#then i was told to 'stay young' (i said 'ill try') and i was also complimented on my hair color

[britneyshakespeare]

but in less panicky news about my day, i was at a flea market this morning, good classic american fun, looking at a collection of vintage books that one vendor carefully sorted by category. i bought several of his art books. 

while i was flipping through them deciding on what to buy i overheard a conversation between a couple of older men (we’re talkin... 60s to 70s) and i think the vendor asked one of them “where do you live?” and the guy just went “huh... uhhh... idk, where do i live?” and they were laughing a bit about that, because it’s a ridiculous statement. apparently the guy goes back and forth between the year but that’s still funny how it came out.

while they were having their rounds, i was only a few feet away from them, and though i wasn’t part of the conversation i thought i may as well make the joke aloud: “well, you live. i simply exist.”

and they all liked it quite a bit. it got them chuckling; they thought it was quite profound. i also don’t think they expected a young lady to add her own witty remark to the conversation so they were pretty excited. 

but within a minute i went back to looking at the art books, and then one of them said: “wait a minute, are you a poet?”

and i was like... “yes, but, how did you know that?” (i am not in any way locally known to the degree that i would expect to ever be recognized by a complete stranger)

and then immediately i noticed that i was wearing my academy of american poets tote bag. it just says “poets” in a big blue circle on the side that was visible to them. i was like, oh, that’s silly of me.

#tales from diana #bc one of them was about to say i was a poet and didn't even know it but then there my bag was. possibly identifying me as a poet. #they asked if i did readings and i said hell no basically. lol. im published in a few local journals that's it. that's all i want too. #none of those outlets even have a picture of me. so. anyone who reads diana from new england's poetry doesn't know what she looks like #then i was told to 'stay young' (i said 'ill try') and i was also complimented on my hair color #old white people love redheads. they think we're the most charming species #unless i guess they're anti-irish/anti-catholic but this was in massachusetts so. that's not the running assumption i make lol.

[etherealyoungk]

— ✦ sugar & spice | jeon wonwoo

PAIRING: bodyguard!wonwoo x celebrity!reader (fem!reader)

SUMMARY: it wasn’t your fault you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, however, the people had a lot to say about that, especially since your father a public figure. but when he’s falsely accused of taking bribes and money laundering, your whole life falls apart, and things start to get out of hand and dangerous. that’s when you meet wonwoo - the bodyguard who’s been assigned to stay by your side and protect you 24/7. the only problem? he was really cold, but also irresistibly attractive. it was going to be a task to try and befriend him, but who said you weren’t up for the challenge. 

THEMES: bodyguard au, mutual pining, slow burn

WARNINGS: use of curse words, mentions of anxiety, social anxiety, panic attack, crowds, fighting, violence, kissing, suggestive, just wonwoo being a whole heartthrob

WORDCOUNT: 29.2k

A/N: this fic was so self-indulgent oh my god. thank you to rania @wheeboo for feeding my delusions for this fic and proofreading it for me, ilysm <33 reblogs and feedback are always appreciated ^^ i would love to know your thoughts! enjoy reading ^^

full fic under the cut

“all right, class, that’s it for today. please come collect your mock test papers as you exit”, the professor announces and everyone starts talking, the room echoing with voices and movement as people get up, their feet shuffling as they stand in line to collect their papers from the front.

you come up in front and your professor gives you a smile as he hands yours back to you. “good job yn, near perfect score”, he says and you smile back. “thanks prof”, you tell, beaming as you take your paper and move. but you don’t miss the snide remark told by someone behind you and the few laughs that occur. but you ignore the comment and walk away.

you were used to people telling you that, people envying you and not in a nice way. you’d heard all kinds of things all your life. “bet they only got in because of her connections” or “they’re only top of the class because of they’re father’s influence” but all of those were very untrue. you were truly passionate about what you were studying and doing, but the people didn’t seem to think so. 

yes, you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, coming from a prestigious family with a lot of influence - your dad being a huge business tycoon, which made your family really rich and influential. but growing up, you wanted nothing more than to be not associated with him. your name was always tied with his - and you hated that. it never gave you the chance to be your own person, to have your own identity, which you craved for.

growing up only became harder when your mother passed away when you were still young. she was ill and there was nothing that could be done to save her, it had been too late. your moments and memories with her were limited considering you were only ten when she passed away, but still, everything you remembered about her you cherished, and you aimed to make her proud one day, proud of the person you’ve become. as a token from your mother, you had kept her ring and no, not her wedding ring, but another ring she wore. it was a dainty ring with a pretty pattern and you had always loved that ring as a child. so now you wore it, to remember her, to keep some part of her with you.

and of course, with growing up, the biggest struggle of all for you was making friends. when you were younger, you were actually good at making friends, you had plenty in fact. but as you grew up, you learned to see who was just befriending you for ulterior motives and whatnot, and you soon became good at filtering who you really became friends - close friends with. but in all those years, you only made two friends like that. they were the purest and sweetest souls ever - rania and skye. they were your best friends. they were your childhood friends and the only ones you opened up to and grew close to. while you still had a group of friends you interacted with on an everyday and casual basis, there wasn’t anyone you were close with besides them. there was also your current boyfriend - jaehyun. it was silly really, you had a crush on him for a while and soon the news spread from god knows where and one day he asked you out. you were so head over heels that you said yes of course, because which fool would turn down their crush? 

you're sitting across the table from your father, who’s busy talking to someone on the phone. it was a weekly thing that you had to have dinner at your father’s house.

"yes i want to see a sample of the product before we send it into manufacturing”, your father speaks to the person on the other line.

you stare down at your plate, moving your fork around as you listen to him speak. you and your father didn’t have the best relationship, it was rocky and messy, to say the least. ever since your mother passed away, you both drifted apart, your father focusing on the business and you just trying to get through the days as you tried to cope with the sudden loss. and you both somehow stayed like that, drifted apart. but that didn’t mean he was a bad guy. he still did nice things for you and you both had your moments, but it was strained. let's just say he wasn't the best father figure growing up.

you were used to having filler conversations about your life with your father like this. all he does is nod before he goes back to scrolling on his phone. half the time during your childhood and even now, you barely saw your father. he was always busy with work or attending meetings about god knows what. so that meant you were all alone in the big house which got lonely. that’s when you decided to move into a different house, have your own space and make it cosy too. at first, your father wasn’t too keen on the idea, but you were old enough now, in college too, so he agreed. so now you live alone in a house comfortable enough to make into your own little safe haven.

you unlock your front door, sliding into your house slippers as you trudge inside, discarding your bag on the couch as you open the fridge to grab a bottle of cold water to refresh yourself. today had been a long day. apart from studies, you also volunteered at a local cat shelter for rescues and the local public library. you enjoyed doing both things so you were more than happy to volunteer. they both had their perks 1) free cuddles and serotonin from all the kittens and cats 2) you could borrow as many books as you wanted so it was a win-win.

you were used to your father being on the news, he was a businessman after all, an influential man, someone important. but with all that came all the trolls, the hate and people who were obviously jealous and disliked him for no reason at all. all this in turn was also directed towards you. you were often called the silver spoon kid, nepo baby, or someone who’s life was handed to you on a silver platter. for the most of the time, you tried to ignore them, but of course as any normal human, it affected you. you hated it at times infact. you hated how people could concoct a ridiculous assumption about you based on nothing and it infuriated you. but you’d learn to grow up with it, grow up being watched, hounded at, judged at and trolled at. that was what you get for simply existing and being born in a wealthy family. and somewhere along the way you developed an anxiety about this and it made you scared to get close and open up to people. 

when you first joined college, it was hell. people took pictures without your consent all the time and they still did at times, but you’ve given up at trying to stop it. you were used to people's cameras at you, fingers at you, talking about you and also using you. everyone wanted to be your friend and butter you up to you, but when you started putting boundaries, they were quick to call you names. you were surrounded by paparazzi going to you during the first week and even now on the occasional basis, someone was always following you and snapping pictures of you. even if you told yourself it was okay, it was not and deep down you hated it. but what could you do? 

your father, well he didn’t seem to mind all the comments being told about him, as long as his business went well at the end of the day. but if you were going to be honest, your father was pretty smart and he had a knack for what he was doing, that’s what made him so successful. but that didn’t mean he didn’t hit bumps along the way, oh he did. you still remember the headline your father made when he invested money into a broken startup. but now he was making millions as the company took off. 

