#anyway there's 3 now but what if I made 4 smaller juveniles to go with them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

horansqueen · 4 years

Text

AM Conversations : chapter 32

A Niall Horan fanfiction ; rated MA

CHAPTER 1 || CHAPTER 2 || CHAPTER 3 || CHAPTER 4 || CHAPTER 5 || CHAPTER 6 || CHAPTER 7 || CHAPTER 8 || CHAPTER 9 || CHAPTER 10 || CHAPTER 11 || CHAPTER 12 || CHAPTER 13 || CHAPTER 14 || CHAPTER 15 || CHAPTER 16 || CHAPTER 17 || CHAPTER 18 || CHAPTER 19 || CHAPTER 20 || CHAPTER 21 || CHAPTER 22 || CHAPTER 23 || CHAPTER 24 || CHAPTER 25 || CHAPTER 26 || CHAPTER 27 || CHAPTER 28 || CHAPTER 29 || CHAPTER 30 || CHAPTER 31

NOTES:

-one chapter is her pov, the next is his. -4k -im sorry, i never proofread, i hate it. -there WILL be smut. but not only smut. -this is a romance, comedy, smut story. -for the summary, check my MASTERLIST.

- if you want to be notified when this is updated, please message me or leave a comment!

- you can send me questions and theories and comments. tbh they all make me SO SO SO SOOOO HAPPY! and make me want to write more! you can also tell me if there are things you WANT to happen. you never know, i may add it :P

- note for this chapter: i got a few requests like a trip to ireland to meet their parents and casual dates... and they were ideas I had already planned so yay haha we think alike! more of that date in next chapter. and theyll be going to his parents’ for christmas so ill write that too (all planned already lol) PLEASE tell me if its getting boring okay? thank you!

Chapter 32 : His chapter

NIALL

When my phone rang again, I was laying on top of Liv, kissing her slowly and deeply. I could feel myself still hard from going down on her and the way her hands moved on my body only amplified my libido. Her fingers ran down to the small of my back before reaching my butt over my boxers and without thinking, I bucked my hips against hers.

"Maybe you should answer the phone." she let out in a whisper, her lips brushing against mine.

"If it's her again i'm gonna be pissed." I admitted low, making Liv chuckle,.

If I only listened to myself, i'd keep kissing her all day but I just groaned and kept my eyes closed, trying to decide if I should just let it ring or get up and answer. It took me too long and it stopped ringing, probably letting the call reach my voicemail, and I smiled against her lips.

"Oops?"

She chuckled but I quickly pressed my lips back against hers, deepening the kiss immediately and closing my eyes again, focusing on her hands and the way her lips fitted perfectly with mine. I knew out bodies would too. It was so obvious to me now.

My phone rang again and this time, my girlfriend laughed while we were kissing. I pulled away and let my eyes roam on her face before sighing low.

"I don't care, i'm not answering."

Once again, I dipped my head down to kiss her, rubbing myself very slightly between her legs trying to get a release I was not sure I wanted to reach now. It took only a few seconds after my phone stopped ringing for it to start again and this time, I groaned in Liv's mouth before pulling away a bit, opening my eyes to meet hers. There was only one person who would insist and I knew that they'd keep calling until I'd pick up. Liv raised her eyebrows and her lips curled.

"Your mommy."

I raised my nose up, knowing she was most likely right and reluctantly, I peeled my body off of hers, getting off the bed to search through my pants. When I turned around, I notice Olivia smirking at me and raising her eyebrows up.

"That was a very nice view, can you bend down again?"

I chuckled and shook my head, raising my eyebrows at her.

"And you call me a pervert." I pointed out, making her chuckle before finally answering my phone. "Hey ma."

I stayed motionless, facing Liv as I chatted with my mother and noticed the way she was looking at me. I didn't know why but I liked it and when I finally hung up, I moved my hands up with a smile.

"What?" I just asked, making her chuckle low as she glanced down at my boxers.

"It's just... I really made a mess out of your boxers." she chuckled before pressing her lips hard together.

I frowned but looked down, noticing the wet spot on my boxers and suddenly realizing I had been standing between her legs only a few minutes ago after going down on her. I looked up with a smirk, raising my eyebrows and laughing a little.

"It's only the proof of the effect I have on you." I pointed out with a shrug, still smirking. I put my phone on the bedside table and turned back to her. "Now you can't deny it... ever."

I crawled on top of her and she started laughing.

"Why would I ever deny it?" she asked in a low tone as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

I smiled even more and kissed her, staying over the covers while she was laying under them. I felt attracted to her like a magnet and even if I knew it was a stupid comparison, it was exactly that. I couldn't be away from her for too long and anyway, I didn't want to. It took me so long to realize my feelings for her, I just wanted to make up for lost time.

"What did your mom want?" she finally asked after a while, her lips briefly parting from mine.

I didn't want to tell my mom that I had a new girlfriend over the phone and the fact that she knew Olivia and have for decades made things even more important to announce, or it seemed.

"Remind me to be there for Christmas." I chuckled. "As if i'd forget something like that."

I stopped talking and felt my heart jump in my chest before pulling slightly away to look in her eyes. My gaze dropped to her lips and she immediately licking them. Fuck, I loved that, and it turned me on more than it should.

"Now that I think about it, we could spend so much time together in this room that we'd literally forget Christmas."

Her lips curled into a fond smile as her fingers started playing with my hair. Her touch was extremely soft and gentle and I felt goosebumps appear on my back.

"We definitely could." she admitted in a whisper. "But don't worry, we'll get out of here long enough for you to go to your mother's for a few days."

She chuckled again and it made me smile even more.

"How about you come with me?"

Her lips parted, her eyebrows raised, and the look she sent me amused me more than it should have. I didn't want to be separated from her for the holidays and it would be our first Christmas as a couple.

"My mom is doing a big Christmas dinner and my dad will be there too, and probably my brother." I added with a small shrug. "We could tell them in person, what do you say?"

I could read fear but also excitement in her eyes and I waited, motionless, until her lips curled and she moved up on her elbows to reach my lips with hers.

"Then we can go see your parents for an other few days if you want." I added, taking her bottom lip between my teeth and biting it a bit, making her whimper. "You haven't seen them in a while."

