#it’s fine i’ll just reply to it with the tags i guess but like dang stop making me look uncelebratory lol | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

alohajun · 2 years

Text

♡ NOT MEANT TO BE — PARK JEONGWOO

jeongwoo x fem!reader | wc : 2.3k words | content : possible grammar and spelling mistakes, lowercase intended, angsty-fluff (or vice versa idk), sweet nicknames (babe, princess), mentions of one accident, sad ending (?)

SATURDAY, 10:34AM

“guess where i am!”

you squealed, showing off your room to your boyfriend, jeongwoo, who was connected through a videocall.

“well, you are not home, that’s for sure,” jeongwoo retorted with a chuckle, making you giggle. “are you in a hotel room? did your university take you on another trip?” he inquired, impressed as it was only last week you had told him of a trip to quebec city.

“it’s a trip, of sorts.”

“dang, the only time we go on trips is during the spring and summer, but we never have awesome trips like yours.”

you laughed, shaking your head. “woo, can’t you guess where i am?” you angled your camera so the infamous han river was captured in the background.

“i have no clue, but that’s a pretty nice view, princess. what part of canada are you in now?”

“idiot, i am in korea. that’s the han river!”

you and jeongwoo were the best of friends when you were in middle school, and the feelings blossomed into love when the two of you were seniors in high school. after a lot of hesitation and pep talks, jeongwoo finally asked you out – literally when your whole grade knew of you two liking each other – and you guys started dating.

the sweet dates and memories came to an end when you got accepted into a university in canada – on a scholarship – and with the pressure you got from your parents and school, you ended up choosing the same university, which meant you had to leave jeongwoo behind.

but he wasn’t going to give up that easy. even though you had hinted on several occasions to break up with you, jeongwoo never agreed to it. people say long-distance relationships never work, but i want to prove them wrong, he always said, being stubborn. you were glad he never broke up with you, because if anything, ever since you went to canada, your love for each other has only become stronger.

i told you, y/n. i won’t give up on us.

“wait, for real?! you are in korea right now?!” jeongwoo exclaimed, getting an excited nod from you. “it’s been years since we met. we should definitely meet up!” your smile brightened at his words, glad he had the same idea as you.

“the university brought us for a two-week exchange program. i’m the only korean who is fluent in our batch, so they said i should tag along too, so i could be the translator for them,” you explained, and jeongwoo stared at you in awe. “we have some stuff planned for these two weeks, but i’ll send you my schedule. you can cross-check and see if we can meet up on a free day.”

jeongwoo nodded, a wide smile on his face. “yep, we have some stuff planned with our university too, but i’m sure we can meet up,” he stated. “i can’t wait to see you after a long time, princess.”

“me too, woo.”

TUESDAY, 07:14AM

“i’m really sorry, y/n. i forgot about the annual festival.”

you shook your head, waving it off, feeling bad yourself. “it’s fine, babe. they planned an impromptu tour of iksan, and apparently i have to take them around.” you pouted, feeling relieved when you saw a slight smile on jeongwoo’s face.

“you are going to iksan now?” he questioned, causing you to nod in reply. “maybe i can ditch the festival and meet up with you in iksan? i just have to inform haruto and then i’ll leave soon,” he suggested, rushing around his dorm as he tried to find his roommate.

“no, jeongwoo.” you frowned. “aren’t you singing for the festival? you can’t just cancel your act and come to meet me. besides, it’s a festival for charity, and people would really donate if they heard you sing. don’t ditch the festival. we can always meet up, i’m here for another week, after all.” you tried convincing the male, sighing in relief when he grudgingly agreed.

“fine, then. how about this week thursday? i’m positive i don’t have anything that day. no lectures, no parties, no outings, nothing at all.” he looked at you in anticipation, hoping you were free too.

you bit your lip, going through your schedule, brows furrowed. “hm, we have a seminar that morning, but it ends at 11. i’m free for the day after that,” you spoke, meeting jeongwoo’s gaze through the screen, smiling widely which caused him to do the same.

“i won’t give up, princess. we are going to meet up if it’s the last thing i do.”

WEDNESDAY, 09:52PM

“yes, sir. yep, no problem. we could do that, yes. okay, good night.”

you grimaced as you buried your face in your hands, frustrated with the situation. as it was the last week of you guys being in korea, your department head wanted to treat everyone in your batch to lunch and dinner, along with an escape room experience for some fun after the dreadful seminar you guys had.

fisting your hands over your eyes, you held back a choked sob, not knowing to break the situation to jeongwoo. the two of you were planning to meet up on tomorrow, but things didn’t work out with the day your department head planned.

it wasn’t like you could refuse to go with them … you were their guide, after all.

your roommate, hana, who was the guide of the engineering faculty, watched you with a sympathetic gaze, having known all the plans you and jeongwoo had made. she walked towards you, sitting on your bed as she patted your back, feeling bad for you.

“maybe i can take your faculty around tomorrow?” she offered, wanting to do her best to help you out, since you had done so for her on several occasions.

you shook your head, knowing it wouldn’t work. “mr costell insisted he wanted all of us to go, so i can’t just burden you like that. besides, it’s a faculty day and that means you can’t do the tour with them.” you sighed, shakily grabbing your phone. “i’ll just text jeongwoo.”

“i’m sure he’ll understand. oof, if only i could kick mr costell back to canada.” hana tried cheering you up, ruffling your hair as you sniffled, typing through your teary eyes.

i don’t think i can make it tomorrow, woo.

our head planned a faculty day out

again?

what is with your faculty head and impromptu trips?

it’s fine, i guess

our uni has another fundraiser tomorrow, i’ll just help out there

i’m really sorry, woo

what about friday?

we are leaving on saturday, so we are getting the whole friday free

are you free?

yeah, definitely. let’s do friday

don’t be disheartened, princess

we will meet each other, no worries

you are the best, jeongwoo

see you on friday near the han river :)

i love you <3

i love you more <;3

good night, sleep well

FRIDAY, 10:49AM

“you have to be kidding me.”

jeongwoo stared at his roommate, haruto, in disbelief. his eyes were widened as he heard the news, shaking his head as he tried to convince himself he was simply having a nightmare.

a nightmare, and nothing else. i’m gonna wake up now. just wake up, i’m gonna–

“jeongwoo, just take a breath,” haruto worriedly spoke, holding the younger before he collapsed. “i don’t know much either. hyunsuk-hyung called me and said to come to the hospital with you quickly because jihoon-hyung got into an accident.”

jeongwoo shakily nodded, feeling weak as he heard the news of his brother getting in an accident. “what hospital? let’s go,” he mumbled, grabbing the keys off his desk as he tried his best to rush out of his dorm.

“i’ll drive,” haruto offered, seeing his best friend was too shaken to do anything.

during the ride to the hospital, jeongwoo remembered you, closing his eyes as he leant against the headrest before taking out his phone. he quickly typed out a text, sending it before realising they had arrived at the hospital, hurrying out of the car to the hospital.

i can’t make it today

i’m sorry y/n not delivered!

my brother got into an accident and i’m at the hospital not delivered!

jeongwoo didn’t leave his brother’s side, waiting for the older to come in consciousness so he could scold him for being reckless. he cried and cried as he held his brother’s hand, not really knowing why as a million thoughts ran across his head.

was he crying because his brother got into an accident? or was he crying because he was not able to meet you no matter how hard he tried? whatever the reason was, he couldn’t help but take the blame for all of it.

SATURDAY, 12:19PM

“jeongwoo, did you text y/n about what happened?”

haruto inquired, seeing the notification of a confusing message from you. jeongwoo turned to look at his best friend, raising his brows in question as his brother, jihoon, did the same.

jihoon had regained conscious around six in the evening, and had to listen to jeongwoo’s lecturing till around midnight. the doctors said he had to be monitored for a day or two, and jeongwoo signed the documents as jihoon’s guardian, despite being younger than him.

he confusingly looked at haruto. “what do you mean, ruto?” he asked, gesturing him to explain what he had meant.

“i don’t know. y/n gave a heck lotta calls and sent you a text.” he handed jeongwoo his phone, which the latter took quickly and checked, grimacing and hitting his hand against his head as he saw the 20 missed calls from you and read your text.

i guess you gave up on us jeongwoo

i’m leaving in a bit

just thought you should know

jeongwoo scrolled upwards, cursing under his breath as he saw the messages that were not delivered because he didn’t have enough credit for it. jihoon read the messages from over his shoulder, catching glimpses of the older texts and getting an idea of what had happened.

“woo, i’m fine now. just go and meet y/n, even if it’s just for a few minutes,” jihoon urged, feeling bad for his brother. “when is the flight?”

“y/n said they had to board by 12.45.” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “can i make it in time?”

“you have to try,” jihoon muttered, looking over at haruto, gesturing him to say something.

“the airport is only five minutes away, if you go now, you can definitely make it. you have to sort out your misunderstanding, and it’s better to do it in person rather than over the phone,” haruto spoke, getting a nod from jihoon.

“hand me the keys, haruto.”

SATURDAY, 12:27PM

“y/n! y/n! wait up!”

just like in the movies, jeongwoo ran through the airport, relieved when he saw you lounging outside with the rest of your batch, staring at your phone sadly. thankfully, you hadn’t gone through the gates yet. otherwise, that would be it.

you looked up as you heard your name being called, going slightly red as everyone in your batch looked at you. you turned towards the source of the voice, tearing up as your gaze landed on jeongwoo, looking like a madman as he rushed through the crowd, apologizing continuously as he hit against people.

“y/n, i’m sorry! i really am! let me explain!” he begged, grasping your hands, not caring about who was around. he just wanted to make things right.

“you idiot,” you cried, shoulders shaking as you did. “you stood me up.” you weakly raised your hands, hitting jeongwoo’s chest repeatedly.

jeongwoo shook his head, taking out his phone and showed it to you. “i’m really sorry, it’s a misunderstanding, please,” he apologized. “hyung met with an accident, and i was too frantic about it so i didn’t see that the messages were not delivered. i’m really sorry, y/n.”

realising you were too quick to put the blame, you hung your head low, unable to meet jeongwoo’s eyes. “you could’ve called me, woo. or have haruto call me. i was worried sick. you have no idea the things that went through my head,” you croaked as jeongwoo wiped away your tears.

“i’m sorry, y/n.”

“i thought you gave up on us, jeongwoo.”

the male’s eyes widened, shaking his head vigorously. “no, of course not, never! i would never give up on us, princess. never.” he cupped your face in his hands, making you meet his eyes as he gave you a slight smile. “how could i ever give up on you?”

“but nothing is working out, jeongwoo.” he tilted his face in confusion, feeling his heart tighten when you called him by his name. twice, now. did you give up on him? “it hurts when i am not able to see you, but it hurts more when i had the chance, but didn’t have enough luck to be able to meet up.”

“but, y/n, you can’t just –” he prayed internally, hoping it wasn’t what he thought it was.

“don’t you see it? for the past two weeks every time we tried to meet up, something or the other came up. fourteen days! fourteen days, and we weren’t able to meet up for even one, and when we did, it had to be the last few minutes i have left in this country.”

“w-what are you s-saying, y/n?” jeongwoo held back tears of his own, gripping onto your hands, not wanting to let go.

an announcement came on, stating passengers to enter the gates – which meant it was time to go. your batchmates shook themselves out of the drama that unfolded in front of them, and your department head blinked confusingly, clearing his throat to grab everyone’s attention and he announced to start boarding.

“maybe we are not meant to be, jeongwoo.”

taglist — @kflixnet @ravenori @jensrose @hotgirlsunoo @nanasdream @twntycm @roseky21 @heejojo @jaesvelvet @fightmegirl @koishua @silent-potato @lovethyfandoms2 @kpoprhia @woooooooosh8 @milkybonya @enhacolor @yunho-leeknow @yoshiikore @f4ery @candililac @willdieforbeidou @luvbrie @jun-bug @mui890mew @yogurteume @one16core @soobin-chois @odetoyeonjun @wonluvrbot @enhatrejor (to be added, please send an ask or dm!)

TREASURE MASTERLIST

#[📝] works #kflixnet #treasure #treasure imagines #treasure jeongwoo #jeongwoo imagines #jeongwoo scenarios #park jeongwoo imagines #park jeongwoo x reader #park jeongwoo drabbles #treasure drabbles #jeongwoo fluff #jeongwoo angst #treasure scenarios #park jeongwoo #jeongwoo

102 notes · View notes

honey-coloured-passion · 3 years

Text

Surprise! (Sapnap x Reader)

Request: “Sapnap X Reader where he surprises the reader while she’s streaming”

Words: 1.5k

“Hello chat how are your days going? Good, bad? Finals!? Oh my gosh I hate finals dude I’m so sorry f to pay respects,” you paused to stretch and adjust your headset as you had just started your stream. “I’m kinda just bored today chat so what should we do? Mods can you all run a poll or something?” You glanced at your discord and saw messages from Sap.

“Hey angel!”

“Oh you’re streaming!”

“You look cute on stream”

You rolled your eyes but chat caught you blushing and saw that Sapnap was viewing the stream, and immediately lost it. They’d been shipping the two of you for months, but little did they know you guys had been dating for three months, since you met up in person for the first time. It hadn’t felt like the right time to announce to the world and you’d wanted to establish your relationship privately before telling the fans, but that didn’t mean you’d had a couple slip ups leading the fans to theorize.

This included you calling Sapnap various forms of babe, bubs, Nick, love etc. Same went for Sap who gets teased for endlessly rushing to your defense on the SMP and responding casually when you call him a pet name, almost like he does it all the time... yeah, chat was on to the two of you.

“Shut up guys and tell me what we’re doing today! We could go grind netherite tools and chill? How does that sound?” the SMP always got a resounding yes, and just like that you were off, the SMP had won the poll anyways.

You messaged Sap in discord, “wanna call for the stream?” and quickly he was on the call with you.

“Hello Mr. Sapitus Napitus, how’s your day going on this fine Friday?” you laughed as you ran through the nether, having just collected enough wool and planks to make beds. “It’s going, I was bored as heck so I wound up here, what about you?” You knew the longer end to that story, his family was out and he thought editing would take longer but now he was stuck at home. “Same same, I’m chillin and got bored after scrolling on Tiktok for like two hours so now I’m here!” You moved on, blowing up the nether hunting for netherite scrap while talking with chat.

A familiar notification went off, “water check from, um ,GogySupremacy420,000, oh my god what a username. Alright everyone drink some water! This is good I haven’t drank water since like breakfast.” you heard Sap pipe up, “you’ve eaten since breakfast right?” you rolled your eyes, “nope I’ll eat after stream don’t worry Simpnap” tacking on the nickname earned a scoff from the simp himself. “Not a simp,” he answered, giving you a punch in the game making you hit him back. After a mini fight ending in you threatening to place a bed and effectively kill the both of you, you were back to mining.

“Hey I’ve gotta go drive and grab something want me to stay on call though?” your head whipped to discord to look for another message, knowing Sap didn’t have anywhere to be tonight. But there was nothing. “Oh I don’t mind, chat and I enjoy your company!” you said with a grin. You’d made it to enchanting now, having found all the netherite you needed.

As you sat on the spider spawner you heard Sap get in the car, the familiar beep of him unlocking his car and the revving of the engine making you laugh, “you’re car is literally so old I’m surprised it starts,” you heard Sapnap scoff, “old?! don’t you dare speak to her like that, she’s beautiful,” you rolled your eyes, Callahan who must’ve been on your stream quickly piped up in the game chat “Y/n is jealousss!” now it was your turn to be offended, “you think I’d be jealous of a bucket of rusty bolts and oil? No chance,” you laughed, checking chat as they were spamming JealousChamp. “Whatever you say ba- Y/n,” Sapnap played it off with a cough and you quickly changed the subject to how much XP you would need for all your tools.

“Hey I’ve gotta go on deafen real quick be back soon!” Sap’s voice flooded your mic, he must’ve brough the mic close to his mouth because his smooth and deep voice curled around the mic perfectly, sending shivers down your spine as his warm tone filled your headphones. “B-bye” you choked out, pretending to adjust your headset as you continued killing mobs. “So chat, got any questions to pass this alone time?” you watched the chat speed up, hoping your mods would filter out poor questions. “Favorite. color? Easy who knows? Yup! You guys know me too well. Ooh favorite fast food place? This is hard cuz I don’t wanna say something you all don’t know but I can tell you guys my McDonalds order because it’s immaculate. Do I know Sapnap’s order? This is a good test you guys, I’m pretty sure it’s like an ungodly amount of spicy McChickens and a Dr. Pepper but I swear he changes it like every day.” you laughed, reading out other people’s orders then moved to debating if the icecream machine is actually broken or if the workers are just lazy. They’re lazy, confirmed by workers in chat apparently.

“I’m back but I have to go in like five minutes, did you miss me?” Sap’s voice flooded your headphones again. As you adjusted his volume you teased, “hmm nope!” to which he began pouting making you laugh at his “baby rage”. Just as you were finishing with enchants on your axe he had to go. “Don’t miss me too much I’ll talk to you later, chat behave yourself I know you all will miss me but just leave y/n open in a muted tab,” he teased making you roll your eyes, “whatever we’re gonna have a super secret conversation after you’re gone about how we only let you on the stream out of pity right chat?” you couldn’t stop smiling and laughing through the teasing. “Okay okay, I actually gotta go, see you soon,” you bid Sapnap farewell and returned to joking with chat, turning on media share to pass some time as you reacted to animatics, hilarious compilations, and the occasional y/n x sapnap video making chat light up as you laughed through the videos.

As you watched the videos and killed cave spiders you got a text from Sapnap.

You still streaming?

Yup! Where’d you end up going? you replied.

Open your door and find out

Your breath hitched. “One- one minute chat,” you pulled your headset off and heard a small rustling in your hallway. As soon as you tabbed out of the game you stood up, rushing off camera to fling your door open and,

There he was. His smile was infectious and you couldn’t help yourself from screaming and running into his open arms. As he held you, rocking back and forth, you heard him mumbled. “I missed you” Into your ear while you clung to him. “I missed you more,” you whispered back, Finally, you released him enough to peck his lips, unable to wipe the grin from your face. “I got food cuz you said you didn’t eat and I figured if I had time I wanted to spend it with you!” your heart practically melted, taking a bag of food in one hand and holding Sapnap’s hand with your other you realized you forgot to mute or end stream.

“Um, so I’m still streaming... what do we do?” you glanced up nervously but Sapnap just started laughing, “oh my god I guess I can say hi so chat doesn’t lose it’s mind,” you swallowed nervously, glancing down at your phone you had been tagged in endless clips of you running off camera then screaming about 15 seconds later. “Yeah better give them an answer,” you giggled.

Rushing back to your setup you saw chat blowing up as you put your headset back on. “Heyyy guys! So yeah, um I guess I can just show you that, we have a special guest!” You gestured to Sapnap to come into frame, pulling up a chair as he sat down next to you. “Yeah I gave y/n a visit cuz I was bored. Hi chat, hello, hello! You guys are going really fast dang,” Sapnap gripped your hand under the table, you squeezed back, leaning into his embrace. “So um, I think Sap and I are gonna hangout, right?” you glanced at him and he nodded, he really hadn’t stopped smiling since he got to your place. “Yup! Maybe if there’s time we’ll go live again I’m not sure! Kinda spur of the moment yeah?” you finished your thought. Saying goodbye to chat you ended stream just a few minutes later.

“We’ve really gotta tell people soon, I wanna be able to hold your hand on camera not just off,” Sapnap said between bites of food. “Yeah, I think it’ll be okay right?” You had always been nervous about stans hating you or people trying to get in between your relationship. “As long as I’ve got you I’m more than fine, I’m- I don’t know I guess I’m pogchamp,” you shook your head, “god you are such a dork,” Sapnap scrunched his nose with a laugh, “I’m your dork though so I’m so special!” and you couldn’t agree more. <3

#sapnap #sapnap x reader #dream team x reader #dream team fanfic #sapnap fanfic #mcyter fanfic #dteam fanfic #sapnap cute #sapnap x you #dream x reader #georgenotfound x reader

460 notes · View notes

sisterspooky1013 · 3 years

Text

Only One Choice, Part 2, Chapter 9

Read it here on AO3 / Tagging @today-in-fic

When she wakes, she momentarily can’t place where she is. The room is dim and there’s a soft whirring sound, a warm body tucked close against her back. Mulder’s apartment, she remembers. They’d decided to make it a double feature, collecting their clothes and switching out Mars Attacks for Twister. She must have drifted off at some point, with Mulder spooning her on the narrow couch, and the automatic rewind on the VCR kicked on when the movie ended. She pulls in a deep breath and his arm around her waist tightens momentarily.

“Stay,” he croaks from behind her, sounding as though he had also fallen asleep.

“I can’t, Mulder,” she replies, twisting her body around to face him, her nose pressed into his chest.

“Why?” he asks, brushing his palm up and down over her back.

“Because, I shouldn’t.” She knows her tone isn’t all that convincing.

“Says who?” he asks, though not indignantly.

“Says…I don’t know. Me, I guess,” she replies in a defeated tone.

He sighs, then pauses to consider his words.

“I don’t want to pressure you. But the idea of not seeing you again for a week kind of makes me want to die.” His words are soft and measured, communicating honesty, not frustration.

“That’s very dramatic,” she answers with a teasing lilt.

“I know, I’m sorry. I’m pathetic.”

She worms up until she’s close enough to kiss him, pressing her lips to his cheek and then his mouth.

“You’re not pathetic,” she says tenderly, “you’re actually very sweet. I’ll make you a deal; I’m not going to stay the night,” she quirks a smile at his dramatic frown, “but we can get dinner tomorrow, and if you want to have coffee one day this week, you can come down.” She gives him a hopeful smile.

“That seems like a fair deal,” he says, kissing her forehead. “But if you get home, or wake up in the middle of the night, and realize you’ve made a horrible mistake, just call me. I’ll come right over.”

“I promise I will,” she says, then disentangles herself from his arms and collects her purse and shoes. She says goodbye to Priscilla, then bids a very long and very kiss-filled goodbye to Mulder before he finally releases his grip on her. As she waits for the elevator she hears the patter of his bare feet on the hallway floor and turns to see him skittering towards her, pulling her into one last kiss before he runs back to his apartment door, waving at her with a coy little smile.

Once she’s buckled into her car, she lets out a deep breath. She’d barely made it out of there; if Mulder had asked one more time, kissed her once more on the couch, she might have caved. Might have stayed the night, and might have done who knows what else. She can easily see the strong potential for this budding relationship to fast track to being more serious than she feels ready for, and it scares her. She’s never felt this strongly about anyone so soon after becoming involved with them. Clearly he has a strong pull on her, given that she cheated on Ethan with him, it’s just a lot, and she’s a person who likes to think clearly and make rational decisions. When she’s with Mulder, she loses the ability to think rationally.

When she’s home and tucked into bed, she does wish he were there, curled up behind her. Knowing she could call him and he’d be here in fifteen minutes is tempting, but she talks herself out of it. Not yet, not until she’s sure that this is more than just animal attraction. More than wanting to prove she didn’t destroy her relationship with Ethan over nothing.

It has to be more. And she suspects that it will be.

———

“Okay, spill it,” Missy says, and Dana looks at her with a mildly shocked expression, not even having fully taken her seat at the cafe with a mocha in hand before Missy gets down to business.

“Hello to you, too, Missy. How was your evening?” she asks her sister with a facetious tone.

