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chosonore · 3 years

Text

part two | yearning

yearning [noun. a strong feeling of wishing for something, especially something that you cannot have or get easily]

pairing: kamo noritoshi/f!reader

summary: your relationship with noritoshi was like a game of cat and mouse; no matter how hard you tried to escape from him, he would always find his way back to you.

wordcount: 8.2k

content/warnings: friends to enemies to lovers, language, somewhat suggestive, noritoshi is kind of a dick but i promise it gets better so please don’t lose faith in him, we’re somewhat following the timeline of the anime/manga so spoilers ahead!! but what follows afterwards is purely pulled out of my ass lol, lowercase intended [UNEDITED]

a/n: hello, here i am again with a super long chapter ( ˙꒳˙ ) it is so incredibly messy and i’m so sorry if it gets confusing for you; this just really shows how sporadic my writing process is, i have some guidelines that i follow but sometimes venture off my path when i suddenly get a new idea. nevertheless, i hope you can somewhat enjoy this chapter. feedback or just your thoughts are much appreciated! for those that are waiting for the ~steamy~ content, it is coming next chapter hehe. as always, stay safe everyone (´｡• ᵕ •｡`)

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"noritoshi, could you just stay quiet today? i'm really not in the mood," you sighed as you entered the training grounds. the exhaustion from the mission the day before was clinging onto your bones, heavy and admonishingly. the normally exciting sparring lessons seemed dreadful, knowing that all students were to practice today. to practice the balance within the team, utahime had claimed the week prior as she was reprimanding your lack of discipline when it came to noritoshi. stubbornness ran in the family; you refused to back down when someone was hurting your pride. said stubbornness came back to bite you - instead of taking a break to fully recover, you claimed that you would be fine with the help of your reverse curse techniques.

as the days came and went, the yearly tournament slowly approached. after the devastating defeat last year, everyone was on edge and determined to beat tokyo tech. well, that excluded todo, he was just looking for stronger opponents it seemed. noritoshi, on other hand, appeared to be more agitated than usual - if he wasn't barking orders at the other students, he would criticize their fighting styles. you knew he wanted to win the tournament at all costs, to prove himself worthy of the position as the kamo clan head. but he was too rigid about it, rarely accepting help and haughty when questioned. you've been avoiding him as best as you could and of all days, today had to be one where you could not. opponents would be swapped every ten minutes so everyone could practice with another student - facing noritoshi for ten minutes was easy. so you thought.

"can't promise anything, princess," noritoshi retorted smugly and pat your head like he usually did when he was trying to get a reaction out of you. life always found a way to prove you wrong. for some reason, noritoshi had made it his goal to get under your skin as much as possible on this particular day and it worked. it was childish to engage in this banter but you couldn’t help it. the feeling of not being taken serious by noritoshi had always bothered you. it almost seemed like he wasn’t considering you equal to him, always looking down on you. being stressed wasn’t good, your mother had always reminded you, so it was best to remain calm and collected.

stay calm and collected, calm and collected, you repeated in your head. gritting your teeth, you slapped his hand away and jogged away from him towards todo. at least he'd leave you alone while you were near todo - probably to avoid todo getting mad at him and not wanting to hear about takada-chan again. he was the ultimate and fool-proof shield. the taller male was walking at a leisurely pace in front of you, leading the group as per usual. you caught up to him, slowing down so it didn't look like you just jogged all the way here. away from the menace that was noritoshi. todo glanced at you suspiciously before subtly turning around. a guilty groan left your lips. of course he knew, he always knew. as the unlikely friendship was blossoming between the two of you, you rapidly realized that todo was far more perceptive than he would ever let on. even though he took lighthearted jabs at you, he didn't care enough to intervene; it was a mutual understanding. in a way, you appreciated that he treated you like everyone else, not once had he tried to approach you about your deteriorating relationship with noritoshi.

upon seeing the unlikely pair, miwa speed up as well to join them. even though todo scared her to no end, your presence eased her nerves a little. after all, you weren’t scared to put him back in his place when he was being dramatic. she nudged you gently in greeting, nervously clasping her sword in front of her. "do you think we'll win this year's competition? we've been training a lot, so i hope i can show off some of my skills."

"never say never? even if we lose, it's a good experience to learn from," you replied wryly. while the students of the kyoto tech were strong and coordinated well with each other, noritoshi and you could easily destroy the balance. he didn't know when to stop, persistently pushing your boundaries and you fell for his tricks every time. as long as you could work out a strategy that involved working alone or with a partner that was not him, you'd be fine. your safest bet was to work with miwa since you were both sword users and have practiced together extensively. if noritoshi and you exhibited enough chaos to tear the world apart, miwa and you represented the perfect balance when fighting.

"you're our secret weapon though!" miwa exclaimed excitedly, elbowing you gently. "no one knows you can heal, so we'll use that to our advantage."

"uh…"

"what? don't tell me you-"

"i've asked yuta about advice before," you interrupted her, scratching your head sheepishly. "he's one of the very few people who can use reverse cursed techniques, so i asked him to give me some pointers and how to use it more to my advantage."

when yuta participated in the competition the year before, you were absolutely mesmerized by his level of skills and how he had supposedly mastered them in such a short amount of time. of course you hadn't told anyone that you were talking to him - everyone was still salty about the defeat and would, undoubtedly, have crucified you on sight. truthfully, you didn't understand why everyone was so hellbent about hating the students of your sister school. weren't you all colleagues in a sense? yuta was nice and respectful towards you, always trying his best to explain you how to implement his tips. along the way, you might have developed a tiny, fleeting crush on him but never acted on it. it was only a crush after all and you didn’t feel certain about it not being a mere distraction from your feelings for noritoshi. perhaps it was the way he made you feel, the way he treated you like noritoshi used to before. you couldn't even deny it, you missed your old 'toshi. when you looked at him now, it hurt you, seeing all the traces of gentleness having left him.

"really? you never told me! what is he like? he looked like he was really nice but there were moments where i was really scared of him. well maybe not him but rather… that curse."

"uh, yuta is actually not that scary. he's really helpful and always there for you when you need advice. i think i've improved a lot since we've started talking." you made a mental note to thank yuta again if you got to see each other anytime soon. apparently, gojo had sent him on a mission overseas a few months back and ever since, your exchanged messages grew to be rather sporadic. still, you appreciated that he made an effort to text you every now and then to let you know how he was doing and in turn, also asked about your wellbeing.

"fraternizing with the enemy, i see," noritoshi's voice rang out beside you, dangerously close to your ear. it made you jump in surprise, not having sensed him earlier - your hand automatically shot out to hit him, only for him to catch it in time. you shot him an annoyed glare. beside you, miwa and todo glanced at each other, silently agreeing to ignore the squarreling pair.

"i don't see how that's any of your business."

"it is if it jeopardizes our chance at winning," noritoshi narrowed eyes at you in suspicion. of course he didn't trust you, you were nothing but a mild inconvenience to him. you didn't owe him an explanation, not today and not in the future. any friendship or friendliness between you was long gone. refusing to look into his eyes, you attempted to tug your hand away from him but instead accomplished the exact opposite as noritosh tightened his grip. "what did you tell him?"

"he only helped me with training, that's all! it doesn't concern you anyways so-"

noritoshi was irritated, you could tell. the anger was rolling off him in waves, intimidating even you. why was he so annoyed by the fact that you asked yuta for advice? it wasn't even farfetched - the only other alternatives were gojo and ieiri, both of which you hadn't mustered up the courage to ask yet. wasn't it in everyone's best interest for you to become a great healer? noritoshi would know best - he was the driving force behind your ambition, the sole reason why you worked to the brink of exhaustion just to show him that you didn’t need his help, that you were worthy of a higher rank.

"i don't want you to hang out with the tokyo tech kids, especially not with him."

"wait, what?" you gaped at him in disbelief. "is this just because you have personal beef with some of them? leave me out of this, i just want to improve and you don't get to tell me what to do." with that you shoved the taller male, stomping past the other students towards utahime who was looking at you in disapproval. you missed the upset frown on noritoshi's face as he followed you, wanting to reach out but stopping midway. it wasn't the right time or place to let you know why he didn't want you around them, not yet. seeing you hang out and being relaxed with everyone else but him hurt him, oh how it hurt him. he wanted you close to him, only see him, talk about him excitedly and with stars in your eyes like you did when you talked about yuta. and yet, he couldn't let you know. the only way to keep you orbiting around him was to play these silly games, rile you up and drawing a reaction out of you. it was the only way to make you pay attention to him. and so he did.

calm and collected, my ass, you thought two hours later. of course todo and noritoshi had completely eviscerated the rest of the students with no mercy, leaving everyone in a sour mood. whatever strategy your team would have for the tournament was probably thrown out the window, the two of them would take care of it anyways. not that they would stand a chance against yuta.

“yuta isn’t here?” the disappointment in your voice was palpable. you did look forward to meeting yuta again, thinking that he might have come home from his overseas trip for the tournament. but you supposed getting to know the other students wasn’t too bad, you were interested in the first years and their skills. they certainly looked more approachable than your classmates. miwa told you how todo and mai had met two of them a few weeks prior and promptly started a senseless fight that was then stopped by the second years. it landed them in the water as utahime gave them a lecture - while she didn't tolerate the childish behaviour, everyone else seemed to turn a blind eye to it. noritoshi had scoffed in disapproval upon hearing the news, uttering something about not wanting to associate with dimwits like them.

"nope, he's still overseas. it doesn't matter anyways, we'll still beat you without him," maki replied with a confident grin, arms crossed as she took in the kyoto tech group of students. regardless, you broke out in a sprint and jumped, engulfing her in a warm hug. while you two didn't talk as much as yuta and you did, you were still friends. she was a source of inspiration to you, a master of all kinds of weapons whom you deeply admired. maki gave you some awkward pats before pulling away to introduce you to the first years - megumi, yuji and nobara. the younger students were wary of you, most likely because of their encounter with todo and mai. you couldn't hold it against them, their intensity and stubbornness was something you had to deal with daily after all. you silently cursed the two brash students before taking a deep breath and extending your hand to the ones in front of you.

“hi, i’m y/n, nice to meet you,” you introduced yourself with a friendly smile, visibly relieved when they shook your hand and introduced themselves. especially nobara seemed to be eager to get to know you, fussing over your uniform and inquiring about your skills. you were glad they welcomed you, not wanting to cause any more trouble than would undoubtedly arise for the duration of the tournament. while megumi seemed to be cautious and more reserved around you, yuuji and nobara already treated you like their friend. subconsciously, you envied them for the wholesome friendship dynamic as it reminded you of what you used to have with noritoshi. the fleeting thoughts left as soon as they made an appearance in your head, disappearing when nobara grasped your hand and pulled you towards the buildings to show you around. unbothered by the reactions of your fellow kyoto tech classmates, you followed her - their energy was stifling and the tournament didn't start until later in the day anyways. it was useless to stay with your group and practice, you'd only overexert yourself.

“y/n.” noritoshi called after you sternly, glaring at you when you turned to look at him - ever since stepping foot into the estate, he was moody and more serious than usual. it was probably him being tense about the tournament, the spirit to win deeply ingrained in his bones. none of the other students seemed to be bothered by the presence of the tokyo tech students, so why should he? ignoring him, you continued your journey until you felt a force harshly pulling you back by the fabric of your hoodie. intuitively, you could tell it was noritoshi.

"noritoshi, let me go," you snapped at him irritated, struggling to free yourself from his grasp.

"we have things to discuss, did you forget that?"

"i don't want to," like a petulant child, you gave him an angry look as you stood your ground. tension filled the space between you, tethering on the edge of anger. why was a normal conversation never possible with him? and why did he treat you like a child? you let up when megumi appeared to your side, shooting noritoshi a warning glance as he attempted to remove his hand from yours. even though he didn't know what your relationship was like, he stepped in regardless - you were impressed by him. even if noritoshi remained calm, he was a menace to deal with afterwards.

"she said no, didn't you hear-"

"get your hands off of her." noritoshi growled at megumi, the sudden influx of cursed energy that was surrounding him made all students in close proximity freeze. you couldn't hide you shock either, he had never been this threatening towards someone else. he might push boundaries to the extreme, knowing that he could away with it due to his bloodline and family name but he had never outright threatened anyone that didn't do his bidding. with those words he pulled you towards him, wrapping his arm around your waist protectively. paralyzed, you blankly stared at him. his cursed energy was suffocating you, never had you experienced this amount of pressure. not only that, the unusual closeness set your heart ablaze, burning down the walls that you'd carefully constructed around it.

"you're being ridiculous," megumi challenged the older male, unbothered by the strong pressure. he didn't understand why noritoshi was making a big deal out of this. surely he didn't consider megumi a threat? noritoshi's hold on you strengthened and with panic you realized the blood-red markings appearing on his face, he was being serious, oh god he was going to rip megumi apart-

"hey hey, stop it you two," panda's voice snapped you out of your trance and seemingly noritoshi's as well as he wacked his arm. "you just got here and you're already stirring up trouble, are you not ashamed?"

noritoshi simply scoffed and let you go, his cursed energy dissipating with the movement. the rest of the students were as stunned as you were, no one daring to make another move until the tension evaporated. todo was the only one who looked rather annoyed, smacking the back of noritoshi’s head as he started to tell him off - noritoshi, however, kept walking past him towards the dorms that they were staying at for the week. it was almost like there was steam coming off his head as a result of holding his anger in. nobara gaped at you in surprise, pointing at you accusingly. “i didn’t know that was your boyfriend!”

you spluttered in horror, quickly reaching out to her to try and cover her mouth so she wouldn’t say anything incriminating. “n- no you got it wrong! we��re not together, not at all! i hate noritoshi,” you floundered, hastily trying to set the record straight. nobara didn’t look like she believed you, pushing your hands away while giggling. she wiggled her eyebrows at you, whispering at you about how lucky you were to snag such a handsome guy although she thought that he really didn’t have to overreact like that because megumi was harmless. covering your face in embarrassment, you turned away from her and caught a glimpse of an amused todo winking at you.

“i’m serious, nobara!" whatever whining you did, the two of them didn’t let up, making you wonder what you ever did wrong to deserve this scrutiny. as your last resort you grabbed nobara's hand, dragging her along towards a secluded area in the estate. being the subject of the earlier conflict was already troubling enough, you didn't want the other students to get the wrong idea by her wild speculations. nobara was still giggling when you arrived, pinching your arm playfully.

