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knox-knocks · 4 years

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Such Stuff as Dreams are Made

this is my fic written for @justadreamfox for the spring exchange!! it got a lot longer than I expected, but here’s a magic library au!! i had a blast working with your prompts and i hope you enjoy! :D

Andrew needed a cigarette. He had a pack in his pocket, and he itched to light it and taste the bitter nicotine, but being chased by two squad cars full of pigs and four delinquents that wanted Andrew’s head on a pike left him with little opportunity. He hadn’t been the one to tip off the police about their little gatherings, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that the road was ending and Andrew was coming up on a dead end.

He ducked behind a dumpster, bending over to catch his breath in an attempt not to pass out. He might be able to pack a punch, but running had never been his forte.

Red and blue lights flashed across the wall as one of the cop cars crawled past, the pigs scanning for any sign of Andrew or any of the other guys that had scattered after the raid. Andrew knew to give it a couple minutes before leaving his stinking sanctuary, and he waited a few more in case they circled back or one of his former associates tried to ambush him. Hopefully the pigs would arrest them and leave Andrew to get caught street-fighting another day.

When the coast was clear, Andrew left the alley and started back to the dilapidated house he shared with his deadbeat mother and sick brother. He needed to be home before Tilda got back from whatever gutter she had spent the night in, or before Aaron woke up and needed his meds. Aside from Andrew’s late-night escapade, the streets were silent as Andrew walked through the city he had lived in his entire life, but was never able to call home.

Andrew had picked up his street-fighting habit halfway through his junior year of high school, when Aaron’s condition had worsened and Andrew’s mounting responsibilities had grown too much, even for him. If it weren’t for Aaron, Andrew was sure he’d have run away and headed somewhere east, anywhere but California. But he would never abandon his brother; he was unwillingly to break the promise he made to him when they were children and leave him, sick and vulnerable, to Tilda’s negligent care.

It was on nights like these, when the breeze made Andrew’s skin prickle with left-over humidity, that he waited until Aaron was sound asleep in his bed and Tilda was long gone before he left their ramshackle little house with its sagging gray walls and peeling white paint for the night. The street-fighting provided some money that Andrew used to put food on the table and meds for Aaron, though not that much. Mostly it was a way to let off a little steam. Apparently, beating the shit out of people and getting beat in return was a great stress reliever. Though, Andrew supposed, now he’d have to find another venue. He doubted he’d be welcomed back to the old one, even if it didn’t get shut down by the pigs.

Andrew flexed his hand until his knuckles ached. They were bruised, he’d need to ice them when he got home. Andrew was so preoccupied with cataloging his injuries, that he almost walked right past something that shouldn’t have been there.

Situated in a vacant lot that had been empty for years was a building, tall and impossible against the inky black of the sky. It was square and blocky, blending into the neighborhood in the way all abandoned buildings did. Drab paint that coated the outside had chipped away in spots to reveal faded, crumbling brickwork underneath. On the inside, the windows were covered with thick, red curtains that stifled faint yellow light Andrew could see creeping from behind them. Andrew stepped over tiny flowers and leafy weeds that grew out of cracked concrete stairs that led to double doors at the front of the building and was struck with the sudden urge to knock, though the place looked like it hadn’t been touched in years.

Light seeped in from under the door and when Andrew pressed his ear to its splintered wood, he could hear a faint humming coming from the other side. It reminded him of a bit of a heartbeat. He took a step back, craning his neck to see the whole front of the ugly thing. A sign hung above him, faded letters painted onto rough wood.

Foxhole’s Traveling Library. Around it was a carving of a leaping fox, front legs touching its tail to encircle the words.

“What the fuck,” Andrew whispered.

The thing was, the lot the library sat on was next to the 24-hour convenience store that Andrew liked to stop by for snacks and cigarettes before his matches, and it had definitely been empty two hours ago when Andrew passed it. It looked as if someone had dropped a giant building in the middle of the lot and just left it there.

Before Andrew could think too hard about it, he heard the wail of sirens and saw the flashing red and blue of police cars rounding the corner. He couldn’t go to the convenience store since the owner, Mick, didn’t like him very much and would turn him over in a heartbeat. That left one last option.

Andrew shoved his shoulder against the boarded-up doors of the library, expecting more resistance, but the doors gave easily and he tumbled inside.

The library on the inside was a completely different sort of strange than the outside. While the outside was all crumbling infrastructure and OSHA violations, the inside was something straight out of a dream. It seemed a lot bigger than the outside could have hinted, with rows upon rows of shelves stuffed with thousands of books, stretching as far as Andrew could see. He was pretty sure he could get lost in this place, even with a memory as good as his.

A gilded spiral staircase gave off a burnished glow in the warm light that emanated from various dimly-lit lamps on the walls. They were old-fashioned, oil-lamps cast in iron that gleamed in the flickering light. Andrew craned his neck upwards and counted eight floors that looked identical to the one he stood on. There were paintings too – delicate oils of people hung in gold frames on walls painted white and masterfully-crafted marble busts of long-forgotten people tucked between the bookshelves. They were fanciful and detailed in a library that seemed to be made up entirely of fancy and detail.

Andrew drew closer the bookshelves and inspected the books. Most of them were leather-bound and embossed with gold foil and several were in different languages. He ran his finger down the spines, feeling the rough bumps from the binding and wondered how they got there. It seemed an innocuous question; someone had to have put them there. But Andrew couldn’t help but think that the books had always been there, that there was no other place for them to be.

He walked around for a bit, wandering through the shelves and studying the strange books in them. There were no markers that indicated what genre was in, but occasionally he passed tiny golden placards that listed names and places. One simply read, Forgotten Books.

As far as Andrew knew, the library was empty. He hadn’t seen a soul in the hours he’d been there; no one perusing the shelves of books or studying the artwork like he would have expected. He supposed they could have been on the upper levels, but there was no one at the help desk behind the stairs, either. But Andrew couldn’t help noticing that there was no dust that coated the shelves. The place seemed well-kept, so someone must have been attending them.

Andrew could spend hours here – days, if he really wanted to. But if Tilda found that he had snuck out again, he’d have more to worry about than a dust-free counter in a seemingly-abandoned library. He retraced his steps through the maze of shelves, noting that it took more time finding his way out of the library, and was outside before the sun had fully begun its assent into the dull gray of the morning sky.

The next day, the library pervaded his thoughts. After his shift at the warehouse, he went to visit the library again, except the lot was empty when he arrived. There was no sign of the huge building that had been there hours prior, not even the skeletal remains of it. Weeds swayed in the breeze where the library was supposed to be and Andrew was left wondering if he had simply dreamt it all.

The second time Andrew saw the library, he found it by accident, tucked in an alley about two miles from his house. It was a lot narrower than the library in the lot, and it sat crammed between two apartment buildings and a back wall. Andrew would not have recognized it if it weren’t for the sign that read, Foxhole’s Traveling Library fixed above the doorway.

The inside, Andrew discovered, looked exactly as it had when he first saw it. The same shelves with their strange labeling system were where he’d found them that first night, and Andrew was greeted with that familiar humming sound, like a thousand tiny wings beating in unison. The library still seemed impossibly huge compared to the outside, and Andrew swore he felt a buzzing beneath his skin.

It greeted him like an old friend, far too familiar for only seeing it once before. He’d stumbled across the library weeks ago, but Andrew felt like he had known this place for years.

The second level was almost identical to the bottom one, and Andrew spent his night circling the section of shelves labeled “Books Well-Traveled.” He expected to see maps and atlas’, depictions of the world and places Andrew would never see – and there were a couple – but most of the shelves held books with tattered covers and heavily-creased spines. As far as Andrew could tell, there was no rhyme or reason to the organization of the books. On one shelf, he found Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone slotted next to a near-unrecognizable copy of The Great Gatsby.

“You’re new.”

Andrew almost dropping the books he held in his arms to the carpeted ground below as someone spoke behind him. He whipped around to see a man standing at the end of the shelf. After spending hours alone in the library during his first visit, Andrew hadn’t expected to be interrupted by anyone.

The man wasn’t much taller than Andrew, or much older, with dark red hair that fell around an impish face in lose curls. He regarded Andrew warily, assessing him with a sharp quirk of an eyebrow. His face was covered in thin and circular scars and his eyes were shrewd and blue like a summer’s sky. He was very pretty, Andrew noticed.

His heart was still beating much too fast, as if he’d been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. He shoved the books back onto the shelf. “Who are you?”

“Neil,” the man said after a long pause.

Andrew blinked. He glanced at the plaque that was supposed to tell him what genre he was in, but simply stated Books Well-Traveled instead. Right underneath it, inscribed in tiny letters, was Neil Josten. Baltimore 2008 – Dublin 2010.

“That’s my shelf,” Neil confirmed, correctly guessing Andrew’s line of thought. His eyes narrowed. “What’s your name?”

“Andrew.”

Neil scrutinized him for a long moment, as if trying to puzzle something out. Then his expression turned sly. He slid next to Andrew beside the bookcase and pointed to the novels Andrew had hastily put away.

“You put them in the wrong spot,” he said. He reached around him and rearranged three of the books. “They’re chronological.”

Andrew frowned at the three novels Neil had sorted. “Hamlet was written before John Steinbeck was even born,” he felt the need to point out.

Neil looked at him with a strange quirk to his lips, as if there were something Andrew didn’t get. Obviously, he didn’t feel the need to explain because he ignored Andrew’s comment. “You can read the books, but you need to log it with Wymack first,” he said. “He’s the one in charge here.”

Then he plucked a seemingly-random book off the shelf and handed it to Andrew. He turned on his heel and disappeared before Andrew could even get a word in, navigating through the bookcases with an ease that spoke of true familiarity. Andrew glared after him, intrigued despite himself and irritated about it.

The book Neil had given him was a battered edition of Watership Down. Andrew rubbed his thumb over the hard cover, feeling the small tears and scratches in the plastic covering. Watership Down had been Andrew’s favorite book as a kid. He hadn’t read it in years, but he still had his own copy safely hidden under his bed. He didn’t know why Neil had given him this book in particular, or why he had seemed so wily about it. Andrew flipped through the pages, skimming through passages he had long since read and memorized, before replacing it on the shelf in its nonsensically designated spot.

Andrew passed the help desk on his way downstairs, and noticed that it was no longer unattended. The man standing behind the desk was a hulking bear of a man, with thick muscles the size of Andrew’s head and flame tattoos crawling up his forearms. He hunched over what looked like a log of names and book titles. He didn’t look like what Andrew would picture as a librarian.

“Welcome back,” the man – Wymack, Andrew assumed – sighed. He glanced up at Andrew and squinted at him. “You’re not taking another book, are you? You’re supposed to return them afterwards. This is a library, not a charity.”

Andrew stared at him. His hands were empty, and he hadn’t taken anything when he left the library two weeks ago. Rather than parse the meaning, Andrew asked, “What is this place?”

“Foxhole’s Traveling Library,” recited Wymack. “The sign’s outside. I thought you’d have learned to read by now.”

Apparently, no one in this weird library was going to give him a straight answer. The old quack behind the desk leveled him one last stern look before returning to his log. He scribbled something at the bottom of the page and said, “Stay as long as you’d like, but we close at sunrise. No taking any more books until you learn how to use a library.”

“I haven’t taken anything,” Andrew said and Wymack glared at him.

“I changed my mind,” he said gruffly, snapping his book shut and placing it flat on the desk in front of him. “We’re closing now. Goodbye.”

Not seeing the point in arguing, Andrew gave him a sarcastic two-finger salute and turned around. As he was leaving, he couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes watching him. The prickling in the back of his neck grew too much as Andrew was crossing the threshold to the alley outside so he glanced back. He saw something small dart behind one of the bookcases, a flash of red before disappearing again. Andrew stared hard at the shelf, but detected no other movement.

The sense of someone watching him followed Andrew home, but he couldn’t see anyone around whenever he scanned the street. His fingers brushed the armband of his left arm, taking comfort from the outline of his pocket knife. The hard ridge of his knife beneath his fingertips gave him more semblance of security, but Andrew didn’t feel completely safe until the door was firmly shut and locked behind him.

He didn’t know what to make of the library. It wasn’t normal, that much was obvious, but Andrew was hard-pressed to call it magic. He didn’t believe in superstition or something as stupid as magic. Things that bent the laws of time and physics didn’t fit into Andrew’s worldview, and a shapeshifting-traveling-not-magical library certainly wasn’t allowed. Andrew rubbed his forehead, feeling the beginnings of a migraine starting behind his eyes.

Maybe the sleep-deprivation and stress were finally catching up and he was losing it. The library and its strange inhabitants were simply a figment of Andrew’s imagination and all he needed was to sleep it off. He checked the clock that still hung in the kitchen, despite being about two hours off, and climbed up the stairs to the room he shared with Aaron. If he went to bed now, he’d still have a couple hours before he had to clock in at the grocery store.

When he stepped into his room, he noticed that the window was wide open. Aaron was asleep in his bed across the room, dead to the world for another couple hours before he’d wake up, but the latch was unlocked and the moth-bitten curtains shifted in the wind. Andrew frowned; he definitely hadn’t left the window open when he left. Aaron must have woken up and opened it himself.

That’s when Andrew heard the scratching from under his bed. He went immediately to Aaron, making a barrier between his sleeping brother and whoever was under his bed. But no one emerged. All Andrew heard was some more scratching, and then a quiet snuffling sound that reminded Andrew of a small animal.

For a moment, Andrew was relieved he wouldn’t have to fend off a would-be attacker, but then he thought of his books. The three novels he hid under his bed were the only things he truly owned besides the clothes on his back, and he’d kept them with him all these years. He wasn’t about to let them get chewed up by a wild animal.

Andrew looked for anything he could use and grabbed a ruler off of Aaron’s desk. The first thing he saw when he ducked his head under the bed was a shrewd pair of eyes, glowing in the darkness. Andrew jabbed at it with the ruler, and it leapt at him with snarl, making Andrew fall backwards.

It was a fox, russet-colored fur and bright blue eyes that seemed far too clever to belong to an animal. Andrew stared at it, dumbfounded, and it took him a few seconds to realize that one of his books was trapped in its jaws. He couldn’t see the cover but he didn’t need to – he would recognize this book anywhere. It was his copy of Watership Down.

“Hey – fuck.” Andrew scrambled to his feet, snatching for his book, but the fox darted out of his reach and jumped out the window. He rushed after it but was too late. He saw a bushy red tail disappearing around the corner, book in tow.

“You fucking asshole,” Andrew shouted, as loud as he dared. Tilda would be getting home any minute now, and Andrew couldn’t risk her hearing him.

Andrew shut the window and locked it, booking it down the stairs as quietly as he could. It didn’t take long to find the fox. Andrew chased after it, but it always stayed two steps ahead of him. It led him back to the dead-end alley the library had been in. Andrew rounded the corner triumphantly, expecting to see the trapped fox with his book. Instead he found a couple of trash bins and rotting cardboard boxes. No library.

Behind him, the sun was already beginning to rise. The library, and the fox with his book, were gone.

By the time Andrew made it back home, Aaron was already up and about. Andrew found him wandering around the kitchen in his pajama bottoms, rummaging through the cupboards for breakfast. He seemed okay enough, and Andrew was glad to see him out of bed.

“There’s no fucking food in this house,” Aaron grumbled before rounding on Andrew. “And you’re lucky you didn’t get caught sneaking out.”

“Did you take your meds?” Andrew asked without acknowledging the statement.

He brushed past Aaron on the way to the fridge. There wasn’t anything in there except an old bottle of ketchup and an empty pizza box. Andrew made a mental note to grab some groceries when he was done with his shift. They really didn’t have the money, but Tilda wasn’t going to do it and Andrew could ask for an advance on his next paycheck if he really needed to. Maybe he should find a new ring to fight in at night.

“Obviously.” Aaron crossed his arms. “And Mom’s passed out upstairs. She’ll be out for a couple hours but I’ll check on her in a bit to make sure she’s not drowning in her own vomit.”

“Let her drown.” Andrew slammed the refrigerator door shut. “Maybe then we’ll have money for groceries.”

“Fuck you,” Aaron said, but he sounded too tired to be angry.

Andrew tried really, really hard not to think of the library, but it slipped in and out of his thoughts almost constantly throughout the next four days. Even Aaron seemed to notice his distraction, shooting him concerned looks whenever Andrew was near. Andrew waved him off. The last thing Aaron needed was to be worrying about him.

“Is it a boy?” Aaron asked one night. He was already dressed for bed in sweats and an old t-shirt, furiously brushing his teeth as he analyzed Andrew in the mirror. Andrew shot him an annoyed look while he combed his wet hair out into something manageable.

“Mind your business,” he said, yanking at a particularly stubborn knot.

“You’re being weird,” Aaron wheedled. “Why won’t you just tell me?”

What could Andrew tell him; that he’d found a magic library not once, but twice? That he’d chased a fox that had stolen his book? That the library had practically disappeared in front of his eyes? Aaron would think he was insane. Andrew wasn’t entirely sure he’d be wrong.

Andrew practically shoved him out of the bathroom. “Bedtime, little Aaron,” he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Aaron scowled at him.

“I’m pretty sure I’m the older twin,” he said.

“Bullshit.”

Aaron rolled his eyes, then his expression turned solemn. “Seriously, though,” he said. “Are you in trouble?”

Andrew sighed. He knew Aaron’s concern wasn’t entirely misplaced; Andrew had been picked up twice by the police and had gotten himself into deep shit more than once. There used to be a time where Andrew and Aaron told each other everything, but that had been years ago.

“I’m not in trouble,” he said, only to ease the tension from his brother’s expression. “I found a new fighting ring that I’m going to try out tonight.”

Aaron seemed hesitant, but he let the subject drop. “Do you want me to go with?”

Andrew shook his head. “I won’t stay out long tonight, just testing the waters.”

“First-aid kit is under the sink. For when you get your ass beat,” Aaron teased.

“Oh ye of little faith.” Andrew slung his jacket over his shoulder and flipped Aaron off as he left. He saw Aaron return the gesture as the door closed behind him.

The new ring was only about four blocks away from the lot the library had first appeared in, but Andrew shoved any thoughts of the traveling library firmly out of his head. Eden’s Twilight was packed when Andrew showed up, and the first round had already begun. He pushed his way through the crowd, jabbing his elbow into anyone who got too close. The place smelled of beer and sweat and the ground was sticky and covered in suspicious stains.

Andrew found a vantage point in a small alcove above the main mass of the crowd that surround the ring. Only a few people hung out on the upper deck so it wasn’t as crowded as it was below. Inside the ring, the two fighters circled each other as the audience cheered and placed bets. Andrew mentally placed a few of his own, though he didn’t put money on it or voice them out loud.

The first guy was huge, tall and muscular and covered in tattoos. He beat his fists together to the screams of his fans. Andrew was pretty sure he’d seen him fight in another ring before. It only took him a second to place his name. Gorilla. Gorilla was known for his brutal punches and strength, but he was slow and tired easily.

His challenger was at least two heads shorter than him. She was wiry and thin, with her white-blonde hair pulled into a short ponytail at the back of her head. Andrew watched her circle the ring and sat up with interest. He was too far to see clearly, but he thought he recognized the dangerous glint in her eye as she sized up her opponent. Andrew didn’t think this match would be as cut-and-dry as it seemed.

He was right.

Gorilla attacked first, lunging at the women with a loud cry, but the women dodged easily and aimed two sharp jabs to his ribs. She was fast and deadly, with precise punches and kicks that wore her larger opponent down. She fought dirty too, striking hard at sensitive places. The match was over in a matter of minutes, when the women dug her knee in the back of Gorilla’s leg and forced him down, pinning his arm behind his back until he tapped out.

The audience roared and Andrew felt impressed despite himself. The blonde women gave a sweet wave that was at odds with the way she fought and exited the ring. Andrew hopped down from his perch before the next match started and shoved around looking for someone who could sign him up for a future match. He almost slammed right into the women collecting her winnings.

There was a bruise already starting to swell on her chin from where Gorilla had punched her, but she smiled when she saw Andrew. She was dressed conservatively and her white-blonde hair was dyed into a pastel rainbow at the tips. A tiny silver cross hung from her neck, catching the flashing lights around them. It was hard reconciling the fighter Andrew saw in the ring with the sweet Christian girl in front of him.

