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#and the only dude keeping you alive also just went out the window)
age-of-moonknight · 2 years
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“The Avatar of Khonshu!” Marc Spector: Moon Knight (vol. 1/1989), #38.
Writer: Terry Kavanaugh; Penciler: Ron Garney; Inker: Tom Palmer; Colorist: Christie Scheele; Letterer: Ken Lopez
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cockdestroyer32 · 2 years
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insomnia
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tangerine x fem!reader
word count: 984
summary: you can't sleep, and apparently tangerine can’t either. (sfw)
You lay awake on the hotel bed, having a staring competition with the ceiling in front of you, you’re pretty sure you’re losing. You’d gone from tossing and turning, to counting sheep, to this, letting your mind empty out and staring blankly at the ceiling, waiting for some magic sleep aid to just hit you out of nowhere. The entire hotel room was blue, from wall to wall and floor to ceiling: blue. You’d gotten the room with the amazingly beautiful view of a mall wall, a mall wall that was just decked in huge neon signs, a truly amazing place to build a hotel room in. When you’d gotten the room, you told yourself it wasn’t a big deal, because this was only for one night anyway. 
You’d actually told yourself this multiple times tonight. From finding out you would have to work with Tangerine to finding out you would have to share a room. That it was okay, because it was for only one night. And right now, it was okay…because he was sleeping. At least you’re pretty sure he is, you’d been staring at one part of the room for the past two hours so you couldn’t see his bed, and he hadn’t been talking so that’s good. In frustrated defeat, you get up and make your way to the balcony. You may have a hotel room that currently looks like it’s in the deep ocean but hey, at least you got a balcony. It’s a small little space, but also big enough to fit its wooden desk and two chairs. You sit in one of them and prop up your feet on the desk. Though the balcony had the same boring view as the windows, you found it better to sit here rather than to continue your mindless gazing. You felt the cold wind on your skin and thought of the potential consequences your insomnia would bring you the next morning. You look back to the balcony entrance and see the silhouette of a man.
“Jesus Christ!” You jump, so he jumps.
“Fuckin’ hell woman! Are you not an assassin? Jesus…” Tangerine exclaimed.
“You got scared with me getting scared, arguably that’s worse.” Much different from the formal attire you usually saw him in, he wore sweatpants and a grey shirt that was loose but still showcased his muscles. Although you’d never admit it, you’d hate to be one of the people that Tangerine fought, he was very fit and looked like he could do some pretty good damage on his opponents. After the scare you stare at each other awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
“Can’t sleep?” He starts.
“No, did I wake you?”
“I’ve been awake for an hour.”
“Beat ya, three.” You point to yourself and he raises his eyebrows.
“Woah. Well, we should probably get some sleep, we need energy for tomorrow.”
“What do you think I’ve been trying to do these past 3 hours?” He just stares, probably because he doesn’t have a solution to his own insomnia. You continue:
“Besides, I’ll be fine, I’ve done jobs while sleep deprived before, it’s not the best but…possible.”
“So have I, got a nasty ol’ scar out of it though.”
“How many guys?”
“About…eight.”
“Pfft.”
“What?”
“Berlin. Thirty minutes of sleep on a car ride. 15 guys.”
“Just you?”
“Just me.”
“Fuck off.”
“Well it happened, and I got all of them.”
“Why’d you sleep so little?”
“I’d spent the entire day before training restlessly for that job, so much that at one point I guess I just decided not to sleep to keep training instead.”
“No fucking way I’d ever lose sleep to train for a job like that, especially not one for that twat handler in Berlin.” You chuckle, and consider for a second…
“Here…” You get up from your chair and roll your sleeves up, showing a scar on your right arm. “11th guy, I went to fight him but another dude held me back, and in my struggle, they were able to cut me deep enough with one of their knives.” You’re standing very close to him so he’ll be able to see the cut on your arm clearly in the night light, he holds it up and traces the scar with his finger, curious.
“So all that training was for nothing?”
“I’m alive, aren’t I?”
“I suppose you are.” His eyes deviate from your arm to you, although he still holds it. You notice just how close you actually are and your heart pounds, but you’re unable to look away from him. It’s as if he’s looking right into your soul. He actually isn’t so bad to the eye as you thought, his hair, even though he had been lying in bed up until this point, still looked perfect, this time with more curls than usual, and his eyes— although the nighttime stole away the color from them, making them look grey instead of blue— were perfect. You had your ranking of what you thought were the most beautiful men you’d seen in your life before, and right now, Tangerine was threatening to throw off that ranking. Your eyes betray you and your vision goes to his lips. His goes to yours. You inhale sharply.
“I’m gonna go to bed.”
You turn and quickly make your way to your bed, without looking at him. You lie, facing away from the rest of the room, and eventually you hear him approach his own bed and also lie down. Your brain is much fuzzier than before, and you’re scared to even move in your bed, as if you could make yourself invisible by lying as still as possible. The silence is even more deafening this time around in the room, and you wonder if Tangerine can feel it too. 
You can tell it’s gonna be even harder for you to sleep this time around.
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kedreeva · 2 years
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Steve gets to have the talk with Jonathan that he wanted to have at the end of S1
I know who sent this one, and I know why she went on anon, and I SEE YOU, SUNSHINE.
collected on AO3
-----
It doesn’t take long for Steve to feel out of place in the too-bright waiting room. He’s exhausted and achy and still reeling from spinning his entire life hard 180 degrees only to find himself in utter freefall. He’d already had his own injuries looked at and been told to have someone keep an eye on him for his concussion, but there was no one at home, so he’d collapsed into the nearest unoccupied chair.
But now the lights are too bright and the kids had all shot up to see their friend when he woke up, and the adults had either gone with them or disappeared for business, and Steve finds himself once again alone. The silence - or near-silence anyway - is nice, but every time the dying light down the hall flickers, his heart kicks his ribs and he’s right back in Jonathan’s living room. He’s watching the girl he loves point a gun at his face while his misconception of the world as a safe place falls apart behind her.
He heaves himself to his feet, and heads for the door.
The chill November air greets him sharply, and he welcomes the way it braces him. He doesn’t go far – not supposed to be alone – just leans against the cold bricks of the front entrance to take a few deep breaths. He closes his eyes, head tipping back against the stone.
The door opens to his right, and he hates the way his hands twitch for a weapon, so he sticks them in his pockets as Jonathan joins him. He doesn’t know what to say, how to break the ice; he’d broken too much already in the past 24 hours. How can the knowledge of what he’d said live right there beside the knowledge that he’d lay down his life for this boy without a single thought? Sorry isn’t big enough to bridge the gap he'd made between them.
“How’s your brother?” he says, because he has to say something or he’ll crawl out of his skin and they’ve had enough of that tonight.
“Alive. Happy to see his friends,” Jonathan says, not looking over as he leans back against the wall now that he’s had an invitation. He puffs out a laugh. “Maybe not as happy as the kids were to see him.”
Steve manages a thin smile around the shards of his heart. He cannot imagine having friends that care that much, the sort that would go to the ends of the earth for him, that would burn it to the ground to save him. Tommy’s loyalty ended at a single rejection.
Jonathan may have rightfully kicked Steve’s ass, but he’d also taken his hand. He can still feel the gut-pull shiver of Jonathan demanding jump and his own instant and unthinking obedience. He can still see the flicker of lights through the window. He can still hear his one, crystal thought: he can’t leave them.
Not Nancy. Them.
“They’re good kids,” he says quietly. “Your brother too.” His breath twists up in his lungs as his face pinches up. “Look, I uh- I shouldn’t have said what I said about him. Or you.”
Jonathan remains quiet, not looking at Steve for so long that Steve nearly opens his mouth to continue the apology he’d gone there to make, but Jonathan beats him to the punch again. “It was pretty shitty of you. Honest, but shitty.”
“It wasn’t,” Steve says, and then quickly amends- “Honest, I mean. That’s why- I don’t know, dude. Maybe you knocked some sense into me. I was being a huge dick to you because I couldn’t handle my own problems.”
“King Steve has problems?” Jonathan asks, though it sounds more like a barb than a question.
Steve pulls a hand from his pocket to run it through his hair. “I guess,” he says with a little shake of his head. “I don’t know what it is about Nancy. It’s like… she’s the first person that’s ever looked at me like she just… expects me to be a better person than I am. And the crazy thing is, when she looked at me like that, I wanted to be, I just… I didn’t know how. I either had to climb up to her level or drag her down to mine and when I saw I saw the two of you, I was just… I dunno. Furious.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Jonathan says. It’s not the truth, Steve knows; or at least, it���s not the whole truth.
“It was, but that’s not- that wasn’t it. I thought it was, but it wasn’t,” Steve admits. It feels weird to say it aloud. “I thought I was mad that she… would come down to my level, I guess? After I let myself think… it doesn’t matter. And I was mad at you for… I dunno. Being the reason.”
“Nothing happened, Steve,” Jonathan says, a little hotly.
“That’s not true,” Steve says. “I mean, yeah, okay, you two didn’t screw or whatever, but… something happened. She went to you for help. Not me. Or, y’know, it’s- it’s worse than that. She did come to me, and I was too much of an asshole to help her. I was too worried about my dad’s opinion. He’s not even- It’s stupid. I should have helped her sooner. I was furious at myself for not listening to her. I should have.”
Jonathan doesn’t argue that, and Steve tries again to pull the knife of the realization from his gut, but it doesn’t move. She’d needed help, and he’d walked away, and he’d gotten exactly what he’d deserved for it. He’d gotten off easy, looking back.
“Well, you can’t go back,” Jonathan says, almost as if he’d read Steve’s mind. “None of us can, after this. There's only forward.”
“Yeah,” Steve agrees. He’s going to try to get back to normal, or make a new normal at least. He’s going to make sure they think this is over, and then he’s going to do his level fucking best to forget any of this ever happened.
Almost any of it, anyway. Maybe not the part where he's trying, now.
“I’m sorry,” he says, trips over the words in his rush to make good on his decision. “I meant- I meant to say that, before. It’s why I… came over to your place. I wanted to apologize. Even before the monsters.”
He’d wanted to apologize once the monster had gone, but Nancy had rushed them into the cars and told him to meet them at the school gymnasium, and then they’d been so frantically trying to find where the kids had disappeared to that nothing had even been explained until they finally sat down at the hospital. Steve still isn’t sure he totally understands, but he’s not sure if there’s explanation missing or if it’s the concussion talking.
“I already… told Tommy and Carol off, that bridge burned pretty goddamn quick. I cleaned off the theater sign. I was coming to apologize to you, and then I was going to see Nancy, and apologize to her, too,” he adds, remembering the speech he’d thought about the entire drive out to Jonathan’s house. “I want to do better. I messed up and I don’t know if I can make up for it, but I want to do better.”
“Okay,” Jonathan says. Simple as that.
“Okay?” Steve echoes dumbly.
Jonathan shrugs and pushes away from the wall. “Yeah. You want to do better- okay. But, I’m freezing my ass off out here. Come back inside.”
Jump.
Steve pushes away from the wall, too, and follows him inside.
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variablejabberwocky · 3 months
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started watching delicious in dungeon/dungeon meishi (sp?). or as i like to call it
~*AUTISM COOKING DUNGEON*~
dear god y'all have undersold this to me. and like i get it. spoilers and all that. but holy shit
our boy isn't like... "tee-hee little-bit of autistic, just a smidge" like you were all making me think. no no. no, this guy is DEEPLY autistic. we're talking "normally we only give THIS much autism to aliens and robots" kind of autism. the "i need an allistic translator for my social fubars" autism (rip your sister dude). the "i learned a thing! so now im not gonna shut up about it for at least an hour" autism.
and they gave this to THE ONE SINGULAR HUMAN IN THE PARTY. this guy is a HUMAN FIGHTER/KNIGHT-type that is like the MOST BORING/NORMIE shit in a d&d style setting. that is "why are you even playing a fantasy game?" level of normie shit.
and THAT is who gets to be The Party Freak(tm)
i love it. completely unironically/unsarcasticly i love it. they took the "that much autism isn't human anymore" bullshit thats so prolific its basically a trope and went NOPE FUCK THAT NOISE
what i find unforgivable though is that none of you mentioned he's a Kronk too.
boy sounds SO SO STUPID but is so so smart when you actually listen to what the fuck he's on about now (and think on why he's on about it right then). he's a big tank (literally in the fantasy class sense) that just wants to help everyone and do his little special interest shit on the side. and it is on the side because the other two seem like they had no idea it was more than trivia until he didn't have to help micromanage a massive party. like this shit has clearly been on repeat in his brain in the background for A WHILE but he was so busy helping/keeping everyone alive it got shoved aside of his outward behavior unless it was useful. he is a lovable dorky himbo and NONE of you mentioned this.
anyway, i'm also loving the way this whole show is basically only like this because him and senshi are vibing on the same wavelength and the other two are basically just along for the ride to save their friend/part member
the whole thing has a Green Eggs and Ham kind of thing going on with it too. but like...environmentalist about it? like it was more subtle about the whole "hey maybe work WITH your current environment rather than against it" bit and then we found out what senshi normally does and subtlety just went right out the fucking window on that front.
i'm also liking the way it both explores the horrors of dying in a world where being brought back to life is common, while also kind of...poking fun at it? like its reminding me of a thing i heard something like "the difference between comedy and tragedy is how far from it you are" kind of concept.
like they are so fucking ... how the fuck do you spell it blase? with the little "/" over the e. that. the story is so bland in how it handles how people came back from horrific deaths and yet when the characters have to face things that remind them of their own it gets heartbreaking very quickly. but like...chillchuck. goddamn. we get just enough from his perspective that its harrowing but the way its shown to us the reader/viewer is like a comedy skit
cause like...its both.
these guys keep dying/nearly dying to THE. SAME. FUCKING. SHIT.
mage elf is slimebait, chillchuck is basically Dungeon Canary with an emphasis on mimics, and himbro over here is gonna get himself killed trying to pet/eat a new monster no one else knows about at some point. probably why his sister seems to have specialized in healing magic.
i know the fandom is thinking once they get his sister back that she's gonna be Just Like Him but i think it would be much funnier AND more 'realistic' if they were classic autism-adhd alliance but siblings about it. like him being better at staying on a task and her being better at navigating social cues and shit. and both of them with their own little special interest energy. i'm betting her's is magic. and thats why even magic elf is like "omg shes so good at magic i'm no where near that level" about it. i mean its also the lesbianism but there IS more to that than thirst from what i've seen.
anyway i'm 6 episodes into what seems to be 12 available on netflix and i'm already hooked. might have to see if i can get my hands on the manga or something too
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danwhobrowses · 9 months
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One Piece Chapter 1092 - Initial Thoughts
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And another break ends at last
It's been a thriving time as a One Piece fan these last few weeks; Live Action's delivering, anime is serving, and we had that meaty cliffhanger with Luffy and Kizaru now to pick up on
Let's not wait any longer (also it's late and I gotta work tomorrow XD)
Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release
A Jinbe cover this time, for a moment I got excited thinking it was a cover story to explain how he escaped Whole Cake
We instead pick up after Kuma, still running wild on Marejois
But Akainu is here now, though he is getting slandered by the Celestial Dragons, calling for Kuma's death and what they will do about the loss of food
STOP PUTTING HOLES IN PEOPLE WE LIKE AKAINU!!!!
Gave Kuma the Whitebeard face treatment
Kuma paws out of dodge, but not before getting his foot singed
Akainu does mull over telling Bonney that Kuma gave up his mind on his own volition, and wondering as much as we are what the end goal is for Kuma
Back on Egghead, the Mark 3s are sadly killing all the sea beasties, allowing the marines to get to the Fabriophase (ground floor of the island)
Luffy meanwhile is hitting Kizaru in Snakeman
Kizaru is at least giving his strength props, asking why he is defending Vegapunk, but Luffy hits back on the uno reverse: why does he wanna kill Vegapunk?
Kizaru dude he can't hear you from way over there
He says 'I don't want to kill him' but also 'don't get in my way', hmmm?
Speed is weight indeed, but Kizaru needed one hell of a run-up to hit Luffy
Vega Force 1 NOOOOOOOO! The impact sends Luffy flying, including through the giant bot and means of escape
Kizaru then starts being his usual self towards Bonney now, implying he knew her when she was younger and trying to appeal to her connection to Kuma to justify killing Vegapunk
Bonney tries to attack, but Kizaru dodges and kicks her into the barrier
Franky goes to attack but Kizaru's already left, so he quickly goes to contact Usopp
The three Punks have succeeded in breaking York's code, but their joy is cut short by Kizaru's appearance
And like he's right there, chilling between Punk and Usopp
Kizaru takes one last lament before going to complete his mission
But Giant Gear Fifth Luffy with the grab, complete with surrounding characters eyeball popping again
I guess Nami's still not used to Gear Fifth because this is the second time she's eye popped from seeing him, it's Usopp and the Punks' first time up close at least
Kizaru knows about Joy Boy? At least he knows rumors
Luffy looks beat up, but it seems to be because he crossed the barrier twice, maybe he went back for Bonney?
The Drums of Liberation emanating from Giant Luffy is enough to echo to even the hidden bot
AND IT'S AWAKE! IT'S ALIVE!!!
And for the first time in like a month, no break this week!
Well, when one door closes a window opens instead.
I think we all would've liked to see more of Luffy vs Kizaru, but perhaps Oda doesn't want to make the admirals look weakened. Still Kizaru held his own against Yonko-tier Luffy, granted it was only Gear Fourth but it still increases Admiral stocks.
The Kuma stuff is still interesting, and I still want that flashback, but we are all in the dark about his current agenda, it's just heartbreaking that his body is becoming even more damaged at this point, since we want there to be a chance to save him and for Bonney to get her father back.
Kizaru may be playing a bit of a con here, it might be the scanlations, but honestly if he wanted to kill Vegapunk I feel like Vegapunk would already be dead, no posturing or chatting, perhaps he was giving his opponents time to stop him? Who knows. I doubt he can stay in Luffy's grip forever, I mean Haki of course will keep him from slipping out but with Sanji grabbing Nami's bubble gun there will need to be a new means of containment right?
Speaking of, his absence possibly means he's fighting with Zoro? Jinbe, Chopper and Robin's absences remain noted too, what are they up to?
But with the Vega Force 1 destroyed, opportunity arises with the ancient robot. Giant Luffy's heartbeat activating it does lean into the 'Joy Boy was a giant' theory, but the fact that the drums activated it is interesting, is music its infinite power source? How capable is this ancient kingdom bot too compared to the Vega Force 1 in terms of the escape plan, I mean the Sunny isn't in position yet either, more questions to stack on, but another enticing chapter.
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schrijverr · 2 years
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Life Is Ours, We Live It Our Way 2
Chapter 2 out of 18
Genderqueer Stevie with platonic soulmates Robin and Eddie living their best queer life.
In this chapter, Steve and Eddie recuperate in the hospital, sharing a room. They form a trio with Robin and agree go to the city after Eddie and Robin have come out to each other. The three of them go to a gay club and Steve first encounters words that will stick with him.
On AO3.
Ships: none
Warnings: hospital, Steve's childhood mention, brief AIDS crisis mention and the overhanging period typical homophobia of the 80s
~~~~~~~~~
Recovery
When he wakes, he is in the hospital.
It’s not the Hawkins Hospital, Steve learns. It’s a government secret lab hospital and he and Eddie are both under observation for their bat bites. Seems the scientists took Robin’s fear of other dimension rabies seriously.
But he only learns that later, because when he wakes up, Hopper is standing over him, looking thinner and pale and bald. Which is confusing, because he should be dead, but if Steve is also dead that makes sort of sense. Then the hurt sets in and he croaks: “Ugh, I thought the afterlife wasn’t supposed to hurt.”
That makes the Hopper above him laugh softly, before he disappears and comes back with a glass of water, helping Steve drink. He says: “You’re not dead yet. Don’t be dramatic.”
“Yeah, Stevie, don’t be dramatic,” a shit eating voice comes from the bed over and there is Eddie in all his annoying glory. He is barely upright, a bandage around his neck, but he looks alive with the comic on his lap his hair up in a bun and out of his face.
“Eddie?” he asks, now ever more confused.
“That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” Eddie replies with a grin.
“You’re alive?” he has to check, because from where he is sitting, he is in a random white room with two people, who should, by all logic, be dead. It’s not doing much to convince him he’s still alive.
“I am,” Eddie assures him, face turning soft. Then it turns into a teasing grin. “I didn’t swoon like a damsel, because I didn’t idiotically let my wounds get infected, by not cleaning them and telling everyone I took care of it.”
And now that Steve looks back, that might not have been the smartest move, but they had to keep going and they didn’t have time for that, so he had assumed he’d be fine. Wrong, apparently. Still, he defends himself: “At least it wasn’t another head injury this time. I still have to get the vision in my left eye back from the last one,” before he remembers no one knows about that.
“No one mentioned you being blind in one eye, Steve,” Hopper frowns.
Immediately Steve backtracks: “I’m not blind! It’s just a bit blurred there, like a smudged window or something. Nothing to worry about really.”
Hopper sends him a look that tells him, he doesn’t believe Steve for a second. “I’m mentioning that to a doctor,” he tells him, before walking away.
Belatedly Steve yells after him: “You haven’t even explained how you’re alive!” but Hopper is already gone, so now it’s just him and Eddie in the weird white room. He sighs as the door falls close, then turns to Eddie. “Where even are we, man?”
“I don’t know, some sort of lab,” Eddie shrugs. “I’ve only been awake for a day, haven’t heard much. Max broke a bunch of bones and her vision is fucked, but she’s awake and gonna be fine. The other are fine too, by the way.”
And Steve hadn’t realized how much he needed to hear that until Eddie told him. He lets out a breath as if it’s punched out of him and says: “Thank fuck.”
Eddie fills him in that Eleven (who is totally epic, by the way) killed Venca through her powers with the help of Jonathan, Will, Mike and a new friend of Jonathan’s named Argyle (who is the chillest dude on earth).
Before he can learn more about what went down, however, the room is filled with doctors and he is subjected to all sorts of tests for awhile.
He falls asleep again when the doctors are done, too exhausted to stay awake, despite the fact that it can’t have been for more than an hour or two. When he wakes up again, almost everyone is there again. Steve has never gotten this many hugs in his life before and he doesn’t care that the pressure hurts, because they’re all there. They all made it. Steve didn’t fail.
Finally he gets fully caught up with everything that has happened, before he gets lectured because Hopper blabbed about his vision in his left eye. Which is rude. But he has only been under for four days, which is good to hear. He’ll recover completely, just has to do some (a lot) of physical therapy for his muscles, which were eaten. Yay.
“We’ll be therapy buddies, Stevie,” Eddie grins and it should be fucking stupid and he’s only telling him that to be annoying, but after everything, he can’t even be mad about it.
Eddie is part of their group now. He is already on Steve’s mental list of people to check on and his headcount list. Trauma bonding, Robin called it, Steve just calls it natural clinging. So, he just smiles fondly and says: “I’ll cheer to that,” before spilling the cup of water he holds up, which makes Eddie’s startled look morph into a snort.
They – Eddie and him – have to stay in the hospital for quite a bit and since Robin is practically glued to Steve’s side, the three of them get impossibly close, just from continuously being cooped up together.
Robin and Eddie together are mildly terrifying. Especially since they’re both out for Steve’s blood for no reason. They have mercilessly teased him for his six nuggets speech, then dragged him for not cleaning his wounds and now they’ve moved on to his ridiculous flirting and mom behavior among other things.
“Yeah, yeah, see if I drag you out of hell again,” Steve pouts, though he isn’t actually mad, after Eddie makes another overprotective mom joke. He can’t help that he wants to be sure Dustin drank enough, alright, the kid had been crying.
“I want you to know that I am grateful. However, I don’t remember that at all,” Eddie tells him casually. “For all I know, Dustin dragged me out.”
“Dustin?” Steve repeats indignantly, even though he doesn’t remember either.
“Yeah, man,” Eddie grins cheekily.
“You think Dustin could have dragged you out?” Steve raises a brow.
“I don’t know, the kid has potential,” Eddie shrugs. “I mean, if you really wanna prove it, do enlighten me about how difficult it was to carry me, like a damsel.”
And now Steve has to confront that he can’t, so he doesn’t have much proof that he carried Eddie out, other than being told and a few flashes. It’s not like he can recall it perfectly. And judging by the grin creeping over Eddie’s face, he knows that too. So, Steve just groans and says: “Rob, best friend rules, back me up.”
Robin, who had joined the teasing, but smartly retreated before Steve set his counter offense, looks up from her magazine. “Alright, normally, I wouldn't have dingus’ back.” “Rude.” “However, it was pretty cool, so I’m helping.”
“It was?” Steve asks, genuinely curious. In this weird hospital room, he has been feeling more and more settled, thinking he can be alright with being the mom-friend and temporary badass, as long as he isn’t in charge of everything. He’s this close to finding himself, he can feel it. But he hasn’t stopped to think of how others perceived his actions in the Upside Down.
In a way it’s surprising that it hasn’t crossed his mind, since has spend most of his life trying to conform to what others want to see. A giddy sort of pride bubbles in his chest.
And because Robin is practically his other half, she puts together the same line of thinking pretty quickly. She gets off her chair and plops down on his bed, giving him a hug as she grins, ruffling his hair (which has not been kept as perfect in the hospital, so he doesn’t even pretend to care).
“Okay, am I missing something?” Eddie asks from the other bed, raising an amused yet confused eyebrow at the duo.
They share a look, before Steve shrugs: “It’s a long story.” It’s the type of thing that Steve isn’t ready to tell yet.
Robin backs him up: “Yeah, you have to get tortured by Russians and barf together, before sharing secrets on the bathroom floor. It’s a whole initiation process.”
“God, I don’t even want to know,” Eddie grins, catching that he shouldn’t push, before switching topics. “So, Robbie, you were gonna tell us about Stevie’s heroics.”
“Ah, yes!” she lights up. “Like, it was obviously stupid, because you were injured as hell and I practically got carpet burn watching you slide down on your knees when you saw Eddie. I’m glad I missed them cleaning that wound, because yuck.”
“Robin,” Steve pouts. He’s not here for a lecture, though he’s getting less sure if he wants to hear about him embarrassing himself, which is sounding more likely.
“Sorry,” Robin says. “Anyway, I was freaking out and Dustin was freaking out and Nancy is trying to keep us cool, which wasn’t easy. It’s good Steve used to be lifeguard, let me tell you, because I could not have broken your ribs like that, Eddie.”
“You’re the one, who broke my ribs?” Eddie exclaims. “Those hurt!”
“It can happen during CPR,” Steve immediately defends.
“Still rude,” Eddie tells him.
Before Steve can argue CPR techniques, Robin cuts in: “Boys, boys, it doesn’t matter if Steve broke your ribs and gave you mouth to mouth, you were fine.”
“He did?” Eddie asks, voice almost a squeak as he blushes, though Steve doesn’t know why.
“A person needs air,” he shrugs casually.
Robin looks between them for a second, having a look that Steve doesn’t catch onto for once. She then quickly moves on: “Whatever, Eddie was breathing again. Nancy ordered us through the portal and when we turned back Steve was climbing through with you over his shoulder.” She gives Eddie a look, that she turns on Steve. “And then you both fell flat on your face and neither of you were conscious.”
“That doesn’t sound very heroic,” Steve tells her tentatively.
“It wasn’t in my opinion, Nancy calling you an ambulance all cool and collected was much better than you two idiots,” Robin shrugs. “But it took us all the days before you woke up to get Dustin to stop gushing about how cool it was. We assumed neither of you wanted the reminder.”
“Henderson was gushing?” Steve asks, right as Eddie groans: “Not again.”
He looks at Eddie and blushes. He knows it sounds conceited, but being cool for the kids has been one of the things he has done that he has chosen himself and actually likes. And after the past year, he can’t help but be glad the kid still likes him. But he can imagine how it sounds to Eddie, who probably knows him as egotistic King Steve.
“Yeah, it was all ‘oohh Steve was so cool carrying Eddie like he weighed noting’ and ‘oohh Eddie saved my life, he’s a hero!’ It was getting kinda annoying,” Robin shrugs.
“Dustin said that?” Eddie asks and Steve feels happy for the guy, he deserves the kids looking up to him after he what he did.
Robin realizes that too after she sees Steve proud look, because she smiles: “Yeah, all the kids look up to you, Eddie.”
“You deserve it, man,” Steve smiles.
Eddie hides behind his hair, concealing an embarrassed look and his blush. Part of Steve wants to see him, but for now he just contents himself with grinning at him. Before the conversation drifts to other topics.
A day after Hopper comes in, still looking gruff, but Steve is happy to see him, especially after being in his shoes during one round with the Upside Down. So, he greets; “Hey, Hop. How’re Joyce and the kids doing? The move back going alright.”
“They’re doing great, El is still a bit clingy, but that’s to be expected,” Hopper tells him, fondness creeping in.
“It’s still weird to see the police chief and him not immediately arresting me,” Eddie comments as Steve tells Hopper how great it is to hear that.
“Yeah, yeah, better get used to, because I have good news for both of you,” Hopper says.
“You do?” Steve asks, while Eddie just raises an eyebrow like he thinks it’s nonsense.
“I do,” Hopper says. “I have been reinstated as chief of police and coordinated with Dr. Owens on a cover story for what happened here. With that, we’ve gotten Eddie cleared of charges, so no longer wanted for murder. You’re actually quite the town hero.”
“Really?” Eddie says, eyes shining like he can’t believe it.
And Hopper confirms telling them about how Eddie has supposedly saved a bunch of kids from the murdering Henry Creel, who has been following in his father’s footsteps. He concludes: “That also means your uncle can see you now.”
“He can?!” And screw shining, Eddie is sparkling and Steve thinks it’s a great look on him.
“Yeah, kiddo, he’ll be by later,” Hopper assures him.
Steve lets them have a moment, throwing out a “Nice, dude,” before saying: “It’s not that I’m not happy for Eddie, but why is this good news for me?”
Hopper turns more careful and he softly says: “Well, your- Once we manage to contact them, your parents could come too. I’m sure they’re concerned,” and Steve knows that years as a police officer making house calls for noise complaints and his last stay at the hospital means Hopper knows there is a reason they haven’t been able to contact them.
From beside him, he sees Eddie frown and he wants to hunch in on himself. He’s more ashamed that the other now knows he’s so much of a fuck up that his own parents don’t even care, despite what Eddie said in the Upside Down. He can’t bring himself to be sad about them not even picking up the phone.
Tiredly, he suggests: “You can try calling his secretary. If he isn’t fucking her, she usually picks up the phone.”
He has never been so blunt about it with Hopper, not to mention someone like Eddie. Though he supposes that after everything he can get away with a little whining about his parents, even if Eddie has had it worse. They’re on that level, right? He hopes so, because he’s too tired to care.
There is a beat of silence, wherein Hopper gathers himself. He awkwardly coughs and says: “But that is not the only thing. Here’re your glasses, kid. You’re allowed to drive again with those. And don’t think, I won’t pull you over if I see you behind the wheel without them.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” Steve promises, smirking cheekily as he opens the case to hide how much he hates this.
It’ll be another thing that chips away part of him that fits with the vision Hawkins has of him. Steve Harrington can’t have glasses. It’s a sign of weakness, until you have gray hairs and it’ll be distinguished, his father used to say. And yeah, he has been working on caring less about being the image his parents try to maintain, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t hard.
Dutifully, he puts on the glasses anyway, because he knows Hopper expects him to. It is nice to see clearly with his left eye again, the right one only being a dummy lens, but he knows he must look like an idiot. To throw off suspicious, he puts on his best ‘The Hair’ smirk and asks Eddie: “So, how do I look?”
He expected some funny insult or dramatic joke-y exclamation back, but instead Eddie just smiles and says: “Pretty as always, Stevie.”
And he likes that more than he should for some reason.
So, he shoves the feeling away and tries to focus back on Hopper, while also ignoring the looks he is throwing them. Steve is great at pushing stuff down and smiling. He has his charms and his mother has always pressed him about how important it is to be a conversationalist, so it’s easy for him to drag Hopper into another mindless conversation about everyone.
Finally, Hopper leaves and while Steve is glad to drop the small talk, he knows Eddie well enough to realize that the moment Hopper is gone, he will ask his questions with little regard for how intrusive they might be. His mother would probably cluck and call him uncivilized, but Steve appreciates the bluntness most of the time. Appreciates that there is no double meaning for him to miss or mistakes to make.
“Your parents haven’t tried to buy their way into the secure lab, hospital, thingy?” Eddie immediately asks.
“Why would they?” Steve shrugs, too tired to lie. “It’s not like they came last time, when they were very much allowed in. Besides, I haven’t spoken with them since right before Christmas. How would they know I was in here?”
Against all laws of the universe, Eddie falls silent for a moment. Then he casually says: “Oh that suck, sweetheart. Your parents are assholes.”
He says it so matter of fact, like that is the only natural conclusion, instead of Steve not being worth the trouble as they often like to remind him. He just tells him that what he is going through sucks and that his parents are assholes.
It’s the best response Steve could have gotten, so he just snorts and says: “Yeah, you’ve got that right.”
They share a smile and Steve now gets to see the depths of Eddie’s face better. It’s a good face, he decides. Handsome. Then immediately disregards the thought and starts flipping through one of the comics Dustin left last time he was here.
When Wayne finally comes by (the next day, the second it was allowed. Steve tries not to think about it), he is asleep.
Well, he wakes up halfway through and then decides to pretend to be asleep to give them their privacy. And tries not to look too much into the why of it all when he feels like crying while listening to Wayne repeat that he is so happy that Eddie is alive, how much he worried and how much he loves him.
It’s stupid for Steve to feel jealous about that care. He knows it is. Steve has never had to worry about money like Wayne and Eddie, never had to be put into the care of an uncle. He had everything growing up. He shouldn’t be feeling like this.
But when Wayne talks, you can feel the pride in his voice. You feel it in your bones that he cares so fucking much about Eddie. And you can feel that he loves Eddie no matter what, there are no expectations there, besides trying to be happy.
And Steve just wonders what that’s like. He remembers Robin telling him about just trying things until you find something that sticks, something that you like. Eddie knows what he likes and Steve wants that for himself too. He remembers that trip he and Robin were supposed to take before it all went to shit again. He wonders if Robin will still be up for it once he gets out of here.
Once he leaves, Steve ‘wakes up.’ He’s pretty sure Eddie doesn’t buy it completely, but neither of them mention it.
Before the strange vibe has time to settle between them, Robin comes bustling in already talking about her horrid shift at Family Video and how Steve needs to get better soon, before she will die of boredom.
Steve feels relief at seeing her, the person who has accepted him and is always there for him when he needs a shoulder. His soulmate, honestly. He can’t help his smile. “I’m sorry for my slow recovery after being mauled, Buckley.”
“Apology accepted,” she grins back cheekily. “Anyways, I heard you got your glasses and I need to see you in glasses, because you are, like, King Steve. Not anymore, of course. I mean, I haven’t seen your hair this bad since watergate, which is saying a lot. But you still have that image and I need to make fun of you for it now, even though you’re probably gonna be annoying and still get babes with them and shit.”
Her word vomit is so welcome and he loves her. He knows she will bully him for the glasses, but she won’t mean it. He always knows she doesn’t mean it. That’s why she’s allowed to do it.
So, without further ado, he grabs the case on his nightstand and slips the glasses on, before turning towards Robin and letting out a deadpan: “Tadaa.”
She keeps a straight face for all but three seconds, before she’s cracking up and calling him a nerd, blabbering about how the tables have turned. He allows her a moment to have her fun, before huffing: “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I was less clumsy than you, even with shitty depth perception, so don’t get too big of a head.”
“Was dangerous to drive before this?” Robin squeaks.
