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owlwithanapple · 4 months

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Your Hero

He is one of my favorite characters in mha. I want to write a future version of Bakugou Katsuki, I hope you guys will like it. 😘

Part 4.

( Bakugou Katsuki X Y/N )

Ramen shop--

You two chatted in the ramen shop for a while, and it was almost time to leave. Although you two have just met, once you two talk will inexplicably have common topic to chat for so long.

It has been 2 hours but didn't expect you to talk to him for such a long time. At this time, Bakugou's phone rang, he answered the phone and talked about some work.

Why you think the man in front of you is very handsome. Obviously, he is a grumpy bastard with a handsome face. You bow your head drink tea and wait for him to finish his business.

While talking on the phone, he noticed that you lowered your head. He gently knocked on the table with his fingers, you looked up at him when you heard it. He smiled slightly , and didn't understand why your face suddenly felt so hot.

He speaks in a very serious tone when talking on the phone. It's a tone that he doesn’t usually use. Maybe talking about something very important. You are so bored , you take out your phone to browse the media channel.

After a while, he seemed have finished his business. He hung up the phone and put it aside. You also put your phone aside after locking the screen.

"Don't always bow your head." Bakugou has a sip of tea.

"Why?" You are confused.

"Sometimes I think you will look at me with admiring eyes." Bakugou flirted and said.

"Hedgehog, you think too much." You blushed and looked at the other side.

"Hahaha, take a good look at your expression and talk." He laughed and said.

"Tchh!" You drink tea to hide your shyness.

After drinking tea, he got up and walked to front chat with the owner and check out. He handed you the car keys and asked you to wait him in the car. You took the car key and went outside look at the car and the key. You thinking that this guy is not worried about you hijacking the car or leaving him...?

When you hesitate to wait for him at the door or in the car. Suddenly, Bakugou was in a hurry to run out of the ramen shop, and you noticed that he had wear Dynamight's Hero Mask.

"Work! A nearby bank!" Bakugou released the explosion and rushed away.

"The live news just reported that there was a bank robbery, and I heard that the hostages were locked up in it." The owner of the ramen shop said.

"Holy shit! I didn't notice!" You take off your cover and follow Dynamight.

Dynamight's efficiency really can't be underestimated. He didn't stop working for a moment when you were free. He rushed to the scene so fast that you couldn't catch up.

The bank --

Dynamight arrived at the scene and asked the supporting heroes present about the situation. The situation is that two Villains robbed the bank, involving ordinary citizens and staff.

One uses the creation stone Quirks, and the other is uses the sprint Quirks. So the bank gate is blocked by stones because of Villain's Quirks inside.

When you arrived at the scene, you ran to the rescue hero to ask about the situation. Dynamight presented an action plan to the police. He noticed that you were next to the rescue hero, and he ignored you and continued to talk about the plan.

After understanding the situation present, you walk behind Dynamight. He seemed to have finished talking to the police, he turned to look at you without saying anything. You know that he is usually a little irritable, but he looks very majestic at work.

"Too slow." Dynamight said.

"I'm sorry, it was my mistake." You apologize.

"Take this to use, and can keep in touch." He handed you the earpieces.

"Thank you." You bring earpieces.

"Wind, do you hear me? Is the voice clear? Is there any noise?" Earpieces came out.

"Hear. It's clear. There is no noise." You answer.

"Good, you go up and get ready. I'll break through head-on and pull them out." Dynamight said.

"Are you going to use yourself as bait?" You are surprised.

"Cheer up and seize the right time." Dynamight said.

".... Yes." You rise to mid-air.

Make a head-on breakthrough and pull them out and then take down. The opponent's Quirks have speed type and creativity type. If it is speed, Dynamight can keep up. The problem is the Villain with creation stone Quirks.

If the sprint Quirks Villain draw Dynamight away, you must defeat the Villain who created the stone. But now making a head-on breakthrough, and don't know who will rush out.

You floated in the air and saw Dynamight warming up. Take a deep breath and calm down. You are a professional hero. It's your honor to work with Dynamight. Don't slow him down.

"What are you thinking about?" Dynamight ask.

"Oh! The Quirks type of Villain is speed type and creative type. It's not certain who will come out first. I'm a little worried about..." You are hesitating.

"As a professional hero, put away your unconfident face. Now we are in control. Believe in your own judgment ability, and if there are any mistakes, we will make up for each other. You're not the only one fighting now. Remember me, idiot." Dynamight said calmly.

"Dynamight, you are so terrible. You are a hero, but you don't look like a hero." You say.

"Hahaha! Get ready for me! We can definitely defeat these idiots." Dynamight said confidently.

Although his tone and attitude are not good, but you sure that what he said is what a professional hero should look like. It's just that it's really unpleasant to listen to the encouragement, but you are already excited after listening to it.

"Dynamight! The warm-up is over. I can act at any time!" You said confidently.

"That's right! Begin!" Dynamight ordered.

Dynamight stretched out one hand and used the other hand to form a circle on the palm of his outstretched hand to spread the power posture, concentrating his explosion path on one point.

"Ap Shot!" Dynamight used a heavy attack to blow up a big hole in the stone of the gate.

You release the wind and blow away the smoke to keep Dynamight's eyes clear. A stone pillar suddenly appeared below you to attack in your direction, and you cleverly avoided Villain's attack.

"Wind, liberate! Wind Slash!" You use your moves to chop up the stone pillar that attacks you.

After the stone pillar is chopped up, sprint Villain rushes in your direction to attack you. You release the wind to surround yourself to offset Villain's attack.

"Fuck! I didn't expect Dynamight and Wind Breaker to come. Sprint Villain said.

"If you surrender honestly, you can at least reduce the sentence." You say.

"It's a pity! I refuse!" Sprint Villain rushed head-on.

Dynamight threw his hand back and let his palm explode, pushing forward in front of you as quickly as possible.

"Your opponent is me! Sprint guy! Stun Grenade! Dynamight grabbed Villain's hand and creates a sphere of light with his hands.

"The stone guy below, go and knock him down!" Dynamight said.

"Ok!" You leave.

"Damn it! It's you!" Villain is ready to escape.

"Otherwise, you think is Wind Breaker!" Dynamight said.

"Fuck it!" Villain moved around at a fast speed to escape from the scene.

Dynamight saw through Villain's action, and he exploded faster than Villain and caught up with him. When Villain wanted to speed up again, Dynamight was already in front of him.

Dynamight grabs an Villain with one of his arms, then fires an explosion with his free arm, causing both him and Villain to spin. Then forcefully throws Villain with the aid of a second explosion.

"You underestimate my speed and strength , Villain!" Bakugou shouted.

In the end, Villain was knocked down and fell into a coma, Dynamight handcuffed him. Then fly to the sky, pay attention to the situation around to confirm that there is no abnormality before handing over Villain to the police.

You run into the bank and see the Villain who created the stone. He created the spike and threw it at you, and you released the Wind Slash to offset the attack.

"Useless?!" Stone Villain is nervous.

"My Quirks is not just a breeze. You're too careless, Villain!" You rushed to Villain's foot and kicked him out of balance. You circled behind him and wrapped your hands around his waist, adjusted his posture and threw him back.

Thanks to the guidance of Lemillion and Erase Head, you can play the role of close combat freely. Otherwise, if you don't make a quick decision, your position will be at a disadvantage. As Sun Eater said, even the hostages will be implicated.

"Dynamight, done!" You report to Dynamight.

Villain fainted because of your heavy blow. After confirmation, you quickly handcuffed him. You contact the police to take Villain away, appease the hostages and then evacuate them.

Look outside Dynamight has handcuffed Villain and handed it over to the police. You are relieved. Although you know that he is very strong, you will inexplicably worry about his safety.

You approached him and glanced at him to confirm that he was unharmed, and you calmed down. Wait! Why worry about him! He is much more experienced in Top 1 than you. You don't need to worry about him.

"What are you looking at?" Dynamight asked.

"Nothing! I just want to make sure that you are not injured." You said in a panic.

"I'm fine... Are you hurt?" Dynamight asked.

"No. Thank you for your concern, Lord Dynamight!" You poke him with your arm.

"Tchhh... idiot!" He complained.

"Nonono! It's Wind Breaker!" You point at him.

"Haha. Y/N." He whispered in your ear.

Too close! Your heart is so unstable! Is this guy so seductive?!

"Thank you for your support. We will transport Villain now." The police pay tribute to you two.

"Understood." You and Dynamight said.

In order to avoid many people coming to watch, you two quickly left the scene and returned to the ramen shop just now. Make sure that there is no one around, you take out the car key from your pocket and return it to Dynamight. He unlocks the car and signals you to get on the car.

You two sat in the car and rested for a while. After Dynamight took off the hero's eye mask, he brought back his glasses and masks to hide himself. You do the same thing and cover yourself up.

You wonder why Dynamight rushed to you just now. He should be able to defeat the stone Villain and save the hostage at that time, but he changed positions to attack the Sprint Villain.

"Hedgehog, can I ask you a question?" You ask.

"You are already asking." He said.

"Oh..." You whisper.

"Ask, I will answer it." He looks at you.

"That... Why did you exchange Villain with me just now? " You ask.

"Wind Breaker, I confess that you are inexperienced with professional heroes. Although you are strong, you didn't notice the situation in the city and the scene." Dynamight said in a serious tone.

"You're right..." You clench your hands and lower your head.

"But your on-the-spot reaction is good, you can determine things." He said.

"Wow..." You are surprised.

"First, I was waiting for the sprint Villain at the entrance, but he had noticed that you were waiting in the air because that was his escape route."

"Second, the hostage is within my attack range. Once I attack the Stone Villain, the hostage may be will hurt."

"Third, when you use the Wind Slash skill, you are his fatal point. He knew that you were his weakness and began to panic, so you took the opportunity to knock him down. "

"Fourth, that guy wanted to leave Stone Villain and run away by himself from the beginning, so I exchanged it with you to block his escape route."

"Understand?" Dynamight is watching you.

You looked at him stunned. This guy is really strong enough to have nothing to say. The new generation of Top 1 is really proved by experience and ability.

When you stared at him in a daze, he didn't hear your reply. He pinched your cheeks with his hands unhadly, and you felt that your cheeks were hot.

"Are you listening to me when I talk to you? Idiot!" He pinched your cheek.

"I heard it, beg for mercy, Lord Dynamight!" You say.

"Tchh...so do you know your defects?" He let go.

"It's clear! Thanks your advice. " You say.

"There is another point that I said before starting the action. If there are any mistakes, we will make up for each other." He said.

You still had some doubts about the plan, but because you remembered this sentence. You can trust him without hesitation so that you two can solve the incident more smoothly and effectively.

"Thank you, Hedgehog." You said with a smile.

"Cheh!" Dynamight pouts.

"Thank you for trusting me..." You whispered shyly.

"Shut up! It's embarrassing. Stop talking about it." He looked out shyly.

Your phone rings the screen showing the moving company, and you answer the phone immediately.

"Hello, hello." You say.

"Hello, Miss Y/N. Your furniture and accessories have been delivered to your home. You can check and confirm the order." The person from the moving company said.

"Oh! OK! Thank you! I'm going back now." You hang up the phone.

"What?" Dynamight asked.

"My furniture has been delivered to my home. I have to go back and tidy it up. Thank you very much. Goodbye!" You get out of the car.

"Hey!Let me know when you get home." Dynamight said.

"I know, worried guy!" You leave.

"Tchh... Idiot, I can take you home." Dynamight said.

Apartment--

The apartment you live in in the urban area is recommended by Nejire. Fully equipped and perfect, the modern style is very suitable for a girl like you who lives alone.

The transportation equipment arrived late, and all the furniture could not arrive on time. So when you come back to Japan, you only buy a bed to use first, the most important thing is to get enough sleep.

After arriving at the floor, the elevator door opens automatically. You felt an ominous feeling when you walked to the door, and scanned the access control card to open the door. The scene in front of you shocked you, a pile of unopened furniture and accessories.

"Shit..." You sigh.

You take off your glasses and put your phone aside, put on a new mask to avoid dust infection, and tie up your hair to prevent falling off. When you see a pile of unopened things at home, you tell yourself that you bought all these things! It must be sorted out!

So you began to unpack the furniture in the living room. Although the position is arranged, you are still a little dissatisfied and will still move it a little. However, thanks to the moving company putting in all the furniture that should be put in, just has not been unpacked and decorated the accessories. Otherwise, start from 0 really don't need to sleep today.

It's already 7 p.m. when the time goes by. The furniture in the living room and bedroom has been unpacked and furnished. Now there is only left bathroom, toilet, balcony, study room and kitchen.

"A lot... Everything is too busy. I'm so thirsty." You get up and go to the kitchen.

Seeing that the things in the kitchen have not been unpacked, you have taken two steps back.

"Holy fucking shit…….." You say.

You walked to the balcony looking at the scenery outside realized that it was dark. Looking at the pile of unopened furniture in the back, you feel so tired.

You want to order food delivery before continuing to clean the house. You go to the porch and take your phone to see what's going on, you see 3 Dynamight's unread calls and unread messages.

You panicked and thought about whether you would be scolded! But you still can't escape your fate. You click Dynamight's contact press the dial button and fear that he will answer the phone.

"Hello?" The first sentence Dynamight said.

You dare not talk! Afraid of disturbing his work!

"I know you're there. Talk to me!" He said.

"Good evening. Hedgehog, what can I do for you?" You say it carefully.

"Why didn't you tell me when you got home?" He said.

"Oh, I forgot." You said in a panic.

"Tchh." Hear his tone, he seems to be a little impatient.

"......" You are silent and don't say anything.

"Y/N, what's wrong?" He suddenly mentioned it.

"Ah? Why did you suddenly ask like this?" You said shyly.

He suddenly called your name to make you feel embarrassed.

"Have you finished the things?" He asked.

"I really want to cry... I just finished the living room and bedroom! The rest have not been unpacked at all. I'm so hungry!" You complain to him.

"It's so noisy!" He yells at you.

"Let me complain!" You lose your temper and say.

"...Fuck you." He said.

"I won't talk to you anymore. Goodbye, annoying." You are about to hang up the phone.

"Send me the location, now." After talking, he hung up the phone.

"Ha?" You are nervous.

You click on the chat room and choose to share the location with Dynamight. After sending it, it showed that the message had been read, but he did not reply to any word. You sit on the sofa and think, what on earth does he want to do?

Suddenly you feel a little sleepy, and you lie on the sofa and take a nap for a while. Thirty minutes later, the phone suddenly rang and the screen showed that the administrator was contacting you. You quickly got up and answered the phone, saying that someone was coming to you.

You hurry up run out of the house with a hat and a mask. When you arrived downstairs, you saw Dynamight sitting in a chair looking at his phone.

When he saw you, he got up and came with two bags.

"Lead the way." He said.

"Are you coming to my house? " You ask.

"Otherwise, what am I doing here?" He said.

You two walked into the elevator together. When you waited for the elevator to arrive at your house, you smelled a fragrant smell but you didn't care.

When you arrive at your house, open the door and let him go in first. He stood in the hallway and took off his glasses, masks and boots before stepping into your house. He put two bags of things on the table and looked around at your house.

"Stop complaining! Take it and eat!" Dynamight handed you the bento.

"Hedgehog, you..." You say.

"What?" He is puzzled.

"You are my savior! Do you know what I admire you most? That is after knowing you, I will never starve again!" You look at him with admiration.

"Fuck! How dare you worship me for such a small thing..." He looked at you with disgust.

"Don't care ~ hedgehog ~" you said mischievously.

"Tchh... Don't starve yourself." Dynamight walked into the kitchen.

"Wait! I haven't started cleaning up the kitchen yet!" You ran in a panic.

"I'll do it! Get out of here! Go and eat your bento! Don't bother me!" He pushed you out of the kitchen.

"A gentle and a rough Lord Dynamight." You go back to the living room.

"Shut your mouth and eat your bento!!" Dynamight shouted.

"Does Lord Dynamight provide house cleaning services? It's really worthy of Top 1, and the service is complete and thoughtful." You whispered.

Dynamight heard what you just said, he walked behind you and stared at you. You feel a chill behind your back, you turn your head see him staring at you quietly. He took your bento with an angry expression.

"I'm asking you to have a meal. If you talk so much, don't eat it at all." Dynamight said indifferently.

"I know I'm wrong. Lord Dynamight is the best. Don't take away my bento." You looked at him with a pitiful expression.

"One more word, I'll blow you up." He returned the bento to you and walked back to the kitchen.

"Haha, obviously you can't bear it~" you whispered.

"You still don't learn to be good!" His hand is exploding.

"Nothing!" You said in a panic.

"Heh!" Dynamight stared at you.

In order not to disturb Dynamight, you'd eat bento quietly to avoid being blown up by him. You glanced at the kitchen and saw him take off his coat and hang it aside.

Fan welfare! That muscle line! This is the best state of Dynamight's figure. If you pay attention to his heroic outfit, it actually highlights the lines of his figure.

He unpacked the furniture in your kitchen and simply cleaned it by the way. He is so efficient that everything in the kitchen is done all of a sudden. He took out the bag he brought and put all the ingredients in the refrigerator.

You go to the bar and see what's going on. The refrigerator is full of fresh ingredients. You're shocked. This guy can even choose the ingredients by himself. He noticed that you were watching, and he came in front of you.

"Have you finished eating?" He asked.

"Not yet. I appreciate the charm of your work." You say.

"Haha, don't be fascinated by me. Come and help when you're full." He gently flicked your forehead.

"Okay!" You continue to eat bento, suddenly you have the motivation!

When you are full, you pack the bento box and throw it away. You went to the kitchen to see that everything was done, he was packing the garbage in a bag and putting it aside.

You walk into the kitchen, see that the furniture and furnishings are in order. Open the refrigerator and it is full of ingredients, drinks, seasonings and other...

"Are you full?" He asked.

"That's right! I'm full!" You said with a smile.

"Where's left?" He asked.

"Hedgehog! Do you still want to help?!" You asked nervously.

"Nonsense! You do it alone so slow!" He shouted.

"Ermmm... You have finished the kitchen. Then there is only the bathroom, toilet, balcony and study room. You count.

"I'll take care of the bathroom and toilet, and you are responsible for the balcony and study room. If you need any help, come to me." After he finished speaking, he went into the bathroom.

"Hedgehog! You are really my savior! I love you so so! Thank you!" You shout.

"So noisy! If you make any more noise, I'll go back!" He shouted.

You unpack all the furniture in the study room, then put the books in the bookcase. There is also a large box with your computer equipment, you move it out little by little.

Holy shit. All the data cables have been removed. You forgot how to assemble them. You look at a pile of data cables and are distressed. You think that Dynamight said you can ask him for help.

You walk to the bathroom and see he is cleaning the bathroom.

"Hedgehog~Help~" You said.

"What the hell?" He turned to you.

"I can't assemble the computer, help me~." You say.

"Put all the computer equipment on the table. I'll get it later. You do something else." He said.

"Wohooo!" You leave the bathroom and go back to the study room.

You take out the merchandising of All Might and Endeavor. The poster of All Might is pasted behind the door, and Endeavor's figure is on the shelf. Although you are a professional hero, but still an otaku on the other side.

Dynamight knocked the door and walked into your study room with an expression of indifference.

"Fucking hell ! Not only All Might, also Endeavor's merchandise." He complained.

"I like it. My treasure!" You said with a smile.

"Shitty otaku !" He complained.

"Look, look! All Might Young Age Limited Edition Figure! Endeavor No.1 Era Limited Edition Figure! ” You show it to him.

"Damn... Just like Deku!" He complained.

"Hahaha! The hero of worship! Although they have retired, they will always be my hero in my mind!" You say.

"I really want to burn it." He said dissatisfiedly.

"I also have the figures of Deku and Shoto U.A. hero suit!" You show him.

"Where is my figure! There is no Dynamight!" He said angrily.

"Your figure... Ummmm..... I really don't dare to collect it. Your expression is too distorted." You said with a smile.

"Throw it away!" He shouted.

"I refuse! If you do something bad to my figures, I'm angry!" You shout.

"Damn, you got the damn nerd and icy-hot merchandise. But don't get mine." He whispered.

"Hedgehog... Are you jealous? You are curious.

"Shut up!" He shouted.

He went to the desk placed all the computer equipment separately and slowly installed the data cables one by one. After installation, the computer also runs successfully, then the screen shows the picture of you and All Might.

He seems to open the web search when he thinks of something, but you don't care too much. After you set up the things, walk closer to him and see what he is doing. Your computer wallpaper has been replaced by his photo.

"Hedgehog! What are you doing!" You shout.

"I don't like it! Changed it!" He shouted.

"Your photo hurts my eyes..." You complain.

"Bullshit!" He left the study room after complaining.

"Haha, obviously jealous." You say.

"I heard it!" He shouted.

You unpack the box and garbage in the room and move it to the porch wait for the recycling company to recycle it tomorrow. He put the vacuum cleaner and mop at the door of the study room and you start cleaning.

After mopping the floor, you go and tidy up the balcony. You see that the new shelf has not been opened yet. You unpacked it, find that the new shelf has not been assembled yet!

The instruction manual is very simple, but you don't understand it. Dynamight saw you worried on the balcony. He walked closer and looked at you are holding the instruction manual. He squatted next to you and gently pinched your face.

"I'll do it. You mop the floor." He took the instruction manual.

"Really? Thank you!" You leave the balcony.

You clean all the places except the balcony. After cleaning up, you go to the balcony and see that the shelves have been assembled and the plants are placed. It's more neat than before!

"Hedgehog, you are so awesome!" You said excitedly.

"You are very noisy! Such a simple thing!" He said.

"I'm a fool~" you whispered.

"Learn more, and you can deal with this little thing in the future." He stroked your head.

"Okay, I know." You say.

"Is there anything else that hasn't been done?" He asked.

"Thanks to your help, most of them are done." You say.

"That's good. I'll go back first." He put on his coat and walked to the porch.

"Wait, you have helped me a lot. Do you want any gifts in return?" You stand at the entrance and ask.

He looked at you in silence, and his expression seemed to be thinking about something. He stood in front of you, and you looked at him nervously. He reached out and stroked your cheek. You closed your eyes shyly, and he directly pinched your cheek.

"It hurts!" You cover your cheeks and say.

"Hahahaha! You are careless! Stupid!" He laughs at you.

"Hedgehog! You bastard~ "You lose your temper.

"In return, treat me a meal or..." He was silent.

"Or?" You ask.

"Admit that I am the only No.1 Hero in your mind." He said flirtingly.

"Hedgehog, you'd better kill me." You said helplessly.

"Hahaha,fuck you….." He walked to the door.

"Hedgehog, let me know when you get home..." You said shyly.

"I know. Good night... Y/N." He laughed and said.

"Good night, Bakugou." You responded to him with a smile.

You take him downstairs to make sure he gets in the car and leaves before you go home. After closing the door, you go into the kitchen to take a cold drink from and go to the study room. You turn on the computer and see that the wallpaper of the computer is his face.

"This guy..." You said with a smile.

The phone shows a new message. You click on it.

"Y/N, I'm home. Go to bed early💥." He wrote the message.

"I know, worried guy." You reply.

You log in to email on your computer and read the invitation letter of Hero Agency. You mark Fatgum, Hawks and Shoto agency as priority.

You continued to check the email and saw invitation letter from Dynamight Hero Agency. Obviously, you are so bad in his eyes, but he sent you an invitation letter. You marked his email for consideration.

"Hmm, think about it tomorrow." You back to you room.

Part 4 end.

* If you have any ideas, you can leave them in the comment section, and I will try to add in the story.*

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adonis-koo · 3 years

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tease

| 24 |

↳ Summary: You came with the intentions of your best friend landing a job as a stripper. You never meant to catch the eyes of the king stripper of the establishment- Jeon Jungkook, yourself. With what was supposed to be a harmless way of paying off college debt faster you find yourself falling into a very odd and passionate relationship with your new mentor. Between infidelity, passion and jealousy there’s never a dull moment at Cherry Bomb.

↳ Pairing: Stripper!Jungkook/Reader

↳ Genre: Smut, fluff, angst, drama, slice of life, relationship problems without the relationship, reader is such a shy baby protect her, MUTUAL pining, so much sexual frustration,

Word Count: 10k

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Tags: penetrative sex, it’s a little rough, oral (m & f recieveing) they 69 i’m sorry, dirty talk, an attempted lap dance, reverse cowgirl because we love women who ride, slight degradation, praise kink, spanking, doggy style, little hair pulling and breath play,

Song Mood

Warning: This story touches on both sexual harassment and abuse, please read with caution if any of these things are triggers to you. Additional warnings will be given when a chapter present them.

“No!”

“What do you mean no!? Baby be reasonable you can’t tell me you’re gonna cook all of that.” Jungkook glared down childishly at the cart only semi full of groceries that you had crossed off the list you had made before dragging Jungkook out, if he had it his way, you’d both be at the theme park right now.

But seriously, his fridge was empty! Nothing, and you were not eating take out, again. It was ridiculous. So in effort to combat the increasing desire to cook at home, you compiled a list of meals you wanted to make and eat before demanding Jungkook go with you to the store because hey, if he wanted to live together then this was going to be a team effort.

You had asked Jungkook what he wanted to eat as well and he shrugged saying he really didn’t care and therefore, the world was your oyster in terms of cooking, “Me be reasonable!?” You replied back indignant, an angry pout on your face as you flailed your hands, “You’re the one who tried to put two 24 packs of soda in the cart, a box of snack cakes, matcha snowballs and mochi in the cart? You think I’m gonna let you add ice cream to the list as well?”

You knew Jungkook had a sweet tooth but you didn’t realize just how big of a sweet tooth he had and before you knew it, you were constantly making Jungkook put things back, he glared at you and you glared back at him. War sirens could be heard to anyone passing by you both as he gripped the tub of ice cream stubbornly.

“It’s either mochi or ice cream Jungkook, we’re not getting both.” You replied as you crossed your arms. And for the first time in your life, you watched Jungkook’s lips quiver into a pout, puffing a childish breath as he turned around in defeat, going to put the ice cream back.

You had to stifle your giggle because you knew he’d take it as a challenge otherwise, he was just too cute sometimes. You found his sweet tooth, in fact, endearing. Most men in his position would probably try to act all tough and manly, only liking things bitter like their personalities but Jungkook? Far from it.

Jungkook came back with his arms crossed and that broody pout still on his face making you smile unable to stop your giggles making him even more broody as he took the cart from you with a huff, “Stop laughing at me! You’re cock blocking all my favorite snacks.”

“Is that all you buy by yourself? Just snacks? That’s not healthy!” You giggled even more at the way he rolled his eyes, obviously your guess was correct, “Besides, once I start cooking you’ll appreciate it, I just know it. And,” You raised your brows as your lips puckered together, “You were the one that wanted us to live together, this is on you.”

Jungkook huffed as he pushed the cart, looking down at the list that was laid out on top of your purse, “How is that going by the way?” Jungkook’s expression melted to one of curiosity as he raised his brow, “Have you talked to your landlord yet?”

“Yeah,” You paused at the fresh produce outside the isle you both excited as you grabbed onto the cart, it was slow today and much appreciated so you wouldn’t have to battle over food with people, “The apartment is still in good condition even after...what happened,” Your lips twisted into a weak smile as you grabbed one of the reusable bags you always used at the store as you placed a fresh stalk of chokboy inside it, “My lease was getting ready to come up anyways so we agreed that with two months of rent he’d terminate my lease. I’ll get that to him Monday and then I’ll have thirty days to pack up everything and get it moved.”

Jungkook nodded, “Which by the way, everyone agreed to come over and help clean up later today,” Your lips quivered into a pout...you...when did he even ask them that? You knew everyone had of course offered help but well, you hadn’t expected anyone to actually come and help you...well besides Jungkook but that was just a given.

“Don’t look like that,” Jungkook snorted, reaching out as he squished your cheeks, a tiny smile tugging on your cheeks as you grabbed his wrist, pushing him away, “They asked by the way, I didn’t do anything. It just got mentioned in the groupchat.”

“I didn’t see it.” You frowned as you checked your phone and much to your confusion you were right, there weren't any new messages to your notice.

Jungkook’s smile was a little sheepish as he shrugged, “We have a guys groupchat.”

“That I'm not a part of!” You cried out with a pout as you crossed your arms, your expression sulky, you obviously weren’t surprised all the boys had their own chat, you were a part of so many it was hard to keep track but, couldn’t they ask in the main one? Where everyone was a part of?

“Well you aren’t a guy baby,” Jungkook cooed out, saccharine dripping on his tone as he squished your cheeks, “Besides…” He had a lopsided smile on his face as he leaned on the handle of the cart, “It was supposed to be a surprise but….I can’t help myself. I didn’t want you to cry again.”

It was hard to not smile as you pushed him away playfully making him shove you back as you pulled the cart along, “I can’t believe everyone really wants to help...I mean...I just figured it’d be me and you.”

“Well believe it or not they are your friends too now,” Jungkook snorted writing off on the list you made as you placed fresh tomatoes into the bag you had set the bokchoy in, “What are you even gonna make with this shit?” He furrowed his brows.

“Food! I was gonna make some bulgogi one night and some porkbelly another with banchan and maybe some jjangijanma? I’m not just spending money on food that's gonna go bad Koo!” You stomped your foot in annoyance at why he kept complaining about you feeding both you and him decent food, “We can’t live off takeout, I’m not gonna stand for that! And!”

You pointed a finger at him, “I want to get some paint for the living room! And some curtains because what if some creep is staring at us at night?” You shuddered, at the irrational fear but you couldn’t help it, regardless of how irrational it was you wouldn’t stand for it, especially if it was an easy fix, “Along with a rug too for the living center- oh! I was thinking about maybe finding a coffee table for the couch too? Too put in front of it?”

