#doesn’t fit w gathering in 14. I’ll wait

[slimy-vore-bog]

Fear of being Alone

Disclaimer: All my content is intended to be non-sexual N/SF/W interaction is not appreciated

Spoiler Warning for The Owl House This one I don’t recommend even trying to read without having watched the show. It would be confusing.

Warnings: mentions of fa/tal vore, digestion, and a character briefly contemplating cutting herself open with her claws.

None of these happen (or has happened previously), but warnings about it are still important.

Word Count: 7.7k

AO3

There is a bit more information under this, but after that there’s the story. I’ll explain the title too.

The creature Luz turns into looks like this:

This story I have been really excited about!

Ah heck, edit a day later, because I forgot to mention it for the tags: this was building off the story Luz the Owl Beast. If you want an explanation for the reason I changed the form she takes, you’re going to have to scroll through my blog for a bit.

I hope you all are going to enjoy it, because I loved writing it!

This fic happens entirely in the Owl House!

Oh, and I made her a bit too big... She’s like 5.4 meters (or you know... About 17 feet) from the ground to the tip of her ears... Heh, but she kinda had to be that big because otherwise it didn’t fit with how I described the vore.

Here’s her height compared to Eda and King:

But about the title...

The fear of being alone is called autophobia, but the reason I didn’t call it that is, first of all, it doesn’t make for a good title, and second of all I don’t want to call it a phobia. And I was really struggling with coming up with a title so that was why I picked that. It fits pretty well anyways.

Shoot, I just realized tumblr doesn’t allow more than one space; the formatting should look more pleasing now. The start and end of the story is marked with *** and passage of time is marked with ¨¨

Also, while reading, keep in mind that Luz is 14 years old.

(And that I’m open to criticism over the fact that I write these sorts of fics about The Owl House. Always. If you have a problem with it, please let me know)

***

Luz lay down on her sleeping mat, trying to gather her thoughts, after King had asked her what was wrong. “Every thought I have ever had just disappeared…” She realized, after her head hit the small pillow. “I don’t know… Everything is just… A little overwhelming.”

King stood a few feet away. “Well… I know you well enough that it’s probably not anything that a good dose of revenge would help… so what about a hug?” He tapped his claws against each other, waiting for Luz response.

She sat up again. “Aww, of course! Thank you… Now come over here, you little cutie pie!” She tried her best to sound cheerful, but her voice broke.

King noticed too, but he still jumped up into her arms. “Yes! You’re my best friend! Nothing gets to make my friends sad, or they will feel my wrath!”

Luz smiled; she didn’t actually believe that the demon wanted to hurt anyone. How could such a cute little guy like him do any of that? She wrapped her arms tightly around him. “I love you too, King!” She was glad that the little furry demon had it easier telling her that he viewed her as a best friend. She squeezed him tighter, until she felt him try to wriggle out of her grasp.

“That’s a little too tight!” King squirmed, but Luz was already letting go. “Do you feel better?” He looked up at her with a worried look in his eyes.

She put King down on her lap, before lying down again. “A little bit… But I was thinking about how I’m ever going to get home. And what I’m going to do once I’m there…” She stared up into the ceiling. “You know… Even if I did find another way to get home how could I ever leave this world behind? With you and Eda and all my friends…” That was what was bothering her so much. “And it’s not like I can stay here forever… My mom is going to wonder where I went.” She felt a pang of homesickness. She missed her mom.

King looked at her, but he didn’t say anything. He curled up on her stomach, before he spoke. “I don’t know how that feels.”

Luz patted his head with a gloomy smile. “It’s okay; it’s nice to have someone I know I can talk to.” She put her arms up to her head. “I think I’m going to bed now…” She still had a lot to think about, but she could think about it all another day… “Are you ready for bed too? You always nap.”

King kept his eyes on her, still with that unsure concerned look. “That’s because there’s nothing better than a good nap!” He still seemed a little unsure. “I guess I should move a bit so you can get into your sleep cocoon…”

Luz wrapped her arms around him. “No, I’ll just… sleep without the blanket.” She didn’t want King to move. She knew he was only moving a few feet away, but she needed someone to be close to her. “Please stay…” It wouldn’t help in the long run, that would take a lot more to figure out, but in the moment it was enough. Someone who could stay by her side.

He seemed a little tense in her arms, but he didn’t make a move to get away from her. “Alright… Goodnight, Luz.”

Luz hugged him closer to her body, “Goodnight, King.”

Having King by her side was enough to calm her down enough not to spend all night worrying about what she was going to do. She quickly fell asleep with the little adorable demon in her arms.

 ¨¨

She felt strange when she woke up. Something felt off… Not just the lack of King in her arms, but her body itself.

Her eyelids felt heavy, as she tried to open them, not really wanting to get up yet. But they shot the rest of the way open, when she noticed how tiny her room seemed. She tried to sit up, but her body wouldn’t allow her to. Not that she couldn’t move at all, but her body didn’t want to bend that way.

“Huh?” was what she tried to say, but it came out like a strange catlike squeak.

Okay, now it was really time to panic; what was going on?

She rolled over on her stomach, looking down at her arms. Or… what had replaced her arms. The fur on her strange armlike legs was the same color as her skin.

She tried to spring up on her legs, but it looked more like a strange spasm, before she let out a loud panicked yowl. What is happening?! She couldn’t figure out how to use her legs, but she seemed to have turned into some sort of giant quadruped.

Just as she thought it couldn’t get any more confusing; she realized there was a large pair of wings on her back. She had wings… What exactly was going on?

She rolled over on her stomach, staring at her strange lightly pawlike hands. She kept staring into her hands wondering where her nails where, before a realization hit her. I have to have retractable claws. She flexed her fingers, instantly seeing the claws pop out.

Slowly pushing herself up on her legs, she looked over the rest of her body, making all the fur on her body puff out. Her wings were massive, if she stood in the middle of the room and spread them out, she could definitely touch both walls at once. Her hindlegs ended in birdlike talons, unlike her front legs, and her body itself was massive covered in dark fur the same color as her hair with purplish pink stripes.

Her body looked too much like a cat and, judging by her lack of a snout, her face was still human. It made her fur prickle uncomfortably at the idea of what she had turned into. She really didn’t want to see herself in a mirror.

She shook her head, before hesitantly stretched out a wing, immediately loosing balance. She hissed out in pain; her feathers bent the wrong way when she hit the floor. She would never had thought wings were so sensitive.

She whined, trying to straighten her feathers by flapping both her wings. They fell back into place after a couple flaps. She let out a sigh of relief; that felt way better.

She took a few steps around the room. That was easy enough. She turned around to look at the door to her room. It felt a little small compared to her, but she could easily get through, if she wanted.

She looked around the room, wondering where King had gone. The little demon was nowhere in sight. She felt hurt, but if she had woken up next the form she had taken; she would probably have fled too. She still wanted to find him. Or Eda… Maybe Eda would know what to do? She had been turned into a big winged monster before too. The only problem would be that she didn’t remember what happened when she was in that form…

She crouched down to crawl under the door, her wings quivering anxiously. I have to find King… She wanted her buddy close her again…

Her body felt way too big, as she walked down the hallway to Eda’s room. She shook herself, trying to get her fur to lay down again. It was unnerving to be so big.

She noticed the door was ajar when she got to it.

As she suspected; they were all in the room. Both Eda and King, but Lilith was there too. King clung to Eda unsurely, while Lilith and Eda watched her, as if they were trying to figure out the best course of action.

Since her suspicion about King telling them was right, there wouldn’t be much to worry about, as long as she didn’t seem dangerous. Her keeping a bit of distance would probably be enough. She sat down, waiting to see how they reacted to her.

King was the first to relax, letting go of Eda’s leg. “Hey, I don’t think Luz wants to hurt us!” He shouted excitedly. He was about to run up to Luz, when Eda grabbed him. “Weh?!”

Eda still eyed Luz suspiciously. “Just wait a moment, King, I want to make sure she’s safe to be around.” She let go of him. “Stay there.”

King stomped his foot. “No! Eda, I…” He seemed to think over his reply. “I have seen you when you were the owl beast; Luz isn’t going to hurt us, despite her looking different!” He scurried up to Luz, before Eda could grab him again. “Isn’t that right, Luz?” He patted her leg with one of his little paws.

Luz let out a soft rumbling meow as a response. That’s right! She would never hurt her friends! I was just looking for you! She lay down, grabbing King to bring him closer to her. She wanted to cuddle the adorable guy, like she had done before she fell asleep, immediately pushing him close to her chest. His horn pinched a bit, but not enough to really hurt her. I need to hold him closer… She thought, pulling him into a tighter hug.

His smell was weirdly pleasant, in a way that it wasn’t exactly a good scent, but it reminded her of something pleasant. Like the day from her childhood when she first got to hold a cat… He smelled comfortable and warm, exactly like a friend should smell.

Luz looked up when she heard the shuffling of Eda’s slippers as she stepped closer. Her brow was furrowed as she spoke. “What happened to you…?” She placed a hand on top of Luz’s paw. She remained quiet, as she thought. Her eyes widened, withdrawing her hand.

Luz wasn’t sure what her mentor was thinking, but she was clearly distressed. What’s wrong? thought Luz, tilting her head to the side. She didn’t realize, but a slow deep purr was building up in her in an attempt to calm the witch down.

Eda turned away from Luz and towards her sister. “Lily, we need to figure out what happened to Luz!”

Luz looked up at her too; the witch took a step back. “But it’s the middle of the night! Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

Eda got up on her feet from her crouched position. “But what if it’s a curse?” She crossed her arms, staring her sister down. “Do you remember how it went when you kept putting off my curse?” Luz held King close to her, feeling the uncomfortable tension in the room. “Either way; you owe my kid for what you did to her! You nearly killed her!”

Lilith glared back. “That’s not why I’m putting it off! Firstly, I doubt we’re are going to know where to look without thinking it through! And secondly, waiting until we can think logically about it is the best option!” Lilith’s glare disappeared after a second. “I promise I’ll help you figure out what’s wrong with your student tomorrow, but it’s better to get some rest.”

Eda lowered her arms. “I guess you have a point…” She turned back around to look at Luz. “Luz, will you be fine on your own?”

Luz tilted her head, mewing at her. Why should I be on my own?

Eda rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I really wish you could talk right now… Did you understand me?”

Luz moved King a bit, before she nodded.

Eda sighed, “so what are you asking me?”

King moved in her grasp. “Uh, Eda, I think I know what the problem is…” Luz pushed King back against her body.

It only took one look for Eda to realize what was happening. “Luz doesn’t want to be alone.” She walked back over to Luz, before she crouched down. “Look, I understand that you would probably feel better if you had someone to stay around you, but you know firsthand how violent I could be when I transformed…” she placed a hand on Luz’s arm. “If this is a curse; it’s better if you stay in your room, until we know what to expect.”

Luz shoved King in under herself. She needed someone to stay with her. “No!” Her eyes widened, as she realized she could get a word out. It didn’t quite sound like her, but she got it out.

But Lilith was quick to use a spell to pull King out from under her.

Luz scrambled up on her legs, hissing at her. Don’t take King! Her wings sprung out from her body threateningly; King needed to stay with her. She was about to attack Lilith, but Eda stood in the way.

Her wings trembled, before she tried to scare her mentor away by flapping them in front of her.

But she wasn’t fazed. “Quit it, Luz, this is not up for discussion.”

Luz huffed at her, lowering her wings a little, but as her gaze moved to Lilith, they flared up threateningly again. Give me back King!

Eda looked to her sister, before she looked back at Luz. “You’re not going to threaten my sister!” Eda sighed. “Urgh, I never thought I would be the type of parent to say this…” she pointed to the hall. “Go to your room!”

Eda’s wording caught Luz off guard, making her lower her wings again. Parent? Did Eda just call herself my mom? She took a step back.

Eda seemed embarrassed, but not about calling herself a parent to Luz, when she pointed to the hall again. “You heard me! Go to your room!”

She took another couple steps back, with her ears pressed against her head. Eda didn’t even acknowledge calling herself a parent. I don’t want to be alone… Yet Eda strict stare, and the confusion from Eda saying “parent”, got her to turn around and leave. I just wanted King with me… Maybe it’s better not to be so selfish. Luz didn’t want to hurt King on accident, and Eda was right; they didn’t know if she was dangerous.

She slowly trudged to her own room, her head hanging low.

 ¨¨

Her sleeping mat was way too tiny for her new giant form. She glared at it, knowing that it wasn’t going to be big enough for her from just a glance.

Even after adding a couple pillows around it; it was still too small. It was better than nothing. She tried to curl up as much as possible, but it still wasn’t very comfy. It would be better, if I had King with me… She thought grumpily, while trying to snuggle into the pillows.

 ¨¨

She lay restlessly, continuously shifting around and adjusting the pillows.

Her mind was racing with thoughts. Eda calling herself her mom… What was she going to make of that? She thought Eda was just calling her kid, because she was inexperienced. Did Eda actually view herself as a parent to her?

Luz hid her face in between her front legs. She didn’t know what to do… She had said herself that they were a family, but facing the fact that Eda viewed her as a daughter was too overwhelming. Especially while she was whatever she had turned into… Her emotions felt stronger than before, if she had been herself, she wouldn’t have tried to attack Lilith. She should probably apologize for that…

She curled together again, after adjusting a pillow. She would figure out what to think of Eda’s words the next day, if she could fall asleep.

But, of course, she never got calm enough to sleep.

She began pacing the room just to calm down after what felt like hours of thinking and shifting pillows. Yet her distress had entirely shifted from Eda, now all she needed was someone to stay with her and she would be good.

Her thoughts fell onto King again. If she could get to him, without Eda or Lilith noticing, then it wouldn’t be a problem anymore…

She sniffed the air, recalling King’s nostalgic smell. She could smell it in the air all around her, but it was faint… Yet, if he was still in the house; Luz could definitely find him. Her sense of smell had improved immensely.

 ¨¨

She found him in Eda’s room; to her luck Eda completely passed out in her nest, which she still hadn’t replaced with a more normal bed. Or maybe she likes the nest? She shook her head, looking away from Eda. Eda wasn’t awake; all there was left to do was to grab King and leave.

He was lying on top of big pillow that had been brought into the room for him to sleep on.

Luz smiled to herself, stopping herself from making any noises out of happiness. Her body started losing the tenseness that had been building up in it, as she walked over and gently picked King up in her jaws. King was just as heavy a sleeper as usual. He didn’t wake up from Luz carrying him with her to her room.

Her heartbeat was slowing down from the panic she had been feeling just a moment before.

 ¨¨

She gently put him down on the end of the pillows, making sure not to wake her tiny pal up.

She dragged her tongue over him, before gently hugging him and the pillow close to her body. But she lifted her head after realizing what she did. Did I just lick King? She scratched her tongue against her teeth, disgusted by herself, only to feel the hooks on her tongue getting stuck on her teeth.

Her tongue was hooked like a cat’s.

She stuck it out as far as she could, seeing the tiny spikes protruding from it. Her back prickled in uncomfortableness again, thinking of her catlike body. But that explained the weird feeling in her mouth… Cats lick each other to show affection… Maybe licking King had just been an instinct in her new form? A new way of showing she cared for him? That had been all she wanted to do… to show him that she cared.

She laid her head down on him again. She just wanted to get some sleep… Her worries about everything could, once again, wait. Maybe it wasn’t the healthiest choice to take, but if she used all night thinking about it; she would never get any sleep.

 ¨¨

“Luz! What in the titan’s name did I tell you?”

Her eyes flew open as she heard Eda’s loud angry voice. Eda was scolding her, why was Eda scolding her? Her paws grasped after where she remembered having held King, but he wasn’t there anymore; he was with Eda. She let out a deep growl. Eda took King!

She felt a surge of rage, before she flung Eda out on the hall and grabbed King. MINE!

Her grip on him tightened, as he shouted at her. “Luz! Let go of me!”

No! She needed to make sure nobody else could get to him; that nobody else could take him from her.

She barely gave it a second thought, before she shoved King into her mouth. HE’S MINE! Nobody would take him from her, if she ate him.

Her mind felt clouded, as she tried to swallow the little demon. She wasn’t herself anymore.

Eda shouted for her sister, but Luz barely acknowledged it. If she was quick enough, she could probably get King down, before she could make it into the room. But he was harder to swallow than he looked…

He screamed in a panic, as he squirmed. “Spit me out!” His unbroken horn poked her mouth irritatingly, but not enough to cut her palate. He jammed his head into the roof of her mouth, but the horn still didn’t poke through anything.

Luz squinted her eyes, as Lilith ran into the room. Her wings spread out in front of her again, trying to keep the two witches away. Go away! She commanded in her head. Don’t take King from me! She backed away with her wings shaking. They were harder to hold like that than they looked.

Not long passed, before Lilith tried to cast the spell from earlier again.

Luz quickly forced King back inside her mouth, shutting her jaws tightly. YOU WON’T GET HIM AGAIN! She could feel the pull of the spell, as she tried to keep her mouth shut. An idea popped into her mind. If I attack her, she can’t continue using the spell.

Luz lowered her wings, immediately pouncing on Lilith and shoving her to the floor roughly. She made sure to keep her arms tightly pressed to her body. Now she wasn’t going to be annoying her anymore…

Luz noticed Eda looking on in terror, in the moment she glanced at her mentor. For a second, she felt bad, but then she remembered how she had taken King from her. Yet she felt a twinge of guilt. Eda must feel powerless… But Luz wasn’t going to hurt King; they would all figure it out in a moment.

She tipped her head up, trying to swallow King again.

King continued to fight against her, but it didn’t help him.

Luz felt the painful scraping of his horns in her throat, as some of him finally slipped down. Her nose wrinkled in discomfort, almost making her spit him back up, but she wouldn’t let the others get him now. He was hers. Her claws came out again, without hurting Lilith, from just the thought of somebody taking her friend away. Nobody gets to take him…

She swallowed again; she could feel how much Lilith was struggling to get out of her grip. Her tail lashed in annoyance. She wasn’t hurting any of them; why was she so panicked? She was careful not to poke her with her claws, so why was she like this?

Luz felt King try to squirm his way back up her throat, but it wasn’t working out well for him. She gulped one more time to get him completely past her mouth. She licked her lips in contentment, despite feeling the rough shape of his horns while he made his way down towards her stomach-like pouch.

She swallowed again to get him down quicker. The faster she got this done; the faster she could let go of Lilith. Once they realized King was safe, there was nothing to worry about.

King quickly disappeared into her chest, and slipped the rest of the way into her pouch. Her body finally relaxed, and she started to feel a bit of herself returning.

Her ears focused on the surprisingly silence in the room, shifting around to try and pick anything up. It had been so noisy just before with screams of frustration and yelling, but now it was completely silent.

She sniffed the air a bit, licking her lips again, her mouth tasted like the faint smell of King. What had just happened didn’t feel completely real to her. It was more like a strange half-dream just before falling asleep.

