Intuition and strength are below the main 5. They were the advisers. The rest were below them respectfully and they were gifted with someone else or highly intelligent. Hell's golden years.
Kael slowly frowned.
But as time went on the ruling powers in all five realms gradually became more and more corrupt and greedy and selfish. It was to the point where it even began to spill in over to the Coven of the Earthen. Instead of staying as as place of peace, prosperity and through hard work and dedication and honor, it became a place of elite greed. Anyone with money and ambition could get in. The coven became a hollow shell of its former self and so has the portal gates.
"But soon all of that would change for better or for worse", said Kael in thought as his thoughts drifted over to Talura.
They haven't checked up on her in a while. He really wasn't sure how much time has passed on Earth. The child had to be no more than five to six years of age by now give or take with how long it's been. But security has been tight around Marbleedge. Turns out Queen Victorienne was getting suspicious of Kael's and Jorgon's disappearances even though it wasn't often or for very long. But today they managed to make time for this visit.
What was beginning to worry him was that Jorggon hasn't shown up yet. It was an hour later. Normally Jorggon was the one who arrived early or they showed up on time together. Something told him that something was very wrong here. There was only one place Jorggon would be since he wasn't allowed to go out much along with Kael. Not being the one to ignore instincts and intuition he ran back to the palace and prayed to the darkness that the worst of the worse didn't happen.
"Sweet darkness not today, I knew that it was only a matter of time, but not today", he prayed in thought over and over again.
He got to the palace and to his spot where he can normally sneak in and out with ease. But the guards beat him to it.
"Halt! Kael Bloodsworth you're under arrest for committing high treason", said one of the guards as two others handled him roughly since Kael wasn't going down without a fight.
But in the end Kael was on the ground face planting the dirt with his arms tied behind his back.
"You have no proof that I committed high treason", mumbled Kael since he was in the dirt.
"I'm sorry what was that?", asked the first guard who ordered his arrest.
The guard on his right pulled his hair to make his head go up.
"I said that you have no proof that I committed high treason", said Kael through gritted teeth as he spit out the dirt.
"Oh but we do~", said a silky predatory voice coming from the shadows of the trees that he knew all too well.
"Queen Victorienne", he spat out,"should have known it was you".
Victorienne came out of the shadows. She was strikingly beautiful. She had milly pale skin with raven black hair with purple streaks in it. She had light brown almond eyes. With plump lips that she used as a sweet poison. She has a nice figure to her that would make any woman dead or alive jealous. She had curves in all the right places. She had breasts that were plump and perky but they weren't so big that they got in the way. Her ass swayed when she walked like she was harmony personified. She had on a silky sparkly black dress with it slit to the side just to tease the people as she walked by with her fair legs.
To Kael she reminded him of a cross between a viper and a black widow.
"And you should have known that you couldn't get past me. You would fail eventually it was only a matter of time", she spoke like she was scolding a child for trying to pull a prank on her.
It made him sick that she was speaking to him in such a manner because he knew the truth of what lays deep inside her nonexistent soul. Nothing but cold anger, hatred and wrath.
"Where's Jorggon?", said Kael fighting against his restraints as he got to the point.
"Oh you'll see", said Victorienne darkly smiling viciously.
She turn to the first guard,"bring him to the throne room!"
She strutted, leading the way with all of them following her.
When the got to the throne room Kael was shoved roughly down to the floor getting a face full of floor and dust. Kael coughed and struggled to at least sit up and he didn't like the sight that he saw.
"Jorggon!", yelled Kael desperately.
Jorggon snapped his head up, "Kael!"
He had his head locked in place in the guillotine with the silver blade hanging high and his hands and feet were tied.
"I'm so sorry Kael! I tried! I tried very hard but I was caught! But I-I still didn't tell her anything!",blubbered on Jorggon as he was crying.
He realised that this was the end for him.
"Shhh...it's okay you did nothing wrong I appreciate your loyalty and effort. May Hell be forever grateful", said Kael as he tried to reassure his best friend.
"He should have been loyal to me! You should have been loyal to me! Everyone should be loyal to me!", hissed Victorienne angrily.
Honestly she acts like a child when she doesn't get what she wants.
"Give me one good reason why I should give you my loyalty to someone who is unfit to rule", said Kael rather nonchalantly.
She moved fast with the speed of a viper and smacked him so hard across the face you could hear a crack. It took him a couple of minutes for him to process what happened and to move his face back to look her in the eyes.
She grabbed his chin to make damn sure he was paying attention.
"Why you should be loyal to me?", she said in disbelief, "why you should be loyal to me?". She said it a second time more loudly and angrier.
She got really close to her face,"When the Great War was over and your mother died and I ascended to the throne. I could have killed you along with her but I decided not to. I saw potential in you. You would make a fine young prince and a deadly weapon! I couldn't just leave you on the streets".
Kael spat in her face,"Don't pretend you took me in out of the kindness of your heart when you don't have one. You killed my mother just for the chance to get the throne. You only left me alive and took me in because you needed weapons a new generation of tools for your disposal".
Victorienne feigned a hurt look,"The game of power and politics is a very dangerous one. It's not my fault that your mother was too weak to win the game. Weakest links get cut off in the end your mother should have known better. And don't be like that. I gave you a friend and freedom"
"You put so many restriction spells on me that I can't even remember what they were. You limited my powers because you knew that I would become too strong and defeat you. So you couldn't take that chance. I can't go anywhere because I'm under heavy surveillance here. Tell me where's my freedom?", he looked over at Jorggon who had his eyes wide as a bunny rabbit,"as for a friend. He is also your son. You just had him so you could keep your legacy going long when you die. But he doesn't see you as a mother. He just sees you as the bitch whore that had him. Nothing more nothing less. Whereas I took the time to raise him and myself. I have always been there for him and have always been his true friend. So of course his loyalty is to me"
She looked like she wanted to snap his neck and she could in a fit of rage that was boiling inside her right now. Instead she shrugged and let go of his face.
"It doesn't matter anyways. Because if you don't tell me what he wouldn't tell me then I'll behead him. You don't want to be responsible for his death do you?, She walked over to the guillotine and put her hand on the lever
Kael hesitated for a moment. He looked down. He was put into the type of situation that he absolutely hated. Someone else was going to die for his actions. He looked at Victorienne, calculating. She was trying to leverage Jorgon's life in exchange for information.
"Selfish bitch", he thought,"sacrificing her own son to for the chance to eliminate a person who could potentially threaten her power". Although he didn't agree with the method it was indeed a smart move on her part. He had to give her that much. He decided to throw her a bone and see if he could get away with it.
"We…", he hesitated and attempted to swallow the lump in his throat that was forming,"we sneak out to the portal gates"
Jorggon let out a sigh and hung his head in defeat.
Victorienne nodded,"and why did you go to the portal gates?"
He hesitated trying to filter out what information he should give out that would be sufficient enough to spare Jorgon's life and not give out too much information that could harm Talura and still try to get the prophecy to happen.
"To...to try to fulfill the prophecy", he uttered out.
"Which prophecy?", she narrowed her eyes.
"You know…the prophecy", he looked down.
She broke out into a cold smile and slowly let out a giggle and then she went into full blown laughter.
"Are you kidding me?! Are we talking about the prophecy? The one that caused the Great War 5000 years ago?", she said in between laughs.
"The Sight, The Strength, The Hearing, The Healing, and The Touch all come together. These five things become one when a shadows circle is cast on the night of the ashen moon. Destruction and a new path of hope lie in its wake and put the wrong things to right",quoted Kael from memory.
"The Sight, The Strength, The Hearing, The Healing, and The Touch all come together. These five things become one when a shadows circle is cast on the night of the ashen moon. Destruction and a new path of hope lie in its wake and put the wrong things to right",mocked victorienne. She rolled her eyes.
"Oh please did you two actually think that you two could fulfill the prophecy by yourselves?"
"Actually yes",asaid Kael.
"Interesting…", she mused,"and tell me did you two actually figure out who or what else was part of the prophecy?"
He kept on looking between Victorienne and Jorggon. He didn't know what else to say that would be walking along a fine line. If he said nothing more his friend would die and it would be his fault. But if he said something that would give away Talura and then the prophecy would never happen and the vicious cycle would spread and repeat. He also believed that a few sacrifices were needed for the greater good of many. He needed to keep on trying to fulfill the prophecy so that he could change all of Hell so no one has to suffer like they did even at the cost of their lives. He just never expected it to be Jorggon. He couldn't give up. He had to keep trying for Jorgon's sake. He at least owed him that much.
He looked over at Jorggon with eyes that said "I'm so sorry". Jorggon craned his head to look at his mother then at Kael. His eyes were heavy with dread but they had a resignation to them. His eyes said "It's okay, it's for the best". Jorggon swallowed, nodded his head and looked down.
Kael said nothing.
"Well I'm waiting", said Victorienne impatiently.
A few moments of silence goes by and Kael says nothing.
"Answer me!", she said getting angry.
Kael still said nothing.
"ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW!", she yelled as he hand tightened on the lever.
Nothing. Not a word. Not a sound.
"Fine. OFF WITH HIS HEAD!", said Victorienne as she pulled down the lever sending the blade falling down.
"JORGGON!", Kael screamed desperately trying to find something to do to stop that blade but there was nothing.
"KAEL!"
Chop. Plop.
The room went quiet. It was too quiet. The silence was deafening to Kael.
Those would be the last words of Jorggon Paleblood. As his head fell off his now lifeless body. It slowly rolled a few times before stopping and looking directly at Kael. Kael watched in shock and mortified as he saw the light gradually leave his eyes.
In Hell there was dead and then there was dead-dead. Dead means you have a chance of coming back if you find the right person and if the price is right. That's why so many humans make deals with demons in exchange for their soul just to see their loved ones again. Dead-dead meas there is no possible way that you can come back. It doesn't matter if you're demon-born, demon-dead or just dead. Once you're dead-dead that's the end of the story for you.
And unfortunately for Kael, Jorggon was dead-dead.
Once the shock faded a little Kael looked down to give Jorggon a moment of silence.
"Thank you brother. You were the only one who's had any faith in me. You knew what I was and you never ran away not once. I promise that I will do everything in my powers and in all five realms of Hell that I will fulfill the prophecy and Hell will change for the better. I owe you at least that much. Thank you for being a true friend and Hell will be eternally grateful for your sacrifice. May the darkness be with you and merciful wherever you are".
"Guards! Clean up this mess at once!",commanded Victorienne.
A few of them mumbled 'yes my lady' and got to work right away.
She walked over to Kael. He made damn sure to look up at her dead in the eyes with the most hateful cold look up to date.
"As for you my prince", she turned her gaze away from him and looked at the two guards that was still holding him,"take him to the dungeon"
A few moments later he was tossed down the stairs and into a cell with the other slaves that were already in there.
"I can't kill you. You prove to be too useful. You're just an asset that we can't afford to throw away. So as your sentence for high treason instead of a high servant. You're being demoted to Slave. Your duties are to work in the obsidian quarry with the others, tend to me and other company that I decide to have over, and help around the palace cleaning and cooking. Any crime will be punished by 50-100 lashings or up to permanent death depending on the crime. Do you understand?"
Kael didn't say anything at first but then he nodded his head curtly.
"Good"
Victorienne slammed the cage door shut and locked it with the jingling of the faded golden keys. She looked at him with a pitiful expression.
"Poor Kael Bloodsworth. You just don't understand how to play the game do you? You threw away your greatest and only asset that you had. And for what? For a prophecy that may or may not exist? For a chance to overthrow me?", she took a deep breath and pretended to wince,"not your best move there Kael".
Kael didn't give her the satisfaction of saying anything in response. He just turned away from her, settled into his corner that he now calls home and looked out the barred window.
Victorienne waited a few minutes for any sort of retort. When she realized that she wasn't going to get one she shrugged and turned away to head up to the palace main room. Kael heard the clicking of her heels fading away and then the slam of the dungeon door.
Kael looked around to take in his surroundings. The rest of the slaves all looked at him and were whispering to one another. The walls and floor was damp and musty. Definitely some of the stone eroded away. It was also dark in there too. It was going to take some getting used to the sun again. If he ever got out for good. He looked around. It wasn't overcrowded but there werea too many people to make it uncomfortable. He saw the piles of straw that the slaves used for beds that were probably covered in urine and feces not to mention mice and insect infected too.
"If you have something to say about me, say it to my face! And if you don't quit whispering about me like I'm not here I promise you that you won't wake up the next day!", his voice boomed.
There was a stunned silence for a few moments. Then the rest of the slaves scurried back into their respective groups and began to talk quietly among themselves.
