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miss-3625 · 1 year

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Okay firstly: I forget to post this, which is why I'm only posting it now ^^'

Secondly, these are my thoughts during my own playthrough of Assassin's Creed 2, because I can't talk to anyone in real live about it. You don't have to understand them and don't have to like this post, I just wanted to get them out of my head and maybe someone can relate.

Thirdly, a little warning: this post is longer than the one I posted about AC1 ..

SPOILERS (obviously)

(02.01.2023)

• I like the beginning screen

• YOU CAN CHANGE THE LANGUAGE AND ADD SUBTITLES!!! Big + point

• Ohhh I like the trailer

• LUCY IS BREAKING ME OUT!!!

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• Well that's one way to introduce us to the new character...

• I like that they use English and Italian words

• Little baby is a fighter

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• The Eagle Vision can be activated while running!

• (Also the Eagle Vision is different - you no longer see the world from their eyes, which is sad, but I guess this new vision is more practical, because you can see around you quicker)

• YEES FIGHT GIRL!

• You know what, Desmond is asking the right questions. What is the plural of Animus?

• Arrividerci Abstergo

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• Yes I trust you stranger, who helped me escape, but at first helped the organization that kidnapped me :)

• Where are we (in which country)?

• I like Rebecca - she is a sweethart :)

• I like Shaun - he is a sassy ass :)

• (Also I'M RISKING MY SANITY OK SHAUN! >:( )

• I like Shaun's notice board :)

• "Hello Desmond :) Go away >:)" ... well alright

• (He reminds me of Malik :D)

---

• New loading screen

• Ok, the new world-generating-thing? LOOKS AMAZING!

• HELLO Ezio :D

• And he got the same scar, nice!

• You can see how much damage the enemies have! Awesome!

• I have a big brother! I like him already :)

• I have a life scale now, instead of a synchronizing scale

• YOU CAN LOOT!!! MONEEEYYY!!!

• 609 FLORINS!

• I like the little "beginning" screen before a mission

• An arrow above the head of people makes it easier to follow (and identify) then

• Weird mask (from the doctors) but I kinda like it

• O.o THERE IS INFORMATION?!

• SOOO MUCH INFORMATION :D

• (that is a really nice detail - in AC1 Desmond (and we) were not giving much information. We were just puched in a mission, in a life nearly a thousand years ago, without much useful information. Now though, we can read about the people and places at any time! Really nice!)

• Ezio disappeared at 17 after a dramatic incident? Well, I have a feeling we're gonna find out what it was..

• ALSO THERE IS A STATISTIC! It shows your synchronization, gaming time and more! :D

• Aww I love these two!

• "Baby brother has much to learn!" "There is no shame in losing, brother!"

• I LOVE the music!

• Aww he helped me up!

• Omg what a beautiful beginning! <3

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• THE ROUND ABOUT AT THE VIEW POINT LOOKS SO GOOD! (Also love the music during it) Firenze looks so good!

• Also visit Cristina? No, I rather look around! View points to find an all that

• 66 VIEW POINTS?! O.o

• There are DOCTORS, BLACKSMITHS, TAILORS AND ART MERCHANTS?! So much new stuff!!

• A yellow arrow indicates that someone is watching you! If its full, it goes red and you should better get going!

• Also there is a green marker, so you know where you're supposed to go

• (And, other then in AC1, the little map also shows the rooftops and the ground levels and even enemies (red dots) - in AC1, there were just little symbols that showed you, which way the next activity was)

• Firenze is not flat, like the cities in AC1 were, but it is still a great feeling, to run across the rooftops

• There are chests! You can LOOT the CHESTS! 100 florins from a chest!!!

• ... Imagine you're 17 years old and just climb the Santa Maria del Fiore for fun (114 m hight)?!

• AND THEN JUMP DOWN INTO A WAGON FILLED WITH LEAVES?!

• (AND SURVIVE, LIKE THAT JUMP WAS NOTHING SPECIAL?!!!)

• THOSE WOODEN THINGS HANGING FROM THE CRANES SHAKE NOW! (slightly, but still)

• "I'm gonna have a few words with him" - punches him half to death

• Ah, the feathers of Petruccio are probably like the flags in AC1

• I LOVE the mother! XD

• I also love Leonardo! He seems like a real sweetheart! (Also he voiced the Rafiq of Damascus in AC1!) He is probably gonna help me later :) (at least, I hope so)

• Ohhhh secret messages, cryptic warning - I think there is more to dear Giovanni

• THEY DID WHAT TO DEAR MARIA?! >:O

• I SWEAR IF THEY DID SOMETHING TO MY BROTHERS!!

• GIAVANNI IS AN ASSASSIN! Is Federico one too?

• Ezio has a cape :)

• (A cape for just one shoulder ... don't know if I like it)

• The guards are supposed to just kill a 17-year-old for no real reason....

• Feathers and chests grow white in the Eagle Vision, making it easy to see them

• A dark shadow walking mysteriously behind Alberti ... I think I know who was the reason for the imprisonment

• NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :'O

---

• ARCHERS!!!

• I like Paola :)

• So the courtesans are like the scholars in AC1, but instead of you walking with them, you can get them at any time and they walk with you

• IS LEONARDO ALSO PART OF THE BROTHERHOOD?!

• SUBJEKT 16?!

• I love the thugs on the rooftops :D "Moving like the WIND" thank you, thank you ;)

• I love how Ezio knocks, but doesn't wait for an answer and opens the door immediately

• HUG!

• But can we all just take in for a moment, that Ezio was immediately on board with having his finger cut of... for a cause he doesn't even know of...

• And the fact that Leonardo immediately helped and protected Ezio, even though he knew him maybe a day or two

• I love Leonardo

• BYE BYE ALBERTI (love Ezios little speech)

• I tear down pieces of paper with my face off the walls and suddenly the guards don't know what I look like anymore?

• I'd like to point out again, that Ezio is 17!!

• SHE DIDN'T KNOW THEY DIED!!!

• THE MUSIC IS NOT HELPING

• There are no beggars but THERE ARE MUSICIANS!!!

• I'M TRYING TO QUIETLY LEAVE THE CITY, NOT PUNCH YOU ALL IN THE FACE

• The fact that 4 dancing women can make 8 hard trained guards leave their posts ...

• It's-a-me, Mario! ....

---

(03.01.23)

• I'm learning to fight.... I'm still not good

• Awww poor madre, here 5 feathers :)

• I'll help Mario!

• But first: view points!

• I miss the throwing knifes...

• Also I'm not suspicious when I'm running anymore :)

• THROWING KNIVES! XD

• BYE BYE VIERI

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• Altaïr :)

• Of course the Codex pages would just lay around randomly in the open like that

• "He is a monster" "What happened..." "He's making me WORK" - relatable

• I CAN MAKE MOOONEYYY

• I get money from my amour, equipment, the feathers and Codex pages? Awesome!

• They are bulling the architect and I'm here for it

• Secret way in the wall!

• ALTAÏR :D

• Oh I definitely will have bette luck. I'll get the amour even if it's the last thing I do

• There is so much to DO in AC2

• I can't go in there .... (the big door, next to the stairs outside of the villa)

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• LEONARDO I'M BACK

• "Anything for you, my friend" <3

• NEW ASSINATION TECHNIQUE!! (and 2 more lives) THEY ARE ASWESOMEEE!!!

• Why are these dummies bleeding, Leonardo?...

• 2 HIDDEN BLADES?!

• (Wait, this idea came from the Codex - the one Altaïr did... Altaïr was already deadly enough with one blade, imagine him with 2)

---

• You can get treasure maps at the art merchants

• Yes, I'll teach your husband a lesson my lady

• I wouldn't have wanted him as my husband too, my poor lady

• The times of the day changes (day and night)

• MY MONEY!

• hello La Volpe :)

• RUNNING WITH TIME AAHHH

• Barely did it ...

• Ohhh I like this (running around this tomb)

• I HAD HIM BUT THE DOOR CLOSED!! >:(

• Francesco you are gonna follow your son

• Is that supposed to be Altaïr on the sacrofaq

---

(04.01.23)

• the Santa Maria del Fiore is preeetttyy big (and empty) from the inside

• I can't make that jump, that's too far away ... but where else am I supposed to go?

• Apparently Ezio COULD make that jump

• Those chandeliers, beams and poles are pretty handy, eh?

• the secret treasure is probably not worth it, but at this point I'm so desperate, that I want to now what is in there

• 25 minutes later for 250 florins in that stupid chest ...

• But hey, I at least did it :')

• THAT JUMP was even more unrealistic?!

• MY GOD?!!! I would NEVER do that in real life...

• MA'AM I'M TRYING TO SAY THIS RESPECTFUL - it is fu*king hard to get to your sarcophagus (which I guess was intentional)

• SOMEONE has anger issues ...

• Quick death for someone with a big mouth

• Also wise words Ezio :3

• Nice one Ezio!

• Another Codex page - LEONARDO!

• It's kinda poetic with which ease Ezio hands over the hidden blade to Leaonardo - it shows a lot of trust

---

(07.01.23)

• Let's go to Tuscany

• Smoke bombs? (THEY ARE AWESOME! I wish there were more)

• Well that was a fast and easy kill - Bye bye Stefano, Requiescat in pace

• The horse follows you again - it's such a sweet little detail :)

• Requiescat in pace Archbishop Salviati

• I like the riding through the open world (but be aware, if you(r horse) knocks a person away, the guards are gonna chase you)

• Seriously, why do the guards put Ezio's wanted poster at like the highest point possible where no normal human will ever see them?!

• Well Bernardo's assassination was also quite easy (not that I'm complaining; I'm surprised that it's going so well)

• ARCHERS!

• wow Ezio has come a long way since the beginning ... Requiescat in pace

• "The Assassin is relentless. We cannot hope to stop him on our own." YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT, BEFORE YOU KILL MY FAMILY

• AS IF ONE MUSICIAN WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ENOUGH BUT 3?! Guys, I need to be SILENT! YOU are LOUD AND ANNOYING

• Aww Ezio really has come a long way. Requiescat in pace Del Salvucci

• Sequence 5 finished

• A GIFT?!

• AWESOME! I can steal from as many people as I want now, without increasing the notoriety in Florence and Tuscany :D

• I like the cape

• LEONARDO MY BELOVED :)

• gone?!

• Venezia? All the more reason to go there ;)

• But first to Monteriggioni

• After a few updates, it is already looking better

• Knife belt upgrade :D

• And now to Tuscany again, because I wanted to get the Assassins Seal there

• Let's infiltrate the Torre Grossa

• I liked this one :)

• So now: to VENEZIA (and Leonardo)

• Or I guess, to the mountains first?

• Leonardo! :D Ahh he's so cute. WILL I FLY?!

• Ahh a chase scene!!

• I did it :) (it was a hell of a bumpy ride and I only hav 2 and a half blue squares left, but I did it)

• (I hope there are never carriage chases again...)

• Forlì is looking sad

• 3 Codex pages!

• And 5 feathers (so far)

• And the 33rd viewpoint :)

• AND another Assassin Seal - nice!

• The seal from Rocca di Ravaldino

• I also enjoyed this one :)

• 4 from 6 now already :)

• Guards change their shifts at morning and night time

• Man Leonardo has a loud voice ... (I could hear him kilometers away)

• Apparently I need to help the madonna to get the pass

• THE WAY YOU DRIVE THE OAR XD

• she became engaged when she was 10?!!

• please stop flirting...

• End of sequence 6

• Desmooonnnd :D

• Desmond has a say in all that is happening? Well, I'm not so sure about that ...

• Aww Shaun the little history nerd ^^

• Open your eyes lets begin! ... (don't ask)

• Hallucinations!

• ALTAÏR!!! :D

• O.o

• With Maria?! The woman that wanted him death?!

• I'm happy for him :) (It's nice that we see him again)

• Venezia is BIG

• I love that the colours of the guards uniform change (blue in venice, green in forlì, red/yellow in florence)

• YES LET ME BUY IT FOR HIM

• I nearly missed the hug!

---

(08.01.23)

• Oh so you're better of on our own, but as soon as I fall behind and fight for you, you tell me to hurry up?! (Rosa)

• "They're shooting at us!" ... no they're not. I helped them, so now they're taking a deep nap ...

• "You work well under pressure" please if you just listened to me during the chase scene, then you would know that's not true

• Coffee

• New climbing technique!

• (Now I can finally climb the viewing point!)

• So.many.archers.!!!

• So the courtesans also fight (if you hired them and are under attack). They have a knife and everything ^^

• It is so cool that the thieves can follow you along the rooftops :D

• Also the voice actor from Federico also voices Ugo. I don't know what to do with the fact

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(23.01.23)

• Always with the guards

• That didn't work like I planned it, but I guess that works too

• Bye bye

• I love the music

• End of sequence 7

• Let's get the next Seal! (at the Basilica San Marco)

• Ahhh cool

• AHHH WITH TIME

• THAT TICKING IS MAKING ME NERVOUS

• WHERE DO I NEED TO GO?!

• (and what's wrong with these camera angles ....)

• I DID THEM ALL ON THE FIRST TRY OMG

• Ma'am I REALLY liked this one :) (if you take away the anxiety I felt because of the ticking)

• Ok but seriously, why is there always an woman singing during water sences in games - yes, she sings beautiful, but why?

• they argue like little children XD

• not them standing on the wide bridge, with Ezio in plain sight, and they still don't see him ...

• Yes, don't underestimate the young Assassin >:)

• And he looks straight at Ezio!!

• (New fanfiction idea: Borgia is a secret Assassin, that wanted to protect Giovanni but failed and now wants to help Ezio...)

• (Just kidding ...)

• LEONARDO :D

• I'm going to fly!

• Well I didn't crash into any houses

• Leonardo is so cute

• Let's hope I get there save and sound

• I CAN KICK THEM OF THE ROOF?! Yeees >:)

• (And I got an achievement for it XD)

• Sequence 8 finished

• Carnevale :D

• A PISTOL?! o.O

• A mask :)

• Wouldn't you like be my date for Carnevale, Leonardo?

• The last tomb! :D

• I GOT THE RUNNER?!!! >:D

• Oh my God ... this (the big/last place in the hidden tomb) is soo big (and beautiful - nice reflections in the water)

• And of course with time again...

• I DID IT ON THE FIRST TRY?! !!! o.O

• I HAVE ALL THE SEALS :D

• Let's go to Monteriggioni!

• THE ARMOUR IS BLACK!!! AND SOOO PRETTY!!! :D (and full life bar)

• But let's get back to Venize

• Let the Carnevale begin!

• The games were very fun, but I wish that Ezio could have enjoyed the games without the constant thought in the back of his head, that he needed to win the games (otherwise he wouldn't have a chance of comming near the Doge) :/

• and of course they had to cheat

• Aannd sequence 9 finished :)

---

(28.01.23)

• Neeew land to exploreeee :)

• Uh my man, you don't look so good ...

• I'll liberate Bartolomeo for you :)

• O.o

• He seems nice?

• "Bella mia"?!

• STOP BEGINNING FIGHTS!!

• "Must.Break.Bone." - I think that is the perfect description for Bartolomeo

• He has a wife?!

• Oh no, it's his sword...

• Even though the mercenaries have no lives (those live squares) they can DIE

• I love the smoke bombs

• Well let's assassinate Dante and Silvio

• IT'S WITH TIIIME!!!

• I did it :)

• Ahh "Military District", makes sense

• End of the sequence :)

• 10 years already? Without his father and brothers and without answers... Oh Ezio :( (already 27, wow - and he is still searching for Pitrucuos feathers ..)

• Leonardo :D

• They looks so cute walking together

• Ahhh finally he has answers (even if just a few)

• 29th Codex Page! Just one more :D

• All 66 viewpoints!! (Seriously compared to AC1 the map of AC2 is BIG - at least that's how it seems to me)

• But where is the last Codex Page? Does Borgia have it?

• The Apple! (It has the same shell as in AC1)

• Uncle Mario? Hello? Nice to see you here?

• Why is it always with TIME?! :O

• Ezio in the clothes/armor of an enemy. Weird to see

• Even if other people knock against you, it's YOUR fault .. of course...

• Oh god, there he is o_o

• DAMN HE'S STRONG

• Uncle Mario :D and the others? Hello?

• "Look how good he fights" "You have improved since the last time, nipote" NO I HAVE NOT, I'M ALMOST DEAD, HELP

• "Your brothers didn't need to die, I just did it to make a point" - oh you are so definitely going to regret saying that

• Well Ezio being the Prophet would make more sense then the Spaniard

• Hello Machiavelli

• You're telling me he spent 10 years of his life being an Assassin AND HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT?! WHY THE HELL WOULD THE OTHERS LET HIM WANDER AROUND AND KILL THOSE PEOPLE AND NOT TELL HIM?!

• Oh Ezio we are Assassins. You are one too by the way. Meet us here at sunset. Bye :)

• ....

• Okay I got goosebumps during the ceremony, not gonna lie (I'm still mad at them tho)

• (It looked funny how they all jumped XD)

• THE APPLE OF EDEN!!!

• AN AN VENETIAN CAPE :D

• End of sequence 11 (how many are there?)

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So apparently you have to buy/download sequence 12/13 (which I sadly can't do, so I guess it has to be enough to watch them on YouTube)

(I really liked them ^^ also I LOVE Catarina XD And it was a nice idea to end everything in Florence. There Ezio lived in innocence for the first years of his life, then he lost his family and live there and now he is back, older and wiser, and ready to leave everything behind)

But let's continue with the last sequence :)

• Desmond :D

• Anndd bye Desmond ...

• He is POPE?! :O

• all Codex Pages!! :D

• LEONARDO IN THE VILLA

• Ezio has a beard omg *-*

• But why exactly is the Papal Staff the second Piece of Eden?

• Let's go to Roma :D

• Let's finish everything...

• I don't know what happend - I went through the place like a real Assassin. So stealthy the guards didn't know that I was comming until they had my Hidden Blade in their necks ...

• (I think it's the beard)

• So, let's kill the Pope

• AHH HE KILLED THEM ALL JUST LIKE THAT

• MULTIPLE EZIOS!!!

• okay, the fastest way to kill Borgia is to just use the throwing knives

• Did he make himself invisible? o.O

• OHH OH GOD, OH NO, OH F*CK

• EZIO! :O

• he's alright :)

• Okay, let's do it for real this time ...

• He let him live?

• Wow he is all grown up :')

• Let's see what all this was for

• WHY IS SHE LOOKING AT ME?!

• "You did your part" THEN GIVE HIM ANSWERS, YOU WEIRD GOD-LADY

• also "you anchor him"... okay?

• "The rest is up to you, Desmond" HUH?!!!

• :O

• Ezio has more questions now then before!!! Come back lady!

• "What.The.F*ck" same Demsomd, same

• Let me tell you, I got goosebumps

• THAT WAS IT?!

• Oh wait, no it wasn't

• WARREN >:(

• Bye bye, we'll see each other again ...

• Soo we're all gonna die, because the sun will cook us. That's nice to know :')

• AND THE MUSIC AGAIN!!!

END OF ASSASSINS CREED 2

Feedback:

My God, that was perfect. I absolutely loved it!

I loved the story, the people and the landscapes/cities.

While we started AC1 in an random place/time, AC2 started with Ezio's birth and ended with him (after years and years) getting his revenge for the loss of his father and brothers. We have been longer with Ezio (we basically saw him grow up) and I really like him.

While AC1 was rather simple, AC2 had a lot more of activities to do, which just blew my mind. I greatly enjoyed building up Monteriggioni, getting the Seals for Altaïr's Amour (which is amazing and I'll wear it forever) and exploring the landscapes (because of the treasure chests and feathers you can find).

Also really love the fast travel options (again) and LOVED the flying mission.

The new (and many more) weapons and Hidden Blade techniques are awesome (like I said earlier, I absolutely LOVE the smoke bombs).

Furthermore, I love the whole information we get. Like I said in the beginning, in AC1 we were pretty much without any useful information the whole time. Yes we knew which time it was and where, but other then that, nothing. Now though, we have information about everything. The doctors, the courtesans, the blacksmiths, the people and buildings and I love it!

(Also I'm happy that firstly, we got more Desmond time and secondly, we got to see Altaïr again ^^)

All in all, I absolutely loved Assassin's Creed 2 and I'm excited to play Brotherhood!

#ac2 #assassins creed 2 #assassin's creed #ezio auditore da firenze #ezio auditore #leonardo da vinci #ezioleo #my thoughts :)

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starleska · 2 years

Note

i'm not even being patient, you simply respond to all of my asks more than quickly enough <3!! they're pretty long so again, take your time ^^!! therapy can be sooo exhausting so please remember to take care of yourself nd everything <33!

i was talking about a TOTALLY different old man HAHAHA i've been watching a lot of ducktales 2017 and grew fond of both scrooge n flintheart through it lmaoooo,, especially the latter has very few redeeming qualities and is supposed to be insufferable but like,, im in love with the blorbo version of him that lives in my brain, LMAO

ohhh you just know he would REFUSE to do the animation if anyone else was obviously watching the screen as well- it's just for you <33! i imagine he wouldn't do it either if you're recording it, because he wants it to be only for you haha,, you think very hard about the unlock conditions for the specific animation but it seems completely random! oh well. (totally self indulgent note here but i am silly in public for a living and would totally blow a kiss back @ the animation or smth LMAO) and!!! ill look forward to seeing it!!! id reblog it but i only rlly have writing blogs on tumblr ughhhh maybe i should just finally make a selfship ramble one lol

the true sadness is that king candy never showed up in the second movie man </3 the chaos he'd wreck on the internet would've been very much entertaining LMAO !!! i'm glad you enjoy the phone idea as well :D!! you just randomly find notes from him in your tumblr drafts or your notes app! he'd be constantly watching you through your front camera and if he's unhappy with someone he sees, your phone will just start vibrating VIOLENTLY nonstop lmao. also something silly i immediately thought of; i don't know if this is something you're familiar with but in some dating sim apps you'll have like this little minigame where you can like poke the love interest and they'll have these little responses? god. brainrot. i would just poke his bald little head man HAHAHHAHAH

my asks just get keeping longer thank u for reading all this and hearing me out TT i should just write a little fic about this guy already but man english is NOT my native language and he speaks in a pretty specific silly way sometimes that i do not know how to replicate well,, doesn't help that ive only watched the english version once vs. the many other times ive seen it haha

hello again you lovely individual!! once again i must apologise for my delayed response. i received some pretty big news this week that's left me not so well, and i wanted to come back and reply properly when in a better frame of mind. thank you for your patience 🥰

OHHH oh my god you are so damn valid for this, i always thought Scrooge was kinda fine 😳 capitalists just hit different! and Flintheart is a GILF i'm not gonna lie 😂😂 Ducktales 2017 just gets you by the throat!! i remember being so head over heels for Gyro Gearloose (basic bitch that i am)…kind of interested in rewatching to see if another bastard catches my attention…but for real, isn't it wonderful when you love a truly dreadful character? whatever version you have of him in your head, i'm sure he likes you very much 😉

ahhh i feel all special 😖💖 honestly going a little down the darker path i kind of vibe with Y/N questioning their reality the more time they spend noticing these special animations…wondering if they're losing touch with their sanity, and becoming gradually more obsessed with figuring out exactly what it is about this arcade cabinet and its enigmatic, unique character…also hell yes!! you should absolutely make the selfship ramble blog, it'll make you feel so happy 💖💖 i admire those of you who can separate your blogs out, i just pour out my silly loves into one place and all my poor followers have to deal with the blorbo of the week 😂

we'll never recover will we 💔💔 like for real Ralph Breaks the Internet makes me sad for its lost narrative potential…if not King Candy, then there were several perfectly good character candidates to be put into a fantastic antagonistic role!! to truly show the power (and horror) of the internet!! the vibrating phone idea is so cute dfgfds;;; perhaps he could even track into your friend's social media and send them fake messages/texts to get them to leave. oh YES i knew someone very into…was it Mystic Messenger? that had that mechanic and oh it's adorable :3c

thank YOU for sending these lovely asks in and gushing about our favourite sweet-themed hacker!! i'm so sorry for being a boring monolingual person - you could and should totally write him in your native language!! do you have any clips? i love seeing how characters have been portrayed in different ways, and i'm curious if Alan Tudyk's lisping mob boss vibe has been carried across 👀

#starleskasks

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sukirichi · 3 years

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Hello! Can you write one about Nanami where the reader is oblivious and they're really close to Gojo so he gets jealous often. Sometimes Gojo does things purposely to annoy him and one day he just lost his composure and accidentally admitted his feelings for you.

