#Just finished nine liars and having many thoughts

[gryffindorloser]

y'know maureen keeps telling me that janelle is stevie's best friend but keeps showing me it's nate. don't get me wrong, i ADORE janelle and she's an absolutely incredible friend, but nate is stevie's bestie, hands DOWN

#Just finished nine liars and having many thoughts #truly devious #nate fisher #stevie bell #Janelle Franklin #Vi harper-tomo #David eastman #nine liars #maureen johnson #The box in the woods #The hand on the wall #The vanishing stair

[its-in-the-woods]

Down the Rabbit Hole Chapter 10

Chapter one here, two here, three here, four here , five here, six here, seven here, eight here,nine here

master list

Pairing: Walton Goggins x You

Rating/Warning:  As always minor get out. Like why are you even here leave. Hurt/comfort, morning sex, fingering, unprotected sex, fluff, and more fluff. Older man younger woman, P in V, possesivness, slight sub/dom if you squint. Tiny pinch of angst and drama.

Synopsis: Working in film as a make-up artist is hard enough, but then Walton Goggins requests you, well it's way too easy to fall down the rabbit hole.

Note: they are both single, all for fun.Thank you for your patience her is the latest chapter so much love to everyone reading.

His head is on your chest, your fingers running through the jet black hair, his arms around you. Your mind wanders as you trace symbols on his skin. The pang of sadness knowing that he will be gone again, knowing that even if the next three weeks go well, he will be going back to LA. The thought scratches at your mind, a pang of anxiety making you want to throw things. Life was a cruel and uncaring mistress. 

You feel Walton shift, you relax your body so he can lie beside you. His hazel eyes catch yours, you shift so you're both facing each other. Blankets half tossed over, pillows crumpled and folded into something comfortable. 

“I can hear your brain running,” Walton says his hand going to run down your ribs onto your side. 

“It’s nothing,” You lie, the last thing you wanted was to spoil the night.

His hand comes up and tucks hair behind your ears, “You are many things, but a good liar is not one of them.”

You sigh and roll to look up at the glowing stars above you. “I don’t know how to feel about the end of filming.”

“Hmm?” He asks, hand resting over your side, warm and comforting.

“I know you’ll have to go back to LA, and I am going to be here.” You gesture at the tiny space, if things went well maybe you could find a nicer spot, but it still would mean you were alone. 

Walton sits up so he can look at you, the man appreciates eye contact, as you try not to look at him. 

“Who says I am going to be leaving you?’ He queries, hand rubbing up and down your sides. 

You turn to him rubbing at your lip, “You live there, I live here. That’s your whole life.”

He wiggles closer to you, “And so you decided that I would just leave you here without asking me?”

“I-” You stop for a second, you had been so lost in your head the last few days that you had failed to ask him what he wanted. The brief conversation in the kitchen about the two of you being in a relationship tricked through your brain. “I guess. I’ve jumped to conclusions.” 

Walton nods, large hands sitting possesively on your hip. “Yes, you have. I know you probably thought the worst the last few days. But I am here now, and I don’t plan on leaving you here when filming finishes.”

You take a breath, the mixed feeling making you feel dizzy, “So you’re going to whisk me away?” The words leave your mouth and you immediately wish you could take them back.

Walton’s hand grips into the flesh of your hips, possessively moving you closer to him. Eyes locked on yours, “You don’t need whisking away. You’re a grown woman, who is stubborn and has fought hard to be where you are. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have someone who cares for you.”

Your heart aches at his words, all of them ringing true. You had fought hard, you had done everything in your power over the last decade to try and secure a spot in this world, to try and make it in the industry. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t lonely. It was very lonely, and friendships were closer to acquaintances. Him being in your apartment, wanting to be here with you, caring about you as much as you did about him. It felt. It felt amazing, the walls you had so carefully crafted around you didn’t need to be there with him. You could be you, and he seemed to feel the same way.  

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. If you want to do long distance, we will do that, you want your own place in LA, done. But I want you. When I said I didn’t take relationships lightly I meant that. This isn’t a fling to me.” Walton said his voice soft but firm. 

You nod your head, “I don’t know what I want. When I didn’t hear from you it hurt. I’ve never hurt like that over anyone. It was awful, and as soon as I saw you today. I just didn’t want to let go. My brain is a mess, and maybe it’s the lack of sleep or the fact it’s midnight.” You feel flustered, the man made your brain feel like mush. He leans over and kisses you, lips gently pressing against yours. 

“I find midnight to be often when the best conversations are had.” He whispers, hand massaging at your hips. “I never stopped thinking about you, all the questions, interviews, photos, I just couldn’t wait to be back here.”

You hum softly, “I will go wherever you want to go,” You speak it out like a small promise, “I don’t know how, can that even be worked? I’ve never tried to work anywhere but here. Could I even get a place in LA?” 

He chuckles kissing you quietly, “If you’ll let me, I will figure it out for you. I’ve got a little experience in that department. You should come down with me next weekend. It’s a long weekend here and it would be good for you to see the city. See if you like there.”

“Oh, Umm,” You feel slightly flustered by how eager he was to take you to LA, “Are you sure?

Walton nods, his hand coming up to run over your cheek, “If you want to, I want you to want to.” 

You lean forward kissing him softly, he pulls you close and you snuggle into his side. He is warm, your fingers playing along his collarbone. “As long as I am with you.” You giggle slightly, “Maybe I am needy,”

Walton lets out a snort, “You are just figuring that out now?”

Giggling some more, “It’s all your fault. I was a perfectly capable woman before you. Now I am clingy and needy.” 

He lets out a laugh at that, turning to tickle along your sides. You squeal, trying to move away and tickle him back. He grabs your hands pining them above your head as he continues the assault, finishing by blowing a raspberry on your stomach. 

“Stop-” You wiggle trying to get yourself free but he is much stronger than you. Huffing as he finally relents coming in to kiss you again. Feeling yourself shiver as he keeps kissing you, how he held you completely still with one hand. That was something new, and you definitely wanted to try more of it. 

He leans back from kissing you, and your face must be red, breath speeded up as you licked at your swollen lips. “You like that,” His hand squeezed around your wrists, and you swallowed and nodded your head at the question.  

He grins, kissing you again before letting go of your wrists, “We will explore that later, for now, this old man needs rest.”

You chuckle and cuddle close, he throws the blankets around you, a hand coming to hold you against him. The warmth and comfort of having him beside you has you drifting off to sleep. 

***

Your alarm is ringing, you try to find it but something is in the way. You try to move but you’re wrapped tight. Groaning you open your eyes, hands around your chest makes your heart rate spike. Trying to remember how you got here. 

“It’s just me,” Walton mumbles against your neck, and you sag at his sleepy voice. Reality slowly slips in as your brain starts to wake up. You were safe, the memories of last night coming in in pieces. 

“Can you get the alarm,” You murmur, voice raspy and dry. Noting a good glass of water couldn't fix. 

One hand leaves you and the sound of the alarm ceases. You relax against him, letting out a sigh. You're so warm and slightly uncomfortable. Your left arm was pined and you have lost feeling in your fingers. Trying to wiggle to get some room, feeling his body press against yours. He moves back and you roll over to face him, his eyes are still closed. Looking relaxed as he lays beside you. One eye opens to look at you. 

“Good morning,” He mumbles, the arm that’s still under you dragging you beside him. 

You snuggle in, the smell of coffee wafting from the kitchen. You are very thankful you remembered to pre-set the machine last night.  “Good morning, to you too. I hate to ruin the afterglow but I got to get up.”

He grumbles and pulls you tighter against him. “Nah-uh” His lips kiss any skin they find. You wiggle against his side as he kisses down you neck.

“Wwaallttoonn,” You squeak, “We got to go.” But he is holding onto you, you know if you really put up a fuss he’d let go, but if you’re honest you’d rather be here than at work. 

He blows a raspberry against your neck and you are struggling harder now to try and get away. Laughter pulling out of you from the tickling sensation. His hands tickle under your armpit and you try to get him to stop, screeching and grabbing at his hands to know avail. He grins as he stops, that smile always made you melt a little. 

“I need breakfast,” He grumbles, hand cupping your ass. You squeak as his hand lifts your thigh over his hip. How the hell he could move you so easily was something else. 

You gasp as his fingers leisurely went up and down your folds. “Oh, you ass,” You squeak as he continues what should be classified as torture. Parting you he rubs against your clit, making it ache, still tender from the previous evening’s fun. You grind down onto his hand, his cock hardening against your thigh. His fingers slipping up and down as you feel yourself get wet. He was way to good at that. Your head rolling slightly at the sensation, just putty in his hands. 

“Always so wet,” He moans into your ear as his fingers work in and out of you.  

Whining you rocking against him, your mind melting as he stretches you. His fingers leave and you don’t even have a chance to complain before he slides in.

“Fuck that feels good,” You whine moving your body closer as you fall into a rhythm. Your fingers dig into his back as you rut against him. He easily has you on your back, pushing your legs up as his hips move faster.His fingers spreading you open as he works at your clit, that now familiar pull coming from your center. He knows exactly how to wind you up, the hitch of your breath as you squeeze around him. Making his fingers falter as his cock gets squeezed, but he doesn’t ease up, mouth hushing you. Walton isn’t far behind, he slides out to release on your stomach, fingers replacing where he had been. He works his fingers with the same rhythm he works his cock, as he helps you over the edge. Until he’s bitting into his lips hot ropes splashing onto your stomach.

You groan laying there a sweaty damn mess, as he flops beside you, chest raising up and down as you both come down. He grins and kisses you softly. Your phone’s alarm goes off again. Walton groans and slaps at it until it turns off. 

“That’s one way to wake up,” You laugh, your hands running over his chest.

“Mmhmm,” He mumbles, eyes partially closed as he kisses your cheek. You both take a moment to just enjoy the post-orgasm bliss before getting up.

***

The door bursts open and Trevor’s face is beet red. You had been cleaning up, looking forward to the end of the day. Shooting had gone way over after one of the other actors had had a minor breakdown. Now Trevor was here shoving his phone in your face. 

“What-what” You glare at him, taking the phone and looking at the screen. The blood drains out of your face as you see several photos of you and Walton. One even is of the two of you kissing outside his apartment. “Oh my god,” 

“They just published these an hour ago,” Trevor said his hands taping against the counter. 

“Where- how- That’s my damn apartment.” You squeak, scrolling through what was an internet gossip rag. “This is all bullshit, I am not his personal assistant. Where are they get this info from.”

Trevor is pacing back and forth. “I don’t know, but clearly someone has been following you both.”

You hit the bottom of the website and wonder what world you’d woken up into. The trailer door opens again, and Liz is there now. Your heart falls, she looks beyond upset. Her own phone clenched in her hand. 

“Don’t even start Liz,” Trevor has put himself between the two of you. As much as you appreciate the gesture you were perfectly fine handling the woman.

“You got some nerve,” Liz growled, “I had already warned you to steer clear of him.”

You look between the two co-workers not entirely sure what to say. Why would she need to steer clear of Walton? This smelt like more than just professionalism the woman looked jealous. Why the hell was she jealous, the door banged again and you watched Walton come in. Fake blood still covering his clothes. 

“She’s got some nerve?” Walton is standing in the doorway, as always you were the last to know. How was everyone so on top of this?

Liz’s face goes bright red seeing the actor standing there. “She is in my department, I will handle the situation to my best judgment.”

“Actually, no you will not,” Walton said his voice low and commanding. “You’ve been nothing but snippy with her, the relationship we have is no one's business. Pictures posted on the internet or not.”

“It’s unprofessional,” The woman mocks, and you can see the man stiffen with the words. You were honestly surprised at the whole situation. You had never pegged Liz as someone who would have been interested in Walton. Then again everyone was interested in him. 

“There is nothing unprofessional about having relationships with co-workers.” Walton replies, “We are two grown adults. Professionalism be damn. If it was anyone else you would not have cared Elizabeth.”

You watch as Liz’s eyes dart anywhere but at Walton. The confirmation that there definitely had been a thing there, a thing that wasn't reciprocated. The way he used her full name made it all the more real, this was why she had been such a bitch to you from the beginning. Trevor had caught your eye, his eyebrows raised. 

“I am not sure what you’re implying Mr. Goggins. But I am surely not the only one tired of you both being a distraction.” Liz hissed, you wanted to hide under the counter if only to stop yourself from jumping on her. Accusing them of causing a distraction, when she was the one storming into trailers. 

Walton let out a short laugh, “You and I both know what I am talking about. Your jealousy is noted and not appreciated. I figured you were pasted that, but clearly not.”

The whole room is thick with tension, as the two of them stare each other down. You want to leave or say something but your mouth is dry. The thought that Liz’s anger was directed at you because of your relationship with Walton was childish. It was something that would have happened in high school. Here she was spouting off about being professional when she had treated you like dirt. Even tried to turn others on you, and threaten your relationship with other departments. 

“We have less than four weeks left,” You finally say, “Then you will never see me again,”

Liz looked you up and down a sneer still on her face, “Oh don’t worry sweety, you will never-”

“Do not threaten her,” Walton stated, the way his voice was more of a growl made you tingle. “They are empty threats and you know it. Everyone knows about your attitude, and the fact you are only still around cause you’re in bed with every PM in town.” 

Liz’s mouth snapped closed, “That was uncalled for,” For a moment she looked a bit hurt. “Best of luck to both of you. See your boyfriend has your back at least,” 

The woman gloured at you, her face twisted as if she had walked in dog shit. 

You let out a sigh, you were so over this,  “Boyfriend or not your actions speak volumes. I’ve kept my personal life private, and all you’ve done is feed the rumor mill. No one else has said a word or confronted me about it. Production, clearly, doesn’t care or they would have said something. So that’s that, I wish you well Liz.”

You get up and walk out, even if it means never walking back into the trailer. Liz could have it, all the bullshit, all the rumors, it all didn’t matter. Your peace was more important, your happiness was more important. Warm fingers are lacing with yours, you turn to see Walton beside you. You stop between the different trailers and just look at him. His usually bright hazel eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, a small grin across his lips. You lean and kiss him, something quick but gentle. 

“Hey,” He whispers, forehead leaning against yours. 

“Thank you for standing up for me,” You whisper back.

He shrugs a bit, the sun is coming through the clouds dancing across both of you. “She should have let it go a long time ago.”

“I had no idea,” You sigh straightening up. “Then again who wouldn’t want a piece of you.” 

Walton lets out a hearty laugh, “Not sure I would agree. I have my eyes only on you.”

You smile leaning in to kiss him again, you honestly couldn’t care who saw now. “How often do you think my face will end up on the internet.”

“Depends on how many times they catch us,” He grins against your lips. 

Chapter Eleven

**So I have two options. Option one we leave it here I feel like this isn't a horrible way to end things*

**Option two I continue to dive more into their stable relationship, get into some kinky stuff maybe, and probably get some angst in there. I have a vaguely written outline but there is definitely room to continue this.**

Please let me know :)

#walton goggins #fanfic #fanfiction #writing #creative writing #x reader #walton goggins x you #walton goggins x reader #reading #angst #fluff #domestic fluff

[outer-edges]

20 questions for fic writers

thank u for the tag @freetobeyouandmichi-me

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

19

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

91k

wow didn’t realize id published so little. this is purely because i am a miserly old man who hoards fics. i have probably twenty finished lucifer fics sitting in my drive. and no one will ever get to see them 💙

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currently? really none. in the past? mainly miraculous ladybug, lucifer, carry on (simon snow) & the last of us

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

it’s how we show love - tlou

game? im not playing any games (unless you count the ones i play with beatrice) - lucifer

sharing is caring - tlou

we’re not dating - lucifer

a police consultant, a sandwich, a neatly sliced apple, and a cup of tea - lucifer

im linking all of those but be warned the lucifer ones are SOOOOOOOO teenage mattie cringe i was like a sophomore in high school when i wrote those.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

YES!!?!?!?!?!!!

i love comments. im actually kissing all of my commenters on the virtual mouth. mwah. if I’m normal in a comment reply just know I’m actually giggling and kicking my feet.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

EASILY gotta be someone better bc it’s just a canon compliant little drabble from lucifer 3x21 (iykyk)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

honestly all of them pretty much have happy endings??? i think happiest is gotta be meet me at our spot because that’s overall the fluffiest fic I’ve ever posted

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i dont think I’ve received anything within driving distance of hate which i am very grateful for. but i also know it’s because my fics reach very little people so it’s a little hard to get hate if haters aren’t seeing ur fics

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i do not

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

that I’ve published?? no. have I EVER written a crossover? a million times yes. every fandom I’ve ever written for has been crossed over with each other in every permutation. favorite one has to be aos x lucifer. the craziest one is probs the harley quinn x icarly one i plotted out (it’s called iHarley and i started it for a writing even but never finished).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

no because much like the hate thing it is a little hard to get hate when you’re unknown. there are perks to it

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

no

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

no but omg I would LOVE to

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

dude this is too hard to choose from. either kastle or deckerstar

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

will i be shot if i say the time loop 🫣

16. What are your writing strengths?

i think it’s dialogue? i mean what does the audience say?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

ummmm. does finishing things count 💀

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I haven’t ever really tackled it before because I only speak english with a minimal command over spanish but i have included a couple words of spanish here or there in tlou fic! it is just very Daunting

19. First fandom you wrote for?

pretty little liars!!! i ran an instagram account with like 1000 followers where I posted fics in the comments at the ripe age of nine 💙

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

THIS IS SO HARD ITS LIKE ASKING ME TO CHOOSE A FAVORITE KID—

it’s the daisycoulson one

(honorable mention for the miller fam vacation 💙)

and honestly if u see this and want to do it consider urself tagged i am too lazy to tag people right now sorryyyyy

#tag game #I have to get back to final studying this was just a brief intermission

[ghostiewriter]

summary: Riven returns from training broken and bruised, and Musa isn’t happy about it. Or, day nine of ghostie’s spooktober spectacular.

read here on ao3.

.

“Who did this to you?” 

Musa had been waiting for him in his room, lounging back on the bed in one of his long-sleeved shirts and some leggings. Her classes had finished earlier than his training and his room was much quieter than her own, a safe haven for her. 

She had barely looked up from her book when the door clicked open, until she was hit with a massive wave of discomfort and quickly snapped her head up to see Riven limping into the room as he tried to hold back his winces. 

Riven had only just stepped into the room when the words left her mouth. He had just come back from a particularly gruelling training session, his body aching and his muscles feeling as though they were seconds from melting off his bones. And he barely had time to process before she was up from her spot, making her way towards him as her hands gingerly reached out to touch him. 

“I’m fine,” Riven grumbled stubbornly, trying to duck away from her hands and make his way to the bathroom but he didn’t get very far. 

“Shit, Riv,” she breathed out, hand on either cheek to stop him from wiggling away from her grip again. “That looks…” 

“Sore?” he retorted sarcastically before hissing when her thumb gently swiped over the sensitive area. “Fuck, baby, don’t kick down a dying man.” 

Musa almost rolled her eyes at his theatrics because as shit as the busted lip, split cheek and black eye looked, she doubted it would be no more than a day or two before Alfea medics would heal it up. Though she knew she would have to fight him nail and tooth to suck up his pride and make a visit to the matron. 

Maybe it would be the most productive use of her time to hassle him to the medical wing sooner rather than later just to get the whole situation over and done with, if it were not for the fact the injuries on his face just made Musa see red. 

“Who did this to you?” she repeated, narrowed eyes surveying his face and then the rest of his body for any other injuries. Other than the fact he was favouring his right leg heavily over his left, she couldn’t pinpoint any other noticeable injuries. 

