#the mailman knows shes in there so it's fine i always just very carefully remove the mail

[gotboredwrote]

Anchored, But Irradiated // GL!JFM

Pairing: Gardner Langway x Fem!Reader Word Count: 5.9K Style: One-Shot (prompt: person A having a broken leg and person B has to carry them up and down the stairs to their bedroom every morning/night) Warnings: Fluff (to quote a reader: #holyheckinmoly there’s a lot of it), swearing Summary: Gardner has to deal with a broken leg on his route, forcing himself to establish a bond between him and you, the nurse who helps him. Permanent Author’s Note: To clarify, I write because I get bored. Nothing is meant to be professional in any way, nor is meant to offend, cause anxiety, cause anger, cause sadness, or promote disagreement among readers in any sort of (semi)permanent way. A/N: @love-me-a-good-prompt , you’ve done it again. Thanks for the inspiration! I changed it a little bit to fit this character better, but the idea is there. Expect to probably be tagged in a lot of my stuff because your ideas are lovely and I always give credit where credit is due. P.S. I hate the name of this story - I tried for like 20 minutes to come up with something better but I just couldn’t.

Masterlist

~

“Gardner, I told you that one day this was gonna happen, you never listen to me.”

The sound of Calvin’s voice echoed through Gardner’s brain, scolding him for something he already felt stupid for letting happen. The two of them were currently seated in the emergency room because Gardner tripped over the ledge of his boat and felt right onto his leg, breaking it. Calvin all but dragged him into his car, Gardner, for once, at a loss for words. Not saying what came to mind only because the sheer amount of embarrassment he felt was overwhelming. The orthopedist came back into their room after having put on Gardner’s cast and grabbing the discharge papers, now accompanied by a new nurse that neither boy had seen before. The two looked at her questioningly, giving the doctor a chance to explain himself.

~

“Normally, we don’t allow one of our on-staff nurses to help out with at-home care, but we know that Calvin works full-time, and that you are a mailman.”

“Carrier.” Calvin shot Gardner a look as if to say ‘there’s the Gardner we all know.’

“Regardless. Clearly, this is going to inhibit your ability to do your job properly, so that is where Y/N comes in. She’s already been cleared through your office and ours, so she will be helping you both at home and at work. Obviously, this is covered by insurance, but don’t think of her like that. She’s there to help you and be your friend, too.”

“Um, okay. I guess since you cleared it with my boss.”

“Great. Now, all I need for you to do is take these papers to the front desk, and you are good to go. I’ll see you in eight weeks to remove the cast. Nice meeting you both.”

The doctor made his way out of the room, which left Gardner and Calvin alone with the new face. They were both staring at you in somewhat a state of shock, which made you a little uneasy. But, you had worked with worse clients than two guys who were about your age, so you felt like you could handle them.

“Well, I think you two have clearly had enough of the hospital atmosphere for the day, why don’t we get going so I can make sure you’re situated for the night, Gardner?”

“Okay.”

“Wonderful. Calvin, you can lead the way to the front desk with his paperwork. I’ll push him in his wheelchair behind you.”

Calvin picked up the paperwork and started to make his way to the front. You were left alone with Gardner, and you reached over to help him stand and he retracted himself from you. Physically moved away so you could not touch him. It was as if nothing about the situation had been explained to him.

“Gardner, you do know that I will have to touch you in order to help you, right? You need someone to balance on.”

“I know. I’m just not very good with other people. Especially them touching me.”

“I understand, hon.” You let out an adoring sigh. “But you’re going to have to trust me. Sure, there are certain things you can do without me or with crutches, but sitting and standing, doing your job, those kinds of things are not doable with crutches. If anything, they’ll make you less stable, and you’re not allowed to put weight on the cast.”

“I know,” Gardner practically whined while looking down at the floor. His face pained you, because it was a clear mix of emotions. He was obviously upset with himself for allowing a dumb injury like this to happen, but he was also dealing with an internal battle regarding you. And you did not want him to hate you by the end of this experience – he seemed like a nice guy after all. You dropped the floor in front of the bed where Gardner’s legs were hanging, opting for this method of looking at his face versus grabbing his cheek to avoid crossing a boundary before he gave you the okay.

“Calvin is probably wondering if we got lost on the way to the front, so I think it’s about time we go. Do you trust me, hon?”

Gardner made eye contact with you, shaking a little bit from embarrassment. He nodded his head a little bit, giving you the okay that you needed, and you lightly patted his knee, beaming up at him to show him how proud you were for overcoming that hurdle. You had been informed of Gardner’s condition, and you were not going to push him too far. You just wanted to get him to trust you, and he confirmed that he did. You stood up in your place, and grabbed the folded wheelchair placed next to his bed, opening it for him. Once all the proper motion-locks were in place, you walked back in front of him, extending your arms forward.

“Just pretend like you’re going to hug me and wrap your arms around my neck so I can get my arms underneath yours. That way I can balance you while you turn and sit down using only one leg. Remember to only put weight on the non-broken one.”

Gardner took a deep breath in, and ever so gently, like you were made of glass, placed his arms on your shoulders, hands lightly plopped on the back of your neck. You took most of the initiative and grasped the underside of triceps, the entirety of your arms pressing upward against his, bringing him to stand at his full height, which was much taller than you. Then you carefully instructed him on how to turn around on one foot, and changed the way you grasped his arms when he went to sit on the chair. Once he got himself situated and comfortable, you propped his leg up on the leg rest, unlocked the motion locks, and crossed your arms in front of him, smirking.

“See? That wasn’t so bad. Now the hard part is done until we get to the car. I’ll just push you around from here.”

You went behind him to grab onto the handles of the wheelchair, slowly pushing so as not to move him too harshly at first. You gathered up momentum, and before you knew it, you had caught up to Calvin, who was attempting to score a date with your coworker who was at the front desk.

“Calvin, she’s married, hon.”

“Oh, I-I wasn’t trying… to… yeah.”

You smiled pitifully at him, laughing a little bit, and took Gardner’s discharge papers from his hand. You helped him fill them out before making your way to Calvin’s car. Once there, he looked at you as if waiting for instructions.

“Alright. I will get Gardner in the car with you, and then I will fold up his wheelchair and bring it with me to his place. Once there, I’ll take everything on myself, you won’t have to worry about a thing, Calvin.”

“But what about meals?”

“I’ll always arrive early to cook and stay as late as he wants me to.”

“So, I’m useless in this equation?”

“No, honey. There are just certain things I have to do for Gardner that you aren’t medically qualified to do. If you wanted to cook him breakfast one day, that’s totally fine, I just have to help him get to the kitchen and whatnot. But for now, let’s get Gardner into the car so you two can show me the way to your place.”

With that, you helped Gardner get into the passenger seat of Calvin’s car, instructing them to not leave the parking lot until they saw you drive up to their car. Once you flashed your lights at them, he pulled out of the lot and you made your way to the house. Stepping out of the car and grabbing Gardner’s wheelchair, you noticed the boat parked in front of the house.

