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sokkascroptop · 3 years

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traitor. (sokka x f!reader) pt 25

part 1 | part 24

A/N: she’s HERE!!! anyways, post and dip BYE

Y/N bit her bottom lip as she shook the dice around the wooden cup she was holding. She was losing–badly. Sho, a game that Aang had taught them a few days ago when Zuko had let up on their firebending training, was an Air Nomad game that the monks would play. Aang was a little confused on the rules, so they’d filled in the blanks where they needed to with their own.

And Sokka was good at it, way better than any of the rest of them. Which is probably why he’s suggested they’d start betting money.

“Just roll them!” Zuko growled from next to Y/N where he was laying on his stomach, head propped in his hands. Y/N gave him a sharp look and let the two dice fall from the cup onto the ground. Snake eyes. She’d only be able to move her pieces two spaces. Y/N let her head fall into her free hand with a resounding smack. She could hear the disappointed sighs from the rest of the gang around her. Sokka had already leeched them of their money, Y/N was their only hope, and now she was going to lose too.

Of course the money that they all had was shared amongst themselves, but it was purely the principle of the fact.

Sokka snatched the cup cleanly from Y/N’s left hand, dropping the dice into it before shaking it. Surely he couldn’t roll exactly a seven, there was no way– “Are you kidding me?!” Y/N shouted as Sokka laughed and grabbed what meager money Y/N had thrown into the pot and shoved into his now full pouch. “How did you roll a seven? How?!”

Sokka’s eyes sparkled with mirth. “I’ll never tell my secrets.”

Y/N pouted. “I feel like I was just swindled.” Well, at least she knew how those people in the Fire Nation felt when Toph stole all their money.

Sokka scooted closer to Y/N and threw an arm around her shoulder. She automatically leaned in. “Oh don’t be such a sore loser, I’ll buy you something nice in the next town we stop in.” He winked at her.

Butterflies fluttered in Y/N’s stomach in response. She rolled her eyes, fought off a smile and sent him a withering glare back which didn’t phase Sokka in the slightest. In fact, he looked more pleased with himself.

“Shut up, Sokka,” Toph said what everyone was thinking and Y/N felt herself giggle along with the rest of them.

“Aw, Toph we’re buds, you don’t really–”

“No, seriously! Everyone–shut up. I hear something off in the distance.” Toph stood up and turned her head so one of her ears was pointed in the direction of the canyon.

Y/N quickly pulled out of Sokka’s reach and scrambled to her bag where her sword lay, sheathed and untouched since she got back from Boiling Rock. There was a near imperceptible shake in her hands as she pulled the sheath off and dropped it to the side, adrenaline already coursing through her body. Everyone else was frozen, either staring at Toph or Y/N. Despite her asking for silence, Toph turned to Y/N. “Do you hear it too?”

Suki was standing too now. Something about the way Toph and Y/N acted had set her off too. “No,” she answered for both of them. “I don’t hear anything. Not even the birds.”

Truthfully, Y/N hadn’t even thought of that. The cave dwelling birds that lived in and around the temple were always chirping. It had become the background noise to their lives, but now it was silent.

Y/N let out a shaky breath. It was true, the stillness of the air was unnerving. It reminded her of the fights that happened in the yard at Boiling Rock. The ones where you could hear a pin drop before the brawl began, or the solitary click of boots down the halls in the middle of the night before some prisoner was pulled from their room with a piercing scream. It was the moonlight shining through the leaves in the forest that night before Kaito and his friend attacked. Too quiet was too quiet and it made her stomach roll with fear.

The first explosion rocked the very ground Y/N stood on. It felt like an earthquake, but Y/N knew better.

Three Fire Nation airships seemed to rise from the canyon itself. Over her shoulder, Y/N could hear bits of the Air Temple crumbling in on itself where the first bomb hit. In the 100 years since the Fire Nation was last here, their technology and weaponry had only gotten more advanced. The temple was old and unkept, it wouldn’t last long enough to protect them.

Aang broke away from the group and ran to his glider. With a powerful swing he was able to airbend yet another fireball heading for the roof, back in the direction it came from. It exploded next to the far left airship, sending it careening sideways, but it wasn’t enough to take it down. Another one smashed into the fountain sending stones and dust flying through the air. It stung her eyes and choked her throat. Y/N coughed and stumbled backwards, running right into someone. Hands gripped her arms, keeping her steady.

“We have to head to the back of the temple!” Sokka shouted into Y/N’s ear. It was a good thing too, another section of the roof came crashing down, much too close for comfort. She caught sight of Zuko and Katara diving to the side to avoid being crushed by the falling rocks.

Y/N nodded and the two of them ran towards the back of the temple to where Haru and Toph were bending a hole in the ground large enough to fit Appa. Suki was currently trying to help Aang wrangle Appa, who was having nothing with the thought of being pulled underground.

“Come on Appa, it’s okay!” Aang tried to reassure as he tugged on Appa’s reins. The sky bison bellowed loudly in response and dug his heels in.

Everyone else had started to make their way into the tunnel first, Chit Sang was helping Teo navigate his wheelchair over the bumpy rocks, The Duke close behind. All they had to do was get Appa to go too and they’d be safe. Well, safer than where they were now.

Sokka, Y/N and Katara joined Aang and Suki in trying to coax Appa into the tunnel. Y/N promised belly rubs and as many moonpeaches as Appa could eat if he just took a few more steps forward but he wasn’t budging.

They were really pushing it close now, with each explosion more of the temple fell away; half of the courtyard was already gone.

Y/N looked back to the ships, which looked larger than she’d ever seen before. Standing at the head of the middle ship, like it was her own personal army–which it probably was–was Azula.

And Zuko had caught sight of her too.

Y/N already knew what was going through his mind before he probably did. “Zuko! Get back here now!” she shouted.

“What are you doing?!” Aang chimed in, making a move towards stopping him.

Zuko barely even glanced back and through a pause in the explosions, Y/N could hear his voice loud and clear. “I’ll hold them off. I think this is a family visit.”

“Zuko!” Y/N and Aang both yelled simultaneously. Appa’s reins fell from Y/N’s hands and she reached back for her sword, ready to follow Zuko into battle.

But her hand paused, just as she touched the leather grip.

What was she supposed to do? Y/N had always, always been tailing after those two. Always soothing both sides after their fights, promising a better tomorrow if–

“–if you just please get along, for me.”

Y/N growled before grabbing Appa’s reins once again. She couldn’t be that person anymore. She couldn’t keep pretending that she was their nurse-maid, there to apologize for when one was mad at the other. This wasn’t about elementary school games in the palace gardens, this was a war; life and death. And as much as it hurt her to admit, Y/N might not be able to save them both.

Besides, she was sure that her presence would only cause more trouble, it always did.

“This isn’t working.” Sokka pushed his hair out of his face with frustration. “We’ve got to get out of here now.”

Aang shook his head. “Appa isn’t going to go into that tunnel!”

Appa seconded this statement with a roar.

“Aang, we can’t fly out of here!” Katara gestured wildly in front of them to the airships that were mostly blocking their only way out besides the tunnel.

A large shot of orange flames caught their attention. Even in the daylight it was blinding. Azula and Zuko were battling one another, but the airships hadn’t slowed their onslaught on the Air Temple.

“We’ll have to try.” Y/N could hear the determination in Aang’s voice but she kept her eyes on the ships, on the blue and orange flames that were dancing across the top of the centermost one.

Y/N turned her head over her shoulder. “They might not be expecting that. It’ll take a while to change their trajectory and we could slip away. If we’re fast enough.”

She locked eyes with Aang and an understanding passed between them.

“So we can’t take everyone...”

“No.”

Katara reached behind her absently in the direction of her father. “What do you mean we can’t take everyone?! We aren’t being separated again!”

“Appa can’t carry us all. We need to move fast if we have any chance of getting out of here.”

Sokka nodded in agreement. “We have to split up. They can still get away, Katara.” Sokka looked away from his sister to his father. “You can take the tunnel and get to the stolen airship.”

“No…” Katara’s voice broke and Y/N busied herself with climbing into Appa’s saddle.

“It won’t be forever,” Hakoda promised before pulling his two kids into his chest.

Y/N waved down to him sadly, as Suki and Toph piled in next to her. She sent up a silent message to whichever god or spirit that was listening to keep her new friends safe in their own escape.

“Which way?” Aang asked as he looked out to the canyon.

Y/N couched near Appa’s head and pointed directly at the airships. “Wait until there’s a break between the firebender’s hitting the temple, then go up as high as you can.”

Riding on Appa’s back on a good day made Y/N feel like she was floating; where her stomach was in her chest and her heart was in her throat and every gust of wind made her gasp.

So when Appa dove and rocked side to side avoiding the explosions aimed at him, it was safe to say Y/N was left queasy. The higher they climbed, the less fire reached them.

In a moment of clarity, where they drifted above the airships in the cloudline, Y/N was able to think about how much she hated where she was; about who she was.

As she peered over the edge of the saddle, trying to get her eyes on Azula and Zuko, she wished so badly that she would just wake up from this awful nightmare, back in her bed on Ember Island, ten years old and nothing to worry about. Before she met Azula; before her life became this.

And then she saw them. On top of the center airship, fighting one another like they were true enemies. And for once, it looked like Azula was evenly matched. The siblings simultaneously threw fire-packed punches at each other, and where they met in the middle blew up into an inferno of blue and orange flames, blowing both Azula and Zuko over the edges of the airship, plummeting to the bottom of the canyon.

Aang saw it first, diving Appa down before Y/N could even register what just happened.

“Oh my spirits. Aang?!” Y/N hung halfway out of the saddle as they dropped quickly through the smoke in the direction they last saw Zuko. Fear spiked through her body like a white hot knife. “Does anyone see them?”

Y/N was met with silence, just the wind whistling past her to fill her ears. She wasn’t sure if someone spoke up she’d be able to hear them anyways. Her nails dug into the soft leather under her hands, so deep half-moons were sure to be left behind long after she let go. Y/N stared into the clouds, dizzy and hyperventilating.

One breath in–

“There!” Sokka hollered, jumping to the edge next to her.

–and out.

It was by some divine force that Y/N was able to reach Zuko as he was falling. Even with Aang steering Appa in his direction, Y/N almost missed. It’s like she was moving in slow motion, their fingers dug into one another’s arms and the sudden weight of him pulling on her almost had Y/N tipping out of the saddle, shocking her back to reality.

The only thing that caught her was someone’s hands fisted in the back of her shirt. That was a good idea. Y/N reached around and grabbed the back collar of Zuko’s shirt, dragging him in roughly.

His hands were scorching hot from the recent firebending but he didn’t let go of her, instead his fingers tightened around her arm as the two of them stared back towards the cliffs. Their eyes were locked on the sight in front of them.

Like Zuko, Azula was falling too. But she didn’t have anyone to catch her.

Y/N hated the way she took a shaky breath in automatically. “She’s not going to make it.”

Y/N made a move towards the back edge of the saddle, as if somehow being closer meant that she could lean out and help. She wanted to look away; she didn’t want to see her best friend plummet to her death but she couldn’t turn away, she couldn’t break her eyes from the sight in front of her.

But in true Azula fashion, she persevered through all–she was just too stubborn to die yet. She firebent herself closer to the cliff face and caught herself on the rocks with her hair pin.

“She did make it.” Zuko’s voice was surprisingly full of relief.

Even from the distance, Y/N could feel the anger Azula emitted. But that wasn’t Y/N’s problem anymore, as much as she wanted it to be.

She sat down, facing away from the cliffs–away from Azula–and pulled her knees to her chest. Zuko sank down next to her, doing the same.

Momo, sensing some shift in her emotions, crawled into Y/N’s lap. She scratched absentmindedly behind his ears. She looked across her friends in wonder, all crammed together in the Appa’s saddle, in various states of shock. She wished they’d all met under better circumstances, but she was glad to have met them nonetheless. She would never be the person she was today without them. This was the life she was meant to have, even with how messed up it was.

They flew for as long as Appa could fly and then some more, needing to get the most distance between them and the Fire Nation airships as possible. They only landed, all fully exhausted, when Appa could go no farther and the sun was low in the sky.

----

Zuko and Y/N tasked themselves with setting up the tents while everyone else split off from the group and began to set up camp in a familiar daze; no words necessary.

“I get it now.” Zuko shook one of the tent canvas’ out over the grass, clearing off dust from the journey, doing everything in his power to avoid Y/N’s eyes.

She yawned as she pulled out the tent stakes and tossed them on the ground near his feet. “Get what?”

“I get, well–you now. It’s something Azula said when we were fighting.” Zuko mumbled. He began to thread the wooden supports through loops in the canvas without another word.

Y/N blinked wondering if she heard him correctly. “What did she say?”

Zuko seemed even more hesitant to speak now. Azula was a sore subject around camp before she’d just attacked them. The last thing they needed was someone to hear them talking about her. “Something about how she had to do it. The way she talked, I don’t even want to hear the garbage Father is filling her head with.”

Y/N cringed and with a pang of worry, she wondered how Ozai would take the loss of Aang once again. “You don’t think she’s too far gone, after what she did?”

Zuko chewed on his lip for a second. “She’s making it very hard to sympathize with her.”

“But?”

“No, I don’t.”

A sudden rush of hope filled Y/N. She wasn’t going to be alone in this quest for saving Azula. She and Zuko had just become allies in yet another way, and while it was never going to be easy, she would at least have a companion.

And it helped that it made Y/N feel a little less crazy about the whole thing. It was true; since her confession to the others Y/N couldn’t help but think that she might have been wrong all along. She’d rolled that thought around her brain until it became all she could think about when she was alone. With Zuko’s own admission, Y/N felt like the goal was much more attainable.

Y/N couldn’t help the grin that grew on her face. “That’s–”

“Zuko.”

Y/N’s lips zipped shut and she turned to look at Katara. She looked between the two of them with a sour expression on her face. “Sokka needs help carrying firewood. We need a lot of it, it’s going to be cold tonight.”

Y/N knew that tone of voice. It wasn’t a question of whether he wanted to go help, it was an order for Zuko to get up and leave Y/N alone.

“Uh, yeah. Okay.” Zuko handed Y/N the tent stakes and jogged off in the direction they’d seen Sokka go when they’d landed.

Y/N barely caught Katara leaving, walking away just quickly as she had come. Leaving it up to Y/N to get the rest of the tent set up before dinner.

Y/N really did try and give Katara the benefit of the doubt. She’d been through a lot, and Y/N felt like she had dragged her through more by admitting that she wanted to help Azula. But it was hard to ignore some of the outright hostility she showed Zuko–and Y/N too–if she was around him.

While at one time, she had encouraged Y/N to become friends with Zuko once again, now it seemed like that was the last thing Katara wanted anymore. The flip-flopping left Y/N confused and worried. Was her newly rekindled friendship with Zuko the same thing that was dousing the friendship between her and Katara?

----

Y/N didn’t know what was making her more queasy. What had happened at dinner with Katara, or the fact that she and Sokka were currently spreading out blankets in his tent, for both of them to sleep on. It was so...private.

“What do you think was going on with Katara at dinner? She was all–I don’t know–pouty. And then Zuko? Running after her?”

Y/N sat down and crossed her legs, fixing a corner of one of the blankets until it was perfectly straight, just hoping to give her hands something to do before giving a noncommittal shrug. “I’m not sure.”

Zuko had shared a look with Y/N before he got up to follow Katara to the coastline, like they were in on something together. However, she was completely in the dark. Mostly. Well, Y/N was smart enough to make a guess.

Sokka cocked his head to the side and sat down across from her. “I think you know more than you’re letting on.”

Y/N furrowed her brows. “Maybe. I’m just guessing.”

“Then what’s your guess?”

“Katara is mad about something.”

“Well yeah, obviously,” Sokka scoffed.

“But Zuko hasn’t done anything recently for her to be mad at. So it’s either a long held grudge from Zuko’s ‘hunting the Avatar’ days, or something new is making her mad.”

“Like what?”

Y/N looked away. “I think she’s mad at me.”

“You? For what?”

Y/N leaned back on her hands, fisting them in the blankets before letting them go. “Come on, you know what.”

“I thought we all were past that?”

“Maybe she’s not.”

Suddenly the opening of the tent was pushed aside and someone came barreling in, stepping on Y/N’s left hand in the process.

“Ow!”

“Sokka, I need to–” Zuko stopped and looked down. “Sorry, Y/N…?”

His voice trailed off as his eyes bounced from Y/N to Sokka to the blankets spread neatly across the spanse of the tent, all illuminated by one single lantern on the floor.

Zuko’s cheeks grew pink. “Sorry, I didn’t know... I didn’t mean to interrupt, I–”

Y/N felt her own cheeks heat up as she realized what Zuko was implying, the flush spreading all the way down her neck. “No! You weren’t interrupting anything!!”

“It’s just the way the blankets are all–”

Sokka let out a strangled noise. “Nothing was gonna happen!!”

“Okay!” Zuko crossed his arms across his chest tightly.

“Okay,” Y/N repeated. She folded her hands in her lap and stared at her thumbnails, unable to meet either boys’ eyes. All three of them were quiet, still cringing over the embarrassment that had just happened.

Sokka cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “So, Zuko, you needed something?”

“Uh, yeah.” He sat down next to Y/N. “It’s about your mom.”

Y/N’s head snapped up. What she knew about Sokka and Katara’s mom was little to none. She knew that she had been killed in a Fire Nation raid when both of them were younger, but that was the extent of Y/N’s knowledge. Neither sibling liked to talk about her in detail, and Y/N didn’t pry.

“Do you want me to…?” Y/N nodded her head towards the tent flaps, unsure whether this was a private conversation. She looked between the boys, waiting for an answer.

Sokka shook his head. “No, it’s okay.” Already his brows furrowed deeply. He chewed absently on his lip before saying, “What do you want to know?”

“Tell me about the day she died.”

Y/N glowered at Zuko, wanting to reach out and punch him in the arm for asking about something so sensitive.

“I don’t like to think about it,” Sokka’s eyes had a far away look in them, like he wasn’t seeing Y/N and Zuko in front of him, but was imagining the way the tundra looked on the day his mother died all those years ago. “I was nine, Katara was eight. We were out playing in the snow with Mom and Dad when the ash began to fall…”

----

Sokka’s story had lasted long into the night, and overall left Y/N with more questions than answers. Of course they were questions that no one could answer for her. No one could explain what was going through that man’s head when he decided that Kya’s life was worth less than his. No one could explain the greater complexities that were behind the Fire Nation’s decimation of other cultures, not in a satisfying way that would help Y/N ever understand. Because that was that; she would never understand–the fear factor, the sense of power that came from knocking one culture aside to make way for your own. (Why would you destroy when you could cultivate and grow and learn from each other? She had learned so much about that in the past few months.)

And all of those thoughts made it hard to sleep. There were too many things going through Y/N’s head as she watched Sokka’s chest move up and down with each rhythmic breath. Furthermore, she knew that Zuko wouldn’t have asked for the story if he didn’t already have plans made for what he was going to do about it, and that did not sit well with Y/N.

----

And she was proven right, the next morning after a few hours of sleep when Katara marched up to her, Aang and Sokka asking to borrow Appa.

“Why do you need to borrow Appa?” Aang asked with a smile. It slowly faded into a frown as he looked between Katara and Zuko. “What’s going on guys?”

Katara squared her shoulders, steeling herself like she was about to get into a fight. “Zuko knows who killed my mother.”

At that moment, Y/N’s ears started ringing. She frowned at Zuko, who just shook his head and frowned back at her. She should have known that any question he asked last night had an ulterior motive. This was his brilliant plan to make Katara like him??

Without warning, Katara stole Y/N’s attention back.

“Y/N, you’ll come with me won’t you?”

The older girl looked over and caught Katara’s gaze. “Huh?”

Katara looked down at Y/N hopefully. “I don’t care if Zuko comes, but I want you to. I need you.”

Y/N blinked at her. There were a lot of things that she wanted to say but the words just seemed to tangle around her mouth. She’d open her mouth to say one thing but snap it shut immediately for something else. Finally with a quick shake of her head she blurted out, “No.”

“What?”

“I’m not going to watch you hunt someone down and kill them.” The words left a bad taste in Y/N’s mouth. They were all too familiar to her. And the mere thought of doing that…

“I need this. I can’t just forget about him now that I know he’s still out there. I can’t just let it go!”

“I wouldn’t expect you to forget it,” Y/N replied slowly as she stared at Katara’s shaking hands.

“So help me.”

“No. And if you want me to be real honest, I don’t think that either of you should be going!” Y/N sent a very pointed look to Zuko. What is this really about? She wanted to ask him. “Revenge is not going to fix how you feel, Katara.”

“How would you know?”

“I just do.”

“Well you’re wrong. This man is a monster. He deserves it.”

“But you don’t need to be the one doing it.”

“Katara,” Y/N doesn’t have to look at Aang to know he’s sad. It comes through in his voice, clear like bells. “I understand how you–”

“Stop.” Katara’s voice cut through the air like a knife. “If you’re going to tell me not to go then you don’t understand either.”

“I do understand! How do you think I felt when the sandbenders took Appa, or when I woke up and found out what happened to my people?! Doing this out of revenge is not right and you know it.” Aang was standing now, a divot punctuating between his eyebrows as he frowned at Katara.

“You’re both wrong,” Zuko murmured. He was so quiet during the whole exchange, Y/N nearly forgot he was there. “This is about closure and justice.”

“Katara, please,” Sokka spoke up from behind Y/N. He too had stayed quiet for most of the conversation. Y/N wondered if he had an idea that this was going to happen after Zuko came to talk to him too. “She was my mother too, but this isn’t right.”

“Then you didn’t love her like I did.” It felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been splashed over Y/N’s body. She jerked at Katara’s words, even though they weren't aimed at her. In one foul swoop Y/N wanted to scream at Katara for saying something so hurtful to her brother and simultaneously pledge to do everything in her power to make the man who killed their mother pay for his crimes. However, Y/N didn’t have time to do either, because while she was still thinking of which was the better option, Katara spun around on her heel and stomped away, not unlike a child having a tantrum.

----

Y/N huddled between Sokka and Aang behind one of the large rocks surrounding their camp, watching as Katara and Zuko, dressed in black, loaded Appa with supplies. Her mind drifted to how cozy Toph and Suki probably were as they slept peacefully around the campfire. The wind bit through her clothes and Y/N shivered involuntarily. She knew that the point of staying up, waiting for Katara and Zuko to sneak away, was to once again try and convince Katara that this wasn’t the right thing to do. Aang thought that confronting them again would somehow bring Katara to her senses, except–this was Katara acting with her senses. As angry as she could get, she never forgot to plan, she wasn’t acting on a whim anymore.

Y/N didn’t know if she could say anything to convince Katara to stay that Aang and Sokka hadn’t already tried; Katara had shown her hand already and her mind was hard to change once it was set on something.

The three of them stepped out, just as Zuko and Katara were leaving. Y/N made a beeline to Katara.

“Please, Katara, listen to me.” Y/N kept her voice low, quiet enough that it was just for the two of them, and tugged on the girl’s sleeve childishly.

“No.” Katara didn’t have the same idea, her voice was strong and clear and it rang out loudly. Despite this, she still stopped and let Y/N reach to grip her wrist. She could feel Katara’s rapid pulse through her sweater.

Y/N shivered and crossed her arms across her chest, as if it would hide the gaping wound in between her ribs. The hurt that came from watching her friend choose the wrong path. It was a familiar pain.

“You told me once that you can’t just wish feelings away. You think by killing him it’s going to make things right. It won’t. You’ll feel better for a moment; a fraction of a second while his life is in your hands and then you’re going to regret it. The moment will pass and you’ll see what you’ve done. You’re strong but that’s not the kind of person you are, nor the kind of person you’ll ever be.

“Maybe that’s just you.”

The words stung. It wasn’t even meant to be a particularly hateful comment but Y/N couldn’t help but feel hurt over it.

She felt numb as she watched Katara climb onto Appa and fly away into the dark.

----

Something about the dark of camp and the unsettling feeling of having their group suddenly minus three made it hard for Y/N to find sleep. And when she did, it wasn’t peaceful. It had been a long time since Y/N had had a nightmare so realistic. She could still feel blood on her hands–

She sat straight up out of her sleep, kicking at the blankets that were tangled in a sweaty mess around her legs.

Her eyes took a moment to adjust as she looked around. Sokka’s tent was much darker than it was when they slept outside, the canvas blocking out the natural light from the moon and stars and a dying campfire–and it was warmer too–under all those blankets.

Then, Y/N realized a majority of the heat was radiating from Sokka next to her. His arm was still around her, knocked from her waist to the tops of her thighs when she sat up.

He was sleeping on his stomach, his face buried in his pillow–with one half open eye staring at her. “Lay down, is’okay.” He patted her leg with his hand and rolled to his side, both of his eyes closed now.

Y/N did lay down, even though her heart was pounding and everything within her told her she needed to run, to do something instead of staying here like a sitting duck.

She clutched her hands in fists, focusing on her breathing, which was still shaky. She stayed rigid, flat on her back–the easiest position to get up and defend from.

Despite this, Sokka snuggled closer, pressing his nose into her shoulder and wrapping his arm back to where it was across her waist, his hand splaying out across Y/N’s stomach comfortingly. Her shirt had shifted in the night, and his pinky brushed bare skin, leaving Y/N the feeling of butterflies, though she didn’t really mind.

She was falling asleep now, her tiredness overwhelming her sense of danger, and through that haze she could feel Sokka’s hand move, pulling her shirt further down and covering the bare skin he was once touching. And back was the warmth of his hand, resting protectively over her abdomen.