today morning was a good day. the sun was shining bright and the clouds were white against the blue sky. it wasn’t too hot, a comfortable temperature - it was the ideal day and you were more than happy about this weather. you get ready for college, it was your last semester before you graduated. you grab your phone from the desk table only to realise it was dead and you plug it in as you head to the bathroom to get ready. you quickly put on an outfit, grab your books, bag, and your phone on the way out. you lock your door and raise your hand to unlock your car, opening the door and sitting inside. you drive to college, putting on some music, in a good mood today as you softly sing along to the song that was playing on the radio.

you park your car in the parking lot, which was already crowded and you mentally cursed at the way people parked sometimes. you exit the car and walk towards campus, trying to unlock your phone but it doesn't open. that’s when you realise it was still dead - silly you had forgot to turn on the switch when you plugged your phone in. you mentally curse as you walk towards class, hoping someone had a spare phone charger for you to use. but that’s when you get a feeling - a feeling that you were being watched. and when you glance up, you can see people looking at you, whispering things in hushed voices between themselves. you brushed it off as nothing and continued walking.

a couple of people pass by you, looking right at you as they pass a comment. “see i knew your father was a crooked man”, he tells and the others laugh as they walk away. what? you were completely confused and the fact that almost everyone was looking at you as you kept walking made you nervous all of a sudden. this wasn’t good. you spot your professor and he comes walking towards you, in big strides, like he is in a hurry. “hello yn”, he says, faking a smile. “hello professor”, you reply. “i would like to have a word with you, please follow me”. he says and you can still feel everyone’s eyes on you as you walk behind your professor.

he closes the door behind him and urges you to sit down as he takes a seat in front of you.

“i’m sorry to hear about your father yn”, he starts and you furrow your brows, utterly confused. “i would like for you to meet with the principal so we can hopefully come to an understanding about how you will be completing your semester over here”, he continues and you’re lost.

“i’m sorry but i don’t quite follow”, you say, and he just blinks back at you. 

“do you not know? have you not seen the news?”, he asks, surprised. 

“what news?”, you ask again and watch as he fetches out his phone, handing it to you. and there it was, the headline that made your jaw drop.

“mr. __ a certified criminal, took bribes and laundered money”. 

what the fuck? your eyes quickly scan the article, reading the things your father was being accused of. there was no way he would do that, he wouldn't you thought. you look back up at your professor and hand the phone back to him, at a complete loss for words.

“i really had no idea about this”, you tell. “i think it would be better for you to go home today and then we can have a talk about this later this week along with the principal okay”, he says and you’re dismissed. you take a deep breath as you open the door and walk out, and hallway is quick to quiet down and you can feel the eyes of everyone on you. 

“hope your father rots in jail”, you hear a guy say and the others laugh. you hear a few more snide remarks as you walk out back to your car and you take a deep breath again. what the fuck was happening right now. you start the car and drive to your father’s house because you need answers.

you storm into the house, and your father is already sitting down at the table with his lawyer. “can someone please explain what is going on”, you yell as soon as you see your father. 

“yn” , your father says, upon seeing you. 

“you took bribes??”, you ask and you can see the small flash of hurt on his face before he composes himself as he answers you. “no yn, this is simply not true. i am being falsely accused”, he says calmly.

“so what’s going to happen now?”, you ask.

“this is defamation, there is absolutely no evidence to these claims”, your father fills in.

a week passes by and you somehow manage to make it to class, but obviously, everyone is still talking about you. rumors are goingand around like wildfire and people keep telling you nasty things, leaving you mean comments on your social media. even the paparazzi around you are following you everywhere suddenly and you hate this. your whole world was turning upside down and you find yourself driving to your father’s house that evening again, only to see people crowded around the house. puzzled, you get out of your car and you're immediately surrounded by the paparazzi and a hound of people as they recognise you. you see your father in the crowd and that’s when you notice the police officers and then the handcuff on your father’s hands.

“father!”, you yell out and he looks at you. you try to move forward, make your way towards him but someone pushes you down before someone else grabs your hand. “you little thief, no wonder you’re so rich”, he mutters out and you try to pry his hand off you but he doesn’t let go. “yn!” you hear your father yell and soon the police pry the man off you. you watch as your father is escorted into the police vehicle he’s driven off. 

the camera flashes continue and people keep yelling nasty things and you run towards your car, getting in and following the police car. at the police station, you get a chance to talk to your father with his lawyer present. 

“what is happening?”, you ask. “i thought you said this was a false accusation, why are you being arrested?”, you ask, looking between your father and his lawyer, jeonghan who was a competent man in his line of business.

“it seems there has been some evidence found", your father says, in a rather relaxed manner. 

“so what’s going to happen now?”, you ask, worried.

“i will have to stand trial and prove my innocence”, he adds. you see as he glances down at your wrist which you’re massaging gently. 

“are you okay, i saw what happened back there’, he adds. 

“y-yeah im okay”, you tell quickly. 

“no, this is not okay. you’re going to be affected by all the things happening now and things are getting dangerous and out of hand”, he tells. 

“i can manage”, you say.

“no, you cannot, things will only get worse from here, especially when the trial starts and they are all going to be taking their anger out on you. i cannot risk anything happening to you. so it’s decided”, your father says.

“what’s decided?”, you ask.

“you’ll be having a bodyguard with you 24/7 from now onwards”, your father adds.

“what? father there is no need-", you start before you're interrupted.

“yn listen to your father, he is right” jeonghan interjects and you sigh. there was no point arguing over here. in hindsight, things were bound to get out of control and having a bodyguard around did seem wise. the thought that something worse could happen to you makes you shiver.

“hire only the best”, my father tells and jeonghan nods. “i know just the person” he tells, assuring my father. 

you didn’t step out of your house the next day. paparazzi surrounded your home and you were in no ability to go out without being followed. the pictures of your father’s arrest and your face were plastered all over the internet and new articles, with all sorts of headlines. by 12pm everyone seemed to have gotten tired of waiting (thank god) and your driveway was finally clear. you’re in jeans and a top, rummaging through your pantry when you hear your doorbell ring. you immediately stand straight. who could this be?

you walk towards your door and peek through the peephole but you can only see the body of someone and you hear a voice you recognise. your father’s lawyer - jeonghan, so you open the door. 

“i didn’t know you were coming”, you tell and smile. “i texted you”, he adds. “must've missed it”, you add before glancing at the other man standing next to him, who you noticed was quite tall.

“please come in “, you add only for jeonghan to refuse. “no no, i must get going to prepare for your father’s case. i just came to introduce you to your bodyguard”, he explains. 

“oh, i see”, you tell softly. 

“he’ll be with you wherever you’re going. escort and protect you wherever you’re going. i’ve already briefed him and given him a copy of your schedules, but if you’re going anywhere, he is to accompany you”, he tells you, making sure you knew, like he knew you would try to sneak off. 

“yes yes alright”, you tell, crossing your arms over your chest. 

“well, get introduced then, i have to get going”, he tells, as his phone rings and he walks off, leaving you standing in front of the door with this mysterious man.

as you look at him, you realise how tall he was because wow, he was really tall, and really handsome. he towered over you easily as you looked up at him. he’s wearing a clean, crisp black suit, which has been tailored to his body, making the fit perfect, showing off his build and his hair was styled to expose his forehead. his foxy-like eyes hold a mysterious but focused gaze. damn, he was hot. your eyes sweep over his body one more time before he’s clearing his throat and you're shaken away from your thoughts.

“hello, im jeon wonwoo and i'll be your bodyguard from today”, he tells, his voice deep as he looks at you, his alluring gaze catching your attention.

“hi! i’m yn! nice to meet you”, you say a little too enthusiastically as you hold out your hand for a handshake. you’re already cringing at your actions but wonwoo reaches out and shakes your hand nonetheless and gives you a small nod. 

after that there is a moment of awkward silence before you speak again. “um i don’t think i’ll be going anywhere today so you can start tomorrow”, you tell. you didn’t want him to be waiting around unnecessarily. he just looks down at you.

“i have been assigned to stay by your side at all times”, he tells. “but i’m just going to be home”, you tell. “it’s fine uh - i can call you wonwoo right?”, you ask and he gives you a curt yes.

“right wonwoo, it’s all right, just clock off work, it’s fine for today”, you tell and he looks like he’s thinking before he speaks again. 

“if you insist”, is all he says before he gives you a small nod of acknowledgement, telling you he’ll be here tomorrow before he’s turning around and walking off. 

the next morning, you’re sleeping peacefully when you hear your doorbell ring. who was at your doorstep so early? you must be hearing things you think. after a few moments you hear your doorbell ring again and you groan as you let out a yawn, unwillingly getting out of bed as you drag your feet to the door, your eyes barely open, still laced with sleep. you open the door to see a tall figure in front of you, your eyes still unfocused and you're confused before you hear the voice.