“c’mon, it’s impossible that there is not something between you! did you see the look on his face? i don’t think he would have cared had it been any other person,” she gushed excitedly, her face lighting up in glee. with no doubt, nobara enjoyed poking her nose in other people's business, seemingly having a knack for sniffing out the hidden. a dejected sigh left your lip. a younger you would have jumped in happiness after finally receiving noritoshi's attention but the present you knew better. there wasn't more to it, you told yourself and yet, a tiny sliver of doubt made its way into your mind. could he really have been so bothered by another male being so close to you? todo didn't count, obviously.

"no, there's nothing to it, i promise. we don't have the best relationship anymore and mostly fight. i mean yeah his reaction was really uncharacteristic but…"

"anymore?"

"noritoshi and me grew up together and were childhood friends. i- i didn't agree with his antics as we grew up and we drifted apart after that and now… hate each other? he’s just unbearable and we don’t get along. everyone at kyoto tech knows that so they’re mostly ignoring our fights. and it’s childish, i know, i know..."

“are you sure? like super duper sure? because it didn’t look like it to me,” nobara contemplatively rubbed her chin. the wheels were turning in her head, something didn’t quite add up. even at first glance, whatever you said made her feel doubtful.

“trust me, i wish it was different too. i mean i used to like him a lot and it makes me sad and i wish we could at least be civil around each other. but he just makes me so angry,” your ramblings stopped nobara’s thinking - so that’s what it was. normally, nobara really didn’t care about other people’s business but this was too juicy to pass up. how far could she push it to make you realize?

why was the layout of all these buildings so confusing? and why were there so many buildings to begin with? you’ve been wandering around for at least five minutes now and you still couldn’t figure out where the hell yuji’s and megumi’s rooms were supposed to be. they didn’t even have any signs around. at this point, it didn’t matter if it took longer than anticipated - the others could wait. nobara had insisted on having a small get together the night before, to get to know each other and play some card games. you couldn’t refuse, it’s been a while since you just hung out with friends without any quarreling. there was no harm in getting to know you future colleagues, even though your classmates were treating them like criminals. so instead of going herself and much to your dismay, nobara had sent you to fetch the other two students, claiming that you would be fine if you just stuck to the measly sketch she’d made for you. most of the rooms you’ve already knocked at remained empty so you couldn’t be far from their rooms, you concluded.

stopping in front of the last remaining door of the corridor, you took a deep breath. this had to be one of their rooms. slowly, you raised your hand to knock at the door when it was suddenly yanked open, startling you in the process and making you drop the piece of paper you were holding. what you weren’t expecting was coming face to face with noritoshi who looked at you as equally confused. he was the last person you wanted to see today, not wanting to confront him about his actions earlier. you couldn’t wrap your head around it; why had he overreacted in such a way? it wasn’t like you were in danger or in need of protection. for a brief moment, you thought that there was a sliver of strange possessiveness. you couldn’t quite place the emotions in his eyes, it made you shudder.

“oh uh, sorry. i was looking for yuji and megumi and this is very obviously not one of their rooms. sorry again. i’ll take my leave,” you awkwardly stammered, taking a step back. noritoshi’s figure was towering over you and in a rare moment, you felt intimidated by him. perhaps it was the dark look in his eyes that told you that he was not thrilled by what you just told him. before you could react, he swiftly grabbed your arm and pulled you inside his room, trapping you against the door.

“w- wait!” you protested weakly, pushing at his chest until his face slowly came into your vision. you couldn’t help but stare at his lips, watching them move as he was talking to you. your ears were ringing, you couldn’t tell what he was saying. the close proximity was suffocating and yet you craved more, not wanting to let him go.

“y/n? did you hear me?”

“huh?” snapping out of your trance, you looked at him dumbfounded. noritoshi was frowning at you, slightly concerned about your state as you didn’t answer him. just then you finally got a proper look at him. it was a rare sight; noritoshi wearing casual clothes, a simple oversized shirt and shorts, and his hair down without the bindings. feeling nostalgic, your heart clenched. he looked like his old self, the ‘toshi that you loved dearly.

“i said, i don’t want you around them. i don’t- i don’t like seeing you with them,” noritoshi repeated with a strained voice. he placed his hands beside your head, inching closer to you.

“what- noritoshi, you don’t get to tell me who i can hang out with! last time i checked, we’re not even friends anymore so where do you get the idea that you can do this? what’s the big deal ab-” you didn’t get to finish your sentence when he pressed his lips against yours clumsily. you seized up in shock, not returning the kiss as a whirlwind of thoughts entered your mind. holy shit, he was really kissing you. but you hated each other, so why? why, why, why. when you didn’t respond, noritoshi pulled away in panic, spluttering apologies as he moved away from you. your emotional world was in chaos, all the buried and forgotten feelings for him breaking the dams and flooding your senses until the yearning became too much. you were reminded of the conversation you had with your mother years ago - you still wanted him, missed him. you wanted him by your side. desperately, you reached out, fisting the fabric of his shirt as you leaned up to kiss him. noritoshi caught you in his arms, wrapping them around you as he fervently returned the kiss. he was holding you like he was afraid you would dissipate into thin air, frantically pulling you in. his hands were roaming, discovering the expanse of your body.

his touches left you feeling delirious, high on pleasure. a mewl left your lips, pleading him for something, for more. your hands moved higher, feeling his chest and broad shoulders before you wrapped your arms around his neck. his name left your lips in breathy sighs as he peppered kisses down your jaw, pulling the collar of your shirt to the side to gain more access to the expanse of your neck. suddenly, you were hoisted up and pressed against the door as noritoshi held you by your thighs. you struggled to wrap your legs around his waist, to distracted by his relentless ministrations. by the time he's left multiple hickeys on your neck, you were whimpering mess. noritoshi's breath was taken away at the sight of you in his arms, lips swollen from the kisses, the glossy eyes, dishevelled hair and the hickeys that were slowly becoming more visible. he couldn't understand how carelessly you were letting him proceed when you supposedly harboured a strong dislike for him. nevertheless, he enjoyed it and wanted to savour the moment, ingrain it into his memory so he'd never forget why he was treating you like a nuisance.

a loud knock resounded from the door, followed by someone shouting: "noritoshi? has y/n been here?"

out of sheer shock, you shoved noritoshi away from you and nearly fell as you attempted to detangle yourself from him. he caught you in time, signalling you to stay quiet as the person outside was still shuffling around nervously. you slumped against him limply, letting your head rest against his chest. his heart was beating erratically. it made yours fill with pride as you could tell that you had the same effect on him as he did on you. still, the precarious situation suddenly dawned on you - you'd just made out with your sworn enemy and, yes you used to have a crush on him, enjoyed it very much. and by the looks of it, he would have continued if you hadn't pushed him away. the entire ordeal greatly confused you; was noritoshi just playing around with you? it couldn't be, he had initiated it after all. the cold treatment he usually gave you didn't match with his actions just now. you couldn't get close to him, not when he gave you mixed signals. you wanted someone who cherished you and was always sincere so you wouldn't have to second guess their actions.

"huh, i guess noritoshi's already sleeping. we'll have to check somewhere else, i hope she didn't get lost," the person outside mumbled as you stayed silent. the sound of shuffling was heard, then steps away from the room. you stayed put until you were sure they were gone and gently removed yourself from noritoshi's grip, not looking him in the eyes. he didn’t move, letting you go willingly.

“i’m sorry, i don’t know what came over me,” you apologized with a pained voice. “please forget that it ever happened and uhm, please don’t tell anyone.”

noritoshi’s eyes widened at your pleas, moving to stop you from leaving so he could explain himself to you. “y/n, wait, i can ex-”

hastily, you stumbled to open the door, dashing away from him until the building was out of your sight. you poorly hid behind a tree, sinking to your knees as you buried your face in your hands. what the hell. you just made out with your childhood friend turned enemy. your buried feelings were all over the place and your mind just couldn’t stay still. it messed with your outlook as well as your image of noritoshi, distorting and twisting it until you had to rethink your relationship. maybe all this time, you subconsciously hoped that he would return back to his old self and somehow give you an explanation. never having received closure on the end of your friendship, you would even forgive him for the sake of your relationship. were you this shallow? no, you simply harboured a lot of feelings for him. you weren’t able to tell what his thought process was - was he even interested in you? did he see you like that?

“there you are,” you lifted your head to see gojo walking towards you with his hands stuffed inside the pockets of his pants. you almost didn’t recognize him as he simply wore a pair of sunglasses and let his hair down. “the others are looking for you. what are you doing out here? trouble in paradise?”

“n-no! i just needed some time away from everyone to- to catch my breath,” you exclaimed indignantly and perhaps too hastily you realized when gojo smirked at you knowingly. why did everyone assume that there was anything between noritoshi and you? was it that obvious?

“uh huh. that’s not what your neck says,” gojo pointed out while wiggling his eyebrows and offered you a hand to stand up. “he really doesn’t like any competition.”

“fuck,” you cursed quietly, covering the hickeys with one hand while taking gojo’s with your other and pulling yourself up. it was embarrassing enough to meet one of the teachers like this but it was even more embarrassing to know that your teacher had seen the aftermath of your makeout session.

“i’m not gonna tell anyone, if that’s what you’re concerned about. although it would certainly be funny to tease little noritoshi,” gojo was giggling and you knew he was greatly amused by the entire situation. it almost reminded you of nobara. you groaned in frustration as you trailed behind him towards the girls’ dorms. you needed to hide your neck so no one would question it or grill you until you confessed; the potential embarrassment was mortifying.

your group strategy was already falling apart when todo suddenly disappeared in the depths of the forest, not caring about your teamwork in the slightest. normally, it would frustrate you a lot more if you weren’t already preoccupied with your own troubles. todo would be fine anyways, the remaining group members could work on a strategy on their own. as mechamaru and mai were discussing, you shot a glance at noritoshi. he looked as deadpan as usual, probably not listening to the discussion as he worked better on his own and it was more or less decided that mechamaru and him would be moving on their own while the others would team up. otherwise, you couldn’t tell whether he was bothered by what had transpired between you the night before. on the contrary, he looked calm and composed, probably more focused on his goal than anything else. and for some reason it bothered you.

when you’d returned to nobara’s room last night, gojo had helped you make up an excuse. while dramatically gesturing around, he’d told them that he intercepted her journey towards the boys’ dorms to recruit you for training, claiming that he wanted to teach you more about reverse cursed techniques. although he saved you from scrutiny and embarrassment, you couldn’t help but feel like he might use it as leverage in the future. it was gojo after all, he was unpredictable. absentmindedly, you agreed to whatever plan the others had schemed and grabbed your sword, getting ready to move to your assigned position with miwa. while you had heard of the other students’ skills, you weren’t sure where to place their levels as there was always room for surprises. underestimating opponents was a beginner's mistake. the bell rang out, signaling the start of the tournament; with swift movements, the group members dispersed and slowly moved towards the "enemy".

in the distance, you could already hear loud explosions - it was probably mechamaru happily blasting away his opponents. you gritted your teeth in annoyance, the blasts were too loud for you to make out anyone approaching you. and as you predicted, someone was taking advantage of the noise to stalk up on you. barely being able to block the blow with your sword, you found yourself opposite of maki who was grinning at you. the challenging glint in her eyes told you that she wasn't going to go easy on you but you welcomed it. it was a good opportunity for you to grow and hone your sword wielding skills.

however, it proved to be more difficult to defeat maki than you'd originally anticipated. in mere minutes, maki had already disarmed miwa, leaving her defenseless and you were hanging on a bare thread. your grip on the sword was weakening, laboured breath making your ears ring. it was frustrating, knowing that after all those months of rigorous practice, you still couldn't win a fight. giving up wasn't an option, at the very least you had to give it your all.

"c'mon, you can do better than this!" maki teased you as you ducked away from the swipe of her spear. it missed you by a hair's width and left you scrambling to create more distance between you so you could heal yourself. maki's relentless hits didn't give you any rooms for it - you really had to learn how to constantly apply it to yourself without losing time. from the corner of your eyes, you could see that miwa had picked up the phone. she was probably calling for help, you thought and dished out another hit towards maki which she skillfully dodged. instead, she delivered another blow to your legs, making your knees buckle from the force. you used your sword to support you and took another breath before you tried to lunge at her. in the distance, miwa suddenly collapsed, making you stop mid-move and took another hit from maki that took all the air in your lungs.

"eyes on your opponent, y/n. you know better than to get distracted in a fight, you could've been killed in a real fight," maki reprimanded you as you coughed heavily, gasping for air as you slowly got back up. you were unsteady on your feet, not having enough energy to even heal yourself. conflicted by whether you should face maki again or help miwa, your eyes were flitting between them. maki took advantage of your uncertainty, dealing another blow to you that knocked the sword out of your hand. as your last resort, you kicked at her feet, trying to get her to fall, only to have her pin you to the ground.

"you're going to have to practice a lot more to beat me in the future," she sighed, picking up your sword. panic welled up in your chest - the sword was the only way you could possibly somewhat win this fight but even subconsciously you knew that it was over. reaching out for the sword in desperation, your vision was clouded with tears. it was frustrating, so so frustrating. why couldn't you be as talented as her? or have fast reflexes like noritoshi? why were you ordinary, not being able to make any progress no matter how hard you try?

"i know but i can't give up now!" you defiantly retorted, pushing at her with all might. "i have to win, i just have to show my skills for once and prove myself, i- i-"

even maki softened up at your heart wrenching sobs, easing up on her grip. you both knew it was over. you were probably already eliminated from the tournament, with no other possibility to redeem yourself. she knew that you tried your best and never once underestimated her but something irked her. it was your motivation, your driving force.

"y/n, there's no shame in losing. that's how you grow, make mistakes and learn from them. you tried your best, it's not easy to stand against me for so long."

"i know but there's- i'm still not where i need to be! look at how much progress the others are making in comparison to me! i've been practicing day and night and still, no one is noticing me. i'm just a measly healer and i-"

"y/n." maki cut you off sternly. "is this your motivation? proving yourself to others? you'll not be able to improve if you keep fighting for others. you need to start working on yourself, for yourself. you don't owe anyone anything. but you have to realize that trying to satisfy other people's needs will only make you unhappy and hinder your growth."

