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dxncingwithastrxnger · 2 years

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3. what if i’m someone i don’t want around?

A/N: Hey guys!! Look at me, only a month or so between chapters this time!!! I'm really excited to get this chapter out for you guys, it's got a lot of surprises and answers for you guys!! But maybe also more questions, too 🤨😂 I hope you enjoy!! Thank you for patiently waiting for this chapter's arrival!!!

Summary: A look into the life and mind of Steve, where everything isn't exactly as it seems.

Tags: Guys, Imma be honest, this chapter is heavy and dark. Head the tags for the story itself, guys. This chapter is not at all fun. Non-con, physical abuse, violence.

Song Inspiration For Chapter Title: Falling By Harry Styles

Word Count: 3,932

[Series Masterlist]

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]

Not beta'd, all mistakes are my own.

"How long? How long have you been messin' around with someone else, Steve?"

It just keeps replaying in his head, over and over again.

"Nevermind, don't answer that, I didn't mean to ask it."

He knew that Bucky had meant that literally. His mouth tended to get a little ahead of his brain sometimes, it had always been like that.

"Buck. I'm sorry."

And he meant it. Even if Bucky didn't believe him.

"Really? That's your play?"

He'd forgotten himself for a moment. Let his guard down. So, he closed himself off. He had to play his part, right? He placed that sly smirk on his face, doing everything he could to convince the other man that he had inappropriate intentions. And it worked. He wished it hadn't worked as well as it did. The look on Bucky's face as he turned away stung. It stung a lot. But Steve knew that he had no right to feel that way when he was the one that hurt Bucky. But he couldn't really help it. The whole situation was just full of pain. And there was no way around it, no way at all. A warm, gentle hand placing itself on his chest disturbed his thoughts. The voice that spoke next pulled him out of his head entirely.

"Hey, baby. You okay?" Sam asks him.

Steve places his hand over Sam's and turns his head to look into the other man's deep, brown eyes. "Yeah, Sam. I'm okay."

Sam sighs softly as he sits up, sitting back against the headboard and gesturing for Steve to follow suit. "You're thinking about Bucky again, aren't you? Steve, you don't need to worry about him. He earned all this because of the way he treated you." Sam says as he wraps an arm around Steve, holding him against his side.

Ah, yes. The way he treated me. Steve gives a pitiful strug and looks down, grabbing Sam's left hand and tracing random patterns into his palm. "Bucky and I still just have a lot of history, is all. You know that."

Sam rubs up and down Steve's arm and kisses the top of his head. "Well, that's in the past now. You don't ever have to even think about him again." Sam says matter-of-factly, as if that's all it took to take Bucky from Steve's mind. Oh, Sam. How I wish I could tell you the truth. But he can't.

Steve forces a relaxed smile onto his face and looks up at Sam, pecking his lips softly. "Well then maybe we should think about what to have for breakfast instead." He says as he slips out from under the blankets, placing his bare feet on the ground. He hears Sam chuckle and then stretch as Steve grabs his phone from the bedside table. As he unlocks his phone and pulls down his notification bar, he sees a text message. '9:30am.' The message was sent an hour ago. The current time is 9:32am.

Steve quickly scrambles up and away from the bed. Shit, shit, shit. He grabs his clothes and starts putting them on as quick as he can manage.

"Woah, woah, Steve, what's going on?" Sam questions, giving him a look of confusion and concern.

"Training with Brock, I forgot it was happening today." Steve rushes out as he pulls his shirt over his head. "I'm late."

Sam relaxes and rolls his eyes, getting up and grabbing a pair of sweatpants out of his dresser. "Babe, Brock's just an asshole. You don't actually have to rush to be there on time just cause he's a jerk when you're late." Sam states exasperatedly.

Steve swallows as he grabs his jacket off of the chair in the corner of the room. "Y-yeah, I know that." He grabs his keys, phone, and wallet and walks up to Sam. "But you know I hate being late." He says.

Sam sighs dramatically. "Yes, I know. Doesn't mean I won't miss having you around for breakfast."

"I know." Steve leans in and gives Sam a quick kiss. "But I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"You better!" Sam calls as Steve rushes past him and out of the bedroom, quickly making it to the front door and heading out.

On the drive over to Brock's, Steve can't stay still. Even as he's driving, one of knees is jiggling or his fingers are tapping against the steering wheel. It's a 10 minute drive to Brock's apartment that he shares with Sharon from Sam's house, so him being completely late is inevitable. And Steve knows that Brock is going to do more than just "be a jerk" as Sam put it. But Sam doesn't know that. He doesn't know anything. None of the real things, anyways. There's lies everywhere. Not with Brock, though. Brock knew the truth. But if anything, that makes things much, much worse for Steve, not better.

When Steve gets there, he hurries inside the building and up the stairs, knowing his fate is already sealed. He enters the apartment and closes the door behind him, slipping his jacket off and hanging it on the hook by the door. As he does that, he feels arms wrap around him, and it takes everything in him to stay still rather than pushing the arms away.

"Hey there, Stevie. You're late, baby, did you realize that?" Brock says, his chin resting on Steve's shoulder and a cigarette in his mouth.

"Yes. I-I'm sorry, I didn't wake up until a f-few minutes after 9:30. Then I had to drive over from S-Sam's place and that's like 10 minutes away, s-so..." Steve trails off, taking a shaky breath.

Brock runs his hands up Steve's sides, pushing his shirt up. "All I hear," Brock whispers into Steve's ear after pulling the cigarette out of his mouth. "Is excuses, excuses, excuses." Before he finishes speaking, he does exactly what Steve had been waiting for. Right in the middle of his right side, Steve feels the hot cigarette eating away at his skin. His jaw clenches and he bites down on his tongue harshly, eyes squeezed shut as he huffs out through his nose.

"Ahhh, look at little Stevie. You're getting better at it, aren't you, baby?" Brock chuckles darkly. "But I think you'll still need a few more lessons before you get it exactly right." As the next mark burns into his skin, Steve lets himself fade away into his happy place, just like he has hundreds of times before.

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He thought about Bucky. About that last time they were together before everything changed. It was the morning before Brock arrived in town. Bucky usually had to head to work pretty early, so Steve made sure to wake up with him so that they could always have breakfast together since they wouldn't see each other for most of the day. At the moment, Bucky was showering as Steve got dressed. As Steve pulled his shirt over his head, his eyes caught the paper taped to the wall above his desk. It was a poem. A poem written for him by Bucky. Steve smiled warmly and sat in the desk chair, leaning forward and reading through the words on the page for the millionth time since Bucky had given it to him:

'You come out of the darkness, shining brighter than all of the stars combined

It's because of this, I'm so glad you're mine

No one else gets to experience all the things you do to me

And I wouldn't have it any other way

The good, the bad, and the ugly

I'll sit with you through all of it

I'll never run, I'll never stray

From the moment we met, I knew that I'd stay

You're my home, my resting place

Give me all your love and I'll give you mine

It was when I first saw you

That I first started to believe in the divine

Because it must be true, for there to exist an angel like you

The fact that you love me

Is almost too good to be true

Just the thought of my life ahead

Sets my mind alight and my emotions haywire

Because you, my love, are all I see there'

Steve sighed dreamily, all lovesick and happy. Bucky's the love of his life, his soulmate, and he can't imagine ever being with anyone else. If he ever lost Bucky, whether to death or someone else or just life in general, he wasn't sure he'd be able to survive it. Him and Bucky had been through a lot together and even before they started dating, Steve knew that theirs was an unbreakable bond. He wanted to marry this man and he had every intention to do so.

"Hey there, doll." Bucky said as he placed a hand on Steve's back, pulling Steve out of his daydreaming.

"Hello, my love." Steve said, turning around and beaming at his boyfriend as he stood up and pushed the chair in.

"What's that smile for?" Bucky questions, raising an eyebrow at the blonde-haired man.

Steve grabs Bucky's hands and holds them close to his chest as he stands close to his boyfriend, looking into the bright blue-gray of his eyes. "You just make me happy, that's all. I'm so glad you're mine." Steve said softly, nothing but love and affection in his eyes.

Bucky returns Steve's bright smile, squeezing Steve's hands. "Me too. I love you so much." And then he leaned down and gave Steve a sweet, lingering kiss that made both of them melt and sigh in content.

As they both pulled away, Bucky locked the fingers of one hand with Steve's and led them out of the bedroom. It was Steve's turn to make breakfast, so while he put together cheese omelets and cooked sausage links, Bucky made coffee and poured juice for them, both of them falling into the familiar and comforting routine that they'd kept up for years.

That morning, they'd talked and laughed without a single care in the world, knowing nothing of the disaster headed their way later that same day. If Steve had known then what he does now, he would've convinced Bucky to stay home that day. He would've taken Bucky back to bed and they would've just stayed in their room that day, shutting out the rest of the world, lost in their love for each other. And later that day, when there was a knock at the apartment door, Bucky would be there to see through Brock's lies when Steve couldn't and everything would still be okay. They never would've argued, Steve never would've gone out drinking with Brock, Brock and Bucky never would've gotten into a fight, and Steve never would've realized that even Bucky isn't strong enough to save him.

But all of that did happen, and there's no turning back now. No matter how badly Steve wishes there was.

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When Steve comes back to the present time, he's being slammed against a wall roughly. He winces at the impact, trying to get his breath back as all the air is pushed from his lungs. He feels Brock's breath against the back of his neck and he tries to keep his face neutral, no matter how badly he wants to grimace in fear and disgust. Suddenly, he hears high pitched laughter and the sounds of a third person in the room.

"C'mon, Brock, just fuck the boy already. You know you want to, you're practically panting for it." Sharon says, her voice full of snark and amusement.

Brock laughs. "Oh, shut it. It's called savoring the moment, ever heard of it? Now get me another cigarette. Put yourself to some good use instead of just standing there watching like the little freak you are." Brock orders, voice firm but filled with an undercurrent of the same amusement Sharon had.

It took every ounce of willpower Steve had not to squirm or cringe or make a noise of disgust. If he moves a single itch or makes a single sound right now without being ordered to do so by Brock, things will get 10x worse for him. So he keeps still and silent, wishing he could ignore the little game they're playing.

Steve feels the front of Brock's body press all the way against the back of his own as Sharon leans against Brock, placing a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it for him. Steve can't see any of this, but he can tell by the little hum he can hear from Sharon, the light scratch of Sharon's nails against Brock's stubble, and the click of the lighter, so close to his ear that he half expects to feel the pain of another burn on his skin, but he doesn't.

It's almost like Brock can read his mind, because Steve hears him let out a low laugh. "Don't worry, sweetheart. We need all that precious hair of yours. Otherwise, I can't properly play with you how I want to." To emphasize his point, he suddenly grabs a handful of Steve's hair and pulls the man's head back roughly. Steve's mouth falls open in a silent gasp of pain as his fingernails dig into the drywall in front of him.

Sharon laughs at the show in front of her and suddenly her long fingernails are digging into Steve's shoulder through his t-shirt. Steve clamps his teeth down onto his bottom lip to keep the whimpering sob that comes up his throat from escaping any further. Both of the people behind him snicker as Sharon walks away from them and Steve wishes he was anywhere but here. Anywhere at all. Hell would be easier than this.

"Do you remember the first time we did it like this? You do, don't you, baby?" Brock questions right in his ear, his focus clearly back to the task at hand. Steve does remember. Of course he does. How could he not? It was the worst day of his life. The one he wishes he could redo most of all.

"Yes." Steve speaks quietly, trying his best to keep his voice even. He knew the question wasn't rhetorical and staying silent wouldn't help him any.

Steve can't help his repulsed shudder as Brock practically purrs, taking his hands off of Steve's side and back and trailing them down to other places, removing clothing as Steve tries not to think about what comes next. The attempt is futile. As Steve feels the cold air hit his now exposed skin, his traitorous mind reminds him of that time Brock mentioned, the first time this happened. Not the first time Brock's dick had been inside him. No, that happened so many years ago, during the first time they had dated. And that first time had happened with Steve's full consent, unlike now. Unlike that night. As Brock grips Steve's hips tightly, Steve finds himself somewhere else. When Brock pushes him forward and pins him to the wall entirely, forcing Steve's head to turn to the side, it's like he can feel the scrape of the brick on his cheek all over again.

"I'm fine, Bucky, I promise. I was drunk and I slipped and fell, that's all. I already cleaned it up and everything." Steve had told his boyfriend the next morning. And Bucky had believed him. Of course he did. Why wouldn't he? But that's not what had happened. Not at all. That night when Steve went out drinking with Brock, that's when Brock had struck, like a predator lying in wait, waiting for the exact right moment. They had left the bar after Brock had gotten back from wherever he was. He told Steve that he was gonna take him home. There's nothing else he could've been doing anyways, right? They stopped at an alleyway two buildings away from the bar. Brock said he needed to take a leak. So, Steve stood there waiting for him, looking out at the street with blurry vision and swimming thoughts, his shoulder leaning against the brick wall of the building beside him. That was his next mistake of many that night. Keeping his back turned away from the man with him. Suddenly, he found himself pushed roughly up against that wall, pinned down.

"What the fuck, Brock? Get off of me!" Steve had slurred. Brock just laughed, the sound coming closer as the black-haired man pushed himself all the way against him. Steve's blood ran cold as he felt the hardness between Brock's legs push against him, the color draining from his face. The way he started to struggle is so different to the absolute stillness of his present self in the same situation. Then the other man is grabbing hold of the back of his jacket and pulling him backward only to slam him forward again, Steve's head bouncing off of the wall as black spots appear in his already clouded vision. But he didn't pass out. No, the universe wasn't kind enough to give him that luxury. Instead, he has to be awake to feel every single stretch and burn and scratch and bruise. Every painful, pounding thrust as Brock takes what isn't his.

For an indefinite amount of time, Steve fades away, his past and present blurring together until he doesn't know where he actually is anymore. Hot, stinging tears stream down his face, his past self's choked sobs and cries a stark contrast to his present self's resigned silence. After awhile, he starts seeing it all from a third person perspective. An out of body experience, watching his own eyes dull more and more with every push of the other man inside of him against the starry night backdrop of a memory as well as a hollow shell of himself staying still and letting himself be played with like some doll against the white wall backdrop of his current reality. Eventually, Steve just goes numb to it all. He's sure that's not exactly a good thing, but it's his only solace in this neverending cycle of pain, so he doesn't really care.

When he finally comes to again, he finds himself slumped against the wall, his legs shaking and barely keeping him upright, the feel of a lukewarm liquid dripping down his leg that he really doesn't want to think about. He can feel the tear tracts drying on his face and his nose is a bit runny.

"Get up, little Steve, time to go!" He hears Sharon say, the cheeriness in her voice teasing in the cruel kind of way. "We have guests coming over soon and Brock wants you out of here before they arrive. You know he'd love to keep you around a little longer, but business is business as they say. I'm sure you understand. Tell Sam "Hi" for me, yeah?" She giggles, all mocking and saccharine.

Steve can hear the sound of the shower from further in the apartment, which explains why Brock isn't telling Steve any of this himself. He sniffles as he pushes himself up to the best of his ability with arms just as shaky as his legs. He quickly pulls up his underwear and pants, not even bothering to give Sharon a response. Brock, he has to reply to. His little minion, he does not. He rushes out the door without a second thought, closing the door quietly behind him.

He makes it to his car as fast as he can and leaves, knowing his destination right away. But it isn't Sam he's headed to. No, Steve needs to talk to someone else. Someone who knows the full truth. The only one who knows everything besides Steve, Brock, and all of Brock's little friends. He steps on the gas and starts the almost 2-hour drive.

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By a little past 3pm, Steve arrives at the secluded two-story house surrounded by woods, parking around back with the other cars. He gets out and locks his car, stretching and wincing in the process. He walks around the house to the front door, knocking a few times. After a moment, the door opens and Steve smiles warmly at the older woman.

"Steve, hello!" She greets him, blowing a strand of her black hair out of her face, hands on her hips. "What brings you here?" She asks.

Steve chuckles softly. "Just stopping by for a chat. Is Natasha here by any chance?" He asks politely.

"Yes! Да! Of course!" She exclaims, stepping aside to let him in. "Every Sunday and Monday! But you know that, you're here with her half the time."

Steve grins, stepping across the threshold. "That's true, that's true. I just wanted to make sure. Thank you, Melina. You're always so kind." He smiles softly at her as she closes the door behind him and locks it.

"You don't need to thank me, Steve. You know you're always welcome, whether Natasha is here or not." She tells him, patting his shoulder gently. "Now, go, go. Natasha's in the kitchen. I have more work to do down in the basement. Help yourself to whatever, make yourself at home, you know the drill." She tells him, ushering him in the direction of the kitchen before walking off to the basement, where she does her work. Steve shakes his head fondly as he heads to the kitchen in search of Nat.

He steps into the kitchen doorway and knocks lightly on the doorframe with one knuckle. When Nat turns to him, he tries to give her a smile, but with just the two of them there, he can't help but let all the barely there warmth he had with Melina slip away. His small smile falters and he lets it drop immediately, his shoulders slumping.

Nat comes over to him immediately. "Oh, Steve. Tell me what happened now." She says softly, looking at him with concern and worry, just a small hint of anger in her eyes that Steve knew wasn't directed at him.

"It was so bad, Nat." Steve tells her, tears he didn't know he was still capable of producing springing to his eyes.

She goes to place a hand on his shoulder but she pulls back again when he winces, her eyes hardening. "Come on. Let's go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up while we talk about it." She says, grabbing his arm gently and tugging him away from the kitchen and towards the bathroom. Steve follows her without question, feeling relief and appreciation swell in his chest. At least I still have Natasha, he thinks gratefully. At least she's still on my side.

A/N: Tada!!! Poor Steve :(( He's going through a really tough time right now and both of our boys are just sad. But I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!!! All feedback is appreciated, lemme know what you think!!! Also, just in case any of you are interested, I'm going to be posting a lil' spinoff story from this one, but it's going to focus on Yelena and Wanda!! It's not a required read to anyone who just wants to follow the Steve and Bucky side of things and vice versa!! But it all exists in the same universe and you might get lil' hints of other characters and relationships and whatnot as the story progresses. So if any of you are interested, then keep an eye out!! I'm not entirely sure when I'll be able to get it out, tbh, but I'm hoping sometime in the next month or two at the most, depending on how things go. Anyways, love y'all 💜

Taglist 💙:

@smackmyassseb

If anyone would like to added to the taglist for this story, just lemme know!!

#stucky #stucky au #stucky fanfic #stucky fanfiction #stucky angst #angst #marvel #steve rogers #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x steve rogers #steve rogers x bucky barnes #bucky x steve #steve x bucky #purple_strxnger #purple_strxnger_stories

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whumptober · 4 years

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Whumptober 2020 - Updated

Welcome to Whumptober 2020! We’re doing things a little differently this year so please make sure to read the Event Info carefully. We are also excited to announce the addition of an AO3 Collection, which can be found here.

We hope you’re as excited as us to watch the Whump Community come together once again for a month of bone-crunching creativity and collaboration!

(All 31 Themes + Prompts, Event Information, and FAQs are posted below the cut!)

No 1. LET'S HANG OUT SOMETIME Waking Up Restrained | Shackled | Hanging

No 2. IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY "Pick Who Dies" | Collars | Kidnapped

No 3. MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY Manhandled | Forced to their Knees | Held at Gunpoint

No 4. RUNNING OUT OF TIME Caged | Buried Alive | Collapsed Building

No 5. WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING? On the Run | Failed Escape | Rescue

No 6. PLEASE.... "Get it Out" | No More | "Stop, please"

No 7. I'VE GOT YOU Support | Carrying | Enemy to Caretaker

No 8. WHERE DID EVERYBODY GO? "Don't Say Goodbye" | Abandoned | Isolation

No 9. FOR THE GREATER GOOD "Take Me Instead" | "Run!” | Ritual Sacrifice

No 10. THEY LOOK SO PRETTY WHEN THEY BLEED Blood Loss | Internal Bleeding | Trail of Blood

No 11. PSYCH 101 Defiance | Struggling | Crying

No 12. I THINK I'VE BROKEN SOMETHING Broken Down | Broken Bones | Broken Trust

No 13. BREATHE IN BREATHE OUT Delayed Drowning | Chemical Pneumonia | Oxygen Mask

No 14. IS SOMETHING BURNING? Branding | Heat Exhaustion | Fire

No 15. INTO THE UNKNOWN Possession | Magical Healing | Science Gone Wrong

No 16. A TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY Forced to Beg | Hallucinations | Shoot the Hostage

No 17. I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING Blackmail | Dirty Secret | Wrongfully Accused

No 18. PANIC! AT THE DISCO Panic Attacks | Phobias | Paranoia

No 19. BROKEN HEARTS Grief | Mourning Loved One | Survivor's Guilt

No 20. TOTO, I HAVE A FEELING WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE Lost | Field Medicine | Medieval

No 21. I DON'T FEEL SO WELL Chronic Pain | Hypothermia | Infection

No 22. DO THESE TACOS TASTE FUNNY TO YOU? Poisoned | Drugged | Withdrawal

No 23. WHAT’S A WHUMPEE GOTTA DO TO GET SOME SLEEP AROUND HERE? Exhaustion | Narcolepsy | Sleep Deprivation

No 24. YOU’RE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE Forced Mutism | Blindfolded | Sensory Deprivation

No 25. I THINK I’LL JUST COLLAPSE RIGHT HERE, THANKS Disorientation | Blurred Vision | Ringing Ears

No 26. IF YOU THOUGHT THE HEAD TRAUMA WAS BAD... Migraine | Concussion | Blindness

No 27. OK, WHO HAD NATURAL DISASTERS ON THEIR 2020 BINGO CARD? Earthquake | Extreme Weather | Power Outage

No 28. SUCH WOW. MANY NORMAL. VERY OOPS. Accidents | Hunting Season | Mugged

No 29. I THINK I NEED A DOCTOR Intubation | Emergency Room | Reluctant Bedrest

No 30. NOW WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? Wound Reveal | Ignoring an Injury | Internal Organ Injury

No 31. TODAY’S SPECIAL: TORTURE Experiment | Whipped | Left for Dead

Alternate Prompt List

Alt 1. Punctured

Alt 2. Falling

Alt 3. Comfort

Alt 4. Stitches

Alt 5. Stoic Whumpees

Alt 6. Altered States

Alt 7. Found Family

Alt 8. Adverse Reactions

Alt 9. Memory Loss

Alt 10. Nightmares

Alt 11. Presumed Dead

Alt. 12. Water

Alt. 13 Accidents

Alt. 14 Shot

Alt. 15 Carry/Support

Event Info

WHUMPTOBER is a month-long, prompt-based creation challenge (think: Inktober, but whumpier). There are 31 Official themes this year - one for each day of the month - which can be used, skipped, or combined in any way you’d like. They are meant to serve as inspiration without being taken literally (e.g. you don't have to include the exact wording into your work). Additionally, there are 3 prompts for each theme. These are optional suggestions and can be used in conjunction with the theme, or as options/alternatives. We want to give everyone as much creative freedom as possible, as well as increase event accessibility for folks with triggers and squicks.

Creators can PRODUCE work in any media they choose, including but not limited to: writing, visual artwork, and photo/video/audio edits. Creators can PARTICIPATE as much or as little as they want (i.e. you don’t have to do ALL the prompts if you don’t want to) and prompts can be used in any order. They are also free to use even after the event ends.

When uploading Whumptober content to your blog, be sure to tag the with:

#whumptober2020 …..(the event tag)

#no.1, #no.2, #no.3, …..(theme number)

#bruised, #stabbed, …..(the theme or specific prompt you chose)

#fandom or #OC

#medium …..(gifs, fic, podcast, art, etc.)

#teeth, #etc …..(trigger warnings & any additional tags. Keep in mind not to add “tw” in front but only use the word/trigger itself, because tumblr sucks)

#nsfw, #nsfwhump …..(only for nsfw content)

PLEASE BE DILIGENT WITH YOUR TAGGING. Only properly tagged posts are considered for archiving on the official @whumptober2020 blog. They must be tagged in the order above.

Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of participants in recent years, we cannot guarantee your work will be archived. A random selection of properly tagged posts from all genres will be reblogged each day.

Whumpers who produce content for 31 total theme days are considered event completionists and will be tagged in a masterpost at the end of the month.

Questions not addressed below can be directed to this blog as well.

Thanks for reading, and happy whumping!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What kind of content can I make? Can it be NSFW?

This is a MIXED MEDIA event! You can write fic, post meta, doodle or paint, create a gif set or photo edit, link a song, or get crafty with video - anything goes. As for NSFW, make what you like, we just hope that you’ll tag your work accordingly so that others participating in the event can stay safe :)

Q. Do I have to do all 31 Days? Can I post early/late?

Participate as much or little as you like, and post whenever! Just be sure to tag your posts properly (ex. #no.11, #psych101). Combining prompts into one piece of work is okay, and posting late is as well so as long as it’s in October.

