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strawberryfairi · 3 months

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Synopsis✨: The story of how you catch heavy feelings for the hot photography student, Shuji Hanma…even though you already have the perfect (fake) boyfriend.

Pairings: Photography Student! Shuji Hanma X Dance Major! Black Fem 🤎 Reader (ANYONE CAN READ🧚🏾‍♀️) Content: Drama, lots of denial, angst, sneaky link, lots of cheating, mutual pining, unserious Shuji, controlling parents, forced relationships, romance, fighting, porn with a good plot vibes, intense sexual tension, etc (just find out the rest lol)

w.c: 5k💠 Released: Jan 5, 2024

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4; MISTAKES 错误

3 Days Later Monday

"-What do you think about that?"

Your professor Janette, who happens to be your favorite and previous dance teacher from when you were a little girl, calls you out of your thoughts.

"To be honest...I think I'm tired of thinking." You huff, leaning your head onto your hand propped up by your elbow on the desk.

"You? Tired of thinking?! Something's going on." She says in faux shock.

"I hope nothing else goes on." You grumble under your breath, but still loud enough for her to here.

"Wanna talk about it?" She suggests with a concerned brow.

"Ugh, I don't even know where to start! So obviously homecoming was last week, and the performance was great and all, but afterwards...it's afterwards where everything fell apart. I was supposed to be going to an after party with Ken, and first of all he ditched me to go with his boys instead; he was supposed to be my ride! I ended up having to get an Uber and then when I get there the first thing I see is some girl kissing my boyfriend!"

She gasps, hovering her mouth over her hands, eyes wide as saucers.

"Exactly! Exactly! But wait, it gets worse. So, I obviously confronted him and he's all trynna play it off like "Oh I didn't know she was gonna kiss me" on some it's not a big deal typ'a time. Then I just got upset and I kinda left and just sat out in the back near the pool by myself. But little did I know, I actually wasn't by myself, and there's some super fine, random guy just there. So...long story short, I ended up also kissing this guy and...some other..particular..things." By the end of your rant you're looking up at your professor with anxious, glossy eyes, fiddling with your hands in your lap.

She's absolutely speechless, just sitting there processing everything you said.

"You both need to talk; immediately. I think you two need to just sit down with nobody else around, and just lay everything out. Clearly there's some..disconnects here, so the sooner you both talk and are honest with each other, the easier it'll be to move forward." She explains in a sincere, almost motherly tone.

You huff, groaning as you run your hand over your face. "Well the thing is we talked the next day, and it didn't really go well..."

Flashback

"I heard you were in some guy's car last night outside the party. Anything you wanna tell me about that?" Ken's voice is stern and low, looking you dead in the eyes as he spoke. The two of you are sat in his dorm suite, the both of you across from each other at the coffee table in his 'living room' area.

You were practically shaking like a maraca, trying to think fast before he gets even more suspicious of you. "I was just lookin' at the pictures he took from the halftime show. He's one of the student photographers." You explain with as calm a tone as possible.

"That better be it." He crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair across from you.

"Why are you suspicious of me cheating when you're the one that actually got caught kissing someone else?!" Your brows furrow, a heavy ton of sass dripping from your words.

"Watch it." He warns, narrowing his eyes.

"Watch what exactly, Ken?" You match his energy perfectly, attitude skyrocketing as you go from nervous to angry.

"That mouth. You always talk crazy when you get angry." He grits out, jaw clenching tightly. You weren't phased, not even a little.

"No, I don't talk crazy when I'm angry. There's nothin' crazy about anything I just said! The only thing crazy is how you thought you were doin' something interrogating me when you're not even in the clear your own damn self! So before you try to come at me talkin' bout "watch it", you need to watch yourself first. I already caught your ass once." You snap, making sure he really saw the anger in your eyes before you got up from the chair, grabbing your tote bag and heading out of his dorm suite.