“I live on that boat.” Gardner blankly told you once you got him in the wheelchair and started pushing him toward the house.

“You’re joking, right?”

“How do you think he broke his leg?”

“You fell off the boat? Is that why you looked the way you did back at the hospital?”

Gardner’s eyes went wide and he was thankful that you were behind him and you could not see his face and how red it had gotten, embarrassment resurfacing. You could see his shoulders tense up at your question, and you wanted to think of something that might make him feel better about how he got hurt. Then it dawned on you.

“Gardner, hon, I have helped people who have injured themselves in much more embarrassing ways than tripping. Remind me one day to tell you the story about the guy who was having just a little bit too much fun with himself using a plant, of all things. I have some real doozies for you, I promise.”

You could see Gardner’s shoulders slump back to their original posture, and he actually turned around to face you. Still pretty red, but awkwardly smiling, too. It was adorable. Unconsciously, you decided to smile back and ruffle his hair a little bit, a little bit more than stunned when he did not shy away and even smiled a little bit more warmly.

~

After getting Gardner settled in for the night the night before, which was a doozy in and of itself because he did not want to change in front of you, but he was having trouble doing it on his own, you told him that you would be around bright and early to help him get ready before work. He had snuggled down into his bed, and you had ruffled his hair one last time for the night, wishing him a restful sleep. You left Gardner for the first time since you met, and drove home. Gardner, meanwhile, looked down at his leg, a constant reminder of the new presence in his life. The new distraction. He was snapped out of his thoughts when the hatch of the boat flew open, revealing a loud-mouthed Calvin wanting to know what he missed once you two were alone.

“Calvin, nothing happened.”

“Don’t lie to me, brother. I know she had to help you with everything. That means she helped you change. Was it steamy?”

“What?”

“What yourself! You seriously cannot tell me you don’t think Y/N is cute?”

“I don’t distract myself with stuff like that.”

“Well, I for one think she’s just as beautiful as her friend at the hospital. Just, y’know, warn me before she comes in the house. Just in case.”

“Calvin, if I’m in the house, so is she. The only time she won’t be with me is when I’m sleeping. Which I would like to do now. Goodnight, Calvin.”

Calvin shrugged his shoulders and sighed, not understanding how his friend could not even find you the least bit attractive. What Calvin did not know, though, was that Gardner was thinking about you like that. That was part of the reason he looked so embarrassed at the hospital. Sure, most of it was actual embarrassment from how he got hurt, but a little portion of it was insecurity. You were stunning to him, and he never really thought most girls were even cute, and he was just him. He knew there was no hope for him to try anything, considering he was already shy to begin with. He just wanted his leg to get better so he did not have to think about the inevitability of rejection later on.

~

The next morning, you arrived at Gardner’s boat when you had told him you would, and you helped him get ready for work. This mainly involved getting him dressed and making him breakfast while he watched. Toast with butter and jelly. He always had the same thing every morning, and never changed it. Except this time, he told you to make some toast for yourself, too. His way of saying thanks for what you would have to put up with these next few weeks. You had reminded him that it is your job, and you would not do it if you did not want to. Gardner informed you that he always ate his breakfast while he walked to work, and you told him that that was completely fine.

“I can hold your toast so you can push me, if you want.”

“That’s sweet of you, Gardner, but I think I can manage.”

You could see his face flush red when he turned away from you, as if you embarrassed him again. You did not mean to do so, you just stuck the piece of toast between your teeth lightly, and used the hand that was not pushing his wheelchair to run your fingers through his hair. Something you realized calmed him down whenever he got flustered. He admitted to you that no one is allowed to touch him the way that he let you, and you felt a sense of pride. It made you feel warm and fuzzy that a client trusted you that much. Especially one as cute and passionate as Gardner. You had made it to the post office, where you were greeted by his coworkers. You explained the story, thus embarrassing Gardner again. You felt bad each time it happened, but something like this for Gardner is not easily forgotten or gotten over. But he grinned and bared it for you, appreciating your calming demeanor and hands that would stroke his hair anytime you sensed he was overwhelmed. You even did it in front of his coworkers, and even he had to laugh to himself when he saw the looks on their faces. Once Gardner had grabbed his bag and all the mail that was due out for the day, the two of you started his route. You had established while walking over to the post office that you would push him as close to the mailbox of each house as you could. If it was at the door to a house that had some steps, despite breaking postal code, he would just instruct you on how to place everything in the mailbox for the purpose of keeping up with the time he has established these past six years. Despite your legs being marginally shorter than his, you managed to keep up the pace he wanted and you made it back to Calvin’s at the usual time. Something Gardner mentioned in your conversations was that when he got home from work, Calvin would usually be cooking dinner and he would shower away the grime and sweat he accumulated throughout the day. This could possibly be the hardest challenge both you and Gardner would have to face throughout these eight weeks, but if you could get through it once, you could get through it every day. You two had not discussed how this would happen, but you had an idea from previous clients about what the best plan of action would be. You just were not exactly sure how you wanted to bring up the idea to Gardner. You decided on forwardness.

“I was thinking… why don’t I help you sit down on the floor and you can lean back against the bathtub. I’ll wash your hair that way, and then I can move you to be sitting on the ledge of the tub and I’ll give you a sponge bath. Everywhere except the places that would make anyone uncomfortable. Would that work for you?”

Gardner’s breathing had increased tremendously, but he understood why he could not sit in the tub – his cast would get wet and he would just extend the tortuous process of remaining in the cast an extra day.

“Y-yeah.”

Once you and Gardner managed to make your way up the steps, you helped him sit down on the floor by the ledge of the tub. You were about to unbutton his shirt for him, but then you remembered you only needed to do that for the clients you helped that had broken arms. You had to physically stop yourself from grabbing his shirt, and this time it was your face that flushed with color.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s… force of habit.”

“It’s okay. I basically have to get used to it anyway, right? Sponge bath, and all?”

“R-right.”

You let Gardner take off his work shirt while you started running the water. While you continually checked the temperature, you felt his one arm bump you while removing the white tee shirt he wore underneath his uniform shirt. He was going to just toss it to the side like he normally would, but for some reason, he could not let go of it. He lightly toyed with the sleeves while it laid across his stomach. You turned to look at him, realizing that he had gotten redder once his bare chest was out for you to see. He almost seemed insecure about the way he looked, which you felt was endearing. Contrary to how he felt, you though his little tummy was cute, just like the rest of him. You turned back around to check on the water, but ran your hand through his hair, this time tugging lightly. Reassuring him that he had nothing to be embarrassed about. You made a mental note to tell him about the one unruly man you once had to do this for while you washed his hair. When you tugged his hair, you thought you heard him whimper slightly, but pushed it out of your mind because the water had reached the temperature that you wanted. You stood up to unhook the showerhead from the wall, and to grab Gardner’s shampoo and conditioner. You confirmed your suspicions of the whimper, despite all efforts to push it out of your mind, because you felt him whine lightly against your leg when you stood up, as if he missed the close proximity you two were sharing. When you knelt back down, you realized that he had been staring up at you watching all of your motions. You returned to the comfortable spot next to him, smiled sweetly and ran your hand through his hair again, earning you yet another whine. What had gotten into him?