“I hung around by myself and wondered what kind of action my little sister was getting that I wasn’t, so please, indulge me.”

Dana laughs and shakes her head, debating how much detail to give.

“It was nice, we just watched a couple movies, ate pizza, drank beer.”

“...and?” Missy asks expectantly.

“...and, we watched Mars Attacks and Twister,” Dana answers, knowing that this is not the information Missy is asking for.

Missy drops her head to the side with a frustrated glare. “Dana, quit being a prude, or I’ll just make up my own story and tell it to you right here in the coffee shop, I know you’d love that.”

Dana makes a face. “Okay, fine. Yes, we...fooled around. But we didn’t have sex.”

“Really, why not?” Missy questions incredulously.

“Missy, it’s not that abnormal not to sleep with someone on the second date,” Dana retorts with an annoyed tone.

“It is if they’ve already gone down on you and you’ve been obsessing over them for almost a year,” Missy shoots back.

“Well, regardless of your unsolicited opinion,” Dana replies, “emphasis on unsolicited, I’m choosing to wait a bit, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Fine, whatever floats your boat, Sis. Please elaborate on ‘fooled around’.”

Dana scoffs. “We...kissed, and some other things. Why are you asking for all this detail, Missy? I don’t recall you ever asking me to be this explicit regarding my sex life with Ethan.”

Missy rolls her eyes. “I’m willing to bet Ethan was into missionary with the lights off. This Mulder guy has serious sexual energy, he seems like the kind of man who knows what he’s doing. When’s his birthday?”

Scully frowns at the memory. “October 13th,” she answers flatly.

Missy shoots her a surprised expression, but suppresses it quickly. “Oh, wow, okay. Um, so he’s a libra. That’s a good thing, libras are very generous lovers.”

“I have seen evidence of that, however my pants stayed on last night so nothing to report in that respect,” Dana answers, taking a sip of her coffee to avoid looking at her sister.

“But his didn’t?” Missy asks with a smirk, and Dana purses her lips but doesn’t respond. It’s as good as saying yes.

“Dana Katherine Scully,” Missy teases with a knowing smile. “Some things never change.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Dana asks defensively.

“Oh please, Dana, we went to the same school, you don’t think I heard the story about you and Marcus behind the gymnasium?”

Dana’s mouth hangs open in shock.

“Well, I hope he enjoyed his favor being reciprocated nine months later,” Missy continues, then adds “did you swallow?”

Her mouth drops open wider and she slaps Missy gently on the upper arm. “Melissa, don’t be gross!”

Missy is giggling and swatting her away. “You know what Dad always said, Dana, ‘a Scully sees it through to the end!’” She crosses her arms over her face in self-defense as Dana peppers her with little slaps, though they’re both laughing.

Finally, the tittering subsides and they are both back in their respective seats, catching their breath.

“So when are you seeing him again?” Missy asks, tucking her feet underneath her legs.

“Tonight, actually.” Dana answers self-consciously.

“Oh really? So soon?”

“Well he practically begged me to stay the night and said he didn’t want to wait until next weekend, so it was somewhat of a compromise,” Dana answers, the arrangement sounding like a red flag to her own ears.

“Dang, he’s got it bad,” Missy remarks with a little frown. “Is it too much? Are you doing that thing?”

“What thing?” Dana asks defensively.

“That thing where you get overwhelmed when someone is really interested in you and you sabotage it?” Missy ventures.

Dana furrows her eyebrows. “I don’t do that,” she says, but her tone suggests that she may not believe herself. “I just don’t want to get all caught up in the excitement of a new relationship and not look at things objectively,” she finishes.

“You know,” Missy says helpfully, “that exciting new relationship, not thinking clearly, crazy in love feeling is something most people like, Sis.”

Dana shrugs. “You know me,” she says plainly, “I’m not really one for excitement.”

“I have a sneaking suspicion that Mulder is going to put that to the test,” Missy retorts with a smile, and Dana cringes.

“I think you may be right.”

———

Her demeanor when he picks her up for dinner seems just a bit guarded and is markedly different than it had been when they parted ways last night. He brushes it off, figuring that things between them are still new and awkward, and recognizing that he’s probably coming on just a little too strong.

The day has been grey and cool, and she’s wearing jeans and an oversized blue sweater, her hair pulled half up into a little bun. He smiles warmly at her, but stops short of telling her how amazing she looks, sensing that she might not want to hear it. They make their way to a little Mexican place near her house and she is polite but quiet as they order, munching on chips and salsa with a pensive expression.

“Are you okay?” he asks cautiously, and she nods. “I’m freaking you out, aren’t I?” he adds, and she shakes her head gently, but looks at him with wide eyes from beneath her lashes, and he knows it’s true.

He sits back, running his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Is it the sex part or the feelings part?” he questions, and when her eyebrows lift in surprise he suggests “Both?”

She laughs softly and shakes her head. “It’s really not you, Mulder, it’s me. I’m just not very comfortable with the whole,” she swirls her wrist around in the air, “whirlwind feeling, when things are new.”

He leans forward on his elbows and looks at her seriously. “Tell me what you need me to do differently, Scully, and I promise I’ll do it.”

“Maybe just...don’t act as though I hung the moon?” she offers with a pained expression. “I’m just a human person like anyone else, faults and all. It makes me worry that when you really get to know me you won’t like what you find.”

He gives her an amused smirk. “At the risk of further idolizing you, what’s not to like?”

“You want me to write a list?” She asks, returning his smirk, and he gives her a half shrug, half nod. “Well, if I’m basing this on what my family, friends, and past partners might say; I’m very rigid in my thinking on most matters, take myself far too seriously, am emotionally distant much of the time, don’t really know how to have fun and...I cannot carry a tune in a bucket. Basically I’m a total stick in the mud.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he says, smiling at her. Her self-consciousness is wildly endearing.

“Okay now you have to go,” she says, picking at her paper napkin.

“Oh, what are my worst qualities?” he clarifies, “Jeez, this could take a while. Um, I’m very singularly focused, as in whatever I’m chasing down at the moment I become completely obsessed with to the detriment of all other things in my life,” he casts her a little glance to confirm that she understands that this is what he’s doing with her, which she does.

“I’m a workaholic, though that’s a lot easier to manage when I’m not all that invested in what I’m working on. I’m terrible with things like birthdays, anniversaries, or generally sentimental things, I just forget them completely. I’m also persistent to a fault, and have a hard time letting things, and people, go, even when I should,” he looks at her again, and she gives him a tight-lipped smile. His worst qualities are the ones that are at risk of scaring her off right now.

“Well then, perhaps,” Scully offers, “I’ll work on not trying to shut you out, and you can work on not trying quite so hard to get in.”

“We’re still talking about feelings here, right?” he jokes, and she rolls her eyes.

“There’s another flaw I forgot, making jokes at completely inappropriate times.”

She smiles at him, with teeth, and he knows they’ll be okay. He needs to be mindful, but he hasn’t totally fucked it up yet.

The rest of their meal goes without incident. He talks about spontaneous human combustion while she calmly explains why it’s medically and scientifically impossible. The way she can disagree with him without talking to him like he’s a lunatic endears to him even further, but he works hard not to let it show. When the waiter comes by and asks about dessert, she shakes her head.

“I have ice cream at home,” she says after the waiter leaves, “saves us five bucks.”

He masks the surprise and delight he feels knowing she’s essentially just invited him back to her apartment, and absolutely does not allow himself to hope that she’ll let him stay the night. It’s a work night after all, and she’s just made clear that she has a tendency towards rules and guidelines; sleepovers on a school night seem like something she’d be against.

Back at her apartment, she gives him a quick tour, having neglected to do so when he was here last week, and he’s impressed though not surprised by how grown up and clean her place is. It matches her personality perfectly, and that makes him like the place immediately.

She opens the freezer and pulls out a pint of ice cream, then retrieves two spoons and hops up on to the counter, which brings them just about face to face height-wise. The cold blast from the open freezer has hardened her nipples and he avoids looking as they pass the pint back and forth, taking alternate bites and talking about their favorite and least favorite flavors. Soon enough, the tub is empty, and she sets it and the two spoons to the side, leaning back against the cupboard behind her. He steps closer into the space between her thighs and places his hands gently on her hips.

“Do you want me to go?” he asks in a neutral tone, not wanting to sound like he’s trying to persuade her.

She quirks her mouth to the side in consideration. “Maybe not just yet,” she says, then hooks her legs around the backs of his thighs and pulls him closer.

He suppresses a victorious smile and instead leans forward to kiss her, simultaneously slipping his hands under the hem of her sweater. She jumps a little at the contact, and he realizes how cold his fingers must be from the ice cream. He pulls his hands free, rubbing them together briskly in the space between their bodies as he continues to kiss her smiling mouth. When he’s satisfied that they are warm, he returns them to her bare sides and she hums in approval. Her hands find the back of his neck, scratching through his hair as his fingers trail their way up the ladder of her rib cage until they meet with the soft underside of her bare breasts. He wants to make mention of the lack of bra, but isn’t sure if calling attention to it would make her self conscious, so he says nothing and just enjoys it. Brushing his thumbs along the seam where chest becomes breast, he moves to kiss down her neck, teasing at the skin behind her ear with the firm tip of his tongue. Finding the spot she seems to like the best, he then runs his thumbs up until they meet with her hardened nipples and she emits a little moan that goes straight to his dick. He stays on this particular combination of rolling her nipples between his thumb and forefinger while licking and kissing her neck until she’s tightening the grip of her legs around his hips, seeking friction. He pushes the fabric of her sweater up slowly enough that she has plenty of time to tell him if she wants to stop, but once her breasts are exposed and his mouth is wrapped around one of her nipples, he is absolutely sure that she doesn’t. She lets her head fall back against the cupboard, breathing hard through her open mouth. He brings the fingers of one hand to the button on her jeans, then pauses.

“Okay?” he asks around the nipple between his lips, and she hums out an “mmmhmmm.”

Flicking the button open and easing the fly down, he slips his hand palm-up under her panties, drifting down through her neatly trimmed hair and into the slick heat of her. She’s deliciously wet, and knowing he caused it makes him feel weak in the knees as he rubs his groin against the edge of the counter, even more turned on than he had been before. He slides his fingers up and down over her swollen lips, his tongue still lapping and sucking at her nipples alternately, and she is panting and quaking beneath him, hips writhing and fingers digging into his neck telling him that she wants more. He circles his dampened thumb around her clit and she whimpers, clutching his head to her chest. His middle finger finds her entrance and swirls around it, not quite entering, and she stills, waiting, anticipating. When he continues with his same teasing movements, she lets out a frustrated breath and speaks.

“Please,” she whispers, her voice pained.

He smiles against her breast, slipping his finger inside, and she moans low and long, throbbing once around him. He experiments with different ways of touching her, inside and out, and soon she’s gasping and breathing raggedly, flexing her hips into his hand, nearly suffocating him with her breast in his mouth and he feels like he’s in heaven.

“Oh god,” she moans, then goes still for a long moment as he feels her walls clench tight around his finger. Then she’s coming, throbbing rhythmically and pulling his face up to kiss her, pouring her blissful moans right into his open mouth and clutching him as close as he can get with one hand in her pants. Finally, she touches his wrist gently and he pulls his hand free, enveloping her fully in his arms as they kiss with just as much passion as they started with.

“That really wasn’t what I had in mind when I suggested ice cream,” she says against his mouth, and he smiles, breaking the kiss.

“So that wasn’t some kind of ‘dessert’ double entendre?” he asks, pulling back slightly and looking at her flushed cheeks and still-dilated pupils.

“No, but I’m not exactly devastated that you interpreted it that way,” she replies with a playful lilt.

“So...what now?” he asks cautiously, neither wanting to overstay his welcome nor do what Frohike delicately calls ‘hit it and quit it.’

She bites her lip and considers the question. “You wanna hang out for a bit and watch TV? I’ll have to kick you out at 9:00, it being a school night and all.”

He feels his mouth stretch into a broad smile at the confirmation of his suspicion that she calls it early on work nights.

“Sounds perfect,” he replies, then steps back so she can jump down from the counter, re-fastening her jeans while casting him a mirthful glance.

They snuggle up on the couch and half-watch whatever is on, but mostly they talk, and kiss, and laugh. He finally asks her about the little gold cross necklace she’s always wearing, and he finds himself further enamored with how complex she is; a woman of science and religion, beautiful and strong, smart and fun. He’s working hard to temper his expression of it, but if he was only ninety-five percent sure he was in love with her when he said it back in August, he is one-hundred-twenty percent sure now.

True to her word, she kicks him out at 9:00 and promises that they will get together for coffee this week once she takes a look at her autopsy schedule and knows which days she’s free.

Once in his car, he drops his head against the back of the seat with a satisfied sigh. All week at work, his colleagues will ask him what he’s smiling about, and he’ll tell them truthfully that he’s just really, really happy.

#the x files #txf #dana scully #fox mulder #gillovny #msr #sculder #x files fanfic #alternate universe

39 notes · View notes

tigerseye46 · 3 years

Text

A Hero Is Born (Red Shark/Sand Au)

Summary: After being dismissed by Guanyin after centuries under their teaching, Red arrived at the city to live a normal life, hiding his identity and powers. He has spent four years in the city and works at Culinary Cicada, content with how he is now. He didn’t expect his life to change one day.

A/N: Finally got this done. There are going to be rarepairs but aren’t the main focus for this chapter so I didn’t tag it. Sun Wukong’s alias is Sun Hàoyú 昊瑜 meaning “vast and limitless excellence.” Zhu Bajie’s alias is Zhu Xiùliàng 秀亮 meaning “refined light.” Sorry if these aren’t good aliases. I know Sha Wujing’s staff can’t control water, but in this au, it can. He learned how to do that after the journey. Also I want to say thank you all my anons and others who put in ideas for this au! It made it really fun! Anyway enjoy!

AO3 Link

Red would admit he didn’t care much for the legends as other people did. He had been a small part of those legends so they weren’t extraordinary to him (not that he had revealed that information to anyone).

But Mr. Sun and Tang always loved to talk about them, especially the latter, so he listened to the elders. Today was one of those days. A special day that would change his life forever.

“The thing you need to understand, bud, is that the old legends are never finished. While there may be no pages left to turn, there is always more. Years ago, the Spider Queen and her army attacked. No one could stop them, no one except… Sha Wujing. Using his crescent moon spade, he trapped the Spider Queen under a mountain. He made it so no one else could wield it and he trapped her forever.”

“With the battle won, Sha Wujing… disappeared and was never seen again. It is said that the spade remains there, preventing our world from being destroyed. Because of him, civilization was able to prosper into the awesome world we see today. All thanks to Sha Wujing!”

Red hummed as he leaned against the counter. “That’s cool I guess.”

Mr. Sun scoffed. “Just cool? You know how many people would love that story?”

“I’m just not that impressed by it.”

“How dare you. You always react to the stories that way. Thought that one would bring more excitement.”

“Well, I’m not your audience. You’re not putting on a play for me.”

“At least you listen anyway.”

“That I do. I do think Sha Wujing is more impressive than say the Sun Wukong or Zhu Bajie.” At least he didn’t attack him as much as the others.

Sun appeared as if he was offended by the statement. “He is impressive… I like the Monkey King better,” he muttered. “Anyway, you know the deal. One peach soup.”

“Yea, yea. You got it.” He attempted to pass the bowl but it was quickly taken away by Tang.

“Not so fast. You left out so many details, Hàoyú. No extensive details of how he defeated the Spider Queen? He’s a hero! He deserves a better explanation than that.”

With an eye roll, Hàoyú responded, “Whatever.” He made grabby hands at the bowl. “Can I have my soup now?”

“No. You’re a scholar, tell the story accurately or I might go to your rival.” Sun huffed at the mention. “I could do better, better than those stupid depictions of Sha Wujing, no one can really capture his handsomeness, huh?” He cleared his throat, the small blush on his cheeks fading away. “Anyway, Red, you have orders to take out. Get to it!”

“I was about to take my break.”

“Break? You've been taking a break all morning. How is Culinary Cicada supposed to flourish if you’re slacking off?”

He began pushing Red, rumpling the other’s lotus print shirt. He shoved takeout bags in his hands then sent him out. The human heard a slurp behind him. He spun around to see Sun had stolen the soup back. Furrowing his brows, he suggested, “How about you tell an actually good and detailed story about Sha Wujing and you keep the bowl?”

“You just love hearing about your crush. Alright, it’s a deal.”

————

Red entered an abandoned construction site, whistling a tune under their breath and focusing on their phone. He paused when he heard a voice. “It’s amazing that you’ve finally done it! Are you ready, you two?”

A nasally voice replied, “For the last time, Goliath, we’re almost done.”

“Sorry, Syntax! I’m just so excited!”

“You can’t blame uncle Goliath’s excitement, dad.”

“Hmph. Well, try to hold it in for a bit longer.”

The demon hid behind some rocks. He spotted three spiders and a human surrounding a mountain.

One spider towered over the group, he fiddled with his fingers nervously, indicating that despite being the giant, he was probably the most gentle one out there.

Another had his hands behind his back, tapping his feet impatiently.

The third was tinkering with an invention, a device strapped to his back. The human was beside the third, he had a purple bandanna with two green marks, almost like eyes, wrapped around his forehead and a black coat with white fur.

“Because of you two, we can lift Sha Wujing’s spade!”

Red moved higher up and looked at the glowing object. The duck beside him quacked out of surprise. What was a duck doing here? Whatever. It wasn’t important.

“Sha Wujing’s spade,” he whispered.

“The spider clan will be restored!” Goliath’s shoulders briefly bounced up in surprise. “Huh?”

Huntsman was on top of the mountain and started reaching for the weapon. “Huntsman,” Syntax yelled. “Don’t do that!”

“Whatever, nerd.” He gripped it and instantly got zapped by it which sent him crashing into a wall.

Syntax stood over him. “Idiot. This is the hundredth time you’ve tried this. You think you would have learned your lesson by now. We’ve clarified that he made it so only someone worthy would wield it.”

“Which is why we have this.” The human gestured to the power glove. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”

“Hmph, brat.”

“Go ahead, Xiaotian.” Syntax pulled Huntsman up, their cheeks becoming green for the slightest second before they focused on the kid.

Xiaotian strolled up to the weapon and pulled on it with the glove. Sparks danced until he was able to rip it off. He held it high in the air and shouted in triumph, “Look at what I did!” Goliath and Syntax applauded him while Huntsman huffed.

“I could have done it,” he mumbled.

Xiaotian went back up to his family with a smile and waited a second before asking, “Wait, why isn’t anything happening? Are you three sure this is the right mountain?”

Syntax scoffed. “No, Xiaotian, I think it’s the other one.”

The mountain rumbled and cracked in the center. The Spider Queen destroyed it and crawled out with a cackle. “I’ve returned! The queen is back!”

Red’s eyes widened. Oh no. The queen was free. What should he do?

The duck pecked his hands as he was pondering. “Hey!” He attempted to shoo the duck away. “Shoo! It’s rude to peck at people’s hands!”

The four bowed to her with heads hung low, the human placed the crescent moon spade aside. “My queen,” Huntsman started. “We’re glad to have you free.”

“My clan,” she cried. “Wait, where are the rest of you?”

“I’m sorry. We’re some of the few spiders left.”

The Queen’s fist clenched, her happy tone at being freed slipped away. “I see. It’s all Sha Wujing’s fault. Now introductions are in order for the new members.”

“Well, there’s me, Huntsman. Then there’s Goliath and…”

“I can introduce myself, brute. I’m Syntax, my lady, and this is my son, Qi Xiaotian.”

If Red wasn’t so focused on the situation, he would have thought, Son? Those two look nothing alike.

“Son?” Her majesty questioned.

“Yes, he is my biological son. I wasn’t born a spider but I would say those details are for another time.”

“Alright. How did you all manage to free me?”

The human stepped forward with a spring in his step. “I did it, my queen! I managed to harness its power to make it our-” Her majesty loomed with a glare. Xiaotian nervously chuckled. “Our power,” he finished.

With a scoff, the queen congratulated him reluctantly, “Good job… for a human.”

Ignoring the human comment, he beamed. “Thank you! Now, we, the Spider clan, can rule the world!”

The duck continued to peck at the demon. The demon flapped a hand to get rid of the sting while the bird focused on the other one and made him fall right onto Qi Xiaotian.

Red held up the bag of food. “Hey… did someone order food?”

Huntsman and Syntax stared at Goliath. “What? I didn’t order anything.”

Xiaotian shoved him. “Get off me, dumbass! You ruined my moment!”

Spider Queen focused on the intruder. “Well, well, we’ll, an eavesdropper has fallen into our midst. It’s a shame to crush such a tiny, insignificant thing like you as my first act but, oh, what can you do?” She was about to crush them when she was interrupted.

“Wait, my queen.”

Ugh, the human. She rubbed her face. “Yes?”

“You don’t have to waste your energy. I’ll handle it! Allow me to prove myself!”

“Fine. Go ahead.”

Red muttered, “Maybe I can go now.”

“You’re fortunate, grocery boy. It’s not every day someone is crushed by the Spider Clan! You should consider yourself-”

The demon’s ears picked up a sound, his gaze drifted to the staff. “Sha Wujing’s staff,” a voice whispered.

Xiaotian growled, “You’re not listening! I, Qi Xiaotian, will not be disrespected! You’re toast!”

The human attempted to punch him with the glove but he blocked it… blocked it with the crescent moon staff. Fuck. “How did you?”

How did he? He could have used his fire to block it. Why didn’t he? Well, his identity was a secret and he barely used his fire since he became Guanyin’s disciple so that was understandable. But to grab the staff, what was he thinking?

“That’s scientifically impossible,” Syntax said.

“I don’t understand what’s happening but I don’t care. That’s ours!”

“I was supposed to be on my break! Dang it, Mr. Tang!” The weapon activated and whacked the human and the spiders (save the queen) away.

“This can’t be,” her majesty muttered in disbelief.

“That was not what I expected.”

Huntsman hissed, “That doesn’t belong to you. Give it to us!”

“Ummmm… no?” Then suddenly he was launched into the air by the weapon. “AHHHHHH!”

“He can’t leave with the damn thing!”

“I was trapped under a mountain and suddenly, a thief takes it!”

Xiaotian bowed. “Allow me, your majesty. I won’t fail again.”

“Fine! Go!”

The human grabbed his technological staff and made off in his motorcycle to give chase.

-------

Red took in deep breaths to calm himself down as he landed on the ground. Xiaojiao snapped a picture of herself with her sword and motorcycle outfit. During the picture, she used her magic to create sparkles. “Nailed it!” She pocketed her phone and put the sword away.

“Xiaojiao!”

“That was a cool game of tag! You looked like you were having fun! I wanted to join in too!”

“I almost died.”

“But you didn’t! We should go to the arcade! Invite your new friend!”

“He was trying to kill me.”

Her face turned dark. “Where does he live? I’ll handle him.”

“Red Son! Where are you?” Tang stormed up to them. He showed his phone to reveal a zero-star rating. “I got a zero-star rating because of you. Would you like to explain yourself?”

“I think what happened is-”

Xiaojiao giggled. “Congrats, Tang! It’s better than nothing!”

“No, it isn’t! You know you would be in trouble if this happened to my magic shop, missy. Now, Red, you’re-” Tang searched around. “Where did he go?”

Red slipped past him. “Mr. Sun!”

“Hey! Come back here!”

Ignoring him, the demon ran into the shop. “Mr. Sun!”

Hàoyú was in the middle of his bowl. “Yea?”