End Flashback

"Ah, I see. Maybe it was a little too soon to have that conversation. There's still some emotions hovering around the situation. Maybe just give it some time, think about what you wanna say, and more importantly what you wanna do moving forward with the relationship. To me, it seems like there's a slight rift right now between you two." Janette says, her tone soft and comforting like a parent. She is a parent, of two grown kids.

"A slight rift? There's always been a rift, and it's never been slight. You know our relationship has never been genuine; it's our parents that want us to be together." You sigh. "To be honest we were better as friends." You add somberly.

"I remember, but you're twenty years old now, an adult! It's about time for you to make a decision on your own about your relationships. If you want to be with Ryuguji then be with him, but if you don't you should make it known as soon as possible." She urges.

"I don't know what I want right now, though! Like I said before, I'm..just too tired to think." You huff, a defeated tone in your voice.

"Well, let's change the subject! You're gonna be auditioning for "The Gypsy", yes?"

"Ohh...I uhhh..." You say playfully, acting like you were hesitant about it.

"Riiiight?" Janette raises a brow, leaning in towards the desk.

"I will, I will, and I'll shoot for lead too; I already knew you were gonna ask that." You chuckle, waving her off playfully.

"Perfect! I know you'll get the lead for sure. You're one of the best dancers we have at this school, and I'm not just saying that. It's true."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2 days Later

Almost a week. It's been almost a full week and you're so exhausted. The unrealistic hopes that what happened between you and Hanma going away within a few days after was now long gone.

You felt utterly defeated, your mind betraying you any chance it could get.

It's the flashbacks. The damn flashbacks were killing you, along with your good for nothing imagination. You knew this would happen, and of course Hanma had warned you himself that it would happen, you just wanted to believe you could endure. Believe you could force it away over time.

But then, in moments like these when you're back in your dorm suite after a full day of classes and practice, a part of you fights back, not wanting to forget. For a moment, you actually go and give your mind the freedom to wander, stripping out of your regular clothes and into your pajamas, laying on your back on your bed. You wonder what it would've been like if you two hadn't stopped, dangerous scenarios popping up after the thought. Your hands roam all over your body, breathing turning heavy as you envision his piercing eyes gazing into yours from on top of you.

No no no! Stop!

The little angel on your left shoulder yells, forcing your body to freeze. This is so extremely wrong, but uuugh, the way he made your legs shake! Hesitantly your hands continue, shakily playing with your hardened nipples. You want him so bad, almost need him. The pain of never having found out what his dick feels like inside you was overwhelming.

You really wanna know! It's points like this where you just wanna text him "please come over" so you two can finish what you started. You remove your hands, clenching your thighs together as you facepalm.

"Gosh, I'm such a freakin' mess." You whisper.

Suddenly, your phone buzzed on the pillow next to you. With a long, dramatic groan you flip over onto your side, grabbing your phone while reading the new notification.

Shuji Hey doll You free to shoot tomorrow?

Your heart thumps anxiously in your chest as you reread the messages. Tomorrow?! That's so soon! You hesitate, thumbs hovering over the glowing keyboard on your phone. Is it really a good idea to do this? The whole forgetting about what happened thing has proven to be a complete failure, and you definitely didn't forget that this shoot is supposed to be with you half naked.

At the same time though, wasn't this supposed to be about helping a fellow creative student? A collaboration? Maybe a more professional setting will make it better; much easier to be around him. You've already agreed what happened homecoming night was just a one time thing, so it shouldn't be an issue...ideally.

Finally, you decide to text him back after a good three whole minutes.

Y/N Yeah Tomorrow's fine

Shuji Perfect I'll pick you up at 6

Y/N Ok bet

Your heart pounds anxiously in your chest as you lazily throw your phone back on the pillows next to you.