“good morning”, he tells and you blink your eyes a couple of times before you realise who it was. 

“oh wonwoo hi”, you tell, trying to process this information. “it’s only uh-”  “7am”, he fills in.

“right, 7am”, you tell, yawning again. “why are you here so early?”, you ask and your eyes a bit more awake now to take in the sight in front of you. wonwoo was adorned in another crisp suit, his hair perfectly styled and you could smell the waft of his cologne as you stood.

“my working hours start from 7am”, he tells matter of factly. “right, uh okay just come in”, you tell, moving inside, not bothering to see if he was following you. you go back to your room to fetch your phone, seeing an email from your professor. they wanted to have a meeting with the principal - well this couldn’t be good. 

the entire time you’re getting ready, wonwoo is just standing in one corner of your hall. you told him he could sit but he insisted on standing so you just shrug your shoulders and let it go. you don’t have the time to eat breakfast and you lock your house door, about to get in the car when wonwoo speaks again. 

“i’ll drive”, he tells, holding his hand out for the key. 

“oh no, it’s fine i can manage”, you tell.

“i’ve been told to drive you wherever you need”, he adds, looking at you and he had the look of someone you did not want to interfere in his work with.

there was no point arguing with this man was there? you sigh, handing him the key and sitting in the front seat next to him because sitting in the complete back would  make you feel weird. wonwoo somehow knew the route to your college and he parks the car effortlessly in the parking lot, which is honestly impressive. (or you just had bad parking skills shh)

you see the crowd as you step out, and through all the people and you can even spot a few paparazzi if you looked carefully. you glance back at wonwoo and then the campus entrance. if you went with wonwoo, you were definitely going to get attention - unwanted attention that is. he was obviously going to stand out in that outfit of his. 

“just stay here, i’ll be back, it’ll be quick”, you say.

“i'm afraid i can’t do that, i’m assingned to accompany you wherever you go as your bodyguard”, he says, looking at you.

“i know, but i’ll be quick, nothing will happen”, you add as you unbuckle your seatbelt.

“i will be accompanying you”, he responds. even with all those looks he was really dense huh, it was like talking to a wall.

“fine god just come”, you finally tell, slightly annoyed. jeonghan really got you a tough bodyguard didn't he.

as soon as you step foot on campus, everyone’s head turns towards you and obviously everyone is whispering something about the man following behind you - wonwoo. you mentally curse as the crowd around you becomes larger as you walk, everyone stopping to see what was going on. wonwoo is quick to maintain an arm’s distance outside as he walks beside you and making sure people don't surround you. you try to look down as you just walk ahead, straight into the principal's office. wonwoo stands outside. 

“yn glad you could make it”, your professor says, as the principal sits beside, just giving you a small nod. 

“what did we need to talk about”, you ask, looking between your principal and professor.

you watch as your principal sits up straighter, interlocking his palms on the table before they speak. 

“i know you just have a semester left before you graduate”, he starts off. “but given the current situation, it would be hard for us to continue classes with you being present”, he adds.

“i could do online classes”, you suggest but you principle just shakes his head.

“yn, we acknowledge the effort and dedication you have demonstrated throughout your academic journey at our institution. your accomplishments have been commendable, and we recognize the hard work you have put into your studies”, he starts. “we really do yn”, your professor adds.

“but we have to bring attention to a significant concern that has risen due to recent incidents involving you and a related controversy”, your principal continues.

oh god, where was this conversation going. you’re about to open your mouth to speak when your principle starts talking again. 

“the college has carefully assessed the situation and after thorough consideration, it has been determined that unfortunately, you will be unable to graduate at this time. this decision is a result of the impact of the controversy on the overall reputation and values of the institution”, he finishes and it takes you two seconds to fully understand the situation and what was exactly going on right now.

“what?”, you let out, shocked. “we know this might be sudden but we are-”, 

“no no, this is not fair, you can’t do this”, you interject. 

“it is fair, considering the reputation of our institution is on the line”, he adds. 

“excuse me?”, you scoff. “i'm in no way related to what is going on right now”, you add.

“it is involving your father”, he says. “exactly, my father, not me. so i do not see why you would have to go to this extreme”, you tell, not letting this go lightly.

“yn”, your professor says in a warning tone.

“four years. four years of my life i’ve spent studying and working hard and you’re just gonna throw that all away and not let me graduate over a controversy? over something that is not true let me tell you that”, you tell, upset. “that’s not right and not fair”, you add. “letting me graduate is the least you can do, it’s only a semester come on”, you plead. 

“the decision is final”, your principal tells. 

“what no, you can let me take the semester later, i can still graduate then”, you suggest, trying to be hopeful but the air in the room was tense.

“yn thank you for your time and we wish you all the luck in your future”, you principal tells, completely dismissing you. 

“you can’t do this, you’ll be hearing from me remember that”, you tell, standing up and pulling the door open, walking out. the hallways are thankfully relatively empty because it’s class hours and everyone was in the lecture halls or study rooms. but as you turn you bump into jaehyun. 

“jaehyun hi!”, you tell as you approach him. “i'm so sorry i haven’t been able to text you, i’ve been so occupied”, you tell as jaehyun barely looks at you as you speak, checking his phone, texting someone else. 

“i’m free this week though so i thought we could go out to dinner or something”, you suggest, hoping that maybe a date would help you get your mind off things.

“yeah i’m not sure about that”, he tells. “oh are you busy? we can-”

“listen yn, considering everything going on right now, i wouldn’t want to be seen with you”, he tells and you’re hurt by his words. 

“but i don’t see how that matters if you like me”, you tell, trying to hold it together. 

jaehyun only lets out a small laugh. “like you? i only dated you because you were rich, was a nice thing to boast about until your dad had to be revealed as a thief”, he tells, mocking you and his words sting.

“that’s not true”, you tell. “i hope he rots in jail”, he adds, before leaving, having completely trampled over your heart and feelings. 

you’ve completely forgotten about wonwoo and it’s only when you turn around that you see him, a few paces behind you and no doubt he heard everything, just great. you bite the inside of your cheek as you look down, walking ahead and walking straight to the car, embarrassed but also upset. you get in the car, not bothering for wonwoo to open the door for you and sit inside, tears welling in your eyes. wonwoo stands outside like he’s unsure, giving you a moment of privacy before you’re rolling down the window and telling him to drive you home.

the car ride is quiet and you’re just looking out the window the entire time, trying not to cry. it wasn't fair. any of this wasn’t fair. you just wanted to curl up and hide right now. you can feel your stomach rumbling, protesting for not being given breakfast and you sigh, putting a hand on your stomach. now that you were aware, you were actually really hungry. you had half the mind to stop somewhere and buy something but you didn’t want to deal with people right now. 

“did you eat breakfast?”, you ask wonwoo, feeling suffocated with the silence in the car. 

“not exactly, but i did eat something”, he informs. you nod your head, thinking of what else to ask him.

“so how come you chose this bodyguard business”, you ask, glancing over at wonwoo.

“it suits me, i’m good at it”, he replies, giving you a short answer. 

“right, i see”. 

a few more seconds of silence follows before wonwoo speaks. “are you okay?”, he asks, his eyes still trained on the road ahead of him. his question takes you aback. it had been ages since someone asked you that. are you okay? those three words that had the capability of making you rethink your life and look into yourself. were you okay? no, not really. life sucked right now and you wanted nothing more than to just curl up in bed and cry. 

“i-i don’t know”, you answer, letting out a sigh as your fingers play with your mother's ring on your hand, something you did when you were anxious or lost in thought. 

“i’m used to it, it’s fine”, you add quickly.

after a few more minutes, wonwoo is pulling up into your driveway and he parks the car, getting out. you don’t know how this man managed to walk so fast because just as you’re about to turn your body to open the door, wonwoo is already there, holding the car door open for you. 

“oh um thank you”, you tell softly as you get out. 

you realized it was going to take you a while to break into wonwoo’s wall and befriend him. it looked like he was going to be with you for a while, until the trial was over atleast so might as well become friends. he did prove to be a hell though, it was like talking to a robot, but who said you weren’t up for the challenge?

it’s a new week and wonwoo is driving you to the cat shelter since it’s your day to volunteer today. atleast during all these sudden changes in your life, this was a constant. it felt comforting in a way. the animal shelter was run by a sweet lady who also adored you. coming here always made you feel better, no matter how shitty your day had been. 

you enter the shelter and immediately all the cats recognise your scent and meow, as if they were welcoming you. the owner comes out to see what the commotion was about and smiles upon seeing you.

“yn! it’s so nice to see you”, she greets, pulling you in for a hug. 