“So, remember the story you told me this morning? About the Spider Queen?”

Tang and Mei followed him. “Red, we weren’t done talking.”

“Yea, that’s great, Mr. Tang.”

Sun sipped his soup, completely disinterested. “Yea? What about her?”

Red got close to his face. “She’s back! Sha Wujing’s staff was removed! We have to find him! He has to save-”

Sun pushed him back and held his bowl protectively. “You’re getting spit in my soup. Calm down. Who knew that would be the story you get wrapped up in? Relax, it’s just a story.”

“It’s not just a story.” He showed the spade. Hàoyú pursed his lips, contemplating the possibility or holding back from saying something snarky, Red wasn’t sure.

“Wow, Red, you found a stick!”

“No! It belongs to Sha Wujing!” The three burst into laughter. Red growled, his fists briefly flamed but no one noticed except him. “Listen to me! The Spider Queen is out there. I’ll prove this belongs to Sha Wujing.”

Sun raised a brow. “Okay. How?”

“Ummm…” The spade wobbled, it grew then stabbed part of the wall, causing a crack before shortening.

Sun gasped and he was about to get a closer look when Tang pushed him away. Tang grabbed the arm holding the spade and hoisted it up towards the sky. His eyes twinkled. “Sha Wujing’s spade! I knew it! His awesome weapon that he used to seal evil! Wait… why do you have it? And where is the queen now?”

“She’s at a fashion store,” Mei responded.

“What?!”

“I hope this isn’t one of your puppy videos, young lady.”

“There’s always time for a puppy video, Tangy, but no. Look at what’s trending. Hashtag Spider Queen!” She showed a video of the Spider Queen robbing a fashion store with Qi Xiaotian. The queen used some device to absorb a one-of-a-kind item.

Tang panicked when the video ended. “Okay! We have to do something! Get in the truck!” He shoved them in the truck while they shouted out of surprise.

The group yelped as Tang drove like a madman through the streets. They were squished in the car, Red rasped out, “This is a little uncomfortable.”

“Tang! Can you slow down? You’re going to kill us,” Mr. Sun told him. He couldn’t die but he knew it would be unfortunate if the group got into a crash.

“Yea. We need to get to Sha Wujing without getting injured in a crash.”

“Guys! The Spider Queen moved downtown! She’s destroying the mall!”

“We need to get to Sha Wujing fast. The only problem is we have no idea how to get there.”

“Ugh, you’re right. How do we get there? Do we just keep driving?” Tang asked in a frantic tone.

Mr. Sun replied, “Well, if you would have let me talk before you pushed us in here. I know someone who could get us there!”

“Really?”

“Yep! An old friend of mine. The greatest, excellent, glorious Zhu Xiùliàng. Now drive there, Tang!”

“Drive where?”

“Uhhhh… oh, yea, you need directions.”

-------

The group watched kids climb on the tall pig like a jungle gym while others were in the corner conversing or doing other activities. Wukong had a big grin on his face at the scene.

Xiùliàng chuckled and cautioned, “Careful, little ones.” He gently put them down, they frowned and he reassured them, “You can play later. Grandpa has to talk to these people first.” They reluctantly agreed and began breaking away to do their own things.

Sun blushed as the light hit Xiùliàng in a way that illuminated his beauty. Tang whispered to him with a smirk, “Oh, now I know why you brought us here.”

Xiaojiao teased, “Wow, Mr. Sun. We have to save the world and here you are trying to pick up a guy. I see you.” Sun shot them both a glare.

The pig didn’t hear them, he instead focused on beaming at the kids as they walked away. A hand was placed on his hips and he turned to the group with a “Sorry about that. That’s a lot to take in.”

“It most certainly is, old friend. I was hoping something like this wouldn’t happen,” he muttered.

“I was hopin’ that too,” Xiùliàng muttered back. A child with black hair tied up in braids and a blue headband with a flower ran up to the pig with a drawing in hand. “What is it, Yǎshuǐ?” He picked her up so she rested on her arm.

“I made you a drawing, grandpa!” She waved it in front of the pig’s face then looked towards the group. Her eyes briefly widened in surprise before she gave a wave. “Hi, yéyé!”

“Hi, hon,” he greeted.

“Oooo, yéyé. Didn’t know you had grandkids with him,” he teased. “Why didn’t you invite me to your wedding and why didn’t the paparazzi cover it?”

“Shut up, Tang. It’s for respect, you know that.”

“Mhmm…”

Red shook his head. “Disregarding Mr. Sun’s love life,” he murmured. “Mr. Zhu, we need your help to find Sha Wujing.”

Xiaojiao got on her knees, bringing her friend down with her and pleaded, “Yea, we could really use your help.”

Red sighed. “Please help us. The fate of the world is at stake.”

“Alright,” he answered. “Really?”

“Of course. Anything for Sun.” The two cheered. “I’ll just drop these kids off then we’ll go.”

“WOOOOO!”

------

Tang hummed as he walked along the path, trying to contain his excitement. “See, this isn’t that bad,” he said then a trap sprung out of nowhere. “Eep! Never mind! Stupid Sun, stupid Zhu, why did we let them stay behind?”

“Because you said they could.”

“Careful, Tangy. I wonder why Sha Wujing chose to live here.”

“I don’t know. Good thing it isn’t Sun Wukong’s home or we would have to go pass the Flaming Mountains. They actually had to borrow my m- Princess Iron Fan’s fan to-”

A cackle came out of nowhere. Syntax appeared. “If it isn’t you three.” Syntax used the glove to pound at the ground, sending it up.

“Hey! Be careful, kids!”

“I’ll be taking that spade.”

Red held the weapon up. “This is Sha Wujing’s. You are not taking it.”

“You’re just a bunch of broken metal, can’t even make anything useful.” “What? Oh, whatever.” He charged at the spider who caught the spade with glove.

He was launched and heard the distant cry of “RED” as he blacked out.

------

The demon woke up on Sha Wujing’s mountain. “I’m… I’m here?” He stood up and started walking. He spotted a house and peeked inside but found no one so he continued onwards. There was a handmade statue of Tripitaka and Sha Wujing. “Wow.”

The sound of a twig snapping caught his attention. He saw the very person he was looking for glancing at him with a frown. “Huh?” Then the figure ran off.

He followed quickly and reached a river, a single fish. “A fish?” The fish jumped out of the water, a blue light surrounded it. “Ack!” The older demon appeared. “Sha Wujing?”

“It’s been a long time, Red Son or should I say, Red Boy?”

“You know it’s me?”

“You literally just switched the Boy to Son. No shit. Surprise your little friends haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Yea, I haven’t told them yet.”

“I know. Anyway, where’s my spade?”

“Oh… ummm… I’m sorry! I lost it. I was trying to bring it to you and-”

Wujing laughed. “I know. I’ve been watching you.”

“What?” He flashed back to some of the animals he saw. “That was you?”

“Yep. I need something of you, kid. I need you to be my successor.”

“What? Are you sure? Has your brain short circuited?”

“No,” he replied annoyed. “My brain is fine. You’re going to be my successor. Look you came all this way and were fine.”

“Because I’m a demon!”

“Regardless of that, you still made your way here and you’re experienced in fighting. Be a hero.”

“What about the Spider Queen?”

“What about the Spider Queen? Take it as a trial or a warmup.”

“But I-” He sighed, he was hoping he could lead a normal life but he supposed he had no other choice especially since the elder had no intent on helping. The elder was changed, certainly different from the demon who was considered more calm and rational.

Sha Wujing grunted. “What are one of those bullshit quotes I can give you? Oh, right. Believe in yourself and you’ll be fine. The spade was taken from you! Get it back!”

“Alright!” He zoomed off.

Wujing whispered, “Hope this makes you happy, master.”

-------

Xiaojiao was about to use her powers when Red Son crash landed. Red dusted himself off.

“Kid,” Tang yelled.

“Red,” Xiaojiao shouted. “You’re alive! We saw you blast off! We thought something happened to you! Where did you get the jet? You crashed it already! Did you find Sha Wujing?”

“Yep!”

Tang questioned as he looked around frantically, “Where is he?”

“He said it’s up to me, to all of us.” Sun and Zhu exchanged glances.

“What?”

“That’s anticlimactic.”

“How are we meant to fight that?” Sun motioned to the Spider Queen’s humongous form.

“We believe in ourselves. You clean the streets while I stop her… somehow.”

“The jet would have been useful.” She kicked the broken pieces and a speed bike was revealed.

“That works.”

“You can do it, pal!”

Red drove off and approached the queen. “If isn’t the thief trying to ruin my big moment.” She attempted to squish him when he dodged with the bike.

“Where is it? Where is it?” He squinted at the device the queen had been using to absorb objects, the spade rested in the middle. “Here goes nothing.” He ran into it.

Xiùliàng covered the group. “I’ve won! The clan has been restored!” She stumbled. “Huh?” Red emerged with the weapon. “Sha Wujing?”

“Nope. Just Red.” Red punched her. Spider Queen tried to blast them, they dodged with taunts, “Nice try! You missed! Almost!” They pushed her down with the spade then used it to cut half of a building. “Here we go!”

As he was about to trap her, the Queen roared, “I won’t let this happen again!” She destroyed it, the younger demon was sent backwards. “Sorry, doll. Good luck trying to trap me again. I AM THE QUEEN!” Red’s gaze shot towards a body of water. “You might have that idiot’s staff but you are not Sha Wujing!”

“No, I’m not. I’m Red, his successor!” He lifted the spade up, water swirled around it and he sent it to attack the queen. “It’s time for your reign of terror to end!”

The queen gasped and her powers waned, she turned back to her normal form. “That’s impossible!”

“Nothing is impossible if you believe.” Xiaotian raged, “This isn’t over! You wouldn’t be so mighty with your precious powers, sand boy! Come fight me!”

Red was about to do when a web entangled him. The three spiders showed themselves. “Nice try. We know when to leave the party. We’ll see you,” Huntsman said. Syntax threw a smoke bomb and they disappeared.

The group cut Red free. “You can’t run when I’m about to win! Hmph.”

His friend hugged him. “You kicked SQ’s butt! Without us the city would be toast.”

“I couldn’t have done it on my own.”

Xiùliàng hugged them. “You did.”

“You’re the new Sha Wujing now I guess.”

“I’m proud of you, Red,” Tang said. He was proud of his kid but he couldn’t understand why Sha Wujing had chosen to hand his weapon to a random kid. He’ll think about it later. “I’m really proud.”

“What do we do now?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Red perked up. “Yea! We could bring justice to the world! Go after bad guys!”

Sun suggested, “Or we could eat.”

“Let’s go with that.”

The group discussed their recent adventure while Sha Wujing watched from a building. He frowned, shifted to a duck and flew off.

23 notes · View notes

peach-the-owl · 3 years

Note

Exu crew and an artificer kid? The crew enters the kids home town and they don't seem that happy about it but doesn't say anything, everyone goes different ways to shop/explore/etc and while everyone goes their own ways the kids old bullies pull them into an alleyway and just bully them breaking anything kid made/name calling/pulling hair just being unbelievable mean. The bullies all freeze, then kid looks over their shoulders and sees the whole group behind them looking intimidating, the bullies run away while the other ask what's going on and try to comfort their child.

Wow this was longer then I expected SORRY!! I hope you have a wonderful day ❤️

There’s no need to be sorry for an idea 😁 I hope this turned out good

(Second piece to deal with a bullying theme, dang)

Fine Craftsmanship

ExU Crew & Child!Artificer!Reader

The trip to Byroden was a longer one then you first thought, having to make a few pit stops to rest and restock on food, but it did have its perks, giving you time to work on some projects while on the road. They weren’t anything huge, you wanted to surprise everyone in the group with a personally crafted item, everything was fine at first until you recognized the town you were currently approaching.

"Are you alright (y/n)? You seem a bit jumpy." Dorian comments, having noticed your fidgeting hands. You take a quick second to calm yourself before replying.

"I’m fine, this is actually my hometown. I haven’t seen it in awhile, you know." He gives you a small nod and gets himself a better look out the window.

"If you’re from here that means you know where all the good stops are right?" Dariax asks excitedly.

"I’m still a kid, I wouldn’t know what’s 'good' in your opinion." You stare blankly, it was a bit strange sometimes to be one of the smartest people in the group.

"Right, right. No drinking for you." Dariax says, as if he already knew all this. You playfully roll your eyes at him and smile a little, maybe this wouldn’t so bad after all, so long as you stayed close to everyone. You enter the town and find a good place to park the Glitter-Shitter (I can’t even write the word with a straight face) before making your way into the marketplace and instantly Opal is off browsing the different shops and stalls of the market, dragging Fearne along with her and Fy'ra Rai trailing behind them, telling everyone to meetup in an hour. Dorian heads over to the tavern hoping to sweet talk the folk there for some food for the road, Dariax tagging along most likely to grab some drinks and test his luck with some gambling. Orym had disappeared from your sight entirely, heading off to do his own thing if you had to take a guess. You sigh unsure of where to go, now just hoping things go by quickly and without trouble as you sit by the wagon pull out some tools and continue to tinker away at a small gift you were making for Fearne for a while, placing your mind into a false sense of security.

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to come home." You hear a chillingly familiar voice spite at you and look over at the three people you were hoping not to see. There was Marty, Hamna, and their self proclaimed leader Fion (I just made up some names here, idk), they used to terrorize you relentlessly until you’d finally had enough and snuck on that cart to Emon, which lead to the adventure you were on now, a story come full circle in the worst way to you. You get up quickly hoping to dash over to where Opal and Fearne where looking at some sparkling necklaces for protection, you don’t move quick enough as you’re yanked back by your hair by either Marty or Hamna as Fion covers your mouth to avoid you shouting for help. Once pulled into a nearby alleyway, away from public view, Marty and Hamna each restrain one of your arms. You thrash and struggle to try and free yourself, managing to loosen their grip slightly only to get socked in the jaw by Fion giving the other two the chance to readjust their grip into a more secure position, trapping you.

"Let go! Leave me alone!" You shout as you continue to squirm to try and free yourself.

"Awww, and what are you going to do if we don’t?" Marty teases. You wanted to cast something to no avail with their tight grip preventing you of freeing yourself and grabbing your tools.

"Look at them," Hamna laughs, "they’re too weak to even break free." You glare at them. Fion walks over to you and starts rummaging around your bag, mindlessly throwing around the various items you’ve worked on for a long time to make.

"What’s this supposed to be?" They ask, holding up a hair clip you had intended to give to Opal.

"That’s for my friend! Put it back!" You shout a little too loud for their liking and the two holding your arms use their free hands to cover your mouth, muffling your words or cry’s for help. The one holding the hair clip looks it over in their hand before looking you in the eyes and snapping the item in half.

"Oops, sorry. My hand slipped." Their voice dripped with sarcasm. They continue to rummage through your bag, or look through the small pile of items they threw out of it, pulling out items you wanted to give to everyone as gifts. Every time they’d inspect one item, they'd just as quickly break it, smashing it on the ground or snapping it in their hands. You struggled and tugged against the two still holding you back and muffling out your voice, but it was no use, you were restrained, unable to call for help and left to helplessly watch as they destroyed your hard work. As if things couldn’t get worse, they pull out your tools, the literal lifeblood for your magic, look you straight in your eyes and while struggling a bit manage to break them too.

"Awww, they’re crying like a baby." Hamna laughs.

"That’s because they are a baby." Marty continues.

"If you really want to cry like a baby, we’ll give a reason to cry." Fion eggs on, getting the other two to harshly shove you to the ground. You curl into a ball preparing for the worst, you wait a moment and when nothing happens you peek up to see the three of them frozen in place with fear in their eyes. You adjust yourself to have a look over your shoulder and see everyone standing with intimidating looks on their faces.

Dorian stared daggers at the bullies, while also subtly fiddling with his handaxe. Opal twirled her knives in her hands, magic sparking at her fingertips, and if you looked closely enough you could see a faint glow emit from her necklace. Fearne stood tall, her snake staff coming to life and hissing at the three, Mister well perched on her shoulder screeches, purposely showing the fiery interior of his mouth. Orym takes a step in front of you, acting as a shield for you while placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, you knew well enough he wouldn’t actually draw his sword on the other kids, but they didn’t know that. Dariax on the other hand looked very ready to strike at the three, holding a tight grip on his spear.

"Are you hurt bad?" Orym asks quietly, looking over to you. You shake your head giving an equally quiet "no".

"I’m not a fan of people hurting my little friend here." You hear Dariax say, now fulling pointing his spear at the others, the three each take step back. You finch at the feeling of being suddenly lifted off the ground, finding yourself in Dorian's arms, he gives you a concerned but reassuring smile.

"Let’s get out of here!" Fion commands and the three turn to leave but are stopped when Fy'ra Rai blocks their exit, her eyes burning into them with fury.

"You’re unjust actions should not be left unpunished. You dare to put down this child as if they are weak, when it is you three that are the weaklings. Knowing you would never stand a chance alone you group together and single out the ones you see as vulnerable. It is sad and pathetic, now leave while we still show you mercy." Her voice held such a powerful tone to it, it almost felt like the ground itself shook at her words. Fion, Marty and Hamna scramble over each other before running off, one of them crying for their mommy.

"Who where those children? Do you know?" Dorian asks. You let out a long sigh and explain to everyone a bit about your life when you still lived in the town.

"What’s all this stuff here?" Opal speaks up, staring at the broken pile of items.

"I wanted to surprise you all with some gifts I made, but now their all broken." You sigh sadly.

"You made theses for us?"

"I tried to, I know they aren’t that good but you’ve all been so nice and carding to me, I wanted to retune the favour."

"That’s really sweet of you." Fearne smiles, giving you a pat on the head, you smile a little at this.

"Why don’t you just fix them? I’ve seen ya do stuff like that before." Dariax butts in.

"I would, but they broke my tools too." You pout.

"Well that’s easy, we'll just buy you some new tools." Dorian states, shuffling you in his grip a bit to have a better hold on you. You look up at him with big hopeful eyes.

"Really? I don’t want to bother you."

"It’s no bother at all, your our little genius, the last thing we’d want are some small town jerks preventing you from ever thinking that." He proudly proclaims, getting affirmation from the others. Fy'ra Rai walks over and gently lifts your chin up to look at her.

"Listen to me little one, you are much stronger then you'd ever believe, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise." You give her a small nod, not entirely sure what she means but finding her words encouraging nonetheless.

"You know what? I do remember seeing these really awesome looking tools, while searching for a cloths shop. Here I’ll show you." Opal brightens up a bit, grabbing and dragging Dorian and by extension you off into the market again.

"Opal!" Dorian calls in surprise, holding tighter to you so you wouldn’t fall. You just giggle at the two, looking over your shoulder to see the others hurrying to catch up.

#critical role #critical role & reader #exandria unlimited #exandria unlimited & reader #dariax zaveon #dariax & reader #dorian storm #dorian & reader #fearne calloway #fearne & reader #opal #opal & reader #orym #orym & reader #fy'ra rai #fy'ra rai & reader

30 notes · View notes

etoileholland · 4 years

Text

Why must I meet you in a secret rendezvous?

@rosieholland asked “Hey I love all your imagines! Maybe you could do one where the boys are stuck at home during quarantine but Harry’s best friend y/n is staying with them. And Tom and y/n and secretly start dating and don’t say anything because they don’t know how Harry will feel about it.

Pairing: Tom x female reader; bestfriend! Harry

Warnings: a lil argument, I think that’s all

Word count: 2.8k

A/N: thank you so much for requesting this, and I really hope you enjoy! As always, requests are open, and let me know if you want to be added to the tag list.

It was a dangerous game to sneak around your best friend’s back, especially since you weren’t very good at keeping secrets.

You and Harry were nearly inseparable, and it seemed as though when someone saw one of you, then the other was somewhere nearby. When he began to work on his short film project and needed an actress, he called you first. You had known Harry for almost two years, and you met over what you call “the frozen yogurt debacle”. This needs no elaboration since it’s not important to the plot, but it’s important to note that a terrible shared experience can bring two people together.

A week into filming, it was announced that the UK would go into lockdown, and that meant filming had to be postponed. Since you spent more time at the Holland residence than your own, Harry asked if you would quarantine with them.

Naturally, spending so much time together with people for a few months would make it so that you get very comfortable around everyone.

The boys knew that you were physically affectionate, so no one batted an eye when you were cuddled up next to someone. Most of the time you were always with Harry, or sometimes Sam, and occasionally Tom.

That’s why no one suspected that you and Tom were secretly dating, especially Harry. You had vowed to keep it a secret from him because you didn’t want him to get mad at you for dating his brother.

Sneaking around was quite fun though, and it was becoming more and more like a game.

“Baby” you trailed off, moaning as Tom trailed kisses down your neck. You were both in his bedroom with the door locked, trying not to make any noise. Harry’s room was right on the other side of the wall, and it was a dangerous game to be making out in Tom’s room.

“Love, I need you-”, he placed a kiss on your shoulder, biting lightly as you moaned, “to be quiet.”

“You’re making it quite difficult.” You breathed back and he let out a breathy laugh.

“Good.” He kissed you deeper, and you heard Harry say something from the other side of the wall.

“Tom.” You were trying to untangle yourself from him, but he just kept pulling you closer. “Harry said something.” You managed to sit up, and Tom just pouted.

“So? He’s probably playing fifa or something.” He said, lifting his head slightly to kiss you on the lips.

“What if he knows?” You asked and he just shook his head.

“You’ve gotta tell him eventually. As much fun as it is to sneak around, you should be honest with him. He’s your best friend.”

“And he’s your brother.” You replied. “I don’t know, I guess I don’t want him to hate me for being with you.”

“I really doubt he’ll hate you, if he really loves me then he’ll be happy for me being with someone as lovely as you.” He stated and you nodded.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Now if you’ll excuse me,” you cupped Tom’s cheek with your hand, placing a light kiss to his cheek, “I did promise Harry that I would bake cookies with him.”

“Alright darling, cuddle later?” Tom looked at you with wide, puppy dog like eyes and you let out a small laugh.

“Of course, see you later, secret boyfriend.” You whispered while holding up finger guns.

“Back at you, secret girlfriend.” He winked as you quietly left the room.

——

“Earth to Y/N, why are you so distracted?” Harry waved his hand in front of you, gently slapping your cheek. “What is going on in that pretty little mind of yours?” He smirked as he let out a small laugh.

You two were supposed to be baking some cookies, but you’ve been lost in your thoughts for the duration of the activity.

“I’m just thinking about how in Italian, when you want to describe a loving boy with a good heart, you say “è buono come il pane” which literally means “he’s as good as bread” and I think that’s beautiful.”

“Actually, yeah that is beautiful. Would you describe me that way?” He looked up from the cookbook and you nodded. “Yeah of course, they must’ve had you in mind when they came up with that term.”

“Aw gosh I love you.” He put his hand over his heart and smiled, “but really, what are you thinking about? Hmm?” He prodded and you felt yourself already start to panic. He took a long drink of his water bottle, while continuing to stare at you.

“Okay fine, I was thinking that the guy who’s in the “Adam.” vine and the “hi, welcome to chili’s” guy are not the same person, but twins and I don’t know what to do with this information.” You rambled and Harry choked, gasping for air.

“Girl, you have got to use your one braincell for something more important than that. You’ve gotta be kidding.” He said but you shook your head no.

“Dead serious, why would I lie to you?”

“I don’t know, sometimes you don’t always say everything.”

“What do you mean by that?” You inquired and Harry remained silent.

