#i enjoy revising so much this is a very hard habit for me to break | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

retrievablememories · 3 years

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picture me | johnny (m)

title: picture me pairing: vampire!johnny x black!reader genre: fantasy, romance, smut, fluff, angst summary: you meet a vampire-slash-photographer whose self-identity is increasingly lost to him, and you try to help him find some purpose again. word count: 18.3k warnings: age gap (cuz you know, vampires...but everyone is legal), mentions of discrimination/prejudice based on species, self-identity issues/self-deprecation, general angst, sheltered!reader, mentions of blood and drinking blood, oral sex (female and male receiving), fingering, thigh riding, loss of virginity, corruption kink, use of lube, unprotected sex (do not try at home), creampie, johnny is packing in this fic ok! a/n: today (the 28th) is my birthday, so i’m posting this 100% self-indulgent fic that i’ve been working on between requests since september. it was very hard to get johnny’s characterization right for this fic and idk if i actually succeeded but i’m not revising this for the 1000th time lol. i love this fic with my whole heart tho.

i haven’t seen many vampire fics that really explore the whole “doesn’t show up in mirrors/photos” concept (shout em out if you know em) and...there’s probably a reason for that, this shit is hard af to write and there are some logic issues but whatever 🤪

(the beginning quote is from “criminal,” stan taemin!!)

The moment I fall for you is the end of my innocence

—

He sits in the same coffee shop everyday, like it’s a habit he just can’t break. But who are you to judge? You’re there, too. Watching him like a creep. Or maybe like an interested coffee shop patron, trying to be discreet and failing at it.

He wasn’t hard to notice. You’d never been to this coffee shop before, but your friend recommended it to you mostly for their in-house-made pastries; she claimed the coffee was good, too, but she wasn’t much of a caffeine person. You decided to give it a try when you had time between classes and a moment to breathe, not needing to talk to this advisor or that professor.

You saw him immediately when you walked past the shop window. He was sitting at a table near the front, staring down at his phone with a small cup of coffee sitting in front of him. Its miniscule size was almost comical in contrast to his...everything. He was tall—that much was obvious even with him sitting down—and imposing, wearing all black. His hair was equally pitch-black, his bangs hanging to one side and the rest shaved in an undercut. If you didn’t know much better, you’d think you’d stepped back into 2007 and landed dead in the middle of the emo craze.

He was interesting to look at. Not in a bad way, but in a way you don’t see very often. Deciding to walk in before you made yourself look totally weird staring at him through the window, you’d stepped into the coffee shop, the small bell dinging above your head. A barista greeted you at your entrance. Out of the corner of your eye you saw the man, to your left, still looking at his phone.

You’d given your order and waited for it to be ready before taking it to a table on the other side of the shop. From that vantage point, you had a good view of the man. You tried to keep your eyes on your food and your phone, not wanting to spend the whole time looking at him, but it was a little hard not to.

When you took a bite of your pastry, you quickly discovered it was just as delicious as your friend promised—probably even more so. You made a noise of approval before you could catch yourself, and you glanced around the shop in embarrassment to see if anyone nearby noticed. Didn’t seem like it, at first. But then you glanced over to the man again only to find him looking at you below his eyelashes with a small, amused smile on his lips. He only kept his gaze on you for a second before returning to his phone.

What? You hadn’t thought you were that loud. How did he hear you from over there, and above the noise of the café? Even now, you remember how embarrassed you’d felt, ducking your head and looking away.

The man finished his coffee not long after that; he slipped his phone into his pocket and stood up. You glanced up only momentarily when he stood, but your eyes soon slid back to his form when you noticed something odd. On the wall behind him, there was a big oval mirror sitting pretty in its elaborate silver frame. He stood just a few feet in front of it, yet there was no reflection of him. The only thing you could see was the other side of the café reflected back, with another man sitting alone at a booth enjoying his own coffee. The tall man’s reflection was nowhere to be found.

That was when you figured he must be a vampire.

You’d never met one before. At least, you didn’t think you had until then.

Unbeknownst to you, vampires are notoriously able to blend in more easily than most other supernatural beings—until faced with situations like that one in the coffee shop. Ultimately, there’s no faking a reflection no matter how hard you try to remain inconspicuous.

The man had caught your eye again. Thinking back on it, you aren’t sure of what expression you had on your face or what it must’ve looked like to him. It must’ve been something akin to surprise, though; you weren’t quick enough to disguise your reaction at his lack of a reflection.

He gave you another smile, though it felt sadder than the previous one, and walked out of the store, the small bell on the door ringing at his departure. He disappeared down the street in a swirl of black fabric, almost like something out of a movie, and you watched him retreat until you could see him no more.

You scraped your index fingernail over the wood table your food was resting on, your mind whirring with all kinds of thoughts. Your interest was piqued. And yet there was no way for you to know if you’d see him again.

—

At least, that’s what you believed then. Luckily for you, your subsequent visits to the coffee shop have proven fruitful; the strange, tall vampire is there more often than not, always in the same spot in front of that same mirror. Sometimes he reads a book, other times he looks at his phone, and other times still, he stares out the window at the passersby.

He acknowledges you whenever he sees you, either with a nod or a smile. You’ve never spoken to each other, though you know what his voice sounds like from hearing him talk to the baristas. It’s a nice voice, rich and handsome like him, and you find yourself gradually wanting to hear it spoken in your direction. But you aren’t sure how to talk to him, or what you should say.

There’s a lot you want to know about him and his vampirism, but you don’t think it’s fair to bombard him with questions right after meeting him—if you could somehow work up the nerve for that first step.

When you were young, your parents made sure to keep you safely sheltered away from anyone who could potentially be a vampire or any other nonhuman being. This game kept up until you went to college, where they could no longer “shield” you. Because of their lifelong fear and disgust, your knowledge of nonhuman beings is scarce and mostly inaccurate.

The man’s skin isn’t deathly pale like you’ve heard others say vampires always are. It’s nicely tanned, in fact. Nor are his eyes red, or his canine teeth abnormally sharp. And obviously, he has no aversion to sunlight, otherwise he wouldn’t be out here during the day. The only visible marker of his inhuman nature is his lack of a reflection. Maybe he’s not a vampire at all? Maybe he’s another type of being entirely. That only makes you more curious.

It’s not rare to come across supernatural beings, but they only make themselves known if they want to, or if it’s imperative to their survival. Most of them would rather quietly assimilate amongst humans or stay safe and hidden within their own communities. Humans are still too judgmental towards those who are different from themselves for nonhumans to feel truly safe or welcomed—at least not on a global scale. Small pockets of communities forged with human allies are helpful and sometimes vital for survival, but not always enough.

These small tidbits of information cycle through your mind as September gradually bleeds into October. You continue watching the thoughtful man in the coffee shop and making up your own secret theories about his life. You haven’t told anyone from school about this, because you already know the reaction would be nothing short of awful. Your parents would only let you go to school at the one university in the city that explicitly didn’t allow supernatural beings; it goes without saying that your classmates don’t view them in a positive light.

Part of you feels like you might be breaking the unspoken rules just by being at this coffee shop all the time and allowing this man to take up space in your mind. But who will know what’s inside your thoughts except you?

One day, your friend decides to accompany you on your lunch break, finally stopping by the café she recommended to you. The man is already there, as usual, and he smiles slightly when you and your friend enter. She doesn’t catch this, too busy wondering what she’s going to get off the menu today.

“I haven’t been here in forever, I wonder if Sam still remembers me?” You know Sam to be one of the baristas there, having read it on their name tag before.

“I doubt there are very many people who’d forget you,” you answer.

When you both have your food, you take a booth farther away from where the man sits, though you can still see him easily from this distance. Your friend settles into the seat in front of you.

You try to keep things inconspicuous throughout your conversation, but you must glance over at him one too many times, because your friend eventually raises her eyebrows questioningly. She turns around in her seat, making it obvious that she’s looking, and you groan as you keep your eyes in the opposite direction towards the window.

“Who’s that guy you keep staring at?”

You cough. “No one.”

“He’s obviously someone. Someone interesting enough to hold your attention.”

“I don’t know the man,” you say curtly. You shuffle your napkin and spoon aimlessly, your nervousness rising. What if he has some kind of enhanced hearing and can hear what you’re saying right now? He definitely heard you make that noise that first day.

Your friend looks at the ceiling and blows air out of her mouth. “Whatever. I’ll find out who he is sooner or later.”

You take a sip of your drink and lower your voice to just above a whisper. Although you want to leave the subject alone, you’re curious about one thing. “You mean you’ve never seen him before? This café was your hangout spot before it was mine.”

She shrugs. “No, I think I would’ve remembered someone as...visually striking as him. Why are we whispering, anyway? It’s not like he can hear us above all this noise.”

You think to yourself, I’m not so sure about that, but you merely shake your head.

You spend a few more minutes talking before movement catches the corner of your eye. At this point, it’s practically a reflex for you to look in that direction. You try not to, but your friend has already caught you and turns her head to spy, too. The man has gotten up for whatever reason to say something to one of the baristas at the counter. Your gaze darts back to your cup after you’ve gotten your eyeful, but you’re nearly startled into dropping the cup at your friend’s gasp.

Oh. The mirror.

She grips the edge of the table. “He’s a vampire…?”

You don’t know what to say to that, and you feel oddly guilty for some reason you can’t pinpoint. Like you’ve been caught with your hand in the cookie jar. “U-um, I don’t know…?” You can hardly finish your thought before your friend is scrambling to grab her purse. She hurriedly stands out of the seat, tugging your arm as she does.

“Come on. We shouldn’t stay here.”

“Are you serious—?” You feel embarrassed heat rip through your body at her display; some other café-goers are already looking at her curiously, probably wondering what the hell she’s doing. She tugs more incessantly, and you already know she’ll get louder if you don’t get up now and defuse the situation. Leaving your half-full cup behind, you grab your things and follow her out of the store, keeping your eyes firmly on her back as you pass by the man. You don’t know if he looked up, or if he could sense the reason for your sudden departure—you’ve never left the shop before him until now—and you don’t want to know.

Neither of you talk until you’re well down the street and around the corner. “That wasn’t necessary,” you huff, your hands still sweating from the spiked adrenaline at suddenly being rushed out.

“Yes it was! We all know bloodsuckers and all these other weirdos are dangerous...even if they think they’re being well-intentioned by living among humans. I hope you don’t go back there.”

“Whatever...you’re the one who told me to visit the café,” you mumble, unable to muster up the energy to say anything more. You both know very well she can’t tell you where to go, but you hope she doesn’t mention this to your other acquaintances on campus and make it into a bigger deal than it is.

When you part ways with your friend and get back to your dorm, you realize you’re missing your planner. The planner with all your upcoming assignment dates in it. You sigh heavily and roll your eyes, knowing it must’ve happened in the chaos of her pulling you out of the shop. Maybe if you’re really lucky, it’ll still be there, picked up by an employee or simply left untouched. Knowing how many people go through that café in a day, you’re not optimistic.

For the first time since visiting the quaint little shop, you’re not anticipating returning and seeing the man again, afraid he’ll ignore you or look at you with distaste—like you’re just another unsympathetic human. And would he be wrong to think that? You’re only strangers to each other.

You try not to dwell on it too hard when you go to bed that night.

When lunch rolls around the next day, you hesitate a couple times on your way to the café, not wanting to show up. However, the desire to see what became of your planner pushes you forward. You don’t even have to stay; if it’s there, you’ll take it and leave. If it’s not—oh well. You can still leave. It’s not hard to buy another.

He’s there when you arrive, of course.

He nods at you when you step inside, though he doesn’t smile as he’s become accustomed to doing. You nod back, but you can’t ignore the renewed rush of embarrassment you feel. You linger at the entrance for a second longer, wondering if maybe you should say something. Apologize, even? But what if he really didn’t know what was going on yesterday? Then how odd would you look for bringing it up?

You decide to move on and go back to the booth to search for your belongings, but his voice stops you. This takes you by surprise.

“Did you come back for this?”

You turn to him to see him holding your planner in his hand. You stare, momentarily dumbfounded, and almost shake your head before realizing it is yours. Definitely the same sticker-covered, scribbled-all-over planner.

“Oh—y-yeah. Thank you.” He passes it to you, though you notice he’s very careful not to let your hands touch. You’re a little perplexed about why, but then the rumors about vampires having cold skin pop up in your mind. Maybe that’s actually true, too. “I usually don’t lose things so easily, but…” Your voice falters, and you don’t know how to finish that sentence without bringing up the other day’s events.

He doesn’t seem to mind as he replies, “It happens to all of us sometimes...I don’t know what I’d do if I lost my camera.”

“You take pictures?” you ask, a tinge of curiosity in your voice.

He nods. “I take photos of anything that interests me. Which often ends up being everything I see. I work at an art museum, so I guess having an eye for photography comes in handy.” He hesitates for a second, then says, “I could show you some?” He waves his phone, indicating that the photos are there.

“Oh, sure.” The man gestures for you to sit down in the empty chair in front of him, and you do so. He swipes through his phone a few times until he settles on what he’s searching for, then puts the device on the table and slides it to you. You lean forward to look at it and see that it displays an album full of pictures, simply titled with the emoji “🌌.”

“It’s okay, you can pick it up.” He chuckles. You pick up the phone and swipe through the numerous pictures. Many of them are nighttime shots of the moon, trees, half-empty streets, darkened storefronts. Others depict nature scenes at sunset or the beginning of sunrise, with the sky colored in darker hues. No matter what the subject matter is, they all look to be professionally taken, even for an iPhone.

“Wow, these are nice. You said you work at a museum…are you a professional photographer, too?”

The man shrugs, and as you look at his slight grin, you realize you still don’t know his name. “Something like that, I guess.”

“You should be if you aren’t already,” you say, looking through more photos. “I’m sure you’d make a lot of money.” When you reach the end of the album, you go to hand the phone back to him but realize he’ll probably want to avoid contact again, so you slide it across the table. He takes it and slips it into his pocket.

“I don’t really care about the money,” he responds. “I just like it because…” He trails off, unsure how to convey his thoughts, wondering if he should even get that personal with a stranger. “It...helps me pass the time.” He’s not quite satisfied by that answer—it doesn’t feel like enough—but it’s all he can think of on the spot.

“Well, that’s nice too. It’s always good to have a hobby just for the sake of it...not for anyone’s benefit but your own.”

“Do you have one?” He takes a sip of his coffee. You don’t expect to be asked about your own interests, and your mind goes blank as you try to think. Why does this always happen when I’m asked these kinds of questions?

“Um, just different things here and there.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he says, amused.

“It’s not that, I just don’t have a ton of hobbies or anything. I’m kinda boring, so…” And wasn’t allowed to do much of anything until I left home.

“Being boring isn’t always a bad thing.”

You lean back in your seat, shrugging slightly. “Maybe if you see it that way. My friends don’t.”

“Would one of those happen to be the same one who dragged you out of here yesterday?” He speaks casually, putting his cheek in his hand. You slump further down in your seat, feeling exposed. Of course there was no escaping this topic. He notices your mood shift and shakes his head. “You don’t have to feel so bad about it. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last.”

“I’m sorry for all that mess,” you murmur, unable to meet his eyes. “Really, I am.” You stand up from the seat, gripping your planner. “Thanks again for this. I don’t want to take up any more of your time today.” You’re about to turn to leave when he speaks again.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me, you know…you could talk with me whenever you feel like it.” That’s the last thing you expect him to say. His voice takes on a quality that’s...not what you’d call begging, but it’s clear he’d enjoy some company. Maybe he’s doing this for your benefit as well as his own, because it’s obvious how your eyes always stray to his little corner.

You nod, giving him an apprehensive smile. “I’ll keep that in mind, then.”

The rest of your day after that is uneventful, full of classes and unexciting lectures, but you keep thinking of one thing. Though he appears to enjoy his time in the coffee shop, how lonely must he really be? There’s never anyone else around him. His eyes when he’d spoken to you held a certain sadness.

And you still didn’t get his name.

You don’t see him for the next few days, mostly because you aren’t at the café. You’ve gotten busy with a new project and haven’t had as much time to return to the coffee shop, mostly spending your time in the library instead.

When you finally get a chance to buy lunch outside campus, he’s not there. This disappoints you more than you thought it would, and you wonder what his absence means. Did he just decide not to come today, or has he found another place to frequent? You kind of hope the second option isn’t the case, though you also don’t know why you’re even caring this much about where someone else goes on their own time.

You get a drink to-go this time, deciding you’ll just take it back to the library and continue your studies there. The entryway bell rings behind you as you wait for your order to be made, though you don’t pay it much attention; half of your mind is still occupied with what you need to do next for your project.

When you turn around to leave the shop with your drink, you’re surprised to see the man standing there, waiting to get his own coffee. “You’re late,” you blurt out. You immediately feel silly for saying it, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

He gives you a slight smile. “Yes, I am.” Then he spots your to-go cup. “Are you leaving?”

“Uh, well,” you glance at your drink, “are you staying?”

He nods as he steps up to the counter. “Yeah, I’m staying. My offer’s still open, by the way.”

Right. The offer to talk to him sometimes. You’re tempted to stay awhile and talk to him now, though you don’t even know what about. Your project? That’s boring. Him being a vampire? Too invasive. Your school? Also boring, and probably not the best idea considering which one you attend.

“I...think I’ll stay, then.”

You both sit at his usual table, with you grinning nervously.

“How are you? I noticed you hadn’t showed up in a while,” he asks, settling back in his chair.

“Yeah, I’m doing fine, I’m just busy with school stuff. These teachers don’t give us a break.” You laugh a little, shaking your head.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He grins. “I never did go to college, but I’ve always heard others talk about how tiring it is. And expensive.”

“They’re right.” You roll your eyes at the thought of it. “But I guess it’ll all be worth it in the end. Maybe. If the economy isn’t in the toilet.” The sound of his laughter is nice, and you’re glad you could make him laugh. “Also, I’m sorry—I don’t know how this flew under the radar, but I don’t know your name.”

He shrugs. “Nothing to apologize for, really. It’s Johnny.”

You tell him your name, too. “Since I haven’t seen you lately...how are you doing?” You circle your hands around your to-go cup, feeling its warmth transfer to your palms as you await his answer.

“I think I can say I’m the same as always—which is fine. Life slows down a little when you have a lot of time on your hands.” Johnny’s lips quirk up at that, and you think he might be referring to his vampirism. Your eyes widen a little.

“What’s that like? Having so much free time. I wouldn’t know much about that right now, but…”

“Maybe not as pleasant as you think it’d be. But there’s good in it. Like coming and going when you want to. And you can take up whatever interests you want without worrying as much about busy schedules.” You already know he’s alluding to his photography. “I do like having a job, though…it gives me structure.”

“You’re probably right…I wouldn’t know the first thing to do if I had a ton of free time…like, which hobbies to pick up first.” You consider how you initially thought about him being lonely and wonder if that’s one of the unpleasant parts he hinted to. “Speaking of hobbies...did you take any new pictures lately?”

Johnny nods. “Most of them were on my camera this time, but some are on my phone. You want to see?”

“Yes!”

Johnny lets you have his phone again to look through the newest pictures he’s taken. There are varying shots of car-lined streets and storefronts, some of the latter decorated with glowing jack-o-lanterns for the onset of October. A pigeon sits on a streetlamp during the daytime, holding its head up like royalty upon a throne. In another image, a stray cat and her kittens huddle in an alley, the babies grooming each other while the mother looks quizzically at the camera.

You recognize a few photos from the nearby park; he also had some pictures of it the last time you looked. “Do you go to this park often?”

“Yeah, it offers some great shots. It’s especially pretty if you go just before the sun sets...the light filters through the tree leaves and it looks kinda like a kaleidoscope.”

“Ah, I’ve never seen that before…” you say a little sadly. Your parents didn’t much like taking you to that park when you were younger because of how far it is from their house. And since living away from them, you’ve only been able to visit it during the early hours of the day—like now.

Johnny looks closely at you. “Would you ever want to?”

“If it’s as pretty as you say, I should.” You slide the phone back across the table to him, not catching what he’s trying to hint at as you keep talking. “Do you go anywhere else besides here and the park?” As soon as you say it, you realize this might sound a little rude and try to make a quick save. “I mean, do you have any other favorite places? I’m not trying to say you don’t have a life or anything!”

Johnny laughs at your slight panic at thinking you’ve offended him. “Nothing too out-there, I guess. The bookstore, the photography store, the theater. Pretty much all the same places others visit.”

“The movies are fun.” You trace your finger across the table’s surface, thinking of your own favorite spots. “Me and my friends like to go downtown. There are a lot of cute little shops down there…”

You and Johnny talk for a while longer, and you almost forget you have to get back to campus until you glance at the wall clock. “Oh no, I’m gonna be late.” Flustered, you jump out of your seat and crumple your empty cup. “Sorry to cut it short, Johnny, but I gotta go back now.”

He smiles good-naturedly and nods, his dark bangs sweeping his face. “I understand.” As he watches you gather your things and get ready to go, he speaks up again. “Actually, if you want to see the park at sunset sometime...I could show you? It’s up to you.”

You pause, suddenly curious at the thought of seeing him outside the café. In the back of your mind, you feel a little paranoid and afraid of your friend or maybe even your parents seeing you there with him, though the latter is extremely unlikely. It’s hard to shake that familiar fear of judgment and ostracism when it’s been ingrained in you since childhood. “That sounds good. If it’s not any trouble for you…?”

“Never too much trouble. I usually get off around 4 on Fridays, just before the sun sets at 5. Unless the weekend is better for you?”

You nod, holding your books tighter to your chest. “Friday will work for me! I’ll meet up with you then.”

Johnny smiles. “Great; I’ll see you then, kind stranger.”

Maybe he says it to be joking or quirky, to sound like one of those characters in a movie or drama, but it makes you smile. Nodding to him again, you step out of the café and rush towards the direction of your school. Johnny watches as you retreat, your roles reversed.

You meet up with Johnny at the park that Friday, just as you both agreed. You spot him sitting on a bench near the park entrance, waiting on your arrival.

Johnny’s wardrobe is still mostly dark, but it’s a little lighter than usual today. He’s changed things up with a white polo shirt underneath his black sweater. Seeing him dressed like this, you wonder what he’d be like as a student, or maybe even a university professor.

He stands up when you get closer, hearing the sound of your footsteps approaching and turning towards you. His camera sits safely around his neck, the lens catching in the light of the sun.

When you stop in front of him, he smiles at you warmly. You try to relax into the genuineness of that smile and ignore the still-lingering traces of anxiety about being out with him. “Hi, Johnny!”

“Hi, Y/N.”

You and Johnny walk around the park as he looks for something interesting to shoot. He snaps a few shots of the trees, fallen leaves, bushes, and other natural elements along the way, though it seems like he hasn’t quite captured what he wants yet.

“Are you looking for something specific?” you ask, peering at his camera as he holds it in his hands.

“There’s an aster bush around here,” he responds. “It hadn’t fully bloomed yet the last time I was here, but it should be open by now.”

It turns out he’s right as you two finally come up on the bush. Its blooms make bright purple smudges against the rest of the landscape, which is a monochrome red-and-orange palette from the leaves changing their hues. You watch as he comes up to the bush carefully and quietly, like it’s a small animal he’s afraid to scare away. Johnny is very attentive while taking pictures of it, always conscious of getting the correct lighting and securing the exact angles he wants to capture. “Compassionate” is not a word you’d usually associate with the act of taking photos, but that’s the only word you can currently think of to describe this display. He treats the flowers with a peculiar sense of respect, as if they’re a human subject.

After he’s gotten the images he wants, Johnny offers you his camera to take a few of your own. You’re anxious about holding his prized possession and are afraid you’ll find a way to mess something up, but he promises you it’s fine. You take a few shots of the sky, still with a few wisps of clouds left, and a nearby tree that’s almost stripped bare of leaves. You know the shots will probably end up blurry from your unsteady hands, but Johnny tells you you’ve done a good job anyway.

Something about getting his approval makes a pleasant warmth settle in your chest.

As you both walk down a long trail, you finally ask him, “Sorry if this is invasive, but I was wondering how old are you? Like...as a vampire.” Your voice becomes hesitant on the word vampire, even though you’re the only two in this part of the park.

He chuckles a bit. “I’m 85.” You try not to look surprised. “I’ve been turned for 60 years. Old, but probably a little younger than most vampires you’d think of.”

“Kinda,” you say quietly. “They’re always like 2,000 years old in movies.”

“The ancient vampires are purebloods. They keep to themselves and avoid mingling with turned vampires, let alone humans. Some people are even skeptical if they exist. Supposedly, they use humans as servants or blood banks.” He gives you an apologetic look after saying this, though you don’t really know why. You don’t get the feeling he’d do that to another being, but he is still mostly a stranger... “At least, that’s what my mentor told me.”

Your curiosity is roused at all this new knowledge. “You had a mentor?”

“An older woman. She was also a turned vampire.”

“Turned, huh…”

Johnny nods, toeing at a small pile of leaves on the ground. “She went away eventually, said people are meant to pass in and out of each other’s lives. I don’t think she ever had intentions to stay. But I enjoyed her company while she was there.” Johnny stops at a short bridge above a small manmade lake, and you both look down into the water.

You place your arms on the bridge railing so you can lean over more. You notice he doesn’t have a reflection in the water, and this startles you more than you expected. Before meeting this strange man, you’d never thought much before about why vampires don’t have mirror reflections, but it seems even more unnatural to see this phenomenon happen again in the lake.

You find yourself looking at the side of Johnny’s face, trying to read his expression as he peers into the water’s depths. He turns to you, and you flinch at being caught staring, but he only smiles slightly. You force yourself to form words and break the silence. “What—what did you do after she left?”

“Lived on my own. She taught me a lot of things to help me live independently as a vampire, so it wasn’t too difficult to get along without her...but emotionally? A different story.”

“You sound like you had a very close relationship with her.”

“Yes. Quite close…” Johnny’s tone suggests something deeper, more intimate than a regular friendship. You feel a bit astounded at the idea of him having an older, more worldly lover while being only a newly changed vampire. Your reaction makes you feel foolish, inexperienced. Still, you can’t help imagining a scenario of them living in a big, dark mansion somewhere in the mountains, rolling around in a bed with bloody red sheets—and maybe drinking from the occasional naïve, misled human hiker.

Strangely, too, you feel jealous at his freedom, his ability to go wherever and do whatever with whoever he wants without overbearing relatives always just a step away.

You continue staring at the ripples as they circle in and out of the water’s surface, the motions triggered by a small orange leaf falling into the lake. You’re unsure of what could be the right thing to say to his admission, so you blurt out whatever comes to mind next. “You said she taught you to live independently as a vampire. What does that mean? How do you get...you know. Blood?”

“There are ways,” Johnny says cryptically, which makes your own blood rush faster. He turns to you with a grin, like he finds your naivety endearing. “It’s nothing drastic, though. At least, not for me. I never drink directly.” It does make sense that there are other ways to drink human blood without taking it straight from their necks, though you can only speculate on which methods he prefers. “Drinking directly is lethal, and often not worth it.”

“So, it’s true that vampire bites can kill?” You watch as Johnny pushes himself off the railing, and you follow him as he continues down the trail.

“It’s not false. But it’s never really that simple.” Johnny’s answer is mysterious, and he doesn’t elaborate further. He turns to you. “Where did you hear that, anyway? Your university? The one that bans all nonhuman beings?”

“You know where I go to school?” You feel embarrassed, thinking he must assume you’re like the rest of the student body who hates nonhumans but still nurtures an odd obsession with them.

“I saw it on your notebook one day, the school insignia. I’m not a stalker, by the way.” You laugh only slightly, and Johnny seems crestfallen when he notices your apprehension. “I don’t care if you attend school there. Just because you do doesn’t mean you think the way they do.”

“You must think I’m some weird opportunist, then,” you mutter, heat finding its way to your face. “Asking you all these questions...I’m sorry.”

“I don’t think anything except that you’re a pleasant person to be around.”

You’re quiet for a moment, letting the compliment sink in. You think you should probably give him one of his own, but before you can, he says, “Look. The sun’s already setting.” Just like he told you before, the dying rays filter through the tree leaves and create impossibly intricate patterns on your surroundings. You hold your hand out and watch the latticework that the leaves create dance over your open palm.

You let Johnny take a picture of your hand with the tree shadows flitting over it, but you shy away from the camera’s lens when he points it higher to your face, a questioning look in his eyes. “Maybe some other day.”

You walk around for a while longer until the sky bleeds into a dark purple. “I guess I should be going soon. It’s getting late,” you say, though you’re also a bit sad over your evening with Johnny meeting its end.

“Do you want me to take you back to campus? You shouldn’t walk back alone. My car is just in the parking lot there.” He points to it where it sits in the distance.

You look at Johnny with a confused gaze. “But you can’t come on campus. They have...things to ward off vampires.” Like gates made of pure silver, displaying intimidating, elaborately designed crosses. You don’t know if any of it actually works, but it’s probably better not to find out.

Johnny doesn’t seem bothered by this information. “Yeah…I know. I can just drop you at the street across from the main gate.”

You hesitate a moment longer but eventually agree. He is right; you’d rather not walk alone at night, and getting a ride with him is better—and cheaper—than calling for a rideshare.

The ride to the college is fairly quiet, with the radio filling the silence. It’s not an awkward type of stillness, at least, which you’re grateful for.

As he said he would, Johnny parks on the side of the street that sits in front of the main gate, just outside the immediate vicinity of the campus. The metal crosses stare back at the both of you, glinting in the light of nearby streetlamps. You turn your face away from them, biting the inside of your cheek.

You unbuckle your seatbelt. “Thanks again for the ride. I guess I’ll see you back at the shop next week, yeah?” Again, you get the urge to say something, anything, to remedy or cover up the foreboding source of discomfort sitting just in front of you, but there’s no one sentence you could say to wipe away decades of hatred.

Johnny nods and smiles, and still he shows no signs of being disturbed. He doesn’t cast another glance at the gates. “It’s no problem. See you then.”

You get out of his car and cross the street to get inside the gate; it’s early enough in the evening for it to still be open. Any later, and it’d be locked shut to even humans. You risk another wave at him before turning back around and heading for your dorm, which sits a few yards from the entrance. Johnny lets the car idle on the side of the street until you’ve walked into the dorm, and only then does he drive away.

It doesn’t take very long for you to warm up to Johnny inviting you to other places. The next time you and him go somewhere other than the coffee shop, you accompany him as he buys some film for his camera on one of his free days. You don’t know a ton about photography, so you’re more than happy to let him tell you all about how film works and why he buys certain kinds over others.

The place he frequents is a specialty photography shop that still carries older varieties of film—ones that fell out of favor once digital cameras became a thing. The store looks noticeably old, but not in an unkempt or decrepit way. You can tell it’s been around for a while, holding all kinds of history in its structure.

“There are so many different types.” You look over a shelf of film rolls in awe. “How can you tell them all apart?”

Johnny laughs. “It gets easier if you’ve been doing it for a while…or a few decades.” He picks one up from a row of them and holds it in front of you. “35mm is the most common type, which is what you’ll find the most of when you look through any film shop. That’s what I use.”

He sets that one down and walks past another display of film rolls, gesturing toward them. “There’s also 120 and 220 film formats here…those work for even older cameras, sorta like ones you’d see in 1930s movies. You can even turn a film camera into a digital camera.”

You nod to his words, looking over what seems like millions of film canisters—and occasionally glancing at the lines of his broad back as he walks ahead of you. “You should teach a photography class. I’d be more willing to listen to you than some old professor.”