“Okay wait, wait, wait, slow down,” Jungkook held out his hands, his expression bewildered at your sudden long list of demands for the apartment, “Just because we’re living together doesn’t mean you can just hijack my apartment.”

“Sure I can,” His lips parted indignantly as you smiled brightly with a shrug, “It’s not like you bothered to decorate anyways and I’m sure your landlord won’t mind a fresh coat of paint on those musty looking walls. Besides, it’s not yours anymore, it’s ours. You think we could get some new lighting for the kitchen too by the way? The white light really makes the grey walls look gross.”

Jungkook puffed a breath, a brief smile on his lips as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders, “Let's just focus on one thing at a time first okay?” You squealed at his words, bouncing in excitement at his approval of letting you completely hijack his apartment but honestly, it reeked of lack of care and testosterone. It could use a feminine touch, “We can start off with some paint and lighting, that I can do. And….” He rubbed his neck, “It’s not like we don’t have time, I just got a call from Sejin this morning telling me Cherry isn’t gonna be open until Monday.”

You frowned, “Isn’t that when SSU starts though?” How was that even gonna go? You doubt a lot of people- if any at all would show up, especially given what had just happened. Would it even still be on this year with everything that’s happened?

“Yeah that’s the ploy,” Jungkook shrugged, just as unsure as you as he answered, “A lot of free and cheap entertainment, drinks will be half off, Sejin and Bang are really trying to make the most of Cherry’s comeback to try and bury what happened. You’d be surprised at how superficial people are, especially men when it comes to strip clubs.”

You sighed wistfully as you shrugged, you wouldn’t deny him there, men were strange creatures and you wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of business did come back without a care in the world for what happened as long as it meant cheap drinks and naked girls.

“But hey! That gives us more time to prep for you,” Jungkook smiled that charming bright smile of his as he bumped into you making you whine a little as you bumped him back despite a smile threatening to tug on your lips, “Meaning I got a strip pole to install when we get back to the apartment. We won’t need Cherry anyways to choreograph now.”

You were wondering what that package was on his front porch anyways, he had only smiled that smile of his as he shrugged innocently but apparently he had been wanting to get a pole for the apartment for awhile now.

“Well I already have some songs picked out,” Your smile was a little timid at that pure enthusiasm Jungkook always radiated with pride when it came to you and work, “You’ll have to tell me in detail later just how things are run for SSU. But anyways, this is the last of what we need so let's go check out.”

Jungkook wheeled the cart to the checkout where you carefully placed things back into the reusable bags which Jungkook complained about but you didn't like using plastic when it wasn’t needed.

For the first time, doing mundane things such as grocery shopping was actually rather fun, Jungkook and you would banter the whole time and he despite complaining was just as curious and involved in getting things for you (and just as what had happened, trying to bring extra things into the cart as well). However he did get his own snack as well. You just weren’t gonna let him go overboard.

Bringing groceries in was also easy as Jungkook had made it a competition he easily won by bringing them in bulk, proudly showing off the muscle he had despite it being hidden beneath the bagging clothes he often wore.

Unfortunately Jungkook looked like a lost puppy, unable to help as you began to unload them into the fridge, debating on where to put everything as he sat back at the chair at the table with a fat pout on his face making you giggle, “You can join in the say so if you want, I don’t mind! It is your fridge. Have you ever even gotten a full grocery shop before?”

“No.” Jungkook sulked as he crossed his arms, making a flutter of laughter escape you, “I don’t know shit about where to put what in the fridge!”

You waved him over as you shook your head, and reluctantly Jungkook got up and peered over your shoulder, “Everyone does it different, but this is how I do it. All the big stuff like milk and dairy go on the main shelving,” You patted the first level where you had placed your oat milk, the sour cream and cheese at, “These little shelves are for smaller stuff like butter! And the drawers on the bottom hold produce like the bokchoy we have.”

Jungkook wrapped his arms around you loosely as he set his chin on your shoulder, listening intently to you ramble and explain how you placed things into the fridge before muttering to him about how to arrange things which Jungkook would offer suggestions on, some you’d agree excitedly with and others you snort and dismiss.

You enjoyed doing domestic things with him. It didn’t take long for all the groceries to be put away and you were admittedly excited to start turning Jungkook’s apartment into something more...bright...You didn’t want to say Jungkook’s apartment was ugly. It just felt...void of personality and flair that you knew it had the potential for.

And it wasn’t like Jungkook lived in a bad part of Seoul, it was a lovely neighborhood and apartment complex he lived in and because it was so close to Gangnam it was extremely expensive, the only way he could ever afford it was because he was a stripper. He had told you he only started renting here three years ago.

So you knew this apartment probably came like this and only deteriorated over time as Jungkook didn’t live hard in it, but he didn’t maintain more than needed. With a little bit of love you knew this place would be a lot brighter and happier.

“Just hold down the bottom,” Jungkook directed as you steadied the pole, he stood up on a chair as he installed the top of the pole, you both had to rearrange furniture and Jungkook respectively asked for your opinion as this was your domain that you would be styling in the future and you both had agreed that the pole would look back towards the further right corner just a little left of where the TV was, but enough space that there was no chance of hitting the wall or anything else.

You definitely had some work to do with this place but you were already getting ideas that you were excited to try, the rest of your summer, which was coming to a fast end, wouldn’t go to waste.

“I am!” You replied, looking up at him with a pout as you steadied the pole.

“Then why are you wiggling so much?” Jungkook huffed as he gripped the top of the pole making it stiff as he finished tightening the top.

“Don’t be mean! I’m trying my best!” You replied back with a cry making Jungkook snort as he rolled his eyes, finishing up he hopped off the chair, holding out his hands, your eyes narrowing on them as you grabbed them.

“I’m not being mean,” Jungkook tutted as he pulled you up and against him, you tried your best to make an angry face but it failed as he leaned down, bumping your nose against his, “You’re just being a baby.”

Your expression curled a little as he smiled that smile of his as he looked away, “See? Pure baby material.”

You stomped your foot before latching onto him, your arms around his neck as you spoke, “You like it when I’m a baby!” You defended yourself, making him chuckle.

“You’re right, I do.” He relented playfully as he sighed dramatically, “I do. I wouldn’t want it any other way then seeing your sulky, pouty little face every day.” He bumped your nose against his once more as your lips lightened into a bright shy smile as you leaned up, letting your nose brush his in acknowledgement, “Are you ready to go? The others are headed over to your apartment.”

You nodded, “Mhm, I just wanna get it cleaned oh and…” You offered a cheeky smile that you knew he would groan about, “I wanna bring some of my mugs and plates over...it’s really sad you live off styrofoam.”

“Oh my god.” He sighed as he hung his head causing a string of giggles to escape you, god you loved this man.

“Man this place is a mess,” Seokjin wrinkled his nose as he swept up broken glass, “I mean really, it’s seen better da- Ow! Hey you punk!” Seokjin had dropped the broom to rub his bicep at the harsh punch Jungkook landed against his arm, his glare sharp as he briefly looked over at you.

Kneeled down your fingers ran through the soil of the potted hosta you had bought from the supermarket, it had been dying and you were slowly nursing it back to health. Now all its leaves were dried up and crumbled from the days without nutrition or water. Placing the chunks of pottery into the plastic bag you remembered the day you bought that pot too.

It was from the local pottery store and the woman who ran it was so excited that you had gotten it because it had been sitting on the shelf for nearly three months despite having the cutest illustration of a lone weak tree on it.

You remembered thinking it was that most adorable thing on the planet and just knew it’d look good sitting up on that old wooden crate you stood up right as a stand. You hardly even realized tears were trickling down your cheeks as you held up the broken pottery piece that had the small tree on it.

“We’ll get you a new one babygirl.” Jungkook kneeled down beside you with a soft tone as he wrapped an arm around you, your lips immediately quivering as you sniffled harshly, trying not to cry. It was dumb, these were all things, just material items, at least they weren’t you. But in everything you did and bought, you did it was so much passion and utmost love.

“...It was from the pottery store, theren’t aren’t any more like this.” You mumbled with a sniffle as you closed your eyes in defeat, tears trickling down your face as you wiped them. Shaking your head, “This is so stupid to cry about!” You flopped the piece into the bag, feeling frustrated with yourself, you were tired of crying, tired of feeling your heart ache over the tiniest things. It was too exhausting.

“No, no, no it’s not!” Jungkook immediately defended, grabbing the piece from the bag, “These are your things babydoll, and I know how much your space means to you. It’s okay for this to be hard,” He pecked your temple as you closed your eyes again, warm watery tears sliding down your cheeks, “There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that.”

Your hands trembled as you covered your eyes, your shoulders bouncing as you silently kept your tears to yourself, Jungkook’s lips pressing into your hair as his hand soothingly rubbed your arm that was wrapped around you.

After a moment of mourning all of the precious memories you made in this little apartment you called home, you wiped your tears as Jungkook asked if you were okay, nodding you continued to wipe your eyes as he helped you bag up the rest of the broken pot. Tenderly Jungkook took the bag from you as he rubbed your back once before getting up.

Sighing you shook your head, wiping your eyes one last time as you stood up.Stupid...even with Jungkooks vaildation which you knew he was right about, you couldn’t help but berate yourself, it was dumb to cry about things like this when there was better ways you could exert your energy.

Having dried your tears and having a moment to regain your composure you finished up cleaning all the pottery and glass that had been scattered on the floor before walking into the living room your lips curled a little at the confused expression Jimin sported.

He was holding up a cloth, inspecting it closely as if trying to figure out what it was was but obviously finding no success due to the many rips in it, “It’s a tapestry,” Jimin jumped a little as you sat down on the couch beside him, “...Was a tapestry,” You mumbled, rubbing the back of your neck, “I found it at a flea market when I first came to Seoul, back when me and Seulgi lived together that was our first week on being in our apartment and it was horrible,” You shook your head as your nose wrinkled, grabbing a side of the ripped tapestry in fondness, “I mean there was water stains on the walls, the paint was chipped and looked like it had been due for a new coat for over ten years, the toilets hadn’t been scrubbed and the bathrooms were wrecked. It was horrible.”

Jimin peered at you curiously as you traced the design of a large lotus flower that had been on it, “Seulgi just started crying the moment we walked through the house for the first time because the pictures online made it look a lot better. And of course I thought it was terrible too, but later that week exploring Seoul, I ended up finding an old flea market stall and came across this.”

Your lips curled into a proud smile as you held it up, “And I realized that, just because that’s what our apartment looked like when we first got there, didn’t mean it had to continue looking like that. Seulgi dragged her feet and wouldn’t come with me so I painted all the walls, cleaned up the bathrooms and got new apparel to put in there. It didn’t happen fast.”

You clacked your tongue as you sighed, “We were pretty broke at the time because even with us splitting rent it was still expensive. But slowly and sure, it came together. And we left that apartment better than it ever was. I was proud.”

You looked at Jimin only for him to scoot a little away from you as he joked, “Maybe you should’ve gone into interior decorating instead of dance? Jungkook could really use the help, he has zero sense of taste when it comes to anything besides himself.”

You briefly flickered your gaze to Jungkook who tried to not make himself so obvious that he was keeping an eye on you both, his gaze immediately shooting away from you as you sighed, you knew Jungkook would apologize on his own time but that didn’t mean you still didn’t feel bad, “Jungkook told me…”

You didn’t need to elaborate for Jimin to know exactly what you were talking about, his expression visibly put out as he slumped back against the couch, running his hands through his hair as he groaned, “I mean I’m not surprised, but he could’ve kept it to himself…You know what, maybe you’ll tell me what the fuck is wrong with him?”

Your lips parted a little, somewhat taken aback at just how strong Jimin came off, clearly still sore about yesterday- not that you could blame him, you knew how Jungkook was, but still…you had never seen Jimin in such a...hostile state. And a part of you felt a wave of guilt...had it not been for you...Jungkook wouldn’t be like this…

You had to pause to think about your next words carefully, because you knew if not said the right way, it could be seen as defensive, which wasn’t your intention, “...Well...I wouldn’t say there’s anything wrong with Jungkook,” You spoke softly, folding your hands into your lap, “He just....” Your eyes fanned around the room realizing Jungkook must’ve gone back to the kitchen, otherwise it was just the two of you, “...Jimin…” You sighed as you lifted one foot onto the couch, wrapping your arms around your leg as you gently laid your head against it, “There’s a lot of stuff going on with him lately. There’s a lot of things that he’s ignored about himself and bottled up, and...it’s all come out recently. A lot of wounds he never even tended to, have been ripped back open for him.”

“I just don’t understand him,” Jimin sighed, lifting up the fabric of the tapestry once more as he shook his head, “I thought I knew him, but I guess I don’t huh.” You frowned a little as you pulled the tapestry from his hands, folding it up as you shook your head.

“It’s not you, he just...I guess he thought he could bury it, or run from it...and he can’t.” You smoothed out the edges, “It’s brought out a lot of deep rooted insecurities from him. And Jungkook knows it’s not like him, but it’s not something he can help. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I made things tense between you both....” You couldn’t look at him anymore, feeling a sense of shame in you as you stared down at your fingers.

“It’s not your fault!” Jimin immediately defended you, which was appreciated but you still felt bad, “You did nothing wrong.”

“I basically gaslit him when he thought I was pregnant with your kid and instead of just staying in, I forced us to go out and not only that but somehow during all of that, I seriously thought blowing you would be a good idea.” Jimin deflated a little at your words as you stared at him in exasperation. You didn’t force Jungkook to go out technically, but you had pushed the whole day.

But only because you knew something was bothering him and he’d never be like that normally, you should’ve respected what he wanted regardless but you just thought….thought what? You felt pathetic trying to defend your motive that day, but it had been truly innocent up until what had happened at the afterparty. You had assumed Jungkook would eventually perk back up and have fun because he loved going out, you wouldn’t have pushed him had you understood what was really going on.

“Well you do sound kinda like a bitch when you put it like that,” Jimin muttered, looking at you as you looked back at him, a smile curling on his lips and one threatening yours as you snorted, “But we both know it probably wasn’t like that. You had his best intentions at heart. And I mean you’re right, blowing me wasn’t a good idea, but I mean…” He shrugged, that dumb smile on his face as he shrugged, “Listen, it is what it is, you and I both assumed he wouldn’t care, clearly. And it was a shit move. The most you can do is just let it go and move on, I’m assuming he told you about what he told me?”

You nodded, setting down the tapestry coffee table as you hummed, “Yeah he told me, and it’s not like I could be mad at him, he’s struggling, with a lot internally and I think once he works through it, things will be okay. But it’s just going to be a work in progress until then.” You could distinctly remember Jungkook’s anger, the way he seemed frustrated with himself.

It was going to be a process, “Besides...It seems like Jungkook isn’t the only one who hasn’t told everyone everything either...and I really hope you both know that it’s okay to have some things stay private.”

Jimin said nothing, only looking down at his hand that he flexed his fingers out from, wiggling them a little and his expression seemed downcast, “...I used to wanna have kids,” You glanced at him in surprise, not at his words, but you didn’t think Jimin would want to talk about it, it was something very personal to him clearly and he owned you nothing, “Me and my girlfriend used to talk about it all the time.”

His lips flickered into a small smile as he looked down at his hand, as if remenscising a memory you’d never know about, “She said she always loved baby smiles and loved little kids sitting down with her, she used to work at a daycare- so I thought, why the hell not?” Jimin’s tiny smile began to melt off her face, “She thought it was her- that was infertile. But I got tested too with her, she just so happened to get her results back faster.”

Jimin’s face became void as he lowered his hand down, “It was late that night and she had offered to stay past her shift because they were low staffed that night but I never got to see her again, a drunk driver clipped the back side of her car and flipped it.”

Your lips quivered a little into a frown as you folded your hands, Jimin’s lips twitched into a bitter smile, “I got my results that morning.” You could see swirls of lingering mourning and rage inside his eyes, it was very similar to not only Jungkook, but Rosé’s as well. They all had things they were struggling with and it made your heart hurt for them, “God is one cruel motherfucker.”

“I’m sorry…” You mumbled softly, your hands folded into your lap, wanting to give him a hug because you knew anybody in Jimin’s position probably needed one, but you also knew, this was a bad time, and that it wouldn’t be appropriate given everything that had happened up until this point, “I know that doesn’t change things for you. But, I do hope you find happiness.” You offered a tiny smile.

Jimin sighed as he stretched out, shrugging loosely, trying to play it off like he didn’t care anymore but he above all else should know it wouldn’t slip past your eyes the way he was still sore about it, and he had every right to be, “It’s been years now,” He deflated, “I spiralled out of control after that, and eventually I stumbled across Cherry Bomb.” Jimin’s lips curved a little at the memory, “I was drunk and I wasn’t sure if I was just hallucinating or if it was Yeji on stage. It wasn’t,” He clarified before snorting, something oddly melancholy in his eyes as he muttered, “It was Rosé,” His lips curled into a semi ironic smile and his brows furrowed as if only slightly amused, “They don’t even look close to alike. And I remember seeing her in class the next day before realizing she was a stripper and she just begged me to not tell anyone.”

Jimin heaved a breath as he stretched out before sitting up, “But I didn’t wanna tell anyone, I wanted to be up on stage. It sounds stupid but, that night I was drunk, I figured who’d care if I just left the world too?” His gaze lowered a little, “But my drunk stupid ass thought it was Yeji on that stage, and I cried at the bar the whole night before Yoongi eventually kicked me out at closing, and even if they looked nothing alike, even if it was just a desperate drunk delusion, when I saw Rose the next day, I saw hope. And so I asked her how I could start dancing because it was obvious I saw her for a reason.”

You sniffled a little, wiping your eyes as Jimin did a double take, “it wasn’t that sad christ…” He looked a little awkward as you giggled, “And…” His gaze became sharp, “Don’t ever tell her any of what I just said. She’s my best friend and I love her but that’s not a conversation I’m ready to have with her- if ever.”

“I’m not Jungkook,” You giggled as you wiped your eyes, “Of course it’ll stay between us- and maybe Jungkook too,” He groaned as you offered a small smile, “It just made me emotional, that’s all. I can’t relate, I don’t know what that feels like. But it makes me happy you and Rosé are so close.”

“I am a lesbian,” You both jumped at Rosé who put her hands on the couch, a bright smile on her face as she answered pointedly, “I mean we already agreed to get married platonically if we’re both single by 30 but I draw the line with dicks. Unless it’s rubber it’s not getting near me.” You snorted as you began howling out laughing, Jimin looked a little flustered, not at her words but at her appearance before relaxing as he rolled his eyes.

“So why all of these affectionate words? Did I do something?” Rosé smiled teasingly as she placed a hand on her chest waiting making you giggle as you shook your head while standing up, shrugging as she pouted, “Hey no fair! You can’t keep secrets from me!”

You offered a small smile as you replied, “Sometimes, the longer a secret is kept, the sweeter it is when they tell you.” Rosé waved her hands walking back to the hallway as you giggled. You were glad, if anything, that you had the chance to talk to Jimin and not only this, but for him to share such a personal thing with you.

“Are you really okay? With everything going on I mean?” Hyerin frowned, she had texted you earlier in the morning asking if you’d be interested in getting drink’s together and of course, leave it to Jungkook and Yugyeom both for that matter to butt in.

They were off in the distance playing pool, Hyerin said she wasn’t a fan of bars but when you offered a lounge she seemed excited as she had never been, it was a nice place, lowkey and quiet but good for a night out or even a place to study during the day.

You both sat at the counter watching Jungkook and Yugyeom play against a few others here at the lounge, “Well, I have to be,” Your hands curled around your drink, not wanting to think about what had happened a few days earlier and it was difficult to keep up with just how many traumatising things had happened within a week, “For Jungkook’s sake...and…” You sighed softly, “It’s not like there’s anything that can be done for me right now. That’s just gonna take time…”

“Awh, I understand. I just wish things hadn’t taken such a sharp turn, do you know when Cherry Bomb will open back up at least?’ Hyerin stirred her drink as she leaned back against the barstool, watching Yugyeom and Jungkook look like little boys triuphanting over their victory together.

“Monday, by the sound of it...But nobody is even sure if we’re gonna have a crowd, even with SSU starting that night. Regardless me and Jungkook are gonna stay busy with choreographing, he’s really excited about it.” Your lips tilted upwards a little bit at the memory of how much enthusiasm he had, you were happy to see him happy. It was just like him to be like that, “How have things been...at the dungeon with...you know...Shownu was it?”

Hyerin snorted, taking a sip of her drink as she rolled her eyes, “Same old, same old, he causes shit, makes dom’s hate him and gets away with it.” She crumpled the paper her straw had been in as she flicked it against the countertop, “Honestly, Yugyeom wants to find a new dungeon, the drama just isn’t worth it. I’m glad you and Jungkook don’t go regularly.”

You tilted your head as Hyerin offered a weak smile, “It’s hard enough keeping Yugyeom from beating the shit out of Shownu and getting us kicked out. Jungkook and Yugyeom together?” You let out a weak laughing, beginning to understand what she meant, “I mean they’d probably send him to the hospital…”

“They would send him to the hospital,” You offered a weak smile, even without Yugyeom’s help Jungkook totally would, let alone with it? Hyerin was right, that was a bad mix even together, you hadn’t had the chance to talk to Yugyeom fully but you had the feeling, that despite being more relaxed then Jungkook was, he could get just as defensive as him, easily. Maybe even more so, “What is the reason Shownu is still allowed around anyways?”

You both didn’t have the time to visit the dungeon much but you got the impression that if you did, you’d probably be a lot more involved in the drama given Jungkook’s inclination to always step in, “Ah…” Hyerin relented as she rubbed her neck, “Shownu is just good friends with a lot of the dungeon owners, and if you’re on good terms with them? You’re pretty much untouchable. I don’t know all the ends and outs but…” Hyerin frowned as she looked at her cup, “Word is that some of the girls have been disappearing at the dungeon and...Some of the dungeon owners might be involved...I don’t know. We haven’t been for the past week ever since we found out. Yugyeom wants things to clear up before we go back.”

You shuddered at the idea, being a little to familiar with the feeling, you could understand Yugyeom’s concern, for anyone’s concern really, Jungkook would be, and is the same way, “Seems like trouble in paradise everywhere these days,” You sighed wistfully, even in the areas of your life you weren’t so involved it, were having trouble now.

You just wanted things to become normal again, when they weren’t so tense and your only stresses were exams and being naked on stage. It seemed so...insignificant in comparison now. Things were the way they were, so you wouldn’t complain about them, and at the very least, you and Jungkook had each other and you’d make it through this.

But still, it was hard to not wish for things to be easier again. When your life wasn’t put on the line as well as Jungkooks, which he hadn’t exactly clarified but...You couldn’t ignore your gut instinct that was telling you he was in just as dangerous of a position.

“Tell me about it,” Hyerin sighed before suddenly perking up with a thought, “Oh…! You know what,” She turned you, her smile a little shy now as she asked, “What if you came over and we hung out one night? I have tons of coloring sheets at my apartment and snacks too! Yugyeom is pretty strict about snacks but he’d totally be willing to let us have some if it was a get together!”

Was she talking about- Oh...your face felt hot at the mention, feeling a little shy but you did like the idea, sounded like...a nice break from the harsh world you were constantly having to endure day in and day out, “Sure…! We could do it tomorrow night if you wanted? If you’re free of course!”

Hyerin bounced in her seat in excitement, “That’s perfect! And bring as many stuffies as you want, I have a whole collection I want you to meet.” You both began giggling and Hyerin needed to shut up before she slipped and you could tell her excitement was getting the better of her.

“Oh I know that look,” Yugyeom called out, him and Jungkook both finished with their game of pool, his smile soft at the sight of her excited bounce and wigglyness, “What are you two conspiring?”

“Well!” Hyerin crossed her arms, looking away with a little bit of sass as she spoke proudly, “Me and Y/n are having a playdate tomorrow night and you both aren’t invited.” Your eyebrows lifted and your gaze darted away from Jungkook’s who looked both thoroughly amused and yet daring you to try and piggy back off Hyerin.

“Oh?” Yugyeom raised his brows, somewhat amused, somewhat challenging, “And where am I supposed to stay? Our bedroom?” Hyerin’s lips parted a little before she hmphed, crossing her arms, “As long as you aren’t mean to her I don’t care.”

“I won’t! Y/n is my friend!” Hyerin pouted a little, grabbing your arm defensively as you smiled shyly, your hands folded as Jungkook sat down next to you, pressing a kiss on your head.

“As fun as it’s been these two need to be separated, look at them,” Jungkook snorted in amusement, his eyes dancing with affection as he tenderly stroked a hand through your hair as you curled up against his touch, “They’re gonna send each other small in excitement,” Jungkook, knowing you contained the urge to coo at you as he spoke, “What about me though? Hm? Am I excluded too?”

Your lips quivered into a pout as Jungkook smiled fondly, his hands squeezing your cheeks, “No…” You mumbled, your bottom lip jutting like a fish as his fingers pressed into your cheeks once more, the puppy expression on your face just too cute for Jungkook to resist tapping your nose, “You can be there.”

“Oh thank you so much baby,” Jungkook whispered, unable to stop the soft coo that escaped him, your arms immediately latching around him in a hug, as you looked up at him with a bright shy smile, “You’re always so thoughtful of others huh?” He leaned down and pecked your forehead.

“Okay yeah, I gotta take someone home,” Yugyeom sighed but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face at Hyerin now attached to him, he brushed his hand through his hair before snorting, “Well I guess I’ll see you tomorrow huh, no courtesy of you.” He pinched Hyerin’s side making her whine, “Come on sweetheart, let’s go.” Hyerin bounced a little as she hugged unto Yugyeom who only smiled.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Jungkook waved them off before tutting, “You were gonna make plans and leave me out baby.” He said exasperatedly, a playful tone in his voice but you still shook your head.

“No! That was Hyerin...I…!” You crossed your arms, a sulky glare on your face as Jungkook chuckled, “That wasn’t me!” You whined, leaning against Jungkook as he wrapped an arm around you, “She just thought it would be fun to get together and- and I just thought!”

“Thought what?” Jungkook smiled boyishly as he raised his brows in amusement, “Thought what baby? Don’t leave me hanging.”

“Thought it’d be nice to just not have to deal with everything for the night,” You mumbled, feeling a bit shy to admit it. You had felt self conscious when it came to anything about age regression, things had gotten a little better since you had talked to Jungkook about it but you were still a bit shy and admittedly...being with someone like Hyerin, who did the same thing, it made you feel, not so self conscious.

“Well you’re more than welcome to at any time now that we’re gonna be together all the time baby,” Jungkook clacked his tongue, a playful smile on his face as he pressed a kiss to your head once more, “Buy hey, it’ll be a good way to relax tomorrow because we’re working the rest of today and all of tomorrow on your dances since we go back Monday. We’re gonna be cramming baby.”

You whined at his arm squeezing you making a flutter of giggles escape you, pressing your head against him as he affectionately pressed a kiss on top of your head once more, “Are you ready to go then baby? We got lots to do at the apartment.” You supposed, Jungkook was right, and admittedly, you were looking forward to working with him on it.

“No….No...Baby come on, I know you can do better than this.”

You stomped your foot as you turned to Jungkook who was laid out on the couch, though obviously not impressed with your choreography was clearly enjoying the show regardless, a boyish smile crossed his lips at the sight of your annoyed expression.

“Instead of sitting there just staring at my ass why don’t you help if you don’t like it!?” You crossed your arms, a sulky pout on your face as he chuckled, sitting up before walking over to you, his arms on your shoulder as he pushed you back to the pole.

“I am helping,” He whispered playfully in your ear as you felt your face go red, shoving him a little as he laughed, “I’m being the audience, and I can tell you the audience won’t care for it.”

You groaned as you rolled your eyes, crossing your arms once more in frustration, “Then help me! What would look better oh sex dance master.”

“I am the sex dance master,” Jungkook retorted with a chuckle, that stupid smile on his face as you puffed a childish breath, “And instead of starting out leaning on the pole like every other basic bitch, you should start laying down, and kick your feet up onto the pole.”

“Did you just call me basic!?” You cried out, Jungkook only looked down at you, a smile still on his face as you groaned, grabbing your head as you looked up at him in disbelief.

“Why don’t you lay down baby,” Jungkook redirected only more amused at your cry of frustration before complying, laying down on your back you set your feet up against the pole. Jungkook kneeled down as he nodded, “Mhm, and just…” He grabbed your wrists delicately, crossing them before he pulled them up over your head.

Standing up he backed away a little, “Arch your back a little,”

“I’m laying down.” You complained as you twisted your head to look up at him.

“Arch your back.” Jungkook repeated more firmly, making you heave a sigh, uncomfortably curving your spine as best you could, “Now lift your chin a little,” You frowned before doing so, “Okay, okay, and...close your eyes and act sexy.” Your lips threatened to curve into a smile as you snorted, doing so, “That’s not sexy.”

“I’m trying my best,” You opened your eyes, lips jutting a little as you glared up at him, “And this is my best.” Jungkook rolled his eyes, a smile tugging on his lips as he sat back down, “I’ve seen your best sweetheart, that’s not it. Now start the routine from there, do a few kicks or whatever you want from here before getting up.”

Closing your eyes you sighed, trying to come up with something and the only thing you could think of however was letting one leg slide down the pole before slowly extending it back up, extending your other leg off the pole before walking them a little. Letting your feet lean to the left a little you lowered them to the floor before lifting your upper body up, looking at Jungkook who shrugged, tipping his soda can at you making you whine, “Bad?”

