he's gone senile

Omg would love to read something about plague!will going apeshit in battle after Nico gets hurt or something

ooooh yes!!! thank you for the prompt!!

i hope you like this! 

i’m literally gonna do minimum editing lmao

okay literally whoops i made it a lot longer and the prompt starts later my bad asljkfskljfd sorry anon

tw for descriptive imagery & blood

It’s a normal night at Camp Half-Blood, with demigods in their respective cabins, sleeping either fitfully or dreamlessly. After all, there is no in-between for demigods.

And that is no different for Will, who tosses and turns in his bed, sweat prickling his forehead.

Visions of Tartarus flicker across his dreams, memories of monsters and heat and pure agony. The aches and pains from previous injuries return in their full heat, with no mercy for Will.

The dreams consume him, taking away any consciousness and tying him to the memories. Sometimes it takes fifteen minutes to wake Will up at all, even if he’s being shaken. And when he is shaken awake, he merely stares at the ceiling, a blank, glassy look in his eyes. Sometimes he stays there until afternoon. Sometimes he’s in his cabin until the evening.

He’s in there until he can convince himself that nothing’s going to risk his life the moment he steps outside. 

Tonight is one of those lucky moments where Will doesn’t have to be literally thrown around the bed in order to wake him up. A tug creeps on his shoulder, pulling harder and harder, until he jolts awake. Darkness consumes his cabin, spilling all across the room. For a moment, he swears a shadow moves near the bathroom, and he screams and pushes his back against the wall, heart racing.

And then a voice, deep and calming, melts in his ears. “It’s okay,” the voice murmurs. “You’re okay. It’s just me.”

Will’s head whips to the voice, blood roaring in his ears. Monster, some part of him thinks. Monster is trying to sound like my friends.

A demigod stands before him, dressed in black, melting with the darkness. Anxiety creeps over his neck, an icy cold grip on his body. Monster, he thinks again. What if it’s a monster that can shape-shift?

Will pushes himself further, his breathing ragged. The demigod lookalike leans back a little, as if to give him space. They turn their head to the side and mutter something to someone else, but with the utter panic bursting through his body, he can barely hear them.

Then another figure appears before him, this one shorter and more feminine. A part of Will thinks it’s just another monster, but his vision’s clearing now; the panic that gripped him just seconds before eases back a little. He recognizes them. He knows he does. 

“Will,” the feminine figure murmurs, leaning in. “Hey, listen. I’m not a monster. Your favorite song when you were younger was ‘Barbie Girl.’“

Suspicion still crawls over Will, but he’s more stable now. The feminine figure is... Kayla. His sister. Right. 

And the one standing next to her is... Nico? What are they doing here?

Will sits up a little straighter, feeling a little surer in himself. He looks between the two, confused. He opens his mouth to speak, but his throat is dry from the panic that enveloped him just moments ago. Will clears his throat. His voice comes out scratchy as he asks, “What’s wrong? Why are you guys awake?”

Nico nods to Kayla, who turns around and flicks on the light. Brightness consumes the cabin, burning Will’s eyes. The son of Apollo groans and shoves his head in his hands. Another bout of uneasiness creeps through his skin. Why are they awake at such a late time?

“Listen,” Nico says, taking Will’s hand in theirs. “I don’t want to freak you out-” 

“Just by saying that, you’re pretty much guaranteeing that I’m going to freak out.” 

“I know,” Nico mutters. “But you need to be awake. And we need to get out of the cabin.” 

Will blinks. Nico’s words are blending together, slurring through Will’s brain. What are they even saying? He looks around the room, seeing if any of the others are awake. A jolt of unease wakes Will right up as he realizes that, in fact, all of his siblings are awake. “What’s going on?”

Nico rises, hand pulling on Will’s. “There’s a chimera loose on the camp grounds. It snuck in somehow." Their arm tugs, and Will rises immediately, almost as if just by Nico’s strength he’s found the will to stand up.

Dread settles over Will like a blanket. The cabin may be covered in light now, but he feels as though only darkness consumes him. Monster, his mind screams. 

Nico appears to notice Will’s nervousness, because their eyes soften and they whisper, “You can just stay in the infirmary, Will. I don’t know if you’re in any mental condition to fight.” 

Will wants to argue, say that of course he’s going to fight. He more than proved to Nico that he’s not weak when they were in Tartarus, and Nico knows that Will can be more than just a healer.

But Will also knows why Nico’s suggesting that to him. It isn’t because he’s unimportant or useless; it’s because he’s exhausted. He hasn’t had a good sleep in weeks. And he’s just now awoken with dreams about monsters. Battling a monster would do nothing good for him, or for the camp.

Swallowing, Will nods. He looks over at his siblings, who he’s suddenly realized have all been watching him and Nico. After a slight hesitation, he announces: “I’ll help in the ways I can.”

~~~

It’s chilly in the infirmary, the cold air whispering against Will’s bare hands, but he doesn’t mind. It wakes him up, makes him feel a little more alive. 

Austin and Kayla are in the infirmary with him, waiting to patch up any demigods who’ve been hurt by the chimera. Will will admit, even though he hates being thought of as just a healer, he doesn’t mind the sense of calm bandaging cuts gives him. It’s not about helping people; it’s about the fact that at least he feels helpful.

A part of him yearns to be outside and help the other demigods attack the chimera at the hill, but he knows he can’t. Every time the chimera roars, ice drips over Will’s back; terror paralyzes him. He only thinks of Tartarus, of all the monsters who had tried sneaking on him and Nico so many times. 

For the moment, things seem manageable here in the infirmary. There haven’t been many lethal or super serious injuries; only cuts, bruises, and the occasional poisonous gashes. Nothing he and his siblings can’t handle.

And yet, uneasiness still grips him, the sense that something terrible is about to happen. He tries to shake it off. It’s only a chimera, he reminds himself. And there are literally fifty demigods going after it. It’ll be fine.

His worse fears come true when the doors of the infirmary burst open and a demigod comes through, holding a pale, limp figure in his arms.

It takes a moment for the image to register in Will’s brain. At first, the only thought to run through his mind is: Wow, that half-dead demigod looks familiar. 

When he realizes why the demigod looks so familiar, Will gasps. It’s Nico, he thinks with horror. For a moment, he doesn’t move. Fear glues him to his spot by the sink, his knees shaking. The cynical, depressing part of Will already assumes the worst: that he’s dead.

And then, all at once, he zips towards Nico, tears threatening to spill over. He pushes the other demigod aside and circles his arms around Nico, lowering them to their knees.

“Nico,” he whispers urgently, shaking their shoulders. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Nico mutters something incomprehensible, their words slurring together. Their head slumps against Will’s shoulder, body limp. Will takes his hand and places it over Nico’s forehead, almost crying out loud when he realizes how warm the child of Hades is.

Kayla and Austin rush over with a stretcher, their young faces betraying anxiety. Will gently lays Nico over it, his throat aching with the repression of frustrated tears. “Nico, can you say something? What happened?”

This time, Nico’s voice is a little more comprehensible, albeit still slurred. “Chim’ra,” they mutter. “Ven’m. Tried t’ fight it with sword.” They attempt to move their body and immediately give up, grimacing and hissing. Nico’s face turns gray, the color of ashes. 

Will notices the slash on their black T-shirt and the blood oozing out. He quickly lifts the shirt up, discovering a wide gash over Nico’s rib cage. The skin at the edge of the injury is tinged to a slightly green color.

For a second, Will almost loses it. He starts assuming the worst of it, thinking that Nico’s lost it all. But then he remembers: it’s only a gash. The cut may be deep and wide, but there’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to fix it. Nico seems worse off than other demigods who came in with the same poison, but if they can get to work quickly, then there’s no reason as to why he should start assuming the worst.

White hot anger erupts in Will’s system, blaring in his stomach and chest. The Chimera did this. It hurt Nico. 

Will has had enough of monsters. They chased him and Nico throughout Tartarus, making sure to haunt both their dreams. They’ve taunted him, making sure to ensure doubt and insecurities in himself all his life. They almost killed him and his mother when he first arrived at camp. He’s had friends and siblings die because of monsters who never gave a fuck about demigods and their lives. 

And now they’ve decided to mess with Will again, trying to hurt one of the people he loves most. 

Well, Will’s done.

He turns his eyes away from Nico momentarily, staring at his hands. He knows exactly what he needs to do.

“It’s okay,” he promises Nico, who’s skin sags even more under the pressure of pain. “It’s not too bad. Kayla and Austin will be able to fix you up.”

Nico doesn’t answer, too exhausted to do so. Kayla and Austin fix Will with the same confused expression. “Aren’t you helping?” Kayla asks, bending over to take one end of the stretcher. Austin holds the other side.

Will shakes his head, standing. He grits his teeth, staring in the direction of the door. “I have something else to take care of.” 

Austin’s eyes widen in concern. “Will, no. There is no way you’re going out there to fight that thing.”

Kayla opens her mouth to agree, but Will snaps his head back to them. “I’m going,” he states. He glares his eyes at them, mouth set into a thin line. Will almost relishes the sudden look of fear in their faces. “I’m head counselor, guys. I’m supposed to protect you guys.” Turning his face back to the infirmary doors, he announces, “That’s what I’m going to do.”

With that, he storms out of the infirmary. No one follows.

~~~

The winter air snaps at his skin, sinking its teeth into his hands. Will flexes his fingers, anger still seething, pulsing, gushing from every inch of his body. No one hurts his loved ones like that.

He follows the cries of battle and screeches of the monster to Half-Blood Hill, calling on his rage. If the monster wants a battle, then Will will give him one.

It’s been a while since Will’s used his plague powers. The last time was in Tartarus, and when he used them there, he almost passed out. He hasn’t trained with it at all, afraid of how much damage it could cause. What if he accidentally hurts a demigod?

But tonight, as the wind whips across his face and the image of Nico flashes across his brain, he lets the powers pulse, strengthen. His powers hum, resonating through every cell in his body.

His palms burst with a feverish warmth, turning a pale green. He feels the weight of thousands of sicknesses swirling through him, the power they hold. He’s finds the feeling of the plague powers quite strange; it’s like having a sickness, but only inverted. As if he can’t quite feel the symptoms, but he can feel the strength of the problems they can cause. Instead of wearing him down, they only empower him. He controls the sicknesses, can lash them out to whoever he wants.

Heads turn to Will as he steps over the summit of the hill, eyes widening at his sudden change of appearance. Now the heat reaches his face, hot and wild and etching to let loose. He’s a ball of energy, only existing to unleash chaos.

He catches a glimpse of himself in the shield of one of the demigods, and almost screams. He can barely recognize himself. His face has turned a pale, ugly shade of green, his freckles barely visible. The sky blue of his eyes have turned a sickly, glowy yellow, the only vibrancy on his face. The blond of his hair has turned as gray as ashes, limp against his forehead. 

He looks sick and terrible. But really, Will only feels the buzz of power underneath his fingertips. He almost laughs; this feels great. Why would he want to repress this so much? Imagine all the monsters he could kill. Imagine the glory he could get. He would never be looked as weak ever again. 

Demigods eyes trace over him, but as soon as he makes eye contact, they jump and scramble away. Will wants to laugh at that. For so long, he’s felt like some kind of scared, useless wimp; now he’s making others feel like that. 

No, a quiet part of him says. That’s not right. Stop thinking like that.

Guilt starts building up in Will’s chest, but when a roar echoes throughout the camp, anger once against consumes the demigod. He bares his teeth towards the Chimera, whose lion head growls at him, ready to pounce. Its goat, snake, and lion heads all stare at Will daringly, as if taunting him. What are you going to do, Sunny Boy? Going to kill me with silly little poems?

Will just laughs. “What’s the matter, kitty? Are we scaring you?”

This time the goat answers, bleating angrily. Will almost wants to laugh again, but then the goat breathes a blazing hot fire in the son of Apollo’s direction, almost searing off his clothes. 

Will scowls. He speaks again, and just barely registers the change in his voice; it’s raspier, the sound of something brushing against sandpaper. “So you want to play it hard, Kitty? We’ll play it hard.”

The snake tail hisses and spits venom in Will’s direction, but he simply steps back and lets it sizzle on the ground. That was just a test, Will knows. It’s simply measuring how much hell Will is ready to give him. 

Well, he thinks, if you want hell, I’ll give you it.

He lets the plague’s strength build up in his palms, locating the power in one place. Will concentrates on just the sicknesses, the energy buzzing through him. His body buzzes with electricity and excitement. Will’s skin turns an even worse shade of green, practically glowing in the night. Mucus builds up in his nose, and he steps towards the Chimera, extending his right arm.

He waits for it to go first. 

The lion head roars again, and the monster leaps at Will. But he’s ready for it. Just as it lands towards Will, the blond opens his palm to it.

For a moment, it seems as if nothing is happening. The demigods see nothing, no waves or signals to indicate that Will’s doing something. He looks almost ridiculous, really, and some demigods may have laughed if they weren’t so terrified of the way Will’s appearance has changed. 

Will, however, knows a lot is happening. His body surges with power, strength, the urge to only provide sickness. He wants to see the monster fall, weak with illness and begging for death. He wants to see it asking for mercy, and Will will respond only with more torture, more pain. 

He wants to make it beg for Tartarus.

The monster seems confused for a moment, surprised by the strange demigod. What does he even think he’s doing, standing there with his arm outstretched so uselessly and lamely? 

And then it hits the Chimera. Its body grows heavy, weak, wanting only to sit and lie down for a while. It sways on its feet and thumps to the ground, feeling dizzy and confused. Its vision gets blurry; it can barely tell where the demigods are. Only the glow of the strange demigod is clear to the monster, and for a moment it forgets what it’s even supposed to be doing. 

Its mind gets fuzzy. The itch of a sneeze consumes its nose, and then the scratch of its throat makes it wheeze. The Chimera wants to eat this demigod - but, wait. Suddenly the thought of food doesn’t seem too appetizing. 

It just wants to sleep for a while. Its body grows weary, tired, hot from fever. It shivers in the night, its fur doing nothing to protect it in the coolness of the night. The Chimera tries to blow a fire, if only to heat itself, but finds itself too weak to do such a thing. 

And then a strange tickle bursts in its leg. The snake head looks at the limb, and a delayed shock shudders through the Chimera’s body. It’s disintegrating! Not into sand, as all monsters go. Instead, it’s as if the sickness is breaking down all its cells, ripping apart each molecule in the body until there’s nothing left.

Will feels the power ripple through him, and suddenly he can’t help the laughter that bubbles through him. He’s made the monster weak; he’s made the monster helpless. It whimpers, begging for mercy, just as Will wanted.

Will doesn’t relent. He pushes further, extending his powers, breaking the monster down further and further, until it’s left with only the lion head. 