A scream for help broke the silence, making her jump.

She thought the sound had come from her stomach, but that couldn’t be right. It was King’s scream; why would he be in her stomach? She listened intensely, trying to make sure that the noise wasn’t coming from her belly. But something did seem to be moving in there.

Another panicked shout sounded and her ears immediately pressed down again her head. “Luz, please let me out! I don’t want to die like this!” The noise came from her middle and that was King.

But if King is in my stomach…

Luz’s eyes widened, as she realized what she had just done, backing off Lilith. Why did I think this was a good idea? She began retching immediately, but King’s horn jabbed into her stomach walls. She tried again and again, but the feeling was too painful with her already sore throat.

Her fur stood on end at the thought what she had done. Why did she think this was safe? How could it be? It hadn’t even felt like her own thoughts! What have I done? She stared down into her paws, trying to figure out a way to get King out. I really messed up.

Nobody knew what to do, and Luz resorted to retching again. She couldn’t have killed King! She wasn’t going to let him die! Help! she begged inside her head. She tried to press on her belly, but still nothing happened; King was stuck in there.

She tried to puke him up again and again, but the only thing she was achieving was a stomachache.

Her body began to shake from the constant attempts to vomit the demon back out.

Luz looked down at Eda with pleading eyes, but she knew there was nothing either her or Lilith could do.

King was still somehow squirming around in her stomach, begging for help, but Luz knew that she didn’t have a long time to get him out. But her stomach and throat were hurting too much. I can’t give up… She wouldn’t let her friend die, but she physically couldn’t try to save him anymore.

A thought hit her, making her bring her claws out again. But then it was a question of her life or his life…

She brought her paw up to her face. My claws might be sharp enough… she thought. There couldn’t be a lot of time to decide. But if it’s not a perfect cut I’ll just get both of us killed.

Luz’s ears shifted, as she heard Lilith whisper. “What do we do now?” Her gaze fell on the woman; she had gotten back up on her legs, and stood anxiously at Eda’s side.

Eda still stared in shock, making Luz regret her actions even more. “This didn’t have to happen…” she got out. “We could have avoided all this if we just thought to use a single sleep spell at ANY point!” Eda slumped down against the wall again. “Now we can’t do anything to help King…”

Luz felt even worse, at the reminder that King was helpless now.

Why couldn’t she just get him back out? She stared down at her claws again, as her heart thumped rapidly in her chest. Should she take her own life to save King’s? She placed a paw on her belly, which she only just noticed had become eerily silent. Her fur stood on end, as a chill ran through her. There was no movement under her paw.

She spread her wings out and screeched in horror. NO! NONONO! Her wings flapped in panic, as she slammed her paw back on the floor. She had to get away.

Her wings crashed into the ceiling, as she panicked, making her withdraw them. Her heart pounded, while sprinted past Eda and Lilith out onto the hallway. She had to have killed King. Her best friend was dead. She couldn’t stay in the same house anymore; she had to get out of there.

She tried to jump down the stair in her panicked run, but she tripped on the last steps and fall the rest of the way down.

She scrambled up on her legs again, running for the door in the kitchen.

Someone upstairs shouted her name, but she couldn’t stop; she needed to get away.

Her heart pounded, as she tried to pull it open. In her panic, she didn’t even know where she was going. The only thing she knew was that she needed to run.

Her wings shook in fear, before the door finally opened. She squeezed her body through the door, letting her birdlike feet scratch the floor in her panic. She immediately turned to run for the forest, after escaping the walls of the Owl House.

She picked up a full speed sprint, as soon as she made her turn. Her panicked mind didn’t let her feel the slight movement inside her belly, leaving her unaware that her friend wasn’t dead.

The trees seemed blurred around her, as she ran as fast and as far into the forest as she could.

After a while, she lost her balance midjump. Her hindlegs caught a giant boulder she was trying to leap over. Her body gave up in exhaustion, and, not even trying to catch herself, she let herself fall and slam into the ground.

Her lungs burnt from the running; she had never sprinted so long and at that speed before in her life. Her muscles had never felt so stiff after a run.

She curled up.

Her heart was pounding painfully in her chest, as she panted for breath. Why did she kill her best friend? Her throat and stomach ached from the stress she had put her body under while trying to vomit her friend back up. She couldn’t stop herself from crying anymore. I just wanted King with me…

She lay on the ground, still panting, with the thought of what she had done to her tiny buddy. Her tears ran across her face, and she didn’t bother to wipe them away. She had eaten him for no reason, turning on him with no warning. Eda probably didn’t even take him… He could just as easily have left on his own.

Luz took a deep shaking breath, before closing her eyes. There wasn’t anything she could do anymore. She exhaled, equally shakily, and tried to fall asleep.

She fell into unconsciousness in less than a minute after all her struggling to get a night’s rest. If only it had been that easy from the start…

 ¨¨

Hours passed of her sleeping on the ground, as the sun rose over the trees. It was already midday when she woke up.

She stretched her legs, feeling how stiff her limps were. Everything seemed to pulse in pain, and a bad feeling made her heart pound a little too fast, but she didn’t know what it was yet.

Her wing hurt from lying down on it in her sleep. She rolled onto her stomach, stretching both of them out as much as she could.

She yawned, looking around the forest, as the realization of what had happened hit her. The slight dread she had felt when she woke up turned to horror in less than a second.

Again, her pulse quickened, but she felt too weak to even try to stand up again.

She whined, but she noticed her stomach still felt as heavy and full as the night before. That wasn’t right… She rolled onto her side, pressing the lump, only to hear a startled shout from the inside.

Luz’s eyes widened. King is alive! She rolled over on her stomach again, tilting her head. How is he still alive? She concentrated on her voice, desperate to form a single word again. “King?” It came out smoother than she thought it would, with barely a bit of stammering, before she got it said.

He wriggled around, as Luz tried to wrap her mind around the fact that her friend wasn’t dead. “Luz!” He pressed his body against her sore stomach. “Get me out of here!”

Luz wanted to get him back out, but she also wanted to ask him how he could possibly still be alive. I’ll ask first. Though, there was still the problem of not being able to speak normally. After a few seconds of thinking, she came up with an easy way to phrase it. “Alive?” She stammered a bit, but it still came out understandably.

He paused, “Uh, yes, I am.” He sounded confused. “Why would you ask?”

He waited for Luz’s response, but she wasn’t sure how else to phrase it. She hummed, thinking it over. The answer hit her a second after. “How alive?” She was getting more used to her mouth and voice, and shook her head. I sound stupid. But she couldn’t form longer sentences yet.

“How I’m alive?” He thought about it, before shouting at her. “I don’t know! Just get me out of here already! I have been in here for way too long! … I think.”

Luz got up on her legs. Maybe I could try once more… she thought, as she started heaving again.

To her surprise, King was coming back up. Maybe it was due to both of them being a lot calmer than last night.

She winced at the rough feeling of his sharp horns, as he came back up.

It nearly took a minute, but eventually King slid back out of her mouth.

King shrieked, and nearly fell onto the ground, before Luz grabbed him. He shook his head, immediately blinking at his surroundings. “Uh, where are we?” He sat up, looking around the forest. “It’s already daytime!” he exclaimed in surprise.

Luz looked up at the bright sky, before thinking about his question. She tilted her head, looking around the forest herself. She didn’t actually know where she was; she just dashed as fast as she could. Did she run straight after her first right or did she turn again later? She didn’t remember anything from her panicked sprint. Maybe it was time to find her way home to the Owl House. Knowing that King was safe gave her enough energy to walk.

She watched him for a while, before deciding to put him up on her back.

 ¨¨

Her legs nearly gave out under her, but she made it home after a long walk. She did not remember having such a long way back, but she was thankful to be back.

Hooty was wide awake, looking at something on the ground. He tilted his head, watching the tiny bug on the ground, just about to eat it, before he looked up at Luz and King. Even the sight of Hooty comforted Luz, despite his hesitant look.

King sighed behind Luz’s head. “Let’s hope he doesn’t talk too much… I’m not in the mood to listen to him today.”

Luz smiled a bit; she didn’t really want to hear a word from Hooty right then either. They had all had a scary night.

Hooty stared at Luz in disbelief for a couple seconds. “Luz?” His confusion made sense, given the fact that he hadn’t seen her since yesterday’s afternoon. “Is that you?”

King groan quietly from his position atop of Luz’s shoulders. “Hooty, shut your beak and let us in; I’m too tired for this.” Luz couldn’t agree more on the tired part.

Her muscles ached at the thought of needing to get up the small steps of the stairs, but she knew she could manage it. Soon, she would get to lay down and rest in the, earlier unappreciated, soft pillow bed she had made.

She clambered up the stairs, careful not to lose her balance. All four of her legs seared with the pain of overexertion, but she nearly tripped all the way back down when she saw Eda standing not that long away from her.

Luz didn’t know what to think of the look Eda was giving her, as she climbed the rest of the way up. It changed from anger to relief and then it turned into fear. Luz bowed her head to show that she had King on her back. “Sorry.” That was all she could get out as an apology.

Eda didn’t say a word.

Luz gulped nervously. Could Eda forgive her after all this? She grabbed King putting him down on the floor. She kept her head low, as she started heading for her room.

 ¨¨

She didn’t remember having made such a mess, but she had. I guess it does make sense with how much I beat my wings. She quickly arranged the pillows again, before lying down to rest her sore muscles.

She closed her eyes, curling up on the pillows, getting some comfortable sleep after everything that had happened would be nice. The room was nice and quiet, and she wasn’t stressed about anything anymore.

Until she thought about the fact that she hadn’t had anything to eat since… technically King, but nutritionally, last night’s dinner, and being aware of it made it so much worse. How were they even supposed to get enough food for her? Cats and owls are both carnivores, but how could we get enough meat…?  Her stomach churned. What if I have to eat people? Her fur stood on end. What if I can only eat people?

Her heart started racing, as she felt like vomiting, but she took a deep breath. Calm down; you don’t know anything yet… It could be as simple as her just needing regular sourced raw meat. Or maybe she could live off cat food? The thought wasn’t particularly appetizing, but it was better than eating people. I could live off cat food for a while… But that just made the next worry hit. When will I turn back to normal?

Her worries didn’t seem to have an end, but to her luck, someone knocked on the door.

“Hey, Luz, can I come in?” It was Eda.

Luz stammered out a yes, watching the door open.

Eda looked at Luz, but her face was hard to read. Her expression seemed sad, but it was hard to tell.

Luz felt the need to apologize again, but she didn’t; she waited for Eda to start talking.

They watch each other anxiously for a while, before Eda spoke. “You can only answer easy questions, right?”

Luz nodded, adding another yes. She might as well train her speech.

Eda furrowed her brow, thinking over her questions. It couldn’t be easy to come up with questions that didn’t start with why. “Do you feel better now?”

Luz tilted her head at the question. Was that what she wanted to ask? How do I feel? Despite her new worries, she did feel better than when she attacked Eda and Lilith. Luz thought about it a little more, before she nodded again. “Yes.”

Eda untensed her shoulders, before she moved over to sit by Luz. “So you’re not going to fling me into a wall again?” There was a clear joking tone to her voice, but Luz felt ashamed. “But, I have been wondering… Did you know what you were doing when you ate King?”

Luz tried to think back. She could recall small bits, but she hadn’t been in control entirely. She remembered watching Eda and seeing how scared she was, but it was all a bit of a blur from when she first shoved King in her mouth, up to the point where she realized he was in her stomach. She shook her head. “Not really…”

Eda looked conflicted. “I’m guessing that means you don’t know why you ate King…”

But she was wrong. “No, I do.” Luz wasn’t sure she could explain it simply, but she did remember why she decided to eat King. She tried to stammer the first words of the sentence. “I didn’t want…” It took her a few tries, but it was starting to make more sense. She continued. “you to take him.” Her last clear thought before it happened had been “He’s mine”.

Eda raised an eyebrow, as she realized Luz was starting to speak more. “You ate him to make sure I didn’t take him…” Eda chewed on the thought.

Luz watched her, but Eda stayed quiet. She laid her head down on the pillows, letting her body rest.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, because Eda spoke again. “Okay, let me get this straight; you didn’t know what you were doing when you ate King, but you do remember why you ate him?” Luz glanced anxiously up at Eda, feeling like Eda thought she was a liar.

Luz fiddled with her paws. “It’s hard to explain.” It was strange to think back on. She recalled thinking that King was safe. Like the part of her that had taken over knew that King wouldn’t melt to nothing but bones, or maybe bones and fur, in her stomach. “It knew he was going to be safe.”

Eda cocked an eyebrow again. “It? What are you talking about? What knew?”

Luz thought about it. “Me, when I ate King.” Her own brow furrowed. “It was and wasn’t me.”

Both of them sat in silence for a few seconds, before Eda changed the subject. “Is there anything you need?”

Just the question reminded her of how hungry she was. “Food.” It felt embarrassing to ask for, after she had eaten King, but she was starving. She would really like something to drink as well.

Eda stared at her, with a hint of worry in her eyes. She tried to turn to her fear into a joke. “How are we going to feed you? You’re nearly big enough to eat me like you ate King!” But it was pretty clear to Luz that her mentor was scared of her, because of that.

Luz decided not to mention that she knew she was big enough to swallow Eda whole and alive, if she wanted. She didn’t even have to try to compare the size of her mouth to her; it was like the instinct that had told her King was safe, except this she knew for sure. “Do we have enough food?” asked Luz, tilting her head once again. “Can I get something to drink at least?”

Eda quickly agreed, before she made her way to get Luz some water.

 ¨¨

Luz dozed into her half-sleep again, waiting for Eda.

Her ears twitched when she heard the door open again. Eda was holding a giant pot of water with little struggle. “I hope this isn’t too hard to drink from.” She placed it down in front of Luz. “You still drink like you do normally, right?”

She was going to figure that out in a moment. That’s not a lot of water. It was probably a little bigger than a regular cup to her. She picked it up on her paws, before trying to drink.

She spilled a little of it, but it went well. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

 ¨¨

Luz ended up falling asleep after a while, despite her hunger.

She slept for a couple hours, before there once again was a knock on the door. The scent coming from the door was Lilith’s awful bitter smell, and only became stronger as she stepped inside. Luz heard her start with the word “human”, before she dropped the name entirely. “We need to talk.” Luz was pretty sure the only reason she didn’t call her “human” was because it didn’t describe her anymore, not out of any actual respect.

Luz scrunched her nose. Maybe there was one person she wouldn’t mind eating, if she had to eat people… She never liked Lilith and she was pretty sure she wouldn’t change her mind anytime soon.

Her tail lashed, and she squinted her eyes, before she calmed down enough to speak. “About what?”

Lilith seemed annoyed with her too, but she was a little better at hiding it. “About what happened to you.”

That caught Luz’s attention. “What happened?” Maybe some of her worries would finally pass. Or they would be confirmed.

Lilith stared at her with a cold expression. “As far as I have found; it’s not a curse, but what it is, it won’t be easy to cure.”

Luz didn’t know what to think of that. “But it can be?” If it could be cured, then that was all she needed. How am I going to go to school like this? She had never seen any giant monster cats at Hexside.

Lilith snapped her out of her thoughts. “Yes.”

It was quiet between them for a few seconds, before a question popped into Luz’s mind. “Why did King not die?”

She hesitated a bit, before she answered. “It wasn’t your actual stomach; it was more of a pouch…” She trailed off with a slight thoughtful expression. “Whatever you are now, is very fond of companionship, but the way it shows that is by eating its smaller friends. It also happens to be how it protects them.”

Luz didn’t like how Lilith looked at her. “I wasn’t myself when it happened.” She lowered her head, as she remembered what she did to Lilith. “I’m sorry that I attacked you, when you tried to take King.” She paused, before rewording her sentence. “I meant save. Not take.” Part of her still felt they had taken King unfairly, but she didn’t need to say it.

Lilith looked at her, before she turned around to leave.

Luz remembered her earlier worry. “What can I eat?”

She gave a quick annoyed response. “Anything made of meat.”

Luz nodded, despite her already having left the room. At least I’m not vegetarian… That’s one bright side. Her stomach was still painfully empty, but she figured either Eda or King would call her down when it was time to eat. She knew she was going to be difficult to feed, so they might not have anything ready yet.

However, she was starting to feel restless.

She stretched her body, before getting up on her legs again. They didn’t feel much better, but she didn’t want to just be doing nothing the entire day. She looked over at the window, only to see that the sun was hanging low already. Oh… Well, I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep at night anyways.

Her body ached as she thought about her fall down the stairs the day before. And her tumble over the boulder… It didn’t hurt as much as it should, but that was probably just her new form being more fit for a life on the Boiling Isles.

 ¨¨

King was sleeping curled up on the couch when she first saw him. Luz smiled, but felt a bit weird about what Lilith had told her. If eating him was how she would show affection, did that mean that things like hugs and small kisses wasn’t enough anymore?

She sat down beside the couch, not feeling the need to move any farther. There was plenty of room, making her feel a lot more comfortable.

Now all there was left to do was wait for dinner.

***

And that’s the end of this story! I really really hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!

A last few notes though.

The reason Eda is acting different is just that I imagine that that’s what being without her powers would do to her for a while, until she gets used to using glyphs. Especially in the presence of a giant hungry cat...

The second thing is that King passed out in her pouch. Bad timing, but he was terrified and I kinda did it just because... I wanted Luz to panic.

And I made everything get explained in the story, because I wanted to make sure everything made sense. Or at least so you could see the reason I did certain stuff.

But again, thanks for reading and I hope you all have a great day! <3

#sfw vore #safe vore #T0H vore #drawing

[atinybitofau]

[ateez] W O O Y O U N G ⇢ the breakup

MAKING NEW FRIENDS MAKES YOU CRAZY AND HIM TOO

warnings: I wasn’t able to put a cut so ya’ll gonna have to live with the long length, I’m sorry in advance but I hope ya’ll still like it.

• your friends were BAD

• you just wanted to fit in at work, you know.

• it’s hard as it is that you moved to a new place just two months ago.

• your boyfriend was ecstatic though that you were able to get closer the LDR getting a little much for him.

• but now, your friends were.

• “They’re great people, Woo.”

• no they weren’t.

• “Are you fucking— y/n, they’re taking advantage of you. And your goddamn place at your work as charge nurse. You’re fucking kidding me right?”

• he was overwrought by your blindness.

• how his girlfriend that was sometimes a little too naive,

• starting to piss him off more than he loved you.

• “You’re just angry because I’m making some time for them than I am with you.”

• his jaw slacked at that one.

• maybe the city life was making you mentally ill.

• he was thinking he can’t stand you anymore.

• “You think I’m telling you this because I’m jealous of those stuck up bitches? No, y/n, I’m telling you this because I’m worried about you. Worried that they’re gonna corrupt you.”

