OH MY GOD also guys. please literally go to any amateur theater or whatever that u can near u. i went to a live performance of the it's always sunny ep where theyre doing the nightman. or whatever. it was soooooooo silly and so fun and in that room i could feel centuries of people gathering in rooms to laugh together. this is what can save humanity

DIWK - Chapter one: "Yes, I'm a genius"

Word count: 10,5 K

Warnings: Cursing, but it's mostly a fluffy nerdy start to our story.  Mentions of the L.D.S.K episode (Season 1, E06) and A real Rain (Season 1, E17).

Summary: Spencer meets the BAU new member, a young S.S.A. who happens to be just as nerdy as he is. (Y/N) is excited to join her dream job finally, but she is decided to create an imaginary barrier between her personal life and her job 'cos she doesn't want to make the same mistakes her father had done.

A/N: It's happening!!! I'm so excited!! I'm sorry it's gonna be long, so I hope you enjoy the ride 💕. Let me know what you think!  

Series Masterlist

Chapter one | Chapter two | Chapter three | Chapter four | Chapter five | Chapter six | Chapter seven | Chapter eight | Chapter nine | Chapter ten | Chapter eleven | Chapter twelve | Chapter thirteen | Chapter fourteen | Chapter fifteen | 

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Spencer's point of view

I remember everything that happened the day (Y/N) first arrived at the BAU. It was Monday, November 7th, 2005. Morgan had teased me for a whole week already, as soon as Hotch told us a new member of the team had been selected.

I first saw her when she had her last interview with Aaron and Gideon. My eyes were glued to her from the moment she stepped into the bullpen, and of course, Derek saw me.

- "What caught your eye, kid?"- he asked, walking to my desk. He sat on it and cut me one of his smirks, telling me he knew something was going on. I cleared my throat, trying to turn to my pile of paperwork, going through the papers, and narrowing my eyes, pretending to read.

- "What?"- I know I couldn't fool him, but at least I tried.

- "Do you know her?"

- "Who?"- Morgan looked at me in silence. He knew I knew what he was talking about- "The... no, Hotch is talking with someone..."

I was completely flustered.

- "That I can see, do you know her?"

- "No..."- I whispered and looked over again, this time staring at the scene inside the office, trying to figure out what they were talking about.

I could see (Y/N) smiling at Hotch, and he... smiled back, which still surprises me. Our Unit Chief never smiles in the office, and somehow, (Y/N) always manages to make him grin and express tenderness. I guess that's one of the things about her I love, the way she always manages- somehow, I still don't know how- to make everybody around her happy. Especially me. I had never been as happy as I've been since I met her.

- "Hey, Hotch!"- Morgan waited until she was into the elevator to call Aaron and start asking questions- Who is she?

- "That's Supervisory Special Agent (Y/F/N) (Y/S/N) (Y/L/N), and she is going to be part of the team, starting next week."

My heart stopped. (Y/N) was gonna work with me. I was never going to have another intelligible thought or idea if she was going to be around. Of that, I was sure.

Derek turned to me with a grimace of taunt as I tried my best to look away and hide my red blushed cheeks. Damn it. I hate it when he makes me feel like a kid. He did that then, and he still manages to do it now, even when I'm already thirty years old.

- "Did you hear that, pretty boy?"- I was so glad it was just him and Hotch. I didn't want anyone else to listen to that conversation- "You are going to get many chances to talk with that pretty girl."

- "We are going to have to go through the fraternization policy then."- Hotch joked. Yes, he joked and smiled as he walked away.

I could barely talk or even look at her during her whole first day. I was so embarrassed that week 'cos I had just failed my firearm qualification, and I knew everybody was judging me. At least that's how I felt. It didn't work that Morgan welcomed me that morning with a freaking whistle. I felt like the mockery of a Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI, and of all days, (Y/N) had to arrive that morning.

We had a long briefing that day, JJ catching (Y/N) up with a few cases we were reviewing, and Hotch gave her the proper induction to the team. Penelope loved her. It was friendship at first sight.

- "I'm so happy you are here to stay! There aren't enough girls here at the BAU!"- she nearly squeaked as soon as we left the meeting room- "I want to know everything about you! We are going to be best friends. I can feel it!"- (Y/N) smiled at Garcia and nodded.

- "If you are a cat lover and a sucker for nerdy things, then I guess we are already family."

Her answer made Penelope shriek in excitement as I walked back to my desk quickly. I knew Derek wasn't going to waste the chance to embarrass me in front of her, and I needed to avoid it no matter what.

- "Considering it's your first day, and so far we haven't got a case, I say we should all have lunch together. There's a small place nearby"- Morgan smiled sweetly at (Y/N), and she nodded.

- "I'd love to."

- "Spencer here was just telling me how he wanted to know how you got to the BAU so young; he is excited not to be the team's baby anymore"- I turned to Morgan slowly. I swear he could feel the daggers from my eyes.

- "How old are you?"- she asked, and her smile left me speechless. I tried to answer, but I couldn't make any sound but an awkward stutter.

- "He's twenty-four"- Elle had to answer for me, 'cos I had literally lost all my verbal abilities- "His birthday was a few weeks ago."

- "Congratulations! I'm twenty-four too! I'm so happy I'm not the youngest! My brother teased me about it for the last couple of days and got me all freaked out."

She looked so happy to be there. When you spend day after day surrounded by the worst of humankind, you seem to enjoy and appreciate the little gentle things in life. Her excitement was one of those. It was refreshing.

- "That's..."- it was so hard to pronounce any word at that moment. I was flustered and mortified 'cos I was making a fool out of myself.

- "That's great."

That was all I managed to say. Then, I looked down at the papers on my desk, doing my best to avoid any conversation. JJ and Elle talked to her for a few more minutes before returning to their duties, and Derek tapped my back as he walked to his desk.

- "Way to go, Romeo."

- "Shut up."

We never made it for lunch that day, 'cos we were called for a case in Illinois, and I was embarrassed in front of (Y/N) for the very first time. The first of many.

.

(Y/N)'s point of view

I could never forget the day I met Spencer. We were just kids. We were both twenty-four, and that was the first thing that caught everybody's attention on my first day at the BAU. We were the youngest, though he was a genius. I was an average kid who graduated high school at sixteen, got good grades at college, and got into the academy at twenty. Somehow I managed to kick ass until I got the position of my dreams in the Behavioral Analysis Unit. I felt too young and inexperienced to be there, but seeing Reid's face made me feel a little better.

Hotch introduced me to everybody: Morgan, JJ, Elle, Penelope, Gideon -the legend- and Doctor Spencer Reid. He didn't shake my hand, explaining he has a "germs thing." I waved and said I understood him because I've always had a "hug thing," so we are both on the same page.

- "I don't like people touching me if we are not close friends or family."- I explained, and he smiled right away. That smile. It lit up my days for years to come.

- "Me neither, so don't worry, I'm not gonna try to touch you"- I bit my lips as I nodded, and his cheeks turned blood red with embarrassment immediately

- "Sorry, I mean, I'm not going to do anything that might bother you, like hugging you or..."

- "Don't worry, Dr. Reid, I understood what you were trying to say"- he kept nodding and excusing himself, and I tried not to laugh. He seemed to be so nervous it was endearing.

- "You... you can call me Spencer, or Reid"- he added- "You don't need to call me doctor."

- "You can call me (Y/N)"- and he nodded again, looking like a ten years old kid.

I remember clearly that second, right away, I thought he could be my new best friend. There was something about him that made me want to get closer to him.

- "Great! Now we've got two weird kids."- Morgan quickly said, chuckling, and I frowned at his words. I wanted to give him the snarkiest answer, but I remembered it was my first day, and I was still trying to give a good impression to my new coworkers, so I just stared.

- "You know, treating them like kids won't make you look wiser."- Elle whispered, though I heard her perfectly, as Hotch called to the briefing room.

- "I'm just joking with them! Don't you get a joke?"

I thought it was rude to joke around with someone you had just met, but soon after that, I realized Derek Morgan meant no harm. He was like that. And soon, he became the older brother I never thought I was going to need at work. After all, it was my first official job, and it was a very stressful one.

.

My first case was nerve-wracking. Gideon snapped in front of me, and I felt I wasn't helping at all catching the sniper. We are not supposed to use that word, but fuck it. Besides, Spencer and Hotch were kept hostage by the unsub. And Aaron had to beat the shit out of Reid to save all the hostages. Reid was so embarrassed, and I was so scared.

Scared of looking weak in front of my team. Afraid of not deserve being at the BAU.

I remember Elle brought me a coffee on the jet on our way back and said the words that resonated in my head when she left.

- "No one expects you to be perfect at what you do. We just need someone who gives the best every day."

I looked into her eyes and nodded. That was one of the few intimate conversations we had. Elle wasn't the one to open her heart and share her feelings. But she was always someone who could tell you the truth and support you when you needed it.

.

- "Hey! Reid!"- I waved at him from my car as I stopped next to him outside the BAU. It was already two in the morning, and he was outside the main building waiting for a cab.

- "Hey (Y/N)."- he whispered as I rolled up the window and looked at him.

- "Do you need a ride?"

- "No... no, thank you"- he hesitated and waved- "I already called a cab."

- "Are you sure? it's gonna start raining any minute now."

And just as I predicted, a few seconds later, Spencer's glasses were covered with tiny drops of water. He smiled and took a step closer to the car, opened the door, and got in.

- "Th... thank you"- he whispered as I smiled

- "It's ok, I couldn't let you there, on your own, waiting for a cab, not after coming back from a case."

- "I'm ok..."- maybe he thought I was implying the beating he got from Aaron earlier that day, so I did my best to tell him otherwise.

- "I bet you are, but it's fucking freezing, and we are all tired. There's no way you are waiting for a cab if I can drive you over... what about your car, by the way?"

- "I'm not a fan of driving; I take the subway to work every day."

- "Really? Why not?"- I was surprised by his answer, but I was way more surprised we were talking, finally.

- "I don't know, I don't feel comfortable driving... the guys say I'm weird."

I turned to him, raising an eyebrow. He looked so nervous it made me feel bad. Maybe I had done something that had bothered him and never noticed it.

- "That's not weird"- my voice was soft, trying to calm him down. Spencer looked like a scared kitten sitting on my car's passenger seat.

- "If you don't like driving, that's ok... I don't like talking on the phone with people. It makes me anxious for no reason."- I confessed, keeping my eyes on the road. But I know he turned to me and nodded.

- "That's completely normal. It's called "telephone phobia" or "phone phobia," which refers to the irrational fear or discomfort with speaking over the phone. Psychologists believe that this condition is related to social anxiety, which causes a person to avoid situations where they will need to act. Making a call is essentially a performance, and some people dread making a mistake, freezing up, being ridiculed, or not being able to perform in front of an audience."

- "Really?"- he just nodded and kept his eyes on the road- "I didn't know it had a name! My insurance should cover it."

And he finally laughed, which made me feel he was maybe a little more relaxed around me.

- "This is me."- he announced, and I parked outside his building. It was a nice place, and conveniently, it was very close to my house.

- "Great! I live just a few blocks away. I can give you a ride to work whenever you want"- I might have sounded a little more excited than I should have, but I wanted to be friends with him. He was the closest in age with me at work, and he looked so shy and friendly. He was a magnet. Spencer Reid was calling for my friendship. I could feel it.

- "Th.. thanks"- he stuttered and nodded as he opened the door and step out of the car- "Thank you, again."

- "You are very welcome!"- I answered with a big smile. He stared at me for another second and waved before turning around, basically running into the building.

I wish I could go back in time to those days. Everything was more uncomplicated, we were getting to know each other, and everything was brand new: Reid's rambling, my bad jokes. I miss that. I miss us.

It wasn't easy to get close to Spencer. It wasn't easy to get close to the team, probably 'cos I was overthinking every single thing I did. In my first couple of weeks, I was as friendly as I have ever been and made my best to be the (Y/N) I had to be as an FBI Agent. I was making a tremendous effort to fit it. I was nervous and walking on eggshells the whole time. Every time Hotch talked to me, I was sure he would tell me I was fired. When Gideon looked at me, I was sure he thought I was the dumbest agent he had ever met. And every time I spoke at the morning briefings, I just could feel Spencer thinking I was stupid.

.

- "(Y/N)! (Y/N)! I was looking for you!"- Penelope ran into me outside the lady's room and jumped on my face, making me scream- "Sorry!"

- "It's ok, you just almost killed me of a heart attack, but that's ok... I'll survive."- I joked as I kept feeling my heart jumping in my chest.

- "Sorry, I'm just excited 'cos everybody is in for a little gathering tonight at my house. I need to give you a proper welcome! You've already been here for nearly a month, and we still don't get to know much of you."

Hanging out with my coworkers outside the office was strange. Not that I didn't want to get to meet them, it's just that... they were FBI agents. Sure, so was I, but it was my first official Supervisory Special Agent job, and I was only twenty-four. There were so many of my teenage days I still wasn't ready to let go. And so much of it, I didn't want them to know.

- "Sure!"- I replied and smiled at her face lighting up. You could tell Penelope was excited to host a party at her house.

- "Great! Tonight! my place! I'll text you the address! you have to be there!"

- "I will, I swear!"

Spencer's point of view

Oh, man! The first time I actually talked to (Y/N) was on a get-together Penelope organized at her apartment a few weeks after (Y/N) joined the team. Garcia made an effort to make her feel welcome, she even invited Elle, and we all knew those two weren't incredibly close.

Derek drove Elle and me to Penelope's, and I was mortified every minute I spent in that car. He wouldn't stop teasing me, and Elle asked over and over if I had a crush on (Y/N).

- "No! I don't have a crush on her! can you knock it off?!"- I finally snapped as I got off the car outside Garcia's building.

- "Just because she is my age doesn't mean I have or should have a crush on her! she is our new colleague! so please! Stop!"

I slammed the door and walked inside. Did I make an unnecessary scene? Yes, but I couldn't handle anything better at that moment. They were driving me crazy.

- "Welcome! Welcome!"- Penelope opened the door and invited us in. (Y/N), and JJ were already there, holding a beer and laughing. I stared at the two of them and knew I wasn't going to say a word the whole evening.

Back then, I still had a small crush on JJ. We had a terrible date after Gideon gave me tickets for a football game with her favorite team. That was his way to encourage me to ask her out, which I did... but apparently, I sucked at it, 'cos she never got it was a date and invited Penelope to come along. Worst date of my life. But still, I got flustered around her, and my mind kept coming back to her from time to time.

- "So, pretty girl, why did you want to be part of the FBI?"- Morgan asked her after a while of small talk. She was sitting on Garcia's coach, next to our host and JJ. I turned to look at her from my chair, and I swear I felt Elle's eyes on me for a few seconds.

- "Do you usually call girls names?"- (Y/N) answered the questions with another question and frowned at Morgan. He just wide opened his eyes and smiled, surprised.

- "He calls everybody names."- JJ replied, chuckling

- "Hey! he calls me sweet names! Just me!"- Penelope got all jealous and possessive right away.

- "Did you know according to some studies, the reason people in relationships use pet names for their partners is that they're harking back to their own childhood experience and their first love, which usually relates to their mother"- facts came out of my mouth faster than I noticed. I didn't have a chance to stop myself.

Derek frowned right away and (Y/N) bit her lips, trying not to laugh. Elle lost that fight and let out a burst of loud laughter along with JJ.

- "Are you trying to tell me I've got mommy issues, Reid?"

- "No, no, of course not!"- my voice was agitated as I shook my head and hands frenetically. If there's one thing I never want to do is get Morgan mad. He is scary when he is crossed, and back then, we weren't as close as we are now. Let's say I was a little afraid I might say the wrong thing. I always said the wrong thing... I don't know when to stop.

- "I call people pet-names too, once I get to know them, so don't worry"- (Y/N) smiled at turned to Derek with a smile- "And to answer your question, why did I join the FBI? I guess I tried to follow dad's steps. He is chief of police here at Quantico... and my older brother is a detective at NYPD, so... I guess I never really thought about it. I knew where I wanted to be."

- "I bet they are proud"- JJ smiled at her, and I held my breath for a second. I don't know why I did it; I just remember feeling overwhelmed all of a sudden. Not because of JJ, but because I wanted to learn more about (Y/N). I wanted to know everything, but I had no idea how to ask her anything.

- "Well, my brother is very jealous since I joined the BAU"- she chuckled with a playful smile- "Now I'm dad's favorite."

She told us about her academy experience, and we all told her a little bit about ourselves. Morgan was nice enough to tell her everything about my degrees and IQ because, well, my IQ dropped to twenty when it was my turn to talk to her.

I found out she has a MA in Linguistics and was considering doing the DA, which she did. That's when I managed to speak, and we talked about our college experiences for a while.

- "Oh, no! I wasn't popular at all. When your dad is a cop, kids usually don't wanna talk to you or invite you to parties."- she explained as we stood at one side of the room. Talking to her on our own was a little bit easier than doing it with everybody else watching. I don't know why. So I took my opportunity when Derek was out getting more beer with Elle, and JJ and Garcia were in the kitchen.

- "Being fourteen and riding my bike to college didn't make me very popular either."- I confessed, and she chuckled

- "Sorry."

- "Don't be"- I smiled and looked down at my shoes- "I guess at a certain point in our lives, we have to start laughing about some of the bad things that happened to us"- her cellphone rang that second, and she looked at the screen with a small smile.

- "Sorry, I have to answer this, it's my boyfriend."

Boyfriend. I should have seen it coming.

I walked to the kitchen, defeated, and sighed. I left my empty can of Coke and looked at my friends.

- "I think I'm gonna go home."

- "What? No! It's too early, Spence!!"- JJ argued right away- "You never want to hang out with us outside work!"

- "Yeah!! Don't you want to have fun with us?"- Garcia begged and pouted. I wasn't sure I wanted to be there. I was very uncomfortable 'cos social gatherings weren't my thing (they are still not my thing anyway) until I heard her voice.

- "So, what are you guys doing?"- (Y/N) walked over and stood next to me

- "Who were you talking to?"- Penelope asked right away with a wink.

- "My boyfriend"- she was joyful, I could feel the happiness in her voice- "He just wanted to know if I was ok."

- "Boyfriend?"- JJ smiled, and I could feel her eyes glance over me.

- "I need to know everything!"- and Penelope hyperventilated right away- "How long have you been dating? Are you getting married soon? Is he the love of your life?"

- "Who's getting married?"- Morgan walked in and wide opened his eyes as he questioned the room.

- "(Y/N) is getting married!!"- Penelope nearly shrieked as (Y/N) shook her head laughing.

- "I'm not getting married! Paul and I started dating just a month ago; it's nothing serious."

I took a sip of the beer Elle gave me and sighed, staring at the bottle. I made my best not to look at Derek for the rest of the night. I didn't want him to give me any sorry glance or anything that might make anyone believe something that wasn't real.

It was a fun night, after all. After my beer, we talked; I felt a little looser and managed to ask (Y/N) about herself and told her I had overheard her telling Garcia she was a sucker for all nerd things.

- "Yeah, I'm a huge nerd"- her cheeks blushed with her confession.

- "I bet you can't beat baby genius here"- Morgan chuckled and tapped in my back, making everybody laugh... at me.

- "I've got the feeling I can top him... you have no idea the kind of geek I am"- she looked straight at me- "How many Star Wars conventions have you been to this year?"

- "Just one, you?"- I raised an eyebrow and watched her chuckle.

- "Five... last two I was in make-up and custom"- I wide opened my eyes as she bit her lips nervously.

- "And Doctor Who conventions?"- I asked her, way more intrigued than I had been about her before.

- "Only two this year, the academy and school got in the way of most of my fun..."

- "Do you have a favorite doctor?"- I had to ask

- "From the new series, ten, the classic Doctor who I have to say four."

- "Tom Baker is by far my favorite doctor of the whole series."

- "But you can't overlook the fantastic job David Tennant has done! He is the one who managed to charm a whole new generation with the show!"

- "Yeah, he is excellent! but he ain't no Baker"- I loved that conversation

- "Baker's popularity is 80% because he had Sara Jane, who is by far one of the best companions the doctor has ever had. She made him human and relatable"- she had a point, but I needed to argue with her. I opened my mouth to answer, but I couldn't because Morgan's voice was louder than my thoughts.

- "Ok, geeks, you can ramble about your tv shows and nerd things some other time, now let's make a toast. To our newest member, we hope you feel welcome working with us, 'cos you are gonna see us way more than you see your boyfriend"- she chuckled at those words and nodded.

- "Thank you, guys. You have been so nice to me these couple of weeks. I've got the feeling we are gonna get along."

.

- "Do you need a ride?"- (Y/N) turned to me as I grabbed my satchel, and she put on her coat.

- "Thanks, but Morgan is gonna take me home."- I whispered, scared to be alone with her again.

- "Actually, kid, I was planning to hit the club right now, it's still early, and we don't get many free nights, so..."- he looked at us and shrugged.

- "You don't mind?"- I asked her, and she gave me the warmest smile.

- "I just offered to do it, of course, I don't mind at all."

- "Thank you."

I didn't know if I wanted to kill Morgan or thank him. Either way, (Y/N) waved goodbye to everybody and walked out of Garcia's with me, after thanking everybody for the hundredth time for everything.

- "Are you tired?"- she asked me as we both sat in her car. She started it, and the music that came from the radio was so loud, I nearly covered my ears- "Sorry! Sorry! I was rocking my favorite album on my way over."

She quickly turned off the radio and gave me a guilty smile

- "It happens when you drive alone a lot."

- "Did you know listening to loud music helps you liberate stress?"- I started rambling- "There is a direct connection between your inner ear and the pleasure centers in the brain. Shortly explained, when you listen to loud music, endorphins are released, that act on the opiate receptors in our brains, they reduce pain and boost pleasure, resulting in a feeling of well-being."

If I was going to work with her, I had to find a way to talk to her. Even if that way was to ramble facts over and over again. Anything was better than silences, I guess.

- "Yeah! and it also works like a stimulant, which I needed after the week we just had..."- I chuckled, and she looked at me for a second- "By the way, I noticed you have a problem with coffee and sugar"

- "I don't have a problem with coffee!"- I felt nearly judged by her statement.

- "And sugar!"- she added and snickered

- "You know you shouldn't profile other profilers"- I made my best to make a joke, and I guess I nailed it, 'cos she chuckled.

- "That's hardly profiling, Reid! that's just watching you prepare your coffee every morning"

- "Have you been spying on me?"- I could help but to chuckle at that conversation. I was having fun.

- "No way on earth! I just happen to like to drink coffee too, which leads us to the question I wanted to ask, it's still early; Morgan was right, do you want to have a coffee or something... I'm in the mood for something sweet."

- "And you were judging me for my coffee with extra sugar!"

- "I'm not judging you! I'm just pointing out that I noticed what you are doing and wondering how many cavities you already have."

I laughed. An honest, real, pure laughter. She has always made me laugh as I've never had. Like there are no problems, no worries, no traumas. Nothing bad.

- "I have no cavities, thank you very much!"

- "Fine! and are you in the mood for a late coffee and cupcake with me?"- I stayed quiet and looked at her- Don't feel pushed to do it just because I'm giving you a drive

- "No, no, it's not that. I just don't wanna bother you"

- "If I am inviting you, Reid, it's because I want to do it, not because I'm feeling forced to do it"- she kept her eyes on the road, but her voice was so reassuring I couldn't doubt a word.

- "Wouldn't your boyfriend get mad or something?"- I whispered the question 'cos I was scared of the answer.

- "Why should he?"- she looked shocked by the questions- "If he gets jealous, then he is not the guy for me."

I cut her a short smile and nodded. Her personality was so different from mine. It was exciting to have her around.

- "I could eat a donut"- and she clapped at my answer, thrilled with the plan.

- "That's the spirit! I know just the place!"

We talked until four in the morning that night. I don't know how I managed to do it, not because I was tired, but because I was very nervous. Well, I was at the beginning, but talking with (Y/N) has always come easy to me, somehow. To the guy who was never able to speak in public or with any girl, spending three hours in a cafeteria talking, eating donuts, and drinking coffee in the middle of the night was the most significant achievement.

.

(Y/N)'s point of view

- "How do you know a place open at this hour?"- Spencer asked me the very first time we were out together for coffee. It was already close to four in the morning, and I had started yawning, 'cos even with all the sugar and caffeine I had consumed that night, I was weary.

- "Sorry to break the news, doctor, but are not the only one with a sugar problem"- I licked a little frosting from my finger and grinned- "Sometimes after classes, or when I was too stressed studying, I would come here, get a coffee, a cupcake and just... do nothing for a while, just to let my brain rest I guess"

- "That makes total sense. The brain needs free time to process new information and turn it into something more permanent. Though the amount of time a mind needs to construct a durable memory probably varies from one person to the next, it also depends on the complexity of what that person is trying to learn"

- "Well, believe me, it felt like I needed two weeks to process all the information, but I only had half an hour if I was lucky"

- "Then you are already trained for this work. We don't have much time to do anything when we are on a case"

- "That's what I've seen so far... but at least you all get along. It would suck to be stuck in a team that fight egos and divisions."

- "Yeah, you are right, we are lucky to have very nice people working with us... everybody brings something different to the team"- I nodded at his words and looked down at my fingers as I tried to wipe the leftover sticky glazed with a napkin.

I had been working there for four weeks already, and I still felt like I didn't belong. Honestly, it was such hard work being there, not because they weren't a great team, but because it was more challenging than I ever imagined. Profiling and traveling all over the nation catching serial killers was... stressing, to say the least.

- "You bring a completely different point of view in every case"- he continued speaking and looked down at his cup- "And your knowledge in Linguistics adds more information to the profiles, which helps working faster and better."

I held my breath at his words. I knew he was just polite, just trying to make me feel better about my job performance these weeks.

- "I can assure you, you have been an incredible addition to the team"- he stayed quiet for a second, still just staring at his cup.

- "Thank you."

- "It's true; I'm not telling you this 'cos I think you need to hear it. I wanted you to know 'cos that's how we all feel."

I know I was blushing. I don't know how to take a compliment. Not that I get many, but it's always weird to hear someone telling you so nice things about your work.

- "Thank you, Spencer"- he finally looked at me and nodded. We stayed in silence for a few minutes. I didn't know what else to say, and he seemed to be embarrassed.

- "Thank you, actually"- he finally whispered.

- "Why? I didn't do anything"- I was confused, but he was earnest about his words.

- "Thank you, 'cos you have been very nice to me, even though I am a barely tolerable person."

- "What? Barely tolerable? What the hell are you saying?"

- "I mean, I know I drive people crazy 'cos I am always rambling and giving unnecessary facts all the time"- I narrowed my eyebrows, not getting why he was saying those things.

- "You do not do that."

- "Maybe you haven't been here long enough to realize I am always giving facts, and..."- he was honest. He actually believed people were annoyed by him. It hurt me to know that's what he thought of himself.

- "I realized that within the first three hours into the job, but I think that's amazing."

- "People would always say it's annoying."

- "Why would they say that?"

- "Because... I know they do."

- "Well, whoever says or thinks that are assholes, I like your rambling."

Reid snorted, and I hit his arm with my knuckles softly. I really felt bad he was so insecure, and most of all, he thought everybody hated him.

- "I mean it, Spencer, I wish I knew half the things you know, and if being with you means having to listen to your rambling, I think it's incredible, 'cos it gives me the chance to soak some of that knowledge."

The way he smiled, it was like his whole face lit up. He blushed, obviously embarrassed, and it also blushed me, 'cos he was gorgeous when he smiled.

- "So please, don't stop the facts, not with me"- he nodded and sipped what was left of his coffee.

After another few minutes, we left, and I drove him home. We were in a small sugar rush; we were too tired to have a full effect. I knew all I wanted was my bed and sleep the whole weekend.

- "I had a great time tonight"- I parked my car outside his building and smiled- "At Penelope's and with you"

I was so excited we had finally talked and gotten closer. I wanted to be friends with him so badly. Why? I don't know. I just knew I needed him in my life, from that minute on.

- "I had a great time too"- he smiled and held his satchel- "See you Monday"

- "Yeah! See ya!"

- "Drive safe!"

- "I will!"

I got home that night and laid on my bed, fully dressed. I barely took off my shoes and fell asleep right away. I was too tired to think, too tired even to put on my pajamas. But I wasn't too tired to remember Spencer's smile while he ate donuts. His dorky glasses, the way he gesticulated everything he said when he was excited about a subject. I was glad I had finally gotten to talk to him for once. And I couldn't wait to do it again.

Back then, Paul and I had just started dating. I wasn't in love with him, but he was a nice, funny guy I loved spending time with. I met Paul a couple of months ago at a friend's party. He was fun to be with, and we had a lot of things in common. We were both into music. He had a band, I didn't back then, but eventually got mine over time. He was like me, nothing like my friends at the BAU.

I thought that was cool, 'cos he represented a part of me I didn't want to lose working at the FBI. I was terrified I was going to lose myself in my new job. I saw how it affected dad's and my brother's life, how they were consumed by it in almost every single way. It was why my parents got divorced. It was why my brother couldn't keep a girlfriend for longer than a few months. 'Cos work was first, and their job was everything. The crazy hours, having to answer every call, no matter how busy you were. I thought it was sick how work could be your whole life. I was decided not to let it happen.

Yeah. I had no idea what I was getting into.

Soon after I joined the BAU, the nightmares began. I guess nothing prepares you to see so many people die. And nothing prepares you to kill someone, no matter if that someone is a child abuser.

I took the shoot, didn't even hesitate. It went right between his eyes. It was him or me, I know that. He was going to kill me. But still, it was hard.

Derek turned to me as I stayed still, in shock. It took me a few seconds to even breathe. I had just killed a person. It wasn't just some random thing.

- "(Y/N), are you ok?"- he landed a hand on my shoulder, and I quickly nodded.

- "Yeah, I'm ok... that was fast"- it was all I could say and turned to him. He gave me a short warm smile and wrapped an arm around me. I flinched at his touch right away and held my breath again. I don't know if he felt it, but still, he didn't let me go.

Derek has that thing when he doesn't care if you want it or no; he will give you his love and friendship when he feels you deserve it. I guess I'm lucky to call him my friend. And he really pushed that hug thing I still have.

- "Are you ok?- Spencer's voice was a sweet whisper. He sat carefully next to me in the jet and gave me a warm cup of tea- "I made you the one you like"

Of course, he had noticed my favorite brand, 'cos that's what Spencer does, he takes mental notes of everything and never, ever forgets. I wonder if that's a good thing or not. I guess it depends on what you remember.

- "Yeah, just tired"- working at the BAU, you can hide any kind of feeling behind the "I'm so tired" excuse. Mostly because we are indeed tired the whole time.

- "It was an extreme case"- I sipped my cup of tea and nodded at his words- "Do you..."

- "No, I'm ok, I don't wanna talk about it"- he bit his lips as he smiled. We both stayed quiet for a while. He read (somehow, at a relative normal peace), and I drank my tea. I couldn't concentrate on anything, so I just looked outside and tried not to think about the unsub's face and how he looked when I killed him.

- "How was your first time?"- I finally asked him, and I think my question caught him by surprise, 'cos he nearly jumped on his seat- "Not your first time in the sack, the first time you had to..."

- "No, I got it, I got it"- he was already blushing, it was adorable- "My first time was actually the first time you drove me home"

- "Really?"

- "Yeah"- he made a pause and gathered his thoughts, I guess- "I didn't really go out to the field a lot before 'cos I didn't have my firearm qualification"

And suddenly I remembered how embarrassed he was about it on my first day at the BAU. Derek made sure everybody knew about it 'cos he thought it was hilarious. And I thought he was a jerk for making fun of him.

- "And did it affect you?"- it was a stupid question. I knew Spencer was a sensitive person; of course, killing someone was going to affect him in many ways- "I mean, how did it affect you?"

- "I couldn't feel anything at first"

- "Shock?"- he nodded and sighed- "Gideon said that maybe I didn't know what I felt and that's why I thought I didn't feel a thing, but that wasn't it, it was like I was numbed inside... but then when it hits you"- he murmured- "And you can't stop thinking about it"

- "I think it hit me sooner than I thought"- I closed my eyes and sighed, but even then, I could feel those empty dead eyes staring at me.

- "Wanna know what helped me?"- Spencer's voice was velvety and soothing. It felt relaxing talking to him.

- "What?"- I whispered and turned to look at him

- "Remember two things: you did what you had to do"- I sighed at that with a small smile. It didn't sound like something I could believe at that moment.

- "And the second?"

- "A lot of kids are alive and safe because of you"

Now, that made me feel a lot better. Reid was right. I did what I had to do to help people. That guy wasn't going to stop.

- "Thanks"- I managed to give him a slight smile, and he did the same.

- "I'm here to talk if you want to"

It felt like he was really making an effort to say those words. I didn't know why it was still so hard for him to talk to me. Maybe it was still a sensitive subject for him, so I did what I do best: I joked about it.

- "Thank you... I'll try to avoid the issue as much as I can, but when I collapse under the pressure, I promise I'll come to you"- he chuckled at my answer and nodded right away.