“Nothing.” He choked out the word, and began to stare straight ahead. “Anyway can you just pass me the vanilla?”

—

“We can’t continue to do this anymore.”

A few days had passed since the baking incident, and you were convinced that Harry knew about you and Tom. You two were making out in the hallway closet, since it was one of the furthest points away from Harry’s bedroom, and far enough away from the living room so no one would hear you. You had begged Tom to not show any affection in the main parts of the house so that you wouldn’t get caught, so you two often ended up here.

“Whoa whoa, what do you mean by that?” His eyes scanned your face, and he rubbed your arm as you stood there silent.

“Baby please say something, it’s killing me. What do you mean we can’t do this anymore?” He whispered.

“I can’t sneak around behind my best friends back anymore, Tom. Okay? He’s gonna find out and he’ll be mad and I don’t want that. I don’t want to lose either one of you but if I had to choose-” you stopped yourself, and Tom looked at you with wide eyes.

“Finish your sentence.” He insisted, but you shook your head no. “I don’t want to finish it.”

“Say it.” He pleaded, and you looked down so he wouldn’t see a tear escape your eye.

“Say it!” He screamed and you flinched.

“I didn’t want to choose, but if I had to pick then I would pick Harry, alright?” You choked out the last word, and took a deep breath before finishing your thought. “I want a relationship with you but just because I want it, it doesn’t make it right. I love being Harry’s friend, and I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship just for a relationship with you.” Tom backed away from you, speechless as he reached for the door handle.

“Tom I’m sorry, just wait one second.” You grabbed his hand and he stood there, waiting for you to break his heart again.

“Let’s not make things weird between us, yeah? Then everyone will know for sure what happened.” You stated.

“Right, because now we care so much about what others think.” He added as he left, closing the door and leaving you in the closet alone.

You knew this day would come, and you braced yourself for it, so when it crumbled you were prepared for it. You just felt numb, and the shock almost hasn’t registered yet. You left the closet and walked into the living room, where Harry and Sam were playing video games.

“What’s with the long face?” Sam asked as Harry looked up at you.

“Oh nothing, I was just thinking about how once I got a fortune from a fortune cookie that read ‘fortune not found: abort, retry, ignore?’ and I think I’ve been destined for bad luck ever since that fateful day.”

“Ah, cool. Hey would you want to play a game with us?” Harry asked, completely ignoring what you had just said.

“Sure, what kind?” You asked, but before you had a chance to find out what it was, Harry bolted past you.

“Tom, Tuwaine, Harrison, get over here!” He ran up and down the hallway, trying to get everyone’s attention.

“What in the world?” Harrison asked.

“Did someone die?” Tuwaine inquired, peeking his head out of his bedroom door.

“It’s nothing bad, wanna play a game with all of us?” He asked and everyone groaned and rolled their eyes.

“Well what kind of game?” Harrison said hesitantly as Harry just grinned.

“I’ll explain once everyone comes into the living room because I don’t want to explain it twice.”

Everyone made their way into the room, and Harry instructed them to sit on the floor in a circle. Just then Sam downed the last of his beer and set the bottle on its side in the middle of the circle.

“Alright, it’s truth or dare, but with a twist. Technically it’s more of a spin, it’s regular truth or dare but instead of singling each other out, it’ll be more fair with the spin the bottle aspect.” He rambled, taking a seat right next to you.

You noticed that Tom was sat as far away from you as possible, and dodging your gaze. You looked back to see Harry resting his hand on your knee.

“Are we ready to play? I’ll go first.” Harry spun the bottle and it landed on Harrison.

“Alright mate, truth or dare.”

“Dare.”

“Okay.” Harry paused, “I dare you to read the last text message you received.”

Harrison unlocked his phone, and after a few seconds spoke. “Aha, it just says “Your amazon package is on its way.”

“Dang I was hoping it would’ve been juicier than that.” Harry remarked as Harrison spun the bottle. It landed back on Harry and he just smirked.

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Last lie you told?” Harrison leaned his arms back and propped himself up with them. Harry thought for a minute and just shrugged his shoulders.

“I told Sam that I really liked his squash soup recipe but it’s utterly disgusting.” He gagged and Sam punched him in the arm. “Oh come on, it’s not that bad, right?” He asked and everyone remained silent.

“Whatever, spin the bottle asshole.” Sam crossed his arms over his shoulders as Harry spun the bottle, landing on you.

“Oh god.” You blurted out and Harry replied “Oh god, indeed Y/N. Truth or dare?” He grinned like the Cheshire Cat and your fight or flight instinct immediately kicked in.

“Truth.” You spit out, and Harry just looked you dead in the eye and said “I dare you to tell everyone that you’re dating Tom behind my back and decided not to tell me about it, even though I trusted you completely and entirely.”

“I-I’m, um, not, well-” you stammered. Your vision was becoming blurry and you felt a panic attack coming on. Without warning you jumped up and ran out of the room.

“Okay I think he had that one rehearsed.” Tuwaine remarked, and the room became silent again. Everyone looked at Harry disapprovingly, and the tension in the room was so thick you could cut right through it.

“Why would you say that?” Harrison asked and Harry was silent. “How do you even know she’s dating Tom?”

“Was dating, we’re not together anymore.” Tom added and everyone looked at him.

“What?” Harry asked, and Tom replied, “You heard me, we’re not dating anymore. She broke up with me earlier because she knew it was wrong that we didn’t tell you. She felt so guilty about it that she tossed her happiness aside to make sure you would still be her friend. She chose you over me, and now I’m starting to think she may have regretted that decision.”

“I’m a terrible friend, aren’t I?” Harry whispered and everyone nodded their heads collectively.

“I’m afraid so.” Tom said quietly.

“I gotta go talk to her.” Harry got up and ran out of the living room. He sped walked around the house looking for you, until he found you sitting outside next to the chicken coop. You were sitting with your knees to your chest on a lawn chair, holding a blanket and looking at your phone.

He hesitantly stood at the glass doors, and cracked the door open. You looked up to see him standing there, and you averted your gaze away from him.

“Hey, can we talk please? I come in peace.” Harry said and you remained silent. He pulled up a chair next to you and sat down, and cleared his throat.

“Listen Y/N, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that in front of everyone. I should’ve talked to you about it in private, and I’m sorry. I know that was a dick move, and I regret doing it.” His gaze was soft as he looked over at you, but you were avoiding his gaze, and pulling on a loose blanket string.

He sighed and continued to speak. “Tom said you broke up with him because you felt guilty for sneaking around. I’m sorry I made you feel like you had to sneak around, though. If he makes you really happy then I want what’s best for you. After all you’re my best friend, and I love you. And if your happiness means dating my brother then go for it, I genuinely mean it.”

You two sat there in silence for about a minute, until you finally spoke.

You knew?” You asked.

“Oh yeah, it was obvious.”

“What tipped you off?” You tilted your head slightly to look at him, and he met your gaze.

“When I came up behind you while we were baking cookies, I noticed you smelled faintly like Tom’s cologne, and how else would you smell like that if you weren’t constantly close enough to him?”

“Well, I also cuddle with you and Sam, so that’s not the best indicator.” You said flatly and he smirked.

“I also heard you two kissing outside at midnight. You were making right above my open bedroom window, of course I could hear you. Look, my bedroom window is right there.” He pointed upwards and you could clearly see his potted plant in the windowsill. “Also, Tom isn’t a silent lover if you know what I mean.” Harry lifted his brow as you began to choke. He patted your back as you tried to catch your breath, which resulted in him breaking out into a fit of laughter.

“I should’ve asked you if it was alright that I dated Tom. I’m sorry I went behind your back.” You had your head low and Harry shook his head.

“You shouldn’t have to be sorry. I shouldn’t have made you feel like you have to sneak around, just to be happy. Do you like him?”

“Of course, I mean sure, he gets on my nerves,” you let out a small laugh, “but I really do like Tom. He makes me happy and I enjoy spending time with him.”

“Then you have my blessing.” He stood up and bowed dramatically.

“Are you sure, Harry? I mean I-”

“Little one, I want you to be happy, even if it means you dating my imbecile brother.” He laughed and you pulled him into a tight hug. “Thank you.” You whispered against his chest, and he whispered back “You’re welcome. Now go get your man.”

“I love you Harry.”

“I love you too, Y/N. Now go.” He ushered towards the door and you made your way back inside.

It didn’t take long to find Tom, who was sitting on his bed, eyes focused on his laptop. He looked up to see you standing in the doorway, and he shifted his gaze back to his laptop.

“Tommy?” You walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down. He continued to ignore you, and you felt as though you could cry.

“Please look at me? I’m sorry I broke up with you. I shouldn’t have and Harry said I have his blessing so that we-”

“Wait what did you say?” Tom cut you off, closing his laptop and sitting up. He scooted closer to you and put his hand on your knee.

“Harry said that he’s okay with us dating, so-.” You were cut off again by Tom crashing his lips onto yours. He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you closer to him, your chest flush with his. Breathless, you pulled away for a second, but Tom only pulled you in again.

“Are you mad-” you tried to speak but he cut you off yet again. “Don’t speak, okay? We’ll talk later. I just want you now.” You crashed your lips onto his, Tom moaning as he kissed you more passionately.

——

Mes petits anges (taglist): @scarletxwidow @starkissedholland @fangirlwithasweettooth @lmaotshollandd

#tom holland x you #tom holland imagine #tom holland imagines #tom holland x reader #tom holland blurb #soft boyfriend Tom #harry holland x reader #tom holland #tom holland fanfic #tom holland fanfics #tom holland x female reader #tom holland and y/n #tom holland and you #tom holland fluff #tom holland angst #tom holland writing #tom holland oneshot #mine #text

626 notes · View notes

nostalgic-pancakes · 3 years

Text

you look bizarre, in the apricot

Summary: Thomas Sanders and Nico Flores VS The Town of Night Vale: An Epistolary from the outside.

Pairings: Pintoverts, Cecilos and Gen friendships otherwise

Read on AO3

Word count: 976

Warnings: Unreality, reality being really weird, sparsely described body horror. I am not as good of a surrealism writer as Min, this is my first foray even remotely into the genre, but I hope to make more stuff like this sometime! Stay Safe

Other notes: For Min! hope you enjoy <3

Tagged: @sometimes-love-is-enough

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joan: u there yet?

Me (15:03): yes!! Sending a photo real quick

Me: (IMAGE.png)

[Image description: Thomas and Nico, both fairly suntanned, facing the camera with some parts of their faces awkwardly cropped off. However, it’s easy to see that they are both grinning wildly in front of a new house, reminiscent of fifties suburbia behind them, with a small pile of boxes near the door.]

Me (15:94): we’re gonna be unpacking now

Me (15:94): byeeeeee!!

Joan: Wait what’s up with your clock thing?

Me (15:95): dunno looks fine to me

Joan: yea prolly a glitch

Joan: see ya

…

Google Search History:

What foods cause hallucinations? Should you listen to hallucinations? Should you listen to hallucinations of fictional characters you created? Should you listen to hallucinations trying to help you? Why are writing objects banned in night vale Why does internet explorer work better in night vale Internet freaking explorer why Night vale Night vale news What is wrong with night vale What are the secret police

delete history?

...

“And now: Traffic.

Today on traffic, as we can see, the formerly fictitious aspects of a newcomer’s personality, Mr. Thomas Foley Sanders are currently running amok, amongst the many vehicles in today’s commute. However, Thomas is a rare case of someone who has enough internal strife that he feels the need to regularly bring out his aspects. For the rest of us, we either live in blissful, absolute ignorance, or neverending guilt.

Props to Mr. Sanders for trying to find his way through the deceptive caverns of the conscious and subconscious mind, but I would really rather get into our real traffic report, instead of talking about the state of vehicles in the city. This is boooooooring!”

...

Call history:

Joan Sticks (45:15) Tally (28:10) Nico my beloved (10:59) Joan Sticks (10:12) Joan Sticks (1:19:34) Nico my beloved (11:102) Carlos ? (???) Carlos The Scientist Palmer (???) Carlos The Scientist Palmer (???) Cecil Palmer (???) Cecil Palmer (???) Cecil Palmer (???) Nico my beloved (???) Patton (???) Logan (???) Virgil (???) Roman (???) Janus (+Remus) (???)

…

Group Chatroom with: Joan Sticks, Tallycat, Nico my beloved

Nico: @Joan @Tallycat I think something’s wrong with this town

Me: yes why is there a secret police

Me: why

Me: frickin w h y

Me: and the sides? Real

Me: i have pictures!! Evidence!!

Me: [IMAGE.png] [IMAGE2.png]

[Image Description 1: the sides and Thomas in a large cuddle pile. They are toppled together and making obvious contact, with fabric becoming creased under contact points.]

[Image Description 2: The Sides, Nico and Thomas are cooking together. It is going badly.]

…

EXISTENTIAL CRISES! | Sanders Sides

“And for today’s sponsor, we have a minor switch! Today we are sponsored by Big Rico’s Pizza!” says Thomas, a bunch of pixels on hundreds of thousands of screens.

“Now in two more flavors- one with vegan pepperoni and cheese, for anyone to enjoy, and of course, for all our eternal scouts, void. Simply void .Nobody does a slice like Big Rico’s! No one.” Thomas seems surprised at his own nonchalance at what he’s saying, but he gets a thumbs up from a hand just barely in camera view, and continues.

“Anyways- go to the checkout, enter the promo code thomassandersAAAAAAA and order some Big Rico’s Pizza today! Now, on to the episode”

Comments (3,030)

CosmicAce 1991 Why is the last thing on Thomas’s twitter from a month ago and WHY IS THIS VIDEO SIX MONTHS LATE?

Berry-Blast Ngl love the hugging- care to share a process reel? Aren’t Joan and Talyn too far away to work on this anymore? Let's Go Ghost When are we getting a new cartoon therapy?

Patton-Patoff WHERE ARE THE CORNERS?? THIS DOES NOT WORK WITH GREENSCREEN?? HOW DID THEY JUST… DO ANYTHING IN THIS VIDEO??

Minute Where is the checkout? Can’t find it. Also hi nico!

Cecil Jaws Stan All hail the glow cloud

DreadfulZombie19 These existential crises are… uncomfortable to say the least. Thank you for at least adding trigger warnings. Speaking of which, where are the SVS redux epilepsy warnings?

…

Google Search History for: Joan Stokes

Plane tickets to night vale Plane tickets to night vale, usa Which state is night vale in Where is night vale Driving map to night vale What is a delta airlines flight 27 Why is my friend from night vale acting so weird Night vale radio How to get friend out of night vale

…

Sanders Jaws! @ThomasSanders

Video is going to be delayed by about a week- Tuesday got cancelled, you see. No worries! As soon as it’s back, there will be a new Cartoon Therapy!

Replies

Min-Ding-Ding-Ding @arealsword Hope Tuesday’s doing alright

I really like flowers @sodoroses

What is actually going on is Thomas okay what is happening

…

Using Gravity Falls to cope with strange events in life! | Cartoon Therapy

Comments (1,048)

Minerva

Dang wonder what’s been going on.

…

Call transcript: Thomas Sanders, Joan Sticks, Nico my Beloved (xx:xx:xx)

“But here’s the thing- it used to be really scary-”

“Terrifying.”

“Yeah, but now? I guess we just have an all-powerful glow cloud (all hail) on the school board.”

“And we also have a sentient hand as my swimming coach. She’s cool.”

“How- How are you so cool with all this?”

“Stockholm syndrome?”

“I mean, the sides are real people here, so I get to have my crises off camera for once, which is nice.”

“Joan!!!” “Joan!” “Joan <3”

“One sec guys, I’ll give you the phone in a minute!”

“Okayyyyy” “How did Roman pull off pronouncing the heart emoticon?”

“Don’t ask me.”

“Well, if you’re happy…”

“Don’t worry too much about us, buddy. We’ll be fine.”

“Yeah! Carlos and I are going to be at a Slap-Poetry contest against Thomas and Cecil!”

“Mmhm. Well, goodnight then. Love you both.”

“Love you too!”

“Yeah! Love you too, Joan!”

#Sanders Sides #Welcome to Night Vale #sanders sides fanfiction #do not repost #cecil palmer

24 notes · View notes

cream-and-tea · 3 years

Text

MANUSCRIPT SEARCH TAG.

stole this from @vellichor-virgo bc i think this tag game is pretty ding dang neat and wanted an opportunity to try it out! all excerpts have been taken from all fall down, my insufferably queer superhero wip that has consumed my life for almost two years now lmao

my words were blood, tiny, murmur and bright.

blood— fun fact! apparently i’ve used this word 56 times in my draft so far! so there was um,,,,, quite a bit to choose from. i ended up going for the one in the first couple bits of Umbras first POV chapter. enjoy!

Running from Sonder is something like a game of tag. At least I think so.

Tag you’re it, round and round we go, crisscross all across this mess of a city, under subway lines and over buildings. Catch me if you can, but we both know you never will. It’s careful dance and it’s one we’ve both practiced into perfection. We know the steps, the outcome. We know exactly how this is going to end. Day after day. It’s what we do.

And it suits me just fine.

I don’t like it when things change. When things change the floor drops from under your feet and your falling, falling, falling with nothing to grab onto. And you can’t run away from it and it leaves your fingers blood-slick and your mouth bubbled full of screams and you’re scared. God you’re scared.

tiny— this may come as a surprise but i do in fact actually have superpowers in my superhero story. this features Livs illusion abilities and is taken from one of my absolute most indulgent and fluffy scenes where the gang is discussing what they’ll do for pride!

“Excuse you– wait. Waitwaitwait!” She shoots up off the bed, making me jump slightly. My three-am brain does not do well with surprises, especially Liv-style surprises.

“That’s what I’ll do this year!” She twirls around in the small space between our beds, the air pulses slightly with that tell-tale heatwave shimmer as her hair begins shifting and looping into dreadlocks that alternate gray and black and white and purple. She pauses for a moment, squeezing her eyes closed, and threads of green begin to work their way through the other colours, twisting together into tiny intricate braids.

murmur— tatum pov. just some gals being pals. nothing to see here. nothing at all.

She’s a villain. She’s–

She’s not.

She’s not a villain. She’s my shadow

She’s not a shadow. She’s a girl

“Yeah,” I murmur in reply, tearing my gaze away from her. “Good thing we did.”

And I’m an idiot. And I’m going to fail. And I’m going to regret everything, everything, everything.

But not her.

Never her.

Never again.

bright light— being totally honest here i didn’t have anything for “bright” so i guess this is close enough lol. please enjoy Kaz and Umbra having one of my favourite dynamics in the entire book.

“Kaz can— can you do me a favour?” I ask after a long while. Closing my eyes against the light streaming in through the window, pale and watery from the early morning.

“You know I don’t deal in favours Umbra.”

I snort, low in my throat. The world may be going insane, but at least Kaz is still here. They’re here the same way a hurricane is here, the same way the sun shines straight into your eyes. And they’re not a lot, but at least they’re something.

And to be honest right now something is all I need.

“This isn’t a favour you goober, it’s a demand. Don’t tell anyone about this. I mean it.”

“On pain of death?” They mutter sleepily into my hair.

”On pain of death.” I confirm, and can’t help the smile that spreads across my face.

tagging (no pressure obviously.) @howdywrites @magic-is-something-we-create and @oasis-of-you as well as (of course) anyone who wants to do this! your words are strike, ring, soft and fall

#creme does a tag #this was pretty fun!#i WILL take every single chance i can to ramble about this story #i’ve barely scratched the surface #one day i will write a full meta post on this fucking story and it will be a fucking monster #mark my words

9 notes · View notes

rookie-ramsey · 4 years

Text

Baby Blues, Chapter 11 (Bryce X MC)

Description: Bryce and MC can handle just about anything. Hopefully, pregnancy and parenting fall into the “just about anything” category.

Preview: Bryce stopped when his phone rang. He withdrew it from his pocket and answered, frowning when he heard the frantic tone in his sister’s voice. “Keiki? How’s Ava… hey, hey… slow down… what is it?”

Emily’s stomach dropped with concern. She jolted upright, leaning close in an attempt to decipher the conversation.

“We’re on our way.” Bryce hung up and pocketed his phone. “We have to get home.”

Previous Chapter

“Are you sure you two will be okay?”

“We’ll be fine,” Bryce assured Emily as he watched her pack her suitcase. “We’ll miss you like crazy, but we’ll be okay.”

“I’ll miss both of you, too.” She closed her suitcase and zipped it. “I know I’ll only be gone one night, and this conference is supposed to be fascinating, but it’s my first night away from you and Ava.”

“We’ll Facetime,” he promised. When she sat down, he gave her a soft kiss and passed Ava to her. Emily cuddled their daughter close and kissed her head. Ava yawned and blinked lazily.

“I can’t believe she’s already been here four months.” Emily stood up when she heard a knock on the door. “There’s Jackie and Sienna. Time to go.”

“I’ll follow you out.” Bryce grabbed her suitcase. “Did you pack your entire collection of textbooks in this thing?”

“Just a few.” Emily followed him outside. Once he had her suitcase in the trunk, she hugged her fiance and turned Ava over to him. “I’ll let you know when we get there. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Bryce watched until the car departed. He carried Ava upstairs and chuckled when her lips curled into a pout. “Yeah, I miss her already, too. But we’ll have fun, won’t we?” He tickled her cheek, making a toothless grin appear. “You’re too cute.”

He fed her and put her in her crib for a nap. While she slept, he watched television until his phone chimed with a message from Emily. He picked it up and smiled at the selfie she sent him in front of the hotel. He typed a response and sent it.

Already miss you and that gorgeous face of yours.

Emily replied a few moments later. I miss you two already. Facetime tonight. 8:00. Be there.

You got it. Go have fun.

He didn’t hear from her again until after dinner. At 8:00 sharp, he initiated the Facetime call. Emily answered a few moments later and grinned at the camera.

“Hey.”

“Hey, yourself.” Bryce grinned. “Guess who just made dinner without setting off the smoke detector?”

“Ava?”

“Rude.” He chuckled. “I’ll have you know I made some reasonably appetizing chicken all by myself.”

“Congrats.” Emily leaned back on the hotel bed. “I, meanwhile, got room service complimentary of the conference. I also got a lot of free snacks at the conference.”

“I’m almost jealous.” Bryce freed Ava from her swing and held her so she faced his phone’s screen. “Say hi to Mommy.”

Ava furrowed her brow at the phone and swiped a hand at it in curiosity.

Bryce laughed. “I’m pretty sure she thinks you’re trapped in there.”

“She does look concerned.” Emily puckered her lips. “Hi, silly girl.” She grinned when Ava let out a

Sienna plopped down on the bed next to her. “Hi, Ava!”

Ava waved her arm as her face knitted with bewilderment.

Emily waved back. “We’re gonna go downstairs now. Jackie’s waiting for us at the pool. You two behave.”

“Never.” Bryce shook his head. “Love you.”

“Love you.”

Bryce hung up and got Ava ready for bed. By the time he bathed and changed her, she was yawning and blinking drowsily. He tucked her into her crib and stayed up for a while before going to bed himself.

Around one in the morning, Bryce awoke to the sound of Ava fussing through the baby monitor. Yawning, he rolled out of bed and shuffled down the hall. He stepped into Ava’s nursery and leaned over the crib.

He scooped her up and kissed her forehead. A frown crossed his face when he felt the slight warmth of her skin. “Uh oh.”

Ava huffed unhappily and whimpered, wrapping her fingers around his fist.