• you roll your eyes because you think he’s being hysterical and possessive.

• “Can you leave me alone? I spend more than 36 hours at that place with those people. And they choose to treat me nice. What’s wrong with you!”

• “Wrong with me?”

• Wooyoung was bouncing off the walls at this point.

• eyes blood shot ears red, body convulsing in anger.

• “What’s wrong with me? You’re fucking asking me that after you come home telling me— and laughing might I add about one of those girls basically calling you a whore. And you have the fucking audacity to ask me that?” you snap.

• from overworking at a city hospital.

• from being too caught up in the nice attention.

• from being deprived by your boyfriend from time to time.

• it gets to you and you can tell this isn’t going to get any better.

• “Did you just call me a whore?”

• now he thinks you’re mad.

• “You can’t be fucking serious.”

• you were gathering your things wanting to leave before things get too heavy.

• before things are said that you’ll both regret.

• but you two are too close to it, right there actually.

• “Yeah I’m gonna call you a whore. Just like your friends did. Doesn’t sound nice, huh? When it comes from someone who really matters.”

• you stare at him bewildered and horrified.

• dizzy nonetheless.

• you slap him square on the face and the horror on yours mirrors on him.

• “You can call me stupid. Ugly. Fucking mental for making friends I think are nice.” you start vicious and torn, “But I’m not gonna let you call me a whore. Not with the mouth I let you kiss me with.”

• he lets out a shaky breath.

• cold.. it feels cold when it reaches your face you almost flinch.

• “You’re sick, y/n. You’re fucking sick.”

• you’re crying.

• he’s okay with it right now.

• right now because he’s thinking this isn’t his girlfriend anymore.

• “Why are you being like this, Woo?”

• he can’t stand you.

• his love that was balancing on a thin line had lost it’s efforts.

• he gives up and so do you.

• “Why do you hate me now?” you continue your questions as if his answer might help.

• “Because you stopped loving me. Started loving them. Sick— it’s sick I’m still trying to love you when you’re love changed. I don’t want that.”

• you cry the last tears knowing this was it.

• you had to say goodbye.

• “Maybe you can find somebody that’ll be okay with your deluded shit. Find somebody to kiss, that’ll let you call them a whore.” you grab your things and turn on your heel. “But I’m done.”

• as he watches you leave, he doesn’t think about following you.

• he knows it hurts.

• that for someone he’s loved for so long slowly changes over the years.

• enough for him to slowly hate you.

• “I loved you, you know?” he whispers when you’re halfway through the door, broken and hard voice when he says the last words. “Loved you before you changed.”

• you close the door behind you.

• because you slowly start to think you didn’t change..

• or maybe did you?

• “I-I’m sorry, guys. I’m not really in the mood to drink tonight.”

• they sneer a half hearted smile before telling you. “That’s okay. We don’t need you for tonight, anyway. See you tomorrow, y/n!”

• it took around,

• a day?

• a day for you to realize Wooyoung was right.

• how your friends started to change you.

• that you’ve become blind cause of the city life.

• and it’s been about a year?

• since you moved to Seoul and now you want to move back home where life wasn’t hard for you.

• and it’s been about 6 months since you last heard from or saw your ex boyfriend.

• “Hey. Happy birthday, y/n.”

• you’re holding your pillows crying a river while your sister calls you from home.

• you crying so hard, your heart hurts.

• and unlike a couple months ago, you don’t have anyone to wipe the tears away.

• “I want to go home.” you tell her and she feels your regret, your pain.

• “I w-want to leave and never come back. That coming here for Wooyoung was a mistake cause he’s not even here anymore.”

• “You need to get over him. He’s not going to just come back, y/n. If he was, he would’ve been there with you already. You pushed him too far.”

• “I know..”

• “Then suck it up.”

• you feel like the worlds against you.

• you have a 14 hour shift in a couple hours and you’re about ready to topple over.

• you have about five new patients, piled up logs and checklists before you hear a new patient is here with a fractured ankle who’s requested you.

• the world was definitely against you right now.

• “I’ll always be here. Even if I’m not there, okay?” your sister tells you.

• you sigh, “Okay yeah. Yeah okay.”

• you think maybe this was your breaking point.

• you close the browser tab opened with the title REQUEST FOR TRANSFER after sending it without your sister knowing.

• it’s time you go home.

• “I can’t believe you’re leaving.” your coworker, and now only friend, someone Wooyoung wasn’t present for, hugs you while she helps you buy some things for your flight home.

• chuckling you say, “I can’t stay.”

• “Just because he never stayed huh?”

•you sigh thinking it’s past you when it’s not.

• “Ugh! I can’t believe you. Why didn’t you tell him that you came here for him?”

• “Are you crazy?” you laugh leaning over her to pay. “I couldn’t have just told him that. He never would’ve let me come.”

• “Yeah but if he had known you busted your ass to get your job maybe he wouldn’t have—“ she stops herself while you think.

• you just want to go home.

• want to forget you loved Wooyoung enough to sacrifice everything just for him.

• “Maybe he wouldn’t have left you like that. You learned your lesson. He didn’t even have the decency of trying to come back to you. Trying to make it work again.”

• you chuckle as she cuddles into your side like a koala. “You’re ridiculous.”

• “I cant believe ANYONE— anyone would ever leave you when you’re always so giving. Always give too much for your own good.”

• “Well that’s why we broke up remember?”

• “That’s not what I remember.”

• your lips part because—

• that voice wasn’t your best friend.

• dause she was gawking, staring in horror behind you not even blinking.

• you whip around with the same expression and he just laughs.

• looking gorgeous as ever, his friends behind him with matching expressions with yours.

• “Long time no see, y/n.”

• you freeze.

• and your friend beside you innocently tugs at your sleeve, “Is that him?”

• you nod violently beside her. “Yup.”

• “Do we run?” she whispers.

• “We should.”

• Wooyoung’s smiling.

• smiling cause it’s nice to see you made a friend that isn’t someone he remembered. someone who makes you as bright as he did once.

• not the way you glowed with people who you basically slaved to.

• “Why’s he smiling?”

• you look back at your friend and lightly slap her. “How am I supposed to know?!l”

• “He’s your ex!”

• “That doesn’t mean I know!”

• he watches you.

• doesn’t say a word actually even if his friends are standing behind him confused, head tilting and lips smiled.

• heart warmed to see you like this again.

• not the same girl he left behind.

• the same girl he fell in love with.

• “Tell him!”

• “Tell him what?”

• he’s amused that you two whisper but are standing right in front of him.

• reminds him of the both of you a couple years ago when the love was still there.

• “Tell him you’re leaving!”

• you mentally face palm before your friend’s hand goes to her lips. “Whoops.”

• “You’re leaving?”

• it can’t possibly be because of him, he hopes.

• “Y-yeah. Tomorrow.” you mumble nudging at your friend.

• you blush, hands shaking and nervous.

• he remembers when he first met you.

• how you looked when he did.

• when he asked for your number at a random hotel in Jeju.

• “Wait— W-why are you leaving?”

• “Tell him.”

• he looks at your friend again. “Tell me what?”

• you’re lost in his eyes when she pushes you against him.

• he feels new. like a fresh start almost.

• “Y/n, tell me what?”

• “Fuck with this crap already,” your friend rolls her eyes behind and admits, “She came here for you, you idiot! Now tell her not to leave.”

• he’s stunned.

• millions of things were running in his mind.

• — thousands of questions but one expression.

• “I thought you said they offered you a job here.”

• you blink up at him not realizing the lack of space in between you two.

• you want to tell him so the last weight leaves your shoulders before you go back home.

• “You said they asked you to come here...”

• “I spent months.” you mumbled looking at his lips more than his eyes.

• wondering if he actually found someone that would kiss him after calling her a whore

• “Spent months um.. on a couple more courses just to wait a couple more on the waiting list. Couldn’t sleep a day or else I’d lose my place. Lose the knowledge if I didn’t pass the test. It took four tries actually.”

• he didn’t know.

• hell if he knew he wouldn’t have let you walk out of his life the way you ran obstacles to get to his.

• “You.. you what?”

• you softly smile returning back to your place by your friend.

• “This is Hyemi by the way.” you introduce the two to each other. “I met her after we broke up..”

• “Hi dickhead.”

• he looks back at you.

• “I met her after you left.. helped fill the void for a little but I want to go back home.”

• he’s distraught.

• heart hurting like it did months ago getting over you

• you spent all that effort, time, and torture just trying to get to Seoul.

• for him none the less.

• now he’s the reason you want to go home?

• he’s thinking cause he left you alone in a life that isn’t yours.

• it’s his.

• “Y/n, why didn’t you tell me?”

• “I didn’t want you to tell me to stop.”

• your smile only makes him fall for you again.

• the naivety, the generosity.

• why he loved you?

• because you always give— give him more than he needs sometimes.

• and it shows again after so long.

• “If I stopped doing what I was doing.. I wouldn’t have been able to come here and be with you. You always asked me to come to Seoul. And I wanted to do something for you.”

• hell, you always did.

• you always did too much for anyone.

• “Fucking hell, y/n. You idiot.” he mumbles. “Why would you do that?”

• you chuckle awkwardly. “Well.. at the time, I loved you. And at the time, I would’ve done anything for you.”

• he’s speechless.

• his friends are too—

• always thinking you were a little too much for him to handle.

• and they know now you are.

• except in a less condescending way than they thought.

• “You did all that for me. And now you’re just gonna throw it away because I’m out of your life?” he reiterates the situation for him to understand. “The opportunities you get here.. aren’t enough for you to stay?”

• “Wooyoung the only reason I stayed was because of you.” you reiterate for him to understand in your words. “Why should I stay now?”

• your friend tried to bid you goodbye at the airport.

• tears falling from her face when she’s finally convinced you’re actually going home.

• “You’re really going?” she asks to make sure.

• “I’m really going.”

• “You’ll visit, right?”

• “I’ll definitely try.”

• you wait a little.

• expecting something more especially after the encounter with Wooyoung a couple days ago.

• maybe another reason to stay.

• but it’s always you who gives.

• why would the world give something back all of a sudden?

• but all of a sudden, Wooyoung’s at your childhood home.

• front and center with a bouquet of flowers and a little velvet box in his hands— suit and tie.

• reiterating the situation as, “So maybe Seoul wasn’t good for you. And neither was I. So I at least have to make it up to you. Please take me back?”

• your lips go straight,

• shaking your head trying to process all this.

• especially when you had work in an hour and you had arrived back to your hometown just yesterday?

• “Wooyoung. What the hell are you doing here? You’re miles away from home.”

• he chokes on that.

• what is he doing here? why did he leave home you ask?

• well he’s gonna try to give back as much as you gave him.

• and this might be too much for you to handle.

• but who were you to deny such a giving gesture?

• “If you took lengths to get to me, it’s only right that we start over. Me taking lengths for you.”

@atinybitofau

#jung wooyoung #wooyoung #ateez wooyoung #ateez #ateez break up au #wooyoung break up au #ateez preferences #ateez one shot #ateez reaction #ateez scenarios #ateez imagines #wooyoung imagines #wooyoung reaction #wooyoung scenarios #wooyoung one shot #break up au #ateez au #ateez x reader #wooyoung x reader

[maybankiara]

PHONE SWAP (DREW STARKEY)

14: FRIENDS

summary: Addie Mallory is just your average economics student when she meets Drew Starkey at her local Target in Atlanta. This is where the story is supposed to end – a short meeting and a picture to go – except Drew accidentally leaves with the wrong phone, and the story begins, instead.

w/c: 4k

a/n: this is compensation for ch 12. also check if you’ve read the previous chapter bc apparently tumblr didn’t notify people??? also check this out before reading!!!! it’s a cute reference for later on in the chapter and will 107% enhance your experience ok

read on wattpad

previous part | series masterlist

Drew is late. Obviously.

  According to the time displayed over a candid photo of Drew grimacing (she still hasn’t changed it back to normal, not even after Holden noticed it), it’s only thirty-five minutes past noon. Addie sits at the corner table of Waystone with a cup of warm coffee sitting in front of her, trying to kill time.

  On a shelf behind her, there’s a nice green plant. Addie doesn’t know anything about plants, but she does like the way this one looks – it fits the creamy brown of the coffee shop walls. It was actually Marianne who introduced her to the spot, and Addie hadn’t been a lover of staying in for a coffee until then, but the girl made her fond of the European tradition. She was only happy that Drew seemed to be fond of it, too.

  Plus, there aren’t many people inside with her right now. Most already came in the early hours of the morning or will come in the afternoon or evening, after work. Addie presumed that’ll make Drew feel less worried about being recognised.

  Before she met him, Addie didn’t think Drew would be a little… awkward, to put it that way. She spent some time thinking about it, then chalked it up to the circumstances of their meeting. As much as she’s still aware that he's an actor, and not an unsuccessful one at that, she reckons he must be aware that she is someone who’s seen his work. That’s the whole reason why they met in the first place.

  So, Addie has decided to take it upon herself to eradicate that barrier between them, one way or the other. She banned Marianne from acting like Drew is the Drew Starkey from Outer Banks instead of Addie’s acquaintance Drew, and she asked the same from her other friends.

  It sounds easy. It’s supposed to be easy.

  When she sees Drew walk into the coffee shop and smile at the waitress, then glance around, looking for Addie, she takes a deep breath and gives him a small wave.

  Addie will make it easy.

  ‘Hey, sorry I’m late.’ Drew plops down onto the chair with ease. He’s wearing a fitted black T-shirt and a light blue baseball cap that he takes off and puts on a table, throwing around a subtle glance, before his eyes set on Addie.

  She smiles at him. ‘Don’t worry, I expected you to be.’

  His shoulders visibly relax a little, and he nods at the cup in front of her. ‘So, you got coffee already?'

  ‘Yeah. Sorry, I wasn’t sure how long I’d be waiting here and I didn’t want to seem rude by just sitting here, not buying anything. I wouldn’t want the girl to get in trouble because of me.’

  ‘No, it’s fine, don’t worry. Is there a menu?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Addie leans over and reaches for the menu that’s propped on a holder on the empty table next to them, then hands it to him. ‘We didn’t get one.’

  ‘Right.’

  Drew shuffles through the pages of the menu with a slight wrinkle between his brows. Addie notices how they’re almost straight, one a bit thicker than the other, and something about that makes the corners of her lips tug ever so slightly upwards.

  ‘Are we getting just coffee or do you want something to eat, too?’

  ‘I planned on getting food when I’m back at my place,’ Addie admits. ‘But you’re more than free to get something, I won’t mind.’

  ‘Alright. I’ll be right back.’

  He gets up with a tap to the table, and he’s off to the counter. The girl working behind it doesn’t freak out when he approaches her, so Addie figures she doesn’t recognise him.

  Not too long ago, Addie was working in a small coffee shop, back in Denver. That’s what she spent most of her summers doing – travelling was something that was for after she’s done with all her studies, and working was what gave her the money she needed for both. She wonders if a celebrity—or as much of one as Drew is—ever approached her and she didn't know.

  Maybe. So far, she hasn’t recognised any of the faces, and Denver isn’t really a place for celebrities as much as Atlanta is.

  The sound of chatter fills the space. Drew is making the waitress laugh, half-leaning against the counter as he rests his hand on it.

  It’s not flirtatious, at least not as far as Addie can tell. He ends up waving to the girl and comes back to the table with a wide grin.

  ‘That’s Nikki,’ he answers Addie’s unasked question as he takes a seat. ‘One of my friends used to date her, she hung out with my group a few years back. Didn’t know she works here now.’

  ‘Oh, cool.’ Addie remembers her promise not to make things awkward, so she relaxes into her chair, takes a sip of her coffee. ‘What did you order?’

  ‘Latte and strawberry pancakes.’

  ‘So you’re a latte and strawberry kind of dude.’

  Drew lets out a chuckle, lifting an eyebrow in amusement. ‘Judgy much?’

  ‘Nope. Just thought you’d be, hm…’ Her thoughts trail away, and she rests her elbows on the table, placing her chin on her palms. She looks at him, at the rough lines of his face – the high cheekbones, the long eyebrows, the kind, intelligent blue eyes, and lips that seem oddly soft. ‘Black with a sprinkle of milk. And, like, a croissant or something. Strawberry’s good, though, I approve.’

  Drew’s pose mimics hers, and it takes all in her to keep herself from laughing. ‘Your pronunciation of croissant is very... French.’

  ‘My roommate is half French. You bet she made sure I knew how to pronounce croissant.’

  ‘Ha. Knew it.’ At this, Addie quirks an eyebrow. Drew sighs. ‘Fine. I didn’t. I thought you were French.’

  ‘Wrong. Denver, born and raised.’

  ‘Well.’ The smile he gives her is playful, and a whole lot more open than any she’s seen on him before. ‘Guess we read each other wrong.’

  Just as Addie is about to reply, the waitress—Nikki—greets them, placing a mug identical to Addie’s in front of him. Drew thanks her and she tells him the pancakes will be in a few minutes, then walks away.

  ‘Hey, Drew,’ calls Addie. She raises her mug and nods at him to do the same. When he does, she clinks the mugs together. ‘To getting to know each other.’

  The actor repeats the word with a smile.

  They chat, for a bit, mostly about coffee preferences. Addie tells him how she started with having straight black every morning back in high school, switched it to afternoon in college, then to drinking cappuccino in her senior year. He tells her how he drinks straight black when on set, a habit from college, and latte is what he rewards himself with when he's not working.

  A bit later, Nikki comes back with a tray, as promised. Drew makes small talk as she puts a pancake plate with chocolate poured over the strawberries on top, and then she places another one in front of Addie.

  ‘Thanks, Nikki,’ says Drew before Addie gets a word in. The girl walks away, and he eyes the plate in front of Addie. ‘You said you like these, right?’

  Addie just stares at him, for a moment. She thinks she should say something, ask why he got one for her, too, and then— ‘I do. Thanks.’ A beat. ‘You didn’t have to.’

  ‘Hey, if you don’t want it, I’ll take it.’ His mouth is already full, fork and knife in one hand each.

  Of course Addie can’t help but smile.

  She takes the cutlery herself and dives into the pancake, making sure he can see her roll her eyes. ‘This better not be another way to apologise for stealing my phone.’

  ‘Nah, that’s not it. I just didn’t want to be the only one eating.’

  The wide grin on his face is enough to tell her that he’s being honest about this.

  Addie ends up teasing him a little more as they eat their pancakes and finish their latte and cappuccino. It gets easier, talking to Drew. She doesn’t even notice when the starting awkwardness turns to laughter and jokes, all caution and reservation either of them might’ve had, thrown out of the window.

  Time goes by, and Addie doesn’t notice.

  They end up deciding to go on a walk around the neighbourhood. There’s a nice park nearby that neither of them has been to in ages, so that’s on the agenda for the rest of whatever their time together. Addie snaps a quick photo of the coffee shop before they leave.   She’s planning to do just the interior, when Drew leans into the frame, squirming a little.