----

It had been Sokka’s idea to go out and have a picnic. Only after days of moping between the two of them did he come up with the thought. Though, it might have been spurred by the constant bickering between Y/N and Toph, usually only stopped by Katara’s sharp tongue. What usually started out by harmless banter ended with Y/N half-covered in mud and Toph dangerously close to what Y/N called an “impromptu haircut”.

It would have been a nice time for relaxation for both of them had they not been so worried for Zuko and Katara who were off Agni knows where, doing Agni knows what. Neither of them meant to, but their minds were in different places instead of here with one another. It had already been a few days since they had left, and their absence was being felt by everyone at camp.

Y/N dragged her hand through the cool grass and watched Sokka for a minute; wanting to lengthen their time out here, away from the chaos of their lives. She followed his gaze down to the town–their perch on the highest hill around had been strategic, but it provided a nice view too. Y/N noticed that Sokka wasn’t really looking at the houses and stores below, more like looking through them. He was off in his own world, worrying at the inside of his cheek with his teeth.

She didn’t always get the chance to stare so candidly at him while he was distracted. His hair had gotten longer on the sides but he never made any notion to shave it back down. Y/N kind of liked the scruffy look. Her gaze followed down his cheekbone to his eyes–which were still trained straight ahead. As he blinked, Y/N wrinkled her nose in jealousy; there was no need for him to have eyelashes so long and thick.

He could have been thinking about anything, a new invention, the slightly muggy air, the sour fruit—but if the pout on his lip was indication, Y/N knew what was on his mind.

She popped a quartered persimmon in her mouth before speaking. “Maybe we should try this again another day.”

Sokka grunted and didn’t look back. Y/N chuckled and pulled up a piece of grass, tickling Sokka’s cheek with it. “Did you hear me?”

He jumped and looked back at her guiltily. “Sorry, what?”

“We should try to have a picnic again on a different day,” Y/N smiled softly.

“That sounds like a good plan.”

On their way back to camp, they walked close, bumping shoulders every time their steps unsynced. They hadn’t strayed too far; their camp was just half a mile down the hill and to the coastline, but it was far enough so that they could be alone.

Y/N was happy to see that Sokka’s mood had changed for the better since moving off the hill. She reached down and linked her pinky with his. It was much too hot to be holding sweaty hands.

“Tell me–” Sokka started.

“Hmm?”

“–what happened back there at the temple? If you want...” Sokka quickly added, holding his free hand up to show he meant no harm.

Y/N had to think back, even though it was only a few days beforehand it seemed so distant in her memory. Maybe even a little hazy, like she wasn’t really present when she had done it. That might have been more than just an explanation, she barely remembered jumping up from the ground, just one minute she was sitting next to Sokka and the next she was holding her sword ready to fight. Y/N couldn’t recreate the exact feelings she was having either, but it made her fists clench involuntarily, like she was trying to push away whatever it would bring.

Finally after a moment of silence, she spoke, but it didn’t offer much of an answer to what Sokka was asking. “I don’t know. I just had a really bad feeling, is all. I heard Toph say that and I just acted.” Y/N chewed on her lip and shivered despite the sweltering heat. She felt worn out like her body had just had a massive adrenaline rush and she was fading now.

Sokka noticed this. “You didn’t have to tell me if thinking about it bothers you.”

Y/N looked at him and then snorted through her nose. “You asked me to be more open with my feelings.”

Sokka rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled slightly. “Yeah, but not if it distresses you. I just wanted you to know I’d be there for you.”

“It doesn’t distress me...that much.” she added when Sokka gave her a very pointed look. He didn’t say anything but he clearly didn’t believe her.

“So I’m a little bit on edge, that’s not a bad thing!” Y/N rolled her eyes.

“It is when you aren’t getting sleep.”

“I am getting just enough sleep to keep me going.”

“I’m not saying we need to be enjoying our life on the run, but you could act like you aren’t waiting for imminent danger every second of every day.”

“If I didn’t, then who would?” Y/N grumbled.

“We all protect one another.”

“Yeah..”

Sokka hummed and cocked his head, a wistful smile flitting across his face. “Sounds like you don’t really believe me.”

“I just… anytime we have time to breathe is when something bad happens. I am just anticipating it before it comes so it doesn’t catch me off guard. I’m doing that for all of us.”

“That is no way to live.”

“This—” Y/N gestured around herself wildly. “—is no way to live.”

“I know.”

“And Katara, don’t even get me started on that mess. I can’t protect her when she leaves.”

Sokka shook his head. “Katara doesn’t need protection.”

“Well obviously I know that. Neither do you or Zuko or anyone else, but it still makes me feel better if I was standing next to you if someone came after us.”

“You don’t...have to be self-sacrificing.”

Y/N bit her tongue to keep herself from replying. What would she say to him anyways? Maybe Y/N’s actions were more see-through than she thought.

It was disappointing to hear, probably just as much as it was for Sokka to say it. She didn’t think of herself like that, but that’s how she felt wasn’t it? Like her life meant a little bit less than everyone else’s because of her past crimes? That if she had it her way she’d do everything and anything in her power to make sure that no one else suffered, even at her own expense?

Protection. It felt like that was all she was good for. She wasn’t a planner, or a bender, or a leader, but she was tough and Y/N liked to think she was more than capable. A fighter was what she had to be, because there were no other slots that needed to be filled; she would just have to make her own.

Y/N was tired. And it was more than just physically. Sokka had been correct in saying that she hadn’t been getting enough sleep but it wasn’t like she could force herself to sleep when her brain never stopped screaming, Danger!

It was a relief to see a familiar shaggy beast at camp. It drew the conversation away from things she really didn’t feel like discussing.

“Look, they’re back.” Y/N nodded her head at Appa, who was munching on hay and receiving loving chin scratches from Aang.

Appa gave a lowly bellow when he saw Y/N and Sokka approaching, which called Aang’s attention to them.

Y/N was surprised to see a happy grin on his face. “Hey guys!”

“Hey, buddy,” Sokka murmured as he patted Appa’s snout.

Aang walked around Sokka and nudged Y/N’s elbow. “Katara is down by the water. You should go see her!”

Y/N raised an eyebrow. “Sure.” She passed over the basket full of fruit and pastries that she and Sokka didn’t finish. “Go ahead and pass them out to everyone, yeah?”

As she passed by Sokka he gave her arm a reassuring squeeze, which she returned with a grateful smile.

----

Y/N found Katara sitting at the end of the boat dock, swinging her feet just inches above the water line. The wooden slats below her creaked with each step she took. She stood behind Katara, waiting for the other girl to acknowledge her presence.

“I didn’t realize that I was mad at you until you didn’t want to come with me.” Katara turned around and smiled sheepishly at Y/N.

“Can I sit next to you?”

Katara patted the wood next to her and stared back out to the water.

“I’m sorry for treating you so badly.”

Y/N nodded numbly. “It’s okay.”

“It wasn’t.”

“We’ve all said mean things to one another,” Y/N said with a shrug. “While you were gone I told Toph I’d cut off her feet if she tried to stick them in my lap again.”

Katara chuckled. “Seems like I missed a lot.”

Their talk faded into silence as they listened to the waves lap against the shoreline.

“I was worried you’d leave again.”

Y/N blinked at Katara. What did she just say?

Katara seemed to sense Y/N’s confusion and continued. “Whenever I saw you with Zuko, always whispering to yourselves like you were keeping secrets, I thought you two were going to leave us.”

“We would never do that,” Y/N said, incredulously.

“I know that now,” Katara looked away with a shy smile. “I might have interrogated Zuko about it to find that out though. I didn’t want you to become lost again.”

“Lost?”

Katara paused, weighing her words. “We’re the same. You let your heart rule your head. All logical reason leaves you when you want something done. So I know when you need someone to watch out for you.”

And for the first time ever, Y/N felt fire in her chest. This is how Firebenders must feel all the time, Y/N thought.

That fierce loyalty and protectiveness that Katara waved in the face of adversity, that was for Y/N too. Not that it was ever doubted, but now Y/N could see it; feel it. What Sokka said was true, they all looked after each other.

But Katara wasn’t even looking at the tears shining in Y/N’s eyes. “That’s all you were doing for me too.

Besides, it wasn’t all I blamed him for either. He was just the easiest target. And forgiving him; it was easier than I thought it would be. Once I realized that I was blaming him, and maybe you, for something you didn’t do.”

“Well,” Y/N kicked her legs. “I did do something. And you have every right to be mad over it.”

“But now I know why.”

Y/N gave her a quizzical look.

Katara picked at her wrist wraps, unwinding and winding them back as she thought of the right words to say. “My journey taught me some things along the way. Before.. I didn’t know what it was like to love someone so much that all reason leaves you. I can never understand why you did it, that’s between you and Azula. But I can empathize with you now.”

Y/N didn’t have the vocabulary to respond to that. She realized that’s all she needed from her friends. She didn’t need unconditional acceptance for her past mistakes, she just needed to know that they could still love her despite them. She couldn’t expect them to understand what Y/N couldn’t even understand.

“I didn’t do anything, so you know,” Katara muttered.

Y/N nodded, she could have guessed as much but she knew it was important for Katara to tell her that.

“I wanted to, so badly.” Katara’s cheeks flushed with what Y/N knew was embarrassment. “It would have been so easy, but... I couldn’t. You were right, I would have regretted it and resented myself for it. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

Y/N didn’t respond to that last part. She’d always suspected that Katara knew more than she’d led Y/N to believe. They probably all did.

“So many things happened while you were gone. You’ll have to tell me about them,” Y/N squared herself around to look Katara in the eyes. “When you’re ready.”

Katara held her gaze, “You can too.”

“I might take you up on that.” And Y/N was sure she would. Some day.

----

A/N: you guys should like,,, come in my ask box and tell me what you like about this because i’m feeling very self-conscious about my writing since it’s been so long.

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athingthatwantsvirginia · 3 years

Text

hear my stolen lullabies

chapter five of the peter losing wendy series

*inspired by Taylor Swift’s Folklore*

Pairing: JJ Maybank x Original Character (Liz Walker)

Warnings: mentions of parent death and suicide, drug use, emotional/verbal abuse, yelling, PLEASE proceed with caution, smoking

Word Count: 5.6K

Summary: Twice, Liz finds solace at the Chateau during a difficult time.

March 13, 2019

Fiddling with her earring, Liz stared down at her feet as her mother rambled on. Her mother wasn’t exactly screaming, but she was definitely yelling. About how Liz needed to help out more around the house, about how she shouldn’t abandon her mother like her sisters had, about how there was nothing nice left about life. To say it was less than uplifting was an understatement. Liz was beginning to taste blood as she gnawed on her lower lip. After a couple years dealing with her mother’s rage, or her teary outbursts, she had gotten used to tuning it out. Or, at least, trying to. Sometimes, though, it was too loud, too painful, too overwhelming.

“You’re always so fucking mean to me, Elizabeth!” Ruth Walker exclaimed, hands at her sides in exaggeration. “Why can’t you just comfort me? That’s what I need!”

“Comfort you, mom?!” Liz yelled back, finally looking up and tilting her head at her mother. “Jesus, I’ve been comforting you everyday since dad died! Every single fucking day!”

“Excuse me?” Ruth asked, raising her eyebrows. “I’m the mother, and you’re the child! You don’t swear at me!”

Scoffing slightly, Liz shook her head. With her mother staring back at her, brown eyes furious and dark, brows furrowed, Liz couldn’t stomach her anger. As much as she tried to stamp it down, she usually ended with her own tirade creeping up her throat. And the worst part was, she was always wondering if she would one day end up screaming at her own daughter. Full of hypocrisy and bitterness, her life lived entirely different than she wanted. Ruth Walker wasn’t to blame for the way things had turned out, and that Liz scared more than she cared to admit. Her gut churned with anxiety and adrenaline, and she continued despite her better judgement.

“If I’m the child, Mom, why am I the one sleeping in your bed to help you with your nightmares? Why am I the one picking up the milk and the eggs and the bread? And spending every minute of every damn day worrying about you ending up exactly like Dad?” she wagered, pulling out the big guns.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew there was no use. They fought about the same things a thousand times over, and neither of them ever changed a bit. But at least letting off some steam might help in the short-term. Liz’s voice was getting louder, and her face redder, as she stood across from her mother in the dingy kitchen. All Liz had wanted was to get a snack to celebrate finishing her essay. Instead, it was an ambush over the leftovers.

“I lost my husband! My life is...my future is ruined!” Ruth screamed, crying through her words.

She knew how insensitive it was, but Liz rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help herself. “Jesus, I know! You think I don’t know that? Your life isn’t ruined, Mom! You’re not the one who died!”

“Sometimes it feels like it,” her mother said, still angry but beginning to deflate. Her energy was waning.

Liz scoffed, feeling completely impatient. Each time they reached this point in the conversation, when her mother would begin to wallow and struggle through her words, Liz would have to sigh, and apologize, and suggest her mother finally go to therapy. The island’s pharmacist, who had once been a therapist, had offered to help the family in the wake of Liz’s father’s suicide. Out of all five Walker women, only Liz had taken him up on the offer. Though she’d only been able to handle about one session a month, Liz was still going. And she knew it helped. But her mother refused to help herself.

“Yeah, well, sometimes it seems like it, too,” Liz muttered, so utterly frustrated she found her filter (which was not particularly strong to begin with) to be totally gone.

Her mother swallowed thickly, but didn’t say a word in response. She only gaped.

Feeling her stomach flip once again, whether due to general anxiety or disgust with herself she didn’t know, Liz turned around and looked out the kitchen window. Bracing herself with her palms on the sink, she looked at the ring stand on the windowsill. On it, her mother’s diamond engagement ring. She had to avert her eyes from it. Before, the ring had been precious, always on her mother’s finger. But Ruth had taken it off after hearing of her husband’s death, and it had sat on the windowsill ever since. Ruth valued it now about as much as a piece of gravel. Liz uttered a harsh, humorless chuckle.

“What an asshole. It wouldn’t be like this if he was still here,” Liz said. “I hate him.”

Ruth’s jaw clenched as Liz turned back to her. “Don’t talk about your father like that!”

“Stop defending him! He fucking lied to us! He was supposed to be there for us...a-and take c-care of us!” Liz argued. “And then he just left! Real fathers don’t do that! At least not the ones who loved their kids!”

“Fuck you!” her mother screamed in response.

Liz recoiled, grey eyes darkening to storms. She gave a thin smile, devoid of joy, and then began to push past her mother. “Yeah, well, fuck you, too.”

She grabbed her bag and tugged on her shoes, then rushed out the front door in the direction of her bike. Ruth stood motionless in the kitchen, watching through the screen door as her daughter rode away. The evening was clouded over and gloomy, the air just beginning to warm with spring. But an involuntary tremble rolled through Ruth’s body as though it were winter. And, when her daughter was gone, she let out a sob. Then, she collapsed in on herself and began to weep.

. . .

A violent shiver made goosebumps rise on Liz’s skin as she finally made it to the Chateau, but her cheeks were flushed hot with adrenaline. The daylight was nearly gone, the sky a cold purple-pink, as she leaned her bike up against the tree out front. The air was filled with spring freshness, but it was chilly. The gray cardigan she wore was proving to be a lifesaver. Crossing her arms over her chest, she stomped up and onto the front porch. She could smell the familiar scent of burnt toast (a telltale sign JJ had tried to cook something, which never ended well) as she approached. And she stopped in her tracks when she saw JJ in the hammock, scrolling absently through his phone. He was freshly showered, dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, hair damp. He looked up when her footsteps halted, eyebrows raised and expectant.

“Hey, red. What’s going on?” he asked, not quite concerned, but certainly not indifferent either.

It was Thursday night, and everyone was busy. Sarah and John B were out getting dinner somewhere on the Figure Eight. Pope was working on scholarship applications. Kie was doing a shift at The Wreck. JJ himself had only gotten off of work an hour earlier, sore from an afternoon spent mowing Kook lawns. Liz had texted in their group chat saying she had a big paper to write, which would probably take her until the sun rose the next morning.

Liz blew out a long breath, feeling the tense energy begin to leave her system. She didn’t feel like crying, though. Not exactly. Instead, she felt used up. Trying her hardest wasn’t working. Wringing her hands together, she felt how dry her skin was. She’d been washing her hands too much, using scalding water, despite the harshness of the early spring cold. The breeze was still parched and unyielding. But she couldn’t seem to stop herself. The habits came and went, ones she felt like needed to be done or else the world would end. They had existed before her father’s death, and she had always been what her mother called ‘a nervous little girl,’ but things had definitely gotten worse in the past couple of years.

“I just…” she began tiredly. Pausing, she sighed and took a seat on the couch, facing him. “I got in a f-fight with my mom.”

“Oh,” he said plainly, nodding. And she could tell he understood. He’d spent probably countless hours listening to her vent about her family’s issues. Just as she had spent hours hearing about JJ’s father. They had developed a pretty symbiotic system. “What was it about?”

She ran a hand over her face, narrowly avoiding her eyes, the makeup from the school day she had yet to wash off. Then, she shrugged. “I don’t know. The same shit, I guess. I told her...it seemed like she was dead now too.”

JJ hummed, nodding as he furrowed his brows. He put his phone down on the floor next to the hammock, forgotten. He waited for her to continue.

“I mean...I guess I meant it. I know that...I know her worst fears came true. I know that. But fuck,” she said, her knee bobbing up and down. The fingers of one hand drummed against her thigh. “I’m just so sick of all this. This would all be so much easier if he had just like...gotten into a car accident or had a brain aneurysm or something.”

He noticed her fidgeting, and he didn’t know whether it was because she was still so keyed up from the fight or if she was just cold. “Probably,” he agreed quietly.

She barely cast him a glance before she continued. “I mean, what was the point in having the funeral, and saying goodbye and all that bullshit, if we were still gonna fight about him and think about him every damn day? It’s like...everything is different except for that one thing. He’s the dead one and he’s like...the only thing left.”

Shaking her head at herself, not even understanding her own words, she clenched her jaw. Looking out into the yard, she could vaguely see the chickens walking around behind the wire of the coop. The chipped red paint of her bike shone dully in the glow of the sunset. Above the bike, the tire swing Big John had put up years earlier still swung, weathered with age. Liz wondered if John B ever felt like she did. Home was still home, but it would also never be home again. Her house felt more like a mausoleum to her than anything else. The life she had lived before was never coming back.

“She kick you out again?” JJ asked.

“Not really,” Liz said. “But I probably shouldn’t go back tonight. I said ‘fuck you’ to her. Like, literally.”

JJ raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“I know,” she said, reading his expression. “But only because she said it to me first. I don’t think I’m ready for round two yet. I’ll take the pullout or something.”

“You want something to take the edge off?” JJ asked, taking his weed pen from his breast pocket and holding it out to her.

She waved her hand dismissively and shook her head again. “No thanks. I just...Jesus I hate this.”

Huffing out a frustrated breath, she got up and slipped through the screen door, into the Chateau. JJ wasn’t surprised a minute later when she reemerged with a battered acoustic guitar in her hands. It had been her father’s in his teen years, and she had been playing since before JJ even met her, when the instrument’s body dwarfed her own and her child’s hands could hardly fit around the neck. She didn’t practice everyday or anything, but could still play songs around the campfire or when the restless energy invaded her body and she needed an outlet for it. Without another word, she began softly strumming out a folk song JJ could almost recognize, but couldn’t remember the name of.

“How was your day?” she asked after a moment, eyes not even on the guitar as she played. It had become a distraction, rather than a passion, since her father had died. Playing it would always be linked with him in her mind. Sometimes, it made her angry that he had ruined yet another thing from the grave. But sometimes, she could tolerate the memories enough to enjoy it again.

“You mean since you saw me like four hours ago?” JJ asked, smirking lightly. Most days, John B drove them both home in the Twinkie, along with Pope.

She nodded, smiling just a little. “Yeah. I’m sure it’s been really exciting.”

“Oh, yeah,” JJ said emphatically. “Honestly, it was a pretty life-changing afternoon.”

“Enlighten me,” Liz said, tilting her head at him.

“Okay, let’s see. I went to the Eight to mow the Westerfields’ lawn. But their kid wouldn’t quit trying to help, so I had to make the lawn mower noises while he used his toy one, and he tired out eventually. Added like two extra hours,” JJ said.

Smiling fondly, Liz nodded for him to continue. A light breeze passed by, blowing her bangs away from her face.

“He’s pretty cute, though. And his mom let me in the house to wash up this time. I got this sick utility tool from the garage when she wasn’t looking,” he said, grin growing with excitement. From the same pocket which housed his pen, he produced a shiny red utility tool, complete with a knife, a screwdriver, and a bottle opener.

She laughed. “What the fuck do you need that for, Maybank?”

“Remember on New Year’s when we couldn’t find the corkscrew so you had to open that wine with a screw and a hammer?”

“One of my proudest moments.”

“Well, next time, we’ll have an extra,” JJ said, putting the tool back. “And I gotta say, I think we should add that house to our list.”

“Really? It’s the yellowish one with the hedges in the front, right?” Liz asked, still plucking at her guitar strings.

JJ nodded.

Since they were kids, they had been considering which houses to move into when they went full Kook. The ‘list’ had never been written down, instead existing as more of a living document in both their minds. There were a few properties on the Eight that were serious contenders, known by the families that lived in them: the Westerfields, the Kitteridges, even the Camerons. Liz was always coming back to the Petries’ place, with the cobblestone path and the tiny pond in the backyard. JJ was partial to the old McKinnon place, with the pristine lawn and the well-kempt dock out back.

“The inside is kickass,” JJ continued. “Like, a TV in every room.”

“Okay, it’s officially added,” Liz said with finality and a little smile.

Before she could continue, she saw JJ yawn into his fist. She noticed the tired glaze in his blue eyes and felt a little bit guilty. She had come over after a long day and bombarded him with all her family shit. She wanted to reciprocate, ask about how things were with his dad and why he hadn’t been back home for at least a week, but she bit her tongue. After so many years knowing JJ, she had learned that he wasn’t going to talk about his family until he wanted to.

She began to play “Polly,” not really singing but humming lowly along with the tune. JJ listened, rocking the hammock slightly. They shared a love for Kurt Cobain, and he always liked it when she played Nirvana for him. Even if he was more partial to the screamo electric songs than their acoustic numbers. As Liz expected, JJ was struggling to keep his eyes open by the time she finished.

“You falling asleep, sunshine?” she asked softly, putting her guitar aside. She would have to make sure she placed it back in the corner of the Chateau’s living room when they went to turn in for the night.

“No,” he said, clearing his throat and blinking harshly a couple times. “Are you kidding? It’s only like eight.”

She shrugged. “You can rest if you want to, JJ. It’s just me.”

“You cold?” he asked, eyes lingering on her hands. They were still a bit shaky, even after she played guitar. Usually, that was enough to make the angry trembling subside.

“Don’t change the subject.”

“Answer the question.”

With a stubborn sigh, she relented. “I mean, a little bit.”

He rolled his eyes. She was always trying to put on a brave face, even over something as small as being cold. Even in front of him. “Yeah, a ‘little bit.’ Okay. C’mon, tough girl, you can steal some of my body heat.”

She snorted a laugh as he opened his arms and gestured for her to come lay down with him. “Okay.”

Her cheeks warmed marginally, but he didn’t mention it if he noticed she was blushing. They were touchy with each other. All the Pogues were. But she and JJ had always been a bit more. Lately, it was getting under her skin, in a good way or a bad way she didn’t know. Each time she felt herself crushing, she reminded herself of the perfect, toned Tourons JJ always brought home after a Kegger. She reminded herself that they had known each other forever, and she shouldn’t ruin anything over a silly, fleeting feeling. Recently, though, there hadn’t been as many girls taken home. And there had been lingering looks and moments between the two of them. But Liz figured she was only imagining it. Otherwise, what was it? The whole thing was too confusing to manage.

But she was cold and he was tired. She didn’t feel up to navigating her thoughts on the subject, so she pushed them out of her mind. And one of the comfiest quilts ever to exist was draped over the back of the couch, too tempting to resist. She grabbed it and then kicked off her shoes before she went over to the hammock. She plopped down next to him, taking a moment to cover the two of them with the blanket and settle in. He winced slightly as her elbow grazed his ribcage.

“Sorry, sunshine. Are you okay?” she asked, instantly concerned, noticing as he hissed in quiet pain.

“Oh, yeah, red,” he said, nodding. “Just got a little too sloppy at the Boneyard last weekend. I fell down on the damn dock. Totally knocked the wind out of me.”

“Do you want me to move? You need to tell me if I’m hurting you,” she continued, a hand placed softly on his chest.

“You’re not,” he replied. “I promise.”

He wrapped his arms around her and brought her head to his shoulder. It seemed to be enough to reassure her, and she let the subject drop. Or maybe she was saving it away for a discussion later on. One thing JJ had learned about Liz in knowing her: her memory was pretty damn close to photographic. She breathed out in content as she finally began to warm up, and her body relaxed.

“Did you finish your paper?” JJ asked, remembering what she should have been doing.

“Yeah. It didn’t take me as long as I thought it would. There’s way too much to say about Virginia Woolf,” Liz explained, letting her legs slip between his, tangling them together. It was the closest they had been in a long time, and she could smell his Old Spice. “It actually ended up being like a page too long. I had to go back and cut it down.”

“Good job, nerd,” he teased. English was the only class she regularly got As in.

