#and the way ray has the smallest pause before telling him to let go. caught off guard by the contact ... WHAT THE FUCK EVER <3<3<3<3<3

[goldiipond]

was provided with a rough translation of one of the 4th light novels' chapters by bestie rachel fullscoreshenanigans so im dumping a small compilation of don moments that made me chew a hole through my wall

#skye's ramblings #III AM SOOOOOO IMSANE ABT THIS STORY YOU DONT GET IT. YOUUUU DONT EVEN KNOWWWW #don and conny OHHHHHH i am pointing at them with my hand very big THATS HIS FGUCKGIMG SISTER!!!!!!!! RUNS INTO TRAFFIC #he is so so SOOO proud he was able to help her making him happy makes HIM happy do you even FUCKING CARE!!!!! SHES HIS WHOLE WORLD #also thefact that she even has little bunny means this takes place somewhere with a month before her shipment. whatever its fine. im fine #n the next 2 are just. sooo fucking funny to me HEY I WONT LOSE TO THE VOICES OUTSIDE!! LOOK AT ME *makes even louder noises* #ohh hes just like me. i would do this. 10 yr-old audhd skye would absolutely fucking do this. hes JUST like me #and the fucking 'don. i advise you not to expect sympathy from these people' killed me. gilda youare literally everything ever. to me #AND THE LAST ONEEEE ohh its genuinely just. a really sweet interaction <3 #the way he tries to put on a positive front to reassure the younger kids while literally shaking and clinging to ray he is so so sweet #speaking of which of course he clings to ray for protection. don loves ray soo fucking much it make me INSANE!!!! I ALWAYS WIN #and the way ray has the smallest pause before telling him to let go. caught off guard by the contact ... WHAT THE FUCK EVER <3<3<3<3<3 #oohhhhh i want to talk abt this whole story its so sweet and cozy .. but it is so late and. the sleepytired is hitting my brain with hammers #but also i have The Disorders so you DO get my don tag dump <3 i love you

[jjpmoans]

breakfast and macarons | pjy

↦ w.c : 5k+fluffs to kill you

↦ warnings : fluffs and i don’t know, tears? a bit of suggestive scene at the beginning but not too much.

↦ a/n :Happy belated birthday my fav girl @transparentweepingstudent​. Do you remember how we start talking to each other? You were on anon then we replied back and forth and we ended up talking regularly, torturing each other with jinyoung lol. I am so sorry that I took too much time to write this fic. A lot of things happened and I didn’t get to finish it. But I wish you had a blast birthday and hopefully you love this fic. It will probably be cliche but we all love cliches. Enjoyyy the fic!

Waking up from sleep is forever a mystery to you. How you catch the first sound that penetrates your ears and like a switch, your body reacts to it and slowly you’ll come to consciousness. You will crack open one eyelid and start to search for some traces of which part of the day has you woken up to. Did you wake up at dawn? Or did you wake up to light rays escaping your curtain?

However today when you wake up, your eyes are met with darkness. The first thing that comes to your mind is you’re not in your apartment. A certain frame proves your point and calms you, knowing you’re not somewhere else. You stayed unmoved for what you feel like five minutes, trying to figure out what time it is before you feel the arms around your waist pull you closer to a sturdy chest, an unmistakable length has moved deeper inside you which in return, made you gasp and unintentionally squeezed his girth. 

A groan escapes him sleepily and he noses your neck, inhaling your scent. Sexy gruff voice greets you from behind, a sneaky palm brushes one of your breasts and swiftly palms it. “G’morning, sweetheart.”

Your mind flies to the night before, where blood rushes to your face as you remember the man behind you went wild with his birthday gift for you and kept you awake through all five consecutive orgasms which explains why he is still inside you, courtesy of this gentleman demanding to stay buried inside. 

Madness, you laugh.

“Good morning, Jinyoung.” his rough stubbles rub against your soft skin, creating goose bumps and redness. You don’t mind, you love this man the way he is. With facial hairs, he looks even more sexy, intriguing and hot. Uncontrolled, you squeeze him again, earning another groan. The palm on your breast has gone to two fingers rolling your taut bud instead. “Hm, your stubbles tickles.”

“Don’t shave your beard please.”

A disapproving noise comes, with a remark, “I’ll look like a homeless person.”

“Well, I’m sure you won’t because you can be a model with that handsome face.” you move away to face him, making him slip out of you, followed by a gush of mixture of your love making from the night before. “Oh- Jinyoung. That is a lot.”

He laughs when you whine about the mess you’re making on his bed sheet, ignoring your protest to get out of the bed and scoops you closer to him instead. “Jinyoung, this is so sticky!”

“You weren’t complaining last night.” he reminds you and you blush at his statement. He is so straight forward and it is so annoying.

“I was under your spell.”

“Really?”

“Mhm.”

Silence, a comforting one accompanies you as you stare at him. Like everything has come to a pause, your eyes trail down his forehead, his eyes, his nose, his lips. He’s perfect. You always wonder how you manage to wake up to this man every once and then. How have you scored a man this perfect?

“What are you thinking about?”

“You.”

He smiles, pressing his lips to your forehead. “I can see you’re going to be an emotional baby on your birthday morning but I won’t let it spoil the mood.”

He taps your ass, gesturing you to get up. His side of the bed is warm as he leaves you, yanking the curtain open and walks around naked to pick up your scattered clothes all over the place. So you’ve woken up somewhere after eight in the morning, you figured after your eyes landed on the clock. You eventually get up after watching his bare back muscles interestingly and even if you wish to stay longer in bed since you’re still sore and your bones are begging you to rest, Jinyoung’s invitation for a shower together sounds more inviting. 

As much as your mind has imagined, the shower went without funny business because apparently Jinyoung has something else in his mind. You got teased a few times for trying to make him take you inside the glass bathroom however your man has great patience and self-control. He won’t be tempted when he is determined.

“Where are we going?” you ask as you stand in front of his wardrobe, contemplating your choice of clothing. You need to match the occasion and not look out of place just because your boyfriend wants to surprise you. “Jinyoung?”

“A breakfast date.” A casual style it is. 

“We’re not taking the car?” you ask when Jinyoung presses the ground floor instead of the basement. You start to wonder where he is going to bring you since he doesn’t bring the car with him. It must be a walking distance cafe, but which one? Jinyoung lives close to a lot of fancy cafes that serve breakfast, you can’t guess which cafe he is bringing you to. “Thank god I’m wearing sneakers.”

“I’ve told you okay.” he reminds you just as the elevator opens to a quiet lounge. “But what did you say? No, I want to wear something pretty.”

“Shut up.” you tell him, elbowing him slightly before leaving him behind. The roaring laughter behind you sounds so terribly annoying so you quicken your pace to walk out of the lounge. 

He catches up with you, still laughing but sounds softer and lovelier. “Okay okay, I’m sorry. Come let me shower my girlfriend with a lot of food for breakfast okay?”

“Only for breakfast?” you ask when Jinyoung pulls your hand in his, bringing you to the cafe direction. “What about lunch, tea, dinner and late night dinner?”

Jinyoung may look distracted but you know his ears are big for a reason. He is able to capture whatever you’ve said even without fully focusing on you, a trait he has trained himself since dating you to avoid you being mad at him for not concentrating. He got a point and that has successfully charmed you a few times when you thought he’s not listening but he proved it wrong instead. “I’ll feed you, don’t worry.” 

See? Talk about being imperfect. Jinyoung? Never.

While he guides you to the cafe, you take extra attention to his subconscious behaviour that he naturally activates when with you. He doesn’t notice this, he will never notice it. However these are those simple things that move you. His hand which holds yours securely, not too tight but never too loose. Every time he turns around a corner, he’ll make sure you’ll be on the inner side of the sidewalk, never too far from him. He keeps responding to you even if he is focusing on guiding you, something you will never get used to. Though you know these are just small traits that every man should possess, but it has been so rare that it takes a gem to be this well mannered.

Five minutes into the walk, you realise Jinyoung’s strides have slowed down, slowly coming to a halt and when he turns to you with a smile, you guess you’ve reached your breakfast place. 

“Wait- oh my god.” you exclaim when he opens the door for you, the chiming of the bell brings the chill to your spine. “Jinyoung! This is-”

You turn to him for him to answer you but he just nods, grinning at your priceless reaction. One thing that Jinyoung loves about you is the simplicity of your mind. You get excited over the smallest thing, granted it is done with sincerity and love. He knows bringing you to this cafe is a perfect plan, you will be over the moon for months.

It is definitely an exaggeration but you heard Ed Sheeran blasts from the speaker and you absent-mindedly made a little jump which causes Jinyoung to chuckle from your excitement. You are still gaping when you enter the exquisite cafe, your heart is full with excitement and you are just a second away from screaming. So when you stop to catch your breath after eyeing the interior design of the cafe, you turn to Jinyoung and hug him, screeching in his chest so your voice is muffled. You feel Jinyoung’s body shakes and you can picture him holding in his laugh because you’re too cute to handle.

“Hab i tod yu i wob yu?” you mumble against his chest. You’re not kidding when you say your heart is about to burst. You’ve been wanting to visit this cafe for a long time. It serves a buffet breakfast, the first thing that has caught your attention. Next it also has waiters to serve you fresh off the pan dishes like pancakes and scrambled eggs. Basically it is just like how hotel breakfast but you can dine in with reasonable price. 

When you told Jinyoung about the cafe, he was reading one of his books and you can’t blame him if he didn’t hear you because one of his rules is not to disturb him while he is reading. However you were so excited to tell him that it was a walking distance from his place so you ignored the fact that he was so engrossed with reading. After that as you both carry your routine, it slipped your mind until today.

See what you thought about Jinyoung being perfect?

“What is it sweetheart? I can’t hear you clearly.” he laughs, actually understood you but acts like he doesn’t. It’s just like Jinyoung to tease you. Usually you’ll reply with snarky remarks but today, you really love him. 

“I said I love you.” you grin, pulling him to the table. You’re excited to devour everything in the cafe. “I love LOVE you.”

“That’s all?”

“Yeap.” he shakes his head when he sees you being overly excited and waits patiently for him to pull the chair for you and starts sniffing the buffet like a starved puppy though it is literally a few metres away from your table.

“Hi. Here is the fresh-off pan menu.” the waiter greets you, placing two huge sized menus on the table. “Have you dined in here before?”

Jinyoung shakes his head, answering it on behalf of you. You have gone too far to listen to her explanation, the only things you have in mind are those delicious food waiting for you. You’re a big eater and Jinyoung is a dedicated boyfriend who loves to spoil you with food. A match made in heaven indeed. 

You let the explanation pass your ears as you hear a bit of ‘..drinks over there..’, ‘...charged for leftovers…’ and when she finishes with a smile, you quickly turn your attention to jinyoung, grinning eagerly.

Jinyoung laughs as he realised you’re just an inch away from lunging towards the buffet but waits patiently for his approval. He closes the menu and tips his head as an approval, causing you to spring from your seat to the buffet section. Jinyoung’s laughter fills the cafe again, luckily it is less packed with customers since it is still early. 

“Wow.” Jinyoung whistles when you placed another three plates of pancakes, rolled omelette, and toasts. Already on the table are your sausages, your muffins, waffles, your cereal bowl with a glass of milk, your fresh orange and Jinyoung’s black coffee. Oh yes you’ll get the fruits later. “Is the sex last night really good that you are starving?”

He eyes the amount of plates on your shared table and suddenly he thinks that they need an extension of the table. It is literally full with your food that he can’t even add his own. However that is the least of his concern, he knows he’s going to finish your food for you later so he doesn’t even bother to stand up and get his own food. “Are you sure you can eat all of these?”

You roll your eyes in annoyance and sit down, grabbing your utensils. “Shut up. I’m hungry.”

“Oh I wouldn’t have guessed.” he snorts, reaching for a piece of waffles and a chocolate spread by his side. “You don’t look starving in the slightest.”

“Oh shut up.” you scoop a spoonful of cereal, the one you always love since you were little, humming cheerfully to the delicious taste of the familiar childhood cereal. Your taste buds are now stimulated and you can’t stop moaning at how good it tastes. “Jinyoung this is really good!”

Jinyoung halts in his motion, giving you an incredulous look. His waffle is now gone and he’s reaching over a piece of sausages when you slap his hand away from your precious piece of meat. “Ow. That’s just cereals, baby. C'mon, share the sausages.”

You glare at him when the tip of his finger touches the firm sausages. Raising your fork to your eye level, you jab the thin air. “Don’t touch my food after you’ve insulted my childhood cereal.”

“You’re ridiculous.” he chuckles, aiming for the muffins instead. You took three instead of two, that means one of them is his. Jinyoung internally laughs at how petty you will become when it involves food. It’s just another random thing he loves about you. “Eat a lot, baby.”

While you practically inhale your food, Jinyoung acts as your butler, cutting the sausages into smaller pieces and spreads the jams on the bread for you. Once he finishes playing butler, he starts feeding you so much that your cheeks are about to burst from all the feeding. “Jinnyom-”

He coos, laughing while nodding to your incoherent mumble and stops feeding to let you swallow them first. “Are you trying to kill me?”

He flickers his eyes to you while he brings another piece of pancake dipped in maple syrup to your mouth. “Says the one who brings all the food to the table.”

“I brought it for you too!”

“Yeah? I thought the sausages are yours?”

“That’s mine. You eat something else.”

The amount of food on your table decreases shortly with Jinyoung’s help. You are full and now Jinyoung is left to eat the leftovers. This is why he doesn’t bother to order anything, he knows you can’t eat them all. He is always the trash can, his words not yours. 

“This cafe is so pretty, Jinyoung.” you blurt out your thoughts, your eyes roaming all over the places. The cafe is situated in the middle of the city which is busy with cars and public transport. However once you are inside, it literally blocks the noisy sound and you’re left with the peacefulness of the cafe and the song that blasts from the speaker. There are not a lot of customers at this time of the day hence it is even more quiet and reserved. 

The workers keep the food warm by lighting up candles under the buffet and honestly, it feels just like hotel breakfast. 

“You like it?” the background song starts to change, Paramore comes up with a fragment of your memory. “Oh, it’s our love song.”

You laugh when he tries to listen more carefully to Still Into You, bopping his head to the beats and swaying his body while feeling the music. 

“I should be over all the butterflies~” he raises his fork to his mouth level, pointing them towards you with overflowing adoration and playfulness in his eyes. “But i’m into you.”

“Oh lord.” still giggling, you are sure that both of you looks like you’re madly in love and have become hopelessly dumb. “How sure are you that after all this time you’re still into me?”

“Easy peasy.” Jinyoung answers, munching the half eaten pancake. “I’m having breakfast with you, the love of my life.”

“At the cafe that you told me when I was reading.” he wiggles his eyes smugly. “Doesn’t that already prove that I am still into you?”

“That’s so cheesy.”

“And you love me for that.”

“Thank you for dining here!” the cashier returns Jinyoung’s card with the bill, bowing to you before you leave the cafe with a full tummy. 

The noises from the street greet you again however you don’t care, you are happy and it takes nothing to spoil your mood. Jinyoung leads you back to his place again, holding your hand in his while you skip happily next to him. 

“Are you that happy?”

You nod, swinging his hand back and forth to show that you are indeed, very happy. “I had a great night and a great breakfast date. I don’t have anything more to ask for my birthday.”

Placing a quick peck on his cheek, you wrap your arms around him in appreciation. “Thank you, lover boy.”

Jinyoung scrunches his face at your endearment, bringing your intertwined hand and presses a kiss on the back of your hand. “You sure you don’t want anything else?”

You shake your head. There’s nothing you really want, Jinyoung has gone even beyond your expectations.

“But I still have one more thing for you.” his words left you puzzled, before you realise that you’re not walking home. Instead you are at the opposite direction of his place, even further than the cafe. 

Once you fall into step in front of a bakery shop, another bulb goes off your mind and you turn to Jinyoung in disbelief. “Wait- really?” 

In front of the bakery stands the most popular advertisement made by the shop, the macaron class. It is a bakery that makes the most delicious macaron and is very popular with the customized macaron which you can make by yourself by joining the 2 hours class at the shop. It was a waste of time, Jinyoung had once said because he knows both of you have better things to do than making macaron for two hours. You agreed with him, even though you really wanted to join the class. It’s kind of cringe, making a couple macaron but you can’t deny that it is intriguing.

“You said you don’t want to join the class.” 

Your eyes start to get watery and before you can even cry, Jinyoung brings you close to his side and presses a kiss on top of your head. “When did I never give you what you’ve wanted? Hm?”

“Now come on. The class is starting in 10 minutes.”

You knew making macaron is quite tedious but you never knew it is this tedious. Forty minutes into whisking the never ending meringue to get a stiff peak, you throw your whisk into the bowl. Jinyoung who is preparing the filling for your macaroon on your left jumps, startled by your action. Once he looks at your undone macaronage, he laughs, patting you softly.

“I’ll whisk it for you.” he then finishes his fillings and puts them into a piping bag and leaves it aside to take over your side of the station. “I have offered to whisk but look at you stubborn baby.”

Your hands are crossed as you watch him whisking the meringue, his muscles contract every time he whisks the blue meringue. His veins start to emerge on his skin, complimenting his muscular body. Something snaps inside you when you see him looking effortlessly hot while doing the most common thing as whisking. 

“Sweetheart if you’re done staring, we need to bake the macaron.” he brings you back to reality, nudging you to start doing your work. He is already working on his own meringue and just in ten minutes, he finished his pink batter and already placing the batter into the piping bag next to your.s You never know he can whisk that fast but apparently the baking teacher approves his meringue stiff peak and you can start baking after one hour of preparing.

“Remind me to not ask for any more baking class.” you groan after piping your batter on the parchment paper and wait patiently for it to grow a shell and then it’s ready to bake. Jinyoung, as always, smiles mockingly while he repeats for the n-th time that he only wants to give you what you have wanted. His own batter has dried and ready to bake.

Above everything, you’re the most excited when it comes to decorating the macaron. The blue macarons that you made are for Jinyoung while yours is the pink one that he did. So after the macarons are ready for decoration, you both sit further apart to surprise each other with your own decoration. The shop provides almost everything, different types of toppings and different colour papers for you to DIY your macaron box.

“Do you need more time?” Jinyoung asks after thirty minutes. You are still sticking the cute stickers all over the box when he comes closer to take a look at your decoration.

“Do not come close!” you warn, showing your palm to stop him. “Give me ten minutes.”

“It’s not that serious-”

“Shut. up.”

“So, who gets to open their box first?” you ask after Jinyoung places a tray of drinks and bread in front of you. 

“Me first since we have waited long enough for it to finish.” Jinyoung answers, giving you a judging look. “And we can decide who’s box is the best.”

“Okay!”

You are so excited to see Jinyoung’s reaction. You worked hard to decorate the box with edible stickers, lining your name with his on top of each macarons and finishing it with sprinkles and other toppings. You were also torn to choose which colour compliments his blue macaron the best. You can only hope he loves them because really, as much as you give yourself credits, you are actually the worst when it comes to creativity.

“Oh!” your eyes are closed when he starts unboxing his macaron so when he gasps, you quickly open your eyes and watch the corner of his lips stretched into a wide smile, lips pressed and whiskers eyes showing up. “Oh god.”

Both of you fall into a fit of laughter, knowing how bad your skills are but still, it melts your heart to see Jinyoung appreciating your not-so-creative mind. Jinyoung is a transparent man, his face gives away his emotion. He can hardly mask his emotion when he’s with you, hence you usually are able to detect any slight changes in his mood based on his facial expression.

After staring at his macaron for a while, he looks up to you, offering another smile. “I think my box will win.”

“Is it my turn now?”

“Go ahead.”

You’re beyond excited. You know Jinyoung’s creativity is just like yours, he can never win this competition. Him and you are both helpless in art, so it is like a battle of non-creative decoration rather than the most creative decoration.

Jinyoung watches you intently as you start opening the box, greeted by nothing other than a piece of blue parchment paper as the base, the macarons arranged neatly and an envelope placed together in the box. 

“Jinyoung! You literally didn’t decorate it!” you laugh, picking the envelope nonchalantly and opening it without much thought. It must be a piece of card with ‘I love you’ inside it. Like you’ve said, both of you lack of creativity when it comes to art.

However when you unfold the paper, instead of a simple ‘I love you’, a whole neatly written love letter with Jinyoung’s penmanship greets you. 

Dear the woman I have loved my entire life,

I am always grateful to God when he gives me you. Do you remember the first time we talked to each other? I was fifteen and you were thirteen, we don’t even know each other that much. We were in the same club but we never talked. It’s just you and me when we both sit at the table in the library and suddenly I called your name and asked if you could pretend to be my girlfriend because of a certain girl that won’t leave me alone and was walking toward us. I know, it’s really cliche and it sounds like it jumped from a novel but you said yes and you don’t mind. After that my boys found out about us and decided to prank us by locking us in a room and we talked for hours. I still remember how you shook your head at my boys’ antics. hahahahaah. I remember I assured you that they will come to let us our after some time and to believe me. Sometimes I think I should thank that girl for bothering me non-stop and the boys because since then, my world has been colourful with you inside it.

Do you remember how we fought a year later over some ridiculous issue like jealousy? We were so immature that we broke up but we ended up together again after Yugyeom told me you were crying in the bathroom because of me? Yeah, I was stupid. But do you know what is ever more stupid? The fact that we broke up every time we were facing a big examination

Do you remember when I got offered a letter to extend my study overseas? You cried again as if you’re not clever enough to land a place overseas too? I remember that we kissed for hours because you couldn’t stop crying and wanted to stay in my arms. You even stole my hoodies and I ended up bringing only three hoodies to my A-Level study because you wanted to wear them. You don’t know how cute you were. Then two years later you got the same acceptance letter like mine and you were so happy that you talked to me for five hours even though it was midnight for you. 

Staying together with you in the UK was the best decision I ever made. Do you know how domestic we looked? I wake up to you, snuggling by my side and hugging me tight? You just don’t know how ecstatic I was. We were like a married couple, literally married just without the rings.  The adventures I had with you, travelling to every part of the world, I love every inch of them. People wonder how we got this far but I don’t really need to wonder at all. Like how Paramore said, I’m really into you. 

For eleven years, you have been by my side, staying with me through thick and thin. You were there for every step I made, whether it’s bad or it’s good. Remember when you were so nervous to meet my parents? Because we both went to boarding school and it was scary for parents to think we were busy dating and not studying. You were shaking from head to toe even when we already finished school and were already studying in university. 

It’s getting long and I was just reminiscing the old days right? I should get to my point by now.

I have been celebrating your birthday with you for eleven years and though it sounds too long, it feels too short for me. I want to keep celebrating your birthday with you until we’re grey and old. Let’s grow old together, baby. Let’s lay in each other’s arms and whisper good mornings and good nights every single day. Let’s make your twelfth birthday with me as Mrs Park instead.

Happy Birthday, sweetheart. I love you to the moon and beyond. Let’s get married next year, can we?

Love,

Yours.

As you finish the letter, your cheeks are wet from the tears. You never knew it has been eleven years since you dated each other. You were too content living with Jinyoung that you’ve forgotten time passes too fast and your relationship will turn twelve next year. It makes your heart swell when you know that Jinyoung remembers each life event and almost all of it involves both of you. 

When you finally look at him, a gush of tears escapes again. He is holding a ring, a simple promise ring that his mother bought for him after he finished high school. He told you about it, his mom told him to put this on the woman he’s marrying only when he is sure of it. When you asked him why he didn’t want to put it on you, he explained that it’s not that he is not sure of marrying you, but he wanted to secure your future. He wanted a future for you and he will not put the ring on you until he is sure that he is able to provide you everything you deserve.

“When did you plan all of this?” you never saw him busy writing the letter and setting up your birthday plan. You have no idea when he planned these things. “Why are you making me cry, Jinyoung.”

“Am I the best boyfriend now?” he laughs, teasing you slightly. “I planned it when you’re asleep. I also got some help from the boys. Bambam and Yugyeom helped to book the cafe while Jackson helped to sign up for the macaron class.”

You are still overwhelmed by the letter, your tears don’t seem like it’s stopping anytime soon. You wanted to scream, to tell everyone how emotional you are. The man that you’ve loved just proposed to you on your birthday. Someone got to tell you what is better than all of these combined?

“Do you want to marry me?” he asks, suddenly not sure of your reaction. You’ve been crying, cupping your face and repeatedly asking him if he’s being serious about the proposal. “Do you want to celebrate your next birthday as Mrs Park instead?”

You stand up and reach over to his side to sit on his lap which catches Jinyoung off guard and his hands fly to hold your waist steadily. You give him no time to adjust when you press a kiss to his lips as a sign of approval.

“I do, Jinyoung.” his grip on your waist tightens, drowning his moan in as to be cautious not to attract people’s attention. “I do.”

Jinyoung then takes your hand, slipping the awaiting ring in his hand right on your ring finger. Like it is meant to be yours, the ring fits perfectly, now a mark that you’re officially Jinyoung’s.

“Let’s go home, sweetheart.” Jinyoung offers, already packing your macarons and your food. “I need to show you how happy I am.”

Copyright © 2020 jjpmoans. All rights reserved

[ Writings ]

#the moans writings #got7creators #got7 jinyoung fanfic #jinyoung fanfic #got7 jinyoung fluffs #got7 jinyoung #jinyoung got7 #jinyoung got7 fanfic #jinyoung fluffs #jinyoung got7 fluffs #got7 fluff #jinyoung fluff #got7 fic #got7 imagines #jinyoung imagines #birthday fic

[rwbyvein]

Firen Lhain: Chapter 611: Fellowship:  Part II/III

Jaune shuffled as he looked around. "Do you guys know where my armour is?"

"Dude?" Yang asked, "You can barely walk, and the first thing you think about is your armour?"

"I'm so used to wearing it - that I don't feel the same without it."

"We feel..." Weiss stated as she approached from the kitchen, "that it would be... for the best... if you spent some time recovering, first."

"Plus," Ruby voiced, "the bunny hoodie is JUST - SO - ADORABLE!"

"It's... uh..." Jaune said, but then completely trailed off. Nora appeared beside him with his cuirasse. "Thanks, Nora." Jaune said to her.

"You got it!" she exclaimed.

"Nora!" Weiss admonished.

"I know," Ruby said, "that Weiss is being Weissy, but I think, right now, she's right."

"I am?" Weiss asked, but simply looked distant.

"Weiss is best when she's Weissy." Jaune said to her.

"I am?!" Weiss called to him.

"Well, best and worst." he said. This caused Weiss to both scoff and shimmer a light blue as she smiled and looked around. Jaune finished affixing his cuirasse, and then looked back at Nora. "Nora?" he asked.

"Leader?!" she replied.

"The... uh... rest?" he asked.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, and disappeared once again.

"You sure you're okay?" Blake asked him.

"As strong as and ox..." Jaune wearily said. "Bull?.." He then stumbled. Yang caught him and helped him back to the couch.

"Chill, man."

Jaune looked up at her with a weak smile, and reached his hand out to hers. Yang nervously took his hand, and he pulled her onto his lap, snuggling into her. "You're one to talk about - chilling."

"Doesn't mean I'm the only one who needs it." Yang moaned.

"What was that?!" Ruby asked.

"I do believe it was a moan." Blake stated.

Weiss nervously looked back to the kitchen before looking back to Jaune and Yang, fretting to and fro.

"Linnet?" Yang asked.

"Yes?.." she teppidly replied.

"He ain't going anywhere with me on his lap."

"Weiss." Blake gently said as she walked up towards her, taking her hands in her own. "I'll help you and Aurora in the kitchen. We can let them have their fun." Weiss looked at her uncertainly, "Yang will make sure he doesn't get too far."

"You know it." Yang eagerly replied, only to moan once again. Ruby just stared at the two on the couch. "Why don't you come join us, sis?" Yang asked.

Ruby got down on all four and ran up to them, sitting on the ground. Yang grabbed Jaune's left hand, bringing it to Ruby's head. He started petting her, causing Ruby's tail to wag.

* * *

Blake snuggled up behind Weiss as she stood in the kitchen, causing her to scoff. "I thought you say you were going to help?" Weiss asked.

"I am." Blake stated.

"If I might ask?.." Weiss breathily voiced, "how?.."

"Aurora..." Blake breathed, "is the one doing the cooking." This caused Weiss to lightly scoff. Aurora simply looked back at them and smiled before continuing. Blake then nibbled on Weiss's ears, causing her to breathe even heavier.

* * *

Qrow and Ilia sat on the patio.

"So... uh?.." Ilia asked, "How do you... deal with this?" Qrow held his flask towards Ilia. "Isn't that how you deal with everything?" Qrow bobbed his head back and forth as he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's young love, something I never had a chance with."

