#shitty miraculous au | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lisired · 1 month

Text

venomous

pairing: bodyguard!yuta x (f) reader

genre/warnings: crime!au, thriller, angst, graphic violence, mentions of drugs/drugging, character death, implied smut, implied misogynistic behavior, mentions of dv, one instance of attempted abuse, mc’s father is an asshole

summary: Born into the underworld, crime was all you’d known your entire life and was practically in your blood - murder, drugs, money, power, and everything in between. In spite of your father leading one of the two major gangs that dominated Asia, you managed to keep safe. But all that changes once the rival gang has bad blood to settle with your father, and suddenly a vendetta’s being pursued against you.

word count: 18.8k

a/n: part of the Game of Survival collab call by neo-shitty. feedback is appreciated!

Maybe you were paranoid. As heir to one of the most prosperous crime rings in the country you had grown familiar with the feeling, but you’d never get used to it.

You tried to chalk it up to the uneasiness of being present at yet another of your father’s parties, feeling like a weed amongst flowers, but you knew at the same time it was relieving to break away from your rather mundane lifestyle - condemned to your bedroom with a guard outside your door, in case the idea to wander around emerged within your mind yet again.

Feasting your eyes on the crowd was one of your favorite weekly, on some occasions biweekly, pastimes. Pretty people adorned in flashy attire that you were sometimes lucky to be able to engage in conversation with whenever your bodyguard pitied you enough to turn a blind eye to your activities. You usually dreaded no part of the evening save for the end, so you couldn’t fathom why you couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

Until you noticed a frantic Nakamoto Yuta rushing towards you hardly twenty minutes later.

“Get up,” your bodyguard ordered, yanking you from the seat impatiently. You were forced to set down the drink you had requested to calm your nerves, following Yuta as he ushered you throughout the crowd.

Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. And you were dying to get to the bottom of it.

“What’s the matter?” you asked. “Is something wrong?”

“No time to explain,” he answered curtly. “Just follow me.”

Almost a dozen more questions remained at the tip of your tongue, yet you kept them anchored. Knowing Yuta, he was only trying to keep you safe. That was his priority. Everything else came second.

Yuta led you to an exit situated towards the rear side of the venue, more easily accessible than the front entrance. For a split second he checked his watch, eyes flashing with urgency. He wasted no time to pull at your arm and drag you along in the path of his body.

Though in your high heels and flowy dress, it was impossible to match his pace. You were stumbling and on the verge of twisting an ankle, nearly collapsing if it weren’t for his never-loosening grip on you. “Yuta!” you shrieked. “Slow down.”

Slowing down wasn’t an option. Not only would Yuta’s life be at stake if he neglected his job, but he’d never forgive himself if he let anything bad happen to you. Instead he settled for pausing for a moment to swoop you into his arms, not stopping when you squealed from the sudden change and dashing further into the distance.

Even as he ran, Yuta held you securely in his arms, holding you tightly with dedication smoldering in his irises. You could see it from the position you were in, staring into him adoringly. You knew that the situation likely wouldn’t feel half as intimate if you knew the details, but ignorance was truly bliss. You admired his auburn hair and stoic face up until he helped you into a vehicle, and you couldn’t help but notice your father’s chauffeur was already gone.

Fingertips pressed against the window, you stared outside the glass as he drove, your heart collapsing inside your chest as you saw panicked flocks of people running frantically out of the venue you had miraculously escaped.

You had dodged a bullet, but at what cost?

Waiting for you and Yuta in your room when you arrived back home at the headquarters was your father.

“Dad?” you said, tone laced with confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Your father only put a finger up to his lip and ushered for Yuta to shut the door before he glanced back at you blankly. It perturbed you; sent shivers down your spine as you wondered what in the hell could have been happening for everyone to be so unforthcoming.

“The Serpents put a hit out on me,” he finally said.

You shrieked, “What?”

He held his finger to his lips again. “They believe I’m responsible for the death of their former heiress, and now they have a vendetta against us. That means you’re in just as much danger as I am. I want you to remain here until things clear up - no more parties and no exiting this room without Nakamoto only. You are to trust no other guard. He’ll bring you all your meals and whatever other essentials you may need.”

It felt as though the room was spinning. You couldn’t believe the words coming from his mouth. The Empire and the Serpents had always loathed one another for as long as you could remember, connected by means of rivalry and battling for the throne - perpetual success and power. This was something drastically different. They were intent on seeking your family for immaterial issues: vengeance.

“Did you kill her?”

Your father seemed greatly affronted by your question. “Of course not! I have no connection to that woman. They say her cause of death was ruled to be food poisoning.”

You knew that. Her death was massive news in the underworld when you were little, rumors getting tossed back and forth between people with some being that the Empire was responsible, but none of them were plausible. Everyone only knew what the Serpents disclosed - the cause of death. However that was, give or take, two decades ago, and for the matter to resurface out of the blue was nothing short of questionable.

Merely attempting at wrapping your head around your newfound situation was making your brain short-circuit. If your father didn’t kill her, then there was no reason for any of this to be happening. In spite of the feud between both gangs, neither were small-minded enough to create bold-faced lies or threaten violence against one another. Neither were sloppy. That meant either of two things: they somehow made a mistake, or your father was lying.

You hated the thought of the latter.

You shook your head. “I don’t understand.”

“Get some rest,” he replied, dismissing your confusion. “The building is on lockdown; no one gets in or out without my say so. It’ll be okay. Goodnight.”

He slipped out of the room, and you were left alone with Yuta and your thoughts.

Yuta walked you to your bed and sat down beside you. “You okay?”

“I’m terrified,” your voice was barely above a whisper. After living your whole life in the underworld you thought that you had reached a point of numbness, desensitized to the harsh reality. Now that it was you and your father’s lives at stake however, you felt like you couldn’t breathe.

Every waking and unwaking moment was a dangerous one, you knew that. Your father was notorious; wanted by gangs, law enforcement, and all things alike. It never bothered you because you knew your people were unreachable to inferior groups, but the Serpents were on the same level as the Empire. They knew the game as thoroughly as your people did. They had just as much potential to win.

“Don’t worry,” Yuta cooed, stroking your back. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

You made a pitiful attempt at hiding your smile. You knew he was right. Yuta had given his all into protecting you for the past two years, never once neglecting his responsibilities. He took his job ever so seriously, and it was a relief to know that there was someone who valued your safety standing right outside your door at all times.

For a moment, you were comforted. Maybe everything would be okay.

But the following morning only maintained your worries that the Serpents were a force to be reckoned with.

Yuta showed you an image of a burnt down building. “This is, was the venue from yesterday. The Serpents burnt it down. That’s the reason I was rushing to get you out and back here. Your father commanded me to move with speed and efficiency.”

Your eyes widened. Last night you were two minutes away from being swallowed alive by flames. It suddenly clicked; why people were swarming outside the building. They were running for their lives.

“Was there a motive?”

“To scare you,” Yuta shrugged, finding the answer obvious. “Probably a warning. Makes the most sense. They’re giving your daddy the chance to turn himself in before they have to strike by force.”

It did make sense; you were no stranger to the method. That was just the dirty way crime worked. Ultimatums were never heavenly decisions. This one in particular was bring yourself into me, or die trying to escape.

Obtaining a member of an organized crime ring was no easy task, however. Your headquarters were hidden and security was intricately layered. There might have only been one guard at your door, but there were plenty scattered everywhere and only you, Yuta, and your father knew the passcode to your corridor. Not even the other inner circle members had access. Getting to you was mission impossible, they could have only imagined getting to your father.

“That means that last night probably won’t be the last time something drastic happens,” you murmured. “I reckon they won’t offer many warnings, but they’re going to make their presence known. And they’re only going to get more and more dangerous each time.”

Yuta chuckled. “You know your shit.”

“That’s nothing. But being the daughter of a gang leader, I oughta know a thing or two about how these people operate.”

“You know about the Empire’s methods of operation, but what do you know about the Serpents?” Yuta asked, adding when you arched your eyebrow, “They’re similar, yeah, but still bound to be different as hell. The more you know about the Serpents, the more predictable they are.”

You mulled it over. “I know a little bit. Basic things.”

He looked ready, eyes telling you to shoot. “Run it to me, princess.”

Biting your lip, you collected your thoughts into sentences before you spoke.

“They’re a complex group, but they only have six inner circle members - the leader, his right-hand, the head of arms and drug dealing, the spy and tracker, the hacker, and the treasurer,” you started. “Their names are undisclosed as far as I know, but each member has an alias by the name of snakes chosen for different reasons and all with different meanings pertaining to their character.”

Yuta nodded along. “Do you know them?”

“I know the names, not sure about all of the meanings behind them,” you confessed. Some of them were self-explanatory, but others you couldn’t fathom why that specific snake was chosen as their identity.

Yuta urged you on and you continued, “The leader is called the King Cobra for obvious reasons. King cobras are the longest venomous snakes, so I assume his meaning has something to do with extensive power and control,” you explained. “The right-hand is called the Python. Allegedly because he has a suffocating presence, and pythons are non-venomous constricting snakes.”

“The spy and tracker is called the Viper. Viper’s are ambushers and rely on their ability to camouflage to attack their prey. It’s not that big of a jump to make that he’s deceitful and able to blend in with his surroundings or appear as a non-threat as their spy. After tracking down his target, he awaits the right moment to strike,” you gazed at Yuta to see if you had his attention, and to your pleasure he seemed nothing short of intrigued by your knowledge. Snooping around the headquarters and eavesdropping during parties was how you picked up on most of the information. Boredom egged you on to doing unimaginable things. You even snook a book about snakes from the library one time, just so that you could research the Serpents.

“The dealer is called the Black Mamba, the hacker is called the Boa, and the treasurer is called the Copperhead. I haven’t been able to reach a solid conclusion on them.”

Yuta nodded once more, impressed. As a guard you figured he’d probably picked up on some information too, the same way you did - from other henchmen - except he likely knew more from actual conversations. You relied on poking your nose where it didn’t belong.

“Good work,” he said, then joked, “and is that what sneaking out has taught you?”

You grinned. “Damn right.”

“It’s pretty good work. I mean that. But you should also know their operations as a whole,” Yuta said, and it made you wonder just how much he knew altogether. “Empire are infamous for their coercion methods and obtaining their desires through force and abuse of power. They’re bullets you see coming but can’t move quick enough to dodge. The Serpents on the other hand are sly motherfuckers. You’d never suspect their next move. Once you realize you’re trapped by them, you’re already staring down the barrel.”

That was unnerving. He was basically trying to teach you how to predict the unpredictable.

Yuta glanced at the clock on your nightstand. “Shit, I gotta go to this meeting. I’ll be back in two hours. You need anything before I go?”

You shook your head. “I’m good.”

“Alright. Behave,” Yuta chastised, making you giggle.

“What you gonna do if I don’t?” You asked, batting your lashes.

A fire flashed behind his eyes. He growled, “What did I tell you about tempting me, woman? I’ll see you later.”

Yuta left before you could attempt to spur him on further and you giggled. Your relationship with him was complicated - you wanted him, he wanted you, but being together was entirely forbidden. There was no label. You just pretended as if you weren’t in love.

You stood up and headed for your closet, preparing to change into something less vibrant than your strawberry pajamas. Love came second. Your life was on the line and you hardly had details about what was a life-threatening situation. You were on a mission to survive.

In spite of the meeting, some henchmen were still obligated to stick around the corridors. Growing up in the headquarters gave you an advantage though. Back when you were little, you learned how to crawl through vents.

The building structure hadn’t changed since you were born. Modernized, but every route still led to the exact same places they were originally planned to. Your childhood recklessness helped you engrave the paths into your memory, and thus you managed to turn up exactly where you wanted twenty-ish years later.

Outside your father’s office.

Last night you overheard Yuta on the phone. He must’ve thought you were asleep, otherwise you doubted he would have taken the call dead in your face, knowing how you were - too curious for your own good, fueled by the information you were sheltered from for decades. He mentioned your father would be discussing several things with the inner circle to decide how to best move forward. That was enough information for you to begin planning how you’d get there and a good starting point for figuring out exactly what the hell was going on.

Secrets being kept away from you was nothing new. You had dealt with that bullshit your entire life. But now you were being underly-informed about something that could potential end your life and that was the last straw. You refused to sit around and know nothing.

The door was cracked ajar. You couldn’t see in, but you could hear and make out all the voices inside - your father’s, and Ten’s, the multifaceted asset to Empire’s inner circle who had no set position. He was considered an all-rounder.

You want the passports?

That was Ten’s voice. You furrowed your eyebrows. Passports? Was your father making an escape plan?

Yes, but we won’t be going anywhere. Just throwing them off course to buy us a little more time, your dad replied.

Shit, okay. I’ll talk to Renjun and get on it.

Hearing footsteps, you rushed to hide around the corner and hoped that Ten wouldn’t walk in that direction. To your fortune, he didn’t.

You blew out a sigh of relief. You had avoided being caught by Ten, but you were unsatisfied by your findings and the briefness of the conversation you’d managed to pick up on. The only way you could satisfy your hunger for information was if you went to Renjun’s office and resumed your eavesdropping from there. Eager and blinded by greed, you looked both ways and then made a run for it.

The lights were off and the door was shut when you got there, and not a sound came from inside the office. No shuffling noises or hushed mumbles. That only meant one thing - no one was there. Either Ten wasn’t meeting up with Renjun immediately or they were talking someplace else. If the latter was true, chances were you had already missed crucial information.

You sighed again and prepared to retreat to your room. At least you didn’t come up completely short of new details. You knew that your father was apparently attempting to fake a getaway, that much you could tell, but were the Serpents that gullible? And what exactly was he trying to buy time for? Did he have a plan? Nothing made sense anymore and it was stressing you out far beyond belief. It seemed like the more you knew, the less you figured out, and that was effectively defeating the purpose of your thirsty hunt.

You turned around and bumped straight into a chest. Looking up, you had a realization that made you wish the floor would swallow you whole.

It was Yuta’s.

His eyes widened and he stared at you, shooting bullets into your skin with his gaze alone. He whisper-yelled, “The hell are you doing here?”

Dammit, you swore under your breath. Your heart raced and you were starting to regret all of the prying that you’d done today. Yuta must’ve recently left his meeting. The room it was held in wasn’t far from where you were, although you thought that you’d have longer before it ended. It was possible that you simply lost track of time or that it ended early, but it wouldn’t be long before he put you under hyper-surveillance.

“What does it look like?” You grumbled. There was no point in lying to him. There was nothing convincing that you could tell him and even if there was, Yuta could see straight through you like you were glass.

“Curiosity killed the cat,” he warned.

You finished the quote. “But satisfaction brought it back.”

Yuta sighed and poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. “Let’s go back to your room.”

You could tell there was more that he wanted to say, but arguing with you in the corridors when you were at extreme risk of getting caught was unwise. He settled for walking you back to your room, holding you close to his chest in spite of it being clear he wasn’t happy with you.

Halfway to your destination, you heard a woman shriek.

You pauses dead in your tracks, forcing Yuta to freeze with you. “What the…?”

“Go back to your room,” Yuta commanded.

Your response was physical. Face disbelieving as your brows furrowed and your eyes rounded. The shriek was terror-stricken, you knew the sound of fear when you heard it. It surrounded you ever since you could breathe. You needed to know what was going on, what was happening so close by yet felt almost worlds away.

“Go,” he said again, his cold, sharp eyes piercing into your skin. If you didn’t know him, you would have been scared. But as intimidating as he could seem from the outside, Yuta was mush in the interior. He just wanted to keep you safe. “And don’t even damn think about sneaking around.”

That time you obliged. You headed straight to your room and took no detours. You knew it was too risky and hoped that whatever happened wasn’t too dangerous. That Yuta would return in one piece and tell you what happened.

Thankfully, he did.

“So?” you said when he came back to your room roughly half an hour later.

“Maid found the corpse of a guard,” Yuta sighed as he sat beside you. “Not that sure yet, but the cause of death looked like it was an untreated venomous snakebite.”

“Not that sure?”

Yuta exhaled again. You wondered what he knew that made him seem so stressed. “The words ‘we are your shadow’ were painted onto the wall in his blood.”