I hope u accept if you're not too busy. Thank you!!!

— a little push

— sometimes all nanami needs is a little push.

nanami kento x fem! reader

thank you for the request anon! i’m not sure if reader is oblivious enough but i hope you like it! there’s some thick pining here hur hur, i hope you like it! i never knew i needed an easily flustered and awkward nanami in my life also this is unedited as usual

check my bio for masterlist and my milestone event! (◕ᴗ◕✿)

“Do you mind?”

Nanami sighs, silently praying to the heavens you wouldn’t hear the way his heart is absolutely panicking and beating wildly right now. You’d randomly pushed him inside the teachers’ office the moment he got back to the institute at work, and now he’s doomed to hide his feelings while you look up at him with wide, innocent eyes, a shaky yet excited grin painted on your face.

“Sorry, sorry,” you wave your hands in front of you, although he can tell you’re not apologetic at all. Nanami clears his throat when you step backwards to give him space, unsure if he’s happy or sad about the distance. “I was just really excited to see you back.”

Your carefree, lighthearted voice, along with that little jump in your toes combined with your statement – you’re basically asking Nanami to shrivel up already.

The stoic man remains composed, though, only shifting to adjust his tie while he stares down at you. You’re still somewhat bouncing on your feet, teeth biting your lip – a habit you had when you want to say something but contemplating whether you should. Tilting away to hide the slight flush in his cheeks, Nanami sighs again, pretending to be tired.

The last thing he wants to admit that even though he is exhausted from work, is that you’d never bother him. In fact, having you bombard him like this makes him feel like he didn’t deal with special grade curse by himself all alone just an hour ago.

“If there’s something you want to say, I suggest you get it over with. I don’t want to stay overtime and wait until the blindfolded creep comes around.”

You giggle at his insult, hiding behind your cupped palms. Crap, Nanami looks away and focuses on the birds outside instead, suddenly finding them so interesting despite never paying attention to them before. Maybe that was the curse of crushes – it had people acting differently and in complete contrast with their behavior.

“About that,” you begin almost shyly now, and Nanami practically bursts when he sees you tapping both of your pointer fingers together, gaze tilted away from him.

It makes him wonder you’re nearly on the same skill to Gojo, yet still somehow look like a small, innocent being that makes him want to protect you from everything – even if you were more than capable of handling things yourself. Well, Nanami concludes to himself, maybe you’re really just that paradoxical that it makes sense why he can never think straight around you. Maybe he’s really not supposed to understand the complexity of his feelings when you were a phenomena to begin with already.

“You see…Satoru asked me out.”

Nanami stiffens at your statement for a split second before his head whips to you so fast. You’re observant – of course you are, you’re a jujutsu sorcerer – and you easily pick up in his sudden change of demeanor. Your brow raises at his abrupt reaction, to which Nanami conceals by flexing his neck and rolling his shoulders back.

“I am simply tired from work,” he haf-lies, “So, Satoru asked you out? Will you say yes?”

His words and tone are monotonous, almost bored even, but deep inside he’s so close to beating the crap out of his co-worker. Well, not really, Nanami isn’t a man of violence, but he’s jealous. Of course he is – he’s liked you ever since Principal Yaga hired you.

He’s never told Satoru about his little crush on you. He would be stupid to do such; Satoru would tease him to no end and maybe even be as childish to go as far as pushing him to you. Typical elementary shit, Nanami cringes to himself, watching as you look down at your feet with a pout. Now that confused him. He isn’t sure what your body language means at all, but patient as ever, Nanami only waits.

“Well,” you scratch your forehead, “I’m really flattered. I want to say yes because Satoru is a nice guy—”

“He is not. I do not respect him.”

You roll your eyes at the way his eyes darkens, “—but also I’m not sure if I should. I mean, Satoru doesn’t really date, you know? He’ll be with like one girl and be with another the next week. I just don’t want to…like, fall for that, I guess. Not that I won’t, because he’s totally not my type—”

“It’s just a yes or no,” Nanami cuts you off, his words coming out a lot harsher than he intends it to be. It’s not that he’s annoyed at your rambling, he actually finds it so adorable when you get so lost in your train of thoughts that your mind just travels from one place to another, and seeing how your eyes just leave farther from reality is something he’s always find such an attractive quirk, but not now – not when his infuriating co-worker is intending to mess with your feelings. “Do you want to go or not? Yes or no? It’s as simple as that.”

You blink back at him in surprise, mouth opening and closing like a fish. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that Nanami was a no-bullshit man who hit things right on the head, a huge contrast to your happy-go-lucky self, but he’s right.

It is that simple – and you’re complicating things all over again.

When you give him an answer, Nanami has to muster all his energy to not deflate. He’s tired – but now his exhaustion and even the heartbreak comes crashing down all over him that he’s immediately weighed down and overwhelmed – so much so that all he wants is to go home.

“Yes, I want to go.”

It’s his day off.

Like everything else in his life, Nanami plans everything down to the last minute of his day. His day off consisted of him having the privilege to sleep in until 8am, then breakfast with coffee from that great café a five minute walk away from his apartment, then he’ll be reading books in his study for two hours. Comes after that is lunch, and he’ll brows through some TV shows, pick up his clothes from the dry cleaning, get that special limited edition dinner of his favorite sushi, read books again and call it a day.

Simple, peaceful, no hassle – it’s the perfect day to relax.

Except it isn’t.

Because it’s your day off too, and you’re out on a date with Satoru. He still remembers how happy you looked then upon accepting the white haired man’s invitation, your nimble fingers wrapped around his sleeve as you shyly asked him to come with you.

He doesn’t know why you had to bring him, but he doesn’t question it, nonetheless. Nanami wants to see how Satoru would react, if there could be any indication from the man behind his blindfold that he had ill intentions. Oddly enough, there didn’t seem to be any. Satoru only beamed and deflated into a chibi, enthusiastically nodding along with you while you planned your date together.

Nanami took it upon himself to leave.

With a silent scoff, Nanami placed his dinner down on the counter. Because it’s his day off – and mostly because he doesn’t feel like himself – Nanami went out to buy the limited edition sushi wearing a white shirt and some gray sweatpants, too forlorn and a little jealous to even bother dressing up.

It’s stupid, really. He’s been looking forward for this sushi for a long, long time, but now that he’s had it, he can’t even enjoy the taste. His mind keeps going back to you.

Were you having fun with Satoru? Were you enjoying your time? Was Satoru treating you well? What was Satoru’s intentions when it came with you? The last time Nanami checked, you and him got along really well and you’re mostly the one who whacks the taller man in the head upside down when he’s being stupid, almost like two peas in a pod, except you were the smarter one. He’d been so sure you’re nothing but friends and yet…it all lead to this.

Nanami pushes his sushi away. They no longer taste like anything, the texture like dried paper on his mouth. He wipes his lips with a napkin, staring longingly at well…nothing. His walls were plain and empty, and suddenly, Nanami can’t help but compare himself to Gojo.

You both planned to go to the local carnival. There’d be lots of foods and even parlor shops, ferris wheel rides and photo booths to create memories. Of course you and Satoru would go there; both of you enjoyed loud, bustling crowds, claiming there was something amazing about basking in the “lives of humans when ignorant of curses” while Nanami prefers his peace and silence.

Had you gone out on a date with him instead, Nanami can’t guarantee he’ll be any fun. He most definitely wouldn’t ask you to go to a carnival with him either. It was loud, cramped, crowded, and it’s too chaotic for him to ever enjoy your presence and enjoy it alone.

Nanami closes the sushi box, turns on the TV and lets is play on the background, a wet towel above his eyes to relax his tired eyes.

He hopes you’re having fun. He hopes Satoru is treating you well. Nanami just ignores the slight pain in his chest when he thinks of you, laughing and touching anyone but him, and he could picture it already. You’ve always been so open and welcoming to everyone, he knows you’ll have fun today, too.

That’s one of the things he finds most endearing about you – that your smile never fades and you never forget about the simple, little things in life to focus on to keep your sanity after facing curse after curse.

He’s fine, he tells himself. Satoru may be annoying, but he knows you could have fun with him, and you deserved to be happy more than anyone else.

Nanami is about to fall asleep on his couch when his phone vibrates on the coffee tables. Groaning, he flicks off the towel to his shoulders, grumbling about how Principal Yaga better be respecting his day off, but the last thing he expects to see is your contact name flashing on the screen. In the contact photo, you’re winking with a peace sign held above your head.

You look so utterly adorable Nanami just wants to kiss you. He remembers this photo was taken when Yuuji got bored and asked to play games on his phone. Upon finding that there was none – of course there was none – the strawberry-haired student opted for taking pictures of everyone instead. There’s one with Nobara growling, Megumi sipping his boba-tea with dead eyes as if he’s so done with the world, more than twenty pictures of Satoru flexing his muscles and posing like an idiot, and then there’s yours.

Nanami remembers staring at his phone for a solid minute, his gallery actually blessed with your face in it. The sun shines behind you on that photo and you’re absolutely shining. He thinks that’s when he truly fell in love.

And it just so happened the love of his life is calling, making his heart skip a beat because shouldn’t you be with Gojo? Why were you calling him? Did something wrong happen?

Nanami doesn’t waste another second before swiping the green icon, already standing up from the couch as he grabs his jacket. He had this weird inkling something is wrong, why else would you call him?

His theories are proven true when your voice comes out shaky. “H-hello?”

“Good evening,” he greets stiffly, brows furrowed as he listens in on the way you seem to be shuffling around. “Is there something wrong?”

“I, uhm,” he hears you sniffle through the other line, “Yeah, I guess there is…Satoru just texted he can’t come because Principal Yaga suddenly sent him to a mission overseas…and then I just realized that Satoru’s been summoned by the elders and he’s just refusing to show up, so now they cornered him, I guess… anyways, I’m talking too much and I don’t want to be a bother, but would you maybe…like to hang out with me?”

Nanami’s hand freezes on the doorknob. “Hang out…professionally?”

He immediately wants to smack himself in the forehead for that. Out of all things he could’ve said, he just had to utter something unintelligent. He hears you snicker in the background and Nanami’s ears redden.

He quickly regains his composure with a clear of his throat, suddenly remembering that Satoru’s ditched you, so now you’re asking him instead. It kind of feels like he’s just a replacement, but Nanami buries this feeling down before it consumes him, wondering if he’s already regretting changing into better clothes because he actually agreed to go to a carnival with you.

Upon hearing your happy, “Okay! I’ll wait for you then!”, Nanami realizes that he doesn’t actually mind. Especially not with you.

The carnival is loud.

Nanami dreads the moment he steps out of his car, his body swallowed by the bustling crowd and defeaning music of banging drums and clashing instruments. There’s a hundred scents everywhere – smoke, fish, glazed apples – he doesn’t know where to begin or how to focus.

He nearly turns back to his hair, about to shoot you a text that maybe this is beyond him after all. His head begins to spin when he’s only pushed deeper into the crowd, people bumping into him with every single second and it’s so suffocating. It doesn’t make sense to him how anyone could possibly go on a date like this and enjoy it. He knows for sure this chaos won’t let him enjoy his date’s presence because he’s too busy trying to get away from it all.

Nanami staggers for a bit when a strong hand tugs him to the side. Soon, he finds himself pressed flush against you in a tight corner, your hips warm on his. “Hi,” you breathe out airily, lashes fanning and fluttering in that same manner that always made his heart do complete flips.

“Hello,” he greets back with a small bow out of faux respect, but really, he’s just keeping his head down because you look so beautiful in that moment he doesn’t even know where to look. You’re warm and soft next to his hard and stiff muscles, the scent of roses and vanilla mixing in with the street smoke and Nanami’s head grows dizzy, his hand around yours tightening for comfort. “Y/N…I do not prefer this crowd. Can I take you back home instead? You must be tired – I’ll prepare dinner for you.”

Nanami blinks back in surprise when he sees you nod, a slight grimace on your face, and you practically bury your face in his bicep as you groan, “It’s too noisy for me too. Let’s just hang out at your place.”

So you end up in his immaculately clean apartment, admiring and staring at the boring furniture. Nanami changes into more comfortable clothes and whips out something to cook, not wanting to feed you measly take out when you’re probably famished. He watches with side glances as you pick up a photo of him with his parents when he was younger, cooing and giggling at the baby version of him.

“Nanamin, you’re so cute!”

Nanami scoffs and turns back to the heated water in the bowl, arms hard as they cross against his chest covered with an apron. “Please do not call me cute. I am anything but.”

“No, you’re really cute,” you insist, but after seeing Nanami’s flustered frown, you eventually give up and give the poor man a break. Later, you wobble next to him, watching with curious eyes and a small smile as he adds the vegetables into the soup, moving expertly as he diced up the onions to the side. The sheer focus and attention on his daily tasks makes him falter, and he suddenly finds it so hard to function now.

“Why are you staring at me? Is there something so interesting about slicing up onions?”

“No, not really,” you say absentmindedly, the slight plop of the ingredients echoing. “It’s just – I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this way. Domestic, I mean, but it looks good on you,” you nod to yourself, and Nanami finds himself struggling to act as if your presence wasn’t making him go crazy while he proceeds to cook. “In fact, everything looks good on you, and I find you really interesting!”

“Y-you do?”

“Yes, of course!”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” you shrug, assisting him silently with mixing the bowl even when he didn’t ask you to. Unaware that he’s now focused on you, watching you cook with him with you pressed up against his side, almost as if it’s right where you belong, Nanami feels the same with you. You also look good being this domestic with him, and he suddenly blurts out, “Would you like to stay with me? Like this?”

Your eyes slide over his in a slow fashion, slow enough that his brain hotwires at the fear maybe he’s said something wrong. But Nanami immediately swallows it down, huffing and turning away from you with that stoic expression again. “Forgive me. That was weird—”

“Why would it be weird?” you laughed to yourself before bumping your hips with his, “You’re the one who invited me here. Of course I want to stay.”

That’s…that’s not what he means.

Nanami is left staring openly at you while you help him set the table and you proceed to talk about how you didn’t really want to go to the carnival but Satoru insisted you’d have fun, so you went anyway even if you’d much prefer to be somewhere else. He’s barely listening, too distracted by the way your lips move and how you swing the house slippers on your big toe, your legs crossed on top of another and your figure slightly hunched across from him.

You look so comfortable and welcomed in his home that it puts him at ease too, not worried that he has to impress you anything because it’s you, and Nanami could actually be vulnerable enough to laugh with you over a bowl of vegetable soup.

It’s fine, he lies to himself again, it’s fine that you don’t know he likes you even if he tends to slip and be obvious sometimes. Because at least you’re with him in that moment, and he lies to himself again that it’s fine, that maybe next time he’ll tell you, but he doesn’t worry about. How could he worry about it when you’re snorting so loud over a lame joke he said that rice nearly came out your nose, and he’s so drunk over the sound of your bubbly laughter that something flutters deep within his belly?

When you help him wash the dishes and bask in the silence instead, comfortable over the lack of words and nothing but the sound of his faucet running and the slight rubbing of towels against dishes heard in the background, Nanami is unsure whether he’s glad that Satoru ditched you on your first date.

It doesn’t stop there.

Nanami only keeps falling in love with you more. He’s been doing a good job of keeping his feelings to himself because the last thing he wants is to have you stay away from him, but Satoru was really getting on his nerves.

He’s just come back from exorcising a curse when he sees you and Satoru play-wrestling in the field with the other students. Megumi is grumbling to himself in the corner, Yuuji is laughing and cheering on you to tackle down his sensei who’s currently going down in high-pitched laughter, Toge pumping his fists and screaming, “Salmon, salmon!”

It’s a chaotic sight – one that he usually doesn’t mind – until you finally pin Satoru down on the ground, your ass above his crotch. Satoru’s hands then come up to squeeze your ass and hips under the false pretense he’s struggling to push you off him, but Nanami knows better.

“Give up already!” you tease the other sorcerer who’s still wriggling underneath you, and Nanami sees it before it happens.

Satoru’s legs bend beneath you and he tries to pin you under him in quick movements, but Nanami is faster, his reflexes taking over. Before he realizes what he’s doing, Nanami tugs you and pulls you forward until you collide on his chest. He’s breathing hard, eyes narrowed at the arrogant smirk painted on Satoru’s features. Meanwhile, you’ve softened in Nanami’s grip, hands fisting his shirt that has him hardening up out of sheer protectiveness.

“Oh, Nanamin!” Satoru beams while wiping the dirt on his hands across his uniform, “Glad to see you here. You wanna join training too?”

“This is hardly training,” he retorts with a clenched jaw, “You’re harassing and disrespecting your fellow sorcerer because you can never keep your dirty hands to yourself,” before Satoru could defend himself, he’s already all over you, his hand tilting your chin side to side to check for any injuries. “Are you hurt anywhere? Did this bastard do anything else?”

“No, not really—”

“Why do you care so much, Nanamin?” Satoru teases, and the students all huddle to watch the commotion. Everyone can feel the tension rising, and Nanami only stiffens up further when he feels you lean closer to his warmth almost absentmindedly. “She and I were just playing around, no hard feelings, no foul play. We’re just having fun, right, Y/N?”

“She is not someone you can just have fun with, Satoru. You’ve already crossed the line when you ditched her on your first date, and you didn’t even bother texting or calling back when I drove her home. It’s disrespectful, and she deserves better than that.”

“Nanami—”

“I was busy,” Satoru sighs dramatically, “And if she deserves better than me, then who would it be? I can take care her of her, you know, she and I have been besties for like what, a year now? I’ll be good to her,” he smirks, and Nanami wants nothing more than to punch him square in the jaw. “Besides, it’s not like she’s dating anyone else. She’s single and ready to mingle—”

“Maybe she is, but I’m not,” Nanami deadpans, his harsh tone shocking everyone.

“Wh-what do you mean?” you squeak under him, and Nanami falls silent. He’s never thought of confessing to you, especially not this way, and Nobara is biting Yuuji’s jacket behind them to muffle her squeals. Panda is clapping his hands and whispers oh, here we go, followed by Toge’s salmon salmon.

It dawns on him now that everyone knows he likes you after all, and now that he’s confronted with the situation, he can’t run away from it. Not that Nanami plans on running away, for he is a man and his pride doesn’t allow him to evade situations like this.

He just wishes it could’ve gone out better.

“Forgive me if this makes you uncomfortable,” Nanami releases his grip on you, loosening his tie that makes him feel like he’s choking both on air and his words. Through his cool stature, he’s actually sweating inside his clothes, and it doesn’t help you’re patient with him too, head tilted to the side curiously and so horribly cutely he might combust. “But I have always been, and I still am, utterly in love with you.”

Nobara and Yuuji no longer hold back as they scream to themselves, the former slapping the latter in his back while Megumi only shakes his head, muttering “about time,” under his breath. Maki snickers to herself and Satoru is stunned, but it’s nothing compared to the way you shrink under his gaze for a moment.

He believes you’re going to run away from him because of his blatant confession; it wasn’t romantic at all, and the kids are still screaming too loudly for him to form coherent thoughts.

Nanami begins to form a deep bow, ready to apologize wholeheartedly and to politely ask you to forget this if you wish – he would respect your decision. But just as his gaze met the ground, he’s thrown off balance as you jump on him, soft glossy lips crashing into his.

The screams and cheers of everyone are suddenly drowned out when he feels your lips molding onto his, and he can feel you smiling happily, giggling while his hands tentatively run down your hips to hold you close. It’s unprofessional, displeasing, and downright horrendous to be kissing someone during work hours while the students are watching, especially because his clothes are crumpled from your eager touch and you’re on top of his chest, but Nanami absolutely doesn’t give a single fuck because he’s kissing you back fervently.

It’s what he’s always wanted – you’re the one he’s always wanted, and now that he has you in his hold, he’s not easily letting you go.

“See? I told you guys,” Satoru proudly puffs his chest up in the background, “All Nanamin needs is a little push.”

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artemis-fowl-angst · 3 years

Text

Part two of the fic I posted recently

(Anyone have name suggestions?)

TW: Ed mention, sleep deprivation, obsession, paranoid thoughts, this is an Atlantis complex fic

—————————————————-

Chapter 2:

Wednesday, 1:46 AM, a cafe about .5 KM from St. Bartlebys school for young boys.

Nearly a month had passed since that conversation with Dr Po and the two had since met two more times, once to discuss the texture issues that Artemis had mentioned, a meeting Artemis had managed to weasel his way out of by setting fireworks up on the roof and setting them off 35 minutes before the session was to start, and then framing a kid who had made some less than kind comments about Artemis’s sexuality. Killing two birds with one stone.

The other meeting was to discuss unrelated events involving a murder of crows being set loose in the gymnasium.

Artemis was sitting alone at a table in a small cafe’ that was, for some inexplicable reason, still open at this hour. He was quite busy ignoring the rational part of him that was insisting that he go back to the dorms and sleep for the first time in two days.

This was always the most tedious part of an invention, sorting all the calculations and running digital tests before making a prototype. He had to do it all manually because numbers like these would crash any sorting algorithm, and Artemis hadn’t gotten around to creating his own yet. So here he was, doing 6th algebra to save the world.

Time passed, he wasn’t sure how long, over an hour, maybe two

2=2(x+6)

…

Five, it’s a good number, it’s solid and it’s predictable

5 10 15

An easy pattern, it’s safe

“Artemis Fowl?”

He looked up, shaken from his thoughts, coffee refill.

“So… not to intrude, but don’t you think that 10 cups of coffee is enough for one night”

Artemis nearly snapped back at the barista but caught himself. She didn’t deserve it, she was trying to do her job and help him, gods why are you always suck a dick to everyone? They don’t deserve it. You always drive everyone away what is wrong with you? It’s your fault, your fault, your-

“Yes I suppose you’re right”

She looked relieved, all the cafes Artemis frequented knew of the vampiric kid who would come in, order an obscene amount of coffee, and tip £100. But if you pressed the wrong button you would have your ego destroyed.

“Goodnight” he picked up the last coffee and his laptop and stood. Leaving behind nothing but a warm seat and an overzealous tip.

10 cups of coffee, 5+5 two fives, ten. five, a reliable number, a steady number, a good number. Maybe with enough time and patience, he could figure out a way to make all numbers a multiple of five...that… makes absolutely no sense, what? Artemis pondered as he walked under the streetlamps on his way back to Dublin.