“Hi,” she said, waving with a hand taped with bandages. “Are you Andrew?”

“What,” Andrew said. He wondered how the hell she knew his name, and if he should get out of there. If some of the people from his old ring were here, they might still be looking for someone to blame. And Andrew didn’t think he’d want to be on the receiving end of this women’s punches.

“Sorry.” The women smiled apologetically. She put her hand out for Andrew to shake. “Renee. My friend pointed you out.”

That didn’t make Andrew feel any better. His eyes slid past Renee, looking for anyone that might have recognized him. His eyes caught on red hair, a scarred face, and clever blue eyes.

“You,” Andrew said and started towards Neil. “Your fucking pet stole my book.”

Somehow, Neil looked both amused and annoyed. “Are you following me or something?”

“I want my book back,” Andrew said.

“It’s not yours. And I don’t have a pet.”

“Bullshit it’s not mine,” Andrew said, but Neil was already turning away. Andrew wasn’t about to let him get away with his cryptic bullshit again, so he followed him outside.

“Leave me alone,” Neil shouted over his shoulder but Andrew grabbed his arm and spun him around. He got a hold of Neil’s shirt and shoved him bodily against the wall.

“What the fuck is going on?” he snapped. Neil blinked at him, unimpressed.

“Why should I give you anything,” Neil said, “when you’ll just take it?”

Andrew was so fed up with people accusing him of shit. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” Neil snatched at Andrew’s wrist, trying to wrench free, but Andrew held fast, “go fuck yourself.”

“You tell me the truth, and I’ll let you go,” Andrew said. “Truth for a truth.”

“Well, you can’t keep me pinned all night,” Neil snarked. “Eventually you’ll have to let me go.”

Andrew glared at him, but Neil only snorted with derision.

“I’m not afraid of you,” he sneered. “Fine. Truth for a truth.”

Andrew released him and Neil straightened, smoothing his hands down his shirt where Andrew had ruffled it. “What do you want to know?” he asked.

“What, exactly, is Foxhole’s Traveling Library?”

Neil looked dumbfounded. “You don’t remember? Wymack said he already explained.”

“Humor me.”

“It’s exactly as it sounds,” Neil said, “a traveling library. Wymack founded it…I don’t know. It’s old. Older than any of us. We – me and the rest of the foxes – collect books and things for it. Anyone’s welcome, but usually only those who need it can find it.”

Andrew took a moment to process that. “It’s magic?”

“Obviously,” Neil said. “Do most libraries you know move every night?”

Andrew ignored him. “You said only people who need it can find it, yet I keep finding it. I don’t need anything.”

“For the record, I don’t believe you. But,” Neil said when Andrew clenched his fist. “you keep finding it because it’s here to collect those books you took.”

Andrew could feel his frustration rising again. He took a few breaths to calm himself down, forcing any traces of emotion off his face. “I didn’t take anything,” he said, once he’d gotten everything under control. Neil snorted again, but Andrew didn’t react.

“Okay, my turn,” he said. “How old were you when you first visited the library?”

Andrew frowned. He’d only found out about the place a couple weeks ago. “Nineteen.”

Neil shook his head slowly. “No,” he said. “No, I don’t think that’s right. You showed up before Wymack took me in, but he told me about you. Andrew Minyard. You’re the kid who kept sneaking in. He offered you a place there, but you didn’t want to stay. You took a bunch of books and ran with them.”

Andrew stared hard at him, trying to detect the lie. It was impossible – hell, the whole fucking library was impossible – but Neil didn’t seem to be lying. But as Neil’s words began to sink it, Andrew realized that he did remember it. He’d thought it was a dream, but he remembered picking up a book from a shelf and thinking Aaron would like it. He remembered stuffing it in his shirt and running home. He could never forget the bruises Tilda left on him for sneaking out of the house.

It seemed odd that Andrew had almost forgotten, given his perfect memory. But now he couldn’t stop remembering. Rough hands and tears trailing down his face, running through the streets at night looking for the library - his library. With its strange books and gruff librarian who always gave him a book to hold even though he couldn’t read it yet. The librarian had offered to shelter him after he showed up with a bruised and tear-streaked face, but Andrew had refused.

He wouldn’t leave Aaron. That’s why he wouldn’t stay. He’d taken the books because he wanted to bring a piece of the library with him, so he’d never forget. But he’d forgotten anyway.

“It’s your turn,” Neil said.

Before Andrew could sort through his tumultuous thoughts, he heard a shout behind him.

“Neil!” Andrew turned to see a large man with spiky hair jogging toward them. He wore gym shorts and a sweaty black tank top with the logo of some metal band Andrew didn’t recognize. Behind him stood Renee and a woman with short, curly hair, her arms crossed over her chest. The man regarded Andrew with a mixture of confusion and suspicion, but he addressed Neil. “You okay, buddy?”

“I’m fine, Matt,” Neil replied. The man groaned but Neil waved him off. “Really. We were just talking.”

“Alright,” Matt said, not sounding entirely convinced. “Dan was saying it’s about time we head back, yeah?”

Neil nodded and met Andrew’s eyes for a moment. Andrew would have to wait to take his turn, which meant he had time to think of what he wanted to ask. There was so much he wanted to know; it was like a strange itch spreading under his skin. Andrew hadn’t felt so interested in anything in ages. It exhilarated him, and he kind of hated it.

“It was nice meeting you, Andrew,” Renee said sweetly, giving a little wave. “Wymack has said a lot about you.”

Andrew didn’t know what to say to that, so he let them leave without a word. He dug in his pocket for his pack of cigarettes and lit one. He felt oddly drained and he didn’t particularly want to stick around and watch the last few fights of the night. So, he leaned against the wall, one foot kicked up against the patchwork of brick and mortar, and smoked his cigarette to the filter while he did his best to sort out his thoughts and newfound memories into something more comprehensible.

After he finished his first cigarette, he lit another. He was still uncertain, but he thought, perhaps, that he would like to see the library again.

There was a smudge of ink on the inside-cover of The Giver. Andrew brushed his fingers over it, wondering why he had never put much thought to it before. It was black and nearly-illegible, but he could make out the words “Fox” and “Library” where the water damage wasn’t so bad. He flipped open his last book, a beaten-up copy of Charlotte’s Web to find a similar ink-stain inside. The words were almost completely obliterated, but he could still see the stamp of a tiny fox that Andrew had seen on the sign hanging in front of the library.

The books that Andrew had kept with him for almost fifteen years belonged to Foxhole’s Traveling Library.

When Andrew and Aaron were eight and Aaron first started getting sick, Andrew would read Charlotte’s Web to him until he fell asleep. He told him about The Giver and how he would have hated to have his emotions taken away from him like that. All this time, they were from the library that Andrew had loved and forgotten. And he didn’t even know.

Andrew slammed his books shut and shoved them under his bed. He watched his sleeping brother for a moment, listened to his steady breathing, and left.

He needed to find Neil.

The streets were empty, despite it not being that late out. Andrew didn’t really know where he was going, but he pointed his feet in a direction and walked. It seemed like ages before he found the library, sitting in the middle of an In-N-Out parking lot. But when Andrew tried the door, he found that it was locked.

He waited for someone to show for an hour before he left again. He wandered around until he heard shouting and what sounded like an animal crying out in pain. When Andrew went to investigate, he found two guys smelling of booze. They were shouting incoherently, and throwing bottles at a spitting-mad fox cornered against the wall.

The guy with a white hoodie moved to kick it, but Andrew ran forward and kicked him in the back of the knee before he could. There was a horrible pop and Hoodie fell to the ground in a heap of flailing limbs with an agonized scream. Andrew grabbed him by the front of his hoodie and slammed him to the ground but before he could do it again, Hoodie’s friend wrenched him away and pushed him back. Andrew withdrew his knife, but he was unbalanced and caught a nasty right-hook to the side of his face. His knife fell somewhere to the side, but Andrew didn’t have time to reach for it before the man smashed a bottle against the side of his head. Andrew’s vision went white and he crumbled to the ground.

“Asshole,” the man spat. Andrew flipped him off but he couldn’t see much through the blood streaming into his eyes. The man pulled his arm back for another swing, but movement by the wall caught both his and Andrew’s attention.

Neil staggered over to them, bruised and battered and looking absolutely worse for wear. “Leave him alone,” he snarled and launched himself at the man. Neil was smaller than him, but that didn’t stop him from getting a few good punches in and buying Andrew enough time to get off the ground. He was unsteady on his feet, but he got his balance and grabbed a hold on Neil’s shirt.

“Come on,” he said, yanking him away from getting punched into oblivion. His head was throbbing and he still had trouble seeing, but Neil gripped him under the arm and supported some of his weight while they ran.

“I thought you were supposed to be good at fighting,” Neil panted once they were far enough away. It only took Andrew a second to realize that Neil had led them back to the library.

“Shut up,” Andrew replied, breathing heavily. He used his sleeve to wipe some of the blood from his face. He didn’t think the cut was that bad, but he’d probably need stitches. “You’re the fox?”

Neil flexed his hand, wincing when his knuckles twinged. “I thought that was obvious.”

Andrew stared at him in disbelief. “Yes, because that makes total sense.”

“Magic library. Shape-shifting foxes.” Neil shrugged, and then wrapped his arm around his ribs with a pained groan. “Shit,” he said and slumped to the ground.

Andrew followed him down. He motioned for Neil to sit cross-legged and checked his knuckles. He swiped his finger over them, wiping away some of the blood, and Neil let out a pained hiss.

“Friends of yours?” Andrew asked.

Neil shook his head with barely-suppressed anger. “Just a couple assholes who like to hurt animals.”

“Well,” Andrew said. “I hope I broke that guy’s knee, then.”

“Thanks,” Neil said. He met Andrew eyes. His lips pursed when he saw the mess the asshole made of Andrew’s face, but he held his gaze. “You saved me.”

Andrew shrugged it off. He didn’t know why Neil was looking at him like that, or why it terrified him and made something jolt in his chest at the same time. He looked away, smoothing over his expression into something that resembled boredom. “You look like a punching bag,” he said. “There’s a first-aid kit at the house.”

“No need.” Neil pushed to his feet with a grunt. “The library will do just fine. Coming in?”

Andrew didn’t know what he meant by that, but he followed Neil through the doors all the same. They weren’t unlocked anymore – or at least they weren’t locked for Neil.

The cuts on Neil’s face and hands began to heal as soon he stepped over the threshold. Andrew really shouldn’t have been surprised, but he couldn’t look away as the bruises faded as if they were never there.

“Nothing can hurt us here,” Neil said as Andrew felt his own wounds begin to heal.

They walked through the library, neither wanting to leave their quiet sanctuary. Andrew was sure the other foxes were hanging around somewhere, but the place was huge enough to get lost in and Andrew knew that they would not be bothered. He didn’t really know why he was still here, just a couple weeks ago he had been furious at Neil for stealing his book. But now a small part of him kind of wanted to hold his hand. Andrew shoved that very small part to the back of his mind before he could do something stupid like actually reach out for Neil.

They were on the third floor of the library, in a section labeled Unwritten Books, when Neil rocked to a halt beside Andrew. He turned to him and reach out, stopping his hand just short of Andrew’s face.

Andrew swallowed. He didn’t know what Neil planned to do, but he met Neil’s eyes and nodded once in permission. Neil brushed his fingers over Andrew’s temple, where the bottle had hit him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his fingers pressed to the spot where the gash would have been. “Sometimes it doesn’t heal all of it.”

Andrew touched his temple and felt a bump from a scar. It hadn’t been there before. Andrew grabbed Neil’s hand and moved it away from his face. He squeezed once and Neil tucked his hands in his pockets.

“Do not apologize,” Andrew ordered. It wasn’t Neil’s fault, and Andrew didn’t like the sad expression in Neil’s eyes. “And don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” Neil asked.

Andrew ignored the question. It was his turn, and he told Neil so. He’d been thinking of what he wanted to ask, and now he thought he was ready.

“Why are you here?”

Neil looked surprised at the question, but then he motioned for Andrew to sit. Andrew sat with his back to the bookshelf and his arms draped over his knees. Neil mirrored him. He was quiet for a long time before he spoke.

“I was running from my father.” He motioned to his face. “He’s the one that did this. To say that he was a shitty father would be an understatement. He was a monster.”

Andrew knew plenty about monsters that pretended to be human. He’s had monsters of his own. Some being Tilda and her string of boyfriends that varied from strung-out drug addicts to heavy-handed abusers. Sometimes they were worse, but Andrew tried not to think about them. He wasn’t familiar with Neil’s sort of monster, but he stayed quiet and gave Neil his full attention.

Neil rubbed at the circular burn scars on his cheek. “A couple years back, he killed my mother. Beat her to death with a metal pipe. He would have killed me, but I ran. I just kept running, and somehow I ended up here. If Wymack hadn’t taken me in, I would have died.”

Andrew thought of offering Andrew a place to stay, so many years ago. “He takes in a lot of strays,” he noted.

“The old man is soft,” Neil said, fondly. Then he frowned. “Why didn’t you stay?”

Andrew exhaled heavily. “My brother,” he said. “I wouldn’t leave him. This was before he got sick, but he was always mine to protect. If I left him, I am not sure he would have survived.”

“He’s sick?”

Andrew grit his teeth until his jaw ached and gave a jerky nod. “It’s worse these days,” is all he said. He really didn’t want to talk about it.

“Andrew,” Neil whispered. “The library probably won’t come back once you return the rest of your books.”

“I know.”

Neil’s voice had an edge to it but Andrew couldn’t tell if it was from anger or from something else. Something closer to desperation. “You can’t keep them forever.”

“I know.” Ever since Andrew rediscovered the library, he knew he would not be allowed to keep it. The library, Wymack, even the beginnings of this something between him and Neil. Soon enough, Andrew was going to have to say goodbye.

Aaron’s condition worsened few weeks into December. San Jose was not a city that froze over during its winters, but the cold months always made him struggle more and the sudden temperature drop this year had been merciless. Andrew checked on him regularly, but Aaron would always make him leave the room. Andrew had a sneaking suspicion it was because Aaron didn’t want to get him sick, too.

When Tilda got home a little after two in the morning, Andrew was fuming. He confronted her in the kitchen while she tottered around looking for food. Her eyes were red and unfocused and Andrew wasn’t entirely sure if she was aware that he was there at all.

Andrew hated her.

“Aaron’s sick,” he said, forcing his voice to be even. Despite his best efforts, his words trembled with rage.

Tilda turned to him, leaning against the counter so she wouldn’t topple over, and regarded him with bleary eyes. “Make him better, then,” she slurred.

Andrew had spent the last decade of his life trying to make him better, with no help from Tilda. Andrew worked two jobs and got into illegal street-fighting to pay the bills while Tilda got drunk and high for days at a time. Her son was dying and she did not care.

Andrew clenched his hands into fists to stop the shaking, but Tilda didn’t notice. She dug around in her purse and withdrew a prescription bottle full of various pills. She shook some out onto her palm and studied them.

Andrew crossed the kitchen and knocked them out of her hand. The candy-colored pills clattered to the ground, scattering across the dirty floorboards. “He’s sick!” he snarled. “He needs medicine.”

Tilda went very still, and for a moment the world stopped spinning. Andrew didn’t register the slap at first, just that his face stung and there was a sharp, metallic taste in his mouth. Everything jolted back into motion with that slap.

“You ungrateful shit,” Tilda hissed. She was shaking a finger in Andrew’s face, but Andrew hardly noticed. He had his hand pressed to his cheek, where Tilda had hit him. “You wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for me. Don’t go telling me what to do, I don’t owe you anything!”

Andrew said nothing while she stalked away. He could feel his lip starting to swell under his hand. He pressed his finger to the cut and it came away red. Andrew was moving before he really thought about it. One minute he was standing in the kitchen with a stinging face, and the next he was digging for a book from under his bed. Charlotte’s Web. That’ll do.

It was only a couple of hours until sunrise, but Andrew didn’t have trouble finding the library. All the other times he tried to enter without a book, the doors would not open and Neil would have to come out onto the front stoop with him. But this time the doors parted easily, and Andrew was greeted with a blast of warm air and the tingling sensation of his bloodied lip beginning to heal.

Neil saw it anyway and was across the room in an instant.

“Who did that to you?” he demanded.

“My mother.” Andrew spat the word. “I asked her to parent for once.”

Neil looked ready to fight, but Andrew shoved the book at him before he could say anything. He took it, confused, before glancing at the cover. “Oh,” he said. “Are you sure?”

“Shut up,” Andrew said and Neil nodded. He motioned for Andrew to follow him and brought him to a section of the library on the sixth floor.

The shelves up here were filled with more books, but Andrew spied a few strange objects that seemed to defy the laws of physics. Andrew picked one up. It was about the size of his palm, with nine interlocking gold rings that spun around each other. It reminded Andrew of rings circling a planet, or maybe a strange, metal flower.

“That’s Matt’s work,” Neil said once he caught Andrew looking. “He’s more of a creator than a collector. Most of these are his.”

“Most?” Andrew asked. He nudged one ring and it spun backwards. The rest of the rings followed suit.

“Some of them are Allison’s. One or two might be Nicky’s, but he never really got a hang of it.”

Andrew replaced the object back on the shelf, careful not to crush the delicate metalwork, and he and Neil continued through the maze of bookshelves. Eventually, they came upon a shelf labeled Lost Books. The shelf was empty except for a single book: Andrew’s old copy of Watership Down.

Neil placed Charlotte’s Web next to it and turned to Andrew without meeting his eyes, his hand lingering on the shelf. He was quiet for a long moment before he spoke. “This could be yours,” he said and finally looked up.

There was an empty space on the plaque, right under the label. It had enough room for a name, like all the other shelves in the library. Neil brushed his hand over it, finger unconsciously looping around to form a word.

Andrew.

“You could stay here,” continued Neil. “You could be a fox and collect books or make things. Anything. You could get away from your mom.”

“I won’t leave Aaron,” Andrew reminded him.

Andrew could see the disappointment on Neil’s face, but he nodded. “Okay,” he said. He stooped to sit with his back against the shelf, reminiscent of the time they sheltered between the shelves and started their question game. Andrew sat next to him. He left an inch of space between them, but Andrew’s knee nudged Neil’s and they were close enough that he could feel Neil’s warmth.

“You should see this place during the day,” Neil said, as if Andrew would ever be allowed to. “There’s so many windows, the sunlight catches Matt’s creations and everything turns gold.”

Neil wasn’t looking at him, which gave Andrew every opportunity to watch without being seen in return. Freckles dashed across the bridge of his nose, like tiny constellations of stars that Andrew wished to name. His eyes were an even deeper blue in the dimness of the library, and light danced in them as he gazed at the bookshelves full of books and gadgets. A small smile ghosted across Neil’s face. “It’s really beautiful.”

Looking at Neil, Andrew agreed.

“Oh,” Neil said with a small laugh when he noticed Andrew’s attention, “you can stare, but when I do it – ”

Andrew kissed him. He felt Neil’s breath hitch against his lips and Andrew pulled back with a surge of panic.

“Shit,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He started to get up, but Neil stopped him with a hand hovering over his arm. Andrew looked in the general direction of the exit, wondering if he could still make a break for it.

“Wait,” Neil said. “Do we have to stop?”

Andrew pressed his thumb to his bottom lip. He couldn’t stop thinking about the weight of Neil’s mouth against his.

“Andrew,” Neil urged. Andrew gazed at him for a long moment before sitting down again.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked. If they were going to do this, they were going to do it right.

“Yes,” Neil breathed, and leaned in.

Andrew hooked his fingers in the color of Neil’s sweatshirt as they kissed. He used it as an anchor, soft fabric brushing against his hand while he got lost in the waves washing over him. Time stood still and Andrew’s mind wiped clean. It was just him and Neil, no impending deadline looming over them for when Andrew returned his last book. For a moment, they were infinite.

When they separated, Andrew had to take a few seconds to relearn how to breathe before he opened his eyes. He wondered why they had stopped kissing until he saw the soft light reaching out for them.