I knew her parents had moved back to France a few years ago and even if she kept in touch with them through skype, I knew she missed them a lot. I remembered catching her crying one time while we were on tour, after she talked with them, and although she had never explicitly told me that it was why she was crying, she had literally spent half an hour sobbing in my arms.

She brought her hands on my cheeks and sent me a fond smile, making my heart twist lightly in my chest.

"Thank you."

She whispered the words but I could feel how grateful she really was and it made me smile. I have always wanted my best friend to be happy but now, it became the most important thing for me. I thought about the comments I had seen under that ridiculous online article and it made my heart twist in my chest. Sometimes, I couldn't believe how mean people were. And wrong, too.

"What do you think your parents will say?" she asked, raising her nose up in a grimace. It was cute and it made my smile grow.

"About us together?" I just asked, raising my eyebrows, a smile still on my lips.

"Yea, do you think they're gonna like me?" she wondered in a very low and juvenile tone.

"Are they gonna.. what?" I chuckled with a frown, amused by her question. "Liv, they already know you, they've known you for two decades, they love you!"

She shrugged a shoulder, looking up at her fingers in my hair.

"That doesn't mean they'll like me as your girlfriend."

I didn't know why she was scared but I didn't want her to be. I sighed low and licked my lips, waiting until her eyes would meet mine.

"Olivia, look at me."

Slowly, her gaze moved to meet mine and she licked her lips nervously. I watched the way the tip of her tongue ran gently between her lips and it made me realize that I love this habit of hers.

"You make me happy, you always have, and my parents know that, and they love you." I pointed out, waiting about a minute until she simply nodded. "Can I book our flight?"

This time, she chuckled and nodded more before I bent down and kisses her lips in a peck. I pushed myself off of her and got off the bed, looking for a paid of pants and a shirt.

"Maybe you should wear clean boxers." she proposed with a short laugh.

I raised my nose up with an amused smile and shrugged.

"Naa, it's okay this way." I let out. "Just a nice reminder of my skills, 'ts all good."

It took only half a second before I felt a pillow hit the side of my face and lost my balance as I was trying to put my pants on.

"What the..."

I didn't trip but it was close and I looked up at her with a big smile. She was smiling too, her eyes smaller and her nose up again.

"You're so pretentious!" she let out, making me laugh as I finally pulled my shirt down on my chest.

"What?" I asked, raising my hands slightly up. "It's the truth!"

"Shut up, Horan!" she groaned, making me laugh even more.

"Okay dress up! I'll make coffee!"

With one last smile, I left the room and walked to the kitchen, making coffee and leaning against the counter, crossing my arms until I felt my phone vibrate in the pockets of my sweatpants. I quickly grabbed it and read the message I got, losing my smile slowly. She entered the room at the same time and I put my phone back in my pockets, looking up at her.

"Can we talk?"

She frowned but nodded, sitting at the table as I poured coffee in two mugs. I placed one on the table for her and sat in front of her with mine, both my hands wrapped around the cup.

"Niall, you're stressing me." she admitted in a low tone. "You're not breaking up with me, are you?"

I frowned in surprise, not really understanding why she would believe that after the way I acted with her only a few minutes ago, and finally shook my head.

"No! Liv, why would I..." I leaned a bit on the table and raised my eyebrows again, looking in her eyes. "It took me decades to admit to myself that I'm in love with you, I wouldn't ruin it now."

Her smile was half embarrassed and half grateful and I smiled back.

"I just..." I sighed and shook my head. "Remember the trip I told you about? In Asia?"

She frowned and shrugged, staring at me.

"Yea of course, it's all you could talk about for a while. Leave for Asia and travel with barely any money?" I nodded and she did the same. "What about it?"

"We're supposed to leave in a few weeks."

She frowned more and chuckled a bit, her lips curling.

"Yea, I remember that, too."

I pressed my lips together and looked down at my cup of coffee. Of course, I didn't want to be away from her but at the same time, I had planned this and was really excited to go. I would invite her but I didn't want to impose someone else in this trip. I had almost forgotten about it but then again, I forgot many things in the past 12 hours. I was also scared of what she would say. I knew how Olivia the best friend would react, but I had no idea what Olivia the girlfriend would do.

"And, you're okay with that?"

This time, she laughed and took a sip of her coffee. I loved the way her eyes moved up when she smiled sincerely. I loved her smile. I loved her eyes. I loved her.

"Of course, it's what, two months?"

"6 weeks." I rectified.

"6 weeks, good." she shrugged. "We'll have many weeks after that, and you'll keep in touch, right?"

"Every single day, I promise."

I slid my arm on the table and turned my palm up, making her smile more. She tilted her head and her fingertips brushed on my palm before I grabbed her hand, rubbing my thumb softly against her skin.

"Then I don't see a problem." she just expressed in a low tone, making me squeeze her fingers again.

We stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other's company, and I tried to think about all the times I was separated from hers. The world tours were the worst and although I had seen her a few times during them, we were so busy and tired that I felt like I could barely enjoy the fact that she was around. Last tour was better but there was one thing that I knew, and it was that being away from her again and especially now would be fucking hard.

"I'm gonna miss you." I confessed in a very low tone, staring at our hands together.

"Me too, but you'll have fun. It's an amazing experience." she added, squeezing my fingers too. "And we can face time."

I nod slowly and we stay in silence again for a few minutes as thoughts start invading my mind. It was ridiculous to worry about it now and I was not the kind to be anxious, especially not about things like that.

"You know what?" I finally let out a bit louder, making her look up at me with an a funny smile. "How about I take you on a date? A proper one. Dinner, movie, coffee..."

This time, she burst into laughter and moved closer to me, leaning on the table. Her eyes seemed to sparkle and it made me smile, too.

"Dinner, movie, coffee?" she repeated with an other laugh. "We do that all the time!"

"Fine then!" I admitted, knowing I couldn't say the opposite. "Burgers, arcades and pub, how's that?"

She shook her head, her lips still curled up, and leaned back against her chair, staring at me. I wanted to be alone with her and bring her on a proper date, the way I did with the other girls I dated. She deserved it, she deserved even better, but she was right. We couldn't pretend we had just met or that we weren't used to spend time together because we were

"You're such a romantic guy, Niall James Horan!" she joked.