- "Great plan."

And a few days later, I couldn't sleep anymore. I kept waking up to those eyes. I kept feeling guilty for killing a child abuser who was trying to kill me. I relived in my mind that moment over and over again.

- "Babe, come back to bed"- Paul found me sitting by the kitchen island staring at a herbal teacup at two am. It was my third insomnia night.

- "Yeah, I'll be right there"- he turned to walk back to the room but hesitated and looked at me again.

- "Do you want to talk about it?"- I shook my head, still not taking my eyes from the cup. He slowly walked to me and held my hand - "Come on, babe, everything looks worse at two am."

And he was right. Everything seemed to be worse when it came to my mind in the middle of the night. But it didn't get any better during the day either. He cuddled with me in my bed and fell asleep soon after. I just stayed there, feeling his chest moving softly with his soft breathing, thinking I had killed someone, and it wasn't going to be the last time I was going to face something like this.

.

Spencer's point of you

Do you want to know something sad? I was excited we had an unsub in New York 'cos I had never been there. Back then, I didn't know my colleagues were going to tease me about it. I didn't give it too much thought. I honestly wasn't good at leaving my house when we weren't in a case. Most of my traveling had been due to work, and other than La Vegas and Pasadena, I hadn't been to many cities just to sightsee.

Why am I thinking about that right now? 'cos we were in New York the day (Y/N) gave me her first gift.

Everybody had made fun of me during dinner because I didn't know how to eat with chopsticks. JJ tried to teach me, which also caused hours of Morgan's teasing for the rest of the trip. Thankfully, they dropped the jokes when we went back to the police station to take one last look at the profile after we got a call out unsub had killed a cop this time.

But after two hours of thinking, neither of us was honestly able to give any new idea to the case. Hotch insisted we head back to the hotel to have some rest. (Y/N) was one of the last ones to leave, along with Gideon and me.

- "Stop looking at the board"- she said, standing by my side, bag in hand- "Let's go. Your big brain needs to rest."

- "I won't be able to sleep knowing I'm missing something"- I answered, not taking my eyes from the board

- "Come on"- (Y/N) playfully hit my arm- "You need your eight hours of sleep to be a fully functional genius"

- "You should try to get a full night's sleep as well"- I turned to her and watched her eyes widen- "What? Do you think I didn't notice you haven't been sleeping?"

- "No, but I thought you were going to wait until I had a mental breakdown to force me to talk about it; that was the plan, right?"

I tried not to laugh, but it was hard; she is so funny, though I knew that was a sensitive subject, it had been weeks since the incident, and it was clear (Y/N) wasn't processing everything right. If anything, her jokes were a coping mechanism to avoid talking or even thinking about what had happened.

- "We can also talk about it, just... talk"

- "I know what happens with me, Reid"- she whispered and looked around. Gideon was outside, no way near us, but still, she kept her voice low. It made me see she was scared he would hear her, 'cos she didn't want him to think she was weak.

- "I guess I just have to make peace with it. It was gonna happen, and it will happen again, it's my job, it's part of what I do, end of it."

I looked at her and nodded in silence. There was so much I wanted to tell her, but I couldn't shake the thought she was going to laugh at me.

- "Do you want to?"- I made a pause and took a deep breath. Yes, I was very nervous- "Do you want to walk back to the hotel? it's just a few blocks and maybe... fresh air can help you relax?"

I didn't mean to hesitate so much, but it was scary for me to ask her to spend time on our own. I don't know why. It wasn't just with her; it happened with everybody at that point in my life. I was sure no one wanted to spend time with me. Why would they?

- "Can we have a midnight cupcake?"- she asked and smiled. I bit my lips and pretended to give the idea a lot of thinking, though I was craving donuts ever since we didn't have time for dessert at dinner.

- "Just one, and no coffee"

- "What are you? The sleeping police?"- she teased me and led the way. We waved at Gideon and walked outside the police station.

For a rainy night, it was freezing. But I didn't care much. I was too busy looking around, it was technically my first night out in New York, and though I was just leaving work and walking back to the hotel, it was the biggest adventure I have had there so far.

For the first couple of minutes, we walked in silence. (Y/N) looked at her feet, hands stuffed in her pocket as I walked next to her, holding my umbrella for the two of us. I tried to take in everything that was going on around us. It was exciting, being there, alone. I was a twenty-four-year-old Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI, and I was excited to walk with a friend in the New York city streets. No wonder why Morgan called me "kid."

- "Did you know more than 800 languages are spoken in New York City? that makes it the most linguistically diverse city in the world"- I had to start rambling facts after a while because I guess I couldn't help it.

- "Vraiment?"- she answered, and I chuckled. Of course, Master in Linguistics.

- "Oui"- I thought we could have a whole conversation in french; it would have been fun and fascinating, but my French was very rusty, and I didn't know if she was fluent or just learned a few things.

- "When I was a kid, I dreamt about living in New York. I was obsessed with it"- she kept looking down at her feet as she spoke, and I turned to look at her for a second. She looked sad somehow, or that's what I read from her. I've always done my best not to profile profilers. It's harder than you imagine.

- "Why?"- she chuckled at her thoughts and kept her eyes on her shoes.

- "You know how they always make you feel no matter how weird you might be, you are still going to fit in New York?"

- "You are not weird"- I couldn't help but frown and look at her- "You are..."

- "I am weird, we are all weird, that's what makes us great"

I loved that thought. That's why I've never forgotten it. Lie, I can't forget. I remember everything we've said to each other because I want to, not because I have an eidetic memory.

- "But when you are in school, everybody is trying to fit it and be normal, and that wasn't me at all..."

I didn't see that coming, and I have to admit it, I loved it. I often felt I was an outsider at the BAU. Hotch, Gideon, Morgan, Elle, JJ, they all fit in everywhere we'd go. Meanwhile, everybody looked at me, wondering what the hell am I doing there. I could read it on their faces. The fact the team had to introduce me as "Doctor Spencer Reid" is a sign they are making an effort to make me look older and more experienced. Reliable, even.

- "Why would you say you are weird?"- I had to ask- "You look very normal to me, I mean it"- she raised an eyebrow and didn't say a word. She just pulled my jacket and dragged me to a coffee shop.

- "Cupcakes, Reid, you can't expect me to tell you embarrassing facts about my life without a cup of coffee and a mountain of sugar."

JJ always said I ate like a kid, too many pastries and candy, no salad. Meanwhile, (Y/N) kept pushing sugar into my body. I liked that. They were both so different. JJ treated me like I didn't know how to deal with life. (Y/N) treated me like I could help her deal with life. JJ wanted to help me grow up. I could feel (Y/N) wanted to be my friend, and I loved that. I had never felt someone longing for my company. It was always the opposite. I usually felt people were stuck with me.

For months I kept comparing the two of them in my head. JJ had such condescending manners, it sometimes made me think she might actually have feelings for me. Other times, Morgan would call her my mom, which took all the hopes from my mind.

- "What do you do in your free time, Reid?"- (Y/N) sat in front of me in a booth. Right in between us, a table with two coffees, a red velvet cupcake, and a chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles.

- "I read, study..."- I didn't give much thought to my answers- "I also write a letter to my mom every day"

- "That's so cute"- I felt how my cheeks turned blood red, and she smiled at me sweetly.

- "Thanks..."- I sipped my hot cappuccino and winced as the coffee burned my tongue, and she chuckled.

- "Slowly, doc, or are you in a hurry?"

- "Definitely not, I have no other plan, I mean, I could sleep, but I know I won't, and, and I know you won't sleep either, so"- the words left my mouth at such a fast pace, not even I got them all. (Y/N) nodded and started taking apart her cupcake, little by little.

- "That's awesome, 'cos I like hanging out with you, and I don't feel like hanging out with Elle tonight. We are sharing rooms."

- "You don't like her?"- now that was breaking news- "I thought you two got along"

- "Don't get me wrong, I like her. I just don't feel like being the version of myself I am when I'm with her"

I looked at her, not sure of where she was going. She took a piece of cake and ate it slowly.

- "You lost me"- (Y/N) sighed and ran a finger around the edge of her cup.

- "Are you really you the whole time when you are at work, Reid?"

- "Well, yes?"- I wasn't sure that was the answer she wanted, but it was the only one I had- "I don't know how to be anybody else"

That was the whole truth. That's still the truth. Maybe that's why I have never been popular. People say I have no empathy, that I can't read any social cues. If I knew how to be someone else, I would probably try to change that and be a Spencer that's entirely sympathetic and social, like everybody else. But I can't force myself to act differently.

She stared at me, and I could feel the frustration piling behind her small smile.

- "Do you want to know something weird?"- her eyes shone as she stared into mines asking the question

- "Always"

- "You are the only person at the BAU I feel I can be myself with"- she whispered and sipped her coffee again.

- "Thanks?"- I was confused- "But... you are not that different with me than you are with the rest of the team"

- "Well, I am... I don't share who I really am at work because I am afraid"

- "Why? What scares you?"- she sighed and laid back on the seat. I kept my eyes fixated on her until she furrowed her brows, staring back at me

- "Are you trying to profile me, Spencer? 'cos we are not supposed to profile each other. I'm pretty sure it was in the contract I signed"- I smiled, busted, and nodded.

- "If it makes you feel any better, you are hard to read"

- "I'm a good liar, don't tell anyone"

She was proud of her answer, and I guess she should have been. You have to be an excellent liar to catch unsubs, get in their head, play with them when you have to make them talk. I guess she was ahead of me in that area.

- "Well, If it makes you feel better, I feel more comfortable around you than most of the team"

I closed my eyes as I spoke, and I knew my voice had been so low and soft, it hadn't been surprising if she hadn't been able to hear me, but she did.

- "Is it because I don't like touching people either?"- she joked, and a small smile stretched across my lips

- "It is because you"- I stopped and rearranged my thoughts. You could tell she was eager to hear the rest of my answer, and I was making sure not to make a fool out of myself.

- "It's because it feels you don't judge me for being me"

- "That's exactly how I feel, Spencer"- her smile was so big it made mine grow bigger as well.

- "But, why can't you be you with everybody?"- (Y/N) took a big bite of her cupcake, feeling more confident about our conversation and nodding.

- "Mmm, this is so damn good, you should try it, Reid"

- "Answer the question, (Y/N)"- I ignored her random comment and asked again- "Why can't you just be you?"

- "There are two answers to that question, and both of them are real"- she finally confessed and bit her lips, playing again with a little piece of cake on the dish.

- "I'm waiting"

- "You know, for someone who said has all the night off, you are indeed in a hurry now!"- she snickered and stuck out her tongue at me.

- "Fine, here's the truth: I don't want to share my whole real me at work because I am scared people will judge me and think I'm weird and too immature for the job, but at the same time, and this is the second reason, I don't wanna show my whole me at work 'cos I am afraid I'll lose it along the way, I am worried the FBI will take that weird part of me and will turn me into an SSA."

- "You are an S.S.A., (Y/N)"

- "I know, but I'm afraid I might end up being an ASS, Reid"

Her joke made me laugh so hard, tears fell down my cheeks. And she looked pleased to see me laughing.

- "See? That's me, the girl telling weird jokes the whole time 'cos can't stand a serious "grown-up" conversation. Can you imagine this (Y/N) talking with Hotch? Seriously, Reid, can you imagine?"

- "No, I can't"- I shook my head, still chuckling, and took a bit of my donut- "But I would definitely love to."

- "Do you want to know what I do in my free time?"- my mouth was still full, so I just nodded, feeling a little guilty I hadn't asked about her when she had asked about my hobbies.

- "I ride my longboard and play bass, do you think an SAA should be doing that? Do you think Elle does it? JJ? they are the perfect fit for the role. I am that kid at the back of the class who got a stroke of luck and managed to hang out with the cool kids"

- "Am I one of the cool kids?"- I had to ask

- "Yes, Reid, why?"

- "I've never been one of the cool kids before"- she gave me a severe look and sipped her coffee.

- "Here I am, pouring my heart and soul out for you, and all you care about is being one of the popular kids. That's being a lousy friend, Reid."

She was joking, and we both chuckled, but my chest tightened at her words, and the smile on my lips grew wider. She called me her friend for the first time that night.

- "I think you are overthinking this whole thing, (Y/N)"- she sighed at my words and finished her coffee- "We are all weird, you said it yourself"

- "Some on us more than other"

- "Yes, but that's what makes us great and unique. I told you, your vision brings a whole new point of view to the profiles, and I know what it's like to feel insecure people will judge you for being too young"

- "I know, that's why I'm glad you are here"

I am sure I was blushing, and I am absolutely certain she noticed because I heard her giggle as I looked down at my empty dish and fidgeted with my cup.

- "And... are"- I stuttered and narrowed my eyes. I knew I had to stop being so nervous around her; she was my friend, she had said it herself- "Are you ready to talk about your nightmares?"

- "Are you profiling I have nightmares?"- she raised an eyebrow and questioned my question

- "I am staring at the back rings under your eyes. It's clear you haven't been sleeping and considering we both know you went through a traumatic incident, to call it that way, you are clearly going through night terrors or nightmares"

- "Did you go through the same?"

- "Yes, I did"

- "And how did you overcome it?"

- "I haven't. I just made my peace with it"- you could read the deception on her face. That wasn't the answer she was waiting for.

- "They will be more sporadically, I promise, (Y/N)"

- "That's what's scares me too"

- "What?"

- "That one day I won't have the nightmares 'cos I'll be used to seeing the darkness and horror around me."

When we left the cafeteria, it was two in the morning, and the night was freezing. It was no longer raining, and the cold wind could freeze your skin in a second. (Y/N) looked at me as I shivered and opened her bag.

- "Here, put this on"- it was a purple scarf.

- "Thank you"- I was so cold I didn't hesitate. The wool was warm, soft, and it smelled like her- "It's pretty"- I felt I had to compliment it, 'cos she was too nice with me.

- "I made it myself"- you could tell she was proud. I tightened it around my neck and continued our way back to the hotel.

I hadn't felt I could count on someone at the FBI as I did with her. She wouldn't think I'm a kid; she wouldn't be forced to hang out with me. It felt pretty good to have a friend again. Ethan had been the last one I had lost. I always lose the people I love.

- "Thank you"- we were standing outside (Y/N)'s room back at the hotel. I took off the scarf and tried to give it back to her, but she didn't let me.

- "Keep, it's a present for being my first and best BAU friend"- I felt profoundly flattered, and I'm pretty sure I giggled, blushing- "Besides, purple looks good on you"

- "It's my favorite color"- I confessed- "And I'm not saying it just to make you feel good"

- "Then you have to keep it. It was made for you even when I didn't know it"- she smiled one more time and opened the door- "Good night, Reid."

- "Good night, (Y/N)."

----------

Series Masterlist

Chapter two

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web of lies

take a leap. if you start to fall, the net will appear to catch you.

photographer!peter x journalist!reader || masterlist

w/c: 7.1k

warnings: swearing, one drinking mention, descriptions of anxiety, and angst if ya squint

summary: peter can’t stop holding your hands, betty and ned are the modern day bonnie and clyde, ned is a terrible guy in the chair, the osborn’s are up to something, and mj hates you all

a/n: y’all i’m super excited about this series like i haven’t had an idea i’ve really loved in months? so it’s good to be back !!! there are tons of things i have planned and i can’t wait to share them with all of you hehe i really hope you enjoy part one <3 happy reading

to be honest, which is what you do best, you’ve had a thing for peter parker your whole time at the daily bugle. you actually almost told him once.

a couple months ago, peter walked you home on a night you worked overtime. he’d came in last minute to leave some pictures on your boss’s desk. no one else but you was there, hunched at your computer in the dim office lighting. peter was pleasantly surprised to see you, yet concerned for your well-being. you had to put your finishing touches on a story.

he didn’t feel comfortable letting you travel alone at that hour. so, he went with you when you were ready. his company was more than welcomed. you told peter about your article while you two sat on the subway. he’d listened intently, your head resting on his shoulder and his arm around you. he made sure you got to your apartment building alright as well.

“hey, peter?” you’d asked, halfway up the steps. he was waiting until you were inside and safe to leave. “hm? you good?” he’d smiled sort of expectantly. “yeah. i... i wanted to say...”

your words got caught in your throat when he gave you the softest puppy eyes you’ve ever seen. you couldn’t do it. for some reason, you were too scared to confess how you felt. “thanks again for walking me home,” you’d settled on. he’d seemed disappointed that was what you wanted to tell him. nevertheless, he said not to worry about it before taking off.

that one moment perfectly captures it all; how yours and peter’s narrative plays itself out.

—

“we’ve got an update on hydra v. the people!”

“those freaky giraffes escaped the zoo... again.”

“shoot one more spitball and it’ll be your last.”

“does anyone have an aspirin?”

welcome to the daily bugle, where the chaos never ends and the calm never starts. you’ll find new york’s finest writers, publishers, and creatives of all kind right here. that would include you. you’re one of the top journalists in the whole building, according to mr. norman osborn. he’s the brilliant and slightly insane man who runs this place.

although it’s rare for someone in your field, you were hired straight out of college. norman read a few pieces you’d written and loved them so much that he offered you a job. full time, full benefits, no questions asked. there was something special about the way you wove your words together. your writing had its own voice. a strong voice, one the paper was severely lacking.

you’ve been with the bugle for just over a year now. it’s not the quiet, nine to five gig you were initially expecting it to be. you’re each very unique individuals in your office, and there’s never a dull moment because of it. your coworkers can be found hosting debates on the riskiest topics or tackling each other for blueberry muffins, and that’s just a regular tuesday. the place is stranger than strange. but, it’s become home.

thanks to mr. osborn being so accommodating, you actually settled in rather quickly. another big help has been the friends you’ve made. your first was michelle jones, who prefers to be called mj. she’s a fellow journalist with a wickedly dark humor that trickles into her writing. if you had to describe her in one word, it would be blunt. mj is as real as it gets, and also eternally loyal. she keeps her circle small, so you’re honored you get to be in it.

mj sits right next to you, which means you’re always talking through your days. that’s due in part to the way your office is set up. there aren’t any cubicles, tables and swirly chairs taking up their space instead. norman heard it was more progressive, probably from his son harry.

harry is about your age, only a couple of years older. he hangs around quite a lot, but doesn’t do much with his time besides that. according to norman, he’s still seeking out his passion. he’s banking on him finding a suitable career at the bugle. he’d like to pass this all on to harry some day, hopefully sooner than later. either way, you don’t mind having harry here. he’s super funny and friendly with everyone.

there’s also ned leeds, who’s an editor and reviews most of your pieces. he’s sweeter than candy, even when he’s ripping your grammar to shreds. on the rare occasions you’re not discussing breaking news, you two talk about movies. ned is a film buff and gives you the best recommendations. you’re convinced he was a critic in his past life.

last but so from least is peter parker. he only works for the bugle part time, since he’s still in school. you both graduated from your respective colleges the same year. peter wants to get his masters degree, though. he’s a photographer who’s aspiring to be a cinematographer. him and ned have their passion for the industry in common, and that’s what makes them such great friends.

you learned this and more from the times you and peter have partnered up on stories. he’s one of your best friends not only at the bugle, but in your entire life. the many long nights you’ve spent collaborating have brought you close to each other. they consist of drinking and deep talks, along with some actual work. he takes the pictures, you do the writing. you’ve been told you make a lovely pair.

peter says it himself, too. you’d like to believe he means it as more than coworkers. he’s so caring, and smart, and pure, and peter. yeah, you like him an awful lot. you can hardly stand the feeling of it sometimes.

the fact that you you haven’t come clean already is ridiculous.

“goddamn. not again,” you mutter out. “em, you better come look at this. it’s bad.” mj wheels over to you in her chair with a puzzled look. her eyes follow yours, landing on your computer. “leeds just sent this? to everyone?” she questions, your reply a short hum. you’re both staring daggers at the email your screen displays.

ned is responsible for assigning each journalist their own topics to cover. he’s been lacking a bit recently, having you write up think pieces on fluffy things. in other words, stuff that no one cares about. he asked you to compare oat milk and almond milk just last week. you’d hoped this week would be better, but here you are.

“this is ass. who does he think we are, buzzfeed?” mj scoffs at her own words. the daily bugle prides itself on being a reliable news source, on paper and tv. you’re starting to stoop down to the low level of your competitors. “he assigned me some tiktok dance trend. i’m not writing a single word about that app.” she sets her elbows down on the table, head in her hands.

“aw, why not? grandma mj isn’t down with the kids?” you tease and click out of the upsetting email. “i don’t write for kids,” mj deadpans. she pushes her glasses up on her nose. “what’d you get?” “the evolution of memes,” you gloomily reply. you’re surprised norman has been approving these topics. then again, ned is the head editor. he can do whatever he wants regardless of approval.

mj glares over at the kitchen, where betty brant currently resides. she’s making two hot chocolates instead of her usual one. “i blame her,” mj mumbles to you. your eyebrows furrow. “dude, what? betty is an angel. she doesn’t even work in editing.” betty is the bugle’s highest rated anchorwoman. her and her news team are on people’s televisions every night.

“no, but she has been spending a generous amount of time with leeds,” mj grumbles. she’s admittedly very nosy. the upside is that she tells you any juicy office drama there is. “my theory is betty’s making him give us crap stories so she can report the good ones.” she glances over at you to see what you think. “no way. that can’t be allowed... or legal,” you laugh back.

as if on cue, ned appears next to betty in the kitchen. he takes the extra hot coco that’s piled high with whipped cream. betty tucks a sheet of paper into his suit pocket and kisses his cheek, then he’s gone. you can only gasp as you watch this unfold. what has she done to poor, clueless ned?

“not such an angel anymore, huh?” mj smirks in satisfaction. “suddenly, she has red horns and a pitchfork,” you bitterly agree with your tongue in your cheek. betty waves to you two on her way back to broadcasting. mj gives her a fake nice finger wave, you ignoring her. “we can’t sit back and let this happen, em. we have to do something,” you decide. “let’s tell norman.”

uninterested, mj takes off her glasses and starts to clean them. “like he’ll believe us. yeah, golden girl betty brant is sabotaging the writer’s room,” she rewords her previous statement to put its stupidity in perspective. you throw your hands up. “she is, though! we literally watched it happen!” mj puts her freshly wiped glasses back on and sighs.

“i doubt norman would care, y/n. every newspaper to ever exist is corrupt somehow.” your pessimistic old pal has a point. however, you’re not so willing to accept it. “why can’t we be the first one that isn’t?” you offer a small smile. mj snickers, wheeling back to her own computer. “those are words of the innocent.” she’s already tapping her fingers across the keyboard.

“i thought you weren’t doing the tiktok piece,” you say under your breath. you’re slightly pissed mj turned you down, since she’s the reason you know about betty’s meddling. “i’m not,” mj answers sharply. “i’m gonna email quentin and ask if we can change our topics. happy?” quentin beck is another editor in the building. he’s not bad, but he is intimidating. no one typically goes to him as their first option.

“i’m thrilled,” you confirm and grin at mj to emphasize it. “thanks for stepping up. you’re forgiven.” “i didn’t realize i had to be sorry,” mj notes, this time in a playful manor. she shakes her head as she begins writing. “you and your morals.”

what you value most in your career is honesty, under any circumstances. of course, the other daily bugle writers are the same. norman strictly prohibits clickbait and crazy headlines because that isn’t real news. you leave that to companies like buzzfeed. you’re honest in the sense that you say whatever has to be said, what everyone else is too afraid to. you’ll speak your truth no matter who tries to stop you.

it didn’t used to be that way. there’s some childhood trauma that remains deep in the back of your mind. you’ve left that behind you now, having over a decade to cope with it. hey, they say the past is in the past. what’s important is your takeaway, that you would never let yourself or anyone else be silenced from there on out. never again.

quentin ends up giving you the okay to write different stories. he lets you and mj choose choose your own because he’s got “better things to do” and you’re “big girls.” what a peach he is. mj goes with how capitalism is continuing to provoke global warming. she has something to say about every major world issue, and you admire the hell out of her for it.

you’re a bit stuck when it’s time to write your article. it’s terribly ironic because you pushed for this. you aren’t too worried, though. the city is crawling with material, so you’ll find what you’re looking for eventually. lucky for you, some much needed inspiration comes skipping out of the elevator.

“morning, peter,” you hear liz greet him at the front desk. she’s your floor’s receptionist. her wisdom and patience keep this place going. “hi, liz. how’s it going?” he asks. “things have been quiet... mostly. can i do anything for you?” liz peers up at him. peter sports a shy smile. “uh, yeah. mr. osborn wanted to see me?” “right. hang on.” she nods, dialing his office phone number.

it’s endearing how peter calls him mr. osborn, seeing as the rest of you go with norman. he’s probably the politest guy you’ve ever met.

grinning, liz puts down the phone. “you can go in whenever you’re ready. good luck!” peter laughs nervously and turns to leave. “thanks, you too.” his face falls when he realizes his mistake. “wait, i- i didn’t mean to say that. that was stupid. you’re not-“ “it’s fine, peter,” liz reassures him. his anxiety makes him trip over his words sometimes. that, and he’s a bit dorky in general. you find it rather adorable.

you also wonder what exactly he needs good luck for. he’s not even supposed to be working today, so your curiosity as to what’s going on has been piqued.

“um, i’m gonna go now. bye!” peter rushes off, his face tinted pink from the embarrassing encounter. you’re hoping he’ll stop and talk with you for a little while, but he heads straight to norman’s office. your whole body deflates at that. mj notices from her peripherals.

“what’s the matter? missing your hubby?” she coos, her words dripping in sarcasm. “no,” you lie. “i’m... i don’t know what to write about.” ok, there’s some truth. mj gives you a couple pats on the shoulder. “ask parker for help. you two work... well together. don’t you?” this must be the zillionth time you’ve heard that.

“we do,” you murmur and glance at norman’s closed door. peter is hidden behind it. “i just don’t wanna bug him. he has finals soon, and whatever norman is putting him up to. it’s my job, anyway.” mj pokes your arm. “those sound like excuses to me,” she concludes, still jabbing at you childishly. “you really just don’t wanna tell him you like-“

“can you keep it down?” you hiss, yanking your arm back. “he’s literally right over there.” peter stands up and shakes norman’s hand. you catch it through the blinds on his window. “y/n, you were drooling over his mere presence only minutes ago,” mj prefaces, a smile pulling at her lips. “you can handle three little words. i like you, that’s it. spit it out already.”

you’ll never admit this to mj, but she’s right. you lost your momentum after your first failed attempt to say the three little words. you’re still not sure what stopped you. you’d shared the details of that faithful night with her, and she’s been pushing you to try again since.

the door to norman’s office opens, and out walks peter. he’s beaming after their conversation, which seems like a good sign. harry passes peter on his way in to pay his dad a visit. he claps him on the shoulder, peter happily accepting before continuing his stride back into the main office. it takes a moment to register that he’s coming towards you.

you quickly set your focus back on your computer so he doesn’t think you’ve been watching him. even though, you definitely have.

“y/n!” peter calls your name. he’s on the opposite side of your table, in front of you. “peter!” you match his tone. “i was just dropping by. i thought i’d say hey while i’m here.” he’s still grinning. “what’re you doing?” he looks cute as ever in an oversized and cream colored sweater. his curls are slicked back with a tad too much product, cheeks rosy. you gaze up at him when he rests his arms on the table.

“pretending to be productive,” mj answers for you, pressing her lips together. peter cocks his head to the side. “pretending?” “ignore her. she’s being a shit stirrer today,” you explain. “like every other day,” he jokes, earning a laugh from you. mj just tuts and keeps writing. “talk about me like i’m not here,” she mumbles to herself, then gets back into her article.

“anyways, i thought you didn’t work today?” you ask to take the attention off yourself. also, because you’re curious. “oh! get this.” peter perks up even more, if that’s possible. he has energy like no other. “you know alex in broadcasting? betty’s camera guy?” “what about him?” you wonder. “he called in sick earlier this morning, with the flu or something.” he’s oddly excited to announce this. that prompts you to make a funny face.

biting back another smile, peter elaborates. “mr. osborn needed someone to fill in for him, so he picked me. i’ll be here all week.” it makes sense, since peter knows how to work a camera and does so wonderfully. you give him a celebratory push at his chest. “peter, that’s amazing! this is the perfect way to transition from pictures to film, right?” he’s nearing his finals at school, which consist of more movie-like projects. the news will be great practice.

then, he’s off to hollywood. you’ll put that out of your mind for now.

“exactly! i think it’ll be a good place to start. the pay isn’t bad either.” peter wiggles his eyebrows at you, you giggling once again. you do a lot of that when he’s around. that’s going to be more often now. “plus, i get to see you. everyone wins.” he squeezes your hand that was just on him. your heart begins to thump. “except alex,” you challenge, playing with his fingers. “but, for real. i’m happy you get to do this and that we’ll be spending more time together.”

“thanks, y/n/n. me too.” peter grins and leans over, taking a peek at your computer screen. there’s a blank word document on it. “you never told me what you’re up to,” he chuckles. “guess mj was right... nothing.” “i’m always right,” she chimes in from next to you. you look between the two of them with a scowl. “i haven’t found my story yet. i don’t know, this never happens.” peter nods as you share your dilemma. “no good ideas are coming to me,” you murmur.

“they will. you have a way of attracting things.” he licks his lower lip, your heart completely stopping this time. “well, i gotta go set up for rise and shine with betty brant.” he waves his hand like he’s presenting his words. that’s what betty calls her morning news segment. “be careful with her. she’s being really sketchy these days,” you warn peter, mj grunting in agreement.

confused, peter purses his lips. “really? ned says she’s a sweetheart. they’ve been going out for a while.” mj pops her head up and adjusts her glasses. “did ned also tell you she’s bribing him to give her all of our scoops?” she’s asking rhetorically because she already knows the answer. of course he didn’t. “it’s one thing to not like her. you’re just making things up now,” peter huffs.

mj kicks your foot under the table. “i told you no one would believe us. not even peter gullible parker.” “it’s benjamin,” he corrects her. “whatever,” she brushes it off, resuming her work.

peter does tend to be sort of naive, to only see the good in things when there’s plenty of bad. you’re the same in that way, unless you hang around mj for too long.

“is that true? betty’s stealing your stories?” peter turns to you and asks. you gesture to your screen. “i don’t have one, so you do the math.” he hums sympathetically. he’ll listen to you, never mj. “i’m sorry. thanks for telling me, y/n. i’ll watch out for her.” he bends his fingers to look like goggles, putting them around his eyes. you sigh lightheartedly.

“are you twenty two years old or twelve?” mj remarks, but not without a comeback from peter. “you’re, like, eighty five. worry about that.” they’ve had this type of banter for as long as you’ve known them. it’s equal parts amusing and exhausting. “don’t be late on your first day.” you snap peter out of it with a knowing smile. he returns it.

“i hope something crazy happens so you can write about it.” he’s walking backwards now, towards the elevator. “see you later, pete,” is all you say back, yet another laugh threatening to escape you. “see you. bye, michelle,” peter says just to bug her. “it’s mj,” she groans without looking up. he shrugs. “not so fun, is it?”

after peter is gone, you try to get back into work. or rather, you try to start your work. what he said about you having a way of attracting things keeps ringing in your head. was he flirting? no, he couldn’t have been. peter parker doesn’t flirt. words aren’t his strong suit, and you have countless memories that prove this to be true. earlier with liz, for example.

you’re probably reading way into this. peter was simply doing what any good friend would do and gave you advice.

it’s late in the afternoon when anything worth mentioning happens again. peter is still with betty, as far as you know. they’re probably preparing for the nighttime news now. all you’ve done since seeing him is nibble on snacks and bug mj, who’s almost done with her story despite your distractions. this is really bad, considering your deadline to submit is at the end of today.

you’ve never missed a deadline.

mj emails her work to quentin while you repeatedly bang your head on the table. she hits send before deciding to entertain you. “whatcha doing over there?” she cautiously prompts, powering off her computer. “trying to get an idea. i’m desperate, if you couldn’t tell.” your voice is muffled. “i could.” mj grabs your shoulders and pulls you back so you’re sitting up. you childishly pout.

“y/n, the only thing that’s gonna give you is brain damage,” mj says sternly, then softens her tone. “why don’t you ask for an extension? norman gives me them all the time.” whining, you slump down in your chair again. “yeah, but you’re you! we do things differently, have different expectations put on us.” she’s back to cold mj after you say that. “alright. at least i did something today besides pine over that little-“

mj’s insult for peter is interrupted by harry. “ladies, what’s shaking?” he comes up to you two with a the hint of smirk on his face. you manage a nod to acknowledge him. “oh, hey... harry,” mj unenthusiastically replies. she’s the one person who isn’t really a fan of him. “not much. y/n was just having a tantrum.” “she was not,” you dismiss her. “it’s work stuff. you know your dad.”

harry clicks his tongue in a teasing way. “yep, the grind never stops in this joint. boss man is...” he does the sign for cuckoo with his finger. you laugh a little at that. “in a good way,” you add on. mj only watches you two, blinking blankly. harry gives you a definitive pat on the back. “before i forget, he wants to see you.” that gets mj talking. “norman?” she questions. “your dad?” you choke out at the same time.