Johnny snickers. “Huh, I don’t know. Not a professor, but I am old.”

You both continue walking through the store, with Johnny giving you the rundown on every item that catches your interest.

Like the coffee shop, there’s another mirror in this store. Many more, actually—there are whole rows of them on a series of shelves, all in varying sizes and shapes. They create a fragmented view of your form as you stand in front of them, though you don’t initially realize you’ve crossed into their glassy line of sight. You’re busier with looking at a roll of film Johnny’s handed you. When you notice your reflection shifting in your peripheral view, you look up.

Johnny’s only a few feet behind you, and you know this because you can hear him and feel his presence. Yet, it’s strange to see yourself as the only person in the aisle.

Eventually, he notices what’s got you preoccupied and comes to stand next to you. Though you see him clearly in front of your eyes, there’s no trace of him in the glass reflections.

Suddenly, you’re hit with the aching loneliness of it—how it must feel to never see yourself. You can see him with your own eyes, and so can everyone else who encounters him, but what must it be like to be virtually invisible outside of other peoples’ perceptions of you? You almost feel utterly alone even though you know he’s beside you.

Noticing your sudden melancholy, Johnny takes the film roll from your hand and tosses it up in the air, making it look like it’s moving on its own in the mirrors. He means to lighten the mood, if only to see the cloudiness disappear from your expression. It works to a degree, though you still feel downcast deep below.

“It’s not good to dwell on it.” Johnny presses the film roll back into your hand, still carefully avoiding skin contact. He has no problem meeting your eyes, though, and you shyly look away from his dark gaze after a few prolonged moments.

“You’re right,” you say softly, turning back to the aisle and away from the rows of mirrors.

—

You and Johnny head to the coffee shop after your trip to the photography store. Once you get your drinks and sit down in your usual spot, he speaks suddenly. “Something’s wrong.”

Your eyes dart around the shop, thinking he’s referring to one of the patrons around you. “What? What’s wrong?” Your voice comes out a bit panicked. He doesn’t want to laugh, but he does.

“No, I mean...something’s wrong with you. You seem far away.”

“Oh…” You wonder if you should even bring it up and potentially ruin the mood. But you have been curious for weeks now, and you don’t think you’ll get a trustworthy answer by asking anyone other than him. “I just...I was wondering why you don’t have a reflection. I know it’s a vampire thing, but I’ve never really known why...you don’t need to answer, though. Like you said, it’s not good to dwell on it.”

Johnny makes a motion like a half-nod once your question is revealed, his eyes darting to the window and back to the table. His fingers trace across the rim of his coffee cup, a thoughtful but stormy expression on his face, and you’re afraid you shouldn’t have reawakened this topic. “You know...being undead means being in two places at once.”

“Two places?”

“We are caught between the living world and the world of the dead. Something that’s not really supposed to exist, yet…” He’s quiet for a moment. “You can only imagine the kind of issues and side effects that can cause. One of them being no reflection.”

“I never thought of it like that,” you say. “Two planes of existence...what does it mean to be a part of the world of the dead?”

“Our blood runs slower. Ours is more like sludge compared to yours. The heart beats only a few times per minute. Don’t need to eat or sleep, either, though many vampires still do.” Johnny pauses. “How much do you really know about vampires?”

“I don’t know much about any of this...stuff.” You gesture vaguely, meaning all supernatural beings and not just vampires. “No one ever told me these things growing up, and it’s hard to tell truth from fiction at school. People will say anything, horrible things, and you just take it at face value, I guess. I never really thought to try to find the reality.” You sigh. “Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person in the world who doesn’t know anything.”

“Learning is good. You can always learn. I don’t think it’s too late for that.” Johnny’s voice is a little lighter. “Anyway, everyone’s knowledge is different. Sometimes it slips my mind that everyone doesn’t know what it’s like to live as a vampire, though the world never lets me forget for long.”

“Then…do you hang out with other vampires who do understand? Or…maybe humans who can sympathize?”

Johnny gives a humorless laugh. “Most humans are hesitant to interact with us, if not full-out terrified or disgusted. At the museum...it’s less pronounced because all the employees already know. They…tolerate it. But every time someone else realizes what I am and doesn’t take well to it?” He shakes his head, acts like he’ll say something else, and then abandons that line of thought. “And do you really think I’d want to spend my free time around other bloodsuckers?” He tries to play it off as a joke, but you’re more inclined to think he actually feels that way. You can only nod, feeling bad for him but also a little disturbed by his view of his own kind.

“I think you’re a kind person, and you being a vampire doesn’t affect that,” you say hesitantly. “I like talking to you. And even if you feel that way about other vampires, I…wish you wouldn’t feel that about yourself.”

Johnny remains quiet, but he nods. You wonder about the struggle occurring in his mind. The only outward hint of his uneasy state shows in the furrow of his eyebrows and the tense set of his mouth. With his right hand resting on the table, he rubs his fingers together absentmindedly, like he’s analyzing your words. You have a sudden and startling desire to hold his hand, to twine your fingers together and feel his skin on yours for the first time, but you don’t dare cross that boundary.

He finally replies with, “You’re much kinder to me, an old and bitter vampire, than you probably should be. But maybe that’s a good thing about you.”

“I think it’s a good thing,” you agree, your voice low. “Every living being needs companionship. Good companionship, anyway.”

The corners of Johnny’s lips shift in something reminiscent of a smile. He turns a rueful gaze once again to the window, lifting his coffee cup to his lips. “Aren’t I lucky to have yours, then.”

On a day when you don’t have as many responsibilities to juggle, you visit Johnny at the art museum after his working hours are up. He’d already invited you to come to the museum any day you felt like so he could show you around.

When you get there, he’s waiting in the visitor’s lobby for you, framed by receding sunlight as the day starts fading into night. He looks the same as he always does when you see him in the café on his lunch breaks, but within the context of the museum, he suddenly seems more…alive? Vibrant? He could’ve served as a muse for one of the many statuesque, perfectly proportional sculptures in the museum, and you’d never know anything different.

Your heartbeat increases at the sight of him, just enough to be outside the normal range.

“Hi, Johnny. I hope your day went well?”

“It was fine, nothing too crazy. But it’s better now.” And he smiles at you, sincere enough to make your heart ache.

“Oh—that’s great.” That’s it? You scold yourself internally, but you aren’t quick enough to think up a witty reply to his comment before the topic shifts.

“Is there anything in particular you wanna see first?” Johnny asks, leading you further into the museum.

“I guess I hadn’t thought too deeply about that…do you have a favorite exhibit? I want to see what you like.”

Johnny smiles faintly. “Let’s see, then.”

The dark-haired man takes you to a section of the museum filled with oil paintings, all by one singular artist. At first, all you see is varying shades of black and gray and red, with some white splashed in between. When you begin looking at the paintings more closely, it’s easier to see that each one depicts a different scene of chaos. Maybe a sort of organized chaos, but disarray all the same.

There is one picture that holds a clearer subject than the rest. One of the oil paintings is of a vampire—obvious by the fangs—with bloodied lips and anguished eyes. You pause when you catch sight of it, your steps stilled by the sheer frenzy in the other being’s painted eyes. Their hands reach out for the viewer as if begging for an escape that can only be provided by whoever’s observing.

“This one was painted by a fellow vampire, you know. The same one who did all the rest of the paintings in this gallery,” Johnny explains. He points at the placard next to the painting that displays the artist’s name and a short description of the piece. The word fellow comes off his tongue wrapped in cynicism. “And it was one of the ones I personally chose for this exhibit.”

You glance at him, a tinge of surprise blooming in your chest. “Really?”

He nods. “Who better to depict the ills of vampirism than a vampire themselves? I thought it was a…fascinating change of pace from all the humans who try and fail to do so, ironic as that is.”

If you look at the painting for long enough, you think you can recognize sadness in the corners of the vampire’s eyes—pure, unadulterated sadness. Different from anguish or panic. A similar mask of sadness you’ve seen on the man next to you.

You say nothing for a while. You simply feel the painful throb of your heart in your chest and listen to the small sounds around you. Even now, there are still other people exploring the museum and walking through this very exhibit, but you can’t hear or see any of them. Johnny notices the disconcerted look on your face, and his forehead creases. “But I’m sure you want to see something less…morbid than this, right? Come on.”

“Uh, I-I don’t mind,” you insist, even though you feel like you’ve just awoken from a painful trance by the sound of his voice. But he’s already gesturing for you to follow him elsewhere.

The next set of paintings you end up in front of are a series of sunflower studies. One frame depicts the long green stems; another provides an up-close view of their lined petals. One zooms in close on the flower’s brown center, only small glimpses of yellow left at the edges of the frame.

“This is definitely very different.” You look at him, a small smile pulling at your lips. “But it fits you. I see why you like it.” You remember him back in the park, taking careful pictures of the aster bush and of your hands…and then offering to take one of you. You don’t know why that last one makes your stomach jump.

“I thought you might like it.” Johnny’s eyes linger on your face as he observes your reaction to the paintings. He’s seen these flowers probably a hundred times by now in this permanent exhibit, but the wonder in your expression is new to him.

—

You both walk through a few more exhibitions after that, all with different subjects and mediums—some consist of sculptures, others are clay vases and figures. There’s still a lot to see in the museum, but you’re starting to get hungry, and you know Johnny has already heard your stomach growling.

After the 2nd time it happens and you think you might melt from embarrassment, he grins at you and makes a suggestion. “Let’s go to my office. I’ll get my things and we can eat. The restaurant here is pretty good—or at least that’s what everyone else says…”

When you get to his office, you feel almost like you’ve stepped into a room from years past. Your gaze drifts across his desk immediately; it’s not sleek and modern like you’d expect, considering the rest of the museum’s aesthetic, but wooden and heavy and vintage-looking. It’s olden quality resembles everything else in his personal space. Even his desk chair, a big and plush thing, feels vintage with its soft leather and rustic design.

This feeling is far from a bad thing, though. You enjoy the aged look of the bookcases, the picture frames, the chairs, the small decorations here and there—everything about this room.

Johnny notices how you look around, studying everything in sight, and smiles. “It’s not the most modern, but I like it.”

“It’s perfect. Like a world of its own.”

“A woman of taste, I see.” Johnny puts a hand over his heart, giving an expression like he’s truly touched, and you can only grin sheepishly. When he has his belongings, he leads you out and locks the door behind him.

“Let’s see what they have on the menu today, then.”

—

You get dinner at the museum’s restaurant, just as Johnny recommended, and he even decides to eat too. Maybe he does it so you won’t look odd being the only one eating, or because he really just wants to; he doesn’t let on. Either way, sitting across from him like this in a fancy restaurant with both of you having a nice meal feels almost like a date. You let that thought amble around for a few minutes longer before tucking it back into one of your mind’s many small niches.

“I’ll probably be digesting this for the next few weeks,” he says jokingly, pulling a mock-disappointed face at his plate.

“That sounds like the worst constipation in history.” He snorts at your comment, his eyes creasing as he laughs. You notice he has a dimple when he smiles, and your grin mirrors his. You don’t think you’ve seen him laugh quite so genuinely before, but now that you’ve experienced it, you want to hear it again and again.

Anything is preferable to the perpetual gloom, always slinking around the corner.

—

When Johnny gets back home after dropping you off at the university, he undresses himself and showers and pulls on his bedclothes, which are nothing more than his underwear and a pair of sweatpants. His upper canines ache in his gums the entire time he goes through these motions, like two pulses of red-hot heat positioned on either side of his mouth.

He takes a blood bag from the fridge and drinks it in bed, leaning his arms against his knees. A sudden remembrance manifests itself in his mind; he hears the hazy echo of his mother’s decades-past voice in his head, reprimanding him for eating in bed. A sharp pain grips his chest, and he tries to send it back to the depths where it belongs.

When the blood hits his stomach, the pain is eclipsed by the bloodlust, which is no better. His fangs drop immediately, spiking into his lower lip. Johnny closes his eyes and, very gingerly, allows himself to draw a picture of you in his mind, of your blood in his mouth and your heartbeat roaring in his ears. The way your blood would flow out so delicately, crashing into his tastebuds like the high tide. He is usually better than this at curtailing his bloodlust, not even letting it reach the point of his canines hurting—he can’t remember the last time that’s happened—but being around you sets him on edge. Awakens him in some strange, raw way.

That only makes him more wary. And more guilty about imagining himself drinking your blood. He shouldn’t even be around you if he’s losing his grip on his hard-won control. But although it makes him feel ashamed, it also causes his heart to rush.

He drains the blood bag to the last possible drop. To his relief, it calms him significantly, though the thoughts of you don’t leave. More innocent ones now, of your outing earlier in the evening. Deep beneath, they are tinged with his ever-present guilt at his vampiric nature.

Johnny doesn’t need the sleep, but he drifts off anyway, if only to quiet the conflict sending daggers into his mind.

You’ve known Johnny for a few weeks now, not counting the time you spent silently staring at him in the café, but you find yourself intertwining yourself further into his life. You end up visiting his apartment sooner than you anticipated. You didn’t think of anything as ridiculous as him living in a coffin or sleeping in the rafters like a bat, but you also had a hard time imagining what his place might look like.

You come over on a weekend when you have more time to simply hang out and not worry so much about anything else.

Like usual, he waits in that spot on the side of the street for you to come out. In the daytime, you’re more apprehensive about him being here and someone potentially seeing him and trying to cause trouble for him, but there’s a part of you that likes the rebellious aspect of it. And if he truly doesn’t mind coming near the campus to pick you up, you don’t have much issue with him doing it.

Johnny’s apartment is clean—and a little sparser than you’d expected. Maybe he’s a fan of minimalism. One side of the wall is taken up by a wide bookcase, which features a bunch of different knickknacks, books, and a collection of larger hardcovers that look like photo albums. On the other walls are a few framed pictures of different scenes, and you assume they’re ones he must’ve taken.

“This is a nice place,” you say as he takes your jacket for you and puts it up. “It must cost quite a bit, too…” You sit down on the couch, stroking the soft material of it.

Johnny shrugs. “Thanks. It’s nothing I can’t handle...being nearly a century old gives you plenty of time to save money.” He appears charmingly self-satisfied when he’s able to make you laugh. “Do you want anything?”

“Water is fine…thank you.” Johnny nods and goes off to the kitchen.

Despite trying to keep your eyes on the wall photos, your gaze follows him as he leaves. You discreetly watch him move around his kitchen. With his dark clothes, he’s like a splash of black paint against the pale tile and stainless steel.

There are blood packs in Johnny’s fridge. Lots of them. You know because you saw them from your vantage point on the couch when he opened the fridge door. They look like the blood bags you’d see in a hospital, which makes you wonder how he even gets access to those. Another mystery you struggle to wrap your head around.

He comes back to the living room with your water, and you take it gratefully, though you also feel a little awkward. You think maybe the blood bags are something you shouldn’t have seen, although you know he probably would’ve made more effort to hide them or put them away if that were the case.

“You have a good supply of blood, a nice apartment, and a great job. Does every vampire get these kinds of perks?” Admittedly, it sounded better in your head. Your attempt to stave off the awkward feeling—which was really only coming from your end—only makes it more intense. Johnny laughs dryly in response. You can’t tell if he actually finds it amusing or is just trying to humor you, which makes you feel incredibly silly.

“All of it’s government-issued if you promise never to bite any humans.” Johnny gives a wry smile. “But it’s a mistake to think vampires live glamorous lives, filling up on blood and having no cares in the world.”

“N-no, I get it,” you stutter. “Bad joke.”

“I’m not trying to embarrass you or be mean. It’s just the way things are.” Your roles are suddenly reversed, and now he seems to feel some sort of sympathy for you, like you’re just an ignorant little human who doesn’t know any better. The last part of that is more your insecurities speaking out than anything else, but you try to ignore that and take him for his word.

Johnny gets up from the couch to go over to the bookcase as you sip your water. After looking through the photo albums intently, he takes one off the shelf and hands it to you. You set your water down and hold the album carefully as you open the front cover. The cover itself has a neat little label that reads Telluride 1976 - 1980, so you can already expect what you’ll find in it. There are numerous photos of trees, bushes, snowy mountain ranges, lakes, brilliantly vibrant flowers, and woodland creatures. You stop at a picture of a deer looking straight ahead, its black eyes wide and curious as it examines the lens.

“I lived in the mountains back then, a little after my mentor had left. I spent some time trying to reconnect with nature...and all that other hippie shit people used to do back in that era.”

You chuckle. “Did you wear the same kinds of clothes, too? Bell bottoms and tie-dye T-shirts and all?”

Johnny laughs and shrugs. “Maybe…but that’s only for me to know.”

You grin and look at the photos again. “Well…did your plan work, at least?”

Johnny gives a wistful smile. “In some ways, I think it did.”

You continue looking through the rest of the album, which you could probably do for hours if you had the time—just sit and trace every possible line, curve, and ray of light. Johnny sits beside you as you do, occasionally explaining some pictures and their backstories.

“Lately, I’ve been wanting something else to take pictures of...someone else, maybe.”

“What, like a subject?” you ask.

“Yeah, it’d be nice...I haven’t taken pictures of another person in a while.”

You nod quietly as you flip through the pages—another possible hint flying right over your head. Then a thought comes to you—one that makes your skin warm. “Have you ever taken pictures of anyone you were...involved with?” You don’t say it directly, but you hope he can get the gist of what you’re asking.

Johnny nods as if he doesn’t want to admit to it, a nervous smile gracing his lips. “A few different people…but I always gave them the pictures after we, you know, stopped seeing each other...so there’s none left here.”

“I see…” For a few moments, your thoughts circle around that concept. What was it like to bare yourself in front of someone else like that, immortalized on film? What might it be like to allow Johnny to see you like that, to take pictures of you in your most vulnerable form? The idea doesn’t make you as downright anxious as you expected it to, though you can’t completely shake the lingering embarrassment about it.

After you finish looking through the entirety of his Telluride adventures, Johnny shows you some recent pictures he’s developed, and you’re giddy to see your own blurry creations among them. Now that you’re holding them physically in your hands, you can agree that they look nice, each with its own little personality.

“I thought about putting them in a new photo album,” he says, “but you can keep them, if you prefer.”

You hold them to your chest. “Yes, I’d like to keep them. Thank you.” You smile. “I’m sure I’ll leave you with plenty other photos to put in your album, anyway.”

—

The sun is close to setting again. You aren’t ready to leave yet, though, and Johnny is content to let you stay longer. He pulls out another album for you to look at, this one dated with 1960 - 1964. Unlike the others, there’s no title to describe what’s in it except for that year range.

“This is a picture of me someone took before I was turned,” Johnny murmurs, sitting back down beside you. He turns the album to you, and in the middle of the first page is a sepia-toned photo of him sitting on a bed—or maybe a couch?—wearing a suit. White, handwritten lettering on the bottom right of the photograph reads August 4, 1960.

“Oh wow...” You touch the photo gently over its protective lining. “You look exactly the same. Of course.”

“It’s the only photo I have left of myself,” he sighs, leaning back on the sofa. “If it weren’t for that...I’d feel almost like I didn’t exist at all.”

“Do you remember this day?” you ask.

“…Vaguely.” His answer doesn’t feel like the whole truth, and the way his eyes dart anxiously as he says it confirms your suspicions. Then he sighs again, heavier this time, and he seems to be exhaling all 60 years of his burden along with it. “I was...going to be married. It was for our wedding shoot.”

You’re surprised for a reason you’re unsure of, never even imagining that Johnny could’ve been married at one point in time. Could’ve had an entire life and a family, if it hadn’t been for...

“I’m sorry, Johnny.” You know you never would’ve met him if things hadn’t happened this way, and that knowledge tugs at your heart in a way that makes you feel intensely selfish.

Johnny shakes his head and avoids your eyes. “It was long ago.” He wets his lips and his jaw clenches like maybe he wants to say something else, but he remains silent for a while.

You continue exploring the photo album in silence. With its thin size, there aren’t as many pictures in it as the others—much less, in fact, but each one is still enough to keep your interest. Your mind keeps drifting back to the one of Johnny.

You hand the album back to him when you’re done. He takes it from you, but in a gesture you don’t foresee, he allows your hands to touch for the first time. You make a tiny flinch at the unexpected coolness—not ice-cold, but enough to be noticeable—but you don’t draw away from him. You let his fingers slide across yours as the photo album leaves your hands, and it sends electricity racing up and down your spine.

“S-sorry.” You’re not sure if you’re apologizing for flinching or for making contact at all, though there is no reason to because he initiated it.

“Doesn’t it ever disturb you at all that I’m not human?” Johnny asks softly, still holding the album.

“What?”

“You’ve taken all this so easily...much more easily than many others. You aren’t even disgusted at my cold hands.” A ghost of a grin comes over his face.

“If I were disgusted, I wouldn’t even be here,” you say, trying to lighten the tension. It’s not the kind of tension that arises from anger, offense, or upset, but something else that you are lost on comprehending in this moment. “Some of it’s unfamiliar, obviously, but I’m not disgusted.”

He glances down at the album in his hands, as if contemplating something. Maybe thinking about the only living photo of himself beneath the cover. Or maybe he’s thinking back to how he was turned in the first place and subsequently lost the life he was about to have. He still hasn’t told you anything about how he became a vampire, and though you’d like to know, it’s obviously a sore spot for him.

Eventually, he nods, willing himself to smile at you. “I’m glad.”

—

Night has fallen by the time you’re done exploring the decades of his life, though there is still much you haven’t seen and don’t yet know. You let him drive you back to the school as you stare out at the passing cars, wondering how many more of these people sitting in their vehicles are nonhuman and you’d never know it.

You hesitate after he pulls up across from the main gate.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Uh, nothing really, it’s just—I still don’t have your number or anything.” And I want to talk to you more often. I want to hear your voice more often. You don’t want to say anything overly dramatic or cheesy, so you just keep those last thoughts to yourself.

Thinking it had been something serious, he smirks at your concern. “Oh, I see. I’ll give it to you now, then.”

Once your numbers are safely in each other’s phones, you finally bid each other goodnight.

Though you try to steer your thoughts towards other things, you keep veering back to Johnny. His apartment. His fridge full of blood bags. His photo albums full of years of history. Even when you get into bed that night, you can’t keep him off your mind.

You wake up gasping and sweating when you dream of him with his fangs in your neck, your own blood running down your neck and chest. You glance over at your roommate to make sure you haven’t woken her and rest your head on your knees, trying to catch your breath and settle your racing heart. Your skin still prickles with how you could practically feel his heated breaths on your neck, ice-cold hands gripping your shoulders.

The worst part of it is that you can’t quite say you completely disliked it.

“It doesn’t make much sense to have a Halloween party and dress up as the very beings that you hate, but whatever…” you mumble, looking through a rack of costumes with a certain impassivity. You’re not very enthusiastic about going to this Halloween party, but your friend refuses to go alone. You haven’t been spending as much time with her anymore—partly because of Johnny and partly because you feel even more out of place around her than normal—and with all her begging and pleading, she refuses to let you opt out of this one.

“It’s about having fun, no one really cares Y/N. They’re freaks, aren’t they? That’s why people dress up as them, they’re practically meant for this.”

You become even more apprehensive about the party after hearing that, if that’s even possible. You smooth your hand over the fabric of a witch’s robe and sigh again, shaking your head. It doesn’t feel quite right to keep spending time in her presence—or anyone else who goes to your school—but you feel trapped on all sides, left without much of a choice. You would never hear the end of it if you tried to switch universities…or even drop out.

Your mind strays back to Johnny as always, with his melancholy aura and weird jokes and pretty pictures and monochrome clothes. The smell of his cologne, the lingering scent of roasted coffee beans, and his toothy smile, when he does show it to you. Something in you makes you want to drop everything you’re doing right now and go to him. It might even be nice to settle in his arms, feel them strong and solid around you—though he’d probably need just as much comforting as you.

“Dress up as this!” Your friend breaks the reverie as she prances over to you with a pair of fake fangs, the tips of them painted in acrylic blood. She holds them up to your mouth, and you struggle to manage a smile, if only to sate her enthusiasm. “It actually reminds me of…that vampire at the café. Say, have you seen him since then?”

You shake your head, moving away to sift through another rack of outfits as you try to maintain a detached expression. “Nope, not a glimpse. Haven’t even thought about him.”

When your friend doesn’t suspect anything, you let your expression drop just a tad, breathing out quietly.

The night of the party, the full moon is heavy and bold against the black blanket of the sky, which feels horribly cliché. You wonder if there are any werewolves out tonight, and what they might be doing right now.

“We’re going to have a good time tonight,” your friend insists as you both walk up the front steps of the host’s house. It’s someone you only vaguely know, a friend of a friend of a friend, but clearly a person who has an abundance of money judging by this expansive home. You don’t know why she feels the need to convince you, but maybe it’s because you haven’t seemed very enthusiastic so far. You only give a thumbs up to her words, which feels like an unconvincing gesture. Luckily for you, it works.

After a few hours, the party is still going strong but your head is starting to hurt from the music, and you’re growing weary of all the men crowding in too close, looking at you in your angel costume like you’re something to be devoured. You’ve rolled your eyes at way too many of them and their haphazardly put-together costumes, dressed up as vampires with terrible fake fangs or werewolves with manes of matted up fur.

Your friend keeps flitting around the party, talking to whoever she recognizes from classes or campus organizations, and you’ve given up on trying to follow her around any longer. Every time you turn around, she’s somewhere else. Noticing that you’re currently solo, a guy from one of your history classes comes up to you and begins what he thinks is an interesting conversation on how angels actually look more like Eldritch abominations than the cherubic humans depicted in paintings—so your costume is “technically inaccurate” —and your eyes glaze over as you pretend to listen to him.

You eventually manage to get away from him and get to an undisturbed corner, wedged next to two girls drinking cider and critically rating all the guys’ costumes. You pull your phone out and think about calling for a ride back to campus, but your thumb hovers over the message icon. You press it without thinking too much about it, and Johnny’s name appears as one of your most recent conversations. Though you feel somewhat nervous, you will yourself to open the box and begin typing.

To: Hi Johnny. I hope I’m not bothering you, but can I come over? 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿 I’m over this party

You put your phone back in your purse, trying not to get your hopes up for a quick response. You know there’s a good chance he’d still be awake at this time of night since he doesn’t need to sleep, but he has his own life and is probably off doing...vampire-y things. Whatever those things could be.

However, your hopes are met when your phone pings only a couple minutes later.

From: Of course. You’re not scared about spending your Halloween with a vampire? 😏

You smile at that.

To: I think I’ll be fine…as long as you don’t bite me.

From: 🦷🩸

—

You get to Johnny’s studio apartment not too long after, and you hang around outside his door for a few moments before knocking, suddenly feeling bashful about your costume. Maybe you should’ve changed before coming over here; what if he thinks it’s childish? Or maybe too revealing? Does he even care about that kind of stuff? Doesn’t matter now, though. You’re here, and there’s no way you’re turning back around.

He answers a few seconds after you knock, wearing a sweater and black pants. You notice his sweater is a cream color and not the usual black. He looks a little surprised to see your costume, and his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows.

“Wow, you look pretty. Nice of you to visit me after falling straight from Heaven.” You cringe at his cheesy line, though you also cannot deny that you secretly enjoy every bit of it.

“Thanks, Johnny...” you say timidly, stepping into his home as he lets you in. “Nice work with changing up the color scheme.”

He’s confused for a moment before realizing you’re talking about his clothes. “Oh yeah, that...um, haha. Thanks.”

Unbeknownst to you, the back of his mind is buzzing with a form of excitement he hasn’t felt in a while. Not the clawing, frantic spikes of bloodlust, but a more physical kind of desire. It’s pleasurable, but he also feels guilty about pining over how sweet and innocent you look in your all-white outfit, stockings hugging your legs perfectly and your dress just short enough to tempt the imagination. Really, you’ve painted a picture of perfect purity, and the only thing he can think about is ruining you. Putting his hands on you and peeling your dress off to reveal the soft skin underneath.

He casts those thoughts aside as you sit prettily on his couch, legs crossed at the ankles—though it’s hard to do so. “Do you want something to drink? Or eat? There isn’t a whole lot of food here, but I can order something…”

“Do you ever make your own coffee?” The question seems a bit random at first, and you try to explain. “You know, since you always get it from the café.”

Johnny smiles. “Do you want coffee? I can make it.”

You nod. “That would be nice…whatever you have.”

“I pretty much have your usual order memorized by now, so I should be good on making it.” Johnny walks to the kitchen. “You can look through the albums while you’re in there. The ones you haven’t seen yet.”

“Oh, thanks.” You feel a little nervous to be looking through the shelf of his treasured photo albums by yourself, but you’re also glad he trusts you enough to let you do it. It makes you feel important. Maybe even important to him, as silly as that might sound.

It isn’t long before the scent of coffee wafts out into the living room. Johnny returns soon with two cups of it, and just as he promised, yours is made just the way you like it.

“Thank you.” You set the album back on the shelf and take the cup from Johnny. For a while, both of you talk of nothing important—just filling the space with the details of your days.

“So how was the party?” Johnny finally asks, and he raises his eyebrows as he scans your outfit again. You grin halfheartedly.

“It was…alright. Kinda weird. I think it’d be more fun if I went to a regular university, but you know…”

Johnny shakes his head. “I can’t blame you for bailing out.”

“Yeah…I’ve been to college parties before, but the Halloween theme was a bit…”

“Strange for an institution that bans all supernatural beings?” Johnny finishes your sentence. He doesn’t look offended or irritated by it—only slightly amused.

You shrug, biting your lip. “Yeah, that.”

“Well, look on the bright side. I wouldn’t have gotten to see you in your natural form otherwise.”

This one almost goes over your head, too, but you catch it just in time. Johnny’s compliments make you feel warm all over, like you’re sitting under the sun. You grin and look down into your cup of coffee, unused to receiving such bold praise and unsure how to respond to it. Something pops into your mind, though, and you think it might be a good idea to run with it.

“You could...take a picture of me, you know. If you want to...since I’m all dressed up now anyway.” You meet his eyes only for a second and then look away, twisting the mug in your hands.

Johnny sits up a little straighter at your words, trying to catch your eyes, though you don’t hold his gaze for long. “You’re sure?” he asks.

“I’m sure. Go ahead! Before I change my mind.” You laugh nervously and carefully set your half-empty mug on the table.

Johnny’s camera is never too far away from him, so he grabs it and plays with the settings for a bit before looking back to you, a small smile on his face. “I’m gonna start, okay?” His voice is surprisingly soft. This, yet again, reminds you of him and the aster bush. He acts as if you might run away at the first shutter click, which makes you feel babied, but you don’t totally hate it.

The first few photos are a little awkward—at least to you. You aren’t sure how to pose, or if you should try to look more casual, though Johnny assures you you’re doing well. He gives you directives throughout, telling you to look in his direction or angle your face a certain way, and you follow his instructions to the best of your ability.

At one point, one of your dress straps slips down. When you go to fix it, Johnny says, “Wait. Could you keep it like that?”

You look at him, your body heating from the suggestion.

“Is that okay with you?”

“…Yes.” Your throat is dry, and your body reacts in a way you don’t expect—little nervous thrills in your hands and feet, though you try to internally explain it away as the coffee’s effects. Johnny takes a few more photos like this, and then he steps closer to gently touch your chin, guiding your face to the angle he’s looking for.

“So good for me.” It slips past his lips in a reverential murmur before he can really consider what he’s saying, and you both freeze. Your heart rate increases, and you wonder if he can hear how hard the red organ is beating in your chest. Probably.

You want to hear him say it again.

