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creampuffqueen · 3 years

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Getaway Car - Cresswell, TLC Shipweeks 2021 (Criminal AU)

a/n: Hello!!!! TLC fandom! It's been quite a while since I did anything for y'all! But here I am, back from the dead, with an unholy amount of one single fic for the ship weeks. I was going to post this yesterday, since that was Cresswell's AU day (I think, I wasn't originally planning to post anything so I wasn't keeping track, but I listened to Taylor Swift's song Getaway Car and got a Vision) but sadly my ideas were too large to complete in one day! So take this now!

Word Count: 13142 (yes, I know)

Summary: In an alternate universe, Cress and Thorne are partners in crime, literally. They may also be in love with each other, literally.

Warnings: Contains mentions of guns, violence, underage drinking, cursing, and a lot of crime

~~~~

“Cress, you got me?” Thorne’s voice crackled over the speaker of the burner phone, right into the waiting ears of the person he needed most.

His getaway car, Cress Darnel.

“Loud and clear!” She replied, twisting the key in the ignition of the old car. The engine roared to life under her touch, and the young woman sped out of the alleyway. “Keep going, I’ll be there. You know what to do.”

“We’ve done this almost a dozen times; I know what to do!”

The blonde cracked a grin to herself, “Sure you do. You’d be lost without me.”

“You got that right! See you in two! Mwah!” With that last endearment, the line went dead, and Cress chucked the cell phone out the window with an exasperated smile. She was parked close enough that the rendezvous spot only took her one minute, sixteen seconds to reach.

Timing was of the utmost importance to this mission. Even a few seconds too late and everything would end.

This was proven approximately thirty-eight seconds later, when Carswell Thorne, renowned criminal, tore around the corner, half-zipped duffel bag slung over a shoulder. He had a gun, but both he and Cress knew it wasn’t loaded, it was just for show.

The doors were unlocked, the car had a full tank of gas, and Cress was a very good driver. “Floor it!” Thorne shouted, and Cress didn’t have to be told twice.

When the police arrived, approximately twenty-two seconds later, they, and all evidence, were long gone.

~~~~

After an hour of driving, it was getting dark. Thorne discreetly hotwired a new car in a full supermarket parking lot, and the duo was on their way.

Another hour of driving, and Thorne took over the controls from the younger woman, letting her nap in the passenger seat. She curled up in a little ball, so small she didn’t even stick out of the seat. When she was fast asleep with her cheek squished against the window, Thorne finally risked a glance over to his partner.

It was strange to think they’d only known each other for a few months. Well, six months, two weeks, and five days, to be exact.

He’d tried to stop himself from keeping count. It hadn’t worked. Six months, two weeks, and five days of Cress Darnel being in his life.

It was about nine o’clock, so the traffic was beginning to thin a bit. They were in one of the busiest parts of the city, easy to blend in with their average-looking car. Someone honked behind him, and Thorne gave a glance in his rearview mirror. Whoops.

The day had been long and exhausting. Time to start working on a place to hunker down for the night. Cress shifted a bit in her sleep, and a loud grumble cut through the car. Okay, time to find some food, too.

He drove around the city a bit more, making sure nobody was on their tail, before finally exiting to the more sparsely-populated areas. Where you paid for your room in cash and nobody asked questions.

It was eleven o’clock by the time he finally found someplace suitable enough. He drove through a fast food joint nearby, then finally parked the car. Nudging Cress awake as he exited, he wordlessly passed her the food before heading inside.

Most of the rooms were sold for the night, but they thankfully had one available with two twin beds.

He found Cress devouring her burger like she hadn’t eaten in years. And-

“Hey, fry-stealer!” He chuckled, snatching his bag, “Eat your own!”

She gave him a look with those big blue eyes and something inside him melted. “I already ate mine.”

Thorne rolled his eyes, but passed her a couple more fries anyway. “This means you have to carry your own bag, you know.”

That statement earned him another pout, but he ignored it, instead grabbing his suitcase and the duffel bag containing today’s goods.

He left Cress to her own devices, heading inside the room and grabbing the shower first. His food would be cold, sure, but at least he’d get all the hot water he wanted.

When he came out again, toweling off his hair and rubbing his freshly-shaven face, Cress was inside, passed out on top of her hotel-made bed.

Thorne sighed, but couldn’t bring himself to be annoyed. It was exhausting, having so much brainpower all the time.

He tugged off her shoes, placing them neatly by the bed, in case they needed a quick escape. Then, gently, almost reverently, he tucked her under the covers.

He couldn’t resist. Making sure she was fully asleep, he pressed a soft, tiny kiss on top of her perfect golden hair.

“‘Night, Cress.”

He was fast asleep himself before he heard her reply.

“Goodnight.”

~~~~

The pair made an early departure, before other residents rose from their slumber and possibly compromised their location. Since Thorne had driven for so long yesterday, Cress felt it was only fair that she drove. It was a bit strange, she admitted, usually she was the night owl and he the early bird. But yesterday had been hard. It took a lot of planning to pull it off that smoothly.

By the time the sun rose, the pair was at least an hour away from the motel. Cress got them both coffee at a little roadside place, then pulled off to the side so they could enjoy it.

“You always get my order right,” Thorne chuckled, leaning against her as they sat in the open trunk of the car. “I’ve got a very sensitive palette, you know.”

Cress snorted, “You sure do. That’s just pure sugar in a cup right there.” She took a big gulp of her own brew, which was almost pure espresso.

“I don’t know how you can drink literal dirt water!” Thorne protested, “It’s so nasty!”

Cress bumped his shoulder again, still smiling. He grinned right back at her, before turning his eyes back to the early-morning sun.

“You ever think you’d get to see stuff like this? Do stuff like this?”

Cress could think of a thousand different witty remarks to toss back at him, mostly along the lines of “Being a wanted criminal? Absolutely.”, but for whatever reason, she held her tongue, instead replying, “No. Back then I didn’t even know when I’d see the sun next.”

Thorne turned his blue eyes over to her, squeezing her hand in a silent comfort. This close, she noticed that he’d shaved last night. And was letting his roots grow out again. Her heart sped up, just a bit.

In the six months she’d known him, he’d changed his appearance so often she was losing count. He always did after a heist, no matter how big or small. He dyed his hair, let his beard grow out, or sometimes simply donned a pair of glasses. Cress hadn’t changed hers since the very first.

~~~~

“Hey, blondie, where are you headed?” Cress whipped her head around to the voice that sounded. Rumbling up beside her was a car, front window rolled down, to reveal a young man, only a year or so older than her.

“None of your business,” She responded warily, curling in on herself a bit.

“Are you lost?” The guy continued, “I could give you a ride.”

“Like I’d get in a car with a strange man. That’s, like, begging to be killed.”

The guy looked actually offended at that. “What? I don’t kill people!”

Cress just rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the offer, but no.”

She turned away, hitching her backpack higher. She’d chickened out again. Sybil would be home any minute and she needed to get home. Her pace quickened, and the car and the guy rolled off.

Little did she know, that certainly wasn’t the last she’d see of him.

~~~~

“Alright, let’s see what we’ve got.” Cress pulled the duffel bag of stolen material towards her, beginning to rifle through it while Thorne watched. The late afternoon sun filtered through the window, turning her golden hair into an illusion of fire.

They’d ditched the car yet again, this time nabbing one from a used car parking lot. Now they were in a small town that the highway ran through, alone in a back alley, the only company being an alley cat in the trash and a couple further down that were too caught up in each other to notice anything.

Inside the bag, Cress pulled out treasure after treasure. A lot of cash; Thorne had the employees empty all the registers, and a lot of what Cress needed: Computer parts.

She had an old, run-down laptop, one of the few things taken with her from her previous life in the quiet suburbs. She would have had Thorne steal another laptop, but those were too traceable these days, even if they were brand new.

So manual upgrades it was.

Computers were her specialty, always had been. And now that she was a part of this merry band of two, her computer and her skills were integral parts to everything they did.

As it turned out, the most recent robbery had yielded exactly what she needed, and more. She gave a squeal of delight after unearthing a certain part, hugging it close to her chest.

A little chuckle sounded behind her, and Cress whipped her head around. Thorne was grinning ear-to-ear, the kind of smile that made her face heat up. “Happy, Goldilocks?”

Her face burned, and she twisted her fingers in her shoulder-length locks of hair. But she met his eyes and nodded. “Really happy. This is exactly what I needed.”

Thorne’s smile softened. “Anything for you, Princess.”

And somehow, deep inside her, she knew he was speaking the truth.

~~~~

Cress sprinted along the side of the road, the grass scratching at her bare legs. Her whole head throbbed, and her left wrist was sprained for sure. Every step pulled at the bruising on her stomach, and it was a struggle to keep moving, keep the backpack on her shoulders, keep moving.

“I’m eighteen now, she can’t hurt me anymore. I’m eighteen now, she can’t hurt me anymore,” She murmured over and over to herself, a mantra to keep her sore legs moving. She needed to leave, needed to keep moving.

She risked a glance behind her. Her heart froze.

Car lights were coming up the road. Fast.

Cress started running faster, biting her lip to keep from sobbing, keep from just keeling over and dying right there. She could beat her. She could escape. She just had to keep moving.

It was the middle of the night, there was no way anyone else but Sybil was driving that car. There was nowhere to hide. All she could do was keep going, and hope that maybe she sped right past. It was foolish, but it was all she had.

Her foot slipped into a small dip in the earth, and her whole ankle screamed, sending her toppling into the dirt. Coughing and sputtering, she pushed herself up, stumbling forward. The tears came, fast and hard and unstoppable. The lights were nearly on top of her now.

And that’s when she saw it. Another car, coming towards her. Her last chance.

Cress nearly toppled over herself in her haste, tumbling into the middle of the road, in the path of the incoming car. As expected, it screeched to a stop, the driver slamming on the horn.

“Help!” Cress screamed, as Sybil’s car pulled up behind her, her face illuminated by the other headlights and frozen in fury. “Please help me! She’s going to hurt me!”

“Crescent Moon!” Sybil bellowed, and Cress backed up against the other car. The driver’s door opened. And out stepped the most handsome man Cress had ever seen in her life.

Okay, she was definitely dreaming. She gave herself a tiny pinch.

Maybe not.

The man… he seemed familiar, somehow. She couldn’t quite place it.

“Cress,” Sybil snarled, stomping over, “Get in the car, now.” Her tone left no room for argument. Cress curled in on herself.

“Hey,” The man replied, “Who the hell are you?”

“Her mother.”

“Foster mother,” Cress interjected softly. “And I’m eighteen. You don’t own me anymore.”

If Sybil’s face could get more furious, it did. The man glanced between them, brows creasing as he took in Cress’s limp, her black eye, the way she held her stomach.

“You heard the girl. She doesn’t belong to you, witch.”

Sybil lunged, grabbing Cress’s sprained wrist. She screamed in pain, and the man moved.

And suddenly he was pointing a gun at her foster mother. Everyone froze.

“Let her go.” He said, “Leave her alone.”

Sybil backed away. “I’ll call the police, boy. You can’t threaten me.”

The gun clicked. He armed it. He pointed it straight at Sybil.

“It doesn’t matter. She’s eighteen. And if she comes willingly, there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

And Cress really couldn’t say why, exactly, but in that moment she knew that he was truthful. That his words made sense, and more than that, she would go with him.

“I’m going with him, Sybil.” For the first time in her life, Cress Darnel was being brave. And it wasn’t a dream.

The man turned to her, flashing a grin, and Cress recognized him then. The same one who approached her nearly a month earlier.

“Cress, right?” He asked, when Sybil had retreated to her car and driven away, “Nice name. I’m Carswell, but everyone calls me Thorne. Oh, and sorry to scare you like that. This thing isn’t loaded, never has been.”

Cress glanced down the road, at the car growing steadily smaller in the distance. “Thanks for all that, Thorne. You showed up just in time.”

He offered her a hand to shake. “My pleasure, blondie.”

Despite everything, Cress found herself cracking a smile.

~~~~

“So, where to next, milady?” Thorne beamed, spreading a roadmap before them both. They’d finally stopped for the night, and were sitting on some questionable carpet in an even more questionable motel, figuring out their next plan.

“Dunno,” Cress shrugged, “Wherever’s good, I guess.”

“I mean, where you do want to see?” Thorne elaborated. “What’s your dream destination, Cress?”

She gave him a confused look. “Why?”

“You can say Disneyworld. I won’t judge.”

That earned him a snicker and a shove against the shoulder, and he could almost feel his heart swell with affection. She really was adorable, sitting in a tank top and pajama shorts, thick socks rolled around her ankles. He’d do anything to earn that smile again.

“I’m not sure, really. I’ve never had the chance to really think about it.”

“Well surely you must at least know some places. A place you’ve heard, maybe?”

Cress sighed, leaning further against him. “I don’t know, Thorne. What about you? Where do you want to go?”

“Ladies first, Goldilocks.”

“It’s Disneyworld, isn’t it.”

“You could hack their system and get us free tickets! And fast passes for all the rides! It would be great!” He replied enthusiastically.

“I mean in theory, sure, but Disney’s kinda notorious for being fairly unhackable.”

“Damn it.”

Cress yawned, laying nearly in his lap. “Let’s think about it tomorrow, ‘kay?”

Thorne lifted her, bridal style, to her bed, amidst her soft giggles. She sounded like a fairy. “Goodnight, milady. I shall seek thee out in the morning.”

Cress laughed harder, which turned abruptly into a yawn as she tucked herself beneath the covers. “Goodnight, my knight in shining armor.”

~~~~

Over the next few weeks, they travelled to wherever they felt like. The car they had was stolen from a junkyard, so it wasn’t like anyone was looking for it. Sure, it was a piece of crap, but it moved and it did its job.

They moved intermittently between small and big towns, usually only spending a day or two before hitting the road again. Cash was hard to come by, so they mostly resorted to stealing purses and pickpocketing. Cress felt a little bad about it, but hey, they needed to eat.

Things between her and Thorne were… changing. She couldn’t exactly tell how or why, but she knew they were. The change wasn’t bad, but it was different. And strange. And a tiny bit scary.

She’d find her gaze naturally finding his at any given moment, catch herself staring when she shouldn’t. She laughed at his dumb jokes more, focused on the sound of his voice when she should be focusing on the road.

He hadn’t changed his appearance in a long time. His hair was its natural shade of golden brown again, and he kept his face clean-shaven. The dumb glasses had been broken and dumped some time ago.

And it wasn’t just her that was staring, either. She felt his eyes, sometimes saw them too, when he thought she wasn’t looking. He was doing more and more to make her laugh. And he wasn’t being as careful to make sure she was asleep before he kissed her head goodnight.

Cress didn’t really know what to make of these changes. She couldn’t tell if these were good or bad. She wasn’t used to this, these butterflies in her stomach, this heat in her face. Sybil kept her isolated her whole life, and she was just now starting to really experience the world. Was it right to fall for the first guy her age she met?

Because she realized that’s what it was. They were in a moderately sized town, and were walking around the downtown area, looking for a place to eat and also some easy targets to fund said meal.

Sadly, this wasn’t an easy crowd. They had eyes in the backs of their heads, and after nearly an hour, they only had a meager ten dollars to show for it between them.

“Hey, chin up,” Thorne grinned, “We’ll be fine. I think I saw a fast food place up there, follow me.”

He grabbed her hand, and Cress couldn’t stop the dopey grin that found a permanent residence on her face. He’s holding my hand.

Unfortunately, it was a high end fast food place. The kind that had “gourmet” food at a third of the price of a fancy restaurant. Even the cheapest item on the menu really meant one meal to split between them both.

“You should eat, Cress.”

“No,” She protested, “Let’s find somewhere else. We both need to eat.”

He shrugged. “It’s late. Just promise to give me a bite, okay?”

She would have argued more, but she was really hungry. So, begrudgingly, she made her way to the register and bought dinner.

That was when she really realized what they were. He smiled at her the whole time while she ate her fill, head resting on his hands. He took the bite she offered, and refused any more. She knew he was hungry. And yet, he let her eat.

Anything for you, princess.

~~~~

Surprisingly, the guy hadn’t killed her yet. Weird. It had been three days. And he was still being nice to her.

They’d stayed in a motel nearby. Two separate beds. He’d been a perfect gentleman the entire time. He helped her ice her sprains and bruises every day. He made sure she was comfortable.

“Are you sure you really wanna be hanging out with me, Goldilocks?” He asked on the dawn of the fourth day, “There’s nowhere else you’d rather be?”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” She responded suspiciously. It’s not like she had anywhere to go, anyway.

“No, no, of course not!” Thorne insisted. “It’s just, weird, I guess. People don’t hang out with me willingly too much.”

“Why?”

He dramatically brushed his hair out of his eyes, “I’m just too good for them I guess.” Then he met her gaze with a serious look. “No, it’s because I’m a criminal.”

“Yeah, I kinda guessed.” Also she’d looked him up as soon as she had some time alone. It wasn’t hard to unseal his juvenile record, where she found he’d been arrested several times for theft. And once for grand larceny at seventeen, which was honestly kind of impressive. That also explained where all the money was coming from.

“Oh.”

Cress awkwardly looked away. “I mean, it’s whatever. I don’t care that much how you make money.”

“I promise I don’t steal from old ladies or hobos or anything like that.” Cress blinked at that. How had he known that was worrying her?

He seemed to also understand that, too. “You’re literally an open book, princess. You’re not good at hiding your emotions.”

That was their last interaction for the day. He left around lunchtime with an empty duffel bag, and Cress decided to look the other way, for now. She made herself comfortable the rest of the time, before finally falling asleep around nine o’clock.

She’d barely been asleep thirty minutes, according to the clock on the bedside table, when Thorne burst inside the room with a gasp.

“What’s going on?” Cress grumbled as he flicked on all the lights.

“Get up, we have to go. The police are right on my tail, I won’t lose them for long.”

Well, that was one hell of a wake up call.

Thorne was tossing his stuff haphazardly into his own backpack, shouting at Cress to do the same. The duffel bag on his shoulder was full, and Cress caught a small glimpse of green on the inside. Money.

Being inside the motel for four days, her things were strewn about. She was taking too long. With only her laptop and about half her clothes packed, Thorne decided it was time, and dragged her out of the motel room.

Cress was barely inside the car before he floored it, screeching out of the parking lot. His blue eyes were wide, but nearly as terrified as she expected.

Of course, she realized later, he’s an adrenaline junkie. He lives for these kinds of moments.

But at that moment, all her focus was on the road as Thorne sped through the streets, heading as fast as the car could go for the highway. In minutes, a police car was on their tail. Thorne pressed the pedal harder.

“How did this even happen?” Cress gasped, trying in vain to take her mind off the sirens behind them.

“Someone called 911 before I was done. I didn’t notice the phone until too late. Stupid mistake on my part.”

“You know,” She suggested, the seatbelt holding her tight against the seat as they screamed around a turn, “You could have just bought a signal blocker beforehand, that way nobody could call at all.”

“A what?”

“A signal blocker. They’re super cheap at like, any electronics store. Hell, I could have done it for you. It’s not that hard; it was one of the first hacker-y things I learned.”

Thorne turned to her with a grin. “You can do that?!”

“Yes. Eyes on the road!”

Many terrifying minutes later, they’d shaken off the police tail and made it to the freeway. Thorne’s smile was huge, and his attitude was becoming infectious.

“That was awesome! We totally knocked them off our trail!”

Cress chuckled awkwardly. “Yep. Except now we’re both wanted criminals.”

Thorne raised an eyebrow. “Both?”

Cress flushed. “Yeah, these windows aren’t tinted. They probably all saw me, and now I’m an accomplice to robbery.”

“Well then, Goldilocks, I think it might be time to show you my post-heist ritual.”

Thorne waved off her questions for another half hour, before he deemed it safe enough to get off the freeway and find a gas station. They parked and headed inside, keeping their heads down and both wearing hoodies. (This was the first of many of Thorne’s hoodies Cress stole).

In the abandoned bathroom, Thorne finally showed her what he was talking about. His hair, naturally a golden brown, was dyed black, and the stubble he’d been growing was shaved off as well.

Then it was her turn.

“Cut or dye?” Thorne asked, holding scissors in one hand and a box dye in the other.

She twisted a strand of her long, golden hair around a finger. Goldilocks. He called her Goldilocks. She liked that.

“Cut.”

“Awesome. I’m a great hairstylist. It’s my true calling.”

“So it’s not actually crime you’re called to?” Cress snickered as he began to snip.

“Well, that too. Crime and styling hair.”

“What a combo.”

When he was done, her hair littered the floor of the bathroom. Cress couldn’t stop staring, or running her hands through it.

“Does this make you my official partner, Goldilocks?” Thorne asked with a smile.

“I think it does.”

It was nice to be a part of something.

~~~~

“I’m bored.” Cress complained, splayed out on her bed.

“Uh huh,” Thorne replied, eyes flicking through a magazine he’d snatched that morning.

“I’m tired of pickpocketing.”

“I know you are, princess,” He turned a page, still not looking at her.

“Let’s go rob somewhere.”

That sure got his attention.

“I’m sorry,” Thorne started, “But did I just hallucinate? You want to rob someplace?”

Cress sat up to look him in the eye. “I mean, I don’t want to do the actual robbing. You do that. But I haven’t been your getaway car in weeks, and I’m bored.”

Thorne gave her a thoughtful look. “It has been a while. And I am tired of not being able to afford things.”

“So let’s do it!”

Her partner in crime glanced around the shitty motel room. “Not here. We need to find a better town.”

“Well, duh.” Cress fished around in Thorne’s bag and procured the road map. “It’s gotta be a bigger town than this hole-in-the-wall kind of place.”

So that was how the rest of their night went. Searching for a town nearby that was big enough to have a variety of places to choose from. A quick jog from the freeway, preferably, and with a low rate of crime to ensure police wouldn’t be super prepared for something like this.

It took another day of pickpocketing before they had enough for food and gas money, but they did it. Set out on the road, a plan in motion. Cress almost couldn’t believe it. She was the one who suggested robbery.

That beaten-down girl from the suburbs far away was long gone now. Instead, the new Cress was in her place. The Cress that was confident in her abilities.

And, of course, the Cress who was also hopelessly in love with her best (and only) friend.

They reached the town quickly enough. They’d driven for longer hours before. However, they’d set out later than they wanted, and as such reached their destination much later than they wanted. It was almost one in the morning when they finally pulled up to a motel just outside their chosen city’s limits.

“You got any rooms?” Thorne asked the night manager through a yawn.

“Yeah, just one though.”

“Whatever, we’ll take it.”

The rest of the transaction was quick and wordless. Cress was slumped against Thorne’s side, nearly asleep on her feet. He grabbed the room key and they trudged to the room, both half-asleep.

He unlocked the door. They stepped inside, just like they had dozens of motel rooms.

This one, however, was markedly different.

Instead of their regular two beds, this one only had one.

Taking in the scene, Cress woke up a bit, stiffening slightly.

“Shit,” Thorne mumbled, “This isn’t right.”

“It’s the last room available,” Cress reminded him.

“Right. Okay, I’ll take the floor. Just toss me one of those pillows and I’ll be good.”

Cress snorted. “I’m not doing that. You just drove all day. I’ll take the floor.”

“What? No way. Take the bed, Cress.”

“No, you.”

With a loud groan, Cress finally said, “Fine! We both take the bed! It’s not that big of a deal.”

Thorne’s eyes went a bit wider. Cress could feel her face start to warm. She looked away.

“I- no, that’s-”

“Goddamn it, shut up and sleep in the bed. We’re big kids, you take one half and I’ll take the other.”

And that was that. Neither bothered to change, as tired as they were, instead just slipping their shoes off and climbing into bed.

The first thing Cress noticed about sharing a bed was that it was warm. Really warm. This was fantastic, as she was always cold when she slept.

“Cress, what are you-”

“Shut up,” She sighed, as she curled herself closer to Thorne’s body, “You’re warm.”

“Oh.”

Not only was her whole body warm, but her face was burning. This was a bad idea. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to pull away. Thorne was stiff in her arms, and she squirmed closer.

“Relax. I can’t sleep if you’re stiff as a board.”

“Sorry,” He whispered. He became a little less tense, which Cress decided was good enough.

In minutes, they were fast asleep.

~~~~

Cress woke up cold. Which totally sucked, because she’d gone to bed nice and warm. When she cracked open her eyes, she noticed that the bed was markedly empty.

Sitting up, she looked around for Thorne, but caught no sight of him. She sat up further, looking over the edge of the bed.

Oh.

He was sleeping on the floor, snoring very quietly. He took the scratchy blanket the motel provided, along with one of the towels and a pillow, and had made himself a place on the floor.

Cress’s face positively burned. Burying her face in her pillow, she let out a silent scream of embarrassment and frustration.

She’d thought into it too much. Of course he didn’t like her like that, why would he? She was just some random girl he’d picked up off the road, the brains of his criminal operation. He wasn’t secretly in love with her. He never was.

It was early. And she was still tired. But just to make sure she didn’t wake him up, Cress slipped into the bathroom to have the cry she so desperately needed, before tiptoeing back to bed and falling asleep once more.

She woke up many hours later, to the sun shining bright into her face. Thorne was awake, she determined by the shadow moving about the room.

“Hey there, Goldilocks,” Thorne chuckled, “Was that bed just right for you?”

“Yeah, it was fine,” She replied, not meeting his gaze. “What time is it?”

He snorted again. “Noon.”

“Damn.”

He tossed her a bag, which she caught quickly. “Lunch. Or, for you, breakfast.”

She couldn’t help the small laugh at that. “Thanks.”

The day passed slowly after that. Cress showered, thankful for the hot water to rinse off the grime and the feelings of the past few days. She and Thorne watched shitty reality TV that was on at three pm, laughing when he got way too into Say Yes to the Dress. Finally, they couldn’t ignore the rumbling of their stomachs anymore, and decided to go find dinner.

Of course, in order to get dinner, they needed money. Something they were in short supply of. Time to work the crowd again.

They had morals about who they pickpocketed. Or, really, Cress did. If she wasn’t around she was sure Thorne would definitely be an old lady purse-snatcher. But he always made sure to only steal from well-off people ever since Cress joined him.

Her gaze followed a man dresses in nice clothes from where they sat on a bench, Thorne’s arm slung over her shoulder in an effort to look casual. She nudged him, pointing at the target with her eyes.

“Nah, that Rolex is fake. He’s only pretending to be rich. But that guy over there-” He pointed out someone else, and Cress started up the act.

“Sir!” She chirped brightly, stepping directly in his path. The man started, taking in the tiny girl before him.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m trying to find my cousin, have you seen him?”

The man glanced around. “What does he look like?”

Cress stood on her tiptoes, gesturing as she spoke, “About this high, same hair and eyes as me. I just saw him, I don’t know how I got lost!”

From behind the man, Thorne gave her a conspiratorial wink as he plucked the wallet from his back pocket. The look was clear. Keep working him.

“I saw him over there last, do you see him? It’s hard to see with this crowd.” She pointed away, keeping his attention elsewhere as Thorne rifled through the wallet, stuffing bills and coins in his own pockets.

“No, I’m really sorry. Maybe try calling him.” The man gave her a smile, and began to walk away. As he retreated, Cress spotted the bulge in his back pocket, where the empty wallet had been replaced.

“Thanks for your help, mister!”

She turned to Thorne as they made their way to a more secluded corner of the street, “How’d we do?”

“Great, actually! That guy had a lot of cash on him. Let’s go eat.”

As they walked, Cress was suddenly aware of Thorne grabbing her hand, holding her close. She glanced up at him, heart pounding.

He just smiled. “Wouldn’t want to lose you for real.”

~~~~

“Drive!” Thorne shouted, slinging his whole body into the car.

“But-” Cress protested.

“DRIVE!”

“Okay, okay, geez!” Cress pressed the gas, but Thorne sat up behind her.

“Faster! Cops will be here any minute!”

Cress’s heart was in her throat as she sped up. “But I blocked the signal.”

“And you said it yourself, it only holds for as long as the satellite is in position, which it will be out of any time! We’ve gotta go! Faster!”

So Cress went faster. At Thorne’s instruction, she did her best to throw off the tail of anyone who could be following. Screaming around turns, suddenly going back the way she just came, tearing through alleyways and side streets. She ran every red light she could, narrowly avoiding accidents multiple times.

“Maybe you should drive,” She suggested after a few minutes, but Thorne shook his head with a smile.

“Nah, you’re pretty good at this. I knew you had it in you.”

Eventually, they made it out of town, a bag full of stolen cash and goods. Thorne took over driving, but only after Cress stopped the car and demanded it.

“So, you hungry?”

“Huh?”

“Are you hungry?” Thorne repeated. “You did great today. You deserve a treat.” After a glance at a sign on the road, he asked, “Does Sonic sound good?”

“I guess. I’ve never had it.”

His jaw dropped. “You’ve never had it? Jesus Christ, your life is sad.”

Cress wrapped her arms around herself, glancing down. Thorne seemed to realize his mistake. “Oh. Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s fine,” Cress lied, not meeting his eyes. “Let’s get this Sonic thing or whatever.”

“You’re gonna love it, Goldilocks. Promise.”

He was right. She did love it. And as they sat, eating greasy fast food beneath the stars, the earlier argument was forgiven and soon forgotten.

Cress promised herself that night that her life would never be sad, not ever again.

~~~~

“This is literally the worst idea, idiot,” Cress groaned, standing awkwardly outside a place she really didn’t belong: The local liquor store.

“Relax, it’s fine,” Thorne assured her, hauling along a case of White Claws. “You’re eighteen, that’s old enough to have a little drink, I think.”

“You’re not even old enough to legally buy it!” She protested.

He smirked, waving a little card with his other hand. “Fake ID, blondie.”

They made their way back to their motel, still arguing.

“We’re going to be here for a while during the planning part! We can at least have a little fun! It’s not like I’m going to a bar or anything.”

“Yeah, but if the cashier knew it was a fake ID and called the police, everything could be done for!”

His eyes narrowed. “Wait. So you’re not against the principle of underage drinking itself, but rather the fact we could get caught?”

She looked away. “I mean, it’s whatever.”

When the door was locked, Thorne opened up the case and cracked one open. “I like the lime ones the best. You’ll probably like the lemonade one better. Or maybe the raspberry. They’re sweeter.”

Glancing between the curtains and the blinds shut tight, Cress assured herself that nobody was outside, nobody was watching. With a sigh, she opened up a White Claw of her own. “You’ve thoroughly corrupted me, Carswell Thorne.”

“It’s what I do best, sweetheart.”

That was a new one.

They got a little planning done as they drank, but as the night wore on, and they both indulged themselves in another drink, then another, they started caring less and less about the upcoming heist.

Cress noticed she felt different by White Claw number two, but had another, just because she wanted to try all the flavors. Lemonade so far was the best, raspberry a close second. Mango, despite being a good flavor on its own, was actually disgusting. And Thorne had claimed all the limes for himself.

Everything around her was fuzzy. It felt like she was swimming in her own head. And everything was also really funny, too. At one point Thorne burped loudly, and while normally Cress would have groaned and scolded him, this time she began to giggle hysterically.

Thorne shot her a concerned glance. “Okay there, Goldilocks?”

Cress snickered. “You’re funny.”

“Right. And you are drunk. How many-” She noticed his eyes widen at the two empty cans, and the one in her hand. “Shit, Cress, that’s enough.”

He snatched the can from her, and she flopped onto the floor, still laughing. “Everything’s so spinny, Thorne.”

“Yeah, I’m getting you some water. Stay right there.”

“Sir yes sir,” She slurred, then giggled at her own voice.

Water began to run in the little bathroom. What had Thorne said about water again? Curious, she pulled herself up, then stumbled towards the sound.

He doing something at the sink. Cress slipped behind him, then in a sudden burst of immense confidence, wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his strong back.

“Cress?” His voice came out almost strangled. “What are you doing?”

“You’re warm,” She mumbled. “I like hugging you.”

Thorne sighed. “Not that I don’t like hugging you too, you need some water, maybe some Advil, and then you need to go to bed.”

He tried to pull away, but Cress held on tighter. “Noooo, don’t leave,” She whined.

Thorne managed to maneuver himself so instead of being wrapped around his back, she was facing him, chest to chest. “C’mon, Goldilocks, drink some water.”

She gave him her infamous puppy dog eyes, but he shoved the glass in her face. “Drink up.”

“You’re mean,” She muttered, but did as he said and drained the glass. She looked up again, her blue eyes meeting his own. “You didn’t wanna be my snuggle partner last night, and I got cold.”

Thorne looked away, and if she wasn’t so buzzed, Cress might have noticed the blush.

“Let’s get you to bed, okay? Can you dress yourself?”

She definitely had too much liquid courage. “You could help me, if you wanted.”

Thorne pulled away. “No thanks. You seem capable enough. He stepped out of the bathroom, and passed her a pair of pajamas from the outside. “Drink some more water while you’re at it.”

When she opened the door again, she instantly latched onto him again. “Cress,” He chuckled awkwardly, “I can’t move.”

“Then you can’t leave,” She murmured. For some reason she felt really sad now, almost to the point of tears. “Please don’t leave me.”

“Never, Goldilocks. Let’s get you to bed.”

He tried to move, but Cress held tighter. “You’re gonna have to drag me,” She warned.

“Not a problem.” In one motion, Thorne swept her off her feet, literally. Carrying her bridal style, her arms wrapped over his shoulders, he carried her effortlessly to the bed. The single bed, that they both shared.

She was laid down on the bed gently, but Cress refused to let go. “Don’t leave me,” She whispered, over and over again. With nowhere else to go, Thorne finally gave in and laid down with her, letting the smaller woman curl against him.

“Goodnight, Cress.”

Her eyes were heavy, but she looked at him anyway. “You always kiss my head goodnight.”

His face flushed harder. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She unlatched one hand, tapping the top of her own head. “Right here. Almost every night.”

He couldn’t resist the puppy dog eyes again, she knew. With a sigh, he leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss on top of her head. Cress gave a happy sigh, and settled down on the pillow.

Neither of them moved all night.

~~~~

Everything hurt the next morning. Her stomach, her joints, her head.

“What in the fuck happened last night?” She mumbled into the shoulder of the person next to her.

The… person in the bed with her.

Cress shot up violently, instantly regretting it as her head throbbed harder. The person the shoulder belonged to groaned, opening up their eyes. Their familiar eyes.

“I feel like shit,” She sighed, as Thorne sat up next to her.”

He chuckled. “I kinda guessed that you would. You overindulged, princess.”

Things were coming back in bits and pieces, though everything was still fuzzy. “Why’d I have so much?”

“You wanted to try all the flavors.”

Right. “Mango tastes like shit,” She lamented, “I’m never drinking again.”

“Then who’s going to help me finish off the case?” Thorne chuckled.

“I would have helped you with the limes if you didn’t hog them all for yourself.”

“Princess, if I let you have a fourth you would have woken up in the hospital.”

“No, not a fourth, I mean instead of the nasty mango-”

Suddenly, as she leaned closer, Thorne winced, and backed away. “Whoa. Hangover breath. You need a shower.”

Cress’s face flushed. “Yeah. I’ll go do that.”

As she washed off the feeling of last night’s mistakes, more memories came back. But not quite everything. She was still missing a chunk: why she and Thorne had woken up in the same bed, after he’d left her alone the night before.

She got dressed, brushed her teeth, and drank some more water, before stepping out of the bathroom with the towel still wrapped around her dripping hair. Thorne stood up to take his own shower, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“Hey, did… anything… happen, last night? I can’t remember everything, and if I said something weird-”

“Nah,” Thorne replied with a shrug, “You just got giggly, then suddenly weepy and clingy. You were really set on me not leaving you alone.”