"i'm unhappy with my skills! i keep telling myself that it's okay, that i have a rare cursed technique but sometimes i just wish i had a flashy technique or be as strong as you. i don't want to be looked at as if i need protection, i don't want it! i just-" you hiccuped, sniffling again as you wiped your tears with the sleeves of your uniform. "i just want someone to acknowledge me, want him to accept me as an equal…"

"who?" maki's cold look made you freeze in your movements. you didn't mean to let that slip. no one needed to know that the entire time, you were vying for noritoshi's attention. but she was right; there was no point in giving it your all if it wasn't for yourself. it was a silly, childish dream of yours to be equal with him again. he was far out of reach and you couldn't catch up to him.

"n- noritoshi," you admitted in defeat. maki saw right through you, there was no point in lying. she raised her eyebrows at you but didn't question it further. after all, you hadn't told her about the background story. unless nobara had done so, you wouldn't doubt it.

"i'm not gonna ask you why. but this is my advice, do not fight for somebody else. if you relentlessly work on yourself for your own benefit, you'll see progress a lot faster. your technique might not be flashy but it is powerful, remember that. you're a valuable asset to every team," she concluded and pulled you up, awkwardly patting your back as you still sniffled. maki opened her mouth to tell you some comforting words but froze when another extremely loud boom resounded near the entrance of the estate. your eyes widened at the sudden influx of cursed energy - there was no doubt that a high-level curse had just entered the school grounds. you turned to maki to tell her the news but she'd already moved, pointing to miwa.

"take her to a safe place, you can't stay here! in your state, you wouldn't last against such a strong curse," maki yelled at you as she disappeared in the woods. you scrambled frantically, not wanting to be left behind. while you were useless for the tournament, you could at least still be of assistance against a curse. miwa was still laying on the ground, unmoving. you shook her gently, scared that she was seriously hurt. it seemed like she was just sleeping instead; you were relieved. throwing her across your shoulder, you winced in pain but persisted nonetheless. you had to get her away from here, who knows what curses were roaming around. your senses were flooded with the stench of blood and debris, the pressure of cursed energy, the loud rumbles. you couldn't tell where the others were but you hoped they were safe.

a loud thud startled you and you stopped, ready to draw your sword until realization hit you that it was utahime that was inspecting you. determined, you thrusted miwa's limp body towards utahime.

"miwa will be okay, she's just sleeping! i'm okay too, don't worry, please just take care of her and i'll check on the others!"

"y/n, don't be stupid! you're injured and in no state to help others." utahime attempted to convince you; you shook her off stubbornly, insisting that you were fine.

"what if the others get hurt? i have to help them or at least warn them!" your resolve was firm and unwavering that even utahime couldn't convince you otherwise. slipping out of her grasp, you sprinted towards the source of the cursed energy. from far away you could already see the damage that the curse had caused. multiple buildings were torn apart, trees dislodged and- were those branches rapidly growing out of the ground? you watched in horror as the branches whipped around, following running figures on the rooftop of one of the buildings. upping your speed, you jumped towards the group to aid them. as you neared them, you could make out inumaki, noritoshi, and megumi fighting against the curse, maki trailing close behind.

they barely stood a chance against the curse, every hit that they dealt, the curse would come out unscathed. "what's the deal with that curse?" you asked, panting as you joined them, coming to a halt behind inumaki. megumi was yelling something but you couldn't hear him as noritoshi turned to you and shoved you out of the way.

"y/n, what are you doing here?"

"helping you guys? what the fuck does it look like?" you yelled back exasperated. why was he mad at you in such a situation? they needed any helping hand they could get to defeat the curse. while you weren't useful in fights, you could at least provide continuous healing. noritoshi didn't have any time to reply as the curse lashed out again, dodging it by jumping to the side. you stayed close to inumaki, swiftly healing him when he collapsed from the rebound of his cursed speech. you clenched your jaw, not wanting the others to see that you were slowly running out of energy and strength. next thing you know, a body was hurled through the air, landing near you with a thud. your heart filled with dread when your eyes fell onto the figure, recognizing noritoshi.

"y/n, heal them as best as you can and get out of here! take them to the teachers!" maki yelled out and this time you obeyed, too panicked about noritoshi's state. you were thankful that inumaki had enough energy to run after you'd healed him - hauling noritoshi's tall frame around was already difficult enough but even more so when you were exhausted. as you neared the gates, utahime was already running towards you with a concerned look on her face. you were glad that she was nearby, it meant that gojo and the other teachers were close and could defend you.

"what happened?" utahime worried but you couldn't reply. falling to your knees, you gently laid noritoshi on the ground. the injuries looked bad, there was blood everywhere. you had to stop the wound on his head from bleeding but your trembling hands were preventing you from doing so.

"i- i don't know, i just- i think the curse hit him and now he's unconscious and he's losing so much blood and-"

utahime pinched you firmly, snapping you out of your panic. she was already holding a cloth to noritoshi's temple to stop the bleeding. patting your hand, she told you in a gentle voice: "heal him if you still have enough strength but don't overexert yourself. ieiri will be here soon."

nodding frantically, you placed your trembling hands on his abdomen and let your cursed energy flow. the strength was slowly leaving your body but you had to save him. you had to make sure he was okay, he couldn't die, not like this. regret was bubbling up inside you; what if this was the last time you would ever get to see him?just as you felt his energy responding to yours and saw his hand moving slightly, you couldn't hold yourself upright anymore. the last thing you saw was utahime reaching out to catch you as you collapsed.

you woke up with a startle, gasping for air as you sat up abruptly. sunlight was flooding the room and it felt uncomfortably hot on your skin. you pushed the blanket back but stopped halfway in your movement. your entire body hurt, muscles burning and screaming for more rest. and yet you couldn’t stay still as you remembered the previous events. how long were you out for? was everyone okay? gritting your teeth, you slowly moved out of the room. again, you were faced with the endless maze that was the tokyo tech buildings and stopped in your tracks, not sure which direction to go. you let out a sigh of relief when you spotted yuji in the distance, waving at him to get his attention.

“y/n!” yuji ran towards you, frantically gesturing towards your room. “you’re supposed to be resting! what are you doing here?”

“is everyone okay?” you croaked, now realizing how dry your throat was.

“yeah, ieiri did a good job of healing everyone! some of us are still resting though and so should you.”

“no, i… is noritoshi okay?”

“noritoshi? oh, you mean the guy with the long hair?” yuji nodded, curiously eyeing you as your shoulders dropped, the stress rolling of them. “yeah, he’s still recovering though. ieiri said that his injuries were probably the worst so he’s not allowed to leave the bed.”

“can you take me to him?” you asked with a small voice, doing your best to muster up a puppy face. yuji sighed, scratching his head sheepishly. you could see the conflict in his eyes, that he was thinking about rejecting your request. in the end, he shook his head in defeat and motioned for you to follow him. a small grin found its way onto your lips - yuji was just too nice, he couldn’t say no when people ask him for favours. the walk to noritoshi’s room was silent, neither of you knowing what to say. you knew it was selfish of you not to ask him about his wellbeing more or visit the others but you just had to see for yourself that noritoshi was okay. yuji stopped in front of a door, pointing at it.

“this is his room. he might be sleeping though… my room is down the hall so if you need me to accompany you back to your room, just call me.”

you thanked him quietly and watched as he retreated. taking a deep breath, you knocked at the door and waited for a reply. a few moments passed before noritoshi’s voice rang out, giving you the okay to enter. gingerly, you opened the door and entered the room. noritoshi was sitting on his bed, reading a book as if nothing had happened. you looked at him bewildered. he didn’t look like his injuries fazed him at all. despite the bandages around his head and arms, he remained calm as if nothing hurt.

“noritoshi,” you breathed out, taking a seat on the chair near the bed. he didn’t spare you a look, keeping his eyes on the book. “i uhm. i’m glad you’re okay! when i saw you in that state, i was so so scared that i could lose you… i did my best to heal you, i know i didn’t do much but-”

“i didn’t need your help,” noritoshi snapped at you, placing the book on his lap. “i would’ve been fine without it.”

you were stunned. why was he so agitated? after you initial shock, you huffed in frustration. “what the hell, you could’ve died! i was trying so hard to keep you alive and you react like this? i know you don’t like me but even this is a low blow for you!”

“it wouldn’t have been a problem if you hadn’t inserted yourself into everything! you’re not helping anyone, just dragging us down; everything could’ve gone well if it wasn’t for you standing in the way,” noritoshi countered as frustrated, this time actually looking at you. you stared back at him in disbelief. you saved his life and he had the nerve to shot you down like this.

“does it really hurt your ego to admit that i was actually helpful? we were friends at some point so why do you insist on being such a dick? and here i was, finally thinking that we were getting somewhere- for fuck’s sake, we kissed and-”

“leave.”

you stopped rambling. the tired tone in his voice, the deadpan look on his face; he was serious. you couldn’t believe him. tears welled up in your eyes as you leaped from the chair and hastily exited the room, slamming the door in anger.

you never wanted to see him again.

p.s: yes nobara gave you a wrong sketch of the buildings what about it hehe

taglist: @milkteeboba

#jujutsu kaisen #noritoshi kamo #kamo noritoshi #noritoshi #noritoshi x reader #noritoshi kamo x reader #kamo noritoshi x reader #noritoshi kamo x you #noritoshi x you #kamo noritoshi x you #noritoshi kamo imagines #kamo noritoshi imagines #noritoshi imagines #jujutsu kaisen imagines #fic: sanguine #writing #i am so sorry for the garbage that you just read

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joontier · 3 years

Text

Parallel Palpitations | V1; report i

pairings: dr. park jimin x female reader

chapter rating: NC-17 | genre: romance, slice of life, humor

warnings: none to note

word count: 2k

g/n: this is just an intro basically ksjdfksjdf but i’d also like to inform yalls this coincides with the Subliminal in Scrubs universe (jk’s installment of TWA)

Parallel Palpitations (the records) | navi. | m.list

Closing his locker with his foot, Jimin tries to carefully balance his books placed precariously on top of each other in his arms as he walks back to the dean’s office where he’s also arranging most of his stuff to take home. It’s already been a week since he’d officially graduated medicine from Busan National University, and he had only kept going back to school to gather all his belongings so he could start reviewing.

“Jimin, is that you?” The question almost knocks clumsy Jimin off his feet, surprised at how there was still any other person in the office besides Kyungjo who was also collecting his stuff to take home. Jimin sets all of his books down first on a desk and turns, only to come face to face with none other than Jeon Jungmin himself, associate professor and chairman of the Jeon Medical Center.

“Professor Jeon! Good evening Sir...It’s already late, professor?”

Jeon Jungmin laughs, patting Jimin on the back, “I was going to say the same to you kid. You should go home.” Jimin flashes the older man a small smile, “Ah...yes, Professor. I’m just grabbing the last of my stuff then I’ll be on my way. This won’t take long.”

“It’s fine, Jimin. The staff know you well anyways,” Jungmin sighs, then rests his weight on a pillar as he puts his hands in his pockets. “You know, Jimin...you’re a very bright student...I think even one of the best in Korea if I do say so myself.”

The young man momentarily pauses with what he’s doing, taking in the professor’s words, “Oh, I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, Sir.”

Jungmin chuckles as he shakes his head. “It’s true - you’re driven and you’re smart. It’s a fixed formula for someone who achieves great success in life later on. Your parents must be very proud. I would be too, if you were my son too.”

“Thank you, Professor. Everything I do, I do for my parents.”

The older man lets out a deep exhale and gives Jimin another pat on the back. “Just wanted to let you know that you’re going to be a fine doctor Jimin - and the Jeon Medical Center would definitely need fine doctors like you. I realized I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I really hope you will choose JMC for your post-graduate internship. We have a good program here,” Jungmin’s voice goes down to a whisper, “If you wish to, just let me know…”

Someone enters the office and bows to the both of them and recognizes the same man as the professor’s driver. The man collects the professor’s briefcase and coat with one nod of Jungmin. “Well, I’ll head off first, Jimin. I can give you a ride home if you’re done with those.”

Jimin shakes his head quickly, declining the one and only Jeon Jungmin’s generous offer. He’s unsure about the other offer though, but if he lets himself get a car ride home with the chairman himself, the latter might take it as a favorable answer to his proposal to which Jimin is still undecided. “No thank you Sir. I’ll be alright. This might still take a while after all,” Jimin says with an awkward laugh, tapping the top of the stack which was rivaling Jimin’s height.

“Alright Jimin. Get back home safely. And I...hope to see you again very soon.”

Jimin gives him a curt nod. “Good night, Professor.”

He continues on with his remaining tasks, wanting to finish quickly so he could finally go home and rest. “Is he gone?” Kyungjo’s voice startles Jimin, the book in his hands nearly causing the tower of books to collapse. “My god! Stop doing that!” Jimin scolds his friend as it wasn’t the first time Kyungjo’s sleuthing had given Jimin a fright.

“Yeah, he left already. You done with your stuff?”

“Uh-huh. All set and ready to step into the real world,” Kyungjo replies, waving his hands in the air. Jimin narrows his eyes at the other boy, judging him silently. Kyungjo has a particular inclination towards alcohol and Jimin wonders if today was one of the days where his friend indulges himself yet once again.

“Have you heard about his actual son? What was the kid’s name again...uh…” Kyungjo snaps his fingers in mid-air as Jimin asks what was the issue with the chairman’s son, likewise reminding Kyungjo it wasn’t best to talk about it in the dean’s office. “Ah! Yes, Jeon Jungkook. Heard that their relationship got so bad that Jungkook completely cut himself off from the family once he graduated high school and went to Yonsei instead of BNU because of his daddy issues.”

Jimin, unsure how to handle and process that kind of information, simply shakes his head at Kyungjo. “It’s wrong to gossip about other people's lives like that.” When Jimin looks over at his friend, Kyungjo is no longer listening, fumbling with the remote as he turns up the volume of the office television.

“In other news today, two thousand five hundred sixty one students of Seoul National University graduated this afternoon 25th of February, 2023. The ceremony was held at COEX Convention Center in Samsung-dong, Seoul to accommodate the number of graduates this year. With a yearly average of at least two thousand three hundred graduates, this year’s commencement ceremony records the highest number of graduates in the history of the national university.