The lion’s eyes peer at Will, glazed over with sickness. Its face is green, which Will didn’t know could happen. Or maybe I made it happen, Will thinks with both elation and terror. 

Will glares, anger once against taking over him. “You hurt Nico. Now I hurt you.” 

And with that, the monster’s head disintegrates. The remnants turn into sand. The monster is gone.

Will wants to smile, to laugh, to say that he did that all by himself. But his vision goes blurry, then foggy. The world tilts violently.

Will collapses.

Mine - The Epilogue

Genre: Yoongi x oc, Jimin x oc

Warnings: so much fluff, and I got so far back into my freaking feelings, remembering how much I love this series. 

Word Count: 5k

a/n: guys, it’s here!! Thank you to those of you that read and loved ‘Mine’, that series seriously is one of my favorites ever. I’m just so soft for these characters. So thank you guys for even wanting an epilogue. I hope you enjoy, I know I did!

If you haven’t had a chance to read ‘Mine’...I would really love you to. it’s a good time, I promise. ⇨ Mine Masterlist

🌙

When Bong-cha heard from Jimin about Yoongi’s plan to fly to Paris and meet Cara there, she couldn’t decide if she wanted to hate him for being so cheesy, or cry because it was perfect.

In the end she did a little bit of both. 

The day that Cara called her as she was about to fly out, Bong-cha was at home, working in her makeshift studio. Jimin had invited her a million times to come out and use the studio at the company building, but she always felt like somehow she was intruding. When she woke up that morning and couldn’t make it out of bed without feeling dizzy, she decided that today was a perfect day to do her work from home. 

There wasn’t too much to be done; they were all rather routine things that she did often, however it was difficult to get even the most mundane task finished when every time she moved too quickly she had to close her eyes and lay down for fifteen minutes before even thinking about trying again. 

Bong-cha has just opened her eyes and is in the process of slowly sitting up when her phone rings. She’s half-tempted to just ignore it, but once she sees who it is, she’s quick to grab it. 

This should be exciting. 

“I was wondering if you were ever going to call me. You made it to the airport?” Bong-cha squeezes her eyes shut as she does her best to not sound absolutely miserable. 

“Just got to my terminal.” The nervousness is evident in Cara’s voice.

“And how are you feeling?”

“Like this is the most bizarre thing I’ve ever done and I’m scared something will go wrong.”

Bong-cha eases back down onto the pillows, stifling a groan as the room spins. “Sounds about right.”

“Has…he left?”

Bong-cha laughs on the other side of the phone, knowing Cara all too well. “Yeah, he left a while ago.”

“Did he say anything to you before he left?”

“No, Chim told me.”

“Ooooh, of course.”

Now Bong-cha does groan, feigning annoyance. “Yah. You know you have to tell me absolutely everything that happens, right?”

“I know, I know. Will you come to my funeral if this turns out to be some grand scheme to murder me?”

“Bold of you to assume that I wasn’t the mastermind behind your murder.” 

“Not helping,” Cara chides in a singsong voice.

“Joking. Everything will go great, I promise. Just trust Yoongi, ok? Or rather, trust my judgement.”

“I’m trying. Anyway, how’s Jimin?”

Bong-cha’s heart rate picks up at the mere mention of the boy that can never get out of her head. She’s got too much work to do today to start analyzing over every little side-long glance she’s received from him, so she’s quick to cut the conversation. “Oh, would you look at the time. I’ve some work to-”

“I hate you.”

Bong-cha croaks out a laugh, hoping that at least Cara is feeling better now. “Love you too, Cara. Text me when you get there.”

The call ends, leaving Bong-cha staring up at the ceiling that is swimming in stars. She hopes that everything works out with this crazy scheme - Yoongi’s hair is going to start turning gray if things don’t start looking up soon.

It was late in the evening in Seoul when Beth called, so Bong-cha ends up calling it a day and turning in for the evening. Falling into a deep sleep, she just hopes that tomorrow is a better day. 

🌙

Bong-cha’s dreams, as per usual, are haunted by Jimin. 

It’s something that’s gone on for much too long, if she were to admit it. In her waking hours, she does her best to forget it. However, once sleep overtakes her, her subconscious allows for moments of weakness. 

Tonight she’s dreaming that Jimin has found her, and he’s ever so delicately tracing the lines of her cheeks and brows. She’s feverish, that’s what he keeps saying. Bong-cha wants to tell him that she’s perfectly healthy; she’s just always a bit warm when he’s around. However, just like conscious Bong-cha, she’s unable to voice her feelings. 

Raising an arm; which is difficult to do in her dreamlike, hazy state, she rests her hand on Jimin’s knee. He’s sitting on the edge of the bed, giving her a look that she can only describe as concerned adoration. 

“Chim,” Bong-cha croaks out, wondering why everything seems so difficult in this particular dream. “I don’t d...don’t deserve you.”

Jimin freezes where he was trying to gauge just how bad of a fever Bong-cha has, his hand slowly retreating from her forehead. 

“What do you mean?” He asks incredulously. 

Jimin is never one to get out of bed a single second before he has to. It’s a defining characteristic, and one that he’s grown quite proud of. However, when Bong-cha failed to show up for dinner like she’d promised last night and didn’t answer any of his texts or calls, he grew worried.

The other boys just told him not to worry about it, that she was probably fine. They were all too busy hoping that Yoongi wasn’t about to make a complete fool of himself to worry about Bong-cha. 

Jimin almost left last night to check on the woman in question, however he was convinced not to. There was too much work he had to do. Bong-cha was a big girl, and she would most likely never let him live it down if he appeared at her doorstep late at night just to check on her.

Fear of embarrassment is what had him settling for checking her location for the sixteenth time and going to bed. 

It wasn’t until Jimin awoke at 4:30 am with a feeling of uneasiness that he snuck out of the apartment and drove out to Bong-cha’s. Not even thinking about the early hour, Jimin rustled through the shrubs outside of Bong-cha’s apartment for the spare key he helped her hide, and let himself in. 

He’d let out a sigh of relief when he saw Bong-cha laying on her bed, completely passed out. 

Then he noticed the way she was shivering.

Now here he was, heart pounding out of his chest as he stares down at Bong-cha’s hand on his knee, listening to her dazed self proclaim that she doesn’t deserve him.

“What do you mean?”

Bong-cha sighs, clearly annoyed that Jimin didn’t automatically understand what she meant. Jimin stifles a laugh, waiting patiently for an answer. 

Grasping blindly for her blankets, Jimin helps to bring the covers up to Bong-cha’s chin as she continues to shiver. 

“Dream Jimin is usually smarter than this,” Bong-cha grumbles. “He knows that he can never be mine.”

Jimin blinks down at the woman he’s come to fall completely head over heels with, his heart betraying him as it skips a beat and begins to hope. 

“Do you want me to be yours?”

It’s an innocent enough question, although Jimin finds that he's bracing himself for the answer. The closest him and Bong-cha have ever gotten to discussing any sort of feelings is when they fight to sit beside each other for a meal. 

Truthfully Jimin has come to love mealtimes because of it.

Bong-cha’s eyes are closed, but she keeps one hand extended out toward Jimin, clinging to this supposed dream for as long as she can. 

“Chiminie,” Bong-cha mumbles out quietly, making Jimin turn a little red at the endearing nickname, “You are mine.” She says it with such firmness that Jimin practically melts, believing her every word. 

“Really?” He breathes out.

Bong-cha grunts in confirmation. “But only dream Jimin is mine.”

Jimin furrows his brows, daring to brush a strand of hair from Bong-cha’s face. “Why isn’t real Jimin yours?”

Bong-cha looks a little angry, furrowing her eyebrows as though he just asked the most ridiculous question known to man. “I don’t deserve real Jimin.”

Sighing, Jimin gingerly gets off the bed to begin his search for medicine and a cool cloth. “That’s silly, Bong-cha. I’ll prove it to you.”

Bong-cha doesn’t reply, lost to her feverish sleep again. Backing out of the room, Jimin pauses to lean against the wall in the hallway and catch his breath. He’s caught between melting through the floor and his heart shattering at Bong-cha hopeless confession. 

His hands are shaking as he brings a bowl of cold water in, a cloth soaking in it. He rushes back to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and some pills, carrying a chair in to sit beside the bed. 

Unsure of how to best go about this, Jimin wrings the cloth out and presses it gently to Bong-cha’s forehead, holding his breath. 

Bong-cha stirs, frowning at the unexpected drops of water seeping into her hair. Eyes fluttering open, she looks more coherent than a few minutes ago. She gives a little gasp as she sees Jimin sitting beside the bed. 

“Hi,” Jimin says a little helplessly. He even gives her a small wave for emphasis. 

Bong-cha blinks heavily, reaching up to rub the sleep from her eyes. Does this mean her fever-dream was...real? 

Deciding to pretend that that was really just a dream in order to save face, Bong-cha returns the awkward wave.

“What are you doing here?” Bong-cha winces at how raw her throat sounds, Jimin turning in a hurry to grab the glass of water. Easing her into an upright position, Jimin hands her a pill and the water. Jimin waits until she’s finished the glass before speaking, tapping his fingers against the cup.

“...you have a fever.”

Bong-cha stares. “Ok?”

Scratching the back of his neck, Jimin realizing that conversing with conscious Bong-cha after a confession is more difficult than he thought it would be. 

“I was worried about you. And I want to make sure you feel better. It-it’s really early still,” Jimin winces as he sees that it’s not even 6 am yet. “But...when’s the last time you ate? I think you need to eat and drink and get lots of rest.”

At a complete loss for words, Bong-cha rests her head back against the pillow. “Hmph.”

Deeming the conversation temporarily finished, Jimin rushes back into the kitchen to refill the glass. When he re-enters Bong-cha room, he notices her shivering again. 

“I’ll get you another blanket,” Jimin murmurs, heading into the front room. 

The next half-hour follows a similar pattern: Jimin rushing from room to room, grabbing blankets, water bottles, and eventually ending up in the kitchen heating up some soup before the sun has even risen. It’s a little strange, but he figures that Bong-cha needs to eat, seeing as she couldn’t remember even getting out of bed the day before. 

When Jimin returns with a bowl of steaming soup, he can’t help but smile a little at the sight before him. 

Bong-cha is curled up under several fluffy blankets, her cheeks red from the fever as she snoozes. Despite feeling horrible, Jimin can’t help but take a mental picture. 

She's always been the most beautiful person in the room.

Hating to wake her up after she’s just fallen back asleep, Jimin decides to wait until the soup has cooled down a bit. Perching on his chair and watching every little movement, Jimin nearly jumps out of his skin when his phone dings. 

He quickly pulls it out, making sure it’s silenced and internally groaning when he sees a text from Jin asking where he is. Shooting back a reply and consigning himself to the fact that he will be endlessly teased, Jimin puts his phone away as Bong-cha begins to stir. 

“Sorry,” Jimin whispers, mentally cursing Jin. “Can you eat?”

Bong-cha’s eyelashes flutter as she focuses in on Jimin, the events of the strange morning flooding her mind as she wakes back up. Giving a small nod of her head, she manages to sit up, pulling a blanket over her shoulders. 

Blowing on the soup for good measure, Jimin extends the spoon to Bong-cha, his cheeks turning a shade of red to match Bong-cha’s. 

Overcome with emotion as a result of the kind action and exhaustion, Bong-cha keeps her eyes down as she carefully eats. The only sound is the spoon scraping against the bowl, the silence weighing down heavily upon the pair. It’s so quiet that Bong-cha’s quiet sniffle is obvious.

Jimin pauses where he was deathly concentrated on making sure not a single drop spilled, looking to see Bong-cha hastily brushing a tear from her eye. 

“What’s wrong?” Jimin asks, carefully placing the bowl on the nightstand and whirling around to face Bong-cha again. “What’s wrong, Bong-cha?”

She shakes her head, keeping her eyes trained on the ground and clenching her jaw as she fights the onslaught of tears that are begging to be released. Suddenly the weight of all the stress she’s been hiding and the fact that the man she’s been desperately been trying not to fall in love with is here and being so sweet and kind to her all convenes and crashes into her at full speed. Streams of tears rush down Bong-cha’s cheeks while she desperately tries to stop the flow. 

Jimin jumps into action, leaping off the chair and coming to sit beside her on the bed. “Come here,” he mumbles, letting out a sigh of relief when Bong-cha goes willingly into his arms. Her tears are soaking his shirt where she’s resting her head against his chest, but Jimin doesn’t mind one bit. 

“I-I’m so s-sorry,” Bong-cha hiccups, turning into a shaking, shivering mess. Cooing over her, Jimin grabs a fistful of blanket, hauling it over the two of them. 

“It’s ok,” he whispers, resting his cheek atop her head. “You’re exhausted and sick, I would be crying too.”

Bong-cha chuckles in between hiccups, burrowing in deeper. Jimin tightens his grip, locking her in place and momentarily giving silent thanks for fevers.

Eventually Bong-cha calms down, her hiccups subsiding as she leans against Jimin and lets out a long sigh. “I’m sorry,” Bong-cha apologizes again. 

Jimin shakes his head, furrowing his brow as he straightens up. “Don’t apologize.”

Bong-cha tries to refute him. “No, I-”

Gently cupping her chin, Jimin turns her face up to look at him. His words are caught in his throat as Bong-cha looks up at him with wide eyes, her lashes wet from her tears. Her cheeks are still an impressive shade of red, the tip of her nose matching it as she sniffles. 

Bong-cha watches in disbelief as Jimin freezes, his mouth ajar as his eyes graze over her face. They start at her eyes, but gradually glide down to her lips.

It’s so quiet as Jimin leans down, eyes focused on those lips as he looks almost confused. Like this wasn’t his original plan.

Bong-cha’s eyes are half-closed as Jimin leans down, his thumb brushing over her bottom lip before his lips replace it.

A part of Bong-cha wonders if this is just another cruel dream, but she knows better. This feels real. The way Jimin’s lips feel so cool against her fever-warm ones, their pillow-like softness pulling her in as she involuntarily sighs in contentment. 

When Jimin pulls away, he almost looks like he’s the one with a fever. His eyes are a little dazed and he wears a shy smile as he glances at Bong-cha, who’s eyes are still half-closed. 

It’s quiet still.

Jimin comes to his senses, deciding that he’s all in now. Placing a gentle kiss to the back of Bong-cha’s hand which almost makes her blush harder than when he kissed her lips, Jimin rises from the bed. 

“I think I need to reheat your soup,” Jimin mumbles, grabbing the bowl. “I’ll let you rest now.”

Before he can walk out the door, Bong-cha’s small voice calls out to him. Turning to face her from the doorway, Jimin can’t help but feel like he’s flying. 