Kael turned away and tuned them out. He looked out the barred window out to the obsidian quarry which is no doubt where he'll be working first thing tomorrow. His mind wandered over to what just happened like fifteen minutes ago now.
"I'm so sorry Jorggon. But I had too it was for the cause. It's all my fault",he said in thought.
He let out a sigh and leaned his head against the damp stone wall and closed his eyes. The dampness provided some cool relief.
Victorienne was wrong about a lot of things. She was wrong about Jorggon being just an asset. He was so much more than that. He was a true friend and brother and was always there when he needed him the most. They have been through so much stuff together at the hands of life and Victorienne themselves that they formed a bond that even surpassed a blood brother.
She was also wrong about the prophecy. If it wasn't real then why was there a great big war about it? Why was Victorienne pressing questions on who else was part of the prophecy? Because on the off chance of what if? It was prophesied so long ago now that it's more of a myth. But every myth comes from a slim line of truth. There's always that chance of what if? And that was a chance Victorienne wasn't going to take. She'll destroy anyone who challenges her power and gets in her way.
But at least he kept Talura safe.
For now.
But at what cost? The life of his friend?
That's when it dawned on him.
Everything has a price
I mean of course he knew it. Everything has their consequences. You just don't know how big those could be. That's the gamble. But this was the first time he really thought about it more than just having it be common sense.
Is it worth it?
He honestly couldn't answer that even if he wanted to. But he believes that there needs to be a few sacrifices for the greater good of others. It just so happens to be his best friend. As much as he didn't like it his instincts and intuition told him that he did the right thing. He would have to wait until the child was of age and come down here to fulfill the prophecy and hope that Hell would change for the better.
Sweet darkness he hoped that he did the right thing.
But that's all he really can do for the time being.
Is just sit back and hope.
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ingloriousblasters · 5 years
Text
Nightmares and Magic (Alan Pangborn x Reader)
A/N: So I realized that I list Pangborn a lot as one of my favorite Rooker characters, but have never written anything for him because it’s out of my comfort zone of Merle and Yondu lol. So I decided to give it a try, since it’s Halloween season and I’ve watched the Dark Half for like the third time this month. Inspiration for the character was taken from other’s portrayal of him (especially the not being a fan of halloween), things from Castle Rock, and a quick search of the character on the Stephen King wiki page (which is a pretty good black hole to get sucked into!) Sorry, this was a long note. 
No warnings really. Reader suffers from nightmares, but this one turned out pretty fluffy.  The rental car you were driving rolled to a stop, the tires flattening the red, gold, and brown leaves down onto the faded asphalt road. The heater in the car barely functioned and you waited at the one stop light in town bundled in your charcoal gray peacoat, black scarf and knitted beanie. Glancing around at the rundown buildings of Castle Rock, a flood of memories rushed over you.
After graduating high school, your visits back home became few and far between. There always seemed to be a dark cloud hanging over the small Maine town; either strange occurrences happened to you, or you knew someone who knew someone things happened to. Your senior year was plagued with missing children, escaped inmates, and a husband and wife found dead in the short lived bed and breakfast. When you broke ties with the town, it felt like a weight was lifted from your body.
Your mother's passing is what brought you back. With both parents gone now, you were the only one left to take care of the affairs. Arriving late last night to the two story Victorian, you were driving into town this morning to pick up some food at the convenience store. It hadn’t even been twenty four hours and you could already feel the internal dread seeping back into your body.
You walked into the small shop, grabbed a red plastic basket and started to roam the short aisles. Staring at a shelf holding multiple kinds of peanut butter, you zoned out. The lack of sleep from last night finally catching up to you, you failed to notice the male presence walk past you, stop, and then come back.
“(Y/n)?! Is that you?” a raspy voice called you out of your trance. Creasing your brows you turned, wondering who could have recognized you. Before you stood the town sheriff. His short brown curls framed his reddened, wind burned face and his lean, but bulky frame towered over you. Taking in the man’s whole appearance with his brown and tan uniform, it took you a minute to recognize him, but those sparkling blue eyes had failed to change over the years. Glancing down at his badge only confirmed your thoughts.
“Alan?!” you said surprised. “You’re the sheriff?”
“Somebody’s gotta look after this place,” he shrugged his shoulders. “How ya doin?”
You sighed at his question. Of course word had spread at the passing of your mother. It was the Castle Rock PD that notified you of her passing, after old Mrs. King placed in a call saying she hadn’t seen your mother come out of the house in a few days. The elderly woman was the eyes of Castle Rock, always peering out her forrest green shades to lurk at residents.
“I’m okay. Just weird being back,” you finally said to him.
“Yeah, thought I saw a light on at your mother’s place on patrol last night. Never thought I’d ever see the likes of you around here again.” Alan’s lips formed a small smile and your cheeks prickled. Even after all these years, he could still make your heart flutter.
You were only a freshman when he was a senior and dating Annie, but you’d had a crush on him ever since you were little. The Pangborns had lived only a couple houses down the street from you, and you spent many summer days sitting out in the front yard just to get a glimpse of him. On your walks to school he and Annie would always pass by in his car, and you’d spend the rest of your walk daydreaming about being in that car with him instead.
“Well, I’ll be here for awhile,” you said and grabbed a random jar of peanut butter. Alan followed you up and down the aisles of the store and you two started to reconnect. When you made it to the check out, he told you he had to get back on duty.
“Hey, if you’re free tomorrow night, wanna grab a drink at the Mellow Tiger?” He asked as he stuck his hands into the pockets of his brown pants.
“Sure,” you blushed.
--------------------------------------
Cleaning out the house proved more tiresome than you thought. Your mother never liked throwing anything away and the attic was littered with objects so that you couldn’t see the walls or floor. You rummaged through boxes upon boxes late into the evening and when you saw it was one in the morning decided to go to bed.
However, sleeping in the old structure proved difficult. You had forgotten how much you actually disliked the house you were raised in, especially at night. The groans and pops of the vintage pipes echoed throughout the frame and suddenly you remembered all those times as a child when you swore you could see shadowy figures down the hall. Somehow having both your parents in the house helped you swallow your fear back then. But now, alone in the big space, you realized just how scared you still were.
The floor creaked under your feet as you went to shut the door to your room, blocking out the long dark hallway, and you turned on the tv sitting on the dresser. Shutting off the light, the room glowed with the flickering picture from the television and you closed your eyes. The comforts of the closed door and the Golden Girls playing on the screen still didn’t seem to help as visions of shadowy figures plagued your dreams. You tried to escape the confines of the house but every door and window you pushed and pulled at were sealed shut. The dark masses slowly followed you around, until you had nowhere to go. Huddled in a corner, you folded your arms over your head as the black shadows grew closer and closer.
You woke up gasping for air and glanced at the alarm clock. It had only been an hour since you’d fallen asleep. Trying to find a comfortable position, you tossed and turned the rest of night, finally getting up when the sun began to rise. You continued to go through the contents of the attic until it was time to meet Alan at the bar.
Walking into the packed room, you saw the mass of curly hair over at a two seat table, picking at the label of his beer bottle. Still dressed in his uniform, Alan seemed to perk up when he saw you walking towards him. You ordered a bottle of beer as well when the waitress came over, and you and Alan picked up where you left off at the convenience store.
“So how long you planning on staying?” he asked taking a sip of beer. You watched as he licked his bottom lip clean of the couple drops that seeped from the bottle.
“Probably a couple weeks,” you finally said after you realized Alan had noticed you were watching him for a split second longer than normal. “Uh, I still have a lot of house cleaning and fixing up to do before even putting it on the market...If anyone will buy it.”  He nodded his head, real estate in Castle Rock wasn’t the wisest choice of investment. The night continued and a couple bottles of beer later you were ready to go home. Whether or not you would sleep was another question.
Alan paid for the tab and walked with you back to the rental car. “Ya good to drive?”
You smiled at him. Even when he was off duty, he was still on guard.
“Yep, I’m good.” you glanced around the small parking lot, looking for the tan suv he drove as sheriff. “Where’s your car?” you wondered.
“Oh, I walked here,” he stated. Creasing your brows in confusion, you looked around again. Certainly the amount of beer your had wasn’t affecting your hearing.
“Really? That’s kind of a far walk. Longview’s on the other side of town isn’t it?” you asked.
“Uh, actually,” Alan said, scratching the back of his neck in a nervous manner. “I live in the apartments just down the block. Didn’t really need all that space...anymore,” his voice grew softer as he finished his sentence. He gave a huff of a laugh to try and diffuse the situation, but it was too late. Your face fell flat at his words and your insides were turning over in embarrassment. He had lost Annie and his son to a car crash.
“Oh my god. I am so sorry!” you started apologizing profusely. You had forgotten about the phone call you received from your mother a few years ago about it. It was the talk of Castle Rock for a good six months.  “I am the biggest asshole ever. I didn’t --,”
“No, no no. It’s fine,” he waved his arm at you, letting you know you didn’t offend him “It’s alright. It’s been a few years since it happened. Probably should start going out more, at least that’s what Mrs. King says.”
Your heart started beating at a normal pace again at his words. You still thought you were the biggest idiot ever, but Alan had a way of calming you and your internal thoughts down. Even when you were younger and tripped in front of the whole school at lunch one day, faceplanting right into your tray of mashed potatoes and gravy. While everyone laughed, he came over to help you up.
“Can’t tell you how many times she’s set me up when I check in on her,” he shook his head.
“Oh, I’d love to see that,” you laughed.
“No, you wouldn’t” he deadpanned, though you could see the hint of a smile on his face. Alan opened the car door for you and both of you agreed to meet up again the same time tomorrow night.
--------------------------
For the next week it became routine; meet up with Alan at the bar, head home and be tormented by the same nightmare, sleep for maybe an hour at sunrise, get up and clean out the house, and then go meet Alan again. By the seventh day you couldn’t hide the bags under your eyes anymore and Alan finally spoke up.
“Are you alright?” his eyes grew concerned as you zoned out while looking at the late night menu.
“Mhmm, fine. Just haven’t been sleeping all that great,” you shrugged it off. You didn’t want to bother him with your small problems when he had a town’s worth to deal with. He didn’t press any further, but watched you closely the rest of the night. You finished your meals and drinks and headed out to the parking lot.
“So, same time tomorrow?” you asked while fishing out the keys to the car in your purse.
“Um,’ Alan cleared his throat. “I’m gonna have to pass on tomorrow.”
“Oh,” you lowered your face, a little hurt at his words. Out of everything you were dealing with, your nights with Alan were the highlight. You thought maybe he had a ‘Mrs.King-inspired’ date, but Alan read your demeanor and was quick to clarify.
“Tomorrow’s Halloween. I don’t do Halloween.”
You looked at him confused.
“It’s my one night off and I tend to spend it at home, alone. Let the other officers handle the crazies,” he explained.
“Got it,” you nodded and stuck the key into the car door to unlock it. You were about to get in when Alan spoke up.
“You got a pen?” he asked while his hands moved up and down his body, feeling his pockets. You dug into your purse again and came out with a blue ink pen. He grabbed it with one hand while the other reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wrinkled receipt. Alan put the paper on the hood of your car and began to write.
“If you need me tomorrow, this is my home number,” he said, closing the pen and handing you the piece of paper. “I mean it. Anything at all, I’m just a phone call away.”
“Thanks,” you smiled and stuck the paper into your purse. He hugged you goodnight and waited until you left the parking lot to start walking back to his place.  
--------------------------
The next day played out as usual. You had managed to make it through the attic in the week you had been here and were now starting on the damp, dark, unfinished basement. Glancing down at your watch, it was close to eight at night. Since it was technically a holiday, you decided to end your work early and see if maybe you’d finally be tired enough to fall into a deep sleep with no dreaming at all. Walking up the wooden staircase to the first floor, you shut off all the lights as you went around. You weren’t in the Halloween spirit and didn’t want to chance any wayward trick or treaters coming to the door.
Getting to the second floor, you changed out of your jeans and sweater and into an oversized navy blue tshirt. In keeping with tradition, you closed the door to the bedroom and switched on the tv to help lull you to sleep. You nestled further into the covers, your body starting to relax and soon the voices on the television faded away.
You were in the basement again, packing away black and white photos of unknown ancestors when a chill ran through your body. Your heart pounded against your chest as you slowly turned around and saw nothing but darkness, the black shadows inches away from you. You screamed and tried to run to the staircase but tripped and the creatures took their chance and swarmed you. When they touched you, you flinched at the coldness and the jerk of your body forced you awake. Gasping underneath the sheets, tears ran down your face. You weren’t sure how much more of this you could take.