“I didn’t know that it wasn’t. I thought it was fine,” Steve defends himself. “Besides, better that we find that out now than on the road. Though, I’m sorry we missed out spring break trip to the big city. You were looking forwards to it.”
“Not your fault, dingus,” Robin informs him, her tone gentle now.
“What were you going to do in the city?” Eddie asks from the other bed.
Because of course Eddie will ask, it’s only natural and Steve is panicking, because he can’t very well tell Eddie that they were planning on finding the gay people, so Robin can be herself for a change. So, he just looks helplessly at Robin, begging her to take the lead.
Robin gives Eddie a calculating look, before saying: “To visit my friend, Dorothy,” and as she says it, it feels like more than just a cover up.
A feeling which is only cemented by Eddie’s eyes turning as big as plates, before he’s grinning and saying: “Really? I know her like that too. Is she friends with both of you?”
“Just mine,” Robin answers. “But Steve is cool with her.”
And Eddie nods like that means something to him, like that whole conversation cleared something up. So, confused Steve asks: “Was that something I was supposed to grasp or was that nonsense you made up to mess with me?”
The two share a look and Steve feels a little left out, before they come to a conclusion and Robin explains: “It’s gay code. Covertly asking someone if they’re gay.”
It takes a second for it to click, but then he sees Eddie’s nervous face. Immediately, he assures: “Oh, that’s cool, Eddie. Hope you have better taste in men than Robbie does in women.”
“Oi, I have great taste, Steve!” Robin protests.
“Muppet,” is all Steve responds, before they’re both laughing again, this time Eddie confused, though Robin assures him, she’ll explain later.
But with Eddie in the know about it, Robin can openly talk about her plans. She sounds so excited and Steve smiles fondly at her, already vowing that they’re going this year one way or another even if it kills him. And with Eddie also part of the scene, he offers up: “You should go in June. Lot of gay shit is happening then. They’re commemorating the riots in New York then. They happened in ‘69, I don’t know if you heard about them.”
“I was just born then, so no,” Robin tells him, before asking for more information.
So, Eddie talks to her. He tells her about the shitty police, the arrests, the drag queens, the transsexuals, the sex workers, the black community, the poor. How they stood up. How they raged and rioted. How they showed themselves for who they were, daring anyone to say a thing.
And Steve knows he isn’t part of that. It isn’t his history. But he can’t help but look up to these people, wanting to tap into their strength and how they found themselves and built a community of people like them, uncaring of what others think. He admires them.
They remake their plans right there in that hospital room.
The three of them are going to the city in June, Steve is driving because Eddie’s van is in need of many repairs after it had been left on a random parking lot while he ran. They’re going to rent a motel room, sharing to save costs and Robin has already declared it will be the most fun she is ever going to have.
A small part of Steve can’t help but agree, already looking forward to the getaway. Just the three of them. A few days of not being responsible for the kids or worrying, but in the city having fun like people their age are supposed to have.
It’s something to look forward to and it’s what helps Steve and Eddie as they get better and better until they are released.
Robin is still a frequent guest along with Dustin and the other brats, but Wayne also comes over more and Steve can’t pretend to be asleep each time. It’s quite obvious the man doesn’t trust him near his boy and with Steve’s last name and reputation, he can’t really blame the man. Though he can’t deny that it hurts to not have the approval of someone so kind and accepting.
He throws all his charm Wayne’s way. Tries to think of what would impress a hard working man like Wayne, while also taking in account his love for Eddie. So, he tries to talk about sport, asks after work and showing genuine interest, praises Eddie where he can within his NDA and shows a little bit of his own weird side (bragging about the kids).
However, he wins Wayne over without intending it, by not noticing the man while he talks with Eddie.
They’re finally allowed out of bed, the nurses trusting them not to rip open their stitches – a right they had to earn back after a stint where they tried to visit Max and subsequently did just that. And Steve is making the best of it by sitting on the foot of Eddie’s bed, who had the worst injuries out of them and for whom moving hurt more.
He’s sitting with his legs crossed holding a pencil and being very confused while surrounded by books. Wayne appears in the doorway behind him, right as Steve asks: “Can you read the passage to me again? The words keep jumping and I don’t get it, what do the classes mean again?”
Naturally that means Eddie has to launch into a detailed explanation about everything again and Wayne recognizes it as his fantasy game that kids at school made fun of him for. But there he stands and watches the Harrington kid listen with rapt attention, asking questions and smiling fondly at the theatrics of his nephew.
Once Eddie is done, Steve says: “Dustin’s a fighter right? I’d like to be his backup when I play. What would you recommend?”
“Paladin, holy warrior with an oath of protection, it suits you,” Eddie tells him without hesitation and Steve takes his word for it with only a little blush and duck of his head.
That’s when Eddie notices his uncle and calls out a happy greeting. Steve immediately straightens up and is already apologizing and telling them he’ll get out of their way, much to Eddie’s disappointment, Wayne sees, so he says: “You can stay, son. I don’t mind. You seem to understand his rambles better than me.”
“Oh, uhm, thank you,” Steve replies softly. “Dustin, he talks about it a lot, so I had some background. They wanna play once Eddie is allowed out of here and I thought I’d surprise them by joining, so Eddie is teaching me. That way I won’t make a complete fool out of myself.”
Wayne nods and tells him that’s awfully nice that he’s willing to try and just like that Steve has his approval. All he had done was listening to his friends, because he likes listening to his friends. It makes them happy and he feels less alone. It’s just him and that is enough for Wayne.
It feels a bit like a revelation.
His own parents don’t show, though he gets a card from France on one of the last days in there. The handwriting is that of Stacy, his father’s secretary. He knows because he has seen it on all his birthday cards and Christmas gifts.
Their walk out of the lab/hospital is victorious with Max joining them on her crutches, which will likely be permanent, or at least partially. The three have to go back for physical therapy, Steve the least and Max the most, but other than that, they’re free.
And it truly does feel like freedom. The Upside Down likely is no more, this time more certain than the ones before. They have won and now they get to move on.
Steve is luckily also right that the others will be delighted when he joins their DnD game. Even Mike doesn’t grumble about it, which is a huge win.
In the end, he doesn’t know if he’s dismayed that he actually genuinely likes DnD or if he’s happy about it. After all his complaining about the nerd game, it feels a bit like karma that it’s fun. But he also tried something for himself and liked it.
Yeah, he can argue that he is doing it because Dustin has been begging him for literal years to try it, but he knows that’s not it. He planned to do only a one shot, because he knows the kids find their first session after a stint with the Upside Down the hardest. So, he just wanted to be moral support and then leave them to it.
But it’s just fun. Actual fun.
Eddie is a great DM and all the kids try and help Steve when he’s confused about it. And when he rolls an 18 at the last second and slays one of the beasts, it feels good to celebrate with them. It puts his need for protection into something else, ensuring he can slowly let go of the hyper-vigilance in his real life, because he gets bursts of it in fiction.
So, they play DnD, hang out, watch movies and force Eddie to study so much he complains about his eyes hurting. And slowly the summer creeps near.
When June is there they decide to go Thursday the 26th till Monday the 30th. Since Eddies van still isn’t running (lack of funds, time and willing mechanics), Steve is driving and the three of them pile into the car with all their stuff.
Before they leave Steve checks in a million times with everyone, making them promise to just call if they need anything. They call him a worried mother, but he knows they appreciate it and the joke has long lost its sting. If he is their mom, then he is. He likes the role.
He is a protector and he knows he can’t bring his bat, no matter how much he wants to. But if he has a small knife with him that’s no one’s business but his own.
The car ride there is infuriating. Eddie is a horrible navigator, especially since he is in the backseat and he argues the entire ride with Robin about the radio station that should be playing. They take three wrong turns and Robin nearly pees her pants again before they can find a gas station. And it’s the best car ride ever.
It feels like the post-graduation trip Steve didn’t have and now he gets to do it with a few of his favorite people.
As expected, the motel is very shitty and they have a room with two queens. They agree that no hookups are to be brought to the room, before Robin exclaims that it is too hot to share a bed, even with Steve. And after spending weeks together in a hospital room, neither Steve nor Eddie care much about having to share.
That first night they go to a Chinese restaurant, none of them have ever tried the food and Steve is excited about it. This is what the trip is about for him, trying things and finding stuff he likes. He finds he likes Chinese food, but he likes it more to hang out with Eddie and Robin and just doing stupid youngster stuff.
During the next day, they mostly fuck around town, taking dumb pictures, making fun of hats in stores, finding the perfect mug to bring back to Wayne and checking out all the record shops, because they ‘just don’t have good music like this back in Hawkins, Stevie.’
For the evening, Eddie knows a gay club in town and drags them with them. This, Steve isn’t all that sure about. He hasn’t partied since his King Steve days and crowds aren’t his biggest friend nowadays, but this is for Robin and Eddie, so he gladly goes along. He knows this is their night, so he offers to be the designated driver, which is on brand after their stint with the Russians. Still he has to ensure them over and over again that it’s fine.
The club is strange in the best way. Steve mostly just lets his eyes glide around, trying to take it all in, but being overwhelmed by new stuff everywhere he looks.
He’s sure that he and Robin at least look like newbies and very out of place, but Eddie moves like he’s at home and it makes Steve wonder how long he’s been coming here.
They get drinks, Steve coke, Robin and Eddie beer with fake IDs that aren’t well checked. For now they stick together, trying to get used to the crowd of people. They watch as couples grind on the dance floor all sort of combinations, dressed in clothes ranging from day wear to practically bikini’s to evening gowns.
Steve loves it.
He doesn’t feel like going into the crowd himself, but happily watches as Eddie drags Robin onto the floor and spins her around. The two doing goofy moves and grinning like idiots. They’re obviously having fun and being themselves, and Steve is so glad for them, because this is their place and they deserve to be happy.
His eyes glide over more in the crowd. There are women in full suits, but also in short dresses, some are kissing, other just talking. He lets himself watch them, but doesn’t focus on them in the same way he didn’t focus on Robin like that after she came out to him.
It’s the men that catch his attention more. Mostly the outfits. They’re so diverse and Steve just wants to take it all in. A majority are nothing like what Steve has been told a man should be. There are men dressed in crop tops and short shorts, men with glitter in their hair, men without shirts and even men in dresses and full makeup.
He recalls Eddie telling him and Robin about drag queens and figures that they must be that. A part wants to go up and talk to one of them, feeling strangely drawn to the dramatic faces, sequins and glamour, but he doesn’t want to make a fool of himself either, so he stays to the side.
On the dance floor, Robin is dancing with a beautiful babe. She catches his eye for a second and lets hers grow wide with an ‘are you seeing this!!!’-look, which makes Steve smile. Eddie is in the midst of it, dancing like a maniac and somehow making it look good. He grins fondly and shakes his head, before making his way back to the bar for another coke.
Tonight is busy, so he has to wait a moment before he gets his drink, which isn’t really a problem for him. He’s content to stand there and lean on the bar.
A girl in a white dress shirt with a checkered slipover slides in next to him at the bar and orders a drink for herself, before noticing Steve and smiling. If it were another context, he might assume she was flirting, but instead he just gives her a friendly smile back.
“You new here?” she asks him, leaning close to be heard over the music.
He laughs a little and blushes, asking: “That obvious?”
“Not that much, you just look a little lost,” the girl smiles kindly.
“Got to admit that I am a little,” Steve tells her. “I’m just here for my friends. To support them and stuff. Plus, I have a car. Steve, by the way. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Brooklyn, call me Brook,” she replies. “It’s nice to see someone show up, like that.”
“It’s nothing,” Steve shrugs. “We’re from a small town, I’m just happy to see them smile and be free like this.”
“Ahw, that’s so sweet,” Brook says, leaning in and showing her cleavage a little. “Hopefully you have time for a conversation with little old me, maybe take a bit of a break from watching your friends.”
And Steve has been purposefully not flirting, but it really sounds like she is flirting with him. So now he’s a bit confused. Not wanting to make the wrong move, he says: “Sorry, if this is, like, totally inappropriate to ask, but are you flirting with me? Are you also here as support? Or am I reading this wrong?”
Brook looks at him for a second and he thinks he fucked up here, already on the point of apologizing when Brook grins and says: “Oh, you really are a newbie. Don’t worry about it, it wasn’t offensive. Glad you checked. But, yeah, I was flirting, I’m bisexual.”
“Bisexual?” Steve repeats, he has never heard that word before.
“Sorry, I keep forgetting you’re new to the scene in it’s entirety, you look at home here,” Brook tells him. “Bisexual means being attracted to both men and women. Though some people still use it to say they’re both female and male, so always good to ask when someone says. But most are shifting transgender or transsexual with that last one. People are still looking for a better term for people who are not a man nor a woman in zines and stuff, but don’t worry about that.”
Confused Steve looks at her grin, a million thoughts race through his head, but all he manages to form coherently is: “You can do that?”
“You can do whatever you want and be whoever you want with whomever you want,” Brook informs him cheerfully.
From the other side of the bar a group of women call her name and she looks genuinely apologetic as she scribbles something on his hand (where she got the pen, he does not know) and says: “If you have more questions, call me. It was nice meeting you, Steve.”
“Yeah, you too,” Steve tells her a little distantly, realizing what she left is a number, right as she fully disappears into the crowd again.
Once she is gone, he sips his drink and stares into the void before him with unseeing eyes. He didn’t even know those were things that existed, but Brook just threw them around casually, like it’s a natural part of the world. Common. Just there, existing.
It makes his head spin a bit. He tries to tell himself it’s because it’s a lot of new information to take in, he remembers how he felt after he heard Eddie talk in that hospital room. However, another more hidden and smaller part of himself whispers that it sounds nice.
Steve has never fully identified with what is expected of being a man. For a long time, his father would yell at him, telling him he wouldn't raise a sissy or a fag. But Steve couldn't help that he liked making sure his friends are okay more than roughhousing with them. Couldn't help that he liked it when his mother took the time to fuss over him and his hair, instead of making his little suit dirty playing in the grass like the other kids at functions.
Besides, he likes cooking after it had become a necessity when microwave meals and take-out were tiring. He had to learn how to do his own laundry, his own dishes and keep the house clean, because his parents expect it to be clean, but fired the help. And if he finds those tasks soothing than that is only a good thing.
And it has never been his fault that his father doesn’t understand that he hates the idea of being a career man. That he wants to stay home, be married and stay home for his kids. To give his home life like his current house doesn’t have, be present like his parents weren’t, care for his kids because he knows how he needed it.
He has always been too softhearted for his father, for his friends, for what society had planned for him. But here in a dingy club in the big city with strangers and his two best friends, he feels like that doesn’t matter much.
It’s both freeing and terrifying.
Before he can spiral on the terrifying part, Eddie practically falls into the bar next to him, grin so wide it can split his face. “You enjoying yourself, Stevie?” he asks.
“Yeah, man, this is fun. People here are nice,” he replies. “I saw you talking with someone earlier, that work out?”
“Nah, I’m not really looking for a hookup,” Eddie shrugs.
“Okay, but if you are and you’re stopping yourself because you’re scared with everything that’s been happening, I do have condoms and I can give one to you no problem,” Steve tells him seriously, because he just wants his friends to be happy.
Eddie gives him a look that is both amused and a bit awed, making Steve a bit uncomfortable, if he’s honest. Then Eddie smirks: “You truly are a mom, prepared for everything. Why do you even have those with you in here?”
“Maybe because I watch the news and I want you to be safe, dick,” Steve rolls his eyes. Then shrugs: “Besides, some people are bisexual, I got a girl’s number.”
“Only you can get a girl’s number at a notorious gay club,” Eddie laughs. Though he ignores the first part of what Steve says, he can tell the other is touched, but he doesn’t push it. The crisis that’s been going on isn’t exactly a topic of conversation for a night like this.
Soon Robin is joining them, her eyes wide and bright, face flushed. Loudly and happily she exclaims: “I kissed a girl, Steve. Me! And I touched a boob.”
“Hell yeah, Robs,” he grins, giving her a high five as Eddie snorts before also congratulating her on her first gay kiss.
She is so pumped that she drags the both of them to the dance floor jumping around like a maniac and her elbows hitting Steve multiple times. But she’s laughing and Steve is laughing and Eddie is grinning like a fool too and making sure Robin doesn’t hit too many people. They must look like idiots, but none of them care too elated and happy.
It’s nearly four when they stumble out of there, all of them high on life. They’re giggling, Robin and Eddie because they’re tipsy and Steve because he’s just so happy. He has pushed all he’s heard tonight to the side to be in this moment, for once not worried about the future.
They crash onto the beds when they get home. Robin fully dressed, Eddie shedding his jeans, before passing out. Steve is the most lucid, he actually changes into pajamas and brushes his teeth then falls on the bed next to Eddie.
He just lies there for a second, listening to the breathing of Robin and Eddie. It’s peaceful and quiet and it settles his nerves like nothing else.
Beside him Eddie is warm and, as Steve had discovered in the hospital, a mover. Though maybe not. Eddie shifts for a few moments, but then his hand hits Steve’s chest and before he knows it, Eddie has gripped the shirt and dragged him close, like it was nothing. He traps Steve with his arms so that his head is pillowed on Eddie’s chest, his legs pinned by Eddie’s.
Steve can’t help but hold his breath, waiting to see if Eddie will do anything else. Move again, maybe. But it seems that holding something – holding Steve –is enough to settle Eddie. His deep breaths fanning over the top of Steve’s head.
With the peace returned, Steve lets out a breath and relaxes. A part of him tells him it’s weird to cuddle with friends, that real men don’t do this. But he pushes those thoughts away. He and Robin cuddle often enough and it’s always soothing, he can cuddle up with Eddie – who is his friend, thank you very much – and it is just a friend thing.
Right at that point the word ‘bisexual’ pops in his head again.
Immediately Steve pushes it away, he isn’t gay, or bisexual. Or, at least, he doesn’t think so. But then his mind replays Eddie tugging him into the hug like he weighed nothing and a warm flush goes through his body.
He tries to tell himself it’s because he’s embarrassed. He’s just being moved like some sort of rag doll that’s a blow to his masculinity. That’s all.
However, his mind betrays him yet again, wondering when Eddie got so strong. His hold on Steve is tight and though Steve could escape if he wants, it would be a struggle. He knows Eddie has been working out more with the physical therapy (and to be better should something else happen. Good old trauma, their old friend).
Steve lies there and tries to decide if he finds it attractive. It may just be admiration for muscles that Steve wants for himself. That’s normal behavior. That’s what he should feel.
Again, his mind betrays him by whispering how he doesn’t want that at all, that it felt safe to be dragged around like that. He likes that Eddie tucked him into his side like it was nothing, that he sunk into the mattress with peace once he had Steve in his arm, as if he could only rest with Steve in a protective hold by his side.
Before he can decide whether he likes the muscles or how it makes him feel, the hour takes him and he falls asleep.
Steve wakes up to giggling and then a bright flash. He groans and buries him deeper into the warmth that is shielding him from the world. However, the warmth shakes a bit and he hears a rumbled laugh above him. The noise makes him frown. It takes him a second before he realizes where he must be; Eddie’s chest, all cuddled up.
Shit.
He doesn’t want to make either of them think he’s uncomfortable with Eddie and cuddling up with a man, but his heart is pounding as he sits up as fast and normally as he can. He glares at the two of them, matching grins on their faces, and rubs his face as he asks: “What are you two shitheads laughing about now?”
Robin shows him a still developing polaroid, though the image is clear. It’s of him and Eddie in the bed, Steve drooling on Eddie’s chest, cuddling close, fast asleep. Eddie on the other hand is awake, his hair a mess, one arm wrapped around Steve as he flips off the camera. Written below in Robin’s messy scrawl is: ‘Indy 28-6-‘86 morning cuddles after the club’
It’s a really nice picture if Steve is honest. Fucking embarrassing too and he is blushing. But it also feels homey and comfortable. He likes it and he’s unsure why.
“You alright there, princess? Or still asleep?” Eddie asks in a teasing yet genuine voice.
The pet name is new, but it makes something float up in Steve’s chest. It always comes up whenever Eddie calls him a pet name, but he usually shoves it away. Now, however, he can’t help but note it’s the same feeling he got last night when Eddie pulled him close.
“’m awake,” he grumbles instead of letting his mind drift. “Just been rudely awoken by two assholes.”
“Ahww, you love us, Stevie,” Robin teases him and she knows she is right. She has taken to Eddie’s nickname for him and Steve doesn’t mind. He likes the name.
“Yeah, we’re so sorry,” Eddie tells him without sounding a little bit sorry. “How can we make it up to you, sweetheart.”
“Go get breakfast while I shower and I might forgive you,” Steve tells them, but he is already smiling.
“You heard him, Robbie,” Eddie says, swinging his legs out of bed and grabbing the first pair of pants he finds on the floor, putting them on. They’re Steve’s light wash jeans, but Eddie makes him work with his messy look.
He slings an arm over Robin’s shoulders and drags her out of the room, both laughing as Eddie calls back: “Don’t use all the hot water, princess.”
Then Steve is by himself in their little room and he isn’t sure whether he hates it or is glad for the brief moment of peace. He loves his friends, but he has much to think about. However, he also doesn’t really want to think about it.
With a sigh he peels himself out of bed and gets in the shower, turning on the water. The pressure is shit and doesn't get hotter than lukewarm. Yet Steve welcomes it anyway. As he washes off the grime and sweat of last night, he mulls over his thoughts.
‘You can do whatever you want and be whoever you want with whomever you want’ that’s what Brook told him.
And it’s overwhelming and enticing all at once. Steve has only known for a year, maybe two, that it’s okay not to mold yourself to whatever other people want. So, someone telling him he can be whoever he wants, is wild.
Though it’s not just that. Robin, Dustin and Eddie all have told him not to conform to some bullshit because it was expected, that isn’t new to him. Not anymore.
No what’s new is that is that Brook casually informed him he doesn’t have to just like girls, he can like boys too and that’s fine. Hell, he doesn’t even have to be a boy, if he doesn’t want to. And Steve had never even considered the possibility.
…But now that he has he can't get it out of his mind.
It feels like something illegal, like something that isn’t allowed. Exciting but also scary, like the first beer he had or the first joint, or even that first time he played DnD.
He knows that he can talk to Robin and Eddie about it. That they will listen and try to help without judgment and only excitement for him, but he doesn’t even know what he wants yet. It feels too personal, not fleshed out enough.
Steve has never been good at knowing what he wants and he just wants more information before he opens his mouth. So, he decides to make the most of this trip and ask around when hanging in queer spaces. That’s what this trip is about anyway, right?
~~
A/N
Steve is really like, ‘I personally relate to the queer things I have heard and read on a deep level and I think I’ll feel at home, but I am not queer, why would you think that?’ And just lives his life like that without question until he’s actually in the middle of it.
Also I went into this to write genderqueer Steve, I named by document ‘Genderqueer Steve’ yet it takes him 15k words to first hear about the concept… I have issues with letting my fics get out of hand, gonna be honest with y’all lmao
Doing queer research for this has been fun! USA Queer History isn’t my history, but it’s connected anyways and writing about queerness always makes me emotional
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japhan2024 · 8 months
Text
Then do it
This story is set during the Inbetween years
kink: threesome
word count: 1.568
themes: angst, choking
"Are you seriously 'we saw you from across the bar'-ring me?" Ian laughed but he couldn't help but feel a burning inside of him, which he had rarely felt before.
Ian carried as many cardboard boxes as he could. Courtney and Shayne helped him and stuffed it all in his Chevvy. The two blonde colleagues went back inside to get more. The few moments alone, Ian peeked a glance over the ironclad wall he'd built around his feelings. He shuddered at what he saw and retreated fast. He leaned against his car and glanced again at the message he'd received: "Defy has gone bankrupt, your contract has been terminated, in effect immediately."
Ian was not alone. But he FELT alone. Because the one person who would understand what he was going through right now, wasn't there. Courtney and Shayne returned with more old props and valuable trinkets from the Defy offices.
"Let's get the hell out of here."
Suddenly, Ian felt himself squished between his two sobbing friends.
"Ian, you're so strong, I don't know how we will continue now…"
"We're going to get through this."
"What's going to happen now?"
"We'll figure it out. I'll figure it out, don't worry. It's a rough day today, but it'll work out, I promise."
They hugged him tighter. Ian didn't know how to feel. He didn't WANT to be the one in charge, but there wasn't anyone else.
A few months passed.
Courtney and Shayne were at Ian's house having dinner together, thinking of ideas for videos. Courtney wore hot pink short shorts and Shayne wore khaki shorts. Courtney a yellow crop-top and Shayne a green vest. Ian wore an old Smosh T-shirt and baggy jeans. They sat huddled around the dinner table. Ian looked up from his plate to see Courtney looking misty-eyed. And to his dismay, Shayne looked the same. Were they also going to leave Ian, just like - but Courtney spoke, and said:
"Ian, you're so good to us, how can we ever thank you for keeping Smosh alive, keeping us, housed and fed basically, and keeping us from going totally insane with stress. You're working so hard, don't think we don't see it. You're amazing, Ian…"
"Uhh, thanks?" Ian joked. But Shayne go up from the table.
"Ian, you have no idea, my life has been so crazy, and the only constant has been Smosh. I've been so scared, Ian, so scared to lose this. But your confidence and determination really kept me sane."
"Guys, you warm my heart."
Courtney also got up from her seat.
"Ian, we also have something to tell you."
Adrenaline shot through Ian's body. Were they just saying nice things because they were going to leave again?
"We've fallen in love with each other, and, we're dating."
Ian's otherwise stoic brows shot up and he laughed in relief.
"Guys, that's great! I'm so happy for you."
Courtney fidgeted a bit. Shayne took a step towards Ian and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Ian, we.. we are also in love with… with you. With your heart and soul. And we were wondering… if you'd want to try to hook up with us? It could be fun! Hilarious even, or… just really nice?"
"Are you seriously 'we saw you from across the bar'-ring me?" Ian laughed but he couldn't help but feel a burning inside of him, which he had rarely felt before.
"I guess we are," Courtney laughed apologetically. "But, are you into it?"
Ian finally also stood up and walked towards his window. He pensively looked at the pink sky. Shayne and Courtney followed him and stood on each side of him.
"I think this needs a whole lotta alcohol, for a start, and also, what? I would have never guessed it from you, BOTH of you, like, that you liked each other and also me? That's crazy dude."
Ian walked away from them again, into his kitchen. He found some bottles of hard liquor, and decided they didn't need shot glasses, they would just drink from the bottle. When he came back into the room, Shayne and Courtney stood there waiting for him in suggestive poses: Courtney with her legs wide open, draped over one of the armchairs that stood there. Shayne stood behind them, twirling their hair around his finger, some of the buttons on his vest already open… Ian just put the bottles on the table and looked at them. They were both really beautiful, he would admit that much. And it was not- it was not the same. But a different kind of feeling wanted, feeling appreciated, kind of eased some of Ian's mind. He would still not think about his deeper, inner feelings though, oh no. But this was nice.
They played charades for a while, drinking and laughing. The charades were becoming more and more filled with innuendos. They sat down on Ian's couch and began to watch a movie. But nobody paid the screen any attention. Shayne and Courtney both had their arms around Ian, and the other hands were on his thighs. Caressing, squeezing softly. Ian already felt a light buzz form the booze. His eyesight started to blur and he began to give in to the lust that was building and building inside of him.
Ian decided to kiss Courtney first. He held her face firmly and slowly got closer, kissing her, her soft lips, their warm tongue, Ian went deep in there, and she moaned, but he held on tightly. When he released her, she jumped on top of him, crop top pulled over their head. Ian one-handedly undid her bra and immediately squeezed her bare breasts with the other. But Ian now wanted more. He unzipped her pants and slid them down. She stood up for him. He hungrily pulled down her panties but before he could do anything else, Shayne pulled her to him, turning her around and placing them on his lap. He'd pulled his cock out already and she now slid onto it with her ass, whimpering profanities.
Ian stood up from the couch, his dick hard and smooth skinned. While Courtney was being fucked by Shayne, Ian put his dong in their mouth. He thrusted into her throat, making them moan even more.
He locked eyes with Shayne. Shayne didn't look like his usual zany self. He looked very vulnerable, showing himself fully to Ian. His blue eyes still asking, asking for more. Ian came in Courtney's mouth. Shayne let her off his dick and walked up to Ian. He kissed him. Way more forceful than the kiss with Courtney, this was on another level. Ian was still seeing stars from his orgasm but got extra butterflies from this amazing kiss. Shayne completely dominated his mouth, Ian didn't stand a chance.
"Why don't you get comfortable on your hands and knees, you can do so on the couch," Shayne said. Ian just did it. Courtney sat down next to him, so his head was at her tits' level. He took her nipples in his mouth one by one. On his other side, he felt Shayne undress him, squeeze him hard and put something smooth inside his ass. "It's just a dildo," Shayne reassured him.
Courtney's boobs combined with the feeling in his ass, turned Ian hard again already. But Shayne took the dildo out now, and entered Ian himself. That was another matter entirely. Shayne was very big. Ian breathed hard, face squished into Courtney's chest, while she caressed his hair and placed kisses on his head.
"Fuck.."
"Ian, I've always dreamed of doing this…"
"Then do it!"
Shayne thrusted into Ian with a desperate intensity. He grunted and panted, as Ian grunted and panted as well. Ian's eyes shot up in pleasure. Shayne began to speed up and Ian wasn't sure whether his rectum could handle it. But it did. With each thrust, Ian squeezed Courtney's thigh really hard, making her moan as well. Ian slid his fingers inside Courtneys vagina. He played around with all the textures he felt inside of her.
"Oh god, Ian please, yes," she begged. But Ian was getting pounded too hard to be able to fully commit.
"Ian, I'm going to come…" Shayne exclaimed.
"Do it!" Ian commanded. Shayne immediately came inside Ian, shooting his sperm into his body. Panting, he exited Ian and sat back on the couch. Ian immediately jumped on top of Courtney and began to fuck her, pushing her all the way down on the couch.
"Choke me, daddy," she joked but not really. He grabbed their throat and squeezed slightly. That was enough to make her scream in pleasure. He pumped and pumped inside of her and came again, his turn to shoot his sperm into her. He let go of her throat. "Oh god Ian, this is incredible…" she panted.
Shayne got onto his knees, and went down on Courtney. Seeing the two of them go at it, was a very pretty sight. Ian rubbed his still wet cock while watching them. Courtney screamed as they came, grabbing hold of Ian's leg and shivering all over. Her nipples were rock hard. Ian licked and sucked on them some more.
"Let's go clean up," Ian suggested. They all went into the shower.
"That was amazing," Courtney said.
"Yes, that was the hottest sex I've ever had," Shayne chimed in.
"I guess it was alright," Ian joked but then added "no it really was nice. Will we be doing this again?"
"I hope so," they both said. They went back to the couch and watched the movie which was still playing.
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cactus-brain525 · 2 years
Text
I just thought of this
Arcane x the Santa Clarita diet.
‼️spoilers in a way for Santa Clarita diet‼️also tw for quite the fare share of gore!‼️
Mkay- I was thinking about this for a while but I never really thought who would be best for the role of ‘the zombie.’ Then it hit me. Maybe my absolute love for this dude factored in but… Jayce! I just imagine him panicking when he wakes up in zaun his outfit all lazily done up then he realises he just ate a person. Like him and viktor trying to work around it especially with his new found energy , new found horniness and his new ability to practically have almost superhuman teeth. Well.dead human death. Since he is dead? Get it? Ge- Okay il stop
But now little bullet points to tell a story go!
Jayce went to a party one night just because he was forced to make an appearance
On the way to the party a strange old man offers him a cookie
Jayce accept not wanting to be rude
Later on in the party Jayce begins throwing up our the window. Luckily outside lead to a rubbish tip.
After he stops throwing up an already ungodly amount he heads home
Only to agin throw up EVERYWHERE as you do in the transformation.
As jayce hasn’t come into work most of the day ,which is unlike him, viktor decides to go visit Jayce at his apartment
Inside he finds a passed out jayce sitting on the floor in the bathroom passed out . Vomit literally everywhere. In every.single.room.
In the sink is a little weird red ball but that’s the least of viktors worries.
He checks jayce for a pulse but…nothing…he is dead obviously viktor becomes devastated.
Until he comes scared out of his mind as Jayce just wakes up yawning and looking at him. Viktor almost falls over trying to back away so quickly
“Vik…what happened here?” Jayce asks and steadily came over again and checked again.
No pulse.
Jayce was dead Jayce is dead but he is alive.
Viktor begins panicking and then jayce takes them two out of the sick filled room. But jayce looks positively glowing.
He begins dragging viktor along with so many random ideas his normal brain would never think of.
Obviously viktor is still terrified but he loves past it.
Now every couple of days Jayce is there pumping himself dry because he begins getting to horny to think.
His morning runs last for around three in the morning to five in the morning . And he still isn’t tired after.
He does to sleep at around one in the morning yet he seems fine
Hell , he seems still amazingly energetic !
But as the days go by he can’t eat and he is becoming STARVING
As things happen one night somebody just kept bothering him in his apartment building so he took them inside him and obviously as you normally settle disputes
He ate them.
He ate most of their body
After Jayce came to his senses again he just realised taht he had done all this by himself. No tools.
Obviously he was terrified but it seemed to cure hsi hunger.
Finally he realised what he is now.
A zombie. A terrified zombie.
He gets viktor in the middle of the night to explain it to him and so he can drag him over to help him clean up the body
Now jayce usually when he is hungry he goes to singed’s lab for bodies. Or he goes to the sickliest people in zaun
At one point not even to viktors knowledge he makes a deal with silco that he hands over all the traitors to him and he will deal with them.
It’s a good trade. Jayce gets dinner and Silco gets a little more control.
Vi catches on as she accidentally finds Jayce eating some guys arm.
Now Vi is having to lie to everyone that jayce isn’t the serial killer and cannibal that keeps the bodies piling up in zaun
Also since Jayce knows he can’t die unless they destroy his brains he usually gets drunk and hangs out at a club in zaun . Everyone loves him.
Also in this time Jayce got together with viktor mainly as a friend with benefits to help Jayce with his horniness but then it turned into a real relationship. They still have too have sex every couple of days because zombie life is not easy
Him and Vi get along so much better because of his new reckless endangering attitude
Caitlyn is so suspicious because she knows vi jayce and viktor are hiding something but she doesn’t know what
Also dw jayce and vitkor does find the cure towards him falling apart. All that fell off jayce was one of his fingers which he has stuck back on with some experimental hex tech
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hyp-oh-critical · 2 years
Text
Easy by graves, Duskus ft. joni payne
Listen on Soundcloud / Spotify
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I wish it was easy But it's not easy Letting you go I hate what you did But I miss how you love
Another hour passes. A car drives by, its tires cycles over the wet pavement outside. The wind coming through the slight crack in the window pushed the navy blue curtains around. There was a dull stream of sunlight filtering through, but her eyes remained stagnant on the popcorn ceiling above her.
Her ears rang, a muffled voice trying to break through. She turns her head slowly to find the origin of the noise.
“You gotta get up dude, he was a douchebag so don’t waste another second thinking about him.”
The girl blinks, confused and also a little offended. Without much of a sound, she returns her gaze to the ceiling above her.
“It’s really not that hard to move on,” her friend’s bony grasp peeled her arm from within her the pocket of her hoodie, but she resisted.
“It really is,” her first words in the last forty-eight hours. Her voice was scratchy and low from all the crying previously. 
“It’s not easy to just let go of him. We spent three and a half years together, what makes you think...” her voice cracks, “What makes you think anything about that is easy to just get over?”
Fingers go slack at those words, she takes this chance to bring her sleeve up to wipe at the bottom of her eyes, “But sure, just let go yeah?” 