“Alrighty, hon, lean your head back as far as you can without hurting your neck. I’m going to start washing your hair, okay?”

“Okay.”

Gardner leaned his head back, and soon after felt the warm gush of water from the shower soak his auburn locks. You had ceased running your hand through his hair while the water drenched it, and you just watched the water run off the ends of his hair into the tub, as well as the relaxed face he had on. He really looked at peace for the first time since being in the hospital yesterday, and it made you really happy with yourself that you were the one to get him to this point. You were really starting to like this boy, and you hated yourself for it. This was a work companionship, you were not allowed to have feelings for your patients… were you? The more you thought about it, you realized that almost all of your patients were older people, people way out of your age range to date. The few that you had been assigned to that were remotely close to your age were in committed relationships, or people you did not find attractive or had bad personalities. Gardner was none of these. He was kind, shy, right around your age, grounded, and a little quirky – just how you liked your guys. You could not help but wonder about the possibilities. But you had time to daydream another day. The sweetheart relaxing at your side needed to have his hair and body cleaned after a long day of working in the sun. You did, too, but you were not as worried about yourself as you were Gardner in that moment. You carefully laid the showerhead down in the bathtub so as not to have a fountain splashing all over Gardner and Calvin’s bathroom. You squeezed a dollop of Gardner’s shampoo into your hand, rubbed it between your palms and fingers lightly to coat them, and started massaging the liquid onto his head. Immediately the whines returned. But this time, they were not as breathy, or high pitched. They came from a place much deeper in his throat that made them lower in tone and much clearer to the ear. No longer whines, but moans. Quiet, but moans nonetheless. That did not stop you. You realized that the way you normally ruffled his hair would not cut for cleaning it, and he seemed to like the light tugging you did when you ran your hand through his hair to calm him down, so you figured working that into this would not be all that bad of an idea. Each time you ran your fingers through his hair, you tugged lightly at the thickest point and then massaged his scalp lightly. You looked down at his face for a split second, and the boy looked like he was completely in heaven, blissed out beyond comprehension. It almost looked like the face he would make while in a state of ecstasy, not that you minded his expression. You smiled, and moved your eyes back to his hair. Once you felt that his hair had been properly cleaned, you rinsed your hands in the water that had accumulated in the bottom of the tub, and proceeded to pick up the showerhead to rinse out the suds.

“There was this one time I had to work with this guy who had broken his dominant arm.” You spoke at a whisper, earning Gardner’s hazel eyes flittering in your direction. “I had to do just what I am doing for you, except that I don’t mind doing this for you. This guy was… disgusting, frankly.” Gardner chuckled, but it was cut short when you ran your fingers through his hair again to make sure the water ran over each and every strand. “He was unruly, and just not a clean guy. I was so happy that he had his other arm to clean his body. I don’t know if I would have ever recovered from washing him. His hair was enough – matted and curly. If it would have been properly taken care of, I’m sure his hair would have been gorgeous. Except he didn’t and it was always greasy and looked like a bird’s nest.”

“Why are you telling me this story?”

“Because I saw the way you toyed with your shirt when you first took it off. Like you were nervous to not wear a shirt in front of me. I need you to know that you are the last person who should worry about that.”

“Why?”

Shit. You backed yourself into a corner. What would you tell him? That you thought his body was cute, especially his tummy? That he was clearly the last person who needed to worry about his weight since he walked like ten miles a day and looked healthy? You decided to just be forward with him again. It worked last time, so who is to say it would not work again?

“Honestly? You’re just really cute, Gardner. Everything about you.”

Gardner could feel his face flush, and not from the hot water running through his hair, sense that his pupils dilated, and that his heart was beating loud enough to hear it in his ears, but for once he did not turn away. He faced the compliment head on, hoping that you would appreciate the braveness.

“Ditto.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Ditto. Calvin taught that word to me. It means ‘I feel the same about you.’ I don’t think it’s an actual word though.”

Had Gardner just called you cute? Everything about you cute? Well, you’ll be damned, maybe this could go somewhere once he was better and no longer in your care. You repeated the process from moments ago with Gardner’s conditioner, earning a few more whines and groans from your new favorite mail carrier. Once his hair had been thoroughly cleaned, you turned the water off from the showerhead and let it flow freely from the spicket. You placed a hand on the back of Gardner’s neck to brace it for the initial stiffness it would surely feel from hanging over the edge of the tub like that for a while. Once his head was up, you lifted him up to sit on the edge of the tub. He stared at you with half-lidded eyes, looking sleepy, while you grabbed a small towel to rub on his head. His legs were spread apart lightly, so you stood in between them, his eyes level with your chest, but that was not where he was looking. His eyes peered right up at yours, shining like all of the galaxy’s stars were within them. You had placed the towel on his head and started to massage the towel around, gathering up the water that would drip down his back so he would not get the shivers. He simply watched you focus, adoring the way that your eyes squinted a little bit and you pulled your lips in upon one another. Once you felt that his hair was dry enough, you removed the towel from his head, laid it across the back of his neck, and pulled lightly on either end, bringing his head the slightest bit closer to your body. You smiled down at him, pleased with how sleepy you were making the boy look.

“Feel good, hon?”

“Mhm.”

“Good. I realized that there isn’t a real need for me to give you a sponge bath when you have the use of both of your arms, so I can leave while you do that and sit –”

“Would you still do it?”

“What?”

“I was… kind of looking forward it. You have a very relaxing touch, Y/N.”

“Oh, um, sure. Just let me know if I get to a spot that makes you uncomfortable, okay, hon?”

“Mhm.”

You told Gardner you would help him stand so he could remove his uniform shorts, and then he could sit back down in just his underwear. Giving you access to everywhere you needed to clean him. You walked over to the linen closet and grabbed a plush washcloth, and picked out the soap that Gardner liked to use, wetting both under the hot water. Then began the part that was sending both of you into overdrive. You had to wet his body before applying the soapy water to it, so you just went for it. Starting at his shoulders, you lightly rubbed the washcloth down his arms, and came back up to his chest. Slowly you made your way down his entire torso, stopping about five inches above the hem of his underwear, to avoid making his boxers wet and to make him uncomfortable. Then you added the soap to the mix and lightly scrubbed his skin to get off any grime that accumulated over the course of his shift, despite you doing most of the walking. His eyes continued to glare at you, but in the most loving and sleepy of ways. You rinsed off the soap from his body and he made a motion as if he was going to try to stand, thinking you were finished. You pushed him down by the shoulders, earning a sharp intake of breath from him, and now wide-eyes. Still sparkling with all the stars in the night sky, though. You proceeded to wring the washcloth of its dirty components, running fresh water over it. Then you kneeled down, still in between his legs, and brought his face down to look at your own. The next thing Gardner knew was he felt the damp cloth all over his face, gently stroking to open up his pores to clean the delicate skin of his face. His face had already been red, but the close proximity and the fact that the washcloth was hot made it worse. He did not mind, though. He just continued to watch the look of concentration on your face, until he was snapped out of it.