Once your breathing was under control you got out of bed and reached into your purse laying on the ground. Pulling out the receipt Alan had left his number on, you searched for the cordless phone in your room but couldn’t find it. Opening the door to the bedroom, you quickly felt for the hall light switch on the wall and turned it on. Tiptoeing your way to the hallway railing, which allowed you to see the entire living room below, you could make out the phone sitting on the couch. You inhaled a deep breath and slowly walked down the hall, to the stairs, and briskly crossed the open floor to the couch and picked up the bulky gray phone. Your thumb hovered over the on button when you second guessed yourself. It was late, you were being silly and didn’t want to disturbed Alan on his one night off.
Then you heard it. Multiple deep pounds near the back of the house by the kitchen followed by the creak of one of the windows. You screamed, and as you ran back up the staircase, you saw out of the corner of your eye a shadowy figure heading away from the house through the bay window. Clutching the phone and paper tightly in your hand you plowed into the hall bathroom, locked the door, and dialed Alan’s number. The line clicked.
“Hello?” his groggy voice answered.
“Alan?” you squeaked.
“(Y/n)?” he said, a little more awake.
“I’m sorry. I woke you up,”
“No, it’s fine. What’s wrong?”
You swallowed back a sob. “I...I think someone tried to break in the house.”
“What?” you could hear the clank of his recliner move as he bolted upright. “Are you ok? Where are you?”
“I locked myself in the upstairs bathroom,” you said as you heard him shuffling around in the background.
“Ok, stay there. I’m on my way,”
“No, please don’t hang up,” you whined. There was a pause on the phone.
“Sweetheart,” Alan sighed. “I gotta hang up in order to get to you. If something happens, I want you to call Mary at the station. She’ll patch me through alright?”
“Ok” you nodded.
“Alright, I’m gonna hang up now. I’ll be there ten minutes tops.”
“Frog,” you called out before he hung up.
“What?” Alan asked, wondering if you’d had a stroke as well.
“My...my mom kept a spare key under the frog in the flowerbed,” you told him. Alan acknowledged the information and then you heard the click of the phone again.
Huddled in the corner between the tub and sink, it felt like hours before you heard footsteps on the porch and the front door open. A few moments later, there was a knock at the bathroom door.
“(y/n) it’s Alan. You can open up the door,” his warm voice called. For the first time all night you finally felt relieved. Unfolding your arms from your legs, you stood up on the cold tile floor and unlocked the door. Your eyes did a double take when you saw Alan standing there in his brown jacket, gray sweatshirt and pants, and white tennis shoes. Your mind still expecting to see him in uniform for some reason.
“You ok?” he asked. For a split second, you saw his eyes grow large at your minimal attire before his stoic sheriff face came back. You nodded your head and he gathered you in his arms. Burying your face in his chest, his mint and woodsy smell help calm your body. He walked you back to your room where you both sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Walked the perimeter and checked everything inside. Found some muddy footprints and empty beer cans at the edge of the woods out back. My guess is it was some kids thinking this place was abandoned,” he told you. You nodded your head and thanked him. Alan went downstairs to get you a glass of water and seeing your still worried look, reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a coin.
“Hey” he said softly and sat back down getting your attention. He made sure he saw the quarter in his hand before twirling it through his fingers and it disappeared. You smiled and let out a laugh.
“So you don’t do Halloween, but you like magic?” you lifted an eyebrow. Alan shook his head.
“It’s different,” he stated as the quarter reappeared in his palm. “Magic is a science. An illusion takes practice and precision.” He swiftly moved his hands again and it vanished. “There’s no surprises because I’m in control,” he tucked a strand of hair behind your ear and the quarter emerged when he brought his hand back. “Halloween is a bunch of teenagers trying to break into an abandoned house and raise the dead,” he sighed. You took a sip of water and laid back against the headboard.
“Can I get you anything else?” he asked as he got up.
“Uhh” you started. You weren’t sure how he would react to your request. “Could you maybe... stay a little while? I haven’t really slept a whole lot since I’ve been here.”
Alan’s blue eyes met yours and you saw him swallow the lump in his throat. “Oh, sure” he agreed. He walked back over, taking his jacket off and sliding his shoes off his feet. Slowly he got onto the bed and sat next to you. You scooted down to rest your head on the pillows and laid in silence as both of you watched old reruns of a black and white sitcom. Sometime in the middle of the night you tossed and turned, but could hear Alan’s calming voice next to you, calling you out of the nightmare.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m right here,” he whispered. You turned at the sound of his voice and instead of the cold touch of the dark figures, you felt warm hands wrap around your body. You nuzzled up to the broad frame, falling back asleep.
--------------------------
The sound of the toilet flushing down the hall woke you up, and you were surprised to see sunlight illuminating the room. The shuffling of feet came closer and Alan walked back into the bedroom to see you awake and smiled.
“Morning. How’d you sleep?” he asked as he grabbed his shoes and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Honestly,” you said. “That was probably the best night of sleep I’ve had since I’ve been here.”
“Yeah, I slept pretty good too,” Alan admitted. “I, uh, better get going though. Gonna be late to work.” You grabbed the fleece blanket draped over the wingback chair and wrapped it around your body before walking Alan down to the front door. Standing in the entrance foyer, you thanked him again.
“Hey, if you’re free after your shift tonight would you like to come back over? I can make dinner or something,” you suggested.
“Sure, sounds great,” he said throwing on his jacket.
“Great,” you agreed. Noticing a tuft of curly hair sticking up on the side of his head, you brushed your hand over his soft hair to try and smooth it out. Alan took the opportunity of you being so close and gave you a soft kiss.
“Till then,” he said and opened the front door. Smiling, you watched him walk down the porch steps and into his suv.
As promised, Alan came back later that night, and the next night, and the night after that. Soon, he stayed permanently, both of you becoming each other’s light underneath the dark dome of Castle Rock.
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thefemalethatwrites · 6 years
Text
Canary Arrow (Jason Todd x Reader) Part 2
Request: No
Prompt: You come back from the future with Impulse (Bart Allen)
Relationship: Jason Todd x Reader, Father! Green Arrow/Oliver Queen x Daughter! Reader, Mother! Black Canary/Dinah Lance x Daughter! Reader
Warning: Cursing, Death, Mentions of Death, Torture, Mentions of Torture
Word Count: 6894
A/N: SO here’s Part 2. Enjoy, and please request.
PART 1
~~~
“Can someone explain why I was pulled away from eating?” Bart and Wally complained in unison as they entered the training room alongside everyone else,
“Because I called you all here to train” Dinah stated,
“No offense Dinah but I don’t want to fight you while you’re carrying a child” Kaldur said, I scoffed and pushed off the wall
“Well it’s a good thing that you’re not training against her then” I say as I stood next to her,
“Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to Canary Arrow” Dinah introduced,
“This is so crash! You never trained with me in the future” Bart said, I narrowed my eyes at him,
“Because you’re too cocky with using your speed” I say,
“Am not” He pouted,
“Come up and show me” I say as I set my bow and arrows down, everyone surround the arena as Bart prepare himself, he ran at me and I easily flipped him over my shoulder on to his back,
“Fail; Impulse” The computer announced,
“Computer, neutralise speed” I ordered,
“Wait what?!” Bart exclaimed, standing up,
“You’ve just lost your abilities and you’re surrounded by enemies. What do you do?” I asked as I stalked him, I could see the panic rising in his eyes, so I stopped in front of him, “Computer, return speed” I ordered, I noticed that some of the fear had gone from his eyes, “Allen?” I asked tilting my head,
“Impulse, are you alright?” Dinah asked as she came over to us, I placed my hand on his shoulder making him react by pinning me against the wall and began to phase his hand
“Impulse! Stand down!” Dick yelled,
“Shouting at him is not going to help” Dinah said.
“Allen, look at me” I say, his hand stopped, and he let go of me,
“I’m sorry” He whispered as tears appeared in his eyes,
“You’re okay” I say patting his shoulder, I walked back into the arena, “Who’s next?” I asked, Kaldur stepped up, “Water-boy” I teased, he glared at me making me smirk, my com began to ring as he swung at me, I avoided it “Hello?” I answered,
“(Y/N), it’s Jason” He replied,
“Oh, hey. What’s up?” I asked as I jumped over Kaldur and kicked him in the back,
“Is this a bad time?” He asked,
“What? No. I’m just training the YJL” I answered,
“Ooo, who you against?” He asked, I rolled my eyes as I blocked a kick,
“Aqua-lad. Why did you call?” I asked as I upper-cut him sending on to his back,
“Fail; Aqua-lad” The computer stated,
“Nightwing, you’re up” Dinah ordered,
“Did I hear that correct?” Jason asked,
“Hear what?” I asked as Dick stepped into the arena,
“That you’re against Nightwing now” He said,
“You ears don’t fail you. Now can you tell me why you called?” I asked as Dick swung at me,
“Ah, yes. Are you free, this evening?” He asked,
“This evening? Yeah, why?” I asked as I narrowly missed Dick’s roundhouse kick,
“Personal life later (Y/N)” Dinah scolded.
“I’m doing your job for you, Dinah. Let me plan my evening” I snap back as I got a right hook on Dick’s face followed by a kick in the stomach,
“Well, I’ll come pick you up at 8 so dress smart-casual” Jason said,
“You’re going to come to the Manor? Are you sure about that?” I asked as I flipped backwards,
“Yeah” He answered,
“I’ll see you at 8 then” I say,
“Definitely” He said before hanging up, I quickly swung my legs underneath Dick making him land on his back,
“Fail; Nightwing” The computer announced,
“I expected better” I comment, he swung his legs underneath mine but I saw it coming, avoided it and smirked at him,
“Training’s over” Dinah announced,
“I got pulled from food for nothing” Wally whined,
“Did you want your ass kicking that bad?” I asked as I followed them out,
“No” He answered,
“Thought as much” I chuckled before I walked past them and to the zeta tube, I typed in the co-ordinates for the bat-cave and went through,
“Miss (L/N), it’s good to see you” Alfred said,
“Hello Gramp Alfred” I smiled as I went to change out of my suit,
“You seem jolly. May I ask why?” He asked, I chuckled
“Well, I’ve got a date this evening” I answered,
“Date? I heard the word date” Bruce said as he came down, I rolled my eyes
“You heard correctly Uncle Bruce. He’s coming to pick me up at 8” I say as I went over to them both,
“Just be careful” He said,
“Don’t stress. You’ll get more wrinkles” I teased walking away from them,
“Wrinkles? I don’t have wrinkles do I Alfred?” He questioned making me smirk as I went upstairs.
***
“It’s your fault I’m dead (Y/N)” Lian said as she approached me with her head bleeding from the bullet,
“Lian-I-”
“You let us all down” Arron said as he came from behind me with his throat sliced,
“I’m sorry” I apologised,
“You said we were family. We’re dead (Y/N), and we aren’t coming back” Alexandro stated as he approached from another angle with the dagger in his chest,
“We were. We still are. Please, I’m sorry” I cried,
“You’re pathetic Canary. You let your family down, what will you do next? Hmm” A shadowy figure asked,
“No, you’re not real. You’re not in this time” I say,
“Who said you were in the past? I’m always going to be with you because I made you what you are” They said, my eyes widened, and I shook my head
“That’s not true! You’re not real” I cried as I blocked my ears from their laughter.
“(Y/N) wake up” Bruce said as he shook me, I sat up straight panting, I noticed Bruce sat on the edge of my bed with Alfred stood behind him, both of them had worried expressions,
“I’m sorry I woke you both” I sighed,
“Nonsense, Miss (Y/N)” Alfred said,
“Alfred can you go make some hot chocolate” Bruce asked, Alfred nodded and disappeared out of the room,
“It’s my fault” I comment as I buried my head in my hands as tears streamed down my face,
“That’s not true (Y/N), you came back to stop the course of the future. They all knew what that meant” Bruce said as he pulled me into a hug, allowing me to cry into his shoulder,
“I was meant to look after them. I was meant to protect them” I sobbed,
“(Y/N), look at me” Bruce said as he pulled away, I looked up at him and he sighed “What happened to your team after you left is not your fault. It’s whoever were commanding them attackers” He said, I sighed before Alfred came in with a tray of hot chocolates, he handed one to me and Bruce before he took one for himself, I took a sip and smiled
“These haven’t changed” I commented,
“Huh?” Alfred said,
“When I came over and slept over, it was extremely often that I had nightmares and you made your hot chocolate specially for me” I smiled at the memory,
“Well, I’ll look forward to that” He smiled as I finished off my hot chocolate, Alfred took the cup off me and Bruce and left the room,
“You going to be okay?” Bruce asked, I nodded
“I’ll be fine, Uncle Bruce. Thanks” I say, he gave a half-smile and patted my knee before turning out my light and closing the door, I sighed running a hand over my face, laid down and drifted back asleep.