“Jimin-ah?”

“Yes?”

Bong-cha fiddles with the blankets, not daring to look up at him. She’s burning up with embarrassment, she’s sure of it. “Was...this isn’t a dream, right?”

Jimin chuckles, leaning head head against the door frame. “No. This is very real.”

“Oh.”

He decides to press the matter a bit further. “Why, do you like dream Jimin better?”

Bong-cha flashes his a mortified glance, clinging to the blankets for dear life. “Don’t you have soup to reheat?”

Jimin’s laugh reverberates around the house as he heads into the kitchen, and Bong-cha quickly grabs her phone from the bedside table, sending off four hurried texts to Cara.

ME: I KNOW YOU’RE BUSY BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT

ME: THE HEAVENS HAVE OPENED AT LAST

ME: AND BY HEAVENS I MEAN PARK JIMIN FINALLY MADE A MOVE

ME: AND BY MOVE I MEAN KISS

🌙

8 Months Later

“Should we leave the rice in the pan a little longer?” Bong-cha muses aloud as she stares down at the rice. “Or do you think they’re close?”

Jimin appears at her side, maneuvering around the kitchen where Yoongi and Cara made mandu nearly a year ago. “I think they’re close. Yoongi said they were leaving the airport thirty minutes ago.”

The boys’ shared apartment is a hub of activity tonight, everyone pulling together to get everything prepared in time for Beth’s arrival. 

The last time Beth was in Seoul was nearly a year ago, her and Yoongi meeting up in Paris a mere eight months ago. 

The stars have finally aligned, and Beth is going to be staying with Bong-cha for the next month. It wasn’t easy for her to schedule out a complete month of vacation, but they did it.

Although Bong-cha has a sneaking suspicion that Yoongi might have pulled some strings. 

Carrying the dish filled to the brim with rice into the dining room, Bong-cha chuckles at the wide assortment of food that they’ve both ordered and made. In the middle of the table sits a humble plate filled to the brim with dumplings. Yoongi had insisted on making them this morning, recruiting the help of Bong-cha and Jimin. 

They’d helped for a little while before sneaking out when Yoongi had his back turned. 

“Is that them?” Jin asks, craning his neck to watch a car driving up. Soon enough everyone is stumbling over each other, trying to see.

Everyone starts shouting and celebrating as the car doors open to reveal Cara and Yoongi, Jin opening the window to yell down to them. 

“Finally!” 

Cara laughs as she looks up at the window, waving and turning to say something to Yoongi. He laughs at whatever it is she says, wasting no time in grabbing her hand in his. 

“Look at that smile,” Namjoon coos. “He’s been waiting for this for so long.”

Everyone is lined up around the table when Cara and Yoongi enter, Cara’s eyes immediately finding Bong-cha. The two friends are a mixture of laughter and yelling incoherent things as they embrace.

“Come sit down before the food gets cold,” Taehyung invites, making sure to leave a couple of empty spaces at the table for the couple to sit together. Yoongi moves toward the chair to take a seat, turning when Cara doesn’t immediately sit by him.

“Chim, why don’t you sit by Yoongi tonight?” Bong-cha chimes, dragging Cara behind her. Both men feign offense, Yoongi looking a bit like a lost puppy as his girlfriend is taken to sit across from him. When Bong-cha sees him, she rolls her  eyes. “What? You two will spend a lot of time together. I’m taking her while I can.”

“But she’s staying at your house!” Yoongi protests, Jimin laughing as he eases into the chair beside him. 

Bong-cha raises her brows at him. “Knowing you, she’ll be home after I’ve fallen asleep and gone again before I wake up.”

Yoongi mumbles something about ‘not true’ under his breath, shooting a glare at Jimin beside him. Jimin raises his hands up in innocence. 

“Hey, I didn’t get to sit by my girlfriend either. Don’t look at me like it’s my fault.”

Cara stares out at the food with wide eyes, looking surprisingly awake despite just coming off of a long flight. “So...you two are dating?”

Everyone around the table groans, Jimin and Bong-cha exchanging guilty glances. “Well...” Jimin starts, looking to his girlfriend for help.

“We are, it’s just-”

“They’re like awkward school children,” Namjoon drawls, watching with a bit of fear as Jungkook shovels unnaturally large amounts of food into his mouth. “They’re dating, but the second anyone brings it up they can hardly look at each other in the eye.”

Jimin slides down in his seat. “That’s not fair, hyung. How could you do this to me?”

Cara chuckles, observing the chaos she unleashed. “You two are freaking slow.”

Bong-cha gasps. “As opposed to you two?” She gestures angrily between Yoongi and Cara. “The two of you took all of a week to confess! And what, two months to go official?!”

Yoongi looks unfazed, piling some food onto his plate as though he hadn’t heard anything. Jimin laughs, elbowing his friend. 

“What?” Yoongi asks, looking innocent. 

“You know what,” Bong-cha quips. Cara laughs, the sound making Yoongi break his solemn expression as he grins. 

“Oh.” He shrugs. “We kind of had a strange situation, there wasn’t really any time to take our time.”

Jimin snaps his fingers. “Ha! So we’re fine! We’re...we’re enjoying our lives!”

it’s quiet for a moment before everyone bursts out into laughter. Cara rests her chin on her hand, her nose crinkling as she laughs. Looking over at Bong-cha, she winks.

“Welcome back, Cara,” Hobi says from the end of the table.

Cara takes a deep breath, looking around the table until her eyes land on Yoongi. The two of them share a knowing look.

“Thanks.”

Months of just seeing each other through a screen, that’s what they’ve been through. They’ve taken to sending each other hand-written letters once a week, the boys have often seen Yoongi sitting at the kitchen table reading through the latest letter with a soft smile on his face. 

The rumors surrounding the pair have died down quite a bit, however there are still a few circulating. Word has yet to get out about Cara’s vacation in Seoul, and Bong-cha just hopes that nobody finds out at least until it’s over. Heaven knows that the second people find out that Cara’s back in Seoul without a work reason, they’ll start freaking out. 

Bong-cha watches the couple throughout the night, a little in awe of the two of them. They look at each other like they’re so sure. A part of her knows that when Cara is looking at Yoongi, she’s looking at her future. 

Yoongi looks at Cara like the first flower of spring. Like he’s so excited that he found her, and like he knows that the best is yet to come. 

Despite having been apart for months, the two fall into an easy pattern together. Bong-cha giggles a little at how giddy Yoongi looks when they settle down to watch a movie later that night, Cara coming to snuggle in beside him. 

The end of the evening finds Bong-cha groaning and complaining as Yoongi takes his sweet time bidding Cara goodnight. 

“Let’s goooo,” Bong-cha says, jingling her keys. “Cara needs to sleep if she doesn’t want to be a zombie.”

Yoongi waves her on. “We’ll be down in a minute.”

Jimin opens up the door for Bong-cha, heading down to the garage with her. “That was fun tonight,” he comments. 

“It was nice, wasn’t it?” Bong-cha looks a little distracted as she fumbles to find the right key. 

Jimin chews on the inside of his cheek, the words from earlier echoing around his mind. Was he really being too slow with Bong-cha?

It had been eight months since he appeared to help Bong-cha when she was sick. What followed had been a bit of fumbling and uncertainty, both of them unsure at times if they were really doing this right. However, they had never stopped to discuss it. 

Bong-cha opens up the car door, sitting in the driver’s seat and dangling her legs out the side. She’s looking down at her lap, her mind still a bit flooded with the way Yoongi and Cara seem to fit so well together. 

Taking a deep breath, Jimin dares to ask what’s been bothering him for longer than he cares to admit. 

“Are we doing this right?”

Bong-cha’s eyes are wide as she looks up at her boyfriend, heart softening as she sees his hesitant worry. 

“I...” she shrugs, chewing on her lip. “I don’t know.”

Jimin nods, not looking comforted at all. “That’s...you know I love you, right?”

The thoughts in Bong-cha’s head go silent as she stares up at Jimin. “...I didn’t know that.”

Jimin falls to his knees, laughing in disbelief as he takes Bong-cha’s hands in his. “I do. I’m an idiot for not telling you sooner. I have since I met you, I think. It’s hard to tell where it began, because I feel like where you’re concerned, I’ve always been in love.”

Letting out a startled laugh, Bong-cha smiles wide. “We’re slow, but we’re steady.” She runs a hand through Jimin’s hair, practically glowing. “I love you.”

Jimin leans up, Bong-cha meeting him halfway as they melt into each other. Jimin does his best to pour all of his emotions into the kiss. He tries to follow Bong-cha as she pulls away, making her laugh and give in, wrapping her hands around his neck as their lips crash together again. 

The sound of a car door shutting has the pair jumping apart, Jimin and Bong-cha turning bright red as Yoongi walks around to the front of the car. Cara sits in the passenger seat, buckling in and pretending like she didn’t see anything.

“And you told us to make it quick,” Yoongi quips, giving the couple a disapproving glare. 

Jimin laughs, waiting for Bong-cha to pull her legs into the car before closing the door. “See you tomorrow,” he says, watching as the pair back out of the garage and wave goodbye. 

🌙

Cara laughs in the passenger seat as they pull out of the garage, her heart aching a little as she watches Yoongi disappear from sight. She tries her best to remind herself that she’ll see him again tomorrow. It’s just been so long.

“Looks like you two were having fun,” Cara says to a very embarrassed Bong-cha. “I can’t believe you didn’t believe me when I first told you that he liked you.”

Bong-cha rolls her eyes. “Can you really blame me?”

“Definitely.”

It’s quiet for a bit in the car as Bong-cha maneuvers out of the neighborhood. Once they’re out onto the streets of Seoul, she breaks the comfortable silence. 

“How do you two do it?”

Cara’s head swivels to look at her friend. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Bong-cha frowns a little as she watches the road, “Just watching you two tonight - not even just tonight. Over the past few months, observing your relationship...”

“You’ve been observing?” Cara teases.

“Shut up. It’s just, you two seem so...I don’t know, at ease? No, that’s not it. Just solid. You seem really solid and in love and like everything is going according to plan, which I know it doesn’t always go the way you want it to. But somehow you two take every curveball and hit it out of the park.”

Cara blinks, looking a little surprised by the observation. “Really?” She chuckles. “I was nervous out of my mind tonight.”

Bong-cha nearly slams on the brakes. “What?!”

“Yes!” The two laugh a little in disbelief. “I mean, we haven’t been in the same room together for eight months! But more than nervous, I was excited. You’re right, we’re in love. I think that’s what makes everything seem so perfect to everyone else.”

“So are things not perfect?”

Cara shrugs. “No, of course not. We have moments of doubt, or days where it feels like we’ll never get through this.” 

“But you two seem so great together.”

“That’s because I think we are,” Cara says with a smile. “And I think half of that is just believing it. If you believe that you can make it, then you’re halfway there.”

“Hmm.” Bong-cha sighs, thinking over the past few months with Jimin. They’ve been, in a word, wonderful. They’re just both so new to relationships and falling in love.

Cara seems to read her best friend’s mind. “Enjoy every stage. Whether you’re new and awkward, or old and annoyed. There’s something to learn and love through it all.”

“What stage are you in?”

“We’re definitely still new and awkward.”

“No way.”

“Yes! We’ve been dating for a few months now, but you should’ve seen me when I got out to the car at the airport!” Cara laughs, embarrassed at the memory of earlier tonight. “I seriously forgot how to speak Korean for like a solid two minutes.”

“Wow.”

“I know.”

Bong-cha reviews the advice that Cara gave her, feeling more and more calm. “Since when did you become so wise?”

Cara snorts. “It’s all Yoongi. He tells me that stuff when I’m freaking out.”

“That’s...wow. Smart guy.”

“Yeah, just don’t tell him I told you. It’ll go straight to his head.”

The two chuckle knowingly, watching the city fly by as they speed down the road. Cara lets out a content sigh, feeling like she could close her eyes and travel back to the night she drove down these same streets with Yoongi. Nervous, half in love, and completely oblivious to all that the future held. 

Pulling up the email on her phone she received a few weeks ago, Cara can’t help but smile. Being contracted into a film series that’s going to be based in Seoul was what she was working toward for the past few months. When Sebastian mentioned this particular series, Cara couldn’t wait to audition. 

It was a few weeks ago that she got the call and accompanying email that she had been chosen for the role. For the foreseeable future, she’d be here. 

When she told Yoongi in the car driving back from the airport, she didn’t mean to cry. Cara blamed her tears on the jet-lag, but Yoongi and her both knew that this was what they so desperately had been hoping for. 

It wasn’t permanent, but it was enough. For now. 

“Hey Bong-cha,” Cara says quietly, smiling softly out at the city she’s come to love more than she ever anticipated. “Have you seen any apartments for sale around here?”

masterlist

taglist: @eusticenatalie @agustneeds​ @prdshobi​ @oceandeep​ @baepsaetay​ @dreamcatcherjiah​

Don’t Freak Out

A gender-swapped Chuck AU 

“Happy 27th, Padme!” 

Doing her best to smile, Padme Naberrie took the margarita from her brother-in-law. “Thanks, Darred.”

“My amazing sister,” Sola said, coming up to kiss her cheek.

Padme huffed and took a healthy swig from her drink.

“Oh, Padme,” Sola tsked softly. “It’s been five years since Stanford. I know how awful it all was--”

“What, you mean my best friend sleeping with my boyfriend and then getting me kicked out for cheating? Yeah, ‘awful’ is a bit of an understatement.” 

Sola and Darred exchanged one of those married-couple looks, then Darred wandered off to leave the sisters alone. 

“Padme,” Sola said firmly yet sympathetically. “I know you think politics isn’t possible for you now. I know you had everything all planned out. But you can still make a difference, accomplish everything you wanted to do--it just has to happen in another way. You’re a genius. You can find a way, I know it.” 

Hearing her sister be so encouraging, so supportive, made Padme feel lower than a snake. But . . . Sola just didn’t get it. When Sabe had betrayed her, all of the dreams and hopes of Padme’s life had vanished. And despite Sola’s belief, Padme didn’t think she could get it back. 

“I just . . . I can’t get over it, Sola. I can’t just say ‘I’ll get over it tomorrow” and move on,” Padme said. 

Sola looked sad and shook her head. “You’re the only one holding you back, Padme.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Padme drained her margarita, wincing a little at all the tequila and blowing her hair out of her eyes. “Yeah, I guess so, but at least I know what to expect, then.”

And with that, she left her sister and went to find Jar-Jar and hide from all of the people at this party that her sister had invited. 

XXX

See, video games made sense. Good triumphed and the bad guys were defeated. They made sense, Padme thought to herself as she moved through the maze, looking for both Jar-Jar and their target. 