“Someone’s not feeling good, huh?” Bryce carried her to the bathroom and found the thermometer. He checked Ava’s temperature and sighed in relief when it wasn’t alarmingly high. Still, he couldn’t help but feel worried as he snuggled her against his chest.

Ava fussed and grabbed a fistful of his shirt. She made an unhappy noise and sniffled.

“Let’s see here…” Bryce found their medical kit and checked her over. Her chest sounded clear, but she had congestion in her nose. “I think you have a cold. You’re gonna be just fine. I know you still feel yucky, though.”

As if she understood, she sniffled and nuzzled her head into his chest.

“Let’s do something about your nose.” Bryce found the rubber nasal aspirator and put the tip of it in her nose. Ava wrinkled her nose in disapproval but didn’t try to fight it. When it relieved some of the congestion in her nose, she let out a loud sigh.

Sensing that Ava wouldn’t be going back to sleep anytime soon, Bryce carried her to the living room. He laid down on the couch and settled Ava on his chest. Ava nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck and yawned, but stubbornly refused to close her eyes.

Bryce turned on the TV. He lowered the volume and kissed his daughter’s fuzzy head. “Why don’t we watch a movie until you fall asleep?”

In response, Ava grunted and snuggled into him. Bryce rested a hand on her back. He patted gently until he heard soft snores. Smiling softly, he closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.

When Emily returned in the morning, she quietly stepped into the apartment. A smile touched her face when she saw Bryce asleep on the couch, protectively snuggling Ava to his chest. She grabbed her phone and took a picture before she sat down on the couch.

With a yawn, Bryce opened his eyes. “Hi. Welcome back.”

“Hi.” Emily leaned over and kissed him. “I was pleasantly surprised to walk in and see a handsome man and a cute baby sleeping on my couch.”

“That sounds like a perfect surprise.” Bryce sat up and passed Ava to her. “She woke up with a cold, but we had everything under control.”

“She has a cold?” Emily frowned and snuggled her daughter close. “Poor girl. But I know Daddy took good care of you, didn’t he?” She touched Ava’s forehead.

Ava yawned and stretched before she started to fuss.

“I think she’s ready for breakfast.”

“I think I’m ready for breakfast, too.” Bryce stood up. “I’m gonna try my luck at making scrambled eggs.”

“I’ll get the fire department ready.”

XXXXXXX

“Just think. In a matter of months, we’ll be going on dates as a married couple.”

Emily grinned. “We’ve been engaged for over two months and you say that every time we go out.”

“Because I’m excited.” Bryce squeezed her hand as they walked through the park where he had proposed. They sat on a bench by the water. Emily leaned against his shoulder and sighed happily.

“We should probably start planning the wedding. Actually planning, not just brainstorming. We need to pick a date, pick bridesmaids and groomsmen….”

“Well, we’re talking about it now. I’d be perfectly happy marrying you right here and now, but I want the day to be perfect.”

Emily nodded. “I’m asking Sienna, Jackie, Aurora, and Keiki to be my bridesmaids. I wouldn’t mind a winter wedding.”

Bryce rubbed her arm. “How about February?’

“February sounds good. I know it’s cliche, but maybe we could have it the week before Valentine’s Day.”

“I’ll recruit some groomsmen. I’ll ask-” Bryce stopped when his phone rang. He withdrew it from his pocket and answered, frowning when he heard the frantic tone in his sister’s voice. “Keiki? How’s Ava… hey, hey… slow down… what is it?”

Emily’s stomach dropped with concern. She jolted upright, leaning close in an attempt to decipher the conversation.

“We’re on our way.” Bryce hung up and pocketed his phone. “We have to get home.”

Note: I felt like leaving it on a dramatic cliffhanger. Stay tuned!

Next Chapter

Tags: @elephant9998 / @mvalentine / @fortunatelywaywardsandwich / @whatchique / @achalantspitfire / @lahellacute / @virtuallytakenby / @oofchoices / @dang-lahela / @misswhit12 / @drakeismyweakness / @sitsoncornflake / @a-tragical-tale / @bitchloveskcbaseball / @laceandlula / @paulfwesley / @bloomingsivan / @anotherbeingsworld / @vamped99 / @malvolari-take-my-soul / @doctorsurferbro / @loveellamae / @drethanfreakingramsey / @trappedinfandoms / @elladines / @macy-ray85 / @mrsdrlahela / @lucy-268 / @swimmingauthordreamerbonk / @drakewalker04

#open heart #choices #choices: open heart #bryce lahela #bryce x mc #bryce lahela x mc

47 notes · View notes

calpalirwin · 4 years

Text

Look How We’ve Grown

Summary: You never forget your first crush.

A/N: Yeah, I ended up writing it.

Word Count: 1.3k

And away, and away, we go!

“Excuse me,” a woman’s voice called from beside the man.

“Oh, sorry,” he said, stepping out of her way so she could get past him to reach for one of the boxes of cereal on the shelf.

“Michael?” the woman said again, halting her movements to carefully study the man in front of her.

“Sophia?” he responded, taking a good look at the woman.

“Holy shit, it is you,” she breathed. “Geez, it’s been… wow…”

He gave a short chuckle as he passed a hand through his hair. “Fifteen years?”

“Give or take,” she told him with a nod, a dazed smile on her face. “Wow… how’ve you been?”

“Good, good. You?”

“Good,” she smiled, shaking her head. “Sorry, I just… this is crazy.”

“You’re telling me,” Michael laughed. “When did you move to LA?”

Sophia counted on her fingers as she thought. “Like 2, 3 years ago. My job relocated me.”

“Oh, shit. That’s awesome. Hey, um… would it be totally crazy if I asked you to dinner, or something? So we could catch up?”

“That sounds great. Do you still like pizza?”

“I love pizza.”

“Cool, there’s this place off of Santa Monica Blvd. De Santos?”

“Oh, I love them! Tomorrow at 7?”

“See you then.” Sophia started to move away to finish her shopping but stopped before she got to the end of the aisle. “Hey, Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“Really good to see you.”

“Really good to see you too, Soph.”

~~~

“So which colors do you think we’ll have the most of?” Sophia asked, her mouth watering at the sight of the snack-sized bag of M&M’s sitting in the middle of the desk between her and Michael.

“Blue,” Michael responded.

“Blue,” Sophia repeated slowly as she wrote his answer down on their science sheet. “We have to say why.”

“Because there’s more blue dye?” he guessed with a shrug.

“That’s silly!” she laughed.

“Well every time I eat M&M’s there’s always more blue ones,” Michael continued to defend his answer. “Plus,” he went on to add, tapping at the worksheet. “It says ‘hypothesis.’ We can be wrong.”

“Fine,” she huffed, her pencil scratching their answer onto the paper. “We think there will be more blue colored M&M’s because blue dye is more popular,” she spoke aloud as she wrote, both as a way for Michael to know what she was writing, and for him to approve or offer suggestions.

“Perfect. Now what?”

“Now we open it, and count how many there are total. And how many there are of each color.”

Michael tore open the package, carefully spilling the candy out on their desk. They raced each other to count them all. “13!” they both shouted at each other in victory.

“2 green,” he told her, already separating them by color. He prattled off the other numbers as she recorded them. “1 yellow. 1 orange. 2 red. 3 blue! And… 4 brown. Dang!” He slumped against his seat, crossing his arms.

“It was a good guess,” she told him, trying to make him feel better. “You were almost right. And we’re allowed to be wrong,” she reminded him.

“I guess,” he shrugged, but sat up a bit straighter in his chair. “So now what? Do we get to eat them?”

Her eyes scanned down the page, her finger trailing down it. “We have to explain if our hypothesis was right or not. But I have the numbers down, so yeah.”

“Okay,” he said, setting the dividing up the M&M’s. “Do you want yellow or orange?”

“Yellow, please,” she replied, as she filled in their last answer. “Our hypothesis was incorrect because there were more brown M&M’s than blue ones. Done!”

“These ones are yours,” he said, moving a small pile of the candy over to her side.

“But I have 7…”

“Yeah. I was wrong, so you can have the extra.”

She smiled briefly at him before an idea struck. She carefully bit into the blue M&M, tearing half off into her mouth, the other half still safe between her thumb and index finger. “Here!” she laughed, handing him the uneaten portion. “We can each have half.”

“Ew, it was in your mouth!” he giggled, taking it anyway.

“Well, I’ll take it back,” she said, holding out her hand.

“No way!” he continued to giggle as he popped the piece in his mouth.

~~~

“I can’t believe you remember that,” Sophia marveled at the man. She gave a toss of her head as she took a sip of her beer.

“How could I forget? You were my best friend all through primary school.”

“Yeah, and then you got buddy buddy with Calum Hood, and the rest, as they say, is history.”

“Aw, c’mon,” Michael laughed. “I thought you liked Cal.”

“Oh, yeah. Cal’s great. So is Luke, so I’m glad you finally stopped hating on him.”

“Oh, I still hate Luke.”

Their laughs rang out. “Nah, I’m really glad you became friends with them. It worked out great for you.”

“The way you say that makes it seem like I just up, and ditched you for the guys. That’s not what happened. Was it?” His question held a trace of fear, like his version of their past being carefree and innocent was a lie compared to her memory.

“No, no,” she assured him. “I mean, I played my part in it, too. One year we were running around the schoolyard, swimming at each other’s houses, inviting each other to our birthday parties, trading Halloween candy, and being each other’s Valentines. And then the next we weren’t.”

“Yeah,” Michael reflected sadly. “I still can’t believe you were the only girl in our year who’s mum let you invite boys to your birthday.”

“Just you,” she confessed. “You were the only boy I ever invited.”

“Shit, really?! Damn… way to make a guy feel special, am I right?”

“I tried,” Sophia laughed.

“You succeed. Not many girls get to say they were my friend before all of this.”

“I imagine not many girls get to say they were in love with Michael Clifford pre-fame either, but they’re both titles I wear with honor.”

Michael choked on his sip of beer, some of it dribbling down into his beard scruff. He set the glass down, the liquid sloshing wildly. “W-what?”

Sophia’s cheeks burned. “Oh, you had to know.”

“I- I mean I had my guesses, but I never thought if it was true or not. Never really believed it. I mean, I was just some goofy ass kid.”

“A goofy ass kid who held my hair back when I threw up in a trash can in Year 1. A goofy ass kid who didn’t run away scared with all the other boys once cooties became a thing. A goofy ass kid who gave me a necklace for my eleventh birthday that I still have somewhere.”

“Okay, my mum gave you the necklace. My name was just on the card.”

Sophia chuckled softly. “Point is, Michael Clifford, you may have been a goofy ass kid, but that’s exactly why I loved you. And I was never much for believing in regretting things, but if I have one regret it’s that I didn’t tell you back then when it would have mattered.”

“Who says that telling me now doesn’t matter?”

She laughed in disbelief. “Because why would it? It was a primary school crush. And, I mean, I’m glad it was you, and not someone who grew up to be a douche. But c’mon, Michael.”

“Because if you had told me back then, I would have been the goofy ass kid who’s cheeks turned red as he ran away and laughed about it with his friends. Because you told me now when I’m grown up enough to do this.” He leaned towards her, his palms flat on the table as his head lowered to kiss her. Her own hands landed on top of his as she moved to meet him halfway, sighing in content as their lips connected. “If your one regret wasn’t telling me back, then mine’s not doing this back then,” he admitted as they pulled back, eyes shining and lips tingling.

“Who says they have to stay regrets?” she asked, hooking a finger under his chin and pulling him back in for a second kiss.

Tag List

@frontmanash @goeatsomelife @flameraine @creator-appreciator @cxddlyash @1-irwin-94 @sparkling-calm @tea4sykes @youngblood199456 @5-seconds-of-obsession @gosh-im-short @aquarius-hood1996 @talkfastromance4 @itjustkindahappenedreally @philthepegacorn @boomerash @teenwolfss24 @karajaynetoday @myfavfanficsever @stormrider505 @cashtonisruiningmylife

#look how we've grown #michael clifford #michael clifford fic #5sos #have fun guessing which memories actually happened to me!#or just enjoy reading some michael cuteness. i dont really care #galcal irwin

32 notes · View notes

originofjaehyun · 4 years

Text

Prelude: After Story | Part 2 | Nonstop

Prelude: After Story Masterlist

Word count: 4,027

Warnings: None

Part 2 | Nonstop

“You’re in danger, and I get shaken.”

Prev | Next

Read Interlude: No More Drama

Tag list: @justineasian @elauniesdream

Ever since Yuta moved to Seoul, he would always wait for Doyoung before they go to the office together. Simply because one, Yuta is an early riser and two, they lived in the same building.

Doyoung helped Yuta a lot with his move, which includes finding the best place for Yuta to stay for at least the next three years. Surprisingly, among all of the options that Doyoung has offered, Yuta fell in love with the apartment that was none other than Doyoung’s building.

“Are you sure about this?”

Yuta nods. “I like to keep my place with greeneries. This one faces the east, so I’ll get plenty of sunlight.”

Doyoung rested his hand on his hip, hummed in agreement. “If you say so. The view from here is really pretty, that for sure.”

Yuta and Doyoung friendship are odd. They’re not exactly the closest friends –since they started as colleagues. While Yuta worked with other people aside from Doyoung in the company, he felt most comfortable around him. It’s just the charming point of Doyoung, since he always took care of people around him. Furthermore, Yuta did have a thing with his best friend, resulting in them sharing a fairly good amount of time outside of work, thus making them closer naturally. Though, it’s not like they suddenly could claim as to each other’s partner in crime.

Today was like any other days. Yuta would wait in the smoking area near the parking lot. Yuta usually doesn't smoke in the morning –he said he likes to keep his lungs fresh when he starts his day– but everything changed a year ago. He doesn't really mind though, ever since he converted to IQOS.

“Morning, I hope you’re– whoa!”

Doyoung, who was still half-awake, is now on full alert when he sees Yuta.

“Dude, what a haircut!” He exclaims. “I thought your long hair would fit you best. Pretty jealous with a guy who’s able to tie their hair and still managed to look good, but dang those undercut looks good on you.”

Yuta smiled. “Thanks, bro.” He draws a smoke. “Thought it was a nice change. A new beginning, I guess? Like how someone told me.”

“A new beginning huh?” Doyoung shoved his hand to his pants pockets. “Well, speaking of…”

Yuta hummed at Doyoung, tilting his head because Doyoung is hesitating.

“Nevermind, I’ll talk to you over coffee.”

“Wow, such a joy killer.” Yuta quickly removes the white stick from its cartridge. “Well, let’s go then. I can’t handle cliffhangers.”

–

“Here,” Doyoung passes Yuta’s usual americano while holding his own matcha latte.

“Sankyuu,” Yuta thanked him, purposefully using his Japanese accent. “So, care to continue where you left?”

Yuta could sense that Doyoung stopped sipping his straw. But Doyoung realized that he’s dealing with Yuta here and his best trait is his directness. Though he’s a bit taken aback, Doyoung already expected Yuta to go back straight to the topic.

“Well, the thing is,” He pulled the chair, sitting across Yuta. “[Y/N] asked me if she could meet you.”

“[Y/N]?” Yuta’s eyes widen. Amongst all of the people, her name was the least that he would expect to want to meet him. “Meeting me? Is there anything wrong?”

“There’s nothing wrong, but…” Doyoung pursing his lips, noticeably nervous. “Damn it, [Y/N], why do you have to do this to me?” He mumbles.

“Bro seriously, just go straight to the point.” Yuta gives his cup a few twirls before sipping it. “I won’t be offended if that is what you’re worried about.”

Yuta can see how Doyoung’s adam’s apple moves up and down. “She asked me whether she and Jaehyun could meet you to give you their wedding invitation.”

Immediately Yuta halted all of his movements. He has sworn to himself that he tries to move on. At this point he is even convinced that he already does. He never thought Doyoung’s last statement would cause that much pain.

Yuta remains silent, exactly how Doyoung expects him to be. “She did it out of good intentions, Yuta. I mean, I was around when you guys were together and I know it sucks to come to your ex’s wedding, but–”

“We never dated.” Yuta cuts him off.

“Well, whatever you called your relationship back then. At least from my eyes, you guys were happy and regardless of the ending, you did help her out of her slump. And she’s very grateful for that. If it weren’t for you, she probably wouldn't be able to be her complete self again, let alone to be together with Jaehyun.”

“Nonsense.”

Doyoung sighs. “You are special to her, Yuta. That wouldn’t change, no matter how bitter you take this news. If you’re uncomfortable I can come with you or I can ask [Y/N] to come by herself. Or would you rather to have her pass the invitation to me so–”

“Fine,” Yuta finally looks Doyoung in the eyes. “But I’m not comfortable meeting her… fiancé yet, so it would probably be best if I could meet her alone.”

A gum smile appeared on Doyoung’s face. “Sure, I’ll make sure to tell [Y/N].”

He finally rested his back on his chair. “Thank you for not making this difficult, bro.”

Yuta raised one of his brows, “Who said so? You’re paying for my coffee, right?”

Doyoung’s eyes grow bigger in disagreement.

–

Thank God Yuta managed to swallow his last piece of canelé —else he would choke after seeing her presence.

She came alone, just as Doyoung had promised. Yuta noticed she kept her hair length just the same. Nothing has really changed about her, except that she looks visibly more radiant.

She quickly spotted Yuta, and immediately pulled the chair in front of him.

“Hi,” She said as she took her seat. “Have you been waiting long?”

“No, not really.”

“Yet you just finished a canelé?”

“You know I’m a fast eater.”

She giggles. “Yes, I remember.”

Ah, her giggles.

Yuta could listen to this the whole day. It’s a strange feeling for him. As much as he loves her laughter, he hated the fact that he’s such a simple man –because he wishes he could listen to her laugh nonstop. That he could be the one that makes her laugh.

“Uhm, so…” Her relaxed demeanor changed into a slightly more skittish posture. “I guess if you agree to be here, it means you know the reason why I want to meet you.”

Yuta parted his lips from his cup. “You could’ve just text or call me by yourself, you know? Our Doyoung looked like a poor rabbit that got trapped.”

He glad he mentioned Doyoung, as it manages to put a smile on her face. “Right, you are a scorpio, to begin with.”

Yuta rested his chin on his hand, unconsciously smiling. He never believes in astrologies, but it’s funny how whenever she mentioned his sign, he would reactively feel giddy as it is the first thing that she knew about him —other than his name and his nationality, of course.

“Well,” She went through her purse. “I was hoping you could come to our wedding.”

Then when the smile gradually fades.

You expected this.

Yuta said that repeatedly in his mind. Yet the pain that he feels on his chest doesn’t seem to subdue.

She’s marrying a Jeong. One of the most desirable bachelors in Seoul. Not only women are fawning over his look, but Jeong Jaehyun is a brilliant, wealthy man. At a young age and to be able to manage Seoul’s biggest corporate, it’s a no brainer that women fly around Jaehyun like he’s a flame to a moth.

Yuta expected the invitation to be grander, but instead, it was stunningly simple. The rose-embossed envelope was dominated with cream tones, and the only noticeable color was the muted rose gold wax seal on the envelope with their initials. Another simple detail that makes the invitation look even more beautiful was the addition of dried flowers in between the stamp and the envelope.

“It’s beautiful,” He flips the envelope to reveal a calligraphy text that reads Nakamoto Yuta. “You’re a creative director indeed, huh.”

She pinches his hand at his jokes, to which Yuta quickly replies with repeated ouches.

“Can I open this?”

She nods, and Yuta carefully opens the envelope to reveal a tea-dyed paper that has floral-details embossed on the corner.

Love isn’t something you find. Love is something that finds you.

And the two shall become one.

[Y/N] and Jaehyun invite you to celebrate their love and wedding.

Yuta remains silent as he continues to read the date and the venue, before finally speaking up.

“Dinner, dance, and drinks to follow, huh?”

She held her breath, clearly unable to predict Yuta’s reaction. “Specifically champagnes. Though, I’m pretty sure Johnny’s going to smuggle some whiskey —don’t ask me how.”

The memory of her, sitting next to him while going on a date seems as clear as a day for Yuta. He remembered how the tip of her ears turned red when he held her hands, receiving her smile at the end.

But she never shines as bright as she is right now. The way the stardust on her eyes sparkled when she talked about her wedding.

As painful as it is for Yuta to let her go, it would be even hurtful if he were to steal that happiness away from her.

“I’ll come.” He puts the invitation back to its envelope.

“You will?!” She shrieked, unable to contain her excitement.

“Whoa, calm down soon-to-be bride.”

“Well, I didn’t expect you would… give me an answer this fast.”

“What? Do you expect me to be an asshole? You know I’m a pretty decisive person.”

“I’m aware on how… awkward this situation is. So I expected a lot worse.”

Yuta scoffed at her remarks, cuts her off before she could continue, “Congratulations, [Y/N]. I’m happy for you.”

Yuta saw how his statement caught her off guard, but her eyes slowly softened gradually. “Thank you Yuta. Really, I’m grateful that it was you.”

Yuta did not ask her to further explain her sentence.

“I’m glad it works out in the end.”

–

“Ah, thank you.”

Yuta exited from the back seat of his Uber when the valet opened the car door for him. Although Yuta already owns a car in Seoul, he had a hunch that he’s going to drink a lot today and as a responsible adult, he decided to skip driving.

The wedding venue stretches out to the lobby –and Yuta can already tell that the scale of the wedding is quite grand. The hallway was filled with the wedding decorations, in which the couple tries to keep the ethereal theme intact. A large acrylic box filled with green leaves fillers and giant white orchid greets the guest. On that box Yuta could spot gold letterings that spelled Welcome to the Wedding of [Y/N] and Jaehyun on its full glory.

The more steps Yuta takes to walk to the main venue, the more magnificent the decoration is. Toffee-colored roses bloomed beautifully on the hallway, looking marvelous with the giant pampas in between. Yuta gave small nods in approval after looking at the decor –impressed with the florist who worked on this.

Of course, he could see the pictorial pre-wedding photos of the couple. It seems like there are multiple themes for their pre-wedding shoots –from an editorial-like studio photoshoot to something that goes above and beyond like a shoot in the middle of the desert. Who knows how they were able to pull these off, but knowing the person she’s marrying, the answer doesn’t seem so far off.

However, the very photoshoot that made Yuta stop his step was the simplest theme; both of them laughing in the kitchen. Obviously Yuta is aware that there were probably crews behind the scene, asking them to pretend that they’re cooking –or in this case, playing with their food. But for someone who spent a good amount of time loving this very person, he knows best that the smile on her face is genuine. And the way they hug each other was so full of love.

He bitterly smiled, steps getting heavier as he knows the more he entered, the more pain it is going to be for him.

Why did I say yes?

He didn’t rethink much about his own question when he finally arrived at the main venue. The weather was clear as if nature is giving their blessing to the happy couple. The outdoor wedding was breathtaking, especially on the main wedding arch. The venue itself is already spectacular on its own –beautifully nestled on the bank of the river. Another charming point is the fact that the traditional Korean architecture married very well with the skyscrapers across the river. Additionally, it was even more impressive because the guests are able to soak in the spellbinding view of the sunset.

“Good afternoon, sir.” The wedding organizer greets him. “Are you a part of the bride’s or the groom’s guest?”

“The bride.”

She gave him a warm smile as she received the invitation, confirming his reservation. “OK, please take a seat on the left side. It shouldn’t take long before the ceremony started.”