“Not only did they record the highest number of alumni, but this year also marks the first year to have a foreign national graduate as the school’s valedictorian.” Jimin is listening just as intently as Kyungjo now with both boys focused on the TV screen. “Jeong Yeorum, also known as Summer Jeong by her colleagues, graduates with flying colors today from Seoul National University’s College of Medicine. Here is part of her valedictory speech this afternoon.”

A girl appears on screen and she stands behind the podium with a bright and reassuring smile on her face. “As we embark on the journey of the rest of our lives, I implore you all, to do what you love, because I believe it’s what you’ll do best. There will be countless times of trial, but keep in mind that perseverance will always prevail. Always aim for the moon, because even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. Class of 2023, good luck. And remember, graduation is only the beginning.”

“Wow!” Kyungjo claps his hands enthusiastically as he marvels at the girl. “The twenty-six year old, who along with her family migrated to South Korea back in 2015 when her father was reassigned to an office here in Seoul. The valedictorian says she’s not entirely foreign to Korea as her paternal grandmother is actually a native of Jeju. Jeong Yeorum then attended a co-ed high school in Mapo District, where she likewise finished her secondary education with academic distinction.”

The reporters, equally impressed with the girl’s achievements, couldn’t help but add their own comments to the news report, “Wow...I guess some people are simply born for greatness.”

“I agree with you there, Dongho-ssi. We might be looking at the next Bae Jeonjoo, the only woman in the group of doctors who pioneered neurosurgery in South Korea. Ms. Jeong Yeorum, if you are seeing this, we’re rooting for your promising career. Fighting!”

As soon as the news anchors proceed to report other news, Kyungko turns off the television and mentions the time. “Well, she was pretty cute, wasn’t she? Totally my type! Maybe when we get to Seoul to review, we’ll get the chance to meet her...and make her my girlfriend!”

Jimin rolls his eyes at Kyungjo, placing a firm grip on the shoulder, “My friend...you are either drunk, hungry, or high. Either way, you should go home. Don’t worry about me, I’ll just close up here.”

Kyungjo shrugs his shoulders. “You’ll still go, right? To Seoul?”

“I will. Don’t worry.” Jimin gives the other boy a reassuring nod.

“Still half half with the rent, a’ight? I’ll be counting on you, Jiminie...and don’t let me down. Also, tell me when you’re leaving for Seoul so I know when I’m not supposed to bring hot city girls home...they have the tendency to be...loud sometimes.”

This boy was definitely high, and whatever substance he’s taking, Jimin wants none of it.

“That’s your cue, Kyungjo. Go home and take a cab instead.”

“I can drive! I’m not high or drunk!” Kyungjo puts his hands up in the air in defense. “Hey, look, I can even moonwalk!” He proceeds to dance wildly as he exits the office, leaving Jimin questioning how he even became acquainted with Kyunjo in the first place.

You barely hear the sound of your name being called on stage when the audio of Hoseok’s loud whooping completely dulls that of your professor’s. “Oppa! Nobody would be able to make out my name with your audio input!” Playfully shoving your cousin’s phone back into his hands, you continue to mumble your complaints about the poor video quality.

Indignant with your words, Hoseok retorts, “Hey! I’m not a professional videographer, alright? What’s important is the actual moment happening and not how the moment was captured!” Hoseok hooks an arm over your neck, bringing your head to his chest as he gives you a noogie. “Oppa, my hair!!”

Pulling yourself away from his grasp, you quickly pat your hair down but not delivering a solid smack on Hoseok’s back. As you’re fixing your hair, you weren’t able to put much thought into where you were walking, ultimately, and accidentally bumping into someone in a blue and black graduation robe similar to yours.

Quickly, you look up, apologizing profusely at the person. “Oh! I’m so sorry- I…” “It’s okay,” the guy smiles a little, “_________, right?” You’re sure the surprise is evident in your face when he mentions your name when he barely even talked to you during the entirety of med school. “Yes! I mean...hello, Jungkook..” Clearing your throat, you quickly think of something to divert the impending awkward silence, “Well...um, congratulations to you for graduating as the batch valedictorian!” It now dawns on you that he really did graduate on top of the class, “Wow! You’re real smart!” comes your thoughts, unconsciously voicing them out.

‘You’re real smart?’ Really? That’s the best you could’ve done?

Jungkook chuckles, slightly taken-aback by your audible observation. “Oh yeah...um, thanks.” From behind you, you hear Hoseok clear his throat before speaking up. “Hello!” You hang your head low momentarily, already imagining Hoseok making fun of you later for this.

“Right, Jungkook, this is my cousin, Jung Hoseok. Oppa, this is my classmate - Jeon Jungkook.” The two men shake their hands briefly before Jungkook speaks up, “Well, I’ve got to go now. Congratulations to you too Soomin. And Jung Hoseok-ssi.”

As soon as Jungkook gets out of your sight, Hoseok nudges you with his elbow. “Please tell me that man was Jeon Jungmin’s son,” he says, shaking his head in disbelief. Nodding your head, you raise an eyebrow at him.

“Got a crush on the dude?” Oh god. Here we go again.

“No! Jeez.”

“Why were you so awkward around him then?”

“We barely talked in class. Hell, I don’t even think we were within at least fifty meters from each other.”

“But he’s a handsome man?”

“Maybe you’re the one that’s got a crush on him?”

Hoseok glares at you.

“Do you think maybe you’d know which hospital he might be interested in taking his PGI? Woocheon perhaps?”

It’s your turn to glare at him. “I told you. This incident was only one of our very few interactions ever. I think the last time he talked to me was when he borrowed a pencil during a class and that’s it.”

“Well...if you’d discover where, let me know. Because if he does apply for Woocheon, and we’d happen to get the girl from SNU too....” Hoseok nods his head slowly, stroking his chin “Woocheon will have the A-Team interns this year, you included.”

You roll your eyes, resting your arm against the car door that Hoseok opens for you, “You really think that’s going to pay for you ruining my hair?”

“No, but you’re going to thank me if Woocheon manages to snag the dream team!”

#jimin x reader #btswritingcafe #bangtanarmynet #btsghostie #park jimin #bts aus #bts fic #park jimin x reader #jimin fluff #doctors au

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fandom-smut-shots · 5 years

Text

James Griffin - Fire

Fire – James Griffin

Redandgoldgirl

Words: 1,893.

The trunk of James’ SUV closed with a thump, securing your belongings alongside everyone else’s. Your senior year of high school began in just one week, which meant that it was time for the yearly end-of-summer camping trip that you and your friends always took.

For the second year in a row, James had been nominated for transportation due to the car he’d received for his sixteenth birthday. Before anyone was of legal driving age, Lance’s mother had happily offered her chauffeur services. Having as many children as she did required an SUV similar to the one James now drove, which made her the perfect transportation while the teenagers were working towards their licenses.

“Shotgun!” Kinkade shouted, reaching for the door handle of the passenger seat.

Lance elbowed him in the side, earning a grunt of vague pain. Kinkade turned to the brunet, poised to protest, but the Cuban teen placed a hand over his mouth and tilted his head in your direction. Kinkade took the hint and glanced around Lance, catching you leaning against the trunk of the car, chatting about something inaudible with James. A soft blush dusted your cheeks, and James grinned in the way he only did when you were in sight.

Kinkade smirked knowingly, sharing a glance with the Cuban whose hand was still plastered to his face. The dark-haired boy stuck out his tongue, pressing it to Lance’s palm, and the brunet yelped in disgust, retracting his hand and wiping his friend’s saliva on his jacket.

Lance opened the back door, crawling into the middle seat beside Keith. Pidge, Hunk, and Nadia were stationed in the third row, and Kinkade slid in next to Lance. James rounded the car, opening the passenger door and allowing you inside. You smiled shyly at him as you stepped up, accepting his empty hand to keep your balance. He closed the door as you tugged the seatbelt across your chest, watching as he took his place in the driver’s seat.

“Everyone ready to go camping?” James called as he turned the key and the ignition roared to life.

Cheers and yells sounded from the other passengers, and you giggled at their enthusiasm.

When you reached the campsite, another chorus of cheering erupted through the car. James put it in park and killed the engine, and everyone scrambled to the closest door. James shuffled to your side and opened the door for you, offering you a hand of assistance. You accepted it with a grin, stepping down.

“You know I’m capable of getting in and out of cars on my own, right?” you teased.

He chuckled. “Of course. I just thought you might like the help.”

“Well, thank you,” you murmured, your grin fading to a shy smile.

“Alright!” Nadia chirped loud enough to catch everyone’s attention as she shuffled out of the third row of seats. “Everyone remember the tent pairs?”

It had been decided at the beginning of summer how the four tents would be divided – Pidge and Hunk, Lance and Keith, James and Kinkade, and you and Nadia. This was the simplest solution that left nobody feeling uncomfortable – however, as Nadia eyed the expressions of her friends, she wondered if the tents would be reassigned. Kinkade and Keith were stationed evenly on either side of Lance, both enthralled in every word that left the Cuban’s mouth. You stood as close to James as physically possible, and from Nadia’s point of view, the brunet was just a second away from brushing your (h/c) locks behind your ear.

“I think your pairs are being ignored,” Pidge chuckled, standing beside Nadia.

“Maybe James will finally tell (y/n) how he feels,” Hunk mused with a soft chuckle.

Nadia shook her head doubtfully, slinging the strap of her duffle bag onto her shoulder. She padded away from her classmates, headed towards the smoothest ground in order to begin pitching her tent. Pidge and Hunk followed, though Pidge did majority of the work once Hunk opened the tent bag.

“Let’s go,” Lance suggested, nodding for Keith and Kinkade to follow. He grasped his backpack in one hand and his tent in the other, shuffling over to where Nadia and Pidge were pitching their tents. He tossed down the bags and followed suit, laying the fabric of the tent on the ground and pulling the stakes from the bag.

Time ceased to exist as you gazed into the eyes of the brunet you so desperately had a crush on. They seemed to sparkle every time he laughed, and the soothing tone of his voice made your knees wobble like they were made of Jell-O.

“Hey, Shirogane!” shouted Nadia’s impatient voice.

You cut yourself off mid-reply to something James had said to turn and glare at your friend. Everyone in the group knew you despised being called by your last name. You were your own person, thank you very much – not just the younger sister of Garrison High’s legendary athlete.

“Yes, Razavi?” you spat back.

She only grinned. “The tents are all set up, and I don’t know if you lovebirds noticed, but it’s getting dark.”

Pidge cackled somewhere behind her, and heat splattered across your cheeks. You turned your gaze to the sky to find that it was indeed a much deeper shade of blue than it had been when you’d arrived, and ribbons of pink and orange were beginning to swirl around as the sun settled down for the evening.

“I guess we should get to the camp, get dinner going,” James commented awkwardly, a hand rubbing at the back of his neck.

You nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.”

You pointedly ignored Nadia as you retrieved a blanket from your duffle. Wrapping it around your shoulders, you returned to the fire pit, where James and Kinkade were laying logs and twigs and attempting to ignite them.

Kinkade’s lighter conveniently ran out of fluid, and before he could curse under his breath, Keith scoffed. Rolling his eyes, the raven-haired boy extended a gloved hand, offering his own lighter to the cause.

Kinkade accepted it sheepishly, lighting a crumpled up ball of newspaper in order to set the fire pit ablaze. You sat down on the ground, watching the growing embers, only half aware of a presence beside you. Turning your head, you found Hunk sitting there, with Pidge on his other side.

“Hey,” you greeted.

“Hey, (y/n),” Hunk smiled.

“You in charge of food again?” you grinned. The large brunet had been dubbed the camp cook for the last couple of years.

He laughed, but before he could reply, Pidge cut in.

“You need to tell James how you feel.”

For the second time that day, you sputtered, and your face heated up in a way that was definitely not caused by the fire.

“Excuse me?” You nervously glanced around, ensuring that no one else had heard her.

“Tell James that you like him,” Pidge repeated in a no-nonsense tone, a sharpened stick in one hand while the other held a marshmallow preparing to be impaled.

“I don’t know what you-“

“Everyone can see it, Shirogane,” Nadia added, dropping down on the other side of Pidge. “Everyone but James. And we can all tell that he’s super into you.”

You chewed your lip, shyly gazing up at the brunet who was skewering hot dogs with sticks and passing them around. You exhaled a soft sigh, dropping your glance back down to your lap.

“Are you sure he’s interested?”

Your voice was so soft that your three accomplices almost didn’t hear it.

“Absolutely,” Nadia replied, at the same time that Hunk chirped, “Totally!” and Pidge grunted, “Duh.”

Before you could fathom how to confess, James dropped down beside you. He offered you a smile and a speared hot dog before holding his own over the open flame.

“Mind if I intrude?” he grinned.

“You’re not intruding,” you murmured, accepting the stick and holding it parallel to his. When you turned your head to try and distract yourself from how close the brunet was and how good he smelled, you found that your friends had abandoned you, finding new seats on the other side of the fire pit. There was a good three feet of space on your side as well as James’, leaving you rather secluded.

Nadia, Hunk, and Pidge sent you encouraging grins and obnoxious hand gestures, to which you responded with the deepest glare you could muster.

The night continued rather smoothly, everyone eating and sharing stories and discussing their plans for the upcoming year. A cold wind settled in, causing you to wrap your blanket tighter around your torso. The soft fabric did little to protect you from the chill, and you shivered visibly as you gazed into the slowly dying fire.

“Cold?” James questioned softly.

“I-I’m f-fine,” you stuttered, teeth beginning to chatter.

The brunet chuckled. “Sure you are, (y/n).”

He opened an arm, fist closed around the corner of his own blanket. He wrapped it around you, tugging you into his warm torso and soothing your shivers. You sighed in contentment, relaxing in his hold. A glance around the fire told you that everyone had already gone to bed – the tents were dark, and the spaces on the ground where your friends had previously been sitting were now empty.

“We’ve been abandoned,” you murmured softly, tilting your head to look up at James.

“So we have,” he smiled. “I was kinda hoping we would be.”

A soft smirk played on your lips. “And why would you hope for that?”

He ducked his head, leaning in until his nose brushed softly against yours. “Do you want me to tell you, or can I show you?”

Your breath hitched in your throat as his breath ghosted over your lips. “Show me,” you decided breathlessly.