"Tomorrow's gonna be a long ass day." You murmur to yourself. Then, as if it's just one thing after the next, a few heavy knocks sound from your door. "Heeey babe, it's me!" Ken calls from the other side. You mutter a low "shit", Gathering yourself up out of bed and over to the door outside your bedroom.

"Hey Kenny." You smile softly, stepping aside to welcome him inside. You'd forgotten he'd said he wanted to come over later today. The two of you head over into your bedroom.

"Baaaabe! You already goin' ta sleep?" He asks weirdly, wrapping his arms around your waist for a hug.

"Not really, I'm just tired from today. What's goin' on?" Your brows furrow a bit in confusion but you brush it off, patting his back a bit.

"Nothin', just wanted ta come see my girl. 'S like we haven't talked in forever." He says, leaning forward a bit wobbly and brushing his lips onto your forehead.

"Well..we haven't talked in a while." You look to the side, pulling away and sitting down on the edge of your bed. Ken follows after you like a stray puppy, sitting next to you on your bed.

"I didn't mean'ta act like that the other day, sweetie. I just-...I was real mad. I don't wan' some other guy ta come steal you 'way from me." He explains, slightly slurring his words as he spoke.

You pause, looking him up and down suspiciously for a second before continuing. Since when does he call you sweetie?

"Uhh, it's fine Ken, that's over now." You reply tiredly with a simple shrug, brows slightly furrowed.

"You're so different now! Wha happened, you-..you don' love me no more? Have you ever even loved me?" He whines, pouting like a child.

"Are-are you drunk?!" You suddenly ask, finally connecting the dots. He's so touchy, and he's not talking normally at all.

"Jus' a lil crossed; 's fine." He shrugs lazily, leaning his head down on your shoulder.

"It's fine?! You said being intoxicated was a special occasion thing for you! Since when do you get crossed this much?!" Your brows furrow in bewilderment, pushing away from him.

"Babyyyy, I ain't come here to get bitched at." He groans, rolling his eyes yet he leans in towards you anyways, attempting to kiss on your neck. You scoff, mouth dropped in shock at his choice of words.

"Uh uh no, I'm not doing this. You need to get out." You shake your head, pushing him away from you and heading to your door.

"The fuck is your pro'lem?! I jus' got here!" He scrunches his face up in annoyance.

"Ok?! And now you're gonna just leave!" You argue, pointing out the door. "Get outta my room, Ken! I'm not about to sit here and deal with you like this. This is ridiculous!"

Shocked couldn't even begin to clear up how you were feeling. Ever since Homecoming night you swear Ken's swapped bodies with someone else. Before, he would rarely drink, and now all of a sudden he's getting crossed, and on a week day at that! As an athlete he can't be playing around with stuff like this, it can get real complicated real fast.

"The only thing ridiculous is you! You think you're sooo better than me-

"What?!" You throw your hands up in bewilderment.

"You walk 'round here like you're better than everyone; better than me! I know you wish you could leave me, 'cause...y'think I don' deserve you." He says bitterly. "You'd run faaaar 'way, soon as you get a chance!"

You blink a few times, taking in what he just said. How's that little saying go? A drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts? You weren't an idiot, you knew full well that's how he really felt. It was just a shock to hear he feels like you think you're somehow better than him. Better than him at what exactly?

"I'm only gon' tell you one more time, Ken. Get..out." You grit angrily, pointing once more out the bedroom door.

"There you go again, being the 'boss girl', tellin' me what to do." He rolls his eyes, leaning back against the wall your bed is up against.

You huff angrily, trying to keep your composure and aggressively slam your door shut. You walk over to the nightstand by your bed and pick up your phone. He wants to act up, then you got somethin' for him.

8 Minutes Later

A knock on your door finally gives you that sense of relief you were waiting for. After Ken refused to leave, you went and whipped out your big guns. Your best friend Keisuke Baji. You lead him to your bedroom, opening the door to reveal Ken sitting there on your bed still, mumbling about what the hell ever.