A soft beep from her computer was easy for her to ignore, but Jar-Jar, as usual, was on top of everything. “Uh-oh.” 

“Uh-oh?” she asked as she came up behind the target and shot them. She felt a ripple of guilt and looked over at Jar-Jar. 

“You got an email from Sabe,” Jar-Jar said, his voice full of disdain and anger. 

Padme wished she could feel anger. But no . . . all she felt was fear. Because why was Sabe emailing her? What could her old friend have to say to her? Was she going to hurt Padme in yet another way? 

Dropping her controller, Padme crossed over to the computer and frowned at the subject line. “Zork? What?” 

“What?” Jar-Jar echoed in confusion. 

“It’s an old text-based computer game we both liked,” Padme explained, staring at the screen. “I don’t get it.” 

Jar-Jar’s phone started making the super-annoying text noise, and he pulled it out. “Yikes--Mom wants me to get home. I gotta jet.” 

“Okay,” Padme said distractedly, still staring at the email. She did manage to look over at Jar-Jar with a smile. “Peddle safe!” 

Once her friend was gone, Padme hesitated for a long moment, then reached out and tapped the mouse to open the email. There was something attached . . . some kind of file?

Feeling a spark of curiosity, Padme opened it, smiling a little as the troll scenario loaded. A thousand different feelings went through her. Maybe this was Sabe’s attempt at an olive branch? Perhaps she was trying to gauge Padme’s reaction, to know if they could rebuild their friendship?

Because Padme had missed Sabe so much, despite what she had done. Even after all this time, she didn’t know why Sabe had turned against her. And she wanted to know. And she wanted her friend back.

“Attack troll with nasty knife,” Padme typed. 

The screen went black and Padme frowned as she stood up. What the-?

Suddenly, a wall of images appeared on-screen. Padme swallowed, unable to look away, unable to even blink, as a stream of images were fed directly into her brain. 

It felt like it lasted forever and for a split-second, and the next thing Padme knew, it was morning.

XXX

With a sigh, Padme adjusted her tie and headed into the Buy More. She had a pounding headache--whatever had happened with that email Sabe had sent her, it had messed up her head and her computer.   

Stepping behind the Nerd Herd counter, she looked through the folders, hoping against hope that there would be some kind of tricky computer problem, a big install, anything to keep her mind distracted. But there was nothing, so she slumped down in her chair with another sigh. 

“Ooooh, not havin’ a very merry unbirthday, huh?” Jar-Jar said, slouching against the counter. His bright green polo made his tan skin look washed out, which should be impossible. 

Padme shrugged. “Just . . . Sola tried to talk to me, and . . .” 

Jar-Jar nodded sympathetically. “She’s worried about you. It makes her a good sister. And really hot.” 

“Ugh, Jar-Jar, we talked about this,” Padme said, shooting her best friend a look. His long-standing crush on Sola had only gotten more embarrassing since she had married Darred.

“I know, I know,” Jar-Jar said, his big ears turning red. “But Padme--”

Clumsy as always, he knocked the file sorter off the top of the counter, sending papers falling all over the floor. 

“Ooops?” he said, wincing.

“I’ve got it,” Padme said, crouching down behind the counter to pick up everything and organize it.

“Pssssst, Clark Kent comin’!” 

Huffing, Padme felt her bad mood dissipating a little. That was Jar-Jar’s special ability, really: he could always make her laugh. 

“Clark Kent? Really? Doubtful, Jar-Jar,” she said, gathering up the last of the papers and standing up. 

Then she got a look at the man approaching the Nerd Herd desk, and Padme dropped the papers again.

Because his hair wasn’t dark like Clark Kent’s, but a sandy brown. But otherwise? Yeah, this guy was a total Clark Kent. Tall, broad-shouldered, confident walk, and the bluest eyes she had ever seen. 

“Clark Kent?” the man said with a charming smile, his eyes locked on Padme’s. 

“Yeah . . . like Superman,” she said, staring back at him. 

“I see,” the man said. 

Jar-Jar started humming the wedding march, and Padme turned and glared at him. That made Jar-Jar suddenly decide to go help a customer who did not need any help. 

Taking a deep breath, she looked back to the man, trying to act professional and cool and not like a giant loser. “Hi, how can I help you?” 

The man nodded, his lips quirking, and held out a cell phone. “I’ve got a cracked screen, and the sign outside said you repair them?” 

“Oh, yeah--sure,” Padme said, taking the phone and trying not to notice how his fingers brushed against hers and gave her tingles. 

Setting the phone down on the counter, she got to work, falling into the rhythm. “Just have to pop this off and put on the new one . . . there you go, good as new,” she said, handing him the phone back.

His eyebrows went up and Padme couldn’t help feeling warm all over from his impressed look. “You’re good.” 

“Oh . . . no, not really,” she said, flushing. “Just glad I could help.” 

Before the man could say anything else, a frantic-looking dad rushed up to the counter holding a video camera, with a little ballerina in tow. “I don’t understand, I taped the whole recital, but it’s not there!”

Padme gave an apologetic look to the man and took the camera, opening up the tape slot. “Um, there’s no tape in here.” 

“But it’s digital,” the man said blankly. 

“Yes . . . digital tape. You still need a tape in here,” Padme explained, feeling her heart sink, just like the dad’s did. 

She couldn’t help glancing at the man again, who was watching her with a level of interest she didn’t quite understand. Then she looked back at the dad. “Let’s see what I can do.” 

XXX

Padme applauded, as well as several other customers, as the ballerina finished her routine. She looked around and sighed as she realized the man had vanished. She hadn’t even gotten his name . . . 

Not that it would matter. After all, why would a guy like that be interested in some girl who worked at a Nerd Herd counter? 

Something about the news cast on one of the Buy More’s sample TVs drew her attention. The anchorwoman was talking about some big-time general coming to LA, due to arrive that afternoon. 

Suddenly, a string of images appeared before Padme’s eyes, sending a spike of pain into her temple. And with the pain came . . . knowledge. 

“He’s already here. He arrived last night.” 

What? She frowned, trying to understand how she knew that. 

“Padme!” 

At the sound of Jar-Jar’s voice, Padme turned towards him, rubbing her forehead. Her best friend was grinning widely at her. 

“He left a card!” he called out, holding up a small white business card.

Her heart pounded and Padme quickly hurried over, grabbing it from Jar-Jar. “Anakin Skywalker,” she said, staring at the words. “Oh my God.” 

Could it be . . . her luck was starting to change?

XXX

Today was the weirdest day of her life. And that was saying a lot, considering what had happened yesterday. Between the weird flashes of knowledge, feeling ultra-attracted to a complete stranger, and then someone breaking into the apartment she shared with Sola and Darred to steal her computer . . . yesterday had definitely been weird.

But then today, there had been the strange, intimidating man at the Large-Mart, the man she knew was an international assassin. And then . . . Anakin had shown up at the Buy More and asked her out. 

Like, in the flirtiest way possible! Her knees had melted when he looked at her and said, “There’s something wrong with my phone--I didn’t get a call from you.” 

Just thinking about those words made her feel hot all over. Because Anakin was just--he was handsome and smart and made her feel like she was interesting and cool and not a giant fuck-up.

God, was her outfit good? She looked down at the red top and black skirt she was wearing. Yeah, this was good. Heels were a necessity tonight--Anakin was so tall and she didn’t want to get a crick in her neck as she looked up at him.

Taking a deep breath, Padme opened the door of El Mariachi and stepped inside the Mexican restaurant, looking around. 

“Padme!” Anakin crossed over to her, smiling at her. “Hey. You look great.” 

“So do you,” she said, taking in his black button-down and well-fitting jeans.

His smile got even warmer, which should be impossible, but it did. “This way,” he said, resting his hand lightly on her back and making her tingle all over.

They took a seat in a booth and Padme smiled, trying to remember all the rules about dates. Like not talking about exes, going too fast, going too slow . . . 

“So, welcome to LA,” she said. “You’re doing Mexican tonight. Then you just need to do Korean and street food, and you’ll have the full view of the culinary landscape.” 

Anakin let out a soft laugh. “Thanks,” he said, looking at her like he was fascinated with her. 

She blushed and took a sip from her water. “What brings you to town?” 

“Work,” he said with a shrug. “I got transferred here. And I feel . . . pretty aimless. I don’t know anyone here, and I left . . . well, I was dating someone in DC, and it was serious, but--but I felt like I had gotten lost in her. Her friends were mine, her goals were mine, and . . . that’s not really sustainable.” 

Padme nodded, listening and marveling at his sensitivity.

“I’m sorry,” she said slowly. “But . . . but that’s good, that you recognized it.” 

He nodded and gave her a lopsided smile. “Yeah. How about you? What do you like to do?” 

“Oh . . . you know,” Padme said, trying to smile. “I listen to music . . . I play video games . . . I like to go to the beach.” 

His nose wrinkled. “I know this is probably blasphemy, but I don’t like the beach.” 

“Whaattt?” she said, drawing out the word and beaming when Anakin laughed. 

“I don’t like sand,” he said. 

“Ahhh,” Padme said. “See, I was sitting here, trying to think what was wrong with you, and it was down to ‘he hates sand’ or ‘he’s a cannibal’. And I was kinda hoping it was cannibal, because I’ve never met one . . .” 

Anakin laughed harder and Padme couldn’t help her smile at him.

XXX

How had her life become marked by weird? 

There were those cars with flashing lights that went past them on the way to the club, cars that she knew were going to the Ambassador Hotel. And then, when they got to the club, Anakin started acting . . . weird. 

He kept looking around, like someone was following them. But when she tried to look around, too, he noticed what she was doing and pulled her out on the dance floor, despite her protests. And then he was dancing, all cool and hot, pulling her in close to him, holding her close, and . . . 

It was too much. Because he smelled so good, and he was so warm, and Padme had never been so attracted to anyone in her whole entire life. 

Not even Rush. 

And then Anakin grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the club. 

“Anakin--Anakin, what’s going on?” she asked, looking around wildly and spotting a ginger-haired man in a dark suit coming out of the club. 

“Get in the car, Padme,” Anakin said, his voice firm and low and very, very serious. 

“But--this isn’t your car--how--?” she asked as he opened the doors of a Fiat 500. 

Anakin pushed her into the car and slid across the hood, getting behind the wheel. 

“Anakin!” she shrieked as he floored the car. She grappled with the door handle, only for the locks to engage.

“You will tell me what’s going on right now!” she demanded, looking at him.

His jaw clenched and he looked over at her. “That email from your friend Sabe? Did you open it?” 

“How . . . how do you know about that?” Padme asked, staring at him. 

“Did you open it?” he asked again, raising his voice. 

Padme felt her mouth go dry. “Yes . . . ?”

Anakin cursed and jerked the wheel as something made the back window break into a million pieces. 

“Get down,” he said, pushing her head down towards her lap, but not roughly like she thought he would. 

The car swerved and bumped as Anakin drove it. Padme felt her heart pound, wondering what in the hell was happening. 

Suddenly, the car jerked to a stop and Anakin threw open the door. “Out, out, out!” he said, coming around the car and grabbing her hand. He pulled her towards a building, one that . . . she recognized?

It was . . . 

“The Ambassador Hotel!” she gasped. 

Anakin stopped and looked at her. “What?” 

Before she could reply, a deep male voice spoke. “It’s late and I’m tired. Tell me everything so I can finish this and then go get some huevos rancheros.” 

Anakin frowned. “Kenobi, what are you doing here?” 

Padme looked from Anakin towards the ginger-haired man who came up towards them . . . with a large black gun in his hand. She didn’t know what was going on, but . . . she couldn’t help taking a small step behind Anakin. 

“Same reason you’re here,” Kenobi said, eyeing Padme. “Found yet another damsel in distress?” 

The pounding in her head made Padme swallow, looking towards the hotel. Why--why did she know something was going to happen in the hotel? Think, Padme, think!

“We--we have to get to the hotel!” she said, yanking on Anakin’s shirt sleeve as the pieces fell into place. “There--there’s an assassin, he’s going to kill that General Stanfield guy!” 

“What?” Anakin said, looking down at her.

“How could she know that?” Kenobi asked, his hand twitching around his gun. 

Padme looked up at Anakin, trying to convince him. Hoping she could trust him. 

“Oh, fuck,” Anakin said, blinking. “You opened the email . . .” He looked over at Kenobi. “She’s got the Intersect.” 

“What?” Kenobi said, his eyebrows raising. 

“What’s the Intersect?” 

Anakin rubbed his cheek. “The Intersect is a computer--all the intel that the CIA, the NSA, and other intelligence groups gather is encoded into images and fed into the Intersect. The computer looks for all kinds of hidden connections. Sabe stole it, and . . . she sent it to you.”

Padme felt like her legs were about to go out from under her.

“Wait--so you’re telling me all our secrets are in her head?” Kenobi asked, raising his gun.

Faster than she could blink, Anakin drew a gun, too, and pointed it at Kenobi. “You’re not going to kill her.” 

Kill her? Padme swallowed, feeling like she was going to puke. She--she couldn’t--she was just a supervisor for the Nerd Herd, she made twelve dollars an hour! 

And the more time that Anakin and Kenobi yelled at each other, the less time there was to stop the assassin from killing the general. 

Turning on her heel, Padme ran for the hotel. By the pounding of two sets of male feet, she knew Anakin and Kenobi were following her, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was protecting the general. 

XXX

The rush of adrenaline made her dizzy. She couldn’t believe it. 

“I did it! I defused a bomb!” Padme said, punching her fist in the air. She beamed at Anakin, who looked both proud of her and a little confused. 

“I . . . defused a bomb,” Padme repeated as the words started to sink in. “Oh, God.” 

Kenobi rolled his eyes. “Don’t throw up on the C4,” he said, his voice sounding even more clipped than before. 

Padme looked up at Anakin, who shook his head and gave her a small smile. “C’mon,” he said, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Let me take you home.” 

From somewhere, he acquired a black Suburban and drove her back to Echo Park. Padme kept her eyes closed and breathed slowly in and out, calling up on that one yoga class Sola had dragged her to. 

When the car came to a stop and didn’t move, Padme opened her eyes and saw that she was home. She looked over at Anakin and took a breath. “Thank you.” 

He nodded. “You’re welcome. You should go in, get some sleep.” 

“I know . . . I just--I don’t think I can sleep,” she said, fidgeting a little. She took a deep breath and looked at him. “What happens now?” 

Anakin leaned his head back against the headrest. “I . . . I don’t know. Typically, in a case like this . . . we would extract you and take you to a bunker, for safekeeping. Our scientists would work to extract the Intersect from you, and then . . . you could get back to your life.” 

“Anakin,” she said, reaching out and grabbing his hand. “I--I can’t leave. My sister only has me--our parents left years ago--and then there’s Jar-Jar, and--and I can’t do this,” she said, feeling tears threaten. 