Q. What if I don’t understand a theme?

Send us an ask! We’re happy to help clarify. That said, the themes are entirely up for interpretation :)

Q. Can I combine Whumptober with other creation challenges?

Absolutely! That’s like shooting two whumpees with one bullet :)

Q. Can I upload/repost my whumptober content to other social media platforms?

Of course! We’ve created an AO3 Collection to archive any fics posted there. The archive can be accessed here. The blog is the official archive, so please respect the boundaries of any closeted whumpers in your social circle :)

Q. Can I use prompts to write a new chapter for an existing fic?

Yes

Q. An existing fic I am currently writing contains many of the Whumptober prompts, can I use it?

If you are actively writing this fic at the moment with the whumptober prompts in mind, yes. If it just conveniently checks the boxes, then please don’t. You can, however, add new chapters answering one or more of the prompts.

Q. What kind of characters can I write for?

Fandom characters, OC characters, human, furry, alien, cyborg, whoever you like.

Q. Can I use a prompt multiple times?

Yes, but it only counts once

Q. If I’m not comfortable with one day's prompts can I use a prompt of a different day as a substitute and still be a completionist?

Yes, but please do not use a specific prompt twice. We have also created an alternate prompts list that you can draw from [here].

Q. Where can I post my work?

Post where and how you want. You don’t even have to (cross)post it to Tumblr. Just keep in mind if it’s not on Tumblr we will not be able to add it to the blog archive.

Q. Can I start posting early?

You can, but this is an October event and wouldn’t it be more fun with everyone doing it at the same time? That being said, you can post early, but we won’t be reblogging any work predating October 1st.

Q. Do I have to finish a fic I started/can I post WIP’s.?

Yes you can post WIPs. And you’re not obligated to finish it in October for it to count towards being a completionist.

Q. Is co-writing allowed?

Yes, absolutely, and it would count towards being a completionist for both/all of you :)

Q. Do I have to create 31 standalone pieces to be considered a completionist or can I write one continuous story?

One continuous story is fine. The challenge is to write something for 31 prompts. If that’s spread over 31 fics or just one, you are still considered a completionist. (The same goes for every other media you choose.)

Q. Is there a min/max limit on word count?

There is no limit

Q. Can I combine prompts? Is there a limit on how many?

No limit and combine as many as you’d like.

Q. Is a hc/angst focus ok?

Of course!

Q. What’s considered nsfw?

See this post

Q. What's whump?

See this post

Q. My interpretation of the prompt isn't whumpy at all, does that count?

No, sorry, but keep in mind that whump [see definition] is something very nuanced and different for everyone and emotional whump/angst is just as much part of it, as is physical whump and torture. So before you dismiss your idea, think about this.

Q. Can I start working on the prompts before October?

Absolutely! That’s why we posted the prompts a month in advance. We recognise how difficult it can be creating for 31 days in “real time”.

Q. How do I tag triggers?

tw at the end of the word, ex. emeto tw

Q. Do I have to use your tags?

Yes, if you want your work archived on the blog. If not, feel free to use whatever tags you want.

Q. Does combining prompts count towards completion?

Yes

Q. Can we @ you?

Yes but we mostly rely on the whumptober2020 tag

Q. Is there anything we are absolutely not allowed to write?

There are no rules, just be sure to properly tag your trigger warnings. And keep in mind Tumblr’s policies if you are posting it here (or the policies of whatever site you use).

Q. Where can I go for brainstorming help?

Here on Discord

Q. My characters are minors, is that ok?

Yes, but as with everything else, tags are your best friend.

Q. Can I cross post on other blogs?

Yes, multiple platforms and blogs are perfectly acceptable. You can also post different works to different accounts under different names, without posting them everywhere at once.

Note: This is a creation challenge, please don’t repost your old work under our tags (unless it’s been changed or edited for the event).

#eventinfo2020 #whumptober2020 #whumptober #promptlist2020 #prompt list #FAQs #event info

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ace-nlis · 3 years

Text

How they met you & fell in love

a/n: This is the first time I decided to actually write something with the intention of posting it. I hope that whoever reads this enjoys it. I'm sorry if I've misspelled anything, English isn't my first language. I hope I did well for my first writing post >.<

WARNINGS: none apart from slight violence. Female reader. Cussing.

Otherwise; fluffy content.

(Y/n) - Your name

(L/n) - Last name

Like or repost if you enjoy <3

Akaashi:

When you first met him, you thought he was a pretty boy with a resting bitch face. He is an extremely straight forward 'say it how it is' type of person and you respected him for that because it isn’t always easy to just speak your mind upfront in this day and age. He didn’t really look all that friendly or approachable, but since you were friends with Bokuto you just had to suck it up and stick around. It was pretty awkward talking to him or even just being around him at first, until you realized that his exterior was an act and he’s a total softy when he isn’t trying to call Bo out on his bullshit. You found him to be an intriguing person, but also rather intimidating. He was peaceful, he didn’t talk all that much and kept to himself like a true introvert. You were the opposite, more of an ambivert type. You tried your best to befriend him, but little did you know that friendship would spiral into something else along the line.

After a while of being friends, Akaashi got red in the ears in your presence. He was easily flustered around you, and the both of you often tended to flirt and bicker as if it was second nature. The two of you in a room together never got boring. Everyone around you could tell the two of you were head over heels for each other. You thought the opposite though, you felt that the friendship was never going to progress into anything more and that your crush was meaningless because nothing would come of it. After being friends for several months, nearly reaching the 1 year milestone, you eventually started to distance yourself.

You always thought the way Akaashi acted around you was purely just because the two of you had a close bond as friends, nothing more, nothing less. Akaashi on the other hand was devastated when he noticed the drastic changes in the close bond you both shared. He noticed that whenever he walked into a room, you’d disappear. Whenever he tried to call you, you wouldn’t answer the phone and make up some excuse that you were busy. The poor guy felt like his sanity was hanging on a thread and all he wanted was to speak to you, figure out what he did wrong and at least go back to how things once were. One day, he cornered you in an empty classroom. His eyes seemed frantic and he made sure to trap you between his arms and leave no room for you to escape so he could get answers. “(Y/n), are you okay? Why have you been avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?”

It seemed like the questions that were wracking his brain kept tumbling out, and in an overwhelmed panic she stopped him. The next thing the both of them knew was that her lips were pressed to his. At first his eyes were wide and body was stiff with shock. He didn’t know how to respond, and he firmly believed that this was a dream. In her mind, she thought she had just made the biggest mistake of her life because he wasn’t responding to it, he was just standing there and embarrassment slowly started to flood her. Before she could pull away from him, his arms slackened and his hands slid down the wall beside her, eventually placing them on her hips and pulling her body flush against his while kissing her back feverishly. When the two pulled away, they were out of breath and their eyes had a dazed look in them as they locked eyes. He leaned his head against hers and sighed in relief, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist as he kept his eyes locked on hers. I think that’s when you both knew that there was no way in hell you’d let go of each other at any point in time because it really felt like you were meant to be together.

Oikawa:

You knew of Oikawa Tooru but you never actually wanted to be acquainted with him. To you he sounded like a total sleazebag, a player that loved breaking female students’ hearts left and right. Unfortunately for you, you just so happened to bump into him on Valentines day after having to reject a poor freshman. When you bumped into Oikawa, he thought that you were another girl ready to confess to him due to the box of chocolates in your hands and a smirk instantly made its way onto his face as he reached over to take the box. Your immediate response was to slap his hand away. If looks could kill, he sure as hell would be more than 6 feet under because you were not up for anyone's bullshit. Oikawa gasped in shock and retracted his hand immediately with a pout. “Hey! I know you. You’re (L/n), hmm. Aren’t you a friend of Iwa? You know, you don’t have to be embarrassed about trying to confess to me. I always appreciate a new follower.”

A mix between a scoff and a laugh of disbelief made its way out of you as you immediately shoved the box of chocolates into your bag. “Wow, I knew you were vain but I guess I underestimated just how much. If you think I have any interest in an asshole like you then you must be smoking something. I have no interest in being one of your petty little toys that you hold on a string. I refuse to be one of your little puppets that follow you around to show my undying admiration for someone as shitty as you. No wonder he calls you Shittykawa. You truly are a self centered douche.”

Oikawa’s face was burning red with embarrassment as she pushed past him and continued going to her class. He was astonished, shocked beyond any words imaginary as he stood there and tried to process what had just happened. Eventually he was brought back to his senses when Iwaizumi smacked him over the head and told him to stop staring like a dumbass and get to practice. “Iwa, How do you know (L/n)?” He asked suddenly after they walked in silence for several minutes, which was very unlike Oikawa. “I’m in the majority of her classes and she lives a block away from me. Why?”

“She’s weird. I thought she was gonna confess and then she slapped my hand and called me a douche.” Oikawa said, his tone was completely flat for once and Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow at his friend. “Yeah, well what do you expect? She has better things to do than fawn over you, Shittykawa.”

*Insert offended Oikawa noises here*

Needless to say, his first encounter with you was not exactly what he would’ve liked it to be. Slowly though he tried to fish more information out on you, he wanted to understand why you weren’t like the other girls who practically fell in love with him at first sight and why you were the way that you were in general. That meant that any time Iwaizumi would meet up with you at a park to study together or whenever you guys would spend any type of time together that Tooru would tag along. Teachers thought that you were having a blooming friendship with him though and much to your dismay you ended up getting partnered with him on a school project. You felt sick to the pit of your stomach because you truly didn’t want him to come to your home, but he kept insisting and you knew that there would be no point in trying to convince him otherwise so you gave in to his stubbornness.

You felt ashamed the moment he stepped through the front door, your parents were never home and you had to take care of your younger twin siblings. The house was a mess, and that was when he understood why you had such a cold persona around others. You wanted to distance yourself from people and push them away as much as possible in order for you to not have to go through the embarrassment of looking like a train wreck to everyone else in the circumstances that you were in as opposed to your usual well put together attitude. To your surprise though, he was patient. He jumped in on helping you clean, he even helped the twins with any homework questions they had in between working on your project together and showed no judgement. In fact, he gave you a look of understanding.

After that, you were able to tolerate him more and you allowed him to visit the twins more often while even bringing along his nephew for all of them to play together. He taught them how to play volleyball while also helping you in the kitchen when you needed it. He didn’t want to admit it, but he honestly fell in love with you because of how genuine you were. You guys flirted, but it was suffocating to him like all the other girls who flirted with him on a daily basis. He only had interest in you, and you bet your ass Iwa teased the shit out of him for it. Your project got an incredible score of 100% and the two of you celebrated together by playing some volleyball even though you were complete shit at it. He didn’t care though and had fun. You found yourselves hanging a lot more often, being around each other almost 24/7 and you even met his family at some point. They absolutely loved you, and so did he.

He tried to figure out how he’d confess to you, he wanted it to be special. He wanted it to be a moment the both of you would remember because he quite honestly couldn’t see him spending any of his time with any other girl apart from you. Of course he was extremely nervous and skeptical on how to approach it, it was a 50/50 chance of you liking him back. The thoughts left his mind when he heard your voice outside a local supermarket, asking someone to leave you alone and that immediately flipped a switch in his brain. He quickly tried to look for you and found you trying to tell some tipsy guy that you didn’t want anything to do with him to which he immediately went over with his hands tucked in his pocket.

“Hey (Y/n), everything okay?” he asked as he coldly stared at the man that had been harassing you. A quiet “Oh thank god” was whispered underneath your breath as you managed to force your way closer to Tooru. He immediately wrapped one arm around your waist and kept his eyes locked on the other older gentleman that had been bothering you. The guy smirked, “Oh nothing man, I was trying to have a chat with her and she got all bitchy. That’s all.” (Y/n) could feel his body language immediately became a lot more tense, but you quickly pulled at him and tried to evade the situation. “It’s not worth it, Tooru. Let’s just go, okay? We can get some milk bread and watch movies or something.”

“I don’t appreciate the way you talk about my (Y/n)-chan. In fact, I’d advise you to leave her alone before I make you regret even breathing the same air as her. Got that?” He spoke calmly as he gently nudged you out of the alleyway next to the store. “Hey, who the hell do you think you are? Huh? Can’t just take my woman like that, dude.” This is when you truly saw how angry Oikawa could get as all he did was throw a punch and the guy was down. You could only stare in shock at what had just unfolded in front of you. “If you ever talk about her like that again I swear I’ll make you regret you ever existed.” At that he tugged you along and when the two of you were a few blocks away you grabbed hold of his hand and inspected it. “You seriously didn’t have to go that far. I don’t care what a low life has to say about me, at least I don’t live in the streets and I’ve got a roof over my head.” He remained silent for a moment before latching his hand onto your wrist and pulling you into his chest. “I’d never let anyone do or say anything to hurt you. Remember that. I’m just sorry you had to witness me get like that. I’ll make it up to you though.”

“Oh? I think a date would be a pretty nice way to make it up to me since you insisted on calling me your (Y/n)-chan” you said, giving him a cheeky smile to which he could only reply with a teasing smirk. “Hm, seems only fair after I saved you as heroically as I did.”

“Whatever you say, douche”

*insert baffled Oikawa noises here*

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thesmokingguns · 3 years

Text

24 Hours

Word Count:3454

Request/ Summary: “Can i request one where nicki gets turned down by their makeup artist or like stand in manager and hes upset and he finds out the the manager just doesnt sleep with people she just met”

I tried to write this where she breaks rules for him and turns him down. He understands what her restrictions are but he can see that living by her strict rules she created for herself she is making herself unhappy.

I hope I hit the prompt you wanted!

A/N: This turned out longer than I expected it to be so sorry about that one. I do have three requests I’m writing right now on top of some of the stuff I am writing so you can all still make requests but I'm going to be saying it’s a two week wait for a new request right now. I also want to say I am going to write a third and fourth part to the 3am Duff series because I have no self control. Thank you for everyone being patient with me and all your kind words! If you want to be added to my tallest please message me or go HERE

Tag List: @thenobodies-inc , @littlemisscare-all , @agroupiewhore , @ayablackwood

You were having a bad day. Not just a bad day but one of those days where everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. From morning to night it was the literal day from hell for you.

8:12am You woke up, an hour after you had hit snooze on your alarm, twelve minutes after you were supposed to leave your house to get to work.

8:34am After throwing yourself together and rushing out the door, you were running out of the apartment with the cup of coffee you had economically and time consciously thought to make. On the last step before you had escaped into the day you slipped, the hot coffee spilled all down the front of your red dress, because of course it was the one day you weren’t wearing black. Rushing back up the stairs you realized that the keys to get into your apartment were in your apartment, hanging on the hook just out of reach behind the door. So you would be going to work in your coffee dress.

9:01AM You made it to work, only thirty-one minutes late. Your boss wasn’t happy that you were late on a Friday, thinking you had done this on purpose as some slight to them. Which meant they had pulled you in the office and chewed you a new asshole.

They also told you about coming to work in a clean, tidy appearance as if you had wanted to be wearing your coffee.

As you were being yelled at you watched the line back up and couldn’t help but think about how yelling at you was just making the situation worse. You also were also thinking about how next time you’d just call in sick instead of being late.

11:59AM One minute before you were scheduled to take a break, one fucking minute, and the crazy man came in. Throwing his shit smelling money at you and proceeding to vomit all over your window.

Your window, your mess. So instead of having a much needed timeout from the day from hell you were trying to scrub the smell of puke off a counter.

1:47 PM You finally stepped out for lunch. Moving to the payphone to call your roommate. She thankfully answered on the second ring of the apartment phone. At least the door would be unlocked after work, which was one thing you had been worried about.

She was quick to tell you about how she had gotten you a gig for the night. Knowing how you wanted to travel, you two had come up with a plan a few months ago to find work in Hollywood for bands or on film sets. She had been pretty popular making costumes and helping to come up with whole concepts for the upcoming Glam Rock scene. One of her usual bands needed help because their makeup artist had been sick, so you were going to work for her tonight.

This would be considered a good thing but since it was a trial run you were not going to be getting paid for this gig. So your time would be free. The makeup you used on them you needed to provide. And you have to be there at 5PM to set up, which is the exact time that you need to get out of work. Your roommate agreed to help set you up and she was going to bring you a change of clothes to the gig. It would be fine because the band wouldn’t need to be made up until 6 or 7 but it was just another thing on your plate.

So you would be losing money that you needed to pay rent on a bunch of entitled rock stars who would probably not hire you and this whole night would just leave you feeling exhausted and annoyed. Really looking forward to it.

3:49PM Your coworker went home sick with a headache so now you had to do twice the amount of work and there was no hope in hell that you would be making it to the gig in time tonight. That great first impression that you would need to get an actual long job was gone. And you were stuck with a line out the door of people trying to cash their checks all seeming to want to kill you. Happy Friday.

5:02PM You were running down the street, thankful you worked around the corner from the venue. A sigh of relief left your lips seeing your roommate waiting for you. She dragged you inside pushing you towards a bathroom and giving you a bag of clothes to change into. You lined your brown eyes with the kohl liner, winging your eyeliner and adding a deep burgundy lip shade that complimented your darker skin.

“Y/N, hurry up.” you rolled your eyes, repacking the bag and heading out where your friend was waiting for you. “I put your makeup in the dressing room already. It’s not set up yet.” she pulled you down a few hallways. Equipment for the band was more around as they started getting ready to set up everything for the show.

You entered the dressing room, seeing there was a table for food and drinks set up, a rack of costumes for the band to wear, and finally a vanity where your makeup bag was sitting ready to be unpacked. Your friend handed you a cup, pouring a few fingers worth of vodka into it before splashing in some juice to help the taste.

“Cheers,” you tapped red solo cups drinking heavily. If you weren’t going to get paid for the gig you might as well take advantage of whatever free perks came with it.

6:23PM Sitting on the couch, legs crossed, you were chatting aimlessly with your friend when the door opened and a man walked in looking at you confused.

“Hey, I’m Y/N. I’m the makeup artist for the night.” you were quick to introduce yourself not wanting him to think you were another girl who was just trying to sleep with the band.

“Mick.” he moved to pour himself a full cup of straight vodka, “Can you do my makeup now? The three pretty boys take too much time.” Ushering him into the seat you started out on him, wondering what the hell he meant about the other guys being divas.

7:45PM A blonde burst into the room, seeming surprised that you were standing there. The girl on his arm laughed too loudly and you looked over to your roommate who was handing Mick a belt to wear. She just shrugged, this was normal for her.

“Vince, new makeup artist. You should sit now before the Terror Twins stumble in.” Mick warned him. He pulled away from the girl on his arm headed over to your chair with an easy smile.

“You're going to make me prettier, doll?”

“I’m thinking that you would look with some blue eyeshadow. It would really complete your Malibu Barbie look.” You retorted, watching amused as his mouth dropped open, not used to having someone give it back to him.

You hated cocky assholes who thought that they were God’s gift. There was nothing wrong with a man who was confident but the way that he was looking at himself in the mirror as you did his makeup you knew he was the type that thought he was above everyone else.

8:21PM Two men burst into the room as you finished up Vince. Looking at the two taller men you let your eyes wander over them. Vince was a diva but there two were going to be where you had the most trouble. They must be tber terror twins Mick had mentioned.

One of the guys fell into the chair, laughing about something as he sipped the beer he was drinking, rubbing his nose. He lit up a cigarette as he sat back in the chair not seeming to care if it was annoying that he was blowing smoke in your face as you tried to work.

You bit your tongue, annoyed as you tried to work around his cigarette, that he almost burnt you with seven different times. As you worked you could feel a set of eyes on you. Looking up you saw the man he had walked in with, staring at you with these intense olive eyes.

There wasn’t a chance in hell that you would be interested in any of these loudmouth guys, who all seemed to be drunk and hyperactive. It was kind of like you were doing makeup for a bunch of chimps instead of men.

8:55PM Finally the last man was sitting in your chair. His eyes gazing up at you with such intensity you stopped moving around to just look at him.

“Have we met before?” there was something familiar about him and you wondered if you had met him at a bar or at a show before.

“I don’t think so, sweetheart. I’m Nikki.” Usually when a guy used a nickname instead of your given name you chalked it up to them being a douchebag but with him it seemed natural and not derogatory, “Thank you for coming out to do our makeup today. I heard the other artist got sick at the last minute. We appreciate you taking your time to help us out…” he left it blank waiting for you to give him your name.

“Y/N.” You were surprised by how talkative he was. The kindness in his tone is different from the way the other guys have been. Just when you thought he was different you felt a hand on the back of your thigh, “If you don’t get your hand off me I’ll break your fingers so you can’t play tonight.” you warned him, looking into the olive eyes gazing up at you.

He was too good looking. The type of guy you could get into trouble with if you allowed yourself but you wouldn’t be taking home a stranger tonight.

“Do you always talk to your clients like that?” he asked with a coy smile on his face. This was the type of smug you liked. The funny easy going type who could make you laugh if you had not been on your feet for twelve hours.

“Only the ones that don’t pay me.” you replied, swiping his eyeshadow on. You wanted this to be over so you could go home and sleep.

The drummer came over, bumping into the vanity and knocking the eyeshadow off and not seeming to notice as the makeup smashed into a thousand pieces on the ground. You were officially losing a lot of money on this job and didn’t have the funds to replace it.

“Jesus, T-Bone, watch where you’re going.” Nikki commented, watching you start to pack everything up, “Aren’t you sticking around to watch the show?” You shook your head. “Why don’t you stick around and I’ll take you out after for a late dinner. As an apology for this being a bust for you.” You were sure that the way he smiled and how his eyes were so clear made it easy for him to pick up chicks but you weren’t going to be one of them.

“I had a long day. I’m not going out with you.” You zipped up your bag ready to leave

“Listen, Y/N, just stay until we go on. Maybe I can talk to someone and you can get paid for coming out.” You did need the money. So reluctantly you stayed.

9:57PM You shouldn’t have stayed. Nikki had seemed to think you telling him you were not going out with him was a maybe you’d go out with him.

It had been an hour of him sitting on the couch getting to know you, asking questions and being nice to you. Men weren’t nice to you just for the sake of being nice, they were born without the concept of human decency.

But he had also talked to their manager, pointing at you and saying stuff you didn’t get to hear. Now you were stuck in a weird limbo wondering if you were going to get paid.

11:15pm The band rushed on stage and you were pulled aside by the manager. He handed you and envelope that you knew contained cash.

“The boys are going to have a few California gigs. If you can stick it out for a couple weeks I’ll consider hiring you for the tour. I’ll pay you $100 bucks a gig and you need to bring your own supplies to start but if you go on tour you’ll get a contract.” He said. You agreed and he handed you a piece of paper with four dates, the upcoming week, times, and his phone number to call if you couldn’t make it. There was also a chicken scratch handwriting with the name Nikki and a phone number

You were stunned when he walked away. You not only got paid but you have jobs lined up to make even more. It was a dream.

Looking up, you moved towards the stage watching the bassist move around the stage. He was high energy, loving what he was doing. There was this presence about him that drew you in. If you did get the tour position that would be trouble.

11:59PM You had finished packing up and we’re heading out of the venue to head home. You were ready for your bed and a few hours of sleep. The guys were playing tomorrow and you wanted to not be having a bad day.

Trying to sneak out, you almost jumped back when four sweaty men came barreling into the room. Your heart instantly went to your throat seeing Nikki. His smile dancing across his lips, hey black hair stuck to his forehead just oozing self confidence and sex appeal.

“You’re leaving so soon?” You just nodded at his question, wondering if it would be considered rude to tuck his hair out of his face. “Did you call a taxi or need a ride? There’s a lot of unsafe riff raff out this late.” He warned and you almost thought he sounded concerned.

“I’m a grown woman. I can walk myself home. It’s only like 15 minutes from here.” His eyebrow raised as he wiped the sweat off his face with a towel.

“I’ll give you a ride.”

“No you won’t.” You shoe back, “I don’t know you and I don’t leave with strangers I’ve only known for one day.” You responded. It was practical to have rules to keep you from getting hurt.

“Well, Y/N, we’ve known each other for two days now since it’s past midnight.” He was so calm saying this to you, “And I’m trying to cut back on drinking so if they see me leave with you I won’t be harassed so you’ll really be doing me the favor.” Thinking about what he said, your tongue licked your top lip nervously. The way his eyes followed this motion gave you your answer.

“Thank you for the offer. I’m going to say goodbye to my roommate. I’ll see you in 20 minutes outside?” You gave him a smile and saw the way he was melting under your touch as you moved away from him.

You moved over to your friend letting her know you were leaving and you’d see her at home.

12:22 AM Adjusting the bag over your shoulder you weaved through the crowds pouring in and out of all the clubs. No one ever really bothered you walking home. It was just the cat calling and guys thinking that they had a right to run their mouths

“Y/N.” You frowned hearing your name. The roar of a motorcycle speeding up had your eyes looking out on the street.