Johnny laughs awkwardly, his hand coming back to his side almost a little too quickly to be natural. “Um, I’m really sorry. That was a bit...”

“It…it’s fine.” You avoid his eyes. Johnny takes a few more photos, but the set of his mouth is a little tight, as if he’s stressed about something. Or regretting what he let slip, maybe. You want to tell him you really don’t feel bad about it, but you aren’t sure how to do that without making things more awkward…or revealing your true desires.

When Johnny has taken enough pictures of you to be satisfied with, he sits next to you on the couch, setting his camera on the coffee table and looking suddenly timid.

“I can’t wait to see them,” you say, attempting to break the tension that never really cleared the room after his earlier comment. He blinks for a moment like he doesn’t know what you mean, and then realizes—obviously, he’ll be developing the photos.

“They’ll come out nice, I’m sure. I think you’ll photograph well.”

“Thank you,” you murmur, and now it’s your turn to be unsure of how to resurrect the conversation.

“You’re beautiful.” It’s an abrupt comment. It makes your stomach twist in a pleasant, fluttery way, and you become hyperaware of his form sitting next to yours.

“Haven’t heard that one much, but thanks.”

Johnny turns to you. “Anyone who’d think otherwise is a fool.”

There’s a pause after this where you both simply study each other, watching for hidden reactions that can’t be read on the surface. The way he says it is…decisive, assured. But it also manages to be tender, as if he needs you to know what he thinks of you. Needs you to see yourself the way he does—the same way you do for him. You don’t know where the confidence comes from, but maybe his tone and his words and his endlessly dark eyes have pulled it out of you. “I want to kiss you.”

Johnny’s lips part. “Are you certain?”

“I’m certain.”

He doesn’t hesitate anymore. Johnny moves closer to you and cups the back of your neck. Something awakens in his eyes in the seconds before he presses his mouth to yours. Though he wants to drink eagerly from your lips, his kiss is languid to avoid overwhelming you, and there is an audible smack of your lips whenever he pulls away and presses back in.

His mouth tastes like the coffee you just drank, but underneath that you swear you can taste a hint of the deep iron of blood, and you don’t know how to feel about that. You think about what his fangs would feel like scraping against your bottom lip, if he’d ever show them to you, and you moan quietly.

“Do you want this? With me?” Johnny confirms once more, pulling his gaze away from your lips and up to your eyes. His own eyes are yearning, but there is also an element of something like fear roiling in them. As if you’d turn him away, even though you’ve already shown your desire for him.

“Yes. Just you. No one else.”

Johnny’s body gravitates towards yours, and you think he’s going to push you down onto the sofa, but he scoops your legs up and carries you to his bedroom instead. Even his hands on your waist and legs makes you burn inside.

This is the first time you've seen his bedroom. The sheets are cloud-soft when he sets you down on them, and his window lets moonlight shine through the open blinds and scatter in thick beams across the floor. The only other light source is the bedside lamp, which emits a comfortable yellowish glow.

Johnny joins you on the bed and lets you climb into his lap—encourages you to do so. His cool hands pulling at your thighs as you settle them on either side of his waist makes tingles go through your body. You don’t hesitate to bring your lips back together, kissing each other deeply as one of his hands cradles the back of your head and the other settles on the small of your back.

You are certain vampires don’t have any powers of enchantment—that’s for magic wielders. And yet, you feel like you’ve been put in a trance by his kisses alone, and you wonder how you could’ve lived this long without knowing how his lips feel—how they fit perfectly against your own. As if everything up to now has purposely led you together.

You shift in Johnny’s embrace, and the movement causes his thigh to slide between your legs. Your heat is pressed against his thigh directly now, your silken panties catching against the denim of his pants. You murmur against his lips, not really saying anything of substance but wanting to vocalize your desire to him. Johnny’s hand tightens slightly on your back, and he experimentally lifts his leg higher and slides his thigh across you. That draws a gasp from you.

Noticing your positive response, Johnny continues rocking his thigh up against your pussy and kissing you until you’re breathless and your nipples are straining against the fabric of your dress. You pull away from him for a moment to try to ground yourself, feeling like your nerves are already being singed with fiery pleasure. Johnny’s face is noticeably more flushed than before, but he also looks much more composed than you feel at the moment.

“It takes longer to get hard,” he explains, as if reading the lingering question in your own expression. “Since...you know. Slow blood.” You rock your hips over his thigh more enthusiastically, motivated to get him hard underneath you, and you listen to his choppy breaths as you move. Your movements aren’t the smoothest, but he helps you guide your hips in a way that feels good for you both. You’ve never been with anyone before, so it doesn’t much matter to you how long or quick it takes for him to get there as long as he does.

Feeling the bulge grow underneath you excites you. Johnny groans against your lips as you kiss him and rub yourself over his member. The sound comes from somewhere deep inside him, as if it’s something he’s been containing for a long time. Your hand goes to his waist and tugs at his belt loops, then drifts closer to his belt buckle, pulling the leather and metal apart. Johnny pauses when you get off his lap and slide further down, grips your arms like he doesn’t want you to go. “Are…you sure? You don’t have to…if it’s too much—”

“I want to, Johnny.”

With your affirmative, he lets you kneel between his legs, pull his zipper apart, and trace your curious fingers over the bulge beneath the fabric of his underwear. Johnny loses his breath when you drag his underwear down, sliding it over the heated skin of his dick. His length is thick and long—even with him not being fully hard yet—and the tip glistens wet with precum. You weren’t sure what to expect, but this is much bigger than you think you might be able to handle. It makes your face warm and your stomach do another series of flips. Still, you want it and you want him, so you aren’t going to stop now.

You lean closer to press your lips against his shaft, leaving a few soft kisses behind. Johnny’s mouth parts when your mouth touches him.

Johnny gently holds the back of your head as you leave small licks over his shaft, tasting the salty skin on your tongue. He lets out a shaky breath as he watches you, his other hand brushing the side of your face.

“Just like that…” he murmurs, his voice heavy with lust as you circle your tongue around the thick, darkened tip, catching drops of his precum. He never takes his eyes off you, and this makes you feel a little exposed, but you continue with your actions. When you suck Johnny’s tip past your lips, his thighs tense under you, the thick muscle reacting beautifully to your actions on his body.

More precum drips from him, and you find the taste strangely pleasing. It makes you want more of him, of whatever he has to offer you. You wrap your hand around his shaft, though it doesn’t fit entirely around, and begin stroking him in a way you hope feels good.

Johnny’s hand slips over yours to guide your movements and show you how much pressure to apply, what pace to stroke him at. “Like this, baby…yes, that’s so good…” He showers you with praise as you get the hang of it, and he eventually lets your hand go so you can do it on your own, his own hand drifting back to the bed to grip the comforter.

It’s hard to quantify just how much seeing you like this turns him on, you kneeling between his legs with his cock between your lips while wearing your pretty, angelic outfit. His previous guilt about “corrupting” you descends to the very back of his mind as he savors every moment of your hands on his cock and your tongue circling his slit.

“I’m close,” he whispers. You quicken your movements on him, hollowing your cheeks tighter around his dick, and the moan he gives shoots straight between your legs.

Johnny carefully pulls your head back so you won’t choke before he comes, streams of his seed shooting into your mouth and running down his cock. Your hand still squeezes around him as he comes, and he slowly thrusts into the tight circle of your fist as you milk every drop from him. By the time he’s spent, your mouth and hand and part of the sheets are completely sticky with his release. You imagine it must have been a long time since he’s last had an orgasm.

The vampire watches intently as you swallow his cum, which causes his softening dick to throb in your hand. He takes your face in his hands and kisses you deeply, uncaring of the taste of himself in your mouth. His hair tickles your face as he kisses you feverishly, his nose bumping yours and his tongue prodding past your lips.

“Come here, angel.” Johnny pulls your body up onto the bed before you can get yourself up there first. The pet name makes warmth flood through your body, like drinking a hot chocolate at the café, except a thousand times more satisfying. Johnny’s hands are once again caressing your thighs, though this time they slide up underneath your dress and squeeze your hips. “Can I take these pretty panties off you?”

“Please.”

He hooks his fingers into the sides of them and pulls them down your legs and past your ankles. One of his hands goes underneath your dress to feel you soft and wet against his fingers, and you both moan at the same time. He slides his digits through your lips and over your clit, and him leaning forward to bring his mouth to your throat is enough to have you nearly overwhelmed. His fingers tease your entrance but don’t push inside until you nearly have to beg him.

“Please, Johnny…” You push your hips up to get his attention.

“Do you want my fingers?” he asks softly.

“Y-yes…” At your words, he eases the middle one into you, slowly enough to avoid discomfort. It feels strange to have someone else’s fingers inside you. His finger reaches further than yours can, touching you more deeply than you’ve felt before; it makes you gasp a bit too sharply.

“Are you hurt?” he asks, freezing and thinking he might’ve done something wrong.

“N-no, I’m fine. Keep going.”

Johnny’s mouth edges closer to the cleavage of your dress as he starts thrusting his finger into you, warming you up enough to take a second digit. Shakily, you bring your hands up to slide the straps down and make it easier for him, and his breath hitches when you pull the top of your dress down.

His mouth envelopes one of your nipples as he slides the second finger into you. His fingers encounter a part of you that makes you moan unexpectedly and grab onto him, a little surprised at the sudden spike of pleasure.

“You’re so pretty,” he purrs, his lips moving against the curve of your breast as he speaks. “And so responsive.”

As Johnny’s mouth and fingers work you closer to an orgasm, you marvel at how handsome he looks and how good he feels. He opens his eyes to see you staring at him, your pupils wide and mouth desperate, and he separates himself from your chest to kiss you deeply once again.

When you come around his fingers, Johnny whispers more compliments to you about how good you are and how he wants to watch you come undone because of him all the time. When he thinks you might be on the brink of overstimulation, he takes his fingers out of you, slipping them into his mouth to taste you.

“I’ll take this off now. Is that okay?” He whispers this into your ear with his hands on either side of your hips, caressing the fabric of your dress.

“I-it’s okay.”

Johnny slips your dress off, leaving you in nothing but your white sheer stockings. The sight of you sitting there on his bed, breathing heavily from your climax in your pretty thigh-highs, has his cock throbbing and rising to life once again.

“Lay back on the bed.” You do, and he settles himself between your legs like you did for him earlier. When you glance at him, his eyes are heavy and piercing. In this moment, you are acutely reminded of the fact that he is not a human, with how he looks like a beast of prey about to devour a meal. You are too nervous to look back at him for long, so you stare at the ceiling with your legs shaking from anticipation.

Johnny’s mouth on you is almost jarring in how wet it is, and you arch up into him in surprise and a rush of pleasure. He gently presses your legs back onto the bed and continues licking into you, parting your lower lips with his tongue and making your thighs tremble under his grasp.

If you had to describe it in words, you probably wouldn’t be able to. He kisses your pussy the same way he kisses you on the mouth, passionately and with more than enough tongue to satisfy. Johnny slips his fingers into you again as he curls his lips around your clit, and you moan unabashedly.

You’re quickly spiraling towards another orgasm, maybe quicker than you expected; but it makes sense with you still being so raw from the climax you just had. You gain enough courage to give another glance down at Johnny, and you see the way his other arm moves back and forth from beneath the bed, stroking himself while he eats you out. Something about that pushes you over the edge, and you cry out as you come on his tongue.

As Johnny gives you time to calm down again, he stands and finally pulls his clothes off, baring his body to you. You’re not sure if you’ve ever seen a man so beautiful.

He goes to get a condom, and your words stumble from your lips before you can psych yourself out of saying them. “I-I’m on birth control.” Johnny looks back at you, his gaze filled with something you can’t quite read. He comes closer to you, holding himself above you on the bed so his face is hovering just above yours.

“You want to feel me raw?” he whispers.

You nod under his burning stare, feeling like you’re on a high you won’t be able to get off of. “I need you, Johnny.”

Johnny climbs fully onto the bed then and positions himself between your legs. His cock is thick and heavy between his thighs as it bumps against your inner thigh and leaves a smear of precum behind. After putting some lube in his hand, he slicks himself with the sticky substance, preparing himself to fuck you open. Something deep in your abdomen shudders, and your walls clench around nothing as you watch him stroke his shaft, the squelching, wet sound of his hand on his dick loud in the quiet room.

When he’s done, he grabs your thighs and pulls you a little closer to him. “If it hurts, tell me, okay?”

“O-okay.”

The slick tip prodding at your hole makes you want more, though you are a bit afraid of how this is going to feel. When it finally pushes inside of you, you gasp. Johnny watches your face for signs of pain as he slides forward further.

With two previous orgasms and the lube to help, his cock stretches you open with some discomfort, but not the kind of sharp pain you expected. Your nails leave little half-moon shapes on Johnny’s biceps as you squeeze his arms and try to keep your lower half relaxed, wanting to take all of him in—or as much as you can manage, anyway. You try to keep your breathing even as he pushes into you slowly.

Your eyebrows crease and your mouth tightens when he slides deeper still, and he pauses. “Johnny…” You worry your lip with your teeth, feeling like you’ve been stuffed to the brim—and he’s not even all the way in yet.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” you beg, maintaining your grip on his arms. “Just…try moving.”

Johnny pulls out and slowly thrusts back in again, angling his dick to find that sensitive spot within you. Your mouth falls open silently when he does; this feels much, much different from his fingers. This is better.

Johnny repeats the movement, being mindful not to push himself too deep—only enough for you to handle. Beneath him, your body begins unwinding at the pleasure he’s delivering to you, and your eyes flutter closed as the ecstasy takes over your mind. One of his hands goes to tease your clit as he settles into a good rhythm, and you cry out at the extra dose of pleasure.

“You’re taking me so well,” Johnny mumbles as he sits back and watches himself slide into you, both of your lower halves slick from lube and your own wetness. “So warm and wet, angel…” You can tell he’s using a lot of his energy to keep his pace controlled and gentle enough for you to actually enjoy. The idea of being fucked harder makes you ache deep inside, but you figure it’s best to save that for when you’re more used to this. You already know it’ll be difficult to walk in the morning after this.

Johnny leans forward to kiss your lips, changing the angle again and circling his pelvis into you, and a choked gasp escapes your mouth at the slow wind of his hips.

Johnny lavishes your neck and throat with kisses, and though he is a vampire, you aren’t worried about him biting you. His fangs have not made an appearance since all this started, and you doubt if he would ever bring them out in front of you. You don’t know if you should ask about it, either, wondering if it’s too soon after only a month and a half of knowing each other—but maybe you could say the same about him being inside of you right now.

“Johnny…” you whisper into the air, your fingers scrabbling against his sweaty skin. The mounting tension in your abdomen is close to snapping, and you are almost frightened by how intense it already feels. He moves his face from your neck to be face-to-face with you again and plants a heavy, dizzying kiss on your lips.

“It’s okay,” he murmurs against your kiss-swollen lips. “I’ve got you, Y/N.”

Falling apart in Johnny’s arms feels like a form of Heaven that’s meant to be kept hidden, because you might become addicted to it otherwise. Your inner muscles squeeze around his dick as you come. His name flows from your lips in a high song. You can’t imagine any physical sensation that could be better than this, his hips rocking into you as you tighten and cream around him, and you know innately that Johnny has ruined all chances of you ever feeling this fulfilled with anyone but him.

The constant pulse of your walls against his dick is too much to withstand for long, and Johnny’s muscles pull taut with pleasure when he comes, groaning into your neck and spilling overflowing streams of thick cum into you. His hips falter in their former rhythm, and he resists the urge to push himself as deep as he can into you.

When he pulls out, you whine from the discomfort of it, but also because you wish he could stay in you forever. You know you’ll be sore when you wake up—and you can already feel the very beginnings of exhaustion and ache settling in your body—but you’d do it a hundred times over without changing a thing.

—

Johnny curls himself around you after he’s cleaned the both of you up, as if he means to shield you from the world. You’re quiet for a while as you listen to his slow-beating heart and feel his cool skin against yours.

You look up at his face, which is hard to see distinctly in the dark of the room. With the lamp turned out, the only source of light comes from the moon now, but you can decipher enough to make out the shape of his lips and his glittering eyes. You know he can see much better than you in this light, and he takes his time tracing his fingers across your face and cheek, studying your features.

“Would you ever…make me a vampire?”

His body tenses at your question. “Don’t say anything ridiculous. You still have a whole life ahead of you to live. What I have here...this is no existence.” He’s not mad, at least not at you, but his voice hardens at the very idea of it.

“But what if I wanted to live it with you?”

Johnny takes a breath, but he doesn’t say anything to that. He just continues stroking your face and looks at you for a long time, like he’s searching for something. You don’t know if you truly expected an answer from him, or how you would feel if he did give one.

Eventually, your eyes begin to fall low, and sleep overcomes you. The last thing you register is Johnny’s chilly hand touching your cheek. When he notices you’ve drifted off, he pulls the covers tighter around you both. Then he presses you to his chest as he tunes out the sound of cars rumbling on the streets below in exchange for the beating of your heart—still alive, so red with blood.

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c-is-writing · 3 years

Text

overworked

pairing: lena luthor x gn!reader

genre: fluff :))

word count: 1083

warnings: none

a/n: i’m alive wahoooo. tysm to the people who have sent in requests for being so patient with me, i appreciate you all greatly. on another note, in this fic i indulged in my love of robotics and had reader work on a CAD which is a computer aided design. this is basically 3D modeling and it’s typically done on softwares like solidworks or onshape. it’s something that a lot of people who work in engineering use to create online models of things that they want to make. anyways, enjoy the fic :DD

original request

The soft glow of the computer screen illuminates your face as it scrunches up in concentration. By now you’ve clicked ctrl+z so many times, it’s become second nature with your every move on the screen. For the thousandth time that night, you rotate the 3D model, scrutinizing it as you make notes of its flaws. Sighing, you go completely lax in your seat and tilt your head up towards the ceiling, revisions for the design already going through your head. You decide on your plan of action and look at the monitor once more, sitting up straighter and going back to work. Honestly, you have no idea how long you’ve been working on this design but you’re motivated to finish it if it’s the last thing you’ll do.

Unfortunately, your lovely and mildly frustrated girlfriend has been keeping track and it’s been a very long two weeks. Even though she runs a whole company, Lena feels like you’ve been working a lot more than her recently and it’s beginning to worry her. The two of you may live in the same apartment but she hasn’t seen you for two weeks. You made the habit of getting into bed when she’s asleep and leaving before she wakes up, always leaving a cup of coffee and a note signifying your absence. As much as she admires your dedicated and hard-working personality, it was concerning and frustrating Lena. She really started to miss you and your loving touches. Hell, she was missing the soft kisses you shared before going your separate directions for the day. Setting her reading glasses aside, the raven-haired CEO massages her temples as she thinks about a plan to get you to take a break.

Your eyes are burning and the caffeine levels in your bloodstream are a little too high to be considered healthy. The lab floor is littered with crumpled up sketches for prototypes and designs. Mini 3D printed models line the shelves but none of them match the idea that’s in your head. Letting out a groan of frustration, you rest your head on the table, hoping that a wave of energy will bring you out of this slump. It feels like nothing you’re designing is good enough or reflects what you have in your head. Glancing back at the CAD (computer aided design), you reach over to your mouse and enter the sketch layer.

After a few hours of editing the sketch layer as your patience dwindles with every “ctrl+z”, you manage to have something that remotely matches your ideal prototype. Letting out a yawn, you pause to try and rub the exhaustion out of your eyes. Your hand subconsciously reaches for your coffee mug, only to find it empty and stained from the numerous espressos you’ve had. Placing the mug back on its coaster, you try to refocus your eyes on the screen as you ignore the tiredness seeping into your bones. Before you can continue your work, a few light taps on your door capture your attention.

You sit up straight, slightly more alert now, as you anticipate a visitor. The door quietly squeaks open, a streak of black hair following it. A pair of emerald eyes lock onto yours as the sound of heels clacking on the floor fills the office. Before you know it, Lena is standing in front of your desk, breaking eye contact to look at the disorganized mess that is your desk. Furrowing her eyebrows in concern, Lena looks back at you once again and asks, “Love, aren’t you tired?”

“I mean, kind of-” you pause to let out another yawn, “but this design is more important right now.”

“Y/N, what’s important is that you take a break from this. You’re clearly exhausted and practically running off of fumes,” your worried girlfriend softly says as she walks around your desk and crouches in front of you.

“Lee, I promise to take a break once I finalize my design, I just finished my sketch of it.”

“Baby,” she moves to gently grasp your hands and rubs her thumbs along your knuckles, “please, listen to me, listen to your body. You are past your limit and if you continue to push forward, at some point, your body will force you to take a break whether you want to or not. I don’t want to continue watching you burn out like this.”

Lena’s voice slightly cracks at the end and you nearly melt on the spot. Slumping in your chair, you nod and whisper, “Okay.” Standing up, Lena reaches over to your computer and saves the file before shutting it down. As she turns back to you, she watches as your bleary eyes fight against sleep. A pair of warm arms engulf you as you’re pulled into Lena’s body. Returning a loose hold on her waist, you snuggle into her abdomen. A hand moves to your hair and begins to softly stroke it, slowly lulling you into sleep.

Before you can fall asleep, you feel yourself being tugged upwards. As you stumble while your legs get used to standing up again, Lena’s hold on you tightens as she tries to steady you. After a few minutes of standing, your legs no longer feel like jelly but instead they’re lead now and all you want to do is sleep for the next 24 hours. A butterfly-like kiss is pressed against your templer as she leads you out of the lab and to the awaiting car outside. Resting against her shoulder, you fall asleep on the way back to your shared apartment.

As you arrive at the complex, with the help of the driver, Lena manages to get you up to your apartment without waking you up. When you do wake up, you find yourself laying on the plush bed, a nice change of pace from a slightly uncomfortable office chair. Lena brings you a change of clothes, a warm smile painting her lips. After changing into your set of pajamas, you settle into bed, body tucked against Lena’s. Her arm wraps around you protectively as she rubs your back, whispering soft promises into your hair. Upon falling asleep in her embrace, you feel pretty lucky to have someone as caring as Lena. Moments before completely succumbing to sleep, a quiet “Thank you” escapes your mouth as Lena kisses your forehead, lips lingering against your hairline as she replies, “Of course, I’ll always be here to take care of you. Sleep tight, darling.”

taglist (all): @teenwonder @procrastinatingsapphictrash @owloftheshadows

#*mine #lena luthor x reader #lena luthor x gn!reader #lena luthor x you #lena luthor #dc imagine #supergirl imagine #yes sometimes cad is annoying lmao #the undo button has become my friend #request

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wellthebardsdead · 3 years

Text

Everything I Wanted Sojiro X Fem Reader

Pasted from my old account. My works are by no means perfect and are riddled with grammatical errors but I do this for fun so, enjoy ~Bambi

~I had a dream... I got everything I wanted...~

How did it come to this?... why did it come to this?... you’d spent your whole life trying to be a good person, a model citizen, the daughter your parents always wanted, a perfect girlfriend and future wife to your boyfriend... you tried to become what everyone wanted...

~not what you’d think...~

You looked over the lip of the rooftop down at the city streets below. The rain made everything sparkle in the warm glow of neon light, it poured down your face mingling with your tears. Your hair wet and stringy, your blouse and skirt soaked... you took off your shoes and climbed over the railing before standing on the edge...

As your grip began to loosen up you heard a deep, firm, but gentle voice call out for you over the ambiance of the rain and the city life below. “Y/N!”

~and if I’m being honest it might have been a nightmare... to anyone who might care...~

———

You could hardly contain your excitement as you rushed into your apartment carrying the large garment bag, your dress was finally ready, it wouldn’t be long before the wedding.

To everyone who knew you, your life looked perfect, the model daughter of two successful entrepreneurs of a tech company that was recently sold allowing them to retire in luxury.

You were everything they wanted you to be. Beautiful, smart, poised, and kind. You lived in a nice apartment with your fiancé, a handsome and wealthy businessman who doubled as your manager at your parents now former company, your manager, his name was Hitoshi.

You’d worked so hard to build up this life, you thought it was perfect, if this is what everyone wanted for you this must be what you want right?...

After fumbling with your keys you bustled into the apartment. Your fiancé had already left for work. As you walked into the bedroom your heart fluttered seeing a red box, you set your dress and a folder of paperwork down and opened it to find an expensive set of lingerie, you gladly tried it on, it felt a little tight... You didn’t mind, you were losing a bit more weight before the wedding anyway. Maybe this was a surprise for the honeymoon he’d forgotten to hide, or maybe he’d left it as a bit of motivation for you.

Either way it looked nice. You took it off and placed it back in the box before putting your dress away in the closet. You had just enough time left of your lunch break to freshen up and head back to work.

After making sure you were presentable you left.. forgetting the folder of documents you’d left on your bed...

———

You worked as a secretary at your parents now former business, they offered you higher positions many times but you wanted to earn those positions, they were extremely proud of you for your decision. You worked hard, and you were due for a promotion very soon, one that’d move you to your fiancés department. You were so excited that you’d get to work along side Hitoshi.

As you approached the building you smiled seeing painters renovating the outside. They were applying the new owners logo, Shimada enterprise. You’d have to thank the new CEO for allowing your parents to retire.

You stepped inside and walked past the receptionist desk, it was empty again... There was a new girl working, Ichika. You weren’t sure of her last name but she’d been there a few weeks, and she had a bad habit of slacking off. You sighed spotting 24 missed calls on the phone. You some files on her desk before walking to the elevator and riding up to your office.

There were a couple men in the elevator, one a young gentlemen around your age, a nice blue and black vest, a white button up and smart black slacks. His hair was short with a slightly long fringe and he had well groomed facial hair. The other man was taller, dressed in a black suit, black hair greying slightly around the sides yet his face looked rather youthful, strong jawline, sharp eyebrows and a piercing gaze.

The two nodded at you in greeting and you returned the same with a smile assuming they must be business associates. They returned to their conversation and you checked through emails on your phone until the lift reached your stop. You couldn’t help but eavesdrop a little, apparently they turned up and the receptionist wasn’t there, after 5 minutes of waiting they decided to head up to find whomever was managing all the departments today...

As you stepped off you swear you heard one of them say to the other that you were cute. Your face went bright red and you booked it off pretending you didn’t hear.

Before heading to your desk you made your way to your fiancés office. As you approached it you saw Ichika step out giggling back at the doorway. She jumped seeing you standing there. “O oh miss L/N!! I was just dropping off some pap-” she stammered out before you cut her off. “That’s not part of your job. You’re meant to hand them over to me first for revision and then I hand them to whomever the recipient is. You’ve missed 24 calls possibly more in the time it took me to get here, and on top of that what appeared to be two business associates were left waiting at the front desk for you! Go back to your desk.” You say firmly. You were getting sick of her finding excuses to leave her desk like this.

She quickly scurried off past you, something about her... there was something that just rubbed you the wrong way. You stepped into your fiancés office and smiled seeing him there, he heard you come in and turned on his heal, “hmm forget something ich- Y-Y/N!” He stammered out surprised. The tone of his voice caught you off guard, “of course it’s me. Why do you keep allowing her to drop work to run files up to you? The phones have been ringing off the hook today and she wasn’t there to answer them.” You say annoyed.

“Ah come on Y/N, she’s new.” He says walking to you planting a kiss on your lips. “She’s been here for over 3 weeks, she has no excuse I’ve warned her plenty of times. Just because my parents no longer own this business doesn’t mean I’m going to allow the quality of our service drop.” You say before kissing him back. You caught a whiff of Ichikas perfume... maybe she just applied a little too much and brushed against Hitoshi, yes that had to be it...

He sighed. “If you say so.” He shrugged, “I’ll have a chat with her.” He smiled. You smiled back before kissing him again. “Thank you, she’s been making my job hard enough as is.” You sigh. “Thank you for that little surprise too by the way. It was very comfy~” you giggle. He blinked looking at you a little confused before it clicked in his brain. -shit!! I forgot to hide it!- he thought. “O-oh yeah baby! Ah damn it I was going to hide it for our wedding night. Did I leave it on the bed?” He says rubbing his head.

You nod and giggle. “Mhm, don’t worry~ I’ll pretend I didn’t see it.” You say placing a finger to your lips and winking. He chuckled and hugged you close giving you another kiss. “Thanks baby~” he smiled. “I gotta get back to work now, I’ll be home late tonight.” You sigh. “I’ve got a heap of new contracts I have to sort out.”

He nodded and smiled, “I’ll see you when you get home, no need to rush. Text me when you leave Kay?” He asks. He’d suddenly gotten into a habit of asking that whenever you’d be working late... you assumed it was just because he was worried for your safety working so late at night. You nod and smile, “I will.” You say before kissing him once more and walking out to your office.

———

The day dragged on and soon the afternoon turned into the evening. It was getting late and you were getting hungry.

As you finished the stack of paperwork you went to move onto the folder of contracts... it wasn’t there. You panicked looking through your bag, your desk, as you scanned your memory it clicked... the bed. You’d left it on the bed at home...

You sigh getting up, you’d have to go and get it. At least it’d give you an opportunity to get something to eat, and see your love...

Picking up your bag you called for a cab and headed to the elevator. You jumped as it opened to see one of the men from this morning, the one in the black suit. “Hm oh didn’t mean to startle you miss.” He chuckled a little, he had a deep voice, it matched his powerful exterior perfectly. “O-oh no no it’s fine!” You say flustered before stepping in and hitting the ground floor.

“You’re here awfully late. Do you often stay after hours?” He asked checking his watch. You shrug a little, “hm, not really sir. But these past few weeks I’ve unfortunately had to take up extra work due to the new receptionists underperformance.” You sigh. “Oh w-where are my manners! I’m Y/N L/N!” You stammer out bowing politely.

He chuckled, “it’s nice to see at least someone here is working hard then, it’s a pleasure to meet you miss L/N, I’m S-” the lift suddenly jerked violently and the lights shut off. You stumbled forward and prepared to hit the floor but instead you felt a pair of strong arms grasp hold of you keeping you steady. “Are you alright?” He whispers. He smelt so nice, a mix between citrus, sandalwood, and undertones of cherry blossom with a hint of musk.

You nod as he helped you up right. “I’m fine sir, th-thank you for catching me.” You were thankful for the lack of light, you could feel how hot your face was with blush right now. “Don’t mention it.” He says softly.

After another moment the lights clicked back on and the back up system kicked in. The power must have shut off... the lift opened at the ground floor and you were right, there was a huge storm outside, it must have cut power off to most of the street. At least with the backup generator you could keep working. “Would you like a lift?” He asked as you two approached the doors.

You went to answer as suddenly your cab pulled up outside. “Ah no thank you, this is my ride.” You smile and bow politely. “Goodnight sir.” You say before rushing out to the cab. You never did get his name.

As you got into the cab and drove off an omnic walked to the building holding an umbrella. “A new acquaintance Master Shimada?” It asked as he stepped under the umbrella lighting a cigarette. “Not yet... but... I’d like her to be.” He says as he walked to his car.

———

The taxi pulled up outside your apartment, you paid in full plus a generous tip asking them to please wait for you to come back before rushing inside. You’d forgotten to text Hitoshi you were coming but you figured it’d be fine. The power was out here but you could see light coming from the bedroom. Turning on your phone flashlight you spotted the folder on the kitchen counter... along with the now empty red box...

You turned the flashlight to see your fiancés shirt and pants on the floor leading through the hallway bedroom... you quietly walked towards it when you heard it, moaning... a woman moaning...

Creeping closer you peered through the opening in the doorway, big enough to see through, small enough to hide you from view... you stifled a shocked gasp as you saw your fiancé, with Ichika. She was dressed in the lingerie set and laying on her back between his legs...