Your blood ran cold. “The…”

“The Serpents killed him, yeah,” he grumbled.

The blood writing on the wall might have been laughable if it weren’t for the circumstances you were currently facing. Nothing was funny when you weren’t sure how much longer you would be breathing, or just how safe your surroundings really were. Their plan was to make you feel a false sense of security. Today was another warning. A message. They were close. Closer than you could have ever imagined. They were too deep inside and there was no escape.

You were beginning to think that flying out of the the city or even the country might have been your safest option. Even the place you considered home was dangerous. If a fatal incident happened only moments ago just down the hall, you were scared to wonder exactly how close the wrong people had ever been to you.

“They’re here,” you said in terror. “They’re inside the headquarters, and we don’t know where or who or when they’ll…,”

“Baby,” Yuta tried to interject, but to no avail.

“No! They’re deeper inside than we think they are and there’s only a matter of time until…,”

Yuta kissed you - deep and hard. Your body responded instantly, kissing him back and letting him guide you. You let him cup your face and your fingers thread through his locks, an unconscious part of you wanting to feel him as deeply as the limits would allow you too. Whenever he kissed you, his body easily won over yours. You were too weak for him. It took nothing for you to melt into his touch or the softness of his lips.

He pulled away some moments later and let you catch your breath. “Sorry baby, but I needed you to calm down. I know this shit’s scary, but you gotta be rational and think about what it means.”

“I don’t think I even wanna know what this shit means,” you whispered.

Yuta frowned. It broke his heart to see you this way. He wanted to take all your worries and fears away and lock them away. He hated seeing this slowly defeating even you, the most obstinate and iron-willed woman he knew. There was nothing he anticipated more than the moment that this chase would finally be coming to an end.

Suddenly the door opened and your father poked his head throughout the doorway. “Hurry up and pack, we’re leaving. Nakamoto, escort her out when she’s finished.”

He was gone as quickly as he came. You stared at Yuta lostly. Where were you going? And most importantly, would you be any safer from the Serpent’s there?

“You know it’s not safe to stay here. He’s making a run to more obscure territory,” Yuta stated as if he could read your mind. Sometimes, you felt like he could. “And before you ask - I don’t know if it’ll keep them away, but it’s not easy access. No one will be there but you, him, the inner circle, their personal bodyguards’, and me. So no one can get bought off.”

That was almost comforting. Being around people you deemed trustworthy, instead of countless people who could have been standing in the middle of the road for all anyone knew, seemed like the most liberating and obvious option. Maybe it would keep you alive if even just a little longer. Maybe it would give your father’s unspoken plan the push it needed to finally get in motion before it was too late. You hated not knowing. You hated having to rely on a maybe, but that was all you had. The little sparks of hope inside you were what was giving you the energy to push forward. It was better than a definite no.

Yuta insisted on helping you pack everything you needed - Clothes, books, and a few other items. In under fifteen minutes you were snuck out the backsides of the perimeter, and ushered into one of the cars.

As the vehicle set into motion, the pads of your fingers pressed against the window and you gazed longingly out the glass. From the moment you were born, this was the sole place that you’d known to be home. Every night of your life had been spent under the same room and in between the same walls. Now you weren’t sure if it would ever feel like home to you again.

The ride was long and you knew none of the roads the vehicle turnt on. If anyone were to be following you, you were certain that they’d become lost from all the abrupt changes in direction that were made. You finally pulled up to a secluded house. It was isolated and lowkey, and appeared to be an ideal safe house.

Yuta helped you out of the vehicle and carried your belongings inside. From the front door to the room you’d claim as yours for the meantime, the house seemed well-kept. It was probably one of the various operating grounds for Empire henchmen.

“Alright, head up to your room. I have something to discuss with the boys,” your father said, dismissing you to your room.

You gaped in disbelief. There was no way he was shunning you to your room at a time like this. It was all that he’d ever done, but at least before you’d have a little roaming freedom - drowning yourself in books in the library or helping the maids tend to the gardens. From the business parties he’d throw weekly to even being allowed to eat in the dining hall instead of having your meals brought up to you. After the news about the Serpents broke out all that had changed, but you thought it was to keep you safe. Now that you were surrounded by confirmed non-threats however, you saw clearly that wasn’t the case.

You rebelled, “I want to stay.”

It would be a lie to say that you never had been rebellious. Your father was strict, but you were stubborn and never took no for an answer. The only thing was that you’d never defied him to his face. Fear constricted your chest but you were hell-bent on standing your ground. You were a grown woman, for fucks sake. A grown woman who had her whole life at stake.

Your father glared but kept calm. “Don’t be difficult, darling. Just do as you’re told.”

“Why? This is about me just as much as it is the rest of you!” you countered, glancing around for backup. You met Ten’s eyes, then Renjun’s, both filled to the brim with pity. Yet neither of them said anything and you felt stupid for thinking that they would. Who in their right mind would stand up to anyone as conceited as your father?

Only you. Only you were bold enough to go against his commands, but maybe that was because you didn’t yet know the extent of what he was willing to do to his own blood.

Before you could even blink, he grabbed his switchblade from his holster and hurled it in your direction. The blade narrowly missed you, but knowing that that was intentional made your stomach churn. He was trying to scare you - and it was working.

“Go to your motherfucking room,” he hissed. “And don’t make me tell you again.”

That time, you obliged him. With widened eyes, you hurried up the stairs, tears threatening to fall but you wouldn’t let them. Not until you were alone.

When the door was shut and your back was against it, you finally let out your first sob. You couldn’t believe what had just happened. It was so sudden. Your father had nearly injured you at very least. He was a skilled knife-thrower and always carried them on him, but you never had any reason to fear him up until now. Never in your twenty-something years had he ever attempted to physically harm you, yet now he had with the intention of scaring you into compliance.

You weren’t sure what scared you more; the fact that he could have easily harmed you if he wanted to, or that something so trivial urged him to behave this way. Maybe you were wrong. Maybe this was something bigger and you were the only one who didn’t see that - but if that were true, it only fortified your desire to know exactly what was being kept from you. And why.

Spotting your duffle bag on your bed, you got up and rummaged through it in search of one particular item. You found a small, rectangular box and opened it, clutching a silver necklace as soon as the box clamped open and placing it on.

It was your mother’s. She passed shortly after you were born, maybe some months later. You hardly knew her. You had no photographs of her and your father never mentioned her even when you used to beg for him to tell you about her, to the point where you eventually stopped asking. The necklace was the only memory you had of her.

Sometimes you wished she was still with you. Maybe life would be a little easier. Maybe you’d feel a little less alone. Now more than ever, you wished she was by your side. Maybe you’d have someone to guide you and tell you the answers to everything you didn’t know, to point you in the right direction. But most of all, you wanted her love and comfort. You wanted her to hold you and tell you that everything would be okay.

Maybe then, you’d believe it.

Suddenly a knock sounded from the door and you jolted in surprise. “Who is it?” you asked weakly.

“Your favorite,” Yuta sang from the other side of the door. For a second, you smiled. Yuta’s voice alone was soothing. “May I come in?”

“Go ahead.”

Yuta walked inside, shutting the door behind himself. He frowned at the sight of you, eyes red and cheeks tear-stained. You looked almost as small as you felt. There was nothing Yuta despised more than seeing you so overcome by your emotions - it made him bristle with anger, wishing there was something he could do to permanently remove your pain.

You fiddled with your necklace and once Yuta noticed it, he sighed sadly. “Oh, baby…,”

“I miss her,” you smiled through your tears. “I miss her and I never even knew her.”

That was all it took for Yuta to walk over and pull you into a hug. You sobbed into his shoulder and he rubbed your back, soothing you. Yuta was the only one that you had ever opened up to about your problems, and especially the ones regarding your mother. He knew how incomplete you felt without having a mother figure present in your life.

With Yuta, you felt bare and exposed. Stripped naked of your facades and down to your rawest, truest emotions. There was nothing you could hide from him, no mask you could put on because he could effortlessly see dead through you. He could read you like an open book, but never judged any line. That was why you had no issues with being vulnerable in front of him. He had seen you at your lowest moments and yet still Yuta embraced you nonetheless.

That was when you realized something. Yuta was more than just your bodyguard. He guarded your mind, soul, heart and body. He fought off the dragons of your mind with a sword. Without him you’d be nothing but a damsel in distress.

“Please don’t leave me,” you begged softly. Not like she did. “I need you.”

Yuta wiped the tears from your face. “I’ll never ever leave you, princess. You’ll always have me.”

All you could do was pray that that was true. As much as you hated to think about it, Yuta’s life was just as on the line as yours. He was an obstacle to the Serpents, and it went without a doubt that they would tear down anything in their course to get to your family. Knowing Yuta, he wouldn’t let anyone hurt you without getting through him first. He was willing to sacrifice himself if it meant you had a chance.

After a while you cooled down and decided to pull yourself together. You were still shaken up from what had happened, but refused to let it get in the way of what was important—predicting the Serpent’s next move. And Yuta was more than willing to help you.

“What did you say was written on the wall again?”

“‘We are your shadow’,” Yuta recalled gloomily. “The message’s obvious. They’re watching.”

No shit. The snake bite was the unneeded confirmation that the murder was their doing, but the message was what they were trying to convey. Four silly words had never unnerved you this awfully.

“Fucking hell,” you sighed. “Shadows follow you everywhere you go like footprints.”

Yuta made a face. “You think they know that we’re here?”

“I think that if they don’t know yet, then it likely won’t be long before they do.”

“That’s what I thought, but your dad isn’t intent on switching locations. He says we’re staying here until further notice,” he answered, and you furrowed your brows. Sometimes your father could be a little too vain to notice the flaws in his reasoning - and god forbid anyone pointed them out to his face - but you wanted to trust he wouldn’t do anything too out of line.

Now though, your trust in him was wavering.

After a moment of silence and internally debating if you should keep your knowledge to yourself, you began quietly, “I overheard my dad talking with Ten earlier. When I snuck out.”

Yuta shot you a curious look, urging you on with his face. “Mm-hm.”

“They brought up passports. Dad said that we wouldn’t be going anywhere, though. Throwing the Serpents off course and mentioning something about buying more time. I think he’s faking a getaway.”

Yuta reacted like he was completely unaware of that information, and there lied your ulterior motive in mentioning what you overheard. Yuta was updated on everything, almost as if he knew events before they occurred sometimes. He was knowledgeable and smart, and predicted certain circumstances like no other. For him to have absolutely no clue what your father was planning was somewhat alarming.

It was no surprise to hear that information was to be held strictly between the inner circle or high-ranking members as they were the center of power and influenced overall movement, but cohesion was still significant - especially between the most directly affected people. There needed to be a clear plan in case of sudden emergency. Worst of all, you couldn’t even be sure that the entire inner circle was aware. Only Ten, Renjun, and your father could be confirmed.

“Well, if he plans to act on that idea soon that would explain the lack of urgency,” Yuta murmured, “but there’s no telling. And what is he buying time for exactly?”

“That’s where I keep getting lost. I don’t know what the hell he’s trying to do and it’s scary,” you leaned back against your sheets and sighed.

Nothing was making sense. And you didn’t want to be five seconds from the click of a trigger by the time it finally did. You couldn’t even imagine what would happen to you or the people around you if you dug deeper, though.

It was like you were being cornered - by your father’s intimidation, by your reckless curiosity, by death - and given no choice but to succumb. There was no light at the end of the tunnel.

“Get some rest,” Yuta said after a while, noticing how the more the gears in your head ticked, the more it killed you. “We’ll talk again tomorrow. Promise me you’ll try to sleep.”

You nodded your head. “Okay,” you smiled and slid underneath the covers.

Yuta pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Goodnight, baby.”

Your heart fluttered. You wanted nothing more than for him to slip beside you and stay for the night, but you understood it was too risky, and his night didn’t quite end when yours did.

“Goodnight, Yuta,” you whispered.

He smiled. Then the lights flickered off, and you heard the door open and shut.

You didn’t sleep a wink.

It wasn’t like you didn’t want to keep your word to Yuta, but even after you said goodnight you still couldn’t power your brain off - electricity was always flowing, gears were always turning. There was something else troubling you. Yuta had said that you’d talk again tomorrow, but that was exactly what worried you. The Serpent’s warnings had been consecutive. The very first night, today, and tomorrow was a high possibility.

Who was to say that tomorrow would be any different? Who was to say that the Serpent’s had any mercy leftover? It was already well-established that the warnings would only become worse the more they were ignored, but what if the Empire had blown all chances at making things easy?

They had left the ball in the Empire’s court; now it was in theirs.

The tomorrow you had so terribly dreaded had become today. A knock from the bedroom door startled you, and you asked softly, “Who’s there?”

“Ten,” the voice said, then the door opened slightly and Ten peaked through the crack. “Hey. Your dad told me to let you know that we’re leaving for a little while. Nakamoto’s downstairs, he’s going to stay and watch over you.”

That suddenly made you feel cold. You were scared shitless of being alone, but you guessed you weren’t alone with Yuta around. Still, it didn’t help to think about a sudden ambush while everyone else was away. You were two to however fucking many people they’d send. You would be no match for them.

And more than anything, you needed Yuta safe.

Feigning indifference, you said coolly, “Alright.”

You had a feeling Ten could tell you were putting on a front, but he didn’t press the matter. There was nothing he could have done.

“And y/n?”

You murmured, “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry about yesterday. I know you’re probably shaken up about it. I didn’t think he’d act like that to you.”

You chuckled tonelessly. “Me neither.”

Ten flashed you a thin smile. There was more that he wanted to say and you could tell, but you also figured the second half of his message wasn’t supposed to happen. He was in a time crunch.

“Be safe,” you whispered before he could say anything else.

Ten nodded. “You as well.”

Then he disappeared.

Figuring you needed to de-stress, you opted for taking a long, hot shower. You hoped desperately that it would wash away all the apprehensions plaguing your mind in the meantime.

When you got out, you felt better. There was no doubt that you’d still need coffee to help with the fact that you’d pulled an all-nighter, but at least you felt refreshed and that was enough to help you carry on. Some moments after you finally collapsed back on your bed, you heard buzzing from your nightstand.

Your phone. It was provided in case of a crisis and if anyone needed to reach you, but that was why you were worried. If there was nothing wrong, why would they need to tell me something now? They never needed you.

Nonetheless, you picked up the phone, noticing the caller ID was Renjun’s. “Hello?”

“Where’s Nakamoto?”

You blinked in surprise. Maybe it was nothing. But doesn’t Yuta have his own phone? Then, you realized that you hadn’t heard from nor seen Yuta all morning. Usually he’d greet you after you’d woke up, check on you and stay with you. You had figured he was downstairs keeping guard, though now you were worried about him.

“Dunno, I haven’t seen him. I figured he was downstairs playing watchdog,” you answered, eyebrows furrowing. “Why?”

Renjun ignored your question and commanded, “Look in the closet and get the gun.”

“What?”

“Just do it,” he hissed.

Phone pressed to your ear, you stepped towards the closet and rummaged through in search of a firearm. You found it and swiftly checked to see if it was loaded. It was.

“Found it,” you announced.

“You remember how to use one, right?”

The realization that you would possibly have to use one alarmed you, but you confirmed in a little voice, “Y-yeah.” You were probably in your early teens when you learned how to use a gun. You might have been sheltered, but you knew the underworld in and out, and especially how to survive inside it.

That was what people had most often misunderstood about you. They doubted your knowledge and capabilities. They doubted you. You realized that even people you trusted didn’t believe in you. Inside, you knew a good chunk of it was because you were a woman in a man’s world, but you’d be damned if you let that mean you were any less capable.

“Good. Now lock the door,” Renjun said sternly.

“What? But what about Yuta?”

Renjun’s surroundings grew louder and you could suddenly hear all the action in the background, loud yelling and gunshots filling your ears. It sounded like a bloodbath was ongoing and you were scared half to death.

“Listen to me carefully because I don’t have that much time,” he began, voice colder than you’d ever heard it - and his tone was always icy. “Don’t trust Nakamoto. He’s not who he says he is.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” You asked in bitter confusion.