His face scrunched a little and he hesitated for a second, “It’s not terrible...but you could do better. First move was nice, second was a little lacking and you know they think it’s cooler when you’re actually on the pole.”

Laying back down you set your legs back on the pole, “So leg down is fine,” You lowered your leg to your chest once more, “extension is fine?”

“That’s a good part,” Jungkook nodded, “Now do walk, walk,” You mirrored his words with your each little step, “Just two, then take your feet to the left and lift up. Don’t prolong it. Now lift your arms up and grab on with reverse.”

You could strip yes, but...pole dancing….? It came with the trade but you still weren’t what one would consider your strong suit. Carefully you placed your hands in reverse grip, “Now pull yourself up.” This was easy! You pulled yourself, feeling triumphant, taking a few steps before adjusting your grip and doing a fan kick to the front.

“There you go baby,” Jungkook nodded approvingly, his lips curled in that proud smile of his as he leaned back in his seat, “ You couldn’t help but feel shy at his words but continued with one more step before letting go of the pole, pressing your back against it as you slowly slid down to a pole sit, “My thighs are burning,” You whined, “You think I should do a button up for this?” You fiddled with pretend buttons before pushing yourself up.

“I think,” Jungkook stood up, walking over before squeezing your chin, “You should do what you think is best, baby. I’m here to help not coach.” He whispered as you tried to push him away with a giggle as he pulled you back closer, “For what it’s worth I think you look pretty sexy no matter what.”

“Stop! You whispered back feeling flustered and giggly pulling away from him as a closed mouth smile tugged on his lips, sitting back down on the couch his eyes were only slightly lidded but you could see what that meant from a mile away.

“You know what baby? I think we might need to brush up on your lap dancing again,” Jungkook opened his arms, his thighs parting comfortably as he gestured you to his lap, your body immediately warmed as you whined a little, unable to deny him as you shuffled to stand in front of him, attempting to sit on his lap but his hand latched onto your hips stopping you, “Ah...what are you supposed to do before a lap dance baby?”

You whined again as you shuffled in spot, Jungkook clicked his tongue, his hands tugging down your sweatpants to reveal your panties, you had anticipated getting laid today leaving you in a plain cotton underwear making you semi shy, Jungkook wasn’t having it though as he tugged you onto his lap, “Stop whining,” he whispered in your ear, his hands gripping your thighs before making their way to your ass, “And start making me feel good baby, show me how you do it.”

You couldn’t resist pressing your face into his neck as your hips began circling against him, you could feel his cock beginning to stir as he let out a soft moan.

His grip softening on your ass and his hands guided them ever so slightly, your clit beginning to rub just the right way on his jeans making you whine, “Mmph…! Jungkook!” Your hips becoming more desperate as you began grinding on him harder as your clit throbbed pathetically. His hands patiently guided your hips as he suckled tenderly on your neck.

“That’s it baby, get those panties nice and messy for me.” He moaned softly, his hands squishing the cheeks of your ass in appreciation as you continued to grind against the the growing bulge in his pants, burying your face further into his shoulder as you whined.

“You’re not supposed to touch me during a lap dance…!” This wasn’t fair! Jungkook only squeezed your ass even harder making you jump a little as you were suddenly jostled onto the couch.

“You call that a lap dance baby? I’ve seen you do better.” Jungkook clicked his tongue as confusion washed over you as to what he was doing before you squeaked at one leg being straddled over him, your hands grabbing his stomach for some sort of support but that clearly wasn’t what Jungkook was aiming for, he carelessly pushed your back making you collapse down grabbing his thighs.

Your face like it was burning at the realization of what position you were in, “...Jungkook!” You whined trying to pathetically crawl away from how close his face was to your throbbing cunt. It was expected for him to forcibly pull you back, a hand slamming against your ass making you squirm with a whimper, “Don’t wanna hear one word about it sweet heart, you know what I want you to do?” Jungkook’s voice dripped patronizingly, “I want you to suck that cock and if you do a good job maybe I’ll give this little cunt a good reward.”

His hands left no room for debate as you whimpered at the feeling of your panties sticking to your cunt, your hands fumbled with the hem of his sweats before pushing them down along the Calvin Klein’s he was sporting today. His cock bounced in search of you as your lips quivered a little, sure you had slept together too many times to count now but...it didn’t ever make it less intimidating to blow him, especially in a compromising position such as this.

Sucking it up though you positioned yourself onto your forearms before giving a small lick to his irritated tip that was already beginning to dribble with precum, “Don’t you fuckin’ tease baby. That’s not what I asked.” Jungkook growled, his hips lifting a little in chase of your tongue and you couldn’t stop the little giggle that escaped you as you gave another kitten lick to his tip once more.

Jungkook’s teeth gritted before you squeaked at the feeling of your panties being ripped off at the sides, “Jungkook…! Those were expensive!” Sure they were loungewear but that didn’t make them any cheater! Jungkook ignored your whine though as you whimpered at his tongue suddenly pressing onto your sensitive little bud, a gasp escaping you as you lowered gaze despite not even being able to look at him, “Mmph…! Jungkook…” you mumbled, your cheeks burning and your hips unable to resist rocking against his tongue as your eyes squeezed shut.

A hand harshly striked the cheek of your ass making you jump as you whimpered, Jungkook’s tongue immediately being removed from your clit, “Suck, suck it you little cockslut, make that mouth useful baby.” Not wanting to prolong any sort of punishment you did as told, positioning yourself as best you could before taking his tip inside your mouth, suckling along his head tender before slowly bobbing your head to take him further.

Jungkook’s hands softened against your hips and you heard a low moan from him before his tongue rewardingly met your clit again, the notion had your thighs squeezing against his head and another whine vibrating against his cock as your head began to bob faster around his cock before you pulled off him to take a deep shaky breath at his persistence in suckling your clit.

Jungkook’s hands guiding your ass to ride against his tongue as your eyes squeezed shut tightly, “Mm! Jungkook…!” It was hard to focus on any sort of task when he was putting you through this, his hands squeezed warningly immediately putting you back to work.

Your hand wrapped around the base of his cock before lightly tugging it, your tongue dragging on the sensitive underside of his shaft.

A hiss escaped Jungkook’s and his impatience attempting to get the better of him as his hands squeezed your ass before his mouth attached back to your clit, suckling and pressing his tongue down against it, flicking it rapidly making it difficult for you to do anything escape whimper against his cock as you attempted to keep the same energy for him.

Squeezing a little on his base you took his tip back inside your mouth before bobbing your head as your legs trembled from the force of his tongue roughly playing with your clit, a hand smacking your ass making you jump but your hips were forced to stay in place with no choice but to take it as your eyes began to water.

Taking his cock further into your mouth intending to go all the way until it hit the back of your throat, you could feel the pleased expression from Jungkook due to his moans of contentment on your cunt, his hands soothingly rubbing your thighs in coax to keep going for him. Wanting to please you hurriedly took a deep breath before slowly sinking further down his cock, your throat immediately stinging unpleasantly and your eyes watering as you heard low moans and long sigh of contentment from Jungkook, “Mmm, what a good girl, so good baby, keep going, keep sucking that cock.” His lips parted, dragging his tongue back to your clit making you gag on his cock as you whined, backing your hips further against his face in desperation.

You bobbed your head sloppier at the feeling of his tongue delicately flicking your clit before he wrapped his lips around the tiny bud, something about the sensation sending you feral as the orgasm suddenly lit through your veins making you gag and whimper as your body squirmed against him.

Jungkook’s hips lifted a little at the feeling of your mouth wrapped so tight around him, “Ah fuck! Such a good little slut for me baby, fuuck.” Jungkook let his head rest back on the couch as he sighed contently, his hands soothingly squeezing your ass cheeks as his lips parted a little, “Shit, shit baby! Mmm.” Your throat was painfully stinging and salvia was pooling down your chin before you pulled off him briefly to take a deep breath, “Such a good girl baby,” Jungkook cooed coaxingly, “C’mon baby, ride that cock for me, wanna watch you go dumb on my dick.”

You whined a little, wiping your face with your arm before you carefully further down the couch, Jungkook’s hands guiding your hips to stop just at his cock which was bobbing in seek of friction. Your walls felt empty clenching around nothing and you wasted no time changing that.

Sinking down on his tip you closed your eyes as a shallow moan escaped you, the feeling of his thick shaft splitting you open as you began bouncing on top of him.

“Fuck baby, what a nice little wet cunt, keep going sweetheart, keep fucking going.” Jungkook inhaled through his teeth, trying to compose himself from wildly slamming himself into you like he wanted too, “Faster baby, I know you can take it.” You whine, lowering onto your forearms for more leverage as your hips started bouncing faster, your walls clenching around him harshly and his tip hitting all the right spots inside you as you whined with a shaky breath, sinking all the way down on him slowly before wiggling your hips.

This notion made something inside Jungkook twitch before he growled impatiently, his tip nearing an angry bright red as he pulled out of you making you jolt a little as you shifted, being broken out of trance as you whined, “Jungkook…!” He wasn’t having any of it though, sitting up he shoved you further down onto the couch making you whimper as he yanked your hips up.

“I know my little baby was having her fun but do you feel this?” Jungkook situated himself on his knee’s, your cunt presented to him as he slapped his cock against it as your lips quivered, “That’s your fault babydoll.” You didn’t even have a chance to defend yourself before the head of his cock pushed inside you once more only this time being at his complete mercy before Jungkook took liberty and slammed into you.

Your body was being jolted and your hands were hanging onto the couch arm for dear life as you cried out, “Ah! Fuck, fuck, Jungkook…!” You whined at the force his hips were slamming into you at, Jungkook was having none of it though, reaching out as he grabbed a fist full on your hair yanking it as his balls slapped against your skin hard enough to make you weak in the legs.

“Don’t wanna hear a single word from you baby, you’re gonna be my little fucking cum dump yeah?” Jungkook’s breath was hot against your neck as his cock pushed before inside you, staying nice and snug in your cunt as he roughly thrusted harder into you making your body jostle with every motion.

Just the thought had your walls squeezing around him as he moaned, “That’s right baby, you want this tiny cunt to be used to take all my cum? My little cumslut.” Jungkook’s jaw clenched at how loud you were beginning to moan, your body withering and shaking which was only giving him more motivation to keep going, his hips slamming harder and harder as your thighs trembled and had a harder time staying up.

“Go on baby, cum all of this cock, I can feel this little cunt wanting it, cum.” Jungkook nearly barked out with a growl, his cheating pressing against your back now, letting go of your hair in trade of your throat as he squeezed it tight making a breathy moan escape you, your vision nearly blacking out at how hard you abruptly came again, not even registering how loud you were moaning and whining beneath him.

Jungkook pressed his forehead against your shoulder blades as he swore with gritted teeth, his hips burying inside you as he let himself go, hot substance shooting up inside you as he moaned softly, swiveling his hips a little to ride out his orgasm as he buried his face into your neck, “Fuck baby, feels so good.” He mumbled with a rasp as he pecked a kiss on your neck.

Your body was rapidly trembling and you could hardly even speak as you melted into the couch trying to wrap your brain around how hard you just got railed.

Jungkook happily nuzzled into your neck, a small smile on his face as he began pressing kisses into your neck, “Love my baby so much, you did such a good job.” His hands rubbed against your waist approvingly making you wiggle a little, a tiny smile on your lips as you mumbled, “Were you mad at me…?”

Jungkook’s nose nudged the crook of your neck against as he shifted a little to lay on top of you, his cock slipping from you making your legs twitch a little as he pressed another kiss on the back of your neck this time, “No? Jus’ wanted to fuck you senseless,” You huffed as he chuckled a little, “You weren’t complaining baby, say it back.” He poked your side as you wiggled a little, “C’mon say it, I wanna hear you say it baby.”

You whined a little before wiggling, managing to turn yourself over to lay on your back, “Love you too Koo.” Jungkook practically looked like he was glowing as he collapsed against your chest, tiny kisses being placed on your collar bones as you cocooned yourself against him, happily soaking in all of the attention.

Note: It’s been such a cute little break in the story guys!!! I hope you’re prepared for the final four chapters coming up soon because !!! things get a little intense!!

(Taglist CLOSED)

Taglist: @rkivemagic @megladon1616 @pearlneedstosleep @sincerelyjeohn @epiphany-playwithfire @maboiisuga @kookphoria91 @taehyungiev13@134340ismybitch @appreciatethefoolishness @hanhannguyen98 @lurkerarmy @lovelyjkook @serendipity-secrets @kimvantaee @timestandstillalittle @yanmi1 @expensive-bangtan-girl @blxckeffect @kimcheeeeeeeeee @rather-not-sayy @pastel-i-decay @taeass @caitlinmarieeblossom @jishookedout134 @rjsmochii @lovethatforme97 @kthstrawberryshortcake @anonymous2505 @rainbow-zebra-unicorns @namjoonies-dimple @keyaqua123 @kai1697jeon @mochibabycakes @min-chimchim03 @rosewxterbts @zazaluvbts @thekookiecorner @copa-c-havana @rapperkookz @xhg-btsx @intrepide11 @bts-army46 @jimintaendem @sleepyje0n @vidaficrecs @purplelady85 @jeonsbbgirl @loveyourselfbangtans @ausjeons @hajimaoppaa @l4life

#bts #jungkook #jungkook x reader #jungkook x reader smut #jungkook smut #jungkook imagine #bts jungkook #bts x reader #bts imagine #jungkook x y/n #jungkook x y/n smut #bts au

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londonskies · 3 years

Text

DON’T SAY THE S WORD!!

https://images.app.goo.gl/JKKNVtwZNGAVVwzB9

In which Corpse has a secret girlfriend and his insomnia is driving them both up the wall, putting precious Sykkuno in danger because he said the word “Sleep”.

Hi! This is just a once in a blue moon, feel good, fluff fic cause I have commitment issues on my writing lol.

Yes, my writing style is long winded, I’m really sorry, but I hope you enjoy it!

credits to u/balderdash_lee on reddit

Corpse had not slept for close to 50 hours by the time that they had started their latest month prior pre-planned plasmophobia session with Rae, Sykkunno and Toast, but it was like he was hyped up on sugar for the last hour or so and Y/n was really beginning to get worried.

This was a tattletale sign of the huge crash her boyfriend was about to go through, and yet the stubborn man just would not step away from his computer.

She had tried everything, from luring him with pizza (to which he had snatched a few slices and had just retreated to his gaming room once more) to telling him that there was a fire in the kitchen (to which he replied was virtually impossible given how meticulous Y/n was in the kitchen) to faking an injury (which corpse called bullshit on without even looking at her).

It was getting really frustrating and she knew for a fact that the longer her boyfriend was going to wait this out, the worse he was going to feel.

And the worse he was going to act.

He would never hurt anyone, ever. The man was the definition of a soft boi beyond his brain meltingly amazing voice. But when he was beyond bone dead tired like he was right now, he had the tendency to act mean, and the only person who had the capability of calming him down in the middle of the pandemic was Y/n, and she would have to hijack his stream.

The stream that was filled with hundreds of thousands of people who didn’t even know that their precious Corpse was in a relationship with anyone.

Would she have the chance to mute him before he went on his tired, angry, borderline crazy monologue? She would try, but probably not.

Y/n had to bring out the big guns.

Rae and Toast were pretty easy people to conspire with and were almost always down to do pranks and other shit that Y/n came up with, and always, always down to do whatever it took to get Corpse to take care of himself.

Sykkuno though, bless him, the cutest, most clueless person Y/n had ever met.

He was always very concerned for Corpse’s health but was the worst at going incognito. So Rae and Toast were the ones who used their code word (lights out) and had always been the ones who had the role of making sure Sykkuno knew what to do.

“Aaaaaaaaaaanddd, lights out baby!” Rae screamed as she made her way past Sykkuno at the entrance of the house they were in at the moment, but Sykkuno, the precious little boy that he is, just watched Rae with a bewildered face, getting even more confused when Toast made his way past him as well, whispering “Lights out.” and moving back to the truck in the game.

From inside, Corpse’s character was busy laughing at a joke he made about a picture in the wall and had not noticed the other two missing. He did notice though, when Sykkuno appeared near him to ask him what was up before convulsing and dropping to the floor.

Corpse’s laugh was noticeably more manic now, getting a lot more high pitched and erratic. For a second, Sykkuno laughed with him, then when Corpse’s went on for too long, suddenly looked confused on his stream, turning to face the general vicinity he Corpse’s character was.

So he spoke through their always open discord chat. “Uhh, Corpse? You okay there buddy?”

The stubborn man just kept laughing, Y/n increasingly getting concerned as she watched all 4 player’s streams on different devices one room over. Rae and Toast were chatting about the pills in the truck, so as to not alarm Corpse of the lowkey distraction they were doing to finish the game easy (aka getting at least 3 of them killed), and then giving excuses to stop streaming and giving Y/n a chance to haul his ass to bed.

Sykkuno on the other hand, was now (against all plans spoken about prior) continuing to talk to Corpse.

“Corpse?” the timid man spoke once more, finally reaching the ever more manic Corpse.

All of a sudden, an eerie silence fell around the two of them, settling for a few seconds before getting filled by a flat “Yea?” from Corpse.

Y/n could almost hear the sentence that Sy would reply to that, and at that moment, she knew, they were fucked.

With a quick “Fuckin shite” to both Rae and Toast’s chat, Y/n bounded over to Corpse’s office, hearing tail end of the question that was about to make Corpse’s brain go kaboom.

“You sound tired man, maybe you should sleep for a bit?”

She knew he only meant good. Sykkuno was just one of those guys that would never want to hurt anyone. She knew it, Corpse knew it, everyone knew it.

But her secret boyfriend was sleep deprived and going batshit crazy because of it, and currently, his trigger word was the word Sleep.

Y/n would give poor Sy a viking funeral if she can’t stop this.

“I am not tire-” Corpse was pretty intimidating when he wanted to be, and I knew that that low voice of his would scare every single hitman in a 1000 mile radius when used in a booming, angry way. And the way his voice was escalating was sure to end in said booming, angry way.

Y/n sprinted into his recording room, only partially wincing at the horridly loud bang the door made when she wrenched it open to fling herself at her boyfriend. The world seemed to slow as she soared through the air, uncaring if she knocked things out of the way.

Gotta make sure their baby Sy would never be at that end of Corpse’s fury.

She partially landed on his lap, torso hanging off the side. It hurt as her ribs made contact on the armrest of his computer chair, but it stopped his tirade with a surprised “Ooof!” and knocked him away from his PC.

“Honey!! Don’t yell at Sy!”

“Y/n???”

Oh shit.

Of course Sykkuno had to yell out her name during a stream. She had bet Toast 200 dollars that Sy would be the one to drop her name, and it was high time she cashed in.

Y/n fixed herself on Corpse’s lap, shoving his headphones off of him and forcing him into a hug. Of course he protested, but eventually relaxed in her grip, muttering about how his eyes and wrists hurt now but he promised to play with the OTV peeps and his insomnia hit him too hard these past few days.

“Baby,” he whispered hoarsely, his grip tightening on her as well. It only took a moment for Y/n to realize that her boyfriend was shaking, trying not to fall apart. “It hurts.”

She ran her fingers through his hair, putting a kiss on the top of his head as he relaxed even more. They had to move to a more comfortable space soon or else Corpse would fall asleep here and she would have to move him (which at 5 feet, is not very easy.) but he was relaxing and Y/n couldn’t make herself distract him from that.

“I know babe, it’s okay. We’ll breathe through it. You can do it, I know you can.” Corpse would never fess up to crying, but the growing patch of tears on her sweater was evidence of the amount of pain that he was experiencing.

His dedication was amazing, but a lot of the time he sacrificed his health for it. So as much as she didn’t want to hold him back, sometimes she really just had to step in and meddle to save him from himself.

They stayed like that for a while, Y/n occasionally having to coach him through his breathing, but overall, they were doing fine.

Y/n smiled into his hair when he finally stopped shaking. “That’s it babe, you’re doing amazing.” she whispered, moving to get off his lap. She wasn’t the lightest person despite her shortness, her curves never letting her be skinny, so she was sure that her sitting on his lap was making his legs go numb. Corpse, on the other hand, only held on tighter, basically turning into a koala at this point.

“Corpse, Honey, your legs are gonna go numb, babe.” she giggled. She tried to put him at arm’s length, but her apparently octopus boyfriend had planned to never let her go.

“No.” he mumbled, pressing his face ever tighter into her sweater, making her giggle, in turn, making him smile.

Eventually, he detached his face from her sweater and peeked up at his girlfriend, the visual of his tousled hair, pout, one sparkling eye and the other now only partially covered by his falling eyepatch, but both with smudged eyeliner and mirth, made her melt. “Don’t go, please?” Y/n giggled at him. “I’m not gonna leave babe, I just gotta get off your lap before I make your legs undergo hypoxia.”

“I’d let them cut off my legs if it meant having you here forever.” if she hadn’t already fallen in love with this man, she would say that this was the moment that she fell in love with him. But falling in love with him over and over again was probably something that she would never stop doing, even if Corpse ever decided to not love her back one day.

They were jolted out of their happy little bubble when they heard a loud screech coming from his headphones making a sound more akin to blasting speakers than headphones, which had apparently fallen just beside them on the table instead of the floor like Y/n anticipated. “STOP YOUR LOVING AND GO TO SLEEP CORPSE!” Rae screeched, making the both of them laugh out loud, but one look at his screen stopped them at their tracks.

Corpse was miraculously still alive in game, Rae’s character moving back and forth in front of his.

Rae… was streaming, right?

Oh shit numero dos.

One look at the chat showed that they had just outed themselves. The sappy couple making everyone watching go absolutely bonkers at the chat.

“WHO IS THAT?” -ijustlovemakingsounds

“HONEY???? BABE?????” - corpseybae

“WHAT IS HAPPENING??” -randomuser

“IS CORPSE OKAY?” -ShinigamiEyes

“CORPSE??” -corpsekkuno28

“BABY?????” -honestlywtf

“HE’S SO SWEET OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!” -cutiepiecorpsey

“WAIT WAIT WAIT IS HE OKAY????” -omgilovehim

“WHO THE HECK??” -wifeyyyycorpse

Both parties were staring wide eyed at the screens. Even with slow mode on, the chat was going a hundred miles per hour and all they were seeing were screaming chats in all caps zooming up.

For a second Y/n just kept staring quietly, and then the first giggle escaped her and soon, both of them were a giggling pile of sweaters and limbs on Corpse’s computer chair, not even trying to stop their antics. Rae screamed another “YOU’RE BOTH CUTE AND WE ALL KNOW IT STOP AND SLEEP!!”

The laughter seemed endless.

It was the sound of Y/n’s phone ringing from the other room that finally got her up from the warm confines of Corpse’s lap. But before she left, she was going to make sure that Corpse was not just going to continue streaming in her absence.

“Sooo….” Y/n turned them over so that she was facing the screen and not him, talking directly into the mic as she scrambled for the headphones she had shoved off of his head. “Yes Corpse Husband has a Corpse wife and she’s now taking him back to their coffins because the hubby is a stubborn piece of shit and has not slept in more than 50 hours.”

The casual information drop made the chat go even crazier, people now freaking out about her, trying to find out who she was, what she did, when and where they met, stuff like that. “I’ll see what I can do to answer your questions, you simps. But I gotta knock him out for now, and I promise you won’t be left hanging.”

She felt him wrap his arms around her waist once more, feeling him press his face tightly against her back. “Baby,” he started to say, but Y/n cut him off with a few pats to wherever she could reach behind her.

“Sorry, but the jackass is now cut off from the mic and shall be cut off until he sleeps, so I shall be the one to say, good day to you sirs and madams, he shall see you on the next one! Bye!!!!”

Then a pause, and a quietly frustrated “Hun, how do you turn it off??”

The chat was flooded with variations of “She’s so cute!!” and as tempted as he was to keep it going for a bit, he knew that it would upset and worry his adorable girlfriend to do so.

So from his vantage point, he just mumbled a quick “Bye!” before cutting off stream. Normally, he would stay and read superchats and see how many new members he had gained, but this time, his tiny, but determined girlfriend was dead set on getting him to chill his ass out.

And he let you.

He watched as you dragged him off to bed, tucking him in all the fluffy blankets you’d gotten for his comfort, smiled as you eagerly burrowed yourself under the fluff with him, sighed contentedly as your warmth surrounded him as you cuddled into him.

He basked in your presence as he held you back just as tight, feeling you plant a kiss in his hair and smile as he relaxed ever more. From across the room, the mirror reflected the image of the two of you, touching the deepest recesses of the soul he would never claim to have.

And as he drifted off, he watched as you glowed in the streaks of the fading afternoon sun, peeking through their heavy curtains, he thought:

What more was there to ask for?

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fictionissocialinquiry · 3 years

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FISI’s Favourite Zutara Fics

A lil late for ZFAW’s Saturday prompt, sorry about that! Haven’t had any internet over the weekend. But better late than never!

I’m not gonna lie… a lot of these are angsty af. But I promise you they’re not gratuitous angst! They’re well written, beautiful stories that will make you feel like a better person for having read them. These are my favourite all time fics, ones I’ve read more than once and will continue to read (even though I’m taking a week break from fandom and fic).

Multi-Chaptered Fics

The Sparrowkeet Series by audreyii_fic

To be honest, this story’s summary doesn’t do it justice so I ain’t including it. Originally a one shot, Sparrowkeet is headcanon for me now. Move over canon, this is where it’s at. Audreyii_fic’s characterisation, world building, and writing is exquisite. It’s incredible. She manages to channel the same fun and whimsical energy from the show while allowing the characters to grow and develop to places I wish they had actually been taken.

This one is a fandom Must Read and one I return to regularly.

Clothe Me in Seasons, Dress Me in Snow by sadladybug

It is not the memorial she deserves, nor the one she would want. But it can't be helped. He owns no property in the other nations, and he needed to keep her close. Closer than she was in life, anyway.

Zuko's reflections on a life lived and a life that could have been.

This is one of the best written fics I’ve ever read. It’s tragic and deep and will hurt you in all the tender places but you would be doing yourself a favour if you read this. There’s a real bittersweet feeling to it and the love between them is just… urg, visceral.

Lovable by LadyCharity

Zuko knew that he could not save Azula. He could only try to forgive her. Fittingly enough, those two were one in the same.

I love stories that make Zutara their centerpiece but every now but then a story like this comes along. A story where their relationship builds almost incidentally because the plot and character development straight up hijack your emotions. I got so invested in this story. Zuko is amazingly well characterised and his complicated thoughts and feelings around his father and Azula are incredibly well written!

One Shots

Lunar Ephemerality by @formerlygoldilocks (goldilocks23)

After multiple failed attempts on his life and years of self-set expectations, Fire Lord Zuko is a shell of the man he used to be. But Katara won't turn her back on those who need her.

I really didn’t expect this to hit as hard as it did. This straight up snuck up on me, fly-kicked my feelings, and by the end I had written an 800 word comment that was too big for AO3 and I had to contact the author directly to send it to her. Awkward. I couldn’t help myself. The side to Katara we see here is so good, her empathy and love for her friends are one of the things I love seeing most in AtLA fanfic. I’m a sucker for Zuko having complete breakdowns and having to piece himself back together too. So sue me. I like it when they suffer a lil bit. The writing is absurdly good and I will be keeping an eye out for any new stories by goldilocks23!

31 Minutes by @ifyouwereamelodymeg

It's quite astounding, really, how quickly she's learned to translate him. They've spent a grand total of zero time together outside of training, and he's hardly big on chat so she knows next to nothing about his life.

But she knows him, probably better than she knows anyone at the moment – with every tap of his fingers, every crook of his lips, every turn in his voice, he just...

He makes sense to her. It's weird.

I’m a sucker for fic writers playing with style to make the story pop and boyo does this fic deliver. This is one of the rare times that I’ve been dumbstruck at the end of a story— I just couldn’t accept the ending. Because I’m a sucker for pain, (and this story will bring The Pain) I loved it. The ease of Zuko and Katara’s growing relationship in this bowls you over, it’s absolutely beautiful and you find yourself nodding along emphatically when Zuko calls himself an idiot for waiting… “Life’s short, kids, live each moment as though it could be your last,” says this fic as it pulls my heart out and dropkicks it off a cliff.

i count to five (and life passes by) by @markedmage

Five heartbeats.

I still haven’t forgiven Mage for this one. I think it’s the best thing she’s written to date! I mean, tragic and painful and heart-rending but holy shit is it powerful <3

The Lake of the Dismal Swamp by @thewhiitelotus

Spook af. Spook (horror) is real hard to do well but thewhiitelotus is coming for your goosebumps and those shivers down your spine. She has a way of balancing beautiful, evocative imagery with action (in this and other stories of her) that just keeps you reading!

Calloused by @rideboldlyride

Iroh hadn’t been able to watch. The pure horror of a man - a father- burning their child for a slight infraction... He couldn’t do anything to stop it, but he will stop his brother from destroying entirely the kind boy he knew Zuko could be.

This is a painfully underappreciated fic for how great the characterisation is. I know we in the zutara fandom tend to not read stories that aren’t Zuko/Katara centric as often but do yourself the favour of reading this (or listening to it: RideBoldlyRide has done us the gift of recording a podfic for this and it’s stupidly *good*). This story is Iroh confronting Ozai just after he burns Zuko’s face and it kicks.

four days and three nights by @hinaoyamas (lettersfromnowhere)

Zuko discovers firsthand that nothing is more fleeting than happiness, or more enduring than memory.

Do you like reading stories with a distant, omniscient narrator? The kind that read like a myth from the ancient world? Welp, hit the hyperlink, friend, cause this one’s for you. Not only is the writing exquisite but the characterisation and painful inevitability of the plot is grade A.