  Addie laughs and focuses the camera on him, taking a quick shot. ‘Already missing being in front of the camera, huh?’

  ‘Always.’ Drew makes a grimace at the camera, looking twenty-six and six at once. ‘Want me to take one of you?’

  ‘Nah,’ says Addie, shaking her head. She then turns her camera off and puts the phone into her back pocket, ready to leave.

  Drew follows suit. He puts the plates one on the other, cutlery, too, and brings them to the counter. Addie follows his example and brings the cups. Nikki thanks them and Drew just waves her off, both of them saying goodbye to the waitress.

  The air that blows into their faces as they leave the place is fresh and welcoming, a slight chill present even under the October sun.

  She feels Drew bump into her. ‘What’s the deal with the photo?’

  They take a turn around the corner as Addie gathers her thoughts, hands finding their way to her pockets. ‘I just like having evidence of the things that happen, I guess.’

  ‘But not posting it,’ he says. He lets out a nervous laugh then, scratching his nose. ‘Sorry, I stalked you a little.’

  ‘Fair. ‘Cause, you know, me too. Obviously. But yeah, I like my privacy. Putting shit out there is a bit... I don’t know, iffy, I guess.’

  ‘So you just take pictures of everything?’

  ‘Pretty much. It’s a great way of keeping memories.’

  Drew takes a turn earlier than Addie would’ve expected, and she takes a second to follow. He waits for her to catch up to him, sighing as he does, as if doing so is a great bother.

  Addie rolls her eyes again. ‘Don’t give me that face.’

  ‘What face?’

  She points at him. ‘That face.’

  They fall into step and it’s as easy as breathing. Drew’s presence at her side stops being something she’s aware of like a summer breeze, and more like the stability of summer warmth, instead.

  ‘What do you do with the photos?’ he asks.

  Addie chuckles, a cheeky smile stretching over her face as she glances at him. ‘I print them. Put them in an album. Basically the exact thing our parents used to do.’

  ‘Why not just get a film camera, then?’

  ‘Because it’s weird to carry a film camera wherever you go. Or any camera, for that matter. Using your phone is just convenient, I guess.’

  ‘You’ve got a point.’

  They turn another corner. Addie recognises the road – it’s about half an hour’s worth of walking back to her apartment, and in about five minutes, they’ll be at the park. Around them, birds chirp, high up in the skies. She hears a faraway plane, cars that pass by them speeding past over the limit, and kids screaming at one another in one of the back alleys, game or not.

  The silence between them isn’t heavy. She hears their footsteps, too, hers faster than his. Drew’s close enough for her to just feel him at her side.

  ‘How long have you lived here?’ asks Addie.

  Drew glances at her. ‘I moved here after graduation, so... about four, five years, now? It feels longer than that.’

  Addie chuckles, hands in pockets. 'Yeah, I get that. How come you picked Atlanta?’

  ‘Job prospects, mostly.’

  ‘Ah, yes. The blooming film industry of Atlanta.’

  ‘It’s true! It’s no Hollywood, but it’s easier to find gigs here than in LA,’ he admits. ‘If I ever move to LA, it’ll be because I’ll think I've got enough of a resume to pick up some bigger roles.’

  ‘So no toilet commercials, then?’

  Drew gives her a look that’s part disbelief, part amusement. It comes with a smile, so Addie gives him one in return. 

  At the point of walking into the park, Drew’s telling her about what his first experience of Atlanta was like. The girl finds herself laughing a lot – he’s a good storyteller, motioning with his hands a lot more than she’d expect him to, and a lot of the story benefits from the way his voice carries the words. 

  The bench they sit down on is in the middle of the park, right in front of a modest fountain. It used to be the pride and joy of the neighbourhood, Drew tells her, but someone kept trashing it and they eventually stopped trying to repair it. 

  ‘It’s still kind of cute,’ Addie notes.

  It makes him chuckle. ‘Right. You’re allowed to dislike it.’

  ‘Okay, it looks absolutely nothing like a park fountain and I’ll file a complaint to the major.’

  ‘That’s more like it!’

  Addie gives him the same look he’d given her a couple minutes earlier, and he breaks into a big smile. 

  ‘Stay like this,’ she tells Drew. ‘You're getting in front of the camera again.’

  ‘Oh, boy. As if that’s a problem.’

  He begins to move in place almost immediately and Addie grunts, taking a quick snapshot before he’s able to ruin everything. She takes another one, and then another one, and before she knows it, they’re laughing their hearts out as Drew makes the oddest faces at her, tugging at his hair and saying some of the weirdest shit she’s ever heard. 

  Before she puts her phone away, she scrolls through the photos they’d taken. Drew leans closer, their shoulders touching, and watches them with her. 

  Addie is aware of his proximity in a way that she hasn’t been before. She feels his breath on her shoulder and his hand on the bench is dangerously close to her thigh; her thumb trembles a little and she really hopes he doesn’t notice. 

  Drew puts his finger on the screen just as she’s about to scroll forward. ‘I like this one.’

  She chuckles.’'It’s not bad.'

  ‘Right? It should definitely be in one of your albums.’

  The feeling that brushes over Addie in the moment after Drew says that is like a smile, but filling out the entirety of her body. Whatever barrier they had between the two of them, it’s gone now, as if it had never existed. 

  Addie composes herself, hoping Drew won’t think much of her hesitation. ‘Obviously. That’s where all photos of my friends go.’

  Friends. The word hangs between them like a soft exclamation mark, an unspoken promise. 

  When Drew moves a little, Addie feels the sudden lack of heat at her side as if someone had blown cold air into the spot. ‘Good.’

  Despite its ugliness and age enhanced by vandalism, the fountain has running water. The stream is just loud enough to notice if one is listening, as some of the machinery pushing the water upwards seems to be out of function. It’s a nice, soothing white noise – Addie feels as if time doesn't flow according to the same rules here. 

  The feeling inside her chest is something she’s never felt before, yet she can’t put it into words. It’s like trying to catch a thought without thinking about it – here and there and nowhere at once. 

  She wonders what Drew is thinking about. 

  He sits with his back against the wooden backside of the bench, one arm on the metal armrest. His eyes are fixated on the fountain in front of them, eyebrows slightly furrowed, lips parted in thought. 

  She looks at him, and he’s Drew. Not an actor; not a stranger. 

  Her friend Drew. 

  She sees him run his tongue over his lips, right before he turns to her. ‘I’ve got a film camera. I should bring it sometime.’

  Sometime – a promise of this not being the last time. A promise of this happening again, when he’s back from LA. 

  Addie faces him with a bright smile, her fingers fleeting in her lap. ‘You should also get an album. So we can keep the photos somewhere.’

  ‘Or we use one of yours,’ he suggests. ‘I don’t know anyone our age who still keeps albums.'

  ‘Physical copies are more secure and permanent than whatever we keep on our phones or in the cloud. It’s just the maths of odds.’

  ‘Is it?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘How long have you been collecting photos?’

  Addie ponders about it for a second; the hum of water running fills the moments in-between. ‘Ten years, give or take.’

  ‘You’ve got the albums here?’

  ‘Some. Most are back in Denver, but I’ve got the ones I took here.’

  ‘Can I see them?’

  The “now” is silent, but Addie hears it nonetheless. It sounds like the water running; it sounds like the “friends” they'd just declared themselves. 

  His eyes are looking into hers, deep and gentle; Addie is astonished at just how blue they are. She’d thought they’d be a clear blue, like a crystal glass, but they’re muddied with sprinkles of green and yellow, even some grey around the irises. 

  She nods. ‘Sure. My roommate is going to be out ‘till late, anyway.’

  He nods, too, and smiles a little. ‘Cool.’

  It’s settled – they’re going to Addie’s. 

  About half an hour later, Addie feels like she’s bringing an old friend to a new home. Their conversation feels up the walls of the building as they climb up the staircase – his laughter does’'t feel out of place here, even when they enter the apartment and Addie makes him take his shoes off. 

  ‘Leave your coat here, shoes there, and feel free to take those slippers if you want. The albums are in the living room, underneath the stack of French books,’ Addie instructs as if she were reading it off a list. Drew chuckles and does as told, following her into the living room like a really tall puppy. ‘Want something to drink?’

  ‘You got a beer?’

  Addie grins. ‘You bet.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  She nods, already halfway to the kitchen, and holds herself still against the doorway to nod at him. ‘Which one?’

  ‘What you got?’ 

  Addie hears him plop down onto the couch with a sigh of comfort and makes a mental note to tell Marianne that Drew Starkey enjoys the couch the French-Brit picked. She opens the fridge, eyes glancing over the assortment of beers (mostly courtesy of Marianne’s boyfriend, Tom). ‘Heineken, White Claw, Corona—’

  ‘I’ll take White Claw.’

  ‘Basic bitch!’

  ‘I like a reliable drink, alright!’

  In the end, Addie walks back into the living room with two glasses, a can of White Claw, and a can of Heineken. She finds Drew on the floor instead of the couch, surrounded by a heap of albums that Addie recognises in a heartbeat, a familiar stack of French books shifted to the side. 

  The sight of Drew hunched over photos she took at her friend Leanne’s twenty-third birthday party last year makes her laugh, and the sound startles him. 

  ‘Sorry,’ he says. His cheeks redden in an instant and he rests his palm flat on the album. ‘I didn’t mean to just start rummaging through your personal stuff.’

  Addie shakes her head. ‘I told you where they were for a reason, Drew.’ She joins him on the floor, gives him a glass, fills it up to the brim, then pours Heineken into hers. ‘These are from a birthday party, the first one I attended in Atlanta. A little over a year ago. I met Leanne’—she points at the brown-skinned girl on one of the pictures—‘literally, like, a month before this. She was friends with Marianne’—points at the plump ginger-haired girl—‘before I met her.’

  ‘You met Marianne in Atlanta?’

  ‘Kind of. Give me a second.’ Addie leans over the album Drew’s got in his lap and reaches for the one furthest back. She flips the pages until she’s gone through about a fifth of the album, and the first photo that pops in the left upper corner of the page is a selfie of her and Marianne in no place other than Waystone. 

  Addie smiles at the picture with a fond smile on her lips. ‘This is when I met her for the first time, at least in real life. We’d spoken beforehand for about a week or so, a lot of the move and everything happened suddenly for the both of us. Marianne spent her first week here with her boyfriend, Tom, who’d moved to Atlanta a few months prior. She suggested Waystone, we hit it off, and that’s how it all started.’

  ‘That’s a nice story,’ comments Drew. ‘How’d you meet her?’

  ‘Mutual friend. Iona. Marianne’s friend from back home, she went to Berkeley with me.’

  ‘Damn.’

  ‘Yeah’'

  Drew raises eyebrows at Addie as if asking for permission, and she nods at him. He takes the album and flips through it, slowly, asking questions here and there, commenting on Addie sometimes. 

  There is something irrevocably intimate about sharing your life with someone like these. Addie’s always thought physical albums carry more weight than any other form of memory collection, and she’d always collected them for herself first. It’s different from social media, where everything is curated to be nothing short of perfection, for others to see. 

  Now, Drew is seeing into Addie’s past in a way that’s as close to partaking in it as possible. Her friends, her experiences, her dumb photos – with a glass of beer in hand, music playing on Marianne’s speaker in the corner of the room. 

  She tries to remember if she’s ever so openly shared her life with anyone before this, and she can't. 

  Out of the corner of her eye, she watches Drew. The corner of his mouth is curled into a permanent half-smile, moving only as he remarks a photo he’s looking at in the moment. His hair is still messy from their impromptu photoshoot, and it looks dark brown under the apartment light. Addie notices he’s got freckles, all around his nose and under his eyes. 

  She doesn’t know the exact moment they became friends, but they did. Now, Addie can’t picture a life where Drew isn’t a part of it. 

  Some time later, when they’ve gone through two albums, a dozen more stories, and two more beers, the door opens with Marianne just about screaming bloody murder. Addie answers to her name with a calm, inconspicuous voice, and motions to Drew to be quiet. 

  In the end, it’s a bit of a ruckus, when Marianne just about faints at the sight of Drew Starkey chilling on the floor of her living room, surrounded by cans of beer and a heap of albums. It’s over soon, with Marianne calm and managing to find out that Drew likes goulash because his old neighbour was Hungarian and would make it for the Fourth of July, and that he is a basic white bitch who loves White Claw (Marianne gives him a lecture on buying alcohol in bulk, aka the British binge-drinking practice). 

  In the end, Marianne doesn’t consider him a celebrity anymore, either. He gives Addie his phone number (‘It’s simpler than Instagram, I’ll see it faster.’) and promises to let her know when he’s back. It’s two promises in the form of one, both verbalised this time, and they reassure Addie that she isn’t the only one considering them friends now. 

  He leaves, and she cleans up after themselves, getting Marianne up to speed with their hangout. 

  Addie could get used to this.

◇

15: ALCOHOLISM IN HOLLYWOOD

tagging. @jjmaybanksbaby​​​​​​​​ @taiter-tots​​​​​​​​ @sacredto​​​​​​​​ @snkkat​​​​​​​​ @drewswannabegirl​​​​​​​​ @yeslifeofateen​​​​​​​​ @rudypnkw​​​​​​​​ @stfukie​​​​​​​​ @x-lulu​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​ @drewstarkey​​​​​​​​ @butgilinsky​​​​​​​​ @solllaris​​​​​​​​ @hyperactive2411​​​​​​​​ @chasefreakinstokes​​​​​​​​ @surferkie​​​​​​​​ @jroseron​​​​​​​​ @k-k0129​​​​​​​​ @starlightstories​​

#drew starkey #outer banks #obx #drew starkey fanfiction #drew starkey x oc #phone swap series

[marshmallow-phd]

Midnight Hours

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Sehun x Reader

Summary: For you, being a good witch was easier said than done. Something dark was lurking inside of you and the others knew it. When you’re forced to tag along with Soomi and help a local wolfpack face a coming evil, you’re sent on a path that breaks into a crossroads. While you struggle with your inner demons, could the wolf Sehun be the key to your ultimate fate?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I 15 I 16 I 17 I Final

**

“W-wha… what!” You stared at Sehun like he’d just taken his head off his shoulders and started playing basketball with it right there in the kitchen. 

“Ha-ha, Sehun, very funny,” Tao scoffed with absolutely no amusement in his voice. 

“It’s not a joke.” His face was flat, only the tiniest bit of scrunch between his eyebrows showing his frustration. 

“Sine when was the witch your mate?” Baekhyun questioned. 

Jongdae shook his head. “If she was your mate, we would have noticed by now.”

“I don’t know, I think it explains a lot,” Harper said with a shrug.

Luhan frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on. I’m not the only observant one here, am I?” When everyone just continued to stare at her, Harper rolled her eyes. “Sehun was disappearing more and more after she showed up, he always made sure to eat on the opposite side of the kitchen during meals, and he was aware of the fire before anyone else on the second floor even smelled the smoke.”

Glances were exchanged between the pack members, epiphanies widening their eyes. You, however, were still trying to process the confession. Though you weren’t too familiar with the process of mating in the wolf world (it wasn’t exactly a heavy topic that was squeezed in between herbal antidotes and natural energy), you were starting to connect the dots. Could that really be the explanation for how Sehun’s presence and touch made you feel?

“Sehun, you aren’t just saying this so we don’t make them leave, right?” Junmyeon asked. The younger wolf stared him down, his other arm crossing over to hold onto your shoulder as if you might be snatched away from him at any moment. Taking that as the answer, the alpha side and turned to the other leader. “This changes things.”

The struggle was written all over Kris’ face. He still didn’t trust you and with his daughter to protect… well, you couldn’t entirely blame him. You’d scared yourself with the fire. Lsoing control in that aspect was not normal. The vision was making even you doubt yourself and where you were headed. But for some reason, leaving this place terrified you more.

“Kris.” Reluctantly, he turned to his mate who’d called out so gently to him. Evie gave him a half smile, her eyes soft and warm enough to make all the tension in Kris’ shoulders melt away. She adjusted her child on her hip to a more comfort position as she said, “It’ll be okay, sweetheart. She belongs here.”

Your breath hitched in your throat as those last three words. Belonged? How did she know that you belonged here with them? Sehun could say you were his mate over and over, but that didn’t automatically give you a place amongst them. Her words were breaking you.

Reaching up, you gently removed Sehun’s hand from your shoulder. He didn’t fight you, but a muted whine in his throat told you that the action was indeed hurting him. Not physically, of course – you weren’t strong enough to really hurt a werewolf – but it was hurting him inside. “I need some air.”

“But, (y/n)-”

“Give her some space, Sehun,” Junmyeon said.

Grateful for the insertion, you took the opportunity to slip out of the kitchen and through the house until you were outside again.

It was still raining, the droplets coming down hard enough to create a curtain between you and the forest, blurring the trees and field as if you were looking at it through warped glass. Considering you just showered and weren’t really in the mood to be soaked all over again, you stayed on the porch, wandering over to the swing that hung off to the side. You pulled your feet up and focused on the slight back and forth motion of the swing. The sound of the rain against the overhang was enough of a distraction that you weren’t completely overwhelmed by what had just transpired.

Mate? Really? You? Were you even worthy of such a title? You thought over each and every girl tied to the wolves and concluded that there had to be some sort of mistake. You didn’t fit in with them. They all melded together cohesively – even Harper with how well she got along with Hae In and Lottie. There couldn’t be a place for you. Perhaps Sehun really was only trying to help stop Kris from kicking you out and the truth would come out eventually.

The squeak of the swing made you look up. Soomi sat down in the empty space, placing a hand on your knee. An expression of sympathy decorated her face, but you could see the smallest hint of sadness behind it.

“How are you doing?”

Lowering your eyes, you picked at a piece of wicker that was sticking up from the seat. “I… don’t really know.”

“It’s not something to be scared of,” Soomi insisted. You wanted to scoff, but you held it back. Yes it is. In her motherly way, Soomi caressed your temple with her delicate fingertips. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Why can’t I choose anything?” you blurted out to your own surprise.

Soom’s hand stopped. “What do you mean?”

Frustration starting to boil over, you looked up at her with a hard expression. “Everything that I’m supposed to get to choose in my life, I can’t. I never got to choose what branch of magic I wanted to study, the mothers did. I didn’t choose to come here, you did. And now? Now the person I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life has been chosen for me by Mother Nature herself? What did I ever do to have all of that taken away from me?”

“But Sehun isn’t a bad guy,” Soomi argued. “Out of the people to be mated to, he’s-”

“Don’t! Don’t try to sell me some crap about how I should be thankful that at least he’s a good guy. I’ve seen that. It doesn’t make this feel any less unfair.”

Soomi nodded. “So, are you going to tell me that you didn’t have any sort of feelings for him before you knew you were his mate?”