I got my vetements hoodie and my Vans onLooking like I ball, gotta play alongLooking like I might not make it homeI wish it was easyAnd everything that we went throughIs leaving my mindI don't need to be with youWhen I'm feeling alive…Why you calling me though?Why you calling me, don'tWhy you calling me, no, I'm not picking up the phone
A chorus of laughter echoed as she let her feet move about beneath her. The music was loud but her friends’ cheers were even louder. Her scuffed, blue Vans scraped against the cement floors of the garage, LED lights that lined the edges of the ceiling flickered to the beat of the song. 
The digital clock on the wall turned two, but that wasn’t stopping anyone. A familiar hand tugged on hers as her friend encouraged her to keep dancing, arms flailing and bodies moving out of sync but it was a good time. 
“See! There’s way more to life than just him, look at us!” 
With the slight buzz of alcohol in her system, her only response was throwing her head back in laughter, slight agreement but with little protest and for the first time in a few weeks, she could agree with her friend. 
Her ringing phone remained unnoticed. It stopped briefly, displaying three missed calls and two voicemails from a number that no longer mattered to her. At least not in this very moment…
It's not easy in this empty house without youI keep looking back at the feeling of being gladWhen I found youI read the note you left so I knowYou do not regret letting goAt least that's what you saidBut I don't believe youAnd everything that we went throughEverything we did wrongI got angels and demonsSwaying me but
Another hour passes. A car drives by, its tires cycles over the wet pavement outside. The wind coming through the slight crack in the window pushed the navy blue curtains around. There was a dull stream of sunlight followed through, but her eyes remained stagnant on the opened box in front of her on the carpet. 
Her ears rang, a muffled voice trying to break through. She turns her head slowly to find the origin of the noise coming from the ad playing in between songs on her phone. 
She returns her gaze to the box, a stack of letters and notes in varying colours called out. Her hand reaches to pull them out, revealing scattered photos of the two of them from events and vacation spots. 
For the next while, she remains in her spot on the floor by her bed, eyes blurred by tears as she went through each and every handwritten message he had given her over the time they spent together. 
Soft words and inside jokes. Confessions and I love you’s, the reminiscing feelings… 
She missed him. 
She missed his touches and the soft kisses exchanged behind closed doors. The way his arms wrapped around her waist during embraces and time spent in bed cuddled up as they caught up on television shows and movies. Friday nights were spent dancing in the living room as he put on his favourite songs, and Sunday mornings in the kitchen with breakfast on the stove and tea brewing in respective mugs. 
Now her Fridays felt like some sad attempt to numb the ache in her heart with cheap liquor and shitty music, Sunday mornings passed in the blink of an eye as she tried to recover for her Fridays.
The song switches, drawing her attention to her phone sitting on her nightstand. 
She missed him…
I'm not calling you, no I'm not calling you, no I'm not calling you so why'd my hand reach for the… 
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Originally posted to my secondary blog in July 2020. Now rewritten and published as part of my Relocated Writes Series.
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wastelandcth · 3 years
Text
i’ll always come back to you - cth
summary: Calum wore a skirt. A stage reveal happens. 
author’s notes: I have no excuse but I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 
warnings: Cal in a skirt (please it’s too good), car sex, PIV, calum blanks out a little, she’s back and better than ever!
masterlist || request��|| more doves
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“What do you think I should wear?” Calum asked softly, his hands running through the different items in his closet once more, “It’s a pretty big show, I can’t just show up in something shitty. All I’ve worn for the past two years is either baggy jeans and a t-shirt or shorts and no shirt.” 
It was true, ever since the world had shut down and the band’s tour had been put on hold more times than Calum could count, his passion for fashion and finding new clothes to wear had been put on hold as well. Comfort and trying to stay sane in the middle of a worldwide pandemic had left him reaching for any signs of comfort to hold on to and keep him sane. But with the band’s first show slowly approaching and Calum’s nerves returning in the form of playing a fake bass while he tried to calm his racing mind, he knew he’d have to find an outfit sooner or later, and it’d have to be one to make him feel good about himself on stage once more. 
“I mean, I don’t think anyone would personally complain about you showing up shirtless to a show,” Dovey teased, her eyes tracing the muscles in Calum’s back as she sat on the edge of the bed, “I certainly wouldn’t.” 
“Yeah, but you’re a pervert so you have no choice,” Calum chuckled and threw another shirt towards his loving wife. 
The days had gone by and Calum had been stuck at rehearsals, trying his best to find the groove the band had long for ever since the start of the shutdown, but eventually, Calum found himself at home the morning of the show watching from the green room as the concert went on around the world. His bag, which he’d packed and unpacked multiple times that morning, laid on one of the couches. He knew he’d made the right choice, the look on Dovey’s face when he’d packed away the black fabric before she could get a peek of it enough of a reaction to make him smirk before he had rushed out the door at the sound of Ashton’s horn. 
“So, did you decide on an outfit?” Michael asked as he sat down next to him during a break in their soundcheck, watching as Calum’s leg swung along to whatever beat Ashton was trying to work out with Luke, “Dovey has been texting me all day asking if I’ve gotten a peek at it.” 
“Tell her to fuck off,” Calum chuckled, “I told her she had to wait like everyone else did to see it.” 
“Alright,” Michael huffed, nudging him playfully, “But we’re going to be the first to see it then.”
“Yeah, yeah, and she’ll manage to bully you into telling her somehow.” 
Calum looked in the mirror, inhaling a shaky breath as he fixed the collar of his suit jacket once more as he heard his bandmates chuckling outside of the bathroom door. With one final look at his outfit he opened the door and stepped out, goosebumps covering his skin as the cold air of the dressing room brushed against his legs. 
“Woah! Calum!” Ashton grinned, his eyes wide and his head nodding, “No man, that looks sick! I love it!” 
“Oh man, your dad is going to freak once he sees you on stage!” Luke nodded, “You look so good!”
“Guys, Dovey is literally going to kill us all,” Michael whined and clapped Calum on the shoulder, “You look fucking awesome, dude.”
Calum’s cheeks flushed, turning hot as he chuckled and shook his head, letting the curls he’d been growing out swish against his forehead while he tried his best not to push away his very excited and very supportive bandmates. It wasn’t until the room, which consisted of the four of them and their photographer started chanting for him to do a spin that he’d finally told them to fuck off. But with a spin, and a small bout of giggles that left him when the material of his skirt brushed against the back of his knees, Calum had never felt more prepared to play a show in his life, especially when he knew that Dovey would be in the crowd singing her heart out along with them all. 
Dovey’s eyes watched the crowd around her grow restless as time ticked slowly, minutes dragging on until the show would start. Her adrenaline was high as she heard an announcer overhead shout that the show would start in one minute, the pit in her stomach thrumming with excitement and the thought of seeing her husband and his best friends on stage again after so long. She knew how much Calum missed being on stage with them, how much he missed performing to a crowd of people singing the lyrics back to them, and so she knew that tonight’s performance would be nothing but perfect. The hum of a guitar backstage and the sound of cheers around her had Dovey on her feet before she even knew it, her wide eyes searching the stage for the man she’d married. 
“Oh my god, he did not,” she gasped, her cheers and clapping drowned out in the rest of the crowd as she saw Calum walking out on stage, “That bastard!”
On stage, under the shining lights and for everyone to see, Calum Hood stood grinning as his fingers moved easily over the strings of his bass. The silver chains, which hung across Calum’s waist, shone like his eyes as the set started. Dovey’s eyes tried their hardest to focus, her vision blurred by the tears that sprung out as she watched the love of her life sing his heart out on stage after too many months of being away from the one place he was able to lose himself in. The skirt, which Dovey was already drooling over, swayed along with every movement Calum made as she found herself swaying along with it, stuck in a never-ending dance she wasn’t sure she’d ever want to end. But when Ghost of You played out and Dovey’s eyes found Calum’s it was like the large crowds that had given her anxiety ever since Calum had mentioned the show and the loud music had all disappeared. 
There was no one but her and Calum standing there, swaying to the song that had meant more to them than anyone could have ever imagined. 
She knew their kids were watching from home, giggling and dancing along in the safety of their living room while the sitter recorded them for Dovey and Calum to cry along to later that night. But right now, in the moment, all she could think about was how despite all the things that had gone wrong and how scary the world had turned, she still had her family and the love of her life was singing to her in a room full of people once more. The set was over before Dovey even realized, her legs carrying her back towards the dressing room she’d left not too long ago and towards her husband and his amazingly talented friends. 
The night had become a whirlwind of events, Dovey’s arms wrapping around Calum and stuttering through her praises as her hands and eyes took in his after-show presence. Her mind was distracted throughout the rest of the promo the band had gone to do with the view of him in the skirt and mesh shirt that kept peeking in and out of view from where she stood with the rest of their team. Her eyes never left his as she watched him smile and laugh with the band and it wasn’t until the car door closed next to her and she watched Calum walk in front of the car before sliding into the driver’s seat that she let out the soft breath she was holding in. 
“So, what did you think of the show?” Calum asked as he pulled off the highway, his grin wide as his eyes glanced over at Dovey, “Did you like it? I think we did great. Yeah, the set was short but I think it we-”
“Calum, if you don’t pull over right now I will literally crash this car,” Dovey breathed out, her hand reaching out and squeezing Calum’s thigh gently. 
The car screech to a halt, Calum’s soft gasp lost on Dovey’s lips as she pulled him into a kiss, Calum’s body leaning over the console to pull her even closer to him. He and Dovey might not have been a couple of a thousand words, but he knew exactly what she was doing when her teeth pulled gently at his bottom lip. He also knew that they didn’t have much time before their car was steamed up and their moans echoed against the tinted windows, so Calum had to work fast. 
“Back seat, baby girl,” he breathed out, his forehead resting against his wife’s for just a second before she sprung into action, her soft laughter music to Calum’s ears. 
“I am. So proud. Of you.” Dovey mumbled in between the kisses she was leaving on Calum’s skin, her hips rolling against his and pressed up silver chains of his skirt, “You looked so fucking amazing on stage I couldn’t help but think about all the things I wanted you to do to me tonight.”
“Yeah?” Calum breathed out, his hands squeezing Dovey’s thighs as he helped her push up the hem of the skirt she was more than likely soaking through if his leaking cock wasn’t already at fault for it, “Gonna show me all those things you were thinking of?” 
“Mhm, only have time for one of them right now though,” Dovey smirked, her hand taking his cock and stroking it a few times, listening to the soft whimpers that left Calum as her own hips rocked against his solid thigh, “Have to wait until we’re back home for the others.” 
Calum’s eyes opened enough at one point to see the steam from their act fogging up the windows, the beads of moisture dripping down their foreheads matching the ones racing down the window next to his head. Above him, Dovey looked like an angel, her closed eyes and barely opened mouth making Calum think he was the luckiest man alive. His fingers had dug into her hips, soft whimpers leaving them both with every rock of their hips and Calum wasn’t sure if he’d ever want this feeling to end. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever get tired of the way Dovey felt wrapped around him. He’d happily get lost in her warmth and never find his way out again if he could, but the coil in his stomach kept stretching and stretching, threatening to snap as he listened to Dovey’s moans grow louder and louder as her hips rose and fell with every one of them. 
“Calum,” she gasped out, one of her hands finding comfort in the soft curls she’d been playing with ever since they’d grown out and coiled against his head. 
“I know, I’ve got you,” Calum choked out, his own high speeding towards him as he felt Dovey clench around him as her hips paused and her whimpers were soaked into by Calum’s skin, “Oh fuck, baby, I-”
“Calum,” Dovey whispered, her soft kisses on Calum’s skin making the blinding white stars beneath his eyelids clear slowly, “Hey, come back to me,” she mumbled, the feeling of her fingers running through his hair grounding Calum back to the backseat of his car. 
His lungs hurt, the panting breaths he was taking sounding over the muffled music playing from the radio in the front, and his vision was still blurred as he watched Dovey leaned back against his thighs, her hair tousled and her dress still rucked up over her hips. It took him a couple more breaths, the thick air coating his lungs until finally, Calum’s hand found Dovey’s in the darkness of the car and he smiled lazily. 
“You back with me, Hood?” she asked softly and smiled, the gentle squeeze she gave his hand making him nod. 
“I always come back to you,” Calum whispered, “Always.” 
join my taglist: @hoodhoran @moonlightcriess @mxgyver @calpops @karajaynetoday @notlukehemmo @calumrose @devilatmydoor @lowkeyflop  @conversecake @hemmo1996-5sosvevo @ashtonsunflower @2fangirl4u @multistann @wiiildflowerrr @himbohood @in-superbloom​ @suchalonelysunflower @killmywildflower @sebsbrokentoe @nicebasscalum @letmereadpls  @xxxlaura
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6rookie-writer0110 · 2 years
Text
Alaska Eyes
Sam Arias x Lena Luthor x Male Reader
Request - Y/n Defeated The Beast, And Activated The RFI Killing All Conduits, And Curing The Plague. But Some How Y/n Survived Leaving Him Alive, And He's Goes Into Hiding For Years... Y/n Works, And Lives As At A Comic Book Store Owned By Stan Lee The Guy Who Let Him Stay There....In National City At Night Lena, And Sam Are Attacked By Gangsters While Leaving L - Corp But Y/n Passing By Saved Them, And While Not Showing His Face.
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You jolted up and you are starting to breathe hard. You look around and it was a dream but to you felt real. You get up from the couch and you walked towards the fridge and you grab the bottle of water, you start to drink it fast now you are breathing hard for a little bit. You sit on the couch and turn on the tv. You look at the time and it's 3:25 am. You start to remember what happened a few years ago...
You are fighting the Beast with Zeke, Kuo, And Nix. Everyone is giving it their all and everyone is badly injured but won't back down.
“We have to use The Ray Field Inhibitor,” You said.
“We only have one chance to use it, we can't fuck this up,” Zeke said.
You take out the RFI, You and Zeke come up with a plan on how to use it. Before fighting the Beast, half of the city was infected by the plague. You and Kuo keep fighting the beast, you are using your powers Electrokinesis to attack but it doesn't do many effects on him. Then Zeke and Nix used the RFI on the beast but it wasn't fully charged. But you got closer to him and charged the RFI. But something went wrong.
There was a huge explosion and you hit your head and you passed out. You fell into a coma for a few months. You wake up.
“Y/n, you woke up!” Delsin Rowe smiled.
He hugged you and you don't remember what happened. You remember him but can't remember anything else.
“What happened?” You asked.
“Dude, you were in a coma for five months. You were fighting the beast and there was an explosion... Zeke, Zuko, and Nix died. You survived somehow but they didn't. I have been coming every day to see if you were going to wake up or not” Delsin Rowe said.
Delsin Rowe is a close friend of yours. He has parkour Skills and he is into graffiti and he taught you how to do parkour. He has powers like you but his ability is absorption and has superhuman abilities. Also, he is a vigilante like you.
“I-I...”
“It has been hard but I'm glad I didn't lose you,” Delsin said.
You didn't know what to say and you felt guilt take over you. You are starting to believe everything is your fault.
Flashback Ends...
Since what happened in the past, you left the city and didn't tell Delsin where you went. You laid low for many years, you changed your last name but kept your first name. You don't use your powers to save people anymore. You lived in many different cities than you settled down in National City.
You live in the basement of a comic book store and the owner Stan Lee, is like a father to you. He let you live in the comic book store, he did offer you to live with him and his wife but you didn't want to be a burden to them. You would help him in the comic book store and he does know about your past and your power.
---
You open the shop and you start to get everything ready. You start to clean the windows and glass doors. While sitting by their cashier then Stan walks in and he got you breakfast.
“Thanks, I was getting tired of eating cereal,” You said.
He got you a hot breakfast and hot coffee.
“I figured you would want this one” Stan said.
You and Stan start to eat breakfast and just talk.
“Thank you” You smiled.
“Y/n, you should start dating again. You should get out there” Stan said.
“I don't know. I don't think I would be anyone’s match” You said.
“Y/n, you have to give it a chance. At first, would be bad but later on, it would get better” Stan said.
“I will think about it,” You said.
Stan wants you to be happy and start dating, but you doubt yourself and start to think negatively about yourself. After breakfast, he told you to restock the comic books on the shelves.
“Hi... Do you work here?” She tapped your shoulder.
You turned around and you smiled at her.
“Hi” You smiled.
“Hi. And I asked if you work here. And you do because I see your name tag y/n” She said.
“Yeah, I work where. How I can help you?” You said.
“I’m Sam. looking for a wonder woman action figure. I got a picture, I'm looking for this action figure” Sam said.
She takes out the phone and showed you the action figure, she is looking for.
“Yes, we have that one. Give me a minute and I will go find it for you in the back” You said.
She touched your arm “y/n, you are a lifesaver, thank you”
You smiled and you go to the back room. A few minutes later, you come back with the action figure and she smiled at you. You wanted to ask her out but you didn't and she left the store after paying.
“You should have asked her out on a date,” Stan said.
“What?” You said.
“I saw the way you looked at her. You could have asked her out for a cup of coffee” Stan said.
“Oh. She would have said no” You said.
“You are a good person, you need to start seeing that,” Stan said.
---
Sam and Lena have been working late hours, Lena is ready to go home. She went to check on her girlfriend Sam.
“I’m craving something sweet,” Lena said.
“Me too. I know this small place and make great macaron” Sam said.
Lena kissed Sam on the lips.
“Oh, we should go and try it” Lena smiled.
They smiled at each other and they leave L Corp together. They hold hands and walk to the pastry shop down the block. Their work schedule has been hectic for weeks.
Sam and Lena didn't notice the thug following them. You walked out of the store while back to the comic book shop, you noticed a thug trying to rob two women, and you recognized Sam. You start to think quickly. You put on the baseball cap and the sunglasses and bandana.
“Hurry up! Give me your wallets!” He demands.
“Don’t hurt us. Here take it” Lena said.
“Let them go,” You said.
“Who the fuck are you?!” He yelled.
You used your power to get the gun out of his hand. Then you start to punch him in the face and the stomach and he fell to the ground.
“Are you okay?” You asked.
“Y-yes, we are okay,” Sam said.
You hear the cop sirens before Sam or Lena can say anything, you disappeared before the food arrived.
✯ ✬ ✫ ✬
Days Later, you have saved them from being robbed you suddenly you felt different. You did save other people and you started to feel like a vigilante. The news media have been talking about you, some support you and others don't support you. You don't have a suit, you wear a mask to hide your face and leather gloves so you won't leave fingerprints anywhere.
Sam and Lena have been keeping up with the vigilante online mostly. Some people would talk about you and others come up with conspiracy theories. They asked Kara to help them find you and it's not easy, because you don't go out every night to save people.
Lena and Sam were on a date while holding hands and walking, they heard a loud sound in the alley. You are lying on the ground but you are passed out and they recognized you.
“Let's take him back to your lab,” Sam said.
“We will. Just hope those wounds are not life or death situations” Lena said.
It wasn't easy for them to take you to the lab. Lena and Sam did start to clean your wounds and they took the bandana off your face, so you can breathe properly. Twenty-five minutes later, you opened your eyes. You have no idea where you are and your body is in pain. You sat up and look around.
“You are awake,” Lena said
“Who are you?” You asked.
“I’m Lena Luthor and we found you in the alley. You fell off a roof and you passed out, I'm surprised you are awake now” Lena said.
“Oh I remember you from the comic book store,” You said to Sam.
Sam walks in
“I remember you too. Your name is, y/n?” Sam said.
“Yes, that is my name. Thank you both for helping me” You said.
“When you first saved us, you didn't let us thank you. So, thank you y/n” Sam said.
“You can rest here and you will need it. Lay low for a while” Lena said.
“I will try,” You said.
You did stay and you got to know Lena and Sam. You told them about your powers and that you live in a comic book store in the basement.
“Why do you live in a basement?” Sam asked.
“I like it there. Plus, I help Stan who is the owner with anything he needs, sometimes he brings me hot meals” You said.
“Oh that’s nice,” Lena said.
---
You thought you wouldn't see Lena or Sam anymore, but you're wrong. You did see them often when you weren't too busy. Stan is happy that you are meeting new people and going out. Sometimes you would help Lena and her friends save people. Lena and Sam do like spending time with you and you did show the basement where you sleep. You did clean up before they came and you introduced them to Stan.
“Is it possible to like two people at the same time?” You asked Stan.
Stan is sitting by the cashier and he is making you restock the shelves. You start to put new action figures on the shelves.
“You like Lena and Samantha?” Stan asked.
“How did you know? I didn't say their name” you said.
“I see the way you look at them. I can see you like both of them” Stan said.
“I can't pick one. I like both of them, they are smart, beautiful, and very caring” You said.
“The question is it just a crush or do you really like them. It's two different emotions” Stan said.
“Oh, I see,” You said.
---
Lena invited you to Kara’s apartment for game night. Sam and Lena want you to go and you said yes. You start to have fun with everyone and they are getting to know you.
✯ ✬ ✫ ✬
Sam and Lena want to celebrate for defeating Lex and Nyxly. They invited you to the party, you are happy to see them. Stan helped you pick out a nice outfit to wear. You and Sam are sitting at the bar, just making each other laugh. Sam leans in and she kissed you.
“W-what” you stuttered.
“Oh, did I read the signs wrong?” Sam asked.
“You are dating Lena. I don't want to ruin your relationship” You said.
“You are not ruining anything. Actually, Lena and I like you as more than a friend” Sam said.
“No way” You scoffed.
Lena walked towards you and Sam, she kissed her girlfriend on the lips. Sam told Lena what just happened.
“Y/n, we do like you and we want to date you. If you are not comfortable with it then we apologize for making you uncomfortable” Lena said.
“I-I am in shock. Two hot women want to date me, wow. I do like you and Sam and I thought it would never happen” You said.
“So, y/n do you want to be our boyfriend,” Sam said.
You are still in shock “yeah, I do”
---
Since that night, you became their boyfriend. Some nights you would sleep at their place and Stan is in shock that you have two girlfriends. You go with Sam and Lena ice skating, everyone is having fun and Lena is holding on to the rail. You did try to go fast but you almost crashed into a kid. Lena kissed you on the lips
“Are you okay? I saw you almost crash into that kid” Lena said.
“I’m fine. Sam is ready to go home. How about you?” You said.
“Yeah, I'm ready to go home,” Lena said.
You and Lena are sitting on the bench, you have your arm around her shoulder. She has her hand on your knee, she starts to talk about Christmas plans and what she usually does with Sam during Christmas.
---
Days Later, you help Lena and Sam decorate the house for Christmas. You used your power to turn on the Christmas lights. You invited Stan and his wife to the Christmas party, they are happy to meet Lena and Sam.
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Text
Billy Is Going To Find The Byers
IMPORTANT: If you haven’t read my post “The Demogorgon Is Billy’s Dark Reflection,” please check it out, as it goes hand in hand with this one. Thanks :D
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A few months ago, we all got our first look at some of the new characters for S4. I checked them out with great interest. 
“Lt. Colonel Sullivan... military dude in Hawkins... cool, makes sense. Victor Creel... ooooooh, played by Robert Englund, betcha he’s gonna be one of El’s predecessors. Eddie Munson... damn, he’s super sus. Argyle... Jonathan’s new bff, who delivers pizza for--”
I stopped.
And freaked. OUT.
Argyle delivers pizza for Surfer Boy Pizza.
Surfer Boy Pizza.
SURFER BOY PIZZA.
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A whole constellation of dots connected, and I knew IMMEDIATELY where this is heading. Let’s walk through it step by step... starting with the inception of Stranger Things itself.
The Duffers love the movie Jaws, to the point that they give it pride of place in their list of inspirations. Hell, Stranger Things probably wouldn’t have existed without it. Initially, as a homage to the movie, the show was set in a Long Island beach town called Montauk. The setting didn’t change until the Duffers began pre-production:
They began by scouting locations on the northern tip of Long Island, but the community - so integral to the script - didn’t look as they had imagined, and its distance from New York City made the idea of anchoring the production there unfeasible. A new approach was required. (Worlds Turned Upside Down, p 25)
After that, they rewrote the script to take place in Indiana, and “Hawkins was born.” 
Still, you can tell their love for Jaws lingered. Hopper’s truck looks like Martin Brody’s:
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Meanwhile, the Demogorgon was inspired by the shark, and the show isn’t shy about that fact. In S1, when Nancy explains her theory for what the Demogorgon is, she likens its bloodlust to that of a shark:
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In the final episode, when Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve are hiding from the Demogorgon in Will’s room, the Jaws poster hangs prominently in the left side of the frame:
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Furthermore, the Demogorgon’s behavior emulates that of the shark. Like Nancy points out, it hunts alone, emerging from the Upside Down (*COUGHTHEOCEANCOUGH*) to pick people off one by one. And though we don’t see its full form until the end, its presence haunts us throughout, infusing the story with dread.
Okay! So the Duffers originally set Stranger Things in a beach town, and the Demogorgon was inspired by the Jaws shark. Cool. What does this mean for us?
Everything.
Think about it. The Byers have moved to a new town. We aren’t sure where they went, but in S2 Bob suggested Maine. Maine is on the East Coast, not far from Long Island.
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And as you can see, it has hundreds of miles of beaches.
If the Duffers have any sense, they wouldn’t drop the Byers in another town like Hawkins. That would be redundant and hella boring. Instead, they would seize the opportunity to explore a new setting with a different feel. Not an inland town surrounded by woods and farmland, but... oh, idk... a beach town.
On top of that, the Byers’ move gives the Duffers the perfect opportunity to return to the show’s roots. Finally, they can bring Montauk to life.
If that’s what they’ve done, and the Byers have moved to a beach town, we’re headed for prime Billy territory.
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Billy OWNS the beach. In the context of the show, we get our first glimpse of a beach in his mind, for God’s sake. And he’s deeply connected to water as an element. He’s a surfer, lifeguard, swim instructor... need I say more?
He’s also likened to the Demogorgon - the monster inspired by the shark in Jaws.
I’ve already discussed the similarities between Billy and the Demogorgon. Those were fresh on my mind when I read Runaway Max for the first time. So, when I read this paragraph where Max describes the Camaro, I freaked out (I do that a lot):
Once, for two weeks back in April, I thought that Camaro was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. It had a long, hungry body like a shark, all sleek painted panels and sharp angles. It was the kind of car you could rob a bank in. (pp 12-13)
It’s a motherf***ing equation, y’all. Billy (by way of his Camaro) = the Demogorgon = the shark in Jaws.
And the Byers have just moved to a town where the local pizza place is called Surfer Boy Pizza.
A name like that doesn’t make sense unless they really are in a beach town.
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Hence why I completely lost my shit when I read about Argyle. When you take all the evidence together, it looks like the Duffers have set up a situation where, figuratively, our heroes will think they see a shark in the water (aka the Demogorgon). 
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But they’ll find out it’s not a shark. It’s a surfer boy coming back to shore.
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Hints and leaks have confirmed this idea so far. The Stranger Things social media accounts teased the following exchange last year:
“What if it’s the Demogorgon?” “It’s not the Demogorgon.”
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Just a couple weeks ago, we got our first photo of the Surfer Boy Pizza delivery truck (credit: strangerinsidebr on IG). And the writing on the side is telling.
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The writing in the center doesn’t say, “Surfer Boy Pizza delivered hot to your door.” It says, “Surfer Boy delivered hot to your door.” The ‘pizza’ is way off to the side.
They’re making a joke, guys. A fuckin joke.
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“Surfer boy delivered HOT to your door ;)”
Jokes aside, the potential for Billy’s intro scene is so CLEAR and VIVID that I took a stab at sketching out how it could happen. Obviously I don’t think it has to happen this way; the writers have plenty of wiggle room. But it illustrates the kind of scene I have in mind:
Episode 3: “The Survivor”
All this time, hints have been building that Billy is still alive. Creepy things keep happening that remind us of Will trying to communicate from the Upside Down in S1 (flickering lights, people feeling "haunted" by his "ghost," etc). At the end of the episode, a thunderstorm rolls into the Byers' beach town. Will and El are together at home, probably alone. As it's raining and thundering, strange things begin to happen that frighten them. They get a creepy phone call; the power goes out, but only at their house; etc. Remembering that horrific night three years ago, Will races to the window to look out. El follows him. Through the rain, they see a form swaying toward the house. Terrified, Will wants to leave, but El stops him. "But El, what if it's the Demogorgon?" "It's not the Demogorgon." They back away from the door and wait. To their shock, the chain unlocks by itself. The door opens, and their visitor walks in, looking like a drowned cat with a nosebleed. Billy.
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God, I’m freaking out again just writing all this out lololol. I need to go lie down. 
BILLY’S COMING BACK, BITCHES. 
Peace.  ✌️
»»————- ✼ ————-««
The “Billy Is Alive” Meta Series (So Far)
Billy Is Not a ‘B’ Character In Stranger Things
The First Rule of Analyzing Stranger Things: The Upside Down Is Symbolized By Water
The Lifeguard And The Rip Current: Our First Big Hint That Billy Is Alive
Why Haven’t We Seen Dacre On Set?
The Demogorgon Is Billy’s Dark Reflection
Frequently Asked Questions
For updates, follow the hashtag #billy is alive meta
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breanime · 3 years
Text
Bre’s Boys Picture Preference: Boy Dads
Disclaimer: None of these babies belong to me, they are Instagram babies!
(With a surprise Bonus Boy!)
Billy Russo: Billy never, not in a million years, imagined himself with a family--let alone with a child. Especially after his...accident. Every glance in the mirror was a sharp reminder of Billy’s mistakes, of his failings, of the fact that he was a parentless monster that no one could ever love. And then you came. And he fell in love. He was terrified when he learned you were pregnant, terrified of the awesome responsibility that came with it, and the closer the due date got, the more specific his fears got. Namely, the fear that his child would look at his face and all of the scars that were on it...and be afraid. But he wasn’t. Your son adored his father; his sweet little face would light up in a toothless smile at the sight of Billy’s face. Billy loved having a son; he loved dressing him up in his comfortable little clothes, he loved his son’s high pitched giggle, he loved the way his son held onto his fingers, trying to wobble his way through his first steps, but most of all... He loved that your son wasn’t afraid of him. From day one, the scars on Billy’s face never bothered the baby. In fact, the day he was born, when Billy first held his son, the baby reached up, eyes still closed, and touched Billy’s face. Billy had flinched, sure that the jagged edges of his scars would hurt the freshly created tiny hand, but all his son did was whine and reach out again until Billy leaned forward and let him touch his face again. And then, in that moment...Billy witnessed his baby boy’s first ever smile, and from then on, he was greeted with that smile every time his son saw his face--his reddened, scarred up face--and every time... Billy smiled back, heart full. 
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Logan Delos: As far as Logan was concerned, he spawned the most gorgeous baby the world had ever seen. He could stare at your son all day long and never get tired of it. “Look at that face,” he’d gush as your son spit up on him, “That’s the face of an angel!” It got to the point that you wouldn’t even be surprised anymore when you came home to see Logan, dressed to the nines, with a camera in his hands and your son positioned in a basket, posing. Even as a baby, Logan’s son was always camera ready. “Okay,” you said, putting your purse down and coming to stand beside Logan, looking down at your perfect little bundle in his fleece-lined cashmere onesie, “I get that he’s all dressed up for his modeling gig, but why are you wearing a suit?” “He likes when we dress up together,” Logan answered, snapping a pic as he spoke, “We have a ritual, it’s a whole thing.” You laughed, leaning your head on Logan’s shoulder as you looked down at your baby boy. He had his father’s dark, enchanting eyes, and you couldn’t help but smile as he waved a tiny little fist at you. You noticed that he only waved when he knew Logan was in-between clicks. He was as much of a diva as his Dad. “Okay, okay, enough,” you reached into the basket and picked your son up, kissing his soft cheeks, “How is my baby boy? Huh? Did you have a fun day being an Instagram model with Daddy?” Your son answered you with a happy gurgle, reaching over to Logan--to the camera. You and Logan both laughed, and you rolled your eyes. “Seriously?” You asked, looking over at your son. “He wants to see the results,” Logan came over to you, showing you both the camera, “Here, son, I’ve already picked out my top ten favorites, but this one I think will look good with a nice, soft filter.” You watched, laughing, as your son eagerly stretched in your arms to see the pictures. He really was so much like his father. 
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Jax Teller: The Teller smirk had to be genetic. Because when you looked at your Old Man, that smirk on his face as he leaned against the doorway, and when you looked at your son--you saw that same smirk. He had Jax’s eyes too, shimmering, crystal eyes that could make anyone melt--even Grandma Gemma. “What?” You deadpanned, frowning at them both. Your son stood almost as tall as Jax’s knees now, and he crossed his arms just like his father did above him. “I know you two are up to something,” you went on, trying and failing to keep your growing smile at bay, “So what? What do you want?” Your son looked up at Jax, and you watched them have a silent conversation with their blue eyes--as they often did. Finally, they both looked back at you. “So, darlin’,” Jax began, “we were thinking...” “I doubt it,” you drawled with a smirk, “but go on.” “And well...” “Me and Dad think you should let us have breakfast for dinner.” You paused, confused. “Let you? Why would I stop you?” In an instant, a matching grin grew on both of your boys’ faces. “See?” Jax said, looking down at your son. “I told you she’d be down for it!” Your son pumped his fist eagerly. “Yes! Pancakes for dinner!” You laughed, getting up and following them into the kitchen. “You know I’m not cooking a whole breakfast by myself, right?” You asked. Jax laughed, coming up behind you to smack your ass just as your son reached out and kissed the back of your hand--charmers, both of them. “I got egg duty,” Jax announced, going to the fridge. “I can make orange juice! Grandma showed me how!” You watched them move around the kitchen, smiling proudly at your two boys. They were so much alike and brought so much joy to your heart. Truly, they were best friends as much as father and son, and you knew, as your baby boy continued to grow, you’d have another SAMCRO member on your hands. But you also knew, as dangerous as that life could be, that he would always be safe and taken care of, as long as you and Jax were alive. And even when you were both gone, you were confident that you were raising a smart, thoughtful young man, and you knew--while he would, of course, make mistakes--that he would always do his best to protect his family and friends. After all, it was in his genes. 
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Coco Cruz: You didn’t know how it happened (okay, you did know: sex), but suddenly, you and Letty were outnumbered. You and Coco had three sons, and just like Coco, they had big ass hair. “Who’s hair is this?!” Letty screamed, brushing hair off of the couch. Coco was on the floor with the boys, teaching them how to build a campfire with stuffed animals and pillows. Your youngest son, who was almost a year old, was more interested in throwing the toys around then the pretend campfire, but still. “It’s probably yours,” Coco answered, grabbing the stuffed lion your youngest son had just thrown and handing it back to him. “No, this is the hair of an inconsiderate MAN,” Letty grumped, hands on her hips. “It’s gotta be one of yours,” you added, “no one sits in that spot but you and the boys.” “I like that spot,” your second son said brightly, his perfect face framed by a huge, curly ponytail, “It’s the best vantage point in the whole living room.” “Yeah,” your oldest son replied, nodding, “You can see the whole room and the you can see the window.” “Remember,” Coco said, picking the baby up and bouncing him on his knee, “The best viewpoint is the one where you see everything, but no one sees you.” “Right,” your second oldest nodded, coping his big brother with the gesture, “You’re s’posed to be secreto, yeah?” Letty rolled her eyes at the antics of her brothers. “Yeah, okay--so what about the hair on the couch, huh? Which one of you snipers-in-training didn’t clean up after himself?” “Not me!” The boys and Coco all yelled at once. The baby also screeched out “baaaaaah”, which you took to be a denial of his guilt as well. “I swear,” you sighed, sitting on the loveseat, smiling at your boys, “I’m just gonna sneak into your beds at night and cut off all your hair.” “No!” The boys all cried out--even the baby (”no” was his new favorite word). Coco laughed, looking over at you, “Come on, baby, we’ll do better, won’t we, mijos?” He turned back to the boys, who all met him with wide, innocent eyes and eager nods, making you laugh. Letty laughed too, plopping down on the once-hair infested couch. “I swear, it’s like you four all share the same braincell,” she paused, looking around, “Huh... This actually is a good spot--” her words were interrupted by your second oldest boy chucking a stuffed duck at her. “You gotta be aware of all your surroundings!” “Dude--” she started. “You too, Mami!” Your oldest son added, throwing a pillow at you so hard, you almost fell off of the loveseat. The boys (and Letty) all erupted in laughter, and you fake glared at your boys. Their response was immediate and, of course, in stereo. “My bad!”