Tears poured down your face... you turned and walked out taking the folder with you... you got back into the cab and returned back to work...

The driver was thankfully kind enough to give you the return drive for free after seeing the distraught expression on your face. You thanked him and returned back to your office... as you sat down at your desk you started to sob... you buried your face into your hands and you just sobbed.

It was around 2am when you finished the paperwork... you heard your phone buzz, Hitoshi. “Baby it’s late, when are you coming home?” You felt sick reading that, you replied simply. “On my way, we need to talk.”

You packed up your work for the night and turned off the lights. The rain had become little more than a drizzle at this point so you found yourself walking along the lonely streets. The power had come back on and the neon lights of store fronts sparkled in the puddles that lined the pavement. It helped distract you from the inevitable pain that awaited you when you got home...

———

You stifled back sobs as you quietly packed up your desk into a cardboard box. After arriving home last night you fought with your now ex-fiancé... he’d decided to leave you for Ichika. He threw you out after making you pack up all your belongings minus the furniture... and your wedding dress and engagement ring... -you don’t need need them. And they’ll look far better on her anyway! I spent too much money on this wedding as is to just cancel it- his words replayed in your head.

She’d be enjoying your wedding, wearing your dress, and your ring...

And to add insult to injury he’d given her your promotion too... and as a result gave you her job instead... now here you were moving your belongings down to reception all the while trying desperately not to cry...

You approached the elevator to see the doors closing, and inside Hitoshi and Ichika... they looked at you, and smirked... “hold the door!” That voice. You turned to see the man from last night approaching.

Hitoshi immediately panicked and held open the lift. “Y-yes sojiro san! I I mean Mr Shimada!!!” He stammered out. Your ears perked up, Shimada... this was your new employer!!

He stepped into the lift before looking at you. “Ah good morning Y/N. Aren’t you coming?” He asks gesturing to his side. You glance at your ex and his mistress before looking back at Sojiro... he had a nice smile... you stepped in and stood at his side.

Sojiro could sense something was very wrong... he wasn’t an ordinary man... -hurt... shes... hurt...- a deep booming voice sounded in his head. He glanced down at you to see your shoulders shaking and your lip quivering as you held back tears. And for whatever reason the two in the lift with you were the ones causing you this distress... -betrayed... betrayed... kill... kill...- the voice sounded again.

As soon as the lift doors open you stepped out quickly without another word and went to the receptionist desk. Sojiro watched you quietly begin to unpack your things before casting a glance at your ex that could cut holes through his soul... he watched him rush off with his new lover in hand...

He looked back at you... This shouldn’t be any of his concern but... His heart wanted you... -sad... help... help her....- the voice whispered... “I will... just be patient...” he whispered back.

———

A few weeks had passed by.

Youd gotten yourself your own place, a tiny and empty apartment... it was all you could afford on your new salary. Your bed was a futon, you had a small coffee table that acted as your kitchen table too, and a tiny kitchenette and bathroom...

You tried contacting your parents to ask them for help but to your horror they sided with your ex. They said you clearly hadn’t been performing well enough as his future wife so it’s only fair that he’d replace you... you hung up without saying another word...

Your life had crumbled around you, the life you’d spent your whole existence building. The one you were expected to build, the one everyone wanted... but was it what you wanted to begin with?... What did you want?...

Every day at work was a misery, Hitoshi and Ichika seemed to be intentionally throwing more and more your way, jobs that weren’t even any of your business were now your responsibility... they were trying to make you quit. And at this stage you were really considering it.

The only saving grace was your lunch break... youd find yourself up on the roof all alone. You’d eat there staring at the city life below. All those happy lives... It wasn’t long though before you had unexpected company. One afternoon you were surprised to find Sojiro had stepped out for a smoke, he asked to join you and you said yes.

He was so easy to talk to, despite his intimidating exterior he was so kind and honestly a little goofy in your company. He had the most gentle smile when he looked at you.

Sojiro wanted so badly to know more about you, to ask why you were hurting, to whisk you away from it all and take you somewhere safe. Every time he was close to you that voice in his head would sing out wanting you to be nearer.

He found himself at his desk late one night filing through paperwork, but all he could think of was you... curiosity got the better of him and he looked at your file. His heart fluttered seeing your face... he felt like a fool for hoping someone as young and pretty as you would want him, he hadn’t loved another since his wife had passed away giving birth to his second born. He was lonely, he buried himself in his work and any free time he had was devoted to his sons... but they were grown up now... and his heart was aching for love.

He looked through your file with interest. You were the daughter of the previous owners, the fact that you never mentioned it to him boggled his brain. He should have guessed that by your last name but even still he thought you would have mentioned it once at least... Maybe you didn’t want special treatment he wondered.

What didn’t make sense to him was why you were moved to a lowly receptionist job. You were practically over qualified for your old position too, heck you were more qualified for your ex’s position than he was.

His ear twitched hearing a low chittering noise from behind him. “Yes I know... isn’t she pretty.” He smiled reaching back and scratching the scaly cheek of a large black dragon... -help... her... help... love...- It groaned.

“Shhh I know... I know...” he cooed softly as it rested it’s head on his shoulder before changing to the size of a large snake and draping itself around his neck. He gave it another scratch before continuing to read your employee file... his eye caught the document below yours, Ichikas.

He read through hers and scowled, there was no way in hell she was qualified for your job, he could feel his dragon tense up before it snarled at the screen. “Shh... don’t worry... we’re going to fix this.” He cooed.

———

You sighed stepping into work, you had trouble sleeping last night after the storm woke you up. Summer in Japan was beautiful but the humidity often lead to some extreme weather. And last night the thunder and lightning practically shook your tiny apartment to its foundation. Thankfully it had died down to just a downpour, but it was supposed to be picking up again this evening...

Shaking off your umbrella you walked to your desk and blinked. A stunning arrangement of flowers all heavily significant of love sat on your chair, along with a box of chocolates. There was only a card that said “To my dearest Y/N, I hope this gift brings you reason to smile..” No signature... you didn’t recognise the handwriting either. Even still... it wasnt a cheap assortment, someone must care.

The gift was just what you needed to put a little spring into your step. You proudly displayed the flowers for all to see and you picked one of the chocolates to enjoy, you’d save the rest for when you went home.

You wore a smile on your face throughout the day, and it only got bigger as everyone who approached the desk commented on how pretty they were, and how lucky you are. Despite the rainy weather outside this was a much needed ray of sunshine in your life.

It was nearing your lunch break, you hadn’t seen Sojiro today. Normally he’d accompany you on the lift, or stop by to say hello... you felt dumb for missing his absence but... he’d become the only positive you had left in your life now... you’d developed feelings for him... you thought maybe... you wanted him...

The rustling of leaves and petals caught your attention. You looked up to see Ichika plucking flowers from your gift. “H-hey cut it out those are mine!” You shout standing up. “Oh get over yourself Y/N! It’s just a couple for my desk.” She says waving her hand before reaching to take another. You grab the flowers and move them away. “You mean my desk that you fucked my ex to get you homewrecking cow!!” You shout.

She scowled and scrunched up her nose. “Woooow real professional Y/N. Bringing personal life into work. Why don’t you act your wage and-” a deep voice suddenly cut her off. “Get back to work.” Your heart fluttered, Sojiro...

You both looked at him as he approached. “Y-yes sir I was just telling her t-” Ichika stammered out as he stepped between her and the desk. “I was talking to you.” He scowled. She practically shrunk under his gaze before skulking away.

He watched her leave, his stance proud and fearsome, it softened as he looked at you. He always looked so relaxed around you. “Are you okay Y/N?...” he frowned.

“Y-yes...” you lie. No. No you weren’t okay. Your whole body was trembling and tears were already pouring down your face. He took your hand in his and handed you a tissue to dry them. You were so distraught you didn’t even realise he was holding you as he led you to the lift for your lunch break.

There was an undercover area on the roof, with a table and chairs, it offered a nice view of the cityscape despite the rain. While everywhere else was drenched, here it was bone dry. You calmed down after he sat you down, even still your lip quivered as you hiccuped pitiful little sobs.

He dried your tears after a moment and handed you a sandwich from a cafe you liked. He’d gotten into a habit of bring an extra one for you knowing that money was tight at the moment. “...I’m sorry you had to see that...” you whispered. He glanced at you as he lit a cigarette, “don’t be... if I’d heard another word leave her mouth id be apologising to you for witnessing me punch her.” He says taking a drag.

“You wouldn’t have to apologise to me for that...” you smile sadly, your eyes red and tired... always so tired now... he wanted to see you happy, rested, enjoying your life... he wanted to give you the life you deserved... you were everything he wanted. But he was afraid you’d reject him because he was older... or if you did accept him... would you accept all of him?... The gentle businessman facade was only a part of who he was...

“I don’t think I’ll be around here much longer anyway...” you say suddenly as you take a bite of your sandwich. His stomach dropped. “What? Why?” He says sounding more upset then you were expecting. “I just... I don’t belong here anymore Sojiro... I see my ex and that.. bitch every day... my parents don’t even want to be associated with me anymore.” You sniffle.

“Then I’ll fire them.” He says simply. “what? N no please! Don’t...” you say softly. “Just.. because my life didn’t work out doesn’t mean thei-” you try to protest but he cut you off. “Your heart is too kind for your own good Y/N... very well... but if this continues then I’ll have no choice.” He says stubbing out his cigarette butt as you finished your sandwich. You nod and placed the empty wrapper in the bin. “I understand...” you say softly.

You hated your ex, you hated Ichika, but you were too kind a person, you didn’t want revenge, you just wanted them to leave you alone... “y/n...” Sojiro says as he gently took your hand. “I... have something I want to as-” a younger mans voice sounded from the lift. “Tou-san! There you are! The meetings already started!” You recognised him, he was one of sojiros sons, the oldest. You’d seen him the day you met Sojiro in the lift. Hanzo you think is name was.

Sojiro sighed pinching his brow. “I’m afraid it’ll have to wait. I’ll talk to you later y/n. Come on.. let’s head back in before it gets too heavy.” He says softly. You nod and stand up, still holding his hand. He held his coat over you as you two ran back to the lift. His son gave you two a look, not one of disapproval, more of a knowing glance. As if to say when are you two getting together...

The three of you chatted until they had to get off at their floor. You said your goodbyes and returned to reception. You were feeling better, talking with Sojiro always cheered you up. As you walked to your desk though the spring in your step died... the flowers were gone...

You rushed to your desk to find them in the bin, crushed with all the heads cut off. And the chocolates all eaten. There was a sticky note on the box that simply read ‘thanks for lunch :)’ it was Ichikas handwriting... next to it there was a mountain of folders, and another note that read, ‘I want this done by tomorrow morning...’

You held back a sob, your chest hurt, it was getting hard to breath... you cowered under your desk ignoring the phone as it rang. The walls were caving in, your face felt tingly and your head tight, your hands cold and numb with sweaty palms. You’d grown up your whole life dealing with anxiety attacks, the pressure to be perfect was overbearing. You should be used to them but they were never this bad before.

-ground yourself... think of something you like, something you want...Sojiro...- you thought... immediately the pressure in your chest released... you thought of his scent, his eyes, his smile... his hand holding yours... you had to talk to him...

After a few moments you composed yourself... it was over... you got up and sat in your chair, emotionally and mentally drained... they say everyone no matter how happy has their breaking point. And you were at yours...

———

~Thought I could fly~

———

It was around 9pm... you’d finally finished. You started to pack up when a loud slap made you jump out of your skin. You look up to see a large folder of paperwork in front of you and Hitoshi and Ichika walking away laughing. “This too, I want it on my desk tomorrow by 7am!” Hitoshi says waving at you. “Oh and, thanks for the chocolates~” Ichika laughed as they stepped out heading for their car... you fell back into your seat... defeated...

You just sat there... watching as the downpour outside turned into a storm... it was 11:30pm when you finally stood up. You walked to the bathroom and splashed cold water onto your face in an attempt to look presentable... you saw your reflection...

Your hair was a mess, your eyes tired and heavy, your lips cracked and bloody from chewing at them, and your skin pale from stress and stained with tears. You stared into your sad eyes, “failure...” you muttered to yourself... Once the ‘perfect’ daughter your parents always desired, the once perfect girlfriend, the once star employee... all gone... all that was left was your bare self,... and you didn’t even know who you truely were.

You’d lost everything, everything you’d worked so hard to build up, the perfect life everyone wanted... but was it truely what you wanted? what did you want?... you wanted to escape...

The bathroom door creaked as you exited and headed for the lift...

...

~so I stepped off the golden mm,.. nobody cried...~

...

You didn’t hold onto the rails as the lift carried you up, you didn’t so much as flinch as it stopped either, you stared right ahead. There’s no such thing as a perfect life... and if there’s such thing as a perfect person it wasn’t you.. you’d failed everyone... you were never the perfect daughter... nobody would love you... nobody would miss you...

...

~Nobody even noticed, I saw them standing right there...~

...

The rain bucketed down in sheets... you looked up at the clouds as lightning flashed and the thunder roared like the cries of an angry beast... you threw your head back and started to laugh as tears poured down your face, you screamed at the storm as it did to you...

You walked to the edge...

...

~I kind of thought they might care...~

...

As your grip began to loosen up you heard a deep, firm, but gentle voice call out for you over the ambiance of the storm and the city life below. “Y/N!”

...

~I had a dream, I got everything I wanted. But when I wake up, I see, you with me~

...

You look back to see Sojiro running towards you... He stopped just feet away, holding out his hand to you. “Y/N it’s alright... I’m here... come here...” he called softly.

“I’m going to do it!! Don’t try to stop me!” You screamed at him, “I’ve tried so hard to be everything everyone wanted me to be! I tried to do everything right! I’ve fucked it all up! It’s my fault he left me! It’s my fault my parents disowned me!! I’m not what they wanted!!” You cry.

He took another step closer, “Forget what everyone else wants of you Y/N!! What do you want?” He asks... What did you want?... you look down at the city below... “do you want this?...” he asked.

“No...” you reply. “Come down then... come to me...” he cooed... -he’s what I want...- you think...

...

~And you said...~

...

“Come here Y/N... as long as I’m here no one can hurt you...” he says stepping closer again.

As you turned around your bare foot slipped on the cement, and your grip on the railing released... you looked at him as you fell...

...

~I tried to scream... but my head was under water...~

...

It felt surreal, you fell with the rain. It was as if the droplets were suspended in mid air as you whizzed past them. The wind lashed at your drenched body and whistled through your ears, all you could hear was your heartbeat.

...

~they called me weak... like I’m not just somebody’s daughter...~

It didn’t feel real... you watched as suddenly Sojiro jumped off the edge after you... and in seconds he held you tightly in his arms.

You swear you saw a flash of black scales before suddenly the world went black...

...

~Could’ve been a nightmare...~

...

You opened your eyes briefly as you were shifted into someone’s lap... you were in a car. You recognised that scent... Sojiro... you were safe.. you let out a soft sigh as you felt him shift his coat around you and rub your back... your eyelids fluttered closed again and you faded back into unconsciousness...

———

The sound of bird song woke you up... you opened your eyes to find yourself in a very traditional buf luxurious looking room. The bed you lay in at first looked like an ordinary futon but that was only the blanket. The bed itself was imbedded into the floor like the worlds softest nest.

There were two doors, one that must lead further into the building and another that was open, it lead out to a beautiful garden. You saw sparrows and red breasted robins bouncing about on the porch eating seed. The sunshine danced in the ornately groomed trees and sparkled on the ponds surface, It was picturesque.

“Ah! Good morning miss L/N. I’m so happy to see you’re awake! Master Shimada will be so happy to hear you’re alright.” A female omnic voice... you look back at the doorway to see a very elegantly designed geisha like omnic enter with a tray. On it a lovely breakfast and some juice.

“Oh hello... I... where am I?” You ask as she set the tray in your lap before going about her tasks. “Hanamura castle of course. Master Sojiros home.” She giggled. It took a moment for that to register in your brain. The man you’d been conversing with as if he were your best friend, the man who saved you last night, was practically royalty.

“Wha?...” was all you could manage out. She could only giggle, “I understand it’s much to take in. Master Sojiro wanted to be here for when you woke but he had some business to attend to at the new enterprise, oh! Speaking of which. He wants you to stay in bed today... but if you wish to go to work he has a car for you to take.” She says as she began to comb your hair.

The idea of staying in bed after last night sounded perfect but... “may I take the car please? I have so much work to do I can’t rest...” you say softly. The need to be perfect, the need to please others... it had been beaten into your mind... you were hardly holding yourself together right now...

Even still the omnic didn’t argue. She got you dressed into a blouse and skirt that costed more than anything you’d ever owned and she escorted you to the car. “Are you sure you don’t wish to change your mind?” She asks after helping you into the car. “I don’t know what I want anymore...” you say meekly. If she could frown that comment would have made her do so with worry... “I’ll inform master Sojiro.” She says bowing before closing the door.

The driver started the engine and the next thing you knew you were off. You’d only ever been to hanamura a few times, it seemed to always be blanketed in pink. The land of eternal cherry blossoms all year round until winter would come and coat everything white.

You’d always wanted to live here... but your parents wanted you to live closer to the business, closer to them... but now... maybe you could live here after all. What did Sojiro mean by wanting you to stay in bed? Why did he bother saving you? How did he save you for that matter? Why these nice clothes? These gifts? Did this mean he wanted you?... no... he was just pitying you... you were sure of it...

The car pulled up in the underground car park, it was mostly used by the engineers who designed prototypes for your company, you’d rarely been down here at all in your time with the company. The omnic driver stepped out and opened your door for you before you had the chance to. “Th thank you...” you say softly. He helped you out and nodded. “I’ll be down here when you’re ready to leave madam.” He bowed.

You nodded and thanked him once more before heading up to reception... you blinked seeing Ichika sitting at your desk looking pale as a sheet. “Where’s my stuff?...” you ask softly, your voice so quiet and tired.

She nearly jumped out of her skin seeing you. “I.. I I i” she tried to speak... she looked like she’d seen a ghost. “Y/N!” Sojiro suddenly called from behind you. You didn’t think it possible but Ichikas face went even paler...

He rushed over and gently embraced you as you turned around... you melted into his touch, so desperate for positive contact. “What are you doing here? You should be resting.” He says softly but sternly. You look down at your feet and nod. “I-I had paperwork I never finished last night for Ichika and I left my bag here too I-I’m sorry.” You stammer out.

You jumped as he cupped your chin in his hand and made you look up at him, “it’s alright... your stuff is in my office dear. If you insist on working I have a few things I need organised. But I’d like you to please take it easy today.” He says as he stroked your cheek with this thumb.

Your face went bright red at the contact, you nodded. “Y-yes mr Shimada.” You squeak out. He chuckled, “why so formal now?...” he smiled. “Come along Y/N, I’ll get you settled into my office then I have to attend a meeting with some... unsavoury individuals.” He says glancing at Ichika who’d been gawking this whole time. She jumped and immediately got back to work...

He took your hand in his and pulled you close, your face was beat red now, you walked beside him obediently to his office.

After getting you settled with the paperwork you had to organise he suddenly placed a blanket and pillow on the large sofa he had near the bookshelf. “if you get tired please rest. One of my sons will come by to check up on you around lunch time.” He smiled. God, his smile.

You nod and immediately get to work, “y/n...” he suddenly says. You look up and almost jump out of your skin. How did he cross the room that quickly? and without you noticing? “I hope Ive made it obvious enough that asking this question would be foolish of me but...” before he could finish the door opened. “Tou-san. They’re waiting for you.” A young man entered, Sojiros youngest, Genji.

He had green hair and wore a nice suit similar to his fathers but had a tie matching his neon hairstyle. He looked similar to Sojiro, definitely had the same nose and eyebrows, though his eyes seemed a lot more bubbly than his fathers. He must get them from his mother.

Sojiro sighed and nodded. “Very well.” He looked back at you. “I need to speak to you after I’m done. I might be a while. So if you need to rest please do.” He says gently taking your hand and squeezing it before walking out. Genji looked at you and gave you the same look Hanzo did but, he looked a little more giddy than his older brother had. He bowed politely before closing the door.

The day ticked by slowly. Genji returned around lunch time as promised with something for you to eat. You two chatted as you ate, he was a lot more talkative than his father but just as easy to get along with. He mentioned that everyone in the company had heard of what happened last night, and they all knew Hitoshi and Ichika were to blame. That’s what the meeting was about apparently, a full staff briefing of workplace harassment followed by a private sit down with your abusers in question.

You wondered why you weren’t attending the full staff one but it made sense you didn’t, you weren’t well right now... and it seemed Sojiro wanted to keep you as far away from Ichika and Hitoshi as possible.

After eating Genji said his goodbyes once again before leaving you to your own devices... you looked at the paperwork... it had to be done but. Sojiro wanted you to rest... you wanted to make him happy... you wanted him. So you climbed onto the sofa and cuddled the blanket close. It wasn’t long before you were asleep.

-sleep... safe now... no one can hurt you...-

A deep but gentle voice sounded in your head. You looked up and saw those scales, the ones you remembered from last night... you followed them down to a pair of sharp claws. Then up to a large snarling lion like face... a dragon... “Safe...” it spoke. “What?...” you reply.

It lay it’s head down to be eye level with you. “You’re safe now...” it whispered, it sounded almost like music. “As long as I’m here, no one can hurt you.” It repeated.

You reached your hand out and touched its nose making it sniff at you, “am I dreaming?... who are you?.. why am I here?...” you whisper. “You’ve suffered much your whole life... they tried to mould you into what they wanted. So much so that you’ve forgotten who you are... what you want... if I could change the way you see yourself... you wouldn’t wonder why you’re here.” It said nuzzling your hand.

...

~they don’t deserve you...~

...

You opened your eyes feeling a warm familiar hand on your cheek, it was just dark outside now... you blush seeing Sojiro smiling down at you, “did you sleep well?” He whispered. You nodded in response. “It’s time to go home now...” he sighed, “y/n... Will you come home with me again?... and live with me permanently?” He says softly.

It took a moment to click, he really did want you... you thought you were still dreaming, but it felt too real. “I... do you want me to?” You ask softly. He smiled and stroked your cheek, “the question is... do you want to?” He chuckled a little. “I... I...” you pause... “I want you.” Silence.

“I I mean! I want to be with you! That sounded too forward I’m so sorry I’ll go n-” you ramble out before his lips cut you off.

You let out a surprised gasp before your eyelids fluttered shut. You leaned into the kiss and he pulled you close and held you so gently it brought tears to your eyes. This was it... this is what you wanted. As you wrapped your arms around his broad shoulders he scooped you up and cradled you like his new bride. “I promise... I’ll look after you...” he whispers. You nod in response.

He gently lay his coat over you and carried you from his office. He stepped into the lift and hit the basement level, the car park. You rested your head against his chest and hummed softly as he pressed his lips to your forehead. “What would you like for dinner dear?” He asks as the elevator suddenly stopped on the ground floor. “I... um...” you tried to think but your thoughts were silenced as the lift opened.

You blinked seeing Hitoshi and Ichika standing there both looking pale and terrified. Behind them, Hanzo and Genji stood quietly. Genji had seemingly ditched his suit jacket, his tie hung loose around his neck, and in his hand he held a baseball bat. -oh! He must be into sports!- you think innocently.

Sojiro gracefully stepped to the side allowing your ex and his mistress in, followed by his two sons. The ride down was painfully silent, you noticed Ichika and Hitoshi growing more and more agitated by the second... yet Sojiro and his sons remained calm as ever, smiling even.

You blushed a little as Sojiro held you closer, you couldn’t tell from this angle but it was clear he was looking at your ex, as if to say look at what you lost, she’s mine now. It made you feel so special.

As he shifted you, you caught a glimpse of something on his neck, tucked away under the collar of his shirt... a tattoo?... part of one... Tattoos weren’t uncommon in Japan, but they were heavily associated with the yakuza... no... maybe he got it as a memorial for his wife? Maybe it’s her favourite flower? Maybe it’s to show his love for his sons? Any of these were valid reasons. He couldn’t be a criminal, he couldn’t...

You glanced at hanzo... you could see a hint of blue ink on his exposed wrist... then Genji, you could see what looked like a green dragon through the fabric of his shirt... -calm down. I’m sure it’ll be okay. I’m sure they must have an explanation for this- you think.

The elevator reached the ground floor and the doors opened. Immediately Hitoshi and Ichika stepped out and began walking a little too quickly to be normal, they must have gotten a big talking to from Sojiro...

Hanzo and Genji both looked at each other, before glancing at their father... Sojiro nodded, and the two stepped out after your ex and his mistress... you felt a knot forming in your stomach...

Sojiro stepped out still holding you tightly as he texted the driver to come around to the lift entrance. “I know a place not far from here, I think you’ll like what they serve there.” He says smiling at you... you didn’t notice. You were too focused on Genji suddenly bringing the bat down hard on Ichikas back knocking her down before swinging up and hitting Hitoshi.

Your voice died in your throat watching the scene unfold. Hanzo pulled Hitoshi to his feet before punching him across the face so hard it broke his jaw. Genji swung it down on his legs breaking them in several places. Ichika got up screaming and pulling at the two trying to save your ex...

From the shadows of the car park several tattooed men in suits stepped out, they all looked at Sojiro... he nodded. Genji and Hanzo both stepped back, dropping Hitoshi’s now dead body to the concrete allowing the thugs to take over and deal with Ichika. You watched in horror as they flogged the living hell out of her... her screams burned into your mind...

“Y/N...” Sojiro whispered gently turning your head to face him. His expression wasn’t angry, but it wasn’t happy either, it was serious but... soft as it always was when he looked at you. “They don’t deserve you. Or your pity... they’ll never bother you again.” He smiled.

You nod, your whole body was trembling, you couldn’t make a sound. You were in shock. “Come, lets go home and then will see how you feel about dinner.” He says as the car pulled up. The omnic driver stepped out and opened the doors. Hanzo and Genji got in first, as Sojiro sat you in your seat you caught a glimpse of Ichikas face, still alive, still screaming, bloody, broken... they’d wiped that smug smile off her face for good... you felt guilty, but... part of you felt so good...

Sojiro got in and closed the door, his body keeping you from seeing anymore. He placed his arm around you and held you close. And here you sat, in an expensive car, with three extremely dangerous men. You look at Hanzo and Genji who were busy cleaning the blood off of themselves, you heard Genji muttering about it staining.

Hanzo looked up and smiled catching your gaze... it’d seem both the boys approved of your relationship with their father... you smile back and tiredly rest your head against Sojiro once more... Maybe... this would be okay...

———

~I had a dream... I got everything I wanted~

———

The car pulled up back at Hanamura castle. The boys jumped out first and rushed off inside to get cleaned up, undoubtably they had more than a little blood in their clothing.

Sojiro stepped out and lifted you back into his arms. He’d been silent the whole drive. He took you back to the room you’d woken up in, it was pretty clear now that this was in fact his room. “...I’m... sorry you had to see that Y/N...” he says removing his tie after he set you down on the bed.

You couldn’t answer, you couldn’t even find the words to after what you’d witnessed... “Y/N...” He says softly.

After a moment you willed yourself to look up at him. He was shirtless now, his body was god like. Perfectly toned muscles, smooth skin adorned with scars, and a giant black dragon tattoo that started at his neck and twisted around his torso. You assumed it kept going down to his leg but his trousers cut off your view. It was the same dragon from your dream... you were unsure if you should ask him about it but.. right now you weren’t sure about anything really...

You blushed and looked down shyly. He chuckled a little at the cute display of bashfulness. “Look at me Y/N...” he says kneeling down in front of you. You sheepishly obeyed looking at him. You locked your eyes with his gaze and felt entranced, you couldn’t look away... you didn’t want to...

“I’m sure it’s obvious what I actually do for a living by now my dear... but I assure you... I’ll keep you far away from any of my yakuza dealings... I never meant for you to see that... my temper got the better of me, I should have held off but...” he clenched his jaw, “They hurt you...” he sighed.

You trembled remembering the ordeal, but, after a moment you settled. Sojiro did that to protect you, to save you... he didn’t have to but... part of you couldn’t help but feel they deserved it. Even still, your lip quivered as tears threatened to pour.

He suddenly leaned in and kissed you. You gasped in surprise, but after a moment all your doubts, all your fears... everything melted away... you leaned into his touch as he pulled you into his lap deepening the kiss. His hand trailed down and rested on your waist, he wasn’t looking for sex, not tonight... Tonight he just wanted to hold you and keep you safe.

After a few blissful minutes you both broke the kiss gasping for air. Your eyes were dewy and your lips pink and swollen from the passionate embrace. “Let me look after you Y/N...” he says pressing his forehead to yours. “Let me give you everything you deserve... everything You want.” He whispered looking into your eyes.

You nod and lean in kissing him softly before pulling away. “Please... look after me...” you whisper. He kissed you back. “I will...” he sighed as a smile crept onto his lips once more.

It was comfortably silent for a moment as you rested your head against his chest, the skin on skin contact felt so nice, you didn’t realise how deprived of it you were. Your stomach suddenly growled and your face reddened as Sojiro laughed. “Oh, right, dinner!” He chuckled. You’d give anything to hear him laugh more often.

“Let’s get ready, the boys can come along too, they want to know more about their future step mother.” He smiled. Your face went a deeper shade of red and you buried your face into his neck shyly. You were so happy you couldn’t handle it.

He smiled and planted another soft kiss on your forehead. “Care to share a bath with me?” He whispered. You nodded maybe a little too eagerly. He couldn’t help but chuckle. He scooped you up and kissed you once more on the lips before whisking you away to the bathroom.

It’d still be a long while before you’d be better, but Sojiro would be there every step of the way to hold your hand and assure you you were loved. But for now, it’d seem you finally got everything you wanted.

...

~But when I wake up I see...you, with me...~

...

#Sojiro shimada #Sojiro x reader #Sojiro x fem reader #old work #Hanzo shimada #Genji shimada #fanfic #Overwatch #Overwatch fanfic

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falling-pages · 3 years

Text

Coffee Break: Hawks x Reader

Hi lovelies, I’m back with considerably better mental health. I’m still taking writing a bit at a time, slowly, taking my time editing and researching to improve, but I’m finally able to produce content I love again. I’m finally recovering all the joy of writing and now I’m focusing on writing what makes me happy. Thank you for all the sweet messages and support, it means the world to me :)

Quirkless Reader x Hero Hawks

Fluff

Warnings: None

“Americano with almond milk for you, chai latte for me.”

You had been so focused on your report that you didn’t even notice the window opening and your winged boyfriend climbing through until he slid your favorite drink in front of you. The smell was heavenly, steaming through the paper cup bearing your local shop’s logo. Your fingers still against the keyboard as you reach for it, stretching out your cramped digits. After typing for hours, any sort of movement sent discomfort rattling up your hands.

“Thanks, Kei,” you say as he hovers behind you, leaning down to kiss your cheek.

He bent to wrap his arms and wings around you, clutching you close in your chair as you cradled your coffee to your chest. The little cocoon he had suddenly made enveloped you in warmth, cutting off your view of the computer with his beautiful red plumage. All you could see, sense, and smell was him.

He ran his lips up to your temple, the shell of your ear, the spot beneath your earlobe, giving little pecks of affection while he had you under his wings. What good were those wings, anyways, if he couldn’t use them to comfort you?

“Are you nearly done, dove?” he asked, snuggling his face into your hair. “You’ve been at this for hours. Honestly I didn’t know if you were human or one of those robots the captcha quizzes ask about.”