He felt like his sanity was slipping, eh, probably just the sleep deprivation. Despite the ration line of thought, however, something still felt off. He checked his phone, 2:01 AM. it’s not safe to be walking outside in Dublin at this hour, especially without Butler. Someone could be following him, someone could mug him, or kidnap him, one of his enemies could send someone to assassinate him. Oh gods why did he make too many enemies that was so stupid, now they’re all gonna kill him because they all hate him, it’s his fault they hate you it’s your fault your faultyou r f au l t yourfalut yourvfalutht y o u r f a u l t.

That’s irrational, you’re panicking, calm down, you know what to do. Breathe, in and out and in and out. That’s it, good job.

He took a deep breath, attempting to assuage the feeling, as he entered the dormitory doors.

“Why are you still awake? It’s 2 AM.” the voice of someone he really didn’t want to talk to right now.

“I could ask the same of you Principal Jones sir” Artemis replied, tongue practically dripping with sarcasm. He clearly had a retort, but it died in his throat as he got a look at the boy.

“Are you okay?”

“I beg your pardon.” he responded, putting emphasis on each word and phrasing it less like a question, than a chance to change the sentence. That second chance was not taken.

“You look… sick” he hesitated before speaking the last word, as if searching for a more polite way to phrase it, before giving up.

“Name a time I haven’t.”

“No, I’ve been teaching for 16 years, and I know when somethings wrong”

16, that’s four times four. Four fours, bad, bad luck, death, no-

“Yes well you dont know me, so maybe you should reevaluate your position on the matter.”

“Still, when was the last time you ate? Or slept?”

Artemis rolled his eyes. “I just got back from a cafe, and i was planning on going to sleep before you interrupted. On that note, what are you doing in the commons so late?”

The man just shrugged dismissively, Artemis decided to drop the topic, afterall the idea of that plush blanket on his bed was far too tempting to pass up.

He slipped into room 93, changed into pyjamas, and hit the covers. After all those days of work, of the ice cube project consuming all of his energy, he allowed the sleep deprivation, mental and physical exhaustion to overtake him.

@avid-author-activist @tell-the-stars-hello @artemisfowl-chaos @four-makes-my-bottom-sore @pokegeek151 @xxfanenbyanonymousxx

#artemis fowl #artemis fowl ii #artemis fowl books #angst #artemis fowl angst #tw unhealthy eating habits #tw low self esteem #tw obsessive behavior #tw #tw sleep deprivation #tw depressing stuff #tw paranoia

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novelconcepts · 3 years

Note

You saying more childhood AU is possible with the right prompt is just...

More Tess. All of the Tess. Tess the morning after the party, lives in my brain rent free. The teasing. The knowing looks. The Jamie and Dani being so in love and unashamed and also oops we forgot the roommate. And Tess being the wonderful person she is and not letting them get away with anything.

It’s the fact that they think they’re subtle, that really gets her.

Not that Tess is upset to find Jamie crashing with them the week following graduation. Of course Jamie is crashing with them. Where else would she go, now that Dani “it’s important to grow up and change and learn who you really are, or some such bull” Clayton has finally snapped up the hot gardener of her dreams? Honestly, if Dani let her walk out that door--especially after that first night, which, hello, gardener; these walls aren’t half as thick as they apparently think--she’d have forfeited all rights to sanity, and Tess would have no choice but to make her move instead.

No, she isn’t upset to find Jamie still here the following morning. Or at all. She loves Jamie. What’s not to love?

Honestly, so much to love. If she didn’t love Dani even more, she might have to really test the bounds of this friendship. Particularly when she opens her bedroom door to find Jamie--hair rumpled, dressed in a half-unbuttoned flannel and a pair of boxer shorts--at the kitchen counter. Like, warn a woman.

“Warn you about what?” Jamie looks blank, her hands prying open each cupboard with evidently-mounting disappointment. “You really don’t have any tea?”

“Warn a woman,” Tess repeats, hip-checking her gently out of the way and scrounging the supply of English Breakfast out from behind the stoner snacks. “Before you turn up in her kitchen looking all sex-rumpled. I haven’t even had coffee, Taylor, Jesus.”

Jamie blinks, taking the box from her hands. “O...kay. How was the rest of the party?”

“Not nearly as engaging as your night,” Tess informs her pleasantly, delighted when Jamie’s sleep-muddled expression lights up with embarrassment. “But an extravaganza in its own right all the same. Where’s my girl? I know you railed her into next week, but it seems bad manners to leave you to breakfast alone.”

“I didn’t--we--”

“Thin walls,” Tess sing-songs. “Like paper. Or, what, you’re English--parchment?”

“We have paper,” Jamie deadpans. Tess pats her shoulder, working around her to fill the kettle.

“Good fortune really does smile upon you. Ah! Sleeping Beauty arises!”

Dani, looking only slightly more functional than Jamie, is emerging from the bathroom with an expression that suggests she, at least, is very aware of the acoustics of their apartment. It’s so tempting to tease her about it--Dani has this truly adorable habit of looking like she might combust if pushed too far, the red of her face complimented nicely by the gold of her hair--but Tess figures some things can wait. Lord knows they’re going to walk right into it soon enough.

But like--so soon. Like, she goes off to take a shower, and comes back to find they still haven’t left the kitchen soon.

“Seriously?” She laughs, watching them leap apart. It’s too clear Dani has forgone the idea of coffee and bacon for the much-more-invigorating art of pushing Jamie against the refrigerator. Not that Tess can blame her.

“We--were just--”

“Right in front of my cereal,” Tess says gravely, shaking her head in faux-disappointment as she stretches over Jamie--whose hands are still rooted to Dani’s hips, the hem of Dani’s shirt dropping hastily back over her stomach--to retrieve a box of off-brand Lucky Charms. “No shame.”

They’re both making noises of disagreement, as though Tess hasn’t had her share of groping in the kitchen experiences to call on. She snorts.

“Look, far be it from me to stop your, ah, young love in its tracks. Just. Keep it out of my bedroom, is all I ask. Unless...” She wiggles her eyebrows. Jamie clears her throat so violently, it sounds as though she might fracture something.

“Shower. Should. I.”

“That sentence normally goes in the other direction,” says Tess helpfully. Dani swats her back, grinning.

“Got that out of your system yet?”

“Oh, not nearly.” Tess beams. “By all means, Clayton, show her where the shower lives.”

“I know where the,” Jamie begins to protest, but Dani is slipping both arms around her middle, pressing against her back to urge her toward the bathroom.

“That’s her polite way of saying if I don’t go with you now, she’s going to spend the next half hour fishing for details.”

“You still owe me those,” Tess calls after them. “Every last filthy one.”

***

They think the shower is noise-cancelling, too, Tess realizes about four minutes later. Jesus, these beautiful useless idiots.

***

It’s the lack of subtlety masquerading as Chill, really. The fact that every single time Tess leaves a room, she can count slowly to ten, poke her head back out, and find they’ve picked right back up where last she interrupted.

Step into the bedroom to change her clothes? Come back out to find Dani straddling Jamie on the couch.

Take a quick smoke break on the stairs out front? Glance through the window to find Jamie shirtless, the unmistakable tread of scratches running down her back beneath her bra.

Offer to run out for lunch? Spend an extra five minutes idly counting clouds, because fuck only knows the sounds Dani is making isn’t karaoke.

“You two,” she announces, tossing the pizza box onto the counter with a flourish, “are going to break something if you keep this up. I mean, you’re at least taking hydration breaks, I hope? Do I need to bring you a power bar?”

Jamie has the decency to look slightly ashamed of herself, though there’s a definite grin beneath the hunched shoulders. Dani, selecting a slice of pepperoni-and-banana-peppers, shrugs.

“Consider it payback?”

“For who?” Tess demands, delighted. Dani raises her free hand, ticking her fingers down toward her palm.

“Tyler, whose butt I saw like ten minutes before you introduced us. May, who you used to desecrate the kitchen floor. Carlos and Beth--”

“Liz,” Tess interrupts, “she goes by Liz these days.”

“--Liz, with whom you conveniently forgot I needed to shower before my presentation and took up the bathroom for three hours--”

“Okay, okay,” Tess snorts, groping for a dishtowel in some shade of off-white to wave. “Truce.”

“And that’s just this apartment,” Dani says cheerfully. She tilts her head to look at Jamie, whose face can best be described as aghast. “Back in the dorm, she used to sneak girls in after I was asleep.”

“You were a sound sleeper!”

“No one is sound enough to ignore a bed frame breaking, Tess.”

“I...avoiding college was the right choice,” Jamie says weakly. Tess bats her eyes.

“You’re saying you’ve never dreamed of breaking a bed frame with me, Taylor?”

Jamie darts a look around at Dani, her eyes just shy of screaming. Tess is having the best time of her life.

***

“Tell me honestly, though,” she says. Jamie gives her a sharp look, uncertainty obvious even as she reaches to accept the joint Tess is passing her way.

“Really don’t think Dani wants me giving you a play by play.”

“Dani, beloved of my soul, was fool enough to schedule a doctor’s appointment while you were still in town. She knows what I’m about.”

To Jamie’s credit, she doesn’t choke this time. She puffs once, twice, holding the smoke in her lungs an impressively long time before craning her head back and exhaling. "What am I telling you honestly?”

“You’re going to keep an eye on her, right?”

Jamie looks surprised. “Yeah. Not that she needs it, mind. Just. Yeah. Always.”

Tess sighs. “She doesn’t need it, but you know as well as I what that woman is like. Too good. Too fucking good for her own good, you know? Forgets, sometimes, that she can come first, too.”

Jamie offers a smile nearly wicked in its amusement. “Oh, I take care of that.”

“Yes,” Tess drawls, “darling, I can tell. You know, really relieved she never brought anyone home before now. I’m not sure my beauty sleep could have taken the abuse.”

Jamie laughs, leaning back and pulling a throw pillow into a loose embrace. “She doesn’t need anyone taking care of her. But...”

“But you can’t help wanting to, anyway,” Tess guesses. When Jamie nods, she takes another hit, lets the smoke burn in her chest. “She has that effect on people. Our girl would take a bullet for anyone, and it’s...impossible not to love her for it.”

“She’s the reason,” Jamie says softly, “I didn’t run. Reason I did a lot of things, some of ‘em really, really stupid. Sometimes I think everything I’ve ever done can be traced back home to her, one way or another.”

“That, my dear,” Tess says, “is what fools and songstresses alike call love, I think. Just...do me a favor, keep her from killing herself for those kids.”

Jamie nods. “I will. Promise.”

“Good,” Tess says lightly. “I like you, Jamie. You’ve got the hands of a sinner and the smile of a saint. I’d really hate to have to track you down and kill you for doing her wrong.”

***

For all the sex, and all the blushing that follows, it’s late nights like this one that really say it all. Nights where cards fade into lazy conversation fade into this: Jamie, asleep on the couch, her head resting in Dani’s lap. Dani, looking down at her like she’s never felt so at home in her own skin.

And Tess, watching them both, astonished by the lack of fear in the room. The lack of distance. The lack of uncertainty.

Dani, who has always been a nervous sort, whose panic attacks are so predictable on bad weeks, Tess came back from that first Christmas break with a laundry list of coping methods to offer--looks perfectly at peace. Her fingers stroke back Jamie’s hair, tracing her forehead, her nose, every brush of contact only seeming to sink Jamie deeper into dream. Dani has never looked like this before.

“You’re happy,” Tess says quietly. Not a question. Not a challenge. Dani smiles.

“Part of me thought she’d get sick of it, you know. Waiting for me.”

“Who could get sick of you?” Tess asks, and means it. No one in the world stacks up to Dani, on a list of favorite people. No one in the world ever could. If Jamie really did fall ass over teakettle for this woman when they were barely old enough to know what love was, she couldn’t be blamed for it. Not for a second.

“You’ll invite me to the wedding, of course,” Tess says, when Dani--eyes closed, fingers still tracing aimlessly--says nothing for a while. One blue eye emerges, her nose scrunching up.

“Jumping ahead, aren’t you?”

“She’d do it here and now, if you asked. Shit, I could get ordained, do it for you. Always thought I’d look nice in a little suit.”

“You’d be gorgeous,” Dani says, without a hint of deprecation. Tess blows her a kiss. “And...yes. If and when, I can’t imagine doing it without you.”

“As officiant?”

“I was thinking maid of honor,” Dani laughs. Tess leans back, smiling.

“That’ll do.”

The silence creeps in again, the sleepy indulgence of post-midnight living that feels so perfectly suited to the college experience. Nothing else, Tess suspects, will ever be quite this again--the quiet feeling like peace, the weariness feeling earned, not crushing. Jamie breathes out in her sleep, one hand drifting to gently grasp the hem of Dani’s shirt.

“Gonna miss you,” Tess says softly. “And this one, too.”

Dani smiles, a hint of sadness in her eyes. “It won’t be the same again, will it?”

“Nope.” And maybe that’s a good thing, she thinks. Maybe that’s exactly how it should be. Growing up. Changing. Learning who they ought to be. “But you’ll call.”

“And write,” Dani agrees.

“And send me pictures of your hot gardener,” Tess adds. “Lord knows, it’d be a crying shame to forget that.”

Dani laughs. “Never.”

“You did good, Clayton. Took you a minute, but--you did good.”

She lets the silence settle for real, lets Jamie sleep and Dani doze, lets herself sink into the armchair. They aren’t subtle, it’s true--she’ll probably wake tomorrow to find they’ve opted for a quiet round of the most wall-shaking sex she’s ever heard in Dani’s room--but that feels right, somehow. Good, to see Dani refusing to make herself small. Great, to see Dani refusing to temper an emotion this grand.

“I love you idiots,” she says softly. “You’re going to be just fuckin’ fine.”

#fanfiction #ficlet #the haunting of bly manor #dani x jamie #damie #AU one-shot #welcome back Tess I've missed you #love an OC I enjoy almost as much as the canon kids

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starrynite7114 · 4 years

Text

Two Weeks (Miguel Galindo)

A/N: Tomorrow is my final and I think I’ve reached the point of a mental breakdown that you’re just numb to it. But no matter, positive thoughts all around and hoping my brain isn’t so mean anymore. But due to this, I needed a much needed distraction and finished part one of my Miguel mini series. He may be a little OOC, but I hope you all enjoy this lovely work of mine.

Everything is you, Snapshots, Misconstrued, and two requests will be posted within the next two weeks.

Also may be adding Rio to my lovely writing list, we’ll see.

This is my brain on procrastination, please forgive me.

Love you all and I hope you lovelies are having an amazing week thus far!

Masterlist

Tagged list: @justahopelessssromantic : @ifoundmyhappythought : @carlaangel86 : @marvelmaree : @woahitslucyylu : @encounterthepast : @enamoured-x : @whyisgmora : @briana-mishell24 : @bribri-82 : @briannab1234 : @chibsytelford : @agirllovespasta : @twistnet : @everyhowlmarksthedead : @trulysuccubus : @jadert15 : @sammskellington : @cind-in-real-life : @claytoncardenasbabymama : @sadeyesgf : @thickemadame : @summertimesadnesswithadashofsass : @gemini0410 : @elcococruz : @samcrobae : @sesamepancakes : @iambabyharry : @blackmissfrizzle : @soamayansfangirl : @1-800-imagines : @phoenixhalliwell : @lady-pswrld : @dazzledamazon : @getyourcrayoncas : @fvckthisbxtchup : @lukealvxz : @scuzmunkie : @nakusaych9 : @danie1432 : @cocotheclown : @soaronmywings : @my-rosegold-soul : @buttercup812 : @itskiranbitch : @angelreyesgirl : @sheeshgivemeabreak : @vicmackeybullshxt : @strawberrywritings : @cherry-icetea : @losolvidad0s : @brownsugarcoffy : @courtrae89 : @blessedboo : @dark-twisted-and-mechanical-mind : @fariesandwanderlust : @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead : @xserenax-13 : @whatupitshuff : @aquamento : @justvnash : @maddie-georges : @itskiranbitch

If you would like to be added to the tag list, please leave a comment below or just message me!

CREDIT TO THE ORIGINAL GIF CREATOR!

You couldn’t do this, you were at wits end. You wanted nothing more than to throw your work phone away as it constantly rang, constantly interfered with your life, sanity, sleep, and did you already say sanity? Just in case, your sanity.

“If I ignore it, it never happened.” You looked at the clock and it was three in the morning, you had to be up in three hours to get ready for work to see this despicable man once more.

The ringing stopped, a sigh of relief overtaking your body. Your eyes closed and yet again, it fucking rang.

“FUCK YOU MIGUEL GALINDO.”

You took a deep breath, gathering what remained of your sanity.

“Hello Mr. Galindo, what can I do for you at three in the morning?”

His chuckle rang across the phone, aggravating you more. “Ooh, Mr. Galindo? I’m in trouble, rightfully so. I apologize for calling you so early in the morning, but I’m in a bit of a conundrum.”

“Miguel, I am not picking you up from Alejandra’s place.”

“I gave Nestor the night off.” He argued.

“I’m technically off too you asshole!” You were one of the few who didn’t fear Miguel. You knew of his capabilities, but you figured you were far too valuable.

“Yes, I am fully aware of that, your nights are sacred. But you know I rarely call you on nights.” He countered.

“Correct that statement.”

“Anymore.” He corrected himself.

“Miguel, why do you continue to meet this girl if you’re not interested in her?” Ever since his divorce with Emily two years ago, Miguel has been single and kept it that way. Which in hindsight was for the best. With the cartel, real estate, which he still headed with Emily, and the rebels, he had plenty of things to occupy his time. But you knew why he liked the causality of his relationship with Alejandra.

No strings attached.

No questions.

No commitments.

It fit his lifestyle.

“Because, I have needs and you know, she’s easy on the eyes.”

You begrudgingly got out of bed and made sure to sigh loudly. Miguel chuckled, and you just cussed his name in the three languages you knew.

“Stop cussing me out in your head. Are you coming to get me?”

“I get the day off.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Better cuddle up then.”

“Fine, but we’re having breakfast then you can have your day off.”

“No work talk during breakfast or the ride home.”

Miguel groaned. “Deal.”

===========

You sat across from Miguel at this diner in San Diego, your usual spot whenever you picked him up from Alejandra’s. Miguel rarely indulged himself or let his real self out due to his obligations as a cartel head. He had a reputation to maintain, his playful and joking nature was hardly in display. But whenever he let himself be free, it was easy to see why Emily fell for him.

You didn’t, but you could acknowledge why your asshole of a boss could be charming.

You dedicated ten years to Miguel. He taught you the ins and outs of business along with his illegal activities. If he was ever indicted, you knew you would be a target as well. Miguel always tried to keep you out of the cartel side of things, but that proved to be difficult.

Straight out of college, twenty-two years young with your English major in hand, you applied for Miguel’s assistant position. What was supposed to be an in between job before doing a Master’s program turned into ten years of unfulfillment. You learned much from Miguel. He forced you to learn how to become a business woman, to think like him. You were the brain that wasn’t attached to him.

But you had to walk away.

You were thirty-two years old, with nothing to your name. You wanted to be something. You couldn’t be his assistant forever. As much as he was a pain, you enjoyed working with Miguel, but you could still enjoy his friendship without working with him.

“Do you think I should involve myself in a relationship again? It doesn’t look good for my image if I remain unattached.” Miguel broke you out of your thoughts.

“True, but if you remain single, less people to worry about. Personal relationships in your line of work is hardly ideal.” This constitutes as business talk, but you’ll let it slide.

“You’re right, and this is why you’re my right hand.” Miguel knew that technically belonged to Marcus or even Nestor, but he never made a decision without your input. He was just used to it.

“I wanted to speak to you about something.”

“Go for it.” Miguel gave his full attention to her. “Are you finally going to confess your undying love for me?”

You know she liked playful Miguel, but when he was being this obnoxious, she liked hardened, cartel boss Miguel.

“Right, should I stab you now or later?” You rolled your eyes making Miguel laugh. “I’m going to look for a new secretary.”

“Sure, you need help?” Miguel hardly argued with you. He trusted your judgment after all.

“No, I’m resigning.”

===========

“She has to be in love with me.” Miguel paced back and forth in his office, a few hours after your breakfast.

Nestor watched his boss and closest friend, amused by his suggestion.

“Y/N?” It’s not that Nestor couldn’t see you falling for Miguel, but, that wasn’t it. “You’ve said it yourself that she’s far too bright to remain your assistant forever.”

“That was just insanity talk, of course I expect her to stay by my side.” Miguel stopped in front of Nestor. “She quit right after she picked me up from Alejandra’s. She hated picking me up from there and she never got along with Emily.”

“All circumstantial. You know she cherishes her sleep, most likely the reason she was annoyed. Second, Emily was always a bitch to her.” Emily never liked you since she thought you undermined her with Miguel, which was far from the truth. Nestor witnessed a majority of your fights and it was hardly pretty. “All circumstantial.”

“No, she’s jealous. I know it. No matter, I can get rid of Alejandra.”

Nestor shook his head. He knew this day would come, you spoke to him about it quite often recently. But he didn’t think it would be too soon. He also knew Miguel wouldn’t handle it well. It was hard for him to trust anyone and the fact the person he trusted most was going to leave?

Miguel was at the first stage, denial.

===========

You drove up the driveway of Miguel’s home the next morning, Nestor greeting you by your car.

“You had to drop that bombshell and take the day off?” Nestor shook his head. He loved Miguel, he did, but yesterday was full of theories and bullshit he didn’t want to partake in.

“Well if you’re didn’t take the night off then I could have told him later that morning.” You retorted, glaring at your friend.

“You’re punishing me for taking a personal day?”

“I’m not punishing you, I didn’t think he was going to go overboard with the theories.” Nestor texted you every fucking thing that Miguel had said. It went from you having a secret family, secret boyfriend to being in love with him, which was what he settled with.

“To be fair, I said it was all circumstantial.”

“And it is.” You handed your purse to Nestor. “I’m posting the job later and see if we get any candidates that are,”

You paused. “We’ll see if we can find people that are trustworthy.” It wasn’t about skills. It wasn’t about degrees. It was about being trustworthy.

“How can you even determine that?”

“I have good intuition.”

“Right, forgot, you're psychic.” He teased her.

“Fuck you,” you playfully pushed him.

Nestor opened the door for you and you walked in finding Marcus and Miguel sitting around in the living room.

“There she is,” Miguel greeted you, giving you a hug and kissing your cheek. “How are you?”

“Good,” you gave him an odd look. “You ready, we have a packed day today.”

All three men were looking at you and you gave them a questioning look.

“Am I missing something?”

“I got you something.” Miguel smiled, taking your hand in his. He led you through the house to the garage and before entering he requested for you to close your eyes. “If you got me a car, I swear to god.”

“Wait, why, did you not want a new car?” Miguel frowned. Materialistic items usually appeased women, it definitely kept Emily’s temper at bay when it was directed at him. But he should know how you were by now. Materialistic items rarely impressed you. He found it odd that the little things he did for you was what left the most impression. He got you a rose gold bracelet for your birthday and while you were thankful, he could tell it didn’t impress you much. He brought you lunch from your favorite restaurant, and it was like he gave you the world.

Why the fuck did he get you a damn car?