“Now, what do we have here?” Someone chuckled, I looked around the room, but I couldn’t see anyone, I tried to move but my arms stung making me look at them to find them barb-wired to the wall making my eyes widened,
“No. No” I panicked as I struggled against them causing more pain,
“No matter how hard you struggle little Canary, you won’t get out of here. And no one cares enough about you to search for you” They taunted, I sighed and hung my head as tears welled up in my eyes,
“Mum, Dad, Connor. Please” I sobbed,
“Aw, little Canary’s crying for help. Shame no one cares” They laughed.
“(Y/N). (Y/N)” Someone said as they shook me, I shot up again panting and crying, “Hey, you’re alright. I’ve got you” Jason shushed, and he pulled me into a hug, I eventually calmed down and he sat next to me, “You want to talk about it?” He asked, I remained quiet and he sighed before standing up and getting me up, “Come on” He said as he took me out of the window and on to the roof, he sat down and pulled me down to sit between his legs as he wrapped his arms around me, “Whenever I have nightmares I always find it relaxing to look up at the night sky” He whispered, I sighed
“Well, as you know I was tortured and murdered, so that’s the nightmare you woke me from but a couple hours after Allen and myself arrived here my team was slaughtered by the assholes we’ve come to know as the attackers. While I was waiting for Bruce to arrive my com was still connected to them and Admin had made a modification to it, so I was able to see what he was seeing and-” I cut myself off with a sob, he pulled me further back into his chest and rested his head on my shoulder,
“I’m sure Bruce has already told you but that wasn’t your fault. You can’t blame yourself” He said kissing my cheek.
***
“Remind me again why it’s always us that train the young ones?” I asked Dinah as we arrived inside Mount Justice,
“The kids trust me and since I’m pregnant and you’re the second best to me, it’s suitable for you to train them” She explained,
“Hey (Y/N), Dinah” Roy greeted, I tilted my head
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked,
“Dinah asked me to help you with training” He answered, I sighed
“And how are you going to help?” I asked as we made our way to the training where everyone was waiting,
“Roy!” Wally cheered as he appeared in front of him,
“Have fun, Speedy” I smirked as his face went dark,
“It’s Red Arrow” He growled making my smirk widen,
“Today, you will all be working as a team to take down Canary Arrow and Red Arrow” Dinah announced,
“Weapons or not?” I asked her as Roy and myself stood in front of the group,
“Weapons allowed” She answered, I pulled my bow out along with Roy, “The rules are; if you fail you’re ‘dead’ meaning you stand out on the side. Understood?” Dinah explained, we all nodded
“Don’t try to take them all on” Roy said as he prepared himself,
“Don’t fail then” I say as we stood back-to-back as the others circled us,
“Begin” Dinah ordered, Roy and myself had taken down about half of them leaving; Dick, Connor, Tim, Wally, Artemis, M’Gann and Kaldur, when Roy began to struggle against the boys, I rolled my eyes as I ran towards him sliding underneath Kaldur and Dick’s attack and kicking Connor in the chest away from Roy then landing a roundhouse kick in Wally and Tim’s face as I landed in front of Roy,
“Can’t handle a couple of boys?” I teased, he rolled his eyes as we stood back-to-back, I ducked under Roy’s bow as he attacked me, “What the hell are you doing?!” I growled as I jumped over him, my eyes darted to M’Gann and sighed as I quickly fired a couple of arrows at her letting her mind control stop,
“Fail; Red Arrow” The computer said, I turned my head to see Kaldur and Connor standing over him, I sighed
“Can you doing anything correct, Uncle Roy?” I taunted,
“Uncle?” Wally asked before I swept him off his feet,
“Fail; Kid-Flash” The computer stated, I looked over the remaining as they stood in front of me,
“Bring it” I smirked, they all came to attack me, I quickly jumped over Tim’s attack and kicked Dick and Kaldur in the face knocking them on to their backs,
“Fail; Aqua-Lad and Nightwing” The computer said, I grabbed the arrow that Artemis shot at me before elbowing Tim in the gut then swinging my leg under him, sending him on to his back,
“Fail; Robin” The computer announced before I was pinned against the wall by Connor, I gasped as he winded me, I kicked him in the stomach sending him away from me and into M’Gann, I groaned as I felt my ribs repair themselves, I quickly shot a smoke arrow giving myself some cover, I hit Artemis in the back of the knee with my bow,
“Fail; Artemis” The computer stated before the smoke cleared and I noticed M’Gann land next to Connor, I glanced at Roy and winked, he covered his ears before I used my Canary Cry making everyone else in the room groan in pain, M’Gann fell on to her front shortly followed by Connor making me stop
“Fail; Miss Martian and Superboy” The computer announced as they got up, I smirked and bowed at the group,
“Well, you lasted longer than I expected” Dinah commented as she stood next to me,
“I thought you asked them to work as a team” I asked,
“I did” She answered,
“Well, the way I see it is that they didn’t. Each of them were just waiting to initiate their attack, the closest I saw to team work was Robin and Nightwing, and Artemis and Kid-Flash” I explained, she nodded
“She’s right. Did you all notice how when Red Arrow was in trouble, Canary was quick to react and get him out of that situation. Not one of you helped the other when they were at their mercy” Dinah explained before she grabbed on to my arm as she gasp, my eyes widened
“Sh*t. I do choose great moments” I muttered as I scooped her up into a bridal style,
“What’s happening?!” Roy asked as they all followed me out of the room.
“Stay here” I ordered as I typed the co-ordinates to the Bat-cave and walked through,
“Miss (Y/N). What’s the matter?” Alfred asked as he made his way towards us,
“Baby me is about to be born” I replied, his eyes widened,
“Come on. We’ll set her up in a room upstairs” He ordered as he lead the way,
“Ollie” Dinah whimpered,
“I’ll get him. Just focus on breathing” I say as I laid her on the bed,
“Miss Lance, you’ll have to change into this” Alfred said as he handed her a hospital gown,
“I’m going to alert Oliver” I say to Alfred, he nodded, and I went out of the room, “Oliver? Do you copy?” I asked into the com, it was quiet “B? Have you got eyes on Oliver?” I asked,
“I do. What’s up?” He asked,
“Dinah’s fallen into labour” I answer,
“Green Arrow” Bruce said,
“Batman” He replied,
“Dinah’s gone into labour” Bruce said,
“What?! Where is she?!” Oliver panicked,
“She’s with me at Wayne Manor” I answered,
“We’re coming” Bruce replied before I cut off with them, I stood outside the room waiting for them then Oliver came running up the stairs, almost falling over, with the Justice League following him,
“Where is she?!” He yelled grabbing my shoulders, I removed his hands from me and mentioned the room, he went inside, and the League approached me,
“Happy birthday” Clark smiled, I nodded
“Thanks” I say before my com began to ring,
“Hello?” I answered,
“Happy birthday doll” Jason said before there was gunshots in the background,
“Thanks babe. Where are you?” I smiled,
“Kicking ass” He answered,
“I guessed by the gunshots” I chuckled, he chuckled
“I’ll come see you later, okay?” He asked,
“See you later” I say before he hung up, I turned back to the League, who were raising an eyebrow at me, “What?” I asked,
“Who was that?” Barry asked,
“A friend” I answered,
“So you call all your friends ‘babe’?” Hal teased, I rolled my eyes
“Does it matter? If (Y/N) is happy then we should accept that” Diana said giving me a smile, I nodded, “Even if she’s being secretive” She commented,
“Seriously?” I exclaimed making them all but Bruce chuckle,
“Who is he?” Bruce questioned,
“One guess” I say, he sighed
“It’s not, is it?” He asked,
“I don’t know who you’re on about” I say containing a smirk,
“Jason” Bruce said firmly,
“Hello old man” Jason’s voice said from behind me, I quickly turned around to see him standing there, I tackled him with a hug
“You said you were coming later” I say as I pulled away,
“I may have lied” he smirked, I narrowed my eyes at him before Bruce cleared his throat making me turn back to him only to notice Alfred stood there as well,
“They want to see you Miss (Y/N)” Alfred said, I nodded and went into the room to find Dinah cradling infant me as Oliver sat next to them,
“You wanted me?” I asked as I approached them,
“Should anything happen to us while you’re here will you take care of Connor and yourself?” Dinah asked, I nodded
“Of course. I think Aunt Diana going to break down the door if you don’t invite them in” I say, they chuckled and nodded so I opened the door “You can all come in” I say, Diana barged passed me to see infant me, they all crowded around the bed, giving congratulations and saying how adorable I was, Jason wrapped an arm over my shoulder’s
“You were so cute, what happened?” He asked, I punched him in the gut “Ow” He groaned as he buckled over,
“What was that? I didn’t hear over how cute I am” I smirked as I bent down to him, he narrowed his eyes at me before standing up straight,
“You’re lucky I love you” He whispered, I smiled as I stood up straight,
“Well, I suppose it’s a good thing that I love you too, Jason” I smiled, he returned it before pulling me into a kiss, we broke apart when Oliver cleared his throat so I turned to face them,
“Who’s this?” Dinah asked, we approached the bedside
“Jason meet my parents” I introduced, their jaws dropped,
“(Y/N), you realise that you just-”
“I know exactly what I did Uncle Barry” I snap cutting him off, my eyes trailed down to infant me,
“Would you care to hold yourself?” Oliver Dad asked, I looked up at him finding him giving me a genuine smile, I slowly nodded as Mum handed me over, I stared at infant me sleeping form
“I want to hold the baby” Diana complained, I rolled my eyes before I felt a presence behind me,
“You don’t look like you can kick ass” Jason commented, I raised an eyebrow as I looked up at him,
“Seriously?” I asked, he smirked before kissing my forehead.
***
I put my feet up on the table as the Justice League members engaged in conversations, I sighed as I stared up at the ceiling in boredom, that was before Dad appeared above me,
“You alright there, kiddo?” He asked, I stood up
“The boredom’s getting to me” I say, he chuckled
“Well, you’ll be back to training with the young ones when your mum’s suitable to come back” He stated,
“I’m surprise I miss them” I confess, he smiled and went to say something but was cut off by the computer screening a scene, my eyes widened before I quickly typed in the co-ordinates for Star city, ran through it and ran home, I picked up speed when I saw one of the attackers going towards Mum who was shielding, Lian, who had hold of me and Connor, I drove an arrow through the skull of it and kicked it to the floor,
“Are you okay?” I asked, they all nodded “Come on. I need to get you safe” I ordered as I mentioned back to the zeta tube,
“(Y/N)…” Mum trailed off as I snapped the necks of two more attackers,
“Go! I’ll be fine!” I ordered, she reluctantly nodded and escorted the kids to the tube, I kept them covered until they got through the tube safely and it had shut down, I was easily getting swarmed by the attackers, I was kicked to the ground and they circled me before several explosive arrows took down most of them and a hand was held out to me,
“Thought you could use a hand” A female voice said, my eyes widened as I looked up and saw Lian in her Red Hood outfit, I took her hand and she pulled me to my feet.
“I thought you were dead. I watched you die” I say,
“That would be our clones that Admin created” She explained,
“So you’re all alive?” I asked, she nodded
“It was our clones that sent you off. We knew the attackers would be on our tails immediately after we sent you back” She clarified,
“I’m so going to kick your ass when we’ve dealt with these” I growled, she smiled
“You haven’t changed on bit” She commented as we stood back-to-back preparing ourselves, “Shall we?” She asked,
“Let’s dance” I smirked causing her to chuckled before we took down the attackers, we looked around to make sure we got them before walking up to each other, I punched her in the arm making her yelp in pain, “That’s for not telling me the plan” I growled and pulled her into a hug, “That’s for being alive” I sighed pulling away, she laughed wrapping an arm over my shoulder’s
“Missed you too cuz” She smiled as we made our way over to the zeta tube, I put in the Justice League’s headquarters co-ordinates before walking through with Lian, we were met by the league and Lian stared at her father as they all gathered round,
“Is Mum alright?” I asked Dad making Lian gasp, I raised an eyebrow at her
“Who are you and what have you done with (Y/N)?” She questioned,
“Get over yourself Red. I’ve had a change of heart towards them” I say rolling my eyes, she narrowed her eyes at me before her eyes drifted to our younger selves,
“See, looking after your ass since day one” She said mentioning how her younger self was holding me, I sighed running a hand over my face,
“Would you like to introduce yourself, or shall I?” I asked as I noticed all the confused looks,
“You can” She smiled,
“Everyone, this is Lian Harper, aka Red Hood, she’s a teammate from the future” I introduced, she took down her hood and smiled at them all, I noticed Roy’s jaw drop as he looked between the Lian’s, Mum removed me from Lian’s hold before she came over to her future self,
“Damn, I look bad ass” She commented
“Language” Roy said,
“Honestly Dad, no matter how many times you’ve said that to me, I still do it” Future Lian sighed,
“Is no one else confused?” Barry asked making most of us chuckle,
“Oh, Uncle B. Our house is slightly f*cked up-”
“Language” Dad growled cutting me off, I rolled my eyes
“Messed up from the attackers so can we stay at the manor” I corrected,
“Sure” Bruce replied, “Thanks Bruce” Mum said, as Dad sent him a nod.