You chuckle, leaning back against his chest. The coffee is still extremely hot, and though your tired brain begs for it, you hold off until it cools down. Keigo gets fussy when you slurp your coffee too quickly and burn yourself. “I still have miles to go before I sleep.”

“Isn’t that some poem?” he asks. “Some American poet?”

“Robert Frost.” You twist your neck to look at him. “You remembered? You’re no poet.”

“But you are. And you quote a lot of them depending on the day.”

“Because they are applicable to my situation.” You turn back and move his feathers away from your computer, making a landing space for your still piping hot drink beside it. The bright white screen welcomes you back harshly, black lines of text still existing. When his red curtain shields you from it, you have a habit of forgetting it exists. Maybe that’s the point--making you forget your worries with kisses and gifts.

You try to lean forward to type again, but his arms hold you back. “Kei, thank you for the coffee, but I have to keep reading this report.”

“You’ve read it three times already tonight!” he whines. “The thing is 50 pages. I don’t know how your eyes haven’t fallen out of your head.”

He sends a feather to lightly touch the coozie around your coffee. Both he and the feather flinch at the contact. “At least wait until your coffee cools down,” he says. “Please? For me?”

Though the man is part bird, he can pull a very convincing puppy face. It’s true, you have gotten to the point where the lines have blurred into one massive pile of digital ink. And his plush wings and warm breath on your neck are oh so inviting.

“How did you know I’ve read it three times?” you ask softly, feeling your eyes begin to close.

“Hawks are very observant creatures,” he says. “They know when their lovebirds are tired.”

You sigh, allowing yourself to give up the ghost and slump against his collarbone. As much as you wanted to keep making revisions to the report, you knew you would force yourself into another all-nighter if you didn’t stop now. You had pulled three already this week, and Keigo had grown frustrated of going to bed alone. If you stayed up again, he would likely take matters into his own hands.

Breaks increase productivity, right?

“Okay,” you relent. “But only until my coffee cools.”

He chirps happily, sending a feather to close your laptop while he scoops you into his arms. The chirps were something you had to get used to, but once he cooed in your ear in his sleep, you couldn’t help but fall in love. He had tried so hard to hide his avain traits in the beginning of your relationship, still wary of all that the Commission had instilled in him, but with you he was free to be the man-bird hybrid his spirit longed to be--chirps, feathers, and nesting included.

You snatch your cup right before he picks you up. He brings you to the couch, where he lies down on his back and settles you against his chest, making you leave your drink on the coffee table. As you lie against him, head against his heart while his lips graze the top of your crown, his wings flutter over you and wrap in to swaddle the two of you together. Abdomen warmed by his body heat, legs tangled up in his, the throaty coos in your ear, his heartbeat slowly lulling you into peace...you knew what he was trying to do.

“I can’t sleep yet, Birdie,” you whisper, drawing a pattern with your finger on his other pec. “As much as I’d like to, this is just a little break. I can come to bed tonight if I get all my reading done.”

“You work so much,” he sighed. His Adam’s apple bobbed against the top of your head. “I think you need to relax a bit.”

“Cuddling you is relaxing,” you say, and though your voice hitched as if to continue, you left the sentence there. He already knew how hard you, being quirkless, had to work to make anything of yourself. It was hard enough to get a minimum wage job without some sort of quirk, much less get into law school, where rich prep kids with genetically-perfect powers took all the top ranks. You might have graduated top of your commoner class, but even your best strategies and most cut-throat arguments couldn’t hold a candle to those born with sharp tongues and persuasive tones. The only thing that kept you going was the fact that you could represent other quirkless clients--and, in that, maybe fight the discrimination you had grown up with.

“Lovebird.”

You turn to him, yanked out of your insecurities when you hear his soft voice utter a pet name only for you. Others might be dominating your class, but none of them were dating a certain winged hero.

“I don’t know how to make you see yourself the way I see you,” he said simply, reaching a hand through your hair. “I wish you could. God, I wish you could see how perfect you are, why I adore you so much. Why it hurts to see you pushing yourself beyond your healthy limit.”

A chord struck you. You knew your hectic lifestyle wasn’t the healthiest, but it never occurred to you that it hurt him. But, looking back, you should have known all the neglected attention and lonely nights, despite being just a room away, would affect him deeply.

He had deep abandonment issues, and he was likely reliving all of that now.

Keigo took a deep breath, running his fingers down your arm. “I don’t want to be a distraction to you. I know I can be clingy, and I’ve been trying to get better, but your schooling comes first. I don’t want to take that away from you just because I’m needy.”

“Kei,” you sigh, shifting under his wings. You turned onto your stomach, forearms on either side of his face, chest pressed against chest. He lazily wrapped his arms around your waist, lifting his wings slightly so you could move. His eyes slowly scanned your face. “You don’t have to apologize. You never bother me.”

He smiled, tucking your closer beneath his wings. “Really?”

Despite his usual sass and arrogant tone in hero work, his voice is sincere, his eyes shining. The predator in him relaxes into a more docile state.

“Really.” You smooth back his hair. “Thank you for taking care of me. Now, I believe my coffee has cooled.”

You push back the curtain of plumage and reach for your drink, rolling off of him to sit by his side. As soon as you raise the cup to your lips and take that blessed first sip, you know something is wrong.

“You got me decaf.”

Your voice is hard, scaling wildly back from the soft words you had uttered against his chest. He giggles, covering his mouth with his hands, but it doesn’t hide the red mirth coloring his skin.

“How could you!” You whine, bouncing up and away from him.

“You need to sleep!” he says. “You have been up all night the last few days, and I need you to sleep.”

You sniffle, blinking quickly to produce fake tears. “You traitor.”

Keigo rises to hug you, nuzzling his nose against your hair. “I’m sorry, (Y/N),” he whispers. As repulsed as you are, his hugs are too nice to refuse. “I’m only trying to take care of you.”

“I know. But next time--”

“Hmm?”

“You’re buying me regular.”

If you enjoy what I write, please consider buying me a coffee :)

#hawks x reader #keigo x reader #keigo takami #bnha #mha #bnha hawks #bnha x reader #mha x reader #hawks x y/n #bnha x y/n #mha x y/n #hawks fluff #hawks x reader fluff

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emilycollins00 · 3 years

Text

Two faces of the same coin

Pairing: Tenma x ghost-looking! reader. Part 2

Part 1

Here we go! Enjoy! 💕

You were used to people reacting a certain way when seeing you since you were young.

Be it your pale skin, eyebags or voice, you ended up not taking it too personally as you grew up. After all it was a general statement you didn't have the best sleeping pattern, and that your hair and posture needed to be worked on. Still, you enjoy peaceful time alone -no glances or scared whispers- although you had to admit this boy had broken a record.

"Dammit...!"

After even frightening you from the intense shriek that came out of his throat, in a poor attempt to run away from you he had stumbled and crashed into a chair so hard you were now wincing as he fell to the harsh floor.

Ouch. Concerned, you approached the groaning teen in pain. “Are you-?” Tenma didn't let you even finish. Violently shaking he turned his back on you, curling into a ball.

“This is not real, this is not real, this is not...!"

He kept mentioning words like curse and death in between, and you could only stare back trying to process what was happening. "Sorry If I scared you. I was-”

“I won't say anything!" he kept on pleading, refusing to open his eyes "I really-REALLY don't taste good please just let me leave!!"

It wasn’t working. You decided to get up from the floor, which only made Tenma pale even more at the sound of something moving.

“I won’t, uh- do anything.” you hesitated. “You, uh, hurt your head right?”

The loud and repetitive pleads died slowly on his lips, and as he opened one eye to glance your way he might have as well. Pale face, somber looks… you both stood in silence in the empty room for a while, you waiting patiently.

"...what?"

He seemed to find again his voice, or at least enough for you to hear. You brushed the dust off you as he flinched at the sudden movement, still on guard.

"I'm, uh- I'm not a ghost." You took out your student card, your name and student photo -equally terrifying some would say. "See?"

An uncomfortable silence filled the air.

Tenma stares at you for a long moment. One could practically see the wheels turning in his head, trying to keep up. And then, just as quickly as he had paled, the color red made way to his face.

“…ah?”

Right. Great answer.

You tilted your head while putting the student card back in your pocket. Maybe he hit his head harder than it looked? “So... what are you doing here? Not that you can't, I guess. I also like it here even though we are not supposed to but- you know. You surprised me a bit too."

Tenma's eyebrows knitted together as he slowly stood up from the floor, not understanding what you were saying. The adrenaline rush was leaving him and could feel himself starting to calm down a little, finally letting his guards down.

“What do you mean. I-Isn’t a library a normal place to work?”

“Yeah. This is the old building though. The new one is on the opposite side..."

You waited patiently watching how Tenma breathed in once again, crimson becoming more and more intense as seconds passed. You had never seen anyone behave like that and he hoped the ground could swallow him about right now. “I... I knew that! I knew that I was just looking around because uh- I’ve never seen this place before!”

“It is rusty.”

More awkward silence from you both. Tenma looked at you and at his pile of books. You looked at them too in reflex, not understanding why a student could have so much book carrying around. "Sumeragi... Tenma?"

"Don't look!" said leader troupe was quick to hide his name, though he was well aware it didn't matter at this point. He tried to avoid your gaze. Shit. Shit, shit, shit last thing he needed today. "Just- don't tell anyone. I'm serious!"

Without sparing another second glance at you and still feeling his face burning, he took everything and left.

His forehead hurt.

One week later

“Why do we have to do this every time?”

“Come on! Don’t tell me you’re afraid to lose?"

“I am not afraid to lose." Tenma frowned at the other two members of mankai. The three were sitting under the shade of a tree in the courtyard, something they took as a routine whenever they didn’t use the cafeteria. Background laughs and conversations could be heard from students around the patio, enjoying their free time before the bell rang and called them back again to their respective classes. He huffed. "This is stupid."

"Got it!" Taichi moved around his arm dramatically "Ready…? Rock, paper, scissors!”

Three hands presented their results with different reactions altogether.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Aw yeah, paper is the best! It's your turn to go buy drinks Ten-chan!”

“I wanna strawberry juice.”

“Soda for me!”

“Tsk,” Tenma squinted his eyes at his hand and sighed, getting up and dusting away grass from his uniform, taking their coins. “Fine. Strawberry juice and a Green tea.”

“H-hold on, I said soda!”

“I’ll get going.”

“Yeah.”

“Ten-chan I was joking please!!”

It had been a few days after the library incident and so far, he hadn't heard any weird rumor of him- to which he counted it as a big safe considering the situation. Weird, but safe.

“Oh come on.”

After buying Taichi’s and Juza’s drinks, Tenma kept shoving his hand into his pockets, cursing at his emptiness. He was sure he had brought his wallet with him to school… maybe he left it in his room after all? A sigh left his lips, wondering how long would his bad luck last.

Until his exams passed maybe? He hoped not. He had managed to get Tsumugi to teach him at night after a few days of begging his homeroom teacher, revising together all concepts that Tenma couldn't seem to grasp. It had been embarrassing to let him check all his late school results, but at the end of the day it was Tsumugi. And well, Tsumugi was fine. Unlike Itaru, he was always-

“Excuse me.”

Tenma covered his mouth at the close sound of the eerie voice. A shiver definitely running from the last strands of hair until his very own toenails.

Yeah, finding you blinking at him- too close for his taste- took all the strength he had to not scream in public. He stepped back from you. his heart practically on his throat. “W-what are you doing!?”

“Ah, sorry. Thought talking louder would be better. Didn't mean to scare you”

“UH?! I-I wasn’t scared! I-uh, I was just surprised!" Even in plain daylight of the hall in comparison to the sinister darkness of the old library room, Tenma still felt like he was talking to a- Well.

A ghost.

You took a step back away from him too, pointing your forehead “You don't have a bump anymore.”

He touched his own forehead unconsciously. Right, Igawa had made a fuss about it when he saw it. Thanks to Omi’s ointment though it was already almost not existent though. He always worried too much.

“I’m glad.”

"Uh, thanks."

Very much opposite to your physical appearance, your voice while husky and kinda odd, was calm. It made Tenma feel weird, though it was probably because you kept staring at him. Why didn’t you go away?

“Are you... a fan? Do you want like, an autograph or something?”

You pointed behind him. "I was just waiting for my turn.”

His cheeks grew warm self-consciously, moving so you could insert your coins.

“I’m guessing you couldn't find more coins for three drinks,” You suddenly commented looking at the drinks in his hands. Ignoring his confused face, you crouched down and picked the drink, turning to him. "You complained kinda loud so... here. Not sure if you'll like it but I think it's good."

"What? I don't need it."

“It’s fine. Take it as an apology." you shrugged offhandedly. You placed it on top of his other drinks and turned once again to the machine. "It was my fault I scared you anyway.”

Tenma stared at your hunched figure while you got another drink. "Then," you waved your hand slightly and left the place quietly to who knows where.

He didn't even manage to wave back. What had just happened?

“Oh man...”

“Tenma-kun, are you okay?”

Students' whispers made him come back to his senses, losing sight of the path you had walked out. “What?”

“Did that person say anything weird to you? You know, like threaten you or something.” they pointed to where you left

“Uh- no.”

Some sighed relieved while others stared at the machine, as if you might have cursed- somehow.

Tenma frowned. It was true it hadn't been the smoothest conversation, but saying you might have tried to do something to him felt wrong. "Why do you all say that?"

"Ah? Mmm well..."

"Just look at them I guess."

"Yeah I don't know man. Gives me the creeps whenever they walk around. As if our school wasn't already scary inducing."

"Whoah, that's so mean."

"Are you saying you don't think it's true?"

"Tenma-kun, if you have time want to come have lunch with us? We..."

As they kept talking, Tenma looked down, the drink you had bought in his hand; Chocolate milkshake.

"It was my fault I scared you anyway.”

Later on

“Stupid old library...” he found himself growling for the umpteenth time "Should have just leave it be."

Another week had passed before he found the courage and once again, adventured himself around the old halls, carrying one chocolate drink.

I must have gone crazy.

Tenma just didn’t wanna be in debt with anyone. Yeah, that was it. Even if you scared the soul out of him, he had somewhat gotten the sense that you weren’t all bad -although your memories still left him trembling- and if there was something he hated more than anything, it was people making assumptions of others. He learned it from Mankai. Especially from his own troupe.

“Are you lost again?”

However old habits are hard to break.

“Dammit! Do you always need to talk like that?!"

"It's my voice, can't help it." You two had found each other at the corner of the hall. Tenma wasn't sure if this counted as good or bad. "…Do you need help to find the new library? I can draw you a map if you want me to”

“I-I was just about to do it, I don’t need-!”

“Ah- you should be careful not to crash on a chair again. Some are really old“

He placed the two drinks on the table making you blink, not sure how to react.

The awkward silence stretched, and Tenma felt his own cheeks heat up. "D-don't misunderstand, I just don't like to be indebted and I really didn't need that drink last time okay?"

A few seconds pass by. And then. Then he hears your laugh.

“You’re a really nice guy you know.”

His stomach jumps and doesn’t say anything for a while. Embarrassing. He felt his face was going to light on fire. He tried to focus his attention on something else- Not that he enjoyed it. The place itself wasn't comfortable looking.

“...Why do you hide here anyway? It doesn’t help with, well,” he didn't finish the sentence, feeling it sounded wrong -even though it was kinda true.

“I wouldn't say I hide" You hummed mindlessly while opening the drink, giving it a go before turning your attention back to him "I found it a few months ago while looking for a place to study. People overreact when they see me, so I’ve been coming here. I think it’s a pretty chill place myself.”

Tenma stared at you. At your dark eye bags and messy hair. You could definitely get a role in any horror movie you might want for sure. Yet there you were, happily drinking a chocolate milkshake in the old side of your very own high school.

“...You are weird.”

You laughed again. “For someone who’s supposed to be scared but still frequents the same place, I’d say the same about you.”

__________________________________

When I said it was gonna be a long request I meant it.

Have a wonderful day! 💕

Part 3 soon!

#a3 act addict actors #a3 actor training game #a3 tenma #tenma x reader #a3! tenma #tenma sumeragi

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archer973 · 2 years

Note

for the fanfic ask game! L, S, U, V and W!

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

I am a consummate "edit as you go" person (which is a habit I have actually been trying to break myself of), but I usually do at least one big editing read through before I post something. I also have a tendency to edit any time I do a reread of my progress, which I generally do if I have stepped away from a fic for any amount of time.

S: Any fandom tropes you can't resist?

Oh man, so many! There Was Only One Bed and Huddling For Warmth are some classics I can never pass up. Accidental Baby Acquisition is also always fun (particularly when an unlikely character ends up being the baby whisperer). Also, Person(s) A forcing Person B to eat/sleep/go to medical/generally take care of themselves is always a yes please for me, especially if Person A is trying very hard to pretend their concern is purely professional and has nothing whatsoever to do with any tender feelings, romantic or otherwise. (SWTCW fandom, I am looking at you, you beautiful people!) And that's not even getting started on the sexy times tropes I devour at any opportunity.

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

Oof, this is a tough one, since I am less of a person who follows writers and more of a person who follows ships. But I will read literally anything @blue-charlotte (hayj on AO3) writes, and not just because I devoured a good dozen of her fics before realizing they were written by the same person, but also because she is the Marlie/CM2 shipper of my heart and was one of the first people to welcome me into the Revo fandom (which, as someone who was mostly writing “problematic” ships and was a little worried about a mob with pitchforks, I cannot even begin to explain how much her kindness meant to me).

@veliseraptor is someone who, even though we don’t share any fandoms anymore, I always enjoying seeing post updates and headcanons and fic ideas, because she is a meticulous, dedicated writer who has honestly been an inspiration to me when it comes to writing angst/whump/dark fics. Her determination in the face of The Purity Police has inspired and reassured me on nights when I am worrying about the reception of my own headcanons/fics, and given me the confidence to tell anon haters to firmly go suck on an exhaust pipe. (Seriously, if you like The Untamed, go check her out, Lise is a lovely human being and her work is a joy to read)

I haven’t found them on Tumblr yet, but countessofbiscuit gets a spot on this list because they have written some of my all time favorite SWTCW fics and the way they write the clones is one of my favorites so far, so I am 100% more likely to read a SW fic if I see it is written by them.

V: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

This is hard, because the fic itself is absolutely perfect, but I would love to play in the world of Erinyes_kiss' 'The Hart, The Hind, and The Hound', for a multitude of reasons. Besides the fact that it is probably one of my favorite fics to date, it was also one of the first fics to really get me on the CM2 bandwagon. I would read an entire novel of this fic, I love the premise so much. But as for personally writing in/around it, the structure of the fic itself leaves plenty of room for expansion/extrapolation, without having to risk compromising the original work. Also, I feel like I have a similar enough writing style that I would be able to (hopefully) do an addition justice.

W: Do you like more general prompts, or more specific ones?

There are pros and cons to both. If I am going to be writing a full-fledged fic for an exchange or something, I tend to like more general/broader prompts, since that way there is room for if the story takes a few turns (as my stories have a tendency of doing). However, if you're talking ideas/headcanons/inspirations, I love the super specific ones. Slice of life ones in particular, since those can be written without having to work them into a larger prompt.

Thank you so much, @loupettes, for sending an ask! (I won’t lie, there was a little bit of ‘Senpai Noticed Me?’, because I love your presence in the Doctor Who fandom so much, and think you are just such a lovely human being!)

#ask game #ruby answers asks #sorry i rambled a bit #but i love these things

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halothenthehorns · 3 years

Text

TLTNL- OWLS

Sirius straightened up prime and proud, forcing that good mood of Gryffindor winning the match to be the only thing they all heard. Grawp certainly had been, unexpected, but with any luck Umbridge would be ousted from the school before Harry even had to deal with him again. Never mind that pesky, nagging question that had been bothering him since Dumbledore's departure, if in fact being Headmistress would negate the curse upon the DADA position. But no, she was still teaching that class, which meant she'd be leaving very soon...he hoped.

Ron's euphoria at helping Gryffindor scrape the Quidditch Cup was such that he couldn't settle to anything next day.

"Considering Prongs was that way for whole weeks, you got off easy," Remus smiled fondly.

All he wanted to do was talk over the match, so Harry and Hermione found it very difficult to find an opening in which to mention Grawp.

"Exactly how hard were you trying?" Sirius snickered, he knew he couldn't relate the two subjects easily.

Not that either of them tried very hard;

All four burst out laughing, though Harry hardly looked very chagrined.

neither was keen to be the one to bring Ron back to reality in quite such a way.

"There really isn't a way to ease into this one," Lily grudgingly agreed, "I don't blame you for putting it off."

Lighting on this fine day made the grounds outside rather inviting, and though Ron was enjoying his time in the common room as random bursts of Weasley is our King were still sung,

"Who came up with the revision of that song anyways?" Remus asked curiously.

"Lee Jordan," Harry grinned. "Even after Ron saved his first goal, the Slytherin's tried to keep going, to throw him back off, but then he said, 'he sure saved that ring,' and it just sort of spiraled out from there. Neville told me later he swears even McGonagall was singing along."

"That's fantastic," James cackled at Malfoy's dirty little trick being so flipped by that.

but finally they convinced him to spread out their revision books under a beech tree, Ron still not paying much mind as he walked them through his first save for the dozenth time.

Sirius certainly hadn't gotten to hear this yet! He was squirming with such excitement the words weren't flowing at a normal level and no one seemed to care.

He'd already let in that first goal of course, but as Bradley had come flying up to him, Ron had been watching for it, and he'd seen him fainting so Ron had just, followed the true throw, and well, they'd seen the rest, he concluded modestly.

Remus rolled his eyes, finding that the perfect opening Ron had provided, but he'd feel heartless admitting right there that he had no clue what had happened and dampen Ron's marvelous achievement.

"Good on him," James threw his shoulders back in pride. "I knew if he just held a bit more confidence he'd get it!"

"I can't believe we didn't get to hear more about it!" Sirius groaned as he glared at the pages but just couldn't bring himself to keep that look on Harry, it was more pouting. "Hagrid couldn't have waited just one more hour to finally tell you what was going on!"

Harry honestly agreed, he wished he had stayed at the game more, but it felt wrong to say so about his friend.

He swept his hair back and glanced hopefully at a group of passing girls.

The four of them burst out laughing while James just looked bemused and ruffled up his own hair to further their point.

Then he caught Harry's look and asked why he was grinning like that?

"Never thought my best mate would remind me of my dad," Harry chuckled softly, sure that was the first time in his youth he'd found some way to think better of his dad after that disastrous memory.

Harry denied he was doing any such thing, looking back to his books and not admitting Ron had reminded him of another Gryffindor player so many years ago doing the exact same thing.

The five of them smiled wider than ever, pleased beyond words Harry was finally able to look back at the lone memory he had of his father in his youth with some actual fondness.

Harry instead fibbed he was still just happy they'd won.

Ron savored those words, curious if Harry had also enjoyed watching Chang's face when Ginny had got the Snitch right from under her.

Harry bitterly muttered he supposed she'd cried.

"I really can see why you wouldn't want to put up with her if that's her response to everything," Sirius rolled his eyes.

Ron frowned in surprise that she had while chucking her broom away, hadn't he seen?

Remus let out a low whistle. "There's a temper we haven't seen yet."

"Ron's starting to get suspicious," James said in a sing song voice.

Harry stalled on answering, so Hermione finally admitted they'd only been there for his first unprotected goal.

Even Ron's hair seemed to wilt with disappointment.

Sirius couldn't help a surprised laugh at that description, even as he felt truly awful for Ron.

He looked from one to the other faintly, asking they hadn't seen any of it?

"Neither did we," James pouted, "so if you could just let him keep telling you about them-"

"James," Lily sighed, "Ron'll have pounded it into Harry's brain by this time, he can share it with us later."

The boys pouted, but didn't argue the point.

Hermione pleadingly tried to explain they'd had no choice, Ron interrupting to demanded to know why?

"I'd be miffed to," James huffed, even knowing the reason.

Harry finally explained everything to Ron, whose indignation quickly switched to incredulity.

"That's a kinder reaction than anyone in here had," Harry muttered.

Then he said 'no,' as if saying it would make it true.

"That has yet to work for us, but good luck trying," Sirius muttered.

Hermione firmly said oh yes he had, Grawp was a sixteen foot tall giant who enjoyed ripping up twenty foot trees and calling her Hermy.

"Well at least she got the highlights," James couldn't help a little twisted smile for that.

Ron stated Hagrid had lost his mind.

"At some point, seeing the depth of the truth is quite awe inspiring," Remus sighed.

Hermione agreed with that, but reminded they had promised to help.

Ron at once said they'd just have to break that promise!

"He's already done that once this year," Lily grumbled with a sideways look at Remus they all ignored no matter how true it was.

When had they ever come out better from messing with Hagrid's monsters?

"A detention really wasn't the worst thing in the world for that, even though the detention itself wasn't any fun,' James shivered in remembrance of the first time.

"Aragog was a bleeding nightmare, but at least fascinating," Remus shrugged.

"They stuck their necks out for Buckbeak," Lily said fairly, "I think that one warrants something."

"One out of five, as I count the Skrewts as no good at all as well," Sirius said deadpan. "Hagrid's not got a very good track record."

Ron took a breath and tried to sooth that at least they didn't have to worry about this until Hagrid was sacked, hopefully they wouldn't have to go near him again.

"Lucky Ron," Lily rolled her eyes while Harry got a pained look on his face no one wanted to question why.

OWLs were upon them at last.

Sirius gave a heavy sigh, but settled himself in preparation for some boredom, and honest curiosity. He wanted to hear how well Harry did even if he wasn't going to enjoy the flashbacks of his own.

Teacher's were no longer assigning homework but spent whole classes doing rapid fire review questions. Harry spent many of these in Potions wondering if Lupin had ever come talk to Snape about his Occlumency lessons,

"If so, then we're likely to never find the body," Sirius said uneasily.

"I'm really hurt you two don't think I can handle him," Remus pouted.

"Oh we know you could match him in a duel-" James waved off.

"We just don't think you would," Sirius kept frowning as he pictured all the ways that conversation would go, and none of them were good.

Lily wondered if his two friends underestimated Remus too much, he had just as much fury at these circumstances at Snape if Remus really thought Harry should be doing these.

but if he had, then Snape had ignored Lupin as thoroughly as he was now ignoring Harry.

They all decided to let the matter go uneasily though, clearly nothing was going to be done about it anytime soon.

Harry was plenty relieved with this, he had enough extra work without Snape adding in. To his relief, even Hermione hadn't brought it up again she was so busy studying.

"Hallelujah!" Sirius cheered.

"You and Hermione finally agree on something, and you still can't agree," Harry shook his head, trying to laugh instead of letting that headache rise again.

"I don't know what's crawled up my arse to think you should be spending extra time with Snape," Sirius shrugged without remorse. "So until I actually get a long over due explanation, I'm on your side pup."

Harry beamed at him, knowing he'd never get tired of hearing that, feeling such a thing flowing through him that would never just be a simple emotion to him.

She spent so much time pouring over books she hadn't even laid out elf clothes for days.

"You know, I've just thought, how was she paying for those?" Lily asked, wondering if her parents were really sending her extra knitting supplies.

"I think she used whatever money she pulled together from that SPEW campaign last year," Harry shrugged. "After that ran out, yeah I imagine she used her own money."

She wasn't the only one acting slightly off, Ernie had developed the habit of interrogating others on their amount of revision.

"Fascinating," James said in surprise.

"I'd have decked him," Sirius rolled his eyes at once at the idea.

"Then you'd have gotten detention and still had to do more studying," Remus pleasantly reminded.

"I'm sure it would be worth it," Sirius shrugged.

"Least he wasn't in your house," Harry said sadly, imagining Ernie's dorm mates had it far worse.

Beginning to interrogate Ron if he was doing more or less than eight?

Ron said less while looking alarmed.

"I would be to," Lily said with a slight grin, she knew she'd been frantic during her exams, now with the added stress of not speaking to her best friend on a permanent basis. She'd been as likely to murder someone as a Death Eater if she'd been crossed wrong at that time.

Ernie prattled off his own recital until he was cut off by Sprout.

"There's something deeply wrong with the lad when he's memorizing literally how much he's memorizing," Remus said with a touch of concern.

Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy had found a different way to induce panic.

"Of course he has," James said in disgust.

Telling anyone who would listen, Crabbe and Goyle, that his dad was very good friends with all of the examiners, he'd just had Griselda Marchbanks over for dinner the other night.

"From all we've heard about, I can't even say I'm surprised," Sirius with a crinkled nose.

"I'll pay whatever Malfoy gives them double just to flunk him in everything," James snapped.

"Don't waste your money Prongs," Remus scolded, "he'll do that all on his own, and if someone does pass him otherwise, get them fired instead."

James happily accepted this alternative with a wicked grin while Harry started snickering at the lot of them.

Hermione got a bit panicky when she heard this one, Ron didn't help by reminding if it was true they couldn't do anything about it.

Neville stepped in and offered he didn't think so, as his Gran was friends with Griselda Marchbanks, and she'd never mentioned the Malfoy's.

"Guess it is some relief half of what that ferret turd says is a lie," Sirius grinned.

Hermione eagerly turned on him asking what she was like?

Neville said like his Gran.

"That was not encouraging," Lily blanched a bit at remembering that woman's few appearances and mentioning's.

Ron tried to encourage at least Neville had a slightly better start than them knowing the person.

Neville disagreed, telling that his Gran told Marchbanks and everyone he wasn't as good as his dad.

"Glory that woman!" James spat in outrage. Clearly Neville needed his own Sirius around to remind him he didn't have to be like his parents for them to be proud!

"Someone needs to tell that woman in detail what she's doing to Neville," Lily said in disgust, more than happy to volunteer if so given the chance.

He tried to say they'd seen what she was like in St. Mungo's but stopped awkwardly there. The three weren't sure what to say, it had been the first time he'd brought it up.

Meanwhile,

"Wait, that was it," Remus yelped in surprise, his pale face having lost an extra few shades at the reminder.

"Yep," Sirius muttered, trying not to glance at Harry, but curiosity won out.

He sighed and admitted, "yeah, we just kind of awkwardly stood there until he went into Potions. Apologizing just doesn't feel right, it sounds empty when people say it to me anyways, but, you know, couldn't think up anything else to say."

There was an awkward silence as they all agreed there wasn't anything to be said after something like that, so Sirius kept going loudly for this meanwhile change of subject.

a flourishing black-market trade in aids for mental agility had sprung up among the fifth and seventh-years.

"I remember this!" James bounced eagerly onto chatting loudly even if his voice did sound a bit too high pitched.

"Weren't you the ones who spread that story sleeping with black dog hair would give you luck?" Lily demanded with a raised brow.

James no longer bothered to deny this as he had back then, "yeah, even got Padfoot to 'try some' for a day and he answered every question any teacher threw at him the next day. We made a killing in profits for a few hours before this Hufflepuff Prefect Gabriel Truman got us in detention with McGonagall for spreading the story."

"Be thankful she didn't ask where you were getting all the dog hair," Remus rolled his eyes.

"How'd you fake getting all the answers right?" Harry asked curiously.

Sirius looked affronted as he said, "I actually knew them!"

While Remus rebutted, "we all took turns whispering the answers he didn't know. Between all of us, he got there."

"See if I ever do your Potions homework again," Sirius grumbled.

"I'll take you up on that," Remus rolled his eyes, while Sirius winced at his own stupid comment.

Harry and Ron were much tempted by the bottle of Baruffio's Brain Elixir offered to them by Ravenclaw sixth-year Eddie Carmichael,

"Oh Harry," Lily sighed. "Didn't you learn your lesson in second year with this nonsense."