She ducked her head, blushing. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” Thorne assured her. “I mean, you’ve never been drunk before, it’s not your fault you didn’t know how you’d respond.” With that, he stepped away, into the bathroom, which was soon filled with the sound of running water.

Cress sighed, glancing around the motel room. Last night’s activities had left it trashed. So while she waited, she cleaned up.

About twenty minutes later, they were both back in the car, on their way for some coffee. Thorne had even decided to get black coffee for once, in an effort to ward away the hangover.

“So…” He started awkwardly, and Cress’s heart stopped. What was he going to say? Had she really embarrassed herself last night?

“You wanna talk about why you were so obsessed with me not leaving? I mean, I know before all this your life was pretty shitty, so I get it if you don’t want to talk, but-”

“My dad left when I was seven.” She stated simply.

“Oh.”

They got their coffee, and headed back to the motel. Thorne met her eyes again with another awkward smile. “You also seemed pretty upset that I slept on the floor the other night.”

Heat rushed to her face. “It’s not that big of a deal, it doesn’t matter that much.”

“Drunk Cress had other things to say.”

She didn’t answer.

Back inside the room, Thorne spoke up. “You wanna know why I slept on the floor?”

She shrugged. “It’s whatever. It’s fine if it was too much or something. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

His blue eyes got big. “No, no, that’s not what happened. Look, Cress, have you ever slept with anybody before?”

“What?!” Her entire face went red, and Thorne’s did as well, when he realized his words.

“Shit, no, not like that. I mean have you ever shared a bed with somebody before?”

“Oh. No, I haven’t.”

“Listen, Cress.” Thorne leaned in close, and her heartbeat somehow sped up and stopped at the same time. “I liked sleeping in the same bed as you. But…”

Oh no.

“You kick. Like, a lot.”

What?

Cress nearly spat out her coffee. “That’s why you slept on the floor?!”

“Yes!” Thorne laughed. “It was all fine and dandy until you kicked me in the groin at three in the morning!”

Her face fell into her hands. “Oh my God.”

“And I mean, I had to save the boys-”

“Shut up! Stop talking!” Thorne gave a loud cackle, and Cress gave into her own hysterical laughter. “That’s what this was all about?”

Things fell back into place easily after that. In fact, they seemed to fall further into place. They plotted and they schemed, searching out their target and making their plan. They never went in blind, and they weren’t about to start now.

And when they slept, they slept in the same bed. Thorne tucked her into his chest, arms holding her steady, and she never felt cold or alone while she slept. To keep from kicking, Cress twined their legs together.

Neither mentioned the obvious shift in their relationship. But they both knew it was growing deeper by the day. They woke up in each others’ arms. Thorne came up behind her randomly during the day to wrap himself around her waist and rest his head on her shoulder. He kissed her head before they slept each night. Cress was never asleep.

The day came, the day they’d been planning for weeks. They were ready. Whatever happened today, they knew that no matter what, they’d always have each other at the end of the day.

~~~~

“Cress, you read me?”

Sitting in the car, ready and waiting for his voice, Cress replied, “I read you. How’d it go?”

“Without a hitch! Incoming in about three minutes.”

“I got you, captain.”

“Ooh,” Thorne chuckled over the speaker, “I like that.”

Cress rolled her eyes. “Focus on running, doofus. I’ll be there.”

“Mwah!” The line went dead, and Cress tossed the burner phone like she always did. She arrived at the rendezvous in two minutes, eight seconds, leaving the doors unlocked for their quick exit.

Thirty-four seconds later, and the familiar sight of Thorne running for his life arrived. With a wild grin, he threw himself and the bag inside, and Cress sped away. At this point, she was an expert at losing the police.

“How much?”

“Close to five thousand!” He beamed. “It’s gonna last us a long time!”

“You’re fantastic,” She grinned back.

“Nah, sweetheart, it’s all you. I’d totally be in jail by now if I hadn’t met you.”

“I mean,” Cress giggled as she sped out to the freeway, “Prison’s always still on the table.”

“Then don’t get us caught, blondie.”

“You wanna stop at a gas station and change your look?”

Thorne glanced in the mirror, seeing they weren’t being followed. “No, I think the ski mask was enough. Plus, I wore the lifts in my shoes just like you said, so they can’t see my real height.”

“Cool. So, where to now?”

Thorne leaned back in his seat. “Wherever your heart desires, milady.”

Cress smiled softly, finding his hand over the center console. “Okay. Let’s go.”

~~~~

They switched cars that night, then kept driving. The adrenaline was keeping Cress going, even as Thorne finally dozed off. She’d forgotten how good that rush felt. Thorne had fully turned her into an adrenaline junkie, the same as him.

During the planning phase, they plotted their escape route thoroughly. There were multiple directions to exit, and they scoped each one out to see what worked the best. In the process, she’d looked extensively at the road map. And for whatever reason, the tiny, blip-on-the-map town called Farafrah was calling to her.

So that was where she went. It wasn’t too far away, but far enough that they’d be safe from the police of the other city. They could lay low for a bit before continuing on. There were so many other places to go. Cress wanted to see it all.

This time, it was Cress who drove through and got dinner. Cress who rented the motel room for the night. And it was Cress who urged Thorne out of the car and inside. Where the single bed was waiting.

They had their routine down pat. They rinsed off, even though it was eleven o’clock, changed into pajamas, and settled down for the night. Cress curled into Thorne’s side, her safe place.

“Goodnight.” Tonight, his kiss was on her forehead. And tonight, it lingered. Cress was smiling as she fell asleep.

Many hours later, she was woken up by another gentle kiss to her head. “C’mon princess, you’ve had enough beauty sleep.”

She rolled over, a contented smile on her face, even if she had to squint at the light coming in through the curtains. “Morning,” she whispered, voice raspy from sleep.

“I’ve found a nice brunch spot. I think you deserve something nice after everything yesterday.”

Cress sat up, scrubbing the sleep from her eyes. “You spoil me.”

“You know it, Goldilocks. I bet this place is gonna be just right.”

That earned him a pillow to the face, Cress rolling her eyes. “You doofus.”

“OH! I’ve been mortally wounded by my dear lady!” Thorne groaned from the floor. Cress peered over at him, only to have the pillow chucked back at her head.

“You don’t know what you’ve just started,” She warned with a smile. Within seconds they were in a full on pillow fight, flinging pillows bath and forth as they screamed with laughter.

After a few minutes Thorne managed to get the upper hand, smacking her right across the face with a pillow. Cress was knocked down on the bed, and he pinned her down with a laugh. A moment later his fingers found purchase under her arms, and he tickled her until she squealed.

“Stop! Stop! I forfeit!” Cress giggled, squirming away. Thorne was panting with laughter, still sitting on top of her.

“Learned your lesson, princess?”

She smacked his face with another pillow and escaped to the bathroom with her clothes.

Finally, nearly half an hour after she woke up- a new low for the duo who could get up and out in three minutes- they made their way to a little brunch spot in the middle of the littler town.

Their waitress was a woman about their age with a prosthetic hand named Cinder. She had a lot of personality, and had enough sarcasm to rival each of Thorne’s witty remarks.

About halfway through the meal (which was delicious), a little idea began to form in Cress’s mind. When Cinder came back to refill their drinks, Cress decided to ask her a question.

“How’d you end up here?”

The waitress shrugged. “Car broke down. Stayed to get it fixed, ended up making some friends and decided to stay. I could ask the same of you two.”

Thorne and Cress glanced at each other, before Cress replied simply, “Travelling through.”

Later, when she came back to deliver the check, Cress asked another question: “If you could do anything with your life, what would it be?”

Both Thorne and the waitress gave her a quizzical look. Thankfully, neither asked for elaboration. Instead, Cinder donned a slightly puzzled look as she thought.

Finally, she responded, “I want to open up a mechanical repair shop. For all kinds of machines.” Her dark eyes lit up as she began to ramble a little bit, about all the kinds of things she could do, what she could learn. But after a minute, her voice took on a slightly somber tone. “But, that’s not gonna happen. I’m always worrying about rent nowadays, I don’t have enough to save for anything.”

“How much is your rent?” Cress continued. The waitress stiffened.

“Why do you want to know?” She asked suspiciously.

Cress squeaked, “Sorry! I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything, but…” She scrambled for a quick lie.

Thankfully, Thorne picked it up for her. “We’re thinking of moving here. We just wanted to know how much rent was.”

Cinder relaxed. “Oh. Well, it’s about $600 a month.”

Cress smiled, taking the check from their waitress. “Thanks, Cinder. It was great. We’ll fill this out in a minute.”

Clearly dismissed, the woman offered them a smile before departing. When they were alone again, Thorne turned a questioning gaze over to her. “What was that all about?”

She shrugged. “Dunno. I just… wanted to know. She seemed nice.”

“I agree. I’ll give her a good tip.”

Cress’s smile got big. “Wait, let me run back to the car real quick. I want to give her a big tip.”

She came back just two minutes later, her pockets stuffed. Thorne’s eyes got big. “How big a tip do you mean?!”

Cress methodically smoothed the $50 bills out, keeping them out of sight below the table. She tied the stack with a hairtie she kept on her wrist, and stuck it inside the little checkbook left on the table. Just to make sure they were really clear, she scribbled out on the receipt, “The money is for the meal. The rest is for you. Good luck.”

Primly, Cress stood up, brushing her leggings off. She offered her hand to the man sitting next to her, whose jaw was pretty much on the floor. Almost in a daze, he took it, and she led him out to the car.

Finally, back in the motel, Thorne rounded on her. “What the hell, Cress?! How much money did you give her? A thousand? Two?”

“Two thousand.”

“What the fuck! Why?!”

“Because,” Cress took his hand, looking deep into his blue eyes, “She needed it. More than we do, really. Thorne, whenever we run low on money we pickpocket and we steal and we rob. That girl, she’s too good for any of that. And if something like that didn’t happen, she was going to spend the rest of her life stuck in that restaurant, in this town in the middle of nowhere where she’d never grow.”

Thorne sighed heavily, rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb. “I wish you’d at least told me before you did it.”

“Why?”

That gave him pause. “I guess… we’ve been so in sync for months now. I feel like I know you, Cress, more than I’ve ever known anyone. And yet, I had no idea you were nice enough to just give away two thousand dollars to a stranger.”

She smiled up at him. “You’re that nice too, Thorne.”

“What? No, I’m not.”

Cress gave his hand a little squeeze. “If you weren’t that nice, you’d have taken the money back. You like to pretend you’re this big bad hardened criminal, but you’re still good, deep down. You show me that every day.”

At that, he pulled her in for a hug. “It’s because of you, Cress. Blondie. Goldilocks. Princess. Every day, you remind me that there’s still good in the world. Even if it’s not us doing the good. But you… you make me want to be good.”

Cress might have been crying. Thorne was definitely crying, his tears falling into her golden hair. “You saved me. Carswell Thorne, you saved my life that night. I always dreamed when I was little that someday I’d be saved. You’re my knight in shining armor.”

Thorne pulled away, still holding her, still sniffling. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Cress. I hope you know that.”

“I hope you know you’re the same to me.”

~~~~

They decided to stick around in Farafrah for a few more days. They had a bit more money to burn on fun before they got moving again and needed to get back in the swing of their criminal ways. The pair spent the day exploring the little down, taking in the sights. And at night, they cuddled in bed, watching whatever happened to be on TV until they got so tired their eyes were falling closed.

It was the morning of their second day when the objective suddenly changed.

Thorne came into the room, bringing coffee and croissants with him. As well, he’d managed to procure a local newspaper, which he handed to Cress alongside her breakfast.

The pair sat in comfortable silence for about twenty minutes, simply basking in the other’s presence as they ate. When she finished with her croissant, Cress opened up the paper.

And stopped dead in her tracks.

“Cress?” Thorne glanced over when he heard the soft gasp. “What’s wrong?”

Wordlessly, she passed him the paper, pointing out an article. It wasn’t hard to miss, in big, bold letter along the top: LOCAL ANIMAL SHELTER UNDER INVESTIGATION DUE TO CLAIMS OF ABUSE AND NEGLIGENCE.

“Shit,” Thorne muttered, “That’s awful.”

“Those poor animals,” Cress lamented with a sad sigh. “I wish we could do something about it.”

For Thorne, he thought that was the end of it. He headed out to go explore some more, but Cress opted to stay behind. He didn’t think too much of it; she was a fairly antisocial personality and had done a whole lot of talking to strangers the past few days. She probably just needed a day to herself to recharge.

What he didn’t expect, however, was to come back several hours later to find empty coffee cups and a couple RedBull cans strewn about, and Cress hunched over her laptop looking nearly frantic.

“Whoa, what’s all this?” She glanced up, and Thorne took a step back. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot.

“Thorne. I’ve got it! I know how we can do something! We can save all those animals! Come here!”

Cautiously, he took a few steps closer. Cress grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him over. She was surprising strong for someone so petite.

And what he saw pulled up on her screen…

HOW TO MAKE A HOMEMADE BOMB

“Whoa! Cress, slow down!”

“But I figured it out! Sit down, I’ll go over it with you!”

He yanked his arm away. “Cress. Look at me. Listen to me. We cannot blow people up because they might be abusing some shelter animals.”

Her blue eyes hardened. “Well, that isn’t the plan. We’re not blowing up people. Even if they deserve it.”

“When did you get so violent all of a sudden?” He took another glance around the room. “I’m never letting you have a RedBull ever again.”

“But-”

“No. No bombs. The police will take care of whatever’s going on with the shelter.”

Cress gestured around the room, almost violently. “How can we trust that?! The police haven’t caught us yet.”

Thorne sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fine. What the hell. Tell me your plan.”

She almost squealed with delight, but he cut in- “That doesn’t mean we’ll do it though. And if you go solo and get caught, I’m not bailing you out for your own mistakes. We don’t bomb. We rob.”

“Okayokayokay, listen up. Here’s how it goes…”

~~~~

It was exactly two months since they’d met, and the new duo had just completed their third heist. They’d robbed a fast food joint after it closed. Cress was really good at finessing the alarms so they didn’t sound as they emptied the registers.

Now, they were still driving. It was late, and Thorne was beginning to doze off. He needed to find a rest stop soon, or risk running them right off the road.

As for Cress, she was quickly headed in the same direction. Her head would tilt forward as she fell asleep, just for a few seconds, then rapidly jerk back, and she’d go back to fighting sleep.

“You can sleep, you know, blondie,” Thorne offered. “I’m looking for a rest stop so we can sleep for a bit.”

“But you’re driving,” She protested through a yawn, “I don’t want you to be alone.”

He cracked a smile at that. “I’m not alone. I’ve got you now.”

“No, but-” Another yawn- “You won’t have anyone to talk to. I’ve gotta keep you awake so you don’t kill us both.”

“I’m not gonna kill us both.”

Her eyes flicked up, out the windshield. “You’re drifting.”

“Shit.” She was right. He rubbed at his eyes, wishing they’d stopped at that gas station a few miles back to grab an energy drink. The rest stop was about two miles ahead, but Thorne was really beginning to struggle.

“Can’t fall asleep…” Cress mumbled, just as her head tilted forward again. Thorne snorted when, once again, she jerked up with a groan of frustration.

“Just sleep, Cress,” Thorne urged gently. “We’re almost there, I promise.”

She gave a cursory glance out the car, seeming to check and make sure he was still driving correctly. Finally, after another long minute, her head titled. She was falling asleep again.

This time, however, she dozed off with her head against his shoulder.

Maybe it was the time of night. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation. But for whatever reason, having Cress against his shoulder, safe and sleeping, felt right. More right than anything else had in his nineteen years of life.

They made it to the rest stop ten minutes later. Thorne pulled off to the side and put the car in park before turning it off. Cress snoozed on.

Finally, he could relax. Thorne leaned back with a contented sigh, smiling a bit to himself as Cress nestled further against him.

He wrapped an arm over her shoulder, keeping her close by. And, for whatever reason, that felt right too.

Maybe it was the same reason that caused him to plant a tiny, barely-there kiss to the top of her golden head.

Yeah. It was just the sleep deprivation, for sure.

~~~~

They were doing this. They were actually doing this. Thorne was going crazy. Why had he agreed to this again, exactly? He shot a glance at the blonde woman at his side.

Right. Her. Since when had his judgement been so addled around her?

Always, idiot, his brain reminded him.

Shut up, brain.

They were inside the largely-contested Farafrah Animal Shelter. The same one that was under investigation for abuse and negligence.

Holding his hand, Cress smiled brightly at the man leading them among the cages. Her other hand gripped the straps of her purse. To everyone else, the smile was genuine, but to Thorne, who knew her best, it was as fake as could possibly be.

“And these are all of our felines we have at the moment. Do any of them possibly interest you?”

Cress shot Thorne a smile, this one a bit more real. “Let’s look around, darling, shall we?”

“Of course, my dear.” He gave her his best impression of an adoring look. Little did he know it was about as real as it could get.

“I’ll give you two a moment. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

Cress squeezed his hand harder and dragged him to the farthest cage in the room. As they passed cage after cage, they saw the same things they had with the dogs: matted fur, frightened animals, some so scrawny their ribs were evident even from a distance. Neglect. It was bad. They reached the end of the room, and Cress took a glance inside the cage they stood next to.

Instantly, her face lit up as she took in the cat. It was a black and white thing, scrawny really, the nametag reading “Boots”.

“He’s so cute!”

“No.”

“But-”

“That’s not why we came,” Thorne sighed, making sure the man was really gone.

Cress sighed. “But he’s so cute. And wouldn’t it be nice to have a little companion?”

“A cat? As a roadtrip companion?”

“A cat is better to your criminal look, you know. So you can turn around in a chair dramatically while stroking his fur and say ‘I’ve been expecting you’.”

Thorne rolled his eyes. “Life’s not a TV drama, princess.”

“Life is its own drama! Make it your own!”

“How would we even take care of a cat on the road?”

Cress dragged him closer to the cage. “Just look at him. Look at his sad little face. He’d be the perfect roadtrip cat. I just know it.”

Thorne opened his mouth to protest again, but then the black and white furball gave a plaintive mewl and all the thoughts left his brain.

“Okay… he’s kind of cute… I guess.”

Cress nearly squealed with delight. “He is! Besides, think about it; we need a plan to get into the office. It’s the perfect ruse!”

Boots the cat meowed again. “You wanna go commit crimes with us, buddy?” Thorne asked.

“Meow!”

“He says yes,” Cress whispered conspiratorially in his ear. “Let’s get him.”

As they walked to the office, Thorne hung his head in defeat. “I can’t believe I just let you talk me into getting a crime cat.”

The blonde had a bounce in her step, swinging their joined hands delightedly. “You’re fully at my disposal.” Oh, she didn’t know how right she was.

It took a few minutes to reach the office from the kennels, but they both knew that. Cress had hacked the blueprints for the building several days ago, and they’d both memorized them from top to bottom. The offices were the furthest away from the kennels, likely to keep the noise down.

Finally, they reached their destination. Cress knocked politely on the door, bringing out her most innocent look. The one that always served the perfect distraction while Thorne expertly stole their wallet.

The man answered the door after one knock. “Have you made a decision?”

Cress and Thorne locked eyes, then turned back an nodded in unison. “We have.”

The paperwork was extensive, and Thorne was sure he had to sign his name at least a hundred times. He made sure to read carefully, though; Cress had warned him about possible legal traps. By law, animals shelters were required to vaccinate all their animals before adoption, and strongly push the idea of neutering. But in the paperwork, vaccines were of no mention. The entire time, the man simply sat silently with a small serpentine smile.

Finally, after the paperwork was signed and handed back, the man stood, offering Thorne a hand to shake, which he took reluctantly. “I’ll go pick up your new lovebug, okay?”

“May I come with you? Please?” Cress employed the puppy dog eyes. They were about eighty percent effective on Thorne, and that was after he spent months working to resist them. The man stood no chance.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

“I can’t wait! Darling, hold my purse; I want to hold the precious kitty.”

The man herded Cress out of the room, leaving Thorne to sit quietly by himself.

Or so he thought.

When he was sure they were gone, the young man sprung into action. Inside Cress’s purse was a small package, hardly bigger than his hand. A homemade bomb she’d spent days researching. It was activated by a remote control, so it could be jostled as much as he desired and still wouldn’t explode.

It was important it was planted in the office. They would detonate it after hours, so no people would be injured, and it was far enough away to keep the animals unharmed. Their only goal was to make the place unusable, which would then force the animals to be relocated to other shelters where they’d hopefully receive better care.

Thorne moved quickly and efficiently, like he always did with his missions. There was a reason he was such a successful robber; he didn’t get distracted, and he always got the job done. After a minute of rifling around the room, he settle on hiding the bomb in a bookshelf on the far wall. This office’s wall was also an outside wall, so it was nowhere near another living soul. Perfect.

Five minutes later, the pair returned, Cress carrying a new cat carrier. “Here he is, darling! The newest member of the family!”

The goodbyes were quick after that. They made it to the petshop part, where they bought some food and the most important part: a cat leash. They walked out with their new charge, both of them pretending to ignore the front desk lady’s comment of “such of cute couple!”.

“Phase one, complete!” Cress said with a smile, still holding his hand. In the cage, the cat, Boots, seemed to give them almost a grateful look. Almost like he was saying thanks for getting me out of there.

Thorne gave a glance behind him, to the retreating animal shelter. “Phase two in t-minus eleven hours.”

Cress leaned against him as she walked. “Aye aye, captain.”

~~~~

Phase two of their master plan commenced, as said, eleven hours later. The duo spent the next several hours getting acquainted with their new cat, whom they hadn’t even intended on buying. As it turned out, Boots was a fantastic cat. Affectionate and sweet, he warmed up to both of them instantly. And he didn’t seem to mind the car either, one of the most important factors.

Later in the evening, they packed up. Their motel room was paid for another whole day, but that was just a countermeasure. They already had a secondary vehicle in waiting, and would abandon their current one in the motel parking lot. As always, they had everything planned down to the last detail.

Now for the big finale, and the most difficult part, too. Sneak close enough to detonate the bomb, then get away fast enough to not get injured in the blast and not caught up in the investigation.

The sneaking part was easy enough. They’d done that plenty of times. Sure, Thorne had to boost her over a few fences, and they had to do some real super-spy action in a tree to get over a sleeping dog’s head, but they made it without a hitch.

The concrete walls of the animals shelter loomed before them. They tracked around it once, scanning for anyone who could get in their way, and came up empty. Time for the moment of truth.

Cress and Thorne met up at the point, the spot Cress had calculated earlier to give them the best chance of success based on the bomb’s location.

She took a deep breath. Now or never.

Silently, Thorne’s hand laced with her own. Cress held the detonator out in front of her.

And she pressed it.

~~~~

Smoke. Smoke and fire. Smoke and fire and haze and blood and pain-

“Thorne-” Cress gasped, throat rasping, “Something went wrong!”

There was no answer.

Cress suddenly became aware that she was alone. She was lying in the dirt, still gripping the detonator. And Thorne wasn’t with her.

A massive section of the wall was complete dust. Fire and smoke billowed out, clearly originating from the point where the bomb must have been. A few stray papers fluttered about, before they were quickly seized by the flames.

“Thorne?” Her voice was quiet.

“Thorne!” Louder.

“THORNE!” Cress shoved herself up, testing each limb. Everything was in working order. Despite that, she knew something was wrong, so wrong.

The explosion shouldn’t have been that big. She calculated it over and over again, even explained the math to Thorne so he could do it himself. They both got the same answer.

This was not their answer. The fire was spreading quickly. Alarms went off inside, but the spray of water was doing little to quell it.

Nearly robotically, Cress pulled her burner phone from her pocket. She and Thorne had gotten them in case of emergency. They hadn’t expected to use it.

“911 what is your emergency?”

“There was an explosion at the animal shelter. There’s a huge fire. Hurry. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Don’t let anyone get hurt. Please.”

She hung up before the operator could speak again. With all her might, she hurled the phone into the fire. By the time they found it, it would just be an unusable hunk of metal.

And then she ran.

All the scheming, all the plotting, all the plans went out the window. It was the dead of night, and Cress ran. She didn’t dare yell for Thorne; she had that much sense left. But with every step she felt it.

Something had gone horribly wrong, somehow. She must have forgotten something in her calculations. Maybe her information was wrong.

If both of them got out unscathed and unarrested, it would be a miracle, she knew it.

So lost in her own thoughts, she nearly ran face-first into someone who had stepped out onto the sidewalk. With a scream, Cress came to a screeching stop, standing and panting as she assessed the situation before her.

The woman was young, with dark hair and eyes and tan skin. And her hand… it was strange. A flash of recognition appeared in her eyes.

“Cinder…” Cress breathed. The other woman startled.

“Oh my God. It’s you.”

“I- it’s not what it looks like-” She followed Cinder’s gaze. Right to the detonator still in her hand.

“I swear, nobody was supposed to get hurt. I already called the fire department, if they get there in time they’ll save the animals-”

“Cress,” Cinder whispered, “Stop talking. Just go. If I see police I’ll cover for you. I promise.”

She stood still. Flabbergasted. “W-why would you do that?”

Cinder shrugged. “Because I know you’re a good person. Maybe you’ve got a convoluted way of showing it, but you’re good. Besides,” she cracked a tiny smile, “It’s thanks to you I might have a shot at my dreams.”

Then her voice took on a note of sudden seriousness. “Get out of here. The Farafrah police are no joke. Take the back alleys.”

Cress nodded numbly. “I will, I just have to find Thorne first.”

Cinder stepped closer, pulling her into a sudden hug. “Thank you. Both you and your dummy boyfriend.”

Cress found herself blushing, despite the situation. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

The other woman smirked. “He should be. He’s madly in love with you. He’d move the heavens and earth for you. Maybe consider telling him how you feel. Of course, after you’ve gotten out of here.”

“Right.” Cress chuckled. “Bye, Cinder. It was lovely meeting you.”

With that final goodbye, Cress began to sprint. Just as Cinder suggested, she took the back alleys. Thorne would be okay. He had to be. He’s okay. He has to be.

By the time she made it to the abandoned parking lot, the rendezvous point, police sirens had joined the firetrucks. The stolen red car… it was on! Idling in one place, waiting for her.

“Cress!” Thorne shouted, flinging the door open and throwing himself at her. He pulled her into his strong arms, pressing his face against her soot-stained hair. “God, I was so worried. I couldn’t see you in the dark so I headed back here. I was just about to go searching.”

Cress didn’t want to let go of him. Not now, not ever. But… “We’ve gotta go.”

“I know,” Thorne breathed, “But I was just so worried. It made me think… what if I lost you?”

She pulled back, just slightly, just enough to see his face in the dark. “What do you mean.”

“I mean, I started to think about you, Cress. How much I’d miss you. And how much I’d regret it if I lost you, and I hadn’t even done this…”

His voice trailed off, and Cress was about to ask what on earth he meant, when suddenly his lips were on hers.

Carswell Thorne is kissing me. Kissing. Me.

Her brain might have short-circuited, just a bit. But after a moment of frozen hesitation, she was kissing him back with just as much fervor, taking his face in her hands to pull them impossibly closer.

Thorne’s head tilted, and their lips fit together like they were always meant that way. His hands stroked at her golden hair, the hair he loved to much. What the hell; the girl he loved so much.

He might have told her as much when they finally came up for air, and she might have said it back. But all words were forgotten moments later, when they both spotted the flashing lights in their peripherals.

A police car, heading to the scene. If they were seen…

“Hey,” Cress whispered, beaming so wide her face hurt as she tugged on Thorne’s sleeve, “How about you be my getaway car for a change?”

“Yeah?”

She stood on her tiptoes, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. Risky, in their situation. “Yeah.”

Thorne brought her hand, so small and delicate, to his lips. “For you, Cress, you know I’d do anything. Crime for the sake of crime. Crime for the sake of justice. Whatever it is, wherever life takes us, just know that you’ll always have me. I promise I’ll never let you feel alone, ever again.”

He stroked a stray tear from her face. “C’mon, Goldilocks. It’s time to make our grand exit.”

She made herself comfortable in the passenger seat, glancing where she knew the gun lay, tucked inside the glovebox, just for show, never loaded. The gun that saved her life.

Thorne tore out of the parking lot, speeding down the streets of the tiny town at three am, just begging to be chased as they passed the animal shelter. The fire was nearly out, animals being evacuated by the second.

She caught his gaze with her own. Blue on blue. “Police chase, huh?”

He smiled, gripping her hand in his own. “You know I like to show off.”

Sirens blared behind them. Cress’s grin grew. “Then let’s give them a show.”

Thorne leaned down and kissed her over the center console. “I thought you’d never ask.”

~~~~

a/n: Oh my gosh. I cannot believe I just wrote that. All that. I haven't written in a month and this felt fantastic!!! I hope y'all enjoyed! Reblogs and comments are so appreciated! <3

#mal's fics #the lunar chronicles #tlc #marissa meyer #cress darnel #carswell thorne #cresswell #cress x thorne #tlc au #tlc ship weeks 2021 #tlc ship weeks

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nurse-buckley · 3 years

Text

I’m Coming - Part 1

Fandom: 9-1-1 Word Count: 2,453 Characters: Christopher Diaz, Eddie Diaz and Evan Buckley. Warnings: mentions of the flu, brief descriptions of flu like symptoms and brief mentions of medicine and hospitals. Summary: When Chris needs help, he knows he can always count on one person. Tagslist: @firemedicdiaz @fireladybuckley @pupandangelscoffee @winterreader-nowwriter @dayrin085

It was no secret that Eddie was run down. On top of the extra shifts at the firehouse, he’d been running Christopher to school and physiotherapy appointments. They had all taken their toll on the firefighter. One morning, on one of Eddie’s last days off, Chris had come down with the flu that had been going around. He’d been lucky to have a few days off with his son, but now he was due to work his next shift and he’d had to reluctantly make the decision to drop him off with Carla. Eddie didn’t want to, and when he’d left the nurses house to drop his son off, he wanted to cry just as much as Chris had. He pushed it aside however, they needed the money and there was only one 24 hour shift left before he’d have two more days off with his son.

As the shift progressed Eddie couldn’t deny the tiredness he felt. The shift dragged and each call felt a little harder than the last. By the time he was driving to Carla’s to pick Chris up, he knew he’d caught what his son had come down with. He only hoped he hadn’t passed it to anyone at the firehouse or any of the patients he’d come into contact with. With a thank you to Carla, Eddie picked up his son, carrying his tired form, still wrapped in the blanket he’d been dropped off with and got into his car.

“You feeling okay bud?” Eddie asked.

Chris nodded, a small smile on his face because he was back with his dad. The young boy looked terrible, his face pale with dark circles under his eyes. Eddie would think he was worse than when he’d left him 24 hours ago, but Carla had assured him that his temperature had come down and that the grape flavoured Tylenol he’d left with was working it’s magic.

When the pair arrived home, Eddie noticed Chris had dozed off. He moved to the back seat, careful not to wake him up. He knew he’d failed as he was met with the sleepy grin of his kid. He gathered Chris and the blanket up in his arms, before walking towards their apartment. By the time Eddie had Chris settled on the sofa, he was exhausted. He pushed the feelings aside however, to warm up the ‘flu fighter chicken noodle soup’ his abuela had dropped off for him.

10 minutes later Eddie had two bowls of soup with a side of saltine crackers, carrying them to the sofa to settle down with his son to watch cartoons. “We’re gonna eat this, give you some more medicine and then get you to bed, mijo.”

“The grape flavour?”

“Yeah bud, I got the grape flavour from Carla.”

It wasn’t long before the pair were done with their soup. Chris had begun coughing again and hadn’t had much of an appetite for the last few days anyway and Eddie had had his fill of soup and crackers as well.

Eddie decided to let Chris rest a while longer, having fallen asleep tucked in his blankets next to him. Truth be told he was too tired himself, his body aching. After another half an hour, he felt his eyes drooping and he knew he couldn’t push himself to stay awake any longer otherwise the two would be spending the night on the sofa.

He picked up his son, hushing him softly as he stirred in his arms. He carried the younger boy into his room, and placed him down gently on the bed. A soft laugh came from Eddie as Chris clung to him, not wanting to let go. He placed a kiss on the younger boy's head before pulling away, “sleep, hopefully you’ll feel a bit better in the morning.”

After his son was tucked in Eddie turned on Chris’ nightlight and closed the door slightly before heading to his own room. He’d clean the plates away in the morning. The firefighter didn’t even bother changing into his pyjamas, choosing to strip down to his boxers and t-shirt before he climbed into bed himself.

The next day Eddie awoke, his head was pounding. He’d slept in having forgotten to set his alarm. He would have slept for longer had it not been for Chris coming into his room, waking him with a gentle hand on his head.

With a sigh Eddie had dragged himself out of bed and headed to the kitchen, preparing a bowl of cereal for Chris and a cup of coffee for himself. He needed the caffeine and the way his stomach was churning, he didn’t think he could bring himself to eat anything.

The duo decided to have a lazy day, watching movies. By the time evening came, with the aid of more Tylenol and his abuela’s soup, Chris was feeling and looking better than he had in the last few days.

The same, however, could not be said for Eddie. By the time he had put Chris to bed Eddie was feeling rough, thankfully the young boy had settled after one story. He felt sweaty, his throat hurting as well as his head and the cough that had started earlier that day had only gotten worse. He made a note to himself to get some Tylenol for himself the next time he made a run to the store. He rarely had it stocked, he didn’t have time to be sick between work and looking after Christopher. Right now he regretted that decision.

Chris woke in the middle of the night, he hadn’t even remembered falling asleep. He assumed his dad must have carried him to bed and tucked him in. His throat was sore and he needed a drink, he’d usually call for his dad but with his throat so sore and his voice hoarse, he decided to climb out of bed, being sure to grab his glasses on the way. Thankful for his nightlight and the hallway light his father usually left on he made his way into his dad’s bedroom. Walking in, he noticed that his dad wasn’t in his bed, the bed unmade having not been slept in at all.

“Dad?” he called out.

With no response, Chris was about to make his way out to the hallway when he saw his dad on the other side of his bed, sprawled on the floor, unconscious.

The young boy moved to his dad's side, calling his name as he moved. He fell by his dad's slumped body, shaking him gently as repeated his calls. “Dad? Daddy, wake up!”

With no response, Chris began to worry, and then he remembered what his dad had told him. He fumbled around, feeling Eddie’s pockets until he found Eddie’s mobile. He pulled it out, having the passcode memorised, unlocked it and called the first number he could think of.

Buck was asleep when his phone started playing his familiar ringtone. At first he thought it was his alarm, fumbling around in the dark to turn off the offending noise. After a second longer, he realised he hadn’t set his alarm, it was his day off. He turned his bedside lamp on, looking at the caller ID on his phone. Eddie. Why was Eddie calling him at 2 in the morning?

“Hello?”

“Buck?” A sob came through the phone.

Any tiredness Buck was feeling was immediately replaced by worry at the sound of the panicked cry of his name on the other side of the line.

“Chris?”

“Buck!”

Buck could hear the fear in the younger boy's voice, he could hear his breathing getting quicker and the sobs beginning to emanate from him.

Buck sat upright on the side of his bed, his full attention on Christopher. “Alright, I need you to take a deep breath for me buddy, can you do that?”

After he had guided the younger boy through a few deep breaths, Buck was able to get to figuring out what was going on.

“Chris, what’s wrong? Where’s your dad, huh?”

He heard Chris sob again but with more calming reassurances from Buck, he was able to calm himself enough to continue. “It’s dad. He’s laying down and won’t wake up.”

Buck swore he felt his heart stop and his blood ran cold with fear. He bolted up right from his bed, stumbling to put on the sweatpants and hoodie that were on his floor from the previous evening. “Alright buddy, I’m gonna need you to be strong for me, okay?”

A choked “okay” came through the line.