He closed the gap, gingerly pressing his lips to yours. The arm around your shoulders tightened, and his other hand softly caressed your cheek. You melted into the kiss, heart pounding inhumanly fast in your chest – you briefly wondered if he could hear it. Every nerve in your body tingled, warmed by his presence and his touch.

He broke the kiss with a soft inhale, smiling softly at you. You gazed up at him, eyed half-lidded as you struggled to grasp that the moment was actually happening, not just another daydream.

“What does this make us?” he inquired softly, the hand on your cheek lifting to slide through your hair.

“We can figure that out tomorrow,” you grinned.

He chuckled, nudging your nose with his before kissing you again. You responded eagerly, lifting a hand to hold the side of his neck. He hummed against your lips, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. You soon lost track of time, much more interested in chasing James’ lips in the moonlight.

When you finally decided to head to bed, you reluctantly parted ways... Until James unzipped his tent to find it empty, and discovered that Kinkade had squeezed in with Lance and Keith, the two dark-haired teens in a constant battle over the Cuban. That left an empty space for you, and you giggled softly when James offered it.

Eternal teasing followed the morning after when you emerged from James’ tent instead of your own, but you ceased caring as the brunet wrapped his arms around your waist and everything settled down.

#Voltron #Reader insert #Female reader #James Griffin #Writers Block #Prompts #Requests open

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geethedentist · 5 years

Text

The Sassenach Warrior

Catch up on Chapter 4 here!

Chapter 5: Just a Lass

Present Day

In the days following the Gathering, Dougal had organized a group of men, (and me) into a small party to collect the yearly rent owed by the clan. It was evident to me that Dougal enjoyed going on these escapades away from Castle Leoch, and out of reach of his brother. I rather thought he saw himself as the commander of some small, ragtag, eclectic group of soldiers. And so, marching around the Highlands in his wake demanding that some poor family give us their last goat became a bit tiresome after a while. I tried not to think about the unspoken but obvious reason for my presence: Dougal wished to have me near at all times. I had lost all drive after being seconds away from stealing my ring back, only to be interrupted by Laoghaire. My current plan was pathetic to say the least. I had basically elected to play the waiting game, bide my time and do whatever Dougal said whilst giving him no reason for further suspicion. It was difficult, and my patience was wearing thin. But at the same time I reluctantly decided that I was happy to have their company, however soon I might be saying goodbye. Rupert and Angus had taken to teasing me daily, like irksome older brothers.

If the last few months had shown me anything, it was that the English had taken advantage of the Highlanders and had done much to contribute to the widespread poverty we had encountered. The inhabitants of Castle Leoch were living in a bubble. It was saddening, to see these people offering us their last bits of food when we were passing through for the night. Many of the towns were so small they couldn’t even house a tavern. They were more like small collections of houses. Dougal seethed whenever the English were mentioned, and my ears always pricked forward in interest. Colum had said he would act upon his emotions, and I was impatiently wondering why he hadn’t. But he didn’t keep me waiting much longer.

__________________________________________________________________

The line in front of Ned Gowan was shortening now as we prepared to spend another night sleeping under the stars in another tiny town. I sat in the wagon munching some bread while Jamie leaned against the side, trying to balance his dirk in his hand. I yawned loudly and he chuckled.

“Tired are ye, Sassench?”

I scoffed, “It’s not like you can sleep soundly on the ground either! I’d kill to sleep in a bed tonight.”

“Aye, there’s a knot or two in my neck to be sure.” He rubbed the back of his neck and winced.

I hesitated, then decided to voice my worries. “But I feel exposed out here. Don’t you? I feel as though I’m constantly looking over my shoulder, that soldiers will show up any second.” I was alluding of course to the fact that we were both fugitives, something I didn’t care to say outright. Jamie was still the only one who knew this about me, and part of me wished he’d ask why. He’d laid a lot of himself bare to me that day when we first arrived at Leoch. I felt like I needed him to know, but fear and anxiety continuously kept me from following through.

He caught the dirk as it began to topple over. “I suppose that’s always a worry but to me this is far better than bein’ trapped in that gloomy castle. Besides, I prefer being outside, tending horses. It reminds me more of … home.”

“You miss your sister, and your parents?”

He smiled sadly. “Only my sister, Mam and Da have passed on. But did ye ken,” he said, steering the conversation away from his family, “that I am the Laird there?”

“Just like Colum?” I asked incredulously.

“Weel, no quite like Colum, he’s a clan chief after all. I mean Laird of my estate and the land surrounding it. I have my own tenants and crops. … Or at least I should.” His eyebrows drew together in a look of longing. Being unable to claim your rightful place at your ancestral home sounded heartbreaking. He couldn’t even claim his rightful clan name. At Leoch, many had been calling him by ‘MacTavish’, which I suspected was an alias.

From what I came to know of Jamie, what he had just described to me was his calling. I had no doubts that he would stop at nothing to adequately provide for his tenants and his family. But by staying away as a wanted man, he believed he was protecting them.

Our exchange was interrupted by shouting and cheering over at the base of the hill. Many of the villagers had gathered in a circle. The unmistakable clash of swords filled the air and I felt my face light up. The words had not even left my mouth before Jamie said, “I’m right behind ye, Sassenach.”

There were two teenaged boys sparring in the middle of the circle. It was all in good fun for the moment, each boy showcasing his skills with respective friends and relatives encouraging them. In reality they were training. Training to protect their families, their way of life. They would be soldiers one day. I looked at Jamie, and I knew that beneath his kind exterior there was a lethal warrior. I wondered if I’d ever see that side of him. I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to.

The cheering rose to a crescendo as one of the boys fell backward losing his sword, the match clearly won. They shook hands and clapped each other on the back before making their way back into the circle. Another man sauntered to the center and spread his hands wide. He looked to be a few years older than Jamie, and certainly quite cocky. He had shoulder length sandy blonde hair, no beard, and a tattered kilt. He pulled his impressive sword out of the holster and began to swing it about in an extravagant fashion. I rolled my eyes.

“Which of ye shall be my challenger eh?” He scanned the crowd in search of a worthy opponent.

A long silence ensued.

“… I will.”

Every single head turned immediately and simultaneously in my direction. I waved awkwardly as I heard Jamie inhale sharply to my left. I crossed my arms.

The man just laughed. “”Tis a very funny joke there, lass. What’s your name?”

“My name is Claire. My apologies, does it look like I am joking? Perhaps I should make an effort to be more clear or perhaps you should make an effort to be able to recognize an actual joke.” I unsheathed my weapon. A murmur went through the crowd and some of the women gasped.

He looked taken aback for a moment and then seemed to regain his composure. “Come now lass, why don’t we be a bit more polite?”

“I am not interested in being polite.” I said defiantly.

He looked helplessly at Jamie, who simply shrugged. “You better fight her man, and dinna ask any questions.”

I stepped forward and the crowd parted like the Red Sea. The man scoffed and tried again, “ye canna seriously be allowing her to do this?”

Jamie shrugged again. “I canna tell her what to do.” I heard a few muffled gasps escape the crowd. The man approached us, trying to be discreet. I had stuck my sword into the ground and was casually leaning on the hilt, arms crossed.

“Ye must get yer wife under control!” He said to Jamie, voice barely over a whisper.

The red cheeks and hilariously flabbergasted look that subsequently adorned Jamie’s face prevented him from replying before I laughed loudly.

“Is that what the issue is? Allow me to be the first to inform you that I do not have a husband and I never will. Will you fight me or not?” I began to step back towards the center of the circle, causing him to back up. “Or are you fearful of losing?”

At that, he regained his previous haughty attitude. “Fearful of losing? You’re only a lass.”

My sword shone in the setting sun.

“Then this should be easy for you.” I would be brutal.

Recently, I had attempted to stop making assumptions and judgements of those whom I has just met. Jamie came to mind concerning this resolution, and perhaps Rupert, Angus and Murtagh as well. As much as I tried to fight it, numerous unwelcome presumptions materialized in my mind all the same. It was some solace however, that this time I was absolutely right. My opponent whose name I later learned was Rodrick, was entirely reliant on his size and strength, and nothing else. As expected, he came lunging at me with his sword up in the air. I sidestepped him neatly and ducked under his arm. He whirled around stupidly, as if in amazement that I was now behind him. He tried again.

“Why don’t try using the weapon instead of throwing yourself bodily in my direction?” A few laughs rose from the crowd. “Allow me get this started so that we might finish sometime tonight.”

I was back in the courtyard of Uncle Lamb’s house, a clumsy adolescent. The dummy I was practicing on had taken quite a beating. I was dripping sweat and covered in dust while the other ladies my age were sitting in a drawing room somewhere sipping tea and sharing the latest gossip.

I stepped forward with a thrust. He clumsily parried it, and imitated my attack. After that, the fight picked up some momentum. He had begun to wildly swing the sword in all directions. Sidestepping and crisscrossing my feet like a dance, I avoided and blocked every swing. I noted with satisfaction that he was growing tired. Several more clashes rang out, the surrounding crowd was leaning forward in excitement. I felt sweat rolling down my forehead and back. Chest heaving, I let out heavy, punctuated breaths as we sized each other up once more. Knees bent, feet apart, I waited. Waited for him to let down his guard for a fraction of a second. I expected one more blind, brutish lunge, for he must realize that it was nearing an end. When he began to barrel toward me, I swept my foot in a wide arc. His feet flew out from under him. The ground shook as all the momentum directed at me fell victim to gravity. He fell hard on his knees, then his elbows. While he was preoccupied with falling, the toe of my boot connected hard with the sword hilt and sent it flying. He now had no weapon and was staring up at the point of my own sword as it hovered inches from his face.

“The Sassenach won!” Someone shouted. With that, the crowd erupted into shouts and applause. I straightened up and extended a hand to Rodrick. Distractedly helping him to his feet, I watched as Jamie discussed the match with a few of the villagers. He waved his arms excitedly, a big smile on his face.

“I didna teach her anything, man.” He was saying proudly. “Have ye no’ ever seen a swordsman as agile as Claire?”

Dusk was setting in quickly. The villagers had begun to retreat to their homes for supper. A heavy hand fell on my shoulder.

“I must say I didna expect to be beaten by a woman today, much less an English woman.” Rodrick said. There were other men craning their necks behind him.

“Well, life is full of surprises, isn’t it?” I answered sarcastically, turning to walk away.

“Ye ken ye’ve got a wise mouth and ye’ve overstepped yer boundaries there, lass. One day ye’re going to anger the wrong person, that mouth and those trousers are going to get ye into a situation that ye canna make it out of.”

I scoffed. “Is that a threat?”

“It just isna normal.” One of the men spoke up.

“What can I say? I’m an unusual lady.”

“How does it feel? That no one takes ye seriously? That half o’ this village is laughing at ye.” Rodrick tried to put sting into his words. It was working.

“I should hope I have gained myself some respect after defeating you.” I retorted.

“Oh aye, one small victory wilna do ye any good. Ye’d best stop pretending to be man. Just because ye dress the part and know a little sword play doesna change a thing.” Some laughter from behind him. My cheeks burned. “Come on lads, let’s let the lassie sort out her identity crisis on her own.” They left me there, fists clenched and shaking.

“… Sassenach,”

I whirled around and there he was. Jamie had heard the whole thing. I pushed past him and sprinted up the hill. I paced in tight circles at the crest of the hill. The anger boiling up found its release when my fist connected with a tree trunk. “Fucking bastard!” The tree received no mercy and soon my hands were covered in blood. I sat heavily down on a rock to catch my breath.

“I know you’re there,” I said without turning around. Jamie chuckled as he stepped out of the trees and sat beside me.

“I had a feeling ye did,” he said. “Though I figured I’d finish letting ye teach that tree a lesson.”

I flexed my fingers painfully. “I think it taught me a lesson instead.”

“I understand though, Sassenach. When ye’re in a blind fury, ye hardly even ken what ye’re doin’. I bet it didna even hurt while ye were throwin’ those punches.” He brought a handkerchief out of his sporran and began to swab the blood off.

“That’s exactly right. How did you know?” I winced as he brushed over a particularly deep cut.

He chuckled again. “Because I do the same thing. I dinna just mean punching trees.”

I had never seen Jamie as angry as he was describing, but it wouldn’t be long before I would.

“You know I act as though their words don’t affect me, but I wish it was Rodrick I was punching instead.”

“Ah but the fact that ye didn’t makes ye stronger than he’ll ever be.” Jamie replied.

“I know what I am. I don’t claim to be anything I’m not.” I suddenly felt as though I had to justify myself. But here sat the one person who didn’t need to hear it.

He put the bloody cloth down. “Of course not, Sassenach. I ken ye’re no man. But ye are the strangest, most wonderful woman I have ever met.”

Now I turned and looked into his eyes. “Thank you, Jamie. That means a lot.” I was silent for a few moments. “But why?”

“Why?” He sounded startled. “Why what?”

“Why does it not offend you? I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be like everyone else … but you’re not.”

He leaned back on his elbows, the sinking sun creating shadows on his face. “Well, because ye’re strong, and I can only imagine how much shite ye get for this. But ye still stay true to yerself.”

I laughed, “that is a massive understatement.”

We sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching the moon rise. My question to Jamie was still on my mind. Why? He had given his answer, and I knew he meant every word. But I couldn’t help but feel that he still kept things hidden. He may be hiding it verbally, but he’s hopeless if he thinks nobody can notice the way he lit up during that fight. Or when he stares at me when he thinks I don’t notice. Or even in that moment when he was so blissful and happy sharing this time with me, taking joy in the fact that he made me feel better. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him, and the look of complete contentment on his face.

Oh Jamie.

He’ll be crushed when I leave.

__________________________________________________________________

My realization about Jamie had unsettled me. I had therefore decided to distance myself from him a bit. He was my friend and he was much too good to me; he didn’t deserve the grief he was sure to feel when I left. This was the only way.

Angus yawned loudly as we sleepily filed out of the village the next morning. “Look alive will ye?” Dougal said. “If ye want to make it to Nairn by this evening ye must stay awake! And then ye can stuff yer face and sleep in a nice warm bed aye?”

“I canna remember the last town big enough for a tavern.” Murtagh responded.

“Aye well we shall be staying in this town for longer this time,” Dougal continued. “’Tis a good deal bigger than what we’ve seen on this excursion. More people who owe the Mackenzie their rent.”