"I really didn't want to fail all my exams," Harry said without remorse.

who swore it was solely responsible for the nine "Outstanding" OWLs he had gained the previous summer,

"I'd want to see that paper myself before I believed that," Remus sniffed.

and was offering a whole pint for a mere twelve Galleons.

"Oh is that all," James chuckled. "We only demanded a galleon a bag."

"It was my fur," Sirius frowned, "I think I should have decided how to charge when Remus tried to shave me bald."

"You should have let Prongs offer some then," Remus smirked.

"It was my idea, I wanted the credit," Sirius huffed.

"There's no pleasing him," James informed the other two.

Ron was just assuring he'd pay back Harry his half if he split with him, when Hermione showed up and flushed it down the toilet.

"Hermione really is handy to have around some of the time," Lily chuckled while the boys stopped their bickering.

Ron tried to protest her, but Hermione scathed they may as well buy Harold Dingle's powdered dragon claw while they were at it.

"Oh, now there's something really worth buying," Remus grinned.

"You couldn't pay me to eat that for any reason," Sirius crinkled his nose in disgust.

"I'll bet it was doxy dung or something mixed with water," James smirked. "People try to pass off a ton of things like that, a little color changing charm, bam. You've got those fifth years fooled."

"Thank you so much," Harry muttered, agreeing with his mum and thankful Hermione had stopped them if that was the case.

Ron begged Hermione to give him just a pinch of that, but Hermione told them it was just dried Doxy droppings like the rest of this garbage was when she'd tested it.

"Some things never change," Sirius said nostalgically.

This information took the edge off Harry and Ron's desire for brain stimulants.

The four laughed at Harry's relieved look, though they had full confidence he wouldn't really need them.

They were given the time tables of all their exams in their next Transfiguration class, along with McGonagall's anti-cheating lecture.

"We got this speech every year," James groaned.

"Clearly it was needed, as someone tried something every year," Lily rolled her eyes.

Banned from the examination were: Auto-Answer Quills,

"Those are banned from the school," Remus reminded.

"Doesn't stop people from using them," Sirius shrugged.

Remembralls,

"Those wouldn't even be helpful in an exam," James rolled his eyes.

and Detachable Cribbing Cuffs.

"Those are new," Lily couldn't help her eyes lighting with interest, for the magic of course, not because she'd ever try to use one just to beat out Potter in just one Transfiguration test...

Every year someone seemed to think they could get past these rules, and they were always caught. She hoped it wasn't a Gryffindor, she finished sternly. Then she continued that their, Headmistress,

"I wonder how badly she hurt her tongue spitting that one out," Remus said in sympathy.

Harry watched Sirius' disgusted face and found it a close proximity.

McGonagall pronounced the word with the same look on her face that Petunia had whenever she was contemplating a particularly stubborn bit of dirt,

"Normally I'd shame you comparing the two," James shook his head, "but McGonagall deserves whatever look she has for this."

had stated there would be severe punishment to any cheaters, as of course, their examination results reflected on her.

"Don't tell them that!" Lily spluttered in concern. "We don't need students failing out of spite!"

"We already got them doing that in Potions, no need for the whole school to suffer," Sirius agreed.

She gave a tiny sigh, Harry saw her nostrils flare again before she continued this was no reason not to try their best, they had their own futures to think of.

"Ha!" Sirius barked, all of them smiling just a bit for McGonagall's cheek.

Hermione asked how soon they'd be getting results, and McGonagall said not until July.

"Just what I always wanted for my birthday," Harry sighed.

Harry imagined sitting in his bedroom in Privet Drive in six weeks' time,

Lily blanched in frustration, thinking surely he wouldn't spend nearly a whole summer there again! Sirius or someone would fight back, get Harry out of there!

waiting for his OWL results. At least he would be sure of one bit of post that summer.

"Thank you for that lovely reminder," Sirius sighed, not exactly grateful for remembering that, but it had still been better than Harry living under that webbed thumb and everything else that had occurred.

Their first exam was Charms Monday morning and Harry agreed to quiz Hermione over it, which he immediately regretted as she kept snatching the book away to make sure her answers were word perfect, finally giving him back the book with so much force she cracked him over the nose.

"That'll train you not to be as fast as her," James chuckled weakly, his mind still on his son's upcoming holidays and how not fun that was going to be again.

"Never worked on Sirius, so don't hold your breath," Remus shrugged.

Ron was seen reading two years' worth of Charms notes with his fingers in his ears, his lips moving soundlessly;

"How did he turn the page?" Sirius asked innocently.

"You're an idiot," Lily pleasantly informed him.

and Parvati and Lavender, who were practicing basic Locomotion Charms, were making their pencil-cases race each other around the edge of the table.

"Good of them to have some fun with it," James smiled, remembering that's how they'd spent their nights before exams, trying to make up as many games as possible with the spells needed. They'd been kicked out of the common room several times for this.

Dinner was a subdued affair, many people not eating much and instead ducking back down for books to check as well as nip a few bites.

Hermione suddenly let her silverware fall with a clatter as she saw the Entrance Hall.

"That's never a good sign," Sirius shivered a bit, wondering what new atrocity could be occurring just before this.

The two boys turned and spotted what had her so spooked, several extremely old people were coming in being led by Umbridge, who looked nervous, as Hermione whispered those were the examiners.

"I really wish I could see how much Umbridge has been sending to the Ministry about her improvements to the castle," Lily said blandly.

"I really want them to take a peek at the twins swamp!" James smirked.

Wanting a closer look, the three abandoned their meal and slowly walked past the group, pausing as Umbridge spoke to an extremely elder lady.

"Oh I remember her now," Lily snapped her fingers. "Yes, she was a sweet thing, told me even before I walked out I was guaranteed an O in my Charms."

"Lucky you," Sirius made a face at her, "I turned my pumpkin the wrong color and the man wouldn't stop laughing the whole time. The one time I wasn't trying to make someone laugh!"

"What color did you turn it?" Harry asked in surprise.

"It was supposed to be blue," he began grudgingly, "and yet somehow I turned it black," he finished still fighting back a smile years later at his unintentional joke, and Harry was so surprised he burst out laughing as well.

Marchbanks was waving off Umbridge's concern about the journey, instead mentioning she hadn't heard from Dumbledore lately,

"Neither have we," Remus rolled his eyes.

"Does she not keep up with the news?" James asked in surprise.

adding on they still had no clue where he was?

"Ah, okay, now I really like her," Sirius smirked when he realized this Marchbanks was actually just rubbing it in.

Umbridge gave a forced smile as she said they'd catch up with him.

Marchbanks just laughed and told how much she doubted that, she'd examined Dumbledore during his NEWTs, and he'd done things with a wand she hadn't seen since.

Lily felt her mouth go dry with shock as she realized the same person who'd marked her had also done Dumbledore! It really put into perspective how old their headmaster was, how old this woman was!

The boys were just laughing raucously for what they considered a very good return.

Umbridge shot a nasty look at the trio as she passed them, before encouraging her guests up to the staff room for some tea.

"Not with you in the room, I doubt I could breathe through your fumes," Remus snipped.

Harry went to bed that night regretting his career consultation,

"McGonagall hasn't seemed to be living up to that one yet," Sirius said conversationally.

"She didn't have any doubts he'd pass Charms," Lily reminded. "Mostly it was just Potions."

"Then it's a good thing Snape's not allowed to set the exams," James huffed, "otherwise Harry would have to beg Merlin himself to get a pass."

and wishing he'd told McGonagall a more realistic option.

"Harry, this is plenty achievable," Remus wouldn't let his spirits fall if this was something he really wanted. "I can already tell you've shown an aptitude for it."

Harry smiled appreciatively for the praise, something warm inside him saying he agreed with Remus.

Breakfast was no better than the meal before, students still trying their hardest for last minute studying. Parvati was practicing an incantation on a salt cellar that was only twitching,

"I'm sure that wasn't encouraging," Lily winced.

and Neville kept dropping the marmalade with nerves.

"So he was practicing the Evanesce charm," Sirius offered.

They had their written in the morning and practical's in the evening, so when breakfast was over they were all milling around waiting to be let back in. Harry stepped through to find the Great Hall exactly as it had been from Snape's memory, all of the desks set up and McGonagall waiting at the front.

"Why isn't the teacher of the lesson there?" Harry asked, recalling wanting to ask this last time, but he'd been a little distracted.

"Takes pressure off I suppose if the regular teacher isn't there," James shrugged.

"I thought it was another method of anti-cheating," Remus offered. "Teacher of the class couldn't show favoritism and possibly slip an answer if they aren't even there."

Harry flipped his paper over to begin, and found the first question asking for the incantation and wand wrist movement to make objects fly.

They all released a very surprised burst of laughter as they recalled a club knocking a troll out, nothing more memorable about that spell.

Harry had a fleeting memory of a club soaring high into the air and landing loudly on the thick skull of a troll . . . smiling slightly, he bent over the paper and began to write.

"I hope that's a good marker for the rest of these," Sirius kept chuckling. He never would have believed he could look back on that as a fond memory, but considering everything that had happened in the meantime, it was almost hilarious they'd once been afraid of a troll around Harry.

Hermione walked out saying that wasn't as bad as she thought.

"This coming from the girl who once got a perfect score on Charms," Lily sighed. Charms had come naturally to her and even she'd never achieved that.

She was worried she hadn't done enough justice to it, she hadn't added the counter-charm to cure hiccups for the Cheering Charm-

"What exam was Hermione taking?" Harry shook his head in disbelief. Even after five years, he still felt exasperated at her over achieving ways no matter how many times they saved his life.

Ron cut her off before she could keep going, telling her he did not want to sit through the examination again, it was bad enough the first time.

"I don't know, I'd probably let her," Remus said fairly. "I'd instantly be getting my results back on what I put down."

"Not worth it," James agreed with Ron, "I'd smother her from stress after the third answer I didn't put down as detailed as her."

The house tables were returned for lunch, and then they entered for practical's in alphabetical order. Harry entered with Flitwick at the door telling him who he would be examining with.

"I can see why they were allowed inside for these though," Remus kept explaining without a prompt from Harry. "They get to see your work in class be put to the test."

Harry smiled at his eager tone, the way his eyes shone with just a hint of what they would if he'd been in the back of a DADA hall like he should.

Harry went over to a tiny little man who was only a space away from where Malfoy was halfway through his test.

James let out a surprised snort of laughter, saying, "how slow was he going? He was three letters off and still in there!"

"I always said these should be timed, students can't stall and make themselves feel worse for not being able to think," Remus said with just a touch of sympathy.

Professor Tofty greeted him by his full name in surprise, confirming the famous Harry Potter?

"If there was more than one, Harry wouldn't have nearly as many problems as he did," Sirius said in disgust.

Harry saw Malfoy throw him a dirty look and the cup he was supposed to be levitating fell and smashed.

All of them got a righteous giggle out of that considering the prats own earlier boosting and knowing it wouldn't help Harry at all even if he'd needed it.

Grinning to himself, he felt his exam went much better, his Levitation Charm had certainly been more smooth, though he wished he hadn't mixed up Color Changing and Growth, he had his rat swell to twice its size before he figured out how to correct it.

"There you go Sirius," Harry said swiftly, as just the mention of the little animal had set his teeth back on edge. "At least you stayed in the right spell!"

Sirius put up a smile for Harry's attempts.

He failed to tell Hermione this, but admitted it to Ron after he told he'd somehow mutated his plate into a mushroom with no clue how.

Then they all got a genuine laugh for that one, fondly remembering Ron's broken wand in second year and wondering if the poor kid had been thinking the same during some spell.

They had not a chance to relax after the one, moving on to Transfiguration all evening. During the written part, Harry forgot the definition of a Switching Spell,

Harry frowned sadly, still wishing more than anything he'd taken a liking to one of his parents old subjects, but still smiled pleasantly as both kept beaming fondly at him and all of his progress being so heavily described it was worth whatever grade he got for the attempt.

but thought his practical could have been a lot worse. At least he managed to Vanish the whole of his iguana, whereas poor Hannah Abbott,

Sirius frowned in genuine concern for this poor girl still being in there when Harry was! He'd have honestly passed her just out of pity for clearly freezing up for so long.

somehow managed to turn a ferret into a whole flock of flamingos, and the hall had to be emptied until they were all caught.

"Oh, were you in there for that?" Sirius asked in surprise as he fixed his thoughts.

"No, she just told us what happened while crying," Harry winced for the poor girl who hadn't even wanted to go back in and finish until Neville had took her aside and calmed her down.

They had their Herbology exam on Wednesday, and other than a small bite from a Fanged Geranium, Harry felt he had done reasonably well there.

Sirius kept reading very loudly before his friends could have another go at him for that subject.

On Thursday, Defence Against the Dark Arts.

All five of them winced hard for the last time this had come up, but thankfully Harry had very clearly put that in his past where it would stay this time, even Lily didn't go as pale as usual upon thinking of this day in light of watching her son relive it.

For the first time, Harry finally had full confidence. He knew every question on the written and gave in-detail answers, and the practical was just as much of a breeze, performing every requested jinx and counter jinx while smirking at Umbridge watching.

"Always good to have your target in sight," James said with relish as he pictured a variety of things he'd cast at her too.

His examiner proclaimed him as done, unless he'd like to try for a bonus point and do a Patronus?

Harry raised his wand, imagined Umbridge being sacked,

"Happiest memory I'd conjured in ages," Harry's smirk only widened in here what it had been at the time.

and shouted Expecto Patronum.

The whole hall stopped in surprise as the stag cantered around, and Harry was released with a hearty congratulations.

As he passed Umbridge, there was a nasty smile at the edge of her mouth and Harry didn't even care.

James was in such a giddy mood for Harry's clear overwhelming happiness at this he didn't even care what was running through her rotted mind!

Unless he was mistaken, and he wasn't going to say it aloud incase he was, Harry felt sure he'd just gotten an Outstanding OWL.

"I have no doubts whatsoever," they all reassured him, Harry never having felt such pride in his life.

They got a bit of a break on Friday as Hermione took her Ancient Runes, and she came back in a right temper to see the two playing chess. She at once furiously told them she'd mistranslated ehwaz, meaning partnership, as eihwaz, meaning defence.

"Sirius, you pronounced those exactly the same," Lily corrected, grasping what words he'd meant by their translations. "Ehwaz is-"

"Prongs, stop your wife before I do," Sirius grumbled, though continued reading loudly before the threat could be carried out and Lily just huffed at him.

Ron tried to say it was only one mistake-

Hermione told him to shut up.

"Ooh, snappy," Remus chuckled, Sirius did a rather good impersonation of that.

It was the difference between her passing and failing!

"I honestly can't imagine her failing any class," James said lightheartedly.

"She could still take Divination and pass it," Harry agreed.

What's worse was she'd passed Umbridge's office and another Niffler was in there trying to take a chunk out of her leg.

"What kind of jewelry has she got-" Remus blinked in surprise, before they all blanched in disgust and did not want to ask further.

Harry and Ron said good together.

"Not really," Lily sighed, remembering the last time this was mentioned.

Hermione heatedly said no it wasn't! She thought Hagrid was doing this!

Harry gestured out the window where Hagrid was teaching a class and pointed out he couldn't have done that, and Hermione called Harry naïve.

Harry frowned in reproach, wishing he'd quit forgetting to avoid Hermione right after an exam.

That wasn't going to stop her!

Then she stormed off to the dorm and slammed the door behind her.

Ron noted what a lovely, sweet-tempered girl she was while turning back to his game.

They all burst out with laughter at that one, not at all blaming him for waiting until the echo faded before he'd said this.

Hermione's bad mood lasted the whole weekend, and Harry wasn't feeling much better come the following Monday. He'd spent every spare second trying to study for Potions, the one exam he was sure would be his downfall in becoming an Auror.

"Now where's McGonagall when I need her," Harry sighed.

"You'll do fine," Lily insisted. "I've seen proof already you can do this if you're not under pressure, and Snape can't do anything to you in there."

"It doesn't mean I'll be getting that O though," he said morosely, not feeling remotely better at how true he felt that was, but it was of some comfort it didn't make the vision in his head of this job dim any less.

Sure enough, he found the written paper difficult, though he thought he might have got full marks on the question about Polyjuice Potion;

"That's a sixth year potion!" Sirius protested this.

"It was a bonus question," Harry shrugged. He got a much more forced laugh from that experience, they remembered this too vividly being a problem last year.

he could describe its effects accurately, having taken it illegally in his second year.

"Thank you for the pleasant call back," James shook his head, still having the urge to be sick at mention of that Basilisk for too long and grateful Sirius didn't linger.

The afternoons practical wasn't as bad, even with Snape at the back, the whole environment made for a far more pleasant feel than Harry had ever felt while over a cauldron. Neville seemed to be feeling the same, both potions came out the right color.

Lily gave a pitiful sigh, having wished more times than she could count her son wouldn't suffer in that class, that he may even have been able to flourish in it if not for that arse hole treating him the way he did.

Parvati sighed with relief they only had four exams left, but Hermione would not be soothed, shouting she still had Arithmancy, and that was the hardest one!

Nobody was foolish enough to snap back,

"So you lot do have a sense of life," Remus chuckled.

so she was unable to vent her spleen on any of them and was reduced to telling off some first-years for giggling too loudly in the common room.

"Hermione's a real peach, don't let me ever say otherwise," Lily shook her head for the poor girl so stressed.

They had Care of Magical Creatures on Tuesday, and Harry felt he did reasonably well, getting all the points right on what the different creatures ate and how to identify them, only managing to get one serious bad burn from a fire-crab while cleaning it to really catch him off.

"I didn't get a single one, but thanks for asking," Sirius grinned at Harry, who gave his obligatory laugh as he watched his godfather, but hated how strained it sounded for his gut tightening inside him every second. He could feel something approaching him, some mark that left him as unhappy as Hermione at the thought of the end of the OWLs...

The others were just hoping the joke was finally wearing off of him.

Their written Astronomy took place Wednesday morning, and while Harry hadn't remembered all of Jupiter's moons, at least he was sure none of them were covered in mice.

"It's good to know Hermione's tutoring had some lingering effects," James snickered in remembrance.

They had to wait until evening for their practical Astronomy;

Harry twitched hard at that, and they gave him sympathetic looks for his exams starting to get to him by this time, he'd lasted longer than others.

so they did their Divination that afternoon, which was by far his worst yet.

"How?" Sirius demanded as a boyish laugh erupted. "You've had loads of practice by now just to make it up."

"Trelawney's not even the one there, you can reuse old ones," James agreed.

He described his tea-leaves as a soggy old man, and informed during the palm reading that his examiner should have died last Tuesday.

Harry felt a shot of relief as everyone laughed around him for this display, forcing himself to relax as well and convince himself nothing worse could happen during an examination than that.

Ron's had not gone much better, as he'd spent quite some time giving a detailed account of an ugly old man with a wart in his crystal ball before looking up to realize it was his examiner.

'Or even that,' he mentally conceded as the laughter doubled.

Harry said they never should have taken it in the first place, Ron now agreeing at least they could drop it. From now on, he didn't care if his tea leaves spelled out for him to die, he'd just put them in the trash where they belonged.*

Sirius slumped in his seat he was laughing so hard by now, and Harry watched him affectionately trying to force this feeling of nausea to recede rather than increase like it was. It took his godfather a moment to collect himself and brush his hair back out of his face before he could continue, and Harry had gotten nowhere.

Harry laughed until he saw Hermione approaching, so quickly stopped.

Hermione wasn't in too bad a mood, saying her Arithmancy had gone well, and now they had some time to look over their star charts before dinner.

Harry wrapped his arm around his torso in pain, smothering a groan as the pressure kept building in his head and his gut. What about an exam would cause such a feeling of panic to rile him up?

The others finally noticed what Harry was trying to repress, but Sirius didn't hesitate in going on very loudly now. Surely it was just exam nerves scaring the boy senseless...

They were up on the Astronomy tower with a perfect cloudless night. Harry was looking for the constellation Orion,

"Don't be ridiculous Harry," Sirius rolled his eyes. "It's June, you won't find that one unless you've found a way to look through the sun."

Harry did indeed look chagrined, but didn't have very high hopes for passing this class anyways.

when the doors below open and six people walked out of the castle across the lawn.

Harry shivered deep in his seat, fighting back the urge to close his eyes in pain and instead they were watering up. He just knew he did not like this, it was going to cause something so terrible to happen...

Harry glanced over the parapets, watching their movement before he was reminded of the exam going on.

Lily hummed at this, no one in any delusion this was what was causing Harry such a stir. It was beyond odd though, what was going on in the grounds at that hour, and why would it cause Harry to look as if in fear for someone's life?

In the poor lighting though, he was sure he could spot a squat figure amongst them.

"Oh boy," James broke the heavy silence with dread.

He could not think why Umbridge would be taking a stroll outside after midnight, much less accompanied by five others.

"Got turned around?" Remus offered, a proper joke failing him as they all watched Harry's twitching frame.

Then the night's silence was broken by a large dog barking.

"Oh dear," Lily managed a soft whisper of unease as now they were all as tense as Harry. This couldn't be good...

Lights turned at Hagrid's place, and the six figures seemed to be welcomed over the threshold.

"No, no, no, not again!" Sirius burst in frustration.

"They're, they're not really trying to arrest Hagrid!" James bellowed in protest.

Harry's mouth was cotton dry, he couldn't find air to breathe. He was worried for Hagrid, but there was something more, something that wasn't having him question Hagrid's safety, but some member of the Order's...

Harry felt uneasy as he watched shadows threw the window, but still tried to put his eyes back to the sky.

"Oh I've long since forgotten about this," Remus snarled in frustration, he knew he'd have marched down there and said something about this.

Then there was a roar of outrage echoing from the ground, and several people ducked down to look now.

Professor Tofty gave a dry little cough to keep their attention.

"Excuse him!" Lily spluttered. "After that kind of noise, I'd be dismissing the lot and seeing what was going on!"

Sirius' foot was tapping in agitation, his eyes peeling words away so fast he wasn't sure what he was actually saying until he felt the reactions of the others and he had to pause for breath and take it in, he couldn't imagine Hagrid going back to that place anymore than him!

He encouraged them to concentrate, and most people did turn back to their work, but a glance over showed Hermione was still transfixed on the cabin below.

"That should really be saying something," James tried to say obstinately, but it fell flat, even poking fun at Hermione held nothing for anyone right now.

With the twenty minute warning, even Hermione gave a regretful jump and tried to put some more work down.

"Oh, well, never mind then." James hardly more than mouthed the joke, his every attention focused on Sirius to find what had happened to Hagrid.

Not moments later though, several people poked themselves in the eye in surprise at the BANG that wrenched the night, now everyone watching as Hagrid was storming out of his cabin with red lights flashing around him, they were trying to Stun him.

"No!" Lily cried in frustration, her arms automatically curling to shield her infant from the outrage around him before she gratefully remembered he wasn't down here.

"They can't do this to him!" Sirius howled with fury.

"As if that's ever stopped them before," Remus said in disgust.

"Hagrid's fighting back this time though," James grimly reminded as the scene was put together in his mind.

Hermione shrieked no, but Tofty curtly reminded this was an examination.

"Nobody cares," Harry said through gritted teeth, his thudding heart promising this still wasn't the worst to come.

Nobody even noticed, as someone shouted at Hagrid to be reasonable, and Hagrid told Dawlish reasonable be damned. Harry could just spot the outline of Fang jumped around at Hagrid's feet, keeping himself between the wizards and his owner,

"A fearsome sight in itself," Sirius said grimly, even if Fang never attacked a single one of them.

until a Stunning Spell caught him and he fell to the ground.

Remus made a blistering noise of outrage, that was more than uncalled for.

Hagrid gave a howl of fury, lifted the culprit bodily from the ground and threw him; the man flew what looked like ten feet and did not get up.

"I'm wondering if he ever will again," Lily said through numb lips as that kept replaying in her head.

Hermione gasped, Harry and Ron were terrified. None had ever seen Hagrid in a true temper.

"Wish we never had," James whispered, never wanting to have been there more for a friend than when he was being attacked on all sides.

Then the front doors opened again, and someone else came marching across the lawn in the Entrance Hall lights.

Harry felt it, that ratcheting fear reaching a crescendo, this was not going to make things better!

Tofty tried to pull back attention, reminding there was only sixteen minutes left.

"No one cares!" Sirius burst in outrage, hurriedly trying to skip past that interruption.

Nobody paid him a mind as McGonagall shouted how dare they!

"Oh now they're in for it," Remus said with a predatory smile. Even without raising a wand, suddenly they were all confident McGonagall would somehow find a way to set this right.

She kept up her shouting at them, demanding to know what grounds they had to warrant such-

The girls upon the roof screamed as four Stunners were shot at McGonagall.

Sirius' heart thudded, and actually came to a stop for several moments. He only kept reading the results of this with the last of his air,

Only halfway there, the beams collided with her, and for just a moment she glowed red before the spell took and she flew back, landing without further movement.**

before his tightly drawn face went slack in shock.

"Oh my gosh! Oh, my goodness! No, she, she can't have," Lily was a babbling mess, suddenly on her feet and running forward to snatch the book away from Sirius' numb fingers. Her eyes nearly burned a hole through the pages, all she could see was red and their head of house-

James hadn't realized he was doing it until the spell burst from his lips, and apparently his aim was quite off as he set a bit of the wall on fire. While the flash of heat went quite unnoticed considering how incensed they all were, James was also forced to extinguish it just as fast before his shaking limbs didn't allow another spell.

Their outrage was ceased by Harry, and for once not the baby. That he was angry was as clear as the rest of them, his face was an eerie calm of a storm the likes of they'd last seen on Privet Drive when he'd thought he was being attacked by Death Eaters, but now it was much more personal. The truly scary part though came from his trembling lip, that fear leaving his pupils blown so wide. They just couldn't believe it, McGonagall was going to live through this, right? Yet that look on his face left the haunting expression someone wouldn't, and they could only hope it was the fools who'd done this to her, what Hagrid had just done would be like Grawp playing with a twig.

Sirius couldn't swallow for several moments, feeling as if his own tongue had been jammed down his throat and he had to fight hard to force his eyes to go back to recognizing mere words rather than the tirade of curses he wanted to rain down on someone as he gingerly took the book back from Lily in fear for his own life. Moony had to come over and guide her back to her seat she was so stunned, but neither could bend their knees to sit.

No one was going to live after what had just been done to his favorite teacher! The first authority figure he'd ever respected in his life because she'd earned it rather than making him fear her! Harry needed him though, his pup needed to get through this first to know she was going to be okay and give them a list of names.

Tofty finally seemed to have forgotten about his own exam,

"Finally," Remus said faintly, casting his wand vaguely to at least stop the hole smoking. Neither him nor Lily could be properly still, too frantic and needing something to do and listening to Sirius talk wasn't helping!

as he called their behaviour outrages.

Hagrid clearly felt the same, calling them all cowards as he used his fists now and two of them fell with each swipe.

James made an unsatisfied noise even as he put a tight hold on Harry's shoulder as a reminder he was here, it was all going to be okay.

Umbridge shouted at the last Auror standing to stop him, both trying to send one last stunner. For a moment Hagrid stooped, as if he'd finally been felled, but then he got back up with something over his shoulder, and Harry realized it was Fang. Then he took off running towards the distant gates and vanished.

"How, could, she," Lily was nearly hyperventilating she was so beyond words to express this.

There was a long, drawn minute of silence before Tofty tried one last time to remind them they only had five minutes left.

Sirius blinked sluggishly for a moment, unable to grasp back the fact that something as mundane as an exam was going on. He wanted to hear someone checking on Minerva!

No one seemed to get any last minute work done, as they were finally dismissed and the students at once began discussing what they'd seen.

Ernie said he wasn't surprised at Umbridge's timing, she'd clearly been trying to avoid another scene like Trelawney's.

Ron was impressed how well Hagrid had held his own,

Harry noticed in a detached way the students almost excitement for this, like they'd just watched a show.

while Hermione explained it would be his giants blood that had made it so hard to take him down, but poor McGonagall.

"She's going to be fine though!" James said hastily as Harry shivered harder than ever. "McGonagall's tough as they come, I'm half surprised they didn't bounce off her like Hagrid."

Harry saw distantly what he was trying to do, but it was hard to concentrate on his voice, he just kept hearing Sirius read and he wanted to plug his ears shut as well as never stop hearing that again. Which was ridiculous, Sirius hadn't even been involved in this...

Ernie gave a pompous shake to his head, saying how dreadful all this was, before he nipped off to bed.

Lily's eyes burned, he could have showed a little more worry for two of the staff!

Ron mentioned at least Hagrid hadn't been sent to Azkaban.

Sirius felt his skin crawl hatefully at the reminder, knowing that was still a horrid outcome, but somehow a worse one had happened!

Then he supposed Hagrid had joined Dumbledore somewhere. Hermione agreed, but she looked almost tearful as she realized she'd expected Dumbledore to somehow come back by now, instead they'd lost Hagrid too.

All four of them were surprised at just one passing comment for McGonagall. They'd been worried for Hagrid sure, but McGonagall was their real outrage, and they weren't likely to settle until they heard of someone taking care of her, though they'd never admit aloud she needed any such thing. Those kids were still young enough though, they were not as caught up in DA as they should have been, perhaps did not even realize four stunners was four times worse than just the single spell. It would knock you back and leave you as injured as any hex with the blow of so much magic.

They got back to Gryffindor tower and saw Dean and Seamus had beat them there, woken everyone up and caught them up, and the whole house was chatting about it as well.

Angelina asked why sack Hagrid now? He wasn't like Trelawney, he was doing good this year.

Remus got a funny frown in place, wanting to protest that but hard to find the words.

Katie reminded about the recent Niffler problem, and Lee said in shame that had been him putting them through her window.

Sirius felt that feeling he'd lived for in his youth, the urge to laugh at such mischief, but it did not carry through into full bloom, not with Harry clearly so worried, not until he knew McGonagall was still going to be around to be exasperated at it.

Dean pointed out Hagrid would have been sacked, he was too close to Dumbledore.

Lavender was still nearly in tears for McGonagall, while Colin informed everyone they'd watched her be brought back inside the castle. Alicia said with confidence Madam Pomfrey would sort her out.

They finally felt a sigh of relief escape them, Harry's loudest of all as some of his worry tried to loosen him, but not enough. Remus and Lily sat back down uneasily as they tried not to picture such a thing happening on the grounds, but the look on Harry's face somehow warned them to keep on the edge, as he kept himself stiff at his father's side and locked in on Sirius, his heart thudding so loud they were sure they could all hear it in his still thumping adrenaline pulsing out.

The common room was up the rest of the night coming up with revenge for Umbridge. None were quite satisfying enough, though Ron's of feeding her to starving Blast-Ended Skrewts had its merits.

That one worked, Remus felt a burst of laughter escape him that died swiftly in the room, but no one begrudged him for trying.

Their final exam was History of Magic.

Harry made a keening noise louder than ever, and it was frightening. What worse thing was going to happen than their real current Headmistress being struck down like that?! James's hand tightened harder than ever upon Harry's shoulder, but he couldn't even look at him, he was solely locked on the key to this problem.

He loathed having to spend his morning going over years of Hermione's notes. He was exhausted, all he really wanted was for this one to be over, to go out onto the Quidditch pitch and have a go on Ron's broom.

"You more than deserve that, honestly I'm surprised I haven't heard of this long before now," Sirius looked up and around at Harry, forcing a smile he didn't really feel into place, and it set them all off greatly he couldn't be bothered to return it for a second. His eyes remained distant, lost somewhere none could see, but still his every attention was riveted on Sirius.