"Okay how about going to a museum first? I could kiss you in front of your fave Dali painting."

Her traits softened and her smile faltered slightly. She moved our hands and brought her other one on the table, around mine. I felt her cold fingers against mine and raised my eyebrows.

"That... actually sounds like a good idea." she let out gently and low as she played with my fingers again.

I slid my other arm on the table to grab her hands in mine tightly.

"It's a date then." I whispered, making her look up in my eyes. "Be ready at four. I have a few things to plan for my trip but i'll pick you up."

"You're gonna drive me home so I can get prepared?" she asked jokingly, making me chuckle and frown.

"Of course, i'm a gentleman!"

---

I decided to dress casual for the date but I couldn't help but wonder the whole time I drove to her house if I shouldn't have put on something else. I didn't know why this date felt so important and special but I wanted it to be perfect. I parked in the street and rang her doorbell, opening the door quickly when she answered and running upstairs, skipping a few stairs on my way. When she opened her door, I sent her a smile, and my eyes moved down to look at what she was wearing. A simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt, just like me. I brought my eyes up to her face and sent her a bigger smile.

"You opted for the simple outfit, too?"

"Of course," she shrugged with a smirk. "Didn't want you to think you had a chance to bring me in your bed tonight."

I let out a laugh as she stepped out of her apartment and locked the door.

"No hope for you to sleep at my place then, is that it?"

She turned around and seemed slightly surprised when she realized how close we were. I looked down at her, letting my eyes roam on her face. Her lips curled very slowly and she finally licked them.

"No." she insisted, making me laugh again. "And no kiss after the date either."

"Yea?" I asked in a murmur, raising my eyebrows. "What about before the date, then?"

I took a step closer and she took a step back before I trapped her body between mine and the door. She didn't answer but slowly, I dipped my head down until my lips reached hers. Her yes closed suddenly and I kissed her, pressing my body against hers and slipping my tongue in her mouth. She didn't touch me but I brought one of my hands up, running my fingertips on her jaw, and smiled again when she whimpered in my mouth.

"Would you rather go back inside?" I asked in a whisper, smirking more. "We can spend the evening in your bed if you prefer."

I felt my whole body throb at that thought and brought my lips back on hers to kiss her even deeper this time. It was insane the effect she had on my body and I let my fingers run on her neck and down her side.

"Niall..." she let out in a mix of a whimper and a whisper.

"Yes petal?"

She brushed her lips against mine and I could swear I saw her quiver from a shiver crossing her back. Gently, I rubbed my nose against her and her eyes fluttered open.

"Don't even think about it."

I let out an other chuckle and took a small step back, reaching for her hand and intertwining our fingers before pulling her with me. I knew she enjoyed museums and I was also aware I was bringing her to one she had visited many times before. I paid for our tickets and when we walked inside, she handed me one of her earphones, making me frown.

"Do it. Classic music and visual arts just fit so well together, trust me."

I followed her around, just looking at pieces of art that I didn't understand and others that brought different feelings inside me that I couldn't seem to explain. I tried to let my eyes roam on the painting while my ears focused on music from Tchaikovsky or Chopin and when we entered an other room, she stopped in front of a painting and stared. I squeezed her fingers tighter and after a few seconds, she turned to me, making me smile.

"Morning Ossification of the Cypress." I just read out loud after moving my upper body closer to the painting. "What does that painting mean to you?"

She turned to look at it with a smile and finally looked back at me.

"That it doesn't matter how, where, and why you were born... you can still become anything you want to be."

I frowned slightly at her and looked back at the painting for a minute or two.

"You don't have to see what I see, you can interpret it the way you want to."

Once again, I turned back to her and something hit me suddenly. She looked gorgeous, standing there, surrounded by pieces of art... yet she was the most precious of them all, as stupid and cheesy as it seemed. I didn't tell her, I just looked at her and moved my head down again to kiss her. She let me, her lips moving avidly over mine, and I felt her hand grab gently the front of my shirt. Every time we kissed, it brought in me a sensation of comfort and excitement, like it was something new but also something I was used to, at the same time. Nothing had ever felt like that before.

"I don't get why you like him." I pointed out after we pulled away, making her raise her eyebrows. "Salvador Dali."

"I don't like everything he does but some of his paintings are... meaningful. No one had his brain, his imagination was... unique."

I loved the way she was talking about it. She was not trying to convince me or anything, she was just explaining how she felt, and it's always been something I liked about her. It was easy to discuss with her. I stared at her a few more seconds, just taking her beauty in before sighing.

"Hungry?"

"Starving!" she laughed, grabbing my fingers again and pulling me toward the exit. We laughed as we walked to the first fast food place we saw and quickly ate our burgers and fries, sitting on uncomfortable chairs and laughing at a few memories.

"Oh, remember that time you tried to shoot for a goal but you ended up just hitting Aiden in the balls!" I asked, my mouth full.

She groaned and rolled her eyes. I remembered she had a crush on him and had blown all the chances to date him she could have had.

"Remember when I caught you masturbating?" she said with a smirk, using iut as a pay back.

I smirked back and leaned my elbows on the table.

"Remember when I caught you masturbating?"

"Way too well." she mumbled, making laugh more,

I stopped after a while and looking down at my hand, nibbling on my bottom lip.

"You know, it was really hot." I confessed, intertwining my fingers and looking up at her. "You think you could do it again? I'd love to watch."

I saw her cheeks turn a soft shade of pink and it surprised me. She was not the kind to be embarrassed by anything sexual but just asking her if I could watch her masturbate was making her blush.

"I mean, only if you want to, you really don't have to-"

"Yes." she cut me quickly. "I can do that for you."

I raised my eyebrows in shock. It was not the answer I had expected, simply because of the talk about her body we had had before, but the thought of her touching herself right in front of me turned me on more than I thought it would. I wanted to watch her face and hear her moan. The image in my head was so exciting I squirmed on my seat and cleared my throat.

"I mean, if you come home with me tonight..."

"Let's start by this date, yea?" she just suggested quickly, getting up to throw what was left of our food away.

I helped her and we got back outside in the winter cold. It was already dark and it had snowed a lot, enough for the snowball fight I had in mind as soon as we'd get back to my house.