For the Fire Nation by tullyblue12

He falls in love with her for his country before he falls in love with her for himself. A Zuko/Katara AU that explores how love and duty aren’t always mutually exclusive.

There are about 40,000 exquisite lines in this story but here is just one of my favourites: “He falls in love with her for his country first. That’s what his people never understand.” This fic says a lot with so few words, which is something I really look up to! In 2,800 words, tullyblue12 does what some 100,000k fics cant: They make you feel.

Guide Me Home by Rashaka

To sleep, perchance to dream. Katara and Zuko find a friendship they never expected in a place that seemed impossible.

This is a one shot I will forever wish for a continuation of. The setup is just… so juicy. There’s a real sorrowful innocence to this story that the unique short, dialogue only scenes really punch home. I know some people don’t like dialogue only fics but when done well like in this one, it leaves you with the impression of something deeper than a 1,185 word fic has any right to!

Other Favourites!

Hopeless by tullyblue12 — Kids grow up fast when a cruel world awaits them. In times of hopelessness, Katara and Zuko grow together. In times of separation, they hope to see each other again.

Speechless by goldilocks23 — Zuko has a medical condition. Or: Zuko speaks in haiku at inappropriate times.

Don’t Follow Me Down by eleventy7 — Katara is the dread queen of the underworld, ruler of the dead, destined to reign her cold kingdom alone. Until a sun god catches her eye. A Hades/Persephone retelling with incredible writing.

I Don't Speak Meow Language by @botherkupo (Boogum) — In which Zuko adopts a cat and Katara just wonders what spirits she pissed off to deserve this fate.

I have the privilege of being friends with some of these authors (they know who they are) and am in near daily awe and gratitude for the works of free fiction they provide us, the fandom. And not just any old stories: Guys... Really good ones!! Can I ask that if you go check out these fics, can you just drop a kudos or a comment their way? If you’re feeling shy just copy and paste this into the comments box anonymously: “WOW! Loved this! Thank you so much for writing it!”

I know it would mean the world to this talented bunch <3

#ZFAW #Fic Rec #favourite zutara fanfics of all time #zutara #atla

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stevenbasic · 3 years

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“Hi Dr J, I’m glad we finally get to chat…”

Holy shit.

——

Earlier that day, I’d been told at the front desk that there was a lady from Evolution Pharmaceuticals on the line, and that she’d like to speak with me. Aubrey had always been good about screening out the sales pitches, the irate patients, the people with whom I really never needed to actually talk. So that she was pulling me aside for this call told me that this one might be something I should probably take...

But - ugh. No. I didn’t want to. This had been a long day, a long week so far - and it was only Tuesday! God, the past few months had been more and more exhausting, humiliating and emasculating with each passing hour. And the more I learned, the more it seemed that this company was at the heart of my troubles. Yes, it offered the opportunities of great financial rewards for the practice with this clinical study trial in which we were going to be participating. Since Jeanette, my previous Office Manager, had left, the mismanagement of the business had us in dire straits. Without the money from Evolution’s study and the “Lean In” grant from the women’s advancement group, I’m not sure we’d still be afloat. So, yeah, maybe I should have taken the call.

“I’ll call them later,” I told Aubrey, and grabbed the films I needed for my next patient.

That had been three hours ago, before my little hallway meeting with Melissa. Since then Gianna - some woman who’d wanted to speak to me about the trial - had called two more times. Left messages. Really wanted just fifteen minutes of my afternoon. Needed to speak with me. I refused each call.

Finally done with patients, sitting in my office at the end of the day as darkness crept in from outside, I sighed as Brittni from the desk buzzed me. She said that Gianna was on the line again. “Can I transfer her?”

“No,” I replied on the intercom, noticing that a little green light had blinked to life on the camera I had clipped to my monitor. I hadn’t seen it before, this light. In fact...when did I get a camera on this computer?

“Tell her I'll call tomorrow...” I finished.

I had set back to finishing some patient notes on my desktop when, suddenly, my screen flashed to black. For a quick moment I thought - oh no, a crash - but then a new, unfamiliar window appeared, and my mouse pointer began moving on its own accord. What the…? The window went full screen and next thing I knew I was in a video chat with-

“If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were avoiding my calls…” the woman onscreen spoke, laughing casually as she tossed her hair...

“oh, uh…” I was immediately agape. This was who’d been trying to call me all day??

“Anyway...Hi Dr J, I’m glad we finally get to chat…”

Holy shit. This girl was gorgeous. Look at those tits.

As I stared, still shell-shocked and speechless from having my computer hijacked out from under me by a bosomy corporate careerist, she went on to introduce herself as Gianna Albertini, from the clinical trials department at Evolution Pharmaceuticals. She explained how excited she and her team was to get the study off the ground at the practice. Things had been fast tracked at the FDA, they were just waiting for some rubber stamps, and everything looked very promising for their product. She apologized for not being able to meet in person, at least for a while. “I’m on some new retroviral treatment, and they have me quarantined at home,” she explained with surprising nonchalance, “yadda yadda yadda…”

Finally, after a good several minutes of watching her talk - and she held my attention easily, her rack possibly rivaling Melissa’s - she let me get a word in edgewise. I was still confused by how in one moment I was working on my patient charts, and then in the next I was in a video chat. “H-how did you…?”

“Sorry,” Gianna laughed, casually waving away any privacy concerns I was currently about to voice, “I had to remote in, take over your desktop. I really needed to speak with you.” Beyond the blatant intrusions tactics she was obviously willing to employ, there was something in this woman’s eyes, her demeanor, that was making me more and more concerned as the conversation - such as it was - continued. She may have been acting relaxed and friendly, decidedly informal, but there was a seriousness just below the surface that even I could see, even through the screen, and even in the face of those enormous tits. “Plus, maybe it’s actually better we do it this way, rather than on the phone,” she said, as she sat up nice and straight, “So we can see one another’s...smiling faces.”

Gahh...

As she got down to brass tacks, this young woman went on to describe to me some of the details of the new wings in our building into which the office would be expanding, how much more space we and Evolution be acquiring to fulfill the needs of the trial, and when it would all be ready. “Construction is ultra-fast tracked,” she said, “should be done within a few weeks.”

Weeks?? I marveled, silently incredulous. I’d seen the plans; it was a huge project. I’d figured months, if it ever really got done at all. But, the teams did seem motivated, and there were a lot of them, working day-in and day-out, all through the night. Maybe, perhaps? Could they pull it off in weeks?

We also talked about the structure of the trial, what it would involve day-to-day, and the long-term forecast. Evolution seemed ready to set up permanent shop with a clinic in the building, by taking over much of the lease of the new space, with the study just the first step in the door.

“You’ll be listed as the lead investigator,” Gianna explained, continuing on to detail the ins-and-outs of the trial, “but don’t worry. We’ll have plenty of people in place. You really won’t have to do too much, or deal with anyone at the main office. You’ll be reporting just to me...”

“r-reporting to you?” I asked, trying to ignore the impressive bosom which filled the screen, cowed me. That had taken me back a bit...'reporting to her'? I had noticed something in this young woman’s tone, through our chat, that led me to believe that she and I possibly had different views as to the, uh, hierarchy of this whole thing. I was the doctor around this place, and had gotten used to expecting a little respect, being top of the food chain. She, on the other hand, maybe had other ideas.

“That's right,” she said, “we’ll do these chats once a week, more if I feel like we need it. I’ll expect a report from you every day, but again don’t worry. It’s basically something you just have to sign, the girls will do it all. Our other providers will be handling most of the work with the patients in the study, entering data, keeping the FDA happy, blah blah blah. Maybe we’ll ask you to go in and talk to, examine a few of the subjects, just to keep things interesting for you.”

If I hadn’t felt totally emasculated and marginalized, my authority crippled by the horde of women who’d apparently taken over my practice recently, this was the clincher. It would appear that for this study I was going to be not much more than a coddled figurehead, a token man of straw, expected to satisfy the whims of some half-rate pharm company and this woman, at her beck and call. No way!

“I’m going to have to insist on directing care for, uh, the trial subjects,” I asserted, finally getting a moment to exert my will, “they will, technically, be my patients.”

“Oh, of course!” Gianna replied, smiling and throwing her hair over her shoulder, “Allowing for some oversight from the other providers we’ll have in place, you’ll have lots of medical-decision-making to keep yourself busy!”

What did she mean, ‘oversight’?

“They’ll be different than your usual patients, the subjects that we’ll be bringing in for the study, but I think you’ll like them,” she continued, trying to reassure me, “maybe a younger crowd, and of course all female. But in general all you’ll have to do is sit back and watch the money coming in.” She sat, looked into the screen for a moment, in thought. “Though I guess we have some people there handling that for you, too, hm?”

That gave me pause, made me rethink the litany of arguments that were beginning to boil up in my throat. I’d seen some of the paperwork, quickly, as it had moved past my desk for my signatures. It involved a lot of money for the practice. Like, a lot of money. I thought of my bills, my expenses, what I still somehow owed on my student loans. If Sheryl wasn’t going to be there to provide for me, help me pay these things…

If any of it remained, there was obviously some pride I was going to need to swallow.

“S-speaking of money,” I began, “what's my compensation going to look like?“

Something about my question, something about how I was holding myself, made Gianna smile again and then sigh, a sigh that told me she knew something I didn’t, I couldn’t help but think. With that she leaned in, her eyes locked on mine through the camera, and a shiver went up my spine. “Oh don’t worry, Dr. J,” she spoke, “you’ll be well taken care of...“

===================================

Muchos Gracias to long-time friend, supporter of the story and behind-the-scenes ninja Antares for helping me assemble these clips.

Newer posts and other goodies at my Patreon

#growing into the job

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lucyintheskywithxanax · 3 years

Text

Get Me To Church, I’ve Done So Many Bad Things It Hurts

Pairing: Wilhemina Venable x Fem Reader

A/N: you guys, idk what this is. I only know it’s not what I initially planned. Title is from Sinéad O’Connor’s song “Take Me To Church”, which hijacked this story’s initial plot. It reminds me of Wilhemina, and it’s a very good song <3

Word count: ~ 5 400

Your brain no longer was a brain but fucking mush. Mush that stunk and made one want to throw up at first sight. You had not been able to get a good night’s sleep since you had been sent to Outpost 3 a few months ago. You were running on a few hours of rest snatched here and there and on the disgusting, weird food cubes. At this point, when someone talked to you, you would gap at them until your brain suddenly gave a start and registered their words. Your body felt twice its weight. It was hard to concentrate, hard to think.

Days went by looking exactly alike. You would get out of bed, meet the others, try to have a talk, listen to the same song over and over again. “Calling occupants of interplanetary, most extraordinary craft”. Stare at a book maybe, open it, stare at a page, fail to understand a single sentence. You would wait for time to pass. Complain with Coco or Andre or that guy whose name you couldn’t remember even though you had been living together for months now. One day, Coco and you decided to exercise by running up and down a staircase, but you didn’t last more than five minutes before you dropped on the floor, panting. You didn’t try again. You lacked the motivation.

Sit at the table, eat your cube. “Calling occupants of interplanetary, most extraordinary craft”. Go to bed. You were going crazy. You could no longer tell what was real and what was a figment of your imagination.

In truth, there was one thing at least you knew was real. The butterflies in your stomach every time Venable – freaking Venable, of all people – so much as walked into the room you were in.

It was terrible. Why her, why you, you did not know. The only thing you knew was that you were falling hard for her, for that sadistic, mean, scary woman.

In typical mush-brain fashion, you couldn’t string two sentences together when she would ask you a question and her dark eyes would bore into you. You would laugh stupidly or give one-word answers. You would trip over your own feet when you passed her in a corridor.

So, really, it wasn’t a surprise when you realized that she hated you even more than she seemed to hate the others. For starters, she never looked at you. When she did, her eyes were as cold as the North Pole. Icy winds and all that. And when she talked to you, her voice was always so condescending, so sarcastic, as if she knew you were the most idiotic idiot at the Outpost. She probably wondered every minute of every day why you had been chosen to survive. It was a mystery to you, too.

But then – but this was part of your imagination. It must be. There was no rational explanation. For the wistful look on her face you had caught a glimpse of, once, when you had turned and shot her a glance. She had been staring at you. Or for the faint blush that had risen to her cheeks when you had accidentally – accidentally? – brushed past her, way too close to her, on your hurried way to the bathroom. Or for that one time, that blissful, ethereal time – but that had been a dream, it must have been, you had passed out from exhaustion and dreamed – when she, coming out of her room, and you of yours, had paused with her hand on the doorknob, and raised her head, met your eyes, and smiled. Not her mocking, cruel smile. But a fond, almost shy smile. A genuine smile, reflected in her eyes. This you were sure you had dreamed. Were you?

You were falling for her. Love, intimacy, would make things more tolerable. You craved a strong, true connection with someone, and part of you was convinced you could have it with her.

In the past few evenings Venable had made a habit of joining you in the music room as you whiled the time away before bed. She wouldn’t say anything, merely sit and read a book. The first time she had done it, you and the others had exchanged half surprised, half worried looks. What was she doing? Studying you? Deciding which one of you she would cook for dinner? You didn’t know. Her presence had made you all uncomfortable at first, but now you were used to it. You ignored her, just as she ignored you.

She always, always sat facing you.

And you couldn’t help but steal glances at her. Marvel at the beauty and neatness of her. Your eyes would travel down her body and the butterflies in your stomach would go wild and your head fill with want. For. Her.

Her eyes never met yours, not even once.

One evening as you sat brooding and she sat reading facing you, and the others chatted about some boring things, and the music, the music went “Calling occupants of interplanetary, most extraordinary craft”, you abruptly jumped on your feet to stretch your upper body. The sudden movement surprised Venable, who looked up at you. You met her eyes and gave her a goofy smile. She scowled.

“In your mind you have capacities,” you heard yourself sing to the music.

“But do you, Y/N?” Venable sneered.

That shut you up. You straightened up and glared at her. “Do you have, like, a problem with me?” you asked in an annoyed voice.

“Do you mean apart from your obvious lack of brain cells?”

“Why are you always so mean?” you heard yourself whine.

“Oh, boo hoo,” Venable cooed. “Poor you. Look at you, standing among the few who have been allowed to survive the Apocalypse. Do you really think I should feel sorry for you?”

You considered that. “No,” you grumbled.

“No, Ms Venable.”

You didn’t know what came over you then. Probably it was a mix of exhaustion, anger, frustration and want. Your hands clenched into fists. In what was both the bravest and stupidest moment of your life, you retorted, “Bite me.”

Someone in the room gasped, and then chuckled. Venable’s eyes went wide with shock. Heat flooded your cheeks.

You were dead meat, you knew that. So really you couldn’t make things worse by adding: “I’m sorry. I meant, bite me, Ms Venable.”

Impressive. You were a genius. Gosh, you needed sleep.

You couldn’t meet Venable’s eyes. Instead you stared at Andre, who was gawping at you. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Coco give you a thumbs-up. You smiled shyly at her.

“Right,” you said. “Um. Goodnight.”

You hurried out of the room before someone could call you back. Your heart was beating too fast in your chest, but you couldn’t really understand why. You needed sleep.

You closed the door of your bedroom behind you and collapsed on your bed.

You couldn’t sleep.

It was always the same: you were exhausted all day, but the minute your head touched your pillow, your brain roared back into life. Someone in your head turned the light on. You were wide awake.

You groaned and turned on the bed. You didn’t have the slightest idea what time it was or how long you had lain under the sheet. It could have been ten minutes, it could have been a century. You turned again, forced yourself to close your eyes.

Bite me, Ms Venable. Damn it, you were such a fool when you were exhausted! You had survived the bloody Apocalypse and now you were about to die for something so, so stupid. Venable was probably plotting your death right now. She would order you out of the Outpost and condemn you to a horrible death among the repugnant creatures that haunted the nuclear winter outside. In your current state, you wouldn’t last a day. You’d trip over something and break your neck or get stabbed by the first hungry person you’d meet.

Fear clenched your stomach. You didn’t want to die. You didn’t feel like giving up on life yet. Even if the world as you had known it was gone, even if there was almost no hope of a bright, safe future. God, you wanted to live.

You sprang out of bed before you knew what you were doing and ran to the door. Locked it. Looked around the room for things to build a barricade with. The chair would do, and if you could move that huge chest of drawers –

You heard footsteps coming down the corridor towards you. And something else, unmistakable. The sound of a cane.

Shit. Your whole body froze with fear. Then your hand automatically reached for a decorative statuette close-by, that had sharp angles and that you could use as a weapon if need be. The footsteps grew louder and came to a halt at your door.

You waited, heart hammering in your chest. Venable must have a spare key, of course she must. You stared at the doorknob, expecting it to move, expecting the door to open, on Venable standing tall and threatening and radiating off anger and satisfaction. How so very beautiful she would look.

Nothing happened.

What was she doing? You couldn’t hear anything but the mad pounding of your heart. Had you imagined her footsteps? The sound of her cane? But you had been so sure –

One of your hands came up to press against the door. Fingers splayed out, palm pressing against the cold, hard surface. To try and feel her through the wood.

You waited. Your heartbeat was drumming against the wood. And it was slowing down, and your eyes were fluttering closed, for she was here – just behind the door, and you could almost see her, her eyes on the doorknob, the spare key in her hand, her lips slightly parted. It was as if your soul had connected with hers and now they were softly singing to each other.

There was a sound like a sigh. Before you knew it you had unlocked the door and opened it.

Venable stood in front of you with her left hand in the air, a few inches further to the left than yours had been. She met your eyes in surprise as her fingers curled up. She lowered her hand, and schooled her features.

You decided your safest option was to play it cool.

“I thought I heard a noise,” you said, assuming a casual expression.

“I was on my way to bed,” Venable answered. A pause. “I saw your light was on through the gap under your door.”

She didn’t sound particularly mad or threatening. Relief flooded your chest. Maybe she didn’t mean to kill you, after all. Maybe you’d been over-reacting.

Her eyes fell on the statuette you were still holding.

“What’s this?” she asked very slowly. Her eyes met yours again. They were dark, her eyes. The darkest eyes you had ever seen.

“What’s this?” she repeated, louder. You started.

“Oh, uh.” You raised the statuette to your chest and shrugged. Play it cool. “I don’t know why I’m holding this.” You tried to laugh. It came out nervous and foolish. “Must have been sleepwalking or something.”

Venable’s gaze was boring into you, piercing your skin, piercing your veins, piercing your bones. You felt too hot suddenly. You laughed again. Then it finally dawned on you.

“My light isn’t on,” you said.

You always kept one candle burning when you slept, but its light was very faint. There was no way Venable could have seen it from the lit corridor.

Her face didn’t change. “It’s not?” she said in a toneless voice.

You shook your head. “I’m afraid not.”

She straightened her shoulders, raised her chin. Her grip on her cane tightened just so.

“Were you planning on attacking someone with this?” she asked, nodding at the statuette.

“I’ve no idea what you mean,” you answered, holding her gaze.

“I cannot think of any other use you could have for it.”

“Well, maybe I was.”

“Has someone threatened you?”

You scoffed. Gave her a look as if to say the joke wasn’t good. She narrowed her eyes uncomprehendingly.

“Um, let’s see.” You folded your arms as you pretended to think. The statuette dug in your chest. “Maybe I’ve gone just a little bit too far with someone who’s quite obsessed with hierarchy.”

A small, incredulous laugh escaped her.

“You thought I was going to –“She didn’t finish her sentence, her laugh lingering on her lips as the incredulity reached her eyes.

“Well,” you retorted, leaning your hip against the doorframe, “you did have those two Greys shot the other day for making love.” You raised your eyebrows at her. “For breaking one of your rules. So excuse me if I’m not feeling particularly safe right now.”

The smile vanished from her face. She closed her mouth, stared at you. Your eyes shifted to her lips. Back up to her eyes. You licked your lips.

“I wouldn’t have you killed merely for being stupid,” she said after a short moment.

How were her cheekbones so sharp? Her eyes so dark? You swore whomever had made her was the most talented artist and the cruelest asshole in the whole goddamn universe. How many years it must have taken, how much sweat, how many skills, how much patience and love, to make her.

You cleared your throat. What had she just said? Called you stupid. Wouldn’t have you killed. Something like that. You couldn’t remember.

“My light wasn’t on,” you said mechanically, “so why did you stop at my door?”

If the question surprised or unsettled her, she didn’t show it.

“I thought it was on,” she answered without missing a beat. She paused. “You thought I was going to have you killed?”

“Um, maybe.”

Her eyes fell on the statuette again. When they met yours, you swore you saw something like sadness deep into the black. She blinked, and the sadness disappeared.

“It’s getting late,” she said. “You should go to bed.”

You realized you didn’t want her to go. What if you invited her to come in? What if you told her about your insomnia, and asked her to help you while the night away? Merely have a talk with her. Merely sit by her side, and watch her, and share secrets with her. Show her you weren’t as stupid as she must think you were. You could light dozens of candles and watch the light dance on her face. Have her relax, make her laugh. And maybe if things went well, at the break of dawn you could lay your head on her lap, and certainly then sleep would find you.

You assumed a nonchalant expression. “Well then, goodnight to you,” you said with a smile that hurt your mouth.

She nodded, turned and walked off.

You listened to her footsteps fade away. You let out a long, shaky breath, and closed your door.

For a very long time you stayed with your back against the door, staring unseeingly at the ceiling. The sadness you had seen in Venable’s eyes haunted you. You tried to think of something else. What you would do tomorrow. Boring. That summer holiday you had spent in Spain with your best-friend. Venable’s hair in the flickering light of the candles. Venable’s face. Venable’s eyes. How you absolutely adored the fact that she could stand up to anyone. Venable’s eyes. The sadness in her eyes.

You groaned. You had half a mind to bang your head on the door to knock yourself out and finally get some sleep. Perhaps you could go to Venable’s room and apologise. Tell her you hadn’t meant to question her authority. You’d like to see her again.

It was a stupid idea. Lack of sleep made you so, so stupid. She would be angry, would order you out, slam her door in your face, maybe hit you with her cane. You shouldn’t. You wouldn’t.

You tip-toed down the corridor till you reached her door. It was slightly ajar, which surprised you. Heart beating fast, you opened it just enough to peek into the room.

Venable was sitting on the floor by the dark fireplace, her head bent, her hands joined on her lap. What was she doing on the floor? Surely the position couldn’t be good for her back. Then you noticed that her lips were moving, forming silent words, as if she were praying. Her eyes were closed.

The flickering light from the candles threw shadows on her face. Patches of black and red and orange vacillating and oscillating. Touching her face, fleeing to the walls. You watched her in silence, at a loss for what to do or what to think. You heard her sniffle, saw her raise a hand to wipe her cheek.

There was something so fragile about the scene in front of you. To see this woman who was always so proud, and so strong, and so dominating, murmuring silent words to herself on the floor in the dead of night. Or maybe those words weren’t for herself. Maybe they were addressed to someone else, whoever would listen, whoever would take the time to stop and lend an ear. Was she asking for strength? For mercy? Salvation? Her back was leaning slightly forward just like the backs of worshippers you had seen in churches.

Her lips stopped moving for a moment. She opened her eyes to stare unseeingly at the wall in front of her. You saw her bite her lower lip, saw her take a shaky breath. The silent murmuring started again.

You scratched your arm nervously. You knew you should leave, and erase from your mind this private moment you had no right to witness. Part of you felt like a thief. But your legs seemed to be frozen. You could not move them.

So you watched her. At one point she coughed softly, and the next two words came out loud enough for you to hear them: “Let me...”

Was she praying? You didn’t think she was a religious person. Why should she be? She had helped bring on the Apocalypse and had not received so much as a word of complaint from God. You squinted at her in the dim light, your body instinctively leaning towards her, your hands coming up to grip at the doorframe. Your heart was pushing against your ribs as if it wished to burst free from your chest and wrap around her.

Venable paused, sighed, went on murmuring. Once again her words reached you. “…soothe and let it save me so she can think it acceptable to love me.”

Your clammy palm slipped on the doorframe, unbalancing you. You gasped in a breath. Venable’s head jerked to the side. Her eyes locked with yours.

You could have screamed. Surprise then anger then fear flashed across Venable’s face as you took a step back, your mouth opening and closing like a fish as you tried to find something to say but couldn’t come up with anything. For a moment there was only silence, and you and she holding each other’s gaze.

Venable’s face closed up. She stood up, supporting herself on her cane, so calm, so composed. It was impressive, the tight grip she kept on her emotions. Always so perfectly in control of herself.

“What are you doing here?” she asked in a firm voice.

“I –“you stuttered, “I – I’m sorry, I just – I, uh, saw your light was on.”

That was a risky answer, and you knew it. But today had been crazy, and any minute now Venable would unleash her wrath and it would destroy you. You had nothing left to lose. So you held her gaze, her inscrutable, unreadable gaze, admiring even now the flickers of candlelight that danced across the black.

“I couldn’t sleep,” you heard yourself say, your voice coming from far, far away. “I’ve not been able to sleep for quite a while. So I roam the corridors to try and distract myself, and I saw your light was on.” A pause. “What were you doing?”

Venable’s expression didn’t change. She took her time to answer, and you waited, waited for the inevitable anger, the inevitable punishment. You felt too distanced from yourself to be afraid.

“That is none of your business,” Venable said eventually. She turned away from you. “Go back to your room.”

That brought you back to yourself. Your soul crashed back into your body.

“Is that all?” you blurted out. “Go back to my room? Aren’t you going to, like,…” You didn’t finish your sentence, but she must have understood, because she turned to face you and shot you a somewhat outraged look.

“You seem so very certain I mean to hurt you,” she said sharply.

“Er, well.” You folded your arms on your chest and looked up at the ceiling, pretending to think. “In the last few hours I disrespected you and burst into your privacy. And, no offence, but you don’t strike me as a kitten kind of person.”

“Kitten?” she repeated.

“Yeah, you know.” You brought a nervous hand up to scratch your head. “Fluffy and cute, cuddly and helpless.”

She stared at you as if you were stupid. “Kittens scratch you for no reason.”

“Yeah, but...”You shook your head at yourself.”Never mind, don’t mind me. I’m too exhausted to think straight.”

Long seconds passed. None of you moved. You both held your ground, staring at each other. Waiting.

Your mouth opened again. “I don’t know whether I should run away from you or towards you.”

She didn’t react. Didn’t answer. She kept staring at you.

“I can’t sleep,” you repeated. “May I stay here and sleep with you?”

Her expression did shatter at that. She blinked in surprise, then in consternation.

“Uh, I mean, not like that,” you stammered. “I mean sleep as in actually sleep. Uh, get some shuteye.”

Venable let out another one of her small, incredulous laughs. “No, you may not,” she answered sharply.

“Right, of course. Stupid me.” You tried to laugh, ended up choking on your own spit.”Sorry. Uh, forget about all this.” You quickly turned to go.

“You need to get a grip on yourself,” came Venable’s voice. You stopped.

“Gosh, I know,” you breathed.”I’m sorry.” You waited. No reply came, so you started to walk away.

“I may have a few sleeping pills, if you think they can help,” Venable called after you.

You turned on your heel and rushed back into her room. “Yes, please, I’d be very grateful. Thank you.”

Venable nodded, walked into the ensuite bathroom. You heard the sound of a drawer opening, some fumbling, and then she was back into the room holding a small pill box.

She dropped one pill in your extended hand. “Try this tonight. I can give you more tomorrow if it works.”

“Thank you,” you breathed. Your fingers curled around the pill as her eyes bore into yours. You almost reached out to touch her cheek. Almost.

But then your breath hitched. For that was it, wasn’t it? Her punishment. Her revenge. You glanced down at the pill in your hand. Poison. It had to be.

You glanced back up at her, and your thoughts must have shown on your face, for her eyes momentarily glazed over with the same sadness as before.

“This is hydroxyzine,” she snapped.

“Right,” you mumbled. “Thanks.”

“Do you think some of my rules are too harsh?” she asked suddenly.

You blinked at her. “Well, I mean…” You paused a second, considering. You chose honesty.” Most of them are useful, I’ll give you that. But, Ms Venable, the copulation rule? People being shot for, what, loving each other? Finding comfort in each other?” You took one step towards her, growing irritated. “Those two Greys didn’t deserve death. They did nothing wrong. And what’s so bad about copulation, anyway? What’s so wrong with affection? Intimacy?”

You paused, waiting for her answer. Her eyes were very big and shining in the candlelight. They were different, now. It was that sadness again. She looked almost sad.

“Tell me, what’s wrong with this?” You reached out and laid the pad of your index on her right wrist. She tensed up, her hand tightening around the knob of her cane. Her eyes grew bigger still.

You swallowed, refusing to lower your gaze, as you slowly ran your finger down her hand, circled one of her knuckles, moved to the next. You could feel her shaking under your touch, her skin soft and hot.

“This never hurt anyone,” you said softly. Her brow tightened, just so. She made as if to withdraw her hand from your touch. Your finger stuttered, your eyes questioning hers. Well, maybe affection had hurt her. Undoubtedly it had. You could read it in her eyes.

You removed your hand, but she captured it in hers and brought it up close to her mouth.

“We cannot possibly take the risk of having to deal with a herd of babies, can we, Y/N?” she said very slowly. Her breath grazed your knuckles and sent a shiver down your spine. Her grip on your hand was strong.

“We can’t, Wilhemina,” you heard yourself say.

Wilhemina. How did you remember her Christian name? She had told it to you exactly once, on the day of your arrival at the Outpost. Months ago. And it wasn’t a very common name.