“I’m on my way, but I need you to tell me if he’s breathing, can you do that for me?” The firefighter ran down the stairs, he grabbed his sneakers and keys before he made his way out of his apartment.

With another response Buck began to explain what he needed from the young boy. “Put me on speaker okay, then I’m gonna need you to lean in close to his mouth and listen if he’s breathing, look at his chest and tell me if it’s moving.”

Chris did as he was told, with the phone on speaker, he let Buck know he was still there. He leant in close, relieved to see his dad was still breathing. “I-I think so. I’m scared Buck.”

Buck, now in his car, his phone coming through the speaker on his phone, let out a breath he had been holding since he’d asked Chris that question.

“I know buddy, I’m coming. Can you tell me if his breathing is fast or slow?”

Chris leant in once more, unsure, “I think fast?”

“You’re doing great buddy, one more question alright? I’m nearly there,” Buck reassured. “Is your dad lying on his back or on his side?”

“He’s on his back,” Chris announced.

“I need you to be strong okay? I need you to try and roll your dad over onto his side, okay?”

Buck heard the grunt over the speaker as Chris attempted to roll his dad onto his side. He let out another breath when Chris announced his success.

Buck couldn’t help the cheer that escaped his mouth, “well done Chris, you’re doing great. I’m just pulling up now. I need you to do one more thing alright? I need you to gently lift his chin a little bit, it’ll help with his breathing.”

Chris confirmed the manoeuvre, earning himself another round of praise from his friend.

“I’m here Chris, I’ve got keys, so just stay with your dad.”

Buck almost dropped the keys as he fumbled them in his hands, he moved through each key until he found the one he needed to get into the apartment.

Chris heard the lock on the door opening. “Chris?” the younger firefighter called out. Chris could hear the lights being flicked on in the apartment as Buck made his way through the apartment.

“Buck?”

Following the sound of Chris’ voice, Buck ran into Eddie’s bedroom where he found the pair. His heart almost stopped at the sight of his best friend so pale and lifeless. Eddie didn’t look good and if he was honest, Chris didn’t look too much better himself. Chris was at his side, holding his dad’s hand in a death grip, his small hands almost being swallowed by Eddie’s larger ones.

Buck knelt by Eddie’s other side, turning him onto his back, tilting his head back and leaning in close to check his breathing. It was laboured and faster than his liking, but that was to be expected with the flu. With two fingers gently pressed into his neck, Buck felt for Eddie’s pulse. He could not only feel the frantic beating under his finger tips, but also the burning of his skin.

“Alright bud, I think your dad needs a bit more help than I can give him. We’re gonna call an ambulance alright, get him checked out at the hospital.”

Chris sniffed a tear as he tightened the grip on his dad’s hand. “Okay.”

Buck moved Eddie into the recovery position, ensuring his airway wasn’t compromised and his vitals were remaining stable. He pulled out his phone, he dialled 911 to explain the situation at hand. He thought about sending a message to the 118 group chat, but thought against it. He didn’t want to unnecessarily worry people until he had the full picture himself. Buck also needed to keep his focus and full attention on Chris, the kid needed him.

Buck crawled towards Chris, wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close to his side. The firefighter turned to face the younger boy to get a better look at him. “How’re you feeling bud? You still feeling sick?” Buck placed a hand on the young boys head, feeling the warm skin there.

Chris nodded, his lips formed into a pout as he leaned into Buck’s comforting embrace.

The ambulance arrived not long after Buck had put the call in, he left the pair only to answer the door to let the members of the 118 who were on his opposite shifts take over. He was glad to have some familiar faces helping his friend. While the paramedics worked, Buck took Chris to his room, helping him change into some comfortable clothes and shoes. Buck decided against bringing Chris’ crutches, he wrapped him in the soft blanket from his bed and hoisted him onto his hip before meeting the paramedics at the front door.

Eddie was now secured to a stretcher, his shirt had been cut open and wires had been attached everywhere. He had an oxygen mask securely attached to his face. He kept Chris’ head tucked into his neck, not wanting the young boy to see his dad in that condition.

“We’ll follow you in the car,” Buck announced to the paramedics who began to carry Eddie’s stretcher out of the apartment.

“No!” Chris squirmed in his arms, but Buck held him tight.

He moved Chris in his arms so he could look the boy in the eyes. “Chris, we need to give the paramedics room to work, alright? Your daddy’s in good hands okay, our friends will look after him until we get to the hospital.”

The younger boy eventually relaxed into his friend's arms. He rested his head against Buck’s shoulder, exhausted from the events of the night and the flu still draining the energy from him. The pair made their way down the stairs, following behind the paramedics. Buck let Chris watch them load Eddie into the back of the ambulance, allowing the younger boy to know his dad was in safe hands. Once the ambulance drove off, Buck strapped Chris into his car before following behind the vehicle.

#9-1-1 #911 #9-1-1 fanfiction #911 fanfiction #9-1-1 fanfic #911 fanfic #christopher diaz #eddie diaz #evan buckley #buck #buddie #mine

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cheri-translates · 4 years

Text

Headcanon - when he becomes tiny

This work, 当他变小了, was originally written by 君兮耶君兮 on Weibo, and she has given me permission to translate it 🌸

[ VICTOR ]

“It’s time to get up.”

In response to the voice, you open your eyes blearily to the familiar morning sunlight, the familiar temperature of the room, the familiar decor of the bedroom, and the familiar...

“Who the hell are you? Victor’s illegitimate son?”

You’re alarmed at the sight of a child at Victor’s designated spot next to you.

The innocent-looking, tiny version of Victor wears a blank expression on his face.

Your brain gradually starts functioning again. “You’re... Victor?”

“Idiot.”

It’s him, it’s definitely him! Apart from him, who else would call you an idiot? Evol fluctuations probably caused his body to shrink.

Curious, you give him a pat on the head, then pinch his chubby cheeks, finding this experience incredibly novel. “Victor, you actually look... strangely cute like this.”

He swats your hand away, shifting his tiny body off the bed.

“Where are you going?” No longer feeling the soft touch, you feel slightly disappointed. You stare at his fuzzy hair, and your fingers itch to ruffle it.

“Making breakfast for a certain dummy.”

Without turning his head, Victor leaves the bedroom, his short legs striding forward clumsily, like a kitten learning how to walk.

Your maternal instincts are set aflame.

Something occurs to you, and you quickly hop out of bed and run into the kitchen. How’s he going to cook with his current height?

As expected, Little Victor, with his short limbs, is standing in front of the counter wondering how he can reach the knife and chopping board.

“Little Vic, since it’s inconvenient for you, why not go outside and play. Let this big sister take care of the meals today~ I promise to bring you up well!” You hoist him up by the armpits and bring him out of the kitchen, using this opportunity to squish his tiny face.

Considering how long you’ve known him, you can instantly tell from his expression what he’s about to say next. Before he has time to conjure a venomous remark, you hide in the kitchen and shut the door.

The door slams in front of him, and he shakes his head laughably. “Pretty bold.”

After some twists and turns, you finally churn out an edible “breakfast”. When you lay it on the table, Victor is looking through company documents while wearing glasses that are evidently too large for him.

He shifts the laptop to the side. Furrowing his brows, he uses a knife to slice open a slightly blackened poached egg. “Your skills could see an improvement.”

You roll your eyes at him. “Yes yes yes, I can’t possibly compare myself to the skills of the great chef Victor. So I’ll have to trouble Little Vic to bear with it.”

“I’ve taken leave today. After breakfast, there’s an e-meeting I have to attend. When the time comes, attend to it for me.” Finding the food a little salty, Victor holds up the coffee in his hand. Before he even takes a sip, you exchange it with a cup of milk.

“Little children can’t drink adult coffee. You can only grow tall if you drink milk~” You grin while explaining.

His sharp eyebrows furrow slightly. “I’m 28 this year.”

Sizing him up, you click your tongue and sigh. “No matter how fast you grow, this body looks like a six-year-old's.”

“...” Not knowing how to rebut, Victor’s face blackens. When his immature-looking face accompanies this serious expression, he resembles a child who’s throwing a fuss - it’s cute.

After breakfast, you enter the e-meeting. The other high-ranking members of the company notice that CEO Victor isn’t around, and is instead substituted by you. Someone curiously asks, “Did CEO Victor go somewhere?”

Donning an official business-like expression on your face, you respond. “CEO Victor is feeling unwell today. I will be representing him in the meeting, and will convey the contents of the meeting with him in its entirety.”

Following a few concerned pleasantries, the meeting delves into the main topic. You take down notes seriously, posing questions according to the slips of paper Victor hands you. The meeting goes by smoothly.

“Your performance during the meeting wasn’t bad.” Victor flips through your meeting notes, satisfied.

Even though you didn’t understand the purpose of you recording notes when he was right there listening alongside you, you’re thoroughly welcoming of his compliment. Puffing up your chest with pride, you lift your head and say, “Of course. I’m the boss of a production company. Meetings are naturally not a cinch.”

“You’re off in the clouds just after a compliment?” The disjunct between his adorable features and the expression that doesn’t suit his age causes you to burst into laughter. “Victor, stop speaking like that, it’s too unsuitable.”

Victor immediately reverts back to his blank expression, which tickles you even more.

Both of you have taken leave and are staying at home doing nothing, apart from the moments you can’t control your fingers and they knead his cheeks or tousle his hair. Each and every time, he would either swat away or evade your claws. Apart from that, everything has been very peaceful, until...

“Since you’re so small that you’d probably drown if you fall into the bathtub, should I help you bathe?” You suggest earnestly.

Knowing that he can’t convince you otherwise, Victor reluctantly agrees to your request to wash him up.

Standing stark naked in the bathtub, the clear water covers nothing.

You glance at it casually. “When Little Vic becomes smaller, everything else becomes smaller too...”

“...dummy, don’t look.”

The child’s cheeks are pinkish and tender, and it seems to redden even more after hearing your words.

“Stand here and don’t move. I’ll get the shampoo.” You pat his wet hair and turn around, heading to the shelf to retrieve the bottle of shampoo he uses frequently.

However, the bathroom floor is too slippery. Accidentally stepping on a puddle of water, your body lunges forwards.

“Be careful!”

The pain you anticipated doesn’t arrive. Instead, you’re greeted by a warm touch. You flick open an eye.

Victor frowns in pain, his hair dripping with water, sticking to his forehead. There is obvious worry in his eyes. “Are you hurt?”

Your brain is stunned by the depth in his eyes, and you can only nod in a daze.

Sensing this, Victor’s large hand, which was originally on your waist, travels up your spine slowly. His searing eyes causes your breathing to hitch and your mouth to feel dry.

Satisfied by the effect he has on you, the corners of Victor’s lips twitch slightly.

“A dummy said something she shouldn’t have. Now, are you ready to accept your punishment?”

[ GAVIN ]

“Yes, so sorry to trouble you, Captain Eli. And no, it’s not that serious, you don’t have to specially visit. Thank you for the hard work.” You sit on the sofa while making a call to Eli, asking him to help Gavin apply for leave.

Gavin sits beside you quietly, looking at his tiny hands in a trace-like state. He clenches them, but doesn’t feel the strength he’s familiar with.

“All right, let’s just treat today as a rest day. How long will this last?” Your maternal instincts are set alight when facing this tiny Gavin. Carrying him onto your lap, you can’t help but knead his cheeks.

Gavin doesn’t struggle, letting you do whatever you want. “It won’t be long, but it does feel a little strange...”

“I think it’s very cute. Like this, I really can’t bear to let you go~” You place your right hand on the top of his head, patting his soft hair. He probably said it wouldn’t last long so you wouldn’t worry.

“Ahem... it’s fine as long as you like it.” That’s right - Gavin has always been pampering you, and this remains the same even if he turns tiny.

“Gavin, shall we have KFC for lunch? It’s been such a long time since we’ve eaten it.” You rub your hands together, yearning for the KFC New Orleans chicken wings, chicken popcorn and...

Gavin smiles when he sees how eager you are. “I heard the kid’s meal comes with a Conan toy.”

You’re brought out of your thoughts, and there are almost stars in your eyes. “You really know me too well! Thank you, Little Gavin~”

Gavin subconsciously reaches out to tousle your hair, but since his short arm can’t reach the top of your head, he lowers his arm and holds your hand instead.

Leading him out of the house, you suddenly feel as though you’re holding onto your son. Your eyes crinkle as you tug on his hand. “Today, Little Gav has to follow his mother closely.”

“Cough cough cough cough...” As though you gave him a shock, Gavin chokes violently. With a slight redness in his cheeks, he says your name softly. You laugh, carrying him to the backseat of the car and fastening his seat belt before settling yourself into the driver’s seat.

“Drive more-”

“Drive more slowly - I’ve heard these three words so many times already.” You cut him off before he can finish. Somehow, causing Little Gavin to blush is even more interesting than usual.

Gavin furrows his brows and changes his words.

“Then, be careful.”

Considering how there’s a ‘child’ in the car, you drive as smoothly as possible, reaching the nearest KFC in the shopping mall only after half an hour.

“A kid’s meal, a Beijing chicken roll, and a 10-piece chicken bucket. Little Gav, do you want popcorn chicken?” You turn your head to Little Gavin, who is behind you.

He retrieves a mobile phone from the Mickey Mouse backpack you forced him to carry, and hands it to you. “If you want it, just order it.”

"I’ll have the big portion then.” You unlock the phone with your fingerprint, showing the payment code to the clerk. After scanning the code, the clerk takes out a Conan toy and gives it to Gavin.

“Little boy, this is a toy which comes with the kid’s meal.”

Gavin takes the toy from her hand and stores it into the bag.

There aren’t many people, and most of the patrons are parents with their children. Originally, the two of you planned to pretend to be a mother-son duo and leave quietly after eating. However, a girl around the same height as Little Gavin walks over.

“Little brother, would you like to play in the children’s playground?” The girl’s face is red, her cheeks plump, and the pigtails on her head sway with her movements adorably.

“No he can’t.” You refuse the little girl’s request even before Gavin speaks.

The girl turns her pleading gaze towards Gavin, who’s helping you get ketchup. He frowns. “I’m not going.”

Perhaps never experiencing such treatment before, the little girl’s eyes immediately turn misty, and it looks as though tears are about to spill from them. Feeling as though you’ve bullied her, you soften your voice and comfort her.

“Little girl, this brother isn’t feeling well today, so he can’t play with you, sorry about that.”

The child’s mother quickly comes over to apologise, takes the girl away, and compliments your “son” for being both cute and handsome.

After seeing that they’ve walked a distance away, you rub your chin thoughtfully and lower your voice, teasingly saying, “Even as a kid, Senior attracts the eyes of the opposite sex.”

Gavin takes out the Conan toy and hands it to you. “I didn’t expect my girl to feel jealous over a child.”

You dip a fry into ketchup and feed it to him. “I’m not the sour one - it’s the ketchup!”

[Note] In Chinese, jealousy is 吃醋 (”chi cu” - loosely translated to “eating vinegar”. So when MC says she’s “not the sour one”, it’s a pun!

After lunch, the both of you decide to head home to rest since the weather is too hot to remain outside.

Travelling at noon on a hot summer day causes a sheen of sweat to appear on both of your bodies.

After returning home, you head to separate bathrooms to have a shower. When Little Gavin steps out, wrapped in a bath towel that is usually only enough to cover his lower body, you can’t help but laugh.

“Gavin, are you wearing a tube top?”

He frowns, lifting the bath towel which is threatening to fall. “The only thing I have is that set of clothes which turned small along with me. I can’t wear anything else.”

You poke his tummy and hug him close to your chest. “Good boy, it’s time to go to sleep~”

The air-conditioning makes the room temperature just right, and you fall asleep to the sound of each other’s breathing.

When you awake, the little person in your arms is gone. Instead, you’re resting on a firm arm. A naked man props his head on his palm next to you, smiling and gazing at you tenderly as if he wants to engrave your appearance, the intoxicating sunset, and the beautiful scene of summer on his heart forever.

You can’t help but stare at his tender and clear face. In the cramped space, the sound of your breathing is amplified.

“Slept too much?” he breaks the silence.

Something occurs to you and you ask in surprise, “Did you know when you’d change back?”

“Mm.” Gavin lowers the arm supporting his upper body and lays down again, reaching out to hug you into his arms. His chin rests on top of your head, and the familiar touch sends tingles down your spine.

The arms around your waist tighten, and his voice is low and hoarse.

“Don’t move. I've been holding back for a long time.”

[ LUCIEN ]

You’re pretty sure you’re either still asleep, or having a hallucination. After shaking your head a few more times, the scene in front of you remains unchanged.

You hold one side of the table to prevent yourself from falling to the ground from dizziness. In front of you is Lucien, his eyes crinkled with a smile... to be more precise, he’s a smaller version of Lucien.

"Lucien, what happened to you?!” You have no idea how to react to the sight before you. “Were you attacked by Voldemort's black magic?"

Lucien waves your hands away in resignation, and says comfortingly. “It’s likely Evol fluctuations. It shouldn’t last long.”

Curious, you tug at his hair. “Is this for real? Mm, much cuter than usual.”

He takes your hand from the top of his head and holds it tightly. “Didn’t we agree to visit the bookstore to pick out books together today? Aren’t you going to prepare?”

"Are you sure you can still go to the bookstore like this?" You ask in uncertainty, looking at his small frame.

“If it’s something I agreed with you, I’ll definitely fulfil it.” He looks at you with a smile, his eyes gentle and firm, channelling ripples in your heart. Seeing you staring at him in a daze, he chuckles. "Go change your clothes, little fool.

You nod blankly, turning around to head into the room.

There are twice as many patrons in the bookstore over the weekend as compared to normal. Book lovers are either shuttling through the bookshelves or reading quietly with a cup of coffee in front of them.

In contrast to the quietness in this area, the children's book section is much livelier. The walls are decorated with childlike decorative paintings, and the bookshelves are also constructed into various shapes - small houses, elephants, tall trees...

You hold Lucien’s hand as you walk past the children's book section. Feeling mischievous, you look at Lucien, whose height reaches your waist. "Little Lucien, do you want to pick a picture book?"

Lucien lowers his head and doesn’t speak, simply quickening his pace as he holds you. After walking to the western literature section, Lucien stops. “These are the books people my age read.”

The shop helper was just about to ask if he needed directions to the children's book section pauses.

You laugh softly, taking a collection of poems from the shelf, and read it softly.

“I love you, for putting your hand into my heaped-up heart, and passing over all the foolish, weak things that you can’t help dimly seeing there, and for drawing out, into the light...”

“All the beautiful belongings that no one else had looked quite far enough to find.”

Someone continues the second half of the sentence. The moment you lift your head, Lucien’s eyes turn icy.

"It’s ‘Love’ from Roy Croft, right?” The uninvited man leans against the bookshelf in front of you and makes an inviting gesture. "Beautiful lady, may I invite you to have a cup of coffee with me?"”

Before you have time to speak, you hear a childish babble from Lucien. "Mom, dad would be anxious if we don’t get home soon.”

Lucien smiles, his eyes crinkling as he tugs at the hem of your clothes. Nothing seems out of the ordinary - that is, if you ignore how he almost broke the hardcover copy of the “Theory of Psychoanalysis” in his hand.

Knowing that it’s no good to stay any longer, you take the few books Lucien picked, and prepare to leave. “Sorry, I should be going off with my... son.”

With a look of regret, the man shifts so you can access the aisle. “Next time, then.”

Carrying Lucien, you want to sprint away from this strange man. At the same time, you find the special smile on Lucien’s face very familiar. Every time he catches you doing something ‘bad’, he wears such an expression when he’s about to punish you.

After making your purchase at the checkout counter, you decide to use this rare opportunity to take Lucien to the trampoline. You’ve always wanted to experience it, but have always been too embarrassed to go. This way, you can play on the trampoline under the guise of bringing a child along with you.

Just as you’re able to compliment yourself for your wit, Lucien suddenly grips his chest and gasps, as though he can’t bear the pain.

"Lucien? What's wrong?" You grip his small body anxiously.

Lucien raises his head with difficulty, his forehead covered with beads of sweat. “Let’s return quickly. I think I’m changing back.”

When you hear that, you dare not delay further. You step on the accelerator, and drive home before Lucien changes back.

As soon as he sits on the sofa, the little Lucien in front of you morphs back to his usual self, his eyes crinkling as he smiles.

You thought this incident would pass, but you had forgotten that Lucien, a sly fox, doesn’t forget debts owed to him...

“My wife didn’t refuse that man in the bookstore today.”

"You didn’t even give me the chance to refuse,” you gripe, wrapping your legs around his waist.

...

Your whole body is sore, and you don't want to get up at all. Fortunately, it’s the weekend and you can spend the whole day in bed.

There is still lingering warmth in the vacant space beside you. In your line of sight, you see a thick book on the bedside table, and you can barely support yourself as you pick it up.

Andersen's Fairy Tales.

"I got it from the children's section yesterday. Since I was a child for a while, I bought a book meant for a child." Lucien tousles your hair affectionately, and reaches out to place the storybook to the side.

"After all, there’s a child at home who needs to listen to stories before bed."

[ KIRO ]

“Where’s Kiro? Where’s my fat... I mean, big Kiro?” You look around exaggeratedly, gesturing with your hands around the height of 176cm, as if you were really looking for him.

“...Miss Chips, stop pretending that you don’t see me.” Kiro looks at your antics in resignation.

That’s right - the waist-high blond kid in front of you is your Mr Chips.

“I’m sorry, it's just really hard to believe that you’ve suddenly turned small.” Though you’re apologising, your hands cling to his cheeks. Sure enough, they feel like how you imagined. Soft and smooth, which make people reluctant to let go.

"Miss Chips, let go!" Kiro, who initially let you do whatever you want to him,, begins struggling when he realises you have no intention of sparing him.

You let go reluctantly, peeling your hands off his face.

"Miss Chips, I asked for time off from Savin after telling him I wasn’t feeling well. Shall we go out to play?”

As expected of Kiro. Even if his body size has turned abnormally small, he can still be optimistic about it, and still be in the mood to play.

“’Not feeling well’? It’s no good to lie to Savin, right?” You look at him, slightly troubled.

“Savin doesn’t know that I have Evol. Ah, just tell me if you’re going or not.” Kiro opens his eyes wide, as though afraid he would receive words of rejection from you.

You prop your chin and think. "The amusement park then?"

"Of course! We’ve planned to go for a long time!” Kiro jumps in place with excitement in his tiny body, looking adorable. "I haven't played the running escape game in the amusement park for a long while~”

You size him up, shaking your head regretfully. "Kiro, with your height... are you still able to run fast?"

"...” Little Kiro feels slightly offended.

Although there may be many restrictions, you still drive to the amusement park with enthusiasm.

“All the best Kiro! Just a little bit more.” You watch him stand on his tiptoes laboriously, trying to reach the height permitting him to ride the rollercoaster.

"I made it!" Pleasantly surprised, he sees that his... hair reaches the red line. The staff ruthlessly presses his hair down. "Sorry kid, your height doesn’t pass, so you can't ride this.”

“..." Little Kiro wants to shut himself down.

"It's okay Kiro, let's go play something else.” You pat him on the head comfortingly, ready to take him to other attractions. Kiro hangs his hand low, utterly aggrieved. "Miss Chips, I suddenly like amusement park rides won’t make me happy.”

You can’t bear to see your Little Sun being unhappy, so you lift him up off the ground. "If you aren’t happy, let's find a restaurant for dessert first, then play later?"

When he hears that his favourite Miss Chips is bringing him to eat his favourite desserts, the Little Sun’s eyes light up. “Okay, okay~”

Smiling, it occurs to you that this personality and body are actually not that incompatible.

You order a teddy-bear shaped European bun and two dragon fruit juices stored in magic wands, taking a brief rest.

"This seems to be the first time I’m eating with Miss Chips in public.” Kiro dangles his feet off the bench triumphantly, taking out his mobile phone. "I want to take pictures of all our ‘firsts’”.

"Kiro, if Savin sees that, he’d chop your body into pieces.” You remind him softly.

Sure enough, the fearless and brave Little Kiro stiffens, then quickly puts the phone back into the Donald Duck bag behind him, pretending he never made such a suggestion. "Forget it..."

“Excuse me, do you have plans to let your brother become a child star?” Your conversation is interrupted by a man in sunglasses. He stands stands beside your table and looks at you expectantly.

Before you can speak, Kiro answers. "I don’t want to. I hate all that stuff about having to maintain my figure.”

In response to his vehement refusal, the man in sunglasses continues. "No, no, being a child star is very relaxing, and you can even become very famous. Kid, do you want to give it a try?”

"No.” He says this clearly, giving you the impression that he’s been traumatised by Savin’s ‘torture’ over the years.

Not wanting to further entangle yourself with this man, you step in. “Sorry, we don’t have such a plan. We’re heading to another attraction, so please let us pass.”

While you say this, you pick up the magic wand drinks on the table and lead Kiro out of the dessert shop.

“I didn’t think you’d still attract people’s attention even as a child.” You look at him with mirth.

Kiro scratches his head in irritation. "Absolute Charm is so annoying during these situations!"

You burst out laughing, helping him tidy his messy hair. Holding his hand, you complete all the other rides in the park.

"Kiro, this is the last thing you can play.” You gulp, gazing at the dark, silent building in front of you. Unlike haunted houses in other places where there are monsters with scary teeth and claws decorating the walls outside this haunted house takes place in a small forest, keeping it out of the noise. The door opens quietly, as though making a silent invitation.

Kiro squeezes your hand. "Let's go, Miss Chips. A superhero cannot back down!”

Upon entering the house, you discover that there is a line of people, and there are many, like you, have brought children with them to experience the attraction. The staff checks and accepts the express tickets in your hand, and allows around ten of you walk in together.

The lifelike props and the crying of children fill your ears, and the shrill screams of women make the atmosphere even more terrifying. Trembling slightly, you grab Kiro’s hand, and he grips you. "Don't be afraid, I’ll protect you!”

Although he’s obviously afraid himself, he comforts and protects you from start to finish.

He’s definitely your superhero.

After finally getting out of the haunted house, all the children who went in with you, apart from Kiro, are bawling. Little Kiro, with his face pale, is still holding onto your hand.

"Congratulations to the bravest child. As a reward, here are coupons to the night floating parade!" The staff smiles and hands him two paper coupons.

He receives them in a daze, and doesn’t respond until he walks out of the building and asks, “Miss Chips, does this count as cheating?”

You wink slyly. “If it’s such an adorable kid, cheating is forgivable~”

Kiro agrees with a nod. “Yes, cuteness is a ticket to doing whatever one wants~" He looks at the cartoon electronic watch on his wrist, and suddenly pulls you into a run. "Hurry up Miss Chips, we won't make it to the floating parade in time!”

[ SHAW ]

You’ve always been calling Shaw “little brat”, but you didn’t expect your words to turn into reality.

“I’m Shaw, the only graduate student from the Department of Archaeology at Loveland University. When I was playing games instead of sleeping last night, I didn't know that my hair had started falling out. At the time, I picked up the fallen hair but ignored the other harms of staying up late. After that, I was forced to go to bed. When I woke up, my body had shrunk! Although my body has become smaller, I’m as mischievous as always...”

You stand on the bed, raising your right hand exaggeratedly and forming the classic pose of the famous detective Conan.

"...” Shaw, who’s smaller than usual, stands at the side of the bed, looking as though he’s watching a fool.

"You should visit a brain doctor.” He picks up the pillow that fell to the floor accidentally because of your big movements.

You laugh and get off the bed. "This is the first time I’m seeing a Little Shaw - when you look this small, you’re much cuter than usual.” You grab his cheeks with both hands and knead them to your heart’s delight.

"Don't do that!" He waves your hand away, stepping backwards and walking out the door. Seeming to remember something, he turns around. "I took leave today. You better be at home today too so you can take care of me. It’d save me from inconveniences.”

You purse your lips, mumbling softly, "What do you mean ‘took leave’? All you did was tell the teacher you wouldn’t be in class. You definitely didn't go through the formal leave procedures.”

Although you’re complaining, you still call Anna to ask for a day off.

By the time you’ve changed your clothes and freshened up, you find Shaw having breakfast in the living room and watching television.

You walk over, picking up a dumpling and stuffing it into your mouth. "You’re unexpectedly thoughtful, knowing how to order takeaway for us.”

Shaw scoots over, making space for you. He lifts his head and says disdainfully, "If I didn't order takeaway, I’d become the first kid in Loveland City to starve to death because he didn't eat breakfast." He quickly grabs the last fried dough stick on the table. "Hey, don't touch my fried dough stick!"

Knowing there’s no chance of grabbing it, you retract your hand and pick up a tea egg instead. “Stingy.”

"I'm a growing boy. Don’t you feel ashamed snatching precious nutrition from me?" He takes a bite of the fritter in his hand and looks at you in disdain.

"You’re twenty, Uncle Shaw." You retort.

"I look six, okay!”

You click your tongue, pick up the remote control, and switch to a channel playing "Peppa Pig" before placing it back on the table.

"Children should look like children, and watch cartoons that are good for the brain." You turn his head so he faces the television screen.

On it, a pink piglet hops around in the mud pit, splashing muddy water on her brother George.

Shaw looks at you, his face dark. “Do you think I’m you? Isn't this something which suits your intellect?"

You don the standard smile of a flight attendant, answering him in the sweetest voice you can muster. "Didn't you say you’re six years old? Little brat?"

Shaw looks at you sympathetically. "Unexpectedly, Auntie MC is old enough to have a bad memory, and forgot that my body possesses a twenty-year-old soul."

Is it illegal to whack a child? If it weren’t against the law, I’d whack him to death!

Stuffed with food and drink, you’re half-lying on the sofa, leaving only a small space for Shaw. You poke his back. “Little Shaw, clean the table.”

He turns around blankly. "I’m a kid. You do the cleaning."

Fine, even though he’s a child now, he knows how to switch between being an adult and a child when it suits his interests. You decide to teach him a lesson.

You smile and suggest, "I'll take you out to play later.”

Listening to his, Shaw lifts his eyes lazily. “Oh? Is your conscience pricking at you?”

“Children have to write reflections after going out to play. No less than 800 words.” You hold your palm out to him. "Also, you have to give me your money, and let the adult decide your share of the pocket money.

“I knew you weren’t so kind.” Shaw turns away from you. "I want fried chicken cola for lunch. Remember to order properly.”

You roll your eyes, whipping out your phone to order takeaway. You swear that you’re buying it for yourself, not following what he says just because he looks cute.

There’s plenty of fried chicken to go around in the afternoon, so there’s no repeat of the food-snatching that happened in the morning.

After you’re full from cola and fried chicken, you clear the table and urge him to take a nap. "Children need their afternoon naps, or they won’t grow tall."

Shaw refuses. "I'm 1.82 meters tall!”

You stare at Shaw, who isn’t even as tall as the television. Even if you don’t speak, what you want to express is self-evident.

He comprehends the meaning in your stare and scratches his head in irritation. You seize this opportunity, whisking him up into your arms and walking towards the bedroom.

"I don't want to sleep!" He struggles violently, causing you to lose balance and fall forwards.

"Ah!”

“Damn!”

...

You find yourself straddling the enlarged version of Shaw, staring at him with wide eyes.

With a mischievous smile, he strokes your waist. “Since you can’t wait, I have no choice but to comply with your wishes.”

More translated and original works: here

[ Permission to translate ]

君兮耶君兮: You can - just note the source of the author

#mlqc #mlqc victor #mlqc gavin #mlqc lucien #mlqc kiro #mlqc shaw #cheri shortcake

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bnhabadass · 4 years

Text

Pairing: Tsukishima x Reader Genre: Fluff Word Count:1100 Synopsis: Studying was never your strong suit. So instead of hitting the books, you urge your boyfriend to take you out for a midnight drive.

The text in front of you was unbearable. Of all the books you had to read for class, this was by far the worst. You felt yourself dozing off and time and time again would rest your head on the dining room table you were sitting at.

“Stop that,” Tsukishima said, not looking up at you from his own homework. He had meant to invite you over for a study date in hopes that you would get your homework done and, you know, pass high school. But if you were just going to fall asleep then there wasn’t any point in having you over.

“I can’t, Tsukki,” you whined. “You have no idea how boring this textbook is. It’s like the words are trying to torture me.”

He scoffed and grabbed the book from in front of you. “You’re just as bad as the freak duo,” he mumbled.

“Oi,” you scoffed. “I’m just tired and bored.” You watched as he grabbed a yellow highlighter and began marking up the text for you. “How long have we been studying?”

He shrugged. “A couple hours maybe.”

“See, that’s the thing.” You shot up from the table and walked around so you were behind him. “I can’t study for this long. I need a break, Tsukkiiiiiiiii.”

He didn’t move as you draped your arms over his shoulders. He just continued highlighting passages and writing out definitions he was sure you wouldn’t know. “You know, you can give yourself a break. You don’t need my permission. Go take a walk or get a snack or something.”

You huffed. “Yeah but it’s not as fun alone.”

He stuck his pen between the pages of your book and closed it. “Then what do you propose we do?”

You looked down at him with pleading eyes. “Wanna go for a drive?”

“It’s eleven at night,” he deadpanned.

“So?” You grabbed your keys from the table and slid the key ring down your pointer finger. “I’ll buy you something to eat.”

Sighing, he stood up, his figure towering over you. “I don’t trust you to drive at night.” He delicately slid the key ring off your finger and twirled it on his own. “But this food you buy me better be worth it.”

Excited, you threw on your jacket and raced out the front door, tugging on the handle to the passenger side much like an impatient child. “Tsukki!! Hurry up!”

Tsukishima, being the asshole that he is, was taking his sweet time slipping on his shoes and zipping up his jacket. You swear you saw him pause while walking towards your car, untie his shoe and retie it. “I don’t want to trip,” he chidded.

You rolled your eyes but when the sound of the car being unlocked went off, you jumped up out of fear.

“Don’t fall.”

You stuck your tongue out at him before going into your car and settling into the passenger seat.

Tsukki adjusted the driver’s seat for his long legs and put the key in the ignition. “So where do you want to go?”

“Hmm,” you thought for a moment. “Well if I’m buying you food why don’t you decide.”

He nodded and pulled out of his driveway. Tsukishima is a good driver. He’s steady on the road, doesn’t swerve or really yell at passing cars. No, he doesn’t have any road rage. “What music do you want to play?”

“Doesn’t the driver usually pick the music,” you asked, taking the aux cord.

“Well I can’t really choose when I’m driving. Besides, it’s your car.”

“Good point,” you said, plugging your phone in and putting your favorite Spotify playlist on shuffle. “So where are we going?”

His blank face turned upwards into a smirk. “It’s a surprise.”

You gasped in a mocking tone. “What’s this? The great Tsukishima Kei who hates fun is giving his significant other a what? A surprise?”

“Shut the fuck up,” he laughed, turning on his signal and switching lanes.

And you couldn’t help but laugh along with him. You missed nights like this, nights where it was just the two of you and you didn’t have exams to worry about. Nights where you would walk home with him after his practice and he would eventually have to give you a piggyback ride because you hate walking so much.

It wasn’t long before he pulled into a large, half empty parking lot. “We’re here.”

You looked out the window. “At the supermarket?”

“Don’t forget your wallet,” he remarked and you let out a huff.

The supermarket wasn’t too busy, as it was nearly midnight. A few people lurked around trying to buy late night snacks and other goodies. Tsukki kept his hand on your lower back as he walked you through the isles. He paused in front of one of the giant freezers.

“Seriously?” you asked. “Dino nuggies?”

“You said you’d buy me food.” A devilish smirk graced his face. “Now come on, let’s check out and go back to my place. We still have some studying to do.”

You grumbled and he bopped you on the head with the frozen cardboard packaging. Taking the package to self check out, you scanned it and paid.

Tsukki drove you guys back to his house. The cardboard was beginning to thaw in your lap.