“it’s good to be back”, you tell. 

“who’s this mystery man”, she asks, referring to wonwoo.

“my bodyguard. with everything happening and the trial and all, things are getting out of hand ”, you explain and she nods. “quite the catch isn’t he”, she says, teasing you and you chuckle.

“i'm so sorry to hear about all this though, just know i’m here for you”, she tells. 

“thank you”, you tell, grateful.

“well you carry on, i just need to finish writing these invoices and i’ll join you”, she adds, walking back to the office room and you’re left alone with all the cats.

“hello fluffy”, you tell, looking down to the cat who’s brushing against your legs, 

wonwoo stands at the side of the room like he’s been punished even though you again insist that he can sit down but he insists on standing. you sigh, whatever suited him. you turn your attention back to the cats surrounding you and start your duties. 

you had to clean their litter, feed them and make sure the ones who were on medication were given the medicine. after you’re done cleaning the litter, you realise you need to open a new bag of litter, the only problem? it was 15kgs heavy and in no way were you capable of lifting that huge bag to the litterbox area. you go back to the front and wonwoo is still standing, his hands neatly folded in front of him as he just stares at the wall. he really needs to relax you thought. you walk up to him, hands on your hip.

“i need your help, come here”, you ask and you hear the shuffle of wonwoo’s feet behind you as you walk. 

“can you help me lift this?”, you ask, holding one end of the bag. wonwoo doesn’t say a word as he holds the bag and lifts it himself effortlessly and carries it to where you want it. damn, he was strong. 

you fill up the box with new litter, washing your hands and come back to the front. 

“i have a surprise for you”, you hear the owner say and she walks towards one of the boxes covered by a cloth. she uncovers it and a second later you hear a high pitched meow, followed by another and another. 

“oh my god”, you squeal. “poe littered! i completely forgot she was due”, you tell, looking as she brings the box down and the kittens overflow out of the box in a frenzy, climbing out of the box and making their way towards you with their wobbly but determined feet. you bend down to see them and they’re adorable. you watch as the battalion of kittens make their way to wonwoo, climbing on his shoes and meowing up at him, ambushing him practically.

you giggle as one cheeky kitten even climbs up wonwoo’s suit and all the way to his shoulder, sitting there perched while wonwoo just stands there, completely ignoring the fact that he was being attacked by vicious kittens right now. 

“you should adopt that one, it likes you”, you tell as you hold a kitten in your hands, referring to the one sitting perched on his shoulder. 

“i already have a cat at home”, he tells and this piece of information makes you raise your brows in surprise.

“really? you have a cat”, you ask in surprise. “i do”, he answers quietly.

“oh my god, show me a picture”, you ask.

wonwoo only blinks at you. “i refrain from using my phone during work hours”, he tells smoothly and you roll your eyes. 

“come on wonwoo, don’t be like that. it’s fine, just show me”, you ask again. “please?”, you add and wonwoo looks at you for a few more seconds before he’s moving his hand to remove his phone from his jacket pocket. the kitten on his shoulder makes a move, almost about to fall but wonwoo is quick to catch it and it’s now sitting in the palm of his hand, as he operates his phone with the other hand. he turns his phone towards you, revealing the picture of his cat. 

“her name is oreo”, he tells.

“aww she’s so pretty and so cute!!”, you exclaim. wonwoo’s cat was gorgeous actually. she was a black cat with white paws, white whiskers and a patch of white on her neck and chest. 

“she’s a rescue too”, he adds, and that little piece of information lifts your heart. 

“that’s nice. her little white paws are adorable oh my gosh”, you tell as you smile up at wonwoo. “they’re like little socks”, you say, chuckling at yourself as you hand his phone back to him. you notice how the kitten in his hand was busy chewing the end of his tie. if you looked carefully, you could see the faintest hint of a smile on his lips right now as he watched the kitten playing in his hands. how cute.

wonwoo drives you back home after you finish all your duties at the shelter and you get a text from jeonghan about your father’s trial. the first trial was set for next week. 

you're just at home and you’re certainly not used to the intrusion to your sleep at 7am every day now when wonwoo comes to work to start his duties. you told him to stay at home and you’d call him if you needed him but no, he didn’t listen. so here he was at 7am on the dot everyday at your doorstep. you yawn as you open the door, mumbling something to wonwoo about changing his work timings to 9am instead. 

you’re brushing your teeth, walking around the room and you can see wonwoo standing as usual. you wash your face and head towards the kitchen. you needed coffee now. you glance towards wonwoo occasionally because honestly, even if he was just standing there, he looked so….effortlessly handsome. oh my god. you should not be having these thoughts right now. it was too early for this. you really needed some coffee to get your head straight.

“do you want some coffee?”, you ask wonwoo as you look at him.

“i’m good, thank you”, he says. of course he was going to say that.

“how do you like your coffee?”, you prod him again. 

“black”, he says.

and of course he likes his coffee black. 

“well, i like a latte, ice or hot depending on my mood, sometimes with caramel sauce if i’m feeling fancy but otherwise mostly plain”, you tell, dumping this piece of information onto wonwoo as you struggle to open your coffee powder jar. you try again but it wasn’t budging. you try again this time, trying to concentrate all your strength onto your hand, but it didn’t work and it wasn’t opening. without a word, wonwoo comes forward and offers to open it. he takes the jar from your hands and opens it effortlessly in one shot, probably because of his super strength. you mumble out a thank you and instead of letting him go back to that sad corner beside the wall, you ask him to take a seat in front.

“wonwoo, you should know that you standing there at the side of the room like you’ve been punished is just extremely weird. please sit, i’m not gonna kill you, seriously, i’m a nice person”, you explain, your hand pointing to the stool that was on the left of him. “i would prefer-”, he starts. “no, i would prefer if you just sat please. you’re supposed to listen to whatever i say right”, you tell, looking at him with your hands crossed over your chest.

he doesn’t say anything but finally takes a seat and you do a little celebration inside your head. “see! that’s so much better”, you tell, already feeling at ease. 

you continue making your coffee and you’re halfway through making your coffee when you hear your doorbell ring. you glance at wonwoo before putting your mug down. but wonwoo gets up, telling you he’ll check who it was. 

“who are you?”, you hear wonwoo ask as he opens the door and you walk up to the door, curious. “who is it?”, you ask and when the person comes into view, you let out an excited squeal.

“RANIAA”, you exclaim, accidentally pushing wonwoo to the side as you pull rania inside, only to see skye behind them. “OH MY GOD”, you exclaim again, pulling rania into a hug and then skye. meanwhile wonwoo just stands in the corner of the cramped doorstep, regaining his balance from your not so subtle shove.

“what are you guys doing here”, you ask, once all the excitement has toned down and both rania and skye are seated on the couch. 

“we’ve been seeing the news and everything that’s been happening”, skye says.

“so we came to support you, it must be so hard right now”, rania adds. 

“aw you guys are really the best”, you tell. it had been years since you last saw them, both of them having moved to different countries. though you guys were separated by distance, you were still connected by your unhinged and chaotic group chat.

“by the way, who’s the handsome hunk over there”, rania asks, not so subtly. 

“rania jeez, he’s my bodyguard calm down”, you tell but you don’t miss the glint in their eyes. 

“is he single”, rania asks and you glare at them.

“stop it”, you tell and skye chuckles beside you.

“wait, weren’t you dating jaehyun?”, skye adds and your face falls. “yeah about that, he uh dumped me”, you tell and skye is quick to pull you in a reassuring embrace. 

“this is your sign to date that guy, shoot your shot before it’s too late bestie”, rania encourages, making you laugh. 

“enough about me, how are you guys? how’s seungkwan and soonyoung”, you ask, eager to know more about them. you watch as rania and skye exchange a glance between themselves before looking at you.

“they’re coming here tomorrow”, they tell in unison and you almost yell. “really?”, you ask, shocked but also excited. 

“they wanted to see you too so we dragged them along with us, but there was a goof up with the plane tickets and they had to rebook on a different flight”, skye explains. 

“it’s okay, we can all go out together tomorrow”, you tell and they smile. 

rania and skye end up going back at the end of the day and poor wonwoo had to witness you three maybe talk a little too much. you were sure he was glad when he clocked off work, beyond relieved he didn’t have to hear you all chatter anymore. even though you told him he could leave early, that you were going to just be home, he again didn't listen to you, saying that he would stay, saying something about upholding his duty. rania bombarded him with too many questions and you were sure he was going to get more from seungkwan and soonyoung tomorrow, poor guy. 

the next day you’re excited to see your besties again and wonwoo is yet again standing near the wall like he’s a statue. you’ve given up at this point really. before they arrived, you briefed wonwoo on being nice to them, especially to seungkwan and soonyoung, who were probably going to hound him with questions again today. “don’t be mean to them if they ask you questions”, you tell, pointing a finger at wonwoo. “be nice to them okay?”, you tell, adding a little glare to make sure your point went across. 

you wear a simple yet cute outfit and before you know it, your house is filled with laughter and smiles as soonyoung and seungkwan greet you. 