***
We arrived in the Manor and Lian gasped,
“This place hasn’t changed one bit” She commented,
“Gush later Lian” I say as I lead her upstairs into my room, I closed the door “What are you doing here?” I questioned,
“(Y/N), it’s gotten a lot worse since you and Bart left. The attackers are slaughtering the League so easy. Admin and Titan will be coming soon” She explained,
“Please tell me you know who else is ruling alongside BB” I plead, she shook her head
“Admin was getting close though when I left” She said, I groaned running a hand over my face,
“Right, Allen’s working on keeping BB from going down the wrong path. So, we’ll have to catch him up when the other two get here” I say, mostly to myself,
“What are we going to do?” She asked,
“Should anymore attackers come, we’re are the only ones who know how to deal with them, so we’ll take them down” I say,
“Can’t we teach the League?” She asked,
“No. This stays between us Misfits. Should the other leader be a part of the league and we tell them how we defeat them, it can change the future big-time, they’ll make it, so we can’t kill them” I explained, she nodded and sighed
“(Y/N), there’s something you should know about Connor” She said,
“What about him?” I asked, she hesitated before I pinned her to the door, “Tell me!” I ordered,
“BB killed him. He was protecting me while the machine was preparing” She explained with tears in her eyes, I let go of her and let out a frustrated sighed before punching the wall,
“F*ck” I muttered,
“I’m sorry” She apologised, I looked up at her
“What do you mean? If you’re blaming yourself for it, don’t. Connor knew what he was getting into. Lian look at me” I say, “My brother died saving you because he loved you. He did do for a while. He had hope that you would save the future” I say,
“You told me that me that he didn’t, for years” She said looking betrayed, I rolled my eyes “Why?” She questioned, I remained quiet, “Dammit (Y/N)! Tell me, why?!” She yelled,
“We didn’t have time for relationships!” I snapped,
“No, you didn’t. You didn’t let anything get in the way of the mission” She retorted,
“Yes! I know! I was cruel cousin! But I kept us all alive them years, did I not?!” I yelled,
“And a relationship wouldn’t have kept us alive?” She asked, I glared at her making her scoff, “You’re unbelievable. It’s no wonder that no one came to save you” She snapped, my eyes widened
“Leave” I seethed, the realisation hit her as all the anger in her features were replaced with guilt,
“(Y/N), I-”
“Get out Red!” I screamed, she quickly left the room and I sat down on my bed and sighed, there was a knock on my door before it slowly opened revealing Jason, he closed it behind him and kneeled in front of me,
“You okay?” He asked,
“Peachy” I answered giving a fake smile, he sighed and pulled me into a hug, to which I broke down in, he picked me up and sat me on his lap on the bed.
***
I sighed as I twirled an arrow in my hand, Lian and myself had to babysit the younger us and Connor,
“Hi Uncle Jay” Young Lian greeted, I stopped twirling the arrow and turned around to see him walking over to me, I smiled at him as he bent down giving me a kiss, earning a scoff from older Lian, I rolled my eyes
“What’s with you?” Jason asked as he looked over to her,
“What’s wrong with me? Well, your girlfriend said that we didn’t have time for relationships, but I guess that doesn’t include her” She sneered,
“She’s still being sour about me not telling her about Connor loving her” I translate, he hummed before I heard an explosion outside, I got up and looked out of the window to see attackers coming through a portal,
“I’m not being sour. I could have been happy with him. He could still be alive” She snapped, I rolled my eyes
“We don’t have time for this” I say,
“Oh no, we never do. (Y/N)’s always got her mind on the mission, can’t deal with personal issues” She retorted, I growled and punched her in the face, “I said we don’t have time for this because we’ve got company. Now, you protect these. I’ll handle the rest” I ordered as I made my way out of the room,
“Typical!” She yelled after me,
“She’s seriously got to get over it” I mumbled as I got outside, I raised an eyebrow as I noticed Admin and Titan fighting against the attackers, I jumped straight into the action,
“Canary” Titan greeted,
“Good to see you two again” I say,
“Let’s give them hell” Admin smirked, I nodded and we all got to work taking down the attackers, I heard a window smash making my head snap round to see a group of attackers getting into the manor,
“F*ck! Admin portal now!” I yelled, he threw one open and I jumped through it knocking down two attackers, the portal closed, and I killed the group and they was a cheer from the doorway, I looked up to see young Lian smiling and clapping,
“Should we be worried that the younger you likes violence?” Admin asked as he and Titan came inside,
“Nope” Older Lian answered as she approached them and gave them a hug, “Glad you made it” She smiled pulling away, younger Lian was joined by Connor and Jason, who was holding younger me, at the door, moments later the Justice League burst through front door and went into defensive mode when they noticed Admin and Titan, I stood in front of them
“I suggest you all ease up. These are my other two teammates from the future; Alexandro Mikael, aka Admin, and Arron Yeager, aka Titan” I introduced, Arron pulled himself from the nape and stood next to me,
“Why is it when one of your team appears these ‘attackers’ always follow?” Clark asked, I noticed Arron and Alexandro tense up,
“Because in case you haven’t noticed we’re trying to save the future” I growled glaring at him.
“It’s also because they’re trying to kill (Y/N), well infant (Y/N)” Alexandro stated,
“They’re what?” I asked turning to him,
“You’re the leaders biggest threat so if he kills you when you’re an infant then you’ll never exist” He explained, I groaned
“Sh*t just got so much complicated. We’ll have to meet up with Allen and have a debrief” I say,
“A debrief?” Bruce asked,
“Yeah. At first it was just me, Alexandro and Arron, as the Misfits. Then Allen joined the group and then Red Riding Hood over here found out I was alive and joined” I say,
“I won’t hesitate to kill you again” Lian threatened, I chucked at the empty threat
“Course you won’t. Now, if you won’t mind monitoring infant me until we’ve returned, thank you” I say as I lead the way through the league and Admin threw open a portal to which we all walked through to find Allen and Jaime relaxing on the couch, I cleared my throat “Allen” I say gaining his attention, “Debrief” I say as I mentioned him to follow, Admin opened another portal to which we walked through and arrived in an abandoned apartment, “Alright, Admin what you got?” I asked,
“BB and Superman. They’re the leaders” He stated, my eyes widened
“Superman?” Allen questioned,
“Yeah, after Lois’ death he started going down a dark path” He answered,
“Right. Allen, how’s it going with BB?” I asked,
“Good?” He answered unsurely as his cheeks became red.
“Oh, sweet mother of God” I groaned running a hand over my face,
“What?” Arron asked,
“Allen’s in an intimate relationship with BB” I state making Allen turn redder from embarrassment, the others jaw dropped as they stared at him,
“Aw little Bart’s growing up” Lian teased,
“Enough” I sighed gaining their attention again,
“Your relationship may actually help us. Don’t let him out of your sight, and if he looks like he’s straying away bring him back, understood?” I asked, Allen nodded and saluted,
“Red Hood, Admin and Titan get the pleasure of monitoring younger me and Lian, and then when it comes to it, your younger selves as well” I ordered, they all nodded “Alright, let’s hope this works” I say before Admin opened up two portals, one for Allen and one for the rest of us, we walked through and found the Justice league attempting to fight off the attackers,
“We leave for five minutes. Honestly” Lian scoffed, I heard the infant me cry making my eyes widened as I noticed attackers flying in the air with me,
“Titan throw me” I ordered, he quickly transformed and threw me up to the attackers, I kicked the one that had hold of infant me, grabbed infant me and fell back towards the ground,
“Titan catch her!” I heard Lian order, I cradled little me into my chest as I felt Titan catch us and land on the ground, I pulled little me away from my chest only to have her beaming up at me, I ducked underneath an attackers attack and rammed an arrow through its skull, I quickly removed my leather jacket and created it as a carrier for little me, I notched an arrow in my bow and fired it into the skull of one that was about to attack Lian, her eyes widened as she turned around to see it fall, I swung around kicking one down and slamming another arrow into its forehead, I quickly looked around to see that they had all been dealt with, I sighed and stood up straight
“Thanks” Lian said as she came over to me, I nodded and removed little me from the makeshift carrier, I was still beaming and clapping my hands,
“Looks like Lian’s not the only one who likes violence” Alexandro commented as he and Arron came over to me,
“I was surrounded by superheroes, what did you expect?” I asked as I looked over at the league staring at something, I lead the group over and saw one of the attackers kneeling in front of Clark, I growled and passed little me to Mum
“Canary” Arron said with a warning tone, I pushed through the league and grabbed the attackers throat pulling him to his feet,
“Give me one good reason not to rip you apart” I growled as I twirled an arrow in my hand,
“Go to hell Canary” They spat,
“I’ll see you there” I smirked before shoving the arrow into his eye, I dropped it to the ground and removed my arrow and cleaned it before putting it away,
“You just murdered a valuable witness” Clark said, I rolled my eyes
“No, I killed an enemy” I state turning to him, his eyes began to glow red, I nodded towards Alexandro and a kryptonite blade appeared in my hand and I stabbed him in the shoulder,
“(Y/N)!” Mum yelled,
“Don’t f*ck with me Clark. I know them things more than anyone else here” I growled, I pulled the blade out of him making him hiss before turning around and walking through the crowd.
***
“Clark is a loose cannon. We’ve lost two people because of that” Bruce said making me look to him, seeing him give me a sympathetic look,
“Bruce none of us are strong enough to stop him alone. And we can’t work together as a team because of trust issues” Barry stated, I stood up
“Actually Barry, you just need to let a looser cannon off” I say,
“(Y/N), no” Jason said as he stood next to me,
“He’s one of the leaders that destroy the future, he’s the main reason I’m here” I say,
“I won’t allow it” He said,
“You don’t have to” Bruce said making Jason’s head snap to him,
“Bruce, she’s like your daughter!” He argued, I sighed
“(Y/N)!” Lian yelled as she burst in and ran over to me with Arron and Alexandro behind her with younger Lian and Connor, “I’m sorry. You said you were going out on patrol to cool off because you got in an argument with Connor and you’ve been kidnapped” She cried,
“See you can’t possible go after Clark if you’re missing” Jason tried to convince me,
“You’re going after Supes?” Arron asked, I nodded
“We’ll help” Alexandro said,
“Lian, I need you to look after your younger self, Arron, Alexandro I need you to make sure no one gets in my way” I ordered,
“You’re not, are you?” Alexandro asked, I looked at him “Não, você não está fazendo isso, novamente (No, you're not doing this again)” He said,
“You can’t stop her” Arron said, he sighed and the two of them prepared themselves,
“I’m not losing you” Jason said making me face him,
“I know you’ll be able to bring me back” I say giving him a small smile, placing a hand on his cheek, he closed his eyes as he leaned into my touch,
“Promise me you won’t die” He whispered, I pulled him down and kissed him, we broke a part,
“I won’t be going anywhere soon, Jay” I smiled before I pulled away from him and headed over to Arron and Alexandro, to gear up, I put a blade of golden kryptonite on my back, a kryptonite dagger on my side, two pistols loaded with kryptonite laced bullets in the holders in my leather jacket then lastly my bow and arrows, “Let’s go” I ordered, Admin opened a portal and we went through it, I immediately noticed Superman talking to Wonder-Woman and Aqua-man, I notched an arrow and fired it at Superman, it lodged into his shoulder before exploding.