Oh Shit. There was Nikki, looking at you with a line where his smile had been, his kind eyes looking annoyed at you. You had left him after saying you’d let him take you home but he was too pushy.

“Get on.” the steely tone of his voice made you stop what you were doing, thinking of what to do next. People were looking at the pair of you, some probably recognizing Nikki from his band. You rolled your eyes, stepping forward.

“Listen to me, I’m not getting on. I don’t know you.” His look softened and it was like for the first time he understood what the issue was.

“I just want to make sure that you make it home safe. I know you don’t want anything happening to you. It would feel like my responsibility if you went missing after doing the band's makeup.” you rolled your eyes. Eyeing him and the bike. It had been a long day and it was onlya five minute drive. What was the worst that could happen?

1:02AM The worst thing that could happen was happening.

When you got on the back of Nikki’s Harley he had asked where you lived. As he drove, you wrapped around his back you realized for the first time of the night you were smiling a genuine wife smile.

Watching the lights of the Strip and the hustle and bustle fly by when wrapped around his warm body, the noie drowned out by the roar of the bike was nice. It felt good. So when you pulled up on your street and he asked if you wanted to drive around more you didn't say no like you should have.

Weaving around the empty highways with just the pair of you was nice. There was no conversations but it felt like you two were getting to know each other on another level.

3:55AM Nikki pulled the bike into a donut shop on the side of the highway. The smell of fresh baked pastries and coffee brewing awakening you much like the wind whipping your face had been keeping you awake but it had been almost twenty four hours awake.

The pair of your ordered black coffee and a donut, sitting on stools at the counter and eating in a comfortable silence.

“Are you mad at me?” He didn’t have a cheeky grin on his face like you had expected but he was serious. “I know you said you wouldn’t go out with me but it just seemed like you were having a bad day and I have a hero complex.” you snorted when he said this. Surprised he admitted that he had a heroes complex.

“I’m not mad. I got on the back of your bike and stayed out.” you thought for a second, “I think I needed it. I always follow my rules and never break them. I think sometimes I need a break from the rules I create.” you said all this with your heart beating wondering what the hell you were doing with this guy in the middle of nowhere.

5:41AM Nikki had wrapped his leather jacket around you, both your boots abandoned by the motorcycle as you sat with toes in the sand watching the sun rise over the Pacific. You hadn't even seen the sun rising over the ocean before so you were wrapped up in the orange and golds of the sky, how the inky black of the water came alive into blue and purple hues with the light.

It was beautiful.

It felt like something was washing over you as you watchined it. Something was changing as you watched the sun start a new day. A new day that you had this feeling in your bones was going to be a good day.

Wiping a tear away, you took a deep breath remembering that you had moved here to make your dreams come true and for the first time it felt like it was going to happen.

A hand on your back reminded you that you weren’t alone. His olive eyes looking at you, concerned. You wiped a tear away trying to laugh it off.

“I never saw the sunrise over the ocean. It’s beautiful,” It was at that moment, wrapped up in the beauty of everything that you realized that he was going to kiss you. The way his hand was against your check, wiping the tears away.

But you surprised both of you leaning forward to push your lips against his. Making the first move. You were breaking all of your rules for him but it felt good and you could tell you would be breaking more rules with him

6:00AM It was going to be a good day.

#nikki sixx fanfiction #Nikki Sixx #Nikki Sixx headcanon #Nikki Sixx X You #Nikki Sixx X Reader #Nikki Fucking Sixx #Nikki Sixx fanfic #Nikki Sixx Imagine #Nikki Sixx writing #Nikki Sixx Request #Request

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bothcreativitybois · 3 years

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TMST Chapter 8

I was freaking out because no one was commenting on Chapter 8... turns out I hadn’t posted it... 🤡 I am so sorry. Ao3 link Wordcount: 2507 Ship: Intruality TWs: Food, hospital, crying Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Taglist: @crazydemigod666 @star-crossed-shipper @newtnotfound @3amthebitchinghour @idont-freaking-know @someoneiwasnt @crownofrats @the-sympathetic-villain @cute-and-angsty-princess @lonelymuffin @bloodyjay-0666 @im-an-anxious-wreck @fantasticallytired @obsessive-fallen-angel

“What do you mean I can’t bake?!” Patton shouted. “It’s a bakery!” Remus put up his hands to try and calm the angry man. “Janus just needs a day or two to get some of the painting done with spray paint.” Remus explained, his truck behind him filled with tarps and paints. “You said you wanted all the paint done for the Valentine's Day class, right?” “Yeah I know…” Patton huffed. He really didn’t like the idea of being locked out of the kitchens for two days. “Well it’s later this week. He can do brush for most of it but he wants to do this one part with spray paint.” Remus continued. “Consider it a vacation.” Remus tried to help Patton see the bright side. Patton sighed. “Just two days?” Patton asked. Remus put his hands on Patton’s shoulders. “Yes, that’s all. You deserve the break anyway.” Remus comforted. Patton looked up at the sign Remus had hung yesterday, the one he’d been waiting months for and Remus had it up in only about a week. Remus was doing so much to help him. He trusted him. “Alright.” Patton finally agreed. “But please have it done as soon as possible.” “Of course. You can trust me.” Remus said, Janus scoffed behind him. Patton laughed. He looked up at the sign again. It reminded him of something. Something he hadn’t done in a while. “You’re okay doing it all with just the two of you?” Patton asked. “If Remus touches my paint’s I’ll stab him in the hand again.” Janus shouted from the truck. “Again?” Patton turned to Remus who just shrugged. “We’ll be okay. Go do whatever you want.” Remus assured again as he pushed Patton towards his car.

An hour later Patton was in the city. He had stopped at a florist to get some flowers. As he walked in he was almost floored with all the scents that hit him at once. As he looked over the pots and shelves full of colourful flowers a worker came up to him. “Anything I can help with?” The lady asked in a friendly tone. Patton looked up quickly. He glanced quickly at the name tag that read ‘Charlie’. “Believe it or not I’m looking for flowers.” Patton joked, Charlie offered a polite laugh. “Anything in particular?” Charlie looked around at the mounds of flowers. Patton thought for a moment. He knew the answer to this. The same he always got. “Carnation and Peruvian lily.” Patton answered. The worker suddenly had a realisation. “You must be Patton.” Charlie said after a moment. Patton laughed. “I come here that much, huh?” He joked. Truthfully it wasn’t his first time here, but he’d never met Charlie before so he didn’t want to act like he knew the shop. It’d been a while since he came here so he thought maybe the staff had forgotten him anyway. “There’s a note behind the counter on your usual bouquet.” Charlie clarified. “I can make it for you right now.” She walked off and began gathering flowers. Patton looked around as she worked. He was drawn to the back of the store. A shelf without flowers, just small bottles. Most seemed to be perfumes or flower oils but one stood out. “When did you start stocking rose essence?” Patton asked as he plucked the bottle off the shelf. Charlie didn’t look up from arranging the flowers. “Just got it last week.” She shouted from her workstation. Patton turned the small bottle of flavouring over in his hands and inspected the clear liquid inside. “You a baker or a bartender?” Patton turned and began walking to the counter, bottle in hand. “Baker.” He said proudly, although he wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to call himself that. “Those are the only two kinds of people we get looking for that.” Charlie said as she taped up the paper around the flowers. With Valentine's Day coming soon he knew he could find some way to use it. He paid for the flowers and also got a bottle of the essence. He dropped his essence in the car and looked across the street at his next stop. It was really convenient that they had a florist across from the hospital. He walked into the reception and was greeted with a familiar face this time. “Patton! Long time no see.” The nurse said. “Here to see Moe?” The nurse already knew the answer but asked nonetheless. “Of course.” Patton responded. The nurse typed a few things on the computer before looking up again. “She’s still in the same room. You can go on through.” The nurse smiled. Patton nodded. “Thanks Kait!” Patton called as he walked away. He began humming to himself as he walked. A small song he made to remember the way. “Third hall left, up two flights, fifth room right. Third hall left, up to flights, fifth room right.” Patton hummed this all the way until he reached the right room. At this point he didn’t really need the song to remember but it had become a habit. It helped calm his nerves. He took a deep breath and knocked gently on the already slightly open door. He didn’t know why he was so nervous, she was the one who asked he visited less. She wanted him to focus on the bakery. “Come in.” A voice answered. Patton pushed open the door the rest of the way. He looked over at the bed to see his mother, she smiled as soon as she saw him. “Froggy.” She cheered. Patton quickly walked over and hugged her. “Hi Mum.” He whispered as she squeezed him tightly. He didn’t realise how much he missed her hugs until he was having one. He leaned back and gave her the flowers he was carrying. Even though she got this same bouquet each time he visited she was still excited and sniffed it deeply. “Thank you, dear. It’s lovely.” She said caressing the flowers. “How have you been?” Patton asked finally as he pulled a chair close to the bed. His mother sat up quickly and turned to him. A wide proud smile broke across her face. “They’re saying if the inflammation stays where it is then I should be out by the end of the month!” She announced excitedly. Patton smiled. He wanted to get excited, he really did, but the doctors said the same thing last month. “That’s great!” Patton praised with as much excitement he could muster. “I can’t wait to have you back.” Patton reached out a hand and his mother took it in hers. He really meant that. He missed having his mother around to handle business while he baked. He missed having her hug him each morning. He missed her doting over every new recipe, how she lit up when she tried it, how she would smile proudly as he baked, how she would poke his cheek and tell him everything will be okay. He missed her. “How’s the bakery?” Moe asked. She knew it was in bad shape when she left, but Patton hadn’t visited in nearly a month. She was blissfully unaware of everything happening. Patton wasn’t and fidgeted at the question. “Well… there was a bit of a mix up.” He began. As he looked up he saw her face change. She was so happy a moment ago but now she looked scared. He hated seeing that. “Uh but don’t worry! It will all be fixed by the time you get out.” Patton misled. It wasn’t completely untrue, the problem would be over by then. It was just a question of how that would happen. “Are you sure you don’t need my help?” Moe stressed. Patton waved a finger. “You know that you aren’t supposed to work.” He reminded her. “Besides I actually have some people already helping.” He admitted. Moe looked over curiously. “People as in worker people or as in friend people?” Her voice sparkled mischievously. This was the first time Patton had seen her since he had met Remus and the others, she’d not heard anything about friends.

He explained everything that had happened, omitting the part where the bakery may be shut down. Moe listened closely, it was so long since she’d seen him and each day she just wanted to hear his voice again. As much as it hurt her to not see him as much as she used to, he needed to focus on the bakery, on making friends, on everything being normal again. She noticed something about the way he talked about this ‘Remus’ guy. The way he described him and the face he made when he spoke about him. It was more than just friendship. So when are you going to stop messing about and ask Remus on a date?” Moe said after Patton was done his story. Blunt as always. Patton blushed. “Wh-what?” Patton stuttered. He didn’t know why he felt so embarrassed about it. It wasn’t like he was a closeted high school kid anymore. “I don’t think he’s interested in me like that.” “Are you?” Moe asked quickly. “I don’t have the time to think about that.” Patton gave the same answer he’d given Janus. Moe gave him a hard stare. “Great. Now try again but tell me the truth.” She pressed. She could see right through him. Patton sighed. Perhaps it would be good to get it out. Especially with someone he trusted. “It’s a lot of things. Remus is the first guy I’ve been interested in since the break up which is a little startling. His friend has said he has an issue with boundaries and honestly I can see it. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would date someone like me and even if he did I doubt we’d want the same things from it. He doesn’t seem like the guy who wants more than a hook-up or maybe a few dates.” Patton finally let out. He’d been holding it all in and it felt good to say it. Moe took a minute to process everything Patton had said. “I can think of one cure-all solution that might work.” Moe suggested after a while. Patton leaned in eagerly. “Just talk to the damn guy!” She shouted. Patton leaned back and sighed. He knew that was what he needed to do, but it was also the thing he was avoiding. He finally had someone, he had friends, and that could all be ruined if he said anything. “But what if it goes badly?” Patton said sadly. Moe took her son's hand once again. “Then it wasn’t gonna work out anyway. It might be better to get an answer now before it is too late and it hurts someone’s feelings very badly.” Moe soothed. Her son was so timid, she didn’t want him to miss out on something special because of it. But more so he was sensitive. And he made connections quickly. It was a perfect recipe for a crash and burn.

Patton stayed late at the hospital. Talking for hours with his mother, playing games in the visitor lounge, catching up. Until visiting hours ended and he had to leave. He clung to her one last time, knowing he wouldn’t get the chance to again for a while. When his mum was first brought to hospital when he was a teenager they had made a rule. No crying until after the visit. They had always stuck to this rule, even subconsciously. That’s why the tears didn’t hit until Patton was home. It wasn’t until he stepped into that cold night air that his eyes suddenly began to blur and his chest felt like it was disappearing. In that dark and silence he realised just how lonely he felt. He braced himself against the railing as he walked up the stairs to his apartment. As he got to the door he saw Remus sitting in front of it. He tried to wipe his face before Remus saw him but it was already too late. Remus didn’t say anything, he just ran up to Patton and hugged him. Patton fell into the hug without hesitation. He cherished the feeling of Remus’ arms wrapped around him. He suddenly didn’t feel as lonely. “You aren’t hurt, right?” Remus finally broke the silence but kept the hug. Patton laughed sadly. “No. I just…” Patton began. His mum’s words ran through his head. Just talk to the damn guy! “My mum is in the hospital and I went to visit her.” Patton admitted through sobs. It was the first time he’d told Remus about it. “She has an inflammatory disease and at the end of last year she had some problems with it that affected some of her organs, she’s been in the hospital ever since.” Remus tightened the hug. Patton felt himself nuzzle closer into the larger man’s chest as he heaved. “You don’t need to explain. I’m here for you.” Remus whispered. Patton gripped the back of his shirt. He was shaking like a baby foal on it’s first steps. “I felt so guilty at the picnic for having fun while she was stuck there.” Patton wheezed. Remus felt his heart break from Patton’s words. He didn’t know how to comfort people like Janus does, he wasn’t good with words like Roman. But none of that mattered. He just wanted Patton to be happy again. “Is there anything you want me to do that can help?” Remus asked. Patton looked up at him, eyes larger than the moon. “Just stay. Please.” Patton begged. As a response Remus pressed a kiss to the top of Patton’s head. “As long as you need.” Remus promised. And he did. He made Patton dinner while holding his hand, he waited just outside the bathroom as Patton showered, he turned off the lights and tucked Patton under the blankets. As Remus stepped away Patton grabbed his hand. He wasn’t ready to be alone again. “Not yet. Please don’t go.” Patton whispered weakly. Remus wasn’t sure what to do, but if Patton needed him then he would stay. He kicked off his shoes and climbed into the bed. Patton immediately clung to his chest again. Remus gently placed his arms around Patton again. He could feel each sob and catch in Patton’s breathing. “I’m sorry.” Patton choked. “Don’t be.” Remus reassured as he buried his face in Patton’s hair. “I’d want to sleep with me too.” He joked. He felt Patton giggle sadly at him. He smiled proudly at himself and pulled Patton closer. He kept track of every sob and heave until eventually they all became steady and the small man’s grip weakened. He knew he should leave, but he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to abandon Patton. Or the calming feeling of their bodies pressed together in the darkness. He talked circles in his mind debating whether to stay until finally sleep made the choice for him.

#roman took over #the mayor's sweet treat #sanders sides small town au #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders sides fic #intruality au #intruality #sanders sides #remus sanders #ts remus #patton sanders #ts patton #janus sanders #ts janus #tw food

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talesofphantombandits · 3 years

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Zero to Six ~ Hong Kong - Edited Version. Part 6.

Characters: Four X Zero (OC)

Summary: Zero was the first person to be ‘saved’ by One, she was his first honorary Ghost. Her knowledge in tech meant she got the role of ‘Hacker’ she recruited new team members, looked for missions and locations and made sure every security measure was looked at. You know normal hacker spy stuff. But her tough up bringing meant that if needs be she could fight, she was maybe even better than some people on the team knew. But due to One’s protectiveness over her she had to stay hidden, she was more of an actual ghost than the rest of the team was. This didn’t mean she couldn’t have her fun though, over the months of being with the full team she had formed quite a passionate love/ hate relationship with the handsome Four. Who knows what sparks would fly if they were ever to meet. Warnings: Slight swearing, some suggestive flirting in later chapters.

Tagg list: (I know this is a edit of my original story but if anyone wants to be tagged let me know.) @raylan-c, @angelic-demonss

The night consisted of looking through the research and planning the best way to go about getting the dictators brother out of the tower in Hong Kong as discreetly as possible.

That wasn't the most exciting part about that night though, at least for Zero. In all fairness she was trying to concentrate on the meeting, but it's hard when a certain blonde haired, green eyed beauty kept staring her down. He even had the nerve to smirk at her when he caught her staring back. Dam him. She hadn't even been in his presence for 24 hours, yet she couldn't decide if she wanted to beat the shit out of him or jump him, kissing him like her life depended on it.

Maybe both?

Five had kindly offered Zero the pull out bed in her converted shipping containment while One made arrangements to get her, her own little space like the others had, a permanent home of her own sounded very nice indeed. Although Zero tossed and turned most of the night she couldn't say the next morning that she was at all that tired when she woke up, the excitement was coursing through her veins and the anticipation to actually get to do field work was overwhelming her. One knocked on the girls door and dropped off the little of Zero’s belongings that she still had, he must have been back to the hotel room and collected everything, she thanked him but he just nodded slightly. “Still pissed at me I see.” She turned to Five who was sitting at the small table having some light breakfast

“He’ll get over it.” She gave me her best smile. “Don’t worry.”

With her belongings now returned to her, she decided to go for a shower and get into some fresh clothes so she’d be comfortable for the flight. She stepped out of the shower, dried off then dressed in some black skinny jeans and threw on a long burgundy striped top. Finishing the look off with some long black boots that had laces all the way to the top and a dark green leather jacket. She slung the duffel with all her clothes in it over her shoulder and grabbed onto her laptop bag then headed out to meet Five on the tarmac. She walked in the middle, the others chatting away behind her meanwhile One was up front, no doubt eager to get the planes engine started.

Zero decided to sit in her own section, unlike the others she had some work to do and getting distracted wasn’t a option. Two took the seat behind her, Three sat across from Two. While Four and Five where opposite Zero, Five sitting in the same row as her. Four just had to placed himself on the other row by the window, the perfect place to make side eye at her. Great! Now she had to deal with a 5 hour flight feeling him burn holes into my head and be the biggest distraction from her work.

"So.” His voice rang through the aeroplane that had just got very noisy due to One starting the engines. “How are you feeling this morning sweetheart?" His voice was like honey, it would something she could never ignore no matter how much she tried. His low tones sounded way better in person than over coms.

She smiled over at Four as best as she could, trying not to show how much the nickname effected her on the inside. "Fine.” She sighed. “More excited than nervous really. It's just great not to be stuck in a room 24/7.” She smiled taking the chance to now turn the tables and tease him. “How you feeling monkey boy?"

"Why do you have to call me that?” He leaned forward in his seat and rested his elbows on his knees staring intensely at her. “You could at least come up with something that sounds a bit more sexy, don’t you think?" He looked at her with a cute pout, something she thought he was trying to melt her with.

“I think it’s sexy, monkey boy.” Three chimed in and everyone burst into laughter, but Four was glued to Zero. She just scoffed. "I think you're the only person that thinks you're sexy, well apart from that blonde you picked up at the bar, and Thee of course."

"Are you jealous, Zero? You know that was for mission purposes, besides I've seen the way you stare at me sweetheart." She just laughed, she’d lost count at the amount of times she’d scoffed at this boy.

She opened her laptop, fully intent on ignoring him the rest of the flight "Keep telling yourself that babe."

"You guys do know where all still here right?" One said awkwardly over the aeroplanes intercom. “Okay everyone strap in and shut up, we’re setting off now.”

It was about an hour into the flight, everything had been considerately quiet since four at fallen asleep against the window, Zero would steal glances at him every once in a while. Seven announced that things would start to get bumpy, and Three started to get very uneasy. "You know I usually just look at the staff to see if I should be worried." She turned to see him clutching white knuckle to his seat.

"I think you mean the flight attendants, you can just look at me." Two said.

"Oh darling, no offence but you could be on fire and you'd have the same blank expression on your face." Zero turned to raise my eyebrows at Five, who looked back at her just as amused. and a look that said ‘something is definitely going on with these two.’ Zero nodded in agreement.

"You know what sucks guys, that if we were to crash." She looked over at Four this time to see if the commotion had woke him up, he opened one eye from his sleeping state to make a face at Five. "No one would ever care. Like we never existed." He said it loud enough for One to hear in the cockpit.

"You know I can hear you, if you're going to shit yourself there's a bathroom in the back.” Zero just giggled to herself and then got back to her work So this is what it was like to be truly around them, she liked it. It was always fun to hear their bickering over coms but this was even better, a warm feeling had started to invade her heart and a warm fuzzy feeling like home crept into her veins. It was nice to be around the right people again. They fought, they were sometimes asses but this was her true family and for once in her life she started to admire One for bringing such an amazing group of people together. She had decided in that moment that there was no where she’d rather be than here 35,000 feet up with the best bunch of idiots, and if she was to die on a mission she knew she had surrounded herself with the best adopted family she could have ever asked for.

When they finally landed, the colour is Three’s face gradually started to return, Zero took the opportunity while passing him in the aisle to pat him on the back, laughing as she exit. "Hey you little shit, don't make fun of me or I'll find out your fear." He just shouted after her retreating frame. They all dumped what little bags they had taken outside of the plane as One started the debrief one last time of the plan we were about to carry out. After about Twenty mins he decided to wrap it up. "Chowtime." One clasped his hands excitedly as the rest of the team cheered.

Zero decided that sitting at one of the higher tables would be more efficient for her to carry on her work, she’d almost finished on the plane but still had one more section to complete by tonight. She whipped out her note book, not feeling safe getting the laptop out in such an open and crowded space. But as soon as she’d put the paper on the table someone had ripped it out of her hands and in its place a bowl of noodles was set down.

"Hey!" She had began to protest looking up at the thief in question.

What she was not expecting was to be met with Four’s bright green eyes. Closing her note book, he placed it safely back in her laptop bag. "Do you ever stop working?" He sat down on the stool next to hers, and suddenly she was very self conscious. She tried to shake the feeling by directing her feelings to being annoyed he’d took her work, she sighed tilting her head at him. "It's been nonstop for three years of my life, I’m afraid at this point I don't know how to do anything else with my time."

"We could change that." He smirked.

She scoffed again, cracking open her chopsticks a little too aggressively but as to get the point across that she wasn’t in the mood for his flirting. "Excuse me, I'd like some alone time with my noodles."

"No come on.” He laughed, face turning more serious when he saw how fed up she was. “I’m sorry, I think we should start over."

"What?" She turned her head to him in confusion at how serious he’d become.

"We haven't had time to talk properly since you got here, seen as we've only really talked over the wire maybe we should have a fresh start." He held out his hand. "Hello, my names Four."

He at least managed to crack a small smile from her at this, she decided to humour him this once. Putting her chopsticks down, she took his hand and shook it. "Zero."

"What a beautiful name."

“Yeah,” She laughed. “Well, you should hear my real one.”

She’d completely forgotten about the electric pulse she had felt when they had brushed hands back in the hotel kitchen. But this time she was holding his hand and it felt like hot lava now, this fact meant she held onto it a little longer than she should have. Suddenly letting go when the moment started getting awkward, she decided to focus on her noodles instead.

"You know.” He started to talk again but she didn’t look up, taking another mouth full of noodles. “I was surprised that you didn't suddenly knock me on my ass when I came in." This made her laugh. "You've threatened me with it enough times."

"Well I could say the same for you.” He leaned in closer to her, his breath tickling the inside of her ear. “But there's plenty of time yet for that sweetheart.” In a lower voice he continued. “I'll make you wait. Get you when you're least expecting it." He pulled back just to see her reaction, and was pleased with the blush on her cheeks.

She cleared her throat and decided to change the subject. "Are you nervous?" She asked not daring to look at him. "For the mission I mean."

"Why does everyone always ask me this." He huffed, leaning back on the stool.

"It's okay to be scared Four, fear is what keeps us alive." He didn't say anything, but when she finally looked up at him, he was looking at her with an emotion she just couldn't put her finger on.

"All you can ever do is your best." She smiled and finished up her noodles.

"I guess, hey! when did you get so smart?"

"Maybe about an hour ago?" They both just chuckled, finally the air around them settled.

"You guys finished? It's time to go." Seven said from behind them, putting his hand on Fours shoulder.

"Yeah, we're good." Zero smiled at Four as he passed her, her laptop bag.

As Zero started to walked out of the restaurant, Five caught her by her arm and linked them together, she then proceeded to hand Zero 50 dollars. "You were right, they did it in Vegas." She said defeated.