"Were you at a Huntsman Academy?" Ilia asked, and Qrow nodded.

"With my sister, of all people." Qrow replied, "Along with Summer and Tai. Summer and Tai clicked almost right away... kind of like antler-boy and Ruby." Qrow then sighed.

"What about the rest?.." Ilia asked.

"Have I ever told you about my Semblance?" Qrow asked, and Ilia shook her head. "Oh, it's pretty simple, I'm unlucky."

"Un... lucky?.." Ilia asked. "I've never heard of a Semblance like that, but then..."

"Everyone's Semblance is different." Qrow voiced, "The only thing that's constant is that it comes from us, from our Aura. Mine causes bad things to happen. Sometimes minor, sometimes major. In battle, it helps, as my enemies will randomly trip and fall, or the cliff they're standing on will just break under the strain... but..." he said, and looked around.

"I'm honestly having the same problem." Ilia stated, "I've done some terrible things."

"Hm?" Qrow asked her, "Did I tell you why Raven and I first went to Beacon?" he asked, and she shook her head, "Oh, well, yeah, you see, we were kind of bandits."

"Bandits?" Ilia asked.

"The best - bandits." Qrow stated, "We could take on anyone... almost anyone... Care to guess what we had trouble with?"

Ilia looked at him for a moment before it dawned on her. "Huntsmen?" she asked.

"Bingo." Qrow replied.

"You?," Ilia nervously asked, "went to Beacon to learn to kill Huntsmen?"

"At least at first." Qrow stated.

"What changed?" Ilia asked.

"Oh?.." Qrow asked, "Tai and Summer. Summer was a lot like Ruby, driven, hopeful, idealistic. When you were with her, you felt like you could take on the world."

"And Tai?" Ilia asked, "That's Ruby and Yang's father, right?"

"Right on, kiddo." Qrow stated, "He was a lot like blondie, except a bit more timid... The timidness just made you want to take care of him, you know?"

"I feel the same way about Blake." Ilia replied.

"He... was a real ray of sunshine." Qrow voiced, and then took a sip from his flask, "He made someone like me feel like I could... you know?.. help."

"How?," Ilia asked him, "do you make up for?.."

"You don't." Qrow stated. "Nothing I do can undo what I've done. I've killed people," he said, and Ilia stared at her hands, "I have a bit of reputation for coming out of nowhere and saving my nieces," Qrow said, "but I'm scared out of my wits every time, all of the time, but, if I can save some people?.." he asked, and trailed off.

"Does that make it easier?" Ilia asked.

"Booze makes it easier." Qrow stated, "I'm doing what I do because it's right. Whether that makes me a good person, I don't know."

Ilia looked at her hands again and then out over Mistral.

"As for what's going on inside the house..." Qrow voiced, "well, like I said, young love. Considering everything they are risking for the smallest chance to do some good, they deserve to be happy."

"Smallest chance?" Ilia asked.

"Oz and Salem had been fighting for who knows how long." Qrow said. "Neither side has won yet. Some people might say that gives them hope, others..." he said, and sighed.

* * *

Jaune tried to slip Yang off his lap, but she just grabbed onto the couch. "Oh, no you don't."

"But?.." Jaune asked.

"I promised them you would sit on the couch?" Yang stated.

"What would I have to do to get you off?" Jaune asked.

"Hmm. Oh, I know, take off your armour." Yang said.

"And?.." Jaune asked.

"Lie down on the couch so we can cuddle more."

Ruby then stood up in front of them. "If you are going to lay on the couch, I should get to cuddle, too!" Ruby exclaimed.

Yang just shrugged while looking at Jaune. "She's right." Jaune nodded and Yang stood up from the couch. Jaune then started unhooking his cuirasse. He unfastened it and pulled the pieces off, putting it down beside the couch before laying down. Yang laid down on the couch, snuggling up to him. Ruby burst into rose petals, landing in the perfect place to snuggle into as well. Her tail could barely move, but still managed to flap back and forth.

* * *

Aurora turned to call out to the lounge, "Could someone tell the others that lunch is almost ready?!"

Jaune struggled to sit up with the two sisters cuddled into/overtop of him.

"Nooooooo." Ruby said.

"Nuh-uh." Yang replied.

"I do believe," Ren voiced, "that Oscar would like to see Jaune ambulatory."

"Hm..." Yang groaned.

"Nooooo." Ruby repeated.

"Not good enough reason for me to get up." Yang added.

"We are going to be having lunch." Nora stated.

"Ugh, fine." Yang groaned, and she slowly disentangled herself. She looked back at Ruby who seemed more than happy to remain. "You keep missing meals, sis, and you're never going to grow up."

"I'll have you know!," Ruby replied, "that Jaune finds me adorable!"

Yang then grabbed her own breasts and lifted them a bit, "Well, what about these, then?"

"Pfft." Ruby replied.

"PFFT?!" Yang asked, "How you can PFFT! these?!"

Ruby disentangled herself, sat up, and augustly pointed at Yang, "Jaune doesn't need giant boobs!"

"Says who?" Yang asked.

"Says Weiss!" Ruby shouted, causing a loud, terrifying, reverberating, but somehow still elegant scoff from the kitchen.

Jaune looked about for a moment, realizing he was free, and quickly stood up. He then paused and groaned as his body ached.

"Shit." Yang said.

"Nora can accompany Jaune," Ren said, "and I will retrieve those on the patio."

Yang looked at Jaune with worry before nodding her head. "But, if you get hurt, next time we're not letting you up at all!"

"Not even to go to the bathroom!" Ruby shouted, and Yang paused before looking at her.

"Uh?.." Yang asked, and Ruby looked at her as Jaune shambled away. She then looked back to Jaune as Nora walked beside him, "Shit."

"Exactly." Ruby affirmed.

* * *

Jaune slowly, deliberately walked down the stairs to see Oscar doing pushups. "Oscar?" he groaned, and Oscar fell flat on his face. He rushed to recover, but was out of breath. He stood there, looking at Jaune. "Lunch is almost ready, buddy." Oscar just nodded at Jaune, smiling as Jaune turned around to walk back up the stairs.

"He nearly died," Oscar voiced, "and was still the one to come get me."

Jaune stopped on the stairs, and looked down to shout, "The secret is that I always nearly die."

#rwby #firen lhain #faunus au #pollinated knight

[shining-red-diamond]

Shallow Waters (Part V)

Words: 1.7k

Pairing: Hendery x Brittany (OC) (feat. WayV and Louis)

Rating: PG-15

Genre: fluff, some angst

Warnings: mentions of sex and mating, blood, mentions of abandonment and infidelity

Brittany’s lunch consisted of ham, broccoli, and mac & cheese, while Hendery chowed down on some raw salmon. He hated that he wouldn’t be able to try the foods that she or other humans enjoyed, but he was grateful she was willing to find him a variety of different fish. That way, he didn’t feel as if he was eating the same thing over and over again. The drinks, however, didn’t affect him, yet he preferred to drink just water.

The weather cleared up by the time the couple had finished their meals. While still cloudy, the rain and thunder had come to a halt. Hendery glanced out the window and watched the ocean as Brittany cleaned the dishes.

He then thought about his siren friends. It had been almost two months since he last saw them, and he figured they had to have been finished with helping the other sea creatures. What better opportunity for Brittany to meet the sirens?

Turning to Brittany, he asked her, “Would Brittany like to meet Hendery’s friends?”

She paused midway through loading the dishwasher when he spoke. There was a moment of silence before she answered, “Oh, the sirens?”

“Yes.”

“Of course, I would,” she smiled as she closed the dishwasher and started it. “When?”

“Would Brittany like to go now? The storm has stopped.”

She glanced out the window to see he was right. The clouds still looked heavy as if the bottom might fall out again, but if they were only gone for a few minutes they should be fine.

“Alright,” she nodded. “I’ll go change.”

Knowing they might have to swim again, Brittany went back to her room and slipped on her blue bikini before putting on a loose cover up. Hendery was in awe of her when she returned to the kitchen.

“Let’s go quickly before it rains again,” she said as she grabbed the merman’s hand, almost ignoring his admirations of her.

When they reached the beach, Hendery transformed into his merman form. He led her out in the same direction of where they first hung out about two months earlier; but instead of stopping there, they swam a little further until there was what Brittany could describe as an oasis. Palm trees as tall as a two story building produced coconuts, golden sand surrounded the sapphire-colored lagoon, and various birds inhabited the surrounding trees. A few stray cats and dogs drank from the water, but they never bothered the couple.

“Wait here,” Hendery instructed his lover before swimming off into the ocean.

Brittany sat down on the beach and patiently waited. Looking around, she spotted a shaded area by the lagoon and decided to wait under there. The moment she sat down a soft mew came from her left. When she took a glance, the sound had come from a Siamese cat sniffing at her wrist before licking her right on her dove tattoo. The cat then stared up at her with large blue eyes and sat down.

“Where did you come from, little buddy?” Brittany giggled. “You don’t seem to have a tag on you.”

Holding her hand out with her palm facing up, the cat sniffed her hand again and nuzzled its face in it. She scratched his head and smiled. The cat purred as he (she checked) brushed against her hip before resting his head on her stomach.

“Am I warm?” Brittany asked as she pet his back.

For a few minutes, she bonded with the cat, petting his head as he purred happily. She even named him Louis, despite him not being her pet.

“Brittany!” Hendery’s voice called to her, followed by a few splashes.

His head emerged, followed by his body and tail crawling up on the beach. He looks so gorgeous soaking wet from the ocean, Brittany thought as he adjusted himself in a comfortable sitting position.

The cat didn’t mind being carried in Brittany’s arms as she walked over to where her merman was sitting. When she sat down, the feline leaped out and scurried over to Hendery’s tail.

“Did Brittany make a new friend?” Hender chuckled as the cat tried playing his scales.

“He just came up to me as if he had known me for a long time,” she explained. “He’s a very social kitty.”

Hendery pet the furry friend for a second before he told Brittany to look out towards the ocean. “The sirens are about to appear.”

Sure enough, six heads popped up and moved closer towards the couple. Frightened by the sudden movements, the cat jumped and ran off.

“Funny creatures,” the merman commented before turning his attention back to the six sirens, who were now seemingly wading in the water.

“Hello, Brittany,” a siren with round eyes and a broad nose greeted with a friendly smile. “Hendery has told us great things about you. I’m Kun.”

All of them were well built with toned abs and strong biceps, but in a way that was pleasing to the eye and not so much body builder. It was more of them gaining strength and being fit from doing whatever it is they do. They each had a distinct tattoo somewhere on their arms, neck, or torso. Kun had a fatherly presence as he seemed to be the leader figure of the group and sported a mark shaped in a sort of sun with rays on his shoulder.

“Sirens who are opposite of the myth,” the tallest one with a deep voice jokes.

“I’m aware,” Brittany nods. “What’s your name?”

“Lucas.”

One by one, the sirens introduced themselves to Hendery’s lover. Lucas’s skin was more tan than the others, and he had a sort of flower tattoo on his left side. Xiaojun was well-mannered with sharp eyes and a mark of a starfish shape on his hip. The second tallest, WinWin, had a unique ears shape where one was more pointed than the other and a softer jawline with some sort of mended heart shape etched the center of her sternum. A feline faced siren of the bunch called himself Ten and sported an intricate tattoo on his right forearm; and the smallest siren YangYang was the youngest and had a more boyish aura about him while his tattoo was displayed over where his heart would be.

“Hendery has told me how you took him in,” said Brittany as she sat up a little straighter.

“We were all very young,” Ten explained. “YangYang was almost one and Kun was five. When we were all swimming around the Gulf of Mexico one day, we saw a tiny, two year old merboy so weak and crying.”

“So, you raised him when you guys were basically children?”

“Sirens’ brains age differently from humans and merfolk,” WinWin added. “However, we still lived with another mermaid who cared for us until Kun was fourteen.”

“Once Hendery turned eighteen, he ventured off around the world,” the merman finished. “He settled in Florida, because his friends lived there.”

“And that’s where he found you, Brittany,” Kun finished.

The sirens continued telling their stories about adventures with Hendery and updating their friend on what they were doing in the ocean. Each of them were extremely kind and didn’t hesitate to help others in need, even going to war to protect a race of sea nymphs in the Mediterranean. Yet, whenever Brittany asked what makes Hendery different from the other merfolk, they just gave her the same answer her lover did: sharp teeth with an appetite for only raw fish.

“I mean, who were his parents?” she asks.

“Well, we know for a fact his father is the king of a mermaid city off this coast,” Ten answered. “We found that out about a year after we took him in. The king was infamous for sleeping with other creatures before he crowned a mermaid his queen. So far, Hendery was the only result of his affairs. We’re not quite sure who his mother was.”

Brittany examined Hendery as he chomped on a flounder YangYang had caught for him, fish blood trickling down a little bit.

“He could be only half-merfolk,” she concluded.

“That’s what we have thought as well,” Kun agreed. “But we never brought it up as to not make him feel that he wasn’t worth anything by being different.”

“He is different” -she looked at her lover once more- “but special.”

His cheeks blushed as he wiped his mouth.

Louis returned to the small gathering, and he immediately wanted some of Hendery’s snack. The merman happily tore off a piece and fed it to him.

“So, are you guys mates yet?” YangYang asked as he tried to reach out and pet the cat.

Brittany was confused. “In what sense?”

Kun thumped the youngests forehead. “You can’t just ask couples stuff like that.”

“Sorry,” the youngest yelped. “I just noticed she doesn’t have a mark yet, and I was curious.”

“Brittany and Hendery are lovers,” Lucas added. “There’s a difference.”

His comment is what switched on the lightbulb in Brittany’s brain.

“Wait, mates?” she repeated. “As in, have we...done the deed? And what’s a mark have to do with anything?”

Kun explained everything to Brittany. For merfolk, the mate’s mark was given to females in the space between the neck and the shoulder, and the male would have an imprint of the wound in the exact spot on his skin. In a sense, it was like a marriage ritual between the two beings who truly loved each other.

“But as you have guessed,” the eldest siren finished, “it’s done during intimacy.”

Brittany nodded. Hendery held her hand and kissed it. He knew sooner or later they would have to follow through with the ritual, but he respected his lover enough to go forward with it if she was ready.

“I apologize if I said anything out of turn,” YangYang piped up. “I say things without thinking sometimes.”

“You’re fine,” she reassured him.

WinWin glanced behind him towards another end of the beach. “We have to go,” he informed.

Kun nodded. “We’ll hang out again, soon,” he promised. “YangYang put the cat down.”

WIth a finish trick splash, the six sirens swam off to whatever task they had been called to do, and Louis shook himself dry.

-

Tags: @fantasywayv​ @ezralia-writes​ @dearyongs​ @strawberryguema​ @daybreakx​ @neocitybyday​ @jaekissd​ @not-majestic-bluenicorn​ @queen-of-himbos​ @lilhwahwa​ @philosopher-of-fandoms​ @the32ndbeat​ @dreamystuffers​

#kwritersworldnet #kpopscape #kdiner #nct-writers #wayvhoursnet #nctcreations #neothestars #kdiarynet #kpopficsnetwork #nct #wayv #wayv hendery #nct hendery #wong kunhang #wong hendery #wayv fluff #nct fluff #wayv angst #nct angst #merman!au

[nayutai]

Royally Fucked

↝ Summary Kim Seokjin is a royal asshole. Literally. As the only heir to the throne of Cirenth he’s used to getting what he wants when he wants it. The only obstacle in his way is you, his rigidly moral assistant. He outranks you on both the social and hybrid hierarchies yet a shiver of fear runs down his spine whenever your claws come out. One rude interruption too many is the straw that breaks the camel’s back and he decides he must rid himself of you once and for all.  

↝ Warnings Jin is a dumbass, oral sex, semi-public nudity, unprotected sex (use condoms kids), dry humping, crude/foul language

↝ Word Count 14.809

One day at a time.

Your daily mantra bounces around in your brain just like it does every other morning as you give yourself one final once over in the mirror before exiting your suite. Your shoulders are squared, head held high, and your trusty iPad is in hand as you move purposefully through the service wing of the palace. It’s just after seven in the morning and as personal assistant to the crowned prince of Cirenth Kim Seokjin, it’s time to get the royal jackass started on his day.

A deep breath in and released through your mouth to steel your nerves in preparation to deal with the nuisance that is Seokjin is the last thing you do before flinging open the heavy oak door. You’re so used to him being a comatose lump in bed at this hour that the light choking noises don’t even register in your brain until you’re face with the sight of Seokjin vigorously face fucking one of the palace maids. A headache springs up behind your left eye. This is why you’re the highest paid service person in the whole palace after the head chef. Dealing with Prince Seokjin is an absolute nightmare. You wish that you could say this is the first time you’ve walked in on him performing some lewd act with one of his numerous partners but sadly it is not. However, this is the first time you’ve caught him with another member of the palace staff.

“Can you hurry it up, your highness?” You sigh with a quick glance at the apple watch strapped to your wrist. “We have a busy schedule today and we need to get going.”

Seokjin and his flavor of the morning are so shameless that they don’t even stop what they’re doing. If anything, he speeds up his thrusts into the willing mouth his erection is stuffed in. You make it a point to focus on the wall above his head to keep your eyes from wandering lower. It’s easier said than done. Seokjin might be an irritating bastard but even you must admit that he’s sinfully attractive. That primal attraction is shattered when he opens his mouth.

“Why don’t you get down here and join her? I bet I’d be coming in seconds.” He suggests much to your chagrin.

“I’d rather claw out my own intestines and eat them.” You reply quickly. Your nose wrinkling in distaste. He might be the hottest piece of ass you’ve laid eyes on but you have standards.

“Oh, come on, Kitty. A threesome might actually loosen you up some.” You can feel your claws lengthening with the urge to tear him apart at his little nickname for you but Kim Seokjin outranks you in more than just social hierarchy. As a black panther hybrid, you are far outmatched when it comes to the dragon still shallowly face fucking his human conquest.

“Camille would love some help. Wouldn’t you, pet?” He coos out. The petite maid at his feet nods as best she can in her current position. Your nose wrinkles at the way the smell of her arousal kicks up a notch.

“The only thing I’m helping Camille do is file an unemployment claim as her services will no longer be needed in the palace.” Your face is carefully devoid of emotion as that sentence makes Camille tear herself away from Seokjin.

The spot above Seokjin’s head you’ve been staring take a backseat to his saliva-covered erection bobbing in the air. Camille swats at his hands as she grovels at your feet for her job. There is not an ounce of sympathy in your heart for the young maid. Every palace employee is told upon hiring that sexual relations with members of the royal family are strictly forbidden. Few rules in this palace result in immediate termination and this one is right at the top of the list. As a recent hire, Camille shouldn’t have had time to forget that particular fact.

With a resigned sigh, you turn to open the ornate door of Seokjin’s room. Camille knows what that means. She finally drags herself off her knees to run out of the door. The heavy wood door slams shut behind her.

Most hybrids have a keen sense of smell no matter what form they’re in but dragons are a strange exception to that trend and right now you’ve never been more thankful for it. The more primal side of you is practically salivating at the sight of the sizeable appendage jutting from Seokjin’s body. You grimace internally at the gush of wetness that soaks your panties.

“Goddammit you couldn’t wait five more minutes?” Seokjin questions indignantly. He’s always been a physically expressive speaker for as long as you’ve known him. You hate it, especially now that all of his gesturing is making his softening erection wave around wildly. “Now I have to walk around with blue balls all day.”

You huff in response as you herd him towards his bathroom. “Don’t care. Now go take a shower. You’re meeting with a lot of important people today and I can’t have you smelling freshly fucked in front of foreign dignitaries.”

He mumbles something under his breath about not smelling freshly fucked if he didn’t actually get to fuck but for once you choose to not respond to him. While he’s showering, you raid his closet to find him a suit to wear for the day. You fan yourself with the sleeve of a heather gray suit that probably costs more than your healthy monthly salary. Your body temperature is already a few degrees higher than a human’s but now your body feels like a walking furnace.

The sound of the shower turning off spurs you in action. You quickly grab the gray suit you’ve been using as a makeshift fan along with a pale blue shirt and a tie to match. The clothing is carefully laid out on the bed before you disappear back into the closet for accessories. Seokjin emerges from the bathroom in a very revealing pair of black boxer briefs furiously towel drying his hair. You tell him to make it quick before disappearing out in the hallway to wait for him.

“Was firing Camille really necessary?” Seokjin asks, interrupting the peaceful quiet in the SUV. You don’t even glance up from your iPad as you continue to answer one email after another.

“Yes, sexual relations with a member of the royal family are a direct violation of the palace employment contract and results in immediate dismissal.” Had you been looking at him you would have seen the way his lips pouted. A sign that the young prince is deep in thought.

Seokjin is a vengeful man. It’s a fact of his life that he knows has gotten him into trouble more often than not. Despite how much he likes to push your buttons, he’s always made sure to never go too far or risk the harsh bite of your wrath. He might be the bigger, badder hybrid between the two of you but truth be told you scare him quite a bit. He can’t let his fear get in the way of his revenge though. You have singlehandedly cut off his access to the best pussy he’s ever encountered in the palace and that will never do. There’s a week-long summit coming up in a few days in one of the neighboring kingdoms. He decides then that he will commence his plan for revenge.

Operation: Bye Bye Kitty will soon be underway.

“Good morning, Kitty. Did you sleep well?” Jin chirps. Your icy glare doesn’t dim his megawatt smile in the slightest. The way your eyes flash that familiar gold does give him pause though as you seem to struggle to hold your tongue.

Seokjin takes a small step back when you close your eyes for a few seconds. The iPad that never seems to leave your hands is currently clutched to your chest in a death grip. Maybe kicking off his plan at five in the morning as the two of you are preparing to leave for eight o’clock flight wasn’t his best decision. In the three or so years he’s known you, you’ve never been a morning person.

“Don’t speak to me again until we land in Aurlena.” You mutter when you seem to have better control of yourself.

“But that’ll be like eight hours from now.” He protests loudly. The flight to the distant kingdom is already going to be hell as it is but not having anyone to talk to is only going to make it worse. You shut him up with one single glare that promises an untold amount of pain if he doesn’t zip it immediately.

The more animalistic side of him cringes at the way he backs down without another word but the human side of him knows he made the right decision. You’d rip him to shreds faster than he could blink if given the smallest bit of provocation and he knows it. It’s with a shudder that he notices your fingers have actually sharpened into claws. He knows you’re not usually a morning person but you’re extra irritable today. That doesn’t bode well for his plan at all.

The second the doors of the private jet open, you and Seokjin are whisked to the palace of the fairy queen who rules over the kingdom of Aurlena. A spritely host leads the two of you to the main dining hall where an extravagant brunch is being served. Summit participants are spread around at various tables talking amongst themselves over various brunch dishes.

Seokjin purposefully selects an empty table away from the crowd next to a window when the host asks if he has a preference. The view of the royal garden stretching out before them in various hues is breathtaking in its beauty. Rays of light stream through the glass and hit your profile at an angle that leaves the problematic prince speechless for a second as second thoughts run through his head. Maybe he shouldn’t do this. One snappy command to stop slouching from your pursed lips crushes that doubt to dust.

“So, what brought you to the palace?” Seokjin questions as he carefully covers his lap in one of the pristine linen napkins. You snort in response to him just as he’d expected.

“That’s a stupid question. I’m here for the same reason you are, idiot.” He has to stop himself from insulting you in turn. He can’t afford to let a single negative word pass his lips if he wants this plan to work.

“I know that but how did you end up working at the palace? Your file says you were an art student but you dropped out.” You narrow your eyes at him suspiciously. He’s up to something. You’re sure of it.

“Why were you reading my file?”

“Well you said I wasn’t allowed to speak on the plane so I did some reading.”

“Most people read novels not personnel files, Seokjin so cut the bullshit.” The grip you have on your fork that’s hovering above the plate of food you’ve just been served looks punishing but he powers through. He opens his mouth to point out the fact that as a crowned prince he’s most definitely not most people but he thinks better of it.

“Is it really so bad that I want to get to know you? You pick out my underwear for Christ’s sake.” He points out. You’re a woman who can appreciate an honest pursuit of knowledge and facts. Seokjin may not be all that honest about why he wants said knowledge but you don’t need to know that. You arch a brow at him as you consider his statement and for a second he’s sure that you’re going to tell him to piss off.

“My dad had a series of small strokes my senior year of college. My mom had been a housewife since I was born and they couldn’t afford to keep paying for art school so I dropped out. I knew someone who knew someone else and managed to get this job.” Seokjin is a bit taken aback. He was expecting something a bit more frivolous and a lot less traumatic. Then again, you didn’t strike him as a person that did anything frivolous.

“You’ve worked with me for what three years now? Why didn’t you ever mention this? How’s your father doing now?” He questions with rapid fire.

“I didn’t tell you because my personal life is none of your business but my dad is doing much better now. He’ll probably never be 100% but he’s still here.” A small smile graces your features as you duck your head shyly. It’s clear how much you love your father.

A strange flutter takes root in his gut at such an unfamiliar action from you. Looks like family is a soft spot for you. Maybe something happened and that’s the reason for your increased irritability this morning. Seokjin ponders that possibility for the rest of the day as he mindlessly moves through the different speakers and panel discussions for that day.

Seokjin lays in bed later that night mindlessly watching an episode of Bob’s Burgers when his mind drifts back over the events of the day. You’d been incredibly on edge this morning. So much so, that he’d toyed with the idea of postponing his evil scheme to keep from being slaughtered. He praises his own genius when he recalls a certain fact from the exhaustive personnel file he’d read on the plane. Seriously, why are they so in-depth? Why would anyone need to know your precise measurements and what color you prefer the most? He quickly reigns himself back in and grabs the phone from its cradle on the nightstand.

It rings once before someone picks up. The hotel staff member is initially hesitant to fulfill his request until Seokjin gives his room number. All hesitancy goes out the window once that tidbit of information is on the table. Whoever is on the other line must have seen exactly who’s occupying the room. He hangs up after assuring that his wishes will be granted expeditiously. Now all he has to do is wait.

You’re making last minute preparations for day two of the summit when a knock sounds through your suite. No one should be knocking on your door at this time of night unless it’s an emergency. You’re immediately thrown into crisis mode, crossing the room in four large steps. When you see the person standing on the other side of the door you wish you’d thought to grab your robe. You feel incredibly exposed in your worn, oversized t-shirt that bares the symbol of your former university and a tiny pair of shorts.

“I must say I rather like this look on you.” Seokjin says with a smirk as he squeezes by you to step into your room. He looks around observantly though there’s really no point to it. Your hotel rooms are mirror images of each other so there’s nothing he hasn’t seen before.

“It’s almost one in the morning. What do you want?”

“Oh, I brought you this.” Your senses finally seem to get over the initial shock of being disturbed at this hour as he holds out a white box that you hadn’t even noticed before. The enticing smell of chocolate and hazelnut caresses your nose. As if it’ll disappear, you slowly take the proffered container before taking a seat on the edge of your bed while Seokjin cautiously does the same.

“You seemed like you were having a rough morning so I called the kitchen to have them make this for you. I know it’s your favorite.” He speaks up at your startled gasp when you open the lid to reveal a chocolate hazelnut cheesecake. Your favorite dessert.

Seokjin actually looks shy for the first time in all the years you’ve known him. One large hand rubs nervously at the back of his neck as he awaits your reaction. The tips of his ears could be confused for tomatoes with how red they are.

“I know that wasn’t in my HR file so how did you know it’s my favorite?” You question curiously around a bite of the decadent dessert. You hadn’t even bothered to cut a proper slice, opting to just dig in instead. If it weren’t for your impeccable self-control you would’ve moaned at loud and made a fool of yourself. Seokjin grabs an extra fork at your insistence and digs in right alongside you.

“You’re right it’s not, but it did say that your favorite candy is chocolate plus I noticed that the chef makes you one of these for your birthday every year.”

“How did you know that?”

“People sometimes forget that the palace is still just a really big house. I know everything that goes on in my home.”

You nod in concession to his point as you set your fork aside. It is well within your abilities to eat the whole cheesecake in one sitting. A perk of your ramped-up hybrid metabolism. However, you know that doing so will mean a sleepless night and a day of chugging coffee so as not to fall asleep.

“So,” Seokjin starts sheepishly, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

You glance at him in your peripheral vision. Even fix your mouth to deny his invitation to vent. Your eyes wander to the half a cheesecake that you’d set on the nightstand and decide, what the hell? He did go to the trouble of securing your favorite dessert just because he’d realized you were upset this morning. With a heavy sigh, you scoot back so you’re leaned against the headboard.

Your bare legs are stretched out in front of you while Seokjin chooses to stretch his lanky frame across the foot of the bed, propping his head up on his hand. To an outsider, the two of you probably look like half of the Golden Girls cast spilling tea and discussing feelings over cheesecake.