“oh my god, it’s so nice to see you guys!”, you tell, excited as soonyoung and seungkwan smile back at you. “same here yn”, they tell. 

“we planned a little double date”, skye tells. “make it a triple date, you can ask wonwoo to join”, rania adds, winking at you and you roll your eyes at her.

“who is what”, seungkwan asks, finally noticing the other presence in the room.

“my bodyguard. given the current situation my father thought it would be best”, you explain. 

“woah he looks strong”, soonyoung adds and before you know it, both the boys make their way to wonwoo while you girls decide on where to go for your little double or well triple date.

“hello”, soonyoung says to wonwoo. wonwoo only responds with a small nod of his head, standing still. 

“how long have you been a bodyguard for?”, seungkwan asks.

wonwoo glances at seungkwan, looks him up and down before answering. “four years”, wonwoo tells. 

“woah! so how’d you become one? is there like a special training school for this?”, soonyoung asks, completely serious and utterly curious. 

“it’s a sub branch in the security industry”, is all wonwoo answers with. 

“can i ask you a question”, seungkwan asks, bringing his hand around wonwoo’s shoulder which wonwoo shrugs off in a second. 

“what do you think of yn?”, seungkwan adds, acting like he wasn’t just shrugged off by wonwoo.

“yn is my client”, wonwoo says, like he’s stating a fact.

“i know she’s your client dude but what do you think of her, you know?”, seungkwan adds, trying to knock some sense into wonwoo, who clearly didn’t have any romantic braincell.

“you should take her out on a date, cheer her up. i'm sure she feels bad about everything happening with her father and all”, seungkwan explains nicely.

“yeah!”, soonyoung adds. we’re going on a double date anyway, you can join us and it’ll become a triple date”, soonyoung adds with enthusiasm. 

wonwoo just stares at these two boys like they’re idiots before answering. “that’s not in my job description”, he tells.

seungkwan visibly gets annoyed. “man, you’re really dense you know”, he adds. “it’s gonna hurt your romantic life in the long run buddy”, seungkwan adds with a look. 

wonwoo doesn’t say anything and that was the last straw for seungkwan and he grabs soonyoung’s arm, both of them making their way to the couch where you were busy chatting.

“okay, so we’re getting sushi”, rania announces and everyone cheers. you guys headed to the sushi place, wonwoo, you, rania and skye in one car and seungkwan and soonyoung following behind in the car they rented. you reach the sushi place and you guys sit inside. it seemed like today was your lucky day because you didn’t see any paps around or didn’t anyone seem to recognise you. you all took a seat while wonwoo told you that he’d wait by the car. you asked him (while rania almost yelled at him to join us) but he was stern about staying by the car. you let him be because you didn’t want to inconvenience him at the end of the day. you weren’t going to cross his boundaries if he didn’t want to. you finish your sushi date and come home happy and satisfied.

later that week, you get to meet with jeonghan, your father’s lawyer, to see how things are going regarding your father’s trial. 

“so mr. jeon has been telling me you haven’t been going to college? i know things have been bad but missing classes in your last semester is not the thing to be doing”, jeonghan tells.

“he’s reporting to you now is he?”, you ask, your brow raised. “well i did hire him”, he adds.

“i’m not missing classes on purpose…it’s just that”, you start sighing. “they told me i can’t graduate because of everything happening and father’s controversy. something about damaging the institution’s reputation”, you tell and jeonghan sits up straighter.

“why didn’t you tell me anything before?”, jeonghan asks. 

“i was going to! but then it just slipped my mind, and i know you’ve been busy too”, you add, hoping to redeem yourself.

jeonghan gives you a knowing look. “yn this is no small matter, i will look into this and make sure you can graduate. this is a ridiculous thing to do”, he tells and you nod in approval. “thanks” , you tell and he nods.

“how are you finding your bodyguard?”, jeonghan asks and you already sigh.

“he’s so…i don’t know, he’s so good at what he does but also kinda intimidating. he barely speaks it feels like i’m talking to a wall half the time”, you tell, chuckling. “but he’s cute”, you add, that tiny detail making jeonghan laugh.

“i think it’ll take some time to befriend him but i’m on it”, you add and jeonghan gives you a look. “just don’t get too close”, he adds with a warning. 

you were at the library today, you needed an escape and books seemed like the perfect solace right now. you’re wearing a simple outfit, black jeans with a purple top and a jacket on top because somehow even though the sun was up, the air was chilly and windy. you’re busy arranging the books that have been borrowed back in their rightful places, already knowing which book and genre goes where. wonwoo follows you around silently while you’re aimlessly talking to him about each book you pick up and put back on the shelf, offering him information about it - if you had read it, if it was on your TBR, if it was good, bad or worth a read. wonwoo seemed to be listening to you keenly. you grab the next book, and start telling wonwoo about it.

“i read this book years ago and i still love it to this date, the characters were so funny. but if i’m being honest the guy in this book was kinda an ass”, you add, as you locate the book’s spot on the shelf that was all the way at the top. you went on your tiptoes to reach it, trying to place it but missed. “and now that i’m older, the girl in the book was also a bit stupid you know, like-” you continue, but you feel wonwoo come up behind you and see his hand reach out, taking the book from your outstretched arm and placing in on the shelf with ease. you turn around, looking up at wonwoo, who is now so close to you. 

“why do you think the character was stupid?”, he asks, looking at you curiously. you blink up at him before answering, your mind suddenly distracted as you try to form a coherent sentence. “you know like-it was young love and-uh and they did-some stupid things-that um-i only realised when i got older-”, you stutter out, a flustered mess as you continue to look up at wonwoo. he looked so pretty up close and you could smell his cologne, which only made you want to lean into his presence. you feel your cheeks heat up as you look at him, starting to get lost in his eyes, his gaze. the way he looked at you like nothing else mattered to him apart from you made your heart race. you could feel your heart thumping loudly against your chest as you opened your mouth to speak again but closed it as no words came out. you step to the side, trying to create some distance between wonwoo, but you end up tripping on the stool that was placed there, almost falling, but wonwoo is quick to catch you, his arms catching your waist as he pulls your body against his.

“watch where you step”, wonwoo says as he holds you, and you’re acutely aware of how his hands feel on your body, the way he holds you, strong but gentle. and the way he’s looking at you makes your mind seem to go blank and the faint feeling of butterflies erupts in your stomach. “t-thanks”, you quickly say before you straighten out and stand on your own. you quickly grab a book from the cart and turn around, trying to calm your over-excited heart as you pretend to walk ahead before wonwoo calls out for you. 

“isn’t the historical section that way?”, he asks and you look at the book in your hand. it was a historical book indeed. you huff out a breath and turn around, speed walking past wonwoo as you find the shelf and put the book back in place as you mutter to yourself about why wonwoo had to be so attentive, observant and stupidly attractive.

today is your father’s first trial and you were nervous,. even though jeonghan told you that you didn’t have to come, you wanted to. you knew your father needed your support right now, regardless of how rocky your relationship has been with him. so here you were in the car, nervous, while wonwoo was well, calm. but it was nice, having a calm energy near you, it sort of grounded you. 

you turn the corner to the court and god, it was crowded. people had surrounded the road and courthouse, media and paparazzi waiting to snap photos and cover the event. you realised how serious this was and what it would mean if your father was found guilty, shit.

you observed the crowd, ducking down in your seat a little, already feeling overwhelmed. you hated crowds, especially crowds like this. you knew it wasn’t the good type of crowd and the sense of dread was already pooling in your stomach. maybe you should just turn the car around and go home. your hand is anxiously playing with the ring on your finger and as the car pulls up to the entrance to the courthouse, you can hear the screams and yells of people and see the flashes of light go off as the media take photos. 

you gulp, anxious and the car comes to a halt. wonwoo swiftly gets down and he is quick to open your side of the car. it takes you a second to get out and the minute you get out, people surround you even more. If it wasn’t for the police barricade and wonwoo beside you, you were sure you’d have been trampled.

wonwoo is swift as he guides you inside, making sure no one touches you. he envelopes his other hand around your shoulder, but doesn’t touch you, having a gentleman’s hand while he guides you and you’re relieved once you step inside the building and the yells of people die down. you enter the trial room and take a seat. you spot your father and jeonghan and give them a small smile. your father - well he looked tired. you were just hoping jeonghan could get him through this because you don’t know what you were going to do otherwise.

the prosecution was really piling up all sorts of accusations against your father, but jeonghan was well prepared and defended whatever was coming up. firstly, according to what jeonghan had mentioned, there was no evidence or even if there was it could have been tampered with. the anonymous said person who was said to have tipped off the police with the evidence could not be trusted. jeonghan insisted that this person testify in court and that this anonymous person should be brought in for questioning. 

by the time the first trial is done, it’s already been four hours. the next trial would be held in a few days where witnesses will be brought forward to testify. but from the hush talks in the room after the court was adjourned, you could tell no one was really on your father's side. your father’s company stocks had dropped, brand deals were pulling out and things were obviously not in your father’s favour at all. you were going to try everything in your power to bring your father’s company back up again and prove to everyone that he was indeed innocent. because there’s no way he would have done those things, right?

as you manage to locate jeonghan, who sits down with you for a bit, he tells you about a message from your father. 