“Shut up,” she warned, looking up at him through her lashes and smirking a bit. “Just go to sleep, dick.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said playfully. He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

When he pulled back, their eyes met again. Liz didn’t think much. She could only feel what she was doing as she was doing it, a bit surprised at herself. It was like her brain short circuited, flooded with butterflies, and she could only act on instinct.

“JJ?”

“Hm?”

Then, after a moment’s hesitation: “Can we kiss?”

His eyes softened. “‘Course we can, Lizzie.”

Before she knew it, they were both leaning in. They kissed gently, slow. JJ’s lips were surprisingly soft, and he kept a small smile on his face as they separated, dimples on his cheeks. Liz’s brow crinkled. Had that really just happened? When they were both totally sober and not dreaming? She uttered a small hum, nodding.

“Huh,” she said. She had never kissed anyone before, besides Kie. Never a real kiss.

JJ uttered a chuckle. “Yeah. Huh.”

“Are you alright?” Liz asked, a smile to match his own creeping onto her face.

“Mm-hm. Are you alright?” JJ’s voice lilted with nervous, giggly apprehension.

She nodded.

Then, some sort of simple understanding passed between them, smiles still ghosting over their lips. Liz put her head back down on JJ’s shoulder, and his grip tightened on her just a touch. They fell asleep.

. . .

October 27, 2019

Again, Liz was high as a kite by late afternoon. They sat smoking on the front porch of the Chateau after the midday dress burning, laughing at the mock sincerity of the ceremony. For once, Liz was happy and giggly in the presence of Sarah Cameron. JJ grinned widely at Liz opening up a bit. John B was always quick to accuse Liz of not liking Sarah, but JJ knew it was simply that she needed time to soften. Even with all her confidence, she was still shy. She didn’t like to show herself to people until she was positive she could trust them. JJ could definitely understand that. Leaning back against the couch, he threw his arm over the backrest. Liz, sitting beside him because she knew he would hog the bowl otherwise, tensed slightly. Looking around self-consciously, she didn’t think she saw anyone reacting to her flinch. Hopefully, they hadn’t noticed. The instinct to pull away from JJ was knee jerk. With a harsh swallow, she clenched her jaw and sat back slightly, trying to lean into it.

“Yo, did you guys hear that new Billie Eilish single?” JJ asked.

“Oh, I fucking loved it,” Liz said emphatically.

John B snickered. “Well, damn, I never would have guessed.”

She flipped him off, rolling her eyes. “You’re a loser.”

“Ditto, man,” John B replied, a smug smirk on his face.

Liz scoffed through a breathy chuckle. Weed made John B a bit of a condescending asshole, though sometimes in a charming way. Each time it was a toss-up. The day was slightly warmer than the one before, but she suspected it would likely be the last day the temperature was above fifty degrees. The thought of the season ahead made her grimace slightly. It was bad to begin the winter with a death. It was very bad. And, even amidst her group of friends enjoying each others’ company, she couldn’t help but feel far away from them. Distant. Alone. Maybe it was just the after-effects of her grandmother’s funeral the day before. She didn’t know.

She took the bowl back from JJ and inhaled a long breath. She coughed slightly as she let it out, listening to the others talk about something or other, maybe what Kyle McCormick had said to the calculus teacher the day before. She stared out into the front yard. When she was high, all her senses were amplified. The colors seemed brighter somehow. They seemed to move on their own, alive. The only thing close to the sensation that Liz could think of was reading Virginia Woolf. And even then, it was just the character who was experiencing it. Being mesmerized, really mesmerized, wasn’t an everyday thing. It felt like falling in love. She hadn’t felt it much since she and JJ broke up.

She passed the bowl, filled with grayish ashes, back to JJ. They reminded her of her father’s ashes. They’d spread them in the ocean, out on a rental boat. She’d held them in her hands, felt the smooth, sooty fragments of teeth. The thought made her shut her eyes for a second. JJ furrowed his brows, watching her as he took his own drag, trying to get the dregs of smoke from the bowl.

“You okay, Lizzie?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said, rubbing at her eyes with the heels of her hands. Her cheeks were rosy from the autumn chill. “I just have a headache.”

JJ frowned. He felt her forehead, then put the back of one hand to her cheek. He was relieved to feel the redness was from the chilly wind, not from fever. Every time she got sick, it was because she had been running herself ragged, not sleeping. “Hm. You’re probably still tired from yesterday. You wanna go lay down?”

Clearing her throat, ridding it from the stray smoky feeling, she nodded. “Sure. I’ll take the pullout.”

“Just take JJ’s bed again,” John B said lightly, catching snippets of the conversation.

“Is that alright?” she asked, tilting her head at JJ.

“Yeah. It’s the middle of the afternoon. I won’t be needing it for like eight more hours at least,” JJ answered, trying to pass the bowl to Pope.

Pope waved a hand at the drug paraphernalia. “Maybe you wouldn’t be so tired if you hadn’t smoked, Liz.”

Liz rolled her eyes as she got up from the couch. “Whatever, Doctor Spock.”

“You’re clouding your mental capacity,” Pope continued self-righteously. It didn’t annoy her as much as it once had, since she knew it came from a place of worry. After so long, she was able to shrug it off rather well.

“Good,” Liz retorted, more sincerely than Pope expected.

He shifted nervously, then turned to ask Kie something.

. . .

Slats of sunlight shone on the bed through the gaps in the blinds, making the room feel impossibly cozy. Since Liz had slept in there the night before, she had made the bed. It wasn’t really a cleanliness issue. She could have a perfectly neat bed and then not cast a second glance at the piles of books and clothes, and papers in the case of her desk. It was more that if she didn’t make her bed everyday, it made her want to wash her hands more, with hotter water. It made her want to pick off her nail polish and gnaw on her bottom lip. But she found herself feeling totally content as she laid on the bed, atop the fuzzy throw and the smooth comforter, piles stacked properly behind her. She rested her head on her crossed arms, the sleeve of her worn cardigan soft against her cheek. Her sock feet were raised in the air, one calf crossed over the other. She thought about the morning, when she had woken up with JJ’s arm draped over her. It had been the first time she had anxiously made the bed in JJ’s room in a long time. It had been so familiar that it broke her heart a bit. It broke her heart more when JJ had excitedly begun preparing for the dress burning almost immediately after waking up.

Over breakfast, he had enthusiastically gone over everyone’s duties to put together the “funeral for Lizzie’s funeral dress.” She smiled at him gratefully, but her heart wasn’t in it. She couldn’t reconcile the JJ who took care of her after tragedy with the one she had encountered on the last night in August. She thought about the feel of his hand on her waist, dancing with her in the Stoner’s Grove at a party, the warmth of his skin seeping through the thin fabric of her dress. They hadn't kissed, so they could explain it away if anyone asked. That had been before the invisible change had taken place. And she could feel it again where his hand had rested earlier in the day, when they had stood around a bonfire in the backyard, while the remains of her dress smoked in the air and then floated away. She had stared into the orangey flames, so strangely pure against the pristine blue of the October sky, until her eyes were hot and dry. JJ had placed an affectionate hand on her waist for only a moment, giving her hip a comforting squeeze. And she simply didn’t know what to do with it.

But she decided to clear the thoughts of him from her head, running her fingers delicately over the soft throw blanket. Touch, she thought to herself. Touch was her favorite of the senses when she was high. Her feet were up near the head of the bed, her head at the bottom. She had often laid in the same position, feet up in the air, as a little girl. She and John B had made a habit of going out to the edge of the dock and looking down at their reflections in the water, sometimes with their heads leaning completely over the green murkiness below. It was the kind of childhood foolishness you could only see the error in with hindsight. She let herself get lost in the music which played from the bluetooth speaker on the desk. She had turned it down to a medium volume, hoping she could get one of her mellower playlists to lull her to sleep. But the sunshine was too beautiful to miss. She let it warm her back as she laid there, listening to the sound of The 1975’s “Be My Mistake.” Sometimes, it was too sad for her to stomach. When high, though, she could stand it enough to listen. She barely even welled up this time.

The screen door slammed shut, and she could hear the rest of the Pogues reenter the house, likely to finish up whatever homework or enjoy the remnants of the Sunday afternoon. The sound of JJ’s boots approached, and Liz had to prepare herself for a moment before he came in. She didn’t know what instinct she would follow: the softening of her heart or the guarding of her gaze.

He opened the door with a warm creak, smirking when he saw she was still awake, from the way her feet swung side-to-side gently. “Hey.”

“Hi,” she replied huskily.

He shut the door behind him and bent over to unlace his boots. He tugged them off and discarded them in the corner absently before he came to sit down next to her on the bed.

“I was just coming to get my earth science homework, but I guess you don’t need quiet like I thought.”

She hummed in acknowledgement, lost in the song.

“You still wanna go to sleep?” he asked.

She may have had a pretty high tolerance, but she had smoked more of the good shit, and it was likely heightened in effect when she was so sleep-deprived. He was surely the more sober one of the two. The gut instinct to hold her hair back, rub circles on her skin, guide her sweetly through her intoxication, overtook him as it had so many times in the past. But he wasn’t her boyfriend, as she had pointed out one morning after he had fought a Touron. And it wasn’t his job to take care of her, no matter how much he wanted it to be.

“No,” she said softly. Her words came out in a pensive whisper. “I’m just having a nice time listening to the music.”

He snorted a laugh. “You’re so adorable.”

“You can’t say shit like that to me, JJ,” she said immediately, though still in that same gentle tone. Raising her head a bit, she met his slightly glassy, reddish gaze with her own to match.

He shut his mouth and averted his eyes, nodding. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“I know,” she said. “You just can’t.”

“Yeah,” he agreed.

Then after a moment, she asked: “Do you still wanna hang out?”

He smiled. “Yeah. ‘Course.”

“Alright,” she said, putting her head back down.

JJ got more comfortable, back resting against the wall behind the bed, getting ready to listen to her playlist. Liz’s playlists were, in fact, pretty infamous amongst their group of friends. When she couldn’t afford presents for birthdays or holidays, she made them playlists.

“So, since you’re in earth science, tell me again why they declassified Pluto as a planet?” she asked. “I mean, I know it doesn’t have emotions or anything, but imagine being a planet and having your planet status taken away from you. I feel bad for it, y’know?”

JJ laughed.

#outer banks #jj maybank #jj maybank x oc #jj maybank oc fanfiction #outer banks x oc #outer banks oc fanfiction #outer banks au #outer banks au fanfiction #john b routledge #kiara carrera #pope heyward #sarah cameron

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mama-ghostie-61542 · 3 years

Text

A Thousand Lifetimes

Rated M++ for language and themes

If you recognize it--IT AIN'T MINE

Sorry for the OOC-ness

Chapter 7

Kihyun

The next day, after two fittings with costumes, two phone interviews, a shoot for an ad, and a tv spot; I finally got back to the dorms, and back to that story.

Bryn PoV--

As if today wasn't bad enough, I walked into the house to find it completely empty. The kids wandered around and I tried to field a million questions about where they were gonna sleep and what we were gonna eat. That and the meltdowns every five minutes led me to try to call my little brother. I really just needed to talk to another grown-up. As soon as I had supper figured out, I called Joey.

"Hello," said a voice on the other end of the phone.

"Ummm. Hi?"

"Oh. Hello," The voice was familiar, but it wasn't Joey.

"Is Joey close?"

"Sorry. Who?"

"Sorry. Jooheon. Kids call him 'Uncle Joey'. Guess it stuck."

"Hmm. No. You just missed him."

"Dern. Can you pass on a message?"

"Sure."

"Can you tell him to call Bryn when he gets back?"

"Oh! I didn't recognize your voice, Bryn. How are you? It's Kihyun. Joey is in the shower. Can I help you with whatever you need," I asked, biting my lip and praying she would say yes. Just the sound of her voice was both soothing and somehow able to tie me up in knots.

"Actually, I was calling to vent. I've had a particularly terrible day today. Joey is my sobriety sponsor."

"He is? Wow," I said before Honey came charging at me, his hair still wet. "I would still LOVE to talk to YOU," I shouted.

"Gimmie my phone, Kihyun."

I handed him back the phone and heard him say

"What's up, Sis?"

Though I couldn't hear exactly what was said, I could tell by the look on his face, it wasn't good.

"Really?"

Then, Honey sighed. "Lemme see what I can do from here."

"Please, let me help."

If it were possible for him to get any more pissed off, he did. "HE WHAT," he yelled. Then, he pulled the phone from his ear and said, "I need a one way ticket to Peoria International!! I'm gonna kill him. I am gonna fuckin' kill him." Next, he put the phone back to his ear, "Lemme see what I can do here, Sis," he growled as he demanded numbers and wrote them down, and then hung up.

As he started digging on the internet to find the cheapest fare, HyunWoo said, "Hold it, Hot Shot. What happened?"

"That douchbag finally left. He took everything! Even the kids stuff. He left them with NOTHING! That is why Sis was calling. He cleaned out their account and took everything. Damn lucky he couldn't touch the shop accounts or he would have cleaned them out too. Literally everything. She needs a little cash to feed the kids til Friday."

"Thank God it is Wednesday," said CK. from the far side of the room. If anyone had bothered to look, the reflection on his glasses was an Amazon cart with 37 things in it. The only time ANYONE has that many things in an Amazon cart is when they are buying groceries. However, most of those were chips or snack cakes.

Honey, Min, and HyungWon all sat down to iron out how much and what they were gonna contribute.

Silently, I picked up my bank book and palmed the slip of paper with her info on it. Only HyunWoo saw me slip out the door. He stopped me as I waited for the elevator and handed me a few bills from his own wallet before turning back towards the room.

"What," was all I could get out before he interrupted, cutting me off mid-question.

"We look out for our own," He answered before he opened the door to the dorm.

After heading to the nearest Western Union, I called the number on the slip from Honey. When she picked up, I smiled.

"Hey, Bryn, it's Kihyun. I wired you some money. Should be about $100, if everything gets exchanged right."

"Kihyun, you guys didn't have to do that. My dad was already gonna feed the kids. I just needed to talk to someone. This has got me so shaken up, I want a drink really bad. Guess I wasn't too clear with Joey."

"Really? Then why was he," I stopped as a shadow fell over me. "Well, shit. Guess who is now standing right behind me."

"Tell him to calm down."

"Bryn says to calm down. She told me to sit on you if I have to."

"Kihyun! I did not."

"I paraphrased," I laughed. "Besides, Sweets, if looks could kill, I'd be dead right about now."

"Really," she chuckled.

"Oh yeah. He is probably gonna follow me all the way to the dorm. I guess I am not allowed out on my own," I laughed.

"Why," She asked.

"I tend to do dumb things, according to others. Though they may be a little impulsive, they always work out in the end. So don't look the horse in the mouth."

"I won't."

"Good girl," I laughed, "So why did you call him, anyway?"

"I needed someone I could yell at that would not take it personal."

"I am always here. Though, I may occasionally yell back."

She laughed. "Thank you."

"For?"

"Making me laugh. I needed that. "

"Damn. I was looking forward to the screaming match. C'mon, get it started, Angelface," I said as I stopped at the stoplight and waited for the crosswalk. "Do you want me to start," I asked, then pulled the phone away and yelled.

Bringing the phone back to my face, I asked as the crosswalk lit up and I crossed the street, "How was that," I grinned.

"A 10. A fuckin' 10. Have you thought of being a Rockstar," she laughed.

I could almost hear the smile on her face, which made me laugh. Even if my throat killed me in the morning it was worth it.

"Hey, hang on a second. I want to send you something," I said as I put my phone on speaker and started the camera.

"Oh dear God, what now," she asked.

I took a short video of me sending her a kiss and sent it off. "Nothing bad."

"Ok, if you say so. Just not cool with unsolicited dick pics from strange men."

"I would not send you unsolicited dick pics, nor am I a stranger. Now, if you asked for them...Like a good girl," I started and looked over at Honey, who was looking at me with the 'better never do that' face. "Uh-oh."

"What?"

"I'm getting side eye."

She laughed and said, "I know just the look. It screams, 'You'd better not be sending photos of ANY part of your anatomy to my sister'."

"Yes," I laughed. "So how are you feeling? Better?"

"Much. Thank you."

"No problem. I'm here all week. Try the veal," I laughed. "Still want a drink," I asked.

"No. The laughs did it for me. Thank you."

"You are very welcome, Darling. So did you get the video I sent?"

"I did. That was very sweet. Thanks."

"You are very welcome, Pretty Lady. Well, we are back at the dorms."

"I should probably go then," she sighed.

"Just remember I am also available for Mitzvahs," I chuckled, which made her laugh. "Seriously, Sweetie, anytime you need a sounding board or a laugh fest, a screaming match or some naughty-Ow, Mother fucker!-I got smacked on my arm for that last bit. I am always here,"

"Thanks again. Until next time."

I paused and came VERY close to telling her how I felt but said, instead, "Again, you are welcome."

"Bye, Kihyun."

"Bye, Bryn," I breathed, then hung up.

Honey looked at me as he crossed his arms over his chest, "It took everything you had to not tell her 'I love you' didn't it?"

All I could do was nod and hope that my dreams tonight would be better than they had been.

As we got into the elevator, He said, "It was good hearing that you made her laugh."

"I love the sound of her laughter. Once I got her started, I didn't want her to stop. I think that she is just as funny as she is sweet."

"You do know that she will do one of two things, right?"

"What two things?"

"Either immediately send the money right back, or hang on to it and physically give you back every bit. She hates asking for help...of any kind," he said as he opened the door to our dorm.

"Yeah? Wonder why."

He just laughed, "Her ex-fiancée, ex-husband, and her father."

"What happened," I asked as I made us a pot of coffee.

"They all held every penny over her head. Her dad decided he wanted her out the minute she turned 18 and to do it, he threw her out the boat, so to speak. Said if she floated, she never needed help anyway; and if she sank, well, it was her own fault."

"That's abuse. Financial abuse."

"Yep. He was the kind to tell her everything she had was his, that she owned nothing; not even the clothes on her back. He comes from the 'I Own You' school of parenting. Her ex-fiancée would demand she work, then make her late, so she would lose any job she got. Then, he'd take any money she got paid and use it for crap he wanted rather than the bills she had it ear-marked for."

"Oh, tell me he didn't."

"Oh he did. Spent it on girls at the local under 21."

"Shit. He screwed around on her, didn't he?"

"Yep. Which is why if you ever think about cheating, I will castrate you myself," he growled.

Somehow I knew he would do it, and I would let him. "Don't have to worry about that. Can you tell me about her ex-husband?"

"That asshole was a piece of work. Emotionally, Mentally, and Fiscally abusive. The entire time they were together, he would pinch a penny until it died if it was something she needed, but she was expected to turn over her things and cash to him. She worked second shift in a factory; out of the house from half 1 to almost 1 am. He was in semi driver school at the time, racked up a HUGE amount of debt; I'm talking almost 40K. Constantly accused her of cheating when he had a different lot lizard every night. It's a miracle he never gave her anything."

I was disgusted by this guys behavior. To have a woman like her waiting at home and trying his best to break her.

"And that isn't even the worst of his offenses. He screamed at her one night while he was over the road, on training. She was at work, and he called her on her lunch break. The entire time, he screamed at her for having a cold sore and yelled about her cheating loud enough for her co-workers to hear. Her boss to tell her to turn off her phone; that he was tired of hearing that jerk yell at her. The guy he was learning with, told him that 'If I were her, I would be calling the lawyer first thing in the morning, after that shit.' He 'apologized' pretty quickly after that."

"Icky. I hope she ended it there."

"No. That girl has a ton of stay and No show. He ended up deployed to Egypt and told his brother about the girls there. Never thought his brother would run and tell her. She still didn't leave. You left a blister on her cheek one night and he threw her out in the snow."

"Stay and no show? I'm not sure I understand."

"Horse terms," came a voice from the doorway. I had forgotten Hoseok was staying with us while his apartment was getting the pipes fixed. "When a filly is learning to ride, it's said she is full of Show and no Stay. Meaning she looks good, but is too skittish to stand still. Sis--Well Sis may not look like much, but she has tons of loyalty to those who show her the same. She has the patience to play a 30 year long game, and the courage to weather ANY storm. But she has a problem knowing when to leave, and so she gets hurt."

"Hold up! He threw her out in the snow?!"

As Hoseok filled his own mug, he answered, "Yeah, he threw her out of the apartment in the middle of a snowstorm. Lucky her parents were in town. So if you start this with her, and you ever want out; you are gonna have to straight up tell her to go. She won't understand otherwise. She doesn't play games and has a tough time with subtly. So always be direct and honest with her."

I nodded taking it in. There was something I thought I wanted, so I asked, "How is her aegyo"

"If you are looking for overt aegyo, don't. Hers is subtle but she has got it in spades, and she doesn't even know it. It's in the way she plays, either with her guy or her kids," he said as he leaned against the counter, "It's in the subtle blush when you say or do something for her without her asking. It's in a compliment and the smiling eyes that comes with it. She has never had some of the things other girls take for granted, like a stolen kiss or flowers on her birthday. Other things, like those romantic gestures, she has only had once or twice. If I remember right, the last guy to 'play' was an FWB years and years ago, and that guy only stole one kiss, once," Honey replied.

"Don't expect her to run with girls. Most girls find her too harsh, too rough. She doesn't appreciate girls and their whiney, gossipy ways. She never wears makeup, and I have never once seen her with her nails painted. She is a guys-girl, a tom-boy through and through; wasn't made delicate. She is stronger than most people will ever know. However, her heart is extremely delicate, it's been broken and bruised so bad, even I wonder how she is still alive. So, let me tell you, right now," Hoseok said as he sat down his mug and leaned over the counter in my direction, "She may not be blood, but she is my sister."

"Hmm," I nodded. "You really don't have to worry about that," I replied. "How are you related to her again," I asked.

"Distant cousin. Her auntie married my mothers little brother, for all of five minutes. I am only gonna tell you this once, if you hurt that filly in ANY way; you wont walk again."

"Got it," I replied, cringing.

"You know that she won't ask for what she wants or needs. You are gonna need to be damned good at reading between the lines, cause she is so afraid that if she tells you what she needs, what she wants, you will do the same thing every one else has done," Honey said after a minute.

"Run," I answered nodding.

"Yep. Most men can't handle her intensity so they either run or try to turn her down to levels that they can handle without realizing that her fire isn't meant to be dimmed, but fed. She is gonna need you to be just as emotional as her, to show her that it is ok to feel again. She is very touch oriented, very tactile. So a lot of her feelings are touch related."

"I understand, Joey."

"You had better. The only reason I didn't beat the shit out of the other assholes, is that I wasn't there. If I had been, I would have had no problems with a few months in the county lock-up. And if Clark had tried that shit while I was there..."

"Really?"

"Yeah. See, the shit of it is, she fades into the background. She doesn't want all those things that other girls want. She isn't the kind to run or chase. She doesn't play games. She is also emotional. Ease into it. Don't try to love bomb her, she went through that shit with Clark and won't put up with it from you," Hoseok said, then turned to Joey, "Speaking of, did you hear what Lone Elm called him?"

Joey shook his head.

Hoseok grinned. "Elm called him a fuckin fishstick."

Joey started laughing, "Elm called him 'Fishstick'."

I looked back and forth between the two men who were holding themselves up on the counter while they laughed. "I don't get it. What-What's a fishstick?"

A hand landed on my shoulder from behind. I turned to see Changkhyun standing there, an amused look on his face.

"Fishsticks are only available in the States. They are mashed-up fish paste, about an inch wide by around six inches long, which is then breaded. Then, they are to be baked in an oven. Either they turn out soggy or they are hard as a rock; inedible either way. Which is good, because they are fuckin' gross. Nasty little things."

"Are they like the fish at Mickey's?"

"No," CK stated. "The fish there is actually decent. Fishsticks are generally served in school hot lunches on Fridays due either to religious reasons, or because they are cheap and can be purchased by the gross. At any rate, they are still inedible."

"Icky. How in the hell can people do that to their kids?"

"Not a clue. That was why I always took my lunch on Friday. Every Friday, the hot lunch was always the same thing; rock hard fishsticks, soggy tater tots, dehydrated-rehydrated mixed vegetables, and golden glow salad with mayonnaise on the top. It was the grossest meal I have ever seen in my entire life."

I shuddered to think of those poor kids. Forced to eat that nasty stuff.

After reading that, I was glad her kids never had to eat that. She fixed boxes for them. School lunches in the States sounded gross.

'Some things were ok.'

'I thought you took your lunch, Mami?'

'I did. My dad said cold lunch was cheaper. But, there was one day, once or twice a month, that I would get school lunch. They called it pork pattie day, but it was a breaded pork tenderloin on a bun. It was pretty decent. It was pretty gross the rest of the time, but that day wasn't too bad.'

'Have I watched you fix those before?'

'Not sure.'

'Are those the sandwiches where you beat the pork chops to nothing and then bread and fry them?'

'Yes.'

'Those do look pretty tasty,' I said as I dug around for what to fix the next day, so I could write it on the board. 'Hmm. Help, please. Can't figure out supper.'

'Whatcha got?'

'Hmmm. Some sausages, some tiny shrimp, and a package of chicken,' I said as I dug around in the freezer.

"You can use the shrimp and chicken in Gumbo.'

'It has been quite a while since I've had Gumbo. I've never made it before though.'

'Look it up. There are a million Gumbo recipes out there.'

'I think I will do that. Thanks, Baby. Have I told you, today, how awesome you are??'

'Yes, but I can always stand to hear it again,' she laughed.

A/N)--The above abuses......actually happened. First hand experience.