“Just a rough training,” he waved her off as he tried to side step her and get to the bathroom. “It’s no biggie.” 

Her eyes flashed purple for a short second. “Liar.”

“I thought we talked about that,” Riven deadpanned. They had discussed it, many times in fact. And they both knew that one little glimpse into his head wasn’t what was pissing him off—Musa didn’t need her powers for that.

“What happened at training?”

Riven gritted his teeth together, his frustration and irritation sharp and biting as it was thirty minutes ago when he stood in the training ring. “Nothing, just…bad day.”

“Riv…” The hand on his face gently steering his head down so his gaze caught hers. 

“I was like a fucking first year out there,” he grumbled out after a few moments of silence, sounding more defeated than anything. “Sky had me on my ass in minutes, Musa. Minutes.”

Musa raised her brows in surprise. 

Saying Riven was a good specialist would be an understatement. Despite his rocky start when he first enrolled in Alfea, he had grown to become one of the best students the school had ever seen. He was fast and agile and he had reflexes that were hard to compete with. He was a soldier, he took his training seriously (one of the few things he actually cared about) and for him to be taken down in training—for him to be roughed up enough to come out in the state he is currently—it was odd. Although, odd didn’t even begin to cover how wrong it seemed. 

“Sky?” she repeated, something burning deep in her chest. She didn’t hate Sky, not at all. In fact, she would consider him a decent friend alone for the fact that he had always been very considerate around her powers. But right now, she couldn’t say her feelings towards the blond were very positive. “I’m gonna kill him.” 

Riven blinked. “What?” 

“I am going to kill him,” she said again, her voice oddly calm and maybe that was why it made him more nervous. “He hurt you–”

“I let him, Musa,” Riven quickly countered. “I was off my game, alright? I left my left side open and—” 

“And so Sky bet you to a pulp?” Musa scoffed. “He’s an asshole.” 

Riven choked out a laugh. “I can’t lie, seeing you get all worked up over this might make up for getting my ass kicked.” 

She shot him a look. 

“What?” he shrugged, flashing an innocent smile. “You’re hot when you’re all…protective.” 

Musa rolled her eyes, not even bothering with a response before she wrapped her hand around his wrist and guided him to the bathroom. 

She had him leaning against the counter, standing between his legs with the first aid kit sprawled open beside the sink. Riven would whine and hiss whenever her touch was a little too heavy. Musa would roll her eyes and tell him to stop pouting as she applied the ointment onto his darkening bruises. 

“Pouting doesn’t gain you sympathy points,” she murmured as she reached over to pack up the first aid kit, trying to avoid his warm hands on her waist. 

“Not even a pity kiss?” Riven asked, tugging her away from the bathroom and towards the bed that was a little too small for the two of them but that never mattered. 

“I think you’d feel a lot better if I kicked Sky’s ass in the training ring,” Musa grumbled under her breath, settling into the plush pillows on his bed and watching as he slowly moved to lay next to her. “I learnt a few good tricks from this guy I once knew.” 

He huffed out a laugh. “Good teacher?” 

Musa snorted at his blatant fishing for a compliment. “He was alright.”

“Wow,” Riven grumbled as he wasted no time in pulling her into his side, not even the dull throb throughout his body was enough to deter him from tucking her against him. “Not even mediocre?” 

Musa smiled as she nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder, hand splayed on his chest as she felt the familiar beat of his heart thumping. “Maybe he will get a decent rating if he tells me the truth.”

Riven pressed his lips together. “You’re bribing me.” 

“I am asking you to confide in me,” Musa replied, placing a kiss on his shoulder and she watched the way the tension in his body depleted slightly.

“Just…thinking,” he murmured, fingertips dancing along her back and slipping under the hem of his sweater she wore. 

“Thinking?” she prompted. 

Riven was silent for a few minutes, working through his thoughts. “My parents contacted me.” 

Musa didn’t even pretend to hide her shock. 

“They wanna meet up,” he said before a small crease formed between his brows. “Reconcile, I believe was the word they used.” 

“And?” Musa asked cautiously, not wanting to push him too much. He rarely spoke about his parents or his life before Alfea, but she knew it was a sore topic. 

“I don’t know,” he breathed out. “I really don’t fucking know.” 

“That’s okay,” she said to him, gently pushing his head to the side so he was looking at her. “Whatever you decide, I’m with you, Riv.” 

His lips twitched. “I know.”

“After I shove Sky’s crown up his ass,” Musa added, finding pure satisfaction when Riven let out a full-belly laugh. 

“You know I would never doubt your skills, sweetheart, but he does have more experience in the ring than you,” Riven commented even if he wanted nothing more than Musa to show Sky up. 

Musa grinned, her eyes flashing a vivid purple—deeper, stronger. “I never said it was gonna be a fair fight.” 

Riven leaned forward, catching her lips with his own. “You’re fucking brilliant, you know that?” 

“I do.” 

“Ever the humble fairy, Pixie.” 

“Always, Riv, always.”

.

#ghostie's spooktober spectacular #rivusa #fate: the winx saga #fate #rivusa fic #rivusa fanfic #rivusa fanfiction #fate: the winx saga fic #fate: the winx saga fanfic #fate: the winx saga fanfiction #fate fic #fate fanfic #fate fanfiction #my writing

[luckspren]

Finished Before They Are Hanged

Thoughts under the cut:

So the Union seems fucked. With war on two fronts and an unstable government I have trouble seeing how all these conflicts could possibly be resolved in just one book. But so far Abercrombie hasn't let me down and I suppose there are more books in the First Law world, so even if not everything gets wrapped up in a neat little bow by the end, there is a chance that these larger conflicts continue on in those other books

I still can't get a grasp on Bayaz. Everything we know about the history of Juvens, his brothers and the Magi is filtered through him and I don't trust that at all. But it is so hard to guess at whether he actually has good intentions with questionable methods or if he's just a liar and a villain who doesn't show his true colours yet. It really does seem like we don't know the whole story yet and while Khalul and his Eaters certainly scream "evil!!" and have to be dealt with in some way, I'm not sure if Bayaz is actually any better. His plan to break the first law certainly seems like something that could backfire spectacularly, regardless of what his true intentions are... although I'm not quite sure if he can break it at all, now that the seed was apparently just a stone (that twist is also something I'm a little conflicted on... i don't know if i take it at face value)

Also what is up with Quai? He's also suddenly acting very weird and suspicious and the belligerent tension between him and Bayaz makes me wary of both of them. Does he know something that the reader doesn't?

Logen really was the heart of the group. He had so many great little moments that I loved. Like when he boasted how stealthy he is and then immediately fell noisily over the wall or when he tried to comfort Jezal by telling him how his injury would make him a named man in the North and then came up with all those horrible names that didn't help at all. I really enjoyed that friendship and I am a little sad that they probably part ways in the next book.

I did not expect his relationship with Ferro to turn romantic though (if you can even call it that)... it was nice seeing them slowly opening up to each other, at least a little. They probably would both be better off if they just stayed together and turned their backs on old grudges, but the ending was more realistic.

I am happy that Logen will probably meet up with his old crew again and vice versa, but I am also really nervous because now I think he will fight the Feared.

also I do hope we get more explanation on the Bloody Nine... is it split personality? Or something like possession...maybe somehow connected to his ability to see spirits?

With Ferro I have no idea where she will go exactly. I can't really imagine her just going back to Gurkhul... that would probably just be a lot of killing until she gets captured and that is definitely something I don't want to see. But she was closest to Logen and I also can't see her joining him in the North, if their last scene is anything to go by. So I have no idea where her story goes in the next one. Maybe Yulwei comes back?

It's actually Ferro who is descended from Euz and not Jezal. So we have an explanation for her abilities,...but it begs the question again, why on earth Jezal was even part of the quest. Maybe I'm going insane, but it seems to me that Bayaz is kinda priming Jezal of all people for some leadership role?? Like Jezal gets all the speeches about old emperors and what made them great and then there's the comment about how his new scar will serve nicely. I thought I was reading into it, but now both princes are conveniently dead and maybe the King mistaking him for his son in TBI was foreshadowing?? That doesn't explain the why Jezal though.

Glokta mentions possible bastard children of the King (and someone coming in at the last minute and getting elected as a compromise) and it just makes me wonder. Like Jezal said before that he got all the good looks in his family. Could be just arrogance or maybe he actually looks different because his father isn't his biological father? Now I'm probably reaching, but who knows. I just need some kind of explanation why Bayaz had Jezal picked out beforehand (also now that I think about it, what happened to Sulfur??)

Jezal did get some nice character development in this book and all it took was for him to get horrifically injured (not gonna lie, when he wakes up and you mostly get the dialogue of the others while Ferro stitches his face back together...for some reason that made me more queasy than a lot of the on page violence). It was really satisfying to see his realization of how useless he really is, how he's never done anything selfless in his life and how he would be dead without these people that he looked down upon. I do like his resolve to be a better man...but he also seems like a prime candidate to fall back into his old ways once he is back in Adua. Especially if his plans for a quiet life fall through...like I'm not sure if Ardee would just immediately agree to marry him. I have real trouble to predict the non-pov-characters in this series (which makes it so intriguing)... obviously i do hope that his character development sticks in the end (even if he takes a step back on the way)

Gloktas inner monologue continues to shine and his storyline really showed how intelligent and resourceful he is. Sult basically gave him an impossible task and I think that also helps the reader sympathize with him, even when he tortures people he knows are innocent etc. ...like there's this undercurrent that he also doesn't have much of a choice, even though he doesn't seem to be particularly bothered by the things he has to do. And he does have his merciful moments here. Glokta is aware how he's just a pawn for Sult and I am incredibly interested how the bank loan will come back to bite him in the next book. He might get stuck between a rock and a hard place because I don't think the interest of the Inquisition and the interest of the bank will necessarily align? I do hope that he does his own thing and actually keeps on investigating the murder of the prince (covertly of course)

West killing Ladisla was so fucking satisfying. My god. I went from being horrified about West biting that one guys face off to cheering him on in like three pages. Furious is definitely a fitting name for him.

Threetrees death did make me more sad than I expected. I think it's when Grim delivers his little speech that really got me. It's the trope of the quiet one speaking up in an emotional moment that just hits right.

I am legitimately nervous about Last Argument Of Kings. I hope it sticks the landing. I heard that the ending is at least somewhat controversial

#First Law #Before They Are Hanged #Book reactions #The First Law #I cant wait to read how wrong I am

[world-smitten]

Meme - tag nine people

tagged by @arborescendres, thanks so much 😊

Three ships: Akane/Kougami (Psycho Pass), mostly because the fanfiction for them was so good. I also read a lot of Arya/Gendry fanfics (ASOIAF) to cope w/ all my sad feelings about the Stark kids. And I just watched the Godfather I/II for a school assignment, so it’s been Sonny Corleone/Tom Hagen sad hours, with a little helping of Michael/Kay.

First ship: Shikamaru/Temari (Naruto). Read through their entire tag on fanfiction.net back in 2015. I liked them because they were both hot, and it was a rare Naruto couple where they both liked each other and the woman was written with some dignity.

Last song: 1 Thing by Amerie.

Last film: Rewatched The Godfather II all the way through for the first time. One of my best/worst movie experiences ever. Whoever said tragedy was supposed to be cathartic was a liar.

Currently reading: Maus, by Art Spiegelmann (for school). I have so many thoughts on it. The last book I opened for myself was A Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (The Inheritance Trilogy) by N.K.Jemisin, who is a wordsmith.

Currently watching: Cowboy Bebop, on my third try - much more experimental and melancholic than I remembered. I’m also finishing Into The Ring, hoping my baby Goo Se Ra has at least one win please.

Currently consuming: not sure how to answer this, but I just had a bowl of spaghetti for breakfast 👍

Currently craving: sugar, money and a nice coat. 

tagging @sonnespriessen @risplendere @letters-to-rosie @alc0r-5torm @moulindelaconcorde @starreinights @befooremoonrisee @vartamin

#ask meme

[likeclarabow]

happy new year abby!!!!!!! congrats on meeting your reading goal, i’m glad that despite your busy life you’re still able to enjoy reading for yourself <3 some bookish questions, if you don’t mind …

what was your favourite reread of 2023? what book did you mean to read but ended up not? what books were you looking forward to but disappointed by? what book took you by surprise? your favourite series? your favourite standalone? your least favourite book(s)? what book did you write your favourite review about? and finally, what book(s) are you most looking forward to reading in 2024?

may this year be full of blessings to you!

hiiiiii love, happy new year!!!! i'm finally back on my laptop so i'm sorry this is a few days late <333

favourite reread: i did a lot of rereading this year and i loved them all but probably six of crows!! every time i reread that series i'm a little nervous that its not going to have the same magic it did the last time and it always does and this time was no exception its just going to be a forever favourite and i'm so glad i reread it

a book i meant to read and didn't get to: there were a few i meant to at the very least start over my break that i didn't get a chance to (this biography i picked up at a school social and the hundred years war on palestine by rashid khalidi), books i had on hold at the library but it was just never the right time (as long as the lemon trees grow by zoulfa katouh), and my book lovers reread that i was all set to start and then i didn't read for like 3 weeks

a book i was looking forward to that disappointed me: greywaren by maggie stiefvater was soooo messy plotwise and there were things i wanted wrapped up that were just not addressed in a satisfying way yes i gave it 5 stars the epilogue made me cry those 5 stars are for declan lynch and for how much i love the trc/tdt universe as a whole pls take my rating system a little bit seriously (so i guess it wasn't 100% disappointing i just wanted more from the final book) (honourary mentions to nine liars by maureen johnson bc it was sososo fun for 99% of the book but the very end was so unnecessary i'll never forgive her, and harlem shuffle by colson whitehead i liked the writing i just thought the plot would be different from what it ended up being)

a book that took me by surprise: the day of the jackal was supposed to be something i picked up for a few hours for shits and giggles since i've never had any real interest in 70's spy thrillers but i actually enjoyed it enough to finish! also these violent delights by micah nemerever surprised me because i did not know what to expect at. all. and i still dont know how to describe the feelings that book gave me but i certainly didn't expect them

my favourite series: beartown!!!!!! you know exactly why i don't even have to explain </3 (honourary mention to sandra gullands josephine b trilogy its one hell of a historical fiction series and i enjoyed it SO much)

my favourite standalone: rebecca by daphne du maurier!! its just the most beautifully written book that captivated me from the very first page <33

least favourite books: the last word by taylor adams (extraordinarily mid upon first read and it just seems so bleh looking back), ready player one by ernest cline (i can see why my boyfriend loves it but it just didn't appeal to me at all), 20,000 leagues under the sea by jules verne (jules verne knows sooooo many facts about the ocean and electricity and he put every single one of them in this book in very long paragraphs but i forgive my prof for making me read it)

my favourite review: i didn't really write any solid reviews this year (something i'm hoping to do more of in 2024) but my favourite mini reviews are the ones i left for wuthering heights and 20,000 leagues under the sea bc i think i'm funny and bc i think they sum up my reading experience quite well

books i'm most looking forward to reading in 2024: soooo many a curse for true love by stephanie garber, a man called ove by fredrik backman, alone with you in the ether by olivie blake, divine rivals by rebecca ross (!!), penance by eliza clark to name a few

#this was so much fun thank you x10000 #i love you dearly and i hope this year is kind to you #i had this all typed out like two nights ago and forgot to post oops #lindsay tag #abby gets mail

[runawayolives]

Baby Daddy

Pairing: Nate Jacobs x reader

Part II

It is said that reader looks up at Nate. Jacob Elordi is 6´5. If you are taller than that and are not comfortable with reader looking up, you can text me and I'll fix it. Also, I always try to be as ambiguous about reader's appeareance as possible. If I've missed anything, feel free to tell me.

I made reader and Nate seniors, so that it fit the plot of the fic a bit better.

Warnings: Mentions of morning sickness, Nate and Cal Jacobs are a warning themselves. Toxic relationship, pregnancy. Cuss words, it's euphoria, so you can get an idea.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

Flying fucking shit.

Y/N had finally managed to dump his abusive ass, and now this. The white stick was on the edge of the sink, holding more power than it should have. She had a hunch when she would wake up a bit nauseous but never gave it a second thought, but missing her period by two weeks? Y/N ran to the nearest store, buying three and not even bothering to wonder about what the cash register person was thinking about her.

Y/N couldn't find the strength to stand up from the toilet seat, dread filling her body. She had plans, a five-year one and a ten-year one. None of them contained having Nate Jacobs' baby.

She wanted to finish high school, go to college, become a lawyer, maybe get married, maybe have kids. Somedays, Y/N wanted a family, somedays she wanted to be the cool single aunt, but never be a teen mom and have to be with Nate Jacobs another day in her life.

It had taken way too long for her to open her fucking eyes and realize how manipulative he was. Kat and Maddy had to point out so many obvious signs for her to realize that he wasn't protective, just possessive.

Y/N hadn't even turned off the alarm on her phone, marking that the time was up and that she had to fucking look.

She turned her head to the side, her eyes letting her know that there were two faint lines. Were fake positives something common? It would have been logical for her to take the three of them at the same time, but doing them one by one at least gave her the hope of some of them being false and more time to stall before having to tell someone.

Three positives.

...

Her parents didn't take it that bad. It could have been better, but also worse. They called her foolish told her she had ruined her opportunities to become someone. Nothing she didn't already know. They also told her there were options. If she decided to get a simple nine to five job once the baby was born, they would help. They were supportive but now psyched over the news.

Y/N could tell it had affected her mother greatly. She had been there for her every step of her dreams. Y/N could tell that it was because her mom wanted her to have all of the opportunities she wasn't able to have.

They didn't ask who the father was. Maybe because they knew it was Nate, or they just didn't want to know who it was.

The next thing was to tell Nate about the baby. Y/N was 89% sure that Nate wouldn't want to do anything with the child. He would sometimes tell her he pictured her pregnant, with kids, white picket fence life. But he never said he wanted to have kids with her in their last year of high school, interrupting all of their other life plans.

Nate Jacobs would open the door, she would explain the situation. He would call her a slut, a liar, and claim that the baby wasn't his. He was going to avoid her like the plague forever. She wouldn't have a guilty conscience. Y/N would have told him. He would choose to ignore her. She wasn't hiding the baby from him. If he ever decided to take her for court in a few years, she would have proof that he deliberately chose to ignore them.

Y/N got down from her truck (which Nate had never liked) and walked confidently up to the Jacobs' porch. She knocked three times, loud enough for the people inside the house could hear her.

Marsha opened it.

When Y/N broke up with him, Nate hadn't been very open towards his parents about it. He stormed into the house, slammed the door. He yelled "Fucking bitch" towards the piece of wood and stormed up the stairs. Cal had set his mug on the counter and looked at the ceiling, where Nate's room was supposed to be. Marsha just sighed and kept loading the dishwasher. Nate and Y/N's relationship had been very stable. She and Cal really liked her. Y/N was very pretty, in a natural way. Smart, good student, kept Nate grounded and in a good mood. She was polite, good with conversations. The few times they let Nate bring a plus one to Cal's work events, she had managed to impress all of the people that stood around her in a circle. They had even put good words in the colleges she wanted to go to. Cal had sent a few emails to some of his college mates recommending Y/n for their admissions. Columbia was her favorite, and she had convinced Nate to go with her. Y/N was perfect for her son and for the family.

Y/N put on her best people pleaser smile once she saw Marsha and not Nate. "Hi, Marsha. Is Nate home?"

The older woman looked up, where Nate's door was. He had brought a girl home fifteen minutes ago, and she had heard a few moans. If Y/N was coming to get back together with Nate, it was better to come back later.

"He is, but he's busy right now. Come back later?"

