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jimakuchan · 4 years

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And They Were Roommates...

Part Fifty

The village of Gaipan was a sleepy town, surrounded by a gorgeous landscape filled with some of the tallest redwood trees Zuko had ever seen. If it weren’t for the stressful situation he found himself in, he might have taken a moment to appreciate the beauty of the sun sinking into the horizon amongst the tree tops.. but unfortunately now was not the time to take in the wonders of nature around him.

“Uncle would be so disappointed” Zuko thought to himself. Iroh always chastised him for not appreciating the little things in life, but everything happening right now was not a little thing. It was a very big thing. A possibly life changing thing was about to happen to Zuko, and despite the pep talk Aang and Sokka gave him, Zuko’s leg was shaking from nerves. He could feel his hands clamming up, his knuckles turning white from how hard he was clenching his fist, and his entire body was on edge... waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The entrance to the camp sight was just around the corner, and Katara was taking her time with driving on the uneven dirt road. It took everything within Zuko’s power to not yell at her to speed up. His friends were here doing him a favor, he needed to be patient. He took a deep breath in, holding it in his lungs, relishing in the burn before he let the air escape out his mouth. Memories of the text conversations running rampant in his head, the fear that he was too late sitting comfortably in the forefront of his mind.

“Just stay calm, everything will be alright” Zuko heard his mother’s voice in his head, but it felt like a lie. How long had he been lying to himself? About his feelings towards Y/N, his family, his friends, Spirits his life? Everything felt like it was spiraling out of control. What was that exercise Aang taught him again? In for four out for four? Mindfulness? Zuko couldn’t remember and frankly didn’t really care to at the moment.

“We’re here” Katara’s voice echoed throughout the SUV. Zuko felt it then, the drop. His stomach was swirling inside of him and he felt the bile rise up his throat. It was now or never. Zuko felt so sure of himself when he sprinted outside of the apartment earlier today, where did that energy go?

“Are you okay man?” Sokka placed his hand on Zuko’s shoulder, a reassuring touch that he so desperately needed. It grounded Zuko, and he started to believe the lie his thoughts told him moments ago.

“Yes” Zuko replied, Sokka furrowed his brows but didn’t comment on it any further.

“Okay then let’s go!” Sokka’s face broke out into a wide grin, how he managed to stay so calm and collected all the time was beyond him.

“Yea go get your girl Sparky!” Toph shouted from the middle seat. Zuko looked around at the faces of his friends, hope filled all of their eyes. He wished he could have an ounce of their faith. With a deep sigh he exited the car, taking his first step in the dirt and looked at the campsite around him. The rest of the gaang followed suit soon after.

“Do you know what cabin she’s in?” Suki asked as they were walking towards the small campsite. A litter of log cabins surrounded the large fire pit in the center. It was a pretty decent place for a corporate retreat, something Zuko might even consider doing in the future. That is, if this all ended well. He didn’t think he could handle visiting the place where he was painfully rejected within a business setting.

“Not sure I just know it’s the women’s cabin. I’m sure we could ask someone.” Katara answered. She sounded sure of herself, but the way she was fidgeting with her bag gave her away. She was nervous too, and that’s when it dawned on him. Jet. The bane of their existence was here, and Katara hadn’t seen him since he caught him cheating on her with Y/N. Zuko admired her bravery. He had talked this out with Y/N, how much what Jet did to them hurt her, but he didn’t dwell on it too much with Katara. The possibility of running into him must be bothering her. Aang must have picked up on Katara’s nerves too, because he went to go hold her hand and kissed her cheek. Katara smiled at the gesture, and Zuko hated the jealous feeling that crept into his gut.

He wished he could be that way with Y/N, to hold her hand and kiss her cheek when she was feeling down. Did they know the gift they possessed? To be unapologetically affectionate with each other? They must know. Zuko could see it when they looked at each other. He just hoped that he could have that in his future with Y/N.

“Over there! That’s Y/N’s cooler on the porch!” Zuko looked to where Suki was pointing. The cabin to the far left of the fire pit must be hers. The bright red cooler filled to the brim with stickers sat neatly next to the front door of the cabin; he could see the bright yellow EI sticker she bought from Ember Island on the front. Before he even realized his feet were moving, Zuko sprinted towards the cabin. He nearly tripped on the rickety steps on his way in. With a bit too much of his strength, Zuko slammed open the cabin door.

“Y/N?” Zuko shouted inside. The cabin itself was decent, four beds lined the back wall with a wide window separating each pair of beds. The bed next to the window had Y/N’s duffel bag resting at the edge of it. A kitchenette was to the right, filled with the snacks Y/N bought for the trip. To the left was a small table with a few chairs, Y/N’s travel mug sat on top of it in the center. Yep, this was definitely hers.

“She’s not here” Zuko nearly jumped out of his skin from the voice that sounded too close to his liking. He turned around to see a short woman with a blunt bob haircut. Her bandana was slipping off her forehead nearly covering her eyes, where she wore an annoyed expression on her face. Smellerbee.

“Where is she?” Zuko asked mirroring the other woman’s annoyance. He didn’t have time for small talk.

“You think I’m going to tell a total stranger the location of my coworker? You must be dumber than you look.” Smellerbee responded with a huff. Zuko narrowed his eyes at the small woman in front of him. If this was any other circumstance he would have been grateful that she was protecting Y/N, but at the moment Zuko only felt rage.

“I’m Y/N’s roommate and I need to talk to her. It’s important.” Smellerbee looked at Zuko like she’d rather be anywhere else than where she was, and it was really testing his patience.

“She left to go to the lake with Jet awhile ago. You follow that path behind the cabin and it’s a straight shot.”

“Thank you” Zuko brushed passed Smellerbee and ran towards the path, nearly knocking into his friends in the process. He could hear the shouts of his friends behind him, but Zuko didn’t pay any attention to them. It was like he had tunnel vision as he ran through the trees towards the lake. The wind whipped through his long dark hair, sweat forming at the tip of his brow. The trees blurred together as he raced down the path. If Zuko was paying better attention he might have noticed the rustle in the bushes to his right, but he wasn’t paying attention at all. So when he collided into the hard body in front of him, Zuko was knocked flat on his ass.

“Spirits watch where the hell you’re going!” Zuko could recognize that voice anywhere. That arrogant tone only belonged to one person, and it was the last person on Earth that he wanted to see.

“Jet” Zuko gritted out through his teeth.

“That’s my name don’t wear it out” He responded with a curt laugh. Jet stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants and extended a hand to the man on the forest floor. Zuko took it as Jet helped him to his feet. He might hate the guy, but he didn’t want to give Jet the satisfaction of knowing his mere presence bothered him to no end.

“Where’s Y/N?” Zuko asked, aggravation flooding his voice. Jet didn’t respond at first, and just stared at him. He eyed Zuko up and down, as if to size him up. Jet just laughed again, and Zuko was one step away from punching him in the nose.

“Oh wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I don’t have time for your bullshit Jet, just tell me where she is” Zuko took a step forward, towering over Jet’s figure. He took great satisfaction in the gulp Jet took when he did. “Good” Zuko thought to himself, “I hope you’re nervous you fucking prick.”

“I’ll tell you where she is...” Jet paused, and Zuko’s patience meter dropped to a near zero. “Eventually...”

“You will tell me now. I’m not taking no for an answer” Zuko clenched his fists, ready to force his way past Jet if he was going to waste his time.

“Let’s have a chat first, man to man. It’s been long overdue...” Zuko was about to walk past him when Jet grabbed onto his wrist. “Besides... I have some information you’d want to know concerning Y/N”

Zuko could feel his heart sink at such a simple statement. Information. He knew that Jet couldn’t be trusted, but Zuko couldn’t resist his curiosity. He turned around to face the man he loathed, a smug look painted his face as he dropped Zuko’s arm.

“You have 2 minutes, don’t waste it” Zuko crossed his arms across his chest, waiting for the other man to speak. Jet tilted his head towards the fallen tree off the side of the path, beckoning Zuko to follow. The silence was thick as they both sat on the rotting tree, rays of remaining daylight peaking through the trees that surround them. It was eerie, how quiet it was. Just the whistling wind around them to break up the unforgiving silence.

“I know you hate me, but I just want you to listen for a bit. Then you can be on your merry way” he began, Zuko just stared waiting for him to continue. Jet took a deep breath, fiddling with the toothpick between his teeth. Gross.

“I just wanted to apologize to you, for what I did. It was fucked up and I’m sorry” That... was not what Zuko was expecting, his eyes widening in surprise. So this was what he wanted to discuss?

“I was.. an angry person back then. I felt like you’re family personally ruined mine. To be fair I was right, but it was just your dad. Not you. It wasn’t your fault that your dad and his company evicted my family. Hell he kicked out his own son, why would he care about kids from the projects?”

Zuko remembered the day Jet found out who his father was. Before then they were friends, two boys pissed at the world and the cards they were dealt in life. They use to sneak out at night, and roam the streets; stealing booze from liquor stores, smoking pot in parking lots, and just relishing in the feeling of being young and angry. Zuko felt that Jet was the first thing that was his and his alone. Jet chose to befriend him, not out of obligation because of his sister, at least that’s what he felt at the time. They shared secrets in the dark, with only the neon lights of the city keeping them company. Yes, Zuko never told him who is father was, but he did tell him a lot of the abuse he faced. How he was afraid to come home and face his father’s wrath. How he used to wish for anything to stop the pain. He cried in front of Jet that day, and Jet held him and told him he felt the same. That all changed when Jet found out about Ozai. He called Zuko to come out like normal, but instead of the promise of cheap thrills he lead him to an alleyway and beat the shit out of him. Zuko held his own, and eventually got the best of him, but the price of winning the fight was losing his best friend. He told himself he’d never forgive him for what he had done that night, and now the same boy, now a man, is next to him once again with the sun setting around them asking for forgiveness.

“Fuck man you were my best friend.. and I threw it all away for what? Something completely out of your control? Because of someone you hated as much as I did? Losing you is one of my biggest regrets.. close second is what I did to Katara and Y/N” Jet hung his head low, his shoulders tense as he hunched over. Zuko didn’t know what to say at that moment, stunned into silence. He understood what Jet was feeling, succumbing to anger is much easier than processing other emotions: sadness, guilt, pain. Over time the anger just becomes a part of you, and it lashes out. Jet didn’t have anyone to help him move on from that like Zuko did.. he was alone.

“I’m so fucking sorry Zuko. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness.. like I don’t deserve Y/N’s.. but I want to try and be better. I know my apologies and promises in the past have been empty and hallow.. but I can’t keep doing that shit anymore it’s exhausting” Jet looked at Zuko then, his eyes shining from unshed tears. Jet was asking for forgiveness now, like Zuko had done many years ago.

“I forgive you. For what you did to me..” Jet visibly deflated, finally releasing the breath he had been holding in, his body sagged in relief.

“I don’t know if we could ever be as close as we were before... but if you’re willing to try I am. On a few conditions...”

“Name it”

“Stop acting like a total ass to Y/N. That shit needs to end” Zuko requested.

“Done”

“You also need to apologize to Katara, she’s one of my closest friends and I can’t be friends with you if you haven’t done that. She won’t forgive you as easily as I did, and she may never do and that’s her right. You still need to though, it’s what she deserves.” Jet visibly shivered, an angry Katara was a terrifying sight, but he nodded in agreement nonetheless.

“And finally you need to tell me where Y/N is” Jet laughed at this, but it wasn’t the smug laugh he used before. It was genuine this time.

“She’s sitting at the dock by the lake, at least that’s where she was when I left her.” He nodded and put a hand on Jet’s shoulder, the two men shared a moment of peace before Zuko went to stand up. Before he walked away Zuko turned to Jet and put out his hand, his way of extending an olive branch to the man he once called his best friend. Jet accepted it with a smile and they shook on it, what ‘it’ was neither of them knew.. but it was something. Change? Moving on? Something along those lines.

Zuko was the first to let go and turned to walk down the path, the sun light fading quickly. Before he got too far Zuko remembered he had one more thing to ask.

“Hey Jet!” Zuko shouted, Jet turned around surprised.

“What?” he shouted back.

“You’re not dating Y/N again are you?” Zuko questioned, he needed to know before he made a complete fool of himself in front of the woman he loved. Jet let out a full belly laugh, nearly folding himself in half. Zuko quirked an eyebrow, unsure of what was so funny.

“Is that why you hauled your ass out in the middle of nowhere? You thought I made a move on her? Nah I wanted to apologize like I did with you. As if she’d ever take my ass back.” Zuko sighed with relief, but before he turned around Jet spoke again.

“The only bones she wants to jump are yours!” Zuko felt the heat rise to his cheeks, a smile growing on his face. He only hoped Jet was right as he ran further down the path towards the lake.

As Zuko ran towards the lake the smile never left his face. He couldn’t ignore it anymore, Y/N definitely felt the same as he did. He could do this, he could finally tell her how he felt. With newly found confidence Zuko ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He could see the lake through the trees, he was close, so close to her. One more turn and he’d be there.

When he finally made it to the small beach surrounding the lake Zuko whipped his head around desperately trying to find the dock. It was getting dark, both the sun and moon shared the same sky when he saw it. Saw her.

Y/N was sitting at the edge of the dock, her feet dipped in the inky black water beneath her. The golden light of dusk shined on her hair as it swayed with the wind, her skin glowing as if she was made of stained glass. Zuko took a moment to admire her from afar as she sat blissfully unaware of his presence. He slowly walked towards her, gathering every ounce of courage he had.

“Y/N!” Zuko yelled out as he got closer to the dock. Y/N jumped, clearly surprised at his sudden outburst.

“Zuko? What are you doing here?” Y/N asked as she pulled her feet out of the water. She slowly stood up, trying not to put too much weight on her bad ankle.

As Zuko got closer he thought about what he was going to say to her. He thought about how she took his breath away when he first laid eyes on her, how her smile lit up her face. He thought about all the little things he loved about her, how her nose scrunched up when she laughed and when she was annoyed. How she liked to dance around the apartment in her pajamas when she was stressed out. How she put way too much much sugar in her tea, and how she cried when she watched videos of baby ducks. He loved how much his Uncle loved her, his friends, and even though she would never admit it, his sister as well. He loved how she was patient, not only with others but with herself as well. He loved that she knew how to bring the best out of him, and how she was the reason he reconnected with the gaang. In such a short amount of time she became one of the most important people in his life. He wanted to tell her all of this and more.. but instead he said:

“I brought you the bracelet I made you” Zuko reached into his pocket and fished out the friendship bracelet he made with Kiyi. It was a pathetic little thing really, the pattern was inconsistent and the knots at the end were way too big, but he made it for her because he loved her.

“You came all this way... to give me a bracelet?” Y/N asked, her head tilted to the side in confusion. Zuko wanted to smack himself, he barely even started and was already failing miserably.

“Um no that’s ugh, not the only reason” Y/N was looking at him waiting for him to continue. Zuko could feel himself drowning. “Why is this so hard? It’s simple. Three words. I. Love. You. Wait should I say I’m in love with you instead? Y/N says I love you to her friends all the time. What if she says I love you back but she means it in a friend way? I don’t mean it in a friend way. Shit I’ve been quiet too long. Say something you fucking idiot!!”

“Zuko are you alright? Are you coming down with something you’re really red” Y/N raised her hand to feel his forehead but Zuko caught it. She furrowed her brows together, her eyes piercing right through him as he stood their awkwardly holding her wrist. The sky was turning dark, the only source of light was the moon that rose above them. It was late and he was wasting precious time.

“Fuck it” Zuko said as he dropped her arm taking a step towards her, closing the insufferable distance between them.

“What are you talking abou-” Y/N was interrupted with the feeling of Zuko’s lips on hers. It was chaste, but not without feeling. Instantly Zuko melted into it, her lips were as soft as he imagined so many times before. The skin on her cheeks felt warm under his hands where he gently held them, but before Y/N could even register what was happening Zuko pulled himself away, gracefully resting his forehead on hers. Zuko opened his eyes to see Y/N’s eyes blown wide in surprise,

“I’m in love with you. Spirits, I’m so in love with you Y/N” Zuko wished he had a camera then, because the look on Y/N’s face he wished he couple capture forever. He tried to memorize the details of her face, the way her eyes sparkled in the star light, the little gasp she let out that he could taste on his tongue, but most of all he wishes he could capture the smile she gave him. It fit her so beautifully in a way that only she could. She let out a little laugh, the one that made her nose scrunch up in the way he adored.

“What took you so long?” Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed all over his face, every inch she could. She kissed his lips, his cheeks, his nose, his eyes, his scar, his lips, his lips, his lips, over and over again until they were both gasping for air. Y/N’s heart was so full she felt as if it would burst at any moment.

“In case you couldn’t tell, I love you too Zuko” Y/N giggled in between kisses. Zuko wrapped her arms around her waist pulling her closer to him. Even then he felt it wasn’t close enough. Zuko slowly felt his way up her back, trailing his fingers up her spine, touching her in the way he always wanted to. One arm remained tightly wound across her waist, while the other caressed the base of her head. Y/N gently moaned at the feeling and Zuko swallowed it. He wanted to take everything she was willing to give, nothing more and nothing less. Zuko wondered if she could feel his heart pounding in his chest, as Y/N wondered the same.

They were in their own little world, completely oblivious to everything around them. Zuko and Y/N weren’t paying attention to the fact that they weren’t alone anymore. Neither of them heard the splash towards the other end of the dock, or cared to notice Sokka flailing in the water with Katara standing above him looking very pleased with herself.

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A/N: FIFTY CHAPTERS AND THEY FINALLY KISS!!!!! CAN I GET A HELL YEA!!!!! This series is my baby and I'm so beyond thrilled that we made it!! I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter 💕

Tag list:

@firelordtea @silverreading @inyourdreamshannahk @onesmokinbabe @cece-lives-here @coldlilheart @leel-lol @coconutsaiyan @justahockeylover @riespage @hariosborn @mochminnie @reallyimpossibleartisan @beifongsss @etoile-luna @iknowrocknroll567 @akariblue @fandom-phaser @loganrwebb @gaysludge @royahllty @theblueslytherin @nerdynstoned @beautifulfound @astralsaf @titaniafire @thewintersoldierswaifu @baekstans @duh-dobrik @svveet-peas @obi-one-kbone-me @lucyrocks86 @trashmouth-toziers-world @joy4joji @bands-r-my-heros @gothjuulpod @darkskin-buttercup @maybe-a-fangurl @394pitterpatterpotter394 @rainbowombat @spookities @sara5208 @savy-girl @welovediaaxx @roseart-crayons @theonlyprincessoftheworld @justaboringoldcannibal @yikesfandomtrash @extra-suga @fangeekkk

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dreamescapeswriting · 4 years

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Burnt With Envy ~ JJK [Request]

↬↬↬Word Count: 2.7k

↬↬↬Genre: Fluffy, angst,

↬↬↬Pairing: Jungkook x Gender Neutral Reader

↬↬↬WARNINGS: Mentions of plane turbulence, house fire, smoke inhalation [PS Sucky title because M sucks at titles]

↬↬↬ A/N: No name for the daughter as I know a lot of you like that, also I didn’t want to make it like a huge car accident or something so I went in a different way I hope this is okay for you my love! Stay Safe! Love you!

The plane ride you were on seemed to be taking forever, you were flying home after a long business meeting with your husband Jungkook who was now sitting on the phone to someone about the meeting - you didn't pay too much close attention to his side of the business as it never really interested you. Your daughter was curled up on your lap as you sat on one of the sofas inside of the private jet, one of the many joys of Jungkook being the CEO of many businesses. Never having to fly on a normal plane again.

"Look I don't care, give them whatever they want as long as they sign the papers tonight," You heard Jungkook sigh from across the plane, his eyebrows were strewn together and he was rubbing the bridge of his nose - a sure sign that he was stressing about something going on in his life.

"Yes, I'll hold." He turned around to glance at you so you gave him a small smile not wanting to bother him while he was working, as soon as his eyes landed on you and his daughter his eyes softened. Seeing the way you both looked together made him instantly relax, it was why he took you along on his business trips - that and he wanted his daughter to be able to see the world and learn from it. She was only 14 but could already speak 3 languages, Korean, English and French with the occasional bit of Japanese she had picked up on business trips.

"Everything okay?" You questioned when he hung up the phone and came over to you, he sat on the arm of the sofa next to you and nodded his head bending down to give you a gentle kiss on the top of your head.

"Just some more details to go through but everything's fine, how did her homework go?" He asked nodding his head down at the papers that were on the table in front of you, you scoffed leaning forward to pick up the different sheets of homework she'd been working on.

"She didn't need my help - as usual." You laughed, your daughter had always been exceptionally smart at everything she put her mind to but this homework was all about businesses. She had to create a fake brand and branch out with it, all within a fictional budget and timeline.

"She gets it from her dad," You whispered when Jungkook asked where she got it all from, you both knew it was impossible since she was adopted but you still liked to think that somehow she still got traits from both of you as her parents because that's what you were. Adopted or not she was your daughter.

"I think she'll take over everything when I die," He chuckled sliding in behind you on the sofa and wrapping his arm around your waist and snuggling his head into your neck.

Everyone saw Jungkook as a big CEO no one should mess with but deep inside he was just as soft as anybody else and wouldn't dream of hurting anyone - many people in his company knew it as well since he'd always been too scared to fire anyone, he never wanted to hurt someone's feelings which was odd. A CEO like him with a big heart was uncommon in the world, most of them didn't care for their employees but Jungkook did, he got to know most of everyone who worked for him, tried to relate to them in any way that he could and would help them if they ever needed it. The plane jolted and you gripped onto your daughter with one arm and Jungkook with the other, he hissed when he felt it do it once again.

"Sorry Sir, just a little trouble. One engine caught fire, we'll be okay until we land on your airstrip." You looked at the stewardess who had just come out of the cockpit to tell you both what was happening, luckily it was nothing major and you could both move on from it.

"Is the captain sure everything's okay?" She nodded slowly looking at all of you, she'd been working for Jungkook for the last four years and she was always pleasant when she worked on your flights.

"Everything is fine, he's assured me that we'll be fine until we land in ten minutes. After that, he'll have the engines repaired."

"Is dad okay?" Your daughter asked as you tucked her into her bed, the plane landed perfectly fine and it was being looked at by a professional but Jungkook was shaken up. Nothing had ever happened like that before, all of his planes were routinely checked by professionals, even if he wasn't flying anywhere he had them looked at to make sure nothing was wrong or could go wrong.

"He's okay baby, just a little worried about something. Don't worry about it, he loved your homework though." You soothed down the bedsheets and sat on the edge of her bed while you looked down at her, you began playing with her hair softly placing it behind her ear to make her sleepy again.

"He did? I was pretending to be him while I..." She yawned halfway through her sentence and closed her eyes - you'd learnt the hair trick from your grandmother who used to put you to sleep the same way.

"While I gave the presentation to my stuffed animals." You laughed softly as she fell to sleep almost right away, she'd always been able to do that though. One second she was awake and the next she was out like a light, it helped that she was a heavy sleeper too luckily she'd slept through the plane shaking and jittering around as you landed back on safe ground.

"Just call me when you have answers," His tone was authoritative as he hung up the phone and threw it down onto the double bed you were sitting in, you were in his favourite PJ's on you trying to convince him that everything would be fine when in reality you had no idea if it would or wouldn't be, you were just trying to make your husband relax before he had an aneurysm in front of you. He collapsed onto the bed in front of you and you began playing with his black hair, it was starting to get long enough for you to be able to put it into a man bun again - you used to do it all the time in college when you first started dating, you would put it in all sorts of styles but man buns were his favourite.

"You need a haircut," You mumbled pushing his head away as he tried to give you a kiss,

"I know, I'll fit one in tomorrow. How are you? Are you okay?" He'd been freaking out in the inside for hours about how you were feeling during the plane but you were fine, it was nothing major.

"I'm fine Kookie, I would be even better if my husband got into bed with me and stopped worrying," He sighed knowing you were right, he ran his hands through his hair before standing up from the bed,

"I'll have a shower and get into bed, will you turn the heating off? It's boiling in here." He groaned fanning himself as he tried to cool down, he was right though. The house had been exceptionally hot since the moment you got in and you were sure the heating was broken,

"I'll go shut it off at the boiler." You told him as you threw your legs off the bed and slipped into some slippers, he hummed at you from the en-suite and you made your way down the giant spiral staircase.

Most of the staff that Jungkook had working around the house were at home except for the live-in maid he had with you guys, she was tucked up in bed down by the living room and you didn't want to bother her with asking for help with the boiler. It was no big deal, you knew where it was and what you were doing, you just hated going down into the creepy basement that it was kept in.

Jungkook stirred beside you kicking off the sheets as you let out a cough,

"I thought you turned the heating down." He grumbled sitting up in the bed when his eyes widened, his nose was filled with smoke and there was smoke pouring in from underneath the door,

"Y/n! Get up!" You groaned opening your eyes to see what the big deal was when you smelt and saw the smoke as well, the smoke was starting to cloud which meant the fire was large.

"Go!" You screamed pushing him out of the door of your bedroom, you began coughing as the fire crackled from down the stairs, it was spreading its way along the living room floor, Jungkook sprinted in the direction of his daughter's bedroom while you tried to see what was starting the fire. The house was like something from a horror movie, everything was burning way too quickly, the plastic photo frames on the walls were all twisting and melting onto the floor and nothing was going o be saved.

"Y/n?! We have to move now!" You could hear your daughter coughing heavily and it brought you back to reality,

"Fire escape in your home office!" You were yelling to one another over the sound of the fire, you could smell chemicals and burning - of course burning, your house was on fire.

"Where are you going?!" He screamed watching as you made your way to the staircase, your feet could hardly touch it thanks to the heat radiating from downstair, it made the metal barely touchable.

"The maid! Jihoo! She's downstairs Kookie!" You were tearing up at the thought of her being hurt in something like this, you ignored Jungkook's pleas for you not to go down there and sprinted down the stairs pushing through the pain in your feet,

"GO! GET OUT!" You screamed at him, he clung onto your daughter who was starting to cough harder now, he could hear the firetrucks outside so he made a run for the office going out of the window and taking his daughter down the staircase out there.

"Jihoo!" You yelled, letting out a squeal when a flame danced out of control and began spreading closer to the bedroom door where she was staying.

"JIHOO!" You knew it was an invasion of privacy but right now it didn't seem important to you, she'd been working for you and Jungkook for years and was one of your most trusted employees.

"J-Jihoo?!" You spluttered out covering your mouth as you tried not to inhale too much smoke from the fire but she wasn't there, her things were gone. The room began to build up with black smoke and you groaned trying not to inhale it but it was filling up your lungs and making it harder for you to breathe.

Sirens were blaring loudly as you woke up, your eyes fluttering open as you were blinded by a bright white light,

"Ugh what the-" You stopped talking when you heard Jungkook's voice coming out in a panic,

"They're okay Mr Jeon, we just need to run some checks on them." You turned to see a paramedic looking at you and flashing a bright light into your eyes, for a second you thought you were a goner when you saw the white light.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"Jeon Y/n," He nodded and began asking you routine questions but your mind was on Jungkook and your daughter who was under one of those tinfoil blankets to help with shock. People were crowding around your house as the firefighters worked tirelessly to put it out, everything was gone. All the memories you had in the house, photographs, videos, everything was just gone and in a pile of ashes and rubble. There was a cold compress on your feet, you looked down to see what the paramedic was doing when he caught you looking,

"Your husband said you ran down metal stairs, we wanted to make sure your feet had no lasting damage. You're all okay except for a cough and some smoke inhalation. You'll be fine," He walked away as though your whole life wasn't just destroyed in one giant housefire that no one knew the cause of,

"Did you get to Jihoo?" You shook your head and went on to explain how she wasn't there and neither were her things, he frowned looking around for something.

"What's wrong?" You questioned but he wrapped the shock blanket around your daughter before walking over to a firefighter and getting into a lengthy discussion about what the fire was caused by.

It took 7 hours for them to battle the blaze and put it out, the sun had come out and a nanny had taken your daughter to a hotel to have a bath and get some rest while you and Jungkook stayed behind.