#original writing #my writing #original story #twin flames #twin souls #soulmates #soul mates #soulmate #soul mate #past life #astral travel #spirit projection #fanfic #fan fiction #monsta x fic #kihyun fic

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croonerboy1965 · 4 years

Text

JUMPER

Jumper

It was just another fire, in just another run down old brownstone, on just another day.

It took quite a while to evacuate everyone as the fire was gutting the inside of the old apartment building, faster than they could put the flames out. Buck was going floor by floor, making sure no area was left unturned, as one of the rescued insisted her 6 year old son was still inside. One door after the other, left Buck increasingly concerned, as again and again, he would yell the boy’s name, making himself hoarse and taking far too much smoke into his lungs as he did so.

“Sammy!!”, He screamed.

“SAMMY!!”, He hollered with all the effort he could muster.

Nothing…

Just as a last resort, he decided to check the roof, unsure he would have a chance to make it all the way back down if he stayed in this blaze any longer.

He kicked open the roof access door and shouted once again, but it wasn’t needed. As soon as he stepped out on the roof, he saw something huddled in the far corner, next to the pipework and venting.

When he got to the boy he was covered in soot and clutching a small, stuffed teddy bear to his chest. He was not breathing. He laid the boy out flat and began CPR, doing everything he could to bring the boy back to consciousness.

“Come on buddy, come on! Come on, Sammy!

No no no! Not today, please not today.”

But it was no use. The boy was gone.

Buck just grabbed the small, lifeless body and held it close to him. And he just sobbed.

He dealt with this kind of thing every day, but somehow, right now, this one was just one too many. This innocent boy. What did he ever do? The unfairness of this, and his own life, settled over him in a cloud of despair turning into a torrent of sorrow. He wailed, despite the rawness in his throat or the soreness of his smoky lungs. He let the pain, inside and out wash over him.

As if on cue, it began to rain. As his tears subsided, he set the boy down and lay the stuffed bear atop his small chest, wrapping the boy’s tiny arms around it.

Before he knew it, he was up, and stepping toward the roof’s edge. Then out on to the ledge. He looked down over the drop. As he did this the wind from the brewing storm overhead, picked up and blew his helmet off. He watched as it tumbled slowly and seemingly endlessly to the ground below. It seemed to be beckoning him to follow. Tears began to flow, lost in the raindrops that fell, as he watched them, disappearing into the blur of red and blue lights below.

On the ground, the survivors were gathered, being triaged and paired off with loved ones, and those that needed it, were being placed into the available ambulances.

A woman ran up to Bobby.

“My son… have you seen my son!?”, she cried.

“One of the firefighters went in to get him, but they have not come out!”

Bobby looked around, and seeing Eddie, he shouted, “DIAZ! Have you seen BUCK!?” Eddie shook his head, and just as he did so, Buck’s helmet wizzed past him from above, just missing him as it smashed to pieces on the ground at his feet. Eddie looked up. Bobby looked up. A woman screamed.

No… Buck no…he thought.

“Buck! Buck! I’m coming! Just stay there!”, Eddie shouted.

“Let’s get a ladder up there!”, Bobby ordered.

They had no choice but to try and get to the roof from the outside with a bucket, as the inside was completely gutted by the fire and most of the fire escape was melted and twisted from the heat.

The truck with the longest ladder positioned itself and unfurled the longest set of rungs they had and still it was not enough. Eddie was up the ladder before Bobby or anyone could stop him. But he was still four or five floors from the top.

Bobby’s voice came over the bullhorn.

“Buck. Just stay right there. We’re coming for you… Eddie, let’s bring er down. We’ll call in air support.” Just then a crackle came over the radio.

“Cap—doesn’t look like we’ve got air support.”, Chim said.

“With all the wildfires in the area, there aren’t any choppers left, much less any nearby that can get here in any reasonable amount of time.”

Eddie heard this, and looked up at Buck, and then to the nearest ledge along the height of the building, and leaped off the ladder, nearly missing the edge.

He was used to rock climbing and had a strong finger hold, but with the rain, the edge was slick and one of his hands slipped, causing a shriek from one of the survivors below. Eddie regained his grip and pulled himself up and along the relief sculpted carvings that dressed the sides of the building. When he got to the corner, he was able to use the end caps to pull his way slowly up the side of the structure, floor by floor, stopping occasionally, for just a few seconds to rest before continuing on. The rain poured down on to his face and gear, making it difficult, to see and adding weight to the climb as well.

As he reached the top, Eddie strained with all his might to pull himself up and onto the roof. He rolled over on to his side and gasped for air, giving himself a moment to rest.

Buck was so inside his own thoughts he did not even realize until the moment Eddie spoke, that anyone was even there with him.

“Buck.”, spoke firmly and stumbled forward as the roof top under him trembled. The interior of the building was slowly giving way. He knew they did not have much time, and he still was not completely sure how they were going to get out of this. Buck startled and almost fell, before catching his balance. They looked into each others eyes. Eddie spoke again.

“Buck, what are you doing?”, Eddie said.

“Stay back!”, Buck said more forcibly than he intended. Eddie took a step back, and put his palms up in a no harm gesture.

“You got it.”, he said. “Just tell what I can do.”

“There’s nothing you can do…There’s nothing anyone can do.” , Buck said, the words barely squeezing past the lump in his throat.

“Buck…please…why are you up here? What’s going on?”, Eddie asked.

“Why did YOU come up here?”, Buck said, looking at Eddie accusingly and with a touch of regret in his eyes.

Eddie waited a beat, then took a breath and started to speak.

“Buck, look, I know sometimes everything feels wrong, and you feel like the whole world is against you, and you… You think you’re the only one. You’re the only one in the fight. You try, and you try, and no matter what you do, it just gets worse. Until you can’t fight anymore.”, Eddie paused a moment, gathering his thoughts before continuing.

“You don’t know!”, Buck interjected.

“What!?”, Eddie said. “What don’t I know?”

“You remember a couple of months ago, when I took time off for a few days, and I told you I was going to Hawaii on vacation?”, Buck said.

“Well… it wasn’t a vacation. I was having surgery.”, “A colonoscopy. “, Buck said, and his eyes welled up with tears. I spent the whole week waiting by the phone...waiting for the tissue test results. They found cancer.”

“What?”, Eddie was dumbfounded. “Oh Buck…”, Eddie looked at Buck with sympathetic eyes.

“Don’t—don’t you look at me like that!”, Buck admonished.

“Like what?”, Eddie said.

“That look people give you when they know your screwed, that look of pity in their eyes when—when they know there’s nothing they can do. Like it’s hopeless. Like I’m HOPELESS.”, Buck turned his gaze back to his feet and over the ledge to the street below.

“Buck—Why didn’t you tell me?”. Eddie pleaded. “Is that what all the drinking, all the recklessness on the job was all about? Is that why you—propositioned me?”

Eddie could not believe that last bit escaped his lips, but he had to know. If this was it, if this is where it all ended, he had to know exactly how Buck felt about him.

“It doesn’t matter…Not anymore.”, Buck said.

“It matters to me.”, Eddie said. “YOU—you matter to me.””You’re not alone Buck.”, Eddie moved slowly and carefully toward Buck, the ceiling under his feet, rumbling with increasing urgency.

“Alone…Yeah? What do you know about being alone?”, Buck said accusingly. “You have your Abuela, you have Christopher, and what do I got? Abby left me. My little sister, she has Chim. And all I got is goddamn cancer. Can you cure cancer, Eddie? Because I sure the hell can’t.”, Buck was practically shouting.

“Ok LOOK!”, Eddie shouted back.

“Buck… I know what it’s like to be alone. To feel like it’s just you against the entire world...Always having to face everything by yourself. Feeling like you have no reason to fight. No one to fight for. That’s exactly how I felt, after the war. Before Christopher. Before you.”, Buck looked up at Eddie and saw the mist in his eyes, heard the halt in his voice. And for just a moment, he felt the slightest glimmer of hope.

Eddie continued.

“We’ve both tried hard to make this life something worth living. We’ve both tried, and we’ve both failed. But there’s one thing we haven’t tried. We never tried fighting together…” And with that, Buck turned to step down onto the rooftop. But as he did so, there was a huge explosion beneath them. Eddie watched wide-eyed as Buck tumbled backward and over the edge.

Instantly, Eddie dove for Buck and instinctively grabbed his arm, the weight of him, and it’s momentum taking them both with it.

At the last second, Eddie’s boot caught the ledge and his foot wedged itself between two sections to intricate masonry carvings, crowning along its edge. Buck’s weight snapped his ankle in the process. They both yelled out loud.

Buck’s arm slipped his wet rubber sleeve sliding through Eddie’s gloved hand. Eddie groped at Buck’s arm with all his might, catching him at the wrist.

“Let me go.”, Buck said. A look of certain defeat in his eyes.

“Please…Buck… Listen to me. If you don’t give me your other hand, we’re both gonna fall..., Eddie winced at the growing pain in his foot. And if we both fall…then Christopher, will lose two people he loves very much. I don’t want to disappoint Christopher—do you?”, Eddie asked. Buck, I’ve lost people too. I lost Shannon. Chris and I—we both did. We can’t lose you too.”

“Just let me go… You should have never come up here. Christopher needs you. It’s all over for me, Eddie. Either way, I’m done. Tell Christopher I love him, and I’m sorry.”, Buck looked down at the crowd below them, preparing to let go.

It was then, when Eddie found the truest courage in his heart. The courage to tell Buck the truth.

“Buck—wait, I have to tell you something. I need you to listen to me. If we die today, then we die together. But not until I tell you the truth.”, Eddie said, a lump catching in his throat.

“Buck! Look at me!”, Eddie barked at him. Buck’s face snapped back toward his.

Eddie spoke the most honest and truest words he ever said in his life.

“That day in the truck, while I was looking at pictures of Christopher on my phone, when you told me how much you loved kids? That’s when I knew. That’s when I knew I never wanted to be alone again. That’s when I fell for you. And I’ve fallen for you 1000 times, every single day since then. And I’d do it again. Just not like this. Not like this!” “You are stronger than cancer! You’re so much stronger than this. You’re the strongest person I ever met. And you know what? Fuck cancer. I don’t care what it takes, I’m never giving up on you. Never.”, Eddie looked deep into Buck’s eyes, more sure now than ever they were going to live— they were going to make it. More sure than he had ever been about anything in his life. He spoke again in a measured, and certain tone.

“Buck… Evan… Give me your hand.”, he watched as Buck’s tenuous grip slid ever so slightly, as he started to realize the weight of them both was inching his foot from the boot caught at the roof’s edge.

He panicked and screamed, “I love you Evan Buckley! Now give me your goddamn hand!”

Evan smiled. That smile. The beatific, yet mischievous, grin that Eddie so dearly loved.

Buck knew for the first time in his life, here, at the end of his life, at last, he was loved. He felt loved. He loved Eddie. He knew what he had to do. For Eddie, and for Christopher.

“I know you won’t give up. You’re going to make it, Eddie. I know you will. Because you’ll never give up on your son. And…I love you too, honey.”, Buck’s own tears misted up in his eyes.

“I love you, Eddie Diaz.”

Suddenly he reached up with his other hand, grabbing the cuff of Eddie’s glove, turning it inside out, peeling himself loose from Eddie’s grip. It happened so fast, Eddie did not have time to respond. A scream escaped his lips, but he never heard himself scream, nor did he hear the screams of the crowd below. Time slowed to a crawl. Eddie’s eyes grew wide in shock and horror. He watched Buck falling for what seemed like an eternity. Buck’s face was so calm. So at peace. Eddie squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see the outcome. He howled a guteral, animalistic, sound full of utter sorrow and excruciating pain.

He screamed long and loud, util he had nothing left. He just hung there for what felt like an endless amount of time. And then Buck’s words came back to him, forcing him back to reality.

“I know you won’t give up. You’re going to make it, Eddie. I know you will. Because you’ll never give up on your son.”

Eddie opened his eyes, but with the tears and the rain, and the throbbing of blood, thrumming in his skull, he could not see much more than some blurry, incomprehensible shapes. He had no idea how he was going to get down. But he absolutely had to get down. For Christopher. He squinted, focusing on his surroundings. He could feel the pain in his ankle, but it was swollen enough that he was pretty sure it wasn’t going to move. He thought maybe, if he could find a way to get a hand hold on the flagpole he spied a couple feet to his right, he might be able to pull himself free from his boot and drop his feet down, and swing himself in to an upright position, then climb back up onto the roof. He tried with all his might to push off with his good leg, reaching out with his hands as far as he could. He tried a few times, missing each time. The flag pole just millimeters from his grasp. Just when he was about to resign himself to the fact, he might not make it, he heard a voice from above him.

“Hey! Are you just going to hang around here doing nothing all day, while the rest of us are out here busting our asses?”, Chim teased.

“Chim!?”, Eddie said. A smile spread acrosss his face. “How the hell did you get up here?”

“Oh—you think you’re the only one around here who knows how to scale a burning building?”, Chim said.

Eddie tried to retort, but the sound of a chopper cresting overhead drown him out, as Chim guided the basket down underneath him.

“Okay Eddie, I’m gonna cut you out of this boot, so wrap this loop around you as tight as you can. As soon as your free, I’m gonna lower you down to the basket.”, Chim shouted.

“What about you?”, Eddie asked.

“We’re gonna be fine.”, Chim said. Eddie looked up to see Chim holding what looked like a parachute and a harness.

“Wait a minute,” Eddie said, “What do you mean, we?”

“Me and the kid.”, Chim said.

“I thought the kid was dead?”, Eddie asked.

“No, no, he’s just fine...and you’d have known that if either one of you two bozos had bothered to check his pulse.” This made Eddie laugh in spite of himself.

Then the smile melted from his face, as reality set in.

“I lost Buck.” Eddie said.

“Yeah, I saw that.”, Chim said.

“You lost him, but we caught him. You held him just long enough for us to move the truck and get the safety cushion inflated. It was little bit of a drop, so he may not be as pretty as he used to be. He’s banged up, but he’ll live.” Chim said.

Eddie was so excited by this news, he fumbled with the para-cord almost losing the rope in the process. He wrapped it around himself, slipping it over his head and arms, tightening it chest height. He curled the slack around his hands and gave it a tug, to let Chim know to lower him down to the waiting chopper basket.

Once this was done, and Eddie was safely away, Chim scooped up Sammy and his teddy bear.

“Hold on tight!” he said, as he fastened them together in the harness. Chim removed his helmet placed it on Sammy’s head. He tightened the chin strap as much as he could, and leapt out and away from the roof, just moments before the rooftop collapsed in on itself. He deployed the shoot and the two of them glided to the ground. A cheer rose up from the crowd.

Bobby, congratulated his crew and belted an order into the bullhorn to push the crowd a safe distance away from the crumbling building.

√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√

AFTERWARD

Buck lay awake but groggy in his hospital bed. It had been a long recovery. He was bone tired, and in a lot of pain, despite having plenty of meds. Not just from his multiple injuries, but also the mandatory suicide counseling. His thoughts were a jumble as he drifted in and out of consciousness. During one of his more lucid periods, he heard a knock on the door.

“Hey little brother, I think a couple someones would like to see you.”, Maddie said, as she held the door open, allowing both Christopher and Eddie to hobble through. They looked like twins, Father and Son both on crutches, as they made their way to Eddie’s bedside.

“Hey buddy!”, Eddie managed to croak at Christopher.

“Hi Buck.”, Christopher whisper-spoke through his usual crooked, irrepressible grin.

“Are you okay?”, Christopher said. As he moved to the bedside. He placed his head in the crook of Eddie’s neck, gently so as not to disturb his injuries.

Eddie’s heart swelled, as he smiled and looked down at Christopher, kissing his hair.

“I’m just great.”, Buck said.

He glanced up to see Eddie grinning from ear to ear.

Again, his heart filled up to almost overflowing. He had to force himself not to cry.

“Yeah you are.”, Eddie said.

“And how are you doing?”, Buck asked Eddie.

“Who, me?”, Eddie said, pointing to himself.

“I have never been better.”, he said, flashing his perfect, gleaming white smile. Until now, Buck never thought of it as beautiful.

“Your heart is beating really fast.”, Christopher said to Buck.

Buck and Eddie broke the gaze they held between them, realizing it had hung there a bit too long.

Eddie cleared his throat.

“Uh—hi…I’m another person in the room.”, Maddie said. She looked at Buck and then back at Eddie, and got the distinct impression that she ought to leave the room. Clearly, she would need a chainsaw to cut through the tension between these two men. They looked at her and said. “Hi!” in unison.

Maddie rolled her eyes.

“OK! Christopher, let’s let these two talk for a bit. What say we go see if we can find a snack machine around here somewhere?”

Christopher stood up and said, “Yeah!”, clearly excited. Maddie led him out of the room, leaving Eddie and Buck alone together.

“Long time no see.”, Buck said.

Buck would not remember it, as he was out for quite a few days after his fall, but Eddie stayed at his bedside every day during his recovery.

“Long time no see.”, said Eddie.

Before buck could even come back with a reply, Eddie leaned in and kissed him deeply on the mouth. They lingered there, resting their foreheads together, looking into one another’s eyes. They kissed again, before Eddie sat down in the chair next to Buck’s bed, taking Buck’s hand in his.

“Eddie—you should know—if they take out my colon…I read online that 78% of men lose their…drive.”, he looked down inadvertently at his crotch and blushed slightly.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. We’ll find other things to do. Sex is up here, and in here.”, Eddie pointed at Buck’s forehead and then touched the center of his chest.

“Not just here.”, Eddie said, motioning down to Buck’s crotch, which he swore, twitched slightly at his words.

“Besides, it’s not the thing about you I love the most.”, he said, smiling at Buck.

Buck looked into Eddie’s eyes, his face hopeful.

“It’s not?”, Buck said.

“Nah…I love how bad you are at darts.”, Eddie said

Buck laughed, but started to cough in mid-chuckle, as his ribs had not yet fully healed. This made Eddie giggle and then instantly feel worried.

“Ow…”, Buck groaned through his smile.

“Oh god, I’m sorry!”, Eddie said, smiling back.

“So kiss it and make it better.”, Buck teased.

Eddie wasted no time in honoring the request.

They were so caught up in what they were doing, they did not hear, the doctor, Maddie and Christopher open the door or knock as they came in.

“Whoa.”, Maddie said.

“You guys LOOOOVE each other!”, Christopher giggled, squealing with joy.

Eddie stood up, and coughed, and pretended to be straightening his shirt.

“We were just uh—“, Eddie said, grateful, as the Doctor cut him off.

“Mr. Buckley, I need to talk to you about the status of your tissue test from your colonoscopy a few months ago. You might want to clear the room.”, Doctor Gartner said.

“Ok buddy, more snacks!”, Maddie said, leading Christopher out the door.

“I’m Doctor Gartner,” the doctor said. “Could you give us a minute?”

“It’s okay. Anything you can say to me, you can say in front of him.”, Buck said.

“Are you a family member?”, the doctor asked.

Before Eddie could answer, Buck piped in.

“He’s my boyfriend… Uh—partner—Husband!”, he tried to course correct, landing on a title he felt, would discourage the doctor from questioning them further. Eddie brightened, and looked at Buck, who blushed a bit. Still, it sounded good. It sounded right.

He smiled and shook the doctor’s hand a little too excitedly.

“Eddie Diaz…Diaz-Buckley.”, he beamed, as Buck squirmed a bit. Eddie grinned at him, and Buck smirked, going along with the lie. Then he thought to himself, “What’s wrong with Buckley-Diaz?”, before realizing he considered it as if it could actually be a thing.

“Mr. Buckley…We tried to call you a few weeks ago, to let you know, that your tissue test came back positive for cancerous and precancerous cells.”

Eddie’s smiled faded. Buck’s eyes widened.

“Now before you say anything”, the doctor continued, it appears we were able to remove all the cells, and while the fact that they were inter-mucosal, is a concern, I would not recommend lower colectomy at this time.”

“What does all that mean?’, Buck asked.

“It means you are cancer free…for now.”, the doctor said, “You will have to make follow up visits, as we need to verify you’re healing, and then every year for the next couple of years, to check for any new growths, but if it looks clear, then you should be ok to wait every five years. But check ups are very important if you want to stay ahead of this thing. Understood?”, the doctor nodded in Buck’s direction.

“He said I’m cancer free!”, Buck said. Eddie realized he had Buck’s hand in a white-knuckled grip. He let go of Buck’s hand and swung himself headlong toward the doctor, practically tackling him to the ground in a big bear hug.

“Thank you, Doc!”, Eddie kept saying thank you over and over, as he rocked them back and forth, all at once realizing what he was doing, as the doctor pulled himself away. Eddie let go and tried to help the doctor, by brushing down the wrinkles in his crisp white coat.

“Uh… you’re very welcome.”, the doctor said, straightening himself before giving Eddie a wink, and bowing to Eddie and quickly leaving the room.

“Did he just…?”, Buck said, indignantly.

“Well…I am pretty sexy.”, Eddie said, as he swaggered his way back to Buck and kissed him on the lips.

“Speaking of which… he continued.” “About that sex we were never going to have…”

Just as the words left his mouth, Maddie and Christopher came in.

Eddie looked surprised.

“More snacks!”, as she turned Christopher right around and back out the door, and Buck sighed putting his head in his hands.

“How about we just try a date first?”, Buck said.

“OH that’s a great idea! There’s this great hot air balloon place…”, Eddie said, before Buck cut him off.

“Let’s—I was hoping for something a little closer to the ground. Like a picnic.”, Buck said. “Besides, I haven’t had the greatest luck with hot-air balloons.”, Buck said.

“Understood.”, Eddie said.

There was a knock on the door. It was Maddie again.

“Is it safe to come in yet?”, she said. You have some visitors. As she opened the door, the heads of Chim, Bobby, Hen and the whole crew peeked around the door and made their way in, bearing gifts.

Then Christopher blurted out, “My Dad and Buck are in love!” The room fell silent for a moment before everyone got the giggles.

“It’s ok buddy, WE KNOW!” , said Bobby.

“You do?”, Eddie and Buck said in unison.

“YES!”, everyone said all at once.

“Oh… Well in that case…”, and Eddie planted a big kiss right on Bucks lips. And then another, and another, and another…

“It’s about time.”, Chim said, as Maddie dumped out the contents of her purse all over the bed, covering it with vending machine candy and snacks.

#buddie #9-1-1 show #evan buckly

17 notes · View notes

earnest-jumping · 4 years

Text

(This is for @galoots LDU, fluffy as requested! It’s a little bit of hurt and a whole lotta comfort. Hope you enjoy, dear!)

“What’s the meaning of all this, then?”

Donald let out a choked gasp, wobbling from his spot on the bookshelf. There was a series of loud yells from three different individuals as Donald fell from the shelves, his eyes screwed shut as he braced himself for impact. He hit sooner than anticipated, into the soft and clothed chest of his uncle’s butler-best-friend, Duckworth.

There was a grunt of exertion from the man as he teetered towards falling back with the added weight of the young duckling, straightening himself at the last second on the plush armchair of the study. Donald’s eyes began to open from their shut state, to find two different pairs staring back at his with a look that was both parts exasperated and worried.

The young duck let out a weak giggle, trying his best to get off from the scolding he was sure to receive, “Hi, Unca Scrooge. Hi, Ducky.” He put on his best cheerful voice, arms reaching for his uncle with a grin. He knew just how to get them, the little troublemaker.

Scrooge sighed, the breath releasing the tension of Donald nearly breaking an arm from the fall. He scooped up his nephew, too soft to deny the boy of his affection. As the weight shifted from Duckworth to himself, he gave a low grunt of effort- too soon the young bairn would be too heavy and big for the old duck to continue carrying him like this.

“Just what in blazes do you think you were doing, Donald?” He asked with a huff, moving to the armchair to sit and take the extra weight off his sore back. He gave a knowing look to his companion, who simply sighed and moved to take the seat beside him.

Donald’s face had immediately buried into the juncture between Scrooge’s shoulder and neck once he was held, clinging to the older man with a mumble neither could make out. At prodding to his side from familiar fingers, he let out a small giggle and pulled back to look up towards the bookshelf, pointing up to the highest shelf.

“That one has my name on it!” He said by way of explanation, grinning as the two men glanced upwards towards the object in question.

Scrooge’s face immediately drained of amusement, suddenly feeling his feathers puff as if to shield him from a phantom gust of wind.

“Oh, I see.” He answered in a murmur, feeling Donald’s curious eyes on him as Duckworth shared a look of knowing with him. He’d forgotten just how long it had been since they had even laid eyes upon the small ornate book, the sight of it bringing back too many feelings that the old duck had thought long healed.

“Can I see it, Unca, please?” Came the sweet questioning voice of his nephew, arms wrapped tighter around Donald as if to shield him from the offending book.

Duckworth cleared his throat after some time of silence, breaking Scrooge of his incessant staring, “Shall I grab it for you, sir?”

“Hm? Oh- Yes, yes, I suppose so.” He spoke shakily, swallowing thickly around the already building emotions as Duckworth stood, reached, and brought down the object in question: Donald’s baby book.

The ornate, glittery cover depicted a little yellow duckling hatching out of its egg, surrounded by scenes of play and springtime, embellished with silver glitter. Donald ran a hand reverently over the cover, grinning up at Scrooge as his fingers became covered with loosened glitter, “What kinda book is it, Unca?” He asked innocently.