“But then again, Wilhemina,” you went on, “you and I would never have this problem.”

Venable brought your hand up to her mouth, her gaze burning into yours, and sank her teeth into your skin.

“Ow!” you yapped. “What the…”

She tightened her grip on your hand to hold it back. A smirk crept up her lips.

“Bite me,” she said, her mouth hot and damp against your skin. “That’s what you said. So, here.” She did let go of your hand, then. You held it protectively to your chest, smoothing it over your shirt. “Happy to oblige.” She turned away from you.

You watched her in consternation as she bent over her bed, apparently rearranging the pillows. Her teeth had left a row of white marks on your hand. A moment passed, until she straightened up and met your eyes.

“Well, goodnight,” she said, almost teasingly. And with that she sent you off.

“You’re still alive,” Coco said in surprise the morning after.

“You’re very observant,” you mumbled, slumping onto the chair next to her. You still felt a bit woolly because of the hydroxyzine. But at least you had slept.

“You’ve been observing our Earth”, sang the female voice from the radio.

“This song will drive me crazy,” you groaned. “Can’t we turn it off?”

“And we’d like to make a contact with you,” the voice retorted.

You straightened your shoulders as Venable walked into the room. Her gaze immediately fell on you. You held it, not sure what to think of the night before, her helping you, her biting you for God’s sake – mechanically you massaged the back of your hand where her teeth had sunk. And those words you had overhead. They had been addressed to someone else, but you couldn’t help but hope she had been talking about you.

You thought you saw something in her eyes, eagerness perhaps, as she walked towards you. She stopped in front of you and tapped her cane on the floor.

“Good-morning,” she said. You gave her a smile in answer, then lowered your eyes to study your nails. You could feel her gaze on your face.

“How did you sleep?” she went on in a casual voice that sounded just a tiny bit strained, as if she were uncomfortable or nervous.

You squinted at her, fighting back an amused smile. “I slept well, thank you.”

You were vaguely aware of the hush that had fallen upon the room. There was more to it, too, some sort of tension, expectant and apprehensive, a holding of one’s breath as one waits for something the nature of which one isn’t really certain of.

“We’ve been observing your Earth, and one night we’ll make a contact with you,” the robotic, distorted alien voice burst out.

“Good,” Venable answered. “I am glad to hear that.”

A pause. The pause stretched.

“Maybe now some of my brain cells will finally kick back into life, “you prompted.

Venable blinked. “We can only hope so,” she answered after a while.

The smile you had been holding back danced across your lips. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Coco shoot you a perplexed look, saw her contort her face as if to ask, “what the hell is happening?”

Venable’s cane tapped on the floor. “Everyone, please,” she called, “I have an announcement to make. Some good news for you all.”

Excited whispers filled the room. You straightened in your seat. Venable waited until she had everyone’s attention, and then spoke with pride in her voice. “To renew with tradition and entertain you, we will now have board games nights. Whist, backgammon, chess.”

Was she… actually trying to be nice? Giving you all something to look forward to? A bit of fun, to help pass the time? You almost gawked at her.

She’s trying, a voice whispered in your head. What was it she had said? Make it acceptable to love her. You were vaguely aware of the tears that sprang to your eyes.

“Excuse me,” Coco blurted out, “I thought you’d said ‘good news’, not ‘you’re now officially living in a shitty Jane Austen novel’.”

Venable glared at her. You caught just a flash of pain in her eyes.

“I think it’s a good idea,” you retorted before Venable had time to. “It’ll keep our minds distracted.”

“I don’t even know what whist and backgammon are,” said Andre. “And I’ve never played chess.”

“Of course you haven’t,” Venable sneered. “It will be the perfect opportunity to inject some knowledge into your vacuous brain.”

“Not as vacuous as that,” Andre retorted angrily, “seeing as you filled it with my boyfriend’s own brain.”

You had never seen Andre stand up to Venable before. Like the others, he had been too scared of her to dare contradict her. But now his voice was openly belligerent, his eyes shooting daggers at her, and his hands gripped the arms of his chair as if he were contemplating standing up. Something had changed, and it didn’t take you long to realize you were the cause. Or rather, Venable’s behavior to you. You had been insolent to her, and she had not punished you. She had not even verbally abused you.

“What will it take,” Venable enunciated, “for you to finally understand me when I say that I did not feed you Stu?”

“Then where is he?” Andre growled, jumping to his feet, “And what was in the fucking stew?”

“Alright, okay, calm down,” you spoke, rising too, and holding out a hand in front of Andre. “I’ll teach you chess, okay? I know chess, I can teach you. Just, relax, man. Gosh.”

Andre glared at you. You raised your eyebrows at him. For a minute he stayed still, hands clenched into fists, and then he let out a breath and moved back to his chair.

Coco threw her hands up in the air. “Board games nights it is,” she said sarcastically.

You turned to Venable. She was studying you, her expression strange, as if she could not quite decide between anger and gratefulness.

“Miss Y/L/N,” she said, her eyes locked with yours, “I do not need your help when it comes to dealing with idiots.”

You took your time to answer, to think of the right words to say. A smile crept up your lips again, and this time you let it.

And you knew everyone in the room would be able to hear you. But you didn’t care. Blame it on the hydroxyzine. Blame it on the freaking interplanetary and most extraordinary occupants. The world had ended. You were exhausted. And you were falling for her.

When you spoke, your voice was a singsong, as insolent as it had been the evening before. “Why, fuck me, Ms Venable. I know that.”

#ahs #ahs imagines #sarah paulson #sarah paulson x reader #wilhemina venable #wilhemina venable x reader #fics

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the-phantom-ender · 3 years

Note

ayup, can you write a jack manifold and foolish chapter? i love your writing, man. (-jackstanifold)

So. Two things have made this fic a struggle. 1: my arthritic ass joints decided to flair up real bad. So half my body was in pain while writing it. 2: I don’t think I write Jack well. I love him, I very much enjoy his character. His vocal pattern is so hard to write.

Foolish knew Jack Manifold. Not particularly well, sure, but well enough to pick up on some things. He was stubborn, for one. Which wasn’t a bad thing, not at all. Stubbornness could be useful when the time was right. It bred strong wills and stern beliefs. All of those things were very good in some situations.

There was more to it than just that, though. Under the stubbornness, just past it really, laid betrayal. Latent and festering, bubbling like lava. Lava that Foolish knew the man was very familiar with. He absolutely believed that he’d dragged himself out of hell out of spite! There was no doubt in his mind. Of course, the fact that the concept of Undying was literally his entire thing made him notice when someone... came back.

Years ago, Foolish may have been mad at the man for cheating death. Now, though? He was kind of impressed! Besides, Jack was technically on unfinished business. Ghosts had popped into existence for less, so there wasn’t much reason to fuss. He could die. That was all that mattered, honestly.

It was stupid, really. But Foolish saw his younger self in Jack Manifold, in a way. Blinded by power and anger and bloodthirst, unable to see much of anything else. The totem god was stupid when he was younger. When he was the god of Death he ruled unfairly harshly, striking down any mortal who dared oppose him. His excuse was that they’d all returned to oblivion eventually, caring not for the fact that there was a time for everyone.

Foolish wasn’t an idiot now, though. He knew that Jack was out for vengeance, out to spill the blood of Tommyinnit. Clarity would do him well. Rome wasn’t built in a day, though. You couldn’t change a person’s perspective in just one, either. Despite this: a day was a start. Perhaps this is why the god called Jack to his temple.

“Hellooooo?” A voice called from around a corner,” Big guy- you in here? God this place is fuckin huge…”

Foolish rolled his eyes softly, waving the smaller man over,” I’m outside the temple proper. I’m literally all of ten feet away.”

“Oh. Right. I knew that, I did.” Jack rounded the corner more properly this time, squaring off his shoulders to seem more intimidating. He mostly just looked dorky, but Foolish wasn’t gonna tell him that. “Right then!” he clapped his hands together,” What did ya’ call me here for, exactly? Like I appreciate you wanting to chat, but there’s gotta be at least a lil more than that.”

Foolish sighed. Of course, there was more to it than just that. How was he meant to approach this kind of thing, though? It wasn’t just like he could actively say that Jack reminded him of himself as a shitty Death god, running around and killing people because he was mad at the world. One: that was rude. Two: that felt like something someone would say to their kid. Jack was not his kid. Foolish Jr. was more than enough children for him, thank you very much.

“Follow me,” Foolish hummed at last, leading him to the center of the temple.

It was properly done this time, and Jack couldn’t hijack it by moving anything one block. He sat down on a slight incline, gesturing for the other male to join him. After a moment of hesitation, he did.

“I don’t know how to do this in a way that isn’t… stupid. So what I’m going to do instead is, uh.” A breath,” Would you like to hear a story, Jack?”

“Well fuck, man, I didn’t expect you to drag me all this way for a story time.”

“Just… trust me on this one.”

“Yeah yeah, alright.”

“A very, very long time ago, in a place that existed long before this, the world was very, very new. In this world, there was a pantheon of gods that controlled the universe itself. They were powerful, all of them. Among these gods, there was the young God of Death, Follis. Now this god was by no means bad at what he did, but he was a bit… over eager with his position.

A mortal man came to the god’s temple, once, begging for safety. He’d lost his family in a mudslide and had nowhere else to go. So Follis took pity on him. He sheltered the man as long as he was able.

They had one rule: to honor his family, the man was not to love another during his time in the temple. This went well for some time, the man was devout and thankful. Until one day, the man appeared to have courted another mortal woman in the domain of the god.

Outraged, he struck him down right there and then. From the shock, the mortal woman’s heart gave out. She was there due to this weak heart, hoping the god could give her advice. Now… was Follis in the right to have struck the man down for going against his wishes, or was he out of turn?”

“What?”

“Well…” Foolish hummed,” What do you think, is what I’m asking you. Do you think the man deserved the punishment?”

“Well yeah, no shit! He broke the rule!”

“What if I told you he didn’t?”

“But you- you just told me he had!” Jack’s dual-toned eyes peeked out from under matching lenses, eyebrows knotting in confusion.

“I told you that he appeared to have courted the woman. What if he had simply been giving the woman directions? What if he was giving her something to offer the god, as she had nothing to do so. What then? Is the man still in the wrong?”

“I... no, I guess not. If the man didn’t actually get with the lady then he got killed unfairly, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

It grew silent for a moment. Foolish leaned back, waiting for the story to click. Of course, he’d changed the name. Follis was the root of Foolish. His true name was too important to give away like that, sorry Jack. The gears seemed to be turning in the man’s head, trying to understand what this meant.

“I don’t get it.” He said at last.

Foolish laughed, shark teeth glinting in the dull light,” Yeah, fair enough. The moral of that story, more or less, is the importance of perspective. Something clouded by judgement may turn out to be something else completely.”

“Oh.”

Jack's expression darkened. Which was, of course, exactly what Foolish had been expecting. He fully expected this to lead to shouting, anger. But… no. He just sat there, gazing down at the ground like he could burn holes into the sandstone with his eyes. His fists balled against his pants, knuckles white. More than aggressive, he looked lost in thought.

“Are you- is the story ab-”

“I am, it is.”

“Oh.”

#transcribed from enderspeak #foolish gamers #c!foolish #jack manifold #c!jack #dream smp #dream smp fanfiction #dream smp fanfic #i had so much fun making up a myth

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thiswasinevitableid · 3 years

Note

Have you seen the post going around about the zoom class with one guy and his full streamer setup vs the guy whose just in the middle of the woods? I know you have a prompt list rn but I’m just saying there’s a sternclay fic in there somewhere...

It is! Here you go!

Life is better with order. Or, at the very least, with some attempt at patterns, organization, or consistency.

Which is why Stern has carefully arranged his desk, his chair, and his equipment in the background. Streaming as a hobby and a side hustle means he has some (okay, a lot) of practice making his digital self look just right. He needs to make a good impression on the first day of the semester.

Unlike some people.

“Holy shit man, are you in the woods?” Duck, the guy in a “Monongahela National Forest” shirt, grins as he asks this of another student whose screen consists of a forest clearing, a log, and the name “Barclay.”

“Yeah. Hang on, lemme finish getting the phone balanced.”

“Dude, that’s like, way better than my background” this comes from Jake, in front of a poorly rendered half-pipe.

“Can’t really take credit for it, just where I ended up.” Barclay sits down, and Stern gets his first look at a man so tall he barely fits in the frame, with a short, coppery beard and an honest-to-god man-bun.

Damn west coast schools.

“How is your battery going to last long enough for class?” Stern leans back in his chair, certain Barclay will have “battery trouble” halfway through as an excuse to cut out early.

Barclay smiles, lifting up a small green and black rectangle, “solar battery. Not everyone needs fancy gadgets for school.” He aims a pointed stare at Sterns set-up.

“It’s important to have the right equipment.”

“Whatever you say, man.” He lifts a cup of iced coffee into the frame, sipping it through a straw. It’s the picture of relaxation, as if nothing is wrong in the world. As if this is all totally normal.

Stern wants to reach through the screen and slap some sense into him. Preferably while he’s shirtless.

He chalks that thought up to not having gotten laid since last December and pulls up his note taking software as Professor Chicane enters the room.

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

Private Chat 9/20/20

Duck (he/him): I timed it, we’re already at ten minutes of arguing.

Indrid (he/him): I know Ned enjoys their demonstrating the different modes of rhetoric, but this is a bit extreme.

Duck: To be fair, Joe does seem kinda uptight.

Indrid: Yes, but Barclay should know by now that zeroing in on him during our practice debates only results in this.

Duck: Yeah. Oh shit, are they for real wrapping up you think?

Indrid: We can only hope. Skype me tonight?

Duck: Of course, sugar.

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

What is Joseph’s problem? He’s got a set-up that would make a pro-vlogger jealous, what looks to be a well-lit apartment with some houseplants and the kind of coffee-cups that are weirdly lacking in personality. His clothes are immaculate, his hair slicked back as if he;s in a business meeting rather than an online class in the midst of a chaotic world. So why is he acting like everything is terrible? And why is he always arguing with Barclay, when there are plenty of other people in the class to disagree with?

“Now” Mr. Chicane’s voice booms through the tiny speaker on his phone, “if you all had a chance to read over the instructions, we will begin the first mock debate. Do we have any volunteers?”

He and Joe raise their hands at the same time. Mr. Chicane raises an eyebrow.

“While I appreciate your eagerness, gentlemen, I would like two other volunteers this time.”

That’s fine by him. It’s not like he likes listening to Joseph get all wound up and passionate, making everyone on the call sit up and take notice of him. It’s not as if he enjoys being the center of his focus.

Nope, not at all.

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

Private chat 10/11/20

Jake (he/him): Dudes, did you see who got paired up on the final project?

Aubrey (she/her): Chicane must be getting them back for all the times they’ve hijacked discussions.

Duck (he/him): Man, for their sake I hope it works out.

Indrid (he/him): This is going to be a disaster.

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

“Are you out of your mind!” Stern is talking before Barclay’s video is fully on.

“Nope. And you don’t have to yell, my speaker works just fine.”

“You’re outside, for all I know there’s a ton of ambient noise.”

Barclay, phone obviously in his hand as he walks through the trees, groans.

“And don’t try to derail this; how can you possibly suggest I come out there so we can do the project in person? We’re supposed to be limiting travel and gatherings.”

“Look, Joseph, we both agree that trying to generate our own cryptid hoax is the best way to demonstrate all the techniques Ned wants us too, right?”

“Yes” he hides his answer behind the rim of his coffee mug.

“We’ll do a way better job if we work in the same space. And if it makes you feel any better, I haven’t had any human contact in three weeks; all quarantined up, unlike whatever you’ve been doing in the city.”

He sets the mug down with a thunk, “I haven’t been out in a month. And before that was only for one grocery run and a hospital visit.”

“Uhhh-”

“I cut my hand cooking. So. Yeah.”

Literal crickets chirp, courtesy of Barclay’s end of the line, as the silence stretches on.

“If it helps, it’s real easy to stay isolated here, and I’ve still got utilities and everything.”

“And you’re not subsisting only on MREs or granola or something?”

A deep chuckle, the kind that makes his skin prickle, “Nope. That much I can promise.”

Stern glances around the studio apartment, clean and empty.

“What’s your address?”

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

Look, all Stern is going to say is that he’s seen and read plenty of stories that start with a cabin in the woods and none of them end well. Which is why he’s still sitting in his car, parked beside a beat-up Subaru, rather than knocking on the door.

Breathe in, five counts. Out for four. Repeat four times.

Waiting for him on the door is a note.

Joseph,

Key under mat, make yourself at home.

Barclay.

He brings in his bags (a matching set of three, a gift from his aunt last year), placing them in the tiny guest room. It’s not much more than a bed, a dresser, and a tiny table. But there’s a heating unit below the window looking out into the woods, which is pretty pleasant. He’ll be keeping the blinds closed at night, though; he hates the thought of something being able to look in.

Stern’s busy evaluating the laundry closet when the front door opens.

“Hey, glad you found the place okay.”

Barclay stands in the doorway, a basket full of fruit in one hand. He’s remarkably kempt for a man living in the woods and that, combined with the deep voice being even richer in person and the fact Stern has to actually look up to meet his eyes, has him stumbling for words.

“Your directions were very thorough. Thank you. Um. I put my things in there, should I, um-”

“I can give you the grand tour.” The taller man sets the basket on the dining table, notices Sterns puzzled expression “there’s a piece of property about a mile thataway that has orchards they don’t really use. They let me come and pick whenever i want, less for them to clean up.”

Barclay keeps up a steady monologue as he shows him the cabin. The lower level is the living room and dining area, a kitchen which leads onto the back deck, Sterns room, and a bathroom. As the cabin is A-frame, the upstairs is Barclay’s room, all dark wood and pine colored plaid. It’s as Barclay is telling him about the woodpecker that sometimes nests in the eaves that he realizes why he’s talking so much.

He’s nervous.

Neither of their nerves improve when he gets to his last point of order.

“Uh, so, the bathroom downstairs is only a half-bath.”

“So...if I want to shower, which I do, I have to come up here.”

“Yeah.” Barclay scratches the back of his neck, “sorry. I don’t, like, sleep naked or anything so we should be fine.”

“Disappointing.” Stern sighs, only to sail past sarcastic and land face first in sincere.

Barclay blushes, then shrugs, “Trust me, after the first night, you’ll see why.”

Stern does. He’s warm as long as he’s in bed, but the moment he ventures into the bathroom in the middle of the night he’s cocooned in cold.

The morning brings cinnamon and coffee on the draft coming under the door. He plods into the kitchen in search of caffeine, finds Barclay in an pron, the counter covered in trays of dough.

“Morning!”

“Morning. Coffee-”

“Right there, sugar and stuff’s in the cabinet above it, cream and such is in the fridge.”

Blessedly, there’s heavy cream to be found, and soon he’s sipping from an enamel mug emblazoned with a UFO made of veggies.

“Is this all for your job?” Barclay mentioned he was a cook during an icebreaker.

“Yep. Way it works is I bust my ass baking once or twice a day, and Thacker, who works with Mama at the Lodge in town, comes and takes them over there. Normally I’d just be there but, well, y’know.”

“Everything is on fire? Figuratively, I mean.”

“Sometimes literally too, but yeah.”

As he’s turning to grab his clothes and head showerward, Barclay adds, “You a scone man, coffecake man, or a cinnamon roll man?”

“Coffeecake?” It comes out hesitant.

“There’s no right answer, man.” Barclay sounds amused, “what do you want?”

“Cake, definitely.”

“Cool. I’ll save you a slice.”

Once he’s showered and on the wi-fi, his day runs like normal; one lecture, reading, a research paper, his initial half of their project, and working either his copy-editing or transcription job in between, and planning his next stream. Barclay comes and goes, stops now and then to see if he needs anything, leaves a sandwich in front of him around dinner time. Then it’s time to crawl under the covers and dream of a less-stressful world.

The next day, just before one, Barclay taps him on the shoulder.

“Ready for class?”

“Yes…” He gestures to his laptop and notebook.

“C’mon, join me out here, it’s way nicer, and we can share the phone.”

“Barclay, it’s a nonsensical way to attend class, just stay in here with me! Even this set-up has to be better than the woods.”

“This set up. You mean my house?” All the friendliness leaves hi voice.

“Yes. Look, I agreed to come out because you’re right, if we want to ace this thing that’s worth sixty percent of our grade, this is the place to do it; I don’t have to go along with the whole self-sufficient woodsman aesthetic while I’m here. “

“Yeah, I’d say you’re pretty far from self-sufficient. See you in class.”

Stern stews through the entire session, but where he’d usually find something Barclay says to latch onto, he instead gnaws on himself. Why didn’t he just go with him? Why snap at someone who’s been nothing but nice since he got here?

Whatever the answer, how can he fix it?

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

Barclay tromps back through the twilight, done with his second class of the day. If Joseph is in the main house, he plans to ignore him until tomorrow morning. That all goes out the window with the clank of dishes from the kitchen.

Peering in reveals the other man bent over, pulling a casserole from the oven. He waits to announce his presence until Joseph is out of the danger zone, enjoying the view as he does.

“Smells good.”

Blue eyes flick over to him as Joseph opens drawers, “it’s mostly cheese and chips, so I’m not surprised.”

“Servers are in that one.”

“Thank you. Nacho pie?” He scoops some into a bowl, holding it out.

“Sure. Uh, look, Joseph I-”

Joseph holds up the server, “Wait. Before you apologize I, um, I wanted to say I’m sorry for my comments. And for being so...me-ish.” He sighs, staring at the utensil in his grip, “I’ve always been a little bit tense, tried to be polite and effective and friendly in spite of it. The last six months made that harder to do. I don’t love it when I can’t be organized, when normal systems go out of place. But that’s no excuse for being rude to you, even before you invited me here. You’re just so...you’re always so calm and relaxed, like nothing was wrong and I just honed in on that way more than made sense. I’m sorry.”

“If it makes you feel better, I kinda did the same thing. You’re always so put together, it looked like you had this organized life in the midst of this whole shitstorm. I feel lik everything is slipping away, like my world is just this cabin. I mean, I assumed you were seeing friends in the city, while I haven’t seen Mama in person since April. So” he sets the bowl down, rests his hand on Joseph’s shoulder, “I’m sorry too.”

Joseph laughs, softly, “turns out we both had failures of imagination, huh?”

“Yeah” he runs a hand over Joseph's back, “now come on, this dinner’s not gonna eat itself.”

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

“You sure you don’t wanna wear the bigfoot costume?”

“Positive. Besides, it suits you.” Joseph finishes styling the fur on the head of the costume to look more realistic, “I just hope we get this done before that storm comes in; as mush as the rain would add to the mood of the scene, that’ll be hell to dry and you’ll be miserable. So, go lurk over there while I finish up getting the camera settings where they need to be.”

“Yes sir” Barclay pops the head on, leaves crunching as moves to his appointed tree. He smiles as he watches Joseph fiddle with the camera; things have been so much better between them these last two weeks. They trade off cooking dinner, study side by side, and watch movies or play games in the warmth of the heater. They have a similar sense of humor and taste in books, and are tidy to boot. Joseph’s even come with him to listen to lectures in the woods, the pair sharing a thermos of coffee under the astonished gaze of their classmates. There’s just one problem.

Barclay’s buried crush is now blooming in every direction. Animated, argumentative Joseph was attractive. Joseph, in all his moods and mannerisms, is devastatingly enchanting. He’s come close to telling him this, but the other man is his guest and also only here for another two and a half weeks, so a confession is setting himself up for heartbreak at worst and awkwardness at best.

He almost blew it last night when they were washing dishes (Joseph scrubs, Barclay dries and puts away).

“Last one.”

“Thanks, blue eyes.”

“What was that?”

“Uh, blue eyes? Like a, uh, a nickname?”

Joseph laughs, “Sounds like something from a Raymond Chandler book. I like it.”

On the plus side, if Joseph thinks it’s just a nickname and not a pet name, maybe Barclay can keep using it.

“Are you ready?’

He sticks up a hairy thumb and calls, “you know it, blue eyes.”

That same laugh as Joseph takes up his position. Maybe it’s the weird film over the costume’s eyes, but Barclay swears he sees a blush.

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

Stern trawls through the search results. Their video is getting some traction, with two cryptid hunter sites claiming it’s credible footage. He’s making note of how the information spread, which threads lead to belief and which to doubt, when Barclay calls from upstairs.

“Joseph? Little help?”

The other man is in the bathroom, and when Stern knocks he says, “Think the pilot light on the water heater went out again, all I’m getting is cold water. Can you go relight it?”

“Sure.” He gets to the stairs then, stops, “where’s the key to that closet?”

“Huh? Oh, shit, right, hang on” Barclay says at the same time as Stern’s “don’t worry, I can find it.”

Which is why the instant he turns back into the bedroom is the same instant Barclay steps out of the bathroom, blue towel around his waist.

Any blood that doesn’t head south goes instantly to Stern’s cheeks.

“You okay there, blue-eyes?”

“It’s completely unfair how good you look without a shirt.”

He clamps a hand over his mouth.

“Idn’t ean to ay at out oud” The mumbled explanation makes Barclay smirk.

“You like this, should see what’s under the towel.”

The unusually bold statement from Barclay kindles his own confidence.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, big guy.”

“Who says I won’t.” Barclay sits down on the edge of the bed, nonchalant and leaning back on his hands, “got plenty of time to make good on them.”

“We literally don’t. I go back in a week and two days.”

Barclay toys with the lint on the towel, “you could stay. Through break, through next semester, for however long you wanted.”

“Do you mean that?”

A shy nod, “I like having you around, Joseph. Even beyond the huge fucking crush I have on you I...everything is a little better when you’re around.”

“I, um, I guess it could work. We know next semester is online too, and so is work, so…” there must be variables missing, something he’s not seeing, some reason this is too good to be true.

“You want some space away from shirtless me to think about it?”

“That’d be great.”

Barclay stands, hesitates, then plants a quick kiss on his forehead, “take all the time you need, blue eyes.”

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

Private Chat log 1/11/2021

Barclay (he/him): Did you see the look on Duck’s face when we turned up in frame together.

Joseph (he/him): Yes. Pretty sure Aubrey yelled something about him needing to pay up. I wonder what the bet was.

Barclay (he/him): Whatever it was, pretty sure I came out the biggest winner.

Stern snorts, trying not to blush on camera, and leans over to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek.

#agent stern/barclay #sternclay #taz amnesty #college AU

63 notes · View notes

full-of-jams · 4 years

Text

Good Riddance #1

Pairing: Jimin x Reader

Summary: There were two things life taught you. Money bought comfort, not happiness. And love was always a gateway to pain. When your former best friend Jimin suddenly returns into your life, he challenges your belief and rips open the past you tried so hard to forget.

Genre: heirs au, girl boss, e2l, angst, mutual pining, eventual smut, feat. OT7

Warnings: swearing, Jin’s dad jokes, prissy Namjoon, a very sunny dispositioned Hobi :)

Word Count: 5.5k

A/N: I decided to rewrite Good Riddance. After I finished outlining the entire plot, I realized that the characters and story were way more nuanced. So here we go!

°°°°°°°

It was a clear night. A bit chilly for mid-September, but you preferred the cold caress of the evening breeze over the smothering atmosphere of the party. The sky was painted dark, flecked with twinkling stars. You tried to blend out the lively buzz below you as you soaked in the view. Stars were scarce commodity in the City and being out here in the countryside was a rare treat nowadays.

You let out a sigh as you leaned against the balcony and took a careful sip from your glass of champagne. The icy railing bit into your skin, but you ignored the rising goosebumps. Light and music spilled out onto the ground floor terrace beneath you. People were enjoying themselves, laughing and chatting away. Usually you didn’t mind being amidst the crowd, but tonight you gladly exchanged the glittering socialite circles for a quiet reprieve.

You felt suffocated; you had to escape.

***

It started out as a normal Saturday evening. A celebratory one at that.

“Yeah man! Namjoons! Congrats! I can’t believe you’re getting hitched!” your friend Jin almost yelled across the room. He joyously greeted the man of the night and patted him eagerly on his back.

“Ah, hyung! You almost made me spill my drink! Do you know how much this tux cost me?” Namjoon asked. Despite his complaint, he couldn’t keep his goofy grin off his face. You fondly looked at both of your childhood friends.

“C’mon don’t be so stingy Mr. Investment Banker. You can make that money back in an hour. Here, in celebration of you finally relieving your beloved out of her five-year long misery, I’ll treat you to a new joke of mine!”

Namjoon threw you a pleading glance. You simply shrugged and gestured for Jin to continue.

“This is an exclusive, so stop being so ungrateful you lot! Did you hear about the notebook who got engaged to the pencil?” Jin happily continued, glancing between the two of you, waiting for a response.

“No…?” you answered as you took a swig of champagne.

“She finally found Mr. Write!” Jin howled gleefully. You shouldn’t have laughed. It really wasn’t that funny of a joke, but Jin’s contagious cackle had you spitting out your drink.

Straight into Namjoon’s face.

“Oh my god! Joons! I’m so sorry,” you breathed between your gasps of laughter. You hastily grabbed some napkins off of a waiter passing by and started wiping his face. Jin was cracking up next to you, basically on the floor.

“Why did I ever expect anything else from the both of you? Why are we friends again?” Namjoon muttered in irritation as he took a napkin off your hands and patted down his tux.

You managed to stifle your laughter, “Because you looooove us. I’m sorry Joonie, really! I’ll pay your dry-cleaning.” You gave him your best puppy eye impression.

“Ugh, it’s fine Y/N. Stop trying to be cute, it’s giving me the creeps,” Namjoon groaned. You dropped your puppy eyes and gave him a stink eye instead.