Because not only had Sabe once again messed up her life . . . she thought her life was actually getting better with the presence of Anakin. But then, he wasn’t who she thought he was. He was a CIA agent--a spy, an actual freaking spy! And . . . he had asked her out only to get close to her, obviously. Because they were looking for the Intersect, because they wanted information about Sabe. 

So yeah, her life was back to the same loser existence. But it was hers, and she would not leave her family and her friends behind. She couldn’t . . . she just couldn’t walk away from them, even for a little while. 

Because who knew if the CIA and the NSA would even let her go at the end? 

“Please, Anakin,” she said, fully willing to beg him. “Please.” 

For a long, endless moment, he looked at her. His eyes had been like chips of ice ever since they left the club, but all of a sudden, they seemed to melt and become the same warm pools of blue she had seen when they first met. 

“Okay, Padme,” he said softly. “I’ll try.” 

She felt a rush of gratitude. “Oh, thank you--thank you--”  She squeezed his hand, wishing she could just lean over and kiss him--

Wait. Kiss him?

“You’re welcome,” Anakin said, pulling his hand away from her. “Now, really, get some sleep. I’ll be in touch.” 

Nodding, Padme quickly climbed out of the SUV, feeling the cool air against her flushed cheeks. Her feet had barely touched the sidewalk when Anakin gunned the car and drove off. 

She watched the taillights recede in the night and wondered what would happen next. 

And if there was any chance Anakin might like her. 

End.