“This is your baby book, Donald.” He spoke in a hushed tone as Duckworth settled back into the chair beside them, leaning slightly towards the two and placing a hand reassuringly on his employer’s shoulder. Scrooge took in a few breaths to steady himself as he opened to the first page. His eyes crinkled at the corners to the sight of loopy and precise handwriting, the deep blue ink set firmly in Hortense’s best penmanship. He remembered her tongue poking out the side of her lip, brow creased in concentration while he looked on with a snicker.

She had been so proud of her writing, nearly as proud as Quackmore had been while giving her photographs of their young son to label and date on each page. He ran a hand carefully over the slight indentation the ink left in the nearly flawless page, a soft smile gracing his beak as he thought back to those first days.

Donald tapped at the corner of the page, his way of asking silently for Scrooge to move on to the next page, “All about me as a baby?” He asked in awe as he squirmed in anticipation.

“Aye, lad. Your Ma and Pa started making it as soon as you were lain.” Scrooge used a free hand to ruffle Donald’s head feathers, flipping the page as requested. The first showed a neat and well documented list of Donald from egg to hatchling- weight, day of first rattle, hours to hatch, official time of birth. Next to each piece of information was a tiny subscript, naming the page on which to find pictures accompanying the list of firsts.

“Ma and Pa did?” The young nephew in question looked amazed, turning up to look at his uncle with a shine in his eyes, “Wow...all that time ago?”

Scrooge gave a tight smile, nodding as he began to read down the dates. His hand shook with emotion, a hand coming to settle over his and squeeze with light encouragement. He glanced up to find Duckworth watching him, expression knowing and exuding the comfort Scrooge knew he sorely needed.

“Would you like to see a picture of them?” He asked after a beat, flipping through the pages and the past to find a photo of his sister and brother-in-law. Donald watched as each memory passed by, moments of his life he was too young to remember. There was a sharp intake of breath from him as Scrooge found the page he was looking for.

The photograph had barely faded, shielded from dust and light by the paper it was encased in. Donald gave a small sound of amazement as his fingers traced the faces of his parents, “Wow.”

Scrooge smiled, taking in the looks on their faces. The kind and proud smile on Quackmore’s face, as well as the glint of humor in Hortense’s face from where he could barely see her poking a finger into baby Donald’s side, causing the duckling to laugh and smile for the camera. Scrooge saw a younger version of himself, standing tall behind his baby sister and gazing in awe at the baby she held.

Duckworth’s hand squeezed in his own, breaking him from his silent staring and leaning to get a closer look, “I remember taking this, you know. Hortense- your Ma- was so excited to have a family photo.” His beak broke into a smirk, pinching Donald’s cheek, “And then you decided to get sick all over your cute little suit.”

Donald giggled and shied away from the hand, “Gross, Unca Scrooge!” He whined, looking back at the photo, “Why isn’t Duckworth in here?”

The man beside them took in a breath, both turning to look at him as he stumbled over an explanation, “Well… I wasn’t family, Donald. I was just an employee, that’s all.”

“Nonsense, Benedict!” Scrooge berated, “You weren’t in the photograph because your good suit was out to be cleaned, and you refused to wear anything less than perfect.” He whispered conspiratorially to Donald, “Hortense tried to drag him in. I’d never seen anyone stand up to her like that, besides your Pa.”

There was a scoff and then a hand came smacking lightly down on his shoulder, causing Scrooge to laugh and grin up at the dog while Donald giggled in his lap.

“How come I never seen a picture of them before, Unca Scrooge?” Donald asked after they had calmed, finger still tracing the folds of Quackmore’s coat and the curls in his mother’s hair.

He smiled and picked the photo carefully out of the page, handing it to Donald, “I don’t know, lad. But how about we get a frame for this one, so you can keep it in your room?”

Donald’s face brightened, taking the photo and holding it to his chest, “You mean it?”

“Of course I mean it! Would I ever lie to you?” Scrooge shut the book, setting it on the smooth side table beside him and moving to stand, “We’ll head out this afternoon and look for one.”

Donald hopped out from the chair and pulled his uncle up to be beside him, “And get ice cream?”

“And get ice cream.” He agreed, straightening his coat and smiling down at the duckling in front of him as Duckworth stood from his own chair and quietly cleared his throat. Scrooge looked over to find him holding what they had come here for in the first place: a small notebook of expenditures and sinking funds from the past twenty years.

“Back to work for now, I’m afraid sir.” He held the book with a tight smile, ushering them both out of the home library.

Scrooge scoffed and led the way back towards the study, the little patter of duckling feet following close behind, “Really, Benedict. Making me earn my free time, eh?”

“As always, sir.” Came the quick reply, the duck being able to hear the twinge of amusement in his companion’s voice.

As they headed down the hall, he thought back to the long untouched baby book laying in his library. Maybe later tonight once Donald was tucked into bed, he would return with a cup of tea and look through the pages to reminisce. For now, though, he had paperwork to do, and a duckling to keep busy.

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zerot0all · 4 years

Text

ɴɪɢʜᴛ ᴋɪɴɢ | ᴍ

.YOUNGMIN POV.

.Small story plot. Straight filth. Instant love.

.Rated M for smut & slight fluff.

Enjoy!

Fools.

What is a Kingdom without a Queen? Simply a Kingdom ... but I don’t want that. I want an Empire of the damned. I wish to rule, not only the undead but my fellow Vampires as well. Risking everything to conquer these pathetic humans.

But I grew up with the knowledge that a King must always have his Queen... and I think I’ve finally found her.

Cute little bar owner. She hates me but I know that’s all a ploy to get to me. She plays hard to get but what she doesn’t know is that she is meant to rule a new world, by my side as my Queen.

“You’re playing yourself if you really think she likes you.. I’ve heard from a reliable source that she despises you, actually.” Woojin speaks as he stands by the window in our home library. I raise a brow at his statement , till it hits me.

“A reliable source , eh? This wouldn’t be that annoying bookworm you’ve been hanging out with ? Isn’t she my Queen’s little sister?” I add on. Woojin’s eyes grow with suspicion, but he should know better.

I know everything. Whatever happens in this town goes through me first ... humans and monsters.

“I don’t know what to tell you ... you’re in for a rude awakening.” Woojin adds cautiously, watching me hoping I would react. Like as if that would hold me back, I like a challenge. And I know she wants me too. I can feel it in the way she looks at me .. might even pay her place a visit. She does have some of the best whiskey in town, so why not?

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

The bar wasn’t packed , usually we have the town drunks show up before closing time and give her a hard time. I’ve handled a few of them .. others come and go, they fear me and I like that. This town runs better when everyone sticks to the status cuo , or better yet , just don’t fuck with me.

“Don’t touch me!” I heard her voice , as she screamed from the back alley of her bar. She’s in trouble? I’ll rip whoever’s throat out, I don’t care who it is. My vision becomes hazy, blood red is what I see as I turn the corner to find her hyperventilating as she watches the poor bastard who tried to touch her- run off. She quickly turns towards me in shock and that’s when I see ... her black eyes.

No... she’s -

“What do you want?” She hissed, shaking her head - the black orbs disappearing, bringing back her light colored eyes. I stumble over my words , unable to piece them together as I watch her gather her things.

“Y-You-”

“I have to get back to work, your bravery was splendid.” She spoke in her snarky attitude, rolling her eyes - annoyed with me. But I was too bewildered by what I just saw.

“Get your ass back here ... what the fuck was that all about?” I hauled her back against me, she stumbled a bit then pushed away. She snarled almost , angered with my actions but I was speechless. For some odd reason, an anger grew within me.

“What the hell are you?” I hiss. My eyes had become larger than ever as she tried her best not to react. But the flare in my eyes sent her a sign that I was not the one to mess with. Not right now at least ...

“It doesn’t matter , now please , leave me and my sister alone.” Her voice was soft , almost like she gave up in a battle that she was so close to winning. Her shoulders slouched , her eyes dropped down to her shoes - just as my chest constricted.

“Y/N... are you a vampire?” The fear behind my words made it seem like i didn’t want this to happen .. that it was damn near impossible to find others like me - especially, that were not in my clan. Rogues. For centuries rogues have been killed off, deemed the weak of our kind.

She blinked back in disgust, knowing full well what I meant but hating the reality.

“Youngmin, please ... please leave.” Her voice got caught in her throat, holding back something that she feared I would see. My mouth opened then shut , wanting to say more but too soon did she twist on her heel and run into her bar. I followed suit, passing by her employees as she rushed to the back of her establishment to where her office was hidden.

She was fast but not fast enough for a monster.

“Why are you running from me?” I grunt as I bust her office door open , sending her swaying back. Once I was in her office, I locked the door. Needing to find out more and finally figure her out , she’s always been so standoffish but that has not once put me off. She’s one hell of a woman and I will have her.

She huffed and puffed , even more annoyed. Pacing back and forth , she was on the brink of exploding just as she finally made eye contact with me.

“Half breeds have been hunted down and killed for centuries, by both humans and creatures of the dark.” She said faintly. Her eyes scanned the office , her chest rose with deep breaths as the truth was revealed.

“Half breeds?” Was the only thing that came out of my mouth. I’ve never met one , I’ve only ever heard stories about them. Some say they were more human than monsters but others have seen gruesome killings by those who have lost themselves to their monster.

“Yes. Half breeds... half human and half vampire. We exist , believe it or not. Mother was a human , while father was a vampire.” She spat, rolling her eyes already being bothered. This was new for me ... yet, here I was , wanting to make someone who I thought was a human , my queen. How am I any different? Honestly, I had no idea us vampires could procreate with humans. I never knew we would make more of us .. or, at least half.

“Y/n, why didn’t you just tell me. I can protect you-”

“Ha, protect me? Don’t you kill rogues? How can I ever trust one of the most notorious killers . I’ve done well all by myself , for years I’ve hidden that dark part of my life. I’ve made a life away from the truth. I’ve built my very own business from the ground up, I’ve raised my sister and taken care of her. I’m fine without you... I don’t need a monster anywhere near my family and I.” She said.

She wasn’t yelling at this point. She wasn’t mad. She was just ... fed up. Something about her broken spirit made my chest constrict once more , the need to have her near at all times made the demon within me snarl. I wrinkled my nose with a sizzling anger as I approached her suddenly. I cupped her face , pushing her body back, guiding her till her precious ass touched the end of her desk. She stood shocked. Eyes wide open as she glanced up at me. She melted into my touch, it was evident that she was letting me be so close to her.

She wasn’t fighting me. She was letting me finally inside her world.

“Call me crazy my love, but I would slaughter towns to protect you. This constant need - an obsession to have you next to me only grows with each day. I’m not one to back down from a challenge, especially one that involves you. Y/n, you have been and will always be mine.” The simple confessing had my tongue swollen with something I wasn’t aware of. My eyes shifted before hers , letting her know my monster agrees.

But the longer I stood inches away from her mouth, the more her scent drove me wild. She was intoxicating. Her aroma alone made my groin thicken in my jeans. The loud thumping in chest which laid dormant for centuries, has begun pumping within me. The useless vessel which humans always blame for love ... was now letting me know she was the one. She has always been my precious Queen.

“You’re a fool Youngmin, a damn fool to want someone like me. I’m not a pure creature,” she whispered softly, her voice gently leaving her as I dipped closer. At this point , my nose skimmed hers. Closing our eyes and just breathing one another in like a drug ...

“No one is pure, my love.”

I say smiling just as I take my chance and kiss her. The one I thought was human, was more like me than anyone I have ever met. This was fate. Who am I to deny such pull... such desire ... such carnal hunger for this small glorious woman. She’s what dreams are made of .. and now, my sickly nightmares will consist of fucking her sore.

Her lips tasted of cherry , while her tongue of something even more addicting. But through her small whimpers , and the way her hands tugged on my belt, I knew my love wanted more.

“In your office ... are you sure?” I asked mid smile , she was turning savage the way she unbuckled and unzipped my jeans. Her tiny hands reached in, wasting no time to palm my length , making me close my eyes in admiration.

“I have no idea what’s come over me ... but yes, I’m 100% sure about this.” Her voice, now husky, spoke into my mouth. Her tongue casually licking my bottom lip, her monster coming alive and meeting me in this heart to heart tussle. She was in charge now, and I wasn’t sure how I felt. A part of me , wished to do whatever in my power to please her endlessly- while the other part craved to dominate her very own soul. To consume her blissful sighs of pleasure , but to also have her at my will. But who was I to lie to myself, I was her toy.

Letting the moment heat up , I went to her zipper. Striping her of those skin tight jeans which only emphasized her glorious frame, letting her panties go straight into my pocket for safe keeping.

Her breathing hiked as she threw her arms over my shoulder , her small hands gripping my neck to keep her in place as I did away with my clothing. The music outside her office door grew louder as her legs wrapped around my waist, cradling me into her thighs to have me closer. It wasn’t until her mouth was back on mine when it finally made sense - everything I’ve been feeling about her was because of this exact moment. I wanted her as a Queen because she is and will always be the only one for me. She’s a half breed, but together there will be no stopping us.

“Be mine, be mine for eternity.” I suddenly asked just as my length began to push into her warmth. Her walls hugged me tightly enough to groan out a frustrated breath, she was untouched.

Her eyes widened as she pushed away to fall back onto her desk, giving me a view of a lifetime. She was bare, her full gorgeous body radiated such beauty I was left speechless just as I bottomed out. Her mouth hung open on a sigh, her eyes fluttered closed enjoying the way I stretched her perfectly to the point of pain and pleasure. I gripped her hips, pulling out slowly, letting her soft whimpers take control of me just as I ram back into her. I find my rhythm just as she begins to scream my name, her hands go to her breast, fondling her perky buttons as I buck harder into her. Going deeper , with each fucking thrust I was seeing stars , her body shook the longer I went for it. Needing to spill my seed deep within her womb. Deep within her walls.

“Yes, yes.” She chanted like a song, her hands went to mine as I continued to grip her hips. Leaving marks on her flesh for later , she pleaded, clawing at my wrist as I felt her cunt begin to squeeze my cock.

“Say you’ll be my Queen. Say it loud ... say you’ll be mine forever.” My voice was strained, my balls heavy as I held back as much as I could , needing to explode soon enough. Her eyes rolled back on loud moans, begging me to let her cum, to help her cum, and to make her cum. What she doesn’t know is that I already have that planned for the rest of our lives.

I continued teasing her, flicking her clit everytime she pleaded she wanted to finish, ignoring my earlier statement. Tears rimmed her eyes the longer I tormented her, a shrill screamed erupted from her just as her thighs tightened around my waist , her pussy milked me whole as those exact words I craved spilled from her lips.

“I’ll be your forever. Youngmin, I’ll be your Queen.”

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all-hail-the-witcher · 4 years

Note

I have literally no clue how to do this, but director’s commentary on your ‘One expensive can of easy cheese’ fic?

hell yeah!!

all comments will be in bold

______

Race was sat on top of the counter in his and Albert’s apartment, race only knows how to sit on counters lets be real, he can't sit in a chair to save his life a piece of duct tape over his mouth and his hands tied together with kitchen twine KINKYY. He sighed against his restraints, resigned to watch his boyfriend make their contribution to this year’s Thanksgiving gathering: mac and cheese. okay so its mac and cheese cause if you read spies mac and cheese is Literally the Only thing albert knows how to cook, other than coffee, and he's Really Fuckin Good At It (he's the mikey of mac and cheese okay this is my hc)

Now, of course everyone and their mother knew that mac and cheese was not a Traditional Thanksgiving Food is it though, r a c e r?. But, Albert had won (best out of three) mario kart yesterday so he had gotten to decide what they would bring to Jack’s house i was gonna make it rock paper scissors, i do not know hot to play mariokart, but it sounds more heated than rock paper scissors. Had Race known that he had been planning to make mac and fucking cheese, maybe he would have tried a little harder race be quiet you literally love alberts mac and cheese its a known fact.

Apparently, Albert was not pleased with Race’s reaction to his decision to make mac and cheese, and thought that Race might try to get in the way somehow (which he may or may not have fully intended to do) he did. So he did what any loving boyfriend would: sat him on the counter, put duct tape over his mouth and tied his hands together so he wouldn’t interfere albert sounds real kinky in this, why did i make this so kinky, wait when did i even write this.

Race was beginning to wonder why he had agreed to move in with Albert in the first place. CAUSE YOU LOVE HIM THATS WHY

With a violent shake of his head and one final spat who the fuck uses the word spat huh saph??, he was able to dislodge the duct tape d i s l o d g e thats some karen bs right there.

“Albieeeeee,” he whined, laying down on the counter. “Can you pleaaaaaaaseee let me helllllllllp?” yeah albert let him help jeez he's the one who actually knows how to cook

Albert barely glanced up as he pulled the big wooden spoon out of the pot and gave it a thoughtful lick note to self, all licks should always be thoughtful. “Hmmmmmmm. No.” dumbass. if only you knew what was coming.

“But-!” He wriggled w r i g g l e d around to give Albert his best puppy dog eyes. “Can I make something else then? Ple-OW!” He glared at the spatula that had been hurled at his arm. “You apologize for that!” damn albie why so mean? o wait i wrote this wait...

“Nah.” He smirked and went back to stirring his wretched pasta okay but i did a good job making race salty i gotta give myself that. Well, actually Albert’s mac and cheese was quite good hELL YEAH IT IS. Race was just salty that he was making it for Thanksgiving when it was very well known that he was the chef of the two and Jack was expecting something good not the mac and cheese Albert famously made at 2am in college when they were all high as hell. okay real talk tho, no one eats good mac and cheese in college, its the instant microwave shit cause were all broke so thats a lie race

“Can you at least untie me then?” ;)

“No.” Albert even bother considering this time. albert this is gettin Real Kinky..

“Well.” If logic wasn't going to work on Albert he would have to try another method. “I know you know how to make a guy feel good Albie HAH YES I KNEW I PULLED SOMETHING WEIRD, but I never expected ropes to be a part of it. What’s next? Handcuffs? Whips? Chains?” i gotta tell ya life without ya has been hard. hard? has been bad. bad? has been r o u g h. k i N kY

In two seconds flat Race was out of his kitchen twine bonds and flexing his sore wrists. LIKE HECK HE WAS CAUSE ALBERTS ACE AND HE DONT WANT THAT REPUTATION!!!

“Man Albie, who knew you had a twine kink.” hehe u go race

“You know,” Albert began loudly, as if thinking that his loudness would cover up his totally obvious twine kink yeah albie has a twine kink, he licks it, no this is a joke, “if you want to do something that's actually useful, you could go to Walgreens and buy me another can of Easy Cheese.” W A L G R E E NS. this whole fit was an excuse to write another part of the walgreens au

“Is that what you put in your fuckin mac and cheese?” Race swore he actually felt bile rise in the back of his throat when Albert nodded. “That’s it. I’m never eating your mac and cheese again.” BUT YOU LIKE IT

“But-!”

“I’ll eat you though,” Race winked, taking a moment to enjoy the startled, yet somehow pleased look on his boyfriend’s face. okay maybe albert wasn't ace in this particular fic...

“Not until after we’re done at Jack’s.” yeah definitely not scratch that. i write a lot of fics. Albert said only half jokingly as he dug around in his pocket for a second before throwing a crumpled five at Race. “In the meantime though, be gone thot!” GO AWAYYYY. IM A MAN OF GOD. mikey and my sister have subjected me to too many tik toks im sorry

Race barely managed to catch the bill without falling on the floor, but still blew a kiss to Albert before walking out of the apartment.

Who the fuck puts easy cheese in mac and cheese? albert does. but its actually a plot point just to get you to walgreens and if anyone puts easy cheese in mac and cheese i will fite you. He wondered for the millionth time as he stomped the three blocks to Walgreens. Albert claimed that he had chosen his apartment for its proximity to the store he did, actually, but up until today Race had always assumed that he had been joking he was not. The man did make a lot of mac and cheese and if Easy Cheese was an ingredient well….maybe there was some truth to that story after all. you can buy easy cheese at a lot of places tho...i don't actually know if you can buy easy cheese at a walgreens

Race pulled open the door to the Walgreens, pausing briefly to wonder why the absolute fuck it was open on literal Thanksgiving before remembering that it was a fucking Walgreens and why wouldn’t it be open to sell his dumbass boyfriend a can of fucking Easy Cheese. walgreens remains a mystery indeed. my only experience was the one that my best friend and i would go to at lunch during senior year. also have you ever noticed that most walgreenses are on corners? cause their slogan is at the corner of happy and healthy??

In order to get to the Easy Cheese, or at least he assumed so because he had never bought a can of Easy Cheese in his whole glorious 25 years of life a true chef, Race had to walk past the Pharmacy section of the store. And, it just so happened that there was a guy sitting behind the counter at the Pharmacy. A very attractive guy. With a beard. In scrubs. oh my god the most questionable villain I've ever written.

Now, of course Race loved Albert and nothing would ever change that, but he could appreciate an attractive man when he saw one indeed he could. He thanked whatever deity was out there for the bit of man candy M AN C AN D Y that he had been granted and went in search of his Easy Cheese. oh just you wait racetrack

“Mac and cheese, velveta cheese, microwaveable mac and cheese, where the fuck is the- oh thank fuck there we go.” my best friend and i spent much time looking at the mac and cheese in walgreens He pulled a can of Easy Cheese off of the shelf, tossing it once and catching it athletics before turning to go pay for the horrendous product, happy to finally be done with the whole ordeal when- B R E T T

“Easy cheese? Really?”

Race whirled whirled? saph please get a better vocabulary around to see Mr. Man Candy hA himself leaning against the opposite shelf. “Wh- who?”

“Oh,” he dusted his hand off on his scrubbs oh my god Wait i wrote this cause one time when i was in a walgreens i Did see a hot dude working the pharmacy and decided to write a fic about it!! i remember texting mikey about this hjfhgjhg, “allow me to introduce myself. My name is Brett O’Hare. and mikey came up with that name And you, sir, are a disgrace to society. The very reason why so many Americans are in poor health in this day and age.” brett is an obnoxious millennial in case you can't tell

“I’m sorry, what?”

“The Easy Cheese!” Brett gestured wildly toward the can in Race’s hand. “Gosh do you even know how many preservatives are in that stuff? And all the cancers that it can cause? It’s terrible. We wouldn’t need free healthcare if people just stopped eating Easy Cheese!” apparently he's a millennial who's also a republican...?

Race had lived in New York City his whole life, and he had seen some pretty strange things subway pizza rat, but never had he seen a pharmacist in a Walgreens lecture anyone about the health benefits of Easy Cheese. easy cheese has no health benefits. and if you'd stopped annoying your boyfriend maybe you wouldn't be there

“So let me get this straight,” Race rubbed his head, trying to make sense of the situation. “You go around yelling at people about the ingredients in the things that they are purchasing?” yeah its nyc people love to have Opinions. and so do millennials

“Yeah.”

“You do realize that this is a Walgreens, right? Everything in here probably contains some kind of chemical.” man brett has his work cut out for him. New Yorkers never ceased to amaze him.

“All the more reason for me to inform them of their poor eating habits!” Brett pointed a finger at him. “And stop distracting me! You’re the one buying the freaking easy cheese here!” this is so weird why did i come up with this idea. what possessed me.

“It’s not even for me!” Race shouted back. “It’s for my boyfriend’s fucking mac and cheese that he insisted on making for Thanksgiving even though everyone knows that mac and cheese is not a fucking Thanksgiving food and he’s only making it cause he knocked me off the goddamn rainbow road right before the fucking finish line!” someones salty Race was fuming but the time that he was done.

“Oh, man I’m so sorry, that's lousy.” but it won't stop brett...

Race looked surprised. Of all the things that he thought he would get out of this Walgreens experience, a therapy session was indeed not on the list. But neither had been hearing a lecture about the preservatives in Easy Cheese from a pharmacist. i have literally no explanation for this train wreck of a fic

“But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re still buying Easy Cheese!” Between one second and the next, Brett had grabbed the can of Easy Cheese out of Race’s hand, wielding it like a brick ha percy jackson heroes of olympus anyone??. “Buy some fucking vegetables!” you can't buy vegetables in a walgreens brett

And with that, he struck Race over the head with the can of Easy Cheese.

Now, Race had definitely done some questionable things during his life Thats for sure. Once he had slept on the roof of his dorm building in January for a week because he lost his dorm key god why you can't even get on the roof of dorm buildings i know, I've tried, and another time he had been tricked into making an entire wedding cake using salt by Who??. However, being smacked over the head with a can of Easy Cheese by a health nut in scrubs on Thanksgiving put any and all other situations he had been in to shame in a walgreens don't forget. how did you forget that saph.

He opened his eyes, suddenly blinded by the lights, and reached for his phone, muttering curses about man candy and vegetables as he should be. Squinting so he didn’t have to look at the screen, he somehow managed to dial Albert. no one d i a l s anyone saph. its the 21st century. i have like maybe 8 phone numbers memorized, half of them belong to my family the other half to people i knew in middle school.

“Racetrack Higgins, where is my Easy Cheese?”

Race pulled the phone away from his ear and winced at the sound of his boyfriend’s voice. “Um, it may have been used to give me a concussion by a health nut in scrubs?” for Once al isn't the one who gets injured in a walgreens. bet you didnt see That coming

Albert let out a loud sigh. “Ah man, did you run into Brett? That guy’s the worst.” hehe bet al used to date him

“Wait, you know him?”