“I’m not Emily, Miguel, you can’t just wave a shiny thing in front of me and I’ll change my mind.” You crossed your arms across your chest. “Did you get me a car?”

“No,” he closed the door.

Nestor refrained from laughing while Marcus just chuckled.

“You already bought it, might as well let me see.” You nodded your head towards the door.

Miguel indulged you and opened the door. Your mouth dropped. “You got me a Range Rover?” It was your dream car, one that you were saving up for, and now you had it. But you weren’t staying. “As much as I want the car, it’s not going to work. I’ll be posting the job later on today.” You saw that Nestor closed the door as soon as you said that.

“This is ridiculous, why do you want to quit? Am I not compensating you enough?” Miguel was frustrated. He didn’t want you to leave. How could you leave? He compensated you well. Always made sure you were well taken care of and to top it off, you were basically the closest confidant he had. He trusted you with his life, there was no way he could find anyone he trusted as much as you.

“I told you, it’s for personal reasons.” You didn’t understand why you had to give him a reason. In any other job, personal reasons would suffice.

But this was different.

You knew change was not something Miguel was a fan of, he was meticulous and hardly deviated from his normal. He had a schedule and strictly followed it. When the plans deviated, it greatly irritated him, but you always found a way to soften the blow so he wasn’t inconvenienced.

“I think I warrant more than a generic answer.”

“Miguel, I’ve been your assistant for ten years now. It’s just time for me to move on professionally. I couldn’t possibly be your assistant forever.”

“Are you in love with me?”

He blurted it out so quickly that even he was surprised he did. Miguel hardly said anything without thinking of it, but you were an anomaly to him. He spoke before he thought of his words with you.

“No, absolutely not.” You laughed. “No offense, you’re a good looking guy, but I also know you, so no, I’m not interested.”

“Why not?” Miguel was slightly appalled by your rejection of the idea of being in love with him. Was he not worthy? He was a catch if he said so himself.

“What? What do you mean why not? I’m not interested, simple as that.” You could tell your rejection affected Miguel. Not everyone fell to his feet, especially not you. “Look, now that we got that theory out of the way, want to try another? Why is it so hard to believe I just want a better career?”

“I can provide that for you.”

“Miguel, what can I possibly do in your organization that would be a promotion? I swear to god, if you say executive assistant.”

“Come on querida, give me more credit than that.” Miguel chuckled. “You can handle the developmental projects around Santo Padre. You could be my development manager.”

“No, absolutely not, I would have to work with Emily. She already thinks we're sleeping together, the last thing I want to do is deal with Emily.”

“Y/N, come on, I’m sure I can find something in my organization that can fulfill this desire you have.” Miguel was not comfortable with the thought of losing you. He wasn’t willing to accept it.

“Miguel, we have to move on some time, you’ll be fine. I will find the most eligible candidate for this job. I promise.” You gave him a hug.

You needed to do this. You couldn’t stay in this job forever, you had to move on.

“Hand them over.”

“What?”

You stuck your hand out. “You got me the car, it would be rude to not take it.”

===========

“She’s in love with me, it's the only logical reason.” Miguel was sitting down on the couch by the pool, nursing the whiskey in his hand.

“Did she not say she wasn’t?” Nestor wasn’t sure why they were talking about this again when Miguel already spoke to you.

“She’s hiding it.”

“Look, I’m going to ask this at the risk of being killed by you, but out of pure curiosity, are you hoping she’s in love with you so you can confess some deep secret you’ve kept from her?”

“No, absolutely not, I’m not interested in her, but if it keeps her by my side, I can be with her.”

Nestor gave Miguel an incredulous look, chuckling at his friend’s terrible idea. Though, he couldn’t help, but play Devil’s Advocate.

“You know what, you should pursue her.”

“Now you see what I’m seeing. She wouldn’t be able to say no to me. I know her like the back of my palm.”

Nestor had to refrain from chuckling. This was going to be a fun two weeks.

#miguel galindo #miguel galindo fanfiction #miguel galindo imagine #mayans mc imagine #mayans mc fic #mayans mc fanfic

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mallowstep · 3 years

Note

Genetics ask! I know that male torties/torbies are very rare and caused by a genetic mutation, but with those who do exist, are there any prerequisites with their parents? I’m assuming they’d have to carry the red gene since tortoiseshell is one red, one not-red, but I barely know anything. And based on this, is it better to just headcanon cats like Redtail as biologically female?

alright! hello, anon.

since i had to do more research than usual for this one, reminder that:

i am not an expert. i can and will be wrong. you can find my self-corrections under #corrections, but those are only things i or others have noticed, and that i've had the time to write a correction to and explain.

disclaimers out of the way, let's talk about tortie toms. (and torbie toms, and calico toms, it's all the same deal.)

if you know how ginger works, you can skip the next few paragraphs.

orange (ginger, red, etc.) is sex-linked in cats. what this means is that the gene that causes orange cats is on the x chromosome. it is also codominant, which means that having an orange x chromosome (Xo) and a non-orange x chromosome (X) is not black or orange, but both.

basically:

X or XX: black

Xo or XoXo: orange

XXo: tortoiseshell

yeah?

now, for the rest of this post, i'm going to be writing O and o instead of Xo and X because it's one less character and i don't run the risk of putting three x chromosomes together.

okay. so because torties need two x chromosomes, they're typically female. the way tortie itself works is basically, cells activate one of the genes (O or o) at random, creating patches. so you need two copies.

wikipedia says about a third of male torties have klinefelter's, which is the XXY karyotype. while this does have physical changes associated with it, the only way to confirm (humans have) klinefelter's is to test it genetically.

luckily, cats are very helpful about demonstrating it. what with them being tortie and all.

(we're also lumping in the variations of klinefelter's here. you can get XXYY, etc., and they all fit into the same broad idea.)

anyway, the extra x chromosome can come from either the mother or the father. this makes tortie toms...not quite easier, since the prereqs are the same, but y'know. if mom is Oo, dad doesn't matter. if mom is OO, dad has to be o, and if mom is oo, dad has to be O. same rules as usual.

XXY toms are going to be...not sterile, but pretty infertile. using human stats, about 50% can produce sperm, although the likelihood of them having kits is still low. humans with klinefelter's are also taller than average, so keep that in mind.

again, and this might be a correction on my part, i can't remember, but tortie toms aren't strictly going to be visibly different than other toms.

okay, so most people stop at klinefelter's, but there are two other ways to get tortie toms: mosiacism and chimerism. these are often confused/combined, but because i strive for generally being accurate, i'll go over them both.

mosaic cats carry multiple genetic lines, because of a mutation. this can either be somatic (happens in the body, is not hereditary), or germline (happens in reproductive cells of parents, is hereditary).

this is not always a gain of a line, you can lose a chromosome as well. the difference between somatic and germline and how it affects torties goes over my head, so i'm not going to speak to it, other than i'm pretty sure we're talking about somatic mosaicism. i think. again, not a biologist or geneticist, just a hobbyist with an internet connection.

right, so what happens is basically, some cells lose their extra x chromosome, giving you a cat with karyotype XXY/XY. these cats are more likely to be fertile and generally have less effects of klinefelter's. i'm not entirely sure how this affects tortie presentation, if at all, but it does happen.

i suppose you could also have some kind of mutation that gives you an extra x spontaneously, but that would be unlikely to cause torties, because it would also have to mutate into the other O allele.

again, i really want to stress that while i'm not bullshitting, i'm also not speaking definitively here.

last up is chimerism, where two embryos fuse in the womb, creating mixed genes.

i'm using a picture of a dog, here, because this is what goes through my head when i think of chimeras. you'll have to take my word for it, but while this would be a normal tortie cat, it can't really happen in dogs without some kind of mutation. and chimerism, given the extent of the patching, is pretty likely.

right! chimera torties are going to be, afaik, normal levels of fertile, although it's likely that they can pass on either black or red, not both.

(while i'm here, before we move on, there are a lot of types of chimeras. this type is called tetragametic chimerism, and it's rare in humans but more common in other animals. it's hard to know how common it is, because the differences are often very subtle, and hard to test. it's also not mutually exclusive with mosaics or klinefelter's, just to really muddy the waters.)

i don't have statistics for how common mosaics and chimeras are, and there's always, "a different type of mutation that doesn't fall into this category"

for mosaics and chimeras, the rules for inheritance seem to be the same as for klinefelter's. there's the added note that, because there can be multiple sires within one litter, a ginger queen could have kits with a ginger tom, and get a tortie son, as long as she also...ahem...with a black(/brown, etc.) tom. (or vice versa, with all brown and a ginger.)

okay! so that's basically how it happens.

as for the second part of this question, well. "is it better?" is a matter of opinion. i don't think anyone is wrong for having tortie toms. i don't care. (a) it is possible, and (b) we're all just having fun.

i, personally, do not think redtail is karyotype XX, because i like him being sandstorm's father with brindleface. idk. i like brindleface. yes, i know this raises huge genetic problems, and it's not very canon. i don't really care. i read that redtail fic where he thinks about sand&brindle as he's dying and it hasn't left me.

that said, i'm still a sucker for trans redtail. love it. idk, this is kind of hard to explain. like? it's not my headcanon, but i still appreciate it.

anyway! to the point: if you care about statistics and likelihoods and how many tortie toms you've had in the clan, yes, you're probably better off saving your chromosome anomalies for when they need to have kits, and using XX karyotype for the rest.

(under the cut: matthew rambles about trans cats and gender identity for a while)

i'm pretty sure cats don't have the western concept of gender. i don't think they have a human concept of gender, either, but at some point i need to be able to pin down something, and i think a third/fourth gender is closer to what they have.

i've been thinking about this a lot lately, because i decided i wasn't satisfied with my old approach to trans cats. i can do better than that. i decided cats don't have gendered pronouns, so why should the solution be, "trans cats don't really get to do anything about it"

no. i am dissatisfied with that.

at the same time, for specific reasons: i also don't think cats are trans in the western sense of the word.

because if for nothing else, remember that cat sexual dimorphism has a bigger effect on their life than in humans.

like, queens are going to be uncomfortable around male cats they don't hella trust and their kits. that doesn't go away if said male cat isn't a tom. y'know?

i'm in a constant state of tweaks with this, because i basically: form opinion, test opinion, refine opinion. my initial opinion was too harsh. and!

part of what's changed is i decided i wanted fernsong to be able to raise his kits in the nursery instead of ivypool. so i had to adjust how i think the nursery and queens work, slightly, to permit for that. now, i can turn back to gender and think about it some more.

i'm not going to coin any new terms, because i'm not in that kind of mood, but i think there is some idea of a female cat who is not a she-cat. i don't think the cats would call them a tom, but i'm not sure what they would say or how they would describe it.

i think they would just, on some level, get it.

actually okay you know what! i do need some lingo here. queens = cats who are raising kits in the nursery. she-cats = XX karyotype, considers self female (cis, if you will). toms = XY karyotype, considers self male (cis, again). and uh...we'll go with...

god i hate. i don't want anything i say in this ramble to be considered "words i am going to now use consistently" because i literally just need some way to describe this for my own sanity. with that in mind, let us use molly for XY karyotype, but not a tom, and...how about gib for XX karyotype, not a she-cat.

again, i don't want that to be considered permanent, i'm just fishing at words people use to describe cats so i can have something to work with.

right so, i don't think cats think gib and tom are equivalent, but i also don't think they (as a society) care about that.

like, okay, let's say redtail is XX, but not a she-cat. there's nothing to really be done (heck, if he wants to be a queen, that's still fine), cats don't have gendered pronouns or names, but at the same time, there's an intuitive understanding of what that means.

this kind of ties into the matriarchy, kind of? like, hm, queens are an important part of the matriarchy, but at the same time, she-cats inherit family lines. not that cats inherit much, but still.

i'm getting very abstract here. take, uh, like let's say a hypothetical trans mothwing. i think a lot of people have that headcanon?

and i think, like, mothwing would not be considered a tom. if cats had a concept of sexuality, leafpool would not be straight, because she likes mothwing, and mothwing is not a tom.

but! i would still think willowshine probably is the first line for nursery visits, at least when the kits are very young.

and i don't think anyone there would be unhappy with that deal.

right. i just kept rambling for a while, because i've been thinking about this and obviously it's semi-tied to the question.

tl/dr: cats don't care about gender, because they are cats meowing at each other in the woods. if a cat says they're not agab, everyone is just cool with that.

#ask #anon #essay #long #ask to tag #jic #mine #txt #genetics #redtail #warriors genetics #trans cats

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raibebe · 4 years

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Soft core

Genre: Fluff(?) Words: 11,4 k holy shit this is insane Prompt: Jaehyun in his vampire bdsm outfit he wore in the Punch era but make it sfw Warnings: mentions of blood, brief mentions of member x member relationships, brief descriptions of a panic attack

A/N: This was written for Aimee who loves Jaehyun with her whole heart, happy birthday Aimee 💖 I hope you had an amazing day and like this little something. I know you deactivated but I already started writing this a month ago and I’ll post it anyways in the hope you’ll see this someday and a couple of others will enjoy this as well. I have mixed and matched their outfits and tattoos from both the concept photos and the live stages. Also I’m sorry Johnny, but you fit the role of the shameless flirt so well… Bonus points for anyone who spots all cameos. Special thanks to @burtonized who made me keep going with this and listened to all my complaints.

To say you were nervous before starting your first shift at your new job in a reasonably shady bar not too far from your apartment was an understatement. You seriously questioned your own sanity and why you had even applied for the job when you had seen the offer on the beat up wooden entrance door next to an old motorcycle license plate and a bright green neon sign that illuminated the word ‘open’ a couple of days ago. The blue haired man behind the bar had given you a questioning look after you had entered the bar because you couldn’t have looked any more out of place with your soft sweater between the old wooden interior and the leather the barman and a handful of customers were wearing. It had cost all of your courage and a reminder that you needed to find a job for the weekends to walk up to the bar to ask the barman about the job offer. He had asked you a couple of questions like whether you had already waited tables before, which you had (at a place that was lit far better than this one but how different would it be?). The man who had introduced himself as Kun and honestly seemed like a big softie on the inside despite his serious look (it had to be the intense eyebrows) had agreed to hire you on the spot because he had the offer up for a while and no one had come in to ask about it and he couldn’t keep bullying his apparently very chaotic roommates to keep covering the shifts on the busy weekends anymore.

That’s how you found yourself here, a couple of days later on a Friday night, staring at the wooden door yet again (now missing the job offer and not yet illuminated by the neon sign).You took a deep breath and pushed through the door of the bar, this time not looking as out of place as you had before, wearing black skinny jeans and a simple grey v-neck. Kun looked up from where he was wiping down the counter, shooting you a smile. Today he had styled his hair up, exposing his forehead and was wearing a black button up shirt with a bunch of white details that was missing quiet some buttons at the top. “You actually came,” he grinned, “You can put your jacket and bag into the back room.” He pointed to a door with the label ‘staff only’. “We’re opening in half an hour. I’ll introduce you to the others once they decide to arrive.” Nodding you rushed to put your stuff away. You were pleasantly surprised by how clean it was in the back. The beat up interior from the main room was nowhere to be found. So it really didn’t seem too bad if it was only shabby for aesthetic purposes.

After taking a couple of more deep breaths in front of the mirror in the staff room, you felt as prepared as you would ever be and emerged back into the main room of the bar. Next to Kun behind the counter was now another man, clad in the tightest pair of leather pants you had ever seen and a loose, see through black blouse, his long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail, showing off a variety of piercings in his ears that were reflecting the low light of the neon signs. When both men noticed you, the blonde flashed you a bright smile and quickly wiped his fingers on the towel he had used to dry some glasses and held it out for you to shake. “Hi, I’m Ten. Kun told me he had finally found someone willing to help us out on the weekends but he missed to tell me how cute you are. Don’t worry the customers are all nice and if anyone gives you any problems, weird stares or makes inappropriate comments, just tell me immediately and I’ll throw them out,” he introduced himself. You couldn’t help but giggle a bit at the image of this petite man throwing drunken men twice his size out of the bar. “Thank you,” you answered before introducing yourself as well. “Would you please wipe down the tables in the back?” Kun asked, handing you a cloth, “The other waiter should be here any minute, so he can walk you through the process.” “You’re all males working here?” You asked shyly while starting to wipe the tall round tables closest to the bar. “Honey, there’s not many woman brave enough to even set a foot in here even though about eighty percent of our regulars and hundred percent of our staff are big softies hiding behind leather jackets and tattoos,” Ten chirped, disappearing beneath the counter to check the tubes of the beer taps.

Speaking of the other staff, as if on queue the door slammed open to reveal a ridiculously tall man with the biggest brown eyes you had ever seen, his platinum hair swept back from his forehead, a huge grin plastered on his face. “Yooo, the poster with the job offer is gone, did you finally find someone?” The man all but shouted, excitedly bouncing up and down on his way to the bar, shucking off his leather jacket and carelessly throwing it on one of the bar stools to reveal toned arms and a strong chest straining his short sleeved black shirt. “Xuxi, indoor voice please,” Kun groaned, massaging his temples. “Oh sorry,” the other man - Xuxi - answered, flashing Kun big puppy eyes. “We did find someone, please don’t scare her off,” Ten answered Xuxi’s initial question, emerging back from under the counter, smashing the door shut, which caused Kun to groan again. “That thing has a handle for a reason,” he sighed. “It keeps opening itself back up otherwise,” the smaller man shrugged, leaning against the now spotless counter, a mischievous smile on his lips. “Wait, her?” Xuxi asked, eyes wide in either excitement or amazement, “As in she? A girl?” “Yes, hello,” you quietly introduced yourself, stepping out from the corner where you had been cleaning the tabletops.

“Wow, you’re so pretty,” Xuxi said instead of a proper introduction when you walked over to where the three men were standing. You could feel the heat rise to your cheeks, tinting them a rosy color. Sighing, Kun took the dirty cloth from you and rinsed it in the sink. “This is Xuxi, the other waiter for tonight. As you might have noticed he doesn’t have much of a filter, but i swear he is harmless.” “Just call me Lucas at work, it’s easier,” the man in question grinned, not even bothering to correct Kun and extended a hand for you to shake (needless to say because he was unnecessary tall, his huge hand could almost cover your whole fist). “I’ll teach you everything you need to know,” he beamed and even though he had just called you cute, he was definitely the cutest person currently in this room. “Thank you,” you murmured, a smile spreading on your lips because Xuxi’s grin was really infectious and you felt your anxiety disappearing.

In the remaining time before the bar would officially open, Xuxi taught you everything you needed to know. From their system and how you’d take the orders and which tables you would serve to special drinks that weren’t on the menu and what to do if any customers would give you trouble. “There’s probably not much to do for the first two hours or so”, Xuxi concluded, running a hand through his platinum blonde hair, making his muscles dance beneath his shirt, “Like that you can get used to it before it gets packed. Fridays are always busy and there’s a bunch of different people coming. Did any regulars call in before?” He asked the last question to the general direction of the bar. Flipping through a book next to the cash register, Ten nodded. “127 are coming in, they got that big table in the back but other than that, no one called.” “What’s 127?” You asked curiously because that was one of the tables you were supposed to serve. “They’re a group of guys our age, but I’m not really sure what exactly they are to be honest,” Xuxi laughed while fixing the belt that held his wallet before handing you your own one. “I think they are bikers,” Ten supplied, turning around to reorganizing the bottles behind the bar for the third time tonight, “At least some of them have bikes and they sure look the part. Have you seen Johnny’s new tattoo the other week, Xuxi? That must have hurt like hell.” “Yeah, I saw the post with his chestpiece on his Instagram. That man is ripped.” “Well, you’re one to talk,” you murmured under your breath, organizing the contents of the belt to your liking. Laughing out loud, Ten slapped Kun on the chest. “We need to keep her, I like her,” he giggled and Kun just shot you a slightly pained smile, rubbing where Ten’s hand had come down. “Oh come on, old man. I didn’t even hit that hard.” “Stop calling me old, I am literally just two months older than you,” Kun groaned, softly shaking a grinning Ten. Unbothered by the bickering of the two barmen, Xuxi called over from the door: “I’ll switch on the sign!”

Your anxiety came back at full force when the bar started to fill up one hour after it opened. Resisting the urge to hide behind the bar, you approached yet another group of shady looking men to take their orders. Like the other people you had served before, they gave you a weird look while looking up and down your frame once before asking if you were new here. You just nodded and smiled politely while writing down their orders before walking back to the bar where you took out one of the trays and put the note with the order on top so Ten or Kun could put the according drinks on top. “Here, have a little drink, the night is just beginning,” Ten grinned and pushed a glass into your hands before completing the order while somehow also dancing fluently to the music that was playing through the speakers now. You eyed the drink suspiciously, the deep orange color throwing you off a bit. “It’s not spiked, no need to worry,” Xuxi told you, suddenly appearing next to you, placing his own tray with empty glasses onto the counter, winking teasingly before grabbing a colorful bottle to pour a bunch of shots, so Ten and Kun could focus on the other, more complicated drinks on the orders. You drowned the sickly sweet drink quickly and put the glass next to the ones that needed to be rinsed. You mouthed Ten a ‘thank you’ when you picked up your order and he blew you an exaggerated kiss, making you giggle and feel a little more at ease. It was like he had known you were being nervous again.

After checking in with your other tables and earning a big tip from some truckers that actually had been really nice, you made your way back to the bar to help Kun with rinsing the glasses that had been piling up. “You remember those regulars that were coming in tonight?” the blue haired barman suddenly asked, “That’s them.” He nodded towards the door where a group of men were coming in. For a moment, your breath got caught in your throat because Ten hadn’t been wrong earlier when he said that those 127 guys looked like bikers. Honestly anyone of them could have been a model for the leather clothes they were wearing while standing in front of a Harley Davidson or thrashing something with a baseball bat. (Also was one of them wearing a metal harness beneath his leather vest?) “They’re all nice people, no need to worry,” Kun calmed you down, shooting you a reassuring smile before taking the beer glass from your hands that you had started to grip so hard, your knuckles were turning white. “How many are they?” You asked him curiously while eyeing the group as they made their way over to their designated table, greeting other regulars as well as Lucas (one of them was apparently just as incapable of having an indoor voice as him when he loudly yelled ‘Lucas’ before hugging the taller male tightly).

“Yooo, Johnny’s chestpiece looks even more sick in real life,” Lucas said with wide eyes when he came back to the bar. “Also he gave me 20 dollar so I would ask Haechan and Mark if they were even legal when they would order something alcoholic,” he grinned, “I’ll share if you do it.” “How am I supposed to know who to ask?” You asked because even though you were shy, 20 dollars were 20 dollars. “That’s the spirit,” Lucas grinned and threw an arm around your shoulders to turn you in the direction of the table where the men had sat down, not even trying to be subtle about it. “You see the one with the purple hair sitting next to the tall one with half his chest exposed? The purple haired one is Haechan and the tall one is Johnny. Mark is the one on the stool to the left, just ask Haechan for his age first, Mark will be the one to laugh the loudest,” he quickly explained. “You know them quite well,” you said, trying to fight the heat spreading across your cheeks because it didn’t happen any day that you were in such a close proximity to a handsome man like Lucas. “I went to school with Mark,” he shrugged, letting you go when Kun yelled that his order was ready.