"How about a drink to warm us?" I proposed. "There's a pub not so far. I can teach you how to play pool."

She chuckled and rolled her eyes with a smile.

"I'll beat you."

"We'll see."

#niall horan #niall horan smut #niall horan fluff #niall horan story #niall horan fanfic #niall horan fan fic #niall horan fan fiction #niall horan writing #my fanfics #amc studios #please tell me if its getting boring!!! i need to know!

67 notes · View notes

doctor--idiot · 6 years

Text

Men of Fortune – Ch. 3

Read ch. 1 and 2.

A retelling of Uncharted 4 A Thief’s End. [AO3]

Once he had toweled himself dry, he realized he had forgotten to take a fresh set of clothes with him into the bathroom. He didn’t want to have to put his sleep clothes back on, so he grabbed a large towel to wrap around his hips and a smaller one to run through his dripping hair.

“Where’d Sully go?” he inquired from his brother upon re-entering the room and finding the chair by the table empty of the old man’s presence.

“Who knows.” Sam was sitting on the edge of the bed, fully dressed, and scribbling something into Nate’s notebook. Nate would have to remember not to put anything too personal in there.

“Still don’t get along with him, do you?” Nate asked as he hunted down some clean underwear among their strewn belongings. Neither he or Sam had ever been particularly tidy and if they were together it was usually just a mess.

Sam raised his eyes from the notebook. “It’s not that. He’s–” He stopped when he took in the huge bruise on Nate’s abdomen. “Hell, Nathan, what happened to you?”

��Told you,” Nate said, suddenly feeling self-conscious and too exposed. He hiked the towel higher. “I broke a ledge when jumping and I kind of hit the side of the building. Not a big deal.”

“Not a–” Sam broke off again and Nate looked down on himself, trying to see if there are more hellish-looking bruises that he had missed in the shower but besides a few smaller ones and some scrapes here and there, there was nothing. Nothing he couldn’t handle or hadn’t had before.

He grabbed his jeans and and a clean white T-shirt. He had never been self-conscious about undressing in front of his brother, or anyone for that matter. Growing up with so many other children around day and night had taken care of that, and while he valued his privacy, it wasn’t a big deal. But right now, he was painfully aware of Sam’s eyes on him and he couldn’t for the life of him say why it was making him so nervous.

He nearly breathed a sigh of relief when he tugged the jeans up over his ass and buttoned the fly.

“We should put something on that,” Sam suggested and Nate had already forgotten what they had been talking about.

“What?”

A sharp pain raced through his abdomen before it was gone again. Sam had poked his finger right into the middle of the bruise. “That there.”

Nate slapped his hand away but he wasn’t mad. He cupped his own hip protectively in case Sam was about to attack again like the asshole big brother he was. Sam simply grinned at him but it had a concerned edge to it.

Nate rubbed the aching patch of skin. “I’m good. If you stop poking me, that is.”

Sam grinned, “Sorry,” not sounding it at all. “Hold on, don’t put on your shirt yet.” He fished through the contents of his suitcase, coming up with a small med kit.

Nate raised an eyebrow at him but Sam only shrugged. “After getting out of Panama, I figured it’d be something worth stocking up on.”

“Smart,” Nate commented, then watched as Sam uncapped the small tube of arnica balm and squeezed some of it out onto his fingers.

“Should’a iced it yesterday, idiot.” Sam didn’t look at him as he said it, an aside more than anything else, before he touched his fingers to Nate’s skin, massaging the cream into the blue- and purple-mottled skin. It was a complete turnaround from his his sibling-like prod at it earlier and Nate sucked in a breath at the gentle contact. Sam’s fingers had warmed the balm, heating up the spot he was coating and Nate shivered slightly at the stark difference to the cool room-temperature air on his naked back and shoulders.

Sam stepped away, nudging his arm. “Alright, get dressed. Let’s grab something to eat, I’m hungry.”

Nate’s voice sounded too thin to his own ears when he asked, “What did Sully say?”

“Nothing much. Just not to, and I quote, “lounge around past noon again like the uncivilized hooligans we are.” He’s quite colorful when he wants to be. Anything you wanna see?”

“See?” Nate returned, the word coming out muffled as he pulled his T-shirt over his head.

“Sights. I don’t know. We’ve got till tomorrow and it ain’t every day we’re in Italy.”

“Have you forgotten that people might still be looking for us?” Nate smoothed his hair down. “Maybe it’s not the best idea to play tourists.”

Sam’s shoulders sank and he blew out an annoyed breath. “You’re right as always, little brother.”

“I’m right? That’s new.”

Sam snorted. “You done, princess? I’m starving.”

Rolling his eyes, Nate contemplated whether the Italian climate was mild enough to allow him to leave his jacket behind. “You already said that. Alright, let’s go.”

They found themselves in a cozy street café not far from the hotel in case they were spotted and had to bolt. Nate kept one eye on their surroundings while he ordered coffee and sandwiches and he caught Sam doing the same. Old habits seemed to be dying hard. The waitress was young, had a pretty smile and spoke English without much of an accent. When she had gone, Nate turned to his brother, steepling the tips of his fingers together.

“So–” he began but Sam cut him off.

“Tell me what you’ve been up to.”

Nate blinked. “I did that already. I told you about the hunts, about what I’m doing now, Elena… I haven’t heard anything from you. I mean, fifteen years, I–” He made a helpless gesture between them and it coaxed a small smile out of Sam, even if it was a sad one.

“There ain’t much to tell, Nathan. I was in prison, what more do you wanna know?”

“Just that,” Nate said, “Start from the beginning.”

Sam sighed and it sounded weary, almost making Nate sorry for pushing. Almost. The waitress brought their coffee and departed again. Sam’s gaze trailed after her before it flicked back to Nate. Nate couldn’t say why his stomach turned at the sight.

“When I got shot and fell off the roof,” Sam started, scratching his chin, “I blacked out.”

Nate clenched his teeth at the memory. He remembered the terror, the agony, painful like nothing he had ever experienced, as if he had been the one to be shot in the stomach three times instead of his brother. It had ripped through him the moment Sam’s hand had slipped from his and he couldn’t even remember how he and Rafe had gotten out of there alive.