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Angel Reyes: “This dude here,” Angel grinned, looking down at your son, “Like.. look at him! Why you got so much sauce, man?” He asked. Your son didn’t answer, he was too busy posing and looking cool. You were nearly in tears, you were laughing so hard. The three of you had decided to walk down to Felipe’s shop, and since it was a bit chilly out, you put a hat on your son and suddenly he was just too damn cool. Angel looked down at your baby boy, grinning wide as he watched your son lean against a building, hands in his pockets. “Papi, stop laughing,” your son said, his little voice making your heart melt, “Momma, take a picture of us!” You laughed, taking out your phone, “Okay, papi, stand right there next to Daddy,” you opened the camera app and felt your heart flip in your chest when you saw them through the lens. Your son was purposefully standing with his hands in his pockets, just like Angel was, and as eager as he was for this photo, he couldn’t hide the smile on his little face. You took a couple of pictures (at one point, they stood back to back with their arms crossed), and laughed as you did. Your boys were so full of life, the physical embodiment of joy. Everyday with your husband and your son was a blessing, so full of laughter and love. You knew what Angel’s childhood had been like, how he’d always thought of himself as the ill-favored son, and you knew he made sure his son never felt unwanted. Your baby boy was the prince of the Reyes family; beloved and cherished and treasured (and okay, maybe a wee bit spoiled), and he knew his Daddy loved him more than anything else in his life because Angel told him every single day. You pocketed your phone and watched as your son reached up for Angel’s hand, and the image of your husband’s big, strong hand carefully holding your baby boy’s had your heart clenching. There was nothing more beautiful than seeing the love between your two boys. Your son looked over at you, a smile--that Angel smile--on his round little face, and held out his other hand. “Come on, Momma, Abuelo is old, we can’t make him wait!” You laughed, taking his hand, and kept walking, you and Angel on either side of your son, your little prince. And you couldn’t be happier. 
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Miguel Galindo: Miguel had several body guards on hand, a security team, a nanny, and Nestor at his disposal at all times, and yet when it came to buckling your baby boy into the car, only Miguel could do it. “Okay, let’s make sure we’re safe,” Miguel said cheerfully as he strapped your son into his car-seat, pulling at the straps to make sure they were secure, “Daddy isn’t going anywhere until he knows you’re safe.” Your son smiled up at his father, babbling sweetly at him. You sat next to the car-seat, watching Miguel interact with your son. You loved how protective he was of him; Miguel was a man of wealth, and as such, he had his share of enemies, but as time had gone on, and the Galindo businesses stared going legit, the list of enemies got smaller and smaller. Still, you preferred the cautiousness over recklessness, especially when it came to the safety of your family. “What do you think, mijo?” Miguel asked as he got into the car, nodding at the security guard who closed the door behind him. “Should we stop by the ice cream shop on the way home from picking up your brother from school?” Your baby giggled, clapping his hands excitedly at the mention of ice cream, and you and Miguel laughed. “Sounds like a yes,” you said, reaching over to run a finger against your son’s smooth, chubby cheek. Miguel leaned forward for a moment, directing the driver to start moving, before sitting back and smiling over at you and your son. He reached out and smoothed down your son’s hair; it had the same natural curly swoop Miguel’s hair did. “He’s getting big,” he said, “You think it’s time to get a new car-seat?” You smiled, watching as your son reached up and took hold of Miguel’s finger, always happy to be close to his dad. “He’s got another few months in this one,” you answered, “Although it might be time to get a new baby wrap-around. The one you have is starting to get worn out.” “Yeah, that’s cause this one likes to hang off my chest while I work. I’m telling you, he’s gonna be a shrewd businessman, this one!” You both laughed. Miguel adored being close to your son and did everything he could to avoid putting him down. So the head of the Galindo cartel would strap his youngest son to his chest as he handled business and called the shots, because as much of a boss as your husband was, he was powerless when it came to his kids--and he wouldn’t have it any other way. 
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Nick Amaro: It had been a long day for Nick. As much as he loved his job, as much as he loved helping and protecting others, it could be incredibly draining. He’d just closed a case he and the squad had been working for a month, and while justice had been served, and Nick was happy with the results, it had taken a lot out of him. The things he saw, the horrific stories, the disgusting perps--it was a lot. Plus he’d been forced to work long days and long nights, and Nick hated being away from you and the kids. So when he came home early in the morning, fresh off of a 12 hour shift, he was ready to give you and the kids a quick kiss in your beds before going to sleep himself. But when he opened the door to your house, he was greeted with soft Cubano music and the best sound of all--his baby boy’s precious laugh. Immediately, before Nick had even stepped fully through the door, a smile grew on his face. It was early, but apparently the baby was wide awake, which of course meant you were wide awake. Nick walked over to the corner of the couch, where your son was sitting up, wearing his favorite bear bib, and laughing at the sight of his little black shoes. “Don’t tell me you pulled another all-nighter?” Nick asked him as he bent over and picked him up. He was immediately greeted with slobbery kisses and sticky fingers pulling at his ears, but Nick didn’t mind. In fact, he loved it. Just by hearing his son’s laugh and holding him in his arms, Nick’s mood had already improved. “He slept through the night, actually,” you answered from your spot in the kitchen, “Which is why he’s the first one up. Zara had a nightmare, so she’s sleeping in our bed, and I let Gil have a few extra hours on the tablet last night, so he’s knocked out.” Nick nodded, kissing your son right on his adorable little dimple. “And so you woke up to help Mama with breakfast, huh? What a gentleman,” he teased. Your baby boy laughed, and Nick laughed back. His son was always happy, always eager for a cuddle and happy to be held, and he just brought so much joy to Nick’s life. You and the kids were everything to Nick; you were why he did what he did. He wanted to make sure the world was as safe as he could make it for his family, and as he looked down at his grinning baby boy and listened to his sweet laugh, he knew his son would grow up to be good. And that was all Nick could ever hope for. 
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Johnny Tuturro: “Me ready!” Your son announced, coming into the living room with his overalls on, toddling towards you and Johnny. You laughed, and Johnny crouched down to be at eye level with his son. “I think you forgot something, man,” he said, affectionately poking him in his cheek. “No I not! Me ready! Me ready for beach!” Your son argued, his dark brown eyes shining with mischief just like your husband’s. “You did a good job with your hair,” you said, ignoring the trail of moisturizing oil, combs, and brushes your baby had left in the hallway when he did his hair, “and you look so cute in your overalls.” “Tank you for helping with the buttons,” he said, giving you that Tuturro smile that had you ready to give him everything he ever wanted. “You’re welcome, baby,” you cooed back. “But we can’t go to the beach till you’re all ready, big man,” Johnny added, he pointed to his son’s teeny tiny little feet, “Shoes.” Your son gasped, slapping his little hands on either side of his face in total shock. He screeched, waddling off to grab a pair of shoes from the rack, and you and Johnny laughed. An expert father, Johnny sat on the floor and let your son plop down into his lap, holding his shoes and socks in his fat little hands. “Help me peas,” he said, looking up at his dad. Johnny bent down and kissed the top of his head, taking the socks and putting them on your son’s feet--a pretty impressive feat seeing as how your son was incapable of not swinging his feet. You leaned against the wall, a smile on your face, as you watched them together. Johnny was telling your son that they’d play in the water until the sun went down, and your son clapped his hands excitedly. They were both beach bums, your son having inherited his love of the water from Johnny. “Okay,” Johnny slipped the first tiny shoe on, “let’s practice our colors. What color is this?” He pointed to the shoes. “Black!” “Good job! How about Mommy’s shoes. What color are those?” “Mommy’s shoes white!” “Yeah, white! What color is the ocean?” “The ocean blue!” He answered, and Johnny rewarded him by picking him up and spinning him around, “That’s right, big man! You’re so smart! Just like your Mommy!” Holding your baby boy with one hand and taking your hand in the other, Johnny grinned, “Okay, let’s go!” You walked into the sunshine with your own two lovable sources of sunshine, all three of you smiling and excited for another perfect day. 
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Rio: For you, bathtime was war. Your son was a tiny tyrant, displeased with every part of the procedure. He screamed because the water was too cold, and then when you added hot water to it, he whined at the added heat. He tossed the bath toys you provided him, crying because they weren’t the ones he wanted that night. He splashed at the water angrily, tried of being in the tub, and then when you took him out, he kicked his fat little feet and yelled cause he wanted to play in the water. To be clear, he was a sweet baby most of the time, but bathtime turned him into a little monster. Unless Daddy was bathing him. You stood by the sink, arms crossed, pretending to be offended as you watched Rio bathe your son. Rio was on his knees next to the tub, one hand on your son’s back, steadying him in his little baby tub, the other pushing along a toy boat--that your son had chucked at you in annoyance not five minutes before--and making your son laugh. “Okay, time to rinse off,” Rio said, taking a cup and pouring it over your son, who just giggled at the action, “Yeah, now we’re alllll clean,” Rio sang. You bit back a smile as you watched your husband pick your son up. Your son reached for the tattoo on Rio’s neck and tickled it, making all three of you laugh. Rio sat him down on a towel on the sink, and you leaned in, pressing your nose into the fatness of his neck, sniffing that sweet, clean baby smell on his soft, smooth skin. “God, this is like crack,” you sighed. Rio chuckled as you stepped back, and he covered your son’s head with a fluffy brown towel. “I don’t know why you be telling lies on my son,” he joked, “he was an angel this whole time.” “You’ve seen how he gets when I bathe him! He only likes when you do it, it’s crazy!” You huffed. Rio leaned over and kissed your son’s chubby cheeks a good hundred times, coaxing another round of laughs out of the baby. “That’s cause bathtime is boy’s time,” he said, his voice muffled by your son’s cheeks, “Ain’t that right, son?” Rio stood up and turned to you, kissing your cheek as well. “And bedtime is Mommy time,” he whispered, his voice low, “matter of fact... let’s get this boy in his crib so I can wipe Mommy down and rinse her off...” You laughed at the innuendo...and then hurried to grab your son’s pajamas--bedtime couldn’t come quick enough. 
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Bonus Boy 
EZ Reyes: Felipe and Angel both agreed that your son was exactly like EZ was when he was a kid: friendly, inquisitive, adventurous. EZ joked that he was always just a little nerd, but when you watched him with your son, you could see that inquisitive spirit in EZ bursting through. “What do you think,” EZ asked, crouching down next to your son as he patted the bark on a tree at the park, “is this a good tree?” “Good tree!” Your son repeated, looking over at his Dad. EZ smiled, and you could see every woman within a 10 mile radius collectively swoon at the sight of him (the smile, the arms, the EVERYTHING) next to your incredibly adorable baby boy. Hell, even you weren’t immune; you indulged in a quick little swoon yourself. “Papi, tree big!” Your son reported, stepping back and looking up at the tree, his little head reared back. EZ held your son steady with a hand on his little back; EZ’s hand was just about the width of your son’s back. “Yeah, it is,” EZ agreed, nodding, “You know, the older a tree is, the bigger is is. So this is probably a very old tree.” Your son’s jaw dropped, nodding in awe, “Wowwwwwww.” You sat on the bench and watched as your boys walked around the park, examining the various trees and plants. Your son would point to something and look up at EZ, who would start spewing off any and every fact he knew about the object, impressing the hell out of your baby boy. You loved watching them like this; you loved your son’s curious nature, and you were so happy and proud that EZ not only supported it, but helped nurture it as well. As you watched them walk around the park in their own little world, hand in hand, you felt a strong sense of love come over you. This was your family. They were yours, and you were theirs, and you loved them both so much, and they loved you. You put your hand over your stomach, a small smile pulling at your lips as you thought of your little secret. They loved you...and they would love this next little one just as much. 
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gamerwoo · 3 years
Text
Seventeen: Welcome to Caratland (End)
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Characters: Seventeen x reader (gender neutral)
Genre/warnings: horror/halloween au, choose your own adventure au, horror au, angst, murder, major character death, 
Summary: The night before Halloween, you and your 13 friends decide to go explore the infamous abandoned amusement park: Caratland, where it’s rumored that rides start on their own, empty mascot suits are seen walking around, and people don’t return the same as when they left. Can you and your friends survive the night in Caratland?
a/n: realizing halloween is coming up, i’ve decided to FINALLY finish the au i did last halloween. for those who kept up with it: i’m sorry for discontinuing it. there was hardly any interaction with it so i just lost interest and motivation. and the lack of interaction is why i decided to just put all the choices in this part so you can see all the endings and whatnot. i’m sorry it took so long to wrap things up and there will probably be mistakes so i’m sorry about that, but i hope you all still enjoy it. ALSO LMK WHICH PATH/ENDING YOU GET FIRST TIME AROUND!!!
Tag list: @sadienita @xummie @mingoats @xxbluestrifexx @kwanseo @junhaoshua @allegxdly​ 
Previous | Caratland Masterlist
[NOTE: there will probably be mix-ups with paths and endings because i literally just did all of this in 3 days and posted without anyone proof reading it. i will go through everything later to fix and edit things, so please be patient with me!!!]
»»————-  ————-««
16 -- A
“It’s probably best to go back to the breach, right?” you decided. “We know it’s there so it’s the best way to get back.”
“_____ has a point,” Wonwoo shrugged.
“Alright, everyone head back to the hole -- and don’t get split up,” Seungcheol stated before deciding to take the lead.
“Okay, but if I see one of those glorified Chuck E. Cheese mascots coming toward us, I’m leaving all of you behind,” Seungkwan muttered as he followed with the group.
All of you were glancing around trying to keep an eye out for the animatronics, while also trying to quickly and quietly make your way back to the way you’d gotten into the park. You kept mentally kicking yourself for convincing your friends to come here. If it wasn’t for you, you wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. You were just lucky everyone was still here...
The gates were starting to come into view, and you felt relief begin to course through you. Your legs were starting to move faster on their own, just wanting to get out of this living nightmare.
Seungcheol shooting his arms out to stop the group was what had you skid to a stop. He whispered loudly for everyone to get down behind the nearby shrubs and two trash bins. The fourteen of you poked your heads around to see what had gotten him to act like this, and your heart sank at what you saw
Serenity was blocking the hole in the fence.
“Fuck,” Jeonghan hissed.
“We’re gonna die here...” Seokmin whispered, but Wonwoo was quick to comfort him.
“What’s the plan now?” Hansol wondered.
“I know it’ll risk us going to jail or something,” Jihoon began, “but I think it’s time we just cave and call someone.”
“No, I’m not going back there!” Seungkwan whispered intensely.
Your eyebrows furrowed as your turned to look at him, “Excuse me?”
“I’d rather get arrested than get murdered,” Mingyu insisted. “At least we know we’ll be safe and alive in jail.”
You made a face, “Will we, though?”
“Listen,” Hansol interrupted as he pulled out his phone, “I’ll just call my parents -- they’re really chill. And worse case scenario, they just lecture us.”
But as he went to make the call, all his phone did was beep at him like the line was busy. He took the phone away from his ear and looked down, furrowing his eyebrows.
“We had service all night, right?” he asked.
“Yeah...?” Joshua replied.
“Well now I don’t for some reason,” he said, turning his phone screen to show his friends.
Mingyu’s eyes widened, “You’re kidding.”
Then everyone, including you, were taking out their phones and checking for service. Just like Hansol, you had no bars.
Unfortunately, everyone else was in the same boat.
Now, Seokmin was on the verge of tears, “We’re going to die here!”
“Don’t get hysterical yet,” Minghao told him. “There’s gotta be a way out of this. Even if we have to wait around until morning, we can probably out-run these hunks of metal.”
“Y’know, I heard a friend of a friend snuck in here once,” Soonyoung began. “Some dude Changkyun knows. He said there’s apparently some sort of underground exit under the food court.”
“At this point, we’ll have to try anything,” Wonwoo sighed.
“So back to the food court?” Seungcheol practically whined.
You took a deep breath, “Unfortunately, yeah.”
[GO TO: 17 -- A]
»»————-  ————-««
16 -- B
“Does anyone even remember where the hole in the fence is?” you asked.
Everyone either gave you blank stares or shook their heads. You let out a sigh.
“Alternate way it is,” Minghao shrugged.
“Let’s just hang here until someone thinks of something,” Seungcheol suggested. “We’re all here, and I think those things are still hanging around wherever we were before. It’ll take a while before we see them again.”
So the fourteen of you hung out at the merry-go-round. Most of you leaned up against the horses or found yourselves sitting down on them. A few of you sat on the two steps of the platform. Chan and Wonwoo were sitting in one of the carriages that most families or parents sat in. All of you were scrolling on your phones or looking at someone else’s phone, trying to research anything about Caratland that might help you find a way out. Maybe a map or a blueprint or something might come up. 
Suddenly, the ride jerked. You almost fell over onto Junhui as the ride began turning slowly, the music trying to play but the wiring was too old and worn that it just sounded demonic at best.
“Ha ha, very funny,” Jihoon scoffed. “Who turned on the ride?”
The question was overlooked by Mingyu’s shriek. Every head who was on his side of the merry-go-round whipped over to see Bongbong sitting on a horse only a few rows away from the tall boy. But another scream from Seungkwan was what brought attention to the answer to Jihoon’s question.
Eight was standing at the controls of the ride, his never-changing smile on his face as he slowly waved.
“Run!” Joshua called, leaping off of the horse he was sitting sideways on.
“Run where?” Seokmin called as he scrambled to get off the ride and jump the short fence.
“Food court!” Soonyoung shouted as he pumped his legs as fast as they would go. “It’s a long shot...but I have an idea!”
“I’d rather know the idea first!” Jeonghan called after him as the group ran together away from the merry-go-round.
“One of Changkyun’s friends apparently broke in before!” he tried to explain between breaths. “He said there’s an underground exit there! Who knows if it’s legit, but...”
But it was the only plan they had.
[GO TO: 17 -- A]
»»————-  ————-««
17 -- A
All of you had to squeeze through the tiny basement windows to get back in after finding the doors to be locked once again.
“How’d those fuckers get out in the first place?” Jeonghan huffed as he landed on the concrete floor of the basement. “The doors have been locked this entire time.”
“We’re being chased by animatronics that haven’t been functioning for years, and they’re out to kill us for some reason, and that’s what you’re going to question?” Soonyoung pointed out.
“Can we focus, please?” Seungcheol whined. “The sooner we find this secret eit, the sooner we’re free.”
“Everyone start searching,” Hansol said, waiving for everyone to scour the basement.
All of you searched every inch you could. The floor, the walls, shelves, behind old cupboards and props -- but there was nothing.
“What if it’s not here?” Chan suggested.
“Yeah? And where else would an underground exit be other than in the basement?” Jeonghan shot back.
The youngest frowned and rolled his eyes, “Soonyoung just said it was underground, he didn’t say under what part of the food court.”
“I mean...Jeonghan has a point,” Seokmin admitted hesitantly. “The basement is underground.”
[TO GO UPSTAIRS TO THE FOOD COURT GO TO: 18 -- A]
[TO CONTINUE SEARCHING THE BASEMENT GO TO: 18 -- B]
»»————-  ————-««
18 -- A
“It can’t hurt to check somewhere else,” you spoke up, moving to stand beside Chan. “We’re looked everywhere down here. What if it’s not in the basement? There could be some secret tunnel under a different location and we’re just going to be here wasting our time.”
“I mean...yeah, that makes sense,” Jihoon decided with a shrug. “Alright, we’ll try back upstairs.”
“I don’t wanna go back up there...” Seokmin whined, clinging to the nearest person -- it happened to be Junhui.
“We’re all going,” you reassured him with a soft smile. “Let’s go. Nothing’s going to happen.”
You led the way up the stairs this time, but you found yourself going slow. You strained your ears for any noise on the other side of the basement door but the food court seemed to be quiet. Maybe the animatronics couldn’t get back in since the doors were locked.
You pushed the door open cautiously, poking your head out to glance around. It seemed empty, so you opened the door wider and let everyone else out.
“Is that e--”
SLAM!
All of you jumped back and turned around hearing the basement door slam shut behind the last person out. 
“Fuck this, I want out,” Mingyu stated, shaking his head as he began to quickly walk away from the door.
“Hold up,” Wonwoo reached out and grabbed Mingyu’s wrist to keep him with the group. “We should stick together.”
“It probably just closed from the weight of the door anyway,” Minghao figured before going to pull on the door handle.
It didn’t budge.
“Move out of the way, toothpick,” Seungcheol smoothly pushed Minghao out of the way before trying the door himself.
Still nothing.
“D-did it...lock?” Chan asked slowly.
“Haha, would you look at that?” Seungkwan said, checking his wrist that very clearly didn’t have a watch on it. “I actually have to get the fuck out of here. Bye!”
“Maaaaybe,” Hansol grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him back, “don’t do that.”
“Yeah, nobody goes running off, got it?” Jihoon checked, shining his light at everyone to make sure they agreed to the new rule. “Shit’s too weird to be splitting up.”
“I think our best bet would be to hide in the security room until morning,” you spoke up. “It’s probably the safest place in here.”
“_____’s right,” Wonwoo nodded. “Let’s go -- and stick together.”
As a group, all of you made your way to the security room, with you, Jihoon, and Soonyoung leading the way. All of you had your lights, shining them around to make sure the entire area was safe until you made it to the security room and barricaded the door closed.
“Jesus Christ, I hated that,” Mingyu panted as if he had been holding his breath the entire time you were walking.
“I think I almost shit myself,” Soonyoung admitted.
“Imagine your last words being ‘I think I almost shit myself’,” Junhui snorted.
“Hang on, shut the fuck up,” Seungcheol snapped, holding a hand up as he quickly scanned the group in the room. He was trying to count heads while all of you were talking, and as he quickly recounted, his blood turned to ice. “Why are we one short?”
“One short?” Jeonghan asked.
“Someone’s missing,” he said urgently.
“Alright, let’s run attendance real quick,” Jihoon decided, trying to stay level-headed. He pulled out his phone and went to the group chat. “Obviously I’m here. Soonyoung?”
“Here.”
“Seungcheol?”
“Here.”
“Mingyu?”
“Unfortunately here.”
“Hansol?”
“Yup.”
“_____?”
“Here.”
“Joshua?”
Silence.
Jihoon looked up from his phone, repeating, “Josh?”
You and your friends looked around, trying to find Joshua’s face in the crowded room. But nobody spoke up, and the silence following Joshua’s name became deafening.
“Oh fuck...” you breathed, trying to not completely lose your shit. “Did we really lose Josh?”
“We have to go back for him,” Jeonghan insisted.
“What? No!” Seungkwan shouted. “That’s suicide!”
Then everyone was bickering. While everyone of course wanted to hope Joshua was safe, half of the group felt that going back out to look for him would mean all of them would get killed. The other half, on the other hand, were willing to risk their lives to go on a rescue mission.
[TO GO OUT LOOKING FOR JOSHUA GO TO: 19 -- A]
[TO STAY IN THE SECURITY ROOM GO TO: 19 -- B]
»»————-  ————-««
18 -- B
“I mean...how would it be under anywhere else?” you asked slowly with a shrug. “No offense, Chan. But like, this is kind of the only basement in the place.”
“See?” Jeonghan sneered.
Chan just frowned and rolled his eyes.
“There’s gotta be something we missed,” Soonyoung said, trying to stay calm. “Let’s just sweep the place over again.”
But after more looking, you still came up with nothing.
“At this point, I’m about to just dig through the boxes of old animatronic parts and just hope there’s a portal at the bottom or something,” Joshua sighed, slumped against a wall with Jeonghan beside him.
“Good luck,” Jeonghan scoffed. “I already tried picking one up to move them away from the wall but they’re super fucking heavy. It’s literally impossible.”
You turned your head to look at the large stack of boxes. There were piles of various sizes, but the ones at the back pressed up against the wall went up the highest. It was a long shot, but behind the boxes was the only place nobody checked because it couldn’t be reached. But with everyone giving up hope, it didn’t hurt to try, right?
“Hey, Gyu,” you spoke up before pointing to the boxes. “Think you can move those?”
Mingyu shrugged, “Yeah, probably.”
He walked over to the wall and began lifting boxes one-by-one. He grunted as he picked them up and moved them away until he called everyone over.
“There’s metal behind here!” he called over his shoulder.
“Ooh, is it the door?” Soonyoung asked excitedly, pushing himself off the floor.
“Told you it was better to look down here,” Jeonghan said once more.
Jihoon groaned, “Can you let it go? Leave Chan alone already.”
Seungcheol started assisting in the box-moving until the metal door was accessible. Seungcheol tried to push it open, but it didn’t budge. He tried harder, but still nothing.
“Can I try?” Mingyu asked.
Seungcheol stepped out of the way, gesturing for the tallest to give it a shot.
Mingyu threw his shoulder into the door a few times before it finally swung open, leading to a narrow corridor that looked like it would bring you straight to Hell.
“Okay,” Soonyoung breathed out, “let’s see if this is the way to freedom.”
[GO TO 20 -- A]
»»————-  ————-««
19 -- A
“Why is this an argument?!” you shouted over the bickering. “Our friend could be dead! I don’t care if nobody comes with me, but I’m going to find Josh.”
“I’ll go,” Jeonghan stated.
“Me too,” Hansol volunteered with a slight raise of his hand.
“Plus, I highly doubt an animatronic got him,” Minghao scoffed as he went to join your group as you went to open the door.
“Well...good luck with that,” Seungkwan nodded.
In the end, it was you leading the way, with Jeonghan, Hansol, Minghao, Seokmin, and Seungcheol tagging along -- the latter two clinging to each other as you opened the door and went down the short hallway to the door that read EMPLOYEES ONLY on the other side.
“Why would he split off from the group?” Jeonghan wondered. “If he were trying to prank you guys, he would’ve had me in on it.”
“Maybe he just--”
Your sentence was cut off by a scream -- your own scream. Your eyes saw the scene before you: Joshua’s body laying just in front of the EMPLOYEES ONLY door, a bloodied mess. All you could do was scream.
Standing over him, covered in what you could only assume was your friend’s blood, was Bongbong.
“_____, run!” Minghao shouted, grabbing your arm and yanking you away from the door.
He quickly reached for the door and slammed it closed as you and the others ran back down the short hall. Jihoon had poked his head out the door to see what the noise was, and you crashed right into him, hyperventilating as tears welled in your eyes.
God, that image was going to be burned into your brain forever.
“What happened?” he asked.
“J-J-Josh!” you sobbed.
“Those things are in here,” Minghao panted, closing the door to the security room and pressing his back. “Th-they got Josh.”
“You’re fucking with us,” Seungkwan said quietly and very unsurely.
“Would Minghao fuck with you?!” Jeonghan cried. “If you don’t believe us, why don’t you go out there and check for yourself, Kwan? Go get yourself traumatized!”
“Okay, don’t scream at him, it won’t help anything,” Wonwoo spoke up, trying to somehow keep the group put together.
“Let’s just focus on finding a way out,” Seungcheol decided in a shaky voice. 
“U-um...guys?” Mingyu spoke up, staring into the monitors.
Everyone gathered over to see what he was looking at.
Each room had a camera and a monitor to go with it. In each room, stood an animatronic. Each camera had an animatronic staring into it, as if they all were staring at the group.
They knew where you were.
“We have to get out of here,” Seomin panted, beginning to hyperventilate. “They’re going to come in here and kill us!”
“I get it’s scary, but we have to stay calm and--”
“Hey!”
Everyone turned their heads a the sudden exclamation. Chan was standing beside a square metal door in the floor with some dusty boxes and wires he’d moved to find it. He smirked, gesturing to the door.
“While you guys were shitting your pants, I found the underground exit,” he stated.
“Well fuck, kid,” Jihoon whistled under his breath.
“Let’s get the hell outta here,” Soonyoung said as he threw the trapdoor opened and descended the ladder that led to a narrow corridor.
Chan gave Jeonghan a pointed look, “And you thought I was stupid.”
Jeonghan just rolled his eyes, “Whatever.”
[GO TO 20 -- A]
»»————-  ————-««
19 -- B
You felt like a shitty person for not wanting to risk your life for Joshua. You felt extremely guilty that you didn’t want to go out and look for your friend, but truthfully, you were afraid to die -- and that’s why half your friends didn’t want to go looking for him. Not everyone was brave enough to be a hero, and while you always told yourself you would be when putting yourself into the shoes of horror movie characters, it just wasn’t the truth.
But in the midst of the argument of whether or not to go out to search for Josh -- the argument that you stayed silent for -- Mingyu spoke up in a shaky voice, “U-uh...g-guys?”
Everyone turned toward him to see he was staring into the monitors. You all gathered over to see what he was looking at.
Each room had a camera and a monitor to go with it. However, the monitors had gone fuzzy so you couldn’t see anything in any of the rooms.
Wonwoo’s eyebrows furrowed, “Why are the cameras suddenly down?”
You wished they stayed that way after seeing what was displayed next. In each room, stood an animatronic. Each camera had an animatronic staring into it, as if they all were staring at the group.
They knew where you were.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the most disturbing thing.
You could see on one of the monitors, Bongbong was standing in front of the camera holding a familiar body. Joshua was being held up by his neck, and blood was coming out of his mouth, nose, eyes, and even his ears. 
You weren’t the only one to let out a scream and flinch away from the camera, hiding your face as you started panicking and crying.
“We have to get out of here,” Seomin panted, beginning to hyperventilate. “They’re going to come in here and kill us!”
“We have to find the fucking exit!” Seungcheol said in a panic. “Everyone go--”
“Hey!”
Everyone turned their heads a the sudden exclamation. Chan was standing beside a square metal door in the floor with some dusty boxes and wires he’d moved to find it. He was just staring at you like he hadn’t just witnessed what all of you did -- and maybe he didn’t because he was too busy searching.
“Way ahead of you,” he stated.
“Thank god,” Jihoon said under his breath.
“Let’s get the hell outta here,” Soonyoung said as he threw the trapdoor opened and descended the ladder that led to a narrow corridor.
Chan gave Jeonghan a pointed look, “And you thought I was stupid.”
Jeonghan just glared at him, “I’m not in the fucking mood.”
And then he went down the ladder.
[GO TO 20 -- A]
»»————-  ————-««
20 -- A
Other than only being wide enough for one person to walk through at a time, it was also very dimly-lit. It definitely looked like something straight out of a horror movie that would 100% lead to the characters’ imminent death.
Needless to say your heart was pounding in your ears.
There was another metal door, but this one was far easier to open. The squeak of it echoed down the corridor as the thirteen of you filed into the room. It seemed to be where they kept the spare mascot suits that actual employees would wear. There were a few of the bodies of the suits hanging up, with heads scattered in corners and on shelves, along with gloves and feet strewn about.
“I hate this,” Jun stated, looking around the room. 
“I know these things are empty, but looking into their empty eyes is somehow worse,” Jihoon mumbled, staring at an Eight head.
At the opposite end of the tiny room in the right corner was another metal door. You were starting to wonder how many more metal doors you’d have to encounter in this place.
To the left of the room, there was a tiny wooden door that seemed like it would lead to a crawlspace. You assumed there was just more storage back there, but nobody cared enough to look back there, anyway. The focus was to get out of this place and get to safety.
“C’mon,” you nodded your head toward the other metal door that you assumed would lead to the exit, “let’s keep going.”
As Seungcheol went for the door, you and your friends heard banging. You all paused, Seungcheol’s hand on the handle. You listened for the banging again, and then looked to where it seemed to be coming from.
“Guys?” Joshua’s voice called from behind the small wooden door. “Guys?! Oh my god, guys! C-can you hear me? Hello?! Help me!”
“Josh?” Jeonghan took a step toward the door.
[TO HELP JOSHUA GO TO 21 -- A]
[TO CONTINUE TO THE EXIT GO TO 21 -- B]
»»————-  ————-««
21 -- A
“Joshua!” you cried as you ran to the small door.
You knew what your eyes saw, but was it possible none of it was real? How else would you be hearing Joshua’s voice? He must’ve been alive somehow. Anything seemed possible at this point.
You got down on your knees, opened the small door, and crawled your way through. You stood up as your friends tried to get in behind you, but what you saw made your heart fall into your stomach as your hands went to cover your mouth, muffling the loud sob that came out.
Joshua’s body was slumped against the left wall, looking just as you had remembered.
He was still dead.
Your friends had similar reactions to you. Seokmin even threw up. 
Seungcheol shook his head slowly, eyes full of tears while some streaked his cheeks, “We... W-we have to bring his body...”
“He’s right,” Jihoon said solemnly -- his body seemed to be shutting down now, almost uncapable of processing his emotions. “We need evidence of what happened tonight. Nobody will believe us otherwise.”
“I-I hate to say it, b-but...it’ll s-slow us down, though,” Wonwoo interjected through his sniffles. “What if we don’t make it out?”
[TO TAKE JOSHUA’S BODY WITH YOU GO TO 22 -- A]
[TO LEAVE WITHOUT JOSHUA’S BODY GO TO 22 -- B]
»»————-  ————-««
21 -- B
You quickly reached out and grabbed Jeonghan to keep him from going any closer to that door. He turned to look at you, a pained expression on his face.
“Jeonghan, that’s not Joshua,” you told him. “You saw what happened to him. Whatever it is, it’s not him.”
“I think _____’s right,” Wonwoo nodded. “We need to keep going.”
You kept your hold on Jeonghan as all of your began filing out of the mascot room into another narrow corridor like the other one. This one, though, had a sharp right turn before leading down a while to another steel door.
But this door didn’t budge.
Soonyoung was at the head of the group, and he groaned in frustration as he tugged at the handle over and over again, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me; what’s with these doors?!”
You started to hear a thumping. It slowly got louder and louder...
...Or maybe it was closer and closer.
Junhui walked down the way you’d come and poked his head around the corner, his eyes widening at what he saw. He whipped his head back around and booked it straight back to where your group was trying to open the door, calling, “You might wanna hurry up on that door!”
Coming down the hall were all four animatronics, their eyes lit up as they stomped closer and closer.
“It’s not doing anything!” Soonyoung huffed, trying with all his might to open the door. “Mingyu, get up here!”
Mingyu squeezed between bodies to get to the door, trying to open it as the group just shouted for him to be faster.
“We might have to just...face these things,” Chan said. “Once and for all.”
“Yeah? How?” Wonwoo scoffed. “They’ll crush us in seconds.”
“There’s fou-- thirteen of us, and four of them. We might have a shot.”
“Well hurry up and decide so we can at least put the strongest up against them first,” Junhui called.
[TO FACE THE ANIMATRONICS WHILE MINGYU KEEPS WORKING AT THE DOOR GO TO 23 -- A]
[TO FACE THE ANIMATRONICS TOGETHER GO TO 23 -- B]
[TO KEEP TRYING THE DOOR GO TO 23 -- C]
»»————-  ————-««
22 -- A
“We can’t just leave him here,” you stated. “Not only for the evidence, but because he doesn’t deserve to rot away here. His family doesn’t deserve to wonder what happened to him.”
“I’ll grab him,” Seungcheol offered, swallowing his fears and stepping forward to scoop up his friend. “Let’s get him home.”
Chan was the last into the tiny room, so he turned to go. But the wooden door was suddenly closed and wouldn’t open back up.
“What the hell?!” he grunted as he continued to try the door.
“Why’d you let it close, dumbass?!” Jeonghan demanded.
“I didn’t!” Chan shouted back. “It was just open!”
“Ugh, leave it to the fucking baby to--”
“G-guys?” Seokmin asked.