It was an intimate wedding. Though they were a pair of lovebirds before, it was not enough for Yuta to know every single person on her circle. At least, he was unable to find any familiar face. So Yuta assumed people like Doyoung, Hanbyul, and Mingyu are taking the role of bridesmaid and groomsmen.

He took a glance at the groom’s side, where he spotted Donghyuck who’s glued to his phone. Yuta also notices the people from the last party, was it Sicheng and Taeil? He then saw how Taeyong quickly found his seat, and before long the ceremony was starting.

The officiant leads Jaehyun to wait at the altar from the side. Afterwards, Mark made his entrance, as Jaehyun’s only relative. The groomsmen quickly follow after, including Johnny who’s his best man, escorted the bridesmaids down the aisle.

When the flower girl disperses the roses petals and the ring bearer enters, Yuta is unable to focus on anything but the person who is walking right behind them.

She was breathtakingly beautiful.

Her choice of the wedding gown was the classic white off-shoulder silhouette dress. But the Óscar De La Renta gown is anything but mediocre. The floor-length tulle gown was embroidered with organza threaded flowers, and the veil that she wore that was made out of delicate chantilly lace. When he thought the dress couldn’t impress him further, the custom made veil was dazzled with meticulously embroidered rhinestone embellishments.

As the bride makes her entrance, Jaehyun starts to hold his hand together tighter. It is almost too visible for the audience to see how red his hands are. Jaehyun is a man who rarely wears his emotions on his sleeve, but seeing the love of his life walking down the aisle is enough for him to take off his mask. The thought of making her officially his wife causes him to well up.

All eyes were on her, but Yuta was especially unable to stray his eyes away. The way she walks gently to meet her groom at the other end of the aisle, but at the same time holding her bouquet that is dominated with muted blush orchids that are complimented with white roses nervously.

Yuta is able to catch all of that. However the thing that keeps Yuta’s eyes fixed on her is how even with the sheer veil that covers her face, he could still see how incredibly happy she is.

And the one that is able to put on that radiant smile is no other than Jaehyun.

She finally reached where her future husband is. She faces Jaehyun, and he takes a step forward to lift up her veil. Almost instantly, a single stream falls from Jaehyun’s eyes. She was beyond beautiful in his eyes. And although he was crying, he couldn’t help but to grin widely, exposing both of his dimples.

The sweet scene gained collective awes from the audiences. But Yuta took a deep breath instead so that he won’t stop collecting himself. Preventing him to do something that he would regret in future.

“Dear our lovely guests,” The officiant opens the event. “We are gathered here to celebrate love, the unison of our happy couple, [Y/N] and Jaehyun who are about to become Mr. and Mrs. Jeong.”

He proceeds by addressing the couple, and then comes the time where they exchange their vows.

“[Y/N],” Jaehyun opens up his cue card. “You are, without a doubt, my unconditional love.”

Contradicting the smile that she put on her face, her eyes started to tear up. Jaehyun took another deep breath before he continued.

“Today, I love you completely, as I did yesterday and yes, definitely for another seventy years, and even more. I promise I will provide a safe haven for our family, like what you provided to me. I promise to build a home that is filled with joy, learning, and compassion. There’s no need for you to look for me because I will be there for you, always. I will share your dreams, your joys, and I will be the place of comfort in your sorrows. I promise that you are my once in a lifetime love, because I will always find you in every love song, even in deafening weather, on the smallest things, and my dream is still, and will always be you.”

She wished she could hug the person in front of him after he reached the end of his vow, but she was busy tapping the tissue gently so that the tears won’t ruin her hours-long makeup. The officiant gave her a nod, allowing her to proceed with her vow.

“Jaehyun,”

There’s a crack in her voice, telling the audience that she’s mustering all of her strength to keep herself calm and collected.

“My everything, I give myself today to you to be your wife. I vow to share the rest of my life with you. To speak nothing but the truth to you in love. I promise that I will never give up on you, to respect you as to how you respected me. Building a home together with you seems like a dream, but my dream, too, is always you. Whether it’s through health, or illness, or when all of our hair turns grey and we get all wrinkly –at the end of my life, even when it has passed seventy years, I hope the person staying next to me is you.”

At her vow, Jaehyun repeatedly uses his thumb and index finger to wipe his own tears. He pressed his lips together, and even from far away it is visible that he was doing his best to hold his tears. Crying not out of sadness, but under immeasurable happiness.

After they exchange their rings, the couple look at each other once more. Completely on their own space. Speaking in a language that no other person in the audience could understand, before the officiant pulls them back.

“You may now have your first kiss!”

At the sign, Jaeyun pulls her to his embrace and gently kisses his now-wife. As if they’ve dreamed of this moment to live, they closed their eyes to soak in all the raw emotions they’ve felt for each other. They only realize that the time didn’t stop when the audiences are cheering for the happy couple.

And that is all Yuta needs to confirm his feelings.

Like everything that he’s been holding on, burst open like a bubble. There were no longer lingering feelings. No longer sign of remorse. Everything just made sense. So while people who sat nearby clapped and cheered, Yuta quietly wiped his own tears.

–

The scenery of the brilliant sunset is quickly replaced by the dim lights from the string lights that drape above the venue. While they provided tables for the guest to eat, all of them are currently holding drinks while enjoying the dance floor.

Yuta, on the other hand, decided to step away from the crowd. Distancing himself so that he can have a moment of peace for a second, but just enough for him to see how the happy couple shares their happiness with their friends and family.

“Enjoying the night breeze, sir?”

Yuta was not expecting someone to come see him. After all, the crowd that is acquainted with him is quite minimal in this party.

“Ah, you are–”

“Oh, how rude of me,” She uses her free hand to cover her mouth, before offering it to Yuta. “Hi, I’m __.”

“Yes, the florist. Are you the groom’s guest?” Yuta assumed since Mark is working for her.

She quickly shook her head. “Actually I’m here because I’m in charge of the floral decoration.”

Yuta’s eyes widened. “You did all of these? They’re amazing!”

She smiles shyly. “I’m glad all of the efforts didn’t go in vain. At least, I’m glad to know that you like it.”

“The couple is impressed, too, I bet.”

She nods her head. Yuta took another sip of his champagne before prolonging the pregnant pause.

“Are you OK?”

Yuta cocked his head, asking her to elaborate her question.

“I didn’t mean to pry, but I saw the way you look at them during the ceremony and… you cried.”

Oh?

He didn’t think that anybody would notice. Yuta does not have that much significance as part of the guest. He is not Johnny, being the groom’s best friend, nor Doyoung. He is simply the bride’s ex-lover, and they invited him probably out of guilt and a way of saying their gratitude.

He also didn’t expect a woman would be as equally direct as him while keeping her eloquent speech.

“Well,” He twirls his glass of champagne. “Are you free? Or do you have any other responsibilities after this?”

“Oh, usually I leave after I finish. Usually the W.O. would have their own cleaning team, and I leave the couple to decide what they would do with the flowers. Mark insisted me to enjoy the party, but it’s quite difficult to enjoy the party if I don’t know anyone. You’re a regular in our shop, so out of hope that I have sheer luck, you don’t mind that I approached you first.”

A coy smile appears on Yuta’s face. “Actually,”

He then took a glance at where the main event was. Looking directly on how Johnny forces Jaehyun to drink directly from the bottle, and the way his legs sways left and right before he falls to his wife’s arm. A happy, but drunk chap.

“I happen to know one of the groomsmen. They clearly oversupply their alcohol, let me steal a bottle or two. Would you care to accompany me for a drink?”

Yuta saw how bewildered she is, and unconsciously laughed at her expression. “I guess the tie is not for me, it suffocating. Also, you don’t need to worry about me being drunk-driving, I can also ask an Uber from the groomsmen.”

Yuta could see she nervously looking sideways, probably not sure how to react to Yuta’s invitation.

“There’s no hidden agenda, really. Odd, isn’t it? You are a stranger, yet I feel the most comfortable talking to you. Probably because you are a stranger, I got nothing to lose by telling you anything. You don’t have any prior judgment about me anyway.”

She remained silent, eyes still fixed on Yuta. Silence consumed them, and the only sound that could be heard was the distant laughters from the dance floor.

“Well, I’m not forcing you or anything.” Yuta decided to break the silence away. “But I thought of drinking my woe away, and it would be a pretty sad scene, don’t you think? To drink alone on such a happy day?”

She finally lets down her guard, smiling at him. “My car is not fancy, but I can definitely drive well.”

A/N: They’re finally a married couple :’) One more chapter to go before the series come to an end!

#yuta scenarios #yutaxreader #yuta fic #yuta angst #neowritingsnet #yuta fluff #commoner!yuta #commoner!au #Yuta #prelude after story #nct scenarios #prelude #nonstop

28 notes · View notes

fiftyshadesofcorona · 3 years

Text

Fifty Shades of Corona

A Brief Note Before You Begin

This novel is intended to be semi-satirical and "so stupid that it's funny", so please do not take it too seriously. It is meant to be savored enjoyed, sip by precious sip, like a fine wine…or something…either alone or amongst your most well-humored friends.

Epigraph

“But it is only in epic tragedies that gloom is unrelieved. In real life tragedy and comedy are so intermingled that when one is most wretched ridiculous things happen to make one laugh in spite of oneself.”

Georgette Heyer

Prelude

The forested roads of Northern Washington are eery and empty as I race back to him.

It was the last thing that I expected to happen during the global Coronavirus pandemic.

It came on fast, terrifying and all-consuming—gripping my heart and invading my mind.

I still can’t believe it…

I’ve fallen in love.

I glance over at my phone resting silently on the passenger’s side seat.

My stomach twists with grief and my knuckles go bone-white against the steering wheel.

Why hasn’t he called?!

What if—

I shake the thought away before I can finish it. If I let my mind go there it will be the end of me.

A few days ago, I didn’t even know he existed.

Now I don’t know whether I’ll ever be able to exist again without him.

I swipe at my cheeks, hot tears streaking my hand.

This is bad.

This is so so bad.

The seaside exit comes into view.

I lean forward and take a deep breath, trying to compose myself.

Nearly there.

I hope he’s okay.

I hope I can see him.

Even if it’s our last goodbye.

Tears well in my eyes.

I hope I’m not too late.

Chapter One

The Mob

“See you tomorrow, Ana! And thanks for bringing the cupcakes. They were delicious!”

I turn to wave goodbye to my coworker Jessica, who’s still busy stocking the shelves with sewing supplies. Jessica’s the only other worker here at Karen’s Krafts besides myself and our dome-haircut-wielding owner-slash-manager, Karen.

“I’m glad you liked them,” I say brightly. “They’re my grandmother’s recipe. Super easy.”

“No kidding?” she says, looking surprised. “Well tell your grandma her recipe was the bomb.”

“Will do. See you tomorrow!” I begin to clock out of the computer, but stop to add, “And good luck with the crowds. This Coronavirus stuff is crazy!”

Jessica steps back and gives me a look.

“Tell me about it! I’m running low on toilet paper, but nobody has it stocked.”

“Dang. That sucks.”

“Ch—tell me about it.”

I finish clocking out.

“Anyway,” I say, sighing. “I better get going. I have to make a run and try to pick up some…ahem…lady products…if you know what I mean.”

Jessica’s eyes get big. “Oh no, Ana. You can’t be serious!”

“Very serious. I’m all out.”

Jessica frowns. “I would give you some of mine if I had them, but I’m all out, too. Good thing it’s not my time of the month.”

My eyebrows arch up to my hairline. “Consider yourself lucky.”

“Shit, here she comes,” Jessica whispers.

When I look up, Jessica’s back at work stocking the bobbins and thread.

My manager Karen waddles up to the register and lingers over the back of my shoulder. I finish straightening up the counter, trying my best not to recoil from the hot puffs of breath hitting the back of my neck. I peek back at her dome haircut and put on my customer-service smile.

“What’s up? How did you like the cupcakes?”

I try to guess whether she has a complaint or is just bored. Those are the only two reasons I’ve ever seen Karen willingly leave her office. The unpleasant expression on her face tells me nothing, as it is a permanent feature of hers.

“Cupcakes?” she says distractedly. Glancing down, I notice she’s clutching a clipboard with something on it. Her lips move silently as she reads from whatever it is.

I clear my throat. “I brought some cupcakes this morning. German chocolate. Very tasty.”

She says nothing, so I grab my purse from under the counter. “I hoped they might cheer everybody up. You know, with the virus and all?”

“Virus?!” Her head snaps up, eyes bulging. “You have the virus?!”

“No, I made cupcakes to cheer every—“ I start to explain, but stop myself when I see the blind panic on her face. “No. I don’t have the virus.”

She relaxes and heaves a sigh of relief, which hits me square in the face.

The smell! I hold my breath and try not to make a face.

I shift my purse on my shoulder and open my mouth to tell her goodbye when she spits out, “Say, can I speak to you for a sec?”

Crap. This can’t be good.

“Sure,” I say, forcing cheer into my voice. I set my purse on the counter and wait for her to continue. She clears her throat wetly, looks down at her clipboard, then clears her throat again.

Yep, definitely bad news. I brace myself.

“Ana, we’ve decided to let you go.”

My shoulders tense, and there’s a rush of something terrible down in my stomach.

“Today is your last day,” she continues, reading robotically from her clipboard.

Is she serious? I’ve worked here for a year and a half, never been late for a single shift, and always gotten stellar performance reviews. I’m basically a model employee!

“Thank you for the work you’ve done here, and I wish you the best in your future endeavors,” she finishes.

“You’re firing me?” I ask in a small voice that surprises even me.

“Not exactly…but sort of.”

This can’t be happening. “Wh—what did I do wrong?”

“I didn’t say you did anything wrong, did I?” She looks put-out, another typical expression of hers.

My shoulders relax a little.

“Did you even listen to a word I said?” she says, shaking her head. “I said you’re being put on non-disciplinary indefinite leave.”

I cock my head, confused. “Um, I don’t think that’s what you said.”

She huffs and holds the clipboard back up.

“It’s exactly what I said. See, right here.”

She jabs a finger at the page, face reddening as she purses her lips.

Jeez. And I thought she looked unpleasant before…

She slaps the clipboard onto the counter. “Either way I’m saying it now.”

“So, I’m not fired?”

Crap. I’m so confused right now.

“No,” she huffs again. “You’re not fired. But you’re no longer scheduled for any shifts. And we’ll be taking you off the payroll.”

“Um…okay…”

That sounds a lot like being fired, but I decide not to push the subject.

Tears press at the corners of my eyes as I take a moment to process everything. Karen must notice, because she lets out another sigh and steps towards me. Her hand thumps heavily on my shoulder. “But I want you to know that it’s not you, it’s us.” She pats me once, then steps back, looking pleased with herself.

I suddenly feel like I’m going through an awkward breakup. Which I guess I am in a way.

“Wow. Um…What a surprise.” I catch myself wringing my hands so I stop. “Is it because of the virus?”

“Of course it’s because of the virus!” she shouts. “What else would it be? It’s certainly not my fault! I’ll have you know that Karen’s Krafts is extremely successful,” she gestures wildly. “Perhaps the most successful small business in all of Seattle!“

“You’re right, Karen.” I quickly say the three magic words that always calm her when she gets like this.

Sure enough, she lowers her arms and tries to composes herself.

“You probably haven’t noticed, Ana, but we’re not doing as much business as usual.”

In fact, I have noticed. The store has been totally dead for the last week and a half. But I don’t want to risk setting her off again, so I stay quiet. Luckily, she doesn’t seem to expect me to reply.

“Nothing like the grocery stores,” she says with a bitter laugh. She shakes her head and gives a shrug. “Just have to let some people go for the time being.”

“How long until I’m able to come back?”

She shrugs her shoulders again.

“No way to know. I’m only keeping Jessica because she’s my niece.”

I nod my head.

“Right, right. Makes sense.” Not really, but whatever. I’m totally against nepotism. It sucks and it’s everywhere, but there’s no getting away from it—sort of like Coronavirus.

“Of course it makes sense. That’s why I’m doing it!” Karen snaps. She snatches up her clipboard and turns to walk away. “Anyway, if things get better I’ll call you. Make sure you answer.”

“Thanks,” is all I can muster in response as she disappears into the restroom.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, everything sinks in.

I just lost my job.

During a global pandemic.

“Oh, and Ana!” Karen’s voice booms from the toilet.

I knew she’d change her mind!

“Yes?!” I call out brightly.

“Don’t forget to leave your name tag.”

My shoulders fall.

“Sure thing, Karen.” I unpin the familiar badge from my shirt and set it on the counter. It looks as small as I feel. I take a few deep breaths and turn to leave. All I want right now is to get the hell out of here and get home as soon as possible so I can relax, have a good cry, and think over what to do next.

A thought occurs to me.

What am I going to do about my rent?

Crap. I can feel the tears coming…

A second later, my sadness turns to anger, and I clench my fists.

This sucks so f-ing bad. Like, what the heck did I ever do to deserve this! Ugh!

I force myself to remain composed. This isn’t the time to break down into hysterics.

I give myself a little pep talk.

Calm down, Ana. You’re a fully grown, strong, capable young woman. You’ll get through this. All you need to do is grab hold of your big girl panties and ride them clear up the crack of your ass so hard there’s no chance in hell they’ll be going anywhere anytime soon.

Now that my spirits have been sufficiently lifted, I’m ready to take on the world. Or at the very least, my own small corner of it.

I stop in front of the exit to check my phone and notice seven missed phone calls and three missed text messages from my mother.

I roll my eyes. Of course. She’s a typical narcissistic, panicky boomer. At sixty-five years old she’s never worked a day in her life, attends church two to three times per week, and still believes in the magic of prayer. It may sound like I hate her, but I don’t. She annoys me, sure. But deep down I keep telling myself she has my best interest at heart, even if what her heart is telling her isn’t actually what’s in my best interest…if that makes any sense. With that said, whatever she has to say is certain to irritate me far beyond what I’m currently able to stand.

I decide to get it over with.

I take a deep breath and read the first text.

Mom: Ana, this is your mother. Just texting to let you know I called. I’m very worried about you with all of this virus stuff going on. Praying for you. Love Always, Your Mother.

Okay. Fairly normal so far given the circumstances. Maybe I was wrong to judge her so quickly.

I scroll down to the second text, which looks like it was sent…I squint to see—oh yes: exactly three minutes after the first one, and two minutes after the last three phone calls.

Mom: Ana, this is your mother. I’ve been praying and praying for you to call me back. I am deeply worried about you. I’ve tried calling you three more times. It’s not like you to ignore my phone calls, especially during such dark and uncertain times as these. Call me back as soon as you get this. My heart is hurting to know if my sweet little Ana is okay. Love Always, Your Mother.

A little worse this time, but not the worst I’ve seen.

I brace myself for the third text, which I know will be bad because it was sent exactly two minutes after the second text, and one minute after the last three calls.

Mom: Ana, this is your mother. I’m seriously freaking out right now. I keep having visions of you lying in a body bag, stiff as a frozen lamb chop and twice as cold. Why are you being such an obstinate, petulant child? I keep calling and calling, and still no answer. I keep praying and praying, but still no answer. Why aren’t you answering me, dear daughter? Why aren’t you answering me, dear Lord? My heart is heavy with sorrow and worry for the precious daughter I raised and nurtured by the milk of my own breasts. I’m so scared, sweet daughter. My nerves are frazzled and frayed beyond mortal repair. I feel as though I may collapse into a puddle of eternal sorrow. My heart is aching for you, my sweet dear little girl. My sweet, sweet precious daughter. Oh Lord, why have you forsaken her? Call me as soon as you get this. Love Always, Your Mother.

Okay, what the hell? I’m not even going to get started on how freaking weird that was.

I decide it might be better to wait until I get home to call her back. Something tells me the phone call won’t be quick, and I really need to get to the store to get my lady supplies, so I decide to opt for a text instead.

Ana: Calm down, Mom. I’m fine. I just got off work, and now I have to make a run to Wholesome Foods for some supplies. Please don’t worry. I’ll call you as soon as I get home. Love, Ana.

Hopefully that suffices to stave off the insanity.

My phone immediately pings with her reply.

Mom: Sounds good. Love Always, Your Mother.

Simple enough. A little odd, given the texts that came before it, but I’ll take it.

I pause and look out the front door before leaving. Beyond the window, thin sheets of rain coat the steamy sidewalks of Seattle. I notice most of the people who pass by look panicked. Ever since the Coronavirus started everyone has seemed more alert and on edge. At first I found it exciting, because they all seemed less depressed and more alive. But now it’s beginning to worry me.

I finger the small silver cross bracelet my grandmother gave me for my sixteenth birthday. It had been my great-grandmother’s before it was hers, but I never got the full story behind it. I do, however, remember her telling me it was for courage and strength, which is what I need most right now.

I take a deep breath and push through the door.

The door bell dings, and once I’m outside I breathe in the cool damp air. The rain is lighter than I expected—more of a mist really, so I decide to leave my umbrella unopened and gaze up at the silver clouds as they roil and swirl above me. There’s something wonderful about their movement, and I find myself getting lost in them.

DING! DING! DING! RIGHT SIDE!

My peaceful reverie is rudely interrupted.

DING! DING! DING! RIGHT SIDE!

Shit! Cyclists!

DING! DING! DING!…

I leap left at the last moment, barely dodging a small herd of spandex-clad cyclists thrusting through the crowd like they own the street. I brace myself against a tree to keep from falling over, when one of them—a middle-aged man-child with greying temples—looks back at me and scowls.

I put up my hand to apologize even though he’s probably the one who should be apologizing.

He turns and mutters something under his breath that sounds like “Bitch” and keeps pedaling.

I turn and bite my fingernail. What an asshole.

Crap.

I pull my fingers out of my mouth. That’s probably not the best thing I could be doing during a global viral outbreak.

I reach into my purse for some hand sanitizer and slather the cool alcohol over my fingers.

Two steps into my walk, my phone buzzes.

What now?

I check my phone. It’s Stacy, my best friend and roommate.

Stacy: Are you off work yet!?

My thumbs tap out a reply.

Ana: Just got off.

I look up from my phone. A woman who looks like she might have been sane a week ago but who is now basically a bag lady passes by me with a shopping cart full of bathroom supplies, screaming “Fuck you! Got mine!”

As she passes, I look closer at her hand and spot what appears to be a taser.

I pause and make a face. What the hell has this world come to?

My phone buzzes with another text.

Stacy: Cool. Check it. Blue fish bowls. Remember these things?

A cotton-candy-filtered photo pops up of Stacy slurping down a big blue fishbowl margarita.

I smile at Stacy’s exaggerated duck face.

Then I notice Dezzy in the background. Dezzy’s the friend Stacy brought down to Florida with her for Spring Break instead of me. She looks drunk as she flashes a peace sign with one hand and a middle finger with the other. Ugh. Dezzy can be such a… I’m not even going to say it. She’s always hated me for reasons, which is strange because I never had a problem with her. Oh well. Best to ignore it.

Ana: Looks like fun.

Stacy: ’Tis. ’Tis.

I’m tempted to tell her about being put on indefinite leave, but I don’t want to ruin her good time, so I tuck my phone away. The bad news can wait.

I pass by a homeless man trying to sell face masks on the street corner. As I pass by, I notice half of them are covered in dirt stains and are clearly used, and it’s obvious he’s been digging through the local hospital dumpster to find them.

He shoves one in my face.

“Twenty dollars!”

I move away from him. “No thanks.”

He follows me a few steps. “Ten dollars!”

I shake my head, wincing.

“Five!”

“I’m fine,” I laugh nervously. “Really.”