Jin finally calmed down and threw an arm over his friend’s shoulder. “C’mon Namjoon, Y/N’s right. You love us. Your life would be boring without us. If it weren’t for your exquisite, completely-out-of-your-league fiancée, we’d be getting married right now!”

“You wish,” Namjoon grumbled.

“I’m handsome, I’m funny, I can cook, I’m filthy rich, I’m a catch!” Jin exclaimed indignantly.

You nodded in solemn agreement, “He’s got a point. He’s a catch. You would make a lovely couple.” Your somber façade started to crack as another giggle escaped your lips.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m glad at least the two of you are having fun. On that note, did you see Jimin yet? I heard he’s back in town, he RSVP’d to the party”.

Your smile dropped; every trace of humor gone. “Who?”

Namjoon gave you a strange look and repeated slowly, “Park Jimin. He’s supposed to be here tonight.”

Your heart dropped. Fuck.

You forced a smile back on your face and ignored the furtive glance Jin gave Namjoon. “Oh really? He’s back? How long has it been? I’m sure his family must have missed him.”

“I’m pretty sure the whole City missed our golden boy,” Namjoon said with an awkward laugh.

Your voice turned steely, “Not sure I’d go as far as the whole City, but yeah I can imagine how he has them fooled and wrapped around his finger. I think I better go refill my glass, most of it landed on your face.” You excused yourself and walked away from the boys. In the background you heard Jin reprimand Namjoon, “Way to kill the mood, man!”

“I thought she should know. Better than to run head-first into him!”

“Whatever, c’mon take me to your bride-to-be! I need to tell her my joke!”

***

Later that evening you found yourself on the third-floor guest bedroom balcony, indulging in the starry night sky.

Alone.

You tried to lose yourself in the moment, telling yourself to enjoy this rare occasion.

After a view minutes you decided your attempts were futile. Who were you kidding? You were hiding.

Suddenly the bedroom door opened behind you, light spilled in from the hallway. You shifted your eyes and saw the outline of a sleek figure standing in the doorway.

You immediately straightened up, your long red dress rustled slightly against your body. The figure stilled for a second as he scanned the dark space. His eyes landed on you. He closed the door and slowly crossed the room.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

You carefully kept a blank face and trained your gaze back to the seemingly captivating night sky. You took another big sip of champagne.

“Here you are, Y/N,” the words came out in a soft breath. His voice was quiet, but it was unmistakably deeper than the last time you heard it.

Don’t you get it? I don’t want you here. No one wants you here. The never-ending mantra that haunted you for the last decade. You wanted it to stop.

“Why are you hiding up here?” You threw him a sideways glance as he stepped up next to your side. The moonlight hit his cheekbones, his features were half lit and half hidden in the shadows.

Immediate regret coursed through your mind.

He looked good.

You hated that bastard.

“Who said I was hiding?” you answered in a disinterested tone. He was of course right, but he didn’t have to know that. „I was trying to enjoy my peace and quiet. Alone.” You waved your glass in his general direction without sparing him another glance.

Silence fell; you could feel his gaze on you. You silently prayed he would turn around and leave. Unfortunately he didn’t, or more likely refused to take the hint.

“You don’t seem surprised to see me. I thought I recognized you earlier. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve guessed you were avoiding me. But that can’t be it, the great Y/N is nothing if not head-on. It’s good to see you again,” he said in an amused tone.

You tensed at his words, your inner voice warring whether to simply ignore him or not. Your rational side sighed in defeat as you gave up your haphazard attempt at stargazing and reluctantly turned your attention to the boy next to you. There was no point in avoiding him, your voice justified. As much as you wanted to, people like the both of you couldn’t afford to ignore each other. You both knew this.

Might as well rip the Band-Aid off now, fast.

“What are you doing here, Park? Did you run out of millionaires to greet downstairs, who’d pat your back and toast on your return to the City? Maybe you shouldn’t have hijacked Namjoon’s engagement party for this. But then again, manners were never your strong suit.” You willed yourself to sound bored and took a measured drink from your glass.

There was another beat of silence as your words hung in the air. You snuck a closer look at him. His hair was parted sideways, falling slightly into his eyes. He wore an elegant waistcoat and slacks. A simple black tie graced his neck.

The years did him well. He looked different than you remembered. Better.

Fuck. You had to have a strict conversation with that inner voice of yours.

As your gaze moved back up, you noticed that his eyes were searching your face. All of a sudden the evening air seemed cold. You had forgotten how his gaze always made you feel. Bared and exposed. Despite your discomfort, you kept your poker face and refused to break the stifling awkwardness. Both of you let another second of silence pass.

Go away.

“Sharp-tongued and witty as ever. I missed that.” He chuckled.

Liar. Still, your defiant little heart skipped a beat. You silently vowed to yourself to meditate more. That mind over matter shit was clearly not kicking in.

“I’m already done with all the millionaires downstairs. So I thought I’d come and greet some old friends up here.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets and gave you a nonchalant shrug.

“We’re not friends, Park.” you shot back.

Jimin dramatically clutched his chest as if hit by a bullet. “Harsh words. And here I thought you’d be the happiest one to see me.”

Your only response was hard silence. Go away. Please.

He continued to disregard your silent prayers, “And what’s up with calling me Park? We’re not in high school anymore. Calling people by their last name is not gonna earn you any street cred, you know? Is this how you treat all your clients? I’m disappointed, tsk.” The boy clicked his tongue in taunting disapproval.

Your brain whirred as you processed what he just said. Shit. Shit.

“Your father is our new client with that new mystery project?” you blurted out before you could stop yourself.

A slight frown set between his eyes. “My father? Park Corp. consists of more than just my father. And he’s definitely not going to be working on that project.”

You dismissed his words with a wave of your hand, “Park Corp., your father, all the same. It’s just semantics.” Jimin wanted to argue back, but you ignored him and continued, “Don’t be so naïve, Park.” You quirked an eyebrow as you used his last name again. Nobody told you what you could or couldn’t do.

“Your old man never lets his turf go unsupervised, especially if it’s a project developed in the City. You should know that better than anyone else. But how did my dad agree to this? He said he’d never work with your father. He thinks money and business ruin good friendships…” You suddenly realized you were babbling and bit down on your tongue.

Damn it, how do you end this conversation fast? Ideally in a way which didn’t involve insulting the son of your biggest new client. Okay, maybe a bit of insulting was allowed. He wasn’t your client yet.

Jimin’s frown deepened before it was slowly replaced by a shrewd smile.

Uh oh. This didn’t bode well.

“Your father agreed to this because I convinced him.” His stupid smile grew wider as he leaned in. Your mind went blank at his sudden proximity, his woodsy scent marred your senses. “As I said, Park Corp. consists of more than just my father. He’s not overseeing this project. I am.”

You swallowed hard.

No one wants you here.

“Jimin. What do you want from me?” You had to shut him down, you had to shut your memories down.

He laughed quietly, leaned in even closer and breathed against your ear, “Like you said, I just wanted to toast with some of my millionaire friends.“ In one smooth move he swiped the glass out of your hand and knocked back the rest of your champagne.

You were too perplexed to react.

“I’ll leave you to your peace and quiet again. I should go greet some other millionaires, maybe even a billionaire or two. See you Monday,“ Jimin winked and turned to leave.

See you Monday. See you Monday?!

He stopped at the balcony door, turned around and looked at you again for another long moment. “Before I forget. I meant it when I said it’s good to see you again.” There was an odd sincerity in his voice. Your heart constricted. “You look good Y/N. I missed you.” With those words he headed back inside.

Fuck.

You were out of champagne.

***

>Beep<

“Yes Ms. L/N?”

“Ash, is this the updated schedule for today?”

“Yes, Ms. L/N. Your conference call with the London team on the current bidding process is in 15 minutes. At 10.30 a.m. there’s the project briefing with Eptá. You have a lunch date with Mr. Kim today. I placed a reservation at the restaurant at 1 p.m. I also cleared your afternoon schedule, per your request, so you can go investigate the properties. And at 8 p.m. you have your call with the West Coast team on the new development portfolio. It hasn’t changed since the last time you asked me 20 minutes ago.”

You ignored the slight annoyance in your assistant’s voice. Ash was nothing if not efficient. How wonderful.

“Ok thanks Ash.”

>Beep<

“Ms. L/N, you seem a bit on edge today. Would you like some chamomile tea to calm your nerves?” she added in a sugary voice.

How. Wonderful.

“That’s very thoughtful of you Ash, but I think I’ll pass,” you answered just as sweetly. “Please follow up with Ren on the financial analysis and make sure to bring me the finalized report by end of today.”

There was a brief pause on the line.

“Of course, Ms. L/N.”

>Beep<

You leaned back in your chair and let out a groan. How did you let yourself get to this point?

It was Monday morning. Two restless nights and three morning espressos in, you had to acknowledge that your brief conversation with Jimin affected you more than you were willing to admit.

Damn that boy and his empty words.

You closed your eyes and focused your mind on your breathing. After a few moments you released all your tension, determined to concentrate on the matters at hand. Any useless thought spent on that guy was just a waste of your precious energy.

Thankfully you were easily able to get back in the game. Your morning call went well. The team did excellent research and prep work and with a little bit of luck the bid would be as good as yours.

>Beep<

“Ms. L/N, your 10:30 appointment has arrived. Mr. Gardner and Mr. Jung have just registered at reception.”

“Send them straight in once they’re here.”

>Beep<

You briefly checked your appearance in the standing mirror and straightened your blouse. Then you gathered the files that you’ve carefully studied over the past week and brought everything to your office seating area. You were told you were specifically requested by this client and you wondered what made them so special. Special enough for your father to insist.

There was a knock on your door and then Ash came in followed by the two men.

“Mr. Gardner and Mr. Jung,” Ash announced.

You were about to greet your guests as you did double-take and froze. There, in the middle of your office stood Park Jimin. He wore a fitted light grey suit with a slim black tie, his hair elegantly sleeked back. Next to him his companion wore something more casual and flowy. His auburn mop of hair offset the cream color of his suit.

What the hell? Is this some kind of sick joke?

It took you a moment to realize that you blurted that last thought out loud. You cleared your throat and tried to compose yourself. “What are you doing here?” A clear hint of dread seeped into your voice.

Jimin laughed at your bewildered expression. Ash and Jimin’s companion glanced curiously between the both of you.

“I’m here to talk business, remember? C’mon you didn’t drink that much at the party to have a blackout. You were sulking around in the corner for the rest of the night. Don’t deny it, I saw you.”

You scowled at him. “Last time I checked your name was not Mr. Gardner nor Mr. Jung and you for sure don’t work for a company called Eptá. What game are you playing Park J…?”

Suddenly Jimin’s companion interrupted you,“Ms. L/N, how about we discuss our matters in a more private setting?” He briefly eyed Ash and the open door to the rest of your office floor.

You gave him an irritated glance but decided to concede. He was right, there was no point in making a scene in the middle of the office. Work was work and you were a professional. You could deal with that jerk later.

“Yes, of course. My apologies, I got carried away. Can I offer you gentlemen something to drink? Coffee? Tea?”

“Coffee would be amazing,” Jimin quipped while he sauntered to the chairs, unbuttoned his suit and sat down.

You threw him a dirty look before you turned to Ash who was taking in the entire scene with immense interest. “Ash could you please bring us some coffee and water?” You turned back to the companion and added, “Please have a seat.”

Once Ash left the room and everyone sat down, Jimin’s companion reached out his hand. “I’m Jung Hoseok, nice to meet you. My partner here has told me a lot about you. I’m sorry if we surprised you like this. Unfortunately, we have to treat the topics we are to discuss today with the highest discretion.”

Jimin told this guy about you?

“Wow Mr. Jung, what an honor. I really enjoyed your last article in the Financial Times. It was very insightful and innovative. L/N Y/N. It’s nice to meet you too.” You shook his hand, your curiosity piqued.

Hoseok gave you an easy smile and continued, “Of course you already know Mr. Park here. You probably have a rough idea about the project at hand through the briefing document we sent through earlier, but before we continue to go into detail, I’d like to ask you to please review and sign this NDA.”

You weren’t unfamiliar with signing NDAs. Real estate development was a lucrative but sensitive business, especially in this city. Client discretion and secrecy was always a given at your father’s company. But if it made your clients feel safer, you were also happy to sign a legal document to ensure no trade secrets were spilled.

While you read through the terms of the document, Ash came back with a tray of refreshments.

“Here’s two coffees, water, milk and sugar at your free disposal. And one chamomile tea for you Miss.” She set the teacup in front of you as you gave her a sharp look.

She remained unbothered and asked in a saccharine voice, “Is there anything else I can get you?”

This girl…

“That would be all,” you dismissed her out of your office. If she had time to be sassy, she could handle your curtness.

After you signed the NDA you reached for the briefing document and flipped through your notes. “Mr. Park, Mr. Jung, I understand your need for discretion, but I’m a bit confused. I reviewed the briefing document and it describes your plans to revitalize the shipyard district. It does provide significant redevelopment opportunities and I’m sure it’s a great investment due to the rising popularity of the area, but to be frank, this is nothing you should hide from your competitors. Actually, it would be more beneficial to publicly market the redevelopment, as it would draw in more investors and increase the property value at a faster pace.”

You paused for a second and looked up at the two men. Hoseok opened his mouth, but before he could jump in you smoothly continued, “But I’m sure two smart gentlemen like you already know all of this. I checked our company’s asset register and we have no significant ongoing activities there at the moment.”

Jimin lifted an expectant eyebrow. And?

Was this some weird game of his? A test? Fine, you could play along.

“What we do have is a full-blown development plan for 53rd Street, which I’ve been asked to work on off-record for a mystery project in the past month. So tell me, why are you really here? Let’s stop wasting our time pretending we’re interested in finding ways to remove and recycle rusty hulls.“

Hoseok looked positively impressed. Good. “Phew, you weren’t kidding Jimin when you said she was smart as a whip. You really did your homework Ms. L/N”.

Jimin complimented you in front of strangers? Somehow this notion bugged you even more.

You brushed off Hoseok’s comment. “Mr. Jung, please, that’s my job. If you’re that easily impressed maybe I should increase my rates,” you deadpanned.

Hoseok blinked at you for a moment until he realized you were joking and started to laugh.

You smiled back at him.

Business rule #1 – always have a friend on the other side.

Your gaze shifted to Jimin and you noticed he was quietly observing you. Once again you felt exposed. Just like on that night of the party.

Focus.

You stared straight back and silently challenged him to say something.

“Yes Y/N, you’re right. Let’s stop pretending.”

No manners, not even in a business environment. What did you expect?

“We’re looking to branch out Park Corp. The hospitality industry is changing; travel and lifestyle trends are changing. As leaders of this industry we should spearhead that change.”

It was the first time you heard him talk in such a serious and determined way.

He briefly nodded at Hoseok and Hoseok brought out a new briefing document. The real briefing document. It had the word ‘Gaea’ printed on the front.

As you flipped through it, your jaw dropped. Your animosities subdued by the remarkable idea which unfolded in front of your eyes. What you read and saw was one of the most ambitious projects ever drafted. You felt a mixture of skepticism but also awe and excitement bubble up inside of you.

“An eco-hotel?” you asked aloud.

Jimin snorted, “Please don’t insult my intelligence. Look again.”

For a brief second you had forgotten who sat opposite of you. You swallowed your retort and flipped through the document again, gathering your thoughts.

You tried a second time, “It’s a new luxury experience. Seamlessly blending sustainability with affluence. A fully integrated concept of lifestyle, art and nature encapsulated in its own microcosm.”

Bingo.

This time Jimin nodded eagerly and leaned forward. “The new generation has a different view on things. The success of our company, of any company, is being measured through the impact we make in this world. They are the ones who are the breadwinners. They are willing to go deep into their pockets to appease their conscience yet unwilling to give up the luxuries that they are used to.”

You carefully took a sip of your tea and asked, “So you’re appealing to their sense of guilt? I’m not sure that’s the smartest thing to do, especially when it comes to hospitality.”

Jimin shook his head. “No. Not at all. People don’t want to be confronted with sustainability mantras or their own carbon footprint at every corner they turn. We’re not here to preach to them. We do what we do best - offer them a beautiful escape from their daily lives.” His eyes glinted as he explained his vision.

Jimin continued, “Travelling is an indulgence. When people travel they want to be pampered. They want to feel special. The last thing they want is to have a mirror shoved in front of their face. They don’t want to sleep on scratchy cotton, just because it’s recycled. Not when they’re paying $300 a night.” Next to him Hoseok nodded in agreement. Jimin glanced over and gave him a small smile.

They are friends. You realized with a small pang. You immediately pushed that thought aside.

“But what they will be interested in is that the tomatoes in their $25 Insalata di Caprese are grown right in the rooftop gardens they visited in the morning. That the honey harvested from the 7th floor tastes floral whereas the honey from the 10th floor has a deep, rich aroma because the bees fly to the park facing west. They’ll be mesmerized to see that the calories they burn on our treadmills fuel the lights of the beautiful art installation in the courtyard below them. Depending on their exertion the art changes and evolves. They’ll be surprised when they realize that the filtered and recycled water pumped through the veins of the building, fueling the water installation, the swimming pool or their en-suite Jacuzzis, is grade A drinking water. We are increasing our guests’ sustainability literacy by taking them into a world of wonder, providing them luxury experiences and showing them that one doesn’t exclude the other.” Jimin paused briefly to take a drink from his coffee.

His eyes settled back on you as he set down his cup. “This is what my project Gaea is about. Modern Mother Nature in the palm of your hands. There’s more of course, but we don’t have to go into all of the details right now.”

There was a moment of silence as you let Jimin’s words sink in and thought about how to respond. You were surprised by his demeanor. Unlike some investors who thought that the millions in their pockets made them into walking gods, you knew he wasn’t a spoiled brat. The Jimin of your past has always been a hard worker. But this was different. There was a sense of conviction and passion in the way he talked about this project.

You decided to go with a safe response. “I never thought of you to be such tree-hugger and activist, Mr. Park.”

A slow smirk spread across his face. “Don’t misconstrue this, I’m not trying to play saint.”

You snorted dismissively at his remark. He was the golden boy, he always tried to play saint. And the people fell for it.

Hoseok gave the both of you a tentative look.

Jimin shrugged casually, “Above all, I’m interested in growing our company. Let me be clear - my goal is to be successful no matter what. Might as well make a difference while I’m at it.”

You tried hard to discern his intentions. Why was he trying to play the cold businessman when he was clearly passionate about this topic?

Focus. Focus on the work.

You went back to the briefing document and flipped through the pages again, putting your analyst brain to work. “This is an interesting concept. While not novel in the industry, the mixture of lifestyle, art, experience and luxury is definitely an untried combination. It could work…,” your voice trailed off in thought.

“But?” You lifted your head, Jimin gave you a piercing look. You were surprised by the earnestness you found in his face. He was interested to hear your opinion. Your intuition was right, this was clearly not just an investment project to him.

“It could also just be a trend, a fad. You’re investing $730 million here. Whatever you’re doing, you want it to stick the first time. Yes, concepts can be changed and the location we’re developing at is prime real estate. So it doesn’t lessen the value of the property, but it would damage your brand. It would still be considered a failure and that would stick to your name. I can’t stop you, but if you want to pursue this idea I would personally recommend you do some tests and market research first,“ you voiced your genuine concern. Regardless of how you felt about Park Jimin personally, you didn’t want to ill-advise your client.

Jimin’s grin returned and grew impossibly wider. He leaned forward and took another sip of coffee. “Is that concern I hear in your voice Y/N? I’m touched,” he said in mocking delight.

Maybe you were willing to make an exception with this client. What a cocky bastard.

“Thanks for worrying, but this will work. Do you really think our executive board would have approved that amount of money without asking exactly those questions and many more? Hoseok here grilled me like I was at the Spanish Inquisition before he agreed to work with me.”

His friend threw him an apologetic smile. “I’ve got a reputation and a career to uphold, man,” Hoseok insisted.

Jimin chuckled lightly and continued, “It won’t fail Y/N. What do you think I’ve been doing the last few years?”

I don’t want you here. You wouldn’t know. You didn’t care.

Focus.

“Research. It works, I’ve already proven it on a smaller scale.”

You perused his features. There was determination and confidence. Under any other circumstance you would’ve thought it was foolish confidence, but you also saw the way Hoseok looked at his business partner. If one of the world’s most renowned financial strategists had full faith in this endeavor, maybe so should you.

After you triple checked the numbers.

As if Hoseok read your mind he proposed, “Jimin, I suggest you ask Jungkook to send Ms. L/N the business case. I know it’s not strictly necessary, but she’s going to be part of the team, she signed your NDA. We should play with open cards.”

One heck of a team. To have Jung Hoseok as your financial advisor.

A new thought started to nag in the back of your head. Usually you would never ask, but this was Jimin you were talking about. You had to know.

“Why me?”

“Excuse me?”

“You mentioned you got my dad to agree to work with you. It mustn’t have been easy to convince him to break his principles. So why? Why go through all this effort?”

“Are you really asking me why I decided to hand a $730 million project to you on a silver platter?” Jimin asked in wry amusement.

Now that he put it that way, your question did sound dense. You brushed off the judgement. You had to know what you were getting yourself into. No way you were going in blind.

“Tell me,” you persisted, your face resolute.

He stared at you for a long moment, deliberating his answer.

“Actually Ms. L/N we decided to go…”

Jimin interrupted Hoseok, “I chose your company because you’re the best in the country, maybe even globally. We did an evaluation and you came out on top. Gaea is an important milestone for Park Corp., so I think it’s only obvious to go with the best to guarantee its success.”

You were surprisingly disappointed. What a textbook answer. You decided to dig deeper.

“I get why you chose to work with Spring Development, but this doesn’t answer the question why you specifically requested for me to work on this project.”

You remembered the heated discussion you had with your father. How you refused to blindly take on a client who you, and more importantly the internet, knew nothing about.

“Because you were recommended as the best,” Jimin simply said.

“Bullshit,” you fired back.

Jimin let out a low sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. “Why can’t you just let it go?” he muttered to himself.

You stiffened at his remark. What was that supposed to mean?

“It’s not bullshit. You were recommended as the best. I followed your Aquarium project,” he finally revealed.

He kept tabs on you? The Aquarium project? Normally you were pretty good at reading people, but deciphering this boy was becoming increasingly impossible.

“The Aquarium project was a disaster,” you retorted. You started to doubt this man’s sanity.

Hoseok coughed quietly and interrupted your exchange, “Ms. L/N I can understand your skepticism. You’re right the project was a disaster, but that was because the owner and investors were morons who didn’t listen to advice. It’s now up and running and it’s become profitable in less than 12 months. That’s a huge feat considering the circumstances. It shows that you can work under pressure, you’re creative and very good at what you do. Although we’ve assembled the best team, Gaea won’t be an easy undertaking. We want someone like you. We need someone like you.”

Jimin hummed in agreement.

This was not the answer you expected.

You straightened yourself up and made up your mind. Business was business, and Hoseok was right. This project was going to be a challenge. You loved a good challenge, and this was too good of an opportunity to let pass by. You were perfectly capable of keeping your private matters separate.

“Alright gentlemen, I look forward to working with you. Should I take you through our current development analysis?”

Next >>

°°°°°°°

12/04/20

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imo-chan-imagines · 4 years

Text

『 Haikyuu!! Week 2020 | Day 2 』

· Sept. 26th → One Ball, Heart and Soul ·

Characters: Sawamura Daichi, Testurou Kuroo, Bokuto Koutarou, Ushijima Wakatoshi, Oikawa Tooru, Terushima Yuuji

Prompts: A. favourite position/role + B. travel/journey

Tags/warnings: Haikyuu!! (anime), PG, fluff, crack, headcanons, HaikyuuWeek2020

A/N: I found it so hard to pick a favourite position/role, because they're all so interesting and important, and I love everyone 😭 But I settled on the role of captain because of the headcanons I thought of. Captain Sqaud, assemble! So, want to find out what these boys are like on a road trip?

(Just to be clear, I do love all these guys. None of this is hate 😂) All my Haikyuu Week 2020 posts will be SFW, but I have some NSFW stuff on my blog, too. Feel free to check that out~ Thanks for reading! Please enjoy ♡ Imo~

☆ Sawamura Daichi ☆

Dad-chi™

Comes prepared with all the food, drinks, snacks, med kit, camera – literally everything you could possibly need on a road trip

Plans out the route beforehand down to the tiniest detail nothing gets past this man

As well as multiple backup routes in case there's diversions etc.

Plans for regular breaks at two-hour intervals where everyone can pee, stretch their legs, buy anything they need, etc.

He's the one who's driving he's not letting anybody else get a scratch on his van, lmao

And he's good at it

No speeding he's a cop, y'all but he doesn't dawdle either, no running red lights, turns corners well, keeps an even foot on the gas, etc.

Just a good time, tbh

Nobody is getting car sick because of him that would be a damn disgrace

"Stop fighting right now, or I'm turning this van around"

And will actually do it if you don't stfu, lmfao

Don't even think about making a mess and dropping your rubbish in the van you'll be walking home

Everyone else thinks his music is boring and for old people, but Daichi honestly doesn't care

Besides, it's either that or no music at all, because he needs to concentrate on the road

He takes this shit seriously. People's lives are in his hands, dammit!

☆ Testurou Kuroo ☆

Likes to switch between driving and riding shotgun/being designated navigator

Is fairly decent at both

Is constantly eating something but, like, he probably doesn't even know what it is

Some kind of edible is shoved towards his mouth by whoever's riding shotgun, and in it goes shut up. Not like that, you cretins 😂

Somehow manages to behave like an overbearing grandparent and an overexcited child at the same time?? Nothing new there, I guess 😂

I'm sorry, Kuroo, I love you. Please don't be mad 😭

Has a banging playlist full of throwback songs from the 90s and early 2000s

Drums along sofly on the steering wheel or dashboard constantly

HATES driving in rain he's low-key terrified he's going to aquaplane

Likes driving with the windows wound down and feeling the wind in his hair

Will plan the route, but then forget to save it/print it off, etc.

Cannot work Google Maps or SAT-NAVs to save his life Kenma, please help him

Actually packs properly balanced meals, but is heavy on the snacks, too

You'd think he'd drive too fast, but he's actually really responsible

Constantly telling dad jokes to try and keep people amused the groaners are the best

Would probably fight someone at the gas station if they started being a dick and causing trouble

Kuroo, baby. I love you, but please don't get arrested 😭😂😭

☆ Bokuto Koutarou ☆

Dear God, do NOT let him drive leave it to Akaashi, I'm begging you

Has really bad spacial awareness in a vehicle and drifts all over the place

Probably speeds without even knowing it, too

Likes to ride shotgun, but is a terrible navigator, so is nearly always made to ride in the back

Is the loud one that moves around too much and blocks the rear view mirror strap him in tight, Akaashi

Belts along at the top of his voice to whatever music is playing, he's not fussy

Was told to pack essential items in his backpack and proceeded to fill it with sweets and snacks and a pack of condoms??? and thought he did good

Bokuto: Bro, you said they were essential

Akaashi: NOT FOR EVERY SITUATION

Rarely ever has to pee, but when he does, it's always miles away from any service station, and he has to hold it for hours

Has definitely peed at the side of the road multiple times because he couldn't hold it any longer, but he wasn't even embarrassed as numerous cars zoomed past

Likes sticking his head out the window like a dog on the motorway which gives everyone else heart attacks

Like, get the hell back inside you maniac 😭

If the car has a sunroof, he's 100% standing up through it with his hands in the air just you try and stop him

And they will. Everyone will try

"HORSES!!"

Will get out of the car in traffic jams to find out what's going on and end up chatting with random strangers until it starts moving again

And he's very sad when he has to leave his new friends. Droopy hair and emo Kou for the next 2 hours :(

Unironically enjoys playing 'I Spy' for hours at a time

Is a bit much to handle in such a confined space for hours on end, but he's just so excited for the road trip

Will fall sound asleep in a matter of minutes if you set him up with a travel pillow and it's freaking adorable!!

☆ Ushijima Wakatoshi ☆

No music whatsoever it's distracting. Why would he want it?

Okay driver, brilliant paper-map navigator

Will sit and do absolutely nothing but stare out the window the entire trip if he's neither

Breaks too hard and accelerates too fast, though

Is also kind of heavy-handed with the gear stick he may or may not have snapped one off before...

Never give him a SAT-NAV, though, because he will follow the directions with 100% accuracy and end up driving through a wall or some shit don't try and deny it

Does he ever even blink when he's looking at the road? We may never know

Might be astral projecting, who knows

Forgets people need toilet breaks but refuses to make unscheduled stops

"Just hold it in"

Uh-huh, sure. That's how that works, Toshi

No snacks

Or rather, no fun snacks. Protein bars and mineral water all the way, babyyyy 🙃🙃🙃

Could probably drive all through the night without taking any breaks but that's irresponsible

Don't do it, kids

Will likely devour the entire KFC menu at the service station he's big, okay? He eats a lot

Is prone to leg cramp after long drives oh look, he needs a massage 😏

Doesn't get car sick. Ever. Upset stomachs are for the weak

Has garbage and recycling pouches on the backs of the front seats use them correctly, or feel his wrath

Isn't exactly a barrel of laughs, but it's somehow endearing just like always *happy sigh*

But it's actually a good thing

There's no hidden side to Ushi or any bad or annoying habits that come out of the woodwork on a long road trip

He's just the same old reliable, adorably straightforward Ushijima ❤

☆ Oikawa Tooru ☆

Calls shotgun and demands the aux cord every. Single. Time but it's pretty decent music, so no-one really complains

Not that he's any good at navigation pray for Iwa-chan

Is constantly taking selfies, making TikToks, and documenting the trip on his social media

#ROADTRIP #SQUAD GOALS #BETTER THAN YOU

Will send all the photos in the group chat when it's over, and they actually come out pretty well

Will not stop complaining if the air conditioning is busted and Iwa-chan will threaten to dump him in the middle of nowhere if he doesn't can it 😂

Iwa-chan: I shoulda left you on that street corner where you were standing

Oikawa: But'cha dIDN'T

Bonus points if you get that reference, lmao

Has to keep taking breaks because his butt hurts when he sits down for too long because it's fLaT

I'm sorry, Tooru 😭😭 Forgive me. I love you, really

Is constantly on his phone

But he points out pretty views and interesting sights to everyone all the time awww

Low-key needs to pee all the time, but gets defensive if someone brings it up please stop bulling him, travelling is hard

"Are we there yet?"