“It’s morning,” Neil said. He swallowed roughly. Andrew’s eyes followed the movement of his throat and then skipped back to Neil’s face. His lips were red from kissing, his eyes blown. Andrew watched him form the words as he said, “Library’s closing.”

Andrew extracted himself from Neil, taking a few deep breaths to get himself together. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, fingers wrapping around his lighter and cigarettes. He itched to light one, but he didn’t.

“Hey,” Neil said. Andrew glanced at him. “I’ll see you tonight?”

Andrew didn’t respond, but he pulled Neil in for another quick kiss. He and Neil both knew that he would show up on the steps of the library as soon as night fell and Aaron was asleep. However much time he and Neil had, Andrew would not waste it.

Tilda was missing, of course. She had never been there for her sons; not when Aaron lost his first tooth, or when Andrew broke his arm climbing a tree, or when they both miraculously graduated high school. It made sense that she was missing now, when Aaron’s temperature was rising and there was no money left to buy more ibuprofen. He’d given Aaron the last of it an hour ago but he wasn’t getting better.

No money, no medicine, and no mother.

“Mom?” Aaron croaked. It was the first thing he’d said in a while, and it almost made Andrew jump. They both knew that Tilda would not show up, but Aaron seemed too out of it to really understand.

“She ran to the store to get more milk,” Andrew said. It was an old lie he used to tell Aaron when Tilda had gone off on another bender. He’d stopped making excuses for her when they were twelve and Aaron had to go to the hospital when he stopped breathing. Andrew didn’t know why he said it now. Maybe because he wanted to offer this last scrap hope to his brother and he knew that he wouldn’t last long enough to be disappointed.

Andrew pressed his hand against Aaron’s forehead, pushing his hair off his sweat-slicked skin to gauge his temperature. He didn’t have a thermometer, but he didn’t need one to know that Aaron was very, very sick. He was barely conscious, puffy eyes cracked open as he struggled to breathe. The pneumonia had settled in his lungs shortly after Andrew delivered the book, and now he was left to watch his brother deteriorate and wonder if he could have done something more.

Andrew had promised to meet Neil, but he’s barely been able to leave Aaron’s bedside for days. He leaned his head against the bedframe of Aaron��s bed and wondered if he’d ever see Neil again. Andrew supposed that he could leave the last book on the porch for Neil to pick up and take to the library. Their stolen moments together would have to be enough.

It was well into the night and Andrew was still sitting sentinel on the floor beside Aaron’s bed.

“Do you remember,” he whispered, “when I used to read to you?”

Aaron didn’t respond, his breathing too labored, but Andrew continued to talk. “I found a library. You would like it. It’s huge and filled with thousands of books and I’ve almost gotten lost in it a couple times. I’ll take you to it, when you get better.”

Andrew wasn’t sure if Aaron would make the trip. He clenched his jaw for several seconds, not wanting to think of his brother not making it.

“You have to get better, Aaron,” Andrew said and Aaron replied with a weak cough.

A loud thump on the window nearly made Andrew jump out of his skin. He glanced at Aaron before seeing what had made the noise. When he saw who was standing below, he shoved the window open.

“Hey,” Neil shouted up to him. “Grab your book.”

Neil came upstairs a couple minutes later with Matt and Dan in tow. Andrew stared at them, dumbfounded. “I already said that I’m not leaving Aaron.”

“Which is why,” Matt said as he eased Aaron up into a sitting position, “we’re bringing him with us.”

He lifted Aaron out of the bed like he weighed nothing to him. He probably didn’t, Aaron had hardly been able to eat anything these past few days.

Andrew gripped his arm to stop him taking his brother anywhere. “What the fuck will that do except make him worse?” he demanded.

“We reckon the library will heal him,” Dan responded. She raised her eyebrows at Andrew, giving him a stern look until he let go of Matt’s arm. “Now where’s that book?”

Neil darted to the window. “Quickly,” he said. “Before the sun rises.”

Three shapeshifting foxes, one book thief, and a dying nineteen-year-old made it to the library just as the first vestiges of night faded from the sky. It was in the lot Andrew had stumbled across so long ago, it felt like a dream.

Neil was right, the library was beautiful during the day. At night, the interior of the library was dark except for the old-fashioned lamps that hung between the bookshelves. But now light streamed in through the giant windows, catching all the golden details and making it shimmer. The light caught a stream of dust motes that twinkled like tiny golden stars, and dapples of light danced across the white marble.

The strange posse brought him to the self-help desk where Wymack sat. His eyebrows rose when he saw them, but he sat up when he saw Aaron’s limp form in Matt’s arms. Andrew placed the book on the desk between them.

“One book for two places in the library,” he said.

Wymack regarded them for a long moment. “That one still alive?” he grunted, nodding towards Aaron.

Dan pulled over a chair so Matt could set Aaron down. He was so still, and when Matt stepped back Aaron’s head lolled limply to the side. For one heart-stopping second, Andrew thought that they’d failed and his brother was gone. But then Aaron’s eyes blinked open as he let out a small groan.

He squinted in the light, eyes slowly moving around the library before focusing on Andrew’s face. “This your library?” he rasped. It was the most coherent he sounded in days. “Thought it’d bigger.”

Andrew let out a disbelieving huff. He could have been sick with relief. “It is big, asshole.”

Aaron laughed weakly. His face was regaining color by the minute and he didn’t look so gaunt. Andrew knew he was going to be okay. He exchanged a look at Neil, who gave him a small smile. Andrew almost smiled back.

“Welcome to Foxhole’s Traveling Library,” Wymack said. “It’s about god damn time.”

#aftg #tfc #aftg exchange #andreil #twinyards #andrew minyard #neil josten #mine #my writing

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sidecharacter965 · 4 years

Text

Drowning in Iris (Floyd X Reader)

So after a literal month of procrastination, I have written and finished my first Twisted Wonderland fic! Will I write more fics and/or oneshots? You betcha! Will it take a long time? Yes

Floyd X Reader Hanahaki au (Angst, I guess)

~*~

It had started with a cough. It had always started with a cough. The uncomfortable sensation that something was squeezing your lungs, or perhaps filling them. You had thought it would go away in a week or so, as most coughs do, so you had no intention of making a big deal about it. These things did happen from time to time after all.

“Koebi-Chaaaan wake up~” You were jolted awake from a dreamless sleep, eyes the size of saucers. Floyd had pulled your sheets off entirely in an attempt to wake you up. It woke you up alright. The frigid temperature of your dorm giving a shock to your senses after being in a warm bed the whole night. You groaned in annoyance. Sure you liked the twin, but you weren’t grateful for him waking you up by exposing you to the freezing temperature of Octavinelle. The sun hadn’t quite risen, so it didn’t reach the ocean floor where the dorm was situated.

“Floyd-Kun, it’s too friggin cold!” You feebly grabbed at the sheets, still half asleep. Floyd only pulled them further away from you.

“A- ah-aaah~” He teased. “It’s time for you to be awake, Koebi-Chan! The day awaits!”

Well, it’ll have to wait a little longer. You thought to yourself as you slid your legs over the side of your bed. Your friend always took it upon himself to wake you up for reasons unknown to everyone- except him, of course.

“There, I’m awake. Can you go now?” Floyd dodged the pillow you threw at him.

“I caaaaan,” He flashed one of his signature smiles. “But will I~” Your skin prickled, and a warm feeling grew in your cheeks. His smile. His freaking smile. The tone he was using wasn’t helping either.

“Y- yes you will! Because I’m awake now.” You stuttered, hoping to God that he wouldn’t notice your blush.

“Hmmm… Well I suppose you are!” Floyd chirped, turning around to open your door. “After all, the colour in your face seems to have returned!”

Shoot. He did notice after all.

~*~

You didn’t see much of Floyd in the morning, you had different classes after all. But you did see Floyd in the hallways, and he greeted you with a toothy grin. Was it just you, or did they gleam a little brighter today? You shook your head. Now was not the time to be thinking of Floyd’s teeth.

“Something wrong?” Jade asked, towering beside you. “I’m sure whatever’s bothering you can be fixed by the Great Azul.” His eyes flickered to Floyd for a second, and as if by some psychic connection, he too was at your side. Your back prickled and your heart climbed into your throat. Floyd was much farther into your personal space than his twin.

“I- I’m fine, thank you.” You said in a shaky voice, obviously not convincing the twins.

“Aww, Koebi-Chan! I thought we were friends! You can tell me anything! Any~thing~at~all!”

Not this. You thought, face getting even more flushed.

“I’m just feeling a little under the weather, it’s nothing to be concerned about.” You regretted your words as soon as they left your mouth.

“...Really? How about we check?” Jade smirked, his eye glowing dangerously yellow. You silently cursed. Jade would find out you were sick in a heartbeat.

As if on cue, your throat convulsed, sending you into a painful coughing fit. It felt as if something was lodged deep down your throat, and it wasn’t coming out. When the coughing subsided, and you could breathe somewhat regularly, you looked up at the twins, who wore equal faces of concern and surprise.

“It seems that the only help you need is from the nurse then, Koebi-Chan!” Floyd exclaimed, grabbing your hand and leading you to the infirmary. Looking back, you saw Jade. There was a flicker in his eyes for a moment. Pity? Empathy? You couldn’t tell.

~*~

The night you spent in the infirmary was one of many. You would have sporadic coughing fits throughout the day and night. Floyd- sometimes accompanied by Jade- would visit you after school and in between classes to bring you homework and keep you company. It did little to ease your pain, because whenever you saw Floyd, your chest grew tighter, and breathing became more painful.

“Are you feeling okay, Koebi-Chan?”

“As your best friend, I demand you to get better!”

“Do you want help with today’s homework?”

You could feel yourself getting weaker and weaker.

But nothing could prepare you for the pain that would follow.

~*~

Water surrounded you. Dark, blue, treacherous, ocean. You gasped for air but swallowed the salty liquid. Flailing around, looking for a light. Something. Anything. Where was the surface? Your heart pounded against your ribcage as it screamed for oxygen. You tried to breathe once more, and inhaled the water-

Coughing and spluttering, you woke up from the nightmare. A sheen of sweat covering your neck. You doubled over as your throat squeezed tighter, racking your body with another fit that left you gasping for air. As you brought your hand away from your mouth, you felt something small, something soft. Turning on the bedside lamp to inspect the object, wincing as the light burned for a moment, you froze as it came into colour.

It was a petal.

A deep, blue, petal.

Your heart began to race as you quickly pieced the puzzle together. Your crush on Floyd, the coughing fits… and now the blue petal that came with it. Flowers were growing inside of your lungs.

And they weren’t going to stop.

“Are you feeling alright?” You snapped your head up as you curled your hand around the petal, stuffing it under the sheets. The school nurse walked in, shoes clacking against the cold linoleum floor. They had bags under their eyes. A feeling of guilt settled in your stomach as you realized that they were because of you. A cold hand was placed onto your sweating forehead.

“Much better now.” You fibbed, faking a smile. “Could I just have a drink of water?” The nurse retracted their hand and stood up from beside you.

“Of course, dear.” They turned around and walked into the connected room, giving you the chance to properly examine the petal. It was a deep blue and curled in a teardrop shape. It was an iris. You let out a choked snort. It was ironic. Irises represented hope and having faith, but the path you were headed down contained everything but that.

~*~

It took some thinking about what your next move should be. The most obvious one would be to tell the nurse- no- The school would get involved and everyone would know… You wanted to figure this out on your own.

“Morning, Koebi-Chan~” Floyd poked his head around the infirmary’s doorway. “How’s my best friend doing today?” Your heart sank. Friend. Yeah, that’s all you were to him.

“Nothing’s changed really.” Another lie. It surprised you at how fast you replied.

“Are you sure?” Another figure appeared in the doorway. Jade. Your neck pricked as you felt his eyes burn into you. What he said was less of a question and more of a challenge.

“Nope! But you never really are with these things.” You said with a dismissive shrug, hoping the twins would drop the topic. Before either of them could say anything, the blaring bell rang to signal the start of the school day.

“Leech! Both of you! Get off to class now!” The unmistakable shouts of Coach Vargas could be heard from down the hall. Well, no matter where you were, you would still be able to hear him.

“Fiiine, fine,” Floyd grumbled. “See ya later, Koebi-Chan!” With that, Floyd left for class. Jade, however, remained and strode into the infirmary.

“You have one last chance to tell me what’s going on and why you’re lying about it or I will use my magic.” The threat chilled you to the bone, but you still weren’t willing to reveal everything. Jade towered above you. “Well?”

“... Hanahaki…” You finally whispered, diverting your eyes from the twin. Your heart clenched and you almost felt ashamed that you had acknowledged it. As if the sickness were your fault. You heard a sharp intake of breath from beside you.

“... So it is Floyd.” Jade murmured, you barely nodded, shoulders slumping even more. “Y/N… We can cure this, you know? Maybe you don’t want to, but if you do,” He turned away from your bed, slowly walking out of the infirmary. “You can always come to Octavinelle.”

~*~

You looked around the infirmary. At the off white walls fading to yellow at the corners, at the four identical beds clad in slightly grey sheets. You wrinkled your nose at the chemical smell of disinfectant.

Do I really want to die here?

... No…

~*~

“Now Y/N, this contract will enable you access to a Hanahaki surgery alternative. It will act like a weed eater, killing the flowers and removing all feelings you have towards that person. Do you understand?” You nodded numbly, not really focusing on Azuls words or even the contract. You knew you should have at least read it, but you just wanted this nightmare to be over. “Lovely, now sign your name here and the cure is yours.” Azul’s fingers unfurled, revealing a glittering fountain pen in the shape of a fish skeleton.

You took a deep breath,

This is the only way.

and gently took the pen.

“Y/N!!!” The door to Azul’s door came crashing down and a familiar face appeared in its place. Floyd’s tall figure was quaking, and tears were streaming down his face. He bolted towards you, tackling you into the plush chair. “No…. no, no, no, no, no, please... don’t… It’s okay… It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay…” He sobbed, embracing you tighter, burying his head into your neck. “Please… Don’t… You don’t have to… I’m here…” You snapped back to your senses. What were you doing? You didn’t want to sign a contract with Azul! Dropping the pen, you wrapped your arms around Floyd and salty tears rolled down your cheek.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Floyd… I- I!” Struggling to get the last words out you took a deep breath.

And braced for a cough that never came.

~*~

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland fic #twisted wonderland fanfiction #octavinelle #floyd leech #hanahaki #x reader #Please tell me your thoughts on this #I'm a little nervous about sharing my writing to this fandom for pretty much the first time #👉👈

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xmagicxshopx · 4 years

Text

Rush Hour Pt 1

Genre: Action Adventure, Angst, Romance, Comedy Rating: PG-13 - M Warnings: drug trafficking, human trafficking, language, smut (in pt 2) Pairing: officer!jungkook x reader , officer!taehyung x oc (Nari) Notes: AU fic. Not idol!bts. Single quote marks ‘ ‘ are for thoughts and double “ “ are for talking. Additional Notes: Thank all the crime shows my parents watch for this. XD Not to mention I love the Rush Hour movies. @u@

Tagging: @grxnadxs

Summary: You and your best friend are being framed for a crime you didn’t commit and there’s only two people who believe you. Agent Inspector Jeon of the Busan Police Department and Detective Kim of the Daegu Police Department. Can they rescue you before it’s too late?

MASTERLIST

Organized Crime.

South Korea’s biggest enemy.

Financial fraud, drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, human trafficking. It was all because of organized crime and it made the police departments absolutely sick. A beast they couldn’t contain, let alone kill. Drugs were their biggest problem, really. And what drugs couldn’t produce in real cash flow, fake won made up for it. Sickening. Absolutely sickening.

“Detective Kim---Agent Inspector Jeon has arrived.”

Having been standing there watching the city with his steaming mug of hot chocolate because he’s not a coffee drinker, he simply turned his head to the officer-in-training and smiled a friendly smile before nodding his head and saying casually,

“Let the asshole in.”

“Hey, I heard that, asshat!”

Detective Kim, more commonly known as Kim Taehyung, just laughed as he set his mug down to greet one of his best friends and favorite partners in law enforcement. Walking through the door was one chuckling Jeon Jungkook, otherwise known as Agent Inspector Jeon. After performing their super secret handshake, the both of them took a seat in which Jeon sighed heavily.

“They briefed me on the situation. One of them is from Busan so they sent me over. It’s a pretty ugly case. This organization seems to have quite the record.”

“No kidding. Drug and human trafficking?? Disgusting. Makes me sick.”

Jungkook watched his older bestie tossing the folder full of files onto his desk and he couldn’t help but feel bad for him. Kim Taehyung was a good man. An honest and traditional man. Someone who one day wanted to settle down and have a family. A wife and kids. He cherished his fellow human beings so human trafficking always hit harder for him than anything else.

“Hey. We’ll catch them, hyung. They’re going to slip up and that’s when they’ll hang themselves with their own rope. In fact, it sounds like they might already have. It says they’re on the run. Armed and dangerous. But we’re more dangerous. Besides....”

Kim looked away from the window once more to see what his younger friend might be trying to say. The sight before him made the male snort and shake his blonde head in amusement. Jeon Jungkook had since stood up from his seat and was standing in a fighting position while saying with confidence that only he could pull off,

“I’ve been taking boxing lessons. These dirt bags won’t see me coming.”

“Whatever you say, Jeon. Whatever you say.”

Meanwhile, on a train heading out of Daegu.....

“I’m scared....”

You could hardly hear your best friend and honestly you couldn’t blame her. Both of your voices were hoarse from the lack of hydration. The first thing you’d do once getting to the next town would be trying to buy some bottles of water. Your tongue felt like sandpaper. Trying your best to comfort the female next to you, you simply reeled her in and let her head rest on your shoulder.

Criminals.

In the eye of the public, that’s what you were.

The world knew you both as criminals but the world couldn’t be farther from the truth. You two were just a pair of best friends who had found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Simple on paper but oh-so complicated in all actuality. With an internal sigh, you gently stroked your best friend’s raven locks as you spoke up softly,

“It’s going to be okay, Nari. I’m going to take care of us. Just stick with me and everything will be fine.”

Nari, your best friend of four years, nodded gently against your shoulder as she shifted a little closer in the bus seat the two of you were sharing. Honestly, the two of you weren’t used to the silence of the bus. The life you both had been living for the last four months was anything but silent. Guns, violence, moving from home to home. It was all so chaotic.

Human trafficking.

You were no longer considered a person. No. You and your best friend had become objects to be used by scum bags who called themselves men. To be used as they saw fit. Whether it be as a cover-up for a smuggling operation or to release sexual frustration, you were no longer considered a human being. It may have only been for four months, but it’s been the longest four months of your lives.

“Once we get off the bus, I’ll get us a hotel room, okay? I managed to knock the one guy out and grab his wallet. Let’s just hope this won is legit and not fake. Otherwise we’re screwed.”

You didn’t want to scare Nari, but you had to be realistic too. The situation was not pretty but you were going to do your very best to make this as easy for her as possible. Your best friend was a soft and sensitive soul so naturally this was extremely hard on her. Not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally. The physical scars would heal, but the mental and emotional? That was a whole other ballgame.

“Let’s get off here. Surely there’s a hotel or motel near by. If not, we can always ask around.”

Back at the Daegu Police Department....

“Okay. So your prime suspects are two females, both in their 20s and South Korean natives. Squeaky clean criminal records. Not even a parking violation.”

Both Taehyung and Jungkook found themselves sporting identical expressions of confusion as their eyebrows knitted together. While the younger of the two was staring at the huge TV screen that had the suspects’ passport photos on display, Taehyung was looking through each of their files and couldn’t believe his eyes.

“The one was going to school to be a kindergarten teacher with a minor in journalism while the other has an online degree in Police Science and has taken several self-defense classes.”

While the blonde detective was rattling off more information from the files, Min Yoongi who was Daegu’s Intelligence Analyst was bringing up those very same records up on the screen for Jungkook to look over as well. Dang. It was hard to believe these girls were their prime suspects.

“The files go on to say the university student, Nari, was currently shadowing a kindergarten class when she went missing four months ago. The Police Science graduate was currently working at a cafe in Busan when she too went missing four months ago.”

“So they were together when they went missing?”