“Can you get off my fucking case?!” Chan huffed as he stood up and went to stand toe-to-toe with Jeonghan. “You’re always such a fucking asshole to me! Why can’t you--”
“Guys?” Seokmin tried again, looking between the left and right walls.
“Are you two really going to argue right now?” Jihoon groaned. “We’re literally--”
“Guys!” Seokmin finally shouted over everyone. “The walls!”
“What about the--”
Jihoon’s question died down as soon as all of you began looking at the walls. They were moving in toward each other, which would crush all of you between them.
Everyone was suddenly in a panic. Everyone was throwing themselves at the door, trying to tug it open before the walls could do anything. Some of you -- such as you and Wonwoo -- decided to spread out so you had more room. But some -- like Jeonghan and Chan, who grouped up by the door with a few others -- created a big human-lump that would be crushed faster. You heard their cries and pleas before they were crushed to death with a sound you couldn’t get out of your ears.
It was only a moment later you met the same fate.
[GO TO ENDING B]
»»————-  ————-««
22 -- B
"Nobody wants to be the asshole that says it’s better to leave him behind, but...” you trailed off.
Wonwoo was right. Joshua would more than likely slow you down. Besides, you knew Josh would want all of you to have the best chance of getting out alive as possible.
“Th-then you go ahead,” Seokmin spoke up, almost like he was afraid to.
“What?” Jihoon asked.
“I...” Seokmin looked at Joshua as more tears welled in his eyes. “It makes me sad to think he’d just be down here alone. I don’t care if he’s...gone. He can’t just stay down here.”
“I’m not leaving my best friend down here,” Jeonghan agreed.
“Seokmin, he’s--”
“Look, just go,” Hansol interrupted whatever Jihoon was going to say. “I’ll help them with the body. You guys just go on ahead.”
Minus the three who wanted to collect Joshua’s body, the group turned and left the small room and went back to the mascot room. Soonyoung tugged on the metal door and led the way down another corridor that looked exactly the same as the one that had led into the mascot room. This one, though, had a sharp right turn before leading down a while to another steel door.
But as you were walking down the hallway, you heard the yells and screams of your three friends. All of you turned on a dime and ran back toward the mascot room but the metal door was already closed and wouldn’t re-open for some reason. All of you were yelling and trying to open the door until you heard a sickening crunch, and then silence.
You all fell silent. You didn’t know what to do now.
“We--” Jihoon’s voice cracked so he cleared his throat. “We should just...keep going...”
Following behind Jihoon, you all turned one by one and went back down the hallway. You turned the corner and walked down that long hallway toward another metal door.
But this door didn’t budge.
Jihoon groaned in frustration as he tugged at the handle over and over again, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me; what’s with these doors?!”
You started to hear a thumping. It slowly got louder and louder...
...Or maybe it was closer and closer.
Junhui walked down the way you’d come and poked his head around the corner, his eyes widening at what he saw. He whipped his head back around and booked it straight back to where your group was trying to open the door, calling, “You might wanna hurry up on that door!”
Coming down the hall were all four animatronics, their eyes lit up as they stomped closer and closer.
“It’s not doing anything!” Soonyoung huffed, trying with all his might to open the door. “Mingyu, get up here!”
Mingyu squeezed between bodies to get to the door, trying to open it as the group just shouted for him to be faster.
“We might have to just...face these things,” Chan said. “Once and for all.”
“Yeah? How?” Wonwoo scoffed. “They’ll crush us in seconds.”
“There’s fou-- nine of us, and four of them. We might have a shot.”
“Well hurry up and decide so we can at least put the strongest up against them first,” Junhui called.
[TO FACE THE ANIMATRONICS WHILE MINGYU KEEPS WORKING AT THE DOOR GO TO 23 -- A]
[TO FACE THE ANIMATRONICS TOGETHER GO TO 23 -- B]
[TO KEEP TRYING THE DOOR GO TO 23 -- C]
»»————-  ————-««
23 -- A
“Mingyu, keep trying the door!” you called to him. “We’ll try to hold them back.”
“We?!” Seungkwan repeated.
Mingyu continued to try to pull the door open as the animatronics slowly turned the corner and began walking toward the nine of you. You weren’t sure how to prepare yourself for this at all, but you knew you couldn’t just turn your back and die.
But you should’ve known what would happen. Four giant machines up against eight fleshy humans who were nowhere near as strong. Sure, all of you were faster than them, but how could you dodge or run in such a narrow hallway? You were doomed from the start.
Well, not you specifically.
Seungcheol had shoved you to the back toward Mingyu, promising to keep you safe. So your friends all died in front of you, and all you could do was stand there and watch in horror.
That’s when Bongbong closed in on you.
“I got the--!”
Mingyu’s exclamation of finally getting the door open was cut off by Bongbong’s arm swinging out and clotheslining him into the wall and cutting off his oxygen. 
The attack that was meant for you, but you had ducked underneath.
The light flooded into the corridor, and just like that, the animatronics just shut down. The light turned off in their eyes, and they were frozen with their hands reaching out for you.
Except Bongbong’s arm that was now frozen in place, keeping Mingyu strangled against the wall. 
You could hear Mingyu gasping for air as you slowly opened your eyes that you’d squeezed shut when you ducked. You looked up and saw the animatronics were lifeless now, and then you shot up and turned to try to help Mingyu. You pulled and pulled on Bongbong’s arm while you had to watch Mingyu slowly die. It was like watching a movie in slow motion, the way his body went limp and the life drained from his eyes. Still, you stood there and sobbed and told him you’d free him as you continued to pull uselessly at the animatronic.
When it finally set in that you didn’t stand a chance, you ran out the back parking lot where the door opened to. You ran out of the park and to your car -- which was still parked near the other 3 that belonged to your friends that were no longer with you -- and drove off toward home with tears still streaming down your face.
The clock on your car radio said 6:08am.
[GO TO ENDING A]
»»————-  ————-««
23 -- B
“The door’s useless!” you cried. “We’re not going to just turn our backs and die. That’s not how I wanna go out.”
Nobody had any faith, but they knew you were right. Laying down and dying after all of this wasn’t worth it. If you died, at least you would die fighting.
But you should’ve known what would happen. Four giant machines up against nine fleshy humans who were nowhere near as strong. Sure, all of you were faster than them, but how could you dodge or run in such a narrow hallway? You were doomed from the start.
Seungcheol had shoved you to the back toward the door that wouldn’t open, promising to keep you safe. So your friends all died in front of you, and all you could do was stand there and watch in horror.
That’s when Bongbong closed in on you.
[GO TO ENDING B]
»»————-  ————-««
23 -- C
“The door will work!” you swore “Like the basement, remember? Just keep trying!”
Sure, this was different in the way that you had to pull and not push, but it had to give eventually, right?
You continued to face the animatronics that were now starting to close in on all of you. Seungcheol tried to squeeze in besided Mingyu, grabbing the handle and pulling with him. Jihoon crawled between Mingyu’s legs and stood in between the taller boy’s arms, both of his hands wrapped around the handle and tugging with everything he had.
You moved to put yourself in front of your friends. You got all of them into this mess, so you deserved to be the first to die.
As Bongbong closed in on you, you closed your eyes.
“_____--!”
The darkness you saw behind your eyelids suddenly seemed brighter, and you felt a gust of wind from behind you.
There was a couple seconds of silence.
“Holy shit,” Minghao breathed.
You opened one eye just enough to see Bongbong’s face just inches from yours. But...why were the lights in its eyes off?
You opened your eye wider. Then the other one. Its arm was only a hair away from you, but it made no move to actually touch you. There was also light flooding into the corridor from behind you. You whipped your head around to see the door was open, and you looked back at four animatronics. Were they off now?
“Oh my god,” you sighed in a shaky voice, taking a step backward toward the door.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Wonwoo said as he grabbed your hand and all but dragged you out the door.
The door opened to the back of the parking lot. All of you ran as fast as you could toward your cars, only stopping at the hood of the closest one to catch your breath. Seungcheol pulled out his phone.
“It’s 6am,” he reported.
“Maybe that’s why the door didn’t open,” Wonwoo panted, hands on his knees.
“I don’t care to speculate,” Jihoon said as he went to get into one of the four cars. “Take me the fuck home.”
[GO TO ENDING C]
»»————-  ————-««
ENDING A 
You weren’t sure what to do about the texts from the group chat when you got home. You swore everyone was dead. You watched them die in front of you.
Soonyoung said he was tripping balls the whole night.
Jeonghan agreed, saying he was sure there was something in the air making them hallucinate.
Even Jihoon was saying something weird had happened that night, because he thought he saw everyone die.
So...maybe they were right?
But when you inevitably went to school Halloween day, something didn’t seem right. Maybe it was because you hadn’t slept all night and you were drained in every sense, or maybe it was because you were convinced all of your friends had died right before your very eyes, but everything felt...off. At least, your friends did. It was their smiles and their voices and their hugs and laughs and promises that everything was fine, but something about it seemed alien to you. 
Maybe it was from how emotionally and mentally drained you were, and the fact you didn’t get any sleep, but you swore there was an odd glow to their eyes that wasn’t just the glimmer of the florescents.
And why did Junhui wink at you?
[YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS ESCAPED FROM CARATLAND...OR DID THEY?]
»»————-  ————-««
ENDING B
Get dressed.
Brush your teeth.
Brush your hair.
Go downstairs and converse with your parents.
Drive to school.
Say hello to your friends.
Laugh at what Soonyoung said.
Promise to walk to class with Seokmin and Seungcheol after you go to the bathroom.
Go into the bathroom.
Use the mirror to fix your outfit.
Use your fingers to brush through your hair one more time.
A light reflects off the mirror.
You are the only one in the bathroom.
[NONE OF YOU ESCAPED FROM CARATLAND BUT SOMETHING ELSE DID]
»»————-  ————-««
ENDING C
(NOTE: i know some people might’ve only had josh die while other had more people die. so this part will mention multiple people who didn’t make it home but i will only mention josh by name. sorry if it seems kind of confusing)
You didn’t even want to go back home after everything that happened. But you needed to shower and change, so you dropped your friends off before going home. After getting out of the shower, you checked your phone. Your heart dropped and your stomach was doing flips at what it saw.
One series of texts was from a group chat that was all of the people you were positive made it home from Caratland. All of them were wondering what the fuck was going on.
The other was the original group chat, with a text from Joshua asking if everyone made it home okay. It made a shiver go down your spine. How could he be texting? He died.
Those that had died started having a conversation about hallucinating, insisting something weird must’ve been in the air to make everyone trip and see things that didn’t actually happen. Nobody knew if it was possible. Minghao suggested that at this point, anything was possible. But still, why did all of you have the same hallucination?
The group decided it was best to ignore the message.
When Wonwoo offered to give you a ride to school, you said yes.
The two of you walked to homeroom together and saw the usual group of your friends sitting at the left side of the classroom. But seeing the friends you thought had died now just sitting there like nothing happened made your skin crawl. You wanted to turn around and walk out.
Wonwoo squeezed your hand and continued forward.
You sat and chatted with the group, and everyone seemed to be dancing around the fact that things were...weird. Maybe it was because you hadn’t slept all night and you were drained in every sense, or maybe it was because you were convinced all of your friends had died right before your very eyes, but everything felt...off. At least, your friends did. It was their smiles and their voices and their hugs and laughs and promises that everything was fine, but something about it seemed alien to you.
Maybe it was from how emotionally and mentally drained you were, and the fact you didn’t get any sleep, but you swore there was an odd glow to their eyes that wasn’t just the glimmer of the fluorescents.
And why did Joshua wink at you?
[YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS ESCAPED FROM CARATLAND...OR DID THEY?]
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Let Chaos Reign
Chapter 4- People Of Earth
Summary: On the run from the Avengers in your search for a way off Earth, you meet some mortal annoyances along the way until a certain blue eyed human is able to find you wandering in the forest. But can he convince you to come back to the Avenger’s base with him?
Warning: action, blood, fighting, Bucky doing his best, slight fluff
Masterlist - Chapter 3
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So Bucky had been thinking.
If finding Y/N was only as easy as looking at her red dot on the tracker, then damn, he could just teleport to her no problem. Unfortunately the worlds technology hasn't yet reached Star Trek technological advancements, nor can he teleport. It's been a long hectic couple days trying to find her which is starting to drive Bucky up a wall, how is she so sneaky? He can literally see her location at all times but yet she's evaded him at all costs without even trying, she doesn't even know a tracker is attached to the inside of her jacket.
And the team, they haven't been much help at all. They've decided to listen to Fury's orders and stay clear of Bucky's mission when it comes to finding the escaped demigod and bringing her back to the Avenger's base. A lot of help they are. At least Steve checks in for updates when he's not getting pulled into a training session by any particular person of the hour. Maybe the tracker doesn't even work. Maybe?
No, it's Stark made. It has to work, this problem is simply Y/N.
Bucky pulls off to the side of the road near a little park in some rural town way outside of New York City where he knows Y/N went through not even twenty-three hours ago. He opens his door, slamming it shut in frustration before taking in a big breath of fresh air. The day is slightly overcast yet he doesn't appear to mind it at all, having the hot sun blaring down upon him never feels very pleasant. Then again, maybe he's just more familiar with colder temperatures.
A crow flies down across the vacant road from him, it ignores Bucky as it jumps onto the road in order to pick at some road kill of a dead flattened squirrel. Bucky reverts his gaze when his eyes soon land upon a bent wooden telephone line further up the road where it looks like a car ran right into it. Wanting to stretch his legs for a bit and feed into his curiosity, Bucky jogs across the street and over to the area of flattened grass and wood splinters.
He observes the wreckage. Its just as he saw from farther away, a splintered post with pieces of wood spread across the grass from the impact. A couple glass chunks shimmer in the few rays of sunlight peeking out from behind the clouds. There are tire marks imprinted into the mudded ground leading up to the post, he crouches down to get a better look at the source of impact.
A dog barks in the background, its legs getting closer and closer to Bucky until a wet slobbery nose finds its way onto Bucky's right arm. The face of a golden retriever greets him as a young man races to the spot looking very embarrassed.
"Trout! Get away from the man, be nice! Be nice! He might not want your kisses!" He shouts desperately, "Trout!"
Bucky pets the friendly dog while his owner runs to their spot before standing to greet him, "He's fine, don't worry about it."
The red faced man smiles shyly, "I'm so sorry. He gets so excited whenever there's a stranger around I just don't understand it."
Bucky shakes his head, "It's fine, really. I like dogs."
The dog sniffs around Bucky's boots before sniffing the skid marks, "Oh I'm Gio by the way, sorry about my boy Trout. I love him but he can be a lot."
"Hi." Mutters Bucky, "I'm James."
"Nice to meet you..oh..Trout drop that piece of wood you nucklehead it's sharp!" The dog stops before dropping the wood, it starts sniffing around the grounds again. Gio looks at Bucky, "It's too bad what happened here, just last night too. Thank God nobody died! It's just unfortunate."
"What happened?"
Gio nods towards the splintered pole, "Some nutcase ran out in front of the guy driving and then bam, he just swerved to miss 'em and ended up totaling his car and getting a bruised collar bone. He's my neighbor. Poor guy, never got a proper look at the idiot who did it either so there's no one to blame."
Bucky's brows furrow, "No one saw who ran in front of your friend?"
Gio stops a second to think harder on the matter, "Hmm...okay wait a second Nick did say this person moved like faster then a frickin' deer. They were here one second and gone the next, right into the woods."
"Where is Nick now? Is he okay?"
"Oh yeah he's fine, just chillin' in his hospital bed for another day until his headache goes away. Guess he also got a concussion or something, some shit luck I tell you."
"Thank you, I gotta go." Says Bucky quickly before turning on his heels and jogging across the street. Leaving a very confused Gio to go run after his dog again.
There's a hefty possibility that Y/N had absolutely nothing to do with anything surrounding that crash, however, Bucky has to know. He pulls into the Westonville Hospital before Winter Soldier sneaking his way inside and now here he stands on the other side of the door to Nick's room, 213. He knocks, a man answers and says to come in, Bucky does. Shutting the door right after.
The man lays upright in bed, sipping on a juice box as he quickly locks eyes with Bucky. "Hello." Says the twenty-something year old, "You a nurse?"
Bucky could have laughed, "No. Just here to ask you a couple questions."
"Listen man, the police already got my statement. I wasn't drunk...nor on anything at the time. I don't do that shit while driving, I wanna stay alive okay?"
"Right." Mutters Bucky, "I just want to know if you saw this person who caused you to wreck."
He eyes Bucky suspiciously, "Dude are you with the FBI or something? Cause the police think I just saw a deer but I'm telling you it wasn't a deer okay?"
"What was it then?"
The man looks from the door then back to Bucky, he makes a waving motion for him to walk closer, "Dude, this was some lady. She was so fast I never even saw her till she was almost road kill...then....and you're not gonna believe me....then I swear to God, she pushed my car." Whispers Nick before nodding, "Dude that's how I went into the pole, she pushed me and I lost control and BAM! Right into a pole. Asshole, my damn car is fucked."
"Do you know what she looked like?" Nick then proceeds to give an accurate description of you and all your beautiful chaotic-ness, who's apparently still not very fond of human transportation vehicles.  
Bucky then glances from Nick still rambling about you and what a dickhead you must be, to the window showing the woods and half a parking lot. He can't let you escape him again, you might end up killing someone next time and that absolutely cannot happen.
——
Stupid men! Stupid humans getting in your way! These people are irritating and bothersome, all you wanted was to search for the Ancient One in peace. All you want is to find her and get the fuck off this planet so you can confront your brother and...
"Miss are you okay?" A scratchy voice speaks to you from the car to your left, you turn your head to meet the face of a young woman looking at you with kind eyes, "You need a ride?"
"No."
She gives you a look, your appearance is admittedly more roughed up then you would like, but it's been a rough couple days since your last shower and you're technically on the run from Earth's Avengers. "You sure? I got room in here, and a nice place to stay with food and a shower too. Just tryna be nice to someone who looks like they could use a hand." You look like you could use a hand to the face.
Your brows furrow, she reeks of too much perfume and something else, "What kind of food?" You technically do need a ride and this may be your only chance to get one somewhere away from this place in the middle of nowhere. Also a place to stay for the night would be admittedly very nice considering you've been sleeping in trees and behind people's sheds.
Her eyes light up in surprise, "Anything you want. Just tell me and I got you."
"Good."
She unlocks the door, "Come on in. I'm Ava by the way. Nice to meet you, now I hope you don't mind but back at my place I got a couple roommates. But don't worry they come and go, they won't bother you I promise." You don't believe her, but hop in next to her anyways. She looks like she could use a better friend then whoever she stays with. You can smell at least one of them on her.
She gives you a strange faltering smile when you take notice of a nose piercing; she wears a jacket and jeans, although an odd tattoo showing off some line of numbers keeps itself on her right wrist hidden by some colorful bracelets. All in all she is an attractive woman. But her car is no better then her person, the scent is vulgar and repulsive but you're admittedly too hungry to care. Too much perfume.
The ride to her apartment complex takes about twenty minutes, in this time Ava has explained to you how her favorite food, chicken alfredo, is made. She also won't stop looking at the long mirror above your heads, it's like something keeps drawing her attention but there's nothing behind the car of any important significance. Maybe that's just a human thing?
Eventually she takes a couple turns that passes more street stores, houses, and apartments until she drives near a gas station and takes a left for an apartment building of reddish brick that looks like a shitty castle.
It's nestled within the town, with its rear to a small park, oddly enough she claims you can see the city from the roof. Getting out, you watch as she shuts her door before jogging to the back and pulling out a couple groceries. "Oh hey there, can you get the waters, there's like three packs here but we can come back for them later."
You quickly walk to the back of her trunk and lean down to pick up all three waters with ease, her eyes go big, "Oh wow..okay yeah, that'll work." She shuts the back, you begin following her across the parking lot. Stomach growling.
Her wary eyes fall onto you, "So uh, you lift?"
"No."
She nods, "Cool cool, uh you from around here?"
"No."
"Okay cool, I am, well not originally...I was actually from Arizona but then I ran away when I was thirteen because my home life was pretty shit and then I met my boyfriend Jed and he took me here and..." Her face shifts into a frown before it regains it's half smile once more, "Doesn't matter now I guess, it's not fantastic here...with him. But I got a place to stay and a roof over my head and he gets me anything I want really. So it's not so bad."
You can't help but feel somethings not right with her, and this bothers you deeply, "So uh, how's your lover? Jed."
She frowns, "Oh he's nice....I wouldn't say lover I guess....and he's kinda older then me but it's fine really. You might see him, he comes and goes yunno?"
She opens the glass doors for you to walk inside, the area smells of stale air and smoke, "How old?"
She purses her lips together, "Not that much older, I'm seventeen he's just a little above that. But it works for us, he's got me a nice place and he loves me so that's nice." Her smile falters, you can tell something isn't right here but can't quite place your finger on it.
Ava keeps silent for the rest of the trek upstairs until she leads you down a long hallway to a tall white door reading A8 on the front, a small glass porthole in the center. She gets her keys out, "Try not to touch anything, he doesn't like messes okay? Just uh, follow me okay, he might have a friend here."
"Alright then. Proceed." She gives a little nod before unlocking the door and opening it up to reveal a large apartment as clean as a button, with the exception of a few tall thin glass bottles empty of all liquid laying on the short glass table in the lounging area. A large screen is on showcasing something of little importance to you.
Ava sets the groceries on the kitchen counter before racing over to the short table, "Oh sorry about the mess, please just set the waters down by the trash can. Give me a moment." You look down to find a tall thin metal can, doesn't look like a trash can but you set the three cases of water down anyways.
Standing in the middle of her kitchen she hastily rushes in to drop the bottles in the trash can, "I'll put the stuff away, do you-do you want anything?"
"Whatever gives me enough strength to continue on my journey."
"Right. Yeah okay uh we got," She opens up the fridge, "we got some burritos from last night. And fruit....a lot of beer....you don't want that. Here, I'll heat this up for you okay." She shuts the fridge and takes the assumed burrito to another square object hanging from the wall. She pops open the door before placing the food inside and shutting it.
She turns it on. "What is that device?" You ask a sit makes a strange vacuum sound.
She raises a brow, "A microwave." Voice on the tinge of humor, the microwave beeps and she soon opens it back up. "Here ya go! It's a day old so don't worry, still fresh."
She hands it to you, you look down at the warm thing wrapped in a brown paper, "Appreciated."
Your meal is well received and admittedly pretty delicious, once finished do you walk over to the giant glass window to have a look outside, you can see the tops of many trees and farther away across the greenery lays a city just as Ava had spoken of.
Maybe the Ancient One resides somewhere in there, hidden, but within the ginormous labyrinth of steel, cement, and glass. Farther down the hallway a door swings open and the pattering of bare feet is heard walking down the tiled floors of shiny white. This place really is clean, like a small palace for the mortals.
The man stops at the end of the halls archway though you don't care to look at him, "Ava who's the bitch over there? I thought Jed wasn't buying anymore for a few weeks." Whispers the man to the kind woman, Ava, who stands frozen in the kitchen.
You immediately don't like him, but stay your ground to listen, she whispers back, "She's a friend. Needed somewhere to stay for a day or so."
He walks over to her, "He's gonna be pissed when he sees your new friend here. If she's not here to sell, get her the fuck out before your man comes home tonight."
"Tonight?"
"Yeah tonight. His trip to Vegas ended yesterday, he's on his way. Don't you know how time works?"
She shakes her head, "Guess I just forgot is all. I'll make sure she's gone."
He looks over to give you a proper once over, you can hear his heartbeat quicken, "Not too bad either. Nice ass, she looks good..real good, it's a damn shame she's not here to stay for the fun. I wouldn't mind a couple of rounds with her myself."
Your fists clench, you've had enough of this jabbering animal, "Oh really?" You turn around to watch as his eyes go wide when they take notice of the golden color of your irises, "What filth you spill off of that thing you call a mouth is repulsive and disgusting. Who are you may I ask?"
He quickly retains his swagger once again, he takes a step forward, "I'm Jed's right hand man, Antonio, I run this bitch when he's away and I don't like how you're talking to me."
"I'm not entirely fond of your existence. Leave us, I want to speak with Ava alone."
Antonio's face shows bewildered rejection, "Excuse me?"
You take a threatening step forward, "I don't believe my tongue slipped. You heard me correctly. Leave." He keeps still as a statue, mind still processing your words. Clearly no on had ever bothered to talk to him like this before.
He blinks and points a hand up for emphasis, "No whore tells me what I can and can't do in my own goddamn house!" He immediately rushes past Ava to grab something under the kitchen bar.
She gasps in surprise, "Tony no! Don't do this! Put it away she didn't mean it, she doesn't I swear! I swear!"
He walks back around to shove her into the couch, "Shut up." He throws up his arm to reveal a black hand held object that could be nothing else but a small gun, you stare at it in curiosity, expression interested and unfazed.
He doesn't like that, he tilts the gun at you angrily, "What's up now huh! You ain't telling me to do nothin' I run this fucker up in here! So you're gonna fuckin' listen to me you whore! I'll fu.." Antonio's body stiffens, his eyes go wide as saucers when he realizes he's not able to move, not able to speak.
Hands kept to your sides, you curl the fingers of your right hand to bloodbend this imbecile. Moving this hand to the right, Antonio's grasp is forced open and the gun clatters to the floor. "What are you doing!?" Shouts Ava fearfully.
"Teaching a dog a lesson."
Curling the fingers of your other hand, Antonio is forced to walk in staggered painful steps across the carpet at your will, Ava gasps in fright as she watches your little horror show. "Men don't treat their people like animals, you want to act like a beast. Then you'll be one."
His throat makes a dry crackly sound as he tries to scream when you move your hands to orchestrate a new action, Antonio is forced to his knees where he crawls like a dog across the clean carpet. A frightened man he becomes, his movements choppy and forced, body awkward and stiff as he moves on all fours. Proud of your work, you walk over to the man and crouch down to reach his level, "You see, the universe has created us all for a reason. Whether we are powerful or not, that control we have can be taken as it can be given."
He mumbles a reply that cannot be heard properly even by your hears.
"You know of your power?" He shakes his head as you smirk, "Your strength is built from fear and hatred. That is no way to find your place in the world, that is how tyrants lead."
Drool runs down the side of his mouth as his eyes look up to you pleadingly. "Stop it! You're hurting him!" Shouts Ava.
You give Antonio a pitiful look, "I know. And this creature deserves more then I'm willing him to do, but because you've gained my respect. I will release him." Standing, you flick your hands and Antonio is released from your trance. He coughs and sputters in a curled up heap on the floor like a beaten old dog.
"Pathetic." You mutter dryly as Ava breaths heavily from the couch.
"Wh-what are you?" She whispers, "Are you a witch?"
"No. But I am someone who is done with this place." You give her a respectful tilt of your head, "Ava, I thank you for your hospitality, but I must leave." She watches as you take one last look around the room before walking towards the closed door. Turning the handle you're prepared to exit when she screams. "Antonio no!"
Boom!
The bullet stops three inches from the back of your head, whipping around to face your assailant, he fires two more rounds as you halt the bullets in their tracks. He registers what's happening and quickly chooses to pull the trigger again. As a plethora of steel flies your way, you raise an open palm that causes them all to freeze in place.
The room goes deathly silent before Antonio takes a single step and you've sent all five bullets straight through his vulnerable flesh. Blood flies across the walls as he slumps to the ground while Ava gasps in terror, too afraid to make a sound.
You frown, gaze set on Ava, "I'm sorry I had to do this in front of you. He gave me no choice, but I think this loss will not be mourned over." Your golden eyes flicker back down at the bullet ridden body, "A quick death is more then he deserved. So long Ava, be brave."
The door opens.
"What the fuck happened here?!" Speaks a man most certainly in his late thirties as he sets something on the ground, "Who's this bitch?"
Ava's expression shifts to fear as you let out a tired sigh, eyes set to the man you know as Jed, "An old friend." ——
Crouched down by a river, you rub off flecks of blood that dissipate into the murky water like forgotten memories. You just wanted to eat and rest a while as you gathered your thoughts. But here you are, you've killed two humans and have damaged a couple busses in the process of it all. Not to mention that one car the other night...at least that man kept his life.
This realm is complicated and busy, there's not enough wilderness to hide in and there are certainly too many prying eyes that can catch you with their small square devices easier then you'd like. Thankfully Ava had not seen your rampage on the internet so she wasn't able to instantly recognize you. Then again you weren't wearing your armor.
However your eye color certainly doesn't aid you in finding a way into the city close by, that's still too far for your liking, people will undoubtedly stare. At this point you don't trust a single soul, and anyone close enough to see your face would most likely report you to the authorities in an instant.
Your goal has been thwarted one too many times and that shit does not fly with you one bit. Find the Ancient One, have her open a portal to your realm, and from there kick your brothers ass. It's all very simple, well at least it should be. Stupid Midgardians.
Hrrrrr Hrrrrrrrr! A loud horn blares from within the woods to your back right, twisting around and standing at attention, your fists emit flame when a huge lumbering mass of metal rolls through the trees practically making the ground shake.
It sounds like a tiny thunderstorm, you've never seen anything like it except for when you where in Norway but that vehicle was significantly smaller and less loud. "God this place is insufferable." You mutter, annoyed by the less then peaceful atmosphere of Midgard.
So far you've evaded the watchful eyes of the Avengers for the past three days and have gotten nowhere on your quest for vengeance. And now this thing just adds to your stirred up pot of frustration.
Taking a breath, you decide to wander through the trees until you've found the tracks where that metal vessel was drawing its power from, oddly enough the steel bars attached to plates of wood does not give off energy. Strange.
Figuring it must be the vehicle itself, you sway your mind from pondering the idea as your thoughts drift to that of home and the necklace hidden around your neck. This valued object was your dying mother's, a heirloom of your linage, and a damn powerful piece of jewelry.
But your brother and his wicked ideas, he wanted to use it for his grant thoughts of tyranny and power over the nine realms. A fool, no one could ever claim such a feat, no place needs rules like such from one being calling all the shots. It's madness.
It's insane.
Shaking your head, you keep following down the tracks as you listen to the sounds of cars in the far off distance. Birds chirp and flutter by while minding their business in the forest, although you could have sworn you heard a soft thud in the dirt behind you. A shuffle of stones maybe?
A deer perhaps? No, this is no deer; halting your trek to the city, you place your hands upon your hips before slowly turning around, "I'd expected as much. You are a clever man after all....Bucky."
The dark haired man greets you with a shy grin as he stands there off to the side of the tracks, dressed in casual attire like that when you saw him in Norway. He seems genuinely happy to see you, "I wish I could stay away." Replies Bucky in a playful tone, "But you've killed two human traffickers and I gotta make sure you don't hurt anyone else. Even if they deserve it."
You scoff, "I could end your life right now if I wanted to, kill all your friends next and then burn this world to ash and dust trying to get what I want. No matter the cowards I've killed."
He shrugs, "That sounds harsh. I'd rather you didn't actually, kinda like being alive." He's such a smartass in the best way, yet you hold back a smile to keep your noble aurora about you.
"Fair point I suppose. This Earth may be greatly flawed, but I have no qualms with the people here but that of my own business."
"Right. Your own business, finding the Ancient One and dealing with your brother and all that stuff." Nods Bucky, "Y/N, you know we could help you..."
"I don't need it! I'll find my way through this planet myself.  Alone!" You shout, causing the trees to creak and moan from a surplus of wind that blows Bucky's hair about. He knows what you're capable of, but he has to try and persuade you anyways.
He looks almost apprehensive to approach you, "Y/N please. I know we all got off on the wrong foot, probably by a lot. But my friends are good people, we want to help you find what you're looking for. I promise you that." Says Bucky with a pleading look, "No lies. I promise."
You give him a conflicted glare as you think of your options; he found you somehow, he legitimately wants to help, and you desperately need a way off this damn planet. Maybe they do know a way, maybe they'll actually be able to help you, maybe Bucky is truthful?
He goes to take a step forward when you throw a hand out, "Stop." He keeps still as you take a breath, "Bucky, you give me your word?"
"I do."
"Promise!"
Raising his hands up, he gives you a sincere look, "I promise Y/N."
Taking a long moment to think over his words, you finally nod, "Good." He watches as you walk across the tracks until you're within a couple feet of him, he swallows, unsure if you might have just lied and are about to set him on fire. Instead he's relieved when you gift him a tight lipped grin, "Fine then, let us leave this place."
"Awesome.....yeah, okay good...well I'm parked back that way. We can just walk on the tracks instead of through the woods. Easier that way." He takes a couple steps back the way you came, when you don't move does Bucky stop and reach a hand out for you to take, "I'm not going to hurt you Y/N, I promised I'd help you remember?"
"I haven't forgotten." You quickly answer him.
"Good because I intend to keep it." He smiles softly, beautiful stormy blues focused all on you with a gloved hand ready for you to take.
You shake your head before walking past him, "Fine but I'm not shaking your hand."
Bucky chuckles to himself as he watches you practically swagger down the side of the tracks away from him. Quickly does he break from his staring trance to jog over to your side. The two of you walk for a little ways in complete silence until you glance over at him when your curiosity gets the better of you. There's just one tiny question you still need answered, "Well, how'd you find me?"
Bucky holds back a grin, "Your pocket." He points down towards your jackets pocket. Giving him a look of confusion, you reach down and feel inside for whatever he's on about, suddenly your fingers touch something round and metal attached to the inside wall.
Taking a hold of this odd device, you tug it loose before bringing your hand into the open, "What the hell is this?" You ask.
Bucky reaches out to take the object from you, he holds it up, "This. Is a tracker."
"That thing? It's like a thick coin, how does it manage to do such a feat?"
"Technology, radio waves. It's not my design, but with it I was able to follow where you went. Granted you're more elusive with your traveling then I'd first realized, but it did it's job...and now I'm here."
"Yes, now you're here. Maybe you really are braver then I first thought, or just a plain fool. I could have stuck to my word and killed you." You snap your fingers, "Just like that."
He chuckles, "I had a feeling you wouldn't."
"Oh really? What made you assume I would be merciful?"
"When we met for the first time in Norway, and later at the base. You didn't hurt me, well I guess I should say you didn't try and squeeze the life out of me. Or set me on fire.."
"I set your jacket on fire." You point out as he smiles.
"You did. I liked that jacket too." Muses Bucky, "Still, you let me live both times. Even let my friends live too, Y/N, I don't think you're so bad at all."
You hum in thought, "Your words are kind and humbling. But I do not feel worthy of such claims." He has no idea who you are, what you've done. So much he doesn't know.
Bucky frowns, "Why not?"
"I have done nothing but add more chaos to this realm with my existence here, I have been betrayed and for that I was filled with rage taken out on innocent people living their lives. I want to be worthy of what you say I am, but I am not." His heart hurts at your valiantly honest words, if only he could understand completely.
"Believe me Y/N, you aren't nearly as bad as you think you are. There's been way worse people throughout history here before you ever showed up."
"I believe your words though my personal occurrence's chance to lessen these people compared to what I have done centuries ago. Do not misinterpret all of what I speak, I understand there are always beings harming others for their own sick pleasure, however I did not frighten for enjoyment. Quite the opposite."
He could just about give up his metal arm forever just to know what the hell you're talking about. What kind of life did you live before all of this? Bucky soon takes out a small square device with his one gloved hand, "I trust your word on that. And hopefully we're able to help you...I just gotta get us a ride out of here first." He turns on a black screen and slides his finger across to unlock, "I have where I parked pin pointed via another tracker."
"You don't recall where you've come from?"
"Yeah, I mean no..no, I do remember the direction I came in, it's just I was running so fast to find you I forget exactly where my car is. Don't worry this will only take a moment."
Holding back a grin at the way he muddles around on that screen of his, you divert your gaze elsewhere to look around at the trees and other various greenery spread about as usual on a planet such as this one. It's fascinating, almost like that of your home world in Vanaheim. How you miss that place. The vast mountains spread throughout the landscape, huge lumbering trees taller then the cellphone towers you've passed, and great skies of blue where dragons fly at will.