“Race, I know every Walgreens employee in Manhattan, of course I know Brett.” There was the jangling of keys in the background. “I thought I told you to go to the one on 4th for this reason, ah, well. I’m on my way. I’ll take you to urgent care. Hang tight.” ofc al goes to urgent care. and everyone there knows him by a first name basis

Race’s head hurt too much to process what Albert had said except for the words ‘I’m on my way.’ “Okay,” he sighed. this was definitely one of the times i asked mikey about oddly specific concussion symptoms and then proceeded to forget everything he told me and do my own stuff

“Love you.”

“Love you too.” Race’s eyes focused on the dented can of Easy Cheese rolling on the floor he should still buy it. “And Al?”

“Yeah?”

“This is going to be one expensive can of Easy Cheese.” get it? cause race has to pay urgent care for his consultation? and they're also Very Very late to thanksgiving. cause al insists on finishing his mac. jack is not impressed. he eats all races pie.

anyway thats that hope you enjoyed

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alltheangstmygifttoyou · 4 years

Text

Gift Giving

A/N: This is the final part of the Learn To Be Prequel! It is from Jester’s perspective and is the end to her first attempt at rebellion. Poor Jester.

Summery: The day after the attack of the section fifteen girls dormitory Jester goes to the breakfast table to give Jackson his card.

Word Count: 2383

TW: mentioned death, mentioned child abuse, mentioned violence

Jester was exhausted the next morning after the death in the dorm incident. Those who made it out of the dorm unharmed were led to sit in the commons and wait. It was early morning, about two hours before breakfast when they were allowed back into the dorm. Jester hadn’t slept at all in the commons, too many thoughts running through her mind. Why had those older students broke in and yelled at June? Why had it escalated? What would happen now?

All those questions wouldn’t leave Jester alone, and going back to the dormitory didn’t help the matter. There were new cracks in the wall. Half of the light bulbs were missing, stray pieces of broken glass were still stuck in the floor, and blood stained the blue carpet. Some of the younger students complained to the teacher leading them, Jester didn’t know the woman's name but her thick waist braided hair was hard to miss along with how tall she was. The teacher just told them to take it up with the principle and walked out. It was silent in the dorm, and slowly, starting with the older girls, they all began to leave towards their rooms. Jester went back to her room quickly realizing that this wasn’t the first serious fight to go down in the dorms, and she doubted it would be the last in her years there.

Jester ignored how empty her room felt and put on her makeup. The dark circles under her eyes were getting worse and required multiple layers of foundation. She had planned on looking extra nice today but instead of her usual purple and green look she put on a black dress. Whatever happened to June wouldn’t be good. Maybe June might not be the one who died but she was the one attacked and punished. For all Jester knew June was dead by now. Her eyes ached but she never let them stay closed long. It took an entire hour to put on all of her make up and get dressed. That left her an hour alone. She went through her bag and found some notebook paper. It was a good of time as any to prepare the beginning of a letter to Father explaining the events that had transpired. She’d still need to add a list of powers later, death wasn’t an excuse to not work.

Trying to make sure that everything about the letter was perfect in its wording, diction, grammar, and spelling took the last hour she had. It was mentally taxing writing to Father, and perhaps wasn’t the best thing to do early in the morning after getting no sleep. It was more straining than usual to keep a straight posture. Nevertheless she grabbed the card for Jackson and headed out to the breakfast hall. She could grab her bag afterwards before English. The walk to the main hall wasn’t as loud as it normally was. There was an invisible line between the section fifteen hall and the others now, and no one wanted to be seen on the fifteen side. The other girls leaving the fifteen side kept their heads down and sped walk, but Jester stayed in the middle, not particularly caring if people noticed her, it was good if they did. Her face should be known around the school. However once she crossed the line it was definitely more crowded in the hall but just as quiet. People weren’t playing around with their friends, but huddled around whispering. News traveled fast, and with many of the students having broken in escaping the section fifteen dormitory first, they probably spread their version of the events to the other sections. People stared, but it wasn’t with interest, it was with fear. The eyes were making her skin burn, but she wouldn’t hide.

Once she was finally in the large hall it was still quieter than normal, instead of making her ears feel like bleeding she could only imagine the hearing damage being caused. Jester made her way to Jesse’s table only to be met with an unhappy sight. Milly was crying into Jackson’s shoulder, who was rubbing her back. As Jester approached the table all of the boy's eyes turned to her. They didn’t say anything when she sat down, she didn’t say anything out loud but motioned her head towards Milly.

“The girl your roommate killed last night was her friend,” Jesse snapped, his glare felt like a slap to the face. Jester’s grip on Jackson’s card tightened. Ren scooted away from Jesse a bit, only to scoot back realizing it made him closer to Jester. Apparently Jester was scarier than an angry Jesse.

“Last night was hard indeed,” Jester provided, trying to keep things neutral. There was no reason to start an argument. Jesse breathed out quick and fast as if he were a fire breathing dragon.

“That’s all you have to say? Your friend killed someone last night! The least you could do is apologize,” Jesse ranted and Jester struggled to keep her face blank. There was nothing for her to apologize for, they weren’t there, they didn’t know. Even Jester didn’t know the full story, but she saw a lot of it first hand.

“I’m sorry Milly lost a friend,” Jester couldn’t make her voice sound soft, but at least she didn’t seem too angry. However, Jackson frowned at her for it.

“Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.” Jackson practically spat at her and pulled his sister closer. Jester felt her heart clench and her face fell for a moment, but only a moment.

“I did mean it, I’m sorry,” Jester tried again. She did feel bad for Milly, but it was hard for her to sound sympathetic while being attacked.

“Stop lying,” Jesse spat and Jester let her confusion show on her face. “People have been talking about it, you know, they say a purple haired girl was behind the murderer,” Jesse went on his face twisting into a grimace. Ren nodded next to him. Jackson’s head snapped over to her and the feel of eyes once again burned. It made her want to scratch her skin off.

“I didn’t know--” Jester began but Jesse’s scoff interrupted her. She didn’t understand when Jesse had become so hostile towards her.

“How could you not know what happened, but everyone one else did? Don’t pretend you’re stupid.” Jesse went on and Jester could feel anger beating through her skull, pushing her to react. In the back of her mind she wondered if the pressuring emotion was Jesse’s doing, and if it was on purpose or not.

“It was dark, I went towards my friend,” Jester gritted out, trying not to give away how much he was affecting her.

“Of course it was your friend that killed someone.” Jesse snapped back rolling his eyes.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jester asked, blinking away the sting in her eyes. Ren had made himself as small as possible as he cowered between them. Milly wasn’t crying anymore, but she was whispering to Jackson.

“Of course the only friend you have on your own is a murderer, you’re a perfect fit!” Jesse went on, his fists clenched, shaking on the table. Jester’s heart ached and she wanted to run away, to escape every blow being dealt after such a terrible night. But Quinn’s don’t hide, and at least these wounds didn’t leave marks to cover with makeup. She took a deep breath and once again forced her face to relax. The tense silence was the loudest thing in the room to her but she ignored it.

“This isn’t about me, it has nothing to do with me.” She finally breathed out. They were all looking at her, they wouldn’t stop. This should be about Milly, comforting her loss. Yet their eyes burned into Jester.

“But it does, you were there. You’re still calling a murderer your friend, you didn’t do anything to stop her, or keep her from running away.” Milly spoke up, voice deeper from a sore throat. Jester sucked in a breath as quietly as she could trying to will away the sudden nausea that comment brought. It was becoming clear that everyone here really was blaming this on her, as if she had something to do with what happened. Jesse and Ren had made it clear they were uncomfortable with Jester sitting with them from the beginning, that’s why she only sat there for one meal. She had thought Milly was just shy towards her, or didn’t really have much of an opinion about her, but it was clear now that her opinion was negative. There was no way she was going to get to stay. She looked to Jackson to see if her only real friend here had any faith for her but his face was dark and his mouth drawn in a thin line. Jester looked down to the card in her lap.

“Please, understand, it was dark, people were pushing and shoving and it’s dangerous to be in a mob of people, so I looked for a way out, and I saw my- my roommate out in the open with strangers a bit away so I-” Jester tried to explain but they all seemed insistent on not letting her finish her sentences today.

“Strangers? They were some of the most well known students around, they helped all the younger students find their way around. Everyone knows them, and Tracy was the nicest of them all! She didn’t deserve to die because your roommate was jealous of this.” Milly argued, putting her palms on the table. Jester wanted to scream, she had no idea what story they had been fed but she had no idea how June was made the instigator when the others were the ones who broke into their dorm. But, she couldn’t argue, that would make them angrier, and she could lose Jackson.

“I’m sorry, but I had never met them. June was the one to show me around. I went behind her to ask what happened, she didn’t explain. She was holding her right arm so I asked what was wrong but she didn’t tell me. People were surrounding the body and once they moved girls began panicking and some people lost control of their powers. June refused to leave and told me to get out of the dorm, so I did.” Jester finished, trying to make Jackson understand she was telling the truth with her eyes.

“So you ran like a coward.” Jackson stated and Jester felt herself tear the card. She looked down and was glad to see that she hadn’t destroyed it completely. Her face burned, her stomach burned, and her head pulsed in waves.

“What exactly was I supposed to do in that situation?” Her voice had gone cold but she was finding it easier to smile. She saw Ren scoot away again.

“You could have tried to get answers from June, or gone to help the person on the ground, you cou-” Jester took satisfaction in interrupting her brother.

“Oh yes Jesse, you’re right. When shadows are coming to life and slamming people into the walls and the floor is catching fire the first thing that you do is go closer to it! When you see someone lying on the floor, blood coming out of every orifice as older students run from them you go towards that body. The only reason that I got out of the dormitory unharmed was because I went towards June and left when she told me to!” Jester huffed out glaring at her brother.

“Well you could have used your powers! You could have summoned help!” Jesse argued back and Jester barked out a laugh.

“I can’t do that Jesse! I can’t just make helpful things- I bring fears to life. You really think summoning a bunch of random strangers' fears would have helped the situation?” Jester couldn’t believe she had to be explaining this to him. He had been the main subject to her powers, he knew what came out of them wasn’t nice.

“Well you could have tried! But just like the placement test you didn’t. You just caused problems.” Jesse went on his eyes hard as he looked away. It finally clicked that the placement test must have been what he was so upset about. She sighed loudly, not bothering to hide her frustration.

“I told you why I didn’t take it. My powers are dangerous, I was just trying to keep people safe,” it wasn’t a complete lie. She had wanted to keep people safe by not being her Father’s pawn.

“Well you didn’t. Someone still died and you did nothing except ask about the health of the killer. Jesse has been telling me this entire time that you were using me, but I didn’t believe him. But now, you saw someone die but you’re barely affected. You’re just defending yourself from blame. If you were normal you would feel guilty. Ren was right about you, you’re a freak.” Jackson spoke quietly and his voice wavered as he spoke. He looked at Jester like she was the scum of the Earth. It felt like her heart was being pricked by a thousand needles at once and she felt the tears building. She crumpled the card in her hand and slammed it on the table. She gave a smile and felt her body still as she focused in on what she knew how to do, put the pain in a box and make the other side pleased.

“Well. I can tell when I’m not wanted. Just remember Jackson that the Quinn family will always be there for you,” she didn’t mind that her comment felt more like a threat than a reassurance. Their eyes burned her skin as she walked away, but the rest of her body was ice cold so it was nice. When people whispered around her through the hall she smiled wider and watched as they turned away. Father always talked about the power of fear, and Jester thought she was beginning to understand it. She would write on it later. Once she was back in her room she allowed the smile to fall and she silently sobbed in her lonely room.

#learn to be #writeblr #original fiction #tw death #tw mentioned violence #TW Mentioned Child Abuse

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seouledbysisi · 4 years

Text

Something New

Chapter seventeen

Johnny

After dance practice was finally over the guys congregated amongst themselves.

It was almost awkward because not everyone was close. Johnny, Taeil and Jaehyun had already known one another before so of course they had a relationship. Other relationships were beginning to prosper though.

There was always a bit of tension with Jaehyun and Taeyong though. None of the other members knew why and Johnny for sure wasn’t about to open that can of worms. It wasn’t his business to tell and quite frankly it didn’t matter because Sasha had made her choice to be with Jaehyun. Taeyong’s ship had sailed a long time ago and he screwed it up. Nothing he did would bring that sail back to shore.

Johnny handed a envelope to Taeil.

Taeil smiled thinking it was some sort of gift. “What did I do to deserve this?”

Haechan ran over. “Is it money?!” He yelled as he clapped his hands. He always seemed like all of their baby. He was the youngest and he didn’t let you forget it.

Johnny chuckled. “Believe it not money, Full sun.” He winked.

Haechan pouted. “I wanted money.” He crossed his arms.

“The envelope isn’t even for you.” Johnny continued cackling.

Haechan rolled his eyes. “Wanna buy me some ice cream?” He asked Johnny. “Please Johnny-Hyung?” He added when it took Johnny a while to answer.

Johnny shook his head and handed him a few wons. “Now go away!”

Taeil stared at the invitation. “Why do you have this?”

“She didn’t know where else to send it I guess.” Johnny shrugged.

Jaehyun finally met up with them in the corner. He had been a bit off all day.

“You good?” Johnny asked.

He pushed his hair out of his face and sighed. “I got a lot of shit going on, man.”

Johnny gave him a questioning expression. “What’s up? You and Sasha okay?”

“That’s a whole other story for another day. I’m stressed out because of that too. But my dad is suing my mom for custody of Max. He wants him in the states with him.”

Taeil looked up from the invitation. “Sorry to hear that.”

He shrugged. “I mean he is his son but my mom had raised him his whole life. My dad wouldn’t know what to do if he had Max full time. I worry for Max.”

Johnny took a deep breath. “I don’t know what I would do if someone tried to take Henny away from me. Your mom is such a great mom, why is your dad doing this to her?”

“Because she really divorced him. He feels like he lost so he’s trying to hurt her any way that he can.” Jaehyun shook his head. “Enough about me though, what y’all got going on?”

“Brianne invited me to her graduation.” Taeil stated plainly. “I haven’t talked to her since graduation. I don’t understand why she would even want me there.”

Johnny patted his shoulder. “Maybe she’s trying to make things right. She invited us all and like I told Ivy, we should go.”

Jaehyun nodded. “I told Sasha the same thing. Regardless of the bullshit that has happened they were once really important in eachother’s lives. Maybe she needs them. You never know.”

Taeil took a deep breath. “Well send my congratulations to her.”

Johnny raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going?”

“No. I think our chapter has been closed for a long time and that’s how I need it to stay.”

“Dude, don’t be like that.” Jaehyun spoke. “She obviously wants all of us there. If you don’t go imagine how she will feel!”

Taeil chuckled. “The way I felt when she dumped me? Yeah I’m cool off of her.”

“She cut all of us off, man. Not just you and we’re still going.” Johnny pleaded.

Jaehyun stayed quiet. He cleared his throat. Guilt rising up his throat.

Johnny noticed his expression. “Let me guess she didn’t cut you off?”

Jae sighed. “I mean she did but not completely. I wouldn’t let her. I wrote her from time to time just to check in on her. Sasha doesn’t know any of this so let’s not mention it ever again!”

“Why would you keep that from her?” Taeil asked.

“Because I didn’t want her being mad or thinking more of it than what it was. I left Brianne stranded a long time ago and I promised her that I would be a better friend this time around and I’m not breaking that promise for anyone. Sasha is who I’m in love with but Bri is important too.”

Johnny simply nodded without saying a word.

Sasha

Sasha and Jaehyun met up with Johnny, Ivy and Hendrix at the airport.

Sasha ran to Ivy as if she hadn’t just seen her the night before and hugged her tight. “I missed you, sister!” She exclaimed.

Ivy giggled.

They were inseparable but with Ivy having a baby sometimes there wasn’t enough time in the day. She sometimes wished Sasha lived with them so at least when Johnny wasn’t around she’d have help with Henny.

Sasha picked Hendrix up and placed him on her hip. “Hey baby!” She kissed his forehead.

“Hey baby!” He repeated verbatim. He was in that stage where he repeated everything.

Sasha giggled. “You make tete Sasha wanna have a baby but then I remember that I like my freedom.”

The little boy simply laid his head on her shoulder as if he knew she was lying through her teeth.

She wanted a family with Jaehyun so bad but she knew that wouldn’t be happening any time soon, if ever at that.

Jaehyun’s face was pretty stern as if something may be wrong with him but he never spoke a word.

Ivy noticed and she wondered were her favorite couple having problems. “Jae, we haven’t had a one on one in a really long time. We should catch up soon!” She rubbed his upper arm.

He smiled. His deep dimples appearing. “We do need a bestie date soon!” He pulled her into a side hug.

He grabbed Henny from Sasha and ran off with him to a candy store that was located in the airport.

Johnny chased after them. “No candy man!” He yelled after them.

“You have to catch us first!” Jae yelled back with Henny giggling.

Sasha and Ivy looked at one another and shook their heads.

“Such kids!” Sasha spoke with laughter.

Ivy nodded. “For sure. So how do you like living with Mrs. Jung?”

Sasha shrugged. “It’s cool. It keeps me company I guess since Jae is always working and he stays at their dorm sometimes.”

“Sometimes I wish you lived with me.” Ivy spoke sadly.

Sasha giggled and pushed her a little. “Why would you wish that? You have Johnny!”

“I mean I know I have Johnny and I love my Johnny bear so much but he’s always working and I be bored and sometimes I need help-“ she cut it off as she noticed the guys walking back.

Sasha wondered why she cut the conversation short. “Are you okay?”

She nodded quietly. “Yeah I’m just in my head I guess.”

“I’m a little nervous about this graduation.” Sasha admitted.

Jaehyun laid his arm over her shoulders and brought her in close into his side. “Don’t be. It’s all love.”

Sasha looked up at him with nervous eyes. They didn’t know what was waiting for them at this graduation. She could be gathering them all together to give them a piece of her mind for al they knew.

He kissed her lips softly. “Stop it. Everything will be fine.”

Johnny smiled at their interaction. “Sure wish Taeil had’ve come.”

“Maybe he just couldn’t look backwards anymore. He just really got to a point where he wasn’t checking for her anymore.” Ivy revealed.

Jaehyun raised a brow. “What’s that mean?”

“It means she has toddler brain, so don’t mind her.” Johnny quickly changed the topic.

Taeil

Taeil and Haechan shared a room.

Haechan was on the video game with his headphones on.

Taeil simply laid on his bed deep in thought. He battled with himself whether to go or not. What was the point though?

Everything had changed for them that night after prom. She showed him her real colors. She proved that she didn’t trust him with her heart and he couldn’t understand why. He had played by the rule book. He had treated her like a princess. He cared about her more than he cared about himself and she literally took all the energy he had given to her and shitted on it. His heart was still a bit broken. He felt pathetic because it had been four fucking years and he was still slightly stuck on her when she evidently had moved on.

He had even started to send her a simple text a few times but never worked up the courage to ever send them. Life had a funny way of teaching you lessons. The only lesson he had learned was to not give his heart away too carelessly. At this rate of his healing he wouldn’t be giving it away at all.

“Taeil-hyung!?” Haechan called for the fifth time.

Taeil hadn’t heard him because he was in a daze.

Haechan shook him. “Hyung what’s wrong?”

Taeil sighed. “Nothing Haechan.”

Haechan rubbed his arm soothingly. “I know you and I know you hurt right now.” His bad English stuck out like a sore thumb but at least he was trying.

“I’m not hurting.” Taeil lied.

Haechan knew he was lying to him. It was written all over his face. “If you need me I’m here. I love you hyung.” He went back to his computer and started back playing his game.

Taeil stared at the ceiling. Sometimes he felt like a dad when Haechan was around because he was always so needy but in this moment he was actually trying to be helpful and he had completely shut him out. Now he felt even more terrible but he just didn’t want to speak these thoughts out loud.

-stay tuned

#fanfic #stories #kpop #kpop idols #soft hours #nctzen #nct yuta #nct taeyong #nct johnny #nct mark lee #nct jaehyun #nct jungwoo #nct doyoung #nct haechan #nct taeil #czennies

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jouretnuit-nightandday · 5 years

Text

Writer’s block is killing me right now, so I decided to try and write something different just for the fun of it. So here, have part 1 of ??? of a bumbleby/RWBY Young Avenger-ish AU!

Okay, this is bad, Blake thinks, as she jumps from the roof of a thirty-story building right before the top floor explodes.

She twists as she plummets towards the ground and aims one of her grappling hook arrows at the fancy hotel on the other side of the street. Blake’s a highly skilled archer - in fact, some (herself included) might say she’s the best archer in the world. So it’s not a total surprise when her arrow hits its target, but Blake still feels a sharp pang of relief. The hook catches the railing of a beautiful marble balcony, abruptly interrupting her fall, and sending her crashing face first into the hotel facade.

Blake groans, shoulders and wrists reeling from the shock, holding onto the rope for dear life. Her head aches fiercely where it smashed against the wall, and she feels warm blood trickling down her temple. Behind her, bits and pieces of the recently exploded top floor dramatically crumble to the ground. Blake fleetingly wishes someone had filmed the whole thing. Her jumping and firing an arrow mid-air with an explosion in the background? Badass.

“What in the world were you thinking?”

Blake looks up to see Weiss perched on the balcony, arms crossed against her chest. Her all-white outfit is pristine, not a stray hair out of her ponytail, and she almost looks bored, as if the lot of them hasn’t been fighting a horde of aliens for the past hour. Blake, bloodied and sore as fuck and dangling from a rope like bait on a fishing rod, frowns at her with mild irritation.

“You’re gonna sit here and be judgmental or you’re gonna help me up?”

Weiss raises a perfect eyebrow. “Great,” Blake grumbles. She rolls her eyes, and starts climbing.

When she makes it up safely onto the balcony floor, she collapses, back against the railing, catching her breath. Weiss pokes her thigh with one very pointy heel. “Please, refrain from throwing yourself off buildings. Remember, you don’t have superpowers, unlike the rest of us. And every time you do something needlessly heroic, Ruby gets a heart attack.”

Right on cue, there’s a high-pitched voice in Blake’s earpiece. “Blake, oh my God, are you okay? I saw that jump, that was way too close!”

Blake sighs, glaring at Weiss like it’s her fault. “I’m fine, Ruby.”

“Well, you could have a concussion. I’m sending Yang over to you.”

“I just said I’m fine!” Blake protests, but Ruby has already cut off the com’. She sits up. Her head does hurt an awful lot. Weiss hops down from the railing, and pats her shoulder, managing to be both consoling and patronizing.

“Stay in one piece. I have to go back before they try and blow up the rest of the building.”

She mumbles a spell, and fades out, teleporting to wherever their leader is. Blake massages her sore shoulder, looking around to take in her surroundings - and that’s when she sees them. Twenty or so of these green fuckers, the frog-looking aliens that apparently had nothing better to do on an early Sunday morning than to invade Manhattan, crawling in the street, sixty feet below her.

Sure, she could wait for back-up. But where’s the fun in that? Blake grins, and leaps from the balcony, shooting a couple of arrows as she free-falls. She catches herself at the last moment on a streetlamp, and slides down to the ground. A few aliens lay still in the middle of the street, arrows sticking out of their bodies, but the rest of them are now snarling and pointing laser guns at her.

“Come and get it!” Blake yells, and immediately cringes. She’ll have to work on her one-liners.

***

Yang is in the middle of doing what she does best - punching stuff - when her earpiece crackles back to life. “Hey sis,” she says, thrusting her metal fist into the face of a particularly ugly alien. There’s a satisfying crunch ; she must have broken some teeth. “What’s up?”

“How are you guys doing over there?”

Yang puts her hands on her hips, looking around her. A pile of unconscious green dudes lay at her feet, and a few more are fleeing from her at this very moment. Nora, all hulked-out, is currently throwing cars at the mass of aliens in front of them. Pyrrha and Ren are up on the roof of a nearby building, dealing with the spaceship menacingly hovering above the city - Yang hears metal creaking and cries of fear from where she stands, so she figures it’s going well. “We got it under control,” she tells her sister, with a proud grin.

“Could you go check on Blake then?”

Her smile disappears. “Why? Is she in trouble?”

“She’s okay, but she took a hit to the head and I want her to have some back-up. You know how she is - she’s not gonna slow down.”

Yang snorts, pride and exasperation and fondness mixing in her chest. “So fucking stubborn. Don’t worry, I’ve got her.”

She takes off flying, swirling between high buildings until she catches sight of Blake fighting alone against a dozen or so aliens. She looks a little worse for wear, and Yang’s stomach tightens briefly when she sees the blood on her face.

She dives in, and slams both feet into of the aliens’ stomach, so hard she sends him crashing through the nearest wall. Blake turns towards her, wide-eyed, and Yang offers her a grin. “Hey, princess. Need a hand?”

Blake ducks to avoid a laser shot, and swings her bow in a wide arc, hitting an alien square in the head. The creature crumples to the ground. “I told Ruby I was fine!” Blake yells, kicking another alien in the back.

She’s bleeding and covered in grime and soot, her hair a complete disaster, and - she’s so goddamn beautiful. Yang has always loved the way Blake fights, combining martial art precision and raw grittiness, arrows to the throat and elbows to the guts. It suits her well, that mix of elegance and brutal efficiency ; it makes her look dangerous, and Yang stares, transfixed.

“Ow.”

Blake’s small grunt of pain shakes Yang out of it, and her eyes turn red. There’s a round hole in Blake’s jacket, and a burnt smell. She didn’t roll out of the way fast enough, and got caught by a laser beam. Yang, without another word, jumps into the fray.

She throws punches left and right, a hurricane of bare fists and heavy boots, while Blake takes a step back and shoots arrow after arrow. Yang gets hit by a few laser shots, and even one lucky kick from an alien who looks bewildered by his success before she knocks him out, but she doesn’t care - nothing really hurts her these days. It doesn’t take them long to finish the fight.

