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seospicybin · 8 months

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TOO HOT TO HANDLE.

PART II

Lee Know x reader. (s)

Too Hot To Handle Masterlist

Synopsis: You and Lee Know become contestants in a reality dating show, Too Hot To Handle. (11,1k words)

Author's note: Happy reading and feel free to vent in my inbox after :)

Content warning: This is entirely a work of fiction and not affiliated with real Too Hot To Handle show.

MINHO: I'm a dancer. I sometimes model too. I have some moves [shows off dances] but I don't need any to get it on with someone. My face does all the work [smirks] I was born with it. Why? Are you jealous? [Lopsided grins]

Minho feels like hurling his pillow across the room when he hears that melodic chime.

"Good morning, everyone!"

He forces himself to wake up and sits on the bed, covering half of his face with the duvet. He doesn't want to look see you and gets reminded that you chose to sleep with someone else but it's hard when you're right there in front of him.

MINHO: If I didn't like her, I wouldn't be this upset.

"No one broke the rules last night, right?" Bryan asks, worrying so much about the money that he forgets about the lady sitting next to him.

Zara slumps down the bed and picks on her nails, she surely won't be answering him because nothing happened between them.

"I heard you guys," Agnes turns her head in your direction.

"Heard what?" You ask with an innocent smile.

Agnes flashes you a sly smile, "something was going on last night," she wildly guesses.

You scoff and break into a dry laugh, turning to Jack to make him answer it for you.

He clears his throat before calmly answering, "Nah, nothing happens."

Jack moves like a snake. It's only yesterday that he sneakily kissed two girls in one night, not afraid of going against two guys at once. One thing he learned is that a calm face of Jack could be a lie.

He can't listen to what Lana is saying when he's focused on seeing you playing with Jack's hair. He takes it that you're trying to make him jealous.

Well, if that's a game you want to play with him, just know that you're playing a tricky one.

MINHO: It would be a lie to say that I wouldn't be upset if she did break another rule with Jack. Am I going to tell her that? No.

Minho spends the morning doing his upper body workout with Jai. There's no gym equipment that he usually uses for his routine but he'll manage with some dumbbells.

"Who would have thought, huh?"

Was Minho too busy controlling his breathing to hear him talking or Jai just asked him something without giving him the context?

He drops the dumbbell and glances his way, "What were you saying?"

Jai also stops doing squats while holding a dumbbell between his legs, "Who would have thought that Jack is going to be our competitor?" He says as he's catching his breath.

Minho feels repulsed even at the mention of his name. He's not interested in giving an opinion on Jack but he only realized now that he's working out with another guy who went through the same thing with him.

"He's so slick," Jai says, then carefully puts down his dumbbell back in its place.

"Fucking dude got game," he adds.

That's what pissed him off too. He didn't expect that guy would ever dare to touch his ego but he did, Minho just won't admit it.

Minho picks a heavier dumbbell from the rack, "How are things with Agnes?"

Jai wipes the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand, "I appreciated it that she was being honest to me about her feelings afterward but I—"

He catches his breath to continue talking, "I need to play it safe for now."

Minho nods and sits on the concrete to cool down with the help of the cool morning air blowing from the sea. Jai is following suit and takes off his top as his body is wet with sweat.

"What about last night though?" Jai asks back, leaning back with his hands propped behind him.

"It was tense, mate. Everyone was on the edge," he lightly chuckles while looking out at the beach.

To be honest, he shouldn't be asking this to him because it's you who chooses to sleep with someone else so Minho nonchalantly shrugs.

Jai scratches his chin, "Have you tried having another conversation with her?"

Minho shakes his head, "I need time," he concisely explains.

"You're not sure about her or... you're not sure about your feelings for her?"

That is such a profound question that Minho is frazzled, he doesn't know how to answer that. It's too early to say he has feelings but he does feel something.

"I miss her," Minho innocently admits.

He shakes the front of his sleeveless top to let the air in, "but the way she acts... I'm not okay with that."

Jai briefly looks at him and nods, "That's fair."

MINHO: I need time and see things through [shrugs]

Drops of water are dripping down his body as Minho walks back to the house after having a quick dip at the beach to wash the sweat from working out.

He doesn't expect to see you sitting by the pool with Jack swimming not far away from you, chatting.

"....the blue?" You ask.

"The color matches the sky," Jack says.

Minho believes he's complimenting the bikini you're wearing today, one piece with sky blue color and thin straps crisscrossing on the back.

"You too. You look good today," you compliment back.

"Oh, thank you," Jack answers, flashing a quick look at Minho as he walks past behind you.

His dislike grows more intense with the way Jack is toying with his ego and he hates it even more because you choose to be on his side.

Minho wishes that everyone just leave him alone but that is impossible because he's not the boss in this house. He puts on anything he packed with him, a black shirt and blue jeans.

The night hasn't started but it's worse already. When he walks into the bedroom, he sees you again with Jack on the bed, just talking with Agnes, Jai, and Luca from their beds.

Minho is about to turn on his feet and walk out until the cone in the middle of the room lights up and dings.

"Hello, everyone!"

"Yes, Lana!" Agnes lazily replies to her, dropping her head on Jai's shoulder.

"Please assemble in the cabana!"

Minho wastes no time but be the first to head there, telling Zara and Bryan whom he met on the way. It's certainly that time of the day when Lana is going to announce rule breaks.

Everyone takes a seat at the long sofa and Minho sits at the farthest end, away from you.

"Jack, did you dare some girls to kiss you today?" Luca jokes.

Jack only grins in response and Minho wishes he didn't care but God, his blood is boiling.

MINHO: If they did break a rule, then... there's nothing I can do anymore to save it.

Here comes the melodic chimes and Alia gasps next to him.

"I have some news," Lana announces.

Bryan takes a deep breath, then says, "Let's hear it!"

"Last night, there was an incident of sexual contact," Lana shares.

His eyes dart in your direction because the first thing that crosses his mind is that you did break a rule with Jack.

"Oh... who is it?" Alia quietly asks.

Everyone starts to assume that it's you as well since Agnes pointed it out this morning.

"We didn't rule break," you assure everyone.

Jack doesn't say anything but points at Lana, "You guys won't trust me anyway so I'll just let Lana speak," he coyly says.

Minho didn't do anything therefore he shouldn't be this anxious. However, Lana has been quiet for a moment, probably giving everyone a chance to confess anything.

He sees you taking a long, deep breath when Lana calls your name then Jack.

A part of him wishes he can get this thing over with so he can move on but another part of him wishes that it's not true. The latter part is bigger than the other, to be honest.

"They did..."

Minho silently holds his breath, nervous for what's to come. Starting over with someone new is not a bad thing but

"... not break any rules last night," Lana finally continues.

It's like he can finally breathe properly again and he glances your way, seeing you giving everyone the I-told-you-so smile.

MINHO: They didn't lose any money so yeah... [smiles] that's good.

"However," Lana suddenly adds.

"There was another incident that violated the rules."

Minho is still caught up on the previous announcement that he's unaware that someone else has broken the rules instead, not you.

"These things always come out so better fess up," Alia says, craning her neck to look around and scan for any guilty faces.

Minho catches Jai is quietly grinning and the last time he grinned, thousands of dollars lost from the prize fund.

"You're grinning," Minho points out.

"Jai..." Bryan calls him like a father who catches his children doing something bad.

"No, I'm good," Jai says with a crisp laugh and he may have covered his lie well.

Meanwhile, Agnes is uneasily rubbing her neck and sheepishly smiling at her lap.

"Agnes, you have something to say?" Zara asks.

Agnes can only keep her face straight for a second before it crumbles down, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she repeatedly apologizes.

Jai quickly does damage control, "It happened not long ago. In the shower. We got a bit carried," he butchered the sentences.

"Just tell us what you did!" Bryan impatiently says.

"I gave him a handy," Agnes shyly answers.

Minho can hear Alia groan next to him and everyone else mutters so many things at once but shows the same sheer disgust.

"This rule break has resulted in $8,000 being deducted from the prize fund."

What they did is selfish but Minho understands that Jai got that urge, he even shared with him earlier that his balls hurt so much that he needs a release.

An intrusive thought pops in his head and Minho's urge is to speak his intrusive thoughts out.

He looks at Jai and asks, "Did you finish though?"

"We were showering together and I just sort of touched it, then I realized that we shouldn't do it," Agnes answers for him.

"We lost money and you still have blue balls," Luca lays out the facts for everyone.

MINHO: That's the most expensive hand job I've ever heard and he didn't even climax [sniggers]

"The prize fund now stands at $150,000," Lana updates.

Bryan's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he heard it. He rubs his chin and inhales air through his nostrils.

"We spent $50,000 in three days," he says.

It's scarier when he says it with a blank expression, it's his big posture that adds suspense to his words. Minho is smart enough to know to never pick a fight with him.

"There has been a total of eight rule breaks. Jai and Agnes have been responsible for half of these breaches," Lana continues.

"Wow!" Zara exclaims on behalf of everyone.

"Jai and Agnes," Lana calls.

Their faces turn tense at the mention of their names.

"To show me you are committed to the process. I am putting you both to the ultimate test."

Agnes covers her eyes as if that would help her to escape reality, "Oh my God!" She mutters, so full of worries.

"In order to pass, you need to demonstrate self-control and show you can form a real connection without breaking my rules."

"Oh, no!" Jack groans as he reclines on the sofa.

"Therefore, you will spend the night alone in the private suite."

Opposite to Agnes's distressed expression, Jai just can't stop grinning, it seems like he's going to enjoy having a room just for themselves.

"There's no way!" Bryan is so quick to judge that they will fail the test.

MINHO: Well, I'm with Bryan on this one.

"If you refrain from breaking the rules, I'll put $20,000 back in the prize fund," Lana adds as a form of encouragement for them to not break any rules.

Everyone is cheering but Minho still doubts that they will make it through the night without touching each other. They broke rules with everyone in the room so what makes everyone think that they will not break any rules when it's just the two of them in the room together?

"One more reason to not spend money!" Luca says.

Bryan leans forward and looks at them, "Just don't do anything. That's it!" He warns them.

Minho looks around and it seems like he's not the only one thinking that they'll spend money tonight.

"Jai and Agnes, please make your way to the private suite!" Lana orders.

"We will not do anything," Jai promises to everyone before turning around to leave, not forgetting to flash his sly grin.

MINHO: No [shakes head] I don't trust that grin.

The night is still long but with Lana sending Jai and Agnes to the private suite and probably would cost everyone more money than giving them back, everyone is too restless to enjoy the rest of the night.

Minho is enjoying the quiet and the faint sounds of the waves crashing from afar when he feels someone else sitting down next to him on the small sofa.

He turns his head to the side to see you're smiling at him.

"Hi, how are you?" You ask, shifting your body to the side to face him.

Minho smiles back at you, "good," he replies.

You put your legs up and fold them together, "I get why you're upset and I'm sorry," you say with a sincere apology.

You grab his hand resting along the headrest of the sofa and put his hand in yours, "but now you know that I don't like Jack that way. He doesn't get me excited but you do."

You lean in close but keep a safe space between your face, "You turn me on, not Jack."

Minho can't help but feel flattered to hear it. People get flirty with him all the time but he likes how you're forthright and open.

"Yeah?"

"Duh!" You answer with a dramatic eye roll.

MINHO: I'm glad she understands why I was so upset and I don't see why we can't move on from this.

Minho snickers at you and you slyly smile at him, "You don't need more time, you need to get back on the bed with me," you tell him.

Last night was weird, to be honest, Minho knows that Alia has something for him but she's not exactly sharing the bed with him by choice.

You put your leg over his leg, rubbing your heeled feet against his thigh, "Come on, don't you miss cuddling with me?" You ask with your eyes sparkling and your eyebrows downturn, a combination that works well to make him can't say no to it.

Minho nods with a suppressed smile on his face.

Your smile grows wider, "Tonight?"

He verbally answers it this time, "Yes."

The next thing he knows, you throw yourself at him and kiss his neck. You pull away to look at him and mewl, "I want to kiss you so much."

And he wants the same thing.

You probably think he doesn't care but oftentimes, he can't help himself but look at you, especially with you dressed so impeccably in a skin-tight dress that enhances every curve of your body.

"Why not?" He asks you since you didn't hesitate to kiss him the first time you broke a rule.

You make eyes to the cone perched on top of the small table, silently watching everything in the corner.

"How about we put her into a box and send her to the open sea?" Minho suggests a wild idea, sending you bursts into laughter.

MINHO: She's so hot. I just want to kiss her.

It seems like you already told Jack about the bed situation. Minho would love to evict him out of the bed himself but alas, he's already tucked in with Alia.

He throws the extra cushions to the floor and puffs each pillow to make it comfortable to sleep on. He must admit that it feels good to claim his place back.

Minho is listening to everyone chatting about random things from their respective beds when the door swings open and he sees you coming. You squeal as you jump right onto the bed next to him.

It's so cute seeing you excited for a simple thing like this, he gets the impression that you do like him more than he thinks you are.

You spread his arm out to rest your head on it and snuggle to his side, "Isn't it nice, mmh?"

Without looking at you, he replies with a hum, "mmh."

The hand resting on his chest moves to his neck, and then you slip it into his hair, gently brushing it between your fingers.

"At first, I thought this is your real hair color," your warm breath tickles his ear as you speak.

"Orange suits you well," you compliment with a sweet kiss on the cheek, then place another kiss on a different spot.

Mischievous, he turns his head to the side and offers you his lips next. You giggle and turn his head away, but he keeps turning his head at you with puckering lips.

"No more spending!" Bryan reminds everyone the second the lights are turned off.

You face the other way, probably to stop yourself from being tempted to rule break.

Minho has another idea, frankly, he has a lot of ideas but they're all against the rules. First, he puts his hand on your waist and pulls you close until your body molds against him.

He puts his hand across your chest and slowly puts his hand around your neck, turning your head to the side so he can look at your face.

He teases you by rubbing his lips on your jaw and softly places a kiss on the skin behind your ear. He presses his mouth close to your neck and stays there, drinking in your heavenly scent.

You catch up fast on his intention and lowly laugh, "We can't break another rule," you tell him.

That only makes him drag his lips back on your jaw again, there's not much you can do when he can angle your head with his hand around your neck.

You stifle a breath as his lips are hovering dangerously close to your lips, you hurriedly move your head away.

"Technically speaking, I'm only one rule break away from Lana sending us to the private suite," you explain.

He smirks with his lips against the side of your face, "even better!"

MINHO: The things I want to do to her in the private suite [smirks] I think we'd leave the retreat with a huge debt.

Lana chimes the first thing in the morning.

"Good morning, everyone!" She greets.

Minho refuses to wake up and pulls the duvet to cover his face. The day has barely started but he feels tired already, he believes it's because his mental has been perpetually put in tests in this retreat.

"The breakfast menu today includes toast and freshly squeezed juice."

You delightfully hum in response, "Sounds yum!"

"Served with a side of celibacy. Enjoy!" Lana adds a snide remark at the end.

"She got a bit of lip on her today, eh?" Jack says.

Which reminds Minho to look to the side and see you. He can't lie but he likes waking up next to you again. You hold his face as you place a soft peck on his cheek before lifting yourself to sit with your back against the headboard of the bed.

Minho scoots to you and puts his head on your lap, letting you play with his tousled hair.

"Who else thinks that Jai and Agnes messed up?" Luca asks while roughly brushing his hair to the back with his fingers.

Minho looks around to see Maisie is the first to raise her hand next to Luca, then Zara and Bryan. He looks straight ahead and sees that Jack also votes the same but you, you're just sitting on the bed with a blank expression on and your hand brushing his hair.

"Ugh, sorry, no faith," Alia comments with a sneering smile.

MINHO: I just hope that when they come back, I don't see Jai grinning from ear to ear.

In contrast to having no faith in them, everyone is cheering once they see Jai and Agnes entering the bedroom.