"There's nothing," You whispered looking through the rubble of what was once your house, the only thing that had lasted through the blaze was the metal staircase you'd sprinted down. Jungkook could tell you were getting upset so he stood behind you wrapping his arms around you to let you know it was okay, he was there and you weren't going through this alone.

"They think Jihoo was the one to start it all before leaving," You nodded knowing that it was probably true since she'd been the only other person in the house with extensive knowledge as to where anything was, it would have been easy for her to grab the accelerant used to make it burn faster and make it out alive with all of her things, the only real question was why she'd done it.

"Think it was because of something we did?" Your voice cracked as Jungkook walked you back onto the street, Police were combing through everything they could to find any kind of evidence they would need.

"We'll figure it out, I'm sure it was nothing we did. We loved her," He used his thumb to wipe away the tears from under your eyes and you sighed laying your head on his chest as you watched people begin to clean up what was left of your home.

"We hereby find the defendant guilty of arson, and guilty of attempted manslaughter." You looked down at your hands as the jury sat back down and the judge agreed with their verdict and began reading off the charges that Kim Jihoo was being charged with. Jungkook had his arm around your shoulder as a sign of support as she turned around to watch you both closely, her reasoning behind everything she'd done was because she'd been crazily obsessed with Jungkook for years and once she realised she could never get what she wanted, she wasn't going to let him be with anybody else.

"Take her away," The judge yelled, she turned back to the front and followed the police out while her chains rattled against the floor your eyes were downcast at your hands while Jungkook tried to comfort you. It was all over so you weren't going to have to worry about her coming to try it again but you still felt scared whenever you went to bed or hired someone new. There was a new policy being brought in to make larger background checks on everyone who worked for Jungkook, he didn't want to put his family at risk again but he was going to get you all through it.

"Let's go, we have a meeting with our daughter." He chuckled bringing you back to reality, your daughter was waiting back at the hotel you were staying in. She was going to give you her final presentation for her business project so you had something to keep you distracted for now.

"Going to be a CEO just like her daddy." You laughed walking with him in the direction of the parking lot.

Tagline:

@writingdreamsnottragedies @jooniesdarlingdimples @snowy-meowl @lynnthevirgo @lyoongx @mitzwinchester @fan-ati--c @callingmyangel @rjsmochii @kneel-begyourpardon @taestannie @innersooya

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sxfterhearts · 4 years

Text

wounded

24. [7:25 pm]

➳ pairing: yugyeom x reader

➳ genre/warnings: slow burn, fluff, slight bad boy!yugyeom, triggers; mentions of violence, injuries, physical abuse

➳ word count: 2,504 words

➳ summary: 24. “Just because,”

➳ author's note: this will probably turn into a two-shot, inspired by new era yugs. all creds for the gif below to @jinyoungot7, thank you so much 💖 i’ve been sitting on this idea for a bit too long + rewrote it 3 times (bc my dumb self forgot to hit save) so i really struggled to form the right words. i hope you’ll forgive me for this! any form of feedback will be very much appreciated 💕 (also: imo = aunty)

wounded // scarred // healed

A rush of stiflingly hot summer air pummeled through the double doors of your family’s restaurant, disrupting the once cool atmosphere created by the air-cons. Being reminded of this season’s unforgiving behaviours urged you to lift the straw of your cool drink to your lips.

The sip of iced Americano, however, got stuck in your throat when you laid eyes upon the restaurant’s newest patron.

Yugyeom. Kim Yugyeom, with his untucked shirt and loosened tie, took confident strides across the dining area in the direction of the kitchen window where chefs would place finished dishes, ready to be served. Your brain short-circuited for several moments as you did nothing but watch him from your position behind the cashier. His actions were that of a regular’s as he arrived at the window and stuck his head through the opening in the wall, his hand coming up in a small wave to catch the chefs’ attention.

It was then that you registered, quite belatedly, the bruises and splotches of crimson littered across the back of his raised hand, tarnishing the fair skin.

You distinctly remembered that you saw plasters wrapped around his fingers earlier today when you sat beside him in class. His current wounds made the older ones seem like insignificant paper cuts. It wasn’t unusual for Yugyeom to turn up covered in fresh cuts and purple bruises, though. In fact, you had grown so accustomed to this that you started stocking up on assorted Rilakkuma plasters. Since the start of the semester when you were assigned the furthest desk from the whiteboard, you learned how to disinfect open wounds with saline solution and cover it properly with pastel-coloured dressings, all courtesy of Kim Yugyeom.

“Imo, can I please order takeaway? One bibim naengmyeon and one mul naengmyeon, double serving of pickled radishes, two eggs and extra-”

“Yugyeom-ah!” Your mother’s unmistakeable voice pierced through as her head peeked out of the little window, coming face to face with your desk partner. She addressed him with such a warm and motherly tone, which left you surprised and confused. “Oh, oh dear… It’s best if you take a seat, you can have your dinner here. I’ll pack Mark’s in a takeaway container, don’t you worry.”

“But Imo, I need to get back, Mark-”

“No buts, Yugyeom. I already memorised your orders. Sit down, your food will be ready in a second.”

“Imo, I can’t-” Yugyeom protested weakly, waving his hands in refusal, but you knew it was all for nought. Attempting to deny your mother’s orders were an impossible feat.

A short silence ensued. You guessed this was caused by your mother’s signature death stare. Having been on the receiving end countless times during your lifetime, you were well aware that it could make anyone’s skin rise with goose bumps or a chill to run down their spines.

“Okay, Imo…” Came Yugyeom’s resigned voice as his lanky legs dragged himself over to the vacant seat closest to the kitchen.

You took this as your cue to question your mother in detail about how she became so familiar with your class’ bad boy. Unfortunately, you were met with a curt reminder of the first-aid kit in the cupboard under the counter as she busied herself with blanching the buckwheat noodles. When she was in her element, there was no way to deviate her attention from the task at hand.

Rummaging through the cupboard, you fished out the white box with a red cross stuck on the top of the lid. Taking a few moments to steel your quickening heart rate, you were struck by the realisation that this would be the first time seeing Yugyeom outside of school in the entire five years you spent as classmates. He was a quiet boy, never uttering a single word in school, even when the teachers were asking him questions, landing him a semi-permanent spot in detention. Most days, he would plug one earphone into his ear and rest his head on folded arms, taking frequent naps as the class learned about organic compounds or Punnett squares. He was also handed multiple demerits for breaking the school rules, which ranged from getting into fist fights with seniors who bullied students for their lunch money, or wearing one too many piercings (especially the shiny ones), to refusing to get a haircut when his fringe began to grow past his eyebrows, obscuring his eyes.

The most intimidating aspect about sitting next to Kim Yugyeom, however, was that nearly every week you were forced to come face to face with angry gashes and wounds that he seemingly gained overnight. He always turned a blind eye when you succumbed to your curiosity and inspected his injuries from your seat, mere inches away. Wordlessly, you would clean the damaged skin with practiced hands, then patch it up with a plaster. Rilakkuma, you decided, suited him best. The plasters matched his yellow Rilakkuma earphones. You even caught him occasionally staring at the plasters when you stayed in class during lunch, the only period in which he remained awake.

“Y/N,” Yugyeom called as you drew the seat next to him. He stared at the table, refusing to meet your eyes.

Your ears perked up the moment your name left his lips; you were not used to this. It was a rare occurrence for the two of you to speak. Usually you went about your everyday tasks silently, with little words being exchanged. It was a silence that grew comfortable over the semester, and you found yourself appreciating the peace it brought during stressful times.

Conversations between the two of you had only started up recently. This was largely attributed to your father, who worked front of the house, being ridiculed by your classmate’s parents when they visited the restaurant. They complained about your father’s complete lack of competence when they had to wait forty-five minutes for their food to arrive, only to receive the wrong dishes in the end. Furious, they shoved the plate of food off the table and stormed out of the restaurant, not even bothering to settle the bill. Your father was left to clean up the scraps in front of all the other customers, severely damaging the restaurant’s reputation.

The classmate, a snobby, pampered girl, confronted you in school the next day by rudely pushing your books and stationery onto the floor, just like her parents did. You held back angry, frustrated tears as she ridiculed you and your family in front of all your other classmates, tearing you down to shreds. Yugyeom, rousing from his nap, caught the girl’s wrist before she had the chance to slap you across the face with a notebook.

Everyone grew quiet then. The boy had never done anything to gain attention, always preferring to remain behind the shadows in perfect silence. “Keep it down, you’re ruining my sleep.” Yugyeom hissed threateningly. She cowered in fear and backed off, never to provoke you again.

“Look up, Yugyeom.” You instructed, returning to the task at hand. With a concerned gaze, you conducted a thorough examination of his injuries. The cuts on his hands and the bruises on his knuckles were fairly standard – a quick clean and plaster should do the trick. You got to work, pulling out the alcohol-free cleansing wipes and dabbing over the torn skin with gentle fingers. The boy flinched slightly upon the first contact but behaved rather well as you continued to tend to his hands. Your gaze flitted over the two spherical scars on the underside of his left forearm as he reached forward, closing the distance between the two of you. They were cigarette burns, you figured. You could feel Yugyeom’s fingers brushing against your temples as he pushed strands of your short hair back to rest behind your ears, the tips of which glowered pink at his actions.

“What happened this time?” You asked, somewhat rhetorically. You knew full well that Yugyeom would never divulge the events that led up to his injuries, no matter how persistent you were.

He hummed in response, as though that were an appropriate answer, and scrunched up his face slightly to express his reluctance in answering your question.

The wound smack bang in the middle of his nose presented itself as a bit more of a challenge. While Yugyeom was no stranger to facial injuries, often sporting shallow cuts close to his brow or near his chin, this was much deeper; much larger. It drew unwanted attention and tarnished his otherwise handsome features.

A dull thud sounded as a bowl of cold noodles landed on the table. Your mother stood over the two of you, shaking her head as she handed you a warm towel. You accepted it, still utterly clueless about how your mother was so well acquainted with Yugyeom and his injuries. “Y/N-ah, use this to clean the wound. If it’s still bleeding a lot, apply some pressure to it.” She then turned to the boy, tutting in disapproval. “Yugyeom, I’ve always respected your privacy when you show up in my restaurant covered in cuts and bruises, but this is where I draw the line. Your injuries are getting more serious. You and I are going to have a serious talk once you finish your dinner, young man. It’s been two years and I can’t watch from the sidelines any longer, are we clear?”

You watched as Yugyeom nearly heaved out a sigh, but decided against it in the last minute. “Yes, Imo. Thank you, Imo.”

Your mother, with her hands perched atop her waist, nodded gravely before strutting over to the kitchen, leaving the two of you alone once more. A million questions swarmed in your head as Yugyeom took the towel from your hands, pressing it onto his wound as he began to devour the bowl of cold noodles. This has been going on for two years? You wondered to yourself. Two long years, and yet I’ve never even ran into him in the restaurant. There’s no way, he must’ve been here when I worked over the summer. Maybe he was just sitting in a corner, eating in silence… As usual.

“You’ve been coming her for two years?” You asked before you could stop yourself, your curiosity getting the better of you. “But why?” Why didn’t you tell me? You thought silently, the rest of the sentence unable to leave your mouth.

Yugyeom shrugged as he picked out two halved egg yolks from the boiled eggs with his chopsticks. “Just because,”

Because you pitied me? Because you were ashamed of me? Because you couldn’t face me in school without thinking about that incident caused by the girl’s parents?

“It’s not like that.” The boy said flatly, his eyes meeting yours with a resolute gaze when he noticed you withdrawing, getting lost in your thoughts. “This is the only place that sells naengmyeon all year.”

“What?” You muttered in disbelief.

“I have naengmyeon every Friday, even in winter. The food is good and I only live five minutes away.”

You nodded at his explanation. Perhaps you were overthinking the situation.

“I was also trying to hide most of my injuries from you.” He admitted in a low voice, barely audible above the white noise of the restaurant. Yugyeom took another mouthful of noodles into his mouth, chewing appreciatively as the refreshing flavours soothed his senses. “Fridays…” He paused, eyes wandering vacantly around the vicinity of the restaurant. “Fridays are gambling days for my uncle. He’ll gamble, lose, drink and come home for dinner. You know my older brother, Mark?”

“Yeah, I know Mark.” It was hard not to know about Mark. Before he graduated four years ago, rumours about him spread like wildfire throughout the entire school. The one rumour you distinctly remembered as a first-year student was that he maintained good grades by doing, for a lack of better word, favours, for his female teachers.

“Mark would rush me out of the house before our uncle got home. He acted as my uncle’s babysitter by cooking him dinner, and then as his punching bag when he had to take out his frustration. I was home once when it happened, some time last year. After that I made Mark agree for us to take turns.”

Your head started to spin as your brain worked to process this new information. “Wait so, the cuts, the bruises, the burns, all of that…?”

Yugyeom nodded, still staring beyond the double doors. The sun was beginning to set. In the back of his mind, he registered that his uncle would be home soon. “Honestly, Mark had it worse, especially in the first few months after.”

He meant after his parents passed away two years ago. A car accident. They were coming home from their anniversary dinner. It was raining. There was a truck going around the corner at insane speeds, towards their car. It swerved. Their car plummeted off a cliff. They died instantly, the aunties gossiped as they filtered in and out of the restaurant. Poor kids, they would remark, casting pitied looks at the brothers.

“Your mother, she’s really something else.” He said with a small smile while picking up a few pieces of cucumber and radish. “The first time I came in, the restaurant was about to close. She took one look at me and forced me to press a piece of frozen beef on my bruise. She talked to me the entire time she was dressing my wound, I swear my ears nearly fell off.”

That sounded exactly like your mother. She loved to nag, but it always came from a place of genuine concern. “Imagine being her daughter.” You joked, grateful for the slight comedic relief from the heavy nature of the words you shared. It was one of the few proper conversations you had with your desk partner.

“Sometimes I have to remind myself that she isn’t my mother.” Yugyeom said, his tone so broken and devastated that you felt your heart ache within your chest.

You placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder, trying your best to provide him with some form, any form of comfort. “I’m sure she cares for you like her own son. Especially since she’s been making you dinner every Friday for the past two years.”

“Yeah, I suppose.”

“She even nurses your injuries.”

“But you do that too.” He pointed out without missing a beat, a teasing glint in his eyes as he finally turned to look at you.

“I…”

“Nevermind, forget I said anything.” Yugyeom replied with a knowing grin, returning back to his dinner.

I care about you too, a lot. You confessed silently, resting your heavy head on your palms as you watched him eat. The golden shine of the sun casted upon his pointed features. Despite the old scars and the new wounds, he glowed.

A part of you realised that after so many months, you had finally broken-down Kim Yugyeom’s iron walls. School would be very different from now on.

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jockedguy · 4 years

Photo

It’s All Good, Bro

So I get road rage every once in awhile. It’s not like it’s something I can help — it just boils out of me. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my mother was a bus driver, and she spent most of my teenage years fuming at idiots on the road who didn’t obey the rules.

And I’ll tell you, there was something about these bros, whooping and hollering as they swerved to cut me off, like they were having fun doing it.

Assholes.

So I slammed on my brakes, narrowly avoiding clipping their back bumper, feeling my road rage grow and grow as the two in the backseat flicked me off nonchalantly, not even bothering to look at me as they did it.

Now, most people don’t fuck with me. I drive a truck — it’s not a big one, but I raised it myself, and I do most of the repairs myself, unless it’s got something to do with the electronics. I’ve got a few stickers on the back of it that is usually enough to convince anyone dumbass enough to fuck with me otherwise: my NRA sticker, my Punisher sticker, and of course, my Browning logo sticker.

It’s not that I’m a redneck, but … well, yeah, I’m kind of a redneck. Like a beach redneck. The beach has always been my happy place, I guess, unless I’m out in the woods with my gun. Anywhere in nature. I try to imagine the pound of the surf, or the sound of the wind in the trees, if I feel myself getting angry. You know, the old meditation techniques: close your eyes, breathe in, breathe out, imagine your happy place, and soon all the stress just sort of evaporates, turning into little mist particles.

I slammed the car door and got out of the truck, staring daggers across the asphalt at the sandy-haired bro getting out of the Jeep. “What the fuck!” I bellowed, mustering my whole six-foot frame to shout. “You cut me off back there, you asshole!”

The dude looked up at me, and I caught a flash of something in his eyes. He was built like a brick shithouse, but oddly enough seemed to be the least muscular of the bros crammed into the Jeep — at least, from what I could see.

And then the bro with the flattop haircut stuck his body out the back window and hollered at me. “Sucks to suck, bro!”

I had to close my eyes for a moment, imagining the pound and crash of the surf on the beach. The sand under my toes. The heat of the sun on my skin. I opened my eyes and stepped forward, away from my truck. “I don’t think you really want to fuck with me, man. Just saying.”

The flattop-bro had already wriggled his way back inside the Jeep, and was busying high-fiving the other guys. The driver was ignoring me, which wasn’t doing much to extinguish my blooming rage. He casually flipped and unhooked the nozzle, inserting it into his gas tank without so much as another glance in my direction.

“Hey,” I said, moving a little closer. “I’m fucking talking to you, asshole.”

“Bro, chill the fuck out, bro,” he said, without looking up. “You’re way too wound up, bro.” The gas guzzled, clunking and sloshing as it went. I could hear the whir of the numbers ticking up on the pump, counting up the money this probably rich douchebag was going to spend filling his tank.

My fists clenched at my sides. I felt my nostrils flaring, and I took an unconscious step forward. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the Jeep’s sideview mirror. We were a pretty evenly matched pair, if I had to guess, as long as the bros in the Jeep didn’t try to join in and make it an unfair fight.

Read the rest here:

https://www.gayspiralstories.com/newStory/show/1518635

#jockedguystories

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theworldinclines · 4 years

Text

Title: class 8 kid

Pairing: Pang/Wave

Ao3 link

The gang’s third year at Ritdha was one of secrecy. Group messages that skated around words they couldn’t put in print, silly code-names both there and in person, and meet-ups that were limited to two or three members at a time to avoid suspicion. Their secret room stocked to the brim with carefully curated receipts for their side was to anyone else’s eyes nothing special, a storage area in the back of the school that even the cleaning crew doesn’t bother with anymore.

But with Ohm’s ability, they acquired the keys and made the space their own, and when he arrives, all their work that’s so expertly made invisible appears again for them to pour over. It’s been months of biding their time and working in the shadows, while each former Gifted student advanced their Potential or helped the others to do so.

It’s been months since Pang’s memories were stolen and returned, and since he realised that trying to fix systematic injustice can’t be done alone. He isn’t under any illusion that things have been perfect though.

The disbanding of the Gifted Program means nothing when their knowledge spans outward from Ritdha and into the Director’s world, where they’re well aware that he’s never given up trying to get the Program back… which seems to have happened. They can’t quit until he does, so they haven’t. Under the radar means no group meetings, interaction in the hallway is restricted to cursory nods, at best, and to not appear protestant to the way things have been. In most ways, things have been calm. Until some riled-up newcomers thought it wise to boil trouble regarding the Gifted’s removal from the school.

The others had asked Pang’s opinion and he’d replied that everything would be fine, no cause for concern to be seen. The administration would surely shut down these students’ demands; why wouldn’t they? Inside, however, he knew that nothing is that simple. This insurgency of protest from the first years is the chance Director Supot has been waiting for, even if he isn’t necessarily in charge anymore. Pang wouldn’t put anything past him, not again. He’s learned from the last time to never think himself in the lead; to get ahead, they have to assume they’re always two steps behind.

But he didn’t tell any of this to his friends at first, because the last thing he wanted was to cause them alarm. They’ve worked diligently this past year and to dampen their high spirits would be horrible. He had Wave hack and bring down the Student.Move page under the guise of school administration in the hopes that that might be the end of it. He should have known better; after all, would that have stopped him? Not even slightly. As it would’ve done to him, it only encouraged them further. It was a bit of a backfire that prompted Pang to arrange a meeting of the Gifted for the first time in a year on that Friday.

While everyone is surprised that he’d moved it up a week, there’s palpable excitement too. They’re walking in with the notion that Pang just wants to discuss their plan moving forward, the plan they’ve been putting together for what feels like ages that’s now been rearranged by recent events, but he also knows that he needs to acknowledge his worry over the new students’ rebellion. They’re less than a week into this semester and already the Gifted Program is one placement exam from being reinstated. They have to discuss what this means for their months-long work.

Pang is flat on his bed, trying to gather himself. He’s thrilled to have the chance to see his friends all in the same room, but he’s sure that he’ll never get over the bout of nerves he gets whenever they meet to talk, whether it be one on one or even in messages. Sure, it’s been relatively quiet on the Director’s end, but it isn’t ridiculous to be worried that letting their guard down for even a second could mean being found out.

In the back of his mind, it feels like Pang is always half-expecting the Director’s men to rush in out of nowhere to destroy what they’ve managed to put together over the year and this time, and wipe their memories for good. It’s a little bit of a spiral, he’ll admit that, but being cautious is good. It keeps him prepared, diligent, and when it comes to people as ruthless as Director Supot, it isn’t even enough to be those.

One knock at the door and then Wave is walking right in like the room is his. It may as well be, by now. Pang had gotten a single for this semester, thankfully, one perk of being in the graduating class. If he’d had to deal with Nac or some roommate pushing in his business, he would’ve gone crazy. Having a room to himself was probably one of the top things he missed most last year when the Program had been shut down. (And being able to see his friends, obviously. But seriously, he likes his space.)

“You ready?” Wave asks.

“’Course.” Pang tosses his stress ball up into the air and Wave catches it in his hand with a little eye-roll.

“Don’t lie,” he says. “The rest might buy it, but I won’t.” Pang shoots Wave a Look that’s probably weak as hell because it only succeeds in drawing a tiny smile from Wave. “I know you’re worried about the trouble the new kids are stirring up; you don’t have to act around me.”

“I’m…” Pang begins, then decides to just be honest. “I’m planning to talk about it tonight. The more I think about it, the less sure I am it’s going to blow over, you know? I don’t want to underestimate them. Or the Director.” Pang scoots over on the top blanket in invitation, and Wave shrugs off his jacket so that he can lay down beside him.

They stare up at the ceiling, and then Wave surmises, “You think that one kid’ll be you, two-point-oh?”

“With the exact opposite complaints,” Pang says, making Wave laugh quietly. “There’s so much they don’t know, if they just…”

“The group seems to be run by only a few students, likely that kid Time. If we can get a handle on him, explain that the Gifted isn’t what they believe it to be…”

“Yeah, right. Hey, guys, this dude can give you superpowers. Doesn’t that sound shitty?” Wave nudges his elbow into Pang’s side as they laugh. Pang huffs out a breath and flops onto his side to face Wave. “The ‘you’ of second-year would say I should just use my power to take away their free will,” he says, bottom lip pushed out dramatically.

Wave snorts at Pang’s sarcasm. “Hey, just because I’m not the one suggesting it doesn’t mean you can’t. If that’s the way to solve this, quick and easy, I’m all for it.”

Pang falls again onto his back. “I won’t do that,” he says, as anyone could’ve guessed. “I can’t.”

“I know,” Wave answers calmly.

Pang pulls Wave’s hand into his to rest them both on his stomach. A while ago, Wave would turn red and sputter, maybe even refuse to let Pang keep his hand, but not anymore. Not for a long time now. “All in the same room, after all this time,” Pang murmurs. “I can’t believe how long it’s been.”

“The only difference is your hair is less horrible,” Wave says, and Pang immediately looks at him in offense.

He lifts their joined hands, eyebrows raised sky-high, and demands, “That’s the only difference? My haircut?” He drops his grip on Wave, who’s trying not to laugh, and sits up on the bed to pull at the buttons on his school shirt.

“What are you doing?”

“You provoked me,” Pang says, already on the fourth button. “This is coming off. Better yet, the meeting’s cancelled. Punn and Claire would probably like some alone time too, now that I think about it.”

“We’re going,” Wave says, laughing as he gets to his feet to fetch his jacket. “We’re unofficial co-leaders of the group; we can’t blow it off just for—”

“Why?” Pang says, a whine in his words.

Wave sighs and sits next to Pang. “I get you’re worried. But go there and show them that it’s under control, or that it will be, because the alternative is panic.” Pang nods, although he isn't’ happy about it, and Wave nods in return. “Okay.”

They walk to the academic building that houses their meeting space and once they’re some distance from the door, Wave stops to turn to Pang.

“I’ll go in first. You come in after.”

“Why?” Pang asks, nose wrinkled.

“It’s pretty conspicuous for both of us to arrive at the same time, don’t you think?”

“Do you actually think anyone in there gives—”

Wave gives Pang an all-too-brief kiss, just to shut him the hell up. It isn’t that Wave is necessarily against telling their friends about their relationship, it’s just that it had happened last year in the midst of the Gifted Program’s dismissal and not being able to really see one another, so telling them all felt sort of pointless. And now it’s been months and it feels more awkward than anything else, so he’d rather avoid the teasing he’s sure will come were they to find out.

He goes to detach himself from Pang just as Pang’s arms wrap around to keep him close. He gives Wave a second kiss, this one to the side of his head. “Wave,” Pang says.

“Pang,” Wave answers, half impatient and half completely enamoured. He allows Pang to take his jacket from his hands so that he can settle it snugly over Wave’s arms. He smooths his hands down over Wave’s shoulders and gives him a little smile. “See you in there.”

Wave doesn’t have it in him to say anything rude, even as a quip, when Pang looks at him like that, so he just nods and turns on his heel to go. He waits outside the door for his perfect moment, then takes it. Hopefully his confidence will disguise the fact that all he can see in his mind is Pang and those undone buttons, damn him.

“Yes,” Wave replies confidently to Mon’s question. “Now that the Placement Exam’s back on, we should stick to our original plan.”

Mon looks around the space surrounding Wave like there’s something missing. “Isn’t the Class Eight Kid with you?” she asks him, and Wave’s stomach takes a dip.

At their friends light laughter, not judgmental, he tries to calm his racing heart. If he and Pang get teased regardless, maybe telling them would be easier, actually. Jesus. At least then he could blame his consequential flustered actions (i.e. panicked ramblings of an exposed man, insertion of the wrong side of the cassette home to love songs) on the boy responsible. Or would that be even more embarrassing?

This’ll be a great year.

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naturaldisasterfanfiction · 4 years

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10.

I would say it’s been the first time where I have not walked out onto my balcony and watched the sun rise, I am actually in bed and just woke up. I thought I needed my sleep, today is a big day for me and it’s something different too, I am travelling with Robyn and I am feeling ever so excited, I have my barber coming over today so I better get out of bed. I actually slept in my bed, like the bed I don’t like to sleep in because I prefer to sleep once the drugs hit me to knock me out, I am not sure if I am living off adrenaline but I am excited. I am so excited to see Robyn, I miss her, wait that is bad. I mean I am there for the baby “shit” I said smiling to myself, I really got Rihanna pregnant, nobody would believe me but I wouldn’t tell anyone because it’s boss lady orders but I am so happy, I stayed out of the way, stayed upstairs, smoked my blunts and then guess what, god blessed me with Robyn’ number, she messages me on Instagram and was like my number, it’s been years since I have had her number. I saved it under R with a heart, you never know who is looking at my phone, I am so happy. I feel so emotional about it all, I am so happy. I just can’t wait to see Robyn, the fact she is allowing me in her circle, she is so protective of it all, she is holding her hand out to me, I am taking it and not thinking twice. I have always wanted to be with Robyn, the world never allows it. I fucked up though, when she became busy, I was busy fucking with other women but then when I realised she was leaving me it was too late, I was in a fucked up place and I wish I didn’t make that shit happen, we would be together still, and to this day I am laughing and shy with her. I just want to hold her; I love her so much and it’s crazy. I know she does too, when I think back, we were both crying but she composed herself so well, I hope she doesn’t let me down, her people can be cruel and they was cruel to us back then, it hurt but I am going to be a daddy, I am ever so happy. I mean I am a father of two, but this is special, incredibly special.