"Please get him. Before I kill him and go to jail." You huff, pointing at your boyfriend.

"Shit, I don't know if I'll be any better." He responds with a shrug as he walks in your room.

"Who the fuck is this?! You cheatin' on me?!" Ken outbursts, fists balled as he finally gets up from the bed. Well...that's a start.

"Get your ass outta her room, Ryuguji." Kei says sternly.

"You're not talkin' to me..." He shakes his head, stepping up close to Kei. You watch, getting a bit nervous as Kei's jaw clenches tightly, looking over at you as if asking for permission for something.

"Ken, he's just here to help get you out of my room. I already asked you to leave like a hundred-

"You fuckin' my girl, lil bitch?" Ken completely ignores you, rudely shoving Keisuke with as much aggression as he could muster.

"Ok", Kei nods slowly with a dry chuckle, "And see, I was gonna be nice."

"Y'all, do not fight in my room!" You warn annoyedly. This is really turning into a mess for absolutely no reason. You weren't trying to call your friend here to get him into a fight, he was just supposed to help as backup. You should've known though, Keisuke ain't the type to just let somebody talk or act any kind of way towards him, or you for that matter.

Out of nowhere, Keisuke throws a punch right to Ken's face, making you gasp and hover your hands over your mouth.

And that was it, the fight officially started.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took about five minutes for them to finally cut it out, and for Ken to get the hell out of your room, of course not without yells and curses at you for cheating on him and whatever the hell other accusations he threw towards you. You asked for Keisuke to stay with you for a bit, as you just wanted someone to talk to. So he obliged of course, sitting with you at the edge of your bed.

"What the hell is goin' on with you guys? You got a lot to fill me in on; I already didn't see you at the Homecoming party at all. What's happening?" He questions, brows furrowing.

You sigh, the kind of sigh where it sounds like you've been carrying the weight of the world on your back.

You tell him everything, well, not everything but just enough. From losing your anklet to Ken leaving you, to Ms. Butterfly Tattoo, all of it.

"Damn. All that happened that one night? And this is how he's been ever since?" He furrows his brows, scratching his head as he processes your story.

"Yup. I'm starting to think he's probably been getting himself mixed up with getting crossed more often than he let's on, because he was talking about it at the party like it was just any other thing along with tonight when he came over." You explain.

"You know what? He's getting crossed more because he's starting to lose his shit. That's why he feels like you think you're better than him. You don't fold under pressure like a bitch, getting drunk or high to ignore it all the time. You know what you want and you're always going after it no matter what, but Ryuguji? He's a fuckin' mess and he knows it. Let's be real, he's only playing football because his dad wants him to; he's the damn coach!" He rants.

"Yeah...about that, his dad I mean, there's something I've never told you about me and Ken..." You trail off nervously.

"What?" He says barely above a whisper.

"Well, the only reason me and Ken are even together...is because our parents are making us date each other. They thought it was the perfect plan-

"The popular quarter back with the popular dancer." He nods slowly, connecting the dots.

"Exactly, and you already know my mom's 'part of the administration of the school. It's the perfect topic of conversation amongst her and those...bougie folk she mingles with at meetings and events." You roll your eyes bitterly.

"So...you've never actually loved him?" Kei asks, raising a brow.

"I-..I mean we were kinda friends way back before we dated; we were cool-

"But you never loved him though." He presses.

"....No." You shake your head wearily.

"We both kinda just...forced ourselves to love each other? Acting like a couple though we really don't care about each other like that." Your voice shook a little as you ball your hands into little fists.

"Ahhh, kid." He frowns, pulling you over by the back of your neck to rest your head on his shoulder. You sniffled, starting to tear up as once again the pain and weight of your fake relationship fell on you.

"He's right Kei, I don't really wanna be with him at all! If I could, I'd leave him. He's just not my type!" You ramble, wiping your eyes yet the tears just keep falling.