"Oh, don't worry, I'll be quick." Marsha looked unsure, but she knew Y/N. If the girl wanted to see Nate, she was seeing Nate.

Marsha opened the door wider to let the girl in. "He's in his room."

The moment Y/N turned around, she dropped the façade. She had a few seconds to truly show how she felt, scared shitless. Once she reached Nate's room, Y/N could hear moans and the bed creaking. She was scared because she didn't feel anything. Wasn't sad, didn't feel betrayed. Not even empty. She just didn't care anymore.

She knocked three times and opened the door, not waiting for a response. Some girl that looked a bit like her was on top of Nate, shirt off, bra still on. Nate looked at the girl that didn't leave his mind, alarm on his face.

"I'm pregnant. The baby is yours, goodbye." She turned around and left. She could feel Marsha's eyes on her back. Y/N was sure Nate's mom had heard, but she didn't even care now. Fuck it, fuck them, fuck everything.

By the time she was able to start the truck, Nate was beside her widow.

His shirt was wrinkled, his belt unbuckled and no shoes on.

"Get down from the truck right now, princess."

"No." Nate looked at the road for a second, taking a deep breath.

"Get down from the truck right now." Y/N started the engine again, refusing to look at the boy.

"I said no." Nate punched the car door.

"Get down from the fucking truck, or I swear to whatever god you believe in that I'll make your life a living hell." Y/N looked at him up and down.

"You aren't going to do shit."

"I have the pictures, don't I?" Y/N looked forward, slowly thinking about her options, well, options. Nate had her nudes, and she had deleted his' after the breakup, as he should have done with hers.

She slowly opened the truck's door and got down, not looking at Nate.

"You're not as stupid as I thought, princess." Y/N looked up at Nate, resentment in her eyes.

"I told you not to call me that."

"I hope they're a girl. I want her to look just like you, a little clone. You looked like a cute kid, in the pictures your parents showed me. I do hope, though, that she isn't as bitchy as you, princess."

"Fuck you."

"Well, maybe that's your charm. You're a cute bitch. Annoying as fuck, but you're pretty, so I can just zone out when you speak." She scoffed, looking at her feet.

"Can I leave now?" Nate looked down at her, he had always wanted a kid, several really.

This week without Y/N had been hell. He had spent it trying to find a way to get her back. He would dream of her, doing the most mundane things. He would sometimes get the dream of her pregnant, reading books to the little one. He would be at her feet, ready to get her anything she needed, happy they had something that connected them, something unbreakable. She could hate him, and he could hate her, but he was the father of her child, and as long as they existed, Nate would never leave Y/N's mind.

"Go home, rest. We'll all talk tomorrow." He pulled Y/N into him. He touched her stomach, which hadn't changed at all, and kissed her forehead gently.

Y/N would have loved this moment if Nate Jacobs wasn't a fucking psycho and if it hadn't taken her more than three months to get away from him.

...

Y/N hadn't been able to fall asleep. She spent the whole night trying to wrap around all of the stuff that had happened today. Finally, Y/N managed to fall asleep around three am.

Her father woke her up at ten am, shaking her shoulder gently.

"Sweetie, Nate, and his parents are in the living room. They want to talk about the pregnancy."

"They're here?"

"Yes, get dressed and come down." He kissed her forehead and gently closed her door.

After putting on jeans and a shirt, Y/N brushed her teeth and headed downstairs. The three Jacobs' were sitting on the couch, her parents on the one adjacent.

"Goodmorning, sweetie, take a seat." She could feel Cal and Marsha's eyes on her, Nate leaving his glass on the table. Y/N sat between her parents, just like the other family. The coffee table was the only thing separating them, probably a total of two feet, one and a half. Their distance felt suffocating and overwhelming either way. This was not her plan. Nate was supposed to not care, and she would be able to manage with the help of her parents. She hadn't even had time to tell Kat and Maddy.

"Well, I'm just going to say it." The three L/Ns looked up at Cal. "This was unexpected, but a lovely surprise nonetheless." Cal looked up at Y/N. "We have options, Y/N, you can still go to college, raise the baby. Nate will help, of course." Her dad grabbed her hand and squeezed it affectionately. "Columbia has online courses, and other Universities you want will also have them. I've spoken to Nate, and you three can go live in one of the new duplex's we're building. On us, as a gift."

Y/N hadn't taken her gaze off of Jacob, something didn't sound right. She was sure if she accepted this, it would bite her in the ass at some point. She could feel her mother looking at her father over her.

"That is very nice of you, Cal, but we cannot accept this."

"You don't need to accept, Y/M/N, Y/N, and Nate have to. See it as a gift from me to you, and the baby, of course." The teenager put on her easy-going smile, ready to kindly stand her ground.

"Thank you for the offer, Cal. But I wouldn't feel comfortable accepting this. You've already put a good word for me in any college imaginable. A house is too much." The older man leaned back, rested his arms around the backrest of the couch.

"Well, once you finish law school, you can work for me until you pay the house's worth off." Nate looked at his father, not loving the idea of them depending on Cal so much. But the younger boy knew that all of this is that so that he could have them close, the three of them. So that Nate had to live with the burden of his father.

"We were also counting on me living with my parents during the first years so that they could help with the baby." Marsha didn't like this at all, apparently.

"Well, that just doesn't seem fair at all, Y/N. We are also the baby's grandparents. Shouldn't we also have you living with us during the first years?" Nate looked at his mom and muttered her name. "No, Nate. You two are going to need all the help you can get. Y/N and the baby living here mean that it is going to be easier for them to help than us. We won't even be needed, tell them, Cal." Her husband just looked at her silently, not responding. "You will keep the baby away from us, and I won't let that happen."

"If that makes everybody comfortable, we'll move to the duplex one it's built and ready for us to move into." Y/N was slowly reading the room, trying to read everyone's reaction. "Until the place is ready, I'll stay here, and any of you can stay in the guest room if you want to supervise the pregnancy." All of the adults seemed okay with this arrangement. "I'll do the online courses with the baby at home. You can take turns to help, we can make a schedule."

Everyone agreed to this idea. At some point in the meeting, Nate asked Y/N to speak with her in private.

"You broke up with me." She nodded, not really knowing how to reply to that. "It took you three months to finally get rid of me. You are suddenly pregnant, act as if you don't want me in the baby's life, and now, in the blink of an eye, accept living with me in a house gifted to us by my father."

"Yes." Her response was barely audible, a whisper emptying all of her hope for abandoning Nate.

"You are smarter than this, you're going to weasel out of this somehow, I know."

"You won, Nate, game over." He gripped her arms, not strong enough to bruise, but enough to intimidate and assert the dominance he always felt he had to have.

"I've dated you for two years. You don't give up, you have a plan, and I know it." Y/N shook her head, looking at the floor.

"There is no way I'm escaping you, psychos. Stop having hope that you're going to stand on your tippytoes all of the time because I'll find a loophole. I'm not even going to bother trying anymore, I fucking give up.

...

Y/N had a plan. A half-assed one, but a plan. She would do everything they said she would do. Live with Nate in the gifted house, study at home, work for Cal to pay the house off. While working with Cal, she would save money. She knew he was going to refuse her paying him back. That money would go into buying her own house, getting some form of shared custody, and being able to live her own life, with a kid, yes, but at least without Nate fucking Jacobs constantly in the middle.

The young couple walked into the living room again. The parents had managed to have a conversation during their discussion in the kitchen.

"We have good news." Nate's hand was gripping Y/N's strong enough to leave the message clear: Disagree and you'll pay.

"Y/N and I have decided that we'll get married this summer."

AN: This got way too long, so I'll probably write a part two. Thank you Anon for requesting this, I had fun writing this.

Requests are still open if anyone has a fic idea. Give me a title, a love interest and I'll see what I can do.

#nate jacobs #nate jacobs x reader #imagine #request #euphoria #hbo #oneshot #jacob elordi #x reader #x you #dad!nate jacobs #nate jacobs imagine #nate jacobs oneshot #baby daddy #pregnancy #runawayolives

[thisisawonderfulusername]

let's save the world

season two, episode nine

five hargreeves x reader

summary: you work with your older selves to try to get their briefcase- but it doesn't work as well as you thought it would.

warnings: cursing, violence

word count: 2.8k

a/n: i'm surprised i finished this as soon as i did- who knows, maybe i'll actually finish this series after all! there's only one episode left... i'll have to see if i want to continue it when season three comes out, and if people are still interested in reading it. but yeah, please enjoy!

you stroll next to five, following behind the three others in front of you. they were discussing something- yeah, they definitely have a plan. you were already forming one yourself. five was having a bit more trouble with this paradox psychosis thing than you were- sure, your skin was begging to be scratched, your bladder slowly feeling like it was about to burst, and you were beginning to sweat quite a bit- but to you, it didn’t seem like much.

“what are you looking at?” five shouts as he gets up the last two steps you all had climbed up, staring down someone who had likely barely spared a glance in your direction, “see something funny?”

“five, calm-”

“mind your business! or i’ll give you something to stare at!” he cut off your attempt at getting him to calm down and you roll your eyes. he was always the more aggressive of you two- and this whole psychosis thing was just making it worse. “you wish you could pull off these shorts!”

he seemed to calm down, turning to look ahead once again. “we need to stay focused, five.” you mumble to him, sticking your hands in your pockets without looking over at him.

“what do you mean?” his voice is significantly louder than yours. you glare at him to shush him, and he gets the idea, “i’m focused.” he tells you in a whisper.

“no, you’re screaming at people that have nothing to do with this.” you tell him, motioning to the other yous “while they’re up there formulating a plan.”

he sighs, “yeah, you’re right.”

“i always am.”

as you were about to speak again, luther falls back from the others’ sides, a smile on his face, “hey guys,” he chuckles, “how’re you doing?”

five takes a deep breath as you begin making your way down the other staircase, “they’re gonna kill us, aren’t they?”

luther is baffled by his question, laughing lightly- you can see his discomfort- “what? what, them?” he points towards the other two in front of you, “they’re gonna kill you? yeah, right. that’s ridiculous.” he stares ahead of him, still chuckling.

“you know, you’re a terrible liar, luther.” you assert, “even worse than you are a spotter.”

“okay, who’s fault is that?” he whips back at you, glaring between the two of you, “what good is having a spotter if you don’t even listen to him?”

“so you admit that you’re conspiring against us.” five hisses.

“do… do you admit that you’re suffering from paradox psychosis?” his eyebrows raise.

you scoff, “all we’re suffering from is bracing clarity about you and your murderous intentions.”

he sighs, “look, it’s not like they’re gonna ‘kill you’ kill you. they just want to kill a uh… version of you.”

“but we’re that version of us!” five reminded him.

luther shrugs, his hands out in front of him for a moment, “hey, i don’t love it either, but they’ve actually got a pretty good plan.”

you snort, “what? the one where you off us and then jump to twenty-nineteen to save the world?”

the big man looks at you in confusion, “yeah, wait, how did you know that?”

“because we’re them, and that’s exactly what we’d do if we were trying to kill us!” five answered, harshly pushing his hair away from his face.

“okay,” luther holds his hands to his head for a second, “all i know is we’ve got one five too many, and one y/n too many, and you are the ones acting like maniacs!”

“maniacs?” you look up at him, shooting daggers with your wide eyes.

“luther, you have seen nothing.” five snarls, “if you want maniac, i will show you maniac.” he leans closer to him with each word, and luther is genuinely scared of him for a moment, confused at how aggressive he was- as if he hasn’t been like that since the two of you had shown up in their lives once again what- a week or two ago?

five speeds his pace up, getting a good few feet ahead, “okay listen,” luther stresses, also picking up his pace and pointing a finger at the younger looking boy, “as your spotter, i think the best thing for you right now, is to put you out of your misery.”

you watch as five turns towards him, stopping to grab the sides of his arms and look him in his eyes, “you listen, luther. i know your feeble mind only responds to age and authority, so listen very closely. yet again, you are experiencing daddy issues,” he pokes him in the chest, “this time with your own brother which honestly is making me a bit crazy. but remember this.”

very clearly, he points at the older version of himself, who continued to walk by your own doppelganger. “i am fourteen days older than him. i have seniority here. so it is me,” he points to himself with his thumbs, “that you should be listening to here.”

his voice raises to a yell, “i’m the daddy here!” his arms go above his head, and you glance around at the strangers walking by who spare confused glances.

luther offers a smile to them, before leaning down to his level, “five, listen. you’re being unseemly right now! look at you!” he motions to him.

“alright, fine.” you cut in, pushing in between the two of them and looking up at luther with a glare, “i admit that there is a possibility that five might be out of his right mind. that i might be out of my right mind.” the bigger man nods, “but whatever we have,” you motion between the two of you, “they have too.” you point ahead at the other yous, and you can see that your older version gave a quick glance in your direction.

“you three quit grab-assing.” the other five speaks loud enough for you all to hear, “we’re here.”

you purse your lips, following their lead to the tall white fence where he leans to place both cases down, and you can hear a clear fart from where you’re standing.

“flatulence.” luther states, “stage four.”

“see? what’s your plan now, luther?” five questions, and luther just looks at him in shock.

when he gets no answer, he turns away, and you cross your arms over your chest, staring at the two ahead of you as they assemble the parts of the gun.

your gaze slowly falls next to their feet. “look. the briefcase.” you whisper, your hands clenching as you think about how good you would do at sprinting for it.

“don’t.” luther whispers sharply, “you won’t be able to get there in time.”

“i will.” five butts in, “this is our only chance.” his eyes widen, and he seems to be shaking.

your fingers are tight around your bicep, your gaze not wavering from the case, “hey, uh, just remind me.” luther says, his eyebrows furrowing slightly, “what was the final stage of paradox psychosis again?”

“homicidal rage.” you grit out, controlling your breathing before it could get to be like five’s, who was almost hyperventilating.

“right.” chuckles luther, “that’s great.” his face turns deadpan.

as older five holds the gun up to look through the scope, five begins to move forward, and you unconsciously follow. you can hear luther trying to stop you, but neither of you even turn to look at him.

as five disappears from your side, you practically sprint towards the case, only for the other you to step in front of it with a glare aimed at you. you could see out of the corner of your eye that five had tried to ambush the older him, who saw it coming and jumped behind him, the gun already focused on him.

“bad idea, shit-heel.” the other five tells him, and you turn when you hear the click of the gun being cocked.

before he can shoot at all, luther finally intervenes, grabbing the gun from him. “stop it! alright?” he looks at each of you, “all of you. pull it together!”

the four of you look to each other, and you stare at your older twin. “now, kennedy is going to be coming around that corner any minute. okay? so everyone, let’s just take a deep breath…” he slowly inhales, looking at all of you to follow along. you do just so he’ll stop. the breath slowly releases.

“now, we’re all family here, okay?” his gaze travels to all of you. how sweet, he thinks of you as family. “can we all just try to get along for a few more minutes?”

five clicks his tongue and looks to the other him, “you want it?”

you bite back a grin as the older one looks back to him, “go ahead.”

“what’s that?” luther looks confused, but he only gets a second before five is in front of him, his leg swinging up to hit right where it hurts.

he groans in pain, hunching over as the other two straighten themselves. you roll up your sleeves, a smile spreading across your face.

as the two boys jump through space, the older you- who is standing behind you- immediately goes for a punch. you manage to grab her hand as you turn around, twisting it to the side. she has a height advantage, but you manage to get a punch in before it turns into an all out fight.

as the other two teleport through space, you’re throwing your own kicks and punches at yourself.

“hey! assholes!” you had your older self in a choke hold when luther held up the gun that was previously thrown to the side, and he points it at each of you as he turns to look while he talks. “i’m done listening to you all! i’m in charge now!”

everybody stares at him for a moment, and older five is the first to yell, “now luther, shoot him!”

your five scrambles to his feet from the ground, “no, luther! shoot him!”

the two take turns yelling at luther, and when your double tries to join in the yelling, you tighten the hold you have around her to make her stop.

you watch as luther tries to decide who to shoot, and as he slowly begins to turn towards five- your five- your eyes widen.

you hear him quietly say his name, and as he says he’s sorry, you quickly let go of the other you to run forward.

“luther! no!” as you almost got to him to steal the gun from his grasp, he quickly turned. you managed to duck just in time as he smacked the older five in the face with the butt of the gun, knocking him out and onto the ground. you had fallen down next to him.

the other you gasped, her eyes widening, “five!” she runs forward, dropping down onto the ground next to him.

“now! open the portal!” he shouts at five, running towards the briefcase.

five grabs your hand to pull you up before turning to the side, taking a few deep breaths as he balls his hands into fists and they begin to glow with the same blue energy as always.

you stare as a portal appears- exactly like the one you fell through before turning into a woman trapped in a child. the rest of the siblings run out of the house, just like it had happened the first time.

you turn around to look at your older self, who was slowly reaching towards the briefcase.

“hey!” you shout, and luther turns to point the gun at her.

“don’t even think about it.”

five turns, pointing to the portal, “into the vortex you go, assholes!”

the older five stands up, “fine! but give me the math!” he reaches his hand out to the older you without looking, and she grabs it to help herself stand up. “so we don’t end up looking like you guys!”

you shake your head, “stand next to the vortex and he’ll tell you!” you have to yell to be heard over the obnoxiously loud portal. “go!” he inches towards it, “closer!”

“this is close enough!” the older you says, still holding onto his hand. “give it to him!”

your five glances towards you and luther, and when the both of you nod, he looks back to them. “it was a typo.” he tells him.

“typo?”

“we put the decimal in the wrong spot in our proof of the existence of a bound for the number of limit cycles of planar polynomial vector fields of fixed degree.” none of this could compute in your brain, but somehow the older five was understanding. “we wrote down five-point-seven. it should be…”

“zero-point-five-seven!” he says it with him, and you and your older self look towards each other in confusion. “son of a bitch! i knew that didn’t look right!” he stands straighter, glancing to the other you. “i guess this is it.”

“this is it.” you crack your knuckles, “go.”

as they glance between the portal and the three of you, you see a fire extinguisher come flying through that you barely manage to avoid. unfortunately, luther wasn’t so lucky. he fell to the ground, dropping the gun next to him.

your eyes widen as you look to the older people- the case was now just out in the open, unprotected. the same thought went through all of your heads, and as the fives grabbed onto the case to fight over it, you just barely stop yourself from helping the other five.

it was a battle of strength, the older woman’s back facing the portal as you strain every muscle you have to push her.

“it’s shrinking!” luther shouts from the ground, and you all turn your heads to look at the vortex, not letting go of each other. once he stands up, he pushes the older five into the vortex- he crashes into you, nearly knocking you in as well. luckily, your five is there to grab onto your waist and pull you back, and you guys watch as the older versions of you fall into the vortex.

the briefcase that the older five was holding got cut off in the portal, half of it falling onto the ground.

you all stand in place for a few minutes, five’s arm still wrapped around you as you caught your breath. you look down at it, “thanks.” you mumble, but he’s not paying attention.

all he can see is the crackling briefcase. the briefcase that was going to get you home. the briefcase that was the whole reason you messed with your older selves.

“we did it!” luther cheers, his arms out to the side and a giant smile on his face.

five’s face falls into annoyance as he lets go of you, turning on his heel, “the briefcase, you idiot.” he breathes out, beginning to walk around in a circle as he tries to figure out what to do.

“what?” he looks down, seeing the destroyed item. you turn to look at him, face scrunched up. “hey, you know what? a thank you for preserving your existence would be nice!” he points a finger at the two of you.

“a thank you?” you laugh incredulously, “you want a thank you when you-”

‘and here they come, the presidential car is coming out…’ you barely hear from the radio hanging on the fence.