Dapping JC “my man, thank you for coming” I feel so refreshed to be honest sleeping in a bed “get rid of that, and any other shit. My daughter is coming” I pointed at the counter, Hoody just stared at me “it’s for you? It just got bought?” shaking my head “nah, don’t want it. Just get rid of it from my home. I am not going to ask twice, just do it” walking off “oh and also Keeis will be housesitting, I will be away too. JC I will be back” Robyn wants me to be better, I will be better and it will start from my home, I can do it, I know what I need to do but I just needed someone to do it for. I feel whole again, I know it’s like doing the most, but I feel so much joy in my heart, I am excited to see Robyn so much. I called Nia, told her to come with Royalty, it’s not my day but I just wanted to tell Royalty that I won’t be here for a few days and I will be back, I rather say it to her then my mom, I can only imagine my mom annoyance and I can’t be bothered to explain anything when Robyn has said tell nobody and I rather not, I feel like people won’t be happy for me like I think. I don’t want the negativity right now when I am feeling like this, in life and in my mental state I always got to have a goal and making Robyn happy is my goal which will make me happy, I just don’t need people talking shit because I will end up knocking someone the fuck out. I think even my family will say Rihanna again, move on because maybe I am crazy for her.

I feel my peers are concerned, they are watching me and don’t understand where I am going without anyone “you only had a cut three days ago, look at you now. Again?” JC said, I chuckled. He is not wrong; I actually did just have a haircut, but I got to be clean “where is my dad? He said I have to come” hearing my daughter say, “he is here trouble” Hoody said, lifting my head up “hi Chris” Nia said “hi, I won’t take up much of your time. I know you busy making deals” Royalty jumped on my lap “hey, watch it. my hair is going everywhere, I mean barely anything” Royalty touching my head “you have no hair left” she is cheeky “thank you but I wanted to see you, tell you in person. Also, I missed you” Royalty pulled a face “I promise I did” Royalty smiled “ok, so what is it. Are we doing something fun?” shaking my head “dad has been not the best dad, and I have heard you complain about it too. I have noted what you have said and I want to be better for you” Royalty frowned at me “but dad I love you but I just want to stay with you now, we can do fun things?” nodding my head “I get it but I need some time to be better, I won’t see you for a few days and I know it’s the normal thing. I don’t see you much anyways, but I am hoping to be the dad you want me to be and that you can be happy with it. That I can be there for you, you would like that wouldn’t you?” Royalty nodded her head “I do, just because you are the best when I am with you dad” I cooed out “that makes me happy, but I want more of that so daddy will be doing a deep think, but I haven’t forgotten about you yeah?” Royalty nodded her head “can you bring something back?” I laughed “uh yes, what is it?” she always wants something “just you” hearing Nia say awww as Royalty hugged me “I will be back, I won’t leave you” hugging Royalty close.

Watching Royalty chase Zeus around the yard “are you going on a boys time away or something?” Nia asked, I mean of course she would ask “not exactly, I am going alone. I just need time to think, you know. For some change? That is what is needed, I need it” I do need it, I can’t wait to see Robyn, it’s pretty sad but I am excited. This is change, a change I am excited for “Chris Brown on holiday alone? Wow, that is not like you at all, are you sure you’re ok?” she questioned, I chuckled “yeah, yeah I am good. I will be back; I know it seems drastic. I ain’t going to kill myself” Nia’ eyes bulged out “don’t say that” I laughed out because maybe I shouldn’t say that “I promise, I just need some me time, I am good. I will be back a little more positive, but I am happy, you done well with roro anyways” I complimented “thank you, Royalty. Come on now, say bye to your dad and we can go and see Sinatra” Royalty groaned out “what! Ok, bye Zeus” she ran towards us and so did my dog, his big self running along with her “come here” picking her up “you know at some point I won’t be able to hold you, you know that right” Royalty wrapped her arms around my neck “never!” she shouted.

Looking at my watch, the SUV should be here soon to pick me up “are joining the FBI or something? Where are you going that nobody knows? This nigga is being sly, he been going missing for a while now” Sinko asked, they are all sat here just judging and having drugs, but me. I am high on the fact I am seeing Robyn “I just want you all to not be in the house while I am gone, you can’t just be here having parties and stuff, and girls included” pointing at the fact Krista is here “that? Really, just that now” I sighed out “I just need some time alone, that is all. Keeis, strict rules, you can be here and that is until I am back” seeing my phone screen light up with R on the screen, I snatched my phone from the table and answered the call “hello?” I didn’t let it ring twice, turning the volume down “that was quick, come to the house. We need to sort something out first” nodding my head “that is fine, I will see you then” I am like a dog, I mean she is literally running shit so yes “you can hang up now” Robyn said laughing “you also have that option too but I will do it” disconnecting the call, smiling to myself as I did “you got some new woman? This nigga has a new lady friend” I was going to throw my phone at Hood but I didn’t “SUV is here cuz” Keeis said “anyways, get out of the home while I am gone” grabbing my duffle bag “Chris” Krista caught my arm with her hand “when you come back we need to talk” frowning at her “about what? If it is the me and you thing, not happening” she frowned at me “you said you was thinking about it? Come on Chris, you have nothing else going for you, I am the one helping you to sleep” shaking my head “you were, but I need to change that. Like I said, everyone out until I am back” let me just leave, these are just fussing for no reason about me.

You know what bugs me, Rihanna is pregnant but then people joke on me which has put me off with going on Instagram, they dogging me out and making it a joke because she is pregnant, but it doesn’t bother me now I know I am the dad but if I didn’t, then I would be very hurt about it all. If I stay quiet then people will think I am bitter, if I answer then I am bitter and deluded and I need to leave her alone so I can’t win either way, shaking my head seeing the memes about me. I think I will remain quiet, that is the best thing for me. Seeing another post, how am I trash, and Drake isn’t, I don’t get it like what the fuck. I am losing the will to live; I need to relax because clearly I did just say I would be quiet about it all. I am just going to put congratulation under her post, I have too because the blogs are dogging me out about this. Commenting under Robyn’ post ‘Congratulations QUEEN!’ simple, I mean what else can I say but this shit is just fucking bugging me out. How can she have good news and I am being tortured about it. This is why I take fucking drugs and stay the fuck high; this shit is blowing me to bad. The media want me to stay away from her but always make me out to be the loser and drag my name into it, it makes no sense at all. I am just going to cool it with the social media because it stresses me out, I am going to enjoy my time with Robyn, and I know it will be fun with them.

Putting my backpack on before grabbing my duffle back “thank you sir” closing the SUV door, if Robyn wants this to work she really needs to move in silence so I wonder how this will work out between us, she does pretty well anyways so I am sure she will figure something out. Pressing the buzzer on the front door, I feel like I am going on a school trip, I am excited. It’s like the feeling when I moved to Newark with family friends and I was like fourteen, I was so happy to go and do something different, get out of VA anyways. The door opened “hey Chris” it’s Noella “hi” smiling at her “oh wow, it’s Chris Brown” Majesty said, she has grown “you are tall, I remember you was so tiny. Hi” Majesty got shy and ran off “come in, it is hectic here. We have the Barbados nation in this home right now” I laughed getting inside “so how are you? Digested the thought?” Noella closed the door “I have, still nervous about it all. I get judged a lot so yeah” Noella waved me over “well come along, I must warn you, Monica, Ronald and Lionel are here. They stayed over from the Ball. Rajad and Rorrey are not here, they left ahead of us” letting out an oh, I stopped midway “this is a lot” I said, I mean come on this is her parents “don’t feel that way Chris, come on now. No hard feelings” I am nervous “what’s up Chris?” I just melted instantly hearing her voice, I just felt like a child “uh, hey” I smiled wide “big head is feeling all nervous now I said your parents are here” Robyn looks so beautiful, so full of life just smiling and glowing “don’t be, come on. Nobody will harm you, that is when we get to Mexico” I guess I better go in.

Robyn is laughing, not sure at me or just laughing in general “Chris” Ronald shot up “good to see you after all these years” dropping my duffle back to the ground, watching coming over to me “same” shaking his hand “I am glad you stepped up, I would have been hurt if you didn’t because I know you can be a good man, don’t make me hate you” I laughed, Ronald is a good man to me but I know Robyn has been up and down with her father “I wouldn’t miss it for anything, thank you for being welcoming though” looking to the side a little seeing Robyn just smiling “you know Lionel, he’s been waiting for you Chris. They know you are coming Bravo, it’s Chris. You said you wanted to tell him off” Ronald patted my back laughing “is this the boy, you come here young man” Lionel has aged a lot “don’t get up it’s ok” I said but he got up, I don’t think I am ready “you come to me as a good man, yes” he looked at me “I do remember you, yes I do. You’re here and I can be happy with that, we meet again older Brown yes” Lionel got his hand out “you called me young Brown when we first met” I do remember that “and now you old Brown and you back in my baby’ life, Clara would be laughing her little heart out sat here, she knew. Oh, she knew, my baby loves once, only. He’s been checked, he’s a good man” Lionel said as he shuffled to sit back down “he’s a good man? Welcome Chris” Monica said, she got up from the couch “nice seeing you again” I wasn’t sure to hug her or what, but she hugged me “wasn’t bad was it?” Robyn said, she is funny.

I have been sat here with Robyn’ family as they all spoke, I am just sat here not doing anything but listen of course “ok, I am back. Forever peeing now” my eyes lit up seeing Robyn, she looks so good pregnant “you all were supposed to be moving to the door though, what the hell. Well anyways, this is how we are doing this. Ja, Mel, Jen, Bravo and my mom with me in the car. Second one is my dad, Noella and Chris with Tina, she will be in with you. Tina is quiet don’t worry. Split it up, Chris you can go first with them, leave there and we will meet you on the jet. We will leave after just to give that space of arrival; it should be fine hopefully” Robyn has really thought this through “so I need the names mentioned up now, miss mamas you too” Majesty is just laughing at Robyn, getting up from the couch “and please try and not be seen, Chris mostly. Tina it’s on you if he is seen” the little Chinese girl just looked at Robyn in shock “but I can’t predict that!” she spat “I can predict me firing you, get out now. Hurry up” I rather be riding in the car with Robyn, but I guess the boss has spoken, I don’t mind Noella, she is a good woman. Walking behind then ladies and letting then get in the SUV first “after you” I gestured Ronald it sits in first, this is big. I am going to Mexico with Robyn’ people and I have no nobody there for me at all.

I didn’t know where to sit on the jet because it’s going to be a packed jet, so I just sat in the corner, stay out of the way. I am not sure who will sit with me, if only Robyn does but I am not pushing it “auntie taking too long” Majesty complained, I like that because Majesty is me, I think she is also taking too long “sorry for the hold up! We are here!” Jen said as she is the first to get on, then seeing Rich I think, her bodyguard and then another bodyguard. At the end of the day, I am just here to see where the fuck Robyn is but there she is, I smirked a little “I just want to say, I know you bitches like to go on live, you like to post picture but please be wary of backgrounds. You know how crazy people are, do not get Chris in it and me also. Unless I say it is ok, but just be careful. Other then that take your seats so we can go, I need to pee again chile. This is not cute” Robyn smiled at me as she sat at the table “I can fit in this still woo!” Mel also sat with her, along with Ja and Jen “Majesty please sit down, where do you want to sit, every seat is going to be taken?” Majesty is sassy, she is like Royalty “I will sit next to Robyn boyfriend” Majesty pointed at me “hey! Majesty, what we say about” Noella said while laughing “I will sit here” she sat next to me “well, that took turn” she didn’t hold back “that little rascal! Stop saying words!” Robyn shouted “stop it now, sit here and be good. If she does play up, I just there” Noella pointed.

Majesty is not it; she is not the best seat buddy at all. It is like sitting with Royalty, that is never good. This child just continues to speak “auntie has those” Majesty pointed behind my ear, she is climbing the damn seats “that is nice but I got mine first” Majesty pulled a face at me “I know who you are, play no games play no games” she started singing “you sing? You sound better then Rihanna” I complimented “I know, I say it a lot. She doesn’t hear me out” I busted out laughing, oh Robyn got competition with this “can you sing me a song?” if she wasn’t so cute I would say no but she is “choose a song then?” turning in my seat “rude boy!” she spat “oh you need to go and ask your auntie for that” she jumped up and down on the seat “no, I want you to sing you got it girl! Please!” I sighed out, now I got to think of the tune. Bopping “Lil baby in her bag in her Birkin, no nine to five put the work in, Flaws and all I love em all to me you're perfect. Baby girl, you got it, girl, you got it, girl” Majesty clapped screaming and then attacked me with a hug, catching as I hugged her but the whole jet decided to hear “is she annoying you? I can totally take her now” I chuckled at Majesty just being dramatic “we are doing singing lessons, she told me that Rihanna can’t sing like me” I lied of course “I did not!” Majesty yelped out “I am not a performing monkey like you” looking at Robyn “I actually enjoyed it, do it again so I can record you” Mel said, shaking my head laughing.

Arriving at the villa, it is beautiful and so private. There are no neighbours at all, just pretty much in the middle of nowhere and that is amazing for us. Getting out of the car, I have a little buddy with me now “I think Robyn wants you” Tina said at the side of me “she does” looking over at her, she waved me over, oh Robyn does want me “wait for me” hearing a little voice behind me, she held my hand “you taking over my niece now” Robyn’ face in this sun, she is glowing and I love to see it “she likes me” I said laughing “it’s nice to see you are bonding but Majesty please go to mommy, we will be in after” Majesty let my hand go and ran off “what’s up?” I asked, “you not hot in a sweatshirt?” is the first thing she asked “possibly, is everyone going to stay here? Like is there is enough space” I mean there is a lot of people “there is half sleeping elsewhere, staying here for the mornings and stuff” I guess that will be, I just know it “but you will be staying here so it’s fine, I just wanted to see if you’re ok and I wanted to walk with you inside. The main person that will show his dislike is in there” letting out an oh “well I don’t care, I ain’t going to scare away from him” I shrugged “you’re not but I invited you so I want to make sure he doesn’t try it so just do it my way” nodding my head, Robyn walked off and I walked behind, letting her take the lead of course. This place is beautiful “mom said-” Rorrey said but then stopped speaking seeing him “oh wow, really? Is that what we doing, I should have done the party in London then” I would like to punch him “he will be also there, he is here because he is the father of the baby and he has a right to be here” Rorrey hates and I see it ”you just don’t know when to leave or leave my sister alone” I am going to leave this on Robyn “we both had sex, I wanted it too so fuck whatever you are saying. Also, your place in the home has been replaced, you have no bed. So you need to sleep in the next one, and if you cause shit then you know how to get home and you don’t want to upset mom. Come Chris” like I said I am leaving that to Robyn “I will show you the bedroom, I have come here before and it’s so nice they all have a view” maybe I could sneak into her room “I bet yours is better” Robyn instantly giggled, she knows and she isn’t stupid “ be quiet” I hope her room isn’t far.

#Chrianna FF #Chrianna #Chrianna Fanfiction #Fanfic #Fanfiction

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queen-parasoul · 4 years

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Could you do painwheel squiggly n Levi just hanging out? Maybe just trying to relax at a coffee shop after the whole skullgirls shitshow

In the placid Monday afternoon, one of Meridian’s quieter coffee shops stood half full, couples and freed students lazily taking their lunch. Between food orders, a waiter delivered a pair of drinks to two teenage girls chatting at a back table, one in a school uniform, and the other in a long skirt and a hoodie with sleeves that fell over her hands.

In the conversation’s pause, Carol smoothed out her napkin in her lap, shoulders slumped forward, to assuage another nervous wave of pinpricks beneath her skin. She felt pressured to mind her manners around such high-class people, no matter how friendly they were.

Despite the discomfort, the prickling beneath her skin had diminished lately, a sign to her that a greater effort to socialize was improving her health. Reestablishing her friendship with Filia alone had done wonders, and reconnecting to the other people who had bothered learning her name had helped even more. She was no social butterfly, but even the shortest interactions made her feel normal again.

Unfortunately, Carol’s list of friends was short. While Filia always enjoyed their days out, she had a wider circle of friends, as did the other girls she knew. Carol took respectful steps back from them to avoid interrupting their lives too much, but in doing so, had left herself alone. Luckily, she had been given a recommendation for company.

They had only gone out to lunch a few times now but had hit it off fairly well. Squigly was patient with any of Carol’s social stumbles, which took a sizeable amount of stress off Carol’s shoulders. Plus, unlike Carol’s other friends, Squigly preferred sitting in the corner where Leviathan could sneak out from under her hoodie for a breath of fresh air.

“So,” Squigly said after managing a sip of her lemonade, “Do you have any plans for the week?”

“Mostly homework. I still need to go shopping though.” Carol sighed. “I don’t have any good summer clothes.”

“I should as well, especially with my wardrobe being so outdated.” She watched a group of girls their age exit the restaurant. “Fashion has changed since my time. Although I suppose our family was a bit more old fashioned anyway.”

“If I may make a recommendation,” Leviathan chimed in as he wriggled out from Squigly’s hood, “Perhaps a wide brim hat? It may be a bit easier to keep me concealed more comfortably.”

Squigly giggled. “I suppose. They do seem to be very in style.”

“Filia was interested in them, but Samson doesn’t think they ‘breathe’ well enough.” Carol said. “I like them though.”

“You should try them! You would look nice in one.”

“Thanks, but I don’t think I could since…” She waved her hand over her face, “You know.”

Squigly cocked her head. “What?

“Hats like that put too much attention on my face.”

“I don’t think it would clash with your eye color, if that’s what you mean.”

“No, no, I’m talking about…the scars.”

Carol’s mood dropped like a brick. She had accepted the damage done to her at this point, but it still weighed heavily on her. Feeling normal was tough when she could see the marks her mask had left in the mirror. Even without he reflection, she could feel the phantom pressure of the stitches clinging to her skin.

“They really don’t look bad.” Squigly reassured.

“Yeah. I mean, sure, they could be…worse, I guess? At least the stitches are out now.” Suddenly a thought hit her. “N-not that yours look bad! I mean, it’s bad that you have them since you can’t eat, but like-”

She fumbled for words, trying not to offend one of the only friends she had. However, Squigly still smiled sympathetically.

“Don’t worry. It’s understandable if you’re a bit self-conscious.”

Carol sunk back in her seat. “It’s not easy to hide. I thought about using coverup or something, but it would be a hassle to do every day. Filia doesn’t think it’s a big deal, and Samson said I shouldn’t worry about it since there’s so many…weird people walking around. ‘Freaks’, like he says.”

“That sounds like him alright.” Leviathan scoffed.

“Still, he is right.” Squigly said. “New Meridian is full of colorful characters these days. If I can fit in relatively well with stitches, not to mention blue skin, you can too.”

Leviathan added, “And whether you blend in or not, it isn’t any of their business. You shouldn’t be discouraged by a stranger’s opinions.”

After some deliberation, Carol nodded. “I think you’re right. I shouldn’t worry.”

“That’s the spirit.” Squigly said. “If you want one, you should buy it.”

“Would you, um…want to go with me sometime?”

Squigly smiled. “That sounds delightful.”

A wave of relief washed over Carol. Even little things felt so difficult, and when they went over smoothly it was just another pinch of pain gone.

“Th-thanks. I’m sorry, I swear I didn’t used to be this anxious.”

“No need to apologize. People often change, after all. Filia was a bit different too, wasn’t she? A bit more opinionated, I believe?”

“Oh yeah. The first time she saw Samson, she told me, ‘The dog is cute, but the parasite looks like my Dad’s old haircut’.”

Squigly barely stifled a laugh while Leviathan didn’t bother trying to hide his.

“She said that?” Squigly asked.

“Totally! And there was this one time where these guys were bothering us afterschool….”

The pair of Contiellos listened enraptured as their friend set the scene, the latter sitting up a little straighter than before.

#i know this is extremely late so i hope it's seen #skullgirls #painwheel #squigly #leviathan #fanfiction archive

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knuffled · 4 years

Text

discipline & punish - chapter two

the new chapter is here as promised! hope you all like it! it would make my day if you reblogged!

here’s the ao3 link

bloodflood

The waves were choppier the following week. The beach overlooking the sound was besieged by churning, gunmetal gray waves tearing away at the sand, like the sea sought to devour the earth. Annabeth rarely went to the beach as it was – she never felt safe there – but she had even better reason to avoid it now.

She hardly registered time passing that week – an hour spanned the length of a year and a day passed in the blink of an eye. There was something heavy in the air. It was like waiting for an inevitable storm, not the kind you marveled at behind your bedroom window, but the kind where thunder rang too closely, too loudly in your ears and the torrential downpour sounded like gunfire.

Annabeth couldn't help feeling like she had brought a ticking time bomb into her camp. All week her thoughts strayed to Percy, and more than once she'd felt short of breath, like his hands were still wrapped around her throat. When he was finally recovered, she knew that he would confront her, and this time he wouldn't be slowed down. This time he would be at his best.

If Annabeth was being honest, she wasn't sure she could handle his best, although she would never admit that out loud. It wasn't her fault though – years of peace had dulled her instincts. She was grossly out of practice. The traces of the fiery sixteen year old driving a dagger through Kronos's heart in the ruins of Mt. Olympus seemed a distant dream from another lifetime.

Her conversation with Reyna had done nothing to assuage her mounting anxiety either. She had Iris Messaged the praetor of New Rome a few days after her skirmish with Percy in the hospital to get her opinion on the situation. Although they weren’t particularly close, there had always been a mutual respect between them given that they were both leaders of their respective communities.

When her face showed on the Iris Message, Reyna had smiled tiredly and said, “What a surprise. It’s not often that I hear from you.”

“Life’s been busy,” Annabeth said.

“Isn’t it always?” Reyna said, picking at a fraying strand of her cape. “How is New Athens coming along?”

“Good,” Annabeth said, sighing. “It’s just that there is always more to do. You have to come by once it’s finished. I’ll give you a tour.”

Reyna smiled again, more warmly this time. “I’ll have to take you up on that offer. I could certainly use a break.”

“Being praetor sounds stressful,” Annabeth offered.

Reyna pressed her hand to her forehead and sighed. “Not much more than being Camp Director, I would imagine, but you’re right. Neither of us enjoys playing politics and dealing with bruised egos, but that’s not something we can avoid, I’m afraid.”

“You’ve got that right,” Annabeth said, laughing.

“Well, enough of my rambling. I’m sure you’re calling for a reason,” Reyna said, straightening in her seat.

Annabeth bit her lip and tried to think of how best to phrase what she wanted to say. “There’s a new arrival here at camp that concerns me, and I wanted to get your opinion,” she said.

Reyna raised an eyebrow and said, “Well, color me intrigued. It’s not very often to see you bothered by another demigod.”

“He’s – well, he’s different. The main reason I wanted to ask you about him was because he said that he came from the Wolf House,” Annabeth said.

Reyna frowned. “That’s probably a lie. If he was from the Wolf House, he would’ve been sent to Camp Jupiter, not all the way across the country.”

Annabeth nodded and said, “Yeah, that’s exactly what I thought at first too, but I don’t know – I get the sense that he isn’t lying.”

When Reyna was silent, Annabeth said, “Do you know a demigod named Percy?”

At the mention of his name, Reyna’s countenance darkened, which did nothing to soothe Annabeth’s growing sense of despair. Reyna screwed her eyes shut and exhaled sharply.

“So that’s where he’s gone,” she muttered.

“You know him?”

Reyna opened her eyes and nodded. “Yes, he came to New Rome, early last summer. At first, we tried to accommodate him, but it became clear that we couldn’t control him. He picked fights wherever he went and clashed with me and Frank over the right to become praetor.”

“What happened?” Annabeth asked.

“He nearly killed Frank. Then when I intervened, I didn’t do much better. Neither of us were prepared for him. Maybe it was because we were so out of practice. I can’t remember the last time I was in a fight to the death, but Percy, on the other hand, seemed very accustomed to it,” Reyna said.

She shifted her toga so Annabeth could get a better look at her shoulder, and Annabeth stiffened when she saw a long jagged scar that ran from the top of Reyna’s shoulder down the side of her stomach, stopping above of her hip.

Reyna must’ve noticed Annabeth’s shocked expression because she grimaced and said, “You should see Frank’s. He was far worse. Spent nearly three weeks in the hospital.”

“So how did you get him to leave?” Annabeth asked.

“It took me and a battalion of other legionnaires to fight him off. Even then, he killed seven of them and injured thirteen others before we succeeded,” Reyna said.

“Jesus,” Annabeth muttered.

Reyna nodded and said, “He’s dangerous, Annabeth. He’s not the type that listens to logic or reason. You need to get rid of him, or you’re in for bloodshed.”

That had been nearly three days ago, but Annabeth still hadn’t made a decision on whether or not to exile Percy from camp. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Reyna or her judgment – it was more so that she wasn’t sure it was fair to exile someone for a crime they had yet to commit. At the same time, Annabeth knew that as Camp Director, her obligation was to the citizens of New Athens and that she couldn’t jeopardize their safety for the sake of one camper. Furthermore, if he was strong enough to push Reyna to the brink, then he was truly dangerous indeed. Annabeth knew firsthand that the praetor of New Rome was powerful enough to rival her.

Despite knowing all these things, there was some resistance to taking preemptive action against Percy in her that Annabeth didn’t understand. Her indecision lasted too long, however, and the window to act slipped away because Percy finished recovering only a few days later.

:::

He found her in the forest behind New Athens. In her younger days, Annabeth had played Capture the Flag or tamed wild pegasi there, but now she went there for peace and quiet. Nonetheless, when he found her that day, Annabeth had been coaxing a wild pegasus to eat an apple she’d brought with her.

The pegasus was as white as fresh fallen snow and very haughty, even more so than other pegasus. It took Annabeth nearly half an hour for the pegasus to even trust her enough to approach her. Eventually, it allowed her to get closer and sniffed and examined the apple before taking a tentative bite. As it ate, Annabeth took the opportunity to run her fingers through its white mane and marveled at how the thin hairs appeared incandescent beneath the dappled sunlight.

That was when she noticed someone was watching her. When she turned around, she almost didn’t recognize who it was, but the newcomer’s eyes gave his identity away. Percy looked completely different with his haircut, now that his face was no longer obscured. Although it wasn’t a word typically used to describe men, Annabeth couldn’t help thinking he looked beautiful. Not beautiful like a jewel safely stored behind a glass window but beautiful like the curve a hawk’s talons, somehow elegant and savage at the same time.

“How’d you find me?” Annabeth asked.

Percy shrugged and moved out into the copse. “Wasn’t hard. You’re the only one around here that smells strong.”

At this proximity, that weird scent of his washed over her, nearly making her stagger. It was stronger now than it had been before. It had already been potent enough beforehand, but now it was taking a lot of conscious effort to maintain a hold of herself. She found herself clenching and unclenching her fingers in an effort to resist the urge to run her fingers through his hair. How much more intense would the smell be if she buried her face in the crook of his neck?

Annabeth shook her head in a futile effort to clear her mind. “What do you want? I doubt you made it all the way out here just for some fresh air,” she said.

Percy’s lips curled upwards in the ghost of a smile, but the gesture conveyed malice more than humor. “You know why I’m here,” he said.

“You’ll have to spell it out for me,” Annabeth said.

When he sauntered towards her, Annabeth’s hand twitched towards her thigh before she remembered she hadn’t brought her dagger with her.

“I want to fight for the right to rule,” he said.

Annabeth blinked. “The right to rule?”

Percy nodded and said, “Yes, unless you’re fine with me living as I please and ignoring your rules, but something tells me you wouldn’t agree to that.”

“If you’re staying here, you have to follow the rules,” Annabeth replied. “What makes you think you have any right to lead the camp as a newcomer?”

Percy shook his head and said, “You misunderstand. I have no wish to command. All I want is to do as I please.”

“That’s not the way society works,” Annabeth said, narrowing her eyes.

Percy shrugged and sad, “The strong do not need to bend to what society wants.”

“You think just because you’re powerful, you get to do whatever the fuck you want?”

Percy frowned, like what she’d said was absurd. “Isn’t that only natural? Do you think a dragon cares about the opinions of a rat?”

“You’re not a dragon, and they aren’t rats,” Annabeth said, feeling her irritation mounting.

“That’s not how I see it,” Percy said.

Annabeth grit her teeth. What a little shit. There was no point trying to philosophize with him. He didn’t seem like he would change his mind unless he was beaten into submission.

“So you want the two of us to fight then?” Annabeth asked.

When he nodded, Annabeth crossed her arms over her chest and said, “I don’t see what I have to gain by fighting you.”

At this, Percy offered a wolfish grin. “Is your life not prize enough?”