"I don't know if you really wanna hear it but...I mean shit, you're twenty. You can't just let your mom dictate who you're with." Kei says softly, wrapping his arm over your shoulder.

"You don't understand. If I try to go against her, she'll pull me out of the school! I won't be able to dance." You mutter, shaking your head.

"Are-..are you serious?!" He gawks.

"She threatens me with that all the time. At this point I barely even talk to her 'cause all she does is bring up me and Ken's relationship and how my grades are; how many teachers I'm networking with. She doesn't give a crap about me personally anymore. You know, she wasn't even at the homecoming game?" You sob a little, getting his shirt sleeve wet with your tears.

Kei's eyes widen at your words. As a kid who's mom views him as her whole world, it was hard for his mind to even begin to wrap around this. He couldn't understand even if he tried. His mom was all he had, they were tight like glue. He couldn't imagine what it must be like to have a mother that doesn't bother to want what's best for her daughter.

"I remember when she wasn't this way. That's why you always see me wear the anklet she gave me when I was younger at my performances. It's like I can pretend she's there with me watching me perform; the old her before my dad died..."

💠

The day ended so fast, you were almost disappointed. You'd spent every hour mentally preparing yourself for this exact moment yet you still didn't feel ready.

Walking down the block and around the corner from your dorm building you spot Hanma in his black Dodge Hellcat right where he said he'd be. To say your heart was pounding would be an understatement, it was attempting to jump right out of your chest. It felt like no matter how much effort and energy you put into pushing away all sexual thoughts of him, it was useless in this moment.

You open the door and sit in the passenger seat, placing your duffel bag in the back.

"Hey doll." He says with that low, sultry voice, looking over at you as you buckle your seatbelt.

"What's up?" You respond, a light, shy smile on your face. He starts driving off, heading over to his place. "How's it been goin' "forgetting" about what happened?" He asks smugly, a little too smugly in your opinion. You could see from a mile away what he was trynna do, and you weren't about to get played.

"I'm not really sure what you're talkin' about actually. Guess I must'a forgot." You answer innocently, smiling cheekily before you turn to look out the window.

"Real funny." He mumbles, turning his gaze back to the road. You chuckle lightly to yourself, feeling proud that you were able to shut him down so quickly.

The rest of the way is fairly a short ride, he lives pretty close to campus at a nice looking apartment building. He leads you up to his place, a nice, surprisingly spacious studio apartment. It's a modern style, and the ceiling is high, very fitting for his tall stature.

"Okaaay! This is really niiiiiice!" You compliment, looking around with your eyes in satisfaction. It's also clean, another aspect of his apartment you weren't really expecting. But then again, he is doing a photoshoot, there has to be space.

"Thanks." He chuckles in amusement. "Come on." He adds, snapping you out of your daze as you follow him into his bedroom.

Wait hold up.....

Why his bedroom though?!

You feel the nervousness sink back in instantly, walking into his room. Hanma has a whole set up going on, with all kinds of expensive looking equipment, and some colored light panels of red, blue, and purple.

"We're gonna shoot in here. You can get changed in the bathroom there." He instructs, pointing to his connected bathroom as he starts getting his camera ready by his laptop hooked up to some sort of USB cord. You nod, heading into the bathroom with your duffel bag to change.

For the shoot you chose the only lingerie you had, a white full lace teddy set. It's a halter style, with a deep plunge in the front that reaches three inches below your breasts, (yet the support is actually amazing) and a pair of matching lace stockings that go up to your mid thighs.

This was meant to be what you wore the night of Homecoming with Ken, but of course, that never happened. So at least it'd get put to use now. It's easy to put on and does wonders to flatter your body, bringing out your shape and flat, toned stomach. You slip the teddy on along with the stockings, looking yourself over before grabbing your mascara and body glow potion. Your hair is already in the style you wanted for the shoot, a big and undefined, picked out afro.

Is this too much or too little?