“who else? he said you two have to talk.” harry flashes you a weary smile. “have fun in there, old sport.” you’re too busy biting the skin off your bottom lip to respond. “mhm... she will,” mj speaks on your behalf. even she sounds worried. saluting you both, harry leaves to go pester your other colleagues. you’re completely and totally fucked.

“that’s it for me!” you grin sarcastically, freaked out by harry. “i’m fired, aren’t i? i’m definitely about to get fired, and it’s all because-“ “relax!” mj cuts off your rambling. she reaches down and grasps at your wrists. “get it together, y/l/n. you’re the best we have, okay? you aren’t going anywhere.” your grin becomes a frown. “then why does norman wanna talk to me? and, why don’t i have a story?”

mj always has the answers, but this time is the execption. she lets out a breath. “i don’t know. you’ll go find out and tell me what happens.” there’s no use protesting. you’re going to have to face whatever you’re about to at some point. “ok,” you give in, defeated. “i’ll be back soon, i hope.”

the walk to norman’s office feels like a walk of shame. mj can do nothing but sit back and observe it. if this ends the way you think it will, you’ll be collecting your things and won’t ever return. norman is a kind man, and he’s usually pretty understanding. he doesn’t mind the workplace shenanigans as long as you get your job done. unfortunately, you haven’t today.

you hear your boss’s booming voice when you approach his door. inhaling deep, you knock on it, and the room goes silent. “come in,” norman responds after a few seconds. mustering up a smile, you open the door to be met with your doom. “hi, am i interrupting something?” you check. “not at all! you’re just the person i wanted to see. sit, sit,” he beckons you over. he’s not using his angry voice, so maybe you’re in the clear. you enter the room as told.

you’re shocked to see a terrified peter is already in one of the chairs. he visibly relaxes a bit now that you’re here. what the hell is happening? whatever you were expecting, this was the last thing.

taking the armchair next to peter, you sit facing norman’s desk. you nudge his arm to get his attention. his big brown eyes lock with yours. “what’s going on?” you whisper. “no idea,” peter whispers back. the two of you turn to norman again when he claps his hands. he’s plopped down into his cushy leather seat.

“so,” he begins, gaze flicking from peter to you. “you kids know why you’re here?” “is it because i missed my deadline?” you blurt out. you’re once again a nervous wreck. peter doesn’t speak, just winces. “not that. although, i did hear from ned that you turned down his assignment.” norman flicks at a post-it on his desk. “i asked quentin for one instead. me and mj,” you explain, peter’s eyes going wide.

“you talked to quentin? that guy’s bad news,” he murmurs to you. “how so?” norman questions, since it’s his employee. “he- he, um,” peter clears his throat before answering, “he’s super critical, you know? hates all my pictures.” “i love your pictures,” you assure him, the corners of his lips turning up. “your style is so cool. yeah, though. quentin’s pretty bitter.”

considering this, norman drums his fingers on the desk. “i’ll look into that. but, that isn’t why you’re here. i’m letting you off the hook this time.” your whole demeanor changes and a huge weight lifts off of you. “really? you are?” “i have a scoop of my own that i want you to cover,” he continues, peter bumping your knee happily. a toothy grin takes over your face.

“since peter will be sticking around for a while, i want him to join you.” norman waits a beat in case you have any questions. it’s been a minute since you last worked together. peter laughs in disbelief. “you want me to take over for alex and do this?” norman nods proudly. “y/n will need the extra hands, if you have them.” “yes, sir. i do,” peter immediately confirms. “my last class is next thursday, so i have the time.”

“wait, so you’re almost done? that’s awesome!” you bump peter’s knee this time. “yup, all that’s left is finals... and studying.” he mindlessly takes your hand, lacing your fingers together. you’re enjoying his gentle touches. “thank you so much, norman. seriously, i appreciate this a lot,” you tell him and mean it. “hey, no problem,” he chuckles at your eagerness. you grip peter’s hand tighter.

“what’s the story?” “ah, yes. the most important part,” norman starts, peter sharing an excited look with you. “how familiar are you two with spider-man?” his excitement fades at the question posed. it’s unbeknownst to you, caught up in the moment. “uh, same as everyone else, i guess,” you casually reply. “how come?” “he’s your subject.” norman points at you both. “you’re gonna study him over these next few months.”

peter’s hand goes limp in yours, and he gulps hard, throat feeling dry. “you mean, like, an exposé?” “no, no. there will be no exposing,” norman clarifies. “i’m sure he wears the mask for a reason.” that settles peter only slightly. you’re not sure why he’s so tense all of a sudden. “what’s our aim here, then?” you steer the conversation.

“see what new york’s favorite hero gets up to every day, how his life is beyond the crime fighting,” norman further describes your task. peter exhales a shaky breath, shifting away from you in his seat. the golden sun hits his face and reveals a bead of sweat dripping down it. you stare at his figure in worry. “you okay, peter?” “fine. i’m just... hot,” he murmurs back. his sweater does look pretty heavy, so you concede.

getting back to norman’s story, you grimace at the idea. “do you really think people will want to read that? for lack of a better term, it sounds kind of...” you pause. “basic.” “i thought the same thing at first,” he surprisingly agrees with you. “harry pitched the idea to me this morning. you won’t believe it! the other night, he caught spider-man hanging outside his window.”

“harry... harry saw him?” peter squeaks out. he uses the wool material that feels like it’s swallowing him to dab at his forehead. “he stopped on his balcony. must have been pretty late, the kid’s a night owl,” norman says about his son. your face lights up as you listen to him. “he took some shots of spidey in action, when he swung off. i saw a few. they were pretty great.” he’s grinning at his son’s success.

“maybe he’ll get into photography with you, pete,” norman suggests. peter gives him a weak smile in return. “we’d be happy to have him.” he usually has a lot more to say about his career than that. his behavior is starting to genuinely concern you. “anyway,” norman gets back on topic, “it got me thinking. how much do we really know about this guy? we’re supposed to blindly put our trust in him?”

you’re beginning to see the appeal now. you’ve written your share of pieces on the avengers and their methods, tackling the same questions norman just asked you. spider-man shouldn’t be overlooked, especially when he operates so close to your home. this could be another revolutionary superhero story in the making. and, you get to bring peter along for the ride.

“you know what? this has a lot of potential,” you smile at norman, then peter. he has his phone in his lap, fingers flying across the screen. it must be something important. you’ll discuss with norman while he takes care of that. “we could make it a weekly thing, about spider-man’s adventures. find out what we can about the man behind the mask...” peter shoots up in his seat. “without taking it off,” you finish, putting his mind at ease.

“see, i knew you were gonna love it! it was a blessing in disguise, you missing that deadline.” norman bangs his fist on the table with a hearty laugh. “what do you say, peter? you still in?” peter slips his phone back in his pocket. his tongue pokes out to wet his lips. “oh, of course. i can’t wait to work with you, y/n/n,” he speaks in a monotone voice, adding on, “again.”

something is definitely bothering him, and it isn’t the weather.

“i gotta go. betty needs me upstairs, so,” peter moves to get up, his body stiff. you assume that’s who he was texting. “thank you again, mr. osborn.” he’s rushing out of the room just like that, until you call after him. “um, don’t you wanna set a time to meet up? so we can get started?” you reasonably ask. “i... i really gotta go. find me later,” peter tells you, giving you both a tight lipped smile and running off.

“the dynamic duo is back!” norman announces to you. you’re disappointed you can’t share that sentiment with peter.

he’s absolutely booking it down the stairs, not bothering to wait for the next elevator. this is bad. this is a nightmare.

peter went from having one of his best days in a while to the worst in not even a full round of work. today started off fine, and got better when norman promoted him. it got way better when you came along. he saw your smile that makes his insides tingle, heard your laugh that’s the prettiest sound to grace his ears, held your hand that he never wants let go.

things went a bit downhill after that. betty was pushy and yelled at him a lot, demanding he only film her good angles for the segment. you and mj weren’t wrong when you told him to be careful.

later on when he saw you again, everything was okay. he was physically shaking as brad told him mr. osborn requested to see him. brad is mr. osborn’s assistant. a try-hard for sure, but good at his job. why did mr. osborn call him in? did betty complain already?

they’d been sitting in mostly silence, save for small talk until you came knocking on the door. simply being next to you was enough to ground peter and his racing thoughts. it was enough, then it wasn’t.

the whole day had gone to shit after he found out you were going to be writing stories about his alter ego. not only that, but he was helping. during the pitch, he’d texted ned to meet him in the bathroom. he was really anxious and needed a friend who understood why.

ned accidentally found out peter is spider-man last year. it’s a long story that involves peter hiding from some bad guys in the building and ned shrieking so loud the lights flickered. they’re cool now that peter talked things through with him. his secret has been kept, from what he knows.

pushing open the men’s bathroom door, peter is a mixture of sweat and ragged breaths. he’s panting from his fast descent down the staircase. he takes in his disheveled appearance using one of the mirrors. his styled hair is now damp and undone, hands trembling and palms sweaty, chest heaving. here’s his daily reminder that anxiety is not cute. as if he didn’t know.

his stupid, gigantic freaking sweater is only making things worse. it’s suffocating him. no one else is in here, so peter pulls it over his head and tosses it to the ground. he’s got a t-shirt on underneath that happens to be black. what a convenient day for him to wear the hottest material there is.

peter splashes his face with some cold water next to try and cool himself down. that doesn’t do much for him. his face still feels like it’s on fire, but now it’s wet. he takes his hands through his mop of curls, backing away from the sink.

“fuck. fuck, fuck, fuck,” peter repeats to himself. he’s silent for a moment, then rage overcomes him. he kicks open a bathroom stall. “shit! i can’t do this. what am i supposed to-“

the door creeks open, so peter shuts up in case it isn’t ned. it thankfully is, and he wears a deep frown at the sight of his best friend. “dude, what happened? you look...” “terrible. i know,” peter finishes for him. he tugs at his locks in another attempt to tame them. ned approaches him carefully. “you’re not, like, dying... are you? because betty was telling me you have to-“ “of course you were with betty,” peter exhales in frustration. “no, ned. i’m not dying.”

in ned’s defense, the text he received was very alarming. all peter wrote was, ‘EMERGENCY. SOS.’

“i mean, yeah. it was my break.” ned sits on the ledge by the window, close to peter. “you do the same with y/n.” the mention of your name upsets peter all over again. he hides his face in his hands as ned watches. “if you’re not dying, then what’s the problem?” ned finally asks. “me and y/n...” peter removes his hands from his face, meeting ned’s worried eyes. “mr. osborn wants us to do a project together.”

“uh, peter? you’ve been saying how much you miss her forever, dude! you’re not excited?” ned snorts at him. he means well, but he has no clue what he’s talking about. “no. it’s supposed to be about spider-man,” peter answers angrily. this isn’t the support he was hoping for. realizing the severity of the situation, ned gets serious.

“oh... but, you’re still doing it?” he questions. “i didn’t have a choice,” peter scoffs out. “i can’t let either of them down.” “you’ll expose yourself!” ned escalates things further. “it’s not like that. we’re gonna follow spider-man around and post updates on him,” peter says, technically in the third person. he’s given an are you insane? look from ned.

“you are spider-man! and, no offense, but you’re not so good at hiding it,” ned refers to himself finding out. “how are you gonna be in two places at once?” damnit, peter hadn’t thought about that yet. he can’t be taking pictures of spider-man and swinging from building to building simultaneously. “i- i’ll figure it out,” peter stammers, unconvincingly.

ned looks him over in a disapproving way. “jeez. you’re really putting your life on the line for this girl-“ “woman,” peter interjects, not loving ned’s attitude towards you. “have some respect.” unfazed, ned gets up from the windowsill. “speaking of women, remember betty? you’re still on the clock,” he changes the subject. peter nearly forgot he has to go film her segment.

“i’ll head up to her now,” peter gives in. he scoops up his discarded sweater, not bothering to check his appearance again. ned follows behind him to the door. “we wrote her script together, you know,” he gladly informs peter, who already knows from you. “not really a flex,” peter mumbles his response. “peter, lighten up.” ned hits at his shoulder. the two of them exit the bathroom.

“you’ll figure this out later. i can always help.” he shoots him a sugary sweet smile. “thanks, ned. for talking with me and everything.” peter doesn’t smile back. they do a quick bro handshake, then they’re going their separate ways. “have a good show, dude!” ned yells back, to which he doesn’t get a response. peter doesn’t have it in him.

he allows himself to take the elevator back up to broadcasting. he’s so drained from the several anxiety attacks he endured. while peter waists for the elevator, he contemplates all the issues he’d better solve. it’s a relief to hear it ding because it brings him back to earth. that doesn’t last long because both you and betty are there when the door opens.

you’d each had the same idea, to find peter. unlike betty, your intentions were good. you asked liz if she saw peter leave. she told you he went downstairs, so you did also. betty was already in the elevator when it got to your stop. she was looking for him because, you guessed it, he had to record the news. the small space was filled with tension as you and betty occupied it.

“perfect. we’re going right back up,” betty beams, motioning for peter with her index finger. “hop in!” “coming,” peter does as told, going to stand between you and betty. she presses the button for your floor and theirs. the doors close. “pete?” you speak up, voice soft. “you kinda ran off earlier. i thought you were with betty.” “clearly, he wasn’t,” betty sneers.

you’re less concerned with her and more with peter. the sweater he looked so huggable in is now folded in his arms, his face splotchy and jaw clenched. he must have gotten triggered by something back in norman’s office.

“are you sure you’re okay? you... you can talk to me about it.” you take a step closer to peter, your doe eyes searching for his. he meets them with a tiny smile. at least, it’s real this time. “i’ll be fine, y/n/n. ‘s nice that you came to check on me, though.” “don’t mention it.” your arms loop around his neck and bring him into a hug. peter hugs you back by your middle, chin resting on your shoulder, breathing out in relief.

you keep your hands on his shoulders when you pull back. his stay on your sides, a lopsided grin now crossing his features. “spider-man...” you quirk an eyebrow. “how are you feeling about that?” “should be cool,” peter somehow maintains himself. “i’m mostly looking forward to doing it with you.”

listening in, betty joins the conversation. “what’s happening with spider-man? anything i should know?” her hand reaches into her bag and emerges with a notepad. does she ever think of her own content? “she’s nothing if not persistent,” you grumble to peter. chuckling, he pulls you into his chest. if he didn’t hold you back, you would’ve pounced on her.

“we’re gonna do a piece on him,” peter tells her. “you can’t copy or steal this one because it’s already been approved,” you contribute, smiling smugly as peter holds you tighter. betty is taken aback. “are you accusing me of stealing? who said i-“ “ned ratted on you... sorry,” peter says in a sing song voice. squealing, you jump away from him. “he did? we were right?”

“mj’s never wrong,” he reiterates. “mj knew about this? oh my god, i can’t believe her!” betty stomps her foot. “we got you on candid camera.” you make a clicking noise with your mouth. peter mimes taking a picture to back you up. “alright, alright. i won’t do it again,” betty mumbles, turning away from you two in annoyance.

“finally!” you hold up your hand for a high five, which peter gives you. “we really do make the best team,” he hums. your fingers intertwine with peter’s, and he lays his palm flat against yours. he prays extremely hard you don’t notice that it’s sweaty. you do, but you couldn’t care less.

“i was wondering when you’d wanna start our... research?” peter asks you, his lip between his teeth. “you were saying something earlier. maybe we could make a schedule.” “how elaborate of us that would be,” you tease. that earns a breathy laugh from peter. with a knowing smile, you put your free hand back on his shoulder.

“what are you doing tonight?”

-

peter parker taglist

@saturnpeter @tpwk-grande @itstaskeen @missyouhollnd @becicamina @dummiesshort @zspideyy @watchitimreadinghere @my-patronus-is-mabel-pines @dpaccione @karispotters11 @theofficialzivadavid @thehumanistsdiary @kelieah @aayaissaa @petersgroupie @annab-nana @tayyx @swtltlmrvlgrl @magicalxdaydream @haoluvver @kjune113 @captainamirica @marvel-dork98 @emmastarz @killingbxys @viriditie @misshale21 @veryholland @liliswifts @tommydarlings @rebelemilu @peterspideysense @cr-uelsummer @dreamy-clousds @quaksonhehe @quxxnxfhxll @blackbat2020 @babyblue19 @falconxbarnes @zachary-s @dirtytissuebox @dracoswhore007 @heavenlyholland @thsquad @etheralholland @dhtomholland @awh-lilies @tomshufflepuff @multifamdomfan12

-

if i forgot you please lmk!

“Baby, keep your eyes on me..”

Genre: smut, slight  emies to lovers au, college au

Words: 2813

Paring: Taehyung x reader

Warning!: Public, fingering, making out, marking, unprotected sex, grinding on his knee, light breatsplay, Taehyung is hot??, light dirty talk, pet names, sucking on fingers(both parts), Tae jerks himself a little, smirking??, mentions of alcohol, very light choking

a/n: I feel unfaithfull to my bias now but Tae can get it. :)

Gif is not mine 

He sat in the inner circle, both figurative and literally, mouth producing the best sound you had ever heard.

Taehyung was popular, blonde hair falling loosely around his sculpted face, eyes deep and dark like a night or the sea...You however, weren't even close to him. 

You had friends, that wasn't the thing, you even had a couple of boyfriends, but your looks weren't anything to his friends or he himself. You wanted to pull out your hair for having a crush on him, the smirk he would pull on any girl he flirted with, so you hated him and over the years did people notice. Everyone knew about your dislike for him but didn't know it was growing from your raging crush on him and his perfect lips. 

That’s why you were glaring at him across the room, alcohol burning on your tongue where you knew he would taste so sweet. Taehyung had it all and of fucking course would you fall for that. 

Said boy must have felt the daggers you sent him because suddenly were his eyes on you, gazing with heat. You two had a stare off until you huffed out and turned your nose up, irritated at the warm feeling spreading over your skin. That fucker shouldn't think you would cave for him and your heart should stop acting like a Hummingbird. 

Strutting away from your little corner, you left him watching after you, head held high as alcohol made your confidence skyrocket. You don't need him or his strong arms, no you can get someone else much better. Yes in deed, anyone in the house could be a potential partner so why be stuck on him? Even your friends had gossiped about someone named Jimin who would send you looks anytime he had a chance. Maybe you should find him and let everyone know you didn't need Taehyung...The thought formed in your head but seemed extremely unfair to Jimin so you decided against it however, it didn't stop your little pep talk. 

Walking up the stairs, with the intent on finding a toilet, you mumbled about how you were hot enough and that your friends were right when they hyped you up, just to be pushed against the wall, someone’s breathing fanning down your cheek. Taehyung half smiled half smirked at you, his hands resting on either side of your face. 

“Hello princess…”oh, you forgot about his voice, how the deep tones basicly licked up your thigh. Damn it. “Can we talk a little...I have some questions, hmm?”

His body was so close, radiating heat until you felt a sheen of sweat form over your hairline, your clothes starting to feel uncomfortable. Taehyung played with your hair and you thought he knew about your crush for a while, anger mixing with humiliation and giving you a bigger attitude. 

“Well what can you want, huh? Sad I don't love you like everyone else?”he laughed, a snicker which made your face heart up. Your panties started to stick to you, fingers trembling as your eyes stopped on his lips for a second too long.” Is that it?”

“Almost..”Taehyung lowered his face, staring at you with fire, a fire you shot back at him but not as strong.”I always wondered what I did to you..but maybe it wasn't what I thought..I mean since your eyes seem so hazy.”

“Fuck off…”tension made the hair on your body stand, both waiting on what the next move would be. You should push him away and leave him but that damn alcohol made you stay, hands finding the collar of his shirt. 

You pulled him flush against you, kissing him with everything you could muster. Taehyung responded fast, grabbing your wrists and holding them above your head, taking back the power. He let one hand wander down your side until it found your waist, thumb drawing circles over your heating skin. The teasing made you bothered, arms trying to get yourself free but he pulled away after biting your lower lip. Staring, just staring as you two panted for air.

“You really want me to leave...or do you want something else..”that little shit. He played with you, wanted to hear you ask for it and your pride wouldn't let you.”..Come on baby, it’s not that hard..”

But he was, the strong gaze you sent him had him on high alert. Taehyung held your jaw, thumb stroking over your lips, slowly slipping inside your mouth. Neither of you thought of his fingers as you sucked, his orbs fixated on you. Swirling your tongue around his thumb, Taehyung felt himself twitch in his black pants. This was it, hands leaving your wrist and mouth, leg forcing your apart while your grabbed at his shoulders. 

“You’re playing a dangerous game, love..”he growled in your ear, helping you grind against his knee. You forgot to keep your mouth shut when nipped at your neck, moan slipping right through.”..I can leave you like this right now if I wanted to, so tell me you want it.”

As if to demonstrate, he stopped your movements, leaving your neck. He glared you down, ignoring the rise of your chest rubbing against his own. 

“P-please don't stop..”Taehyung smirked, letting you rut on his knee as his hands went under your shirt, fingers fondling your breasts over your bra. This could only get you so far, orgasm laying just in reach but not close enough.

Suddenly, you remember that you two were still in the corridor, where anyone could come. Anyone could stumble up those stairs and see you desperately grinding against Taehyung, his hands under your shirt. 

“Baby, keep your eyes on me..”he whispered in your ear, tongue poking out. His fingers wandered dangerously close to your bra clasps, dragging at the fabric like he was about to undo them.”Let me see that pretty fucked out face..”

You gasped as he managed to unclasp your bra, dropping the item on the floor in favor of feeling your hard nipples in his palms. He twirled the nubs, pinching from time to time. Your head smacked against the wall, exposing your jugular to his greedy mouth, lips attaching to mark you. 

“So-someone can see us…”you half whined out the words, hands landing to push at his chest but your hips couldn't stop moving, pussy dragging over his jeans. He glanced up at you before glancing around, having been so in the moment he forgot where he felt you up. 

“You’re right..”he moved away, leaving you forwing. The feeling of his mouth and hands still lingered on your body, made you irritated that you didn't get to finish. But he suddenly bent down and grabbed your bra, smirking at your eyes following it. “Let’s get out of here, yeah?”

Your eyes widened as he strutted right down with your bra bundled up in his hands. Taehyung disappeared down the stairs, having you scurrying after. You were scared someone would see and know what you two had done but when you got down where he standing by the door, backpack lazily thrown over one shoulder. Taehyung smirked and winked your way, opening the door. 

“I can't drive…”your voice sounded high, filled with nerves as to where he laid your bra.” I drank..”

“Me too..”his one arm landed on your shoulders, kissing your left cheek.”But I live five minutes from here so we can walk princess..”

Taehyung held you close, walking with fast steps. The situation suddenly dawned on you, were you really about to sleep with Taehyung? I mean you had a crush on him but you swore to not cave, and where was your bra?

“Where is my bra?”your heart was beating fast, the cool night air a shocking contrast to the heated inside.  

“My backpack was just by the stairs..”he motioned to the item, smiling lightly at your flustered state.”It’s in there and no one saw love.”

Taehyung stole a chaste kiss, a lot softer than before. The make out session had been so heated due to anger mixing with passion but it started to drain of off you, left you shyer and with that crush. 

He suddenly steered inside a building, pressing the elevator button. It dingen, doors sliding open to reveal no one else. Taehyung smirked, hands on you a second after the doors closed. He kissed you, hot and heavy, nothing like the peck before, and lifted your skirt. His thumb found the edge of your underwear, stroking against it until he found your hip bone.

You literally had to push him of you when the door open again, both staring at the other while taking deep breaths. Taehyung had to put his hand out so the elevator wouldn't go down again. 

The door to his apartment flung open, his hand finding your and dragging you inside. Suddenly were you surrounded by his scent, a musky and deep smell which made you dizzy. Your back pressed against the wooden exit, his lips on yours, your fingers threading through his hair in a desperate attempt to keep him close. 

Taehyung grabbed one of your legs, hands slipping down the inside of your thigh until he found your center, the wetness which had leaked. He groaned out into your mouth, other hand coming to stroke over your pussy. You were drenched and when his fingers entered you, did you have a hard time standing straight. Taehyung had to carry most of your weight now, making it so he was closer to you, cock rubbing against his jeans. 

“Jump.”he mumbled against, fingers leaving your heat so he could hold you by your thighs.”We need to take care of ya baby..”

His bed made a sound of protest when he threw you on it, pulling his shirt over his head, locks fluffing up. Taehyung rolled down, his physic more defined than you thought. He laid between your legs, knees forcing them to be higher up, as his fingers once agains wandered down to your wet cunt. Your pussy made obscene noises, the flicking of his wrist making you moan. 

“ I like the sounds..”when his thumb found your clit were you done for it, white light crossing your eyesight out and a high pitched moan ripped through your shaking body. You came all over his hand, not seeing him lick his fingers clean.”Keep doing them baby.”

You had to breath for a second, heart thundering in your chest. Taehyung smirked, slowly taking of your shirt. He wanted to see your titts bounce as he fucked your barins out. Feather light kisses rained over you, from your collarbone to the waistband of your skirt. He grabbed it and dragged it down with your soaked underwear, leaving you completely naked for his hungry eyes. 

“I’d love to taste you but we can do that another time, right love?”Taehyung undid his belt, let his jeans fall down. The tent in his briefs made you a little proud, the fact that you still did things to him. 

He undressed completely, letting you stare at his hard cock, the way it curved up and how it was red. Your wide eyes made him smirk, hand moving up and down his member. The sight of him jerking himself off made you horny all over, pussy clenching around nothing. A pathetic sound left you when he dropped down, his cock rutting on your thigh. Taehyung growled at the slight contact, biting his bottom lip.

“Ah ah ah, keep your eyes on mine..”he grabbed your chin, forced you to stop staring at him and only feel the way he moved. You couldn't see what he was doing with his other hand but felt fingers collect some of your juices.”You dirty girl, couldn't stop staring at my hard cock, hmm?”

You gasped, the stretch from him entering arching your back. Taehyung groaned lowly in your ear as your walls spasmed around him, trying to get him deeper. For a second was he just still but he couldn't wait for long, moving his hips to ran right into you again. His cock dragged along your inside, hit spots you didn't know you had. 

Taehyung rose from laying on you, sweat dripping down his brow bone while hair hung in lust filled eyes. It was a gaze which could have you cumming, one hand squeezing your breast. His lips were swollen from kissing, you guessed yours were too, but it made for an image you wanted to engrave in your mind. He was so hot, with the low growls and moans, contracting your own higer. 

“Come on baby, move those hips some more…”you wanted to suck on his skin, leave the same marks as he had but with the delicious pounding you received, was it hard to think of anything else.”My dirty dirty girl..”

With a sharp move of his hips and one hand squeezing your throat, were you cumming again. Back arching of the bed which had been rocking against the wall. Taehyung faltered in his movements as you tightened up, gasping out a groan before he pulled out.

Your eyes were half closed, body completely spent and it was a sight he loved, hand jerking up and down his cock fast. Goddammit did you have a great pussy and moans, the memories of them making him cum right onto your stomach. 

Taehyung fell on your right side and for a while were the room only filled with pants. You started to realize how loud you were, so loud that his neighbors must have heard. Heat rose to your already bruning face, sweat covering your whole body. You were still in a bliss but it was wearing off and so was the alcohol. Oh fuck…

“Let me get you a towel…”Taehyung got up, butt naked and not caring at all.”Want some water?”

He disappeared before you could say anything and it made you dumbfounded. You should really go before something else happens. This could just be a one night stand and no one had to know a thing, but it was hard sitting up. His scent was so strong now, filling your sense.

“Here you go..”his smile was easy and weirded you out. He was so casual, like the two of you didn't just have sex. Taehyung even cleaned you after he gave you the glass. 

After clunking down half the glass were you standing up, searching for your clothes when you remembered he still had your bra. Well fuck it, he can have it. You barely managed to put on your shirt when he appeared in the doorway.  

“You leaving?”one eyebrow rose and you felt embarrassed, unsure of what to answer. Not even in your wildest dreams had you fucked Taehyung.”You can stay...It’s kinda late and I wouldn't feel good knowing your out there alone..”

His eyes were sincere but his nakedness was distracting and the whole situation alien to you. You had a crush on him, yes, however at the same time did you hate him, on the other hand did he just give you two mind blowing orgasms and had a point. 

“O-okay…”he smiled, taking your hand and making you lay down on his bed. Taehyung slipped down under the sheets to your right, turned to watch you while you stared up, determined to not look at him or his just had sex glow. 

“Why do you hate me?”the question made you cringe, tensing when he grabbed your chin like so many times this night.” Have I done something to you?”

“N..no..” a sigh passed your lips, eyes lowering with shyness. You guessed it wasn't fair to him, the way you treated him.”I-I kinda like you?”

“Aha, okay..”his eyes widened and you wondered why you said this now, when you had nowhere to run, but on the other hand, you just slept with him.”You like me?! I thought you hated me!”

“Can we not talk about this now, please?!”dragging the covers up, your tried to hide away from his intense gaze but Taehyung had other plans.

He leaned over you, taking the sheets from your face. The smile on his lips was something between teasing and genuine, you couldn't decided if you wanted to hit him or yourself. 

“Sure but it’s the first thing we are talking about tomorrow, okay love?”he poked your nose, only satisfied when you nodded. 

His arms came to circle around you, dragging you close. Taehyung was tired but he tried to keep his eyes open. It was cute and you were pretty sure you never hated him in the first place.

A Million Nightmares and One Dream (Leon Kennedy x Reader)

RE2make!Leon  Warning: Smut, Dry-humping, oral sex

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Have you ever had a nightmare? One that feels real? So real that you couldn’t figure out what was reality and what was not? Well, I have. I still am, actually.

It’s been two weeks since I’ve started running away from whatever the hell those things were. Two weeks trying to survive this hellhole of a place called Raccoon City, and two weeks praying that I would wake up from this nightmare...but I’m still not awake.

It made me question if I’m even asleep or not. Maybe I’m dead? Maybe I’m in another universe? Maybe my mind’s just going crazy? The answer I don’t know and I don’t think I’m going to get that answer anytime soon.

It’s never-ending. Whenever I close my eyes and open them again, I still see the same incubus in front of me: lifeless eyes that would stare back at me, pale and cold skin that would touch me every now and then, thick red liquid that would gush out from every part of their bodies, their growls that would destroy the eerie silence of the cold, dark night, their teeth digging into another person’s flesh as they mindlessly enjoy their gruesome meal, puddles and marks of blood that were scattered and smeared all over the city, the growing flames from vehicles that were crashed in every structure and fellow car, and the lack of light that made it a tad bit difficult to move around without being grabbed by any of those undead.

This had to be a nightmare, right? I had to be asleep. This isn’t possible...or is it?

It was hard running around, desperate to save my own life that’s at stake with barely anything to defend myself with. But despite that, there was this one thing, a person, perhaps, that came out of nowhere, just like those hellish monsters just roaming around, finding their next dinner, except this person wasn’t someone I was scared of, I was in love with him.

Leon Scott Kennedy, a rookie cop who was supposed to start his first day a week ago. He got a call from the police station to stay away from the city but his curiosity got the better of him and that curiosity got him involved in this nightmare.

During that shit-show we were in, we had been chased around by a fucking giant in a trench coat and fedora, met a woman who broke my heart by kissing the man I’ve caught feelings for and then betrayed us, almost got killed by a beast with a huge-ass eye on its right arm, and then we escaped the city using a train together with a little girl named Sherry and a college gal named Claire.

We found ourselves inside two hotel rooms with Claire and Sherry sharing one and Leon and I sharing the other. It felt kind of weird to me for some reason. I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I have feelings for and we’re literally in the same room. With one bed. We’re going to be sleeping next to each other!

Calm down, Y/N. You’re just going to sleep, nothing else.

It’s just...it doesn’t help that I’m in a tank top and underwear only with no pants or bra on while Leon was wearing a sweatpants with no shirt on and just went commando.

Get your shit together, Y/N! Tomorrow you’ll have a new set of clothes.

“Y/N?” Leon called mumbled my name beside me in a sleepy voice.

It’s been an hour I think since we got in bed and Leon immediately fell asleep in exhaustion as soon as his body flopped on the soft mattress while I didn’t...I couldn’t for some reason even though I’m very tired myself.

I turned my head around to look at the young man beside me who propped himself up before laying his upper body on my chest.

“What’s wrong?” He whispered in my ear, his hot breath fanning against my skin causing shivers to run down my spine and the little hairs on my neck to stand up. I let out a shaky sigh.

“Nothing. Just thinking”, I managed to breathe out after a few seconds of thinking about my response.

“About?”

You?

“Nothing you should be concerned about”, Leon lifted his head up and looked down at me with his eyebrows furrowed together.

“Now I’m more concerned”

“Leon”

“Y/N”, My E/C orbs began staring at his blue ones with the same intensity as the man on top of me, keeping myself from averting my gaze towards his plump lips that looked so soft.

Ada got lucky, huh?