“Did we seriously go to the grocery store just to buy dino shaped chicken nuggets?” you asked.

“That and one other thing.”

“Huh?” What other thing could there be? You had only bought the nuggets, nothing else.

“You know, that’s the first place we met.”

“No?” There was a question to your voice. “We met in class.”

“Officially, yeah.” He never took his eyes off the road. “But a few weeks before class started I saw you drop a carton of eggs at the store and slip in them.”

“You’re kidding, right?” You could feel yourself blushing. What's worse is that you remember the exact instance where you dropped the eggs and slipped in them trying to find someone to clean them up.

“Nope. I saw you and thought you were an absolute idiot.”

You giggled a bit. “You still think I’m an idiot.”

“I do.” He pulled off to the side of the road and put your hazards on. Turning towards you, he cupped your chip between his fingers. “But you’re my idiot.” He leaned in to press a kiss to your delicate lips.

You stayed there for a minute, just kissing at the side of the road, hearing the cars brush by.

“Now come on,” he said, breaking away. “Let’s get back to work.”

#tsukishima kei #tsukki #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima x y/n #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu tsukishima #fluffvember #fluffvember 2020 #haikyuu fluffvember #bnhabadass does fluffvember

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bandaigaeru · 3 years

Text

summer love - lee minho

→genre: vacation au, strangers to lovers, a teeny bit of angst →synopsis: lee minho had randomly appeared on your vacation to a lake/campground. he was everywhere, until he wasn't. →word count: 11.1k →pairing: minho x fem. reader (featuring yeji and yuna (itzy) & BooSeokSoon + mingyu (seventeen))

Sunlight breaks past the slightly tinted window, crossing your eyes in a swift blinding act. You blink away, turning back into the busy car. The boy driving waves a dismissive hand back at the whining boy behind him.

"We're not stopping for coffee," the driver asserts, eyes drifting up to the rearview mirror as he shifts into the exit lane.

"Why not?" the boy behind him counters. "We're gonna pass it anyway."

"We're going camping," the girl beside you leans forward to smack her palm against the boy's shoulder.

"It's not really camping if we're gonna be in a house," he pouts, turning back to her. He even shoots a pleading gaze in your direction, as if you would have any power over this conversation with people you've briefly met.

You glance back to the blurred trees. They pass in what feels like hundreds every time you blink. Why does this have to be the last summer of freedom? Why can't time just slow down and allow you a final year of peace? An almost taunting desire to live adventurously strikes your mind. Yet even so, you're not sure you should have accepted this "camping" offer.

Yeji was certain this summer would be legendary, gripping at your shirt sleeve as she pleaded, "But please, come with. I don't think I can live with Soonyoung and Seungkwan for two weeks."

So you succumbed. Only with the faint certainty that something must come from this. Even if it was only a mundane, fleshy scar from a messy jump into the lake. You could picture a rock piercing your skin before you flinched up to water, threads of blood coursing behind you.

God, you need to live a little.

"Y/N," Yeji whines, dragging your mind back into the car.

You hum, looking over to her. Her sunglasses sat delicately on the tip of her nose, tempting to fall at the slightest twitch downward.

"Tell Seungkwan to stop his coffee cries."

"I just met the guy," you whisper, shooting a cautious glance at the pouting boy. His knees are drawn to his chest as he tempts his focus with a YouTube video.

"But you're intimidating," her lips are pursed when you return to her.

You fight a laugh. "That's a funny one."

Yuna, somehow tricked to sit in the trunk of the minivan, leans over the seat. "You are kinda scary."

They lead a powerpoint that must have been established prior to this conversation, for the specifications seem a little too clear. By the end of it, you simply shake your head. Intimidating is a strong word. You are simply quiet, you tell yourself.

The campsite is a desolate piece on the outskirts of a fancy city known for its grand skyscrapers and business opportunities. Columnar trees line a restricted area, where animals freely prance, protected by the idea of hunting. There are trails, the ranger told them when they checked in, that led to varying sights. A broad lake glitters beneath the humid sun. On top of that, clouds string themselves in sparse bursts.

At the cabin, Soonyoung and Seokmin bustle for the room with the best view.

"Hey," Yuna scolds, lugging her overfilled duffel bag on her shoulder, "Shouldn't you let the women choose first?"

For a quick moment, their eyes scan each other's faces before unisonly shaking their heads. "No."

You slip passed their noses into a barren room. White curtains inwardly swing from the impatient breeze. A deep breath parts from your lips as your eyes fall to the dark hardwood. Two weeks, you tell yourself. That's not too bad.

Deep laughter seeps from outside, sending an awakening jolt down to your feet. You lean towards the window, spotting a few boys on the lake's shore. One is chasing another with the claws of an angry crab.

"Get away from me!"

"This is karma," the other calls, kicking up lofts of sand in his wake.

In awe, you stare as the slightly shorter man catches up with the taller. Maybe two weeks will be more difficult than you thought.

ii.

A routine falls into place within the first few days. You awake before the crowd and sit on the dock for an hour. Maybe a little more, depending on the breeze. Then, you return to the cabin and sit on the porch swing, gently swinging your feet. Mingyu slips out into the humid air shortly after, his sweatpants bunched up by his ankles from sleeping.

"Do you wanna go swimming with us?" he will ask.

Your heart momentarily flutters before it dims to a burdening mass. "Maybe tomorrow."

He asks if you are sure, though he knows you will give the same nod, lips pressed into a polite smile.

You take to spending days alone, watching the clouds travel hastily across the blue sky and discreetly viewing the boys next door wreak havoc. It's calming, you remind yourself when you get the urge to accept Mingyu's offer, to be alone.

Each of your temporary roommates slips from the cabin in duos or trios. Soonyoung likes to rest an arm around whoever he's with, you notice, as though he's scared of losing them to an imaginary void. He always shoots you a smile before disappearing to wherever that day's activities bring.

On the fifth day, Yuna and Seokmin disappear on a hike with a whining Seungkwan on their tail. "It's so hot out here," he mutters as he passes you on the swing. Soonyoung and Mingyu rush to the water, shouting something about beating the mischievous boys in the cabin beside yours. Hair tied into a ponytail, Yeji steps onto the porch. She cups a 24-hour cooling bottle, taking sparing sips.

"Let's go to the lake," she sighs, sitting next to you. The teal outdoor pillows stutter beneath her weight before conforming to her shape.

You glance at her, though she doesn't turn to you. She speaks as though it's an order, not an offer.

Disturbed by your silence, she pushes, "C'mon, we've barely hung out at all. You're all solitude. We don't have to swim or anything. We can just sit on the sand."

A bitter sigh escapes your lips before you dredge into the cabin. Yeji resembles a home in this pool of unfamiliar faces, and you feel as though you can't deny her this. You pull on a bathing suit, despite her settled tune saying you didn't have to swim, and tug a pair of shorts on.

By the time you return to her, a green beach towel slung over your arm, she sits with her sunglasses veiling her eyes. Her head is upturned, looking at the birch porch ceiling. You hesitate, concerned that she might have fallen asleep, when her head twitches toward you. "Ready?" she asks, gathering her cup.

You slug towards the lake, basking in the sun's warm rays. It's not as humid as you thought it might be. A small, shaky breeze brushes against your bare shoulders.

"How's rooming with Soonyoung?" you finally say.

She sighs. "Terrible. He snores like crazy. I'm starting to regret giving you the single."

You chuckle, "It could be worse."

"How?"

"You could share a room with Soonyoung and Seungkwan."

"Oh, God," she shivers, despite the heat beaming down.

Sand invades beneath the comfort of your toes. Scalding heat shoots up your ankle as you hesitantly step. Purchasing cheap flip-flops was probably a mistake.

"Dude, I will drown you right now," Mingyu shouts.

Yeji leads you closer to them, stopping when only a couple feet barricade you from the water. She lays out her towel before tugging on her shorts' button. You follow her lead. Thoughtless, you step towards the dock, abandoning your belongings on your towel. The dock is about ten feet long, though its width bares close to six feet.

The water sways with each swing of Soonyoung's arm. You take a seat at the edge, dangling your feet until they graze the water. It's cool in contrast to the blistering grains. Mingyu pushes Soonyoung's head underwater with a broad grin. Water bubbles to the surface from Soonyoung's parted lips.

Shouts garnish the calm breeze. You glance over your shoulder. Yeji is laying flush against her towel, her eyes closed as she calmly begs for a tan. Behind her, a few running boys approach, some shedding their tops as they run.

"Minho! Give me my phone back!" a boy whines. You note that he's the same one who was being chased by a threatening crab. And the one he calls to, he glares over his shoulder with a shake of the head, is the chaser.

Minho turns back to his objective of the water before abruptly turning right, dragging the follower down the shore. His menacing laughs glide through the air, sending a sharp chill down your spine.

Begrudgingly, the chaser catches him, prying his phone away. In the distance, he looks like he presses a palm against Minho's shoulder, pushing him back. Their voices do not travel, but Minho's smile caught in the glinting sun does. You turn back to the water, whose dark surface returns the view of your eyes.

"Minho!" a voice calls behind you. You fight the temptation to turn.

"What?" the boy, presumably Minho, calls back.

You drown out the voices by slipping off the dock, plunging beneath the surface of the water. When you resurface, you brush back hairs glued against your forehead. Soonyoung points to you, begging you for a game of Chicken.

"There's only three of us," you point out, a tempting smile teasing your lips.

Mingyu glances to land, disregarding the background hassle of boys playing foot volleyball. "Yeji!" he calls.

Disinterested, her head bobs up. She pushes down her sunglasses, revealing a peek at her irises.

"Play Chicken with us!"

You can hear her sigh of defeat, pushing herself up from her towel and dropping her sunglasses. She flinches beneath the water, hands reaching to either elbow as she rubs warmth into them.

You watch her intently, until a boy peeks into your view from over her shoulder. Minho is juggling a ball with his feet. A steely grin catches his lips as his friends cheer him on. "10, 11, 12!" they chant.

You plug your nose before dropping your head underwater. When you resurface, the ball is lying against the sand, the boy's shoulders slumped. Hidden behind the fake pout, his lips remain curled.

iii.

It's weird, the way that boy takes the throne in your thoughts. He is merely a stranger from afar, who sparingly shot a glance when Mingyu shouted to him. Something about owing him for the previous night's game. His eyes, sparkling beneath the blazing sun, had resembled the water. Glinting and dark, leaving you curious and needy for more. Your thoughts brace the view of his bare chest, beads of sweat dripping from his chin as he concentrates on juggling the ball.

You have to get out of your head, you conclude.

Before the sun rises on the seventh day, you're up and ready. A small bookbag is secured around your shoulders, the contents harboring copious amounts of water and a few granola bars. You glance around the cabin—at the small leather couch constituting the living room and the oak table whose legs have fraying wood, as though a dog had thought it was a bone—before you decide it's safe to depart.

Today's destination requires you to pass your parasite's cabin. You offer a short glance through the clear panes, refocusing on the gravel path when you catch a glimpse at a sleeping boy on the couch, face illuminated by his phone. It's not the boy who haunts you, you lamentably realize.

Splashes of rose and barely visible blue tarnish the sky in a messy gradient. You stop before the overhead greenery obstructs your view. In the edge of the sky, nearly fallen on the horizon, is the moon bidding its final goodbye. "Take care," it says with a sulking wave, "I'm just past the wall."

Under the blistering glimpses of heat through the leaves, you admit that you're grateful to the shrouds of protection. Humidity snips at your skin, mimicking the crawl of an insect. You swipe at your neck, though nothing lies beneath your palm. Just the damp residue of sweat.

If someone had queried you on the matter a few months ago, you would argue that solo hiking is too dangerous to be denoted as fun. Now, within the gaze of harmless deer and the occasional rabbit, you chuckle. They peek out at you from rotting logs, blinking to each other as if to seek confirmation.

A tree twenty-or-so feet away sticks out among its comrades like a sore thumb. Lesions trail its stump, marking the initials of lovestruck couples.

"You turn left at the tree of love, you'll know which one," Yuna had distractedly instructed the night before, a melting ice cream cone dripping down her fingers.

Your footsteps drown out songbirds and assemble their own tune. Each crunch of a stick signifying a beat to your journey.

The path eventually fizzles into a sad patch of grass with a podium pegged into it. Okinawa Path, it reads. Marked in 1985 by James Okinawa. Dedicated to his wife, Jiyeon Okinawa.

The horizon is curved like a bubble when you look out onto it. Leaves sway with the breeze in mass, assembling a synchronous dance. You can see the faint blue of the lake, its color lightened in the distance. If you squint a little, you can see the small ant-like figures running along its shore. Resting your hands on the metal casing of the plaque, you lean over. In the gaps of trees, a straight fall. You sigh, taking a step back.

Your stomach grumbles. It only takes a moment of peace for your chest to plummet. All that remains in your bag is an array of wrappers, food long consumed, and water. You glance at your watch. 12:19. If you left now at a pace twice which you came, you might reach the cabin at three. Maybe four, depending on how the animal's eyes draw you.

You nod, taking a final glance at the foliage and red hummingbirds plucking into bark, before heading back.

iv.

The hike, though momentarily ridding your thoughts of the boy whose laugh cast goosebumps down your spine, is rendered useless when you see him on your way back. Stood at the lake's mouth, he stares onto the water. His friends are vacant, you note, as your gaze shoots around to corners they might hide. You don't notice your feet have forgotten their trail until a cat sniffs your shoes.

His fur is soft when you dip your fingers to scratch behind his ears. Large green eyes stare up at you, leaning into your touch. You tilt your head, mumbling, "Where's your collar, little guy?"

He purrs as he slowly allows his eyes to close. You look around, catching eyes on the boy at the shore. A glimpse of a smile nuzzles against his lips, leaving you to wonder what possibly brews inside his head.

Behind you, the sound of gravel crunching beneath shoes. You swing around, searching for their eyes. A boy gapes at you, apparently frightened by your sudden movement. Then, his wide eyes minimize when he sees the cat.

Your fingers still linger by his ears, though they stop movement. He leans up, brushing his chin against them. Trying to revive their life.

"Soonie?" he finally says, eyebrows furrowing. A deep line of confusion betrays the skin between them.

The cat meows, trotting to the boy. He leaves you in his dust, as though you hold no purpose now that you've halted the affection.

He gently picks up the cat, cradling him in his arms like a baby.

"He's yours?" you ask.

His eyes jump to you and he hastily shakes his head. "No. He's my friend's. He threatened that he wouldn't come if we didn't let him bring at least one of his cats."

You chuckle at the absurdity. "Really?"

He nods. "I'm Chan, by the way. I think we're in the cabin next to you."

With the assertion of his name, realization drowns over you. "Oh! Right! I knew you looked familiar," you laugh. "I'm Y/N."

"Nice to meet you," he smiles, a dimple emblazoning his cheek. His gaze draws to the shore, where one of his friends stands.

The cat paws at his chin, begging for his attention. He ignores it. Instead, he shouts, "Minho!"

When the boy turns to him, eyebrows raised in curiosity and lips pursed, he continues. "Your cat got out of the cabin!"

Minho allows his head to hang, a smile forming. He jogs up to you two, graciously accepting his child from the older. "At least I know you'll know to escape if you get catnapped," he whispers. Absently, he scratches beneath the cat's chin, travelling him into a blaze of content. He offers you a look, almost confused as to why you're here.

"This is Y/N," Chan intervenes, "She helped stop your cat."

Minho nods, lips parting in an acknowledging 'o.' He smiles. "Thank you. He wanders sometimes."

You nod. "No problem. He's cute."

"Takes after his owner," Minho jokes.

Chan rolls his eyes, smacking his shoulder. He turns to you, "He's Minho, by the way."

You fight the instinctive 'I know' to float from your tongue. In its place you glance back to your cabin, faintly imagining Seungkwan lighting the living room on fire because Soonyoung meandered a little too long. You turn back to them, "It was nice meeting you two, but I have to run."

They see you off with a wave, watching as you speed-walk to your cabin. Minho's eyes burn a hole in your tank top. Though, it feels like nothing in comparison to the blaze searing your chest.

Sleep fills the corners of your eyes like grains of sand. Incessant to remain as they are, tempting you into the peaceful bounds of sleep. The pillows didn't help. Pressing flush against your back, they mirror the puffs of clouds.

The shouts at the table, however, keeps you landlocked.

"Seungkwan!" Yuna screams after the crash of water splattering against the laminate.

"What?" he calls, his voice muffled by the bathroom door.

"Can you bring me a towel when you're done in there?"

"Why?" There's a dullness to his tone, and you picture him standing in the mirror and tuning his hair to its perfect shape.

"Because I may have spilled, like, all the water left from that jug," she returns quietly.

The door swings open, bouncing against the copper doorstop with a loud trill. You flinch, eyes shooting open. His head peeks around the corner at the puddle residing. His lips part to expel a distressed sigh and a hand flies up to scratch the back of his neck. A quick moment passes where he disappears into the bathroom and returns with two towels. Wordlessly, as though they are now in agreement, he hands her one before kneeling down and sopping up the mess.

You sit up on the couch, watching.

Seungkwan's gaze swivels back to you. He offers a small, pleading small—one you've become familiar with this past week. "Hey, Y/N." Like a younger sibling about to beg a pardon from the oldest.

"What do you need?"

"Can you run up to the Camper's Corner and get us another jug?"

Mingyu, the bearer of the keys to the minivan, has long disappeared for an impromptu fishing trip. The others, though wielding slumped gazes as they passed, followed him to the boat suddenly tied to the dock.

Yuna perks up, as though your thoughts are being broadcasted, "You can take my bike!"

Orange sky solemnly greets you when you step out from the porch. Discarded against the dark logs of the cabin is Yuna's white bike. Various stickers plaster the warm metal; some worn to nothing while others closely tug at life. When you pull at the handles and drag the hidden parts of the bike from an overgrown shrub, you notice that there is a small basket. You have to fight off the laugh that threatens you when you think of that five gallon container spilling over the small wire basket.

The leaves sing in a shaking chorus with the graces of the wind. A musk of burning firewood stings your nose. You glance to the sky at your right (where the actual tent campers stay) and see a gray plume of smoke. A lingering taste of s'mores catches your tongue. The only thing to allow the displacement of the idea is the small store whose blinding fluorescents slip out into the street.

Camper's Corner is a privately owned chain who strategically places their stores in campgrounds. Though, with the large, white metal sign bearing a small green tent, it screams out of touch. But, at least they had good prices. And a very wide variety of bug repellant (homemade!).

"Is this all?" the lady at the counter, mid 20s with a few piercings lining her ears, inquires.

You nod, straightening a bill before slipping it across the counter. She dispenses the change into the palm of your hand. That's all it takes to dismiss her to the distractions of her magazine.

The weight of five gallons was underestimated in your mind. It drags your shoulder uncomfortably to one side, and you know it'll only supplement the soreness you'll gain from the hike. You bring a hand to the metal bar at the door, though it swings open before you can meet it.

Surprised brown eyes cross yours. For a moment, the weight diminishes, and you feel nothing but the swirl of butterflies voyaging your stomach.

His weight shifts backwards as he steps out of your way, pulling you back to reality. You hurriedly step out of the store, mumbling your thanks.

You start for the bike propped against the bike rack before he calls out, "Hey, wait for me."

By the time your eyes have swiveled back to him, his spot is blank. Tarnished by the slow swing of the door coming shut.

The jug approaches the ground and you stretch, rotating your arm in apologetic circles. How did you let yourself agree to this? Why couldn't Seungkwan find you intimidating enough to not even dare ask?

The boy returns, a plastic bag dangling from his wrist. Your eyes mingle for a second before you lean to reobtain the jug. His hand darts past your hesitant fingers, claiming it effortlessly. He merely says, "You look like you're struggling."

You grab at the handles of the bike. "Something like that."

With only the sounds of footsteps and swooshing leaves, you watch the front wheel turn. Around and around. No true objective.

"Thank you, again," he finally says over the tunes of cicadas.

Too wide eyes find him, and he clarifies, "For finding my cat."

"Oh!" you exclaim. "No problem, really."

You glance down to the bag, whose contents peek back in splitting blinks through the hole at the top. "What's in the bag?" you inquire.

His voice is drunken with the subtle hint of a laugh as he answers, "Soju. For Mingyu."

"Did he guilt you into buying him some?"

His head tips to one side. "Kinda. I lost a game."

You feel nosy digging, though you cannot find the will to stop. "What game?"

"Twister."

The thought of this boy, limbs contorted into painful tugs, draws a giggle to the air. "How bad did you lose?" you find yourself asking.

He exchanges the jug into the hand with the bag, quickly drawing his sleeve up to reveal a large purple mark, green flooding the outer corners. His eyes linger on it before lifting to meet yours. "My entire weight went right there."

Lips parted in a mass of shock and amusement, you stare. Words fail you, though a bubbly laugh draws to replace it. His lips curl upward, hesitant as though he's not sure he should be living this moment.

The laughs dawdle to a small lingering smile. Only a few cabins litter the edge of the visible road ahead, though the feeling of parting already greets you. Tugging at your chest like a pestering child.

"Do you-" he starts.

"Why are your-" you inadvertently interrupt.

"Sorry, you go first," you both say in unison.

His shoulder brushes against yours as a laugh greets the trees and bunnies hidden behind shrubs. "Seriously, you go first," he manages, bringing a wrist to his eye.

"Why are your friends so loud?" you inquire. Most nights, even some mornings, you can hear their loud cackles. Sometimes, you listened in on their conversations—not because you wanted to, but because it was hard not to.

"Are we loud?" his bewildered gaze falls on you. You look up to meet him halfway, nodding. He shrugs. "I didn't realize."

The shining light from the indoor side of your cabin greets you. Like a parent greeting their child after a first date with a new, alien smile.

He gently hands you the jug. A protective hand reaches for your shoulder when you allow it to drag your shoulder a little. "You got it?"

You nod with a smile.

He turns for his cabin, and you call out, "What about your question?"

The treads of his shoes stop against the gravel. He glances over his shoulder. "I'll just ask you tomorrow."

Tomorrow, you think. He expects to see you tomorrow. The thought warms your cheeks.

"Right. I'll see you tomorrow."

His shoes scrape against the gravel again, dismissing the conversation.

You start up the porch, hand closing around the doorknob when his voice pierces the night sky. "Sleep well! I'll try to get the boys to be a little quieter."

vi.

Mingyu nearly falls from shock when he steps out onto the porch the next morning. His acquainted question slips from his tongue with an uncertain drawl, as though he is unsure what language he speaks.

"Sure. I'll tag along," you smile up at him.

He slowly nods, bringing a disguised hand to the back of his neck before he pinches the skin. Nope. Not a dream.

In thirty minutes he returns with a pink-faced Soonyoung, shirts discarded and three towels. Soonyoung hands you yours as he scans your body. He hadn't believed Mingyu, that newfound glimmer shining across your skin, but seeing it firsthand leaves him speechless.

The lake water is chilled, the sun precariously hidden behind a large white cloud. Mingyu shrieks at its touch, drawing back to the sand. Soonyoung stares at him over his shoulder, muttering, "Pussy."

Your focus reigns on the cabin beside yours. Its porch is vacant. Not even a single paw crosses it.

His promise had proven effective, for after eleven o'clock the cabin seemed muted. As if a young child had stumbled across a remote, carelessly slamming the buttons without being aware of their meaning. It brought a quick, heart-fluttering smile to your face before you pressed your cheek against the pillow and fell asleep.

Mingyu, irritated with your withdrawal from their conversation about snails, waves a hand before your eyes. When all he receives is a lost, empty stare with that absent smile, he follows your gaze. All the way up the small hill and to the cabin harboring eight boys.

He gasps, dragging a palm to your shoulder and shaking you. "Y/N," he repeats.

"What?" Soonyoung asks, trying to break into Mingyu's line of sight.

You fall back into reality, looking between them. You hum, raising your eyebrows curiously.

Mingyu stares at you with parted lips, hand grown limp on your shoulder. "Why are you staring at the enemy's house?"

"Enemy?" you ask.

"Enemy?" Soonyoung repeats.

Behind Mingyu, a boy scales down the small hill. His appearance brings a spark to your chest, alighting all your muscles. Burning your entire body.

The sun peeks out from a cloud.

Mingyu catches the sparkle in your eyes. The sudden smile tracing your lips. He glances over his shoulder.

"Minho!" Soonyoung calls, suspending a high hand to wave at him.

He waves back. His white shirt sparkles in the sunlight.

When he reaches you, he hands Mingyu the small plastic bag from the previous night. "Here. Don't think I forgot."

Pink blazes the boy's cheeks as he accepts the bag. He peeks inside.

You nudge his shoulder, "Is that why he was an enemy?"

"'Cos you thought he wouldn't hold up his end of the deal? Mingyu, you're unbelievable," Soonyoung finishes, shaking his head. He turns back to the lake, burying his feet beneath the water.

Shyly, Mingyu mumbles, "I'll be back."

He climbs the hill, disappearing into your cabin.

Minho expels a laugh. "He's funny."

He's still staring at the guarding cabin door. A smile peeks on his lips, leaving you to wonder again what he thinks of in that pretty head. Suddenly, his eyes flit to you. "Do you wanna go for a walk?"

You glance down at your bikini and cheap flip-flops. "I'm not really dressed for a-"

"You can borrow some of my clothes, if you don't wanna go into your cabin," he interrupts.

You wonder what he smells like up close. In the breeze, you had caught the brief scent of sandalwood and tea tree.

Behind you, Soonyoung digs his heel into the sand. "Go with him. Don't overthink it."

And so, taking the granted permission and running with it, you follow Minho up the hill. You lean towards his cabin, quickly mentioning, "I think Yeji and Seungkwan are still sleeping. I don't wanna disturb them."

He simply nods, guiding the way. Soonie waits at the door and tries to sneak out through the gap. Minho presses the heel of his foot against the cat's chest, pushing him back in. The cabin is quiet, save for the distant running of water. He guides you down the hall to his shared room. In the top bunk, a boy lays with his body facing the wall. Covers are drawn to his chin, shielding his identity further.

Minho offers a plain white tee similar to his—though his is emblazoned with the outline of a peace sign—and black joggers. Thankfully accustomed with a drawstring. Just as you had imagined, when you tugged the shirt over your head, it smelled woodsy. It hugs your skin, like the comfort of a flickering candle in a dimly lit room.

By the time you sneak back into the main area of the cabin, a boy leans against the kitchen counter, phone in hand. He glances up, blinking harshly when he spots you in Minho's clothes. "You have a girlfriend?" he asks, tipping his head.

Minho's only response is a scoff before he slips back into the great outdoors. You hold the other boy's gaze for a moment before following Minho quietly.

He guides you in the way of the Camper's Corner, though he takes a sharp left where you would normally keep straight. It's an unmarked path. He glances over his shoulder, as though to assert you're following.

"It's not too bad of a walk," he mentions, glancing down to your flip-flops.

After only a couple more feet, the fast splashing of water summons your ears. It pulls your gaze into its sourcing direction. A narrow creek stares back, water plummeting across sharp peaks of rocks. You gasp.

Minho turns to you, smiling when he spots the glimmer in your eyes. Similar to the one that the sun casts on the water.

He kneels close to the mud, plucking a small shell. He offers it to you. The tips of your fingers graze the smooth ridges. On the underside, little legs squirm.

"It's a hermit crab," he says.

"I know," you laugh, looking up to him.

He shrugs, "I had to tell Changbin what it was."

You stare at him, the small crab suddenly forgotten. He nods, as though to say 'I know, right?'

You gently return the hermit crab to its niche. Minho suddenly grabs your hand, pulling you back to the main road. His palm feels awkward in yours beneath the sun. Yet still, you dread the moment when it will shed itself away.

"Hey," you say. He stops, looking over his shoulder with pouty lips. "What did you want to ask me?"

The hint of a grin flashes across his lips, shining like the sun, as he shakes his head. "I already got the answer."

He turns back to the road, continuing to tug at your hand. The sound of his slides scraping against the gravel reminds you of last night.

"What was the question though?"

His grip tightens and he chuckles. "You're persistent."

"I'm just curious," you defend, inching to tug a little back on his hand.

He stops abruptly. You nearly crash into his back. He turns around to you, slipping his hand away from yours and placing it on your cheek.

You wonder if he can hear your heartbeat. Or feel the warmth against your cheek.

His eyes are barren. For a moment, you're scared he might shun you away. Until his eyes crinkle and his teeth show, lips curled in a broad grin. "You should keep those clothes," he says, moving his hand slightly to catch a wandering strand of hair. He tucks it behind your ear.

"Why?" you manage to say through the pebble strangling your throat.

"You look cute in them."

Whatever breath you managed to withhold evacuates your lungs. You're not sure if it's the lack of oxygen, but you think he's leaning a little closer.

His hesitant breath tickles your lips and you meet him at the finish line. His other hand comes to cup your cheek as he kisses you. Your missing breath is found when his tongue trails across your bottom lip.

When he pulls away, he blinks as though he has returned from a blackout. Then, a chuckle slips past his lips. You stare at him, watching as the corners of his mouth upturn.

He grabs at your hand, pulling you up the road and back to the cabins. All the way, your tongue wettens your lips to revive his taste. You bite back smiles, grateful he cannot see you.

You feel like a schoolgirl again, calm and worryless.

vii.

He holds your hand as you step off the dock. The boat trembles beneath your leg and his grip tightens. "I got you," he reassures.

You sit opposite him as he tugs the oars back. The water winks up at you in fits of sparkling sunshine.

His invite had come like a surprise, preceded by the knock on the cabin. Yeji had answered, and before he even had time to ask for you, you were there. Peeking over her shoulder like an all too curious sibling. Normally, back at the apartment, life would play out like this. Someone would arrive at your doorstep, flowers in hand and ready to steal Yeji away on a date.

Oh, how the tables have turned.

So now, you sit in a boat, slightly seasick until Minho stops pushing the oars under the water. Only the quiver of the lake keeps you with a minuscule motion.

"I didn't really plan this far ahead," he says, looking back to the distant shore. On the dock, he notes, a boy stands. Then, running up from behind, he is pushed into the water. Impact splashing back at the one who remains standing.

He glances back to you, now having missed your words. "Sorry, what'd you say?"

"I said plans are overrated," you repeat.

A smile crosses his lips, somewhat feeling like a fond glimmer of nostalgia. You will chase after that smile, begging for the faint orange of this golden hour.

He leans forward abruptly, pressing his lips to yours. You smile into the kiss. The strings of his hoodie tickle your hand as you slowly bring your palm to his cheek.

The kiss brings that golden hour into clarity with pulsing fits of orange like a heartbeat.

When he pulls away, bottom lip slightly swollen, he pulls his sleeves over his hands as he glances down to the water. He will not admit what is on his mind, though the peek of his tongue slipping over his lips tells you all you need to know.

"What's your favorite color?" you inquire casually, drawing his eyes back to you.

"Mint," he quickly answers.

You learn that he cannot swim, despite his urgency to drag you out onto the lake, and that he's an only child. He just graduated college with a degree in Computer Science, though he doesn't know what he wants to do yet. Though, he makes it clear that he will never work retail. He has two other cats who were left back home because his friends had whined enough about bringing Soonie.

You find yourself smiling as he tells you stories from his former years. How he nearly flunked his Statistics exam because he accidentally went to the wrong class for half the semester (he couldn't explain how he didn't realize because your laughs suffocated his thoughts). How his friends rely on him for certain things. How he simply lives to live.

His lips find yours again after he tells you that he has a talent for catching people off guard. You flinch a little, though laugh.

As he pulls away, his smile reaches his eyes and you catch the glimmer of comfort sprouting in your chest.

His fingertips find the oars again when a cloud threatens the sun. It dims the lake, stealing the sparkle from the water.

A sigh slips past your lips as you watch the clouds turn. Vacation ends in four days, ready to drag you back to the needy college life. You wonder if Minho will keep in touch. Certainly, you remind yourself, he will. After all, you both live in the same city, so seeing each other shouldn't be a problem.

"What're you thinking about?" Minho asks as he's reaching for the rope to secure the boat to its dock.

His cologne lingers close as he leans over you. A hug-like comfort. You shake your head when he glances down at you. "Nothing."

viii.

A large pizza sits in the center of the table, steam rising from the center. Seungkwan leans over and grabs another piece.

"Gosh, we should've ordered another one," Seokmin sighs, glancing at the two empty boxes at the counter.

Yeji shakes her head, "Maybe if you guys didn't eat so much."

You smile, leaning back in your chair to watch this unfold. Seungkwan defensively waves his hand as he bites. Soonyoung chugs water to drown his words.

Mingyu, though, stares at you. His arms are crossed against his wide chest. He leans

forward, resting them on the table. The argument fizzles, leaving the elephant in the room to be addressed.

"Mingyu, why are you staring at me like that?" you laugh.

"Why are you so lighthearted? What did Minho do to you? Did he inject you with something?"

You blink, waiting for his questions to process. "I'm just in a good mood, I guess."

"Who's Minho?" Yuna returns from the bathroom, reclaiming her seat beside Yeji.

"One of the neighbor guys. He's really cool, actually," Soonyoung informs.

Mingyu shoots him a glare, though before he can speak, Seokmin has begun, "Yeah, you have been kinda weird today, Y/N."

You shrug, shyly looking down at your sweatpants that weren't technically yours. Minho had playfully pushed you into the cabin when you had offered to return them after your lake date. His smile had blazed brighter than the sun. Warmer than the sun. You smile at the close memory.

"See?" Mingyu points accusingly.

"I think you're overreacting," Soonyoung comments, grabbing the abandoned crust from Seungkwan's plate.

Yeji nods, taking a sip from her water before adding, "Just let her have her last summer love."

Mingyu huffs, leaning back into his chair. "I don't like him."

"Too bad," Seungkwan nudges him with a teasing smile.

Nighttime falls after a tense couple rounds of Mafia. Each time, Mingyu would insist voting you off, citing that you were suspicious and simply had to be the Mafia. Even when you were the nurse. Or the cop. You hadn't gotten the mafia card at all.

Your sheets are cold when you climb into them. And though Mr. Sandman has already dragged your eyes to a laze, you cannot find dreamland. Instead, you're left to listen to the night. Distant shouts from the neighboring cabin. You smile, wondering what Minho is doing.

A huff slips from your lips and an open palm rushes to your forehead. How have you allowed yourself to fall this deep? Maybe Mingyu's right. Maybe you should take a step back. Yet still, the imprint of his lips against yours haunts you with the pull at your heart.

You roll over, tugging your covers to your chin. Like the boy in Minho's room.

A hollow noise echoes throughout your ears. It travels upward, like your window being pulled. You flinch, though fight it off. It's nothing, you tell yourself. Just the wind. Or a deer. Or maybe it's a little rabbit.

But then, your heart stops beating when the rustic-style comforter pulls away from you.

Instinctively, you shoot up, swinging your arms. One connects with the heavy meat of a human. It heaves, doubling over in pain.

You tremble, heart shattering against your ribcage. Though, you gain enough strength to reach for the lamp, pulling down on the string.

A boy is balled up on the floor, clutching at his ribs. He glances up at you, squinting beneath the sudden light.

"Minho? What are you doing here?" you whisper. You realize you're in his shirt. And his sweatpants. They're comfy, okay?

He pulls himself up to sit at the foot of your bed, still holding his side. "You have got a strong arm," he gasps for air.

"What are you doing here?" you repeat. At the loud, though distant, chant of someone's name, you add, "Shouldn't you be with your friends?"

He shakes his head. The tips of his fingers pull at the hem of his shirt to reveal his chest. A slim red mark has already formed. He drops the cloth, glancing back to you, "I wanted to see you. You're more fun than they are."

You fight a smile. "You barely know me."

He shrugs. "So?"