Renjun snarled, “Fucking listen to me. He’s the Vip—”

His sentence was abruptly interrupted and by the sound of his phone dropping to the ground and his screams, you knew it was because he had been attacked. Your blood ran cold.

Then, the door opened and you wasted no time to aim the gun in its direction.

There stood Yuta - and he didn’t even flinch when you pointed the gun at him.

“Yes, I am the Viper,” he announced, smiling as menacingly as he could. “What a shame Renjun ruined the surprise.”

“Step back,” you warned, trying to hold the gun as firmly as you could, but your hands were trembling. Yuta - the one you had trusted with your heart, mind, soul and body - was the same person trying to tear you down.

It took everything within you not to break down right then. You could feel your heart wrench, then shatter into pieces. How could he sit there watching and listening to you fear for your life knowing damn well he was the exact thing you were trying to escape?

“Oh, please. We both know damn well you can’t shoot me, baby,” Yuta scoffed.

You glared. “Shut up. You don’t know me.”

Yuta didn’t listen. He was on a mission to make you explode and knew exactly what buttons to press. “I do know you. I know that you could never ever shoot me. You love me too much. You would only be planting a bullet in your own heart.”

“You’re wrong!” you screamed.

“Do it, then, I fucking dare you!” Yuta yelled back, louder. He stepped closer, intentionally leaving himself open. “I said, shoot me. Pull the motherfucking trigger, baby.”

Your mind was chanting for you to do exactly as he was saying, but your heart was screaming for you to do the opposite. It should have been easy. You should have had the upper hand here. You had a loaded gun and he was unarmed. The only problem was that Yuta was right. You didn’t have it in you to shoot him because you loved him. Frankly, you were in love with him.

And that was your weakness. As deadly and venomous as he was, Yuta was your vice. You unloaded the gun and threw it to the floor, tears beginning to stream down your cheeks.

Yuta softened when he saw you cry, and pulled you into his chest. When you didn’t fight him, he began to stroke your back the way he knew comforted you. “There, there.”

“I don’t understand,” you whimpered sadly. “I trusted you.”

Yuta’s grip on you tightened. “Do you still trust me?”

You didn’t respond immediately. You of all people should have known the game, you had been studying it all your life, you had become it. Trust was nothing but a ruse and that was exactly what his job entailed - he comforted people into telling him their weakest points and used them to his advantage. And yet still, you knew that he was where you felt safe. “With my life.”

“Then, you know I’m not doing this to hurt you. I’m doing it to protect you,” Yuta cooed gently.

That didn’t make the situation any easier to process. Yuta belonged to the Serpents - the exact same organization that was out for your family’s life. Did that mean that everything you knew was a lie? Then, what was their reason in doing any of this?

You pulled away and questioned, “What’s your motive?”

He shrugged. “Same as you were told. Your father killed our former heiress.”

That meant your father lied.

“Then, you should still be trying to kill me. Not protect me.”

Yuta shook his head. “Like I said, I’ve been doing this to protect you. The target has always been your daddy. He just made the wise decision of assuming we would use you to get to him - or he didn’t want to risk you finding out the truth.”

For the first time, you were getting answers to your questions, and yet you still couldn’t fathom them. It was too much to process all at once and you had barely scraped the surface. But you still needed to know more. You still needed to wrap your head around the enigma.

Another question popped up in your head and you furrowed your brows. “But that doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t he want me to know? I’m grown. I’ve lived this life for twenty-two years. I know he kills people. That’s what our life revolves around, that’s what I’m supposed to become when it’s my turn – a coldhearted killer. What would make this any different?”

Yuta pursed his lips. The answer lied at the very tip of his tongue, but he knew this particular secret wasn’t his to tell. “Baby look, a lot of this shit isn’t my place to tell you.”

“What do you mean, not your place?” you blinked in confusion. “Who’s place is it, then?”

Just as Yuta’s lips parted to speak, you jolted when you heard the door creak and an unknown being emerged from the hallways. “It’s time.”

Never had you ever been so confused, and nothing had been making sense for the past three days straight. When you finally gazed back at Yuta for answers, he was eyeing you apologetically.

“Forgive me,” he said finally, and before you could attempt to decipher the situation, you felt a prick in your arm from the opposite side and the color swiftly began to fade from your world.

The last thing you saw was Yuta’s face hovering over you as he held your unconscious body in his arms.

When you finally awoke, your senses came rushing back to you and whiplash struck you deep.

Nothing but the nerve-racking ticking of a clock was audible. The skin surrounding your forearm stung and you felt as though a gigantic hole had ripped agape there. Your vision unblurred steadily and your eyes were met with a dull room.

Where am I, you wondered. It was no place you had ever been - and that was very little. Between your bedroom and the few places from outside that you were familiar with, this was a completely and utterly foreign setting.

Smoke. You smelled smoke.

You sat up and saw a man you didn’t recognize, sitting in a chair with a joint between his fingers and smoke rising from between his lips, thick, white clouds of vapor flowing into the air.

And that was the moment your situation dawned on you.

“You’re awake,” the stranger observed offhandedly.

You ignored his comment. “Who are you?”

It was one of them. You knew that. Out of the six however, there no was no clear indication of who he was specifically.

The stranger only chuckled and took another drag. You noticed his almost fascinated gaze as his eyes bore at the spark of the joint, fire the sole gleam in his dark irises.

“Take a good guess, I’m sure you wouldn’t know,” he said dryly.

Your brows furrowed together in deep thought. You doubted that he was any of the members you had reached solid conclusions on. That would have been the King Cobra or the Python but he didn’t strike you as the leader type, or the Viper, but that was Yuta - oh god, Yuta.

You wondered where he was, or how he could have done that to you. His words to you crawled back in your brain, Forgive me. A part of you knew he was truly sorry, you could see it in his eyes, but another part of you was hesitant in believing anyone or anything.

Then your eyes flickered back to the smoking man on the chair and something clicked. “The Black Mamba,” you murmured, more to yourself than anything. You heard rumors about how the Black Mamba was an arsonist and his favorite weapons were explosives. Allegedly, he even constructed a bomb on his own at the age of ten.

“Oh, save the formalities,” he groaned, feigning annoyance. “Call me Jaemin.”

That gave you a pinch of hope. You weren’t sure if it was just in his character, but you doubted that he’d give you as much as his government name if they planned to kill you.

But then, what exactly was their plan?

“I told you not to play your mind games on her, Jaemin,” reprimanded a familiar voice, and you turned towards the door to see the face of the love of your life.

You rose up. “Yuta!”

Yuta’s head snapped in your direction. He trudged over and pulled you into his embrace, but you grimaced when he dealt too roughly with your aching arm.

“Shit. Sorry about that, baby,” he murmured into your ear. “Snake protocol.”

You stayed like that for a while. There was too much going on. Even if everything you’d known was a lie, you wanted to be in the one place you felt safe for just a moment - Yuta’s arms.

Jaemin fake-coughed. “If you two lovebirds are done, Cobra just texted me and said he wants to meet her.” He added blankly, “Just wanna make sure that’s okay with you guys first.”

You realized three things in that moment - one, you had seen Jaemin before, he was the one with Yuta earlier. Two, he fucking thrived off sarcasm.

And three, you were going to meet The King Cobra.

Panickedly, you stared at Yuta, but he rushed to assure you it would be okay. “Relax, princess. He just wants to give you answers to all those little questions you have. Answers you deserve. You trust me, right?”

“I trust you,” you drawled, even though you knew that you shouldn’t have. Then, you pushed him in the chest and managed to barely shove him. “But I’m mad at you.”

Yuta chortled. “You can be mad at me as much as you want, but rules are rules and I don’t make them. You’ll have to take that up with the motherfucker who does. Let’s go meet him, ey?”

When you finally agreed to meet his boss, you slipped out of the bedroom that you could have only assumed was Jaemin’s and walked into the corridors. Everything about being within the foreign walls of the Serpents’ headquarters made you feel like an outsider, although it did make sense. Technically - as heiress to the rival gang - you were.

Yuta held you firm to his chest, allowing you to loosen up and feel secure in his embrace. It also made you feel untouchable. Wandering henchmen seemed nothing short of frightened by Yuta as he strutted down the halls like he owned the place (technically, he kind of did) with you clinging stubbornly to his side.

The room he brought you to was someone’s office, void of all the hundreds of people pacing down the corridors, yet still not quite empty. Inside, you noticed the presence of two men that you didn’t recognize. Yuta sat across the desk and urged you to do the same.

“Boss,” Yuta greeted the man you both sat directly across from.

Boss. That meant he could have only been one person.

“You brought her,” his boss observed, smiling at you gently. You were half-tempted to smile back. He seemed warm and welcoming, which was totally unexpected for a gang leader.

“Yes, I did. Babe, this is my boss. Or as you know him, the King Cobra,” Yuta introduced, and suddenly the pieces clicked into place.

The man waved. “Hey. I’m the leader, but I know you already know that. Yuta here tells me you’re extremely curious,” he teased. “By the way, you can call me Taeyong.”

You nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And this is the Python, who, technically, is also my boss, since he outranks me,” said Yuta, gesturing towards the man who stood beside Taeyong. He was slightly taller and unlike Taeyong, had a grim aura.

“Doyoung,” The Python said plainly. “Taeyong’s right hand.”

You nodded once more, feeling almost obligated to this time. The rumors were true; his presence was suffocating.

Taeyong clapped his hands together and suddenly turned remarkably stern. “Alright, now that we’re done with introductions, let’s talk about the real reason for bringing you here. I know you have lots of questions.”

Too many questions. You still wanted to know why you weren’t six feet under yet, or what would be their next move now that they had you under their belt. Were they going to use you to lure your father in? Then what? Would they dispose of you after you had done their bidding?

There was an insatiable little cat roaming around in your brain, chasing dangerously after strings of information. Maybe curiosity did kill the cat, but as you’d told Yuta before, satisfaction brought it back.

And you weren’t going to stop until you were dead or satisfied.

He began, “First of all, you are by no means our target. Your father murdered my aunt nearly twenty-two years ago and in spite of his opposing claims, we have sufficient evidence. Witnesses on standby, accomplices forced into silence, proof of payment transactions made continuously throughout the decades to silence them. I made it my mission to stop at nothing to kill whoever was responsible, and two years ago on the twentieth anniversary, I finally determined who.”

There was almost nothing that you could say. You were in disbelief - not that he’d kill someone, but that he’d lie to you about something so normalized in your life. This had to be something deeper than you were being told.

“Why wait two years?”

“We had to plan meticulously,” he said plainly. “We had to get inside before we made a move, close enough to predict your father’s moves before he made them. That was why we decided to involve Yuta.”

Yuta nodded and added, “Two years ago, I was assigned to this mission. We were looking for an opportunity to infiltrate and get close to the inner circle, and just our luck, you needed a new bodyguard. It was also important for me to protect you. We couldn’t risk something happening to you.”

“Why not?” you pressed. You felt like a pawn to their game. “Is there something important about me?”

Silence fell over the room and you blinked in confusion. Everyone else in the room gazed towards Taeyong and you could only find yourself doing the same thing. He looked sullen, and you couldn’t even begin to fathom why.

You were starting to get annoyed. “Well?”

“There’s no easy way of saying this, but I won’t make it anyone else’s responsibility,” he said, wearing a sad smile. “That lady he killed wasn’t just our former heiress. She was your mother.”

You gaped. “What?”

Doyoung spoke up. “Think about it. Why else would he avoid admitting that he killed someone?”

You shook your head and sank into denial. There was no way. Your father had never been the best man and you knew that, but he wouldn’t kill the woman that birthed you. Would he?

“He threw a fucking knife at you,” Yuta reminded. “You think he wouldn’t snap hard enough to kill your mother?”

The memory flooded back in and you began having flashbacks, immersing yourself so deeply back in the moment that you could feel the fear that occupied you then. You remembered your eyes going wide, your chest heaving as you gaped in shock.

It happened so quickly. One moment, you thought that you were harmlessly persuading your father, the next, you heard a knife cutting through the air before you could even fathom what was happening.

“N-no, he—he wouldn’t,” you denied. You shut your eyes as if it would make everything go away, but there was no escape.

“He took her away from you.”

“Stop.”

Yuta didn’t listen. “All those painful years of longing were because of him. He shut you out from the world because he didn’t want to risk having to face you once you finally discovered the truth. Deny it all you want, but you know it’s fucking true. Everything adds up.”

“Yuta, that’s enough,” asserted Taeyong.

Yuta didn’t dare disobey. He softened up the moment he saw your fragile state - tears brimming your eyes as you were forced to face the truth head-on. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but he was right. Everything added up too well, from your father’s mysterious behavior to the exact time of which their heiress and your mother passed. It could have only meant one thing.

You finally received the answers you had long-craved, but they weren’t the ones you were expecting.

“I’m sorry,” Yuta apologized with a frown. “Come here.”

There was no hesitation when you crawled into him and began to sob into his chest. He cradled you gently, the same way he had when he found you crying in your room yesterday.

Life was cruel. You knew that better than anyone else. But now that you knew your own father was responsible for so much of the pain and rupture you had felt deep in your chest, you weren’t certain if you would ever catch a break.

As much as you had wanted to deny his actions, there quickly became a point where it was impossible. And you were no longer in denial. You were in a state of pure, scorching hot rage. All you could feel was anger. And an aching desire for revenge on behalf of your mother.

Taeyong called your name once you had calmed down. “I brought you here because I wanted to make you a deal,” he began, and your eyebrows quirked with interest. “You help us catch him and I’ll make sure you never have to be under the control of that sick son of a bitch ever again.”

It didn’t take any convincing at all. You were already certain of what you wanted to do when he asked you the question. “Sounds like a pl…,” you trailed off as you realized something. “Wait. You said that my mother was your aunt, right?”

He nodded and you gawked.

“That means you’re—”

“Yes. I’m your cousin. I was waiting for you to realize,” Taeyong chortled.

How fucking ironic. The two rival gangs were family. And you were too blinded by emotion to even realize. No wonder this meant so much to him.

On the other end, you were delighted. You were certain you had no real blood family past your father and life was lonely. Instead of the dread you had been feeling for the past few days, you couldn’t wait to end this once and for all and meet the endless opportunities that awaited you. A happy ending was in arms reach.

Whatever you could do to clutch it sooner, you wanted to know. You would do almost anything.

You had lost all empathy for your father. No wonder he shunned you to your room all the time. He was hiding how truly ugly he was inside. “I’m game if you all are, but what’s the move? How do you plan on getting him?”

“Straight to business,” Taeyong teased. “Don’t worry. I’m sure he and his team have arrived back at that little hideout of yours and know you’re missing. He’s going to want you back and knows that to obtain you, he’s going to have to reach us. We’re going to arrange a meeting. He’ll be trapped in with nowhere to run.”

You squinted, skeptical. “My father’s somewhat rash when it comes to dealing with other people, but he knows that meeting you would be like handing his life to the palms of his killer. He would either not agree or plan an escape.”

“Yes, but we still have an advantage.”

“What advantage?”

Taeyong grinned wryly. “A special asset.”

His vague response puzzled you, but you slapped your hand over your face and began to rub your temple. “I need a nap.”

Yuta sighed blithely. “It has been a long day.”

“And the next ones are going to be even longer,” Taeyong said stoically. You were already beginning to take a liking to him. He was good-natured, but knew exactly when to be serious and could turn on a dime. “Yuta, you may take her to your room for the evening. We’ll regroup in the morning and establish how to proceed.”

Everyone bid one another goodnight and Yuta led you back to the residency corridor. You passed a couple of men on your way towards his room, although the clear restriction of access within the area and unafraid glances they casted your direction suggested that they weren’t henchmen. They were Serpents.

“Are you okay?” Yuta asked when you flopped down on his bed. He snuggled beside you like a puppy and you smiled softly.

“I’m a lot of things right now,” you whispered somberly. “Not sure if okay is one of them.”

Glancing around his room was oddly comforting. Although it was dull-toned, it felt vibrant and full of life – pictures of him, his family, and friends adorned his nightstand and posters decorated his wall. It felt like Yuta. Not the strong wall he put up whenever he worked, but the Yuta who was utterly unafraid to be vulnerable.

“Mm,” he hummed in response, arms wrapped around your waist and his lips leaning into your ear. “Is there any way I can cheer you up?”