"They seem to be happy," you mutter.

Minho agrees because when he looks at the most spending couple in the retreat so far, he notices the slightly wicked grin plastered on Jai's face.

MINHO: Oh no, I see the grin.

"Do we get the $20,000 back? Yes or no?" Bryan wastes no time to ask the most important question.

They both sit at the end of their bed and all the eyes are directed toward them.

Instead of answering, Agnes boasts about the private suite.

"Incredible! There were flowers, champagne, a massive bed, condoms, and stuff. We took a bath—"

Bryan slightly shakes his head and presses his lips together into a thin smile.

"We don't care," Luca cuts through their small talk and tries again, "We want to know if we get the $20,000 back!"

Minho watches as Jai and Agnes exchange a look between them, probably deciding which one of them should break the news. It's too early to worry about money but he can't help but get as nervous as everyone else.

Agnes stifles a breath and apologizes, "I'm so sorry, you guys."

Then a smile blooms on her face, "but we won the 20 grand back! Yay!"

Maisie and Zara start bouncing on their beds but Luca once again decides to be the one to slice through everyone's happiness.

"I won't believe a thing until Lana confirms it," Luca states.

Everyone is back in panic mode and waits until the cone lights up, signifying her appearance.

"Jai and Agnes," Lana begins.

"Last night, you were able to spend time away from the group to get to know each other on a deeper level."

Everyone gives them a round of applause thinking that that's just it.

"However," Lana continues.

MINHO: I started to hate that word. However [mimics Lana]

Minho closes his eyes to brace himself for the worst outcomes.

"You still broke the rules last night," Lana announces.

The atmosphere turns dark despite the sunny weather outside can be seen outside the windows.

"What did you do, Agnes, babe?" You ask, your voice goes higher at the end of the sentence.

She aggressively shakes her head, "I swear to God we didn't do anything!"

Jai nods, "Nah, we didn't even kiss," he defends Agnes's remarks.

Minho's eyes are swinging side to side to see who's lying.

MINHO: But Lana can't be lying, right?

"There were incidents of excessive grinding and self-touching," Lana pulls out the receipts right away.

Agnes lets herself collapse onto the bed and repeatedly chants, "Nah, nah, nah, nah..."

You stop playing with Minho's hair and turn to look at Agnes, "You didn't plan on riding anything so why did you rev up your engine?"

Minho can't tell if you're upset or amused hearing your question but it looks hot to him nonetheless.

"These breaches have resulted in a deduction of $10,000."

Instead of getting some money back, Jai and Agnes cost everyone more money. Everyone was right to not trust them.

Agnes hugs Jai from the back and whines, "So sorry, you guys."

The grin on Jai's face has been replaced with tensed jaws and a big sigh coming out of his parted mouth.

"We woke up happy and we didn't think that we would have lost more money, so truly sorry," Jai emphasizes every word to show how sincere he is with what he's saying.

Since everyone has expected this though, they can't say anything else but try to move on with the day.

MINHO: The day has only just begun but we already lost ten grand.

It's not getting any easier for Minho.

He finds it getting harder to resist and not when he sees you walking around, looking hot and slyly smiling at him. Sometimes the temptation comes when he least expected it, he steps into the bathroom and finds you bending down against the sink as you fix your make-up.

The black bikini you're wearing today doesn't help either, it's so tiny, covering just the important bits. It's so obvious that you notice him right away.

"You can see as much as you want but you can't touch, sir," you tell him while you move on to the other eye and carefully wipe the excess makeup with a Q-tip.

There's nothing that can stop him from ogling over you. If anything, he so badly wanted to feel those beautiful curves of your ass with his own hands.

He refrained though, but decides to use the towel he's holding and slaps your ass with it.

"Harder," you tell him.

Laughing, he slaps you harder with the towel.

"Harder, come on, don't be shy!" You dare him, also laughing along with him.

MINHO: It's getting hard, not only figuratively but like... literally.

Lana gathers everyone in the cabana when it's usually time to get ready for the night.

She's not wasting time on greeting everyone first, "To further aid your further growth, you must learn to resist your urges."

"I don't like this," you immediately remark even though Lana hasn't announced anything yet.

"So, I am putting some of you to the test."

You glance at Minho and pout, resting your head on his shoulder after.

"I have arranged two dates," Lana announces.

A few coo in wonder and also, feel a little suspicious that Lana suddenly sending people on dates.

MINHO: [Shrugs] There's always a catch.

"Both with new arrivals."

Minho grins because he's right, there's always a catch. He catches you notice him and scrunches your nose.

"The first new arrival is... Esme!"

He can't know the look of someone just from her name but it's exciting for everyone because there hasn't been a new face for a while now.

"I have allowed the new arrivals to select who they want to ask out on their date."

Minho can feel that you're getting tense next to him. It's easy to tell that you're afraid this new girl is going to choose him. Even Minho himself is not that confident, so what should you worry about?

"Esme has chosen... Jai."

Minho darts his eyes at Jai and there's the grin again, "Are you happy?"

His question puts Jai in a predicament but that's why Minho enjoys it.

Jai scratches the back of his head and coyly answers, "It is what it is."

Just as expected, Minho knows that Jai would be more than happy for the chance to get on a date with another girl. He's off to a bad start already with Agnes frowning next to him.

MINHO: They failed the ultimate test and now they're being tested again by the new girl. Lana, you're evil but I like you.

"And date number two will be with Noah," Lana continues.

The gasp you let out is unmissable, he can hear the slight excitement in it. He doesn't want to be affected by it but the thought that you may get picked to get on a date quite irritates him.

"He is also allowed to choose his partner for the date."

Minho chooses not to care whether you get picked or not. He's going to be cool about either way.

"He has chosen..."

You sit up straighter and lean forward as if that would help you hear better.

"Zara."

MINHO: Oh okay, that was thrilling.

"Jai and Zara, you may now leave for your dates."

Everyone is weakly cheering and you gently slap at Zara's butt as she walks past you.

"Be good," you mutter to her.

You let out a sigh as you rest your head on his shoulder, "Look at Bryan," you whisper.

Minho can see the panic on his face, gritting his teeth with his jaws clenched like that. He lowly chuckles, "It's going to be hard for him."

You shake your head, "No, it's going to be hard for Zara to not break the rules."

MINHO: Let the game begin!

"I didn't think you'd genuinely be this jealous," you say to Bryan who's sitting on the other sofa.

Minho has been watching him fidgeting in his seat and it's making him nervous too.

"I genuinely am," Bryan shortly replies.

"Now, it feels real, huh?" Minho says, pouring salt over his wound instead of trying to soothe it.

"I care about her," Bryan fussing like a toddler.

"Then you should have shown her that," you excuse yourself to get more drinks after.

Maybe you feel the need to tell him that because you're close to Zara and maybe she's telling you things about their relationship.

It's not his place to say anything about their relationship, but everyone can see the problem here, Bryan hasn't been treating his girl well, he puts her second after the money.

"But she's right though," Minho adds his opinion.

Bryan clicks his tongue and then scoffs, "I'm trying not to be selfish here," he defends himself.

He sips his drink before continuing to talk, "I know."

He gets quiet for a while and thinks of something to say to lighten up the mood, "I think my girl cuddles your girl more than you," he jokingly says.

Bryan is cackling in his seat, "Oh, I think my girl cuddles your girl more than you," he says back to him.

Minho feels a little offended by that.

MINHO: I'm not big on showing affection. It's just... I don't know, weird?

Jai and Zara are finally back from their dates and that's good because if they had taken another hour, Minho would have fallen asleep on the lounger.

Jai brings the new girl to introduce her around to the girls. He refills his drink to refresh him and walks out to join everyone.

Minho is the last to be introduced to the new girl, Esme, she's beautiful, with long dark hair and plush lips.

"What's your name?" She asks, holding his hand in hers.

"Minho," he replies.

"I'm Esme," she introduces, not letting his hand go yet.

She stares at him long enough that he feels the need to snap her out of it, "Nice to know you," he says.

"Yeah, very nice," she says with a flirty smile.

MINHO: Lana knows how to stir things up, huh?

Esme gets swept away by the other boys, they're all sexually frustrated and more than excited to get to know the new girl.

Minho can't say the same with the other one.

Noah is tall and blonde which are two things he doesn't have. He's not saying his jealous and not sure if that's your type as well. Even if he is, Minho doesn't feel intimidated at all.

From what he sees though, he doesn't need to worry your head is turned at this British guy. You're sitting next to Zara and chatting with drinks in your hands.

Minho takes a seat in the space next to you, taking your glass to have a sip.

"What do you think of the new girl, Minho?" Zara suddenly asks him.

He swallows his drink first before answering, "She's good-looking, has beautiful eyes, and yeah, beautiful."

Zara nods and asks again, "Is she your type?"

"She looks a lot like my ex-girlfriend actually," Minho adds.

Zara snorts with her mouth deep in the glass.

"Oh, yeah, I wish my ex looked like her too," you add with a fed-up tone and take your drink back from him.

MINHO: I don't see what's wrong. I was just being honest.

The new arrivals sleep together on the newly installed bed in the bedroom and no one changes their bed partner so that's a good thing.

Minho can't wait to end the day as well, feeling tired from doing nothing but worrying about money that is not his or not yet his.

You comfortably tucked under the cover, taking a sip of water before lying down next to him. Sighing once your head hits the pillow.

Minho doesn't get to talk to you much the entire night and he kind of wishes to play a little with you.

You turn over, laying on your stomach with your head facing the other way. The silk camisole you're wearing looks good on you, he can't stop himself from feeling the fabric and touching your exposed skin while at it.

You turn your head at him and mumble, "I'm tired."

"Stay up with me a little longer," he says, pulling at the strap of your camisole and snapping it against your skin.

You kiss his cheek and say, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he says back but you already turn your head away from him.

Why does it feel like he's done something wrong and it's your way of telling him to figure this out himself?

MINHO: I think with the new arrivals there's this change of dynamic and everyone is not ready for that.

Minho chooses to cool down with a quick dip in the swimming pool after working out today.

He has no swimming skill to show off whatsoever, he takes a few dives and lifts himself out of the water.

"Hey," Esme says, looking up at him with a smile.

He points at his towel, "You're sitting on my towel," he points out.

"Oh?" She gets up to pull it out under her and hands it to him.

"I hope you don't mind I'm keeping it warm for you."

Minho smiles at her and unfolds the towel to dry his body then his hair next.

"You have a nice body," Esme compliments.

"Thanks. You too," Minho compliments back out of courtesy but she seems to take that as some sort of his way to flirt with her.

"Do I?"

Well, Minho can't take back a compliment without hurting her feelings so he nods.

"Oh, wow, thank you!" She giggles in response.

Minho is about to leave when she asks him, "I heard you're a dancer. Is that right?"

He feels bad to always have to look down at her so he sits down, "I am."

"I am a dancer too," she says with eyes widening.

"Yeah?" Minho half-heartedly asks.

"I do ballroom dances," she further shares.

Living in the retreat and being locked out from the rest of the world reminds Minho of the things he's interested in besides dating.

Talking about something that he's so passionate about helps him to relive that excitement that he's not aware of how long he sits there talking with Esme.

"So... are your options still open or are you settled with your current partner?" Esme asks.

Of course, the talk will eventually lead to this and Minho is lucky because the talk has to be paused as all the girls get called for the workshop.

MINHO: Esme is great. She's nice and beautiful. I can't complain.

Something strange is happening.

Minho never felt this thing before because you're always there when he looks around. And now, not seeing you for most of the day feels doesn't right to him. You can't possibly out of the villa, you're just in a different part of this big place so there's no need for him to be this dramatic.

Jai catches Minho scoffing at himself, "What's that?"

"Nothing," Minho replies, shaking his head.

He decides to open a conversation with him to not let things get awkward, "How are things with Agnes?"

Jai scratches his nose before speaking, "She was mad jealous when I went on the date."

He wipes his wet hair to the back, "I usually jump ship whenever a new girl appears but I feel like I'm stuck with her," he explains.

"Stuck in a bad way or...?" Minho asks for a detailed answer.

Jai laughs and wipes the beads of water on his chest with a towel, "Like I can't like someone else but her."

Minho never feels that way with someone or maybe he hasn't found that someone, he's not that confident he'll ever find one. The sound of Agnes squealing surprises him as she jumps right onto Jai's lap, not caring that he's all wet from swimming.

Minho looks in the direction of the side gate to see if you have come back too. You walk back in behind Zara and he's sure you catch him looking at you, but instead of coming his way, you make a turn to the bedroom.

The day feels long but short at the same time.

Minho gets so confused about picking what he should wear for tonight that he raids Luca's locker to see if he can borrow something. The dressing room is packed because Lana is throwing a party to welcome the new arrivals even though it's a day late for that.

The girls are doing make-up while the boys are goofing around while trying on each other's clothes. He sees you quietly styling your hair at the far end of the vanity table.

"Oh, you're so flexible," Luca exclaims at someone.

Minho turns around to see Esme is showing everyone her grand battement.

"You do ballet too?" He asks her.

"Yeah, jazz," Esme answers as she fixes her dress.

"You're a dancer?" Bryan asks.

Esme nods as she picks up her shoes from the floor and in his peripheral vision, he sees you heading to the bathroom with your make-up bag. He follows you there, seeing you leaning in close to the mirror like you always do.

You don't say anything even though you see him walking into the bathroom and seeing him sitting on the edge of the tub, watching you putting on your contacts. The silence that hangs in the air is deafening and he needs to break it.

"Hey," he softly greets you.

You don't say anything for a moment but wash your hands under the running water.

"You still want to talk to me?" You finally talk after drying your hand with a towel.

"Didn't I just talk to you?" He says.

You turn to face him, leaning against the sink and crossing your arms together in front of you.

"I don't know maybe you prefer to talk to Esme," you tell him.

Oh, so this is all about. Minho gets it now why you've been so quiet and it's because you think something is going on between him and Esme.

"I only talked to her a little bit," Minho explains

"She's only been here for like what? A day? And you're giving her all of your attention," you tell him.

Perplexed, Minho jerks his head back and mutters, "What?"

You hold the edge of the sink and fiercely stare into his eyes, "I'm struggling to get you to make the same effort for me so yeah, I'm angry," you tell him.

One thing he learned is that overdoing things is always a disaster and Minho thinks he gives you just the right amount of attention.

"If you want to explore or keep your options open, that's fine, go ahead," you shove everything back into your pouch.

"But I can't do this," you say for the last time, then leave him in the bathroom.

MINHO: I don't know why I need to explain the reason why I talked to her when I am free to talk to anyone.

Minho isn't the only one getting confronted by his partner, Bryan got it worse with Zara putting an ultimatum on him.

"She wants me to break rule, man," Bryan grumbles and it's a funny thing to see him doing.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be something against the rules," Luca says.

Minho nods in agreement and he's surprised that Zara didn't drop him sooner. Bryan is too busy keeping everyone's hands in their pants and forgetting to treat his girl.

Bryan is so dense, refusing to admit that he's wrong for doing it because, for him, he's only doing the right thing.

"Damn! What did they do in the workshop?" Bryan loudly sighs.

It doesn't feel like a party when everyone is having mixed feelings about the night.

Once the music is blasting though, they throw their weariness away and start dancing. He sees that even you can't stop yourself from moving your body to the fast-paced song.

Just like always, Lana chimes in and abruptly stops the party from going wild.

Everyone is dragging themselves to the cabana, walking in heavy steps and mentally prepared for what she has to say.

"Unfortunately, I must inform you that..."

"Come on! Fess up!" Maisie says with an exhausted tone.

"What I'm observing is far from positive."

Zara groans then links her arm with yours, making Minho glance across the table to see you leaning on Jack's shoulder.

Everyone's eyes are aimed at Jai and Agnes, the biggest spending couple.

"I swear to you, I'm celibate," Jai convinces and with no grin on his face.