Before walking up to their table you took another deep breath to calm your furiously beating heart, repeating in your head how no one had been mean to you yet and that all your coworkers kept on telling you how nice they were supposed to be. “Hi everyone,” you greeted them when you arrived at the table, “Have you already decided what you want to order?” Seeing the chaos that the group was already in, half of them probably didn’t even notice that you had arrived at the table. “Guys!” The pink haired man wearing the harness type thing scolded the others that were bickering in the back of the little booth on the couch. “I’m sorry, they usually behave better,” he smiled and his big eyes combined with his pink hair made him look like he came straight out of an animation. “I’m Taeyong by the way,” the pink haired man supplied, flashing you a genuine smile, “You’re new here, right? I haven’t seen you around before.” “Today is my first day,” you nodded, cheeks heating up under the gaze of the handsome man, nervously playing with your little notepad. “Let’s order, guys!” Taeyong said, the others slowly turning their attention towards you. How all of them were this handsome was beyond your imagination. Shyly you introduced yourself as their waiter for the night for the second time and asked for their orders. One after the other they either ordered plain beer or some really extraordinary cocktails that you had never heard of before. When the purple haired boy, Haechan, ordered his cocktail, you took a deep breath before putting on your best poker face. “Could I see your ID to check your age first?”

As soon as the words had left your lips, the whole table fell dead silent and the boy’s mouth dropped open in surprise. But before you could lose your courage to mutter an apology, the boy that had greeted Lucas loudly before, burst out in laughter, that the others minus Haechan quickly joined and even you couldn’t hold back the grin that spread over your face. “Now that I think about it, could I see yours as well?” You followed up and asked the dark haired boy with the infectious laugh, whose eyes immediately turned into saucers, his mouth wide open while the others couldn’t hold their laughs anymore, the purple haired boy joining in now. “I’m sorry,” you giggled, turning to the last man to order when they all had calmed down, using the napkins on the table to exaggeratedly wipe their tears. “What can I get you?” When the man with the dark hair that was elegantly swept back from his face turned towards you, you could swear that time stilled for a moment. His dark eyes that were accentuated with a bit of eyeshadow fixed yours and you were captivated, unable to look away. When your eyes dipped lower for a second you could see the black ink of a tattoo on the pale skin of his neck. He seemed familiar but you couldn’t quite tell why. Maybe you had seen him around on campus. But even then you should have been able to tell because that tattoo really wasn’t subtle at all. Briefly you were wondering if he could ever work a normal job with something like that. “I think I’ll just start with a beer as well,” he spoke softly, his voice a deep rumble, tearing you from your thoughts. After you had definitely stared at him for way too long than it would have been acceptable, you tore your gaze away from him, quickly scribbling down his order as well, repeating what you had written down for the others to confirm.

“Great, then I’ll be back in a bit with your drinks,” you smiled, after one of them had insisted that they should get a round of shots as well. “Can’t wait,” the tall one with the eagle tattoo on his chest said with a smirk on his lips, adding a cheesy wink that made you way more flustered than you would have liked. You quickly turned to hide your heated face, speed walking back over to the bar to put their order down. “Did you do it?” Lucas eagerly asked, bouncing up and down in excitement where he was helping to dry some glasses behind the counter. “Where’s my money?” You grinned, holding out your palm towards him. “Waaa, you really did it,” he grinned while bouncing up and down excitedly and you could barely hold in the urge to coo at him. He really did resemble an oversized puppy. You barely knew him for more than a couple of hours but he already had wiggled his way into your heart.

“Lucas, you didn’t tell us such a pretty girl would be serving us tonight,” a smooth male voice suddenly interrupted. When you turned around, the tall man from the 127 gang (Were they a gang? Did they do illegal stuff?) came walking up to the counter, leaning against the polished wood. “She’s new here, I didn’t know either,” Lucas pouted, already grabbing two shot glasses to put up on the bar top, putting the third one back down when you shook your head. You weren’t going to drink on your first day of work even though it seemed to be normal when you watched Lucas fill up the two glasses with a shady looking liquid from an unlabeled bottle he had grabbed from below the counter. Clinking their glasses together both men drowned their shots and while the tall biker didn’t even flinch, Lucas broke out into a whole body shiver, squeezing his eyes shut. “This stuff is really fucking disgusting,” he grimaced before refilling one of the shot glasses again, shoving it in front of the other man again, “I don’t know how Ten manages to make these concoctions.” Grinning, the man in question suddenly appeared and snatched the shot glass from below the other‘s fingers, drowning it himself. The blonde only grimaced a little. “I gotta say, I’ve made better stuff but also definitely worse. Lucas, we need a new keg of beer, can you please get one from the back, you’re so much stronger than I am,” Ten pouted, batting his lashes at Lucas and rubbing one of his hands over the other’s muscled arms. “Be nice to her,” Lucas told the man with the big tattoo on his chest and quickly disappeared to the back.

“I’m Johnny by the way,” he introduced himself, running a hand through his dark red hair. “So you’re the one who asked Lucas to embarrass your friends,” you remembered, your eyes getting caught on the intricate feathers of the eagle that spread its wings over Johnny’s broad chest. He smirked when your eyes came back up to meet his. “That would be me. You like the tattoo?” “It looks nice,” you mumbled, embarrassed at being caught staring, “It’s not something you see every day.” “I have some other ones that are pretty interesting as well,” he winked. “Su-Sure,” you stuttered, feeling your face heat up for what must have been the millionth time this night. “You’re cute,” Johnny laughed, the sound bright and inviting, his eyes turning into little crescents. “What did you come over for? Did I miss something on the order?” You tried to move the conversation in a direction you were a little (a lot) more comfortable with. “I just thought I could put my muscles to use and help you carry our drinks, we ordered quite a lot. Also I still owe you money for pulling that prank on Mark and Haechan. Even though their faces were priceless.” “How old are they anyways?” You asked him because you didn’t actually ended up looking at their IDs and Haechan especially did seem quite young. Digging out his worn out wallet, Johnny fished out a twenty dollar bill and teasingly held it up between two fingers. “They’re both of age, don’t worry, they just have baby faces.”

Snatching the bill from his hands, you quickly stuffed it in your pocket. “Thank you,” you grinned, relieved that it really had just been a prank between friends. “How old are you then?” You heard yourself asking after you had glanced at the tray that Ten had been filling up, but a couple of glasses were still missing. The weird cocktails seemed to take quite some time to make (Why there was celery swimming in what looked like tomato juice was a mystery to you). “Let’s pretend I’m in my early twenties,” Johnny grinned, his long fingers playing with the cherries that were stuck to the rim of one of the cocktail glasses. “Pretend?” You were confused. He couldn’t be much older than you were. “It’s improper for old men like me to flirt with such pretty young girls after all,” he winked and stuck out his tongue. “You… You can’t be much older than me though,” you argued, trying to fight your shyness back down. But your furiously beating heart was betraying you. Luckily he couldn’t notice that from his place where he was still leaning against the counter, the long line of his body perfectly shown off; his legs seemed almost endlessly long in the heavy leather pants. Chuckling, he raked his eyes across your body in a similar way you must have seconds ago but you felt like you were burning up wherever he was looking. Within the blink of an eye he was in your personal space, crowding you against the bar. “I’m 25,” he breathed, “How long do you have to work today, honey?”

Before you could even think of an answer, Johnny was shoved backwards by another man dressed completely in black. You recognized him as one of the men from Johnny’s gang, the one with the neck tattoo that had seemed weirdly familiar to you. “Leave her alone, Johnny,” he drawled, his voice barely more than a growl, “There’s someone waiting for you outside.” After a moment of heavy eye contact between the two males, Johnny scoffed and threw you another smile. “See you later, darling,” he chirped before turning towards the exit. “I’m sorry if he made you uncomfortable, he doesn’t know when to stop sometimes,” the handsome man spoke, his voice still deep but way less threatening. “It’s… It’s fine you wouldn’t have needed to step in like that,” you reassured him, “But thank you.” “Yeah, I don’t know, something just didn’t sit right with me when he crowded you like that. Especially when you’re new to this type of environment, it’s pretty different from your usual job.” “My usual job?” You asked, clearly confused, “Do we know each other?” “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you had recognized me,” the man’s eyes widened in surprise and he averted his gaze as if he was embarrassed. “I’m Jaehyun. You know, the dude who keeps killing his plants.” Now it was your turn to be surprised. “No way. You look so different.” “It’s the clothes, right?” Jaehyun was rubbing the intricate lines of ink on his neck, looking up from between his dark lashes, smiling shyly and now that his dimples were almost showing, you did finally recognize him.

He was somewhat of a regular customer at the flower shop you worked in during the week to help out the old lady who owned the shop, always coming in to buy new plants when he had managed to kill yet another one. Now in the heavy leather jacket with more buckles and straps than you could count, he looked so different than when he came to the shop, his dark hair fluffy so his bangs almost covered his eyes and wearing soft sweaters and jeans. You also somehow had never noticed the big tattoo that stretched around his neck.

You could remember the first time he came into the shop very vividly. It was just after your break that you had spent lazing around in the backyard of the shop in front of the little greenhouse, letting the sun shine onto your face, just basking in the moment for a bit, letting all your worries about money or upcoming exams melt away. The job at the little flower job didn’t pay very well because people these days bought less and less flowers and the old lady couldn’t afford to pay more but you couldn’t just leave her alone in the shop. You really enjoyed her presence and learning about the language of flowers and how to bind pretty bouquets. When the distant chirping of the old cuckoo clock in the shop announced the end of your break, you got up from your place and put your apron back on, so you wouldn’t accidentally dirty your clothes. You came back into the shop just in time to see the big load of new plants that was being delivered. Two boys were unloading a colorful truck while continuously bickering in what seemed to be Chinese about where to put the plants in the shop and on the sidewalk outside so people could still walk past. “Urgh, this sucks why did we let us get talked into helping out?” The one with green hair sighed after they had put the last plant down, handing the old lady the papers she had to sign that the shipment had arrived at her place. She chuckled while handing the papers back. “I’ve made some iced tea, have a little break, boys,” she smiled her kind, wrinkled smile at them, taking them to the little kitchen area in the back to pour each one of them a glass even though the smaller of them had declined her offer at least ten times while his green haired friend gladly took her invitation.

Smiling you reassured the old lady that you would rearrange the flowers and plants so you could fit them all into the shop and the small greenhouse in the back. Maybe her grandson would come in later to help you move the heavier plants. He always came to the shop to laze around without having his parents scold him and his grandmother could never say no to his charming smile that made any girl his age swoon. He had recently dyed his hair a soft pinkish shade and had been hanging around the shop a lot more because his parents weren’t quite fond of his style choices. You gently stroked the leaves of the little pink rose bushes (that had kind of reminded you of the boy in the first place) that seemed rather thirsty to you, making a mental note to water them lots after you had arranged them.

While rearranging the cut roses so you could fit the new bushes in between them, the little bell on the door rang, announcing the arrival of a customer. “I’ll be right over,” you said, detangling yourself from the bush you had tried to fit in the display window. “No need to hurry,” the customer answered with a deep voice. It wasn’t often that men visited your store. And most times they just wanted a quick, expensive looking bouquet to either impress a girl or to apologize to their wife. Putting on your best customer friendly smile, you walked over to where the man was eyeing some cherry tree bonsais, his broad back turned towards you. “How can I help you?” When the man turned around, he immediately politely smiled at you, making your heart beat pick up just a little. He was definitely attractive, you couldn’t deny that. His dark hair was unstyled and hung into his eyes a bit, covering his strong eyebrows that every girl would be envious over. He seemed young, about your age. The pale blue hoodie and the fluffy hair made him seem very soft and gentle despite his strong jawline and prominent cheekbones. “Well I’ve moved into a new space and it looks a little empty, so I thought some plants might be the way to fix that,” he explained, fiddling with the hem of his slightly oversized hoodie. “That’s a great idea,” you beamed, trying to seem reassuring since he seemed rather nervous, “Do you have anything special in mind?” “No, I really don’t but those roses you just put in the display window look very pretty, it’s what made me come in,” he said, motioning to where you had been fighting with the roses earlier. “Roses need a lot of attention though,” you warned him, walking over to where you had tucked the little bushes into a corner. “I have a lot of time and like a good challenge,” he answered, a grin tugging at his lips, a set of dimples just barely showing, “You’re bleeding by the way.” He added, gently touching your hand. Startled, you jerked away, heat licking at your cheeks. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he quickly apologized, “But you should bandage that or it might get infected if something gets into the wound.” “Don’t worry, it’s not even that deep,” you concluded after examining the small cut on the back of your hand where you had lost the battle with one of the thorns. You quickly shot the man another smile that you hoped was reassuring.

“So do any of those roses look good to you?” “The pale orange ones look nice.” You couldn’t hold back a small giggle. “What’s so funny?” He asked, his beautiful brows drawn together in confusion. “The color is called peach,” you still giggled, grabbing the pot to show him the petals in the sunlight. “Well it is orange though,” he shrugged. “Men and colors,” you sighed dramatically but couldn’t help the smile spreading on your lips, “You like them and want to try caring for them?” “Yeah, let’s try it. Anything I should look out for?” While walking up to the cash register and ringing him up, you briefly explained how to take care of the roses the best.

“I hope they brighten up your room a bit,” you smiled when he had paid. “The visit sure brightened up my day,” he replied smiling widely, the set of cute dimples reappearing on his cheeks. Before you could overcome your sudden shyness to reply anything, he had already wished you a good day and disappeared from the shop.

After his visit, the man had crept back into your mind a couple of times. Every time you watered the little twin of the rose bush he had bought, it somehow reminded you of his sweet dimpled smile and his deep, soothing voice. You always scolded yourself when you noticed how you were spacing out, in fact watering the floor instead of the little rose bushes how you were supposed to. (You had been made fun of by a certain pink haired boy one too many times lately.) Your boss had just smiled knowingly and pressed a little bouquet with beautiful yellow Chrysanthemums in the middle, when you had closed up the shop, making your face heat up and furiously deny everything. But like always, the old lady knew you probably better than you knew yourself.

The second time the handsome stranger had visited the shop, he had been wearing a white turtle neck and a simple denim jacket, his hair pushed back with a dark blue hat. “Hello again,” he greeted you, gently smiling when he walked up to the counter where you were currently binding a bouquet with a couple of big purple hyacinths, “I’ll have a little look around. No need to hurry that.” Even though you tried to concentrate on arranging the flowers in the bouquet and picking smaller flowers that would look good with the big center piece, you kept glancing over to the man who was sniffing different flowers, quietly sneezing when he inhaled too deeply.

“Those are really pretty,” he said after he had not so subtly watched you work for a while from his place between the brightly colored geraniums while walking up to the counter. “The man who commissioned them paid a lot of money for them to look pretty,” you smiled, gently tucking smaller white flowers all around the big purple ones in the middle. “Does it mean anything? I’ve never seen this kind of flower,” he asked, seeming genuinely interested. “You’re interested in the language of flowers?” You asked, securely tying the bouquet together, placing them in a vase for the time being. “What languages would flowers speak?” The man asked, sounding genuinely confused. For a moment you could just stare at him, his dark brown eyes widened and his mouth slightly ajar, before you burst out in a fit of giggles. “Hey! What’s so funny?” He asked, trying to sound offended but he couldn’t fight the smile that spread across his lips. “They don’t speak any language, silly. The different types of flowers mean different things. I don’t know all of it but the owner of the shop has been teaching me some of it,” you explained to him. “Ooh, that makes a lot more sense,” he nodded, “What do those mean then?” “They’re hyacinths. The man told me he needed to apologize to his girlfriend. The purple ones stand for sorrow. I doubt she will notice though.” “Probably not,” he chuckled. “What did the rose mean I bought last time? The peach one?” “I’m not quite sure, I’ll ask my boss when she’s back. What brings you back here?” “Well,” he scratched the back of his head and averted his eyes, “I need a new plant, the rose was kind of a lot more work than I thought it was.”

“Oh no.” You felt genuinely sad. You kind of had expected it not to go well but this was honestly a lot faster than you could have imagined. “I should have listened to you when you told me that they were a lot, I’m sorry,” he apologized, “But I really want to try to keep a plant alive. She looked really good for the time she was alive.” “She?” “Well I gave her a name.” You giggled again. “That’s really cute.” “Not as cute as you though.” It was suddenly so silent in the shop, the only noise the soft buzzing sound coming from the air-conditioning. You stared into the man’s eyes, expecting a his face to heat up in a similar fashion yours was, to see a blush creep up his face or his ears, but his face stayed perfectly pale, not a single blotch of color visible. But he had to be embarrassed as well if the way he was chewing on his lips was any sign. “I’m sorry, that just slipped,” he mumbled. “I… Shouldn’t you at least tell me your name before you start complimenting me like that?” You stuttered when you found your voice again. “Jaehyun,” he supplied, still awkwardly shuffling around, “It’s Jaehyun.” “Alright Jaehyun, let’s find you a new plant that’s not as easy to kill.

From that day onward Jaehyun came to the shop somewhat regularly, either announcing the death of yet another plant or telling you how they were on the brink of death and he didn’t know how it happened or what to do to save them. You were really close to either tell him to stick to bouquets or cacti but when you were being honest, you enjoyed his little visits. He’d stay longer and longer every time, telling you little stories about how he suspected that his roommates were secretly killing all the plants. In turn you told him about your boring life between your classes and your job. And sometimes you even taught him about the language of flowers while he was watching you put together a bouquet for yet another desperate boyfriend.

One visit in particular had stuck with you for some reason. Your whole day had just been bad: One of your professors had caught you slacking off in class and called you out in front of everyone, then at lunch a guy had run into you, making you drop half your food on the floor and then it had started to rain on your way to work. And if that wasn’t enough, the old lady hadn’t been feeling well because of the sudden change in weather and you had sent her off into her apartment that was above the shop, so she could rest. So now you were just alone in the shop, watching the people outside hurry past the shop with their umbrellas. When it was raining even less people were coming into the shop because you couldn’t put any plants outside that often lured people in. Sighing, you continued with the inventory that you had started out of boredom. Of course you also hadn’t brought any useful books, so you could have studied a little.

You must have been deep in thought, moping about how much this day sucked, that you didn’t hear the little bell on the door ringing. So when someone touched your arm to get your attention, you of course were startled and let out a small scream before you lost your balance on the stepladder that you had used to count the spare pots on a higher shelf. And if that wasn’t enough, you also pushed one of said pots down as well. But before you could even brace yourself for the fall, a strong arm had wrapped around you, saving you from crashing down onto the floor and possibly cracking your head open. When you opened your eyes, that you had screwed shut, you saw straight into Jaehyun’s deep brown eyes that were full of concern. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he spoke softly and you could feel how his voice rumbled in his chest from how close he was holding you to his body. “It’s alright, it’s my fault anyways. I wasn’t paying attention,” you sighed, slowly realizing in what kind of situation you and Jaehyun were in right now. His face was so close to yours that you could almost count every single one of his long, dark eyelashes. You could even see the faintest little blush spreading over his cheeks and your own face immediately felt hot as well.

Jaehyun just smiled and released you from his grip, gently setting the pot he somehow had managed to catch with his other hand back onto the shelf. He really must have incredible reflexes and obviously the most charming smile you had ever seen. “Don’t blame yourself, you don’t look too good today,” he spoke softly. “Wow thanks,” you sarcastically said, sighing theatrically while running your hands through your hair in an attempt to smooth it out, but probably messing it up further than it already was. “Hard day?” You snorted. Hard was an understatement. It sucked. But a little voice in the back of your head whispered that now that Jaehyun had come to visit you in the shop, it would get better. “You look like you could use a hug,” he smiled and opened his arms invitingly.

Before you could even think twice about it, you wound your arms around his middle and squeezed him tightly, burying your face in the soft fabric of his cardigan that he wore over one of his many turtlenecks. Chuckling, he grabbed the fabric and stretched it around you, so you were basically wrapped up in it against his chest, before wrapping you up in his strong arms. You were drowning in his by now familiar scent and the way his chest steadily rose and fell with his breath made all stress from your body slowly dissolve. “If you keep holding me like this I will cry,” you mumbled, trying to untangle yourself from him. “I don’t mind, you know? Sometimes you just have to cry to let all the stress out,” he assured you, rubbing soothing circles on your back. “Don’t say that, I will ugly cry in your shirt,” you hiccupped, “I barely know you.” “Oh I think you know me a lot better than a lot of people,” he smiled, “It’s an old shirt anyways.” “Liar, I’ve never seen you wear this before.” “You’re keeping track?” He chuckled. “That’s not what I meant by that,” you mumbled, feeling shy suddenly because how could you not keep track when he just effortlessly looked infuriatingly good every time he walked into the shop.

“You feeling better now?” Jaehyun gently asked after you two had fallen silent, just basking in each other’s presence. He gently tilted your head back from where you had buried it in his neck, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “Yeah,” you breathed, captivated by him. You had never noticed the tiny mole he had on one of his cheeks but you found it really endearing. “Good,” he smiled, “I brought you coffee from the shop next door.” He motioned to the two cups he had placed on the counter next to the cash register. “You have a heart of gold Jaehyun,” you confessed, a smile slowly spreading on your lips and your heartbeat picking up. You kept the thought that he probably would also make the perfect boyfriend, to yourself. Not that it would matter, you were sure he didn’t see you like that. He just played it off, laughing awkwardly like he always did when he was embarrassed. (Coming to think of it, you really seemed to know him better than you had initially thought.) “Let’s drink it before it gets cold and you can tell me more about your day,” he offered and slowly loosened his arms around you. “Can you tell me about yours instead?” You asked with a small voice. “I’d rather forget all of this stupid day before you walked in here.” “Of course, darling,” he breathed. Your heart skipped a beat before doubling its pace when the pet name rolled of his tongue just like that. Maybe there was just the slightest little chance, he might consider you more than just the friend that worked in the flower shop that he had to visit to get advice on how to not kill his plants. Smiling you loosened your grip on him as well and you two sat down on the counter, dangling your legs and sipping the slightly cold coffee while you listened to Jaehyun ramble about the mess that were his flatmates. Until this day you hadn’t figured out how many people he actually lived with but you couldn’t help but smile at the little stories he told you. And even when he stopped talking, you just enjoyed the silence while watching the people outside. And maybe it was just your imagination but the umbrellas outside seemed just a little brighter with your head resting on Jaehyun’s broad shoulder.

“I’ve never noticed your whole tattoo thing that’s going on,” you said, motioning around your own neck when you came back from your fond memories of Jaehyun. “Yeah, I try to not let it show as much usually,” he replied, almost nervously playing with the collar of his leather jacket. “Did it hurt a lot when you got it?” “Yeah, the skin is kind of tender around your neck,” he answered, his gaze not meeting your eyes but fixating a point right behind you. “You get that question a lot don’t you?” you gently asked, fingers itching to reach out to touch him. “Yeah, it’s all people talk about when they see it,” he shrugged, “I’m used to it by now.” “Oh, I’m sorry,” you quickly apologized. “It’s fine,” Jaehyun reassured you, gently grazing his fingers over your exposed forearm, making goose bumps break out over your skin. “Yes, it did hurt. No I don’t regret it. Yes I probably can’t work a normal job if I’m not wearing a turtleneck. No, I didn’t get it in prison. It was done in a perfectly sanitary tattoo shop by a professional artist. No, I’m not a criminal”, he quickly addressed every typical question he apparently got about the tattoo in a single breath, a smile spreading on his lips, making his dimples appear and your heart beat faster.