You look down at your lap sheepishly. "I'm sorry for hitting you so hard."

"Don't be," he reaches for your hand, pressing your fingers against his momentarily and intertwining them. "I probably should've had a better gameplan."

You can't exactly disagree with that.

"Do you mind if I stay here tonight?" he asks, glancing back out into the open window.

"No, but can you not go home or something?"

He turns back to you, lips slightly pursed. "I'm getting tired of being with them. They're kinda draining."

You know the feeling, thinking of Seungkwan and Soonyoung's full-fleshed arguments that seem to have a daily timer of 7 P.M.

And so he kicks his shoes off and curls up next to you before you turn off the light. His arm curls around you as he sighs. His breath tickles your skin, flaring small goosebumps.

You rest your ear against his chest, hearing out for the small thumps of his heart. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

"You never told me the question," you say.

"It's not important anymore," he replies, pulling you a little closer.

Crickets swell in the silence that follows. His chest is warm, a comforting contrast to the earlier sheets. Yet still, you feel yourself asking, "Don't you think we're going too fast?"

And he simply responds, "You can never feel like you're moving too fast if you're constantly running out of time."

You hum. A response curls at your tongue, though your lips fail to move.

When you return to consciousness, the warm pillow you had rested upon is gone. The only evidence he was ever even there is the window, still open, and the wrinkles in the sheets.

ix.

He is not at the lake. He is not at the hidden creek. Maybe he's on a hike, you think. But as you pass his cabin and peek inside, your stomach drops.

The place is pristine, as though eight young men had never even stepped foot inside. You take a peek inside, scanning through all of the rooms. Nothing. Bare beds and bare halls.

His shirt itches against your skin. Not a single goodbye. Pricks of something volatile poke your skin as you realize you have nothing to contact him by. No phone number. No cringy Snapchat username he made when he was thirteen. Nothing.

You drag your feet back to your cabin, passing Seungkwan huddled over a bowl of oatmeal. His greeting distantly floats through your ears, though you fail to process it.

When you fall into your bed, sheets still indented by his figure, a hot tear scales your face. His scent is all around you, like a taunting lullaby. You jolt up, tearing the shirt off of you and throwing it as hard as you can. It caves against the wall, slipping down silently.

You pull over a different, non-Minho shirt and rest back against the mattress. Though still, he remains.

A sob clogs your throat. You want to punch a pillow. Or a wall. Or him. No, you wouldn't punch him. You cannot even find it in you to direct your anger at him. Instead, you decide, you must have done something wrong. Maybe you whispered something in your sleep that infuriated him. Maybe-

A soft knock at your door.

"I'm sorry," you sob, burying your face in the pillow as you clutch the sheets.

Beside you, the bed dips beneath someone's weight. A hand falls against your back, its fingertips tapping lightly.

You expect it to be Yeji. Or Yuna. But instead, when you look, it's Mingyu. His face is blank, not even a trace of an "I told you so" glazing it. Instead, his eyes are covered with a film of pity.

"Did you know?" you manage through the tears.

Slowly, he nods. "I'm sorry."

You shake your head. "It's not your fault."

He pulls you into a hug, and you're glad that his scent does not resemble Minho's. Mingyu smells only like cotton. Freshly washed cotton.

"He's a dick, not telling you he was leaving," he says, drawing a hand up to your head.

Seungkwan's voice drenches the room with bitterness. "Who the fuck hurt you? I will kill-"

Mingyu looks back at the boy standing in the doorway. He shakes his head, beckoning the boy to leave. And he does.

You're grateful for Mingyu.

Only three days remain in your vacation, yet each second is more brutal than the last. Dried tears glue strands of hair to your cheeks. At night, Mingyu comes in and lays with you, rubbing small circles into your back as he tries to make you laugh. Yeji stands in the doorway, confused arms crossed against her chest.

The day before you leave, Yeji stops at your bedside and whispers. "We can leave today."

You look up to her, shaking your head slightly. That's all the energy you have to do. Your voice is a croaking mess when you bring yourself to say, "Don't let me ruin your fun, please."

The final day, as set aside on the drive here, is a day of fun. Hiking and swimming and laughter. Though you remain in bed, sheets pulled to your chin as your fingertip rubs small laps along your lips.

When Seokmin sneaks into your room at dinnertime, a small slice of pizza resting on a paper plate, he says, "You deserve better than him."

You nod. But you're not sure you believe him.

You find yourself wondering what he did in the car ride home. What he's doing now. If his cats are happy to all be together again. You wish that you could have seen Soonie's little smile again. Or even seen Minho's fatherly intuitions with him for even an extra split second.

A fingertip rests on your bottom lip. The car is silent, save the low hum of the radio. Disguised by his sunglasses, it appears that Mingyu's eyes are glued to the road at all times. Though he steals a parental glance in the rearview every few seconds, as if to check you haven't withered away.

Even when Seungkwan coughs, Soonyoung bites his tongue. They do not argue the whole way.

When Mingyu arrives outside your apartment complex, you gather your things and get out of the minivan. Its familiar blue paint stings your eyes with tears. You look back into the car before saying with a forced smile, "Thank you, guys."

xi.

Summer dissipates with green fading to amber. You look at the golden leaves scattering the ground of the campus. Minho's smile flashes in front of your eyes, and you shake it away. A parasite.

You jog to class, sparingly glancing at your watch to count each minute you're late. At five past eight you get to the lecture hall. A quiet apology slips past your lips until you climb the stairs to the back.

For a history class, the seats are rather full. You sit at the end of the second to last row, beside a tanned boy with light brown hair and round glasses. His eyes stick on you a little too long, burning your skin.

Professor Nam discusses the syllabus rather quickly, his words failing to succumb to first-day stutters. His sudden clap makes you flinch, and his voice booms all the way back to you. "That's it. Scan the first chapter to familiarize yourself with the material. You're free to go."

You gather your things and are ready to descend the stairs when the boy beside you calls, "Wait!"

You glance back at him and a flash of familiarity blankets him. His words return to you before you can exactly place him. You have a girlfriend?

"Are you Y/N?" he asks.

Pain shoots through your chest and you take a wary step backwards.

He continues, quickly apologizing, "Sorry to catch you off guard like this. I'm Seungmin."

He proffers his hand. You take it. "Nice to meet you," you manage.

"You too," he smiles. Though, to you, all he says is 'You're the girl he ditched?'

You cannot find the words to form a question, though he beats you to it. He seems to do that, you note.

"What happened with you and Minho?"

Then, when he catches the sparkle of tears glazing your eyes he frantically adds, "If you're comfortable with telling me."

You look down at your shoes, remembering the days of sunshine that quickly turned to cloudy messes. "I don't know, really."

"He was a mess after we left, but he wouldn't tell us anything that happened," Seungmin rambles.

Your eyes shoot back to him. A hoarse laugh grabs your words, "He was a mess?"

Confused, he hesitantly nods.

"He didn't tell me you guys were leaving," you announce, the words stinging you all over again. "And he never left me anything to contact him with. I thought I did something wrong. I probably did."

You remember the white shirt stuffed into your closet, a pair of sweatpants crumbled beneath it. His scent is faintly attached to the fibers. Though, maybe, it's just your imagination.

Seungmin's eyes soften. "I'm sorry. You probably didn't do anything. He wouldn't react the way he did if you had. He's just stupid."

You dismiss yourself, aiding the excuse that you're meeting with a friend for coffee and he understands. Seungmin watches as you leave the lecture hall, a soft sigh tickling his lips.

When you get back to the apartment (not having another class until noon) you cry. Hot tears that irritate your skin. You pull out the tee shirt and hug it close. And the words, again, fall from your lips like a mantra. "I'm sorry."

xii.

Seungmin asks you to coffee a week later, a hint of something unfamiliar in his eye. You agree, though only under the pretense that he pays.

The coffee shop by the campus is riddled with already tired students and rushed projects. Seungmin sits by the window. An iced americano is cupped in his hand and he absentmindedly sips it, eyes over at a set of baristas scrambling to fulfill orders. His gaze breaks, falling onto you and he waves.

"Did I keep you waiting long?" you ask as you pull yourself onto the stool.

He shakes his head, gently setting the sweating coffee on a napkin. "No, I just got here."

He glances back to an aproned barista, who anxiously stares back. His eyes are apprehensive, tinged with a glimmer of something fierce. Seungmin nudges your hand, pointing at the boy.

You feel your heart stop beating. You might be leaning forward and passing out. You might be dying. But one thing's for sure, the boy who is currently holding your eyes makes you blister with heat and blur at the eyes. He stares with a freezing gaze that shoots goosebumps all along your skin.

And then he offers a hint of a smile that warms your body like a blanket. He glances to a coworker, inaudibly says something, and removes his apron. He tosses it into a small blue basket before rushing over. Seungmin gives up his seat.

Minho smacks the back of his head. "Thanks for drinking all of my americano."

"Shouldn't have left it there," Seungmin shrugs before starting towards the exit.

At the door, he turns back and smiles, "Have a good talk!"

You dumbfoundedly watch as Minho lifts himself to the stool. He rests interlocked hands on the table, creating a cage around his half-empty americano. "I'm sorry," he says.

"For what?" you look at him like a lost puppy. His heart softens and the guilt overrides him.

"Leaving," he glances outside, down the street where Seungmin crosses.

You somehow manage to keep looking at him. "Was it something I did?"

"No," he instantly turns back to you. "It was me."

"That's what everyone says," you fight a hurt chuckle. "You can tell me, really. It won't hurt."

And with a forced reassuring smile, you look deep into his eyes.

He shakes his head. "No really, it was me. I was confused and terrible at facing what I was feeling. I didn't want to admit that constantly wanting to kiss someone was more than friendly."

"I take it you still are," you mention. "Considering Seungmin didn't even know."

His head twitches in a nod. "Something like that."

A silence lies over you, though it's unlike the one you held when you walked back from the Camper's Corner. This one seems menacing. As though it has the power to destroy everything.

He suddenly grabs your hand and plays with your fingertips. He does not know the number of times you have pressed them to your lips—sixty-two. He does not know the days you spent staring at your ceiling, eyes burning from spilling insufficient tears. He does not know that you halted communication with everyone, save Yeji, from the trip because they reminded you too much of him. Yet still, his touch cascades your body with heat, as though none of that happened.

"You really don't have to accept this, but I would like to make it up to you."

Your heart catches in your throat and it echoes its thumps throughout your entire body. "Are you asking me on a date?"

Hesitantly, he nods. "I think so."

Your smile burns a whole through his chest. You ask innocently, eyebrows raised with joy, "Can I come see your cats?"

He laughs. "You'd have to meet my mom 'cos they live with her. My apartment complex doesn't allow pets."

"Second date, then."

"You already think you wanna go on a second date with me?" Minho grins, leaning a little closer.

You blush, shaking your head.

You stare into his eyes and see a tiny reflection of yourself. Behind that, you see remorse. Lost time. He's going to make up for it. That's a promise, even if it's not verbal.

xiii.

His laugh bubbles throughout the small room like the sizzle of soda. He pulls the cat close to him, cradling him like a baby. You watch as the cat paws at his chin.

He looks up at you, "I think he likes me."

You smile as he glances back to the cat. He nestles his fingers beneath the cat's chin and gently scratches.

Upon the idea of coming to a cat cafe, he was hesitant. "They might smell Soonie or something," he had pouted.

"It'll be fine," you had promised, taking his hand. They were warm, you recall, like those last days of summer.

And now here you sit, perched atop a chair while Minho rolls around with the cats. All swarming him like he carries a cat-summoning device. His smile is radiant against the sea of calico and tabby.

A flutter ravages in your chest when his eyes find yours. "Why are you staring at me like that?" he laughs.

"Like what?"

"You just look," he thinks. "I can't explain it."

A smile tugs at the corners of your lips. "Cat got your tongue?"

He delivers a wry laugh, returning his attention to the tabby who paws at his chin.

You watch as he fights the crowd to sit up. One immediately climbs upon his shoulder, reaching up to dig its paws in his hair. He gently pulls it off of him, resting it on the plush rug. He returns to his spot aside from you, bringing the straw of his iced americano to his lips.

"I feel bad," he finally says, curiously glancing down to the tugging sensation against the cuff of his sweatpants.

"Why?" you ask, resting your forearms on the table.

He looks back to you. "Because this is our first real date and we're in a place aimed for my interest. I'm supposed to be the one making things up to you, not the other way around."

You fight a laugh. "You know I like cats too, you know?"

"Yeah, but," he hesitates. "they're not really paying attention to you."

You shrug. "That's fine. Watching you interact with them is enough."

He smirks, "So you're saying you like watching me?"

"Interact with cats, yes," you confirm.

A hand grabs yours as he leans across the table to kiss you. His lips taste just like you remember—those sixty-two times did not go to waste. They're soft and taste vaguely of his coffee addiction. Back in summer, they had tasted like faint watermelon. Sometimes strawberries.

Abruptly, he pulls away. "Wait, I didn't ask if I could kiss you, I'm so sorry."

"You didn't ask me the first time you kissed me."

He squints, "Really?"

You nod, a shadow of a laugh tumbling over your lips.

He glances out the window, a look of reliving riddling his features. Eyebrows knitted together. Lips fallen agape. Finally, he looks back to you. "I don't remember not asking."

"Do you remember asking?" you tease, biting your straw between smiling teeth.

"Touche. But that's under different circumstances than right now. I'm supposed to be regaining your trust, not spontaneously kissing you."

You cock your head at him. "In summer, we barely knew each other and you were sneaking into my cabin to sleep in the same bed as me. How is that much different from randomly kissing me?"

He shyly brings his straw to his lips again, taking a long sip that extends the silence. "Summer was different," he finally says.

"Elaborate on that for me, please."

He sighs, flecks of red darting across his cheeks. He looks like he's about to give a presentation for a class he's failing. "Summer Minho," he finally begins, "was insanely stupid."

And then, his words fall. Another silence, save a couple cats clawing at a scratching post.

"And?" you urge him to continue.

He pouts. "I wasted so much time. We could've done this whole dating thing months ago, but because I wanted to run away from those scary feelings, we're here."

Then, in your stunned silence, he adds, "I wish I could go back and force myself to stick around. Or at least leave you a note. I thought about doing that, you know."

You sigh. "You can't change the past."

He lamentably nods, looking down at a sleeping cat to disguise the film blurring his vision.

"So let's make up for lost time," you declare, standing up.

He looks at you confusedly. "What?" he croaks.

"Minho," you offer your hand. Hesitantly he takes it, standing too. You continue, "I don't think I was ever really mad at you. I focused all of the blame on myself. So please, kiss me whenever. Show up at my doorstep at three in the morning because one of the boys got on your nerves. I don't care. I just want to be with you."

A small smile twitches as a lonesome tear slips down his cheek. He pulls you into his chest. The vibration of his laugh shakes against your ear as he whispers, "You're gonna regret saying that part about me showing up at your doorstep."

You laugh and shake your head, though deep down you know he's probably right.

xiv.

Lee Minho is a piece of work. Having the nerve to show up at your apartment while the world is shaking with thunder. His hair is soaking wet, as are his clothes. Though, kept dry, is the brown bag of Chinese food he shoved beneath his hoodie.

He laughs through shivers when you open the door, alternatively drenched with the desire for sleep.

"Did I wake you?" he asks, teeth chattering.

Through squinted eyes, you slowly nod, stepping out of the way to let him in. So tired, you note, that you didn't even bring him a towel before he enters the apartment. Small droplets of water quiver at his movement, pooling beside your doormat.

"Do you still have those clothes I lent you?" he shouts when you retreat back to your room.

A response is unnecessary, for you're already bringing them to him. White tee and black sweatpants, neatly folded. His cologne officially disappeared in the last wash, subtly replaced with your laundry detergent and Yeji's rose perfume.

He steps into your bathroom, quickly asking where your towels are. You point to the small bamboo cabinet Yeji insisted on buying the week before.

You glance at the green digits atop the stove. 12:56 A.M. A wry laugh clogs your throat as you suddenly remember what you had told him two weeks ago on your first date. Though, this begs the question: do you regret telling him that? No, actually. Because now, you will finally be able to fall asleep in his arms again. Plus, he brought you food for unintentional compensation of waking you. That's commendable.

He returns from the bathroom, his new clothes lay over dry skin. Yet, his hair is still damp and sticking every which way. He vehemently shakes his head like a wet dog, sending a few droplets to brush your skin.

He tugs on the top of his shirt, bringing it across his forehead to wipe at straying rain.

Then, he stands still. A simper creeps across his face and he approaches you, entrapping you in his arms. Gently, he sways you, mimicking the boat on the lake. "Sorry for showing up unexpectedly. Jisung kicked me out."

You fight his grip to look up at him. "Why?"

"I may have joked about kidnapping the cats and bringing them to our apartment."

"Was it really a joke?" you inquire.

He laughs. "No."

You press your ear against his collarbone, silently sighing. A content smile crosses your lips as you close your eyes.

xv.

A distant, long forgotten episode of Haikyuu! hums on the TV. Minho's forehead is pressed against your shoulder and his light snores usurp the quiet argument between Hinata and Kageyama. Minho's arms have gone limp around your waist, loosened by the depths of slumber.

You turn in his arms and stare at the slope of his nose. The way his lips are barely parted. The way his eyelashes tickle against his cheeks. His hair has long since dried, though frizz defies its normal shape. You smile before pressing a gentle kiss to the tip of his nose.

In your younger years you had imagined that your final year of college would be tinged with the weight of growing old. Now, every time you're with Minho—in his arms or merely in his presence—you're relieved of all of the nonsense adulthood brings. No stress. Just simply living. It's like a constant adventure with him.

His eyes peek through heavy lids and he tips his head back a little, tapping the back of the couch. In a drowsy voice, he mutters, "Stop watching me sleep, weirdo."

You giggle. "You were snoring."

He shuts his eyes again, humming as he returns his head to the pillow. Barely audible, he whispers, "I love you."

A loud thump echoes in your ears before a smile creeps up to your lips. "I love you too."

In the morning, he will deny this ever happening. Yet still, you will smile and go along with it. "Maybe I was imagining it," you will say with a shrug before disappearing to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. In your wake, he will whisper those three words again, and you will pretend you hadn't heard. Though a smile will fall on your lips when you return to him, two mugs cozied in your hands.

Now, you know that it's nearing four in the morning, and though your tiredness has long fled, you rest your forehead against his and shut your eyes. Lee Minho loves you, even if he denies saying it in his slumber-drunk world. He wants you to stay. And in return, he will stick by your side. Even when you forget Dori's birthday.

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xhanisai · 4 years

Text

Only idiots try to woo those who are already in love with them

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Summary: "So...Marinette Dupain-Cheng Noir, huh?"

Oooh, Adrien wasn't going to let her get away with that so easily. His lady seems to have a crush on him, Chat Noir him! And there's no way in hell he's going to let that go. However, he has a plan and he refuses to go off tangent.

"Personally, I think Marinette Agreste has a nicer ring to it, don't you think?"

~(x)~ . . . Doki Doki... Doki Doki... Whack! Ladybug let out a silent whimper and then rubbed the sore spot below her collarbones after smacking it so hard. She mumbled out silent curses in Mandarin, words that her mother would skin her alive for if she ever uttered them out loud in her presence and willed for the blood rushing to her cheeks to stop. This was the umpteenth time now and it was starting to drive her teeth towards the edge. The heroine scowled at her partner like a child would at a jar of cookies that was placed in a shelf far too high for them to reach. Not that Chat Noir was unreachable. Hell! If she wanted to, she could jump at him right now and permanently glue their lips together. The boy would swoon with indescribable joy! Shaking her head, Ladybug exhaled through her nose sharply as if to scold her brain for concocting up the millionth...LadyNoir...fantasy. The teen directed her attention back at the catboy who was busy consoling their latest akuma victim. The victim was a little girl, no older than four, maybe five. She was giggling at the funny faces that Chat pulled to cheer her up, clapping her hands with a cute blush as the boy followed suit. He was really kind and sweet...especially with the little ones... Chat Noir would make such a loving father in the future. No doubt about it. And perhaps... A loving husband- Ladybug's brain abruptly shut down on the spot and her legs immediately turned to jelly, causing her to trip over the roof tiles and fall off the building with as much beauty and grace a headless chicken would have. The befuddled girl awaited her fate as a soon to be splat on the pavement, too disorientated to even use her damn yoyo- "My Lady!"

Oh. Forget about being a red and black polka dotted splat on the dirt crusted grimey floor. She's going to be a puddle of goop at this rate. Holding her bridal style, was none other than her one and only Chaton. Suddenly, Ladybug was hypersensitive to every sound, smell and touch. The way his strong, well toned arms flexed under her thighs and waist, transferring a delicious warmth through her body like skin on skin contact... The way his broad chest loomed over her entire being like a thick, fluffy blanket on a cold winter's night... The way the crisp scent of the outside lingered on him like a breath of fresh air, sending welcomed shivers down her spine... Ladybug felt herself heat up from head to toe much to her dismay and she wouldn't be surprised if her face mirrored a tomato right now. He's too close. Way too close. "Heh, I guess angels really do fall from the sky, hmm?" His voice came out as a dark, gravelly purr, causing the poor heroine's heart to go haywire and slam against her ribcage like a gymnast on twenty espresso shots. Why did he have to say it like that!? Not to mention the way his green eyes glinted under his long lashes in such an illegal way! Absolutely unfair! "Eh-erm-ugh- HMPH!" The word soup that spilled out of her lips as a response was the final nail to the coffin, forcing Ladybug to jump out of the confused boy's arms like his namesake. Her hands flailed around in odd gestures as Ladybug carried on trying to speak, only to fail with more stutters and awkward, fake laughs. Dammit. She's fallen for him. And she's fallen for him hard! When did this happen? How did this happen? Why did this happen? Ridiculously unfair. What's with her and stupidly kind blonde boys with sinfully, beautiful green eyes!? "AHAHA- I think I've left my pet crocodile unattended- Eek! Gottagobyehotstuff-" With a speed that could rival a racecar, Ladybug swung away without letting a bewildered Chat Noir utter as much as a word, screaming into the distance: "I can't believe it's happening aga-aaaaaaaaaaaa..."

Noir stood still, gaping on the spot before bringing out his inner model and quickly composed himself, clutching his chin as a deep red blush barely peeked under his mask. One hand grasped his arm whilst the other cradled his chin as he bit down on a finger to see whether or not he was dreaming. The sharp pain that ricocheted through the digit when his sharpened fang pierced the flesh snapped him back into reality and Chat Noir was left muttering in awe. The awe then turned into a chuckle of endearment and a beautiful smile full of love took over as he shook his head and then faced the direction that his Lady vaulted off to. "Dammit Marinette...only you would give your identity away like that," His words came out as a soft whisper, unheard by anyone else. Relief lightened his shoulders of its burden from the months of dilemmas between loving two girls, only to find out they were one and the same. The relief was soon replaced with confusion and a touch of misery when he realised that she was treating him the way she treated his alter ego. Like he's some sort of cold king who would bite off her head. 'Not that I would mind biting if she's into that- BUT ANYWAYS.' Chat Noir brushed off his not-so-innocent thoughts and his trademark optimism shined through when he concluded that he will do anything to make his Lady feel good around him. Now, what to do of the supposed 'other boy' she likes... "I'm going to die fighting for her even if it's the last thing I do. Couffaine? Kurtzberg? I don't know which one of you is the other boy but no matter what, I'm marrying her..." ~(x)~ "Wanna tell me why you're starting to doodle that in the corner of your books now~?" A gleeful Alya held away the book from Dupain-Cheng as she nosely flickered through the pages with a smile wider than a Cheshire cat. Her free hand was preoccupied in pushing the flustered Asian's face away as she attempted to snatch her notebook back, whines and protests falling on deaf ears as the rest of the class made way out of the room to go home. Just another day to them all, much to their amusement. "Speak any louder and you lose your macaron privileges, Alya!" Mari reached for the book once more in a giant pounce, only for Césaire to duck and the former to end up in a pile of limbs against the wall. An adorable pout rested on her lips and her eyebrows furrowed when Alya's giggles turned into fully blown out laughter. "Don't worry Marinette, never have I told your secrets to anyone else, right?" The brunette's lips soon zipped shut guiltily as Marinette gestured her eyes towards Nino who helped her up along with Adrien. "That was one time girl~" Marinette's pout only deepened despite Adrien's chuckles. "I think that's enough teasing our class president for today, Alya," The blonde dusted off (the now blushing) Marinette, skimming his eyes down her body quickly to make sure she wasn't hurt. His Lady could be a tad bit too energetic sometimes. "What could possibly be written in there that provoked Mari into jumping on you like that?" He delivered a cheeky smirk, eating up the way Marinette gawked at him in betrayal and the way Alya's glasses glinted mischievously. "Why you! It's a secret! No one needs to know and certainly not you!" The raven haired teen scoffed, flipping her hair before gesturing to Alya for her notebook back. Her cheeks were turning rosier and rosier and Adrien was dying with curiousity to know what mystery laid in that book. "Oh? Now I really want to know," This time Nino snickered at Adrien's response, fully used to the boy's deviousness and curiousity that could rival a cat. A side of the usually sweet, reserved boy that was kept hidden. "S-So what? No one's allowed to know and Alya will sensibly hand me back my notebook. So hah!" "I don't know, it looks like she's more willing to hand it to me..." "That's because you're egging her on!" "Am I now?" "You can be so infuriating, Agreste." "Ouch. You wound me, Cupcake~" Adrien flawlessly delivered a well timed wink, relishing the way that Marinette was left in a flustered stupor before speeding towards Alya and grabbing the notebook with the heroine in disguise hot at his heels. He jumped over a few desks, dodged the benches with practised agility yet it was nearly impossible to shake Marinette off his tail. Though, his wide grin that could counter his alter ego's never left his face. "Adrien! Give it back! Don't be such a brat- OOF!" Marinette found herself glomped by both Alya and Nino, the duo holding her down in a tight hug whilst the petite girl was left complaining and mustering all her strength to lift them both off of her. Turns out that all the parkour and part time hero-ing the boyfriend and girlfriend did occasionally gave them an advantage of extra vitality in their civilian sides. So, Marinette resorted to begging. "Adrien ple-eeeeeeease..." Her eyes shimmered like they belonged to a puppy, causing Adrien to falter on his steps and almost choke on his saliva. 'That's not fair, Princesse. You're too fucking cute and I won't be able to handle it any longer and the next thing you know, I'll be pushing you against the wall and kissing you like no tomorrow-' Blinking back out of his thoughts, Adrien cleared his throat and looked away dramatically to avoid the sparkling baby blues. "Open it dude! Quick before Marinette pushes us off! I can feel ourselves slipping!" Nino groaned out, completely put off guard by Marinette's sudden determined strength and he and Alya scrambled to keep her held down. The green eyed boy didn't hesitate and ignored the defeated "Nooooo..." Marinette let out. . A beat went past. Sweat accumulated on Marinette's forehead as Adrien's face went through a variety of motions whilst he skimmed through the book. First his eyebrows were raised and his lips parted in bafflement. Then he squinted his eyes as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Next, his face became unreadable and his lips were pursed. The only thing Marinette could hear was her heart pounding and the blood rushing through her face and ears. She so was going to kill Alya once she's snapped out of her embarrassment. "So...Marinette Dupain-Cheng Noir, huh?" Adrien rested the tip of the book against his lips as he raised a brow, sighing as Marinette stumbled through a couple of excuses. The girl in question shot up, victoriously pushing her friends off her and immediately snatched the book away, hugging it against her chest with a tight lipped smile. "I'm just testing my calligraphy skills! Nothing more!" Oooh, Adrien wasn't going to let her get away with that so easily. His lady seems to have a crush on him, Chat Noir him! And there's no way in hell he's going to let that go. However, he has a plan and he refuses to go off tangent. "And the hearts? The doodles of you and Chat Noir holding hands? The names of your three future babies with him? Doesn't seem like calligraphy to me." The annoyed frown he purposely slipped out caused his three friends to let out silent gasps, taken aback by his serious expression. Was he...jealous? "A-Adrien...?" Marinette gulped as the boy was abruptly by her side, face lowered so that his cheek brushed hers. The girl couldn't help but enjoy the sensation of his soft, silky lips against the shell of her ear and almost jumped when he spoke again. "Personally, I think Marinette Agreste has a nicer ring to it, don't you think?" His words were nothing but a low whisper, a husky tone that sounded so scandalous and drove Marinette's hormones to the extreme, evident in the way her knees almost buckled beneath her. Totally unfair! How the heck was she supposed to react!? Adrien pulled away, frown still in place and then squeezed Mari's upper arms with a nod but then leaned in again, eyes narrowed and the strands of his hair mingling with her fringe as their foreheads shared a tender kiss. "I'm not losing you to some cat boy." His emerald orbs twinkled with strong emotions, lips only a breath away from hers that Adrien couldn't help but graze Marinette's lower lip with his thumb. He finally turned around and made way out of the door, beckoning his jaw-dropped best friend to come along. A pinch on her thigh- most likely from Tikki who for some reason was hiding in Marinette's trouser pocket, brought her back to the world and before anyone knew it, the girl held Adrien back by the wrist. It was rare for her to initiate physical contact so Adrien couldn't help but halt with surprise. Marinette brushed off all her embarrassment and muddled feelings, fixing a glare at the nonchalant looking model. "He's not just some cat boy. He's one of the most kindest, strongest person I know! He's saved my life more times than I can remember, saves Paris on a daily basis and without him...there would be no Ladybug! So don't...don't just dismiss Chat Noir like that." Adrien furrowed his brows, holding his burning stare against her stern eyes for a bit before leaning in once more, taking Marinette's grip off his wrist and then held her hand in his possessively. The tight squeeze he gave the appendage didn't go unnoticed to the girl and the rest of the audience. "Sorry...I'm just sick of other boys turning your head towards them...when I've been hoping for you to glance at me, just once...for a long time..." His voice wavered between vulnerable and melancholy before settling on determination. Without missing a beat, the boy swiftly kissed the corner of Marinette's lips, cherishing every groove and warmth that emitted from her and then promptly stalked out of the classroom before anyone else could see him turn redder than a strawberry. 'At this rate, she should figure out my civilian identity soon. She has to! With a declaration like that, I should be on her mind for a bit and maybe...she could develop feelings for my civilian side too...?' A hopeful grin took place on his lips whilst Nino ran after him and babbled about how shook he was by the blonde's actions. . Meanwhile, poor Marinette was left frozen in the classroom, wheezing like a kettle and cheeks brighter than a traffic light while Alya squealed with happiness, thanking dieu that she captured everything on her phone. "So, Marinette? Will it be Adrien or Chat Noir~?" Alya's question was met with a defeated wail and a slap against her shoulder. The brunette couldn't keep the devilish smirk off her face. "He's been waiting for me to glance at him!? Is he BLIND!? I have been drooling over his stupid self for like a YEAR! Ugh Alya! What am I gonna do-ooooo?" ~(x)~ She should be suited up right now in her signature spots. She should be battling the akuma right now who was preoccupied in setting fire on everything he saw like a madman. But no. "Princesse...just dump me somewhere in an alleyway and run! Please..." Chat Noir, who was terribly injured, grimaced as Marinette kept on running, fingers digging into the boy's legs as she held him piggyback style. She thanked the kwamis that she was familiar with the thirteenth arrondissement like the back of her hand. She merely huffed as a response and sped up before finally finding a decent hiding spot in the abandoned China town. Much to her delight, the pharmacy shop where her maman usually goes to was empty and open so Marinette didn't hesitate to storm inside. The groans and whimpers that the hero let out as Mari gently placed him against a chair shattered her heart and the teen couldn't help but wince at his injuries. "You stupid...stupid cat! Why did you take that hit for me? You should have dodged!" Marinette spat out, masking her pain with anger as she gathered the medical kit with a mission to alleviate her partner's wounds. The boy responded with a cocky smirk, as if his shoulder wasn't burnt to a crisp and his legs weren't shredded with gashes. This akuma was the first to pierce the magical suit and it was taking everything for Marinette to not fall into a panic attack. Not even the battle on heroes' day was this nerve wracking. "I like my women alive, not barbecued." Noir rasped but then yelped as Marinette knelt down to his level and applied ointment to the burns. This time, tears streamed down his eyes and his claws dug into the plush carpet below him. His faux ears plastered themselves against his hair and his tail whipped against the chair and wall beside him as if to emphasise how much pain he's in. "Stupid flirt...stupid cat...always have to be so self sacrificing...what if that hit killed you!? What would Ladybug have done then!?" Cheng sobbed, letting her forehead flop onto Chat's uninjured shoulder. Her arms wrapped around his middle, squeezing the blonde against her as tight as she could whilst Chat helplessly reciprocated her actions. He soothed her with hushes and encouraging whispers, combing his claws through her loose tendrils, pulling her flush against his body whilst his face remained in the crook of her neck so that the sweet scent that lingered on her body kept him grounded. The next words that he uttered momentarily stopped her heart. "If I didn't take that hit, there would be no Ladybug..." The duo stiffened, the younger of the two plagued with multitudes of questions. Marinette wanted to pinch herself, hope that she misheard what he said but the strong smell of antiseptic that filled the room, the atrocious scent of burnt flesh and blood and the warm, secure arms that kept her in an iron hold proved otherwise. "I...How...?" Marinette gasped, pulling back far enough so that she could see her partner's bashful face. "I was so careful and...and...dammit! Either I released my transformation in front of you by accident or you're one stupidly smart cat!" The ebony-haired teen was far too emotionally exhausted to delve into this and simply accepted her fate. He knew now. This time, there's no time or space to come up with another convoluted plan to knock him off the trail like when Mme. Mendeleiev got akumatised. "I'm a clever cat, your clever chaton, My Lady," Chat Noir couldn't help but gaze down at Marinette lovingly, eyes softened and heart racing. The raspberry hue that took place on her cheeks did wonders to him. "Maybe, if we were strangers, I wouldn't have found you as quick-" He wasn't able to finish his sentence as two fingers were pressed against his lips. "It's...it's dangerous enough that you know who I am...I can't know who you are, Minou. Master Fu-" "-is wrong. He's just as capable of making bad decisions as anyone else. That time he took Plagg and Tikki away from us is proof of that. I firmly believe that the idea of us not knowing who the other is for the sake of our safety is pretty much bullshit at this rate." He kissed her fingers, eyes never leaving hers in a gaze so intense that Marinette felt like her entire body was lit up in flames. "We've been partners for a long time, our trust in each other is beyond comprehensible and you know for a fact that I'd rather die than waver my loyalty to you, Marinette." He pulled her towards him in another embrace, burying his nose into the nape of her neck and let his lips trail on the soft, sweet skin with butterfly kisses. The kiss burned more than the fire that the akuma plagued on Paris. Each and every pucker took Marinette's breath away and the way he tugged her hair so that he could have access to her throat was downright sinful. When his teeth grazed the sensitive area below her ear, Marinette's eyes fluttered closed and a soft sigh escaped her lips. "Chat Noir..." Her voice would have been inaudible had it not been for the boy's heightened hearing. This of course encouraged a deep purr to rumble from the hero and his lips got closer and closer to hers... "My name...say my name, Marinette," Chaton's lips brushed against Dupain-Cheng's as he spoke, voice so hoarse and exposed. Familiarity filled Marinette from head to toe but she couldn't for the love of god figure out why. Instead, she frowned and bowed her head down in defeat. "I don't...I don't know..." She raised her head back up when Chat Noir tsked in response, squeezing her tighter. "Minou..." The familiarity was starting to weigh down on her like a boulder and it was driving Marinette crazy. "Find me. Please. I love you...all of you. If you're not going to let me tell you who I am then you have to find me. You're a smart girl, My Lady. So smart. I can see that you're close to figuring it out." He kissed her cheeks softly and then darted back to her neck, this time to distribute an open mouthed kiss and suck the skin hard. "Chat Noir!?" Mari gasped, face rouged and teeth biting down her bottom lip to avoid any shameful sounds from coming out of her throat. When he pulled away, Marinette bumped her forehead against his with irritation, scoffing at his pained yelp. "What was that for!? O-ooooooh if the cleansing light doesn't heal this, how am I going to explain this to my parents? Alya? AH- and Adrien!? He's going to be so annoyed..." It took everything for Chat Noir to hide his smirk, rubbing his fingers against Marinette's hips. "Then he'll know that this princess is off limits, no~?" "Stupid, possessive, blonde, idiots!" "Hey, I'm smart, not stupid like model boy," "UGH! Fuck you!" "Is that an offer?" "JUST SHUT UP AND LET ME BANDAGE YOU BACK UP SO THAT WE CAN KICK THE AKUMA'S ASS AND THEN I'LL KICK YOUR ASS YOU STUPID ALLEY CAT!" "That wasn't a no~" ~(x)~ Adrien gawked in horror from the doorway when the scarf that was wrapped around Marinette's neck unravelled and spilled onto the floor. The girl quickly slapped her hand against her neck to hide the hickey but she couldn't avert her eyes from his. It was just the two of them in the locker room. Probably the two few remaining students in the building since they had extra curricular activities. "OH- Erm...hi Adrien? I was not expecting to see you here hahah! Did you manage to beat Kagami this time or-" Marinette ended her default babbles with a squeak as the blonde haired teen stormed towards her, peeling her hand off her neck only for his eyes to widen at the 'gift' that the cat bestowed. "Marinette...you chose him?" The boy laid out the kitten eyes, internally cackling at the way his lady scrambled for words. Plagg may have warned him of the rage of a Ladybug but dieu, the shit eating cat inside him couldn't help but keep up the tease. Sure, acting jealous of his alter ego wasn't going to be much help in Marinette solving his identity but at the same time, he didn't want to make this too easy for her. It wasn't fair that he's fallen head over heels for both sides of her since the beginning and struggled with those feelings for such a long time while it's only recently that she began crushing on his vigilant half, right? To summarise, he was the equivalent of a naughty, bratty kitten trapping a bug under his paws and he loved every second of it. "I haven't chosen anyone- not yet...I...I don't know what to do." Now, a tiny bit of guilt was gnawing on Adrien's chest. Maybe he's gone a bit too far? "The two of you have thrown me in quite a loop, confessing left and right..." Her sweet blush wiped the guilt off his chest clean. Maybe...simple, ordinary Adrien Agreste has a chance? Just maybe...she's starting to have feelings for him too...? "Has he kissed you?" Adrien leaned closer, placing his hands against the locker that Marinette was backed up against, pinning her in place. Forward but not aggressive. With the way she eyed him beneath her lashes, his actions was more than happily received. "Not really..." "Can I kiss you?" His lips were barely brushing hers now. "...please," Immediately, their lips crashed into one another without any finesse. All pent up feelings, all raging emotions, all were expressed in this one, deep kiss like a ferocious fire. Adrien tangled his fingers with Marinette's, pressing his body tight against hers and tilted his head ever so slightly to deepen the kiss. Heat and hormones drove their bodies on autopilot. Marinette moved her arms around his neck, slipping her digits through Adrien's hair whilst the boy in question wrapped his arms around her waist, hands wondering dangerously low and cupping every part of her with desperation. The familiarity that laid low in Marinette's mind soon jumped back by ten folds as sharp teeth nipped the rim of her lips, parting the soft pair so that his tongue could slip in and bring her even closer. Her mind kept on rebooting at every touch, every nibble, every sound, every kiss until she forgot her own name. Suddenly, a small hiss of pain escaped Adrien's throat, causing Marinette to break the kiss, heaving and notice that he was edging his shoulder away from her fingers. "Adrien...?" "Ignore it." The boy grunted, slamming his lips back onto hers, this time cupping her cheek with one hand and pulling the bands of her hair so that he could comb his fingers through the smooth, silky locks. Familiarity stroke back to Marinette despite the distracting, excitable kiss. Adrien began to trail his lips south, parallel to the hickey that Chat Noir left till he reached the area below her collarbones. Unlike his roaring passion that started the kissing session, Adrien ended it with a sweet, subtle kiss on her skin. The way Marinette heaved and panted sent many thoughts and fantasies to the dishevelled boy's head, concluding that he indeed needed to take a cold shower as soon as he got home. "Adrien..." Marinette breathed out sweetly, cheeks flushed beyond compare and fingers tangled with the fabric of his shirt as she struggled to stay upright. "That's my name," Adrien cutely bumped his nose with hers and then backed off, smirk growing when she slid down the locker and onto the floor in a daze. "I'll see you around, Princesse," With a wink, the boy patted her cheek and then slinked off with that enviable model grace of his. A few minutes went past yet Marinette refused to move. Adrien's last few words kept circling in her mind. 'That's my name- that's what he said. But why did he say that? That's such a weird thing to say, right? And since when did he start calling me Princesse-' . . . Insert a record scratch. Tikki, the poor kwami who had to witness the entire endeavour simply shook her head with a sigh, praying that her holder didn't murder Plagg's kitten. "DAMMIT ADRIEN AGRESTE! FUCK YOU!!!!" "At least take me out to dinner first~!" The stupid boy's voice came from the window outside the locker room and Marinette didn't think twice before running towards it to see his shit eating grin plastered on his face from below. ~(x)~ "So all this time you were in love with civilian me, ever since I gave you my umbrella?" "Mmhm." "And you were suppressing your feelings for cat me for around the same time?" "Yep." "So basically I was being an absolute, obtuse idiot who's been cockblocking myself?" "Uh-huh." "Wow. Well fuck me!" "After the days of grief you've given me in choosing between you and you, you don't even deserve a kiss let alone getting laid." "Dammit...so...you gonna untie me now or are ya gonna leave me hanging upside down on the tower forever...?" "Heh~ you're gonna stay there and rot till eternity Chaton." "NoooOOooOOoOOooooo..." . . . ~(x)~