You opened your mouth, but no argument was to be found. Because, sure, you were developing feels for him. But did that matter? You didn’t even get to choose to have those feelings….

**

Sehun pushed off the doorframe, deciding that he didn’t want to hear anymore. He wasn’t exactly sure what your reaction would be in that split second that he decided to spill out his secret there in front of the whole pack, but… well, this was the opposite of what he was hoping for.

Of course you needed space to process. His plan had been to tell you at the construction site, but then he took the sudden rain fall as a sign to wait. The kitchen was the first time that the wolf had completely taken over and the words were out before he could think it through. He should have told Junmyeon as soon as he’d realized the connection between the two of you. He should have told you by the river or earlier today or in the garage. So many times. So many could haves, should haves, and would haves. But he couldn’t change anything now. He’d simply have to lie in the bed that he made.

“Sehun.”

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Junmyeon was standing in the living room waiting for Sehun to reemerge from the front parlor. He had that look on his face: the stern, get-ready-for-a-lecture type face.

“If you’re going to tell me that I should have told you sooner,” Sehun grumbled, “you can save it. I’ve already given myself that speech.”

Exasperated, Junmyeon rana hand down his face. “That’s kind of important information, Sehun. Why didn’t you say anything earlier? If not to me than at least to (y/n)?”

Sehun snorted. “You’re one to talk.”

“I would have hoped you learned from my mistake.”

Okay. Well played. Sehun sucked in his lips, mulling over his terrible excuse before finally releasing it. “I was kind of hoping to… ignore it.”

“Ignore it?” Junmyeon didn’t look like he was about to start yelling, but looks could be deceiving. “What made you think you could ever ignore something like this? Especially after Jongdae?” He shook his head with visible disappointment. “You know, as the last one to find their mate, I’d hoped that you’d learned from the rest of us on how to avoid it being a mess. How to not screw up and hurt your mate.”

“That’s all I ever do,” Sehun said in a quiet voice. “I make dumb decisions. I try so hard, but I’ll never be like the rest of you guys. I’m not as fast as Kyungsoo and Minseok or even Luhan. I’m not as strong as Chanyeol and Kris. I’m just average in everything. Even in this.”

“Now, Sehun, don’t-”

He didn’t want to hear it. “I’m tired. I’m going to go lie down.” He managed to dodge Junmyeon as he passed and escape down to the basement. He ignored the stares of the others that were gathered down there after the end of the “meeting”. It was painfully obvious that they’d been whispering about him, but he didn’t care. With a hard tug, he threw back the blanket that covered the pullout couch, dropped onto the lumpy, thin mattress and closed his eyes. He wasn’t actually trying to go to sleep, but this seemed like the best way to sulk without too much risk of interruption.

 Several hours later, Sehun was cursing at himself as he ascended the stairs. He’d fallen asleep after everyone else had left the basement and leaving behind silence in the small space. It hadn’t taken too long for his mind to drift off, giving him the tiniest taste of peace.

Unfortunately, he’d slept through dinner and no one had bothered to come get him. It was probably safe to assume that they were trying to be nice and give him time to recover from the meeting, but that didn’t mean he had to like missing out on fresh food. Now it was well past midnight, the house pitch black. It didn’t take long for his wolf eyes to adjust to the darkness, but his mind was still sleepy and too preoccupied with the notion of finding food to pay too much attention to where his feet were going.

Eyes still half closed from the blinding light of the fridge, he fumbled through the shelves to find any remnants of food that didn’t require to be cooked or heated up. In the middle of his search, his ears caught the sound of slight shuffling and soft, sleepy moans. Curious, he closed the fridge door with as little sound as possible and snuck into the living room.

Lying there on the couch, sprawled out still in yesterday’s clothes, you were sleeping away, although not so peacefully it seemed. A frown formed harsh lines on your forehead and you continuously tossed and turned. What were you doing down here? Sehun knew from personal experience that sleeping on the stiff couch cushions would make you sore in the morning. Releasing a heavy, but noiseless sigh, he bent down to scoop you up – then he hesitated.

The notebook that you’d been carrying with you since you’d arrived was haphazardly laying on the floor, pages bent and scrunched under its own weight. You must have fallen asleep with it still in your hands. Fully knowing that it was an invasion of privacy but still unable to help himself, Sehun picked the notebook up and flipped through it. Even by skimming, he could tell that the rambling scribbles were of your visions. It was hard to decipher in the dark at first, given your half sentences and random descriptions. But one particular vision was not like the rest. The details were more cohesive, as if a story were being told. You spoke of a white wolf and a clearing near the river. You even describe your emotion: happiness. No fear was in your words as you spoke about the wolf approaching you and the softness of the fur against your fingers. Sehun couldn’t help the smile on his lips. If your visions were true, perhaps there was a chance after all.

Finally content, Sehun carefully closed the notebook so all the pages were flat once again. It was difficult to do so without waking you, but he managed to scoop you up from the couch before heading for the stairs. Your features smoothed as you clung to his shirt. The wolf in his chest purred at the proximity. He tried to push the euphoric feeling down, but when you buried your face into the space near his collarbone and sighed contently, it was useless. His arms tightened around you, not wanting to enter his bedroom and let you go. You could spend the rest of the night in his arms with him standing out there in that hallway and he’d be happy, completely gratified. However, come the morning, you might not be.

So, he gave in, managing to open the door with one hand while keeping a steady grip on you, and shuffled over to his bed to put you down. Shoving his hands in his pockets to avoid the temptation of caressing your face, he stared down at you for another minute or two. Creepy? Yeah, most likely, but he couldn’t help himself. Seeing you so… relaxed and void of tension was comforting to him. He wanted to make you this way all the time, even when you were awake.

“Sehun?”

He jumped, at first thinking it was you who had called out his name. But you were still fast asleep, which only meant…

Turning around, he cringed at being discovered by Soomi. He thought he had been quiet enough, but the witch must have been a light sleeper. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I just thought she’d be more comfortable up here.”

“I’m sure she will be,” Soomi agreed with a nod.

With an awkwardness now hanging in the air, Sehun pressed his lips tightly together and started for the door with a mumbled, “G’night.”

“Wait.”

He held back a frustrated groan before glancing over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“She’ll come around eventually,” Soomi said.

Sehun nodded, but gave no other verbal response. That was always the answer, wasn’t it? Give the mate time. They didn’t have the same understanding of the pull, of the desire that the wolves did. But hearing that didn’t make things any easier.

**

Confusion was a normal mental state whenever you’d had a long, hard sleep. However, this morning it had been more than just a deep slumber that caused the confusion. You were sure the last thing you remembered was being on the couch in the living room, reading over that vision with the wolf for the millionth time. And yet, when you opened your eyes, you were in the second floor bedroom, your notebook placed nicely on the nightstand next to you. Someone had to have carried you….

Cheeks heating up with the possibility of who had moved you to more comfortable sleeping spot, you threw the covers off and got out of bed as slowly and quietly as you were capable of. Soomi was still fast asleep on the other side of the room and you wanted to keep it that way. Boots in hand, you snuck out of the room, going down the stairs before making it out the door to the safety of the porch.

The rain had stopped by now, but the grass was still visibly wet and the soil was a thick, sticky mud. It didn’t stop you, though. With the rest of the house still soundly asleep, you were taking the opportunity to get some air and really think through your current predicament. The trees created a nice cover in which to lose yourself to the inner workings of your mind.

The truth was… you liked Sehun. A lot. And the fact that the want from yesterday had turned into a truth was giving your stomach a strange, bubbling feeling. Maybe it was just the magic behind the mate pull, but the more you thought about it, the more you were okay with the idea. At least you’d have someone on your side at all times. And he’d never looked at you once like you were a freak or abnormity the whole time you’d known him. He’d fully accepted you, just as you were.  

You’d been walking for while along the river, watching the sun rise higher as you came to terms with the new card life had dealt out to you. It wasn’t a bad draw, just another event that you could deal with.

This was what Soomi had meant by time in your conversation by the swing. You only needed time to work out the situation and you’d be fine. It wasn’t the end of the world. And, despite what you’d said yesterday, you were appreciative that Sehun did seem to be a good guy. He hadn’t shown you any reason to hate him. Not yet, at least.

A howl ripped through the air, startling you and causing you lose your footing.

Splash!

You landed right on your backside in the cold water. Immediately, your teeth began to chatter. You tried to push yourself back up to your feet, but only managed to lose your balance again and landed forward on your palms. Now your legs and arms were soaked. Fantastic.

To add insult to injury, a wolf emerged from behind the trees, howling once again as he trotted down the hill and sat in front of you in the trench that contained the river. He watched with amused eyes as you climbed out of the river and rung out as much water from your clothes as you could.

Huffing, you put your hands on your hips. “Thanks for the help.” The wolf simply stared at you, even cocking his head to the side. It was embarrassing to be caught like this and frustrating to no end. “What, Sehun? What are you staring at?”

“Actually, that’s Luhan.”

Minseok – obviously holding back a laugh of his own – came carefully down the slope and stopped next to Luhan. “It’s easy to get them confused. They look the same in human and wolf form. Kris can’t tell them apart if he’s just woken up.”

After clearing your throat, you said, “Oh, Sorry. I just-”

“(y/n)!”

You cringed. Oh, great. More of an audience.

Sehun now became visible as he came over the hill. He wasn’t as graceful coming down as his pack mates, but he still made it over to you, cupping your jaw in his hands as his eyes search for any sign of major injury. “Why are you all wet?”

“I tripped,” you said. You couldn’t see your own face, but you were sure that you were blushing with how warm your face felt. Or maybe it was just Sehun’s palms against your cheeks. Either way, you were no longer shivering from the cold water and that was nice at least.  

He shook his head. “What were you even doing out here so early?” He frowned, biting on his bottom lip. “You weren’t… running away, were you?”

You scoffed as you rolled your eyes. “No. I just wanted to go for a walk. By myself. Thinking tends to be easier that way.”

By the way his mouth twitched, it was evident that Sehun wanted to argue against you coming into the woods by yourself, but the smart boy kept it to himself. He dropped his hands from your face and took a step back.

“Look, can we talk?” You asked. After a quick glance over his shoulder, you added, “Alone?”

He nodded eagerly. The other two didn’t need to be told.

“Come on, Luhan,” Minseok patted the wolf’s back. They hiked back up the hill and were out of sight. Sehun waited, head cocked as he listened to their retreating footsteps.

“Okay,” he sighed, “we’re alone now.”

In a swift motion, you turned on the balls of your feet and head back in the direction that you’d came.

“I thought you wanted to talk?” Sehun said.

“I do. But I’m also wet and need to change.” You held up your arm for emphasis. “I just thought we could walk and talk.”

“Oh.”

However, there wasn’t much talking between the two of you as you moved in the direction of the farmhouse. The words were right there, whirling around in your head, trying to make their way to your mouth so they could escape, but nothing made it out. You’d come to a decision, so why was it so hard to tell him so?

“So, I’m your mate,” was what finally came out. The worst choice, really, in stating the obvious.

“Yes.”

“And you’ve known since you first saw me.”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Your mind drifted back to the garage and the other time by the river. “So, have you just been playing with me to see how far you could take it before you finally told me?”

“What? No!” Sehun looked hurt that you would even suggest such a thing. “It’s just… hard to control sometimes, being around your mate. Our instinct is to be near you. To be as close as possible.”

“Ah,” you nodded. “I think an ex-boyfriend used that excuse once, too.” It was meant as a joke, but the look on Sehun’s face told you that he didn’t take it that way.

“Have you dated a lot? In the past?”

You stopped mid-step. While you were never the popular girl in the coven, there were still a few who’d asked you out. Nothing ever lasted, but you still had a history. “Yeah. You’ve got a problem with that?”

“No. Not at all.” He didn’t look at you, keeping his hands firmly in his pocket. It was kind of cute to see him pout.

“What about you?” you asked. You didn’t care all that much, but you thought you should return the favor.

His reply was a shrug.

You huffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He glanced at you in the corner of his eye. “It means I’ve never had anything serious.”

“But you have dated?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

“Jealous?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Too bad.”

You rolled your eyes, not giving that the dignity of a response. The farmhouse came into view much sooner than you’d expected and you broke through to the clearing.

“I know you said you weren’t running away earlier,” Sehun said as you came to the porch, “but are you still running from me?”

Fighting the smile on your lips, you turned to him, stopping just short of the steps. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I think… I think I’ve accepted that I’m your mate. I was starting to like you anyway and this – well, it sort of uncomplicates things.”

Sehun frowned. “Uncomplicates?”

“Well, yeah. I saw what Soomi went through with Junmyeon and I didn’t want to get attached just to get my own heart broken.”

“I’d never do that to you.” There was nothing but sincerity in his voice and eyes. “I will never hurt you.”

You swallowed back the tears that were building behind your eyes. “Promise?”

“Promise.” Reaching out to you, he gently took your jaw in his hands, the pads of his thumbs gently caressing your cheeks. He pulled you in close and met your lips with his. There was no hesitation on your part. You gladly returned the kiss, wrapping your fingers around his hands in an effort to bring you closer to him. If you thought his touch brought you warmth and comfort… it was nothing compared to the feeling of want and belonging his lips conveyed to you.

Only a few seconds went by before Sehun stopped. You opened your eyes to see why and followed his gaze. That’s when you spotted them.

Several bodies were scrambling away from the door, but it was too late. They’d already been caught. Your first kiss with Sehun had had an audience.

“So that’s what that feels like,” he mumbled under his breath.

So privacy was not going to be an option here. Smiling a bit mischievously, you looked back at Sehun. “Wait here.”

An actual whine left his throat as you ascended the stairs. He had a grip on your sleeve when he asked, “Where are you going?”

You held up your other arm again to remind him. “I’m going to go change. My clothes are still wet and it’s freezing. After that I thought we could go back… to the other house?”

Something flashed in Sehun’s eyes and you didn’t need to be a genius to figure out the cause. He let go of your sleeve. “Okay. But hurry.”

You snorted. “Down boy.”

Sehun rolled his eyes. “Just hurry up.”

You ran into the house and headed for the stairs, barely paying attention to the group of people pretending to be busy and “natural” in the living room. Thankfully, your room was empty and you made quick work into changing to fresh, dry clothes before bouncing back down to your wolf waiting for you below.

#exo #exo wolf au #exo wolf!au #sehun x reader #oh sehun #exo werewolf!au #exo werewolf au #exo fanfiction #exo fanfic #exo supernatural au #exo series #Midnight Hours #untamed wolf universe

[thenicenamesaretaken]

Whumptober 2020 Prompt #14 IS SOMETHING BURNING? -- Branding

So, this is pretty much pure self-indulgence.

This is set in a as of yet non-existent Western AU that I may or may not be writing starting next month. I was trying to think of how I could brand our boy in a way that hadn't already been done (aka by a cult) when I suddenly realized I needed to write a scene where John tortured him for this AU anyways... so here ya go.

Malcolm pulls against the ropes tied tight around his wrists, cutting deeper into skin that’s already rubbed raw and bleeding. His ankles are in a similarly damaged state, the rough hemp chords chafing and burning, but never getting any looser despite his struggles. That pain, though, is nothing compared to what he knows is coming. From the moment he’d woken up, laid out on the forest floor, bound spread-eagle, stripped of his shirt and boots and socks, he’d feared what he knew was to come.

The memories he has of his attacker are blurred by the darkness of pre-dawn, and the blow he’d received to his head, but he’d caught a good enough glimpse of the man’s face to know who has him. John Watkins. The killer Malcolm and his fellow Marshals have been hunting for weeks, for months.

They know everything about him, by now. How he’d been raised by his hateful grandparents on a small ranch, forced to do the work of three men ever since he was a child. How he’d tried to run away and become a cowboy, but couldn’t find an outfit that would take him because of his temper. How he’d started killing folks—whores and drunkards and cheats—bleeding them near dry, then branding them with a stylized cross to help them ‘atone for their sins.’ The man was proud of his work, writing in to the local papers after each of his kills to expound on the sins of his victims, and take credit for saving both the sinner, and the town, from their misdeeds.

Despite his boasting and the numerous wanted posters and hefty bounty on his head, Watkins has been a nearly impossible man to catch.

And now, he’s caught Malcolm.

And Malcolm fears he knows exactly what the man has planned for him.

He can smell a fire burning, though he can’t see it. He hasn’t seen anything but the trees around him since he woke, no sign of his captor or any clue as to where he may have been taken. There’s no sounds of a farm or ranch or mill, no sounds of the town. Just the silence of the woods.

A silence that is suddenly broken by the unmistakable sounds of footsteps, crunching across leaves and branches. Malcolm’s heart races in his chest, his breaths coming faster as John Watkins walks into view.

“Ah, you’re awake, eh, Lawman? Looks like you’ve been for a while I guess,” he remarks, gesturing to the bloodied mess of Malcolm’s wrists.

Malcolm doesn’t reply.

“Sorry it took me some time. I wasn’t quite expectin’ a guest so soon. But that’s alright, we’re all set, now.”

“I can always come back later,” Malcolm quips, his propensity for being a smartass in the face of dangerous situations getting the best of him.

Watkins doesn’t seem to be amused.

“You know, you’re very good at your job, Lawman. I’ve had to up and run more times than I’d like to admit when you came too close to catchin’ me.”

“Sorry to be an inconvenience,” Malcolm says, unable to take his eyes off the wicked looking knife Watkins has drawn from his belt and is tossing from hand to hand.

“What’s your name, boy?” Watkins asked, dropping to a crouch beside Malcolm.

“Bright. Malcolm Bright,” he replies, using the alias he’s used since becoming a Marshal. The last thing he wants is any vengeful criminal or their kin learning his family name and going after his mother or sister.

“Hmm. Fitting, smart as you are. Not smart enough to avoid gettin’ caught though, it seems.”

Malcolm grits his teeth, and manages to stay silent.

“Well Lawman, seems like that’s enough talk for now. Best be gettin' to work.” Watkins settles down onto his knees, kneeling next to Malcolm as if in prayer. “You know, you’re different than my usual guests. You aren’t a bad man, like most of them. But, I can’t let you keep me from my work. Now that you’ve been given to me, it’s my duty to do with you what I must.”

“You really, really don’t,” Malcolm presses. “You kill a lawman, Watkins, and this whole country's going to come after you, not just some local sheriffs.” He pulls at his bindings, but all it does is hurt. “You let me go now, you can probably get a few towns over before I get help, and we’ll go back to playing cat and mouse like before.”

Watkins runs a hand over the bare skin of his chest, poking and prodding seemingly at random, and Malcolm shivers beneath the touch. He tsks, frowning down at Malcolm. “I can’t do that, Mr. Bright. I can’t just let you go, now you’re here. Hush now, save your breath. You’ll need it.” He leans over, presses the knife to Malcolm’s chest, and cuts.