“Close your eyes, sweetheart, don’t wanna get soap in them.”

Gardner did as he was told, and let the suds run down his face, reveling in the feeling of you washing them away and patting his face like you were telling him he was your good boy. Once all the soap had been properly rinsed off, you grabbed the larger bath towel and began to dry off Gardner’s body. You left his face last again, and when you got to that point, you unknowingly had inched closer on the floor to him, so that when you removed the towel from his face, your face was a mere few inches from his. You both stopped breathing momentarily, not realizing how close you really were. Gardner then lightened the mood by flashing a dorky smile at you.

“Thank you, that felt really good. I hope that wasn’t weird of me to have you do that.”

“Oh, no, honey, not at all. It was my pleasure.”

“You’re really good to me.”

“All part of the job, lovebug.”

The nicknames you continually gave Gardner were a habit of yours with practically everyone you met. Honey, hon, and sweetheart were you go-to’s, so where the hell did lovebug come from?

~

Calvin had written a note that told you that dinner had been done for a while, and he had plans to go out that night, so he put portions for each of you in the refrigerator. You did not mind, and Gardner suggested that you eat in his boat so you two can tell each other work stories. You loved the idea, so you wheeled Gardner outside to the boat and carefully got him inside using his crutches. Once you got him situated at the small table inside, you told him that you would be back in ten minutes with dinner for two, courtesy of Calvin. You ruffled his now almost completely dry hair one more time and made a beeline for the kitchen, where you were pleasantly surprised to find some homemade pizza slices. While you were heating up your dinner, Gardner noticed a note on the table of the boat, left by Calvin.

“G, I heard you making those sweet sounds in the bathroom. I told you I knew you thought she was cute. Make a move, brother! -C”

Gardner flushed with embarrassment, ripping the note to shreds so that you would never see it, despite the fact that one could argue actually hearing the sounds he made was worse than reading the note. It did not matter. He had to just think of you as his nurse. Nothing more. despite how hard that was becoming. As if on cue, he heard the hatch of the boat open and the smell of fresh, warm pizza entered the boat.

“Ready to eat and gossip, Gardner?”

“Yes ma’am.”

While the two of you ate your dinner, you told Gardner a bunch of stories relating to all the quirky patients you encountered through the years, including the man with the pleasurable plant. It made Gardner laugh so hard that he almost choked on his pizza, earning even harder laughs from both of you when he could breath properly again. Gardner told you the small bits of gossip about the people on his route that he could gather from their mail, and showed you his stamp collection. You hung on to every single word he said about it, which made the feelings he was trying to subdue hit him full force on the head, because no one ever really cared about his stamps. Not before you. Before you knew it, it was almost time for you to ‘clock-out,’ so to speak, from helping Gardner for the day. You took everything back into the kitchen and washed the few dishes really quick to help Calvin out, then made your way back to the boat. You half expected sleepy Gardner to make a full return and him already be passed out by the time that you got back, but to your surprise, he was sitting straight up against the makeshift headboard, which was really just a wall, of his bed. Looking like he was thinking hard about something.

“Lovebug, you oka—”

“Would you spend the night?”

You were positive your jaw hit the floor.

“Sorry, I’m sorry. That was… completely uncalled for. You can leave, I’m good. I can make it to the bathroom on my own and –”

“If you want me to stay the night, I will.”

“Really?”

“Mhm. I might just need to borrow your clothes, and I would need to run home and grab some stuff. I only live a few blocks over, wouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes.”

“Can I ride with you?”

“You sure can, hon. C’mon…”

You lugged Gardner in his pajamas back outside and into your car, and he waited patiently while you gathered what you needed. Once you were back in the boat, you helped Gardner settle back into bed, while you got ready for the night. Despite going home, you were insistent that the least he could do was let you borrow one of his old tee shirts, so you would have less laundry to do the next day. He did not mind, and tossed you an older, worn shirt. You crawled into bed with him, not even considering the couch as an option, and laid down right beside your boy, eyes fluttering shut at the warmth spreading throughout the bed.

“Y/N?”

“Yes, hon?”

“Can you make me a promise?”

“Depends. What’s the promise?”

“That once this cast is off we can still be friends. Hang out like this.”

“Gardner?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll make a vow to remain this close to you for the rest of my life.”

~

Eight weeks had flown by, each day following the same pattern, just the way Gardner liked to live his life. Back at the hospital, Gardner had his final x-ray and was allowed to have his cast removed. He made sure that you were present, because frankly, the little saw scared him. But all went well, and you helped Gardner stand for the first time on his noodley leg. It had lost most of the muscle from all the walking he did, but the doctor reminded him that it would come right back as he continued to use it. He remembered the vow you made him, and as you were walking him and Calvin back to their car, he had a smug face adorning his features.

“Why so giddy, lovebug?”

“I think my leg is going to be pretty weak for the first couple days, and the doctor told me you don’t work tomorrow.”

You could see where he was going with this, and you were completely fine with it.

“Seeing as that you are no longer my personal nurse, I would love to know if you would care to join me on my route tomorrow, Y/N?”

“I did make a vow, didn’t I?”

“One I plan on making you keep one way or another.”

“It’s a date, Gardner.”

Meanwhile, Calvin was staring at you two with the happiest of expressions, which quickly turned sour.

“Hey! Why can Gardner get the girl but I can’t? Hmpf. Well, at least you two are sickeningly cute.”

Permanent Taglist: n/a

Specific Story/Character Taglist: @gardnerlangway (imagine taking care of our baby boy!!)

#gardner langway #gardner langway x reader #joe mazzello #joseph mazzello #joe mazello x reader #joseph mazzello x reader #fanfiction #fanfic #dear sidewalk #imagine #one-shot #fluff #usps #united states postal service #mail #mail carrier #stamp #stamp collection #nurse #personal nurse #broken leg

[straightfacedstrangeness]

Patlabor fanfic WIP

Summary:  Shige has a cute moment with Noa.  Asuma is definitely not jealous.  Because this is SV2 and nobody ever has anything better to do, absolutely everybody gets involved.  Basically, Noa becomes the center of a (PG) harem comedy and has absolutely no idea.

Backstory:  I’ve been going through a handful of fanfic WIPs and story notes from the past few years, seeing if anything really sparks my interest / seems like it’s worth finishing up...and I really like a lot of lines and concepts in this one, but I also probably won’t ever finish it.

At the time (sometime in 2018), I never finished it because the ideas got more complicated than I felt like wrangling, and because the “she was actually just blushing over Alphonse all along” ending seemed so obvious that it didn’t feel like the shenanigans leading up to the reveal were “worth it”.