Annabeth felt her jaw tighten. Reyna was right. The boy didn’t listen.

:::

A small crowd formed at the training arena that night in preparation for Annabeth’s fight with Percy. Even though they didn’t know what was at stake, they still seemed to sense that this fight was more important than a regular bout of sparring. Annabeth did her best to ignore them, but she could catch scraps of whispered conversations amongst them.

The moon was missing from the sky that night, and the darkness seemed overbearing. There was a chill in the wind that seemed out of place for a night in August and tension hung in the air, thick enough to cut with a knife.

Not for the first time, Annabeth wished Chiron were still here and in charge. He would probably know how to deal with this situation better than she did. He might’ve have been able to figure something out that wouldn’t end in bloodshed.

At the other end of the arena, Percy looked through an assortment of imperial bronze and celestial gold weapons to fight with. His face was perfectly blank, so Annabeth couldn’t tell if there was anything he preferred or didn’t. She had already begun to size him up – looking for clues in his mannerisms, body language, facial expressions, eye movement – anything to give her an idea of just what exactly she was up against. Unfortunately, he gave her nothing to work with.

Eventually, he settled on picking out a half-and-a-half sword made out of celestial bronze. Annabeth watched as he gauged the heft of it in his hand, trying to find its center of gravity, before he moved on to some test strikes with the blade. She’d already had a glimpse of his speed and combat prowess in the hospital, but she was taken aback when the blade vanished in a blur, moving faster than her eyes could track. A pit formed in her stomach – he moved the blade as if it weighed nothing more than a reed and it was clear that he knew how to use it. It was hard to tell under the cover of darkness, but she thought she saw his lips curl upwards in the ghost of a smile.

When he turned towards her, the feral quality inherent to his eyes seemed amplified. Annabeth’s senses already began to sharpen as he walked over to her. It felt less like she was fighting another human being and more like she was preparing to get pounced on by a wild animal. There was something about him that felt definitively inhuman, something about the way he carried himself that screamed that he wasn’t like other people, that he was a different breed altogether, like he was designed to hunt human beings, not live amongst them.

“Are you ready?” Annabeth asked, clearing her throat.

When Percy nodded, she said, “We’ll go three rounds. First to two victories will be the winner.”

Percy barked a laugh. “Do all your opponents give you three chances to take their lives or are you trying to insult me? No, in a fight to the death there can only be one round.”

Annabeth grit her teeth and unsheathed her dagger. “Fine by me.”

They stepped closer to each other, close enough for Annabeth to see the faint splay of freckles on the bridge of his nose. If the crowd was making any noise now, she could no longer hear it. Her hands were not clammy – years of experience had seen to that. Fear vanished and was replaced by a savage excitement as the thrill of the hunt consumed them both.

Percy struck first, his blade moving faster than it had even during his test strokes. Annabeth stepped back, but the tip of his sword caught her cheek and left a small cut. Her senses sharped impossibly further.

This was happening.

Annabeth made a move of her own, stabbing for his inner thigh. Percy parried her strike, but Annabeth was already in motion for her next attack. She swept out with her leg to try to knock him off his feet. The maneuver failed, but that was expected. All she needed was for him to be off balance for her next move. Percy neatly jumped over her leg, as anticipated, and Annabeth continued by thrusting forward with her free hand, aiming for his windpipe. He reacted in the nick of time and ducked to evade her strike, but his pressure stopping her dagger had lessened imperceptibly, which was what Annabeth had been waiting for.

She thrust at his stomach, but Percy failed to avoid it. She felt a surge of triumph when the blade cut through his shirt and slit the side of his torso.

Percy retaliated with a savage strike with the pommel of his sword against the side of Annabeth’s head. Her skull burst with pain, nearly leading her to get decapitated by his subsequent strike, but she managed to parry it with her dagger just barely.

The fight seemed to last an eternity as they exchanged blows. Annabeth realized immediately how he had nearly killed Frank and given Reyna so much trouble. The way he fought had no rhyme or reason. Everything was unpredictable and improvisational. He did things she had never seen anyone else do, such as using the flat of his blade as a blunt instrument or taking advantage of the soil they fought on to subtly unseat her balance. Percy utilized all of his appendages in battle and they were just as deadly as the sword he carried – she could block his blade only to catch a knee to her ribs or an open palm to her ear.

What frustrated her most was that she was unable to get a sense for him at any point in the fight. No matter how strong her opponents had been in the past, after a certain amount of time fighting, she got a sense of their habits and unconscious biases. Perhaps they favored attacking from one side or found it uncomfortable to defend attacks from a certain angle. All human beings had preferences that they were unaware of.

Percy, it seemed however, was an exception to that rule. Just when she thought that he preferred slashes to thrusts or that he tended to pivot with his left foot when he dodged, he would do just the opposite with equal prowess and throw off her assessment.

However, what made her realize that she would lose the fight was that strange fucking smell that clung to him like a perfume. At the beginning of the fight, her senses had been so sharpened and focused on her survival that she had been able to tune it out, but as the fight progressed, it began to seep through her focus. It would cause her to respond sluggishly or lose concentration for just fractions of a second, but against an opponent of Percy’s caliber those fractions meant the difference between life and death.

As a result, she gradually accumulated more and more injuries as the fight drew on. The fact that she was woefully out of practice only sealed with greater certainty that this fight would end with her loss. Despair settled in and she began to get increasingly desperate. Her attacks became progressively sloppier and her defenses more lethargic.

A line of searing pain burst through her when Percy cut the side of her face, carving from the tip of her ear down to her jaw. Blood seeped into her eye as he moved to his next attack. Time slowed down. Annabeth could see that his next strike would skewer her stomach and lacerate her intestines. Even if she were to evade him, Annabeth honestly could not see how to win the fight. At best, she was prolonging the inevitable.

Instead of fear, the emotion that erupted in her at that moment was anger. White, hot anger. This little, eighteen year old fucker who she’d saved from certain death was trying to take her camp from her. Her camp. The one that she spent the last half-decade of her life building, brick by fucking brick.

But what infuriated her more than anything he had done was the fact that she feared him. Deep down in her heart, she was afraid she would lose, and that was something she could not abide by. She had killed the enemies of literal fucking gods. She had looked into the golden eyes of the Lord of Time and stabbed him in the heart and watched as his golden blood coated her fingers. To think that she was afraid of a stripling like Percy was an insult she couldn’t bear.

For once in her life, Annabeth allowed herself to give in to that dark part of her that fought constantly with her for control of her soul, the part of her that sought to dominate and bend others to her will, the part of her that would rather die than allow herself to be ruled by another.

Percy’s sword drew closer to her stomach, but she didn’t step away from it. Instead, she moved slightly to the side. It sank into her flesh and brought with it a bolt of pain unlike anything she’d ever experienced, but that didn’t matter now. Instead, Annabeth curled her free hand around the blade and barely registered how it sliced into her palm and fingers.

For the first time during their fight, Percy looked surprised. Percy tried to unsheathe his blade, but again Annabeth gripped it with all her strength and it would not budge. They locked eyes, unable to look away from each other, and the sound of her blood dripping from the blade seemed unnaturally loud in her ears.

Annabeth’s subsequent movements were utterly unplanned and transpired with an addictive fluidity. She hooked her foot behind Percy’s right heel knocked him off balance. The maneuver would have failed, but Percy knew he couldn’t surrender his blade if he wanted to win, which locked him in place and made it impossible for him to evade her. As Percy fell to the ground, Annabeth pressed her knee to his stomach and followed him down, carefully holding his sword so it didn’t drive further into her as she fell. When he hit the ground, her knee knocked the breath out of his lungs, giving her a split second to press her knife to his throat.

By the time he recovered his breath, she had her entire body weight on top of him with her knife pressed against his throat, drawing a thin trickle of blood, her hand still wrapped around his sword with a death grip.

“Yield,” Annabeth grit out.

For a few seconds, Percy silently glared up at her, so Annabeth dug her knife further into his skin. With a little more pressure, she would cut his windpipe and kill him. Percy realized this and finally released his sword and held his palms up in surrender.

His voice was low and raspy as he said, “I yield.”

#percabeth fic #percabeth #was a bit too indulgent with the prose on this one #especially with percy's dialogue #i know he doesn't sound like an actual human being #but yolo i think it's fun to write

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mando-chicken · 4 years

Text

The Catsitter

“It's not easy keeping pets when there are regulations that specifically state that clones are not allowed to own animals, but with a little help they're more than eager to try.”

Here’s the first little fic for my Star Wars OC (Dalthic Zikaria) that the peeps on Twitter and Discord have been hearing a little about. There will be numerous little stories based in this verse and possibly some potential shipping content later on, but most shipping will largely be background, this fic is supposed to be about the Clones after all. The chapters will generally include notes about their content before each new chapter.

Read on AO3

It started as any other day for Doctor Dalthic Zikaria, meeting up in the early hours of the morning with a small group of GAR officers to discuss the relief effort that would be going ahead in just under a week. The deployment had been pushed back a whole week thanks to heavy fighting in the area making it far too dangerous for civilian medics and officers to be sent planet-side. It was all simple information – a rundown on the planet, its people, and what assistance they required – and fortunately for the sleep-deprived doctor, it hadn’t been anything too detailed. She knew that closer to the date of their deployment she would receive more tailored information on the types of fauna she would be helping during the mission, but for the time being, decided it would be best to inspect which provisions the GAR would be supplying them with.

She only felt a little out of place, wandering the corridors in her typical civilian clothes, surrounded by the countless military officers and the many ranks of clone troopers. She’d made sure to display her identification on the outside of her jacket, clearly indicating her position as veterinarian and zoology consultant, and so none of the men and women hurrying through the base bothered to stop her as she tried to track down the correct wing from memory alone. Previously she’d been shown the route by one of the officers, so it wasn’t too difficult for her to recall the general layout of the storage rooms.

It took only a few short minutes to trek across the base and finally reach the warehouses where several clones were already busy filling up crates with medical supplies, rations and practically anything else they thought would be useful. Just before she could enter, however, someone shouted her name. She quickly turned, scanning the area for the person responsible, her gaze landing on a trooper clad in armour adorned with blue markings. After spending some time around the base she’d come to recognise several of the different companies and was quick to assess that the man was a member of the 501st. What was different about him, however, was the small, furry creature firmly clasped in his arms.

“Doc!” he called out again, almost tripping over his own feet in his haste, before thrusting the animal into her arms. “Cap’n is checking the barracks, can’t keep ‘er in there, need someone to watch her for a bit,” the trooper managed to finally wheeze out, panting from his evident sprint across base. Before Dalthic could even consider a response, the poor man had already spun on his heel and was racing back whence he’d come with a brief “thanks!” thrown over his shoulder as he went.

The vet glanced down at the animal happily curled against her chest, finally able to take in what exactly the clone had dumped on her. Looking up at her with bright blue eyes was a small black Tooka. She had a distinctive white pattern across her face, and it only took Dalthic a moment to recognise one of the strays she’d taken into the veterinary clinic where she worked a few weeks ago. The Tooka – a very social kitten by the name of Torrent – had been adopted by one of the clones recently.

A veterinary clinic wasn’t the sort of place clones would typically frequent. It all began when a member of the Guard happened upon a wounded Tooka – apparently, the animal had been following him during his patrol, calling after him and trying to draw his attention – as soon as he was due to end his shift he’d scooped up the feline, taking it to the closest vet he could find, which just so happened to be the one Dalthic was working at. They’d spent a short time talking and eventually, she had shown him all of the stray animals in need of adoption, assuring him that the Tooka he’s brought in would hopefully find herself a loving home. After that first encounter clones began bringing in wounded strays from all over, even volunteering to spend some of the time between their patrols playing with the cats (and the occasional dogs they got in).

Having so many people regularly interacting with the animals ensured that they were all well socialised, and it provided the troopers with somewhere they could relax when they were on shore leave or after a stressful day for the Guard. The clone who had brought in the first Tooka – a friendly commander by the name of Thorn – often dragged his men and sometimes even his fellow commanders into the clinic, dumping them in the Tooka room with strict orders to play with the kittens for a while. It wasn’t uncommon to find one of the commanders or captains stretched out on the floor, tapping away at a datapad with a handful of cats flopped all over their legs and chest. It wasn’t the best place to actually get work done, especially when one of the Tookas decided that the perfect napping place was directly on top of the datapad they were trying to use, but it was far less stressful than being cooped up in a tiny office or surrounded by other people rushing about in all directions.

Inevitably, men started to get attached.

Legally speaking, the clones weren’t allowed to adopt pets, and it was against regulations for them to own any possessions. But when Dalthic had seen several of the big, tough, members of the Coruscant Guard absolutely fawning over a handful of kittens they’d found like excited children, she’d decided to assist them by helping them to adopt pets under the table. The information had spread like wildfire through the clones and within days there were men coming in and out of the adoptions area by the dozen.

It was most common for a whole squad to come in together and spend what felt like hours arguing over which one they wanted, but every now and then a lone trooper would come in and make the decision alone. It surprised no one when a month later, Thorn ended up adopting Spot, the ginger stray he’d brought into the clinic. Now, she resides within the Guard barracks, often sneaking into Thorn’s office when he’s in there working on paperwork.

By no means is it easy to keep superiors from finding the many pets scattered throughout the GAR, especially when there were regular checks of the barracks. This, however, was the first time a clone had come to her to actively help hide one of their pets. “I guess you’re with me then, kitty.” The Tooka began to purr happily, entirely oblivious to what was happening. Fortunately, she was able to continue checking through the supplies despite holding the squirming Tooka in her arms. Some of the men glanced at the animal in confusion, but none of them decided to mention it, far too busy loading up supplies for the numerous campaigns underway to be concerned by a random Tooka hanging around their warehouse.

It was almost an hour later when several members of the 501st end up walking into the warehouse. It took them a while to spot her, buried in medical supplies on the floor, holding Torrent in one arm while counting out bacta patches with her free hand. She recognised one of the clones who approached, a trooper by the name of Denal, who was quick to crouch down and begin cooing at the Tooka.

Torrent quickly wiggled her way out of her captor’s arms and bounded towards her owner, immediately beginning to rub her face against the clone’s arm, mewing pleasantly when she was gently picked up off the floor and into Denal’s arms. “Did you miss me, Torrent?” he asked, grinning when the cat meowed back at him, somehow managing to purr louder as she gazed up at the clone with her round, sapphire eyes.

“You were only gone an hour-” came the rather blunt response from one of the other blue armoured men who promptly began to shake his head in disbelief when Denal simply held the Tooka closer. The man had a rather intricate haircut, short with what appeared to be small lightning bolts etched through it, and wore armour adorned with the medical symbol stamped to one of his shoulder guards.

The other clone who had accompanied Denal and the medic stepped forward with a rather loud laugh, slapping the medic’s back in what was clearly intended to be a friendly gesture, but was done with enough force to almost send to poor man toppling over. She recognised him as the same person who shoved the Tooka into her arms an hour earlier before ruching off. “At least the Captain didn’t find her, then we’d all be in for it.” Despite his words, the trooper didn’t seem to be phased in the slightest by the fact they were clearly breaking GAR regulations by helping their squadmate smuggle a live animal in and out of their barracks. He certainly had a unique look, with crisp blue lines streaked down the left side of his head where they came to rest just below his eye, ending with a single blue dot. His chin was marked with similar hard lines and dots and the tattoos seemed to be mimicked on his armour that the same linear design.

Denal seemed to snap out of his trance when he heard the other clone’s voice, glancing over to Dalthic with a rather sheepish grin, “Sorry for sending Hardcase and Torrent over earlier, ma’am, our Captain was doing a check of our barracks and we needed someone to make sure she didn’t get into any trouble.” That explained why the trooper, Hardcase as he was apparently known, had been in quite a rush to dump the kitten into her arms before sprinting away again.

“No harm done,” she hummed, offering him a soft smile, watching as the kitten reached out to Denal with one of her paws, trying to regain his attention. It hadn’t exactly been convenient having to watch a small kitten while doing some work, but it would certainly be worth it if it meant Torrent got the stay with the person who very clearly cared for her. “I’d be happy to look after her anytime you guys need,” she added, placing away the last few supplies.

Denal nodded, seeming to relax some at her words, “Thank you, ma’am, we appreciate it greatly.” He offered her a more confident grin before turning away and picking up the helmet he’d previously placed on the floor. Despite the small mew of protest, he placed Torrent within the helmet, trying his best to make sure she was slightly less obvious, before quickly heading back towards the barracks with Hardcase and their medic squadmate in tow. “See ya, Doc!” Hardcase shouted back, just before they rounded the corner that led to the exit, earning a swat on the arm from the medic beside him.

It wasn’t until several days later that Dalthic realised she had made a mistake. It seemed that when she’d told the three clones she’d help look after their Tooka if they needed it, that information had spread to the other clones rather quickly – apparently, one of them wasn’t good at keeping quiet – as it was only two days later when a man from a different legion turned up at her work with their own Tooka, asking her to watch it while they went on deployment. One Tooka eventually turned into two, and two into three, and by the end of the day she was pretty sure she had possession of all cats in the 104th and 212th legions.

Three Tookas was manageable. They would be perfectly safe sleeping away the day in her apartment and she’d be home in time to feed them breakfast and dinner at their usual early hours thanks to her shifts at the clinic. However, it was when members of the Guard started showing up at her actual apartment with their pets, most of them Thire’s men who were being sent off Coruscant for a little while, that things began to get hectic.

Fortunately, the following day she wasn’t working, so the vet was able to curl up and go over the information she had finally been sent by the GAR regarding their next off-world mission. It wasn’t until early that evening that she received a knock on the door to her apartment, unable to stop herself from huffing slightly at the thought of yet another Tooka or Loth Cat being placed in her care. The house was already overrun with six cats, any more and she’d likely have to buy a larger home to accommodate them all. Luckily, all the cats had managed to settle themselves in various hiding places throughout the living room, so Dalthic was able to reach the front door without having to wade through a tide of curious kitties.

To her surprise, and immense relief, it wasn’t another trooper come to add another cat to her ever-increasing pride, rather it was one of the Coruscant Guard Commanders, Fox. It wasn’t uncommon for the commanders to drop by for a visit – she had become rather good friends with them over the few months of knowing them – but usually, they would at least give her some warning, be it a message on her datapad or a brief call. “Evening Doctor,” he greeted, managing to wrestle his helmet off one-handed while his other hand kept hold of some datapads, “may I come in?”

Dalthic quickly moved aside, gesturing for him to enter, “Of course, it’s good to see you, Commander. Been busy I take it?” She received a brief hum of an affirmative as the clone walked through the doorway, only to pause halfway into the apartment.

“What’s with all the cats, Doc?” he suddenly asked, squinting at the large gathering of Tookas who had crawled out from their napping places, likely drawn by the familiar sound of a clone’s voice. “I thought you disapproved of taking work home,” he added, evidently getting over his brief surprise as he walked a little further into the apartment, “At least that’s what you’re always tellin’ the boys and I.” He placed his helmet down beside the couch and stacked his pile of datapads neatly on top of the side table.

She couldn’t help huffing, rolling her eyes at his clear amusement, “it would seem that I’ve become the designated cat-sitter for half the GAR. I agreed to help one of the five-oh-first boys with looking after their Tooka and suddenly I now have a million of them.” Already there were cats trotting over to Fox to greet him with a friendly face rub against the side of his leg. Half of the Tookas usually resided in the Guard barracks, so seeing a familiar person in crimson striped armour wandering around was enough to have them happily purring and bounding after the man as he made his way towards the small kitchen.

“But I thought you said you were being sent off-world at the end of the week?” Fox only spared her a quick glance in question while he began digging through one of the cabinets for a mug and the jar of caff while the water in the kettle began to boil away.

“I am, but Thire’s men will be back tomorrow to pick up their cats and the hundred-and-fourth should be back the day after. They’ve agreed to take care of all the Tookas while they’re on leave between deployments.” She explained, watching as one of the Tookas, one belonging to the 104th by the name of Fluffy, knocked over the commander’s abandoned helmet, shoving his head inside the empty bucket. The cat lifted his head and the helmet slid into place on top of his head, but he seemed rather unconcerned by the fact he was now trapped beneath it, instead curling up on the carpet, evidently enjoying the safety it provided.

Finally, Fox was able to drag the jar of caff out from where it was buried at the back of the cabinet, making a soft sound of approval when he saw it, “splashing out on the fancy stuff are we?” he asked, shaking the jar briefly to loosen the mixture.

“You boys’d better be grateful, you’re lucky I buy any of it at all considering I don’t drink that horrible stuff.”

The Commander made a scandalised gasp, cradling the jar of caff closer to his person, “how dare you, ma’am! I won’t stand for you insulting the love of my life like this.” It was well known that the GAR’s commanders survived on large quantities of caff and could become more than a little agitated if their supply was disturbed. Unfortunately, the GAR didn’t exactly supply quality caff, and so whenever they could get their hands on some better stuff they’d practically scull the lot of it.

When Thire and Thorn had dragged their fellow commander Ponds along with them to meet their vet friend the man had practically wept when she’d brought him a scalding hot cup of the more expensive caff, praising her name like some divine entity. Now Dalthic almost always ensured to spend a little extra on good caff so that the boys could at least enjoy something nice to drink when they decided to visit. She was also pretty certain that none of the clones had ever heard of sleep and needed the caffeine to keep the entire Coruscant Guard in working order.

While Fox finished off making his drink Dalthic began to weave her way back to the living room, awkwardly stepping over the occasional Tooka led in her path. She was pretty sure there were only six of them, so how they managed to be in the way whenever she wanted to go anywhere in the house was quite an impressive feat. She did, however, manage to make it back to the armchair she had claimed earlier without stepping on anyone.

“So, what brings you to my humble abode, Commander?” Dalthic asked when Fox finally managed to make his way back to the couch where he’d left his datapads. He placed his caff down and replaced it for one of the pads, before plopping down onto the sofa and practically sinking into the soft cushions.

He took a moment to get comfortable – his armour didn’t exactly seem like the best thing to be wearing when trying to get comfy, but he couldn’t afford to shed it when he was still on call – before finally answering her question. “Thorn’s been bothering me all day,” he grumbled, already starting to tap at the screen of his datapad tiredly, “and his damn cat too.”

Dalthic couldn’t help snickering slightly at his displeasure, unable to hide her amusement when the Commander shot her a less than pleased glare. She knew that Fox had been rather vocal about his disapproval when Thorn had brought Spot back to their barracks, making sure that everyone knew that the moment the Tooka stepped a paw out of line he’d take her back to the vet clinic himself. Yet there Fox sat, resigned to grumbling about the animal rather than actually following through on his threat. Not that Thorn had ever been worried that he would, he wasn’t blind, he'd seen the way Fox would stroke the Tooka’s fur when he thought no one was looking.

“I haven’t been able to get any of these documents approved because he pops into my office every few minutes to talk, it’s honestly like he doesn’t have anything better to do. And somehow, he keeps forgetting to close the door to his office so I end up with a Tooka trying to sleep on my datapads and knocking the flimsi off my desk.” By the time he’d finished his short rant one of the resident Loth Cats had hopped up onto the coach, shoving her way onto Fox’s lap where she proceeded to curl up. The clone simply sighed in defeat, “I thought that I could escape them both and get some work done here, but it seems not.”

She could only offer a sympathetic smile, shaking her head in disbelief, “well, what was Thorn trying to talk to you about, it must’ve been important if he kept bothering you about it.” She watched as the Commander seemed to tense slightly at the question, seemingly surprised by it – slightly out of character for someone who usually presented such a collected front – but she decided not to comment on it.

“No, it was the exact opposite, which is why it was so annoying.” Somehow, another Tooka had managed to scale the couch, nudging at the clone’s closest arm and chirping to try and gain his attention. Absentmindedly Fox began to stroke the cat, smoothing his fingers between its ears as it began purring, pressed up against his side. Before he could continue, however, the communicator on his wrist began blinking angrily at him, signalling an incoming call.

“Fox? Where are you? The Chancellor is requesting one of us for an escort-” came the voice through the comm. Dalthic was pretty sure it was Thorn, but couldn’t be certain without seeing the caller in person.

It was then that Fox grinned, the sort of mischievous grin that could only be mustered by someone about to ruin their sibling’s day in the pettiest way imaginable. “Sorry vod, can’t help, the cat’s chosen me,” his answer was met with a confused spluttering on the other end, “you said it yourself Thorn, can’t just move a poor little Tooka once it’s decided to sleep on you.” There was the distinct sound of disbelieving muttering as Fox quickly added, “Besides, I’m certain that the Doc wouldn’t appreciate me upsetting these poor Tookas.”

“Seriously?!” Dalthic could practically feel Thorn seething through the comm, but Fox merely looked all the smugger at his brother’s upset tone, “you’re dumping me with escort duty while you hang out with your girlfr-”

It was impressive really, how fast Fox’s hand slammed down on the communicator to cut off the call in that moment. The sudden action had caused the Tookas who had been peacefully dozing to shoot off in all directions in panic, causing the small room to devolve into a chaotic flurry of cats. The Commander practically leapt to his feet, “I need some more caff,” he near enough shrieked out, darting towards the kitchen.

Dalthic could only blink in confusion and mild worry, he hadn’t even touched the caff he’d made a few minutes ago. Perhaps the Commander was a little more sleep-deprived than she’d originally thought.

#writing #star wars #the clone wars #clone trooper kix #clone trooper hardcase #clone trooper denal #commander fox #commander thorn #commander thire #tookas #loth cat #dalthic zikaria #commander fox/OC #shipping at the end if you squint #fox needs a nap

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finderskeepersff · 5 years

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68. Part 2

Picking Cartier out of the car seat, Sofia let me take him to his first barber visit “this is your little one?” my barber asked as he stopped what he was doing “yeah, this is my son. His hair is crazy” my hand lightly touched the top of his head “and he about to have his first cut too” Cartier is looking around, this place ain’t it and I know that because he ain’t trying to get off of my lap “shape up only, my girl will kill me. She went crazy on me when I went home bald” my barber laughed “well I don’t want to shave his curls, he got some good curls there” pushing his hair back “got my forehead though” I grinned “he actually does, I will be right with you” he walked off, feels dope to be taking my son for his first haircut, Sofia was like take him but don’t come back bald. He was acting all stank with me yesterday but today we cool, I am glad to be out. I didn’t want to miss another event without them, Lucas struggled but I don’t blame him. They was moving me from place to place and then acting like they was too busy to deal with me but I am out. Cartier looked over at me, he seems so sad “what is wrong? We about to have you look lit, be like me” he turned in my lap with his arms open “you being clingy huh” placing him over my shoulder, I wouldn’t want to miss this for the world. Cartier’ arms around my neck and his face pressed against mine as he watched on, I don’t think he like the shaving noise at all, good luck to him because he will be having it next “Cass” Ethan said as he walked in “Ethan” dapping him “he holding you for dear life, what you do?” I shrugged “nothing yet, I think he is scared of the noise. He will be fine, you good?” Ethan sat next to me “I am well, good to have you out. Had me out here stressing. Them French niggas need to be here, you shouldn’t be doing anything alone you know that?” nodding my head “I was trying to be nice” I guess it don’t work when I try to be nice because I get myself in shit.

Cartier is not having it at all “you need to keep your head still little C, you can’t be doing that” Cartier is moving his head from side to side, every time my barber grabs his head to hold him still he keeps on moving it “here, look at this” playing Paw Patrol on my phone and placing just against the mirror, placing his pacifier in his mouth “look at that, he should be ok” fixing Cartier in my lap “I am about to shave his curls off if he don’t quit moving” I chuckled “Sofia will come here and murder you, I have strict rules here. Even for me, I can only get a shape up, that is it” my barber shook his head “she rules you both, move back for me” sitting back in the chair, he just needs to line up Cartier’ hair so he can look good as me. I was waiting for Cartier to move as soon as the shaver touched his skin but he didn’t move “is his mom white?” he asked “no, why? She ain’t white, she is black. She from the islands, she from Barbados” that was random “they very pretty girls from Barbados, he is very light skinned but then I look at you, you white as fuck. Them island girls are strict, I get it now” I laughed “she is hard headed, she is my boss anyways” even though she don’t think it.