Just as Yoongi and Taehyung were about to wager a guess to the younger’s question, a new voice entered the room as a young man that went by the name of Jung Hoseok strolled in. Hoseok, or otherwise known as Hobi, was a Forensic Psychologist and had been brought it to try and figure out why two girls with absolutely no prior criminal records would be suspects in one of South Korea’s largest drug trafficking ring.

“Possibly. According to their records, they live at the same address. An apartment building on the shadier side of town. Judging from their day jobs, I would say it was all they could afford. The Busan girl commutes.”

Jungkook turned around to look at the older males with his hands stuffed in his pockets, expression pensive as he stood there in deep thought before asking out loud,

“So maybe they did it for the money?”

With a casual shrug, Hoseok looked to the TV screen where the records and photos were on display. It just didn’t add up to him. He had dealt with a lot of cases and in all his years of forensic psychology, he had never seen anything quite like this. But then again.....

“It’s not uncommon for financial stress to drive a person to commit crime. For now, they’re probably going to be your only suspects. They were seen on the storefront’s security footage with the bag as they fled the scene. Looks like it was a deal gone South.”

It was then that Yoongi pressed a button on his tablet and brought up the exact footage Hobi was referring to. The four young men watched as the two female suspects approached two men who were twice their size. Again. It didn’t make sense to Hobi. This was a professional ring. Why would a ring leader who was supposedly one of the smartest men in crime......be sending in two puny girls in their 20s to perform a hand-off???

“Looks like the one put her self defense lessons to good use. But she’s lucky neither one of them got shot.”

While Yoongi spoke in his usual calm tone, the rest of the boys watched on as the footage soon revealed the spat that took place. One man was knocked out and Taehyung could see one of the girls swiping his wallet. The last few seconds of the recording was of the girls running off while leaving the bag behind. The bag was then taken by the two men who ran in the opposite direction. Dang.

“Okay, Hobi hyung. Put your brain to work. Why would those girls try to fight when they were just going to let them have the drugs anyway? What’s the purpose here? The only crimes they committed were assault and stealing a dirt bag’s wallet.”

The psychologist took a moment to consider the young inspector’s questions. Yes. What was the purpose of the whole transaction??? All the girls got away with was a wallet and who knows if it had any actual won in it. Even if it did, the odds of the won being legit were slim to none. Still......it wasn’t adding up......there was more to this story here. That’s for sure. It was then that Taehyung spoke up as he said in an authoritative tone,

“Okay. Jeon---call in Jimin from your guys’ Busan department and have him interview the cafe manager and the staff. You and I are gonna take a trip to the kindergarten class Nari was shadowing and see if the teacher might have any insight. Maybe they got close while working together.”

He then turned to the older males in the room and added in the same tone but with more softness and naturally more respect,

“Yoongi hyung, if you can get me any further footage, maybe even some traffic cams, I’d greatly appreciate it. Maybe we can track down where they ran off to. Hobi hyung, try to take a closer look at the footage we already have. Maybe you can spot something we aren’t looking at. See if you guys can enhance the video any. Get a closer look.”

With that, the four men went to work. Innocent or not, these two women needed to be found because they could be the key to bringing down the largest drug trafficking ring in South Korea.

“There’s a convenience store. Want to grab some supplies and food and then find a place to stay?”

After receiving a timid nod from Nari, you offered her a warm smile and gently tugged her along as the two of you headed into the store. There was plenty of won in the wallet you had swiped so thankfully they could afford the necessities without having to skimp. Shampoo, body wash, water, and food. Pretty simple. Well maybe some toothbrushes and paste as well. The two of you felt absolutely disgusting and probably looked just as much.

The hotel room would probably have little bottles of shampoo and body wash, but you planned to douse yourselves in both. Now that you got to thinking about it, both of your hair looked like rats nests. Comb and brush. Okay. The list was getting longer but still. You both were a little more than ready to start feeling human again. Could anyone blame you???

Once picking out the cheapest shampoo and conditioner you could find, you went to go pick up a bottle of body wash that was just as cheap. You guys didn’t need to be in a beauty pageant, just clean. After picking a brush and comb both, you gently tugged your bestie along with you to have her pick out some food.

Ever since the human trafficking started, Nari had nearly completely shut down. She became quiet and shut off. It was hard for even you to get her to speak. Like the few moments they had alone together while waiting for their next ‘owner’ to arrive and take them ‘home’. It was so heartbreaking because your best friend was once a ray of pure sunshine. A light in the darkness.

And now she had become part of the darkness.

“Okay, Ri, what sounds good for dinner tonight? I think some instant noodles are calling our name.”

You would have loved to just call room service. However, for two reasons, you didn’t go that route. One, it wasn’t essential and therefore you didn’t want to risk wasting your limited funding on it. Two, you didn’t want to give the organization or the authorities any ammo that might help either one of them track you both down. Oh how you wanted to use this guy’s credit cards. But you knew better. Credit Cards were so easy to trace back. It was safer to use the won notes.

After allowing Nari to pick out her bowls of instant noodles, you picked out some as well before buying a loaf of bread and some peanut butter. Carbs. You both needed carbs desperately. The organization and all of your ‘owners’ hadn’t exactly taken the best care of you. Apparently you didn’t need to have a pretty or healthy body to be a sex toy. Go figure. With all of your hygienic items in one basket and the food in the other, you gently tugged your bestie along so that the two of you could pay for the items and get the heck of here.

Coughing up more notes than you wanted to, everything was paid for and the two of you were soon out into the world once more. Honestly, the weather was perfect for a nightly stroll. It had been so long since you felt so.....free. Granted you were currently on the run but you’d take what you could get. Just before you had left the store, you asked the employee on the other side of the counter if there were any hotels close by. Turns out there was. Thankfully just a block away from the store.

“Come on, Ri. Let’s get a roof over our heads and some food in our bellies. You can have first dibs on the shower. It’s gonna be okay, bestie. We’re gonna be just fine.”

You could only hope you didn’t turn into a liar. Going over it all in your head, you were pretty confident that you wouldn’t be found. At least not for a few days. But your mind was already thinking of the next steps to take. Thinking and calculating. You knew better than to think you could be on the run forever. No. You just needed a bit of time before contacting the authorities and explaining the situation; hoping they’d hear you out.

“Morning, Jeon.”

“Morning, hyung. Ugh. I didn’t sleep a wink last night. Just kept thinking about those girls. Makes no sense.”

It was a new day and the game plan was simple. Information gathering. After that, the pair would get together with Yoongi and Hobi to analyze the data collected. Meanwhile, Yoongi was going to try and see if he could use traffic cams to map out where exactly the two girls went. They could still be in Daegu for all they knew. Hobi’s job was to pick apart the suspects’ body language and see if there was anything he could identify that might help them figure out why the girls are even their prime suspects. That part still didn’t add up with any of them.

Okay so maybe not such a simple plan. But it was a plan all the same.

“It was a good call to wear something casual. We wouldn’t want to scare the kiddos.”

Taehyung honestly hadn’t thought about it till late last night. He too had a hard time sleeping. All he could think about was the girls. There was this nagging feeling telling him these girls were innocent. He highly doubted they were armed let alone dangerous. Speaking of, as he popped the trunk to his personal vehicle, he said casually,

“Probably ought to hide the guns too. These kids are young but you know how they pick up on every little thing that’s out of the ordinary.”

“Good point. You’re batting a thousand today, hyung. I’m gonna have to up my game if I’m going to keep up with you.”

“Just put your mad boxing skills to good use should something go south and we’ll be square.”

Chuckling softly, the two made their way into the building and showed the receptionist their badges before being escorted to the kindergarten classroom Nari had been shadowing. It was odd to be working in something other than their usual suit and tie. Jungkook could get used to working in his button up shirt and skinny jeans. The two could hear lots of giggling and it warmed Taehyung’s heart. God how badly he wanted to be a dad. But he needed to focus. This was a job. Not a field trip. He couldn’t let his feelings get involved.

“Good morning, Mrs. Lee. I’m Detective Kim Taehyung and this is my partner Agent Inspector Jeon Jungkook. If you have a moment, we’d like to ask you a few questions concerning the girl who was shadowing your class. She disappeared a little over four months ago. Her name is Nari. Do you remember her?”

Turns out this Nari girl was quite the ray of sunshine to be around. Naturally shy upon first meeting but once she got comfortable, she was a bit of a chatter box. Kind of cute, really. She got along great with the kids and when she had first disappeared, they immediately picked up on it and kept asking where she was. The class had even made get well cards after being told that she was simply not feeling good and needed some time off.

The whole thing silently broke Taehyung’s heart. This Nari sounded like his dream girl. Aside from the criminal part. Which still didn’t make sense. This girl enjoyed reading, writing, anime, and kids. She enjoyed several things that he too enjoyed. It was a shame to think that she possibly turned to organized crime. But for what? What was the incentive to just drop everything and turn to crime? She had such a beautiful life and it seemed like it was something she was still working on building. Why just abandon it?

“Okay, Jeon. Playtime’s over. Let’s go.”

His partner had been of little help during the questioning. However, it wasn’t entirely Jeon’s fault. The kids were insistent that he play with them. Who was a man to deny so many sets of puppy eyes??? That was how Taehyung found his younger partner currently being used as a human jungle gym. He had a kid hanging off each arm as he flexed his arm muscles to help hold them both up. A little girl was giggling and squealing in happiness as she had been placed on his shoulders, hugging his face to keep herself from falling. What a dork.

“Okay, kids. Let Mr. Jeon go so he can get back to work. And what do we say to others who play nicely with us?”

“Thank you, Mr. Jeon!”

The chorus of high pitched voices was so endearing. Perhaps Jungkook was starting to see why his hyung wanted to be a father so badly. These little ones weren’t so bad. Well that was probably a result of good parenting. Not to mention it sounded like the teacher was trying to set good examples for them too. After smiling to the kids and trying to dodge their questions of whether or not they’d be seeing him again, Jungkook quickly made his exit with his partner who was smiling and shaking his head in amusement.

Kids. Go figure. It was then that both agents heard Yoongi coming in through their ear pieces. Taehyung had just been popping the trunk back open to get their guns when the Daegu native started speaking in a calm but rushed voice,

“You two better get back to the office. Hobi made a huge discovery that’s going to change this into a whole different ballgame.”

Well that didn’t sound good.

Making haste, the two drove from the school parking lot and headed straight for the station. It wasn’t often that Yoongi sounded so urgent. He was usually pretty cool, calm, and collected. That’s what made him such an awesome analyst. He was able to look at things with a clear head. It was a trait that many in the department wish they had as well. Arriving in the information room where the male worked, Taehyung said in a breathless tone,

“What you got for us, hyung?”

But it was Hoseok that spoke up in reply; his tone grave.

“Your suspects just turned into victims.”

Wait what???

Meanwhile, you were up bright and early. It was easy and yet difficult to sleep all at the same time. The exhaustion had knocked both you and Nari out the second your heads hit the pillows of your shared king sized bed. However, it seemed like you were awake every other hour. Your body screamed sleep but your mind was on full alert. It was hard to sleep peacefully when you knew danger could be around every corner. You could open your eyes and find yourself right back in the jaws of danger.

It was exhausting, really. But this was your reality for the time being. Looking away from the window, you peered over at the sleeping figure in the bed. Poor Nari. She looked so small and frail laying there in that big bed. It was comforting to see her getting some sleep. Hopefully dreamless and restful. Last night had been wonderful. Their first night where they weren’t held in some kind of captivity. No disgusting cages or dirty food and water. For the first night in four months, they were just two girls hanging out. No longer objects. But humans.

They were humans again.

Deciding it was safe to take a shower, you tiptoed your way to the bathroom and just cracked the door so that it wouldn’t let all the steam out. Gosh the shower last night had been amazing! Hot water, soap. It was wonderful! The both of you had brushed your teeth twice just for good measure too. While you allowed the water to warm up, you thought about the tasks at hand today. The plan sounded simple but it was going to be tricky regardless.

A disguise. You both needed a disguise. Just until you could get your thoughts together and a plan for when you notified the authorities. You didn’t want to just go waltzing in the Daegu Police Department with hands in the air. No. You needed a plan. You needed to be able to prove your innocence. And that was when you thought of those disgusting bracelets you had to wear. Ugh. They were the ugliest shade of orange too. It was surly a color you’d despise for the rest of your life.

“They’re what?!”

Jungkook tried to put a gentle hand on his partner’s shoulder but it got roughly shrugged off. Taehyung was furious. Absolutely furious. Seeing red. That was all the male could see as he stared at Yoongi and Hoseok. The two had just informed them that the two suspects were actually being trafficked and were part of the transaction that took place on the storefront camera footage they were able to obtain.

Human trafficking. These two poor girls were being handed off along with the drugs. It all made sense now. The one using her knowledge in self defense to try and disarm and distract the punks. Swiping the wallet and yet leaving the drugs behind. It all finally added up. These girls weren’t criminals at all. There was a reason their records were so squeaky clean. They never asked for this. They were forced into it. They didn’t go missing willingly. They were kidnapped.

“It’s gonna be okay, Tae. I was able to get access to the town’s traffic cams and I think I know what city they’re in. But you gotta calm down first. The chief isn’t going to let you go into this guns blazing and you know that.”

However, the blonde detective wasn’t entirely listening. It was like his ears were filled with water. He just stood there staring at the single clue that lead Hobi and Yoongi to discovering what was actually going on in the footage from earlier. Each girl sported an orange colored wristband. After doing some digging, Yoongi had discovered it was an inside tagging system for women who were being trafficked. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. It left a horrible taste in Taehyung’s mouth as he thought of Nari......Nari........

It was then that the feline looking male spoke up but this time directed his attention to the younger inspector.

“Kook---Take him to the cafe around the corner. I’ll forward you guys what I believe to be their city of refuge. It’s not too terribly far from here but it’s a drive. Looks like they took the bus.”

“Thanks, Yoongi hyung. Come on, buddy. Let’s go have a drink.”

That was how Taehyung wound up sitting at a small table with a steaming to-go cup of hot chocolate. Meanwhile, Jungkook had opted for an iced americano. Ugh. Gross. While the younger was looking over the traffic cam footage Yoongi had forwarded to his phone, the detective simply stared out the window of the local cafe. His partner had tried to place a single glazed doughnut in front of him to go with his hot chocolate but Tae had touched neither one; too lost in thoughts of the sweet college student trying to become a kindergarten teacher.

His dream girl.

‘I bet she wants to have kids too someday.....I’ll make sure she has that chance. I’m gonna find her. And I’ll save her.’

The young inspector, on the other hand, was more focused on you. What was your story? Certainly you weren’t going to be working as a barista the rest of your life. The fact that you had taken an online course in Police Science intrigued him. Perhaps you were interested in going into law enforcement? That would be cool. Especially since you were a Busan native. What would be the chances of you working in the same station as him?

“Okay, Ri. Today we’re gonna try and get some fresh clothes and maybe do something with our hair. Basically we need a disguise. Just until we can get our thoughts together and figure out how to notify the police without it looking like we’re turning ourselves in.”

It saddened you when all your best friend did was nod. Again....she used to be so talkative. So bright and cheery. You weren’t sure you were going to be able to take her out of this hotel room just yet. While your guys’ physical scars were already starting to heal, there were far deeper cuts that needed attention. Carefully taking a seat next to her on the bed, you gently wrapped an arm around her and spoke in a soft and soothing tone,

“Nari, baby. You gotta talk to me. I’m no therapist but I think being your best friend has to count for something. You can tell me anything. So please, say something.”

“You could have died.....”

Hmm? Out of all the things you were expecting Nari to say, that definitely wasn’t one of them. Before you could ask her to clarify, she did it for you as she added in explanation,

“They had guns, bestie. And they were shooting at us. They were shooting at you. I was so scared you’d get hit and die. I’ve lost so much. I can’t lose you too. Please---”

“Hey, hey. Shhh. It’s okay, Ri. It’s okay.”

You sat there at the foot of the bed hugging a sobbing Nari; gently rocking the both of you back and forth as you allowed the girl to cry out her feelings. You had been in such a constant state of survival mode, that you hadn’t taken into account how the dangers of the whole situation would affect her. Of course seeing your best friend get shot at would be traumatizing. Gently kissing the girl’s forehead while stroking her hair with a free hand, you said softly and soothingly,

“I’m sorry I scared you, Ri. It wasn’t my intentions. I just......I needed to get us out of there and it was the only way I knew how. And the good news is, we’re not only alive, but we’re free. No more drugs, no more trafficking. We’re humans again and we’re gonna get through this together. I’m with you every step of the way. Okay? Together?”

You held out your pinkie finger for her to take and was happily surprised to see her return the gesture by weakly wrapping her pinkie around your own. This was progress. It was the most Nari had said since the two of you escaped from the organization. Hopefully with this off her chest, she’d open up a little more and just maybe, things would get back to some kind of normal between you two. You really didn’t want to lose your best friend. Nari wasn’t the only one in that hotel room who had lost a lot.

With the both of you feeling a little bit better, you carefully stood up from the bed and brought your bestie along with you. It would be okay. You’d make it be okay no matter the cost. It was time to get out of these disgusting clothes and find something more suitable for wear. Not to mention your hair needed a trim something awful. Then again.....you were willing to go the extra mile for a disguise if it meant surviving to see real freedom.

Deciding it wasn’t smart to stay in one place for two nights in a row, you made the plan to get your clothes, get stuff needed for your hair, maybe purchase a couple duffel bags, and make your next move. That was as far as you had gotten in the planning. Should the two of you stay in this town or perhaps travel back to Daegu? Maybe Busan? Ugh. You just didn’t know yet. Okay. One step at a time, here. One step at a time.

Crossing the street, you had heard from the hotel desk clerk that there was a hand-me-down store for clothing not too far from where they were staying. That would be perfect! You didn’t need to look like models. You just needed some clean clothes to wear. And you had saw where a pharmacy was close by as well. You decided to dye your hair and cut it yourself but you just weren’t sure what color to get. Poor Nari, on the other hand, was way too happy with her hair and especially the color. So to try and find some even ground, the two of you had agreed on a hat. She could tie up her hair and wear a baseball cap. That would work.

While Nari wanted something pretty, you were more focused on trying to disguise yourself as much as possible. In fact, when you came out of the dressing room with a plain white t-shirt tucked into a pair of black skinnies and a black blazer to match; paired with black combat boots that looked like they could kill, Nari couldn’t stop herself from mumbling shyly,

“You look like a boy if it wasn’t for your boobs and long hair.”

“That’s the plan.....babe.”

You couldn’t help but grin as you watched your best friend blush heavily. Don’t get the wrong picture, the both of you were far more into boys. But it was cute to tease your bestie because as much as you loved her, she was such a cute and easy target. When you heard that familiar whine of mortification, you couldn’t help but feel your chest bubble with happiness and relief. Perhaps that talk in the hotel room really did do some good. Nari just simply needed to get some feels off her chest.

After he got Taehyung to finally eat and drink something, Jungkook ended up lugging his butt up from the cafe chair and hauled him outside into the fresh air. It wasn’t like his older friend to get stuck in his feels like this. Sure human trafficking had always been a sore subject, but he was taking it to a completely new level of sore. Stuffing his hands in his pockets and squinting against the sun’s rays, the young inspector said casually,

“Jimin said there wasn’t much to report on the barista from Busan. Apparently she was trying to save her tips from the cafe in order to go into law school. She’s on the fence of whether or not she wants to be a cop or an attorney.”

Jungkook really wanted to meet you. You fascinated him to no end. First the course in Police Science and now law school? You sounded super cool with how you had taken several self defense classes as well. He wondered if you liked boxing......Yeah......maybe he could teach you one day.

Wait what???

Shaking his head to clear it, it was then that he heard Yoongi coming on the ear piece once more.

“Your girls are on the move. They stayed at a hotel last night but they’ve not made any further reservations. Apparently one of the other guests recognized them in the hallways. I informed the manager to keep it quiet because we don’t want to scare them off. If we’re lucky, we can catch them before they depart. The manager said they’ve not returned the room keys yet.”

“Thanks, hyung. Keep us posted.”

“No problem. Forwarding you guys the hotel address now.”

“You hear that, hyung? We’re gonna find them and it’s gonna be okay.”