Still plotting away SCSI

Eren didn't remember anything about what Isabel and Levi talked about, only that Isabel was gone now... when he really needed a friend. Olou had succumbed to his wounds. Despite Hanji's best efforts, he still passed away... and all the kind words towards him now sat heavily in his gut. He'd been so sure that Olou would survive. He'd fought hard, hanging on for over a week but infection had set in, his condition spiralling after that. Tonight everyone was drinking in "celebration" of the memory of those that had been lost. Not up for the company, Eren had swiped a couple bottles of the stuff the officers had been drinking, and holed up in his room. But the more he drank, the worst he felt. It was like some massive abyss had opened inside of him, sucking all the happiness from the world with it. He was on his second bottle before his friends found him, having swiped their own bottles of booze. Though his room was far too small, Jean, Connie, Sasha, Mikasa, Armin and Krista were all there with him now. A few other recruits had somehow managed to end up there too. While the company was kind of nice, no one actually understood. He'd respected Olou. He was a crucial part of the team, and now he was gone forever. It wasn't fair. Olou deserved to live. Not like him... As the night slipped away his friends gradually left, due to the fact Levi's room was so close to his. More than a little drunk, he didn't even know what he was doing or saying, only that he didn't want to be alone. Not anymore. He wanted someone to want him and to care about him... if it was just for the night. Laying back on his bed, he felt the weight shift as some climbed in next to him. With his eyes still closed, lips ghosted against his as if he'd voiced his need for contact outloud. Not caring who it was, he kept his eyes closed and gave up, the kissing slowly growing more heated until the pair of them were grinding up against each other, Eren panting for more as they fumbled each other's pants open, at least it was a guy... that was something... palming at his partner's erection, he mewed as his own fisted roughly. He needed more. He wanted this empty feeling filled, bucking their hips up against each other, he was so close when they were interrupted "What the fuck do you two think you're doing?!" The kiss was broken, the warm body pulled away from him by Levi of all people "Are you shitty brats seriously drunk?! You. Get out!" There was a mumbled "Yes, sir", before the thud of stumbling steps left the roof "Are you serious?" Panting, Eren couldn't care less if Levi could see his tenting erection. If Levi liked to interrupt his "fun", then he could see what he was missing "What does it even matter?" "What do you mean, "What does it matter?". Your body isn't normal. You can't just let someone between your legs because you're sad" "Whatever" "Eren..." "What the fuck do you expect me to do?! If... if I'd done better or been better, Olou might have survived! Now he's dead! I hate this! I hate being this monster! I hate it!" Breaking down into sobs his whole body shook, finally he curled into himself as he screamed into his pillows "I hate this! I hate it!" "Eren..." "Don't say my name! Don't say it like you care! No one fucking cares!" There was a snarl, then Eren was being lifted from his bed "Olou died. He died and it's fucking shitty, but we all tried our hardest to save him. Hanji gave her everything. Petra stayed by his non-stop. We're all fucking hurting" "I'm so tired of hurting" "We all are" Levi carried him from his room, the walk was short before he was lowered back down again "Stay still, you can't sleep like that" For a second Eren's heart leapt, before he realised what Levi meant. Stripping off his pants and boots, Levi then covered him with his blankets "S-sir?" "I'm not going to leave you alone tonight" Passing out in his captains bed, Eren had no idea things were going to be worse once morning came. * Flustered, Levi watched Eren sleeping in his bed. He'd walked in some heavy petting, after catching Eren's scent in the hallway, and damn near imploded on the spot. With his legs spread, Eren and the male Corps member were in their own world, clumsily and sloppily palming at each without caring about the fact the door was wide open. He felt... enraged. Enraged that someone else was touching Eren. And betrayed by his emotions because he knew how badly he wanted to kill the kid touching Eren. They hadn't talked much since Isabel had possessed Eren, but the kid had done all his duties faultlessly. He'd thought he was ok, but Olou's death was hitting all of them hard. Saying goodbye was never nice. But perhaps because he'd spoken to Isabel, the pain wasn't exactly what he'd thought it would be. Olou had died with Petra by his side. Knowing he was loved and respected, and that his body would find its way back to his family. Levi had hoped to talk to Eren, but the brat had passed out on him before he could. Waking Eren, the boy looked like shit. Yawning softly as he crawled from Levi's bed with a small whine "What happened?" "You had a bit too much to drink last night, but I don't have time to fill you in on the particulars" "I... don't think I like alcohol" "You should definitely stay away from it. We need to get you showered and down to Hanji" "What? Why don't to Hanji?" "During yesterday's wake, we have two government officials arrive. They want to run tests again" Eren's already pale face lost its remaining colour. The teen clamped a hand to his mouth as he rushed to the bathroom, his sound of wretching summing up Levi's feelings on the matter entirely. The two officials had already made themselves at home in Hanji's office, Hanji having been evicted to the hallway where she playing with pony tail nervously. Clearing his throat to give her the heads up that they were approaching, the woman pushed herself away from the wall with her foot "Eren! I'm so sorry. I didn't know they were coming" "Not so loud Hanji. He discovered the delights of alcohol last night" "Ooooh! Is he having his first hangover? I hope you've made him drink plenty of water" "No. I thought I'd just shove him into your office without anything to eat or drink" "Levi!" "He's joking Hanji..." Truthfully, he'd tried to make Eren eat and drink something, but the boy had nibbled on some bread before deciding he couldn't eat "Do you know what they have planned for him?" "No. I'm not allowed to see any of their test results or even be present. Also, Erwin was looking for you" "For me, or for Eren" "For you" Shuffling past him, Eren let Hanji pull him into a hug "You should go see Erwin, I'll be ok" "Eren, you don't have to put up with this. You can demand they stop at anytime. Or call for me, or Erwin. You don't deserve to go through everything alone" "It'll be fine... I'll be fine. Where am I going?" "They're waiting in my office" "Ok... I guess I'll see you both later" The kid looked like a kicked puppy as he let go of Hanji, the look making Levi wish he could steal him away from the pain to come, but apparently Shitty Eyebrows wanted him. Staying long enough for Eren to disappear from his sight, Levi then turned to leave "Let me know the moment they release him" "Will do. I'm worried though. His next heat..." "You're worried they'll send him into heat early?" "Yes. There's a house Erwin wants Eren to use for his heats, but if he goes into heat here... There's nothing prepared" "Make a list of what you think he'll need. I'll take care of it once I've talked to Erwin" "I don't think he'll give you permission to act alone" "I don't care what he wants. We both know Eren's going to be tortured again, and we both know he won't be fit to return to active duty immediately" "Oh! So you're going to take him down to the house?" "Sometimes I wonder how someone so smart, can take so long to catch on" "Did you just admit I was smart?! Aww, Levi! Come here" Flipping Hanji off, Levi stormed away before she hug him. He didn't understand why she always had to be like this. Couldn't she just not make a big fuss about these things? Levi's lack of sleep had his legs aching as he marched along the hall to Erwin's office. His mind was a whirl of thoughts, most over the guilt he felt over leaving Eren in the Governments hands. Reaching Erwin's door, he knocked light and let himself in "Levi. Come in" Raising his arm, Levi shook his head "I'm not hungry. Hanji said you wanted to see me?" "I have a mission for you" "For me? Or for Eren and I?" "Eren will not be available until after his heat" "What? Why?" "The Government has been working on a potential suppressant. If all goes well, his heat won't happen at all" "They found a way to stop them?" "Potentially. As I said, I have a mission for you and for the rest of the squad" "We just Olou" "I know, and as unfortunate as it is, we can't delay" "What about Eren? What if he shifts?" "I've been assured he will be sedated, not killed" Because that was going to work... not... "Levi, we can't afford for you to sit this one out. There was recently reports of intelligent werewolves, other than Eren. Naturally, as this information has come second hand from individuals in the Underground, we don't expect it to be accurate, yet we're on official warning over Eren's actions" "They're using the fact he shifted and saved lives to make you chase after your own tail again" "We aren't in a position to say no" "That's why Eren's off being tortured again, and we're rubbing our noses in the lap of the Government like a bitch in heat" "Levi. None of us want this for Eren. If though Hanji removed his womb, he still goes into heat and I know I don't have to remind you how problematic that is" "And what if does go into heat? What if I'm sent into whatever that was again" "Hanji is calling it a blood rut. You were consumed with both the need for blood and to breed" "It sounds fucking disgusting" "Take it up with her. I've prepared extra vials for your trip" "If I'm going that far, I'm going to need money" "What for?" "Information isn't free. I'm not going to get anything out of anyone without a generous amount of money. Besides, Hanji needs supplies" "I'll need a full report for reimbursement. Receipts too" "I know how to do this, but you're not going to be getting receipts from the underground" Slowly opening his bottom drawer, Erwin pulled out a coin pouch, throwing it on the table with a sigh "Take whoever you need. Petra might wish to visit her family" "Will we be escorting Olou's body?" "No. He will escorted separately" "She should be with him. She knows the family. I'll take both Eld and Gunther. The three of us will we enough" "You have my permission to embark once prepared" Erwin offered his arm again, Levi walking across the room to take it in his hands, his teeth sliding into Erwin's arm "Drink what you need" If he did that, Erwin would be drained. Maybe he should just drain his commander anyway? They'd hardly been acting like the friends they were supposed to be... he wasn't entirely innocent, but even this mission felt like something thrown together to seperate him from Eren. Though that may have been his own paranoia. * The Underground never changed, it was still the shitty cesspool he remembered it to be. The streets were clogged with rubbish, the drains all blocked and the aqueduct running through the middle of the place was choked with rubbish and river weeds, while its water was an unhealthy green. Nothing ever changed here, and nothing ever would. No one had the strength of will to rise above and any who were idiotic enough to think they could change things, were the first to find a knife in the back. Their bodies would be picked clean, clothes and all, before being left to rot like a pile of trash, that even their family disowned. With all things laid so open, there was little wonder why Eld and Gunther were both armed to the teeth. They'd arrived in the Underground four days prior, and despite having spent a generous amount of Erwin's money, all they'd learnt was their were still people stupid enough to try their luck outside the walls. Honestly, Levi wanted to wash his hands on all of this and return the castle, as all he could think was that Eren was being tortured while he was in a hell of his own, but Eld and Gunther were persistent and insistent. They'd covered over half the usual dives, and Levi was absolutely sure they weren't about to hear anything magically useful. Still, here they were at another one. Levi somehow locked in a glaring contest with the bar keeper, who had nothing to say to a dog of the military. Even if pulling a knife had brought him up short, the man was staying tight lipped "Do you, or do you not know anything about recent werewolf attacks" Spitting in his face, the man laughed openly. With a fluid move, Levi pinned the man's left hand to bar, cutting off his little finger with a satisfying ting when the blade hit the metal of the bar "Remember anything yet" "I ain't got nothing to tell you!" Screaming it now, Levi rolled his eyes as he hefted a sigh "Then who does" "Ke-nny. He's the one shooting his mouth" "Kenny?" "The reaper" "He's dead" "No he ain't!" "I killed Kenny with my own hands. Whoever that is, it's not Kenny" "He calls himself Kenny!" Whimper pathetically, Levi released his hand. The man pulling it up to his chest "I suggest you give me some real information if you want to keep all the rest of your fingers" "I don't got anything else to say! You know what it's like here! Without rumours, this place would be too boring to stomach" "So you're saying everything werewolf related is a joke?" "Them up there were talking about it" "And Kenny?" "He's the one who goes out the walls!" Whatever this man had been drinking, it was clearly killing off whatever was left in the braincell department. He probably couldn't wipe his own arse. So much for the bravado he'd tried to portray. With his ruined reputation, this place would probably be looted and burnt to the ground by the end of the night "You're lucky I don't take another finger for wasting my time" "Sir?" "We're leaving. There's nothing here" "What about Kenny?" "He's long gone. You're free to stay if you really want" Returning to sunshine, it felt like his skin was trying to shed it outer layer. The filth attached its self within seconds of stepping foot down there, and it felt like no matter how many times he scrubbed, he'd never be clean. As Eld and Gunther split off from him, Levi returned to the room he was using at the Military base, impressed to find the supplies he'd requested had already been delivered. Most of them were for Eren, and to stock the house he'd used for his future heats. The blankets, pillow and soap he already purchased sat almost forgotten in the corner of his room. He'd taken his time on the first day at the Capital to make sure he'd have the money to buy Eren nice things... nicer things. Things the kid would like and would help to assure him that he was indeed human. He wasn't going to stay with the kid for his heat, but he could make sure Eren was doing better mentally before he entered it. An hour later the clothes he'd been wearing were in the trash, a fresh uniform felt almost like heaven in comparison to those disease riddled things. Sitting on his bed, he was checking his correspondence. There was nothing of real interest. Erwin had sent a letter saying Eren was still being held, but he hadn't shifted. Olou's body had been returned to his family and Petra was taking a weeks leave. The woman would be rendezvousing with them at the end of the week... meaning he was now stuck for another 2 days. Fucking Shitty Eyebrows and fucking Petra. And fuck the bartender for bringing up Kenny. If he could forget the man, he would in a heartbeat... He could just picture Kenny's smug face when he came face to face with whoever had taken up his name. That creepy smile. The laugh. The double tap to heart for insulting him. Everything about the man had revolted him and maybe that was why he was half tempted to track down whoever was using his name. Just to see the difference with his own eyes. Sighing to himself, he forced himself off the bed and over to the desk, he needed to pen a reply back to Erwin. With next to nothing to do, the next two days passed exceedingly slowly. His presence had brought out the weirdos of the Military base, many of them wanting to ask his advice. Eld and Gunther had both found it funny until he'd starting sending them pair of them to answer any all questions, filling their schedules to the point where his own was empty. The only thing of any importance that he'd accomplished in those two days was picking up a few nice tins of black tea, and new fine china cup. * Petra talked almost nonstop during the ride back to the castle. The woman in much higher spirits than expected, leaving him wanted to yell at her to shut up. Erwin hadn't replied to his last message, and fucked up dream about Kenny had left him feeling on edge. Next time, Erwin could send someone else to the Underground, because it had been a colossal waste of his time. He could have literally been watching paint dry and it would have been more enjoyable, not to mention he wouldn't have had to destroy a set of clothes of it. Nudging his heels, his horse broke into gallop, the wind feeling refreshing as it chased the last lingering scents of septic from his nose. Fuck the Underground. Having dropped back to trot, Petra moved to his side again. The woman frowning at him as if he'd done something wrong "Sir?" "What is it?" "Eld and Gunther mentioned Eren was being experimented on again. Do you think he'll be ok?" "No" "No, you don't?" "No. I'm expecting it to be a shit storm when we get home" "Do you know what they're doing to him?" "They have some procedure that is supposed to stop his heat" "Is that safe?" "How am I supposed to know?" "It's just... Eren is such a kind kid" "He's certainly worked his way into your heart" "He gave everything he could to try and help Olou. I wish I knew how to thank him" "Like that" "Like what?" "Eren's pretty thick. If you want to thank him, than you actually have to use the words" "He seemed annoyed the last time I thanked him" "The fact you did so 8 times had nothing to do with it" "Maybe. I still wish I could give him something" "If you really want to give him something, just say thanks and leave it at that. And whatever you do, don't got giving him anything alcoholic" Petra giggled, covering her mouth with her hand "You could have been handled that situation better" "He told you?" "No, you scared the hell out of the soldier he was with. The poor guy was running down the hall with his pants around his ankles" Levi wished he'd seen that, instead he been too focused on the fact that someone other than him had been touching Eren, then forcing the kid to spend the night sleeping in his bed, attempting to erase the shitty smell of the unknown man's arousal "He had it coming" "Eren's body might be different, but you could have left them alone" "And what if he bit his lip and shifted, or what if he'd had a panic attack and shifted?" "I'm pretty sure if being interrupted by you didn't upset him, nothing would" "The kid was wasted. He pretty much passed out as soon as his pants and boots were off" He sounded way too bitter for it to be passed off as simple annoyance "Do you think they'll become something more?" "It was just a drunk hook up" "With his friend" "Wait? He knew the guy?" That... that... Levi didn't have a word for exactly how he was feeling over this. Drunk and random hookups were pretty common, but hooking up with someone you knew and someone you were friends with. It was more than petty jealousy that was causing his heart to race, his chest to tighten and his reins to snap in his hands. It was something vile and evil. "I don't know the boy's name, I've seen him with Armin and Mikasa before, so perhaps they'd know. Do you think they're together? Maybe he'd like to spend Eren's heat with him?" "It was just a fucking hook up. There's nothing there and no one will be spending Eren's heat with him. If you have that much free time on your hands to dribble this shit, fall back and check on Eld and Gunther" Fuck. Fucking Eren. This was what the shitty brat did to him. He ruined his carefully constructed facade and reputation in a manner of minutes. Stroking the base embers of his desires into an inferno... without even being into the same space as him. Rather than looking hurt, Petra just shook her head with another giggle, shooting him a knowing look before dropping back to the supply cart. Fuck. By now, the only person Levi was kidding... was himself. * Leaving the purchases that were to be taken to the house in the cart, Levi forced himself to help put everything away, as an excuse to settle his nerves before seeing Eren. Given the castle was still standing, and no one looked particularly worried, Eren couldn't have shifted into his Lycan form. At least something had gone right. Skipping his debriefing with Erwin, Levi headed down to Hanji's office. The walls were all still standing, which he again took as positive sign. With a light knock on her door, he let himself into her office, finding it devoid of Government Scientists and Hanji in the middle of scribbling something down as if her life depended on it "Really Shitty Glasses. I come back and you can't even manage a hello?" Looking up, Hanji blinked at him as if only just coming back to reality "Levi!" Pushing herself back from her desk, Hanji rushed around it before throwing her arms around him "Uh... Hanji?" "I didn't think you were coming back until Sunday" "It is Sunday" "Oh... Oh Shit!" Flying back from the hold, Hanji grabbed her notebook. Wrapping her hand around his wrist, Levi found himself being dragged from the room "I've got to check on Eren" "I thought he'd be here" "He's back down in the dungeon" "What? Why?" "It's a long story. Basically he reacted badly to whatever they gave him and he bit one the scientists. They wanted to chain him up, but I managed to get them to agree to confine him in the dungeon again" "He bit one of them?" "He was only in his wolf form, so it wasn't even that bad" "I'm pretty sure being bitten by a wolf isn't something that can be written off as "not bad"" "It was a tiny little bite on the man's wrist. His teeth didn't even break the skin" "And they wanted him chained up for that?" "Yeah. I shouldn't be surprised, he's been sick since the first day they got him" "What did they do?" "Injected him with something that's supposed to stop his heat. When it didn't give the results they wanted, they pumped up the dose. His body couldn't keep up with it, and he started bleeding internally. Whatever they gave him messed with his healing" "Is that even possible?" "Yep. The worst bit is, his body burnt through whatever it was too fast for me to get a sample of it. His blood work came back completely clean" "If he's clean, why isn't he healing?" "I don't know" "What does Erwin have to say about it all?" "Just to keep him notified. You haven't seen him yet?" "No. Not yet" "Aww you came to see Eren first..." Smacking Hanji, the woman pouted "That's not nice" "You brought it on yourself" "Nope. Totally didn't. I think Erwin's been down to see him, but he's pretty groggy" Just what the fuck had they done to him this time?! And what kind of business could Erwin possibly have with Eren. Even before Hanji opened the door down to the dungeons, Levi could smell Eren's blood. It's coppery tang was muddied with something less than desirable, yet he couldn't name the offending scent. With a look of disgust on his face, he followed Hanji down "You can smell it too, can't you? His scent's all wrong. He usually smells more dog like, but now it's..." "Disgusting" "That's a little harsh. I was thinking medical?" "Chemical" "Chemical. He smells chemical to you?" "I can still smell blood, but there's something in it..." "I need to write this down, oh. His senses are also a little off, so you'll have to speak softly" "You make it sound like all I do is yell at him" "Our normal tones sound like we are yelling at him, so you would be" Levi sighed. Couldn't they just have one good week? Falling silent for the rest of the walk, Hanji moved ahead of him to open Eren's cell "Eren, its Hanji and Levi. I've come to check on you" "I'm ok" "We both know that's not going to work. How's the bleeding?" Eren was curled on his side with his face hanging off the side of the bed, above bucket. At first the thought the kid had been vomiting, until Hanji moved the lantern closer and he saw the kid's gums were bleeding "I think it's getting better" "Good, that's good. I'm just going to have a little look" While Eren was busy with Hanji, Levi sank down onto the end of the kids bed. Despite his lanky form, Eren had somehow curled up so he was barely taking up a third of the bed "Have you eaten anything?" "Teeth hurt" "Ok. What about drinking water?" "I tried" "Now Levi's back, I'm going to see about getting you a bed in the infirmary, where I can actually monitor your condition" "I'm ok... they said it might be like this" Hanji hadn't told him that? Did Eren tell her? "I know, but you're not in a good way" "You sound like Armin" "Did they come to see you?" "Yeah... Mikasa wanted to yell at Erwin" "Oooh. I wish I'd known that" "Armin talked her out of it. I'm sorry" "It's ok. Maybe next time?" "Don't go encouraging her. Um... if Levi's back, can I shower now? I feel so gross" "That's up to Levi" Hanji silently pleaded with him to agree. Eren had probably tried to hide whatever else was done to him from her, so as not to worry the woman. The kid needed a chaperone, and she was asking him to be it "A bath might be better" "I don't want to make a mess" "You won't make a mess. Do you think Levi would let you?" "No..." "See. Levi's going to help you up, is that ok?" "I'm too dirty" "That's the point of taking a bath, right Levi?" "Yeah. This room is fucking filthy" Eren started to laugh, before dissolving into a fit of coughing "Let's get you up. A hot bath will also help ease some of that congestion" "Hanji, dad was a doctor. I know that" "Oooh. Someone's getting snappy. You're lucky you're so cute" "You're literally the only one who thinks I'm cute" "Levi thinks you're cute" "Don't bring me into this" Eren's coughing slowly subsided enough for Levi to get close enough to lift the kid into his arms. The brat looked like shit, yet somehow managed to shoot him a smile "Sorry, sir. Hanji won't let me walk" "Can you?" "I don't know" "Maybe save the walking until after you've stopped coughing up blood" "Fight me" "I could take you with my eyes closed" "You're not supposed to threaten a sick person" "It wasn't a threat, it was a promise" Eren was doing so much better than Levi had expected. He was able to hold and follow the banter, that Hanji took over as Levi carried him up to his private bathroom. Sitting the brat in the bath, he tugged Eren's blankets away, throwing them at Hanji with a very pointed glare "Right. Eren, I'll just be outside if you need me. Levi's going to help you bath" "You're lucky I'm too sick of feeling gross to say now" "How long's it been since he bathed?" "A week" "Ok. We at burning those blankets and his clothes" "Levi" "That's fucking disgusting!" Eren whimper at his shout, his hands clutching his head "Don't go scaring him" "Then take better care of him" "Hey, they only left on Friday" "That's two days" "Either you both shut up, or you both get out" Hanji failed at turning her laughter into a cough "Didn't you hear him, get out" "Alright, but try to behave yourselves" Helping Eren out his ruined clothes, the teen didn't even seem to care when he was finally naked. Blood and slick covered the kids thin pubes and thighs, more over his arse and more still dribbling from his mouth. There weren't any signs of external wounds, though around his tone nails were black, but that might have just been filth "Hanji's so fucking weird" "What makes you say that?" "She's seen me naked, but she makes you take care of me" "If you shift, it's my job to bring you down" "Oh... I don't think I can shift. I'm so tired" Closing his eyes, Eren rested his head on the side of the bath. Still sporting some puppy fat in his face from youth, Eren's stomach was surprisingly toned, yet his skin was so soft and warm beneath Levi's fingers. He'd by lying if he didn't feel something... an insistent throbbing in his groin was definitely something, but even he wasn't going to act when the kids defences were non-existent. Leaving Eren's crotch for the boy to clean himself, Levi scrubbed the rest of him down, making sure not to press too firmly as it seemed to pain the brat "Eren, can you sit up? I need to clean your hair" With a sleepy hum, Eren slumped towards the wall. Not exactly helping him "Brat" "Sorry, sir" "Just try not to pass out and drown in this shitty water" "Feels good being clean" "You're not clean yet" "Cleaner" "Stop moving" "I'm not" "Yes you are" "I don't feel like I am..." Levi was tempted to call Hanji in, as Eren couldn't stop swaying, but when he poured the jug of warm water over Eren's head, the kid shot up, sitting ramrod straight as he spluttered "What the hell?" "Your hair's filthy" "You tried to drown me" "If I was trying, I would have succeeded" "Mmm. Yeah. You're probably right" Washing Eren's hair it, his hair was just as soft as his wolf's fur. The brat having the nerve to let out rumbling huffs that slowly turned to snores "Hanji, get in here" "You won't want to keep him to yourself" "Don't say it like that. I'm not touching him down there, and he fell asleep before he could clean himself" "Awww are you scared?" "I'm going to get his room ready" "No need! Your bed is right there" "He's sleeping in his own room" "But Levi" "Don't "but" me. You can watch over him there" "I think he'd rather have you" "I don't want his filthy blood all over my bed" "What's going on here?" Whipping from looking at Eren to look to Erwin, both of them hushed him at the same time. Erwin's lips twitched as the man rose an eyebrow "Eren hasn't had a bath in a week, so I had Levi help me out" "And you couldn't have done this somewhere else?" "It's the closest bathroom to his room" "He's supposed to be in the dungeon" "Erwin, he's bleeding nonstop. He's only going to get sick down there. "I'm your commanding officer. You need to clear these things with me. And you Levi, you didn't even report back to me" "I went to inform Hanji that we were back with her supplies" The lie smoothly slid from his tongue as he held his anger back "Then I asked him to help me with Eren. Once he was settled, we were going to let you know" Thanks to Isabel's words, all he could think was that Erwin was being petty and jealous. He knew he wasn't completely unfortunate in the looks department, and that a normal person wouldn't insist on feeding him without getting something out of it, but now... If Erwin was letting his jealousy cause Eren pain, that wasn't something he was ok with "Hanji, can you finish up with Eren on your own? I need to talk to Erwin" "Alright, but I'll need your help to get him out" "Just make sure he's clean" Nudging Erwin out the bathroom, Levi pulled the door closed behind him "What's going on with you?" "With me?" "Cut the shit Erwin. If you've got something to say, say it without you usual games" "Fine. I think you're letting Eren cloud your judgment. You've stopped seeing him a threat" "You're the one letting Eren cloud your judgement. The kid was left in his own filth for the last week. You saw how badly they fucked him up before, but you were happy to lock him up again" "I locked him up for his own safety" Levi scoffed, his glare fierce "Like you sent me away on a completely bogus mission" "You're too close to him" "How? You assigned me to be his partner" "I didn't assign him to you so you could play happy families with him" "Are you serious? Wow. I thought she was full of shit, but wow. You really do have feelings for me, don't you" "And you don't?" "Not the way you want me to" "Bullshit Levi. I..." "You what? You allowed me to feed and I'm grateful for that. But love and feeding, they're too completely different things" "How can you say that? We all know what you're like, but you feed predominantly from me. Of course I'm going to think..." "Do you think I like feeding? Do you think I like never being sated?" "You..." "I never take more than the bare minimum. If I drank like I wanted, you'd be dead. I know you don't want to hear it, but for me, it was never more than a way for you to remind me how indebted I am to you. I considered you my friend. I was grateful you kept my secret, but the way you're treating Eren, it's not ok" "He's a kid!" "Don't you think I know that? There's something in Eren, but he's not the monster you think he is. If he was, he never would have saved everyone" "He's a danger" "He's not a danger" "If he wasn't, I wouldn't have to lock him up!" Levi ground his teeth together, biting down the urge to snap "What is that supposed to mean?" "It means people heard Eren bit a scientist. Whatever goodwill he'd managed to earn, is gone" "He didn't even break the skin" "How do you know?" "Hanji" "Of course" The bitterness in Erwin's tone hurt to hear "Look. I was going to ask permission to take Eren and Hanji down to the house you want to use for his heat. I think we could both use some time apart" Hanji was going to give him hell, but Erwin might have just lost his head again if Levi hadn't thrown her name in "Fine. Leave whenever you're ready" "Once Eren stops bleeding. Hanji says his in a kind of sensory overload" "Make sure she submits a full report on him" "I will. You'll have my report on your desk by tomorrow morning" "Ok..." "Erwin. I am sorry" "Don't. I want to hear it, right now"

Across the room

Request: sorry none I just had a rush of inspiration after reading @manuelmiranduh‘s fic “Cool” and thought I’d do something with a kinda similar premise (sorry Sabrina yours is awesome I love it) so this happened

Pairing: Lin-Manuel Miranda x reader (my first attempt be nice)

Warnings: Karaoke?