"So far, you have lost $60.000. You are taking this process for granted. It is clear I need to streamline the group."

MINHO: Lana, what have you done now? [Glares at camera]

"Two of you must leave the retreat tonight," Lana informs.

Minho automatically thinks of the things he's done wrong in the retreat and the possibility that he's one of the two is big. He looks at you and you slump down on the sofa with Jack putting his arm around you.

He wishes that he could hold you because this probably would be the last time he's able to.

"The first one to leave the retreat is... Alia."

Alia breaks into tears, looking so disappointed but she seems to have expected this. Agnes who's sitting next to her, hugs her for comfort.

MINHO: I think Alia isn't investing herself enough into the process and Lana sees that.

"The second person leaving is... Jack."

Everyone sees this one coming and that includes Jack. Minho can breathe now that he's still here and not being sent home tonight.

Jack has been treating this retreat like a playground but maybe that's because he's young, he doesn't think much about the repercussions of the things he did.

"It is now time for both of you to leave the retreat."

You kiss Jack on the cheek and hug him, Zara having no problems hugging both of you with her long arms.

Minho gets up to properly send them away with a friendly hug and a goodbye.

"I hope this is a lesson for the rest of you to take this process more seriously," Lana concludes.

MINHO: I'm very relieved to still be here. Guess I have to try a little bit harder.

Everyone wakes up still in loss of Jack and Alia, not expecting that their absence would leave the space this empty.

On the other hand, it makes Minho did a lot of thinking last night as he slept on the bed alone. He wants to do things right from now on but it's not easy to build connections, especially after you choose to sleep alone on the vacant bed.

Minho just wanted to be left alone for the day but that's impossible.

In the afternoon, Lana calls everyone to the cabana. The first thing everyone sees is the little gift boxes on the table.

"Are we getting gifts from Lana?" Maisie asks.

"It's about time we get some good news," Luca comments as he plops down the sofa next to her.

Jai squints his eyes as he stares at the box in front of him, "I don't know. Seems like a trap to me," he jokingly says.

There goes Lana's melodic chimes and everyone is collectively taking a breath to mentally prepare themselves for whatever she is going to share.

"Hello, everyone. I have a gift for each of you."

Minho hopes that whatever it is inside that box, he hopes it's something that encourages him to do good in the retreat.

MINHO: Some money would be good, Lana.

"The gift will serve as a reward to those couples who show me that they're taking the right steps towards deeper connections," Lana continues.

Couples. Minho gives up already because there's no way he can get any reward now that he doesn't have a partner in the retreat.

"They will be given the chance to take those connections further."

Jai gets impatient at the slightest mention that he can do some physical contact as a reward, "Can we open it, Lana?"

But everyone takes the gift without waiting for her answer and Minho takes his, opening it to find a smart watch inside.

"Oh, it's not a vibrator," you meekly say with a disappointed look on your face.

Minho smiles at your cute pout and quickly takes his watch out of the box to put it around his wrist, helping Bryan after as he has such a big wrist.

"When I observe two people forming a genuine connection, they will be given a green light like this..."

The watches chime and turn green at the same time. Agnes is cheering the loudest out of everyone.

"Where the rules do not apply for a limited amount of time," Lana further explains.

For a limited amount of time but at this point, Minho takes whatever he can get.

"I would like to remind you that those who do not receive a green light are not displaying enough process."

MINHO: Green light means you can fuck. No green light means you're fucked.

Minho is pessimistic that he'll get a green light.

For that to happen, he has to have a partner first. Even after he has a partner, there's no guarantee that he'll have that connection with that person.

The complications do not stop there, for a connection to form, he has to open up and share personal things with someone. He's been doing casual dating where he doesn't need to do all of that.

Lana wouldn't put that much money into a prize if it's easy to win it. Giving praises to each other wouldn't grant you a green light which is what Jai and Agnes are doing right now.

"Lana is a computer, she must have installed the latest high-tech BS detector," Minho tells them, sending them into waves of laughter.

MINHO: I have one person that I think I shared a connection with but she's... uh, I think she hates me now.

Minho watches as the couple grows and falls apart around him.

For tonight, another ship goes down as Zara switches Bryan with the new arrival, Noah.

He knows that it's only about time that Zara takes such a great measure to teach Bryan a thing or two.

However, Minho doesn't expect that he'll be collateral damage in all this.

Since Zara is sleeping with the new guy, leaving Esme bedless, and has to choose a different partner tonight.

The first option is Bryan but of course, she's not going to insert herself in the drama. The safest choice would be to share a bed with you but she senses that you're not that welcoming of her.

There's no way she's going to sleep on the sofa so Minho scoots to his usual side of the bed and lets her have the other side.

There's a big chance that you're going to think that he's happy to share a bed with Esme and that makes him stay awake the whole night thinking that you'll hate him more after tonight.

MINHO: Esme is a good bed partner but I don't think she's the one I can form a connection with.

It's not cocky.

Minho knows that he's attractive and girls like him, they get flirty with him. In conclusion, he knows when a girl is into him.

Esme has been too obvious. The first thing he saw this morning was the eyes and the smile she gave him.

Minho is sitting with half of his body soaked in the pool water when Esme jumps in and joins him.

"Hey," she sweetly greets.

Minho smiles and greets her back.

"So, how did you feel sharing a bed with me?" Her hands are floating around, making ripples on the water.

"It was nice," he answers.

She chuckles in response, "It'd be much nicer with some cuddles."

She fixes the straps of her bikini and continues talking, "How are things? Where's your head at the moment?"

Minho is a firm believer that honesty is the best policy but oftentimes, being honest leads him to hurt people rather than do them good.

At the same time, Minho shouldn't keep leading her on with false hope. He should be honest but do it gently.

"I was already with someone before you came and I know we're not on good terms right now..." he pauses as he has to filter his thoughts first before speaking them out.

"You're pretty and nice, but I owe it to her to try and see where this is going," he explains more.

Esme nods and her smile falters a little. It's not a thing that she can accept in a second. She needs time to process this.

"Yeah..." she meekly answers.

Minho takes this as a cue to give her the space, "I'll see you later?"

"Yes," she answers.

MINHO: Esme and I... I just don't see any chemistry there between us.

Lana starts the night early by throwing a party at the beach.

There's a bonfire, coolers full of bottled beers, and glasses of exotic-looking cocktails.

It helps Minho to relax after a nerve-wracking moment of rejecting a girl. It's a big deal because if he's out there, he wouldn't drop a beautiful girl like Esme like that.

Also, Minho knows best that when something good happens, he becomes suspicious that Lana will interrupt with a shocking announcement.

The only shocking this is the arrival of two new guests on a boat.

The music stops playing as the first guest walks down the stairs and jumps onto the water. A girl with long black hair and voluptuous body, and bright eyes that catches attention.

"Hi, hi," she greets everyone.

Jai looks too excited even though he's pretty much settled with Agnes, offering his hand to help her walk, "What's your name?"

"I'm Sofia," she says.

Luca elbows Minho on the side and foolishly grins, "She's hot," he quietly mutters.

Sofia proceeds to introduce herself to everyone with a quick hug and when it gets to his turn, Minho shakes her hand instead.

"Minho," he keeps his introduction short.

MINHO: The new girl is attractive. Very beautiful eyes.

The girls are cheering as the other guest jumps down the boat.

The new guy is tall and has abs that look like they were sculpted by God himself. He flashes everyone his bright, white smile and steps into the party.

"Hey, I'm Kane," he introduces, not wasting time eyeing the girls.

Minho catches that his eyes stay a second longer on you than on everyone else. He drains his bottle of beer empty and quickly grabs another.

They get comfortable as the party continues and questions get thrown around at them as the sun sinks lower into the horizon.

"So, what's your type?" Maisie asks the new guy.

"I'm getting a lot of eyes right now," he says with a sheepish smile.

Minho turns to look and you are one of the girls giving him the eyes right now, tugging a straw between your teeth and waiting in anticipation for his answer.

"I like a girl with a nice body and a beautiful smile," he says, sneaking a few glances at you as he speaks.

You turn to whisper at Agnes and he can read your lips saying, "He's cute."

He scoffs because it takes you one cute guy and barely an hour to change your mind.

MINHO: No. I don't feel intimidated at all. [Nonchalantly shrugs]

The problem with starting the night early is that it's going to be a long one.

Minho changes his clothes, styling his hair quickly and he doesn't feel like talking to anyone but Bryan drags him to accompany him talking to the new girl.

He's not sure that Bryan is making a good choice right now.

"We're just going to talk to her, nothing else," Bryan says.

Minho sighs and sits down on the sofa on the terrace, "Yeah but you're giving the impression that you don't care about Zara anymore," he bluntly tells him.

The smile vanishes in a second and Bryan trudges away to talk to the new girl by himself.

That's good because Minho feels like he wants to spend the rest of the night alone. Luca decides to break his serenity by sitting on the other sofa.

"You're not talking to the new girl?" He asks.

Minho reclines on the sofa and shakes his head.

There's a sound of laughter coming from the bedroom and from the window he sees you talking to the new guy. He doesn't want to care but... he cares.

Luca seems to pick it up right away, "I know you're trying to play it cool and act like it doesn't bother you," he says.

"But you have everything you need and the chance to make things better," Luca pauses to sip his drink.

"It's all up to you."

Minho is feeling so called out and the one who's doing it is Luca. He seems to be more mature than his actual age but he respects him for saying things that not many people would dare to say to him.

"Do you think she likes him?" Minho asks as he leers to see you laugh.

"Why don't you ask her?" Luca simply asks him back.

Minho doesn't know why he waits around for you when he's been the one acting so selfishly, talking to another girl like it's not going to affect you.

He gets it now, the taste of his own medicine.

MINHO: Yeah, okay, I get it now.

It's so hard to get some alone time with you, it's even harder with two new guests in the house.

He quietly watches you as you wipe your make-up clean in the dressing room and you'll eventually go to the bathroom to wash your face.

Minho changes into his comfortable clothes and goes to the bathroom half-naked, knowing that you'll be there.

"Having a good night?" He casually asks as he's using the other sink next to you.

You stay quiet as you wash your toothbrush under the running water, "Sofia is hot. Why don't you have a good night with her?"

Minho finds your passive-aggressive endearing instead of annoying. He quietly smiles as he takes his toiletry bag from the drawer.

"Do you like the new guy?" He asks.

You take a hairbrush from your toiletry bag, "I do like him."

"Yeah, he's cute," Minho half-heartedly comments.

He puts a dollop of toothpaste on his toothbrush and then shrugs, "I'm happy for you."

You burst into laughter and strongly accuse him, "No, you're lying!"

Minho starts brushing his teeth and skips on denying your accusation. He sees that you're still chuckling from the reflection in the mirror.

You put your hairbrush down and get in front of him, putting your arms around his waist.

"You should stop running away from me," you tell him while looking into his eyes.

"I started to get tired of chasing you," you mumble and rest your head on his chest.

Minho misses this. He stops brushing his teeth and wipes his mouth with a towel, hugging you back with his arms around you.

You look up to see his face and putting your hand on his cheek, tenderly caress it before placing a gentle kiss.

"Goodnight!" You softly whisper, then you break away from his hug and leave him again.

Minho is getting the same bitter feeling as you did it for the second time to him. He doesn't want it to happen for the third time, never again.

MINHO: [Shakes head] No, it's not over yet.

Everything feels off.

Not just himself but everyone in the room seemed to be feeling the same when they woke up this morning. Minho shared the bed with Esme again last night and Bryan proceeded to make the worst choice by sleeping with the new girl.

Worst of all, you're sleeping with the new guy and he keeps glaring at him even though he knows it wouldn't scare him off.

After last night, Minho gets hit by the realization that he is missing you and there's a slim chance he can fix everything. The problem is he doesn't know where to begin, he's not poetic nor soft-spoken, he's a man of actions. Other than that, he is running out of time.

When he thought that was the only problem, Lana assembles everyone in the bedroom except for the new guests.

"Hello, everyone. I have gathered you as I have some news."

MINHO: Let it be good news, Lana.

"Sofia and Kane have been given the opportunity to form more meaningful connections by choosing one person each to accompany them on private dates."

This is what Minho forgot to add Lana to the equation. He doesn't want to even think about it but he knows for certain that the new guy will choose you for the private date.

"Sofia has chosen to go on a date with Bryan."

It's so rare to see Bryan smile so brightly and as much as she wants everyone to believe she has moved on, Zara is not pleased with it.

"Kane has chosen to go on a date with..."

Minho doesn't wait to hear your name because it's an obvious one. He keeps his calm and his face straight but Luca is checking on him from across the room.

He slightly shrugs and raises an eyebrow in response to his thumb up.

"Please, go and get ready for your dates."

Minho watches as you get up from the bed and walk with Bryan to the dressing room.

MINHO: I felt fine about her going on this date but since she's left, I'm dwelling on everything.

Minho succeeds at pretending not to care and putting on a tough face.

Except that he can't stop himself from putting on an annoyed face as Jai and Agnes are canoodling on the next bed.

Initially, he thought Jai and Agnes wouldn't last this long but he's relieved to know that he's wrong. He's happy to see them happy but God, he's getting sick of them being lovey-dovey so close to him.

He looks to the other bed and sees Maisie hugging Luca from behind while talking about something. Ugh, it's like the universe is trying to punish him.

"I didn't sign up for this," Minho mumbles to anyone who hears him.

"Are you nervous?" Maisie asks.

He passes on answering and sits on the bed just waiting for the dates to end.

Agnes injects herself by saying, "He is nervous!"

Jai turns on the bed to look at him and laughs, "Hang in there, man!"

MINHO: Not nervous. Just a little... uneasy.

Everyone has claimed their bed but the ones that went to the dates haven't come back yet.

Thankfully, Esme understood right away when Minho kindly asked her to share the bed with the new guy. Like it or not, Minho is going to take you back to his bed tonight, he'll drag you if he had to.

Bryan has returned to the bedroom with a grin plastered on his face, it's kind of disturbing that he steals Jai's antic.

Not long after, the new guy is back by himself.

Minho doesn't want to assume anything yet but he takes it as a good sign. He stays on his bed for some time before going to the dressing room.

Instead of you, he finds the new girl doing her skincare routine.

He flashes a smile as he walks across the room to go through the next door that leads to the bathroom. The sound of water running tells him that you must be in the shower.

This is just perfect, Minho gets the privacy he needs.

MINHO: It's about time. I have to bring her back to me tonight. No matter what.

Minho looks through the glass door and sees you inside with water raining down on your body. He can stand there all day watching you showering but he reminds himself that he has something to do here. Something important.

He opens the shower door just enough to show himself to you and you immediately turn on your feet at the sound of him knocking on the glass door.

The sight of your naked wet body is so distracting that he forgets to talk.

After licking his lips, he finally says, "Hey."

You step away from the shower and wipe the beads of water from your eyes, "yes?"

It's so sudden and out of the blue but Minho knows that it's better late than never. He resists looking anywhere but your face or else he'll forget to speak again.

"You're sleeping me tonight," he confidently remarks with that half smirk of his.

"Why should I?" You ask, tipping your head to the side.

He takes a step forward and leans against the doorway, holding his hand out at you. He can see that you're hesitating but eventually take his hand.

There's no need for words when Minho can show you how much he misses you and wants you back by his side.

He's pulling you close until you stand right in front of him, gliding his hand up to the nape of your neck to tilt your head a little to the side and slowly, he leans in for a kiss.

The kiss is better than he remembered. Maybe it's you or maybe it's the longing that amplified it, either way, it's a one hell of a kiss.

Considering that he's spending money for it, he puts his other hand on your waist to draw you closer and deepens the kiss to make it worth every penny.

You let out a low moan as his tongue invades your mouth and keep your mouth open for him if not returning his kisses with the same eagerness.

He ignores the fact that your wet body dampens the top he's wearing and reluctantly pulls away when he knows you're running out of breath.