“you know the annual business charity club ball that your father attends every year right”, jeonghan says. “yeah”, you tell.

“well, obviously since you father cannot go this year, he’s asked you to go in his place”, jeonghan finishes and you give him a look.

“me? you know i hate that event”, you tell.

“but it’s been planned and it cannot be cancelled, not even in this situation. so, you’re going and it’s final. i will text you the location and date later. but please go, atleast for your father’s sake. he’s losing a lot of people right now so if you could try to restore people’s faith and trust in you and your father, it would be helpful”, jeonghan tells. 

“fine, i guess that’s the least i can do”, you tell as you look at jeonghan. “is he okay? he’ll be okay right?”, you ask and jeonghan nods. “he should be, i’m doing everything in my power to defend him”, jeonghan answers. 

you exit the meeting room with jeonghan and he takes off, saying he has to arrange some documents for the next trial. you weren’t able to meet your father because they didn’t allow you to right now which was a stupid rule. you walk out and you’re looking around for wonwoo but don't see him. and in your search for him, you make the mistake of walking towards the entrance, where the media people were. they spot you and in a second you’re surrounded, with people shoving cameras and mics in your face, bombarding you with questions, all talking over each other as you panic. you try to move but they follow you and soon, you’re being pushed outside and the people outside start yelling when they see you. someone shoves you and you lose your balance, almost falling as someone else grabs your left hand. you yelp out in pain as they yank your hand and just then you feel a figure come up behind you - wonwoo. his hand embraces your shoulder this time, as he holds out another hand to block people. you can feel the hand holding yours let go as wonwoo pries it off you and he pushes people back and people actually do move back because wonwoo meant business. he guides you to the car and you sit, finally away from the crowd. it’s only when you see wonwoo up front at the drivers seat that you realise you were sitting in the passenger seat behind. you didn’t mind though. wonwoo is swift to take a seat and you can feel him look at you through the rearview mirror. he doesn’t say anything, but starts the car and drives. 

by the time you get back home, it’s late, already hitting 10:30pm. it’s only when you are inside does wonwoo finally speak.

“it’s dangerous for you to go out alone”, he says, standing in front of you as you put you bag onto the countertop.

“i was looking for you but i couldn’t find you, i didn’t mean to wander off alone like that”, you try to explain. “it was all too sudden, i really didn’t know what to do”, you add. 

“just wait for me next time”, he asks,

“but where were you?”, you counter.

“i was at the east wing door, waiting for you to finish talking but when i looked inside, you weren’t there.

“oh, i think i exited from the door on the other side, that’s why”, you tell.

"if you don’t see me, call me next time, please”, he says and you nod in understanding. 

wonwoo’s eyes glance down to your hand, the slightest marks of a bruise visible. “is your hand okay?”, he asks, taking a step forward to examine it further. “yeah, it’s fine, it’s-”, you stop as you look at your hand, only to see it bare. your ring, it wasn’t there. you look down on the floor, thinking it must've fallen there but it’s not. your other hand caresses your empty hand where the ring used to be, hoping that it wasn’t really missing but you don’t feel it. you don’t feel the ring. you feel the panic start to set in as you realise what’s just happened. fuck. then it hits you, the courtroom. it must've been pulled off when your hand was grabbed. you had to go back there, you had to look for it.

“we have to go back”, you tell wonwoo, as you step forward, but wonwoo is quick to stop you. 

“yn, it’s late”, he tells sternly.

“no you don’t understand, i lost my ring, it must’ve fallen there, i need to find it”, you tell frantically and wonwoo doesn’t understand why you’ve become so worked up over a ring.

“it’s just a ring yn, you can get another one”, he tells and you snap your head up at him, visibly upset. just a ring? 

“it’s not just a ring wonwoo”, you tell, tears prickling in your eyes. “you wouldn’t understand, fuck, i have to-i have to find it”, you tell again but wonwoo’s hand is firm as he holds you back again. 

“yn”, he says. “no we need to go now”, you yell, pulling your arm loose from his grip “i’ll go myself”, you counter, trying to reach for the car keys on the counter but wonwoo pulls your hand away.

“yn we’ll go later alright”, he tells. “no no no we need to go now”, you yell again, a tear escaping your eyes, rolling down your cheeks slowly. your vision gets blurry and you move back, panic setting in. fuck how could you lose your mothers precious ring. 

“no no no, this can’t be happening”, you mumble. you try to feel for your ring again, hoping that it was all just a misunderstanding, but your finger was empty. you don’t hear wonwoo calling out to you as you ears start ringing and your eyes fill with tears again. “i’m such an idiot how could i lose it”, you tell yourself, beating yourself up over the incident.

wonwoo realised you were having a panic attack, and he also realised that what he said could have been triggering. “yn”, says, coming towards you and you feel the weight of his hands on your shoulders as he looks down at you and you look up at him, a few more tears rolling down your cheeks. “we’ll find your ring okay”, he says, his voice somehow grounding you back to reality. “i promise we’ll go back to find it, but not right now.”, he adds. another tear rolls down your cheek as you sniffle, looking up at wonwoo, feeling helpless. “we’ll find it right”, you ask, your voice barely a whisper. “we will”, he assures. 

wonwoo guides you to the couch and is quick to fetch you a glass of water. surprisingly, he takes a seat next to you, pushing the glass of water to you. you see him reach for something in his jacket pocket and then he reaches his hand out, offering it to you, his handkerchief. you gladly take the handkerchief and dab your cheeks dry, wiping your tears and sniffling as you try to calm down. wonwoo watches as you raise the glass to your lips and take a sip of water. there is silence between you both, unsure of what to say. you close your eyes for a few seconds, trying to gather yourself and your thoughts. 

“i’m sorry”, you mumble out, feeling bad at lashing out at wonwoo and maybe a little embarrassed about crying in front of him. you hated people seeing you cry.

“i should be sorry, it was insensitive of me to say that”, he says, as he watches you take another sip of water. you put the glass down, looking at your finger where your ring adorned it. 

“it was my mother’s ring”, you tell quietly after a few moments of silence. “after she passed away, it was the only token i had to remember her by”, you tell softly, lifting you head up to see wonwoo’s gaze soften as he looks at you. “it’s the only thing i have left of her”, you say, feeling yourself tear up again as you shift your gaze back down to your lap. you look back up at wonwoo and there’s something different about him, a softness in his gaze, his expression and language. “i’m sorry to hear about your mother”, he tells. you offer him a small smile. “it’s okay, i’ve come to terms with it, besides i was really young when it happened”, you add.

you glance at the clock on the wall, seeing the time and releasing that it was late, that it was past wonwoo’s working hours. “oh”, you say softly as your eyes glance at wonwoo and back to the clock. “i’m sorry if i held you back”, you say, referring to the time. wonwoo quickly checks the time on the wristwatch adorning his hand before he looks back up at you.

“i can stay, if you want me to”, he adds. “are you sure?”, you ask, unsure. he nods. “just another hour then”, you ask and he gives you a yes. deep down you were glad he was staying back. you didn’t think you could handle being alone right now, especially after what happened. 

there are a few more seconds of silence before wonwoo speaks, suggesting that you should eat dinner perhaps, considering you hadn’t really had a proper lunch either, being too anxious about your father’s trial. 

“i need a burger”, you tell after a few minutes of silence. “do you want me to place a delivery order for you?”, wonwoo asks. you shake your head. “no they don’t deliver, we’ll have to go there”, you tell and wonwoo looks unsure for a second. “it’s closeby, i’ll show you the way”, you tell, already standing up. 

you both get in the car and you show wonwoo the directions as he drives. you come by the place and park and you’re about to get out when wonwoo stops you. 