Word count: 2,244

A/N: I swear 90% of the amazing writers in this part of the fandom write lin x reader and they are my idols so here goes nothing! also lara and aria are my ocs excuse their presence ^-^ (and “sobrino” means nephew) This hasn’t been proofread.

askbox || masterlist

--

“Go on, Y/N,” your friend Lara pleaded, “I know you’d be great.”

You shook your head resolutely. The open mic night had been a fun event to attend, sure, but you had no plans to actually take the stage. Lara, your temporary roommate, thought otherwise.

“What about that song you’ve been singing all week?” She continued, undeterred, “Helpless or something?”

You’d only come to visit Lara at college- she was an art major at NYU. The two of you had met online and, after three years, finally managed a visit that coincided with your move to New York. Tonight was your last night and she’d grabbed you to a popular bar on campus and spent the evening trying to persuade you to sing.

You scoffed. “I couldn’t sing that!” Lara raised an eyebrow, doubtless thinking of your constant singing in the past week. “I couldn’t sing all the parts myself,” You hastily amended.

“Okay- I’ll sing Alexander and Aria will be Angelica,” she suggested. Aria was one of her flatmates- a theatre major with a lovely voice and a Hamilton obsession to match yours. Before you could tell her no, she was out of her seat and heading towards where Aria was sitting. You sighed and resigned yourself to embarrassment. At least you were going home tomorrow to get your stuff.

Aria was, unsurprisingly, onboard. “You’re the perfect Eliza,” she gushed as they dragged you up towards the edge of the stage. “This will be amazing!”

The organiser looked a little unsure about there being three of you but scribbled down your names and song anyway. You were on after a guy singing a twenty one pilots song. You sat at the side, fidgeting.

Lara hummed the tune under her breath, which relaxed you a little. No one of consequence would be in this dingy bar on a Thursday night, you reasoned as the performer before you finished. 

Suddenly someone was handing the three of you microphones and shoving you onto the stage. You stood in the centre, willing your hands to stop shaking. You tapped the microphone and it squealed. “I guess that works,” Lara muttered, and a couple of people laughed.

You looked to them and they nodded. With a deep breath, you imagined yourself as Eliza. You imagined you were on the stage at the Richard Rogers rather than in a tiny bar, and that Lin was waiting for Renee to guide him over to meet you.

“Oooooh, I do, I do, I dooo- hey!” your voice cracked a tiny bit on the first do. You almost gave up right then but Lara grinned at you and you hit the next note. “Ooooh, I do, I do, I do.”

Lara and Aria started to dance a little behind you, imitating the basics of the ensemble’s choreography and doing their background “hey”s at the same time. 

“Boy, you got me helpless! Look into your eyes and the sky’s the limit- I’m helpless! Down for the count and I’m drowning in ‘em,” You gave it your all and were pleasantly surprised to find that your voice when singing in a pub sounded better than you were home alone. 

You swished your skirt a little and moved to the side of the stage, letting Aria and Lara dance into the centre. “I have never been the type to try and grab the spotlight. We were at a revel with some rebels on a hot night. Laughin’ at my sister as she’s dazzling the room, then you walked in and my heart went ‘Boom!’” 

You walked over to Aria as you sang, taking her by the arm and pulling her away from Lara just in time for you to sing “Grab my sister, and whisper, ‘Yo, this one’s mine’”. Aria put her hand over her mouth and spun away towards Lara. 

You grinned and got ready to narrate.

--

You sang the final line with a feeling of absolute joy. You had done it! Sure, you were shaking a little and getting down the stairs off the stage proved a challenge, but you had sung in front of people and no one had thrown any tomatoes- or napkins- at you.

The organiser patted you on the back absentmindedly as they beckoned the next performer onstage. You went and sat back down, a couple of people giving you high-fives along the way.

Aria and Lara went to get drinks to celebrate, leaving you to collapse in your seat. You closed your eyes and sighed.

“That was quite something,” you heard someone say.

“Thanks,” you smiled, and turned to meet their gaze. 

Shit. You froze, your heart in your mouth. The person facing you was no college student out for a karaoke night and a beer. No, you were facing a familiar goatee and shoulder-length hair pulled back into a ponytail. You were facing a man in a grey jumper that you knew off the internet.

You were facing Lin-Manuel Miranda.

“I-” you stammered at the same time as he said “It’s nice to meet you.”

You took his hand and shook it. “I’m Y/N. I’m a big fan,” you mumbled, abruptly embarrassed. He had seen you sing Helpless- on stage and after a few drinks! 

“I’d say the same,” he grinned, “you sang that nicely.”

“I got nothing on Philipa,” you managed to say, and he laughed. You saw Aria and Lara had been distracted at the bar, not noticing that Lin had slid into the empty seat opposite you. 

“Nobody can compete with Phillipa,” he admitted, “But you were great.”

“How come you’re here?” you asked, curious. The student bar wasn’t that far from Broadway, but it wasn’t exactly where you thought someone like Lin would be spending a Thursday evening.

He shrugged, “Someone in the cast recommended dropping by- so I thought I would.” Lin looked around at the college students- an eclectic mix of drunk regulars, theatre kids, and tired freshmen. “Are you a student?”

“No,” you chuckled, “I’m visiting friends- namely my on-stage Alexander, Lara. I graduated a couple years ago now.”

“What do you do?” The next karaoke singer started singing ‘’Safe and Sound’ and you leaned forward.

“I’m working in an office, daydreaming about doing anything else,” you said honestly. An office job- though yours was relatively stable and paid quite well- had never been your dream. “It’s all about the legacy,” You imagined that, if anyone could understand the desire to leave behind a legacy, it would be Lin. 

Lin smiled sympathetically “I know what you mean.”

“And one day I’ll be on a beach with Sonny writin’ checks to me?” you offered, remembering the days when you first heard In the Heights. 

“A Heights fan?” He looked impressed and you shrugged sheepishly. 

Your phone buzzed and you looked down to see a text lighting up your screen.

From: Lara (22:22)

If that is who i think it is u need to get his # 

Lin chuckled. “I’ll leave you to it.”

He made to get up. “Maybe we could finish this conversation another time,” you suggested shyly.

“I’d like that,” he beamed, whipping out his phone. “Give me your number?”

You swapped phones. You added yourself and took a quick picture, mindful of the terrible lighting. You wondered if he would ever text you. 

“There you go,” you said as you passed him back his phone. “I’ll hold you to that promise.”

--

A couple of days later, as you were lugging the last box up the stairs to your new apartment, you got a text.

From: Usnavi (09:43)

You’re moving to New York, right?

From: Usnavi (09:44)

Groffsauce insists New York looks best from far away- back me up?

From: Usnavi (09:51)

This is Lin, by the way. I thought ‘Usnavi’ would be funny.

You dumped the box on top of a stack that had accumulated in your empty kitchen. It was going to take ages to unpack it all, you reasoned, and replied to Lin instead.

To: Usnavi (10:01)

Yeah- just unpacking, actually. But I back up Groffsauce, sorry :/

Your stomach growled and you sighed, resigning yourself to the endless search for your cutlery and plates. At least you hadn’t brought a lot to New York- your apartment wasn’t that big.

When you found your plates- in the last box you checked, naturally- you realised you didn’t actually have any food and headed out to grab something from the corner store.

From: Usnavi (10:41)

I am betrayed! Need any help?

You laughed and texted back your thanks, but turned down his offer. You were a tired mess and not ready for social contact- hopefully the texting wouldn’t stop.

--

It didn’t. You and Lin texted frequently over the next weeks. Sometimes he would send you pictures of him in costumes or use you as backup for his latest debate with the cast. You, in turn, sent him absurd quotes from your office and the occasional meme.

Your new job in New York wasn’t much better than the old one, but you didn’t mind so long as you were getting to text Lin.

--

Almost a month later, while you were out shopping, your phone buzzed. You didn’t think anything of it and left your phone in your bag while you grabbed more milk and some frozen peas to stick in the freezer.

It was only when you had got home and sorted your food into the cupboards and fridge that you remembered the notifications and unlocked your phone.

From: Usnavi (14:02)

Maybe we could finish that conversation in person today?

From: Usnavi (14:05)

Jasmine told me not to double text and to “be cool”

You laughed and hastily typed back a yes, asking if he wanted to come over. Your apartment was a mess, but nothing a quick clean couldn’t solve. By the time you had found your vacuum cleaner he had replied suggesting you met him at the Richard Rogers instead.

Is this a date? you asked yourself. You knew you shouldn’t get your hopes up but, completely independent of your awe of him, Lin was cute and you had to admit that you had a crush on him.

You grabbed your keys and your bag and headed out, practically buzzing with excitement. 

--

When you arrived, Lin was already there. He had two coffee cups in his hands and Jonathan Groff at his side. You took a deep breath and headed over. 

“Hi,” you smiled, “I see you got us coffee already?”

“Yup!” he handed you one, “I guessed at what you liked.” Seeing you looking at Groff, he hastily introduced you and you tried not to look too starstruck.

You took a sip of the coffee and were pleasantly surprised- it was pretty much as you liked it. “Well guessed,” you told Lin warmly. “Are we staying here?”

Lin looked suddenly unsure. “There’s a playground near the corner of West 43rd and 9th Avenue-”

“Sounds perfect,” you said and some of his nervousness dissipated. Groff waved the two of you off and headed back inside the theatre. “Do you have a show tonight?”

“Yeah,” he said, “It’s nice to take an afternoon off ever so often.”

“Take time to run wild,” you teased, “and take the girls you meet at bar karaokes out to playgrounds.”

He blushed and you laughed, almost unconsciously reaching for his hand. He let you and you could have sworn your heart skipped a beat. “It’s not much,” he explained as you rounded the corner, “but I bring mi sobrino here sometimes.”

The playground was relatively empty- you supposed most schools must still be in session. You followed Lin to a bench at the edge of the area and sat down. You watched a little girl try to climb up the slide, slipping a little every time she took a step.

“What do you dream of doing?” Lin asked after a minute. You frowned, then remembered your comment about legacies in the bar. 

You shrugged. “I want to make a difference,” you admitted, “but I don’t know how.” An ambulance shrieked past, siren wailing.

“You should come and work with me.”

“What?” you turned to look at Lin, frowning.

He laughed at your confusion. “Work at the theatre- you can sing, you live nearby, and,” he smirked, “you have connections.”

“I do?” you asked, pretending to think about it.

It worked, and Lin looked insulted. “Me! I mean me.”

You snorted and patted him on the shoulder, “I know.” After another moment’s silence you added, quietly, “You’d do that?”

“Of course,” Lin told you, reaching for your hand again. You set down your coffee cup and leaned in for a hug. For a minute, he didn’t respond and you panicked, pulling away cause you were just friends- but then he pulled you back and you relaxed into his embrace.

“I would love that,” you mumbled into his shoulder.

“What?” he queried.

You moved away, ignoring the heat rushing to your cheeks and the spike in your heart rate. “I said I’d love that,” you repeated, and Lin beamed. Grabbing your coffee cup you lifted it into the air. “Raise a glass?”

He laughed and raised his cup to tap against yours. “To new beginnings?” he suggested. 

You nodded. “To new beginnings.”

Lin started to hum The Story of Tonight as you took a sip of your coffee, unable to stop smiling. You looked at the man beside you and sympathised with Eliza- he really did make you feel helpless.