You take a second to quickly hype yourself up in the mirror, not wanting to take too long, then make your way out shyly. There's music playing from a medium sized speaker he has sitting on his dresser. Hanma's just tipping and tapping away at all the tech stuff near his laptop before he hears you step out of the bathroom. You give him a bashful smile, leaning against the doorway.

"Uuum, is this fine?" You mutter, fiddling with your hands behind your back. He fully stops what he's doing, turning towards you, his piercing eyes dragging up and down your body. You were cold upon stepping out of the bathroom but now it feels like it's one hundred degrees with his eyes on you like this. It takes him a while to say anything, so you tell yourself it's because he's debating if the outfit goes with his vision and nothing else.

"Yeah, it's perfect." He finally replies, his eyes making their way back up to meet yours. "Come on, we're gonna start in this doorway right here." He nods towards the bedroom door, his tone going serious.

With a small smile you mutter a short "K', following behind him.

The door to his bedroom is wide open, leading to the rest of the apartment which he went and turned all the lights out to make it dark, aside from the red light that'll be used as the background color. You stand in the doorway, waiting patiently as he hangs his camera around his neck from the strap. His hands grab your shoulders, sending an invisible shiver down your spine that you ignore, turning you around to face the doorway. "Put your hands here", He starts, taking your hands and placing them on the doorway. Then without speaking, he lifts your chin, making you tilt your head all the way back. "Now arch your back and put this leg forward." He instructs, watching you position yourself how he asked.

"Yeah, like that." He nods, stepping back while preparing the camera. You stay in position, the nervousness starting to go away just a little bit as you get into "character". He takes two test shots, looking them over from the little screen on the camera. "That's perfect." He grins, going back in and taking a few more, changing angles every now and then. He walks back up to you, allowing you to finally move out of the pose, before he starts to position you again.

Your whole body goes hot as he stands closely, towering over you. The fact that you were just wearing lingerie in front of him had you so nervous, and beyond excited, yet you knew not to let your mind wander too far. "Lean back against the frame, and bring your hips out like this." He says, putting his hands on your hips and pulling them outwards where he wanted. "Arms up." He murmurs like a whisper, his hands sliding along yours arms, lifting them above your head. Unconsciously you suck in a breath, trying to keep your heart steady as you look up at him. His eyes meet yours instantly and you swear your legs almost give out, he still makes you fold with simply looking at you.

Then, your eyes betray you, flickering down to his lips unintentionally. You look away, heart pounding in your chest. Hanma lets out a barely audible chuckle, a knowing look on his face as he steps back from you, getting his camera ready. He goes back to snapping more pictures, going back and forth shooting then looking at them briefly.

"I wanna try purple light this time." He says after taking the last picture.

"Ooo ok!" You beam.

He switches the color panels, swapping the red for the purple as you wait patiently. Goosebumps start to form along your arms and chest as you watch him move the red panel over to the other side of his bedroom.

The next few poses were a bit more challenging for you, and not because they're difficult, but because they required your legs to be fully opened facing the camera. It was easy to hide being soaking wet when your head was turned from the camera and your eyes are averted, and your body facing away. But when you're sitting on a wooden chair, legs spread wide and facing directly in front of the camera...things start to get a little embarrassing. You hoped and prayed that he couldn't tell, that the place was dark enough for the wetness pooling around the crotch area of your teddy not to show. This whole thing was becoming unbearable, it's just too erotic of a setting.

You do about three more poses with the chair before going back to standing poses. Hanma comes over to you once more to reposition you. You look up at him, a dangerous decision, just as he looks down at you, placing his hands low on your hips. He guides you to the center of the doorway. "Spread your legs a little." He instructs in a hushed voice, using his foot to open your legs, gazing intensely into your eyes all the while. He pauses for a moment, his hands on your hips slowly gliding up your body, passed your sides and grazing the sides of your breasts just a bit, taking your arms to lift them over your head. Your breath becomes heavier, chest visibly rising and falling as you feel yourself get lost in his light, golden brown eyes.