“luther! y/n! here he comes!” five hurries to grab the case for the gun, sliding it up to the fence to stand on and see over.

luther runs to stand next to him and you manage to balance on one of the supporting pieces of wood next to them.

“look, there’s dad.” luther points to a man who stood on the grassy knoll, an umbrella over his head. “what do we do?”

“uh-oh.” you mumble, luther quietly agreeing.

“oh, shit.” five hisses, “diego.”

sure enough, the man can be seen sprinting through the grass, across the roads. it’s impressive how fast he is, and you watch as he tackles their dad to the ground. from the shock on his face, you can tell that it is not, in fact, their dad.

you flinch when gunshots ring through the air and people begin to scream.

‘klif bulletin, from dallas, three shots were reportedly fired at the motorcade of president kennedy today, near the downtown section. kilf news is checking out the situation. we will have further-”

the radio is cut off and the three of you are in shock at what you just witnessed.

taglists

main: @horrorklaus @megasimpleplan4ever

tua: @rasberrymay @noodlextrash @atomicpillar @malfovs @andreasworlsboring101​ @lunylovelovegood

five taglist: @anapocalypseinmymind @five-hargreeves-official @insatiable-ivy @coffee-e-addict @xplrreylo @fandomfreakff @colie-babi @flowertoty @avovada @badwolf00593

let’s save the world: @aspiringwriter1 @thetrashypanda423 @lilacs-lavender @wow-lookit-all-the-fandoms @ohmyitsfaith @xplrreylo @fandomfreakff @onedollarduck @sleepygal124 @faith-quake @stripedchickens @youcandalekmyballs @pettyjayy @libidinexx @bts-chub @theoriginalkat @flowertoty @whenyouwantdeath @ot7purple @purblerain @megasimpleplan4ever @whenyouregrungeaff @dumdumsun @malfovs @hxney-lemcn @frnks-stuff @imwaytootires @avovada @badwolf00593 @dumdumsun @zero2461

#the umbrella academy #tua #umbrella academy #five hargreeves #five #the umbrella academy x reader #umbrella academy x reader #tua x reader #five hargreeves x reader

[noonaishere]

Work of Art [J.JH] - epilogue two | two and a half years after that

“UMMM, excuse you?”

“What?” You croaked, one eye opening as you peered at your phone: Anna. You rolled over and found Jaehyun sleeping soundly next to you. You got up quietly and grabbed a robe from the bathroom as you slipped out the door and shut it behind you.

“Hello?”

“Why are you calling so early?”

Anna paused. “Oh my god, I didn’t realize it was 5:30 am there! I’m so sorry!”

Her volume made you hold the phone away from your ear. When she seemed finished, you brought it back. “You’re so loud.”

“Well, it’s the middle of the day here.”

“But you’re not normally this loud.”

“I’m just excited.”

You pulled up a stool at the kitchen counter of the hotel room and sat down.

“For?”

“...I’m going to hit you.”

You yawned. “You can't, I'm too far away.”

She laughed.

“Thwarted.”

She laughed again. “I can’t believe you’re on vacation.”

You laughed softly.

“I can’t believe Jaehyun got you to go on vacation. And a European tour of all fucking things. Where are you guys now?”

“Spain. Figueres.”

“Ugh. I'm so jealous. The architecture in Spain is gorgeous."

“Then have your famous DJ husband take you.”

“With two young kids?”

You chuckled. “If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t stopped thinking of the paintings I could be working on. Especially since we're going to see the Dalí museum today.”

“It doesn’t! Don’t say that!”

You chuckled again.

“You better not have.”

“I haven’t, actually. He’s been taking me around to see so many things that I haven’t gotten the chance.”

“Good. Is Spain nice?”

“Yeah. I did sketch some people when we were at a café yesterday though. It was nice. He watched me while I was sketching.”

“Ahh, young love.”

“Ha, shut up.”

She laughed.

“How are the twins?”

“You saw them before you left.”

“I don’t know what else to ask about, Anna,” you checked the time on your phone, “it’s not even six yet.”

She laughed again. “Fair, fair. They’re good. Johnny took them to the park so I could have a break for a bit.”

“And your first thought was to call me?”

“Of course. The oldest and most beloved of all my friends.”

“Liar.”

“That and if I have to hear Baby Shark one more fucking time…”

“Will you be like a hamster and eat your own young?”

She sighed. “You said it, not me.”

“They can’t be that bad.”

“No… but I blame Johnny for playing the Baby Shark Remix for them a month ago and starting our descent into hell.”

“There’s a remix version?”

“He remixed it.”

“Oh my god. You should eat him instead.”

Anna laughed. “See? This is why I called you--”

“So you could be encouraged to turn cannibal on your lovely family? Strange moves, bruh.”

She laughed loudly.

“Is your last name ‘Donner’?”

She laughed again. “No, I think I just needed a little of your madness to make me feel less insane.”

“I thought you were going to say something about ‘adult conversation,’ but never mind.”

She chuckled.

You sat in silence for a few minutes.

“You know, I’m surprised you’re not trying to give me one of those ‘They’ll happen to you one day!’ lines.”

“What-- kids?”

You laid your head down on the counter with the phone under your ear so you could talk without having to hold it. “Mhm.”

“Do you want kids?”

“Mmm… I don’t know.”

“Then why would I tell you it’ll happen to you?”

“I don’t know… I met one of Jaehyun’s aunts a couple weeks ago and she did that to us. All, 'Ya! No kids yet?'"

Anna laughed.

“Jae's like, ‘No, auntie, not yet.’ ‘Ah! It'll happen soon!’”

She laughed again. “You guys just got married.”

“Yeah, I don't know.”

“Is she a ‘good Christian woman?’”

“She is, but why--”

“It’s been less than nine months. If you had them already then they would have been conceived out of wedlock.”

“Fuck. I didn't think of that at the time. I could have thrown it in her face.”

She laughed. “See? That’s why math is good.”

“I remain unconvinced.”

She chuckled. “I hate when people say ‘It'll happen soon,’ it sounds like a threat.”

“Right? I said that to Jaehyun when we were driving home.”

“What'd he say?”

“He laughed and apologized on her behalf.”

Anna chuckled. “Well… is having kids something you want?”

“I don’t know… I’ve… I feel like I never got to think about having kids of my own when I was younger, you know? Like… I was always worried about trying to leave my shitty house and having enough money for me to survive that I couldn’t even think about, like, adding a whole new person I had to grow from the ground up, you know?”

“You mean: from the womb out?”

“This is why we’re friends.”

Both of you laughed.

“But yeah, like… I’m not used to feeling like my future is secure.”

“Well... it seems like it is now. So you can think about it now. If you want.”

“Yeah. It's just weird though. Because it's… new. Like... I actually can.”

“Mmm… I won’t ask what you think right now, but just make sure you tell Jaehyun, yeah? I don’t want to hear that you lost him on a train again and that’s how you told him you want to have kids.”

You chuckled quietly. “I was thinking perhaps a plane this time? I'll dogfight to get him back. Or maybe we can go vintage and I can lose him on a steamship and have to commandeer another ship to chase it down. A whole steampunk-style nautical adventure.”

“I expect nothing less, honestly. Make sure you call me and Johnny for backup. We’ll put the twins in the crow’s nest or something as lookouts."

You laughed. "Oh-- what were you excited about?"

"I was excited about somethi-- oh yeah! You know the plans for that solar panel farm Jungwoo and I have been working on for our firm?"

"Yes. He tried explaining it to me a few weeks ago and I pretended to cry and Jaehyun told him, ‘Stop threatening her with math.’”

“The two of you are so weird."

“Eunji thought it was funny.”

She laughed.

“You don't know the half of it. It's so strange sometimes when it's just us.”

“I’ll take your word for it. But anyway, the plans got approved this morning so they’ve started going through the process for construction.”

“Ooooh. You're both going to look so cute onsite with your little hardhats.”

“Mhm. I almost called you when I found out. Aren't you glad I didn't? It would have been the middle of the night or something.”

“Aren't you glad I didn't say orange?”

“You're a twerp.”

You laughed a single loud laugh and shushed yourself when you remembered Jaehyun was still in bed. “Shit. But I wouldn't have picked up anyway. I was busy.”

“Doing what?”

“...”

“Hello?”

“We were busy.”

“Yeah, doing what?”

“...”

“Hello? Am I losing service? I'm on the wifi.”

“Anna. We were busy. He and I.”

“Doing wha--”

“Anna, you have twins.”

“...Ohhhhhh, okay. I understand.”

“Oh my god, Anna. You're so lucky I decided to give in to my inner bored housewife back then; if I didn't, you and Johnny never would have gotten together. I should call you ‘The Isosceles Twins.’”

“Don't you dare.”

“Because you're both obtuse.”

“You're horrible. Don't have kids, they'll end up just like you.”

You held back a laugh. “Maybe I should give it some thought. Inflicting another me on the world sounds like it could be fun.”

She laughed. “Hey, we might have gotten together.”

“Not if he had anything to do with it.”

“He did sort of epically chicken out with the Luna thing. But everyone's stupid when they're young.”

“What are you, a wizened old crone?”

“I'm a hot young mom.”

“Dang, and she knows it,” you laughed.

The excited yelling of two small children being admonished by their father could be heard in the background on Anna's end.

“Speak of the tiger," Anna said. "Back already?”

“They might have had too many juice boxes.” The sound of a kiss. “Who's that?”

“Y/n.”

“Hi, y/n.”

“Hi, Johnny.”

Johnny's voice became more faint. “Why are you bothering her while she's on vacation? Jaehyun told me it took him most of a day to convince her to tear herself away from her work.”

“It was most of a week, actually,” you corrected. “Though, by the end I was playing hard to get just to bother him.”

Anna laughed softly.

“Just count yourself lucky she didn't call you during your honeymoon.” Johnny said, louder so you could hear.

You chuckled.

From the silence afterward, you could tell that Johnny was probably looking at her disapprovingly and Anna was probably shrugging in response.

You heard a yawn behind you and turned. A somewhat sleepy Jaehyun rubbed his eyes as he walked through the doorway in his pajama bottoms.

Your brain fired off a series of strongly worded emails to the rest of your body, the strong words including but not limited to: Abs. Husband. Hubby. Hot. So hot. Cutie. Look at his hair. Oh my god. Dimples. So cute. Wanna touch.

“Who are you talking to?”

“Anna and Johnny. I love you both, bye,” you said into the phone and held it up in his direction. “Say goodbye, Jaehyun.”

“Goodbye, Jaehyun.”

You frowned at him, trying not to smile at his joke.

He smiled and came closer, letting you hold the phone to his ear. “Why are you bothering my wife while she's vacationing?”

You combed your fingers through his hair, trying to fix his bedhead, and then poked his belly and scratched at it like he was a puppy. Your brain was glad to see that at least your hand had read the email.

He exhaled a laugh and took the phone from you. He gave you a kiss before walking over to the window where he continued the conversation. “Uh huh. Wow, that's great. Congratulations.” He opened the exterior curtains and felt for the window latch and opened it. “Yeah, that's really great. Anyway, it's almost seven now so we're going to go. Love you guys, bye.”

He hung up the phone and put it on the table.

“Sleep well?” You asked as you walked over and sat in one of the two chairs by the window, facing him.

He smiled coyly. “Of course. You really got up to answer the phone this early?”

“I did that thing where I'm half asleep and I answer it, and then I wake up and realize I'm on the phone.”

He shook his head with a laugh. “You gotta stop that.”

You nodded and yawned. “So what are we doing today?”

“Dalí museum.”

“Obviously. That's the only way you were going to get me on such a long flight in the first place.”

“That was a lot of ginger ale.”

You snorted a laugh. “I meant besides that.”

He smiled and leaned against the window frame. “I have a cousin who lives nearby in Barcelona and he gave me a list of other places we could check out.”

“You never told me you have a cousin in Spain.”

“I have family in a lot of places.”

You ticked them off on your fingers: “You have an uncle in the UK, family in the US, a cousin in Spain, you have familial wealth... What are you, Gomez Addams?” You laughed.

He raised an eyebrow at you and smiled. “Then I'm guessing I shouldn't tell you about my cousin in Paris who's going to take us around the city to see all the Art Nouveau architecture?”

Your eyes widened. “No, please, tell me all about them. What's their favorite color? Do they like ice cream? What do they want as a gift for taking us around?”

He laughed softly.

“We probably should get all your relatives something for taking us on tours around their chosen homes.”

“We can decide that when we get back to Korea. They always want stuff they can't get in Europe.”

You nodded.

“Are you enjoying yourself so far?”

You smiled. “I am. I'm here in a place to see so much art and gain so much inspiration and I get to do it with the person I love most in the world. I couldn’t imagine anything better.”

He smiled, his ears going pink.

You smiled at the reaction.

The breeze from outside pushed the curtain towards Jaehyun and he played with it for a moment before fixing it.

“I uh-- I heard part of your conversation with Anna.”

“Eavesdropping?” You raised an eyebrow.

“I wasn't dropping any eaves, you were just being loud.”

“Alright, Samwise Gamgee.”

The two of you laughed.

“What did you hear?”

“That you were going to seriously consider having kids.”

You looked away, thinking for a moment before nodding at him.

“You're… going to think about it? Or does that mean--”

“I want to have kids with you, Jaehyun. I... I’m not sure how good of a mom I’ll be, but I can't think of a better father a kid could possibly have.”

He looked at you, stunned momentarily. His open-mouthed expression of shock broke out into the biggest smile you'd ever seen; it’s only rival being the one he wore for most of your wedding day.

“That's-- that's amazing.”

“That I’ve learned to just say things instead of assuming shit?”

“No, I-- well, I mean, I am glad I didn’t have to get lost on a train again--”

You narrowed your eyes at him in faux anger.

He laughed. “But, I didn't want to bring it up after what my aunt said since she made you so uncomfortable.”

“It was the way she did it. That nosy relative way that just… ‘Ugh,’ you know? Just, ‘Ugh.’ Your mom hasn't even done that to me and she'd be the kid's grandmother.”

He nodded. “When did you decide?”

“I guess… while I was talking to Anna just now. Hearing the kids excited in the background, taking them places, teaching them stuff… It seems like something I'd want to do. Now that I actually can.”

Jaehyun smiled.

“That, and I suppose I have an obligation as an Art Weirdo to give birth to another possible Art Weirdo and inflict them upon the rest of humanity.”

He chuckled. “I did hear you say that to Anna.”

You shrugged. “Or not, they can do whatever they like with their lives. My dad only taught me one thing: don’t be a parent like him.” You played with the seam of the chair’s upholstery as you thought for a moment. “My mom taught me everything else.”

“If she’s as great as you’ve told me, then I think you’ll be a great mom.”

You looked up and smiled.

Jaehyun moved to respond when someone outside sneezed. Jaehyun gasped quietly and looked at you with something between horror and disgust. Without turning back to look at it, he closed the window and latched it shut.

You guffawed.

He giggled. “Now, about that ‘being busy’ you were trying to clue Anna in on after you laughed way too loudly for this early in the morning.” He moved closer and caged you in, a hand on each arm of the chair.

“Uh, yeah?”

“I caught you looking at me when I walked out of the bedroom.”

You feigned nonchalance. “And?”

He smiled. Devilishly. “We have a few hours before we have to leave.”

“Do we now?”

“Mhm.”

And with that, he kissed you.

previous | main cast | masterlist | next

Tag list:  @tansyfleurwhisper • @sista7-7​ • @hey-thatslove • @kimjngws​ • @leagreenly​ • @daegalfangirl​ • @samsemsame​ • @yukhseo • @findusenpai • @eileencacai​ • @hibuki-chan​ • @valentineyun0​ • @lilacdreams-00​ •

[If you’d like to be added to the taglist, just ask :D 🍑]

#jaehyun #jeong jaehyun #jung jaehyun #nct 127 #nct 127 smau #nct 127 fic #nct 127 au #nct smau #nct fic #nct au #college au #nct fake texts #nect fake chats #nct writing #jaehyun imagines #jaehyun scenarios #boyfriend jaehyun #college jaehyun #epilogue 2 #I literally was trying to find out at what age kids are walking and talking enough to run into a room #and ended up rediscovering 'Conversations With My 2-Year Old' #you should check it out it's so funny #'the tag hurts me' is my favorite one #also: that was me as a child (and is still me now) lolol

[the-cult-of-russo]

Hues of Gold

Pairing: Billy Russo x Reader 

Request : do a billy russo x reader with the reader having an art job and them meeting due to that somehow

Warnings: none 

A/N: Here it is, my first Billy x Reader. I'll be getting to the prompts in my inbox too but still feel free to send me more requests. You don't need to pick from the prompt lists, if you have an idea then just send it on over. Nothing is off limits and I write for every type of Billy. S1 Billy, S2 Billy, pre-show Billy, all the AU Billy's you can think of lmao Gimme them all.

You tilted your head a little, eyes sweeping across the paint on the easel in front of you. The piece was coming together nicely. You'd started at humble beginnings with your artwork as a street artist. You hadn't been able to afford art school and you didn't feel like people needed to if they just felt it. And you did. You'd been a hit with your expressionist art and before you knew it, you were getting wealthy clients and more money. Now you had your own little studio with an apartment on top. It wasn't flashy but it was yours and you loved it. The work you thought was good enough for your new clients would go up on your website, they'd buy them and then you'd send them off to their new home. It was simple and you got to spend every day painting to your heart's content. 

You bit your lip as you mixed two golds together to get the perfect shade you were after. Some of your pieces were weirder than others, others being more realistic or using average colors. Some of them were darker in theme or used more vibrant colors with looser shapes. It was all dependent on how you felt when making it. The one currently being worked on wasn't finished by any means. Oil paint often required many layers and getting it to dry in between time. But if someone was to gauge your mood by this one, well… they'd say you were most likely sexually frustrated. It was a naked woman laying on her back on rumpled sheets, just her torso and a bit of her leg to leave the rest to the imagination. Her male counterpart was pressed up against her as the bodies melded together, his hand gripping her thigh. The colors you'd picked for this were hues of red, orange, yellow and gold, making it look like the couple were set ablaze. The epitome of passion. It was coming along nicely. 

Your work cell rang breaking you from your thoughts. You gave your hand a quick wipe on the ratty towel next to you as you picked it up, answering with your full name. 

"Hi, I'm lookin' for some art and I've heard you're the girl to go to," a smooth voice came through the phone. The fact that someone recommended this guy to you made you smile. It always did. It meant people were pleased with your work. 

"I am. Have you checked the website? That's where my current pieces are," you murmured softly.

"I did but… I haven't really found the one yet. And a friend of mine tells me you've got a bunch of exclusive stuff at your studio," he replied.

You glanced around your studio. He wasn't wrong entirely although you wouldn't call them exclusives. You'd call them rejects if you were honest. Your new clientele were more demanding and it made you second guess your pieces more often than you'd like to admit. This led to many of them finding a home in your studio instead. You were unsure who the man's friend was as typically you didn't have people come to the studio. It was a very rare occurrence and you couldn't imagine him being interested in any of these pieces. But a customer was a customer.

"You're more than welcome to come down and look at them. I'm not sure you'll find what you're looking for though, I've kept them offline because they're in the reject pile," you snorted wryly. His smooth chuckle was soothing as it hit your ears and you nibbled on your lower lip.

"Well I'll be the judge of that," you didn't know what he looked like but you could hear the smirk in his voice. You told him the address before hanging up.

You were a little nervous of someone coming into your space and judging the art you'd already deemed not worth putting up for sale, but you decided to roll with it. It was too late now and it wouldn't be a good look for your business to tell the guy he couldn't come. You decided to continue the piece you were working on to keep your mind occupied, having no idea just when the man would decide to show, or if he would at all. 