“This stays between us, right?” You ask apprehensively.

“Of course, it does. Boy scout’s honor.” Seokjin beams as he holds up three fingers in salute.

“First of all, that’s the girl scout’s hand sign. Second of all, you were never a boy scout, Seokjin, so what type of honor do you even have?” You hold your hand over your mouth in an attempt to stifle the laughter doing its best to escape.

He waves you off with a playful scoff. It feels weird. You’re about to spill your guts to the man that’s been nothing but a whiny pain in your ass for the better part of three years. This is definitely crossing a line, right? And yet you find yourself pushing that strange feeling to the side. He listens intently as you tell him about the phone call you received from your mother the night before the two of you left for Aurlena.

Simply put, your parents are on the verge of eviction. Well, they were until you’d emptied out your healthy savings account to get them current on their mortgage and keep them off the streets. That was only a temporary fix though. They still owe nearly $10,000 on their mortgage. A mortgage that they can no longer afford to keep up with though they’d never divulged that minor detail to you. Your parents are proud people. They hadn’t wanted you to drop out of school to help them, even promised to do whatever necessary to find the money to fund your last year but you couldn’t do that. Not when creditors were calling them so often that they pulled the plug for the phone out of the wall completely.

You’d taken over the medical bills when you got the job at the palace. It took over a year but you finally got them all caught up but with your dad still needing extensive medical care there would always be more. You’d tried to help your parents with their various other expenses but they assured you that everything was fine now that you’d taken away the burden that was the mountain of medical bills that had piled up at their feet. Apparently, that hadn’t been the truth. Despite your mother getting a part-time job to make some money while also taking care of your father on the days his nurse wasn’t there and his sizeable pension, it wasn’t enough to cover everything.

Seokjin’s face displays a myriad of emotions as you continue your tale. You hadn’t intended to talk this much but it’s not like you really have anyone to talk to. All of your friends from college have moved on with their lives doing god knows what so once you got started you can’t stop. The words just keep flowing and Seokjin just keeps listening.

Surprisingly, the conversation keeps flowing. The more you talk to him, the more you realize that maybe he’s not quite as much of a dickhead as you always thought. Who are you kidding? He’s definitely still a dickhead, but in a more endearing way. In other words, he’s an enigma. A glance at the digital clock nearly makes your eyes bulge out of your head. There’s no way the two of you have stayed up till nearly two in the morning just talking. You hustle him towards the door with strict instructions to go straight to bed with no pit stops and no mindless social media scrolling.

Seokjin goes willingly, giggling at your urgency the whole way. He promises not to make any “pit stops” as you so eloquently put it but both of you know he’s not going to listen.

The second he’s back in his room, he’s digging his laptop out of his suitcase. He opens a fresh word document and brands it with the title of his brilliant plan. His fingers dance across the keyboard as he documents the events of the day. He types a few notes. Makes a few observations. The key to a successful outcome will be keeping track of what works and what doesn’t. A lingering sense of guilt creeps up on him but he shakes it off, typing a final note to pen a glowing recommendation letter for your future employment endeavors. He might be about to get you fired but he’s not so much of an asshole to leave you at the mercy of the world with no job, especially after everything you’d told him tonight.

*   *   *

The next morning finds you wide awake and fidgety. You’d chased sleep for hours but your brain refused to power down. Your conversation with Seokjin kept replaying over and over in your head. What would be the consequences of telling him such intimate details of your life like that? You weren’t foolish enough to believe that there wouldn’t be any. Seokjin did nothing that didn’t benefit him in some way so he has to have some ulterior motive for suddenly being so nice and attentive.

Your fists are clenched tightly in the expensive sheets of your bed. Last night was a mistake. You’ve always prided yourself on being a logical person and yet, there was nothing logical about telling your boss all about your present hardships. The thought of what this could mean for your future made you queasy. After giving up on sleep, you’d spent the last few hours before your alarm goes off making sure that your resume is absolutely flawless. If you’re going to be unemployed, you need to make sure that you far outshine your competition in the job market. You can’t afford to go without a job considering that your savings account currently has nothing but the mandatory $20 that the bank requires for the account to remain open. Your checking account is nearly just as empty. You’d had to hit it up too and pay day is still a little over a week away.

It nearly takes an act of God for you to raise your fist to knock on Seokjin’s room door. He answers with a blinding smile that calms you for some strange reason. He’s dressed in the sleek navy blue you’d selected for the day. You can’t help but admire the way the tailor-made jacket highlights his broad shoulders with perfection.

“You ready?” Seokjin asks interrupting a bout of silence that you hadn’t even realized had stretched between the two of you.

“Oh…yes after you.” You step aside and dutifully follow him towards the elevator. A yawn slips out despite your best efforts to hold it in. If you make it through this day, it’ll be a miracle.

Your phone rings with a call from your mother as the elevator descends smoothly to the first floor. You ignore it the first time but the second? The second one you answer. She never calls twice in a row like this unless a crisis is underway.

“Mom? What’s wrong?” You ask, concern heavily laced through your words. Your worry only intensifies as you pick up on small sniffs and hiccups coming from the other end of the line.

She tearfully retells the reason for her emotional phone call. A phone call from the bank holding your parents’ mortgage. According to the bank representative, their mortgage is now all paid up and they should be expecting a certified packaged with the deed to the house in a few business days.

The elevator is cruising past the fifteenth floor while your jaw has already reach the lobby. This can’t be real life. The bank must have made some cruel accounting error. Your mind is already whirling with the different phone calls you’re going to have to make to get to the bottom of this as your mom continues to sob her thanks. It takes several attempts but you finally get her off the phone. Now the real work of solving this dilemma while also fulfilling your work obligations can begin.

“You’re welcome.” You jump as Seokjin speaks out of nowhere. Oftentimes you forget that while his senses aren’t as strong in human form as yours are, he can still hear better than the average human. But that would mean…

“You didn’t.” You accuse with narrowed eyes. The fool next to you apparently has more money than sense if he truly did what he’s claiming.

“Oh, but I did.”

“Well undo it. I don’t have that kind of money. I can’t pay you back.” The elevator dings as the door slide open in the opulent hotel lobby. Seokjin faces straight ahead, striding confidently towards the SUV waiting to deliver the two of you to the palace for another day of panel discussions and seminars.

He faces you for the first time as he waits for the driver to open the car door. “I don’t recall asking to be repaid, Kitty.” The look in his eyes nearly takes your breath away. No one has ever looked at you with this much…sincerity? You can’t really put your finger on exactly what it is you see in his eyes but it makes your gut twist up in knots.

“I can’t-” Your words are cut off by a yawn that refuses to be suppressed. You soon realize that it doesn’t matter anyway because Seokjin has absolutely no plans to listen to your protests.

The man next to you hums in approval when one of the security guards up front lowers the security screen and passes two cups of coffee to Seokjin. Your eyes widen for the hundredth time since you walked out of your hotel room when he hands one of the piping hot cups to you. He winks at you annoyingly before taking a sip of the scalding liquid. It always irks you when he flexes on you like that. Stupid dragons and their stupid immunity to extreme heat. You, on the other hand, have to wait for the coffee to cool off before you can drink it.

“Thank you.” You whisper into your coffee.

“Anything for you, Kitty.”

Surprisingly, the rest of the seminar passes in much of the same fashion. Seokjin continues to do little things here and there to get on your good side. He even shows up for more late night conversations a few times. Each time feels like an episode of The Golden Girls as the two of you laugh and talk about life over hulking slices of cheesecake. You’re still not entirely sure of his motive but it’s not like you’re in the position to turn down his olive branch of friendship. Being his assistant hasn’t left you much time for a social life. You’re so far removed from your old friend groups that you’re not even sure they still consider you their friend at this point.

You’d thought that things would go back to normal when your plane touched down in Verus but Seokjin is only too happy to prove you wrong. He greets you like an old friend during his routine wakeup call the next morning. Warm embrace and all. You stand stiff-armed and in shock until he physically places your arms around his neck. Your mind is frantic as you try to figure out how to respond. Part of you wants to melt into his arms but that’s dangerous territory. That type of thinking could lead to feelings that you can’t afford to feel. A protest is on the tip of your tongue but Seokjin releases you before you can voice it. A genuine smile lights up his face as he takes a step back from you.

“A hug a day keeps the wrinkles away,” He announces as he smooths out your furrowed brow. You weren’t even aware that you were frowning. “and you’re much too pretty for wrinkles so I expect a hug every morning. It’s my royal degree.”

In true Seokjin fashion, he doesn’t give you a chance to argue with him. He simply disappears into the bathroom and hops in the shower. Still in a daze, you set about picking out his suit for the day. You’re going through his accessories looking for a particular set of cufflinks when Seokjin’s voice suddenly sounds from behind you. He’s entirely too close to you if the closeness of his voice is anything to go by. You hadn’t even registered the sound of the shower turning off nor the bathroom door opening. When you turn around to chastise him for scaring you, you fervently wish for a sink hole to open up beneath your feet and send you plummeting towards the Earth’s core.

Seokjin stands before you in all of his freshly showered glory. Hair dripping, skin flushed and damp, and a towel slung dangerously low around his waist. Saliva pools in your mouth at the devastating sight of him. You nearly say fuck the consequences and launch yourself at him but your last ounce of resolve keeps your muscles locked in place.

“Sorry. Forgot my underwear.” The cocky devil in front you reaches for a shelf down by your hip to grab a pair of the overpriced Balenciaga boxer briefs that he’s partial to. He normally keeps a stock of underwear in his bathroom so that he can just get dressed when he comes out but it would appear that isn’t the case for today.

“I’m going to kill him.” You announce to the row of suit jackets by your head. Fists clenched at your sides as you fight for control. Your more primitive side is fighting to get out and answer the sexual challenge that Seokjin has laid before you but the human in you would rather die than give into your animalistic urges and risk everything you’ve worked for. Rational thought must take precedent here.

Jin’s flirtatious demeanor continues throughout the day in the form of random compliments and acts of kindness. A large part of the day is taken up by a mandatory appearance at an outdoor festival with his parents. The sun is shining brightly and Seokjin takes every chance he gets to tell you how you look like a “sun-kissed goddess”. You have an overwhelming urge to smack him every time he opens his mouth to say it. A waitress accidentally spills a drink down your back and he doesn’t hesitate a single second before he’s taking off his blazer to wrap it around your shoulders. A blazer that you know for a fact costs more than your entire monthly salary.

You’re not sure why he’s being so different but you can’t find it within yourself to complain either. Jin, as he now insists that you call him, is a lot more receptive to your instructions which in turn makes your job less of a headache. The constant compliments don’t hurt either. However, it’s when you start to look forward to them every day that you realize that maybe you’re not as immune to him as you’d once thought. Jin picks up on the subtle shift in your attitude as well. You smile more now and it makes his heart do jumping jacks every time. These days his plan of action has taken a back seat and every word out of his mouth is now a genuine effort to get you to bless him with even the smallest of grins.

You can feel Jin’s eyes on you as your fingers fly across the screen of your tablet. He’s inches away from you in the back seat of the SUV currently returning both of you to the palace after a long day of public appearances. Part of you yearns to know what’s going on in that head of his but you don’t want to push him. This…thing between the two of you is strange to say the least. You’ve long accepted that you have less than platonic feelings for him but that pesky employment clause in a mountain in your path. Besides, there’s no way that Jin feels the same way about you. He’s always had a thing for those traditionally beautiful girls that seem to draw people into them with their mere presence. You wish you could say that was you but you know it’s not

“I like you.” Jin interrupts your self-deprecating thoughts as if you had spoken them out loud. Your eyes fly to his, wide open. The shocked expression is identical to the one you’re sure that paints your own face as if that little sentence wasn’t meant to be said aloud.

“What did you just say?” You ask strictly for clarification purposes because there’s no way in hell he just said that.

He takes a deep breath, scooting closer to you. “I like you.”

Your heart leaps into your throat as he repeats himself in a soft voice that is just so unlike the loud, animated man you’re used to. He’s practically folded in on himself as if he’s preparing himself for rejection. You realize then that you weren’t the only one harboring feelings that you thought could never be reciprocated.

His words embolden you to finally act on your own repressed feelings. You completely close the little remaining distance between the two of you, leaning in to whisper in his ear. “I like you too.”

His lanky frame tenses up as he searches your face for any hint of a lie. He’s visibly relieved when he doesn’t find it. Smoke billows out of his nostrils and a shiver of fear runs the length of your spine. You’ve never personally seen a dragon hybrid shift but in all of the movies they always blow smoke out of their noses like this right before they transform into their more powerful form. You’d like to not be intimately pressed against Jin in the back of an SUV if he’s about to turn into a twenty-foot beast.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to shift.” Jin assures you and at this point you’re convinced that he’s reading your mind. “Dragon hybrids do this whenever we feel extreme emotion.”

You nod in understanding but you move over a few inches just in case while he cracks his window to air the car out. A small squeal totally unbefitting the unflappable persona that you’ve carefully crafted escapes you when Jin suddenly unhooks your seatbelt and lifts you into his lap. He tugs your iPad away from you with a sudden show of strength, carelessly tossing it to the floorboards on what was your side of the car.

When he runs his nose along the column of your neck, your breath seizes up in your chest. You want this. God, you really, really want this but you know that it’s against the rules. Losing this cushy position would be devastating in more ways than one. It’s with a heavy heart that you not so effortlessly extricate yourself from Jin’s grasp to slide off his lap.

Your apparent rejection stings if his hurt facial expression is anything to go by. As you reach down for your iPad, you purposefully avoid his prying gaze. You know that if you look into his eyes you’ll break. Jin has other plans as he gently cups your jaw, turning you to face him. The warm chocolate of his eyes somehow calms you while also kicking your pulse into overdrive. You’ve never met a man who had such a dizzying effect on you before.

“Let me in, Kitty.” You’re not sure when his face had gotten so close to yours but his full lips just barely graze yours with every word. A frustrated growl rumbles in your chest as you lurch forward before jerking yourself back. You shouldn’t be doing this.

“Please, I can’t go on without knowing what kissing you is like. Even if it’s only once.” His voice is gruff. Hands gripping your waist as if you’re the one thing keeping him grounded.

Fuck it.

Smoke clouds around the two of you once more as your lips dance the timeless waltz of lovers. His tongue slips into your mouth with ease. His lips are gentle yet insistent as they move against yours. In that moment, you know that this is what it’s like to fly.

Seokjin curses as he powers through one last set of bicep curls. The heavy barbell in his hand drops to the floor with a loud bang that seems to echo around the room. His eyes burn from the sweat that’s pouring off of him but he doesn’t even bother to wipe his face. Instead, he opts to just push his hair away from his forehead and keep it moving.

He would normally take this cool off period to admire his progress in the mirrors that line one wall but he can’t even bring himself to look at his own reflection right now. He turns one of the treadmills so that it’s facing a non-reflective surface and hops on, cranking it up as fast as he can handle. His chest feels tight thought it’s not from a lack of air but rather it’s the heavy weight of guilt constricting his lungs.

Kissing you hadn’t been on his list of things to do today. Neither was spilling his guts in your lap about his feelings either. The words had burst forth before he could even think about stopping them. Seokjin couldn’t help the small smile that curved the corners of his lips at the memory of you confessing that you felt the same way.

His smile becomes a frown when that gnawing sense of guilt eats at him again. He’d documented the kiss in his log out of habit. It had just become routine for him to write down every little interaction that could be deemed less than appropriate. He pushes himself faster on the treadmill. His heart yearns for you to be his without the cloud of his false pretenses looming over him. Seokjin had originally thought that kissing you would be torture because he’d never be able to get enough and he was right. What he didn’t anticipate is that he’d feel this bad about it.

His mind wanders back to that incriminating document on his laptop. He doesn’t really know why he still has it or why he still updates it. Seokjin gave up on his plan to get Kitty fired a while ago but this weird relationship that’s not quite a relationship could end tomorrow if you wanted it to and he’d rather not rely on his own memories to remember you. The mere thought of you finding out his secret makes him physically ill. He lurches from the treadmill, collapsing into a heap on the floor. He’s fucked and royally so. Pun intended.

The days seem to blur together as time goes by. As he’d expected, Seokjin finds it damn near impossible to keep his hands and lips to himself. You’ve given up on wearing lipstick at this point. It’s practically become routine for him to lift you into his lap and attach his lips to yours the second the door of the SUV is shut behind him.

Today is no different. The driver hasn’t even made it back into his seat yet and Jin’s hands are already on you. Normally, you’re just sat across both of his legs but apparently, that’s not doing it for him anymore. He positions your knees on either side of his body as he does his absolute best to ruin you. Your pencil skirt is bunched up around the tops of your thighs just barely covering your lower half.

The shock wears off in the time it takes for the driver to put the car in drive. Your fingers are buried in his hair, tugging at the soft strands when he forces your hips to rock against his own. The bulge in his slacks brushes perfectly against your clit on every roll of your hips against his lap. He swallows your moans greedily, refusing to detach your lips from his. The car hits a bump in the road that causes the two of you to bounce a bit and results in your hips coming down with enough force to have you biting down on his lip hard enough to draw blood. Jin is unfazed. Instead, he thrusts his upwards in time with the continuous rocking motion of your hips. The rising pressure in your nether regions indicating that you’re teetering on the edge of an orgasm snaps you out of the sexual haze he’s dragged you into.

“Stop.”

Though it’s the last thing he wants to do, Seokjin ceases all movement at your whispered command. You escape from his lap and put as much distance as you possibly can between you and the virile man next to you. Your fingers shakily redo the buttons on your blouse. You don’t even know when they’d come undone in the first place. The iPad that’s normally glued to your hand is nowhere to be found. After a few minutes of desperate searching, you find it has slid under your seat and into the trunk area of the SUV. Jin lets out a pained groan at the sight of your perky ass in the air when you lean over the back of the seat to reach your device.

You’re all business when you return to a seated position. If it weren’t for the fact that there’s a few strands of hair that’s been tugged out of your bun there’d be no way to tell you’d just been engaged in a heated make out session in the backseat of a car. A few coughs to clear your throat has you back to normal so you launch into a breakdown of an upcoming conference that the two of you will be attending in a few short days. Jin had forgotten all about the small healthcare summit. He hates that he has to attend these things but if it means getting uninterrupted he’ll gladly suffer through whatever hell is in store for them.

Seokjin has his ear pressed against the door connecting your room to his listening to you move around as you get ready for bed. He’d been ecstatic when you’d arrived at the hotel to find that the hotel had messed up the room reservation in such a manner. It felt like the universe was rewarding him for some good deed. He feels like such a creep right now though as he practically strains his ears to pick up on every little sound you make. His normal confident demeanor has deserted him just as it has the two previous nights. This is his last chance to finally buck up and make his move. With one final mental shove, he raises his fist to gently knock on the door.

His lungs practically collapse when you open the door. There’s no sight that he loves more than you in your after hours state clad in the baggy sweatshirts and tiny shorts combo he’s learned that you favor. Your hair released from the strict bun you wear daily per palace guidelines. Face free of makeup and exposing the small beauty mark on your top lip. Nothing could make it better except for maybe the smile currently stretching across your face.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to finally knock. I guess third time really is the charm, huh?” Shit how did you know that he’s been wussing out like some kind of coward every night? Must be a panther thing. At least he hopes it’s a panther thing because it would be really creepy otherwise.

“I-uh” Jin finds himself suddenly at a loss for words. He’d planned out exactly how he’d wanted this to go but now that you’re in front of him he’s at a loss.

“Relax, babe. I only bite on request.” Jin feels himself melt at the way your tongue teasingly pokes out between your teeth. He doesn’t protest being dragged into your room, shutting the door behind him.

“So, what’s up? It’s getting late and we have to be up early tomorrow.” You continue moving around the room laying out your clothes for tomorrow and going over tomorrow’s itinerary one final time.

“That’s actually what I wanted to ask you about.” Jin trails off as he tries to carefully choose his words in his head before saying them. You arch an eyebrow in question when you face him, taking in the way he’s nervously rubbing at the back of his neck. Your heart softens at the sight.

Jin’s eyes are trained on his feet with embarrassment because of his inability to collect his thoughts around you. He hears rather than sees you approach him; therefore, missing the loving smile on your face. Your arms snake around his slender waist, cheek resting against his firm chest. His own arms find their way around your shoulders as he breathed in the scent of your shampoo. Holding you like this will never get old for him and he’s reluctant to let go so he doesn’t.

“Can I sleep here tonight? With you.” He mumbles into the top of your head.

“Only if you give me a kiss first.” Jin can’t help but to laugh at the cute way you tilt your head back, full lips puckered up and demanding to be kissed. He’s quick to oblige your request.

Neither of you are really sure how, but what was a playful kiss mean to calm his nerves escalates into something much more. Your clothes and his fall soon litter the floor as you hastily undress each other. Jin’s lips only detach themselves from yours long enough to remove your sweatshirt. His own shirt doesn’t receive the same standard of care as he opts to rip the plain white tee down the middle instead.

His erection presses against your abdomen as he walks you backwards to the bed. Your hands wander the broad planes of shoulder blades as he blesses you with his weight. He encourages your legs to wrap around his waist, hips grinding against your own. The engorged head of his erection sends shockwaves of pleasure shooting through you until you're sure that you're teetering on the edge of insanity.

Euphoria spreads through your bloodstream when Jin finally begins inching his way inside you. He bottoms out with a grunt, sucking on your collarbone. His fingers slide up your arms, interlocking with yours as he pins your hands next to your head. Pressure is rapidly building in your gut with each purposeful grind of his hips. It's not long before you're tumbling over the edge with Jin following closely behind you.

You brush Jin's sweaty fringe away from his forehead. You can feel his lips curve into a smile against his chest when you sweetly kiss his forehead. He tightens his arms around you before rolling off to the side. The loss of his body heat makes sure shiver. You immediately turn to cuddle into his side, whining when he detaches your arms from his torso.

“Go pee.” Seokjin instructs with finality as he rolls you towards the edge of the bed. “Vaginal health is important.”

“Well you’re gonna have to carry me because I can’t exactly feel my legs right now.”

“With pleasure, my dear.” He rounds the bed and lifts you into his arms. He rambles the whole time about how this is totally contradictory to every fairytale ever.

You shut him up with a kiss when you’re both settled under the covers. He kisses your nose once, twice, three times before you finally shove him away from you and turn your back to him. Jin pulls you flush against him, leaving a lingering kiss on your shoulder. Sleep draws his eyes closed faster than he would like. He’d intended to truly savor the moment before travelling to dream land.

A pleasant soreness flares in your limbs as you stretch in the warm rays of the morning sun shining through the curtains. Jin grumbles out a protest at all your movement. His arms flail around lazily as he tries to restrict any further movement. You melt against him and allow yourself a few more minutes of solace wrapped in Jin’s strong arms. It’s when your third and final alarm goes off that you force yourself out of his grip and push him towards his own room.

He goes grudgingly and even puts up a fight at the door. The scaly bastard refuses to even touch the door knob until you give him a kiss. You attempt to scold him for being difficult but the amused grin that you try so hard to hide makes an appearance anyway, effectively negating your words. Of course, he takes advantage of the situation and turns what was meant to be a quick peck to get his ass in gear into a full make-out session. It takes all of your will power to separate yourself from him so that the two of you can finally get dressed but you manage somehow.

As per usual, you are showered and dressed faster than his royal slowness next door. You’ve committed the day’s itinerary to memory but you decide to check it again just to be sure you’re aware of every closing event Jin needs to attend. After inputting your passcode, you expect for your home screen to appear on your tablet but nothing happens. Your heart seizes in your chest and you immediately feel bereft. Trying to function without your tablet would be like asking you to fly and unlike Jin you are unable to sprout wings and take to the skies.

“No, no, no don’t do this to me now.” You exclaim as your beloved iPad doesn’t respond at all to your frantic stabs at the screen. No matter what you do it won’t unfreeze. You panic as your brain runs through your options. Diddly squat is what your brain conjures up as a solution. You can’t function without the summit itinerary and your tablet is holding it hostage.

Just then, you remember that you emailed a copy of it to Jin right after you’d received it from the Council after confirming Jin’s attendance. Thanks to your feline reflexes you’re across the room and flinging open the connecting door in a flash. You breathe a sigh of relief when you spot his laptop charging on his bedside table. However, that relief is short-lived when you realize that you have no idea what his password is. The sound of roaring water tells you he’s in the shower so you’re on your own. If Jin is anything he is vain and predictable so it shouldn’t be too hard to guess his password. When the sleek machine accepts PrinceJin1 on your second attempt you can’t help the small smile that lifts the corners of your lips.

The screen opens up to the word document he’d last been working on. With any hope, it’s his speech for the royal banquet next week but knowing him he’ll blow it off and pull something out of his ass on the spot. You’re about to minimize it to open the browser when a sentence in the middle of the page catches your eye.

3/20 – Kissed Kitty in the SUV on the way back to the palace

Your lungs seize up as you scroll through the extensive document. Every kiss. Every touch. Every whispered word is documented up until a few weeks ago. When you reach the top only to see the words Operation: RIP Kitty, it’s all you can do to hold back the tears threatening to burst forth. Your thoughts are a frantic, jumbled mess as they buzz around your brain like a hoard of frenzied bees. The sound of the shower turning off doesn’t even register until Jin is stepping out of the bathroom in a towel. The sight of his bare torso glistening with drops of water would normally melt you into a pool of whimpering desire but now all you feel is pure rage. His heart sinks when he sees you seated on the edge of his hotel bed holding his laptop in a death grip.

“I can explain.” He feels physically sick when you level your gaze at him. Looking into your eyes is one of his favorite things to do in the world but right now he wishes that you would look anywhere but at him.

He’s always said that you’re scariest when you’re angry but now he realizes that’s not true. Anger is an emotion. One he’s learned to deal with from you over the time he’s known you. You’re an open book and have never been shy about expressing your emotions so the fact that you’re now purposefully reigning that in to show this blank mask that’s on your face now shakes him to his core.

“I’ve always thought your brain was underdeveloped and this just confirms it.” You state calmly as you set the laptop back on the table where you’d found it.

“Babe,” You cringe outwardly at his use of such an endearing term. “I know this looks bad but-”

“Save it, Seokjin. I don’t need an explanation from you nor do I particularly want one.” He flinches at your harsh tone as you rise from your spot on his bed. Panthers are warm-blooded animals but your words are frosty. He hasn’t heard his full name come you’re your mouth in weeks and hearing it just now made him ache in a strange way.

Jin closes his eyes as you make your way back to your room. The sight of you walking away from him is more than he can take. He flinches at the sound of the door slamming shut. The finality of it sends a sharp pain shooting through his chest that nearly brings him to his knees.

He tries throughout the day to explain himself, but you are having none of it. You barely cast even a glance in his direction unless it’s absolutely necessary to do so. Sure, you make nice for appearances but your smile never reaches your eyes. Your irises that normally capture and mold rays of light into shooting stars look flat and lifeless. It kills him to know that he did that.

The next morning, Seokjin is already awake when you come to wake him up. Not that he ever actually went to sleep in the first place. Your jaw is set as your eyes look him up and down contemptuously. He’s on his feet in an instant, reaching out for you. The hiss you let out as you snatch away from him feels like a stab to the heart. Your eyes are glowing that tell-tale golden hue of your inner panther.

“Touch me again and I’ll rip your throat out. Crown be damned.” Your words are clipped and slurred as your teeth lengthen to their feline length. He’s never seen you lack this much control over yourself but it’s not like he can blame you. He broke your heart and he’s come to realize that he’s broken his own in the process.

Seokjin drags himself to the shower. The sound of the rushing water almost completely masks the sounds of his sobbing but you hear him anyway as you lay out his suit for today. You shove your fist in your mouth to keep from falling down the same rabbit hole. You’re absolutely miserable but the person you would normally go to for comfort is the cause of your anguish.

If Seokjin had thought you were frigid before, he’s sure that modern scientists haven’t even discovered temperatures as cold as the vibes you’re giving off now. When the two of you returned to Verus he had halfway expected for you to resign. That would’ve been so easy. At least then he wouldn’t have to look at you every day and be reminded of how stupid he’d been. He wouldn’t have to be reminded of the fact that he’d lost the best thing that ever happened to him through his own idiocy. But no one pays better than the palace so you need this job and he knows it.

Losing you has affected Seokjin in every aspect of his life. He can’t eat. He barely sleeps. It’s a struggle to face the world every day. A week and a half into your freeze out and Seokjin is ready to launch himself off a cliff. He normally looks forward to Sundays as they are his only free days but now? Now he rejects the laziness of the day. At least when he’s got a schedule packed full of appearances and other princely duties he has something other than his own misery to focus on.