Minho smiles as he looks at your face and puts the hair stuck to your forehead to the side, "I'll keep the bed warm for you," he says.

A smile blooms on your face and you nod, "Okay."

MINHO: I'm not good with words but I'm good at something else [raises eyebrow]

You're like a five-year-old to him.

Minho is not saying that you're immature, it's just that your moods are rapidly changing. One minute you're happy, the next minute, you're fussing about something, next thing he knows, you're angry at him.

It can be such a headache sometimes but he likes it because you don't hold back, you're honest about your feelings and you're adorable to him, he wants to tease at any chance he gets.

The happiness is clearly drawn on your face as you're walking to his bed in giddiness and this time, he's ready to offer his arm for you to rest your head on.

Minho shivers as your hand makes contact with his bare chest, he already got rid of his damp top and is too lazy to go to the dressing room to get a new top.

You put your hand across his chest as you settled yourself next to him, nuzzling your nose to his neck, "Did you shower?"

"No," he lies with a sly smile on.

You plant your nose onto his neck to take a sniff and lowly sigh, "I like it," you tell him.

Now that you're by his side, Minho doesn't care about anything else. He doesn't care about the eyes looking at him whether in jealousy or curiosity as to why you got back to his bed again.

Minho wants to focus on you and make you never leave his side again.

MINHO: Okay, now Lana, I need you to close your eyes cause you're not going to like what you see.

Oh, how he misses your body!

Even in the dark, Minho knows what his hands are exploring, miles and miles of silky soft skin, warm and sensitive under his touch. He's only using his fingertips, he wonders what's going to happen if he's using his mouth so he places a long peck on your neck with his hand slipped under the cropped top you're wearing to bed.

"We're not going to sleep tonight," he whispers.

He can hear your smile even without looking and you slightly turn your head to look at him, looking at him as if he wouldn't dare to break rules.

In his opinion, everyone has been doing it wrong. If Minho wanted to break the rules, he wouldn't do a kiss today and another kiss tomorrow. If he's going to break rules, he'd break every rule there is and make it worth every single cent of it.

You curve your hand around his neck and look at his gleaming eyes in the dark, "What do you have in mind?"

Minho puts his hand around your neck and places a trail of fluttering kisses down your jaw.

He takes his hand from under your head so he can hover above you, carefully, putting his whole body on top of you.

A soft moan escapes your mouth as you wrap your legs around his waist and you quickly muffle yourself by pressing your lips together into a thin line.

Just feeling your body against him is enough to arouse him. He turns your head to the side and presses his mouth on your ear.

"We're going to spend a lot of money tonight," he whispers with his hot breath tickling your ear.

MINHO: Well, unless you're into it, you're welcome to watch, Lana.

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cherubshert · 3 months

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hihi !! i was wondering if u could make a fic about how reader has glasses and enhypen thinks its saur cute (separate members ofc)

thanks so much for reading this!

(֊⎚-⎚)

a/n: these are low-key bad and rushed lol. not edited, this is just fiction:). i hope u like :0

희승

The soft click of the camera signals the end of a session, polaroids hung around to dry, make-up and props littered around your desk. it's small, just you and heeseung, going all out for photography project you had. you pull off your glasses, resting them on the very uncomfortable surface you were sitting on. the dress you have on is simple, hand made by one of your other very close friends. you use your hand to raise it so you don't slip and fall, making your way to were heeseung was crouching.

"are they nice?" "very..." he replies distractedly his attention drawn to the picture in his hand. your head rests on his shoulder, "are you sure my glasses don't ruin the pictures?" "i wouldn't have told you to put them on if they did,you look cute." he leans back to kiss you, short but enough to have you hiding your face in his neck. he smiles before shaking you off. "come on we still have so many to take."

제이

Jay slowly pulls away from you, his face flushed , his hair slightly messy, falling into his eyes. "what happened?" you question, shifting you hands to rest on his shoulder. his smiles and tilts his head admiring your face before answering, "your glasses... kept poking at me." "sorry" you mutter your hands raising to take them of your face. his follow suit, gently brushing your fingers away, his large hand cupping your face. "don't get me wrong, m'not complaining. " his fingers follow the frame of your glasses, tracing round your ear . "it reminded me of how cute you look like this." "like how?" leaned in, rubbing your noses together. you shyly shift away, your back pressed against his desk. your hands going up to adjust your glasses. "like this." he pinches your cheek.

제이크

you let out a sigh, pushing your glasses up to rub your eyes. it's getting late now, the clock turning the second you looked at it '10:36p.m.' you turn over your shoulder, jake seating very comfortably on the couch, the tv playing so low that you were sure he couldn't hear anything. but his consideration to you made your heart flutter.

you stood to your feet, silently making your way to where he was. he jumps slightly when you sit next to him, once he calmed down his hand wrapped around your shoulder pulling you close. "you done with work?" "no but I was getting tired, needed a break." you reach forward grabbing the remote. you lean back into his arms, increasing the volume to the tv.

jake is silent the entire time, his breath so soft you thought he had fallen asleep.

feeling your glasses be pulled off your face, shot you out of your trance. "these are so cute on you." he puts it on, turning to you with a smile. his change in energy is definitely alarming, but nothing you're not used to. you mirror his smile reaching forward, cupping his face, squishing his cheeks. "they're even cuter on you." laughter erupts between you two.

you both calm down very quickly, your back pressed to the couch, Jake hovering over you. he very messily puts your glasses on your face, pressing a kiss on your forehead. "you're so gorgeous, but these bring out a different type of beauty." he says drowsily, you giggle, hand raising to brush his hair out of his face. he leans into your touch, sleep easily overtaking him.

성훈

"cut!" you sigh, resting your head on the table. sunghoon silently places a bottle of water beside you, settling in the desk before you looking over his script.

your head rises up finally, leaning on your wrist. "I'm so tired." he smiles at you. "we are almost done for today. just a few more hours." you only grumble in response.

the next hour flies by fast, and soon its time to go home. you two thank the staff , filing out with your small group of managers. "we could go out for a little snack first." sunghoon suggests, you tiredly nod in agreement, following behind him to a café nearby.

its small and cozy, the smell of coffee beans and pastry sugars filling the air, you get something small, sitting by the window to look over the scenes you'd be focusing on tomorrow. your glasses hanging on the bridge of your nose.

you don't notice his staring till your orders arrive, looking up to find his eyes on you before they quickly shift away, thanking the waiter.

"you don't wear your glasses very often." you look at him. "oh no, i usually have contacts. " he leans his head on his palm, smiling at you. "they look very cute."

선우

You were rather hard to miss, seated in front of him, your head often hidden behind a book. you're both on very different levels socially. sunoo always being surrounded by a crowd of friends and people he admittedly never met or even cared about. and you, there was only one person he'd ever seen you with.

you drew him in, often finding himself lost in delusional daydreams, surrounding your very unique beauty. a flower, often graced by the sun, your skin shines so magically. one of his favorite things about you was your glasses.

rather large for your face, but ever so beautifully added to your aura. the way you pushed them back when they slipped off your face, the pretty charms you often adorned them with.

so when you, turn back, your eyes meeting his through the lens, his heart flutters, immediately turning back to his note book. he stares at the empty page in distraught, not registering the shuffling of the other students moving around the room, or even the chair placed by his table.

"sunoo?" his head shoots up so fast, "we're supposed to work together on the project." you say as you placed your books down. "oh? okay" he feels a little dazed, closing his notebook and placing them away.

정원

The nurse's office is not really where you wanted to end your day, your leg being bandaged, the nurse giving you advice on how to care for your injury. how did you get hurt? taking pictures of the football team for your school's yearbook, you weren't expecting to be turned into a target of a stray ball...

Jungwon rushes into the room when the nurse exists, an apologetic look on his face. your glasses are held gently in his hand, he's still in his football uniform, telling you he's been waiting since you got here. "I'm really sorry again, i should have been very careful." "it's fine, i was also being reckless." you reach out for your glasses, grabbing them a lot harsher than you wanted.

you put them on, pushing them to a comfortable position. you try to get on your feet, but the bruise on your leg, though small sends pain through you. jungwon very gently pushed to help you walk, some how convincing you to let him walk you home.

The walk to your home is silent, and once you reach your apartment complex, he pass your bag to you. "thank you." "um, by the way, you look really pretty with your glasses on." you turn back to him, your backpack half way on your shoulder. he blushes, "i mean you look pretty in general, but I, you-" "thank you." you say with a smile, pushing your glasses up. "i hope I'm not making you uncomfortable." "not at all, you're very adorable you know. " the last part is so light he barely hears it, his shyly playing with his fingers."thank , thank you." he replies bashfully, "if you still want to take more pictures of the team, i would love to help." "that would be helpful... see you tomorrow." "yes... see you tomorrow."

니키

you dust off your outfit, fixing your jacket and mic. your stylist fixes off your make-up, passing a pair of glasses to you. you put them on, thanking your staff, before rushing to where you were supposed to wait. the director gives you some directions, and telling you the basics about how things will be filmed. you don't notice niki till you turn around, you bow at him and he does the same.

you both stand around awkwardly, waiting for your cue to start. when the instrumental starts, you shift closer to him."your glasses..." he says softly, "they look cute."

#cherubshert diary.#kpop fanfic #kpop x black reader #kpop x poc reader #enhypen imagines #enhypen fluff #enhypen fanfiction #enhypen drabbles #enhypen x reader #enha x reader #enhypen fic #enhypen reactions

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wordtotherose · 2 months

Text

Sending Jay ahead was the right thing to do. It was.

But every minute on his own now is worse and worse and worse. It feels like the sun is setting quicker than he's moving, the shadows of the village getting darker and not really any bigger as they travel. Out there, past the small village, rocks the rowboat they arrived in, and further still the dipping sun over the water he and Gillion call home.

Puddle is going as fast as they can, Chip knows this, recognises the signs of an animal pushing themself further than their limits allow. Chip and Puddle. Racing down an empty road with urgency pumping their hearts and, at least for Chip, a screaming void in his head blocking all cohesive thought. The bracelet on his wrist is useless so far from its counterpart but Chip strains regardless to make sure he notices the very second he's close enough to make out the familiar presence of Gillion's mind nestled next to his.

Jay is barely a shadow in the sky when he sees her dip back towards land, still a distance from the village and her mother and Gillion Gillion Gillion. His breath scratches in his throat as he watches, waiting to check that she lands on her feet and keeps going, that, despite no shot ringing out, she hasn't been shot down. But no. Of course not. She's moving. Not even a stumble. Her hair is catching the fading light and the idea that they might still be too late is sickening, enough for his stomach to drop and his hands to shake. With every second they aren't there, every moment the spell isn't being done, Gillion is fading. Gillion is dying. Alone. Without either of them. With a stranger he was so desperate to still look his best in front of upon meeting, a stranger who doesn't know him!

May won't thread new braids into his hair in comfort like Jay does. May won't kiss his cheeks like Chip does every night before sleeping just to make the triton smile and stop his constant motion for a heartbeat. She won't know he doesn't like his hand held by anyone but his closest friends, Chip or Jay or Caspian. Will she work out that he needs to be kept damp? That he's more likely to drink if she offers water with salt mixed in? He needs to drink. Needs his strength.

Jay is flying again, in short bursts now as she tries to make the most of her energy. An angel in the sky. He has to fight back the tide of self-disgust he feels for having no true part in helping here. She'd have gotten the gemstones without him. Maybe even been quicker about it.

Puddle slips on a loose rock and Chip slides, clawing his way back up to being steady on the raccoon's back. Of all the bloody minded things for Gillion to do with the last of his magic, to turn a perfectly suited horse into a raccoon just because they were Jay's favourite. Because he wants to make them smile even when he's dying.

Chips shakes his head and focuses on the flare of Jay's orange hair until she vanishes between the buildings.

***

It's hard. The bed he's on, he means, and it isn't swaying with the bone deep sense of home innate to the waves he's always in or on.

Land? Where were they heading last?

Why is everything so blurry? So dark?

Continue Reading on AO3 or under the break...

He twists towards the side, hoping to turn over and find Chip or Jay nearby to ask his questions to.

Something stops him short. Tight resistance around wrists he cannot shift and legs he cannot feel and a chest he doesn't recognise the shape and agony of.

Where?

Kind words, a gentle but firm voice. Unfamiliar. Unknown. Where's Chip? Where's Jay?

Pretzel?

Oh. There.

Pretzel. In his hair, above his head. He can't hear her chirruping purring sound but he can feel it, vaguely. Half removed from the idea of sensation entirely.

He thinks he manages to convince his body to say something, a hand touches his own and he flinches away. It retreats and settles on his shoulder instead, over his wetsuit.

The flinch hurt.

The voice is starting to sound urgent.

It's dark.

And the world isn't swaying.

And his friends aren't here. Maybe it's a nightmare. Maybe he just has to grit his teeth and wake up eventually.

***

The streets are more full than normal, what with the Den being closed for business for the night. Jay dips and throws herself round corners and shortcuts with the surety of being home. People are calling greetings to her, making friendly jabs at her frantic pace.

She ignores every last one of them. There's no time to worry about good impressions, no spare seconds to feel anxious about being nice. They'll forgive her. Most of them watched her grow up, after all.

She's not sure she can stand for Gillion to die in her home. Not sure how to reconcile the loss with what this place has always been, what she wants it to always be.

But if she doesn't get these stupid gems there soon, before the sun sets fully probably, knowing their portentously shitty luck, well. Then she won't have a choice about it all.

The world will be new again, without Gillion.

It's a world she doesn't want to wake to.

***

They're dead.

That's the truth of it, that's the burning in his chest, the cause of the vice around his heart. That's why Pretzel is so upset somewhere above him, petting him like he's the one injured. He is, he supposes, if they're both dead.

What's left for him, what is destiny worth if he can't use it to protect them?

They died in his arms. Under his hands. With their eyes looking up into his for help, for rescue. He let them down. He let them die.

So maybe he just needs to wake up.

Or does he?

Which world is real?

Didn't he wake up earlier? With the knife? The ice knife?

He needs water. Needs to make another. Needs to check. Jay will just heal him if it's real-

If it's real then Jay is dead.

Fuck.

Someone is talking to him still. Have they always been? A woman. Talking. Asking him questions, it's in the lilt of her tone, she expects an answer.

He tries to shape a name, a question in return.

"Chip?"

He doesn't hear an answer so he tries again, screaming through the pain of grief; he never wanted to meet grief like this. Not with them.

"Jay?"

There's a gurgling sound and he fears it may have been him. There's movement. A shaking. A rocking but not the sea. Like a body coughing and bending up only to fall back with the effort. Like when Chip was having his nightmares and couldn't stop, couldn't think, couldn't understand. Chip…

Dead.

They're both dead.

Right.

Ice knife.

Wake up.

Or are they...

...if they're....then…

***

Chip falls off of Puddle into the dust of the street just as they pass the first home. His knees scrape and the pain is so far away, locked up in a chest in the back of his head for later. The trousers he loves, that Ollie has embroidered silly little sea birds onto the cuffs of under Drey’s patient tutelage, they're maybe ripped. His skin is maybe split and bleeding, the palm of one hand is for sure, blood smearing sticky and wet on his forehead as he pushes his hair out of his eyes, fixes his coat so he can breathe to run.

Puddle collapses into an exhausted lump and Chip would feel bad if he had any time.

As it is, he's scrambling to his feet, checking the bracelet is still on his wrist, and is bolting to the Eagle's Den with only a shout of apology over his shoulder to the creature.

People out are slow moving, glorying in what, to them, is the tail end of a beautiful sunset and the start of a warm, sparklingly starlit night. They are not best pleased when he pushes past them, gasping out more apologies that he knows they won't hear as he rushes past, leaping onto and over boxes outside homes and fences separating gardens and growing plots. He doesn't stop. Cannot stop.