It was an hour later when the large wooden door knocked and you called out that it was open. You stood up and wiped your hands on the towel again, not that it helped much. You were sure you had paint on every part of you, it was half the fun of making art. The man walked in and you were a little surprised by just how handsome he was. He was dressed to the nines in a suit with his hair slicked back, the sides shorter than the top. He certainly looked like your usual clients but you couldn't remember any of your fancier clients ever bothering to call you, never mind actually coming to see your other pieces. 

The smile he shot you was disarming and you replied in kind as you walked over to him. You reached out your hand to shake with his before retracting it rapidly when you noticed just how much of a poor job the towel had done. He seemed amused if his chuckle was anything to go by and you snorted.

"Uh… welcome. Feel free to look around. I haven't really got prices for these since I wasn't gonna sell them so I'll settle for whatever," you shrugged with a smile. Anything was better than nothing that you were getting by keeping them here. Besides, you were pretty sure he wouldn't even like any of them. 

You didn't want to crowd him as he looked around so you went right back to your easel and sat on the stool. He walked around leisurely, stopping at each piece and looking at them. Your eyes kept flitting to him without meaning to, you weren't sure if it was how attractive he was or the nerves of having someone assessing your work this way. Maybe both. He didn't strike you as an art kind of guy honestly. Most of the rich clients weren't, they just wanted a statement piece for their walls for people to talk about. There wasn't anything wrong with that of course, but you'd be a liar if you said you didn't miss it back as a street artist when people bought a piece simply because it spoke to them and they loved it. Onwards and upwards though, right? 

"So… who's the friend? That told you I had stuff here?" You asked after a moment, unable not to because your curiosity was getting the better of you. He glanced over at you from where he stood and smiled. 

"Curtis," he replied. Your eyebrows raised a little with that information. You'd met Curtis back when you were a street artist and he bought something for the group he was running. He was a nice guy and he checked in every so often with you. You wouldn't say you were friends but you really liked him and you had some good conversations. You couldn't imagine Curtis being friends with this man though.

Noticing the shock on your face, the man chuckled.

"We served together when I was in the marines. He's a good guy, one of my closest friends," he supplied. 

"You were a marine?" You hadn't meant to ask like it was such an absurd notion but it came out anyway. You just hadn't expected it He looked amused though and he nodded.

"Yeah. When I got out I set up my own private military firm, ex military people with no purpose. I give 'em somethin' to fight for. A brotherhood. We're doin' pretty well," he had a bright smile on his face, gesturing to his suit when he said they were doing well and you found yourself smiling back. 

"You must be really proud. It's amazing that you're doing that for them. I mean… I never served or anything but Curtis tells me about some of the guys from his group sometimes. I bet you really help them," you said sincerely. You had no clue what it must be like to serve and you knew you didn't have the stomach for it. But some of the things Curtis had told you had made you sad and you were impressed that the man had set up something like this on his own. Something to help others just like him. He shot you another smile before going back to looking at the artwork and you couldn't take your eyes off him. 

Figuring he'd catch you looking at him, you forced yourself to focus on adding more gold to the art you were working on. You weren't sure how long had passed until he spoke again and it startled you. You'd almost forgotten he was there.

"This one is… interesting. I like this one," he mused, eyes on the work on your easel as he stood beside you. Your cheeks tinged a little pink at the phrasing he used but you recovered quickly. 

"Thanks. I like this one too but… it won't end up on the website. The last erotic piece I put on there apparently offended people," you said with a wry grin. He laughed, the sound low and short but his eyes went to you then. Holy shit, his eyes are… wow. 

"Well it definitely doesn't offend me. How long will it take to finish?" He asked as his obsidian orbs went back to the painting.

"A couple of days at most. It's almost done and then it needs to dry and be sealed," it was nice talking about your work with someone, even as mundane as when it would be complete. You missed that interaction since you got the studio.

"I'll take it. How much?" he flashed you a smile that made your stomach flip around on you and you bit your lip with a smile back. 

"That's up to you," you shrugged. You never bothered putting prices on pieces you knew you wouldn't sell and you hadn't expected to sell this piece. Even the prices on the website felt too much for you but it was born from the first wealthy clients and what they thought your pieces were worth. You just rolled with it, it wasn't like they'd miss it, right? 

He hummed, the sound deep in his throat as he got out his wallet. You mused he must want it mailed to him when it was done for him to pay now rather than later but you were happy it was cash and not card. He handed you some bills and you counted it quickly, eyes widening as you blinked up at him.

"I can't take this. This is more than the pieces online," you frowned, holding out the money back to him. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, shrugging his shoulders.

"You said it was up to me," he replied with an easy smirk. Would you really sit there and argue with him about getting more money for it? No. But you were shocked he thought it was worth that much. 

"I… thank you, sir," you smiled, stuffing the money into your pocket. 

"Billy," he clarified, smirk still in place. 

"Billy," you corrected with a shy smile. Something glittered in his dark eyes as you tested the sound of his name and he raked his teeth over his lower lip. Despite the fact you'd already given him your full name on the phone, you gave him your first name again  and he mimicked you as he tested it out. Why did it sound so good coming from his mouth? 

You cleared your throat, his intense stare was getting a little too much and you stood, walking over to the big table against the wall, grabbing a pen and pad. 

"You can leave your details, I can mail it to you when it's done," you handed them to him and he twirled the pen around in his long fingers with ease.

"I'll leave my number. I'd like to come pick it up when it's done, if that's okay?" He asked as he scribbled his name and digits down. 

"Are you sure? It's not an issue shipping it out," you replied as he passed you back the pen and pad. 

"I'm sure. It gives me an excuse to see you again," he smirked, dark eyes boring into yours as your cheeks turned pink. He chuckled and with that he was out the door and you were left stood there gaping where he went. Did he really just…? 

You stood there a moment longer, a smile working its way onto your face before you shook your head and sat back down at your easel. You glanced at the painting before setting to work and getting it finished. You couldn't wait for it to be done so Billy would come back. He was intriguing and you found yourself thinking of him as you continued your work. 

#billy russo #billy russo x reader #the punisher

[jeongvision]

pairing. boyfriend! dong sicheng ✗ fem! reader

genre. fluff, humor, airport au, non idol au, established relationship au

warnings. slight cursing, mentions of alcohol, not proofread so expect grammatical mistakes lmao my bad

author’s note. this timestamp has been inspired by a fic called maison des fleurs (jeong jaehyun x oc) written by loviet from asianfanfics!

[ 5:14 AM ] You’re tired, so dead tired. If you weren’t tired before, then you are most definitely exhausted now.

For weeks, you and your boyfriend have been planning on taking a short trip to Greece as a mini getaway way to celebrate the end of your spring semester. You both thought it would be nice to destress after months of restless nights with your eyes glued on both your textbook pages or laptop screen. The moment you both finished your last final, you two booked the next flight out and packed your belongings.

What perfect way to celebrate the end of your hellish semester by spending time with your loved one traveling to a different country?

Unfortunately, life seems to love throwing curve balls at you, because here are you at the airport, sitting on one of those uncomfortable chairs at the terminal gate, three hours past your initial departure time. Weather reports called for harsh winds and rain, making it extremely dangerous for any aircraft to fly in this state due to turbulence. Meteorologists predicted that it will subside within another three hours but even then, it’s not a guarantee that it will stop storming by then.

Just your fucking luck, huh?

You and Sicheng are currently sitting in the terminal gate amongst all other passengers, impatiently groaning as the minutes pass by. You rested your head against your boyfriend’s shoulder, the soft padding of his jacket cushioning your cheek. You inhaled in his scent, putting your mind at ease as you wallowed up the lost time you could’ve used to explore other regions of Greece. You two already walked to nearby shops and food stands to kill time but it still gave you ample amount of time to spare. The both of you thought maybe social media or mobile games could assist in your boredoms but their attempts were futile.

You let out a deep sigh. “This sucks.”

“I agree,” Sicheng nodded. He repositions himself in his seat to ease the tension from your neck craning on him, arms draped behind your shoulders as he pulls you in more. “Have anything in mind?”

You scoffed. “Yeah. Get the hell out of here and go to Greece already.”

He chuckled. “Patience, little one.”

“If I had one, then I’d be a doctor.”

“Gotta wait for another eight years to become one, y/n. You still haven’t finished your undergrad yet.” You rolled your eyes and let out a chortle, playfully slapping his arm in response. He laughs again while his arm still remained around your figure. And just like that, you’re both enveloped in silence, eyes constantly checking the clock and the windows for any possible signs of hopping onto the plane as you two scheduled.

Minutes rolled by and you’ve lost count on how many sighs you heard from nearby passengers. Then, you felt your boyfriend clear his throat a little.

“Let’s play a game, hm?”

Confused, you took your head off his shoulder and narrowed your eyes at him. “Huh? A game?” He nods, his hand gently tightening on your arm. “What game are you thinking about?”

A grin appears on his lips. “Two truths and a lie.”

Suddenly, you burst into a fit of giggles. It was one of your favorite games to play with him, given how it was the main reason why you two are together in the first place. You two were sat in a circle with other mutual friends at one college party, also playing two truths and a lie with an addition of alcohol. It was Winwin’s turn when he inadvertently confessed to you tipsy, eyes glazed over at you as you were dressed so beautifully that night.

You nodded towards the latter, “Shoot.”

He pondered in his thoughts, weighing out his possible choices. He hums a little under is breath. “One, I accidentally stepped on Bella’s poop earlier before we left to the airport. Two, I got a 36 on my practical for anatomy. Three, I managed to get Ten to eat a grape last week.”

It doesn’t take you a second for a smile to slowly creep up on your face. “I highly doubt that you could make Ten eat a fruit.”

“What makes you say that?” he challenged.

“He’d rather get a tattoo of Johnny’s face on his asscheeks than eat a slice of apple.”

“Are you saying that I’m too dumb to pass my practical?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time you failed it. And same goes for Bella’s poop situation.”

He shrugs his shoulders. “Fair enough. Your turn.”

You giggled before pondering in your own thoughts for a moment. “Hm... One, all I ate during finals week were instant noodles and Jollibee. Two, I can tell which eggs have a double yolk inside without cracking it open. Three, if you never confessed to me drunk that night, I would be dating Lucas right now.”

He gawks at you, “What?! So you would’ve never dated me if I never said anything that time?”

Teasingly, you raised an eyebrow. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“I ain’t calling you a truther.”

You grinned in response. “Nope. Unlike you, he was actually courting me.” You give him a glance over. “Meanwhile, your lazy ass thought that by just staring at me from afar, I would somehow get telekinesis and catch the hint that you liked me.”

He ignores your comment. “I think you give yourself too much credit for calling yourself some kind of egg analyst.”

You slap his shoulder again, earning a chuckle from him. “Do not!”

“Just because you coincidentally cracked an egg with a double yolk inside does not make you an egg expert.”

“You mean, eggs-pert?”

“I hate you.”

“Love you too, babe.” He rolled his eyes and you laughed. “Okay, this is getting fun. Let’s keep going! Your turn.”

He takes another moment and relays his choices, a subtle pout on his lips before he grins. “Okay, I think I got one,” he begins. “One, I’ve always had a crush on you since freshman orientation. Two, Yuta actually pushed me to play two truths and a lie that night because you were also playing. Three, I want us to move in together after we graduate.”

You stayed immobile in your seat, eyebrows lifted in shock. Your eyes are wide open, mind completely wiped blank from his words. You nervously laugh, breaking the silence. “Winwin, I don’t think that’s how you play the game.”

He chuckles. “It’s not about the lies you tell, but the truths you tell.”

Your fingers twiddled with one another as you looked away from his gaze, eyes down on your lap. “But still. You’re supposed to say two truths and one lie, not three truths.”

He grins. “Bold of you to assume I didn’t say any lie.”

“Well, then I say the third one is the lie.”

“Where I want us to move in together?”

You look back up. “Yeah.”

“You’re right. In fact...” His face inches closer to yours, his forehead making contact with your own. “... I don’t want us to move in together when we graduate.” He pushes a strand of your hair behind your ear. “I want us to get married instead.”

Your eyes widened. “W-What?” He only grins at you. “Si-Sicheng, what—”

“Attention, passengers!” the ground attendant shouted. “Gate 486 is now open for boarding. Please form a line and have your ticket ready for admission.”

Your lover backs away from your presence, grabbing his bag before standing up from his seat. He nods to the terminal gate. “You heard her. Let’s go. Don’t want to miss our flight.”

Oh, but darling, how could you miss your flight when you’re already floating on cloud nine from his words?

#winwin #winwin fluff #nct winwin #wayv winwin #winwin scenarios #dong sicheng #sicheng #winwin imagines #nct #nct 127 #wayv #nct scenarios #nct 127 scenarios #wayv scenarios #nct imagines #nct 127 imagines #wayv imagines #winwin smut #winwin angst

[bangtansocean]

Letters: Part 01.

Synopsis: Good things never last long, and unfortunately, his promises were a little too good to be true.

⏤𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐: taehyung x reader // slight yoongi x reader

⏤ au: [Historical Fiction, soulmates au]

⏤𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Heavy Angst, smut, fluff

⏤𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: mature content [18+]

⏤Word count: 3.1 K

Chapters: 01 l 02 l 03

click here to go back to master list

___________________

___________________

“With love, Taehyung.”

Fragile hands slowly fold the dainty piece of paper back into its envelope as you let out a disappointed sight. At least he is doing okay, you try to convince yourself. Deep inside, you were very happy for Taehyung. He was given the opportunity everyone dreams of, working for the royal family. Since you two were little, Taehyung would always talk about his dreams and go over all the plans he had for you both.

“...And when I’m older, I’m going to become friends with the royal family, the prince and I are going to be like brothers.” nine year-old Taehyung tells you with a smirk, squeezing your hand as you walk through the field of daisies on your way back home.

“They are going to give me a title, and some land! From there, I will be able to build us a house where we can move in together! But I have to ask your mom if we can get married first, of course.” He teasingly bumps his shoulder to yours as you giggle, being flustered by his words. “You look so beautiful when you get all shy and your cheeks get rosy.” He says sweetly, looking at your now red face that’s gazing at the ground you are walking on, too afraid to look into his eyes that seem to carry the entire universe.

Taehyung has been your friend ever since you have memory, and he has been your crush since then, too. You went to the same park and lived fairly close to each other. Your mothers were friends, and they would always take you to the market to buy candy and new books for Taehyung. He would always invite you over so he could read you his favorite books, and even taught you how to read and write; which is something you were very thankful for, since girls were not allowed to go to school in your area, and you eventually grew a big passion for reading thanks to him.

“You know, y/n.” little taehyung starts, letting your hand go to pick some flowers from the field, and giving them to you with a small grin but a very serious gaze. “I want to be with you for the rest of my life,” he says, now smiling, showing you a smile that had some teeth missing. “I want to take care of you, and make you happy. To be by your side in any shape or form,” you can feel the tears starting to build up in your eyes.

Taehyung and you were so young, yet you felt so much love and care for each other it was overwhelming at times. How could such small bodies carry so much emotion? How could you feel so in love at only eight years old? “ I-...I just want to make sure you always have a smile on your face. You look so pretty when you smile.” he continues as he reaches to dry the tear that has fallen from your glistening eyes. Rubbing his thumb delicately on your cheek, he wipes the tears off your face with a comforting smile. “You deserve to be happy, and cherished and taken care of... like a princess!” he exclaims with a lighter tone, making you smile while you rest your cheek on his hand.

“You told me I was already a princess.” you pout, making his heart skip a beat.

“And you are one” he says as he leans closer, leaving a tender kiss on your cheek. “You’re my princess.” he whispers close to your ear. He meets your eyes once again, sealing his confessions with one look, you know, he really means it. “But one day, I’ll make you a real princess, and I’ll be by your side when it happens, I promise.” He reaches out to hold your hand once again as you continue to walk back home, the comfortable silence filling the space between you two all the way to your doorstep.

“y/n, dinner’s ready!” the faint voice of your mother brought you back to reality. You took one last glance at the envelope before placing it inside the dark green box, next to his other twenty three letters he has written you since he left, five months ago.

You close your eyes for a second and shake your head trying to get out of your soppy thoughts and emotional state. You took a few deep breaths trying to calm yourself a little, knowing your mother will bombard you with a thousand questions about Taehyung, and the last thing you wanted to do was cry in front of her.

Once you felt strong enough for what was coming, you left your room and walked the long hallway towards the kitchen. Your mother is humming a song while she serves the cold bean soup she made on two bowls, turning to you when she feels your presence in the room.

“How's Taehyung doing? Everything alright?” she asks, concerned look on her face.

“He’s alright, you know he always dreamed about working for the royal family, so he is doing really well, he even became close to the prince.” you tell your mother excited. Your mother smiles at the news, giving you a plate of soup and pointing towards the table, taking the other plate with her and sitting right across from you.

“Oh thank heavens!” your mother laughs. “I knew Taehyung was always destined to be someone big! Next thing we know, Prince Yoongi will grant him a lord title!” she laughs again, shaking her head in disbelief. “I always knew he was eager to be the best he could be, but I never thought he would make it so soon!” your mother is now blabbing about all the crazy plans Taehyung had shared with your mom throughout the years. You can’t really focus on what exactly she is saying, but you keep nodding at her while you eat your food. “...I can’t wait for you two to get married, you are going to give me the loveliest grandchildren any old woman could ask for!” you choked on your food as she looked at you with a hopeful gaze.

“Mom!” You cough trying to recover from her last comment.

“I’m just saying!  Taehyung is a very handsome guy, I’m surprised you guys haven’t tied the knot and sealed the deal yet, if you know what I mean.” She winks at you while she takes a spoonful of soup to her mouth that is now decorated with a perverted grin.

“Mother!” you gasp at her bold statement, dramatically dropping your spoon on your plate. Your cheeks turn a scarlet shade.

“I’m just joking!” she laughs. “I’m glad you guys are waiting until marriage, I think it's very honorable of both of you to do so.” she says on a higher pitch mocking you once again, but this time, instead of replying, you just nod. You feel your body heat up from the embarrassment as you slowly take the spoon to your mouth, humming as a response to her words without taking your eyes off your soup.

She knows you guys have had sex, or at least have taken things further than a few innocent kisses. Your mother is a very smart woman, and you, a terrible liar. There have been many times she heard Taehyung's laugh coming from inside your room at unholy hours, followed by you waking up the next morning with multiple ‘mosquito bites’ all over your neck and chest. She has always rooted for the two of you to end up together, and out of all the guys in town who have tried to court you, Taehyung is her favourite.

“Good thing you are going to be able to see him soon, don’t you think?” she asks you, looking at you with soft teary eyes. Is she going to cry? You try to analyze her words and the question takes you by surprise. What does she mean by soon? You frown in confusion.

“But he is not coming to town until next month…” you tell her quietly, moving your soup around the plate with the spoon, quickly losing your appetite. She would never joke about this kind of thing, would she?... No, she wouldn’t. Your mother was a crazy lady, but she would never play with your emotions like this.

She sees the distress in your face as you try to understand her last statement. Abruptly, she stands up from the table and slowly turns to grab the handful of letters that came in earlier today, Taehyung’s letter being one of the ones that arrived within that same batch. Your mother takes a golden envelope from the bunch and stretches her hand towards you.

“Taehyung’s letter is not the only thing that came in today for you.” she shakes the envelope in her hands, inviting you to take it.

Still confused, you take the envelope and slowly open the fine and expensive paper that was decorated with golden detailing on the corners, only to be found with a letter addressed to you.