"Two and Three eh, maybe there hope for me after all." They both laughed as they crossed the road to catch up to the others who had already entered their hotel for the mission.

#ben hardy #ben hardy fanfiction #ben hardy four #6 underground #6 underground billy #6 underground four #6 underground fanfic #four #four fanfiction #zero to six #zero to six edited version

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thoughtsonhurtandcomfort · 3 years

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Alex meets Ari, epilogue

Content Warnings: demon/incubus character, romance, established relationship, car accident mention, injuries, bruises, arguments, angst, emotional whump, caretaking, consensual kissing and touching, happy ending

Tag List: @deluxewhump @grizzlie70 @gatheringofsuffering @xmonster-under-the-bed @emreads @whumpingmydarlings @endless-whump

Author’s Notes: I can’t believe I actually finished something I started!! Once again, thanks so so much to everyone who’s read these. :)

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Dating Alex is like dating the weather. There are storms and dreary skies, calm overcast days, days of warm sunshine. Getting to know him is like diving into a lake he thinks is shallow only to find unexpected depths of thoughts and feelings, of humor and intelligence. In spite of the relatively mundane life they lead, Arinn finds he is never bored.

All of it is a novelty. Staying with the same person, of course, takes adjustment. Arinn had such a set routine and methodology when it came to finding sustenance that he feels a little lost when it’s gone. But that void is always quickly filled. They binge shows, they try recipes, they take walks. They go to movies and restaurants and, yes, the mummies exhibit and other museums. It’s the closest thing to a normal life Arinn has ever had, yet it feels strange and exciting.

Perhaps the most astounding thing is the lack of pressure to have sex. Before this he was in bed with a new person a couple times a week. Often someone he didn’t particularly like, just to scrounge for the smallest touches to keep himself going. Worse than that, sometimes he would end up discovered, captured and tormented, with no one to help, not like that day Alex found him. The things that were done to him, that he had to bear alone…

But now he only has sex when he actually wants to, and it feels like a small miracle. He enjoys sex well enough, but is more than happy with cuddling, kissing, even lying with his feet across Alex’s lap. And if the kissing gets heated or Alex looks particularly gorgeous that day, well…Arinn certainly isn’t going to complain if they end up in bed.

A little over eight months into dating, Arinn’s lease ends and he moves in. He spends most nights there anyway, but still, it’s a little daunting. But between their jobs and Alex’s therapy and workouts, it doesn’t feel like they’re constantly around each other. Arinn adjusts to it quickly. He can’t deny how incredible it feels to know without a doubt that he won’t go to bed alone each night.

They both work early shifts, starting before dawn and getting home in the early afternoon. So Arinn isn’t prepared at all when Alex comes home telling him he’s going to have to work an evening shift for a couple of weeks.

During the first week, Arinn returns from work only an hour before Alex has to leave to catch the bus. Other than that single hour and when Alex crawls into bed at night, they have no time together. By Friday, Arinn is beyond ready for the weekend. He works Saturday morning, but he doesn’t care. He’s prepared to stay up late just to greedily take in a little extra time with Alex.

“I’ll be home by 10:30,” Alex promises as he gets dressed.

Arinn has the restraint to wait until he’s finished buckling his belt to go over and kiss him. “10:30. I’ll be here.”

Alex’s smile warms him like nothing he’s ever felt. “Good.” He kisses Arinn once, then again, then a third time. He’s contemplating a fourth when Arinn nudges him towards the door.

“Go on,” he says reluctantly. “Have a good day. Night. Whatever.”

Alex laughs as he slips his shoes on. “I’ll try.” And then he’s out the door.

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10:30 rolls around. Arinn has showered, tidied up the house, and threw together a small meal for Alex to heat up if he’s hungry. Then he plops onto the couch and waits.

At 10:37 he assumes the bus is running late. At 10:49 he wonders if Alex missed the bus and had to catch another. He bounces his leg impatiently and checks his phone every couple minutes in case Alex calls or texts.

He doesn’t.

By 11:00 Arinn is up and pacing. He calls Alex but gets no answer. He leaves voicemails, his voice shaking. He texts him. Where are you? Are you okay? Did work run over? Please answer me.

He said 10:30, Arinn thinks. He said no later than that. He promised. But he isn’t here…

Arinn doesn’t know what to do. He flips between worry and anger and hurt. What if something happened? What if he went out for drinks with coworkers? What if he lied? The possibilities spiral through his mind unchecked.

Then, at 11:43, there’s a key in the lock. It clicks, and the door creaks open.

Alex steps - stumbles - inside and closes the door slowly behind him before leaning back against it with a long sigh.

He looks like hell. His hair is a mess. There’s a bruise on his cheek. His jacket is torn and his clothes are dirty. He’s got one arm draped across his opposite side and he’s breathing raggedly.

Arinn can’t process this. Alex said 10:30, he wasn’t here, Arinn was going out of his mind, and now he shows up looking like this. It’s too much. Before he can stop to think, he explodes.

“Where the hell were you?! It’s been over an hour! Did you get into a fight or something? What the fuck, Alex?”

Arinn is shaking. If he could just stop and think he’d know he isn’t really angry, just shaken. He would see the hurt in Alex’s eyes. He would reach for him with care rather than lash out with accusations.

Alex’s face hardens. He kicks off his shoes and hangs his keys up on the hook.

“Bus crashed,” he mumbles. “Driver had a stroke or something. Ran off the road and rolled onto its side. None of us could leave until we were all looked over by the paramedics and questioned by the police.” He winces as he removes his jacket. “I was lucky I guess. Just some bruising. Got cleared and got a ride here from a cop. Some people left in ambulances.”

Something sinks inside of Arinn. His resolve crumbles and he’s left at a loss for words.

“Why didn’t you call?” he manages weakly. “I would have - have - “

“Have what? Picked me up? We don’t have a car.”

“You still could have told me! Or at least answered my texts!”

“My phone fell out of my pocket!” Alex bursts out. “It’s probably still in the bus being towed halfway across town by now. It’s not like they were going to let me go look for it while they were trying to pry out people who were trapped!”

He begins to walk stiffly toward the kitchen, past Arinn without so much as looking at him. Arinn follows numbly. He watches Alex take a pack of frozen veggies from the freezer and hold it to his side while he leans on the counter for support. His back is to Arinn.

“Fuck...” he whispers. “Alex, I - god, that’s - I don’t know what to say…” Say sorry you idiot! “Thank god you’re alright...I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you…”

Alex huffs. “Guess you’d have to find a new meal ticket,” he snaps.

As soon as he says it the room feels colder. Tension hangs over them like a dark cloud. There’s a hesitation from Alex. For a moment it seems like he might speak. Might take it back. But he only sighs and carefully makes his way into the living room. Arinn hears him groan as he sits on the couch. He continues staring at the place where Alex was just standing.

Arinn’s feet are moving before he knows what he’s doing. He throws his shoes and coat on over his pajamas and is out the door.

He hears it slam behind him.

He hears “Ari, wait! Shit - “

He keeps going.

He doesn’t look back.

Arinn is a block from the apartment building before he finally slows down. He can barely see the sidewalk ahead of him through the blur of tears.

I fucked up. I fucked up. It’s over. I fucked up.

He’s angry, but only at himself. If Alex meant what he said it has to be because Arinn screwed up, didn’t show him enough that he cared, wasn’t good enough at communicating. He should have known he was in over his head. That it was too good to last.

“Arinn!”

Arinn stops walking. It can’t be…

He whirls around to find Alex staggering after him. Even in the dim light from the street lamps Arinn can see that he’s struggling to remain standing, let alone walk. Yet here he is.

“What are you doing?” Arinn croaks. “Y-you’re hurt, you need to be resting…”

With considerable effort, Alex catches up to him. He’s panting heavily. Arinn can’t decide if he wants to turn and run or pull Alex into his arms. He does neither.

“I’m - sorry - “ Alex gets out between breaths. “I didn’t mean it. I swear. I was angry - it, it just popped out - “

“I don’t blame you,” Arinn says quietly. “Given what you know about me. But if it means anything, I - I don’t see you that way. As just a - a meal.”

“I know,” Alex says, putting his whole heart into the words. His eyes are shining. He looks desperate and fragile and Arinn just wants to gather him close and make it all okay again.

“I know that,” he says again. “Please believe me. I shouldn’t have said that, it was so stupid. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Arinn asks a little too harshly. He flinches and softens his tone. “I attacked you the minute you walked in the door. After the night you had that’s the last thing you fucking needed. I was just scared.” He puts his face in his hands. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Alex. I don’t know how to do any of this.”

When Alex speaks again he’s a little closer. Just a few feet from Arinn, but still not close enough to touch.

“Me either,” he says. “This is the first time since coming here that I’ve had to actually use the things I’m trying to get better at...it’s like, therapy was just training but this is the real deal. And I’m so scared I’m going to fuck it all up. Like I did tonight.”

“That makes two of us,” Arinn whispers. He lowers his hands and wraps his arms around himself, feeling cold and brittle. “This - us fighting - is what I was most afraid of. I can’t help what I am. If - if it goes wrong, if we spend time apart or - or - “ he can’t bring himself to even say the words break up aloud for fear they will manifest as real. “ - or separate, what am I supposed to do? I can’t just go sleep with someone else if we’re still together, or if it’s unclear! I’m a lot of things but I’m not a cheater. I - I wouldn’t, I couldn’t…”

Alex listens. He always listens. Even when he’s tired or stressed or angry. Even now, when he’s injured and shouldn’t even be out here.

“You’re right,” he says when he’s sure Arinn is finished. “You can’t help who you are. And I won’t ever really understand what that’s like.” He takes a shaky breath. “What if we made some kind of deal or something. Like, if...if it ever comes to that, you can do what you have to do. No questions asked.”

Arinn’s chest feels tight. He’d do that? He’d let me do that? He knows the depth of Alex’s abandonment issues, between parents who were never around and friends and boyfriends who left him when he needed them most.

And yet he’s willing to look past Arinn sleeping with someone else, willing to trust that it’s nothing more than for his survival. It’s an offer that so many others would happily exploit. The amount that Alex is putting his heart on the line is daunting.

“I don’t want that,” Arinn replies, his voice cracking. “I don’t want anyone but you.”

As soon as he says the words he knows that they’re true.

Alex steps a little closer. His expression is indecipherable. His bottom lip is trembling.

“Really?” And oh, the disbelief in his voice is the most heartbreaking thing. Arinn feels a swell of hatred toward every person who made Alex feel like no one could ever want him.

“Yes, really.�� Arinn steps a little closer, too. “Alex…”

The next words terrify him. He feels as though he’s hanging off the edge of a cliff, and if he doesn’t make his move, however risky, he’s going to fall to his death. The truth is all he has now. It could ruin everything, or save it.

“Alex, I love you.”

Fragile silence follows, filled only by the soft chirp of crickets, the hum of someone’s television from a house, a train off in the distance.

A car comes up the road. Its headlights illuminate Alex’s face for a moment and Arinn can see the deep sea of emotion in his eyes.

Arinn is tensed so tight he feels like he might snap. He can feel his mind seeking a way out, the walls he’d let down going up -

“I love you too, Ari.”

With those softly spoken words the walls crumble to dust. He stares, dazed, at Alex.

“Don’t say it just because I said it,” he begs. “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.”

Alex is shaking his head. He’s searching for words.

“No, no - you don’t understand, I-I do. I have. For a while now. But I was scared, I didn’t know where we stood. Or if it was too soon.”

“For...a while?”

“Yeah,” Alex says, hanging his head like a chastised child. “Don’t even know exactly when. I think maybe...I was a little in love with you right from the beginning. Which sounds crazy, I know.” He shrugs. “I’m a little crazy, I guess. And a lot to handle. But I know what I feel. And I love you.”

Arinn starts to speak but chokes on a sob. He throws his hand over his mouth. Tears stream from his eyes as he stares at Alex. Alex loves him. No one has ever loved him. He’s never loved anyone. It’s so much all at once, he can’t even get a word out. His sobs grow harder, everything he’s feeling boiling up and spilling over.

He doesn’t see Alex move closer, but he feels it when Alex’s arm wraps around him. He’s right here, warm and solid and real. He loves me…

Arinn finds himself pulled in by his gravity, leaning closer until he can bury his face in Alex’s shoulder. Alex tips his head to rest against Arinn’s.

“Please come home,” Alex whispers. “Please.”

Something between a hiccup and a laugh bubbles out of Arinn. “Of course I’m fucking coming home,” he says, the words half muffled into Alex’s shirt. He slips his arm around Alex’s uninjured side and holds on desperately. Alex kisses his head. Arinn doesn’t comment on the tears he feels drip into his hair from Alex’s cheek.

They stay like that until Arinn’s sobs cease and Alex’s breathing calms. By then it must be near one in the morning. A chill runs through Alex and his breath hitches as the movement jostles his injuries. The sound finally spurs Arinn into action.

“Come on,” he says, gently easing Alex’s face up. Alex looks like he could fall asleep where he’s standing. Arinn cups his cheek and kisses him deeply. “You’ve had a long day. Let me take care of you.”

Alex nods gratefully. He remains glued to his side, leaning heavily against Arinn as they slowly make the walk back.

----

Arinn’s hands shake as he prepares two cups of tea. In the quiet of the apartment there’s nothing stopping him from turning over the events of the night in his mind.

Tonight things came too close to ending, in more ways than one. If Alex hadn’t followed him he doesn’t know if they could have salvaged things the next day or not. He’s never done this. He doesn’t know when to keep fighting and when to give up. Tonight...tonight he gave up too quickly.

But what has him more shaken is the crash Alex was in. What he said was right: he was lucky. Arinn hates that he’s hurt at all, but it could have been so much worse. He could have been hospitalized, paralyzed, concussed, killed…

Arinn shudders and nearly drops the kettle as he goes to put it back. He stops and takes a few deep breaths to calm himself. He’s okay. He’s okay.

He sets the cups on a tray - a real tray, not the baking pan Alex once brought him breakfast on - and carries them to the bedroom, trying to appear more together than he feels.

Alex is resting on the bed with his eyes closed, breathing softly. When they got back he managed to remain sitting up long enough for Arinn to peel off his ruined clothes and get some boxers onto him, then he flopped back against the pillows with a groan while Arinn maneuvered his legs onto the bed and pulled a sheet up to his waist.

Arinn sets the tray on the bedside table and looks at him. He focuses first on the slow rise and fall of his chest. He’s okay. He’s okay. It’s impossible for his eyes not to wander to the deep bruising that mars Alex’s skin, from the left side of his face trailing down over his shoulder and arm, his chest and ribs and side, fading out at his hip.

It’s a fucking miracle that nothing is broken. Something must have padded his fall somewhat. Arinn tries not to think about it too hard, because if he does, he imagines Alex’s body being tossed like a ragdoll against unforgiving metal and he wants to scream.

“Hey,” he says. He sits at the edge of the bed and strokes Alex’s cheek until his eyes open. As soon as he sees Arinn he presses his cheek into his hand. Arinn smiles. If he didn’t know better, sometimes he’d think Alex was the one who survived on touch.

“Tea’s ready. I have medicine, too. Tomorrow I’ll go get you something stronger but this will have to do for now. And then we can go to sleep.”

Alex nods, blinking slowly. He turns his face and kisses Arinn’s palm. “Thank you…”

“Stop that. You don’t have to thank me.” He reluctantly takes his hand away from Alex’s face. “Can I prop you up a little?”

Alex nods again, reluctantly. He draws in a sharp breath when he tries to sit up a little so Arinn can put another pillow behind him. “Ah...fuck, it hurts…”

“I know...I know, babe…” Arinn gets the pillow back there as quick as he can and then eases Alex gently back against it. He kisses all over his face in praise. “Just think, if it was worse and you went to the hospital, some nurse could be doing this right now.”

Alex chuckles. “Guess you’re my nurse instead.”

“Hmm. I don’t think nurses are supposed to do this to their patients…” he dips in and kisses him. Alex’s eyes slip shut and he sighs as their lips part.

“No, you’re right,” he agrees. “That has to be against some kind of protocol.”

Hearing him joke around lightens the weight in Arinn’s chest. He kisses Alex one more time and then takes his teacup from the tray and holds it up for him. “Here…good arm only, remember.”

Alex takes the cup with his right hand and takes a sip. He hums with approval.

“This is good.”

“This is how tea is supposed to taste when you don’t over steep it,” Arinn teases gently.

“Guess you’re making the tea from now on.”

“Gladly.”

While Alex sips at his drink Arinn looks through the things he pulled from the medicine cabinet. There are a couple different varieties of pain pills and some sort of bruise relief gel he’s never heard of.

“That’s for work injuries,” Alex says when he notices Arinn holding the bottle. “Doesn’t happen often but sometimes I drop something on my foot or lose my footing and fall. A coworker recommended it. It does help. I’m not sure I’ll be able to move enough to put it on, though…”

“Who said anything about you putting it on?” Arinn turns the bottle over to read the back. “You aren’t moving an inch. I’m taking care of you.”

When Alex doesn’t answer he looks up. His breath catches when he sees the open fondness on Alex’s face.

“What?”

“Nothing...I’m just...really lucky.”

Arinn feels his cheeks heating and he can’t do a damn thing about it. “Well...I am your nurse, right?”

“Mmhmm. My hot nurse.” Alex winks suggestively. In his weariness the gesture is clumsy, but it still makes Arinn’s blush deepen.

“Good lord, you’re already loopy and you haven’t even taken the pain meds yet.” Arinn pops open the bottle and puts a pill in his hand.

Alex reaches for it, but Arinn decides it’s only fair to turn the tables a little. He shakes his head and holds the pill up. Alex’s eyes follow it as Arinn slips it onto his own tongue.

His brow pinches. “What are you - oh - “

Arinn leans forward and kisses Alex slowly. As he does, he slips the pill into his mouth. When he pulls back, Alex is the one blushing.

He fumbles a little with the tea cup and drinks down the last of it, swallowing the pill. He lets out a shaky breath when he’s finished. “Holy shit Ari, you can’t just do things like that. I’m too banged up to - to - “

“To bang?”

Arinn grins. Alex groans, but he’s smiling. “You’re worse than I am.”

“And yet, you love me.” The words are still as foreign on his tongue as they are in his mind.

Alex’s expression turns soft, almost shy. He takes Arinn’s hand and squeezes it. “Yeah. I do.”

Arinn could drown in that deep gaze. To stay afloat he busies himself with opening the bottle of gel and squeezing some out into his hand.

“Alright. Last bit and then you can go to bed.” His hands hover over Alex’s heated skin. He chews his lip. “I don’t want to hurt you…”

“It’ll only hurt at first,” Alex reassures him. “Then it’ll help.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Okay…”

He starts small, rubbing a tiny bit of the gel onto Alex’s bruised cheek. That goes fine. He rubs it onto his arm and shoulder as carefully as he can and Alex barely flinches.

The bruising on his side is the worst of it, though, and Arinn dreads it. But that’s also where he needs this the most.

Arinn gets some more gel onto his palms. Slowly, gently, he smooths it over the tender skin, flinching himself every time Alex makes a pained sound. “Hang in there…” He makes sure he’s covered every inch before finally moving down to his hip. When he’s done he presses an apologetic kiss to Alex’s chest. “All done…”

Alex breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you…” He closes his eyes as Arinn continues trailing comforting kisses up his neck and cheek, avoiding the bruised side.

When Alex’s breathing has evened out, Arinn gathers everything onto the tray and brings it to the kitchen to deal with tomorrow. He makes sure the door is locked, shuts off the lights, and then finally slips into bed beside Alex.

He lies there a while staring at Alex’s silhouette in the darkened room. Alex is so still, his breaths so slow, that Arinn assumes he must be sleeping. So it’s a surprise when his eyes open and he turns his head to meet Arinn’s gaze.

“You’re too far away,” he mumbles sleepily.

Arinn exhales. “I can’t exactly sprawl on top of you right now,” he whispers back.

“Then just…” he pats the small but notable empty space between them.

How can he not give in? At least it’s Alex’s uninjured side. He presses up close to him and holds his arm like a child holding a stuffed animal. “Better?”

“Better.”

After another stretch of silence, Arinn can’t help himself. “...Alex?”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t...can’t stop thinking about how it could have been so much worse…”

His tail curls over his hip, brushing against Alex’s hand where it lies on the bed. Alex cradles it and strokes it with his thumb.

“But it wasn’t. I’m right here, Ari.”

“But if you weren’t...if you hadn’t made it...you never would have known...” he nearly chokes on the whispered words.

“Known?”

“That I love you.”

“...neither would you,” Alex replies.

Arinn holds his arm a little tighter. He hadn’t thought of it the other way around, but Alex is right. In their fear and insecurity they both held in something the other desperately needed to hear.

“But now - “ Alex’s words are broken by a big yawn. “ - now we know…”

Arinn kisses his shoulder, overwhelmed with relief, gratitude, and love. “Yeah. Yeah, we do.” He kisses again and again, each one slower and sleepier than the last. “Get some rest,” he whispers against his skin. “I’ll be here in the morning.”

And the morning after that...and the next, and the next...

...and every morning after, for as long as you want.

-- The End --

72 notes · View notes

charmedbaek · 4 years

Text

loyal - bbh - part 1

summary: a year ago, you landed your dream job and made your move to the city. not knowing anyone, you moved into the spare room of coworker’s beautiful apartment, and quickly became close friends. her loyal social circle quickly adopted you as one of their own, giving you some of the best friends you’ve ever known. you have it all. there’s only one problem: Byun Baekhyun. not only your friend via your roommate, but her longtime crush. completely off-limits to you, as she’s made it very clear. but when love interferes with the life you worked so hard to build, who do you stay loyal to?

genre: smut, angst, fluff, MATURE/NSFW lmao

warnings: explicit sexual content, swearing, alcohol use

words: 10.3k (she’s long i’m not sorry)

author’s note(s): she’s finally here!! i’m so excited for you guys to finally read this, i’ve been going CRAZY ever since i posted the preview and got so much positive support, so thank you all!! feedback is much appreciated so please let me know what you think. and be sure to let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list for part 2. i’m planning on making the series somewhere around 10 parts so i hope you all are excited for shit to go down :)

tag list: @baek-byunies @baekhugme @falsemagic @fullsuninbloom @gyuniiverse @jummyjammy @kylomeyon @lightmochi @littleflowercrown13 @making-me-blush @marks-aurora @myexolib @smile2sushii4me@stormymoonlight @yixing-jaebeom

“This is just pathetic.”

You looked up from browsing Twitter on your phone to see your roommate, Minji, staring at you disapprovingly from your doorway.

“What?” You asked innocently, setting your phone down beside your pillow and sitting up inside the fort of pillows you had created on your bed.

Minji sighed, entering the room and sitting at the edge of the bed next to you. “It’s Friday night. Are you really just going to lay here doing...” She waved her hand, gesturing towards your comfortable attire of an oversized hoodie and gym shorts. “...this? Again?”

You looked at her and scoffed. “What do you mean this? I’m fine. I’m comfortable.” You said, reaching over her lap to grab the bag of pretzels that seemed to live on your nightstand these days. Minji snatched the bag before you could get to it, tossing it to the floor with a groan. “I’d say you’re a little too comfortable,” She said, poking your bare thigh. “How long has it been since you came out with us? A month? Two? I don’t even know. The rest of the guys keep asking me where you’ve been, and I have to tell them you fell asleep on the couch after one glass of wine after work.”

“Shut up!” You exclaimed, grabbing one of your many pillows and smacking her with it playfully. She wasn’t wrong though. You’d had your job as an assistant editor for just over a year now, and it was draining. The assistant part of the title didn’t mean you were just grabbing coffee for the bosses, but rather doing all of the work that the senior editors at the magazine didn’t feel like doing. It was a lot of stress, and lately you hadn’t felt like doing much on the weekends besides sleeping until noon and taking a midday nap.

And it was true, you hadn’t seen much of your friends recently. Well, technically they were Minji’s friends, but after a year you were finally comfortable referring to them as yours. You missed them a lot. But you felt too tired to be any fun.

You fell back against the pillows. “I’m just relaxing. I had a tough week.”

Minji raised her eyebrows at you. “Need a stress reliever?” She asked suggestively.

“Minji, before you even-”

“Come on!” She whined. “Just fuck him! Please! I know for a fact he likes you.”

The he in question was Minji’s friend Jongin. Yes, he was your friend too. Although it was evident to you, and everyone else, that he’d like to be more than that. His gentleman-like behavior towards you was a bit over the top, never letting you open your own door or pay for your own drink. The way he gently placed his hand on the small of your back while letting you walk in front of him was cordial, but it didn’t make you feel butterflies. The way he placed his hand on your knee, and never any higher, when you sat beside him was affectionate, but it didn’t get you... well, wet.