There are things you can’t tell from just looking at a dead body. Like how long the torture lasted.

Watkins spends hours cutting into Malcolm. Dozens of slow, methodical cuts, some deep when he can press into muscle, some thin where they trace along ribs and the sweep of his collarbones.

Malcolm runs out of breath to scream with. His throat is raw, his body exhausted, trembling in the chill of the evening air by the time Watkins stops.

The light is fading quickly when Watkins stands again, walking somewhere behind Malcolm where he can’t see, towards where Malcolm now knows the fire Watkins has been stepping away to tend throughout their time together.

He comes back with the brand in his hand. The metal is glowing a dull ruby in the halflight of dusk, and Malcolm can smell the unmistakable scent of heated metal. He jerks weakly against the ropes, though he can barely move, now, gasping and sobbing. He won’t beg though, not for his life, not to avoid this. He’d let himself scream in hopes someone would hear, would come, but no one had. He won’t let Watkins take all his dignity from him, no matter what he does to him now.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t try to change the man’s mind.

“Watkins, wait,” he gasps, voice low, raspy. “Wait, enough. You can, you can still stop this.”

“No sir. It’s too late now. We’ve come this far, too far to stop now. I’ve got ta finish my task. Best stay still now, Mr. Bright.” He doesn’t give Malcolm the chance to say anything else.

Watkins had left one patch of skin clear of knife marks—low on Malcolm’s belly, just above his left hip. Now Malcolm knows why.

The searing hot brand pressing into his skin is more painful than the culmination of all the cuts Watkins had given him. He screams and screams, and starts to thrash, but Watkins leans down over him, pressing his forearm across Malcolm's stomach to hold him in place.

The smell hits him several seconds after the pain, and it makes him gag, the knowledge that it’s his flesh that’s burning adding to his panic. He starts to choke, unable to draw a full breath as he gags and cries. It lasts only seconds, but it feels like hours, his whole existence shrinking down to a few square inches of absolute agony.

He doesn’t really notice when Watkins pulls the brand away. It doesn’t make a difference, he still feels like his skin is on fire. He’s sobbing, tears streaming down his cheeks and blurring his vision.

Watkins reaches out towards his head, and Malcolm flinches away with a broken sob. Watkins brushes his hand across his forehead, a gesture that’s so strangely intimate and gentle that it makes Malcolm shudder, a touch that’s more frightening than soothing.

“You did good, lawman. You’re a better man than most. I can’t let you go, but I ain’t gonna kill you, either. I’ll let nature decide your fate, now. Nature, and the Lord.”

“W-what?” Malcolm gasps out, unable to think past the pain.

“I only kill sinners, Mr. Bright, and you ain’t one.”

“You’ll let… let me go?” Malcolm asks.

Watkins shakes his head, gathering up his knife and the brand. “I didn’t say that. It’s time to see how strong you really are, Mr. Bright. Maybe I’ll be seeing you again… but I don’t think so.”

With that, he walks away into the night without a second glance, ignoring Malcolm’s ragged cries.

Malcolm’s chest is heaving, and he can’t… he can’t breath. He’s… he’s tied out, bleeding out, fair game for the wolves and coyotes and bears. The pain is slowly overwhelming him, pain, and weakness from blood loss. He knows he won’t survive the night in these woods.

Full dark falls fast, and each rustle of leaves, each creak and crack of branches breaking sends his pulse racing, fear spiking through him as he waits for death to come. He starts to see things—eyes, staring out at him, reflecting the weak light of the moon shining down through the leaves. Shapes, slinking in the shadows.

He whimpers, tears of frustration and fear falling freely. He does not want to die here, alone in these woods, mangled beyond recognition, with no body to send back to his mother, no one to even tell her he's gone.

There's more noises, the unmistakable sound of an animal moving through the underbrush and leaves. His lungs seize in his chest, pure terror surging through him as he stares helplessly into the inky blackness all around him. Will he even see his death coming? Or will it fall upon in the darkness him faster than he even realizes?

He squeezes his eyes shut as the noise comes closer, and he can't breathe, but that doesn't matter now anyways. He can hear the panting of an animal, and…

And then a voice. He opens his eyes, and there's light piercing through the night. He cries out, weak and desperate, as loud as his heaving lungs and aching throat will let him.

"Help! H-help, I'm here. Oh god, please," he moans, praying to whoever is listening that the owner of the light can hear him, will find him.

The warm glow of lantern light falls across him a moment before a dog—just a dog, a hunting dog, just a dog—rushes to his side and bays.

The owner of the lantern is speaking, maybe to the dog, maybe to him, but Malcolm can't make out the words. His vision blurs, the light fading as his eyes blink closed, and he drifts into darkness once more.

#whumptober2020 #14 #branded #prodigal son #malcolm bright #fic #whump #western au #no. 14

[imitranslates]

Fukigen na Mononokean Ch. 61

An Underworld botany lesson and some unfortunate memories being stirred up this month... Also some cute art hyping up S2 before the chapter~!

Please remember to check out the official English release when it comes out, preferably on Crunchyroll if you’re able to!

The newest chapter can be read on the official website by clicking the yellow button labeled 読む!

Fukigen na Mononokean Chapter 61 - Small Seeds

Page 3

Princess: Cough...

Princess: Cough...

Koura: Princess...

Princess: Coughh.

Princess: Cough...

Koura: The medicine worked, so your fever is going down, but

You'll end up collapsing again if you overuse your spiritual power.

Koura: It'd be better if you rested a while...

Princess: I cannot.

Page 4

Princess: The curses are getting closer to the Underworld... Right now, I'm spreading my divine protection to exorcise them...

Princess: I will protect the Underworld.

Koura: (I wish she would rest, but...

It's as the princess says. The Underworld could be exposed to those curses if this continues...)

Koura: !

Koura: I wonder, was it today?

Princess: ?

Koura: The Mononokean should be going to survey outside of the Underworld, on the orders of the three officials.

Princess: The Mononokean...?

Page 6

Ashiya: (The forest...)

Page 7

Ashiya: (Rather than a bunch of trees, it looks more like a tangled system of roots...)

Ashiya: (Demon-infesting curses are everywhere inside this forest...)

Abeno: Ashiya...

Abeno: This is our job.

Page 8

Ashiya: !

Ashiya: I smell something sweet. (It's kind of delicious...)

Abeno: This is what's giving off that scent.

Ashiya: So it's a flower! The branch is twisted like a bonsai.

Abeno: This is a curse flower.

Ashiya: Curse...?!

Page 9

Abeno: The real identity of this plant is a curse that takes over demons.

It's called a yakubyou plant.

(TL: “Yakubyou (疫病)” is an infectious disease, but here it’s written ''厄病" with the kanji for misfortune and sickness instead. I'm just gonna wait to see what CR uses instead of trying to come up with something, lol.)

Abeno: A "curse" is similar to what you'd call an illness in the Mundane world... I've told you that before, right?

Ashiya: Yes. (When we exorcised the big boss Scree...)

Abeno: What you're smelling is the flower's nectar.

Abeno: Any demon that breathes it in will become ill.

Ashiya: Ngh?! (I was deeply breathing it in!!)

(Ashiya: Ah... I'm human so it's okay.)

Abeno: Yakubyou plants secrete the nectar as a medium for infecting demons.

When the flowers bloom, they release a scent and spread the virus through the air.

Ashiya: (I have a question.) ...Then,

What happens to a demon after they breathe it in?

Page 10

Abeno: According to Koura, it starts with a fever and cough... The symptoms that show up resemble a cold, but...

Abeno: It will weaken a demon's spiritual energy. In serious cases, it ends in death.

Ashiya: ......

Abeno: A demon can infect others with it, so it can quickly turn into an epidemic.

Abeno: ...That said, medicine works in the early stages.

Abeno: The thing that doesn't have any effective treatment is the yakubyou plant's seeds.

Ashiya: Seeds...?

Page 11

Abeno: A wide variety of insects that live in the forest

are used to spread those seeds.

Abeno: There's bug that looks like a mosquito on this flower, right?

Ashiya: Huh? Where? Oh, I see it!

Abeno: The insects sniff out the faint fragrance,

And use the flower's nectar and sap as their nourishment.

Abeno: As that happens, the yakubyou plant's seeds

End up inside the insect's stomach, and it becomes a "seed bug."

Ashiya: (The bug has the yakubyou plant's seeds..!?)

Abeno: After a seed bug dies, the seed begins to sprout and spreads its roots. Once it matures and produces flowers, another insect will come and carry its seeds.

Abeno: That's the way yakubyou plants reproduce.

Page 12

Abeno: The seeds drain the insects of their energy so they're constantly hungry.

So they try to ingest a lot of food.

Abeno: For the seeds,

A demon and its spiritual power are a fitting nursery.

Abeno: When seed bugs find demons, they enter their bodies in order to feed off their spiritual energy. (Through places like the mouth, ears, eyes, and skin.)

Abeno: What do you think are the symptoms, for a demon infected by a seed bug?

Abeno: Something sprouting in its body, being unable to move, and their spiritual energy being drained.

Ashiya: ...!

Page 13

Abeno: That's the route of infection that makes a parasitic shrub develop.

Ashiya: Then big boss Scree was infected by a bug...?

Abeno: Yakubyou plants and these insects don't just inhabit the forests. They can also be found in the Mundane world just like demons.

Ashiya: ...In other words, the sources of the curse are yakubyou plants and seed bugs?

Abeno: That's right.

Page 14

Abeno: There shouldn't be anything near the moat with the Princess's divine protection.

Abeno: It'd be rare to find a yakubyou plant, let alone ones that are this mature.

...The flowers have already bloomed, and are gathering insects...

Abeno: Something unusual is happening out here...

Ashiya: ...

[The advancing curses that the Legislator and the other officials were concerned about...

It'd be good if they were just worrying needlessly, but...]

[I should throw away that faint hope.]

[We can't let the yakubyou plants and seed bugs spread their curses into the Underworld.

If we don't stop things here...!]

Page 15

Abeno: Ashiya.

Abeno: Bring me the medicine box from Kiyakudo that you have on your back.

Ashiya: Yes!

Ashiya: There's a lot of medicine and other instruments in here... What are all these little bottles on top?

Abeno: Purifying water that can extinguish a curse.

And...

Shizuku: You're going into the forest?!

Page 16

[At Kiyakudo]

Shizuku: If Itsuki and Hanae get possessed by a curse, this is the most important thing!!

Shizuku: In the unlikely chance that you get possessed, I wrote a guide for how to administer emergency first aid!

And, there's the antiseptic ointment I mixed, and a needle and thread for suturing, and some bandages!

Abeno: A... Alright.

Abeno: ...And that's how a bunch of unnecessary stuff got crammed in.

Ashiya: (I see...) Shizuku-chan doesn't know that we're human, so we really worried her, huh?

Abeno: There was no time to refuse by telling her "humans can't be affected by the curse."

Abeno: It's dangerous, so step back.

Page 17

Ashiya: !

Ashiya: (It's burning...!)

Page 18

Ashiya: !

Ashiya: Cough, cough.

Ashiya: The smoke... cough!

Abeno: The insects won't gather without the yakubyou plant, and they dislike the smoke so it'll drive them deeper into the forest.

As we travel around the moat, we'll search for yakubyou plants and use the purifying water on them.

Abeno: If the flowers are blooming, you should notice the scent. They might get intermingled within other plants when they sprout, so make sure not to overlook any.

If something looks even a little suspicious, let me know.

Ashiya: Roger!

Demon:: ......

Page 19

Demon: Nyuooon.

Ashiya: !?

Ashiya: Nyuon?

Abeno: Ah?

Ashiya: Didn't you hear a cry just now?

Abeno: A cry?

Ashiya: I don't sense any demons... Am I hearing things? (Nyuon...)

Abeno: !

Abeno: You can't rely on sensing presence here.

Ashiya: Eh!?

Page 20

Abeno: The Underworld's full of demons, so pinpointing a particular one is next to impossible.

Abeno: There's a number of conditions, likely due to the forest's curses spreading.

Even if there was a demon around, its aura would be drowned out by it and you wouldn't know.

Abeno: On top of that, the Mononokean won't come to the forest even if I call for it...

It's dark, and the field of view's poor, so if you get lost, it won't be that easy to find a way out...

Ashiya: You can't call the Mononokean...

That's bad, isn't it?

Abeno: It's bad...

Ashiya: ...Abeno-san.

Abeno: ?

Ashiya: Does that mean you've gotten lost in the forest, and tried to call the Mononokean before?

Page 21

Abeno: ......

Abeno: Nn...

Abeno: ...More importantly!

Don't get lost, and be careful!

Ashiya: ?

...Okay.

Ashiya: (...Hm? I wonder I asked something bad...?)

Page 22

Ashiya&Abeno: !!

Ashiya: W-w-what's that?!

Ashiya: ...There's nothing there...

Ashiya: No, no!! It was there!! There was something there!!

Abeno: That cry you heard earlier... It seems it wasn't just you hearing things.

Ashiya: That's definitely the thing that said "nyuon" earlier!! It was sneaking closer to us!!

Ashiya: It's a curse, isn't it?

Abeno: Maybe...? But, there are supposedly escaped fugitives from White Sand Prison in the forests, too...

Ashiya: ("Nyuon" is an escaped fugitive?!)

Abeno: There are also some demons that go into a rage after being cursed.

Humans can't be cursed, but you can still be injured if they attack you.

Be careful so you aren't caught by surprise.

(Abeno: Let's go back outside the forest.)

Ashiya: Yes, sir!

Please focus on scouting for more curses, Abeno-san! I'll watch your back!

Demon: ......

Page 23

Ashiya: Abeno-san! This mushroom looks suspicious!

Is it a yakubyou plant!?

Abeno: That's just a suspicious mushroom. (They grow in the Underworld.)

Abeno: !

Page 25

Ashiya: A demon......

Ashiya: Has that demon... passed away?

Page 26

Abeno: The roots have spread throughout the body...

This is the corpse of a demon possessed by the parasitic shrub.

Ashiya: .......

[This is...]

[What Abeno-san meant when he called the parasitic shrub an "incurable illness" back then....]

[A possessed demon's body at the end...]

Ashiya: ......

Page 27

Abeno: Ashiya... The purifying water.

Ashiya: Yes...

Page 28

Abeno: ?

Ashiya: Safe!! Good thing I made it!! (Nice job, me!)

Abeno: Huh?

Ashiya: Eep!?

Demon: Nyuoo!

Ashiya: Nyuo...!?

Page 29

Ashiya&Abeno: !

Demon: Nyuoon...

Ashiya: (Abeno-san.) That was the cry I heard earlier! (Nyuon!)

Abeno: I wonder if it's been following us ever since...

Ashiya: Is this little one... a demon?

Abeno: Yes... As far as I can tell by looking, it has no signs of being infected by a curse.

Ashiya: Why is it in the forest... Don't tell me, it's an escaped fugitive!?

Abeno: If that's true, we'll hand it over to the Justice.

Either way, now that we've found it, we can't leave it in the forest like this.

Page 30

Ashiya: !?

Abeno: Ow!

Ashiya: The purifying water!!

Page 31

Ashiya: Hey, you!!

Demon: Nyuon!?

Ashiya: I won't let you escape!

Was it your aim to attack Abeno-san!?

Abeno: ......

Abeno: .......

[That demon... If it's been following us,

Then did it see exactly how I used the purifying water to remove the curse?]

[If so, what the demon's really trying to do is...]

Abeno: Rather than me, it was after the medicine.

Ashiya: !?

Page 32

Abeno: Is this the body of your acquaintance?

Ashiya: !

Demon: Nyuon...

Ashiya: !

Demon: Nyuoon...

Demon: Nyuoon...

Page 33

Ashiya: ...!

Ashiya: ...You...

Ashiya: You're protecting their body from being destroyed with the purifying water...?

Demon: Nyuoon.

Ashiya: ...

[It found us as we were burning the yakubyou plants,

And was worried that this body would be destroyed as well...]

[...But, that corpse...]

Page 34

Abeno: I'll take your feelings into consideration, but...

This demon has been taken over by parasitic shrub, and already passed away.

Abeno: After the parasitic shrub has finished draining all the strength from its host, it spreads its roots and grows into a large tree.

From there, innumerable flowers bloom, calling a great number of insects to it, which then become seed bugs...

Abeno: If that happens, there will be even more victims.

In the Underworld, it's decreed that all parasitic shrub remains must be burned through the use of purifying water.

Abeno: We cannot overlook a curse like this.

Demon: ......

Page 35

Ashiya: The Princess's divine protection in the forest has weakened, so it's dangerous right now.

With so many bugs flying around, you could also get possessed if you stay here...!

Ashiya: Come to the Underworld.

Page 36

Ashiya: I don't think it'll let us separate them.

Abeno: There's no choice... I guess we have to catch it.

Demon: Nyu!?

Ashiya: It moved away!

Demon: Nyuuu!!

Page 37

Ashiya: Looks like it understood what we were saying.

Abeno: ...?!

Abeno: (Ashiya!) In the medicine box, there should be something to tie off... there's some bandages!

Ashiya: (Eh!?) Ah, yes! I'll grab it now!

Abeno: Bring the whole thing!

Abeno: It's been possessed by a seed bug!

Page 38

Demon: Nyuoon!

Abeno: Ashiya, keep it still!

Ashiya: Yes!

Page 39

Demon: Nyu...

Demon: ......

Page 40

Demon2: Goodbye!

Let's meet again someday, Nio!

Page 41

Nio: !?

Page 42

Nio: Nyuoooon!!

Nio: Nyuo!

Ashiya&Abeno: !?

Nio: Nyuo!

Nio: Nyuoooon!!

Ashiya: ...

Nio: Nyoo!!

Abeno: ......

Nio: Nyuoon...

Nio: Nyuoon!

Nyoo!

Ashiya: Please don't struggle...!

Ashiya: You'll end up reopening your wounds!

Ashiya: When we looked at the body, there were tons of bugs living there!

If you get close, you'll get infected again! ...So....

Nio: Nyuoon...

Ashiya: So...

Page 43

Ashiya: I'm sorry for doing something so cruel...

To the thing you wanted to protect...

Nio: Uu...

Nio: Grrrrrr...

Page 44

[If the Princess wasn't shielding the Underworld with her divine protection...]

[There would be even more demons like these two. Demons who are possessed by the parasitic shrub, and those who lose their precious ones...]

[Even if this is outside the Underworld, the Princess's divine protection should make it difficult for any curses to take hold.

If it's like before, we won't find any demons that are affected by the parasitic shrub.]

[The Princess's divine protection didn't reach this corpse. More than anything, that's proof of how far the curse has spread...]

Page 45

[I can't let the curse get any closer to the Underworld!]

[The only thing I can do to protect demons is...]

Page 46

Abeno: Everything...

Is for the sake of demons.

[For Aoi's sake.]