#my writing #my fanfiction #miraculous Ladybug #miraculous Ladybug and chat noir #ladybug #chat noir #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrienette #adrinette #marichat #ladynoir #love square #comedy #fluff #slight angst #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #tikki

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janaikam · 4 years

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My second to last commission for the @mlbforblm drive. This one was a pool request by @chatnoirinette for a djwifi date with marichat/ladrien. Because I’m marichat trash I decided to make this one with djwifi and marichat. I hope you all enjoy!

Thank you @marikittynoir for betareading!

Summary: Walking back home one night, Alya spots Marinette letting Chat Noir into her room. Alya and Nino accidentally uncover a bit more than expected when confronting their friend about the situation.

“Nino, I’m fine. This isn’t the first time I’ve walked back home alone.” Alya held her phone close to her ear as she glanced from side to side, watching for cars before crossing the sidewalk.

She was passing by her old college, Francois Dupont, which meant she had only a ten-minute walk left until she got home safe and sound.

Unfortunately, Nino wasn’t having any of that.

“Yeah, you do, but normally you’re walking in the daylight not the middle of the night!” Nino exclaimed on the other end. She could just imagine him pacing in his room, worrying about her. Nino was super sweet and she loved that he cared so much, but times, like this, it could be really annoying.

“I didn’t mean to stay so long at the library on purpose, but hey, at least I didn’t stay until dawn again! Plus this time I called you,” Alya pointed out.

The library Alya had just come from was this new 24 hour one that opened up. They had regular library hours, but if you wanted to stay behind and do your own research they let you pay for a membership. Alya had jumped on the opportunity as soon as she heard that they had a whole section on superheroes. There had been many times when she either stayed at the library all night or fallen asleep and Nora had to come pick her up because it got too late.

Tonight she really tried to leave at a decent time. She had even set an alarm, but that darn snooze button would be the death of her. She had been doing some research on past Ladybug miraculous users for the Ladyblog, and by her probably 10th time pressing snooze, she had noticed a bunch of college-aged students glaring at her. She had packed up everything really quickly and exited the building before checking the time on her phone. It had been 11:00 P.M.

“Do I have to start coming with you to make sure this stops happening?”

Alya rolled her eyes as she stopped at the crosswalk not too far from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. The bakery lights were off, but she could see Marinette’s bedroom light still on. Hmm. Maybe she could throw pebbles at her window like a little Romeo. But then Marinette would convince her to stay the night and she couldn’t afford to do that.

“No, dad. I’m fine. In fact, I’m about to pass by Marineee…” Alya trailed off, staring blankly at Marinette’s balcony.

Alya watched as Chat Noir landed on top of the balcony. He knocked twice before Marinette’s head poked out of the trapdoor and she kissed him on the cheek before moving so Chat could enter her room.

“Alya?! Are you there? What’s wrong?” Nino’s panicked voice interrupted Alya’s racing thoughts.

Alya gulped as the crosswalk light turned green, but she didn’t move an inch too scared that she might unravel what she just witnessed.

“Nino, I think Marinette is dating Chat Noir.”

XXX

No one could ever say Nino never supported Alya.

Alya wanted to be the power duo at Just Dance? He broke out his best dancing shoes and helped her climb to the top.

Alya wanted to chase akumas? Nino was there by her side, making sure she didn’t kill herself in the process.

Alya wanted to be a superhero? Nino was Rena Rouge’s number one fan and everyone knew it.

Alya wanted to help track down Hawkmoth? Well, Nino was more than happy to give the old fart a piece of his mind.

But when Alya suggested her best friend was dating the cat-themed superhero of Paris? Well, that was just a little too hard for him to believe.

Ignoring the fact that Marinette has a giant crush on his best friend, Chat Noir just wasn’t her type. Marinette never seemed to be interested in the boastful arrogant types. At least from what he remembered about her. But then again he could be wrong about her. Heck, he could even be wrong about Chat Noir. Yet none of that even began to explain why the two of them would be spending time with each other that they would start to even date.

It just made 0 sense.

“Nnnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooo,” Alya drawled. “I know what I saw. Marinette kissed Chat Noir and then proceeded to let him into her room!”

“Maybe it isn’t what you think it is?” Nino suggested hopefully.

“What am I supposed to think, Nino!? That my best friend is just sneaking a boy in a leather-looking magical catsuit into her room in the middle of the night for the heck of it?”

Nino shrugged. “They could just be friends who are hanging out? Chat Noir doesn’t always have to parade around as Paris’ superhero. He’s probably just a normal everyday person and Marinette decided to help him feel normal. I mean Marinette is super nice about those things.”

“But the kiss! The Kiss, Nino!”

“Uhh...maybe they’re friendly? I mean we’re French. We kiss in greeting.”

Alya gave Nino a deadpanned look.

“What else am I supposed to say? There are so many other logical explanations for why Marinette would kiss Chat Noir as he snuck into her bedroom.” Nino paused for a second. “Okay, that sounded really bad as I said it, but c’mon Alya. You really think Marinette would start dating Chat Noir?”

Alya tapped a pen on his cap. “That’s what I’m going to find out!”

Nino groaned, knowing Alya she’d devise some crazy scheme to get Marinette to confess that she was dating Chat Noir.

“Alya, please, don’t do anything stupid,” he begged.

“Stupid? Who me?” Alya blinked innocently as she walked towards the door. “Relax, I’ve got it all figured out.”

Alya winked at him as she exited the apartment.

Hopefully, Marinette has better luck than me convincing her.

XXX

“On your left!” Adrien shouted as he moved his cat-themed character across the Marshmallow Marsh.

Thanks to Adrien, Nino just narrowly avoided a sugar bomb. Maneuvering around the sticky mess left in its wake, Nino was able to catch up to Adrien’s character as they reached the end of the marsh and the end of the level.

Candy Chompers was one of Adrien and Nino’s favorite games ever since they discovered it two months ago. They had been enamored by the sugary sweet world and all the characters and adventures that came with it.

It was really a nice change from the games that guys their age played. Less violence and gore. More cute adorable animals wanting to save their world from being overrun by the evil Candy Lord.

As the next level loaded, Nino felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He shifted his position on Adrien’s couch so he could reach the phone.

Nino groaned as he read the text from Alya. So Marinette failed at her job yesterday.

Adrien glanced at Nino. “Everything okay?”

“No.” Nino paused the game, running his hand through his hair. “Apparently, Marinette and Chat Noir are dating and it seems Alya is making us go on a double date Saturday.”

“Wait, Alya found out Marinette and Chat Noir are dating?” Adrien asked, almost fearful.

“Yeah, crazy right?” Nino set his controller on the arm of the couch. “I always thought you two would get together.”

“Heh, yeah, Marinette and I. Definitely won’t happen now. Cause she’s with Chat. Hehe.”

Nino raised his eyebrows. Adrien was acting weirder than usual. And that was saying a lot, considering he always had the lamest excuses when akumas happened. Nino never really questioned the excuses though. Whatever he was doing when they occurred was Adrien’s business.

“So you’re going on a double date with Chat Noir?”

Nino nodded.

“Awesome. Great. Amazing.”

Before Nino could ask about Adrien’s weird response, Adrien unpaused the game, forcing Nino to refocus on the level ahead.

Adrien’s behavior was weird, but maybe he just had more feelings for Marinette than Nino thought. Man, he really shouldn’t have mentioned the double date in front of Adrien. Poor dude.

XXX

“I still don’t see why you had to invite them over for a date,” Nino said, watching Alya pull out her famous chicken casserole from the oven. The smell of the dish alone was enough to get Nino’s mouth watering.

Placing the hot dish on the stove, Alya turned towards Nino. “I needed to see if this little kitty is good enough for our Mari.”

“Alya. He’s a superhero. You’ve had interviews with him. How can you say he’s not good enough for Nette?”

There was the sound of voices coming from Alya’s front door, so Nino moved to go open it. From what he could tell the two people outside of it were arguing.

“For all we know, Chat Noir could just be keeping up appearances. Knowing the entirety of Paris is watching, he could have just put on this fake personality, and underneath he’s just this ugly troll, trying to hurt our precious Marinette.”

Nino rolled his eyes at his girlfriend’s antics.

“Why are you dressed like that?” One of the voices in the hallway said. Kind sounded like Marinette if he really focused on the voice.

“I thought that this was appropriate.” Wow, that sounded a lot like Adrien. “Especially considering they think that—”

The voices stopped as soon as Nino opened the apartment door.

Huh, so it was Marinette’s voice he heard, but definitely not Adrien’s.

Marinette and Chat Noir looked like little kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Both of them looked extremely stiff as they stood next to each other right outside the apartment door.

“Oh, you’re here!” Nino jumped at Alya’s sudden appearance behind him. “Nino, don’t make them stay out there all night.”

“Yeah, c’mon in!” Nino moved aside to let the couple in.

“You came at a perfect time, I just took out the food. I’ll bring it out in just a second!” Alya said, walking back into the kitchen.

“Okay, Alya. We’ll be at the dining table,” Marinette responded, leading Chat over to the table in the dining room.

Nino wasn’t sure if it was just him, but Marinette seemed extremely tense like she was a mouse stuck in a field of mouse traps.

There was an awkward pause at the table once the three sat down. Neither of the couple in front of Nino seemed very eager to strike up a conversation. Probably just nerves.

Considering the circumstances, Nino figured that they never really expected to go on a double date ever, so now being on one was likely very weird.

“Uh, so, Chat, what do you like to do for fun?” Nino asked.

“Oh, you know. Everyday teenage boy things. Play video games, flex in the mirror, save princesses. Normal everyday activities. Hehe.”

“What games do you play?”

“I play a bit of Ultimate Mecha Strike III and Cand—OW!”

Nino watched confused as Chat Noir brought his foot up to his face and cradled it. Marinette didn’t seem at all concerned by her boyfriend’s antics. Instead, she was glancing back towards the kitchen where Alya was adding some finishing touches on her casserole.

“Oh, so you and Marinette must’ve bonded over your love for UMS3. She’s like the queen of that game. I still have yet to meet someone who could beat her at it.”

Chat Noir scoffed. “I’ve beat Little Miss Constipation Girl here at UMS3 multiple times.”

Of all the names to call Marinette, that had to be the weirdest one ever. He definitely had to ask about that later. As far as he knew , the only people who knew about the constipation incident were him, Alya, the girls, and Adrien. Well Nino only knew because Adrien had told him about his trip to London and Alya filled him in on some minor details after the fact.

Marinette either blushed in embarrassment at the nickname or at the fact that she wasn’t an unbeatable mastermind at UMS3. “You only won both times because you cheated by distracting me!”

“A true champion knows not to get distracted by the tiniest of things.” Chat had a smug smirk on his face as he watched Marinette turn as red as a tomato.

“Why you mangy little all-”

“Dinner is served!” Alya announced, interrupting Marinette.

Whatever the incident was surrounding UMS3, Nino was definitely never going to bring that up again for fear of his life or Chat’s life.

“So what were you guys talking about?” Alya asked, taking the seat beside Nino.

“Nothing much. Wow, babe this looks amazing. Let’s dig in!” Nino exclaimed, quickly grabbing a serving of the casserole.

Chat and Marinette followed suit while Alya gave Nino a look that read, ‘What the heck is going on?’. Instead of answering the exact question she was thinking, Nino turned towards his plate and started filling his mouth with food.

Alya shook her head at his antics, grabbing her own portion.

The next few minutes were spent in a comfortable silence as everyone dug into the food.

Alya really out did herself this time. Maybe Marinette should sneak around with superheroes more often if this is how Alya ends up cooking.

“You’re a hungry little cat aren’t you?” Alya asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Looking up, Nino saw Chat with his claw (paw?) on the spoon for the casserole dish.

“Sorry, I didn’t get to eat a whole lot today and this is really good food, Ms. Ladyblogger.”

Nino, along with Alya and Marinette, looked at Chat concerned. Of all people, Nino would’ve thought a superhero would eat enough to stay healthy. Superheroes like Chat and Ladybug were always out there running around stopping akumas. Not eating enough food? That was practically a death wish.

“Nino, could you go get the leftover coleslaw from our lunch earlier. I think Chat needs it more than Ella and Etta.”

Nino immediately complied, more than eager to help out the poor boy who consistently saved Paris.

“No, you don’t have to!” Chat started shaking his hands, trying to stop Nino.

“Dude, we have a model friend who doesn’t eat enough as it is and I always make him eat some of my leftovers. As far as I know you’re not a model, but you save Paris like everyday so a healthy diet is a must.” Nino pushed the bowl of coleslaw into Chat’s arms. “Here, take as much as you want.”

“Oh, um, thanks. I’m not really sure what to say.” Chat blushed.

“You don’t say anything. Just eat.” Marinette grabbed the coleslaw from Chat’s hands and filled his plate with a nice serving. Alya did similar and picked up the casserole dish, piling even more food onto his plate.

“Oh, okay then.” Chat picked up his fork and stared at his plate now full of food.

“I don’t see a lot of eating going on there.” Marinette had her hands on her hips, watching Chat to make sure he would eat. Chat clearly didn’t want to test Marinette on the topic of food, so he complied by eating the food in front of him.

“I think I finally get it. Marinette is dating Chat to make sure that he would be eating enough!” Alya shouted after a few minutes watching the two.

“Wait what you think I’m dating Chat!?” “That’s exactly the reason!”

Marinette and Chat blurted at the same time.

Nino furrowed his eyebrows at Marinette’s statement. That didn’t make a lot of sense considering they were currently on a double date.

“Wait, what do you mean you and Chat aren’t dating?” Apparently, Alya also picked up on Marinette’s statement.

“Um, well you see Chat is here, umm, filling in for Adrien because you mentioned how you saw me with my boyfriend and I’m dating Adrien hehe.” Marinette smiled unconvincingly.

“So you’re not dating Chat Noir?”

Marinette shook her head. “I’m not...did you think I was?”

“Uh, yeah! I saw him sneak into your room one night and you kissed him on the cheek!”

Marinette glanced at Chat. “Oh, uh, you saw that? Chat and I just hang out sometimes. Giving each other cheek kisses and all.”

Alya blinked while Nino grinned at the explanation. It was practically the same explanation he had given Alya when this whole thing started.

“Oh. Then that means you’re dating Adrien?”

Marinette nodded.

“And Chat filled in because Adrien couldn’t make it?”

Marinette nodded again.

“Uh, I have a question.” Nino felt the entire table’s eyes on him as he spoke. “Why did Chat volunteer if you and Adrien were keeping your relationship a secret? Why not just say Adrien couldn’t come instead of outing your secret to three people?”

“Adrien and I are bad at keeping secrets?” Marinette said more so as a question.

“Clearly.” Alya sighed. Nino could tell she was just as confused as he was.

There was just something about her story that didn’t add up. It was really bugging him, but he couldn’t place his finger on it.

Unless it was…

“Hey, Nette, did you ever tell Chat about the prescription incident?”

“No, why?”

That was it. That was what didn’t make sense. “Why did Chat call you ‘Little Miss Constipation Girl’ earlier?”

“Uhh…”

“There was another constipation incident!”

Alya gave the pair a look of disbelief. “As much as I could believe Marinette had some separate constipation incident. I feel like your actions suggest otherwise.”

“I mean it’s not like there’s anything ba—Oh my gosh, Chat’s Adrien.” The answer just hit Nino like a bullet train. How could he have been so blind. Adrien was the only dude who even knew about that stupid constipation incident. And then his actions lined up almost perfectly with how Chat acted. Even his reaction at the dinner invite. He was probably completely confused on who he was supposed to show up as.

“How could I have been so blind!” Alya exclaimed next to him.

“I guess we let the Chat out of the bag, huh?” Chat whispered to Marinette.

“No, you did!”

“Nah, it was a team effort.”

#miraculous ladybug #mlbforblm #my fic #my writing #janai's writing #double date fiasco #marichat #djwifi #marinette #adrien #alya #nino #double date #post reveal post relationship

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wastedtalents · 3 years

Text

System of a Down

Toxicity

Track 61 of 433

Chop suey is the song for this one.

Turn it up, stuff those buds in deep

Turn it all the way up…...

I’ve always been such a sucker for a damsel in distress, or any other female at this point. Always…

I was taught young how to take care of a female, no matter what the cost I guess.

In the alcoholic family dynamic I’ve equated myself as the lost child.

Vanessa gave me a soft spot for females, It’s something that is so incredibly hard to wall up. Left unguarded the two combined, it’s a downfall that has the ability to destroy a village like the Black Plague or maybe Hiroshima….. but slower.

One day I’m at work,

I’m running the fuck out of this gas station. I’m good at this, I get a call out to the gas pumps to help a customer.

It’s a small town, small town service. Clean your windshield with every fill up and can we check your oil? Hmmm bmw…..

I’ll go get the dipstick….

He’s in the shop fix’n stuff.

Oil’s good and everything looks fine

Have a great day and a safe weekend!

No thank you…... tip the gas attendant…..he works Harder than me.

Service with a smile.

I stand up and there’s a baby blue IrocZ on the corner of the lot. Chevy’s version if my Pontiac TransAm, I’m looking at the car, I’m sizing it up. I just built a custom small block 400 hp++

I don’t like the nose on it he Chevy but they are both F bodies. So I’m looking…….

Stock rims, I’m running aftermarket, interior looks light, not a huge fan cuz I’m a little messy.

Curly long blonde hair and this sparkly blue dress…. Wait two sparkling dresses and a blonde, brunette duo in the front. Nice!

I started to walk back inside and I heard my name.

The baby blue F body with the light sparkly interior called my name? Who the hell is this?

She wasn’t there for gas.

She’s all grown up. The last time I saw her was 7 or 8 years ago. Just when I was starting to be molested….

Jesus really, that memory again.

It’s Johns niece, her brothers long lost children. Mom took them away a long time ago. For reasons I think I understand.

It’s my mother’s ex boyfriends grand daughter and she latched on to me.

We hung out for a few weeks here and there. She was a bad girl, free from her parents. She was staying with a friend several towns away away from home.

I didn’t really care to ask and she wasn’t interested in talking about it.

She’s really very attractive, a few years younger and has a tendency to be pretty aggressive at times, physically. Tom boy I guess is a good definition but more like a hockey player.

We made plans to go out,

She’s dressed to impress and somewhere along the lines her head ends up in my lap as I’m driving.

We did not go clubbing, we did something very different.

So no in fact, in my infinite wisdom.

I slept with my mother’s ex boyfriend’s grand daughter who is also Johns niece. John being the one who started sexually abusing me when I was 13.

This is a very stupid situation I’m in but we had sex on more than one occasion.

Yeah,

Dumb ass…

Turns out she’s running from her family and her boyfriend. I found this out one night after she was thrown out of her friends house. She landed In a motel, I helped her move her things there. Her boyfriend also showed up that night and our relationship was over.

Sorta…

She was pregnant, she had two men that she slept with. She told me she couldn’t get pregnant because of a medical procedure gone wrong, she said she was suing the gyno.

She went full term with the baby. She caught chicken pox from a family member. There were complications and she died giving birth. No paternity test was ever done. We will never know who the father is. Her grandmother raised her and has since moved to another state.

This is the first time I’ve put all this in the same place, nobody knows the whole story. I’ve always accepted full responsibility and I blame myself every day for her death

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theretirementstory · 3 years

Text

Bonjour et bienvenue to a sunny Bar-sur-Aube where the temperature has risen 6 degrees since I woke up and we now have 8c. The sun is rapidly clearing the fog and I am hoping for another wonderful autumnal day.

How quickly the weeks are passing by, I have been back from the UK for over four weeks now and although I feel that I have not done very much in that time, I am sure that I have.

I hope that I have cut the grass for the last time and can soon return the patio furniture to the garage. I do believe that I have turned the water off in the garage but I know when I turn the tap on it does discharge a small amount of water and will slowly drip. I guess I will have to ask “Mighty Michel” , my neighbour, to check I have done it properly.

Just had a telephone call from my friend Anie, I asked if she was going to have a walk today. She said did I want to go for a walk? I remembered it is the “chasse” season and was a bit concerned about going into the woods for a walk. We are going to go near the lakes where it is forbidden for the « chasse ». She asked if we were going in her car and I volunteered mine, so now I have to drive to goodness knows where but it will be an enjoyable time I am sure.

I took the bull by the horns this week and arranged a rdv with the kitchen design man at my local store. I only wanted an oven housing and a new oven. Success I have ordered it, paid in full and will be waiting with bated breath for the end of November when it will be installed.

My new found Finnish friend messaged me to say that this weekend in her village there was to be a market at one of the « pressoir », there would be apéros at 6pm with a folk duo providing the entertainment on Saturday evening. I knew I wouldn’t want to drive back at dusk or later so said I would go up around 2pm in the afternoon. Expecting to just be out a couple of hours I hung washing out to dry and left chicken cooking in the slow cooker. What an afternoon I had, everyone made me so welcome and I even ended up going in the charabanc around part of the 8 hectares of vines with a group of ladies, enjoying a glass of bubbly at the three stops we made. Funnily enough, I saw the « garagiste« , that used to work on my Golf, with his wife and daughter. We spoke and it turns out he is the oldest friend of my Finnish friends husband. She was surprised that we knew each other. So much for my couple of hours, I didn’t arrive home until after 6pm and I was just buzzing! The lady who owns the pressoir was so lovely, asking me to go up again to visit the caves. I do need to visit the village again as it holds a rare secret…… more about that at a later date.

My gorgeous granddaughter has been in contact with someone with Covid, she has had a cough, runny nose etc but »The Daddy« and « The Mummy » think it may just be a cold, they are awaiting results from a PCR test. Hopefully her baby brother doesn’t catch it.

» The Paralegal » has had a very busy week but he is the happiest I have seen him in sometime. Working regular hours means that he can have more time for fun and he has even got back into walking. Long may it continue.

I leave you with Robert Louis Stevenson « Happy Thought »

« The world is so full of a number of things, I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings »

Bon dimanche!

#champagne #barsuraube #photography #landscape #livingthedream

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chocochar · 4 years

Note

Hi! Could you write a one shot where Hawks takes out his secretary, whom he has a massive crush on, out to a fancy dinner? They think it’s all for business but later it’s revealed Hawks took them out on a date. Pls and thank you!

(AN: I’m SO SORRY this took so long! I had it started for a while but my brain was radio static TuT But it’s dooone, hope you enjoy and thank you for the request!)

"Come oooon, (F/n), don't make me beg~" Hawks already is begging, and (F/n) sighs as she fixes the papers on her desk. For the last week now this birdbrain has bothered her every day to go to this new restaurant with him. They supposedly have incredible food, especially their chicken and seafood, and for some reason she was his choice to take there.

Being the secretary of the no. 2 hero, for the most part, is fine. She comes to work, gets the jobs she has done, then goes home. At least at first, but working for him for a few months now there's definitely been a shift; he's more attentive when it comes to her, even if it's a typically boring discussion about a job he did, his eyes never leave her and he's always got the grin on his handsome face. He also seems to listen more, like when she told him to pay more attention to his own health in a fight last week he's had fewer injuries they'd need to take care of. Which means less stress for her.

If she didn't know any better she'd assume he has a crush on her, but that's a silly thought right? She's just looking too into it.

"Takami-san, I've told you more than once I'm not going. Why don't you ask one of your sidekicks?" She asks, turning to face him.

"Cause I asked you, that's why," he pouts slightly, before continuing,"C'mon, it'll be fun, I'll pay for everything! I wanna take you out, pleeease?"

"Why are you so persistant?" she asks the younger hero, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Cause I like you," he grins, (F/n) jolting and looking at him in surprise. No, no why is she getting so shocked over hearing that? There's no hidden meaning behind it! Shaking her head she finishes tidying up her desk and goes to pass him when his arm is suddenly blocking her way. He's leaning against the wall, palm pressed against it, and throwing the puppy dog eyes her way. "Please, (F/n)?"

She narrows her eyes, ready to throw out another 'no', but sighs,"Fine, fine, I'll go."

He smiles brightly and holds up two thumbs up, saying,"I knew you'd give in eventually! You're off Saturday, right? I'll swoop on over to your house and pick you up around 6 or 7, is that good for you?"

She nods, and it's set, the woman watching him go before she leaves the agency. 'Why did I agree?? Damn him and those puppy dog eyes! This kid is going to be the death of me.' she thinks while rubbing her neck, pulling out her phone and putting it into her calendar.

[X][X][X]

Saturday comes and (F/n) dresses up in nice, formal clothes. She puts on some makeup, does her hair, and checks herself in the mirror; does she look too done up for this? After all, it is just dinner with Hawks.

'He'll probably tease me or something about looking so nice while he's in his hero outfit or something casual,' she thinks, debating on changing or not. But she doesn't get the chance to decide when a knock comes at her front door and she hurries to it. Opening it she's surprised to find Hawks here already, as well as carrying a rose and actually looking... nice! She nearly rubs her eyes to make sure she isn't seeing things. He's in a loose fitting suit that he pulls off really well, his hair looks a little more styled, and he looks like he's blushing lightly looking her over.

"Wow, (F/n), I was coming ready to get you to change but you look nice," he smiles. He hands her the flower and she thanks him taking it, walking inside letting him come in as she goes to find a vase or cup to put water into for the plant.

"I think I'm even more shocked, Takami-kun," she replies, coming back after getting the rose in water. "You look very handsome though."

He grins while his cheeks turn redder, scratching the back of his head, saying,"Awww, really?? You always know what to say, (F/n).~" Checking the time he asks,"So, ya ready then?"

"Sure," she replies leaving her apartment with him before locking the door. She looks around below in the parking lot but doesn't see any unfamiliar or new cars, so she asks,"Uh, where's your-"

"Oh we're not driving," he answers before she's suddenly lifted into his arms,"I thought you'd prefer to see the sights so we're taking to the skies.~"

"W-Wait what??" she asks with wide eyes; her arms wrap tight around his neck as his wings unfurl and they take a large leap into the air. She goes to scream burying her face in his jacket, but goes quiet when wind starts whipping at her arms and hair. Peeking she's shocked to find they're already quite high above the buildings, the growing night giving them more cover as they fly. He's not zooming around, fortunately, he seems to be taking it slow probably so she doesn't panic, and his arms have a tight hold under her back and knees so she feels more secure. She's still terrified but is slowly calming down admiring all the lights below as well as the parks they soar over. He grins seeing the entranced gaze she has and asks,"Never seen anything like it, huh?"

"No, it's... It's beautiful," she replies, smiling herself. It's odd what's going on, but she won't complain.

"Yeah, sure is," he sighs, his eyes lingering on her before he focuses ahead of them as they get close to the restaurant.

He starts to glide down until reaching the sidewalk and landing on both feet his wings close and he places (F/n) back on her own legs. She holds onto his shoulder for a moment, her limbs feeling like jelly, before shaking off the feeling and letting him go before looking at the place. It's really nice on the outside, and she can smell the food from out here, it smells delicious! She looked up reviews before coming, all positive about the atmosphere and delicacies... Is he really okay bringing her to a place like this? This is more of a place couples come to right?

Shrugging that off she follows Hawks to the entrance double doors and stops when he opens the door and says in a charming way,"Ladies first.~"

Rolling her eyes she smiles and replies,"Thank you." before walking in. It certainly is exquisite, definitely not a place she could afford on her own. She actually turns to the bird hero and asks,"Takami, are you sure about this? I don't know if I can afford it."

He gives her a puzzled look before waving her off. "Don't worry, (F/n), I'm paying for everything."

She wants to tell him that that wouldn't be appropriate but already a welcomer comes up to the duo and whisks them off to a table before she can get a word in. It's an especially nice looking set up too, and as they pass by seated patrons she takes note of their appearances; from the pricey looking outfits to the jewelery that twinkles under the lights she feels slightly out of place.

Sitting across from her boss the secretary can't stop looking over everything, and he laughs at how almost childlike it is.

"If I knew you'd be reacting this cute I'd have taken you somewhere like this sooner," he grins and she turns back to him with pink cheeks. "Although this time I wasn't rejected, meaning I could finally see it.~"

"T-Takami," she mumbles, pushing some (hair color) locks behind her ear while willing away the growing blush on her cheeks. "Are you sure this is okay? I mean, I couldn't possibly ask you to-"

He holds a hand up and presses a finger to his lips, her mouth closing while he retorts,"I already planned this out, (F/n), I couldn't possibly expect you to pay, right? That wouldn't be very gentlemanly." He smiles sweetly at her and she feels her heart thump louder in her chest. Clearing her throat she nods, opening the menu... And nearly leaving the moment she saw the prices. The only thing stopping her is his wing and him assuring her it's fine.

[X][X][X]

After the two order they get to talking, a lot of it being Hawks asking her about more personal things like her hobbies, what she does after work, does she like this or this, and (F/n) answers truthfully although she thinks,'I don't quite get what's going on, I thought this was just going to be for business mostly but it feels more personal...' Their hands have brushed more than once and he keeps complimenting her making her flustered.

Taking a sip of her water she changes the subject and asks,"So, are you alright after that fight the other day? Your wings look much better."

"We handled it just fine, did you have your doubts?" he teases.

"I just worry for you, Takami, I care about you," she honestly answers. He's a little surprised hearing this and he feels his cheeks turning warm as he brings up a hand to try to hide it. She cocks a brow, asking,"Are you okay, Takami?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine," he tries to play it off but this woman... She always seems to make him weak like this.

Originally he hired her because she seemed to know what she was doing and has done her job well every step of the way, but over the months they've been working together he started to notice small things like the way she bites her pen when stumped on work, or will nibble her lip when thinking. Slowly he started noticing more and more things, and before he knew it he realized he grew feelings. Even tonight she looks adorable! And he finally managed to score a date with her, so he wanted to make it all special.

She gives him a soft smile and says,"Alright, well anyways, I'll always have faith in you, Takami, even if I worry and scold you."