You drawled, “I can think of one.”

“So can I,” Yuta leaned over your face, lips just barely avoiding yours. “Care to enlighten me?”

Every inch of your body was aflame with anticipation. You couldn’t help but stare at his lips, desperately wishing that he would stop teasing you and press them against yours.

“Yuta.”

“Hm?”

“Kiss me.”

Yuta grinned smugly then gave in, finally meeting your lips in a blissful kiss. Your hands reached for his long, auburn locks of hair, and you let his lips guide you to a brand new world, momentarily detaching yourself from reality.

And the night passed like that, with Yuta’s mouth on yours - and your body.

You strutted into the conference room brimming with energy. For the first time in what felt like ages, sleep came to you easy. One night with Yuta had relieved you of a week’s worth of stress.

That meant that you could focus on what was crucial, feeling nothing but passionate anger and determination. You were going to put an end to your decades of suffering - once and for all.

The table was nearly full when you and Yuta arrived. Taeyong took his rightful spot at the head of the table, Doyoung sat to his left, and a file box stole the spot on his right. The rest of the seats were occupied by Jaemin and faces you couldn’t put names to, but you recognized them as the pair you’d spotted in the halls yesterday.

You followed Yuta to the table, sandwiched directly between him and Jaemin.

“Are we late?” Yuta asked with a wry grin.

“No, the rest of us are simply early,” Taeyong deadpanned, then began, “Good morning everyone. I’m sure that you have all taken notice of the fresh face at the table, and I’m aware that some of you are also fresh faces to her. For that reason, I would like to ask you both to each do short introductions. Please try to be as brief as possible, thank you.”

The inner circle members you were unfamiliar with each gave their name and aliases. The pink-haired man across from you was The Boa, and his name was Haechan. Beside him was The Copperhead, a Mark Lee. They deliberately didn’t disclose their roles, you were smart enough to figure that out. The hacker and the treasurer.

When they concluded, Taeyong continued, “With that out of the way, I would like to clarify our next move. Last night, your father accepted our offer to meet. The terms of the agreement were that if he turned himself in we would, in return, give you back unharmed, though obviously he knows we’ll blow his brains the second we get a chance, and your father doesn’t exactly strike me as the type willing to go out without a bang.”

Doyoung added, “In other words, as long as he’s aware that it’s a trap he’s going to devise a plan in order to escape, and we have to be prepared for whatever adversities that may possibly surface.”

Taeyong nodded, then asked, “Any word from The Sphinx, Haechan?”

“You were right-on about this guy not wanting to go out without a bang, Boss. Literally. I got off the phone with The Sphinx this morning and he says her father’s sending his goons in then blowing the whole damn place up,” Haechan chirped back quickly.

Jaemin grinned wickedly. “Sounds like fun.”

“Sounds like a suicide mission,” Mark corrected, scowling.

“Yeah, well, it’s not. Sphinx made it clear the man has one goal in mind, and that’s getting him and his daughter out alive,” Haechan said matter-of-factly. You barely caught his gaze, it lasted a total of half one single second.

Your face scrunched up in confusion. Who the hell is The Sphinx?

Doyoung mused, “How does he plan on escaping? Is he familiar with any alternative routes? It’s our territory we’re meeting on. He has to know we have eyes everywhere out there.”

“But everyone will be distracted attempting to survive. We’re not going to let ourselves die trying to kill him,” Mark said thoughtfully. “It’s his men versus ours — there’s gonna be a bloodbath.”

That sent a shiver down your spine. You weren’t sure if you were visibly agitated, but Yuta immediately began to soothe you and rub your back with his palm. Maybe he could simply feel it. You glanced at him and smiled.

“Then I hope you’re all ready to die,” Taeyong drawled. “Or at least unafraid to get your hands bloody. We leave at six - be prepared.”

By the time that six had rolled around, you were already standing inside the building. It was off the map, clearly abandoned and repurposed into criminal territory.

In the time that it took for everyone else to prepare, you were already armored up and ready to play the role of the frightened abducted daughter, but there was something troubling you - questions. What if everything didn’t go according to plan? Or what if your father somehow managed to escape in the end?

He wasn’t dumb, he knew that the best time to run off with you was when everyone would be too caught up in surviving. It was every man for themself - kill or be killed.

Yuta came up from behind and wrapped his arms around your waist. He nudged his chin on your shoulder. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“Just a little worried,” you admitted quietly. If he were anyone else you would have sucked it up, but Yuta had a way with effortlessly coaxing answers from you. That was what he did. “I don’t wanna go back. I’ve been more free in the past twenty-four hours than I have in the past twenty-two years of my life. I can’t go back.”

“And you won’t,” Yuta assured, cooing in your ear. “I’ll make sure of it, baby. We’ll catch him and you’ll never have to go back there again.”

You whispered, “Promise?”

Yuta whirled you around and pressed a chaste kiss to your lips. “I swear with my life.”

“I should blow both of your brain’s.”

Startled, you jolted and turned to see Doyoung staring - glaring at you both. If looks could kill, you would be six feet under. You clung to Yuta’s side who snook an arm around your waist. Doyoung had an aura that could make you regret doing as much as looking at him wrong.

“Gather around. Taeyong wants to give the plan,” Doyoung commanded icily. Then he turned around and walked towards the team even quicker than he had came and delivered the message.

He was a force to be reckoned with.

Taking notice of the look on your face, Yuta merely chuckled and kissed you one last time to soothe you. “Baby, don’t mind Doyoung. Most people are scared of him because he’s stern and ruthless on the job, but otherwise he’s a pretty decent guy. He likes the reactions, I’m convinced he gets off on that shit - just don’t give him one and he’ll warm up.”

In response, you nodded. Yuta gave you the exact reaffirmation that you needed to do this. Whatever reluctance you had left was drained the second you reminded yourself of all the terrible things your father had done to your family. You wanted him to pay. “Let’s go,” you said, gesturing towards the team. There was only one thing on your mind and that was vengeance.

Taeyong spoke when everyone finally gathered around the table, “Before Empire and their leader get here, I want to address exactly what the fuck is gonna happen. As we confirmed earlier, he’s blowing the place up. Jaemin is going to locate and defuse the bomb with the assistance of The Sphinx. Yuta, you stand with her by the back door and get her the fuck out of here the second anything goes wrong,” he said assertively. “And trust me, shit is gonna go wrong. Any objections?”

Jaemin raised his hand.

“Jaemin, if it’s some bullshit, I’ll kill you.”

He put his hand back down and you muffled a snicker.

Everyone got into place. You, Jaemin, and Yuta waited by the back door for immediate escape once it was time. Doyoung and Taeyong stood bravely behind the table. The rest of the team weren’t present - they waited outdoors ensuring the getaway cars were ready.

And The Sphinx. You had no idea who he was, but you were practically afraid to ask.

When the front doors opened, you sucked in an audibly deep breath. Two brawny men brought your father inside and kneeled him before the table, but his eyes were searching for you. When he found you, you could see anger in them.

Wishing you could hold Yuta’s hand, you sighed. It was too risk under the circumstances. Then, you remembered the necklace around your throat and held it for good luck. This is for you, Mom.

Taeyong greeted, “Hello, uncle.”

Your father scowled. “We are in no relation for you to call me that.”

“Really? Because I think you knew my aunt very well,” Taeyong furrowed his brows mockingly.

Although your father was clearly bristling with anger, he said nothing and decided to change the topic. “Give me back my daughter.”

“Why?” Taeyong tilted his head. He was playing a dangerous game, but he knew that he would be the winner. “So that you can neglect and abuse her like you did my aunt? You know what the rules were; you present yourself to us and we would return your daughter back home safely.”

“I did nothing to your aunt!” your father shouted and you nearly flinched.

“Oh, yeah? Doyoung, bring me the diary.”

Your father’s eyes widened, anger still present on his face, and you could tell the same question was playing in his head. What diary?

Doyoung handed Taeyong a book and he flipped hastily through the pages. “Hm, which one should I read…,” he pretended to muse. “Oh, this one looks interesting. ‘December 20th, 1999. Today, for the first time, I was scared for my life of the man I had never feared and who had vowed to never hurt me. I told him we were having a baby girl today. He threw a knife at me. It missed me just barely, but I was frightened to tears. I couldn’t even move until he began trudging towards me, and then I ran for my life and my baby girl’s. I knew he wanted a boy, but I never expected him to behave so hazardously.’ Remember that?”

As those words left his mouth, you could visualize every sentence. You had partially lived the experience. You clenched your fists - there was no more sadness in your body, only white-hot rage. The same behaviors he had held around your mother, he had begun to unleash onto you and you couldn’t even begin to imagine everything that she’d gone through.

“No,” your father answered through gritted teeth.

Liar. He was a lying piece of shit.

“Then, let me refresh your memory some more. This was the day that you murdered her…”

Your father interjected, “I murdered no one!”

“‘July 6th, 2000. He’s going to kill me. I know he is. There’s nothing I can do now besides pray that he takes care of our sweet baby girl and that someone finds this. I want her to read this and know exactly how much I love her. She’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. I pray she finds someone to love her as much as I do. I’m sorry, my love. I’m so sorry.’”

You burst into angry tears. You were mad and this was being too drawn out - someone needed to put a bullet through his head.

“Stop,” he said, looking at your teary eyes and knowing he had blown all chances of preserving your trust in him.

“No. Your daughter deserves to know what you’ve taken away from her. You’ve deceived her enough. Doyoung, the hard copy, please.”

Doyoung swiftly passed him what you could tell from a distance were printouts. Taeyong continued, “In my hand is a hard copy of payment transactions you’ve made that date back all the way to 2000, just around the time my aunt passed away, until roughly seven years ago when the trail went cold. Fifty-thousand dollars was withdrawn from your account every month over the course of fifteen years.”

Your dad glared. “Your point?”

“At first I thought maybe you resorted to killing them after they got uncooperative, or maybe you finally decided to get smart and pay them in cash,” Taeyong said, taking short strides as he paced back and forth behind the table. “Though with the help of my technology specialist I was able to determine the identities of the people you were sending money to - Shon Seungwan and Bae Joohyun. Do those names ring a bell?”

Your father said nothing, but you could see it all on his face. He was familiar with those names, and so were you.

“They were some of your maids until 2015 when they were replaced, and the database states that very same year as their date of death,” Taeyong smiled grimly. “Here’s my theory. Those women were witnesses or forced accomplices to the murder of my aunt and thus you bought their silence. But fifteen years later, something changed. You didn’t care that you were leaving a trail. No, you couldn’t give less of a damn. You cared about the money. It would have been more convenient for you to simply kill them than continue paying them, am I right?”

Your dad didn’t answer. Instead, he threatened, “My team will be here any moment now. They’ll kill you and your circle. Every single last one of you!”

Taeyong snickered. “Oh, you really have no idea.”

“What, about Nakamoto? Of course I know he’s a snake. I knew that the second your team ambushed us!”

Something overprotective washed over you when he mentioned Yuta, but you fought the urge to make any movements. If you did, you might have abruptly ended Taeyong’s verbal torture.

“Exactly. Can’t you see? We’re always a step ahead. We always have a plan. And this one,” Taeyong grabbed his gun off of the table, grinning to himself. “This one you’ll never see coming.”

“What does that mean?” Your father asked, angrily confused. He raised his voice, “What does that mean!”

Suddenly, the front doors burst open, and the person shouted, “Surprise!”

It was Ten.

The gears in your head started to turn and everything clicked into place. We are your shadow. It meant that they were following your father wherever he went - because they were always there. Yuta was The Viper.

And Ten was The Sphinx.

Your father spluttered, “What’s going on?”

“Sometimes the things you try your hardest to find are hiding right in plain sight,” Ten sang with a wicked smile.

The sound of a loud, piercing gunshot from the hallways followed by several more directed the attention off of Ten, then all of a sudden the doors burst open and all hell broke loose.

Yuta gripped your arm quickly and urged you outside the door, “Let’s go.”

Jaemin and Ten left right behind you, but they turned on a different hall, most likely heading in what you could have only assumed was the direction of the bomb. Meanwhile, Yuta was trying to quickly yet carefully lead you out of the building. You didn’t just need to evacuate the building - you needed to be far away from it.

Yuta poked his head around the corner of the halls then quickly moved it back in and groaned, “Fuck, they’re everywhere. We’ll be outnumbered.”

Hearing footsteps, you tugged his arm and pulled him inside the room nearby. “In here.”

Quickly he closed the door behind himself and you pulled him away from it. It would have taken nothing for a bullet to fly through the wood and into his skin, and the last thing you needed was another dead loved one.

There was too much happening all at once and you wished someone would have put a bullet through your father’s head while they had a clear shot. As long as he was out there, he was going to look for you. And so was his team and the henchmen they’d brought along, and they’d stop at nothing at all to bring you back.

That meant if getting Yuta’s blood on their hands was what it took, they would do it. And that was too big a risk for you.

“God dammit,” you sighed, hearing bullets flying endlessly outside in the halls. “This is a fucking shoot-out and I know he’s got them covering all of the floors. How do we get out?”

“We have to use extreme caution. It’s not safe to camp around here for too long. Unless we wanna get blown up by that goddamn bomb or have the roof collapse in on us, inevitably we’ll have to go down floor by floor,” Yuta whispered. But you both were on the third floor.

You tried to think of any other options, but he was right. There were windows, but they were too high above the ground to jump from here. Not even a miracle could help you survive the fall.

You frowned. “You’re right. Let’s at least try to reach the second floor, then we can ease down to the first floor.”

Yuta agreed and drew his gun before he opened the door back up. You followed behind him, your own gun raised and making sure to keep a third eye on your surroundings behind you. A sudden ambush was always possible.

The floor was quieter than it was initially and the silence kept you on your toes. It was more frightening than the constant sounds of guns firing. At least when people were shooting you were aware of their presence - anyone could have been sneaking around and you’d have no clue if they were stealthy enough.

It became clear why the floor had grown silent the more you roamed around. There was blatant evidence of a bloodbath lying everywhere - an ungodly amount of bodies sprawled out on the floor and blood painting anything and everything it could reach. You grimaced when your eyes met a pile of corpses. This was the aftermath, and you hoped the team wasn’t involved.

Yuta winced. “This place is gonna reek.”

“They’re going to be cremated,” you mused.

Yuta snorted.

When you finally reached the second floor, you could hear the action a staircase away. There was still no sight of your father or his inner circle, a good thing, although you were still worried. You dreaded a surprise encounter.

One of your father’s henchmen aimed at Yuta before he could even come completely down the stairway. Rather than you having complete control over your body and actions, your next move felt almost instinctive - you had a clear shot and pulled the trigger without a second thought. You’d be damned if you let anyone take him away from you, especially dead in your face.

For a second Yuta seemed shocked, but it was gone in a blink and he sported a proud smile. He praised, “Atta girl.”

It didn’t terrify you that you felt no remorse. That was how deep your love for him went - you’d kill for him, over and over again. And in return, there was no doubt in your bones that he’d do the same for you.

That was your first body.

You knew exactly who you wanted to be your last.

“Yuta!”

You and Yuta both turned when you heard someone call his name. Ten quickly came into vision, gesturing with his hands for you to follow him as swiftly as possible. He led you both to a room and shut the door. There was something wrong. You could see it on his face.

Yuta raised his eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Did Jaemin defuse the bomb?”

“Shh, listen to me. He’s working on it, but that’s not why I called you,” Ten said, then went on to explain, “Taeyong got shot…,”

You interjected with wide eyes, “Taeyong got shot?”

Ten shushed you with a single finger to his lip. “If you’d let me finish, Taeyong got shot in the arm. He’s okay for now but he’s losing blood and Yuta, you’re the only one with medical training. You get what I’m trying to say?”

Yuta nodded, holding back a sigh. “Yeah, I got it. But I can’t leave her alone. I won’t.”

“She won’t be alone,” Ten assured. “She’ll be with me.”

Yuta looked at you hard, searching your eyes for any fear. In the same way, you stared deeply into his eyes and saw nothing but gentle care and passionate adoration. He placed both hands on your shoulders. “Are you okay with this?”