#fukigen na mononokean #fukigen na mononokean translation #The Morose Mononokean #fukigen na mononokean 61 #fukigen na mononokean chapter 61 #manga translation

[hovercraft79]

Winter Song

Ch 14 Ugly Christmas Sweater

Chapters: 14/31 Word Count: 1,358 Fandom: The Worst Witch (TV 2017) Rating: Teen Warnings:  slight flashbacks to unhappy childhood memories Summary: Dimity Drill is throwing an ugly jumper party and Hecate is less than thrilled. Only one witch could possibly convince her to play along. Fortunately, Pippa Pentangle is ready and willing to do her part.

Notes: This story is part of the B-Sides: Stories from the world of Hecate’s Summer Playlist series. It is a prequel to Hecate’s Summer Playlist.

There’s actually a song about ugly Christmas sweaters! By Garth Brooks! Who knew???

Sparky continues to stand against my total disregard for the rules concerning semicolons. We can all thank her for that.

A note about continuity: I feel there’s probably some areas where continuity is nonexistent. If you are a sharp-eyed reader who notices such things, it will not hurt my feelings at all if you let me know. I’d love for this to actually be coherent when all the parts have been added (and fit with the rest of this universe).

Breathless, Pippa transferred directly from the roof into Hecate’s living room. “It’s colder than a witch’s tit out there, Hecate!”

Hecate jumped at her unexpected arrival, sending the tea service she was setting on the coffee table crashing onto the carpet. Annoyed, she waved her hand, cleaning up the mess and starting a new pot to boiling. “Pippa! I can’t believe you use such vulgar Ordinary expressions.” She helped Pippa out of her cloak. It was freezing. “It’s not even accurate. Your…” she waved in the general direction of Pippa’s chest, “well, they’ll be the same 37C as the rest of you.”

“Yours maybe, Hiccup. I can assure you that this witch’s tits are absolutely freezing – along with the rest of her.” She accepted Hecate’s help with her cloak gratefully. “At least it’s warm in here.” She moved to stand in front of the fire, closing her eyes as she luxuriated in its warmth. After a few moments she opened her eyes to find Hecate staring at her in wide-eyed horror.

“W-w-w-what are your wearing?” A thin, trembling finger pointed at Pippa’s chest.

“What? This?” Pippa thrust her chest out, grinning broadly. “Today was ugly jumper day at school. Don’t you love it?” She flipped up the hem and pressed a button. “Even better, right?”

Hecate took an involuntary step back. The jumper was… hideous. It was green, somewhere between kelly and lime, with white and yellow stripes at the collar and cuffs. A large gray and white tabby cat covered the chest. Hecate leaned closer… the cat appeared to be wearing…antlers? A string of colored holiday lights wrapped around the cat. The button Pippa pressed set the lights to flashing. In garish red stitching, that didn’t go with anything else, were the words “Meowy Christmas.”

“I don’t know what to say, Pipsqueak. That is the most hideous thing I’ve ever seen.”

“That’s the whole point, darling.” Pippa settled onto the sofa and poured a cup of tea for herself and another for Hecate. “I didn’t even win the vote. Mr. Whitewood, the Modern Witchory teacher, beat mine by leaps and bounds.”

“I can hardly imagine what it must have looked like.”

“You don’t have to!” Pippa summoned her maglet from her satchel and showed Hecate a picture.

“Merlin’s beard, Pippa. That’s… that sweater is an offense against man and Mother Nature.” She handed the maglet back, trying to scrub the image from her mind. “When did these…ugly jumper…festivities become popular? I believe Miss Drill is hosting a similar event tomorrow night for the staff.” Hecate crossed the room to get a plate of biscuits from the kitchenette.

“Oh, Hecate, what fun!” Pippa placed her tea back on the coffee table. “Don’t hold out on me! What does your jumper look like? Let me see!”

Pippa was bouncing up and down on the sofa like an excited schoolgirl. Hecate hated to burst her bubble of happiness. “I don’t have one. I wasn’t planning on attending, much less wearing something like that.”

“Come on, Hecate! It’s all meant to be in good fun!” She watched as Hecate tensed, arms moving to her sides. “Hecate?”

“Good fun for others…” Hecate began, eyes taking on a far-away cast. She couldn’t finish and looked away, hurriedly scrubbing at her eyes.

“Come here, Hiccup,” Pippa patted the sofa next to her. “Please?” She waited. And waited. Eventually, Hecate returned, lowering herself gingerly onto the edge of the sofa. “Good fun always used to come at your expense, I know that, Hiccup.” Hecate still wouldn’t meet her eyes, so Pippa reached across and laced their fingers together. “I don’t think Dimity planned a party just to make fun of you. Do you?”

“I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t even invited to her last party.” Hecate’s voice cracked. She cleared her throat, obviously irritated at its betrayal.

“Darling, this is not Amulet’s. You have friends here, and they want to spend time with you.” Pippa could see Hecate’s eyes shining. “You know that Ada loves you. So does Gwen. And I hate to tell you this, but Dimity Drill idolizes you. That’s why she gives you a hard time.”

Hecate finally raised her eyes, the doubt still clearly evident.

Pippa leaned into Hecate, resting her chin against her shoulder. “Remember how Miss Greengrass would give Miss  Nightwind a hard time? How she was always teasing her? I always thought they didn’t like each other, but… it turns out they were best friends. I think Dimity teases you because it’s the one way she knows she can get your attention.”

Hecate still didn’t speak, but Pippa could see that she was thinking it over. “I don’t know… How am I supposed to respond to that? I’m her supervisor.”

“You are. But that doesn’t mean you can’t tease her back. Just like when you were making the cookies. Just like Ada sometimes teases you. It means she’s fond of you.” Pippa squeezed her hands tighter.

“I… You…” She blew out a long breath. “I’ll have to take your word for it; you’ve always been better at reading social cues.”

“Do you think you’ll go to the party then? You know Ada would be delighted.” Pippa sat up but kept their fingers laced together.

“Maybe. I don’t have…” She nodded at Pippa’s sweater, distaste still creeping through.

Pippa laughed at that – a bright, tinkling sound that lifted Hecate’s spirits immediately. “That, darling Hiccup, is a problem that’s easily solved.” She gave Hecate’s hand one last squeeze before standing. “Do you still have the purple jumper I borrowed a couple of weeks ago?”

Hecate nodded, summoning it immediately.

“Thank you.” Pippa took a step back and without any warning pulled her cat jumper over her head, handing it to a startled Hecate who was trying to look anywhere except at the sudden expanse of bare skin. Pippa tossed a wink her way before pulling on Hecate’s jumper. “Just wear mine. It should fit just fine – and it will certainly fit in.”

Too gobsmacked to speak, Hecate nodded. She took a few moments to gather her thoughts while she folded Pippa’s sweater. Finally, she squeaked out a “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. And tomorrow night, no matter how late, I want you to mirror me. I want to hear all about this party. Every. Sordid. Detail.”

“I will, tomorrow night, no matter how late.” Hecate nodded, and Pippa could see some of the tension leaving her body. She continued to stare at the sweater, running a finger from one flashing light to the next.

“Here,” Pippa leaned forward and found the control for the lights. “You turn them on and off with this.” She looked up, smiling, her face inches from Hecate’s. She could see something shift in Hecate’s eyes. A warmth that she hadn’t seen in a very, very long time. “You’ll knock their hats off.” She stood up before she did something that would throw their new relationship into a tailspin. Like kiss Hecate. “Now… I believe you owe me a chance to even up the record.” She waved her hand, magically setting up the chessboard and summoning a plate of lemon-basil biscuits. She pretended to ponder her first move, giving Hecate time to collect herself.

After a few moments, Hecate gently set the jumper aside and took up her place opposite Pippa. “I believe it will take more than one game to ‘even up the record’ as you say.” She nibbled a biscuit as Pippa made her opening move.

****

Hours later, Hecate had increased her lead by another two games and Pippa had been bundled up and sent back to Pentangle’s, wearing Hecate’s sweater and a cloak charmed with a warming spell. Before Pippa left, she’d made Hecate promise once again to mirror her after the party.

Alone in her rooms again, Hecate picked up Pippa’s sweater. It was still hideous, but… She held it up to her face, breathing in the scent of Pippa’s perfume. Maybe not so hideous after all, she thought, as she turned out the lights and went to prepare for bed and wait for Pippa to message that she’d arrived home safely.

#ww2018winterfluffevent #hicsqueak #hecate hardbroom #pippa pentangle

[kthyunngg]

I’ll Be There - Part 15

|Part 1| |Part 2| |Part 3| |Part 4| |Part 5| |Part 6| |Part 7| |Part 8| |Part 9| |Part 10| |Part 11||Part 12| |Part 13| |Part 14| |Epilogue|

Member: Hoseok

Genre: Angst/Fluff

Word Count: 6275 

Summary: You and Hoseok are best friends and just like any story that starts like this, nothing good ever happens. One night when Hoseok is in his drunken state, he says some things that make you reconsider how much worth you actually have in his life.

A/N: Okay, I know I’m a little late, but here is finally is. THERE WILL BE AN EPILOGUE. I didn’t want to make this too long and it wouldn’t fit in, so an epilogue it is. Also, none of this is edited, so i’m sorry if there are a lot of typos. I tried to get this out asap. Thank you for reading and enjoy Xx 

Also, I wanted to do a quick birthday shoutout to @kristiniec​. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! 🎉 🎉 🎉

“Kiss the bride!” One of the parents say.

“What —” Hoseok turns towards your and gives you a peck on your lips. Wait. What?

“I got the picture!” Your mother shouts with joy.

“Hobi. What did you do.” You look towards him and he gives you a toothy grin.

This was the first time you ever felt your heart flutter in response to Hoseok’s actions. Everyone in the neighbourhood was well aware you and Hoseok. They knew that you were the best of friends. Inseparable since day one, complimenting each other’s qualities, and some more extreme among those that you knew believed that you and Hoseok would get married one day. Perhaps your little five year-old heart started to believe everything that all these people said.

Endless comments of

“Oh, look how cute they are together!”

“I wish my daughter could find herself a friend like Hoseok.”

“Hoseok, you be good to Y/N now or she’ll never marry you!”

At the time being, you and Hoseok had no idea what these comments meant. The two of you were just best friends; is there anything else the two of you would ever ask for?

You thought that your crush for Hoseok developed during your high school years, but turns out your heart was years ahead of your mind.

“Yah! HOSEOK COME BACK!” Hoseok runs off with the plate that you had just made for yourself. Through Hoseok’s persistent requests, the two of you have decided to do movie nights at the end of every week. You didn’t think that there would be enough good movies to last even a month, but you’ve been doing this for almost five months now.

It has been a while since the incident with Sumi. Every once in a while. you will think back to what happened. A few days after you got out of the hospital, you and Hoseok were notified that Sumi won’t be arrested for what she did. The police said that they didn’t have enough evidence of your other claims to press any charges, however that one time where she pushed you onto the road was enough to grant you and Hoseok and restraining order. Without any hesitation, Hoseok called a lawyer to get the papers ready. You told him that you wanted to think about this whole situation at first, but he didn’t let it pass so easily.

“I don’t know Hoseok.. shouldn’t we get Sumi some help first? I’m pretty sure that there’s a lot more to this whole situation that we don’t know about.”

“What if she hurts you again Y/N? I can’t let that happen, not possible. Think about it Y/N. Once we get these papers, she will never be able to even come near you unless she wants to get arrested.” Hoseok pleads you with his eyes. They’re very convincing, but you deep down, despite all that she’s done to you, you want to help Sumi.

“I just want to help Sumi get past this stage of her life…just like how we’re trying to move on as well.” You grab Hoseok’s arm and hope that he understands where you’re coming from.

“Please?”

Instead of answering you, he moves to the couch. He sits and places his face in his hands.

“We can just find her a psychiatrist or a therapist. That’s all I’m asking. We’ll give her the contact and if she still doesn’t want the help, then we forget about all it.” You sit next to him.

“What about the papers?”

“I’ll sign them.”

“Just a therapist right?” You nod and give him an encouraging smile. Hoseok lets out a heavy sigh and then agrees.

“Fine, but we’re getting the paperwork done first.” You nod. “AND I’m never letting you out of my sight!”

“Okay! Thank you Hoseok! I know this must be super hard for you, but just know that I’m doing this also for our sake and the sake of other people. We don’t want Sumi to keep hurting more people right?”  You place your hands on his shoulders so you can genuinely look at Hoseok.

“I know…” Hoseok nods slowly and then hugs you without anything to follow.

One thing’s for sure. It wasn’t an easy journey to get where the two of you are at today. Just like anything else, there were up’s and down’s. Hoseok took it extremely hard the second month following everything. As if reality decided to get up and punch Hoseok senseless, he would be unresponsive to everything. You felt like you were reliving the time when Hoseok was again, heartbroken from Sumi, but for different reasons this time.

Hoseok would stay out late at bars, getting drunk until he couldn’t even see straight. It hurt you to see him like this. It hurt you even more that you couldn’t do anything to help him. Because of Hoseok’s reckless behaviours during his drunken state, which was all the time, he did many things that are unlike him.

Just because it’s a new year doesn’t mean your boss has changed much. You once again are stuck at the office with a heap of work and files to type up. To motivate yourself, you make a nice cup of steamy coffee as well as treat yourself to some nice aromatic bags of all sorts of chips. Unhealthy? Most definitely. Do you care? Most definitely not. Anything to get you through all this work.

What seems like years of endless hacking at  your keyboard, you finally type in the last word and press the print button. Never in your life would you think that the noisy printer at your office would sound so peaceful.

As you’re enjoying your fourth cup of coffee, the annoying ring of your phone interrupt the printer.

Hoseok

You brace yourself for loud club music and endless screaming.

“Hoseok?” Immediately your ears are hit with the obscene music.

“Y/N! Wheeeerrrreeee aaarrrreee yooouuuuuuu? Comme haave fuunnnn wiiitth mee!” You can already picture what Hoseok looks like. Sweaty, sloppy, slurring his every word, stumbling on every step he takes, and the smell of alcohol washing off of him.

“Which one are you at this time.” Yes. This time. Hoseok has become the frequent customer to many bars.

He tells you the location, and then you gather your things. Since this has become such a routine for you, you no longer bother with even asking why Hoseok drank so much. You’ve tried all you could to get him to stop, but nothing seems to work. At this point, you would even let Hoseok date a frog if it meant that you would no longer have to make late night trips to the bar.

As Hoseok has become a regular to many bars in the city, you’ve become a regular to his apartment. The security guard on duty during the night always gives you a look of pity as he sees you drag Hoseok up to his apartment. However, you declined his offer just to avoid all the questions that would be asked. The guard meant no harm, but with already so much on your hands, you don’t know if you can bear to even explain the simple details.

“Mmm Y/N your hair smells sooo gooood.” When you’re rummaging through your purse to find Hoseok’s keys, he brings his face into the crook of your neck. If it weren’t for the fact that Hoseok was drenched in the smell of alcohol and threatening to vomit on you at any moment, you would definitely be flustered at this moment.

“Okay there big boy,” You manage to open his door without any issues and plop him down onto his bed. “…stay here and don’t move. I’m going to get the towels okay?” You set down all of your things and then get a small bucket of cool water and some towels as well.

Back in Hoseok’s you sigh as you see that he’s already stripped himself of a few articles of clothing. Fortunately, he was decent enough to leave his pants on.

“Alright Hoseok, you know the drill.” You mumble just to amuse yourself. You place the cool, damp towel on Hoseok’s head to cool him down and take another to wipe away the sweat that’s forming on his face and neck. The biggest struggle was just to not get distracted by Hoseok’s bare chest.

“Mmm.” Hoseok groans and rolls on the bed so that he is now facing you. His hands find his way to your waist somehow and then he pulls you down so that you’re now lying down next to him on the bed.

“Ugh Hoseok…” You try to push him away, but his grip around your waist only grows stronger.

“Y/N…You’re so comfortable. I like it.” Now this makes your heart flutter. You hate that even in his drunken state, Hoseok has this kind of effect on you.

“Hoseok you’re all sweaty and gross!” Trying to protest your way out of this, you continue to push him away, but then he does something unexpected. He flips you around so that he’s straddling you. Now this. This leaves you speechless. Not just speechless, frozen. Every muscle in your body expect your heart decides to stop moving.

“Y/N, your eyes are so sparkly.” He moves his face closer to yours and you swear you just lost your ability to blink. “Soo sparkly.” Hoseok says in awe.

“H-Hoseok, w-w-what are you d-doing? G-get o-off me r-right now.” You have definitely lost your ability to speak because your command sounds like anything, but assertive.

“Our Y/N is so pretty.” Hoseok blurts out while he strokes your hair.

“Hoseok I think you should get some rest now.” Your voice cracks every now and then as you try to regain some sanity from this whole situation.

“So….Pretty….” With every word he speaks, he moves his face even closer and with his hands, he cups your face.

Before you can even react to all this, you can feel the ghostly touch of Hoseok’s lips.

No, it can’t happen like this.

You anticipate for the connection, but it never happens? Suddenly you feel a lot of dead weight on your body.

Hoseok is fast asleep.

This causes you to let out a sigh and you laugh silently to yourself.

Who are you kidding. Sober Hoseok would never do anything like this.

You don’t know what happened after that, but something just clicked within Hoseok and he took a complete 180 turn. One day he was the local alcoholic, and then the next he was back to his old, if not better, self. As shocking as it was, you’re glad that Hoseok managed to sort things out by himself because if not, you’re not too sure if you would have even made it today. If anything, you would probably still be dragging Hoseok out of a bar if it weren’t for his sudden change of mind. Despite being so curious as to how he changed everything literally overnight, you didn’t push him to tell you. It probably took a lot of will power and determination so you let it be.  

“Jung Hoseok! You better give me my food back or else I’m never watching another movie with you ever again!” This time Hoseok listens to your threat and he steps out of the room which he locked himself in. He walks out timidly while holding out the plate of food towards you. You smile as you rightfully earn your winning stance and sit down on the church.

“You can choose a move this time.” Hoseok browses all the option that are available online and he settles for one that looks like an action movie. He presses “play” and leans back into the couch beside you.

It doesn’t even take you a quarter of the movie until you’ve completely devoured all the food. In your defence, Hoseok did already eat half of what you prepared. The movie itself was quite interesting, but often times you found yourself quite distracted by the minimal space between you and Hoseok’s thighs. You are already leaning against the armrest of the couch so there is nowhere left for you to go, but Hoseok, he has the rest of the couch to him yet he chose the position he’s in right now.

Knowing that he probably did this unintentionally, you try to take your mind off it, but every now and then, Hoseok would shift in his position and his thigh would rub against yours. You and Hoseok are close, but it doesn’t help that your feelings for Hoseok grow deeper and stronger with every passing day. You know it’s wrong to feel so strongly about him, especially at this point because he just go out of a relationship, so you put in your best effort to hide any signs of you possibly showing your affection for him.