“Fine. One dollar. Final offer.”

“But they look like you found them in a dumpster, sir!”

“Still good. See, clean enough.” He dangles it in front of my face and turns it so I can see all the sides.

I pull out a dollar and hand it to him, but tell him he can keep the mask.

“You need a mask,” he says, and tries to put it on my face.

“Fine, I’ll take it.” I quickly grab the mask out of his hand before he’s able to touch my face with it.

“God bless!” he spits through his last remaining tusk, and turns to his next victim.

I hold the mask as far away from my body as possible, and toss it in the nearest garbage can. When I turn back to see if the homeless man saw me I catch him glaring at me.

“Sorry,” I mouth.

He scurries over to the garbage can to retrieve it.

Shit!

I run through the crowd to get away from him, and I don’t stop until I’m nearly a block away, where I pull out my phone and text Stacy.

Ana: You should see it here, Stacy. Things are getting crazy.

Stacy: Yeah, no shit. I saw the news. Seattle blows. Florida is way more fun!

Ana: I bet. How’s the silver fox hunt going?

FYI, the real reason Stacy’s down in Florida for Spring Break is to hunt for an older man to marry. And when I say old, I mean like really old. See, Stacy’s life didn’t pan out quite like she had hoped. She failed out of college during her first semester and can’t seem to hold down a job. In her mind, the next logical step is to marry into money. And since most guys with money are older, she figures the older he is the more she’s hedging her bet.

I look around at all the depressed and desperately overworked faces passing by and can’t help but wonder if maybe she’s onto something.

Stacy: Sucks so far. Nothing but poor frat guys with big muscles and orange tans. All the silver foxes are holed up in hiding from the stupid virus.

Ana: Dang. Bad timing.

Stacy: You’re telling me. It’s hard out here for a bitch!

I smile, but it doesn’t last long. Something about her comment reminds me that I’m out of a job.

Should I tell her now?

Probably.

Ana: I feel like I’m about to cry, Stacy. Karen basically just fired me.

Stacy: What!? Why would she fire you? You’re like the best employee ever?

Ana: Well, technically she put me on indefinite leave.

Stacy: What the freak is that?

Ana: It means I don’t get a paycheck for who knows how long, and I don’t know when they’ll hire me back…if ever.

Stacy: That sucks, Banana. I’m sorry. How the heck are we going to pay the rent?

Yeah, she calls me Banana. It’s a play on Ana, if you missed it. She’s clever like that.

Ana: It’s okay. I’ll be okay. I’m not sure about the rent, though.

But I’m not okay. My eyes grow hot with tears. What am I going to do for money? Where will I live if we get evicted?

Stacy: Shit. I just realized I won’t have any money left after this trip. Hopefully I can find a silver fox fast. :(

Ana: Hopefully. :(

I turn the corner and see a long line of customers waiting outside Wholesome Foods. People are crammed together, yelling and jostling for position, and for some reason it reminds me of the movie The Night of the Living Dead.

Double crap.

A heavy wave of sickness washes over me, and I feel like I might pass out.

I really don’t want to go to the store right now, so I rifle through my purse in a last ditch effort to find a tampon to hold me over until tomorrow. My fingers find a string.

Ah ha!

But wait…

I pull it out.

Crap.

Not only is it out of its wrapper, it’s covered in lint and snack crumbs and looks like it’s old enough to attend kindergarten.

I drop it back into my purse and tap out a question to Stacy.

Ana: Do tampons expire?

Stacy: No, they’re like condoms. They last forever.

Ana: Um… Are you sure?

Stacy: Totally sure.

I want to trust her, but I’m pretty sure she’s wrong. Looks like I’ll have to wait in line.

I step into line behind a mother and her five children, one of whom is screaming at the top of it’s lungs for no reason.

My phone buzzes with a new text.

Stacy: Hey bitch. How’s your depressing life?

What the?

That was out of nowhere. How many fish bowls has Stacy had so far? Jeez.

I try to figure out how to respond when another text comes in.

Stacy: I’m glad you didn’t come down here with us. It’s better for everyone.

I shake my head, confused.

Ana: Excuse me?

Stacy: Sorry, Dez took my phone.

Ana: Oh. That explains it.

Stacy: Dez was just joking.

Uh huh. Right.

The line moves forward a few steps, and when it stops the crowd lets out a collective sigh.

Stacy: We both wish you were here. You should have come with.

Ana: Somebody had to stay and look after the apartment… Besides, it’s probably not the nicest thing to be down there partying and putting so many people at risk.

Stacy: Get off your high horse Banana! You decided not to go long before the virus happened.

I can’t say she’s wrong.

Stacy begged me to go but I opted to save money and get some extra hours at work.

Oh, the irony.

But if I had decided to go on the trip, I like to think I would have cancelled as soon as I knew it would be putting people at risk. Still, there’s no use in arguing with Stacy.

Ana: I’m probably just jealous.

Stacy: As you should be. Florida is so much better than dreary depressing Seattle.

Ana: Yeah, if you like living in a giant trailer park filled with bugs, alligators, and old people.

Stacy: LoL

I laugh a little as the line moves forward a few paces.

Stacy: Seriously though. Take it easy on the old people. They’re my last ticket to freedom.

Ana: I still think you can do better for yourself, but what do I know?

Stacy: Obviously not much. Face it, I’m fucked if I can’t find a rich man to marry.

She might be right, but I refuse to agree.

Stacy: Besides, old guys are hot. I’m surprised you don’t look for one yourself, given your present circumstance.

I can’t say I’ve ever found older-older men hot. Unless of course the guy was only a little bit older. Then I’d be fine with it.

Ana: I guess I just think I have more potential than that. I’d like to earn my own living and independence some day, even if it’s hard.

There’s a brief pause where she doesn’t reply, and I wonder if I offended her.

Ana: At least that’s what I’m hoping for. Who knows if it will happen.

Stacy: You do you and I’ll do me, Banana.

I roll my eyes.

Ana: Come on, I’m sure there are plenty of decent jobs you could get that don’t require a college degree.

Stacy: Ew gross! I’d rather kill myself than work for a living. Fuck that.

I laugh. She’s right in a way. Work sucks major ass. The only times I’m ever truly unhappy are when I’m at work.

Ana: There might be some truth to what you’re saying.

Stacy: Just wait. One of these days some rich older guy is going to catch your eye. Then you’ll change your mind.

I think it over.

Ana: Okay, and say that does happen. How do you expect I’ll get him? It’s not like I have much to offer besides my youth.

Stacy: Not true. You look great, Banana.

Ana: Whatever. I know what I look like.

Stacy: You don't give yourself enough credit. You’re gorgeous. And totally smart.

Even though I know she’s just saying these things to cheer me up, I still can’t help but smile.

Ana: But seriously, how does one go about snagging a rich man?

Stacy: What you need are some good pick up lines.

Right…

I look up and see that the line has moved quite a bit from where I started. At this rate I’ll be inside in no time.

Stacy: Here’s one I’ve been practicing for my hunt… Have you ever been arrested? Because your looks are killer.

I roll my eyes.

Ana: Maybe I’ll give it a try some day.

Stacy: Do it. You won’t be disappointed.

A fight breaks out at the front of the line.

Seconds later, the two guys fighting are escorted away by a masked security guard and the line moves forward to fill the gap.

As I near the entrance, the crowd noise grows louder, and a swarm of customers break through the exit.

Crap! They’re charging right at me.

I quickly side-step out of their way and a middle-aged white woman with a dome haircut shoves past me into the store, making me do a double-take.

Phew. Not Karen.

As the woman passes by, I overhear a small portion of her phone conversation:

“I’m pretty sure I have it. I’m going to the doctor right now. I just have to stop at Wholesome Foods real quick.”

Holy crap. This place is like a war zone or something.

I enter the store close behind Karen Number 2.

Once inside, I immediately notice two things:

1. Nobody in this store seems to be wearing a mask, and…

2. All the grocery carts and baskets are gone.

I take a deep breath.

Everything’s okay, I tell myself. Just improvise and get out as fast as you can.

I hurry past the entrance and into the toiletry section.

Okay…tampons…where are the tampons?

I look down an aisle and see people lined up at the pharmacy, scrambling for asthma medication and pills. Thank goodness I’m fairly healthy and don’t need any medication. If push comes to shove, I can get by for months on my one-a-day multivitamin.

I step into the feminine hygiene aisle where a group of frustrated women are looking around frantically.

One of them says to the others, “Where are the fucking tampons!”

I look over the shelves, and they’re nearly empty.

Come on…tampons…tampons…there has to be one more pack somewhere.

I start digging through the merchandise, checking back behind the other products.

No luck.

Okay. Think, Ana. Think. What could you do?

My phone buzzes with a text.

Stacy: Where did you go?

Ana: There aren’t any tampons at the store! What am I going to do?”

Stacy: Okay. I’m calling you.

American Girl blares through my phone speakers.

I hold the phone out in front of me and right as I’m about to accept the call a scruffy-looking guy appears out of nowhere and sneezes all over the front of my screen.

I look up at him, totally grossed out.

“Sorry, dude,” he says, then disappears down the aisle.

Crap. There’s no way I’m holding this thing up to my head now.

The song keeps playing, tinny notes ringing out.

A rude woman nearby screams, “Answer your goddamn phone!”

“Sorry,” I mutter, and tap the speakerphone button, careful to avoid the spit droplets on the screen.

The first thing I and everybody within a twenty-five-foot radius hears is an obnoxious slurping sound.

Several shoppers turn and glare at me, so I hurry into a side aisle where there aren’t as many people. “Geez, Stacy. What are you drinking?” I hiss at the phone. “You sound like Lord Buttcrack with his ten gallon gas station sodas.”

Lord Buttcrack is the nickname Stacy and I have given our fat, greedy, disgusting landlord, on account of the fact that we’ve never seen him without half of his butt crack hanging out of his pants.

“Hold it right there,” Stacy says. “Don’t you dare ever compare me to Lord Buttcrack. I love you dearly, but that’s taking it too far. Besides, he sounds more like a butthole.”

I laugh at her drunken simile. “I don’t like that image. Why are you thinking about his butthole?”

“Hey, where there’s a crack, there’s always a hole.”

Um…

“As to your first question,” she continues, “I just finished my third Blue Ocean Fishbowl.”

“Holy crap! You drank three of them? Don’t they come in, like, a literal fish bowl?”

“Mm-hm. And the alcohol content is through the roof.”

“Something tells me you’re going to regret this.”

“Doubt it.”

I sigh.

“Anyway, back to my tampon problem.”

“Where did Joey go?” Dezzy’s voice cuts in.

“Who the hell is Joey?!” Stacy shouts.

“The guy with the muscles, duh,” Dezzy moans in the background.

“They all have muscles!” Stacy cries.

“Ugh…the one with the tan!”

“They all have tans!”

“Hello!?” I say loudly into the phone.

“Oh, sorry. Seriously, Dezzy is being such a bitch.”

“You’re the fucking bitch, bitch!” Dezzy laugh-screams in the background.

“Whatever…” Stacy says. “Back to the problem at hand. Can’t you just wear pads?”

“They’re out of those, too.”

A woman nearby overhears our conversation and approaches me.

“Pads? Did someone say pads? Where are the pads? I need more pads! There have to be more pads!”

Stacy starts laughing so hard she begins to choke.

The woman’s frantic energy scares the crap out of me, so I back away from her and hurry into the clothing section, which seems to be the only empty part of the store.

I duck down under some hanging dresses and tops. “Seriously, Stacy. What should I do?”

“Let me think…” Stacy muses. “Oh, I know! A while back I was watching this TV show about these female prison inmates…”

Great.

“Okay?”

“Bare with me,” she says, sensing my doubt.

“K.”

“Anyway, whenever the prison ran out of tampons, the women would just wad up a bunch of toilet paper and shove it up their pussies.”

Genius. Simply genius.

A woman with a stroller opens the clothing rack and pokes her head in. “Could you keep it down with the profanity? Children are nearby!”

“Fuck off, lady!” Stacy screams at her through the phone.

The woman scoffs and throws the clothing rack closed.

“It’s not the worst idea,” I say. “Only problem is they’re all out of toilet paper as well.”

“Hmm…

“I need more ideas.”

“You could just free bleed,” she says.

“I don’t know what that is.”

“It’s when you…”

“Actually, never mind.”

“You’re sure?”

“Totally sure.”

“Fine. Scratch that.. Let’s see…” Stacy makes a weird sucking sound with her mouth while she’s thinking.

Another customer comes by and starts sliding the shirts around me.

“What’s that annoying noise?” Stacy says.

“I’m under a rack of tank tops and someone’s looking through them.”

“Oops, sorry!” The faceless searcher says.

“It’s fine,” I say back nicely.

Stacy gasps. “I know!”

“What?”

“Why don’t you just cut up a tank top and shove it up your pussy?”

I laugh.

“Come on. That’s ghetto.”

“Yeah. But what else are you going to do?”

She’s got a point. What if this is the answer?

“But I don’t wanna!” I groan into the phone.

“I know it sucks, Banana. But it’s probably your only option.”

“Fine. Whatever.”

I crawl out from under the clothing rack and grab three spaghetti strap tank tops.

“Do you think three is enough?”

“Um…probably.”

“Okay. Good to go. Now it’s time to get the hell out of here.”

“You go girl!”

As I’m walking towards the front checkout, I spot some cotton balls out of the corner of my eye.

Hmm. These could be useful.

I snag them off the shelf.

“Hey, Stacy, do you think cotton balls…”

“WHAT!” someone screams on Stacy’s end.

A man across the aisle glares at me.

I mouth “sorry” and turn away.

“Quiet down,” I hiss. “Or I’m hanging up.”

“IS THIS ANA?!”

Shit. It’s Dezzy again.

“Dez, put Stacy back on the phone,” I whisper.

“FUCK YOU, ANA! YOU FUCKING BITCH!”

“Okay, I’m hanging up.”

“WOO! SPRING BREAK!” Dezzy screams so loud my speaker pops.

I hang up the phone and slip it into my pocket.

When I get to the front of the store, I join the back of the nearest line and take in my surroundings. All around me carts are overflowing. Off to my left, a plump woman is loading fifteen large cases of soda onto the conveyor belt, and the guy behind her has nothing but vanilla puddings and beef jerky.

He catches me staring and smiles at me. Holy hell! All his teeth are missing. I don’t even want to guess how he’s going to eat all that jerky.

“Next!” a young female voice calls from the front of the line.

I turn toward the register, but can’t seem to see the girl who said it. All I see is some sort of contraption where the register should be that looks like four broom sticks wrapped in layers of cellophane.

The dome-headed woman ahead of me huffs up to the register and hacks onto the cellophane.

Holy crap! It’s the Karen Clone from earlier!

I leave some distance between us and try not to breathe in whatever she’s hacking.

“Excuse me!” Karen Number 2 brays at the cellophane. “You forgot to ask me if I found everything I was looking for.”

The cellophane sucks in and releases with a sigh, and the disembodied voice from earlier returns. “Did you find everything you were—“

“No. I. Did. Not.” Spittle from Karen Number 2’s mouth hits the cellophane with each word. “And I need to speak to your manager. Immediately.”

The girl behind the plastic lets out another sigh. “Randy! Customer for you.”

A ruddy-faced man shuffles our way, but before he makes it to the register, Karen Number 2 marches towards to him.

“Next!” the girl behind the cellophane says, not caring if the woman loses her place in line.

I step forward to the register.

“I think some people are worse than the virus,” she says from behind the barrier.

I laugh. “No kidding.”

She sighs and the plastic wrap squeaks.

I clear my throat. “Um…What is this thing?”

“Modified spit guard. Courtesy of my dumb asshole manager.”

I laugh. “It looks pretty…um…”

“Shit?”

“Yeah, sort of,” I giggle.

“It would be better if he hadn’t triple wrapped the cellophane. Now I can’t see anything.”

“Why are most managers such bozos?” I scoff.

“Because the owners know if they were too smart they’d quit.”

I think it over. “Then why are some of the employees so smart?”

“Because it doesn’t matter if they quit.”

I laugh. It’s so true!

Then it occurs to me. “Why can’t you just wear masks and gloves?”

“Mr. Bozo thinks it will scare the customers.”

I frown at the plastic wrap.

“Wow. That’s really stupid.”

“Tell me about it,” she sighs.

My heart goes out to the girl trapped behind the cellophane. Her face is so blurred that I wouldn’t even know she was a girl if it weren’t for her voice.

“Nobody sees us and nobody cares,” she says hauntingly.

A chill runs down my spine.

I don’t know what to say, so I look down at my feet.

“Your total comes to $17.20.”

Crap, that’s expensive. I really wish they were carrying tampons.

I pull out my wallet and grab two tens.

When I look up I notice there’s a card reader, but no way to get her the cash.

“Um…all I have is cash.”

A tiny index finger appears above the cellophane, then points down. “Make it rain on this bitch.”

I fold the bills into fourths so they don’t scatter, then toss them over. “Keep the change.”

“Oh wow. Thanks,” She says. Her voice is different this time, less depressed. “Seriously, I need it.”

“No problem. Good luck.”

“Psh! Thanks,” she says with a laugh.

I laugh, too. “K, bye.”

Behind me, the ruddy-faced manager announces that the store is closing in ten minutes, and half the customers groan.

A woman in the cereal aisle screams, “This is bullshit! I need food for my kids!”

Behind me, a mob forms around the checkouts and people flood into the entrance.

Crap. Time to get out of here.

The woman from the personal care aisle who needed pads exits empty-handed in front of me and her face looks absolutely furious. When she gets outside, she turns around, pulls out the waistband of her sweatpants, reaches down between her legs, and rips out a used pad!

I gasp. Oh no!

In one swift motion, she slaps the bloody pad on the grocery store window, where it sticks like a suction cup animal.

“This is what you get for not having pads!” she screams like a banshee.

The crowd behind me groans with disgust.

What in the actual fuck?

A thick wave of nausea washes over me, and I feel like I might puke.

I search for another way out, but this is the only exit, so I step in front of the door and try not to look at the bloody pad stuck to the window. But for some reason I can’t help myself, and when I look up, the door slides open and the pad smears fresh blood across the glass before falling down onto the sidewalk.

Oh my God, WTF!

I throw up a little in my mouth, but manage to make it outside.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, the moment I step out I spot a trashy-looking mother trying to steal a mask off the face of a middle-aged man so her son can wear it.

“Come on,” she says, “he needs it more than you do!”

“Even if I wanted to give it to him, it’s a bad idea,” the poor guy says. “I could be carrying the virus!”

“Bullshit!” she screams. “Hand it over!”

She lurches for his mask and rips it loose.

Holy crap! What should I do?

A loud pop rips through the crowd, and the trashy woman falls to the ground and twitches around like she’s being electrocuted.

I turn and look down at the poor guy’s hand and see that he’s holding a taser.

“Oh my God, did you just tase her?” a woman from the crowd cries out.

“She was trying to steal my mask!” the poor guy says.

“You’re an animal!” a pregnant woman seethes as she clutches her belly protectively.

“How could you?” says someone in the crowd.

“The poor thing,” adds yet another.

The next thing I know, three white knight teenage boys are on top of the poor guy, beating him with their fists.

I cover my mouth with my hand, horrified by their savagery.

People leaving the store join in the fight, and within seconds it’s a full-on mob.

What the crap! It just keeps getting worse! I need to get out of here.

I dash for an clear spot of sidewalk near the curb, but right as I’m about to break free from the hoard, an errant body slams into me, sending me headfirst into the street. The pavement comes rushing towards my face, and at the last moment my hands shoot up just in time to stop me from landing face-first. I slide violently out into the street as my hands scrape along the asphalt, splashing puddle water into my face. The pain is immense and brings back vivid memories of the times I used to fall off my bike.

When I finally manage to look up I see that everything I just bought has been strewn out into the roaring traffic. The tank tops are stained brown and the cotton balls are soaked black.

A car honks and swerves, barely missing my head as my face is thrashed with water.

I gasp for breath as I crawl backwards towards the sidewalk.

Another car roars by, flattening everything I bought into a puddle.

Hot tears well in my eyes.

People behind me are asking each other what to do, but nobody makes a move to help me up.

Just then, a large SUV stops in front of me, and I catch sight of my reflection in the polished silver paint.

I gasp out in horror. The girl I see looking back at me looks like she just crept out of a lake.

The tinted rear passenger-side window rolls down a crack.

“Are you okay?” A dark voice says.

I squint at the tint, hoping to catch sight of the faceless man speaking to me, but all I can make out is a dark shock of hair. I push myself up from the puddle and step towards him.

“Stay back!” he says. His voice is so loud it echoes through the street, startling me.

I shuffle back two steps, look down and ring my hands.

“Sorry…”

“Don’t,” he says, then lets out a long, loud sigh. “I apologize for my tone, but I would prefer not to risk contact.”

“I totally understand. I—”

“Listen, are you okay?” he snaps, interrupting me.

A laugh escapes me. “Obviously not!”

I’m surprised by my own frankness, but something takes hold of me.

“I mean, its not like I just lost my job and won’t be able to pay my rent this month!”

Someone giggles behind me as the mysterious man in the backseat of the SUV remains silent.

“And…and… it’s not like I’m on my period right now and can’t seem to find a box of tampons or pads to save my life!”

A couple more people laugh.

I take a deep breath, about to cry as my voice grows louder.

“And it’s not like spaghetti strap tank tops were the only reasonable alternative!”

The laughter behind me stops.

“Damn!” someone shouts from the silenced crowd.

But I don’t care, and my voice only grows louder still.

“And it’s not like I had to fight through ten thousand assholes just to get that!”

I turn around and see several angry faces staring me down.

“And it’s not like you fucking animals shoved me into the street and the spaghetti strap tank tops I was supposed to shove up my pussy are now rotting at the bottom of a water-filled pothole!”

A pimple-faced teenage boy doubles over in laughter.

“Oh my God!” he says, wagging his finger at me. “She’s good.”

“Fucking animals, huh?!” a man in the crowd yells. “I’ll show you who’s a fucking animal!”

The man staggers forward, knocking into the people around him, and out of nowhere someone punches him in the face.

Oh no!

For a moment he’s dazed, but when he finally manages to regain his senses he throws a wild punch and the crowd resumes its frenzied fight.

I turn back to the window and cover my face, about to cry.

“Where do you live?” the disembodied voice in the SUV says. His tone is unexpectedly sympathetic.

What? Why is he asking me this? Why would he care where I live?

I gaze up through my tears at the window.

Should I tell him?

The thought seems crazy. He’s a complete stranger. I mean, I haven’t even seen his face.

I feel the crowd pushing at my back, and in one swift surge of motion, they shove me up against the window.

“Ow! You’re hurting me!” I cry. I try to turn around so I can say it to their faces, but the pressure is too much.

I turn and see two dazzling grey eyes staring back at me through the crack. The expression is fierce and intense, but for some reason I trust them.

“First Street,” I whimper. “I live near First Street.”

His eyes bore into mine as the crowd locks me in place.

Behind me, people begin to scream and shove each other.

The steel grey eyes look past me into the crowd and the next thing I know a folded hundred dollar bill appears next to my face.

I stare at the money, confused.

“It’s for your rent. To get by.”

What the?

I hesitate to take it.

“Take it or leave it.”

I reach forward to take it, and as I clasp the crisp paper, my finger brushes against his smooth, warm skin.

I look up into his eyes and this time they’re black. His brow furrows.

My breath hitches, and something tugs deep down in the pit of my stomach.