And now, I probably won’t finished it because at the time I thought Noa was in her early or mid-twenties, and that Shige was in his mid- or late twenties...but it turns out that Noa is 18 in the Early Days / TV timeline (and left SV2 by the time she was 23 in Patlabor 2) and that The Next Generation set Shige’s canon age at 59, making him fucking 45 during Early Days / TV.  8′)  Since part of the story hinges on Shige crushing on her, even though (or especially because?) it’s onesided, the age difference kinda squicks me out too much for me to want to write any more.  But again, a lot of the lines and concepts make me laugh, so I figured I might as well share.

If you like this but wish it had more terrible sex jokes and/or that it was just poorly written Shige/Sakaki smut, check out my AO3 page cus that describes the only two Patlabor fics I've finished thus far  X’D  (And I definitely won’t be offended if that’s not your cup of tea.)

And now, the story~ (+ notes)

“AHH—!”

Shige started, banging his head on the raised hatch.  It took a few moments of swearing and cradling his skull before he managed to straighten up and turn around.

Noa had her hand over her mouth, a fiery blush spreading across her face.  He hadn’t expected to see her—it was so late, and she was clearly dressed to go home.

“Oh, uh,” she fumbled, shuffling her feet a bit.  “S-sorry, I didn’t—didn’t mean to interrupt—”

Shige grinned, though the muscle movement made his head injury sting.  “No problem!  ’Sup?”

“I, uh...”

Another surprise.  The blush deepened, and—Shige had never seen her shy.  Hadn’t thought her capable of it, honestly.  Noa was the only girl he’d ever met who burped openly instead of holding it in.

Noa’s hand slowly rose up to point at—him?  Oh, no, past him, into the cavity of her Ingram’s leg.  The hatch on its shin had been opened and the curved guard over the ankle removed, exposing a tangled web of pistons and wiring.

“Hm?”  Shige blinked, then seemed to get it.  “Oh!  Oh, you’re worried about your ‘Alphonse’, right?”

“Oh, n-no, that’s not—”

“ ‘He’s’ just fine, Izumi-chan, cross my heart!  I’m just taking a peek at the ankle servos, you’ve been shifting to the left a teensy bit when you walk lately—not enough to interfere with the auto-balance, of course, but who wants to worry about maybe possibly potentially tripping over six-ton feet in the middle of a chase scene, right?  I’ll get ‘him’ back in tip-top shape in no time!”

“Ah, well, th-thank you, Shige-san...”

Shige grinned again, turned back around, bent into the leg cavity and picked up his toolbox.

Sound echoed in here.

He heard the slight whistling through his teeth as he tried to expel the tune stuck in his head, every little reverberating clink when his tools touched the mechanisms.

He didn’t hear footsteps.

More carefully this time—squatting further down instead of straightening up—Shige extricated himself and turned around.

Noa jumped, glancing away sharply, shuffling her feet again.  That pink in her cheeks looked utterly alien, but...very, very cute.

Shige swallowed.

“H-hey, c’mere,” he blustered, grin a bit more lopsided than before.  “Lemme show you.”

Noa hesitated—wow, shy was a really great look on her—but stepped forward.  There was only room for one on the awkwardly curved slope of the Ingram’s foot, so Shige slid off and gallantly helped her up, being extremely careful about the placement of his hands.  Noa’s fingers dug into his shoulder as she steadied herself, peering into the inner workings of the Ingram.

Shige pointed at things, his already-too-loud voice echoing throughout the cavern of the exposed leg.  He explained what was what, Noa nodded and “oh!”ed and asked all the right questions, her hand on his shoulder the entire time.  She glanced clumsily back and forth between the towering mechanisms and Shige, eyes bright, breath a little ragged.

It was Noa who almost slipped and fell climbing down, but Shige was absolutely dizzy.

---

“Sucks to be you, Asuma-chan~”

Asuma and a handful of the maintenance crew were crowded in the break room divvying up their Shanghai Noodle lunch orders.  He squinted skeptically.  Shige had been bursting at the seams with swagger and pride all day, and the tone of this latest remark implied a dramatic reveal.

But Asuma refused to give him the satisfaction of showing he was curious, and instead calmly dipped his chopsticks into his ramen with nothing more than an “Oh?”

“Izumi-chan’s got a crush on me.”

SSSSPPGHHHKHKG!!

Half the room jumped.  Shige crowed with laughter.  Asuma tried his best to hurriedly wipe the wet noodles off his vest and to look coolly aloof at the same time.

“So, what,” he grumbled, failing at the latter, “is this like the time you thought the mailman had a crush on you?”

“He did,” Shige retorted defensively.  Then he settled back in his chair again, arms folded behind his head, the picture of perfect smug serenity.  “But I caught Izumi-chan staring at my sexy ass while I was bent over the Ingram’s ankle servos last night.  You ever seen her blush?  Almost reminds you she’s a sweet young girl!”

“What makes you think she was staring at your ass?” mumbled one of the mechanics.

Asuma almost dropped the paper towel he’d been furiously wiping with.

“Yes.  Yes!” he blurted, then remembered he was supposed to be coolly aloof and crossed his arms (spreading the broth stains to his sleeves).  “I mean...it was probably ‘Alphonse’ you were working on, right?  ‘He’s’ the only ‘man’ she has eyes for.”

“Oh, so you think just ’cus she hasn’t jumped on you that she’s completely immune to masculine charms?”  Shige snorted, but he was already starting to go red at the ears.  “All you ever do is yell orders at her!  I’m the one taking care of her beloved ‘Pat-chan’ every day—nursing ‘him’ when ‘he’s’ sick—making sure ‘he’ always looks ‘his’ best—it just makes sense that she’d fall in love with—”

“Seriously?  By that logic, Noa’d be sleeping with the entire maintenance staff!”

All the mechanics in the room became very alert.

“Or Chief Sakaki!” added Asuma.

The mechanics instantly deflated.

“Whatever.”  Shige snapped up his bowl and dug in, pointedly avoiding Asuma’s gaze.  “You’re just jealous.”

A triumphant smirk played across Asuma’s face.  He sat back down, stain be damned.  “Aw, don’t worry about it,” he said soothingly, blowing on his own ramen.  “I get it.  You’re crazed with loneliness being cooped up with a bunch of sweaty guys day after day, right?  Of course you’ll take any smile from a girl as a—”

“I am not—”

“Shige-san!”

Both men nearly fell out of their chairs.

“There you are!” chirped Noa, though she gave a self-conscious start as she glanced around the room and saw just how many people were in it.  Asuma stared.  He’d never actually seen her blush before.

“U-um,” she went on, suddenly timid again but trying to smile through it.  “So, Shige-san...I just wanted to ask...c-can I, uh, hang out with you again after my shift’s over?  ...Like yesterday?”