Sure, he was sexy. And kind. And tall. And honestly, drop-dead gorgeous. But that was the thing. He was too perfect. In the year you’d known him, you found it difficult to find a single area he was deficient in. It was unnerving. You just couldn’t bring yourself to want him like that.

Were you leading him on? You didn’t think so. But you were never one to pass on a free drink.

It would be a lie, however to say you’d never had a one-off fantasy about Jongin. After all, he was incredibly hot. You almost hoped he would just try his luck and kiss you one of these days, but his courteous demeanor would never allow him to be so bold with a woman.

And though nothing close to fucking had ever happened between you two, the rest of your friend group seemed to assume you were meant to be together.

The group consisted of five before you came along. They had all known each other since high school, so it seemed like fate when you arrived, making an even group of three guys and three girls. They had laughed about how they were finally like Friends the TV show, all paired off into even male-female pairings.

The most solid couple was Chanyeol and his girlfriend Soonja. They had been high school sweethearts, and were very affectionate towards each other. Like, very affectionate. Always all over each other, even after ten years of being together. It was kind of gross at first. But you got used to it.

Next, was Jongin. He occasionally brought a random, boring girl to your hangouts, but things never lasted. And everyone seemed to have it in their minds that the two of you would make the perfect couple. In their minds, you were already together, making another seemingly perfect dyad to fit in with them.

Lastly, there was your roommate Minji. You had met at your job and quickly became close with one another. She was the one to indoctrinate you into the group, and for that you were eternally grateful. You had moved to the city alone with nothing besides your belongings for your job, and she had taken you under her wing.

Her pairing was the most interesting. Though she was technically single, there was-

“Baekhyun!”

Yeah, Baekhyun.

“Baekhyun!” Minji shouted again. “Come in here!”

You heard Baekhyun sigh from where he sat on the couch in your living room, slowly making his way to where Minji and you sat in your bedroom.

“What do you want?” He asked, peeking his head through the entrance.

Minji stood with a huff, walking to the door to grab Baekhyun’s wrist and pull him into the room. “Tell Y/N that she should just fuck Jongin. We all know it’s gonna happen eventually.” She said.

“Oh no,” Baekhyun said with a chuckle, shaking his head. “I’m not getting involved in this.”

“Please!” Minji exclaimed. “She said she’s stressed from work. I told her fucking him will get her mind off of it.”

“How? By dry humping on his bed? Him feeling her boobs over the bra?” Baekhyun made himself laugh. “How about when he asks ‘Is that okay?’ before doing literally anything?” Baekhyun was laughing hard now, wiping a tear from his eyes. “No, I don’t think that’ll solve anything.”

You laughed with him at the thought. Jongin was overly polite. Any sex fantasy you’d ever had about him was always ruined by thoughts similar to those Baekhyun had described.

Minji was not as impressed. “You’re no help!” She shouted at him, shoving him back outside the room and slamming the door. She returned to your bedside with a sigh. “Please just consider getting laid, Y/N.”

“Hm...” You thought out loud, tapping a finger on your chin. “Baekhyun’s pretty funny. Maybe I’ll just sleep with him.”

“Ha!” Minji squawked as she slapped you on the arm. Hard. “You wouldn’t dare.” She said with a glare, only half joking.

And that was the final pairing. Minji and Baekhyun. No, they were not together. They never had been. Minji had had a crush on him since college, when she said he “got sexy”. They were close friends, and she was pretty much in love with him.

Whatever you wanted to call their relationship, Minji was overly protective of it. The very first time you had hung out with the group, she pulled you aside to explain to you that no, they were not dating yet, but he was hers. She joked that she would kill you if you touched him.

And if she hadn’t warned you, you might have tried. Baekhyun was extremely sexy. When you met him, his hair was the white-blonde that you loved the most on him. You were intoxicated by your first thoughts of him, that his plump lips would be incredible to kiss. That his long, slender fingers would feel amazing inside of you...

But it wasn’t just that. He had a bright smile that always lit up any room, and a fun, chaotic energy that could always make you laugh. You were smitten by him. Plus, the two of you had always had a great time together. You’d pretty much hit it off right away as friends, constantly texting about work, complaining about how annoying Chanyeol and Soonja were.

It wasn’t uncommon for the two of you to hang out alone, either. You both loved art, and he’d taken you to a few gallery openings that he organized for his job. You often dragged him to the theatre to see foreign films that would bore the rest of your friends to sleep. Whenever you wanted opinions on your projects for work, Baekhyun would meet you at your favorite coffee shop to help. Out of any of your friends, even Minji, he was the one who was always there for you.

But whatever your outings with Baekhyun were, they were not dates.

No, that would never be allowed.

It had been a year since Minji’s initial warning, which you had respected completely despite your attraction. From her description at the time, you had assumed they’d get together at some point, but it hadn’t happened. And you were pretty sure it wasn’t going to, so you didn’t feel bad hanging out with him.

That was, until a few weeks ago when Minji made you make a promise to her. She begged you to give her more alone time with Baekhyun. She asked you to stay in your room whenever he came over, worried that you might be scaring him from making a move on her. She asked you to stop spending so much time with him alone, because it was distracting him from the time she thought he owed her.

Sure, your feelings were hurt. But Minji was the reason you had these incredible friends and this beautiful apartment, so you didn’t argue. You were loyal to her. Even if you were sure she was imagining her entire relationship with Baekhyun.

But your perception of their relationship and your initial feelings towards Baekhyun didn’t matter. She was his. That was that.

You smiled through your teeth at Minji. “I would never. You know that.”

“I know,” She smiled back, patting you on the shoulder. “But I am being serious. You’ll feel better if you have sex.”

You sighed. “I don’t know. I’m not in the mood for being disappointed.”

“Trust me, I get it.” Minji giggled. “At least come out with us tonight? Please?” Minji pleaded, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout.

You let out a final sigh as you gave in. “Fine. Sure. Okay.”

“Awesome!” Minji cheered. “I’ll pick something out for you to wear. Be ready to go in thirty.”

You exited your room wearing the dress Minji had picked for you, heels in hand as you shut the door behind you. With a huff, you sat yourself down on the couch next to Baekhyun to strap the shoes on.

He looked up at you from his phone and stared. “What are you wearing?” He asked as he set his phone down on the coffee table.

“What are you, my dad?” You scoffed, looking up at him from your shoes.

Baekhyun chuckled. “No, no, I’m serious. Is that, like... lingerie?” He asked carefully, eyeing your figure while clearly trying not to stare too long at any one spot.

“The dress?” You asked, looking down at Minji’s selection. It was a black slip dress, short and decently low-cut, trimmed with lace. “It’s just a dress,” You shrugged. “Though I’m sure it’s some part of Minji’s plan for me to go home with someone.”

Baekhyun laughed again, turning his attention toward his phone. “Well, it just might work.”

“Yeah, I’m sure Jongin will love it.” You mumbled as you finished buckling the strap on your heel.

Before you could lament on that inevitable situation any longer, Minji burst through her bedroom door. “I’m here, I’m here. Let’s go.”

“I got us an Uber,” Baekhyun said as he stood from the couch. He turned to offer you a hand, which you accepted as you stood up on your wobbly heels. Minji was right, it had been a while since you’d been out, and your feet weren’t used to this abuse.

“You alright? Drunk already?” Baekhyun asked with a raised eyebrow as you stumbled a bit.

You squeezed the hand he had offered as you caught your balance. “Not yet, hopefully soon.” You laughed, not looking forward to the way your feet would feel at the end of the night.

“Come on, Baek.” Minji chirped as she grabbed him by the arm, pulling him towards the door and his hand out of your grip. She opened the door, leading him out and into the hallway of your apartment building.

They continued down the hallway, her hand still latched onto his forearm. You sighed as you followed them through the doorway, fishing in your purse for your keys. Stopping to turn your key in the lock, you watched the pair turn the corner towards the elevators, catching a glimpse of Baekhyun looking back at you. You sighed. It wasn’t completely unlike Minji to disregard your existence when she was with Baekhyun. It was understandable, given her situation, but it was still annoying.

You rushed to catch the elevator with them, wincing as your heels pinched your toes with every step. You slipped in just before the doors closed, catching your breath as you clutched the railing. Minji and Baekhyun barely seemed to notice your struggle, as she was still clinging onto him and had begun explaining her latest business card design in lengthy detail.

You reached the ground floor and exited outside, finding your Uber on the crowded city street. Graciously, you got into the front passenger seat, allowing Minji and Baekhyun to be together in the back. You figured this was probably one of the times she would want you to give them space, to do whatever the fuck it was she thought they did.

You and the driver rode in silence, while Minji continued to chime about design and color theory to a quiet Baekhyun. In the rearview mirror, you watched her leaning on his shoulder and running a finger through his dark, wavy hair.

You glowered into the mirror as you stared at her fingers twirling his locks. It made your blood boil. You shifted in your seat to see a different angle from the mirror, only to lock eyes with Baekhyun.

You quickly looked away, embarrassed, choosing to stare out of the window for the duration of your ride.

When you arrived at the bar, you quickly exited the vehicle and rushed towards the building, not waiting for your friends in the car. You pushed open the front doors and looked for your friends. Quickly, you spotted Chanyeol towering over Soonja in the corner booth with his arm around her. You huffed as you sat, muttering a quick hello and sliding in next to Chanyeol.

He eyed you as he took a sip of his drink. "Did you come by yourself?” He asked as he set his glass down.

“No, Minji and Baekhyun should be walking in.” You answered under your breath, staring aimlessly at the crowd of twenty-somethings mingling loudly around you.

Soonja looked at you with concern. “What’s wrong?” She asked, reaching over Chanyeol to rest a hand on your shoulder. You shrugged in response, but she pressed. “Seriously, Y/N, what is it?”

You sighed. “They’re just being annoying. Minji can’t keep her hands off of Baekhyun, and they ignored me the whole way here, and it’s just...” You trailed off.

“Does that bother you?” Chanyeol asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

You snapped to look at him. “No. I just don’t like being treated like I’m invisible.”

Before Chanyeol could ask any more questions, Jongin walked over from the bar, a drink in each hand. With a smile, he set one down in front you and slid into the booth beside you. “Gin and tonic with two limes, right?”

You gave him a small smile. “Yeah, thanks.”

He smiled brighter. “No problem.” As he put his arm around your shoulders, Minji and Baekhyun finally made their way over. Minji looked at you as she sat. “Why’d you run ahead?” She asked, clearly a little annoyed.

You raised your glass from the table. “Thirsty.” You said dryly, bringing your drink to your mouth and taking a large sip. You could tell you were going to need a few more gin and tonics to make it through the evening.

From that point, things proceeded as your nights out normally did. Soonja found her way onto Chanyeol’s lap, her lips close to his ear. The two didn’t pay much attention to anyone else, as per usual. Baekhyun made a few trips to the bar to order a drink, Minji following him each time. You chuckled each time Baekhyun returned to the booth with one drink, leaving Minji alone up there to buy her own. You chatted politely with Jongin about work, not paying much attention since you were busy watching Minji make a fool of herself.

A while passed as a few more drinks passed your lips, and you found your eyelids getting heavier and heavier as you leaned further and further into Jongin’s side. He was warm, but then again so were you from the amount of alcohol you had consumed.

“Want another?” Jongin asked, already getting up to go back to the bar.

You laughed a little. “Jongin, you know I can buy my own drinks, right? I have a job. It’s all I talk about, actually.”

He shrugged, not too concerned with your response. “Yeah, I know. I’m just trying to...”

“I know, I know, trying to be nice.” You rolled your eyes and gave him another small smile. “Let me get my own for once, please.”

Leaning forward to hop over Jongin and out of the booth, you noticed Baekhyun at the bar alone waiting for a bartender. Minji was nowhere in sight, and you took the opportunity to join him. She wasn’t there to stop you, and what harm could it do to just chat with him?

Shoving aside the drunken college students to his right, you rested your elbows on the bar and looked up at Baekhyun. “Hey, Baek.”

He turned to face you, flashing you his signature bright smile. God, you loved his smile. Especially when you were drunk. “Hey, what’s up?”

Your smile grew as you stared at him, leaning further onto the bar. “Drunk. Getting drunk.” You slurred, peering up at him through your eyelashes.

“Oh, yeah?” He laughed, putting a hand on your shoulder to keep you from completely falling flat onto the sticky wooden surface. “What are you drinking?”

“Please don’t,” You whined. “I just gave Jongin a speech about how I can buy my own drinks.”

Baekhyun shrugged and let out another laugh. “Suit yourself.” He said as the bartender delivered his drink. He grabbed it and took a sip of the dark liquid, tilting his head back to reveal his neck as he drank. You stared a bit longer than necessary.

His neck was just so... pretty. You suddenly found yourself wondering what it would be like to leave a mark on it.

But before you could fantasize any further, he brought his drink down and turned away, heading back for the bar. You sank further onto your elbows and let out a long sigh, ordering another gin and tonic. Somehow, you felt like Minji could sense your dirty thoughts about Baekhyun. You felt guilty. You respected her wishes, but sometimes you just couldn’t help thinking about him, especially when he looked like... that. His white t-shirt and oversized denim jacket hanging effortlessly over his lean frame. The way his recently-dyed dark hair fell over his forehead in soft waves. It was a lot for your drunk self to take in.

Vowing to stop your thoughts before Minji read your mind, you suddenly felt a hand on the center of your back, just where the lace of your dress met your skin. You turned, ready to tell Jongin once again that you were capable of paying for one drink, but you were met by Baekhyun’s wide brown eyes.

“Can I ask you something?” He asked, scanning your face with a bit of concern.

He seemed nervous, and it put you on edge. “Yeah, of course.” You replied a bit shakily.

Baekhyun suddenly leaned in close to you, his lips nearly touching your ears. You knew it was just so you could hear him over the noisy bar-goers and blaring music, but him being this close to you made your heart race.

“Do you... like me?” He asked softly before leaning back to search your face for an answer.

You gulped, feeling like you’d been caught, like he’d heard your thoughts about him moments ago.

He shook his head before you could answer, letting out a weak laugh. “No, I mean, like... we’re friends, right? You think I’m a good friend?”

You sighed a little in relief, taking a sip of your drink that had just been delivered. “Of course, Baekhyun, yeah. You’ve been a great friend.”

“Okay good.” He smiled. “Because I just felt like... I don’t know. Like you were avoiding me or something. When you ran out of the car. I feel like I never get to see you anymore.” He finished, his smile fading a bit as he finished his explanation. “I miss hanging out with you.”

You bit your lip, not wanting to reveal the promise you had made to Minji, or the fact that her being all over him had irked you earlier. “Baek, I swear I’m not avoiding you. It’s just, you know... Minji-”

“Hey!”

As if your words summoned her, Minji poked her head between you and Baekhyun, ending your conversation as she grabbed his bicep. “Can we dance Baekhyun? You promised me we’d dance.”

It wasn’t much of a question, as she was already pulling him away from the bar. Baekhyun gave you a sad smile as he was dragged away, and you sighed for about the thousandth time that evening. You watched Minji turn so her back was pressed against him, grinding a bit sloppily onto him. Baekhyun seemed apathetic, more focused on taking another sip of his drink than on Minji’s hands on him.

You lifted your drink once more, downing it before slamming it back onto the wood, having seen enough. You walked past your booth, ignoring Jongin’s expectant stare, and headed towards the bathrooms in a dark corner towards the back of the bar. Pushing past a few younger couples making out next to the door, you entered and leaned heavily on a sink.

You looked up to inspect yourself in the mirror. You could tell you were drunk by the way you swayed back and forth as you tried to focus. Your hair was a bit disheveled from resting your head on Jongin’s shoulder all night. Not being bothered to fix it, you wiped at the small amount of mascara that had rubbed off under your eyes.

Maybe Minji was right, you thought to yourself. Maybe you should just give in and fuck Jongin. You knew he’d agree if you went back out there and asked him to come home with you, especially given your sexy, unkempt state. Even if it wasn’t the best fuck of your life, it would probably help distract you from your outlawed thoughts about Baekhyun. You decided to consider that option after one more drink.

Giving your messed up hair one more quick tousle, you turned to go back to the booth. But when you opened the door, you were met by Baekhyun’s intense stare.

“Baek-”

Before you could finish the word, Baekhyun was grabbing your wrist and pulling you towards a nearby empty corner.

“What the fuck are you doing?” You whispered harshly, wriggling the hand still in his grip. “That hurts.”

Baekhyun quickly let go and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. “I’m sorry,” he said as he shook his head, looking up from his feet to meet your gaze. “I just wanted you to finish what you were saying before. About Minji.”

“Baekhyun...” You rolled your eyes. “Don’t make me say it.”

“Say what?” He asked, though from the look on his face he appeared to know what was coming.

You peered over his shoulder to look for any of your friends watching, but the entire booth was blocked from your view by another wall. You spoke once you were sure they couldn’t see you. “Minji likes you. A lot. Sometimes I think it’s better if I just stay out of her way.”

“You think that?” He raised an eyebrow and leaned in closer. “Or she thinks that?”

“I...” You pulled your bottom lip into your mouth, considering your words carefully. “Sometimes it’s easier to just do what she wants, right? I mean, you do it too. She can be kind of controlling, especially when it comes to you.”

Baekhyun scoffed, taking a step back and removing his hands from his pockets. “You think I do whatever Minji wants?” He asked bitterly.

“Not everything, but I mean-”

Baekhyun’s lips were pressed against yours before you could finish your sentence. The kiss was forceful, his eyes closing as he took your cheek into his hand.

Your mind was racing. You knew you were kissing him back, feeling your own lips moving gently against his, but it didn’t feel real. You were floating, the alcohol in your veins simultaneously lifting you off the ground and pulling you towards the floor.

He pulled back slightly, his hand still resting on your face. You were both breathing deeply, clearly out of breath from the moment. His lips were nearly still on yours when he asked, “Do you think she would have wanted me to do that?”

“No.” You laughed breathlessly into his mouth, looking up to meet his eyes.

He was looking at you intensely, his brown eyes sparkling in the neon bar lights. “Because I wanted to. And I’ve wanted to for a long time.” He said as he rubbed his thumb against the apple of your cheek. “What about you? Did you want to?”

“Yes.” You said softly, not being capable of much more than one word answers at the moment.

Baekhyun smiled. “Good. Then let’s do what we want.”

And with that, his lips were back on yours, just as intense as the first time. And this time, you were sure you were kissing back, and with just as much force as he was.

Feeling Baekhyun’s tongue press against your lips, you parted your mouth to grant him access inside. The kiss deepened, and you felt your arms reach up to rest on his shoulders, your hands threading themselves through his soft hair, your nails dragging lightly against his scalp. The action earned a moan from Baekhyun, and he used his entire body to press you against the wall, his hands pressing flat against it on either side of your head. You whimpered, feeling his hips grinding into yours.

Kissing Baekhyun was just as intoxicating as you had imagined it would be, his lips just as soft as in the dreams you hoped Minji never found out about. He was taking you without asking for permission, because he knew you wanted him, too. And you didn’t need anyone else’s permission.

Except, maybe you did.

“Wait!” You broke the kiss to exclaim. You pulled back sharply, smacking your skull against the exposed brick. “Ow.” You reached up to rub the back of your head.

“You okay?” Baekhyun chuckled, replacing your hand with his as a rubbed slow circles on your minor injury. The feeling sent chills straight through you.

“Baekhyun...” You trailed off softly. “You know we can’t. It’s not right.”

“Says who? Minji?” Baekhyun questioned.

“Well, yeah.” You answered.

Suddenly, Baekhyun pulled his hand away from your head and took a step back, exhaling deeply. “God, I am so sick of her controlling everything I do. She thinks she owns me.” He said, beginning to raise his voice. “Everywhere I go she needs to know. Anyone I hang out with she needs to check out. Do you know how hard it is to meet girls, let alone have sex when I have Minji up my ass like that?”

You sighed. “She just really likes you, Baek. She’s being overprotective.”

“Yeah, and it’s ruining my life.” Baekhyun put his fingers to his temples and closed his eyes. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to kiss you, Y/N?”

You shook your head. You honestly had no idea he wanted to kiss you outside of your dreams.

Baekhyun laughed dryly. “A long time. Basically since we met. But Minji made it seem-”

“Seem like what?” You interrupted.

He opened his eyes to look at you again, sighing. “She made it seem like you didn’t want me around lately. Said you’d rather hang out alone in your room than come talk to me. I even tried to tell her one time that I thought you were hot, and she completely shut me down, saying you’d never be interested in me, saying that Jongin would kill me if I tried anything with you.”

You stared up at him, bewildered. “She said all that?” You asked softly, voice laced with disbelief. Baekhyun nodded.

“No, none of that is true,” You clenched your fists, the anger running through your veins boiling. “She told me the first time I met you to stay away from you, because you were hers. And I wanted to respect that.”

You took a deep breath and continued. “But you and I are friends, too. And I like spending time with you. But lately, she asked me to give you guys time alone, which I tried to do.” You felt tears stinging in your eyes at Minji’s betrayal. “It makes sense, I mean, to try to keep me out of the way after you told her that.”

You waited for a long pause before you started again. “Look, I like you. Like, really like you. And I always have. But Minji-”

Baekhyun didn’t let you finish, returning his plump lips to yours to sweep them up in another kiss. This one was softer, more gentle, and he moved his lips across your cheek and against your ear. “I don’t want to talk about her anymore.” He whispered, lips brushing against your skin. “She doesn’t matter. We can just focus on us now. Okay?”

“Yes,” You breathed out softly. “I want to.”

Baekhyun smiled against you. “Good. Because I’ve been waiting for a long time to do this.”

He kissed his way downwards from your ear as you lifted your arms to wrap around his back. Gripping onto the denim of his jacket, you let out a small moan as he pressed his teeth into the delicate skin just below your jaw. And again, when he bit into the soft skin at the base of your neck.

Tilting your head forward to rest in the crook of his neck, you used your leverage on his back to pull his hips to meet yours once again. This time, it was you who grinded up into him, feeling the prominent bulge against you growing through the fabric.

“Shit,” Baekhyun whispered into your neck. “How are you so hot?”

You giggled, continuing the action as Baekhyun’s hands drifted downwards, exploring your curves through the silk of your black dress. They finally reached the bottom, and he rubbed his thumbs where the lace trim met the skin of your thigh. You sighed deeply at the repetitive action, as Baekhyun pulled his head away from your neck. He slipped his hand underneath the lace and lifted, looking to your face for a reaction.

All you could do was lean your head back against the bricks, anticipating the pleasure that was coming.

And Baekhyun didn’t disappoint. He slowly dragged his fingers from the spot on your thigh to where your lace underwear rested on your hip bone. Sneaking his fingers under the fabric, he pulled it back and released, letting it snap back against your skin. You moaned at the sensation. “You like that?” Baekhyun hummed into your ear. You nodded, feeling the wetness at your core getting more intense. “Kinda kinky,” He hummed to you again.

You giggled softly. “Trust me, that’s just the beginning.” You whispered back.

Baekhyun’s eyebrows raised, his eyes wide as he looked back at you. “I’ll remember that for later.” He said darkly, turning his attention back to his fingers. He traced the bottom lining of the fabric, slowly going from your hip right to your center. You hummed at the feeling of his fingers so close to your most sensitive area, as he drew small circles with his fingertips over the fabric.

“You want me to touch you?” He asked, voice dripping with his sinful intentions.

You nodded as you hummed again, bucking your hips slightly into his touch.

“Then I want you to say it.”

Your eyes widened as his words sent another wave of arousal straight to your core.

You took a shaky breath. “I want you to touch me, Baekhyun.”

You’d barely finished the last syllable of his name when he slipped his fingers underneath the fabric, pushing it to the side. He cupped your entire heat in his palm, the hard flat of his hand pushing against your clit. “Already so wet,” He whispered before placing a soft kiss on your cheek. You groaned, pressing into his hand to increase the pressure.

He slowly curled and uncurled his fingers, running them softly back and forth over your wet, sensitive skin. You gasped when you felt the tip of his middle finger nudge against your folds.

“Baekhyun.” You sighed, reaching down to grab his forearm.

He looked up at you with concern. “Everything okay?”

You nodded. “More than. But we probably shouldn’t do this here.” You looked around, noticing the thinning crowd of the bar that left you more exposed than when you began.

“Okay,” He said, removing his hand from under your dress. “Let’s go, then.”

“Wait, wait!” You whispered, grabbing his elbow as he turned to go. “We can’t leave together. Because of... you know. Her.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Fine, you’re right. I’ll leave first. I’ll wait for you at the end of the block on the right.”

You nodded, and he gave you a soft kiss on the tip of your nose before turning to return to the booth of your friends.

Standing at the edge of the wall, you listened in when he said he was taking off.

“But Baek,” You heard Minji pout. “You came here with me, you can’t just leave without me.”

You heard Baekhyun sigh. “I’m going to my home. You’re going to your home. It’s fine.” Minji didn’t complain again after his short response to her, but you could feel her fuming through the wall.