Behind me, a shrill woman shouts, “You got any toilet paper in there?”

The crowd moves forward, pressing me harder from behind and forcing my arm through the window.

“Son of a bitch!” the musical voice hisses from inside the cabin.

The crowd keeps pressing, and I scream out in pain.

Another voice from behind me calls out, “Hey rich boy! You gonna come bail us out!?”

The laughter is insane.

Hot breath brushes the back of my neck, giving me flashbacks of Karen standing behind me.

I look into his fierce eyes and for a moment I read an expression that looks like pity or fear, but I’m not sure which.

A gunshot rings out, and the glass on the rear driver’s side explodes into the cabin.

I scream in terror.

“Fuck!” the man says.

I can see people on the other side of the cabin leaning into the SUV.

“Ohh! It’s nice in here!” a haggard woman says, peering inside.

“Get back, you!” the man shouts.

I wish I could help him, but I’m stuck.

He leans forward and screams at the driver.

“Damnit, Calloway! They’re breathing into the cabin!”

“You hear that?” someone behind me says. “Richie Rich doesn’t want us breathing his fancy-pants air!”

“All right then,” an older man with an ugly voice screams. “Let’s give it to him! Charge!”

The crowd rushes forward, smashing me against the window.

I try to escape, but I’m locked in place.

All around me, ugly voices are screaming ugly things in ugly ways.

I suddenly feel like my spine is being crushed from behind.

“Help!” I yelp. “Somebody help me!”

“Fuck it, it’s too late now,” he says, his beautiful voice breaking through the garbled roar of the crowd.

The tinted window zips down and a pair of large hands cup my waist.

“What are you doing?” I say, startled by his strength.

“Watch your head,” he whispers against my ear, dizzying my senses.

The world around me spins, and for a moment everything is a blur. The next thing I know, I’m laying on my back looking up at the ceiling. All around me voices are growing in number, and I instinctively curl into the fetal position, nuzzling my face into his chest and inhaling his clean scent as his strong protective arms pull me closer to him.

Despite all the commotion around me, for the first time in forever, I feel safe.

The vehicle begins to rock back and forth from the thrashings of the human horde.

“Damnit, Calloway. They’re trying to tip us!”

“Can I run them over, sir?”

“I believe that would be unwise,” the man replies with a hint of humor.

The driver rubs his hand back and forth over his buzz cut. “Right, sorry.”

A loud noise startles me, and my hands shoot up to protect my face, smearing mud across the front of his suit.

Oh no!

I look up to apologize, and for the first time I see his face.

Oh my freaking God!

Chapter Two

Dark Knight

His face is perfect.

The symmetry is flawless. The bone structure is divine. His cheek bones are so strong and pronounced, it wouldn’t surprise me if he once was, or still is, a runway model. A thick shock of hair hangs over his right eye in a way that’s pleasantly distracting. If I were to guess his age I’d say he couldn’t be any older than 25, although his expression and mannerisms are more like those of a man twice his age.

His grey eyes narrow at me, and my heart leaps in response.

I try to look away, but my eyes are locked on his.

His pupils dilate, eclipsing the grey, and all at once I feel lightheaded.

Holy crap. What’s happening to me? I feel like I might faint.

His face softens, his eyes blinking gently, and I can’t help but notice his lashes are long for a man’s.

I should really look away, but for some reason I can’t. It’s as though I’m tethered to his gaze by some mysterious force.

In one smooth motion he turns towards the driver.

“Step on it. But don’t hurt them.”

The vehicle lurches forward, and outside the window, the crowd rushes by in a blur.

For the first time I notice beautiful classical music playing from the car’s speakers, a refreshing contrast to the the howling wind and chaotic street noise.

“Mahler,” I whisper.

It comes out unintentionally, and I’m suddenly overcome with embarrassment.

He turns back to me and eyes me with a look of surprise. “You know the composer?”

My heart skips a beat as I stare into his eyes. I want to say yes, but all I can do is nod.

He scowls and turns to the driver. “Turn off the music. It’s mixing with the street noise and giving me a headache.”

The driver nods. “Yes, sir.”

What the? Why why would he do that? Is he mad at me or something?

The music stops, and all that’s left is the howling wind as the world flies by outside the window.

He lifts me up off his lap and places me in a nearby seat. “Can you buckle yourself in?”

My mouth opens to respond, but he’s already reaching across my lap. “Very well,” he says, taking control as he begins to buckle me in. His arms feel good pressed against me, warm and reassuring, and I like the smell of his hair, but something about the aggressiveness of his gesture puts me off.

“I can do it,” I say, but he ignores me.

I bite my lip, unsure of what to do, and look down at his hands. The first thing I notice are his platinum cuff links. The design is simple, but the pieces look intricately crafted and expensive. My eyes wander to his long, tapered fingers as he buckles me in and smoothes the belt up over my chest, careful to remain decent.

Once finished, he sits back in his seat, and I’m finally able to take in the rest of him.

His body is long, lean, and muscular, and his proportions are refined. Besides the mess I’ve made of his suit, everything about his attire is crisp and clean. He’s wearing a well-fitted dark navy suit and slacks, a starched white undershirt, and an intricately patterned silver tie. The outfit looks expensive and custom tailored.

I look down at the used shirt I picked up the other day at the thrift store for a dollar fifty-five, and notice that mud is dripping down through my legs onto the soft leather car seat. I fidget nervously at the sight, and the puddle under me makes a squishy sound.

His eyes dart in my direction.

I lean back a little, revealing the puddle. “Sorry, I’m all wet.”

He purses his lips. “Don’t tell me that’s piss.”

What!? My face flushes with embarrassment. “No! It’s not, it’s just… I’m so sorry,” I mutter, trying to contain the drips.

He sighs and leans forward, flipping open the center console.

I flinch.

He stops and looks at me. “Calm down.”

I nod and exhale, trying to relax.

He pushes a black button and a crystal champagne set raises up from inside the console.

Scowling, he grabs a black silk champagne towel, unfurls it with a flourish, and hands it to me.

“Here.”

When I grab it, his fingers graze mine, and something electric passes between us.

Whoa.

That was crazy. Did he feel it, too?

He leans back in his seat and clears his throat, clearly affected.

He did!

A smile tugs at my lips.

He narrows his eyes at me. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” I say, flattening my expression as I dab up my mess. “Ahem…so, where are we going?”

“To your apartment.”

What? A pang of fear courses through me. “How do you know where I live?”

He gives me a strange look. “You told me back in the street. You don’t remember?”

I think back, replaying the awful sequence of events.

“Oh yeah.” I say, shaking my head. “How could I have forgotten? I must have hit my head.”

“Your head is fine. I saw everything.”

He saw the everything?

You’ve got to be kidding me. Face in the mud and ass in the air is not my idea of a great first impression. I can only imagine what he must think of me.

I lower my head in shame, and my hair falls down around my face. When I peek back up through the strands, I see that he’s turned away from me, staring out the window. He looks poised, legs finely crossed, fingers clasped—cool, aloof.

For a moment I wonder if I’m dreaming. There’s no way this could be real. He looks like a movie star or a model in a fashion magazine. What am I doing here with him?

He turns to look at me, and I quickly look away.

Crap. Don’t look again.

But I do, and this time he’s looking at me like he’s in pain.

I look away again.

I should really stop staring at him. This is something Stacy would do. Not me. What’s wrong with me?

A moment later, I can’t help myself and I look up yet again.

Shit. He’s still staring at me.

Okay. At least I’m not the only one staring.

His eyes crinkle in the corners, like he’s laughing at me, his fine mouth twisting into a ghost of a smile.

I look away again.

Crap. He thinks I’m an idiot. What should I do? Should I say something? This is so awkward.

When I peek at him again, I notice he’s clenching his slacks up near his knee. He looks angry. What if he blames me for what happened with the crowd? Maybe I should apologize?

“I’m sorry about what happened,” I say. “I didn’t know—“

He holds up his hand, silencing me.

I turn back and catch my reflection in the window.

Limp, soggy hair.

Mud-flecked face…

Could I look more pathetic?

Hot tears begin to form behind my eyes.

He makes a sudden movement, drawing my attention, and I notice a thin line of blood trailing down along his wrist.

I gasp. “You’re bleeding.”

He stops, turns his hand over. “Shit.”

I lean forward. “Here, let me—“

He pulls away. “I’ve got it.”

I look around for something to stop the bleeding.

He holds up the bottom of his suit coat and sighs through his nose, his mouth twisted with frustration.

I unbuckle my seatbelt.

“What are you doing?”

“Here,” I say, unbuttoning my baby blue cardigan.

“No,” he says, eyes closed, shaking his head. A small smile plays on his lips.

I stop. His smile does something to me I can’t explain, and I have the sudden inexplicable urge to kiss the corner of his mouth. What!? Where did that thought come from?

He smirks at me, like he knows what I’m thinking.

“You really need to calm down,” he says. “Get back in your seat and buckle up.”

I do as he says.

“It must have been from the window,” he says, referring to his bloody wrist. His voice is flat. “I was trying to minimize contact until you showed up.”

Crap. For a moment I almost forgot about the Coronavirus.

Guilt grips me.

What if he has a precondition?

What if he has a family?

“I’m so sorry.”

“You should be.” His expression is serious. “You summoned them to me.”

What?!

“I did not!”

“Did you declare yourself their leader, or were you elected?” he says, his lips suddenly curled with amusement.

I shake my head, confused. “I had absolutely nothing at all to do with them!”

He smiles. “Then why were they all so glad to see you?”

Ah, I get it. He must be joking.

I smile inwardly and decide to play along. “The truth is they were charmed by your carriage.”

His face brightens at my recognition, and he lets out a long sigh. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean what I just said.” He strokes the bottom of his lip with his index finger. “It’s obviously not your fault. It’s the fault of those in charge who allowed the panic to spread.”

I look down at my hands, unsure of what to say.

“Besides,” he says. His voice is suddenly wry with mock-humor. “There are so many ways to die. Coronavirus is just one of them. Something’s bound to get you sooner or later.”

I peek up at him through my lashes. Why does he look sad?

I want to tell him it will be alright, but the thought sounds stupid in my head.

He sighs and shrugs off his jacket to use for his hand.

I sit up.

“Y-y-you can use my sweater,” I say, stuttering for some reason as I gape wide-eyed at the jacket that I’m positive is worth more than my entire wardrobe combined.

“It’s quite alright,” he says, ignoring me.

“No,” I say, gaining his attention. “That jacket’s too thick.”

He stops and examines the jacket, turning it over in his hands.

“Seriously, it’s no big deal,” I say. “It’s the least I could do.”

“It won’t be needed,” he says, tossing the jacket into a heap on the floor.

I shake my head, confused. “Then what will you use?”

His eyes lock on mine as he loosens his patterned silk tie.

Holy hell. He’s getting undressed!

He tosses the tie onto the floor and begins unbuttoning his dress shirt.

My breath hitches as I struggle to avert my gaze.

He shrugs off the shirt, and I barely contain a gasp as his chiseled abs flex under the soft interior dome lighting. The entire time, his eyes never leave mine.

Something tugs at the base of my stomach as I shift in my seat.

He bites down on the dress shirt fabric and tears it into a long thin strip. How does he make it look so easy?

“I can help,” I say, leaning towards him, entranced.

“I’ll manage just fine,” he says through gritted teeth as he finishes two more strips.

He takes three strips and wraps them around his wrist. When he’s finished he holds up his wrist, examining his handiwork. “What do you think?”

I’m so overwhelmed all I can do is nod.

“Good enough,” he says like he’s glad to be done with it.

I spot the tie at his feet and a thought occurs to me.

“You could have just used your tie.”

“Too late,” he says without hesitation.

He reaches down, grabs the tie, then lays it next to him on the seat.

I look away. For some reason I can’t stop smiling. What’s going on with me?

He signals the driver. “I’ll need a new dress shirt before my speech.”

The driver nods. “Ten four.”

He settles back into his seat and begins fingering the shirt-strip bandage.

I clear my throat. “What kind of speech are you giving?”

His brow furrows. “You don’t have to talk like that.”

My brow pinches. “Like what?”

“Like this is an interview.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You’re up-ending your sentences in an effort to please me.”

I look away, unsure of how to respond.

“I’m sorry. I’m under a lot of pressure right now.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” he says, his tone serious.

“Okay.”

His brow arches, assessing me. “I’m Elon, by the way. Elon Carlisle.”

Elon Carlisle.

I roll it around in my mind, savoring the sound of it. The name suits him surprisingly well.

“What’s your name?” he says.

“Nana.”

Crap! What’s wrong with me!? …Nana?!

“Nana?” His brow knits in confusion. “As in, my nana’s just died from Coronavirus?”

“N-no. It’s Ana. Just Ana.”

“Ana?”

I nod. “Ana.”

He leans back, hands behind his head, and repeats my name. “Ana.”

I love the way my name plays on his lips.

His eyes dart back down at me. “You’re sure?” His face lights up with humor, and somehow it’s even more beautiful than before.

I blush and nod into my chest.

“So…Ana. What do you think of all this?”

My eyes once again take in the luxurious surroundings. “The car?”

He makes a face. “No…the virus.”

Duh. What’s wrong with you, Ana? Get it together.

I search for the right word, but all that comes to mind is, “It’s terrible.”

“Indeed,” he says, biting the back of his knuckle.

An awkward moment passes between us, and the tension gets the better of me. “I noticed none of the employees at Wholesome Foods were wearing masks.”

“Yes, I’ve read all about that. Most businesses seem to think it will scare the customers.”

“That’s so stupid,” I say, a little too loud.

He looks up at me and tilts his head.

I shake my head with frustration. “I mean, if we’re going to flatten the curve, we can’t be doing stupid stuff like that. It’s not up to businesses to choose who lives and dies.”

He stops biting his knuckle and stares at me thoughtfully. Why is he looking at me like that?

“I was just on my way to give a speech along the same lines,” he says calmly.

“Oh,” I say. “What for?”

“It’s for a charity banquet. Very tedious.”

“So, what are you? Some kind of politician or something?“

“I’m a CEO. I own fifteen companies on three separate continents, and I employ over five million people.”

Holy crap.

“Wow, very important,” I say, trying to sound unimpressed.

“Indeed.”

Cocky much?

The air in the car suddenly seems too heavy, so I try to lighten the mood. “Well at least the workers of the world will finally get a vacation.”

He eyes me tactfully.

“If you consider the most devastating economic collapse since World War II a vacation, then yes, they will most certainly get their vacation.” So much for lightening the mood. I look down at my lap as he continues. “I believe there is dignity and honor in work, regardless of what one contributes. This pandemic is nothing short of a disaster for everyone involved, including the workers of the world.”

I snort. “Easy for you to say.”

He glares at me.

“Why is that?”

“Because you’re the one getting the lion’s share.”

He scoffs.

“What?” I say. “It’s the truth”

“Somewhat,” he says, leaning forward. “To be more exact, I control the lion’s share. Most of my value is tied up in my companies. If I didn't own at least fifty percent of each company I would cease to be the one in control.”

“So why not give it up?”

“Because without my control they would fail.”

“Says who?”

“Says me.”

His eyes bore into mine and I look away, a little frightened by his intensity.

“So, you’re doing it for charity?”

He laughs. “I wouldn’t say that exactly.”

“But that’s what you just said. You said the companies would fail without you. But still, you could sell them off anytime, so why don’t you? Sounds like charity to me.”

He thinks it over. “Because it’s not rational to allow that many people to suffer when I have the power to stop it from happening.”

I can’t help but smile.

“What? What is it?”

“Nothing.”

He leans forward. “Tell me.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t think you’re being rational.”

“Then what am I being?”

“Emotional.”

He shakes his head.

“I never make decisions based on emotion. I prefer to be able to anticipate every outcome.”

“As if that’s even possible.”

“Maybe not,” he says. “Still, I believe caution and prevention are the foundations of rational judgement.”

“Who did you steal that line from? Dale Carnegie?”

His eyes soften with humor. “You know more than you let on.”

I fold my arms. “Yeah, and you care more than you let on.”

He shakes his head and looks down. “I gave up caring a long time ago.”

I stop and stare at him. His response is more personal than I expected.

“What about you?” he says.

“Me?”

“Yes. Tell me about yourself.”

Crap. What the heck am I supposed to say?

“Um…I don’t know. Let me think.”

“Think away.”

“Well, for starters, I lost my job today.” Heat spreads across my face as I recall my outburst in front of the crowd. “But I guess I already told you that earlier.”

I search his face for signs that he’s about to mock me for the embarrassing scene I made, but I find none. Only mild curiosity lingers in his eyes.

“Where did you work?” he says cooly.

“Karen’s Krafts, down on Main Street.”

“I think I’ve seen it.”

“They put me on indefinite leave.” I make air quotes around ‘indefinite leave’.

He nods his head. “They must be struggling.”

“They are.”

“So, what did you do there?”

Why does he want to know all this? There’s no way it’s boring him less than it’s boring me.

“Hmm…” I say, trying to think of something interesting. “I mostly just stood behind the front desk waiting for customers to pay.” I shrug. “Sometimes I’d help stock the shelves.”

Ugh. It sounds so lame now that I’ve said it out loud.

“That’s it?” He says, narrowing his eyes at me.

“Um… sort of. I mean, I was a cashier.” I sift through my memory for something else to say. “But sometimes I would clean the toilets, too.”

His lips curl into an amused smile. “That sounds very…interesting.”

Crap. He definitely thinks I’m an idiot. Why did I say that? I blush and lower my head. “It was a job, I guess.”

“Well, from what you just told me I wouldn’t be too upset about losing it.”

My face flushes with anger. “It may not sound like much to you, but it was all I had.”

He gives me a surprised look. “I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant I think you can do better.” He pauses to rub his index finger across his lower lip. “I’m sorry. I know how hard it is out there right now.”

“How do you know?”

“That it’s hard?”

“That I can do better.”

He shrugs. “It was just a guess.”

“Based on what?”

“What I’ve seen so far.”

“I thought this wasn’t an interview.”

“It’s not.” His voice is hard.

I cross my legs and fold my arms over my chest. “Whatever.”

I don’t know why I’m acting like this, but something about this man has gotten under my skin.

“We’ll be nearing your place soon, Ana,” he says. There’s an edge to his voice again. “What’s the building?”

“Broadway Building, Elon,” I say, echoing his tone. “But you can drop me off here if you’re eager to get rid of me.”

His brow turns into a hard V and I’m tempted to poke my tongue out at him. What’s gotten into me?

The landscape around us darkens. “This is a bad part of town,” he says flatly.

I nod against the window. “I always know I’m getting close to home because I begin to feel anxious.”

“I know the owner-slash-landlord,” he says. “Or, I suppose the more proper term would be slum lord.”

I laugh despite myself.

“Totally.”

“Totally?”

I roll my eyes. “Whatever.”

His face lights up a little as his eyes narrow in thought. “For some reason all I can remember of him was his ass crack.”

I burst out laughing so hard I almost pee my pants.

He smiles at me.

“I can’t believe you just said that,” I choke out. “My roommate and I christened him Lord Buttcrack once we learned he was a piece of shit.”

He laughs out loud for the first time, and the melodious sound fills my chest.

The driver looks back at us and smiles.

When our laughter finally dies down, I look up and catch him staring at me with a far off look.

I look myself over and check my face in the glass. “What’s the matter? Is there something on my face?”

“No, it’s just…” he says, considering whether or not to continue.

“What?” I say, anxious for his answer.

“You remind me so much of someone I once knew.”

Oh really?

“Who?”

He turns away from me, suddenly serious.

“Never mind. Forget I said it.”

The mood in the car darkens.

“Will you be fine if I drop you off here?” he says. The edge in his voice has returned.

I look around. I usually avoid walking in this part of town if I can. I glance back at Elon but he’s still turned away, as if I’m already gone.

“Here’s fine.”

He commands the driver to stop.

“You’re sure?” the driver says, looking back at us.

Elon nods, his face twisted in what I can only assume is disgust.

I open the door and right as I’m about to step out, a beer bottle crashes against the nearby pavement.

What the?!

I slink back into the car as a middle-aged drunk woman takes a swing at a scruffy-looking old man.

“You motherfucker!” The woman roars. “How you gonna pay the rent! How we gonna eat!”

Elon reaches across me and slams the door shut.

“Drive!”

The SUV lurches forward.

I peer over and see him pinching his brow with his fingers. “That was a close one,” I say, forcing a lightness into my tone.

“Too close,” he whispers, not looking up.

A distance seems to have formed between us that I don’t understand.

I sift through my mind for something to say.

“I’m really sorry for everything. The mob, your clothes…exposing you to the virus. It’s all my fault.”

“As I said before, it’s not your fault. People are stupid, dangerous, panicky animals.”

I stare at him, taken back by his harsh judgement.

The vehicle comes to a stop in front of my apartment and I notice a homeless man is trying to defecate on the sidewalk.

“Gross,” I whisper, turning away.

“How long have you lived here?” He says, his face contorted in disgust.

Something comes over me, a medley of shame and anger, and all at once I have the overwhelming urge to leave the vehicle.

I try to open the door, but it’s locked.

He shakes his head at the driver, and grabs my elbow to stop me. His hand feels good against my skin, but my emotions take hold and I shrug it off.

He sighs and leans back in his seat. “You’re sure you want to go?”

What’s he getting at? A minute ago he was asking me to leave.

“I’m sure. Now can you please unlock this door?”

Once again, he shakes his head at the driver.

What’s he doing?

He pulls out a platinum business card holder, flips it open, removes a card, then flips it back shut. He offers the card to me. “In case you need me for anything.”

I shake my head. “You’ve already helped more than enough. Thank you for the ride and the money… I really mean it, thank you.”

He narrows his eyes.

The driver opens my door, taking me by surprise. “Ma’am.”

I look up and thank him, then clamber out of the car with as much grace as I can scrap together.

“Oh! I almost forgot my p—“

I spin around and see my purse dangling from Elon’s outstretched hand.

“Thanks,” I say, shifting the strap onto my shoulder.

“You’re welcome.”

Something like a grin tugs at the corner of his mouth.

What’s that all about?

Before I can say anything, the driver gently shuts the door. “Would you like me to escort you to your door?” His face is serious, but genial.

“No. But thank you, um… I seem to have forgotten your name.”

“Calloway, ma’am.”

“Oh yes. Now I remember. Thank you, Calloway.”

“No problem-o.”

I turn on my heel and hop over the pile of excrement the homeless man left on the sidewalk.

“Watch your step!” Calloway says, laughing a little. “I’d kick it out of your way, but it’s still fresh.”

“I’m fine,” I say as I hop up the steps to the front door of my building, totally grossed out.

Good God. How humiliating.

As I’m about to put my key in the slot, I hear Elon’s voice behind me.

“Ana!” I turn around and see his beautiful face framed in the window. “Be safe,” he says.

“You too.” I take a breath. “…Elon.”

The moment lingers as we stare into each other’s eyes, and I can swear something passes between us again. I can’t explain why, but I feel an inexplicable urge to run back to the car. Does he feel it, too?

He turns his head forward as the tint seals shut.

And then, just like that, the car pulls away.

A Final Note from the Author

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! I hope you’ve enjoyed it so far! If you would like to read the rest of Part 1 through to Chapter 14, the story is currently available on Amazon under the title ‘Fifty Shades of Corona’ by N.O. Shame. However, if you are willing to wait, I’ll be posting a new chapter every week!

Much Love,

N.O. Shame

1 note · View note