“wait, let me surf the area, see if anyone is there”, wonwoo tells, opening his door and stepping out. by anyone he meant the paparazzi of course. he walks ahead a bit, his eyes searching the area for anyone suspicious and that’s when you spot a girl sitting by the bench on the side looking at wonwoo. you knew what that look meant. wonwoo comes up by your window and you lower the glass, peeking out. you glance at the girl and then wonwoo, a laugh escaping your lips at your thoughts.

“what’s wrong?”, wonwoo asks, alert.

“that girl over there is totally checking you out”, you tell and wonwoo seems unfazed by this piece of information.

“i see three paparazzi, seems like they followed us. i suggest that you stay in the car and let me get you a takeaway”, wonwoo tells. 

“that girl is totally going to ask for your number”, you add and wonwoo blinks at you.

“she won’t”, he tells, dismissing your claims. 

“she totally will”, you counter and he raises a brow at you. 

“wanna make a bet”, you ask. “if you lose you have to buy me ice cream”, you tell. 

“what do you want me to get for you”, wonwoo asks, resting his hand on the car window. 

“get me the grilled burger with fries and extra sauce”, you tell, handing wonwoo your card. wonwoo takes it as you tell him not to forget the extra sauce, adding that he should get something for himself too.

after about ten minutes, wonwoo comes into sight and just as you predicted, the girl sitting on the bench stands up and engages in a conversation with wonwoo. however, it’s short lived and wonwoo is making his way towards your car and the dejected look on the girl’s face tells you everything you need to know. wonwoo gets in the driver’s seat with the bag of food, which smelled divine, tingling your senses already.

“she asked for you number didn’t she”, you tell, teasing him a little.

“she did not”, wonwoo tells and you fake gasp.

“she totally did, i read her lips”, you state and wonwoo shakes his head and gives in, amused.

“you owe me ice cream”, you state proudly, grinning at wonwoo.

“on what occasion?”, he asks.

“because you lost the bet”, you state.

“i remember making no such deal”, he tells, like he’s teasing you, as he hands you back your card.

“whatever, just know i’ll extort this ice cream out of you one day”, you tell as you reach for the bag food.

you eat your burger in joy, proud that wonwoo in fact did not forget the extra sauce. 

“did you not get anything?”, you ask, as you chew, looking at wonwoo.

“i will eat something at home, thank you for the concern”, he says. “don’t be like that!”, you tell, offering him a fry but he politely declines that too.

after you’ve devoured your burger and fries, you sigh content. “that was a good meal”, you tell, satisfied. “if only i could get a desert now”, you tell, implying to wonwoo.

“but i guess we should go, an hour is going to be up”, you tell. wonwoo steps out of the car and you’re about to ask him what he’s doing when he walks over to your side and opens the door for you.

“did you not want your ice cream?”, he asks and you look around before wonwoo tells you that the paps left. you smile and step out, happily walking up to the ice cream parlour that was right next to the burger joint. another hidden gem that served the best ice cream and sundaes.

you walk inside and sit in the corner booth all the way at the end. it gave you some privacy and was cozy. you don’t even glance at the menu before you’re telling wonwoo what you want. “a chocolate brownie fudge delight please”, you tell, grinning up at wonwoo who’s looking at you confused as he glances at the menu on the table, his eyes searching for the item you’ve just named.

“but that has two scoops of vanilla and two scoops of chocolate ice cream”, he tells. you only look at him, confused. “and a whole brownie with chocolate sauce and nuts”, he adds, like he’s questioning you.

“so?”, you ask.

“are you going to eat the whole thing?”, he asks and you scoff. 

“do not underestimate my ice cream eating abilities wonwoo”, you tell offended and just then the waitress comes, taking your order.

your sundae comes and you’re already smiling but when you take that first bite, it’s heaven and you sigh again, content with life right now. wonwoo looks at you like he’s still unsure that you can finish it. 

“do you want a bite? it’s really good”, you ask, pushing the bowl towards him. he politely declines again and you give him a look. 

“you know, you should live life more, because you only live once”, you tell, as you put another spoonful of ice cream in your mouth. “i mean of course if you’re allergic to nuts or lactose intolerant then that’s a totally different story, but otherwise if someone tells me that they don’t eat or don’t like ice cream, i wouldn’t trust them you know. because how can you not like ice cream? it’s like one of the best things to have been created. if you don’t like ice cream then there’s a serious problem”, you ramble on to wonwoo, who’s sitting opposite you, listening to you keenly.

“also you should really talk more, i feel like i’m talking to myself half the time because you never say anything or you're always finishing your sentences in two or five words”, you tell, oblivious to the fact there was chocolate sauce on the side of your lip. “we need to come to some sort of understanding because-”, you stop mid sentence as wonwoo’s hand reaches out to wipe the corner of your mouth gently. you stare at him for a couple of seconds before the weight of his actions hits you and you start coughing, flustered. wonwoo is quick to pour you a glass of water and offer it to you.

“are you okay?, he asks, looking worried and you nod. “y-yeah”, you respond, suddenly feeling shy. you eat another spoonful of the ice cream, looking down at the bowl as you chew, feeling your cheeks heat up and you glance back up at wonwoo, whose eyes are still trained on you, and he’s looking at you deeply like he’s trying to decipher what’s going on in your mind. the way he looked at you, god, it made you feel things.

“we’ll find my ring right”, you ask again as you take the last bite of your sundae. 

“i assure you that i will try my best to find it”, he replies. silence engulfs you both again.

“thank you for today”, you tell. “it was a nice distraction or change from the situation”, you tell, feeling grateful. you check the time on your phone and let out a small gasp at the time.

“oops, i guess i kept you for two hours instead of one”, you tell. “that’s not an issue”, he says. “if you ever need me, i’m always here”, he adds and somehow the way he says it feels soft, like this was his way of initiating friendship, telling you that he was indeed human and there was a sincerity in the way he said it. 

“thank you”, you say, giving him a genuine smile. wonwoo drops you off at home and then leaves, bidding you goodnight. you lay in bed, replaying the events of today in your head, thinking about wonwoo. even if he perhaps looked a bit cold and indifferent, he was actually really sweet, quiet, soft and gentle. you feel a blush creep up your cheeks as you think about what he did earlier and you turn over, burying your face into the pillow, letting out an annoyed groan as you kick your feet in the air.

you don’t sleep well that night, your mind wandering to your mother’s ring and all your thoughts filled with finding it. you would find it right? you wake up at an ungodly hour and still restless before falling asleep in the early hours of the morning. when you wake up, you sleepily walk out and see a cup of takeaway coffee from your favourite cafe waiting for you. you glance at wonwoo and then at the cup of coffee.

“i thought you might want some coffee”, he fills in. “oh god i did need some coffee, thank you wonwoo”, you tell, taking a sip, grateful for his sweet gesture. 

“when can we go find my ring? i really have to find it, i’ll never forgive myself otherwise”, you say, putting the coffee back on the counter as you go on a sleepy rant when wonwoo steps forward and holds out his hand. he opens it and lo and behold, your ring is there. your jaw drops and you look up at wonwoo. 

“no way. you found it, you really found it”, you tell as you take the ring, examining it like you were making sure it was really yours before slipping it back on your finger. 

you’re so happy and you jump at wonwoo, hugging him, “thank you thank you thank you”, you chant, feeling so relieved right now, like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders. that’s when you realise what you were doing, making you step back abruptly, clearing your throat. “i mean, thank you”, you tell again, as you compose yourself. he gives you an appreciative nod and a small smile and you feel your stomach do a little somersault.

a week later the next trial is being held. you didn’t go for this one, but you got updates from jeonghan and of course the news. the headlines about your father were also ridiculous, but you were used to it at this point really. it’s like the whole world was against your father right now, everyone hated him and you of course. people were angry and demanding justice and jail time, saying he stole taxpayers' money and that he owned the people back, that he should rot in jail for the rest of his life. you shake your head and open your front door to go water your garden when you see another small box on your doorstep. you had been getting these all week. they were threats and normally you should have been scared. but you thought it was a harmless joke. you’d gotten countless threats on the internet so you just assumed it was someone having some fun. shrugging it off, you decided to not tell wonwoo about this. 

the weird boxes continue to come, but you realise that they got progressively worse each time, the last two even had death threats, and threats about breaking into your house, but yet again, you didn’t take it seriously. you woke up later today, having trusted wonwoo with your house code so he could enter and start his duty and not have to wake you up at 7am every day. 

when you walk to the living area, wonwoo is there. “good morning”, he greets and you yawn, waving at him. “you got a parcel”, he tells and you look at the counter, recognising the box. “shit not another one”, you mumble but wonwoo is sharp to hear it.

you open it, and this time it’s a bunch of your photos, cut up weirdly. but the worst part, your heads were cut off in all of them and there was a cryptic message too. wonwoo comes forward, sees the letter and is quick to look at you. he reaches out for the letter, taking it from your hand before you can hide it and his eyes scan over the contents of the letter, his jaw clenched.