Baekhyun said his goodbyes to Jongin, Chanyeol, and Soonja, and you heard his footsteps lead out the door.

You waited for a few minutes behind the wall, not wanting to make it too obvious that Baekhyun had just had his tongue down your throat only moments before. And he certainly had. And you had certainly kissed him back. And more.

Holy shit.

The one man you were supposed to keep your hands off of, and you couldn’t resist. You didn’t even try to resist. Maybe it was the liquor, but you had completely melted under his touch.

You could still feel his fingers on you, and suddenly you needed more. Every late-night sex dream you had compartmentalized and tried to forget for Minji’s sake came flooding back to you, and you wanted him. Bad.

Quickly coming up with an alibi, you turned the corner and faced your friends once again. “Hey, I think I’m gonna head out.” You turned to face Minji directly. “You know Chaeyoung, from work? She just messaged me and said she had a big fight with her boyfriend, and asked if I would come over.” You lied through your teeth.

“Oh, okay.” Minji answered softly, apparently still a bit bruised from Baekhyun’s words. “I’ll see you in the morning then, yeah?”

You nodded. “Yeah. Goodnight guys!”

Jongin stood. “Let me walk you out, Y/N.”

“No!” You shouted, a bit more forcefully, and suspiciously, than you meant. You bit your lip, lowering your voice back to a reasonable volume. “No, no, I’m fine. Thank you though.”

Before he could protest, you grabbed your purse from the table and rushed out the door and into the cold evening air.

As he said he would be, Baekhyun waited for you at the corner, hands shoved in his pockets, his breath visible in the air. When he spotted you approaching, he was grinning from ear to ear. Wordlessly, you began walking together step by step around the corner. Neither of you needed to speak to know you were heading for Baekhyun’s high rise apartment building. It was only a few blocks away, quick enough to walk. And there was no chance in hell you’d risk taking him back to yours and Minji’s place.

The cold air was sobering you on the walk, but it didn’t change your mind about what you were on your way to do. If anything, you felt more sure of yourself, taking long, purposeful strides to keep up with Baekhyun.

You only stopped once on your way, when you passed your favorite corner coffee shop. They were closed, but you stared inside at the counter and chairs flipped upside down. “I miss this place.” You stated. You hadn’t been in a few months when you came with Baekhyun, since before Minji’s request was made.

The darkness in the shop allowed you to see your reflection peering in, and Baekhyun’s figure next to you. You looked from his face back to yours in the reflection, and it dawned on you that this was really happening. You were here, with him, and only him. He caught your eye in the reflection and smiled. “Tomorrow?” He suggested. You nodded, and quickly went on your way to finish the walk.

Not long after, you made it to the building, Baekhyun buzzing you in through the main entrance with his key. The two of you politely walked past the nighttime security guard, giving him a small nod and continuing towards the elevators.

Once the elevator doors closed behind you, you picked up where you had left off.

Pressing your back against the wall, Baekhyun enveloped your lips in another powerful kiss, biting into your lower lip and pulling away slightly. Now that he knew you liked a little pain, there was no way he was going to be easy on you. Though you winced a bit at the feeling, you rested your hands on his shoulders and pulled him back against you, slipping your tongue inside his mouth.

You didn’t let go of each other when the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Hands and lips on one another, you moved out and into the hallway, making your way towards Baekhyun’s door. He took one hand off your waist to fumble in his pocket for his keys, never breaking contact on your mouth. Eyes closed in bliss and one hand still on you, he slipped the key in the lock and turned, opening the door to bring the two of you inside.

Finally.

The door was slammed shut behind you, and you found yourself once again with your back against the hard surface. What was in front of you was nearly just as hard, Baekhyun’s erection back with a vengeance and pressing against you as he moved hip lips to your neck and began sucking.

Everything about this moment felt amazing, apart from your feet. As you predicted, these heels were killer, and you wanted nothing more than to get them off. “Ow,” You whispered mindlessly as you struggled to kick the shoes off.

Baekhyun pulled back to look at you. “What?” He asked, eyes wide.

You laughed. “It’s my feet, these shoes. They’re killing me.”

Baekhyun grinned. “I’ll take care of it.”

Suddenly, his hands were gripping the underside of your ass, lifting you up off the ground as he returned his lips onto yours. He pressed his chest against yours, pushing you harder against the door for leverage as he removed your shoes one hand at a time, throwing them aimlessly into the living room behind him.

“Thanks,” You laughed breathily onto his lips, wrapping both of your legs around his back and pulling him closer.

Once both of his hands were again focused on holding you up, he moved you from against the door and carried you past the kitchen, down the hallway towards his bedroom. He closed the door once you were in the room, before gently letting you down to sit at the bottom edge of his bed.

You looked up at him from where you sat, watching him shrug his jacket off and toss it aside. Next off was his shirt, revealing his lean body as he lifted it. You licked your lips at the sight, taking his actions as your cue to remove what little clothing you had on as well.

But just as you start to lift the fabric of your dress, Baekhyun’s hands were on yours, stopping you. “No. Leave it on, please?” He asked, his puppy dog eyes begging you.

“Why?” You looked up at him quizzically.

Baekhyun responded with a shit-eating grin. “I told you it was gonna get you laid, didn’t I?”

You snorted, recalling what he’d said to you before you went out for the evening. “I guess you were right.”

Removing your hands from the fabric of your dress, you placed them on Baekhyun’s backside and pulled him closer to you. Standing in front of you, his toned stomach was at your eye level, and your eyes lowered as your hands flew to his belt to undo it. It was quickly off and tossed to the side with the rest of his items, your hands already working to undo the button of his jeans.

Baekhyun chuckled. “You seem pretty eager, huh?”

“I guess I wanted this just as bad as you do.” You retorted, glancing up at him with a smirk.

Returning your attention to what was in front of you, you shoved his jeans and boxers down below his hips in one go. As they fell to the floor and he stepped out of them and kicked them behind him, you couldn’t help but stare as his dick slapped against his stomach. Given his smaller, lean frame, you were shocked at how thick he was, and the thought of him stretching you out made your mouth water.

You must have stared a bit too long, because Baekhyun let out a playful, impatient sigh.

“Are you gonna do something, or wha-Oh,”

Before he could finish the word, your hand was wrapped around his base, lips around his tip. Your tongue danced over his slit, tasting the salty precum that had already seeped out. “Oh, wow,” Baekhyun groaned softly, his fingers wandering through the hair on the back of your head.

Finding work for your free hand, you gently cupped his balls, gently dragging your fingertips back and forth along the underside. Baekhyun cursed under his breath, his head rolling backwards and eyes pressed shut.

Pleased with your work, you started moving your head to take more of him into your mouth, one hand still wrapping firmly around his base. You bobbed back and forth, humming occasionally as you did so, reveling each time Baekhyun softly repeated your name.

“You’re pretty good at this, huh,” He said breathlessly, head still tilted back in bliss. You hummed again at the praise, taking his balls in your hand once again as you gave him a squeeze.

He groaned loudly at the action, hips bucking forward harshly as his cock plunged further into your mouth and slammed into the back of your throat. It took you by surprise, coughing around him as you pushed him away by his thighs and leaned back.

“Oh god, shit, I’m sorry,” Baekhyun apologized profusely, hands moving from your hair to hold your face. You laughed, still out of breath as you looked up at him. “It’s okay,” You answered, wiping the spit off your chin as you quickly brought him past your lips once again. His hands returned to the back of your head, gently caressing the nape of your neck.

You knew he wouldn’t try to push you to go further, but you wanted to feel the sensation once again. You wanted to choke around him.

Placing your palms flat on his ass, you slowly pushed him further and further, getting ready for the gag reflex that you knew was coming.

“Are you sure you want to...” He started, but cut himself off with a sinful moan as your throat started to constrict around his tip.

You held him there for a moment longer, as long as you could take it, before pulling your head back slowly until only your lips remained on the swollen pink head. Taking a deep breath through your nose, you began to repeat the sequence, slowly bringing him inside further and further until he completely blocked your airway. “Fuck,” He moaned again as you held him there.

Once more, you pulled back slowly, but this time he slipped out of your mouth as he gently pulled your head back.

“Was it good?” You asked breathlessly, your chest heaving from your effort.

“Yeah, it was good,” Baekhyun also breathed heavily. “More than good, actually. I was about to cum down your throat.”

You laughed as you wiped your mouth with the back of your hand. “We wouldn’t want that, now would we?” You asked playfully.

“Absolutely not,” He growled, his sultry, low voice reminding you just how wet and desperate for his touch you were.

As if reading your mind, he raced to lower himself onto you on the bed, kissing you deeply as he moved you both further up towards the headboard. The kiss was sloppy and needy, and you moaned into his lips and you fisted his hair with one hand.

Breaking from your lips, Baekhyun pushed himself up over you. Gently, he rested his hands on your thighs and pulled your legs apart from one another. He settled himself on his knees between them, which prevented you from closing your legs. You smiled softly as his eyes hungrily raked over every inch of your body, licking his lips hungrily. “You’re so perfect.” He murmured, bringing his eyes back to meet your gaze.

“Stop.” You blushed and looked away, embarrassed by the compliment. Quickly, Baekhyun’s hand was on your chin, turn you back to peer up at him.

“No, I mean it.” He said forcefully, his eyes wide. Your small smile grew into a bigger one. He smiled in return. “And I want to see your pretty face when you cum.”

Leaving you with his lustful comment, he returned his attention to the bottom edge of your slip. Pushing it upwards over your hips, he revealed the black lace fabric you had covering you underneath. “You know, I think black suits you best, like the dress.” Baekhyun smirked, his hands ghosting over your wetness through the fabric, “Too bad we have to take them off.” He said, slipping his fingers underneath and pulling the underwear down and off your legs.

He leaned back down so his pretty face was only inches from yours. His hand rested on your stomach just above your most sensitive area, drawing slow circles. “Now, remind me again what it was you wanted me to do earlier?” He asked, feigning ignorance.

You rolled your eyes, anxious for him to give you what you needed. “Baekhyun, just touch me.”

“Like this?” He asked, bring his palm to rest flat over your folds, the heel of his hand putting an immense amount of pressure on your clit just as he did at the bar. He rubbed his fingertips over your skin gently, picking up the wetness that had been building since he first kissed you.

You moaned softly at the feeling of him rubbing you like that, bucking your hips upwards to increase the pressure. But as you did so, Baekhyun’s free hand came down forcefully onto your hip, pressing it into the mattress so you couldn’t lift yourself off it again.

His hand on your pussy remained stationary as you whined, desperate for him to move. “Baekhyun, please,” You begged pitifully. But instead of moving his hand, he just stared at your face with a smirk as your eyebrows scrunched together in frustration.

Eager to mimic his words from earlier, you breathlessly spit out, “Are you gonna do something, or wha-”

And just as you had before, he cut you off before you could finish the word, plunging two fingers past your folds and into your core, a loud gasp escaping your lips at the sensation of him deep inside of you. Not even your fantasies of his long, perfect fingers inside of you could prepare you for how far inside you they reached.

You let out another whiny moan as he began to slowly pump his fingers in and out of you, his face still close to yours as he breathed in the sinful sounds you were making. “You can be as loud as you want, baby,” He sighed into you. “It’s just us, remember?”

As those words came out of his mouth, he curled his fingers upwards inside of you, hitting the spot that made you moan out his name.

He pumped in and out a few more times, increasing his speed. “Come on, I know you can do better.” He taunted, curling his fingers once again with more force. The feeling had you seeing stars, eye rolling back as you nearly screamed his name.

“That’s better.” Baekhyun sighed.

His hand that had been pushing your hip down was suddenly on your clit, rubbing fast circles as he other hand increased speed inside of you.

“Shit, Baekhyun, oh my god,” You moaned, feeling every muscle in your body tensing in sequence as the pleasure built. You knew you wouldn’t last long with both of his hands working against you like this, and you screwed your eyes shut in anticipation of your climax.

Just before you tipped over the edge, Baekhyun removed both hands from you with a smile. You whined at the loss of contact, your orgasm ruined as your walls clenched around nothing. “Why’d you do that?” You asked breathlessly.

Baekhyun was clearly pleased by your reaction, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Because I waited for you. Now you have to wait for me.”

“I used my mouth. That’s harder work.” You pouted.

You were quickly shut up by Baekhyun’s fingers pressed against your lips, the ones that had just been inside of you. You parted your lips to allow them in. He slipped them inside, and gave you a smirk. “Next time, I’ll use my mouth, and I bet I can get you to scream even louder.” You sucked on his fingers, tasting the sweetness of your own arousal, and you felt your stomach flutter at the mention of a next time.

Baekhyun must have also felt the excitement his words caused, quickly bringing his lips back to yours to taste you on them. “Mmm...” He hummed against you. “I bet it’ll be even better when my mouth is on you for real.”

"Stop making promises and just fuck me, already.”

Baekhyun grinned at your words, just as eager to do what you both came here to do. Reaching over you, he opened the drawer of his bedside table, pulling out a condom. He ripped it open before tossing the wrapper somewhere on the floor, then sat back on his heels to roll it on himself. You watched as he did so, practically salivating at the thought of him finally inside of you.

Once it was on, he leaned forward again, one hand holding him up beside your head, and the other lining up his dick with your entrance. He looked down at you, his smile never fading, and stared into your eyes.

“Ready?” He asked softly, gently rubbing his tip between your wet folds. You shuddered at the teasing sensation and nodded. “Yeah, ready.”

With that, Baekhyun began pressing into you slowly. You each let out a mutual groan as your walls pulled him in deeper, and your fingers latched onto his back for dear life. He slowly pushed himself inside of you further, inch by inch. “God, you feel so fucking good,” He growled, using all of his strength to not start pounding into you immediately.

Just as you had imagined, his girth was stretching you intensely, causing a dull ache as he slowly gave you more and more to take. He let out a sharp breath when he felt himself bottom out. The feeling of his tip press against your cervix forced a cry from your lips, which Baekhyun swallowed as he kissed you deeply.

“Hurts?” He asked with concern, lifting his lips from yours to search for any amount of pain in your eyes. “A little,” You admitted, still pressing your fingertips deep into the skin of his back. “Just give me a minute. It’s been a while.” You laughed breathlessly,

“Whatever you need.” Baekhyun obliged, holding himself stationary above as the sweat pooled all over him, the dark hair sticking to his forehead becoming damp above you. You could tell he was struggling not to move by the way he turned away from your gaze. The sight of him falling apart above you made your discomfort dissipate and turn to pleasure, your walls squeezing around Baekhyun.

“Please, I have to move.” Baekhyun sighed, the feeling of you clenching sending him to the edge. You nodded, and he slowly pulled out before easing back into you, creating a slow and steady pace with his hips. You groaned at the delicious feeling of him moving inside of you, filling you completely with every slow thrust. You found his eyes, giving him a reassuring squeeze on his bicep. “You don’t have to be gentle with me, you know.”

"Oh, thank god.” He let out a sigh of relief. “I can’t take it this slow.”

And with your words guiding him, Baekhyun increased his pace, earning small groans from you each time he filled you to the hilt. You bounced on the bed with each rock of his hips into you, opting to grab the headboard above you with both hands so as to not slow him down. “Don’t stop, Baek,” You moaned up at him. “Feels so good.”

He groaned at your words, squeezing his eyes shut to focus on his movements. You watched his face contort in concentration, thoroughly enjoying the look on his face as he fell apart above you, whispering your name each time he thrusted in. “Does it feel good?” You questioned him teasingly.

Eyes still shut, Baekhyun let out a breathy laugh at your words. “Yeah, feels amazing,” He answered between grunts as he continued thrusting.

“Then fuck me harder.” You egged him on breathlessly. “I know you can.”

Baekhyun’s eyes shot open at your challenge, catching the impish look you threw at him. “Harder? No problem.”

And he met your challenge with determination. Carefully, he pulled himself nearly all the way out, before slamming himself back down onto you as hard as he could. The blow caused you to let out your loudest moan yet, and before you could recover he was crashing into you again. And again. And again. Each time, you screamed louder than before, causing the smirk on his face to grow. “How’s that?” He asked sarcastically. “Hard enough?”

You let out laugh between gasping breaths, trying to regain some amount of composure in your current situation. “Yeah, good,” You managed to pant out. “Not gonna be able to walk tomorrow.”

“That’s the goal,” Baekhyun muttered back. Suddenly, his long fingers were wrapped around your neck, as he pulled you to lay sideways. Not letting go, he quickly repositioned himself so that he lay behind you, and began thrusting up into you once more.

You moaned louder and louder with each thrust, the new angle allowing him to hit the spot that had you screaming his name just minutes before. You felt yourself starting to slip away, your vision going hazy as every muscle in your body began to tighten, the pit of your stomach dropping. You clenched around him as he groaned, the tightness pushing him closer and closer to his own edge.

Baekhyun could sense you were nearly there, bringing his free hand down to where you were connected to rub fast circles into your clit. You knew you were a goner, and syllables leaving your lips incoherent. You pressed your hand on top of Baekhyun’s that was still around your neck, encouraging him to squeeze harder. He groaned as he followed your instructions, tightening his grip on your airway. “Cum for me.” He whispered delicately into your ear. “It’s just us, remember? I’m here.”

His words pushed you over the edge, and you struggled to gasp for air as Baekhyun brought you to your climax, both hands on you and dick buried deep inside you. The wave of pleasure that washed through your whole body was so intense, your vision completely blacking out as you shuddered and shook in Baekhyun’s grasp, repeating his name over and over, “Baekhyun, Baekhyun...”.

He continued holding you and rubbing your over-sensitized area as you came down, your walls clenching spastically around him. Releasing his grip from your throat, he continued thrusting fast and hard into you from behind. “Gonna cum,” He muttered out between fast breaths, the feeling of you spasming sending him over the edge. His hips sputtered and a string of curses fell from his lips, mixing with your name as he came undone in your ear and released into the condom.

He slowed and pressed himself deep inside of you as both of your breathing subsided, still coming down from both of your highs. You turned your head to look back at Baekhyun, his cheeks flushed and drenched hair framing the blissful look in his eyes. He was absolutely beautiful. He caught your eye, noticing you staring, before kissing you deeply, his hand coming up to rest on your cheek.

You pulled back slightly, smiling. “Didn’t you say you wanted to see my pretty face when I came?”

Baekhyun laughed, rubbing his thumb on your rosy cheek. “Next time, yeah?”

You nodded, not able to control your smile.

He slipped out of you and stood from the bed, looking around the floor to locate his boxers. As he pulled them on, you adjusted your dress that had remained on but migrated up to your chest. You sat up on the bed, bringing your knees into your chest and admiring Baekhyun’s figure.

Turning back to look at you, he grinned. “I’m gonna get some water. Need anything?” He asked.

“Water would be great.” You replied as he turned to exit the room. Hearing the faucet run in the kitchen, you decided to rid yourself of your sweaty garment, opting for Baekhyun’s discarded t-shirt on the floor. Slipping it on, you smelled the remnants of his cologne, heaving a deep sigh and smiling involuntarily. The shirt didn’t completely cover your ass, but it would do.

You slipped into the bathroom to inspect your appearance in the mirror. You hair, which was already somewhat of a mess to begin with, was even bigger now, and your makeup a bit more smudged. But you looked free. You felt happy.

Baekhyun appeared in the mirror beside you, glass of water in hand for you. You accepted it with a quick thank you, gulping it down.

“So you like being choked, huh?”

Coincidentally, you nearly choked on your water when Baekhyun blurted it out.

Catching yourself, you gasped for air and tried to recover.

“I mean, first you want to choke on my dick, then you want me to choke you out?”

“Baekhyun!” You gasped, slapping him on the arm.

“I know you said you were into some kinky stuff, but damn...” Baekhyun chuckled the shit-eating grin returning to his face.

You rolled your eyes. “Like you didn’t like it.” You teased back.

Baekhyun shook his head. “Never said I didn’t. Looks good, by the way.” He paused to look you up and down, his shirt draped over your body. He scratched the back of his neck. “I assume, you’re, uh, gonna spend the night?”

You blushed a bit at the question, shifting on your feet uncomfortably. “I mean, yeah, if that’s okay. If I went home now, Minji would-”

“It’s totally fine, don’t worry.” Baekhyun reassured you, gently placing a kiss on your forehead. “You wanna borrow some shorts or something? If I wake up in the middle of the night with your bare ass against me, I can’t promise I’ll behave...”

You laughed, the comfort of being with Baekhyun returning. He graciously offered you a pair of gym shorts, which you accepted.

As you set your glass of water on the bedside table, you felt drowsiness from your activities and night of drinking overtake you. Slipping between the sheets, your eyelids felt heavy.

Baekhyun flipped the light switch before joining you in bed, snaking an arm around your waist and pulling you close.

“Goodnight.” Baekhyun whispered, intertwining his legs with yours.

You smiled, eyes closing. “Goodnight.”

Before you lost consciousness, one last thought passed through your mind-

“It’s just us, remember?”

You hoped it was true.

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incorrectbandofbrothersquotes · 3 years

Text

Dear Heart - Chapter 8

Dick Winters x Melanie Davis

Summary: Melanie Davis is a nurse from North Carolina who has lived a sheltered life since her father died. Her father’s best friend, Colonel Sink, invites her to experience more as a regimental nurse for the 506th PIR of the 101st Airborne. She embarks on the adventure of a lifetime.

Tag list: @thoughpoppiesblow If you’d like to be added, let me know!

Word Count: 4.5k

A/N: I hope y’all enjoy this update! Sorry I left on the cliffhanger for so long!

Warning(s): stuff that resembles domestic violence at the end

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7

Chapter 8 here we go!!!

Mentally, Dick was kicking himself. He closed his eyes and tried to forget, but the image of Melanie being pulled from beneath the rubble was all he could see. Her watery eyes as she blinked them open, the soft way she said his name, and how he became absolutely helpless. Somehow, both relief and worry swirled around inside him. He was grateful she was alive but the blood oozing from her hairline couldn’t be good. He was filled with remorse as he recalled how it was Dr. Clarke - he’d learned the man’s name later - who leapt into action and began looking over Melanie. And Dick watched, frozen with the shock of it all.

He opened his eyes again. The sight of the Bois Jacques replaced his shameful memory. Melanie was safe now, which was what he tried to remind himself. They had gotten her to battalion HQ, where Colonel Sink had given up his own billet so Melanie could have a bed. Another man who could do more for her than Dick could.

Dr. Clarke determined that Melanie had gotten miraculously lucky. While the blow to her head looked bad considering how much she bled, she only had a concussion. And it was fairly mild. The rest of her body had come through with only scrapes and bruises. Dick was thankful, but still felt an inadequacy about the whole thing. With nothing to do for her, he returned to the line. It had been two days since he’d left her there. Two days of feeling like he failed her somehow.

“Dick.”

Dick turned his head at the sound of his name. He knew already that it was Lewis’s voice, so he did his best to appear somewhat content. Difficult in this kind of cold, but Lewis was unlikely to pry regardless.

“Hey, Lew,” he said.

“You alright?” Lewis asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Dick returned. “How’s everything back at battalion?”

Lewis almost smirked. Dick didn’t want to seem like he was asking about Melanie, but Lewis knew he was asking about Melanie.

“About the same, as far as the war’s going,” Lewis told him. “At some point, we gotta take Foy, but who knows when we’ll get it together?” When Dick only nodded, Lew continued. “Melanie’s awake now. Properly awake. She was sitting up and eating when I left there.”

That piqued Dick’s interest. He faced his friend and tried not to sound too eager. “She was?”

Lew nodded. “She asked about you.”

Dick might have laughed if he weren’t feeling so torn. Of course Melanie didn’t care a thing for herself. But he hardly felt he deserved her concern.

“Did she?” he asked.

Lew nodded again. “I think you should go see her.”

Dick wanted to see her. Desperately. He just couldn’t bear the thought of facing her when he felt like such a let-down. Then again, she had forgiven him for worse.

“I probably shouldn’t leave the men,” Dick said, and it was partly true. He also harbored guilt for abandoning them for the sake of Melanie, something he recalled swearing back in Toccoa would never happen. But Melanie meant more to him now than she did back then.

He realized just how much she meant when a future he had barely hoped to dream of seemed lost. When he thought she was dead, all those visions he had of a pretty white house with his beautiful wife and their children had been obliterated. He knew he loved Melanie back in Paris. Now he realized just how deep that love went. And all his inaction once again haunted him.

“Go see her, Dick,” Lewis said. “The men will survive without you for a couple hours. Even if they are relying on Dike.”

Dick grimaced at that. He agreed with the sentiment, but he didn’t like to think about Easy in the hands of yet another incompetent CO. While Dike was a step up from Sobel, the improvement was meager.

“There’s a jeep back in the woods,” Lewis said. “It’s waiting for you.”