“Glad to know I haven’t been talking to a criminal over the past few weeks even though you did kill an unholy amount of plants,” you giggled, checking again if the order was ready only to find Ten engrossed in a conversation with a group of young men that were sitting at the bar, his work forgotten. “Well I guess I am guilty of that,” Jaehyun pouted and it was weirdly endearing seeing him act playful like that with his dark and intimidating clothing. “So you’re not a criminal but a biker?” “Is that what you think our group is?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. “That’s what everyone told me at least. And you do look the part.” “A couple of us do have bikes, but I don’t think that justifies the title. We’re just a,” he bit his tongue for a bit, “We’re just friends. Friends who like to dress in a lot of leather and black clothing.”

It seemed to be a somewhat touchy subject so you decided to not push any further. “You don’t need to explain it to me,” you smiled reassuringly, quickly squeezing his cold hand. “Jaehyun, stop flirting with my best waitress,” Kun teased, adding the little shot glasses to the second tray that completed the order. “I wasn’t flirting, I-“ but Jaehyun didn’t complete his apology when Kun shot him a knowing look and your face heated up on his behalf because Jaehyun didn’t blush like ever. “Stop making excuses and help her carry all this back to the table,” the barman grinned, returning to his work by pulling Ten back by the hairs on his neck from where he was still talking to the handsome customers sitting at the bar. “I would appreciate some help, that’s what Johnny came over for as well,” you tried to push past the awkwardness. “Like hell he was,” Jaehyun grumbled, grabbing the one of the trays maybe a tad too forceful than he needed to, the drinks almost spilling over. “Don’t be angry with him, he was being nice,” you consoled him, gently petting his leather clad arm (wasn’t he warm in that thick jacket?). “I saw just how nice he was being,” he sighed, rolling his shoulders, “He’s such a goddamn flirt.” “Nothing happened Jaehyun,” you tried one last time, looking into his dark eyes, getting lost in the seemingly bottomless obsidian.

Only the thud of the heavy entrance door made you snap out of it and you quickly turned to grab the second tray. You hadn’t even noticed how you had gravitated towards Jaehyun, it was like his eyes had hypnotized you. “Need another pair of helping hands?” A familiar voice asked and Johnny strode over towards you two again, now with an energetic bounce in his step, his red lips curved into a smile. “We’ve got it,” Jaehyun answered, scrunching his nose as if he had smelled something bad before taking a deep breath. “Don’t wait too long, Jaehyun,” the taller said, his tone suddenly stern and his brows furrowed. “I can handle it, Johnny,” Jaehyun gritted out, shoving past the taller man to make his way over to the table where their friends were still waiting for their drinks. Sighing, you followed him back to the table. It was weird how different he was behaving with his friends around. You had never expected to meet him in any place outside of your job at the flower shop and much less in a place like this. The soft man who liked to wear denim jackets seemed to be buried beneath the heavy leather jacket.

“Here’s your drinks,” you smiled when you put the tray down to distribute the drinks. “You’re not drinking with us?” A blonde man with a scratch in his eyebrow asked when everyone had picked up their shot glasses. “It’s my first day, I don’t think it’s a good idea,” you politely declined his offer. “I’m sure Ten and Kun won’t mind,” he grinned, lifting up his own glass to hand it over to you. “She said no, didn’t you hear, Yuta?” Jaehyun growled and shot his friend a dark look. Unfazed by his behavior, the blonde - Yuta - shrugged his shoulders before drowning his shot himself, not grimacing in the slightest even though the liquid had a questionable amount of alcohol in it, judging by the numbers that had been printed on the label. “But I’m sure we can treat you to something else,” he spoke, before shifting in his seat so his poorly buttoned sleeveless shirt fell open even further, revealing smooth skin that stretched over lean muscles and a promise of something metal hidden beneath. “I-“, you stuttered. What were you supposed to reply to something like that? “You’re shameless,” one of his dark haired friends chuckled, a silver chain glistening in the light when he shook his head. “It’s called confidence,” Yuta defeated himself. “Still shameless,” another one agreed, a grin on his face. “He hasn’t had a good lay in a while, don’t mind him,” Taeyong cut in, shooting you a reassuring smile. “Certainly not because I didn’t had any offers, I’m just picky,” Yuta tried to defend himself, looking scandalized. You just giggled when the other’s started picking on him. You noticed that Jaehyun didn’t join in but his posture was more relaxed than it had been before. You really wanted to thank him for defending your choice to not drink but now didn’t seem appropriate. Silently you collected the now empty shot glasses and picked the trays back up. “I’ll be back to check in with you later then,” you smiled before walking back to the counter after checking in with a couple of other tables.

The rest of the night went down in a blur safe for the one occasion where the slender Ten indeed threw out one of the customers that couldn’t hold his liquor anymore and had fallen when he had tried to walk over to the bar to order more because Lucas had already refused to bring him any more drinks. The times when you had checked in on the 127 table, Yuta had still flirted with you only to be either shot down by Jaehyun or Taeyong. You had also noticed that over the course of the night one or two of them would always leave the bar for a couple of minutes before coming back inside with a new energy and a faint blush on their cheeks. You didn’t know what they did out there but you really hoped they didn’t do drugs or anything like that. They didn’t seem as intoxicated as the other customers no matter how much they ordered. If anything Mark was getting giggly after he had come back inside but that was pretty much everything. They all must have incredible tolerance for alcohol.

When the night died down and more and more customers were leaving, Kun waved you over to tell you that you had been a great help and he would be more than happy to see you again tomorrow for your next shift. You had beamed at him and promised to do your best. “I’m sure you will. Thank you for today, I think Lucas and I can handle the remaining customers,” he told you. “What’s with Ten?” You asked. You hadn’t seen him in a while. Kun just sighed and motioned to the 127 table where Ten comfortably sat on Johnny’s lap, the taller carding through the blonde’s hair that he had freed from the little ponytail. “Are they a thing?” You were confused. Johnny hadn’t been subtle about his flirting earlier. “No one really knows,” Kun groaned, suddenly seeming very irritated, “It’s been happening more lately but last week he went home with Taeyong as far as I remember.” “Oh…” “Don’t think about it too much. I want to say that he knows what he’s doing but that would mean that he’s actually using his brain.” Somehow you thought that he sounded sad. “Just tell Ten that you like him, Kun,” Lucas groaned, running a hand through his by now messy platinum hair. “I don’t like him,” the elder gritted out, violently cleaning glasses and slamming them onto a rack to dry. “Sure and I’ve never thought about making out with any of your roommates,” Lucas teased him. “You have what?” “Never mind I said that,” Lucas mumbled, his ears turning red, before he made a beeline to one of his tables.

You chuckled quietly. “I think he’s fond of you as well,” you softly spoke after Kun had thrown another longing look at Ten who was busy admiring the eagle tattoo on Johnny’s chest. “You don’t need to console me, but I appreciate it,” he smiled but it didn’t quiet reach his eyes, “I came to accept him how he is.” “You should at least try to shoot you shout though, don’t you think?” You tried again, stepping closer to the barman to help him clean the last glasses. He sighed deeply. “I’ve known Ten for too long now, I know he won’t suddenly become monogamous just because I tell him that I might not dislike him as much as I sometimes say.” “You can never know for sure, people do crazy stuff because of love,” a deep voice joined the conversation and Jaehyun sat down on the barstool in front of Kun and you, throwing you a quick smile. “He’s right,” you smiled, briefly squeezing Kun’s hand. “If I say that I’ll think about it, will you leave it alone for now?” You eagerly nodded, looking up at Jaehyun to see if he was doing the same. Instead a smirk played on his lips. “If you give me my drinks for free, I’ll even tell Johnny to not take Ten home tonight,” he grinned, holding up his card between two fingers. “You’re paying for everyone?” Kun just gritted out, snatching the card from the other’s fingers. Jaehyun’s grin widened before he nodded. “Isn’t that going to be a lot of money?” You asked worriedly. You had never asked but assumed Jaehyun must be a student like you, so paying the whole bill for nine men (well eight if Kun was giving Jaehyun his own drinks for free) was a lot. “I lost at rock paper scissors,” he shrugged, “Are you done with your shift?”

“She is,” Kun cut in, smacking the credit card back onto the bartop, “Tell Johnny to send him home, I’m not feeding his cats again because they’re screaming for food.” “Sure. That’s the only reason,” Jaehyun joked, pocketing his card with a grin. Kun didn’t answer, instead leaving you two alone to wipe some empty tables. “Are you going home alone?” “It’s not far from here,” you reassured the dark haired man. “I’ll walk you. You shouldn’t go alone this late.” “Only if it’s not a bother for you…” “Keeping you safe is never a bother for me,” he smiled, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear and you barely suppressed a shiver from how cold his hands were against your heated face. “I’ll tell the other’s not to wait for me and will wait outside for you,” he softly spoke before turning to walk out the door where his friends apparently had already left.

You quickly gathered your things and sorted out your tips from the rest of the money, putting everything back into the place that Lucas had shown you before disappearing into the staff room to stuff the money into your designated tip jar, so Lucas and you could share your tips with Ten and Kun. While you were quickly trying to fix your hair in the small mirror a very grumpy looking Ten joined you, groaning loudly. You had to suppress your smile. Jaehyun really had convinced Johnny to not take Ten home. “Men are trash, honey,” the blonde suddenly spoke, “Don’t fall for any of them.” “Did you get dumped?” You tried to act like you didn’t exactly knew what must have happened. “Can’t get dumped if you aren’t dating,” Ten chirped, smoothing out a wrinkle in his silky blouse, “But something similar.” “I’m sorry.” “No need to be darling, I’ll just annoy Kun a little more, maybe he’ll actually pop a vein these days,” he giggled mischievously. “Be nice to him, he seems like an actual sweetheart,” you said while slipping on your jacket and picking up your bag. “He is, darling. But where’s the fun in that?” Ten held the door open for you and followed you back to the main room. “Be safe on your way home.” “Jaehyun is waiting outside for me,” you admitted, suddenly feeling shy under Ten’s intense gaze. “So that’s why Johnny wouldn’t take me with him,” he grinned. “No, no that’s not it. He just offered to walk me home,” you stuttered to explain yourself. It wasn’t like what Ten thought it was, right? Oh god. Not that Jaehyun was expecting anything now. He just had asked to walk you home though. Was it a code word for something you didn’t know? “I’m sure he only has the most noble motives,” the barkeeper snickered, “Go, don’t let prince charming wait for too long.” With that he waved you off, walking over to where Kun was wiping a table to drape his body over the other’s back, probably complaining about being dumped. But Kun didn’t seem to mind a whole lot, judging by the smile that tugged on the corners of his lips.

After you had barely escaped Xuxi’s suffocating goodbye hug, you stepped outside into the cold night, taking a deep breath. It was quiet for a Friday night but that might have just been the time. Worried you looked around when you couldn’t see Jaehyun’s broad figure anywhere. Did he ditch you? That didn’t seem like him. Curious you looked into the little ally beside the bar where the dumpsters were. At first you couldn’t make out anything in the dark but when your eyes had adjusted, you could make out a figure, no two, in the dark. One of them was wearing a familiar leather jacket with way too many buckles and straps to be convenient. The man was clinging to the second, unmoving figure and the whole scene made Goosebumps break out all over your body.

“J-Jaehyun?” you stuttered, your bag falling from your shoulder, landing on the concrete with a soft thud. As if he was electrocuted, the man with the dark clothes shoved the limp body he was holding onto just a second ago away from him, but no sound left the other man’s lips, nor did his facial expression change in any way. “I can explain this,” Jaehyun said, his lips a deep red and smeared with what seemed to be blood and eyes wide, tinted a bright crimson. You felt a shiver run down your spine, the scream that had been stuck in your throat threatening to spill now. But before it could rip free, a palm was pressed over your lips and your body collided with Jaehyun’s solid frame. “Please don’t scream,” he whispered in your ear which made all the hairs on your neck stand up. What was happening? Why was there blood on Jaehyun? Has his eyes changed color? How did he get across to you within the blink of an eye? What was with the other person? In a panic, your eyes scanned the alleyway and another muffled scream ripped from your throat when you saw that the man was still unmoving even though he was bleeding from a wound in his neck. “Please,” Jaehyun begged, his voice sounding strained, “Let me explain this, don’t hate me.” Being pressed so close to him, you couldn’t help but notice that his chest wasn’t moving in the slightest like it should if he was breathing. What was happening? Panic began to rise inside you and you felt like you were suffocating, your lungs not getting enough oxygen with Jaehyun’s palm pressed over your mouth. Panicking, you grabbed his wrist and let your nails dig into his skin, but the skin didn’t break. Desperate, you tried to get more air into your lungs, meeting his eyes in a silent plea. “Please don’t scream,” Jaehyun repeated firmly before he slowly freed your mouth, but kept holding you close.

You heaved a couple of heavy breaths, feeling the panic slowly disappear but your heart kept beating furiously, the adrenaline coursing through your veins making you dizzy. “Let me take care of this and I’ll explain everything, I promise,” Jaehyun spoke once your breathing had somewhat evened out. “I’ll release you now, don’t run away.” Your voice was still lost somewhere, so you just nodded. After confirming with a nod himself, he slowly uncurled from you and walked over to the other man who was still in a daze, staring straight ahead. “You will walk home now and not remember anything that happened from the moment you saw me approach you,” Jaehyun spoke to him, looking into his eyes intensely and if your own eyes weren’t playing a trick on you, Jaehyun’s eyes had turned a bright crimson color. He leaned into the other man again where his neck was still bleeding and when the man turned to leave and walk away, the area was clean. Instead Jaehyun’s lips were smeared with blood that he quickly wiped into his shirt. “What the fuck, Jaehyun?” You whispered, your voice sounding raw as if you hadn’t spoken in hours.

“I can explain this,” he repeated again, turning his palms towards you in surrender when he walked back over. “How can you explain this? You- That- That man was straight up hypnotized and behaved like an actual puppet. And that blood. This is crazy. I’m dreaming. That’s it right? Or someone must have slipped me something in the bar and I’m tripping right now. Because this looks an awful lot like you just sucked that guy’s blood like you’re a vampire and that’s crazy. Vampires aren’t real. And I’ve seen you walk around in the middle of the day. But then again, your hands are always cold and I couldn’t even scratch you with my nails and you have mad reflexes,” you started to spiral, the words just falling from your lips. “Hey, take a breath. A deep breath, here,” Jaehyun softly spoke, gently taking your hands and pressing the palms on his chest, taking a deep breath himself. Even though you tried to breathe with him to calm down, you couldn’t help but notice that his fingers weren’t as cold as they had been before and that you couldn’t feel his heartbeat despite the fact that your palm was sitting right over his heart, just separated by his thin black shirt from the skin. “You… You don’t have a heartbeat,” you whispered, your eyes searching his that were a perfectly normal deep brown shade now while you pressed your palms down on his chest harder. “I don’t,” he spoke carefully, scanning your features for any changes, “I haven’t had one for a while.” “You aren’t breathing right now.” “I don’t need to. I keep forgetting.” “You… You’re forgetting to breathe?” “I usually do when I’m around humans but sometimes I forget.” “You say that as if you’re not…” You couldn’t finish the sentence, it was too absurd. “As if I’m not human myself? I’m not. Not anymore.” “Then what are you?” “You’ve said it before, I’m a vampire,” he confessed.

“A vampire…” You repeated dumbfounded. It made sense, everything was adding up but this couldn’t be the explanation. Vampires were just made up. “And the others are too, they’re my coven. That’s why I didn’t want Johnny to talk to you.” “Would he have..?” Your eyes widened and one of your hands flew to your neck, covering where your pulse was fluttering beneath the skin. “I’m not going to hurt you, I could never,” Jaehyun whispered when he saw the fear in your eyes, gently cupping your face as if to prove his point. “I like you way too much to hurt you. And I won’t let anyone of the others even lay a finger on you.” Your eyes immediately flew to his lips that were still stained red when he leaned in even closer so you would be able to feel his breath mingling with yours if he was breathing. “I really want to kiss you right now, is that stupid?” The vampire whispered. “Don’t hurt me,” you whispered back, letting your eyes fall shut. “I could never,” he breathed before brushing his lips against yours in a chaste kiss that send sparks through your whole body. When Jaehyun felt you relax against him, your fingers uncurling from his shirt, he kissed you again, firmer this time, wrapping his arms tight around you as if he was afraid that you would disappear.

When you felt your head start to get light, you gently tapped his strong chest and he immediately retreated, looking at you with a worried expression. “One of us still needs to breathe,” you giggled breathless. “I’m sorry,” he smiled, carding his fingers through your hair, just watching you breathe for a moment, losing himself in your eyes.

“I have another secret to tell you,” Jaehyun broke the silence, his dimpled smile lighting up his face. “I don’t think you can shock me anymore,” you smiled back. “I didn’t actually kill any of the plants I bought. I just needed to have a reason to keep seeing you. Our house looks like a jungle.” You couldn’t stop giggling, leaning into his (not moving) chest that rumbled with his low chuckle. “You’re cute,” you smiled, snaking your arms around his waist below his jacket, somehow not even missing the warmth that bodies usually gave off. “Shut up,” he chuckled, wrapping you up in a tight hug. “You want to know something else?” You whispered into his chest after a while. The vampire just hummed, gently swaying you. “I looked up what the rose meant that you bought when you first came into the shop… You wanna know what it stands for?” Jaehyun hummed again. “It stands for immortality.” This time it was Jaehyun who was laughing, holding your body tighter to steady himself.

#jaehyun #jung jaehyun #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun imagines #nct #nct 127 #jaehyun fic #nct scenarious #nct imagines #nct fluff

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anightflower · 3 years

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Come and Find Me Chapter 4: The Andrew Curtis Case

Guys I am so sorry this took so long. On top of school kicking my ass, I had to rewrite and reedit this chapter several times until I got to one that I deemed worthy. I am going to try and post Chapter Five early for you guys if I can.

Spencer Reid x Reader

Warnings: Mentions of Violence, Rape, Abuse

Masterlist

Spencer glanced around the room at all the police officers assembled. He cleared his throat.

“The Unsub is a white male in his late 20s to mid-30s. He is a man with an average build and a friendly face, someone who women would not pose as a threat.”

“Since there were no signs of forced entry, we believe he’s posing as someone who women would let into their house. Classic cases of this include maintenance men there to check up on things, someone who needs help after their car broke down, or a similar case like that.” Emily explained. “This is a man who fakes confidence, but in reality views himself as inadequate in some way, he knows he can’t fight off another man, so he chooses women who live alone and are essentially defenseless.”

“Yet, he hates that they are successful enough to support themselves or that they have any sort of power.” Morgan chimed in.

“He clearly was cheated on or had some sort of marital issue that caused him to spiral into this spree. He is a sexual sadist projecting his partner onto the women he attacks, that’s why he chokes them, watching the life drain from their eyes sparks something in him and gives him a sense of power. That is also why he rapes his victims, he loves the idea that he is all powerful and they are helpless.” Hotch explained.

Spencer swallowed, “Comparing his last four victims it seems his type is 20-30 year old females with (Y/C/H) and (Y/C/E).”

Which coincidentally looks like the love of my life. Spencer thought, repressing a shudder.

________________________________________________________________

Spencer starred in shock at the scene around him. He was just finishing up the geographical profile, when they had received a call about yet another body.

Her empty bulking eyes stared up at the ceiling, her body was beaten, cut, and bruised.

“Strangulation marks on her neck, multiple stab wounds and injuries, this looks like our unsub.” Emily resisted the urge to shudder.

“Man, whoever cheated on this guy, must have really broken him.” Morgan mused, looking around at the bloody scribblings on the wall.

Spencer knew that if they tested the blood on the wall, it would match the victims. He looked at the frames on the wall, trying to ignore the blood that seemed to coat everything. The victim had her diploma hung up and multiple pictures of her smiling with family or friends. Spencer stared hard at the name on the diploma; Adria Winston.

It scared Spencer how easily he could see you in this woman’s place. Injured, dying, pleading for him, for anyone to save you-

“Reid. Reid, are you alright?” Morgan clapped a hand on Spencer's shoulder, drawing him back to the present.

Spencer shook himself out of his dazed state. “Yeah, uh I just need to step out for a second.” He said, pushing past Morgan and making his way outside Adria’s house. He pulled out his phone and dialed your number, it was late, so you would most likely be asleep, but-

You picked up on the third ring. “Hi baby, are you alright?” Spencer bit back a smile at the sleepiness in your voice.

“Not really, but I just really needed to hear your voice. How is Ohio?” Spencer asked, trying to distract himself from what he just saw. You could tell, but you played along with it.

“Not too bad, whoever designed the Google lounge has nothing on me.” You joked.

“Well, we already knew that.” Spencer smiled.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t believe some of the cool stuff I found, I’m telling you if the employees complain about these amazing comfy chairs I got for their break room, I am totally coming back and stealing all 22 of them for my apartment.” You said enthusiastically. “They're perfect for reading in Spence, I’m telling you, you would love them.”

Spencer let out a little laugh, “I’m sure they are. We will have to see if we can find some, but I don’t think 22 will fit in either of our apartments.”

“I suppose you’re right” You sighed dramatically, but then took a more serious tone of voice. “Are you alright baby?”

Spencer’s chest tightened at your worried tone of voice. “There’s a sick selfish part of me that is so glad that you aren’t here (Y/N). All of these girls look so much like you-” Spencer paused, swallowing back tears. “I just am so glad you are safe, I don’t think I could focus as well on this case if I knew you could possibly be in danger.”

“Aw Spencer, I am so sorry baby. You aren’t sick or selfish for wanting me to be safe, everyone focuses on the safety of those they love, it’s only human. I know you are going to catch this guy, you are the most brilliant man and agent I have ever met. Just don’t tell your team I said that, I don’t want a bad reputation before they even meet me.” You teased, trying to lighten his dark mood.

Spencer let out a small laugh and sniffled. “Trust me the team is going to love you. We will have to figure out when you can meet them, but I definitely want to wait until things settle down a bit here.”

There was silence on your end for a second. “Listen Spence, I can stay here a bit longer if it will help you focus, but when I come home I am taking self-defense classes and such. I want you to have a sane mind knowing that your girlfriend actually can handle herself. I honestly think it will help me keep sane too, after hearing everything about this case.”

Spencer heart skipped a beat, as much as he wanted you safe and sound, he also needed to hold you in his arms to keep his sanity. But ultimately you were the one who should lead your life, not Spencer. “I appreciate you considering me, but I want the ultimate decision to be made by you Princess, I trust your judgement and I don’t want you living your life based on my fear.”

You breath caught in your throat at the sentiment. “I love you Spencer Reid.”

Spencer could have sworn his heart stopped. The two of you hadn’t said I love you yet. Part of him wished it was in person, but just hearing you say it, meant the world to him. “I love you more (Y/N) (Y/L/N).”

So help him god, Spencer would catch whoever this unsub was and put him away, so you could come home to a safer city.

________________________________________________________________

“You know what strikes me as funny?” Emily asked, looking at the crime scene photos.

The room was silent, waiting to hear what she had to say.

“Each of these unsubs reported strange gifts and letters being sent to their home. The police had thought it was nothing, but now I am thinking that maybe this could be a connection. I mean think about it, didn’t you guys notice that each victim received a gift box wrapped the exact same way?”