The cresting wave of another's thoughts alongside his own hits hard, nearly knocking him off his feet again, absolutely punching the air from his already tight lungs. He's delirious still, jumping from one half formed idea to the next, remembering and imagining and percieving everything altogether in one muddled mess. It sort of hurts to try to look at too closely but it's still so faint that Chip doesn't dare take his focus away. Gillion can't hear him in return, he knows that, but this way he can know if Jay is there, if the spell is being done.

Only...nothing. Gillion is so far gone, slowing and slurring even in his mind...no…

Chip hops the last fence in his way and pushes through the burning in his lungs, the closed door ahead taunting him. Tempting him. Teasing with what little good he'll even be able to do in this situation when he does get there.

Gillion's thoughts vanish in one silent drop three steps away from the door.

Continue Reading on AO3...

#my writing #fanfic #jrwi #jrwi gillion #jrwi fnc #jrwi fish and chips #fnc #jrwi chip #jrwi jay #jay ferin #gillion tidestrider #ao3 #just roll with it #jrwi riptide

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haveihitanerve · 2 months

Text

Wayne Men For Life

“This isn't fair.” Jason complained for the fifth time. “Dick doesn't have to go to some stupid rich people party.” Bruce grinned, fixing his sons tie. “The horror you must now face.” Jason scowled. “Its not funny Bruce!” the 13 year old pouted. Bruce chuckled, standing and reaching out to tousle his kids hair. “Jay bird, buddy, dick had to go to so many of these things when he was your age. And before that. Be happy you only have to go to three this year. Dick would already have been at twelve at this point and have fourteen more in his future. You don't.” he tweaked jason's nose. Jason frowned. “Still not fair.” he muttered. Bruce chuckled, shaking his head. “To you, probably not. Dick must find it even more unfair.” Jason just scowled at the carpet. “Hey. Bud, look at me.” Bruce squatted in front of his charge. “Just do this one night, only two hours, okay? Then we can buy ice cream and watch movies until sunrise aright?” Jason lit up like a firecracker. “Really? Benny's ice cream?” Bruce laughed, standing and swinging his son onto his hip. “Of course! Like i would buy any other!” Jason smiled too. Bruce swung his son in a circle before throwing him up in the air and catching him again. Jason giggled. “Master Bruce!” Alfred reprimanded, walking into the parlor. “You will get Master Jason's suit messed up! Along with your own.” Bruce waved him off, swinging jason onto his shoulders. “Thats alright alfie. I don't mind. Jay bird doesn't either, do you Firecracker?” “nope!” Jason called, beaming. Bruce laughed and Alfreds lips twitched in a smile. “Very well. But i do believe the public might.” Bruce could almost feel Jason wilt on his head. Alfred noticed it too, but it was to late. And besides, he was right. Bruce sighed, gently lifting jason off his shoulders and placing him on the ground. “Alrighty bud. Heres what we’re gonna do alright?” He tipped jason's chin up so the young boy was looking him in the eye. “You're gonna cough really loudly when the chauffeur comes to pick us up, okay? And then ill pretend to really worried and touch your forehead and say you're burning up, and then alfred will take you inside and ill go to the Gala. You can stay here with Alfie and watch some movies and ill be back soon. Okay buddy?” Jason sniffed. “What?” “i believe, Master Jason, what your father is trying to say, is that you should pretend sick to not have to go to the ‘rich people party.”’ Bruce smiled in thanks at his butler. Jason frowned. “But- then you'll go alone.” Bruce smiled. “Thats okay bud. I've been to these before.” he made a throw away hand gesture. Jason nodded. “Okay. But hurry back.” Bruce laughed, leaning to hug his son. “I will. Be good for alfred. And eat some ice cream for me.” he winked and stood, tousling jason's hair one last time. “See ya kiddo.”

“Hey jay bird, no gala after all?” Jason looked up to see his older brother standing in the doorframe, wiping his hands on a towel, shirtless and sweaty. Jason shook his head. “No. Pops said i should fake sick and went without me. What have you been doing?” he looked over at dick who came over, stretching out on the couch. “Training.” Dick answered, closing his eyes. “For what?” jason asked. Dick cracked a smile. “Nothing. Just staying fit. Dad did build an entire jungle gym for me when he took me in. So i figured id try it out again. Try to keep my mind off tonight you know?” He shrugged, sitting up and wiping his face. Jason's brow furrowed. “Why keep your mind off tonight? WHats tonight?” Dick shrugged again. “Just the Gala. But its the first one i wont be attending since Bruce took me in. It feels, kinda weird. Don't get me wrong, i hated those things,” he laughed. “But, a part of me will miss being at Dads side all night, being fawned over.” he laughed again, but it was sadder. Jason frowned. “The first? Didn't pops ever offer for you to fake sick?” Dick nodded. “Oh yeah. All the time. But i never accepted. I always wanted to go with him anyway. Even if i hated the galas.” he shrugged. Jason looked over at the now melted bowl of ice cream he had set out for Bruce. He had planned on eating it, so he could eat some ice cream for his father the way Bruce had said to, but hadn't in the end. “Is it-” he hesitated. Dick looked at him. “Is it what Chum?” Jason looked at his older brother. “Is it too late to go now?” Dick smiled.

“Yes yes, thank you.” bruce smiled cheerfully at the group of people who passed then turned and his face immediately dropped. He was so damn tired. He was glad jason had decided to stay home, the Gala was even more boring than usual. Selina hadn't showed up either, so the night was looking drab for Bruce. “Omg, who is that?” Voices started to pick up but bruce ignored them, choosing instead to grab a refreshment. He hated the drama and gossip that flowed at Galas, although it was always good to be informed. Sighing, he turned to where everyone was looking, and almost dropped his drink.

“Dick.” Jason whispered out of the corner of his mouth. “They're all staring.” Dick flashed an easy smile at the guests, resting a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “Let them stare. You are a Wayne. They have every reason to.” Jason had known he was adopted. It had been a whole court deal. And Bruce called him son and everything. But, strangely, having dick just casually mention that he was now a Wayne, along with Bruce and him, it just made him feel so much more accepted. Made the whole thing real. Jason straightened. “Yeah.” he said confidently. “Okay.” They made their way down the stairs to the main room and Jason tried not to listen to the whispers that followed them. “Oh my gods, are those the Wayne brothers?” “holy shit Grayson got hot.” “aw, look at the new charity case.” Jason's ear burned at the last comment and Dicks hand on his shoulder tightened but he didn't turn around. Jason kept his head up and his stride confident. Until he spotted Bruce. Bruce was gaping at them, but the pure elation on his face had Jason breaking away from dick and running to him, throwing himself in bruces arms. “Hey buddy!” bruce greeted, hugging him tight. “What are you doing here?” “Got tired of icecream.” jason murmured into bruces suit. Bruce laughed, tousling his hair. “Well, im glad you came. This party was getting boring without my favorite people.” Jason smiled and heard dick laugh as the older boy came nearer. “Hey B.” Bruce smiled, one arm hugging his oldest son. “Hey chum. Nice suit.” Dick grinned. “Thanks.” Bruce nodded to jason, who still had one arm wrapped around his leg. “I see you thought Jason could use the wardrobe change as well?” he asked dryly. Dick chuckled. “You know old man.” Bruce rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Thank you.” he said softly. Dicks grin faded into something softer. “It didn't feel right?” Dick said, but it was more of a question. Bruce shook his head, wrapping an arm around dicks shoulders. “No. It didn't. But,” he smiled, reaching down to place a hand on jason's shoulder. “Now it does.” Dick smiled as well. “Yes. Now it does.” “Wayne Boys for life right Pops?” Jason asked, grinning up at Bruce. Bruce choked on air. “Where’d you hear that?” he asked, but dick winked at him. “Right Jay bird. Wayne Boys for life.” “men.” Bruce corrected. “Please. Wayne Men, for life.” Dick laughed, wrapping his arm around Bruce. “Alright old boy. Wayne Men.” the three of them grinned at each other. “Wayne Men for life.”

#wayne boys #dick grayson #jason todd #bruce wayne #good big brother dick #batfam #good dad bruce wayne

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wyrmswears · 3 months

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Ok, now that wolf jay is 80% canon, imagine that once this is over and he is back in the Team. The wolf suit (even beter if they can turn into wolves) has side efects like dog like behavior, howling or cool fangs.

ok for starters, if we actually do get wolf jay then wolf jay is becoming to me what snake jay is to half the fandom. he will be a dogboy always and forever.

so, turns out being powered up by ancient wolf-themed magic or whatever has some side effects! i love thinking about him with more animalistic behaviour!! i think while he has amnesia this is definitely more prevalent because hes a bit out of it. sort of like a wounded/sick animal; hes more aggressive, paces when stressed/frustrated, outright snarls and probably bites if hes grabbed in a fight. when hes back in the team this behaviour dies down but still surfaces when hes in a particularly bad mood or out-of-it.

howling is such a funny one. i can imagine him waking up the entire monastery because hes howling at the moon at 2am and nya is sent out to go retrieve her boyfriend from the roof. similarly on funny and mildly-inconvenient things, i bet he gets the urge to chase Everything. whenever a rabbit runs past the team, someone (probably cole) has to grab jays shoulder to stop him from running after it.

finally, re: physical changes, fangs are obviously a must. i can imagine him being not-quite vegetarian but not eating much meat at all previous to becoming a dogboy, but now he rivals wyldfyre (terrifying). i also like giving him a tail as you can tell from my art post.. it wags whenever hes happy or interested and nya thinks its the cutest thing ever.

#words so many words #IM SO OBSESSED WITH WOLF JAY IM GOING ABSOLUTELY WILD OVER THE NEWS #this is so bad i was meant to revise today but i cant concentrate. wolf jay is on the mind #ninjago jay #jay walker #ninjago spoilers #ninjago leaks #ninjago dragons rising spoilers #ninjago dr spoilers #dragons rising spoilers #ninjago dragons rising leaks #ninjago dr leaks #fighting for my life to spoiler tag this one enough #I CANT BELIEVE. I PREDICTED IT?? (predicted says the guy who didnt think it would actually happen)#peace and love on planet earth make that guy a dogboy #wyrm answers #wolf jay

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amsgrey · 1 year

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Little Sister Hugs

requested: yes

synopsis: Jay gets stuck undercover in a risky case, and Voight warns you and Will that you might be at risk. You and Will get brought in by detectives who have their own plans.

warnings: canon typical violence, gun violence, threats and general bad vibes from criminals

please enjoy this extremely angsty fic bc its the last one for a while lol

You had been living with Jay for most of your life, even before your father died. You were so young when your mother died, your father essentially became a shell of himself. Leaving Jay to take care of you while Will pursued his career across another continent. When you were 7, Jay became a detective and the relationship between him and your dad became more strained.

You were so used to having Jay around all of the time that it was hard when he stopped visiting or staying over so much. As a result, your life started to get worse. Your father was never much of a parent to you, he did his best but you knew you were a mistake. He'd told Jay once that you looked so much like your mother that he saw her every time you were around. Although he was never very affectionate to you before, any sense of fatherly care had gone by the time you turned 8. Jay had decided enough was enough, knowing that Will wouldn't be able to do anything from New York, he decided to become your guardian. Ever since then, you had lived with him and he'd become more of a parent to you than anyone else ever was.

You had always known Jay had a dangerous career, but he had done risky jobs your entire life. You were used to it by now. He was always extra careful when he went undercover to make sure he didn't get tailed home, or bring any of his work around you unwittingly. When Will moved back home, he'd stayed with you two for a while. Then when Jay went undercover you would stay with Will.

Now, you were 16, you had complained about having to stay with Will while Jay was undercover.

"I can take care of myself fine," You told Jay, dragging your feet when he told you to pack your stuff.

"I know you can," Jay responded, holding you by the shoulders, "But I'm not taking any risks. I want to know you're definitely safe."

You groaned, letting him pull you into a hug and pretending to be mad about it, "You're such a sop."

Jay scoffed, pushing you away and grabbing your bag, "Get your ass in the car."

You laughed, trailing behind him while giggling about how irritated he looked.

Living with Will short term was alright, but it'd been almost two weeks and you were starting to realise why Jay took care of you instead of him. You didn't mind his late shifts or ever changing schedule because you were so used to Jays.

The only problem was you were so used to going to the district after school that it felt wrong not too. You'd complained to Will about it and he'd promised that after school on Friday you could come to Med and he'd get away early so you could go get dinner.

When Friday rolled around, you were excited to actually do something fun. Most of the time you hated hospitals, but knowing it would be a short visit was beareable.

Maggie beamed when she saw you, pulling you into a hug and immediately teasing you about being the "mini Halstead" like she always did. Normally you would go to the doctor's lounge to wait, but Maggie told you that it was being used for something so she pulled a chair up at the nurse's station for you.

Will spotted you from across th ED and made a B line for you, "Hey, kid, how was school?"

You leaned your head back to look at him, grinning at him upside down, "Good. How is work?"

Will grinned back, "Good." he copied, "Got any homework?"

You nodded, grabbing out the biology homework you'd gotten in 3rd period. You showed it to him, declaring, "my favourite!"

He laughed, "Just try it, i'll check the answers tonight, yeah?"

"yeah yeah," You replied, letting him give you a kiss on the forehead before he went back to his actual work.

Biology was not your strong suit - to be honest, neither was any other science but you at least liked chemistry. Biology was just boring. It didn't help that your science teacher's specialty was biology, so all the homework he gave was biology. Normally Will would go through it with you, but he'd tried to convince you to try it on your own the last few days. You'd told him he was the only Halstead who understood biology and would always be the only Halstead who understood biology.

You hadn't been in the ED much the last few years, which was an accomplishment knowing your family. Jay had managed to avoid getting hurt at work and Will knew how much you disliked the ED so he would invite you to the work hang-outs so you could still see Maggie and the others without going into Med. As you sat trying to work through your exercise, you realized just how chaotic and loud the ED was. No wonder Will came home exhausted most nights. It was like trying to concentrate when the entire world was buzzing around you.

You couldn't help but watch Will as he worked, he looked so in his element that it made you proud to be his sister. As you were watching him and Dr Asher converse, a hand on your shoulder almost made you jump out of your skin.

You whirled around to see Dr Marcel looking remorseful, "Didn't mean to scare you."

You sighed, putting a hand over your racing heart, "How do you walk so quietly?"

he laughed, pulling up a chair and sitting next to you. He glanced over what you were working on, "Mitosis and Meiosis." He read aloud.

You scowled down at the words, "I really don't see why I need to know this."

Crockett laughed, "Not planning on being a doctor?"

You turned your scowl on him, "I'd rather die."

He grinned and shook his head at your antics, "I'm a little offended."

You shrugged, turning back to your paper and continuing to doodle in the margins.

Dr Marcel watched for a few seconds before he asked, "Do you need some help?"

"Oh my god, please," You begged, "Will normally helps but well-" You both looked over to see him entering a treatment room.

Dr marcel took your paper from you, scanning over it and reading the instructions for each exercise, "Seems easy enough."

"Easy?" You scoffed.

Your banter drew the attention of Dr Archer, who made his way over to where you were sitting and leaned on the desk in front of you, "Might I ask why one of my doctors is sitting here and not doing his job?" He scolded.

Immediately you drew back, Dr Archer was kind of an ass from what you heard about him. The few times you met him he was intimidating and sometimes dismissive. There was something about how hard his stare was that always made you want to slink away.

Dr Marcel didn't seem at all fazed, immediately challenging Dr Archer, "Well, Dean, I'm on transplant today and we have no cases, so I came down here to see where I could help and i found it."

Dr Archer looked down at your homework, "Mitosis and Meiosis? You could be more help elsewhere."

Crockett hummed in disapproval, "I disagree, helping the new generation of doctors and nurses."

The Chief of ED turned to you, "You want to be a doctor?"

In the corner of your eye you could see Dr Marcel trying to silent tell you to say yes.

"Uh, maybe?" You replied, trying not to laugh.

Dr Archer let out a quiet, 'hm' and then left you to it. When he did, Will made his way back over to you.