For a split second you considered telling him not to worry about you, but you knew that that wouldn’t have satisfied him. Instead, you nodded and said sweetly, “Ten’s here, I’ll be okay. Go help out your boss, Doc.”

Yuta smiled. You noted to yourself to interrogate him on his medical expertise, but now wasn’t the time nor the place.

Before he left, you leaned up on the tip of your toes and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. “For good luck.”

“Okay, yuck. I’m all for sappy romance but we’re all literally about to die,” Ten grimaced.

You rolled your eyes and sent Yuta off after a long moment of convincing him that you would be okay. He was painfully reluctant, but finally left after Ten gave him directions and promised he’d come back for you.

When he left, you stared dead at Ten, and he felt as though your eyes were accusingly pointing fingers at him.

For the sake of survival, you whisper-yelled, “Who the hell are you, Ten? Is that even your name?”

Ah, that’s what this is about, he thought.

Ten smirked. “It’s one of them. Why do you think they call me The Sphinx?”

You mulled his question over. The Sphinx, completely unrelated to snakes as far as you were aware. Head of human, body of a lion, wings of a falcon. Then it clicked. It represented his several identities.

“Shit, Ten,” you shook your head. “That’s fucking wild. I’m not even going to ask how the hell you managed to pull this shit off.”

“Good, because frankly we don’t have enough time for storytelling. Let’s get the fuck outta here,” he said, and with both of your guns cocked and raised you followed him into the halls.

Same as before, it was eerily silent. All you could hear from this floor was the sound of your heartbeat thudding against your chest. Faint sounds of gunshots came from lower and upper floors but they were too subdued to be anything less than distant.

Only this time, there were less bodies and you were growing suspicious. There was too many people and too much active gunfire for there to be such little leftover.

“Someone’s here,” you whispered to Ten.

Ten nodded in acknowledgment. It was clear on his face he had come to the same conclusion. He gestured with his finger for you to trail behind him onto a different hallway.

“How much longer until the bomb blows?”

“Forty minutes when Jaemin and I got to it. That was,” Ten checked his watch, “eleven minutes ago.”

You had twenty-nine minutes to get out of that building alive.

All of a sudden, you heard a gun fire and knew it wasn’t yours nor Ten’s - because the bullet landed right next to him. Ten turned around promptly and shot in the direction of the fire-er, gunning down one of two Empire henchmen. In a split second you pulled your trigger and the other crashed down to the floor consecutively.

“Fuck, they know,” Ten groaned. He thought for a moment he could get you out safely if they assumed he was still faithful to the gang, though there was no way in hell that they’d attempt to shoot him if that were the case.

“Words spread quickly, huh?”

“Too goddamn quickly.”

What came next happened even faster. The door behind Ten suddenly opened and a hand reached out to grab him by the collar, yanking him inside the room. He yelled and you heard his gun crash to the ground and go off consequently. Your eyes went wide and gun in hand, you rushed inside to rescue him. What you saw made you nauseous.

Not a body, at least not a dead one. It was your father - and he had Ten on his knees execution-style, a gun pointed to his head.

He smiled and mocked, “Surprise.”

“Put the gun down and step away from him,” you ordered, aiming your gun dead at your father. You stood boldly with no fear and spoke with no tremble in your voice. Cold and clipped.

He quickly retaliated, “Try and shoot me and I’ll take him with me.”

In spite of your father’s threat, Ten remained composed and held a stoic face. It was what you admired most about him - his ability to cling towards a calm attitude when presented with difficult circumstances. But with his life practically being in your hands, you wondered if it was all a facade and if inside he consisted of all the same storms of emotions as you - and most prominent of them all was the roaring fear and dread of the outcome.

Yet the moment you realized that your father had probably come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t making it out alive and instead became intent on dragging everyone else to the grave with him, you immediately began to understand what your options were – and you weren’t going to back down. You had to get him distracted.

You lowered your gun. “Okay.”

Your father arched an eyebrow, as though he hadn’t expected you to comply - at least not easily. “Okay?”

“Okay,” you nodded meekly. “I’m picking my battles wisely. I’m your daughter, I know how powerful you are, Dad. You probably planned this perfectly and have more men waiting in the halls for backup. I don’t have any other choice.”

He chuckled. “Smart girl.”

“But to beg,” you added, ignoring how bitter your words tasted on your tongue. If you wanted Ten alive, you had no other options but to play the role that you were assigned. “Please don’t kill him, Daddy. It doesn’t have to be like this.”

“Darling, have you forgotten? He’s a snake. He’s dead to us now. That bullshit from earlier was a goddamn scheme to get you to do their dirty work for them - they kidnapped you, held you hostage, they lied straight to your face,” your father said.

You bristled inwardly, You’re no better. If it weren’t for the sake of your act you would have given him a piece of your mind, but you knew he would look for cracks in your facade. And you would offer him no such thing.

He continued, “They’re still not trustworthy. Yuta tricked you. Ten tricked you. They tricked both of us. This is about you just as much as it is me - you said that, right?”

Whatever ounce of sympathy that you could have felt for your father would have dissipated in that moment if you had anymore to spare. You knew that he was ego-driven, but using those words to attempt to manipulate you was an unimaginable kind of low.

Tears began to well from your eyes, but they weren’t the ones of sadness you figured he had perceived them to be - they were angry. They were furious and vengeful.

You sniffled and played along, “Yeah. I did. But you were right. I should have listened to you from the beginning.”

“It’s okay, dear,” he smiled, ever so menacingly. “All you got to do is come back home. I’ve already won. I’m going to teach them a lesson by letting them burn to ashes. They won’t…”

Just as he spoke, Ten interjected with his palms and reached above his head to point your father’s arms in another direction. Then, he skillfully snatched the weapon from his hands and disarmed it, leapt up and made a run for it.

By the time your father made a move to react, he was too late. Ten was agile and had already charged halfway across the large room. Meanwhile you had lined the gun up perfectly with his chest, ready to fire.

“Careful,” you warned tauntingly. “That ego of yours is gonna get you killed.”

For half a second, your father simply stared at you. Then, he burst into laughter as if you had cracked some joke. “Please. You don’t have it in you, and if you did, you would have done it by now. You can’t kill me.”

The doors burst open and your head whirled around instantly, and a figure emerged from the hallways. “But I can.”

Taeyong. The King Cobra.

He aimed his gun directly at your father’s head, face still and bold. “And I will.”

Taeyong’s non-dominant arm was wrapped with the fabric of what you could clearly tell was someone’s shirt, you figured to stop the blood loss. He was strong, you had to give him that. He was wounded by a bullet and still stood there as if he had nothing to lose.

Jaemin came up from behind him, also armed. He sported a smile even more menacing than your father’s. “This is our game, Emperor. We win, you lose. That’s how this shit goes.”

Your father looked around and you could see it in his eyes as he realized there was not one, but three guns being pointed in his direction, that he began to accept defeat. He began to laugh, almost hysterically.

“Fine, you win. Kill me,” he grinned and raised his hands in a surrender. “But I also have a plan, and you’ll also never see it comi—”

The sound of several gunshots echoed throughout the room and made your ears feel as if they could bleed.

The nauseating sight of your father’s corpse laid only feet before you, and you didn’t need to turn around to know that it could have only been Taeyong that pulled the trigger. He stared coldly for a moment, gaze hard and unfaltering. Then, he turned around and headed out the doors.

“Damn,” Jaemin grinned. “Guess he really did go out with a bang.”

Your eyes were trained to the scene in front of you, but you could practically hear Ten roll his eyes as he said, “Not the time, Jaemin.”

Jaemin merely laughed and tailed behind Taeyong, mentioning something about the bomb being taken care of and that it was time to leave, but you were frozen in place. A foreign feeling had washed over you and you couldn’t identify what it was.

Ten walked to your side and patted your back. “Hey, he’s gone. He’s dead.”

Dead. As in gone and he wasn’t coming back. That was when you could feel the invisible weight fly from your shoulders, the ease settle in your body, and you finally realized what that feeling was. It wasn’t shock, it wasn’t grief, it wasn’t pain nor sorrow - it was relief.

He couldn’t hurt you anymore.

You nodded. It was over. After twenty-two years, you were finally free. So was your mom. You began to clutch your necklace, but your eyebrows furrowed in confusion when you noticed that it wasn’t around your neck. Then, you looked around and noticed it wasn’t on the floor.

Ten gave you a confused look. “What’s wrong?”

“My necklace,” you fretted, “It’s not…,”

Ten raised his finger to his lip and glanced around the room concentratedly. You blinked in confusion but said nothing else.

“You hear that?” he asked.

Your lips parted to say no, but then you finally heard it - ticking. But there was no clock in the room and Ten’s watch made no noise. You watched as Ten crouched down to your father’s corpse and grabbed the switchblade from his holster. He walked towards the opposite end of the room and before you could ask what he was doing, he began to tear up the floorboard.

When he finally pulled away the plywood, you saw something red flickering in his widened eyes.

There was another bomb.

“Go,” Ten ordered, pulling out his phone and dialing a number. “Turn right, head down the hall and there’s a staircase. Run and don’t fucking stop until you’re in one of the cars.”

You wanted to hesitate, but the look Ten shot you then was commanding. You did as he said and began to run down the hallway, feet smashing against the floor nearly as fast as your heart raced inside your chest.

The last words of your father began to replay in your head like a mantra, But I also have a plan, and you’ll also never see it comi— then he was cut off by a gunshot. Realization dawned upon you quickly. He was talking about the bomb and you had completely missed it. That explained why he gave in the way that he did.

You began to wonder where everyone was. Mark and Haechan were safe in the car, but had Jaemin and Taeyong made it there safely? And where was Doyoung? Then you realized you hadn’t heard from Yuta since he left to help Taeyong.

But Taeyong was bandaged-up and with you only moments ago. That meant Yuta could have been anywhere.

Tears began to well from your eyes and emotion consumed your body. With no indication that he was even still inside you didn’t stop running, but you prayed that he would be waiting for you when you came outside. You prayed that he was somewhere safe. You had no idea what you would do with yourself if something happened to him.

You sprinted down the steps and at the end of the staircase was a door. Quickly you pulled it open and saw the cars come into vision, parked far away from the building to avoid being directly impacted. When you finally reached one, the back door slammed open and Taeyong urged you in the backseat.

“Where’s Yuta?” you asked, panic clear as day on your face. You scanned the entire vehicle, he wasn’t there. There was another car, but you couldn’t tell who all was inside. You raised your voice, “Has anyone seen Yuta!”

Taeyong replied calmly, “No. He’s still inside somewhere. We’re waiting for him, Doyoung and Ten.”

“What? We have to find him!” you cried.

“We don’t have time,” Taeyong told you, shaking his head. “That thing’s gonna blow any moment now and we have to get out of here ourselves:”

Jaemin put down his phone after ending a call you were too panicked to even notice he was on. “Yeah, it’s time. Sphinx just told us to go. We’ve got three minutes.”

“Where is he?” Taeyong asked.

“Escaped out the other end. Said he doesn’t have enough time to make it to the cars.”

Haechan rolled down the window and made a signal to Mark, who was in the driver’s seat of the opposite car. Then you felt the car jerk to life and began to move.

After you made distance on the road, you heard a loud sound roaring through the air. When you looked at the window, the sight made you nauseous. There was smoke rising heavily in the air and the building was engulfed in flames, beginning to collapse in on itself.

You were hysterical. Tears streamed down your cheeks and you wanted to scream, but no sound would come from your mouth. Your lungs began to feel hollow and your body shook with fear. There was no way that this was happening. It couldn’t be. Yuta couldn’t be dead. He promised you that he wouldn’t leave you.

Taeyong wrapped his good arm around you and pulled you into his chest, letting you sob onto him. “It’s gonna be okay.”

You knew he was only telling you that to placate you. It wasn’t okay. Nothing was going to be okay until you knew Yuta was safe and sound - until he was in your arms and you could feel his warmth on your body again. You were regretting separating from him. At least if he was going to die, then you wanted to go with him. And if he really was gone, you would go with him.

Death scared you not. If that was what it took to be with the love of your life, so be it.

The ride back to their headquarters was long and silent save for your sniffling. Taeyong had offered to take you back to Yuta’s room when you got there, but you vehemently refused. Everything in Yuta’s room screamed Yuta - you would have been too overwhelmed, and only God knew what would have happened to you then.

Hours passed. The Serpents managed to get in contact with Doyoung and Ten, but nothing from Yuta. And they hadn’t seen him, either.

Eventually Jaemin walked up to you, but with no humorous look in his eyes. That made your stomach wrench. You prayed to God he wasn’t there to deliver you any bad news.

“You’ve got to come lie down in my room,” he simply said, and before you could object he added, “Cobra’s orders. He wants you to get some rest.”

With a sigh, you followed Jaemin to his bedroom and eventually lied down. You stared awake for a while, doubtful you’d get even a minute of sleep considering the circumstances, but you were goddamn exhausted of everything and today had worn you out past your limit. Your body gave in against your will and you fell asleep shortly.

When you woke up, you quickly realized that you weren’t in Jaemin’s room - his blinds were drawn and curtains were thick and dark. The room you were in was lit with the morning sun.

Then, you tried to turn in the bed to shelter yourself from the sunlight but quickly noticed that someone’s hands were around your waist and preventing you from moving. That was when you realized you weren’t alone and looked towards your side.

Auburn hair, intricate tattoos, and a jewelry-adorned ear.

You shrieked, “Yuta!”

He groaned and rolled over. He grumbled groggily, “It’s not Yuta, it’s a ghost.”

“That’s not funny!” you yelled and shoved him. Relief washed over you then as you recalled the previous day’s events. There were no words to describe how terrified you were.

With a yawn, Yuta finally sat up and outstretched his arms, and you immediately crashed into them. You almost thought that you were dreaming, but his touch was too warm to not be real. Then once you felt his skin and realized he was real and wasn’t going to slip away, you burst into tears.

“I thought I lost you,” you whimpered, holding him dangerously tight, and in return he did the same to you.

Yuta squeezed you hard and pressed a kiss to your forehead. He wiped your tears from your face with his thumb and said in his deepened morning voice, “I told you, I’ll never ever leave you. That’s a promise, baby.”

You let out a relieved breath. This was it. Everything was complete. You had everything that you could have ever wanted and you weren’t asking for much.

“How’d you even get out of there alive?”

“Strong will and determination,” Yuta drawled with a smile. “There was something I knew I had to do even if it killed me. I think this belongs to you.”

Yuta pulled open the drawer to his nightstand and reached to grab something, then he dropped it in your palm. You stared down into your hand and gawked when you realized what it was.

Your mother’s necklace.

He picked up the jewelry and began to place it around your neck. “Saw it when I came back after helping Taeyong and figured you must’ve dropped it by mistake. I knew how much it means to you and grabbed it. Ran into some of your dad’s goons and it slowed me down, but what matters is that I’m still alive to tell the story.”

He risked his life for your happiness. You wanted to be mad at him for doing such a foolish thing, but you just couldn’t. You knew exactly why he did it and you would have done the same thing for him if you were in his place.

Feeling your eyes water, you leaned into him and said like it would be your last time you were able to, “I love you.”

Yuta didn’t hesitate. “I love you, too.”

You bit your lip, sensing what you wanted to say wasn’t entirely conveyed. Then, you added, ��That’s not all. I’m in love with you and I’m sick and tired of having to hide it. I wanna hold your hand wherever we go and kiss you whenever I feel like it. I wanna fall asleep in the same bed as you every night and wake up by your side every morning. I don’t wanna hide us anymore. I don’t wanna be a secret anymore, Yuta.”

“Look at me,” Yuta said, meeting your eyes. He stared at you like you hung up every star in the sky. “You’re not a secret, baby. Not here. Why do you think the guys don’t say anything? I made it clear a long time ago that I won’t take any bullshit because I’m in fucking love with you, baby. I wanna scream it from the rooftops. You’re the love of my life and I don’t care who knows.”

That was everything you needed to hear and more. Starting today your life was going to change - and for the better. There were no more rules. You got to play the game the way your heart had simply desired.

“I want you…,” Yuta began and licked his lips. He paused to pin you down to the mattress and press a teasing kiss to your lips. “To be mine.”