Seems kind of annoying, but is actually just genuinely excited to go on a road trip and spend time with his friends 😭😭

Buys matching souvenirs for everyone in secret to surprise them with 🥺

When people complain about all the photos, souvenirs, and enthusiasm, etc. and ask why he has to keep doing it, Oikawa says:

"I want to remember as much of this as possible. I want us all to remember as much of this as much as possible," with a sweet little smile 😭😭😭

And that's when everyone realises how mean they've been to him about being over-the-top and irritating, and they all feel terrible

Just like in the freaking anime, man

☆ Terushima Yuuji ☆

Will hijack the aux cord to play his incredibly niche music taste

Feet up on the dashboard when he rides shotgun

Shoes on is bad enough, but shoes off just stinks up the entire car you have to roll all the windows down, lmfao

Will break all sorts of road laws if you let him behind the wheel please don't

Daichi will come and arrest him 😭😭

Lives on energy drinks

That's all the drinks he packs. Nothing else

Travels in sports wear and sliders yes, even though you reallly shouldn't drive in sandals

Like he knows or cares 😭

Will chat to girls at the gas station and ask for their numbers, even though he's never going to see them again

"You never know, man! It could be, like, fate or something"

Yes, Yuuji, you do. And it's 'or something'

Thinks it's a good time to sext his current booty call because, like, he has hours of free time. What else is he going to do?

Probably forgot to pack actual food

Has to live off of snacks and cheap service station food for the duration of the trip

But not his own snacks, of course. Everyone else's one doesn't keep friends and buy one's own snacks

Genuinely doesn't realise if he's being gross or annoying, so let him down lightly like a bro and he'll probably make an effort to stop

Doesn't plan the route or anything, even if he's driving. Just punches it into Google Maps as he sits his ass down on the day and trusts it to get him there in one piece and on time

Entire Johzenji team: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...

For some reason knows how to change a flat tire, though, so he's good for something, I guess 😂😂

Probably saw a YouTube video on it. Maybe a WikiHow article

Somehow still manages to be an endearing part of the trip??

He smiles a lot and makes a lot of jokes, particularly when things go wrong, so it keeps everyone's spirits up

It definitely wouldn't be the same without him

#imo chan imagines #haikyuuweek2020 #haikyuu!!#hq!#headcanons #haikyuu headcanons #sawamura daichi #tetsurou kuroo #oikawa tooru #ushijima wakatoshi #terushima yuuji #sawamura daichi headcanons #testurou kuroo headcanons #oikawa tooru headcanons #ushijima wakatoshi headcanons #terushima yuuji headcanons #bokuto koutarou #bokuto koutarou headcanons

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bountybossier · 4 years

Text

animal crackers & pbr | mercy & nicodemus

Setting: A week or so after Mercy got her sight back. Summary: After she breaks into his home, Mercy and Nicodemus crack open a couple cold ones and have a much needed chat. Warnings: Brief death and emotional abuse mention. With: @cryxmercy

From a distance, the sounds of someone rummaging through the fridge weren’t all that strange. The dim yellow light illuminating the otherwise dark kitchen. Bottles clinking, cartons being shuffled around, plastic crinkling. The occasional mutterings about the variety of choices- or lack there of - for a late night snack. The fact that it was also well past midnight wasn’t even all that strange. What was strange was that the person doing the digging didn’t live there. Nor had she ever met the home’s occupants. Other than that one time. At the lake. Which hadn’t gone so great. Considering she’d died. Sort of. It was… complicated. To say the least.

But… she wasn’t dead. And now that her vision had finally returned, Mercy wanted to make sure the man that thought she was - the same man that thought he’d been the one to murder her, by proxy of being mind-controlled by a demon squid… - knew otherwise. So Mercy had tracked down one Nicodemus Bossier, followed him a time or two to find out where he lived - in a house under someone else’s name - and when the time was right, she let herself in (see: picked his locks) and made herself a snack while she waited on the hunter to realize she was there. Shouldn’t be long now, Mercy thought as she snagged two bottles of beer and set them on the counter next to an open bag of animal crackers she’d snagged from the cabinet (which she’d also gone through).

Hopping up on the counter herself, she popped the top off the bottles, set one aside for Nic - who would probably need a drink before this was all said and done - and took a long pull off her own. Legs swinging idly, she snagged an animal cracker - a lion - bit it’s head off, and chewed thoughtfully while she waited.

A pair of earbuds and an old music player called a Zune had become a cherished item lately for Nicodemus. Or maybe, as he checked the device, it was a Zune. Who fucking cared. After the unfortunate bullshittery at the lake, he listened to every sound and beat with an intensity not felt before. He had to snort. There wasn’t fuck all underneath his floorboards but it had crossed his mind once or twice to check it regardless. With a crackle of Creedence Clearwater Revival through his headphones, he set to work. He hadn’t reached for a knife. Instead, a small paintbrush as he squinted through a magnifying glass to paint a seal the right grey and black. As the song ended and before it transitioned to a new one, he paused. It wasn’t quite a ruckus that he heard through the seconds of silence but it was enough to stop him. It was work to slow his breath, his heartbeat, and listen.

Plastic rumpling, a bottle or two opening. The faint smell of beer. Last he checked, it wasn’t like Skylar to rifle through the beer he bought. He set the brush down and that time, he did reach for the knife. Took it in hand as he stood up and went to his bedroom door. Dundee stirred from beneath the table. When Nicodemus opened the door and passed through, the dog followed with. Fearless fuckin’ hunter already, he thought. Without hesitation, he went to the kitchen.

There was a goddamn ghost on his counter and she had opened his beer. Helped herself to his animal crackers while she was at it. Mercy looked better than he last saw her. In that she wasn’t dead in the lake with a fucking squid corpse behind her. He paused at the threshold between the living room and the kitchen.

“Weird fuckin’ way to haunt somebody,” Nicodemus said gruffly, voice held together on an edge. He glanced between her and the beer on the counter. If she had come to kill him, he hoped to hell it wasn’t with a goddamn PBR. “So, d’you phase through the front door or what?”

Mercy was reaching for another animal cracker - a bear this time - when Nic finally appeared in the doorway. She waited on him to say something, knowing that he was going to need time to process what she was about to tell him. The poor guy already had that deer in headlights look. If the person driving the car attached to those headlights was supposed to be dead. And it had been you (the aforementioned deer) that had done the killing.

In the past, Mercy had often taken a perverse sort of pleasure in situations like this. Scoping out her ‘murderer’ and scaring the shit out of them before getting some well-earned revenge. But this wasn’t like that at all. It wasn’t the deers fault. It was the fucking squid-demon that had it’s psychic fuck-all tentacles all up close and personal with the deer’s brainstem. So. Mercy used one finger to slowly push the second bottle a bit further down the counter - a cold, frosty peace offering - before taking a long pull from her own. “I wasn’t jokin’ when I said you couldn’t kill me.”

She scraped her hair back from her face and shrugged - “Nah. I just picked your locks.” - before patting the countertop. “Have a seat, Nicky. We need to talk.”

“Apparent-fuckin-ly,” Nicodemus muttered. “What, only the good die young?” Even though she didn’t move to attack him or recreate Squid Night in the recently mopped kitchen, the apprehension didn’t waver. Funny how that went when someone broke into your house. The hunter had to stop and wonder just how pissed Death was getting. What with it being treated like a pitstop. A place to grab an energy bar and a shit drink before they got back on life’s highway. Except the snack of choice this time was animal crackers and beer. He wouldn’t argue.

The beer made its way into his hand.

“Nic works just fine,” he said as he leaned against the countertop. Close but not too close. “And yeah, reckon we do. Considerin’ I killed you an’ all. Or didn’t, I suppose.” His brow furrowed. Not that he was disappointed that she hadn’t died. That was the furthest thing he felt. He had met many creatures, beasts, over the years. Even undead. But last he checked, Mercy had been very much alive. “The hell’s that about?”

Mercy gave a rueful laugh around a sip of her beer. “Guess so. We’re both still here ain’t we?” If that were true, then that made Mercy the Samuel L. Jackson of White Crest: one bad motherfucker. Nic too, considering he had to be pushing forty. An age that many a hunter never saw. But Mercy didn’t worry how Death felt about the quick-stops she’d made over the years. They were old friends, the Fury and the Reaper. But damn if Mercy didn’t get tired sometimes. And this time in particular had taken it’s toll.

So she waited, lowering her bottle to roll it slowly between her hands as Nic took up his own. She made no move towards him, no move at all really, other than to look at him as he spoke. “I know what killed me, Nic. And it wasn’t you.” Mercy didn’t bother to say what it had been. That would’ve been insulting. Nic knew. How could he not? She’d already noticed the faded mark on the back of his hand. A mark that looked like just another old scar. And maybe it was. But Mercy didn’t believe in coincidence. Not in this instance. In this one, Nic knew because it had happened to him before. At least that was her assumption.

The question that followed was a given. And although Mercy had - strangely enough - been asked the same question - or variations of it - several times over the last few weeks, every person that had asked was different, and therefore required a different response. So she took a moment to consider things before speaking. The beer bottle started it’s slow roll between her hands again, a focal point while she explained.

“When I said you couldn’t kill me, that wasn’t me giving you shit, Nic. It was the truth. You can’t kill me.” Mercy shook her head. “No one can.” It was her turn to frown now, as the weight of all her years seemed to press down all at once. And it was a long moment before Mercy spoke again.

“Do you know what a Fury is?”

Nicodemus snorted and glanced away. Shook his head and squinted some. “Shit, got me on that one,” he said with a shrug as he turned the opened beer in his hands. As much shit had been happening, he hadn’t looked towards a bottle as much. He supposed he was too busy having friends all of a sudden. Yet another thing for him to wrap his head around. His. Not some fucking squids. He glanced at Mercy and then tilted his bottle toward her. “To still bein’ here, huh?”

It surprised him, really, how quick people were to tell him that what happened hadn’t been his fault. He was coming around to that idea. Raised on the idea of purging demons for a righteous cause, he had to laugh. Why wouldn’t Nicodemus get his brain hijacked by some sea demon squid? But hearing it from Mercy was different. It wasn’t a form of absolution but he wondered if maybe his head wouldn’t be as heavy when he finally went to sleep. “Yeah, still shitty all the same,” he grunted out. He took a harsh pull of his beer. “Sorry. Won’t happen again.”

He didn’t know Mercy much but he could tell. The hunt or battle weary had that look to them that he understood. “No one, huh?” He doubted that for some reason. Everybody and everything died. Saints and sinners alike. The hunter glanced over at her, his face pensive.

“Nah,” Nicodemus answered with a shake of his head. “Not really. Ain’t exactly my department. Just that they’re hard to kill.” The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “Apparently.”

Mercy glanced down at her own bottle as Nic looked away. The glass was cool beneath her fingers, slick with tiny beads of condensation. A tiny smirk lifted the corner of her mouth. “I still say fuck Billy Joel for makin’ that phrase popular. ‘Specially since it’s pretty much a song about wantin’ to bang his high-school crush.” She took a long pull of her beer. Unlike Nic, Mercy had been doing a fair bit of drinking lately. And had no plans to stop. Similarly, however, Mercy found herself with a few extra people on her side. Friends. People that actually gave a shit about what happened to her. Funny old world, ain’t it? Mercy thought to herself.

A softer expression replaced her smirk as Nic held his bottle out, and Mercy clinked their bottles together. “To still bein’ here.”

Nic might’ve done bad things in his life, just like Mercy certainly had, but that didn’t make him a truly bad person. Just as being a hunter didn’t make what had happened his fault. Mercy knew that. Even if she didn’t know Nic that well - or at all really - she’d seen the look in his eyes that night, before she’d gone under. She had felt the cold, clinical way he’d taken hold of her, not even flinching when she’d struck him repeatedly. She’d been the one that tore bloody half-moons into the skin of his arms as she tried to use what remained of her waning power to make him let go. She’d been the one that had seen the flicker of recognition, of terror, in his otherwise emotionless expression, just before the world went dark.

So, yes, Mercy would make it right. As best she could. No matter what anyone else thought.

She nodded at the apology, appreciating it regardless of the fact that she didn’t blame him. “Thank you.” The words were soft and sincere, with a small hint at the fact that Mercy wasn’t used to hearing such things often. But speaking of apologies: “I’m sorry for… tryin’ to break your jaw. And your ribs. And your arm.”

Mercy shook her head slowly, inhaling a long, slow breath and letting it out just as slowly. “No one,” she said, her tone unintentionally weary. “Not yet at least.” Though Nic (brainwashed Nic, that is) had come closer than anyone. But Mercy didn’t feel that was necessary to mention.

Nic’s comment on what he knew of Furies earned him a small huff of laughter. “Apparently,” she agreed. Another moment of silence followed, her laughter fading away as her frown returned. The mostly empty bottle rolled between her hands again. “But you’re not wrong. We can’t be killed.” Other than cutting off her head, or wasting away from a lack of feeding properly, but that wasn’t necessary information at the moment. “Cut my throat, I’ll heal while you watch. Manage to break one of my bones, a minute or two is all I need. Shoot me in the head, my body’ll push the bullet back out and I’ll wake up pissed off but good as new.” She glanced at him. “Perks of being immortal I guess.”

It surprised Nicodemus how...well Mercy seemed to be taking what happened. In a selfish, gut deep way, he supposed he needed that. Absolution wasn’t something he would ever ask for. If it happened, it happened. If it didn’t, he would die one day and it would be all the same anyway. The dirt and mud didn’t care for such things. “You a Billy Joel historian?” He snorted out a laugh and shook his head. Seconds ticked by on the clock over the stove and his shoulders eased.

He nodded at her as their bottles clinked and he took a slow sip. For someone he had tried to kill, Mercy was alright. Even if she had broken into his house and into his animal crackers. Compared to the last time they met, it wasn’t so bad. Or even out of place. Without much thought, Nicodemus relaxed some. Allowed the heavy, leaden weight of his bones finally settle rather than hold it up as he had been. A breath tinged with booze left him as he shifted and brought himself to sit up on the counter a little ways from her.

“I guess we sorta broke even on that one, huh?” Nicodemus crossed his ankles as he held the bottle slightly over his lap. It would be a waste of time to tell her that there was no apology necessary. They could say it and be done with it, move on to something else. It didn’t do well to linger and be haunted by things that weren’t there anymore. “All good here. We made it out alright in the end. River current goes on and shit.”

As he emptied his bottle, he set it beside him and folded his arms as he listened. How long she had been around, he couldn’t know, but he doubted that weariness changed over the decades. Centuries. Whatever it was. He could hear it, see it, as he glanced over at her. It was a slow process, but he was getting there. Suddenly able to look at her without the memory of water. It helped that she was alive, he thought with a grimace. He listened intently, forehead slightly creased as he processed.

“Well, for starters, I ain’t gonna cut your throat,” Nicodemus said with a long sigh. “Just had the floors waxed.” It wasn’t much of a smile but it was something that he offered her way. He shook his head and dipped it to look down at said floor. “God, I’m only fuckin’ forty, forty-one now. And I feel old as shit but then you’re over here…” He trailed off and picked his head up again. “How do you do it? Get by with this whole not dyin’ thing?”

It wasn’t the ‘dying’ - or the act of being ‘killed’ - that had truly affected Mercy. It sucked, sure. How could it not? What had truly affected her was the after. The cold, dark, lonely, terrifying limbo she’d been stuck in. For what seemed like an eternity. A place she’d never been before. Not in 1200 years. A place she never wanted to return to. “Among other things,” Mercy smirked lazily at the Billy Joel comment.

Their bottles clinked in the mostly silent kitchen, and for a moment afterwards they both fell silent. It would be hard for most people to understand how Mercy could be so… forgiving… of what Nic had done. But Mercy knew evil. She had looked it in the eye, felt it’s hot, stinking breath on her neck… smelled the rot and ruin of creatures without either soul or conscience, that didn’t care for anyone or anything; creatures whose only desire was to hurt, devour or destroy. So no. Nic wasn’t evil.

A small laugh worked it’s way past the lip of Mercy’s bottle as she took a drink. “Guess we did.” She turned her head to look him over, her eyes moving from his face to the rest of him and back. “Good.” She gave him a small nod. “And yes. It does.” Life went on too, whether they were ready or not.

He was quiet while Mercy explained as best she could. She didn’t rush. She didn’t push or prod. She didn’t ask if he wanted to hear more. Or less. She just said what needed saying, and then waited. It took time to process, she knew, even for someone like Nic who knew about supernaturals. Furies weren’t exactly a dime a dozen. His comment earned a snort and a similar smile shot his way. “Yeah, you’d never get that stain up. And then to carry an ass-kicking on top of it?” Mercy tutted and shook her head. “Not worth it.”

The next thing he asked was far more difficult to answer. Even if she’d done so a thousand times. It never got easier. Mercy’s beer bottle started its slow roll between her hands again. “The long answer is a story in itself. And I’ll tell you sometime, if you want.” Mercy paused, and her smile turned softer while her cheeks tinged slightly pink. “But the short answer?” She glanced at him, her expression completely serious even as she wondered if he’d laugh at her answer. Not that Mercy cared. It was the truth, after all. The only truth that mattered. The only truth that had ever mattered.

“Love.”

Some things stained more than blood. Nicodemus understood that and as he listened to Mercy, completely still save for the occasional nod or pull of his beer, he had a feeling she might as well. The hunter didn’t linger on the strangeness of what it meant to come to understanding with someone he had tried to kill. Because in truth, a truth he had come to accept slowly, was that it had not been him. It was a haunting he had allowed to go on for long enough. It wasn’t the water he would wallow in any further.

“Wouldn’t mind hearin’ that story one day.”

He never once anticipated that he would share stories of all things but he didn’t mind it. He reckoned her story was a bloody one and between the both of them, Nicodemus figured they might be able to do without blood for a little. For a sunset at least. Let the sky bleed for a bit. Have its turn. A dry smile followed after the thought like a lazy dog and went down just as easily. Her short answer prompted his brows to raise. Then furrow. Love? The word rolled around in his head as he shifted on the counter. Something akin to discomfort stretched its fingers over his shoulders. It occurred to him, in that single moment, how little that word ever occurred to him. It had occurred to him. Quietly. Recently, at that. He half-expected his head to start aching the way it always did but it didn’t.

Nicodemus had gotten as far as he had without such a thing. Farther than most hunters he had come and gone by. Outlived. Sometimes, he wondered if the absence of such a thing was what had dragged it out for him. Life.

“Huh,” was his response. He shook his head, relaxed the crease of his brow as he looked at Mercy. “Didn’t expect that one. How do you figure with that?”

It was a strange sensation to feel empathy towards someone who had tried - and technically succeeded - to kill you. Even more strange to feel a camaraderie of sorts. But as strange scenarios went, Mercy would rather be here, sitting on Nic’s counter, drinking his beer and biting the heads off his animal crackers, than a thousand other places she’d found herself over the centuries. She had an inkling that Nic might just feel the same way. That he understood what it meant to never truly leave something behind, no matter how far or fast you ran from it. Because some stains were too deep to ever fade completely. You learned to live with them. To cover them up, hide them away, as Mercy had tried to do. But every now and then, those stains seeped through even the strongest camouflage, and you were forced to look at them regardless of if you wanted to or not.

“Alright then.” They would make time at some point, and Mercy would tell him her story.

Part of her wondered about his own story. About the people and places that existed in his past, and what all he’d seen in his lifetime - short as it was compared to her own - but now wasn’t the time to ask. Maybe later, once everything wasn’t so fresh on both their minds. They were both silent for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. What would it be like, Mercy wondered (not for the first time in her long life), to stop fighting? To stop chasing monsters, real or otherwise. What would it be like to finally find peace? To let the sky bleed for just a little while, as Nic wondered. Arthur had made it sound so easy when he’d told her maybe it was time to lay down her sword… to take off her armor and simply be Freyja again. But… who was Mercy without those things? It was a question she hadn’t been able to answer. Not yet anyway. But she was trying.

She idly watched Nic’s reaction to her one word answer. The way his brow rose in surprise and then fell back down as that surprise turned to something else. Something that made him shift slightly before he looked at her again.

Mercy grinned. “Does anyone?” But it softened after a moment, and she looked away, back to studying the bottle in her hands. “When I was human, I fell in love with my best friend. It was… complicated, but long story short, it turned out that he was like me: immortal. But not a Fury. He’d been born that way, whereas I’d chosen it. And as much as I despise the thought of our lives being planned out by Fate or… something else… how could that not be something that was meant to happen?”

She was quiet for a moment. “About 70 odd years ago, Tolkien wrote: ‘I would rather spend one lifetime with you, than face all the ages of this world alone.’ I remember reading that for the first time and thinking… that’s it.” The bottle spun slowly between her fingers. “That’s exactly what I’ve felt for almost 1200 years.”

Mercy wasn’t sure if that answered Nic’s question or not, but it was the best she had. Even if the words didn’t belong to her.

“So yeah. Love.” Mercy smiled, one side of her mouth lifting slightly. “Just don’t tell anyone, hm? I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”

Nicodemus had never bothered to put much weight into notions of love. He had gotten as far as he had without it. Had cast it aside when he learned that love was shaped like a fist or the sharp-lined words of some distant god. And often the word was violence. It confused him when he slipped away at night, not yet thirteen, to watch television through the closest neighbor’s window a couple miles away. A family sat around a TV with their microwaved dinners while a group of kids went to look for some treasure in an abandoned pirate ship. It seemed to have been a favorite of theirs. A ritual of some kind. Different from the way he and his grandfather sharpened knives in silence. Tended to blood. But they had looked happy. The brother and sister play fought but made sure to check on one another to the tune of laughter when it was all said and done. They laughed the same as they helped each other through homework. The husband had his arm slung loosely across his wife’s hips as they watched, smiles in place. That, to him, had been what love was supposed to be. Confused and full of questions, he had gone back home. The morning had seen the floorboards of his room screwed in tighter. The next time he saw that family, the movie had changed and the wife was solemn. The kids even more so.

It took him a few years to understand what a smile was. A real one, not the kind of twist his face took when he got stressed. It was something Nicodemus had been doing a lot more of lately. Around Rio. Blanche. Skylar. Alain and Kaden, even, when the day’s hunt was behind them. Adam too. Around Erin and like that, the thought of her, of them, had the corners of his mouth lifting by a fraction. Softly. He didn’t fight against it. As Mercy spoke of fate, he remained quiet. Fate would have seen him back in Louisiana, faceless and soulless, if it had its ways. He supposed it might thread through others differently. A puff of air left his nose at the mention of Tolkien.

“‘Spose some writers get things right every once in awhile,” Nicodemus said with a slight tilt of his head. “That was one of the, uh, first things I read when I left home and could get my hands on my own readin’. Didn’t know much about it, thought it looked like somethin’ interesting.” He offered the information freely as he adjusted himself again. “Never thought much of that whole love thing. Thought it was bullshit. The kinda thing bought and paid for, blood or otherwise.” His tone was neutral as he spoke. He quickly downed his beer and cleared his throat. Thought of quiet Sunday mornings and more than one chair at the table being filled.

“Don’t suppose that’s the case much anymore.”

His smile, small and faint, tried to match Mercy’s.

“Right, your reputation,” Nicodemus said with a rough and quiet laugh. “Sure, your secret’s safe with me. I’ll take it to the grave.”

“Spose they do.” Her smile remained, small but genuine, as Nic gave her a small fact about himself. And Mercy tucked it away, knowing he didn’t have to tell her anything about himself personally, but pleased that he had.

What followed wasn’t nearly as pleasant to think about, but Mercy suspected Nic had far more memories of this type than the former. Gods knew she did. She hummed quietly. “There’s another name for that,” Mercy said, her tone somber. “And it ain’t love.” Though it seemed that Nic knew that just as well as Mercy did. And for that, she felt grateful. Because somewhere along the way, the world (or someone in it more likely) had chosen to be kind to him. Maybe not for long, and maybe not recently, but it had happened.

So Mercy’s faint smile returned, and her own quiet laughter joined Nic’s. And for just a little while, all was well.

#wickedswriting #chatzy #chatzy: animal crackers and pbr #c: mercy #// an absolute unit and i love it #love this so much #<3

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lisinfleur · 5 years

Text

Mishaps - Chapter 04: Closer

Author's notes: I fought like hell with this chapter. It was supposed to shorten the story, but well, who said I am the writer here? hahaha My stories are temperamental and have their own lives and well... Mishaps decided it will be longer. Period.

Warnings: SMUT. And ANGST.

Words: 3815

The hunting cabin of his family, at first sight, looked like a whole new world brought straight from a zombie apocalypse movie: the place was built in the middle of the woods, hidden from civilization and away from the road. To reach the cabin, you guys had to leave the road down through a dirt road for almost half of an hour until Ubbe had to go out of the car to open a small gate. Then, another half of an hour in a private trail that ended in a medium cottage entirely built of treated trunks - which made the house almost invisible in the middle of the trees where it was located.

However, the rustic impression was nothing but a design: inside, the whole place was lustful and well-furnished with furs and a decoration utterly turned to the hunting and fishing contests they must have done there in between the family members. "Pretty much a place for men to reunite, drink beer, laugh, and dispute whose cock is bigger while too drunken to measure it properly," you thought, and this thought brought a small smile to your face.

Maybe Ragnar wasn't a father like yours, after all...

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hvitserk said, attracted by the smile on your lips. "My father made it for us. A place for us to rest during some holidays or free time. We used to come together in the hunting season and dispute who would bring the bigger hare or deer," he said, nostalgic.

Causing Ubbe to giggle from the door while coming in with the bags he took from the car.

"Yeah. Those contests were incredible, but in the end, Faðir always would bring the bigger one," he commented.

"Or Björn," Hvitserk remembered.

"They were the older ones and more experienced. I wish we could do a contest like that now that the dispute would be fair enough... I would kick Björn's ass with my new shooting skills!" Ubbe affirmed.

Their light conversation making you forget for a moment the situation you were into. They weren't your boyfriend and brother in law chatting about a family event or missing their father...

They were your hijacker and his brother who hours ago had a gun pointed to your head, ready to kill you with a single shot... And you knew that.

But you just wanted to forget. Just as you wanted to forget who you were. Where you came from.

"He's getting old. I doubt he could face a bear as he did that season do you remember, Ubbe??"

You wanted to sit there in that soft couch, your bare feet rubbing the fur of a bear rug - probably the bear they were talking so lightly about how their older brother had killed with nothing but a knife - and listen to that conversation with a smile in your face, getting impressed about your elder brother in law's skills just to get your boyfriend jealous of you...

You wanted to be there just for a moment with Hvitserk and not because the two of you had to hide so no one would discover you were a prisoner and he was a drug dealer trying to flee from the law.

But you couldn't.

Just as you couldn't tell your best friend your true name the true story of your life even knowing she was trusting you with her bigger secrets.

Just as you couldn't really sound nostalgic when telling any stupid story from the past Christmas with your friends.

You couldn't just erase your true life, get rid of your true memories and wake up someday really being Marie Ann Watson, to live without that sensation your whole life was a lie.

"Annie?"

Hvitserk's voice sounded calling your attention and you noticed the room was silent.

You were so absorbed in your own thoughts and doubts that you didn't even notice when Ubbe left the two of you alone in the cabin or when the conversation between the brothers had finished.

"Sorry... I was...”

"Lost," Hvitserk smiled caressing your face softly. "You must be tired, love. It was a long day and it has been being a long time for you, I know this. You should take a bath and then we could sleep a little. Ya know, like my father used to say when we were here: if you want some pizza here, you'll have to hunt the pepperoni. So, a little bit of sleep will be good for me to hunt something for us tomorrow."

You giggled at his little joke and it seemed to make him happy. Hvitserk liked to see your smiles more than anything. He was becoming really good at getting them. His fingers slid through your cheek, softly caressing your chin.

"This way is better," Hvitserk said, smiling softly at you. "I like when I can make you smile."

"I like when you make me smile," you answered, curving your lips a little more at him.

He came closer, nuzzling his nose against yours before softly pecking your lips.

"We'll find a way to solve this shit. And I... I'll find a way out. Ubbe and I want to stop. To live a normal life, away from this shit. We'll find a way out of this and then... Then it will be just you and me."

Promises you really wanted to see happening in your lives. Your arms softly embraced Hvitserk's neck and he covered your mouth with his lips, enjoying a long and loving kiss.

More and more you were fallen for that man and, at the same time, the more you were in love, the more guilty you felt.

The truth in your throat, like a knot...

The fear of losing what you were becoming to each other was eating you inside, not only by the feelings you had for Hvitserk but also by the fear of becoming something disposable to men like him and his brothers...

The problem with the time was also bothering you: there was already more than a month you were with him. The longer you were missing, the harder would be explaining your little disappearance to the police officers and it could really get Hvitserk some troubles.