Morgan nodded. “Yeah they had the white box with the red bow-”

Spencer chimed in, “Red typically symbolizes love and infatuation, but in this case it was the unsub’s warning, red meant war or violence was about to come upon this victim.”

“Reid and JJ I want you to talk to the officers and get the reports these women filed for harassment, I think we are missing a connection.” Hotch ordered.

An hour or so later they had that connection.

“All of the victims received their gifts from a delivery service called ‘Special Delivery.’” JJ explained to everyone.

“Well it seems we have to pay them a visit.” Hotch said.

________________________________________________________________

Special Delivery was a small Ma and Pa store, located just a couple blocks from Ava’s coffee shop. Spencer debated on stopping in to check in with her and maybe grab the team coffee.

Spencer had quickly taken a liking to Ava, not only because he had called him your “sexy superhero boyfriend,” but because she was a reliable friend to you, one who always managed to bring a smile to your face. She reminded Spencer of a more wild Emily, in the best way possible.

Emily stopped outside the storefront window, glancing at the display of chocolates, gift baskets, and jewelry. “Why is it always the cute small places that get ruined? Can’t it be one of those big corporate offices that fuck over their employees instead?”

Spencer huffed a laugh.

As they entered the store, the bell let out a delicate twinkle. Causing a silver-streaked brunette to pop out from the back of the store. Her round face held a warm smile as she approached them.

“Hello dears! What can I do for you?” She asked as she excitedly clasped her hands together.

“Hello Mrs. Ellison, my name is SSA Prentiss and this is Dr. Reid, we had a few questions for you.” Emily said gently, flashing her badge to the woman.

The woman's smile dimmed a bit, “Oh, uh of course, is everything alright?”

“Mrs. Ellison I am sure you’ve heard of the recent tragedies-” Emily began,

“Oh yes, I’ve been keeping up with the news, it’s just dreadful that something so horrible could happen so close to home. You see these things in movies or in other places, but you just never expect them to happen right near you.” Mrs. Ellison said sorrowfully, wrapping her arms around herself.

“Mrs. Ellison, I am afraid everyone of these victims received several deliveries from your shop. Each was wrapped exactly the same, white box, red bow, does this ring any bells for you?” Spencer asked, cutting to the chase.

“Well dear, it is Valentine season, red, pink, and white are the typical go to colors.” She shrugged.

“Do you have any regulars? He would have each gift he bought wrapped the exact same way? He would seem friendly, but would be on the quieter side?” Emily asked, attempting to prod the older woman’s memory.

“I’m afraid none of that is ringing any bells dear, I am so sorry.” Mrs. Ellison said apologetically.

“Do you have any other employees? Or do you run this place all by yourself?” Spencer asked.

Mrs. Ellison, let out a small laugh, “Oh goodness me, no. I get so many orders, I could never do it by myself. I previously had three employees, Jess, Remy, and Andrew, but I had to fire Andrew when I found him stealing from our stock. It was a shame too, he was a hardworking boy, but I’m afraid he just fell apart after his wife left him.”

Emily and Spencer exchanged a quick glance. “Do you happen to know why his wife left him?” Spencer asked, his heart picking up speed.

“Oh it's not my business to share-” Mrs. Ellison hesitated.

“Please Mrs. Ellison, this could be crucial information.” Emily urged her.

Mrs. Ellison let out a sigh. “That horrible girl cheated on him. I just couldn’t understand it either, Drew was such a doting gentleman to her, it simply didn’t make sense.”

“Do you still have his contact information? His address?”

“Why of course, but you couldn’t possibly think he has anything to do with this-” Mrs. Ellison began, making her way to behind the counter to grab a binder. She looked up worried when Spencer and Emily didn’t answer right away. “Do you?” She urged.

“It’s quite possible he had nothing to do with it, we just need to follow through with every angle.” Emily quickly explained.

“Of course.” Mrs. Ellison said, but her hands slightly shook as she opened up her binder to get Andrew’s address.

________________________________________________________________

“Andrew Curtis, this is the FBI, open up.” Hotch hollered from outside the door. There was no response. Hotch looked to his team to make sure they were ready, then kicked in the door.

As the team checked different rooms, several calls of “Clear!” echoed throughout the house. Curtis was not there.

Morgan made his way to the basement and swallowed back a gag. “Hotch! You better come see this.”

Guns at the ready, Spencer, Hotch, Rossi, and Emily, made their way down to Morgan.

“What the hell.” Emily huffed as they all beheld the horrific sight before them.

It was a girl, for sure. She had the same mutilated marks as far as they could tell, but her body was decently decayed.

“He’s displaying her like a trophy.” Spencer observed. “He props her up naked and makes sure her wounds are fully on display to remind him what he did.”

“There’s more trophies over here.” Rossi said in disgust, gesturing to a shelf full of different valuables.

“He’s sick.” Morgan hissed.

“We need a med team down here to remove a body. As soon as it’s IDed we need to know and alert any next of kin.” Hotch ordered into his earpiece.

Rossi put on a glove and began to go through the other trophies for evidence. “I’ll talk to the victims families and see if any of them recognize these items.”

Morgan dialed up Garcia.

“Speak and be heard, the all-knowing goddess listens.”

“Hey baby girl, I need you to look up any missing person’s reports from around this area. The victim has (y/c/h) and (y/c/e). She fits our victimology to a t, but we need to figure out who she is.”

“I’m on it.” Garcia said.

“And Garcia,” Hotch said, stopping her before she hung up. “I need you to find a license plate for Andrew Curtis. Also check to see if he rents or owns any other property, he’s currently not at his home and it is too close to other buildings for his victims to not be heard.”

“You got it. Talk soon.” She said, hanging up.

About half an hour later Garcia got back to them. “Curtis drives a 2003 silver sedan with the license plate 637-IRT. I also found that he rents a small storage unit that’s a 20 minute drive in a more secluded part of town. I am sending the address to you guys now.”

“Thanks Garcia.” Hotch said. He turned to JJ “I need you to get an APB on Curtis. I want you to warn the public to keep an eye out for him.”

JJ nodded and rushed off with her phone. Hotch looked to the rest of the team. “Everyone else, vests on, we are heading to that storage unit.”

________________________________________________________________

“Fuck Drew, what are we going to do?” The boy asked as he looked at the screen projecting a news report on Andrew Curtis.

“Well, it might be the end for me, little brother, but I have you as my legacy. They don’t have a clue that you are even involved, so I need you to get out of here.”

“No, no, no. I am not going to leave you!” The Boy cried, tears streaming down his face.

Drew huffed a laugh. “Now, now, little bro. It isn’t the time for tears. I’ve taught you everything you need to know. You need to get your girl from that Doctor remember?”

“How am I supposed to do this without you?” The Boy asked, fear filled his voice.

“Your time will come. You have to be a man about this. You have the skills now and you have our little videos to watch. Your own little tutorial to pluck that girl right out of Dr. Reid’s hands. You need to hide those and hide them well. Promise me you won’t fuck up your chance.” Drew growled.

The Boy whimpered and Drew smacked him. “Promise me!” He yelled.

“I promise.” The Boy sobbed, grabbing at his pained cheek.

Drew’s face softened and he gave the boy a smile. “Good, now get out of here legacy and make me proud. I expect to see you on the news someday.” He winked. “You remember our code right?”

The boy nodded.

“Then this isn’t the last time we will speak to each other. Now get the fuck out of here, I already fucked with the security footage, so they won’t even know you were here.” Drew explained, pushing the boy out towards the parking lot.

The Boy’s heart broke as he rushed from his mentor, not only because he knew he would never be able to see Drew in person after this, but because he knew that he would never be able to ruin the 6th victim. The sixth whore that was tied up in the trunk of Drew’s car.

________________________________________________________________

The girl sobs were muffled by her gag. Drew pulled on her hair harder as he dragged her to the storage unit. He knew he didn’t have much time left, so he might as well let every moment count huh?

The girl’s sobs turned into terrified screams as she beheld the bloodied storage room and the various knives and devices within it.

“Shut up you stupid bitch.” He growled in her ear.

The girl whimpered something and Drew ripped away her gag.

“Please.” She begged and Drew simply laughed as he lugged her limp body towards the table in the center of the room.

“Please, just let me go. I won’t tell anyone, I promise. I have a family who cares about me-” She pleaded.

“Whores don’t have families. Whores have nothing. They just cheat and lie and move onto the next guy. Huh Madelyn?” He growled as he threw her up onto the table.

“My name isn’t Madelyn, please it’s Emily-” The girl sobbed.

“Enough of your lies Madelyn. You stupid slut. You couldn’t stay loyal could you?” Drew snarled, hitting the girl’s head hard against the table.

She sobbed harder. “My name is Emily, my name isn’t Madelyn, please it’s Emily.” She babbled.

“SHUT UP.” He said, hitting her again.

Suddenly a shout rose up from outside the storage unit door. “Andrew Curtis, this is the FBI, come out with your hands raised.”

The smile that crept across Drew’s face was wicked. He grabbed a knife and pulled Emily against him. “Let’s have some fun, shall we?” He whispered in her ear.

“Andrew Curtis, this is your last warning. We will come in armed and ready.” Hotch’s voice shouted again.

Drew remained where he was, the sick smile on his face, as tears streamed down Emily’s face.

When the door burst open and several agents poured in, he did not flinch or cower away.

“Drop the weapon.” Hotch boomed, his voice echoing in the space.

“Now, now, now, where would the fun be in that?” Drew mocked.

“Put down the weapon, Curtis and let the girl go.” Rossi ordered.

Drew’s eyes looked past all of them and fell on Spencer, he bit back a smile.

“Come any closer and I’ll slice her throat.” Drew threatened, pressing the knife harder to Emily’s throat, a few drops of crimson blossomed and crept down her neck.

“If you don’t let Miss Bloise go, then we will be forced to take action Mr. Curtis.” Rossi explained.

Drew’s hand shook, god he wanted them to come at him, but then he thought of his mentee, how lost he would be without him.

He lowered the knife and let the girl go. She ran towards one of the agents, tears mixing with the blood that ran down her neck. JJ wrapped an arm around the girl and guided her out.

Morgan rushed to Curtis, pinning him down against the floor and putting cuffs around his wrists.

Though they had caught him, Hotch felt uneasy. Curtis had given in too quickly. The greasy smile across Curtis’s face as Morgan led him away only heightened his suspicions.

________________________________________________________________

The team sat outside the interrogation room, watching as Hotch tried to get a rise out of Andrew Curtis. He and JJ had gone in; Hotch to be the intimidator, JJ to be the trigger as she looked a bit similar to the victims. So far the man had just sat in the chair, his arms crossed, silent and smirking. It had been almost an hour and they had gotten nothing out of him.

Spencer felt as though Curtis could see him through the two-way mirror.

“You know Agent,” Curtis began. “I know you’re trying to be the big bad wolf, but it’s not going to work, I’ve dealt with worse than you.”

Morgan looked about ready to kick in the door and beat the confession out of Andrew.

“Send me in, I’ll get an answer out of him” Morgan growled, cracking his knuckles.

“Unfortunately, the confession won’t stand up in court if they found out you beat the shit out of Curtis to get it” Emily smirked, trying to lighten the mood.

“The Court doesn’t have to know” Morgan argued, making Emily scoff.

“Focus kids.” Rossi ordered sternly, but Spencer could tell he was fighting back a small smile.

Hotch and JJ came out of the room. Hotch looked to Spencer, his expression grim. “He wants to talk with you.”

Spencer looked at Hotch confused, “Why me?”

“He’s ‘fascinated by you’” Hotch explained. “I know it’s not ideal and you don’t have to go in their Reid, but-”

“But, we could get the confession out of him. We have the charges for Miss Bloise, but we want to pin him for the other girls he attacked. I understand and I will do it.” Spencer said.

“I’ll stick with you Spence” JJ reassured, putting a hand on his arm. “You won’t be alone.”

Spencer nodded, sending a grateful look JJ’s way as they made their way into the interrogation room.

“Ah the elusive doctor. So glad you could join us.” Drew purred.

Spencer said nothing as he moved to sit down across from Curtis.

“-your wife left you Mr. Curtis, is that correct?” JJ asked.

“Please doll, a pretty thing like you can call me Drew” Drew said, looking JJ up and down.

Spencer’s fists clenched in anger as he felt JJ tense next to him.

“The file says she left you after she cheated on you. Did you have medical issues Mr. Curtis?” Reid asked, drawing Curtis’s attention to him. “Did you struggle to please your own wife?”

Curtis growled. “That stupid whore has nothing to do with this.”

“Ah so you couldn’t and when she left you for a man that could, you projected your anger for her onto these women. You were angry at them for being confident and independent, much like your wife who knew what she wanted.” Spencer said, sitting back in his chair with a faint smirk.

“These women were nothing but whores, willing to let men in like me. They wanted someone so badly they let a stranger into their house.” Curtis hissed.

“Mr. Curtis, you were a delivery man. They didn’t let you in, you forced your way into their homes didn’t you?”

“If a man needs a glass of water, can’t he let himself in?” Curtis purred. “They turned their backs on a predator and got what was coming to them.”

“Did you attack them in their homes?” JJ asked.

“Only to make them quiet, couldn’t have the neighbors hear them scream.” Curtis laughed and Spencer resisted the urge to choke out the man across from him.

They placed images of all of his supposed victim’s before him. “Do you recognize these women?” JJ asked, her voice harsh and cold.

Curtis looked over all of them, silent for a couple minutes. Spencer’s patience thinned. “Well?”

Curtis pointed to an image of Lila Jennings, the third victim of this case. “She screamed the loudest.” He pointed to another image. “She was a hot piece of ass, it was fun breaking her.”

“Enough.” Spencer hissed.

“In short Doctor, yes I do recognize these women. Every single one of them and no I do not regret a single one.”

Without saying another word, JJ and Spencer got up, taking the files with them. Curtis’s laughter rang out behind them as they shut the door.

________________________________________________________________

TAGLIST

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hela-avenger · 4 years

Text

poison & wine- part 34

Author: hela-avenger

Word Count: 2243

Summary: Prince Loki of Asgard is in need of a date to take back home. That’s where you come in with a task of your own to make the whole trip with an insufferable prince worth it. Too bad that things don’t always go as planned and you end up giving more than you can take. Fake-Dating AU.

A/N: Yup its a long one! But I needed to make up for all the emotional damage I caused in the previous parts. Took me some time to get it right but I hope you enjoy it!

poison & wine masterlist

“I can’t begin to comprehend why such a thing needs to be rehearsed,” Loki mutters unhappily into his glass of whiskey. He glances around the decorated lawn of the compound that was littered with the rest of the Avengers and their close associates. “Is this going to be everyone?”

“Why?” Thor asks as he pulls out his flask of Asgardian mead from his coat pocket. “Looking for someone specifically?”

“No,” Loki is quick to answer. “No, I… I just thought that she would be here.”

“She?”

Loki sighs at the mistake made but refuses to elaborate. His brother had attempted to get him to speak of what occurred in Asgard. Thor had noticed his brother’s foul mood but could not piece together what might have happened much to Loki’s relief. Thor was in the dark as much as Loki was as he had yet to make any sense of it himself.

You had left. You abandoned him with no reason and it hurt. It hurt to think that he had driven you away.

“Well whoever she is, brother, I’m glad it was enough to get you out of your room,” Thor answers cheerfully. “I was growing worried.”

Loki doesn’t offer him a response instead motioning Thor to place half of his flask into Loki’s now empty cup. If he were to get through this rehearsal dinner, Loki might need a few drinks in him.

A high squeal is heard from afar but Loki ignores it knowing it must have been the easily amused Witch.

“Ah, the Lady Y/N has arrived,” Thor comments passively as he watches Wanda head to the valet entrance. “It’s good to see she’s alive. Everyone was quite worried about her.”

At hearing your name, Loki turns away from his brother to find you stepping out of a car. Wanda doesn’t waste a moment as she immediately pulls you into a hug causing your laughter to fill the air. Her excitement of your return is excessive even more so as she notices the date you’ve brought.

Bucky Barnes hands the keys over to the valet before settling by your side. Being a gentleman, he offers you his arm to take and you do which sends Wanda into another fit of excited laughter.

Loki finds himself unable to breathe. You always had a way to take his breath away, but this was different. It broke him to see you and your past lover together.

“Are you going to say hello to her?”

Loki shakes his head and looks away, downing the mead that Thor had shared with him before searching for the nearest bar for a refill.

You watch as Wanda disappears into the crowd as she goes off to search for Natasha. It wouldn’t be long now for everyone to find out that you were back. Wanda would make sure of spreading the news and you knew you had a long night ahead because of it.

“I didn’t realize that Wanda was very…” Bucky trails off as he tries to avoid the word that came to mind.

“...Nosy?” you finish for him.

“You said it, not me,” Bucky laughs.

“She’s just protective of me,” you shrug. “I’ve been gone for months and I left without saying goodbye. I owe everyone an explanation.”

“You don’t owe anyone anything,” Bucky tells you. “You left because you needed to take care of yourself. You don’t need to explain that to anybody.”

You let out a sigh and are quick to grab a flute of champagne from a passing waiter. You knew Bucky was right but you had to offer them something. You disappeared, and though it was for your sanity in mind, your friends deserved better from you.

“Thank you, Bucky,” you whisper to him.

“For what?”

“For everything,” you answer. “For covering for me, hearing me out, and tonight especially for coming as my date.”

“Well, it’s the least I could do for an old friend,” Bucky responds with a smile. “I’m just happy that you’re happy.”

You look away as he says this not necessarily feeling that way.

You’re anxious.

Not because you were finally facing the music with all of your friends, but because this was the first time you would be in the same vicinity as Loki since that last night in Asgard.

“You are happy, right?”

“If I say no, will you judge me?” you ask him.

Bucky takes in your fallen expression and is quick to pull you into a half-embrace. You rest your head on his shoulder and sigh.

“I haven’t been able to get him out of my head. He’s under my skin. He’s in there pretty deeply and I… I wouldn’t want him anywhere else.”

Bucky presses a soft kiss at the crown of your head before letting you go.

“Maybe you should talk to him?” he offers. “Put those matters to rest so you can finally move on.”

Before you can refuse, Bucky continues.

“Look, you can’t keep running. You’ll never stop,” Bucky tells you. “You can’t drive yourself away from the people who care about you the most because you’re afraid of what you feel for him.”

He had a point, but you refused to follow his advice. The pain was still so fresh and you still couldn’t manage it.

“He’s here, you know?” Bucky adds. “He’s been watching you the moment we came in.”

“Bucky…”

He doesn’t allow you another word as he slowly turns you around. Through the crowded dance floor, you find the Asgardian brothers together. Thor was oblivious to your stare while Loki quickly caught it.

Your breath catches in your throat but you can’t find it in yourself to look away. Even though dancing couples kept crossing your field of vision, he was the only person you could see.

As much as you wanted to allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the warmth and serenity that came with seeing him, you couldn’t ignore how your heart broke all over again.

“Dance,” you state as you down your champagne and set it aside. You turn to Bucky immediately after. “Take me to dance.”

Bucky hesitates but the pleading look that you offer him is enough to take your offered hand and lead you to the dance floor. You moved in sync with him allowing him to take the lead as he swayed you from side to side.

“He’s still watching,” Bucky whispers by your ear.

“I can’t… please…” you whisper back. “Please stop.”

“It breaks my heart to see you like this, doll.”

“Then maybe it was a bad idea coming back,” you state. “Maybe I should leave…”

“Leave? You just got here!”

You turn around to find Tony with an exasperated look on his face. He turns over to Bucky with a half-nod.

“May I cut in for a quick second?”

Bucky spins you into Tony’s arms not allowing you a choice. You’re trapped when Tony takes over and starts to lead you away from Bucky.

“Heard you came back,” Tony starts off. “Glad to see it's true.”

“I can explain…”

“No, no explanation needed,” Tony interrupts. “I’m sure you needed some rehab after spending some time with the Prince of Hell. I would have given him shit about it but he seems to be beating himself up for whatever happened up there.”

“Tony,” you sigh out. “He didn’t do anything.”

“Then why did you leave?”

“Because I… I just needed some time away,” you answer. “I can’t say much from that. I’m not ready to talk about it.”

“Fine…” Tony draws out. “Are you… Are you ok though?”

“No,” you answer honestly. “For the first time in my life, I’m kind of lost.”

“Tell me how I can help.”

“You’re already doing it,” you answer as you lean into his shoulder. “This, right here, being here for me. It’s all I needed right now.”

“We’re family, kid,” Tony sighs out.

“Yeah,” you agree with him in relief. “Family.”

The song comes to an end and you pull away from Tony. You press a kiss on his cheek and wipe off the residue of your lipstick.

“Congrats by the way,” you smile at him. He starts to lead you out of the dance floor and you follow him. “Who would have thought this day would come?”

“Ah yes, the genius billionaire playboy finally settles down.”

“Women and men everywhere are absolutely devastated,” you joke.

“Stop feeding his ego,” Steve speaks up as he arrives with Bucky by his side. “There’s barely enough space for it as it is.”

“Yeah, doll,” Bucky agrees. “Man calls himself a genius and yet he can’t make a flying car happen.”

You can’t help but laugh as Tony rolls his eyes.

“Just because my father proposed such an outrageous idea doesn’t mean I have to follow through with it.”

The argument continues between them causing everyone to laugh. You feel yourself lighten a bit. It felt good to be surrounded by people you cared about. You can’t remember the last time that you felt this way.

“So Wanda was quick to tell me you came here with Bucky,” Natasha whispers as she manages to sneak by your side. “Didn’t realize you were into older men.”

You can’t help but snort at hearing this from her. If only she knew how right she was. Though Bucky was technically younger than you, you were indeed in love with a thousand year old being.

“Yeah, I uh… I didn’t realize it either.”

Natasha passes you a flute of champagne. You knew she was settling in to start her questioning which you were sure you weren’t ready for.

“So who would have thought,” Natasha whispers. “Loki of Asgard…”

You shouldn’t have been surprised that she found you out without even asking you anything. She was the spy after all.

“He’s been watching you all night and you’ve been ignoring him,” Natasha explains. “Besides, I watched the security feed of the day you came back. Nice dress by the way.”

“Nat…”

“You left and two minutes later, Loki arrives but you’re already gone. You both have been distant since then.”

You don’t know how to respond so you simply take a drink and look away from her. Only to find Thor and Loki entering the group to be a part of the lively discussion. Loki’s sight remains on you and you can’t afford to be this close to him for too long.

“I uh… I need a minute.”

You leave Natasha without hearing a reply as you search for Bucky. You find him chatting with Steve and you are quick to pull him aside.

“Doll, what’s wrong?”

“I’m leaving,” you tell him. “I can’t be here anymore.”

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow for the wedding.”

“No, you actually won’t,” you answer. “I’m going back home. I… Everyone apparently knows what went down between Loki and I and I can’t… I’m not in the mood to get into all of that and he’s right here. I thought I could handle it, but I can’t. Tell everyone I’m sorry. Tell Tony… I’m sorry.”

You don’t wait for Bucky’s response as you abandon your glass and slip into the nearby crowd hoping no one has noticed.

Bucky is quick to cut across the group to reach him. Loki’s hold on his glass tightens at the sight of the soldier which doesn’t go unnoticed by him. Bucky wasn’t looking for a fight but he would be willing to get into one if it meant you stayed.