Alas, my brain couldn’t take it anymore and just commanded my optics to shift my gaze towards his lips that were being moisturized by his saliva-covered tongue. I continued to stare at it for a few more seconds, admiring the art that I don’t know if I would be seeing again in front of me, before looking at Leon’s eyes again. They were half-lidded now, his orbs now focused on my own parted lips, just like what I did before.

Is he copying me?

Slowly, he began leaning down, his eyes still fixated on my mouth that began releasing more and more air as his head lowered itself more. My heartbeat was raising each millisecond and his hot breath was tickling my face.

Closer and closer...and then...

Our lips touched. It was like what I expected it to be: smooth and soft like a baby’s butt.

My hand found its way towards the nape of his neck before pulling him closer as I was enjoying the feeling of his lips moving against mine, his tongue dancing with my own in a smooth tango, and the sound of what we were doing bouncing off the walls surrounding us.

All of the horrors that’s been glued to our heads were gone in that moment. Vanished. Now we were in a dream, a dream we never wanted to escape from. A dream we wished was forever. But that’s impossible, just like how a nightmare always ends, and that’s why we made this dream the best we’ve ever had so far.

Leon pulled away and spread my legs before making himself comfortable in between them, his warms hands still planted on my knees.

“Is it okay if I do this?” Leon rolled his hips against mine, his cock that was covered by the slightly thick fabric of his sweatpants gliding smoothly against my my thin fabric-covered clit, the pleasing sensation causing me to close my eyes and bite my lip as a small gasp left my mouth. I nodded my head a few times until I heard Leon chuckle above me and roll his hips against mine again.

Leon leaned down again, not stopping his hip movements, before his lips flattened against my neck, lightly pressing kisses on every patch of skin that was exposed to him while my hands found its way on the back of his neck once more, this time, my fingers combed through his soft blonde hair and my hand lightly balled itself into a fist as his movements became faster and faster, causing a loud creaking sound to resonate throughout the small room as the bed below us began moving with Leon.

Leon groaned from above me, his lust-filled voice muffled by my skin as he proceeded to leave some love bites on my neck.

“I’m close, Y/N”

As soon as he said that, his actions grew quicker than before, his desperation to come undone flooding his head as he did so. 

The pleased sounds coming from our mouths increased their volume with us not caring if there were other people hearing us from the other side of these thin walls. Leon’s groans became animalistic growls and my pitch became higher. My grip on Leon’s locks became tighter which only added to the hedonism he felt, the bittersweet sensation causing him to come fast and hard, his white fluids staining his grey pants.

When he noticed that I hadn’t come yet, he lowered himself down to where his head was peaking through the valley between my legs before looking at me softly.

“May I?”

I nodded my head as I bit my bottom lip that was bruise with all the kissing and biting we were doing, the anticipation rising as my thoughts scrambled inside my head, knowing what was bound to happen next.

Leon placed a sole kiss on the skin just above the brim of my underwear, his eyes still trained on me, before letting his teeth pin the thin cotton fabric between them and winked at me as he began sliding the material down my legs in an antagonizing pace.

“Leon”, I whispered sensually and hungrily, my tone reflecting on the need I was feeling.

Once the nether garments were off and were thrown out of the way, Leon shifted his focus towards the glistening wet lips just below my hips, his eyes slightly widened as he saw how wet I was but his astonished and amused look soon changed into something more lustful and concupiscent, his once blue orbs that were now mostly covered black indicating his own hunger.

The tip of his tongue finally touched my sensitive nub, my body jolting a little bit at the sudden action but nevertheless, it felt good, great even. He licked a long stripe from the bottom up until the tumescent pearl that’s been begging to be touched by the man between my legs.

My fingers found their way through Leon’s hair again, tugging it more and more as the sexual gratification grew more and more intense the closer I got to my high.

“Leon”

And now, it’s been nineteen years since that incident. Leon and I thought after escaping that hellhole that that was the end of it but nope. The government forced us to work for the USSTRATCOM and then after a few more years the new president recruited us to the new organization he found called the DSO and we’ve been sent to missions after missions involving B.O.W.s and the like.

The only good thing that happened throughout the years of fighting this bullshit was Leon and I got married! He proposed to me after finishing our mission in the Eastern Slav Republic and eventually got married a year later. Crazy, right? We didn’t have a kid though as we would only put him/her in danger but sex was still there, only had to take my pills regularly AND we actually adopted Sherry after getting out of Raccoon so that’s a plus.

“Hey, Chris!” Leon called the BSAA Silver Daggers’ captain’s name and watched as he turned his head around to face him.

“Yeah?”

“How long can we keep going on like this?”

“I don’t know. I never make plans that far ahead”, Chris replied as a soft smile tugged on his lips.

Leon just chuckled in response before looking at me and taking my hand, his fingers lacing with mine as he did so.

Yep. A million nightmares and one dream.

One more night ⇾  JJK

Pairing : You x Jungkook

Genre : Fluff / Light Angst / Smut / e2l (kind of)

Words : +12k

Summary : In which when Jimin told you to have fun, he didn’t exactly mean to bang his friend.

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Someone once upon a time told you that opposites attract. You say bullcrap. It was just another way for people to justify their doings and probably their failures. It was what you truly believed for all those years. Except, eventually it came bite you in the ass.

You were in your last year of college, last year of hell and then you would be free. Your parents had told you that college would be the best years of your life, that you would meet amazing people (and you did, you couldn't deny that) and you would meet your significant other. That, however, you didn't. Not because nobody was interested in you but boys meant trouble and drama and you didn't need this kind of mess in your life.

Or so you thought. Until that night.

"What do you mean you slept with JungkookN" Hana half yelled at you, not caring at all that you were in the middle of the cafeteria and that somebody could hear you (you certainly didn't need the world to know that you, Y/N, the girl who clearly showed her disdain to fuck boys, had actually banged one of them). You hurried to clap your hand over Hana's mouth, shutting her up before her lousy mouth could get you in unnecessary trouble.

"Can you scream it even louder?" You complained, your eyes sending daggers, before you quickly added, "I don't need any more remarks on the matter." You let go of her and slumped back on your chair before slamming your head with a little too much strength against the table. "I'm screwed."

"Literally." You heard Hana mutter but she didn't make any more remarks, instead you felt her eyes on you, watching you silently. Hana had known you for over five years now, five long years and in those five years she had learnt a lot about your animosity to a certain type of people. Jungkook was definitely part of them. No matter how she looked at the situation, Hana couldn't comprehend what exactly had changed. "Ok, I really don't understand how it happened."

You shifted your head on the table to look at her, brows furrowed. "What do you mean you don't understand? He has a dick, I have a vagina. It happened."

"God. I didn't mean that." Hana groaned at your words, the image all too clear in her mind.

"Oh you didn't? Sorry." You, of course, didn't mean it at all and Hana was all too aware of that; she rolled her eyes at you.

"Sorry my ass." She mumbled before putting her elbows on the table and rested her head on top of her hands. "Ok. So, miss, tell me exactly what happened. We'll see if it's as bad as you think."

"Oh doc, no, the sex was amazing. Mind-blowing even. I mean, you know him, this stupid muscle-pig." You started rambling but cringed pretty much at your own words because it brought back the images from that night. No, you didn't need a reminder of how he sent you right to heaven.

"Wow ok. Too much information."

"You asked doc. I was just being honest with myself for once."

"If you liked it that much, what's the problem?"

"Are you seriously asking me that? Should I remind you that I hate this asshead's guts? He walks like he owns the place, use girls-"

"They know that and ask for it though." Hana interrupted you and smirked at your outraged expression.

"Not the point!"

"Oh please, go on."

You sighed dramatically and straightened yourself on your chair. "Oh, I forgot to add. Did I mention that he's one of Jimin's best friend?" Hana's eyes widened in shock. "Guess not."

"I mean, I knew they were friends but best friends?"

Speaking of the devil. You didn't have time to add anything else when your eyes landed on a group of friends that entered the cafeteria, noisy as ever, laughing their ass off and looking stupidly hot (but you wouldn't admit it out loud either). Of course, you and Hana weren't the only one to notice their presence, many heads had turned to look at them, whispering, squealing, commenting. You, however, bit on your lips and you tried your best to disappear and go unnoticed (especially by a certain boy going by the name of Jeon Jungkook). It almost worked. As they approached your table, it was highly impossible for you not to spare them a glance (maybe a part of you was afraid of what could happen if Jungkook recognized you), just to catch Jimin winking at you.

"Asshole." You mumbled to yourself while looking at him. He didn't hear you but he read on your lips (and maybe he knew you all too well to guess your reaction). Jimin chuckled to himself and just when they had reached your level, he discretely patted your head making you slap his hand away.

Hana put her hand over her mouth to muffle her giggles but it didn't work quite well - you glared angrily at her before huffing in annoyance and whispering a traitor.

"I will never get tired of watching you and Jimin bickering." She admitted

"He's an ass!" You whined in frustration. "You don't know what it likes to live with him!"

"Hmm, I would rather feel bad for Jimin. He's stuck with you."

You gasped in fake outrage, bringing your hand to your heart, feigning being hurt. Truth to be told, Jimin and you were just a bunch of weirdos that have been friends for too long to count. You have been together through thick and thin, and no matter how much insults you threw at him, both of you knew they meant nothing.

"Ehrm, I don't want to alarm you," Hana started, her face suddenly turning white, "But they're coming back." You sat up straight on your chair, your whole body tensing instantly, your breath hitched in your throat and you stared right at Hana. "Don't look back. Oh shit."

"What."

Hana didn't need to answer though. You heard chairs moving just behind you, someone apologized for bumping into your chairs (the voice sounded kind of familiar but your body felt numb and your brain stopped functioning properly).

"You left early." You recognized the voice this time, it belonged to Namjoon.

"I barely remember how I got home." Jungkook sighed. "I was wasted." But then he looked at Jimin. "I saw your friend. She's not that bad."

If you thought your body was tense before, now it was so much worse. You couldn't think straight, you couldn't breath, his voice echoing in your mind.

"Yeah?" Jimin said disinterested and yet you couldn't ignore his eyes boring holes into your back. You were in trouble.

"I saw you leaving with a girl though." Another one commented, laughing at the reminder. "She looked eager."

"Yeah. About that. I tried to remember with who I left but I can't remember at all." By the sound of his voice, you realized that Jungkook was genuinely upset about not remembering you, that being said you were relieved to know he didn't remember. "I only remember she had a tattoo on her right breast."

Jimin choked on his drink and started coughing madly. Namjoon, right away, patted his back to help him to calm down. All eyes were on him, some curious, some laughing. You, however, wanted to dig a hole and hide as far as possible. You were doomed.

"You're alright buddy?" Namjoon asked and gave another strong pat.

"Yeah, sorry. Got surprised."

Two minutes later you received a message from Jimin.

Jiminnie [1:05pm] : Meet me in 5 in the library.

Shit.

                                                           ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

"When I told you to have fun I didn't mean to bang one of my friends." Jimin deadpanned as soon as you joined him in the library. Jimin grabbed your arm and pulled you  between rows of shelves, hiding both of you from unwanted attention. He looked upset, frowning deeply at you.

Of course you knew Jimin was right but your own ego, and a bit of your embarrassment, made it impossible to admit it out-loud. So you only rolled your eyes at him and freed your arm from his grip. "No shit Sherlock."

Jimin completely disregarded your rudeness and instead started interrogating you. "I thought you hated him."

You chewed at your bottom lip, nervous and quite frustrated at the same time because yes, you thought you hated Jungkook (though the word hate seemed not quite appropriated, too strong even), and no you didn't exactly know how you ended in his bed (that was a lie, you knew exactly why but admitting it was out of question for your own sanity).

"What are you going to do now?" Jimin asked more calmly this time as he let go of your arm and just stared at you, concern, this time, written all over his face. "This is a mess, Y/N."

"I know. And I'm sorry, it just happened." You sighed in defeat. Suddenly, you felt extremely tired and your head throb signaling the beginning of a headache. "Hopefully, he won't remember about going home with me." You didn't want him to remember. You were scared. Despite the time you had spent with Jungkook at the party, you still didn't know him, therefore you didn't trust him. You didn't know how he would react if he ever found out. "It won't happen again."

But Jungkook made it hard for you.

                                                      ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

Three days later, your life went back to normal. No clouds, no storms on sight. And no Jeon Jungkook. You didn't talk about him, not to Hana and certainly not to Jimin, you had this mutual agreement that nobody should mention the party or Jungkook (and they didn't, too scared to face your wrath).

Everything went perfectly smoothly during those three days. No more parties, no more surprises. You were back on working on your project. But good things never lasted long in your life. The night you decided to go to the gym to blow off some steam, happened to be your worst decision ever. You didn't go to the gym as often as you used to, mainly because Jimin didn't want to go with you anymore (his excuse being you're too slow with what you highly disagreed every single time). But maybe you should have stayed at home.

To your dismay, Jeon Jungkook went to the same gym as you. You froze right on the spot as your eyes landed on him. What were the odds for both of you to go to the same gym? Or maybe, Jungkook had always been there but you never paid attention since you minded only your business. But tonight, seeing him working out in black sweatpants and a large black shirt, forced you to think back about that night. His muscles flexing as he lifted some heavy weight.

For fuck's sake. What does he think he's doing?!  

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, motivating yourself. You can do it. Forget about his presence. Easier said than done. Especially when Jungkook stopped his workout to have a break and drink some water. He wiped the sweat from his face (you gulped hard at the sight), rubbing his hair with a towel. You palmed your face in despair and you couldn't hold back the images from the night. You couldn't ignore how he had hoisted you up, ravishing your lips as you pulled at his hair, fighting him with all your strength for control. Needless to say that you were a goner. But if you thought thinking about that night was troublesome you were wrong - Jeon Jungkook was staring back at you, smirking.

Fuck my life.

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The second time you met Jungkook was at his dance practice. You stayed after class, studying in the library, working on a project (and just maybe it was an excuse to busy your mind with something other than Jeon Jungkook). The campus was almost empty except for some who stayed for their clubs activities. If you were a good friend, you would have listened to Jimin's blabbering and would have known that walking by the dance club was a really, really bad idea.

You froze on the spot, looking through the huge window, you saw Jungkook dancing in the room, music blasting. You were completely mesmerized with his dancing, his body moving in rhythm with the music. By the frown on his face, you saw him concentrated on his moves and yet, there was something else. Jungkook felt free and looked happy while dancing.

Another day, you would have ran away and cursed at your bad luck. But tonight was another day and instead of turning back and leaving, you peeked through the half-opened door. You simply stood there, your grip on the strap of your bag tightening.

When the music stopped, Jungkook fell on the floor, panting, sweating but a huge grin spread on his face. He looked satisfied with his work and you could agree with his feelings, he was a perfect (not like you were a pro yourself but it didn't stop you from admiring his work).

Jungkook turned his face and looked at you. At first, his face was blank, his eyes seeming a little bigger than usual but then his face broke into a smile and he changed his position, from laying on the floor to sitting, waving almost cutely at you.

"Do I look disgusting?"

-Flashback -

"Are you sure you can drink all of it by yourself?"

"Why? You think I can't handle my liquor?"

"Wouldn't know. I think it's the first time we're talking and that I don't feel like you're going to rip my balls off."

You actually laughed at that. You couldn't help it. "Here." You offered him the bottle, daring him to drink with you.

Jungkook's eyes darted back and forth between the bottle and your face. His initial plan wasn't exactly about drinking with you or talking but suddenly the perspective of getting to know you didn't seem that bad. He accepted the bottle and took a sip, wincing at the taste -you laughed at that and clapped your hands happily.

"Okay now I remember why I don't drink vodka." He handed you back the bottle

"Poor little thing." You cooed, mocking him openly, the alcohol made you brave and maybe a little bit stupid.

“Oh so you want to make fun of me huh. Go on.” Jungkook played your game. “But we’ll see who between us will get drunk first.”

“You.” Jungkook didn’t know yet who he was dealing with, if he knew, maybe he wouldn’t be so smug about the challenge. Jimin too once challenged you; you recognized that your friend could hold his liquor just fine and yet against you he lost. Jungkook, you believed, would too because he made the mistake to underestimate you (however you didn’t exclude the option that he could win too since you didn’t know his limits either).

“We’ll see that.”

“How nice of you to challenge me, Jungkook. It had been a very long time since I played this game with someone.”

Jungkook considered you for a moment, in utter silence, before finally cracking a smile and shaking his head in amusement. He didn’t expect you to be so tough and yet somehow fun to be around, it wasn’t exactly the image of you he had pictured for all this time. You didn’t seemed so intimidating sitting there and drinking with him.

“Am I still repulsive to you?”

You looked at him, eying him from head to toe. “Oh yeah. Absolutely disgusting.”

Jungkook would have been offended if not for your giggles that followed your statement. You couldn’t just hold back, especially not when he looked so puzzled with his big eyes at you. Jeon Jungkook didn’t seem so bad when he looked like that.

-Now-

"Yes. Absolutely disgusting."

                                                    ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

The third time you encountered Jungkook happened at your place. Jimin decided, without asking for your opinion (and you quote "You're bored anyway so let's have some fun yeah?"), to invite some of his closest friends which included of course Jungkook. You had groaned and promised him a very slow and painful death. Obviously, the threat didn't work on him. But you refused to make things easier for him. Instead of helping him to prepare the house for his improvised party, you watched the TV in an oversized hoodie and shorts, perfectly unbothered by Jimin's desperate glances (you believed one day he would try kill you in your sleep).

"What the hell?" You heard the now all too familiar voice echoing from the hall. You had been too immersed in the TV show to notice the bell ringing until it was too late. "Hold on." Jungkook pointed an accusing finger at you. "You said your roommate was cool"

"She is cool." Jimin defended your honor before quickly adding "Except for today, she had been all bitchy."

You nicely showed him a finger before smiling sweetly at his other friends. "Hi guys."

Jungkook's face stayed blank for a moment before he finally nodded and looked at you. "At least now I know who's your drinking buddy.

Namjoon and Jin exchanged a quick glance before shrugging and joining you. Namjoon sat beside you on the couch, quickly joined by Jin. Jungkook chose to sit on a chair just in front of you.

"Hey." Namjoon called you. "Isn't it Jimin's hoodie?"

You glanced down at the hoodie and shrugged as if it was nothing. It did happen occasionally, Jimin's oversized hoodies were just too comfortable for you not to steal from him. Jimin groaned at Namjoon's remark and playfully nudged your shoulder before sitting beside Jungkook.

"She's a hoodie-thief." Jimin approved

"Are you guys together?" Jungkook asked out of nowhere, eying both of you.

None of you answered right away, instead you looked at each other, incredulous. A part of you perfectly understood their confusion but you couldn't help but find it hilarious too. Apparently Jimin did too because he burst into laughter and slapped Jungkook's arm.

"Hell no. She's a dude."

"Ha." You scoffed. "I don't consider him as a man."

"Rude."

And somehow the little bickering between Jimin and you put all of them at ease.

"Beer?" You suggested, a smile on your face as you exchanged a quick glance with Jimin.

You escaped to the kitchen, leaving them time to settle and talk. You guessed that the night would be all about playing games and drinking. You promised not to play with them but you couldn't say no to alcohol.

"Need some help?" Jungkook's voice startled you.

"Bloody hell!" You half-yelled, your hand on your heart, you didn't hear him following you. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"No?" But when you looked at him, he was smiling sheepishly at you. "Sorry."

Jungkook stayed at the door, leaning against it as he stared at you with his arms crossed over his chest, looking effortlessly handsome. The sight of him stirred something inside you. You tried hard not to stare (not too much at least) but your eyes wandered, from his face, to his chest, to his arms. God, Y/N. You're losing your shit.

"Take a photo, lasts longer." Jungkook interrupted (rudely) your staring.

You fight back a blush, there was no way you let him know how confused he made you feel. Instead, you shrugged. "You know what? Sounds like a good idea. Except my phone is in my room."

"Are you flirting with me, Y/N?"

"You wish."

"No? Because it sounded like an invitation."

You rolled your eyes at him and decided ignoring him was the best thing to do. You took the bottles of beer from the fridge and prepared the plate to bring to others. You almost managed to ignore the burning gaze on your back, Jungkook was staring, you knew it. You felt it. You closed your eyes to take a deep breath, your grip tightening on the bottle but then you felt him way before you could hear or see him. His arms stretched on either side of you, trapping your body between him and the table. Your breath hitched at his proximity, your body stiff, you couldn't breath or move, all too aware of the heat emanating from his body.

"Here." His warm breath tickled your ear, making you shiver, you felt your core springing to life. "Let me help you."

You inhaled sharply, gripping the plate as if your life depended on it, knuckles turning white. He was so close to you, his fresh and minty scent invading your senses. All you had to was to lean back and you would rest against him. Shit. How were you supposed not to think about the party when he was so close to you? When you had a perfect view on his veiny arms?

-Flashback-

When Jimin told you to have fun, you took his advice to the letter. You didn't really interact with people at the party mainly due to the fact that some of them were already half drunk, some you didn't like and some were just too busy flirting (and you couldn't possibly get in the way of that). It resulted with you emptying your second bottle of beer a little too fast. It wasn't strong enough to actually make you drunk but it was enough to relax, to make you more approachable too.

As the music was blasting in the house, you found yourself slowly moving to the beat. You put your empty bottle on the closest table and then joined the dancing bodies. You saw a classmate of yours, she grinned at you and stretched her hand for you to grab - and you did. She pulled you right between her and a friend of her, you assumed, and you started dancing. Everybody was in their own little world, some just dancing, some making out openly. Nobody cared.

The beat of the music resonated in your head, in your body. The scent of alcohol and tobacco hit your senses. In other situation, you would have scrunch your nose and made a face, but tonight, with alcohol in your system, it made you smile and savor the moment. You closed your eyes and let the music guide you.

You didn't know for how long you have been dancing, too absorbed into your world, your mind absolutely empty; you felt good about yourself, about your emotions, about your body, you felt confident and strong. Music and dancing had their own magic.

When you opened your eyes, a very unusual and unexpected sight presented before your eyes. Someone was staring at you, intensely, bewitched by your movements. It shouldn't have mattered, you were at a party and things like that happened all the time except the person was none other than Jeon Jungkook, the guy you proclaimed hating ever since you saw him banging a girl in one of the dance studio. But tonight, you were out of your mind, you realized because for the first time you saw him in a different light.

Jungkook looked absolutely handsome and hot.

He wore black ripped jeans with a black shirt with half buttons undone showing his toned chest and effortlessly attracting attention on him. His hair were parted in the middle, longer than you remembered and curly. You wished for a second you could run your fingers through them and tug at his soft locks. The look in his eyes sent shivers down your spine. His eyes were dark, feral, intimidating, it screamed danger. Tonight Jungkook was a predator in search of a prey.

Someone shouldn't look that good was your conclusion.

Jungkook's lips twitched in amusement and you mentally slapped yourself for staring back for so long. He was openly smirking at you as he took a sip of his drink, his eyes never leaving yours. The predator had found his prey.

There were two options, two possible outcome. You could run away and forget about this Jungkook. Or, and you were probably out of your mind for even contemplating it for a second, you could play his game.

You chose the later.

The staring contest between you two only got more intense; your moves got bolder, swinging your hips along with the music. You ran your hand slowly from your stomach to your neck. Jungkook wasn't the only one who could seduce, you could too.

And it worked.

Jungkook gulped at your behavior, unsettled for a brief moment before he chuckled to himself and ran his fingers through his hair. God, you wanted to do it too.

Jungkook emptied his glass, his decision taken. He found his prey for the night and he had no intention on letting you go just like that.

But you didn't make things easy for him. You saw him emptying his glass. You saw the look in his eyes, the resolution, the lust. You got the resulted intended. However, you didn't wait for him to join you. You had a better idea on mind which included you toying a little with Jungkook. Just as Jungkook joined the crowd, you walked away but not without glancing one last time at him. He halted in the middle, confused for a moment but then you winked and laughed. You got him there.

On your way to the garden you grabbed a bottle of vodka, it seemed like the right moment to spice things up (and maybe you weren't drunk enough yet).

The garden was almost empty. You spotted a couple laying in hammocks and another couple making out under a tree. It didn't bother you and they didn't mind your presence either (you were pretty sure none of them even noticed you). You stopped by the pool. You put the bottle on the ground and then took your heels off. You sat on the edge of the pool and put your feet in the water. The water was fresh but felt amazing against your aching feet. You took a sip of the vodka straight from the bottle, scrunching your nose at the bitter and burning taste and yet, now that you were comfortably settled, it felt good.

"Are you done playing hide and seek?"

You smiled to yourself at Jungkook's words. Of course he had followed you, you didn't expect any less from him. And yet, you had to admit that it felt weird hearing his voice and to have him addressing to you.

"Maybe. Maybe not." You playfully answered and took another sip.

Jungkook joined you on the ground but instead of following your example and try the fresh water from the pool, he sat with his legs crossed.

"You look different."

Oh. So he does remember me after all. You snorted at his remark and turn your face to look at him straight in the eyes. Yep. Still feels weird to be around him.

"Do I?"

Jungkook was watching you and seemed genuinely curious about you. He didn't have many opportunities to talk to you. He knew you were Jimin's friend just like he remembered seeing you at some of his classes too but except from that he never could talk to you. The reason? You were quite an intimidating little thing.  

"Yes. Less scary."

"When do I even look scary?" You scoffed

"Most of the time. And especially when you're scowling at me in class."

The sarcastic part of you was dying to bite back, but the reasonable part reminded you that yes you happened to scowl at him almost every time your eyes would meet. You shrugged, finding nothing to say in your defense and drank some more.

-Now-

Jungkook shifted to the side, letting you breath. He took the plate with the beer and snacks, winked at you before leaving you all by yourself. Frustrated.

I hate him.

                                                     ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

After the improvised party at your place, Jungkook got much bolder with you to your biggest dismay. If before the party he didn't try to speak to you, now he would randomly plop by your side at the library or cafeteria or would simply start talking to you in the middle of the hall. You wished you could say it annoyed you but it would be a big fat lie. Jungkook was, despite his fuck boy tendency, a nice, funny and open-minded guy. It was hard not to like him.

You walked to your next class, music blasting in your ears, once again, you were lost in your thoughts, not paying attention to your surroundings. Maybe you should change your habits for your own safety. A strong arm circled your shoulders and the next thing you knew you were pressed to Jungkook's side. You stumbled, your hand by reflex grabbed his arm, digging your nails into his forearm.

"For fuck's sake!" You yelled at him which only made him smile childishly at you. How were you supposed to stay mad? "I'm going to kick your ass one day, Jeon."

"Charming. I'd love to see you try." He winked at you.

"You think just because you can lift some heavy shit I can't beat you?" You huffed in annoyance and resumed your walking without waiting for his reply. Jungkook, however, didn't give up and followed you, walking at your pace.

"Did you enjoy the view?"

Maybe you shouldn't have mentioned that. You bit on your lips and mentally facepalmed. Jungkook got you there. But there was no way you would let him know just how badly he affected you.

"Yes." You admitted and glanced at him, your head high. "Happy?"

You didn't wait for his answer but heard him whisper a yeah.

                                                  ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

Jimin plopped down at the other side of the couch where you were sitting comfortably, studying for the upcoming exam. Despite Jimin being awfully noisy, you had managed to concentrate on your work. Until Jimin kicked your legs. The first time you ignored him on purpose but then he kicked a second and a third time. You threw a rubber at him (which he of course dodged easily, expecting this reaction from you) annoyed with his behavior.

"Rude." He complained but smiled anyway. "What got your panties in a twist?"

"Your stupid face for instance." You kicked his leg in return but he grabbed your ankle and pulled at it, making you squeal and make your book fall on the floor.

"Jimin!" You whined and tried to free your ankle from his grip. It didn't work at all, he held your ankle tightly before a smug smile spread on his lips and he started massaging your foot. "Oh shit."

"So? Why are you grumpy?"

Jimin, despite his angelic looks, was the devil in disguise. Or maybe  you've been friends for too long and he knew his way with you. Probably a mix of both. Just like he knew you would melt and spill the beans in exchange of a massage.

"Shit, shit. It feels too good."

"Does it now?"

"Yeah."

"Now you don't hate me?" Jimin halted for a moment just to hear you whine in protest. He chuckled heartily and gave your foot a gentle squeeze.

"Fuck, fine. I don't hate you. Happy?"

"Very. Thank you."

You slid on the couch to give him better access to your foot and closed your eyes to enjoy the massage (for once you didn't need to beg him for it).

"Jungkook asked me about you." Jimin said without looking at you. You, however, opened one eye to peek at him.

"And so?"

"He understands why I keep you around."

"You're just as big of a pain in the ass."

"True." He approved. "He still doesn't remember with who he spent the night though."

"What do you think about Jungkook, Y/N?"

You were surprised with how serious Jimin sounded, it forced you to look at him, confused at what exactly he wanted to hear from you. Jungkook? Another pain in the ass but who was terribly attracting. You sat up on the couch, legs crossed as you looked back at Jimin. "I don't know."

"You don't know or you don't want to say it out loud?"

"Ugh. Fine. He's nice. Very nice."

"Nice?" He quirked a brow at you, amused. "Nice as in I totally want to bang him again or nice as in you want to be friend with him?"

Both suggestion sounded nice. You wanted to answer as friends but you realized by the look Jimin was giving you, he already knew the answer. "Both."

Jimin only hummed in response which bothered you more than you wanted to admit.

"Ok. Spill."

"What?"

"You want to say something, clearly."

"Honestly? I should tell you that it's a bad idea but you kinda look cute together."

You sighed in defeat. There was no denying, you were whipped for Jeon Jungkook.

"Oh. He asked for your number. I gave it to him."

"What?!"

                                                    ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

Unknown Number [8:15pm] : I know you're busy today, but can you add me to your to-do list?

"Oh my god." You almost fell from the coach as you double-checked the message. You didn't recognize the number but judging by the horrible pick-up line you could only guess to who the number belonged.

"Jimin. Does Jungkook's number finishes by 47?"

Jimin's face showed up at the door of the kitchen, peeking at you. "Yes, why?" Jimin, however, didn't wait for your answer, his face lightened wickedly at you. "Of course. What did he write to you?"

Just to be the annoying friend, you stuck your tongue out, holding your phone protectively over your chest, you didn't answer him.

"Oh come on! Y/N! I'm your best friend!"

"You know already too much!"

"Pff."

You [8:20pm] : Depends on what you need from me, Jeon.

Jeon [8:21pm] : Oh! You guessed it was me!

You [8:21pm] : Who else would use such a bad pick-up line?

Jeon [8:22pm] : I bet you smiled.

You [8:22m] : No.

Jeon [8:23pm] : You did, didn't you?

You [8:23pm] : What do you want?

Jeon [8:24pm] : I actually need your help. Because of dance practice, I missed some English classes. Can we meet?

You stared blankly at your phone, pondering over his question. A part of you truly wanted to say yes, not only because you wouldn't mind helping him but because you could spend some more time with him. The other part of you rang the alarms in your head; meeting Jungkook meant getting to know him better, to get attached and you couldn't let him trouble you more than he already did.

Jeon [8:26pm] : Pretty please?

Fuck. He won.

                                                  ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

Jungkook and you decided to meet on Saturday afternoon at a Starbucks. Nothing better than a hot date (which he was't you wanted to think) and some good coffee to brighten your day. And yet, when you arrived five minutes earlier, you found Jungkook already waiting for you, a huge smile spread on his face at your sight. He had two cup of coffee waiting at the table for you.

"Hi you." He beamed at you.

You thought Jungkook couldn't surprise you any longer. Wrong. You barely joined him at the table, he stood up and eagerly embraced you into a warm hug. Unable to breath, you stood awkwardly, letting him hug you as if you were some close friend. His arms around you lingered a little longer than necessary but you would lie if you said you didn't like the feeling. You closed your eyes just for a brief moment and allowed yourself to enjoy the hug.

"Hi." Your voice sounded weak and so foreign to your own ears. You hoped he didn't notice it and if he did, he didn't comment.

"Thank you for coming." He said. "Here, I got you a cappuccino."

You stared at the cup before you eyed him cautious. "How do you know I drink mainly cappuccino?"

Maybe your eyes were playing you tricks but you swore he blushed.

"I noticed you drinking it almost all the time."

"Jungkook, do you have a crush on me or something?" You joked to hide your own embarrassment. Why did he need to be so darn cute?

"What if I say yes?" He dared to ask and looked straight into your eyes, no longer shy.

To say that you were taken aback by his bluntness would be the understatement of the century. Your heart missed a beat at his serious face, your face slowly heating up and there was nothing you could to prevent that. How ironical was that? All this time, you were so proud of yourself for staying out of troubles, not caring for guys. And then came Jeon damn Jungkook. You weren't so proud any longer.

"You don't need any help with English, do you?" You ended up saying, relaxing a bit. There was nothing you could do, except embrace your own feelings.

Jungkook smiled sheepishly at you. He put his elbows on the table, resting his head on top of his knuckles. "Touché. But tell me, Y/N, would you have said yes if I asked you out?"