He did that on purpose, he had to have. He looks over you, eyes landing and resting on your nipples that quickly harden underneath the thin layer of white lace. You notice exactly where he's looking, your face heating up as your head shifts downwards in embarrassment. Hanma lifts your head back up by your chin with a finger, moving in closer towards you, nearly touching.

"You're killin' me right now, y'know that?" He hums seductively, his pretty eyes sucking you in.

"What do you mean?" You ask innocently, your voice quiet and timid.

"You know exactly what I mean, just look at you. Standing in front of me with this sexy little outfit on." He says lowly, giving you butterflies all throughout your stomach. "I wanna fuck you so bad, angel. Been thinkin' about it this whole time." He purrs, snaking an arm around your waist and pulling you right up against him. You gasp, blinking a few times going speechless as you process what he just said while bringing your arms down out of the pose he put you in.

#strawberryfairi🧚🏾‍♀️#shuji hanma #shuji #hanma #black female writer #shuji hanma smut #shuji hanma x black fem reader #shuji hanma x reader #tokyo rev #hanma shuji x reader #hanma shuji #a mile away ㊙️#a journey to love #chaotic romance

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loux-luna · 1 year

Text

Luxe and Lunacy

Chapter 20: Stay

Looking for a sense of stability with him, but he seems busy with post-heist things. Mood Music ⏬ Stephen - Stay (ft. Lindsey Cook) Intro - In The End | Ch.19 - Never Done This | Ch. 20 - Stay | Ch.21 - Break The Ice

The adrenalin crash hit hard, but I still managed to dream a little. It looked like I was in a beautiful wild world where the mountains rolled with an almost magenta fog, glowing with two suns on the horizon. I focused closer to myself and clusters of what looked like fiery orange lilacs caught my eye only slightly faster than the dark indigo leaves that shimmered with the light. The clouds stretched all the way to the earth I sat upon and I moved my hands through what swirled like smoke. The soil looked black where the moss didn’t reach, rich with life. I heard running water, and moved to stand, only to awaken in my seat. ___ I stared ahead, disoriented and wondering how much time had passed. The ship was parked in what seemed to be a spaceport garage, but Vee hadn’t left yet, “You need a doctor,” I reminded him. “Good morning to you too,” he replied, while stiffly gathering up his things. The energy in the cabin was somehow excited and tense at the same time. Sure our heist was successful, but I was from a race of empaths and something about him seemed off, and not in a pained sense. “Now what?” I asked, getting up to follow with a grin, though my gaze was cautious.