“So, when are you and that assistant of your going to kiss and make up?” Seokjin freezes with his glass of apple juice resting against his bottom lip at his father’s question. Guessing that he’s been in a funk is one thing but there’s no way that his parents could possibly know what’s been going on between the two of you. He carefully sets his glass down, contemplating the best response.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, father.” Seokjin answers coyly. His eyes get impossibly wider when his mother snorts in response.

They know. He’s not sure how or when they found out but they know. It had to have been recently because they would’ve definitely fired you already if they’d known before now. His heart skips a few beats as he considers what this means for you. The King and Queen have always been sticklers for the rules. They hardly ever make exceptions for anyone, including their only son. Yet, he still readies himself for battle. He couldn’t save your heart but the least he can do is save your job.

“You think we don’t know what goes on around here? The palace is still just a house.” His mother remarks after a spoonful of yogurt. Seokjin hangs his head.

“How long have you known?” He asks woefully.

“Hmm, how long would you say it’s been, sweetheart?” His father asks of his mother. Had he been in a more positive state of mind, Seokjin may have picked up on the lighthearted tone in the King’s voice.

“At least a month, darling.” His head snaps up incredulously. His parents have known for an entire month that he’s been sneaking around with you and yet they said nothing? Not a single word?

“Why didn’t you say anything? I thought this was against some stupid rule?”

“It is, dear.” His mother chimes in. “We wanted her gone the second we found out but then we saw just how much you seemed to blossom. You were happy and it showed.” She reaches across the table to take her son’s hand in hers, stroking her thumb across his knuckles.

“We’re your parents before we’re monarchs and we just couldn’t take that kind of joy away from you.” Seokjin feels like he’s about to choke on the knot in his throat. Unfortunately, their words of acceptance are too little too late. You want absolutely nothing to do with him and now and he can’t even blame you.

“Plus, she’s the only assistant that could keep your chaotic ass in line. We would’ve been fools to fire her.” The king lets out a rumbling belly laugh at his own “joke”. Seokjin almost cracks a smile along with him. Almost.

“That’s because she’s terrifying but I liked it. Loved it even.” This is the first time that Seokjin has admitted the true depth of his feelings out loud. His already shattered heart cracks just a little more at the thought of his first love despising him.

“Go to her son.” His mother’s urging prompts a small huff of laughter from Seokjin but there’s not a shred of humor in it whatsoever. He tilts his head up towards the ornate ceiling of the dining room, doing his best to keep the tears at bay.

“I can’t do that.” He whispers thickly as he slowly pulls his hand from his mother’s warm embrace. “Going through that type of rejection twice might actually kill me.”

Seokjin excuses himself from the table politely. He wanders around aimlessly until he finds himself in one of the many palace gardens. A swear falls from his lips as he realizes that he’s ended up in the millennium garden. Gardenias of all kinds had been carefully curated and arranged into this breathtaking display to commemorate the millennium mark of his family’s rule. You’d mentioned once that out of all the palace gardens this one was your favorite. According to you, the air smelled sweeter here.

Smoke pours from his nostrils and he suddenly feels like he’s suffocating. His jeans and sweatshirt are a thing of the past as twenty feet of scales and fire take the place of the man that had stood at the edge of this garden. Seokjin can’t even remember the last time he’d been able to shift. It always seemed like he never had the time to revel in this form. He heaves a mental sigh of relief as he stretches out his wings and takes to the sky. The citizens far beneath him are probably taking to the streets to witness the rare sight of his midnight black form slicing through the sky.

He’s not sure where he’s going, just letting the wind beneath his wings steer him through the clouds. The Traiya mountain range looms closer and closer and for a second he contemplates letting himself crash into the rocky mountain face. That thought is squashed as quickly as it pops up. In its place, his parents’ words play on repeat. Go to her. If only he could. He doesn’t miss the way you look physically distressed every time you’re in the same room with him as if his mere presence makes you sick.

Seokjin lands in a clearing at the base of the mountain range. He shifts back to his biped form so as not to scare the wildlife and ventures into the forest in front of him. His eyes drift closed after he drops to the ground beneath a large oak tree. A small creek cuts its way through the earth. The sounds of the forest around him soothe the ache in chest even if only a little bit.

When he opens his eyes again, he notices a squirrel scouring the branches of a tree off to his right for nuts. Most of the wildlife has vacated this part of the forest after sensing Seokjin’s presence but this squirrel is on a mission that no dragon will prevent him from carrying out. The small animal seems to be inspecting each one he happens across until he finds the perfect one. Seokjin is intrigued by the picky, little rodent. So many suitable acorns and yet the squirrel passes them by after quick sniff. He walks along several branches before he finally finds one that makes him pause. Seokjin calls upon his enhanced vision and he’s shocked to see that the acorn the squirrel has set his picky sights on really isn’t all that special. He’s passed up bigger, surely more satisfying, acorns on his quest to find this one. Plus, his nut of choice looks to be slightly out of reach. That doesn’t deter the tiny rodent in the least.

Seokjin watches with rapt attention as the determined squirrel tries its hardest to grab the acorn it has its sights set on. The small animal keeps trying and trying to the point that Seokjin is contemplating getting up to get the damn acorn for it just to save the poor animal the trouble. No sooner has he shifted to stand something damn near miraculous happens. The squirrel’s outstretched class finally grip the acorn in their clutches. It tucks the nut in its cheeks before darting off to God only knows where not realizing that it has just shifted Seokjin’s entire world view.

“Well I’ll be damned.” He says out loud to the quiet forest around him.

Your heart is racing like a speeding bullet train as your feet carry you towards Seokjin’s door. You have always prided yourself on being an unwavering, unflappable force but that girl is nowhere to be found. Today, you’re a girl with everything to lose. Your heart is on the line now and you doubt that the tape you’d put on the deep fissures snaking through your will hold if this conversation doesn’t go well.

As you knock on the door, you still don’t really know what you’re doing here. When Jin had texted you quite literally begging for a few minutes of your time, you’d turned him down without a second thought. You were convinced that you didn’t want to hear anything he had to say and yet here you are.

Seokjin flings open the door before your arm has even had time to return to your side. After years of being his right hand you can tell when he’s trying to hide the fact that he’s nervous. You easily pick out each of his tells with ease as you observe him quietly, starting with the tips of ears that have turned an astonishing shade of red.

“You came.” He breathes out almost in disbelief. Seokjin looks disheveled to put it lightly and in some twisted way it makes you happy that you’re not the only one that’s been suffering since what happened.

“I told you I would.” You answer lowly. He nods, stepping aside to let you into his room.

The normally immaculate space is a mess with pieces of paper covering seemingly every available surface. You take a glance at a few of them to see various versions of what looks like a letter. A letter of apology at that. You take a deep, ragged breath as you turn back to face him. Seokjin almost looks small as he wrings his hands together.

“I was-…I tried to put my thoughts on paper but everything was just…” He trails off once more as his thumb nail becomes trapped between his teeth. You yearn to gently smooth out the wrinkles in his forehead. But you’re not about to let him sense that the soft spot you’d developed for him is still intact. If he wants your forgiveness – forgiveness that you’re still not sure you’re interested in giving – then he’s going to have to work for it. Hard.

He clears off a chair for you to sit on so you carefully perch yourself on the edge of it. Your confusion shoots through the roof when Seokjin kneels at your feet. You’ve never seen him kneel for anyone ever. Part of you wants to make him get up just to make this awkward feeling go away but he starts speaking before you can say anything.

“I’m a gigantic dumbass.” Prince Seokjin? Admitting he’s wrong? Those two phrases have never been uttered in such close proximity before because Seokjin is never wrong. It’s always someone else’s fault. To hear him taking accountability for his disastrous choices is actually terrifying. He must be feverish or something.

Before you can stop yourself, you touch the back of your hand to his forehead. His face is flushed but he’s not running a fever. You check his cheeks just to be sure. He leans into your touch, eyes drifting shut. Your breath catches in your throat at how vulnerable he looks like this. The urge to softly stroke his cheek is too strong for you to resist. His hand is warm around your wrist when he detaches your hand from his face.

“I have a hard enough time thinking around you as it.” He offers as an explanation. Your face must have been a picture of confusion. “I don’t want to mess this up again.”

As promised, you hear him out. He keeps expecting you to interrupt him as he lays everything out on the table but you don’t say a word. You sit primly on the edge of the chair with your hands neatly folded. He’s not even really sure you’re listening from the way your eyes are unfocused and seemingly staring at nothing but your facial expressions give you away. Your features move through a myriad of different emotions as Seokjin exposes his sins. You remain silent even after he finishes. Fear seizes in his heart as your face is wiped clean just as it was on the day you first learned of his transgressions.

“Please say something.” He begs. He reaches out a hand to touch your own but stops midair when your hone in on his hand as if it’s a direct threat to your physical safety. Seokjin quickly retracts his would be olive branch. It’s quiet a few moments more before you finally speak up.

“Was any of it real?” You question accusingly. He opens his mouth to say every single second with you was real but that’s a lie and he’s in deep shit as it. Better to tell the truth than to dig himself into an even deeper whole.

“At first, no but when we went to that summit in Aurlena I was so focused on finding your soft spots that I didn’t realize I was falling for all of your little intricacies until it was too late.” Jin pauses to gauge your response but you say nothing. Your eyes are actually focused on his face now though so he takes that as a positive sign and soldier on.

“It wasn’t even extravagant gestures that I fell for. It was the small smile you do every time you talk about something your passionate about. It was the way your nose scrunches up when you’re thinking. It was the way you go out of your way to help others even if they don’t notice or even appreciate what you’re doing.”

Your mouth opens as if you have something you want to say but Seokjin is on a roll that cannot be stopped. He raises a single finger as he continues his spiel.

“I don’t know much but what I do know is that somewhere in the process of all this bullshit I fell in love with you. And I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me after everything I’ve done but I just needed to tell you this.”

“Even after everything you did, I think I love you too and I can’t fucking stand that.” You rise from the chair, arms wrapped around yourself as if you’re trying to hold your emotions together. Seokjin follows behind you like a lost puppy to the large bay windows that take up most of one wall.

“Doesn’t matter how I feel anyway though. I need this job more than I need a relationship and, unfortunate as it may be, I can’t have both. We’ve been pushing our luck with getting caught and I can’t keep putting my work at risk like this.”

“I could take care of you. I’m sure that you’re well aware that I’m rich.”

“I’m not some trophy wife that you can just throw money at to keep happy. I’m glad that we had this talk but I’m leaving now.” Seokjin nearly combusts into flames then and there. You infuriate him to no end. Here he is laying his heart and his money at your feet and you’d still rather throw yourself on a dagger out of some goddamn sense of pride. It makes his head spin.

“If I could work out a way for you to have both, would you do it.” Seokjin asks just as you reach the door. The short hesitation before you answer gives him hope for something good.

“Maybe.” With that final parting word, you slip out into the hallway.

A week crawls by and Seokjin doesn’t breathe a word about whatever plan he’s concocting this time. The thought of what he could possibly come up with in that wild brain of his is almost scary. You still perform your duties as his assistant flawlessly but he does his best to trip you up. A whispered compliment here. A hand that lingers just a fraction to long there. If his plan is to drive you insane so that he can have you relieved of your position due to mental incapacitation, then he’s pretty damn close to succeeding.

It’s on the twelfth day, a balmy Sunday, that it all comes to a head. You always get Sundays off so you usually take the day to head to your hometown of Alladin, a small township just short of an hour outside of the capital city. You’re in the kitchen helping your mother make lunch when your phone vibrates in your back pocket. A quick peek at the screen shows a message from Seokjin asking you to stop by his room when you return to the palace. You’re instantly suspicious of what it is he could possibly want on a Sunday evening but he’s still your boss so you tap out a quick reply confirming that you’ll pop in later.

It’s nearly ten o’clock when your fist knocks softly on Seokjin’s door. He calls out to you from somewhere inside to come in. You poke your head in the door to see him lounging in bed, scrolling through Netflix, hand shoved down the front of his pants for no real reason. He says something smart about letting all his “good air conditioning out” so you step all the way into the room and close the door.

“I had your employment contract redrawn. HR said you’ll have to switch positions but I was able to get you a four dollar raise as a consolation prize for not being able to work for me anymore. It’s on the table if you want to look at it.” You roll your eyes at his foolishness, venturing further into his inner sanctum. Thankfully, it’s a lot cleaner than it was the last time you were here. You really hope he recycled all of that paper though. You find the stack of papers you’re assuming is your new contract on the small end table next to his armchair.

“Jin,” You whisper almost unintelligibly. The papers in your hand drift back down to the table you’d picked them up from. “This is an application for a marriage license not an employment contract.”

You flip around only to get the shock of your life. For the second time, Seokjin is knelt before you. The sparkling diamond nestled in the tiny velvet box makes this time so much more significant. You hadn’t really believed him when he’d told you that you were it for him. It just couldn’t be true. You’re just a college dropout trying to be a good daughter by taking care of her parents. There’s nothing special that could’ve enraptured a man like Seokjin and yet he somehow found something in you that you’d never been able to see yourself.

“I’m a jerk. I’m impulsive. I leave my dirty underwear on the bathroom floor. I’m selfish. But I’m also hopelessly in love with you and everything you are. I don’t deserve you. I probably never will but I’m willing to spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy of being yours.”

Tears stream freely down your face. This insufferable pain in the ass has really wormed his way into your heart instead and, as much as he infuriates you, you wouldn’t have it any other way. You love this man. As much as you tried to deny it, you are head over heels for the fire-breathing menace in front of you.

“Give me my ring, loser.” Jin chokes on a huff of laughter before carefully sliding the ring onto your finger.

The second it’s sitting securely on your finger, you pounce on him with all the ferocity befitting your hybrid species. It’s like crashing into a brick wall when your body collides with Seokjin’s but you don’t care. You need to be close to him and you refuse to wait a single second longer. He lifts you off of your feet as he stands from his kneeling position and carries you to his bed.

Your lips cover his for the first time in weeks. Both of you simultaneously groan in satisfaction at the feeling. You’d almost forgotten just how much you loved kissing him. Your back meets the coolness of his sheets when he carefully lays you out on his mattress. His plush lips move along your jaw, finding that sensitive spot just below your ear. He sucks and bites at the skin there as you cling to his shoulders.

Seokjin nestles himself between your legs. The zipper on his jeans looks like it could give way at any second as his erection strains to be set free. He grinds against our soaked center repeatedly. You rake your nails down the front of his button-down shirt until it hangs loose around his frame. He quickly sheds the now useless garment before treating your clothes to the same fate. Soon all that remains between the two of you are the tiny pair of red lace panties you’d put on as a confidence booster this morning. They match the bra that Seokjin has already shredded so you’re surprised when instead of ripping your panties as well he chooses to leave them on you.

His lips leave no inch of skin untouched as he kisses his way down your torso. He pauses to swirl his tongue in your navel before blowing a puff of air on your skin. The shiver that courses down your spine brings a cocky grin to your face. That grin only grows when his eyes take in the way that your back arches after he flattens his tongue against your covered heat. The lace of your panties is so thin that you can barely tell it’s there when he flicks his tongue against your engorged clit. The fabric adds just that extra little bit of friction that has you seeing stars early.

Your fingers bury themselves in the thick, black strands atop his head and he welcomes the way you tug at his roots. He continues to slowly flick his tongue along your outer lips but it’s soon becoming not enough. After a few desperate pleas, Seokjin finally rids you of your panties to eat you out like he means it. He brings you to the brink of insanity with his tongue and shoves you over the edge with a final expert flick of his tongue. You’ve never been able to come from oral that didn’t involve fingering of some sort but as usual Seokjin shows you that there’s more than one way to make a cat purr.

He finds himself being dragged back up to your mouth as your greedy lips cover his once more. You can taste yourself on his tongue and it’s a heady mixture that has a fresh wave of arousal washing over you. Your inner muscles clench around nothing and you’re aching to be filled but there’s something that you’ve been wanting to do since that fated day when you’d walked in on him with Camille.

Seokjin is aware of the fact that as a hybrid you’re a lot stronger than the average woman but he still finds himself full of surprise when you flip him on his back as if he weighed nothing. He growls low in his throat when you grab his thick erection in your fist, squeezing him tight just how he likes it.

“I want you to fuck my face.” His eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets at your bold request. Far be it for him to deny you anything you ask of him though.

He obediently gathers your hair into a ponytail and guides your head towards his waiting erection. He thrusts are shallow at first but he slowly starts picking up speed. The gagging sounds bubbling up from your throat every time he bottoms out are threatening to do him in. Your arms snake up his torso, fingers flicking at his nipples as you hold yourself down on his cock. Seokjin is surprised by his own orgasm when you swallow around him. He cums long and hard down your throat and you swallow every drop. You keep working him with your mouth until he’s squirming beneath you from oversensitivity.

You soon find yourself trapped under Seokjin’s larger frame with your thighs pressed so tightly to your chest that your ass is no longer touching the mattress. It’s in this position that he decides to bury his face between your legs. You can do nothing but feel as he explores your drenched folds with his tongue. The warm wet muscles flickers rapidly against your clit and all you can do is take it. You can’t jerk your hips away from his face like you want to. Can’t grind your hips against his face like you want to. Can’t arch your back in pleasure like you want to. You’re totally and completely at the mercy of Seokjin’s talented mouth. Black spots dance before your vision as the pressure in your abdomen reaches its boiling point.

Jin rubs soothing circles in your thighs after he releases your legs. You pull him down to you for a kiss. An odd sense of pride spreads through your chest at the feeling of something warm and hard resting against your pelvic bone. Apparently, you weren’t the only one enjoying the way he just feasted on you like a starving man. You shift your hips so that he’s pressed against your center, relishing in the deep groan he lets out as he licks and sucks at your skin at random.

He rocks against you, coating himself in your wetness. His hardened cock is covered in an unholy mixture of his precum and your juices. You’re on the verge of begging him to put it in already – totally over his teasing – when he buries himself inside you on the next rock of his agile hips. The feeling of finally being one with him again feels much more overwhelming this time around. You suspect it may have something to do with the rock weighing down your left hand. Regardless of the reason, you feel dangerously close to another orgasm just one stroke in and, judging from the way Jin has frozen inside of you, you’re not the only one. Curses fall freely from his lips as he waxes poetic about how wet and tight you are around him.

You lift your hips to meet his every thrust when he finally starts to move until he’s moving too fast for you to keep up. He pauses his movements to sit up and lift your legs so that your ankles are resting on his shoulders. The change in position allows him to slam into your g spot with every forward movement. He can tell you’re close by the way your inner muscles spasm around him with increasing frequency. The soft look in Jin’s eyes is a striking contrast to the pounding of his hips against yours. Everything you feel for him is mirrored in his irises and it only serves to push you closer to your climax. You grit your teeth and try to hold your orgasm off because you don’t want this moment to end. Jin doesn’t exactly give you a choice in the matter as he makes you come undone with a flick of his thumb against your clit. He follows you into ecstasy moments later with a growl that you really wish you had been able to record as, head thrown back.

Jin lets your legs down for the second time today and moves as if he’s about to pull out. You hastily wrap your legs around his waist, locking your ankles at the small of his back to keep him inside you for as long as possible. He flashes you a tired grin that makes your heart flip flop in your chest as he gathers you in his arms to turn you both on your sides. The sound of his laughter fills the air when you swat at him for blowing rings of smoke in your face.

“So where do we go from here?” You ask, breaking the pleasant silence that had settled over the two of you.

“I’m thinking the shower.” He starts as he drags a hand through his sweaty locks. He even has the audacity to look taken aback when you flick him on the nose like a disobedient hound.

“That’s not what I meant you overgrown snake with wings.” Seokjin pouts. Still rubbing at his nose but you don’t relent. You like having a solid plan for everything you do in life and you’re not about to make an exception for him.

“Well for one, you’re fired. I wasn’t actually able to get your employment contract redrawn which is bullshit because I’m the goddamn prince but my mother is on the board of an ass load of charities and all that other good philanthropy stuff and is only too happy to have you join her.”

The implications of what Jin just said smacks you in the face like a ton of bricks. Sure, it solves your initial problem of not wanting to be some trophy wife but not having your job anymore revives the issue that forced you to get this job in the first place. No job means no paycheck. No paycheck means you can’t afford to pay your dad’s medical bills.

Jin can see the hamster wheel in your head spinning at an astonishing speed. He doesn’t have to be able to read your thoughts to know exactly what they pertain to. Despite your rough exterior, you have a massive heart and will sacrifice yourself for the well-being of others. A noble trait but he can foresee it being annoying in the future.

“Before you go too far down the rabbit hole, I would also like to say that both of your parents have been enrolled in the royal healthcare plan so you won’t have to worry about your father nor your mother in that regard anymore.”

There are really no words to how much you love this man right now. None whatsoever.

“You’re still in charge of picking out my suits thought. You have vision and I don’t trust anyone else to dress me.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” The kiss that you’d intended to be soft and sweet takes an intense turn. Getting a bit more dirty before you shower can’t hurt.

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[marshmallowprotection]

💏 for anyone you want!

13. …discreetly.

“C’mon!” 

“Wait, Y/N, wait!” 

You stopped mid-walk and glanced back at Ray. Cocking your head to the side, you frowned. “Oh, come on, Ray. Are you worried about not working again? You can take a break for a little bit. It won’t hurt anything. All you do is work and work nonstop, don’t you think that you’ve earned a minute or two to yourself after all that?” 

His lips are pursed. He nervously glances to the right and then to the left as he prays that nobody is watching him, you, or either of you at the moment. Once he’s decided that nobody has noticed or heard anything so that it should be alright for him to take a teeny tiny little break. 

 “Well. I guess a few minutes won’t hurt.” Ray said, quietly. 

The moments that you two got to spend together in person were few and far between. You took what you could when it came to this sort of thing, eating up those moments when you got to talk to him. It didn’t matter if it was over the phone or in the chatroom... as long as you got to hear from him. 

All you had to do was play his game and in exchange, you had gotten a room, board, and even food without worry. That was a lot. But that wasn’t why you were nice to him. 

You genuinely liked him. 

You really enjoyed spending time with him. He was always so invested in hearing about you, and nobody had ever really been that way before. You had always been the one to reach out to others instead of fixating on yourself, so feeling the reverse was a bit strange and new. To have somebody around who was very much like yourself made you want to try harder to change that. 

Seeing somebody kick themselves while they were down really made you stop to think about how it must have looked when you did the same thing to yourself. 

Nobody deserved to feel like that. 

He was always working so hard... 

You couldn’t deny that you admired his work ethic but because of it, he denied himself a lot of simple pleasures. It didn’t matter how little the thing may have been, he was just really terrible when it came to being nice to himself. You had made it a mission to make him start nicer to himself. Ray was a really nice guy and he didn’t deserve all that ill-will directed at himself.

 You had pulled at his hand when you caught him walking towards your room and taken him by hand outside so you two could take a breather. You had been spending a lot of time cooped up, and so had he, of course, this was the perfect thing to do. 

“Isn’t this great?” 

It was always pleasant to be with him like this. Once you could get him to open up about the things that he liked, there was no really no stopping him. He could talk on and on and on about this and this, and really, you had never seen more light in his eyes when he could teach you something that you didn’t know about cooking, or flowers, or anything, really. 

His eyes just lit up.  It was like nobody had ever really let him talk about anything besides work. 

He was still on edge, just a bit today. Ray was still a little nervous about being out, but you squeezed his hand in confident reassurance. “I like getting to spend time with you,” you affirmed. “I wish you had more free time so that we could hang out every now and again. I know you have work to do that’s important but I’m a little jealous.” 

He nearly choked on the breath that he had sucked in, turning his head to look over at you, he was perplexed. “You’re... jealous...?” 

Your smile never wavered. “It’s really silly, I know. I guess I’m just being greedy cause I like you so much. I know I can’t have your attention all the time, so I’ll take what I can get.” 

That seemed to be enough to make Ray clamp up for a couple of minutes. He always was really nervous when you mentioned things like that, but his eyes never stopped sparkling, and you could have swore there was the smallest inkling of a smile on his face. 

Hey, like you said, you would take what you could get. 

“Hey, Ray?” 

You had stopped for a moment and sat down on the grass with him. Just to appreciate the view and all the care that had been taken in the garden around you, it really was a wonderland that held so much well and wonders. However, as enamored as you were with it, your attention always rested on him. 

“Yeah?” 

You started to inch closer to him and while he had scooted back, you gave no sign of stopping. Once you paused, you were right next to him, hand reaching up to brush a stray fallen leaf from the top of his head. “Since we’re alone... do you think that I could do something?” 

Always eager to please, Ray nodded his head. “Um, sure, of course, anything for you, Y/N.” 

Your faces were incredibly close at that moment, so much as you can feel his shallow breath against your cheek. You stare at him through your half-lidded eyes, battling your eyelashes. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Ray whispered. 

So, making sure that the two of you were first, you leaned in to steal a little kiss from his lips. He gasped in surprise, and you smiled into it. You had been wanting to do that for days and had finally worked up the courage to go for it. 

Ray didn’t protest, he merely took it, but by the time you pulled away, he had started to reciprocate. 

There was a teasing smile on your lips as you pulled away from him and let out a little giggle. You really couldn’t help that. He had just looked so cute and you had been trying to make it clear that you liked him for days but he just never seemed to believe it. His face was as red as a rose, his eyes were wide, and he lifted his hand to brush his fingers against his tingling lips.

 “I’m sorry,” you immediately tell him. “I should have asked more clearly.” 

It was obvious that he hadn’t expected you to do something like that out of the blue but he wasn’t upset. Ray immediately shook his head and managed to sputter that “It’s alright, that’s alright. Don’t worry about it.” 

When you turned your head away, he smiled at you and held your hand even tighter than he had before. 

#mod kait #ask #anon #mystic messenger #mysme #mysticmessenger #mistake messenger #saeran choi #choi saeran #saeran mystic messenger #saeran x reader #saeran mysme #mysme saeran #mystic messenger saeran #ray mysme #ray mystic messenger #ray mm #ray route #ray x reader

[mysticmylifeisamess-enger]

Forget Me Not - Ch. 17

Pairing: Saeran/Reader

Word count: 2,527

Summary: Saeran turns to the one source of comfort he can rely on.

Warning: Major spoilers for Ray route, Saeyoung’s route & secret ending.

A/N: Sorry for the later than usual update, life really has been a bit overwhelming ^^ but holy shit am I ready for you guys to see the next few chapters & what I have planned >:3c also remember when I said this right after ch 9?? well guess fucking what is gonna be in this chapter

Context references (if you need them): Beginning is from end of ch. 14, is taking place alongside ch. 15, note mentioned is from ch. 11.

AO3 Link | Chapters Masterlist

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“I, um,” you paused, turning back around to face him, “I hope that whatever is going on, whatever it is you’re not telling me, that you’ll come out of it fine. Goodbye Saeran.”

As soon as you heard the bell ring above the door at your departure, the weight of what just happened hit you all at once. It suddenly all felt too real as you kept walking, letting your feet practically move on their own.

Part of you felt like going back, to assert yourself and fight for some sort of answer. To let him know that you cared. But another part kept echoing the words he had said to you. And while you weren’t sure if he meant it, it didn’t make them any easier to hear.

‘It didn’t mean anything to me.’

The tears that collected and pooled had blurred your vision, making it hard to see as you practically ran into someone in your haste. Though before you could assess or even begin to mutter through an apology, they had already walked away in a hurry themselves. Through your tears, you could only make out a dark, cloaked figure as they rounded the corner.

Quickly shaking the thought, you kept walking in your direction without turning back. The world around you disappeared as you tunneled yourself in, relying on your feet to remember how to take you home. The silent tears turned into open sobs as you continued, not caring for the looks you were given. Only caring for him and how he broke your heart.

As soon as you made it to your apartment, closing the door behind you and collapsing against it, you spotted the potted plant that sat near the windowsill. The one he gave you when you first met, thriving under your care. The pain in your chest deepened to see the other flowers that decorated the room, the evidence of his existence in your close quarters.

One long look around the empty place and you knew that now, you were truly alone here. You had no reason to stay.

~

The door of his apartment clicked closed with the deadbolt behind him, collapsing facedown on the couch as he dragged himself in. He suppressed his groan into the pillows below him, clutching onto them with a tight grip. The slight ache in his head he had throughout the day started pounding in this moment, trying to bury himself further into the cushions to stop it, but it was unavailing.

Even with being in the safety of his home, he felt as on edge as he did at the shop. The palpable difference being your absence weighing in his chest. He could only repeat the mantra to himself for hours after you left, following him as he sat alone in his apartment with only his thoughts to accompany him.

‘This was for the best,’ he continued to tell himself. With every time he thought it, it warped the tiniest bit until it felt like a foreign phrase he could no longer understand. And it added to the unrelenting headache. Through his painful daze, he found it in him to reach for his phone and send a quick text to his twin.