He returns the smile and decides to say,"You know, you don't have to call me Takami."

She looks confused now, and he continues,"Just call me Keigo." She blinks in slight surprise; that's odd to say. After all, 'Keigo' would be rather personal right??

"Um... I suppose, but would that be okay, I mean-"

She can't finish as their food is brought and Hawks' eyes light up with anticipation as his dish of chicken is placed in front of him. (F/n) also almost starts drooling at the smells alone. She takes a bite, and melts right away. No wonder this place is so well received! Looking at the hero in front of her he's already started eating, the sight of him looking so happy causing her to giggle at the faces he's making. His golden eyes move to look at her as he stops, and she laughs,"Sorry, sorry, you're acting really... It's cute!"

His face erupts in red at this and he lifts some of the chicken on a fork up to her mouth. She calms down and eyes the food puzzled.

"Here, try, it's pretty good," he grins and now it's her turn to go red in the face. He's feeding it to her?? It's such a simple gesture but her racing heart won't shut up! She also realizes he's taken a bite from it...

"N-No, I'm fine," she tries to tell him, holding up her hands and waving them in front of her.

"Aww, c'mon, (F/n), it's not going to bite," he teases playfully, and she swallows looking at the fork. Everything about this is way too strange, although this whole night has had a series of odd moments. Biting her lip she decides to do it, leaning forward and biting into it. It's really good, but she's having trouble focusing on the food when he finishes it off. Swallowing it down she keeps eating but has trouble focusing.

It goes quiet between the duo and Hawks catches on pretty quickly as his eyes lift to find her staring at her plate, lost in thought with furrowed brows. He stops and asks,"Uh, (F/n), you okay?" When she doesn't answer he lifts a hand to wave in front of her face and says,"Earth to (F/n), hello? You still with me?"

"Takami, if it isn't too strange to ask, why did you want to bring me here?"

Hawks freezes, appearing puzzled and pulling his hand back.

"What do you mean? Isn't it obvious?" he asks tilting his head, to which her response is a shake of the head. Wait is she being serious here? "Really? I thought it was pretty out in the open but do I gotta say it?"

"Yes, because truthfully I've been confused, isn't this just a sort of business dinner or something?" she asks with an (adorably) confused expression.

He on the other hand stares at her in an almost incredulous way. This... Cute, blind idiot.

"(F/n), I was taking you on a date," he finally answers. (F/n) goes wide eyed once she realizes what he said. 'A d-date?! I-Is that even appropriate?!' Technically yes, there's no laws saying they can't date each other, but... "That's why I got the flowers and got all dressed up, I was trying to make a good impression."

"B-But wait, why?! How long have you...??" she asks in a flustered way, her face red.

He scratches the back of his head while he replies,"Liked you? I'd say 2 months, maybe? I thought I was being pretty obvious, I wasn't being subtle with my flirting, (F/n)." Seeing how shocked she is, how much her blush has grown, he teases,"See, how can I not go for you when you're acting so adorable?~"

Her heart won't let up and she hides her face in her hands, groaning,"I had no idea... Hawks, why tell me now?..." Her reaction causes his smile to lower and he rubs his neck.

"Is this too uncomfortable?" He asks, which causes her to lift her head to look at him; his expression is a dejected one as he averts his eyes, his smile now more sad as he chuckles,"Maybe I flew too close to the sun, right? I was hoping I'd finally win you over with this but maybe I was expecting too much, huh?" He meets her eyes finally and finishes,"Sorry, (F/n). If you want I'll take you home."

She's silent staring at the hero, unable to find the words. The look he has her pounding heart starts to ache; sure she's shocked by this, but she wouldn't say she's uncomfortable, this was just unexpected. He did seem to pull out the stops, too, and hearing him sound so sad fills a guilty hole in her gut. She's noticed the flirting, she's noticed his watching her more often than before, she just never put the pieces together until hearing it from his own mouth. If she'd known this was a date...

After taking a few moments to think it all over she shakes her head, and responds,"No, Takami, it's okay, really! I'm not uncomfortable being here, to be honest you've been quite the gentleman." She smiles and his cheeks turn pink. "I'm more just really surprised, but... I suppose finishing this date won't hurt, especially now knowing that's what it is."

He eyes her, asking,"Are you sure?" She gives him a warm look and he slowly smiles back.

"Well if you're okay then let's eat.~"

[X][X][X]

The dinner ends and the two leave full and content. After they walk out (F/n) is swept off her feet again and looping her arms around the bird hero's neck she holds tight, still not used to flying.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just drive??" She asks as they drift through the air.

"And miss the best part of the night? Just hold onto me, I won't let you fall," he assures the nervous secretary. She nods and does just that, her arms holding a lock on him while her eyes glide over all the lights below. She's so lost in the sights she misses them heading towards a tall building's roof until they land and he sets her on her feet. He keeps a hold on her as she gains her own footing, and when (F/n) looks ahead she's mesmerized by the sights. Hawks smiles seeing the way her (eye color) orbs light up and still not moving his hand off her side he asks,"Pretty, right? That's one thing I love about being able to fly, at night I get a front row seat to see things like this."

"It must be nice," she replies with a grin, before realizing his hand is still on her. She's still slightly worried about going into this type of relationship with him, after all he's her boss, but over dinner she'd been thinking it over, and she made her decision. "Keigo."

He looks at her in surprise and she smiles warmly and says,"Thank you for tonight. I'm a bit hesitant, I'll admit, to start a relationship but... If it's you I suppose I can make an exception.~"

Hawks is even more taken back, his eyes widening and for once he's speechless, before he grows a happy grin and he asks,"So there's a possibility to make you Mrs. Takami, too, right?~"

"Wait what-" she asks with shock but she's silenced when he suddenly kisses her. It's a short, sweet, yet still deep kiss and she almost melts into it before he pulls back. His smile becomes more charming and he chuckles,"Just kidding, for now we'll just be two turtle doves, but I'll get you to say yes one day, just wait.~"

Her face is red and hot and she sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose before she looks at him with a smile of her own and replies,"We'll see what happens, Keigo.~"

"I'm not hearing a no," he practically coos and shaking her head she pulls hims close and pecks his lips.

"We'll see, birdbrain.~"

#hawks x reader #hawks bnha #hawks mha #hawks fanfiction #hawks x secretary reader

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atlas-of-a-human-soul · 4 years

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Fix Me (doctor/soulmate AU) {3}

Summary: When emotions run high, even soulmates fight. But, following his brother’s advice, Ethan finds a way to make up for it by including his soulmate in solving a conspiracy theory leading to events that would surely make them much closer than they first were. Plus, it shows what a dynamic duo they make.

Warnings: angst, fluff, sexual innuendos, swearing

Word count: 7.5k

Fix Me (doctor/soulmate AU) series Masterlist

A/N - heavily inspired by Grey’s anatomy, my own experiences and thoughts, but also by songs: Birdy - Not about angels, Bear’s den - Fortress, Matthew and the atlas - Out of the darkness, Harry Styles - Falling, Kodaline - Wherever you are.

I really hope you guys like it! Feedback is always wanted and appreciated, no matter how small or big it is!

If you want to be tagged for future parts, reply down below.

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Induratize – to make one’s own heart hardened or resistant to someone’s pleas or advances, or the idea of love

Pain. That's her first grasp on reality. It's not something she's unused to; just as she's used to the smell of the disinfectant, Y/N knew of pain in all varieties. However, for the first time ever, she had something different in a hospital setting - a hand to hold.

From time to time, Ethan’s eyes drop to the bed sheets, but mostly they are fixed on her ashen face in a soft stare so that whenever she opens her eyes he’d be the first thing she sees. And once he notices her fingers twitch in his hold, he holds his breath in anticipation of her reaction. He feared she might be unhappy with his presence, but he refused to let go, simply closing his eyes to hide his vigilance.

Opening her eyes in a flash, her neck cracked with the sudden movement for she had to see who the hand belonged to. For a moment she thought it might be one of her parents, the painkillers playing with her mind, making her forget. But she knew it couldn't be them. It was impossible unless there was a new drug that raises the dead.

"Grant?" She croaked, her throat scratchy and her voice hoarse, the consequences of her throat closing leaving her with something to remember for a few days. Who knew she'd manage to get a penicillin allergy after her...fiftieth time taking it? She always felt like a magnet for bad luck and that incident didn't dissuade her.

Ethan wasn't really asleep, not after the night he's had. She needed oxygen more than once and her blood pressure kept dropping even with his efforts to keep it up. It felt like she decided to leave him and no matter how badly he fought for her, she was slipping through his fingers like sand.

"Yes?" He murmured, eyes still closed, lips set in a frown as if hearing her call him Grant didn't make his heart jump. He wasn't a morning person and she just realized it. Three nights they've truly known each other, three nights spent together and only on the third did she stay long enough to learn that and the only reason why she stayed is because she was physically incapable of leaving.

"Do I have the fucking plague?" She cracked a smile, struggling to speak but for a reason she couldn't quite understand, Y/N wanted to speak to him, for him, to make him laugh. The frown on his face hurt her more than it should.

She didn't get a smile, but he did open one eye in uncertainty, allowing him to bask in her meek smile. It wasn't much to someone watching from the sidelines, but it meant the world to him. She wanted to cheer him up. She wanted to see him smile. Even with her know it all, sassy, fuck the world mask, Y/N cared for Ethan and he knew that now. Even if that part of her is small, it's a start. Her heart may be hardened to love and soulmates, but he was softening her up. It’s a slow, difficult process, but Ethan is nothing if not dedicated.

"No. Neither of us got the plague, but the man who did have it died." Ethan told her, deciding hiding it from her isn't wise. She'd ask about him anyway.

Clearing her throat, she pulled her hand out of his, wiping it on the sheets as if his touch is unwanted - as if he was the one who initiated the whole thing.

"Great, so when can I get back to work?" She propped herself up on her elbows, willing to get back on her feet. In her ambition to get back in the operating room, Y/N completely missed the dismissive shake of Ethan's head and the way he jumped to his feet to pull her back.

"You're not going anywhere. In fact, you're on leave for the next week." Ethan stated, a little harshly for his taste but she gets his blood boiling way too easily and he always falls for it. She's a beautiful woman, but it's not her beauty that drives him insane.

"What do you mean? I'm an intern! Interns don't take sick days!" She insisted, sitting right back up, the stress his words caused raised her cortisol and adrenaline levels up in an instant. In all his years, he had never met a woman as stubborn as she is. For Ethan, Y/N was either wildly naive or dangerously intelligent and it is the kindness of her heart and the sharpness of her mind that enriched her soul and drew his close.

"Well, they do when their boss says so and I'm saying so. I've talked to the chief and he agrees. So, you better not show up here before next week and when you do come back, you will be doing scut for a week." Eyebrows knit together, eyes hard, Ethan seemed like an unrelenting force she couldn't fight. Not now when sitting up made her woozy and she knew he was right.

Not that's she'd tell him that.

Ever.

"Why scut?! As if being home isn't punishment enough? What am I being punished for? Huh?" Lowering her voice, Y/N felt her heart skip as the thoughts formed in her head and her mouth was quick to follow. Sometimes she acted on impulse and it wasn't always for the better.

"For leaving the morning after? Because I'm not your hookup, Grant, I am your intern. You don't get to tear into me just because I fucked you once." Swallowing thickly as she stared at his impassive face, she knew she went too far and it wasn't the time nor place and far from the way she wanted to address that night. She was just angry, trying to get some control over the situation she had no way of controlling and it absolutely drove her mad. Perhaps she wanted to get a rise out of him too. So she fucked up. She could tell just by the way his shoulders tensed and his jaw clenched and the warm flames in his eyes were extinguished.

"You have your orders. I have nothing else to say to you." Ethan turned on his heel and before she had a chance to stop him, to apologize, to thank him for saving her life, Ethan was already gone and she was left with regret and guilt.

Too used to pushing people away to protect herself, Y/N now spent her time hating herself for being so quick to speak her mind. Maybe if she was softer, playing dumb like men expect girls to, Ethan would have let her come back to work. But no, she couldn't hold her tongue and she could never play dumb to get anyone's approval. She'd hate herself more if she did.

However, she could always annoy him for progress. What more could he do? He already put her in the corner for doing everything right and then he gave her the worst job for a week to keep punishing her! At least she could get some justice by getting on his nerves, texting him random facts about animals, sending him memes on mean bosses and even voicemails where she talks herself to death about how she was right and he wasn't. All she got was Seen and a daily delivery of chicken soup with bagels and a bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice. The Get Better basket never had a note, but she knew it was his doing. Ethan cared, even if it’s a little and she couldn’t hide the smile that appeared on her lips every morning she received his thoughtful gift.

But Ethan was worse off than her. After finally having her back in his life, he managed to make himself the enemy. And he knew what he was doing was for her own good so she wouldn't make the same mistakes again, so she could use the week off to get back on her feet because going into anaphylactic shock isn't a walk in the park like she pretended to be. If he didn't bench her she would have put her health at risk and he couldn't let her do it.

Eunoia – beautiful thinking, a well mind

"You sent her home?" Grayson whisper shouted, swiftly pulling Ethan into the on-call room.

"She almost died! What am I supposed to do? Put a scalpel in her hand and let her cut someone open when she's barely standing on her own two feet?!" Ethan wasn't quite as quiet as his brother, his emotions on the verge of spilling out like a river once the dam breaks. Ethan always went through the extremes – he either loved too much or didn’t care at all, the same could apply to his temper.

"No, but you could have let her do paperwork? To observe? To watch your department for you?" Grayson listed which made Ethan's eyes widen, realizing he might have been harder on her than he thought. She’s too good at pushing his buttons, he knew it, but this good? For him to think so irrationally he couldn’t understand his own choices or see beyond his emotions? Never did he realize her influence went so deep.

"Just look at it this way: if you got sent home for a week in your intern year, you'd hate the attendee who did it. And she's more than just an intern and you need to be more careful if you want her to see you as more than just her boss. You're acting like a soulmate not a professional." Grayson explained and his clarification had stumped Ethan. He really needs to think before he acts but she makes all rational thought go out the window.

"But I also gave her a week of scut." Ethan sucked in a deep breath, shaking his head. He couldn't take it back just like that because she'd see him as easily manipulated and he couldn't allow that to spread among the other interns. He had to be a little harder than he should if she wanted to know that everything she got was due to her hard work and not because she slept with him or because she is his soulmate.

"You're in big trouble. But I do recommend you to find a way to work with her on something. It doesn't have to be a surgery and it doesn't have to be in this hospital. Find something to connect over."

Thinking how his brother is now the one who has his shit together made Ethan smile but it also made him worry. Isn't Grayson the one who does things impulsively and fucks things up? Seems like that's no longer the case but at least the advice he gave Ethan was enough for him to get an idea.

It took him a couple of days but when inspiration struck, Ethan was so excited for the implementation of his plan for more than one reason – it was for the greater good and he’d get to see her again. Any excuse to do that was more than exhilarating.

He didn't wait after his shift was done, driving to her apartment with the sole intention of convincing her of a theory many would think was insane but he was sure it was a conspiracy she could help him with.

Knocking on her door, he exhaled loudly, shaking his hands vigorously to get the nerves out. It took everything in him to stop himself from running because his heart beating so loudly was driving him insane and quite literally making him panic.

When the door finally cracked open, Y/N peeking through, Ethan felt his heart calm down and his lips pressed together.

After the way she attacked him the last time they saw each other, Ethan didn't expect her to smile at him nor let him in so easily, however, she opened the door widely and gestured for him to come inside.

He was still angry about how she spoke to him, the crudeness of her words making his blood boil but he also missed her in the past five days she had been away and he desperately needed to see her.

"What can I do for you, boss?" She leaned against a wall, looking at him intently with a small smirk upon her lips. It fell odd having him in her private life, as if he was slowly infiltrating every part of her life, making it impossible for her to ignore how badly she wanted to rip his clothes off and ride him until they're both sweaty and tired with loopy, lazy smiles as they hold each other close even after they finish.

Blushing with her thoughts, Y/N cleared her throat as it seemed Ethan wasn't listening to her before and was too busy looking around. He wanted to see her life, the part of her he'd never know if she was just an intern.

He loves the flowery light scent of the room, even more so the colorful yellow walls and green couch. He loved the art hanging on the walls and the way her carpets were all flower themed. Her entire apartment, or at least what he saw so far, had a spring theme and Ethan felt at ease.

"I'm assuming you're here for a reason, not for decorating ideas?" She cocked an eyebrow, speaking louder this time around and it certainly got his attention even if him turning around had made her breath halt in her throat. It enraged her just how attractive he is.

'Why does he have to be so fucking sexy? Like, he’s just kinking his eyebrow and not even in the obvious, over the top way he usually does! He does it so casually, so unaware that it only makes it sexier and damn it, Ethan Grant Dolan, you are ruining men for me!'

But she doesn't say any of her thoughts out loud, only swallows thickly, reminding herself of the reasons why he's not right for her.

"I have a theory and I need your help to confirm it." Swiping his thumb under his bottom lip, Ethan stepped closer. "I had a patient a while ago with breast cancer and her heart was failing due to chemo. After two doses. So, I did some tests and found there were no signs of breast cancer." Ethan waited for her to realize where he's going with this, wanting to see how quick she is on her feet and not even a second later she stood up, no longer casually leaning on the wall.

"So they're giving chemo to earn more money to patients who don't need it? They're purposefully giving people fake cancer diagnosis? How are their stats?" She spoke quickly, passionately as if she was angry, wanting to start a war. And he liked it - the way she thinks, the way her mind works and how it perfectly matched him. What he lacked, she compensated for and what she lacked, he was more than capable to cover for her. They were, despite all odds, a very dynamic duo and Ethan would soon find out just how well they work together.

"They have a ninety percent success rate for breast cancer patients." Ethan noted and he knew she was on board by the way her fists clenched and her eyes hardened. It felt like she was fire and he would have to contain it - contain her, although he’d love to set her loose on the world and see just how extensive the ruin would be.

"Well, I assume you want me to go with you and act like I found a lump so they can misdiagnose me and order me to be on chemo? To see how it works before we burn them to the ground?" She crossed her arms, raising both eyebrows in expectation and even if he wanted to, Ethan would follow her - to the ends of the Earth if necessary.

Forelsket – the euphoria you experience when you’re first falling in love

"Welcome to Smooth Cat." Ethan exclaimed as the passenger door closed and she joined him inside. She didn't quite linger on the car, barely sparing it a glance at first and he knew right away no amount of expensive shiny things will win her over. She wanted something deeper than his pockets.

"You named your car Smooth cat?" She deadpanned, her determination for this case wavering as the amusement showed in her eyes. For once, Ethan managed to make her break the cold surface with just words. Although he didn't think it was as ridiculous as her tone made it out to be.

"Don't hate the kitty when it purrs so nicely and runs so smoothly." Ethan responds, his head high and his lips pursed and so dramatically that Y/N had to crack a smile. For a moment, she mistook him for a humorous person, one that she could imagine herself laughing beside her whole damn life and that thought alone made her heart erratic and her mind chaotic.

"So, you plan on letting me come back to work a bit earlier?" She questions, figuring it's worth a shot especially when they have nothing better to talk about and the awkward silence would drive her insane otherwise. She needed the distraction and he posed as the perfect one. Just as he did that first night.

"No. Not after you went into anaphylaxis and I nearly lost you." Attempting to keep his voice calm and his head leveled, Ethan felt like his heart couldn't follow that instruction. It was more than obvious he couldn't just go back on his word. A leader is consistent and in that hospital he is meant to be a leader, not her soulmate. But his words also showed her his feelings run deeper than he shows.

"Can you honestly tell me that this is how you'd treat the others? I'm not trying to start anything but would anyone else have to do scut? Or is this about our history?" Gnawing on her bottom lip, her tongue dancing along the inside of her teeth as she waited for him to respond. She noticed his eyes turning to the screen of his car instead of the road ahead, tapping something before he turned to her entirely, his hands off the wheel and it made her eyes widen. "And can you please not get us killed?!"

"It's a Tesla. Drives itself." Ethan spoke as if that meant anything to her, as if her anxiety didn't spike at the notion of a car driving her to safety on it's own. She didn't believe that would be a safe way of traveling at all, not that Ethan seemed any better.

"And you're right. I wouldn't treat any other intern like this. In fact, if it were any other intern talking back like you did? They would be suspended." And his eyes didn't waver, looking deep into her own without blinking. Ethan meant what he said with every atom of his being and she knew it too. She knew now that she was right; he did treat her differently, she just didn't know it was for the better.

"I was angry." She quipped, swallowing her pride she saw fit to apologize even if it went against everything she wanted to do. "I'm sorry for being an ass to you...in fact, I wanted to thank you for saving my life that night."

Ethan nods, tongue swiping his bottom lip as he opens his mouth to speak. "Which night? The first one felt like I was quite heroic too." Winking, he couldn't help but notice the way she plays with her fingers, fidgeting nervously, affected by the same memories that haunt him.

"It certainly wasn't heroic but it wasn't...anything less than enjoyable either." She remarked, raising an eyebrow at his statement as if she is unbothered when in fact she is very, very bothered and horny and he could probably tell by her shy smile, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction just yet. Not until she knows where his soulmate is. Whoever it is, she needed to know if that person was in his life, to what extent and if he would be able to ignore that she has a soulmate too, wherever they may be...In a way she wondered if he was the one, but life would never serve her such luck. She's used to not getting favorable things...or men in this particular case.

"Oh, I think otherwise. I even have a certain pair of torn up lace panties and a bra to remember it by." Ethan raised his brow just the same, teasing her relentlessly, genuinely curious how red can her cheeks get. Because as much as he tried to, he couldn't forget the moans he evoked or the way her head would fall back with every dance his fingers played on her. She was and still is the muse for every dream, every fantasy and every lonely night he had to take care of himself.

"I -", Ethan leaned in, ready to hear what she has to say, thinking this might be the right time to tell her he's her forever, but Smooth Cat decided cock-blocking is acceptable and announced their arrival.

Clearing her throat, Y/N broke the eye contact, feeling the intensity of his earthly hues deep inside her heart - eyes that hooked her soul to attention only he could provide. "We should probably get in."

With a nod, Ethan opened the door and she followed his example, walking inside without turning back to look at him, determined to do this right. But for that, she had to swallow her pride once more and play the role.

Just as they enter the main hall, Y/N wrapped her arm around Ethan and his heart almost stopped with the sudden contact. She pulled him closer, glancing up at his poorly hidden shock and smiled meekly but her eyes were anything but - her eyes were hard and they were warning him to play along.

"Hi. Could you help us?" The way she asked felt so...polite? So sweet and innocent, too naively put for Ethan to ever buy the act but the sap on the other side seemed fooled.

"Of course, what can I do for you?" The guy smiles nicely, straightening his back ever so slightly to seem more confident.

"My name is Bailey Nolan and this is Grant Nolan, my husband. I, uh..I was doing a little checkup during shower and I think I felt a lump. In my breast." Shifting her voice to a smaller, fragile tone had surprised Ethan because for a moment he actually believed her too. She is all too convincing. Especially on the husband part and he can’t help but tense up when she calls him that, nor can he stop his heart from pounding uncontrollably with the notion. He imagined her calling him her soulmate and husband so many times since they first met, but to hear it felt divine. It felt better than he thought it would and he just wished she could have said it while gazing in his eyes, his arms around her as he holds her close.

Leaning in closer to the receptionist, Y/N glances left before she whispered softly: "I'm scared it might be cancer."

It didn't take long for the two to be accompanied to an examination room. With instructions to prepare for the exam, Ethan and Y/N found themselves alone for a little while.

"Expecting a free show?" Y/N narrowed her eyes at Ethan, her hands clinging to the gown left for her to change into so the examination would go quicker. She was more than willing to lose her clothes that night they met, but that was under the cloak of night and this? Being in a well-lit room with nothing to draw his attention from her body? It didn't make her as happy to strip down and flash her boobs.

"It's not like I haven't seen them before, ya know? I know exactly how they look." Ethan's cocky voice had caught her off guard just as the little step forward he made toward her. With a raised eyebrow and a vain smile Ethan tilts his head and Y/N wanted nothing more but to wipe that smirk off his face. But she couldn't. Not when his words are facts, not fiction and especially not when her body ached for his weight on top of hers.

"I kissed every inch, even the little mole nested right between -", stopping him before he finished his thought, Y/N wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes set aflame as she felt her face burning, her voice low and cold as she spoke. "I get it, but I'm asking you to stop. To not look at me now and not look at me during the ultrasound and please, for the love of God, bring me my bra back." She spoke fast and with uncertainty, mostly because she was more than lost in this new situation where she managed to not just stumble upon a one night stand but to work for him and the power balance is way off and she can’t help but feel very threatened by that.

Did she love how powerful and ambitious Ethan is? Absolutely. Did she enjoy him bossing her around? Not a chance. And she is right, the power balance in their relationship is way off, but not in the way she thinks.

She was completely unaware how whipped Ethan is for her and the way she leans a little closer to him when they talk but she doesn't do the same with anyone else. And he's absolutely crazy about the way she ties her hair in a braid so quickly while she's in the hospital, or how she seems to have fire in her soul, making her a force of nature. And yeah, she is making it hard for him not to move in and kiss her every chance he gets, but he needs to do this right. Her views on soulmates don't seem to match his and he wanted her to love him for who he is and what they've experienced together, not just a bond made by a single look as a gift from destiny. And while she changed behind the curtain, Ethan wanted her to know that too.

"I won't look. I wasn't going to. Just teasing you, darling. But the bra is mine to keep."

Necrophobia – fear of death and associated things

Before she gets a chance to retaliate, the doctor entered the room, introducing himself as Y/N laid on the table, her eyes glancing to Ethan who focused on the doctor instead of her breast as the man began a palpable examination first.

"I don't feel the lump, but I'd like to do an ultrasound too, just to be sure." Raising both eyebrows, Y/N wondered if the man had been wrongly accused by Ethan, making brief eye contact with Ethan who forgot himself and his promise for a moment in his own surprise.

"Oh." But then the doctor stopped, looking closer at the screen with his eyebrows furrowed and eyes narrowed and Y/N lifts her head.

"Oh? What do you mean by oh?" She demanded, Ethan leaning toward the screen to see better himself but even he wasn't the best in reading breast ultrasounds, that was more Grayson's specialty.

"I'm sorry to say, but I believe your worries were right."

Ringing in her ears, Y/N felt like someone hit her over the head with a rock, her mind stopping as her eyes moved to the screen the man turned for them to see.

"This", the doctor pointed at the screen and Ethan leaned in closer, his heart beating out his chest as his hand blindly searched for Y/N's to hold, wanting to give her comfort as well as seek some reassurance for himself.

"This is a solid mass and while we will need to do more tests when you're ready, my experience taught me this is often a malignancy. It's where most cancers show statistically, but you're young and I feel we caught it in time. We can set up an appointment for confirmation and more imaging, but I'm confident we will win this."

And the doctor spoke, explaining things Y/N could barely hear, feeling like she's under the water, dragged back into hell she barely escaped.

Not even realizing it, she found herself back in Ethan's Smooth Cat, her hand held tightly - no longer gingerly touched, but strongly feeling Ethan's presence. She was so thankful for that. So, so thankful.

With a growing lump inside her throat, Y/N couldn't speak, panic spreading through her as she felt Ethan's other hand touch her cheek, his thumb on her chin, tilting her head toward him.

"I called Grayson and he will meet us in an examination room at the breast unit as soon as we arrive. Remember we can't take anything he says as factual before we check. Okay? You're okay, darling. It's going to be okay." And while he tried to put up a brave front, she felt the tremors in his hands and she heard him swallow tears.

Nodding, she let out a heavy sigh of relief, his words reminding her why they were at the clinic and although she saw the lump on her ultrasound clearly, she prayed she wasn't that unlucky to get cancer. Again.

Rushing to the breast unit, Grayson is already at the door, waving the two inside. Upon entering, Ethan is basically helping Y/N rip her shirt and bra off, her breasts no longer off limits as both of them are out of their minds with worry.

"Wow, Ethan, stay the fuck outside!" Grayson shouted, throwing a sheet over an exposed Y/N, horrified by his brother and his disregard for her comfort and needs.

"We're way past that!" Ethan and Y/N scream in unison as she tosses the sheet off. Breathing uneven, her cheat rising with every shallow breath she takes, Y/N turned to Ethan who was ready to scream but stayed a few feet away. But then she outstretched her arm, her hand open with the palm turned up, her fingers wiggling to invite him closer.

Slightly reluctant, Ethan took her hand in his, fingers intertwining as he rests his elbows on the gurney, his eyes looking into hers only to find fear and unshed tears that disarmed him faster than he believed possible. It's not a secret she's been ruling his heart and mind since they met...since before that, but he never realized how willing he'd be to fall victim to her, to be her captive, to stand in the eye of the storm and admire it even when it threatens to destroy him.

Two hearts beating as one, their eyes speaking volumes about what they can't say just yet, it felt like the world faded and no one but them remained.

But the magic had been broken once Y/N felt the coldness of the gel on her breast, her hand tightened around his and her eyes closed shut. She couldn't handle seeing it again: her dreams all die and her journey to return to start - alone again, rotting in a clinic with nothing to hope for. She found medicine the first time, her graduation and desire to travel the world the second time, but third time? What will she have to look forward to? Eminent death and impending doom of finding a soulmate she never even knew about? Or Ethan?

But he has his soulmate, she reminds herself. He probably has someone waiting for him to come home, a beautiful woman, maybe a couple of kids? Who knows? He wouldn't be her saving grace this time around.

"Good news. The guy's a fraud. This ultrasound is clear. There's nothing malignant here." Grayson's smile is quick to spread, to lighten the somber atmosphere and while he probably should have stopped there, it wouldn't really be Grayson if he did, especially when Ethan and Y/N remained silent, processing the news a bit too long for Grayson's liking.

"Yeah, in fact, this is beautiful breast. It's truly phenomenal, like exquisite -", and that's when Ethan and Y/N finally tuned in, the looks on their faces saying just how far he went. Ethan covered her breasts so fast, pulling his body halfway over hers to protect her from view, his glare burning holes into his brother who raised his arms in mock surrender, defending his honor and quite frankly his life.

"I was just going to say it's like a perfect anatomy, nothing sexual."

"Bro, just go. Leave while you're still ahead." Ethan practically growled through gritted teeth and Grayson didn't plan on sticking around for those teeth to grab a hold of his throat. Because Ethan reminded him of a lion, king of the jungle and he looked ready to kill to protect his lioness.

Selenophile – a person who loves the moon

Scratching the back of his head, Ethan stepped away, releasing her hand reluctantly with a sigh. He wanted to keep this moment going, to have her so close and while he hated himself for it, he liked being needed that day. Every look she gave him, every touch no matter how small, it made him feel wanted like never before and for the first time in forever he just wanted to stay in the moment with her.

"Are you okay?" Ethan's voice is rough, his throat scratchy and his heart slowly calming down. Clearing his throat, he averted his gaze, allowing her to sit up and get dressed without having her yell at him for peeping.

"I...I guess. What are we going to do about this guy?" She changed the topic deliberately, scared she might say too much because this fright had brought her back to all those times she was stuck in the hospital, alone and terrified of what might become of her. It reminded her of the friends she saw die and of the days she thought she would too.

"Grayson? He didn't mean anything by that, he just word vomits whenever he's nervous and it got fairly awkward really fast." Ethan chuckled, capturing his bottom lip between his teeth, dragging them across the soft flesh before releasing it a shade darker.

"No. Not Grayson. I mean that quack of a doctor who told me I have cancer!" She raised her voice inadvertently, hoping Ethan wouldn't notice the raw emotion behind it nor the loss of common sense that washed over her.

"I have a solid amount of paperwork proving his scams. I just wanted to know for sure today. Grayson is already dealing with it. As you can tell, my brother is a boobie lover and he won't let this man get away for all the boob owners that were tricked into this." Ethan watched her back move with her shallow breaths, her inability to turn around and look him in the eye raising his anxiety levels with each passing second.

"You don't fuck with people like that. You just don't." She mutters quietly, her voice just above a whisper and Ethan can feel his heart break and he doesn't even know why.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Y/N stood up, meek and shaken and so clearly in need of distance because if she stays even just for a minute, Ethan will know one of the worst things she had to endure and she couldn't do that. She couldn't let him in. Not when he can't stay. So she did what she does best. She bolted out the room, ignoring Ethan's pleas for her to stop and talk to him.

She went to where she was the first time she met Ethan. She went to where her life was supposed to start and it did...In a way, that day was the best day of her life - she was free of the curse her body was under and she met Ethan.

So yes, she ended up in the Oncology ward, gowning up before entering the room where comatose patients struggled to survive. As weird as it is, it had always been her favorite and least favorite place to hide from the world, a place she could find peace and serenity but also reconcile her life might end in one of those rooms as well, so she always sat there and just reminded herself to breathe as long as she could, as fiercely as she could.

She sat by one of the patients, looking sadly down at their broken, beaten bodies and how it betrayed them in the worst possible way. As usual, most patients are older or have their grey hair as proof they found their soulmate, but then again, she saw two kids there too.

She was once a kid on these ventilators too. Her friends were on them too. Not all of them made it out.

Comas aren't romantic at all like in the movies, she knew it better than anyone. The person in that bed isn't flawlessly combed nor do they have make up to cover their flaws. They aren't comfortable nor is their spirit waiting by the bed as their loved ones come and go, confessing how much they love the unlucky bastard for years to come. No...coma is what takes the basic human pride and decency. It strips you of all that makes you human. Some survive and recover, going home with amnesia for the time they spent in their state, some don't survive it at all...but there is a third option for those who survive, but they aren't exactly alive. For them, coma means tubes being stuck into their nose for feeding, into their mouth for breathing, into their urethra for peeing and a diaper for shitting. It means eyes covered with gauze to help keep their eyes moist, their throat cut open to move the breathing tube if that state continues; wires, needles, medical students practicing on them because they aren't supposed to feel the pain. It means pressure ulcers that turn into huge gaping wounds because the nurses are understaffed, overworked and underpaid and can't possibly move every patient in time to prevent complications. And the worst part is that the longer they are comatose, less people come to see them. They're alone, abandoned in a room without any chance of recovery, robbed of their right of moving on, truly being liberated. They would welcome death doctors are forced to keep away.

And she had witnessed it happen far too often. She had seen many comatose patients in her time during her stays in the hospital because of her cancer. Some of them she'd visit at night because she felt bad for them, others were her cancer buddies who were losing the battle. Either way, there wasn't anything to romanticize. Coma isn't a pretty state, it's her worst nightmare.

"You're not okay."

Startled, Y/N looks back at the door, aware who it is before she sees the person the voice belongs to. And there he is, the man she wants to know more than anything but can't allow herself to care. If they were meant to be, if he is her soulmate, he'd tell her by now. Right?

"You're always running after me." She smiles weakly, the sadness in her eyes tearing into Ethan who, even now, saw her as the most beautiful creature to walk the Earth. In his hundred plus years, Ethan never saw a human as flawlessly beautiful as her.

"Someone's got to." With a slight shrug, Ethan sat on a chair beside her, his eyes fixed on her with a softness behind his hazel hues she rarely saw in anyone. He cares. She could see that now and no amount of fear that evoked would make her walk away. She wanted to stay. She wanted him to look at her as softly as he does now for the rest of her life.

Y/N no longer cared about whoever her soulmate is because she couldn't imagine caring about someone as much as she does for Grant, not ever.

"When I was nine I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer with metastasis in surrounding lymph nodes. After surgery and chemotherapy they said I'd be fine. They said it would be like nothing ever happened. But it wasn't fine." Swallowing a growing lump in her throat, Y/N glanced at Ethan who looked distressed by her story, like his heart had fallen through the cracks and shattered on the ground. But it was too late and she could tell he was staring at her throat for signs of surgical scarring and she felt self-conscious just like she did when they first cut her open.