“Thanks, Nix,” Dick replied, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

With that, Dick climbed out of his foxhole and made his way to the jeep. It was manned by Sink’s personal driver, which told Dick that Lewis was not the only one eager for Melanie to see the man she asked for. With a sigh, Dick took the passenger’s seat and prepared himself.

When they arrived at HQ, Dick took a deep breath. The last time he’d been this nervous was when he asked Melanie to walk with him after what took place in Eindhoven. He wondered if she was upset with him. How much had Dr. Clarke told her about what happened, if anything? Her father’s pocket watch suddenly felt like it was lead in his breast pocket.

HQ was relatively quiet. Dick nodded to the officers he recognized, but didn’t stop to say hello. Now that he was here, he only had Melanie on his mind. He needed to see her. His feet felt heavy as he climbed the stairs to her room. As he approached her door, through the wood, he heard her voice. It was sweeter than any music he’d ever heard in his life. It meant she was really there, alive and well, and his hopes for the future were not dashed. He knocked.

“Come in!” she called.

He opened the door to reveal her sitting up in bed, a tray of food on her lap, and - to Dick’s disgust - Dr. Clarke sitting beside her on the bed. Thankfully, her smile was enough to melt any bitterness. And she beamed at him.

“Dick, hello!” she said. “I’m so glad to see you! Have you met Terry?”

She nodded at the doctor. Dick smiled at her.

“Yeah, we’ve met,” he said. “How are you, Mel?”

He registered now the bandage on her head, and the other, smaller ones on her arms. She reached out a hand toward him, and his heart ached at the scabs he saw forming on her knuckles. He took her hand and let her pull him closer so that he stood beside the bed.

“I’m alright,” she said. “You really are a darling to come and see me.”

It warmed him to hear her say it. She was happy to see him. Not disappointed at all. Hopefully, her forgiveness would help him forgive himself.

“Melanie,” Terry interjected. “The check up.”

“Oh, yes, sorry,” she returned. “Is it alright if Dick stays?”

“Sure,” Terry allowed, looking at Dick. “Have a seat.”

There was a chair behind him, and Dick took it without releasing Melanie’s hand. Terry scooted closer to her, cradled her face in his hands, and looked her in the eyes.

“Eyes are still lovely,” he said, and before she could offer any sort of rebuff, he continued. “And seem fairly focused. No glassiness, pupils are the same size, all good signs.”

He started to move his hand away, and Dick watched uncomfortably as the doctor slid his hand down her neck, briefly stroking her skin with his thumb before letting go. He glanced over at Dick for a fleeting second, meeting his eye. Dick swallowed every possessive impulse that was churning inside him.

“Really, I’ve just got a terrible headache,” she said.

“That’s to be expected,” he said. “Do you remember the accident or the events before?”

“Not really,” she said. “The last thing I remember clearly is…” She trailed off. This was her first significant stint of time awake since the collapse of the hospital. The last thing she could recall was her rejection of Terry on the steps. “Well, when you and I spotted the planes coming. Everything after is a blur.”

“Alright, so there is some amnesia, but it seems like it’s pretty minor,” he told her. “You really are lucky. Best to stay off your feet, relax, and come back to work in a couple weeks.”

“Weeks?!” she protested, and Dick gave her hand a supportive squeeze, which she returned.

“That’s being generous,” Terry said firmly. “I’d like to have you resting for a month just to be safe, but I know how much you’re needed.”

He placed a hand on her leg, just above her knee, casting another superior look at Dick. To Dick’s immense pleasure she drew her knees in toward her chest, forcing Terry’s hand off. Terry frowned and cleared his throat.

“Sure you can’t eat anymore, Melanie?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I couldn’t eat another bite.”

“Here, I’ll take the tray for you,” he offered.

Dick watched her hand over the tray, the food on it barely touched. He looked over Melanie again, and once more something new struck him. She was thinner than he remembered. Her cheekbones were more prominent in her usually round face. Her collar bones stuck out too from beneath the neckline of her shirt.

Terry excused himself and left. Melanie turned her full attention on Dick, meeting his eyes. It felt like coming home. It had been far too long since they had seen each other and they were both eager to catch up.

“How are you, Dick?” she asked kindly. “And the boys?”

“We’re hanging in there,” he said. “The line is still spread too thin and we don’t have enough…” he trailed off. “Never mind. I don’t wanna burden you with all this right now.”

He wanted to apologize as well, but he knew she’d never understand what for. Nor would she blame him if he tried to explain himself. He held her hand a little tighter. Her brow furrowed with concern.

“Are you alright?” she wondered.

For some reason he was disappointed to not hear an endearment at the end of that question. He liked “darling” from the way she said it a moment ago. And now that she was in front of him, talking and holding his hand, those pictures of a post-war life returned to him.

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just glad you’re safe.”

“Me too,” she half-joked. “When those bombs started coming down I was so afraid I might not -”

Her pale cheeks flushed and she looked away. He swore to himself he’d never take that sight for granted again.

“You might not what?” he pressed gently.

“I might not ever see you again,” she blurted out.

For a fleeting moment, he considered telling her everything - that he loved her, that he saw a life with her, and that he wanted to protect her until the last breath left his body. But he didn’t. He couldn’t overwhelm her just now, and besides, the war was not over. The argument he always had came up again - he could get killed, and where would that leave Melanie?

“I was afraid of the same thing,” he admitted. That much, he would allow himself to say. And the way she smiled at him told him she got his message. Loud and clear.

“You’ve got no business worrying about me,” she said. “You’re running a battalion.”

None of them are what you are to me. More words he couldn’t speak.

“Well, they mostly look after themselves,” he replied, forcing his tone to be light. “Y’know, with NCOs like ours.”

She smiled. “Very true.”

A beat passed and he decided to ask one more question on his mind. “Why aren’t you eating?”

“Well, I’m afraid this bump on my head is making me pretty nauseated,” she said.

“This kind of change didn’t happen in a few days, Mel,” he insisted.

“Is it bad?” she asked. “I haven’t properly looked at myself in a while.”

“You’re just awfully thin, that’s all,” he said. “Didn’t they feed you at the hospital?”

“Oh, that,” she said dismissively. “Well, I gave away a lot of my meals. I didn’t need it as bad as the wounded did. And we were so limited.”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Mel, you gotta eat.”

“I will when I’m feeling better, I promise,” she assured him. “But please don’t fuss over me. I’ll be just fine.”

“Alright, I won’t fuss,” he returned. “Just look after yourself. For me, if not for you.”

“How the tables have turned,” she remarked with a smile. “It wasn’t too long ago I was telling you the same thing.”

He smiled back at her, remembering fondly how she tended to him. How could it be that Carentan felt like it was both years ago and only yesterday?

“I’m just asking you to return the favor,” he said.

“I will,” she said.

He could see that her eyelids were getting heavy, but she fought to keep them open. He wanted her to rest if that was what the doctor ordered.

“Want me to let you sleep?” he asked.

She met his gaze again. “Are you going to leave if I do?”

He nodded sadly. “I’ve gotta get back to the line.”

Her mouth turned down in almost a pout. She moved her free hand then to cover his, sandwiching it between her palms.

“Just one more moment, please,” she said, and he was surprised to see tears welling up in her eyes. “Being away from you has been more difficult than I imagined and I can’t bear the thought of it happening again.”

He wondered what was drawing all this brutal honesty from her - the concussion or almost losing her life. Whichever it was, he was moved with sympathy.

“Alright,” he said. “I’ll stay right here.”

She blinked when she smiled, and a single tear fell down her cheek. She brushed it away as she settled back into her pillows. And Dick remained there with her until she could fight it no longer and she fell asleep. Her eyes closed, her breathing evened out, and she was peaceful. Dick almost wished he could join her. He was exhausted as well. With everything happening on the front and his worry about Melanie, he felt he’d aged about ten years.

He stood up, slipping his hands carefully from hers, before pulling the blanket over her shoulders. She snuggled down further and let out a deep sigh. He allowed himself to stroke her hair, moving it off her forehead, before leaving. After one last look at her serene face, he closed the door. He was back out in the hall and dreading his next steps. Back outside into the cold, back to the line, back to his worry.

Before he could make it out, he was stopped. Dr. Clarke stood in the hall, blocking Dick’s path. The doctor looked even less friendly than he did in the room with Melanie, so Dick braced himself for whatever this could mean. Clarke approached.

“Look, I don’t really know you, but I have to say something,” he began. “I think what you’re doing to Melanie is horrible.”

Dick’s brow furrowed. “What am I doing to her?”

“Leading her on,” Clarke explained. “You’ve known her two years now and you haven’t committed to her. Which tells me you’re not interested, but you don’t want her to lose interest.”

Dick was shocked by what he was hearing. It was the first time since knowing Melanie that someone was telling him he didn’t have feelings for her.

“Doctor, I don’t know what Melanie’s told you, but -”

“It’s not hard to put it together,” Clarke interrupted. “You’ve somehow convinced her you’re worth waiting for. At the expense of people who really care about her. So what is it? Have you...made love to her or something?”

Dick blinked. Several emotions happened to him at once. Further shock at the forwardness of the question. Anger at the suggestion that Dick was that sort of man. And annoyance. He was so tired. Why did he have to deal with this sort of juvenile jealousy when there was a war on? He took a breath to collect himself. Squaring his shoulders, he looked Clarke in the eye, fed up before he even started speaking.

“First of all, anything that’s happened between Melanie and myself is our business,” he began. “Second of all, Melanie doesn’t belong to me. She’s free to pursue any sort of relationship she likes. If she’s chosen not to be with you, that’s not my doing. If I had to guess, it’s because she sees through your bravado. And so do I.”

Clarke huffed. “What the hell does that mean?”

“You march up here and accost me about a situation you’re only guessing at, putting on airs about protecting her,” Dick shot back. “When you were the one who put your hands all over her under the pretense of doing your job. This isn’t about Melanie, it’s about you.”

“I love that girl,” Clarke insisted, and he took a step toward Dick, who did not step away.

“You’ve got a funny way of showing it,” Dick said. “But if that’s how you feel, take it up with her.”

“You really are a coward,” Clarke scoffed. “You won’t even fight for her.”

“Is that what you’re after?” Dick challenged. “Do you honestly think the two of us duking it out is going to make her love you?”

“She needs to know she has options!” Clarke insisted.

“She knows,” Dick said levelly. “You’re just upset because she’s made a choice you’re unhappy with.” He was getting impatient now. This sort of thing was for little boys on a playground, not two officers in the US Army. Then, he said something that even surprised him. “I’m not going to fight you for something I already have.”

Clarke flared up at that, but he said nothing. Somehow, Dick defending himself made him realize the truth - that he did have Melanie’s affection, and he felt more deserving of it than before. He was annoyed by Clarke not out of jealousy, but because the man saw himself as more of a threat than he really was. And Dick truly, honestly did not have time or energy to entertain something of so little consequence.

“And by the way, Lieutenant,” Dick said. “I’m a senior officer. The next time you address me, you will say ‘sir.’”

“Well, fuck you,” Clarke seethed. “Sir.”

Dick chuckled, clapped him on the shoulder, and pushed past him without another word.

***

Melanie healed up nicely in the two weeks she was out of work. She slept and ate as if she were making up for all the sleep and meals she’d missed out on the last month or so. Unfortunately, she didn’t get another visit from Dick. The death toll in the Bois Jacques was rising, and he couldn’t leave the men now.

On January 9th, Melanie was finally free from her bedrest sentence. She had been issued new uniforms since the belongings she’d had with her at the hospital in Bastogne were lost to the destruction. Luckily, she’d thought to leave her valuables - including the dress from Dick - in Colonel Sink’s care, and they were safely in his billet. The fresh fatigues were surprisingly comforting to her. She preferred the dresses and heels, but they were no good in the cold and snow. She was getting ready to put up her hair when there was a knock on her door.

“Who is it?” she called.

“It’s Terry!”

“Come in!”

The door squeaked open and Terry stepped through, closing it behind him. She abandoned her hair and turned on her stool to face him.

“I’m glad you stopped by,” she said. “I wanted to thank you again for taking such wonderful care of me. With all the wounded, I know it couldn’t have been easy.”

“Nonsense, I was glad to do it,” he replied.

He paused a long moment and looked at his feet, which caused him to sway a little, but he didn’t fall. Her brow furrowed as she stood up and went to steady him.

“Are you alright, Terry?” she asked.

He looked at her again and she realized right away what the problem was from the smell of bourbon on his breath.

“I’m fine,” he replied, waving a dismissive hand in her face. “Look, Melanie, before Bastogne got bombed to hell, you and I were talking about something.”

She held back a sigh. She had hoped that he’d gotten the message back then that there was someone she loved. But clearly he wasn’t letting it go.

“Terry, I’m sorry,” she said. “But there’s no use in discussing that any further.”

“No, listen to me,” he said sternly. “I’m telling you, love is wasted on a man like Dick Winters. Especially your love. You deserve someone who is ready for you - right here and now. Someone who wouldn’t let something like a war stand in the way of loving you.”

She frowned, stung and affronted. “That’s a cruel thing to say. You don’t even know him.”

“I know you,” he returned. “And I know that he’s breaking your heart. That’s enough not to like him.”

“You’re sadly misinformed if you think -”

“I love you!” he cried. “And I could give you the life of your dreams after the war if you’d only give me a chance!”

She blinked. Such a confession should have been flattering, but the feeling she got from him made her hair stand on end. He was not saying it out of genuine feeling, he was saying it to win an argument. And that didn’t feel very much like love.

“Terry, what you want from me are words I can’t say,” she replied gently. “Would you really have me accept you and live a lie?”

“You’d learn to love me, I know it,” he said. “I just want you for myself.”

There was a dangerous gleam in his eye at those words that made her take a step back from him. He stepped closer. Her stomach turned.

“I think you should go now,” she said timidly. “You’re upset, you’ve been drinking -”

“Give the diplomacy a rest, Melanie,” he spat. “I’m going to say what I feel and you are going to listen!”

She sighed. “It won’t do any good, Terry. I can’t change how I feel.”

“God-DAMMIT!” he bellowed, shoving the dresser beside him so hard several of the knick knacks toppled off of it. Melanie gasped and jumped back, breathing heavily. “Do you see what you do to me, Melanie?”

“I - I haven’t done -” she stammered, but he cut her off.

“Just the thought of you with him!” he growled. “With ANY MAN!”

To emphasize that point, he snatched a framed photograph off the same dresser and hurled it across the room, right over her head. The glass shattered against the opposite wall, drowning out Melanie’s yelp of surprise. She covered her face with her hands to protect herself from the shards. Before she could say anything in return, he picked up a small globe and threw that at her as well. She ducked to avoid it, and the base snapped against the wall. The globe rolled under the bed.

“Terry, stop it!” she cried.

He moved even closer to her. She tried to recoil, but he snatched her by the wrist and yanked her towards him. With his free hand, he took hold of her face, his fingers digging painfully into her cheeks as he pulled her within inches of him. She could feel his breath on her skin. A whimper escaped her at the pain of his grip, but she couldn’t look away. She was frozen, trembling at the thought of what he might do next.

“I could crush your skull, you know,” he warned. “Right against that vanity. Would that get Dick Winters out of your mind?”

Her eyes went wide, but because of his hand, she couldn’t answer him. His palm covered her mouth. She couldn’t even call for help. She could only shake her head and plead with her eyes. He moved his hand and she drew breath to scream, but he was too quick. He grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the wall. She winced and prayed for someone to hear the commotion and put a stop to this.

For a brief moment, she remembered when Corporal Biding tackled her that night in Toccoa. She recalled how frightened she’d been before she realized he was no real threat, he had just made a drunken mistake. Nothing like now. While Terry had been drinking, he was far from drunk. And she was so much more afraid. This was an intentionally vicious attack. She saw in his eyes something sinister and heartless. And of course now, Dick and Easy Company were not going to come to her rescue.

Her vision got blurry as he cut off her air. She thought of Dick and how much she’d relied on him after the Corporal Biding incident. She wished he was here to help her again. But he wasn’t. And she was not that scared little girl she was in Toccoa. She had survived D-Day, Market Garden, the bombing of Bastogne, and she’d be damned if she let this pathetic excuse for a man get the best of her.

With all her might, Melanie shoved her knee between Terry’s legs. He groaned at the impact and released her as he doubled over. She took a moment to gulp in fresh air before she reared back and slapped him hard across the face. The sound cracked like a whip. His head lurched back, throwing him off balance enough to stumble. Melanie, adrenaline coursing through her, wasn’t satisfied, so she shoved him, which made him fall to the floor, landing on his rear with a grunt.

“Don’t you ever put your hands on me again!” she yelled.

While he licked his wounds - and his pride - Melanie gathered the last of her things in silence. Rage compelled her every move as she shoved her belongings into her bag. He was still on the floor when she marched for the door. She opened it to reveal Colonel Sink behind it, fist raised, about to knock. He shot her a confused glance as he took in the scene - Melanie, stormy and furious, and Terry in the fetal position on the floor of her room. He noticed as well, the broken trinkets from the unfortunate family who lived here previously. Sink’s eyes flicked between Melanie and Terry.

“Everything alright up here?” Sink asked.

“It’s fine,” Melanie said shortly. “Get me out of here, please.”

“Certainly,” he assured her.

He put a protective arm around her shoulder and led her away. When they made it down the stairs, she stopped him, turned into his chest, and burst into tears. He held her close, patted her on the head, and let her cry. He didn’t ask her what happened, and she was grateful. She never wanted to relive that scene if she could help it. She looked up at Sink with desperate eyes.

“Please don’t make me go back to the hospital, Colonel,” she pleaded. “I’ll do anything else, but I can’t work with him again.”

“Actually, I was about to offer you a change of scenery,” he said.

“Like what?” she sniffled.

He sighed and looked away, which told her she wouldn’t like it. “The Bois Jacques.”

#band of brothers #dick winters #dick winters x ofc #band of brothers fic #hbo war #melanie jo davis #dear heart series

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lilyharvord · 3 years

Text

The Chain (Part 10)

Main concept: Two love struck idiots get sent back to a pretty UGH time period in their lives (that required me to reread all the books again) and have to hide the fact that they know everything.

Find the rest of the fic here: part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5 / part 6 / part 7 / part 8 / part 9

Tag list: @delilahlbard, @king-maven-calore, @thatoddgirl777, @elliekratzzz, @evangelineartemiasamos, @evangeline-of-montfort, @scxrletguardsdawn, @freaky-freiday, @petergrantkavinsky, @kuwei, @whatsup-gorls, @katiemoore, @redqueenetwork, @tranquil-dusk (I’m trying to add you but for some reason it wont @… the same problem happens with @thatoddgirl777 and I have no idea how to fix it)

(/Mare/)

I’ve been freed from Protocol for the time being. Cal pulls the same strings as last time, and I am put into Training. It makes my blood sing to know that I am going to be joining him there too. One more place where we can protect each other and plan without anyone knowing. We are a secret, united front that the Silver’s will never see coming.

It’s been a week since my first meeting with Farley. I almost expected Maven not to show up to join us, but just as he did before, he appeared out of the shadows with the servant Holland. He was just as full of the righteous fire I remembered, smiling at me and promising things he will never give. Swearing fealty to Farley and her cause for the good of everyone. I wish I had the courage to ask him if he had meant those things.

I’d gone back to my rooms cold and shaken, feeling in all senses of the word numb. Walsh had to practically guide me back to avoid me taking wrong turns and getting lost. In bed, I drown in the memories of the future that I am rapidly stumbling towards, trying to keep my head up as the tides suck me deeper. I toss and turn for hours, kicking the blankets off before pulling them back on when I wake from my hazy doze shivering uncontrollably because of invisible silent stone walls.

I’d slipped through the secret door in my closet and felt my way through the dark tunnel to Cal’s rooms. It was silent in them, not even the sound of his breathing disturbed the space. Sure enough, his bed was empty and neatly made. He wasn’t even in Summerton. I’d sunk onto the bed before slipping under the blankets and burying myself in his smell.

I’d woken to warm hands lifting me out of the blankets. Gripping his shirt, I’d whispered sleepily to him as he carried me back to my rooms. His voice was soft as he’d replied with a gentle, “you’re fine. I’ve got you.” I had to enter my room alone though, just to avoid the cameras seeing him.

Now standing in the training room a week later, I still can’t shake the blanket of cold that envelopes me. Dread pools in my stomach the closer we get to the Ball and the closer I get to those names Maven will deliver. Everything is working perfectly, I have no reason to worry. And yet, a part of me quivers with nerves. Maven is as charming as ever, but something bubbles behind his eyes. Maybe it’s because I know what to look for now and I see it. But I had been just as untrustworthy the first time around. I would have seen it then too.

Standing off to the side with my arms crossed I watch the young Silvers prepare for a session of tearing each other apart. Inhaling slowly, I take in the scent of the freshly washed matts and the summer breeze from the open windows. It’s been sweltering for the past few days, and sure enough a bead of sweat rolls down between my shoulder blades, tracing the track of my spine.

On the other side of the training room, Cal catches my eye. He quirks a brow before pushing off the wall he’s leaning against. Strolling across the room, he tucks his hands into the pockets of his training jacket. When we’re standing side by side he rolls his shoulders a few times and says, “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there a few nights ago.”

“You were off being a crown prince.” I say and wave my hand for emphasis, “doing crown prince things.” My lips quirk up a little bit at the edges when his frown deepens. I haven’t teased him much since we got stuck here, I forgot how much fun it is.

“I won’t lie; I did think someone put a dead body in my bed.”

“Don’t be dramatic.” I tease him, hiding my smile behind my hand. On the other side of the room, Evangeline holds court around the targets. She hasn’t made any moves like she did in the breakfast room weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have something planned. If I recall, today is dueling day, and this was when she decided to take a piece out of my face.

“Hard for him not be, he’s so very good at it.” Maven’s voice cuts the air between us like a knife. I spin to face him quickly, throwing up a smile to hide the fear that rushes through me. He tilts his head to the side and smiles as well. “What is he being dramatic about now?”

Cal clears his throat, and hides his discomfort with a laugh. Setting his hand on Maven’s shoulder and squeezing he says lightly, “something to do with Shadow Legion. It’s been… difficult.”

If Maven is fooled by our game, I cannot tell. A part of me sends a silent prayer that he didn’t hear anything. But a smarter part of me chastises myself for even falling prey to my fears and searching out Cal. Have I doomed us with my little slip up?

“So I’ve heard, has Rhambos been giving you trouble again?” Maven grins at Cal in the way only brother’s sharing a private joke can.

“You have no idea.” Cal’s relief is near invisible, and I have to force my own to be that way as Maven comes to stand next to me. His eyes dart to me and he gives me a small, tentative smile. I return it, wondering exactly what is going through his mind. What I wouldn’t give to be a Whisper just so I can know if we are in the clear.

He turns his eyes forward as Arven calls Tirana forward to duel. His name comes next, and as he leaves my side, the little bubble of heat I didn’t notice him exuding leaves with him. His shoulders are tense as he steps into the makeshift arena to face the nymph. Next to me, Cal’s hands clench into fists.

When he comes sulking out, dripping water all over the floor, his eyes are burning. They dart to me and soften for a heartbeat before hardening once more. Mercifully, Cal keeps his mouth shut and turns to watch the next match when Maven steps in between us. The air crackles with heat, and a few of the other Silvers take a step back, making it appear as if they are simply interested in something else.

“Nothing to say?” Maven murmurs when Cal continues to sit in silence. My eyes dart to them, and my hand slowly closes in a fist at my side.

“There’s nothing to say.”

“You always have something to say, forgive me if it’s a surprise when you don’t.” Maven turns those eyes on Cal, and I imagine his stare could turn Cal into a puddle of human parts if he weren’t a burner as well. He’s instigating, something I never saw him do. Or maybe it’s happened before and I never got the chance to see it. Cal makes no move to show me panic, so maybe Maven being this bitter has occurred sometime in the past before I met them. Maybe nothing is wrong and he’s picking a fight because he’s upset about the embarrassment of his loss.

Straightening his shoulders, Cal turns a neutral look onto Maven, sweeping him over with his eyes. “You could have beat her if you had given her a bit more space. You were stronger than her the whole fight.” Cal assures, his eyes dancing to me for a moment. We both know that isn’t what he said last time. But this didn’t occur last time, and without a script Cal struggles.

Maven’s entire body tenses, even as his expression cools. It’s such an odd contradiction that I’m not quite sure what will happen next. Reaching out, I close my hand around his wrist and squeeze. He’s cold as ice, and I shiver involuntarily as my skin makes contact with his. I don’t know why I expected heat.

His flips around to look at my hand, his lips pursed in a tight line. I swallow my grimace and offer him a gentle, knowing smile.

“There will be more fights. More important fights.” I raise my brow, hoping he takes my hint. The anticipation of his reaction practically drives me to dig my nails into his skin. I’m surprised he doesn’t flip around and demand to challenge Cal right here, right now. It would be a short fight, but it would be no less damning.