“Absolutely, Izumi-chan,” said Shige smoothly, flashing a toothy grin at Asuma.  “Absolutely.”

---

Hiromi groaned.

“C’mon, c’mon!” Asuma hissed, shaking him.  Well, as much as he could shake the big man.  “You’re curious too, right?”

Hiromi groaned again.

“What?  It’s gotta be you, it’d sound weird coming from anyone else!”

Groan.

“You’re nonthreatening, man, you’re like a big teddy bear, you listen to people and care about their feelings and stuff!”

 ___

Notes:

Asuma bullies Hiromi into discreetly asking Noa cus Hiromi’s nonthreatening (like a big teddy bear)...Noa misinterprets & thinks Hiromi’s asking her out?

Ota thinks crush talk and/or dating a coworker is super unprofessional but now he can’t stop thinking about it either, is jealous that no one’s hitting on him?  Starts alternately peacocking & being really irritable? Demands Noa and Kanuka rate the men in terms of attractiveness and then immediately gets mad cus that’s so dumb?

Noa keeps hanging out w Shige after work, looking at Alphonse’s schematics...he tries to ask her on like an actual date and she’s disappointed? Goes anyways (& went with Hiromi too)?? Now everyone’s really confused??? Asuma asks her out too???

Kanuka’s stoically scornful, like “are you all that desperate for a woman?” (like they’re all crowding around Noa cus she’s one of the only girls they know, and/or comparing it to kids who don’t want a toy until they see someone else play with it)  Hiromi’s just really embarrassed and too shy to admit to Noa that there’d been a misunderstanding

Shinshi’s glad that everyone’s thinking seriously about their romantic futures

Shige & Asuma start getting weirdly competitive and start going on like trio dates where they keep one-upping each other and/or Noa thinks it’s a group hang and invites the others along

Eventually Kanuka just spells out to Noa what’s going on & she’s really surprised and embarrassed. Admits she was so shy and cagey with Shige cus she didn’t want anyone making fun if her for looking at Alphonse “naked” (since he was a mechanic, he’d understand the fascination)

#patlabor #mobile police patlabor #fanfic liveblogging

[somethinglacking]

Cruel Angels Thesis Chapter 15

Nair looked at the door concealing her boyfriend with a sense of longing. He had to be tired, she knew as he hadn’t made his presence known in days. With a heavy sigh, she opened the calendar on her phone realizing it had been nearly a week since she had seen her hacker god aside from bringing him food. Still, even when he was withdrawn from her… Nari would be lying if she didn’t admit she felt hurt, or that going to bed alone at night wasn’t tearing her to shreds. Saeyoung was more closed off than ever now and was hiding something from her. Her eyes felt wet as tears threatened to escape, thinking back to the promise they made in the face of God. What could he possibly be dealing with that he couldn’t tell her about? The doctor felt a sense of dread form in the pit of her stomach.

“What could be so important that you can’t tell me.” She whispered turning from the door making her way down to the kitchen living room area. Nari looked around for any sign of the other agent, coming up with nothing. He wasn’t even out in the yard having a cigarette. It was strange, and the hollow of loneliness embrace her.

It couldn’t be helped as a warm tear escaped her eye as started to stream down her cheek. She covered her mouth, choking back a sob as she moved toward the bathroom slamming and locking the door behind her. There was a sharp pain in her chest, and underline anxiety things where not safe. That they were all not safe, and that her relationship was dying with the man that meant everything to her. The sobs ripped out of her shaking her entire being as she wailed not so silently on the bathroom floor. Nari was scared and felt nauseous with the uncertainty of everything that was happening around her.

After a short while, Nari’s emotions ran their course. It was a little liberating to have let it all out. However, now she looked like a mess. She stood on shaky legs and peeked out into the main living area. Vanderwood wasn’t anywhere in sight. Deeming it safe to leave without explaining her run down appearance she walked out into the living room and looked out the window. The car they all shared was gone, meaning Vanderwood probably drove the two-hour trek to the nearest city to buy some supplies that they would be needing. Nari sighed looking up the stairs to the loftish area above. Saeyoung was probably still hauled away in his workroom. In a completely sullen mood, she walked up the stairs. Kpop could be heard lowly from the room her boyfriend was in. It kind of felt like a slap in the face at that point and turned on her heel walking into their, well more like her, bedroom. A hot bath sounded like just the trick to help calm down her nerves.

As she moved to enter the bathroom, there was the sound of a heavy truck pulling up to the house. Curious she cautiously moved towards the window peaking out, trying not to be seen from the vehicle down below. The doctor watched as a tall man stepped out of the delivery truck and moved around to the back. He had his phone and a device that required a signature before he could hand them their parcel. Nothing about the situation seemed weird. Seven had mentioned ordering in a fresh batch of honey butter chips, and that they should be arriving that week…

Nari sighed, as her heart leaped into her throat. It wouldn’t be weird if it wasn’t for the fact they resided two hours away from the city. They lived in the mountains in a rather secluded area at that. Every other parcel had been delivered to their P.O box, and Saeyoung got an email informing him of the arrival of the goods. Thinking quick as she watched the man gather a sizable box and move towards their front door, Nari dialed her loves number. Not removing her honey eyes from the intruder as she tried to catch a glimpse of his face under the baseball cap, and sunglasses. Not odd attire seeing as it was the middle of July and hotter then Ifrit's Inferno outside giving the deserted like surroundings.

“Hello~” Saeyoung picked up the second time she had called him. Even with the sing-song tone in his voice, Nari didn’t miss the undertone of exhaustion and defeat laced under it.

“Hey baby, did order anything?” Nari cooed to him sweetly.

“Well, yeah. I have yet to receive an email though. Why did you also order something I was unaware of?” The hacker questioned over the sound of his type in the background.

“No, no… I just found it a little odd there is a giant delivery truck in our driveway. You know- two hours out from civilization.” Nari countered, and the typing ceased.

“Where are you?” The red-head hissed rushing out of his workroom. A million things coursing throughout his mind at that moment.

“In our bedroom,” Nari spoke, her voice carrying both in the receiver of the phone, and from the room, she was in.

“Get down, away from the window, do not draw attention to yourself.” The hacker ordered peaking into the room. Gold met with surprisingly calm brown as Nari nodded and crouched down. “Good, stay there.”

“Don’t you dare hang up!” Nari hissed as her boyfriend moved to hit the call end button.

“Fine, I’ll keep you in my pocket. On speaker. Don’t make a sound.” Saeyoung explained as the doorbell that has never been rung before chimed out. “I’ll be right back.” Nari nodded and the hacker stepped away from their bedroom.

Nari was fine, he concluded. And sharp to gather how odd this otherwise normal thing was. The hacker took a moment to unlock the door to the weapons and grabbed a handgun. “I’m armed now, okay sweetie. Stay where you are.” Saeyoung whispered, and was impressed when she didn’t respond. He was testing to see if she would. He knew perfectly well the call wasn’t disconnected either, yet his love was like a ghost. No shifting, no nothing to cause any noise over the phone. Smiling to himself he hides the gun in the front of his pants and walked back to the bedroom. “Good job, my love,” Saeyoung smirked handsomely to her as the doorbell went again, breaking their brief eye contact. Nodding to the actual Agent, Nari stilled herself completely as he left her.