"I learned to hide the scar with either scarfs or make up. And I thought I could move on and be happy but I was fifteen when I was rushed into the emergency room because I collapsed in school. Turns out the metastasis were in my lungs and while they were unsure if it was truly related to the first cancer diagnosis or if it was a new sort, one thing was sure...I needed more chemotherapy...more pain, more hospitals, more lonely days and nights and I had no one. My parents were always too involved with each other and their jobs than me. I was alone. And scared. Studying medicine saved me." She sighed, looking over the patients.

"The chemotherapy ruined my bone marrow, a little something I found out in my last year of med school after which I had to wait almost a year while I got a transplant and my immune system normalized. It was the only good thing my dad ever did for me." She shrugged, daring to look back at Ethan who looked so frustrated with what she went through, horrified by the thought of her being alone all those years when the worst has happened to her. And he hated he wasn't there for her.

"The night we met? At the bar? I was here for a final checkup because my doctor moved. I got the all clear and I was depressed I had no one to celebrate the official news of my remission and my life getting back on track." She admitted sheepishly.

"But as great as it was, we can't go back to that. You are my boss and I'm your intern and while it's going to be hard, we have to let it go. So, can I please just get back to work?"

Shaking his head, Ethan chuckled in disbelief.

"You're with Grayson next week and every free moment you have you will deal with my paperwork. That's all I can give you. But you can't seriously expect me to forget that night. Or any of it since." His demeanor changed and the softest he had about him had disappeared.

"I appreciate you telling me all this and I wish I could have been there for you, I do! But I am here now and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon. I care for you. But you drive me so mad sometimes." Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ethan tried to calm down and actually be supportive because it was hard for her to open up to him like she did and he wanted to be understanding but every move forward ends up being two steps back with her and Ethan was stressed and tired and he needed her to realize she was stuck with him.

“You’re like a book! A big, strange book I barely understand.” He was slowly losing patience, she could tell. And a part of her hoped he’d let her go and give up. A part of her prayed for it to happen. But another part, one hidden deep inside, that part wanted Ethan more than the oxygen she needed to breathe. He was her oxygen, the air her soul needed. And he wasn't letting up, despite it all.

“Learn me slowly then. Please? Just be patient with my pages.”

And in that moment, they shared a silent agreement. In her darkness, he saw her light shine through. He is a selenophile and she his moon.

In that moment, Ethan saw fit to lean closer, his eyes glancing at her supple lips before focusing on her eyes again. He wanted to make sure she wanted it to happen as much as he did, even if it was completely inappropriate from the place it was happening down to their work relationship. It was all kinds of wrong, yet it felt right. It felt so, so right.

She didn't move away, she didn't make a sound. All she did was close her eyes and part her lips and in that fraction of a second, she allowed herself to get lost in the beauty of a lover's touch for when Ethan's lips brushed hers, nothing mattered anymore.

Just before letting go and surrendering himself to this gentle surprise, Ethan looked at his soulmate with a new hope in mind and a promise he would never let her demons drown her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Tags: @beinscorpio @peacedolantwins @heyits-claire @dolandolll @godlydolans @dolanstwintuesday @ethanhes @iwastornsincethestart @graydolan12 @fxkthatdairy @zeusgrayson @libradolan @justordinaryjen @pineappledolan @graysavant @voguekristens @imayoutubere @livexdolan @shadowsndaisies @maybgrayson

#ethan dolan #grayson dolan #dolan twins #ethan dolan x reader #ethan dolan soulmate au #ethan dolan series #ethan dolan doctor soulmate au #ethan dolan doctor au #ethan dolan fluff #ethan dolan fanfiction #ethan dolan fic #ethan dolan fanfic #ethan dolan angst #ethan dolan au #ethan dolan x you

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because-im-write · 5 years

Text

The Beloved Big Sister of 1-7 feat. Number Five

1 2 3 5

4/7

“Allison would look to her for help when she was stuck with no way out. She knew, always, that her big sister would get her out. I used to get woken up at night by her running through the halls, sneaking out of the house to drive to her sister’s. When she left home, the first place she lived was there. They were closer after Five vanished.” -Luther

X walked through the cold night, flicking her collar up over her neck, clambering up the stairs to the Academy. She opened the door and moved through the house, nodding to Pogo when he came to see who it was.

‘Allison?’

She peered around the bedroom door, seeing Allison on the bed, wiping her eyes.

She looked up when her big sister entered. ‘X.’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘I...’ Allison’s face crumpled into tears again. ‘I miss Claire. I messed it all up. I used my power to tell her to go to sleep, and...’

X frowned. ‘What’s wrong with that? That’s one of the few things I’d say you could use it on her for.’

‘Patrick saw me. And...’ Allison dissolved beyond words and curled up.

X softened further and sat on the bed beside her.

It was a long time before Allison recovered, but she did. Sniffling, she looked up. ‘Did Five get a coffee?’

‘Yes,’ X replied, smiling, putting her head on top of Allison’s. ‘Get some sleep. Claire will be fine, don’t ever give up hope, Allison.’

Allison nodded and scooted out from her hold, lying under the blankets on the pillow and closing her eyes.

X turned the light off and closed the door, smiling softly as she felt disorientation making her unsteady.

With Five back, and Allison in her room she felt a little like time had warped again.

---

She was three steps out of the house the following morning after a long sleep in when Klaus appeared, dragging her backwards back inside.

‘What on Earth are you wearing?’ she asked, glancing behind her.

‘A pinstriped suit from Dad’s closet.’

‘It looks horrible.’

‘Oh goodie! You can come with us! Someone was looking for you!’

‘Oh god, now who?’ X groaned, allowing Klaus to guide her up the steps.

‘A little number I like to call-,’

‘Five,’ X smiled, laughing.

They walked through the doors and Five appeared right next to X, standing an inch away.

‘We’re going to return an eyeball,’ Klaus declared, clapping his hands.

‘You what?’ X returned, perplexed.

‘The glass eye I found in the Apocalypse,’ Five explain with a sigh. I went this morning and because I look seven apparently I’m going to have to go back with someone that looks like a parent.’

‘I see.’

‘I found Klaus before I found you, but please come along; Klaus is disturbing me.’

X nodded and Klaus offered her an arm. She linked her own through it and put the other around Five’s shoulders, pulling him to lean on her as Klaus skipped them out.

With Klaus driving, they got to the factory in less than ten minutes. While Five feared for his life in the back, yelling every time they went around the corner, X was laughing the whole way, urging Klaus on and betting him he couldn’t make the lights, or get around the corner without hitting the footpath.

Five had groaned and pressed himself into the corner of the car.

‘This is the only time I get to drive!’ Klaus had cheered back, ‘lighten up, little Five!’

‘Don’t call me “little”,’ Five roared back.

X laughed again.

They got out of the car and Five shook his head, a brave attempt to stop it spinning. Klaus put an arm through his sister’s again and led them up to the front door. Five marched ahead into the lift, punched the button and stormed out the second the doors had opened, moving straight past the receptionist and into an office.

X altered her age to match Klaus’ and they sauntered after Five in time to hear him angrily declare he’d summoned his parents.

Klaus sat down on a chair and X the other, Five angrily standing at the front of the desk.

The man behind the desk sighed. ‘Like I said to your son earlier, any information about the prosthetics we build is strictly confidential, without the client’s consent, I simply can’t help.’

Five leant forward and snarled. ‘But we can’t get consent if you don’t give us a name!’

X tilted her head, thinking of a way around while Klaus was starting at the snowglobe staring at him from the desk.

‘Well, that’s not my problem, I’m sorry. Now there’s simply nothing more I can do, so...’

Five’s angry attention was ripped from staring daggers into the man when Klaus, one leg over the other and hands clasped together, spoke in a shaky, offended voice.

‘And what about my consent?’ he said poetically.

Five blinked at him, glancing at X to see a suspicious but amused expression on her face.

The man blinked. ‘Excuse me?’

‘Who gave you,’ Klaus continued, descending further into whimpers and dramatics, ‘permission... to lay your hands.... on my son?’ He finished by pointing at Five, who was frowning at his brother quizzically.

The man and Five blinked. ‘What?’

X fought to keep her face impassive.

‘You heard me,’ Klaus affirmed.

‘I didn’t touch your son!’ The man glanced at Five, then to X, then back to Klaus.

X put on an outraged expression, pulling Five backward toward her protectively as she joined in Klaus’ act.

Feeling rather like a rag-doll, Five surrendered the situation to his siblings.

Klaus lent forward. ‘Oh, really, then how did he get that swollen lip then?’

X was the first to react, blinking wide, eye shooting to Klaus, somehow unable to be surprised.

‘He doesn’t have a swollen-,’

In one swift movement, Klaus stood up and punched Five in the mouth, who stumbled back against X.

She responded by gasping dramatically and bending down to study Five’s face.

‘I want it,’ Klaus said, leaning his hands on the desk, ‘name please, now!’

The now highly startled man shook a finger at him. ‘You’re crazy!’

‘You got no idea,’ Klaus said, staring him down.

X watched Klaus almost proudly, reminding Five once again that the duo was an absolute nightmare of chaotic influence.

Klaus picked up the snowglobe with a smile. ‘Peace on Earth? That is so sweet!’

Before he could break it over his head, X warned; ‘careful with that, dear!’

Klaus turned to her. ‘You’re right, I should be!’

Their eyes met, glowing with mischief, and several things happened at once from Five’ perspective.

He frowned, X put both both her arms over his head as a shield, Klaus hurled the globe toward her, a loud smashing sound took centre stage of the room and the smashed snowglobe rained around him, glass falling harmlessly around him as X grunted and yelled in pain.

When he looked up, Klaus’ throw had cut through her face in multiple places, blood streaming from under her eye and hairline.

He felt his blood beginning to boil before letting it go; it had been Klaus, after all.

The sibling in question was currently breezily smiling at the stunned worker, who was staring unblinking at the three of them.

He picked up the phone. ‘I’m calling security!’

Klaus wrenched the phone from his grasp with an angry exclamation and Five frowned up at his sister, still unable to grasp anything.

While Klaus angrily wrestled the phone away, he wiped a little blood away from her face as she was busy cheering Klaus on.

‘What are you doing?!’ the man yelled in a wild attempt to stop Klaus.

Klaus showed no cares and leaned against X, wailing down the phone; ‘There’s been an assault! In Mr Big’s office and we need security now, sh-now!’ He slammed the phone down, pulled X forward and indicated her face. Five stood behind them, resorting to blinking as he thought they might finally have lost it.

‘Now here’s what’s gonna happen, Grant,’ Klaus said, as snow and glitter streamed down X’s face, who was still wincing.

‘It’s... Lance...’

‘In about sixty seconds, two security guards are going to burst through that door, and they’re gonna see a whole lotta blood on my son’s mother’s beautiful face!’

Five caught on and grinned, watching the two of them leaning down over the desk menacingly, proudly watching the consequences of their stirring each other on.

‘And they’re gonna wonder what on Earth happened, and we’re gonna tell them that you... beat the shit out of them!’ Klaus finished with a dramatic intake of breath.

X began to cry, leaning onto Klaus.

Lance was faced with an incredible scene. A man gasping and comfortingly putting an arm around a woman with a bleeding face, while a young boy stood behind them with a bruised lip, grinning at him smugly over their shoulders.

Klaus stood up. ‘You’re gonna do great in prison, Grant, trust me, I’ve been there. Little piece of chicken like you... oh my god you’re gonna get passed around like a...’

At this point Klaus was shaking his hips, Five was frowning at him and looking off out of the window with a slightly squeamish expression and X was wiping blood away from her eyes, blood covering her smirk.

Klaus waved a hand. ‘You’re just- you’re do great.’ He ended it with a smile. ‘That’s all I’m saying.’

‘Jesus,’ Lance blinked, glancing around, ‘you two are some sick bastards.’

‘Thank you,’ they said in unison.

Klaus tapped X’s forehead, picking off a little piece of glass and Five grinned at Lance once again.

Lance, without a word, stood up and escorted them to the filing drawers.

Klaus waved like royalty at anyone that stared at them and Five kept glancing at X’s face in concern as he triumphantly walked after Klaus.

X noticed and put a hand on his shoulder, standing him in front of her when they reached the drawers. Klaus plonked himself on top of them and Lance hurried to dig through the drawers.

He pulled out a file as Five watched him intently.

‘Huh, that’s strange.’

‘What?’ Five breathed impatiently.

‘Uh, the eye hasn’t been purchased by anyone yet.’

Klaus jumped off the drawers, hovering inches away from Lance’s highly uneasy face. ‘What do you mean?’

Lance looked at the file, anywhere but Klaus, Five and X. ‘Well, our logs say that the eye with that serial number... this can’t be right, it hasn’t even been manufactured yet. Where did you get that eye?’

‘Aaaaargh,’ X groaned, tilting her head back, ‘I should be having coffee right now.’ She looked back at Lance. ‘Okay. So same time next week? You might want to purchase a new snowglobe. Wait we know where the records are, we can just break in.’

‘Ooo,’ Klaus clapped his hands, ‘how fun!’

‘Who... who are you people?!’

‘Oh god nevermind.’ X grabbed Klaus and Five and bundled them out into the lifts. Klaus pressed the button and X set about swearing and pulling glass from her hair and face.

‘Jesus, Klaus, that was one hell of a throw.’

‘Oh, thank you! I played a little baseball in rehab, you know, getting my swings in.’

They continued like this all the way outside, by which time X had healed herself and returned her age down.

Five sighed when they made it out. ‘Well this is not good.’

‘Nothing normally is,’ X replied, pulling glitter from her hair.

‘I was pretty good, though, right?’ Klaus asked happily. ‘Yeah, what about my consent, bitch?!’ He giggled and turned around, noticing Five had stopped walking.

‘Klaus, it doesn’t matter!’ Five growled.

‘What, what’s the big deal with this eye, huh?’ Klaus asked, swinging his arms carelessly.

‘There is someone out there who’s going to lose an eye in the next few days. They’re going to wipe out life on Earth as we know it!’ Five set off past Klaus, who turned around and followed him, helping X with the glass in her hair.

‘Yeah, can I get that twenty bucks like, now, or...?’

‘Your twenty bucks?!’ Five echoed in disbelief, staring him down.

‘Yeah, my twenty bucks.’

Five took an angry step forward, frustration seeping deeper and deeper into him. ‘The apocalypse is coming and all you care about is getting high?’

Klaus was very unperturbed by Five’s in-credulousness and put his hands over his stomach. ‘Well I’m also... quite hungry. Tummy’s a rumbling. Rrrrr!’

‘I could eat,’ X said, preoccupied, staring at the hair she was holding in front of her face.

‘You’re useless,’ Five breathed, still staring at Klaus, ‘you’re all useless!’

‘Five...!’ warned X.

‘Oh, come on, you need to lighten up, old man!’ Klaus groaned as Five sat himself down on the steps, pulling X down to sit beside him as she continued to pick glitter from her hair.

‘Hey, I’ve just now realised why you’re so uptight, you must be horny as hell! All those years by yourself, it’s gotta screw with your head!’ Klaus sat beside Five, on his other side.

‘Well,’ Five said, looking up into the sky, ‘I wasn’t alone.’

‘Oh? Pray tell!’

‘Her name was Delores,’ Five said, grabbing X’s attention, ‘we were together for over thirty years.’

X blinked, remembering Five mentioning her the night before.

‘Thirty years?’ Klaus asked while Five nodded. ‘Wow! The longest I’ve been with someone is... two weeks, and that’s only because I was so tired of looking for a place to eat and sleep...’

Five made to disappear at that moment, but a distracted, restricting hand forced him back into place.

He turned to glare at his sister, until her realized she wasn’t paying him any attention, half her mind on her hair and the other half on listening to Klaus. He groaned and listened to Klaus talk, before suddenly the man jumped up.

‘What are we eating?’ he declared.

‘I don’t have time to ea-,’

‘Burgers?’ X suggested, making Five stop in his tracks and stare at her, like a child does when its parent betrays a plan.

‘Ooo,’ Klaus bowed, ‘a perfect suggestion, my dear X. And at which place shall we eat?’

‘You said you’d help me!’ Five hissed at her.

‘I’m not going to last the eight days before the apocalypse without eating, Five,’ she replied, finishing her hair. ‘And Klaus, I’ll pay for lunch, not the drugs.’

‘As always, you drive the best bargain, my dearest eldest.’

Realising there was nothing he could do anyway, Five sighed and followed them to lunch.

The place was busy and filled with people, making Five a little cross.

‘I’m going to find Delores tonight, I’d like you to meet her,’ he said to X when Klaus went to order.

X nodded. ‘Anything I should know about her?’

Five looked down for a moment. ‘Only... that I met her in the apocalypse. And I was the only one alive.’

X let this sink in and nodded, not knowing what to expect, but not wanting to ask anything further.

---

She waited outside when Five went in to find Delores, lying on the roof and staring at the sky.

‘My sister’s here,’ Five said warmly, nodding upwards as he spoke to Delores. ‘X. She’s here. It was nice to see her again. I’m sorry you couldn’t come with me to see her when I did.’

Hazel and Cha-Cha appeared, and Five screeched out a “no!” and ran, grabbing the broken half of Delores and jumping through the clothes of the store.

On the roof, X heard the shots. Her eyes snapped open and she rolled up, jumped off the roof and looked through the windows, seeing the two masks and guns. They had to be looking for Five.

She winced a little as she rearranged her feet and put her arms protectively over her head, before surging through the window to the back of the shop.

Hazel and Cha-Cha turned at the noise and fired frantically at the doors.

Five heard the window smash and knew X had come after him, tasked with finding her among the bullets, debris and clothes. He ran further into the store, back from Hazel and Cha-Cha and stuck his head up for a second, looking around. The back was filled with clothing racks.

He ducked down and lay flat on the floor, rushing.

He scanned the ground before he saw X, also on the floor. They saw each other at the same time and the clothes all moved, creeping Hazel and Cha-Cha out as she immediately surged to Five under the clothes, grabbing him and surging down the aisle away from the moving clothes to the back wall.

‘What happened?’

‘The Commission, they found me.’

‘You can’t shift?’ She had begun to age herself to 24.

‘No,’ Five panted.

X nodded, keeping her hands on his arms to calm him down.

He’d survived the apocalypse and the agency by himself, but faced with one of the more dangerous situations he’d ever found himself in, the part of him that was a child felt very happy to have his big sister there to protect him. Which was exactly what she was doing, keeping him calm, looking around and assessing their surroundings.

It had been a very long time since Five had seen her that focused, that strong. Despite the chaos, he smiled a little.

‘Where’s Delores?’ she asked over the gunfire.

‘By the front.’

She nodded a couple of times, thinking. Then she grabbed a black scarf and tied it around her face. ‘I’ll get you to the front, get your bag, get Delores and get out.’

Five agreed, grabbing her hand. ‘And what are you doing?’

‘I’ll take them down if I can. If not, I’ll keep them busy until you get out.’

They raised themselves a little to be able to run and held their hands as tightly as they could.

X looked up and immediately ducked down as bullets scaled over her head. ‘Shit.’

‘Who the hell is that?!’ came a yell.

‘They’re everywhere,’ she said, ‘close your eyes and just run,’ she said.

Five nodded, automatically trusting X with his life and waited until she moved.

They sprinted down the aisle, gunfire hailing around them, X steering Five.

She raised her head above the the clothes, and surged to a different aisle, then another and another and another until Five had no idea where they were, but wasn’t disorientated like he would be if he could see. He felt like he was running down a very long corridor.

X surged again, getting faster and faster until they were sprinting through the store, at which point she began to look for Five’s bag.

When she found it she slowed, Five mirroring her speed, and let go of his hand. He opened his eyes and ran to his bag, knowing where he was.

He didn’t bother looking back; he knew she’d be gone.

X ran straight up full force behind Hazel, who had stopped near a wall.

Cha-Cha had seen her and fired, getting Hazel to turn around. When he did, X surged to the wall behind him before he could fire, kicked off it and landed, leaping the one step to Hazel at speed and kicked him in the back. He was heavy, but he stumbled enough for X to land on his back, sending him to the ground.

She was a moment away from getting his head in her hands when Cha-Cha appeared, gun pointing straight at her.

X growled and surged straight into Cha-Cha, sending the woman flying backwards, gun firing into the air.

Five whittled his way through the clothes and shoved Delores into his bag and looked up. He couldn’t see anything, but heard the yells of Hazel and Cha-Cha.

He tried to jump again, but still couldn’t and, with a last look in the direction of X, ran out through the broken window, Delores on his back.

He stopped in a garden nearby and looked back, hearing the gunshots. He waited.

X healed her arm while she backflipped and surged straight up to the ceiling, right above the confused Cha-Cha.

Hazel was searching for his gun and didn’t see X fall through the air and land feet first on Cha-Cha, crouching and punching the cut Five had made in Cha-Cha’s arm.

The woman yelled in pain and grabbed X, who growled in retaliation and looked up, surging to the furthest corner of the store, to the ceiling. Cha-Cha was below her and was dragged against a shelf, loosening her grip and she landed on her back when she hit the ground, hand flying away from X, who surged back to the roof in the middle of the store, saw Hazel as she fell and surged to the next aisle. She waited for him to run past and kicked out, sending his gun flying. She surged after it, caught it and immediately had to throw it behind her as Hazel reached for her.

The heavy shotgun hit him in the face and he stumbled back, blocking the kick X sent with his arm.

‘HAZEL?!’

He blocked every blow that came his way and X hissed in annoyance, turning around, surging as far back as she could and then aiming straight at Hazel again.

She collided with him, and he was blown back to the wall with a yell.

Once again, she was seconds away from being able to snap his neck when Cha-Cha appeared, woozy and unsteady on her feet. She hit Hazel as hard as she could in the head and vanished, getting ready to go for Cha-Cha when the sirens rang through the air as the police arrived.

Cha-Cha looked toward Hazel and fired randomly though the air. X ducked to the ground and swore multiple times before the bullets stopped.

The silence nearly killed Five. He’d seen her dead once.

She needed more time than she had to take them down and so yelled a final time and jumped high into the air, surging to cover near the doors, angled to get a long shot to the garden and surged forward, landing with a breath and a grunt and coughed, rolling onto her back.

Immediately, Five was beside her, or on her rather in a bear hug before he realised he’d moved.

X blinked and put an arm over him, catching her breath. ‘Five? What is it?’

Five closed his eyes and lowered his head, letting it drop and rest on her.

She frowned, and put her other hand in his hair. ‘Five.’

‘Nothing.’

X lifted his head up, searched his eyes and let it go.

@woohoney @i-think-you-are-gr8 @maiabiovillage @catvader101 @theamazinghana @livinlifelikeishould @itsintothegreatbeyondstuff @reallysparklychaos @queenmissfit @shadowsndaisies @papacola @pawsitively-purfect

#the big sister of 1-7 #klaus #five #hargreeves #the umbrella academy #the umbrella academy x reader #the umbrella academy imagine #tua #luther #diego #allison

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nonbinarycryptic · 3 years

Text

“Don’t be such a wuss Dion” as the words get uttered, Dion looks from the house to the girl a few feet in front of him. Her multi-color hair cascading down her back and her hazel eyes shining with excitement while staring at the old home. The girl, feeling his stare turns and stares at him with a ‘what’ look.

“Briar three people died in that house! Why are you so excited?!” Briar rolls her eyes at Dion. She walks back over to the dark red-haired boy and wraps an arm around his waist pulling him into a side hug that has the boy’s face heating up. She smiles fondly at the boy gesturing to the house overrun by green foliage.

“Everyone knows those are just rumors, this house has been abandoned for years because the owners had an emergency out of state and they couldn’t return to sell it. What is so bad about this place anyway. Look at it, it’s beautiful!” Dion looks over to the house as Briar gestures towards it. The once light yellow house was now even lighter due to the damage of the outside world, light, wind, rain, heat. The greenery around the house has practically taken it over. Trees and bushes going through the windows and doors, claiming the house as its own. Briar was right, it’s beautiful, the inside probably just as beautiful thanks to the wildlife taking over. A shutter sound is heard and Dion turns to Briar and sees her holding up her camera, a radiant smile on her face.

“Hey! Have you two gone inside yet?” Dion and Briar turn around to see Tris and her significant other Archer. Briar smiles at the two as they jog over. Archer stares at the house with fascination, they, like Briar, love this type of thing. Anything abandoned is beautiful to them especially if it’s in the middle of the woods and overrun by nature. Tris stares at her sweetheart with a loving gaze as they stare at the house just as Dion was doing to Briar moments before.

“Let’s go inside now that we are all here.” Dion starts shaking his head at Briar's words but Archer and Tris link arms with him and drag him over to the house. Once through the front door which Dion noted was only hanging on by a hinge, everyone begins looking around as they hear the occasional shutter from Briar's camera. The wind moves its way peacefully through the holes along the house including the windows and front door. Even Dion had to admit, no matter what the rumors said about the owners Dion could tell the house was once loved. Furniture littered the rooms. Antique photos and vases full of dead flowers. Dion sits down at an old grand piano and pushes one of the keys. It’s out of tune, he figured as much. Dion stares at the keys with interest wondering if it was always out of tune or if anyone had played it before the couple had to leave, just how long it had been sitting here. A shutter sound interrupts his pondering causing his head to snap upwards towards the open door of the sitting room. There stands Briar smiling fondly at the photo she had just snapped.

“You looked pretty sitting there, I couldn't miss the opportunity to take a picture.” Briar's words cause his face to heat up slightly and he chuckles at the girl. They stare at each other for a few moments before Archer interrupts the two by shouting down the stairs. Dion’s and Briar's attention snaps to them and the duo leaves the sitting room and heads upstairs taking two steps at a time. Once upstairs Briar snaps a photo down the stairs. Stepping into the room the couple is in, Dion notices the dark brownish-red stain on the carpet. Briar steps into the room looking at Dion confused as to why he appears to be sick. She finally sees the carpet and the stain. Briar's arm shoots out and wraps itself around Dion's waist and pulls him closer to her, turning him around and into her chest so he can’t look at the stain.

“You,” Eyes snap to Archer as they begin speaking. “You don’t think it’s…” While sharing a look with their girlfriend they trail off. Briar rubs Dion’s back to hopefully keep him calm in this situation. Sharing glances, Briar nods her head to the door communicating to get the hell out of there for Dion’s sake. The couple walks out first, followed by the other two. Only when they are out of the house and at their cars does Briar let go of her friend. Despite the two no longer holding on to each other Dion does not move too far away from Briar. Once the shock and panic calm down between the four do they start talking about what they saw. Tris notices their male friend keeps glancing back at the house uneasily so she suggests getting out of there and meeting up at her place, mentioning how her grandma wanted them over for dinner anyway. After agreeing, the four get into their respective cars, peeling out of the grassy terrain and heading to Tris’s grandma's place. After 5 minutes of silence, Briar takes her hand off of the steering wheel and holds it out to Dion, knowing he is still a bit uneasy about the whole situation. The boy grabs her hand with a small smile and strikes up a conversation about what Ms. Silva will make for dinner that night.

After 20 minutes of driving and conversations between the two, they pull into the driveway of Tris’s home. Ms. Silva or as she requests the kids to call her Babu is sitting on the porch waiting for the group of four. Babu, much like her granddaughter, has rich brown skin that is as smooth as satin despite the wrinkles that came with her old age. Her hair is in a shaggy bob perfectly framing her face, her deep brown eyes show a certain level of kindness that can make everyone feel welcomed in her home but it doesn’t mean she is naive as some might think. Stepping up onto the porch hugs are exchanged between the now group of five. Babu ushers them inside and to the dining table as she brings out dinner for them. Babu placed dinner on the table, which was chicken-fried steak, fresh peas, buttermilk biscuits, creamed corn, and sweet tea. For dessert, Babu had made peach-cobbler from her secret recipe. Dinner was great as it always was whenever they went to Babu's house, afterward they went upstairs to hang out. Once upstairs Briar started going through the pictures she had snapped as well as pulling out her sketchbook.

“Which picture are you choosing this time?” Briar smiles up at Archer before showing them the picture she had chosen. Archer chuckles at her and the smile she held whenever she looked at the photo. She continues looking through the photos and stops on one, her facial expression changing to confused and concerned.

“B what's the matter?” Dion places a hand on her shoulder to get a look at what she saw on the camera. Tris and Archer exchange confused looks with one another as Briar connects her camera to Tris’s laptop and pulls up the image. Archer gasps while Tris just stares. Sitting on the screen is the picture that Briar took just before she entered the room. Standing up at the top of the stairs pointing down towards the bottom floor.

Staring up at her in the photo is a barely visible woman in a classic yellow sundress, the only disturbing thing is the blood spilling all down the front of the dress. Dion turns away from the image hoping to keep his dinner down. Briar pulls him into her side to keep his gaze from the image as the other three share incredulous looks before Archer shuts the laptop getting rid of the image.

Briar lays in bed at 1:00 AM still looking at the photo, thinking desperately how she wanted to delete the photo but not being able to do so. She turns off the camera, placing it on her bedside table, and stares at the ceiling trying to rid her mind of the horrific image. A vibrating sound cuts through the quiet atmosphere. Her eyes snap to the source of the noise, her phone, still in the same place as she put it when she entered the room.

She picks it up from the headboard and unplugs it, double-tapping the screen to turn it on. Dion texted her, still just as shaken up as her and the couple. Dion and Briar text back and forth for about thirty minutes before Briar gives up and just calls the boy. They speak quietly to one another, both of them finally relaxing at the sound of the other's voice. Dion falls asleep first but Briar doesn’t hang up, she listens to his even breathes and slowly but surely falls asleep herself completely forgetting about the picture.

The next time the group grows the courage to go exploring is about a week later. After a lot of convincing from Archer, they decided to head to an abandoned hospital nearby. There has been talk of asbestos being present in and around the building so before they entered they put on masks, gloves, and goggles. Once finally inside Briar raises her camera to take the first picture of the crusade. The picture is the reception of the hospital, papers scattered all over the ground, graffiti lining the walls. A lone wheelchair sits in the middle of all the chaos, a layer of dust has accumulated on top.

"Ten bucks to sit in the chair." Those are the first words spoken while inside the hospital. The group laughs at Tris's bet, Briar shaking her head, refusing.

"Hunny, I'm in black jeans no way am I sitting in that wheel-chair." Dion boos at his best friend, both him and Archer claiming that their camera-wielding friend was nothing more than a wimp. The group of friends starts teasing one another about who's more of a wimp. As the group divides into its usual groups of two Briar calls out that if anything happens to yell. Briar and Dion make their way through the upper levels of the hospital, finding patient rooms, and nurseries.

"Bri! You got to come to get a picture of this." Briar makes her way to where she heard Dion's voice. She found the boy in an operating room, the main operating table is sat up in a chair position. The surgical light hovers above the bed, metal utility carts litter the room. A heart monitor and cables stand next to the operating table, forever black.

"Careful Di, we don't know if the syringes are dirty or not." The boy nods in agreement as he steps beside Briar. The camera is raised to the room snapping a picture of the area. The shutter sounds before a ding goes off after. Dion fishes his phone from his back pocket, opening it up and informing Briar that the couple found the morgue. They leave the room, making their way done to the basement meeting up with Archer and Tris.

"You guys found the morgue?" Briar's voice is laced in excitement which doesn't surprise the rest of the group. All her life Briar had been excited by abandoned buildings and spooky happenings. Archer leads the way into the morgue. After five minutes of the group being apart and the only sound is Briar's camera taking photos Dion lets out a yelp of fear.

"Di!" Briar rushes towards him, Tris and Archer right behind her. Briar skids to a stop beside the frightened boy. Her gaze follows his, landing on the sight of cages and chains along the wall. With trembling breaths, Briar pulls Dion behind her.

"Those are way too big to be animal cages." Dion grasps his best friend's arm and tugs at it, trying to get her to leave. Following his pleading gesture, Briar and the others rush out of the room. Quickly leaving the hospital they once again meet up at Babu's house to discuss everything. They greet the older women kindly, declining lunch as none of them have an appetite after what they had seen. Once upstairs in Tris' room, the kids sit around discussing the cages. Briar, however, stayed silent, opting to plug in the camera into her laptop to go through the photos. She pulls up the operating room photo and her stomach leaping into her throat. She takes in a deep breath through her nose to keep from puking. The photo, much like the one she had taken at the house, now has a figure in the photo. The person, no the thing lays on the operating table, looking up at the ceiling. Their stomach is sewn closed but blood still covers them, dripping down onto the floor. This figure's face much like the one from the house is gray and blurry almost like tv static. Briar stares at the photo sadly, blinking away tears before turning to the first photo she had taken in the hospital. Much to her unbridled horror, a figure is in this one as well. It appears they were there for a while judging by the gown they don. They sit in the untouched wheelchair in front of the reception desk, their hands rest on the wheels as if they could still push themselves down the hallway as they once did. A white bandage stained blood is wrapped around their neck, having slipped from their head. Where it had once rested part of the skin and skull are gone, revealing the woman's brain. Briar gags, shutting the laptop which grabs her friends' attention. The group throws her concerned look which she ignores, sending a weak smile to Dion who sends a reassuring one back.

"I think my camera can capture ghosts, but only sometimes."

"That would explain that lady at the bottom of the stairs." Dion looks sick just hearing about the bloodied woman causing Briar to stand and take him in her arms. He relaxes in her embrace, wrapping his arms around her waist, and nuzzles his head into her neck.

"What do we do now?" Tris' word grabs everyone's attention. Archer and Briar share a confused look before looking back at the dark-skinned girl. "I mean, Briar's camera can capture ghosts! We gotta use that somehow." Without picking his head up Dion shakes it from side to side. Demonstrating his disapproval of his friend's words.

"She might have a point, now don't get me wrong. I didn't say that because Tris and I are dating nor did I say it because Dion does not like it." Archer captures everyone's attention, their arms crossed against their chest. "We have an interesting ability to see ghosts through, who knows what else we could do." Briar ponders their words for a moment. Her gaze drifts to her camera still hooked up to the closed laptop. Her eyes fall back onto Dion who still holds her closely, thinking of something that could please both parties. She always did that, try to find a compromise.

"Okay, we'll still go to places and I will still try to capture ghosts." Dion pulls back almost instantaneously, a betrayed look on his face. Before he could move farther away Briar cups his face in her hands and despite how hurt he felt, he still finds himself leaning into her touch. "Dion does not have to look at the photos, nor is he obligated to go with us to these locations. The minute he gets uncomfortable or scared we leave." The couple nod in agreement, none of them wanted their only male friend to be scared at any point. "Now that that's settled, the new season of Witchery is up and I think we should watch it." Cheers ring out through the room as Tris rushes down to the stairs to get snacks, leaving the others to text their guardians that they'll be staying at Babu's house that night. Once Tris is back into the room she helps her companion and their friends set everything up. Once the fort is ready and snacks are distributed the group lays down, immediately Dion lays next to Briar allowing her to wrap her arm around him. As the show plays eventually the couple falls asleep, leaving only Briar and Dion awake to watch the last episode of the season.

"Thank you." At the sound of Dion's voice, Briar lets out a hum. "Thank you for setting those ground rules, for always making sure I'm comfortable and okay. I don't know how I would've survived this long if you didn't become our mom friend." Briar laughs softly at his words, holding him closer to her.

"Dion, my dear, you are so much braver and stronger than you think. You would've lasted so long with or without me here and we know that." Dion's face flushes red at her words and the pet name. "But I appreciate the sentiment from you and just know I'm never going to leave your side." And with those final words both Briar and Dion drift off to sleep, feeling content in one another's arms.

@sokka-likes-forks-in-sockets

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