Afterwards, Blake goes to collect her arrows, plucking them without fuss from the corpses. It’s midday by now, and she looks so pretty in the sunlight, dark hair falling below her shoulders in waves.

Blake turns around, and catches her looking. “You’re staring,” she says, cocking her head.

Yang winks at her. Blake’s brown skin darkens across her cheeks.

“I don’t think you mind.”

Before Blake can answer, there’s a flash of red, and a screeching sound, and Ruby comes to a halt right in front of them, digging her heels so abruptly that the concrete splits under the sudden pressure. Yang sighs, a little disappointed. She loves her sister, but man, speedsters can be so annoying. Always interrupting.

“Blake! Yang! You’re okay?”

“Yep,” Yang says, grabbing Ruby’s cape and tugging her into a side hug. “Where’s Weiss?” she adds as Ruby groans and wiggles out of her hold.

“I’m here,” Weiss says softly right behind her, and Yang squeaks and jumps ten feet up in surprise, hovering in the air as Ruby bursts out laughing. She ignores her sister, and the quiet chuckle coming from Blake.

“God, Weiss, stop fucking doing that! Can’t you make noise when you teleport?”

Weiss looks up at her innocently. “Don’t be so dramatic, Yang. You make it sound like I do it on purpose.” Yang catches the minuscule twitch of Weiss’s lips, and sticks her tongue out.

Boom. Boom. Boom. The sound of heavy footsteps running towards them echoes in the quiet. In a matter of seconds, the mood changes - Blake has an arrow aimed at the corner of the street, Weiss moves her fingers in intricate circles, murmuring obscure words, Yang has her feet back on the ground, fists raised up defensively, and Ruby…

Well, Ruby just waits, hands lazily linked behind her head. Speedsters.

“Guys, I’m so hungry!” Nora yells as she rounds the corner, and there’s a brief instant of confusion before the four of them drop their fighting stance. It’s not a giant enemy coming at them - it’s a giant Nora, carrying Pyrrha and Ren on her shoulders, smiling widely.

Ruby rushes to them. “What happened to the spaceship?”

“Gone,” Pyrrha says, before she lets herself fall from Nora’s shoulder, landing perfectly. “The survivors piled up in it, and the ship took off. You guys okay?”

“Yeah,” Ruby says. “But we should meet up with Jaune. Some of us,” and she looks pointedly at Blake, “took unnecessary risks and got a little banged up as a result.”

Blake huffs. “I’m fine,” she repeats, pouting a little. It’s cute. She’s cute. Yang realizes she’s staring again, and turns her attention back to Pyrrha.

“Jaune texted me earlier. He’s waiting for us near a pizzeria on Third and Bleeker Street,” Pyrrha says, glancing at Nora, whose stomach is grumbling so loud it makes the gravel around them shake. “Why don’t we kill two birds with one stone, and get something to eat while he patches up Blake?”

Ruby throws a fist in the air. “Yay! Celebratory pizza!”

***

Blake would never admit it, but she is kind of relieved when Jaune, after a quick but efficient checkup in a secluded corner booth of the pizzeria, concludes she has no serious injuries.

“No need for stitches, though you’ll have to ice that shoulder tonight,” he says, with a reassuring pat on her arm. “Lemme clean up the wound on your face, and you’re good to go.”

He reaches for the first-aid supplies laid out on the table, but Blake bats his hand away. “I can do it.”

Jaune gives her a look ; Blake stares back, stubborn. He raises his hands in defeat. “Fine, fine.”

He retreats, walking to the other side of the pizzeria to join the rest of their teammates currently feasting on pizza and garlic bread, and Blake closes her eyes, leans back against the bench and takes a deep breath.

She gets about thirty seconds of peace and quiet before she hears someone sliding on the seat opposite her. When she opens her eyes, Yang smiles, and pushes a huge slice of pizza towards her, almost knocking over a pile of bandages.

“I brought you some food,” she says. “It’s anchovy, your favorite.”

Blake feels blood rushing to her cheeks, annoyingly. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Jaune mentioned you might need some help with that head wound?”

As if he can feel Blake’s eyes burning a hole in his back all the way across the room, Jaune’s shoulders tense, and he lowers his head in a futile attempt to hide. Traitor. She expected better from the only other non-superpowered human of the team.

Yang rests her elbows on the table, and leans toward Blake. “Come on, princess. Let me help. That’s what partners do.”

Blake’s stomach flips dangerously at the word partners, and she doesn’t know how to feel about that, so instead of answering she crams a huge bite of pizza in her mouth. It’s cheesy, and very garlicky, and super delicious, and wow, Blake didn’t realize how hungry she was. She takes another bite.

Yang snorts. “Okay, I’ll take that as a yes.” While Blake chews, she opens a single-use gauze sponge and pours some alcohol on it. And then she reaches across the table, and grabs Blake’s chin between her thumb and forefinger. “Don’t move.”

Blake swallows, and does as she’s told.

Well, until the cloth touches the open gash on her temple, and she jerks away with an indignant yelp of pain.

Yang raises an eyebrow. “Belladonna, I’ve seen you get punched in the nose and you didn’t make a sound, but you can’t handle a little disinfectant?”

“It burns!” Blake grumbles, but when Yang holds her chin again, she stays still. Yang’s eyes are the color of fresh lavender, and her fingers feel warm on her skin. She’s so close, Blake can count every single freckle on her face, every eyelash, and it’s hard to remember that the girl in front of her is a mostly invulnerable super-strong half-human who can create portals to other dimensions with her fists if she so desires.

She just looks like an average twenty-year-old girl. There’s tomato sauce on her jaw, and Blake, without thinking, raises a hand and wipes it off with her thumb. Yang’s eyes flicker to hers. The tip of her ears turn bright red.

She tapes the final piece of gauze onto Blake’s face. “All done,” she says, her voice rougher than usual. Blake licks her lips, and thinks of saying something along the lines of wanna kiss it better?

Instead, she jumps away from Yang’s touch when Ruby appears in front of their table without warning, in an abrupt flash of red. Ugh, speedsters. Always showing up unannounced. But Ruby’s face is serious, and Blake straightens up, suddenly attentive.

“I got a call from Director Ozpin,” Ruby explains, talking so fast her words all blend into each other. “SHIELD’s secret underground base is under attack.”

“Ugh,” Yang groans. “What is it this time? Aliens? Robots? A pack of wild suburban moms?”

“I think he said… vampires?”

There’s a silence as they both process this information.

“Well,” Blake says eventually, eyeing her half-eaten slice of pizza with newfound respect. “Good thing we ate all that garlic.”

#bumbleby #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #rwby #rwby fic

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fandom-imagines-stories · 6 years

Text

Get Through This

Seeley Booth x Reader

Words: 1854

Warnings: Gore and some language (but mostly gore)

Requested by Anon: I'd like to request a booth imagine in which you are targeted by the killer and kidnapped with booth but and y'all get separated but you both use your FBI skills to reunite. I don't know if you write imagines with Gore but if you could do just enough to make it seem realistic? You're an awesome writer

Note: I really love writing gore, actually (plus this is perfect for Halloween!)

Your head was pounding as you tried to open your eyes. Everything was blurred and out of focus until your eyes finally adjusted. The room was pitch black except for the bright red lights above your head. Pictures lined the walls of the seemingly endless hallway and it seemed as if you were in some kind of darkroom. As you looked more closely at the pictures, your stomach churned. Each one showed a more gruesome scene than the next. They were the girls that this psycho had killed.

“So glad you could join me, Agent Y/L/N.” A voice boomed over an intercom. The sudden noise made your head hurt even more, but the pain was overshadowed by your fury. “As you can see, I’ve set up a little maze for you. A way to showcase my work and have a little show of my own.” The killer laughed darkly as you stumbled forward. “Now I don’t want to spoil too much for you, but within the maze are little games that you’ll need to complete before moving on to the next part of the main. Oh, and if you fail to complete the maze… let’s just say it won’t end well for your partner.”

“Y/N?” Booth’s voice rang over the intercom and your heart stopped. “Y/N don’t listen to this guy.” The sound of a fist hitting flesh echoed and you cried out.

“Leave him alone!” Another dark chuckle sent shivers down your spine.

“Good luck, Agent Y/L/N.” The intercom shut off and you started your trek down the long, menacing passageway. All you could think about was Seeley. You knew that dating your partner would influence your emotions, but you didn’t think it would hurt this much.

Booth glared at his masked capture, trying not to look at the screen that showed you, a large gash on your forehead from when you’d been knocked out.

“You sick son of a bitch.” He growled. The killer- who called himself the Lensman in reference to the photos he took during and after every kill- turned to him.

“She’s arriving at the first challenge.” He pointed to the screen. “Look.”

As you entered, bright lights turned on, nearly blinding you. But as your eyes adjusted, you wished that they hadn’t. There were two tables, one with a single box and on the other, lay a knife and a corpse. Across the door were words written in blood. To continue, first, you must free her from the source of all human pain and lock it away.

“Someone’s seen way too many Saw movies.” Booth snarked, fighting against his restraints. He watched as you stared at the body with disgust, shaking your head.

“Sick bastard.” You muttered under your breath. You knew what he wanted, but you didn’t think you had the guts to do it. But then you thought of Seeley, trapped alone with that psycho and you picked up the knife. Closing your eyes, you brought the knife down into the girl’s chests with a sickening crunch as it broke through her rib cage.

You took a deep breath as the air filled with the smell of blood and bile and cut downwards, the knife slicing open her skin and revealing the mess of organs inside. Now came for the worst part. You felt your heart stop as you plunged your hand into her chest and grabbed hers. Blood coated your fingers as you pulled the heart out and placing it on the table while you threw up on the floor.

When you composed yourself, you carried the heart to the other table and placed in the box, closing it quickly. It locked with a snap and the door swung open. Past them was another series of halls and dead ends, each lined with more horrifying photos of mutilated bodies.

It seemed like hours of aimless wandering before you reached the next room. It was pitch black. You couldn’t even see your hand when you held it out in front of you. You stepped blindly, feeling your way across the room until you bumped into a stand holding what felt like a camera. Above it, a screen lit up with a single word. Smile.

The camera flashed, momentarily blinding you while the bullet tore through your shoulder.

“Y/N!” Booth screamed, pulling on the ropes so hard that they started cutting into his wrists. The Lensman just laughed.

Dozens of flashes followed from all around the room, each accompanied by a gunshot. You ran, your path lit only by the camera’s while bullets flew all around you. Another bullet grazed your leg just before you burst through the exit. This time the maze had even more twists and turns and the hallways were narrower. It took twenty minutes of limping and trailing blood behind you until you found the next room.

It was empty except for the girl hanging in the middle of the room. Her wrists were tied above her and her mouth was taped over. Hanging around her neck was a knife.

“Ah, finally.” The Lensman boomed. “You have reached the final stage of our game, agent.” He paused and the young woman watched you with wide, terrified eyes. “All you have to do to be reunited with your precious partner is finish the job.” He let out the most evil, echoing cackle you’d ever heard. With shaking hands, you lifted the chain holding the knife over her neck.

“Y/N don’t!” Booth screamed. You looked up at the camera located in the corner of the room and lifted the blade, the girl letting out a pleading whimper. In one fluent motion, you swung the knife, slicing the ropes holding her. She fell to the ground crying.

“Silly girl…” The Lensman growled. “Oh well. I guess I’ll just have to have my own fun.” There was a loud metal sound followed by concrete rubbing against concrete. The walls were closing in.

“No!” Booth yelled again. The Lensman stood behind him and crouching down so he could whisper in his ear.

“How unfortunate. I almost thought she was going to do it.” He chuckled. “But perhaps love does not break all boundaries. Now we’ll both just get to watch her die.” Booth slammed his head back, shattering the mask into the Lensman’s face. The killer cried out and Booth stood up, brining the leg of the chair down on his foot. The Lensman grabbed a knife from the table, blood starting to drip down from his mask. He lunged at Booth, cutting at his hands, but also cutting his restraints.

While this was happening, you were trying to comfort the young woman while also trying to figure a way out.

“What’s your name?” You asked, having removed the tape.

“M-Monica.” She sniffed, screaming as the walls got closer. You held her face in your hands, wincing as pain shot out from the wound in your shoulder.

“Shh,” You comforted, though you knew there was no point. You were both going to die.

“Y/N!” Seeley called from the doorway, sprinting towards you. “Let’s get you out of here.” He picked up Monica and helped you standing, letting you lean on him as the three of you escaped just in time for the walls to collide.

When you reached the room where he had been held, the Lensman was gone.

“Where did he go?” You asked, seeing the broken mask on the ground. Booth sat you down.

“We’ll worry about that later, but we’ve gotta do something with that shoulder before you bleed out.” You tore off a piece of your shirt and tied it around the miner injury on your leg while he ripped off the sleeve of his jacket and wrapped it around your shoulder.

“How you doing Monica?” You wondered, seeing her curl up on the floor.

“Fine. I just want to get out of this hell hole.” She looked at you with a new fire in her eyes. This girl was a fighter.

“Now what?” You winced as Booth tightened the sleeve around your wound. Seeley shrugged.

“We get through this.” He looked you in the eyes. “Together.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead before helping you stand again. Monica didn’t need him to carry her now that she’d gotten the feeling back in her legs, though she was still a little wobbly on her feet.

Just outside the room was a short hallway leading to an elevator. You all sighed with relief and rushed forward. But before you got far, you were yanked away from Booth by your hair and a knife was placed on your throat.

“None of you are going anywhere!” The Lensman screamed. Half his face was still mutilated from the shards of his mask, but the other revealed his true identity. It was the store clerk, Noah Marks, that you had interviewed over a dozen times in the course of the investigation. He wasn’t even in the top five suspects.

“It’s over Noah.” Booth held up his hands, trying to calm him down. “Just let her go and you can walk out with us.”

“That’s not my name!” Noah screamed. “My name is the Lensman and she isn’t going anywhere except back to my little studio to be carved up, isn’t that right, Y/N.” He grabbed your shoulder and pulled it back making you scream out in pain.

“An entire FBI team is on the way,” Seeley stepped towards you, never taking his eyes off of yours. Noah slammed the knife down into a pipe in the wall and you immediately smelled gas. Shit.

“Take one more step towards me and we all go up.” Noah snapped, pulling a lighter out of his pocket. You gave Booth a nod and he raised a brow. You stomped down hard on Noah’s already sore foot and knocked the lighter out of his hands and the three of you started sprinting towards the elevator. The doors opened and you rushed inside frantically pressing the button for them to close.

“We’re just going to let him get away?” Monica questioned. You shook your head, breathing heavily.

“The team will be here in just a few seconds.”

“But there are other ways out of this bunker.” She reasoned. “What if he gets out and hurts other people?” You put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“You don’t have to worry about that now.” Her eyes filled with tears.

“He killed my sister. She was all I had left.” She opened her palm to reveal the lighter Noah had dropped. “And now I can avenge her.” Just before the doors closed, she leaped out of the elevator.

“Monica!” You screamed, lunging after her only to run full force into the metal doors. The elevator jerked upwards and the entire building shook with the explosion beneath you. “No!” You banged against the doors until Seeley pulled you away, wrapping his arms around you, careful not to disturb your wound. The doors opened again, the sunlight streaming in.

“Shhh,” Seeley soothed, carrying you out. “It’s over.”

#bones #halloween gore #serial killer #seeley booth x reader #Seeley Booth #david borneaz #bones imagine

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eerythingisshaka · 5 years

Note

Hey girl. I dunno if you’re raking requests or not but if you are could I request another Tchalla/Nakia fic where it’s post-snap and the snap is reversed so everyone comes back, and Tchalla and Nakia have this emotional reunion but the real reunion happens when they’re finally alone for the whole night? Thanks ma!

I do requests! I just don’t advertise it, but I’ll consider any polite asks lol. But here is a quick something for you. The snap is still a fresh sore spot for me, so I hope you don’t mind I don’t get dirty in this one, but the love is there!

A King named Snapback

“SHIT!” Okoye yells as she falls to on the sand pit in the lab. M’Baku helps her up but she bats him away.

“I am fine. But I lost sight of the fight. Something severely damaged the remote aircraft.” Okoye goes over to a window and looks outside.

“Maybe you should’ve gone with them up there in the atmosphere.” M’Baku offers, joining her at the window.

“Tsk! Shooting myself up into space in a manned aircraft that’s manufactured in a style we haven’t operated since the 90s? Let them figure that one out, I am not turning myself into an asteroid for their cause. They brought their problems here and didn’t even offer to replant the grass!” Okoye rants.

M’Baku grips his staff in front of him purposefully. “Your words sound familiar…like the ones of an estranged love…”

Okoye waves him off, looking further into the sky. “If anyone should have been turned to dust, it should have been him!”

Footsteps approach behind them belonging to Nakia.

“Okoye, what happened? Is the fight over yet?”

“Not yet. The purple one was being bombarded until that gauntlet activated again and ruined our ship. It is nearly destroyed, I just hope they can do it.”

Nakia crosses her arms, anxiously pacing the floor. “Do you know if we can get another ship to them in time? Maybe several! Shuri’s notes should be around somewhere about it…”

M’Baku speaks up. “We would not have time to do that, not for as long as Okoye was fighting in there. It is a big mess, we are lucky to still be here as is. If anything we must start to think about ourselves again and what this outcome means to our survival.”

“We’ve barely kept our head above water for this past year. The tribes are still in shambles having their populations cut so dramatically and elders being replaced hastily. Our vibranium deposits are lessened and our borders completely cut off from the rest of the world. There is only so much more that we can do.” Okoye rambles.

Nakia breathes out deeply. “It has been too long. We haven’t had a royal descendant head this nation since T’Challa and….Shuri were both….” Nakia’s voice hitches on their words, beginning to tremble as it fades out. The room fell silent between the three, all affected by power of Thanos and left to fend for themselves to piece back together some normalcy.

The throne was not filled officially. The remaining elders and shaman folk were at odds on how to replace T’Challa’s leadership so soon after regaining the throne from Erik. The priority of their time and effort was spent on instead cleaning up the destruction left behind from the battle with the space creatures, and making sure their people still had the necessities to keep the country alive.

“So we will wait on updates regarding the others still fighting, but all we can do is pray that this will come to an end and go about our business here, as always.” Nakia says softly. She has been a strong backbone for everyone but it was not an easy load for her to carry.

With M’Baku’s and Okoye’s help, they had made great strides for Wakanda’s reconstruction, but when the business calmed down and she was left to her own mind, all she could think about was T’Challa and what he must be going through, if he was even still alive. Okoye described to her what happened, but Nakia still couldn’t believe Bast would take him after all he had went through before.

“Eh, what is that there?” M’Baku points with his staff by the window. Nakia and Okoye look out unsure.

“Is it one of those creatures with the blue blood?” Okoye asks, preparing herself with her spear in hand.

Nakia holds a hand up for pause. “No, it’s crawling slowly. How would it get past the barriers?”

“I will go and look. You both may join me if it’s your choice.” M’Baku says before heading down to the flatlands to inspect the unknown intruder. Nakia and Okoye can’t sit idly by and follow close behind.

Once they reach the clearing, the shape becomes more clear. Clad in black, tightly fitting around their body.

“Bast! Have the ancestors gifted us a miracle??” Okoye asks, completely flabbergasted by what she is seeing.

“T’CHALLA!” Nakia screams, running toward his body with all the speed she could muster. She does a baseball slide next to him, running her hands along his back softly.

“T’Challa, speak to us. Are you hurt?” M’Baku kneels down and asks as Okoye and Nakia take their time to flip T’Challa over to face them. His color is pale, and somewhat smaller framed, but alive and breathing.

Nakia feels for his pulse in his neck when his eyes begin to flutter open. “Nakia…”

Nakia’s eyes blur from tears that she quickly tries to bat away. “Yes, I am here with you. Finally, you’re back!”

He strains to sit up, which Okoye scolds quickly. “You stay there, kumkani. I will call the Dora to-”

Her voice cuts off when she looks off across the clearing again. People were beginning to show again. Randomly generating back to the grounds, their bodies moved slowly but they were all alive and back home one by one.

“HAHA!! Wakanda is back! My Jabari are coming home!” M’Baku exclaims as he heads thru the crowd to claim some of his men.

Nakia hooks her arm through T’Challa’s to help bring him to standing. “T’Challa, let’s get you to seek emergency care.”

“Where….Shuri.” T’Challa asks gruffly before coughing up a storm. Nakia looks at him with concern.

“We haven’t seen her since you disappeared.”

“All is well! Look who is back!” Okoye gleams as M’Baku carries an exhausted Shuri in his arms.

Nakia becomes overwhelmed with joy. The pressures of the past year melt away in an instant as things appear to go back to normal again. Hopefully the majority of folks were not permanently affected.

T’Challa looks up to see his sister. “Shuri!”

“She is going to be ok. She is just as well as you are.” M’Baku states as T’Challa looks her over in his arms.

“I am assembling help to treat those coming back. T’Challa and Shuri should go up to the lab for private exams.” Okoye says.

“Do you need me on the ground here?” Nakia asks.

“You go with T’Challa, I have this. M’Baku, be careful with the princess.” Okoye warns before heading back to the crowd of unsnapped individuals.

In the lab, M’Baku sets Shuri down and wishes them well before returning to help the folks on the ground. Nakia holds on to T’Challa’s hand as health technicians take his vitals and hook him up with patches and fast acting tablets to boost his nutrition and immunity levels. T’Challa checks in with Nakia periodically.

“How were you?” T’Challa asks sleepily.

“I am fine, it is you we need to think about right now.” Nakia says.

“How were you?” T’Challa asks again and Nakia finally gets it. Her mouth quivers a bit as T’Challa squeezes her hand tightly.

“I managed. This was exponentially worse than before when I…we thought I lost you. Then, I still had everyone else I knew here with me to set me confidence in and plan for the future. T’Challa, we not only lost you, but the princess and HALF of our people. I have never seen the country so quiet and bleak.” Nakia says shaking her head.

T’Challa’s hand reaches her cheek. “Thank Bast it is over now.”

“How can you be sure of that? What happened when you were gone? Do you remember?”

T’Challa looks off into the distance going blank in the face. “It was….dark. Completely absent of light but the sounds I heard were loud, distorted and heinous. I heard suffering and torture, but no one in sight so I was no help to them. I swear I was on the brink of insanity, I called the ancestors as often as I could concentrate but it was the first time I truly felt forsaken.” T’Challa’s jaw tightens thinking back to his predicament.

Nakia swallows the rock in her throat, fighting back her emotions as much as she could. “I couldn’t help you this time. There was no way any of us could help you. I’m so sorry T’Challa.”

He shakes his head lightly and tuts at Nakia. “Do not do that. You are not to blame for any of this. You did exactly what I needed you to do. Keep calm, and take care of Wakanda.”

“You are Wakanda to me. Without you, after everything that has happened…I can’t lose you again T’Challa.” Nakia whimpers, holding her face in her hands and getting up. As she walks away a group of shaman elders come, adorned in their purple garments.

“Kumkani, we must bring you to the garden area to restore you.” One says as two help him up on either side of him.

“Nakia, wait.” T’Challa calls after her.

Nakia stops but doesn’t turn around. “I am not use to this, T’Challa. I need a moment to process you being back and knowing this isn’t a dream, but you better go and build back your strength. I won’t tell you twice.” Nakia warns him before walking out.

T’Challa lays back on his exam bed thoughtfully. He sees where Nakia is coming from, but is she ready to see for herself?

“Get him out of my lab so I can properly rest.”Shuri groans drowsily in her canopy off to the side.

T’Challa smirks at her small frame bundled up in border tribe blankets. “Rest well, sister.”

Later that evening, Nakia sits in the royal chambers staring out of an opening in the room overseeing the landscape of Wakanda. More lights were shone in the buildings and streets than there had been for a while. She breathed in deeply the night air, peacefully coming back to the idea of normal.

The bed shifts beside her as she turns to see T’Challa joining beside her.

“Are you well?” Nakia asks in a flat tone.

T’Challa leans his elbows in his knees looking out in the same direction as she is. “I am. I needed some time with my father again in the ancestral plane, and the elders cooked a good meal to bring back my strength. I was hoping to see you there at dinner as well.”

Nakai can feel T’Challa’s eyes on her but she would not meet his gaze. “I know but, I was not ready. It’s just…so soon.”

“Do you wish I was gone for longer?” T’Challa asks with a smile in his voice.

“Don’t joke like that!” Nakia hisses, tensing up. “Everyone was gone, so many things we had to start from scratch. The vibranium mines are backed up with materials, the river irrigation system is only partly functioning. I have so much to consider-”

“Nakia.” T’Challa says with soft command, grabbing her wrist to bring her hand into his gently. Her eyes fall to his action, falling silent from her rambling.

“Nakia, you have done exactly what you always do: take charge and lead others.”

“No. I watch out for myself. As a spy, I am on solo missions all the time, I work well alone. There’s no one else to look after and depend on, it’s easier that way.”

“You aren’t selfish, Nakia. You’re the least selfish individual I know. You are very important and have been for a long time.”

“I know, that is why I am a War Dog and representative for my tribe.” Nakia says matter-of-factly.

T’Challa runs his fingers along her knuckles carefully, drawing small circles on her skin. “I do not mean you are important to only the country, Nakia. You are important to me. You have saved my life twice now.”

“I did not this time, that’s what I’m saying!” Nakia says.