Listening carefully.

Luciel was in agent mode as he stood up on the loft, looking down through the big windows. The man stood there shifting his weight holding a box, acting as if it was heavy. However, Saeyoung knew it was a ploy, knowing that a hundred bags of his favorite snack wouldn’t weight enough for such behavior. “Yup, One moment!” He yelled running down the stairs and towards the door with a bright fool's grin. The man hides his face under the cap and glasses but looked up at the sound of his voice. The hacker waltzed up to the door and opened it, playing along with the charade. “Hello~”

“Tch, she’s not as stupid as I thought.” The man spoke, and the realization dawned on the younger male.

“Vandy, welcome home!” Seven greeted and the box was tossed at him.

“Yeah, smart move going to him.” The eldest spoke up, as Nari made herself known on the overlook. Vanderwood walked pasted Seven how cooed sweet nothings to the box of honey budda chips.

“Where the hell did you even get that uniform and truck?” Nari asked bewildered as the elder of the trio removed the cap, his hair flowing down his shoulders once more.

“Never underestimate an agent, Lady.” He started removing his sunglasses and eyed the younger agent with contempt.

“So, uhh. Vandy-” Seven started looking at his partner, leaving the box of goodies in the middle of the floor. “Where is the car?”

“I parked it, and stole that.” He explained simply, causing Nari to gape at him. The older man shrugged and lit a cigarette.

“Well, return it, and get our car back.” Nari hissed walking past him to her boyfriend how chuckled opening his arm to her. It didn’t take her all day to step into his embrace and to allow his arms to secure her tiny frame to his.

“I will,” Vanderwood mumbled looking at the display of affection with an eye twitch. “You passed… Suppose you are getting better at these games.” He complimented and Nari peeked over to him beaming a smile.

“Hear that, you’re amazing.” Saeyoung beamed with pride. Nari giggled as Vanderwood tossed them both a disgusted look and walked out the door. “Guess he’s gonna go return that. Nice of him to get our mail.” The hacker chuckled and Nari looked up at him smiling. How she had missed him the last week.

“Mmmhmm. Vanderwood, the super nice mailman.” She agreed gaining another tired chuckle from her hacker god. “You’re tired.” She whispered, letting her eyes take in his face, those amazing features that made him the most visually pleasing person to her. Her tiny fingers caressed the sides of his face.

“I am.” He agreed to her surprised.

“You should shower and get a couple of hours of sleep.” Nari offered and he smiled softly at her. His own very calloused fingertips began tracing her cheek.

“Maybe when Vandy returns.” He agreed to blink away the fatigue that had washed over him as the adrenaline started to leave his system. Saeyoung played with some of the silky lengths of her hair, he loved the feeling of it. Grown out, as it might be, from the style she had when they first met. “I missed you.” He found himself whispering before leaning in and pressing gentle kisses to her lips. He felt Nari’s quiver under his and his brows came together in slight confusion, but she had started returning the gesture. Confused, but wanting to relish the feeling of her sweet kisses, and the way her tiny affection affected his heart, the hacker allowed it. Allowed for them to share a couple more lazy pecks before leaning back out and eyed his girlfriend. Nari looked as worn out as he felt; if he was being honest. “You okay?”

“Fine.” Nari chirped looking up at him with her wide, big, dazzling eyes. Expressive, and gateway to her soul. The very things that gave away her little white lie. Sighing, The hack placed two fingers under her chin taking in her expression.

“What happened to always being truthful to one another. Even white lies are still lies.” Saeyoung scolded and watched as her face crumbled a little.

“I’m sorry. I’m just tired and stressed out. My body aches. My soul aches every time I have to go to bed without you.” Nari hambled and the hacker felt his heart squeeze painfully in his chest.

“Shhh.” He hushed her softly pressing a tender kiss to her forehead. “How about we spend time together at the end of the day from now on. I can’t promise I’ll be able to spend the entire night asleep, but I could at the very least come to cuddle while you drift off.” A soft smile graced her features, and Luciel let out a small huff of relief.

“I’d love that,” Nari murmured looking at him before leaning up to seal their new deal with a kiss. Saeyoung let the hand resting on the small of her back slip down to her hip, and pressed her close to him. The kiss wasn’t heated, both being too exhausted for anything frisky to grow between them, but there were love and passion in the way their mouths moved together. The silent ‘I missed you.’ and ‘I love you more than life itself.’ passed between them with every minuscule breath that was drawn in.

When the kiss slowed down they simply pressed their forehead together, enjoying the others air. Nari hung off of him in a way that would be considered slightly inappropriate if anyone was to walk in the front door. Clinging to his being like she was scared he was about to slip away and never be seen again. It wasn’t like Saeyoung had meant to be neglectful towards her, or their relationship. He treasured her more than anything else. “I love you, my one and only.” A smile took her lips at that.

“I love you more, my dearest.” Nari cooed and Seven kissed the tip of her nose.

“We have honey budda chips, dr.pepper- Juice for you of course-” He started taking her hand and kicked the box of his snack towards the couch. “We have this very comfortable couch and some movies.” He looked at her and winked. “I could even get extra crazy with the comfort items and grab some pillows and a big fluffy blanket.” He suggested and Nari nodded in agreement.

“Sounds heavenly after the week we���ve had.” Nari agreed truly happy to be finally having some time with her adorable hacker god. Sure they couldn't spend every moment together, but at least now they'd end her day at least together. The simple compromise, and how Saeyoung seemingly realized what had been wrong without her openly expressing her feelings, warmed her. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he had missed her too as he gathered the comfort supplies while she picked out a blu-ray for them. It seemed like, though sleepless, the time just slipped away from her love. He hadn't meant to neglect her, she knew this now. Feeling silly for her break down just an hour earlier.

Getting cozy in his arms and pressed play on the movie, she knew she was loved and safe. That Saeyoung was also safe and sound with her. That was a comfort in its own right.

Vanderwood returned later that evening, scoffing at the sight on the couch. It wasn’t like they were on a time crunch or anything? Why shouldn’t his young curl up with the pretty little doctor and sleep? Sighing, knowing more rationally over the irritation in his gut that agent 707 had been working himself to neat death for them the past couple months. Eyeing the couple snoozing away on the sofa, a warm smile touched the corners of Vanderwood's lips. They looked peaceful like death couldn’t be nearly knocking at their door any given moment.

The elder agent moved and grabbed the comforter that had fallen mostly to the floor, and tossed it gently over them. He also took the time to turn off the television, content to just let them rest a while more. A scowl took his lips however as he made his way up the stairs to his roommate's floor of the house. Not that the agent knew much about Nari, after all, he was only there to make sure she is properly trained to in case the agency found out about them, in hopes she could either defend- or be seen as an asset for her medical knowledge and they’d take her without outright ending her. The girl was bright, and she took every single training exciting in stride, which impressed Vanderwood, not that he would express it out loud.