“When I came back around, it was in the courtyard, with lots of goons with guns standing around me while I was bleeding out on the ground. You know,” he gave a laugh but there was no humor in it, “For a while there I wish I had because I knew they’d stick me into a cell to rot for the rest of my life.”

He shook himself, loosening his shoulders, while Nate swallowed. He shook his head. His voice sounded thick when he managed, “I’m really glad you didn’t.”

This time, the smile Sam gave him was a real one, if slightly lopsided. “Yeah. Me too.” He took a sip of his coffee, grimacing when he burned his lips. “Anyway, so there I was. It was a long healing process and painful as fuck but I knew they wouldn’t let me die. It would have taken the fun out of the punishment, I guess.”

Nate was momentarily stunned how Sam could sound so casual talking about a time that must have been utter torture but then he caught the clench of Sam’s jaw, the slight tremor in his hands, and he nearly breathed a sigh of relief. It meant that his brother was still human, still feeling, still dealing with everything that had happened.

“I blamed myself for it for a long time, you know?” he heard himself say, then bit his lip as if he could take it back like that.

Sam tilted his head at him. “It was never your fault.”

“I know that. Rationally. Still. The therapist called it ‘survivor’s guilt’ or whatever.” Another thing he would have liked to take back. He checked his coffee cup for any kind of truth serum, maybe whiskey.

Sam gave a brief laugh at him squinting into his coffee cup, then sobered quickly. “You had a therapist?”

“Yeah.” Nate shrugged. “Elena thought it would be a good idea. And I guess she was right. It … helped to talk about it. Your death, I mean. Or non-death, whatever.”

“I’m sorry.”

Nate looked into his brother’s pained face. Their sandwiches arrived and for a moment, there was an awkward silence while the waitress put their cutlery down for them and inquired whether she could get them anything else. This time, Sam did not look after her, his eyes fixed on Nate. Nate couldn’t help but feel a little thrill at being the sole focus of his brother’s attention. It was juvenile but it was what it was.

“For what?” he finally asked.

“You thought I was dead for fifteen years. You had a therapist because you thought I was dead.”

Nate cleared his throat, took a bite of his sandwich. “It’s fine,” he muttered while chewing.

Sam only looked at him, regret and amusement hiding in the corners of his mouth.

Nate swallowed. “Don’t flatter yourself too much.”

Sam’s smile grew. “Alright. And I guess you needed a therapist because you were so fine with me dying?”

Nate groaned. “I really shouldn’t have told you that.”

“No, I’m sorry.” Sam shook his head, serious again. Nate instantly missed the smile. “I’m not making fun of you, I was just trying to lighten the mood. I can’t–can’t imagine what it was like for you.”

“You’re one to talk.”

Sam’s lips curled. “Yeah, well, at least I knew you weren’t dead.”

“Really?” Nate looked down at his plate. All of a sudden, he wasn’t all that hungry anymore. “I mean, you never thought that maybe I’d gotten myself killed on a treasure hunt without you there to look out for me?”

Sam seemed to consider that. “No.”

“Why?”

“You never needed me, Nathan. I looked out for you because I was responsible for you and because I wanted to. I needed to. But you didn’t need me.”

He sounded almost sad saying it and Nate could only shake his head rapidly. “That’s–you’re wrong. I’ve always needed you. Always, Sam.”

There was a short silence between them and it almost made Nate shift on his chair with nervousness. Before it could become awkward, Sam said, “Even now?”

“You’re an idiot if you don’t know that,” Nate returned and Sam laughed. It was filled with mirth and relief and Nate grinned along with him. He picked his sandwich back up.

After they had finished eating, Sam convinced Nate after all to walk through the city for a while and look at the people and the architecture and enjoy the sun, which they wouldn’t get a lot of in Scotland, regardless of whether Sully found the weather to be nice this time of year. Nate still wasn’t convinced that that statement hadn’t been sarcasm.

In turn, Nate urged Sam to at least buy some hats and sunglasses first, because “sure, Nathan, that’s not conspicuous at all.” Nate elbowed him in the side, enjoying the little pained grunt that came from his brother.

It felt almost normal, natural, as if they hadn’t been separated for more than a decade, as if they had always been this comfortable around each other. Nate’s chest ached.

Maybe something showed on his face because Sam asked him, “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Nate hurried to say but it sounded so fake to his own ears that he tacked on, “Just thinking about how happy I am that we get to do this. Working together, I mean. Just …. being here.”

He wasn’t entirely sure he was making sense but feelings were so goddamn hard to put into words and from the way Sam bumped his shoulder, he understood.

The day transgressed into the early evening with neither of them noticing. The sun still stood fairly high in the sky but restaurants and cafés were closing around them. Nate had relaxed when no one had watched or followed them all afternoon and now he wasn’t walking as stiffly anymore, strolling down the cobblestone streets next to his brother.

“You up for a beer?” Sam asked him, “I’m sure we can find something like a bar around here.”

He was scanning the buildings along the street before Nate had even agreed so Nate said nothing, just fell into step with Sam when he spotted something that looked like a small pub that was still open with a crowd of people inside. They managed to order a beer each despite the barkeeper’s limited understanding of English. Both Nate and Sam knew Spanish well enough but Italian wasn’t close enough to really strike up a conversation but they made do.

#drakecest #brothers drake #uncharted #uncharted 4 #my writing #i actually really like this chapter

9 notes · View notes

xvii-chapters · 7 years

Text

PRIDE || MAFIA!Seokmin [Chp 2]

BLURB: Sometimes we put on facades to seem stronger than we are, when all we need is someone to tell us they will hold our hand through it all.

GENRE: mafia!au, action, mystery, family

WORDS: 2752

PART: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

For the record, you had tried very hard to resist the invitation.

This was the mafia for goodness sake – even your hunger-induced brain couldn’t deny it was dangerous and probably an even stupider idea than Wonho’s failed heist. But if it meant you could sink your teeth into some fresh bread or suck on a succulent piece of grilled chicken before dying from the poison they put in it, you honestly didn’t mind. You liked living but you liked food more.

That thought had you contemplating your priorities but not for very long.

The smiling boy was still smiling at you.

“So?” he prompted.