“We’re in a storage rental,” He didn't look at me, choosing to give the ramp controls and his jacket all of his attention, “Once I get in contact with my buyers, we split our winnings and you find a life for yourself.” Is that what was unnerving me? I frowned, “But- we’re a good team?” He sighed, seeming annoyed he had to explain himself, though at least he looked at me this time, “You were an in. Now you're free, and will have plenty of cred to get you on your feet.” The oxygen seals hissed while I stared at him, “But...” He turned again, starting down the ramp in his bloodstained jacket, “Come on. This place is well traveled and there's lots of folks in the ship trade. We’ll find you something with a living area and you’ll be good to go.” I stared quietly at the panels in front of me, my mind spiraling for a moment before I followed him to the ledge, scowling, “No,” I stated with as much confidence as I could muster. He looked back at me, seeming taken aback by my directness, “No?” “No,” I responded, holding the confidence but letting my tone soften ever so slightly. His hand moved up to rub his forehead in frustration, “Alright, what do you think you want; you want all the goods? Is that it? To pull it out from under me?” “I want to stay... With you.” His hand left his face and he looked at me, dark eyebrows furrowing as he appeared to inspect me with his own scowl. Then he straightened and crossed his arms, “No.” My heart was in my throat, expression melting with the fantasy I’d formed around us. I couldn't respond, I had no response, but my mouth opened with the urge to. He continued to observe my reaction with a steeled expression, his head tilting ever so slightly as if subtly urging me to push. Finally, but frantically, I forced out the words, “I’ll do anything.” He pinched his lips together disapprovingly before sighing. “You need a stronger backbone,” he stated bluntly, gesturing for me to follow, ”And if you’re sticking around, you're getting a bot to keep an eye on you. No questions.” My grin came back and I blurted a “Yes sir!” as I rushed to follow him further, noticing then that the jump engine wasn't with us, “What happened to the big thing?” “Not here,” he said, of course, while heading toward the door opposite where the ship had entered. He pointed to the door to our left, “That’s a rental room. Occupy yourself with the holofeeds or something while I’m gone.” I sighed and started for the indicated door, only really realizing how much blood I’d accumulated upon catching my reflection in it. I looked for the bathroom from there, hoping it’d at least have better towels than the last place. Thankfully, these rooms were relatively clean, but not devoid of staining in the corners; and the bathroom had both clean, dry towels and tiny soaps, which I used to wash the blood from my hands first, not wanting to leave a mess while I went through the drawers and cupboards for what I had to work with. Finding nothing extra, I used the tiny shampoo that waited for me in the standing shower, and the bar of soap I took from the sink. While I washed, I tried to think of what to expect of the outside world. How different was the trade? What do normal people do with their lives? Could I learn any of that from the holofeeds? How far from Gorm’s star had we even gotten? It was only as I was lathering that I realized my collar was missing, and like missing a tooth, I kept impulsively reaching for where it should have been, anxiously drawn to the empty space. Once clean, I stepped out, wrapped myself in a towel, and went directly to the screen in the main room. I was much too curious to dry off in the bathroom when I could be figuring things out. I had to at least keep up and I couldn't do that without information. I spun through channels, looking for someone facing the screen specifically; those were usually news adjacent which, theoretically, would have to say something about the location at some point. I dried myself while I listened and, frustratingly, came to the conclusion that even though they spoke in common, nothing they named sounded familiar. I was just as confused as I’d been upon entry, just cleaner. ___ I saw him enter the garage before he saw me, the window doing its job of letting guests keep an eye on their cargo. He was carrying a box that seemed to be full of some kind of techy junk so I met him at the door, opening it for him, “What’s that?” “For you, after I make sure all the bugs are squashed.” he said as he entered, going directly to the table. I peeked around him and into the box as he set it down, “A bot?” He pulled out a tech screen, “And a window to all the information you can think of. So-” He pulled it away as I’d unconsciously begun to reach for it. “After I make sure the coding is safe. You’ll have a thing to learn life shit on.” I nodded, pulling my hand back and holding it with the other, “What about your back?” He huffed, “The bullet was removed, the hole was resealed with fresh Vyta foam, and the top was covered with a Second Skin pad. You can relax.” I nodded again. The second skin meant he wouldn't need to have it looked at again for a while and time was all that was left for his healing. He looked past me to the screen, then focused back on setting out the tech, “We’re south-east of the core on a star map. Gorm is east-east. Direct to the core makes it-” “Easier to be tracked,” I finished for him, my hand drifting back to the empty space over my collar bone. “Yes. And your collar was thrown out an air lock.” he added before sitting at the table and focusing on the tech, “Watch whatever on the holo, I don't need silence to focus.” I nodded and took that as my sign to return to the couch. Besides room service bringing us food, the rest of the day was spent trying to occupy myself with shows while he did his tech thing. I may have also fallen asleep there out of a mix of boredom and wanting to stay in the same room.

Mood Music:

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Intro - In The End | Ch.19 - Never Done This | Ch. 20 - Stay | Ch.21 - Break The Ice 🚨 They’re basically villains, they’re gonna act like it. 🔞

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