"Please tell me you aren't stirring up trouble," He sighed, sitting against the desk.

"I would never," You replied sarcastically.

"Oh sure," He responded, playfully poking your shoulder. "Are you ready to get going?"

Your face lit up at the prospect of leaving, "Yes!"

Will glanced over your majority empty worksheet, "No success on biology?"

Dr Marcel chuckled, "I tried but I don't know if she's cut out to be a doctor."

You frowned, "Ha. Ha."

Will grinned at you, grabbing your bag off the floor and letting you say goodbye to Dr Marcel and Maggie so you could leave.

As you were walking out you stopped to wave bye to Hannah, who had been too busy to come see you but waved goodbye anyway.

As you were climbing into Will's car and putting on your seatbelt he got a call.

"Hello?" He answered.

You could hear another male voice on the other end. he hung up after a minute and started the car, looking almost concerned.

"Who was that?"

"Sargent Voight," He told you, "He's sending an unmarked car to pick us up from my place soon, as a precaution."

You frowned, "Is Jay okay?"

"I think so," He responded, "Sounds like they're just being cautious."

You nodded but didn't feel too convinced. You both sat in silence the entire ride. When you got home you both sat around waiting for the non-uniforms to come to get you. Will reheated some of last night's leftovers, giving them to you and telling you to eat quickly. You didn't have an appetite seeming the situation, but took a few bites to shut him up.

The knock at the door startled both of you, even though you were expecting it. Will opened the door to reveal two detectives.

"Will Halstead?" One of them asked.

"Yeah," He replied, ushering you over to join him.

"I'm detective Davis, this is my partner Detective Nash, would you come with us?" As he spoke he showed you his badge and his partner did the same, and then they were leading the way down the stairs to the car they had parked in front of the house.

You and Will climbed in the back, cut off from the two in the front by the screen. You leaned over to Will and joked about how it felt like you were being arrested, he rolled his eyes at your bad joke.

About ten minutes into the drive Will's phone started ringing again, he reached for it but the detective in the passenger seat whirled around, "Don't answer that."

Will frowned, showing him the screen, "It's Sergeant Voight," he explained.

"I don't care," He snapped back, "Don't answer it."

You couldn't see anything from where you were sitting, but Will's eyes kept flicking between the man's face and lower body like he was watching something. He put the phone down and raised his hands in defeat. The detective turned back in his seat, mumbling something under his breath.

Will looked over at you and say the concern in your eyes, he leaned over and whispered, "Don't worry, it's alright."

You nodded, taking a deep breath to try to calm your nerves. You fished your own phone out of your pocket, seeing a missed call from Voight as well. You always had your phone on silent, it seemed for once missing a call was actually useful. Voight was notorious for not checking his texts in a hurry, so you quickly pulled up Kim's contact. Will watched you silently, keeping an eye on the two hostile detectives.

You typed out a rushed message to Kim; Some detectives picked us up, but we aren't going to the district.

Immediately it showed Kim had read the text, typing out a reply.

Detectives?

You tried to swallow the lump in your throat, showing Will the reply. You both shared a worried look.

You replied, Detective Nash and Davis.

Another message from Kim came through. Do you know where you are?

You looked out the window, trying to find street signs, you were terrible at remembering names. Before you could type out the reply, the car veered off the road to a shingle path. The road opened up to a quarry, which in the evening light looked much more ominous than you liked. You quickly shoved your phone under the passenger seat to make sure they wouldn't see it.

The 'detectives' got out of the car and the driver barked, "Stay here and don't make any noise."

You and Will listened to their footsteps move away from the car. Once they were out of the car you let out a shaky breath you had been holding. Will unclipped his seatbelt then undid yours, pulling you closer to him and wrapping his arms around you.

He soothed a hand up and down your back, "Stay calm, it'll be alright. Nice easy breaths."

You nodded, resting your cheek against his chest and hugging him back to try calm yourself down. After a moment the footsteps returned, they walked to your door and yanked it open. Detective Nash impatiently waved for you to exit. You hesitantly shuffled out of the car, crying out when he grabbed your arm and roughly pulled you away from Will.

He pulled his gun out of his holster, "You try anything, she gets one between the eyes," he said to Will, waving his gun around for emphasis.

He handcuffed your hands in front of you, Detective Davis handcuffing Will's behind him. Then Davis was dragging Will along with him along a track through the grass, you and the other detective following. Will kept looking back over his shoulder at you, silently telling you to remain calm.

The path in the grass opened into a work site, you walked past an excavator that looked older than you. Past the mess of old materials and machinery, the site was relatively clear. Apart from the group of five gathered men.

As you got closer you recognized one of them as Jay, he was wearing a dress shirt and pants and had clearly taken a recent beating to the face. His nose was still dripping blood. He was also handcuffed, when he spotted you and Will his nostrils flared in anger and he strained against his restraints.

You and Will were forced to your knees in front of the group. When you glanced around the other members, you noticed two of them had badges clipped to their belts. These were cops. It took all of your self control not to start crying, your brain was screaming at you to do something, but your body just trembled uncontrollably.

"So," One of the men started, "Now that your cover is blown, Detective Halstead," he spoke Jay's title like he was mocking him, "I thought you would enjoy seeing your family again."

Jay and Will were staring at each other, no doubt silently talking to each other like they always did. You used to joke they had twin telepathy but without the 'twin' part. Now it seemed they were silently trying to figure out a game plan.

It's useless. Your brain kept repeating. You were in the middle of nowhere, no one would hear anything this far away from residents, not at this hour. Even if they did, what could be done? There was no happy ending tonight.

The man who spoke before broke from the line, taking up a place next to you threateningly. You glanced up at Jay, trying to put yourself anywhere but here.

"I'll ask you again, Detective," He said, "What do you and your team have?"

You shook your head ever so slightly, no matter what Jay couldn't compromise his case. Even if he did share what they knew, you would all still die anyway. Dirty cops had almost nothing to loose.

Jay shook his head, "Not enough to make a solid case."

The man growled, he threw something to the ground, "But you had a recording device on you all the time? How could you not have anything?"

Jay opened his mouth to respond but he was cut off by the man, "If you lie to me again Halstead," He grabbed a fistful of your hair, pressing the muzzle of his gun to your temple, "Your pretty little sister pays the price."

Will started to protest, but was cut off by a sharp punch by Nash. Any concern on jays face had gone, you knew his well enough to see the glint of fear in his eyes, but mostly he just looked livid.

"I don't know what my team has," He said slowly, "I haven't spoken to them in a few days, they might have more-"

You couldn't help but cry out in surprise when you were being hauled to your feet by your hair, straight away your scalp felt like it was on fire.

"You really want to see your sister's brains all over the place?"

The irrational side of your brain took charge and you argued, "You're going to kill us anyway."

The man looked at you shocked as if he didn't know other people could talk. When he stared at you any drenge of confidence left you.

Oh shit.

Part of you felt a little proud for standing up to him, but the majority felt paralysing fear. You wouldn't even be able to defend yourself from this man, he was at least twice your size.

"You know what, I like her," He chortled, "And she's not wrong. Not completely. I'll kill you and your brother, Detective, but her?"

He let go of your hair and grabbed your chin tightly, pulling your face towards him like he was inspecting it.

"Can't let a pretty face like that go to waste."

Your heart pounded in your ears, you could feel yourself start to freeze up with fear.

He turned to Davis, ordering, "Put her in my car."

"No!" You protested, trying to fight back against the man who was much stronger than you. You glanced over your shoulder to see Jay and Will fighting back too, shouting obscene threats.

Davis dragged you kicking and screaming to a black SUV, he opened the door and shoved you in, not caring how rough he was being. Before the door shut he unlocked your cuffs, smirking at the fact you would still be as useless. When the door shut you immediately tried to open it, pulling uselessly at the handle. You tried the other side, then attempted the front doors but none would budge. You were locked in. throwing all sense out the window, you tried to break the glass by kicking it. It didn't even flex. You knew it was useless, it was probably reinforced or bulletproof.

It didn't mean you stopped trying. You eventually kicked the window so many times that it was starting to hurt your foot. You stopped for a moment to gather your thoughts. The sound of gunfire echoed around the quarry.

"No!" You screamed, pounding your fists against the window, "LEt me out, let me out!"

You could picture the scene, your brothers dead in the dirt, having not stood a chance. Your brain burned the fake image in your mind, convincing you it was real. You let out a choked sob, tears burning your eyes as you sobbed into your hands.

Over the sound of your laboured breathing, you heard footsteps approaching. You forced yourself to get as far away from the door as you could, tucking into a tight ball in the far corner of the seat. You prepared yourself to give one last fight, scrubbing the tears out of your eyes you your sleeve.

When the door opened, Hailey stood on the other side.

"Hey, hey," She said quietly, offering you her hand, "You're alright."

You hesitantly took her hand, letting her help you out of the car. When you were out, you glanced around to see patrol cops gathered around. You locked eyes with Will, dropping Hailey's hand and rushing to him, locking him into a hug.

Will immediately wound his arms around you, holding you tightly to his chest and promising he was okay, everything was okay. You cried into his chest, unable to hold back the raw emotions that had coursed through you moments before. Will gently pried your arms from around his waist, tucking your hair behind your ears.

"I know someone else who might need a hug," He said softly, guiding you back through the site to the entrance where an ambulance was parked. He nodded to Voight, who gave you a soft smile. You were still attached to Will, holding his arm tightly like it was the only thing holding you together.

Voight stepped out of the way, letting you and WIll approach the ambulance. Jay was sitting on the step, looking exhausted but relatively unharmed. You couldn't help but start crying again, so glad that he was okay. Jay smiled, shakily getting to his feet and reaching out for you. He pulled you into a tight hug, letting you cry into his chest as he soothed your hair and held onto you as he tried to convince himself you were alright.

You pulled away first, trying to clear the tears off your face. "Are you okay?"

He chuckled, "I'm better now."

You couldn't stop yourself from grabbing Will and pulling them both into a hug. When you pulled away you softly poked Jay's arm, sniffling, "You're still a sop."

#jay halstead x sister!reader #jay halstead x reader #jay halstead #jay halstead imagine #will halstead x reader #will halstead #halstead sister #will halstead x sister!reader #halstead!sister #sister reader #one chicago #chicago med #chicago pd #one chicago x reader #chicago pd x reader #chicago med x reader #chicago pd imagine #chicago med imagine

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poppadom0912 · 6 months

Text

Together (Epilogue)

Warnings: Mentions of hospitals, injuries, kidnappings and death

Summary: Life moves on whether or not you want it to.

A/N: This is it my lovelies! It's lowkey been two months since I first released my baby into the world and you've received her with nothing but love. Thank you so much for all the support you've shown, it truly makes me want to write more and better.

I hope you enjoy the final part of this series. This has been so much fun and quite a wild ride. Lots of emotions, I won't lie, some parts really got deep but when you read this, it'll all be worth it. 🤍🙃

Did I lie about the fluff? ... I'm so sorry, I just couldn't resist😭

Previous Chapter / Series Masterlist

Black was not your favourite colour.

Some said it nicely complimented your red hair and you kind've looked badass but you couldn't see it. Besides the fact that it was slimming when you wore it, you tried to avoid the colour as much as possible. You much preferred the dark navy and greys instead.

That's why you hated wearing your dress uniform, even if it was for a joyous occasion.

Fixing the black suit, you sighed. According to your lawyer, showing up in uniform created more empathy and so not only were you wearing your uniform, but Jay too.

And Will… Well that was another conversation.

It had been two months since the kidnapping and things were, things were definitely different.

Due to circumstances, the trial had been pushed back a little. Well, their sentencing had, the trial went off without a hitch and all of Intelligence could attest to that but today was the day everyone found how for how long exactly they were going to be jailed.

Everyone had been bitter and rightly so.

Stepping back from the car door, you finished fixing your hair in the car window, happy that no baby hairs were sticking out and the gel was doing its job. You were asked for professional and so a bun seemed fitting.

Going around the car, Kelly joined you by your side but dressed casually. He wasn’t directly involved and your lawyer didn’t make a specific request. According to her, things could go sideways and things needed to look good on your side.

You envied the lack of black your boyfriend was wearing. And what annoyed you even more was the Jay’s uniform was more of a dark blue.

Jay fully healed over the past two months, no injuries for the naked eye to see but the scar was still there on his thigh, the trauma burned into his mind forever after. Similar could be said for you but while Jay was back on duty, you were still taking it slow and doing admin work at the firehouse after being a bored mess at home alone.

Therapy wasn’t much help. Your psychologist wasn’t the problem, in fact she was a darling, but not all things could be fixed. You eventually came to terms with the fact that this would never leave you. As a team, you’d have to turn a new page and keep on going, with the hopes that it became a distant memory no one had to recollect.

“Y/N.”

You could never get tired of hearing his voice, the tranquillity it brought you needed to be studied. His loving face sent you a soft smile, his eyes scrunching up in attempt to keep you calm and collected.

“Jay messaged me, they’re waiting inside.”

With a sigh, you interlocked hands and let Kelly lead the way inside the courthouse. Anxiety weighed down on you heavily, making it feel like you were walking through a sentient sludge that kept trying to pull you down.

A smile graced your lips but at the sight of your older brother in his dress blues, his entire crew by his side, your smile faltered. As soon as it began wobbling, your eyes burned as everything started to go blurry.

Your chest hurt too much, it suddenly felt like you were having a heart attack in the middle of the courthouse.

“Oh Y/N.” Jay sighed, enveloping you in his arms not a moment later. “Please don’t cry.”

“I’m sorry.” You croaked out, huffing into the crook of his neck, being mindful not to mess up his uniform. “Gosh, I don’t even know why I’m crying.”

“Stop that, don’t apologise.” Jay chided, tutting alike to how Will would whenever you two got into trouble. Whenever Will did that, you knew his annoyance wouldn’t last long, he loved you and Jay too much to hold a grudge.

Shit, now your tears were rolling down your flushed cheeks and making small marks on Jay’s shoulder.

“Do you think he’s okay?”

Jay didn’t say anything for a long time. You were almost scared he wouldn’t answer you like last time. The more time past, the more you knew he wasn’t going to say anything and the same exact scene from two months ago flashed before your eyes, almost sending you into a fit of gut-wrenching tears. But Jay proved you wrong.

“I don’t know what to think anymore Y/N.”

*****

Maggie sighed, shoulders deflating as she sat on the hospital bed. It had been a long day.

Whenever she wanted a break from the ED, she usually found one of the rooms in the ICU where the patient was usually either unconscious or in a coma. The peace and quiet provided her the time and space to get back into tune with her thoughts before going back to being the charge nurse of the bustling emergency department.

Looking at this patient, she didn’t need to look at the chart to know what happened, she’d been in this particular room every single day since their arrival. This patient had a certain pull that made her want to know everything about their condition.

“Thought I’d find you here.” Sharon said, her voice calming as she entered the room, closing the door behind her. “Everyone was waiting downstairs, you missed it.”

“I know.” Maggie replied solemnly, her hands readjusting the blanket around the coma patient. “But they did it, right?”

“They did it.” Sharon confirmed as she moved to stand on the other side of the bed. It was great news, news that should’ve resulted in tears of joy but the charge nurse barely moved an inch.

“Life without parole.” There was a pause, beeping and the whooshing of machines filling the silence. “They weren’t going to settle for anything less.”

“Good.” Maggie replied, her lips pulled tightly together.

Neither of them said anything afterwards. There was still so much that needed to be discussed but the right people weren’t in the room currently. The one big question loomed heavily over them like a stormy cloud just waiting for the right moment to start raining.

“Take a break Maggie. Eat a little something before you join the rest of them.”

Without waiting for a reply, Sharon turned and left the room, mumbling she had a meeting in a few minutes when in reality, she hated being in this room as much as the next person.

Maggie stewed in her thoughts, too many flying all around the place for her to properly take a break.