Suddenly a stick cracks in the trees to your right, you turn while Bucky pays little attention, a crow flies out and into the blue sky it goes. Easy now, just a bird, nothing more. The wind picks up for a second and you can almost catch the scent of sulfur when a ball of fire erupts from the trees ready to kill.
The spherical flame screams towards you and Bucky, who's by now dropped his phone onto the tracks, "Y/N watch out!" He shouts fearfully, hand gripping onto your shoulder as you keep a strong fearless stance to the approaching flame.
Throwing a hand out, you divert the ball into the gravel where it bursts like a small firework, rocks flying everywhere as you stand at the ready for whatever happens next. "Y/N! What the hell was that!" Shouts Bucky.
"A scout. I think one of my brother's loyalists found me."
"A scou..." Another ball of flame soars towards the two of you and then another right behind it as you maneuver your body to deflect each of them in quick succession when out of the scorched trees does a smirking woman reveal herself. Her smile is proud and wicked, taller then Bucky she stands and impeccably strong she appears.
She wears armor closely resembling your own, but instead of blues, silver, and white. Her armor is black and red, silver replaced with shimmering obsidian as she walks into the evening light. Her eyes flicker gold like your own, she tilts her head at you, "Princess Y/N of Vanaheim. An honor to meet you, truly." She bows with mockery, you immediately despise her.
"What dog is this who speaks to me?"
She grimaces, "Aüla, master of flame, Phoenix of Vanaheim, I am here to bring what stolen jewelry lays upon your neck. What belongs to King Leyondros." She points a sharp nailed finger to your neck, "That, is a house Lavpranthus family heirloom."
"You think I was born yesterday? That incompetent tyrant who dare claim himself as king does not deserve what treasure I possess. He is barely a brother to me now, and you, what business do you serve?"
She smirks, gifting Bucky with a wink as she wiggles her fingers with flame, "He's sent his best out to find your whereabouts since he's exiled you. I just happened to be lucky enough to land on Midgard where wouldn't you know it, here keeps the banished Princess herself. I couldn't be more fortunate." She opens up her palm like a needy child, "Now Y/N, the object I so desire."
"You will die trying."
She holds up a threatening fist of hot flame, "I will be bathed in riches! I will be loved! King Leyondros will welcome his champion with open arms as I present him with the necklace stolen by his traitor sister! With grand tidings of her annihilation!"
You share a dark look with Aüle as you step in front of Bucky, "I do not care to know what bargaining from the beasts of this realm you made to find me. And I certainly do not care for the false promises my brother has warped into your mind, you cannot take my life and you cannot have this necklace."
She calls flame into both hands, "Then I'll take it off your burnt corpse!" She thrusts her hands forward causing a burst of hot orange flames to shoot like dragon fire straight for yourself and Bucky.
Anticipating this action, you create a wall of your own fire that shatters her advances, you turn to the wide eyed brunette, "Bucky forgive me for not handling this sooner. I hadn't realized she was here."
"It's fine." Mumbles Bucky, chest rising and falling with heavy breaths as he stares fearfully at the angry woman spewing fire at you still.
Focused back on Aüla, she suddenly begins creating whips of flame that crack and slash at the air. She throws a whip towards Bucky but you're able to deflect it easily, in retaliation of her advances, you thrust a burst of dusty wind knocking her backwards.
She tumbles across the gravel like a discarded sack of potatoes, jumping gracefully down from the high point of the tracks, you land nearby this hellfire spawn who staggers to her feet. Rubbing the dust from out of her eyes, she coughs, "Foul play Princess, I should have guessed you'd cheap shot."
"You still believe you're leaving here with my necklace?"
Leaving her charcoal stained eyes be, she opens her palms to flame, "Well I certainly don't intend on perishing at your hand. I will get what I came for."
You throw a quizzical look, is she insane? Not wanting to ponder her mental stability, you use the gravel to crawl it up to her knees where it fuses and roots itself into the ground, she flails her arms trying to regain balance. Angered by this, Aüla clenches her fists, tightly hugging them to her chest as she concentrates.
A small orange glow emits from the center of her chest before she screams while opening her arms to the sky and with that her whole body erupts with flame like that of a Phoenix reborn. Tree branches and leaves alike are burnt and singed nearby while her anchor is melted.  Aüla levitates freely now, body a mass of hot flames as she stares furiously down at you with eyes of black charcoal.
"Behold the Phoenix! Now you will obey by law of the one true king!" Fire is thrown like thin arrows towards your face, again, easily deflected into the gravel below.
She chuckles darkly, thrusting a hand of intense flame that causes you to fall backwards across the ground. Pushing yourself up by the pads of your hands, she takes this vulnerable moment to race after Bucky with wings of fire.
Face contorted like a melted candle, her arms open wide as she prepares to embrace Bucky to the flames. Jumping up, you bend your arms, moving them in opposite directions on a linear path to conjure some type of protection. Aüla slams into an enchanted force field of dark blues that sends her flailing backwards like a bursting firework.
Regaining her balance, she levitates, scowling in disgust, "You? Would protect this mortal man?"
Your gaze falls onto Bucky, he's standing there, expression fearful and wide as he looks at you desperately. You take a step forward, "I will."
"But why? He is nothing compared to you, to us, he's simply an insect on a leaf."
"He is someone who has showed me more kindness in the last couple days then some of my own people have in the past hundred years!" You shout furiously before using your magic to paralyze her like you did with Wanda and Vision.
She struggles to move but all efforts are unfruitful, "Do not! Don't. You. Dare!" She screams as you take another fearless step towards her, raising your hands in a beautiful fluid motion, her obsidian irises flash with terror.
"Aüla, Phoenix of Vanaheim, I admire your efforts and valor. But I am not so merciful when my life as been threatened, as someone of these nine realms with some type of authority still. I, Y/N Lavpranthus of Vanaheim, condemn you to die." Your golden eyes flash with a noble flair of judgment while your hands sway like subtle waves on a beach.
"No. No. Nooo..." Her screams are eradicated when a burst of water consumes her entire vessel, she sizzles and smokes as you draw the river water away to reveal nothing but discarded broken armor. She never even noticed you were doing this.
As a plethora of water dissipates into steam from where she once stood, more liquid fills through the cracks in the gravel while you slowly wander over to the dark spot stained onto the center tracks. Kneeling down, you pick up an obsidian gauntlet cracked down the middle curve. "Who was that?" Asks Bucky from behind you.
"One of my brothers scouts. His best fire-bender.." You study the intricate markings that dance like vines around the metalwork, "..a phoenix in human form."
There is a long pause before he asks, "Why are you being hunted Y/N?"
You sigh, head bowed to the earth, "It's a long story."
Bucky frowns down at you, he's not sure what to do, but he knows you're deeply troubled by whatever events have led you to this point. A comforting hand rests upon your shoulder, "You don't have to tell me now. But I think we should go."
Dropping the broken gauntlet onto the dark stained wood, you stand, "Perhaps you're right. Who knows what else lurks in the shadows waiting to pounce. I'd rather not have you injured on my behalf."
Bucky shares a lopsided grin, "Appreciated. Now come on, I know the way home." Directs Bucky as the two of you begin walking down the tracks for wherever he speaks of.
Maybe these people aren't as bad as you'd first thought, unfortunately there are still evils that are desperate to find you. Until that time comes again.
-
Tagged:  @buckylokisimp​ @diegos-butt​ @minigranger​ @bibliophilewednesday​ @holyhumorliteraturelight​ @lilacs-lavender​  @a-girl-who-loves-disney​ @bizarrebibitch​ @starkssnarks​ @vikingqueen28​ @jmstz​ @thehornytitties​ @staygoldsquatchling02​ @cleverzonkwombatsludge​ @mischiefmanaged71​​ @noragracebrewer​   @atomicpersonacheesecake  @thescarlettvvitch @shawnartmendes​
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bvidzsoo · 3 years
Text
Poison (Finale)
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 Author: bvidzsoo
 Pairing: Kim Mingyu x female reader
 Warning: swearing, drinking, smut, violence, blood, death
 Word count: 21, 357
 Summary: Sana seems to be all up in your business lately, snooping around you. She’s not satisfied nor happy that you’re around Mingyu, so she makes sure to dig up more information about you. You aren’t aware of the danger you’re put in; you just want to enjoy your day with your boyfriend and his friends on their yacht. 
 Taglist: @chal-kagyu @taeyongandfree  @minkwans​ @itsdnguyenxoxo​ @rjsmochii​
 Unable to tag:  @cheolliehugs @3rachaonlyfans  @leahxxiong
 A/N: Don’t get scared by the tags, proceed on reading! :) There will be a final A/N at the end of the chapter, so I won’t say anything else. I’m writing one more standalone oneshot in the Posion universe, it will be Wonwoo’s story. Happy reading, hope you enjoy!
           Windows down and music blaring, Vernon and I rolled down the streets of Seoul. The cool breeze of the warm morning whipped at our hair and I bobbed my head along the rhythm of the music as Vernon and I screamed along to the lyrics. As promised, we went on our breakfast date and now he was driving me to work. One week had passed since Mingyu met my parents and I was mortified last night when I saw him texting with my mother. He said before he left, my mother approached him and asked him to exchange numbers in order to keep in touch. She asked Mingyu to text her anytime he needed something or wasn’t sure about something, or if he wanted to complain about me to her, and she’d gladly answer him. Turns out, they’ve been chatting daily about random things and Vernon was on the verge of dying when I very furiously and loudly told him this, totally disregarding the food that was unchewed in my mouth. The song came to an end and Vernon turned down the volume a bit, stopping at a red light. A sigh left his lips and I looked at him with raised eyebrows.
He glanced at me before he chuckled, “Nothing…I just haven’t done this in long.”
“What? Screamed the lyrics of a song while driving around?” He chuckled again and shook his head.
“No, felt carefree and happy? Something like that…”
“Ay,” I scoffed and gave Vernon a look, “Hoshi – no, Soonyoung has told me about all the trips you and Seungkwan always go on.”
“Yeah girl, but you are cooler than Seungkwan.” I started laughing as the light turned green and Vernon started driving again.
“Too bad I’m taken, and also, never tell Seungkwan that…he’ll skin me alive.” Vernon laughed and nodded, clearly agreeing with me. It wasn’t hard to guess that Seungkwan still hadn’t warmed up to me and he probably never would. Our personalities didn’t match well and both of us found the other one a pushover and annoying. There were rare occasions when we got along really well, like those Monopoly games where we randomly teamed up and surprisingly killed off everyone and won, yeah, these guys played a different version of Monopoly that made sense only to them.
“I don’t understand one thing…” I muttered quietly and Vernon hummed to show me he was listening closely, “You guys keep telling me how nice it is to spend time with me, how I make you forget about your worries blah blah blah…”
“How many of us have said that to you?” Vernon asked with a laugh and I pouted, counting the members of SVT who have told me that at one point.
“I mean…Chan approached me just three months after I met you guys, asking me if when I had free time I’d like to play videogames with him, because he liked my calming presence. Then, sometime when Soonyoung was drunk, he also confessed he really liked me and hoped Mingyu would keep me around forever, then Seokmin and even Jihoon proceeded to tell me that being around me made them feel normal. I’m pretty sure at some point Minghao and Jeonghan too might have said something…Now you and well…Mingyu said so too.”
Vernon nodded with his mouth in an ‘O’ shape and I chuckled as I watched him amused, his expression funny as he hummed deeply.
“Well…like I said, you’re cool and everyone from SVT likes you because you’re nice and very straightforward, which quite frankly, many people are afraid to do when it comes to us. Everyone who knows about our reputation is scared of us, bows down to us and pleases us before we could even voice what we need. I guess you not giving a fuck about who we are is a very liberating feeling, some of us do miss having a normal life, you know?” Vernon’s words settled in my mind and I nodded, offering him a small smile as he pulled up to the bookstore.
“Sometimes it would be just nice to shut up though.” I said with a chuckle and Vernon laughed, “Like that one time when I said Jeonghan couldn’t use a gun because he was a tech genius…and then we went on that duel to find out who was right…all I’m saying is, good thing Wonwoo found us before we could do much damage to each other. Jeonghan was really pissed off and I was ready to shoot him.”
Vernon shook his head as he surely remembered the incident, he said they’ve never heard Wonwoo screaming that loudly before, let alone scolding someone that was older than him. Safe to say, everyone who was present at their vacation house that day swore to never tell Mingyu about the incident, sure that Jeonghan would lose his precious fingers for even daring to challenge me.
“Mingyu shouldn’t fuck up things with you.”
I scoffed and undid my seatbelt, “Slowly I’ve been here for almost a year, Vernon, I think he’s doing fine.”
He offered me a smile as I leaned over the middle console to give him a quick hug, getting my purse from the backseat and then I got out of his car, waving at him as Vernon drove away. I turned and headed inside the bookstore, heading for the backroom. I left my jacket on the hanger and purse in my locker and pulled my hair in a low ponytail, putting on my name tag. I walked to the front of the store and took my place behind the cashier, turning on the computer that was next to it.
“Y/N?” I heard Irene calling from the storage room.
“Me; why was the door unlocked?!” I called back to her as I heard boxes being placed on each other.
“I thought I locked it, sorry!” She called back and I shook my head, sitting in the chair as Irene came up to the front desk with two boxes on top of each other.
“You always forget locking the door, it’s for your own safety.” I scolded my friend and she just rolled her eyes, placing the boxes next to each other.
“I know, I know…now help me unbox these.” She said as she pointed at the second box as she got to open the first one.
“What are these for?”
“Boss texted me saying he got some new books that we’ll have to wrap up in wrapping as he plans on organizing a blind-date Bookfest.” My eyes widened as I opened the box and I nodded at Irene.
“Nice idea, when are we doing it?”
“After he comes back from the conference he’ll be attending, so maybe like…in three weeks?” Irene thought as she took all the books out from the box and then placed a green and blue wrapper on the counter.
“I want the blue one.” I said as I quickly placed my hand on it, Irene going for the same one. She rolled her eyes at me and I stuck my tongue out at her, getting all the books from the box on the counter. She took the green wrapper and tapped the screen of the computer.
“We won’t be open for at least one more hour, put on some nice music.” I chuckled and proceeded to find a radio station that played good music to put on. Irene nodded contently as both of us started wrapping the books up and humming along to the songs. Irene’s round glasses were on the bridge of her nose and her hair was in a bun today. She wore a strapless black top and red dress pants, looking extra sexy.
“Something fancy happening today?” I spoke up after I was done checking her out and Irene gave me a brief glance as she cut up the wrapper for the next book.
“Why?”
“You’re looking a little too hot for someone who came in for work at a bookstore.” I teased her with a smirk, narrowing my eyes at her as she threw me a look. I chuckled and she shrugged, holding the wrapper down for me to tape.
“I spent last night with Jeonghan; he might come around later too…I don’t know yet.” She muttered absentmindedly and I hummed with a smile.
“So…you’re like a thing now?”
“Not really.” She shrugged, looking at me with a grimace, “Definitely could be if I wanted it to. He said he’d like to date me, but I’m really not into that right now.”
I wrapped up the next book, shrugging at her, “I mean, Jeonghan is a pretty nice dude. I don’t know if I’d miss a chance like that, but maybe it’s better if you don’t get too involved…”
I hoped the music drowned out my quiet words, but Irene still heard me well, “Why? Does he give you bad boy vibes too?”
I chuckled and realized Irene meant it seriously, so I cleared my throat and looked at her, “I mean, yeah, he does. I don’t want you to end up hurt, so just go with your intuition.”
“To be honest,” Irene’s voice raised a few octaves as she slammed her hands on the counter, “Mingyu doesn’t seem very trustworthy either, like—Jeonghan might give me bad boy vibes, but Mingyu—he’s just bad news, Y/N.”
“I thought you liked Mingyu?” I asked Irene with furrowed eyebrows and she chuckled, shaking her head.
“Sure, he’s handsome, but there’s something off about him. It’s not even his dominating aura, I might have been drunk in the club but I still saw how possessive he got over you. When you two started dancing, I accidentally made eye contact with him and I got scared he’d rip my head off with the look he was giving me. And other times too—I don’t know, I don’t like the way he thinks you’re ‘his’ when there’s nothing going on between you two.” I placed my hands on the counter as Irene finished her rant with furrowed eyebrows, looking at me questioningly. Since everyone already knew about Mingyu and I being in a relationship, it would’ve been rude to keep her in the dark for longer.
“Actually…Mingyu and I are dating, Irene.” I told my friend and her eyebrows furrowed and then she scoffed.
“Don’t tell me I’m the last one to find out.”
“You aren’t the last one to find out.” I played along with her and she rolled her eyes, leaning against the counter with her arms resting on top of it.
“That’s a lie, how rude of you, I thought you were my friend!”
“I am!”
“For how long have you been dating?” Irene raised her eyebrows and I pursed my lips, my fingers tapping against the counter.
“For little over a month now.” I answered her.
“Is he good to you?” Irene asked with concern lacing her voice and I offered her a small happy smile.
“Too good sometimes.”
“A man is never too good, Y/N.” Irene gave me a look and I started laughing as the front door opened, the bell chiming loudly.
“We are not open yet!” Irene called loudly, and a bit harshly, as she turned around to face the door. My glare was instant as it fell on the person who walked in, her blonde hair falling in waves down her back. She wore dress pants and a low-cut top as she carried her bag on her arm.
“I’m not here to buy a book—” Sana’s shrill voice echoed around the room and I sighed, crossing my arms in front of my chest. I know exactly why she’s here.
“What do you want then?” Irene’s voice was harsh and I didn’t understand why, as she glared at the woman.
“I have some questions to ask Y/N,” Sana’s eyes fell on me and I raised my eyebrows at her, “I never got to investigate her deeper.”
“Oh, so is it ethical to find me at my work place and question me? You aren’t even wearing your uniform.” I snapped at Sana as she walked up to the counter, placing her bag on top of the books wrapped in blue wrapping. Irene stood beside her and she gave me a look, before she looked back at Sana with a glare. I didn’t understand where her sudden rage came from, but I didn’t question it as I embraced myself mentally for whatever questions Sana had. We remained silent, the music playing only, as Sana opened her bag and felt around it before taking out her phone. She typed on it for a few seconds before she placed it on top of the counter, pressing the recording button; she planned to record our conversation.
“This is Officer Minatozaki Sana talking to an affiliate of our main suspect, Kim Mingyu. State your name and age.” Irene’s eyes widened and I sighed as I shook my head at her, cursing Sana in my head for turning up here.
“Oh Y/N, age 25.” I answered monotonously and when Sana gave Irene a glance, as if she was demanding her to leave us alone, Irene gave her a scowl.
“Fine,” Sana muttered to herself, “Where did you grow up and where do you live now?”
“I grew up in a town two hours from here and I live in Seoul now, officer.” I kept my voice leveled as Sana hummed, thankful that she wasn’t asking stupid questions.
“What do you do for a living now and any upper studies that you have?” Irene scoffed at the question but Sana and I ignored her.
“I work at a bookstore and I’m an engineering student.” I raised my eyebrows at Sana when she gave me a sour look, she probably knows Mingyu has an engineering degree too.
“How did you meet Kim Mingyu?” Finally, the questions she was dying to get to, no doubt.
“Through my best friend.”
“Names?” Sana raised her eyebrows and I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
“I don’t want to drag him into this.” Sana’s lips pulled in a thin line but she continued on like nothing happened.
“Do you know what Kim Mingyu does for a living, Miss Oh?” I smiled sweetly at Sana as I leaned closer to her phone.
“He has an engineering degree and is a business man now.” Sana hummed, lips pulling into a small smirk.
“What business, Miss Oh?”
“Do you not know, Officer Minatozaki? Do I have to tell you that myself too?” Sana threw me a glare as a chuckle left her lips.
“Of course not, I know it myself too. I just wanted to check if you knew.”
“Next question?” I raised my eyebrows at the blonde and she chuckled again. Mingyu never really told me about his fake business that covered up his illegal deeds, I didn’t actual know what he did, but I wasn’t about to get caught.
“What’s your relationship like with Kim Mingyu?” Her eyebrows twitched at her own question and a big smirked appeared on my lips as I looked her in the eyes smugly.
“I have to say it’s pretty good, officer, I’ve know him for over half a year, and we are dating.”
“Right, so, he’s your boyfriend?”
“He is.” I nodded with a smile, catching the amused look on Irene’s face as she watched our exchange.
“Did he by any chance…offer you some…really expensive goods?”
“None that I can think of, I don’t like gifts.” Sana gave me a glare as she licked her lips.
“Do you know a diamond ring was stolen from the auction we both attended?”
“I didn’t know,” I let fake surprise coat my face as I gave Irene a glance too, seeing her just as surprised even if she didn’t know what we were talking about, “I just went there to have a good time with my boyfriend. I reckon that’s what gave him a bad mood for a week…he bought the ring, but then it disappeared.”
“Exactly, it disappeared. A six-million-dollar worth ring…everyone would be pissed about, not Kim Mingyu, he didn’t have to give his money away in the end.” Sana’s jaw clenched and I offered her a small smile.
“Don’t you think he was pissed too? He wanted that ring after all.” Sana’s expression smoothened out and she sighed quietly, leaning against the counter.
“Did he ever bribe you to do anything for him? Threaten you maybe?”
“Never.” My voice was firm and Sana nodded slowly, lips pulling into a smirk.
“Have you slept with him yet, Y/N? You know…Mingyu can be very persuasive and if he got you into his bed already, I’m assuming he used you to your full capacity—” Sana and Irene both jumped as I slammed my hand down on Sana’s phone, stopping the recording.
“This questioning takes an end here, Sana.” My voice was low and threatening, eyes gazing into Sana’s.
“No, seriously, has he fucked you yet? I bet he hasn’t told you this, but before he even met Momo, I was his favorite thing in the world, Y/N—”
“You heard her, bitch, get out.” Irene snapped loudly, gripping Sana’s arm harshly. Sana just laughed loudly as I tried to remain calm and not lunge at her. If I get angrier than I already am, I’m giving her the satisfaction she wanted. And so, who cares if Sana and him were a thing? It happened a long time ago and Mingyu seems to be over her, I’m not threatened by her anymore. I won’t let her get under my skin anymore, not after I talked to Mingyu about her and the situation they were in. It’s her personality that makes me want to choke her.
Sana got the message that she had nothing to do here anymore as Irene still didn’t let go of her arm, her glare so scary I would’ve run off a long time ago. Sana took her bag and phone and gave me one satisfied smirk as she looked at Irene with superiority.
“Take your hands off, Miss Bae, you wouldn’t want a complaint for aggressing an officer, would you?” Irene opened her mouth to snap back at Sana, her chest raising and falling quickly because of her angered state, but I spoke up.
“I’m also sure you wouldn’t want me complaining to Mingyu about your little visit, right, Sana?” She looked at me and stepped back, ready to leave.
“Of course not, let’s keep it between us, girls.” Sana winked at me and Irene stepped towards her, but I leaned over the counter and gripped her shoulder to stop her. Sana looked satisfied with our reactions and turned her back to us, headed for the front door. As her hand touched the handle, I cleared my throat and she looked back.
“Oh, and…I’m sorry to hear Mingyu used you to your full capacity, Sana, he must have gained a lot quickly in the time you were together if he dumped you. I’ve heard he doesn’t like boring and easy women…” Sana’s expression changed just in a second and she was filled with rage as she took a step towards us, but Irene laughed and pointed at the door.
“Have a lovely day, Sana.” She spoke mockingly as Sana gave us a glare before storming out of the bookstore. The air remained stiff as Irene turned to look at me. I continued to stare at the place Sana stood at, taking a deep breath.
“What the fuck was that?” Irene snapped, eyebrows raised and hands on her waist like a scolding mother.
“Too long of a story…” I muttered as I picked up the blue wrapping, “Let’s get this done, Sana held us up for almost twenty minutes.”
“What a bitch.” Irene muttered under her breath and I snorted, sharing a look of amusement with her.
           The rest of our day continued without Sana bothering us anymore, or anyone from SVT for that matter. Irene told me that Sana kept coming in almost daily, asking to speak to me when I wasn’t even there and would get pissed if Irene refused to give away my contacts. She said she couldn’t stand Sana, that something was definitely off, especially her reaction when Irene refused to tell her where I lived wasn’t very normal. She asked why the police was investigating Mingyu and I lied to her about him being under surveillance for money washing, which probably wasn’t a very big lie, Mingyu might be doing that. The bookstore was busy today and by five o’clock in the afternoon both Irene and I were ready to close up. We had ditched our name tags and Irene applied red lipstick to her lips while I washed my hands in the sink, grumbling about Jeonghan not visiting her today. I chuckled as I pulled on my coat, holding my purse as Irene got her stuff too and we headed to the front of the bookstore. We turned off all the lights and made sure all windows were shut before we left the bookstore to lock up. My eyes fell on the lean body of the man that was leaning against the brick wall around the curb, eyes on us. Jeonghan winked at me and I rolled my eyes, nudging Irene’s side when she was done locking the door.
“Someone’s here for you.” Her head whipped around and a smirk pulled onto her lips when she spotted Jeonghan.
“My efforts to look good today didn’t go to waste.” She exclaimed with a smile and quickly hugged me, taking off towards Jeonghan. I watched them with a shake of my head and Jeonghan smiled at Irene when she stopped in front of him. He hugged her tightly and then made eye contact with me, pointing towards the road which was to my right. I turned my head to look and Wonwoo’s familiar car greeted me, Wonwoo was leaning against his car.
“Good evening, Miss Oh, took you long to notice this fine man waiting for you.” I scoffed and shook my head, looking back at Jeonghan and Irene to wave at them. They called out their goodbyes to us before taking off, Jeonghan’s arm around Irene’s shoulder as she snuggled up into his side.
“Good evening, Mr. Jeon, I was busy watching my friend, my apologies.” I bowed my head deeply, making Wonwoo chuckle as he pushed off his car.
“Haven’t seen Jeonghan with someone in a long time.” He muttered as I approached him, smiling when he opened his arms.
“I haven’t seen you with anyone, Wonwoo…and I’ve known you for a while now.” I raised my eyebrows at him as I hugged the taller man, giggling when his fingers tickled my sides.
“I don’t have time for a serious relationship,” Wonwoo’s deep voice was loud in my ear and he sighed, pulling away, “And I don’t want to put anyone in danger. I’m better off on my own.”
“Are you though?” I raised my eyebrows at him and Wonwoo suddenly looked tired. He just shrugged and opened the backseat door for me.
“Let’s get going before Mingyu could complain to us.” I chuckled and got inside the car, shutting the door for myself as Wonwoo jogged to the driver’s seat. He got in and we both buckled up as he started the car, putting it into motion. I got comfortable against the leather seat of his car and played with the strap of my purse; lips pursed as I thought. Wonwoo wasn’t very talkative, only when he had something exciting to tell you and most of the time I enjoyed the silence when I was with him, but today I was feeling a bit uneasy and wanted a distraction. Sana’s words didn’t bother me, it was what Irene told me that left a sour aftertaste. Why was Sana so set to find out where I live and how she should contact me. I’m sure investigating Mingyu wouldn’t have involved me this much, after all, I answered her questions both times she asked me to.
“Why didn’t Mingyu pick me up?” I spoke up, seeing Wonwoo glance back in the rear-view mirror.
“He told me he’d be home before us, but he had to go to the Bank.” Wonwoo answered, changing lanes as he sped up the car.
“Why?” I asked with my eyebrows furrowed.
“I don’t know, he didn’t tell me…” His voice got quiet and he gulped, “I’m not his second-in-hand, remember? I’m not supposed to know more than I’m supposed to know.”
I bit my lower lip and looked out the window awkwardly, remembering my words when they brought an injured Mingyu into my apartment a week ago, “I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I meant what I said. I trust Seungcheol, there’s a reason why Mingyu chose him for that role.”
“You’re right,” Wonwoo muttered with a nod of his head, “I overstepped some boundaries, I’m only Mingyu’s friend.”
“Thank you for taking care of him, I know he needs it.” I muttered with a sigh and Wonwoo chuckled, nodding his head in agreement. We grew silent as I continued playing with the strap of my purse, trying to decide if talking about Sana to Wonwoo was a good idea or not. Deciding asking him wouldn’t hurt, I spoke up again.
“Wonwoo, please don’t tell Mingyu this, but…Sana came in to question me with the pretext that it’s for the investigation…” Wonwoo’s eyebrows furrowed and I continued talking, “But then Irene told me she’s been coming to the bookstore almost daily and was asking for my contacts and where I lived.”
“We have to tell Mingyu.” Wonwoo’s voice grew hard and I shook my head, catching his eyes through the rear-view mirror.
“No, not yet…I don’t think it’s very important, it just freaked me out a little bit.” He sighed and his lips pulled in a thin line, nodding wordlessly.
“Did they seriously date? Sana said something like that…” Wonwoo scoffed as disgust coated his expression, the car pulled into the neighborhood these two lived in.
“Sana is a sick woman; I have no idea how she’s so high up in the police. She’s been pinning on Mingyu ever since Momo introduced them to each other—”
“Wait, what?” My eyes widened and I leaned forward, eager to hear more, “She said her and Mingyu met before he even knew Momo.”
Wonwoo laughed deeply, shaking his head, “She obviously lied, her and Momo were very close. Once Sana started making advances towards Mingyu and he told Momo about it, Momo flipped and cut ties with Sana. Years later she showed casually in her police uniform at Mingyu’s house and dumped a big folder in front of him, telling him that she knew everything about him and his illegal business.”
Wonwoo stopped in front of Mingyu’s mansion and clicked away on his phone before the gate opened, “Then she proceeded to disappear, Joshua and Jeonghan dug up some information about her and we found out she was lead investigator and started building a case against Mingyu with the pretext that he abused Momo—”
“Which she wasn’t very wrong about.” I interrupted as Wonwoo pulled into the driveway slowly.
“Yeah, she wasn’t, but—she would always come and go. Sometimes disappear for a long period of time and show up suddenly, sometimes for months or weeks or just days. We could never get rid of her, at first I thought she was doing this because Mingyu ruined her best friend. But then I figured it was because she was just obsessed with Mingyu, because he never gave her the attention she craved. She’s harmless if you ask me, but don’t provoke her. You never know what a person is capable of.”
I took a deep breath and let out a long sigh as Wonwoo parked the car inside the garage, undoing his seatbelt. I did so too and he turned the engine off, turning around to look at me, “As long as you’re with us nothing bad can happen to you. Sana is harmless, she’s just trying to scare you off. She’s curious and obsessed about finding out more about you because Joshua and Jeonghan made you look like a ghost, no one can find information about you now…just like the rest of SVT, understood?”
“Understood.” I muttered with a grimace and he chuckled.
“Go ahead, Mingyu’s in his office waiting for you.” I thanked Wonwoo quietly and got out of the car, heading for the door that led inside the house. I passed through the living room and stopped in the hallway, taking off my shoes and jacket, leaving my purse there too. I went up the marble stairs and once upstairs I headed for the door of his study. I pushed the door open but no one was inside, I glanced back at Mingyu’s bedroom door, but if Wonwoo said Mingyu was waiting here for me I should probably stay here, I stepped inside. Two windows were open and the fresh breeze of the evening left a homey feeling in the room, the smell of Mingyu’s cigarettes strong the further I walked inside. My eyes were drawn towards his big study desk and they fell on a simple velvet box. It was small and my heart started beating quickly without a reason. I approached the desk with slow steps, eyes not leaving the velvet box. This can’t be what I think it is…Mingyu wouldn’t—no, I’m probably just overreacting, why don’t I just wait until—
“Sugar,” The sudden voice behind me made me jump. Before I could face Mingyu, he was already behind me, his arms circled around my torso and his chin resting on my shoulder, “How are you?”
I cleared my throat and placed my hands on top of his, gripping them softly, “Glad that work is over, you?”
“Happy to be with you finally.” I chuckled, but my eyes fell on the box once again. Mingyu remained quiet and I gulped, waiting for him to say something. He’s not going to…propose…right? My heart started beating even faster and Mingyu chuckled, making me flinch.
“Why are your ears so red?” He asked amused and pressed a kiss behind my right ear, his hot breath fanning my skin. I cleared my throat and shrugged, moving my head back to be able to look at him.
“It’s probably the lightning.” Mingyu snorted before leaning down to press his soft lips against mine. There was a hint of coffee on his lips as I pressed mine against his, closing my eyes. Mingyu hummed before he pulled back, his lips pulling into a wide smile. My heart felt like it was about to explode as I looked at him, his cute canines showed.
“Why are you so flustered?” He asked with a laugh, leaning down to peck my lips again, “Your whole face is red, sugar.”
“Whatever.” I scoffed and shimmied myself out of his hold, crossing my arms in front of my chest as Mingyu narrowed his eyes at me.
“Well…” He said with a shrug and stepped closer to the desk, placing his hand on the velvet box. I bit my lower lip and looked at him nervously, hugging myself as if I was standing on eggshells, “This is for you, Y/N.”
My eyes fell on the velvet box and I gulped, “For me? Why…”
“Why?” Mingyu rolled his eyes and gripped my arm, detaching it from around my torso, “Because this was for you from the very beginning, I just needed things to cool off a little before I gave it to you.”
“What are you talking about?” My eyebrows furrowed as Mingyu pressed the velvet box into my palm and I detached my other arm from around myself too, gripping the box with both hands. It wasn’t heavy at all. Mingyu wasn’t on one knee, it meant he wasn’t proposing, so that’s good. My heart calmed down a bit and I took a deep breath, Mingyu watched me excited. I looked back at the velvet box and quickly opened it, jaw falling open. It was the diamond ring from the auction. The stone was in rose gold, the ring very simple, as the diamond had a teardrop shape and had a sparkle I haven’t seen before, even in the dim light of the room.
“This is the ring you stole…” I muttered as I continued watching it, unable to look away. I wasn’t into expensive things, but I would lie if I said I didn’t like this ring. It was so beautiful and simple, exactly my taste.
“Well…it was ours since we bought it…” Mingyu corrected me with a small smile, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he leaned against the sofa behind him.
“You never paid for it…” I shot back at him and he chuckled as he nodded down at the ring.
“Put it on, sugar, it’s yours.” I was at a loss of words, not having expected a gift like this one, so I finally gripped the ring and pulled it out of the box. It had a decent weight for something so small and I carefully slipped it onto my left middle finger. I moved my hand slowly, watching the diamond glint as I felt Mingyu’s eyes on me.
“You like it.” His voice was confident and I chuckled as my eyes fell on him.
“I do like it, but I don’t think I should wear it—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Mingyu rolled his eyes, extending his arms to rest them on my waist, “It’s yours and you will wear it every day, okay?”
“What if I lose it—” Mingyu scoffed and pulled me into him.
“I’ll get you another you.” I huffed and placed my hands against his chest, his eyes fell on my left hand where the diamond ring was.
“I’ll just be careful not to lose this one, okay?” I raised my eyebrows at him and he smirked, looking back at me. He nodded his head and leaned in to kiss my forehead, making me sigh loudly. Sana slipped from my mind as I was in Mingyu’s comforting presence, what Wonwoo told me about her forgotten as I couldn’t stop looking at the ring. It looked good on my finger; I couldn’t lie.
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           Seungcheol kept on rambling about his failed exam as we walked down the stairs of our University. It was our last day before the spring break would begin and I couldn’t have been happier. We were getting closer and closer to our graduation; I couldn’t wait to be done with this horrible place. The weather was nice so I ditched my jacket and stuffed it inside my backpack before we left class. Seungcheol’s loud sigh made me look at him with raised eyebrows. He was giving me his usual scowl when he thought I wasn’t listening to him and I rolled my eyes, throwing my arm around his shoulders.