His shoulders soften though, and his stance shifts to one of embarrassment. “Of course.” He murmurs, his other hand coming to rest on mine. “There always are.”

Hiding my relief behind a smile, I try to pull my hand away. I can’t believe I thought he would actually go to blows with Cal. He’s smarter than that, and better at playing the long game than I give him credit for in the moment.

Before I can pull my hand away completely, he grips it tighter and stares me down, daring me to pull away. He puts up the mask then, the one that I loved dearly and searched for during my months with him in Archeon.

“Even if some battles are already lost.” He whispers as he leans close to me so his words are only for me.

He’s a desperate boy now. I can hear the ache in his voice. What does he know? What does his mother know? Nothing, I’m certain they know nothing. Elara didn’t get anything from me, and she hasn’t gotten anything from Cal. We’ve been careful enough, we’re never together in a way that anyone could question. We haven’t even gone into that moonlit room yet. I haven’t put a knife in Maven’s back yet. Maybe he was more jealous of my escapade to the Stilts than I initially noticed. That’s the only thing he has to work with, and maybe the fact that Cal and I were obviously teasing each other before training just now. He’d never been so outwardly jealous of Cal though. His jealousy was always a quietly simmering pot that never overflowed. He was so much more dangerous because of that.

Pulling away from me when I stay silent, he gives me a rueful smile and turns to face the arena where Elane and Sonya are tearing each other to pieces. I can’t focus though; my mind turns into a tail spin of panic. Have we slipped up? Did I damn us a few nights ago? Are we even off track? What if we are? What has changed?

I am so lost in my own thoughts I almost miss Evangeline demanding our fight. Lifting my eyes to her, I take in her gloating smile. She senses my panic, but has no inclination of the source.

Maven jumps to my defense like a cat would to a mouse. Evangeline doesn’t back down though. I should be grateful for this, at least something is back on track. It’s been a while since I’ve been glad for Evangeline Samos, and even though she is not my friend now, she is the closest thing I’ve seen since training started.

(/////)

Sitting in the darkness of my room that night, I watch the moonlight as it passes over the floor. Are the Sentinels watching me on their screens, wondering if I’ve lost my mind? I doubt it. Unless Elara had told them to keep a closer eye on me. I wouldn’t be surprised, when she’d corned me and Maven in the hallway I had felt her creeping in my mind, searching in the mirrored halls I’d barely had enough time to drag up to protect my memories.

Sighing, I let my head fall into my hands as I breathe. Focusing on the hum of the cameras, I follow the source of the electricity along the wires. The purr of the current fills my senses and drowns me. For a moment, I let myself just exist in the peaceful darkness behind my eyelids. Things will only get harder from here. I regret not tuning for Montfort more than anything now.

A gentle knock on the door drags me out of my meditation. Raising my eyes to the door, I wrap my robe tighter around me as I stand. My steps are near silent as I creep across the room and crack open the door.

Leaning against the frame of the doorway, Cal looks more exhausted than I’ve ever seen him. With a shadow creeping along his jaw, he looks more like he did in Montfort. He was on the verge of doom and greatness here, and there too. He wears the years he’s already lived tonight in the bags under his eyes and the weariness of his shoulders.

When he spots the sliver of my face behind the door, he gives me a tentative smile. “Up for a dance?” He asks quietly as I open the door a little wider.

Nodding, I let him pull me out of my room and toward a moonlit room where I can at least pretend for a little while that I’m safe even if I’m the furthest from safe that I’ve ever been.

(////)

In the hours leading up to the ball, while I am being painted and primed, the names Maven gave as targets ring through my head. When he had visited me late in the dark to tell me them, I had expected him to give me different names. I’d whisper to Cal that I thought I had messed up, and given us away. He’d tried to assure me that everything would alright. And when we kiss this time, there was a desperation to it. Like Maven, he is terrified to lose me, and he poured that fear into the kiss he gave me.

Reynold Iral, Ptolemus Samos, Ellyn Macanthos. Belicos Leorlan. Those names chase me and haunt my waking hours. The prospect of them being wrong, and Maven adding more names, or different ones, haunts me even more.

Belicos with his two young children who will die tonight too, Ptolemus Samos who will live to someday kill my brother but father a beautiful daughter with Wren, Colonel Macanthos with her sly eye that can see right through Elara’s schemes, and Reynold, a man I’m pretty sure is lost somewhere anyway dance behind my eyelids and in the corner of my eyes. I don’t think I will ever be rid of my ghosts.

I couldn’t breathe when I stood before Mareena and saw her in the mirror. She was lovely and wicked in the light of my room, and I’m sure she’ll look the same way at the ball tonight. The dress is the same riotous mess of gemstones and purple fabric that I hate even more this time around, especially when I have to stand next to Maven and observe him in his beautiful charcoal suit. He is beautiful in it, as beautiful as I remember. It makes my stomach twist every time I look at him.

The pleasantries leave me just as breathless, and I can feel Evangeline’s eyes on me as she glares down the line at the people who are to come. It’s almost a relief when Maven pulls me out onto the balcony, just so that I can inhale fresh air. As we go, I feel the brush of Cal’s hand as he reaches back to catch my skirt. My eyes dart to him in warning, but he’s already hiding the movement behind setting his hand on Evangeline’s back and smiling at Belicos as he steps forward to greet them.

Even as Maven pulls me onto the balcony, my heart is pounding. Seeing Belicos a second time does nothing to ease the ache in my heart. His children, I remember their bodies laid out next to his like they were nothing. Was Maven’s emotion in the moment a scam? Had he felt anything seeing their little bodies. I don’t know what’s real and the closer we get to the moment, the more my fear increases. .

“You’re giving them a father.” I whisper, the words like poison on my tongue. He’d give anything to topple the Guard, and he did give everything. Even if I hadn’t been enough to completely crush us. At the same time though, he wasn’t the one to truly give those names. Elara told him who to pick and he acted like a good little mouth piece. He could have chosen not to give that name though. In the moment he could have chosen to spare a father and his children. He’d made that choice. I know he’s braver than he claims, especially where Elara is concerned. Farley was right to call him a coward.

He lets go of me but doesn’t step away when I speak. He stays close instead, his hands just ghosting over my skin. He looks like a marble statue in the moonlight, his lips drawn in a tight line. Achingly beautiful, a boy on the cusp of manhood and his own demise, an angel teetering over the edge of the abyss.

He backs me into the wall, his eyes like chips of ice in the pale plane of his face. Slowly he places his hands on either side of my head, trapping me so that I have to listen to him.

“Reynald is a father, too. The Colonel has children of her own. Ptolemus is now engaged to the Haven girl. They all have people; they all have someone who will mourn them.” The words are forced and cold. A part of him believes those words but the larger part of him, the one Elara has groomed to be king someday knows it must be done. “We can’t pick and choose how to help the cause, Mare. We must do what we can, whatever the cost.”

My skin feels like it’s alive. I might electrocute him right here, right now, until he backs away from me. I have half a mind to press my hand to his chest and shove him over the balcony. It would take one push, and I know all the weak points to knock someone of balance now. It would be so easy. I could claim it was the Scarlet Guard, that they appeared on the balcony and pushed him.

His breath is warm on my face as he whispers, “I want this to be done with the least blood shed possible.”

His hand trembles as he brings it up to brush his fingertips along my cheek, a ghost of a touch, like he can’t bear to let his skin connect with mine. “Tonight will change everything.”

My heart pounds harder against my ribs as he pulls back enough to give me space. His eyes dance away from me and back to the line of dwindling nobles. The pleasantries are over, it’s time. Even if I’m not ready. I’ll never be ready though.

The shadows break again and I recognize Cal’s familiar outline as he steps onto the balcony. “You two all right out here?” His expression is hesitant, probably worried that he’s interrupted a moment that I am supposed to be getting information. His eyes linger on me, his expression softening. These next moments will be the hardest. “You ready for this, Mare?”

Maven jumps on my silence. “She’s ready.”

Taking my arm in his, he pulls me along. He was never this aggressive with me. At least, not that I remember. Maybe I had been so blinded by my emotions of the night that I hadn’t realized how he was acting. He’s agitated though, and monsters are dangerous like that.

Still, Cal’s fingers brush against my wrist, his touch somehow colder than Maven’s. I wish he actually took my hand and held it. When I look over my shoulder at him, his expression is stormy. He’d never been so outwardly nervous about Maven. At least he’s not afraid. We know what comes tonight. I told him what to expect, and he knows what he has to do. I wonder if he will be able to put Farley through the pain of the Gilican shiver’s torture now. I have to rely on him to do just that though.

Evangeline appears at his side, her jewel encrusted fingers enclosing his arm. She squeezes tightly when she sees my eyes lingering on him.

Oh Evangeline. I wish I could help her now. She has her own battle to fight though.

Maven’s lips almost brush my ear as he whispers to me, “This is the hard part.”

Even with all the eyes on me, I don’t blush. He pulls me into the frame but his skin is warmer than I remember. And as we start the dance, his eyes never leave my face. What is he looking for there?

As we move in the box formation, he raises a brow and his lips curl into a smile. “You’ve been practicing.”

“A bit, didn’t want to step on your toes.” I reply with my own smile. I put as much true joy as I can behind it.

His eyes flash for a moment and he leans a little closer to whisper, “You’re just full of surprises.” He chuckles, and the grin he gives me as he pulls back makes my stomach flutter. There is the boy that had captured my trust and my heart. I turn away at the sight of it, my stomach dropping.

I spot Cal spin Evangeline, who looks more like a glittering ball of spikes than a human. I’m surprised she doesn’t slice Cal’s hands open when he rests them on the back of the dress. I miss her more casual regalia that she wears in Montfort. I never saw her casual outfits that she wore here, but I imagine she carried that style into Ascendant.

Sensing my gaze, Cal’s eyes meet mine. His fingers close around Evangeline’s waist, and a million memories of him doing the same thing with me come back. I can almost feel his hand sliding around my waist in the tiny living room of our apartment as he hums the song playing on the radio. I can remember laying my head on his chest and listening to his heartbeat and the sound of his humming reverberating in his chest. He can’t carry a tune to save his life, but it is still wonderful.

We spin through two songs until I feel dizzy with anticipation. Just when I think Maven will pull me to the side though, he leans close to me. I almost pull away, but instead force myself to stay close and turn my head slightly to give him a shy smile. His eyes are darker than I’ve ever seen them though.

“I told you that everything changes tonight.” He breathes against my ear. I nod, confused where this is going. “And I do have to admit that I’ve… kept something from you.”

What? What is he getting at? I pull away, panic flaring through me as I search that face for the truth. He’s too good at hiding it though. I grip his hand tightly, prepared to push as much electricity through his body as I can muster.

His hand burns in my grip instead. My lips curl in pain, but he ignores it and spins me so that my back is to the crowd around us. Forcing me to step into the next dance, he tilts his head forward again to whisper. “I did give Farley four names. But I lied to you about one of them.”

“What are you talking about?” My voice is cold, dangerous too. He senses it, pulling back a fraction. We stop dancing, and his hands drop to his sides. My heart beats so erratically, I worry it might beat right out of my chest.

He tilts his head to the side, his lips falling. “Ptolemus is a good target. Removing him would send the officers into chaos. But there was… a better target, one that would cause more chaos.”

“Who did you give?”

Who did your mother give? I want to grab him by the shoulders and shake it out of him. His lips curl up slowly, a remorseful smile if I ever saw one from him. My blood goes cold at the sight of it.

“Farley agreed with me that you were getting too close, that your attention was becoming divided. She also agreed that if there was ever a time to cut the head off the snake it was now.” He takes my hand and squeezes my fingers. “I’ll step up in his place. My father will never recover from the loss, so Farley can do what she pleases. It is a win for all of us.”

Realization burns through my stomach, followed immediately by frozen panic. “What have you done?” I wheeze as I flip around, searching the crowd, desperately trying to find Cal’s silhouette. In the mass of bodies, I can’t find him and my fingers twitch at my sides as I glance up in the rafters. The Sentinels pace, searching the crowd but they are looking in the wrong places. Above them, shadows move too. The Guard is already in position, ready to carry our Farley’s plot.

“I know that you two have become…friends.” Maven begins, taking my hand and pulling me back around so that I face him. I try to turn my head and search the crowd still, but he grabs my chin and drags my eyes back to his face. “That’s why I asked Farley to take the shot. She’ll give him a quick end. One bullet and a dynasty will end.”

One bullet that won’t miss. One bullet that will tear my future away from me. One bullet that will break me, because Farley never, ever misses.

My blood boils and sparks dance on my fingertips as I glare at him. Cold calm washes over me as the rush of adrenaline leaves. I am in battle mode now; survival is all I can think about when I stare down the man before me.

“Farley removed you from the mission. That’s why I didn’t tell you I gave her his name. She thought you might compromise us.”

We were wrong. I gave something away. Elara never would have dared to target Cal. She needs him to get rid of his father, she needs a scapegoat. But if she looked in my head or his and saw the future, she would have seen that he is more trouble than he’s worth. She would have found out that cutting him from the equation might someday save her and Maven.

If I turn and run after him, I will confirm whatever they believe about us, whatever they have found. But if I sit here, I will lose everything. I can’t go after him; I can’t save him or else I risk Farley and compromising this whole mission.

I am a selfish creature though. I always have been, and I always will be.

Ripping my hand from Maven’s grip I flip around to push my way through the crowd. I have time, there’s still time. I am racing against a clock I can’t see though. It’s like push through mud as I shove my way through the crowd. People gasp and glare at me, but I have eyes only for one person and I can’t find him.

My eyes start to water, and my breathing comes in ragged gasps.

Farley doesn’t miss. And she will make sure she doesn’t miss this time.

Memories of him lying on the sand of Harbor Bay, grey and lifeless threaten to overtake me. I shove them down. He won’t be made into a symbol tonight. I still have time.

There.

He stands with his back to me, speaking quietly with some military personnel or another. I shove through the last of the crowd, my hand extended for him. Elara’s eyes are on me, I can feel them, but I don’t care. I don’t care about keeping things on track. Jon can damn himself to the hells. I won’t lose him.

“Cal!” I scream his name, making him turn. His brows furrow, his expression confused by my panic and fear. I’m five steps away. Then four, hand outstretched as he takes a tiny movement forward as if he might meet me halfway. He never gets the chance.

The lights drop and four guns fire at the same time.

I scream so loud that my own ears ring. The lights around us flare to life on their own by the sheer force of my ability. My vision tunnels, even as someone slams into me from the side, screaming in panic as the lights directly above me explode in a shower of sparks.

I shove them away from me and sprint to his downed form. The man he’d been speaking to is gone, probably lost in the panic. People are screaming, shouting and pointing to the roof.

I slide the last foot between us on my knees and come to his side. Blood, there’s so much blood. I choke on a sob as I try to find the source of it. His eyes are open though, and his mouth opens and closes like a gaping fish.

Relief like nothing I’ve ever felt rushes through me, and I choke on his name as I feverishly try to find the source of the blood. It’s staining his uniform and pooling around his shoulder. His hands press to his chest, and I immediately press my hands on top of his. Sticky, burning blood pours through my fingers though.

“Mare.” His voice is ragged as he gasps my name, and I tear my eyes from the wound long enough to meet his eye. His going grey, the black undertones starting to appear under his eyes.

“No, stop trying to talk. You have to keep breathing.” I cry as I press the heels of my palms harder into the wound. More blood pours out and I feel like I’m fighting an uphill battle when I reach down and rip some of my dress off to press it to the wound. “Healer! Someone get a healer!” I scream to the panicked crowd. They’re like spooked animals though. No one notices their crown prince on his back bleeding out.

His hand closes weakly around my wrist and squeezes, trying to get my attention. His eyes are wide, but his expression is anything but fearful. “Don’t—” he begins, but ends up coughing on blood instead.

“No, no, no.” I sob as I push harder and glare at him. “No last words Calore. Not tonight. You’re going to be fine. You’re going to sit and drink coffee and talk with Julian again, and see Clara and my family again. And—and we’re going to see our baby, we’re going to hold him and watch him grow and become a better person than either of us. It’s going to be fine. Everything will be fine!”

His grip weakens on my wrist even as he smiles. My throat closes and I drop my chin to my chest. It’s a pretty picture I paint, but it fades with every slow beat of his heart. “Help!” I scream uselessly one more time, hoping someone will hear, that someone will come to my aid.

The crowd parts for a moment, and Sara who whipped around at the sound of my scream finds me. She barrels her way to us, and drops to her knees on Cal’s other side.

“Help him, save him.” I sob at her.

Her lips twist at the sight of all the blood, but she immediately pushes my hands away from the wound and replaces my hands with hers. Cal’s head falls back and his eyes close the minute she does. I leap for him, grabbing his face and trying to get him to open his eyes again. His neck falls slack in my grip through and I end up almost shaking him.

“Open your eyes, open your fucking eyes.” I scream at him, tears pouring like rivers down my cheeks. Hands grab me and try to pull me away, but I thrash against them and scream. When I’m flipped around, I meet Julian’s tortured expression.

He pulls me to him, keeping me out of Sara’s way as she works. His eyes never leave his nephew’s face. I wonder if he is seeing his sister in his grey features. Cal looks like a corpse, and my entire body feels like a live wire set to explode at any second.

“Don’t let him die. Please, don’t let him die.” I beg Sara, reaching a hand out to grab Cal’s hand. It’s cold in my grip and I almost vomit when my stomach clenches.

Her eyes dance up to me, and I see the resolve there. Is he lost? I don’t know if I will be able to bear that burden, if I will be able to survive this crushing blow.

She pulls her blood stained hands away and I dive out of Julian’s arms to grab at Cal. For a moment, I think he’s truly gone and a pained sob leaves my chest, sounding more like a scream than a moment of weakness. Underneath my hands though, his chest hitches with a breath, and then begins to rise and fall slowly.

The ballroom is practically empty around us. The royals have fled, the Sentinels have gone after Farley and the others. All that is left is us and the corpses. But there is one less among them.

“Cal,” I whisper to him as I brush his hair off his forehead. His eyes open for a moment only to close in a grimace.

“I wasn’t one of the targets.” He breathes, and I slowly let my forehead fall to rest on his chest. He wasn’t, but he survived. Turning to answer my call had saved his life. He’d changed his positioning, too fast for Farlet to correct her shot before the lights went out. She’d shot blindly, and almost succeeded in killing him.

“This sounds like a conversation for more… private chambers.” Julian’s voice is a dangerous rumble. I glance at him over my shoulder, belatedly realizing that he saw me sob over a prince that is not mine. He heard Cal mention targets, and judging by the fury behind his eyes, he is rapidly putting two and two together.

“Julian,” I reach for him, but he pushes to stand and then steps up to Cal’s other side.

“Sara will finish her work in my rooms. You two will come with us.” He bends down to grab one of Cal’s arms and help him sit up. I almost try to stop him, but he glares down at me. “Help me get him up and moving. We will have to move quickly.”

I crawl over Cal and grab his other arm before helping him to his feet. He stumbles, barely able to take his own weight. I grunt underneath him, and press into his side. Already I can feel the heat returning to his skin, and it sends such a thrum of relief through me that I have to swallow more tears.

(////)

Julian’s rooms are dark and after he helps me deposit Cal on one of the couches, he works quickly to shut all the curtains and lock the doors. I search for the cameras, but there are none for me to turn off.

He lights a few candles and brings them to the side table to light Sara’s work space. She shoes me away and takes my place at Cal’s side before tearing his ceremonial suit off. While she healed the artery that was severed, there is still a bullet in his chest. I can just catch one of the edges reflecting in the dim light.

Sara holds out an expectant hand and not even a heartbeat later, Julian sets a small cloth wrapped set of tools in her hands. She sets them in her lap and goes to work as I edge around the back of the couch and take one of Cal’s hands in my own. His pulse is getting stronger with every passing second, and his grip increases as Sara digs the first tool in to get the bullet out.

“Both of you, talk.” Julian’s fury is like nothing I’ve seen before. Even when I came to him for help in freeing Farley and Kilorn, he had still been soft, quiet. This fury is the fury of a man that has seen horrible dark places and is terrified to be forced back into them.

I glance at Cal who grimaces and grinds his teeth together when Sara starts to tug on the bullet. He won’t be able to make this decision right now.

“You wouldn’t believe us.” I say quietly before looking up at Julian and begging him to understand my hesitation.

“Try me.” He grinds out past his clenched jaw.

My stomach turns and Cal squeezes my hand. I glance down at him, and he nods slowly. We have been compromised. It’s time.

“You have to… listen the whole time. Don’t waste time with questions.” I urge, and in the low light, Julian’s nod creates dark shadows across his features. He looks older than I’ve ever seen him. Bowing my head, I inhale slowly and then launching into the story, starting with the most dangerous truth.

It takes more time than I want for Sara to finish with Cal, and for me to finish the story. As he gets stronger, Cal interjects, adding bits and pieces that I forget. Julian keeps true to his word and stays quiet, but his expression pulls into a deeper and deeper frown as we go.

“How could you not trust me with this. If you know what I am to be to you, why would you not seek out my help immediately?” He pushes to his feet and begins pacing the space before us. Sara watches him, her eyes solemn.

“We—I didn’t want to put you in danger.” Cal whispers, pushing to a sitting position. I try to push him back down, but he fights me off.

“I end up in danger anyway.” Julian turns his gaze on Cal, but it’s softened considerably. I relax as he steps forward to look both of us over. “You’re certain Elara knows the truth?”

“Cal wasn’t a target. But Maven made him one tonight and pushed me off the mission. He knew about me and Cal and if he knows about that, then he knows about everything else.” I whisper, and take the rag Sara had brought a few minutes ago. Wiping some of the blood of Cal’s chest, I shake my head. “I gave us away completely tonight by saving you.”

Cal closes a hand over mine and squeezes softly.

“You must have given yourselves away some time before that.” Julian stops his pacing to set his fists on his hips. Glaring at the carpet like it is the sole reason for his worry, he says, “and now you are once again at the mercy of Elara’s mechanisms.”

“Not exactly.” Cal argues, sitting up completely and starting to shrug his uniform jacket on. Julian raises a brow at his words, but waits until Cal gives up with the buttons to let him speak.

“We know what her ultimate end game is, and there is more than one way to get to the point we want.” Cal glances at me warily. “You and Maven are supposed to meet with Farley when we get to Archeon. You are going to have to warn her, and tell her the truth. All of it.”

I jump to my feet, shock coursing through me. “Have you lost your mind? Julian would understand, but Farley?”

“Farley will understand if you tell her the truth and give her proof.” Cal urges.

Sara and Julian watch our responses bounce back and forth like spectators at some sports match. It’s my turn to pace though, so I start wearing a trench into the floor, grabbing fistfuls of my gown as I do so. “Even if I did manage to get her to believe me, what are we going to do?”

“Elara doesn’t know that I know right?” He reasons with a tilt of his head. I pause my pacing to glance at him. He finishes buttoning up his jacket and nods at whatever plan is forming in his head. “She may think you are the only person that knows the future. That only you are here.”

“What are you talking about? If she’s seen my memories—”

“Then she’s only seen the ones formed before.” Julian jumps on the plan. His eyes dart between the two of us. “You would know if she was in your head Cal. And you are certain she has not looked. She has only seen your memories Mare. As far as she is concerned you are the only person with knowledge of the future.”

“Then why get rid of Cal tonight?” I wave a hand at him for emphasis. My fingers are still shaking, and my body still feels numb from the near death scare.

“You said so yourself. He plays a role in toppling her and Maven. Remove the tumor before it becomes cancer.” Julian offers with a shrug. Setting his hand on my shoulder, he gives me a tired smile. “You may still have a card up your sleeve. Go to… Farley, and get her to believe your story. Make a new plan, one that will put you back on track.”

How am I going to do that? How will I keep Maven in the dark? I’m smart, but he’s always been so much smarter than me, and with the knowledge Elara now has, the game has just become that much harder.

Cal rises on shaky legs, his expression cold. “Speaking of Farley, she might be done in the cells now.”

My blood goes cold and I blink stupidly. “But you didn’t catch her this time. She got away.”

“I didn’t catch her the first time. The Sentinels had already apprehended her by the time I caught up to them.” He nods to Sara and with a slow dip of his head whispers, “thank you, for saving my life.”

She smiles at him, a tiny weak expression but it lights up her face. She takes Julian’s hand and rises from her chair.

It feels good to have the two of them on our side now, playing the game with us. Maybe with them, we can actually win this time around.

#The Chain #my writing #red queen #glass sword #kings cage #war storm #broken throne #post broken throne #my fanfics #thank you so much to everyone who stuck around and waited #here it finally is #she's thic and important and she knows it #(((:#I know it moves fast at the end but it's time to pick up the pace with this fic #I've been dragging it out too long.#marecal #the eternal ship #and now they get to be badasses together #it's great

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