“Dear Miss y/f/n”

It is with great honor that we contact you to inform you that we have received your application letter, and to congratulate you for being selected to work in the royal kitchen as our new maid and kitchen helper.

We hope to see you around the castle before the week is over, so you can start your training. We look forward to meeting you, and to have you in court to serve our beloved royal family.

Safe travels and see you soon,

The Royal Kitchen.

___________________ ___________________

“If you have any questions or need anything, come find me in my chambers, but only if it's before 2am, after that I can’t guarantee I’ll be of much help!” you both giggle. “Welcome to the team Miss y/n, I’m excited to have you around.” Seokjin exclaims as he finalises the kitchen tour.

“Thank you so much, Chef.” you bow as he turns around and walks towards the oven, where today’s bread is being baked for lunch.

“Oh darling, call me Seokjin.  We are basically bound together for the rest of our lives now, we better get comfortable with each other.” he winks at you and laughs when he sees you looking around the kitchen, not knowing what to do as you hesitate to offer your help. He can read right through you, so he decides to talk again.

“Hey, Jimin.” Seokjin calls the guy who had just finished stocking the bags of rice in the kitchen storage. He turns around with a smile, wiping his sweat from his forehead with the back of his wrist.

“Yes, sir!” Jimin exclaims jokingly as he mimics a soldier's salute. Seokjin loud laugh blasts again through your ears. This man's laugh could kill a whole army by how powerful it is. Seokjin shakes his head at his best friend's antics, throwing his towel over his shoulder.

“Why don’t you show y/n around? maybe take her to a quick tour around the gardens before we have to go upstairs to serve the royal lunch, then we can show her around the castle together.” He shifts in his place, feeling a little anxious, hoping Jimin will show you around and help you get more familiar with the castle. Jimin 's eyes sparkle at Jin’s offer. He's excited with the idea of getting to know you more, and hopefully making a new friend in the castle, which makes him smile even wider.

“Would you like that?” Jimin turns to you with a smile plastered on his lips, waiting for your answer. You nod and smile back as Jimin shakes his fists excitedly like a little kid which makes you and Jin laugh. He is so adorable. “Well then, let’s not waste more time!” he walks towards you and interlocks your arms together once you are close enough. He guides your bodies towards the kitchen’s back entrance. “See you in a few hyung, bye!” he waves his arm without looking back at Seokjin, who is too concentrated on decorating dessert to notice you guys leave.

-----------------------------------------------------

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“And this is where most of the soldiers practice combat, the little house to the right is where most of the weaponry is,” he points at the little white room that is protected by multiple security guards, a few servants walking in and out of the place. “That's basically all there is. There’s also the royal garden over there,” he points to the left where you can see a small path that leads to a golden gate that’s decorated by a few roses. “But we are not allowed to go in unless, ofcourse, we get invited by the royal family.” he shrugs his shoulders as you nod once again, trying to process all the information Jimin has given you the last 10 minutes you’ve been walking around the gardens.

The sudden sound of the rosy gate makes you both turn around again. Jimin's eyes grow bigger, and he immediately bows. He greets the people who are walking towards where you are standing, and it takes you too long to realise that the two tall handsome men are walking your way. He hits your elbow a few times trying to get you to react and bow too, but you are unable to move because of the hazel eyes that now look at you with a shocked expression, not believing the sight right in front of them.

“y/n?” Taehyung's voice comes out in a higher pitch, almost sounding like a squeal. He finds himself in an internal turmoil. He wants to throw himself at you and hold you in his arms, but he is too scared to even move, thinking you are a product of his imagination and you could disappear as soon as he tries to approach you. Why were you here?

“You must be new in the castle,” The voice next to Taehyung causes you to snap your head towards the other man, a very handsome and tall man that is smiling brightly at you. “I’m-...”

“Your majesty, please forgive her. She must be in disbelief to be in your presence.” Jimin blurs out rapidly, making the handsome man laugh as Jimin bows repeatedly, clearly scared that your ignorance could cost you both your lives.

“It’s okay Jimin, you don’t have to apologise for her.” He turns to you again as he smiles and bows to you. Both Taehyung and Jimin watch the scene unfold before then, not believing their eyes. Jimin shakes his head, unable to understand the situation, why is the prince bowing to you? “I’m Min Yoongi, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss y/n.”

You recognise the name, and you curse at yourself, your first day here and you already fucked up, great job y/n.

“Your majesty!" you exclaim, your voice coming out little louder than expected. "I apologise for my rudeness, it won’t happen again.” You bow, cursing at yourself in your head once again. You can’t bow forever, can you?  You sigh as you find the courage to stand straight to face him, you feel your face heating up, your cheeks now tinted red from the embarrassment. “It’s such an honour to meet you.” your voice comes out in a whisper.

Yoongi laughs once again. She’s cute, he thinks. “It’s an honour to meet you too y/n,” he repeats. “And call me Yoongi, please. Let’s be comfortable around each other from now on.” He winks at you as you feel your body heat rise once again. Is the prince flirting with you? Right in front of everyone? Jimin feels like he is about to faint. Has he missed some important information about you? Why did Taehyung know your name? and why is Yoongi being so casual with you?

“Thank you, your ma-... I mean, Yoongi.” you reply shyly with another bow.

While you and Yoongi were exchanging words, Jimin could decipher there was something wrong with Taehyung, his eyes watering from the second he saw you. Jimin doesn't understand what was going on, but it doesn't take a genius see Taehyung was trying really hard not to cry and had a million questions for you. He could figure out that maybe you guys knew each other, and by the way Tae was staring at you, he concluded you guys had unfinished business, and it was best to leave you guys alone to talk.

“Is everything alright Tae?” Yoongi asks, noticing his friend tense up at his words, still in disbelief that you were right in front of him. Overwhelmed by emotion, Taehyung shifts in his place uncomfortably letting out a loud sigh.

“Yeah, I’m alright.” he says quietly. The air starting to tense up, a very awkward silence washing over the four of you. Jimin clears his throat causing everyone to turn to him, he might as well save you from your misery.

“Your majesty," Jimin starts, "I was showing y/n the gardens since she is new here. We were just about to go back to the kitchen to serve the royal lunch, but I just remembered she hasn’t been able to see the lake.” He clears his throat again, looking nervous. “Maybe Taehyung could show her the area? I’d be honoured to escort you to the diner so we can begin to serve lunch for you, Your majesty.” Jimin ends his sentence with doubt, scared of what the prince could reply.

Yoongi notices the stares you and Taehyung exchange, understanding Jimin’s intentions right away. “Sure, Jimin... that sounds like a plan.” Yoongi smiles faintly at you. “I hope to see you around often, Miss y/n.” Yoongi reaches for your hand, kissing it before he turns towards the gates, inviting Jimin to walk with him towards the castle, leaving you and Taehyung alone.

As soon as the two guys were out of sight, you felt Taehyung's strong arms embracing your figure, squeezing you so tightly it was hard for you to breathe. He lets go of the hug, and holds you by your shoulders to be able to face you, his eyes showing a worried expression.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t you get my letter? I told you I was coming home to visit in a few weeks!” Taehyung whispers, holding your face between his shaking hands, meeting your gaze with teary eyes.

“The royal kitchen needed some extra hands, and they offered me the position.” you whisper back. He leans in, leaving a short but sweet kiss on your lips. You smile at him as he moves back. His face scans yours for a second, trying to understand the words that just came out of your mouth.

"Wait, so you work here now?" He asks as he reciprocates your smile. you try to nod, his hands making it hard to move your head, making you both giggle.

“Yeah, you don’t have to send me letters anymore, I’m here now.” He crashes his lips onto yours again, this time welcoming your kiss with passion and excitement.

Taehyung sighs between kisses. He imagined something bad had happened back home, and that your visit was intended so you could deliver the bad news. Thankfully, he was wrong. You had applied for a job in the castle to be able to be closer to him, and to make some money to support your mother back home.

“Okay,” he nods before kissing you again, “No more letters.” He promises against your lips as he wraps his arms around your waist.

He interlocks your hands together as he guides you towards the lake, stealing kisses along the way until you arrived at the beautiful lake that’s hidden behind the castle’s maze. You talk about everything and anything, too intoxicated in each other’s presence. Taehyung feels he is on cloud nine, still trying to process the fact that you are now working in the castle right next him.

But good things never last long and unfortunately, his promise was a little too good to be true.

#bts fanfic #bts ff #bts ffs #bts x reader #taehyung x reader #taehyung fanfic #historical fanfiction #taehyung x you #taehyung smut #taehyung fluff #taehyung x y/n #kim taehyung fanfic

[yesimwriting]

Falling Angels: chapter two

A/n took me longer to get around to writing part 2 than i thought!! i didn’t know there was an audience for this idea but im glad you guys liked it!!

Im adding a country to the grishaverse to make my story work,, def not a big deal i just needed a country in which i could control the history of without worrying about conflicting with cannon lol 

Link to part one: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/yesimwriting/652318577650696192 (lmk if this works ive never linked something to a tumblr post lol)

Series Summary: Y/n is a rising star in the most famous circus in Ketterdam because of her ability to see the future. Unfortunately for her, Kaz Brekker knows more of her backstory than he should, and he’s willing to use that to his advantage. The one thing he’s not betting on? That he doesn’t know her entire story

Chapter summary: Y/n gets a visitor before getting tricked into the most dangerous show of her life. 

Pairng: SOC x reader, Kaz Brekker x sunshine-y! Psychic! Reader 

--

My father seemed to love me more after two glasses of something amber. It was after these two glasses that he would tell me realities his inebriated self believed I needed to internalize. He’d pat my head affectionately and smiled at me as he told me that the world was a bad place. Most of his lessons are lost in my mind, but the one I remember most clearly is that there’s no such thing as a kept secret. There’s always a leak or a flaw or a factor you could not account for. He told me that if I wanted to keep a secret, I would have to decide what I was willing to risk for it. 

I know from Seria’s reaction to his presence that listening to Kaz is a risk, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take for my secret. “I don’t know what you think I am, but you’re mistaken.” It doesn’t really matter that he believes me. I have the paperwork I need to disprove him. “I have to get to my tent.” 

“The princess gets her own tent?” His words are saturated by mock casualness but I can feel his pride on how he delivered that line. 

My body is still tense from balancing over flames and his confidence only adds to my desire to unravel. I can’t get angry here. Not at him. Not with the way he grips that cane of his. “I don’t understand what--” 

“You may be able to play pretend here where no one wants to look twice at you, but I know what you are.” His stiffness leaves my skin prickling. “I know who you are.” 

I swallow back my panic. “Then who am I?” 

“You’re that king’s bastard--the one with a high bounty on her head.” Don’t back down. Even the smallest crack will confirm his story. “As long as she’s returned alive.” 

Thoughts of what my father would do to me if ever given the chance strike me with more anxiety than his presence does. “I’ve heard of the girl you’re talking about,” I admit, the lie leaving me as easily as the air leaves my lungs when I exhale. “But I’m not her.” 

“You’re not from Ketterdam, if you were you would have known who I was after you friend referred to me as Dirtyhands.” I have no defense, but I never claimed to be from Ketterdam. “You make your business claiming to be a psychic.” I am a psychic, but now is not the time to make that argument. “Elkosa is a relatively small and self efficient port kingdom, the island is nothing more than a jagged coastline barely larger than Ketterdam, but I have connections in all places.” He knows someone from Elkosa? I have to fight the instinct to move all of my weight on the balls of my feet, prepared to run. “A captain of the royal fleet told me the story of the night the King’s bastard ran into the meeting room the night before ten ships were meant to sail to Ravka.” 

He studies my reaction as I struggle to keep my expression blank. “None of that seems connected.” 

“Patience is a virtue most Saints are familiar with.” I roll my eyes. “The bastard couldn’t have been more than nine at the time, but the guards did not want to let her in. The King told them to let her interrupt. The sailor noted this because he had never made an exception to his meeting before. The girl described a nightmare to her father, a nightmare of a storm and ten dead birds. The king did not comfort her, she finished her story by saying that he asked to know about all of her dreams. She went back upstairs and the King continued the meeting as normal but the next day the King cancelled the trip.”

I remember that night as the night I realized that if I’m not careful, I’ll feel what I see in my visions. It felt like I was drowning. I felt the death of each of those men and instead of comforting me, my father nodded once like I had offered him advice and sent me back to my room. “And?” My defense is weak, my mind too lost in the memories of drowning. “Many smaller countries are superstitious.” 

“The next day the worst storm to have impacted that ocean occurred. For four nights and three days the storm continued.” 

I press my nails into my palms. “You don’t believe that I am precognitive, so that sailor’s unverified story has nothing to do with me.” 

“A princess that can see the future disappears at the same time a failing circus hires a girl who has no business in this city who claims to be able to see the future.” He adjusts his stance, taking pressure off the cane as if he’s preparing to need to use it for something else. “I am not fool enough to believe in coincidence.” 

“And I am not fool enough to crack beneath the vague threats of a man. In my experience, men always threaten with a blade when really all they’re in possession of is a butter knife. Try to drag me from here kicking and screaming, find a way to incapacitate me and put me on a ship to Elkosa, but when the King sees that you brought him a stranger he will have your head.” 

He blinks, expression hard as stone. I tense, preparing for a physical blow. “I didn’t expect you to be a half-decent liar, but I should have.” I bite my tongue to avoid resorting to something I can’t take back. Like begging. “Even if it’s in only half your blood.” 

“I am not her.” My stubbornness burns more than the need to survive. I inhale, hoping to shake the grasp of the sensation but it only worsens. The pinch of dread in my chest is heavy and familiar. A vision. 

No. Not now--not in front of him. I push against it even though I know that only makes it worse. Not now. Not now. I should be grounding myself but all I can think about is how stupid I am and how bad this situation is.

--

“I’m not an idiot, I know to be quiet. I see myself crouched somewhere dark. 

“Being defensive doesn’t make you any more intelligent.” It takes me a minute to recognize Kaz in the darkness. 

We’re somewhere small, our backs against the same wall but our shoulders do not touch. This vision is enshrouded by the feel of panic. 

This other me grimaces, but her eyes lack anger, “Remind me why I agreed to help you again?” 

“You never told me why,” he admits, “you can change your mind on participating and I can change my mind on whether or not you're more useful than your father’s money.”

Something loud crashes from behind the door we’re both staring at. “You’ll have no use for me or my father’s money if we die here.” I squeeze my hands together. 

He hesitates, “My ghost will.” 

The future-me almost smiles. “I wonder if I’ll be able to see ghost futures.” I hesitate, something strange behind my eyes. “I wonder if that can exist, if there’s a future beyond endings.” 

Future-Kaz is silent for a long second. “There should be,” he says, “for someone like you, at least.” 

I watch the way I take in his words. “You’d be there, too,” my voice is low, “your ghost at least.” I turn my head, staring at the door instead of him, “If you weren’t, I’d miss the brooding.” 

--

The vision leaves me with sweaty palms and swirling thoughts. All of my visions do that. Not all of them make me feel so confused. Apparently, he needs help and I agree to do so. At one point we’ll be pushed into a life or death situation and I won’t loathe him. 

I blink twice, forcing myself to hold onto the reality in front of me. I don’t have to agree--the future isn’t set in stone. For all I know tomorrow morning I’ll have a vision in which he kills me. 

“Are you ignoring me?” 

Shaking my head, I turn to face him. “You need help.” I don’t wait for his reaction. “You’re not here to return someone to the King of Elkosa, you’re here because you need someone that can see the future.” 

“I--” 

“It’s not that you won’t take me to Elkosa, it’s that you’d rather use my abilities for something.”

I’m confusing him again, but that’s okay. I’d rather deal with him confused than angry. “I need to know how a certain business deal of mine is going to be worth what it costs.”

He’s spent the entire time claiming he doesn’t believe in my power. Was that some kind of tactic? In the vision I saw, despite the panic surrounding the situation I didn’t feel panicked around him. The probability of that future occurring is probably low. I’ve been wrong before, the future changes too much for me to know everything. 

“That’s not how readings work,” I admit, “I don’t have that much control on them. Most of them come to me randomly. The events I see always involve me or someone I care about to a certain capacity. I can give someone a general glimpse into their future but I can’t promise I’ll see what they want. Sometimes I can see the general vision by just focusing on their energy but usually I need some physical contact for it to work.” That seems like a fair explanation. “Oh--and not all of my predictions come true, most are blurry, few are solid--the future is always moving.” 

Wait...the vision I saw where I was with Kaz wasn’t blurry. Those can be wrong, but it’s much rarer. Do I really agree to this? 

“Then maybe I should make it involve you.” His aggression has me forcing myself to stand my ground. He can threaten me all he wants but that won’t change things. “Or take the money your father would give me and cut my losses.” 

Every time I’ve purposefully destroyed a solid vision, something bad has happened. I’m genuinely considering it. “What do you need a psychic for, anyways?” 

“To get through the Fold.” 

Despite everything, I laugh. “I’ve never seen anyone get through the Fold, literally or in my visions.” 

He’s unphased by my doubt. “It’s happened.” 

I really don’t want to help him. “Well then good luck, I’m happy to part ways here.” 

I manage one step forward before he moves his cane in front of my path. I’m getting tired of this. “You’re assisting me one way or the other, whether that aid will be financial or through your services is up to you.” 

Anger pinches in my stomach the way it often does when I’m told what to do. The one thing centering me is the vision still reflecting in my thoughts. There’s no denying it--I had felt comfortable with him. There is a future in which I feel comfortable with him and I’m not sure I’ll be able to avoid it. 

“I won’t get in trouble for you,” I tell him, “The Ringmaster holds onto those indentured to him, especially the commodities that bring him profit.” 

There’s something stiff about his silence. I wonder if he’s always like this, pushing the weight of his presence onto those around him without saying a word. “When I have a goal, it is achieved. I’ll speak to him.” 

I cannot imagine a conversation I want to be involved in less. The Ringmaster and this man that Seria had labeled ‘Dirtyhands’. “I just had a vision--I saw your entire conversation and it ends with you missing an arm.” His stoic expression does not shift. “Okay, I’m aware that it wasn’t the funniest joke, but throw me a bone--you threatened to kidnap me and sell me to my father in order to extort me and I’ve been nothing but polite to you.” 

He’s quiet for a moment, something in his expression changing in a way I can’t read. “All you’ve done is lie since the moment you started to speak to me.” 

The optimist in me would like to think that his annoyance counts for banter. I shrug, feeling a little lighter than I did a second ago. I’m certainly not comfortable but I’m starting to see how to put up with the tension without letting it strain me. “Well, polite for my standards.” 

I let him brood. “You must have done well as a royal.” 

My past cuts through the peace I managed to grab onto. It’s not his fault, he has no way of knowing what the castle was like for me. I open my mouth, but I don’t know what I’m going to say. “I had my moments,” I finally settle on, hoping the echo of pain isn’t visible behind my eyes. 

I guess it doesn’t matter if he sees me bleed. He’s heartless, and I hate sympathy. 

“Y/n,” Seria’s voice is genuine anger, “You’ve turned into an idiot--first the tightrope walk and now entertaining whatever deal he’s trying to coax from you.” I love Seria, she’s the reason I didn’t die in the street when I first arrived in Ketterdam, but she sees me as a mindless child. “Whatever he told you, whatever he promised you--it’s a lie.” 

“He hasn’t promised me anything.” I need to calm her down. Once she’s calm, everything will be normal again. “And he knows.” I don’t have to turn to feel the way Seria gapes at me. “He knows who I am, so I have to do what he wants.” 