To spite him up, you wanted to say no but for once you played nice. "Fine. You're right. I would have said no."

"See."

You huffed but smiled into your cup of coffee.

                                                   ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

It was past midnight when your movie night ended. It was supposed to be a night spent with Jimin since according to him ever since you started talking to Jungkook you spent less time with him. He was of course exaggerating. Or at least you hoped so. And yet, in the middle of your second movie of the night he had to leave to rescue Jungkook. You had to fight the urge to ask him what happened and if he needed help but that would only make things worse for you.

You glanced at your phone, almost expecting (because you couldn't admit out loud that you were actually hoping) to see a message from Jimin.  

"God. You're pathetic, Y/N!' You scolded yourself. You threw yourself at your pillow and hid your face in, muffling this way your screams of frustration.

But you were cut short in your self-pitying when you heard noises from the hall. You almost jumped out of your bed. You should have expected Jimin to come back sooner or later except it was noisy and Jimin wasn't supposed to be noisy.

Quickly, you got up from the bed and peeked through your half opened door. Jimin was in the hall and not alone. He had his arm tightly wrapped around a very drunk Jungkook who kept stumbling on his way. You almost wanted to laugh at the view; a very pissed Jimin and a giggly Jungkook, it deserved a video just to show them later. It was adorable. You mentally slapped yourself for even thinking something like that.

"For fuck's sake, Jungkook." Jimin groaned in frustration. His patience was at his limit, you could tell it by the frown on his face. He dropped Jungkook on the couch.

"Aw Jiminnie, don't be mad." Jungkook cooed and maybe he was unaffected by Jimin's angry look only because he was drunk. Jimin could get scary when he was mad and you believed that Jungkook knew it too.

"Shut up." He grabbed his legs and lifted them from the floor to move them on the couch. "Why the hell did you drink that much? Dumbass."

But Jungkook only giggled and nudged him with his foot. You didn't remember Jungkook being so childish the last time you saw him drunk but it was somehow endearing.

"Hey Jiminnie. Where's your cute roommate?"

You froze at the door while Jimin froze beside him. Your heart suddenly decided to act on its own, beating a little faster and you felt your face heating up.

"You know she's really cute."

"And you're drunk."

"Have you noticed how she would scrunch her nose when she's concentrated on something?" Jungkook asked absentmindedly, not really looking at Jimin, not really expecting an answer either.  "Or how she would tap with her pen and roll her eyes whenever someone says something really stupid?"

Your grip on your door tightened, a little too much, making the door squeak and grabbing Jimin's attention at the same time. You were caught red-handed. Jimin, however, relaxed at your presence and smiled fondly at you.

"Yeah. She does that a lot."

"She's feisty and stubborn as hell. And a tiny bit judgmental but I guess we all are at some point." Jimin actually laughed at that and you huffed in fake annoyance.

"Jeon Jungkook, you're completely whipped for my best friend." Jimin deadpanned. "But don't tell her all of that or she might bite your head off."

Jungkook giggled, seeming terribly amused with Jimin's advice.  You, however, felt the urge to barge in the room, slap Jimin's arm for being smug and hug Jungkook for being so adorable.

"Wait here, I'll bring you a blanket." But instead of doing what he said, Jimin winked your way and left for his room.

The little shit.

But you didn't complain. You grabbed the spare blanket from your room and brought it to Jungkook. He had his eyes closed, a hand covering his head. You hovered over him for a moment, observing him, checking him, before covering him with the blanket. You stood by his side for a moment, thousands of thoughts running through your head.  I like him. You realized it. It took you time to understand your own feelings, you were in denial for so long but it was undeniable. Jeon Jungkook, the boy you judged so hard, the boy you thought you would never be able to get along managed to break through your walls and capture your heart. Tsk. So annoying. But you smiled.

"Sleep well." You muttered, ready to leave.

But then, out of nowhere a hand wrapped around your wrist, tightly, and the next thing you knew, you were pulled harshly making you fall right on top of Jungkook. Your hands were now pressed against his torso and as you raised your head to look at him, Jungkook was staring at you. He was no longer pretending to sleep, his big eyes didn't seem so drunk anymore either, they were intense and you shivered under his gaze.

None of you talked, just looking at each other. Your heart pounding hard to the point that you were sure Jungkook could feel it too. If he did, he didn't comment. Instead, he let go of your arm before his fingers reached for your cheeks, gently stroking your skin and you, you couldn't do anything except being hypnotized by him. His fingers moved slowly from your cheeks to your lips, he pressed gently his thumb against your lips and you inhaled sharply, surprised with his action and at the same time so awfully tempted.

"Hi?" You muttered

Jungkook's face broke into a huge smile at how lost and confused you looked which was so out of your character but it pleased him.

"Are you flustered?" He asked innocently but by the look he was giving, he clearly was amused.

"Am not!" Maybe you shouldn't have hurried to answer because it made him grin only wider.

You huffed and tried to straighten up without success because as soon as you did, he pulled you back against him.

"Oh no. You're not going anywhere."

"Jungkook!"

"No."

"Jeon Jungkook, you better let go or-"

"Or what?"

Or I'm going to melt. Stop it. But you couldn't say it out-loud without risking another teasing. You groaned, frustrated and embarrassed at the same time. He was impossible to deal when he was drunk you decided. But if you thought he would stop there, you were wrong once again. Just when you thought he was slowly releasing his grip around you, he wrapped both of his arms around you and pulled you in a tight embrace. He shifted on the couch and somehow managed to make space for your body too. You ended up your back pressed against his chest, his face nuzzling in your neck as he hugged you tightly.

You didn't have the strength to push him away and maybe you were too astonished with his behavior to react too. You let him do as he pleases.

"That's nice." He sighed in delight. "I can get used to it."

Yeah. Me too.

                                                ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

When you woke up the next morning, it took you a moment to emerge and understand where you were. You remembered a very drunk and sweet and giggly Jungkook. You remembered falling asleep in his arms on the couch. And yet, when you looked around, you were in your room, in your bed.

What happened? Did I dream?

Hesitantly you moved to the edge of your bed, you grabbed the blanket that was over you and took it with you. Jungkook was nowhere around.

"He left twenty minutes ago." Jimin startled you, a cup of coffee in his hands. "He wanted to grab his bag before going to class."

"Oh." You nodded and went back to your room to get ready, making sure to avoid Jimin (and any comments he could make about last night).

                                            ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

Assisting to a marketing class when you were half asleep was probably not the best idea of the century. Through the first part of the class you kept yawning and the second part you slowly started drifting away. The buzzing of your phone, however, forced you to open your eyes and glanced at your phone. You still had a message from Jungkook that you refused to open and then a new message from Jimin. You clicked on the message, expecting a joke or a funny picture, except the result was much worse. It was a picture of you and Jungkook, sleeping peacefully together. Jungkook arms around you, his face in the crook of your neck, his nose bumping your neck and you had your hand on top of his.

"Oh shit." You half-yelled, attracting all attention on you. Not only of your classmates, Hana and Jungkook were looking at you but so was your teacher.

"So Y/N. Do you have something to say?" Your teacher asked, amused at your sudden outburst and considering the fact that you were sleeping in his class (he let it go only because he knew you were a good student).

"Sorry, got distracted."

"Were you now? At least you're awake now."

You groaned at his teasing but at least the didn't push further. Hana though was ready to question you.

"So?" She leaned expectantly and stared intensely at you, almost intimidating you.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Babe, you were half asleep. Look, you even have some drool left." After all this time you should have known that she was just messing with you and yet you started rubbing your chin with your sleeve to make sure there was nothing. Hana laughed.

"Bitch."

"Love you too."

You contemplated the idea of showing her the picture (which were lovely and you wouldn't delete) but it was risky, Hana could be noisy and just as annoying as Jimin and you didn't want to deal with her drama.

"Don't ask." You finally said and looked away. Except your eyes fell right on Jungkook who was looking back at you.

Stop it.

You quickly averted your attention, grabbing your phone you typed your message to Jimin.

You [10:30am] : Don't even think about coming home. I'm going to kill you. Slowly. Painfully.

                                                 ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

It took you another week of mopping around, of denial and of avoiding to come in terms with your stupid feelings and treacherous heart. You had tried hard not to think about it by distracting yourself with all possible way: studying, watching movies and when your usual distraction didn’t work, you chose the only other way you knew: partying. Jimin, as the perfect best friend that he was, suggested you to come to his friends’ parties –you refused every single time, knowing all too well who you would meet there. Instead, you went to your cousin’s parties where you would not know half of people. If socializing was tiring, at least the free booze was worth it.

And yet, despite all your efforts to avoid the unavoidable, you came to conclusion that you were doomed from the moment you decided to play his game, from the moment you caught his eyes at the party, from the moment you let him in your life. You couldn’t deny it, you were in trouble just because you let your crush develop into something else. Something you had avoided for so long. But it was true, you had fallen for Jeon Jungkook, the guy you were supposed to hate.

You sighed for probably the tenth time this morning while crossing the parking of your campus. It was still too early for the campus to be crowded but it seemed like someone else was eager to get earlier. the sound of motorbike resonated just behind you, startling you. You turned around to scowl at the troublemakers but your voice got stuck in your throat. Of course it had to be Jeon damn Jungkook.

Just my luck.

You could deal with facing Jungkook or you could just simply escape before he would spot you. What bothered you however was the girl sitting behind him, her arms tightly wrapped around him, resting her head on his shoulder. You couldn’t ignore the horrible green monster that was eating you from inside. But who could you blame other than yourself?

Ha Y/N. Did you forget what he was?

                                                 ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

Maybe skipping your last classes for the sake of some time alone at your place wasn’t the best idea. You had, like probably many students before you, skipped some classes before, but it happened only once or twice until tonight. You wanted to be by yourself, far from your friends, far from the crowd and far from Jimin.

As soon as you got home, you put on your pajama, grabbed chocolates, chips and drinks before locking yourself in your room. You had the perfect plan to distract yourself: watching cartoons and forget about everything else.

Except your phone buzzed beside you, forcing you to burst your little bubble.

Hana : Should I worry? Where are you???

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. A part of you just wanted to throw your phone somewhere you couldn’t see it and pretend the outside world didn’t exist at all but your reasonable part won over.

You : I’m fine. Home.

And with that you switched your phone off.

The second time you were interrupted was barely two hours later. You had long forgotten about the time, too concentrated on eating and watching Tom and Jerry to actually pay attention to any noise coming out of your room.

The first knock at your door made you shut your eyes, knowing all too well that Jimin was finally back home. The second knock made your fist clench and by the third you gave up ignoring. And yet, you couldn’t find the strength to tell him a simple ‘come in’. Jimin invited himself in without your words, taking the risk to get scolded by you.

“Y/N?” He called for you and opened the door

Jimin’s eyes darted back and forth between your lazy body and the TV, weighing your mood and how bad it was. He leaded against the door with his arms crossed over his chest. “Tom and Jerry. Really?” You only glanced at him without answering his question. “Am I allowed to come in or are you going to kick me out?”

You sighed in defeat. With one swift move you removed your blanket and patted the empty spot beside you. Without a word he joined you on the bed, crawling from the edge to your side. You put back the fluffy blanket over you and let him watch the cartoon by your side.

In another situation, maybe you would have shared your thoughts with Jimin, he was your best friend and love trouble was something you used to discuss a lot but Jungkook was his friend and you couldn’t let your own feelings and fears get in between them.

“I can’t remember when was the last time we watched cartoons together.” Jimin muttered and stole some chips from the bag.

“When you had your nasty breakup with Hyeri.”

“Oh? That long?”

Jimin glanced at you from time to time, hoping you would talk. When he got a message from Hana, he did panic a little at your unusual yet familiar behavior. It wasn’t the first time, but he didn’t want it to get as ugly as the last time.

“Come here.” Jimin opened his arms for you to snuggle against him. There was little he could do if you didn’t want to talk but he was willing to give you what you needed anyway: the support of a friend.

You welcomed his invitation with a small sigh of delight, instantly shifting closer to him and resting your head on his chest. His warmth, his presence, his scent, everything in Jimin comforted you and you felt almost silly for trying to hide from him too.

“Thank you.” You whispered and pressed your head a little harder against him.

“You’re welcome.”

When Jimin started playing with your hair, you closed your eyes and reveled in the feeling of his fingers running through your hair.

“I like him.” You opened your eyes and stared before you.

“I know.”

                                               ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

The first thing Hana did when she saw you the next morning was to give you a tight and warm hug, rocking you from one side to another. You couldn’t breath and wanted to push her away but her grip on you only tightened.

“Do you feel better?” She let go of your body but just for a second, her hands stayed however on your shoulders. She was frowning, still worried about you.

“Yeah.”

“Sure?”

“Yes.”

“Absolutely sure?”

You groaned instead of replying and Hana let go of you with a chuckle.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

And despite your initial annoyance you couldn’t help but smile tiredly at her sweetness. You felt bad for worrying her and for ignoring her. But then, your eyes landed on Jungkook who walked along with Namjoon.

“No. Let’s go?”

                                                  ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

Just when you thought you could busy your mind with your next class, someone, not say who, managed to make you change your mind. There weren’t many seats left in the class and out of all empty places Jungkook chose the one just beside you. Jungkook didn’t say a word to you, he simply sat beside you, waiting for the teacher to start the class. You, however, couldn’t concentrate any longer, you couldn’t stop yourself from staring at him, your mind going crazy, screaming at him to explain himself. But he didn’t.

Until he couldn’t take it too. He turned to look at you, looking nervous with your staring. He rubbed his neck, slowly, and gulped. “Ok, what’s up?”

The sound of his voice brought you back from your slow mental breakdown, forcing you to find an answer to his question. And yet no sound left your mouth. What else could you possibly tell him? A part of you wanted to scream at him and tell him he was your problem, another part wanted to ignore him and then, there was the part of you that just wanted to talk to him and forget your worries.

“Now I feel intimidated. Should I worry?” He joked and laughed nervously

What came next, you couldn’t prevent, it was just too damn tempting. Out of nowhere you pinched Jungkook’s cheeks, holding them tightly and looking straight into his eyes while he blinked furiously at you, dumbfounded with your action.

“As if.” You stated

Jungkook looked like he wanted to say something but was cut short by your teacher, startling you which caused you to let go of him and regain your composure. You cleared your throat and avert your attention from Jungkook to your teacher. Your heart pounded in your chest and you could feel your face heating up as realization of what you had done hit you. What the fuck do you think you’re doing Y/N???

It was Jungkook’s turn to stare, his eyes wide opened. He opened his mouth and then closed it almost instantly.

“Okay, that was unexpected.” He whispered to himself but you being close to him heard it anyway.

But Jungkook being Jungkook, quickly returned to his old-self, no longer taken aback, he leaned closer to you, his feet touching yours under the table, you stiffened at the contact but didn’t say a word. “Do you feel better now?”

“What?” You looked at him

“Were you avoiding me, Y/N?” You didn’t like how your name sounded. It wasn’t a reproach but Jungkook didn’t look so nervous anymore and instead had a small smile in the corner of his lips, slowly turning into a smirk as you turned slowly your head to face him.

“Look who’s intimidating now.” You huffed in reply and feigned annoyance. He could stare at you all he wanted, he could invade your personal space but there was no way you could tell him that he was absolutely right. Jungkook understood it quickly. “Fine. Don’t answer.”

“I have a dance competition next month. Will you come?”

“Oh?” That was new. “Against who are you competing?”

“Many different colleges from the town.”

“well then, I will but you better win.”

“Be my lucky charm?” With that, he put his hand on top of yours. Your eyes followed the movement, gawking at his hand. And here came the butterflies, the goosebumps and your crazy heart.

You must be out of your mind.

By the end of the class, you fell into a comfortable silence. From time to time Jungkook would lightly bump you with his thigh or elbow you. If at first you believed it was by accident (just because he couldn’t keep on place), by the third time you realized he did it on purpose to get any reaction from you. He got nothing except for a slap on his arm and a scoff.

“You’re impossible.” You eventually said as you got up from your place ready to leave.

“Why?” He batted his eyelashes at you.

“Sure, pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

Before you could leave him, Jungkook grabbed your arm and pulled lightly at it, obliging you to lean closer. You grabbed at his arm to prevent yourself from falling right on top of him. You had a snarky comeback just at the tip of your tongue, ready to snap at him. And yet, it died as soon as it came when you followed his eyes: Jungkook had a perfect view on your revealing top which meant he could see the only thing that prevented him from remembering. Your tattoo.

To say that Jungkook was shocked would be the understatement of the century. His face went blank and for a second you thought he had stopped breathing. He didn’t but the view of your tattoo made him forget everything he wanted to say and instead very vivid images filled his mind.

- Flashback-

You couldn't remember anymore how you got to Jungkook's place. Not because you were too drunk (you probably were otherwise you wouldn't be latched onto Jungkook's lips in the first place), but because you were too busy kissing, teeth clashing, tongue battling. No matter how strong Jungkook was you refused to let him have the last word and he let you believed (easily) that you had won the first round.

Latched on his lips, you stumbled twice but even in his drunken state he held you, his hand firmly pressed in your middle. Jungkook pushed you gently inside his flat, breaking the kiss just for a short moment to close the door. You groaned at the loss. The door barely closed, you grabbed him by the collar and yanked at it, bringing him at your level, your body pressed against his, seeking for his lips. They were soft, warm and felt heavenly against yours. You were addicted.

Jungkook led the way, you moved backwards, trusting him. His hands kept roaming around your body, from your neck to your back to the curve of your butt to which he gave a strong squeeze making you groan into the kiss and pull at his hair in response. Kissing was nice, felt divine even and you felt even more intoxicated, addicted, but it wasn't enough. Your body became overly sensitive with just his touches that left burning trails everywhere he touched you. Your core kept pulsing, feeling wet and terribly empty.

You broke the kiss for a second and you pulled your dress over your head, leaving you in nothing more than your bra and panties. Jungkook exhaled loudly, admiring the sight of you, from head to toe, wetting his lips at the tattoo on your right breast. He was hungry.

You opened your arms widely, inviting him to claim his prize. And oh boy he did. He cupped your face and planted his lips on yours, nudging you gently so you would resume the walking.

Until your hips met a hard surface. Jungkook instantly hoisted you up and put you on top of the table. His hands slid on yours thighs, stroking your skin before finally spreading your legs widely and settling in between. Jungkook looked absolutely fucked up (and without a doubt you looked the same, lips swollen, hair messy, his eyes darker than ever and completely blown. You licked your lips, shivering in excitement at what would come next.

"This need to go off." You pointed at his shirt and he complied without a word, smirking at how bossy you suddenly sounded. You had to stop yourself from drooling as he took of his shirt, exposing his strong arms, veiny hands and defined abs. "Shit."

"Like what you see?"

"Yeah." You gasped as he gently pinched your inner thigh. You wrapped your legs around his waist and pulled him against you. "But you know what else I would like?" You nipped at his jaw, gently at first before biting on it. Your lips traveled from his jaw to his cheek to his ear that you caught in between your teeth, pulling at it and you smiled at his low growl. "The idea of your face between my legs." As you confessed your desire, you pulled away to look at him and at the sight of Jungkook's feral gaze you almost let a moan slip. You definitely wanted him between your legs.

"Yeah?" Jungkook's nails dug into your skin and then he pulled you closer to the edge with a swift harsh move. He sank to his knees and ended face to face with your throbbing core. He pulled at your panties with too much strength and you feared for a short moment that he would rip them - you forgot all about it when he kissed your clit, making you arch your back and bit on your lips. When you thought he would finally give you what you desperately needed, Jungkook surprised you by moving his lips to your thigh, kissing, licking your skin, leaving marks for you to remember later. You whined in protest, wanting him back on your center and not somewhere else. You grabbed his hair in attempt to switch his attention but with a blink of an eye he had your wrist in his grip and he glared at you from between your legs, looking annoyed and dangerous. And terribly seductive.

"Don't move or I'm not letting you come at all tonight." He warned you.

The bratty side of you wanted to protest and pushed at his buttons to see what could happen but the possibility of not having your release when you desperately needed one calmed you down. You nodded and he let go of your wrist to go back to business.

"Good girl." And just like that, his lips were around your clit, sucking, flicking his tongue and making you cry out his name.

"Feels good." Since he didn't let you grab his head, you held for your dear life by the edge of the table, your grip so strong, your knuckles turned white.

"Shit. Jungkook." You mewled, completely lost in your own pleasure.

There was little you could do when Jungkook ravished your clit, but then he pushed a finger inside you - it was game over. You couldn't hold back your moans any longer, your bucked your hips, wanting him closer to your core. He pushed a second finger, stretching you, pumping them, curling his fingers inside you to massage the right spot. Your thighs were shaking with every lick and curl of fingers and then, you let out the loudest moan.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, don't stop." And Jungkook chuckled at your pleading, his chuckle vibrating against you.

He was good and knew exactly where to push to completely unsettle you, to have you whining, trashing under his ministrations. You couldn't remember anymore when was the last time someone went down on you and even less remember someone as good as him. Suddenly, you understood why girls were so drawn to him and asked for more despite knowing he would never settle down.

It didn't take long for Jungkook to bring you close to your release, you could feel it with all your being. But so did Jungkook. With one last thrust of his fingers, he pulled away, leaving you empty, trembling and panting with your face flushed. You cried desperately at the loss. "Jungkook! You little-"

He laughed and gave one last kiss to your clit before moving his lips higher, ignoring completely your complains.

"Where would be the fun if I let you come right now?" His lips travelled to your belly, his tongue circling your belly button before kissing his way to the valley of your breast.  "I want you to cry, to beg and only then to come around my cock." Jungkook glanced at you from between your breast as he wrapped his mouth around your hard nipple, flicking his tongue over it before biting it softly and you couldn't help but pull at his hair and press him closer to your chest.

"Jungkook."

"Hm?"

You were at a loss for words at the sight, your core clenched and you felt yourself even wetter if it was possible. God you hated yourself for feeling so turned on, for liking him so much, for letting your desire win but nothing could stop you anymore. Not when your heart were racing. Not when your senses were overwhelmed. You grabbed him by the neck and forced him to stand up just so you could capture his lips in another intense and sloppy kiss.

"Jungkook. I want you. Now." You ordered against his lips.

"Hmm, I don't know. You weren't very nice to me." He pulled away, his hands rested on your hips as he stared at you.

"Jungkoooook!" You whined and nudged him with your leg.

"See."

"But I want to ride you."

Jungkook growled in response and lifted you from the table. Despite his smugness and words, Jungkook was hard and wanting nothing more than feel your tightness around his cock.  He brought you to his room and threw you without a single thought on his bed. You bounced on the bed, giggling while Jungkook took the last pieces of clothes that were still on him. Once undressed you grabbed his arm and pulled him on the bed, making him fall beside you and you took the chance to straddle him, grinding yourself against him, making him groan. You had your hands on his chest for support before positioning yourself and slowly sinking down on him with your eyes closed. Both of you groaned at the sensation, your walls clenching around his length, the stretch burning deliciously. You stayed still for a moment, absolutely enjoying the fullness.

Jungkook was the one to urge you to move by bucking his hips. You bit on your lips but complied. Raising yourself before slamming back, setting your own pace. You rode him, your breasts bouncing with every move. Jungkook held you by your hips, helping you, meeting your hips half way and you felt him deeper inside you, reaching for all the right spots. Every thrust sent waves of pleasure, your walls clenching around him.

"Shit, baby, you feel so good." Jungkook groaned and thrusted harder making you cry out his name in return and throw your head back in pure bliss. "You're so tight, god."

Jungkook growled as you unconsciously clenched one more time around him, his growl sounding so damn animalistic you swore it was the sexiest thing you had ever heard. But then, he flipped you over, he grabbed your legs and thrusted back inside you, pounding harder and stronger than ever and you held his arms, digging your nails, scratching him. Tears pricking at the corner of your eyes, you arched your back in delight, your release was so close and you could feel how strong, how powerful, how shattering it would be.

"Jungkook, fuck, please." You begged but you weren't sure whether you wanted him to go harder or help you out with your orgasm that was just so close and yet.

"Hmm, need to do better than that, babe." He smirked and you felt him slowing down and pulling half way from you, making you wiggle under him in protest.

"Please, please, please. Jungkook, please." You begged and Jungkook slammed back, his cock hitting deeper with every thrust. He slid his hand in between your bodies and rubbed your clit in circles mercilessly.

Your thighs were jerking, your senses overwhelmed; you closed your eyes as fire pooled low in your abdomen before exploding, a shockwave that had you screaming his name. Jungkook kept pounding into you through your orgasm, seeking for his own release that came right after with a deep growl.

Jungkook collapsed on top of you and you hugged him tightly against you.

-Now-

Abruptly, you freed yourself from his grip and took a step back, your legs shaking under his gaze. There weren’t many things that terrified you but the idea of Jungkook finding out about that night was definitely on the list.

“I need to go.” Your voice cracked and you cursed yourself for feeling so weak. You didn’t let him time to recover or to stop you. You ran away without looking back. Without seeing Jungkook’s gaze following you. Without seeing how slowly a genuine and proud smile spread on his face.

                                                  ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

Hana [4:15pm] : So what if he knows? You became quite closed and it’s obvious he likes flirting with you.

You  [4:15pm] : I don’t want him to flirt with me.

Jimin [4:15pm] : Now that’s a lie and we all know that.

You [4:16pm] : Fine. I do like him flirting with me but I think I want more and I don’t think it’s something Jungkook can give me.

Jimin [4:18pm]: You wouldn’t know that Y/N. Yes Jungkook sleeps around, I can’t deny that but he’s a nice guy and despite what you think he can get serious too.

At Jimin’s message you groaned, ready to throw your phone away just so he couldn’t add something unnecessary, something that would  get your hopes up. Jimin was being a nice friend, you knew it, but you were a stubborn little fellow and you never listened.

Jimin [4:25pm] Honestly Y/N, does it really matter that he remembers?

You [4:25pm] : YES. It’s damn embarrassing!

Jimin [4:26]: 🤦🏼‍♀️

Jimin [4:26pm]: Don’t you remember that day what he said about the girl?

You [4:27pm]: Get lost Park Jimin!

Hana  [4:27pm] : I agree with Jimin!

You [4:28pm]: Of course you do.

Jimin [4:29pm] : Fuck it. I’m done playing nice.

Your eyes widened in shock at his words. A storm was coming and you could only brace yourself for his next message that would probably leave you bitter and regretful.

Jimin [4:31pm]: Y/N, how old are you? Stop being a child. You both are adults. Talk to him, I’m sure he will surprise you. If not, then get over it. Move on but stop acting like a damn teenager.

                                                  ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

To your not so biggest surprised, Jimin didn’t go straight home after classes. It was past nine in the evening and you kept glancing at your phone, expecting a message or any reaction from him. Nothing came. Jimin was undoubtedly upset with you and when Jimin was upset, it was for the best for him to stay away from people. You bit on your lips, fighting the urge to call him and apologize and tell him to come home.

When the doorbell rang you jumped from the couch, too fast, feeling dizzy for a second. You were in such hurry, in hope, that you didn’t even think for a second that Jimin had his keys and had no reason to rang at the door. You realized it too late when you opened the door and were face to face with none other than Jeon Jungkook.

Your first reflex was to stop breathing. Then, when your brain fully registered that yes Jungkook was really standing before you, you tried to close the door just as fast as you had opened it. You were fast. Jungkook was faster. He blocked the door with his feet, wincing at the strength you had put, before pushing the door with his hand.

“Don’t be like that, Y/N.” He pleaded, his voice soft and low.

For a second, you were tempted to yell at him and tell him to leave but then Jimin’s words echoed in your head, making you close your eyes and took a deep breath. Reluctantly, you moved to the side and let him in. And he did, his arm brushing yours, making you bite your lips, trying hard to ignore how your heart had skipped a beat. You closed the door behind him and led the way.

It felt awkward. Scratch that, you felt awkward being alone in the same room as Jungkook. You looked at everything except at him. Maybe you were scared to see how he looked at you. Maybe you were scared to let your walls down. But Jungkook saw through you.

“Is it that hard to look at me?”

Just because of your damn ego, you raised your head to look at him, trying not to waver under his adorable smile. Yes, it was hard to look at him, especially when he looked so natural, so soft, so different to the image of him you used to have.

“See? It’s not that hard.”

“What are you doing here, Jungkook?” You finally asked, unable to hide your curiosity.

“I’m glad it was you.” He said instead of answering to your question. It took you off guard, not only his words but his sincerity too. Jungkook didn’t want to talk about that night, he wasn’t dense or stupid not to notice how uncomfortable you were, but he wanted you to know how he felt.

“Does it change something?” Without you realizing it, your voice was filled with hope.

Jungkook took a step closer to you and you almost felt the itch to take a step back, but something held you back and Jungkook took it as a sign that he could get closer. Your breath hitched in your throat, you looked at him in hope and your heart pounding in your chest, roaring in your ears. The waiting, despite it being only seconds, were almost unbearable.

Jungkook, however, always managed to surprise you. His hand reached for your face, thumb stroking gently your skin and the look in his eyes made you melt into puddle right on the spot. “Depends.” He took another step, your body brushing, his warmth embracing you. If only Jungkook knew he had you wrapped around his finger. He could probably ask you anything and at this point you would say yes without questioning.

“Depends on what?” You managed to whisper.

“What do you want from me, Y/N?” And he leaned closer, his lips so damn close to yours, his warm breath ghosting over your lips and yet never touching.

You wanted to be greedy. You wanted to let go. So instead of answering him, you grabbed him by his neck and smashed your lips against his into a bruising, needy, passionate kiss. Jungkook chuckled into the kiss, his arm slipped around you and pressed your body so there would be no more space left between you two, lifting you slightly from the floor as he kissed you back with just as much eagerness.

"Win the competition and we might work it out."

tw self harm, blood, mentions of abuse, murder, death.

The stones were placed deliberately, a winding maze stretching out of the cave's mouth. He didn't know if Deimos was the god or hero of his people's religion, but it was a vital part of his identity and one of the only ways he could think to explain to his father.

Hudson sets the last stone in place and grabs his bag, pulling out a paper house. "Hey, Deimos..." he calls out to the night sky. "Dad or father. I don't know what you want me to call you, but, uh, it's me? Hudson. Your son." He steps forward into his maze. "I'm not really good with words and I don't know what sort of ...offering  you're expecting." He continues on, winding around and into the cavern's mouth, swallowed by its darkness.

"I hope you don’t mind if I explain a few things first.” This wasn’t an offering of fear, because despite the fact that his father was the literal god of fear, Hudson didn’t feel… scary. Sure, people were intimidated by his stature and sometimes his skin color, or the simple fact that he was a man, but for the most part Hudson felt like a hamster in wolf’s clothing. “It’ll make sense in the end, I hope.” His heels click against the hard rock of the cave’s floor, each step accompanied by a soft jingle of the bobs of his spurs.

“My life's been... rough." He murmurs, licking his lips nervously. "The first five years my sisters and I, we were on and off the streets, in and out of foster care. Until we met Craig," he pauses and sets the house down on the floor between his boots. "It was the first real home we had and he was real nice, at first." Pulling his dagger from his belt, Hudson cuts the back of his hand. Blood trickles down, spilling around the paper house. "I was five years old when he married mom, and once that happened, it was like a light switch went off on him."

Shuffling forward, Hudson continues onward, a hand on the cave's wall to guide him. "I met Mr. Floyd a few months after that. Really cool dude. Taught me and my sisters a bunch of stuff. He's got a raccoon, Dipshit." Hudson pauses again, rummaging through his bag until he finds what he's looking for: a paper raccoon figure. "Mr. Floyd taught me to shoot a bb gun." He says, setting it down between his feet and repeating the process of cutting himself.

"We used to practice behind his shop on pictures of famous people. I got really good at it." He grins at the memory, finger gunning the darkness with a soft pew.

The grin slips away and he's back to wandering the maze nature had built into the mountain, a hand pulling out another paper creation from his bag. Calloused fingers rub at the folded edges of a gun. "Craig got worse. Mom didn't want to leave because we'd be without a house or food, which meant we'd get torn apart again... I was scared he might kill her or my sisters one day." He drops the paper gun, pressing the knife to his hand until he feels the sharp stick and the wet slick of blood again. Hudson lets out a hiss of pain. "So, I killed him. Pew!" Hudson mimics the finger gun motion again. "Right through his left eye."(edited)

The demigod grows quiet, frowning in the darkness. "The cops came and took mom away. My sisters and I ended up in foster homes. Separated." He pushes onward, the sound of ruffling wings and soft chirps from the cave's ceiling draw his gaze upward. Bats, he figures. "I bounced around a few homes after that, but the worst house was the Young’s. They used to put stuff in my food at night." His voice dips down to a strained, barely audible whisper. "I dunno if it was so I wouldn't fight back or if they thought I wouldn't remember, but---" Hudson's voice cracks and he stops, heart hammering in his chest. "I remember bits and pieces of what they did to me. Sometimes, I'll remember new things."