Feeling a hearty pat on his shoulder, Taehyung nodded and tried to give his younger partner a smile. The two girls must be so scared. Running from not only the organization, but the law as well. When in all reality, this had since then turned into a rescue mission. This was definitely a first for him in his career of law enforcement. Pulling himself together, the blonde squared his shoulders and held his head up high as he walked to the car. Meanwhile, Jeon was reading off the directions to the city where the girls were currently staying in.

“So.....Hyung.......You seem pretty invested in this case. You wanna talk about it?”

Yoongi was right when he said it was a bit of a drive. At the same time, Jungkook couldn’t help but mentally praise the girls for thinking of taking such a far, out-of-the-way route to escape danger. It was a quieter town too. Or so he had heard. Listening to the ticking sound of the vehicle’s turn signal, the blonde detective finally spoke up but in a small voice.

“I just want to find them and bring those dirt bags to justice.”

Okay. So clearly his hyung wasn’t ready to talk about it. Which was totally fine. But it was easier to work with a Kim Taehyung when he had his head on straight and he wasn’t thinking with his heart instead of his brain. Subconsciously nibbling on his bottom lip, a nervous habit of his, Jungkook silently nodded and turned his attention to his phone. With the help of Yoongi and his ability to enhance images, he was able to get a better look at the two girls they were trying to rescue.

“They’re both kind of cute. Once you get past their bird nest hairstyles and grungy clothing.”

That didn’t seem to make matters any easier as Jungkook could hear his hyung gripping the steering wheel all the tighter; the sound of his skin squeaking against the material of the wheel. Oops....

“What hotel was it again? I think we might be approaching the town soon.”

Yeah. Definitely not ready to talk about it.

“Bestie.....are you sure you want to do this? We can get you a ball cap too, you know. It doesn’t have to be this extreme.”

“I’m absolutely positive, Nari. Lay it on me.”

Nari couldn’t believe what she was about to do to her best friend’s hair. It was already painful enough to watch you chop it all off. She knew the point was for you to look as far from yourself as possible but still......This was just crazy. You had chopped your own hair off and now sported a boy cut of sorts. Bangs hung in your eyes to try and hide them while your back had been completely taken up. Not a single strand of hair was hanging down or coming anywhere close to your shoulders. Nothing framing your face. Just your bangs.

“They won’t be looking for a blonde, Nari. Just trust me.”

And that was how you got your hair bleached for the first time ever. It was worth it, though. Everything you were doing, you were doing for you and Nari both. What was a little hair if it meant keeping you both alive and getting your tickets to true freedom? It was so worth it in your mind and you could only hope your bestie would see that too. With time.

After washing and drying it, you stood there in the hotel bathroom mirror with your girl next to you. Nari looked shocked and a bit pale while you were grinning like an idiot. This was perfect. Sporting your outfit you had picked out from the store and turning your head this way and that way to inspect your new hairstyle, you couldn’t wait to throw both the organization and the police for a loop.

They’d never see you coming.

“Okay, Ri. Sadly we can’t stay here. We gotta keep moving. Let’s check out and find a different place to stay. We’ll grab a bus to the next city over and grab another hotel room. We still have plenty of won left. The guy was stupid enough to leave his wallet loaded.”

Helping your bestie secure her baseball cap on and making sure her hair was tucked in nice and neat, you couldn’t help but think how cute she looked dressed so casually compared to the rags she was forced to wear for the last four months of her life. Nari was way too pretty to wear such filth. You couldn’t wait for things to get back to normal. The first thing you’d do is take her shopping for some pretty new clothes to wear to the kindergarten class she shadowed. You knew how much she loved those kids.

Once the both of you packed your items from the convenience store last night and the new batch of instant noodles and snacks from the pharmacy earlier today, you hoisted up the duffel bags and made your way out of the room; making it look just as it did when you arrived. It would be like you were never even here. Although you couldn’t help but notice how deadly quiet it was in the hotel hallways.

“Thanks for staying with us. Have a wonderful day!”

Cool. You were out and on the street once again. The next step in your plan was simple. Find a bus routing out of town to the next city and hop on. Simple, right? Just as you were about to make a step for the bus stop down the street, you felt something hard and cold pressing into the small of your back. Not only that, but a chin rested on your shoulder and whispered in your ear,

“Scream and I’ll shoot you right where you stand, slut.”

Well that sucks.

#bts #jungkook #taehyung #jeon jungkook #kim taehyung #jungkook bts #taehyung bts #jungkook smut #taehyung smut #bts smut #jungkook x reader #taehyung x oc #officer!jeon #officer!jungkook #officer!taehyung #officer jeon #bts fanfiction #jungkook fanfiction #taehyung fanfiction

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mariahschoices · 5 years

Text

Together Was Perfection

Here I present to you a slightly AU Perfect Match fanfic (no Eros plot line). This fic consists of some plot/background, a little fluff, and a lot of smut towards the end. PB couldn’t pump out chapters quickly enough for me to satiate my Damien fix, so I had to write a fic of my own. ;)

Characters and some dialogue have been borrowed from Pixelberry.

Rating: NC17 / NSFW

Word count: 10,999

Trigger warning: brief non-con scene / attempted rape

_______________________________________________________________________

"UGH! Just go without me!" Nadia mumbled with the last of her breath, before firmly stuffing her face down into the pillow. 

Kai sat at the edge of the bed, peering at her cousin over her shoulder.  

“Are you sure? I mean, I can stay here with you again tonight. It's not really a big deal,” Kai protested. Rubbing Nadia's shoulder and eyeing her with concern, she continued, “It's not like movie night is any big thing. We can all just meet up next week." 

Nadia lifted her face off the pillow just enough to enable one eye to peer above the cushion, the rest of her face thoroughly smooshed and removed from view.

"No! Go... really. I mean it,” she smiled softly, letting Kai know she really was doing okay enough to let her leave. 

"Okay, if you insist. I'll text Damien." 

Kai left the room as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, quickly texting their mutual friend. "We're on for tonight if you still want to come over. Nadia won't be joining." 

Moments later, Damien texted back, short and sweet as usual. "Sure. See you in 15."

Nadia and her boyfriend, Steve, had just broken up, and Nadia had become a complete train wreck. Her eyes were puffy and swollen from all of the tears she’d shed, and her bedroom floor was covered in used tissues. Not that Kai was monitoring her that closely, but she was also fairly certain Nadia hadn't even showered in at least three days. 

Damien had seen Steve downtown with another woman - a woman who was most decidedly not Nadia. It turned out that Steve had been living a complete double life, and that he was secretly married with two kids during the entire duration of he and Nadia’s relationship. Steve had fooled them all, but Nadia truly felt as if her life had been brought to a grinding halt when things ended.

  After all, Nadia had bought an apartment in the city with this man. She had been convinced that he was going to be her future husband, but as it turned out, he hadn't proposed to her yet because that role had already been filled. Nadia had left their apartment with nothing but the clothes she had on, and she had moved back in with Kai and blocked Steve from all forms of contact. Whoever the next guy Nadia brought home would be, he would have to be fully vetted by Damien before things got serious.

Kai busied herself making a bowl of microwave popcorn in preparation for movie night. As she poured the popcorn into a bowl with m&ms, her favorite sweet and salty combo, the doorbell rang.

Kai walked to the door and opened it without looking through the peep hole. Damien walked in with a bottle of Bacardi in hand, smiling softly at Kai before sitting the bottle on the kitchen island. 

"What's that for?" Kai questioned, motioning with one hand towards the bottle. "I didn't realize it was a special occasion." 

"I thought you might need this, what with babysitting Nadia all week and all,” he chuckled lightheartedly before adding, "How is she doing, anyway?" 

"About as good as to be expected for someone who found out the person they thought was their soulmate is actually a piece of shit dirtbag who has been living a double life." 

Damien nodded in agreement, stepping towards the cabinet where the drink glasses were stored, pouring a double shot for each of them.

Kai joined him behind the counter, and they each threw back their shots. Kai made a face and Damien chuckled lightly at her, a sound barely audible to the untrained ear, but Kai knew him well enough to know what to look for. 

Kai and Nadia had first met Damien over four years ago. As a popular gallery artist, Nadia had met and schmoozed with hundreds of fellow artists and fans, but a certain fan of hers had been a little too enthralled with Nadia, and he was obsessed with gaining her attention. He had found out her home address and began sending her explicit drawings of himself and Nadia, engaging in deranged sexual activities together.  

The drawings started showing up about once a month, gradually increasing to once a week, then finally multiple times a week, to the point where Nadia had finally contacted a private investigator to hunt down who this nutcase was that had been trying to get her attention.  

Damien had come highly recommended to her by a coworker, and he ultimately led a stakeout that discovered the creep’s identity within a weeks time after he was hired. After Damien had helped Nadia get her life back during that difficult time, Kai had suggested that they all go out to dinner together to show their appreciation for his efforts. He agreed, and they realized over dinner that they had a lot in common, quickly becoming close friends soon after. Now, they had weekly movie nights on Fridays to get together and catch up at the end of a busy week.

"I guess I'll be nice and let you pick the movie, even though it's my turn to pick,” Damien interrupted Kai’s trip down memory lane. “I figured you might need the mental escape, since you haven't had a moment to yourself all week."

Looking slightly apprehensive, Damien continued, "...even if it's one of the ones from that pile that I've been saying no to every Friday,” Damien pointed towards a bordering-on-impressive collection of predictable, yet endearing, romantic comedies. 

"Seriously?!" Kai nearly yelped in disbelief.

"I mean, we can watch Blade Runner again if you'd prefer. I'm always cool with rewatching a class - "

"No! I mean... a rom com is good,” Kai stopped him before he could finish his statement or revoke his offer.

She selected The Notebook from the pile, and settled into a spot on the sofa across from Damien, grabbing the popcorn bowl and sitting it between them so they could share. 

About halfway into the movie, characters Noah and Allie are reunited after years of being apart, resulting in a rather steamy sex scene.  

Hmmm... maybe I should have picked another movie. I mean, I don't want Damien to feel uncomfortable watching this with me, Kai thought, as she reached into the popcorn bowl to distract herself from what was happening on the screen.

Damien must have been on the same wavelength, because Kai's fingers slightly grazed against his as she reached for an m&m at the bottom of the bowl. 

"Oh! Sorry. You have it,” Kai blushed, removing her hand from the bowl quickly as she felt her cheeks getting warmer. Thankfully, all of the lights in the living room had been turned off, so Kai was hopeful that he wouldn't notice the color in her cheeks and call her out.

Damien held out his hand, offering up a few pieces of popcorn along with the last m&m that Kai had just been reaching for. "What's mine is yours,” his eyes glistened, the reflection of the TV illuminating the smug grin that had revealed itself on his face. 

"What a gentleman," Kai noted, rolling her eyes sarcastically. "Thank you," she mumbled, as she plucked the candy from his hand, wishing that he wasn’t always so observant.

They finished the rest of the movie in comfortable silence.

____________________________ ___________________________________________

The next morning, Kai threw her head back against her pillows as Damien nipped her hip bone lightly. His hands glided up her body to steady her as he lifted up, slightly running his nose along her inner thigh, leaving kisses in his wake. 

"Damien," she called out softly, ready and wanting. 

"Kai," he said, as she felt a smile forming on his lips that were pressed against her skin, kissing her further and moving closer towards her center. 

"Kai," he said again, a little louder this time. She smiled, knowing that he was getting closer to where she wanted him to be. She could almost feel his breath on her, softly teasing and tempting her body into submission. 

"Kai!" she heard her name again, much louder this time, only it wasn’t Damien's voice.

"Huh?" Kai's body jolted upright like a dog at the sound of the treat jar being opened. She opened her eyes, met with the sight of Nadia standing in the doorframe of her bedroom, freshly showered and looking like a human again after her week long depression. Kai's dream of Damien was brought to a startling halt. Nadia might as well have poured a bucket of cold water on Kai’s head. 

Damien? Oh shit.... Kai thought to herself. She had just been having a sex dream about Damien. It had to be that movie last night. After they watched the movie, she has shared a couple rounds of shots with Damien before he left around midnight, and she had quickly fallen asleep without any sort of… relief. Yea. It was just a dream. Not a big deal, she told herself.

"Sorry Kai, but I had to come and tell you the good news. We're going out tonight! I'm not going to let Ste - er, he who shall not be named, dictate my life anymore," she beamed, more confident and determined than Kai had seen her cousin look in a while.

"I want to get a head start on moving on, and I was hoping that you'd be my wing-woman tonight. Maybe you can ask Damien to come too, so that you have someone to talk to while I'm on the prowl?" Nadia smiled brightly, moving her hand like a jungle cat whose diet consisted solely on men. 

"Sure,” Kai smiled, happy to see her cousin acting more like herself, and trying not to think too much about the dream she had just been having about the same man she would be seeing again later tonight. 

"By the way, what was that dream about?” Nadia smirked, walking away before Kai could give a response. _______________________________________________________________________

"Are you ready yet? Damien will be here in 5,” Nadia urged, tapping her foot eagerly against the floor as Kai put on her last pass of lip gloss.

"Sure, sure. Do I look okay?" Kai asked. She had clothed herself in a short, sleeveless dress with a sweetheart neckline. The skirt was covered in sparkles that would add an eye-catching glisten whenever the lights in the club flashed her way. 

"You look great. I'm sure Damien will approve," Nadia remarked with a saccharine smile. Before Kai could respond to her cousin’s remark, the doorbell rang. 

"I'll get it!" Nadia chimed quickly, scurrying away in a hurried frenzy to let Damien into the apartment. 

"You ladies ready? I have a car waiting for us downstairs,” Damien declared.

Damien focused his eyes on Kai, and she could swear that a flash of something had registered itself in his gaze as he took in the sight of her. He quickly broke eye contact, turning to head downstairs to the waiting car before Kai was able to decipher what that something was.  _____________________________ __________________________________________

"What the hell is that?" Damien announced, as Nadia paused to sit down a pair of pink drinks at their booth, complete with paper umbrellas and sugared rims.

"I'll have you know that these came highly recommended from the bartender, Damien. I'm sure you two will love them." 

Kai pulled the drink closer to herself, taking a shy sip whilst making eye contact with Damien to see if he would play along.

"Come on Damien, I know you're not going to waste the alcohol. There's rum in this." 

"Whatever," Damien grumbled, before taking a drink. "It's not so bad, I guess." 

Moments later, a tall, slender woman with light brown hair and perfect, plump lips paraded towards their booth near the back of the club.

"Hi there, I'm Alana,” she spoke in Damien's direction, not making eye contact with the other women. "Would you like to dance with me? Or, maybe I can buy you a drink?" she eyed the pink cocktail that Damien held in his hand with a look of barely disguised disdain. "I promise I'll make it something better than that." 

The gears seemed to churn in Damien’s mind while he sized up this new person who had just entered their space. "Sure, why not?" Damien agreed with a cocky smile, before exiting their booth to follow her onto the dance floor. 

"Who the hell is that, am I right?" Nadia remarked, asking the question aloud that Kai's eyes had been saying just moments before. "Damien doesn't dance," she finished. 

"Apparently he dances with hot Indonesian women,” Kai stated, barely audible above the club's music and trying not to sound too bitter. 

"Well, he doesn't get to have all the fun," Nadia stated with newfound vigor. "Let's go," she continued, grabbing Kai's arm and pulling her onto the dance floor as a new beat started to play. 

Nadia and Kai threw their arms in the air, dancing to the beat without a care in the world. It was a welcome distraction from whatever was going on across the club with Damien and his new 'friend.'

Without intending to, Kai turned and managed to lock her eyes on the sight of Damien and his new dance partner. His moves were effortless and smooth. He clearly knew what he was doing, and he looked relaxed, but also like he was enjoying himself. A sideways grin made its way onto his face, which was directed at his new companion. 

He really is quite handsome, Kai thought to herself as she studied his features. His bronze skin glowed with alternating flashes of red and gold under the club lights. His hair was slightly overgrown, a groomed sort of disheveled that made him look carefree, yet still put together. The two-day-old stubble along his jaw attributed to his rugged, macho man persona, which was fitting for his career as a PI. His lips... not too thick or thin, but perfectly kissable... she caught herself thinking, right before locking eyes with him as he turned to face her and Nadia.

  Shit, she thought, looking away quickly from his dark brown eyes, woven with threads of warm golden honey that made them seem endlessly deep. Damn, I guess that dream affected me more than I thought, she acknowledged to herself as she felt her cheeks growing warmer. 

For some reason, Kai's path had never aligned with Damien's in any sort of capacity beyond friendship. During the times that she had had a boyfriend, he had been single, and whenever he had a girlfriend, she had always been free as a daisy. She had never put much thought into it before, but as she felt the pit of jealousy that was welling in her stomach, she started to wonder why they had never even tried to go on a date to see what would happen. He had always been such a good friend to her. Maybe he just didn't want to push things? Maybe he wasn't even attracted to her, she admitted to herself begrudgingly.

Kai bit her lip, mulling over these thoughts in her mind before looking back in Damien's direction. The woman was gone.

_______________________________________________________________________

A few weeks later, Kai, Nadia, and Damien were seated in their favorite booth at the local cafe.

"I can't do movie night this Friday, guys. I have a conference to go to in San Francisco that is 'absolutely mandatory,' per my grade-A douchebag boss,” Kai announced, before taking a bite out of her biscotti. 

"San Francisco? You know my family is from there, right?" Damien responded, seemingly in another world the way his eyes drifted, focused on everything and nothing at all at the same time. 

"Oh, I guess I had forgotten. When was the last time you went home for a visit?" 

"Oh... uh..." Damien looked around, avoiding eye contact and sitting stoically still. The silence seemed to go on for minutes rather than seconds. 

"Are you okay, Damien?" Nadia intervened. "You look like you've seen a ghost," she giggled halfheartedly, trying to lighten the mood. 

"No, it's fine. It's just.. it's been a long time since I’ve been home to see them. Since before I met you guys. Maybe four and a half years? It was before I left the force." 

"Well maybe you should come with me," Kai prodded gently. "It sounds like you're due for a visit, and I could use a companion at the charity banquet the company is sponsoring. It’s on the last day of my trip. My boss thinks I have no social life as it is, so maybe if I bring a date, he won't insist I continue living at the office like I have been."

"Alright, sure I guess,” Damien conceded, sounding more unsure than she’d ever heard him be. "If you don't mind that I tag along," he added. "I'll even put on my good suit,” he smiled, recovering almost flawlessly and moving quickly past his moment of weakness. 

Kai studied him cautiously. Not wanting to pry, she finally announced, ”Great! It's a date,” she smiled at her two best friends.  _____________________

Damien knocked on the door of Kai's hotel room, ready to escort her to the charity banquet that was being held in the ballroom of her hotel. Kai's footsteps could be heard through the thin walls of the hotel room as he waited patiently in the hall. 

"Just a second," Kai called out.

Kai opened the door moments letter, and Damien couldn’t help but study her appearance, fully enraptured by the sight of her. She wore a long, emerald green gown with a deep V neckline, and a layered, silver chain necklace hung from around her neck. Her long locks were loosely curled, flowing like water over each shoulder. 

"You look great. I mean - you look good," he muttered. "I mean, you clean up well, Kai." 

Kai felt a blush growing in her cheeks under receiving such scrutiny from Damien. "You're not so bad yourself, Nazario."  Noticing that Damien hadn't moved from his spot in the doorway, Kai smiled and lightly touched his arm, moving them further out into the hallway.

"Let's go. I have a boss to appease and some money to raise!" she walked towards the elevator, leaving Damien two steps behind. He quickly shook off his brain fog, reeling himself in to be able to keep up with his date for the evening.  _______________________________________________________________________

"Kai, there you are! I wanted to introduce you to my nephew, Hayden," Kai's boss, Mr. Young, bellowed in her direction, ignoring Damien entirely.

"Hi, Hayden. It's lovely to meet you,” Kai responded, keeping it friendly but still professional. "Mr. Young, Hayden, this is Damien," she smiled, gently touching Damien's arm to bring him into the conversation. 

"Oh, I didn't realize you were seeing someone, Kai," Mr. Young asserted.

"Oh, Damien? I mean, he's my date, but not my date date. We're just friends," she responded, glancing in Hayden’s direction with curiously. 