To calm yourself from all this, you place your hands on your thighs to stop them from shaking, and to hide the fact that you palms are becoming extremely sweaty. Does this happen almost every movie night? Yes. Does it get very awkward? Not for Hoseok, but for you it does. Then, Hosoek does a little stretch and you swear your heart stops for a moment because his hands come behind your back, but then he quickly brings them back to the front.

“Ah I’m getting a little hungry. Do you want anything Y/N?” Hoseok stands up and points to the kitchen.

“That’s okay. I’m going to go get some blankets though because I’m getting a little cold.”

“Okay.” He says nonchalantly as you rush into his room to get some spare blankets.

Truthfully you are getting the blankets, but at the same time, you’re also taking this moment to calm yourself of everything.

“Deep breaths Y/N. You’ve done this so many times. It’s nothing new. It’s just a movie.” You whisper to yourself over and over again. When you deem yourself worthy of presenting yourself to the public eye, you quickly grab some blankets and head back to the couch. Hoseok is already seated with his bowl of popcorn. Thankfully there is more space between the two of your this time. Now you’re able to watch the rest of the movie comfortably without having to go crazy.

You wake up with a very unpleasant cramp in your leg. You groan as every move you make makes your leg sore. Perhaps the blankets are too comfortable and warm, but you don’t want to get up. Then you feel something strange. Pillows aren’t supposed to move…. You try to shift your position to figure out the whole situation, but from a very soft bed, you find yourself meeting the hard ground, butt first.

“Aish, what is this?” As you rub away the pain, you take notice that you weren’t in fact sleeping on a bed, but instead on a couch. A couch—Ah. Oh. Somewhere throughout the movie, you must have fallen asleep. Then your eyes diverge to the figure that’s seated on the couch. Hoseok? What is he doing on the — Oh no. You didn’t? Aish stupid Y/N.

The only thing you can think of is that you fell asleep on Hoseok’s lap and the two of you stayed there for the whole entire night. You look at how his upper body is bent at an unnatural angle while his feet are flat on the group. It must have been so uncomfortable for him. You frown at this thought and then standup to place the blanket around him.

Maybe it’s the earliness of the morning, but somehow you manage to step on the blanket and end up tripping yourself.

“Ah!” You let out a scream, but thankfully you fall on something soft.

“Ughh…” Hoseok groans as you open your eyes to see where you landed.

“Oh.”

“Y/N? What are you doing?” Hoseok rubs his eyes to focus his vision and you scramble to get off him.

“O-oh. N-Nothing! I just tripped on the blanket! Don’t worry about it. It’s fine!” As you’re scrambling get away from Hoseok, you don’t notice how much of the blanket has actually accumulated at the bottom of your feet and once again, you step on some of it and you fall backwards.

However, just like the other times when you fall, you don’t feel the impact.

“Aigoo Y/N. It’s too early in the morning. Can’t you give me a break for once?” Hoseok says jokingly as he has a firm grip around your waist. Your face reddens as you notice how close his face is to yours.

“A-ahhh sorry! I just w-woke up too so t-that’s probably why!” Hoseok lets you go so that you’re standing up straight and he takes the blankets away from you.

“We don’t want you falling again right Y/N?” He laughs, but you only manage a forced smile.

Yeah…no falling indeed.

You hate to admit it, but you’re falling hard. Thankfully it’s like a gradual thing so your mind is able to catch up with your heart, but unfortunately, Namjoon and Jin don’t let you live a day without reminding you about this. Whenever you meet up with them, the first thing they will ask you is if Hoseok has asked you out yet. Every single time, you give them the same boring old answer that Hoseok doesn’t actually like you, yet for some reason, that never sticks to their mind.

“Have you told him that you like, I mean loooovee him?” Jin teases you as he stares at the display of watches.

“Jin. Why in the world would I ever do something like that? Hoseok doesn’t look at me that why and he never will so why bring so much embarrassment to myself? Can’t we just live peacefully as friends?”

“Namjoon! You heard that? This girl wants to live peacefully as friends! Honey, we both know that that’s not going to happen.” Jin pats your shoulder lightly for support, but you only glare at him.

“I hate you Kim Seokjin. I hate you so much.”

“Think about it though Y/N. What have you been telling us these past few months? That Hoseok has been a lot nicer to you? Getting you to go out on little adventures together? Taking you places? Always being there for you? Don’t you think that’s gotta mean something?” Jin gives you a wink and nudges your side, but you’re not taking any of it.

“He was always like this Jin, what are you talking about? The feelings are completely one sided.”

“Your brain is one sided.” He mutters underneath his breath and you glare at him.

“Seokjin I hate you so much I hope you never—”

“WOW Y/N!  THIS SCARF IS SO PRETTY! YOU SHOULD TRY IT ON!” Jin immediately wraps a thick wool scarf around your neck and covers everything but your eyes. Good. You think. At least you can still glare and rip out his soul.

“Y/N! HURRY! COME OUT OF YOUR APARTMENT! I HAVE SOMETHING REALLY URGENT TO TELL YOU!” One day, you’re going to teach Hoseok some manners and have him not scream every time he calls.

“Can’t you just tell me over the phone? I’m kind of busy right now.” Your eyes are fixated on your laptop screen as the newest couple on ‘We Got Married’ appears.

“Y/N, I’m telling you. This is really important and if you don’t come down, I’m going to flip shit right in front of your apartment building and I don't think the security ahjussi will like that very much.”

“Hoseok I swear to go—”

“Pleeeaaassseee Y/N! Just this one time! For me?” Hoseok says in a sing-song voice and you reluctantly shut your laptop.

“Fine, but just for this one time. Don’t think it’s going to happen again.” You make your way to your room to get changed.

“Thank you Y/N! You won’t regret it! I promise!” Before you can even say another word, he hangs up. Quickly, you get dressed, grabbing whatever you can find in your closet. You also take your bare essentials with you, assuming that Hoseok is going to take you God knows where.

The moment you walk out of the elevator, the security man sees you and gives you a smile which you return. He also points cheekily outside. At first you’re confused as to why he’s pointing something to you, but then you follow the path of his finger and notice where he’s point at. Hoseok. He’s pacing back and forth in front of the shrubs while rubbing the back of his neck. People from the neighbouring country could even sense his nervousness, but for what?

You decide to sneak up on Hoseok. You clutch your bag so that it doesn’t make any noises and tip-toe towards Hoseok until you’re ghostly close to him.

“What are you doing?” You whisper in his ear, and just like you intended, Hoseok jumps up in freight and you fall to the ground in laughter.

“Y/N! What are you doing?! I could have died you know?” Hoseok glares at you while you’re still on the ground, unable to catch your breath.

“You seemed so nervous! Why are you walking in front of the shrubs like that? You’re going to scare all my neighbours away!” You manage to get up and dust yourself off. Hoseok on the other hand, tries to hide his uneasiness, but you can sense that something is a little off.

“Nothing! Nothing’s wrong! Come on lets go before it’s too late!”

“Too late for — Ah!” Hoseok grabs you by your arm and drags you towards his car which is not parked too far away.

The whole entire car ride, you try to tease Hoseok so that he will tell you where he’s taking you, but no matter what you do, what you say, he doesn’t give in. Huh. Shocking. Normally when you bug him enough, he will tell you something. Maybe it won’t be important, but he still tells you something.

As the car continues to move, you notice the change of scenery. The blur of concrete buildings disappear and the clusters of people grow smaller and smaller. Soon, the horizon is no longer blocked off by the cityscape. Trees come into sight and for the first time in a long time, you’re able to see beyond everything. You open the window slightly and let the wind run through your hair.

“Hoseok, where are you taking me?”

“You’ll see.” He takes his eyes off the road for a brief moment to look at you.

“The beach?! Oh my God!” As soon as you catch sight of the water, you jump out of the car, take off your shoes, and run towards the sparkling blue ocean. The rush of the wind mixes in with the crashing roars of the waves. It has been a long time since you’ve been out of the city, and now you’re just realizing how much you needed such a trip.

“Hoseok! Why did you bring me here?” You ask immediately as he stands beside you in the water.

“I was just thinking how you’re always stuck ten feet under piles of work and I was getting bored so why not come to the beach? I also heard that they’re doing a firework show tonight so I thought we could stay to watch it as well?” You can only stare wide-eyed at Hoseok. He looks at you with a confused expression, but you just want to take in this moment.

You promised yourself that you wouldn’t show any signs of your affection in front of Hoseok, but you can’t help it. The sun is shining at such an angle that makes every curve and line of his face stand out. It’s not the perfect angle, no, but it’s enough to capture the warmth of Hoseok’s heart.

“Well? Do you like it? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about this earlier. It was really last minute and I thought it would be nice to give you a small surprise so —”

Without even thinking, you give Hoseok a quick peck on the cheek. Only after doing so do you realize what it is exactly that you just did. No turning back now.

“Thank you Hoseok. Sincerely, thank you.” The Sun is burning brightly, but with the heat rising to your face, you think the sun is going to have some serious competition.

Hoseok looks stunned for quite a while. He opens and closes his mouth several times, trying to find the right words to say, but nothing ever coms out of his mouth.

“Well come on then! We don’t have all day!” You throw you purse a fair distance away from the water along with your shoes and splash some water on Hoseok before running off.  Hoseok finally comes back to his senses and he too, throws his belongings at a safe distance and chases after you.

The idea of Hoseok chasing you alongside the edge of the water seems cliche, but every one enjoys a little bit of that in their life once in a while right? Hoseok manages to catch up to you and he attempts to grab your arm to stop you from running, but you quickly pull away. Consequently for him, he looses his footing and falls into the water. You’re about to run away, afraid of the wrath-of-Hoseok, but then you hear his shouting and feel bad. You didn’t meant to push him into the water, so you retreat back to help him.

“Are you okay Hoseok—AH!” He smirks widely and drags you into the water along with him. Luckily the water isn’t deep at all for it’s only the edge, but it’s enough to get your pants and some of your shirt wet.

“Yah! Hoseok, let me go!” Hoseok’s smile only grows wider and he continues to hold you down against the warm sand.

“Payback Y/N. Should have thought about that before pushing me into the water.”

“But now I’m more wet that you are! You’re only a little bit soaked, but my entire shirt is getting soaked now.” You put on your best sad expression possible to make Hoseok feel guilty.

“Oh…I’m sorry,” Hoseok loosens his grip on you. “I didn’t mean to do that…” This is your chance.

Catching Hoseok off guard, you get up immediately and push him back into the water.

“Y/N!!” Hoseok screams after you as he struggles to get back up, but you’re already meters ahead of him and running away.

The two of you continue to play at the beach like this. Some time after the two of you are exhausted from running around, you decide to lie down on the sand so that your wet clothes have a chance to dry before the sun sets and the air gets cool.

“This is nice.” You say as you admire the blue sky, slowly getting stained from the orange of the upcoming sunset.

“It really is. I don’t remember the last time I’ve had this much fun.” Hoseok says as he lays next to you.

“I agree. We should do this more often. I like it like this… a lot.” It’s true. You really enjoy spending time with Hoseok. All your burdens from emotions are gone. Nothing mattered anymore except for the fact that you’re enjoying your time. There’s nothing like worrying about whether or not Hoseok will feel awkward from knowing your feelings, or you being embarrassed because you accidentally said something that you’re not supposed to. Everything just seems…right.

“Yeah…it’s nice.” Hoseok agrees with you, but you notice that there’s something off with his voice.

“Are you okay Hosoek? You seem like there’s something bothering you.” You roll on your stomach so that you can look at Hoseok. He too, leans over to his side so that he’s facing you.

“Nothing’s wrong. Why would you think that?” He tries to push away the topic and brushes the sand off of your hair.

“I don’t know. Earlier today, it looked like something was bothering you. You know you can tell me anything right?” Hoseok gives you a soft smile, and then flicks some hair into your face. “HEY!”

“Come on Y/N! Let’s go get some ice cream!” He stands up and brushes himself off and then offers a hand to you. You gladly accept it and the two of you walk over to the ice cream stand.

One thing that catches you off guard is that Hoseok never lets go of your hand. Hoseok continues to walk as if nothing is wrong, but you can’t help but just stare. He swings his arm, along with yours happily and adds a light bounce to his steps. Occasionally he will look over to you and smile, meanwhile you’re still caught in bewilderment.

What does all this mean?

Before you know it, Hoseok has already bought the ice cream and he hands you your cone as he’s already devouring his own. You slowly eat your ice cream as you’re still replying the moments that just recently happened.

“Hello? Earth to Y/N! Now you’re the one that looks like something is bothering you!” Hoseok waves his hand in front of your face to get your attention.

“Oh, what? Sorry I just blanked out for a while.”

“Aiggoo. My Y/N is working too hard.” He gives a playful frown and pats your head.

My Y/N? Since when does Hoseok say “my.”  What is happening? Did you hear incorrectly?

Then you feel something cold against your face.

“Yah, Hoseok! What did you do that for!” You’re just about to reach to your face to wipe off the ice cream, but Hoseok is one step ahead of you. He doesn’t answer your question. He only wipes off the ice cream from his finger and gives you a cheeky smile.

“This is war Hoseok. War.” You give him your meanest glare and threaten him with the amount of ice cream that you have gathered on your finger.

However, the ice cream war doesn’t last long. The sun is just setting and the ice cream in your hands is well on its way to melting. You, being a lover of ice cream, wishes to savour what’s left of your half-melted treat so you take a seat in the middle of the beach, complete ignoring any activity around you.

“Ahhh Y/N is so clumsy. Look at all the ice cream she got on her face.”

“What—” You say with a mouthful of ice-cream, but when you turn your head up, you notice that Hoseok’s face is dangerously close to yours. You manage to swallow the ice-cream without choking, but the you’re left just staring at Hoseok’s face. He looks extremely concentrated as he’s wiping off all the ice-cream on your face.

The close proximities of your faces makes you heart race even faster than it was when you were running away from him. The sky is getting darker, yet for some reason, you’re still able to clearly make out every line on Hoseok’s face. His fingers brush over your skin lightly, but with every additional touch, you skin heats up even more. You’re almost sure that all the ice cream has melted by now.

“All done.” Hoseok gives you a bright smile, but you’re still left there in shock. “Just in time too! I think the fireworks are just about to start.” He stands up and takes the garbage to throw away then. “Come on then, let’s go on the boardwalk so we can get a better view of all the fireworks!” Without saying another word, Hoseok takes his your in his, not dragging you by the wrist, and he guides you towards the boardwalk.

There is a considerable distance from where you previously were to the boardwalk, yet the entire time, Hoseok keeps holding your hand. Not that you’re complaining, but something so foreign seems so at home. His touch is so warm compared to the cool sea breeze. Just right.

Hoseok picks up the speak and brings the two of you to the edge of the boardwalk. Just in time too. Everything almost seems too good to be true.

You’re still focusing on the touch of Hoseok’s hand around yours when the first crack of the fireworks hits the sky. You jump a little from the sudden sound, but then you’re immediately welcomed with a spectacular sight.

The sky lights up in various colours. There is a variety of shapes and sizes, some big and some small. Some are the traditional round fireworks, while others are the special ones where they make curved paths. As the sky lights up, your eyes light up. You’re so mesmerized by the fireworks, that you don’t even notice that Hoseok has brought his arm around your waist.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” He says in your ear just loud enough so that you can hear over the crackling of the pyrotechnics.

“Mhm..” You nod, still in awe from the sight in front of you.

“Hey Y/N?” Hoseok nudges your side a little, but all your attention is on the show in front of you.

“Mm?”

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to say….”

“Mm.” You’re finding it difficult to focus on Hoseok’s words because of how beautiful the colours are.

“Y/N,” He turns you away from the view and you frown for a brief moment. “Hey, you’re right. There has been something on my mind recently.” You notice that Hoseok’s tone is very serious, very unlike him. “I’ve been thinking a lot recently and I feel really shameful for only realizing this just now, but…better late than never right?”

“Hoseok, don’t worry. You can tell me anything, you know that. I’ll always there here for you.” You grip his arm lightly and he gives you yet another one of his charming smiles. This time, Hoseok doesn’t say anything. For a while he just stands there. His eyes, light up almost the same way that yours did when you saw the fireworks. What could he possibly be thinking right now?

One by one, he brings his arms around your waist to bring you closer to him.

“Hoseok..” You say, but your voice is too soft and it’s covered by the sounds of the fireworks.

Even with all the booming and crashing behind you, the world becomes quiet. Everything is silent and you can only focus on one thing. Hoseok.

He brings one hand up to brush away the hair on your face and he tilts your chin slightly so that the sparks shine on your face. Slowly, but surely, he moves in. No, you’re in fact not daydreaming. This is one hundred percent real.

“Hoseok..” There is a sense of panic in your voice, but it immediately disappears once you feel Hoseok’s lips connect with yours. It’s foreign, yet you’re sure you’ve felt something like this before, but where?

Hoseok’s touch is gentle. The overall situation is overwhelming enough, but Hoseok manages to make you feel like you have your own display of fireworks happening inside of you. You don’t know what to feel. Shock? Excitement? Confusion? There is only one thing you know how to do.

You kiss him back.

At first you’re a little unsure, but the moment you return the kiss, you can feel Hoseok’s smile against your lips. His hold around your waist tightens and then he pulls away.

“I’m sorry Y/N, for everything. You truly do deserve better. I’m sorry for making you go through all this, for waiting for so long. I truly don’t deserve you and you truly deserve someone better..” Hoseok’s eyes fill with guilt.

“Hoseok, it’s okay. Like you said, better late than never right?” You bring your arms around his waist as you can’t stop smiling. Your cheeks are going to hurt from smiling so hard, but that’s the only thing you can do to express how you feel at this moment.

“It’s not going to be easy.” He says while cupping your face.

“I know.” You smile and he gives you a peck on the nose.

“Thank you Y/N. For everything.” The two of you stay like this for a while as the firework show continues behind you.

You take this time to admire the true beauty of Hoseok. You wouldn’t say that he’s perfect, but who is? He may not be perfect, but he presents himself in a way in which you truly admire. You admire how he’s able to be so passionate about the things he does. You admire how Hoseok is able to carry this aura of warmth and comfort everywhere he goes. You admire how he’s right here in your arms.

“Oh by the way…”

“Hm?” You look up at him, slightly amused as there is the occasional flash of colour projected onto his face.

“That wasn’t our first kiss.” He smirks.

“What do you mean?” You bet your life that you haven’t kissed Hoseok before.

“That time when you were drunk—”

“No. No!” You think back to that dream you had months ago. You’re almost so sure that everything was a dream.

“Yup.” His smirk grows wider.

“Jung Hoseok, I hate you so much!” You try to get out of is hold, but he holds onto you even closer and kisses you again.

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