Hudson drops a paper cross to the ground, letting more blood rain down. A gust of wind that brushes past him, a soft flapping of fleshy wings trailing it. "Don't worry, life got better after that--- Some law got passed not too long  after that and me and my sisters all got to go live with my grandma." He drops a little bird to the ground and continues with his trek. "Then, Mr. Floyd helped my mom get out of prison and they got married!" A blood slick paper ring is dropped.

"Things were good for a few years. For me, at least. My sister Denver had a harder time," he explains. "Craig had beat her real bad when we were young; got nerve damage in her leg. So, she was in constant pain... and," with his bloodied hand, he pulls out a paper hawk. "She lost hope that it'll ever stop hurting, that the chaos in her head will ever stop without the heroin." Kneeling to the ground, Hudson sets the bird down gently. "I got selfish, started spending more time with a girl in school---my first ever girlfriend---and I was barely home. Barely around to see Denver, to listen to her, to be there for her." He draws a fresh cut across his palm, wincing as he deepens it, almost as if he were punishing himself. "She got into a car accident. Killed some wealthy white dude who was out biking and drove off."

For a moment, Hudson simply sits there, letting his palm make a mess around the paper bird. It was one of the best years of his life, but all the good and happiness he experienced seemed small and insignificant when held up next to the heartbreaking events that lead up to his arrest and imprisonment. "We lived in Arizona, so you know, my sister coulda been tried as an adult even though she's just 16 and if that'd happened, then she woulda ended up on death row." A tear streams down his cheek. "So, I took the fall. I got that trial and ended up with that sentencing. She went to rehab, about four times. Then she overdosed five years later. I wasn't there for her again. I couldn't even attend her funeral.”

He sniffs back the avalanche of snot threatening to break free. "Prison sucked. Got stuck in the system for eight years, but thanks to a bunch of laws, my sentence was reduced to life in prison, then reduced again, and then commuted." He hisses as he pushes himself up off the cavern floor and presses onward. "Bounced around between jobs, bought my first house," if a mobile home counted as a house. "I was pretty active in the local anarchist community, and then uh, well, I ran for a city council seat... and I won."

He feels out the paper creations in his hand, and tosses the one he was fairly certain was a rainbow. "I jokingly proposed we legalize gay marriage in the city... as a publicity stunt for gay tourism, and uh... well, my bill passed." He lets out a laugh. "Yeah, the state government sued and apparently, that was the nail in the coffin for it to get bumped up to the Supreme Court." There's pride radiating off him. "Funny, huh? Bunch of scared old geezers suing us because they're afraid other cities in the state would copy cat and they'd be known as a gay state... well, their fear backfired on them real hard."

This was dragging on, and while he knew gods technically had all the time in the world, he suspected they also had the shortest attention spans in the world. "I met the love of my life a few years back," his grin softens into a pained smile. "Gideon, he's the most beautiful man I've ever met. He swept me off my feet with just a smile.” The lawyer was all sharp edges, cool as a cucumber, but there was a softness in his gaze when he looked at Hudson. Even his touches were soft, handling the demigod as if he were a delicate work of art. Hudson had never felt so cherished in his 30 years, and it hurt to think he might never experience that again. 

“Dude was a cop---well, a prosecutor, which is just a cop with a college degree. He didn’t want to be one, he wanted do civil rights stuff, but his dad wouldn’t let him. It got him killed---he got him killed." The memory of him trying to stop Gideon from bleeding out comes rushing back to him. He sinks to the ground, a paper daffodil and  heart  in hand and simply breathes. Moments pass in silence before he speaks again. “I’m not telling you this so you feel bad for me. Life isn’t life without a bit of pain.” Granted Hudson had a whole lot more than a bit. “I just wanted to show you that no matter how many times my life went to shit, I kept at it and I’ll keep fighting because I have hope.” Hope that he could beat whatever evils that threaten them. Hope that he can make the world a better place. And hope that he can get Gideon back, no matter what it’ll cost him.  He sets the last two of his paper creations down. “That’s what I’m offering.” He lets his head fall back against the hard cavern walls, staring up at the squeaking abyss above him. “I won’t stop no matter how hard it gets.” Suffering and hope went hand in hand. You couldn’t have one without the other. “I promise.”

A trail of  blood, sweat, tears, and fears turned into hope.

As Long As You’re Mine

Finally, right? I’m excited to be writing more, though, and I hope you guys are excited to receive more works from me! I genuinely love and care for each and every one of you (excluding the porn bots and the likely bigot or two I haven’t caught yet) and I really want you to enjoy my writing. I know I seem swamped, but, please, feel free to request. They’re always open unless specified otherwise. 

Anonymous asked: “Ooh I don’t know if you know the musical Wicked, but there’s an AMAZING song called “As Long as You’re Mine” and I think it’d be perfect for a really angsty, sad but still cute imagine / one shot if you’re willing to write it! :)”

Here is the link to the song. 

Enjoy!! 

A lot of people were surprised when they found out you were Ellie’s girlfriend.

Even Ellie didn’t know when the two of you first met. She thinks it’s when she and her father stumbled into your uncle’s flower shop for a last-minute Mother’s Day bouquet.

It’s not.

The first time you met Ellie, you were working alongside Wade Wilson. You see, your uncle’s a peaceful guy, but your uncle’s best friend from college is a guy most people know as Weasel. In the day, you work for Lawrence, but in the night, you’re cashing in gold cards at Sister Margaret’s.

You have a special gift, kind of like Ellie’s. Exactly like hers, at least in that it’s a mutation. You’re physically invulnerable. No knife can break your skin, no weight can crush your bones. It’s nice. You met Wade at the bar, him having lost the bet that everyone loses:

“I bet you fifty bucks that you can try to stab me in the heart and I won’t die.”

He scoffed. “Try? I will.”

“Do you accept the bet or not?” You snarked.

“How will you give me the fifty bucks when you’re dead?”

You slapped two twenties and a ten on the bar, your sweet smile secretly a cunning smirk. Weasel snickered, and you somehow knew the man in the red suit was narrowing his eyes at the bartender. You looked to Weasel, and as you did, you felt the tip of a dagger press against your chest. He’d pushed, hard, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Hey, dude, that’s starting to kinda itch,” you’d remarked.

“You’re a freak.”

“Thanks. Fifty dollars, please.”

He gave you a fifty dollar bill. “I don’t mean it offensively. I am, too, I can heal from any wound. Hey, do you want to help me with something? I promise there’s more of those,” he gestured to the bill you were holding up to the light.

“And will you give them to me?”

He looked to you, surprised that you’d picked up on that. “No. But it’ll be fun.”

And fun it was. Ellie and Colossus were looking to recruit Wade. They tried to get you, too, but it didn’t happen.

“It’s ironic, or something like that,” she’d remarked to you as Piotr threw Wade into the car. “The guy who doesn’t feel pain, the guy who can heal from it, and the girl who can’t be hurt in the first place.”

“And who says I can’t be hurt?”

She’d looked at you curiously, but you never explained.

You wished you’d explained, as you began to sink deeper and deeper down. Drowning. You know there’s no hope, until a familiar red figure dove into the water.

He’s drowning, too, but he can heal. That and his other heightened abilities give him the ability to just barely grasp your hand, pulling you up with him. He rips off your mask, and Ellie, still on the yacht owned by a particularly nasty member of the Hellfire Club, gasps.

“You didn’t tell her?!” he asks you loudly, but it’s like you’re not even there. You can feel the cool water, the heat of the large man holding you up, but you can’t speak, can’t think, not clearly. You faintly feel large metal hands gripping you and pulling you upwards with great force. “This is gonna be real awkward, kid, but I’m the only one who knows it.”

And the next thing you know, you’re coughing violently, water rushing out of your mouth. You take trembling breaths that deepen into gasps, and you girlfriend is staring at you, clearly devastated.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I- I heard the way your friends were talking about Wade, what he does. I thought-” you choke on your words and your air, continuing: “I thought you’d feel the same way.”

She shakes her head, violently, taking your face in her hands.

“Not about you,” she tells you, looking shocked at your words. “Never about you.”

Wade and Piotr look to each other, feeling like third wheels.

“You’re going to quit. You’re gonna get enrolled with at Xavier’s and you’re gonna be safe now, okay?”She offers, and you’re immediately unhappy with her response.

“So, you’re even worse. You pity me, you think I need saving,” You pull away from her embrace.

“You just did need saving! If Wade, of all goddamn people-”

“Hey!”

“..Hadn’t been here, you would’ve died. And I would’ve never known that Y/N L/N, my sweet florist girlfriend, was moonlighting as a literal fucking assassin.”

“I would’ve told you,” Wade interjects a second time, and Ellie shoots a bright orange glare that quickly shuts the merc with a mouth up.

You look at her with numb, deadened eyes.

“I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

“You’re right, I don’t understand. I don’t know why you think it’s okay to kill people for a living, I don’t know why you hid it from me when I tell you everything, and you, you knew that was hard for me, but you kept your secrets and fed me bullshit,” she snarls.

“It wasn’t-”

“Considering this?! Yeah, it was.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say, here. I’m not sorry for not telling you...But I am sorry that you had to find out like this,” you admit.

She just glares, so you don’t say anything more, sitting close to Wade while Piotr turns the boat back, the owner dead. Ellie looks at the corpse, and then you and Wade. And then the corpse. And then you and Wade. Corpse. Murderers. Dead guy. Killers. Bad man. Girlfriend and friend. She realizes she should apologize, not just for what she said, but for how she handled the situation overall. It’s the thing she likes least about herself, the way she snaps and immediately after realized just how horribly she reacted.

Later, in the evening, you’re at Wade’s, as you’d told your uncle you were spending the night at Ellie’s (which you had planned to do) but didn’t want to tell him that you weren’t or visit the mansion and just stay with one of the friends you’d met through Ellie there.

There’s a knock at the door. Wade peeks through the peephole and looks to you, curled up in one of his old sweatshirts and a pair of leggings one of his old hook-ups had left, hair still wet from your shower and mascara (if you wear it) smudged around your eyes. You’d left your bag at Xavier’s, telling Ellie there was a flower emergency before joining Wade on his mission.

He opens the door. Ellie. Of course.

“Y/N.”

“Don’t talk to me,” you tell her, not wanting to hear her voice,. Not wanting to feel guilt.

“No. I was gonna find you tomorrow, but I need to talk to you now. It’s important.”

“What? Can’t wait to officially leave me?”

She looks stricken. “No.”

You look at her skeptically.

“I said some pretty awful shit this afternoon. You told me you were scared to tell me the truth, and I fulfilled your fears and then more. And I’m sorry.” She ducks her head so that she can meet your eyes, which are cast down.

“I- I should’ve told you the truth sooner,” you say quietly, getting up and going to the door.

“Yeah, but it’s clear to me now why you didn’t. And I should’ve respected that,” she admits, rather maturely, you think.

“I thought about it, and I can- I can quit the merc business. Start working more hours at Lawrence’s. It- It won’t be the same as before, but I guess I have enough savings… I can enroll at Xavier’s, I doubt Law will care much as long as I come for my shifts, and-”

“No. That’s not what I’m saying or what I want,” she cuts you off, shaking her head.

“But you said…” You trail off, looking at Ellie with a confused expression. She wants to kiss you, but she waits, so she can explain:

“And it was stupid. I love you, and if this is you, I shouldn’t be a judgemental prick.”

“Okay. I’m sorry.”

She steps inside from the dark night, wrapping her arms around you in the warm lamp light. 

“It’s okay… As long as you’re mine.”

Piano Man

Chapter Four

mob!Tom x reader

Warnings: language, violence

A/N: If you want to be tagged, let me know:)

Summary: The Ecclesiastes Pub catered to a plethora of people. Prostitutes, college students, successful businessmen and London’s most wanted. Bartenders and waitresses learned to tune out conversations from their customers quickly if they wanted to keep their head. However, people will still come looking for trouble, even if that trouble revolves around Tom Holland, the most feared mob boss around.

~ ~ ~

Though I probably should have, I didn’t tell anybody about the call or text. I knew that it was stupid of me to do so, but I’m living in the house of the most dangerous man in the country, so I figured that a threat was practically nothing. It might not even be a threat; for all I know, it’s a stupid prank.

The next morning I woke up around 8:00, hoping that was early enough for Tom. After getting dressed, I walked down the stairs and saw only Tom and Harrison conversing at the kitchen counter. They both were dressed impeccably (why should I be surprised) and stopped talking once they noticed I was present.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Harrison said, taking a sip from his glass. “I’m looking at it and there’s not much to see,” I equivocated. Harrison pursed his lips before turning back to Tom to resume their conversation. I sat down in the chair next to Harrison, marveling at the kitchen as well. Everything about this house screamed I shouldn’t be here and they were right. However, the house was going to have to suck my dick because apparently I’m not going anywhere.

“So where’s all your henchmen and shit? Isn’t this house supposed to have eyes everywhere?” I took an apple from a nearby fruit basket and not into it. Tom filled a glass of water and handed it to me and answered, “I have eyes all over London and the U.K., Y/N. The lot of them don’t come here until nine; only Harrison and I live here.” He handed the glass to me and I thanked him quietly, taking a sip, “So the mafia’s a 9-5 business then?” “Not at all,” Tom shook his head, almost cracking a smile at my joke.

For a while, we didn’t say anything to one another. I was finishing my glass and Tom began to cook breakfast. It smelled delicious and I was tempted to ask for some, but I figured best not to. The sun was rising gradually and wisps of orange and yellows rays managed to squeeze in through the closed curtains and dance across the house as if they were lovers.

Tom turned around with two plates of eggs and sausage, giving one to Harrison. He then looked at me and asked, “Did you want something?” “No, but you probably should’ve asked before you started cooking,” I said. He took a forkful of eggs and lifted them to his mouth, “One day you’re going to wish you didn’t have that sharp tongue.”

While the two were eating, I headed back to my room, deciding that I’ll start my job when everyone else does. I unplugged my phone from the charger and opened it, mulling over the photo like I had ever since I received it. I could see the picture detail by little detail even when I closed my eyes, but it pained me that I didn’t know who she was or who sent this to me. Is this a riddle I’m supposed to solve? Was I supposed to figure out who she is or why this photo has so much meaning and suddenly stop some psychotic maniac? Was this woman after me or was she also being chased? I literally know nothing about her, who she is, her favorite color, if she went to college or not.

Someone knocked on the door and immediately I took myself out of my messages and turned off my phone. “Come in,” I said and Harrison entered the room. “While you’re up, might as well start you on some training,” he looked a little too smug for my taste and I wanted to punch out his perfect teeth. Why the fuck were the two men in charge of the most feared mafia fucking gods? Last I remembered, mob bosses were fat guys who practically beat the living shit out of Viagra.

I nodded my head and stood up, brushing myself off and trying to shake the photo out of my head. “Do you want me to change into something different?” I asked. “Preferably, unless you really would like to sweat your ass if in those jeans,” he gestured to my pants.

“Good...good, you have decent form, Y/N. I’m impressed,” Harrison nodded along as I kept punching the bag with the new technique he taught me. I didn’t let the compliment go to my head, so I ignored it, continuing to throw more punches to the poor bag. Too much was on my mind and honestly, the training was a great stress reliever. Sweat was getting near my eye, so I paused for a bit and wiped it off, but that was when I looked up at the news. Where the photo of the girl was displayed on screen.

“Turn it up,” I demanded Harrison and he did so. We both listened to the reporter and I let the words hit my nerves. “Today, Ellen Rhie, a college student abroad from South Korea, was brutally murdered and found in an alley near the Ecclesiastes Pub, which had just reopened after a stand off from what seems to be a gang killing. She was strangled with what seems to be a piano string approximately 12 hours ago and was found by a homeless man,” the reporter continued, but her words melted away.

The woman was murdered. The woman who seemed so alive in the photo sent to me hours ago, 12 to be exact. Over and over in my head, I replayed the phone call and heard the voice tell me, “The first of many.” My mind was like a broken record player stuck on the vinyl of darkness, constantly relaying threats. So this was it, the text was a threat and I’m going to be a victim.

Harrison noticed my state and he put his hand on my shoulder gently, causing me to jump. “It’s just me,” he said softly, “Are you alright?” I stared at him, practically boring into his face. Everything around me seemed slower, and my eyes glazed around the room to make sure nothing was melting, although it felt like everything should be melting.

My voice was barely above a whisper, shaking uncontrollably, “I should have told you.” “Tell me what?” He asked. “I could’ve saved her,” my voice was louder now, “I could’ve prevented it.” “Prevent what, that murder? You had nothing to do with it, Y/N!” Harrison looked puzzled and I didn’t blame him.

I rushed to a nearby chair where I had left my phone and I opened it, revealing the photo. “I got a call last night from a random number. They told me that this was ‘the first of many’. I didn’t think much of it until now,” some of that was blatant lie but I didn’t care. He had to know now.

Harrison took the phone out my hand and examined it before averting his gaze to the TV to look at the same exact photo. He gave my phone back to me and grabbed my arm lightly, albeit a little pressure on it. “We need to find Tom,” he said with gritted teeth and the two of us rushed to his office where he was speaking with someone.

“I’m in a meeting, Harrison,” Tom stopped talking to the person seated in front of him, but he didn’t look at Harrison. The gun was perched on his desk and the person was visibly distraught. Harrison took a look at the person before changing back to Tom, “It’s important.” “Everything is important, Harrison,” Tom met Harrison’s eyes, “This meeting is important. That’s why I’m having it.”

Tom began speaking to the person again before Harrison sighed, “It’s Rigsby, sir.” Tom froze, something that shook me to the core. He turned to the person he was speaking with, and pointed the gun in their face, “You have five seconds to leave this house. One,” he counted and the person scurried out. Tom looked at me and commanded, “Close the door.”

After Harrison told him what went down, Tom slammed his fists on the table and stood up, pointing at me. I jumped and my stomach dropped lower than it already was. “You know you were going to be a fucking target, Y/N! Why the fuck would you hide this? What if you were sent your own photo? What were you going to do?” He shouted. Harrison looked stoic, but I knew that something about this was bothering him deeply.

“What’s going on? Why was I sent the photo, Tom? Do you know who the fuck did this?” my voice was rising as well, not taking kindly to being shouted at. “Of course I do, Y/N! I’m not fucking thick headed like you. I know when something’s dangerous,” he answered, but not really answering my question.

“You don’t think I know what’s dangerous?” I stood up from my seat as well, “I live in fucking Southwest London you waste of breath! I’ve been fucking catcalled, assaulted, robbed, and destroyed beyond all reason because of this shitshow we call a city! I’m living with a fucking cold blooded killer who murdered his fucking father and probably the rest of his family too!”

Harrison grabbed my forearm, “Sit down!” He hissed. Tom was still, and his eyes bore daggers into my skin. “Harrison, leave,” he said, his voice almost like a growl. “Tom-“ “Get the fuck out of here!” He turned to Harrison. Calmly, Harrison stood up, walked to the door, opened it and left, all without saying a word, and leaving me with Tom Holland.

“So you really believe the bullshit they spoon fed you out in the world, didn’t you, Y/N?” He was walking out from behind his desk and I could see his hands were balled up and bleeding, from his nails digging into his skin. I was terrified, I knew I fucked up and now I couldn’t redo it. I didn’t know who I should’ve been more scared of, whoever wanted me dead or Tom.

I said nothing and he laughed, walking closer to me. “You really want to act so innocent and spit on me like I am the Devil, don’t you sweetheart?” His teeth were gritted and he cocked his head. I was backpedaling, but soon I had run out of place to backpedal and my back hit the door.

He finally pinned me to the door so that I couldn’t leave, although I couldn’t really anyway. “I know who you fucking are, Y/N. You have your own fucking secrets, some worse than mine,” he spat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, trying to act harder than I really was. He pressed a finger to my lips and shushed me, “Don’t lie to me, Y/N. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” He shrugged and tilted his head, “I’ll admit it, I killed my father. He was getting soft and a bit too old for this job. The mob needed grit and he didn’t have it.”

“And you did?” I asked but he pressed his finger against my lips harder. “No time for talking, miss,” he chastised, “I have my demons and you have yours. But don’t ever think for a fucking second that you can use my crimes against me. Don’t ever think for a fucking second that you can best me. After all, I am a cold blooded killer, according to you.”

He took his finger off my lips and replaced it with his thumb brushing my lower one. “Look at me, Y/N,” he said softer than before but all the more dangerous. I did what I was told begrudgingly and I noticed an emotion I wasn’t particularly excited to see. His eyes seemed clouded with a concoction of emotions: anger, madness, and what seemed like lust. “One day,” he said to himself as he took his thumb from me.

He finally backed away, giving me space, but I still didn’t move; I was petrified. Fumbling around for the lock, I unlocked the door and opened it. Before I exited the office, Tom called out my name and I stopped in my tracks.

“You’re here for a reason, you need to tell me these things, especially now more than ever,” he was holding information back, but I didn’t want to get into it. I wanted to get away from him right now and let my nerves sort themselves out. I nodded silently and left, closing the door behind me and practically rushing down the stairs, tripping over my feet.

CHAPTER FIVE

TAG LIST:

@financialinstability @magical-fairy-princess-stuff

November

One of the joys of studying English, was the absolute rants we all got into every Tuesday afternoon. They were the best lectures by far, where we would literally all sit down, a group of around 100, and simply talk about whatever came naturally. People would come in raving about books, about something they’d read online, about articles and art and text conversations and literally anything that involved the written word.