You stared at his lips and replied, “Then I’m all yours.”

Yuta casted a smug look and finally - after what felt like decades of teasing - gave in to his temptation and kissed you. His mouth moved passionately against yours and you could taste the fervor on his tongue. Just like that he had you, like a fish caught in a net. The control Yuta had over you wasn’t by choice - your body simply just couldn’t say no, it was responsive to his every touch and unable to resist it’s own temptation.

One thing led to another, and you quickly realized it would be a long while before you and Yuta finally started your day.

Hours later, you both were eventually forced to crawl out of bed and brace yourself for the day ahead. You had business to complete - business that didn’t involve each other. Plenty of change had occurred in the past couple of days and you were still in the stage of figuring out what was the next step. That was how you found yourself back in your cousin’s office, this time with Ten by your side and Renjun on speakerphone.

Alliance between Empire and The Serpents was still brewing and a work in progress, but Ten had explained the situation to the inner circle and thankfully, they took it well. Now you had to figure out what was to become of the gang.

“So, what happens to the gang?” you asked.

Taeyong leaned back in his chair. “Well, since you’re the sole heir, you would be next in the line of succession.”

You were aware, but you weren’t sure if you were ready for such a major leap. The underworld was your playground but you weren’t prepared to reign - not yet anyways. Freedom had only now been bestowed upon you. You wanted to enjoy it before you were bound down by responsibilities and your blood obligations.

Ten added, “But considering the circumstances, we understand if you’re not ready. Hence why I spoke with Renjun, and he’s agreed to be your second string. At least until you decide that you’re ready.”

“It’s the best option,” Renjun cut in from the other line. “I’ve been in your father’s shadow for years now. I know the score. If there’s anybody suitable to play substitute, it’s me.”

With Renjun being the right-hand man, you couldn’t deny anything he was saying. Not only had he seen most of your father’s dirty work up close, you were certain he had participated in some of it. But even Renjun was clueless as to everything your father had been hiding and that was why you trusted him to fulfill the role.

Taeyong nodded in agreement then glanced up at you and asked, “Are you okay with that?”

“Fine by me,” you shrugged. You couldn’t think of anyone better.

“Then, it’s settled,” Taeyong gave a faint smile. “Huang will temporarily take your place while you wind down for a bit.”

The four of you discussed a couple more things before the conversation ended and Renjun went on to spread the word. Everything was finally sailing smoothly, but a sudden question resurfaced in your head.

“Okay, but I have a question for Ten.”

The man in question feigned annoyance. “Oh, here goes the meddling snoop. Don’t think Yuta didn’t tell me about your eavesdropping, Miss Busybody.”

Your face warmed up when you realized what he was referring to, but you didn’t back down and shot, “How are you a Serpent? I thought you guys only had six members. And your name has nothing to do with snakes.”

“I thought you pieced together why they call me The Sphinx,” Ten said with a grin. “Head of human, body of a lion…,”

“Wings of a falcon, yes I know that, Ten,” you interjected and rolled your eyes.

He continued, “Then, you should know it means I’m multifaceted. In every sense of the word.”

“So, you’re a two-timing snake with commitment issues.”

“He blows hot and cold. This is the longest I’ve been able to get him to stay,” Taeyong drawled with an amused expression on his face.

Ten rolled his eyes. “I’m my own person before I’m tied down to any organization. I operate on my own. I can operate with a gang. Taeyong knows that if he needs me, he can call. Same goes to you.”

You and Taeyong bobbed your heads. You were almost satisfied. And when you left the room a couple minutes later, you knew that there was just one more thing that you needed to do.

You found Yuta in his own office just down the hall from where you were and made a mental note to get him to show you around whenever he got the chance. The headquarters were large and you only barely knew how to get from the residency corridor to the office hallway.

Peaking your head inside, you noticed him look at you when the door creaked open. He smiled when he realized it was you and gestured for you to come in. Instead of taking a seat in the spot across from his desk, you walked up to him and made his lap your personal chair, and he wrapped his arms around your waist.

He brushed your hair aside, leaning in your ear and asked, “May I help you?”

Your heart felt faint but you tried not to show it, though you knew that there was nothing you could keep from him. “Yes, actually,” you replied and added vaguely, “I want you to do something for me.”

“I would die for you,” Yuta breathed out. He was staring at you with a fascinated gleam in his eyes, the one that made you feel like a goddess.

You shook your head and purred, “Live for me.”

Yuta smiled. His grip around your waist tightened ever so slightly and he replied finally, “I can do that. But I know that’s not what you came here for. What do you really want, princess?”

“I want…,” you pretended to muse, looking up in the sky thoughtfully, “you to take me out on a date.”

“Right now?”

“Right now. I don’t care where. It doesn’t have to be fancy. We can go any goddamn where.”

Yuta was surprised and blinked for a moment, but he quickly broke into a broad smile. “I can do that, too,” he said and rummaged through his drawer for his keys. Then, he put you on the ground and rose up. “Let’s blow this joint, baby girl.”

He intertwined his fingers into yours and walked you into the hallway.

“On the way there, you can finally tell me the story of how Nakamoto Yuta of all people got extensive medical training,” you playfully suggested.

Yuta shook his head. “I don’t think so. It’s a long story that involves politicians and Dubai and you’re gonna wanna sit down for it.”

Confused and dangerously intrigued, you raised an eyebrow but didn’t press. Yuta would tell you in due time. Right now, you focused on what was happening. The love of your life was holding your hand and taking you out on a date, something you could have only dreamed of. You were living a life of no rules, no conformity. Just you and the man that you loved most.

Your free hand clutched your necklace in your palm and you thought about your mother. She was watching you and always there with you in spirit. You remembered her last wishes - she wanted you to find someone that loved you just as much as she did.

I did, Mom. I did, you thought, smiling. And you would have loved him, too.

#yuta smut #nct 127 smut #nct smut #yuta x reader #nct imagines #yuta imagines #yuta nakamoto smut #nakamoto yuta smut #nct x reader #nct #nct scenarios

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paeries · 1 year

Text

Sick of You — h.s.

[when a boyfriend of two years breaks it off and offers a new arrangement, of course you’ll take it up. this is your prime chance to prove him wrong. and Harry can’t bear to watch it]

word count; 9k

pairing; harry x reader

cw; friends to lovers au, smut, angst, im just saying my heart hurts for him

pov; y/n, but third person

[part two is here, part three is here, thank you for all the patience. im really excited for you guys xx]

She laid in her bed, blankets completely surrounding her as she tried to pay attention to the movie she had put on. She had everything she needed to enjoy her time by herself, really she did. But she felt like someone was stepping on her chest. Her heart felt like it had just been emptied out into the insides of her body. Just empty, throbbing, screaming. She was sure she’d gone through about three movies now, frantically searching for something, anything else to think about. She pulled her blanket up a bit further and glanced at her phone again. 1:24am. Had I really been staring at the wall for an hour and a half straight?

She groaned and sunk deeper into the bed, pulling the pillow around her. I don’t even know what I was waiting for? Her alarm? The sun? Her eyelids starting to shut on their own? A text, you idiot. Remember? You’re hoping his date went shitty and she got too drunk and puked all over him. You were expecting him to be disappointed, send a message and ask for you to make up for it if he came over. She grumbled, feeling whatever was going on in her chest expand and she felt her eyes prick with wetness. Y/N tried to shake her head, bury her fists into her eye sockets and beg the tears to go away. Tried to tell her brain, I’m fine, I’ll be just fine in the morning. I just needed some sleep. ”I need more wine.” She grumbled to herself, grabbing the bottle and tipping it upside down to swallow every drop of the last gulp.

At least you’re good for something.

That was what did it. That’s what sent her springing up off the bed and running to the bathroom to lurch over the toilet and empty her guts out. Over and over, till her body was too weak to hurl enough of anything, really, up and out of there.

He’s having a great time. He won’t need you much longer. It’s been over and you’re still a love sick puppy, fawning over his every move and hoping he miraculously realises that he made a mistake. That he didn’t mean any of what he said.

Y/N hung her head, defeated. Laying her forehead against the rim of the toilet, she sniffled and shook her head. “I should’ve pressed harder. I should’ve fought him a bit more.”

You should’ve erased his number and ignored that text. You knew he didn’t want you anymore, just the pleasure you brought him.

She let out a cry, finally. Beating her fists off the porcelain tiles, she shouted as she cried. Letting her body crumple on the floor, she curled up, clutching her chest as she did, and cried and cried.

She woke up the next morning, her head pounding, freezing from the coolness of the tiles. Had I really fallen asleep on the floor? She pulled herself up, took a pitiful look at her horrific appearance and shuddered. She looked wrecked.

She pinched her brows together with one hand and reached over to turn the shower on, convincing herself that if she can at least manage to look better than she felt, maybe she could shake this nagging, nasty, haunting feeling.

About midway through her shower, she could hear someone moving about her apartment. Quickly finishing up but careful to leave the water on, just in case it was a burglar, or a murderer. She peered around the corner and felt as if last night was a dream. Because there he was, bopping around at 8 in the morning with coffees and a brown paper bag, as if he owned the place. “Excuse me?” She huffed out, blinking at him in disbelief.

Wonder what he’d think if he knew you’d spent the night on the bathroom floor ill, think he’d be so nonchalant?

She shook her head and stepped back to turn the shower off, wrapping a towel around her body before ducking into the room to dress herself. “You’re excused.” He mumbled to himself, snickering as he did so. As if he was so funny. “I brought some breakfast. You don’t take care of yourself.” He nodded to the state of her apartment, setting the to-go cups down on the kitchen table and tossed the paper bag next to them. “So, get dressed. Or don’t. Might save me the time.” He smirked. What the fuck does he know, ‘You don’t take care of yourself.’ What would he know about any of it?

At least you’re good for something.

Her stomach lurched, and she managed to swallow whatever urge to run back to the bathroom and hide. She walked out of the room, pulling a t-shirt on and a pair of mens briefs with socks, wrapping her hair in a towelled turban to meet him in the kitchen. “What are you doing here?” Y/N snipped, taking the coffee and finding her seat. “Were you not listening?” He asked, leaning with his back against the doorway. She stayed quiet, trying her best not to make his gaze before daring to open her mouth again, “How’d your date go?” She managed out before taking a good sip.

Mark’s eyes narrowed a bit, suspiciously at her. Because how did she know? “It was great. She was fun.” He muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. “Did you really car-“ “Not really.” She interjected, “Just small talk. Since you didn’t answer my original question.” He sighed, swallowing before clearing his throat and straightening up. ''Well, if you want the truth-” He started and then paused, almost as if he was begging her to not let him finish. “She stayed the night..” He tested, watching her closely. She could feel his eyes burning holes into her shoulder blades. “And I thought I’d pop out and grab us something quick to eat while she slept but-” She coughed hoarsely and turned to look at him over her shoulder. “She was gone when you got back.” She finished, pulling the towel out of her hair and setting it on the back of a chair.

Good. That’s what you get.

“Her coffee is good.” She admitted while shaking her head feeling nothing but pity for herself as she stood up to find a hairbrush. “I actually don’t know her order, I ordered what I thought you would.” He admitted, stepping across to open the paper bag to reveal two muffins as she made her way back to the kitchen while brushing her wet hair. “There’s a blueberry cobbler style and a blackberry cheesecake style. Thought it’s interesting enough to try.” He had been hoping that would take off the heat from the embarrassment of his good gesture to a one night stand. To someone else. “I’ve never heard of any muffin cheesecake.” She muttered, hesitantly reaching over to grab the blackberry speckled looking muffin.

Why am I eating a breakfast so hopefully meant for someone else who must have blown his mind when I can tell him to leave?

“D’you get drunk last night?” Mark asked, pulling her from her thoughts and sending her into a frantic search for an explanation of the four wine bottles that laid on the floor. “Had some girlfriends over, s’all.” She said quickly, picking at the muffin in front of her. “Four bottles of wine?” He retorted, tutting a little bit. “Surprised they aren’t still strewn all over the floor. S’8:41 in the morning..” He added, seemingly having no clue it was all her. And granted it wasn’t four full bottles… It was two full ones and two half drank. “Yeah, well, they stopped drinking before I did- Don’t you have somewhere better to be?” She added in quickly, grabbing the coffee and looked directly at him. Her jaw clenched tightly as she watched his body uncomfortably shift where he stood. “Guess I could find something..” He said after a decently long pause, “Y’welcome, by the way-“ He chuckled, stepping out the door before she could shout back, “Hey, fuck you!” The door shutting right afterwards. She whimpered slightly, gritting her teeth together as she stared at the picked apart muffins that he left. For someone else. She threw the coffee into the sink and turned around, making a beeline for her phone and typing out,

“Come over.” Sent, Delivered. Read 8:49am

Within twenty minutes or so, the front door was flung open and with four long strides, she had been tossed over his shoulder and carried into the bedroom.

Y/N had just enough time to change her briefs into a sweeter cotton thong with a strawberry embroidered at the top in front. “Wait! Wait!” She laughed out, “You have to shut the front door!” She shrieked, her body now tossed to the bed, bouncing as she landed.

Watching him jog back to shut the door, she thought about the differences between the two men. Harry didn’t make the room feel as though the oxygen was being sucked up, like Mark did. She couldn’t breathe when he was around lately. Harry was more comfortable, and she'd be lying if she were to say she didn’t find herself wishing to have never met Mark to avoid this whole mess. She really wished it was Harry that gave her difficulty to breathe.

“Tha’ any better?” He asked, hands waiting at the door handle of her bedroom for her confirmation. “Much.” She laughed, rolling her eyes and sat up straight in her bed waiting to receive him again.

He shut the door and came over to the bed, bringing his hand up to tuck a stray hair up and behind the curve of her ear. “Tickles.” She mumbled, hooking her fingers into the loops of his jeans. “Y’gonna help me or what?” Y/N huffed, tilting her head to the side as she challenged him. He raised a brow and lifted his hand to place at her chest to push her back against the bed. “Yeh, I’ll help y’” He mumbled, pushing her shirt up her ribcage, peppering kisses here and there.

She stared up at the ceiling while bringing her hand to the back of his head, aimlessly swiping her thumb across the short hair that laid at the nape of his neck. She couldn’t stop thinking about Mark and Harry, Harry and Mark… Harry… “Harry…” She mumbled, squirming in her place on the bed. Harry groaned, digging his hips into the mattress before slowly lifting his head, eyebrows furrowed with concern once he saw her expression. “Y’okay?” He asked, sitting up a bit. No matter how turned on he could get, her wavering voice brought him back to earth. “S’the matter?”

She swallowed and shook her head, “N-nothing, I- I just,” Her voice trailing off as tears began to prick at her eyes again. Harry reached up and cupped her cheek, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead. “S’alright, we’ll get y’straightened out.” He muttered with distaste in his tone of voice.

She sat up to pull her shirt off, shivering as she felt his hands sneak up to touch a nipple, nipping at the skin under her belly button. “H-'' She warned, giggling breathlessly, “Y’know that’s ticklish.” He gave a quiet hum and nodded, “Couldn't help m’self. It’s just too easy, pet.”

The coyness in his voice sparked an annoyance she couldn’t place. It held the same sarcastic, ‘i know it all’ tinge as Mark’s did when he was strolling about her kitchen. She huffed, propping herself up on her elbows. “Do I have to do this myself?” She sniped, “Could get m’self off without all this fuss much faster y’know?” Harry's gentle eyes quickly hardened as he now glared at her, bringing his hand up and around her throat, laying her back down against the bed. Her breath hitched in her throat as he applied some pressure, almost immediately regretting her choice of action. “Let’s be clear, shall we? Nothing that you do, or anyone else for that matter, to your body,” He trailed off, his tongue darting out over his lips as he looked at the girl's smaller frame underneath him. “Could ever, ever, amount to what I can do.” He murmured into her ear, releasing his grip around her throat before sponging kisses down her neck. “Wouldn’t you agree?” He hummed, taking a more sensitive part of her neck gently between his teeth to earn a moan from her lips.

He hadn’t meant to get so possessive, but he was tired of not getting the recognition he felt he deserves. There was no way Mark had ever taken the time to know her body in the way he has.