“Fine,” you said, but tried to sound as reluctant as possible.

His grin grew impossibly wider and he jumped a little on the spot.

“Yay!” he said, before grabbing your wrist and pulling you deeper into the alley. Before you had enough time to start panicking again he stopped in front of a sleek black car perfectly concealed in the shadows. He opened the passenger seat and gestured you inside. It felt odd; no one had ever opened the door for you. Then again, it had been a long time since you last sat in a car. It was always the inside of vans or the open-top backs of trucks for you. Your single car trip was when social services drove you from the orphanage to your foster home.

You strapped yourself in just as the boy – Seokmin, you had to remind yourself – climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Then he was pulling out of the dark alley and into the streetlight flooded roads of downtown Seoul. For the first time, looking out through the glass of a car window, it looked beautiful.

“Wow,” you couldn’t help but breathe.

“I know, right?” There was a look of calm on Seokmin’s face. The guy could hold a mean poker face but you’ve learned from young that there was a telling point in everyone’s features and for him it lay in the eyebrows. Right now they were resting straight and relaxed. “I love the streets at night.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you actually had to live on them.” The words spilled out before you could stop them.

Startlingly, he chuckled. “You would be surprised. I know about it more than you think.”

“Do you really?” you said with spite.

“I do.” His eyes were fixed on the road but the certainty in his words made it feel like he was looking straight at you. You looked away, choosing instead to focus on your hands and the way they curled around the leather seat, the material soft beneath your touch. It was worn but it was luxurious none the less. Outside, the city whipped past. Trees came into view.

Internally you were freaking out that he might be driving you to the top of a hill just to shoot you but when he looked over all you gave was a cool and calm expression.

Before you knew it the car was driving up a worn dirt path, low-hanging trees lining each side. The branches scraped against the windows and above, larger trees grew upwards to the sky, blocking out most of the light. The car stopped in front of a high-tech gate which slid open at a signal you couldn’t pinpoint – Seokmin didn’t even roll down the window. He continued driving up the path towards a looming mansion then turned a bend into a gigantic garage. You were too awestruck to realize you had completely forgotten to memorise the route here – that is if you even made out alive tonight to tell anyone – and when you did, you wanted to kick yourself.

Seokmin paused unbuckling his seatbelt. “Did you just mentally kick yourself?”

“No,” you scowled, crossing your arms and sinking deeper into the seat. Seokmin just shrugged and got out of the car, and for the second time that day you wanted to kick yourself. You were acting like a brat – the moment he got sick of your shit you might just as easily find a gun pointed to your forehead. You quickly followed after him, hoping his bullshit-o-meter wasn’t already close to full.

You forgot all about keeping cool the moment you walked through the door.

“This is your house?!” you exclaimed, looking around in awe at the high ceilings and expensive art that covered every inch of available wall space.

“Well I share this house with the rest of the guys, but yeah, we do live here.”

“It’s huge!”

“There are over thirteen of us.”

“There are eight of us with Wonho but we live in an abandoned underground train station with only four beds.” You had moved over to the living room and gaped at the endless rows of books that covered the walls. Then you spotted the game console. You turned to Seokmin excitedly. “Can I play that please please PLEASE? I won’t break it I promise, Wonho just never lets me use his and yours looks so much cooler.”

Seokmin chuckled, going over to ruffle your hair. “Hey don’t do that.”

“Can’t help it you remind me of Chan, ‘cept he’s all big now.”

“Chan?” you asked carefully. Hey if Seokmin was just going to give out free information about the others living here you’d take what you could get.

“Yes Chan, codename Dino. He’s the one running on the streets, talking to people, finding intel about you guys.” Well that was a lot more information then you expected to get. Seokmin had started walking back outside and now looked over his shoulder at you. “And don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to play spy. It won’t work – you can’t remember everything.”

“Hey!” You were offended. You especially hated it when someone said you couldn’t do something. Seokmin didn’t even seem to hear you. “Come on, let’s walk around first before dinner,” he said, “We can play later.” You vowed to remember everything about this house even if you had to forget your name to do it.

He pulled you into room after room and told you the names of every person you passed by, codename and role in the mafia included. It’s like Seokmin enjoyed watching you struggle. Everyone smiled at you but warily, and in return you gave them your wildest grin just to throw them off. It didn’t really matter to you though. You were actually only here for the food.

“We’ll go to the library next–”

“Oh!” The next thing you knew you were on the floor, nursing a bump on your ass. A girl looked down snootily at you. “Watch where you’re going there, idiot.”

Instantly anger heated your chest. You shot to your feet. “Excuse me? I’m the idiot?”

“Yes, you are.” The girl looked back at you incredulously. “Did you see anyone else on the floor while you were there?”

“You knocked into me!”

“So now it’s my fault you’re an idiot?”

“WOW WOW, hey!” Seokmin grabbed your arm before you could swing it right into the girl’s pretty (fake) little nose. “Let’s not break things on the first day.”

“She just called me an idiot I wanna fight.”

“Well she’s certainly got spirit.” In your anger you hadn’t realize there was someone else there in the hallway with you. Your anger simmered down when you spotted the curly haired boy currently assessing you. He looked like he had a much smaller bullshit-o-meter than Seokmin and you were suddenly acutely aware of your place. Still you tried to play it cool. You pulled your arm from Seokmin’s grip and huffed. “And who might you be?”

“I’m Seungkwan, I live here. Who are you?” The girl looked back at you smiling smugly. Two could play at that game.

“I’m Y/N, I live in an abandoned subway station. Who’s the bitch?”

“Why you–” The girl made to lunge at you but Seungkwan already had his arms around her and was pulling her away. He whispered something into her ears and she stopped fighting, stomping off somewhere still glaring at you. You stuck out your tongue at her retreating figure.

Beside you Seokmin was strangely grinning excitedly. “What’d I tell you!”

Seungkwan just rolled his eyes like he was exhausted. You pitied the guy – he had to deal with such a prissy princess. “That’s great and all but did you really have to bring her now?”

“Why not? Seungcheol said to bring her for dinner so here she is.”

“But not this one.” He had tried to keep it soft but it wasn’t really working. You weren’t really fazed though. You had been to plenty of places people didn’t want you to be at (including the juvenile prison once) but that didn’t stop you from sticking around anyway.