Sure, Damien had given some indication that he might find her appealing as more than a friend, such as his reaction whenever he saw her in her gala dress, but Kai figured she may as well explore other options until one of them worked up the nerve to act of their feelings. Right now, Mr. Young's nephew looked like a pretty appealing option in his maroon suit jacket and bow tie. 

"Well, that's a relief," Hayden responded. Mr. Young took the moment as an opportunity to escape to the buffet for another shrimp cocktail.  

Kai moved to turn towards Damien, not wanting to abandon him completely after he had graciously agreed to be her date for the evening, but he wasn’t there. He had already slipped away, escaping silently into the night.   _____________ __________________________________________________________

The next morning, Kai met Damien downstairs in the cafeteria for breakfast. Damien hadn’t spoken a word to her all morning, and she decided it was time to break the slightly uncomfortable silence. She busied herself by pouring maple syrup on her pancakes, avoiding eye contact with Damien.

"Where did you go last night? I turned around to ask you about staying for dessert, but you were already gone." 

"I, uh, I had some business to attend to," he said, offering no further explanation. 

Deciding it was probably best to move on, Kai inquired, “Are you finally going to visit your family today? We’ll need to be at the airport by 8, so you still have enough time to get a decent visit in. If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think you were avoiding your main reason for coming here.” 

"No, no.. it's just, you know that I haven't seen them in a long time. Too long." he lamented, before taking a long swig of his black coffee. "Would you come with me?" he asked, holding his breath in anticipation as he waited for an answer. "I don't know if I can face them alone," he added finally, letting Kai see the true reason behind his hesitation.

"Absolutely,” she smiled softly at him, gently placing her hand over his on the table for reassurance. “It's the least I could do to return the favor for accompanying me last night.” Releasing him from her grip, she continued, "Not that I mind, but can you at least tell me what it is you're so worried about? They're your family, Damien. They love you."

"I know... I just haven't seen them since I was in the force,” he answered hesitantly, deciding on how much of the true story he really wanted to reveal to Kai. Acknowledging to himself that Kai was a true friend who would be there for him no matter what skeletons were in his closet, he continued, "We got a call to the station late one night - what seemed like your average domestic dispute..." he wrung his hands through his hair, his eyes cloudy and distant as he continued, reliving the memory of that night.

”We arrived on location to speak with the husband, but he was just a red herring. I didn't put the clues together quickly enough. A mother and child died because I was too stupid to see the signs," he continued, closing his eyes to avoid looking at what he assumed would be a mix of pity and disgust on Kai's face. It was a look he was used to receiving, at least in the past when he had told the few people in his life the story of why he had really left San Francisco. 

"I had to get out of the city after that. I left my family and all of my friends behind. Everything about that place reminded of what happened, and I just couldn't cope with the guilt.” He risked a glance in her direction, met with an open, receptive and non-judgmental smile from Kai.

"Damien, I'm sorry," she squeezed his hand reassuringly, "but you can't blame yourself. Mistakes happen. You are a good man, and I know your family would love to see you again." 

"I know you're right," he squeezed her hand back. 

Thankful that Damien had finally shared the truth about his past, Kai moved the conversation forward, out of the darkness and into the light of day.

”Now, let's get out of here and go see your family! Your mom is going to be so surprised," Kai beamed at him. 

"Let's go," Damien returned her warm, infectious smile with one of his own. __________________ _____________________________________________________

"¡Ay, por Dios! Mijo! Is that really you?" Damien's mother exclaimed, moments before wrapping her arms around him and squeezing, burying her head into his hair. 

"Mama," Damien started, slightly embarrassed. "I missed you too. Kai, this is my mother. Mom, this is Kai."

"Oh," Damien's mother, suddenly noticing that he wasn't there alone, extended her hand in Kai's direction. "Kai, it's so nice to meet you. Damien has never brought a girlfriend home before. You must be very special to him!" she smiled excitedly. 

Kai started to correct her, but Damien intercepted. "Yes, mama. She is very special to me. Are any of the girls here?" Damien asked, moving away from the topic at hand. 

"Oh, you know your sisters, mijo. They're always running around. Hope moved out a couple years back after she got engaged to a lovely young man. You would like him!" she smiled, clasping both hands around one of Damien's. "Isabela is in class, and Carina took on an extra shift at the shop. Lucilla is at softball practice. She should be home soon." 

"Of course, mama,” Damien looked around, soaking in the feeling of being home after so long. 

Noticing her son’s expression, Damien's mother intercepted, "Damien, why don't you show Kai around the house? I kept everything in your room exactly the same. I had hoped you would come visit your poor mother one of these days," she prodded, a grain of seriousness behind her joke. 

"Oh, I would love that!" Kai started down the hall like she already knew the way to her destination. Stopping in front of a small, simply decorated bedroom with a burgundy bedspread and an assortment of family photos covering the walls, Kai turned to Damien. "Is this yours?" 

"How'd you know?" he responded as he stepped inside the room, the smell of home bringing him back to a simpler time before things in his life had gotten so complicated.

Kai looked around, waiting for Damien to say something. This was his home territory after all. 

"You know, meeting you and gaining your friendship after what happened meant a lot to me," Damien started, seemingly out of nowhere. Unable to stop himself from sharing his feelings with Kai in his childhood bedroom, he continued, "You got me to laugh again. You kept me from drinking alone and you invited me to places," he admitted. Kai could swear she saw a slight blush show up on his tan skin. 

"Damien! That might be the sweetest thing you've ever said to me. You know I'll always be here for you," Kai stood up quickly, advancing towards a stunned Damien and wrapping her arms around him in a long, warm hug that seemed to go on forever. 

"I know. You have been the one constant good in my life, because you've always been there for me when I needed you," he finished, finally locking eyes with Kai, whose lips were slightly parted with shock, eyes bright and shiny like a tear might spill out at any moment. 

Kai's eyes darted back and forth between Damien's lips and eyes, finally settling on eye contact. Damien's eyes were already readied towards hers, studying her face curiously. His eyes reflected a depth of emotion she had never noticed before, or was it that she simply hadn’t taken the time to see it? A flash of light reflected on something gold beyond Damien's cracked closet door, distracting Kai from the moment just long enough to break the intensity of Damien’s gaze.

Realizing that the gold object in question was Damien’s badge, still pinned onto his deep navy police uniform, Kai exclaimed, "Oh, my god! Is that your old uniform?!" 

Damien followed her light of sight. He couldn’t help but smile at Kai's excitement. "It is," he responded proudly. 

"You know - women love a man in a uniform," Kai declared. 

"That's been my experience," Damien responded confidently, directly a slightly cocky grin in Kai’s direction. 

"Would you try it on for me?" Kai insisted, trying not to sound overly excited at the thought of Damien in uniform. 

"If you insist," he chuckled slightly. Upon noticing Kai, unmoving and perched on the side of his old bed, he continued, "If you'd like to wait in the hall?"

"Oh! Right!" she blushed, slightly embarrassed at herself for the racy thoughts of Damien undressing that had suddenly intruded on her mind.

________________________________ _______________________________________

A few moments later, Damien spoke up. "Kai, you can come in now." 

Damn, Kai thought as she entered the room. People weren't lying when they talked about a man in uniform, but Damien looked especially good. He smiled confidently in her direction as she soaked in the visual. His dark navy, long sleeved shirt was complimented with a pin on each lapel. His badge that had first caught her eye shined brilliantly on his chest, as if it had just been polished. Her eyes trailed down the long black tie that led its way down to his....

"Oh!" Kai prosed, hoping that her ogling hadn't been too obvious. If it had been, Damien made no indication. 

"What? Are you an exception to the uniform rule? I can change back," he joked, moving towards the pile of clothes that he had arrived in.

"No!" she blushed, realizing what she had just said. "I mean.. What I meant to say was….” she fumbled over her words, taking note of a flash of skin, giving her an out from his interrogation. “You missed a button!"

She took a few steps in his direction to stand directly in front of him, running the back of her hand down the center of his chest. Her touch was feather light as her hand reached for the aforementioned button. 

Not meeting his eyes, she moved her hand to push the button through the hole on the opposite side. Her shaky hand slipped nervously, causing her finger to slide under the gap in his shirt, grazing his firm, sculpted chest. Kai tried to ignore the warm, electrical buzz she felt from touching him in this way. A slight gasp escaped his lips before he could stop himself. He studied her actions with renewed interest. 

Refocusing her attention on the task at hand, Kai successfully threaded the button before she could embarrass herself any further. She stepped back to admire her handiwork.

"You look great. Let's go show your mom. I'm sure she would love to see you in your uniform again,” Kai quickly darted out of the room before Damien could respond to what had just occurred between then.  _____________________ __________________________________________________

Three months later, Kai, Nadia, and Damien were gathered around Kai's living room, chit-chatting before their weekly movie night.   "So, my boss' nephew, Hayden," Kai paused, backtracking, "You met him at the banquet, Damien, remember?" Continuing before Damien could respond, Kai added, "Anyway, I guess Mr. Young gave him my phone number. He -“

“Hold up, he gave him your phone number? That is highly inappropriate. Would you like me to say something? I can - “ Kai held up her hand, cutting Damien off.

“Seriously, you don’t even like your boss. Why would he think you’d like his nephew? Blegh!” Nadia argued exaggeratedly, in agreement with Damien.

“I get it guys, I really do, but he texted me after the gala. It turns out he actually lives here in the city. We've gone out on a few dates. He really has been a pleasant surprise in the midst of all my work drama."

Sure, Hayden was a little boring. Nice, but predictable. He hadn't done or said anything that was particularly off-putting, but at the same time he hadn't done or said anything that was truly intriguing enough to flip her switch, either. 

"We're going out for lunch tomorrow. I think maybe he wants to make things official," Kai beamed, looking at both of her best friends for input. Damien had been eerily silent most of the night, which made Kai a bit uneasy. Did he know something that she didn't about Hayden? It wasn't like him to be silent. Usually he had to add in his endearingly sarcastic two cents at every turn. 

"Sounds great, Kai. Whatever makes you happy," Damien responded without emotion, keeping his expression as unwavering as possible. 

"Um, okay. I was hoping for a little more input, but you're right. I think maybe he does make me happy."

“Whatever happened with that girl from the bar, Damien? You two seemed to be hitting it off,” Nadia inquired, moving on from Kai’s love life for the moment.

“I want someone who is loyal. Someone who knows the real me and knows what they want. She wasn’t it,” he answered honestly, locking eyes with Kai.

Nadia took the silence that followed as the perfect opportunity to start the group's movie choice for the evening. 

Left to mull over her thoughts in silence, Kai's mind moved to Hayden. She supposed he was a perfectly acceptable choice for her and her dating life. Admittedly, she had been hesitant to accept his advances at first, but she didn't want to piss off her boss by turning Hayden down, especially since he had been the one to introduce them. 

Hayden had been very sweet and gentlemanly, opening doors, pulling out chairs, the whole nine, but their conversations had remained very topical. They had kissed, but it had yet to go further than that. Their schedules were both very busy, and their previous dates had to be arranged between meetings by secretaries or by Hayden's assistant, Sloane, which had left little time for intimacy. Hayden had scheduled the day off tomorrow, and Kai thought that maybe this would be her opportunity to finally test if they had any real chemistry. 

Kai gave Damien one final glance out of the corner of her eye, who was seemingly engrossed in the film, before forcing herself to shut down the racing thoughts in her mind to focus and enjoy movie night.  _______________________________________________________________________   The next day, Hayden and Kai sat across from one another at a new farm-to-table restaurant in the city, adjacent from the cafe that Kai and her friends often frequented.

"So, have you decided what you want, yet?" Hayden asked, interrupting Kai from re-reading the same line on her menu for the third time. 

"Oh, um... the chicken I think. With microgreens?" Kai was having trouble focusing, her mind on Damien and his reaction during their previous discussion about Hayden. 

"I'm sorry. Is this restaurant not good enough for you?" he accused sourly.

He had been checking his phone every few minutes since they had arrived at the restaurant, responding periodically to emails or text messages from his coworkers. Kai had thought that sharing a more significant amount of time with Hayden would lead to developing more of a spark, when in reality it was allowing her to examine behaviors of his that she hadn't previously noticed. Behaviors that she didn't like.

"Let's just go. I can escort you to somewhere else that I think you may like better," Hayden continued, before Kai was able to respond to his previous accusation. Hayden smiled a thin, tight smile at Kai, and his eyes flashed with an unrecognizable look before calming himself. Hayden stood from their booth, throwing a few bills on the table to cover their drinks and a tip. He held out his hand toward Kai, "Shall we?" 

Not wanting to ruin their entire day, Kai stood to join him. Maybe Hayden had reconsidered trying that burger joint down the street that she had heard good things about. She really wasn't a "microgreens" type of gal, and a beer and a burger sounded like exactly what she needed to lighten up her mood and save the evening. 

Walking out into the crisp evening air, Hayden grabbed Kai's hand, leading her down the street with renewed purpose. He turned down an unfamiliar street, quickening his pace and tightening his grip on Kai's arm. 

"Hayden? I thought maybe we were going to try DuMont Burger. Where are we going?" 

Hayden responded by spinning Kai around, cornering her between the brick wall of the alleyway that they’d cut through, and a trash can that was spilling over with filth.

"Kai, I've been patient with you, but things haven't progressed as I'd expected. You know what a busy man I am..." his words spilled out like venom as his hand moved towards Kai's leg, exposing more of her thigh as he slid up the hem of her dress. 

Kai was frozen in shock. Things had taken a turn from boring to downright dangerous, and she took in her surroundings with increasing fear. Hayden's hand continued to slide upwards as he pressed himself against her roughly. She finally found her voice as her fight or flight response began to kick in. 

"Get the fuck off of me. I don't want this! I don't want you!" she yelled at him, getting progressively louder with each word. She pushed at his chest trying to get him off of her, but he was firmly cemented in his stance. It felt like she may as well have been trying to push over a 100 year old oak tree with her bare hands. 

Kai saw a flash in the corner of her eye, and before her mind could recognize what was happening, an arm shot out and punched Hayden in the side of the face with such ferocity that he was knocked out cold. 

Kai's eyes darted around in the darkness, zeroing in on a brown leather jacket that she knew all too well. 

"Damien?!" she yelped, before attaching herself to him as if drawn by a magnetic pull. "What are you doing here? Oh my god!" she panted, trying to steady her breath that she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

"Really, that's the first question you ask?" he scolded Kai, before realizing maybe it wasn't the time to scold her, taking her face gingerly between his hands. "Are you okay?" he urged.

She nodded, allowing him to relinquish his hold on her. 

"I was working a case up the street. I thought I recognized you right before you turned the corner into this alley. I knew there could be no good reason for him to take you here, and then I saw..." he stopped himself. He didn't need to explain anything to her. She had lived it after all. 

He reached a hand into his pocket, retrieving his cell phone and entering a phone number from memory. Kai could hear a voice on the other end answer, “Walker.” 

“Walker, it's Damien. I'm at Bedford and 2nd, in the alley behind Oslo Coffee. Are you in the area?" 

"I'm two blocks down. What can I do for you Damien?" the voice responded.  "I've got a live one," Damien paused, "- unfortunately. I will wait here for you to come pick him up." 

Damien ended the call before the voice could follow up with a response, resuming eye contact with Kai.

"You shouldn't have to wait here with me. An old cop buddy of mine from the local division in coming to take care of this piece of shit. I'm going to wait here just in case he wakes up. You should wait for me at the cafe. I'll come pick you up and take you home when it's all over, okay?" he eyed Kai cautiously, like she was a porcelain doll that had teetered too close to the edge of the shelf. 

"Okay," Kai answered, blinking away her tears and resolving that she would be okay. Damien had saved her.

_______________________________________________________________________   A deceptively long twenty minutes later, the chime above the cafe door tinged, alerting Kai of Damien's arrival.

"You okay?" he asked again as he approached Kai, not sure if he was asking to reassure himself or her. Kai nodded in response, slinking out of her booth to follow Damien out of the cafe. They walked to the car and rode in silence the entire way back to Kai's apartment. Damien followed her inside, and once he was entirely certain that she was safe and sound, he made his way towards the door to leave. "I'm glad you're home safe. Let me know if you need anything at all, okay?" he finished, his hand posed on the door knob. 

"Wait," Kai yelped abruptly, speaking for the first time since they'd left the cafe, her voice creaky from the tears that she’d shed while she waited for Damien.  He stopped dead in his tracks, turning to face her. "What's wrong, Kai? Tell me. Whatever you need, I'll do it," he said sincerely, moving a few paces in her direction.

"Would you stay with me tonight? I really don't want to be alone,” she admitted quietly. 

"Of course, Kai. I can sleep on the couch,” he reassured her. _______________________________________________________________________

Kai tried her best to fall asleep. Her body felt exhausted, but she couldn't shut off her mind. She had tossed and turned for over an hour before she decided to give up and forage for sustenance in the kitchen. 

All the lights in the apartment were off, but she could see someone sitting at one of the barstools behind the kitchen island. Her breath hitched momentarily as her heart leapt into her throat, before regaining her sanity as she realized it was just Damien. He sat in the dark with a half empty bottle of rum, sipping slowly out of a glass he had pillaged from the cabinet.

She studied his face for a few moments, his features aglow from the city lights shining in through the window. "Couldn't sleep?" he interrupted her studying.

Damn. He caught onto everything eventually. Kai moved out of the hallway and into the dimly lit kitchen, joining Damien in the seat beside him. 

"Would you like a drink?" Damien continued. Kai nodded, spawning Damien to retrieve another tumbler out of the cabinet before pouring her a drink. "Kai..." he started again, seemingly having an internal debate with himself about what he wanted to say. 

"Damien..." Kai intercepted. He held up his hand to gently stop her. 

"I need to say this, Kai, while I still have the nerve,” he asserted, as he took another gulp of liquid courage. “When you starting seeing Hayden and you two seemed to hit it off, I was so angry with myself. I thought I'd never get the chance to tell you how I felt," he paused, before continuing his speech in an effort to answer the question in Kai's eyes. 

"After what happened today," he faltered, "what almost happened, I knew I couldn't live with myself if something had happened to you without telling you the truth," he paused, finishing his drink quickly. "I care about you, Kai. More than I've ever cared about anyone. No matter how dark my life gets, you're always there, lighting it up again. You're everything to me, Kai. I really lo- iiiike you very much," his eyes bulged, stopping himself to pour another drink, breaking eye contact with Kai. He didn’t know how he would face her if things got too awkward - if she didn't feel the same way or worse, if his admission ruined their friendship. 

Kai reached her hand up to cradle Damien's cheek, forcing him to look at her. Studying his face, as open and honest and handsome as she had ever seen it, she bit her lip nervously. She leaned in to kiss him, pouring over four years of emotion and pent up frustration into the kiss. Damien faltered only a moment, In a state of utter shock, before returning the sentiment and kissing her with all of the passion that he could muster. A small, husky groan escaped from the depths of his throat. 

"I really liiiiiike you too, Damien," she smiled, the first real smile she'd exhibited all day. She stood to leave the kitchen, feeling a little braver after Damien's confession, adding, "I can't sleep. Will you come to bed with me?" 

Damien, a gentleman at the core, started to protest. He wanted Kai with his entire being, but he didn't want her to feel like he was taking advantage of her during a time of weakness. Knowing Damien all too well, she read his face and followed up with, "Not for that. Just... I don't want to be alone anymore, okay?"

Damien followed Kai into the bedroom. He had been there before, but he was seeing it all in a new light, as if for the first time. Perfectly girly, clean, organized, and just so Kai. She slipped under the covers, patting the spot beside of her gently. 

Damien pulled his shirt over his head, causing Kai's eyes to bulge slightly and her cheeks to flush. Before she could ogle him too much, he slipped under the covers beside her. She curled into him, resting her head on his chest. She fell asleep before she could count to ten sheep, her tired body finally surrendering in the safety of his arms.

_______________________________________________________________________   Kai yawned, stretching her arms out to the sides of her bed with a jerk. Remembering that she'd had a bed companion the night before, she quickly yanked her hands back. Upon opening her eyes, she realized that the bed was empty aside from herself.