Slowly, the agent entered the realm beyond- Seven’s workroom in all it’s cluttered, disgustingly trashed glory. His eye twitched at the sight; stomach nearly heaving at the sickeningly sweet scent of honey, and that weird fake cherry flavored soda the guy seemed to enjoy so much. The lights where off and Vanderwood was wary of turning them on. Who knew what horrors really awaited him in this wasteland of an unparalleled hacking computer genius. Moving in he noticed the computer still fully logged in, it was a strange sight. Unable to pass up the opportunity rarely granted for him to snoop on what his young teammate was currently working on the older agent made quick work of wiping down the chair and sat down. Cracking his fingers, Vanderwood moved his hand to hold the mouse, unable to keep the look of disdain from his features as the object got grease and sticky honey on his hand. TRYING TO IGNORE THE DISGUSTING FEELING OF SEVEN’S MOUSE- Vanderwood clicked the open windows, reading over the articles and the note the young genius had made about them.

There had been walls upon walls of text, files, data, and suspicions on the Prime Minister of the god damn country all over the place. On top of that there was a photo of Seven at approximately 17, and smiling cutely for the camera. On the other monitor there was code, and question marks about the hacker they had faced when his young partner at meet the girl he was currently snoozing away with on the couch. Three months later and it seemed 707 EXTREME was still looking for the opposing hacker that had skills nearly- if not more- better then his own. Vanderwood bit on the pad of his thumb as he took in all the information being thrown at him. It irked him that the talented hacker seemed to disregard the threat of their agency, or his promise of freedom from the damn affliction- but now reading everything the guy has been pondering over- This situation seemed to be growing bigger and bigger by the second.

That's when he found the RFA files, another tab with information on their boss- Jihyun Kim. Curiosity was spiking, but it wasn’t any of his concern. Vanderwood sighed, looking over the files and it wasn’t until he reached the bottom he noticed a few things. First- Nari Choe’s file was nowhere to be found. Finding that curios the older man ran her name in the system, and surely enough, Nari Choe did not exist. Looking further into the file on Seven’s stupid charity group, Vanderwood noticed something that made his blood run cold.

There where not Seven’s personal files on the RFA or it’s members- but

Files the Prime Minister of South Korea has gathered with most interest being on Luciel Choi.

Vanderwood looked at the screen skeptical for a moment as if his eyes didn’t want to believe what he was seeing.

However.

There was no doubt now that Vanderwood had snooped into a place where he shouldn’t have.

Cursing under his breath he minimized the everything and left the monitor looking the way it had when he came in. No wonder Seven had been so uncharacteristically focused. So many lives where at stake, and the main target the self-proclaimed hacker god himself.

Unsure what to make of this information, Vanderwood stood up and made his way out of the room temporarily, searching for cleaning supplies.

Later that evening Seven woke with a slight start, and heart hammering. The very vivid memories he had been dreaming about pulled him back into consciousness. A soft soothing shushing could be heard from the warmth molded to his being. Luciel groaned rubbing his swollen and tired eyes as soft fingertips brushed the moisture that gathered upon his cheeks. A hiccup left the hacker as blurry vision looked down at the angel looking back at him. Her beautiful and deep golden honey hues shimmering in the moonlight, the underlying of concern and affects burned within their very depths.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Saeyoung whispered into the dead silence.

“No, no,” Nari whispered scooting herself up bring her face closer to his. He could now make out every wonderful contour of her face as she comforted him. “You’re okay, I got you.” No truer words had ever been spoken. When he was in Nari’s arms, held her attention he felt like he could move mountains.

“I was just a silly dream.” The hacker played it off, wrapping his arms securely around the woman, enjoying the warmth her body gave off under the blanket.

“Would you like to talk about it?” She whispered back, the warmth of her breath tickling Seven’s lips making him lick them. They were so close to one another, and a part of him was aching to just close the distance of their mouths, and bask in Nari at that moment…

Just he was almost positive it would be unwelcome at that moment.

“It was just an old memory from my childhood, nothing serious.” The agent whispered back rubbing his nose lightly against the doctors. Small healing hands cupped his cheeks, and her eyes bore into his. How much closer could they get before he lost all his senses?

“Was it a bad memory?” Nari asked with an innocent curiosity. Saeyoung offered her a sad smile, eyes locked, his long nimble fingers brushing the hair from her face.

“More like haunting.” He confessed, feeling uncomfortable yet a sense of solidarity in honesty they shared. After all, he had made a proclamation of love under gods loving and watchful eye to this woman,

“I don’t know completely what horrors you’ve faced in this life, Saeyoung-” Nari started with her brows gathering in the center of her forehead. “But you deserve so much more. More than anyone. You’re kind and gentle. You have a strength inside you that fierce and your will to survive is breathtaking. You amaze me every single day. A one of a kind quirky and eccentric jokester with a tragic past, and the man I love whole heartily.”

There was no stopping the magnetic pull the redhead felt in the moment as his lips slanted over herself. A purr like sound left his love, urging him on wanting him to continue. The fingers that brushed the stray strains from her pretty face moments ago now tangled themselves tightly into her hair. Demanding in the way his tongue forced her mouth open as he was dying to taste her. Nari moaned and shivered as Seven semi-rolled onto her pinning her small but sturdy frame under his body. A needy whimper left the agent as his free hand's finger traced the lines of her throat, the doctor submitting so easily to him and his passion.

“Ahem.”

The couple pulled away from one another blinking into the darkness towards the interruption.

“Not on the damn couch.” Vanderwood scolded the young couple who were blushing into the darkness for being caught.

Saeyoung fidgeted and removed himself from the woman sprawled out on the couch, and sat at the end of the couch. Embarrassed and a little irritated with the interruption, Seven eyed his partner who turned on the light. Nari had righted herself and curled herself under the blanket, cheeks flaming with intense heat.

“Anyway, Zero Seven, I need to speak with you,” Vanderwood spoke up pulling the couple from their embarrassed daze.

“I think it’s a little late for safe sex talk, Madam~” The hacker replied trying to make light of their current situation.

“It’s not that, but on the subject. Don’t. Knock. Her. Up!” Vanderwood hissed eyeing his partner, and Nari curled herself down out of sight.

“Noted-” Saeyoung cut off the conversation, trying to spare the girl buried in the blanket. “What do you need to talk about.”

Vanderwood huffed and eyed the red-head seemingly choosing his wording carefully.

“What does the Prime Minister have to do with you?” The grumpy agent asked, and Nari expelled air from her lung. All the while Seven froze before relaxing slightly.

“He’s my biological father.”

#mystic messenger #luciel choi #707 #mysme 707 #707 x mc #Fanfiction #mysme