“You did. With the time you spent here. You stayed, you didn’t give up despite my absence.”

“I couldn’t make myself believe you were dead.” Nakia whispers, looking into his eyes tearfully.

“I never was. Neither time was I, and you pushed on.”

Nakia found it hard to shake her feeling of uncertainty. “T’Challa, how do we do this?”

T’Challa sighs deeply. “With patience, faith.”

Nakia bites her lip, resting her head on T’Challa’s shoulder. “And if you leave again, what should I do?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. I never go very far.” T’Challa says, wrapping his arm around her. Their bodies soften into one another.

“I know, I just never expected to have to worry about your death so soon. And back to back at that, tsk.”

“You have much more willpower than I could imagine having inside of me. You do not give up, therefore I do not give up. You are the spirit I carry in my heart to keep going. How can I fail?”

Nakia give T’Challa a small smile, reaching for the back of his neck, giving it a light massage. “When you fight, I will fight twice as hard.”

T’Challa yawns stretching dramatically. “Then you must be very tired, fighting with me all day is exhausting.”

“We are not fighting! I love you too much too much lay a hand on you.” T’Challa pauses, only smiling for a few seconds, making Nakia nervous. “What?”

“You love me, you say?” T’Challa questions.

“That is no secret, T’Challa.” Nakia answers.

“No and I love you too.” T’Challa says, leaning in to softly kiss Nakia’s lips. Nakia feels herself shake a little, overwhelmed by his gentle touch. She dreamed many nights for this day to come, and if this happened to be another one, she prayed she never awaken again.

“…but I don’t love you too much to keep my hands off of you.” T’Challa quips, feeling along her thighs, through a slit in her dress.

Nakia’s hands snake around his neck, filled with bliss. “Don’t you dare take them away.”

#shaka asks #shakafic #t'challa fanfic #t'chakia #t'chakia fanfic #t'akia #t'akia fanfic #black panther fanfic

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blueplanettrash · 6 years

Text

Rowan Lance (Part 2)

I know a lot of people loved the first part of this. I’m really hoping that everyone likes this part just as much as the first one. I really love wingfics so I hope I’m doing the concept justice. I hope you guys enjoy ❤️

“Are you sure about this?” Lance asked sweating heavily. He looked over the tall cliff, down at the barely visible ground beneath them. They had dragged Lance out of the Castle and found the highest point on the planet. He looked distrustfully back at his friends and hunched his shoulders slightly. He imagined they were just going to toss him off the cliff and decide that was that.

“First, let’s see your wingspan,” Shiro said stepping closer behind Lance. With a sigh, he obeyed and spread his wings out as far as he could. There were some gasps from the others when they saw the newly groomed feathers in the sunlight. At this everyone spread out their wings. Hunk had the largest wings, followed by Shiro, and now Lance, Keith, than Pidge. Keith sent a pout Lance’s way, making him laugh and give him a wide grin.

“Are you sore anywhere?” Shiro asked smoothing his hands down the tops of his first set of wings. He blushed and looked over the tops of them to watch the leader. Shiro glanced up and raised a brow waiting for an answer. He cleared his throat and looked over the horizon.

“No, they feel pretty good just being out again,” he admitted flexing them slightly. Shiro hummed and kept grooming the wings absentmindedly.

“How was your flying before you stopped?” He asked this time. Lance’s feathers immediately puffed up in pride and he put his hands on his hips.

“Best flyer out of everyone in my family,” he said proudly with a grin, “and some of them went on to become aerial performers,” he bragged. Shiro looked back at Hunk, Keith, and Pidge with a little smile and gestured to his back and then the cliff. He got nods and thumbs up in response and he turned back to Lance. He clapped a hand down on his shoulder grabbing Lance’s attention.

“Well, it seems like you’ll be fine,” he said with a smile. Lance raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked behind himself to see the other three standing trying to look innocent.

“What do you me-ACK!” he started only to be cut off by Shiro grabbing him by the waist in the crook of his arm and jumping off the side of the cliff. With a cheer Hunk, Keith, and Pidge dove off the side of the cliff after them. Lance clawed at Shiro’s arm with a scream and felt tears falling from his eyes as the wind rushed passed them.

“I’m going to let you go now,” Shiro yelled calmly over the sound of air. Lance shook his head frantically and dug his fingernails into Shiro’s arm.

“SHIRO I SWEAR TO GOD!” He screamed. “I’M GOING TO KILL YOU IF YOU LET GO, I WASN’T READY!” With a deadpanned face, Shiro took his arm away from the blue paladin.

“Oops, she wasn’t ready,” he muttered snapping his wings open and leaving Lance to flail through the air.

“SHIRO YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” He shrieked. He looked down at the ground ignoring the tears that were flowing up his cheeks into his ears. He closed his eyes and tried to remember before he left home and was immediately greeted with memories of his family and flying with them. He peeked his eyes open and looked to the side, seeing his friends diving alongside him. It was time that he flew with his new family. He didn’t have anything to fear anymore, they were his family and he could trust them. He opened his wings open wide, the air immediately caught on them and his fall came to a stop leaving the other paladins to shoot past him. He laughed and flapped his wings to climb higher up.

“Lance you did it!” Pidge said happily as she flew up to meet him. Lance gave her a little pout and crossed his arms.

“You doubted me?” He asked. Pidge rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm. He yelped and pretended to fall again, gaining a startled yelp from her. She fell after him with her arms open as if to catch him. He grinned and shot up again, grabbing her in his arms and falling to Hunk, Keith, and Shiro. When they got there, she batted his arms away from him and clawed her way out of his arms.

“Don’t do that, I thought you were going to die,” she mumbled crossly. Lance chuckled and circled around her.

“Sorry Pidge, I used to do that with my little sister back on Earth,” he explained twisting around in the sky. Her eyes widened and she cooed slightly.

“I guess it wasn’t that bad then,” she admitted with a small grin. Lance gave her a blinding smile back. He grunted when suddenly he pushed from behind, he righted himself quickly and looked behind his back to see Keith smirking slightly. Before he could realize what was happening, Keith dropped away and dove down to the ground. With a start, he realized that Keith wanted to play. He quickly dove after him and quickly caught up with him.

“Good try Keith,” he said and grabbed his leg stopping him in his motion. Keith yelped as he was knocked off course and Lance shot up into the sky. He let out a loud laugh and chased after him. Lance looked back at Keith and the happy, determined expression on his face. He led him around for a few minutes and laughed when he shot past him without a problem.

“ACK!” He grunted when smacked into a solid chest. He clung to it when his wings stopped moving and he looked up to look into Shiro’s face. He blushed and quickly righted himself so he could jump off of his chest.

“Sorry Shiro, I didn’t see you there,” he admitted rubbing the back of his neck.

“That's fine Lance, it was kind of the point,” he laughed. Lance squinted his eyes in confusion but they widened when he felt a hand land a stinging slap between his wings.

“Traitor,” Lance whispered at Shiro. He stared into Shiro’s eyes with wide eyes as he slapped Shiro right on the pec and flew away.

“I’ll accept that,” he said to himself before he took off towards where Pidge and Hunk were leisurely flying around. At the focused frown on his face, they paused before Pidge screamed.

“ABORT!” She shouted and she and Hunk fell away from the paladin. He laughed and chased after them, after a few minutes he flew away hoping that Lance and Keith let their guards down. Luckily it seemed like that's just what happened to Keith and he was able to slap him on his lower back. He groaned but smirked when he noticed Hunk and Pidge still flying away from them. He quickly took chase away from him after the two. Shiro took the opportunity to fly over to Lance who seemed to be doing simple manoeuvres through the air.

“I’ve come to apologize for my betrayal,” he said overlapping his right wing over Lance’s left ones slightly. Lance’s regarded him slightly before nodding with mock approval.

“I guess you’re forgiven,” he said with a small smile. Shiro smiled back and whiffled to fly underneath Lance.

“Thank goodness, I don’t know what I would have done,” he said. He twisted and came up on Lance’s right side. Lance blushed and looked away at the horizon again. Without a second thought, Lance dove again and Shiro didn’t hesitate in following him. They folded in their wings and suddenly they were grasping each other’s arms and corkscrewing to the ground. They laughed and flew away from each other back into the sky and met up again. They flew around each other, ignoring the smirks they were getting from the others, enraptured instead with each other. The sun was setting before Keith interrupted them.

“I know you guys are in love but we should really head back,” he said with a playful smirk. Immediately they started sputtering out embarrassed excuses and denials.

“Keep telling yourselves that guys,” he chuckled before turning serious and pointing a sharp finger at Shiro threateningly, “I better be your best man,” he growled and flew to meet back up with Hunk and Pidge. Shiro and Lance glanced at each other with hot faces and quickly turned away again to fly back to the hangers.

“Anyone else hungry?” Keith asked sitting back in the nest. There were various sounds of approval and agreement. Lance yawned and bundled his wings around him to cover him in warmth.

“I’m good, I’m just going to go to sleep now,” he responded closing his eyes. At the complete silence that greeted him, he peeked his eye open. Shiro, Hunk, Keith, and Pidge all stood with wide eyes and limp wings.

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” He asked worriedly.

“You’re going to sleep here with us?” Pidge asked softly.

“Oh um yes I was going to. I don’t have to though, I can go back to my room!” He said waving his hands around nervously and struggled to stand, trying to untangle himself from his wings to stand.

“No!” Shiro cried making the others flinch. He walked forward with a nervous chirp and tried to get Lance to sit back down.

“We’re just happy that you want to spend the night here,” he explained frantically smoothing down Lance’s hair and feathers. Lance trilled and closed his eyes again, shortly slipping into a comfortable slumber.

At first, Lance didn’t know where he was. He was flying through dense fog and he wasn’t able to see anything at all. Slowly though, he began to see sparkling blue waters beneath him, familiar blue waters. With a start, he realized that he was flying over the private stretch of beach his family owned. He landed on one of the cliffs that overlooked the white sand beach with wide eyes.

“You looked spooked,” A voice said on his right. He flinched back and looked over to see his mamá looking back at him.

“Mamá,” he whispered tears coming to his eyes. She gave him a heartwarming smile and pulled him into a hug. He clutched to her shoulders and cried into her chest. “I miss you Mamá,” he sniffled. She pet his hair and pulled back his head to kiss him on the forehead.

“I know baby but I know that you are doing something incredible out there,” she said comforting him. She gestured back down to the beach where he could now see his family splashing around in the water and playing on the beach. He watched them soar out of the water into the air and dive back in without hesitation. He laughed when one of his cousins came splashing out with a large fish in his hands and he brought it to his uncle to skin and cook for them. With a hand on his jaw, she brought his attention back to her.

“Lance, honey, you don’t need to worry about us,” she said with a concerned expression, “and yes we miss you. We miss you so so much but we are okay,” she said, her voice breaking slightly in the middle.

Lance bit his lip and looked back down at them with a heavy heart. Space certainly wasn’t as horrible as he initially thought it would be. He found the freedom he wanted on Earth here. He found another group of people to call family. He might have even found love.

“I’m so proud of you, and I’m happy you could find people who love you as much as we do,” his mamá said suddenly drawing his attention back to her. She was looking down at the beach now and he followed her gaze. The paladins were landing on the beach and mingling with his family. Pidge and Hunk were playing with his younger cousins, providing a sort of entertainment for them. Keith stood with his uncle as he showed him how to skin the fish that was just caught. Shiro though, he looked lost. He twisted around as if looking for someone.

‘As if he was looking for me,’ Lance thought with a happy grin. Little did he know that's exactly what he was doing. Shiro looked up at the cliff and his face brightened exponentially when he caught sight of the Rowan.

“Lance!” He called happily with a wave. Lance gulped and looked over at his mamá. She grinned broadly and gestured for his to go. Lance glanced back at him uncertainly and wrung his hands in front of him. His mamá huffed gaining his attention again.

“Lance, I know how long you’ve had a crush on that boy, go after him,” she said bluntly like always. Lance blushed and pouted at his mamá but obediently glided down to meet the black paladin.

“Um, hey Shiro,” he said with a smile.

“Lance?” He asked with a smile. Lance looked at him in confusion and looked around him.

“Uh, yes? What do you mean?” He asked looking at Shiro warily now. Shiro came forward and brushed his hand down Lance’s cheek softly. Lance gave him a shy smile and leaned slightly into the hand.

“Lance?” Shiro asked again quieter than before. Lance sighed and looked into Shiro’s eyes.

“Why do you keep asking me that?” he said. Shiro leaned forward and gently kissed his forehead. When he backed up, Lance’s face was once again covered in a blush and he was looking at Shiro with fond eyes.

“Lance, can you wake up?”

Lance blinked his eyes open coming face to face with Shiro. He shrieked and whipped his head forward connecting their heads with a loud crack. Shiro yelled and pressed a hand to his eye.

“OH FU-IDDLESTICKS!” He yelled in pain.

“Just say fuck Shiro,” Pidge muttered looking at him blankly.

“Fuck,” he grumbled rubbing his eye. Lance jumped forward with a cry.

“Oh Shiro, I am so sorry,” he said with tears in his eyes. Part of it from the pain of the hit, the other from the despair that he already lost his chance with Shiro.

“No, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have startled you like that!” He said, he gasped when he looked at Lance.

“Lance, your head, it’s bruised already,” he said gently touching the skin around it.

“Talk for yourself, you have a black eye,” he said with concern. After a moment the two of them burst out laughing and clutched on to each other’s arms to keep from falling over. Hunk leaned over to both Keith and Pidge.

“Do you think they have concussions or something?” He asked with a raised brow directed at the giggling paladins.

“Probably,” Keith replied.

“They’re probably fine,” Pidge said sitting down and covering herself in preparation to go to sleep. Keith did the same, leaving Hunk standing alone to look at them.

“What about Lance’s food?” He asked the two of them.

“Do you want to go over there and try to give it to him?” Pidge asked gesturing at the marks on both Shiro and Lance’s heads. Hunk quickly shook his head and sat down, abandoning the bowl of food goo just outside of the nest. Soon enough the only sounds that were heard were the quiet conversation between Lance and Shiro. Lance fell forward cuddled in Shiro’s wings and looked carefully over the bruise on his face. Shiro suddenly swiped his finger over it and then his own.

“Weird, black and blue, just like us,” Shiro said.

“A bruise, really?” He asked blandly. Shiro shrugged his shoulders.

“It could be nice,” He pouted. Lance raised his eyebrows and put on a disbelieving face.

“Yeah? How so?” He asked leaning back down on Shiro’s arm. Shiro thought for a moment with a hum.

“No matter how bad we’re beaten, we’ll always be together?” He suggested. Lance sighed and cuddled closer.

“Okay, that was pretty good,”

Part 1/2

Stories Masterlist

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justkpopstuffinmyhead · 7 years

Text

Yongguk - Dangerously Innocent ♥ [Part 2]

Member: B.A.P’s Bang Yongguk

Pairing: MafiaLeader!Yongguk & You

Genre: Angst-ish

Warnings: Swearing, Blood, Shooting and other Mafia stuff.

Words: 2,530

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Epilogue.

Three days later - it is Monday already - you prepare yourself to return to work and beg your boss for forgiveness after missing 1.5 weeks of work without an excuse. You arrive at work a bit early and immediately enter your boss’s office. “Uhm.” You clear your throat. “Mrs. Oh?” You ask and look at your boss who just started noticing you. “Y/N! Oh my God are you alright? I couldn’t believe when your brother came in and told us that you actually slit your ankle on a stone and had to go to the hospital! We wanted to visit you but your brother said that you weren’t allowed any visitors because you had lost so much blood and were on strict bed rest!”She carefully pulls you over to a couch in the corner of her office and sits you down. ’My brother?’ You think to yourself. You are an only child. “Talking about brother. Why did you not tell us that you had such a good looking brother!” she wiggles her eyebrows at you and looks at you again worriedly. “Are you sure that you can work again?” You nod and stand up, assuring her once again that you are sure and that she doesn’t need to worry. As you leave her office you think to yourself that those guys are better than you had thought.

They stocked up your fridge so you would come back to a full one and made sure that your workplace was familiar with their cover up story. What you don’t know is that the man who kidnapped you has friends and that those friends are watching your every step. You walk over to your desk and immediately your colleagues come over to talk to you about your injury. You have to tell the story about seven times and at the end of your shift you almost believe it yourself. You go home after 8pm that day because a lot of work had piled up on your desk and you need to catch up on it quickly. The neighborhood that once seemed safe to you despite its bad reputation now, after it had happened, makes your blood run cold and you are quickly limping through it in order to leave it behind as fast as possible. You don’t know that people are following you silently. Quickly entering your apartment you lock the door after it was falls shut and feel sick with fear after walking through the same street alone in the dark, so you just remove your makeup and go straight to bed, trying not to think about what happened. Ever since Mr. Bang brought you into this black and white room you have nightmares every night and this wasn’t going to change tonight.

You throw yourself from one side to the other and wake up to a loud banging on your door. Sitting up, you are still covered in cold sweat as you scramble to your feet and quickly grab your keys while running to your frontdoor. As you look through your peephole you see dark, curly hair and those cold eyes that are now obviously in pain. You quickly open the door and he stumbles inside and falls onto your couch while you are still closing the door behind him and locking it once again. “Mr. Bang” you gasp and hurry over to him. His thigh is covered in blood and he is swearing under his breath with that dark voice of his. “I need your help” he says and looks at you. “Well, obviously” you reply sassily, feeling more confident now that you are in your own home and not in his office. He gives you a death stare. “You need to remove that bullet out of my thigh and stitch up the gun wound.” He tells you straightforwardly and you just nod, suddenly feeling scared again. “Get you first-aid box.” You hesitate for a second and he just screams “NOW!” You nod and get the first-aid box that you found in your bathroom. Yongguk must have put it there. “Take the scissors and cut my pants open.” He calmly instructs and you do as you are told, your fingers shaking the entire time. There is so much blood on his smooth skin that you aren’t even sure where exactly he is shot. “Now clean up the wound. Carefully.” He tells you and quickly adds “Please.” You do as you are told and clean the wound with a soft, wet towel. “Fuck!” He groans and fists the blanket that is on your couch. “Can you see the bullet?” He wants to know and you carefully feel the wound. “Fuck Y/N careful!” he yells and you look at him angrily “Just Shut up and let me take a look if you want me to remove this thing!” You tell him and he growls at you deeply but keeps his mouth shut. You imagine what the situation would be like if he doesn’t have a bullet stuck in his thigh. Him sitting in front of you with his pants cut all the way to his underwear, growling at you with that insanely deep voice. The thought alone made even more adrenaline pump through your veins. And that has to be the only thing that keeps you going because under normal circumstances the amount of blood would have made you faint long ago. When you carefully put pressure onto the sides of the wound, you can see a small silver piece of metal. “I can see it now.” He hisses in pain and tells you to grab the tweezers and carefully remove the bullet. This is easier said than done but as you finally pull it out you hear him sigh in relieve. He then tells you exactly how to close the wound and disinfect it. When you are done he looks you deep in the eye. “Thank you” he says and you smile tiredly, sweat running down his forehead as well as yours. “Let’s get you to bed” You say and with your help he makes his way to your bedroom. “Sorry for bleeding all over your stuff.” He says and you sigh. “You’ll pay for it.”Is the only answer he gets and he just agrees. You help him out of his blood-soaked pants and his equally soaked shirt until he is left in his snug boxer shorts; the tattoo on his chest is now clearly visible in the dim light the moon provides. You ignore your burning cheeks and help him remove some of his blood from his body and later put the covers over him. As you sit down next to him you feel his stare on your face. “I won’t call the police. I promise. Just rest.” You assure him and he nods tiredly, a small smile spreading across his face.”Night” he mumbles and you just nod and watch him fall asleep. You quickly follow his example with your head rested on your bed and your arms beneath it. Your eyes are heavy again, now that the adrenaline has left you and you feel worn out.

After resting on your forearms for a few seconds you fall asleep only to wake up hours later by a hand brushing against your cheek carefully. “Your alarm has been ringing for the past four minutes, Y/N. You need to wake up.” His voice is heavy with sleep and sounds strained. You sit up and stretch, trying to get the soreness out of your muscles. He smiles at you tightly as you stand up, shaking out your muscles once again. “I will be gone when you are done with your shift. But I’ll have Zelo pick you up from your office.” You look at him questioningly. “Why should someone pick me up from work?” You enquire. “I haven’t been in your neighborhood by accident. We got a letter yesterday that … friends of the person who pulled you into all this sent. . They are trying to threaten us though you. Kidnapping you, having you tell everything to the police. I will have someone watching you the entire time and take you to our place after work. We will take care of everything else afterwards.” He is already back being the leader he obviously was born to be. “You can’t just pull me out of my everyday life! I have this apartment, a job, friends and a family I need to take care of.” You argue and he sighs. “But without us protecting you there won’t be a you to take care of all those things.” He suggests and you nod thoughtfully understanding how important this is Fortunately your family lives across the country and should be save, but in order to keep it that way you should probably follow his instructions. “Can I at least like… Pack some stuff. Like clothes and you will take it with you.” He nods and you quickly stand up. “I will pack now and then go to work.” You say quickly and pack all your favorite clothes and everything else that is necessary to go through the day comfortably such as your laptop, a cable to charge your phone, your toothbrush. You then take a quick shower and dress in one of your favorite dresses that you would regularly wear for work. As you come back to the bedroom, your hair in a high ponytail, Yongguk looks at you in awe and can’t do anything but smile. It is the biggest smile you have seen from him until now “I got you some pain meds. They should numb the pain for a while so you can get back without screaming down the entire neighborhood” He quickly thanks you “Bye Mr. Bang!” you say “Yongguk. My name is Bang Yongguk” he answers and you smile at him. “Goodbye Yongguk” you correct yourself and make your way out of your apartment, rushing to work as quickly as possible with your leg.

Your colleagues all look at your bandaged ankle with pity and help you whenever you need to crouch or pick something up. When work is finally over at 5pm you walk outside, expecting to find another man dressed in a black and white suite to pick you up but are surprised to find a young, mischievous looking boy with black hair standing outside, leaning against a black motorcycle, a helmet in his hand and another one on the machine. “Zelo?” you ask, remembering the name Yongguk told you. “You have to be Y/N” He says and bows lightly. Your Boss comes outside at the exact moment and looks at Zelo, smiling brightly. “That’s so nice of you to pick up your sister! But next time you should take the car to do so, young man” She says teasingly. You look at him with big eyes and mouth “Sister?”At him but he ignores you and just smiles brightly at your boss. “I will remember to do so Ma’am.” He says playfully and waves his hand at her as she makes her way down the street. “So you are the one who told them about everything?” You ask and he just nods, handing you one of the helmets. “Yup.” He says, smiling cheekily. Zelo looks more like a young boy than a member of a mafia group. You take the helmet awkwardly and look at it questioningly, not entirely sure how to put it on safely. Zelo sights and grabs it roughly from your hands and put it on your head, pushing the visor back. “Let’s go.” He says, helping you onto the bike and shouting. “Hold on tight!” Over the roaring of the machine. You do as you are told and as soon as he feels your tight grip around his waist he rushes off. You press your eyes shut and wait for it to be over, fearing for your life. Sooner than you expected Zelo turns off the bike and helps you off it, pulling the helmet off your head. “Here we are.” He says and you look at the familiar building. Your frown quickly changes to a smile when you see Himchan waiting for you at the door and you limp over as quickly as you can. “Doctor!” You exclaim and he smiles back at you warmly. “How are you doing Y/N? And I told you when you left that you should call me Himchan” he scolds you jokingly. “I am fine. It still hurts but it’s fine. Himchan” you add and he smiles, feeling satisfied. “Let’s go. Yongguk is waiting for you.” He says and you are being guided down the halls.

He isn’t taking you to Yongguks office but to another room. When the single, wooden door open you enter another black and white room, but other than the one you stayed in, the bed sheets are a deep burgundy red. Yongguk is covered in those sheets and fast asleep. You grab Himchans arm “He’s asleep. I should come back later.” You say and Himchan just shakes his head. “Yongguk asked to be woken up if something happened or when you returned” he explains and carefully shakes the man’s arm to wake him up. “Did something happen?” Yongguk asks, immediately wide awake, his voice so dark that shivers run down your spine and arms. Himchan just steps aside to allow their leader to look at you. “Hi” You whisper shyly and he smiles at you, bigger this time. More cheerful. You walk over to his bed and Himchan claps your shoulder as he walks past you out of the room. “How was work?” He says and lifts himself up into a sitting position. “Okay. Busy and my colleagues asked a lot of questions regarding my ankle.” You answer and help him up. He pats the space next to him on the bed and you sit down carefully, brushing you dress straight beforehand. “How are you doing?” You ask, looking at his leg that is covered by the blanket. “Better, thanks to you. I got good pain meds and Himchan checked the wound again. You did good work. He was really impressed by it.” He tells you and a warm, proud feeling fills your chest. “I did my best, despite my grumpy patient” You tell him, smiling down at your hands. “Thank you.” He says again and covers your fumbling hands in your lap with his. You look at him, his good looks and unexpectedly warm smile making you blush furiously. “Your room is just down the hall. It’s the one you were in last time. I would keep talking to you but I’m on strict bed rest and those meds make me feel dizzy. If you need anything just ask someone. They are all prepared to help you with whatever you need.” He explains and you stand up, leaving the room, but not without taking a last look at the handsome man in this burgundy bed sheets, remembering how he colored you couch a similar shade of red last night. You eat a quick dinner and go to bed early that night, trying to make sense of this mess.

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