“You never have to do anything a man is forcing onto you, y/n. We’ll find a way--” 

“Seria, it’s fine,” I reach to touch her arm, “I’ll be fine, you can’t protect me from everything and you don’t have to.” 

Kaz throws a pointed glare at the man who was with him earlier. When did the stranger get here? “Boss, she’s faster than she looked, but I have what we need to get the girl--” 

“You’re late,” Kaz sighs, bored, “she’s agreed.” 

Wait--what was he going to do if I didn’t agree? “Out of curiosity, what are you talking about?” The man blinks twice, squeezing a rag between his ring-clad fingers. “You were going to use chloroform to kidnap me, weren’t you?” 

For some reason I don’t understand, the stranger gives me a look that’s a cross between sheepish and charming. “Nothing personal.” 

“Or original.” 

Seria pinches my arm. “Y/n,” she scolds, “your sense of humor is going to kill me one of these days.” 

I cringe, pulling my arm away. “When I met you, you were pickpocketing in the pleasure district, please remember that.” 

She rolls her eyes. “An attitude like that is going to leave you without a place to sleep at night.” 

I take her comment for the empty threat it is. Every other day she’s threatening to kick me out of her private trailer so that I’m forced to fight for cots or speak to the Ringmaster about my lodging arrangements. He’d give me what I want, but speaking to him feels so slimy I’d sleep in the woods before trying it. 

“Kaz.” I turn my head in time to see the girl that gave me the advice about the tightrope walker. “We need to go, he’s coming soon--you’ll do better to speak to him in the morning after she’s gone, that way he has nothing to hold over your head.” 

“Once I’m gone?” The girl had called me a Saint. I can appeal to her. “I’m not--I’m not going anywhere, I said I’d help.” 

Her eyes widen, sympathy reflected clearly in her dark irises. “There was never a version of this in which you ended up staying here.” I hear a hint of apology in her voice. “You won’t believe me, but I promise this will be better for you.” All of her pity is gone with those, replaced by something hard.

Seria responds for me, “I think you should go.” 

“What?” 

She almost smiles, but her eyes are painfully sad. “I never wanted you to be here forever. I don’t trust these people, but I trust their ability to get you out of here, even if only for a little while. Bad things are coming, and I think you’ll miss the worst of it if you go now.” 

What she alludes to is a blade in my heart. “You want me to leave you here to deal with it?” 

“Y/n, I’ve been hurt here more times than I can count--”

“No, I won’t leave y--” 

Seria squeezes my shoulder, “It’s not forever.” When she wants something, it’s almost impossible to get around it. “Besides, if I need you, you’ll see it.” 

My world feels to have lost the vibrance of color. I’ve left so much, but I let myself believe I wouldn’t leave her. I pull her into the hug. “The moment I see a vision of you in any type of danger, I’m coming back.” I hug her even tighter when she tries to pull away so that I can whisper something in her ear, “I’ll use this opportunity to leave the Ringmaster and then I’ll get you out, and together we’ll leave Ketterdam. We’ll find your child, like you always wanted to and they’ll know that they're lucky because they’re the only kid in the world to have you as a mother.” 

She squeezes me so tightly I find it hard to take full breaths. “Two,” Seria whispers, “I have two children.”

My eyes burn as her words find their way into my heart. “I love you, Seria.” 

“I love you too, my star,” she pulls away enough so that I can look her in the eye, “you don’t like being called a Saint, but I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the title.” 

Tears prick my eyes as she releases me. “I’ll find you.” 

“He’ll be coming soon,” the girl warns, “He spoke to an advisor about wanting to find you after the show.” 

No doubt to praise the fire stunt he forced onto me. Bastard. I nod once but I don’t move. I can’t bring myself to leave Seria until the girl places a hand on my elbow. 

--

Falling Angels Taglist: @glowstick-lesbian @cashlum @whatiswrongwithpeople @pass-me-jeez-it @thecraziestcrayon

#six of crows #six of crows fic #six of crows netflix #six of crows show #soc imagine #soc #soc x you #soc fic #kaz brekker #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker imagine #kaz brekker x you #shadow and bone #shadow and bone spoilers #grisha #shadow and bone fanfic #shadow and bone fic #shaodw and bone x reader #Grishaverse #grishaverse x reader

[loupettes]

I needed a little break from writing doomsday, and this came out today instead. I hope you enjoy some Nine/Rose fluff!

H I R A E T H

SUMMARY: Nine/Rose. After leaving the Doctor alone in his grief, Rose is still upset over what happened that day he left her and Mickey on that spaceship for Reinette. She goes to find him and confront him and her feelings, but runs into somebody she could never have imagined to instead.

TAGS: fluff, hurt//comfort, romance, missing scene

Read on AO3: hiraeth

***

They sat, Rose and Mickey, at the table in the kitchen, both sipping their tea now in silence. The tour of the TARDIS had been short to say the least, mostly because she couldn’t really focus on much else other than the love of her life having fallen in love with somebody else within the space of half a day, maximum.

She shuddered, and scrunched her nose to finish the last of her tea. Well, not the last; she still had a fair bit left, but it had gone cold and just tasted a bit like sewage water at that point, so she didn’t particularly see the appeal in spending any longer pretending it was still a decent cup of tea.

Funny, she thought. My life now resembles a cup of tea.

***

They sat, Rose and Mickey, at the table in the kitchen, both sipping their tea now in silence. The tour of the TARDIS had been short to say the least, mostly because she couldn’t really focus on much else other than the love of her life having fallen in love with somebody else within the space of half a day, maximum.

She shuddered, and scrunched her nose to finish the last of her tea. Well, not the last; she still had a fair bit left, but it had gone cold and just tasted a bit like sewage water at that point, so she didn’t particularly see the appeal in spending any longer pretending it was still a decent cup of tea.

Funny, she thought. My life now resembles a cup of tea.

She managed to not raise suspicion from the man opposite her when she sighed, but when her cup hit the table a little more forcibly than she had intended, Mickey raised his eyebrow.

“Take it it’s still not a good time to ask?”

Rose threw him a glare; she was still quite irritated by his smug-but-trying-to-hide-it expression. “No, it isn’t.”

His brow pinched, and for a moment he looked sorry for her. Not in a pitiful way, but in a... sorry kind of way — except, he wasn’t the one who should be sorry. He opened his mouth to say something, then decided against it.

“M’ gonna go for a walk,” she mumbled, the chair grazing loudly across the floor as she forced herself to her feet.

Mickey again looked as though he might say something, but again, thought better of it. But Rose was just irritated enough to ask,

“What?”

“Just… don’t go looking for him, okay?” he tried. “Give the man some space.”

Rose grunted. “He can have all the bloody space he wants.”

And with that, she left the kitchen. She was exhausted to recognise her feet were, unsurprisingly, steering her towards the control room, and she could feel with every step how regretful she was about to be if she reached that room. So she pulled every last piece of willpower she had left to stop in her tracks and think.

Should she go and talk to him? She folded her arms and chewed the inside of her cheek in deliberation. She was torn, because she wanted so desperately to talk to him — her friend above all else after all — but he had so horribly hurt her today that she was in half a mind to storm out of this TARDIS for good. She tried, she really did, to feel for him, and she took a step out of her own mind for just one moment to consider he had just lost somebody close to him. Even if her heart was breaking, it was at that thought that they shattered completely.

This was ridiculous, she thought, as her feet once more began to take her to the control room. He quite clearly wanted space, and Mickey only confirmed so much with his Manly Suspicions — seeing you right now isn’t going to make him feel any better.

She grunted, and her steps had a little more purpose to them now. Because it was so horrible to be the last person he wanted to see. He had never, not in their entire time together, been one to regret her presence, to make her feel like she was unwanted even just in a moment of grief.

Calm down, she thought, as she knew she was nearing the control room. The only thing that would make this a thousand times worse is if you burst into the control room in righteous rage.

So, she deliberately slowed down her pace as she wondered just exactly which approach she was going to take. But she found that, the closer she got to the control room, the less control she had over her intentions. So her footing sped up once more, and her heart pounded in her chest as she reached the control room.

She was more than disorientated, then, when the last person she expected to see was now standing in the exact same place as he was when she left him.

“Wha—”

He looked up at her with a frown, a frown she hadn’t seen in oh so many months, and she felt her heart sink to see that daft old, gorgeous, face. For a moment, she forgot that this was completely impossible, being so used to it these days after all, and her breath caught in her throat to see that terribly dusty old leather jacket, those baggy black scruffy trousers that seemed far too big for him and those eyes, good god those eyes were so bloody beautiful that she almost cried there and then to see them once more.

Those eyes that were currently looking back at her in utter bewilderment.

She shook her head and herself back to her senses. The Doctor quickly looked at the door at the end of the ramp and distractedly pointed to it, looking back at her once more in disarray. “What you doin’ there?”

His familiar yet somehow unexpected Northern accent seemed most alerting to her, and sparked the return of her own puzzlement.

“What are you doin’ there?”

“I just— you were— you said—” he stuttered, looking back and forth between her and the door. He seemed to only look to her for an explanation, which baffled her, because she was hoping he would explain. The two stared at each other in complete perplexity for a minute at least, before Rose was first to break the silence.

“This a trick?”

He blinked. “What?”

“This. You, here. The TARDIS trickin’ me or somethin’?”

“Why on Earth would the TARDIS be tricking you?”

“I dunno,” she shrugged, folding her arms and resting her weight on one leg. “‘Cos you were a right knob today and maybe she thought I wouldn’t strangle you if you looked like that.”

He was surely stupefied by the force of her words. “Bloody hell, I saved your life today and that’s how you thank me?”

Her mouth hung agape at that, and she quickly scanned her memories today and confirmed, very quickly, that he had in fact not saved her life at any point today. Not even when he stumbled into her’s and Mickey’s capture, drunk, and toyed with the droids for a bit while they held a rather sharp blade to her throat before pouring whatever was left of his wine onto their heads; she was still too furious to consider that ‘saving her life’.

“Oh, please,” she scoffed incredulously, “Do tell me at what point today you so valiantly came to my aid.”

He echoed her scoff. “I said thank you—”

“You did not you little liar!”

“Bloody hell, you’re a lot snappier than you were five minutes ago!”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t even here five minutes ago—”

“Which reminds me, what are you doing here?”

Her eyes narrowed at him; quite clearly, they were going to go round in circles asking questions unless one of them tried to at least figure it out. She took a deep breath, and spoke aloud her thought process. “Right. So, obviously we’re not talking about the same thing, unless you experienced today completely differently to me — which actually might explain your behaviour—” she stopped when she felt her spine pricking with heat, and shook her head “— never mind. And unless the TARDIS is playing tricks on me, and you’re still, well, you, then we’re not — this isn’t—”

She sighed in frustration, still trying to understand the concept of time being relative — whatever that means. The Doctor seemed only to understand her, and he nodded slowly.

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I didn’t just offer you to come with me, did I?”

Her heart sank; of all the emotions she was feeling, of all the frustration at being in a situation unknown, of having her first reaction to a man she missed with everything she had being bewilderment over the absolute love she normally had to see his face, her only response was to breathe a very unsteady and deeply sorrowful,

“No.”

He nodded, again slowly. “But— and I’m losing my other leg to this one now— I’m assuming you, at one point, in fact, do end up coming with me?"

Her lips pulled tight as she fought back against saying or indicating anything that might trigger some sort of paradox at having run into a previous him and altering their future, and she sort of expected she might spontaneously vanish at any moment. Her lack of response must have affirmed his question, and his eyes grew wide.

“Crikey. Right then.”

“I should—“ she started, pointing behind her to the door but not really able to move there just yet “— I should probably, erm…”

He looked back at her for a moment, his brow still drawn in concern, before he gave her the smallest, yet still most warm smile that simply melted her.

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” he whispered.

The relief she felt swept over her in a blanket so comforting that her feet all too easily took her to him, and she blurted, “You have no idea how much I needed to hear you say that.”

He grinned the most terribly beautiful toofy grin, but she didn't process in enough time — or care too much to do anything about — the look of slight panic when she practically tumbled into his arms, into a hold so comforting that she let out a small sob. She felt the relief, her whole body lightening and untightening to feel him, less skinny and tall and against the ever so soft fabric of a jumper rather than an oxford. She wished she could have seemed a little less desperate as she clung to him while he awkwardly — but sincerely — held her in return, but just having him there, against everything she understood to be possible, was the only thing she could possibly need right now and she felt alleviated.

“I’m probably breaking about eight hundred laws here but I literally don’t care anymore,” she mumbled, only half-jokingly, into his jumper, “You left me on a spaceship three thousand years into the future so you can fix it.”

“Oi!” he snapped, and she was relieved to hear he wasn’t actually annoyed. “I haven’t done anythin’, remember?”

She nodded. “You’re right, he can fix it.”

The Doctor had always known how to read her, even if she sometimes thought he didn’t. Even after little more than a day of having known her, to this him here now, he recognised her belligerence and only seemed to find it bemusing.

“You’ve got a lot of faith in him then, if you can think he can fix anything.”

She sighed deeply into his jumper, against the sounds of his steady hearts beneath her ear that sounded different somehow, like they weren’t quite hers yet even if they were beating for her now.

“I really miss you.”

The truth in her voice sounded, even to her, so very pained. She wondered what he must be thinking, why this woman whom had only just turned him down now clung to him in the most ridiculous of ways, close to tears as she told him she missed him. But he didn’t ask questions, instead he only felt it, straight away, by the way his arms ever so slightly tightened around her to more resemble a hug she knew was only hers, and one only he could give her. But she could feel him awkward beneath her nonetheless, and ever so regretfully she pulled away, but not quite able to stop herself from reaching her palm to touch the side of his face as she took him in. All those hardened edges, that stubble and those lips and slightly wonky nose.

“Oh, we’re— okay, so there’s an awful lot of touching between us in the future,” he remarked.

She giggled, and drew her palm away to sit on the jumpseat, patting the spot next to her. “Well, yes, I think we can say that—” she frowned, and stopped herself “—wait, can I say that?”

She looked to him for confirmation, and he shrugged. “Tell you what, if you start to fade out of existence, I’ll let you know, as long as you do the same for me. Deal?”

She chuckled, and shook the hand he had held out to her. “Deal.”

He sat down next to her, pinching his trousers and shuffling about to settle in a little more comfortably. She was relieved to know she hadn’t forgotten a single thing about him, which meant that she knew he was feeling most blindsided by her spontaneous and unprecedented visit, displaying a lot more familiarity with him than he, at that moment, had with her. For whatever reason, and she thinks she knows what, he was, for the time being at least, comfortable with putting aside his own reservations about the implications this might have on time and space if it meant that she could find comfort herself.

She gave him a shy grin. “So I turned you down then, hmm?”

“Great,” he tutted. “Nice to know it was me you said no to, and not the flying-through-space bit.”

She nudged herself to the side to bump his shoulder and chuckled. “Well, I’m here now, so you must have done something right.”

“Oh, I don’t know. From the sounds of it, I haven’t done anything right today.”

It was a suggestion, an invitation to continue, if she wanted to.

The sinking of her heart at the reminder of her today was terrible. So terrible, in fact, that she couldn’t find her words, and only shook her head sadly in response. The soft sound of his leather jacket as his chest rose and fell to his sigh somehow made it all that much harder. When he started to awkwardly pick at the stray cotton string poking out at the knee of his trousers, she managed to find her smile.

“Mention the time bit,” she whispered, turning to look at him, and he looked back at her with his eyebrow ever so slightly raised. “That’s what does it for me, in the end.”

He chastised himself, “I didn’t— I didn’t mention the bloody time bit— well, no wonder you said no.”

“You completely messed up with that one,” she chuckled, closing her eyes to the deep and flat way he said ‘wonder’, and continued, “Actually, know what else you messed up with?”

“Wish I hadn’t bloody offered to stay and listen, now—”

“The regeneration thing,” she scoffed. “Didn’t want to mention that that happens at any point, no?”

“Regenerat— bloody hell, I’m being confronted by a lot of my future in one sitting.”

Her eyes widened at that, perhaps having gone too far, but he grinned.

“Na, it’s alright," he assured her in response. "Promise. I’m not so unused to running into myself in the future, I know how this works, don’t worry.”

Her lips curled into a bashful smile, knowing full well he almost certainly knew the consequences of learning of one’s own future and that, in next to no circumstances, was it a good thing. Still, he had this thing about him, this assurance that he would, somehow, make it okay, and she couldn’t deny his invitation.

“You— I mean— well,” she flustered, realising this was much more difficult that she would have thought. “He... yeah, no, you—”

“Say ‘he’,” he encouraged. “It’ll make it easier, promise.”

Again, with that word, with the softness in which he delivered it, she felt this unravelling as her shoulders loosened where she could just be her. She didn’t have to worry about sounding all clever, like she knew what she was talking about, and now she didn’t even need to worry about the implications of something she’s been told can never ever happen, because he was with her. She could barely keep herself together with it all, with how much she just missed him and wanted him back.

“It’s been a bit… it’s been quite hard. Between us, recently,” she admitted unevenly, but once she felt the relief that came with uncorking the ridiculously tight pressure throughout her whole body, she was powerless to stop herself from blurting out the rest. “You regenerated not too long ago and sometimes I think you’re still the same, and sometimes you— he —” she adjusted, it somehow feeling better to say ‘he’, now “— does things that are so… not you.”

There was a silence in the control room, besides the familiar hum which had of course not altered even within this nonsensical situation. It kept her quite steady, actually.

“He sounds a bit like a prat.”

“You’re not wrong, there.”

“Tell you what,” he began, squaring his shoulders. “Since I’m him and he’s me, why don’t you tell me what he did. I’ll see what I can help you with.”

She snorted. “Told me I was gonna — and I quote — ‘wither and die’, left me stranded on a spaceship three thousand years into the future, fell in love with some posh French woman and picked her over all of time and space, to name just the ones over the last twenty-four hours.”

The Doctor was quiet, and she just had to glance at his expression at that. He did indeed look overwhelmed, as she thought he might.

“That definitely doesn’t sound like me — you sure you weren't just fooled into thinking he was?”

She snickered, although he wasn’t too far off her true musings at this point. “I think when you invited Mickey along, I should have clocked on.”

He really did jolt back in shock, then. “Rickey? As in that sad old sap out there, Rickey?”

“Mmm.”

“The one shaking like a bloody leaf and clinging onto your leg like a wuss?”

“That’s the one.”

He shuddered, and it only made her giggle more. “My god, what do I become?”

“Now you see my problem.”

“Alright, well, I can’t excuse the wither and die bit—” he paused, thinking “— nor the spaceship bit, I suppose. Or even the falling in love bit—”

“Fat lot of good, you are, then.”

“Oi! —” he poked her ribs “— You’re a lot less polite than I remember you being.”

Her smile was so wide that it ached; being here with him and laughing like before, before all the regenerations and the Sarah-Janes and the aristocratic French mistresses was a blissful healing of a wound she had long since thought had sealed up.

“I’m going to need some context over the wither and die bit,” he spoke quietly, a little jest still to his voice.

She frowned, honestly quite against the idea of reliving that conversation last night, and especially not when it was one with another, less recognisable, face than with the one next to her. “I dunno. I guess… I know what you—”

“He.”

She giggled, relieved, and he nudged her knee with his. “I know what he was trying to say, that his lifespan is a heck of a lot longer than mine, and it’s not as if it’s fun to watch us ‘wither and die’, as he so eloquently put it, but it still hurt. Almost like—” she scrunched her nose, thinking of what it was she wanted to say before she heard his calm and patient breathing, his breath and remembered who she was talking to “—like it’s so distasteful for him, that we grow old and all mangly and he just has to sit there and watch it and hope it gets over and done with quickly so he can move on.”