Besides, Seokmin had said that Seungcheol – whoever that was – wanted you here so that’s one more person validating your presence here.

“Seungcheol said “anytime” and it happens she was free today!”

‘This is actually the first time you’ve asked,’ you wanted to say, but you bit your tongue because it was clear Seungkwan didn’t know (or need to know) that.

“Whatever.” Seungkwan was already walking away. “But just so you know even Hyewon isn’t coming.”

“Like I care that she isn’t going,” but you weren’t sure if you heard that right or not. Seokmin was smiling at his friend’s retreating figure. He turned back to you. “So shall we?”

You told yourself you would eat only what you needed but then again who didn’t need endless amounts of chicken.

Seokmin watch you with a knowing smirk as you gorged on the food, slurping up soup and dipping the fried fish into 12 different sauces at once.

“It’s good right?” Seokmin asked. You mumbled something that probably came out as an affirmation.

“Yah eat slowly or you’ll choke!” You glared at him and continued eating. As you ate your gaze flit across the table and saw someone was watching you curiously. Probably at how messily you were eating. You glared and she quickly looked away. Not everyone was lucky enough to be raised in a good home with perfect manners so you excused yourself.

After the chicken and mains, a tall guy named mango are something came out from the kitchen and placed a large bowl of pudding in the centre of the table. Another girl placed cake next to it and someone else put ice cream in front of everyone.

Your eyes widened at the sights in front of you. You didn’t even care anymore that you looked kind of like a pig. Seokmin laughed at your expression. “Which one do I eat first?!”

“The ice-cream probably, since it’s melting.” Seokmin was already delving into his.

“But the cheesecake is melting too!” You looked sadly at the delicious creamy treat. “And I don’t know whether I can finish the ice-cream and the cake.”

“Then just eat the cake.”

“And lose out on ice-cream?” You looked at him in horror. “Never.”

Seokmin shrugged. “Suit yourself. But you’re dealing with the stomach-ache on your own.”

Stomach-ache be damned. You gobbled down the ice-cream that was closer to soup now, hogging the chocolate sauce every now and then. You made Seokmin grab you a piece of cheesecake – in your defence the table was wide and you were small – and somehow you managed to eat that too despite how full you already were from the chicken.

When Seokmin pushed a bowl of pudding towards you, you didn’t hesitate.

“Ughhhh,” you groaned after a while, slumped across your chair, “I’m soooo fullll.”

“I don’t think so,” Seokmin said pushing another piece of cake to your lips. “Just one more bite.”

You pushed his hand away, frowning, “You’re just fattening me up to eat me later, aren’t you?”

“I’m not a cannibal!” Seokmin dropped the fork indignantly. Almost everyone had left the dining table and only you two were left eating away at whatever remained. Well, you were still eating – Seokmin was mostly looking on in glee.

“Stop it!” you pushed away yet another bit of food he put on your plate. “You promised I could play on the console after dinner. Let’s go.”

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” You pouted. “You’ll puke.” He looked pointedly at you. “You’ll puke on me.”

“But you promised.”

“Maybe next time.” Seokmin grinned mischievously. “Why don’t we steal Jun’s motorbike and go for a ride instead?”

“HOLY HELL!” you yelled when you stepped off the bike. “THAT WAS AMAZING!!!”

“Right?” Seokmin grinned, helping you take off the helmet.

The moment it was off you spun in a circle, eyes bright with excitement. “That was the best thing I’ve ever done!” you continued to gush. “You wheelied! You fucking WHEELIED!”

“I did wheelie.”

“And you did that spin thing? Whatsitcalled?”

Seokmin shrugged. He really didn’t know. But he did know you got a major kick from all the stunts he did and it pleased him to no end that they made you so happy. You continued to bounce around enthusiastically, recounting all the things you did as if he hadn’t been there with you too and it was exhausting to watch but Seokmin had never seen someone smile that big in a while.

Eventually you settled down. It was quiet at the top of the hill. Below you, the city was spread out like a blanket of garish stars. You turned to him. “Alright, so what’s the catch?”

“What’s what catch?”

You gave him a light shove. “Don’t play dumb. Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Why can’t I be nice to you just because I want to be?”

“As much as I’d like to believe that, the world isn’t that fair and you guys are the mafia.”

Seokmin stiffened. “We’re not a mafia.”

“Of course you guys are–”

“We’re not a mafia,” he repeated. All the traces of amusement had fallen from his face and his lips curled into a frown. “We’re more than that.”

Something about the underlying tone in Seokmin’s voice had you thinking twice about mouthing off the way you normally would.

“Okay fine,” you said quietly. “But you still haven’t answered the question. What’s the catch?”

“No catch, I just wanted to be a Good Samaritan. Is that really so hard to believe?” There was a tinge of frustration laced in his voice – frustration that wasn’t directed at you exactly, but you felt it like little jabs to your skin. His brows were knit together in a sharp V and he was looking far away.

You didn’t say anything; the very fact that he was angry meant that you were right and there was something he wanted from you. So you waited for it.

Seokmin sighed. “We’d like to invite you to be part of SVT.”

You couldn’t help it – you burst out laughing.

Seokmin frowned like he couldn’t quite find anything funny about the offer.

“What makes you think I want to join you guys?” He frowned harder. “No offence but SVT isn’t exactly a very respectable establishment for me to get involved with.”

“And Wonho’s gang is?” Seokmin sounded hurt but you didn’t seem to notice; you were too busy chuckling.

“If anything I’ve heard about you guys is true, then yes actually.” You sobered up. “Wonho sure is a shit leader but all we do is petty theft. You guys… You are the kingpins. You trade, you sell – you play with blood. And I don’t want to be involved in that twenty years down the road.”

You took a step back. “So thank you? I’m macabrely honoured? But no thanks.”

You started to walk away.

“There’s another side to us you know,” Seokmin said quietly, “Believe it or not, we didn’t start out with the intention of being bad.”

Despite yourself you turned back around. He was talking to the ground face a mixture of frustration and… helplessness. It made you stop.

“It didn’t use to be this political.” He looked up. “And I could show you. But you need to agree to come with me.” He took a deep breath. “Please come with me.”

You stopped short.