“Stop sulking, you’ll fix your grade in our last semester.” I told him with a smile and he rolled his eyes.
“I don’t have much choice…” He grumbled and I chuckled, shaking his shoulders to cheer him up, “If Mingyu would leave me alone when exams come around, it would be really helpful.”
I knew he was right so I nodded, patting his shoulder, “I’ll talk to him and ask him to leave you alone, okay?”
“Thank you, but there’s certain things he can’t do without me—”
“Why? Did he start listening to you again?” I raised my eyebrows and Seungcheol chuckled, grabbing my arm and taking it off his shoulder.
“Yeah, I heard you lashed out at him when he got injured.”
“Soonyoung told you, didn’t he?” I muttered with a sigh as Seungcheol hooked his arm with mine, “He just can’t shut up.”
“It was actually Wonwoo,” I looked at Seungcheol surprised and he started laughing, patting my hand with his free hand, “Wonwoo always tells me everything, did you not know?”
“How was I supposed to know?!” I exclaimed, eyes wide, as Seungcheol laughed again loudly, “Did he tell you stuff that…maybe you wouldn’t want to know?”
Seungcheol huffed and looked at me amused, his silver lip piercing was glinting, “Did you do anything I wouldn’t want to know about?”
“Uh—” I smiled at him sweetly and snuggled up into my friend’s side, “Definitely not!”
Seungcheol playfully rolled his eyes before they fell on the hand that I placed against his chest. I raised my eyebrows at him as we continued walking around the University, watching his eyebrows furrow.
“Mingyu gave you the diamond ring?” Seungcheol sounded confused and I tilted my head at him, glancing down at the ring on my middle finger.
“Was he not supposed to?” I asked quietly and Seungcheol cleared his throat as if he realized what he had said. He looked up at me and patted my cheek affectionately and shook his head cutely, trying to act as if he said nothing. I gave him a look but he refused to speak as he pulled me after him to cross the road. Students were coming and going and I looked around to make sure I wouldn’t walk into anyone as Seungcheol walked eagerly. Suddenly, my attention got caught by a blonde head in the crowd that was headed our way. A mask was covering their mouth and nose, but the person looked very familiar. Especially the bag they were carrying. My eyebrows furrowed as I kept staring at the woman who reminded me of Sana an awful lot and when Seungcheol stopped walking, I ran into him.
“What are you looking at?” He asked confused and I quickly pulled on his hair, not wanting him to see her. I knew if I told Seungcheol about Sana coming to the bookstore multiple times and even questioning me yesterday and now showing up here, he’d flip and cause a scene. I knew if I felt like something was wrong Seungcheol would sense it and take matters into his hands, but I didn’t want our good moods ruined.
“I thought I saw Joshua.” Was what I came up with instead and Seungcheol groaned, giving me a glare, “What? Am I not allowed to confuse people?”
“Why Joshua—”
“How are things going?” I raised my eyebrows and Seungcheol looked away with a frown, putting distance between us. I looked at him curiously and he shrugged as if he was embarrassed.
“I don’t have much to say, Joshua and Jeonghan are busier sometimes than the rest of the gang. He doesn’t have time to meet up with me very frequently.” I hummed and watched as Seungcheol buried his hands in his pants pockets.
“Why not be a good boyfriend and surprise him?”
“Boyfriend?!” Seungcheol’s eyes turned round and I started laughing as I watched his expression morph into shock, “Please, don’t say that! We aren’t even dating…it’s nothing serious between us, don’t say things like that!”
“Wow, calm down, Cheol…I was just asking, I’m your best friend.” I rolled my eyes and he gave me a grimace about to speak up but I cut him off before he could, “Back to my ring. Who was supposed to get it?”
Seungcheol just sighed and crossed his arms in front of his chest, “Initially no one, but then Mingyu thought manipulating Sana with it would be a good idea.”
Of course, here comes Sana again. Why is this woman suddenly all up in everyone’s business? I swear I can’t stand her.
“Why did she not get it then?”
“She’s not worthy of such ring, Mingyu said so. And he’s been really pissed off lately since she started another investigation against him.”
“What?” I raised my eyebrows, stepping closer to Seungcheol, “Why?”
“Y/N…Mingyu should tell you these things, not me…”
“Well, Mingyu never talks to me, so spill. Now.” I gave Seungcheol a glare and he bit his lower lip, taking his piercing between his teeth for a second before he sighed loudly and stepped even closer.
“One of Seungkwan’s warehouse full of weapons got raided not long ago, because basically Sana planted some false evidence inside and got a warrant to go inside and look. She’s hellbent on taking down Mingyu and that’s why he’s been spending so much time with her. He’s trying to play her, Y/N, manipulate her so that she drops the whole case—”
“Wait,” I raised a hand and took in a deep breath, “Is Mingyu sleeping with Sana to keep her quiet?”
Seungcheol’s eyebrows furrowed and he gave me a look, “Of course not, Y/N. He’s with you.”
“When did that ever stop someone from cheating on their significant other?” I snapped and Seungcheol snorted, fueling my anger. I kept telling myself I was over this after my conversation with Mingyu and that I didn’t give a shit about what Sana and Mingyu did together, but every time I learned a little more about their relationship, the more it angered me. I wanted Sana out of the picture, especially since she was creating problems for Mingyu.
“Mingyu isn’t like that and I’m not taking his side. You know I’m not his biggest fan, but when Mingyu commits to someone, he won’t fuck around with others…figures why getting Sana to give up is taking so long—ow!” Seungcheol exclaimed in pain as I punched his chest hard, giving him a hard glare.
“Why don’t you sleep with Sana?” I scoffed and Seungcheol gave me a very unamused chuckle.
“I’m currently trying to build a relationship with Joshua, that would complicate things.” I sighed quietly and Seungcheol rubbed his chest where I punched him.
“And Sana isn’t obsessed with you…” I muttered and Seungcheol looked at me with an apologetic smile, about to pull me into a hug when the horn of a car made us both jump. I looked behind Seungcheol as he turned around and we both glared at Mingyu as he gave us a very amused smirk.
“Ops, didn’t mean to scare you two.” He touched his lips with his hand in a childish way as he spoke to us through the rolled down window. Seungcheol and I scoffed at the same time and he turned to look at me.
“I guess you have a ride back home now.” He muttered and I chuckled as I quickly gave him a hug.
“Call me when your classes are over, we can have dinner together tonight, but I need to cook something.” Seungcheol hummed as he pulled back from the hug and went to open the door of the Mercedes for me.
“I might be busy tonight, but I’ll give you a call.”
“With Joshua?” I whispered as I got inside the car and Seungcheol sighed, shaking his head at me. I giggled and thanked him when he closed the door, waving at him as Seungcheol walked away waving back at me.
“My kiss?” Mingyu spoke up as Seungcheol and I continued waving at each other aggressively even though he was already on the other side of the road. I laughed and finally looked at Mingyu, tsking at him when he stopped me from waving anymore.
“What good did you do today to deserve this kiss?” I raised my eyebrows at Mingyu and he scoffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“Didn’t know I needed to do anything to get a kiss from my girlfriend.”
“Nothing’s for free, Mingyu.” I shrugged and turned up the volume of the radio, shrugging my backpack off. Mingyu scoffed again, lips jutting out as he was giving me a small glare. I flashed him a smile and dumped my backpack in the backseat, groaning when Mingyu gripped the back of my head and leaned down. He licked his lips and gave me a cheeky smile before pressing his lips against mine. I kissed him back and rolled my eyes, pulling back when he tried moving his lips. His honey scent was strong, as if he put on his cologne right before I got in. Mingyu raised his eyebrows at me and went to kiss me again, but I pocked his left side, making him groan.
“Why did you do that, sugar?” He groaned and pushed away my hand from his wound.
“Wanted to see how your wound is healing.” I said with a shrug and he scoffed, looking back at me.
“So, you poke it to the point it might open up?” I laughed and leaned up to press a kiss against his lips.
“It’s been a week; it can’t open up…hopefully…” I giggled and Mingyu sighed, pressing a kiss against my forehead before he released me. He got comfortable in his seat and I rolled up the window on my side. He put on the signal that he was getting out of the parking spot and absentmindedly my hand went to grip his. I hummed along to the song playing on the radio and I could see Mingyu have a small smile on his lips from my peripheral vision.
“What did you do today?” I asked as Mingyu drove out into traffic. He glanced at me and the smile didn’t disappear from his lips, he rarely smiled, it brought butterflies to my stomach, he was almost always smirking.
“I slept in, because you said I should rest more. Then I had breakfast with Wonwoo and then I headed to the headquarters.” I chuckled and looked at him, raising my eyebrows at him.
“Will you tell me what happened that you’re so happy?” I squeezed his hand when he sped up instead of slowing down at the traffic light turning yellow.
“Consider our deal with the police almost done, I’m really close to getting all investigations stopped.” I hummed and watched Mingyu’s expression turn into a prideful smirk as he got proud of himself. I snickered and raised our hands to press a kiss against his knuckles, it brought a wide smile onto his lips again.
“Isn’t your boyfriend a genius?” He asked and glanced at me, swerving between the three lanes fast.
“Mhm, he is.” I muttered and Mingyu chuckled, his canines poking his lower lips.
“And he’s also really handsome, sexy, irresistible, fuckable—”
“Okay, that’s enough.” I scoffed and Mingyu hit the brakes, sending us a bit forward as the traffic light turned red before he could cross it, “How about from now on I drive, hm?”
“No.” He shook his head and pursed his lips, leaning his head against the headrest, “Admit it though…that I’m all the things I said a second ago.”
I snickered and leaned over the console, letting go of his hand to place it on his thigh. The muscle tensed up underneath my palm and Mingyu turned his head to look me in the eyes. I smirked at him and leaned close enough to brush my nose against his.
“You are…” I pursed my lips and Mingyu moved his head a little to press a very short kiss against my lips, barely touching, “Cute.”
He groaned and rolled his eyes, pushing me away by my head and it made me laugh loudly.
“I’m not cute.” He grumbled to himself as he started driving again, a few cars were already honking behind us.
“You are though…” I muttered with a giggle and he slapped my hand away from his thigh, his tongue poking the inside of his cheek; I knew he was frustrated. I reached my hand out for the button and turned the volume of the radio down, resting my arm on the middle console and my chin in my palm. I watched Mingyu quietly, smiling at him softly. He wore a white form fitting T-shirt and a red, long cardigan with a cream-colored pattern over it. You only ever saw Kim Mingyu wearing sweats inside his house, but today he ditched his dress pants and wore silky and comfortable looking cream-colored pants. His hair was down, fanning his forehead, his undercut was slowly growing out.
“You’re staring.” He muttered, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, as he turned the steering wheel, turning onto a different street.
“Am I not allowed to?” I muttered back and he nodded, lips jutting out again.
“Of course, yes, especially if you’re staring at me. But something’s bothering you now, so shoot.” I sighed and looked down at the middle console, tracing my fingers against the hard fabric.
“I’m pretty sure I saw Sana today at the University…” I spoke up with a hint of anger in my voice and Mingyu’s eyebrows furrowed, “And she came to the bookstore yesterday to question me. Irene said she kept coming around and wanting to speak to me even before.”
Mingyu hummed and drove slowly as there was a slight traffic jam, “She told me she had to question you because you’re my girlfriend, don’t worry about her, sugar. Sana is harmless, she wouldn’t dare touch you.”
I shrugged and sat back in my seat, looking out the window, “I don’t know…I don’t like her much. Irene doesn’t either, that says a lot, she usually likes most people. And Wonwoo and Vernon…the list goes on, even Seokmin hates her.”
“She’s got a difficult personality, but, like I said—I’m almost done with the police, so that demands a celebration!” Mingyu exclaimed, looking at me as he came to a stop in front of my apartment building. I raised my eyebrows in curiosity, deciding to ignore how quickly he brushed off the topic with Sana.
“What do you have in mind?”
“I’m sailing out tomorrow with the boys for a day—”
“Sailing out?” I interrupted Mingyu quietly, eyebrows furrowing.
“Yeah, I have a yacht.” Mingyu said with a shrug and I scoffed, undoing my seatbelt.
“Of course, you have a yacht.” I grumbled to myself and Mingyu chuckled, leaning closer to me.
“I had in mind that you join us.” I smiled at him and almost closed the gap between us.
“That sounds awesome.” His eyes widened and I chuckled, pressing a kiss against his cheek before I grabbed my backpack from the backseat.
“Wait—you’re not going to argue with me about it? You’re just—coming? Without me having to pester you until you have no choice but to say yes?”
I started laughing as I opened my door, looking at Mingyu amused, “My boss is going away for some conference, University is over for two weeks since I have spring break, I don’t see why I wouldn’t want to join you guys.”
“Huh,” Mingyu huffed and rubbed his chin with a teasing glint in his eyes, “I feel like someone is getting soft.”
“You’ve got the wrong feel then!” I flipped him off before closing the door of the Mercedes and Mingyu started laughing. I raised my eyebrows at him and wiggled my fingers at him before I turned around and started walking towards the entrance of the building.
“You should wear those jeans more! It brings out the roundness of your ass!” A few people glanced my way who were passing by when Mingyu yelled out of his car. I rolled my eyes and continued walking, ignoring his words. He drove away as I went to type in the passcode and I sighed, running through the outfit ideas I had in mind for tomorrow.
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           In the end, after looking at the weather forecast, I settled on wearing a white crop top and a muddy green dungaree over it. I packed a thicker jacket in my backpack and braided my hair in two, wanting it out of my face for the day. By the time I was ready, Seungcheol was knocking on my front door, looking tired. We didn’t end up having dinner together, I don’t even know at what hour he returned, but the bags underneath his eyes were a good indication that he didn’t get much sleep. He passed me some of his breakfast he had cooked and then we were off together, headed for the docks, where Mingyu’s yacht apparently was. Seungcheol wasn’t very talkative as he drove down the streets and I remained silent, humming quietly to the songs played on the radio. Once we got the docks, I spotted Mingyu and Wonwoo’s familiar cars as Seungcheol had to park around the corner as there was no space on that street anymore. When we got out, the salty air and smell of freshly caught fish hit my nostrils hard and Seungcheol had a grimace on his face as we got our backpacks and walked towards the docked smaller ships and yachts. There was music coming from the last one and I knew it was Mingyu’s, the yacht was huge. And Seokmin and Seungkwan were shouting at each other, so that gave it away too. Seungcheol quietly greeted the few fisherman that were by their boats and I followed suit, bowing at them politely, as they seemed happy to see Seungcheol there. Maybe he comes here often, he never said anything about it to me. When we got to the yacht, the little board was still lowered and Vernon’s eyes lit up when he spotted us. The yacht had three levels and it was long and spacious. I thanked Vernon when he helped me onto the yacht and took Seungcheol’s backpack as he followed suit, raising the board that created a little gate between the concrete and the yacht, apparently everyone was here. Seungcheol closed the small door and placed the board by it, taking his and my backpacks as well.
“I’ll put these in my room, if you need something, you can get it from there later—”
“Mingyu asked me to take Y/N’s stuff to his room.” Vernon interrupted Seungcheol and rubbed the back of his nape awkwardly as he looked between me and Cheol. I chuckled and took my backpack back from Seungcheol.
“Go on then, Vernon will take me there?” I asked, raising my eyebrows at Vernon.
“Sure.” He said with a grin and took off, I followed closely behind. We went to the back of the yacht, Seungcheol was hot on our tails, and I was surprised that there were stairs leading even downstairs. We entered the inside of the yacht and it was an open space, resembled a living room. I was confused when Seungcheol walked downstairs but Vernon took us upstairs.
He noticed my expression and chuckled, “There’s more space underneath the deck, so we usually take up those rooms.”
“How many of you sleep down there?” I asked curiously as we got up to the second floor and Vernon stopped to think for a second.
“There’s five rooms so…nine people can sleep there.” My mouth fell a bit open and Vernon chuckled at me as he led me towards a room that stood separately. The hallway on this floor was smaller and to your left there were three doors, leading to three different rooms. And then there was the room Vernon was leading me to, which seemed to be the biggest since there were no more doors on its side.
“Is this like the master bedroom or something?” I asked quietly as Vernon knocked on the door, but no one answered.
“Yeah, but we have another one downstairs too. Not as big as this one, but it’s fairly larger than the other regular bedrooms.” Vernon slid the door open and I was taken aback by the space in the room. I didn’t think there’d be this much space on a yacht. I’ve never even been on a yacht before.
“Wow, this is huge.” I muttered and Vernon shrugged, looking around.
“No one really sleeps in here unless they are very drunk and need to be left alone.” Vernon explained and I scoffed, turning to look at him.
“I hope I won’t have to share the bed with a third person, Mingyu already takes up all the space.” I said with a grimace and Vernon laughed, walking back to the sliding door.
“So, you’ve slept together already?” He had a teasing glint in his eyes and I threw him a glare and crossed my arms in front of my chest, “Yeah, yeah…not my business. Mingyu is upstairs in the captains room, you can head up if you want to.”
I nodded wordlessly and Vernon left, leaving the door open. I looked around the room again and walked up to the big windows, admiring the view from here. This room even had a mini balcony with two chairs and a little round table between them, I figured I could drink coffee tomorrow morning there while watching the sunrise. The bed was placed in the middle of the room, pressed up against the big windows so that wherever you turned your head, you’d be able to see the sea. There were four six drawer chests, two to the left and two to the right as you entered the room. A small bookcase which was more for decoration and a human sized mirror sat leaning against the wall. There were a few plants inside the room and I took my backpack and placed it on top of one of the chests, not finding it necessary to unpack. We’d be headed home tomorrow in the morning, I never really liked packing so I saved myself from having to do it again tomorrow. The sudden hum of the engine caught my attention and I walked to the windows again, peeking outside. Small ruffles of water came from underneath the yacht and slowly but surely, we took off. A sudden excitement I wasn’t feeling until now enveloped me and I smiled to myself, finding the butterflies in my stomach amusing.
“Someone’s excited.” I jumped and turned towards the door, clearing my throat, “Mingyu didn’t tell us you were coming.”
The excitement I felt subsided due to Seungkwan’s hostile tone and the scowl he had on his lips, “Last time I checked, Mingyu didn’t have to tell you anything about what he was doing or not.”
“Abusing the power your boyfriend has, aren’t you?” I scoffed and crossed my arms in front of my chest, Seungkwan smirked at my reaction.
“How is this abusing of his power? It’s his yacht, he brings whoever he wants on it.” Seungkwan rolled his eyes and stepped away from the doorway.
“It’s our yacht, actually, but whatever. The walls aren’t as thick as they seem, so don’t do anything funky. I’m across from you and I would like to sleep tonight.” He said sassily, pointing his forefinger at me accusingly. I rolled my eyes and took off, coming to the door.
“Go to bed before we do then.” I snapped back at Seungkwan and he scoffed, making room for me as I exited the master bedroom. I slid the door closed behind me and pushed past Seungkwan, he scoffed again. I went to the short staircase that led upstairs, onto the third level, and Seungkwan headed to the one that led downstairs. We shared a look of disgust before both of us stormed our ways, my footsteps loud as I stomped up the stairs. This was just a little cabin for the one who operated the yacht and I found Mingyu sitting on a white chair, his hands on a round wheel. There were different lights turned on on the control panel in front of him and I neared him, looking at the big table curiously.
“Sugar,” Mingyu called out and I looked down at him as he smirked at me, “What do you think?”
“It’s bigger than I expected it to be…” I muttered as I looked ahead, we were getting further away from the docks.
“Have you ever been on a yacht before?” Mingyu asked wonderingly and I scoffed as his arm sneaked around my waist.
“Of course not, you know my parents now, you saw we aren’t rich.” Mingyu hummed and pressed some buttons that I had no idea what were supposed to do and suddenly he pulled a lever and the yacht took a slower speed.
“Money isn’t everything if you aren’t happy and fulfilled.” Mingyu whispered under his breath and I looked at him, biting my lower lip. I really wanted him to share his childhood with me, I wanted to know more about him. I wanted to understand him and learn how to treat him right. I was afraid he wasn’t opening up because he didn’t trust me or worse…was only playing with me. He suddenly grabbed a walkie-talkie and pressed a button, static coming over.
“Grab the anchor, we are stopping here.” He talked into it and I glanced around, being able to make out the outlines of the city still. We didn’t go very far, as he said we wouldn’t, maybe a good thirteen minutes away? I wasn’t looking at the time.
“Copy!” Came an enthusiastic voice over the walkie-talkie, I realized it was Chan, and Mingyu chuckled as he shut it off. He looked up at me and turned his chair around, making me stand between his legs. I let my arms rest around his shoulders as he pulled me into himself by my waist, hugging onto my torso tightly. I ran my fingers through his silky hair softly, letting him burry his head in my stomach. Suddenly, he sighed and my eyebrows furrowed. I assumed he was just tired, maybe Seungcheol was with him and they both stayed up until late, but something rather was on his mind that was bothering him.
“What’s the matter?” I asked quietly, massaging his scalp in the process of playing with his hair. I knew it relaxed him, he really liked it.
“A new gang joined us, but I’m unsure if it was a good decision.” Mingyu mumbled and I hummed, “There’s a lot of members and they are all young, I don’t want them to cause problems for us. But one of them is Sana’s right hand man…I really needed them on my side, you know, sugar?”
“You do what you have to do; don’t worry about things that haven’t happened yet and might not even happen.” I said quietly and he chuckled, nuzzling his face against my stomach.
“I’m a Mafia leader now, I have to think of everything, Y/N, even of things that won’t happen.”
“Well then just be yourself with them. People who don’t know you are scared of you…even your own members have a certain restraint when it comes to you. Show them they can’t mess with you, don’t allow them to make mistakes.” Mingyu chuckled and pulled back, my fingers stilled in his hair.
“You sound like you have experience in this field.”
“No, I’m just observant and smart, Mingyu.” I said with a chuckle and he smirked, standing up. I looked up in his eyes and he just grinned before walking us backwards until my back was pressed against the window. I raised my eyebrows at him and he turned my head to the right with his fingers, leaning in.
“Sometimes you can see dolphins, if you’re lucky you might see some too.” He muttered quietly in my ear and my eyebrows furrowed.
“That’s not true, I haven’t heard of dolphins habituating this sea.” Mingyu chuckled and kissed my cheek.
“You don’t believe someone who’s been sailing out here for years? Seungkwan took photos one time, ask him to show you.” I rolled my eyes and turned my head to look at Mingyu.
“Seungkwan and I aren’t on good terms, I’d rather not talk to him at all if I could.” Mingyu chuckled and caressed my cheeks.
“Not everyone can like you.” I rolled my eyes and leaned in to kiss him, pulling back before he could deepen the kiss. Mingyu smirked but his eyebrows were slightly furrowed and I raised mine at him, silently asking what was wrong.
“Last week, you found out I was an engineering student and that I’m an orphan.” I gulped and nodded, searching for Mingyu’s gaze, “Well, I actually know who my mother is. She couldn’t raise me or my sister so she gave us up to an orphanage. She left right after she gave birth to my sister, I don’t have many memories of her at that time because I was too little.”
I knew Mingyu hated being pitied so I tried to remain with a neutral expression as we maintained eye contact, my heartbeat quickened just a little, “You hear all sorts of bad stuff about orphanages and meanwhile some are wrong, most are true. I remember taking a lot of care of my sister, never letting anyone besides the nurses close to her. I made sure she was fed and cared about, I even played with her when they’d allow me. But when she was around one year old, a family came and took her away. I was devastated for a long time, until I realized she was better off at that family. Boys and even some girls started picking on me as I started growing older and I realized my little sister was in a loving family, protected from the evils I had to go through, but I wasn’t too mad about it. I always envied her for being chosen, but I still loved her very much. I still do, she’s grown into a powerful woman, sometimes you remind me of her.”
“You remained in touch with her?” I found my voice, it was quiet, but I was curious how he maintained keeping tabs on her sister.
“The family felt bad for separating us, so they let me visit her weekly. I hoped they’d grow fond of me and adopt me as well, but they only wanted a daughter. And then maybe I was around eight years old, when my mother showed up and took me back home. She suddenly had money and a stable job, it looked like she fixed her life. I don’t know how she got me back, but maybe I would’ve been better off at the orphanage. She wasn’t a very nice person and the men she had around her were definitely not good people. I got involved into street gangs when I was just nine, Y/N. Out of curiosity, boredom and dumbness, I guess. My mother didn’t care about me and my sister belonged somewhere, so I wanted to feel what she felt. I thought joining that gang was the right choice, but it obviously wasn’t…that’s why I am here today.” A small smile, a sad and tired one, appeared on his lips and I sighed quietly, rubbing his cheek lovingly with my thumb.
“I shortly after that met Wonwoo, then Vernon and Seungkwan. The others came along slowly, it wasn’t until I got into a fist fight and killed someone that people started getting interested in me. Other gangs wanted to recruit me and when I turned fifteen I realized that if I was so important that everyone wanted me, then why wouldn’t I create something that was only mine? If I alone were a weapon, why not use it to my advantage? Wonwoo and I started recruiting people and that’s when Junhui and Minghao joined us; I’m still sure they didn’t one-hundred percent understand what we were proposing to them but they went along, because everyone thought of them as bad boys. Vernon and Seungkwan followed us without questions, Seungkwan owed it to me, he had sworn to stay by my side no matter what after the generous money I started to give him to fix his own mistakes, and Vernon never does anything without Seungkwan. Seungcheol and Chan joined us at the same time and I realized I needed someone to help me out, so after a year of testing Seungcheol, I finally decided it would be him. The others came along quickly after, willingly or recruited by one of us. I didn’t have an easy childhood, I worked hard and did bad things to get to where I am right now, I refuse to let someone as stupid as Sana ruin everything I have. We’ve expanded so much that other gangs belong to us now, I’m their boss. People fear me and respect me. I have you now too…my life is finally coming together, so I’m holding on tightly to everything I can.” Mingyu’s jaw clenched as he studied my face, but all I could do was smile at him. He wasn’t the best person, but he did everything he had to do with a reason. I didn’t always do the right things either, I wasn’t about to judge him for them. Not when he finally opened up and told me so much about himself. I was happy that he trusted me with the information and I just kept smiling, confusing Mingyu a bit.
“So, like…you’re cool with the things I just told you?” I chuckled and pressed a kiss against his lips, grinning at him. He looked lost and it was so cute.
“Everyone has their own story and I’ve been waiting patiently to hear yours. I’m fine with what you told me, if you’re scared I’ll run away now, I won’t…besides, I think you’d find me even if I did.” Mingyu chuckled and nodded.
“I’d find you under five seconds, so don’t try doing that.” I chuckled and nodded in acknowledgment.
“What about your sister though? You still keep in touch?” I asked curiously, wanting to know more about her. Maybe even meet her.
“Of course, but she moved away two years ago and only visits during Christmas and New Year.”
“Can I meet her this year?” I raised my eyebrows and Mingyu smirked, leaning closer.
“Of course, she’ll be your sister-in-law, I think it’s only right you get to know each other.” I rolled my eyes as he pressed a kiss against my lips.
“Wait until I graduate at least.”
“Your mother told me weddings are best during the summer, maybe we should—”
“Stop!” I gave Mingyu a glare, pushing him back a bit, “We aren’t even engaged and stop talking about stuff like that with my mother, it’s embarrassing! Just delete her number! Block it!”
Mingyu laughed and stepped away fully, our arms detached from each other, “And miss all the baby pictures she sends me? Can’t do that sugar…”
“Oh my God!” I exclaimed embarrassed and Mingyu chuckled, headed for the stairs.
“Let’s go downstairs, see what we can do.” I huffed to myself and tried to hide the blush on my cheeks but the wide smirk on Mingyu’s lips was a tale tell sign he saw it.
           We spent the day preparing food and sharing stories. Some of the guys started drinking right away as the yacht stopped and by lunch they had to be taken care of, so we cut them off the alcohol until they recovered a little bit. I didn’t find drinking on a yacht very smart or safe, and when Seokmin really happily told me they’ve been doing it for ages and only three times did someone fall into the water and almost drown, I made sure to take away the beer he was holding onto so tightly. Minghao, Mingyu, Seungcheol and Joshua were the chefs of the day and I was hanging out with Chan and Jun as we played music. Wonwoo had disappeared as everyone started doing something and Chan said that he was either reading or sleeping in his room, so I decided not to bother him. Vernon and Seungkwan were laying on some towels on the deck’s front balcony, wearing swimming trunks and conversing quietly. I didn’t find the weather warm enough to be tanning, but if they weren’t cold I wasn’t about to interrupt their fun time. Soonyoung, Jihoon and Seokmin were the ones that needed to be taken away from the alcohol as they had a head start early in the day. Jihoon ended up sleeping on the couch in the open living room, meanwhile Soonyoung and Seokmin kept coming and going from the kitchen, saying they’d help anyone who wanted their help. Jeonghan wasn’t very talkative this time and he said he’d be in the captain’s room if anyone was looking for him, he said he’d take a nap up there after he made sure everything was fine with the yacht. The day was entertaining and relaxing, I found myself laughing almost all the time as someone was always doing or saying something funny. I have hung out with the boys as a whole before, but at the headquarters they seemed to be on high alert and tense all the time. The first time I saw them being this carefree and happy was when Seungcheol introduced me to everyone officially. I was grateful for Mingyu’s invitation, I really needed to relax a little bit. Lately too many things were on my mind and as if university wasn’t stressful enough, Sana lurking around us constantly was really off putting. I tried to act mature after the talk Mingyu and I had about her, and after even Seungcheol reassured me, but it was a bit weird how uncaring Mingyu acted when I brought her up. Maybe it was because he didn’t want me to flip on him again, or maybe he wasn’t telling me about something. As long as he didn’t do anything that would directly hurt me, it was fine with me.
The day went by quickly, since when someone is feeling really good time seems to be flying, and we found ourselves gathered at the table inside. The sun was gone and the weather turned cool as we shut all doors of the yacht to stop the cold from coming inside. Someone turned on the heating and as we put all the food the boys cooked for lunch and some for dinner, I appreciated the warm breeze inside as it warmed my cold arms up. I was too lazy to get my jacket and not tipsy enough to feel hot like Jeonghan, Seokmin and Soonyoung were feeling. I sat in a random chair at the table as Vernon placed some wine in front of me with a wink. I grinned up at him and took a sip from the glass, humming appreciatively.
“See? A friend never forgets.” He said with a wink and I patted the chair next to me, asking him to sit there. He gladly took the seat and slowly everyone gathered at the table. It was loud as I placed some food on my plate, my chopsticks getting stopped by someone else’s. When I looked up I came face to face with Wonwoo’s mischievous grin as he stole the piece of meat I wanted and I scoffed, taking another one.
“So childish…” I said with a grimace and he raised his eyebrows at me mockingly, even though I’m sure he couldn’t hear me as he was sitting across from me. Chan was sitting to my right and my eyes widened in horror when I saw him trying to pour beer in my wine glass.
“Yah, Chan!” I exclaimed and gripped his wrist before he could tilt the beer bottle and his eyes widened.
“Yes?” He asked confused and I sighed, lowering his wrist carefully to place the beer bottle back on the table.
“I have wine in that glass dude…” I told him with an exasperated huff and Chan chuckle, his ears turning red.
“Oh, sorry…I thought it was my glass.” I shook my head at him and he abandoned trying to find his glass as he drank out of the bottle. I started eating and groaned at the explosion of different ingredients once I bit into the meat. I wasn’t a big fan of it, but the condiments on this one were amazing. It tasted perfect.
“Tasty, right?” Minghao asked with a grin, he was sitting between Chan and Seokmin, as he looked at me proudly.
“Very tasty!” I exclaimed and he chuckled, biting into his own meat. Someone made a mix of rice with different vegetables, like: corn, pepper, peas, carrots; and that one was amazing too. As I reached for the salad that was in front of me, a plate from Wonwoo was passed to me. Food from each dish was on it and I looked at him surprised, taking it reluctantly.
“From Mingyu.” He said and nodded his head towards his left where Mingyu was sandwiched between Jun and Jihoon. I gave Mingyu a smile and he raised his glass in salute before downing his drink. Seungkwan, of course, had to scoff when he saw Wonwoo passing me the plate and Vernon elbowed him, dumping the noodles he didn’t like on Seungkwan’s plate.
“Can’t you let her live for a second?” I heard Vernon scold Seungkwan as he continued glaring at me. I chuckled and tapped Vernon’s thigh to let him know that it was fine and he really didn’t bother me, to be honest, I was used to Seungkwan already. Most of the time I ignored him, I would even forget sometimes that he was with us. I took another big bite of the food and happily munched on it, everything tasted so good, I’d have to learn some tricks from the guys who cooked today. Realizing I couldn’t eat all the food that was given to me by Mingyu, I looked around the table, trying to find Seungcheol. He was sitting close to the end of the table, to my left and across from me, and I almost started laughing when I saw his arm hooked with Joshua’s. The two were eating quietly with their free hands, sometimes muttering to each other, but other then that they weren’t paying attention to the people around them.
“Cheol!” I called out loudly to get his attention and his head whipped up, looking at me questioningly. I almost started laughing when I saw the red tint of his cheeks and how his eyes darted between me and the few other guys looking at them. Jeonghan started giggling and pointed a finger at Joshua and Seungcheol, but he said nothing as he looked at me and winked before going back to eating. I chuckled to myself as I grabbed the plate Mingyu gave me, I had already placed what I wanted from it on my own plate.
“What?!” Seungcheol snapped and Joshua gave him a look before smiling at me warmly. I giggled as I stretched my arm out, asking Vernon to pass it on to them.
“No need to be so hostile, Cheol, just wanted to feed you some more food.” I said with a shrug and he shook his head, taking the plate from Seungkwan, who stole two broccolis off the plate.
“Thank you.” Seungcheol flashed me a smile and I huffed, taking my glass to sip from my wine. Chan took it as his cue to grab his own bottle of beer and clink it against my own glass with too much force. He giggled when I gave him a warning look to stop, and he just leaned his head on my shoulder. I sighed and drank my wine, eyes falling on Mingyu. He was eating rapidly, as if he hasn’t eaten yet today, nodding to everything Jun was saying to him. Wonwoo was listening to their conversation too as he said a few words here and there, and as if Mingyu sensed my gaze, he looked up. I offered him a small smile and he winked at me, turning his head back towards Jun as the later started getting louder and louder while telling his story.
            After everyone had eaten enough we gathered the little leftovers and placed them inside the fridge as the guys decided to play some drinking games. The music playing was louder than earlier in the day and Chan and Wonwoo were happily singing into a microphone. I played two drinking games with the eight guys who decided to have some more fun, but decided that I was too tired to stay with them anymore. I had brought a book with me and I didn’t get to read yet today, so I decided to wish everyone a good night and retreat to the master bedroom. It wasn’t early in the evening at all, yet Jeonghan and Soonyoung called me a party popper and a grandma. I just laughed before heading up the stairs, bumping into Seungkwan as he just left the bathroom.
“I hope you didn’t puke in there.” I muttered and Seungkwan scoffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. His eyes didn’t sit right, and his lips were pushed in a pout.
“I’m drunk, not stupid.” Seungkwan slurred and I chuckled, walking around him.
“You’re actually both.”
“Oh Y/N!” He exclaimed, eyebrows furrowing as he pointed a finger at me, “Don’t disrespect me!”
“Treat me like a decent human being then.” I snapped back at Seungkwan and he scoffed, roughly rubbing his face with his hands.
“Do you like Vernon?” Seungkwan’s eyes were narrowed into slits and I started laughing, leaning against the sliding doors of the bedroom.
“Sure, and I’m also dating Mingyu. And behind their backs I’m actually having an affair with Wonwoo and actually! Seungcheol and I got married two years ago; bet Joshua and Jeonghan couldn’t find that information about us!” I knew the alcohol in my system was making me meaner and I wasn’t even tipsy, I could hold my liquor well.