My boy has had his shape up, he looks fresh as fuck just like his dad. I told Ethan to go back and do what he needs to do because I am going to keep out of trouble, touching the top of Cartier’ head, he looks so good. He is exhausted from having hid haircut so he is now knocked out asleep, let me call Raphael back before I drive off to go back home. Pressing the phone to my ear, he going to be complaining about this club business, I know for a fact he will be and I don’t blame him. We will be taking a big loss for this, no drug movement, no money in take from large booze orders “well happy new year to you” he said down the phone “you saying that from France, you out there partying still. I am sure you know, I am out. I know we can’t do the new year party which would have been big for us both” Raphael sighed out “I bought everything for this moment, the clubs are all set up for the new year and this. Waste of money and you know that, you need to stop this mess” he spat down the phone “I understand, I will make it up to you. The gun shipment will be arriving soon. We will bigger than ever. You say the clubs are done up right? The one in Atlanta?” I think I have a plan “they are decorated yes” I could take Sofia there, we just do it there “cool, just asking but yeah. You sit back we will get in contact next year then” I do cause so much shit for Raphael and it is for stupid reasons too.

I am not sure if Amira has gone elsewhere for new year but I need the keys to the club, knocking on the door again. I should call but I couldn’t be bothered “yeah I am here” Kyle opened the door, he let out an oh “I need to see Amira” stepping back from the door a little “I need to go, Cartier is in the car so if she can come to the door” Kyle turned back around “Amira, Cassius is at the door for you” rubbing my chin as I looked back at my car “why don’t he come in” hearing Amira say “I am here Cassius, good to see you out when did you come out?” looking back over at Amira “last night, I need the keys to the club. I heard they are done up for New Year” she sighed out “yes, so much waste” nodding my head “cool, I need the key. I was supposed to take Sofia to Canada to bring in the new year and I bought her dresses but I guess I can use the club and bring it in there with the projector screens down, it’s something I guess” Amira grinned “that is cute, yeah you might as well. I will get the key for you” I swallowed hard “Amira, why don’t you come too?” she abruptly stopped “but” she turned around “with you and Kyle, look I wish you both made up. Kyle! Come here, both of you need to stop this. I will only come with Kyle and he won’t come because you won’t speak to him, it’s too much. He fucked up, he gets it. He feels it, please just make it up. You both been through so much together” Kyle came up from behind Amira “what is it?” he said “you need to do what you need to do now” Amira walked around Kyle.

Kyle put his head down, this is awkward as fuck “I will be in the car, tell her that” walking backwards, I don’t want to hear it actually “don’t walk off, I had it all planned out on what to say to you. I even told Amira, just please Cassius. I fucked up and I get it, that is something I did in the moment and I wasn’t thinking but we have been through so much together. I am sorry for leaving the home in that moment, I am sorry. If I could change the moment I would, I wish I could take it back. I miss you so much Cassius, I hate that you hate me, that has never been us and I accept that I will never be in the business like that again but I don’t care for it I care for you and I care for the friendship we have Cassius. I miss you bro,with all the shit we been through please don’t shut me out, shit ain’t the same anymore. From the bottom of my heart I am sorry. I just want my brother back, you got locked up and I was there in your home even though I didn’t know if that was something you would like me to do” stuffing my hands in my pockets “I have to live with the fact I got Sofia pregnant in my drug fuelled rage, it’s a constant memory which I still have to see the scan of yet, I have to now see and live that. It’s my fault but I needed my bro to drag me and tell me no. I miss you too, I ain’t going to lie and say I don’t because I do. You been there for my lows but I felt like you gave up and didn’t want to deal with my lows anymore so left me to it. Sofia is so strong, she just acts like shit is ok, she is forgiven me for it and has never regretted staying by me. I am a monster Kyle and I can only blame myself, I am stuck in this and if I can keep you out I will” feeling my eyes well up “you ain’t a monster Cassius, I don’t want to be out of it out of choice, it’s what makes you happy. I would rather die knowing I died with you, it ain’t no gay shit but we rode this together. I love you bro” Kyle got his hand out to me, nodding my head as I grabbed his hand. He dragged me into him as he hugged me “ain’t nothing else matters and you know that” patting his back.

Cartier is still asleep, ain’t nothing waking him up “are your eyes closed?” I asked Sofia before I go in the living room “I am scared Cassius, I swear to god if you are both bald I am going to cry” I chuckled “please close your eyes, just do it!” I spat “fine, ok my eyes are closed” she said, I peaked my head around before I actually entered the room and she has “ok I am coming” making my way around the couch, standing in front of Sofia “ok open them my queen” I grinned, Sofia seems so reluctant in opening them but she did slowly “thank you god, hair is still on your head but yes! Oh my god, you look so good with a shave, I like!” Sofia spat “my handsome baby is asleep” turning Cartier slowly around “that is how I imagined it, I am happy with it. Both of my men look so handsome. Cassius I want to sit on your face, I am here for it. Put him on the couch and let me sit on your face” I snorted laughing “calm down woman, I have some other news for you” placing Cartier down on the couch “do tell, come on” turning back around and sitting next to Sofia on the corner couch “Kyle and I have made it up, Amira said for us to get on with it and also we are going out. I want you to wear your dress, I can’t take you Canada but I can take you elsewhere, it’s my club and we can use it. Cartier will be with us. Bring in the new year together still” Sofia gasped “really?” nodding my head “I am thinking out of the box, well trying too. So I am opening it for us, Amira and Kyle too” Sofia cooed out “I love you so much, give me a kiss” Sofia poked her lips out, pressing a kiss to her lips “but I want sex still, I want some dick” licking my lips laughing “you been reading again?” Sofia pressed her lips into a hard thin line “put Cartier in his crib and put the monitor on, now” I swear this woman of mine “fine, I will” she been reading again.

I smiled as I closed the door behind me “why are you smiling? I haven’t been reading shit, I just want sex from you. I find you so sexy. Especially when you’re angry” furrowing my eyebrows “you’re so odd at times” wrapping my arm behind Sofia and bought her closer to me, leaning in for a kiss. Our lips lingered, my free hand reaching for hers our fingers entwining “you’re once, twice, three times a lady” I sang, Sofia put her head down “and I love you” I finished off, Sofia looked up at me as I smiled at her adoringly “I love you too Cassius” she patted my cheek, running her thumb over my bottom lip before kissing me “you get me so emotional with how much you love me” she nibbled on my bottom lip, moving my head back looking down at Sofia. Moving my hand away from Sofia, my hand made it’s way to her neck, she moved her head back and my lips coasted down the long line of her throat, her arms wrapped around my neck. My tongue found it's way into her mouth, she moaned into the kiss.

Aligning her opening up with my dick, I slowly inched myself into her until I was buried deep inside her, filling her up completely. We both let out a sigh of relief, her head was tilted back and her body trembled in delight. Her muscles clamped around me and her heat engulfed my dick. My eyes rolled back, she always feels so good. After the first wave of joining together passed over us, I thrusted inside of Sofia hard. My hips rising completely off the bed to meet hers above me. My hands still had a tight grasp on her hips and I held her steady, keeping her in place as I frantically pumped in and out of her. Sofia was completely unravelling as I wildly stroke my dick into her. Her mouth formed an O and heavy pants came out as every thrust caused her legs to shake. Rocketing my hips forward, our skin slapped together and I pulled Sofia closer, roughly slamming her down on my dick. Sofia’ body jerked at the force of my movements and she let go of numerous loud moans. Her juices were pouring down her thighs and her muscles were squeezing me tighter than I could imagine. I was in heaven. She was so wet and tight it was only right that I continued to give her what she wanted. Lifting my hips up one last time, I slammed into her with a quick, urgent, hard stroke that left her mute.

Cassius gives me some good dick, I don’t want to get out of bed at all. It must be my hormones because I just want dick but my god. That was so good but now I don’t want to leave the bed, I just want to snuggle up to him “Cartier tell momma she need to get out of bed” lazily looking over at Cassius and Cartier but my eyes diverted to his manhood “Cassius, why don’t we just stay home and have sex, you’re still semi-hard. I can see from the boxers” I mean clearly he is “Sofia, get out of bed, stop being a feign. Amira and Kyle will be waiting for us. You are so damn horny get up! I want to also see you in the dress I got you” I groaned out “I am naked under these covers you know” Cassius chuckled “I am walking away, you need to get out of bed. Let’s go and pick outfits Cartier” I sighed out, he ruins the mood. I am so fucking happy, I know for a fact next year for me will be amazing. I will hopefully have a daughter, I hope anyways and then I hopefully will be married, have two kids. Seems so perfect, I am very happy.

It’s actually so sweet that Cassius bought me a dress, for your man to pick a dress out for you means a lot. I think Cassius wants me to look like some rich housewife that just killed her husband with this fur coat too, he spent up and I like it. I was so scared because I thought I may have gained more stomach but I didn’t, I am well and I am only doing this for him. I am thankful to be small this time around. Everything Gucci, I ain’t complaining either. Poking my lips out in the mirror, let me take my ass downstairs. I have not even paid attention to my men at all, what the hell is Cartier wearing or even Cassius “I am coming, please tell me you got the baby bag done for me too” I said as I held the dress and walked down step by step slowly “we did” hearing Cassius say and the sound of an electric car being driven “beep, beep. A car for Miss Warren” I stopped on the step as Cartier’ electric Bentley car pulled up, looking over at Cassius controlling it “you got matching shirts on, well baby if I could fit in there I would. You two are so adorable” he usually cries going in them but he ain’t today “ayee, look at you. My girl is looking Bad and Boujee, come here” he opened his arms out to me “thank you for this dress, I look like rich bitch that murdered her husband with this fur coat” hugging Cassius “anything for you baby, you look good and this” he hooked his finger on the low cut between my breasts “for later” I winked at him “is Kyle and Amira meeting us there?” he nodded his head.

I parked up at the side of Kyle’ car “I am so happy you both are speaking again, you both are the brothers that love each other so much and you know this” Sofia said “I do, I did some last minute things. For the club for you, I called on some people for us” Sofia’ car door opened “hey Sofia” Kyle said, my car door opened “seeing as he is helping Sofia out” Amira said “you funny, I don’t need that but thank you. You looking beautiful Amira, look at you!” I pointed at her “aww thank you Cassius. This old thing, I found it” getting out of the car “you look good” opening the back door as I closed my car door “thanks, these heels are high. Hey girl!” Sofia said, unbuckling Cartier out of the car seat “I ain’t forget you boy” taking his pacifier out of his mouth “Kyle, can you get his stroller out for me, hey Omar” I ain’t dumb, I am going to have some security around me “boss, you all looking good on the New Year” picking Cartier out “you talking about me” I turned to him “yes boss, I mean you” side eyeing him “and the boss lady, you need help getting inside” he ain’t shit “I can do that, you get my son’ baby bag. You better have got extra people” I pointed at him “I do, you will be happy what I have done” nodding my head “you a good kid, lock up once we get inside” holding Sofia’ hand “come on my love, let’s go inside” I am never going to be alone, I need to always have people there to take the fall for me.

Sofia gasped “you got us a table to eat in the middle of the floor?” nodding my head “we got to eat babe, we can see the fireworks at New York on the projector screens when it hits twelve. Baby I got this all worked out for you” Sofia cooed out “thank you, this does mean a lot to me. But I know Cartier will be asleep by then, he is going to be tired” Sofia said, he is all wide eyed staring at the lights. It’s small but it’s cute, I wanted to do something for her so she can wear her dress at least. Omar wasn’t lying when he said he sorted me out, I don’t know where he got the waiters from but I will take it. Looking over at Sofia, she looks so happy, just to see her smile I am happy about because that is all I want for Sofia, her happiness. Letting her hand go as I walked around the table, pulling the chair out with my free hand for Sofia to sit down “for you my lady, don’t momma look beautiful Cartier. Don’t she look so damn beautiful” Sofia touched my face as she sat down and I pushed her seat in “I guess you going to sit on my lap son” Cartier about to make sure I don’t eat, he is going to touch everything.

At least Sofia is eating because I can’t really “you want me to have him?” Sofia said wiping her hands “no, no. It’s fine, he good. He trying to be an adult, you eat. You need to eat, least I can drink unlike you” I have moved everything away from Cartier, he has tried to grab everything on the table so I have no plate or anything with me “I am going to make his bottle soon actually, he needs his sleep. It is late too” picking Cartier up and standing him up on my lap “what you think, good idea?” I said looking over at Amira and Kyle “it was you know, we was going to stay in anyways but this is so cute, I don’t know who you threatened to make food too” I snorted laughing at Amira saying that “I don’t do such things, don’t play me like that” shaking my head laughing “but it’s nice, least the decorations ain’t gone to waste either. And I see little light skinned got a shape up, yes you. You smiling at me playa? I see your shape up, baby. You look handsome” Amira pointed at Cartier “awww look at his smile” Sofia cooed out.

“Come on, there is like ten minutes left” Kyle and I went outside to have a blunt, I needed it “I am coming, you getting all uptight and shit” grabbing Sofia’ hand “I just wanted you here, you know. It’s kind of like the first time you’re actually here, my son is here. My family” pressing a kiss to Sofia’ forehead “I know I get it” placing my arm around Sofia “I don’t know about y’all, I am looking forward to the new year, it’s been a weird year for me. I think I missed some of it, the biggest blessing has been my son, being a dad. I don’t do all this love thing in public but I am excited about the new year and new people, Omar and his team” he bowed his head “my team about to be bigger and better, also Amira. She is my partner with the clubs. We are going to have a good year and to Kyle, we good. Only way is up for us. Thank you Sofia for putting up with me, making me a father and making me a father for the second time” pressing a kiss to the top of Sofia’ head and dapping Kyle “I want to say thank you to Cassius, he has gave me a real kick up the ass with being a boss. I am finding my feet but he has gave me this opportunity to have a whole different purpose, from Miami, to Atlanta and New York. It’s been amazing so to you Cassius” Amira raised her glass to me “I be doing dumb shit” I snorted laughing “you do dumb shit but you mean well Cassius but I want to thank my man for always trying, for loving me, for being the best dad to Cartier. You have changed my life so much, and it’s been for the best. You mean well Cassius and I can see that but you still stupid” Sofia said, I chuckled “to Cassius, he’s bought us all together, you made us all happen” I feel choked up, I don’t think I do much besides fuck up a lot of the time.

Resting the side of my face with Sofia’, with my arms wrapped around her shoulders “the countdown, you know Cassius. You have such pretty hands” pulling a face “you got some serious issues you know that, what is wrong with you. You want to sit on my face and now my hands” Sofia giggled “I want them inside me, so you better” turning my face to look at her “you a whole feign” pressing a kiss to her cheek “besides, you are looking so good tonight” I have never felt this kind of feeling, the sense of joy. To actually participate in the countdown with the person you love, losing my brother and my family home. I can leave these things last year, I feel a sense of sadness but joy “Happy New Year!” Sofia spat which scared me, I chuckled seeing the fireworks on the projector go off “yeah, Happy New Year baby. I am here this time” Sofia turned to face me “you are this time, new year for us both and Cartier” pressing a kiss to her lips, Sofia moved back laughing “I have never wanted to have a New Year kiss so badly with someone and finally, I have. With you” I sighed out “many more to come for us” leaning in for another kiss.

Walking back into the club, I keep having to go out for a blunt and also Amira and Kyle left and the boys so it’s just Sofia and I with Cartier “hola” I greeted, sliding up behind Sofia “you dancing without me?” slipping my hands around her waist “take this off” helping Sofia take off her fur coat “your body is beautiful and you know that” holding her fur coat and placing it on the chair “we should be going too” I shrugged “it’s my club, the door is locked anyways and nobody is here, just you, me and the music in the background. I spun her around in my arms, her hands resting on my shoulders “baby” she nuzzled her nose against mine “bub” my fingertips followed the path of her spine, my lips skimming hers “you don’t know what you did, did to me” I mumbled against her mouth along with the song in the background. She kissed me softly, her pelvis rolling towards me, probably in response to the side-to-side gyrations of my hips. We kissed, my tongue smoothly skirting her bottom lip before slipping into her mouth, before I nibbled at her lip, trapping it between my teeth before I finally let her lip go from the grip of my teeth

Sofia moaned out, her body quivering “Cassius, we need to go home” I chuckled, my lips travelling the column of her throat. I leaned back and looked at her and grinned, this is what I like to see, she is unravelling under me she bucked against my crotch, grinning as I moaned “I want you so bad” my lips were on her again, she closed her eyes, a gentle moan tumbling past her lips “I want you too” she breathed, falling into my kiss. She placed both hands firmly against my chest “Cassius, let’s go home. We need to go home now” looking down at Sofia, staring into her eyes. My eyes dragging down the low V cut “that drink got to your head, you been drinking and your high” placing my hand just on Sofia bare chest, licking my top lip as I dragged my hand down “Cassius” she grabbed my hand to stop me “let’s go, I will drive” moving my hand up slowly, her hand that was once stopping me is now allowing me to roam, my hand around her neck “I want sex with her so bad” I said to myself, my hand travelled up further and my thumb grazing her lips “let’s go” moving my hand back, Sofia closed her eyes sighing out, the sex is about to be amazing “you can drive of course” get me home, get me Sofia naked now.

#Chrianna #Chrianna FF #Fanfic #Fanfiction

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crappyfics · 5 years

Text

Grey Squirrel

gif by @bloomingyouths

Part 1

Summary: The theatre students are putting on a show. When professor and director Hanz casts Y/N and Yixing to protagonize the play, they understand how theatre, as well as life, is all about love and passion.

Genre: Fluff, angst, comedy // Word count: 7k

Warning: some of the vocabulary is peculiar to theatre; not read-proof.

Act 1, Scene 1

The circle of chairs seemed to tie the room together. The director was discussing something with the stage manager and the cast waited for them to take their seats in the circle. You skimmed through the script, drank some water, and kicked Yixing’s feet as a form of amusement. He sat next to you and kicked back when you were murmuring your lines for only yourself to hear. He smiled when you messed up, he giggled when you restarted.

“Do you already know your lines?” you asked him as soon as you closed your script and placed it under your chair. Yixing nodded in response and his cheeky smile was a bit too confident making you giggle. “We’ll see.”

“Wanna grab a coffee later?” he crossed his legs trying to relax a bit more on his chair. His proposition came a little unexpected to you.

“So you’re not hanging out with blondie tonight?” you teased making the boy blush and a little too ashamedly turn his face away. It was so obvious how much that new friend of his had affected him. Yixing was not one to hide emotions, he was rather so transparent. Maybe because you knew him too well it was easier for you to detect his feelings but it never failed to impress you how cute he looked whenever his heart craved for someone.

“She’s busy tonight,” he responded and earned a smack on the arm from you.

“Am I just a second option to you?” your fake anger is funnier than it should be and he laughs with each smack you give him. “I don’t know what to do with you anymore, Yixing.”

Before he can defend himself, Kyungsoo finally sat down beside Jongin. Unlike the expected, the director left the room leaving the stage manager in charge of the cast’s activity for the first half of the rehearsal. Kyungsoo didn’t take too long to open his own script on Act 1, Scene 1 and start speaking.

“I hope you’re all off book for the first act. I decided we should do an Italian* instead of a simple runthrough. You guys know how it goes, I don’t think I have to explain.” he spoke and his serious look sometimes made shivers run down your spine. Kyungsoo was often serious when you saw him because it was almost always during rehearsals. Sometimes, when you had classes together, you would notice how joyful he could be around other people. But when it came to this project, he was always stressed and managing problems here and there, so it was hard for you to see him relaxed if it wasn’t for Baekhyun to make him crack a smile.“Remember: be loud and enunciate. If you can’t remember a line say “line” and I’ll feed you.”

He started the stopwatch and read the first stage directions to get the actors prepared, and soon enough Jongin opened the play with his quite comical monologue. He spoke fast yet he pronounced the words very well never forgetting to make himself clear. He sat across from you and he used it as a chance to make of you his audience, delivering his lines to you who watched attentively. Soon after, Lea delivered her lines finally starting the first dialogue of the show. Yixing decided to rest his head on your shoulder and he closed his eyes as he listened to the play happening around him, there was just the voice of the cast members and the eventual pencil noises Kyungsoo would make when writing notes down. Your mind thought of Yixing, he seemed tired, he wasn’t resting as much, and now with tutoring Mia, he was always very busy. But he was happy which made you happy as well, just a bit worried he wasn’t giving himself a break. You worried not because he needed someone to watch him, but because there was no one else for you to take care of. It was almost as if you needed Yixing not just for he was your good friend, but also because your instincts urged to care for others. You closed your eyes as well and tried to stay focused on the play because your entrance was next and you didn’t wanna mess it up.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Julia, for I have already made up my mind,” you said in response to your scene partner. Your eyes still closed, you were cozy as you felt Yixing’s hair tickling the skin of your neck. “I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Don’t be reckless, you ought to stay!” she fired back as quick as the Italian permitted her to speak. You both paid close attention to the movement of your lips being careful to pronounce every word. You opened your eyes and almost instinctively they darted to Kyungsoo who looked down at his script on his lap too concentrated to look up and miss a part.

“I can’t stay here and watch him forget me. I gotta flee somewhere where I can forget him first, and come back only when Lay has been erased from my memory,” you delivered.

The Italian kept going and everyone seemed to know their lines as Kyungsoo hopefully expected. Most of the play your scene partner was Yixing and the boy seemed to be napping against your shoulder but impressively enough he would always speak up when it was his turn. And the first half of the rehearsal went smoothly. The next three hours were dedicated to blocking the last scene of the first act and the first two scenes of the second act. You were already exhausted by the time the director gave his final notes. When you were all dismissed, you were quick to put your shoes on and leave the studio with Yixing fast behind.

You went to the cafe around campus thinking you were too tired to go anywhere further. It was still four in the afternoon but you felt like you could already have some dinner. You order a coffee and a muffin then sat down once you got them in hands. Yixing sat across from you holding his own cup to his lips.

“It’s nice to finally hang out with you again after what? Five weeks?” you teased him again bringing back the topic from earlier. He giggled before turning to speak.

“Ah, don’t be like that,” he whined. “And you know I’ve been busy.” you nodded in response.

“Too busy, I must say.” you took another sip of your drink and placed it down on the table. “But I gotta give credit to you, you’ve been very disciplined with the play regardless of your tutoring and all.”

It’s not very clear how that happened, but Yixing ended up tutoring one of the language students twice a week. It was one of those blurry things that happen in life, you don’t really know how it started and it feels like it’s been there since forever. Your friend was suddenly so engaged in tutoring, and then in spending time with the girl, and all of a sudden he was so obvious about his feelings for her. It warmed your heart to see him that way, though, on the other hand, you were yet to meet the girl that made his heart flutter. Mia, that was her name. He would mention her every once in a while trying not to be too annoying about it around you, but you didn’t mind, you wanted him to share, you wanted to know about her just as much as he was interested in her. It was how you felt things should be.

“She might come visit us next rehearsal,” he said hiding the shy smile behind the cup.

“Oh, great! I get to finally meet her,” you respond as excited as you allowed yourself to be even if you lacked energy after the tiring rehearsal. He smiled back thinking to himself that it was nice how supportive you were. It wasn’t like he planned anything though, he was too shy to make a move just yet. He was living for the “beating around the bush” type of thing because he couldn’t find in himself the courage to take his friendship with Mia to the next level. “Yixing told me so much about you,” you spoke as if rehearsing exactly what to say to her.

“Ah, please don’t say that!” he protested but it was already too late, you were ready to tease your friend at least just a bit. “Don’t embarrass me.”

“Don’t worry, Xing, you know I wouldn’t.”

“Yes, you would!”

About an hour later, you found yourself back home. Your roommate greeted you as she left the apartment saying she was gonna sleep at her boyfriend’s. Being alone at home was always very pleasant, you liked the silence only the emptiness could provide. You ran to the bathroom, eager to take a shower and relax a bit before you could find in yourself the energy to cook something for dinner. Shower thoughts took up your mind for the entire time.

Act 1, Scene 2

Jongdae was very delicate with each one of the cast members. He was taking a few more measurements he needed for the making of the costumes. He had some of the costume pieces already available to try, but he was scared people were gonna ruin them so he was taking his sweet time with each one of the actors and making sure they were as delicate with the piece as he was. He measured Lea’s hips another time to make sure her skirt was gonna fit comfortably and you were up next for measurement. You waited by the table in the corner where you had your script, a pen and a highlighter and you worked through each page marking beats and adding notes.

“Are you busy?” Pam pulled the chair beside you and sat down in hopes you would give her full attention. You pushed your script aside and turned to her waving your head in response. She smiled thankfully. “Good, so we can discuss hair and makeup.” she continues, “We debated for sometime, and we might need to give you a haircut.”

You looked at her thinking she was just joking but the way she dragged her gaze to your long hair and touched it as if already planning a cut, you knew she wasn’t. It didn’t bother you to have to change radically, you knew it was gonna happen sooner than later given that you were practically a doll directors would play with by changing the appearance whenever it fit. You could just wear a wig and make it would do, but knowing Hanz, the director, he would lecture your for a good hour just to convince you to chop off your locks.

“Who debated about it?” you asked pulling your hair from your shoulder to fall on your back. You watched her attentive but your mind thought that maybe that was a great idea after all.

“You know, Hanz, Soo, Jongdae and I,” she moved her hands as she spoke giving her an extra feminine appearance. It was charming at the same time it could be a little distracting.

“I see. I guess since all of you agreed to that, I guess I ought to.” with a smile, she got up from her seat and left you behind. But you didn’t have time to go back to your notes because two seconds after, Jongdae called out your name for you to go see him and the costume pieces he held up.

He handed you the dress you were gonna wear for the first half of the show. There weren’t many costumes changes for you this time, which was great. You remember how difficult it was to play four characters and change costumes about ten times in one show. You were glad your character this time was designated to wear a flower dress and cute white shoes that matched. You started peeling off your clothes getting rid of the top first and putting the dress from your head. Once it fell around you, you pulled down the jeans and so it started feeling like show time, when everyone changed in the wings of the scene and there was no space for shyness when you saw so many people half naked and hurriedly changed into their costumes. You smiled to yourself thinking that at this point nothing could embarrass you anymore.

Jongdae closed the zipper for you and smoothed down the skirt to see how it graciously fell on your sides. You could hear some polite wow’s coming from all sides of the studio but not being able to pinpoint who was looking at you. You were too busy looking down at the very detailed top and cleavage of the dress. Jongdae stepped closer to the table to put a check mark on the sheet he had open on his computer. Your dress was perfect and everyone acknowledged that, even eyes that you thought never really looked at you. You turned around loving how the skirt flew up with the motion.

“It’s perfect for you, Y/N,” you heard the comment come from Kyungsoo as he approached with a kind smile. His cheeks were tinted red and his smile soon disappeared too shy to stay to long. He stopped in front of you and admired the striped that held the piece to your shoulders. “Good job, Jongdae.” He cleared his throat and blinked a few times as if it could help him remember exactly what he was supposed to do.

“Yeah, Y/N, you look gorgeous,” said Yixing coming to you too and his smile was nothing timid. He placed a hand on your upper back and gave you a kiss on the cheek. It wasn’t weird, it was just unusual. He seemed… extra happy. It wasn’t about you, you knew, but his comment was very welcome anyway. You turned back to face Kyungsoo but the boy now wasn’t watching you anymore. Before you could say anything, or anyone for that matter, he walked away before Yixing caused him even more jealousy.

“Okay, Y/N, now try this one,” Jongdae asked handing you another costume. And for the next five minutes he worked on taking notes and a few pictures so he could visualize exactly what he needed to fix.

When you changed back to your normal attire, the director gave everyone a twenty-minute break before you started the rehearsals. You had a snack in your bag so you didn’t see the need to run to the cafeteria as Jongin did all so clumsily. You found a spot outside the studio and sat beside Yixing who ate nothing but eyed your food hungrily.

“Do you want a bite?” you lifted your fork offering the food. He just opened his mouth and let you feed him like a child. “Where’s your food?”

“I asked Jongin to buy it,” he responded with a mouthful of food.

“And where’s the first lady?” your tone of joke was edging a mockery you weren’t sure Yixing would understand. “I’m curious to meet her.” but he sighed heavily almost depressing.