‘I just got home. Please let me know when you’re home too.’

Just as he sent it away, his fingers instinctively went through his phone. Before he realized, your name and number took over his screen in big letters, landing on your contact as his finger hovered over the call button. He recalled calling or texting you every day after work, even after having seen each other, just to make the small commute enjoyable. To catch up on the day with one another. To hear the voice he couldn’t get enough of.

And he couldn’t describe how desperate he was to hear it in this moment, to soothe the worries that only seemed to multiply by the hour. He contemplated for a minute, gazing at your name with a heavy heart, before his finger moved lower and hovered over the ‘delete contact’ button. Just as he was about to press, a ding from a notification pulled him out of his somber thoughts as he read over the words

‘Relax, I’m home.’

A tension in his shoulders released to hear from his twin that they were okay, but the weight in his chest increased when he realized that they still weren’t truly safe. And the radio silence from V clouded any semblance of peace he had.

He moved to dial V’s number, though he already knew what he was going to be met with.

“Hi, you’ve reached V’s answering machine. Sorry I couldn’t answer your call at the moment, but if you leave your name and number, I’ll call you back at my earliest convenience,” the other line spoke immediately, not even ringing.

“V, it’s Saeran. I, um… Call me back soon,” he said, voice keeping the solemn tone as he spoke before he hung up.

The lack of response left his nerves on edge with every call, but to not even go through this time set off all sorts of alarms. He never thought to worry for V in all this, that he could take care of himself. But the realization of how truly dangerous this situation was, how powerful his father’s influence could be, made him all too uneasy.

He reached for his phone one more time, dialing Rika’s number only to hear it ring and go to her answering machine. He couldn’t find it in him to leave another voicemail, dropping his phone as he hung up and letting anxiety take the place of every coursing thought.

The pain in his head came in waves with every scenario he thought up, clutching onto his hair for any sort of relief. ’This is all my fault, this is all my fault, this is all my fault,’ the phrase in his mind wouldn’t go away, believing it more and more as is was repeated.

As he slumped back into the cushions, he noticed a piece of paper on the table next to his phone. Picking it up, the smile on his face spread to read over the words on the page.

‘I had to leave a little early to get to work and I didn’t want to disturb you. Won’t be able to stop by the shop today, but I’ll drop by first thing tomorrow.

And thank you for last night ♥’

The one evidence of your existence he could hold onto, that he could read and remind himself of the time you two shared. Reminiscing on every detail of that night until it was a well-versed movie that continually played in his mind. Until every bit of it was committed to memory, down to the feeling of your fingertips over his skin. The words relieved every nerve in him, dulling the pain he was feeling.

You still had a hold on his heart he knew he’d never be able to get rid of, no matter how hard he tried. And yet, he didn’t want to. If all he had were these memories to look back on for the rest of his life, then he’d take it anywhere he went, as long as it meant you were safe and happy.

Though there would always be small part of him that’d hope one day, you’d be his indefinitely. The smile he sported slowly faded at the thought that that could never be the case. Even in a number of years, when this all blows over, he could never be selfish enough to do that to you.

His eyes downcast on the note one more time, moving closer to catch the scent of your perfume still on it. Reading over the last few words again, something at the bottom of the page caught his eye, looking closer to find another message scribbled in smaller writing.

‘I think I just fell further in love with you.’

Never has he felt so gutted than in this moment, shattering the smallest bit of his heart he didn’t realize he still had left. If he thought what he endured the last few days were hard, then he underestimated the power of a few words he would have once loved to hear, but aches him to his core now.

It would be selfish to let you back in, but maybe he could be just this once. He never asked for anything in his life, just this once he thought that maybe he deserved it. He could be happy, he could make you happy, even if it meant being cautious, and it felt doable. And he would do anything in his power to see you by his side, safe and protected.

He picked up the phone on the table one last time, opening your contact again. One long look at your name and he couldn’t find it in him to stop himself. Just as his finger hovered over the call button, ready to hear your voice, an incoming call stopped him in his tracks as he answered right away.

“Rika? Rika, are you okay?” He asked immediately, noticing the shake of his hands with the pause that followed.

“Saeran, I’ve been so worried about you,” she said, the audible sigh catching him off guard, “I’m fine. I just want to know how you’re doing.”

“Everything’s okay for now,” he responded, “Is V with you? Is he okay?”

“He’s not here, but I know he’s okay. He’s just been dealing with some stuff, but you don’t have to worry.”

“Why hasn’t he been answering my calls?”

“He’s been really busy. Apparently too busy to call you back, but I’m always here,” her tone monotonous as she spoke.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner. I just thought it’d be best to contact V in regards to this.”

“Well he’s not the only person who cares about you,” she rebutted, “And with the way he’s been ignoring you, I would wonder.”

“What do you mean?”

“It doesn’t matter what I mean. All I’m asking is that you talk to me as well,” she said, though her words seemed more cautioning than sincere, “And I can hear that you don’t sound okay, what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing,” he said simply, his tone much more serious than he anticipated.

“It doesn’t sound like nothing, tell me,” she soothed on the other line.

“Well,” he paused, taking a deep breath before he continued, “It’s just that I miss MC. I decided to cut her out of my life because I thought it would be best, but I’m starting to think that wasn’t the best idea.”

“Oh no, Saeran,” she cooed, “I’m sorry, I know you really liked her.”

“I still really do. Which is why I’m going to call her again in a bit, I think I owe her an apology and explanation.”

“You can’t do that.”

“I know it’s risky but-“

“But nothing, you can’t do that.”

The shift in her tone, the way her words bordered on threatening, had him entirely taken aback. He thought that she had been different for a while, but this change in character, this moment of pure malice, had cemented all those thoughts. As he went on, he could feel the dull pain in his skull increasing, wondering just what he could say. But he couldn’t live his life in fear and he knew that.

“Rika, I’ve thought it over and I want her back. I’m going to call her after-“

“Do you want to see her hurt?”

“Well no, but-“

“You’re going to hurt her with that mindset. Think about it, your father is after you right now. Do you know exactly what he could do?”

“I do, and I think I can handle it. Her safety will become my priority and I won’t let anything happen to her.”

“Once he reaches her, he’s going to hurt her. He’s going to use her as leverage, possibly kill her and come after Saeyoung and you next. Is that really what you want?”

His tears pooled in his eyes the entire conversation, finally feeling one break and stream down his cheek at those words. He knew she had a point, one he didn’t want to hear aloud and hurt to realize. At this point, the throbbing in his head became unbearable, a splitting headache that distracted from the more emotional aspect of his pain.

“Saeran, is that what you want?”

“Of course not. You’re right, I have to let her go,” he resided, the ache in his heart becoming heavy at his own words.

“I’m glad you understand,” she said more matter-of-factly, “And I’m truly sorry that you’ve been put in this position. It really is unfair and I wish there was a way around it, but there isn’t.”

“Right,” was all he could bring himself to say, hoping to not sound as crushed as he felt.

“Are you okay?”

“To be honest, no. Not at all,” he responded, thinking for a second before continuing, “Do you remember the medicine you gave me when you took us in? The blue liquid you would give me in the morning?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“I’m having those headaches again, and I think they’ve gotten worse. Do you think you could find me some soon?”

“Of course I can, it might take me a few days,” she said plainly, though he couldn’t see or hear the smile that spread at hearing his words.

“That’s fine, I just need it as soon as possible,” he said, burying into the cushion below him, “I’m gonna let you go here, I’ve had a long day and I could really use some rest.”

“Alright, then I guess this is goodnight. And Saeran?”

“Yeah?”

“You can rely on me entirely if you need to. I may be the only person you can trust in all this, keep that in mind.”

Before he could respond, the line suddenly cut. He was seeking answers, any response as to why this was going on, but he only felt his worry and questions multiply afterwards, a common occurrence with the two members that he noticed as of late.

He looked back down, noticing your contact open where he last left it. He took a closer look at the photo he had in place and smiling a bit to see the giddy grin you displayed per his request. Your name on his screen captivating him, always finding a bit of comfort just by the sound or look of it. But the name didn’t taste as sweet this time around, lodged in his throat in fear that hearing it aloud would cause damage.

His eyes trailed to the note nearby, seeing the bundle of forget-me-nots it came with, dried but vibrant in it’s deep blue color. The memory of your first encounter coming to mind as he was reminded of the sudden warm feeling that overcame him that day. A warmth he hadn’t known before you.

But he couldn’t bring himself to be selfish, pushing the ‘delete contact’ button and dropping his phone on the table one last time.

#mystic messenger #saeran choi #saeran x reader #saeran x mc #fanfiction #fanfic #fan fiction #mystic messenger fanfic #mystic messenger saeran #flower shop au #alternate universe #forget me not #cheritz

[afantasticbeastwriter]

Artwork || Newt Scamander x Reader

Genre: Fluff. Word Count: 2,710 Prompt: “I was wondering if you could do a newt x reader in which the reader wants to do an illustrated version of his book, and he asks her why not do a book of her own, and she says she really loves his works because she has a farm and loves these creatures so much? Just all Nerdy and happy because she is his fan?” A/N: Thank you charlie-charlotte for requesting this :) As always, I took my own little spin on this, so I hope you enjoy where it went! Be sure to let me know. Also, if you read this and enjoy it, feel free to request something of your own! I’m always looking for more requests. Enjoy!

When you were little, your mom bought you picture books.

These books were your escape to the outside world, a vision of the wonders of what life outside of the farmland you called home could look like. Large bodies of water, heroic castles, bustling villages – they all intrigued you. They sparked your wildest dreams to come alive, so much so that you requested a new book from your aunt every year for your birthday. Even when you grew into your teen years, you still requested them.

As you matured, you found yourself wanting to do more than fantasize about the world. Coming from a farming family where travel was not financially possible, the only other step you could take was to recreate the world yourself right at home. Drawing was even more of an escape for you. You started off by drawing the horizon, coloring in the beautiful backdrop of a sky that came with each passing sunset. By the time you hit age sixteen, you could nearly recreate the marvelous meshing of the clouds and rays of sun in the way a photograph could. At eighteen, you could do the same for the barnyard animals. Your favorite subject was the family of horses your family owned. Of them, your favorite was a Palomino named Dashing. His flowing locks and golden skin never ceased to challenge you in your skills.

It was not until age twenty that you found your first real challenge, however. Out of nowhere, snapping like the crack of a whip, a man appeared nearby your barn. You were sitting alone by the barn door cleaning out some buckets when you heard it, and the noise immediately sent you hiding behind it. Peering out, you watched this man – clearly disheveled – wipe off his coat, set down his briefcase, and gaze around his surroundings. He caught sight of you moments later. Though a great drawer, you could hardly hide to save your life. Knowing very well where farm tools such as axes rested, you watched the man approach the barn with bated breath. He gave you a gentle smile when he got close.

“Hello.” His voice sounds like he could not harm a fly, but you remain on edge. “Would you…would you mind telling me where this is?”

Raising a brow, you looked the man over. “You show up here and don’t know where you are? Pardon my asking, but not many people just show up here for pleasure, sir.”

“I’m a traveler,” he replied. “I seem to have gotten lost. Am I anywhere near London, perhaps?”

You shook your head. “You’re a far bit away, I’m afraid. Welcome to Scotland.”

“Scotland.” He looked down at the ground – at what, you hardly could tell. What you could tell, however, was that his hair was quite long compared to the other guys in your family’s hair, and that you found it rather dashing. He certainly was a foreigner, for no man you knew looked like that.

“Would you, um, have a place I could stay for a night?” He paused. “I’m quite tired, you see, and traveling at night is not exactly preferable.”

“You’re not going to steal our stuff and rob our farm blind, are you?”

The mere sound of the idea seemed to sicken the man. “Of course not, no. Would never do anything of the sort, I swear.”

Giving in, you sigh and move out from behind the barn door. “It’s not much, but you can rest in the barn. I’ll bring some linens so you don’t have to sleep only on hay. I know that can get uncomfortable, I’ve done it myself a few times myself.”

The man smiled. Again, he appeared more dashing than you thought possible, this time so much so it caught you a bit off guard. Ever the gentleman or too distracted to say, he did not point it out. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Turning your back on the stranger, you made your way out of the barn and out to your home. Though only a few yards away, it felt like an eternity to you to walk. Every moment not with the stranger was a moment he could be doing something bad, maybe stealing feed or tools, or planning on harming some of the animals. It also was a moment lost in figuring him out and getting to know more about him. After all, when else was a strange man going to just appear out of nowhere on your doorstep when your family was gone? This was a rare opportunity, and you were missing it to go grab bedsheets to get dirtied up in hay.

If you did not fear your family returning so soon, you would ask the man to stay inside with you. For courteous means only, of course.

After grabbing sufficient linens and taking a, albeit embarrassing but necessary, moment to fix your hair nicer, you ventured out to rejoin the man. By then, the sun was beginning to set and most of the animals were looking to bed down themselves. He seemed rather alert compared to them, rifling through something in his lap quite avidly. Unable to see just what, you inched closer to him and cleared your throat so as to not surprise him. His innocent gaze up at you at the sound proved your actions worked like a charm, that same dashing smile reappeared on his face. You moved to give him the same smile back, but then your eyes caught sight of exactly what was in his lap, and all bets went out the window. The linens fell from your arms as you lurched forward, reaching for the papers he held with a shrill “hey.” He held them away from you, quite perplexed at your sudden movements.

“I’m sorry, what are you exactly trying to do?”

“Grab those,” you grumbled, reaching again in vain. “Give them back now.”

He frowned. “They’re quite lovely, are you sure I cannot-”

“Yes,” you grumbled, “I am very sure. Give them to me now, or I will not hesitate to throw the linens back inside and make you sleep by the manure pile tonight.”

That was a chance he did not seem to wish to take. He handed back your papers to you compliantly and gentlemanly, and you snatched them as fast as you could away. You made quick work of throwing them onto your workbench, far from where he could grab them. His eyes glanced over to them, but he did not dare make a move their way, courteous of your wishes.

“We can probably set up a spot for you in the back so you’ll be less cold-”

“When did you learn to draw so well?”

You spun around. “I thought we were going to drop that.”

“I’m sorry, but I cannot help but inquire how you developed such an extraordinary talent,” he replied, shyly hiding behind his hair. “Have you had any professional training?”

Shaking your head, you tossed his linens to the floor. “No, I have not, and I taught myself, thank you. Now, leave it alon-”

Before you could finish your word, a large roar seeming to come from the man’s briefcase stunned you into silence. Eyes wide, you looked between it and him with a mix of shock and horror. He, however, sat with only a slight hint of worry, which only exaggerated your feelings. You did not know who this man was, but anyone who did not look flabbergasted and terrified when their briefcase roared did not exactly scream that he was someone safe. You took a step back, eyeing the barn door.

“What was that?”

“N-Nothing, really.”

“I wasn’t born yesterday,” you scoffed, “so you can cut that act. Tell me what that was or you can kiss your sleep space goodbye.”

Sighing, he looked over at his case with exasperation. It rumbled again, this time shaking a bit in a way no suitcase ever should. You watched as he went to it and opened it, releasing the noise into the barn around you both with a vengeance that startled the barn animals. He looked regrettable of that, but your thoughts quickly turned to the fact he proceeded to step down into his case. Among a sharp “What?” from you, he climbed down until he disappeared. Two minutes of you panicking internally passed before he reappeared. In his arms was a baby creature you never had seen before, not even in your picture books. It had the body of a lion. In place of its mane, however, was a puffy, sack-like pouch of skin with sharp points to it. You hardly knew what to make of it, or of the fact the man was cradling it in his arms like a small child.

“Wha-”

“They’re called Nundus.” He pet the squirming cub and shushed it. “The one you’ve been hearing is the mother. She’s been rather irritable since having her most recent litter.”

You sat, mouth agape. “N-Nun..what now?”

“This one is Cleo,” he said softly, scratching the critter behind its ears. It let out a mewl no louder than a kitten’s which, undoubtedly, was adorable. “He’s the smallest of the litter, you see. I’ve had to give him special attention ever since he came down with an illness at birth.”

“Illness?”

“He struggles to keep down his food.” Cleo let out a scratchy roar and pawed at the man’s coat. He gave a small smile before holding his paw down. “Nundus must have proper nutrition in order to develop. I was journeying to find a special herb just outside of London I’ve read up on that is supposed to ease digestion and soothe nausea. Seems as though I journeyed too far off course, though.”

“How…how did he fit in there?”

He followed your eyes to his case and frowned. “Have you heard of magic?”

You laughed. “Magic? Really? That’s your explanation?” Scoffing, you crossed your arms and raised an eyebrow at him. “Seriously, I’m not stupid. Shocked and confused out of my mind,” you added, “but far from stupid.”

“I know.” Meeting your eyes, he gestured for you to take the Nundu cub into your own arms. You looked even more taken back with this request, but he pressed on until you found the cub in your grasp, squirming and mewling just as it had been before with him. Just when the shock of that began to wane, the man pulled out what legitimately looked to be a wand. Shaking your head, you laughed again.

“Do you really know? Because I think you’re havin’ a laugh with that wand right there.”

But then, you realized he wasn’t. With a mumbled word, he pointed his wand and shot bright sparks from it toward your drawings. Right before your eyes, the animals you drew came alive and literally came off the page. A beautiful horse, a near copy of your favorite Palomino, stood proudly against the sheep and deer you saw on your walk earlier that day. It took your breath away. Cleo nearly fell from your arms as shock set in.

“My name is Newt Scamander,” he eased out, gentle, not wanting to scare you. “I was born a wizard and went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And, no, I am not joking, nor do I believe you are anything but incredibly competent. And that’s the truth.”

“They…they’re real,” you breathed. Newt chuckled.

“As real as Cleo and the rest of my creatures.”

“Rest? There’s more?“

Nodding, he took Cleo from your arms and opened his case. “You may see them if you so wish. Though I must accompany you, as they are quite animated today. All the traveling, you know.”

“Yeah,” you said. You really did not know, though. You hardly had left your barn home. Newt showing up was the most outside contact you had experienced in a long time. Part of you wondered if these creatures of his he spoke of really were magic, or if you were just that sheltered. Not even your internal monologue could stop you though from following down into his case.

The inside reminds you a lot of your office back inside your home. It’s wooden and cluttered with knick knacks as far as the eye can see, and if Newt was not there guiding you forward through it, you would have wondered if he was lying about the creatures. But then he brought you into a habitat with skies and grass and animals, and you are stunned silent. Everything he said was true. Everything he mentioned was true. Even Cleo seemed to have his place in the vast area, bounding over to a large rock. From on top of it appeared a larger, more fearful version of him. She did not growl like she had before, choosing to instead cuddle against her young cub and welcome him back. Newt smiled their way.

“So?”

You shook your head as a winged creature flew above your head squawking. “I feel like I’m dreaming.”

“You’re not.” Newt blushed under your gaze. “Believe me, you’re not.”

“You just carry these guys everywhere?”

He nodded. “Everywhere I can. I’m studying them, you see. I wrote a book about them, actually.”

“You have a book?” Blinking, you eagerly looked to him. “Can I see it?”

Appearing rather taken back, he gazed at you for a second before moving back toward his office space. When he returned from it, a small book was in his hand. He extended it to you shyly, his eyes hardly looking your way. You took it with a soft murmur of thanks and then rushed to the nearest seating spot to read.

It took you very little time to get into the book. It reminded you a lot of what you wished your picture books were – full of insight, imagery, and excitement for creatures. The way this man, Newt, seemed to capture everything about a creature, even a strange one, blew you away. He made creatures you hardly knew the first thing about sound as enticing as a puppy to meet. Not even five pages in, and you were smiling ear to ear.

“I bloody adore this.”

“You do?”

“Let’s just say I’ve read two paragraphs on a Demiguise and I desperately want to meet one,” you laughed. “I’m such a big fan of whatever this is. Do you have a copy I could have?” Newt’s eyes filled with wonder and delight before softening, shyness taking him over once more. Cocking your head to the side, you threw an inquisitive look he could not ignore his way.

“Y-Yes, um,” he fumbled, taking a moment to mentally force his next words out clearer. “Would…would you ever, and do not take this as pressure to do so, but…would you be interested in…well…”

“Would I be interested in what, Newt?”

“Drawing,” he said with a gulp. Without an immediate response back, he cleared his throat and peered at his feet. “For my book. I’m a pitiful artist, you see, and s-something about your drawings…you bring the creatures to life. My book needs that. M-My book needs you.”

Your eyes widened. “You’re talking about my work, right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s mental,” you breathed.

“It’s the truth,” he said. “Please, consider it. O-Or at least making a book of your own. You’ve such an extraordinary talent, it would be a shame for you to let it go to waste.”

With a sigh, you looked to his book and then back to him. He was so hopeful. Even though it scared you to think about your work being seen by others in the world, something told you that you would not be able to live with yourself if you let down Newt. Perhaps it was his eyes. They seemed to see so much in your work. More than you did, honestly. Who were you to doubt that?

“How about this,” you said, handing his book to him, “let’s get your bed set up, I’ll put the animals up for the night, and then…then you can tell me more about what magical animals I’ll be drawing for your next edition.”

Newt’s smile made all your nerves worth it.

“That would be lovely.”

“Let’s get to it then, stranger.”

#newt scamander #fbawtft #fbawtft imagine #newt scamander x reader #fantastic beasts #Newton Scamander #newt x reader #fbawtft fanfic #fantastic beasts imagine #fantastic beats and where to find them

[hellospunkiebrewster]

Triggers - Portraits of In-Between

Author’s note: The angst is back, holy crap is it back. I had a couple weeks of fun and fluff and then this hit me like a truck. Liam has been through so incredibly much. The murder of his mother, the abdication of his brother, the assassination attempt in his late-teens or early twenties, and now the attack on the palace. That has to stick with you in some way. Liam has such a tendency to hide himself away from others in order to appear kingly that it wouldn’t shock me if he was genuinely trying to quietly deal with some sort of PTSD without talking about it. Previous Portraits here:

Ivory (Liam x Hana) - Football (Drake x MC) - Apple Pie (Maxwell x Drake) - Tabletops (Liam x Olivia) - NoHo (Maxwell x Hana) - The Beginning (Maxwell x MC) - Commiserable (Drake x Olivia)

The characters in this story belong to and were created by Pixelberry. 

Warnings: Talks of gun violence, assassination attempts, and panic attacks.

Summary: Following the attack on the Homecoming Ball, Liam is trapped not only in a safe house but also his own mind.

Perma-tags: @madaraism, @mfackenthal, @never-ending-choices, @pbchoicesobsessed, @blackcatkita, @darley1101, @flyawayblue56

Tags: @butindeed, @crayziimaginations

Being alone was the last thing Liam needed right now, stuck in the quiet, in his thoughts. The room was darkened simply because he hadn’t felt the need to turn on the lights in his confinement. Maxwell’s nervous laughter filters through the walls as he sits in the living room, working his hardest to defuse this bomb of a situation. When Maxwell stops, Liam is pulled back into his own mind, running over the worse possible scenarios. He feels strangled, like he can barely breathe as the images of the barrel of a handgun pointed at him flood back. It felt so raw and so painful even though it had been nearly ten years ago. He can still hear the crack of the gun, echoing in his brain, feeling as if his eardrums might burst. Sweat rises to his forehead and his mouth runs dry. He tries to swallow, to draw out some moisture but can’t manage over the asteroid sized lump in his throat. This was all his fault.

Bastien told him she was safe, in another house with Drake, also safe. Another victim, nearly another body, simply because he was his friend. They were lucky tonight, but no one should feel fear like this because of him. He wasn’t worthy of it.

He feels himself begin to shake from his core to the outside as flashes of gun fire burn against the backs of his eyelids. He was watching it all in slow motion, again. He’d lost count how many times he recalled her terrified face searching for him in the crowd. It was an image that would haunt him forever, just as that gun pointed straight at him had all those years ago. He didn’t have many skeletons, but what he did have were ghosts. A past haunting him, the actions of his father and grandfather cursing him.

Liam opens his eyes and looks at himself in the mirror. He looks so small and insignificant across the room from the mirror seated on the king sized bed. He hadn’t felt this small in ten years. Bruises cover his torso and he runs his fingers over them, applying pressure as they find them. A reminder for himself that he can still feel something outside of this engulfing hopelessness.

He closes his eyes again and shudders when Riley’s panic-stricken face comes into view again. It was his fault. He should know better than to put her in this situation. His fingers run over a bruise on his chest and he presses harder than before. Tears pull at the backs of his eyes as he remembers her calls, terror seeping in them as she frantically yelled his name around the ballroom. She didn’t even realize he was the cause of all this. His heart starts to thunder, harder and faster, and he can feel the assassin grabbing him from behind, the thrust of a fist into his stomach as Liam is thrown to the ground by him. He remembers what it felt like to have the air forced from his body. His heart pounds, quick and forcefully.

Liam opens his eyes and reaches for the shirt on the bed beside him. Crisp. Clean. As if nothing had happened. It seems that is how he’s supposed to feel. Ever brave in the face of this roaring turmoil inside of him. The need to be always vigilant was exhausting and it destroyed him a little every day, jumping at every sound and analyzing every shadow. He slips the shirt over his still shower-softened skin and pulls his arms through. He stands, his legs weak, as he moves to the mirror and begins to button his shirt. As he travels lower, the bruises and abrasions hide from sight and he could almost forget they were even there. He presses his fingers into a spot he knows a bruise exists, on his abdomen, under his shirt. The ache brings him back from a world where his heartbeat is the only thing that exists within the walls of this safe house. He can make out Maxwell’s voice from the other room, chatting with Hana, filling the silence with stories and laughter to keep them all from falling. Just as Liam was right now.

The barrel of the gun stared him down as his eyes fluttered closed while he started to tuck in his shirt. There wasn’t a day in the last ten years that he hadn’t seen it. Recently, it hadn’t come to him as often. Brief, fleeting seconds each day before her beautiful voice swam into his ears, drawing him from this place of trauma and terror. She didn’t know she did this to him. Riley didn’t realize she threw him a lifesaver daily. He hadn’t shared this with her. It was too hard, too much pressure to add to the already astronomical weight he was asking her to carry. He needed her voice now, her scent, to feel her skin under his touch. He wanted her to run her hands over his bruises, drawing away with them the memories of the men who had attacked them.

She wasn’t here and it was taking a toll on him.

Suddenly, he becomes so incredibly aware that she had lived his nightmare. She would close her eyes and see that gun pointed at her. She would feel that overwhelming fear and hopelessness everyday with him. It broke him. She was such a ray of light and he was so undeserving. His hands grip and grasp at his bruises under his shirt, wrinkling the pristine surface. The aching roars to pain and he holds his hands in place, feeling his heartbeat slow only minorly.

He inhales deeply before he opens his eyes and looks at himself in the mirror. He didn’t recognize the man in front of him, haggard and unnerved. Not a king. A king wouldn’t be this afraid. His eyes wander his own face, the dark circles, the puffy lids, the lips turned down in a frown. He closes his eyes. Her face, her beautiful terrified face fills his vision. Her screams roar in his ears. Then there’s the gun, the barrel of the gun staring him down, staring them both down.

His chest constricts and all he can hear is the thundering of his heartbeat. The nervous chatter of the other room fades away as he’s transported to the ballroom then to the public appearance on the library steps. It was supposed to be a happy occasion: naming Riley as the newest Duchess, naming a children’s wing in the library for his mother. That damn gun. He feels choked, strangled, and he can’t breathe. His hands grip at the shirt on his chest and he looks around the room frantically searching for something, anything to bring him back. His heart roars, his ears ring, and he opens his mouth to call out but nothing comes. His voice is caught in his throat, hiding from the barrel of that gun. Liam feels his legs buckle and his knees hit the floor with a loud thud. His vision blurs and tunnels before he sees Maxwell before him, frantic but reassuring.

“Hey, Liam. Liam, buddy. I’m right here.”

Liam blinks away the haze that has overtaken his eyes and looks at Maxwell.

“Hey it’s okay, we’re safe Liam. She’s safe. Everyone is accounted for.”

He helps Liam to his feet and walks with him to the bed. Liam stares numbly at his hands for sometime as he feels his breathing regulate and his heart slow. Maxwell doesn’t say anything, although Liam can tell he wants to.

“I’m sorry.”

Liam looks at Maxwell, not saying anything else.

“Liam, this isn’t your fault. You didn’t ask them to come, you didn’t ask them to attack the palace. You can’t blame yourself for this.”

“I understand that every time someone tells me. Every therapist, every friend. They say the same thing. I know it isn’t my fault, but as I watch this happen over and over to the people around me: my mother, my friends, my fiancé. I can’t help but feel I’m not at least partially to blame.” He looks back at his hands.