“Still no change?”

Maggie’s silence was more than enough of an answer. She truly hated her job sometimes, especially when she had to break the news to waiting family members.

“No movement since you left last night.”

Jay’s eyes still filled with tears every time he was given news.

“Are we- Do you think we’re doing the right thing Maggie?” Jay tumbled over his words from where he stood in the doorway, too scared to enter the room. The sadness laced in his words made him sound so innocent and childlike, Maggie just wanted to hide and protect all three Halstead’s from the horrors of the world.

But looking at the coma patient on the bed, Maggie knew her words were biased.

*****

One week later

You were going crazy. You didn’t know how much longer you could handle this. You hated playing the waiting game.

It was in the middle of shift when you got the call. You were finally back to full time firefighting, Crocket deeming you fit and healthy two days ago to work again. The happiness that followed his news only lasted so long.

Your emotions were haywire. When you entered the ED for what felt like the billionth time, you felt your heart physically stop at the sight of a red eyed Maggie. From beside you, Jay was scarily silent, not breathing for a good minute.

But then she smiled, dimples and all.

Connor was supposed to tell you but he was rushed into an emergency surgery and entrusted the charge nurse to tell the two most important people in Will’s life the news.

“Will’s going to make a full recovery. There’s going to be quite a bit of rehab and physical therapy but he’s going to be just fine.”

And for the first time since their initial reunion in the warehouse just over two months ago, all three Halstead siblings would be together again.

It was going to be a long and difficult path to recovery. You and Jay had your own struggles and having Will in a coma only made it harder. But now, Will had the love and support of his baby brother and baby sister, the two people he did all of this for.

And yes, maybe Jay would reem his for being a stupid bastard, protecting them from literal criminals with his life. Obviously, you would chime in when necessary but the big goofy smile on your face did nothing.

All was well now. The future was looking bright for the most of it, guaranteed it be a bit rocky in the next coming weeks that would consist of a gruelling recovery process but at the end of the tunnel, you were all coming out stronger than ever.

Series Masterlist:

@mads-weasley @sowrongitslottie @elite4cekalyma @senjoritanana @hufflepuff-blackwidow @mrspeacem1nusone @kmc1989 @goth-cowgirl-03 @daggersquadphantom @photographerkaiya0306 @jamie0515 @samanthavitale @iamasimpingh0e @lanea-1 @swidkid @jamie0515

#one chicago x reader #one chicago imagine #jay halstead x reader #onechicago #chicago fire #chicago med #chicago pd #will halstead x reader #halstead sister #halstead brothers #kelly severide x reader #jay halstead x sister!reader #will halstead x sister!reader

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k-a-s-e-y-1-4 · 21 days

Text

Lloyd gets kidnapped again but what happens next is up to you?:

Warnings: Talk of someone being used as an object, sexualization of a minor

Lloyd was running again. Well Lloyd’s been on the run his entire life but that’s a different story. Right now he was running from two hooded figures who tried to attack him and he would have knocked them out and handed them over to the police, however they both pulled guns so Lloyd just started running.

He didn’t get a good look at either of their faces as they were completely covered up by masks and he’s kicking himself for it now. Whatever it’s fine right now he had to worry about out running these two wannabe kidnappers.

A gunshot rings in his ears and he ducks and keeps running. Shit they’re getting closer they’re fast. Most the time when people try and hurt him he can either put them in their place or out run them but these two were certainly an exception.

He hopes Kai and Jay won’t be too loud for running off. Kai and Jay went into the Grocery store to grab somethings for dinner tonight because Zane was cooking tonight and Zane needed special ingredients for this meal. Lloyd wanted to go get the latest comic for his collection and then he meet up with them outside when they were done. This time he finished his shopping before them so he was sitting on the bench outside when they both came up and attempted to jump him. Hence the attempt Lloyd could have totally kicked their asses had they not pulled out a gun, where’d they even get guns?

Lloyd begun to slow down as he couldn’t hear them coming after him anymore. Good, he was getting tired although he wouldn’t admit it. Sure he’d have to take a different, longer route home today but it was better than running all the way.

He felt something cold and hard on the back of his head and a deep voice that said, “Don’t move a muscle or I’ll shoot.”

Lloyd moved his hands up and looked up to find the second dude standing in front of him and glaring down at him. Damnit Lloyd thought he out ran them apparently they out smarted him.

“Josh c’mon we don’t have all day, I want my money.” The dude infront of him stated.

So this dude’s name was Josh, good to know and they were getting paid so someone else had to be the cause of this.

“Alright, alright calm down, damn I thought I was going to have to shoot him.”

He felt the surface leave the back of his head and then heard wind rushing and suddenly he was out, as his vision blurred to black and lost consciousness quickly.

Lloyd struggled in the chains, trying not to make too much noise as he had no idea who was on the other side of the door. He tried to open the lock with a Bobby pin he had turned into a make shift lock pick. Don’t ask him where he got the lock pick.

He had woken up chained to a chair in a dark room with its only light coming from a small lamp that hung above the table in front of him. He couldn’t remember anything else than he was running from people but he can’t remember who. Honestly this whole place reminded him of an interrogation room but based on the aching pain from the back of his head he doubts these are his buddies from law enforcement’s doing.

How many times had he been kidnapped now? Had to be somewhere near 20 now at least. Lloyd hears the familiar click from the cuffs behind him and he can slowly feel the energy rush from his powers coming back. He slips his hands out of the vengestone cuffs.

Before he can decide what to do next he hears footsteps nearing and manages to make it look like he’s still in the chains before the door opens. Not that he couldn’t take the person at the door it’s just most villains go on a rant about what they’re going to do and Lloyd wants at least a little bit of an idea of what he got himself into.

The door opens to reveal a man in his late forties - early fifties, in a tight black suit. He shuts the door behind him as he walks in.

“Welcome back to the living green ninja, how was your nap?” He stands on the other side of the table staring at Lloyd with a smug smile.

Lloyd didn’t recognize this man nor could he think of single way he could have affected him. “It was nice, now if you would I would like to get back to that.”

The man lets out a chuckle. “Quite snarky are you?”

“Listen I don’t care what you have to say about me, can’t we just get to the revenge speech where you tell me what you want?”

“Oh don’t be so impatient green ninja, I mean I had to wait for you to wake up, you could at least let me give my speech.” He replied.

Lloyd sighed. “Well go ahead I don’t have all day.”

He gave Lloyd a look. “Huh, well I can see why the boys liked you so much.”

Lloyd gave him a confused glare.

The man leaned on the table and stared him straight in the face. “Such a pretty face on a waste of a man.”

“I’m not sure if that was homophobia, pedophilla or a little bit of both but I want no parts of it dude.”

“I’m just saying it’s such a waste for someone like you to go unused I’m sure you make a ton of money with a body like that.” The man’s says beginning to circle the table.

“There’s so much in that sentence that’s disturbing but I think the worse is that you’re like 70 and checking me out, sir I’m like 17 hell no.” Lloyd musters out disgusted, backing up as much as he can in his chair.

“Wow 70? C’mon I know I don’t look that old.”

“Yeah you look older, is 85 right?”

He gives look a glare. “You’re quite rude, I hope you know that.”

“Well I’m sorry I don’t give respect to someone that refers to me like a prostitute, oh wait I’m not.”

“I wasn’t calling you a sex worker I was just-“

“You were sure as hell implying it, I know that.” Lloyd interjects. “Is that why you snatched me? To fuck you?”

“No! I’m sure you’d be a fun time we have a different need for you.” The man replies.

“And that is?”

The man grins. “Well this facility needs a power source y’know?”

Of course why is Lloyd not surprised. They always want to drain his powers why couldn’t it be something interesting at least.

“So we brought you here to drain your powers.” The man continues. “Possibly kill you, I don’t know, hey if you survive I’m sure you’d make a lovely pole dancer.”

With that Lloyd had heard enough. He slipped out of his chains again and blasted the man before he had a chance to think. He slammed hard into the wall and crumpled on the floor. Lloyd took his chance and ran towards the door that surprisingly wasn’t locked and had no guards around. The door seemed to be in the middle of the hallway with no one in it, neither seemed to a dead giveaway to lead out either.

Lloyd wasn’t sure what to do, he obviously didn’t want to stay but he didn’t want to just randomly chose a door and end up captured again.

What’s next?:

Go left and hope for the best

Go right because right is always right

Climb and hide in the ceiling to get more information and hopefully get out

#ninjago #lego ninjago #lloyd garmadon #ninjago lloyd #ninjago jay #ninjago fanfiction #ninjago kai #ninjago dragons rising

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nighterwriter · 2 years

Text

Chicken Noodle Soup

Jason Todd x reader

Word Count: 675

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A hand smoothed over your head as you floated back into consciousness. You were warm, unbearably warm, clothes and hair sticking to all crevices warm. You didn't know how or when you got sick, but it hit you like a bus in the morning. Stuffed nose, wet coughs, vomiting, the whole nine. You'd been in and out of consciousness the whole day and sometime in between your changing sentience, you called your boss who had called Jason, or the other way around, you don't remember. All you could feel, though, was Jason's hands carding through your sweaty hair and down your back.

"Hey, sweetheart."

You groaned as you tried to raise your head in response, but that was a mistake. A rush of nausea blew up your stomach and into your throat. You must've blacked out because the next time you were aware of your surroundings, your head was against the cool bathroom tiles. The stench and burn of vomit permeated the air and your throat. Pushing yourself off the floor, you leaned against the cabinet, blearily watching as Jason stripped your bed of its sheets and threw it into the hamper.

"I threw up?" You slurred, clammy hands grabbing the edges of the sink.

"S'okay, don't worry 'bout it, baby. Just stay on the floor, okay?"

You wanted to get up and clean up your mess. You should feel embarrassed for allowing Jason to see you like this, but you were the one who wiped his bloody and snotty face as both his knees were set back into place after a raid had gone bad. You'd dealt with the consequences of an infected gunshot wound when he refused to go to the manor after a scuffle with Bruce. It was part of the deal, never letting each other be alone in times of need, no matter the hurt, no matter the gore. It was one of the first promises you had made to each other.

"Let's get you cleaned up."

He cradled your head with one hand as he stripped you of your soiled clothes, murmuring sympathies every time you wheezed. Your whimpers as he pulled you off the floor and carried you into the bathtub were soon silenced as your body met the warm bathwater he had prepared in your state of delirium. Tucking a pillow behind your head, Jason sat next to you, using his fingertips to lightly spread the warm water onto your face, pressing down on your sinuses slightly. He moved from his spot for a moment and returned with a cool towel, placing it on your forehead. You lean into his fleeting touch, sighing when he cups your face.

"Feeling better?"

You nod, grimacing at the taste of vomit paired with thick strands of saliva. "'M hungry."

Jason smiled a little, moving his hand to pet your hair again. "I know, sugar. Alfred made you some chicken noodle soup for when your stomach settles, but we gotta do the cracker and ginger ale test to see if you can keep it down."

"What time is it?"

"Hmm... twelve in the morning, I think."

Your eyes shoot open and you move to stand. "Patrol-"

"Is taken care of." He spoke carefully, repositioning the towel back on your forehead. "B gave me the night off. What you need to worry about is keeping your head from going under while I change your sheets and get your laundry going. When you're done in the tub, we'll try to get something into you."

"Am I gonna be naked?"

Jason barked out a laugh. "No, Cass volunteered that sweat suit that you really like."

"The one with the mushrooms?"

"Yeah."

Your eyes felt heavy as you willed them open (were they closed during the entire conversation?). Jason watched you with a sympathetic smile, humming in amusement as you used your gathered strength to move your head near the edge of the tub and threw a wet arm onto his. He petted your head, humming a nameless tune.

"Jay?"

"Hm?"

"Love you the most."

"Impossible."

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd drabble

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chaoticsomeone · 10 months

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Blood and Hearts

Redhood x Heartrender!Reader(GN)

Redhood is being tortured. It was like all before. Joker. He seems powerless. Unable to fight due to his PTSD. You, his S/O saved him and earned yourself a spot in the Batfamily.

First time writing a fic so feedback will be appreciated

Heartrenders have the ability to manipulate the body. They can snatch the air from your lungs, slow your pulse until you fall into a coma, or even literally crush your heart—all if they can see their enemies

You sensed something was wrong. Jason hasn't returned. It was 2 am. Jason promised to be back by now. You rushed to call Babs.

Babs had told you that she has lost contact with Jason a few minutes before you called. And the last minute of the call she could hear the Joker. Batman and the others have tried to locate him but is unsuccesful. You loved Jay very much. You've been together for 3 years. He always is a man of his word. Even though you two were close, he never knew of your Grisha powers, Heartrending.

You put on your red kefta-like suit you kept hidden for so long. "It still fits like a glove" you muttered to yourself. Before going to find him. You held your shimmering scale necklace, an amplifier and a gift from Sankta Alina. Your mother and a Saint.

You were trained by some great grisha in your dimension. Notably the King and enrolled in a school for high-ranking Grisha. So you have learned to be agile yet perfectly accurate in all your movements.

Jumping roof to roof trying to find Jay yourself. After 15 minutes you gave up and called Dick. "Hey Dick, I know Jay is in trouble. Please let me help. I can be a good asset. Just meet me somewhere please." You said, you sounded determined yet worried. "Uh Y/N its dangerous, we're facing the Joker again. But the old bat agreed you can meet us atop the second tallest building in Gotham.

Once you arrived, you saw all the bats prepared. Robin's stern face, Nightwing's worried look and the girls talking with each other. Without Red, your Jay you felt weird again. You shaked that feelingwi off and sensed how worried Bruce was. Dick brought you to the bats and you were questioned about what you were wearing. "Did you become a vigilante too or something?" Dick asked, his grin is unmistakeable. You just smiled and said "You'll see, I have something that will assist us" You two decided to talk with the others for leads. After around 20 minutes you all decided you'd be going in partners checking 4 spots they had narrowed down. Bruce was reluctant to let you go but since Dick will be protecting you he finally allowed you to come along. Dick and you, Cass and Steph, Damian and Bruce, lastly Duke and Tim went your own ways soon after.

As Dick swung across buildings you leapt great distances. All the vehicles were used so you two were resorted to this. Along the way he asked you about what you meant with the suit and all. You finally opened up to being a Grisha Heartrender and Tailor and being from another universe entirely. You told him what you could do. After some more tlaking you finally arrived at the abandoned zoo. The smell of carcasses flooded your nose. With a swish of a hand you got rid of your ability to smell, offering to do the same for Nightwing.

Once you two were ready you walked around. After a few minuted passed you heard Jason's heavy panting and Joker's maniacal laugh. Nightwing will be flanking them behind them while you walking to them directly from a point where they both can see you clearly.

Raising your hands while muttering "saints, mom, help me" you moved your hands intricately yet quickly to give Joker a heart attack. While Joker was struggling you brought Redhood back to the present. You walked and talked to him while Nightwing holds the Joker's struggling body. You empowered Red and Nightwings body is a quick swish of your hands. Red got back to normal the moment Joker survived the heart attack. He wanted to ask you why you're there and all but you gave him a sharp look that said stay focused ask later. Red and Nightwing took turns attacking him. You threw them a nearby rope. You slowed the Joker's heartbeat putting him into a coma. Making it easier for Jay to carry him through the Night. But Joker was not an ordinary mortal. He some how managed to wake. Punching Red in the face. At this point you were angry. Your hands moved faster than ever gracefully dancing. You decided to use a harsher method of giving him a heartattack while squeezing his lungs. After Red and Nightwing got him tied up you put him into a deep coma with Redhood's punch and your powers.

Silence was all you all could hear. The other's landing breaked the silence. Batman hugged Redhood tightly. Red said "Wow Old man you actually missed me" as he took a step back. The bats looked at you and smiled or thanked you one way or another. They asked you to join them in certain missions. Jay especially was smiling, as he walked to you then lifted you up as he kissed you. You were relieved he's alive. But tomorrow you're sure you'd be given a lot of questions to answer to.