“She cancelled,” he said. “But it’s okay, you know? She can come another time.” You didn’t give it much thought and finished your food sharing it with Yixing a few bites because he was just so hungry. By the time Jongin came back, the boy only had three minutes to finish his food and go back to the studio. You reentered the space feeling brand new and ready to warm up with the group.

Act 2, Scene 1

The wing blew on your neck and you liked the spring breeze that gave you chills. It was a new feeling it so close to your skin now that your hair was shorter and exposed you in a different way now. You walked down the street heading to the theatre department of campus and walking through the corridors of the building and without much thought knowing where you were headed meant that this place was already your natural habitat. You pushed the door open just to find everyone already in a circle just waiting for Baekhyun to start the warm-up. Despite all the eyes following you and comments flying from across the room, you quietly walked to the far wall of the studio and carefully dropped your bag there, then took off your shoes and out of habit reached for you hair to tie it in a ponytail. The strands were now too short to be tied up so you let it down allowing it to frame your face ever so delicately. You then approached the group.

“That’s a new look I see,” says Lea admiring how different you look without all the hair you used to have. “It suits you well, Y/N.” you respond with a simple thanks not really knowing yet how you feel about it. It was a new you without a new attitude, it felt strange. Not bad, just strange.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking about. I think Pam did a great job.” said Hanz moving closer and playing with your hair then placing his hands on your shoulder in an act of support. “Remind me to thank her later. Now, let’s warmup!” he yelled and it was Baekhyun’s cue to leave whatever he was doing and start the exercises with the cast.

After warming up your body, you warmed up your face muscles, and finally your vocal chords. You felt relaxed and ready to go. Part of you felt as if the new haircut should give you not only a new attitude as yourself, but also as Mona, the fierce character you were cast to play. So you tried to use it, the strangeness that resided in your gut could be of good use. So when the director announced that you were going to rehearse one of the most dramatic scenes with Lay, Yixing’s character, you thought that it was the right moment to try a new approach with Mona.

You got to your blocking and Yixing to his, both of you still holding your scripts because the lines were still in the process of memorization. You were quite confident with a few parts and so was Yixing, but the aid of the script was still very much needed. And when the director gave you permission, you started. You crossed the stage area with determination knowing exactly what you were doing yet it was quite improvised for not all the blocking was still set on stone.

It was incredible how Yixing also just went with the flow, you both owned the stage marvelously. It was easy to play with him because he knew you, because you both had touch with each other, things other people didn’t have. They could have cast two other great actors to play your roles, but they chose you because you had what others would take years to achieve. It was obvious to everyone, you were the perfect stage match.

“Okay, that was great,” said Hanz getting up from his chair and circling the table to get closer to both of you. “I really like how you measure your distance from each other, but make sure to angle it. We need to see more of your faces. Give it to the audience.” Kyungsoo took notes as Hanz spoke and nodded with every new addition.

“I also think it was great,” said Kyungsoo now getting everyone’s attention. You watched him almost as enchanted as he watched you perform. “But I think, I don’t know if you’ll agree,” he motioned to Hanz, “you could speak a little slower. Enjoy the pauses between each line.”

He was delicate when he spoke, he rarely gesticulated but when he asked you to be slower he made a languid motion with his hands as if your voces were to be as slow. Hanz nodded in agreement finding Kyungsoo’s point very welcome and important. He then went back to the table but didn’t sit down, he was standing still watching you retake your positions and do the scene another time. Kyungsoo put down his pen, and instead of watching his script, he solely watched you.

You liked when he watched you, you enjoyed his attention. It made you love theatre even more because it gave you the chance to be centre of Kyungsoo’s attention even if for just a scene. When you weren’t playing, it felt like you were not interesting anymore and not deserving of his gaze. Kyungsoo noticed how your hair gave you a new angle, it gave you another thing to incorporate into your character and it seemed to work perfectly. He liked your new look, he thought it suited you very well. But it was easy for him to think that because he liked you anyway.

He watched you perform the scene and after each line, each step forward, he felt the chemistry you and Yixing had. His heart shrank, whether was for the scene or for himself, he couldn’t know. He saw the way you lost yourself in the scene and the way you worked so well with you friend, he wasn’t blind to all that. He knew the chemistry he could feel it, he envied it. But he settled for having your eyes on him when he gave you feedback. Whenever he spoke, he liked it when you paid close attention to his words and memorized everything he said. He wished your attention was his whenever he wanted, outside the studio, inside his room, in front of everybody or just when there was the two of you.

“The chemistry is great. You’re doing so well! I want to see that same energy on the opening night! Keep the good job, everyone.” he clapped in reverence and then walked back to his seat and started discussing with Kyungsoo other notes they should take for that exact same scene. You and Yixing left the stage area for Junmyeon and Minseok to rehearse their scene and end the second act.

Act 2, Scene 2

The bar was full but it was pleasant. Yixing was dancing deciding that drinking was not actually his kind of fun. On the other hand, you were by the table talking to Baekhyun who reluctantly went out that night and would fall asleep any minute if you didn’t keep him awake. Lea and Jongin, just like their characters in the play, fought over something remotely relevant which gave you and Baekhyun more content to talk about. You saw Yixing approach the table to take a sip from your beer just to retort his face in reaction to the bitterness.

“Let’s go,” he said once he put the glass down. You weren’t sure what he was talking about until he stretched his arm to you and with his head he motioned to the dancefloor.

“No, no. This is not for me,” you said sitting straight on the chair. “I’m taking care of Baekhyun here.”

“Why did he even come if he’s only gonna fall asleep?” your friend asked crossing his arms waiting for an answer. You waved your head not really knowing why he came either. He said he was trying to force himself to have some fun rather than just work his ass off for school and the play. But turns out he was only exhausting himself even more.

“Should I take you home?” You asked him who was blinking slowly almost closing his eyes. It was amazing how he could manage to doze off even when the place was really loud. He didn’t respond, instead, he took a sip from his drink and got up to go dance with Yixing leaving you no choice but to join them. Out of habit, you tried to flip your hair behind your back but it was useless, the short strand didn’t go that far only making you a bit anxious for yet not having forgotten the simple habit.

You were a terrible dancer which made you avoid the dancefloor. But once in a while it couldn’t hurt, right? So you let yourself enjoy the music and move your body the way it felt right. Sometime you let Yixing dictate the moves when he would get closer and place a hand on your hips so you could actually let loose. He laughed with you clumsy ways but praised you for your braveness anyway. Baekhyun seemed to get more energetic and his moves were dragging some of the attention around. He noticed that and realised that he couldn’t stop now, he had to give a show. You forgot about him as you danced with your friend ruining his every move because you simply didn’t have the talent for it, and you didn’t notice when suddenly people circled Baekhyun. He easily stole the scene.

“I need a break,” you practically yelled but Yixing didn’t hear. You repeated once again but this time close to his ear and when he nodded you left him behind going to the table and sitting down to finish your beer that now wasn’t as cold anymore.

“You shouldn’t be allowed there,” said Jongin laughing at you. “Your sick moves are not beautiful to see.”

He mocked you and you let him have his fun. It was okay, you knew you weren’t born a ballerina. You talked for a while with them until you looked at the time and saw it was already very late and you should go. Almost as if he could read your mind, Yixing came over to the table opening one button of his feeling too hot for this place. He announced it was getting late and that you both should wake up early the next morning for a 9am class. You nodded in response and took your bag from the chair beside you. You looked back at Baekhyun and debated if you should drag him out of the dancefloor or not,

“I’ll handle him,” said Jongin raising his glass and smirking all so charming. By the look on Lea’s face, you knew her heart fluttered in her chest. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

Act 2, Scene 3

Yixing walked through the door a bit more moody than usual. He took his seat next to you and without a word sunk in his chair as if you wouldn’t notice his strange behaviour. If you didn’t know his drinking habit, you might have guessed he was hungover from last night. But it wasn’t the case, he was moody for another reason, one that you yet had to find out.

“Is everything okay?” you asked as you pulled out your book from you backpack and your pencil case. He didn’t raise his head to look at you but neither did you focus your attention solely on him.

“It’s Mia,” he sighed.

“Of course it is” you rolled your eyes with a fake annoyance. You told him many times to quit the melodrama and finally tell her how he felt, but when whined back in response you couldn help but feel like you too were too shy to make such a bold move. “What happened with her this time?”

“She ignored me in the hallway,” he whined.

“I’m sure she just didn’t see you, Xing,” you responded bringing a hand to his shoulder and shaking him quite aggressively.

“She saw me, she turned away,” and again he whined not giving in to your heavy hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know what I did wrong, Y/N.”

Before you could comment on that, the professor opened the door of the classroom and made his way inside, dropping his bag on his desk and without further ado, he grab the chalk and started the lecture.

“You should talk to her,” you whisper only loud enough for Yixing to hear you. “I’m sure she’s just having a bad day,”

“Is that an excuse to ignore me like that?” he was annoyed, more than you’ve ever seen. He was not handling it so well and you were afraid he would end up screw things up with her because of a possible misunderstanding. The professor turned around annoyed by your chattering but he simply focused on you and Yixing. Without having to say a word you know he meant for you to shut up. You quit talking and concentrated on the lecture, Yixing’s love life could wait two hours.

And two hours passed, everyone packed their stuff and left the classroom as fast as possible. You saw Yixing languidly move beside you, dragging his body around without motivation thinking only on the girl who hurt him. You were sure it wasn’t that big of a deal, that Yixing was just being dramatic, but you hated how he was behaving and how little he paid attention to the class you just had.

“Let’s go, I’m starving,” you said dragging him by the hand and going to the cafeteria where you met your group of friends sitting by the table on the far end of the place. You bought your food and Yixing did the same, no sadness could suppress his hunger. With your trays in hands, you went approached your friends.

“Exactly who I wanted to see!” said Baekhyun quite eager startling you. “Hanz texted me this morning asking if you and Yixing could come to the studio with me later in the afternoon,” he spoke gesticulating with his hands making you hyper aware of the juice box right in front of him. You pulled it closer to you before he knocked it down. “I should give you guys pointers before next rehearsals.”

Yixing on you side was paying little attention but he nodded anyway. You nodded in response not really minding the extra session with Baekhyun. It would actually help you a lot anyway, you wanted to keep up the good work just like Hanz had asked you and as Kyungsoo expected. The thought of him rang a bell causing you to look around and try to spot him btu he was nowhere to be seen. You even thought it was strange that it was Baekhyun who would give you pointers rather than Kyungsoo, the actual stage manager.

“Where’s Soo?” you asked hiding your interest behind a fake indifference.

“He’s running some errands today,” said Baekhyun, “Hence why I’ll be with you two this afternoon.”

Yixing once again nodded but you were sure he wasn’t listening to any of the conversation anymore. You ate your lunch in silence but laughed casually whenever one of your friends cracked a joke. When you got up after you finished, you pulled your bag over your shoulder and again you brushed your hair with your fingers but this time you didn’t expect to feel the long strands of hair, you were already getting used to the length of your locks. You smiled to yourself loving the change in attitude finally taking over you, slowly but surely.

Act 2, Scene 4

Your hair flew with the wind as you ran across campus going to the studio to meet Baekhyun and Yixing. You felt the wind on your neck and it felt good, it felt fresh and you thought you didn’t need it until it hit you. Your script was almost falling out of your bag when you got to the door of the studio. You save it from falling, you pushed the door open and entered the room. Yixing wasn’t there, Baekhyun neither. You looked at the time on your phone and reassured yourself you weren’t neither late or early but rather punctual. You took the chance to text Baekhyun to know where he was because if Yixing wasn’t there to rehearse with you, at least Baekhyun could read his part for you to practice. You heard the door behind you making you turn around to find Kyungsoo making his way inside.

“Soo? I thought Baek was supposed to be here.” he nodded in response and he wanted to explain his presence there, but before he needed to drop his bag on the floor and take the weight off his shoulder.

“After all I could come so I told him not to. I’ll be leading the session with you guys today.” he said and placed his hands on his hips looking around but ending up to lay his eyes on you. “Where’s Yixing?”

You shrug your shoulders not really sure of what to say. You didn’t know if he was late or if he wasn’t gonna come at all, he wasn’t having a good day. Though, bad days never prevented him from doing his obligations.

“Let’s give him another ten minutes. Maybe he’s just running late.” Kyungsoo said putting an end to the discussion. There was a silence between you two. It was the first time you were both alone like this, you weren’t sure of what to say or how to behave. You were not good at anything else besides acting and that was basically how you communicated with him. You performed, he loved you for the duration of the scene, he gave you feedback, and that was how you built your distant relationship. You didn’t know how to be you around him because usually you were just Mona.

“Did you eat?” he walked to his backpack and opened it pulling out a tupperware full of strawberries. You smiled to him, your cheeks blushed, and due to the lack of hair now you couldn’t hide it from him.

You sat down beside him, backs resting on the wall, shoulders touching each other. He opened the container and made sure you took one first before he served himself. You got rid of the small leaves on top of it then took a bite, the berry sweeter than you were expecting.

He watched you attentively, but when he noticed he was smiling hypnotized by you, he forced his eyes off of you. Though, he wasn’t able to stop the laugh that came out softly as if hiding his embarrassment.

“What?” you asked after you had swallowed the fruit. You grabbed another strawberry and again got rid of the leaves. You took a bite on it but never taking your eyes off of him being stronger than him this time.

“Nothing,” he responded knowing damn well it was a lie. He was so close to you right now, closer than ever. You felt the butterflies in your stomach fly around and menacing hitting your guts for you make a move. But you froze when he turned to you and his eyes wandered your face and shamelessly stopped at your lips exactly when you licked the remnants of strawberry juice from them. “I think…” his lips moved but his eyes were still glued on the part he craved. You were also getting attracted to his own set of lips. “You’re smart,” he continued, “and talented,” he then took his time to lick his lips thinking it would give him the courage to finish what he started. “And pretty. Very pretty. The prettiest I’ve ever seen.”

Your faces were inches from each other. Slowly and anxiously your moved in touching your noses, he closed his eyes first, then you closed yours, it was all you wished for and nothing could ruin this moment. But you were wrong. The door of the studio swung open revealing a very late Yixing who breathed heavily but he seemed to have a better mood than earlier when you saw him. The unexpected sound of the door made startled you and Kyungsoo making you both distance yourselves and get up on a quick move. Kyungsoo cleared his throat and moved to get his script out of his bag.

“Are we ready to start?” he asked. Yixing and you moved to the centre of the stage area holding your own scripts and opening on the page Kyungsoo indicated. “In this scene, Lay and Mona are finally giving in to each other’s wishes. Let’s try to bring back the energy from last rehearsal.”

For as much as you and Yixing had chemistry, nothing compared to what you felt with Kyungsoo. You could try hard to make this scene today look good, but your mind was numb with the proximity of Kyungsoo’s lips just a few seconds ago. You and Yixing had chemistry because you were friends, because you knew each other, because it was easy for you to be his scene partner. You and Kyungsoo had chemistry because it felt right, because you liked each other.

Yixing started the scene already quite familiar with the lines. It was the first time you were passing it which made sense that Hanz wanted you to practice it outside rehearsal hours so you could come to it already familiar with the scene. It then came to you why he wanted you to rehearse that scene specifically. It was a kiss scene, the one that was supposed to make the audience fall in love with the characters. But you had to kiss your best friend.

It wasn’t weird, you were an actor. It was only strange because you had never kissed Yixing before, and because the first time you would do it would be right after the guy you liked tried to kiss you. It was oddly unlucky. You didn’t know how Yixing felt about it, but by the blank look on his face, you were sure he also felt strange.

“Can we try again? I rather we get familiar with the lines beforehand.” you asked trying to give yourself more time to get into character and to snap out of that strange feeling that held you back. Yixing nodded in agreement and so did Kyungsoo. So you went back a few pages and took from the top.

You didn’t need the script, it was only in the way, so you decided to drop it to the floor and just go without it. Yixing did the same decided that it was of no help. Now with your free hands you had more freedom to move around and use your arms and hands to interact with Yixing. So you did the scene again stopping many times to hear Kyungsoo’s notes on blocking. After that, you took from the top and passed the scene one more time with no interruptions and when Yixing came closer to you, you didn’t stop yourself from falling into his arms and kissing him on the best Mona way possible.

“That wasn’t too bad,” he said once you pulled away and you laughed at his cheeky comment. Kyungsoo on the other hand was battling internally. PArt of him thought you did a great job and that your talent and chemistry was really on point. The other part of him wished he was an actor and at that moment he was in Yixing’s place. But his professional side spoke louder making him command you to go back to your blocking and do the scene all over again, even if it made him boil in jealousy.

Act 3, Scene 1

Mia trusted Yixing, she apologized for the instance in the hallway when she deliberately didn’t speak to him. She believed him when he said the girl at the bar was just a friend, that it was actually Y/N and it was just a normal night out with his friends. He confessed to her, he told her all the things she wanted to hear, he told her how she made his heart jump out of his chest when she smiled, and how with a simple look she drove him crazy. He was head over heels for her and now she knew. So she forgave him for supposedly “leading her on” and going out with another girl. There was no other girl, there was just you, Y/N, who was nowhere near falling in love with Yixing, but rather falling for the boy who you were yet to make a move on.

But when her gut feeling told her to go check out on the boy, her heart sank to the pit of her stomach and nothing could bring it back up. Through the window of the door she saw the way he kissed you, the way he held you, and his smile when you pulled apart. She saw it with her bare eyes yet it was unbelievable.

Unlike Mia, you were doing quite better on the love department. Still unsure of where you stood in your relationship with Kyungsoo, you knew now that you were more than friends, that both of you wanted to be more than friends. You haven’t told Yixing what he had interrupted, thinking it would be best to keep it to yourself not to jinx it. But after rehearsal you didn’t have the chance to talk to Kyungsoo because Yixing dragged you by the hand to tell you in full detail all that had happened to him that afternoon. He wasn’t superstitious.

“I’m happy for you, Xing,” you said touching his face in a caring way. You were proud of him like a mother would be proud of her son. “But I need to meet her or else you don’t have my approval.” He laughed with the condition. Although you were joking, he knew it was important for you to be introduced to her because you were important to him and vice versa.

“I gotta go now okay? I’m tired and I have a morning class tomorrow.” you said rubbing your face trying to keep yourself awake until you got home. “See you tomorrow?” he nodded in response and waved you goodbye.

*Italian: “a rehearsal in which the actors deliver their lines and perform the action at a much faster rate” TDF Theater Dictionary

#yixing #lay #zhang yixing #do kyungsoo #kyungsoo #d.o #exo #sehun #baekhyun #suho #chanyeol #xiumin #chen #jongin #exo fanfic #kyungsoo imagine #yixing imagine

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escapingreality1992 · 5 years

Text

Haircuts and Head Massages

Inspired by Bucky’s new look for Falcon and Winter Soldier.

Bucky x OC - Bucky and Tara meet when Steve and Sam brings him back to the compound. Tara gives Bucky a head massage like she does for everyone and it becomes their special thing. Feelings arise during a movie night three months later and they go on a date falling in love with a kiss. Cut to seven months into dating, Tara throws a barbecue and Bucky decides it’s time for a change with a haircut and a shave.

Buried under three fluffy blankets in the lounge, I sat alone reading a book, music playing in my earphones. The compound wasn’t empty; most people stayed in their room not bothering anyone. A routine we were accustomed to. I knew Steve and Sam had gone out to take care of some private business; whatever it was, they chose not to disclose it to me even though I tried to pry it out of them.

Engrossed in my novel – a fantasy with magic, wizards and all sorts of different creatures – the music blaring in my ears, I failed to hear their return, failed to see them approach me, a new recruit in tow, until someone tapped me on the shoulder. On instinct, I sent them sprawling to the floor with a kick to the chest and using my weight to pin them down; one earbud fell out of my ear, letting me hear their struggle.

“Tara! It’s me, Sam. I’m sorry I scared you. Get off me please,” the “intruder” shouted. Realizing my mistake, I got off him, helping him to his feet.

“Sorry. I had my music blasting. You’re back. Where’s Steve? Where did y’all go?” I stated.

“We picked up a new friend. A new recruit as well,” Steve’s voice answered, causing me to turn around to face him; Another guy stood beside him, quiet and reserved. He had dark brown hair, which fell to his shoulders, light blue eyes and a beard my fingers itched to run along. He had on a brown jacket, a black Henley, and blue jeans and black boots; a hat on to disguise himself. He wore black gloves, hiding his metal hand away.

Exactly like Steve does. I’m not really sure it qualifies as a disguise but whatever works, I guess, I thought.

“Tara, this is Bucky Barnes, my oldest friend. Bucky, this is Tara Thomas,” Steve introduced us. Bucky remained quiet, giving me a wave, barely meeting my eyes. His name sounded familiar and I thought about where I heard it before, realization clouding over my mind as I remembered who he…was.

“You brought the Winter Soldier here? Have you discussed this with Stark?” I questioned. I noticed Bucky flinched at the name; perhaps a painful memory coming out to play, which he didn’t ask for.

“I planned to discuss it with tonight. Tara, he’s not…he won’t-,”

“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything terrible. If you trust him, I trust him,”

“Thank you. That means a lot. I’ll go talk to Tony. Would you mind if he stays in here with you? I’ll need to borrow Sam while the discussion takes place…just in case some things are…thrown,” Steve said.

“Hold on mister. It’s your turn. If you think I’m going to let you skip out on this one, you’re sorely mistaken. The discussion-,”

“We’re talking to Tony. I’ve got to get it over with. Sam, come with me. Buck, stay with her. She can keep you company,” Steve stated, tugging Sam out of the room; Sam shot me an apologetic look and shrug before disappearing with Steve down the hall.

“Steve! Get back here! Steve!” I yelled to no avail. Sighing with frustration, I ran a hand through my chestnut brown hair, which came to rest on my collarbone. Turning around, I spotted Bucky still standing, hands in his pockets.

“You’re welcome to sit down. They might be a while. Don’t worry, I don’t bite,” I told him, climbing back under my blankets, resuming my book. Noticing movement, I glanced up to see him sitting on the end of the couch, twiddling his thumbs, still silent; I peered back down at my book, the story distracting my attention from him. Did I think him attractive? Yeah, sure in a I’d-love-to-feel-his-lips-on-mine kind of way. Silence ensued until he cleared his throat as if he meant to say something.

“Steve’s turn for what?” he asked, capturing my attention. So much for the distraction, I thought as a smile tugged at my lips.

“Beg pardon?”

“You told Steve that it was his turn. What did you mean by it if you don’t mind me asking?” he replied. His voice was a bit raspy, husky even, and it pulled me even more to him.

“Oh, that. Uh, it’s his turn to get a head massage. Everyone gets one here. It’s sort of a comfort thing and apparently, I give really good ones. At least that’s what everyone tells me. The trouble is Steve keeps avoiding his for the month,” I explained, putting down the book. I was done reading for the night, especially since I knew where this conversation was heading.

“Everyone? Including the women?”

“Yeah. I’m efficient that way. Even Stephen Strange receives one every once in a while, and he’s not even that close to us,”

“What does it feel like? How deep do you massage people?”

“Ah, so the curiosity bug has bitten you. Would you like a demonstration? It doesn’t hurt, I promise. It’s quite relaxing. I do them on myself sometimes. It gets the blood flowing and they say it’s very stimulating for your scalp,” I replied. I removed the blankets from my lap, draping them across the back of the couch so they’d be out of the way.

“I thought it was Steve’s turn. You don’t know me. I don’t know you. I only asked because it confused me. I…”

“Bucky, it’ll be all right. Steve can wait. If it’s too much, tell me and I’ll stop. Or if you don’t want to do this, that’s fine too. I don’t mind,” I told him. He sighed and shrugged off his jacket, bending down to unlace his boots and pulling them off his feet.

“Where do I sit?” he asked.

“You don’t sit. You lay in my lap. Stretch out, grab a blanket if you want. Take off those gloves. You could get overheated,” I replied, flexing my hands to prepare for the massage. He hesitated with the gloves but removed them, the metal from his hand glinting in the dim lighting. He grabbed one blanket – the fluffy black one – draping it over his legs and laid back, his head placed in my lap, his blue eyes gazing up at my blue-green ones.

“Ready? If it’ll make you feel better, you can close your eyes,” I stated. He nodded and shut them; his breathing shaky, full of nerves. I began, splaying my fingers as I pulled them through his hair, fingertips on his scalp. I applied some pressure, moving them around, giving him the full effect. I occasionally stroked his hair, the same comforting gesture I gave to Loki, Wanda and Natasha. Wanda and Nat liked their hair to be played with, but for Loki it relaxed him to have fingers running through his hair, comforting him.

For Bucky, it appeared to be putting him at ease. I could see the tension releasing, his limbs going limp. His lips parted open; his breathing steady. I kept going, working his scalp, still stroking his hair in the hopes of bringing him the most comfort I could. I even applied some pressure to his temples, relieving tension there as if he had a headache. Wanting to give him more tingles, I scratched his beard, the roughness of it contrasting with his soft locks.

I switched between this and his head until his breathing evened out. I continued even as he drifted off to sleep, Bucky turning on his side, his hair tumbling on his shoulders. I checked the time to see how long I had been at it with him. 11 p.m. An hour had passed while I had been giving him the same treatment, I gave everyone else. I heard footsteps approaching, peeked up as I saw Steve and Sam re-enter the lounge. Holding a finger to my lips, I gestured to the sleeping man in my lap. Steve smiled; it was small, glad to see his friend relaxed. He walked around to the back of the couch to whisper in my ear.

“Thank you, Tara. Tony said he could stay here. If it’s no trouble, could he stay with you until we get his room set up. It’ll be tonight and tomorrow night if that’s okay. It might do him some good to be around you,”

“It’s no trouble at all. Let him sleep for another hour before we wake him,” I whispered back.

“You and your head massages. They’re like magic. You put to sleep in five minutes. Not to mention relaxing everyone. I get all tingly when you do mine,” Sam said in a low vice, sitting in one of the armchairs, exhaustion setting in.

“I’ll give you one tomorrow. And Steve, you’re also getting one tomorrow. No exceptions,” I told them.

“But-,”

“No arguments,” I snapped. What began as a demonstration became a regular occurrence for Bucky and me, sparking an unforeseen romance, which would lead to a change Bucky decided to get; a step to a new beginning.

Three Months Later

As time went on, Bucky and I became closer, growing to be best friends. We were often paired together on missions, undercover or not; he discovered my true ability – light absorption, which meant I could block out light in specific places when needed.

It came in handy when we needed to sneak upon enemies, for them to be unable to see us coming. We’d even use it when we were feeling quite mischievous and decided to scare Sam, Steve, or Thor; a trait we picked up from Loki the more we were around him.

Head massages became a regular thing; he’d come to me when he needed to wind down from particularly stressful missions or when he needed one because he simply enjoyed it. Bucky would even lay in my lap during move nights, our friends giving us strange looks at first, but soon they were so used to it, they didn’t notice, paying attention to the movie. Tonight, someone would say something, bringing out odd relationship to light.

Movie nights occurred on Mondays; a day when battles appeared to be slower, meetings were dull, or the stress got to be overwhelming. They gave us time to hang out, eating popcorn and indulging in a comedy or a horror movie. Yes, I said horror; not the gory, slasher ones but the psychological thriller ones which would blow your mind with the endings. The genre tonight, more comedy, kind of slasher like. The movie – Zombieland.

“What I don’t understand is why you two aren’t dating,” Sam stated during one part of the movie.

“Which two are you referring to?” I asked. I had Bucky’s head cradled in my lap, running my fingers through his silky locks. I paused, getting a pat from his hand to keep going.

“I’m referring to you and the man you’ve got lying in your lap. I mean, what is going on between you two? You’re constantly giving him head massages and I can’t tell if you’re dating or not,” Sam answered. I frowned, continuing my movements.

“I give everyone massages. This isn’t an uncommon thing,” I noted.

“No, you give everyone head massages every once in a while. With Bucky, you’re always found somewhere in the compound, lying on a couch or sitting in an armchair, with him. In your lap. Massaging his head and scratching his beard,” Same argued.

“Your point is? It’s our thing. There’s nothing wrong with it,” Bucky commented.