Or worse...

It could cause them to change you once again. To move your location and change your identity one more time, forcing you to leave everything behind and start from zero once again.

Everything.

Including him.

"What's bothering you, babe?" Hvitserk asked against your lips, feeling something wasn't right with you today.

"How long will we stay like this?" you asked, looking at him "Hidden, I mean..."

He sighed.

"Officer Aethelwulf has been a pain in our asses for a while. He wants desperately to show some service and he has been trying to fuck up with us since my father was alive. For some reason, your missing person report went to his hands and now he's probably trying to make the right connections to relate us to your disappearance so he can bust one of us or the whole family."

You knew why...

Officer Aethelwulf was the one responsible for your file. Of course, your missing person report would end up in his hands.

"He's kinda finding ways to press us for information so we just have to keep you here until he decides to visit my apartment. Then Ubbe will call me and I'll go there to let the jerk come in and see my apartment. Ubbe will come to pick you up while this and I'll bring the officer here, so he can see we have nothing to hide. He won't find the relation and I believe it will be problem solved for now."

Then they just had to find a way to release you, for you wouldn't be locked forever, right?

"You... Don't intend to release me?" you asked, kinda innocently.

But he pulled away from you this time, sighing deeply, frustratedly.

"We gonna think about this later, ok?" he said, trying to look at you but not to be so serious or heavy, "My brothers still don't trust you and the more I like you, Annie, I can't risk my whole family releasing you this way... I will. But not now. Not yet."

Despite you were anguished, you could understand him. There was something in you that could instigate their mistrust. Your stories never sounded real and you were always a terrible liar. It was comprehensible people like his brothers wouldn't trust you at all.

You nodded, starting to walk towards the bathroom when he held you by your wrist, sighing again.

"Look... I'm sorry about this, Annie. I really want to solve these things for you and I'll find a way. I promise you." he said, caressing your hand with his thumb.

You nodded at him, resigned.

"I know. I trust you, Hvitserk," you said, unintentionally hitting his heart with your words and your smile.

You left to the bathroom but Hvitserk sat on the couch, rubbing his face, maybe as anguished as you could be.

He wanted to trust you. He wanted to release you and to let you go back to your life, to live it right the way he was planning before.

But if you were pretending...

If you were lying to him...

His whole family would be lost and he would be the only one to blame.

Hvitserk knew he couldn't risk his whole family that way, even knowing he was really in love with you already.

There was still something about you... Something deep that he knew was hidden. Something that justified that shadow in the bottom of your eyes. Something that was making him afraid of trusting completely on you.

However, it wasn't enough to prevent his heart from falling deeply in love with you and it was also killing him slowly.

Hvitserk got up, hearing the sound of the bathtub coming from the hallway. You were bathing, as he said. He walked at the small bar at the corner of the room and poured some drink to warm himself up.

A cup or two and he sat, trying to clear his mind from the flood of thoughts about that situation, pouring some more of the old mead his father used to like in his cup.

After the fourth or fifth dose, he was feeling lighter and the sound of the bathtub wasn't coming from the hallway anymore.

He walked towards the room and stopped at the door. The sight of your body catching his eyes while you were slowly sliding the soft towel through your skin, taking out the remaining drops of water from your bath. Fresh and clean, and shivered with the cold breeze of the night that was already falling on the woods.

Hvitserk swallowed dry. He knew he shouldn't be watching you in such an intimate moment, but yet, he kept himself silent, observing while you seemed to be caressing your skin with the towel, unaware of his presence at the door.

He could feel the warmth of the drinks spreading all over his body, mixing with the heat your sight was causing in his core, making his throat dry once again, but not for another drink.

While turning yourself to dry your hair, your eyes caught his figure at the door, but somehow you didn't feel scared.

Instead, the way he was looking at you caused shivers to go down your spine.

He wanted you.

You could see it in his eyes, staring you like a wolf would stare a hare.

And god... He was a tease for you since the beginning. It wasn't the first time you would lay down with a man, but there was a long time since your first experience.

And you wanted it...

You wanted it so bad...

You couldn't really explain why you turned yourself to him, looking into his eyes. You couldn't say if it was the heat in your body, the way his eyes were arousing you, or if it was only the immense need you had into you to have him without a single thought in your mind about your past, your present or the future of the two of you.

For some reason you chose to ignore, you opened the towel in your body, slowly letting it fall through your skin, showing your entire nakedness to his hungry eyes almost as an invitation mutely accepted by the glow of desire that filled his blues.

He came forward and you felt his warm hands touching your waist, shivering your skin with the contrast of temperatures in between his fingers and your fresh skin. You softly opened your mouth, sighing, and Hvitserk twitched his lips, clearly aroused by your sound, reflecting it in the way his hands became firmer on your hips, pulling you closer to his body.

You went without resistance, accepting his touches, sliding your hands through his collar, taking out the jacket he was wearing and throwing it to the ground, already searching the edge of his shirt to pull it up, invading his clothes with your fresh hands, retributing the shivers by touching his warm skin with your cold fingers.

He lost control.

Hvitserk's mouth covered yours in a lustful kiss and you felt his body starting to push you back towards the bed, stopping the kiss only to let the shirt pass through his head just to find the same destiny of his jacket and his shoes after it.

His clothes being left like a trail on the ground.

You fell sitting at the bed when your body reached the edge, breaking the kiss, but not the heat in between the two of you. Your hands went straight to his trousers, unbuttoning it and opening the zipper, causing the first moans and sighs of pleasure in his voice to start echoing through the room when your lips reached his lower belly in kisses as your hands were pulling down his pants and underwear.

You weren't really allowing your brain to think about how big he was or how barefaced you should be looking like, touching him shamelessly the way you were doing. All you wanted was exactly the sounds you got from his mouth in a hoarse voice when your fingers wrapped around his hot hardness, stroking his length while feeling his hand softly caressing your head, mutely asking for what was to come.

Hvitserk couldn't hold his moan of satisfaction when you slid your moistened lips around him, sucking his whole length into your mouth, causing him to bend, tamed by the pleasure.

"Shit... Oh, fucking shit! So soft!" he mumbled, barely being able to control his panting breath while you were sucking his cock so lustfully.

You never thought you could be so lascivious, but he was teasing your desire in a way no one has ever done before. You wanted him with all of you and his taste was making you even hotter than this pulsating desire making you wet.

"Fuck!" he cursed again, causing a strange feeling of satisfaction in your core when you felt his hips bucking, thrusting into your mouth erratically as if he was fighting to not to fuck your lips the way his body was begging him to.

You didn't know how to explain, but the taste of his precum and his efforts to hold himself back were making you want even more to feel him exploding and so, you fought alongside his body, causing him to moan louder when you embraced his hips, bouncing your head against his crotch, giving him the exact sensation he was trying to fight against, bringing him too close to the edge.

Hvitserk's fingers gripped your hair and he growled when you felt his shaft twitching against your tongue.

You felt his try to pull his hips away from you, but you just embraced him tighter, causing him to lose completely the control of his body and his pleasure to erupt into your lips, filling your mouth with his seed while his sounds of satisfaction were filling the room.

You were proud. Something in you was proud of the taste you just had. A man like him, a handsome one, would surely have lots of women. But how many of them had ever taken his self-control the way you did?

In his eyes, surprised on yours, you could see the answer was clear: none. No other has ever had Hvitserk so aroused, so ready. He could barely feel his erection retreating. Instead, the sight of your tongue rolling through your lips to take every single drop of his pleasure got him almost completely hard once again.

He couldn't explain what kind of goddess he found on you, but if he was sure he was in love with you before, now, Hvitserk was sure he was completely lost.

You were his damnation. his doom. And he couldn't help himself from wanting more.

Hvitserk towered his body upon yours, and you crawled back in bed, allowing him to come over the mattress, covering your body with his. His hungry mouth caught yours again and you embraced his body, kissing him back, noticing how he completely ignored the taste of his pleasure in your tongue, kissing you hungrily while one of his hands unashamedly landed in the middle of your legs, sinking his fingers into your entrance and starting to tease your clit with his thumb.

You moaned against the kiss and he hissed, aroused, cursing in a low voice against your lips that just caused you to feel even hotter.

"Shit, girl, you're so fucking wet... So damn tight!"

His words making you wetter under his fingers and his caresses causing your moans to substitute his, filling the room with your voice. Hvitserk smiled almost devilishly, increasing the pace of his thumb and curling his fingers to hit your sweet spots into your pussy, clearly playing with your pleasure as you had played with his before.

"You have a soft and silky mouth but I can't wait to taste these sweet juices of yours..." he said, licking his lips and smiling bigger as you turned your eyes darkened over his. "Open these pretty legs of yours, babe. Let me be a good boy and retribute your sweet surprise".

You didn't argue. Instead, Hvitserk felt your legs opening under him, more, like a new invitation that caused him to smile bigger.

"Such a good girl!" he praised, lowering himself in the middle of your legs, never breaking the contact of your eyes until his lips embraced your pulsating core in an intimate kiss that filled the whole room with your voice.

"Shit!" It was your time to curse and he smiled, licking his lips wet from your juices to mumble against your inner labia, causing the vibration to send shivers up your spine while he was speaking.

"So sweet!"

You felt his arms wrapping your hips from under your thighs and he laid his mouth on you, leaving you no choice but enjoy the feeling of his tongue exploring your intimacy entirely. You couldn't flee, for his embrace wasn't allowing you more than moving your hips to slide your clit in his tongue from time to time.

Not that it was really necessary: Hvitserk's skills were really way better than your imagination allowed you to estimate and you couldn't feel a single inch of your pussy he wasn't licking or sucking someway.

It didn't take too long for him to have you arching your body against the bed, gripping his hair strongly, ruining his man bun and making a mess of him when you came into his mouth, felling the pleasure spreading all over your body while he was thirstily licking you clean.

However, instead of calming his desire, your orgasm just set him on fire and, without giving you time to recover, Hvitserk crawled his way upon your body, easing his hardness into your still throbbing walls, moaning with pure bliss by feeling himself involved in your heat.

"Oh, god! Hvitserk!" you moaned, embracing his torso, lost in the pleasure, sinking your nails down his back when he suddenly started thrusting into your oversensitive channel, almost punishing you by the amount of pleasure you put him through. "Hvitserk! Babe!"

You tried to call him, but Hvitserk just kept thrusting, wildly, sliding your body up in the bed and hitting the wooden headboard full strength against the wall. The repetitive sound of his rhythm was mixing with your moans and his gasps of effort.

You could feel how tense his arms were when you relaxed under him, embracing his neck, kissing his skin as if your kisses and soft caresses were a reward for all the pleasure he was making you feel.

Slowly, your caresses reduced his pace. And he started going deeper into your body, getting longer moans and a tighter embrace from your hands around his body. One of them you slid into his hair, loosen it from the bun, watching as it opened like a curtain beside your face. You slid your fingers through the strands, caressing his nape, feeling as he rolled his hips in a different movement just to make you moan a little louder for his pleasure.

Hvitserk was filling you so well! His size seemed to be perfect for yours, your walls tightening embracing his shaft causing his efforts to become harder and harder as the pleasure was mining his strength.

In a few minutes, your skins were glued on sweat. His mouth against yours, panting, mixing your breath with his when you lovingly bit his lower lip before kissing him passionately.

Hvitserk couldn't deny anymore. He couldn't say it wasn't to be. The two of you were perfect together and when he felt your body clenching around him one more time, he wrapped his arms around your torso, embracing you tight into his arms and against his chest, thrusting a little bit faster just to release his seed into your walls, making you feel even warmer than your own juices made you.

With his panting breath, Hvitserk mumbled in your ear something that would be the perfect sentence to be heard after such deep and intimate intercourse.

"I love you," he confessed, nuzzling his face on yours, slowly recovering his breath control, and lightly kissing your skin and the crook of your neck "I love you, Annie. I love you..."

Annie...

You felt your eyes fill with a thin line of tears you didn't let pour. And you embraced Hvitserk tighter, feeling his body nestling into your embrace.

"I love you too..." you mumbled, swallowing dry as he softly rested his head against your chest.

Your heart heavy into your chest.

You loved him.

He loved Annie.

But Marie Ann Watson wasn't who you really were...

And sooner or later it would be the end of you.

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sailor-cresselia · 5 years

Text

Zi-O 40: Shenanigans Intensify

Watched this live with @miyukomatsuda, wound up sticking some of my raw comments in here where they’re appropriate.

LETS DO THIS!

When last we saw our heroes (and Woz), Momotaros had just given Sougo the Den-O watch. That caused the rest of the ridewatches to warp over to him, and fuse into the Grand Zi-O watch.

TODAY, Yuuto and Deneb (who is wheezing, poor guy) run up, and tell Momo that “HEY! DON’T DO THAT! HE’S GONNA BE EVIL!”

So! Momo! Just! Grabs his watch back!

This causes the Grand Watch to dissolve, much to Sougo’s confusion… and causes Woz to pause time for his Recap. Because Woz.

...Er, Yuuto, I get that you don’t want Sougo & Co interfering, but…. You do know they have time machines of their own, right? Maybe you shouldn’t have said what date you were going to out loud? Just a suggestion.

Exposition time at 9-to-5! So, Button-up (...does he have a name?) was dating Takuya’s sister, who… oh dear. Yeah, she was a classic case of “ill sister in hospital,” and her condition worsened after button-up took her out of the hospital for a day. Whoops.

...hang on, I’m just gonna…

Okay, Button-up’s name is Yukihiro. Good to know, now I can use that, instead.

Also, it’s nice to know that it is, in fact, still Seiji Takaiwa in the Momotaros suit. It’s a lot easier to have the Imajin make guest appearances than a lot of characters, since they’ve pretty much always got at least two of the suit actors. Seiji Takaiwa is Momotaros, and Eitoku is Urataros, so they just need the VA’s to record lines, which is a lot less time-intensive than face-acting.

Okay, sorry, I. Had to get that out there, since Momotaros is posing it up in the background. Which makes sense, seeing as how his train is a bit… ‘stolen’ at the moment.

...okay, this whole next exchange is GOLD. Momo’s ticked, which is justifiable, since the DenLiner is a bit ‘stolen’ and currently is in 2017. So, since he’s not about to leave it to Yuuto to fix this whole mess, he’s gonna go get it back, and storms out the door – except WAIT NO HE CAN’T! He can’t travel in time without the DenLiner, which is kind of the entire problem here!

Sougo’s look of exasperation when Momo starts heading for the door gives me life. Just taps his fingers, sighs, and looks over his shoulder at Momo. (Finally, someone even more impulsive than him!)

So, Momotaros is ticked, because he’s stuck here. Geiz raises an eyebrow and smirks, and just says that they’re going back to 2017.

Geiz: Yeah, we’re not letting Another Den-O run unchecked. Come on, we’re going to 2017.

Momo: Alright!

(beat)

Momo: ...wait, how?

Geiz: Shut up and come with me.

Sougo sighs towards the end of the exchange. He’s so done with the Imajin, he’s had it.

Quick jump to the DenLiner… where the remaining three Imajin are chained up. …Was Junichiro still on the train? Because last we saw him, he was driving it. Where is he?

Takuya’s determined to stop Yukihiro from taking Sayuri – his sister – out of the hospital that day. If he can just do that…

TIME MAZINE!

… YES. Geiz is driving his Time Mazine… with Momotaros and Woz on either side of him in the cockpit. There’s not enough room in there for three, especially when one of them is incredibly pointy. Momo tries to TAKE OVER STEERING.

(And he’s wondering why Zi-O didn’t come!)

May 11, 2017.

A Mole Imajin appears from Yukihiro. Another Den-O drops down from the DenLiner. Panic ensues in the hospital.

When the first away team shows up, one of the people running out yells about “OH GOD THERE’S A MONSTER OUT HERE, TOO!”

Momo: is offended

Woz: ...So, they’re in the hospital already, then.

Momo: LET’S GO!!

Geiz: Hey, dumbass, you’re just gonna freak ‘em out.

Momo: … OKAY THEN!

Momo prepares to jump into Geiz – again – but Geiz IS NOT HAVING THAT.

NOT DOING THAT AGAIN.

Just SHOVES Woz in the way!

I love Momo!Woz’s hair. They implemented the red streak into his usual pulled-back style really well.

oh god my ears mole imajin was the nails-on-a-chalkboard really necessary?! At least Momotaros agrees with me on the “Cut that OUT already” front.

But the thought of Momotaros with access to GINGA. OH GOD. And of course he’s still using his usual fighting style – aka PUNCH ALL THE THINGS. Pity that Ginga is basically a mage form.

(Momotaros being confused about the cape is excellent, too.)

Cut back to inside the hospital… where Another Den-O is… knocking… his past self… to the ground… saying that he’ll protect his sister.

Oh, no, there’s nothing that could go wrong here…

No, 2019!Takuya, there’s no reason that your sister would freak out over a monster saying he’ll protect her, why would you think that?

GEIZ DOING A FLYING KICK, THOUGH~! YESSSSS!

Momo!Woz: I don’t have time for introductions today!

Momo!Woz: immediately proceeds to start his introduction

(time pausing sound effect)

Momo: Hey! Why can’t I move?!

Woz: GET OUT!

Woz. Just. KICKED MOMOTAROS OUT OF HIS BODY.

Woz was NOT HAVING THIS.

The catchphrases were TOO EMBARRASSING.

He’s just disgusted oh my god this is beautiful.

Oh, there’s Sougo’s Time Mazine! About time he catches up!

It’s such a shame that Sougo didn’t get to see Momo!Woz, though.

In the hospital, 2017!Takuya starts to wake up, and sees Yukihiro and Sayuri exiting her room.

Me: Oh no. Oh no he was getting her out of there Because Of Another DenO

Miyuko: OH NOOOOOO

Miyuko: STABLE TIME LOOP-ALSO HOLY SHIT

Me: Because a monster was saying she was his sister

Okay, so. I LOVE Revive Typhoon, now that it’s not killing Geiz to use it. I REALLY love how we’re barely even getting AFTERIMAGES of his attacks right now. There’s just a blur of him moving forward, with an image of him standing there – he’s going back and forth too fast for the camera to bother trying to display it!

Geiz hypercharges the Claw Shot finisher – like, seriously, I can’t even COUNT how many times he hit the button for that – and that attack would DEFINITELY have finished off Another Den-O…

If he hadn’t been immediately blocked by the DenLiner going by.

Miyuko: also OWNER I GUESS JUST LETTING THIS HAPPEN

Me: A mook. Hijacked. The train.

Me: OKAY

Miyuko: good lord this ep

Me: When in doubt: shenanigans

OH. OH MAN. WE COULDN’T UNDERSTAND THIS WHEN WE WERE WATCHING.

So… it turns out… Sayuri knew she was beyond saving. And that if Takuya knew that, it’s just break him. So… so what Yukihiro did… he brought her out of the hospital…

And it was, at least in part, so that Takuya would have someone to hate. So that he would have someone to blame for her death. Because that would be, in a way, easier for him to have a person to direct his anger at, instead of a formless frustration at fate.

The piano version of ‘Toki No Ouja’ is playing in the background of this scene – where we’re going back and forth from Sougo relating this story in 2017 to Takuya, and Yukihiro telling them in 2019.

You know. The song that’s kind of about how Sougo’s somewhat closed his eyes to potential consequences of his actions, not wanting to think about them, not wanting them to have the effect that everyone says they’re going to have.

...GOD I love ‘Toki No Ouja,’ and I can’t WAIT to have the full OST for Zi-O. This season’s music is so good. I mean, Rider music is always good, but DAMN. Getting this piano version is gonna be awesome.

2019!Takuya is trying to stop Yukihiro, because he doesn’t know that Sayuri’s death is inevitable, and that she’s basically asked to leave.

So 2017!Takuya, with this new knowledge, asks Sougo to stop the future him.

And Sougo is so kind, so of course he will.

Momo: You’re a pretty decent guy, aren’t ya? Where are they going?

Sougo: …well, I… don’t… actually know. Yukihiro said it was a place full of memories...

Momo: That is something you usually ask!

Miyuko: MOMO

Miyuko: AYGHAHGAHGA

Miyuko: DON"T SHAKE THE BABY

Me: MOMO no

Woz, being absolutely done with the assorted tomfoolery, figures out where they’re going, via a picture on Sayuri’s side table.

...DENEB. DENEB WHAT IS THIS DISGUISE?!

Deneb, sweetie, you are not going to fool anyone with that doctor outfit.

But he is vouching for Sougo, saying that the overlord is actually a good guy!

Yuuto still thinks it’s a charade, because… well, time travel. And he also wants to know what the deal is with Deneb’s outfit.

So, we were watching this via a stream on one site, and chatting via discord, and. Well, come the scene change…

Me: Oh no chat has a point

Miyuko: this seems like a BAD plan

Miyuko: what

Me: This is where the grand fight happened

Miyuko: OH FUCK

Miyuko: U RITE

That’s a whole lot of Mole Imajin…

OH. HUH. Yuuto tells Momo to give Sougo the watch. It’s not that he trusts him, but he’ll deem him acceptable.

(Besides, he’s already seen this fight. He knows that Sougo is supposed to use Grand here, and since the fight is already happening…)

So, Momotaros tosses the Den-O watch to the future overlord. The other Ridewatches – which, mind you, are in 2019 – show up to once again fuse into the Grand watch.

(CHAT LOG APPROACHES)

Miyuko: OKAY HOW THE FUCK

Miyuko: THROUGH FUCKING TIME AND SPACE

Me: You know what-

Me: This is fine

Me: I don’t even care anymore

Miyuko: hahahahaha

Miyuko: i mean sougo has time powers

SO! THE GRAND TRANSFORMATION! SURE IS A THING!

A golden fucking CLOCK TOWER rises up behind Sougo, while statues of the Riders in their signature poses rise next to him – all of them with a purplish dust/rock filter over them. They’re all in their signature poses, too.

And Miyuko and I had thought that it was the statues from 2068’s “commemoration of Tokiwa Sougo’s first transformation’ monument, and the opening, especially with how the rock filter flakes away.

Except that they can’t be.

For one, all of those statues are brown before the ‘rock’ flakes away, not purple. And they’re all static poses there, generically standing, and looking down. They’re in a different order, too – going back and forth between each rider, with the phase-two riders being the only ones really visible to us.

But THIS set? Purple covering that flakes away, in their signature pre-asskicking poses. The order is different, too. On one side, from left to right, it’s Kuuga through Decade – Kuuga further back, Decade right next to Sougo. On the other, left to right, it’s Zi-O through Double – Zi-O next to Sougo, and Double in back.

INTERESTING.

AND THEN ALL OF THEM – ZI-O INCLUDED – GET TURNED INTO WINDOW THINGS, THAT APPLY THEMSELVES TO THE ZI-O ARMOR.

And each of those opens up, has the rider do their pose, and then the rider turns into the little figurines that we’ve seen on Grand. And the fact that they are, in fact, figures, as opposed to panels, is just. WOW this form is overkill.

This is so damned extra.

Woz: IWAE!!!!

Woz: ...WAIT, NO, I DON’T EVEN NEED WORDS FOR THIS!

Woz: LET’S JUST RELISH IN THIS MOMENT!!

woz please

NEW INSERT TIME!!!

Not that I can hear it, but still.

Okay, so. So Sougo is straight up lifting the riders out of time. He pulls Build out first, from his first episode – and I can tell, because that’s the only one where he launched himself out of the ground to use his kick. Then a time window opens, pulling the rider-kicking Build into this 2017, to kick the heck out of Another Den-O.

Then Kuuga gets pulled in.

Then Sougo taps the Kuuga figure again, and his icon appears briefly.

AND THEN SOUGO PULLS THE TITAN SWORD OUT OF THE FIGURE. SOUGO GIVE THAT BACK. GIVE THEM THEIR TIME BACK.

It’s nice to know that Sougo is going to be doing fighting of his own as Grand, anyway, because he uses said Titan Sword to exchange some blows with Another Den-O.

Next up, OOO – lifted right out of his fight with the Neko Yummy in episode three, as I said two weeks ago. As in, one of the few times he used his Scanning Charge kick. The time where he blasted through a series of broken columns that were in mid-air, and showed up here with him.

As in, the scene we saw when the history of OOO disappeared, back in the OOO arc.

AND NOW THE ZI-O FIGURE REWINDS THAT ATTACK.

YEAH.

THE FIGURE ON HIS HEAD. IS EXPLICITLY THE ONE DOING THAT.

THIS IS FINE.

So now OOO hasn’t kicked Another Den-O anymore, his attack is paused.

AND SOUGO JUST SUMMONS THE FULLBOTTLE BUSTER FROM THE BUILD FIGURE.

He uses that to beat the heck out of Another Den-O some more, and OOO’s kick resumes!

Now Gaim gets pulled into the picture, using his initial sword attack.

Momotaros, being Momotaros, wants to get in the action, too! So he pulls out his pass, and transforms! OR NOT. Because as Woz points out, he just gave his powers as Den-O to Sougo.

Whoops. Don’t worry, Momo, we want to know why that’s a thing, too.

Sougo, being Sougo, has an idea!

“Here, I’ll just use this!”

He summons Den-O out of 2007, who is almost immediately possessed by current!Momotaros. Because OF COURSE he is.

And Momotaros, being Momotaros, ACTIVATES CLIMAX FORM! Thus pulling the other three, who are presumably the ones on the slightly-stolen DenLiner, into the temporally displaced Den-O.

This is amazing.

So, Climax Form Den-O is going to town on the small horde of Moles, and Deneb wants in, so Yuuto goes into Vega form, so now we’ve got both the 2007 Super modes just WAILING on these mooks.

So THAT’S DONE.

Now, for the finale~!

Grand Zi-O summons UPGRADED FORMS of the four Rider’s he summoned earlier. Build Genius, Watermelon Arms, a small horde of GataKiriBa OOO, and… one check of Rider Wiki later, Kuuga in his Pegasus form, riding the Gouram.

Another Den-O attacks them with his really cool slashes, and they all freeze in place – all in mid-air, mid-kick.

Grand Zi-O and Another Den-O trade some blows, Zi-O using his upgraded sword from Zi-O II, before he knocks Another Den-O into the air. At which point…

At which point the Zi-O figurine starts moving again, telling the others to go for it. Again, this is explicitly the figurine doing this.

SO ANOTHER DEN-O JUST TOOK KICKS FROM TWO POWERED UPGRADES, ABOUT 10 COPIES OF GATAKIRIBA, AND BUILD GENIUS, ON TOP OF THE FINISHER SOUGO HAD JUST USED ON HIM.

YEAH. I should HOPE that’s enough to destroy the Another Den-O watch.

So, hey, remember the OP? And how it has two sections where the previous Riders are all frozen mid-kick? The one when the OP starts, with Sougo, Tsukuyomi, and Geiz walking among them; and the one later on with Geiz and Zi-O performing their own kick, before the others resume mid-motion?

YEAH.

Turns out, Sayuri had asked Yukihiro to bring her to that bridge. She wanted to see it together with him, one last time. She asks Takuya to not hate him for it.

And Takuya – 2019!Takuya, who’s hated his friend for two years, who just became a monster to try and save her – is glad for her. That this was her choice.

And so, he goes to look out at the scenery with them, while the piano of Over Quartzer plays.

…

Yuuto.

Yuuto, while I’m glad that the sub confirms that I heard you correctly while watching live.

Yuuto, what sort of question is this?

“Are you really… Tokiwa Sougo?”

YUUTO. HEY. WHAT?!

YOU CAN’T JUST DROP THAT BIG-ASS QUESTION. AND THEN SAY ‘NEVER MIND’.

HEY. TOEI.

WTF.

YOU DON’T DROP THIS SHIT AT EP 40.

Yuuto heads off, Deneb still apologizing for him. Momo goes to say that ‘Yeah, kid, you’re kinda hot shot, aren’t ya? I mean, not as much as Ryotaro-’

SOUGO WHERE DID YOU GO?!

TIME PORTAL.

You know.

The type Kasshin dropped out of in ep 15. (cough bad end Kikai cough)

The type we saw Oma Zi-O through in ep 30.

And now we have Grand Zi-O in a red-hued valley, with a few patches of the ground on fire.

Oma Zi-O’s here.

“Greetings, the Youthful me. I see you’ve obtained the powers of all the riders. However, you’re still no match for me.”

“We’ll see about that. I think I can do this.”

Oma Zi-O just LAUNCHES a pair of Blade cards at him, followed shortly by a green-and-purple tornado.

Sougo doesn’t get knocked down this time around.

We end the episode with Grand Zi-O charging at Oma Zi-O.

So, the preview… is made of fear.

Just. Pure. Fear.

Oma Zi-O saying that someone’s changed the flow of time.

Woz calling Hiryuu his ‘new overlord.’

The fact that apparently being Oma Zi-O means you lose ALL fashion sense, given the absurd outfit Hiryuu’s got going on.

Hiryuu’s got the Another Zi-O watch again, and it’s upgraded.

Apparently everyone has forgotten who Sougo is.

Me: one guy in the chat: “ALL WE NEED IS DRIVE AND YET YOU GIVE US THIS”

Miyuko: W2G GUYS YOU BROKE TIME

Miyuko: (Also: I THINK UNCLE WAS TRYING TO KILL HIM)

Me: TIMELINE MACHINE BROKE

Me: YEAH

Me: NOT OKAY

Miyuko: NONE OF THIS IS OK

Me: EVERYTHING IS NOT FINE

basically: GREAT EP, TERRIFYING PREVIEW!!!

i can’t wait for next week

#kamen rider zi o #sailorcressy says #WELL THIS SURE WAS AN EPISODE

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