Maxwell nods. He brings his hand to Liam’s back, running up and down. Firm and reassuring.

Liam draws in a long breath. “I wish every day I could leave these events in my past, but I can’t. They’re in my everyday. Every hour, minute, and moment is filled with it. The past refuses to let go of me.”

“When you feel like that, you know you can always come to me. I’ll be there to listen, to talk, to whatever you need to help you.” Maxwell pauses, pulling in a long breath and releasing it. “You’re not alone.”

Hana delicately pipes up from the door, tears glisten in her eyes as she watches the two of them. She was wordless until now.

“I’m here for you too. Riley is. Drake is. In her own way, Olivia is.” A small smile perks her cheeks and tears pop free from her eyes in the motion. They roll down her face, darkening her dress where they hit her chest. Hana steps tentatively in to the room with the two of them.

In that moment, everything boiled over in Liam. The depression. The anxiety. Love and grief. Tears fill his eyes as he looks and smiles the smallest of smiles at the two of them. This is what everyone needed, the true acceptance and support of the people closest to them. Even a king needed this. If his mind insisted on repainting the events of his past and his heart refused to forget, at least he had them.

#playchoices #play choices #the royal romance #trr #choices fanfiction #trr fanfic #portraits of in between #king liam #maxwell beaumont #hana lee #long post

[potentiala]

Don’t Let Go (Of Me)

@shidgevalentinesexchange  for @adeerli ! 

Nice to meet you! This was really challenging for me to write, but I hope you enjoy all the work I’ve put into this and help spread some of that quality Shidge all around. 

As you might be able to tell, this fic was heavily inspired by James Arthur’s song ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’  

I will also cross-post this on my AO3, so make sure to check it out over there! <3

“I met you in the dark, you lit me up”

They met on orientation day.

Not her orientation day, mind you, but her brother’s. And freshly graduated Garrison Officer Takashi Shirogane couldn’t help but notice them.

He introduced himself to Matt first.

Immediately taking a liking to the bright young man with the mischievous eyes. He answered his questions and helped quell some of his parents’ worries.

Then he saw her.

“You made me feel as though I was enough”

A quiet, small little thing with long hair and a brand-new dress. Looking half in envy and half in worry at the state-of-the-art facilities all around them. Then she caught his eyes looking her way.

Her’s were gold.

Bright and burning and not unlike a punch to the gut. Somehow, Shiro managed to send a smile her way before he was whisked away by their father, a Commander Shiro had nothing but respect for.

But the look of her and those intense eyes never left him.

===

He was here.

Of course Katie knew him, Matt never shut up about him in his letters. The Garrison golden boy that everyone seemed half in love with, Takashi Shirogane. And Katie definitely couldn’t understand the allure. Absolutely. No way. Not at all. Pffft!

That’s ridiculous!

“We danced the night away…”

Who was she kidding? Katie has faced a lot of problems in her 14 years of life, but this was, by far, the worst one. Katherine Annalise Holt had a crush.

And she had it bad.

“We drank too much.”

So bad that the young girl couldn’t help but wring the hem of her dress in her hands. The Holt family had traveled back to the Garrison after an entire year to celebrate Matt graduating from Cadet to Cadet Corporal at the youngest age of 17. Pride warming away every one of Katie’s frazzled nerves at the sight of her brother standing at attention in a brand new uniform.

Iverson continuing to drone on.

“…as acting Drill Sergeant of this year’s class I have had, not only the honor of watching these young men and women mature and grow, but to collaborate with one of the Garrison’s brightest alumni, Takashi Shirogone.” Iverson’s constantly shrill voice paused to allow the room to fill with applause.

For him.

Katie’s stomach flip-flopped as she clapped along with the crowd. Everyone’s eyes on Takashi. Who looked illegally handsome in his Officer’s uniform. Fit to his figure, it showed off a great deal of his excellent build.

Much to Katie’s destress.

“A few words Shirogone?” Iverson called out, Shiro clearly caught off-guard but accepting the offer graciously nonetheless. Flashing a smile so bright, Katie’s brain had to reboot for a solid minute. He turned toward the graduating cadets, Matt being one of the smallest among them. Dark grey eyes alit with warmth and pride.

“As my first year teaching, I must say that it’s been an eventful one.” Laughter titered amongst her brother’s class, in inside jokes Katie longed to know. The young girl wishing, not for the first time, that the age requirements for apply to the Garrison weren’t so high.

“But I wouldn’t have it any other way.” At this, he looked back to the crowd. That warm gaze sweeping over everyone like dawn’s first rays of sunlight. Katie barely fought back a blush as Shiro’s eyes seemed to settle in her direction. But, to her surprise, Shiro suddenly seemed so nervous.

Those warm eyes lowering.

“I-um…I’m really humbled by this experience. Teaching the next generation like this…has been amazing a-and a tremendous honor. So, thank you all for sticking with me for so long.” There was something incredibly endearing about the way Shiro seemed so bashful in that moment. Something so sweet that Katie could help the bright, brilliant smile gracing her young features.

“I held your hair back when you were throwing up.”

Then his eyes were on her.

Not on the crowd. Not on her brother’s class. But on her. Katie knew it, she felt it. That soft gaze nearly gave her a heart attack, sure, but she did her best to smile encouragingly at him.

And, to Katie’s surprise, it seemed to work.

“Then you smiled over your shoulder…”

“I look forward to seeing all the boundaries you all willbreak. And I know that each and every one of you are capable of incredible greatness. But I must admit…” Her heart leapt to her throat. But what? What did he-Shiro’s gaze on her warmed, a bright smile tugging at his lips as he looked at her.

“And for a minute…”

“I eagerly await the conquests of the newest generation of graduates, I…have a feeling they’re going to do so some pretty amazing things. Thank you.” Katie couldn’t even hear the applause, she was still glued to her seat. Heart slamming against her windpipe. The image of Shiro’s encouraging half-smile and soft eyes imprinting onto her mind. Cementing itself amongst all the other theories and equations that made way more sense to her than her own feelings for Shiro.

“I was stone-cold sober.”

===

Don’t think of her.

Don’t picture her. Don’t try to remember her voice. Don’t try to remember how her eyes shone. Don’t bring her visage to place like this. Don’t say her name.

Don’t you dare bring her memory here.

“I pulled you closer to my chest.”

Who knows how long Shiro had been in this place. Purple fluorescent lights and alien, animal faces blurred together in his mind. Or in what little cognitive function he had left. Everything seemed to be an endless cycle of blood and bone and screaming.

Lunge. Cut. Fight. Kill. Lunge. Cut. Fight. Kill. Lunge. Cut. Fight. Kill. Lunge. Cut. Fight. Kill. Lunge. Cut. Fight. Kill. Lunge. Cut. Fight. Kill. Lunge. Cut. Fight. Kill. Lunge. Cut. Fight. Kill. Lunge. Cut. Fight. Kill. Lunge. Cut. Fight. Kill. Lunge. Cut. Fight. Kill. Lunge. Cut. Fight. Kill.

Katie.

“And you asked me to stay over…”

God, but then there were moments, too many for Shiro to count, where he’d think back to all the people he’s failed. Matt, who was God knows where. Commander Holt, who Shiro hoped and prayed was still alive, despite all the horror of their situation. And…no, he wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t do that. Shiro can’t think of-

Katie.

“I said, ‘I already told ya-‘ ”

Out of everyone, Shiro had failed her the most. He remembered how proud she looked on launch day. How those golden eyes turned molten with joy as she and her mother sent the three of them off. How she jokingly made him promise to keep her family safe.

So lovely he couldn’t breathe.

He still couldn’t breathe as he, guiltily remembered memories of the brilliant younger Holt in a place like this. A place so messed up and violent that it should never tarnish her memory, no matter how secondhand it was.

But Shiro didn’t have long to think.

Two more purplish aliens cornered him in his cell. Shiro couldn’t even muster the spirit to fight them. The former pilot roughly shoved into the wall and muzzled. Bound in strange, glowing chains until it was time to release him.

Out of the fire and into the frying pan in the worst way.

But even as Shiro was pushed and shoved towards the slaughter fest that was the Arena.

His thoughts were of her.

“ ‘I think that you should get some rest…’ ”

===

She saw him again.

Part of her knew she would, eventually. But this time the sight of him did nothing to her. Gone we’re the blushing cheeks and fluttering heart. She wasn’t that crushing young girl anymore.

She wasn’t Katie anymore either.

Nothing like love twisted her heart at the sight of him, seemingly deranged and pleading on that hospital cot. Katie, now Pidge, only felt one thing as she looked at him. Felt something ugly and hideous coil in her stomach.

How dare he?

How dare he be here instead of Matt and her father? How dare he be the only one who came back? How dare…how dare he just show up?

Crashing back, quite literally, into her life.

“I knew I loved you then.”

She had spent so long killing whatever she had felt for him. Exhausting herself with the search to find her family to avoid thinking about him. But it never worked.

Not really.

And now here he was, screaming, pleading for anyone to stop and listen to him. That they were all going to die. That there were Galra just outside-

Pidge couldn’t take it.

She had had enough. Enough with the lies. Enough with the hurt. Enough with the constant dull ache in her chest. She had to end this the only way she knew how.

She had to save him.

“But you’d never know…”

===

She can’t leave, was his first thought.

But Shiro looked at her face, at those burning gold eyes and that furious glare, and couldn’t find it within himself to stop her.

He failed her.

“'Cause I played it cool when I was scared of letting go.”

Shiro a had failed to protect her family, of course she wanted to leave them and find them herself. Of course she’d want nothing more to do with him. Shiro knew all that.

But it still hurt.

“I know I needed you…”

It still hurt seeing how little she seemed to care about him. How much she wanted to get away from him. It cut him worse than the Galra ever had.

But he’d let her go.

“But I never showed.”

It’d kill him, but he owed her so much. So, for the rest of the night, Shiro kept outside. So no one could see how much he was hurting. He liked her.

He really liked her.

Which was horrible because she was only 15. Which was awful because he had left Matt and her father in the hands of the Galra. Which was just wrong because-

“But I wanna stay with you until we’re grey and old…”

“Shiro? Can we talk?” Trying to tell himself that his heart didn’t skip a beat at her voice would’ve just added insult to his many injuries. Shiro took a few moments to school his expression before turning to her.

And how much she’d changed.

“Just say you won’t let go…”

The last time he saw her everything was different. Everything was simpler. Her cheeks were flushed with cold, but Katie’s smile was so electric that she seemed completely immune to it. She was so small then, so delicate.

Not anymore.

“Just say you won’t let go…”

Seemingly everything about Katie had hardened, sharped to a deadly point. She was force to be reckoned with. A young girl becoming a woman in war. And Shiro couldn’t help but morn the fact. Especially like this, when she was standing just to his left in her armor. All its sharp angles and thick plating doing nothing to help Shiro’s guilt.

Doing nothing to stop his heart breaking.  

===

“I’ll wake you up with some breakfast in bed.”

He’d get nightmares sometimes.

After the first couple instances and the deep, dark bags under his eyes, Pidge had decided enough was enough. She, despite her best efforts, had begun feeling something for the Black Paladin again. Something gentle and flickering in her chest that warmed her when this war chilled her.

Thus began their unique sleeping arrangement.

“I’ll bring you coffee with a kiss on your head…”

They’d head for his room at about the Earth equivalent of 10 o’clock, and, while Shiro would usually knock right out, Pidge would just slip in beside him and continue working until she was either done with her project or passed out from exhaustion.

But it was usually the latter.

“And I’ll take the kids to school…”

Still, for reasons Pidge refused to think about, Shiro seemed to sleep better with her there. Even when she wasn’t under the blanket with him, Shiro would still rest surprisingly peacefully. And for that, Pidge was immensely thankful.

Even if mornings were a little awkward.

“Wave them goodbye.”

Shiro, for the most part, would wake up before her. But the 6-foot-something guy had no chance of leaving the small, twin sized bed without disturbing her awake in some way. Neither would really talk about it, seeing it was a habit the two just sort of…picked up.

Shiro would leave.

Leave Pidge alone in a suddenly too-big bed in a room that smelled just like him. The young girl having to tell herself over and over that this was bigger than her resurfacing feelings for Shiro. This was for his sake and sanity.

She couldn’t take advantage of that.

So every morning Pidge had to stumble back to her own room, alone. Then go to breakfast and act like the whole arrangement never even existed. Like Pidge never knew how much younger Shiro looked when he slept. Or that sometimes his hand would fall to her waist and sleep would suddenly be the furthest thing from her mind. Yeah.

It’s sucked.

“And I’ll thank my lucky stars for that night…”

But there were bigger things than the aching hurt in her chest to deal with, so Pidge just fought it down and threw herself into everything she did even more. Hoping that, one day, things could be normal again.

That she could be honest with Shiro.

===

Years passed.

Everyone grew harder, tougher. The war still raged on, but now they were fighting fire with fire. The Coalition was growing everyday and people were shedding their fear of the Empire like a second skin. Everything was looking up.

But Shiro didn’t feel that way.

“When you looked over your shoulder-“

They found Matt. And for the first time, in a long, long time, he saw Pidge truly and purely happy. Pidge, now 17, had finally gotten a piece of her family back. Not as battle scarred or traumatized as him, Matt fit in right away with their crew.

Falling back in place with Shiro.

The two rekindling their friendship and trust. But one thing, one very important thing was different now.

Katie.

Pidge.

Before the younger Holt had been a witty, brilliant young girl who Shiro liked to joke with. Now? Now things were different.

Now she was different.

“For a minute, I forget that I’m older.”

She was still as burning and brilliant as those gold eyes, but there was so much more to her now. She was a woman on the war front. Battle-scarred and formidable in every sense. Pidge was someone he’d trust his life with. The only problem?

He wanted her to have his heart to.

“I wanna dance with you right now…”

Pidge had indeed grown lovelier over the years and to say that Shiro had never imagined the two as couple would be false in every sense. As beautiful as she was smart, those golden eyes seemed to spell ruin for suitors who weren’t careful.

And Shiro was one of them.

“Oh! And you look as beautiful as ever!”

Matt had found out embarrassingly easily. But the older Holt never ridiculed Shiro. No. Matt did something much worse.

He encouraged it.

“And I swear that everyday you’ll get better.”

Saying that the two were perfect for each other and that she definitely thought of him the same way. Which, naturally, Shiro knew better to believe.

But a part of him hoped.

Hoped that Matt was right every time her smile seemed to linger on him. Everytime he’d find himself lulled to rest by her focused face illuminated by her computer within his room. Everytime she’d pull him back from the nightmares and visions and into her brilliance. A dear, dangerous part of him hoped for such things.

And maybe, one day, he’d tell her all that.

“You make me feel this way somehow…”

But war was never kind to such sentiments. Such sentiments already begged to be proven wrong.

And they were.

===

Oh God.

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. This couldn’t be happening. No. No! This wasn’t real! This is just a dream.

Just a nightmare.

“I’m so in love with you…”

“SHIRO!” Her throat hurt, but Pidge couldn’t care. All she cared about was getting down this damn hill and rush to his side. What was he even thinking?

Taking that bullet for her.

Oh God, there was blood everywhere. A usually orthodox sight made horrifically new when she saw who caused it.

Shiro.

Was he even breathing? Oh God please be breathing. Don’t stop breathing. Don’t leave me again. Don’t go until I-

“K-Katie?”

“And I hope you know.”

“I’m here, I’m right here Shiro. Stay with me. Stay with me please.” When did she start sobbing? When had her tears began to choke her?

She grabbed his hand.

Slick with blood, the metal was cooling in her hands. Hunk quickly rushed in, med kit in tow while Pidge tried to keep Shiro awake.

Alive.

“Darling, your love is more than worth its weight in…”

“Shiro! Shiro, look at me! Eyes on me, c’mon. Please!” Dark, blood soaked lashes fluttered up to her. Shiro’s bloodied head in her lap as Hunk tried to stanch the massive amount of blood leaving his body. But his eyes, warm and gray and heartbreaking, still cling to her so dearly.

So preciously.

“Gold…” He murmured weakly as she gazed up at her. Pidge’s tears falling onto his soiled face. Creating clear tracts in the dirt and gore. But, despite all that, the sight of such a soft look on Shiro face made Pidge smile.

And tears fall harder.

“We’ve come so far my dear…”

“Stay with me ok big guy? Well get you patched up s-”

Shiro coughed.

Blood splattering against his lips as the man sounded as if he was trying to retch out his lungs. Pidge cupped his face, trying to bring him back to her. Trying her best to ignore the warmth of his blood against her palms.

“Shiro? Shiro please stay with me…” She hated the whine in her voice, but the tears just wouldn’t stop. The pain in her chest damn near killing her. No…No, I couldn’t end like this.

Not like this.

“Look how we’ve grown.”

Not after everything they’ve been through. Not after how long she’s loved him. He can’t die. She wouldn’t let him.

She couldn’t let him.

“And I wanna stay with you until we’re grey and old.”

“Katie…Katie I-” Pidge saw it then. Saw it in the way he looked at her, halfway dead and broken beyond measure, but still gazing up at her like he’d do it all again for her. She saw it in those gray eyes and how they shone with unsaid words and unshed tears. She saw it in the way his bloody, bruised hands held onto her arms so reverently. Pidge saw it then.

And cursed herself for not seeing it sooner.

“Just say you won’t let go…”

“I know…I know…” She soothed, gazing back at him. Pidge’s face a near mirror of his own. Vision blurring with tears as she leaned down.

And kissed him.

“Just say you won’t let go…”

===

Kissing her was all Shiro wanted to do.

Pidge made a soft noise in the back of her throat as she pulled him closer and out of his thoughts. The air between them, in his room suddenly too hot. Too stifling unless every inch of her was pressed against every inch of him.

“I wanna live with you…”

Shiro’s mechanical hand slid under her shirt. Reveling in the smooth curve of her hips and waist. Against his throat, Pidge sighed contently and sent Shiro’s heart fluttering.

He kissed her again.

“Even when we’re ghosts.”

Kissing Pidge was like nothing he’d ever imagine it to be. Kissing Pidge was all bursting citrus and warmth and freckles against his hands. Kissing Pidge was the best thing in the world, and Shiro didn’t know if he could ever give it up.

Her arms wrapped around his neck.

Pulling him even closer, if that was possible, as Shiro rubbed his hand along the gentle curve of her bare back. He parted away from her, if only slightly. Just to look at her.

And those gold eyes.

Made a little darker from their kissing, but shining in the lowlight of his room nonetheless. Pidge was older now, her features more prominent, and fondness sang so loudly in Shiro’s heart, he couldn’t help but feel weak.

“'Cause you were always there for me…”

“I love you.” He breathed, the declaration coming out half scared and half infatuated. Watching the spark in Pidge’s eyes light up and a bright smile stretch along her face.

“When I needed you most.”

Her palm on either side of his head.

Seeming to memorize all his features with her calloused, thin fingers. Trailing along his jaw and over his temple. Across his eyebrows.

Fluttering over his scars.

“I love you to.”

===

“I’m gonna love you till my lungs give out.”

The war was over.

The greater evil had been defeated. The universe could finally breathe a breath of freedom after so long a time spent suffering.

Especially for the Paladins.

“I promise till death we part…”

Hunk chose to stay with Shay and help her fellow Balmerans discover what it meant to be free. Though, judging by their entwined hands as they waved the Castle off, that wasn’t exactly the only reason.

Allura and Matt had a lot of work ahead of them.

The rebel fighter and the Princess had grown close over the course of the war. Matt every bit a gushing, loving boyfriend that never failed to make Allura laugh.  Coran watching the two carefully all the while. Allura’s diplomacy plus Matt’s strategy proving to be an incredible combination for the Coalition.

And, naturally, Lance and Keith went back to Earth.

“Like in our vows.”

Lance, apparently, having promised the Red Paladin an introduction to the entirety of Lance’s family. The sight of their entwined hands and bright red cheeks never failing to bring a smile to Pidge’s face.

Which left only two.

“So I wrote this song for you…”

What was next for her? For Shiro? Well, with the Empire out of the way, someone need to take charge of the noncombatant Galra and establish the Blades of Marmora as pillars of stability. And who better to do it?

Than the Champion himself.

“Now everybody knows!”

He was hesitant about it. She could see it in his eyes and the way his human hand wrapped around his metal one. Pidge knew that the thought of overseeing the entire race of creatures that harmed him would be painful.

But that’s why she was there.

“ ‘Cuase now its just you and me…”

Whatever the challenge, whatever the curse. Pidge would help him bear it. So, come the day Kolivan and the Blade came to take them away to rebuild their enemies, they just held each other.

Steadied each other.

“Till we’re grey and old.”

Shiro looked to her then, concern pinching the worn planes of his face in such a way that he seemed to ask her, “are you sure?”, all over again. He looked older now. Older in ways Pidge couldn’t even describe. But he was hers.

And she was his.

“Just say you won’t let go…”

So while she knew this new adventure would test them, as long as they had each other, Pidge knew that they’d be fine. They’ve gone through too much to just back down now. Squeezing his hand in hers, Pidge took the first step toward leading a new legion of Galra. With her hand in his, Shiro walked right beside her.

“Just say you won’t let go…”

Side by side.

Toward a new future, together.

“Just say you won’t let go…”

“Just say you won’t let go…”

#shidge #shidgevalentinesexchange #shiroxpidge #shiro #pidge #vld shiro #vld pidge #voltron shiro #voltron pidge #voltron #voltron legendary defender #vld #pidge ships #writing #my writing #My fic #fanfic #fan fic #my AO3 #AO3 fanfic #ao3 #ao3fic

[lena-went]

Arrivo sulla Terra

                                                ARRIVAL TO EARTH

F: We decided to get married two weeks before she was due. Neither of us was close with any of our relatives so we did not risk upsetting any of them by lack of invitation. She had told me the story of her family the same night she had learned about mine. It was unimaginable what she had survived. We had many similar experiences at the hands of our fathers and we found comfort in our shared suffering. She had been forced outside one night in December, no food and no coat. She could not remember what she was being punished for but nevertheless she had been beaten nearly unconscious and shoved into the snow. I had started to cry softly just imagining this happen to her, this woman that had not a cruel bone in her body. She had turned her head to look up at me from where she laid on my shoulder and stroked my cheek.

“No…no…that wasn’t the end of the story, listen…I was laying there, nearly numb from the cold when I heard the sound of footsteps in the snow. I raised my eyes ever so slightly in the darkness to see a large brown deer. A deer Frederick. The deer lowered itself slightly on top of me and nuzzled it’s big wet nose into my forehead. I thought I was hallucinating, my eyes were so swollen I could hardly see. But then there were more soft and patterned footsteps. Three more deer followed after and laid around me. I still remember running my hands through their fur. It’s bristly but somehow soft. I can still feel the warmth of their bodies so close to me. I was out there all night. But I wasn’t afraid. For all the faith I lost in humanity and love from what was done to me as a child…I gained it back tenfold. These deer…they’re hunted all their lives. They run from the slightest noise or snap of a twig. And yet, somehow I know they took pity on me. Believe me over the years I have tried to justify it in terms of science or as some sort of survival mechanism. But the larger part of me knows…and feels…they knew what they were doing. And it just proved to me…that all that running, all that suffering…baby…it just made them kind.”

She had started to cry as she spoke and I could not contain the choked sobs that fell from my lungs. Both of her hands had cupped my face and she kissed my open mouth gently before pulling back to look at me.

“It made them kind.”

As I looked into her eyes I knew she was referring to us. All that we had endured through our life, every trauma and every wound…it made us kind.

Our wedding was just us and of course the ordained minister. The ceremony was traditional but our vows to each other were written so intimately it would have escaped the understanding of anyone but us. She had worn the most holy looking white gown and I my best suit. When the minister said the final phrase, she raised a hand to my scarred cheek and ran her finger over my healed wound before speaking.

“Frederick promise me that whatever happens…no matter how horrible…we will be kind. No matter what this world does to us, we will stay kind.”

“I promise.”

I pulled her to me, enveloping her in a deep and strong kiss. In that moment it felt as if the sun was shining only for us. The rays of gold from the ornate church window illuminated every follicle and eyelash. Everything was a haze of gold and light. I wove my hands through the hair at the base of her neck and pulled her even closer wanting to absorb everything that she was…everything that we were.

TWO WEEKS LATER

R: It started with a pulse of pain. And then another. And another. I put down the book I was reading and called for Frederick, slightly panicked by how quickly the pain was rising. I had been completely fine only minutes ago. He ran for his stethoscope which he had been keeping close to us as of late so we could listen to the baby’s heartbeat together. He pressed the cool metal to my stomach and paused for a few moments before looking at me reassuringly.

“Both heartbeats are normal…but as to the pain it is likely that you have entered the early stages of labor.” He said this so matter of factly that I nearly pinched him.

As I moved to do so a massive pain ripped through me zig zagging it’s way down my spine and across my stomach. I let out a small sound at which Frederick flinched slightly before trying to help me sit up from my laying down position.

“Have you been timing them?” He asked brushing my hair from where it had stuck to my forehead.

“Yes Frederick, a horrible series of pains are pulsing through my body and my first thought is to time them. No Frederick…no I haven’t been—AHHHGUH!” My snark and sarcasm was cut short  by another lightning bolt of pain.

Within seconds Frederick was on the phone with the doctor. I managed to hear bits and pieces as he paced back and forth in the living room, his arms rapidly changing positions from being crossed at his chest and then to his hips and then to his hair. I would have been amused but it was all I could do to keep from screaming.

“Yes…she is progressing rather rapidly. She is in a lot of pain. Well tell me what I should do!” He pounded his thumb into the screen of his phone and shoved it in his jeans pocket before rushing out of the room and into our bedroom.

“Frederick!” I called anxious and fearful of what he had just been told.

He returned clutching our go bags we had packed a week earlier in preparation for my delivery. The look on his face was anything but calm and he had started to sweat slightly but he maintained a soft, slow voice.

“My love, we are going to the hospital now. Little love has decided to arrive today.” He knelt in front of me and kissed me softly before helping me up and retrieving the keys from the hall table.

“What did the doctor say?” I asked worriedly, remembering his tone as he had spoke to the woman on the phone.

“If we want to have the baby at the hospital we need to leave right now.” I saw the panic enter his eyes and he placed a hand on my back to guide me towards the door. As I stood I had felt a trickle of something but as soon as I took a step there was a gush of liquid down my legs.

“It is okay, it is just your water breaking. This is normal. Everything is normal.” He spoke attempting to reassure us both.

He quickly grabbed me another pair of clean and dry sweat pants which I put on with his help. Then we were out the door our go bags in hand. The pain hadn’t stopped but I had discovered how to better handle it. I would take a deep breath in and focus on a memory. Something good, something happy. And before I knew it the pain was gone, leaving behind an achy throb. Frederick was driving faster than normal and his eyes had widened to a new width. I rubbed his thigh to confirm to him that I was doing fine and everything was ok. We reached the hospital within 15 minutes and had a room within 20. By that time I was told I was ready to push.

The pain had become blinding as I gripped Frederick’s hand and bore down with all the strength I had. One contraction was so awful I cried out in a sob.

“Freddy make it go away!” I wept as the pain continued without cease.

“I am so sorry my love…I love you…I am so sorry.” He kissed at my forehead and I felt the heat of his tears fall onto my face.

The nurses tried to coach and instruct me but everything had become tunnel like. I could hardly see, hardly think.

Then as if an echo from a distant future I heard a little voice warm on my ear, “Mommy!” I jolted back to reality and let out a scream as another pain branched through every synapse in my body.

I could hear Frederick crying next to me and it gave me strength to push harder. I arched my back in a final scream before my cries were joined by smaller more high pitched ones.

I reached down to the gap between my raised thighs and pulled my baby from me. I tried to catch my breath but I couldn’t seem to stop hyperventilating. I laid our baby on my exposed chest and pressed my lips to the warmth and wet of it’s head. Frederick’s head was soon pressed there too laying kisses of his own on both of us.

“We have a baby boy my love…a baby boy.” His voice was cracked and wet but filled with joy.

My head fell back to my pillow and I let out a heavy breath.

“Atlas. Our baby’s name is Atlas.”

F: It was the most terrifying thing I had ever experienced, seeing her in so much pain and not being able to stop it. The way she had screamed broke my heart. I had done this to her. I was the reason she was in so much pain. Just as I was about to fall to the floor in my anguish I heard the smallest cries and then I saw her reach for our baby and pull it up to her. A baby boy, so incredibly tiny and perfect. I kissed her chest and neck before kissing our baby who had stopped crying and was snuggled into her embrace.

“We have a baby boy my love…a baby boy.” I almost sobbed but caught myself when I saw the look in her eyes as her head pressed back into the pillow behind her.