“My point is that you two do it so often it’s hard to tell if you’re dating or only friends. No one’s seen you kissing, which sort of leads me to believe that you’re not but you could be having a secret relationship behind everyone’s back. If you’re not, then the question is why not,” Sam stated.

“Leave them alone,” Steve said. Sam reached over and shut off the movie.

“I know everyone’s curious about it. They should answer the question,” he stated.

“We shouldn’t be under any obligation-,”

“Okay. Yeah, I’m curious. Why aren’t you two together?” Steve said. When we didn’t answer, Sam asked a different question.

“Do you like each other?”

“Yeah. We’re best friends,” Bucky replied.

“No, no. I mean, do either of you have feelings for each other?” Sam asked. More silence followed; my face grew hot, my fingers stopped moving, the massage over.

“Are you going to answer the question?” Same pressed.

“Come on, Sam, Steve. Leave them alone. So, what if they’re not dating? What business is it of yours to know their feelings? If they’re friends, then that’s the end of it. I’d like to get back to the movie, please,” Natasha stated.

“Don’t you want to know? Friends don’t-,”

“Drop it bird man. Let them figure it out on their own,” Nat interrupted.

“Fine. I’m just saying maybe they should date. They’d be a cute couple. You can see the chemistry a mile away,” Sam caved and turned on the movie. I resumed my movements, trying my best to pay attention. Truth is, I did have a crush on Bucky.

He’s super sweet and funny. Plus, he’s got the looks to match. I’d always hoped he’d feel the same way, but I wouldn’t mind if we were only friends. I wanted him to be happy with whoever he chose. As the movie played on, the more I got to wondering what it would be like to date him. I imagined how his lips would feel against mine; would he kiss me rough, his beard scratching my skin? What about his hands? How would it be to have his metal hand touch me? Anywhere? Everywhere?

By the time the movie ended, I was aware of my thoughts floating around in my head and all the dates I envisioned would happen if we ever got together.

“Tara? Can we talk in your room?” Bucky whispered, interrupting the thoughts replaying in my head. I nodded and spotting an opportunity to disappear unnoticed, we headed upstairs to my room to chat. Bucky closed and locked the door behind us, and we sat down on the bed.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked, already nervous; my heart beat hard in my chest, hammering away at the thought of his words.

“I…um…wow. I didn’t realize how hard this would be. Tara, I like you. A lot. I have for a while, but I didn’t know how to tell you. Sam grilling us tonight really put things into perspective. Would you maybe want to go out with me? Tomorrow night?” Bucky confessed, dragging a hand through his hair, making it a tousled mess.

“You…l-like me? Is that why you always came to me for head massages?” I asked, stunned. Here he sat confessing his crush on me and I was stunned. I literally thought I was in a dream. Someone pinch me, I thought.

“Partly. You do give really good massages. They’re the best part of my day. I do like you. One could say I might be falling in love with you,”

“Yes. My answer is yes. I’d love to go out with you,” I stated.

“Really?” I nodded and he pulled me off the bed into his arms. “Great. I’ll stop by at 6. We can go to dinner and then I’ll take you somewhere for a surprise,” he said, putting me down on the floor. Bucky kissed my cheek and left to go to his room, turning in for the night.

First Date

The night of our first date came fast. I dressed casually, not knowing what the second activity was. He stopped by my room at precisely 6 and we left the compound to go to dinner; a burger restaurant we both favored, talking and laughing how we normally did, having a good time. I think we were comfortable enough around each other that we didn’t realize feelings had been brewing until the questions from movie night brought them to light.

“So, where are we going?” I asked, when we finished up and got on his motorcycle for our second activity of the night.

“You’ll see. I think you’re going to love it,” he told me, taking off into the night. We rode for 15 minutes, pulling into a parking lot. I got off and lit up at the giant sign in front of me.

“Roller skating? I haven’t been roller skating since I was a teenager,” I commented.

“This should be fun then. Come on, let’s go inside,” he stated, taking my hand and pulling me towards the building. He paid the admission and got the tickets for the skates before we entered the rink. We went to the booth for the skates and told them our sizes. Once handed the skates, we sat down on the benches to change our shoes and rolled onto the floor, holding hands. We went fast until they cleared off the floor for couples only.

We went slow as the music playing, coming to a complete stop at a wall, lost in each other’s eyes. Bucky leaned in for a kiss, pressing his lips against mine; They were warm and soft filled with a passion I hadn’t experienced with anyone before. A fire, hot and burning but simmered as we held the kiss. My hands drifted into his hair, his gripped my waist. After a few moments, we pulled back, unable to open our eyes for a few seconds.

“That was…” he stated.

“Hot, very hot, but long desired,” I finished.

“Want to do it again?” he asked.

“Oh, yes. Please, yes. Kiss me forever. Drown me in them,” I answered, pulling him to me. Our lips connected, burning hot once more. At this instant, I knew I wouldn’t let him go. Bucky was mine and no one else could come close to the love he gave me or the love I gave to him in return.

Seven Months Later

The relationship with Bucky shot off quick. We said the three infamous words ‘I love you’ four months into dating. No one was surprised based on how they reacted when we got back from our first date.

“I told you they’d be a cute couple,” Sam had said that night. The sex with Bucky was incredible, even after a month of waiting. We made love slow; he preferred me to be on top, riding him until the morning light. Sometimes, we’d only make out, ending up in each other’s arms, snuggled close. Waking up and seeing him beside me managed to bring a smile to my lips each time.

The head massages are still a regular thing, but they’ve become only our thing; Everyone stopped coming to me for them, finding their own source of stress relief. Today marked seven months of being together and I decided to throw a party, a barbecue if you wish, with my friends and have a good time playing corn hole or darts, or simply ranging out with everyone.

I employed Tony, Steve, Strange, and Sam in setting up everything, planning on going out to the store to grab the supplies for food and drinks. Thinking about getting Bucky to tag along, I went to find him. He was in our bathroom; his long hair ties up in a half ponytail to keep it out of his face.

“Hey, sweetheart. I’m going out to pick up supplies if you want to come with me,” I greeted him, hugging him from the side. He kissed me, releasing a sigh.

“Do you mind if I don’t? I’ve got some errands of my own to before the barbecue,” he replied.

“I don’t mind at all. I’ll get Wanda and Nat to come with me. Go do what you’ve got to do. I’ll see you later. I love you,” I told him.

“Thanks, Tara. I love you too,” We shared a kiss and I took off to find the girls. The next time I’d see him, he would have a new look to him I’d love.

Bucky’s POV

I left the compound on my motorcycle, nervous of what I was about to do. I pulled up to a barber shop and took a deep breath before entering. I planned on chopping off my hair and shaving, deciding it was time for a change; a new me. I chose not to tell Tara because I didn’t know how she’d feel, and I also wanted it to be a surprise. I loved her and she had been a big help to finding myself again.

I approached the front desk and told one of the guys working my name and what I needed. I had to wait ten minutes before one called me back. I described what I wanted and sat patiently as he worked on my hair and shaved off the beard. After maybe 40 minutes, he finished, the results exactly what I had in mind. He styled it a little and released me from the chair so I could pay. Leaving the shop, I head back to the compound and walked out back, catching the looks of my friends. Steve was the first to approach me.

“You cut your hair and shaved? It looks good Buck,” he greeted me.

“Thanks. I figured it was time for a change. I hope Tara likes it. I’m worried because she’s only seen me with long hair and a beard. What if she doesn’t give me anymore head massages?” I told him.

“I wouldn’t worry. She’s going to love it. She loves you no matter how you look,” he told me.

“Speaking of, where is my lovely girlfriend? I didn’t see her when I arrived,” I asked.

“She went inside to get more drinks,” he replied. I nodded and made my way inside, more compliments thrown my way as I passed. I took another deep breath as I entered the kitchen and placed my hands over Tara’s eyes.

Tara’s POV

“Hey, Tara. Don’t turn around yet,” a voice – Bucky’s voice – told me. Hands covered my eyes and I wasn’t sure why.

“Bucky, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing. I just…I did something and I’m not sure how you’ll like it,” he answered.

“All right. Whenever you’re ready for me to see, tell me,” I commented. He released his hands after a minute, but I closed my eyes, waiting for the words.

“Okay, turn around. If you have your eyes closed, open them,” he told me. I turned and mouth parted open at him.

“You cut your hair? And shaved?” I asked.

“Yeah. What do you think? I thought it was time for a change. Something different,”

“I love it. You look hot. Not that you didn’t before, but now you’re extra hot,” I replied. A blush formed over his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck. The haircut he got was longer on top, styled for a professional look. I had him turn around to see the back, the hair shorter there.

“I was worried you might not like it. That you couldn’t give me anymore head massages. That you might not love me anymore,” he told me.

“Bucky, I’ll always love you. Even you get haircuts or have a beard. I want you just as you are. Hang on, let me get these drinks outside. Meet me upstairs in our room. I’ll be right up,” I stated. He nodded and I took out two more liters of soda for the party while he headed up to the room. I told everyone Bucky and I would be down in a half hour, going back inside to go to him.

I entered our room, closing and locking the door behind me.

“Take off your shoes,” I told him. I got on the bed, propping up pillows to lay against, while he did as I asked.

“Come lay in my lap,” he leaned back, his head in my lap, similar to the first time we met, different in the way he was positioned. I threaded my fingers through his hair, still plenty to play with and started to massage his head, applying the same pressure I usually did. Though he had shaved, I still massaged his jaw, letting my fingers brush his cheeks, his lips.

“See, I can still massage you. It’s our thing remember. I love you, Bucky,” I whispered. He opened his eyes and sat up. He kissed me, the same desire I had for him flowing through me. The same heat was there in his kiss, only intensified. He pulled back, placing a kiss on my cheek.

“I love you too. We should go down to the barbecue before everyone get suspicious,” he told me. I nodded and we rejoined our friends outside. Haircuts and head massages. A special love had bloomed for Bucky and me with both.

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xz017 · 5 years

Text

oof. okay so imma do the latest tea???

got out of shower to hear my mum talkin to Agnes spillin the tea abt their friend/coworker

the one with that Kid my mum wanted to have a playdate with or whatever the annoyingly studious and clearskinned halfasian lookin girl i really envied.

her mum has a live in boyfriend who is basically like...an alcoholic mental case rip god i hate alcohol and i hate people who drink it like i only do it so i hate myself more and die but like this guy basically playin with knives n guns in the house and the kid who is like 19 idk why im callin her kid is so Over it like apparently she hasn’t been coming home and like

basically me in 2016 era when my mum was too generous n Helpful lettin ppl back into our lives and our House so i spent christmas morning 5am walkin in the cold n watchin 3 films until it got dark and stuff like that

girl be actin homeless---mood

so it came to a head today so Agnes is spillin the tea n her husband in the bg(omg it weird hearin him rip he was my military hs instructor wild) n my mUM is so selfrighteous n mad like

‘blablahblah well rosalie is being dumb she should put her daughter first she being sick in the head it her Choice’

n im like eavesdroppin havin warflashbacks of the dumb hypocrisy she has DOne lmao

‘has she no thought like what if Tyler gets raped/sexually abused by that man she’d let her daughter be in that environment???’

i mean it wouldnt be fair of me to be like...eyemoji on this cos she technically doesn’t know? but 19 may 2018 never4get lmao

anyway so my mum’s like our room is for rent and it’ll be far cheaper they dont even have to pay rn!!!

cue me being like...um...Money...generosity...i dont...LIke

i was conflicted here like idk i met the girl like 3-5 times im envious of her work ethic n her better asian disposition than mine cos she obviously prettier but she has better prospects and that’d suck if her life be like that

but also??? like...life be like that it was like that to me like who saved me?????????????????????

um...no one

like why is that on me or US TO BE NICE n helpful im so tired like damn which is relevant to the next point anyway

cos earlier had a convo with my mum i was eyemojing healthcare profs i was like ‘pls stop bein on ye phone pls tell me info on ye opinion on respiratory therapists...what abt PA’

n deadass she be eyemojing me like STICK TO YOUR COURSE

n i was like...-ugly pleadin emoji eyes- n i was tryin to explain that i didn’t want to be so focused on one thing that if i decide this medical thing is what i want to pursue i’d need 1-2 years just for the PREREQS which is like 5 classes and 1000 clinical hours or minimum 6 month healthcare paid job. like if i decide i want to go to school for that i already have the Stuff and just Apply.

n she was like...you had your chance i bothered you to be a nurse a few years ago you were stubborn if you did as i said you’d be earning good money now but you wasted time

n i was like...oof i can’t say anything to that it’s tru. it real life tea it fax i wasted time n im old n im ruunnin out of time i hate myself alot i hate hate hate

and idk we got to talkin abt money n life cos she was like you have to find something you can learn to LOve

n i was like??? WHY I GOTTA SETTLE N FOOL MYSELF TO DO SO im super annoyed abt that mindset

cos the thing about a bloody Arts degree is there’s too fuckin many broad possibilities n they all aint even that good. like deadass if i was a STEM major ugh like if i was a Bio major prospects are so clear: forensics, research, premed,labtech. Meanwhile polsci for example: uhhh teacher? prelaw? politician? uhhh government work? n there’s like 111 different subdivisions of that n it’s like??? wat the fuck

deadass what am i gonna do with international security is that even gonna pay well like...the fuck do i know is it relevant ??? Doubts

n she was all like...PEOPLE JUST GOTTA DO WHAT THEY HAVE TO TO SURVIVE YOU GOTTA FIND YOURS N STICK WITH IT

n i was lowkey panique n frustrated cos i really REALLY hate being stuck in 1 ting n im like i HAD ACTING YOU SAID NO

n she was like pFF i wanted you to have something REAL cos if you dont make it in acting you’d be on the STREETS

n i was like...lmao lil did she know imma be on the streets next year smh this year actually

n she was like talkin abt the harsh reality of the workforce and how you gotta make do at how ppl treat you (patients) n how you might not even like your coworkers but you gotta deal with it because that’s what ppl do to survive

n she was talkin abt undeserving patients with no healthcare n i was like did you just hear yourself so you want them to die cos they dont got money and she was like

no??? why get hooked up in the ICU when you’re braindead wasting government money taxes we payed for you don’t understand cos you dont have a job and dont get your salary cut cos of taxes and these people come in acting like they got something to give when they yell at your face acting like they know what they’re talking about they act entitled when they have nothing homeless ppl getting money and illegal immigrants are selfish bringing their kids to be hurt here

n im like...theyre life is ...shitty what are you talkin about n she was like so? why dont they stay and make it better??? one of my very first patients asked me why i was in america and i said i come from a poor country and they said why didn’t you stay and try to make it better? and i couldn’t say anything cos u know what they were right why dont illegal immigrants do that??? n im like...

cos theyre literally...RUNNIN and they want ppl they care abt i.e. children to be far away from that as soon as possible bruh ye think imma wait for change deadass there a reason why we suffer duterte he actually get shit done??? we dont have to wait for change the same way ppl who speak nice n are polite do but is stuck with bureaucracy and lowkey bein corrupt deadass stay in ye lane

n she’s like well i hope you’re right im done bein an idealist im a realist now i believed in good i wanted to help the world now no more

n im like...no you’re not a realist, you’ve just been hangin out with a republican

and she gave me a sideeye

but deadass im ...scared like i really hate the empathy because when she was being serious n talkin n being honest abt things for once i started to unwillingly see things from her point of view i really felt it n i was scared i’ll be like that im scared she’s right

im scared i’ll end up Real n selfish like...i already am ? n bitter? like i care about so very few Personally and am willin to let others suffer to keep it safe n prioritised?

im scared.

like especially with racism all these years my mum’s been telling me it’s not that im racist just wait til you work with them they act so entitles and loud and make everything about race

n i almost told Her abt it earlier i skyped w her earlier we had a tea spillin moment about our ethnic relations bein racist but then idk we talked alot i guess the text got buried or unseen

like i said i was scared n didn’t get to unpack it like im scared because ive been livin with my roomate and like...ive been excusing it as a personality thing and that if it were anyone else different skin colour id still hate them just the same which i still maintain is true but like?

my RM is loud n she makes everything abt race like deadass me n my FM be just eating dinner and she passes by us and goes on a rant about harvard asians being a Blok to black ppl from getting There n im like...im tryna have dinner so i can get energy to deal with this stressful ass school

n she always talks like she knows what she’s talking about like ‘jewish ppl control the federal bank’ n im like...it 1am in the dark quiet of our shared room deadass i dont wanna tell the binch thats antisemitism cos she gonna be like im black how can i be racist smh

im!!! scared alright like i hate my roomate for proving my mum right when i try so hard to set things right like maybe that’s why i dont tell anyone about my situation other than Her. i never told my parents about the berkeley livin situation they already warn me enough to be careful n i just keep tellin them thats racist

i have so much........THOUGHTS n........DILEMMAS...n FEARS but like i just have this blog i cant trust anyone else to talk abt it n the only person i am willing to talk to abt it will be busy and im so ashamed abt these things but she was so sweet about givin me the heads up about her schedule

like i hated that i had to get an ugly ass haircut today cos she came back to me n we couldve talked so i guess rip she was complacent n did stuff cos she replied late from then on like that dumbass haircut was 15 minutes ugh. our talkin pattern today was like...dashed lines timereply wise? i asked her if she packed earlier (pre haircut)n she said yes but rip a few hours later she was like...I need to pack

wat is the truth rip

the tablet bein emo like...mood but my child rip.

my love be packin n spendin time with fam before leavin for london tomorrow

n even after that she doin...Stuff. rip.

which is ye know good for her rip.

i just hope she dont go iceskatin deadass one slip n she can crack her head open or break her neck or paralyse her spine like...??? why do humans wanna do dumb activities

like omg she admitted to me today she a serial jaywalker and WORSE with music n headphones like

binch thats why i didnt wanna enable you further by gettin ye airpods deadass bye

n she was like??? tryna equate it with my risky risk like ummm

mine is for science n validity

hers is just carelessness n chosin lazy convenience over idk...the responsibility of self vigilance like...

bruh ppl shouldnt promise someone 91 years if they be continuin to do dumb stuff consciously oof rip

but other than that like...im...really proud of this resolution she be undertakin officially on the 14th?

im nervous abt it cos i really want it for her too. i want her to get the proper sleep n i always hated her givin excuses like ‘IM FINE ON 4 HOURS OF SLEEP’ ‘I NAPPED 3 HOURS 38293820 HOURS AGO IM FINE I MADE UP FOR IT’ um...blokt. get proper sleep binch i love you tf???

prioritise work cos ye gonna regret not givin it yer all??? n ye payin for this???

what fun??? we capitalists now we want that money rip.

i see that shift you know rip i saw it comin a year ago.

that dont mean we republicans rip we still care about others n the inequality? but like i foresaw us getting acquainted with the harsh reality of the world n how difficult it is to get a job--which she experienced along the way.

n rip she wants many things bookmarkin them n honestly same rip

i want a stable warm home for this family n a shiny diamond to get disassociated by extra im a simple man

meanin im selfish n im ready to prioritise meanin im ready to make the choice for others to fall apart/behind if it means puttin This first rip

god pls dont make me a republican this so ugly

# 1 she’d hate me #2 i’d hate me

now im sad

im dead.

omg rip earlier too as she said goodbye i told her i loved her and she was like ‘i love you more’

DEADASS I WAS LIKE LMAO!!! girL i dont think you understand im literally Ready to put you and our possible future First like...im not messin around what skitrips with rich ppl what friends my love is potent n extreme n COncentrated like im sorry ik you feel love for me but you cant top This rip she not ready

like the um ‘partially wanna make my life’s work abt knowin what might hurt n kill ye so i can kill it first or blok it well’ kinda love

the ‘im already savin for at least HALF a first month deposit in an overpriced london in case you wanna settle down wit me Mayhaps n im not touching it for ANYTHING’ kinda love

the ‘im thinking of a winter home in the tropics so you suffer less n im plannin the floorplans already rip just in case’ kinda extraness

but anyways the gall of this cute lovely human rip ‘i love you more’ ummm try Again smh

bruh i love her too much i bet that’s scary for her rip it might be a Burden tbh she so young rip

meanwhile im old n ready to rot but like...

i wanna be mortal wit ye before i do

but ye know wat lads i saw myself in the mirror today like 5 times OOF. this meatform...keepin me...Humble.

bitter but like...humble

‘like of course sHe not ready not only is my personality like dis but also...my outward form how could she introduce me as a Spouse’

‘wow i look like that oof it good i remembered i am undeservin of full intense love like in the films n fanfiction they always between attractive ppl after all it only 1/2 it not Equal’

‘wow bruh ye really upset she spendin time n resources elsewhere when you be lookin like That? ye dont have much to offer bro take the L’

oof so that’s the personal tea i can think of?

had a meghan marke talk rip i can’t believe i was right??? i had twin vibes!!! but i was hoping for like a variety situation rip im worried a lil abt the whole birthin Late ting but she can afford the highest care rip it fine she rich.

my love was talkin abt how pretty MM was n i was like rip is she triggerin Her a lil rip worrirooni

rip speakin of babies like she was showin me this smol gummybear n im like same das me heart n she was like :( n i was like it only fits you

n she was like so no children then:(

n i was like!!! rip if it Ours of course that Counts n i was a lil shook like rip she said she didn’t want them Really so i always get guilty when i talk abt the future or realise i mentioned kids or carelessly name drop Hyaline n Benzion like...im dead rn just typin that like what if she read this big shame bro

but ye know what this is already long n she gonna be busy maybe that’s the key. TOo Much puts ppl OFF so ye mayhaps we sneaky ! ?

anyway i was tryin to get her thoughts on it rip but like she was all iDK ASK ME IN 13 Yrs n i was like...

sighemoji + sandemoji + resignedemoji

rip we talked FAaC a lil. cos she Dared!!! to liken me to her brother just cos i showed her my cheap youth boy shoes smh

At first i was super offended n disgusted but then i was like rip eyemoji if ye into that

then she was like ew nO

then i was like um ye already play the ‘daddy u like me young huh’ card

which is like idk is like technically? joking but it’s like that post ye know abt ppl bein ‘whether or not im actually jokin or flirtin depends if you into it’ but also like schrodingers racism like ‘it was a joke bro!!!’ but they actually bigots.

so it DIFFICULT for my brain to Confirm rip like...eyemoji what is the truth

but like??? im rip. willin. rip. to. rip. Try. rip.?

really i am rip. it Her. bruh. im only hopin she dont have a golden shower kink but. trust i...Will follow thru.

nO IM REMEMBERIN THE DOO DOO POST DESPAIR

rip anyway that whole thing reminded me of FAaC origins which was porn n then somehow sHe was like imagine if egggsy was a singer he’d sing like ‘age is just a number’ shit n i SPILLED THE TEA ABOUT A TING IN PT 3 im so weak sand

i miss the gays

i wanna give them justice n happiness but the 2027 excuse is rl nice for my ugly procrastination issues oof but i wish them well

add: rip had another talk with my mum i really wanted her to understand my thought process about wanting to get the prereqs for medtraining done beforehand

n she was like...I UNderstand but Normal people--

n i was like ‘IM NOT NORMAL I DONT KNOW HOW TO CHOOSE I HAVE NO IDENTITY’

n she’s just like SHOOKE n mad n clearly dont understand that im fukt up in the head ‘...IC AN’T BELIEVE YOU!!! iF YOU’RE ABNORMAL YOU WONT GET HIRED N YOU WONT HAVE A NICE JOB’

n im like...well i mean what can i say to that it’s not like it’s not tru rip

Big sand honestly.

it gonna be a long few days imma do my best to leave her alone she needs her time rip i love her so much rip sand

i feel like a dumb ugly dog god fljækadfkøad h8

#personal tea #read more only #entry

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pastel-princess-goddess · 6 years

Text

Nightime, medicated thoughts:

Sometimes I feel like I am so lonely and it bothers me. It’s not like I don’t have people I could talk to via texting or anything. I’d love for someone to come over to my house and just like..... cuddle me. Preferably a dude. Like John. I’d accept his cuddles. That’s another thing. My emotions and heart have been battling back and forth for a good long while with “You don’t love him. Wait yes you do but on a smaller, less intense scale. No you don’t love him.... etc.” Its a constant battle. I have my reasons for not going out with him and they will stay unsaid because it’s nobody’s business but his and mine.

My sister is out of the house now and has been for awhile. I don’t like it. I want her to move back home. I miss my buddy. She was my buddy but now she’s gone. It hurts me even though I know she’s an adult and doing her own thing with her friends. I wish I could be a part of the life she’s living. She’s too busy with her friends and her new life to care about her mentally handicapped sister tho. Thats in my eyes anways. I miss her a lot.

I cut my hair short and i shouldn’t have. I don’t like it. It looks bad in my opinion. I can put the bangs and sides in a ponytail but the back is too short. I liked my long hair better. I was told I look older with this hair cut. I think I look like a fat pig. Well either way I think I’m fat but this haircut makes my face look worse. If I straighten it just right it looks ok. But yeah. I don’t really like it.

What would happen if I went for a degree in history? Or if i went for culinary? Would it be too much for me to handle? Would i be able to do it? Is my mom right that it would be too much? I’ve been told I’m really smart and could, with the proper tools, pass many different classes and graduate on time. It’s just my mental shit gets in the way of me being able to function normally. I may seem like a really communicable person on the Internet. In real life I am not. I have horrid communication skills in real life. I also get overwhelmed very easily as well as stressed out. Over-stimulated. My Brain shuts down and doesn’t want to think anymore or do anything. I don’t know wether college would be too much for me. I think it might and I don’t wanna waste money on a maybe I will do it. We will see where life takes me.

I am so nervous for my disability case in 2 weeks. I know God’s got it all worked out for me but I am still nervous because what if God’s plan involves me not getting disability?? Then what am I supposed to do?? I can’t work more than a couple hours at a time. AND I can’t have my parents supporting me for the rest of my life. That’s just not feasible. Yes I am special needs but I want to at least get a house on the property (like a tiny house) to live in so that I’m on my own in a sense. I’ll still have my parents but I also will be away. But anyway yeah. I’m nervous. The hearing is the 6th of September.

I’m sure you haven’t read this far but if you did comment your favorite cookie.

#ramblings #late night #medicated #thoughts #my thoughts #lots to say

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panda-noosh · 6 years

Text

Action!{P5}{Lance x YouTuber!Reader}{AU}

Words: 6,945

Summary: Being a YouTube guru is hard enough without the added stress of living with Lance McClain, the man who insists on bombarding into every YouTube video you try to film. His viewers love him, and so do you.

Pairing: Lance McClain x YouTuber!Reader

Notes: p1 - p2 - p3 - p4 - p6 - p7 ; someone take my laptop away from me this hurt.

The vlogging camera felt oddly heavy in your hands as you held it above your head for the first time in nearly two weeks. The LA sun shone down on you, illuminating the fresh make up look you had applied for this night in particular – a smokey eye with dark brown lipstick, skin looking smooth and untouched, free of blotches that were hidden beneath a thin layer of foundation.

It made a difference, you had to admit. Your skin care routine had been abruptly neglected after you had left your apartment, meaning your acne prone skin had started breaking out all over again. It was nice to finally look at yourself and not see an emotional mess.

“Welcome to the vlog!” is the first thing you say, doing a small twirl at your hotel room window. You can hear Emma giggling in the background, watching you with fond eyes and a bright grin as she applies her fourteenth layer of mascara onto her already-perfect-length eyelashes.

You grin, looking out at the view of LA. Even though your body felt numb and you wanted nothing more than to take off the tight dress you had pulled on over your body, you could appreciate a good view, and you could appreciate a good day. Today was Emma's day, and you were determined to make it as drama-free as you possibly could.

“So, everyone, I am back vlogging,” you continue. “And what better way to restart this channel than with a vlog celebrating one of my bestest friends in the entire world finally making her dreams come true!”

You turn the camera around, pointing it at Emma who now stands up straight, revealing her entire outfit with her make up look finally complete. You have to look at her in awe – she wears a skin-tight, emerald green dress with a matching necklace that you and Samuel had bought for her for her 20th birthday. You had never seen it around her neck before, with her insisting that it was only to be worn on 'special occasions.'

Her make up was done up perfectly and her hair was styled in it's usual, bouncy do that took so much time to style, and yet Emma always seemed to wear it as if it was no big deal. It was perfect. She looked perfect, and for the first time in five days, you were able to finally smile a genuine smile, a swelling feeling of proudness erupting in the pit of your stomach.