***
I groaned as I sat up and looked around at my surroundings,
“You’ve awoke” Bruce said, I stood up and folded my arms
“Why am I in here?” I asked mentioning the cell,
“We need to make sure that you’re no longer the loose cannon we let off” he answered, I rolled my eyes
“Is he dead?” I questioned, already knowing the answer
“Sim, o homem não vai ter um caixão aberto (Yes, the man will not have an open coffin)” Admin replied,
“Good” I smirked before sitting back down, 
“You blacked out after finishing him off, Wonder-Woman almost got to you” Bruce informed, I hummed
“That would be because past me got killed” I answered,
“Is she awake?” Jason asked as he came into view,
“I am” I replied, he smiled and came closer to the cell,
“It’s good to see you awake doll” He say, I nodded
“Why don’t you just let me out of here. I’m not the loose cannon” I say giving a fake smile,
“She’s lying” Red Hood commented as she appeared, I dropped the smile
“Fine” I growled before using my Canary cry shattering the cell door’s glass and sending them to their knees before I left, picking up my bow and arrows on the way, I arrived at the cemetery and made my way up to my parents gravestones
‘(Y/N) Queen. Daughter, Sister, Friend’
“They did give me a burial after all” I hummed before I laid underneath my gravestone staring up at the sky,
“Hey kid, it’s disrespectful laying on people’s graves” A male voice said,
“Well, this is my burial place so jog on” I say, not even looking in his direction,
“Well, could you at least get up Canary Arrow” he said, I sat up and looked up at the male to find
“John Constantine” I smirk as I got to my feet,
“Pleasure, I suppose” He replied, I hummed
“And what are you doing at my grave?” I questioned,
“Who says I was at your grave?” He asked raising an eyebrow and smirking,
“You asked me to move. Plus, I know it’s you who digs up my body and takes me to the last known Lazarus Pit to revive me” I answered crossing my arms,
“You’re too smart for your own good” He grumbled, I gave a big fake smile
“What can I say? I’m just too good” I say, he hummed, and my deceased body appeared on the dirt,
“Do yourself a favour and carry your body” He ordered,
“Yes boss” I say sarcastically as I picked my body up and followed him to a jeep, I placed my body into the back and turned to him “I’ll see you around Constantine” I say, he nodded as he lit a cigarette and climbed into the jeep before driving off.
***
I was sat on a building as I watched Jason kick some thugs ass’, I smiled slightly, it immediately dropped when Jason got knocked to the ground and was getting up, I jumped off the building landing on the thug before I hit the others around the face with my bow,
“(Y/N)…?” Jason mumbled as he semi-sat up, I smiled
“Hello Jay” I greeted as I crouched down and removed his helmet, I peck his lips then stood up straight, he scrambled to his feet, cupped my face and pulled me in for a kiss that was full of need and love, I returned it with the same and we broke apart staring at each other smiling like idiots,
“I love you” We said in unison making us both chuckle.
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madisonsclarks · 6 years
Text
The Coldest Night in Hawkins
Summary: February 1985 brings an awful chill, and not everyone in Hawkins is prepared for the cold. 
(Cue Jopper, Joyce being the mom Jane always needed, and Byers-Hopper family fluff)
At exactly 11:38 p.m., Joyce Byers’ doorbell rang.
She remembered the time because she’d been staring at the flickering red digits of her alarm clock and willing herself to fall asleep, closing her eyelids only to feel the electric shock of nightmares lurking in the darkness. Will had gone to bed an hour ago, Jonathan was – at the very least – in his room, and she had a long day of work at Melvald’s tomorrow that would only get longer if she didn’t fall asleep right this goddamn second and –
Ding-dong!
Joyce froze, muscles tightening against the worn, threadbare sheets that did only the bare minimum of work to keep her warm. She felt her heart starting to scream, thumping against her ribcage as she tried to figure out whether it was best to answer the bell’s shrill order or to let it go unfulfilled. Faint music drifted through the wall, which meant Jonathan was still in the house, and Will wasn’t the type to sneak out. Everyone in the Byers house was accounted for.
The house was quiet for a few moments, and Joyce let herself entertain the notion that whoever it was had gone away. Maybe it was someone selling something: though what they could be trying to get her to buy after 11:30 on a Thursday night – one of the coldest on record in Hawkins – she’d never know.
Ding-dong!
“Shit,” Joyce breathed against her pillowcase, slowly hauling herself up into a seated position. Her bare feet curled around soft carpet as she found her footing in the darkness, pulling on the blue robe she’d left hanging on the back of the bedroom door. February wasn’t a kind month to the town of Hawkins, and her plaid pajama pants and loose-fitting gray t-shirt would do nothing but allow the cold to seep under her skin.
When she opened her bedroom door and turned her head, she let out a cry of alarm: there was a large shadow looming at the end of the hallway.
“Mom, it’s me!” the shadow exclaimed.
“Jonathan,” Joyce breathed, relieved, shoving away shadowy memories of manlike monsters. It had been four months since she found a dead…thing….in her freezer, and even longer since a monster came bursting through the wall of her living room, but every night she felt as though she could be only seconds from it happening again.
“Go back to bed, honey,” she whispered, praying they were the only two members of the Byers family whom the doorbell had awoken.
“I’m trying to see if I can tell who it is,” Jonathan said, pointedly ignoring her request as he leaned as close to the window as he could without pressing his forehead against the glass. “It looks like…”
He trailed off, and Joyce frowned.
“Like who?” she asked.
It couldn’t be Nancy, or he would’ve been at the door already. It was unlikely the kids would be visiting this late – they’d radio Will, not show up on his doorstep. That left Steve Harrington and Jim. Neither were likely candidates for the doorbell-ringing: Jim was living with Jane in the double-wide for the time being since it had a working heater, and she doubted Steve would have any pressing matters that required their attention.
So the question remained: like who?
“Hopper,” Jonathan said, and she could hear a confused scowl in his voice. “I think that’s his car. But isn’t he-“
Joyce sprinted the hallway before Jonathan could ask her what she was doing.
What the hell would Jim be doing at her house this late? Granted, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d shown up unannounced. But it would be the latest he’d shown up without forewarning, and he hadn’t called, which meant that whatever this was…it was urgent.
The lab, she thought, swallowing her fears. It must have something to do with the lab. Even though the Department of Energy had been eradicated from Hawkins, he’d never explained what the deal was they made with him to let Will go – and she often wondered if the terms were conditional on the lab’s location in Hawkins, or if Hopper was still under their thumb somehow. He never brought it up, and she thought maybe some questions were better left unanswered. But why else would he be on her doorstep at this hour?
She unlocked and threw open the front door to find Jim, dressed in his navy blue winter jacket, standing next to a very tired-looking and visibly shaking Jane. Their breaths formed wisps of snow-white smoke in the winter air, and Joyce opened her mouth to invite them in. Hopper spoke first.
“I didn’t mean to wake you up,” he said, his expression landing somewhere between embarrassed and regretful. A rush of red-hot self-consciousness flushed through her, despite the circumstances: she definitely wasn’t presentable enough to be seeing him – or anyone else – right now.
“You didn’t,” Joyce said. It was the truth. “Are you okay?”
“We’re fine,” Jim said, his voice flat.
“Except-“ Jane started, and Joyce saw him cringe.
“I’m getting there,” Jim said, looking down at her as if willing her not to finish that sentence.
“Cold,” Jane muttered, shoving her hands in her pockets and giving him a withering glare Joyce half expected to send him flying.
“I know,” Jim said, exhaustion woven into his words, “and I’m sorry, kid, but we can’t-“
“Except what?” Joyce asked, turning her attention from Jim to Jane. “What’s wrong?”
Jane turned her attention to the floor, her shoulders slumping.
“Heater broke,” she said to the stairs. “Our house is cold.”
Joyce understood, just from the way Jim was standing and the shame with which he was staring at her, that something had happened to the heater in the double-wide. The cabin wasn’t completely fixed yet, and the events of last October had rendered all of the heaters there useless. He couldn’t go to a hotel with Jane – not until enough time had passed that questions wouldn’t surface about her legitimacy as his daughter – so they had to go to someone they knew, someone they trusted.
And that was how Jim and Jane Hopper ended up on her doorstep in the middle of the night.
She heard Jonathan making his way toward them, felt his presence behind her as he observed their visitors.
“Hey, Hopper,” Jonathan said.
“Jonathan,” he said in greeting, ending the statement with a nod. He turned back to her. 
“I’m not trying to impose on you,” he said. “but we didn’t have anywhere else to go, and it’s supposed to be in the negatives tonight. We’d be gone as soon as it warms up tomorrow morning.”
That much, she knew was true: the cold tonight wasn’t just record-breaking, it was dangerous. And like hell, he’d ever impose on her. Jane visited often enough for D&D nights at the Byers house, and Jim whenever she could convince him to stay for dinner and a smoke (which was more and more frequently, nowadays). If they needed help tonight, she’d be more than happy to give them that.
“Of course. Come in,” Joyce said, her voice warm – the last thing she wanted was either of them to feel guilty over something that was out of their control. 
“Thanks, Joyce,” Jim said, sounding relieved.
She felt Jonathan leave and retreat into the house as they stepped inside, wondered where he was going, but didn’t have the energy to ask. It became apparent soon enough, when he returned with a blanket and draped it over Jane’s trembling shoulders.
“There you go,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said as she pulled the blanket taut around her, looked up at him, her brown eyes sparkling with appreciation.
Joyce closed the door and locked it again, keeping their guests secure in the embrace of her warm household.
“All right,” she said, beginning to sketch out habitation plans in her head. Her house wasn’t large, but it was big enough: there had to be a way for all of them to fit, just for one night, even if it turned her house into a sort of jigsaw puzzle. “There’s a guest room you can sleep in, Jane – no, Jonathan, you can go back to sleep. I don’t need help, I’ll go get that bed made. Jane, you can sit down and warm up until it’s ready. Hop-“
Her breath caught, if only for a second, as she choked on a future her lips weren’t ready to reveal she’d considered. Something inside her skipped, like the needle of a record jumping, disturbing the flow of a song. Whatever that was, the thing her brain decided to supply her with just now, it wasn’t happening.
She wasn’t going to sleep with Jim Hopper. He was going to sleep on the couch, or in the armchair, or just about anywhere else, but they wouldn’t be sharing a bed tonight. Not only was that a horrible idea for a laundry list of reasons, but they’d traumatize the kids, and…
“Mom? What’s going on?” a new voice interjected, and Joyce felt a long, deep, agonized groan building somewhere inside her chest. She had to slam her lips shut to prevent it from escaping.
“Will!” Jane exclaimed, lighting up at the sight of her friend.
“Elle! Chief Hopper!” Will said, bounding over to Jane’s side.
Joyce exchanged a look with Jim, his blue eyes mirroring the exhaustion she’d already begun to feel: she got the sense there would be only minimal sleep in the Byers house tonight.
“Jane and Hopper are staying with us tonight because the heater in their house is broken,” Joyce explained. “Jane’s going to sleep in the guest bedroom, and Hop is going to sleep on the couch, and you are going back to bed right now, sir.”
Will frowned. “But I want to help!”
“It’s a school night,” Joyce said, one hand sliding up her side and lodging on her hip. She put on her best “just-try-and-argue-with-me” glare – the glare that stopped bad ideas in their tracks. 
“You need help making the bed and the couch,” Will interjected. “And I’m not going to sleep with all the noise, mom. So I can not sleep in bed, or I can not sleep and help.”
Joyce took a deep breath, counted back from ten in her head, tried to summon the last drops of her resolve. It was all she could do not to let out a screech loud enough to wake all of Hawkins: not because she was upset at Jim and Jane for stopping by, but because Will had truly found the one foolproof loophole and was clinging to it for dear life.
If nothing else, she damn well knew when she was defeated.
“Fine,” she said, the word erupting as a short, frustrated groan. “But once this is done, I expect you to go to bed right away.”
She glanced at Jonathan, who was standing next to Jim and appeared to be biting back an identical grin to the one on his brother’s face.
“And you, too,” she said, addressing the eldest of her sons. “I don’t want to get a call from the principal saying you fell asleep in class.”
A beat of charged silence, as both boys looked at each other and smirked.
“Okay.”
“Yeah, mom. All right.”
She aimed an exasperated look at Jim, who gave her a sympathetic smile in response. It was apparent he thought she’d done all she could do, and dammit, she was certainly trying.
Something told her neither of her sons – nor Jane – would be getting any sleep tonight. But at least they were out of the cold, and wasn’t that the point of their visit?
***
“Are you comfortable?” Joyce asked, perched on the corner of Jane’s bed, trying to determine whether to pile another blanket on top of the child. She was already covered by a bedsheet, a blanket, a comforter, and then, to be safe, another woven blanket. But certainly another blanket couldn’t hurt, and she was so tiny, and she’d been so cold when she and Jim first showed up and -
“I’m warm,” Jane said with a smile: the wide kind that made her eyes shine and melted Joyce’s heart. “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome,” Joyce said. “I wouldn’t let you and Hopper sleep in the snow. It’s supposed to be one of the coldest nights on record out there tonight.”
“On record?” Jane asked slowly, and Joyce remembered she probably wouldn’t have had a frame of reference for that term.
“It means in history,” Joyce elaborated. “Tonight’s supposed to be one of the coldest nights in Hawkins, ever.”
“Ever?” Jane said, her jaw dropping.