Seungkwan scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Whatever, I just don’t want my friend to suffer because of a stupid girl—”
“Alright, if you’re here to insult me, suit yourself, Seungkwan. I have nothing against you, but maybe you should stop being a stuck-up whiney bitch—”
“A bitch?!” Seungkwan’s voice raised volumes and I smirked, “You’re one to talk! When you’re a gold digger, you just want Mingyu’s money—”
“I’m a what?!” I exclaimed, feeling my anger suddenly burst through me.
“You heard me! I told him you were nasty. I bet you’re the one who ratted us out to the police—” Before Seungkwan could sputter more gibberish, I lunged at him, totally disregarding my actions. Whenever I drunk even a little bit, I was ready to fight anyone. Seungkwan just so happened to pull the wrong strings tonight and as I gripped onto his blonde hair, which actually had a nice texture, a loud cry left his lips. I didn’t care who I was attacking, I was seeing red as I felt offended by his words.
“I’m the gold digger when I’ve been doing everything to ignore and avoid Mingyu?!” I screamed as I tugged on his hair and Seungkwan cried out again, gripping my wrists with his hands. I was sure no one would hear the commotion upstairs as the music was playing really loudly due to the boys wanting to have a party.
“You figured out Mingyu’s weakness!” Seungkwan exclaimed and suddenly I felt fingers around one of my braids, “He always loved a little push and play game, it was part of your plan all along!”
I exclaimed when he tugged on the braid, my scalp itched from the force, but it only fueled my anger. I fisted his hair and went to tug on it, but Seungkwan did something with his legs and I was on my back on the floor, pain shooting up through my spine.
“What the fuck?!” I exclaimed, eyes wide, as I looked up at Seungkwan who was straddling me. Our hands were finally not tugging on each other’s hair anymore, but Seungkwan looked angry that I attacked him.
“We are mafias now! Let me show you what we do to people who play with us.” That sinister smirk I always hated suddenly slipped onto his lips and I started kicking the floor with my legs, blocking his arms from reaching for my neck.
“Are you bowling up there—holy shit! Mingyu, Vernon, Jihoon! Come here!” I heard someone shouting from the stairs as I punched Seungkwan’s chest hard, knocking the air out from his lungs. His eyes widened and I took it as the opportunity to latch onto his hair again and try to push him off. I heard loud thuds over the music and suddenly I saw two people leaning over Seungkwan. I didn’t focus on them, I tugged harder on Seungkwan’s hair, making him scream out in pain.
“Let go of me! I’m going to kill this bitch!” Seungkwan screamed as his arms were being held back, so that he couldn’t reach me. I felt hands on top of mine, trying to pry them out of Seungkwan’s hair. He cried out again and trashed a bit around in pain.
“Sugar, let go of his hair.” I heard Mingyu’s voice shout over the loud music coming from downstairs, but my eyebrows furrowed and I refused to do what he told me. Someone nudged my legs and I hissed, thinking it was Seungkwan, and tugged harder.
“Yah!” By this time, I knew even more of the guys were watching us, I could hear laughter coming from the stairs, “Let go of me Oh Y/N!”
“You want me to let go now, huh?!” I screamed and Seungkwan whined, his lips turning down as he looked me in the eyes.
“I’m sorry, okay?! Just stop!”
“Sorry about what?!” I raised my eyebrows at a despaired Seungkwan, enjoying the pain on his face.
“That I called you a bitch and gold digger and—”
“What is—Boo Seungkwan!” Seungcheol’s voice topped everyone’s as someone gripped my elbows, the hands from my own disappearing.
“Get off her right now!” Seungcheol hollered and I felt the grip on my elbows tighten.
“Let go, sugar, right now.” Mingyu’s stern voice sent shivers down my spine and I finally looked up, making eye contact with my boyfriend. He was glaring hard and I very reluctantly released the hold I had on Seungkwan’s locks. In a second, Seungkwan was hauled off me and I was tugged up like I was a rag doll. Mingyu looked pissed as he looked at Seungkwan with a glare, before directing it at me.
“What the fuck are you doing?!” It was Seungcheol who exclaimed, pointing his finger at me and then at Seungkwan, “Don’t you know better?!”
He slapped Seungkwan’s cheek, not hard at all, just in warning as he looked at Vernon and Jihoon, “Take him downstairs, Joshua and I are switching rooms with him and Soonyoung.”
“You better go to sleep Seungkwan and stay away from Y/N, or I swear to God—” Mingyu’s jaw was clenched as he held onto me, pulling me slightly behind him. Seungkwan looked embarrassed and angry as he looked at his two bosses, lowering his head.
“Whatever.” He muttered before shrugging Jihoon and Vernon’s hands off him, turning to go to the stairs. The other guys were standing on the stairs, watching us with amused faces. Soonyoung and Seokmin even had their phones in their hands, which they quickly put away when Seungkwan saw them.
“Wait,” I called out with a huff, rubbing my forehead as I forced the next words out of myself, “I’m sorry too. For calling you stupid and a bitch.”
Very loud giggling followed my words and Jun gave Seungkwan a pat as he threw me a look, “Whatever.”
I scoffed and tried stepping towards him, but Mingyu held me back, “We’re going to sleep, now.”
“I’m not—” Mingyu didn’t let me talk as he opened the sliding doors and pushed me inside. I huffed and turned to glare at him, trying to head outside, but he slid the door shut.
“Go back to your business!” Mingyu called through the door, as he locked it, and I could hear the loud footsteps of the others as they descended the stairs quickly. I continued to glare at Mingyu as I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
“Seriously?” He raised his eyebrows at me and I looked away, “I thought you were smarter than that, sugar.”
“He called me a gold digger!” I exclaimed, angry again, “And said I’m playing with you! That I went to the police and ratted you out!”
“But you know those aren’t true, why did you bother engaging in something with Seungkwan? You know he’s childish—”
“He hurt my pride.” I snapped, giving Mingyu another glare as he shook his head with a tired sigh, “I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for you, Mingyu. I can take a few hurtful words once in a while but not when they are constantly aimed at me. I told you months ago that I wanted nothing to do with you—”
“Shut up!” Mingyu snapped, marching up to me, “I’m not doing this. I don’t want you to remind me again that everything happens because of me. You could have said no—”
“Oh my God!” I threw my hands up, giving Mingyu an incredulous look, “Do you even hear yourself right now? Said no? How many times did I say no, you asshole?!”
“Don’t call me an asshole.” He muttered lowly as he gripped the back of my head, pulling me in close. I glared at him and tried to take deep breaths to calm my erratic heart and stupid mind. Why was I even fighting with Mingyu? He didn’t do anything.
“I’m fed up with people constantly judging me for being with you.” I muttered and sighed, looking away from Mingyu.
“And I’m fed up with you constantly blaming everything on me, okay? You knew what you were getting into, stop whining about it all the time.” I gave Mingyu a look and he just glared back. He wasn’t wrong, but it was always easier to blame someone else. And in this case, I had a right to blame him, he really did cause many of the things I accuse him of. I took in his features as Mingyu held me in place, his eyebrows were furrowed and his lips in a tight line. I raised my hand and softly pressed my fingers on the skin between his eyebrows. His features instantly softened and Mingyu sighed, his firm grip turning tender on the back of my head.
“I’m sorry.” I muttered and offered him a small smile, closing the gap between our bodies as I leaned into Mingyu.
“I’m sorry too.” Mingyu sighed and sneaked his arms around my torso as I let my hands rest around his shoulders. The music was thumping loudly from downstairs and we could hear the cheers of the boys as they were probably playing some game. Someone was badly singing into the microphone and I would have smiled if Mingyu wouldn’t have leaned in to kiss me. His soft lips pressed against mine and I closed my eyes, melting into his touch. I felt warm in his arms and Mingyu’s lips moved slowly against mine, taking his time. I let my hands run through his hair, softly tugging on it, like I knew he liked it, and Mingyu moaned quietly, opening his mouth a little. I slipped my tongue into his mouth and Mingyu’s kiss turned hungry, our lips clashing together furiously. His lips tasted like smoke and the alcohol he’s been drinking all night long; he was probably smoking a cigarette before someone alerted him of the fight Seungkwan and I were having. I felt Mingyu’s hands roaming down my back and I tried getting even closer to him than I already was. The room felt hot, and I knew it wasn’t from the heating that was still on nor from the alcohol that was in my system. Mingyu being this close to me right now was making me lost in the feel of him and I craved to get even closer, to feel his skin on mine. My hands traveled to the hem of his long-sleeved shirt and I gripped it firmly, tugging on it. Mingyu’s lips pulled back just a little as I lifted the long-sleeved shirt over his body, throwing it on the floor somewhere besides us. Mingyu’s lips pulled into a smirk as his hands travelled to my ass and I was lifted up, legs coming around his hips as he started walking us backwards. I chuckled at him and started kissing all over his face, feeling him sit us down as I cradled his lap. His hands went to my braids and he pulled the hair ties off, running his hands through my hair to undo the braids. I tilted his head back and kissed him on the lips again and Mingyu’s hands went underneath my t-shirt, feeling up on my skin as he slowly dragged them all over my back. I sighed into the kiss and my hands went to the buckles of the dungaree to push them off, to be able to take my t-shirt off as well. Mingyu’s hands helped and in no time, my t-shirt was disregarded as well. He let his hands travel all over my torso and I moaned when he groped my breasts through my bra, pressing my lips forcefully against his. Our lips moved hungrily and I dragged my nails down Mingyu’s torso, eliciting a breathy moan from him, pushing him onto his back. His body bounced as he fell back on the mattress and I didn’t waste time as I lowered my head and left kisses all over his tanned skin, soft underneath my lips. Mingyu’s eyes were screwed shut and mouth slightly opened as his chest fell and rose at a steady rhythm, his hands gripping onto my waist as he impatiently pulled me up to kiss me on the lips. His hands pushed my hips, bringing it down on his and we both moaned at the contact. My body was on fire and everywhere Mingyu touched he left goosebumps; his own heat was suffocating. His honey like scent was intoxicating as I started circling my hips against his, feeling him get harder through his jeans. One hand squeezed my ass and the other fisted my hair as he pulled my head back, pressing kisses down my neck and collarbones. With fumbling hands, I tried undoing the buttons of his jeans as Mingyu was distracted kissing me and as I pulled the zipper, my hands pressed against his hardness, and it made Mingyu moan. He looked me in the eyes and sat up abruptly, almost knocking his forehead against mine.
“Are you sure?” His voice was husky and pupils blown wide as he looked me in the eyes. I nodded and he gently pushed me off, so that we both could get rid of our pants. I quickly pushed the dungaree off and Mingyu was already by my side, pushing me down on my back as he hovered between my legs.
“Mingyu, I want this.” My voice was just as raspy as his as I reassured him that I indeed wanted this. After he opened up about his childhood I felt like he finally put his full trust in me, I finally felt like I could truly trust him. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me; I knew I meant a lot to him and I knew the feelings I felt for him he felt too just as intensely. I could see it in his eyes as his hands dragged over my legs, featherlike. I bit my lower lip as I anticipated his next move, he leaned down to press a kiss against my thigh and it made my heart jump from its place. His fingers curled around my panties and he slowly pulled them off, not breaking eye contact even for a second. Mingyu got rid of his own briefs and his hands came to rest on either side of my head. He lowered his body, so close yet not touching, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to be close to him, to feel all of him like I haven’t before.
“Mingyu.” I whispered, gripping the back of his neck, trying to get him to do something. He didn’t budge and I was getting frustrated, until he opened his mouth and spoke.
“I love you, Y/N.” My eyes widened and my heart jumped for the second time, I didn’t expect him to ever say those words to me. I figured our egos were too big to say those words to each other. I could feel the affection he had for me even if he didn’t say it. I knew I loved him, it started a while back, before there was something going on between us.
I opened my mouth to say the words back, but suddenly his skin was on mine and his lips were on mine, so filled with emotion that I was breathless. And just as I kissed him back, I felt him slowly entering me, stretching me out. My lips opened and I couldn’t help but let a moan fall from them as Mingyu pushed fully in, raising one of my knees to rest around his hips. I felt hot and full, and as I looked up at him, I could see he was just as satisfied as I was.
“I love you, Mingyu.” The words felt foreign on my lips as I breathlessly whispered them, but they were right. A smile pulled onto his lips and I tried to chuckle but his thrust knocked the wind out of me, I forgot what this felt like. But in that second I knew he was everything I’ve ever wanted.
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           After everything that went down last night, I still found the energy to wake up before sunrise, brew some coffee and head to the master bedroom’s balcony to watch the sun rise in silence and peace. The other guys went to sleep not long after Mingyu and I had fallen asleep, and I wasn’t surprised that it was only me up at that hour. I walked around carefully, trying to make as little sound in the kitchen as I could as Seokmin and Soonyoung were hugging each other in their sleep on the couch in the open living room. It was a rather small couch; they should have gone to their beds. When my coffee was done, I picked up a thicker blanket that was in the kitchen and brought it over to lay it on the two sleeping men. Seokmin grumbled something as I let the blanket cover their bodies, muttering a quiet ‘thank you’. With a smile, I went back upstairs and after using the bathroom, I went onto the little balcony. The fresh sea air was refreshing and the subtle sway of the boat was calming. Seagulls flew over head and I looked up with a smile, resting comfortably in the chair. The morning breeze was cold but pleasant and I left the door to the bedroom open, it needed a little fresh air. As I looked back I could see Mingyu laying sprawled out on his stomach in the big bed, his arm laying on my pillow as he slept soundly. I smiled as it was a sight I could get used to and made a mental note to ask Mingyu to use his yacht more often. The orange hues on the sky slipped inside the room too and reflect off of Mingyu’s tan skin, giving him a soft and beautiful glow. I looked out towards the sunrise, basking in the calmness that surrounded me. I wished to be in a state like this more often. Something crashing downstairs alerted me and I stood up and walked to the railing to peek downstairs. Minghao stood frozen, with a cup of coffee in his hands, as he had just knocked over some chairs the boys probably placed next to the door of the first floors balcony. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his expression and he looked up surprised.
“Good morning!” He called quietly and I offered him a smile.
“Good morning, I didn’t think anyone else would be up.” I spoke softly, knowing he’d hear me still.
“I never miss the sunrise when we sail out, it’s too beautiful and tranquil.” Minghao’s morning voice was cute and his ruffled hair too as he spoke, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You can come up here, I don’t mind sharing the sunrise with you.” Minghao chuckled and pulled his robe around his torso tightly.
“Are you sure?” He asked, looking a little reluctant.
“Of course, hurry up now, it’s almost over.” I beckoned him up and Minghao nodded with an excited grin, quickly disappearing inside to come and join me.
           After everyone woke up and washed up, we ate the little leftovers there were and sailed back to the docks. It took us thirteen minutes before I set foot on the concrete, helped by Jeonghan, as Mingyu came up behind me, both of our backpacks on his broad back. I looked back at him and smiled, kissing his cheek as Seungcheol was somewhere still on the yacht. I made them clean up their mess, so that they wouldn’t need a maid to come and do it for them, and Jun was very against it but one look from Mingyu shut him up quickly. Seungkwan was surprisingly talkative this morning, even proceeded to ask me how my semester at university was and everyone laughed. Seokmin and Soonyoung pulled out their phones and thanked God they weren’t drunk enough to forget to record our fight, from two different angles. We both were embarrassed and swore never to bring it up again. As I was washing the dishes from our breakfast, Seungcheol walked up to me with a glare and I looked at him confused. Unfortunately, he heard Mingyu and I last night and he wasn’t happy that he was robbed of his sleep. I couldn’t help but laugh loudly when he very childishly complained to me about it, and Joshua walked up to us with a knowing smile before he offered to wash the rest of the dishes.
Now everyone was going towards their cars, some came together, others with their own cars. Mingyu stopped me before I could head over to Seungcheol’s car and kissed me deeply, surprising me, as Chan and Jeonghan started making gagging noises. I pulled away giggling and got my backpack from him, promising that I’d go over tomorrow for the day. Seungcheol was in a better mood than yesterday morning and looked well rested despite him complaining about Mingyu and I keeping him up. He pulled into the underground parking lot of our building and we got out quickly, headed for the elevator.
“I need a shower desperately.” He sighed as he leaned against the wall of the elevator, “I don’t like feeling the salt on my skin.”
“You should’ve showered on the yacht.” I said with a shrug as I swayed a little in the elevator.
“By the time I got to it the hot water was gone.” I chuckled and looked back at him.
“See…if you would’ve gotten up with me and Minghao to watch the sunrise, you would’ve been able to shower there.” Seungcheol shook his head with a pout and I chuckled, poking his cheek. The elevator doors opened and we both got out, going to our own apartments.
“Are you free today?” I asked as I pushed the key into the keyhole.
“If you’re in the mood to help me study, kinda.” Seungcheol said with a grimace and I nodded, remembering he failed one of his classes.
“Sure, after lunch?”
“Yeah, I want to sleep a bit more.” He muttered and we both opened our doors, I turned to wave at Seungcheol as he slammed his door shut. I chuckled and walked inside my apartment, sighing loudly as I dropped my backpack by the door. I took off my jacket and looked up, about to walk further inside when the sight in front of me made me freeze. I could see inside the living room from the hallway and what I saw left me horrified. The pillows I had on my couch were ripped up, the feathers from it laying everywhere. I dropped my jacket on the table I had by the wall and slowly took steps further inside my apartment, eyes growing wide at the sight of my kitchen. Everything was trashed, plates and cups lay on the ground shattered. There were scratches on the wall that weren’t there before. My heart was beating like crazy and I cautiously proceeded further inside, pushing the door of my bedroom open. My bedroom was a bigger mess than the kitchen. My clothes were pulled out from their places, they lay scattered around everywhere. The pillows were ripped open and the blanket was pulled off my bed, mattress cut up too. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Who would do this? Why would someone do this? Did they break into my apartment? It can’t be, this isn’t a bad neighborhood, my neighbors would’ve heard something and told me, especially Mrs. Lim. My heart was beating fast as I walked finally into the living room, eyes falling on all the shattered picture frames that once were hung on the walls. All of my notebooks and books were ripped apart and lay on the floor. I gasped when my eyes fell on a photo of myself and Seungcheol. My face was crossed out with a big red X and my eyes were missing. My hand flew to my mouth reflexively as I felt sick. I needed to get out, Seungcheol had to see this. I can’t be in here, what if the culprit is hiding in here somewhere? I turned abruptly and was about to hurry for the front door, when a blonde woman seemed to have shown up out of nowhere. She smirked at me, looking around the apartment with a worried gaze.
“What happened here?” Sana’s high-pitched voice sounded amused. It suddenly clicked in my head, why was she here? How would she know?
“Why did you do it?” I finally found my voice, I hated how it trembled. I didn’t even know what I was supposed to think right now. I can’t even escape; she’s blocking my path. My body was tense and ready to react, it was like all of my senses heightened as my heart pumped faster.
“This?” Sana looked around, motioning with her hands, “It was supposed to be a warning.”
“For what?” I asked and she huffed, looking at me like I was a little child getting disciplined.
“For bewitching Mingyu. I don’t know how you did it, but I’m truly impressed!” She started clapping slowly and I gulped, taking a few steps back when she advanced inside the living room, “I’ve been trying so hard to get his attention, nothing worked! And then you…a broke university student who happens to be the most boring person I’ve came across, catches his attention. Don’t you think it’s unfair?!”
“You can’t force someone into liking you, Sana.” I snapped, finding the confidence I always seemed to have in situations like this one. The more she spoke, the more my blood started boiling. I forgot about the initial fear I felt, all I wanted was to choke her, she deserved it.
“You know, everything was going just fine, until you came along.” Her voice was venomous as she tried getting closer to me, but I kept my distance. I didn’t glance towards the exit, trying not to remind her that if we switched places, I’d very easily be able to make a run for it. So instead, I played it smart. I walked to the right so that she’d try and come by my left side, switching our places.  
“Maybe to you everything was going just fine,” I mocked her with a disgusted face, Sana didn’t appreciate it, “But I’ve only heard shit about you. Get out of your head, Sana, Mingyu never liked you. And he’ll never like you.”
Sana’s jaw clenched and she started laughing crazily, her eyes narrowed as she watched me, “And you still think he’ll keep you around forever? That you’ll be his?”
“I’m no one’s,” I snapped, palms turning into fists, “and how my relationship goes with Mingyu is none of your business. Now that you’re here, with your special little warning, you’ve got me wondering…did Momo go crazy because of Mingyu? Or you…”
Sana’s eyes widened and I chuckled, backing towards the hallway slowly, “Yeah, I know everything Sana. If you trashing my apartment was supposed to be a warning, why are you still here? It’s a bit now embarrassing that I’ll have to tell your colleagues what a psycho their boss is.”
Sana chuckled in a very hysterical way and looked back at me with her eyes blazing from fury, maybe I shouldn’t have mocked her and instead should have taken off a long time ago, “I had a change of mind in the middle of trashing your apartment. And I’m really glad I decided to stay for a little extra surprise…because…today is the day you take your last breath, Y/N.”
My heart jumped into my throat and as I turned and took off towards the front door, Sana jumped over my coffee table and caught up with me, grabbing onto my hair. I exclaimed in pain as she hauled me back roughly and pushed me into the wall. She was holding onto my hair tightly, a lot tighter than Seungkwan was, I could feel her ripping the strands out. My eyes filled with tears from the pain and I placed my hands quickly against the wall when I felt Sana pulling my head back to smash it against the wall. My hands took the hit and Sana hissed; lips pressed against my ear.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have mocked me.” Her voice was low and I yelped when she yanked me backwards. Taking the chance, I pushed my body into hers and with all the force I had, I ran us backwards, knocking Sana into the wall this time. She didn’t let go of my hair still and I stomped on her foot, putting all of my weight into my right leg, and she cried out in pain.
“Let go, you bitch!” I exclaimed as I elbowed her hard in the stomach and she finally released my hair, doubling over. She was quick to recover and before I could run to the front door, which wasn’t far at all, she had me turned around by my arm and next thing I knew a punch was landed on my jaw. It threw me off balance and I fell against the wall, groaning loudly as an excruciating pain traveled all over my jaw. I’ve never felt anything like it before, I could’ve cried right there and then. I haven’t recovered from the blow yet when Sana had my hair in her fist again, keeping me standing upright. She was so much shorter, but her power was immense. She punched me in the stomach and it knocked all the air out of my lungs, pain traveling all over my torso. I looked at her through teary eyes and mustered up all the power I had in me and pushed her back by the shoulders, her fist yanked on my hair but it let go as she was taken by surprise. She stumbled back and I finally turned and started running, when the click of a gun made me freeze. My body ran cold, it felt like my heart stopped beating and my blood froze over. My lower lips trembled as I raised my arms to let her know that I wouldn’t do anything. I slowly turned around, my jaw and stomach throbbing in pain, as I came face to face with a smirking Sana.
“You know how to fight,” She said with a chuckle, holding the gun tightly, “And you’re pretty good too.”
I just gulped, unable to take my eyes off the gun. So, after all, I wouldn’t die at the hands of Kim Mingyu. An obsessed woman was the one to end my life. I wondered what his reaction would’ve been after the night we shared. After I told him I loved him. Would he avenge my death? Would he destroy everything and everyone who came onto his path? Would Seungcheol miss me very much? Would he be able to recover? Find a true friend in someone else? What about Vernon? He’d lose someone once again he cared about; he’d be destroyed. My parents…my poor parents who didn’t deserve to bury their only daughter. They’d be forever tainted; I know they would never recover from losing me.
“Look at you…” Sana scoffed and I looked at her, biting my lower lip, “You’re seriously crying.”
I didn’t realize I started crying. She pushed the safety off her gun and a voice, so loud I jumped, shouted at me to just “MOVE”. I didn’t think twice, I ducked and ran towards Sana like you see the rugby players do, and I heard the gun going off, but I didn’t care. I didn’t know if it hit me or not, my body, which felt sore a second ago, felt like it just got a refreshing massage. I wasn’t in pain anymore; all I could hear was my loud heart going crazy. There were two screams and my arms latched onto Sana’s torso tightly as I ran into her body, knocking us down onto the floor. She was breathing hard and her eyes rolled to the back of her head for a second from the impact her body went through, and I looked at her with so much anger that her body started trembling.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have touched me.” I mocked, using her own words against her, as I raised my fist and crashed into the side of her face, her resisting body going limp under me. I was breathing hard as I shook her body, seeing if she was still conscious. When I was sure she wasn’t, I scrambled away from her and gripped onto my hair, realizing I was shaking very hard. I covered my ears when I heard a door being kicked open and curled up into a ball, trying to hide from whoever came to get me. Sana almost killed me. I screamed when someone touched me and before I could fight the person, my cheeks were gripped tightly and moved away from my knees. The touch was warm and the hand was big against my cheeks, and I wouldn’t stop trembling.
“Please,” The panicked whisper hit me like bricks and my eyes flew open, “Y/N, oh my God.”
My arms flew around Seungcheol as I clung onto him like a koala, clutching his shirt into my hands so tightly I almost ripped the fabric. His arms were tight around me and he rocked us back and forth, caressing the back of my head as he shooshed me like I was a baby. It was strangely calming, but I couldn’t get myself to let go of him. Something wet dropped onto my cheek and I thought I was crying again, but it was Seungcheol’s wet hair. I realized his shirt was a little wet too, he must have ran here straight when the gun went off.
“Y/N,” He whispered into my ear and I nodded, unable to speak, “You have to call Mingyu.”
I nodded again and let Seungcheol helped me off the ground, I still didn’t pull out of his embrace, “I need to bring over something, you have to let me go—”
“Don’t leave me alone with her!” I said panicking and Seungcheol patted my head again.
“It’ll take five second, I promise.” Seungcheol’s tone was reassuring but I was reluctant still, “When did I not keep my promise?”
I sucked in a shaky breath and finally detached myself from my best friend, hands shaking once again. His expression was the exact opposite of his tone, when I looked at him, my throat closed in on me. His expression was so dark it almost made me cry again, but before we could say anything else, he was out of the door. I glanced at Sana and ran to my jacket, keeping my eyes on her as I fumbled around for my phone. When I finally had it in my hands, I unlocked it and dialed Mingyu’s number. I pressed myself against the wall and scooted to the front door, ready to flee if Sana happened to wake up. I didn’t know how strong my punch was.
“Sugar—”
“Sana tried to kill me.” It came out as a whimper and there was dead silence on the other line, “She just—she was in my apartment—Seungcheol told me to call you.”
My heart was beating fast and the front door knocked into my shoulder as Seungcheol came rushing in, I moved away to let him in. There was still silence on the other end and suddenly the call ended. I looked at my phone confused and remained where I was, watching Seungcheol press duct tape onto Sana’s lips and then he hauled her up and dragged a chair into the middle of my living room before sitting her on it. He took the ropes he brought and tied her tightly against the chair, pulling on it to make sure she wouldn’t be able to undo it. He looked around and when his eyes fell on the gun he went and took it, taking the ammunition out before smashing it against the floor angrily.
“Seungcheol,” I whispered, lips trembling.
“I can’t believe this bitch tried to—to kill you.” A vein was popping in his neck and I gazed at him sadly, “I should’ve killed her the second I found her swooping around our things years ago. I just—did she hurt you?”
I shook my head and took two steps towards him, still keeping my distance from Sana, “No, the bullet didn’t hit me—I think. I’d feel that—right?”
“You would,” Seungcheol sighed, running his hands through his wet black hair, “What did Mingyu say?”
“Nothing.” I whispered, biting my lower lip anxiously.
“Oh, fuck.” Seungcheol muttered to himself and before I could ask what that meant, Mingyu and Vernon came storming inside my apartment. I jumped and pressed myself up against the wall, my heart thumping from the sudden actions of the two new comers. Vernon’s eyes were fixed on Sana and he started looking around my apartment, Mingyu, however was only looking at me. We looked at each other and in a split second I was in his arms, breathing in his honey and smoke like scent, telling myself that I was safe now. He was here, Sana wouldn’t hurt me anymore. Mingyu didn’t react to my touch, he pushed me back a little, looking down at my face.
“What did she do to you?” The Mingyu from yesterday was gone; the man in front of me, was the man who held a gun to my head. His voice ice and expression cold as he waited patiently for my answer.
“Punched me twice and—tried to shoot me.” I shuddered at the words and Mingyu looked at Vernon, giving him a nod. I looked at Vernon alarmed when he went inside my kitchen and returned with a glass of water, apparently Sana didn’t break everything.
“What are you going to do?” I whispered to Mingyu as Vernon walked to Sana. Mingyu looked down at me and carefully pushed me away.
“Don’t move from here.” Is all he said and I heard water splashing, so I turned and saw Sana’s eyes wide open. She looked around franticly and panicked, but when her eyes fell on Mingyu she seemed to relax a little bit. I glared at her as I remained as far away as I could from her, Vernon abandoning the glass on the coffee table as he came to stand next to me. Seungcheol was leaning against the entrance of the living room as he watched Sana with a glare. Mingyu walked slowly, looking around my apartment, taking everything in. His eyes fell on Sana and he nodded at Seungcheol, who ripped the duct tape from her mouth. Vernon placed his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side, offering me a little comfort. I sighed and I thanked him quietly, needing the little support he could offer me. He looked just as emotionless as Mingyu and Seungcheol, but his eyes were full of worry as we shared a glance, and his thumb kept rubbing my shoulder in a calming motion, we both needed it.
“Mingyu.” Sana’s voice was whiney and tears gathered in her eyes. Mingyu interlaced his fingers in front of himself and sighed loudly, pursing his lips.
“Explain yourself.” His voice was emotionless as he looked everywhere but at Sana.
“I—I—I—” Sana seemed to be at a loss of words as she looked panicked around, her eyes falling on me and she frowned. Her body was slightly trembling and I couldn’t help but scowl at her.
“Relax, my dear,” My body tensed upon hearing Mingyu’s words and the warmness in his tone, and I twitched when he rubbed Sana’s cheek, “I asked you something simple. All you have to do is be honest with me.”
Vernon was aware of my reaction and he squeezed me, looking at me, “He knows what he’s doing, don’t get mad.”
“Touching her and being nice to her when she tried to kill me?” I snapped at Vernon quietly, but Seungcheol glanced at us, and I realized I wasn’t very quiet. Sana’s lips pulled into a smirk for a split second before she nodded at Mingyu.
“Okay, I—I will, but…will you hurt me?” She asked, faking the fear in her voice.
“Depends on if you tell me the truth or not.” Mingyu said casually as he shrugged and then took a seat on my sofa. Vernon continued rubbing my shoulder with his thumb and I decided to remain calm and silent, if whatever Mingyu was doing will make Sana talk, I won’t fuck it up.
“Well, I just—couldn’t stand seeing you with Y/N, Mingyu. Not when I worked so hard to be with you and well—you did so much for Momo, I wanted to show you my gratitude, I really did! And things were going amazing between us but—that bitch showed up and she came between us. I didn’t want to do this, Mingyu, I swear. I just wanted to scare her a bit, make her run away on her own, but then I just—I found your clothes in her wardrobe and her bathroom smelled like your cologne, I just—I lost control! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do what I did, I just wanted to scare her—”
“Did you scare her?” Mingyu raised his eyebrows nonchalantly and my pulse was raising by every minute.
“I did!” Sana chuckled like a mad woman and looked me in the eyes, “She even cried!”
My jaw clenched and if it wasn’t for Vernon, I would’ve lunged at her and choked her.
“How did you make her cry?” Mingyu pressed on and I tried to steady my breathing.
“I pointed my gun at her. I pulled the trigger but the bitch dodged it last minute. What a pity, I would’ve hit her straight in her heart—” Mingyu’s sudden movement made Sana flinch and I looked at him as he placed his left hand in the pocket of his coat, coming to stand next to Seungcheol.
“And this is the truth, yes?” Mingyu raised his eyebrows at Sana and she nodded at him proudly. Mingyu sighed deeply and looked at Seungcheol, shaking his head at him. Seungcheol didn’t react, he just reached for his phone and started typing on it. Sana looked between the two with a smile and Vernon sighed beside me, I looked at him confused.
“What’s happening—”
“You see, my dear,” Mingyu interrupted Sana’s frantic question, “thing is…you touched something that’s mine. You hurt her, Sana, you hurt Y/N. And I appreciate your honesty, but your actions can’t be forgiven. No one touches Y/N, not even me, do you hear me?”
“I—I’m so sorry—”
“Shut up!” Mingyu snapped, his expression falling as his anger came ripping through him, “You tried to kill Y/N, Sana, are you out of your fucking mind?! I guess you are, Seungcheol was right…Momo was right. You know little Kim Doyoung?”
“He’s my subordinate—”
“Exactly!” Mingyu laughed, leaning down to be eye level with Sana, “And if you’re gone…he takes your place. Sana, I’m sorry to tell you, but you failed to be of our help…unlike little Doyoung, he’s been a very important asset to your investigation but also an amazing help for me.”
“What—I don’t understand—” But I did, everything Mingyu was saying made sense. I tensed up and looked at both Vernon and Seungcheol, but they looked unphased, they knew what was coming.
“Mingyu, please, you don’t have to—” I tried to reason with him.
“She almost killed you.” He snapped, drawing his gun out of his pocket. My heart was thumping quickly in my chest and Vernon’s hold tightened on me as Seungcheol turned to look our way.
“Look away, Y/N.” My eyes widened and as a scream left Sana’s mouth, the gun went off. I couldn’t see it because Mingyu’s body blocked the view and Seungcheol walked up in front of me, holding my head to be only able to look at him. A shaky breath left my lips as Vernon’s warm embrace left me and I found myself shaking again. Seungcheol kissed my forehead and I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the shuffling coming from my living room. There was a hard thud and I flinched, holding onto Seungcheol’s wrist.
“It’s over.” Mingyu’s sudden voice in my ear made me tense up and Seungcheol’s hands went away as Mingyu pulled me into him this time, burying my head in his chest. I heard the two men pass by us and then it was suddenly silent in my apartment. My arms went around Mingyu’s torso as I held onto him tightly, feeling tears in my eyes once again. He held me tightly and kissed my head, making me sigh.
“You’re moving in with me.” He muttered and I pulled back to look at him, “Something like this will never happen again.”
I nodded wordlessly and Mingyu looked behind him, “My neighbors…”
“Will be taken care of—”
“Don’t kill them!” I quickly exclaimed and Mingyu chuckled, cupping my cheek.
“Of course not, sugar, I don’t kill innocent people.” I gulped and looked him in the eyes, still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that he killed Sana just a few minutes ago.
“I’ll move in with you.” I whispered and leaned up to press a kiss against his lips, trying to calm my erratic heartbeat. The man I was in love with was a criminal, he just killed a woman before my eyes…a woman that tried to kill me first. Was this the life I’d live if I remained by his side? As I looked up at Mingyu, I felt all emotions mix together. Love, happiness, anxiety, fear. Yet, I felt safe in his arms, I knew he’d do anything for me. He might not be the best person, but I couldn’t help love him more. The other half of me I always craved and wanted was finally in front of me. A smile pulled onto Mingyu’s lips and he pressed a kiss against my forehead, and I knew.
I knew I’d spend the rest of my life with him.
I was in love with Kim Mingyu, and nothing could scare me away anymore.
        A/N: Thank you so much everyone who’s shown support for this mini series! It’s probably the first time I’ve been shown this much love every time I posted a new part, and you made it so enjoyable for me to write. I was legit every single time excited to post it, because I wanted to see your reactions. Thank you very much again for being interested in this mini series and sending me your thoughts, I appreciate them all! I’m a little sad that this is over, but I’m so excited about Streets, that I can’t be very sad haha. Besides, that Wonwoo oneshot in this universe is still happening, give me two weeks! :) I wish you all a pleasant evening/day and I hope I’ll see you showing up for my other stories as well <3
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