“You're battery isn't gonna last long if you keep it recording like that,” Emma chuckles, and it is only then that you realise you had frozen in your spot with the camera still rolling.

You grumble incoherent words and shut the vlogging camera off, hoping that the editing can make the footage look less choppy and messy.

“I'm a little rusty,” you mumble. “Anyway, you look gorgeous, Emma. You're gonna make a perfect first impression.”

Emma grins. “I hope so. I've never been so nervous in my entire life.”

“You have no reason to be nervous. Everybodies gonna love the art work you have to show them, and you're gonna wow the crowd with your amazing personality.”

“I honestly think it's the necklace.”

You chuckle, taking the emerald in between your fingers and twirling it slightly. “No. This is all you.” You smile. “When are we meeting the boys?”

Emma sighs, pulling her phone out of her bag to look at the time. “In about ten minutes, but no doubt Samuel will already be there. He hates showing up late with the wheel chair.”

“Poor kid.”

“I'd show a little bit more sympathy if he stopped dragging my ass out of bed ten minutes early just so I can watch him do wheelies in the parking lot.”

You had never been to a professional art show.

Museums, the odd opening in your home town but never anything serious. Never anything that consisted of real, authentic art where the artists were walking around like nothing was a big deal. By the time you had walked from one end of the car park to the other, you had seen around 4 world-class artists who were here for the art show opening – the art show opening that your best friend was opening with her own art work.

You weren't sure why you were feeling nervous. Every emotion within your body had been swelling ten fold the past few days, but this was on a whole other level. You were only an on looker, and yet your hands were clamming up as if you were the one due to be making the speech. Emma didn't look half as nervous as you, her head held high and her shoulders pushed back as she chatted away to the curator like a real business women would.

You and Shiro walked behind her whilst Samuel was lazily pushed, him too busy fighting with an oversized brochure to bother pushing his own wheelchair.

“So apparently there's only two disabled ramps in the entire building,” Samuel says as you follow Emma and the curator into the building. “But if my calculations are correct, there's more than two sets of steps in this place. Which means I'm suddenly offended.”

Shiro rolls his eyes, shaking his head at your friends comments. “We'll find a way to get you up the stairs, mate, don't worry.”

“I know you will,” Samuel grunts. “I didn't give you an option there, mate. All I'm saying is, there should be more than two wheelchair ramps. It's an insult to me and I've already been through enough today.”

“That waitress didn't mean to-”

“She wanted to see if I could feel the fork land in my lap. I know she did, and you cannot persuade me otherwise.”

Shiro shakes his head again, looking at you with a raised eyebrow as if to ask if Samuel was always like this. You could only shrug in response, not entirely sure how to reply. The man had been one of your closest friends for nearly seven years now, but he hasn't always been such an easily-wound up bloke. Before the accident, he was grinning all the time, did cross-country and boxing and skiied whenever he could.

After the accident, every little thing bothered him. Every little glance sent his way set him off because he truly believed everybody just saw his wheelchair, and his dead legs and the way he sometimes winced in pain whenever there really was no pain to be feeling.

You and Emma had stayed by him, though. If there was anybody with a right to feel paranoid about people staring, it was Samuel.

The museum that the art show is held in is a big one. Halls made of marble with massive stone sculptures of Greek gods sat upright in the middle of it all. Signs were bedazzled with specs of gold that you run your fingers over loosely, admiring how cold the stones feel against your fingertips. Paintings are hung up on walls, special ones covered in a thick box of glass whilst some had simply been hung up by a nail and a frame.

The building was yet to fill up with people. You had to arrive early with Emma due to her having to go over her lines with the curator, but you could admire the empty scenery whilst it lasted. You weren't entirely sure how you were going to react whenever the place started to fill up with people. Perhaps you would hide in the back. Perhaps you would chatter amongst people, get their opinions on Emma's art work for later reference. You knew feedback would be something she'd appreciate.

It felt nice, you noticed. Standing in the middle of this massive, spacious, marble room with only the sound of the curators soft voice in the background. It was peaceful. Your mind wasn't working at one hundred miles an hour at the moment, and that was something you could appreciate.

A hand lands on your arm, startling you. You gasp, spinning around only to be met with the soft eyes of Shiro, who stands behind you with the smile he had been wearing all day still plastered on his features.

“Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you,” he says, stuffing his hands in his blazer pockets.

He cleaned up well for somebody who worked part-time in a coffee shop. He wore a baby blue dress shirt underneath a thin, black blazer, the first couple of buttons undone to reveal a hint of what looked like a well-worked chest.

“It's okay,” you reply. “Is everything okay?”

Shiro blanks for a moment, opening his mouth to speak before abruptly deciding against it. Instead, he lets his eyes trail off to look over at Emma, who busies herself with the canvas she is currently messing with. Samuel is at the side of her, guiding her through what to do with rough yells of “Are you stupid? To the left!”

“They get along,” you say. “Samuel's just a bit-”

“No, I understand,” Shiro assures, turning back to look at you. “I'm having a good time. I'm glad you guys let me tag along.” “Don't act like you didn't have plans made before we invited you. You've gotten quite popular since high school, so I've heard.”

Shiro crinkles up his nose, a playful smile playing at his lips as you two are suddenly thrown back to the world of high school which you suffered through together for seven years. You had been far from popular back in your high school days, though you were happy to say that you weren't alone in that aspect. Shiro had his fair share of hard times during high school, and you vaguely remember him being the kid with the book. The kid who was never spotted without a 500 page novel in his hand, slumped against the lockets with it balancing on his knees, engulfed in the story that he was reading.

He had worn glasses back then and had been bullied for it quite a bit. You remember rushing to your next class, scared of being late, and overhearing the popular kids talk about Shiro like he was a joke for having bad eye sight.

Shiro was basically the scrawny kid – a large difference to what he was like now. His high school self had brought on awkward smiles and bad haircuts that consisted of choppy bands that barely reached his eyebrows. His eyes were constantly swollen from lack of sleep and his lips were always chewed up from hours upon hours of mindlessly ripping the skin off of them.

Now he had muscle. Now he wore contacts. Now he was an adult, and it takes this moment for you to realise just how much the two of you had changed and just how much of Shiro's growing process you had actually witnessed in your years of friendship with him.

“Did you expect things to go this way back whenever we were in high school?” you blurt out before you know why.

Shiro looks down at you, his smile fading in confusion. “What do you mean?” You sigh, pulling your hands around yourself. “Like, did you expect me to become a YouTuber? Did you expect me to look this way? Because I certainly didn't expect you to glow up in the way you have done.”

A blush creeps upon Shiro's cheeks which he fails at covering by itching at his face. “I mean, I knew you would be something big, I guess. Even though you were fairly quiet, I always saw the potential in you, the creativity you had. Maybe it was because I spent my days reading books in the hallway, but I can spot a good brain from a mile away, and you had it. Even if you didn't show it off like you should have.”

He was right. You had always been the creative type. Not in the way where you could pick up a paintbrush and make wonderful masterpieces like Emma. Not in the way Shiro could write out words like his life revolved around beautiful prose and pulling at heart strings – you had the skill of making things come to life on your own. All you ever needed was a camera, some make up and a good enough video idea and that would be you set for the rest of the week.

You smile at the thought. The memory of your 10 year old self setting up her first camera and talking to it like it was an old friend.

That ten year old certainly had no idea she would be where she is now – two million subscribers down the road, living her best life.

Stood in the middle of a marble room, her heart completely broken with a fake smile pulling at her features.

You push the intrusive thought out of your head and look back up at Shiro. “I think we've done well for ourselves, Mr Shirogane.”

Shiro chuckles, reaching an arm out, gesturing for you to loop your own through his. “I think we have done, Miss L/N.”

“People take these things seriously,” Shiro tells you as the two of you stroll through the slowly-crowding room you had been locked in for the past hour. People were beginning to arrive - people in suits. People who looked like they could retire at the age of 24 and still have money left to put in a will after they died.

“I can see that,” you mumble, referring to the way people formed such neat little circles around the art work. Back in your home town, whenever an art show was being hosted, all of the art work had to be specially guarded due to the amount of teenagers who made it their lifes goal to put their fingers on them. These people were being respectful, and it was odd to see.

“Have you ever been into art?” Shiro asks.

You shake your head almost immediately. “Not really. I never liked Art and Design at school-”

“I remember.”

“-but I’ve always appreciated it, I guess. I definitely appreciate it more now that I’m friends with Emma, because I really do love the art work she produces. It’s just - never really been a skill of mine.”

Shiro purses his lips, nodding as the two of you make your way over to one of the smaller crowds that had gathered around a painting of a sunset. It seemed so generic to you - a painting of a sunset. That was all it seemed to be, but the crowd that were gawking at it seemed to think otherwise, pointing out the tiniest of details and talking about how each blade of grass in the field painted corresponding with the orange glow of the sunset.

It made you think of Lance. This was the kind of thing he did. He took every little detail of everything and made a deal out of it, nothing forgotten. You couldn’t watch a movie without Lance coming up with fifty different conspiracy theories in the first ten minutes, because everything had a meaning to it when it came to him. Nothing could ever just be as is.

You bite down on your lip and turn back to Shiro. He’s gazing at the painting with his head tilted, a small frown playing at his lips. You had barely even realised your arm looped through his still, the feeling of his muscular arms pressed against yours becoming so familiar that it died down after a while into nothingness.

“Do you mind if I vlog this?”

Shiro doesn’t even hesitate. His eyes don’t leave the painting and his expression of confusion doesn’t waver as he nods at you - such a casual response to something that most people cringed at.

You stifle through your bag and pull the camera out of your bag. It’s only small, hidden easily by the palm of your hand if you managed to hold it just right, but you still look back ways before pressing record, and even then you keep the device at a low angle and speak to it in a hushed voice.

“We arrived at the art show, everyone,” you whisper, making Shiro choke on the laugh he is attempting to hold back. “There’s a - uh - sunset in front of me right now, and I’m trying to figure out what the fourth blade of grass on the second row means.”

Shiro nudges you gently, covering his mouth with his free hand in an attempt to fight off his bubbling giggles. You smile to yourself, darting your eyes around the room once again before looking back down at the camera.

“I’m with Takashi, by the way. You guys don’t know him, but he’s a good guy.”

Shiro smiles, waving numbly at the camera and you can’t help but giggle at how awkward he seems in front of the lens. And yet he makes no attempt to cover it like most people do. He simply smiles down at it, his tongue peaking out between his teeth as he plays along with the game of ‘hidden vlogging’ you had suddenly started up out of nowhere.

In all honesty, the only reason you turned the camera on was to fight back the thoughts which were threatening to break the surface. You were making it your goal for tonight to be a good night. Lance was in the past. You had had your moment of emotional breakdown with that subject, and you needed to move on. Needed to get a fresh start, and restarting up the business you had left behind in your emotional rollercoaster the past five days was the best way to start.

And so you and Shiro continue to waver through the museum, finally escaping the confines of the large, marble room and broadening your surroundings by going into the different rooms - the less crowded ones. One thing you and Shiro had in common was your lack of social skills.

Every painting was vlogged, you still keeping your voice down as you spoke into the camera about the most random of topics. Shiro kept his arm wound through yours, playing along with the game, keeping his own voice down on the rare occassion he actually spoke up.

You two played a game of Eye Spy before being told off by a curator for holding up the guests who actually wanted to gaze at the art. Shiro had patted the mans chest before you two ended up sprinting away from the scene as if you had just been caught for a crime you had commited.

You weren’t entirely sure why you were having a good time. The museum was quiet bar the soft murmerings of the on-lookers and the soft sound of music trickling quietly through the overhead speakers. You should have been acting mature, and if you felt any other way, you probably would have done so. But you felt numb. You had felt numb, meaning the idea of getting told off wasn’t that big of a deal to you at this moment.

By the time 7:00pm struck, you and Shiro were laughing as you stumbled out of yet another overcrowded room and into the hallways which conjoined said rooms. Shiro had looped his arm around your waist, leaning against you as he caught his breath from the laughing you two had not paused for the past ten minutes. Everything was suddenly funny. Everything was suddenly a distraction, and if there was one thing you learned from living with Lance McClain for three years, it was that distractions had to be humorour or else they weren’t doing their job right.

“God, we really are gonna get kicked out,” Shiro chuckles, pressing his forehead against your cheek.

You shake your head stiffly, hiccuping back to reality. “I nearly knocked over the damn sculpture of Julius Caesar.”

Shiro chokes, immediately being thrown back into a fit of laughter. You watch him as he pulls his head back as he laughs - a move Lance used to do.

No, Y/N. Not now.

You search for another distraction, soft giggles escaping your lips as you feel your disguise of happiness slowly melting off of you as the night draws on and the distractions become scarcer and the reminders of Lance become more and more prominent around you.

“I don’t think the sculpture was of Julias Caesar, Y/N,” Shiro continues. “I think it was your bloke from the underworld - Hade’s? Hates?”

“Heather. Big Heather from the underworld,” you say. Shiro laughs louder this time, wiping at his eyes.

“I’ve never remembered you being so hyper before, Y/N,” Shiro says. “See, life isn’t all that bad. I knew you could have a good time.”

You force a smile on your face, nodding at him slowly because it was better for him to believe that than to think otherwise. The last thing you wanted was for him to look at you and see that you were only keeping up this humourous act for your friends benefits - you had sworn to them that tonight would be a good night. A night to forget about troubles. A night to forget about the past five days. You didn’t travel all the way to LA to mope around and make everybody else upset with your own sadness.

“We should probably get to the next room,” Shiro says after a moment of calming himself down. “What time does Emma’s exhibit start?”

“8,” you reply.

“Plenty of time to look around a bit more. Maybe we can get something to eat at the food court?”

You nod, but you don’t move. Shiro takes a step forward, clearly expecting for him to follow you, but something catches your eye. You aren’t entirely sure what it is - it was merely a whisp of colour in your peripheral vision, darting past the marble barriers holding up the ceiling, but it was something that peaked your interest more than you could ignore.

Shiro reaches behind him and tugs at your hand. “Hey. Everything okay?”

You swallow thickly. “Yeah. Everything’s fine. I just need the rest room, I think. I’ll meet you at the food counter, yeah?”

Shiro seems unconvinced, and for a moment you’re almost certain he’s going to ask to accompany you to the rest room. But after a moment, he gives you a light smile, nods and walks off.

Immediately you whirl around, silently cursing yourself for getting trapped inside your own brain again. You assured yourself over and over again that it was normal for somebody to feel curiosity, that it was normal for somebody to be reminded of somebody they missed shortly after losing said person. But you knew, deep down, that you were just being paranoid. You knew that all the things you wanted to say to Lance were whirling around in your brain for a reason, and no amount of distractions and laughter and buddy buddy friendships would get rid of them.

You march down the marble hallways in the direction of the streak of colour you had seen. Because why not? Because if not now, then when?

Your heels click against the floor and sound out in echoes as the crowd slowly disappears the longer you walk. Your eyes dart through everyone, but they don’t need to linger for very long. These people were very different from the person you were looking for. These people held their heads high and they walked with such grace with frowns tugging at their lips as they inspected the art work which surrounded them.

You were looking for the bouncy, bubbly guy with the wide grin and loud voice.

You take a sharp turn whenever you’re finally on your own. The crowd had completely disappeared, leaving only you to wade through the halls on your own. You weren’t even sure if you were allowed this far into the museum without permission, but you didn’t stop yourself.

You took the turn and immediately came to a stop. As did everything else in the world, it seemed, because standing before you was exactly who you craved to see, but at the same time wanted to avoid at all costs.

You finally realise exactly what you had just done - you had just followed this man down these halls even though he had ripped your heart from your chest only days prior. You had trailed after him like a lost puppy, made yourself look more like a joke than the interview he had done did.

But you can’t move, because the questions and the anger and the confusion are bubbling at your system as you look at him now. Wearing a tight, black blazer, head ducked down, forearm resting on the wall in front of him as he takes deep breaths, back facing you.

He hasn’t seen you yet. You could easily walk away and leave him, don’t let him know that you had seen him at all, but your feet are rooted to the floor. Perhaps it’s the three years worth of memories that keep you there, looking at him in his very clearly distressed state. Perhaps it was the instinct to help him that you couldn’t exactly get rid of in the space of three days.

Whatever it was, it was activating now, because even though he had hurt you and even though you were furious with him, you couldn’t help but feel a tiny tinge in your gut at the sight of him now. Leaning his head against his forearm, clearly trying to catch his breath, perhaps willing himself not to cry. What he had to cry over, you were unsure about.

You take a step forward, your heel echoing off of the floor. Lance immediately stiffens up, his head snapping up before he whirls around.

His face falls, his shoulders going limp and his hands falling to his sides. He looked pale. He looked sick. His usually vibrant, tanned skin had been dulled to a pale ivory now, and the bags under his eyes were deep, purple rings that made no effort of making themselves subtle.

He swayed slightly on his feet and you were almost certain he would fall over at any given moment. Whether it be from shock or the sleep deprivation he was very clearly suffering from, you had no idea.

Neither of you speak for a number of seconds. You simply stare at each other, your hand clutching the material of your dress as if it was the last thing you would possibly hold onto. His eyes beam into yours, him never being one to shy away from eye contact.

And then he speaks, and the sound of his voice is so excrutiatingly painful that you nearly double over at the sound of it. He doesn’t sound like himself.

“Y/N.” It’s only your name. A simple word that used to come so naturally between the two of you suddenly sounds like poison, like he’s spitting acid at you instead of speaking.

His voice cracks. He sounds like he hasn’t used his voice in weeks.

You swallow thickly and nod. “L-Lance.”

He purses his lips, his own eyes fluttering closed as you speak. He sways on his feet once again, even stumbling a little as he does so. You step forward, ready to grab him but he raises his hands, stopping you.

You don’t understand why you stepped forward. You were meant to hate him. You were going to hate him. You had to. You had to stop having such a soft spot for him. You thought you were making progress. You thought you were-

“What are you doing here?” you finally ask.

Lance opens his eyes and lazily smiles. “I came here with the ticket Emma gave me. Thought I would - uh - support a friend.”

“She’s not your friend.”

Lance shrugs, your words skimming right over his head. “But it seems like somebody else took my space in the little group. Which sucks, to be honest. I thought I was quite unreplaceable.”

He’s slurring his words. Is he drunk?

You raise your brow, your gut telling you to move. To turn and leave him stranded here, leave him to deal with his own mess that he caused, but you continue to stare at him.

You want to say it has nothing to do with emotional attachment, that it’s just morals that are keeping you standing here. He’s clearly in no shape to get himself home, to be on his own. You may be hurting, but you’re a nice enough person to not leave somebody in need behind because of your own reasons.

At least, that’s what you assure yourself.

“How much have you drunk since you got here?” you ask. “The bar wasn’t free for guests as far as I know. I hope you left yourself money for the taxi.”

“Harsh,” Lance mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck. “You know what else is harsh? You flirting with Mr Tall Guy right in front of my face.”

Your breathing hitches. Anger spirals through you. You regret not walking away. You regret having started this conversation. You regret having followed him at all because you know that this conversation will bring nothing but pain for you that you will have to heal from all over again.

“I get it, you know,” Lance continues. He sways on his feet, catches himself on the wall. “I shouldn’t have come. I’m a piece of shit. But at least I’m not walking around flaunting my new relationship five days after I broke it off with somebody else. That’s just cold.”

“Are you being serious right now?” you seethe. “Lance, answer my question. How much did you have to drink?”

“Not enough, clearly,” Lance grumbles. “I’m still not blacked out. But maybe I did drink enough - I persuaded myself to actually come here. That must have taken plenty of alcohol.”

You grit your teeth, running your hands through your hair, ignoring the fact that it had taken nearly an hour to do. “I think you should go.”

“What? No!” he exclaims, and the volume of his voice takes you by surprise. He tries to move, tries to make his way towards you but his feet stumble and he has to crumble against the wall again to stop himself from falling over completely. “Y/N, no. Let me - I didn’t mean it. I know you wouldn’t date Shiro. You two barely know each other, and you wouldn’t do that to me. You wouldn’t - We love each other, right?”

Your heart aches. It feels like it’s being ripped out of your body through your rib cage, and there’s nothing that can stop it now. You want to reply with a snarky comment, but seeing him go from frustrated to desperate so quickly makes you shudder and no words come out.

All you can do is watch him as he clambers against the wall, trying to make his way towards you but his feet aren’t doing him any favours and you’re almost certain he will fall if he detaches himself from the grip he has on the wall.

“Say you do,” Lance continues, his voice taking on the edge of a plea by now. “I know I fucked up. I - I fucked up really badly and I destroyed what we had, but please tell me I meant enough to you that you haven’t thrown me away in the space of - how many days has it been? Five?”

You shake your head, biting your lip to fight back tears. Not today, Y/N. You promised.

“I just need you to get yourself home, Lance,” you choke out. “Or else you’ll end up getting kicked out and arrested for public intoxication.”

“You take me home,” Lance says. “I haven’t - I got an Uber here, but we can - we can walk. I don’t know where my hotel is, but-”

“I’m not leaving with you,” you say and you feel yourself physically break at the sight of his face falling. His swollen cheeks have turned red and bright, his nose rosy and his soft brown eyes flooding with unshed tears that you persuade yourself only the alcohol can induce upon him.

He’s too drunk to know what he’s saying. He won’t remember any of this in the morning.

“But why? We live together,” Lance slurs. “Not right now, obviously, but we still share an apartment, and you still have a home with me, right? Because - Because I don’t have a home if you’re not there with me. You know that, right? Tell me you know that.”

“Lance, please don’t make me call security to get you out of here. I don’t want this to be bigger than it needs to be.”

“If you didn’t still like me - love me - you wouldn’t even be here right now. I’m surprised you haven’t pushed me down a flight of stairs yet.”

“You’ll end up falling down the stairs if you don’t get yourself home,” you hiss. “Now please-”

“But I miss you,” Lance says, and his voice comes out as a whine, a desperate plea for you to just listen to him. “Keep this between us, but the only real reason I actually showed up to this bore-fest is because I knew you’d be here with the others. I needed to see you.”

You shake your head again. His words have an impact. They slam into your chest, winding you but he’s drunk, and you have to keep reminding yourself of that fact. You have to keep your head out of the gutter and keep yourself strong, because he means nothing he is saying and he will remember nothing at the end of the night.

“Please, Lance,” you say, voice barely above a whisper. “Just get yourself home safely, alright? There’s - There’s nothing more for us. Nothing we can make out of what we had. Not now. The best thing for both of us to do is to just forget about one another.”

Lance gurgles, slumping forward. “You don’t mean that.”

You turn on your heel, using up all of your strength and everything in you to just get away from here. Leave on a decent note. You don’t need to yell at a drunken man - you don’t even need to associate yourself with him any further. Just go. Leave him.

“Y/N, don’t walk away. What are you doing?” Lance cries and you flinch at the volume of his voice but continue to walk. “Y/N L/N, get back here! Please! I miss you! I - I love you, for crying out loud! Y/N, are you listening? Can you even hear me? Y/N!”

He’s too drunk to run after you, and you’re too numb to turn back and look at him.

You reach up to your cheeks, expecting to wipe away tears, but all you feel is the dry foundation on your face.

You chuckle light heartedly, wrapping a loose arm around Emma’s shoulders as the two of you finally escape into the confines of the night.

The only light that illuminates the bright smile shining off of Emma’s face right now is the street lights that shine down on her like the spot light she deserves.

“You absolutely killed it!” Shiro cheers, wheeling Samuel, who had fallen asleep, down the disabled ramp of the museum. “God, they were all absolutely in love with you, Emma!”

Emma smiles brightly, wiping at her tired eyes. “It was fun. Easier than I thought.”

“You always had a way with words when it came to your art work,” you say, patting her arm and giving her a soft smile. You were proud of her. She had done her first night as an art show host and had absolutely blown everybody away with the art work she showed off. She had introduced a few world-famous paintings, but the paintings which stole the show were definitely her originals, which people pushed to get good views of.

Even after the events of the night, you found yourself feeling genuinely proud of her.

The side walk is crowded with people emerging from the art show, getting ready to go home after a long night of enjoying themselves, drinking fancy champagne and examining art. You smile at the odd person, arm still wrapped around Emma’s shoulders-

Until Shiro’s own arm winds around your waist, taking you by mild surprise. You hadn’t realised you were standing still on the sidewalk until you were being pulled out of Emma’s grip. Emma looked at you for a moment, smirked before she waded off to be next to Samuel who was slowly waking himself up due to the sudden burst of noise that the outdoors brought upon him.

“Did you enjoy yourself tonight?” Shiro asks once Emma is leaning safely against the wall of the museum, shooting glances up at you and Shiro before she is swarmed by a group of boys who want to ask her about her art work.

You raise a brow, pointing your eyes down at the hand he has wound around your waist. “I had a pretty decent time. What about you?”

“I loved it,” he replied. You can’t help but notice the slight gravel to his voice, a tinge to his tone that is either the work of lust, too much alcohol, or exhaustion. “I just wanted to thank you for being a good date.”

You splutter, eyes popping open. “Date?”

Shiro shrugs loosely. “I mean, the term is used loosely, of course. We’re just friends, but you kept me company in there. I don’t know how much of Samuel’s blabbering I can take, and Emma was far too busy with the art to actually talk to me. You made an effort.”

You blink hastily. “Right. Well, it was my pleasure, I guess.”

He nods. “What about that vlog you filmed? When will that be up?”

“Some time tomorrow, I’m hoping! I’m kind of filled with nervous energy at the moment, so I don’t see myself sleeping much.” Also known as, I have no idea if Lance got home safely and I hate myself for worrying so much but I can’t help it.

“Well, I’m excited to make my Y/N L/N Vlogs debut,” Shiro jokes, jostling your arm slightly. You rock against him, still taken slightly off guard by the way he loosely used the term ‘date’ as if it meant nothing.

Maybe it did mean nothing. Maybe you were just overthinking.

It’s Samuel’s voice, groggy and tired, that snaps you out of your daze. “Oh for the love of all that is holy, what is he doing here?”

Your eyes snap up, following Samuel’s gaze across the busy LA street you’re standing at. Almost immediately your stomach does knots, a sick feeling rising in your stomach as you see him - he had listened to you. He had left the museum, but he certainly hadn’t headed home.

He was stumbling around the corner, singing a song that you two used to sing together all the time as you cooked dinner - a Spanish song which you never understood the lyrics to, but you had heard it enough to know every single word.

“My God, he’s hammered,” Shiro breathes.

Lance stumbles around the corner, swinging his arms above his head before his eyes meet yours. You barely register it for a moment, the glare off of the street lamps making him seem a little more sober than he must have been. But one thing was for sure - as soon as his eyes met yours, his entire demeanour changed and suddenly, he looked angry.

You couldn’t be too sure, of course. It was very rare you actually saw Lance angry, but judging by the scowl which suddenly scattered his feautres and the way his gaze clamped down on Shiro’s hand which was wound around your waist, he was pissed.

You’re quick to step out of Shiro’s gaze, panic sweeping you. The streets were busy. Cars were zooming past at an unforgiving speed, and Lance was drunk and angry and on the other side of the road.

Nobody else sees it coming. Nobody but you. You step forward, wanting nothing more than to rush across the road and push him back from the curb, but nobody stops. No cars stop. Some drivers are even driving past on their cell phones at a speed which could knock down the side of a building.

But Lance doesn’t register that, and you see his eyes flicker the moment he yells out, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” to Shiro. Shiro’s eyes widen as you rush forward, shaking your hands in front of your body.

“Lance, don’t! Stay right there! Don’t even think of moving or-”

But your words don’t mean anything. Not right now. Not when Lance is blinded in a mad hot rage, consumed and fuelled by alcohol. You watch on in horror, a cry escaping your mouth as Lance steps off the curb, ready to fly head on at Shiro -

He doesn’t get that far. Not before a car has slammed into his side, knocking him to the left, blood spurting out of his nose before he’s even hit the concrete. You hear Emma yelling out for help, and you’re certain you hear yourself wailing but everything sounds dull, as if it’s being sounded through water.

Lance lands on the road with a thump, completely unconscious by the time he even hits the tarmac.

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