“Atlas. Our baby’s name is Atlas.”

With those final words she shuddered violently and then was still. I heard the scream of the monitor behind me as the nurses in the room flew towards us. There were shouts and sounds of heavy footsteps as all kinds of machinery beeped and screeched.

“My love?” I my voice broke as our baby was lifted from her chest and carried off somewhere.

Her eyes had frozen in place looking at something far away that I could not see. Their familiar light was gone.

I screamed her name and ran my hands over her face trying to bring her back to me. Suddenly I was shoved from her as they pressed the paddles to her chest and shouted “CLEAR!”

Nothing.

“CLEAR!”

Nothing.

I killed her.

“CLEAR!”

She was gone.

“CLEAR!”

It was as if someone wiped my soul clean of all sensation. I felt nothing but ache. Nothing but a horrible, horrible sense of loss. Everything was two dimensional, nothing was real. I fell deeper and deeper within myself running from anything that held any semblance of life.

“CLEAR!”

Nothing.

Blip…Blip…Blip.

Suddenly I could hear and see again. I could hear our baby crying and her gasping for air. I rushed closer and watched as the nurses checked her and took samples from her before darting from the room. Two nurses stayed behind to monitor her and ensure that she did not crash again.

“Freddy…” Her voice was small and breathy.

“My love?” I tried to speak but what came from me was barely intelligible.

It took her a few minutes to return to a fully conscious state. I stroked her hair and cried in relief as I watched her begin to reanimate and breathe normally.

“Where is he? Where is our baby?” She whispered hoarsely her throat raw from her previous screams.

She moved to sit up and I pressed my hands to her shoulders to hold her back.

“No…rest please…”

“I need him.” She insisted, the look in her eyes becoming more desperate.

A nurse was listening and brought our son to her, freshly bathed and wrapped in a white blanket we had bought weeks ago. I watched as she pressed her cheek to his head and hummed softly to him before finally relaxing.

“I love you. I am so sorry. I love you.” I tried to convey the depth of my regret and repentance but she even in her weak state managed to comfort me.

“Freddy I have never…been…happier. Look at what we made. Look at him.”

I refused to look at the baby on her chest or at her. I was a curse on both of them. She had been  dead only moments ago.

“Freddy…look at him.” Her voice broke and I could hear her distress at my behavior.

I raised my eyes with a slow series of flicks and looked at the tiny bundle on her chest. His hands were curled into little balls next to his plump rosy cheeks. He had finally stopped crying and his little lips still trembled from his previous wails. His head was covered in thin brown hair that fluffed and curled slightly around his forehead. Suddenly his eyes rolled open and stared at me before he gave a tiny squeak. I took in a shaky breath and raised a hand to stroke his face. I was so afraid to touch him, petrified at the idea of somehow harming him. He gave another small sound and his tiny hands flexed open in invitation. I pressed my massive finger into his grasp and he gripped me tightly before his eyes rolled shut again.

“Hold him baby.” She was crying happy tears and lifted the bundle towards me.

I shook my head and instead squeezed myself onto the bed next to her. I pressed my scruff covered jaw into the crook of her neck and began to sob while wrapping an arm around her upper stomach. How many times would I almost lose her or her me? I could not stop shaking as she reached a hand to my face while quietly singing.

“I love you.” I managed through the strangled cries I was making.

“I’m here Freddy, I’m here. Shhhh…it’s ok.” She whispered, her voice returning to its normal sweet melody.

She moved her hand from my face to the veins of my hand that gripped at her stomach. She traced each one as she would often do when I was most upset. She pulled then and laid my hand to rest on our baby’s head. I flinched in hesitance but she laid her delicate palm over my knuckles in reassurance. I moved my hand ever so softly feeling the shape of his head and the little hairs that covered it.

“He’s ours Frederick. Our son.” She tilted her head to kiss mine before nuzzling her nose into my forehead.

She pulled him higher so his face was level with mine. I pushed my lips against his round cheek and I swore I saw his lips morph into a minuscule smile.

“He smiled at me.” I gasped slightly at which she let out a happy giggle.

“Of course he did baby, he loves you.” Her words warmed me and I replayed them over and over in my mind before letting a laugh escape my lips.

He loved me, my son loved me. She loved me. I was loved.

This part was supposed to end differently but I couldn’t go with my original plan. I could barely sleep after writing it so here’s this instead. Don’t worry though this isn’t the end of the series, I have more planned. 

#frederick chilton x reader #frederick chilton #frederick chilton series #hannibal #raul esparza #fanfic #ao3fic #this one is sad #the medical logic is iffy #love you all #thank you all for reading #thank you always

[blade-revolutions]

A Touch of Warmth [TyHil]

I promised a TyHil one shot and here I am, finally delivering it. I hope you enjoy!

IT’S A RAINY DAY in Bakuten and Hilary has decided to spend the weekend at the company of the Bladebreakers.

Now what the majority would expect would be voices filling every corner of the household with so many people, especially Tyson’s, who loves to be the center of attention most of the time due to the fact he’s caring the 3 year in a row World Champion. Of course after surpassing everyone’s expectations by defeating the Bega League and bringing harmony to the sport he loves isn’t a goal anyone can accomplish. Yet the thought of acknowledging his superiority has him with his head in the clouds too often, and Hilary is usually there to ground him in reality so their group can relish some peace without any distractions.

So it’s amusing to see that an eerie silence hanging in the air, one that doesn’t carry tension. Hilary’s glad this isn’t the case. The last thing she wants is to be in a room with the atmosphere charged. She’s had plenty of that during the Bega challenge. Not only was it frustrating to see her friends striving to give their all under pressure, the fact that she couldn’t provide the tiniest bit of help as far as beyblading is concerned rendered her restless throughout that month. Although Ray, Max and Lyla comforted her by saying she’s the coach and that her help is truly valuable, there are days Hilary is feeling left out. She knows it’s not true and that she shouldn’t doubt her place in the team, but that small dark part of her mind reminds her of this occasionally.

Hilary dreads that part, that inner voice of a self who’s not her. It makes her question everything about her personality, her appearance, her relationship with her family and other people. It fills her with uncertainty for her actions and if she’s capable enough of doing something. It tears apart her walls of confidence, leaving her hollow with thoughts swirling in her brain. Hilary wishes for it to go away and let her enjoy life freely.

It’s not like she hasn’t been doing that so far, but whenever she’s having actual fun, the voice appears. Her mood falls drops significantly without anyone ever knowing because of her happy facade she pulls through. None of them know about this kind of insecurities she has locked deep within, with the exception of Lyla and Mariah who can see through her. And maybe Kai, she adds, but he respects her enough to keep his lips tight and not voice anything aloud, attracting unwanted and unnecessary attention.

So what if she has insecurities? Big deal, anyone on this planet has them. She’s not the first one to encounter problems and inner battles with herself, and she definitely won’t be the last. In fact, everyone feels self-conscious sometimes, including her beloved friends. For instance, Tyson is afraid of being in the dark for too long without anyone caring genuinely about him. Though the thought could be considered ridiculous since Tyson has gone far, it’s proven when he’s not in the spotlight when he’s surrounded by others.

Before Hilary can ponder on this theory and let her mind wonder if there are chances to capture Tyson’s attention as something more than friends, the door of his bedroom opens and Hilary’s reverie dissipates. She turns her head around, only to face a disgruntled Tyson.

Hilary chuckles inwardly at his expression. It’s a shame she can’t photograph this priceless bafflement in his eyes. For a moment she forgot the fact that apart from Ryu they are alone in the dojo since Ray and Max are helping Mr Tate at the shop this afternoon. Daichi has gone to his city to visit some relatives and Kenny is grounded by his parents because his mom caught him with the laptop positioned comfortably on his lap at 1 A.M, when the following day he had to attend school. Kai and Lyla wanted to treasure some time for themselves since being around their friends 24/7 limited the possibilities of a proper date. And even though Lyla doesn’t complain about the lack of those, after all just being with him is more than enough, Kai felt it’s something which should be done every once in a while.

A remnant Hilary hasn’t realized it’s nestled there pops up suddenly, and Hilary’s cheeks flush with embarrassment.

They are alone. In an almost empty house.

Hilary scolds her mind for giving her ideas which shouldn’t exist in the first place. It’s not like her brain is filled with impure fantasies of her and Tyson in compromising positions. No. That’s Julia’s speciality. And Tala’s, she grins slyly.

She can only pray for the heat on her cheeks to cool before Tyson notices, otherwise she’ll never be able to live it down since Tyson would make false assumptions.

“That’s it! I’m done for today.” Tyson declares as he places his palm on the door frame, staring at Hilary through narrowed eyes, as if daring her to object at his announcement.

Three seconds pass before Hilary realization dawns upon her. Tyson is failing in his science course and had asked for Hilary’s help.

When Hilary heard this, her ears perked up with sheer surprise and she had to strain them to confirm she didn’t misheard him. Tyson would come to her for any kind of aid, except for school subjects. A part of him still feels competitive when it comes to both of them and grades, despite the fact Tyson can’t reach Hilary’s level, not because he isn’t smart enough, but because he’s too lazy to put some effort. So he had come to the most ideal person, and Hilary agreed, offering her notes to him by one term. That Tyson would spend the entire afternoon of studying properly, without distractions.

Hilary shifts her gaze to the clock and nods satisfactorily. “It’s half past eight. I’m surprised you could last that long.” She tells him truthfully, approval lacing her voice.

“You’re not the only genius who can survive after three and half hours straight of studying Hilary.” Tyson rolls his eyes before joining her to the couch, his body slumping to the other end. Tyson throws his head back, leaving it to hang in mid-air briefly, his eyes concentrated on the ceiling as he tries to alleviate the pain in his brain. It’s as if his brain cells are carrying too much information, to the point an explosion can’t be excluded. However, he feels proud for not letting himself down and remaining true to his words. And Hilary’s had been more than helpful. They were written with such detail, delicacy and caution -it fascinated him. Moreover, her handwriting is really good and he faced no trouble in understanding the words in front of him. Her notes had made his job easier than he expected.

Hilary presses her lips together in a thin line to prevent the laughter from escaping her lips. It’ll do no good to her if her actions were added to Tyson’s exhaustion. Tyson studied hard enough to keep his promise and Hilary isn’t going to ruin the rest of his day by teasing him in the wrong way.

Her eyes search for the tv remote and spot it lying on the table but a firm, warm hand closes around her wrist, pausing the movement of leaning forward to take a hold of it.

Bewildered, Hilary casts a questioning stare at Tyson, the latter shaking his head with eyes closed.

“Not other noises. Please.”

His tired tone throws her off guard along with the second phrase, and she’s left gazing at him, thoroughly amused by the way his eyes flattered shut the second he leaned back to rest his head. The day she could see Tyson denying television has seemed a dream, a butterfly impossible to catch, except for today.

Boy he must be really exhausted.

Tyson removes his hand, allowing her wrist to breathe and Hilary misses his touch for the first time. It felt nice to have someone providing her comforting heat, even in the smallest of ways. It makes her feel more connected to him in  a strange way since a touch isn’t much. Yet it means everything to her.

Hilary follows his actions and lets her eyelids to fall shut, relishing the tranquility around them. Thankfully Ryu is in the training room, meditating, meaning no one is going to interrupt rudely this silence.

Droplets of rain clash against the windows along with the rustling of the leaves, lulling Hilary to sleep.

She hopes it can be a blissful one and it is, till the moment images she dreads appear in front of her. Images with her friends shooting harsh accusations on her face for things she wasn’t even involved into while smirking, telling her she’ll never be good enough. She feels terrified, but most importantly lost. What is going to do now? Give up and collapse on her feet? Or continue fighting their voices filled with hatred?

Is there any point in fighting these demons? Will they ever go away? Or are they going to reside in her head forever?

Tyson is awoken when he hears sounds close to him. He watches Hilary’s sleeping form tossing around and he’s relieved when he sees that only her hands are taking part in this and not her legs, meaning he can keep his gut in place and not fall off the couch and flat on his ass.

He stays silent for a few moments, wishing she can calm down while wondering what could upset Hilary this much. This is so unlike her. Apart from her bossy and prideful attitude which has faded throughout the two years of being around him, it’s unusual to see Hilary vulnerable and fragile, with her defences crumbled, leaving her bare in front of him.

Soft whimpers escape her mouth and Tyson bites on his lip as he grows distressed. There must be something he can do to help her, comfort her and soothe her pain.

An idea flashes his mind but he’s too close to rejecting it. What if Hilary wakes up and shoves him out of her away, before exploding her tantrum at him for violating her private space? All of these thoughts frustrate him and for once, he wishes Hilary not to be complicated. If she was like the rest of the girls out of their team, preoccupied with her appearance and brainless, he wouldn’t be afraid to make a move on her. However, he knows he doesn’t want that. He wants someone different, someone who can be a challenge. Someone who doesn’t run with the crowd.

Although Lyla can’t be his, Tyson’s glad his long lasting feelings for her are fading away slowly, but surely.

With this in mind he shifts closer, slipping his arm around her shoulder, diminishing the gap between them. Her body is unexpectedly cold and his eyes survey the room, searching for a blanket nearby. Luckily, there’s one on the armchair a few feet away from him and he tries to stand up when delicate fingers wrap around his arm, pulling him back down with her.

“Don’t leave me! You’re too warm.” Hilary mumbles softly, nuzzling closer to him.

Tyson’s heart races wildly at the turn of the events before his expression softens as he rubs his palm up and down her arm, assuring her he doesn’t intend on leaving her.

Tyson places a chaste kiss on her forehead. “Go to sleep, Hilary.”

Hilary’s lips curl into a smile unconsciously. Maybe one day she’ll let him know. Know how deep in her heart he’s carved.

#beyblade #tyhil #tyson granger #hilary tachibana #one shot #long post #writing #fanfiction

[delkios]

Something of Your Own (DC TV)

This was something I fought with for two weeks. Couple things of note: I haven't watched the last few episodes so if this contradicts canon then oh well. Second, this was inspired when I remembered the line from season 1 about Mick having to strangle rats to survive and this fic will be partially taking place during that time so mind the warnings. Third, I had intended to pretend the rest of the team was treating Mick better than they had been but that quickly fell to the wayside so there's gonna be some salt in here. Title: Something of Your Own Fandom: Legends of Tomorrow Rating: PG-13 Warnings: animal death/referenced cruelty, trauma induced by isolation and starvation, implied child abuse Word Count: 5411 Characters: Mick, Mick's rat, cameos by other Legends Summary: Mick always had a soft spot for rats though they never ended well before. This time, though, he'll make sure is different. Mick didn't have a pet growing up. Not technically anyway. Their farm had no animals but it wasn't uncommon to see stray cats wandering around, chasing off rodents. They were all feral and would run off if a person tried to get close. They were never given food or water, were never taken to a vet or worried after and as such they were unreliable so traps were set around the farm and house. Mick found a rat in one once, it's tail caught and broken, squealing in pain and fear. He took it and kept it in a box while he made a rough cage out of scrap chicken wire. He named it Miss Bianca after a movie he'd seen once where mice saved a little girl. He kept it under his bed.

He had it for almost two months before his father found out. He cracked Miss Bianca's head with a shovel and boxed Mick's ears, threatening to do worse if the house got infested because of him. Mick snuck out of the house after midnight, combing the field his father had tossed Miss Bianca's body into in hopes he'd be able to give it a burial. He never found it. He chased away every rodent he found in the house after that, unsure if he was trying to protect them from his father or from Mick's occasional impulse to keep them. In the end it was the same thing, really. If his father found them, he'd kill them and Mick's feelings on the matter didn't factor. The impulse to have something of his own, something to look after and take care of came and went but never really stopped. He hadn't expected it to transfer to scrawny, smart-mouthed punks. ~*~*~*~ The crew treats it like an adorable joke. Like just because Mick has a pet rat now, he's no longer scary. Mick sets its cage atop the case to the- still broken -cold gun. A place of honor where Mick can watch and talk to it while laid out in his recliner. Talking to the rat isn't as calming as staring at fire but it's better than arguing with his imaginary partner. There's a knock on the frame of Mick's open door. He rolls his head around, still absently scratching the base of the rat's skull and not caring about the crumbs on his jacket as it stuffs its little face while perched on his shoulder. Nate takes in the scene with a big grin. "Hey, Mick!" He says cheerily. "Just checking in on the little guy." The rat snuffles at Mick's head before continuing to gnaw on its carrot. "Well enough." "You got a name picked out yet?" "No." "Really?" Naming an animal, Mick figures, is like giving them a nickname and to him nicknames are important. They're identifiers, maybe ones that start out isolating a specific feature or trait but has to have enough elasticity in Mick's brain to evolve with his opinion on the person. Nicknames need to fit the person. Or rat, in this case. "One'll come to me." "Have you checked if it's a boy or a girl?" "Does it matter?" Nate gives him that odd look-smile combination. The one that says he's amused that Mick doesn't know something so obvious. "Might help you come up with a name." Mick just raises an eyebrow. "Don't think its parts really matters to anyone but the rat." Nate opens his mouth, then closes it. After a couple repetitions he says, "Yeah, I guess that's true." ~*~*~*~ There were few things Mick liked remembering about growing up on the farm. The hunting trips were a mixed bag though having been stranded in bumfuck nowhere, the occasionally painful survival lessons had paid off. Especially given that Snart had left him here with nothing but the clothes on his back, the knife in his boot and the lighter in his pocket. When he came to in that forest, sun filtering weakly through clouds and leaves, Mick took a moment to sort through his priorities- find a water source, figure out cardinal directions, make note of potential shelters -before looking for signs of civilization or, failing that, food. After all, either he'd been abandoned or Snart could go fuck himself if he expected Mick to stay in one place. He found a thin stream, barely more than a creek, but the water was cold and clear. Snowmelt, he'd wager. He followed its flow. Hopefully it would run into other streams or a river. If anyone lived here, that's where they would be. Along the way he found some berries and nuts he recognized, not a large supply but enough to keep him alive for some time if he portioned them right. Mick filled his pockets and kept trekking. As the sun started to fall, Mick found a clearing a little ways from the creek to settle down for the night. He found some promising looking animals tracks and set up snares using his bootlaces. He went off in the other direction to find sticks and kindling for a fire and pocketed what other bits of food he came across. Eventually, just as hunger was starting to get distracting, there was a squeal. Mick went to check the snares and found a wiry rabbit caught in one. He killed the rodent, skinned it to the best of his memory and hung it over the creek to let it bleed while he started a fire, keeping an eye out for any predators attracted by the smell. He took out the offal he couldn't eat and tossed them a good distance away on the other side of the creek as the rest of it cooked on a make-shift spit. It was gamey and tasteless and Mick longed for even a bit of salt but at least he had some wild berries to help. He didn't have any way to carry leftovers so Mick ate as much of the rabbit as he could, tossed the remains far from his sleeping spot, cleaned his knife, hands and face in the creek, then settled in and watched the fire die down. He fell asleep long after the stars came out, a distant part of him noticing the lack of animals noises around him. When he woke up there was something moving in his jacket pocket, laid over him as a makeshift blanket. Mick shifted, trying to blearily peer at it and the something froze before turning around and peering back at him. It was a rat. Or a mouse, maybe. It was pretty small. It had one of the nuts Mick had picked up the other day in its mouth. "What," Mick rumbled at it. In defiance of being caught, it's little hands wrapped around another nut. "You hungry?" The rat stuffed the second nut in its mouth and scampered off. ~*~*~*~ The Waverider's makeshift lab isn't a place one usually finds Mick. Not that Jax is surprised to see him working on something- he's seen the man wander into the lab to grab some tools on things he tinkers on in his room -it's just he thinks Mick's idea of not working in the lab is smart. Whenever Jax is down there, he seems to have even chances either working in peace or having to deal with Stein- who tends to devolve into a lecture like he's back in a university -or Ray- who's honest 'let me show you a trick' tends to result in his taking over entirely. Jax waits for a pause in Mick's work, the man calling to Gideon for some kind of adjustment, before speaking up. "Hey, Rory. What're you up to?" Whatever it is is tiny. Like a child's bracelet. "A collar." "For your rat? Why so high-tech? Putting a tracking device in it?" Wasn't that stuff a micro-chip inserted under a skin in their time? "It'll create a miniature temporal stasis field so the rat won't die when we time-jump." Jax has to pause to digest that statement. "Wait- what?" "Time travel sucks," Mick says like he's saying any old thing. "Our bodies can barely handle the strain. Something that small, its organs'll rupture." He holds up the collar, peering at it critically. "Why do you think Hunter never worried about bugs getting on board? They can't survive the trip into the timestream." Jax had not, in fact, wondered at the lack of bugs before and now with that knowledge in his head, he tells Mick, "Imma go to my room and be disturbed for a bit." Mick just waves him off absently, instructing Gideon to scan the collar. "Have fun." ~*~*~*~ It wasn't a daily occurrence but it was pretty even odds that Mick would find the rat scrounging for food. Enough times that he designated the easiest accessible pocket its food. And it wasn't alone. It had a small family or herd or whatever a group of rats were called. A rat pack. It took a while for Mick to confirm it was the same group of rats following him on his fruitless journey to find anything. Maybe it was because he only managed to catch one other animals after that rabbit. Or maybe he was lonely and the memory of Miss Bianca was floating around in the back of his head but Mick started dropping nuts behind them, encouraging them to follow. And whenever he thought they might've fallen too far behind, he stopped to let them catch up. There were five all together and Mick started naming them in his mind. The biggest one he named Scarface because its left ear was mangled. Another fairly large one that walked like it had an old injury he called Splinter. The one that had initially snuck inside his pocket, the smallest and the one that tended to get shoved aside in the scramble for food, was Cinderella. The two that bullied Cinderella the most Mick dubbed Scudder and Dillon and, even though one of them had socks and the other didn't, Mick never really assigned them specific names. They were assholes and they hung out together more than not, it was fitting enough to him. At some point the creek he'd been following had joined up with a slightly larger one. Still didn't look like fish lived in it, though, or if they did they were too small and not worth it. Mick had seen a couple frogs which made him wrinkle his nose. His family had to go frog gigging sometimes when money was tight and he'd never really like eating frog. Too much effort for the amount of meat it got and these frog in particular weren't very big. Once, when Mick had been sick during an especially bad month, his mother had brought him a frog stew. He'd gotten violently ill off it- turned out there'd been mildly toxic toad in there as well. The fact that no one else in the family had gotten sick and his mother's relationship to Mick had always been ambiguous made him question if that might have been purposeful. Mick had hated toads- and to a lesser extent frogs due to similarities -since. But, he supposed, he had a last resort if no other food source was found. And if they ended up being toxic then, well, then Mick hoped Snart was coming back so he could find his body dead from bad frog legs. Fuck you, Snart. By the time Mick had coaxed the rats into hanging out next to him whenever he rested, the forest had thinned out and within a week of his abandonment he stepped out of the treeline entirely. The sight was not promising. There was a vast plain that stretched out farther than Mick could see, very little in the way of plantlife outside of the grass that was sparsely populated with hard, craggy rock. There were no towns, no paths, no smoke in the distance and no animals. "If that fucker dropped me off in some pre-history time," he grumbled darkly, "I'm going to kick his ass." Mick went back into the forest to restock on berries and nuts and managed to catch another boney and undersized rabbit while he was at it. He ate some, then stripped the remaining meat into chunks, skewered them on sticks and cooked them through, planning on eating them when he stopped for the night. The offal he wrapped up in the rabbit skin and tied that to another, longer stick. Hopefully a crow or vulture or other scavenger would come to investigate and Mick could catch them. The stream continued off in the distance so Mick didn't worry about water. Preparations complete, Mick went on his way. He made it all of twenty feet before stopping and turning. Clustered together under a wimpy fern, the five rats stared at him as if debating if they were willing to risk the open to follow the guy that had been feeding them the last few days. Mick crouched and pulled a couple of berries from his pocket, holding them on outstretched fingers. "You coming or what?" After some hesitating, they scuttled forward and just like that Mick had himself a rat pack. ~*~*~*~ When Stein finds them in the kitchen he immediately bristles though his rebuke gets way-sided by an incredulous, "What are you doing?" "Training," Mick says shortly before giving a sharp whistle. His rat runs from Mick's shoulder and over his outstretched arm. Mick turns his hand over and opens it, letting the rat get at the treat hidden in his palm. He gives two more whistles and it runs back over his arm and to his shoulder where it climbs into one of the pockets at his chest. It sticks its little head out and makes grabby hands at another treat Mick gives it. Stein boggles momentarily. "I was not aware you knew how to train animals." "Did a stint in Opal. They got a program for inmates to train dogs and it wasn't like I was doing anything else." Another whistle and the rat clambers back on Mick's shoulder, over his arm and, when he inclines it downward, onto the counter. It turns back expectantly and gets another treat. It reminds Stein of his initial outrage. "And why are you doing this in the kitchen? Where we prepare our meals?" Slowly Mick raises his eyes at the older man, hand absently petting the creature. "Rat's clean. Gideon checked." "It's hardly hygienic to have a creature shedding fur on our counter tops." Mick just stares, arms folded. He very slowly, very deliberately sits on the counter. Stein just looks at him in a mixture of confusion and irritation. Eventually Mick asks, "No comments?" "About what?" "Sitting on the counter." He waves a hand out. "Not like you know where my ass has been. Coulda been working on something mechanical and gotten grease or oil on me. Coulda been wading through the septic tank, I could be wearing week old underwear with skid marks for all you know." Stein wrinkles his nose and looks like he's about to attack his own brain with a cleaning spray but Mick goes on. "So why don't you say anything? Maybe you got used to it 'cause you know just about everyone else sits on the counter sometimes- including your partner. Maybe 'cause you know the ship has automatic micro-scrubbing bubbles that activates when germs are around." "All surfaces are coated with a microbial film of smart antibacterial nanites," Stein recites automatically. "Ship kills all those nasty germs which is why no one's gotten sick on this boat or had to dust. So tell me, Professor. You complaining 'cause it's a rat or 'cause it's something I'm doing?" Stein hesitates, not entirely certain what he's being accused of. "All I ask is that you please not let the rat on the counter." Mick sneers and whistles, somehow even sharper than before. "Doubt it." Rat safely perched on his shoulder, Mick storms out. ~*~*~*~ In all honesty Mick never really cared much for animals. They just kind of existed and so long as they didn't cause him problems he didn't really care. He had a soft spot for rats though, even before he was consciously aware of it. But only rats, mice and gerbils and whatnot did nothing for him. Maybe he just related to rats, the way people hated how big and ugly they were, their reputation for being mean and vicious, the way people sneered as they called rats vermin and treated them like dirt. While all a rat wanted- all most things wanted, really -was just to be left alone to do its thing. At least they're easy to carry, especially after a few days when Mick could consolidated his food enough to free up a couple pockets. He managed to catch a bird scoping out the rabbit meat a couple days in, not long before Mick was going to toss it. A hawk of some sort, if Mick had to hazard a guess. He fed bits of the meat to the rats just for the irony of it. No other bird came by before he ended up dumping its remains on his trek. At least wherever he was had some similarities to where he grew up in terms of edible plants. Mick harvested plantain plants, chicory and spatterdock wherever the stream broke off into small pools. They did little to alleviate his hunger. Mick chewed on a spatterdock root, grimacing at the bitterness of it. Cinderella, tucked in between the collar of his jacket and his jaw, pressed her nose up against his ear momentarily. "I'll stop soon," he told it, absently reaching up to give her a scratch, "and then I'll feed you. Promise." It squeaked lightly, then settled in. ~*~*~*~ "Wow!" Mick rolls his eyes but otherwise doesn't turn away from where he's installing an exercise wheel and hammock into the rat cage. Ray steps further into his room, agog at the length of tubes running maze-like all over the walls, zig-zagging around the pin-ups and guitar and whatnot that was already up. There's a couple smaller cages set up with water bottles, food dishes and beds like way stations. The rat is in one sitting on a shelf, digging out snacks stuffed in a small wiffle ball. "You really went all out!" "Not gonna keep it cramped and bored in a tiny cage," Mick grunts. "Can't just let it wander the ship, either." "Yeah but... you gotta admit," Ray grins teasingly, "you're spoiling it." "Not like I got anyone else wanting my attention." That, of course, makes Ray's face fall. "You know the team's here for you, right?" Could've fooled him. Instead, Mick says, "You want my attention, feel free to shrink down and get in a cage." "Or we could do something where one of us isn't treated like a pet." "Nope. In a pet-spoiling mood. Take it or leave it, Haircut." He chuckles. "Later, then. When you won't try to make me drink from a water feeder." Ray pauses, half out the door, before turning around and saying, "I'm really glad you're taking care of the rat." Mick says nothing and eventually Ray leaves. He's extra attentive as he ties off the hammock. Spoiling the rat is the absolute least Mick can do. ~*~*~*~ His lighter ran out of fuel. Mick had been careful about it, keeping from pulling it out and flicking it on no matter how much his hands shook, trying to make it last as long as possible. He reserved staring at flames for when he settled for the night and had a proper fire going. The lack of fuel was hardly anything to be alarmed by. He still had his knife- a Swedish FireKnife that his bastard former partner had gotten Mick on his last birthday -and a striking tool in one of his pockets. Worst came to worst, he also knew how to start fires with various rocks and steel as well as with sticks. Though there really wasn't too much to work with for the latter option. Everything was still empty. Still no sign of civilization and very few creatures that Mick could only find at a distance. He was constantly hungry now and had to take breaks more often because he'd get dizzy. The sun wasn't all that strong but it was enough he could feel the heat through his jacket and could feel his skin beginning to peel along the tops of his ears and head. Mick knew he should stop feeding the rats. They could probably survive on their own and without sacrificing for them, it would probably give him an extra day or two. Not that it would do him much good if he never found actual food. He'd been walking through an unchanging landscape for so long Mick almost didn't realize he was coming up on a steep slope, practically marching in his sleep. It wasn't a cliff by any means but Mick would have to pick and climb his way down, leaning one hand against the ground and let gravity slide him from one outcropping to another. Mick sat on a rock at the top of it for some time, part to catch his breath and part to scan the sprawl below him, hoping to find signs of anything useful. He must have zoned out because the next thing he knew, Scarface bit him hard enough to make Mick gasp. The sky had gone dark and he could no longer make out anything below him. Mick cursed, "Guess we're camping here for the night," and went down to his hands and knees, having to feel out for materials to make a fire. ~*~*~*~ For the hell of it, Mick's teaching the rat how to high five. It takes some time for him to realize he has to do it with a finger because if he angles his hand too much, it thinks he wants it sit in his palm. Which is good because that's a trick Mick had already taught it but not what he's going for now. "I'm surprised how much it likes you." He doesn't look up. He heard Amaya enter the dining area- not the kitchen, since Stein continues to be touchy about that -but didn't say anything as she seemed content to just watch. "I feed it," he says, running the rat through a couple more tricks before doing another high five. It succeeds and gets a treat. "No surprise there." "It's not just about food." She walks in, standing on the far side of the table. The rat's ears twitch, head shifting slightly just enough to keep Amaya in its periphery but otherwise unafraid with Mick nearby. "Also around all the time," he adds with a shrug. "Not that, either." Mick rolls his eyes. He doesn't know why half the crew likes being so damn cryptic. The action makes Amaya smile. "I just mean that it likes you. It's comfortable around you and trusts you. For a prey animal, that is a big thing." Mick eyes her, not exactly mistrusting but not sure if he believes this. "What, you talk to animals?" "No," she admits, slowly reaching out a finger and pausing as the rat hops back slightly, turning its body so it has better sight of her, "but as I'm granted to ability to use various animals' skills, it was in my best interest to study and understand them. Despite what people think, rats aren't dumb. If it thought it had reason to fear you, it wouldn't let you handle it." As if validating her words, the rat crawls under Mick's hand, pressing its back against his fingers in a quiet demand to be tickled. Mick obliges. "I'm not one for pets," he says, as if it's some kind of defense. "You certainly took to it readily enough. And it seems to make you happy." She gives him another smile before sweeping out of the room. "I'm glad you found each other." Happy, he scoffs quietly. Happier maybe but it's not like he could get much lower than he'd been. It was possible- Mick's certainly had enough lows to know it -but just because Mick's been a little better off recently doesn't bring him out of the dark by any means. But it helps. The rat helps and that's more than he can say about anyone else. When Mick looks down, the rat is half asleep under his palm, quietly bruxing its teeth in contentment. ~*~*~*~ He's stuck. About seventy some feet from the foot of the slope, Mick was stuck. He'd hit a patch of loose rock and pitched forward, rolling until he hit a large outcropping. When he came to the rats were scrambling around him, squeaking and nipping at his ears. He checked them over, checked what survived the fall- not a lot though he hadn't had much to begin with -and nearly howled with pain when he tried to get up. A knee was busted, a shoulder dislocated and his back felt like a twisted mess. He lay, panting, and when the pain ebbed, Mick tried again. Slowly and carefully he pushed his way to his feet. He crawled to the rock and found the flattest surface to slam his shoulder down on it, sliding it back into place. He looked around. There was no way he was trusting himself to slide down as he'd been but there was a rough approximation of a path leading vaguely downward. The trail took him away from the stream. His route slow going because of his injuries and slowed even more as hunger and dehydration grew. Days in, still not much closer to the ground, Mick ate his gloves in desperation. He dug into his pockets and pulled out every scrape of food he had left, likely eating more lint and dirt than anything else. He pulled up scraggly bits of grass and ate that, gnawed on the hem of him jacket, anything and everything he could think of. Then, when there was nothing else, not even an ant crawling around at his feet, Mick turned to the rats. They stuck with him, even though he couldn't feed him anymore, and he didn't know why. His breath rattled around his ears and he reached up to his shoulder where Splinter was. It felt like Mick was watching from outside of his body as he grabbed the rat and stuffed its head into his mouth and bit down. His other hand shoved into his pocket to trap the rat inside there- Scarface -and the other three scattered. After Splinter, Mick ate Scarface in the same way, its tiny claws drawing lines across his mouth, struggling so much Mick had to bash it against a rock to kill it first. Minutes after he finished the second, Mick vomited them both up. He curled up on the ground, covered in blood and bile and bits of fur, jaw and teeth aching from crunching down on bone, now completely and utterly alone and he began to cry. ~*~*~*~ The others develop an annoying habit of waltzing into Mick's room whenever they feel like seeing the rat. To be fair, Mick supposes he should start keeping his door closed so they can't get in but still. They don't even pause for an acknowledgment, just come in like it's any other communal room on the ship. It's Sara this time around. Mick's reclined in his chair, watching the rat on its wheel like it's more interesting than television- which, depending on the time period, is accurate -and Sara sits herself down on the edge of Mick's bed. "So how are things in Redwall?" "Well enough." "Gotta admit, I'm impressed. I wasn't actually sure how long you'd keep this up." Mick keeps his focus on the rat. Otherwise he'll have to look at Sara and then he'll start getting mad. The only reason anyone comes to see him is to make sure the rat's okay. Unbothered by the silence, she says warmly, "I'm glad you're looking after it." That gets a noncommittal grunt and Sara watches him watching the rat and comes to the wrong conclusion, voice softening, "If anything happens to you, we'll take care of it. I promise." His jaw clenches tight, biting back the sudden flare of anger. They'll take care of it, huh? Watch out for it and soothe it if Mick can't? Does that mean Mick rates lower than a rat to them? Because they sure as hell haven't been doing that for him, haven't even tried to talk him out of getting himself killed. And what does that make Len if they're willing to take care of a rat in Mick's memory but will let Mick wallow in depression in his partner's? Mick's long gotten used to the knowledge that few people will ever care for him, that he's next to nothing to anyone. That he's just a tool people only bother with if he screws up. It still hurts, though, from people that's supposed to be his crew. To make it worse, Mick wouldn't have actually minded warming up to this particular group. But Ray, Sara, Amaya- all of them -are so quick to turn their backs on him after a brief showing of kindness. No, he thinks privately, he can't trust them to look after his rat if he dies. Not the way they should. Paying just enough attention to ensure it stays alive isn't nearly good enough and it deserves so much better than what any of them can give it. He closes his eyes and settles in like he's about to take a nap. "Let's not find out if you'll make good on that promise." ~*~*~*~ Mick had stopped moving. He was hungry, hurt, exhausted and dehydrated. He had no shade from the sun, his pockets had run empty, his throat dry and didn't have the strength to make fire to help ease the slowly creeping panic and despair that was clawing at his mind. Fuck, he didn't want to die. At least not like this. He laid there, limbs trembling and weak, and wished so damn hard for Len to come back to him. He sniffled, pitiful in his misery, dry eyed only because he didn't have any water to spare. He wanted Len. Wanted to see him so fucking bad. Beg him for forgiveness just so he wouldn't die like this. There was a squeak and when Mick's eyes focused he saw a tiny rat- just barely larger than a mouse -peeking out from under his hand. Cinderella, he thought. He didn't know for sure, might've been making it up except he could feel its fur and heat when he grabbed it. Felt it struggle in his hand, squeaking louder. He didn't want to but he couldn't stop himself. "I'm sorry," he told it in a broken whisper, bringing the frantic creature to his face, "I'm sorry." ~*~*~*~ Mick stretches out on his bed, the rat a curled ball in the center of his chest, contently dozing as Mick strokes a finger down its back. He'd gone through a litany of names- Ratigan, who was among Mick's favorite Disney villains, Remy because Lisa would have laughed, Templeton, just to see if someone would comment, and dozens of others just to keep from even considering some sort of reference to Len. He eventually settled on Newt. Amaya hadn't gotten the reference- she's forty years early for that -but the others either looked at him like he was a simpleton naming the creature after a completely different animal or like he'd gotten bored of thinking of a name and picked whatever word first came to mind. Len would've gotten the reference and the reasoning behind it. Newt, the little girl from Aliens- one of the few movies both Mick and Len love -who managed to break through Ripley's caustic shell. Newt stretches out so it can lay flat, soaking in Mick's heat and Mick watches as Newt blinks, long and slow a couple times, nose giving a final twitch before finally falling asleep. Mick thinks of Miss Bianca, of Cinderella, Scarface, Splinter, even Dillon and Scudder. "No one's gonna hurt you," he swears quietly and Newt just gives a tiny sigh. "Not me. Not anyone. I promise."