The prospect of resting for a couple of days was exciting. I would use this time to renew my efforts to steal the ring and escape. An uneasy thought made my stomach flip. What if Dougal did not even have the ring? But somehow, I knew he had it. He would need it if he wanted to taunt or threaten me, after all. The men fell into conversation while I rode alone.

“Good morning Sassenach,” Jamie said cheerfully.

I had been staring into space and his greeting made me jump in the saddle. He laughed, and I sadly fought the urge to laugh along with him.

“Good morning.” I responded. I said nothing more, but gave him a small smile. This was going to be difficult, considering I didn’t want him thinking that he did anything wrong.

He breathed deeply, evidently enjoying the morning air. “Excited?” He asked. I looked at him quizzically.

“We finally get to sleep in a bed!” His eyes immediately widened. “I - I mean separate beds of course, I didna mean …” He flailed for a few seconds and finished with what must have been a Gaelic curse.

“It’s okay Jamie, I know what you meant.” I looked away, hoping it would make this easier.

“Is something wrong, Sassenach?” The concern in his voice was unmistakable.

“I - no. I’m just not feeling very good this morning.” I said shortly, turning to face him again. His eyebrows had knit together and I wasn’t sure if he knew something else was amiss. He probably did, damn him.

The rest of the day involved me riding alone. Dougal was in the lead. Angus and Rupert were laughing behind him. Jamie rode ahead of me, not joining in the antics. All of a sudden, my world felt just as it did when Uncle Lamb died, and just like it did when I walked into castle Leoch. I was alone, and I was severing the only meaningful connection I had made since my life fell apart. I suppose I was preparing myself for my departure as well as Jamie.

A chilly rain began to fall as we trudged into the larger town late that night. I hoped the tavern had soup. I flexed my hands, wincing as the movement stretched the wounds on my knuckles. There was blood caked onto the bandages. It has turned a dark brown, like all old blood stains do. It felt like such a long time ago when Jamie had tenderly cleaned and wrapped them, back in the other brief life I was trying to leave behind.

The tavern was full of people, more men than women, some of which stared. But many were too engrossed in food or drink to notice me, and I was thankful. Many were wearing kilts but all had some type of clan tartan on his person. There was cozy yellow light coming from a grand hearth and several candles, either placed upon a table or in a lantern hanging from the ceiling. Large cushioned armchairs surrounded the hearth on the right side. Straight ahead, a flight of stairs ascended into darkness. To the left, there was a large bar at which sat several patrons and a cluster of tables and booths. There was a low din of conversation, the nonsensical noise of dozens of voices at once. Someone played a fiddle in the corner. I was warm now.

I settled myself into a corner and leaned back in the chair. A mug of ale was pressed into my hand. I lifted my head and Dougal was standing over me. “I thought ye could use a drink.” He smiled at me, but not in his usual menacing way. He seemed excited about something, and he couldn’t keep still. He went about making sure everybody who lacked a drink was now holding one. Over near the bar I saw Jamie down his ale in one gulp, slam the mug down and rub his hands hard over his face. He looked tired, and very tense.

Ned Gowan had started to take out the ledgers to start collecting rent, but Dougal stopped him. He assured him we would have ample time to recover the payments, just not tonight.

All of a sudden heads went up, focusing on some spectacle unfolding in the center of the room. Dougal had strode to the forefront, kilt swishing and shoulders squared. With no idea what madness or nonsense he was going to insight, I shrank back in the chair, content to be a fly on the wall.

Then the most passionate, incomprehensible speech flew from his lips. His arms waved animatedly through the air, sweat stood out on his forehead, his voice even cracked. Head cocked to the side, I sat engrossed. It felt like watching a performance. The only one not watching Dougal was Jamie. His back was facing his uncle and I could practically feel the tension in his shoulders from across the room. We had not spoken all day.

I was pulled back into the moment when Dougal suddenly switched to English.

“…And this is what they do!” His eyes were molten and his smile was made for war. He had taken two large fistfuls of Jamie’s shirt, and split it right down the middle. The shirt now hung jaggedly from his shoulders. The shiny surfaces of the healed welts shown in the firelight. There were several gasps, one woman sobbed into her husband’s neck. Jamie’s head was bowed and his eyes were shut tight. He looked as though he would rather be getting a third flogging. I thought back to the day he showed me the scars. I was now more disgusted on Jamie’s behalf than I was regarding anything Dougal had done to me. He was using his nephew as propaganda. Murtagh had his face in his hands.

“They are merciless. Flogged this boy to within an inch of his life!” He pushed the shirt all the way off; Jamie’s hands curled into fists. “Sometimes, scars have a lot less to do with where ye’ve been, and a lot more to do with where ye’re going.” He produced his cap from within the folds of his plaid and plopped it on the nearest table. He tossed in a coin. “For King James, and for Scotland!” He roared. A massive cheer went up and soon he was swarmed with people trying to give him money. Jamie rose, but Dougal grabbed him by the shoulders and plunked him back down onto the stool. He would have to stay like that until Dougal was finished collecting donations, then.

From within my haze of shock, I wondered idly what Colum would think of this little rally … and then my eyes snapped open.

“Well, if ye are not a spy, as ye say, I suppose I am askin’ ye to try yer skill at it.”

This is exactly what Colum meant. I would have bet my life that he had no idea what his brother was up to, much less approve of it. Dougal was raising money for an army, and I was going to be the one to tell Colum. Seeing finally that I am no English spy, he would summon his brother up to his quarters, and Dougal would kneel before the crippled man to whom he had sworn loyalty and obedience. Colum would then order Dougal to return to me the last remnant of my old life, the last piece of evidence that I did in fact have a family. Then I would be free of the brute forever.

Jamie sat there steaming until the tap room was mostly empty, save for a few drunks and the barman. I don’t even know why I had stayed to watch this. Rupert and Angus had stumbled up to bed, and Murtaugh left a long time before that. The last Jacobite dropped his coin into Dougal’s hand and in the same instant Jamie rose and snatched his shirt fiercely off the floor. His eyes were wild and he didn’t even look at Dougal as he turned toward the back exit.

“Lad.” Dougal called to him.

He paused halfway out the door without looking back.

“I hope ye brought another shirt!”

The door slammed so hard it rattled the bottles on the shelves behind the bar.

#Outlander #outlander fanfic #outlander fandom #jamie and claire #jamie x claire #jamie fraser #clairebeauchamp #the sassenach warrior

66 notes · View notes

ask-svt-hearteu · 6 years

Text

Mafia! Woozi

Anon requested: “ since it’s our jihoonie’s birthday today, can i request a mafia!au for out vobo? hehe i just saw that requests are open & i got rly excited !! 💗💗 — daydreaming anon (hbd woozi i love you sO MUCH) “

Word Count: 3679

you never thought you’d be here

3:58am on a Saturday in one of the most heavily protected buildings in the entire city

hooking up your sad $535 laptop and praying to whoever runs the universe

that you’ll be able to go home and eat breakfast in time

as is the life of a hacker

a professional top-of-the-line hacker for hire

too bad the government hasn’t noticed your talent yet

or you would be working for the good guys

but you’re working for whoever helps pay the rent now

and if you take down some corrupt businesses while you’re working for the mob

who cares

that’s enough vigilante justice for you

honestly you’d think that one of the most powerful companies in the city would know better than to have such weak protection for their systems

you shake your head as you smirk and carefully unplug your laptop

done

easiest $30,000 dollars of your life

the company had been known to “donate” a percentage of their revenue back into the city

things like feeding and housing the homeless

or ensuring kids go to school and aren’t on the streets

but in reality they were pocketing all of it

and come morning

you would have just exposed their asses

climbing back out the vent you came through

you shouldered the backpack with your laptop

and crawled until you reached the building’s service entrance

dropping down you were fully intending to walk casually straight out the building

until you felt your arm jerk as you were roughly pulled behind a wall

“What the fu-“

the person who did it covered your mouth roughly

and your eyes widened as you saw one of the guards walk by

you silently cursed at yourself for not monitoring the CCTV system

you had assumed hacking into it was fine

but you forgot to check the guard’s positioning

after he passed you turned back to the person who had just saved your ass

“Thanks I guess.”

he didn’t say anything but gave you a sideways glance and shrugged as he pulled out a definitely more expensive and way better laptop than yours

as he connected it to one of the computers in the room

“Who are you btw?” You asked eyeing him suspiciously

he smirked

“What’s it to you?” he replied quietly

it almost sounded like he was teasing you

“Sorry if you got offended at me trying to be polite.” You scoff annoyed

who was this guy?

he had jet black hair

and was not super tall from what you could see

but when he turned back to look at you

your breath caught in your throat

“You broke into a high security building to clumsily hack into a system and expose their lies, I don’t think manners are our top priority right now.” he answered looking straight into your eyes

you stared blankly in shock

“How did you...?” how did he know?

“Regardless I’m here to undo it.”

you watched as he clicked shut his laptop and faced you

“The fuck! I’m getting paid, what am I supposed to tell my client?” you said

he smirked again as he packed up his laptop

“There are better ways to expose this company.”

and with that he disappeared

like legit

gone poof

he walked found his escape route before you even had time to process what he meant

you blinked and he was gone

when you finally returned to your apartment when the sun came up

and clicked on the tv

the news was playing

“-donates half of their entire yearly revenue to creating shelters for the homeless...”

your jaw dropped

while you had wanted to expose to the media this company’s lies

whoever that guy was last night

had transferred over half of the entire company’s revenue

in the five minutes he had spent saving you from lifetime in prison

who the fuck was he?

his name was Lee Jihoon

and honestly did he ever think he’d have to deal with other hackers even close to his caliber?

nope

but you had broken through into the company’s servers in record times

he was intrigued

and more than a bit competitive

“Jeonghan, you think you could look up someone for me?” he asked walking into Svt’s main meeting room

Jeonghan was hunched over some papers planning the next job no doubt

without looking up, Jeonghan said

“That’s like asking if I like taking naps Jihoon, who do you think I am? All I need is a name-”

“I don’t have her name yet.”

Jeonghan raised an eyebrow swiveling in his chair to face Jihoon

his blue prints and detailed plans fluttering at the sudden movement

“Her?” Jeonghan questioned, teasing smile on his lips

“I can’t work with you.” Jihoon rolled his eyes while walking off to find Seungcheol

“WAIT WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘HER’?!?!?” Jeonghan yelled after him smiling

Jihoon had joined Seungcheol’s team a while ago

one of the original members

but the others didn’t really know about him at first

because he kept to himself

usually tinkering with gadgets in his own office in the Svt complex

overlooking the city

overlooking their territory

he also may have held up a gun to Soonyoung’s head when Soonyoung tried to touch him

jokingly

or so everyone would like to think XD

one time Seungkwan had lost a bet to the others

and was dared to go into Jihoon’s office

-just to try to learn more about this teammate they didn’t see much of

but they got caught

and Seungcheol was scolding them until Jihoon walked out and told them to just order dinner and call it done

and tbh although this cold mafia hacker didn’t easily trust people

that one night where he got to sit down with the whole gang for a meal finally

and although he would never admit it

after being around the whole gang for years

he trusted them with his life

one of the best hackers hands down

sometimes jokingly gets called the cyber shadow

bc he’s Svt’s hidden member

doesn’t go out in the field for most missions

but has a hand in planning, masterminding, and orchestrating the whole thing

didn’t like going out for any jobs anyway

that is until he had the proper motivation to

you quietly slunk through the security room

attaching your USB to the main computer

uploading the code that would shut off alarms for an hour or until you turned it back on

this job was easy

stop the security system long enough to allow your client to rob the facility

once the system was down you called the client

“Yea the systems are down.”

and you leaned back in your chair to monitor the camera systems as your client gang snuck into the facility

“Honestly thought you’d be some social justice warrior but it looks like you’re in this for money.”

you nearly fell out of the chair at the sound of that voice

one you’d never forget

“You!” You pointed at the guy you met that night

he had entered the security room quietly behind you and was leaning against the wall

“Yep it’s me.” He smirked setting down a bag

his black hair tousled lightly and hidden behind his hoodie

he might be considered cute or good looking maybe

ahem even though he’s totally not your type

“I mean I do what I do for money too, but I’m surprised you play dirty also.” He laughed taking out a laptop

“What are you doing here?” You say cutting straight to the point

“While you’re helping this small gang live for another day, I’m helping kings grow an empire.”

his smirk was really starting to make your heart flutter annoy you

“and so you’re here because...?” you ask rolling your eyes

“There’s access to the servers from this security room since the facility houses both companies.”

you snort

“You’re trying to hack the credit loan company next door?” You try to hold back giggles

what kind of kings, please you think sarcastically

here you were stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars and he was trying to hack a credit loan company

“Information is much more valuable than money sometimes, a big drug smuggler wired money through this place and I want to know how much.” He shrugs

“Speaking of information...” he says turning to walk right up to your chair

you’re taken back as he walks right up in your face

“What’s your name?” He asks placing a hand on either side of your chair

his weight being balanced on his hands resting on the arm rests of your chair

his eyes inches from yours

“I don’t kiss and tell.” you say not backing down from his stare

it was hard breathing with him so close

he smiled

“Let’s trade info then.” He laughed, “a name for a name.”

“How can I trust you?” You saying tilting your head

he steps back from you finally giving you room to breathe again

“You can’t trust me, but I promise that I actually do keep my word... sometimes”

you looked at him trying to decipher his words

he looked like that joking smirk was forever an aspect of his face

but in his eyes

you thought you saw something genuine

curiosity maybe

or something else

“Fine, my name is y/n.” You give in, “but maybe I’m lying or maybe I’m not.”

“I’m Lee Jihoon.” He said breaking out into a smile before continuing his hacking

at that moment your phone vibrated indicating your clients were done with the job

Jihoon was still bent over his laptop typing away

you thought about his adorable smirk and how it made your heart skip a beat

and you blushed, flustered that he showed you up last time

but this time you’d be the last one laughing

you unhooked your USB that had been preventing the alarms from going off and ignored the warning window

and that was when the security room’s alarms started blaring making Jihoon jump

“Well hate to run while we were having so much fun,” you smirk, “but good luck explaining this to the cops.”

you ran out the room right as the doors locked behind you

as you looked back at him after getting into the car

rather than angry he looked exasperated

and slightly impressed maybe?

you drove off before the police really did appear

“SHE AHAHAHAHA SHE AHAHAHA LOCKED THE ROOM AHAHAHAHA.” Mingyu was dying on the ground laughing

“I swear I might actually shoot you.” Jihoon said blushing

“You have to admit she got you.” Joshua said bringing Jihoon a cup of cola and hiding a smile

“SHE FREAKING LOCKED HIM IN THE SECURITY ROOM!” Mingyu howled

“Wow she must be something.” Jeonghan chuckled, “When was the last time you were caught off-guard, Jihoon? I can’t remember that ever happening.”