She nodded quickly, rolling her hips up to meet his, “Yes." She breathed out, moving a hand into his hair to tug at. She was getting impatient, the slow side of him wasn’t what she needed. She needed him deep, hard and quick.

“Harry, please” She whined out, groaning in frustration as he pinned her hips back to the bed. He chuckled against her, letting his teeth graze over her nipple before lifting his head. “S’the matter, Y/N?” He mused, raising his brows in mock sympathy, trailing a hand down to duck into the front of her panties. “I’ve had y’wetter than this before, m’sure of it.” He muttered to himself, sliding his fingers through her folds before circling once around her clit, causing her to gasp and lift her hips up at the sudden contact. “No! M’ready, Harry, please.” She begged, squeezing her eyes shut from the anticipation. “Not quite, pet- Open your eyes.” He ordered, taking them both by surprise. He had been too focused on the sounds his fingers were making as they slid through her to notice her eyes closing. He liked to know she saw that it was him, not Mark. All him.

Y/N whined again and lifted her head, wriggling her hips. “Fuck, H. Please?” She begged again, bringing her hand up to cup his leaking cock through his boxers. His hips spluttered forward and he swore under his breath before swiftly changing his position on the bed to get between her legs to tug her panties off.

Peeking up from where he lies to catch her line of sight, Harry stuck his tongue out slowly towards her clit, stopping just before he made contact. With pupils dilated, a pout graced across her face and cheeks flushed, Harry could have come right then if he hadn’t been so driven to making his point clear. Kissing at her thigh once, he flattened his tongue out and rolled her clit beneath it slowly. Far too languid for Y/N because now she can’t even lean into his mouth, but has to take the brush and nip of his teeth against her until he granted enough mercy to find her clit again and move a little faster.

Harry hears her begin to pant, quick and shallow, and the sighs and whimpers that are begging for him to ‘Please, fuck me, Harry' He smiled, tightening his grip around her hips, “M’getting there, sweetheart. Want you drenched by the time m’finished.” He reasons, cock twitching when she lets out a desperate groan. Harry ignored the small and desperate cries of frustration, drawing back to watch her wriggle and whine for his touch. He hummed, bringing his middle finger closer to slip into her cunt and felt his lips spreading into a grin at the moans that erupted from her chest as he found her g-spot. Before long, he found himself biting down harshly on his lip as he watched his finger dip in and out so easily that he added another, stretching her out a little more. He loved how messy she could get for him in hardly any time at all. “Relax.” She heard him say calmly, though his mind is a frantic mess of filthy thoughts about how he planned to fuck her anyway she’d let him. Desperate for her to realise who she was to him. He’d never tire of hearing her sweet moans, the way she begged for him to touch her. And every time he found out she went back to him, he would swear to himself, he’d find a way to make her forget about him. He wanted to be unforgettable, like it seemed that Mark was. Who, really didn't have the most fun hobbies, or good humour, didn't mesh well with the group; he wasn't even that intelligent in his opinion. So he couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out what was soo special about him. They’ve all hung out, and Harry tried. He really tried to pinpoint what was so incredible about him in her mind. He’d have to top him somehow, something that reminded her of him had to creep into her thoughts at night. He wanted her as restless as he was without her at night. He wanted her to figure out that he was her safe place.

When she went quiet, his stomach burned hot enough to pull him out of his thoughts, he knew she was close. He let out a groan, burying his face into her thigh to muffle most of it before turning back to lull her clit back around his tongue. Sucking on it in sharp little movements, he reaffirmed his left arms grip around her thigh to keep her in place. “Harry!” She gasped out, as he pulled his fingers out so he could wrap his hand around his weeping cock, aching for any form of attention and hissed against her when he felt it. He was leaking and it was filthy, so filthy and Harry couldn't stop himself from gruffly nipping at her clit. “Come for me, pet.” He mumbled as he moved his hand from around his cock to preserve himself, moans muffled against her and even more so when her thighs closed around his head and she pressed up into his mouth. She’s coming and the thought of it has Harry rolling his hips into the mattress harder.

“Fuck sake-” He growled, pushing himself upright to hook his arms under her legs to pull her closer. He took a long look at her body, returning a hand to his angry red cock to try and curb his lust a while longer. He wasn’t done teasing her. “It made her feel important, it’s like extra attention,” she told him one night.

“Proper mess down here, babe.” He tutted, backing up as her hips lifted to meet his. “Now, now, now, y’still comin down, aren’t you? S’quite sensitive, innit” He mused, tapping the head of his cock against her swollen clit. She gasped, lifting her hips up again. “Seeee?” He hummed, mocking her. “Please, Harry. M’empty.” She whined, and that was it. “Okay, ‘lright, she wants filled.” He hummed as he loomed over her, tucking his head against hers while he lined up, gently nudging past her folds to slip in. “Jesus Chr-” He groaned, his hand finding its way into her hair to tug. “Fucked right in, didn’t I?” He mumbled, sliding his hand to cradle her neck by the hairline, which was irritatingly soft, as he pulled out slowly and tried his best to ignore her protests; “I was full!” She’d gasp out, infuriated that he had taken it away just as quickly. “Fuck sake, doll. Patience.” He rasp out as he pushed right back into the wet heat. “Y’hear that, baby? S’how wet I’ll get you everytime, isn’t it?.” He mused, straightening up and tugged her body up higher to meet his hips, allowing himself to slide just a bit deeper. Deep enough to coax another broken gasp from her mouth. “Tell me how good this is.” He breathed out, before delivering some quick thrusts, his hips pistoning into her. A filthy sloshing sound filled the air from how wet she was. “Fuck!” She gasped out, arching her back up. “Oh my god, Harry. S’good, s’deep, j-just what I wanted.” She whimpered, squeaking as he bottomed out at her admission. She whined in confusion, before choking on a breath when he rolled his hips, grinding into her cunt. The broken moan he finally let out as her walls fluttered around him, squeezing around his cock, could put a priest to shame. She always wrung out the most lewd noises from his body. “My God, you’ll be the death of me.” He groaned, “You feel so fucking good, Y/N, squeezin' me li' tha'.” He all but whimpered, leaning back to properly start fucking her, the way he knows has her seeing stars, her legs shaking, her breathing laboured.

Louder, and louder she got, gripping onto his forearms with her nails dug in as deep as they could go, trying desperately to hold on in the position he had her in. His long body upright, hands holding her hips up high off the bed so he could make sure he hit his target each time. Her shaking legs wrapped around his, she was struggling under the pleasure. “S’a fuckin’ sight t’see, baby. You’re so bloody beautiful.” He said, taking her hand away from under his arm to bring it to his mouth, sponging kisses at her fingers and wrist. “Takin’ my cock so well.” He sighed, letting her hand go and lowered her hips back down before hovering over her shaking body, placing her thumb at the corner of her mouth. What he did not prepare for, was her tongue to slide out around it to bring into her mouth and suck at. Harry’s jaw dropped, his lips parted as his hips lost their rhythm for a few thrusts. “Look a’ tha’.” He gasped out, just as she let out another delicious moan, “Harry, m’close.” She slurred around his thumb, some drool running down his wrist. “Dirty lit’l minx, come f’me.” He growled, feeling her tighten completely around him. “Give it to me, ‘ve worked for it” He breathed, snapping his hips up harder as she cried out, rolling her hips messily to his just trying to ride it out. “Tha’s my good girl.” Harry cooed, doing his best to help her get the most of her orgasm before losing his self control entirely, burying himself to the hilt as he came. Falling forward on top of her, he felt the coiling in his belly unwind. He sighed, listening to her breathing soften and slow. “Proud of m’self for that one.” He laughed out. And he was, she was satiated, and he got to have a bit more of her for one more day.

Harry's soft breath hit the top of her shoulder, his body on top of hers with the duvet cover strewn between his legs. Taking a deep breath, she felt most of the stress and anxiety of Mark's pop-in drift away. Shifting to find a comfortable spot against the bed while underneath the warmth of his body. “I don’t think I thank you enough.” She mumbled, tucking her forehead into the crook of his neck. “Think you thank me just fine.” He smirked, lifting up onto his elbows. “Up y’get, sweetheart.” He grumbled, pulling them both up, him standing to pull his boxers back on. “H, would you grab me a shirt from my second drawer down, please?” She asked, the covers pulled up to her chest with one hand, the other running a hand through her messy hair.

She watched as he grabbed a shirt, unfolded it to see what it looked like in full before tossing it her way. “Like that one.” He snickered, climbing back into the bed. “Know y’don’t wanna talk about it. But…” He started, causing her to groan as she pulled the shirt over her head. “Oh christ,” She whined, laying back down and pulled the covers over her face. “C’mon, I never ever ask!” He laughed, tugging the covers to reveal her eyes which only earned him a grumble of disagreement. After a brief pause (during which she realised he wouldn't give in anytime soon), she rolled her eyes and hastily blurted out, “He went on a date last night, and in the morning, I was showering and he showed up, breakfast in hand. Tells me it was originally for the girl he went out with and fucked, only, come to find out she slipped out while he was at the shop,” She paused, drawing another breath but speaking a bit slower. Not particularly liking the way her tongue had formed around them. Like tasting metal. “aaand brought it to me instead.” She murmured, swallowing thickly, “Like it was a good thing.” Laying it all out in summary had her feeling more embarrassed by the second. Harry groaned, shaking his head. “Why’d’y’ put up with it? Why don’t you just- block his number?” His voice going a bit softer towards the end before he sighed, knowing exactly why.

She stayed quiet, looking back up to the ceiling. “Wouldn’t you? Put up with it?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She felt shame come over her, like a cloud across the sun.

Harry sighed again, rolling onto his back to look at the ceiling too. I do, put up with it. He thought, his eyes scanning the ceiling for a good answer. “Don’t think you’d have to, had he given you the chance to move on.” He muttered, almost angrily. “Wasn’t right of ‘im. T’break things off and then ask the next night for a quick fuck.” He huffed, propping himself up on his elbows again.

Y/N sighed and nodded, “I know..” A few minutes went by before she shook her head, desperate to change the subject. “Look, can we just watch something?” She mumbled, pulling the duvet up over her waist. “Yeah… yeah sure.” Harry said, reaching over for the remote to turn the tv on. “Found something that might be good the other night. Saved it to watch it with you.” He snickered, coaxing a smile out of her. “I can’t wait.” She hummed, turning to her side to curl up against him. His arm snaked around her waist, his head tilted to rest against hers and he took a deep breath. For the next two hours, they just laid there. I really should thank him more often, she thought.

“Listen, not that I wouldn’t love to stay longer, I just promised m’mum I’d take her out for dinner.” He said once the movie was over, leaning over to kiss her forehead again. “Y’okay?” He asked again, and she smiled, propping herself up as well.

“Because I can manage another fifteen minutes before I need to shower, change and pick her up.” He added, his eyebrows straightening into a line to show the severity of what he was saying. “I’ll be available until about 4, we usually do a bit of catching up- probably bout an hour or so, y’know what- I’ll just text you.” He laughed. “Yeah, I’ll manage.” She hummed, tilting her head slightly to the side. “Call me, anytime. Mean it.” He said, standing to get himself dressed, Y/N standing as well to walk him out.

“G’on.” She snickered, leaning up to kiss his cheek before he stepped out of the flat, shutting the door behind him. She sighed, reaching up hesitantly to lock the door, before taking another pitiful look at the picked apart muffin that still sat on that table. Mocking me. She scoffed before going back to her room to repeat the night prior.

She’d always been used to being alone, just not lonely. She had friends, sure, and good friends at that. But they’ve all got so much going on, she couldn’t imagine bringing her little broken heart to the table and try to put it up there with Jodie’s, who’s unsure where she’s going to get the extra 5k to keep her dead mothers house from going to the bank. It just wasn’t right.

You’ve got all day, miss thing. Best find something to do with it.

She glanced at the time again, and took a look around her apartment. The bottles, the empty cigarette packs on any windowsill you look at, chinese takeout boxes, the dishes, the bottles. Groaning at the thought of doing all that, she let her body fall back into the chair in the living room.

Pinching her brows together, she let out a frustrated sigh, “I see you, just let me gather herself.” She said to herself, and only when she moved her hand from her eyes did they land on a small little jar and its green contents on the coffee table. Perfect. Blunt time.

Once she got a small little blunt rolled up, she put some music on and sat on her bedroom windowsill, grabbing a lighter to take a drag. While making sure to blow it out the cracked open window, she peered down to the streets below. A cold breeze came across her nose, reminding her that the seasons changed once again. A colder fall meets eastern England with a ferocity, signalling a chilling winter to come. Couples walked through the streets to make their dinner reservations, or ‘first daters’ even, chatting as they window shop. She always loved watching the world around her operate. Sighing yet again as she reminded herself that she was supposed to finish cleaning, she sat up, leaving the blunt on the ashtray a second to get to tidying the bed up. Smoking always puts her in a better mood. A nice distraction, she thought as she set the pillows and blankets back into place. She crept over to pick the blunt up and take another hit before pushing it into the ashtray to snub the cherry. “Christ, what time is it?” She said aloud, deciding to dig around for her nightstands clock that had been knocked to the ground. Finding it and setting it back in place, she was thankful that 6pm was here. She had gotten the apartment tidied, she was high as hell. There was no trace of anything Mark to be seen. Like he’d never been here so early. I wonder if he was sad. Upset that he’d put himself out there and assumed she’d stay for breakfast. She didn’t see how different it could be with hi- She cringed to herself and shook her head, trying to shake the train of thought away. She didn’t want to go back down the road, try to find out where exactly it went wrong. He left. He’s no different than the rest. And what’s worse, he takes advantage of the fact. He knows how you feel.

The streets were alive and well, lit with streetlights, some storefront lighting, and car headlights. Daring a glance over at her liquor cabinet, she grabbed her phone and called some friends to get together for drinks in her newly cleaned apartment in order to carpool together to the bar.

Jodie arrived first, her best girl, Cade trailing just a bit behind her, “Daphne’s on the way, she said she had a last minute outfit change.” Jodie explained, leaning in for a kiss on the cheek as she handed over her gift of liquor for the night. “S’always vodka with you.” Y/N grinned, heading to the kitchen to get some mixers.

“Harry’s out with his mum but he said he’d meet us there.” She nodded in acknowledgement to Cade who was reading what she assumed to be Harry’s response in the groupchat, bringing out cups and ice. Cade was fairly new to the group, but a welcomed one at that. They had lost Julie and Chris to a new move up country, which was a huge blow to their outings for a while. Cade filled the gap seamlessly, he was hysterical, dependable, not to mention outlandish. Cade had never been one to back down from a challenge, and seemed to be crushing heavily on Jodie for a while, so if by tonight they were to get a little more familiar with one another, Y/N wouldn't complain.

Daphne came trailing in not long after them, setting her coat in the closet before greeting us all. “So sorry, had it all figured out, but- you know, the lighting in the bar wouldn’t have worked the correct magic. Had to change.” She explained, beaming ear to ear as she made her way into the apartment, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor. Everyone knew that whatever Daphne put on, a burlap sack, aluminium foil, a fucking bedsheet, she looked gorgeous. She had a million dollar smile, a sense of humour, honey blonde hair, olive coloured skin and an incredible body. And if we’re being truthful, her and Harry would be the obvious match. Their physical appearances complimented the other so effortlessly. They’d even been caught in a drunken makeout once before, back when Harry first joined the group. Nevertheless, Daphne was the secret weapon. The three of them together were like a wet dream turned nightmare. And though Y/N’s friendship with Daphne wasn’t as close as with Jodie, she still held a significant spot in her life. They’d all known each other since university, just kids. Daphne had an atrocious haircut and didn’t know how to dress her body to save her life. Jodie was so smart and shy, it wasn’t until Mike came around their senior year where she learned to assert herself and let loose. Y/N, herself, was just happy with her two girls. She never looked elsewhere. They’d go to parties and end up back at one of our dorms, trashed and giggly. What else was there?

Looking at them together now, you’d never guess how reserved they used to be in their younger days.