--

ScSi

Eren didn't remember anything about what Isabel and Levi talked about, only that Isabel was gone now... when he really needed a friend. Olou had succumbed to his wounds. Despite Hanji's best efforts, he still passed away... and all the kind words towards him now sat heavily in his gut. He'd been so sure that Olou would survive. He'd fought hard, hanging on for over a week but infection had set in, his condition spiralling after that. Tonight everyone was drinking in "celebration" of the memory of those that had been lost. Not up for the company, Eren had swiped a couple bottles of the stuff the officers had been drinking, and holed up in his room. But the more he drank, the worst he felt. It was like some massive abyss had opened inside of him, sucking all the happiness from the world with it. He was on his second bottle before his friends found him, having swiped their own bottles of booze. Though his room was far too small, Jean, Connie, Sasha, Mikasa, Armin and Krista were all there with him now. A few other recruits had somehow managed to end up there too. While the company was kind of nice, no one actually understood. He'd respected Olou. He was a crucial part of the team, and now he was gone forever. It wasn't fair. Olou deserved to live. Not like him... As the night slipped away his friends gradually left, due to the fact Levi's room was so close to his. More than a little drunk, he didn't even know what he was doing or saying, only that he didn't want to be alone. Not anymore. He wanted someone to want him and to care about him... if it was just for the night. Laying back on his bed, he felt the weight shift as some climbed in next to him. With his eyes still closed, lips ghosted against his as if he'd voiced his need for contact outloud. Not caring who it was, he kept his eyes closed and gave up, the kissing slowly growing more heated until the pair of them were grinding up against each other, Eren panting for more as they fumbled each other's pants open, at least it was a guy... that was something... palming at his partner's erection, he mewed as his own fisted roughly. He needed more. He wanted this empty feeling filled, bucking their hips up against each other, he was so close when they were interrupted "What the fuck do you two think you're doing?!" The kiss was broken, the warm body pulled away from him by Levi of all people "Are you shitty brats seriously drunk?! You. Get out!" There was a mumbled "Yes, sir", before the thud of stumbling steps left the roof "Are you serious?" Panting, Eren couldn't care less if Levi could see his tenting erection. If Levi liked to interrupt his "fun", then he could see what he was missing "What does it even matter?" "What do you mean, "What does it matter?". Your body isn't normal. You can't just let someone between your legs because you're sad" "Whatever" "Eren..." "What the fuck do you expect me to do?! If... if I'd done better or been better, Olou might have survived! Now he's dead! I hate this! I hate being this monster! I hate it!" Breaking down into sobs his whole body shook, finally he curled into himself as he screamed into his pillows "I hate this! I hate it!" "Eren..." "Don't say my name! Don't say it like you care! No one fucking cares!" There was a snarl, then Eren was being lifted from his bed "Olou died. He died and it's fucking shitty, but we all tried our hardest to save him. Hanji gave her everything. Petra stayed by his non-stop. We're all fucking hurting" "I'm so tired of hurting" "We all are" Levi carried him from his room, the walk was short before he was lowered back down again "Stay still, you can't sleep like that" For a second Eren's heart leapt, before he realised what Levi meant. Stripping off his pants and boots, Levi then covered him with his blankets "S-sir?" "I'm not going to leave you alone tonight" Passing out in his captains bed, Eren had no idea things were going to be worse once morning came. * Flustered, Levi watched Eren sleeping in his bed. He'd walked in some heavy petting, after catching Eren's scent in the hallway, and damn near imploded on the spot. With his legs spread, Eren and the male Corps member were in their own world, clumsily and sloppily palming at each without caring about the fact the door was wide open. He felt... enraged. Enraged that someone else was touching Eren. And betrayed by his emotions because he knew how badly he wanted to kill the kid touching Eren. They hadn't talked much since Isabel had possessed Eren, but the kid had done all his duties faultlessly. He'd thought he was ok, but Olou's death was hitting all of them hard. Saying goodbye was never nice. But perhaps because he'd spoken to Isabel, the pain wasn't exactly what he'd thought it would be. Olou had died with Petra by his side. Knowing he was loved and respected, and that his body would find its way back to his family. Levi had hoped to talk to Eren, but the brat had passed out on him before he could. Waking Eren, the boy looked like shit. Yawning softly as he crawled from Levi's bed with a small whine "What happened?" "You had a bit too much to drink last night, but I don't have time to fill you in on the particulars" "I... don't think I like alcohol" "You should definitely stay away from it. We need to get you showered and down to Hanji" "What? Why don't to Hanji?" "During yesterday's wake, we have two government officials arrive. They want to run tests again" Eren's already pale face lost its remaining colour. The teen clamped a hand to his mouth as he rushed to the bathroom, his sound of wretching summing up Levi's feelings on the matter entirely. The two officials had already made themselves at home in Hanji's office, Hanji having been evicted to the hallway where she playing with pony tail nervously. Clearing his throat to give her the heads up that they were approaching, the woman pushed herself away from the wall with her foot "Eren! I'm so sorry. I didn't know they were coming" "Not so loud Hanji. He discovered the delights of alcohol last night" "Ooooh! Is he having his first hangover? I hope you've made him drink plenty of water" "No. I thought I'd just shove him into your office without anything to eat or drink" "Levi!" "He's joking Hanji..." Truthfully, he'd tried to make Eren eat and drink something, but the boy had nibbled on some bread before deciding he couldn't eat "Do you know what they have planned for him?" "No. I'm not allowed to see any of their test results or even be present. Also, Erwin was looking for you" "For me, or for Eren" "For you" Shuffling past him, Eren let Hanji pull him into a hug "You should go see Erwin, I'll be ok" "Eren, you don't have to put up with this. You can demand they stop at anytime. Or call for me, or Erwin. You don't deserve to go through everything alone" "It'll be fine... I'll be fine. Where am I going?" "They're waiting in my office" "Ok... I guess I'll see you both later" The kid looked like a kicked puppy as he let go of Hanji, the look making Levi wish he could steal him away from the pain to come, but apparently Shitty Eyebrows wanted him. Staying long enough for Eren to disappear from his sight, Levi then turned to leave "Let me know the moment they release him" "Will do. I'm worried though. His next heat..." "You're worried they'll send him into heat early?" "Yes. There's a house Erwin wants Eren to use for his heats, but if he goes into heat here... There's nothing prepared" "Make a list of what you think he'll need. I'll take care of it once I've talked to Erwin" "I don't think he'll give you permission to act alone" "I don't care what he wants. We both know Eren's going to be tortured again, and we both know he won't be fit to return to active duty immediately" "Oh! So you're going to take him down to the house?" "Sometimes I wonder how someone so smart, can take so long to catch on" "Did you just admit I was smart?! Aww, Levi! Come here" Flipping Hanji off, Levi stormed away before she hug him. He didn't understand why she always had to be like this. Couldn't she just not make a big fuss about these things? Levi's lack of sleep had his legs aching as he marched along the hall to Erwin's office. His mind was a whirl of thoughts, most over the guilt he felt over leaving Eren in the Governments hands. Reaching Erwin's door, he knocked light and let himself in "Levi. Come in" Raising his arm, Levi shook his head "I'm not hungry. Hanji said you wanted to see me?" "I have a mission for you" "For me? Or for Eren and I?" "Eren will not be available until after his heat" "What? Why?" "The Government has been working on a potential suppressant. If all goes well, his heat won't happen at all" "They found a way to stop them?" "Potentially. As I said, I have a mission for you and for the rest of the squad" "We just Olou" "I know, and as unfortunate as it is, we can't delay" "What about Eren? What if he shifts?" "I've been assured he will be sedated, not killed" Because that was going to work... not... "Levi, we can't afford for you to sit this one out. There was recently reports of intelligent werewolves, other than Eren. Naturally, as this information has come second hand from individuals in the Underground, we don't expect it to be accurate, yet we're on official warning over Eren's actions" "They're using the fact he shifted and saved lives to make you chase after your own tail again" "We aren't in a position to say no" "That's why Eren's off being tortured again, and we're rubbing our noses in the lap of the Government like a bitch in heat" "Levi. None of us want this for Eren. If though Hanji removed his womb, he still goes into heat and I know I don't have to remind you how problematic that is" "And what if does go into heat? What if I'm sent into whatever that was again" "Hanji is calling it a blood rut. You were consumed with both the need for blood and to breed" "It sounds fucking disgusting" "Take it up with her. I've prepared extra vials for your trip" "If I'm going that far, I'm going to need money" "What for?" "Information isn't free. I'm not going to get anything out of anyone without a generous amount of money. Besides, Hanji needs supplies" "I'll need a full report for reimbursement. Receipts too" "I know how to do this, but you're not going to be getting receipts from the underground" Slowly opening his bottom drawer, Erwin pulled out a coin pouch, throwing it on the table with a sigh "Take whoever you need. Petra might wish to visit her family" "Will we be escorting Olou's body?" "No. He will escorted separately" "She should be with him. She knows the family. I'll take both Eld and Gunther. The three of us will we enough" "You have my permission to embark once prepared" Erwin offered his arm again, Levi walking across the room to take it in his hands, his teeth sliding into Erwin's arm "Drink what you need" If he did that, Erwin would be drained. Maybe he should just drain his commander anyway? They'd hardly been acting like the friends they were supposed to be... he wasn't entirely innocent, but even this mission felt like something thrown together to seperate him from Eren. Though that may have been his own paranoia. * The Underground never changed, it was still the shitty cesspool he remembered it to be. The streets were clogged with rubbish, the drains all blocked and the aqueduct running through the middle of the place was choked with rubbish and river weeds, while its water was an unhealthy green. Nothing ever changed here, and nothing ever would. No one had the strength of will to rise above and any who were idiotic enough to think they could change things, were the first to find a knife in the back. Their bodies would be picked clean, clothes and all, before being left to rot like a pile of trash, that even their family disowned. With all things laid so open, there was little wonder why Eld and Gunther were both armed to the teeth. They'd arrived in the Underground four days prior, and despite having spent a generous amount of Erwin's money, all they'd learnt was their were still people stupid enough to try their luck outside the walls. Honestly, Levi wanted to wash his hands on all of this and return the castle, as all he could think was that Eren was being tortured while he was in a hell of his own, but Eld and Gunther were persistent and insistent. They'd covered over half the usual dives, and Levi was absolutely sure they weren't about to hear anything magically useful. Still, here they were at another one. Levi somehow locked in a glaring contest with the bar keeper, who had nothing to say to a dog of the military. Even if pulling a knife had brought him up short, the man was staying tight lipped "Do you, or do you not know anything about recent werewolf attacks" Spitting in his face, the man laughed openly. With a fluid move, Levi pinned the man's left hand to bar, cutting off his little finger with a satisfying ting when the blade hit the metal of the bar "Remember anything yet" "I ain't got nothing to tell you!" Screaming it now, Levi rolled his eyes as he hefted a sigh "Then who does" "Ke-nny. He's the one shooting his mouth" "Kenny?" "The reaper" "He's dead" "No he ain't!" "I killed Kenny with my own hands. Whoever that is, it's not Kenny" "He calls himself Kenny!" Whimper pathetically, Levi released his hand. The man pulling it up to his chest "I suggest you give me some real information if you want to keep all the rest of your fingers" "I don't got anything else to say! You know what it's like here! Without rumours, this place would be too boring to stomach" "So you're saying everything werewolf related is a joke?" "Them up there were talking about it" "And Kenny?" "He's the one who goes out the walls!" Whatever this man had been drinking, it was clearly killing off whatever was left in the braincell department. He probably couldn't wipe his own arse. So much for the bravado he'd tried to portray. With his ruined reputation, this place would probably be looted and burnt to the ground by the end of the night "You're lucky I don't take another finger for wasting my time" "Sir?" "We're leaving. There's nothing here" "What about Kenny?" "He's long gone. You're free to stay if you really want" Returning to sunshine, it felt like his skin was trying to shed it outer layer. The filth attached its self within seconds of stepping foot down there, and it felt like no matter how many times he scrubbed, he'd never be clean. As Eld and Gunther split off from him, Levi returned to the room he was using at the Military base, impressed to find the supplies he'd requested had already been delivered. Most of them were for Eren, and to stock the house he'd used for his future heats. The blankets, pillow and soap he already purchased sat almost forgotten in the corner of his room. He'd taken his time on the first day at the Capital to make sure he'd have the money to buy Eren nice things... nicer things. Things the kid would like and would help to assure him that he was indeed human. He wasn't going to stay with the kid for his heat, but he could make sure Eren was doing better mentally before he entered it. An hour later the clothes he'd been wearing were in the trash, a fresh uniform felt almost like heaven in comparison to those disease riddled things. Sitting on his bed, he was checking his correspondence. There was nothing of real interest. Erwin had sent a letter saying Eren was still being held, but he hadn't shifted. Olou's body had been returned to his family and Petra was taking a weeks leave. The woman would be rendezvousing with them at the end of the week... meaning he was now stuck for another 2 days. Fucking Shitty Eyebrows and fucking Petra. And fuck the bartender for bringing up Kenny. If he could forget the man, he would in a heartbeat... He could just picture Kenny's smug face when he came face to face with whoever had taken up his name. That creepy smile. The laugh. The double tap to heart for insulting him. Everything about the man had revolted him and maybe that was why he was half tempted to track down whoever was using his name. Just to see the difference with his own eyes. Sighing to himself, he forced himself off the bed and over to the desk, he needed to pen a reply back to Erwin. With next to nothing to do, the next two days passed exceedingly slowly. His presence had brought out the weirdos of the Military base, many of them wanting to ask his advice. Eld and Gunther had both found it funny until he'd starting sending them pair of them to answer any all questions, filling their schedules to the point where his own was empty. The only thing of any importance that he'd accomplished in those two days was picking up a few nice tins of black tea, and new fine china cup. * Petra talked almost nonstop during the ride back to the castle. The woman in much higher spirits than expected, leaving him wanted to yell at her to shut up. Erwin hadn't replied to his last message, and fucked up dream about Kenny had left him feeling on edge. Next time, Erwin could send someone else to the Underground, because it had been a colossal waste of his time. He could have literally been watching paint dry and it would have been more enjoyable, not to mention he wouldn't have had to destroy a set of clothes of it. Nudging his heels, his horse broke into gallop, the wind feeling refreshing as it chased the last lingering scents of septic from his nose. Fuck the Underground. Having dropped back to trot, Petra moved to his side again. The woman frowning at him as if he'd done something wrong "Sir?" "What is it?" "Eld and Gunther mentioned Eren was being experimented on again. Do you think he'll be ok?" "No" "No, you don't?" "No. I'm expecting it to be a shit storm when we get home" "Do you know what they're doing to him?" "They have some procedure that is supposed to stop his heat" "Is that safe?" "How am I supposed to know?" "It's just... Eren is such a kind kid" "He's certainly worked his way into your heart" "He gave everything he could to try and help Olou. I wish I knew how to thank him" "Like that" "Like what?" "Eren's pretty thick. If you want to thank him, than you actually have to use the words" "He seemed annoyed the last time I thanked him" "The fact you did so 8 times had nothing to do with it" "Maybe. I still wish I could give him something" "If you really want to give him something, just say thanks and leave it at that. And whatever you do, don't got giving him anything alcoholic" Petra giggled, covering her mouth with her hand "You could have been handled that situation better" "He told you?" "No, you scared the hell out of the soldier he was with. The poor guy was running down the hall with his pants around his ankles" Levi wished he'd seen that, instead he been too focused on the fact that someone other than him had been touching Eren, then forcing the kid to spend the night sleeping in his bed, attempting to erase the shitty smell of the unknown man's arousal "He had it coming" "Eren's body might be different, but you could have left them alone" "And what if he bit his lip and shifted, or what if he'd had a panic attack and shifted?" "I'm pretty sure if being interrupted by you didn't upset him, nothing would" "The kid was wasted. He pretty much passed out as soon as his pants and boots were off" He sounded way too bitter for it to be passed off as simple annoyance "Do you think they'll become something more?" "It was just a drunk hook up" "With his friend" "Wait? He knew the guy?" That... that... Levi didn't have a word for exactly how he was feeling over this. Drunk and random hookups were pretty common, but hooking up with someone you knew and someone you were friends with. It was more than petty jealousy that was causing his heart to race, his chest to tighten and his reins to snap in his hands. It was something vile and evil. "I don't know the boy's name, I've seen him with Armin and Mikasa before, so perhaps they'd know. Do you think they're together? Maybe he'd like to spend Eren's heat with him?" "It was just a fucking hook up. There's nothing there and no one will be spending Eren's heat with him. If you have that much free time on your hands to dribble this shit, fall back and check on Eld and Gunther" Fuck. Fucking Eren. This was what the shitty brat did to him. He ruined his carefully constructed facade and reputation in a manner of minutes. Stroking the base embers of his desires into an inferno... without even being into the same space as him. Rather than looking hurt, Petra just shook her head with another giggle, shooting him a knowing look before dropping back to the supply cart. Fuck.