The evidence was still there, Damien’s shirt on the floor, and the imprint of where his head had been remained distinctly pressed into the pillow. She knew she wasn’t imagining things.  

Mid-quandary, she heard sounds coming from the kitchen and smiled. Guess Damien is an early riser, she thought. Early bird gets the criminal or something like that. She curled out of bed, clothed in only a shirt and a pair of boyshorts. She covered herself in an oversize hoodie that would provide her a little more decency now that she would be facing Damien in the broad of daylight.

“Morning,” Damien greeted her as she entered the kitchen. The room already smelled like freshly brewed coffee, and a stack of pancakes was quickly piling up on a plate in the center of the kitchen island. Damien topped off the stack as Kai seated herself on one of the bar stools to admire his handiwork endearingly.

"Damien, I didn't know you cooked," Kai quipped.

Damien busied himself with pouring a cup of black coffee, two creams, one sugar, before sitting it in front of Kai.

I suppose after over four years of knowing each other, he must have picked up how I like my coffee, she entertained with amusement. 

"I cook sometimes," he smiled in her direction, "for the people I care about." 

Kai's thoughts returned to everything that had occurred the previous night. Hayden's sudden transformation from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde, Damien showing up out of nowhere, the way it felt to lay in his arms all night... If she was honest with herself, Damien had felt like more than just a friend for a while. He was her best friend, but he was also a good man, strong and handsome and stubborn. He was the type of man she could truly picture herself settling down with.

Damien and Kai ate their pancakes in a comfortable silence, while simultaneously deciding what their next moves should be.  

"I need to..." Damien started. 

"I should tell you..." Kai interrupted, both incidentally attempting to speak at the same time.

"Go ahead," Kai smiled. She had resolved to tell him exactly how she felt, regardless of what he had to say. She had to at least give it a shot, after everything he had done for her throughout the years. 

"Kai..." Damien started again, “being with you like this... it's the happiest I've been, in a long time. Holding you last night was..." he faltered, stumbling for words. "All I've been able to think about for a long time is how badly I wanted to feel you in my arms, and now I finally know," he admitted. "Just say the word and I'm yours, Kai,” he finished, finally looking up to make eye contact and gauge her reaction to his confession.  

Kai stood, meeting Damien on the other side of the counter, She looked him in the eyes, running her hand along the side of his scruff, pushing her back fingers further to run them through his shaggy hair. He closed his eyes, waiting for her to say something with trepidation.

She leaned in just enough for him to feel her breath on his lips, causing him to open his eyes quickly, parting his mouth to say something before her kiss swiftly quieted him. She kissed him, long and slow, returning all of his feelings with a gentle caress. She leaned back, smiling, waiting for him to say something.  

"Kai, if this is going to happen, I want to do it right. I've waited four years to be with you," he reached his hand up, stroking her cheek gently.  

"Damien, I've wanted you for a long time. I just wasn't sure if you felt the same," Kai responded in turn, leaning down to kiss him again, harder, letting him know how serious she was about her desires. "You've more than proven your patience over the years. I want you," she admitted, her eyes turning darker as her pupils enlarged with hunger.  

Damien responded by quickly wrapping his arms around her, picking her up and carrying her down the hall as she wrapped her legs around him for stability. He gently sat her down on the bed that they had shared mere hours ago. He slid his fingertips up the side of her body, gently pushing her sweatshirt up, inch by inch, revealing more of her skin to him.

He leaned over her, whispering in her ear with a deep and husky voice, "Kai, I want you more than I've ever wanted anything. I want to explore every part of your body, bringing you pleasures that you've never felt before...but I will stop now if you want me to. Just say the word," he finished, stilling himself against her as if frozen in time while he waited for her response. 

Kai answered him by sliding her hand down the front of his body, gently brushing against his member that she could feel growing firmer by the moment. "I want you too, Damien. All of you." 

Damien groaned in response, leaning up to peel Kai's hoodie over her head. The fabric clung to her shirt beneath, pulling them both off at the same time. He devoured her with his eyes, taking in the newly exposed skin. He kissed her lips once again, sucking her lower lip into his mouth, running his tongue along her flesh. His lips grazed across her jaw, leaving butterfly kisses in his wake. He moved to her neck, sucking her skin and then running his tongue over the same spot as if to seal everything in. He kissed along her collar bones, taking her bra strap in between his teeth and moving it out of place enough to begin sliding down her shoulder. He moved between her breasts, breathing her in and kissing along the soft skin of her stomach.

"Roll over," Damien instructed, pausing his onslaught to give Kai directions. Filled with lust, Kai studied him only for a moment before doing as she was told. Once in position, Damien continued his previous action with renewed momentum. He moved her hair to one side, kissing the smooth skin on her slender neck. He kissed down her back until he reached the clasp of her bra, making quick work of it and unfastening it with one hand. He couldn't resist slowly running his right hand up the back of her thigh, grabbing a handful of her cheek and kneading it slowly. 

Damien's hand roamed to the front of Kai's body, pressing slightly to signal she turn back over onto her back. Damien's eyes scoured every inch of her, stilling his actions momentarily in awe. 

"Fuck, Kai. You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," he divulged with the utmost sincerity.  

Damien moved down the bed, getting on his knees to move between Kai's legs. He kissed her center through the outside of her clothes, feeling the heat and desire emanating from her core. He continued his onslaught of gentle kisses, roaming from thigh to thigh and rubbing his finger just along the outer edge of her underwear. Kai began to whimper in frustration, longing to feel his touch in her most intimate area.  

He could feel her growing wetter, and he finally surrendered to his own desires as he grasped the last barrier between them in his teeth, peeling her underwear down her legs.  

The first touch of his tongue to her center caused Kai's legs to jerk together. She threw her head back, thoroughly squeezing Damien into place so that he couldn't go anywhere, even if he had wanted to. He chuckled slightly at her actions before continuing, running his tongue along her slit from bottom to top. He lavished her body in long, slow licks, sliding his tongue inside her and tasting her completely as her desire grew. He drank her in like he was dying of thirst before moving up to lay a kiss on her most sensitive spot. He licked her there, softly, before taking her into his mouth, suckling her clit and making her cry out with desire. Her body tightened up like a spring about to pop, and he stopped himself abruptly before it could burst.  

"What the fuck, Damien?" Kai groined, causing Damien to snigger, offering her a cocky smile. He stood up quickly, a man on a mission, making quick work of his clothes and stripping until nothing remained that could block his body from Kai's.

Kai openly admired his physique, perfectly toned, tan, and muscular. He was the perfect picture of a man, there was no doubt about that. He was thick, and longer than average, and her mouth salivated as her excitement grew over what was about to occur between herself and the appendage that hung between Damien's legs. 

He laid himself on top of her, making eye contact and pausing one last moment to make 100% certain that this was what they both wanted, before lowering himself slowly to enter her. He paused while she adjusted to his size, before pressing himself up against her until he was fully inserted. Her eyes glazed over, roaming his features until she found his lips, kissing him greedily as she felt herself being filled up with Damien's manhood.  

He began pumping into her, long slow strokes that quickly brought her back towards the edge of desire. Kai wrapped her long legs around Damien's body once again, making as much body to body contact as she could possibly obtain.  

"Ohhhhhh, Damien," she moaned, causing him to grunt and press firmly into her, quickening his pace as he pumped faster into her. His member was fully gripped by her, and finally having her in this way was bringing him near the brink himself. He pumped in and out of her rhythmically, and he could feel her wetness growing around himself, dripping onto his thighs and the bed beneath them. 

Damien reached his hand between their bodies, wetting his hand before finding Kai's spot and rubbing it in circular motions as he continued pumping in and out of her. He felt her body begin to squeeze down on him as she began to scream.

"Oh, my God.... oh God... fuck...Damien!" Kai cried, finding her release as he pleasured her body thoroughly. Damien made love to her as her orgasm ebbed and flowed, following her into climax only moments later before laying his body beside of hers, fully spent.  _______________________________________________________________________

A few weeks later, Kai, Damien, and Nadia were seated in their favorite booth at the cafe. Nadia had been busy with her latest gallery showing, and it had been a while since they were able to catch up with each other outside of text messages. 

Nadia beamed, smiling from ear to ear in Damien and Kai's direction, who were seated snugly beside of each other on the opposite side of the booth. "You know that I love you both, but I'm so glad you two finally stopped being idiots. It was obvious to anyone who saw you together that you were-" Nadia paused to make goo-goo eyes and exaggerated kissy faces at them like she was a cartoon character. 

"Thanks, Nadia," Damien responded sarcastically, though he couldn't stop the smile that spread on his face as he turned to look eyes with Kai, whose own face was starting to break out into a soft blush.

Kai took a bite of her pancakes, and Damien whispered in a voice that was below Nadia's register, "Do you remember what happened the last time you and I shared a plate of pancakes together?"

Kai's blush darkened as Damien squeezed her thigh gently under the table. She couldn't wait to share more than pancakes with him later in the evening, after their date.   ________ _______________________________________________________________

Damien and Kai returned to Damien's apartment after their evening of fun. They knew each other so well that all of the awkwardness that usually inhabited the early stages of dating had been bypassed, allowing them to fully enjoy each other's company and be completely themselves. Damien's gentle caresses and looks had been winding Kai up all evening, and she had given as good as she got, leaning her backside into him while they played pool and licking her lips seductively after taking drinks of her cocktail. They were both ready to take things up a notch from sweet to sultry.

Kai sat on Damien's lap, who had seated himself down on the couch to take his shoes off. She wrapped a thigh around each side of his body, leaning in close to him to run her hand up the center of his chest.

“Should I wear your shirt to bed tonight, Damien, or would you prefer I sleep naked?" she teased.

"You know, you've been teasing me all night, Kai, but just say the word and I will fuck you until you're too tired to do any more teasing,” Damien retorted confidently, connecting his lips with Kai's as he gripped the nape of her hairline, pulling her closer into him. 

Kai answered him by grinding herself into him, feeling him grow through his jeans in response to her body. Damien growled, quickly stripping off the articles of Kai's clothing that he could reach while they remained seated. Kai returned the favor, stripping off Damien's shirt and running her hands along his chest and biceps.  

"I don't think you're nearly naked enough, baby," Damien groaned, as they both stood to continue undressing each other. Once the last piece of clothing has been removed, Damien pressed Kai up against the wall, sucking on her neck and running his rough hands along her breasts, pressing against the side of her hip with his manhood.

Kai pressed her hands against Damien roughly, pushing him back and switching their positions against the wall, dropping to her knees in front of him.

"Kai..." Damien started, as she reached a hand up to stroke him.

"I really want to do this for you, sir" Kai whispered, causing Damien to visually shiver and throb in front of her. She didn't think his member could get any harder, standing firmly at attention for her. Kai glanced up at him, his eyes dark and ravenous with desire, before gently closing her eyes to move forward and take him into her mouth, causing a guttural groan to escape his lips. 

She took him deeply into her throat, moving her hand up to stroke any areas that she couldn't reach. She tasted him, dragging her tongue down his length of him before licking around the end in circles. She opened her mouth to take him deeply again, nearly swallowing all of his length. She moaned around him, sending vibrations down his member.  

His hands found her hair, tugging it into two piles on either side of her head, gently holding on like a pair of handlebars and she bobbed up and down. Finally, she removed herself, more than ready and wanting to feel him inside of her. She turned to walk away, looking at him over her shoulder seductively as she made her way to the bedroom. He quickly followed behind her as they tumbled into bed together. 

She fell on top of him, adjusting herself to sit atop his chest. She moved, intending to straddle his manhood, but he grabbed her ass with both hands and pushed her forward until her thighs straddled either side of his face.

He quickly went to work, darting his tongue inside of her and lavishing her body as she had just done to him. He wrapped his lips around her sensitive bundle of nerves, sucking on her and quickly bringing her to the brink of orgasm. She moaned for Damien and encouraged him in barely coherent bursts, moaning louder and louder as she drifted closer to the edge. She reached down to pull him into her by his hair, making him groan. He lavished her body hungrily, not stopping until the dam burst as his soft, warm tongue licked up everything she gave him. 

Once Kai had had a moment to catch her breath, Damien's smooth voice commanded, "Get on your knees for me." Kai was more than ready to finally have him inside her, and she willingly moved her body into position.

Damien moved behind her, leaning over her body to barely touch her opening with his manhood. He slid himself up and down her opening, her wetness rubbing onto him, shining on his member. He leaned down further over her body, entering her slightly, grinding his hips back and forth to tease her with shallow thrusts. "Tell me what you want Kai," he whispered seductively.  

"I want you, Damien. Fuck me! Please fuck me.... I want to feel you inside me," she barely finished her sweet command as he slid himself completely inside of her with one long, hard thrust.

She gasped, filled up entirely with him, mentally teleporting her to a state of complete bliss. He moved one hand up her body, pulling her back into him as he massaged her breasts, teasing her nipples and rolling them between his fingers. His other hand moved down the front of her body, finding her clit and massaging it as he quickened his strokes, withdrawing completely out of her with each pump before slamming back into her, reaching the deepest depths of her core and stretching her body to fit around himself.

"Ooooohhh, Damien...." Kai moaned, completely under his spell, as he brought her closer and closer to complete nirvana.

"You like that, Kai?" he groaned animalistically.

"Oooohhhh, Damien.... Yes! Yes... fuck me!" Kai moaned, her commands coming out like a junkie who couldn't get enough.  

His hand that wasn't busily pleasuring her center moved up to her shoulder for more stability, pushing her down and angling her body so that her ass was in the air. He darted his hips to fuck her harder, groaning with each thrust as he watched himself plow into her body.

Finally, the combined sensations from Damien massaging her clit and completing owning her body brought her over the brink. He removed himself from her, laying beside her on the bed as she recovered.  

Kai's cheeks were beautifully flushed, her hair a mess of tendrils around her face. She scanned his body as he laid back on the bed watching her, noticing that he was still rock hard. Smiling devilishly, she set out to finish what she had started, leaning up to sit on his lap and slowly dropping down onto his member. 

Her eyes closed blissfully, and she leaned her head back, her long hair dangling down her back, barely grazing the skin on his thighs. Together, with their bodies entwined as one, was perfection. She moved her hips forward and back, working in circles to buck on him like a rodeo bull. She fixed her eyes to look at him, and he stared back at her hungrily. She leaned down over his chest, placing her hands on either side of him as he reached around to grab her hips, lifting her up and thrusting his hips to pump into her warmth.

Kai grabbed his wrists, pinning them overhead to regain control. They both knew that he could regain dominance if he wanted to, but watching Kai take power over her pleasure - watching as she rode him, writhing in his lap - well it could all end right there and he would die a happy man.

She ground herself down on him, holding him in place as she slid up and down his pole. She moved her thighs to slam up and down on him, grinding in such a way that her bundle of nerves was also getting stimulated with each thrust.

  Kai could feel Damien throbbing inside of her, about to burst. She pressed herself firmly against him one last time, striking the match of her own orgasm as her muscles clenched, squeezing down on Damien's hard knob, bringing him over the edge right along with her. He pumped a few short final bursts into her before releasing inside of her, both finally satiated. _______________________________ ________________________________________

After fully exhausting themselves, Damien and Kai curled up together in Damien's bed for a nightcap.

Thinking back over their night together, Damien admitted, "Kai, you make me want to give you the world. I'm so glad we found each other," he finished, sighing contentedly.  

"Me too," Kai agreed. "You are my world, Damien," she smiled shyly, peaking up at him underneath long eyelashes from her spot on his chest.  

Studying her face, he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"I love you, Kai," he stated calmly, not expecting a response, but just wanting to get it out after so many years of it going unsaid.

Kai leaned up to sweetly kiss Damien on the lips, smiling as her eyes met his.

"I love you too," she admitted, before curling back into her spot on his chest - a place she never wanted to leave again.

#perfect match #damien nazario #damien x mc #damien nazario x mc #play choices #choices stories you play #my fic #pixelberry #pixel

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isadorator · 7 years

Text

everything’s better with beanie babies

this silly au was something i came up with in convo with @crispypata last year, and it holds really fond memories. thanks to a quick beta from @clairelutra, i was able to finish this fic in time for crispy’s bday today!!!! 🎂

thank you, crispy, for being such a great friend, for enabling my crazy ideas and comforting me and helping me feel a little bit of happiness every day because you let me into your world. i can’t imagine what the last few years of my life would have been like without you there ♥♥♥ SO ENJOY SOME NONSENSE AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! \o/ (also on ao3)

In which the Agrestes are equally terrible at hiding secret identities while under pressure.

---

Gabriel shouldered open the door of the café, quickly getting into line and just as quickly tuning out his surroundings to focus on his sketchbook.

He scribbled out the third hoodie he’d drawn today and sighed. His professor for Advanced Fashion Design would never accept something so casual for his end-of-term project. It needed be something…something—

“Perfect,” Gabriel muttered as he looked up from the page, only to freeze when he met amused, green eyes.

“You’re bold this morning,” the pretty barista teased. “Double espresso again?”

Even if this small café was the closest one to his classes, he came in here entirely too often if the baristas were memorizing his orders. Especially this one.

This barista was an impressionist vision, with her soft blonde hair pulled into a loose bun and her smile crinkling her eyes, lending charm to her heart-shaped face. If Gabriel was less occupied with his course load and interning at his father’s company, he may have felt inclined to ask her to model for him.

(No matter what Duusu said, it was not a crush. His was a purely aesthetic appreciation of her beauty, and he would absolutely not allow himself to nurse such childish affections. It was unthinkable.)

The silence stretched, and the barista held back a laugh as Gabriel felt his face heat against his will.

(He did not have a crush.)

“Yes, thank you,” said Gabriel, trying to get a hold of himself. “Please add a croissant to the order, Mme…” His eyes darted down to her name tag. Curiously, she never wore the same one twice. Today, she hadn’t even bothered putting one on, opting instead for a pin with a sideways eight on it. “…Infinity?”

The newly dubbed Mme Infinity grinned, revealing her bunny teeth. “That’ll be €4, monsieur.”

Gabriel reached into his blazer for his wallet, giving himself time to gather his wits—not that he needed it, he was perfectly capable of ordering breakfast without being distracted—

The peacock kwami he was holding out instead of his wallet begged to differ.

Mme Infinity stared at the extremely stiff Duusu, mouth parting as she pointed at the kwami he was still showing her. “That’s—!”

“A Beanie Baby,” interrupted Gabriel, swiftly tucking Duusu back into his blazer. He kept his face neutral as he thought faster than he ever had in his entire life. “Quite popular in America right now, I understand. I’ve been studying them for class.” That was too many details, you’re making this lie seem less believable. Gabriel pulled out his wallet, mentally stilling his shaking fingers. “My apologies, €5 you said?”

Her eyes darted from his blazer to his face to his wallet and then back to his face. She slowly put down her hand and swallowed, a pink flush appearing on her cheeks.

Suddenly, Gabriel found it very hard to concentrate.

“€4,” she answered quietly, taking the euro note he held out to her and opening the till. “Christophe, a double espresso please!”

The dreadlocked barista (who Gabriel now realized had been watching the entire exchange) flashed him a cheeky grin and settled into making his espresso.

All too soon, Gabriel was tucking away his change and croissant as Mme Infinity presented him with his drink. She seemed to have recovered, shooting him a wink that twisted his insides with—absolutely nothing.

“Don’t forget your receipt,” she said with a sly smile.

Later, when Gabriel settled down into a quiet corner of the library with his breakfast and sketch book, Duusu popped out of his blazer with a squinty-eyed pout.

“I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry,” said the kwami. “A Beanie Baby? Really?”

“Hush,” said Gabriel. “I need to finish this design before tomorrow.”

“You’ll be fine, you’ll come up with something brilliant at the last minute like you always do,” said Duusu, waving his stub dismissively.

Gabriel wasn’t sure if he should be pleased with the compliment, back-handed as it was.

“More importantly, have you checked your receipt?” Duusu demanded, flying into Gabriel’s face. His kwami’s feathered tail was quivering with excitement. “Ooooooh, what if it’s a love letter?!”

Scoffing as he reached into his pocket for the slip of paper, Gabriel shot his kwami a withering look. “As if that barista would bother with such silly—”

Gabriel froze. When he held up the receipt for Duusu, he saw the back of it for the first time.