“She’s leaving,” Bucky tells him. “Y/N is leaving and I don’t think she’s coming back this time. So if you care about her at all then do something about it because you’re not going to get a second chance.”

Loki knows he’s telling the truth but he’s confused as to why the soldier is coming to him for help.

“Why are you telling me this?” Loki asks. “You’re the one she loves.”

“If you seriously believe that then you’re a bigger fool than I thought you were,” Bucky answers. “She only has eyes for you but you made a mistake and it broke her. So if you love her like I know you do, then go after her now. Give her a reason to stay.”

Loki doesn’t hesitate now as he passes off his glass to the waiting soldier and chases after you. By fate’s way, the crowd seems to part for him allowing him a chance to reach you before you could make it to the valet.

“Y/N, wait.”

You stop, faltering to take a step away from him. Loki could tell you wish to but you remain rooted in place.

“What do you want, Loki?”

He barely manages to catch your voice. It’s soft and quiet, defeated. You can’t even turn to look at him causing your question to twist into his heart like a dagger. Whatever content you held for him was gone now.

“For you to stay,” Loki answers simply. “I’ll leave if it makes you comfortable. These are your friends and family celebrating. I have no reason to stand in your way. I’ll leave so you won’t have to.”

“That’s really all you came to say to me?” you scoff with a shake of your head. “Really?”

“I don’t know what-”

You’re quick to silence him when you turn around and crash your lips against his seeking a kiss that should have been given so long ago.

poison & wine tag: @damalseer @just-the-hiddles @jessiejunebug @nonsensicalobsessions @smollest-soybean @assassinoftheworld @readerbandit @doyoufeelikeayounggod @strangemcuvlogs @ha-tep @i-dont-know-eiither @gene-king @day-dreaming-fox @bn-studies @is-it-madness @devilbat @victor-criss-bish @skinny-macncheese @musicconversedance @baby-bunnyxn @fandoms-allovertheplace @marvelloonie @jinxjinxednova @queenmuahaha @accio-boys @eternalqueensworld @umlvk @roger-the-reindeer @punkrockhufflefluff @your-local-abyss @horsesandwolvesaremyanimals @rogerrhqpsody @imsad420 @pandacookieowo @justnerdystuffs @hanoi15 @oneprolificqueen @nikki-who-likes-coffee @fandomrelative @nikki419ninja @onedollarduck @help-i-need-a-social-life @ephemeraljade @catsladen @amwolowicz @captainmarvelnerd @thegirlbeyondtheuniverse @ddaeing @leftperfectionmoon

Loki Tag: @unicorniorosacomefrutillas @thesilentbluesparrow @oddly-drawn-muse @josiehosiedaninja @hp-hogwartsexpress @sadwaywardkid @wolf-lover74 @sizzlingbarbarianglitter @sigyn-njorddottir @aoirohi @defunctcherrybomb @horsesandwolvesaremyanimals

All Works Tag: @jmb959 @astudyoftimeywimeystuff @hellocookiecutter @steve-rogers-personal-hell @buckybarnesyard @not-zari-tak @strangersstranger @thefridgeismybestie @moonlightprime @badhollandfluff

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thecleverdame · 4 years

Text

The Oath - 15

Parings: Dark!Alpha!Sam x Omega!Reader

Story Master List

Summary: After an unsuccessful escape attempt, the reader finds herself taken as a spoil of war. She ends up in the bed of a ruthless Alpha, the son of John Winchester, leader of the kingdom of Gilead. She struggles to conceal her true identity and navigate a society where being an Omega means nothing more than serving at the pleasure of powerful men.

Warnings: non-con, sexual assault, rape, attempted suicide, sexual slavery, branding, torture, ownership, voyeurism, anal play, smut, violence, and murder.

Sam is dark in this story. If any of the warnings are triggers for you, I would suggest skipping this one. Please read and heed all the warnings.

Beta: ilikaicalie

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No matter how long you stare at the bite on your neck, it’s still hard to believe it’s real.

Sam claimed you.

Sam Winchester claimed you.

Adding to your humiliation is the fact that you asked for this. Begged him to bite you, begged him to do a lot of other unspeakable things that make you blush in the light of day. That’s not remotely fair. To be an Omega in the bed of an Alpha, your Alpha, during his rut...you would have asked for anything in that state.

Your body is a map of his rut. Even two days afterward you’re covered in bite marks and bruises. Handprints on your arms and around your wrists where he held you down as you pleaded for it harder.

God help you. You’re all in now. Any thought of ever going back to your own family has been eradicated. The last vestiges of hope have drained away. Even if by some miracle you were able to escape, or your father won the war, you could never stay away from him. You’re bound for the rest of your life and you’ll die without him.

You are his and you’ve decided for your own sanity that you’ll play the part until you truly forget who you were. It’s time to give in. Clinging to false hope can only serve to bring devastation when the fairy tale ending never comes. There’s no way out. So you have to be all in.

John is in the camp. His men have joined up with Sam and Deans to form a massive army. You can hear the commotion from outside the tent, feeling sick at the thought of having to meet him.

You’ve heard the tales of John Winchester for years. It’s easy to think that men with his reputation are often blown out of proportion, but you fear all those stories were accurate. The tales of cruelty were indeed rooted in truth.

That evening several women come to assist you in getting ready. One braids small strips of your hair, pinning it atop your head while the other laces up an intricate dress the likes of which you haven’t seen since you were a proper princess. Sam watches stoically from the corner as they flit around, nervous and desperate to have you up to his standards.

“Make sure to leave some of her hair down. Cover the bite,” he instructs. The young woman combing your hair jumps out of her skin when he speaks.

“Of course, my lord.” She smooths the hair into waves around your shoulders, arranging it just so. You won’t be able to move without fear of undoing her handiwork.

He hasn’t said much in the last few days, more quiet than usual. Studying you with unnerving intensity. It’s like he’s waiting for changes. As if he thinks his bite will trigger some dramatic physical metamorphosis that will happen right before his eyes.

With a final cinch, your dress is fitted and the woman at your back takes a step away, bowing her head.

“Would you like to inspect her up close before we take our leave?”

“Yes.” Sam stands up, both women scurrying backwards to put as much room between them and him as possible. He makes a circle around you, nodding slowly. “You’ve done well. You may both go.”

They’re out of the tent in a dash, allowing you more freedom to speak to him. He doesn’t mind your familiarity, but you’re sure to question when no one else is around.

“Why am I wearing this dress?” you ask. You’ve got a good idea but you want to hear him say it.

“We’re having dinner with my family. You need to look your best.” He places a hand on your shoulder, guiding you back to the same mirror you stare into every morning. This mirror has seen more tears and whispered prayer than any other in existence. “You’re beautiful, but I needed you to look polished tonight. Representative of the prize that you are.”

He stands behind you as you both stare at your reflection as he places a hand on top of each shoulder. This is a woman you never thought you’d see again. Not only clean but composed. Your hair is wonderfully intricate, the top half of your hair braided and looped around the crown of your head. The dress is immaculate and your cheeks a rosy pink.

Perhaps his instincts are correct. Over the months since your capture, you’ve looked thinner and paler as time dragged on. But in the two days since his claim you’ve flourished. Brought back to life the Omega inside that’s nourished in a way you’ve never been before. Despite the circumstances, belonging to an Alpha is what you’ve been craving for years, there’s no denying it.

“I’m scared,” you whisper, watching his reflection. He meets your eyes, unwavering as his fingers curl into the meat of your shoulders.

“Don’t be scared, little bird. My father is intimidating to most people. But do you know the one thing John Winchester is scared of?”

You don’t have to ponder the question long before the answer becomes clear.

“You?”

“Me.” He breaks into a joyless smile. One hand drops down to your waist, pulling you flush against him. “And he should be.”

Sam escorts you across the camp with a half dozen men trailing behind him. He doesn’t normally have a small army of personal bodyguards. It’s unclear if this is because of you or to protect him. But it is clear that the amassing of army’s has changed things. There’s an intensity in the camp that you can feel, it’s hanging heavy in the air as you pass through.

The sight of an Omega draws attention. And Sam Winchester’s makes for a full out spectacle. You can feel the shame and fear make your face red as you scamper beside him. Even though it’s unlikely, there’s always the possibility that someone could recognize you. The wrong person could point and shout out your true identity.

There’s a huge tent at the center of the camp at least twice the size of Sam’s. It appears to have been set up specially for dinner. There’s not much inside save for a long dining table lined with chairs.

You take a seat across from Greta as Sam and Dean launch into their own conversation. She’s not as perky as the last time you saw her. There’s a limpness, a dullness in her eyes that tells you the fight is almost gone.

“Hello.” You offer a hesitant smile.

“Hello.” She stares blankly at you.

“Greta,” you whisper, reaching across the table to take her hand. “Are you alright?”

“I am alive,” she answers, tears pooling in her eyes.

The two Alphas move away from the table for a stronger drink from the sideboard. You take the opportunity to pour Greta a glass of wine, then yourself. She takes it from you with a weak thank you.

“Has something happened?” you whisper, checking to make sure that the men are otherwise occupied. “Something more than…”

Imprisonment and assault.

“No,” she takes a sip from her glass. “It’s been a lot of the same. I’ve realized that you were right from the beginning. Being so obstinate has only made the situation worse.”

You want to ask exactly what she means by “worse” but you’re not sure you can handle the answer. She’s no longer shackled. It appears she finally stopped running away or maybe it’s just for show. Turning up to dinner with John Winchester with a chain around her ankle would make Dean appear weak.

“Maybe we’ll have a chance to talk later.” Trying to remain upbeat, you pat the top of her hand. “Drink some more, it will help.”

Without any sort of introduction, John enters the tent with a woman on his arm. A few men walk in behind him, fanning out to stand guard by the doorway.

You stand up without even thinking about it. Greta jumps to her feet as well. Looking to Sam you try to deduce if you should go to him or stay put where you are. After all, in Gilead, you’re a strange combination of high social status and half a person.

You’re relieved when Sam gestures for you to come to him. He and Dean both greet their father while you and Greta watch from a step behind. John looks tired, almost unassuming, but there’s a flicker in his eyes that gives away his lethality.

He and Dean embrace with a hug that looks genuine. And then Dean turns to the blonde woman beside John for a kiss and you understand, this is their mother. Sam has mentioned her offhandedly but you assumed she was dead. She’s standing just behind John with an unnerving smile.

When it’s Sam’s turn he and John share a more uncomfortable version of Dean’s greeting. Neither of them wants to touch the other. When it’s his mother’s turn he embraces her with the same vigor as his brother. While Sam is devoid of telltale warmth that a mother and son share, he still attempts to show her some affection.

“You both look well.” John looks from Dean to Sam, seemingly pleased with what he sees. “Very good.”

John looks from Greta to you as if just noticing you for the first time, appraising you from head to toe before chuckling with a nod to both his sons.

“You both have one. That’s good. Having an Omega waiting keeps you clear-headed on the battlefield.”

“Yes it does,” Dean agrees with a genuine grin. In stark contrast to Sam’s disdain, Dean seems to bask in their father’s approval.

“Please, let’s eat. I know we’re all hungry and we’ve got plenty of time to catch up.”

Everyone takes their place. You’re nervous you might say or do the wrong thing, so you fold your hands into your lap and try to draw as little attention as possible. The soldiers stationed along the wall stare dead ahead as if transfixed, never looking at anyone or anything. Ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice.

Sam refills your wine glass without so much as a look and settles it for the evening.

Everyone eats and drinks as the evening wears on. You know it’s coming but you’re taken off guard when John hones in on you.

“Why don’t you tell us where you found your Omega, Sam? She’s a rare find.”

“She’s very beautiful.” Mary stares at you blankly, devoid of any real emotion.

“Yes, she is.” Sam turns to you, reaching to brush the hair away from your neck, exposing his bite. You stare at him in horror while the table goes silent. It takes a moment for everyone to understand what they’re seeing. All conversations stop, even the sounds of plates and cutlery are silenced at this revelation.

John Winchester clears his throat and your eyes flutter shut, scarcely able to handle what unknown comes next.

“She’s claimed?”

“She is.”

“By you?”

“Yes.”

John takes a breath, both fists resting on the table curl tight until his knuckles go white.

“What the hell is wrong with you, boy? Do you know what this means? What I have to do?” His face is red, and you wonder if he’ll order you both dead here and now.

“Tell me, what do you have to do?” Sam’s antagonizing him, a grin pulling at his mouth.

“Sam,” his mother breathes, looking in horror from her husband to her son. “What have you done?”

“Were you looking for a fight? Is that what you want, for me to take her from you?”

“You’re not taking her,” Sam spits back.

“Yes, I am.”John points at you and it’s all you can do not to burst into tears. “I can’t let you keep her. What example would that set? The laws are centuries old. This is what we’re fighting to uphold.”

“Consider this an exception.” Sam shrugs, picking up his wine glass.

“There are no exceptions.”

“Then why don’t you come over here and try to take her then?” Sam offers, eyes narrowing with the challenge. “Drag me off to the chopping block while you’re at it.”

“Why do you always have to undermine me!” John yells, standing up.

“She’s my mate.” Sam stands too, slow and deliberate. “If you try to take her, I’ll kill you. If you send men to take her, I’ll kill them and then I’ll come for you.”

“Sam,” John pauses pounding the table with a single fist. “How am I expected to enforce the laws if my own son doesn’t follow them?”

“You’ll think of something.”

“You are to be an example to the men!”

“I am no man. You said that yourself. Don’t think for a moment that I need your permission for anything. I do all that you ask of me. I was loyal until the day I died and in return, I take what I want. When and how I want it.”

They stare at each other, each waiting for the other to back down.

“You let him do this?” John turns to Dean who holds both hands up.

“I know it’s been a while since we’ve all been together, but I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that no one lets Sam do anything. This isn’t on me.”

“No, it’s not. It was my decision.” Sam adds. “She’s been with me since Eden and now she’ll stay with me.”

Sam relaxes, his display of dominance is over because he was the winner before this even started.

“Soul or not, you’ve always been hard-headed.” John sinks back into his seat, letting out a sigh. “Tell me Omega, what’s your name.”

You sit up in horror, looking from John to Sam.

“I, um-”. You clasp your shaking hands together in your lap. “Sparrow.”

“What an unusual name,” Mary chimes in.

“Yes,” you agree looking down at your lap.

“Tell us Sparrow,” John continues. “How many Alpha were you with before my son?”

“None sir,” you answer immediately, wishing you could crawl under the table.

“That’s something I suppose.” John composes himself sitting back and patting his wife’s hand. “If there was ever a reason for a break in tradition, Sam is it. But I don’t want anyone else thinking they can get away with-”

“I don’t think that’s a problem,” Dean interjects. “If you like we’ll make sure to make an example of the next man who abuses his privileges with an Omega.”

John seems to accept this and it’s as if the confrontation never happened. Suddenly they’re talking about heading south and the warmer weather.

That’s it. It was that simple. Sam was right, John is afraid of him.

The night drags on. Dean and John tell stories of their time apart. While Sam doesn’t engage, he seems amused with a few of Dean’s embellished tales. It’s just as dinner is coming to an end that you sense the mood shifting.

John is now focused on Greta, watching her while he listens to his son ramble on about sword makers and strategies. When Dean finishes his story John tips back the last of his wine.

“I think it’s time to take care of our most important business, don’t you?”

Both Sam and Dean agree, making it clear they all know what’s coming next. John raises a hand and there’s a commotion outside the tent. Two soldiers bring a man inside, he’s bloodied and beaten, limp, feet dragging in the dirt.

You look to Sam and then back to the man, sure that you don’t want to witness whatever is about to happen.

“Oh my God,” Greta starts to stand and Dean grabs her arm to keep her in her seat. “Father!”

Your heart drops into your stomach. Her father, the renowned General Kaiser. He’s one of your father’s most trusted confidants. You feel terror for her as she begins to cry, looking wildly around the table.

“Please,” she begs, grabbing at Dean’s sleeve. “Don’t hurt him please, I’ll do anything.”

“Be quiet,” he says with a gentleness that you’ve never seen before. “Stay in your seat.”

This man knows you, in fact, he’s known you since you were a little girl. Kaiser lifts his head, smiling when he sees his daughter.

“It’s going to be alright Greta. Do what you’re told.”

Kaiser then looks from John to Dean to Sam and then his gaze falls on you. It’s a split second before recognition sets in. His eyes dart from Sam to the exposed claiming bite on your neck. He understands almost immediately and forces himself to look away.

“We need information.” John begins, getting to his feet. “This man has the power to secure the war. Everything we need, the general knows. Regrettably, our honored guest has been less than forthcoming. So tonight we’re going to try a new tactic. Sam, take care of Greta for us, will you?”

“No,” you whisper under your breath as Sam makes his way around the table.

Sam takes her by the arm, pulling her out of her seat. Dean simply watches, concealing any and all reactions.

“Take your hands off her!” Kaiser shouts. It breaks your heart, he’s been beaten within an inch of his life. There’s no way out for him and yet he tries to protect his daughter.

“He will take his hands off her when you give us something we can work with. Where are Benedict's men being moved to? Tell us the rally point. If you don’t, my son will slit your daughter’s throat.”

“I don’t know,” Kaiser answers, a tear sliding down her cheek as he stares at Greta.

“How about the location of his advisors? I was told they were being kept together for protection. Or his children? Anything we can use.”

You stop breathing, chest tightening, heart thumping hard and fast. This is it. The end. All he has to do to save Greta is point a finger at you. Sam tenses as if he can feel your panic and gives you a questioning glance. Kaiser looks at you for a fleeting second, then looks up as if sending up a final prayer.

“I am loyal to my king until I die.” Kaiser holds his bloodied head high, the muscles of his neck shaking.

“You are an idiot.” John shakes his head. Instead of looking to Sam, John turns to Dean. “Do you want to keep her longer?”

Yes, please yes. Please.

“Sure,” Dean shrugs.

“Very well.” John moves with a speed you wouldn’t have thought him capable of. In one move he unsheaths his sword and drives it deep into Kaiser's gut. Twisting as he presses forward.

Greta screams, reaching out for her father. Sam lets her go and she crumples to the floor watching in agony as her father dies a slow, violent death right before her eyes.

You’re out of the chair without a second thought, scurrying around the table and dropping to your knees to hold Greta in your arms. She howls as you rock her back and forth, listening to the last sounds of her father gasping for breath.

And when it’s over you sit there, clinging to her and squeezing your own eyes shut.

“It needed to be done,” John’s voice explains. “The longer we let him live, the weaker we looked. People need to know we don’t hold prisoners. They’re of use or they’re dead.”

“Understood,” Dean agrees.

It seems like a lifetime before Sam pries you away from Greta. You’re in a stupor as he lifts you up and carries you away from the gruesome scene.

Later That Evening

“May I ask you a question?” you ask.

Neither of you has said much since you returned from dinner. You’ve been stuck in your own head replaying the events over and over. He looks up from his book. Much to your surprise, he gets up from his chair and walks over to the end of the bed.

“What is it?”

“Your mother...I didn’t know she was alive. Why haven’t you or Dean mentioned her?”

“That’s a question with a long answer.” He holds your gaze. “She was gone for a long time. My father will tell you he thought she was possessed. But the truth is that she was disloyal, undermining his orders. One morning she disappeared and we didn’t see her for a year. When she did come back she wasn’t our mother anymore. He did something to her, broke her. And since then she’s just a stranger with our mother’s face.”

“That's awful.”

“It is what it is.” Sam shrugs, shaking away the idea of his mother.

You watch him thoughtfully, this man who’s now your Alpha.

“You told your father you would kill him if he came for me. Did you mean that?”

“Yes.”

“And if your father had told you to, would you have killed Greta?”

“Yes.”

If you could just tell him the truth, what a burden would be lifted. You long to whisper your fears to someone. That you’re terrified that one day you’ll watch as your own father is slaughtered in front of you. That Sam will discover your true identity and turn on you himself. The very notion of your own Alpha turning his back on you makes you want to crawl under the covers and cower in fear.

“You’re shaking,” he murmurs, looking down at your trembling hands.

“This existence, my life...your life, it’s brutal. I don’t know how to come to terms with what happened. A man was killed in front of me. I can’t reconcile that...I don’t want it to be real.”

“I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do about that. Before this war is over there is no end to the violent things you’ll see.”

Normally he would dismiss you as weak or overly concerned for the welfare of others. Perhaps for the first time he seems to care that you’re upset.

Tonight has proven one thing above all others. He takes his claim seriously, having you and keeping you for himself. He wants to be your Alpha, gets satisfaction from it. That’s easier to play into while lulling yourself into a false sense of security.

“Will you keep me safe?”

“Yes,” he replies.

His hand cups the cut of your jaw, a thumb slowly stroking across your cheek. He’s looking at you but lost somewhere in thought. His touch has never been soft, nothing close to tenderness. But as he cradles your face you see a glimpse of the man left inside him.

You wrap your hand around his wrist, allowing yourself to sink into the moment. To let go of your old identity and forge a new one.

His concentration snaps as his free hand moves to your knee and then up a thigh. He doesn’t stop until his fingers push into your folds to find slick at your core.

Giving a little moan, you spread yourself open for him as he withdraws his hand.

“Are you always wet?”

Biting your lip you glance away sheepishly.

“It’s your scent. When you’re near me I...I can’t help it.”

“I wouldn’t want you to.” He tugs at your slip. “Take this off.”

You yank it over your head, lay back as he crawls over you, shedding his shirt, then his trousers.

He buries his head between your thighs, shoving his tongue into your cunt as you writhe up against his chin. Both hands press down on your hips to hold you in place as his tongue drags upward from your wet hole to the swollen bud of your clit. Without warning he sucks at the most sensitive part of you.

Two hands curl into his hair, yanking at his scalp but at the same time pushing his face into your pussy. It's a cacophony of sensations, a pleasure bordering on too much. He grunts and groans, giving you a brief reprieve, delving back down to shove inside you before returning to send you star-bound with the caress of his mouth.

In moments such as this you forget where you are. What you just witnessed or the trials to come. Here in this bed, in this moment all is forgotten except Sam.

Heavy and pitching, you’re at the edge of the abyss, ready to plunge headfirst over the edge.

“Sam,” you gulp.

You’ve never dared call him by his name before but it falls from your lips without a second thought.

He moves fast, mouth leaving your cunt as he lunges upward to take your mouth. The spiced taste of yourself on his tongue is proof of his efforts as you kiss him back. Hands curl into the flesh of his back leaving tiny crescent moons across the skin.

A hand wedges between your bellies, grabbing his cock to line himself up. The first thrust is intense. You easily take him in to the root, wet and needy, opening up as you have a hundred times before. The moment he finds his depth, you cum with a yelp.

For a moment there’s nothing, then a burst of white before your eyes and the feeling of pulsing around him.

He fucks you through it, slow and steady until you’re nothing but a twitching body underneath him. It’s a dizzy gratification and you swim in it until you feel his knot swell. He ruts deep and then fills you with seed. You lie under him for as long as it takes his knot to recede, listening to the sound of his breath, feeling the thump of his heart against your chest.

It must be the universe’s cruel joke that you’re so well matched. This sort of pleasure is meant for good people, people who fall in love and have a sweeping romance.

And yet you find yourself bathing in the scent and heat of him, despite the man you know him to be. He may be dark and cruel and heartless, but he is yours. You know that now more than ever.

#soulless!sam x reader #sam winchester x reader #sam winchester smut #sam winchester au

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