The Doctor was still beside her, his arms folded and leant back while she spoke. He seemed to be mulling something over, and when she looked up at him and saw his profile, his terribly large nose and sharp jaw, she all but melted into his side, tugging on his arm so that she could lean against him.

“He made me feel so bad for being human, and it’s the first time I’ve ever felt like that.”

He was trying to keep himself still beside her, and she knew he most probably felt a little uncomfortable at their proximity, but the fact that he was keeping so still for her reminded her just how much he cared for her in the first place — right from day one.

“Christ, give him a slap for me when you see him again will you?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

She thought about the two of them, if they could meet tonight, and only loved the idea of this him squaring up on the new one for daring to hurt a woman he had known less than forty-eight hours. And she grinned to know that he would, as well, because she knew just how important she had been to him right from the start. He didn’t need to say it, and she felt it even now with a new face, that she was still the most important person to him.

Well, up until today, she had.

“Alright, so you say the spaceship thing—“

“Yep,” she affirmed, punctuating the ‘p’ with an indignant pop. “Rode on a horse through a time window, severed all links with the ship and the future.”

“And you say Rickey was with you?”

“Yeah! Left us both behind.”

He thought for a moment. “How’d you know he didn’t think you were on the back of the horse and he was only trying to leave Rickey behind” — she couldn’t help but laugh at his old dry humour that he carried off so effortlessly, something else she only now realised she missed —“cos I can tell you that seems the only reasonable explanation to that one.”

“God will you stop,” she insisted through her giggles, “Rick—Mickey is not that bad!”

“And on that,” he continued, seemingly unwilling to stop despite her persistent chuckles, “I really cannot explain his decisions behind asking Mickey to join us, you’ll have to ask him yourself, sorry.”

He had such a wonderfully deadpan humour, this one, and for a bloke that wasn’t actually from the North, he certainly could have fooled her. To some, he came off as cold and unaffectionate, but to her, he was hers; she knew his humour so well and had grown so fond of him and the ways in which he made her laugh, knowing that he was doing it deliberately as often as he could only to make her giggle more.

“Alright, and what was that last one?” he asked after a moment. “Something about some French woman?”

Ah, yes. That.

Perhaps he knew exactly what by the way she flinched at his words, because he didn’t follow it up with anything at first. He chose his words well, it would seem, when he prompted,

“Something absurd about choosing her over all of time and space, if I remember you right.”

She fiddled with cuticles around her nails, only realising now how hard it was to talk about — or even think about.

“Something like that.”

And with her sigh, she released her hold on him, withdrawing back into herself at the way everything about her seemed to clench in pain. He wasn’t too unused to it all, then, when she felt his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. She smiled softly at the gesture that did indeed loosen her a little, but he seemed to notice that it hadn’t entirely when he tapped her shoulder to bring her to lean back against him.

“Well, I will admit this new bloke seems like an absolute git, but I know I can speak for him when I say he doesn’t fall in love very easily at all.”

She swallowed, her throat so painfully tight. “Yeah, m’ starting to think the same.”

He was quiet, and she was really fighting against herself to not fall completely back in love with a man she knew was gone forever. She did love him though, this him, and she missed him so much that the pressure inside her only seemed to worsen until, finally, he spoke quietly,

“Who was she, did you say?”

She didn’t want to respond immediately, though the name rested just at the tip of her tongue, echoing around her mind as it had been all day. So she took a moment's pause before she replied, “Someone called Madame de Pompadour?”

“Ah, yes,” he recalled. “Eighteenth century? Uncrowned queen of France?”

Rose sighed heavily, before nodding her head.

“Sounds average,” he dismissed. “Meet one of them every day, I do. Don’t think it’s quite like either of us to fall in love with somebody so ordinary.”

She had to remind herself, as she had done so many times over the last twenty-four hours, that she was indeed only that: ordinary. Nobody different, nothing that made her stand out from the likes of Sarah Jane or bloody uncrowned queens of France and certainly not one the Doctor, the last remaining lord of time, would so easily fall in love with.

“Anyway,” he cleared his throat, a welcome disruption to her morose thoughts. “I should probably, er, go and find, well, you— time, was it, you said? That’s what’ll do the trick?”

She sniffed, reluctant to let him go, but she did loosen her hold to allow him free. “Time,” she affirmed.

As he stood, and she too, it all felt far too formulaic for them, even if he had only just met her very recently. She couldn’t bear to let him go like this, to remember this meeting so sad, so she looked at him sheepishly with her arms hesitantly outstretched and said,

“Can I?”

He seemed to know exactly what she was asking when he pulled her in for a hug. It took them a moment of adjustment to settle; she being so used to his new more slender form, and he not being used to her at all. But when they did, when everything finally slotted into place and they were them once more, she exhaled and felt all that pain and anguish just… release. He didn’t take it from her, and she didn’t know where it went, but being here in his arms when she had thought she never could have been again felt like the most blissful recompense following such wretched and unjust anguish.

“I miss you,” she whimpered, holding on to him tighter.

“Rose?”

The sound of her name on his lips was a comfort in itself. “Mmm?”

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“Yeah?”

“That bloke of yours,” he paused, and she realised it was for dramatic effect when he whispered, “he’s actually me.”

She giggled despite herself. “After everything I’ve told you about him, you still want to assign your name to him?”

“He does sound a bit like a prat, I’ll admit, but he must have done some good things, too, surely?” She shook her head begrudgingly into his chest. “You wouldn’t still be here if he hadn’t.”

She smiled sadly, and reasoned, “I suppose he did regenerate for me.”

“Blimey,” he flustered, genuinely quite surprised by the sounds of it. “I’ve regenerated many times before, and for many different reasons, but I can tell you never for somebody else.”

She smiled; although she had never really known exactly what happened on satellite 5, she had only managed to learn from him that it was to save her life. He didn’t particularly like to talk about it, she gathered, not because he regretted doing so, but in a way she couldn’t quite decipher. Like he was afraid, almost — although of what, she wasn’t sure.

“You, Rose Tyler, must be quite extraordinary indeed.”

She held on to him only tighter as she felt his words find their home deep within her heart, in a way she knew they would never be able to be coaxed out of again by not even herself. And she knew the man she thought she was going to see tonight felt the same, really, if she was honest with herself. She realised, then, that she wouldn’t have been able to hear if he had said it in that estuary accent; it was specifically him saying it in this northern accent tonight that rang deep and true for both men.

And with that, she felt the imminent dread of knowing she needed to leave.

“I probably need to go tell him I’ve made some paradox, then,” she sighed jokingly, although a part of her wished she wasn’t. If she could only have this, this sweet memory of the two of them at a time where she needed to be reminded that it would always be just the two of them, then pulling away from him now might be less tortuous.

“No need,” he said, and then he tilted his head and whispered, “Looks like he’s already fixed it for you.”

She frowned, but even as she tried to process how he — the other him — could have possibly already done anything to fix this, her mistake, her desperate need to see her old friend and deepest love of her life just one last time in a time of such heartbreak, her heart swelled to know that of course he had.

“No paradox?” she whispered back, afraid anybody other than him might hear her.

He nodded, and she felt him kiss her hair. “No paradox, if he’s done it right. Now go, quick, before we find out if he hasn’t.”

#nine x rose #ninth doctor #rose tyler #loup.fic #dw fic

[luytenae]

A kiss to wake up

Hello everyone! I'm bringing what I believe is my longest piece so far. As a disclaimer, this was a little bit self-indulgent, so I didn't want to spare a single detail. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

As a top note, this is kinda the prequel to this one! One day I'll make some sort of timeline, I promise. I just keep writing as the ideas come to me

Kiss number 32: to wake up

The last weeks had been an actual chaos for the fashion deisgner. Indeed, they had been chaotic, but in a sort of good way. After so many years waiting, Ramuda was about to undergo top surgery. He was finally getting his mastectomy done and, although these days he had to sign, read and send plenty of papers, he was happy. He was excited, but he was a bit scared too. After all, it was an operating room and he was still afraid of needles.

The designer sighed as he put the pen down, looking up with a faint smile. Jakurai walked by, taking his chance to kiss Ramuda’s forehead before leaving him a cup of warm tea, keeping the other one to himself.

“I can sense you are nervous”. He said tenderly, grabbing a chair and sitting by his partner’s side.

Ramuda glanced over the papers that were scattered in front of him, sipping from the cup. “Well, yeah… I’ve been waiting for this for so long, and now that’s here I just… Can’t imagine it”. His tone was calm, revealing his true self. It had taken a lot for him to learn to trust Jakurai again –they both had to relearn how to trust each other–, but he knew he didn’t need to fake anything. Not anymore.

Jakurai mumbled. “I see…”. He gently put his cup on the table, making space for the pink-haired man in his arms. As if the doctor had predicted his movements, Ramuda leaned forward and placed his head on his partner’s chest, closing his eyes.

“It’s perfectly normal to be nervous. It is a surgery, after all”. He did a brief pause, lifting Ramuda’s chin tenderly. “But everything will go smoothly. I cannot be on the operation room that day, but you will be in good hands. You will be okay, my dear”.

The designer smiled, nodded, and went in for a kiss. Jakurai eagerly corresponded, wiping Ramuda’s tears as they kissed.

“Plus, you deserve this”. Jakurai added after they broke the kiss. “You have fought bravely, and you had a lot of patience… Although I may recognize I didn’t think you were capable of having it”. The doctor added jokingly, which earned him a pout from his partner as well as a bump on his arm.

“Rude!”

Jakurai laughed softly, which made Ramuda’s pout go away quickly.

“My point is, you needn’t’ be nervous. You earned it, Ramuda. You deserve good things too”.

The designer took a deep breath, repeating those words in his head to himself. He still had a hard time believing that; but his Posse and Jakurai had been making a hard effort to help him realize his self-worth.

“Thanks, babe. I… kinda needed to hear that”.

“Then I am happy I could be of assistance, my dear”.

The days went by, and before the couple could realize it, it was time for Ramuda to check in in the hospital. Since they had agreed to live in Shinjuku, the surgery would be done in Jakurai’s hospital; and one of his co-workers was in charge of it.

Sadly for the doctor, he had to work to do. Ramuda understood that he couldn’t be in the operation room –although he wished he could–, but Jakurai felt bad about it. Old habits die hard, and he was distressed about not being able to directly help during the procedure.

However, he used his lunch break to make his partner some company. He knew his teammates would be coming soon, as they had promised to keep him entertained until the moment came. His surgery was scheduled at 16:00, and they would also wait for him to come out of the operation room.

Jakurai knocked softly on the white door, and entered the room after hearing Ramuda’s voice confirming he could come in. He knew that the designer mustn’t eat now, so he tried to somehow hide his lunchbox. As soon as the younger man realized, he laughed and encouraged him to eat.

“It’s your lunch break, silly! If you don’t eat now you won’t be able to do so later, and your patients need you on tip-top condition!”

“But it would be rude to eat in front of you, since you cannot eat before surgery…” Jakurai’s voice sounded sincerely concerned, as he was forgetting his own needs.

“Here you go again” he mumbled, rising to his feet and walking to the doctor’s side. “I’m ok, dummy. I will eat later, and y’know, my Posse will bring me a whoooole feast!” he laughed it off, grabbing the sleeve of his white coat. “Seriously, don’t worry about me. I will be fine! I mean, I’m kinda hungry, but you are working and need to eat”. Jakurai was going to counterattack, but Ramuda shushed him down. “If you don’t eat now Imma get angry! If you won’t do it for yourself and your own health and well-being, then… Do it for your patients?”

The doctor sighed softly, having been hit on his weak spot –his need to help–.

“Very well, then”. Ramuda wasn’t the right one to talk about self-care and preserving his own health, but he left the argument for another day. It was something they both have to keep working on, and they decided to help each other out.

“Bone apple teeth!” Said Ramuda jokingly as he saw him eat the first spoonful, making the older man to raise an eyebrow.

“Fascinating… I think that’s not the proper way to say it; however, it does sound similar”.

Ramuda bursted out laughing, and the doctor smiled tenderly. He would do anything to keep that smile on his face, and was willing to protect it forever.

Between laughs and fascination, Jakurai’s break was over sooner than they would have wanted it to be. The doctor neatly put everything back on his lunchbox before leaving, letting it down for a moment by the bedside table.

“I’ll see you in a couple of hours, then” said the designer, leaning in for a kiss. Jakurai was already on his way to kiss his forehead, so the gesture was well received. After that he nodded, cupping his beloved’s pale cheek.

“I will be by your side by the time you wake up. I will be waiting for you as long as I need to wait”.

Luckily for Ramuda, he wasn’t alone with his thoughts for long; for his dear friends arrived barely 25 minutes after his dear doctor left.

“Hey there man! How ya feelin’, huh?” Dice announced himself in that way, taking the seat by the left side of the bed.

“I’m tootes good! Not nervous at all, nope!”

“Heavens, and yet you dare call me the liar…” Gentaro added, closing the door behind him.

“But I’m not lying...” The writer rose an eyebrow, keeping direct eye contact with his leader. “Geez! Well, okay, maybe I am!”

The writer chuckled, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders. “As if we didn’t know you enough, dear Ramuda”. The chuckle turned into a reassuring smile, and the leader of the Shibuya division thanked the gesture.

“I know this shit is scary and tough, but you got this! In no time at all you’ll be jumpin’ around again, you’ll see!” Dice smile was broader than Gentaro’s, but it was as reassuring as the writer’s was.

“I’m soooo lucky to have you two!” Ramuda yanked them both into a hug, and although it took them by surprise, they joined as soon as they felt his leader’s arms around their shoulders.

“Yeah, and we’re also lucky to have you!” the blue-haired announced with pride, ruffling the designer’s pink hair.

“As our beloved Dice once said,” Gentaro started saying, clearing his voice in order to make it similar to his partner’s, “we are the best, amazing, bounded-tight Posse!”

“Hey, quit messin’ around!” the impersonated man grumbled, much to the impersonator’s and his only public delight.

Their dialogue was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door, and soon after a nurse entered the room.

The three members of Fling Posse quickly went to check the time, realising she came to bring Ramuda to the operation room. He took a deep breath, hugged his teammates tightly, and bis them farewell.

“See you later, Ramuda! I’ll make sure to bring you plenty of snacks!” Dice hugged him as tightly as he was being embraced, sad to leave the hug.

“And I will finance that, for our beloved Dice is as penniless as always”.

Ramuda laughed at their bickering, happy to see them as cheerful as always. Maybe it was selfish of him, but he thought they were doing that for him. Gentaro and Dice didn’t want to see his leader gloomy, so they did their very best to cheer him up. The designer thought that perhaps it was selfish to think so; but that was the truth. They loved him dearly, so it wasn’t selfish of him. It was a reassurance that he was loved and cherished.

The hours went by, the clock ticking its way to noon and, after that, to dawn. Three hours passed, and around seven o’ clock in the evening, Ramuda’s top surgery was successfully completed. All that was left was for him to wake up.

The usual procedure would have been to leave him in the awakening room for up to two hours, until he had fully recovered from the anaesthesia. However, Jakurai’s turn finished a couple of hours ago and, after pulling a couple of strings, he managed to let them take him to his room, where he would personally supervise Ramuda until he woke up. The doctor felt he owed him that, but it wasn’t his only reason- he wanted to be by his side when the designer woke up and, if something happened, be the one to tend him.

When the clock hit quarter to nine, Ramuda started to come back to his senses. Jakurai was by the window, watching the neon lights of Shinjuku flicker; but as soon as he felt movement, he rushed by his partner’s side.

It took the designer fifteen more minutes to fully wake up, still a bit disorientated. When he fully opened his eyes, he encountered Jakurai’s vast oceans looking directly at him, as well as his calm smile.

“Wake up, my dear”. He approached his side, taking a seat by the verge of the bed. He tenderly moved his bangs with his hands, kissing Ramuda’s forehead as full of love as possible.

Ramuda smiled sluggishly, still having a hard time focusing. “I’m awake, silly…”

Jakurai chuckled, caressing his hair softly. “I can see that, dear. You did a great job”.

The designer smiled again, reaching to grab his lover’s hand. “Did I?” Jakurai nodded in response, leaving him do whatever he wanted with his hand –which was to cuddle it against his cheek–.

They spent almost an hour cuddling in silence, enough for Ramuda to completely awake. As his energy came back, he felt more and more excited to feel his chest. Thankfully enough, since he was small and slim, the scars wouldn’t be that big. They would be visible under his nipples, but it didn’t matter. He would wear them with pride, as a badge that showed his victory over Chuuoku again. The doctor felt he was fully recovered from the anaesthesia now, and was glad to see him cheerful again.

Ramuda turned to him with puppy eyes, as if asking permission. As much as it pained Jakurai, he left him out of the embrace, helping him to sit on the bed. He understood his look: he wanted to check it for himself.

“I wouldn’t advise taking the bandages off, but you can feel your chest. It should not hurt much”. Ramuda’s smile broadened, and as he muttered his thanks, he put his own hands on his chest. The anaesthesia was wearing off and it was a bit uncomfortable, but the sheer joy of feeling himself completely flat made him forget about that. After years of using a binder, of feeling those tiny bumps under it no matter what, they were finally gone. No more binding, no more swimming shirts and no more hiding. There was nothing to hide now.

Tears of joy started to roll down his cheeks, and Jakurai quickly wiped them for him.

“Congratulations, my love”. His voice sounded full of joy, hope and love. All of that, things that Ramuda and he deserved, and now they were getting. Seeing the designer unable to move much due to the bandages and his own feelings, he made the first move and hugged him, letting Ramuda’s head on his shoulder. The embrace was mutual, the younger man hugging his waist as tightly as his chest let him.

With teary eyes and the brightest of smiles, he looked up to Jakurai, who cupped his cheek and kissed him fondly. They remained like that for a couple of minutes, which quickly turned into half an hour.

“Ramuda?” He asked with a gentle voice, as if he was afraid it would scare him. He then realized he had fallen asleep, and let out an affectionate sigh. He carefully moved him back to the bed, letting him rest after tucking him in. As soon as he was sure he was soundly asleep, he walked to the window, watching the restless streets of his Shinjuku as alive as every night.

Jakurai was happy. He knew this was important for Ramuda, so he tried his best to look calm. Inside, his brain had been worrying about the designer all day, making it difficult for him to focus on his job. He spent all his free time sighing and looking at the clock, which was unusual of him: he never worried about how much of his shift was left; but today he was driven by his own worries and guilt. Jakurai fought bravely against said guilt and managed to control the situation and himself. Still, he couldn’t wait to see Ramuda. He needed to see him alright, and being unable to control the situation was driving him insane.

And now, after a long intervention and an even longer day, it was done. The doctor watched Ramuda sleeping in the reflection of the window, and smiled again. He could see his chest rising softly as he breathed, and that was what ultimately made him keep smiling. All his worries left with that sight, his mind regaining peace.

Fatigue was taking its toll over him, so the doctor decided to sit down by the bed. His plan was to rest his eyes and legs for a bit, wanting to keep himself awake all night to watch over Ramuda. Before he could realize, though, he fell asleep holding his partner’s hand. It had been a long day, and his body talked louder than his plans.

As if the designer knew whose hand was holding his, he grabbed it back in his sleep.

Outside, the hustle of bustle of Shinjuku was never-ending. It didn’t matter to the couple, as they were soundly asleep side by side. At the end of the day, that was what kept them moving forward. They had been through a lot as a couple, but it was their similarities and wills what brought them back together. They still had a lot to work on, but one step at a time. For now, they had earned their peace and happiness, and they were going to spend it doing what their hearts desired the most –although it took them long to realize it– : being by each other’s side.

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