They were the lectures I lived for. They were the lectures that helped me to actually enjoy my course; the kind of thing I wanted when I decided to go to university. And for the past half an hour or so, we had been having the fun conversation about ‘sexting’ which, admittedly, was something I was a virgin to. But it didn’t make the conversation any less fun. One girl in particular, was having a real outburst. “Sexting is a one-sided affair.” She spat. “It’s always the boys who want it, but the girls put in all the effort. I’ve never once gotten off to sexting, because I put in all the effort and say everything he wants to hear, and he’ll just reply like ‘fuck’ or ‘what else’ and he wants me to get steamy over that? No. Boys put in zero effort. It’s all take take take.” “Well what about boys sexting?” A lad looked over his shoulder to see the girl. “What?” “Boys sexting boys. If they put in zero effort, how do you think that works? You can’t put all guys under one umbrella when a lot of boys... like other boys?” “Well obviously... I can’t really talk about that. Never experienced it, being a girl. Do you sext boys?” “No.” He acted as though he was defending himself, which puzzled me a little. “Of course I don’t. I’m straight. But not everyone is.” A girl raised her hand to grab the rooms attention, before she went straight in and made her comment. “I sext my girlfriend all the time. And it’s intense. We both go for it. I have heard straight boys can’t really commit, and I can’t say I’m surprised.” She shrugged. “That must be it! Maybe it’s a straight guy thing. A masculinity thing.” The original girl nodded in agreement. “I don’t think it’s fair to generalize.” The boy spoke again. “For the sake of the discussion, we have to. We can’t go up to every boy in the world to determine their sexuality and how good they are at sexting.” “This is stupid.” He scoffed. “You’re too protective of your masculinity!” I finally spoke up myself. “The second there was an insinuation of you being gay, you bit back. Like it’s a bad thing, something to be offended by. You want to sext, but even though it’s the lads who usually want it more, you can’t open up and just do it because you’re scared. And you beg for these texts. But then, if anything bad happens with the girl, you probably call her a slag to all your friends, and tell them she was sexting you. Have you done that before?” He quite literally, bit his tongue, really not wanting to admit that was something he most certainly had done, but it was coming to these moments in these lectures that made them so brilliant, and so interesting. He knew that. Reluctantly, he owned up. “I have. Yeah.” “Exactly.” I sighed. “But I feel bad for you.” “What?” A few people laughed, mainly girls. “It’s really drummed into lads from an early age, y’know? No emotions. No tears. Be a man. Grow a pair. Like any sign of vulnerability is a bad thing. Of course these idiots don’t know how to sext, it’s being completely naked to the girl, via words. It’s a lot more terrifying than actually being naked with someone.” ”I have to say, I think you might be onto something there.” Darren, our lecturer, nodded. It was only then that we all seemed to spot a group of people waiting outside the room, and then we realised we were running around ten minutes late, and the next lecture was due to start. Darren thanked us for another interesting week, as all those Tuesday lectures had been over our two months there, and we all raised to our feet, beginning to make our way out of the hall. Silently, I was beaming that I’d more or less gotten the last word. It had set my day off to a really good start, meaning that I exited with a little spring in my step. At the bottom of the stairs, I felt someone jog downwards to catch up with me, turning around to see Ed, who had rocked up late thanks to his hangover, and missed out on his chance of sitting next to me, which was obviously a massive shame for him. “I’m glad you feel sorry for me.” He mumbled giddily in my ear as we walked out together. “Sorry?” I chuckled. “This is a man’s world, and even the men aren’t good enough for it.” I laughed and nodded, unable to disagree because it was absolutely true. All that lecture had done was made me realise the whole world was full of high standards and expectations, and none of us were living up to them. I buttoned my coat up and snuggled into its warmth as we stepped outside. I’d made a few friends in my lectures, but none of them were sustainable outside of lessons together, apart from Ed, who was adorably cute and spectacularly ginger, and completely, through and through, my kind of person. “I love Tuesdays.” I smiled up to the sun. “I know how I can make your Tuesday even better.” I turned to hear his tale, but instead of saying anything he moved the grotty rucksack from his back and routed through it quickly, before pulling out a bright orange leaflet and handing it to me. “What’s this?” “I finally got a little acoustic gig. It’s at this bar in town.” He couldn’t stop smiling. “Oh yeah, Jax, I know that place! Oh well done!” “Thanks! You gunna come?” “Yeah definitely. It’s an excuse to drink, but, early enough that I won’t miss my lecture tomorrow morning. Win win.” “Is that it?” “Oh, and to see you sing. Obviously.” He hit my shoulder relatively hard, the two of us laughing sweetly as I tucked the flier into my bag. In all honesty, I was worried, straight away. The number of friends I’d had over the years who formed bands with anyone who could even pick up a guitar was shocking, and for that reason I had seen an unfortunate amount of terrible bands, who I had to rave about to save face and feelings. I was hoping Ed would be different, praying, because it seemed with age I was just getting worse at lying. “Will you bring some people?” Ed asked coyly. “I’m a bit worried no one will come.” ”Yeah, definitely. I’ll bring the people from my flat. Don’t worry!” “Sound!” Ed hollowed his throat. “You’re the best.” “I know.” Ed began to skewer off in the direction of his accommodation, some of the grottiest ones that our university had to offer, but he loved them all the same. “See you tonight then, yeah?” He yelled to me. “Yep.” “BRING GIRLS!” He had to yell louder as we distanced. “OF COURSE!” “WEAR LITTLE TO NO CLOTHES TO BRING IN A CROWD.” “FUCK OFF, ED!” “LOVE YOU, PIPPA!” He laughed at himself yet again and jogged off down the correct path, unable to see I was chuckling and shaking my head, but I’m sure he predicted nothing less. I was thankful our campus was so small, at least compared to a lot of universities I’d visited on their open days. All the lectures halls, the library, shops and cafes and study areas, even a few student bars, were in the centre, and all the student halls surrounded them. It wasn’t more than a ten-minute walk to get to where you needed to be, and I was fortunate enough to be placed in halls where I could literally fall out of bed and be in my lecture. Apart from the times where I wanted to skip a lecture, because it then meant I was trapped in my flat all day, and maybe even the day after, in the hopes a lecturer wouldn’t see me, which they often had. Not that they said anything, I was sure they’d had students worse than me in their time. As I stumbled round the corner to get into our flat, Zayn and Harry were there, Zayn with a cigarette hanging from his mouth, Harry staring glumly onto him from the doorway. “Hey.” I mumbled uneasily. I hadn’t even spoke to Harry since our run in in the bathroom on Sunday evening, and it was a good thing. I hadn’t raised my voice the whole time and I hadn’t had a headache once, and it was beautiful, just like the olden days, before he moved in. He looked down to the floor as soon as I was there, not wanting to say much. Not wanting to say anything at all, really. “Pip, we need your help.” Zayn sighed. Harry rolled his eyes and took a step even further indoors, obviously not really wanting my help. But this was my perfect opportunity. If I offered my help, that would wind him up, but he couldn’t get mad at me or say anything, because I was actually being super nice and helping. The perfect scenario. “With what?” “This photography thing for Harry. They want to see something other than the topless pictures, today, in around forty-five minutes... and he has nothing.” ”Pretty ill-prepared.” I stuck my bottom lip out to him. There were real life daggers in his eyes, his bottom jaw clenched and tightened, but he just about held himself together. Just about. “Any ideas?” Zayn ignored my comment. “Is there like... a theme?” “No,” Harry eventually spoke. “Which kind of makes it even harder. No guidelines.” I genuinely did try to put my mind to it for a minute. For some reason, I wanted to think of something he could do and some way we could help him, but my head, as usual, was not coming up with anything even slightly creative. I felt awful because of it. I should have known. I should have been able to think of something, because I’d loved photography at college, and I had only gone a few months without it. I guess I’d been blocking it out as a way of coping with how much I missed being creative like that. We all stood in silence for a few minutes. I could tell Zayn felt really badly. But it wasn’t just a case of, let’s think of any idea, anything we could. It was his first assignment, we were at uni. I may not have liked Harry but I didn’t want to see him fuck up something like that. After our silence, Harry flipped. “FUCK!” He cursed, gripping at an invisible force in front of him. “Can you fucking believe this? I’m tearing my hair out over some tits? Tits were never made to make me feel this shit!” Zayn laughed loud, and I buried a smile, kind of liking that he was the type of person to crack a little joke even when he was furious. But everything else about him was pure chaos. “Oh god.” Zayn chuckled lowly, stomping out his cigarette. “I do seriously feel for you. Pip, I looked at the photos, they’re seriously good.” “It’s just nipples. That’s all it is.” Harry gawped. “I don’t understand.” Hearing him say that, made something click in my mind. Literally, it just clicked, and the photographer in me came out so quickly. It was also the little bitch inside me, who lived deep within my soul and was ready to kick off at any opportunity. My eyes widened, and I darted my gaze to Harry. “Can I see them?” “What?” He quizzed. “The pictures you took. Can I see them?” He shrugged as a way of saying yes, before turning inside and we followed. In the elevator going up, Zayn had asked what was going on, but I just brushed him off, too excited, too ready to bring my plan to life. Pretty soon after, I saw Harry’s room for the first time. It was pretty simplistic, minimalistic. There was a giant Fleetwood Mac poster on the wall above his bed, a couple of Polaroid camera shots of himself and predictably friends from home beside his TV, and a few items of clothing on the floor. I also spotted an array of different cameras upon his desk by the window, and honestly, I just wanted to pick them up and study them all. But it wasn’t really the time. Harry pulled out a file from one his drawers and found the pictures quite quickly, passing all ten of them to me. I wanted to hate them, to think they were sleazy and there was a good reason they had been rejected. But really, they were quite beautiful. I understood his rage a little more after seeing them, because they were so well done, so tasteful and mature. “Can I...” I awkwardly began. “Do you need these?” “What are you doing?” Harry seemed suspicious. “Do you need these? Do you need them to… stay like this?” I watched him glance over my shoulder to Zayn who was still in the doorway, and he just shrugged, still completely unaware of my plans. Harry looked back to me, and for once, he had to trust me. I wasn’t expecting us to ever have a moment like that again. “No.” He sighed eventually. “Do what you need to do.” I then scurried into Zayn’s room, which was completely different to Harry’s. The walls were as covered in pictures and posters as his right arm was in tattoos. Not a single bit of the wall was left unloved. The floor was covered in clothes, his desk was covered in art and pens and paper, and everything expected from an art student. “Just give me a second.” I requested. They stayed stood in the hall as the door automatically closed itself, and I found a black sharpie and did what I had imagined in my head. I drew thick black crosses over the nipples. As soon as they featured on every single one, I slowly, and certainly with fear, walked into the hall, handing Harry the pictures straight away. His face was hard to read as he skimmed through them, Zayn looking over his shoulder to study them too. Harry’s eyebrows were low, but nothing else gave me any sign or hint of emotion. Regardless of how much I hated him, I wanted him to be happy with what I’d done. “Pip,” Zayn spoke quietly. “These are-” “Genius.” Harry interrupted. “Yeah?” I waited on edge. “They’re a massive fuck you to my lecturer, and the fact he turned them down before. There’s literally nothing wrong with them now the nipples are covered, apparently, even though that whole concept makes no sense. But that’s why this works! The whole idea of it. Why are they okay now? Why weren’t they before? Why is it nipples are unacceptable? It’s created this… theme! Seriously, this is sick. I’m going to go and throw these onto his desk right now.” Zayn gave him a quick slap on the back as Harry literally ran out of our flat as quickly as he could, a new spring in his step. I was so glad he was happy with them, I was beaming. He was still a dickhead. Zayn gave me a soft smile. “That was really nice of you. Considering it was Harry.” “Yeah, well. He brings out the worst in me, and photography brings out the best in me. Combine the two, and you’ll find Harry handing in ten photos which basically give his lecturer the middle finger.” He stretched one arm around me and tucked me into his body, giving me a kiss on the forehead. As always, Zayn appreciated my efforts, no matter how little effort I had actually put in. And I appreciated Zayn. Everything about him. + + + I sat on the floor in front of my bedroom door, doing my makeup in the mirror, slowly preparing for the evening. I was hoping there would be a good number of people there to see Ed play, he deserved as much. For the two short months I had known him, all he had spoken about was how he was trying to get a gig, and how much he loved performing. I asked him why he hadn’t taken music as a degree, only to learn his love for poetry, how he couldn’t write a song without the novels and words he had read over the years. I thought that, in itself, was quite poetic. There was a small knock on my bedroom door, nervous. I think I knew it was Harry. “Come in!” The door opened gradually, but he didn’t come in. He remained stood in the small gap he had created, not looking me in the eye. He was pretty good at making situations uncomfortable. “Just wanted to say thanks.” He mumbled. “My lecturer looked like he was going to pass out when he first saw them. But then came up to me at the end of the lecture, saying they’re his favourite ones this year. So... Yeah. Thanks.” I was super proud of myself; probably too proud of myself. I kind of started taking credit for all of it. I started to ignore the fact it was Harry who had taken the amazing photos and I gave myself all the glory. “You’re welcome.” “Good move, Pip-Squeak.” He smirked arrogantly as he shut the door again, and I cursed loud to myself, knowing he just had to get that stupid name in, just to piss me off, just to make sure it hadn’t been an entirely positive interaction. I blew a raspberry again as I completed my look for the evening, shaking my head at him. I knew he was going to be tagging along with us that night, since he had actually started making an effort with everyone instead of predicting whatever we did wasn’t his scene, much to my dismay. But I figured after that afternoons blip, we could easily go back to staying out of one another’s way. At least that was the hope. I raised to my feet and tugged down on my Arctic Monkeys t-shirt, figuring the band T and denim shorts was a good look for a small gig. I tugged on my door handle, swinging it open to see someone stood with their fist clenched in the air, waiting to knock. Louis. “Hi.” I breathed uneasily. “Alright.” He greeted. “What-” “Zayn invited me to tag along tonight.” Reminder to hug Zayn and tell him how fantastic he is later. I couldn’t help but grin, which I hated because he could probably see how happy I was to have him there, and that was not good because my main aim with Louis was to learn how to flirt, and become slightly alluring. It was pretty hard to do that when the muscles in my face wanted to prove the pure glee I was feeling thanks to the fact I would be able to see his face all evening. “Good.” I lowered my face down to the floor so he couldn’t see. “You wanna go?” He asked kindly. “Yeah, I just need to ring a taxi.” “I’m gunna drive, it’s all good.” “Oh. I didn’t know you drove!” “You don’t know much about me. Yet.” Louis had probably taken some sort of masterclass in flirting at some point in his life because bloody hell, he was good at it. I steadily stepped out of my room, locking it behind me, only because I had been the victim of leaving it open before and the rest of those bellends throwing twelve packets of plastic forks all over the place. Idiots. “C’MON TROOPS, LETS GO!” Louis yelled. Pretty quickly, everyone retreated from their rooms, all being wise enough to lock up too. Tally looked beautiful, dressed for a night out rather than a gig, but she looked fantastic because of it. Mike looked... Tall. Harry’s outfit was simple, a white t-shirt and black jeans, but the black hat on his head seemed to complete the look. Zayn looked amazing, as always, the sleeves cut off his T, docs and skinny jeans. Louis was the best though. Never before has one person suited a denim jacket the way he did. “One sec.” I mumbled. I jogged up to Ringo’s door and knocked a few times, half expecting to be ignored, but happy when she popped her head out of the gap. “What’s up?” She asked shyly. “We’re going to a gig tonight. Do you wanna come?” She glanced down the hall and saw everyone waiting to hear her answer, giving her encouraging smiles. But I think it made it worse. “No, thank you.” “Okay, well if you change your-” Before I could even finish my sentence she’d shut the door in my face. I looked down to everyone, spotting Louis close to bursting straight away. ”Well she was rude!” He chortled. I shook my head, feeling disappointed, and nothing more was said about it. We all walked out, unfortunately opting for the stairs this time, hurrying downwards. We were all in pretty high spirits, because it was nice to be doing something a little different, rather than just going out and getting wasted. Even so, I was sure drinking would still be involved. Louis stayed close to me as walked over to the car-park, nudging me with his arm once so he could get my attention, but all he did was give me smile, with low eyes. I blushed down to the floor as soon as I could. Louis unlocked his car as we all neared it, and I was not the first to notice how tiny it was. “How the hell are we all going to get in there, Tommo?” Zayn huffed. “Well you either get a lift, or you walk. So, squish in.” Louis shrugged. “SHOTGUN!” Zayn yelled too quickly. “Fuck sake.” Mike mumbled. “Alright, guys, enjoy getting in the back with a six-foot-five guy.” All at once, we stopped outside the car, and shot Zayn a really dirty look, kind of saying, c’mon, let that giant get in the front. Zayn gave Mike a demon gaze, sad he was going to have to squish in the back with us, but he accepted it, nudging his head towards the front door. “YES!” Mike celebrated. “Have fun in the back, losers.” Louis and Mike clambered in the front as the rest of us stood debating the best way to go about getting in the back. Louis’ car was excruciatingly tiny; there probably wasn’t even enough room to cram three people in there, never mind four. “Who’s the smallest?” Zayn asked. “Pip-Squeak.” Harry answered instantly. ”Fuck off!” I spat. “Alright, you’re going on someone’s knee.” Zayn nodded. “Well it’s definitely going to be yours, Malik.” “For fuck sake. Okay.” We walked around to the other side of the car as Tally got in and Harry followed. Zayn got in on our side, and we quickly realised that we couldn’t even have Tally in the middle, there was no way it was going to happen. “Alright, Tally. On my knee you go.” Harry smirked. He was probably relatively happy about that, especially thanks to her short dress. All I can say is that he definitely didn’t seem distressed by the new state of affairs. So there we all were as the car pulled out; Louis and Mike snug in the front, Tally on Harry’s knee and me on Zayn’s, bending forward a little so our heads didn’t crash against the roof. Mike turned around and eyed us all up, smug as anything. “Well, don’t you guys look comfortable.” “Fuck off.” I seethed. “I’m actually loving it.” Harry twiddled his eyebrows. ”Harry!” Tally squealed, giggling and wriggling. I turned and gave Zayn and alarmed look, because they were definitely flirting. I was no expert, but nor was I blind. Zayn gave me the same look, spotting the same thing. I had no idea what Harry was like when it came to sleeping with girls, even though I could take a good guess, but I knew Tally was all for sleeping with anyone she wanted, and she did it often. I couldn’t help but predict how their night was going to end. “How come you have a car?” Mike asked Louis. “Isn’t it a waste of money, being a student?” “I drive home most weekends, so it’s handy. My mum chips to with petrol.” “What about your dad?” Harry asked. “Haven’t seen him since I was three, so it would be weird if he gave me petrol money.” Louis laughed it off. Harry glanced to me, which I knew he would, so I looked right back, my face incredibly low, waiting for his snotty comment. “Look at that, Pip-Squeak, another fucked up family to add to the list.” Before I even had the chance to argue back with him, which I was more than willing to do, especially since he was seeming to ignore the deal we had come up with, Louis took my chance away from me. “OI!” He yelled, glancing at Harry in the rear-view mirror. “Just ‘cause my dad isn’t around, doesn’t mean my family is fucked up, mate. She never needed a man to create a family for me and my brother. We’re a better family without him. So don’t say we’re fucked up. It would be more fucked up if he was around.” The more I saw of Louis, the more I liked him. I smirked to myself in the back of the car as Harry awkwardly cleared his throat. Even though Louis was more proof of the argument Harry put forward about families, it didn’t mean the family that Louis had wasn’t strong and brilliant in its own way. I felt happy for Louis, being able to acknowledge and embrace that. Conversation remained pretty low until we finally arrived at the venue, awkwardly climbing out of the tiny vehicle. I’d never been in Jax before, but I was excited to pay my first visit. I’d heard people speak about it, but it seemed more of a place where third year students went. I felt like we were all going to look pretty young in there. But it wasn’t the case. I was expecting turned up noses when we went in, but it wasn’t what we got. Everyone was kind and nice and it only got me more excited. It seemed like quite a mature joint, the perfect place for a gig. There were giant framed pictures of famous British singers on the walls, like Morrissey and Mick Jagger. It was sick. “You want a drink?” Louis asked me. “If you don’t mind.” I blushed, again. “My pleasure. Anything goes?” “Anything goes.” I confirmed. He scurried over to the bar as I turned to the stage, and saw Ed coming out from behind a thick black curtain. Just as I was about to excitedly jog over to him, in the hope of introducing him to everyone, I heard Harry say something which made my stomach drop. “Oh shit!” He cried, like he recognized him. “Oh shit!” Ed pointed, and I knew. “Oh shit.” I mumbled grumpily as the penny dropped. Before Ed even acknowledged me, he ran over and to Harry and the two of them hugged each other tight, like a proper embrace, both grinning and stupidly happy. “No way, man!” Ed beamed as he pulled out of the hug. “I thought you were going to London for uni?” “I had a change of heart. I completely forgot you said you were coming here!” I took a few steps closer, needing to find out what the hell was going on and why yet another one of my friends was fond of this total twat. “What’s going on here?” I interrupted their reunion. “Pip! You came!” “Do you two know each other?” I asked. “Yeah. Do you two know each other?” He lowered his brows. “Unfortunately, I have to live with him.” “NO WAY! Me and Harry met each other over summer in Ibiza!” I gave a fake smile and a nod, pretending this was great news and I was absolutely thrilled the two of them were mates, but that definitely wasn’t the case. It also just made me think that Harry was actually nice with other people, just not with me. I knew we weren’t exactly compatible, everything he did annoyed me and everything I did drove him mad, but I found myself confused how he got on with literally all my friends, but not me. Even bloody Ed. “Well. I’ll leave you both to it then...” They basically ignored me as I wandered over to the rest of the gang, spotting Tally eyeing Harry up from behind, and I rolled my eyes. It was the makings for an interesting evening. + + + Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones played, and Zayn, Ed and Louis were all in the middle, doing the greatest kind of Northern Soul dancing they possibly could. They were throwing all the shapes, and to be fair, they looked pretty cool. Especially Zayn. I had to roll my eyes at Tally pulling on Harry’s t-shirt and taking the hat off his head and putting it on her own. “Eww.” I grimaced to myself. They had been like that all evening. I doubted they even listened to Ed play. He was amazing, which had been a massive weight off my shoulders, because when I smothered him with compliments once the gig was over, not one of them was a lie. Everyone in the centre cheered as the song came to an epic close, to be quickly followed by Love Really Hurts Without You, and they all started going mad again. Zayn danced his way over to me, a cheeky look on his face. “Come dance, Pippa.” “Eurgh.” “What’s up with you?” He came to a standstill. “I can’t do Northern Soul dancing.” ”No one can, really. That’s the beauty of the dance.” “Suppose.” I murmured. “Is it ‘cause you’re scared ‘cause you know Louis is going to try and kiss you?” He asked, I cringed. “I KNEW IT!” “He’s well out of my league, Zayn. Like, twenty million miles out of my league.” “But he wants to kiss you. And you want to kiss him. So... like... I don’t know why you’re not over there just doing it?” It was a fair question. I glanced over Zayn’s shoulder to see Louis looking our way, and I had to wonder what the hell I was doing stood alone like a total pillock when he was over there literally waiting for me attach my lips to his. To be honest, I think it was the thought of kissing someone sober. It had been a long time, and even though I was a few drinks in, I definitely wasn’t drunk. But I decided to get over myself, and get over there. Honestly, I did the dad dance over to the dancefloor. It was awful. The mere memory makes me want to slap myself. I scooted on over, clicking my fingers, getting more and more into it as I got into the centre, and even though Zayn was behind me, I could feel that fact that he was cringing on my behalf. I tried to get my Northern Soul groove on, staying close to Louis. He grinned with his bottom lip trapped in his teeth, moving freely along to the music, grabbing hold of one of my hands so I could move with him. Suddenly his eyes widened, and he nodded behind me. I turned around to see Tally and Harry, finally after a long evenings work, with their tongues stuck down each other’s throats. I turned back to Louis. “Bloody hell.” I groaned. “Wanna give it a try?” My face dropped and I stood completely still, not saying or doing anything, just looking onto him with the most distressed look on my face. Thankfully, he didn’t cower away with fear, which he probably should have done, he just laughed, taking one calm step to close the gap before placing his hands on the back of my head, tangled in my hair, and kissing me, soft and lovely and just about enough to make me forgot that legs were even a thing. + + + I bent down as Louis wound down his window, the rest of the idiots already running back to our flat at the end of a good night. He remained in the front seat, giving me another quick peck to the lips. “You wanna come in?” I asked nervously. I hadn’t had sex with anyone since I started uni. There had been one guy, Finn, who had spent the night in my bed, and there had been kisses and wandering hands and maybe a little blowjob (which he praised me highly for) but that was it. Judging by how fantastic the kisses were, and how much I needed sex, this seemed like a smart move. But I soon realised, the embarrassment I should have felt asking the question, was about to hit me face first thanks to the rejection. “I’d love to but... it’s probably not the best idea. Another time, alright?” “Oh. Okay.” I was just about to run away and hide under a rock somewhere before he pulled me back in for another intense kiss, and I really wanted to pounce on him even though he had just slapped my offer of sex right in my face. I pulled away a little breathlessly, giggling when Louis tapped my nose with his finger. “See you soon.” I smiled. “Very soon.” I began jogging away, unable to ignore how cold the night was, before I realised I had another question I really wanted to ask him. “Shit!” I cried, before jogging back. “I forgot to ask. Y’know that guy? The one who Harry beat up? In your building?” “Yeah?” “How bad was it?” I could tell he was confused why I was asking about that, but he did eventually answer the question. “It was... bad. Really bad. I mean, I know the guy, he’s a prick... but, I heard he had a broken nose and a couple of teeth missing. I saw him a few weeks after and his face was a mess.” “When did it happen?” The more I was hearing, the more confused I was. “In like... the first week or so.” “How come Harry only moved into ours last week then?” “I know the guy wanted to take it to court. Apparently, Harry threatened him, so he dropped it. Did manage to get him kicked out though.” Louis informed me. I knew my impressions of Harry were right. It seemed I was the only one who could see it, but I knew in myself and that was enough. The guy was bad, through and through. I needed to do more than stay away from him, I needed to make sure he never got to the point where he could hurt one of my friends. “Alright.” I groaned. “Okay. Thanks. I’ll see you soon.” Our hands slipped from one another as I ran back to our flat, hating the thought of Harry with Tally but knowing I could hardly go in and break them up. I was just scared that Harry had this side where he could flip at people for no reason and hurt them. I had seen it once, and I didn’t want to see it again. I ran up the stairs, ignoring the elevator, feeling far too awake and fired up, and pushed through our door. “Oh god! Really?” I squealed as soon as I opened the door. Harry had Tally up against the wall, her legs wrapped around his hips, both of them just about stopping as I stood trying not to throw up. Tally dropped to the floor and Harry unlocked his bedroom door, slapping her arse as she slipped inside. But for some reason, he stayed out in the hall with me. “Jealous?” He cocked his eyebrows. “Are you fucking kidding?” I spat, moving to unlock my door. “You’re horrific.” “I mean about the fact I’m gunna get laid. And your pal Louis is nowhere in sight.” “I thought we were going to leave each other alone?” “I was just asking.” ”Yeah well, don’t.” “You sure you don’t want a threesome?” He continued to wind me up. “You are literally the most disgusting person I know.” I stormed into my bedroom and locked the door behind myself, wanting to scream and yell and possibly hit him, so I just threw myself under the sheets and tucked them over my head and screamed into my pillow. And for around half an hour, I had to cope with the noises coming from the room next door. I squirmed myself to sleep.

A tale written with fangs and claws || Chapter 10

Chapters: 10/? Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken Characters: Liam Dunbar, Theo Raeken Additional Tags: Alpha Liam Dunbar, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, Dunbar Pack, Bisexual Liam Dunbar, Werewolf Theo Raeken, Alpha Theo Raeken Series: Part 1 of Morning Dew Pack

Sadie struggles to find her place with Liam and his pack, while Liam tries to be a good Alpha. New dangers arrises, old enemies show up and suddenly an unforeseen person joins the action.

Liam was at the coffee shop Theo was working. He used to spend his time there to work for his classes while Theo often stopped by and made some remarks or just tried to distract Liam on lazy days. The place wasn‘t too crowded, so Liam could enjoy typing on his laptop and finishing an essay without getting disturbed by too much noise. But suddenly his phone chimed with an incoming call and Liam looked up away from his laptop screen to check who it was. His face lit up and he immediately answered the call.

“Scott, hey.“ “Liam, how you’re doing?“ Scott asked with a soft chuckle. “I’m fine, classes are fine and I even managed to increase my GPA.“ After he had spent so much time over his books Liam decided to not let it slide and actually maintain his good grades for once. “Theo’s good too.“ Theo behind the counter peeked up at the mention of his name and Liam mouthed Scott’s name so the chimera knew who he was talking to. Theo nodded and then returned to his work and Liam returned his attention back towards the call. “How are you, Scott?“ “I’m fine too and so are Malia, Lydia, Stiles, and Derek. They told me to greet you.“ Liam smiled. “Greet them back. I miss you guys.“

He did. They were his first pack, he still had his ties to them and he still considered himself Scott’s Beta, own pack or not. “We miss you too. Is everything okay in Seattle? No hunters lately?“ See, since becoming an Alpha the talks with Scott were strange. Liam told him about the hunters, told him about Theo’s poisoning but he left out large bits of the stories. So Scott had no idea about Shana helping for example. He had indeed asked why Liam didn’t call Deaton but Liam had said they managed on their own. Scott knew Liam and Theo hung out with some other werewolves but that about was it. As long as he didn’t get a chance to tell Scott about him becoming an Alpha face to face, he was walking a thin line.

“No hunters lately. But hey, Scott, do you think you could manage some time to visit? It’s been a while since we last saw each other and we should really talk face to face instead of just over the phone.“ Scott stayed silent and Liam heard him shuffling around. “I get you’re busy with saving wolves and your own college life but please?“ He added after a while. “I could come in two months. I have tests and assignments to do but then it gets quieter again. Maybe Malia comes with me, don‘t know yet. But does that sound good? Two months?“ “Two months sound awesome!“ Liam beamed and Theo stepped to the table to refill Liam’s mug. He watched Liam closely but smiled when he saw Liam’s happy expression. “Okay, got to go. See you in two months, Liam.“ “See you then!“

Liam hung up and pumped both fists in the air. “Scott’s coming to town in two months.“ Theo chuckled. “That’s amazing. Enough time for you to figure out how to tell him.“ “I think straightforward would be the best. Just say: Scott, some things have changed. I didn‘t kill anyone but I’m an Alpha now too.“ Theo gave him a skeptical look. It was his nature to be less optimistic than Liam and have some doubts. But then he smiled and squeezed Liam’s shoulder. “Everything will work out okay, puppy.“

“Puppy? That’s cute.“ Both young men turned around and looked at Sadie. Liam smiled brightly. “Sadie, hey!“ He exclaimed happily. They had not talked since she sought him out but they had shared a few smiles and nods when they saw each other around campus. That she initiated a conversation now gave him hope she would lose some of her initial distant mannerism. She extended her hand towards Theo. “Hi, I’m Sadie as you already heard.“ He gave her a wary look but then took her hand to shake it. His nostrils flared. “You were the one who has been in my truck with Liam!“ “Ah, the truck owner. Theo, right? Liam’s roommate.“ “And his anchor.“ Theo added, eyes narrowing slightly. Liam frowned, that wasn’t how Theo usually introduced himself. It took some time until Theo told somebody that. Sadie raised one eyebrow but kept her smile and then Theo had to leave before he could say anything else because he had some customers to serve. He walked back to the counter and Liam pointed at the booth across the table. “Want to have a seat?“ He invited her and Sadie actually followed the invite.

“He doesn’t like me.“ She stated. “Who? Theo? Nah, he’s a bit distant in the beginning but he will come around.“ She didn’t seem so sure oft hat and just gave him a look. Liam shrugged. “Theo is a great friend and great to be around. He just needs some time to warm up to people. Understandable if you take into account what he went through.“ “Oh, look, it goes both ways.“ She muttered and then drank her coffee. Liam looked confused. “What goes both ways?“ “Nothing.“ Sadie said and her red-painted lips curved into a smile. Liam was still confused but then decided not to dwell on that and latch in an easy conversation with her.

Maya entered the coffee shop a while after and walked towards the counter. Only a few customer sat at the tables and aside from that it was all very slow. So Theo had time to glare. Maya stepped to him and followed his line of sight to where Liam and Sadie sat and still talked. “I would order a coffee but I’m scared the milk turns sour by the force of your glare. Who stole your bowl of sunshine this morning, thundercloud?“ Theo never stopped glaring daggers at the blonde. “He told me he talked to a werewolf girl he met and they waited in my truck until it stopped raining. He didn‘t tell me how pretty she was.“ He growled and Maya raised both eyebrows and really tried to stifle her delighted chuckle. “You’re really jealous this time, huh? I thought it had been bad when Liam and I joked around about getting married but damn, this time takes the cake, huh?“ “He beamed at her! He fucking beamed at her when she greeted him. No, not greeted, she just involved herself in our conversation which rude!“ Maya could not help and laugh before looking over. “She’s pretty, I agree with that. Liam has a thing for green eyes, huh?“ Theo growled again. “How do you know she has green eyes?“ “I saw her around. She is very involved in the college newspaper and various other activities. We never talked but I saw her.“ “Oh, so you have a crush on her too?“ Theo snapped sarcastically. 

He looked at the still taking pair and sighed gravely. “Their kids would be insanely pretty.“ Maya’s head snapped around and she stared at him. “Did you smoke something?“ She asked irritated. “You know I’m right. They both are gorgeous and Liam as dad would be amazing to see.“ She still stared at him as if he had grown a second head. “They are literally just talking. But, damn boy, you got it bad for him.“ She smirked. “Time for me to meet her! She made the great Theo Raeken doubt himself. I have to meet her.“

Thus she turned around and walked over to Liam and Sadie. “Hey there.“ Liam smiled. “Hey, Maya.“ He greeted his Beta and she slipped next to him and grinned over to Theo who still glared or rather looked quite betrayed right now. „You are Maya Duncan, you organized the equality march back then in March.“ Sadie remembered and Maya nodded. “I was one of the organizers but yeah. Did you walk with us?“ “Of course I did. I’m a strong believer in equality and feminism. Every woman should have the same rights as men and every woman should be able to decide how she wants to dress. The social standards are impossible to achieve and we have to work on that to make every woman feel cherished and like the queen she really is.“ “My opinions exactly!“ Maya enthusiastically exclaimed and both women latched into a discussion about the various problems and hardships coming with this opinion. Liam slowly inched away and sneaked away to Theo.

“What just happened?“ The chimera asked irritatedly and with a frown while he watched the still talking girls. “I’m pretty sure that’s how it looks when one queen befriends another.“ Liam shared his opinion of the whole encounter. Theo sighed. So he had lost Maya too, great.

Liam picked up on his friend’s dark mood. “You okay? You look kind of down.“ “I…Yeah, I’m okay.“ “You sure?“ “Liam!“ Theo snapped and when Liam took a step back, his tone softened. “Stop worrying, okay? I’m fine.“ But Liam, stubborn to his very core, shook his head. “You’re not fine and I hate when you lie to me.“ “Just drop it, Dunbar, it’s nothing.“ Liam opened his arms. “Hug?“ He asked. Theo glared at him but then sighed and actually hugged Liam. They both didn’t realize Maya and Sadie were watching them.

“Liam said they’re not but come on, they are dating, right?“ The blonde asked and Maya snorted. “No, they’re not and please don‘t ask me why. I cannot give you a reason except for they’re both idiots.“ “Idiots who are head over heels for each other.“ “I like you, Sadie, you know?“ She looked back at Maya and grinned.

***** Sadie met with them several times after that. It was nice to have her around, she was still a bit distant but she was warming up to them and Liam counted this as a win. Maya and her got along pretty well and if someone had asked him, Liam had immediately testified that these two could take over the world if they wanted. They were complete opposites, Sadie being into fashion and makeup while Maya was all about being natural and needed her clothes to be comfortable and suitable, but they were both power women.  Liam himself tried to help Sadie with her anger issues, as good as she let him help her that’s it, and the two of them got along pretty well too. The only person who obviously didn’t get along with the blonde was Theo. He rarely talked to her and made no pretense about him not liking her. These two were like cat and dog and Liam felt like pulling his hair. He was used to Theo being sarcastic but when Sadie was around, he turned downright mean and borderline rude. And Sadie tried, she tried to be nice to him, but it didn’t bring any success. Liam saw her face fall every time Theo simply shut her down and she grew more distant again. It was frustrating to watch his and Maya’s work to get destroyed because of Theo’s temper or whatever this was. 

Liam, Maya, and Sadie entered the coffee shop and made their way directly to the counter since nobody was there at the moment. Theo smiled. “Hey, Maya, hey, Liam.” And then he spotted Sadie and his smile vanquished. “Oh. hi.” Liam rolled his eyes and sighed. Maya muttered “Oh boy.” behind him and Liam could relate to that on a spiritual level. This was getting ridiculous.

And it only got worse. As time progressed, Theo seemed to downright hate Sadie’s guts. Whatever she did, nothing coaxed a positive reaction from the chimera and after Liam had scolded him for his snide remarks, Theo had sighed but then went on just glaring at Sadie instead of snapping. Only when she spoke to him, he talked to her too and his tone was as snappy as it could be. 

Sadie had come and brought coffee for all of them and Theo hands-down told her he was trying to tone down his coffee intake. Liam and Maya had gaped at him because that was so far from the truth and Sadie had sighed. “Oh, okay.” She said sadly and sipped her own coffee. And Liam could not handle it anymore. 

He got up from his seat. “Be right back!” He announced and then yanked Theo from his chair as well, pulling him behind him and right into the bathroom. Turning on the faucet so they could talk in peace and without the girls overhearing them he glared at the other. 

“What the hell is your problem?” He barked at Theo, eyes flashing red because he was pissed off, and the chimera looked flabbergasted for a moment, then his face darkened. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” “Cut the crap! What is your problem with Sadie? She did nothing to you and she is already distant enough. Maya and I work on a good friendship and then you come along and push her away again.” “Okay, listen, I don’t have to like her. She doesn’t want to be part of the pack, she said this more often than not, so just because she’s hanging around doesn’t mean we have to be friends.” “Yes, you have to be! Because I don’t see why not. She never did anything!” “Liam, just because you have a crush on her, she doesn’t have to become my best friend!” Theo snarked.

Liam stared at Theo for several moments, brain slowly progressing what he just heard. And then his hand shot up and forcefully shoved Theo back with his palm against the chimera’s forehead. Theo hissed and held his forehead. “Ouch! What the hell, Liam?” Liam glared at him and growled. “How can you believe I have a crush on her and use that as an excuse to be mean to her. What? Think I will exchange you with her?” Theo stayed silent at that and Liam growled. “You are a gigantic idiot, Theodore!” “You are always happy when she comes around. You beam at her and all.” Theo actually whined and he hated himself for it but he could not help himself. Liam rolled his eyes. “I am happy because she follows my invitation and that means she trusts us. She is all alone and doesn’t want a pack but nobody should be alone. I hope she let us help her and she’s slowly coming around. But you’re actively trying to push her away again. Theo, no matter what she does or says, Sadie is thousand percent not my type and I have no motivation to replace one of my closest friends and my anchor with her. But she could use some friends and I really like her. As a friend. So stop being...whatever the hell it is you are, jealous or whatever, and actually talk to her. Because I am pretty sure the two of you will get along just great. She reads many books you also like. Start with that.” Theo sighed but nodded. “Okay, fine. Maybe I was a bit unfair.” Liam raised both eyebrows. “Maybe? A bit?” Theo just huffed, too proud and too stubborn to say anything else. 

There was a knock on the door and it slowly opened to reveal Maya with one hand covering her eyes. “Are you dressed enough so I can look at you or did you finally give in to the sexual tension?” She asked and peeked through her fingers when she didn’t get an answer. “Oh, you’re fully dressed. That’s oddly disappointing.” “Anything we can help you with?” Liam asked and he knew full well he was blushing.  Maya smirked. “We thought about going to check out the newest Thai place. Want to come with us?” She asked. 

Theo and Liam shared a look. “Sounds good.” The oldest of the group then decided and left the bathroom with Liam. Sadie waited patiently for them to gather their wallets and jackets and then they were ready to go. The place wasn’t that far away and not as crowded as they thought it would be. They found a table easily and could order relatively fast. And while they waited for their food, Theo actually made an attempt to talk to Sadie. And lo and behold, the two of them actually could have a decent conversation. Maya leaned over to Liam. “Told him he doesn’t have to be jealous, huh?” “Was he really jealous?” Liam asked and Maya looked at him with a pitiful look. “Aw, Liam, you being so oblivious is cute sometimes, really. He was seething with jealousy. You’re his Liam after all.” She patted his cheek and snickered. Liam simply scrunched his nose but didn’t question any further. He was happy the four of them finally seemed to get along just great. 

****** And despite Sadie finally getting along with Liam and his Betas, she was still determined not to be part of their pack and stressed this quite often. “I hang out with you because you are the only weres I know around and you’re pretty decent but I’m not part of the pack.” She said every time. 

“I don‘t know why she doesn‘t want it. We all are stronger in a pack.“ Maya thought out loud while she and the boys were out for a jog. “Maybe she made bad experiences with the pack life. Or she’s simply not a pack animal.“ Theo chimed in. “Somebody else said that too about himself and now he’s the first Beta.“ Liam muttered and Theo looked at him. “I had a valid reason to join the pack.“ “Really? What reason?“ Liam joked. “You.“ Theo said simply. “You became the Alpha and with that, I had a very valid reason to join. You‘re my anchor and my friend after all.“ “You guys are sickeningly sweet sometimes.“ Maya mumbled and picked up her pace. Soon enough Theo was next to her. She was still working on controlling her wolf, still a bit hesitant, so he was still faster than her. And then Liam raced past them.

“Show off!“ Both Betas called out and the Alpha spun around, grinned brightly, and jogged backward. “No, that is showing off.“ He corrected. “Come on, both of you, you can go faster.“ “And there he is again, the drillmaster.“ Theo mocked and Liam fake-glared at him. “Just because you are not fast enough, Theodore, doesn‘t mean I’m a drillmaster. Come on, a bit of running won‘t hurt you. Don‘t want you to get fat, right?“ He mocked. Theo raised an eyebrow and pulled the hem of his shirt up to reveal his abs. “Suck my dick, Dunbar, there isn’t the slightest bit of fat anywhere near.“

Liam was momentarily distracted by the display, stumbled and actually fell flat on his ass. Maya and Theo started laughing and Liam looked up at them from where he sat on the ground and then he started laughing too. His own fault! “Serves you right for showing off!“ Theo said without any pity and Liam stuck out his tongue at him.

“Did you see that? Our Alpha’s getting cheeky.“ Maya said with a shake of her head. “Guess we have to teach him to respect his Betas, huh?“ Theo jumped on that bandwagon. Liam snickered. “Think you can take me? Both of you?“ They nodded and his eyes flashed red while he smirked. He jumped to his feet. “Then bring it on!“ He said and started running. Immediately both Betas went chase.

Liam wasn‘t running at full speed by far right now, he wanted to give them a bit of advantage and so he just made several turns and ran zigzag to avoid getting caught until they both finally got him and tackled him to the ground. All three fell while play-wrestling and laughing all the while. They finally pulled away and just laughed their asses off. None of them noticed Sadie watching them from afar with a longing look on her face.

****** Going snack shopping on a full moon when you were a college student on a budget was probably not the best idea, Liam pondered while he dropped the various bags in the shopping basket. But he as Alpha was the provider and since they would gather at Maya’s shed tonight again, he wanted to have snacks at least. Not for Maya, she would probably suffocate on them during the full moon, but maybe after that, she would like some candy to feel better. Sadie had said she would take care of the full moon herself and Liam had told her where the pack would gather but left it open if she wanted to come or not. The young Alpha wished she would come but he strongly suspected she would stay away.

Liam carried the basket to the cash register and paid for everything and then left the grocery store. He checked his watch. Not long and the moon would be up in the sky. It would not take long to walk from the grocery store to the shed and so Liam shouldered the bag and started walking.