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pixelgirlsworld · 1 year

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Party For Heroes (Dick Grayson x Reader)

Pairing: Dick Grayson x Reader, fluff, slightly suggestive, connects to Quicker Than That, Drabble, WC: ~800

A party where all of Gotham’s heroes in costume has got your boyfriend’s head spinning.

“You know, this really isn’t my thing.” Dick said, adjusting the neckline of his suit.

The heroes of Gotham decided to get together in costume for a Halloween party, Gar thought it would be a great idea for everyone to be in their suits and have fun for an evening.

“What, people?” You laughed, adjusting your cowl on your head, your hair making it difficult to adjust.

“Shut up loser, I meant parties.” Dick said, pulling you close to adjust your cowl for you.

“It’s just for a few hours, and then maybe we can have some Halloween fun at my place?” You teased, giving him a quick kiss.

“Well, when you put it like that…” He trailed off, grabbing your hand and pulling you into the venue.

The doors were opened and you saw an entire crowd of masked faces, the lights were low, and the music was loud. Drinks were being passed around by waiters, the party lights were bright on your faces, and Dick could not wait to leave.

“Well if it isn’t Daywing and Claws.” A voice sing-songed.

You turned to see Harley, more paint on her face than usual, her hair messily tied up into two pigtails. She had clearly been drinking way too much already.

“Harley.” Dick said, turning to her and crossing his arms.

“Harley!” You beamed, squeezing the blonde tightly.

“Oh, Claws, I knew you loved me! Come, meet some of my friends! Or, they’ll be my friends once they know I’m friends with you.” Harley slurred, tugging on your arm to drag you through the crowd.

Dick was about to reach for you to pull you back, but it had already been too late, Harley was pulling you through the room. You looked back at Dick to reach your hand out to him and mouth a small ‘love-you’ to which he returned. He sighed, walking around to the far end of the room where he found Jason and Tim. Tim was on his laptop, typing away, his face so close to the screen he might as well have kissed it. Jason was holding a drink, his back to the wall as he observed the crowd.

“Surprised you’re not messing around, Jay.” Dick said.

“And get caught up with a hero? No way, what if the sex is bad? That’ll ruin this for me forever.” Jason said, downing the rest of his drink.

“Dick, much?” The older brother responded.

“Ha. Ha. Ironic.” Jason rolled his eyes.

Dick reaches for his own drink, scanning the room and leaning against the wall with Jason. His escrima sticks across his back make it hard for him to lean comfortably. He pauses when he sees you, across the room, dancing with Harley. You downed your drink and hollered, jumping around the blonde as you danced. It shouldn’t have surprised him that you enjoyed yourself so much at parties, he just didn’t expect you to be so lively.

And God, did you look hot. He always saw you in your suit but its effect on him never weakened. He watched you dance, grabbing another drink once in a while. You were getting sweaty while dancing and unzipped your suit a bit, as well as undoing the buckle on your cowl. That was all it took for Dick to walk over to you, eager, wanting, and very turned on. He pulls on your wrist, making you look at him in concern.

“Nightwing, what’s wrong?” You asked, passing your drink off to Harley.

“We’ve gotta go, like, now.” He said in your ear, arousal dripping off his tongue.

You gulped, and turned to tell Harley you were leaving because of an emergency. She winked at you, getting the hint.

“Oookay cutie! Whateva ya say claws, don’t be pulling nothing fancy Wing Boy!” She yelled, pointing to Dick with a wave of her finger.

Dick was quick to pull you out of the venue, the two of you making it to your apartment in no time. His lips were on yours in no time, tasting the alcohol that lingered.

“Mph, babe, jeez what’s got you so turned on?” You asked, tilting your head back as he planted kisses onto the exposed skin of your neck.

“My girlfriend is insanely hot, and the alcohol wasn’t helping.” He unzipped your suit completely.

“So was it the suit, the alcohol, me getting sweaty, me dancing, or-“

“All of the above, now stop talking.” He rushed, pulling you to his chest and tugging the skintight material off your shoulders.

Boy were you in for a long night.

#dick grayson x reader #dick grayson fluff #dick grayson x female!reader #nightwing #Nightwing x reader

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cboffshore · 4 months

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introducing there's a light on: a character playlist experiment

Or: what would happen if I made a Nadakhan character playlist, but only let myself use Fall Out Boy tracks?

Tracklist and notes below the cut, as usual.

A word before we begin: This is both a very intense character exercise and a very casual affair. Very intense in that each song here was heavily vetted over a period of a few months (and, of course, we know I've been doing Nadakhan character work for years on end now), and very casual in that the decision to create this playlist was a quick one, almost a joke. I chose Fall Out Boy for no other reason than, thanks to a new album release and concert cycle in 2023, the fact that I was very into Fall Out Boy. It was a good choice, though; FOB harbors a lot of unique, complex themes that lent themselves nicely to this project. There's also the unique meta angle of lead singer Patrick Stump performing in a style that ordinarily doesn't pair with the genre FOB calls home and pulling it off pretty much flawlessly, which is a neat parallel to Nadakhan's entire origin story.

Some of the songs here are so on the nose you'd think they were written for Nadakhan; others might be here for a single, perfect lyric, or even just Vibes. I should also note that there is no particular order to these songs. I could very well have lined them up to match his seasonal arc, but as a nod to the common critique (and astute observation) that Nadakhan is pretty erratic, I let each song fall wherever it lay while I was tossing them into the playlist. I'll do the notes for these in order of the playlist for ease, though. Additionally, these aren't comprehensive notes - truly, I could write an essay for a lot of these individually. (Please, please, please ask me about songs on here. I might have more to say.) For now, these are just the strongest correlations I picked up.

Of course, I think the best way to get through this playlist is to go listen and just... think about his character. Drop the preconceived notions and the runaway fanonization. Think of what he does, and when he does it, and who's close to or far away from him.

Enough of my blabbering. You're about to get enough of that from Pete Wentz's poetry.

"Love From The Other Side" opens with sweeping, mysterious orchestral work that crashes, hard, into angry drums and screaming guitar work. From there, the entire song acts like an overture for the rest of the playlist: themes of growing up, getting out, and feeling out of place. The lyric that cemented this song's place on the playlist ties into Nadakhan's relationship with his father, as well as his hidden self-esteem issues as he tries to live up to his final promise: "This city always hangs a little bit lonely on me, loose/Like a kid playing pretend in his father's suit." I also particularly like the bridge line "Give up what you love before it does you in" - a gorgeous little nod at the end of the season, where what he works so hard for does indeed drown him.

"Baby Annihilation" is a unique one - fully spoken word by Wentz, with a surreal, dreamlike backing track. I chose this one for its impressive lyrical parallel to a line Nadakhan speaks during the finale: "But you know what they say: if you want a job done right, you gotta do it yourself." After the fact, however, I thought it sounded a little more like someone else - possibly Jay - talking about the experience itself, or perhaps Nadakhan himself looking in after everything crumbled. It's less of a song and more a series of cryptic observations that I can't quite break down - which parallels how I feel about analyzing Nadakhan. There's always something that feels a little off.

"My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark" is classic FOB, and again, opens with a delightfully parallel line that lights up like a caution sign warning you what Nadakhan's main tactic is: "Be careful makin' wishes in the dark, dark/Can't be sure when they've hit their mark, mark." Tonally, this one is fast, angry, and strong - it sounds like fight music, honestly. It's an anthem all around, complete with layered group vocalizations in the back that remind me of an entire crew singing at once.

"27" is the single most Nadakhanish song I have ever, ever heard. I could go into extreme detail on every line here (and honestly, maybe someday I will!), but I think his attitude towards his crew and how he hides his plans from them is best summed up with this sequence:

My mind is a safe And if I keep it then we all get rich My body is an orphanage We take everyone in Doing lines of dust and sweat

This is one of those songs you need to put both earbuds in for and just... listen. Nothing else. Hands in your lap and think of him as a character, and suddenly every line should fall into place. (Also, sick guitar solo!)

"I've Got All This Ringing In My Ears And None On My Fingers" is here for a very specific part: the first verse. While the whole song is a nice fit, I absolutely have to highlight the opening few lines, because... wow, if this isn't a perfect fit, I couldn't say what is:

You're a canary I'm a coal mine 'Cause sorrow is just all the rage Take one for the team You all know what I mean

I shouldn't need to explain this one too much. (Also, yes, this is what I named that essay after.) After this point, the lyrics touch on themes of desperate (if ill-fated) love, followed up by wailing vocals in the closer and some very iffy-sounding cheering that fits well with his desperation to be someone.

"Bishop's Knife Trick" was one of the first songs that I knew had to make it onto this playlist. Most striking is the repeated line "The glow of the cities below lead us back/to the places we never should have left," which reminded me both of the floating landmasses and of Nadakhan running away from home. I also think the bridge, with its hourglass imagery and themes of desperation and refusal to let go of the past, is beautifully fitting. This, too, has a haunting, grand tone to it: lots of echoey effects and dramatic chords and reverb.

"West Coast Smoker" includes two very important components for this project: a line specifically about being the last of one's kind ("I'm the last of my kind/and that's all that should matter to you") and a female guest vocalist. The former line ties in nicely with Nadakhan's superiority complex, that belief that he deserves more power than he has simply because he has any power at all (and the whole realm collapse thing, too). The latter, however - in the form of Debbie Harry of Blondie - is a neat little meta thing that I only recently noticed. The first time I ever heard this song, I thought the backing vocals were Stump doing some weird falsetto, or maybe someone else entirely from the band. Honestly, I could barely even hear those vocals. Turns out, that's not the case! When I learned the truth, my entire perception changed. In a similar way, once you realize how much of Nadakhan's story (and all of Skybound) is driven by women (regardless of how they're treated), you never quite see it the same again. Nadakhan's motivated by an undercurrent of female influence in the same way that Harry's vocals lend something unique to this track.

"Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet" starts strong with a nice parallel to Nadakhan's signature persuasion tactic: "When he walks into the room, the walls lean in to listen" and only gets better from there. My favorite part of this song is the infamous "Wish I didn't, I didn't..." sequence that culminates in a very apt line: "Don't just want to be a footnote in someone else's happiness." We know Nadakhan's bitter about having to make other people's dreams come true by virtue of who he is; in an attempt to single himself out, he twists that power, ensuring he makes it out of the footnotes and into the main text of everyone's story. Finally, I love the line "It's a sign - what if you peaked early?" Because he did, in fact, peak early. Twice, actually. First, his heyday before his imprisonment; then, as Flintlocke points out, the brief period where he fully controlled the skies and had already won. Oh, and the fact that the entire song reads like a man trying to convince someone he's trying to woo to leave their existing relationship for his sake? Sounds familiar...

"Heaven, Iowa" is desperately, gorgeously sentimental - a simple, surreal plea to be remembered well, and to be loved. This specifically ties into the moment in the season finale, where he desperately (and apparently repetitively) asks Delara if she still loves him: "Tell me, when the party ends/Will you still love who I am?" (Once again: crashing guitars and layered vocals add extra depth. I love the way this one shifts from simple maraca backing to absolutely wild, desperate percussion and backing choir.)

"I've Got A Dark Alley..." is another sentimental one, maybe a little more platonic or even introspective, that examines failure and disappointment. It also reflects, quite simply and beautifully, how Nadakhan pushes people away and digs his own grave by refusing to let others in:

And the record won't stop skipping And the lies just won't stop slipping And besides my reputation's on the line

"Heaven's Gate" is one of the very few genuine love songs FOB has ever crafted, and it's perfect for what little of the Nadakhan-Delara dynamic we see. There's the rebellious imagery of breaking into heaven, but the lovely faith of knowing one's partner will help them out; there's a near-obsessive note of devotion. It's even a waltz! Most fitting, though, is the line "everything else is a substitute for your love," which I think nicely represents how Nadakhan brushes off his relationship with Delara early on. Sure, it fuels so much of his plot, but he hides it by just keeping busy and hoping those actions all help him in the end.

"Sophomore Slump or Comeback Of The Year" is both confident and insecure - trying to convince the listener that the singer is something special, but being a little too desperate about it at points. I added this one specifically for the pairing of "I'll keep singing this lie if you'll keep believing it" and "the best part of 'believe' is the lie," both of which are desperately repeated. I also appreciated the the bitter remembrance of better times: "the kids you used to love/but then we grew old."

"The (Shipped) Gold Standard" is a restless track, flipping between memories, doubts, impossible future plans, and a desire to be honest without the ability. I do hear Nadakhan's fear of vulnerability here: "I wanna scream 'I love you' from the top of my lungs/but I'm afraid that someone else'll hear me." Oh, and the whole "business of souls" bit, which occurs in a bizarrely angry section of the otherwise very smooth song - almost like the mutiny breakdown.

"From Now On We Are Enemies" is so, so much. "A downward spiral, just a pirouette/Getting worse til there's nothing left" is an apt summary of his story, for starters. Beyond that, this song is somewhere between a confession and an analysis, a self-critique, in fact. Just... go listen to this one. Seriously. Every line here works. There's desire, there's hatred, there's fear... it's delicious.

"The Music Or The Misery" is here specifically for the line "I am indifferent (yet I'm a total wreck)/I'm every cliche, but I simply do it best" as a neat nod both towards his hypocrisy at calling Jay an avoidant coward despite doing the same thing and his meta origin as a mashup of classical literary and pop culture sources.

"Jet Pack Blues" is also only here for one specific part (as well as its overall melancholic tone and church chimes). That would be the weirdly pointed "Did you ever love her? Do you know? Or did you never want to be alone?" that occurs multiple times and reminds me immensely of Jay's accusation in episode 60. Although I like to believe that Nadakhan's love for Delara was genuine (and inf act the only thing keeping him tethered at all), it's never definitively answered, and it haunts me. Was he using her? Was she using him? Was it ever real love, or was it an excuse for power? Jay was onto something, honestly.

"Pavlove" is a song with a weird, weird history. Up until very recently, the only official way to access it was to own a specific version of the album it served as a bonus track on; otherwise, piracy! Or the one YouTube listing for it. Anyway, I like the history of this song as fun nod at the limited knowledge of Nadakhan post-Skybound - he might be a historical figure, but besides Jay and Nya, nobody else has those direct memories of interacting with him so recently. This one works lyrically, too - "I want to make you as lonely as me" and "I'm not ready for a handshake with death, no" both reflect his vindictive yet terrified personality. And all the mirror imagery! And "It's three drinks too late to talk to anyone but myself" indicating his tendency to hide things? Perfection.

"So Much (For) Stardust" is "Love From The Other Side" after it's been put through an emotional wringer. If "Love..." is Nadakhan immediately post-release, "So Much..." is him watching his world collapse and realizing that maybe, just maybe, he messed up and wasted his time. It's got themes of lost confidence and insecurity, and the painful truth that sometimes, you do need to lean on others - a fact Nadakhan refuses to accept that then ends his reign. He also attempts to get back to his glory days, which is gorgeously reflected in the lyrical callback to the first track on this playlist:

In another life you were my babe In another life you were the sunshine of my lifetime What would trade the pain for? I'm not sure

I used to be a real go-getter I used to think it'd all get better

Most painfully, I love the way this song ends as a parallel to how Nadakhan's plans crumble. First, the instrumentals fade out; then, the backing vocalists, until it's just the lead singer pleading with a musical void.

"Chicago Is So Two Years Ago" is a weird, weird way to close the playlist, which means it's great that this isn't any sort of meaningful order. This a little more upbeat than other tracks here, but the themes of homesickness, avoidance, and bitter nostalgia remain. Also, this is where the title of the playlist comes from:

But there's a light on in Chicago And I know I should be home

Just remember: Chicago and Djinjago have the same number of syllables. Do with that information what you will.

#lila speaks #ninjago skybound #ninjago nadakhan #analysis freak lila back on her bullshit #Spotify

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