“Ever,” Joyce said. It was, if the news anchors were to be believed – and when she’d opened the door for Jane and Jim, one gust of wind had proven it. It would have been a very long and very cold night for them if they hadn’t come her way, and she was very thankful they had (even if their arrival had caused a bit of commotion).
Jane looked stunned – she’d probably never considered the bitter cold of tonight as compared to the rest of time.
“Oh.”
“But you’re safe,” Joyce said, hoping to eliminate the thoughtful – if almost regretful – furrow in the girl’s brow. “The cold can’t get you in here.”
Jane shook her head, biting her lower lip, looked up at Joyce with regret churning in her gaze.
“My fault,” she said slowly, remorsefully, crossing her arms.
It was Joyce’s turn to frown, then – did she think the cold weather was her fault? Granted, Joyce didn’t know much about what caused winter weather, and her knowledge of what Jane could do was ever-expanding. But there was simply no way she could have caused the -30 degree wind chill tonight.
“No, no. Sweetheart,” Joyce said, reaching forward and taking one of her hands, “the weather isn’t your fault. It does what it wants, and all we can do is prepare. It’ll be over in the morning, and you and Hopper will get the heater fixed. Everything will go back to the way it was.”
“Not the weather,” Jane said. “The heater.”
Jane’s lower lip trembled, and she looked down at the patchwork quilt.
“The heater?” Joyce asked, confused.
“My fault,” Jane said, sniffling. “I got angry, and it exploded. Like the cabin. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”
Suddenly, it made sense – the abruptness of Jim’s visit, the awkwardness between them she’d observed when she first answered the door. Jim hadn’t told her about the cabin, but she’d noticed the broken windows, the few stray shards of shattered glass.
Not for the first time, Joyce felt rage burning in her chest: not at Jane, but at the awful people who made her this way. Who experimented on her like a lab rat, giving her powers she never asked for, forcing her to carry a burden that often was too heavy for her to hold. None of this was her fault. She’d never been taught how to control her powers: only how to use them for whatever hellacious purpose the government needed.
“You don’t have to apologize,” Joyce said, reaching forward to wipe away a few tears from her burning cheeks. “You never meant for that to happen.”
Jane nodded. “I was angry. It was stupid. Being angry is stupid.”
Joyce could have laughed, if her heart wasn’t in smithereens.
“No, being angry makes you human,” she said softly. “Everyone gets angry, honey.”
“I hurt Dad’s feelings,” Jane said. “I called him a ‘asshole.’”
Joyce didn’t even hear the second half of her sentence.
Dad?
Jane called Jim ‘dad?’
It made sense, Joyce thought. For all intents and purposes, she was his daughter. Jim had told her there was a birth certificate from Dr. Owens, as legitimate as could be, that showed Jane was his. But there was something incredibly sweet in hearing it from Jane Hopper’s lips – one syllable that sounded like a new beginning.
Dad.
“I shouldn’t…have called him a bad word,” Jane said, snapping Joyce back to reality, where Jane was crying in her arms and it was one of the coldest nights on record. “I didn’t mean it.”
“Did you say you were sorry?” Joyce asked, holding both of her hands.
“Yes. Right after.”
“Did you mean it, when you apologized?”
“Yes.”
“Did he say he forgave you?”
“Yes.”
Jane’s eyes had stopped brimming with tears now, and her voice was slowly regaining its steadiness. She looked at Joyce with a red-rimmed gaze, and Joyce felt her heart swelling, tears pricking at the corners of her vision.
“Well, then everything’s okay,” Joyce said, letting go of one of her hands to brush a few stray curls out of Jane’s eyes. “Honey, you’re okay, Hopper is okay, and you forgave each other. The rest can be fixed.”
For the first time since their conversation started, Jane’s lips quirked upward in a genuine, if tiny, smile.
“Okay,” she said, echoing Joyce’s words. “It’s...okay.”
“Yes, it is,” Joyce said. “It absolutely is.”
They looked at each other, smiling, the warmth between them enough to fend off the coldest night in Hawkins.
“Now, you need to get some sleep,” Joyce said, her tone carrying a stern softness. She gently dropped Jane’s hands to her sides and stood up, started walking toward the door and the light switch. “You’ve had a tiring day.”
Jane’s smile widened, though it was soon replaced with a yawn.
“Goodnight, Mrs. Byers.”
Joyce returned the smile, turning off the light.
“Goodnight, Jane.”
***
By the time Joyce checked on the boys – both in bed, at least pretending to be asleep – and stumbled down the stairs to check on Jim, it was almost one in the morning. The light in the living room was still on, and she wasn’t surprised to see its yellow glow. They had twin nightmares, her and him, and what haunted one of them haunted them both.
“They’re all in bed,” Joyce announced, finding Jim sitting on the couch with a half-smoked cigarette in his hand. She sat down next to him with a less-than-graceful thud. “I hope they’re sleeping, but I can’t make any promises.”
“You’ve done what you can do,” Jim said. “If they’re tired enough, they’ll fall asleep. Jane’s had…” he trailed off, his sentence ending in a haunted sigh.
“A long day?” Joyce finished, and he regarded her with a blank stare.
“You knew?” he asked, bewildered.
“She told me,” she said. “She feels awful about what happened, Hop.”
Jim took a deep breath. “Yeah, I know. I’m not upset about it. Kid blames herself more than I ever would.”
Joyce leaned over and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, recognizing the ghosts that haunted his gaze, that lived in the depths of his blue eyes. This was unfamiliar terrain to him, a dream that had shifted to a nightmare that ended in a headstone and his return to Hawkins. If he was weary, nervous…she couldn’t blame him. Being a parent was the hardest job she’d ever had, a 12-hour shift at Melvald’s that never ended. But she wouldn’t give it up for the world.
“You’re doing great,” she said. “You’re a good dad.”
“I’m damn well trying,” he muttered, like she knew he would. There was no way in hell Jim Hopper would accept a compliment, but she at least had to make an attempt.
He handed her the cigarette and she took a drag, breathing in and out as easily as she did with her own packs of Camels.
“No coughing?” he said, raising an eyebrow, playful in a way that made her feel like she was under the stairs between fifth and sixth period again.
“I’m getting used to yours,” she said. “There was an adjustment period.”
He laughed, the skin at the corners of his blue eyes crinkling, and Joyce couldn’t help remembering that day all those months ago at the kitchen table.
We ran. We just…ran.
Wasn’t that, to some extent, what they were still doing? Running together, just like they’d done in high school? Granted, the things they were running from now were more enigmatic than Mr. Cooper, and as of late, they were entirely in their own heads: nightmares, flashbacks, fears that lurked in the long shadows when all the kids had gone to bed.  
But just like back then, she felt safe with him. She’d felt safe when he took her hand and they sprinted away from Mr. Cooper, and she felt safe now, with him sitting next to her, offering her the last puff of his cigarette. As long as he was by her side, she felt…well, stronger, somehow. Like her nightmares and fears couldn’t attack her, because he was her suit of armor.
She shook her head, not wanting the last smoke, and Jim put it out in the ashtray next to the couch. When he looked back at her, she was staring at him, well knowing the river of her thoughts and emotions and desires was about to open into a dangerous waterfall that might drown them both. People close to her tended to get hurt – Will, Bob – and if she could, she wanted to save Jim from the black hole her life had become.
But that was just the thing: she couldn’t.
He was already sucked into it, whether she wanted that or not. He called her for more than just check-ins now, more than just determining how Will was doing. He called her for advice on parenting. He gave Will and Jonathan presents on their birthdays, and stopped by to see her at work. He checked in with her, asked her how she was doing, reassured her that every day it got a little easier (and it did).
There was no pulling him back from the darkness of her world, of their world – a place where kids had powers and monsters ripped open inter-dimensional holes and heroes’ lives ended in tragedy and every day held the possibility for a new horror. And selfishly, she wanted him here with her.
In this upside down world, she wanted to run with him.
“Joyce,” he said, her name barely a whisper, the humming of her living room lights almost enough to eclipse it.
It was impossible to tell who leaned in first – only that they collided with a sense of finality, with the power and buzzing inevitability of magnets attracting. She wound her fingers through his hair, anchoring him to her as he wrapped her in his arms, drunk off the taste of him – smoke and a kind of intoxicating spice.
Starving was the only word that bounced around in her head as she moved closer to the radiant warmth of him, his hands fumbling with the tie on her bathrobe and slipping beneath the heavy fabric, setting every inch of her skin on fire. Their kisses were hungry, ravenous, communicating all the things they thought they couldn’t say to each other – the things they’d spent months thinking, hiding words behind long gazes and shared cigarettes. Starving. Starving. Starving.
She discarded her pesky bathrobe and he lowered her down onto the couch, positioning her head so she lay on one of the pillows. It was reverent and soft, the way he cupped the back of her neck and pressed his mouth to hers, and she swallowed tears. She knew this was something they both thought they’d never have, that he was worried moving too quickly would cause it to shatter. Because they’ve both been shattered before, over and over and over again, and an inch at a time was how they were moving until they decided to spring forward by miles tonight.
An inch at a time was safe. This was less so.
But God, she couldn’t find the strength to care. Not anymore.
So she kissed him back with every ounce of urgency in her body, pulling him close enough to feel his heart pounding beneath and the shuddering, uneven gasps of his breathing. Her fingers trembled as she reached around his back and under his shirt, guiding the material upward, tracing over scars life hadn’t yet given him when he was eighteen. His sandpaper beard scratched at her neck, a dizzying, pleasured kind of pain that sent shockwaves of desire through her, and she almost had his shirt off when the music started playing.
“Should I stay or should I go now? Should I stay or should I go now?”
Will’s favorite, and through peer pressure, Jane’s favorite, drifting across the house from Jonathan’s record player. Much as she’d thought before common sense evacuated her head completely, none of the kids were asleep.
Jim leaned away, staring down at her, his eyes the blue of the sky on the first day of spring. She stared back, lost in him for just one moment more.
And in unison, they both burst out laughing.
“Dammit,” Jim said, pressing one last chaste kiss to her lips before pulling himself back into a seated position. He extended a hand, and soon they were both seated once more.
“Something like that,” Joyce said, lips still tingling. “Should I go stop the party?”
Jim stared off into the distance for a moment, thoughtful.
“Let them have their fun,” he said, surprising her.
“They’re going to be exhausted tomorrow,” Joyce said. “It’ll be a miracle if they make it through school.”
“Then they can sleep when they get home, Joyce,” he said. “They’re kids. We can let them be young, just this once.”
She regarded him in the yellow light of the living room, scanning his expression for hints of teasing. Finding none, she sighed and gave him a glare with no heat behind it.
“You’re a bad influence on me, Jim Hopper.”
He chuckled, wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to his side. His lips brushed her hair as he spoke, and she wove her fingers through his.
“Just like old times.”
368 notes · View notes
novelblujay · 6 years
Text
Prologue
Title: Breaking Walls
Genre: Action, Dystopian Future, Original, Romance (later)
Words: 3.1K
Summary: Five preteens go out on a night time adventure and end up stumbling into somethings they were never meant to find.  How will it affect their futures?
Molly slowly opened her eyes and rolled over to face her twin’s bed. It felt like it had been hours since their parents tucked them in and went to their own room to sleep, when, in fact, she knows it has only been about 30 minutes.  She could  see the silhouette of her twin laying on his side, completely covered by the blanket.  If she didn’t know better she would have thought he had fallen asleep, but she could see the smallest movement towards the bottom of the bed that was him curling and uncurling is toes.  Most likely the only way he was staying awake.
The two had arranged to meet up with their friends from class tonight to go into the Underground.  The twin’s parents had always told them there was a child eating monster down there that ate kids that misbehaved.  They had believed it too until a year ago.  Now that they were 11, preteens, and they didn’t believe in such childish stories anymore.  However, if it was true they believed they should be safe, since they were no longer ‘kids’.  Molly sat up as slowly and quietly as she could making sure to not alert their parents if they were still awake.  Puck had told them that adults never sleep, but had refused to tell them what they do at night if not sleep.
Deciding it was safe to leave, she looked over at her twin,  “Wally,” she breathed so quietly she barely heard herself say it. However, Wally heard her loud and clear, and a blob of deep red hair popped up, and a pair of mismatched brown and green eyes, mirroring her own, shined back at her.
They silently nodded at each other and started slowly and silently moving towards their window that they had conveniently broken the screen of, earlier that week.  Two bags sat underneath it with a change of clothes and a flashlight for each of them.  They had been planning this for weeks, and had about a thousand backup plans to ensure tonight went smoothly.  