There, in purple ink, was a woman’s name, a number, and the message ‘Call me, handsome!’ punctuated with a heart-winged butterfly.

It was a miracle that Duusu’s squeal of delight didn’t get them kicked out.

---

Years later, Gabriel closed the safe door, locking away the Peacock Miraculous again. Gently pushing his wife’s painting back over the safe, Gabriel sat at his desk and went through his company’s finances until his appointment arrived.

The knock on his office door came quickly, and Gabriel almost asked Nathalie to open it before remembering she called in sick. Sighing through his nose, he stood and walked over to the door, swinging it open quickly.

His son was fidgeting outside, jumping when Gabriel appeared. “F-Father! Hi!”

“Adrien,” said Gabriel, clasping his hands behind his back. He walked back to his desk, fully expecting Adrien to follow. “Do you know why I called you here today?”

As he sat in his chair, Gabriel saw Adrien tighten his grip on his school bag.

“Did…you want to go out for dinner? Together?” his son guessed, looking hopeful.

“Of course not, we have a perfectly good chef,” said Gabriel. As Adrien’s smile fell, Gabriel clasped his hands in front of him. “No, we’re here to talk about your education.”

“My education?” Adrien echoed.

“Yes. Normally, Nathalie would be handling this, but as she’s come down with the flu…” Gabriel trailed off and then extended his hand, waiting. “I believe report cards were handed out today.”

Adrien jolted before looking up at Gabriel with wide eyes.

“O-of course! Let me just—” Adrien paused to tear open his bag and rummage inside before pulling out a kwami. “Here! I hope—”

A black kwami with cat ears. One held in Adrien’s hand, which coincidentally bore a silver ring shaped exactly the same as the Black Cat Miraculous.

There were no words to describe how furious Gabriel was—at himself for missing what were now painfully obvious clues, at Adrien for daring to defy his father and put himself in more danger than he could possibly imagine, at his staff for not noticing that their charge was a superhero—

“U-uh, this, um—it’s uh,” Adrien began, no doubt trying to come up with an excuse as to why he had a kwami.

Except he wouldn’t know that Gabriel knew about kwami. There was still a way to salvage this situation until Gabriel could take a moment to incorporate this new information into his plans.

(And he ignored the look of panic and shock on his son’s face that reminded him of golden sunlight in a café, so many years ago.)

(…Now there was an idea.)

“A Beanie Baby,” Gabriel reasoned for his son, his face carefully blank. “I didn’t realize they were still popular with people of your age group.”

“A…Beanie Baby?” Adrien repeated slowly. He held his kwami closer to him, no recognition of the term in his eyes.

Gabriel abruptly felt very old.

“Yes, a Beanie Baby, a vaguely animal-like doll such as the one in your hand,” said Gabriel, his tone deliberately sharp. “I’m growing tired of these stalling tactics—your report card, Adrien. Now.”

“R-right!”

Adrien hurriedly tucked his kwami back out of sight and pulled out the report card. Gabriel took it, noting the relieved slump of Adrien’s shoulders, before putting revelations regarding Chat Noir aside to review the report.

“So, Father,” Adrien began, breaking the silence. “Do you…like, uh, Beanie Babies?”

Glancing at Adrien over the rim of his glasses, Gabriel folded a hand under his chin as he went back to reading. “I would like you to have a better mark in Arts and Crafts.”

His son laughed sheepishly and dropped the subject.

---

But did not forget, apparently. The Beanie Baby gift basket Nathalie presented him on Father’s Day proved that.

Gabriel eyed the stuffed animals and toiletries suspiciously as Nathalie plucked an envelope from its depths.

“For you, sir,” she said, offering it to him.

Inside was a gift certificate for a Parent-Child day at a spa. Paid for out of Adrien’s own savings, no doubt.

Gabriel turned his head to take in the painting of his wife.

…Well. There was bound to be at least one emotionally vulnerable person at the spa. He could make it a working holiday.

#crispypata #isafic #gabriel agreste #mama agreste #adrien agreste #nathalie sancoeur #duusu #ml spoilers #miraculous ladybug #keeping this out of the main tag because duusu is namedropped in it #ANYWAY #CRISPY #YOU'RE THE BEST #CELEBRATE YOUR DAY!!!#♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥#(NOW WITH A READ MORE BECAUSE I FORGOT ALKSJDHLAK)

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illuminating-dragons · 7 years

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By Any Name (5/11): Reichenbach

Chapter Summary: In order to satisfy Mycroft, John and Sherlock take some 'vacation' time playing rather irritating(?) roles. The site of their vacation, however, might bring up some bad memories... Warnings for fake slash (sorry, this one's not a Johnlock fic....at least not precisely) and death imagery, both BBC and original scenes.

Read it on AO3

(For Arvi, who asked for it): Incident At New Dehli Interlude

John skulked around the corner, listening to Sherlock speak to the detective who had just taken all the credit for the case. Which was fine, of course, except he’d gotten something wrong.

“There was no ice cream involved!” he hissed to Sherlock as they ran back to the plane. “They ate a whole bunch of desserts that day, but not ice cream!”

Sherlock, still with his stupid ginger hair (they both needed haircuts. And dye jobs), shook his head. “No one will notice. It was for the Boss’ benefit.”

“Oh yeah?”

Sherlock smiled quickly. “When I was six I figured out who had raided our fridge by that very means; he’d left it on the counter while he was stuffing his face. Mummy wasn’t pleased.”

It was a beautiful, clear day in February, Valentine’s day, in fact, and all of Geneva was celebrating the day of love. Lovers were planning special dinners, days off, and divorces. Some were doing day trips together, away from the pressures of city life.

One such couple was doing just that. They’d arrived in Geneva from Maine just the night before, celebrating their honeymoon in fine fashion in one of the nicer hotels. As they giggled to the concierge that morning, they wanted to rent a car and drive into the mountains; they were both expert climbers, and the falls were ‘so romantic’.

The concierge dealt with them quickly. Between the proliferation of pet names, the constant kissing and the double-entendre-laced talk, he wanted them out of the lobby as quickly as possible.

He wouldn’t have been surprised to hear that the car pulled over quite soon out of Geneva. He would have been shocked, however, that it was because the driver couldn’t stop laughing.

John wiped his eyes as best he could, still giggling. “What the hell did you call me?”

Sherlock was leaning back in his seat, trying to get his breath under control. “Which do you mean—lovely hedgehog or sweet munpty?”

“The last one—does that even mean anything?”

“I’ve absolutely no idea.”

John bent forward against the steering wheel and started laughing again.

This was fun. Tibet had not been fun. La Fiore was easy enough to find; she didn’t even bother with a disguise in a monastery, and it took exactly three hours to expose her.

Questioning her was more arduous, but they eventually got her to understand that yes, Moriarty was gone, and yes, she was going to go to prison for a very long time no matter how cooperative she was, but they might be able to get her into a prison without people knowing her name if she gave them some others.

After that, still loopy with jet lag, they handed her off to Mycroft’s Asian squad (who were again, all women. John was all for equal opportunity employment, but he didn’t think Mycroft was).

The problem with La Fiore was that she was replacing a drug smuggler. In order to have made that deal, they had to be on the same team, which they were. Conveniently, they were both part of the Web, which meant they had gotten two of Moriarty’s players. This was good.

What was not good was the revelation that there was an Asian connection at all. Sherlock knew beforehand that Moriarty occasionally brought in players from Asia—like the Black Lotus, for example—but they were always specialists, performing tasks that couldn’t be done right by any of his European contacts.

At least, that was the theory.

In actuality, Moriarty had a small but extremely effective presence in Asia, linked mostly through trafficking of various kinds. They answered directly to him and were considered an integral part of his operations. This was worrisome, because the whole Web had to be taken down to avoid a comeback, but good, because they were already in Asia and they could deal with the problem. Activity in Europe had come to a halt anyways; the Web had figured out that someone was hunting them down.

It took three months for them to tidy things up. They’d crossed several borders, gone through seventeen different languages (at least Sherlock did) and solved several cold cases.

Even though John was glad they were making steady progress, he was relieved when Mycroft called them back to Europe. Things were still quiet, but the Eastern Web was crumbling beautifully and they weren’t really needed anymore. Between Interpol and the yakuza, things would settle down again.

They were supposed to fly into Vienna from Maine (the long way around was still the safest bet), but Sherlock changed their tickets at the last moment, sending them to Geneva.

“Do we need to go to the bank or something?” John asked.

Sherlock didn’t answer, and stayed very quiet for the rest of the flight. John tried to sleep, but Sherlock staring out the window into dark night worried him enough to keep him awake.

Right at the end of the flight Sherlock did something very unexpected. He leaned against John and snuggled into him, holding his hand tightly as he did so. John stared at him, afraid to move. Clearly Sherlock was losing his mind. Drastic action might be necessary.

“I’m so glad we’re almost there, darling.”

American accent, dripping with sentiment Sherlock would rather be caught dead than actually utter. Hands clinging tight, but still giving John personal space.

Oh.

So they were playing a couple this time then. Right then.

John put his arm around Sherlock. “So am I, pet,” he replied, trying to make his voice rumble. He lowered it and leaned over him. “I can’t wait for the hotel room.”

Sherlock giggled (oh God, maybe he was really going mad). He placed a kiss on John’s hand, holding it for a second. John felt him slip something onto it, cool and smooth.

John entwined Sherlock’s fingers with his and admired his wedding ring. Simple gold with a thinner band of silver within, a small diamond in the centre. It was a nice ring, one that John could see purchasing for himself.

Sherlock was wearing one too. His matched exactly, which didn’t quite fit. If Sherlock Holmes ever got married (and John really, really wanted to meet the person that would make Sherlock want to say I do) he would either wear a plain ring around a chain to keep it out of the way, or one so ostentatious that the tabloids would both cheer and debase for months. He certainly wouldn’t wear an identical ring to his wife…or husband.

The plane did eventually land and the plan was revealed. Mycroft was apparently concerned about John’s capacity to play roles other than Sherlock’s brother after the last three months. If they managed to play convincing husbands during this ‘vacation’ Big Brother would leave them be. Sherlock didn’t mention the consequences of getting it wrong; John understood.

That didn’t mean they couldn’t have fun.

John could not believe how sappy people thought honeymooners were.

Sherlock wouldn’t stop putting his arm around him, kissing him, calling him ‘darling’…the people at the hotel just ate it up. They thought their love story (camping outside a registry three days before the vote even went through to make sure they could get married first, after six years of dating begun at a production of RENT) was adorable, they loved their honeymoon plans (“to see gorgeous places with the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met”) and even gave them the nice honeymoon suite, with a ridiculously big tub and a bed that looked and felt embarrassing.

At first John stayed quiet and let Sherlock do most of the talking. He figured that was what people expected. He was alright looking, but even he knew that Sherlock was an attractive man to a large part of the population (before he opened his mouth, that is), and therefore drew attention. People didn’t always notice John when they were together, and he was fine with that. Wouldn’t that be the same if they were married?

But.

But if they were married, would he really shut up? Would he really not talk to his husband, touch him, kiss him back? And besides, he wasn’t supposed to be himself, he was supposed to be Owen’s husband Archie, and Archie wouldn’t be so much like John. If Archie was just like John, then John wasn’t really acting, and Mycroft might pull him out, back to London, where he couldn’t protect Sherlock.

And besides, if Mycroft was keeping a close eye, why not give him a show?

So Archie flirted right back, leaned against his husband, returned his kisses. Archie talked loudly about how amazing Owen was in every possible way. Archie embarrassed everyone at the hotel with his double-entendre- heavy talk, to the point where they couldn’t really be considered double-entendres anymore.

Archie, in short, was an obnoxious honeymooner, usually the kind that was murdered in crime shows.

At least they were a happy couple.

He and Sherlock hadn’t slept well that night, they were too busy laughing at each other. It didn’t really matter; after all, they were on vacation. They were supposed to be in Geneva for a few more days before heading out again, and John was honestly relieved. He wanted to get home soon, of course, and every day that Moriarty’s Web was still active was a bad day, but he was tired after three months of moving non-stop. A little break wouldn’t hurt.

“How far is it?” he asked, now they were in the car.

“The route’s marked on the map, darling,” Sherlock muttered, leaning his seat back. “It’s about three hours, maybe three and a half if the roads are bad.”

John looked at the map, tracing the blue line with his finger. It took them to the north-west, not terribly far, up to the mountains.

Reichenbach Falls.

It was Sherlock’s idea, hiking up a mountain in February to see the subject of the painting that started…the end. No, not the end. Sherlock was alive. Sherlock was here. It was a beautiful painting; John hoped it did the falls justice. He supposed they'd find out soon.

The drive was blissfully quiet, both of them tired of talking after non-stop lovey-dovey nonsense. John hadn’t driven in a long time (who needs a car when there’s running, cabs, the Tube and occasional rides in government vehicles?) and he found he actually missed it. The countryside was lovely and snowy, a winter like he hadn’t seen in years.

So why did he just want this day to be over?

After a climb that fully tested John’s hiking experience, they reached the Falls. No one else was around, it being the middle of February, after all, and they stood together in silence, watching the water fall over the cliffs, boiling in the pit below. The roar was horrendously loud, drumming in John’s ears, and it felt colder here than anywhere else on the mountain.

Sherlock stood near the fence, looking down.

John stepped nearer. “You don’t have to stand so close.”

Sherlock looked sideways. “I just want to see for a minute.” His face was drawn, but he tried to smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t look longer than I can stand.”

John gritted his teeth and looked too. The rocks were clouded by foam, but they still looked wicked sharp. The water never stopped, eerie in the cold, and every so often there was a shriek mixed in with the thunder.

John shuddered. The shriek sounded human, full of rage and despair. Like someone’s life work was being destroyed in front of them…

A thought struck him.

“Could it have happened here?”

Sherlock looked him straight in the eye. “It could have.”

John looked away. He wondered how it would have been; the two geniuses locked in battle on these cliffs, away from the city that was their normal battleground, far from their support systems, alone in this isolated hellscape.

Would it have had the same outcome? Would he have been there to witness it? Or would he be waiting for Sherlock to come back on a plane that would never take off?

Would the pit have been a shared grave for Sherlock and Moriarty?

Without thinking about it, John took Sherlock’s hand. Sherlock squeezed it, and didn’t let go. Without discussing it, they turned around and left the thundering, screaming falls behind them. Without letting go of each other, they drove back to Geneva.

The swirling, rushing, hateful water followed John into his dreams that night.

Horror-stricken, he watched as Sherlock stood on the roof of St. Bart’s—no, he was on the edge of the cliff of Reichenbach in summertime, still terribly isolated—no, he was in London, the tabloids howling for his blood. Moriarty was there too—no he wasn’t—yes he was, already dead—no he wasn’t dead, but he was about to be, grappling with Sherlock on the cliff side.

Either way, it didn’t matter.

Whether he was standing across the street or just a few metres away on the trail, John was helpless. Sherlock fell with-Moriarty-without-Moriarty-with Moriarty-already-dead but it didn’t matter, it didn’t matter whether Moriarty was alive or dead because John knew this time Sherlock had no plan, that he was really dead and gone, and John was alone again, alone-oh-God-please-not again!

John woke with a violent shove, trying to push away the restraints that held him back from his friend’s side, from (maybe) jumping after him…

“Wake up! It’s alright!”

John stopped fighting, just for a second. It was long enough to see that yes, he was awake, in a hotel in Geneva, in a ridiculous bed with the bedside lava lamp glowing. The restraints were simply Sherlock’s hands, trying to keep him still.

Right, of course. Archie shouldn’t be screaming from nightmares at all. He was a bookshop owner, for God’s sake. What would he be having nightmares about—shoplifting? Certainly not his husband being murdered in front of his eyes in two different places by their worst enemy.

Well, his fake husband, but still.

He had to stay in character, or he’d be sent home. Away from Sherlock, where he couldn’t see him. Where he couldn’t protect him.

John gulped, trying to regain control of himself, to slow his pulse. Sherlock was still holding on tightly to his left wrist, right shoulder. He was taking John’s pulse, not very subtly. “What’s wrong?”

“Weird nightmare,” John managed. This wasn’t the place to talk about, not the time, and anyways, that’s all it was. A weird nightmare, it wasn’t real, Sherlock was here, he wasn’t gone.

Sherlock stared at him intently, eyes nearly glowing in the lava light. John stared back, trying to convince himself of Sherlock’s safety.

Sherlock solved the problem by gathering into his arms, holding him close, lying down again. John didn’t fight, what was the point? Sherlock was stronger than he was, always had been.

“I’m here, John,” Sherlock whispered.

Smarter, too.

John buried his face in Sherlock’s shoulder, shaking and sobbing violently. He had never broken down like this in his life, not when he found out that Afghanistan had taken his future from him, not even when Sherlock fell off St. Bart’s in front of his eyes. He wouldn’t have dared be so out of control. For some reason, he felt safer now. He knew Sherlock wouldn’t mind.

Sherlock didn’t speak again, didn’t move, just let John fall apart.

It was John who finally pulled away. “Sorry, love,” he tried to smile. “It was just—”

“Drop it.” Sherlock put his hand on John’s face. “No one can hear us.”

“He’ll know,” John whispered. “He’ll know, somehow. He’ll take me away from you…”

“He won’t. I promise.” Sherlock’s eyes were glimmering with worry. “John, you’re safe.”

“Doesn’t matter if—if I’m safe,” John choked. He was trying to calm down, but his breathing was getting faster. Slow down! He instructed himself. His lungs didn’t cooperate.

Sherlock pulled him close again. “Of course that matters,” he said sternly. “You’re important, John, extremely so. Don’t ever say that again.”

“I only matter if—if you’re safe,” John tried to explain.

“Excuse me?”

“’Member when I told you…when I got murdered, I said please God let me live?” John didn’t wait for Sherlock to respond. “It was only survival instinct. There wasn’t anybody to come back for, nobody who would miss me.”

Sherlock said nothing.

“You saw it yourself,” John tried to help. “No close family, no relationship with my sister…I rented with a mad stranger, did you not think that was odd?”

“I met you, and then I met Mrs. Hudson, and Greg, and Molly, and even Mycroft…the first real friends I’ve had in ages. I was alone, and I owed you so much…those weren’t just words, Sherlock. You made me matter.”

Sherlock gripped him so tightly John’s shoulder protested.

“I didn’t realize,” Sherlock whispered. “I thought—you were happy with other people. You had friends, you knew how to make new ones. I thought you would be alright.”

“Maybe I would have been,” John agreed. “But it would have been right back to the beginning, and…I didn’t want to go there.”

“I should never have made that plan in the first place.”

John knew what he was talking about. The plan, that was put into place before Sherlock even knew about the snipers. The plan that would have taken him away from John anyways.

“You were trying to protect us,” he answered. “I’m not angry, at least not anymore, but Sherlock promise me…”

“Anything.”

“You can’t leave me again.” John looked up at him. “You can’t decide that I can live better without you than you without me. We’re partners in this, and if we die together, then so be it. I can think of worse things to die for.”

Sherlock looked down at him, indecision clouding his gaze.

“Please, Sherlock,” John whispered. “Don’t leave me. Please. I can’t be alone again.”

Sherlock sighed. “I promise.” He tucked John’s head under his chin. “But you can’t leave me either. I’d be lost without my blogger, after all.” He tried to laugh, but John caught the sob.

“Promise.”

And John drifted back to sleep, arms still wound around Sherlock. He dreamed again, but this one was much better. This one was them, back in Baker Street, with Yarders and clients and Mycroft bringing them cases, and some dates with women but mostly quiet nights in front of crap telly and Chinese or Indian, and as the years went on new faces replaced the old but there was always adventure, always a purpose, until age slowed them down, but that would be okay. New faces, taught by them but bringing their own type of crazy to the game would take over, while he and Sherlock took off to the country. There’d be a little cottage, maybe by the sea, and he’d write and maybe start a garden like his grandad’s and Sherlock? For some reason, he thought there might be bees in the picture…

#sherlock #sherlock fanfiction #john and sherlock #sherlock season 2 AU #acme146 fanfiction #crosspost #reichenbach #friendship fic #by any name

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