He had managed half of the way when he noticed a scooter on the street and a girl sitting next to it on the sidewalk, crying and mumbling angrily. When he came closer, he smelled the unmistakable scent. “Sadie?“ Her head snapped up and she looked at him frantically. “What are you doing here, Liam?“ “The shed Maya rented is around here. What about you? Did your scooter break down?“ She kicked the front tire with her foot. “Stupid thing. I need it for one night and it stops working. Such a stupid, shitty thing.“ “Where do you have to go that you need it so badly?“ Liam inquired and the scent of panic hit his nose. He frowned. “Sadie? What‘s going on?“

She whimpered and the moon raised up in the sky. “I need…I need to hide! Need my chains.“ She gritted out and Liam blinked. It took him a moment but then he realized. “You don‘t have control.“ “I’m a born werewolf with IED. What do you think?“ She snapped and her eyes glowed gold. “Okay, come on, get up!“ Liam said and took her arm to pull her to her feet. “I know where we can go. Come on, don’t waste time.“ Once he had her on her feet, he pulled her along, not caring about her protests. He felt her shaking and with every minute she whimpered louder, her wolf clawing at her insides to take over.

They reached the shed finally and Liam tore the door open. Inside were Maya and Theo, latter chaining her up, and they both looked up when he stumbled inside. “No time to explain, help me chain her up!“ Liam told Theo and the twenty-one-year-old wasted no time to aid Liam. Sadie was struggling against their holds and when the moon appeared high in the sky Maya started growling and hissing too, pulling at her chains. Sadie’s resistance only grew and she lunged at them, tried to grab them with her claws and hurt them, wolf wild and untamed.

Both females were edging each other on and since Theo had stopped chaining Maya up, one of her arms was free and she also lunged at them. It was pure chaos and Liam and Theo struggled to keep them still. Sadie managed to escape their hold once and lunged at the other wild wolf in sight. It took a literal tackle into the wall from Liam to keep the two young women apart and make sure they didn’t kill each other. „STOP IT!“ He roared at Sadie, eyes glowing as red as they could be, and she whined, cowering for a moment before her wolf decided to riot against the Alpha. She tried to grab any part of Maya she could reach and since the shed wasn‘t that big, she almost managed again. Liam saw no other chance than to hit her on the head and knock her out. She slumped to the ground but at least she wasn’t causing any more harm.

And then he turned around to help Theo with Maya. Only to watch one oft he most horrific scenes he would ever see. See, Liam was used to a lot of horrible things and he was no stranger to blood and broken bones. But seeing Maya scratch a clawed hand over Theo’s throat and the blood seep from the claw marks made his stomach twist. Liam jumped, yanking Maya away from his friend and knocked her out too.

“Hey. Hey, Theo, are you okay?“ Liam worriedly asked, hand coming up to press against Theo’s injury. “It’s okay, they’re not that deep.“ Theo said but he was pale and staggered back before Liam grabbed him and slowly lowered him to the ground so Theo could lean against the wall of the shed. Liam checked the cuts slowly. Theo was right, they weren’t deep but there was blood and Liam took a tissue to softly wipe the blood away and press it against the wound. When it finally stopped bleeding, he checked again and then looked at Theo. “How are you feeling?” He inquired and Theo barked out a dry laugh and then hissed because that hurt.

“Peachy. But I will manage. I survived worse things than this.” Liam smiled weakly and sat next to Theo, also leaning against the wall. He watched the two girls. “I came across her by accident. When I asked her if she wanted to join us earlier, she said she had everything under control. I don’t know why she lied.” He shook his head. “Liam, she obviously is afraid to join a pack, to belong. I don’t know why but she must have made some very bad experiences. Somehow I get why she lied.” Theo said with a soft shrug. Liam looked at him. Seemed like they still had a long way to go with the blonde werewolf.

****** Liam raised his head and looked around the shed. Maya was still lying on the ground, seemingly asleep; and Sadie was also curled into a ball as good as she could. Theo still sat next to him, head on Liam’s shoulder, and still asleep too. Liam carefully sat up to not disturb Theo too much. He checked Theo’s throat. It had completely healed overnight and he smiled softly before pressing a chaste kiss on the chimera’s forehead.

A groan from Sadie made him look up. She moved and when she found herself restrained and in a strange environment, she whimpered. Liam moved Theo away from his shoulder so he could move over to her and kneel in front of her. “Hey, Sadie, everything’s okay, you’re safe.” He told her in a calm voice. She looked at him and then looked down, biting her lips. The scent of shame was rolling off her. “Sadie, hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to feel ashamed.”  The blonde raised her head again, tears glistening in the corner of her eyes. “Easy for you to say.” She said and tried to move a hand but the chains restrained her. Liam helped her get them all off and then sat cross-legged in front of her. 

“Why did you lie when I asked if you got everything handled during a full moon?” He finally asked her. Sadie leaned against the wall and shook her head. “Liam, I’m not the most open person. Thought we already established that. And I don’t want you to pity me.” “We would have not pitied you but helped you. Look, Sadie, I know how it is to lose control, okay? I know how hard it is. Why do you think we’re here? We’re helping each other.” “Yeah, the pack members always help each other. But, as already established, I’m not pack.”

Liam sighed and stood up, extending his hand towards her. “Want to go for a walk?” He asked and she grabbed his hand and let him pull her to her feet. They left the shed together and started walking slowly, around the garden.

“Sadie, why don’t you want a pack?” He had wanted to ask this since their first talk.  She wrapped her arms around herself. “Because a pack judges you.” When she noticed Liam’s confused look, she elaborated. “While growing up I was always the wild child, the pirate princess instead of the normal princess. Talking pink princess's dress and boots here. As a kid, everybody thought it was kind of cute. But then I grew older and I still had this untamed temper, they started to give a sniff at that.” Sadie took a breath. “And then I was diagnosed with IED and the judgment started. I actually overheard other members of the pack tell my parents how sorry they were that their daughter wasn’t normal. When we were out and gathering with the pack I saw the stares. My parents tried to help me, they don’t deserve people judging them for their broken daughter.” 

Liam had experienced the judging himself so he could relate to Sadie. She continued. “Seattle was supposed to be my clean slate, my fresh start.Where nobody could judge me. It’s bad enough when I come home but I can ignore this. Nobody knows me here, that’s why I saw this as a new beginning.”

“Sadie, do you really think any of us would judge you? Look at us. Maya was deadly afraid of her wolf, to the point she broke her own bones to stop the shift. Theo has done a lot of bad things in his life but he redeemed himself. And me? I’m constantly fighting for control, to be honest, I have anger management issues as well and I made some pretty bad mistakes in my life too. And you really think we would be the ones to judge you? And I get the clean slate. Do you know why I decided on Seattle? Because it was away from Beacon Hills. I knew that I could really be my own person here and not just the Baby Beta. I could figure out who I really am without anybody always patronizing me or saying I’m cute or something.”

She hesitated to answer. “I just don’t think I would be good as a member of your pack.” Sadie suddenly confessed. They stayed silent for a while until she sighed. “Can I go now?” “Of course. You can always come and go as you please.” Liam replied and she walked away without looking back. 

Liam sighed and ran a hand through his hair before returning back to the shed. Maya and Theo had woken up and Theo was unchaining her. “What’s with Sadie?” Theo of all people asked and Liam knelt next to him and helped to free Maya.  “She told me why she doesn’t want to be a part of the pack and I understand her. I still think she’s not good as omega.” He told his Betas and ran a hand through his hair again, a clear sign he was frustrated.  “In the end, she has to come and actively ask for becoming a member. If she doesn’t, we have to accept it.” Maya said and rubbed her wrist. Liam sighed and ran his hand through his hair once more before grimacing. He needed a haircut.

****** "What about going to the movies? It’s so long since I’ve been there.” Maya suggested while her and Theo and Liam walked towards Theo’s truck. The two had picked up Liam after Lacrosse practice and were now discussing what to do with the evening.  “Going to the movies sounds good to me. What about you, Liam?” Theo agreed with Maya. Liam was about to answer but suddenly a rotten smell hit his nose and he stopped dead in his tracks. His senses went into overdrive and he listened for any unfamiliar sound. “Liam?” Theo asked but Liam raised his hand, indicating that he needed to hear. And then he heard the faint sounds of fighting and howling. His eyes flashed red and he dropped his bag in the truck bed. 

“Come with me!” He ordered his Betas and then started running. Theo and Maya shortly behind them. Their way led to the library on campus and when Liam tore the door open, he saw a girl on the ground, shielding her head from any danger, visibly shaking with fear. In front of her stood Sadie, fangs bared and eyes glowing, while she was desperately trying to stop another girl with bared fangs and blazing white eyes, to get to the girl on the ground. A wendigo, Liam noticed, Sadie was fighting a wendigo. 

“Maya, get the girl out!” Liam ordered while his own fangs came out. Maya brushed past him, grabbed the only human in the round, and pulled her to her feet. She dragged her to the door of the library and pushed her out. “Run!” She called out and the girl did what she had been told. She turned around and ran away with a scream. 

Liam roared at the wendigo and the girl’s head spun around to face him. Theo roared too and stepped next to Liam, as well as Maya just a second later. The wendigo knew she was outnumbered and hissed before shoving Sadie away and pulling a clawed hand over her face. Sadie fell to the ground and the wendigo ran in the opposite direction. Liam immediately went to Sadie. “Follow her!” He told his Betas and they both chased after the wendigo girl. 

“Sadie, are you okay?” Liam cradled her in his arms because she was shaking and moving around. The cuts on her face were bleeding but they were not lethal.  “What was that?” She asked, out of breath and shaken up from the encounter.  “What was that?” The blonde werewolf shrieked again.  “That was a wendigo.” Liam explained and she grabbed his arms in a painful grip. “I know what that was! She suddenly jumped the girl and I had to interfere! I could not let her kill the girl. But, Liam...” She shook him. “I never used my wolf to help people! Not once! What was that?”

Liam stared at Sadie, a little bit lost how he should handle the obvious breakdown. “Sadie, calm down.” He finally said and freed himself from her grasp to pull her into a hug. “You did something great, you helped an innocent person. That’s amazing.” He mumbled while stroking her hair. Sadie was still muffling and crying.  Sadie was still shaking but then she pushed him away and jumped to her feet just when Theo and Maya appeared again. “We lost her.” Maya snarled, pissed by that. Liam ignored her for now and focused on Sadie who was still breaking down. “I never helped anybody! I never got involved!” “Well, sweetheart, then you hang with the wrong crowd.” Theo’s calculating voice rang through. “Because we get involved, it’s what we do. So if you don’t want to get involved, I suggest you stop hanging out with us as hard as this sounds. Because we get involved and we save lives, as many as we can. You just did that too but if you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. It’s okay, nobody will judge you.” 

It what Theo’s usual calculated and logical way of thinking and Liam felt himself agreeing with it. As usual, it brought him peace too, made him feel calmer than before. Theo was brutally honest in times like this but he was having a point. He liked having Sadie around but their pack got involved and they wanted to get involved, so if she wanted to stay she had to get used to it. But it seemed like she was way too overwhelmed by now. She stared at Theo, mouth opening and closing without a word coming out, and then she spun around and ran away.  “Should we follow her?” Maya asked but Liam shook his head. “Let her go, she has a lot on her mind now.” “And what are we going to do now?” Maya looked at her Alpha. “We keep our eyes open. A wendigo on the loose is a recipe for disaster.”

****** Having a wendigo kept them occupied but days after the fight there was no sign of the cannibal and yet the pack was ready to interfere if needed. Sadie dropped off the face of the earth, claiming she was sick or whatever and Liam figured it was part of her figuring out where she stood. He let her, he had other things to worry about at the moment. Sadie’s identity crisis could be solved later, now he needed to find a wendigo as well as find out who poisoned the punch at the party. The latter was still on his list and Maya seemed to have made progress in that one. She showed up at the apartment with some gossip about a dealer who sold wolfsbane as a new cool drug to students. It wasn’t much, but maybe it was exactly what they were looking for.

And so Liam found himself in the industrial area where he as well as Maya and Theo searched for the storage room of said dealer.  “I said it once and I’ll gladly say it again. Why can’t we go to places with better lighting?” Theo said and looked around, the narrow streets between containers and storage rooms.  “Because you won’t find a drug dealer laboratory within a bright and sunny park.” Liam replied and Theo just huffed. “Smartass.” 

Liam grinned and followed the instructions Maya had been given. “Number 47, that’s here.” He pointed at a door and looked over his shoulders. “Ready?” He asked and Theo answered by extracting his claws. Maya bared her fangs, battle ready. Liam listened for any sounds but nothing came and so he opened the door, claws already out.

The room was empty and dimly lit and it was hard to see anything at first. Their eyes needed to get used to the light inside the storage room and when they did, they found a few covered boxes. Liam walked in and tore the cover off. “They are all empty.” He realized. 

“Those here are empty as well.” Theo announced from the other side of the cubicle. 

Right after that, the door slammed shut behind them and they all spun around. “No!” Liam called out and ran to the door, trying to open it again. It didn’t budge, no matter how hard Liam pulled at it, Alpha strength or not. Theo and Maya were at his side, tearing at the door too, but even with three supernatural creatures, the door stayed close. And then Liam heard the sizzling. He looked around and saw the purple vapor flowing from the air shaft into the storage room. His eyes widened in shock.

“That’s wolfsbane! We need to get out here!” He alerted his Betas and they only pulled more desperately at the door. A second air shaft let even more vapor into the room and since it wasn’t big to begin with, the place soon filled with the purple dust. They all started coughing and even though they tried to hold their breath, they soon coughed again. Pulling at the door was getting harder with the wolfsbane affecting them and then a third air shaft, right above them, opened and vapor flowed down on them, making them cough even harder.

Maya was pounding on the door with both hands and yelling for help, Theo was still trying to open the door, just like Liam. But the chimera went down first, falling to his knees and coughing violently. Maya was next, sliding down until she was cowering, and Liam tried to pull them both up but he failed and found himself on the floor too. His vision started to get blurry and it felt harder and harder to breathe. The vapor was crawling down his throat, into his lungs, and made them seize up, desperate for air.  This was how they were going to die and Liam had no idea how long it would take or how more painful it would become. He felt sorry for his Betas, seeing them on the floor and desperately gasping for air, and he felt himself wishing they had another chance. He would gladly die if that meant Maya and Theo got another chance.

Black dots were dancing in front of his eyes and Liam fell sideways, subconsciously reaching for Theo and for Maya when he suddenly heard a thud outside, metal grating on metal and then the door was wrenched open. Inside the doorframe stood a dark figure, it was too bright outside to make out more than the outlines, who grabbed Maya, the closest to the door and pulled her outside. Liam struggled to his feet, mobilizing the last bit of power he had, grabbed Theo and more or less pushed him out before a hand grabbed his arms and yanked him outside the storage room as well. 

Liam fell to the ground when he could breathe again, busily taking in the fresh air, and then he raised his head. Sadie slammed the door shut again to keep the vapor from emerging and looked at the three of them. They all were still gasping for air, wheezing and filling their lungs with fresh air. 

“Oh my god, are you guys relatively okay?” Sadie asked and kneeled between Maya and Liam. Both nodded, too breathless to really speak, and Sadie went to dot on Theo when she was sure the two others were recovering. Theo was on all fours, still trying to get air in his lungs, before falling to one side. His breath rattle and sounded so off, Liam’s heart skipped a beat. While he and Maya were getting better, Theo still coughed and seemed to not be able to breathe at all. And that’s when it hit Liam. 

“He suffered asthma before he got turned into a chimera!” He yelled and searched his pockets frantically. He finally found what he had been looking for and stumbled over to Theo. “Here, Theo! Take the inhaler! Take it!” He said and pressed the inhaler into Theo’s hand and closed the chimera’s fingers around it. Theo was shivering when he shook it and raised it to his lips. Liam only let out a breath himself when he heard the older man inhale two times. And slowly Theo’s breathing returned to normal and he could breathe again.

“Why do you have an inhaler?” Sadie asked. “Yeah, good question. Why do you have an inhaler?” Theo panted, still out of breath, while Maya rubbed his back. Liam shrugged. “I know you had asthma before you got turned into a chimera. I experienced it with Scott that his asthma got triggered by several things and he needed his inhaler even though his asthma was healed by the bite. But he had his inhaler. I know you don’t use one so I made a point of always having one with me.”  He looked sheepishly when everyone stared at him. “What? Is that creepy?” “Dedication, that’s what I’d call that.” Sadie said approvingly.  Theo looked down at the inhaler in his hand, then back at Liam. “You saved my life.” He said and smiled softly. Liam returned the smile. “Just like you did countless of times.” He patted Theo’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get outta here.”

They all got to their feet but when they wanted to walk away, they heard the telltale sound of a gun and were suddenly faced with one of the hunters that had attacked them at the park. He pointed a machine-gun at them, ready to shoot.”You’re going nowhere.” He snarled. “Really? We’re four against one, I already knocked out your hunter buddy.” Sadie snarled back and growled.  He moved the gun slightly and the laser from the targeting device wandered over Liam’s chest to his forehead. “You maybe werewolves but how good can you survive with a bullet in your head?” The hunter mocked them. “One wrong move from any of you and I’ll splatter your Alpha’s brain all over the place.”  Liam heard Theo growl but he made no move towards the hunter. Too risky that he would make true of his words and pull the trigger. The young Alpha raised both hands in surrender. “What do you want us to do?” He asked, trying to keep the situation calm. He wasn’t keen on having a bullet in his brain, so he tried to gain time. “Get back in the room with the wolfsbane! All four of you!” He demanded and Liam took a step back, the Beta werewolves following. “Okay, we’re going.” Liam said. “You all go inside and close the door. You won’t leave this place alive again!”

He looked at them, eyes filled with disgust and hatred. The wolves looked at him, debating on if they should follow or try to get out as fast as possible. But none of them would be as fast to reach him before he pulled the trigger. 

But suddenly the guy was flung to the side, collided head first with the wall, and collapsed in a heap, gun slithering over the floor.  A tall guy in Theo’s age, stood behind the hunter, a grim smile on his face while he looked down at the motionless human before he looked at the werewolves in front of him. He pointed at the hunter.

“That looked like you needed help.” He announced, blue eyes sparkling in amusement at their dumbfounded expressions before glowing gold for a moment. He put his hands in the pockets of his military jacket and grinned, and Liam raked his eyes over the other’s body. He was attractive, even his adrenaline flooded brain got that, dressed in light blue jeans, beige converse, and a white t-shirt. And not only was he attractive but familiar, even though Liam only saw him in pictures.

“You’re...” He began, “Isaac? Isaac Lahey?” Theo said at the same moment.  Isaac grinned. “Theo, long time no see.” He looked at Liam. “And you’re Scott’s first bitten Beta. You’re Liam.” The young Alpha nodded flabbergasted. “Uhm, yeah, though I’m not a Beta anymore.” He said and flashed his eyes. It was literally the only thing his brain supplied at the moment. 

The confusion only grew when Nolan suddenly peeked up from behind Isaac. “Hey, guys!” “Nolan??” Theo and Liam called out at the same time.  “Okay, explain!” Theo demanded and Nolan stepped next to Isaac, casting a look at the hunter. “Maybe we should take this somewhere else.” He suggested then and Liam had to agree.

“Come on, guys.” Isaac was the first to turn around and start walking and the rest of the group followed. Not soon after they all found themselves at Theo’s and Liam’s apartment, minus Sadie who had said she needed to take care of something. Liam looked at Theo and Isaac. “You were in the same grade back then, right?” Because Isaac was Scott’s grade and so was Theo, so it was only logical they knew each other too, right? Both nodded. “Our siblings were pretty good friends actually.” Theo said and Isaac chuckled. “I’m pretty sure Tara was Cam’s first kiss as little kids.” Theo made a face. “That’s...strange to think about.”

“Okay, and how do you guys know each other?” Liam inquired further and pointed at Nolan and Isaac. Nolan blew his tea to cool it down a notch.  “Remember I told you that I could maybe move in with someone here in Seattle? Well, when I had my internship at Belgium I met Isaac and we started talking. When I told him where I came it didn’t take long for us to figure out how intertwined our friends and all were and we talked about all kind of things. So, here I am, about to really move in with Isaac and we overheard the hunters talking about a group of weres they wanted to take down. Naturally, we followed.”

“When I left Beacon Hills I went to France with Chris Argent. I finished school there and then found a company who offered me a position linked with scholastics. I accepted and that’s how I found myself in Belgium since a new facility of the company opened there. Nolan had the internship at a partner corp and after I found out he came from Beacon Hills and knew Scott and the others we talked about everything. I had some talks with Argent every now and then but he didn’t give me weekly updates, so I missed large parts of the whole drama. What I know is that Scott got himself a Beta and that a pseudo-supernatural being, namely a chimera, had tried to kill Scott and take over his pack before redeeming himself. Did I sum that up correctly?”

Liam and Theo nodded. “Wait, so you met each other or you met each other?” Theo suddenly asked and Nolan blushed at the implication. “No, no, Isaac’s like an older brother to me. It’s nice having someone to talk to and help me.” He studdered and Isaac chuckled.  “Nolan reminds me a lot of myself. Like a little brother. It’s nice to give someone guidance and advice, actually.” Theo laughed. “Yeah, these young ones need all the advice they can get from us.” He mocked and Liam gasped in fake-annoyance and hit his stomach with the back of his hand. Theo gasped at the punch and shoved Liam away. “Fucking asshole!” Liam laughed. “Love you too.”

****** They stayed up and talked the whole night. In the early morning hours Theo, Liam, and Isaac found themselves in the kitchen while Nolan and Maya slept on the couch. “Does Scott know that his Beta is an Alpha now?” Isaac asked while pouring milk into his coffee. Liam shook his head. “Please, don’t tell him.” “Relax, I haven’t talked to Scott in years. After everything, after Derek lost his Alpha spark again and all the jazz, I became kind of a member of Scott’s pack but then I fell for Allison and it brought tension between Scott and me. Yeah, and then she died and I left. I couldn’t stay in this town any longer. That’s my story with the McCall pack. The shortened version.” He shrugged and sipped his coffee.  “I take a guess and say nobody knows you’re back in the States?” Theo said. Isaac shrugged. “Don’t think so. I have to travel a lot for my job, that’s why I asked Nolan if he wanted to share the apartment with me. I need someone to live there all the months I will be gone. It benefits us both.” 

“Makes sense.” Liam said and drank his coffee when there were several loud knocks at the door. Theo frowned after checking the clock and then went to answer the door. He had just opened it when Sadie swooshed past him and into the apartment. “Yeah, come in.” Theo muttered dryly and closed the door. 

“I could not sleep the entire night and thought about this over and over again. I just had to come here!” Sadie started without paying attention to Theo. “I thought about the wendigo and the hunters almost killing you and then all of us and I just could not ignore it.”

“Are those dancing marshmallows and dancing mugs filled with hot chocolate on your pajama pants?” Nolan asked and rubbed his eyes. He and Maya had been woken up by the sudden noise.

“My dancing cocoa and marshmallow pants are epic, okay? Because even when I’m sleeping, I have to slay.” Sadie told him and then went on to explain further. Liam grinned. Sadie was indeed still wearing pajamas, the cute pants and a light pink shirt. Then he tuned in again what she was saying. “I never helped anyone while using my wolf and I never cared so much about anyone except my parents. But it felt nice to help the girl and when I saw you following a clue and I feared you might get in trouble I could not ignore it. So I followed you yesterday. And tonight I tried to tell myself I could ignore it in the future but I failed in the end. Theo, you said I’ll either get involved or I have to leave. That makes sense and even though I’m deadly afraid I will screw up and everything will tumble down, I’m willing to take the risk.”

“Wait.” Liam said, a small smile playing around the corner of his mouth. “Are you saying, you want to join us?”

She fiddled with her hands. “I’m saying that, if the offer still stands, I would consider myself part of the Mountain Dew-Seattle-Dunbar pack?! I’m not promising I will be easy but I’m willing to try. You guys grew on me. I can’t let you go out there by yourselves.” She looked sheepishly at the group until Maya pumped both fists in the air. “Strike, I’m not the only girl anymore!”

Liam laughed and Sadie beamed at her. “Welcome to the pack. Want some coffee?”

It's crazy how anyone of you expected jealous Theo just because Sadie showed up. Can you read my mind? Cause that would be totally cool! What am I thinking right now? What will happen in the next chapter? Bets are on! Hope you enjoyed jealous Theo. Who else is Liam when Theo flashes his abs? Raise your hands. I know I am for sure. And yes, Liam is so deadly afraid of Theo dying, he carries an inhaler around. Just in case. So, Sadie's part of the pack. I can tell you it won't be easy for her. She has a lot to learn but she is also very reliable and loyal to her friends. I mean, she saved their asses, right? Oh, and what do you say to the new ally?^^

You Don’t Know Me | 2

Request: I can’t really think about an actual story plot but maybe yoongi getting you pregnant and he chickens out… Aw This is such a bad description but since you’re an amazing writer ypu can pull it off better ☺💖 thank you!

Pairing: Yoongi + Reader

Genre: Angst

Word Count: 1.922

Warnings: swearing, numbers (lolol)

A/N: gosh I suck at math so I hope the numbers are right… also please leave feedback if you want more!

Part 1 | Part 3

A month.

4 weeks.

31 days.

744 hours.

44.640 minutes.

2.678.400 seconds.

155 breakdowns.

49 panic attacks. 

12 sleepless nights. 

That’s how you counted the time since you had last heard from Yoongi. All that time passed without him answering your calls or messages, leaving you on read and declining every single one of your calls. 

He wants me to feel ignored, otherwise he’d just let the phone ring - or not click on my messages.

He wants me to know he’s there but not ready yet.

That’s his game.

You didn’t want to give up on him. He was everything you had, everything you had counted on. He was your best friend, your partner in crime, your lover and your other half. You had hoped for a future with Yoongi. Always supporting him and his moody behavior. Being there for him no matter what because you knew how stressed he was and how burdened he felt. So you didn’t stop leaving messages, as random as they were. You knew he was just being stubborn, you knew he would never leave you just like that.

He loves me.

He does.

He’s just having a hard time.

You started coming by their dorms every second day, hoping to get Yoongi out of his box. Being friends with the boys as well, they didn’t really mind. It was weird for you in the beginning because you two had been dating for so long, yet you had never really been at the dorms that often. Dating Yoongi meant spending more time with him at the studio than at the dorms. It was a nice change to be able to spend time with the others as well but you always knew in the back of your mind that the actual reason behind that situation was everything else but nice. And Yoongi knew how to remind you every time you visited - not once had you seen his face or heard his voice. He disappeared as soon as he knew you were coming over and wouldn’t come back until you had already left. You weren’t even the one telling him that you were coming over, hoping that one day he’d be there to talk things out face to face but he always found his ways to be gone before you could even notice. You still saw his things lying around, things he usually had lying around at your dorm. Familiar pieces of his, spread around the dorm, reminding you how his things were here but he would never be.

He’s just not ready. He needs time.

The boys knew what had happened between you two and you felt their pitiful glances they threw your way when they thought you weren’t paying attention. But you saw. They were always there. During dinner. While playing video games. Helping with the chores. Watching a movie. Going over their choreographies. You saw and it broke you more each time. Even they knew how pathetic you were behaving. 

And that’s what it was - pathetic. You knew it, Yoongi knew it, the boys knew it, everybody knew it. Still, you couldn’t give up because in the end of the day, it wasn’t only about you and Yoongi but about the baby. Your baby needed a dad, not only a father. And you were just as stubborn as Yoongi, so you wouldn’t give up so easily. Your child was not going to be raised by a single mom, a college student who could barely take care of herself. It was going to live better than that.

He’ll give in. I know he will. 

At that moment, a soft pillow hit you in the face and screams erupted through the living room. Before you could realize what was going on, Taehyung had ducked behind you, making Jungkook run around your tiny figure in circles, making Taehyung shove you around like a shield to protect himself, earning screams of confusion from you.  

“You coward, move away from (Y/N)!”, Jungkook screamed and laughed before jumping forward, taking you to the ground with him as he landed on Tae, pinning his figure to the ground in a merciless grip.

“Jungkook, let go, you’re gonna break my arm!”, Taehyung laughed while screaming out in pain, making Jin rush into the living room to your side. Stretching out his hands for you, you thankfully grabbed them and he helped you up before parting the two boys in one swift move.

“Are you two crazy?! We have a pregnant woman here, you could have hurt her and the baby! Stop running around like that or you’ll be cooking your own meals until this baby decides to break free”, Jin scolded while sitting you down on the couch, handing you a pillow and a blanket. You raised your eyebrows at him in confusion and laughed at his choice of words.

“For support. The baby needs it”, he simply answered and positioned it himself when you didn’t make a single move. 

“You can’t do that Jin Hyung! She’s not even fat yet!”, Jungkook exclaimed and earned a smack on the back of his head from his hyung. The maknae winced and rubbed his head in pain, whilst Taehyung laughed at the comical scene in front of him, earning a death glare from Jin.

“Shh, you don’t say that to a girl Jungkook. Don’t you have any manners?”, Jin looked angry but you just laughed and sat up.

“He’s right though, I’m not even fat yet. I’m just two months pregnant, Jin. Stop worrying so much”, you smiled at the older boy but he just shook his head and sat down next to you as the two others left the room to play video games in their bedroom.

“The first three months are the most critical ones (Y/N)! You should know that. Anything could happen”, he looked at you seriously concerned, so you grabbed his hand, rubbing your thumbs over his soft skin. You noticed him shiver and quickly look away but chose to ignore it.

“I know Jinnie. Thank you for taking such good care of me. I don’t know where I’d be without you”, you grinned foolishly but meant it. He had been there for you the second Yoongi decided to break it off and ignore you. In the heat of the moment you had called Jin right after you had calmed down from the first shock and since then he hadn’t left your side. He always made sure that you were doing okay, that you were eating and getting enough sleep, even bringing over food to your dorm himself if you couldn’t come over. He also made you tell him your check up appointments so he’d know if anything was wrong. He cared and you were truly thankful.

“You’d definitely be lost, I can tell you that”, he mumbled but smiled and pulled you into a hug. You were taken aback for a second as you inhaled his scent. He smelled manlier than expected and for a second, goosebumps arose on your skin before you heard a door being slammed shut and someone shuffling lazily into the room. You turned around, breaking free from the embrace and saw him. He was standing still in between doors, eyes glued to Jin’s hands on your waist.

“Yoongi”, you exhaled, eyes wide and watery as your heart started beating faster by every second that passed while he just stared. He looked exhausted, more than usual. Deep bags under his eyes, colored in deep purple and blue, signaling that he mustn’t have gotten lots of sleep in the past couple of weeks. His skin looked paler than ever and dehydrated, having lost all natural glow. His figure was skinnier than before and you were scared that he wouldn’t be able to hold himself up for much longer. At least he seemed to have taking care of his hair and clothes as his outfit and hair were styled enough to walk out of the house.

“I-I’m going to see what the others are doing”, Jin quickly got up, shooting you one last glance before walking out in the opposite direction of Yoongi. The boy’s eyes followed his hyung until he had left the room, basically shooting daggers into his direction before turning his gaze to you.

“Yoongi we-”, you started but he interrupted you harshly.

“Why was he touching you like that?”, his voice was icy like the last words that he had directed at you when he left you a month ago.

You were confused. “What?”

“Why was he touching you like that (Y/N)?”, his stare had something unreadable in it. Hands balled into fists on the sides of his body, his eyes didn’t leave your face.

“Touch like what Yoongi?”, Jin had only hugged you. You didn’t know what was going on. 

“His hands were on your fucking waist (Y/N)! Don’t act like I’m fucking blind”, he scoffed and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Oh.

He was jealous. Min Yoongi was jealous even though he had broken up with you. Even though he had ignored all your calls and texts, avoided you for a whole month and left you alone with an unborn baby. 

That’s when it clicked.

Calling your state furious would be an understatement.

“So what if his hands were on my waist? He takes very good care of me and the baby, so he’s allowed to touch me”, you spat in an attempt to let Yoongi feel what you had been feeling that whole time. Even though he looked bad, he couldn’t have been through half the stuff you had been through the last weeks.

In the end of the day, he was the one who broke it off right?

Yoongi huffed and went through his hair with one hand. “So what, Jin’s the baby daddy now? As soon as I’m not available, you run to the next best dude?”, he was practically screaming at this point and you heard a door being shut silently. The boys were trying not to listen.

Damnit.

“As soon as you’re not available? Are you fucking crazy? You broke up with me because I told you that I am pregnant. I tried to get you back because I knew you are stubborn and just needed time but you treated me like shit, Yoongi. Like literal shit. I come by every other day to get you to talk to me but no, mister fuckhead even knows a way to avoid me at his own home”, you had stood up and your face was red from anger at that point. Tears were streaming down your face uncontrollably. Your chest was burning from the heartache and all the pain he was making you go through again. Flashbacks from the painful words he had thrown at you, came rushing back, a new panic attack arising within you. 

Please not now.

“I-I didn’t mean to”, he whispered and lowered his head. 

“What?”, you weren’t sure if you had heard him correctly. Trying to calm down your breathing, you closed your eyes and balled your hands into small fists.

“I said, I didn’t mean to hurt you like that”, he lifted his gaze and spoke up, voice breaking as he looked at your state.

“Well surprise, you did it anyway”, you held back a sob, putting a hand over your mouth as soon as those words were out. You didn’t want to cry anymore. You had cried enough in the last couple of weeks. 

It just didn’t seem to end.