Their window led out to the backyard so they quickly changed out of their PJs and into some warm day clothes.  Wally was clumsily fighting his way into baggy jeans that barely stayed on his slim hips, and a sweatshirt that had several small holes and tears in it.  He always had trouble keeping his clothes clean and in one piece, due to his natural inability to do anything remotely gracefully, not to mention his daredevil habits that had gotten more than a few people hurt in the past.  Molly had chosen a very similar outfit to her brother, however her jeans fit much better, she was just as tiny as her brother but girl’s jeans were just made to fit their similar body type better.  Of course, her clothes were also clean and hole free, because unlike her other half, she tended to be overly cautious.  Often trying to talk her brother out of dangerous ideas and always the first responder, helping anyone that got hurt by or with him. She put on her sweater and zipped it up halfway, just a Wally finished putting on a belt.
Besides the fact that they had a similar body type, the two often had trouble convincing people they were twins.  Wally hair was dark red with loose curls that stuck up in every direction, in a constant state of bed head.  Molly was stuck with frizzy tight curling hair that was more of a light orange then red.  Their face structures were identical, although somehow as time went on Molly had collected more freckles than she could count and Wally hardly had any.  This made identifying the similarities in their shared round faces difficult.  The only thing that ever-got people to believe them was their age, and the fact that they had heterochromatic eyes.  They each had a brown-amber eye, and a green-yellow eye.  Oddly enough, on reversed sides, so the two often joked about having traded an eye for an eye before they were born.
Once they were dressed they snuck out of their yard and headed to a corner, near one of the Underground entrances.  It was a cloudless, still night and Molly marveled at the sight of the full moon illuminating the silent streets of their otherwise active neighborhood.  Wally was taking advantage of the lack of parental supervision and was running all over the street jumping over and on anything he could while still staying mostly quiet.
When the meeting spot came into sight there were already two shadowy figures standing there.  The significantly taller figure was Puck.  His raven hair was done up as it always was, perfectly puffed on top and the shorter sides blending into it perfectly.  Light brown eyes looked over at the approaching twins and Puck’s slim face broke into a bigger smile than the one he was already wearing.  His slender frame fit his obnoxious height much better than Wally’s did, partly because he had toned muscles from joining all the sports clubs at school, but Wally had been banned from joining any club because of his reckless behavior.  Puck was in tight fitting black pants and a grey, tattered hoodie that looked older than any of the kids, leaving very little of his tanned skin showing.  Beside him was Summer, a much shorter female figure with just as little of her lighter, but still tanned, skin showing.  Her long brown hair was up in a loose bun with a few strands falling into her, dark brown eyes.  She smiled and waved when she noticed the two approaching, her jacket bunched at her hands, threatening to overtake them, and jeans rolled up to keep them from dragging.
Walley sprinted up to the two, and leaped onto Puck at full speed.  Puck struggled to stay standing with the shorter male latching onto him, but Summer quickly reacted.  Grabbing the two and helping steady Puck.  Molly walked over slowly shaking her head, smiling lightly at her twins antics.  Wally detached himself from Puck and took his spot beside his Molly.  
“So, did anyone have any trouble getting out of the house undetected?” Puck asked looking at the two that had arrived last.
“Surprisingly we got out without any problems, I’ve never seen Wally be so quiet unless he was sleeping,” Molly answered. With Wally nodding vigorously beside her wearing a cocky smirk.  “I was most worried about you Summer, I know how strict and scary your dad can be.” Molly finished looking to Summer with concern.  
Summer rolled her eyes, it was only her and her dad at home and his parenting style was tightly woven into his days as a officer in the town’s military.  “Well, it’s not like my dad has been training me like I was in boot camp since I was five or anything.  At this point I’m like a master ninja or assassin or something.” She stood up taller and puffed out her chest.  
The other three just laughed at her.  “So are we going in or what?” Wally challenged moving towards what looked like a manhole in the middle of a patch of grass, covered with dirt and dead grass.
“Since you are so impatient, I nominate Wally to go down first.” Puck retorted kicking up the vegetation around their soon to be entrance to the Underground.  
Wally simply gave Puck a determined nod before getting to work lifting the cover.  He had to pull up a lot of grass, but soon he got his fingers under the cover and pulled upward with all his might.  The dirt began shifting, rising with the metal cover it had been calling home.  Once completely clear, Wally dropped the cover near by with a loud thud, and wiped his hands on his pants, much to Molly and Puck’s dismay, Then he grabbed his flashlight and aimed it into the hole.  Everyone slowly leaned forward to look down, they saw a makeshift ladder hanging over the side.  The ladder looked like it had been made by kids many years ago, using rope and random planks of wood.  Wally then proceeded to further disgust Puck by spitting into the hole.  Everyone, minus Puck,leaned in closer to  listen to it land, after about five seconds of silence they gave up .
“Wow... hope this thing goes all the way down,” Wally said as he started lowering his body over the side.  “Also, Molly don’t let Puck touch the ladder while I’m on it,” he smiled kindly at his sister.  Then turning to Puck giving the best glare he could, “I don’t trust him after last time.”
Puck rolled his eyes, and they all watched as he went down into the hole.  Molly held on tightly to whatever part of the ladder was in her reach.  It was painfully clear to everyone, except Wally, how anxious it made her to see Wally in any dangerous situation, but she was begining to give up on talking him out of his ideas.  She would simply choose to go along with them now, and ensure at least one person involved would be able to fix any damage caused.  Soon enough, there was a loud thud from the hole, and Summer quickly grabbed onto the back of Molly’s jacket to keep her from leaning head first into the dark void.
“So the ladder almost goes all the way to the bottom but it’s easily within Pucks reach.  If he helps us all up first we can all get out,” Wally called from below.  “I am definitely going to need him to come down here to help me get back up,” Wally laughed loudly from the bottom.  
That was all Molly needed before she quickly dropped into the darkness her twin had disappeared into.  “Idiots,” Summer whispered under her breath.  “Wally, quit dragging us all further along with this stupid plan.  I seriously thought opening the thing was as far as we were going to get.”  
“Sweet, innocent, Summer, you don’t know those two half as well as you should, and you’ve been their friend for much longer than I have,” Puck whispered to her.  “Molly did you make it to the bottom yet,” he called into the hole.  He was answered by a pair of flashlights shining up at him from below.  Taking that as a yes he moved toward the entrance.
“I hope you all know that this is kinda really illegal, and that I hate you all,” Summer stated in positive disapproval, after it was no longer possible to make out Puck’s form. “Also I’m coming down now, so Puck you better be out of the way.”  
When Summer’s feet hit the floor of the pit she was met by three face smiling at her in the light of the twin’s flashlights.  “What happened to ‘big brave assasin’ Summer,” Puck giggled, putting air quotes around big bad assassin.  
“She got got stuck with two trouble magnets and your stupid ass,” she answered back harshly, snatchings Wally’s flashlight from him.  She started leading the way down one the dark path before them, praying they don’t get lost on this adventure.  The others followed her still giggling.
As the light of the moon began to disappear, they all slowly came to the realization that they were in a dark, smelly tunnel that possibly lead out of their safe walled city, and it may or may not have something living in it.  Summer slowed her pace, allowing both Puck and Wally to walk as close to her as possible.  Molly was bringing up the rear, holding onto her brothers hoodie for comfort.  
The only sound was the dripping of water, and the pitter patter of their own footsteps echoing off the walls.  Suddenly, something fell from the ceiling and flew towards them.  Everyone ducked as fast as possible, except for Puck who screamed and flung his arms over his face.  After it was gone they all turned to watch the small, black object fly in the direction they had come from.
“Just a little bat,” Molly laughed nervously, turning back towards her fear struck friends.  “You ok Puck, did it hurt you?” she asked, maternal instinct kicking in.
“Ya, you ok big guy, sounded like a little girl was in here or something,” Wally teased, but still looked slightly uneasy.
Puck shot daggers towards Wally, smoothing out his already smooth clothes.  “Of course I am fine.  A measly bat can't hurt me,” he said trying to maintain a cool and collected facade. Then, turning to Molly and calming visibly, he answered her, “Thank you for asking, dear.”
Wally went to the back of the group, jumping up on a chunk of dislodged concrete.  Standing up tall and putting his hands on his nonexistent hips, “Well nothing can scare me! In fact, I challenge anything living down here to come and get me!” he said getting progressively louder.  “I can take down anyone and anything.”
Everyone was shaking their heads and rolling their eyes at Wally’s false bravery.  Suddenly, they all froze.  All eyes were fixed on the the spot just behind Wally, and when he realized he was no longer the center of attention, he turned to look at what he assumed would be more bats or simply spiders.  However, he was met with two huge shining cat eyes.  He quickly stepped back falling of his makeshift pedestal and landing on his back.  This got Molly moving again and she jumped to stand over her twin protectively.  She shined her momentarily forgotten flashlight at the eyes, revealing a dark tan, spotted cat with tufts of black fur shorting from the tips of its ears.  It's head level with their waists, paws flexed to reveal sharp claws, and lips pulled back in a snarl to reveal huge sharp teeth.
It blinked rapidly, its eyes quickly adjusting to see with the bright light in its eyes.  It lowered its body to a crouch and began to growl low in its throat, eyes shifting quickly over all four children.  
Summer was the first to act, throwing the only thing in her hands.  The flashlight hit the cat’s head, distracting it momentarily, while she moved forward grabbing the twins by the arm and yanking them away, and further into the ark tunnels.  Wally struggled to regain his footing after being pulled up from the ground, but Molly was alert and ready, grabbing Puck’s arm as they run by him.  None of them looking back to see if the large cat had recovered yet.  They all focused on running away from the angry growling behind them, taking many turns and tripping over various objects hidden by darkness.
Unfortunately, their escape ended all too soon with a dead end, leaving them trapped between a very angry looking cat and a moss covered wall.  They all froze and nervously turned toward what was surely going to be death.  They covered each other protectively and stared at the monster with wide eyes.  However, the cat never pounced, it simply began pacing, thus blocking any chance of escape.  But it didn’t matter as growling and occasional roars stopped any thought of escape.  The group of preteens crouched together holding each other for comfort and protection.  Several minutes passed by and they say the cats ears begin flickering away from them as if listening to something in the distance.  Seconds later the cat seemed to relax it's fast pacing, but never took its bright yellow eyes off the group.
Another minute or two passed and light, quick steps could be heard coming toward them.  Suddenly, a feminine voice spoke out in a rushed whisper.  “Lilly you have to keep it down! What if Ziv knew we had come this close to the city?”  The silhouette froze, only the outline of a short human with short bushy hair could be made out.  “Who are you?” they asked harshly pointing at the group, illuminated by the flashlight they were huddled around.  “Are you from the city?” they said in disgust and took a step back quickly.  The kids just stared back at the figure in confusion and fear, eyes still occasionally darting over towards the cat, who was now casually cleaning itself, ignoring the group.  The figure slowly stepped forward enough to be seen.  
There stood a short girl who looked to be about their age.  She had paperwhite skin that made her small amount of freckles stand out.  Her hair was unkempt and dirty blond, matching the raggy, filthy jeans and zip up she wore.  Her sharp, light brown eyes watched over the scared teens skeptically.  
It was Summer who found her voice first and spoke for the group.  “We just wanted to see what was down here, please don't hurt us.  We didn't mean any harm.  We just want to go back home.”
The girls eyes hardened and her lip curled up in anger.  “You all are from the upper districts aren't ya?  Elitist pigs looking to mess with thing and places where they don't belong”  She turned away from them, lightly smacking the cat on the side as she walked away. The cat slowly and lazily got up and began to follow her.  Then looking over her shoulder, she gave the group one last venomous look and said, “I hate you monsters.  Just get out of my tunnels and stay out.  Exit is this way take your first two lefts, then a right, and you'll be out, safe and sound in you beloved hellhole.”  With that said she disappeared into the darkness, the monstrous cat calmly walking beside her.  
Several minutes passed and no one moved, all that could be heard was the sound of the water continuously dripping around them.  As they slipped out of their shocked haze, they slowly made their way towards the promised exit without saying a word to one another.  Summer was leading, followed by the twins who were holding onto each other, and Puck brought up the rear.  He was intently focused on playing with the fringe on his tattered jacket.  The exit they came to looked much like their entrance, except it had metal handles in the wall to help climb out.  When they emerged, they found themselves at a familiar corner about three blocks from where that had met up earlier.
After exiting they silently covered the manhole so that it looked undisturbed by their exit.  No one there was sure what to say, and they were all still shaken by the life threatening run from the cat, and the encounter with the strange girl that seemed to live below them.  They all mumbled their goodbyes and headed toward their respective homes.  
All but Puck who, stopped by the hole they had entered through.  He broke the makeshift ladder and covered it up, making it look like it did earlier that night.  He looked down at his handy work, clutching the sides of his jacket tightly he started walking back towards his house.
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