By the time they ordered the Uber, they had all worked up a pretty nasty buzz which made it quite difficult to figure out where they had ended up leaving our phones, wallets, keys, etc. Poor Cade did his best to wrangle the girls together and keep track of all the belongings, but to no avail. He’d have to try again next time. “I saw yours in the bathroom, Jod.” Daphne giggled out, lifting up Y/N’s phone and frowning before handing it to her. “Why’s Harry texting you? Can he not make it?” She asked, a pout clear on her lips.

“Uhhh, dunno- let’s see.” Y/N opened her phone to check the message, ‘Dropping mum off now. See you in 30. Xx’ she repeated out loud for her even though Daphne had already peered over her shoulder. “He texts you a lot.” She states, pursing her lips and opening them again before Jodie interrupted, “Got yours, Daph!” She shouts, grinning and Y/N has to send her a look of relief because she was not prepared to break Daphne’s drunk heart tonight. She had always had the suspicion she still liked him, and if the look on her face didn’t cement that, what would?

Y/N’s phone rang in the middle of her conversation about Cade’s poor choice of beer as the four sat at a booth, “M’gonna go get a real drink. Be right back.” She smiled, lifting the phone to her ear as she walked away. “Hello?” “What are you doing tonight?” His voice slid across the speaker like cashmere. Y/N swallowed thickly, pressing her finger to her ear to drown out the outside noise. “I’m busy.” She shouted over the music, then rolled her eyes. He had to have heard the music. He’s not stupid.

“Y’don’t have to yell.” He laughed, “C’mon ditch it. We’re callin’ it a night, so… Come over.” He drawled out. Great, he’s drunk. “No, thank you.” Y/N hummed, having already snuck into the bathroom where it was a bit quieter. “And why not?” He huffed, and just from knowing him, she could tell that his jaw dropped, his fingers tapping against whatever was nearest. “Because,” She paused, fixing a few fly aways while looking at her reflection in the mirror. “I’m having more fun here.” She giggled before hanging up, and dug into her purse to grab a comb she had brought.

Her phone rings again, and she felt the satisfaction begin to creep its way into her. This must be what it feels like for him. She cleared her throat and picked up the drink she had set down on the sink. “Hello?” She sang, making sure to jostle her drink that was now more ice than liquid. “I need another drink, so, hurry-“ She added, smirking at herself in the mirror and wrapped her lips around the straw to suck the last bits of alcohol left. “Wh’dya’ mean you’re having more fun?!” He huffed, as if it was unimaginable to him. Y/N scoffed, topping up her lip colour before turning on her heel to go back out to the bar. “Just what I said.” She hummed, “I’m hanging up now,” She whispered before hearing a slew of small half-minded minor threats, asking her not to hang up, ‘wait, wait, wait!’, She ignored them all, giggling out a ‘good night’ before hanging up again and leaving the bathroom. Finding her way through to the bar and grabbed herself two more drinks before making it towards the back where her friends had sat.

Thankfully, Harry had got out of his date with his mum just in time to meet them at The Stumble. And she was semi-glad he did. Well, very glad. He helped in a lot of ways. And he was just nice in general to be around. Harry smiled at the sight of her, opening an arm to invite her back into the circle.

“Daph’s just getting around to tellin’ us her big secret.” He hummed, his eyes lingering just a litttttllleee too long at her body. He couldn’t help it. And he did try. But his eyes just found their way to her every time. Good God, she looked amazing. A black half mesh/half satin dress that was somehow modest and managed to leave a bit to the imagination, some sort of strapped black heels that snaked their way up her legs, a softened reddish lipstick. Honestly, out of a dream. Once, of course, he realised her attention had been taken away by Daphne,(who (he thought) was getting around to telling everyone about her job’s promotion) he felt he could look at Y/N as long as he needed. He knew Mark wasn’t stupid. He’d figure out how special she was, and how truly stupid he was to have let her slip through his fingers. How fucking lucky he was- To have had her. Really have her. And sure, he had her too. As close as he could muster, he had her, for now. He answered her calls, day or night, 1am, 2am, 3am, cor. 3am was probably his favourite time. She was so sleepy, so hurt, she had just wanted company. And Harry liked to think she wanted his company. Just thinking about how he had thrown it away? Like, garbage? How fucking dumb he is to- Harry’s jaw clenched so hard it began to cramp, and the hand he didn’t know that was laid across the small of her back had found its way around her hips, gripping the far side of her waist tightly, causing her to yelp and turn around. “S’the matter w’you?” She laughed out, her hand delicately holding the straw in place with two fingers as she brought her lips around it for a sip with her other hand. Those, fucking lips. He cleared his throat and shook his head, “Lost m'balance- Liquor must’ve hit me.” He laughed, “S’hot in here, gonna pop outside for a smoke.” Harry nodded, gently patting her back as he slid past her.

He could feel his ears ringing, like smoke was coming out of them. He’d really like to tell Mark just what a total degenerate he had been, but, it may knock too much sense into him. And he’d never have Y/N again. He needed some more time. You can’t do that, she’s hurt enough. She’ll just have to wisen up. And then Mark won’t have the chance.

Finally, the cool air hit Harry’s face, his hands scrambling through his pockets for his pack and a lighter.

The first drag was all he needed, just to turn his brain around. With a sigh, he blew out the smoke, leaning his body against the side of the bar’s building. He watched people pass, people scoot past him to get inside the bar. He watched a small family walk up to a newly parked food truck. Kinda late for food trucks, innit. He thought to himself, raising his hand for another drag and immediately felt a comforting and familiar hand at his shoulder. Y/N.

“Wh’y’ doin out here?” He asked, looking down at her. She had to be a little cold. Mind you, shes again only wearing her slim dress, the damn strappy snaky heels- No jacket. As always. “You’ll freeze.” He muttered, pulling his off to drape around her shoulders. “Thank you, Harry, but I’m alright. Just checking on you.” She said warily, knowing full well that he hardly ever would leave in the middle of someone’s proud moment to go smoke. That just wasn’t like him. “Are you upset Daphne’s moving?” She asked, reaching for his cigarette to take a drag of her own. Moving? “Er- yeah, I mean-“ He stuttered, unable to recover. His stupid brain was still fixated on her lips. “Because there’s a train that connects right to our station- and she said she’d be here any and every time she could manage. She said she couldn’t stay away from you too long.” Y/N nodded, a hopeful glimmer in her eye. Harry furrowed his eyebrows at her, “She- what?” Now he was so confused. “Daphne’s like- in love, with you Harry. You really never knew?” Y/N laughed out, and it sort of pissed Harry off. Like it was so obvious for her to see that someone else was in love with him, but not see that he was in love with her. Of course he never knew, because he’s been so busy trying to soothe Y/N and get her to see what was in front of her. Course he wasn’t worried about, Daphne, of all things. “No, I didn’t know-“ He almost snapped, irritated with it all now. “Oh my God, Harry! She drools!” Y/N giggled out, shaking her head and finishing off her drink. “Never stops looking at you, and! She glares at me when we’re talking.” Harry could tell by how her eyes began to glaze over that she was feeling the effects of her drink. Realising, it wasn’t fair to get angry with her. “Drools, huh?” He managed out in a chuckle, his throat feeling tight, like he was swallowing nails. She nodded and hummed, “She saw our texts, Har. Should’ve seen her face, she really likes you.” She slurred a bit, leaning up to his ear, “I know I shouldn’t..” She started, humming a bit before she sighed out, “I can’t stop thinkin’ bout y’ kissing me.” She whispered, giggling at the end. Harry had to shut his eyes, squeeze them shut. In another world, Harry would’ve laid it on her, right then and there. No regard for the outside world around them. His hands made their way to the small of her back, briefly pulling her in closer. “Y/N…” He warned, “We’re supposed to be keeping it a secret.” He mumbled back, his mouth felt like it was bleeding. He wasn’t able to say anything that he wanted to. But, he would have a hard time forgiving himself if whatever was so bad about being with him had to be kept quiet and had come out. She’d never be back. Harry felt like he had the devil and the angel on either shoulder. The angel, reminding him how delicate she’d been lately, all the while in his left ear, he could hear the devil asking him to breathe her in. Because she did smell fantastic. She whined and tugged at his shirt, pouting a bit with a soft, “Why?” And Harry lost it. All sense was gone, he let out a frustrated growl of sorts and gave one gentle yank to her hair to tip her head back, causing her to yelp and smirk at him. Why? Why indeed. In one second, Harry had pressed his lips to hers, backing her up against the building, his hands moving so fast. Too fast. Her cheeks, her hair, her waist, her ass. Christ, what a sweet little ass she had. Harry groaned into her mouth, licking at her lip like honey fell from it. Y/N giggled in response, hooking an arm around his neck, her hand at the back of it. He was revelling in the freedom he was feeling to publicly have her in his arms. Harry felt like his heart was beating out of his chest, and just as he was about to muster enough control to pull away from her, “What the fuck are you doing?” with a quick jerk away from the beautiful woman. Mark.

“So, you’re fucking Harry? Harry?!” Mark shouted, his breaths coming out short but forceful. He was pissed, thats for sure. Y/N glared at him, having to lean against the clubs bathroom sink after he dragged her inside. “I don’t know why it’s any of your business.” she snapped, “We aren’t together anymore, that was your decision.” Mark's head snapped up at her, his eyes wide and his eyebrows furrowed, “That doesn’t mean I’d be alright with you and one of my good friends fucking?!” He shouted, pulling at his hair as if he was going insane. "I'd hardly call you guys friends." She scoffed, folding her arms over her chest, “And, forgive me if I never received the handbook on what to do if your ex breaks up with you but still wants to fuck, oh! And! fucks other girls only to bring you their breakfast the next morning!” She shouted back, furious at him. “I shouldn’t even be having this argument with you, because in what world did you think it would be okay to come to the bar I was at!” She asked, narrowing her eyes at him. If Harry hadn’t been there, and Mark had walked through that door while she was drunk? She knew he would’ve walked through that front door and all she’d be thinking of, was which girl he’d take home the whole night. It was fun for a second to give him a taste of his own medicine but he was much, much better at this than she was.

Mark hadn’t stopped pacing, his fingernails practically embedding themselves into his palms due to how tightly he had his fists balled up. It took everything in him not to throw Harry in front of a moving car after he ripped him away from Y/N. Out of everything, not once did he expect to have walked up on…. whatever that was. He couldn’t believe that it was Harry that had his hands around her like that. “Okay, well,” He started, his eyes dancing around a minute, “If you had said you wanted to suck Harry’s cock tonight when I was on the phone with you, maybe,” He seethed, his voice dripping with anger, “I’d have gone home!” He growled out, unsure of what he wanted to do now. His pride had taken a major plummeting fall. Y/N. His heart throbbed, painfully in fact. “Oh,” She scoffed out, “Please, you’re lucky I answered the phone at all! It’s none, of your, business!” She repeated, leaning forward a bit as she did. Mark laughed incredulously, “That would have been better, Y/N. Because then you wouldn’t have tried to play your little cat and mouse game, get me to think you wanted me here, and we wouldn’t be here!” He shouted, his arms opening up to gesture to the space of the bathroom.

“My cat and mouse game?!” She practically laughed out, leaning forward a bit. She couldn’t believe her ears. “Ever since you broke up with me, it’s been nothing but games! You ended it because all I was good for was a fuck! Don’t forget that.” He went quiet, the only sound was the softened thump of the music from the club. Y/N swallowed thickly and straightened up, “Are you done?” She muttered, “Because I have some friends waiting on me.”

Mark scoffed, shaking his head, “Yeah, think I am.”

So off she went, without another look at him. She slipped around the corner and hurried off to the corner where her friends were at. “And where’s Harry?” Y/N asked, looking around and not seeing a particular set of eyes. She was beyond irritated and feeling the embarrassment creeping up on her. The way they all looked at her told her that they had seen, everything. She shuffled in her spot slightly before straightening up and grabbing her bag. “Y’ears not workin’? Something trapped in em’? I said where the fuck is Harry?” She snapped, watching a few scramble for answers. “He-He never- he didnt-“ Cade stuttered, sighing in relief as Daphne finished for him, “He never came back in.” Y/N groaned before turning on her heel to head out as well. Poor Daphne. She began hurrying down the street to get away from the club as fast as possible, scrambling for her phone and immediately dialed out Harry’s number. No answer.

To: Harry

Where did you go?

They saw everything.

I’m trying to call you, Harry, please.

Read 9:57pm

She tried his number, again, no answer.

Finally flagging down a cab, she hopped in and gave his address without a second thought. The whole drive there, she went over the last twelve hours or so. She couldn't believe the way Mark was acting. Of all the dumbest, insulting things to do or say, showing up at random times. The fucking nerve. He knows how she feels, and yet, he uses it whenever his poor ego needs a pick me up. And then to embarrass her, and possibly Harry as well? Because he can’t stand to feel unimportant?

The driver came to a slow, rolling stop and she quickly paid the driver before hurrying up his driveway, to the steps to his apartment and began rapping her cold knuckles painfully against the door. Please be here. Please be here. Embarrassment washed over her again like a tidal wave. She felt awful, anxious, the whole bid. He could have a girl here. And then if he didn’t go home? Who was she to assume she single-handedly ruined his night? His neighbours assume she’s on drugs and call the police- And then! Her drivers went and drove off- his neighbours think she’s crazy… Cor, Y/N. You’ve really thought this one out. Just brilliant.

As she turned to pull her phone from her pocket to call up another driver, she heard a jingle of house keys coming up the drive. Her head snaps up to see Harry, who was having a bit of trouble walking a straight line as he focused on looking at his keyring, trying to find the front door’s match. “Wh- Harry!” She breathed out, blinking in disbelief. Harry’s head snapped up, his eyebrows furrowed and grumbled a bit. “What’re y’doin’ ‘ere, Y/N?” He muttered sadly, trying to move around her but gently bumping into her shoulder instead as he made his way around. “Don’t think ‘ve got it in me t’help,” He hiccupped and tried to fit the key into the hole before starting again, “help y’out tonight.” He whimpered, resting his forehead against the door after struggling. Y/N frowned and hurried up the steps again, taking the keys from him. “Why didn’t you answer my calls?” She asked, fitting the key in and opening the door for him.

His shoulders slumped forward, grumbling his answer as he shuffled into his house. Choosing to ignore the drunken gibberish, she moved towards the kitchen to grab him a glass of water, watching as he fell backwards into his couch.

As she turned the corner to set his glass down on the coffee table, he, again, muttered something she couldn’t understand. “What was that?” Y/N asked, sitting down next to him. He sighed and leaned forward, “Went to a, uh- different bar.” He breathed out, taking the glass of water for a sip. “F-for a few drinks, t’clear m’head.” His fingers tapped at the glass before lifting the glass to his lips again. “I-I shouldn’t ‘ve…” He sighed and shook his head firmly, ending his sentence there before continuing again. “Y’asked why I hadn’t err…. answered y’phone, or, my phone.” He grumbled, feeling frustrated he couldn’t get a good explanation for her. “I thought you were heading back wiv’im.” He whispered, chewing at the inside of his lip to stop himself from admitting anything else. “Harry, I came here to apologise. I embarrassed myself a-and, maybe even you, I'm just, I-I’m so sorry.” She sighed, shaking her head before feeling the weight of his head against her shoulder. “S’not,” another hiccup interrupted him, “S’not y’fault, Y/N.” He whispered, a slow yawn following suit, his full body weight now resting against her. She managed a half-smile as she began sliding to the side under his weight deciding to drop the topic for now and let her head fall to the throw cushion sitting at the corner of the sofa. His head fell onto her chest and he yawned again. “Could never stay mad at you f’long.” He mumbled, bringing his legs up to get comfier in his position. A smile crept its way across her lips, her hand finding a comfortable position at his hair. “S’not fair to you.” She whispered, pressing a kiss to his forehead before leaning up to turn the lamp out. “You’re too good t'me, Harry.” She murmured, reaching for the throw blanket to spread over his body. His only response was to briefly squeeze her and it wasn’t long afterwards that she could hear his peaceful snoring.

[part II.] [part III.]

(a/n: its hereeeee!! i hope you all like it, this has been sitting in my google docs for literal yearrrssss as something I’d read for comfort every now and then. literally this story idea has been in my head, i can hear harry and y/n talking constantly in my head. feedback, reblogs, likes are greatly appreciated!!)

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