Sirius sighed heavily but decided to stop side stepping around this, Harry wasn't going to be soothed until something changed.

It took all of his concentration to flip his exam over and begin, and it took several moments for letters to appear into words.

Lily shook her head pitifully for this, but she supposed it was the best circumstances that could be offered. At least everyone failed this class.

It felt torturous, he flat out skipped an opinion question over wand legislation and the goblin riots.

"I don't even remember that ever being a topic," Remus shook his head too fast, but still hoping some normal flow of conversation would be of some help.

He tried his hand at the Statue of Secrecy breached in 1749 but knew he'd missed important parts like vampires coming in at some point.

"Now I know you're sleep deprived, it was hags, not vampires," James offered though he had no more clue than Harry, and still failed to get a response.

Finally Harry found one from the notes he'd gone over just this morning covering the International Confederation of Wizards and why Liechtenstein refused to join.

Lily hummed at the lucky circumstance, wishing as much as anyone this would skip already, that Harry would just get a moment of peace before he collapsed on himself like he was so clearly fixing to do.

He began with Pierre Bonaccord's contested appointment,

Remus gave a false yawn, glancing around for a pillow though really his eyes never stopped tracking Harry, looking for just a hint he was going to relax any second, realize the danger had passed at least for one second.

while all around Harry the distracting noise of quills were scratching on parchment like scurrying, burrowing rats.

Sirius gave a heavy shiver, he hated Harry seemed to use that description a lot.

He couldn't remember. He gazed at the back of Parvati's head, wishing he could use Legilimency and remember what he'd done, sure it had something to do with trolls.

Harry went cross eyed in pain, wishing his mind would crack open already and relieve this stress, why had his mind chosen now to bring that up!

He closed his eyes tight to picture it, finally the lines coming back to him of the circumstances involving mountain trolls, that had been it. He got another few lines in but still didn't feel it was long enough, Hermione had four pages on the topic.

"That's never helpful, she tries to remember too much," James muttered something he'd known about her since her first year hoping just for a moment to distract Harry which still didn't work.

He closed his eyes again, straining to put in some other details...but then his eyes didn't open back in the hall, but the long dark corridor. He eagerly ran down it once again, back through the dark circular room with many doors.

"Oh no," James groaned deeply, his hand tightening more than ever on Harry's shoulder, refusing to let go until he knew it was going to be okay. That was getting harder to manage though, as they all finally grasped this must be what had him so on edge, they were all back to that same icy exterior as well. The last time Harry had been so set off, was when Arthur was being attacked...

All the way until he was back in the large cathedral sized room, and now he was sprinting, knowing the thing he wanted most was in here. He turned down row ninety seven, and there at the end was a huddled figure, like a wounded animal on the ground.

Harry tried to recoil away, but James had no clue who he was trying to reach for, so he just pulled Harry back tighter to him. He wasn't going to let him go guilt tripping over this one, no matter who was in there guarding this mystery thing.

A voice issued from his own mouth, a high, cold voice empty of any human kindness,

Sirius finally flipped to the last page of this, his hand as slick upon the binding as it was white knuckled. 'Don't let it be Arthur again,' his mind pleaded, 'the man had suffered enough!'

Instructing for it to be taken down. When whatever it was on the floor didn't respond, Harry used the Crucio spell.

"Voldemort's, inside, the Ministry," Lily brokenly whispered, this being the first thing she could think of what to connect to. Her fear intensified, wondering how this had happened, there was no way the man could waltz in there and torture someone for this. It may not even be an Order member now, it was still the middle of Harry's afternoon!

She wanted more than anything to stop Sirius, to try and let Harry collect himself for a moment, but Sirius was fidgeting with agitation on the page and noticed nothing, like he wasn't even aware he was reading anymore, just wanting to finish this and know the latest victim already Harry was going to have to find out about in the worst way possible.

The man on the floor let out a scream of pain, attempted to stand but fell back, writhing.

Harry wasn't breathing, of that James was now positive. He hardly registered his own fear anymore, was hardly watching Sirius. He feared for the life of whomever this was, but he had eyes only for his son.

Voldemort hissed at the newly pained man and told him to fetch it as he could not, then his pain would end fast.

Sirius Black just laughed, and said Voldemort would have to kill him first.

James's hand fell from Harry's shoulder.

HPHPHPHP

* Favorite quote of the whole series! I'm still in awe I got this far! Let me know yours!

** I know not everyone's a McGonagall fan, but this right here is my favorite moment for her, the same reason I would have Crucio'd someone if they'd spat in her face. You can say what you will about her odd behaviour in first year, but the moments of her in this book are just pure and utter brilliance of her very character.

#The life that Never LIved #harry potter #fanfiction #OotP #HP #Marauders #reading the books #James Potter #Lily Potter #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black

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we-always-hit-our-ass · 4 years

Text

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder Pt. 2 (Eugene Roe x Reader)

Part 1

Requested by @wolfers-stuff: “Can you please make a part 2 for 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'?...”

Author’s Note: One last farewell fic for y’all before I disappear. I apologize if the pacing or writing is wack, I’ve been trying to revise it- I’m also sorry for makin’ you wait this long, it was not my intention to. I hope you still enjoy this 💕

Words: around 8.3k

Disclaimers/Warnings: Angst witha happy ending, mild cursing, ooc Gene(??), and longass writing

Italics means the past or a memory

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Taglist: @deldontplay, @thatsonefishyboi,@noneofurbusinez, @meteora-fc, @gutsandgloryhere, @hihosilvers, @basilonely, @floydtab, @wexhappyxfew, @sherlollydramoine, @meganthesunflower, @3milesup, @jamie506101, @sunflowerchuck, @softlieb, @k-websters, @punkgeekchic, @speirs-crazy-ass, @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant, @runtdrummer, @fromtheoldtimes, @liebegott, @tvserie-s-world

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Carentan was successfully captured but work was just beginning for Gene. Countless men were taken in and out of the building where the medics were treating them. While it was better than getting shot at, it was still a far cry from somebody’s idea of relaxing.

Eugene sat wearily as he took care of men after men, but the stream never really seemed to stop. As much as Genie cared about the boys, a break would’ve been well appreciated by the medic. Chatter and the work kept Gene busy and soon his mind was focused on nothing other than what was in front of him.

That was probably why Eugene was so spooked when he heard a few light taps on the wooden frame behind him. A familiar light chuckle reached his ears and he turned around to see you with a smug smile carved on your lips. The cramped building felt just a bit more tolerable ever since you made your way to Eugene.

The tension that built up in Eugene’s soldiers dissipated faster the longer you were near him. Your presence was a blessing, and he stood by that statement. However, Eugene couldn’t help but slightly frown as he looked at the numerous men who still had to get treated. Carentan really did do a number on them, huh?

“As much as I want you by my side at all times, apparently being in a war doesn’t allow us to. I promise I’ll make it up to you, mon ange.”

Eugene’s reply held hints of disappointment and he directed his thumb towards his supplies and the men waiting to be treated. Yet you came closer and looked around the room before pressing an inconspicuous peck on his cheek. You leaned back to take in the slight red flush on Eugene’s cheeks before quickly crossing your arms.

“That’s what I came here for, Genie, y’know I will always try to make things a little bit easier for you.”

“If you’re saying you’re gonna help me patch all these boys up, be my guest.” Eugene lightly joked, shining blue eyes lighting up as he focused on your small grin.

“I thought you were just an ordinary paratrooper.”

“Genie, y’know I am, I just came here to tell you that one of the medics in Dog Company offered to help us. You’re working yourself out, take a break. I think you of all people need one.”

Eugene couldn’t help but let out a soft, relieved sigh as he leaned back. You let out a chuckle as you helped him up from his seat and you could already see his tired and worn out eyes brightening up just ever so slightly.

The two of you maneuvered your way through the building, finally making it out to the bright day. It was no surprise to say that you two spent the day laying soft kisses on each other’s skin, holding each other comfortingly in the secure enclosure of each other’s arms.

---------------

Eugene frustratingly ran his hands through his black hair, his brows furrowed and teeth clenched as another memory of you ran through his mind.

He hated to admit it, he really did but it was no secret that all hope was gone after the first week of you being missing. It was then that they knew that the world had lost an angel on that day. Eugene would’ve never allowed himself to think of that just a few days ago. Everyone had seemed to have moved on, everyone else except him.

No one actually knew if you were dead, yes, but the idea of you returning became more far-fetched as the hours dragged on into days. Eugene had always used to cling onto the small string of hope that you would come back to them. But now Eugene couldn’t help but let that hope slip through his fingers and fall into the never-ending loop of despair.

The Cajun man would tell himself that he would soon get over it for it was just another aspect of war. The scars never really healed properly though, and once again Gene would find himself quietly lamenting on prior events in the dead of night.

Of course, he stopped that habit and learned how to choke it back down but still... It still hurt so, so, so much.

After his little dispute with Cobb, Eugene distanced himself from the company more than ever before. Many attempts were brought to bring back the Eugene Roe they once knew. The lone and quiet medic who still kept to himself but also the one who still shared a few smiles and laughs with them.

But as soon as they saw the lost and void look of the medic, all attempts would be forgotten. Then all the men could do was offer a few words of comfort before slowly walking away to leave Eugene to his thoughts.

While he wasn’t very vocal, everyone knew what was running through his head. The young man bottled all of his emotions up, and even with a brief mentioning of your name, he felt like all of his feelings would just combust and burst out of him.

Days bled into each other and it was all but a cycle of the same thing. Eugene couldn’t be described as nothing more than a hollow shell of his former self. He could’ve been a stone statue for all that he knew. As much as he tried to steer his thoughts of your well-being, it was inevitable that maybe some thoughts would slip by.

If you were actually dead… Was it quick? Slow? Somehow peaceful? Though Eugene particularly disliked those ones, he would do anything for just a hint of closure. It was all too much to bear and it wasn’t long before his heart became so heavy that his chest would cave in.

Eugene would then quickly drift towards never ending questions if you did make it out. Hypothetical thoughts and scenarios played through his head in a loop.

If you were somehow alive, then why was it taking you so long to get back to them? If you came back, what would be the first thing you would do? Would you cry, hug the person closest to you, crack those jokes of yours, or would you take your time to look for him? Perhaps pull him into your embrace, or maybe even kiss him—

And that’s when he would stop himself. Eugene knew that if he continued to think of it, he knew it would just break him more if he ever found out that you were taken away from them.

You were a beautiful flower, the flower that he could admire and the flower that gave him happiness. Your vibrant petals and graceful stem flowing ever so gently in the wind. Yet you were plucked from the ground right before his eyes. His beautiful flower, his ange.

The love of his life reduced to nothing but a mere memory— a dream that will never come true.

Before he knew it, faint footsteps were heard as somebody approached him. Eugene didn’t look up as he continued to let thoughts swarm his head, occupying the vacant space.

He could feel someone sitting beside him and he ever so slightly scooted away. It was only until he heard a familiar voice ring out in his ear did he look up.

“Gene?” Babe’s concerned face was evident but Eugene’s cold indifference was more.

Eugene stared at the Philly man for a few more seconds before glancing back down, his back hunched over with his hands intertwined.

“Gene… How— How are you, buddy?”

“Things could be worse,” Eugene responded curtly and Babe’s eyebrows furrowed more.

He knew what Eugene was thinking about. He was also one of the very few who could talk about you to him without getting the cold shoulder.

“Everyone’s worried about you, Gene. Can’t you see that?” Eugene only offered a small glance at his friend before turning his eyes back to the snow-covered ground.

He could feel Babe scooting closer and hear his soft, exasperated sighs. Eugene lifted up his head to give him an empty stare, as if to say for him to continue. Babe leaned his head back as he fiddled with his thumbs.

“What is it—”

“We’re really trying our best, Gene. Y’know… To make you slightly okay. It ain’t much, but you have to understand that we don’t want you... We don’t want you like this anymore.” Babe continued, lightly motioning his frigid hands toward Gene’s form. Eugene stayed silent once more and the air grew stale.

No one was around, and the sounds of Babe’s words were only amplified by the empty space. Eugene couldn’t find a response for Babe, how could he? Everything was just hard, even when they shouldn’t be. For now, it was all just too much for the Cajun medic.

“I know, Heffron.” It was all he could say to him at this moment.

“Well.. I’m glad that you do. But… For now—” Babe offered Eugene a hurried glance as he leaned his head back more.

Words were stuck in his throat and he couldn’t find it in his heart to say them to Eugene. But he needed to. And so he continued.

“Genie— I think… I think it’s best if you… Just— Forget about her for now—”

“No.”

He responded immediately. Eugene looked hard into the pleading eyes of Babe, and his face hardened for just a second before it softened once more.

“But Gene—”

“No…”

It was softer this time, almost like a leaf falling to the earth below— yet however Eugene’s husky voice held intensity. Babe didn’t even know if he heard it, but it was clear that Eugene did. The medic shook his head slightly and his vacant stare was replaced by a look that could be described as longing and miserable.

Babe got the memo and slowly got up from his spot. He offered a comforting hand on Eugene’s shoulder but Eugene didn’t mind one bit. Babe stood silently beside Eugene, offering slight comfort to the Cajun man. Babe stepped back slowly and made his way back to the main building.

He offered one last look to the unmoving figure of his friend before reluctantly continuing on his path. The loud crunching of snow that once occupied the space faded away with each second. It wasn’t long before it turned silent, and Eugene was left to his thoughts once more.

Eugene remembered a time where when he still thought of you, butterflies and warmth filled his stomach and a bashful smile would replace his previous expression.

But now those butterflies were replaced by a sharp feeling of agony. No longer the warm and comforting feeling he once knew when his mind drifted towards you, but rather a deep, overwhelming feeling of despair that stayed forever in the pit of his stomach.

The thin lines of his lips would turn down every time it happened. He couldn’t even breathe at this point, taking deep breaths in hopes to recover, but it never worked. If he could, Eugene would’ve already screamed out all his worries and pain until his vocal chords were raw.

The decrepit stone buildings made him trapped and the frigid atmosphere of Haguenau didn’t help him at all. But Eugene knew that it wasn’t the weather that was the problem. More or less, it just contributed to an already hopeless morning, afternoon, evening, or night. The days were gloomy and held no life and Eugene associated most of it to your disappearance.

Eugene felt at bliss whenever he was with you, for you were his small beacon of joy during all of this. You made everything more tolerable and happy that it actually was. No matter how grim the situation, your mere presence made everyone’s days brighter.

But Eugene lost the one thing that kept him going, and he couldn’t do anything about it other than shove past it or dwell on it a bit longer. He didn’t like either options.

Eugene really had no clue as to how he’s still holding on. For someone who was realistic and almost pessimistic at times, Eugene couldn’t bear letting the thought of you returning go. As impossible as it seemed now to everybody, Eugene never let that thought falter too much. And though Eugene hated it when a memory of you ran through his head, he made an effort to not forget those either.

It was really one of the few things that you left behind.

But now only constant flashes of memories occupied where you once were. Though he loved the silence with all of his heart, it now only served as a constant reminder that you weren’t there with him. It festered in his stomach restlessly and anything and everything reminded him of your absence.

But of course Eugene still loved you, his love for you was all but forgotten. It’s just… Almost funny how the world still manages to continue. Eugene didn’t even think that was possible, how it goes on and all.

Even when you were gone. Eugene thought of Babe’s words and he told himself countless times that for once he should listen to him.

He just… He just couldn’t. But you—the person who always kept her head up during hard times— would’ve wanted him to move on.

You wouldn’t want him looking like this. Eugene could almost hear your concerned words and jokes that always cheered him up. He couldn’t help but crack a tight smile as he wondered at what could have been. Just when he’d thought this war couldn’t become worse, it did.

Eugene reminisced about the times he called you ‘mon ange’, the loving term of endearment taking another meaning.

He was too immersed that he couldn’t hear the footsteps coming towards him. Before he could delve any deeper in his speculations, Babe’s voice stops him. Eugene could see Babe’s figure just a couple steps away. The redhead’s face was still concerned and he waited idly before speaking.

“Let’s go, Gene.. Come inside, will ya?” Babe called out to him.

“Yeah.. Coming.”

Eugene sat in the same spot for just a few moments before he stood up. He looked back on what Babe said, maybe, just maybe— he’ll try to move on. Eugene couldn’t fathom the loss, as morbid as it was, he’d trade 10 men just to bring you back. God had other plans and Eugene wanted to scream at him for taking you too soon.

Why? Why? Why...?

------------------

It was one of those days where you and the company had time to rest and to say that you were overjoyed was an understatement. Settling on a spot that was private but still near, you and the Cajun man immediately loosened up. As the medic almost let his eyes close, you nudged him gently on the shoulder.

Eugene let out a questioning groan and as he slowly opened his eyes. Eugene’s eyes were met with you fumbling with the inside of your jacket. You were rummaging through it, looking for a certain something that might cheer him up.

Before Eugene knew it, you pulled out a chocolate bar, one that was surprisingly unbroken on smushed in any way. Eugene looked at you in amusement as his eyes glanced quickly between the bar and your closed eye grin.

“Look what I got, Genie! I found a candy shop nearby, thankfully no one managed to blast it— And I may or may not have snuck in and gotten a few bars.”

A mischievous glint flashed in your eyes as you offered Genie one of your many cheeky smiles.

“I gave some to the boys to share but I’m keeping the rest of it for us two. Genie— you have no idea how long it took me to find you so I could get you one of these. So you better be thankful.”

You scooted closer to him and you gently unwrapped the chocolate from its wrapper. You tenderly leaned on his shoulder and you can feel him lean his head on yours. You offered a broken piece out to him and he gladly took it.

Disbelief flashed across his face but it was washed away as soon as he once again laid eyes of your radiant face. Eugene gave you another small smile before popping the chocolate in his mouth.

After finishing the piece, the amused smile he had before slowly made its way to his face again.

“After all of this, instead of checking in on yourself, you went into a candy shop to get us chocolate?”

A light teasing tone with the tiniest hints of concern coated his words and you gave him nothing but a glance. Eugene let out a breathy chuckle that was only accented by his husky voice and familiar accent. You really couldn’t help but let out one of your own chuckles while your face heated up. You then broke off another piece and handed it over to the medic.

“I have my ways— And stop with the questions, just enjoy your chocolate, will you?” You replied, shoving more pieces of chocolate to him.

Eugene offered you one last glance and smile before looking forward and relishing in the sweet moment you two shared.

--------------

You didn’t know how long you were traveling, but it was obviously more than a couple of days. You lost a basic concept of time and all you focused on was how to get back to Easy. The snow made everything harder and you could’ve sworn you were already dead. The amount of times you almost got captured or shot were too many to count.

For now, you were just slowly relying on luck.

But you needed to get back to them, you desperately needed to. No matter how long it’ll take or how hard it’s going to be, you were determined to finally see them.

To see the boys. To see him. In times where you almost gave up, Eugene popped up into your mind. It was only then that you found the strength to keep traveling.

The crushing of the snow grew redundant and it wasn’t long before you grew sick of it. Your only support was the trees but you had already lost feeling in your limbs a long time ago.

Small fires were made during the night but they never lasted long. You got used to the biting air of the forest but of course you would do anything to get out of it.

It took a long time to get the Germans off your tail and it was even harder staying low. The instance of you falling into a hidden German foxhole still left you in disbelief and in shock. You luckily weren’t hurt and most of the injuries you sustained were minor and didn’t need any serious maintenance.

The forest was a maze; it was a wonder that you managed to make it out. But at least you’d die of hypothermia or starvation instead of a bullet wound. Either way, you still had to find Easy.

It’d felt so long since you were separated from them in Bastogne— waking up trapped in somebody else’s foxhole and only getting out to see that all of them were gone.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and you took a coat from a German you killed a few days ago. As much as it disgusted you that you were wearing one of your enemy’s clothes, it did keep you warm. So you sucked it up and put it over the coat you wore since you came into this icy hellscape.

You took shelter in the destroyed towns nearby, and you knew you’d find them soon. It’s been so long already and knowing them they were probably already done with their mission in Foy. From what you could remember, Haguenau was the next spot. Based on the map you stole a long time ago, you were pretty darn close.

If the cold wasn’t going to drive you mad then this certainly will. It wasn’t long before the sun set and night fell over the destroyed town. After finding shelter in a broken house, you immediately went to work on a small fire on the floor. The tiny pile of branches you gathered lit up into flames and a long sigh of exasperation fell from your lips.

“Holy shit— Finally…”

You brought your numb hands close to the fire and for once you actually felt warm. Maybe this time you wouldn’t have to put this fire out, maybe this time you can finally fall asleep for more than 3 hours. You continued to hold your hands close to the flames as you looked around your surroundings, flinching at every sound.

Sleep caught up to you though and you could ever so slightly feel the heavy lids of your eyes drooping, your cumbersome body slumped down against the long and your cold fingers gripped onto the fabric of your coat. You huddled closer into the little warmth that you have and your tense body relaxed.

Though where you lied was all but comfortable you couldn’t help your eyes from closing and your whole body from succumbing into sleep.

Not even a few hours later, your tired eyes open up and get used to the building around you. It wasn’t even morning, and the crack of dawn was just peeking around the corner. You let out a few grumbles into the silence and you huff, white puffs of air forming in the cold air.

The floorboards creaked as you stood up before centering yourself on the hardwood floor beneath you. The small fire was long extinguished and the burnt remains stayed on the floor. Your feet ached as if trying to get you back to settle down, even for just a few moments.

Overwhelming urges to go back to the broken down house bounced to and fro in your mind. But the strong desire to once again lay your eyes upon the company which you called family swiftly took over. A new surge of motivation flourished through you and the numbing ache you felt was soon nothing but washed out.

The cold air was just as overbearing and the chattering of your teeth was the only thing that your ears could pick up. It was slightly dark, and the sun just barely peaked over the horizon, and you longed for its rays to shine upon your frigid form. You could only long for so much though, so you chucked the thought away and carried on.

Large destroyed buildings loomed over you, and the soon to be bright sky made everything seem ominous. You brought your shivering arms to wrap around yourself, trying to take in as much warmth your cold body could offer.

Everything had a purpose in life, but you still don’t understand why life decided to fuck you up this much.

All you wanted to be back in Eugene’s arms, to hear his comforting voice, and to run your hands through his dark hair once more. You’ll do it. For him you’ll make it. Just for him to take you up in his embrace. That thought was more than enough to push you. You were so, so close. You could make it. You knew you could.

Each step was worth it and before you knew it the sun rose, the bright rays just peeking ever so slightly beyond the dead trees. This might be the only time that you’re the only one moving in the vicinity. If it weren’t for you chattering your teeth and not feeling anything in your body, this walk might’ve actually been calming.

If you planned correctly and only took a few breaks that are about 2 hours maximum, you could make it to Haguenau in the afternoon. You’ll finally see the boys and be reunited with Easy after being separated from them for more than a week. The thought filled you with warmth no coat or sun could ever give you.

But fucking damn the snow. It made everything harder than it needed to be. It was only two miles but yet the snow made it seem like 200. Hours went by and you took as little breaks as possible. Laying down on the snow with your back on a tree as you tried to reclaim your lost breath.

Things were serene almost. And by that you meant at least you weren’t getting shot at and trees weren’t exploding all around you.

Then you saw it— the ever so faint outline of what looked to be a small town. This was it, you thought. It was right there, just out of your reach. Your slow steps from before grew more frantic as you neared the grey looking town. You shrugged off your coat, you knew they would start blasting if they thought you were a German soldier.

The coat dropped limply to the snowy floor and your (E/C) picked up a few figures along the edge. It was so blurry, why was it so fucking blurry?

Shivering and huffing, you whispered words of encouragement to yourself, “Come on, come on. You’re almost there... You can make it...”

The two men you saw raised up their rifles to take aim at you, yet you couldn’t bring the strength to raise the icicles you called arms. Instead you kept shuffling forward. Your movement was sluggish and your coordination wasn’t the best at the moment, but you plowed on.

The figures held their ground and with each passing second, the cold wasn’t bothering you— it was the fear that you’ll get shot by your own friends.

Shoving the thought away, you instead focused on the town— no matter how blurry it was. Your knees and legs almost gave out beneath you, yet you somehow still found the willpower to hold yourself up. The soldiers gave each other a look as their eyes focused on your form.

Babe’s breath hitched as he recognized you. He immediately lowered down his weapon and threw his fellow paratrooper a wide-eyed look.

Your knees and legs almost gave out beneath you, yet you somehow still found the strength to hold yourself up. The soldiers gave each other a look as their eyes focused on your form.

Babe’s breath hitched as he recognized you. He immediately lowered down his weapon and threw his fellow paratrooper a wide-eyed look.

“Jesus Christ, lower your fucking gun, Lieb— It’s (Y/N)... It’s (Y/N)!” Heffron yelled vehemently into his friend’s ear.

Liebgott also dropped his gun, he squinted his eyes at you and his jaw grew slack. He was left in shock and all sorts of emotions shone throughout his face in the matter of mere seconds. A look was shared between the two men. After a brief moment of standing still to take the moment in, they broke out into a sprint.

Your body collapsed into them as they reached you, their two arms hoisting you up as you could only pick out a few words. (E/C) eyes grew weary and tired, and you simply let fatigue take over your being.

Liebgott and Babe grew increasingly worried and it wasn’t long before they panicked. They shook you hard and your chin was tilted up to meet their faces.

“She’s freezing—”

“Yeah no shit, Babe. C’mon we need to get her back into town and get her to Roe—”

Everything was fading but your chapped lips stretched into a faint grin. You could faintly see their faces, and you have never been any happier to see a person this much. Babe’s hand cradled your head as they slowly brought you up. Liebgott carried your limp body and brought one of your arms to hang over his neck.

The two men hurried so fast into the town and you couldn’t pick up anything other than fragments of sentences. Your eyes drooped and your teeth chattered unbelievably hard. Your head was pounding and everything was just a cacophony of various sounds, nothing made sense.

“She— passing out—”

“—here the— is Roe— Bring h— over here—”

Roe… You recognized that name. Genie, your Genie— Everything was such a blur, it was all chaos in your mind. But you’re here, and you’ll get to meet Eugene after how long. It was worth the wait, you’re going to finally see him.

Whatever was going on didn’t matter anymore and you tuned out the distant shouts and ruckus. Your eyes fluttered shut and your expression was nothing but content, after all, you had a certain Cajun man in your mind. The whole world went black and you inevitably passed out in the arms of Liebgott.

-------------

Everyone in Haguenau was utterly shocked when they caught wind of what happened. Others were in glee, some relieved and happy, but the majority was shrouded with a thick cloud of doubt and disbelief.

Questions were thrown left and right but no one could find a definite answer. All words that were about to escape were cut short at what was to come.

Rumors were turned into facts and all who rejected the idea could only gawk at the sight. Multiple eyes rake over the two men frantically yelling and running like their lives depended on it. But their focus was immediately averted to you— the weak soldier in the arms of Lieb.

It was hectic and no one knew what to do next, but the shouts of the fiery-headed man brought them out of their daze.

Desperate cries for the medic rang for a few moments and then after what felt like an eternity, the Cajun man arrived. It’s an understatement to say that his heart stopped as soon as his eyes ran over your unconscious form.

Caught frozen in the moment it was only when Martin practically shoved him into your direction did he start moving.

Nodding stiffly with his cerulean eyes blown wide open, almost everyone in the area rushed to the building where all of Roe’s supplies laid. The door busted upon and could’ve flown off it’s rusty hinges at that point, but everyone’s nerves were wrecked to oblivion.

The shuffling and the jagged huffs of air you released filled the air. They laid you on the wooden table in the center of the room, gingerly plopping your body on the rough surface.

Cold. You were so cold and barely hanging onto an inch of your life… Eugene felt himself grow more rushed and panicked with every move he took, yet he still proceeded each step with the precision and stability any medic wished they had.

He remembered to treat you with the utmost care and gentleness and carefully shrugged off your soddy coat. Removing his own, he dressed you his dry and warmer coat.

“Blankets,” Eugene uttered while looking into Lipton’s eyes

Lipton was too busy fretting over your being and when Eugene said the word, and he couldn’t make out a word. “Roe, what?”

“Sir, just give me blankets, please,” the medic practically keened.

The First Sergeant let out a hum of acknowledgement before rushing off to God-knows-where to get the blankets Eugene so desperately and quietly pleaded for. As soon as Lipton disappeared behind a corner, all of Eugene’s attention was on you.

Requesting hot water, Roe immediately soaked a towel in it. Removing excess moisture before letting it cool down for a few moments, he placed the warm towel on your neck. He poured out all his medical knowledge into action, he needed to keep you alive. Eugene needed to.

He couldn’t lose you again, he wouldn’t allow it.

His mind processed so many things, like how you suddenly appeared after everyone thought you… Thought you died. Appearing out of nowhere, collapsing, and in severe need of warmth. Nonetheless, you were alive and breathing. You were back and now all his answers have been answered.

With the heavy weight lifting from his chest, a new weight arrived and took its place. Right now, all he needed to do was to get blood circulating through your body and to keep you warm.

He just hopes he can deal with the emotions that would later come, and he most definitely hopes that you’ll make it out of this just alright.

“Roe. The blankets,” Lipton returned and in his arms were a heaping pile of blankets which would be more than okay.

“Thank you, Sergeant,” Eugene thanked curtly as he took the heavy pile off his hands and placed them on the cold stone floor.

“Of course, Eugene,” while Lip had addressed him, his eyes were still glued at your shut eyes. The fatherly compassion in his face made Eugene feel warm for just a bit before taking a glance at your serene expression.

Eugene’s hands grabbed about four and laid them across your form, and he took two more to make a makeshift pillow. Tenderly raising up your head, he placed it under and let out a sigh in relief as he finished treating you. The soft rise of your chest reassured him that you were sleeping well, the frigid temperatures of your skin subsiding and returning to normal.

You’d be alright, you just needed to rest and wake up and Eugene couldn’t wait more for that moment to arrive. Loosely dropping the blanket he held tightly in his fist, Eugene made his way over to you. Everyone had crowded around the table but made space back when Roe told them to make room.

Everyone had crowded around the table but made space back when Roe told them to make room. They mimicked his actions, and stepped closer like before. They were all so nervous, but they all held caring and content looks in their eyes.

As time passed, more and more of the men left the building to go to their bunks. But every time they left, they made sure to spare you one last glance before retreating into the afternoon.

Soon enough it was only him, Babe, Lipton, Speirs, and Winters left in the building— the commanding officers talking amongst themselves while throwing concerned glances at you. Heffron opted to stay on the other side of the table, biting nervously at his fingernails.

“(Y/N) will wake up soon, right?” Heffron questioned, his voice quavering ever so slightly and Eugene turned his eyes to him.

Babe’s eyes were so filled with hope that Eugene couldn’t help but agree too— his own orbs begging for everything to be alright.

Everyone in the room kept watch for as long as they could, but it was only so soon that they had to attend to their own duties. Lipton definitely made sure to give words of encouragement and comfort to the shaken medic and soon he left with Winters and Speirs, the latter offering a stable nod of the head whilst leaving.

“Don’t worry Roe, (Y/N)... (Y/N) will be alright, she’s strong. (Y/N)’s stronger than anyone I know.”

“You… You think so?” The Cajun man carefully began as his dexterous hands took off his helmet to run his fingers through them.

“I know so.”

Lipton placed his glove-laden hand on Roe’s shoulder, the gesture made the tension in his body lessen by just a bit. He gave a salute which Eugene returned and he wistfully watched his company return to their prior business.