“Luckily you got out before the cops showed.” Seungcheol smiled patting Jihoon on the back

they were all having a tad bit too much with the situation

“She must not know who she’s messing with.” Minghao said before getting up

“So tell me her name.” Jeonghan snickered

“Y/n.” Jihoon said done with everyone

“I’ll have her file to you by midnight.” with that the gang dispersed, leaving Jihoon to wonder

what kind of person are you?

you had a lot more run-ins with “Lee Jihoon” after that night in the security room

whether you were out doing little jobs or big ones

he always seemed to know where you were

“Are you following me?” you asked him one night

the both of you were at city hall

you were trying to get into the mayor’s financial plans, info that would sell

and he was connecting to the police line

“Why would I do that?” he retorted

it was dark so you didn’t see him blushing

but he had indeed followed you here

he wasn’t sure what it was

but you had not only intrigued him and caught his attention

but Jeonghan had been unable to dig up anything on you

which was almost impossible

Jeonghan knew how to get anything on anyone

and so Jihoon was here to find out info the old fashion way

talking

“You seem too smart of a person to be a criminal.” he began looking over your shoulder at the laptop you were working on

“So do you.” you respond ducking out from next to him to continue working

“I’m not a genius, but I think that if you’re not the best at something, you’ll always put more effort into it.” he shrugged

you clicked your laptop shut

“Wanna go get coffee?” you said suddenly

he looked up in surprise

“What?!”

“It’s almost 5am, and from running into you consistently these past few days, I realized I never thanked you for saving me from that guard. I’m not sorry about the security room thing though, that was funny.” you laughed, “but I’m going to go get coffee and if you want I’ll buy you a cup too, that way we’re even.”

“I don’t see how coffee makes us even.” he snorted

“Fine I’m leaving then.” you briskly turned around and started walking

you hear him jog to catch up to you and fall into step next to you

“Coffee is better than nothing i suppose.”

over a cup of coffee the two of you talked a bit

“So where did you learn how to hack?” you ask

“Are we close enough to be asking those kinds of questions?” he responded taking a sip of his coffee

“I suppose not.” you looked down disappointed

you weren’t sure about Jihoon

you two had met under dangerous circumstances

and you didn’t know enough about the guy to suddenly start liking him

but every time his eyes met yours

or whenever you watched him swiftly hacking into something

fingers flying over the keyboard the way a pianist’s fingers played the piano

you couldn’t help the feeling of awe and curiosity

who was he?

Jihoon coughed

“How about we start with what we do for a living?” he laughed, “I think that’s enough for now.”

so you told him a bit about being a hacker for hire

nothing really interesting

besides living

that’s all there was to it

you were just living your life one job at a time

he sighed

“I think I understand.” he looked out the window

“I was like that too until I found the others.” he stirred his cup before downing it

“Others?” you ask

“My friends, I guess you’d call them.”

you pursed your lips

“Don’t you know what friends are?” you asked in return

“I don’t really trust people you know, occupational hazard.” he chuckled

you understood

people too often stab you in the back when you’re doing this kind of job

it was hard to find anyone to trust

his phone buzzed

and you watched as he picked it up

“Looks like I gotta go.” he smiled, “It was actually kind of fun to see how normal people live out of the shadows.”

you nodded in agreement

“It was also nice talking to you.” you said reaching out to shake his hand, “Hopefully our next few run-ins can be on more friendly terms.” you laugh

he reaches for your hand

gently, as his hand takes yours

and as he pulls you closer to him

“Stay safe.” he says gently into your ear

and then he’s gone

you sit frozen in your spot at what just happened and look over at his empty cup

on the cup are nine letters scrambled up

you stare at it recalling him writing it on his cup when he was talking with you

and you realized

it’s his number

you pick up the cup, unconsciously smiling

and go home

you don’t see him the next few nights

heck for the whole week you don’t

you half-expected him to melt out of the shadows with a smirk on his face and some teasing comment about your hacking abilities

but he wasn’t around

it was more than a bit worrying

you had his number and you were tempted to call

but could you?

you shook your head as you made your way out that night for your next job

the client had been a bit of a mystery

they called using a disposable phone which wasn’t uncommon

except they also used voice modulation

suspicious perhaps but you were getting paid

you walked up to the address they had left

a small office building

and climbed in through a window

gently setting your things down you were about to begin when

the whole world went dark

and suddenly the smell of chloroform made the world feel dizzying as you slowly closed your eyes

when you woke up

your head hurt and everything felt upside down

but more than that

what greeted your vision first

was the appearance of a gun

pointed right at you

“You’re up.”

the voice was rough and you felt like throwing up at the sound of it

“Yea I’m up you freaking asses, what the fuck do you want?”

“We require your services.”

“Then go through the proper channels and pay me you pricks.” you said trying to keep clam

the gun was raised

“Is this enough payment?’ the voice said indicating the gun

“Whatever, let’s just get this done.” you took deep breaths

not that this hasn’t happened before

but you had never had a gun so close in your face

and it was terrifying to think you might not see the sun rise today

you pulled up to the desk of the room the men were in

and turned on the computer as they watched you

whoever had programmed the firewall for the servers knew what they were doing

you were nearly stumped

until you remembered something Jihoon had done that night in the security room

why did he come up in your thoughts now?

you remembered him telling you to stay safe

and looking at the guys with bullets ready to be fired at you

your eyes started tearing up

you know how these things go

as soon as you were done, you were dead

“Hurry it up.”

you opened the files on the computer and looked through some of it

a lot were mainly book stuff

how much this group was getting paid and when the latest orders for weapons were coming in

you assumed that whoever you were hacking, they must be a competing gang to the men currently holding you captive

you looked deeper into the files until you stumbled across a peculiar file

in it were names

“Yoon Jeonghan” you read to yourself

“likes napping and stealing my cola mostly, overall a good person to talk to”

“Hong Jisoo” you read the next file

“quiet and also not quiet, good listener.” you were curious

what kind of files were these?

and then one file popped up

“Y/n L/n.” you held your breath

“likes coffee at five am in the morning”

you knew who the computer belonged to

a bang on the door jolted you from the files

“Fuck!” the men scrambled to brace themselves as the door blew open

you took cover under the desk as you heard bullets going off and yelling

maybe this was all just a bad nightmare

you closed your eyes and silently listed off numbers

a hand gently took yours and you opened your eyes

Jihoon was there with the most adorable and relieved smile on his face

“Well, had I know you were coming to visit me today, I would have bought coffee.” he pulled you up into his arms and gently walked you out the room

“Don’t mind the guns and stuff, I’m sure you’re not all too curious about the guys that tried to kill you.” he said

you heard an edge to his voice but didn’t look at your surroundings until he had lead you to a separate room with a couch

sitting down with you, it finally hit you

you’re not dying today

you were shaking as he gently placed his arms around you

“I’m surprised you broke through my firewall, guess I have to fix that as soon as possible.” he chuckled wrapping you up in his arms

“The frick Jihoon.” you laughed smacking his arm, “I almost died and exposed your identity and you’re concerned about your firewall?”

“Well yea.” he smiled, “And I’m trying not to bash their heads in but Seungcheol said that would require a lot of clean up in the morning and I’m not down for that.”

you weren’t sure if he was joking or not

“Kidding, kidding, they’re all ok and currently being dropped off at the police station with a note that says ‘courtesy of your friendly neighborhood mafia’.”

“I still have no idea if you’re joking or not Jihoon.”

“Let’s just pretend I’m serious then.” he said as you both started laughing

“I’m just glad you’re safe.” you said blushing at hearing your own words

“Why wouldn’t I be, you were the one in trouble here y/n”

“I could have taken them.”

“Sure sure.” he smiled

“Listen, I’m not letting you out of my sight again. I genuinely thought that perhaps it’d be safer for you without interacting with me, but this situation only proved that I can’t let you go anywhere by yourself.” he said turning to face you

“So stay here with me will you?” his eyes looked gently into yours

“I-”

“We have high speed internet and netflix.” he laughed “If you’re interested.”

“So I’d have to live with the mafia?” you asked raising an eyebrow

“No you’re just living in our territory and that way I can see you more often.” he shrugged

“Ok but only if the netflix thing is for sure.” you laugh

and you’re surprised as he gently presses his lips against yours

the scent of something floral and citrusy warming you as his gentle lips kissed yours

“As long as you’re here with me.” he said

MASTERLIST

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westallenfun · 6 years

Text

A Long Winter’s Nap, Chapter 4

Westallen Secret Santa gift from @jade4813 for @westallen94

It turned out that Cynthia hadn’t been lying about the power of Nora’s persuasion, which is how Iris found herself at the Allens’ house later that evening. It was the first time in years she’d celebrated Christmas surrounded by laughter and loved ones. Ever since her dad’s death, she spent her holidays in quiet solitude, with only Hallmark movies to keep her company.

She fingered the fabric of the beautiful sweater Nora and Henry had given her as she looked at the people around her. Once again, she was struck by how much they clearly loved each other. Nora and Cynthia were laughing about a truly hideous sweater one had given the other – apparently a yearly tradition. Martin and Henry were arguing good-naturedly about some article that had just been printed in a medical journal. Joshua sat next to the tree, a ridiculous Santa hat on his head and the closest thing she’d ever seen to a smile on his face.

And then there was Barry. She turned his way and caught his eye, which is when she realized he’d been watching her. However, while she no longer saw suspicion in his eyes, she couldn’t read whatever had replaced it. When he realized he’d been caught, he flushed, but then he raised his glass to her in a silent toast. Not knowing how to interpret that, Iris frowned slightly and looked away. She might have preferred suspicious Barry to this enigmatic one. At least when he’d been suspicious of her, it had given her justification to avoid him.

After the party, Iris was wrapping her scarf around her neck when Martin looked out the window. “It’s getting pretty icy out there. Are you sure you’ll be safe driving home?”

“Oh, I didn’t drive,” Iris responded, buttoning her coat. “I actually don’t live that far from here, so I walked over. I’m sure I’ll be fine!”

Henry sucked in a sharp breath. “You can’t walk home alone in this!” he protested. “It isn’t safe!”

“No, really, I –” she began.

“I’ll walk her home.” The voice silenced her, and she turned to see Barry standing nearby. He had already grabbed his coat and was slipping it on. “Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll make sure she gets home safe.”

She gritted her teeth. It would be a lot easier to avoid him if he would stop being around every time she turned around. “I’m fine. Honestly. I appreciate the concern, but it really isn’t necessary. If you walk me home, you’ll only have to walk back by yourself!”

He was undeterred by her protests. “I could use the fresh air.” At her obstinate glare, he threw her a pretty impressive puppy dog look. “Let me walk you home? Please?”

She sighed and caved. “Oh, all right.” Before she could second-guess her decision, she followed him out the door.

Barry waited until they were a few yards from the house before he spoke. “There’s a reason I wanted to talk to you alone. Iris, I owe you an apology.”

Her momentary feeling of triumph faded when she remembered that he’d actually been wright all along. Her gaze dropping to the sidewalk, she protested, “Oh, no, that’s not necessary –”

Raising one hand in a halting gesture, he cut her off. “No. It is. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did. The truth is –” He paused and heaved a heavy sigh. “The truth is that, as distant as Eddie has been over the last few years, I didn’t want to believe that things had gotten to the point where he wouldn’t tell us he was engaged. I didn’t want to think he’d become a person I don’t really know anymore. But the truth is…the truth is, he’s been that person for a while.”

“Oh, Barry,” she murmured. “I’m sure that’s not true. I’m sure he was going to tell you.”

“It isn’t just the engagement,” he explained. “It’s…everything, really.” He sighed again and then shook his head. “But you should also know that…I’m glad. That he found someone like you, I mean. And I really did want to come by to apologize for earlier.”

“It’s all right,” she replied, finally looking back up at him. “I understand. You’re very protective of your family. But you have to understand, I never want to hurt them.”

He smiled at her. “I believe you.” Silence fell between them for a moment, and then he asked, “So how did you and Eddie meet?” When she shot him a quick glare, he protested, “I’m not quizzing you, I swear! I’m just curious. We’re going to be in-laws. I want to know more about you!”

“It’s the Mayor’s new initiative. Every police precinct is assigned to certain schools. Officers come in regularly – at least a couple times a month – to teach kids about safety, the dangers of doing drugs, that kind of thing. Eddie’s been coming around pretty regularly, so we got to talking one day and…the rest is history.” Or fiction, at least.

“Do you like it? Teaching school, I mean?”

She nodded. “Of course! It’s kind of strange, because it was never really my dream to be a teacher one day. I was going to be a cop like my dad. But I guess life doesn’t always turn out the way you plan, does it? I sort of fell into teaching, but now…I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”

He nodded towards a large patch of ice and they swerved in their path to avoid it. “So are your parents sorry or relieved that you didn’t follow in his footsteps?” he asked lightly.

She stuck her hands in her pockets and shrugged. “Ah…he was relieved, I think. But he passed away a few years ago. My mom died when I was really little, so it’s just me now.”

Barry halted in his steps and reached for her elbow. Before he could make contact, however, he paused and let his hand fall to his side. When she glanced up at him, he said softly, “Iris, I’m sorry.”

She threw him a small smile. “It’s okay, you couldn’t know.” Flushing at his attention, she cleared her throat and decided to change the subject. “What about you? Did you always dream of being a teacher, or did you fall into it like I did?”

“I guess I fell into it. I’ve always been a bit of a science geek. For a while in college, I thought about becoming a forensic scientist. Kinda funny when you think about it. You and I both almost went into law enforcement. I even had this idea that Eddie and I could partner up together on cases sometimes.” His mouth twisted into a grimace. “That didn’t work out. Obviously.

“But I still really enjoyed studying science, and when I was in college, I did some tutoring for extra pizza money. You know those moments where you find just the right way to explain something to someone and it just clicks for them? You can actually see that moment that something goes from being a mystery to totally making sense?” She nodded. “The first time it happened to me…I don’t know. I guess something clicked for me, too. I realized I wanted to become a teacher so I could keep having those moments.”