#fic 2017 #dc tv #mick rory #mick's rat

[animationnut]

To Gravity Falls, From Piedmont: Chapter 21

Summary: It’s a long way until next summer. Until then, Dipper and Mabel share their daily antics and life problems with their lifelong friends and attentive great-uncles through an endless string of e-mails. Distance makes the heart grow fonder after all, and there’s no place Dipper and Mabel love more than Gravity Falls. 

                                                   Chapter List

To: Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan); Stanford Pines (Highsixer); Stanley Pines (StantheMan); Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude)

From: Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick)

Subject: Greatest snowman to ever exist

1 Attachment (Photo File)

This wicked snowstorm means no school, and no school means complete freedom. My brothers and I worked together to build this snowman, which is totally the best snowman ever created and you can't tell me otherwise.

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Mabel Pines: Oh my gosh! It's amazing! How much tape did you need to use to get it to hold up the axe?

Wendy Corduroy: About two rolls. But it's okay. They look like bandages covering a really nasty wound.

Dipper Pines: Whose ushanka did you steal to give it a hat?

Wendy Corduroy: My brothers had to draw straws. Glen lost.

Stanley Pines: You don't know how much I wish I was in Gravity Falls right now. Soos, take a baseball bat to it!

Soos Ramirez: No way, Mr. Pines. Snowmen have a right to exist too.

Wendy Corduroy: Don't be jealous just because you know you could never craft a good a snowman as mine.

Stanford Pines: I suppose you know what you're about to start with a comment like that.

Stanley Pines: It's on, Missy. I'll make a snowman that'll kick yours to the curb and steal its wallet.

Stanford Pines: I'll admit you've always been creative, but your crafting skills have never been up to par.

Soos Ramirez: Mr. Pines made all the exhibits at the gift shop. He's the best crafter there is.

Stanley Pines: You tell him, Soos. Poindexter may be able to invent weird gadgets, but he knows nothing about artsmanship.

Stanford Pines: First of all, that's not a word. Second of all, you don't need to be a genius (which I am) to beat you in a snowman building contest.

Wendy Corduroy: Ah yeah! Here comes the smack-down! My entry is already done. Feel free tearing each other apart for my entertainment. I've clearly won.

Soos Ramirez: Your lumberjack snowman is pretty rad, but I've been building snowmen for years. Abuelita said I was the best at it. Dunno if you can beat that.

Stanley Pines: All right Ford, looks like we're making a detour to a wintry place. I've got some hopeful souls to crush. Especially yours.

Mabel Pines: Woo-hoo! Let the games begin!

School bag slung over one shoulder, Dipper entered the kitchen to retrieve a can of soda from the fridge. He popped the tab with one hand while he used the other to dig his phone out of his pocket. He read through Wendy's email to see the comments made after his, eyebrow raising.

"Mabel, encouraging them makes it worse!"

His sister appeared in the entryway, Waddles skittering behind her on the hardwood floor. "They would have turned it into a competition anyway. I'm just showing my support."

Dipper sat down at the kitchen table and dropped his bag to rest by his sock-clad feet. He studied the picture Wendy had attached to her e-mail again, grinning at the ice and snow creation that loomed a head taller than the redheaded female. There was a dark brown ushanka pulled over the top, smallest snowball, a pair of acorns for eyes, a broken handle of a pick for a nose and the metal handle (from what Dipper assumed to be the same pick) for the mouth. There was a red plaid wool jacket shrugged over the middle snowball and through the arms of the jacket were two thick pieces of chopped wood. At the ends of the wood were frayed white work gloves. Attached to the right glove was an axe, held in place by black tape.

"Isn't it cool?" sighed Mabel wistfully, peering over her brother's shoulder. "I like California, but the problem is that we don't get snow days. While we were doing math Wendy was making a snowman."

"How cruel life can be," quipped Dipper.

Mabel poked the back of his neck. "Come on. As much as you love school you'd love a snow day."

"I would," Dipper failed to deny. "But that's not going to happen. We'll just have admire the snowmen from afar and be with them in spirit."

Propping her chin against the top of Dipper's head, Mabel wondered, "What do you think Grunkle Ford will build?"

"Probably something to do with his research. If he doesn't do a life-size sculpture of the abominable snowman I am going to be rather disappointed."

"Grunkle Stan?"

The two fell into a thoughtful silence for a moment. After a while, Dipper replied, "I honestly couldn't begin to imagine. But I doubt it'll be appropriate."

To: Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick); Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan); Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Stanley Pines (StantheMan); Stanford Pines (Highsixer)

From: Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude)

Subject: Behold the beauty

1 Attachment (Photo File)

Yo, dudes.

No offense, Wendy, your snowman was super cool, but mine's super cooler. It sparkles and it has some oomph to it. I just wanna thank my inspiration for motivating my creativity. Couldn't have done it without you.

Soos out!

Lying on her back in the soft grass, Mabel splayed out, absorbing the sun's rays. Waddle laid across her stomach, nibbling at the hem of her light blue fleece sweater. Dipper was beside her, reclining against a looming oak tree, nose buried in a book. They were both distracted from their peaceful relaxing as their phones beeped in unison, alerting them to a notification.

Mabel grunted as she sat up, careful not to dislodge Waddles completely. She moved her sunglasses to rest on top of her head so she could get a better look at the screen. Her eyes lit up when she realized Soos had completed his entry in the impromptu snowman contest and eagerly clicked the attachment.

Positioned in front of the icicle-covered Mystery Shack was a life-size sculpture of Melody. The hair was made of strands of hay, packed closely together so that it seemed like it had density to it. A pair of sapphire-coloured plastic gems were used for eyes. A purple jacket hung on its arms and torso and somehow Soos had managed to attach a pair of jeans.

"Wow," said Dipper, eyes wide. "Abuelita was right. Soos is pretty dang good at building snowmen."

"You can't call this a snowman," protested Mabel. "It's a snow sculpture! It's gorgeous!"

"This is definitely going to be hard to beat," said Dipper with a grin.

Wendy Corduroy: Well dang.

Stanford Pines: That has more than just oomph, Soos. Melody must be very proud of this.

Soos Ramirez: Thanks, Mr. Pines! She loved it. But she wishes I would've asked before borrowing her clothes.

Mabel Pines: How did you get the jeans on?

Soos Ramirez: I built the legs first and then had to cut the jeans to fit them on properly. Figured it out after three tries.

Dipper Pines: Uh…does Melody know you ruined her jeans?

Soos Ramirez: Do you think she'll notice?

Stanley Pines: Eh. It's not bad.

Mabel Pines: Are you crazy? It's fantastic!

Wendy Corduroy: Like you can do any better, Mr. Pines.

Stanley Pines: Don't take your bitterness out on me because you so clearly lost. Of course I can do better. Who do you think taught Soos everything he knows?

Stanford Pines: Which probably wasn't very much to begin with.

Stanley Pines: Sure, make fun. I'll be the one laughing when I cream the lot of you.

Dipper Pines: He's got a plan. Those never turn out well.

Mabel Pines: But they're always entertaining!

Soos Ramirez: Good luck Mr. Pines! And Mr. Pines!

Wendy Corduroy: Yeah. This is going to end in disaster—and hilarity.

The voice of her teacher droning in her ears, Mabel's pen scrawled against her paper as she took notes. The shooting star charm of her bracelet clattered softly against the surface of her desk as she moved her wrist back and forth. Heaving a quiet sigh, she shifted her gaze to the clock hanging above the door. There was still an hour before school let out and her brain had already decided to quit for the day.

Mabel paused halfway through her writing of science notes when she felt her cellphone vibrate in her pocket. She peeked over at the teacher, who was facing the chalkboard as he lectured. She positioned her textbook so that it was blocking most of her desk from his sight. She slipped out her cell and held it behind her makeshift barricade, tapping on the e-mail icon.

She grinned widely when she discovered the sender of the e-mail and looked over at her brother, who sat diagonally from her. Dipper gave her a side glance of disapproval, which evaporated when she mouthed 'Grunkle Stan'. His curiosity too great, he did the rare act of taking out his cell in class, tucking his textbook into his lap and keeping the device cloaked behind it.

Stan had sent the e-mail a couple of class periods ago, meaning that they must have missed the initial notification and succeeding ones as their friends commented. The latest remark on Stan's snowman entry finally caught their attention and Mabel could not stop the burst of surprised laughter from escaping.

Turning around, her teacher said sharply, "Do you have something funny to share with the rest of the class, Miss Pines?"

Mabel shook her head, cheeks red not from embarrassment but suppressed mirth. "No sir," she managed to choke out. "Sorry. Just thinking to myself."

Eyes narrowing slightly, he returned to the lesson as their peers gave her odd, sneering looks before going back to their own work, whether it be meticulous notetaking or lazy doodling. Dipper's shoulders were shaking from laughter, his head ducked down as he pretended to focus on the text in their science book. Mabel bit down on her bottom lip and glanced at her phone, staring at the snowman Stan had constructed.

It was a replica of himself made out of snow, wearing his wool beanie, what looked to be grey cloth from a mop making up his hair. Apart from that, the only other article of clothing this Stan snowman was wearing was a speedo. The snowman itself was positioned in the pose of the Thinker. Stan left few details out of his wintry work of art.

Mabel rested her head on the surface of her desk, silent tears of laughter trailing down her cheeks.

To: Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude); Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan); Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick); Stanford Pines (Highsixer)

From: Stanley Pines (StantheMan)

Subject: Now THIS is beauty

1 Attachment (Photo File)

Soos making a snow sculpture of Melody is sweet and all, sure. And let's not even get to Wendy's mundane attempt. I present to you the greatest snowman (and snow sculpture) ever created. Bask in his glory.

See all messages in this thread (Expand)

Wendy Corduroy: Oh. My. Gosh.

Soos Ramirez: Wow. It's a great likeness!

Wendy Corduroy: No. Do not support him with this one. He's a lunatic.

Stanford Pines: I promise you I had no idea what he was up to. If I had the slightest inkling, I would have knocked him out.

Stanley Pines: What's wrong with him?

Stanford Pines: IT, Stanley. A snowman is an 'it'.

Stanley Pines: Then why do they call them snowmen?

Wendy Corduroy: We're not getting off-topic this time. Why, for the love of everything, did you build a snowman of yourself without a shirt, pants, and too-small underwear?

Stanley Pines: It's artistic! Like those life painting classes or whatever. Besides, there's no greater beauty than myself.

Soos Ramirez: It's really detailed.

Wendy Corduroy: Way too detailed. And I've seen this guy in his boxers multiple times. I've seen Soos in his underwear for crying out loud. But this is way more traumatizing.

Stanley Pines: Keep on talking. I've spent my life dealing with jealousy. It just rolls of my shoulders now.

Wendy Corduroy: You are so full of it.

Stanford Pines: Right. I'm off to destroy it.

Stanley Pines: DON'T YOU DARE.

Dipper Pines: I can't believe we're related.

Mabel Pines: No offense, Grunkle Stan, but the only bathing suit I ever wanted to see you in was your old man one-piece.

Soos Ramirez: I didn't know he owned a speedo.

Wendy Corduroy: Now we all know, unfortunately.

Dipper Pines: I thought I was traumatized before. I was wrong. My consolation is that at least it's just a snow-version of him.

Soos Ramirez: It's a good ice model, though.

Wendy Corduroy: If you can look past all of…that, then I guess that it's okay. Explains where Mabel gets her artistic skills, in any case. But seriously, when did this snowman contest become an intricately-carved snow/ice sculpture contest?

Dipper Pines: Well, Soos took it up to the next level, and I think Grunkle Stan would have done this regardless. Wished you hadn't started this whole thing now?

Wendy Corduroy: Nah. I still think my snowman is the best. It's a twist on a classic.

Soos Ramirez: I think mine is the best. But that's just me, dude.

Mabel Pines: Yours is really good. But Grunkle Stan added moles to his snowman.

Wendy Corduroy: What? Like the mole he has on—?

Wendy Corduroy: OH MY GOSH HE DID HE MANAGED TO INCLUDE THE MOLE!

Dipper Pines: Mabel stop laughing! You're going to get us in trouble!

Dipper Pines: Too late.

Mabel Pines: Delete all evidence! Teacher incoming!

To: Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan); Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Stanley Pines (StantheMan); Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick); Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude)

From: Stanford Pines (Highsixer)

Subject: The original snowman

1 Attachment (Photo File)

Wendy's snowman was certainly a childhood classic, and Soos' was a touching tribute to his girlfriend, I have crafted the original snowman. It is a replica of the creature that roams mountains, causing mysterious disappearances of hikers and skiers. Its existence dates long before the discovery of the recreational activity of building figures out of snow.

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Stanley Pines: You didn't mention my snowman.

Stanford Pines: Obviously.

Stanley Pines: Hmph. At least I know how to have fun without turning everything into some boring lesson. Seriously, the abominable snowman?

Dipper Pines: Called it. Very good choice, by the way.

Mabel Pines: You made it really tall!

Stanford Pines: Yes, I tried to make it as life-like as possible. It was difficult using a ladder in this icy climate.

Stanley Pines: He fell off of it at least three times. You should see the black eye he got.

Wendy Corduroy: Wow. Is that actual hair you used?

Stanford Pines: You'd be surprised by how much llama hair is shed.

Wendy Corduroy: I'd ask where you are but it would probably be best if I didn't know.

Soos Ramirez: Dude. That's pretty scary.

Dipper Pines: It is pretty realistic. Have you ever seen the abominable snowman, Grunkle Ford?

Stanford Pines: Not yet, but I hope to encounter it soon. However, I've done quite a bit of research and come to the conclusion that this is an accurate representation.

Mabel Pines: You guys are really great when it comes to snowman.

Wendy Corduroy: I could argue with that, but I won't. So which one of us wins?

Stanley Pines: Isn't it obvious?

Mabel Pines: How about we take a vote?

Dipper Pines: Where you have to vote for someone else. You can't vote for yourself.

Wendy Corduroy: I guess that works.

Soos Ramirez: I'm in. But do I have to vote now? This is kinda a tough decision.

Stanford Pines: We can cast our votes tomorrow morning at ten o'clock.

Wendy Corduroy: Our time zone or yours? Wherever you are.

Stanford Pines: Yours.

Stanley Pines: Deal.

Dipper Pines: Then we'll find out the winner tomorrow.

Mabel Pines: May the best snow creation win!

Dipper shook his head in amusement as he set his phone on the coffee table situated in front of the couch. "I have a feeling it might be between Soos and Grunkle Ford. Those two took it up a notch."

"I love Grunkle Stan, but I don't think anyone is going to be able to get rid of that mental image," said Mabel with a giggle.

She studied the picture of Ford's snowman, a towering mass of snow carved in the shape of the yeti. Llama hair covered every inch of the creature, black coals acting as eyes, peering ominously from a curtain of white hair. Icicles hung from the armpits and arms, the hands and feet massive in order to be in proportion to the body.

"It's not fair," she lamented, getting to her knees so she could look over the edge of the couch through the living room window. "They can play in the snow and we just got a rainstorm last night."

"It's a mud wonderland," agreed Dipper. Their entire front yard was damp and soft, the grass nearly swallowed by the thick brown mud. "Too bad there's no such thing as a mudman."

There was a pause as the twins were struck by the same idea. With a beaming smile, Mabel jumped to the floor and declared, "Let's go, brother of mine!"

"We'll make the greatest mudmen in history!" cheered Dipper.

They spared a moment to shrug on their boots and rain slickers before charging out into the misty afternoon. It took a half hour to decide what they should craft and they soon got to work. They gathered piles of mud with shovels and packed it together with their bare hands. For two hours they sloshed about in the mud, hair sticking to their foreheads and boots caking with dirt and grass.

"There!" exclaimed Mabel, wiping droplets of water from her skin and leaving a streak of mud. "It's brilliant!"

Dipper removed his phone from his pants pocket and snapped a picture of the scene. There were seven mud figures rising from the ground, and though they weren't perfect they were identifiable. There was Wendy with her ushanka, which Dipper had removed from his head temporarily, Ford with a long beige jacket, which Mabel had dug from their father's closet, Stan with his tuxedo jacket, tie and eyepatch that Dipper found from their old Halloween costumes, Soos with his green T-shirt and a question mark drawn on it, Waddles in the middle, and on either side of the mud-pig were sculptures of Dipper and Mabel. Dipper had found one of his old hats and vests to use on his mud counterpart, and Mabel had managed to affix a knit jacket and sparkly headband to hers.

"Who says we need snow to have fun?" laughed Dipper. He then looked around the yard, which now bore holes and dips from their effort to gather as much mud as possible. "Uh…as great as this is, we better put the mud back before Mom and Dad come home to find the yard torn up."

To: Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Grunkle Stan (StantheMan); Grunkle Ford (Highsixer); Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude); Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick)

From: Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan)

Subject: Mud Shack crew

1 Attachment (Photo File)

It's almost time to vote! But before the inevitable fight begins about who deserves to win, Mabel and I make our unofficial contribution with our mudmen. I present the Mud Shack crew, complete with a mud version of Waddles. We may not have snow, but we learn to work with what we have.

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Soos Ramirez: Mud looks pretty good on me.

Wendy Corduroy: Dudes. That's pretty sweet. But yo, you're gonna wash my hat, right?

Dipper Pines: Maybe.

Grunkle Ford: I don't think I've seen soil used in such a way before.

Grunkle Stan: Talk about making the most of your environment.

Mabel Pines: I'm going to have mud in my ears for weeks, but it was worth it!

Grunkle Ford: How exactly did you manage to get mud in your ears?

Mabel Pines: I slipped and fell. A few dozen times.

Dipper Pines: We are hopelessly snowless, so we found our own way to contribute to the contest—just for fun, anyway. Are you guys ready to vote?

Wendy Corduroy: Yup.

Soos Ramirez: Totally.

Grunkle Stan: Let's start it, then.

Grunkle Ford: Why don't you kids start?

Dipper Pines: Sure. I vote for Wendy. Her snowman may not be extravagant, but it's a classic snowman, which I think was sort of the point before Soos took it to the next level.

Mabel Pines: And that's why I'm voting for Soos! His snow sculpture of Melody was really sweet and pretty, and I like that he took a different route.

Wendy Corduroy: I vote for Dipper and Mabel, because I look pretty rad as a mud sculpture.

Dipper Pines: Wait, what?

Soos Ramirez: I vote for the little dudes. It was hard making a snow sculpture, so it must have been twice as hard to make what they did.

Mabel Pines: But this is a snowman contest. We didn't make ours out of snow.

Grunkle Stan: Who listens to the rules? Not me. You get my vote, kiddos. I think I look even better made out of mud.

Grunkle Ford: It's settled, then. Including my vote, that makes you the clear winners. Substituting mud for snow is allowed, since there is a lack of snow available to you and you used alternative resources.

Grunkle Stan: But next time we have a contest you can't participate so that I get a shot at participating.

Soos Ramirez: Next year we could have a snow fort building contest!

Wendy Corduroy: I don't think so. I thought I was competitive but ya'll take it to the extreme.

Grunkle Ford: Runs in the family.

Grunkle Stan: I'll annihilate you next time.

Mabel Pines: Sweet! We won, bro! We're champions of mudmen!

Dipper Pines: Not bad for the tender age of thirteen.

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