With just the two of you left in the building, Eugene let his walls go down and he collapsed on a nearby chair. Both of his hands flashed up to sink themselves deep in his ebony hair, the sniffling of his nose overtaking the silence. It’d been so long since he last cried… It’d been even longer since he saw you…

The salty tears blurred his vision but he hastily rubbed them away, the rough fabric taking them off and clearing his sight.

He dragged the wooden chair closer to you and his hands reached out hesitantly to caress your face. Eugene delicately moved stray strands of your hair away from your face and the back of his hand rested on your forehead to check your temperature.

A melancholy look was glazed over his gray-blue eyes and he slowly retracted his hand away from your forehead. Now that the dust had settled, the realization hit him, and with that came the many thoughts.

You were alive, that was obvious enough, but he couldn’t over the fact that you were. Eugene felt immensely relieved that you were, he wouldn’t be able to live if you weren’t. But seeing you limp in Liebgott’s arms left him frozen as if he was being taken back to your abrupt appearance just about two hours ago.

Eugene’s pale hand found its way on your warm cheek, with you subconsciously nuzzling yourself into the palm of his hand— the action making him weak. You had always used to do that and a tender fondness washed over his once tense features.

All in all, he was completely overjoyed that you were here— even if you weren’t conscious, you were still here. If Eugene’s mind wasn’t keeping him busy, he spent his time checking up and taking care of you.

“I just… You’re back..” Eugene drawled out, even if he knew you couldn’t hear what he was saying. Maybe it was better that way…

He had to choke back tears as he continued, emotion pouring out with every word, “I missed you— I missed you a lot actually.”

Even without anyone listening, Eugene acted like there was— with no one there to judge him, he spoke with utmost passion. It had been long subdued and held back, and in those short moments Eugene had spoken more than he ever had in the past days. His fists were aching from how hard they were clench, appearing ghostly white as he continued spouting heartfelt words from his lips.

“I love you, (Y/N). I was so scared that I lost you, I love you so much, mon ange…” Eugene held your still hand, and there you remained serenely resting.

The words hung in the air, dissipating into nothing as seconds passed by. His term of endearment used to feel heavy on his mouth whenever he had said it, but now at this time— it felt right, it fit.

Eugene’s nerves were utterly wrecked, but your presence was the best thing that has ever happened to him. Two weeks, two weeks since Eugene thought he lost you in Bastogne. But he stopped worrying because all of his prayers were answered.

With his back to the old wooden chair, he observed the light pouring out from the dusty windows— almost golden even though it was a bit too early in the afternoon for it. Eugene felt tumultuous and he tried his hardest to come to terms with today’s events. Tilting his head down he folded his hands and shut his eyelids. With a final look to your passed-out figure, he let out an affectionate smile.

It wasn’t long before Eugene too fell into unconsciousness— his mind being transported to dreamland with you in his head.

“I love you, mon ange,” he mumbled quietly, just hoping you could hear him even in your state.

The soft smile on Eugene’s face was prominent then.

----------

The early afternoon light turned dark, the light—even filled with smoke—shone its pinkish and golden hues through the grimy windows of the brick buildings. It wasn’t long until the evening colors turned into ones of navy blue and soon dark cobalt, the moon shining dimly in the sky. Eugene was still passed out, arms crossed and as still as he could be.

No one decided to bother the medic, and anyone who decided to enter the building anyway decided to do so quietly. A menagerie of people checked up on you and Eugene through the hours, but nonetheless people were sparse. With no patrols, wounded, or future assignments, Eugene could stay in that building for as long he wanted to.

His helmet rested idle next to his chair, and the room looked like a moment frozen in time.

The lantern casted a yellow glow throughout the space, shadows playing on the medic’s face and the edge of the room. And that was where you found yourself, wrapped in blankets, in an unknown rickety building. Nonetheless you were warm and you were thankful for that.

Yet you still felt fuzzy, like static was making a home in your brain. You softly let out a groan, your shoulders sore and your skin tingling.

“Shit… My head…” you brought a shaky hand to your temples and the pile of blankets fell off your torso and pooled in your lap.

The old wooden table creaked with each movement and you didn’t notice the sleeping figure sitting on the side of you. The corners of the moon could barely be seen from the angle you were in, and your tired digits clenched around the thin fabric that was splayed out in front of you.

You were in… That was right— you were in Haguenau. You made it, saw Babe and Lieb and inevitably passed out. That was all in the morning, it must be. Just how long have you been passed out? It must’ve been half the day.

Your weary (E/C) eyes glanced across the room, taking in your surroundings. With the dim lantern light bathing you, it was quite hard to make out anything. Turning your head slowly left and right you jump out of your skin when you see a body just beside you.

Your eyes widen swiftly, your mouth agape. But looking closer, it wasn’t just anybody. Bringing your palm to your chest to calm your turbulent heartbeat, you gazed at him— to assure yourself that you weren’t hallucinating.

It was Eugene— good God it was Eugene.

Gathering your thoughts, you leaned forward, slightly wincing at the slightly numb and uncomfortable feeling of your abdomen and legs. Your eyes held want and need, you never wanted someone so badly. A strong urge to just throw away the regard of your own safety and bounce into his arms was tempting, but you knew better than to do that.

You’d simply pass out again, and if you were to die right here in this moment, then so be it. One glance at the ebony locks that were lightly tousled, the same ones you loved to run your (S/C) hands through, was enough to make your heart weak.

His closed eyes just radiated like unexplored waters, and even when sleeping he held such a refined grace and elegance.

This must’ve been the longest sleep he’s had in days, and while you had gone through considerably worse these few days, your heart panged at the thought of him not getting enough rest.

“Eugene…?”

It slipped out suddenly, you didn’t even mean to utter anything. But his eyes opened before you could even register the fact that you did speak.

Ever the light sleeper or even borderline insomniac, Eugene bolted up. Stormy blue orbs revealing themselves and his whole upper body staggering up at the sudden noise. While soft, it was clearly abrupt, and so it woke him up immediately.

At first he thought it was one of the boys, maybe one of them telling him to come back to the bunks or something similar. But when his head lurched its direction at the door, no one was there.

Blinking away his grogginess, he saw you. Awake. Right in front of him.

Even though it was you who needed the most rest, you made the first move. Steadily balancing yourself on the table with your legs hanging loosely on the edge, your head tilted and your eyes glassy. Eugene Roe didn’t want to cry, he wanted his first moment with you to be happy.

But tears don’t listen to the silent pleas of broken soldiers. And so they fell on his trousers, wet droplets plopping gently on the fabric.

With a blink on an eye, the moment was cut short by your sudden movements. The flickering of the lamp illuminating your tired face as you plopped from the table with a wince. The patter of your feet as you trekked the small distance which separated you and your lover. The longing in your heart ceased, but even with Eugene there your heart seemed to crave more once again.

Chuckling dryly through his tears, Eugene took off his gloves, “Ain’t this the part where I tell you to keep resting?”

The first thing he says to you and it’s one of his stupid jokes, Gene mentally reprimanded himself but when he saw you smile he didn’t think it was such a bad idea anymore. The first laugh you had in such a long time bubbled in your dry throat, you softly coughing after the act.

Eugene stood up with a concerned look in his eyes, only stopping himself when you held your hand up.

You were the first to break, as you collapsed yourself onto Eugene’s chest as he stood up. Eugene’s tears were long gone, but yours were only starting. You sobbed silently as you clutched his uniform. You grabbed at him fervently, hoping to find leverage.

With your hands running intensely around his body— just wanting to touch any part of him. Any.

It’s been far too long and you just wanted to hug him so tight you couldn’t breathe anymore.

Two weeks may not seem like much, but in war two weeks felt like an eternity. A lot occurred in those two weeks—Eugene Roe broke and snapped and you almost succumbed to Mother Nature. But it was good now— no Germans, no missing lovers, and no more fucking snow. It was almost unbelievable, like a dream.

The absence in your heart has been filled, but you wanted to stay whole for as long as you can— so you held onto him like your life depended on it. With trembling fingers and quavering breath, you feverishly embraced him, and he too returned your hold with as much fervor. You missed him, you missed him too much.

“Welcome back, mon ange...”

“Well,” you gestured to the old building and walls enclosing you both, “This certainly doesn’t look like heaven.”

Gene only lightly smiled, his eyes focusing on your face. He took it in, desperate to keep your figure in his head. He’ll never forgive himself if he doesn’t remember the exact planes in your face for even a moment. You stood there too, dazed. You had only just woken up and yet you were already straining yourself, but for Gene it was worth it.

The comedic and light moment left as quickly as it came, getting washed away by the somber atmosphere like a powerful tidal wave. Eugene was the one who went out to hold you this time, but it was none at all like yours.

His hold was secure and controlled, although you could tell he was practically yearning to hold you intensely like you did with him.

While not the passionate hold you gave him, it held as much love and adoration. Eugene didn’t need words to express his happiness, relief, and sorrow for he was quite literally the human embodiment of ‘actions speak louder than words’.

Everything was so ephemeral, with the blink of an eye it could all vanish. But the love that you held for Eugene said otherwise. Oh you pleaded internally that someone will let this be the lifetime where you spend an eternity with him. That finally this will be the time where you won’t have to worry about no longer having Eugene by your side.

Tears sprang up from your eyes again, tumbling down slowly on your cheeks, “I thought— I thought I was never going to see you again. I… I thought I was going to die Gene, I r-really did, I was so close…”

“I thought so too, but we’re here now.” he wiped your tears away with a swipe, his cold lips pressing kisses on your forehead.

“Wha-what if I didn’t see you, or if I took a wrong turn? And the last thing I would see would just be snow and not you—”

With a soft but firm look on his features, he shook his head as if to say ‘no more’, “(Y/N)... I would walk around for miles to find you if I could.”

You clamped your mouth shut and nodded with each word from his mouth, and you buried your head deeper into his hold. The dank room seemed much brighter with you in his embrace, the whole town seemed to light up in fact.

Everyone has such expectant and hopeful faces and they were immensely glad that you were back with them. Cold as you were then, you still managed to be brighter than the sun. Eugene could honestly go on for hours listing all the beautiful adjectives he could use to describe you.

Eugene held you as if he had no intentions of ever letting you slip from his secure grasp. If there was no tomorrow, he should at least enjoy this sacred moment while it lasts— to forever savor it and reminisce about it when his time comes.

You begged anything to let this fleeting moment last, to forever be one with the one you loved most.

“Never let me go, Genie.”

“I won’t…”

“Please?”

“I love you too much to lose you again...”

With a word or with a sentence, Eugene could make you feel anything. And with that uttered statement, he made you feel at peace. A compassionate look that held a million unspoken words was bestowed upon you, for a fraction of a second you could feel him pressing the faintest of kisses on your lips.

And for the first time in this chaotic unfolding of events, you felt happy.

----------

Author’s Note: Well here it is, my last fic before I go. But thank you for making it all the way to the end of this long fic, I love y’all so much. I hope y’all will have a good day and I’ll be sendin’ some good vibes 😩💕

#band of brothers #band of brothers x reader #eugene roe #eugene roe x reader #hbo war #hbo war x reader #band of brothers fanfiction

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shijiujun · 4 years

Text

[ENG] History3: Trapped Novel - Epilogue One: “And After, Tang Yi & Shao Fei”

~3,700 words

Translation Masterpost can be found here

Disclaimer: Translations are entirely mine and Wei’s - these are not official translations and some phrases have been changed for better English interpretation so you’ll definitely see better/different translations elsewhere. Also keeping in mind when we translated this we aren’t exactly thinking about the style of writing and this translation is as close to the novel as we can make it XD So yes, some parts may be a little awkward to read. And yes some teeny weeny details and words may not turn up in the translation because the Chi to Eng mind acrobatics didn’t work out. If you see asterisks, scroll all the way to the bottom for notes!

Epilogue One: “And After, Tang Yi & Shao Fei”

N Years Later, Shi Hao Corporation’s Building

A secretary, wearing high heels and dressed in a sharp blazer and pencil skirt ensemble, holds onto a freshly printed contract for a construction project and walks into the meeting room.

She bends slightly, standing next to the CEO and says softly, “Boss, this is the second version of the contract, if I could trouble you to check it over?”

“Nnn, just leave it here and I’ll have a look at it later. And also, make an appointment with Boss Chen for tomorrow evening at 7pm later, at…”

The man, clad in a sleek suit, simultaneously gives his secretary her tasks while listening to each department manager reporting on their respective progress. Suddenly, from the man’s jacket pocket comes the sound of a phone’s vibrations, and all the subordinates seated nearer to him all gesture to the other people in the room with their gazes and mouths after realising what is going on. At that, even the department manager currently giving his presentation ceases to speak, as he points the controller at the screen projector to pause his timed presentation.

“Ex-boss, Captain Meng has gotten injured, and he’s already been sent to Dr Jiang’s private hospital.”

“Nnn.”

The man immediately stands from his seat after ending the call and straightens out the wrinkles in his shirt before walking out of the silent meeting room with an upset expression on his face. Only when the CEO has entirely disappeared from their line of vision does everyone exhale nervously, as if a ban has just been lifted with the man’s departure.

“Whew…. Let the boys know to go over to Dr Jiang’s hospital and stay there, don’t let Boss or Captain Meng run into any more problems.”

After so many years of working on reforming Xing Tian Meng, the Xing Tian Meng that existed in the underworld no longer exists, and while it is entirely unavoidable that they still have some influence there, major departments in the company have actively tried not to step into the dealings of the underworld again.

“Should we call CEO Zuo to come back and take over?”

The department manager who was interrupted and forced to pause halfway through his presentation directs the question at the people seated nearest to him, looking at the projector.

“You fucking-”

Used to using these profanities to start any sentence, the man who just spoke automatically trails off. He glares at the department manager instead.

Coughing awkwardly, he says, “Do you want to die? Even if CEO Zuo said yes, Brother Dao Yi will never agree to it.”

Everyone else nods fervently.

That’s right, CEO Zuo and Brother Dao Yi finally got pregnant after much difficulty three years after they got married, and seeing as she was expected to be due in a few days, who would dare to ask CEO Zuo to come back to the office to handle work at this point? The Boss getting angry was one thing, but first they would have to go through Brother Dao Yi.

Geez! Just thinking about it makes everyone shiver and break out in cold sweat.

“Forget it, let’s settle the items that do not need the Boss’ final decision first, and the rest, we’ll wait for the boss to come back.”

“You’re right.”

Everyone present in the room is at the managerial level, so they immediately come up with a replacement for today’s agenda and continue with Shi Hai Corporation’s scheduled meeting while waiting for the boss, even if they don’t know when he’ll actually come back.

Hospital

“Fuck! Meng Shao Fei do you think that I’m that free every day? Didn’t I warn you not to rush to the frontlines and take on everything by yourself first every time you run into a problem? I still have two surgeries to scrub in on today, and in the end? I have to be here to wrap up your wounds for you. God, my life is so tough. This can obviously be passed on to a nurse to deal with but because of someone’s orders, I have to repeatedly revise my Year One course in basic nursing.”

Dr Jiang glares at the Captain who was personally escorted to his hospital just for a small 10cm wound, made by a perp with a knife.

“Hehe, thank you!” laughs Shao Fei breathily with his mouth wide, as he sits on the hospital bed and enjoys the special treatment that the hospital usually affords only their top VIPs.

That year, Captain Shi was thoroughly investigated by prosecutors due to his involvement with illicit drug smuggling and the double homicide case, which ended with him leaving the police force for good. And that very night that Captain Shi took the congratulatory pastries from Shao Fei from his daughter’s wedding, he left Shao Fei with one thing.

“Shao Fei, I’ll leave Team 3 in your hands.”

In the beginning, he didn’t understand what Captain Shi meant, until the new staff shuffle orders came from Human Resources, and that’s when he found out that Chief, while making his confession to his superiors, also offered a suggestion to their commanding officer.

“If you guys are looking for someone to take over my position and continue to lead Team 3, I recommend Meng Shao Fei to take on the position of Captain.”

Just like that, after a period of training and assessments, he is now sitting in Chief’s previous position. Before, the sound of Chief yelling was the thing Team 3 heard the most often; now, the responsibility of teaching the rookies has fallen on Shao Fei’s head.

“Meng. Shao. Fei!”

A cold voice echoes, and each word stabs right at Shao Fei’s ears as the door to the hospital room slides open.

The man whose name was called immediately freezes, and with wide eyes, Shao Fei looks at Tang Yi approaching him, not daring to move in the slightest.

“You’re finally here,” Dr Jiang side eyes the man who he expects would be here, and his voice dripping with sarcasm, he comments lightly, “Tang Yi, your darling baby’s wound has been given stitches and is all wrapped up properly. Hurry bring him home and discipline him, and stop wasting my gauze and antiseptic solution! He’s also taking up my VIP ward!”

Once he is done speaking, Dr Jiang pats at his robes with his hands and leaves the ward with the emergency first aid kit with him.

Tang Yi walks over to the side of the bed. Gently picking up Shao Fei’s bandaged left arm and hand, he asks with furrowed brows, “What happened this time?”

“How would I have known that the perp had a second knife on him? A moment of carelessness… and… this happened.”

Shao Fei swallows hard, and decides to omit the part where the knife came really close to his arterial vein on his neck, lest his ‘punishment’ becomes more severe.

Suddenly, Tang Yi takes out a metal pen from his chest pocket, plucking off the pen’s cover and viciously scratches himself on the arm, in the same spot as Shao Fei’s wound.

“What are you doing?!” Shao Fei yells angrily, and snatches Tang Yi’s weapon in hand away.

“Does your heart hurt?”

“Nonsense!”

Shao Fei grits his teeth and reaches out for the call button to get Dr Jiang who just left the room to come back. Just as he’s about to do so, Tang Yi firmly locks his hand around Shao Fei’s wrist to stop his movements.

“How much does it hurt?”

“It hurts a lot! You better fucking let go of me, I’m going to find Dr. Jiang-”

Tang Yi suddenly moves to cradle Shao Fei’s face with his hands, and kisses Shao Fei, who is in the midst of yelling at him.

Shao Fei has gotten used to intimacy with Tang Yi and out of habit, simply returns the kiss passionately, until rationality returns to him. Only then does Shao Fei push at Tang Yi, who’s kissing him so deeply. Idly, he chides himself for letting his mind wander off to other things right at this moment.

“Have you cooled down?”

“Not possible,” Shao Fei says as he picks up some tissue from the side and presses on the wound Tang Yi made on his left arm, treating the cut in the crudest way possible.

“Meng Shao Fei, since you can’t protect yourself well and not make me worry, then on the same spot where you get injured, I will injure myself as well. If you don’t want to see me continue hurting myself, then please restrain yourself, and protect yourself well. Your body is no longer just yours, because it’s an extension of me, and likewise, our bodies now belong to each other.”

“I’m sorry…. Tang Yi, I’m sorry…,” Shao Fei says guiltily, his mouth pressed next to Tang Yi’s ear and hugging the man before him tight.

“We’re finally together after so much hardship, I really don’t want to lose you.”

“I know…”

“So tonight, forget about sleeping.”

“Huh?”

The sudden switch in Tang Yi’s mood stuns Shao Fei, who was feeling so guilty a second ago. Now, all he can do is make weird noises, his mouth wide open.

“Alright, I’ve got to head back to the office and deal with work.”

Certain now that Shao Fei does not have any life-threatening injuries, Tang Yi kisses Shao Fei softly on the forehead and leaves the VIP-only ward with a smile.

“What a cunning strategist.”

Dr Jiang is leaning against the wall outside of the room, waiting for Tang Yi as he the man walks out of the ward.

Tang Yi looks at him out of the corners of his eyes, and laughs wryly, “Likewise. I cannot compare to Dr Jiang who took advantage of Xiao Shu Gong’s compassionate heart and conned his way into his affections by acting all innocent and pitiful.”*

“Tang Yi, are you happy right now?”

“Very.”

“Then that’s all good.”

With that, Dr Jiang, who still has two surgeries scheduled for the day, immediately turns around and coolly waves, his back faced towards this good friend who he has known for so many years now.

Next to a road

“Ex-boss, Captain Meng has gotten injured, and he’s already been sent to Dr Jiang’s private hospital.”

After sending ‘intel’ back to Tang Yi, Jack keeps his phone in his jacket’s pocket and continues to appreciate his little, hot-blooded police officer (boyfriend).

“You! And you! Bring him back and proceed with getting his statement, and remember to apply for an arrest warrant with the prosecutor's office.”

“Yes!”

Zhao Zi is standing downstairs and very naturally commanding the other team members to finish their job here.

A young police officer, who was transferred over to Team 3 just half a month ago, asks with concen apparent over his face, “Will Captain be okay?”

“Don’t worry! That shady doctor is very good at his job, ah-”

Realizing what he just said, Zhao Zi quickly covers his mouth. Looking around sheepishly and only after making sure that no one within earshot would expose him to said shady doctor does Zhao Zi put down his hands.

He pats at the young officer’s shoulder and says, “Someone else will take care of anything that happens to Ah Fei. All we have to do is finish up here.”

“Okay, Zhao Zi Ge.”***

The young officer bows to Zhao Zi respectfully, then jogs over to a nearby store to request to look at their surveillance footage.

“Hehe, he called me ‘Ge’!”

Now that he’s finally been promoted from ‘Zhao Zi’ to ‘Zhao Zi Ge’, Zhao Zi scratches at the back of his head with a really happy grin, but suddenly, he hears his stomach growl. He bends his head to look at his abdomen.

“Ah! It’s 6pm!”

His body alarm is even more precise than a clock as his stomach sounds at exactly 6pm to remind him to eat. Just as he’s looking around him to find a restaurant, he hears a familiar trumpet sound from behind him on the left, and a loud voice calling his name.

“Shorty! Here, over here!”

“Jack?”

Zhao Zi turns on his left and immediately discovers the huge food truck parked next to the road, and on the truck’s signage, today’s menu is written - Fried beef noodles, Beef Hor Fun, Beef Mui Fan, Beef Fried Rice, and Beef Noodles.

“Wow-”

Zhao Zi’s attention is captured by all the delicious food. He swallows and walks to the truck, and with bright eyes, he looks at Jack, who has since left his life as a mercenary behind since his days at Xing Tian Meng, with something akin to worship.

“How did you know that I wanted to eat all these?”

“I’m your personal chef, of course I know what you’re thinking.”

Jack, who has now become ‘Fang Liang Dian’, has finally returned to life as a common, normal man. Although his Swiss bank account has enough savings to let him spend over three lifetimes, he finds that a too-relaxed life is not suitable for him, and so he has now become Zhao Zi’s house-husband. Aside from being responsible for the shorty’s meals after he returns home, he also bought a food truck, and everyday all he does is chase after his little police officer across the whole of Taiwan on this truck so that he can provide Zhao Zi with piping hot delicious food at any time.

“Wow, I want a bowl of fried beef noodles, a beef hor fun, and another beef fried rice!”****

“No problem.”

A police car suddenly approaches the truck, and Lu Jun Wei pokes his head out of the window inquisitively, then orders unceremoniously.

“You’re here again? Just in time, I was getting hungry too, can I have a plate of beef mui fan please?”

“Of course, I’ll have to take 1000 NTD from the customer,” Jack says with a smile to this unwelcome guest who interrupted the conversation between him and his shorty.*****

“What?! 1000NTD? Are you fucking scamming me?”

Jack looks at him with disdain, and shakes his head at Jun Wei, “If I told you, that these dishes were made with Japan’s A5 Wagyu Beef, will you still say that I’m scamming you?”

“.....”

A, A5 Wagyu beef?! Just a few small cubes would cost up to 2000 or 3000 NTD, and he’s actually using this beef so luxuriously in a dish of fried noodles? Fried rice? Fried hor fun? And even beef noodles?

“You’ll be punished by the gods,” Jun Wei says, but still takes out two 1000 NTD notes from his wallet, “I’ll still like to have a beef hor fun and a bowl of beef noodles.”

Even though he feels sorry towards his wallet which just became full with his salary being credited for the month, towards this accessible price, if he doesn’t eat, he will let himself down.

“No problem at all, I’ll help the customer prepare his order, but the shorty gets priority, always.”

“Yes… I totally understand…”

This isn’t the first day Jun Wei is meeting Jack, how could he not know that this man’s principle of putting his Zhao Zi first?

Zhao Zi touches his ear and with a bit of embarrassment, says, “Jun Wei, sorry about this. I was here a few minutes earlier than you, that’s why.”

Jun Wei rolls his eyes at his junior who’s always this slow on the uptake, and cannot be bothered to explain to Zhao Zi why exactly his turn is behind Zhao Zi’s.

In the delivery room

“Gu, Dao, Yi,” Hong Ye, who’s currently lying on the operating table getting ready to deliver, yells angrily as she holds onto Dao Yi’s hand.

“Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. Remember you have to breathe later, breathe in, and breathe out… That’s right, breathe in, breathe out… Very good. Miss, you’re doing very well.”

“Didn’t I tell you that you’re not allowed to call me ‘miss’ anymore? Damn it! Where did that doctor go?”

“I’m sorry, don’t get so worked up der. Dr Jiang has already assigned his junior from the maternity center to be in charge of your delivery, so don’t worry. After all, Dr Jiang does not specialise in this.”

“Junior?! Can that doctor’s junior be trusted? Ah…. I’m in so much pain…”

“Don’t worry dear, Dr Wu’s reputation precedes him in this field, just leave yourself and the baby in his hands!”

“Gu Dao Yi I’m telling you first, I’m definitely not having a second one!”

Damn it, if it wasn’t because of how much she loved this man, Hong Ye would never have insisted on having their own baby, destroying her figure and taking on the risks of pregnancy and then giving birth to the child.

“Okay okay, we won’t, we won’t, our hands will be full with one child anyway.”

“Ah…. ouch-”

A few hours later, Hong Ye successfully gave birth to a cute daughter, and the new mom who has used up all her strength during delivery is wheeled into a single ward to rest.

A week later, the new baby’s uncles can finally visit at the newborn’s nursery in the hospital and are queuing up outside along the corridor, waiting for the curtains to be pulled open in five minutes.

After the curtains are pulled back, Shao Fei is the first one rushing to the windows with Hong Ye’s ward number, and inside, a nurse swiftly finds the baby among all the other babies in the room, bringing her to the window.

Shao Fei looks excitedly at the little baby, and says, “Wow, how adorable, Tang Yi look, next time the little princess will call you Uncle!”

“Don’t worry! I’ll teach her to first call you ‘aunt’!”

Tang Yi looks at his lover and smirks, and Shao Fei returns his remark with an eyeroll.

“Tch!”

Jack moves over to Dao Yi’s side, smiles and nods, “Dao Yi Ge, you’ve worked hard.”

Ever since Hong Ye’s pregnancy began, her temper became worser than before, and even Tang Yi who dotes on her the most was angered so much a few times, to the point where he just walked away, simmering with fury. Shao Fei usually argues with Hong Ye every meal on a normal day, not to mention during the period when she was pregnant. Only Dao Yi, who’s so well tempered, can handle his wife’s notorious temper, facing it with a smile from day one.

“Miss- Hong Ye worked even harder,” Dao Yi smiles.

Even though they’ve been married for a few years, old habits are really hard to change and he often calls her ‘Miss’, which resulted in Hong Ye leaving the house in anger, because she really hates that.

These nine months they really troubled the gelato ice-cream store’s boss. Usually, the boss changes the flavours available rather often, but to soothe his Hong Ye, Dao Yi asked him to always have the mint chocolate and mango sorbet flavours in store, just waiting for Hong Ye to visit. It also helped Dao Yi to know exactly where he could pick up Hong Ye from whenever she left the house angry.

Jack’s lips curve as he walks towards Zhao Zi, who’s pressed against the window glass entertaining the little princess. Sliding his arm around Zhao Zi’s waist, he asks, “You like children so much?”

“Of course I do! Babies are so adorable, who wouldn’t like them?”

“I don’t. They’re noisy, a nuisance, and they don’t understand human speech.”

The most important thing is, he can’t even lock the baby up in a cage like he would a pet, because he would be charged with abusing a child.

Zhao Zi looks so wistful then, and says, “So you don’t like children? And here I was thinking during Lunar New Year we’ll spring clean and take out my childhood photos for you to see. In this case, forget it then!”

“Wait! You said… whose childhood pictures?”

“Me! If not, who else?”

The moment he hears that it’s Zhao Zi’s photos, he demands, “I want to see!”

“Didn’t you say you dislike kids? They’re noisy, a nuisance, and don’t understand human speech? I think we should just forget it, what if you see me when I was younger, and then end up disliking me now?”

“Impossible,” retorts Jack immediately.

“But what if?”

“As long as it’s you, the younger you, or the older you… I like them all.”

Zhao Zi feels his cheeks heat then, and turns to look at Shao Fei, who’s laughing at him from the side.

“You, you, be quiet! You’re going to bother the little princess.”

“I don’t care, take out all the photos and give them to me. Everything of yours, they’re mine.”

“Okay!”

Once Jack sees Zhao Zi agree, his face all red, Jack’s expression morphs into that of a smile, and then he also bends forward to look at the fidgeting little baby on the other side of the glass.

“Hey, shorty.”

“What?”

“You really like children that much?”

Zhao Zi looks at his lover, and teases, “Didn’t you just ask me that?”

“Then…” Jack deliberately trails on, looking at the shorty’s face from the side, and very naughtily continues, “Shall we give birth to one then?”

“...”

Zhao Zi stares with wide eyes, turning to glare at Jack.

“No, one is not enough, you have to give me two. They better both be daughters, and they should look like me. When they grow up they’re guaranteed to be beauties,” Jack begins to fantasize about his future daughters.

He’s very proud and confident about his own looks.

“Fang, Liang, Dian!” Zhao Zi says through gritted teeth, syllable by syllable.

“Hnn?”

“Giving birth? Fucking hell, I’m a man! Go and die!”******

Zhao Zi lifts his leg and takes aim at one of Jack’s legs, but the man easily dodges the kick. With one person kicking and the other one dodging, in the end the both of them make so much noise that the head nurse ends up kicking them both out of the floor that holds the nursery room.

===

Notes:

*”The artefact which has just been unearthed” - This is from the last episode, where Dr Jiang basically calls Tang Yi an antique which has never seen the light - In Chinese it works as a ‘name’ to call Tang Yi, but when translated there’s no way to translate it correctly without it sounding dumb lmao! The closest would be Dr Jiang going ‘hey you antique’ but that’s not exactly what the words mean, so I went with Tang Yi instead of “the artefact”

**Xiao Shu Gong is one of the characters from History2: Right of Wrong, Shi Yi Jie’s friend who seems to be an archaeologist as well, and he’s paired with Dr Jiang canonically in Trapped.

***Ge means ‘Brother’

****LMAO ZHAO ZI HOW MUCH CAN U EAT IN ONE SITTING?!

*****1000NTD is about 32USD

******I think I spoke to @florbexter on this when I first gave my very messy synopsis/summary on the chapter like... a gazillion months ago, and hmm yeah I ain’t too fond of this trope tbh. Read at your own risk and also this author is really NOT known for good writing. if you enjoy it great tho! if not don’t worry, and don’t think too much about it because... yeah this author and some details of the epilogue, not so great. We win some, we lose some, unfortunately.

#history3: trapped #history 3: trapped #history3圈套 #history 3: 圈套 #history3 novel #translations #history3 merchandise #AHAHAHA wow it's been so long guys #sorry bout that #chap 8-10 are still in progress #but i thought i'd give u guys the epilogues first

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