Iris smiled at him. “That’s actually…that’s really great. I bet you’re an amazing teacher.”

“I know you are. I may have heard some of the students talking about you today. They really like your class. Though I never did figure out what you did with the toilet paper.”

She laughed. “All right, you caught me. I didn’t really need it. I was just trying to avoid you.”

Barry winced. “I made that bad of a first impression, huh?”

“I’ve had worse,” she responded lightly, nudging him with her elbow.

“Any chance I could convince you to give me a second chance? After all, we do work together. And we’re going to be family.”

Her chuckle died at the reminder of her lie, but she forced herself to smile. “I suppose so. Since we’re going to be seeing each other every day. Anyway, this is me.” She nodded towards the tall brick apartment building in front of them. “Thanks for walking me home. And for the chat.”

Barry reached out and placed his hand on the small of her back. She jumped at his touch, though it was muffled by the thick fabric. He didn’t seem to notice her reaction. “I’m here already. I might as well walk you to your door,” he offered gallantly. “Careful. The sidewalk looks pretty slippery.”

But Iris wasn’t the first to almost fall. It took only two steps before Barry’s foot hit a particularly slick spot, and his arms flailed as he tried to catch his balance. Without thinking, Iris wrapped her arm around him, helping steady him. “You okay?” she asked when he had finally straightened.

“Y-yeah,” he said breathlessly. “I think I’m okay now.”

Iris took one more step and her feet slid out from under her. With a small squeak of surprise and dismay, she began to go down. Barry tried to catch her, and somehow her arm found its way around his neck, dragging him down with her.

She landed in a giant snowbank, Barry on top of her. The look of surprise on his face was so comical that she couldn’t hold back her howl of laughter. “A-are you okay?” she finally managed through her giggles.

“Yeah. Are you?” She could feel his breath against her cheek and her laugh cut off abruptly when she realized how close he was to her. She shifted, and her breath melted a snowflake that had landed on the corner of his mouth. It wouldn’t take much – just a slight tilt of her head – and she could kiss him. She could brush her lips against that slight crease that formed in his cheek when he smiled.

“Y-yeah,” she breathed. His gaze dropped to her mouth, and she licked her lips nervously, wondering if he was thinking the same thing she was. No, of course he wasn’t. He thought she was engaged to his brother. “Um…do you think you can make it to your feet? My back is getting cold.” It really wasn’t. She didn’t feel anything but the warmth of his body covering hers. But it seemed like her back should be cold, and it was as good an excuse as any to put some distance between them.

Barry blushed and jerked way. “Oh, god, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think – yeah. Of course. Yeah. Hold on a second.” Moving very carefully, he rose to his feet and offered her a hand. “Let me help you up.”

Even through their gloves, Iris felt a spark between them – like a tiny jolt of electricity – when she placed her palm in his. He helped her to her feet, where the two of them stood inches from each other. “Thanks,” she murmured, unconsciously resting her hands against his chest.

“No problem,” he breathed. She shivered when she felt the soft vibration of his voice through her palms. She felt herself sway towards him, and for a second, she could swear he ducked his head for a kiss. Before their lips could meet, however, he took an abrupt step back. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Sucking in a sharp breath to clear her head, Iris nodded. She couldn’t believe she’d thought he was about to kiss her. Worse, she was pretty sure she’d have let him. Even if he didn’t think she was engaged to his brother, she was in love with Eddie. Wasn’t she? “Yes. Of course,” she responded firmly, as much to herself as to him.

Barry’s gaze slid away from hers as he nodded towards their destination. “Almost there.” He grabbed her hand and then turned to lead her to her door. Iris took advantage of his distraction, wanting to break the strange tension that had stretched between them. While his back was turned, she swooped down and grabbed a handful of snow, quickly forming a pathetic excuse for a snowball – the best she could do with one hand.

He had taken one step, and she pulled her hand out of his. Sinking her teeth into her lower lip, she bit back her giggle as she waited for him to turn towards her. The minute he did, she pelted him with her handful of mostly loose snow.

“Are you –” The snow splattered across his chest, and she let loose with a howl of laughter. “Oh, that’s what we’re doing now?” he challenged.

Iris threw him her most innocent look in return, but it changed into a shriek of dismay when he bent down to scoop up his own handful of snow. With a sheet of ice behind her, she made a giant leap into the nearby snowbank. She needed any traction she could get if she was going to get away.

A snowball hit her shoulder, a small chunk breaking off to freeze the back of her neck. With a shriek, Iris bent and scooped up her own snowball to throw it back at Barry. Their snowball fight began in earnest – though their projectiles were made with more enthusiasm than talent.

She had just straightened from picking up more snow when Barry grabbed her from behind. Wrapping his arms around her, he pinned her arms to her chest. “I don’t think so!” he cried into her ear.

Iris let out a bark of laughter, trying to squirm out of his embrace but he held her too tightly. She could almost feel his lips brush against her neck when he growled, “I’m not letting go until you agree to a truce.”

“It sounds like you don’t want to admit that you lost!” she crowed, turning to look at him. His mouth was only an inch from hers, and she froze.

The grin that lit up his entire face fell, and he stared deeply into her eyes. “I guess I am,” he admitted in a voice barely above a whisper. She was struck by his odd phrasing, but before she could ask what he meant, he murmured, “You – you have snow –” Relaxing his hold on her, he lifted one hand and cupped her face, his thumb tracing a line along her cheekbone.

She sucked in a deep breath. “I-I should go. Thanks…for the walk home.” Leaning up on her tiptoes, she brushed her lips across his cheek. “Goodnight.”

Iris could still feel the warmth of his breath against the back of her neck as she darting into the building and up the stairs to her front door. Once she was safely behind the protection of the solid wood panel, she leaned against her front door with a sigh. Then she giggled softly, warmed by the memory of his laugh when she’d pelted him with snow.

Before she could ponder her motives for doing so, she jogged to the window to watch Barry as he made his way back down the sidewalk to the street. A small smile on her face, she continued to watch him until he moved completely out of view. It was only then that she rested her forehead against the cold glass, which fogged up when she groaned, “Iris, you are in so much trouble.”

#westallen #The Flash #westallen secret santa #Barry Allen #Iris West #Iris WestAllen #Barry x Iris #Iris x Barry

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smuttyfairy · 7 years

Text

Summer (1)

Description: Jiyoon and Jongin had been best friends since birth thanks to their families. They visit a cabin every summer, nothing changed until both of them had graduated, soon off to college. This would be their last time at the family cabin for years to come, and things begin to change for Jongin. What happens when he begins to realize everything too late?

Genre: Fluff for now // eventual smut and angst

Word Count: 1,532

Pairing: Kim Jongin (Kai) x OC (Park Jiyoon)

Author: Admin Xiufairy ㅅㅇㅅ

(A/N: This may include inaccurate representations of Kai’s family because I don’t know them, nor do I claim them as characters.)

Summer approached again, bringing Jiyoon and her family, the Parks, out for their yearly vacation with the Kims. The families had been friends for generations and Jiyoon found herself being best friends with Jongin - the Kim boy who was just a few months older than her.

The two went to school together, they were the best of friends and nearly inseparable. The two of them drove up to the beach house every summer together. They arrived at the house the day after school let out and went back with a month left.

Jiyoon and Jongin had shared one of the rooms since, as their parents said, before they were born. Every year, they raced each other to it and even though he would never admit it, Jongin always let her win. Jiyoon quickly ran into the bathroom after that to change.

Within the hour, Jiyoon had already made it into the water. Jongin stood on the beach, crossing his arms over his chest and shaking his head at her. He’d gotten ready to go into the water as well, but he didn’t enjoy it as much as Jiyoon did - and it was next to freezing.

“Jongin!” She called to him, making him look at her. “Come in the water.” She was about ten feet away from the shore, but the water had barely gone up to her waist.

“I’d rather stay dry, Jiyoon.” He shouted back in reply until his older sister nudged his shoulder. Her name was Jungah and she was good friends with Jiyoon as well.

“Don’t leave your girlfriend waiting.” Jungah snickered, receiving a glare from her younger brother.

“She’s not my girlfriend.” He shot back, hearing Jiyoon call to him again. He watched as one of the waves almost knocked her over and his face broke into a smile when he saw her stumble. He looked back to his sister, who had a knowing look in her eyes. Jongin was sure he knew though, Jiyoon was his best friend.

“Well, then don’t leave your best friend waiting. Get out there.” Jungah told her brother. He sighed and nodded, walking to the shore and dipping his foot into the water.

“Jiyoon, it’s cold.” He whined.

“Don’t be a baby, get out here.” Jiyoon scoffed, walking up to him and dragging him into the water with her. His body was tense as the cold water washed over his skin.

“I should’ve known you’d drag me out here.” He pouted.

“You love spending time with me.” She nudged his arm. “What would you do without me?”

“You know, you’re really confident in what I think about you.” He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows at her.

“Well, yeah, we’ve only been best friends for nearly eighteen years.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I think college is going to be the longest we’ll ever be apart.” His face fell as he remembered - after they left their summer home, they’d most likely not see much of each other. He was going to college around home, but Jiyoon had her eyes elsewhere. She was going somewhere far away, the details of which he found hard to comprehend.

“Do you really have to go?” He asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Quit that, this is our last free summer, we should spend it together, right? Don’t think about college right now.” She advised him. He couldn’t help it, he’d never been away from his best friend for more than a week and even then, they were texting or calling each other. Jiyoon was going to a whole different time zone, he knew it would be really hard to be normal with her this summer.

“It’s hard,” he whined, “I don’t think I can function without you for that long.”

“We both knew this was coming at some point, though, right?” She asked, her eyebrows furrowing. Wrong. He hadn’t thought about it at all. He didn’t want to be without his best friend and he was really reluctant to let her go.

“Not really.” He shrugged.

“On the bright side, maybe you’ll finally get a girlfriend.” She teased him. He rolled his eyes and splashed her. She squealed but laughed.

“What if I don’t want one?” He narrowed his eyes.

“Dating is fun, Jongin.” She shrugged. “You’ve never had anything serious.”

“And you have?” He asked a little too fast, for some reason, he felt his chest tighten.

“Once.” She shrugged. “He kinda ended up being a douchebag though, but that’s okay.” He frowned. He’d heard this story before, but he never considered their relationship to be serious. What even qualified as serious?

“What qualifies as serious?” He asked.

“Uh, I don’t know.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “It’s a feeling, I think.”

“Everything is a feeling for you.”

“What can I say? I like emotions.” She told him. “That’s why we’re best friends. We balance each other out, you know? Like I’m all emotion and you’re mind blowingly boring -” She was cut off by another splash, a laugh escaping her lips.

“I’m not boring, just sensible.” He replied to her. “Dancing isn’t boring.” Jiyoon preferred things that contained emotion - creative writing, art, anything that she could express herself with. Jongin, despite his sensibility, was a dancer through and through. There was nothing else he’d rather do than dance.

Sometimes, sometimes, if he was lucky, Jiyoon would learn choreography with him. Otherwise, he always danced solo.

“I’m worried about you, Ji.” He pouted. “You’re possibly going to a whole new country and I don’t...ugh, I don’t want you to go.”

“Awe, Nini’s worried.” She teased him, reaching up and patting his head.

“I’m serious!” He whined.

“I know, I know.” She told him. “After college is over, I’ll come back for you, you know that right? Hopefully by then, you’ll be married.”

“In four years I’ll only be twenty-two.” He scoffed. “Hardly old enough to be married. That’s my prime, Jiyoon, why would I get married during my prime?”

“Well, remember our agreement, alright?”

“Which one?” He asked her.

“If we’re not married or in a serious relationship by the time we’re thirty, we’re marrying each other.” Jiyoon pointed her finger at him. He scrunched up his nose.

“You were serious about that?” This time, she splashed him.

“Yes, you dummy.” She glared at him. “Plus, it wouldn’t be horrible to be married to you.”

“Oh, I’m not horrible, huh?” He smiled.

“Well, you’re my best friend and if I’d have to platonically have children with you, they wouldn’t be ugly.” She told him honestly. He felt his face heat up and he turned away from her, another laugh sounding from behind him. “Jongin, I’m not that bad, okay?”

“That’s not - that’s not why I turned around, Jiyoon.” He told her, turning back to her. “If it makes up for anything, I’d platonically make children too.” He cleared his throat.

“I don’t think you phrased that right.” She scrunched up her nose and his shoulders drooped.

“Jiyoon, you know what I meant! I don’t want to -” He groaned. “What if I stay single on purpose until I’m thirty? What if you find someone and I don’t? That sounds like my luck.”

“Jongin,” Jiyoon started, “trust me when I say you will have no trouble finding a girlfriend, alright? You’re just not looking.” Maybe he wasn’t looking, but he had a reason. A part of him really thought he was supposed to marry Jiyoon. Their families would definitely appreciate that.

“Nobody sticks out to me. My mom always said that if you’re gonna love someone, it should be someone you can picture yourself with for a long time. You’re my best friend, so you’re stuck with me, but I can’t picture anyone else in my life for that long.” He told her honestly with a shrug. The look she was giving him made him really look into her eyes. He enjoyed the color and they were often soft.

“So maybe we’re soulmates,” she was joking, but Jongin didn’t see it that way, not that he’d ever tell her. She continued, “that, or our families really go out of their way for us to end up together.”

“Soulmates?” He contemplated it for a while. “Yeah, I like that. You’re my soulmate, Jiyoon.” She thought he was joking and at the time, he did too. The water had ceased to be cold to him, his body had adjusted to it and he found himself actually enjoying it.

“Jiyoon, Jongin, dinner’s almost done!” Mrs. Park called to the two of them.

“We’ll be in soon!” Jongin shouted back, waving to Jiyoon’s mother.

Just as the two were about to walk back towards the house, a wave took Jiyoon off guard. The water knocked her off her feet and before Jongin could even process what he was doing, he leapt forward and caught her, staring at her for a minute. He met her eyes and his smile slowly went away. Her’s stayed intact. His heart skipped a beat and he blinked a couple times, wondering what his pounding heart and twisting stomach meant.

“I fell.” She giggled.

Little did she know, he did too.

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lovenerdywinnerbouquetfan-blog · 6 years

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