You could articulate all you felt in that moment – how nice it was that someone was asking you about something, how your curiosity burned, how despite yourself, Seokmin didn’t at all look as dangerous as his reputation – but nothing could compare to the surge of that one word pushing through your lips.

“Okay.”

92 notes · View notes

bike42 · 7 years

Text

Wednesday February 15, 2017

CHILE DAY SIX The plan was to meet at church for breakfast at 3am, then we'd be picked up for a 4am departure to Punta Arenas for our boat trip to the penguin island. Jeff's alarm went off at 2:15 am, my back up alarm at 2:20 am! I tried not to think that it was 11:20pm in CST! But we were motivated to see the Penguins, so we dressed in our warm clothes, donned our headlamps and left the warmth of our little house. It was actually quite mild outside - a rain shower had just passed through. We saw one walker and one car during our 15 minute walk to the church (heard lots of dogs barking and passed a few sleeping). Lots of activity at the church - scrambled eggs and ham, coffee, cereal, bread, cheese and yogurt were all ready. Thought it'd be a quick bite and let's get on the bus, but it turned into our leisurely kind of meal! By 3:45am I couldn't sit any longer and got up to do some stretching. By 4am, everyone was anxious and the pastor was on his phone. Our ride finally arrived just after 4:30a, with a "no problem" to catch the boat attitude. We settled into the van and everyone fell back asleep, and soon we were there. "There" was a little shocking at first - we pulled over on the main highway and there was a dock with one medium sized boats and two smaller boats. A van with our crew arrived about the same time. I was expecting we'd go to a harbor in Punta Arenas with lots of boats - but this little dock just north of the city worked perfectly! Our group settled in and then a few more small bus loads came and filled it up, but at 7:30am we were underway. It was a great boat for this little trip. After about an hour, we reached Magdalena Island. I really had no idea what to expect, but this experience exceeded expectations! Even as we approached the dock there were penguins swimming along side the boat, as dolphins sometimes do! And then it became apparent that they weren't going to be hard to find - the island was covered with penguins! As we were walking down the dock they were swimming under it, and hundreds of others all over near the water and up near their holes (dens?). It was fun to see the groups of them standing around chanting, and others waddling too and fro. Just as our guide described, they'd cut across the path in front of you, or behind you when you'd stopped - with really no regard for us at all! It was an amazing experience. It took us about an hour to walk the roped off path up to the lighthouse and back down. Besides the Penguins, there were seagulls and cormorants on the island. There were a lot of dead juvenile seagulls, and we heard conflicting reasons for that - one naturalist said it was a larger bird that was killing them, another said it was because they crashed as they were learning to fly in the strong winds!? We also saw several sea lions hanging around offshore and the clumps of penguins seemed to move away from them. We thought it was because they're a predator to the Penguins, but the naturist said they hang around the Penguins just to get their fish, not to get the Penguins. It was a glorious day to be on the water. Mostly overcast, and barely any wind - made for super calm seas. Since it was so calm, the crew said we could go to an additional stop. We boarded the boat and headed to the island of Marta to see the sea lions. I was thinking - eh, been there done that. But I did go up to the top of the boat anyway and they were fun to watch. Kind of in clumps with a massive sea lion each ruling his harem - barking and biting and waddling along. It was amazing to see how high some of them had climbed above the sea onto rock shelves! Mellow trip back then, coffee and cookies were served and most people settled into editing their photos. As we approached the dock there was a little more commotion with the siting of a shall pod of whales (think he called them Sai Whales?) ... They had a smaller dorsal fin than an orca, but a pretty good sized tail fluke. As we got off the boat, Pastor Ariel handed us each a lunch bag, and we drove about a mile down the road to a wayside park. I'd seen the park in our drive from the airport - a beautiful spot, but terribly littered! We ate our sandwiches and peaches, mostly standing around the table. Then for our Punto Arenas adventure, but I was asleep before we even passed the airport. When I awoke, we had a 20 minute stop to "shop" at a mall designed for cruise ship passengers - not the kind of shopping most of us had in mind! Back on the bus - back to sleep. The next time we stopped was on a beautiful overlook with a view of the city and the sea. As I took in the panorama, I looked to my right and saw a vendor selling locally knit products - I looked left and there were three more! Now we were talking. I found a fun hat, but as I was looking further, I found the alpaca poncho I'd been searching for - my only quandary was deciding which color - I settled on a bright blue - the color of the ocean! Back in the van and we drove to the main square and finally got the sense that Punta Arenas was a pretty big city - after less than a week in Puerto Natales all of a sudden I felt like a hick coming to the big city. The shoppers in the group set out to explore some more artisan booths that were set up along the square, while the cultured ones checked out the cool statue of Magellan in the middle of the square. Back in the van for a stop along the shore, and then one more quick stop at a statue of a shepherd complete with sheep and sheep dogs. There was a live dog napping there that reminded us of Cody - darker color, but similar build and same cute way that one ear was bent over. Back in the van for a quick stop at the central Methodist church. We were greeted by the UMW lady and the OB doc that we'd met over the weekend (I have no idea of their names). It was fun to see a photo on the wall of Pastor Don, Coggin, Glen and Heinz from their trip here 4 years ago! We sang a song and had a prayer, then back in the van for a trip to their smaller mission church on the hill. There we were greeted by our "old friends" Aurtero and Pepe, along with about 6 woman. We gathered in the sanctuary and they sang a "welcome" song to us, then we went to their kitchen for tea, sweet breads, empanadas, and tea sandwiches! It was fun, and yummy of course. Climbed back in the van one last time just before 5pm - most fell promptly asleep again. After about an hour, we came to a sudden stop and the driver insisted we get out and take a photo?! Sign said "road to the end of the earth" so we were told ... We arrived back in Puerto Natales about 7:30pm and dinner was waiting - mussels (biggest shells I'd ever seen served), chicken, ham, pea pods, potato pancakes, and sausage - along with wine tonight. Glorious meal to end a fabulous but long day. We walked back to the house and arrived just before Celio got back from helping at the church. We had a break through in our communication tonight - not necessarily with our words, but with our understanding each other. We showed her the photos of our day, and she toured us through her garden outback. Awesome day in a fabulous country!

0 notes