“this isn't okay”, he says. “it probably isn’t a big deal wonwoo, i’ve been getting them all week”, you blurt out, before realising it and you can feel wonwoo’s gaze get more intense.

“what? and you didn’t think to tell me?”, he asks firmly. “i didn’t want to make big deal out it, it’s probably harmless, i get stuff like this all the time online”, you tell.

“but this isn’t online”, he says, emphasizing his words.”and it's always not a big deal until something actually happens yn, this is dangerous”, he tells, clearly upset about this, raising his voice slightly.

he makes you show him all the mail and he looks stressed to say the least. “yn you should have told me about this”, he says, stressed. “how am i supposed to protect you if i don’t know about things like this”, he adds and you can feel his eyes drill into you. 

“i’m sorry wonwoo”, you say, feeling bad.

“well, it is a big deal and action will be taken”, he says.  “they know your address yn, do a lot of people know your address, where you live?”, he asks, making you think and that’s when you realise. “oh”, you say. “i mean paps are around my house all the time”, you tell.

“but this isn’t a pap”, he tells. “it means this person has been following you around”, he says. “you mean like stalking?”, you ask. “yes exactly”, he tells. you gulp, suddenly realising the weight of the situation.

wonwoo looked stressed the entire day even though you told him not to worry and that you’d karate chop anyone who came near you. he didn’t laugh at your joke, obviously, just keeping a straight face. that night, wonwoo seems apprehensive to leave, worried about the threats you were getting, but you assured him that you were going to be okay, that you were going to lock all your doors and windows and sleep. 

the letters and threats keep coming, each getting more violent and wonwoo doesn’t like it one bit. “we need to put some cctvs around your house”, he tells you. you argue that you don’t really need it, but he insists, and to be honest, in the long run, it could be useful so you cave in and he informs you that he’ll make the arrangements.

that night, you’re lying in bed, busy watching a show on your laptop. it was late, but you couldn’t sleep so here you were, catching up on a tv show. but that’s when you hear a noise from outside. you shrug it off and continue watching when your phone pings.

i can see you

what the fuck. you get up and try to look out the window, not seeing anything, but that’s when you hear a noise and you see the shadow of someone on the wall. it moves swiftly and you take a step back, scared. your phone pings again.

looking for me?

you swear you feel a shiver run down your spine. you hear a rattle on your window outside and you gasp, anxious as you tiptoe your way there and you swear you hear a laugh, making you jump.

did i scare you?

another text reads and you gulp, backing up. fuck. 

you scramble to unlock your phone and you dial wonwoo, not knowing who else to call. he doesn’t pick up on the first go and you hear the heavy boots of someone outside before you hear your glass window break, a stone getting thrown inside. you dial wonwoo again and he picks up.

“wonwoo, fuck, there’s someone here, i think they’re trying to break in”, you tell in a panic and the phone gets disconnected as you yelp in pain as a small stone from outside that hits your hand, breaking the window furthur as glass shatters everywhere. you hand stings and you clutch your hand as you try to ground yourself. you start panicking, and getting anxious, tears brimming in your eyes. your phone slips from your hand, landing with a thud on the ground. you try to reach out for it but end up getting cut from the glass you couldn’t see in the dark. you suck in a breath as you feel the sharp cut burn and you move back as you sink to the floor, hugging your knees to your chest, hiding under the dining table. what if wonwoo didn’t come you thought as a tear escaped you. you had to get yourself together. but then another stone gets thrown shattering your already broken window. shit, what if someone came in right now. this wasn’t good. your thoughts only add fuel to your panic and you just try to huddle under the table, your hands shaking.

you don’t know how much time passed and you don’t even hear your front door open as wonwoo runs in. “yn?”, he calls out. your house was still dark and you can hear the crunch of glass as he steps on it with his boots, cursing under his breath.

he calls your phone which had fallen down, as it lights up and rings. “yn?”, he calls out again, an edge to his voice, seeing your phone that was discarded on the floor.  you raise your head, accidentally hitting it on the top and you wince. you hear wonwoo’s feet shuffle around and he bends down, finally locating you. he offers you his hand and helps you up, which you gladly take. he’s quick to assess your state, guiding you to your bedroom because of all the glass that’s scattered on the floor. he locates the switch and turns on the light and you wince a bit from the sudden intrusion of light. you sit down and wonwoo sits beside you. “are you okay? are you hurt?”, he asks, looking at you carefully before he spots the cut on your hand, bleeding badly. you don’t know how he found your first aid kid, probably his super senses. wonwoo’s sitting next to you as he aids to your cut. he gently holds your hand. “it’s going to burn a bit okay”, he says before he dabs the cut and you wince when the disinfectant comes in contact with your cut, the sting burning and you close your eyes. he wipes it a few more times before letting it dry a bit and covering it with a bandaid. he can tell you’re still pretty shaken up, in a state of shock because of how quiet you are and the way your eyes are still glossed over and teary.

“it’s okay, we caught the person”, he says, trying to help you ease up. “he was running away just as i came and i caught him. he’s with the police right now, but you’ll have to go to the station to answer some questions tomorrow”, he explains. 

“he’s gone?”, you ask and he nods and you feel yourself relax a little. you were okay. it was going to be okay.

“i thought you weren’t going to come”, you mumble out. “i would come running for you”, he says, making you look at him. his gaze is soft as he looks at you. “really?”, you ask, softly as you start to get lost in his gaze. “yes”, he says as he holds your gaze.

once everything is settled, he stands in front of you. it was 1am now. “i’ll see you tomorrow then”, he said and he turned around to leave when you grab the end of his shirt sleeve. he turns around, looking down to his hand that you held onto his sleeve before he looks up at you. “can you stay?”, you ask softly, peering up at him. “i’m a little scared”, you add softly, your hand still tugging on the end of his sleeve. “but if you have to go, i understand,” you tell, reluctantly letting go of his sleeve. “i’ll see you tomorrow anyway”, you tell, feeling like you don’t want to burden wonwoo anymore.

“it’s okay, i can stay”, he says. 

you tell wonwoo to sleep in the guest bedroom, practically dragging him there because he said he’d sleep on the couch. there was no way he was going to sleep on the couch, especially after the windows got broken there. wonwoo was a bit stubborn, but he finally gives in after you threaten to lock him in if he doesn’t listen to you.

you say a small goodnight before you retreat back into your own room. you fall asleep, only to be awoken as you suddenly feel hot. your head is heavy and you don’t feel good. you needed water. you stand up, feeling a little dizzy before you steady yourself and open your door, heading to the kitchen. you turn on the light and reach out to fetch glass from the counter but your grip falters and it falls to the ground, shattering. you curse under your breath. you’re about to bend down to clean it up but you hear wonwoo call out for you.

“yn?”, he asks as he steps into view, taking in the sight of you and the broken glass. he’s prompt to walk closer. “are you okay?”, he asks. “yeah, it just slipped”, you tell softly. his gaze on your lingers before he’s swift to pick you up and place you on the counter and you don’t even have the chance to protest about it. “let me clean this up okay”, he tells and is quick to remove all the glass and neatly sweep the area. your head is throbbing and you don’t feel too good, your head feeling heavy. 

“are you okay?”, wonwoo asks again, observing you keenly and he can tell that something is off about you, that you don’t look okay. “y-yeah”, you say softly, answering him. “you can tell me if something is bothering you yn, i’m here for you”, he adds, his eyes still trained on you and you feel utterly exposed when he looks at you like that, like he can tell exactly what you were thinking and feeling. you gulp.

“i-i don’t feel too good”, you finally admit.

he raises his hand to gently press the back of his hand to your forehead and you watch how his eyebrows furrow.

"yn you’re burning up”, wonwoo says, checking your temperature again. you hop down from the counter, not listening to wonwoo as his arm comes up to wrap around your waist to steady you as you stumble slightly.

“yn, you need to get back to bed”, he instructs, a worried edge to his voice. before you know it, he’s scooping you up in his arms and carrying you bridal style back to the bedroom and you don’t have it in your to say anything as he gently lays you down, adjusting your pillow for you. he’s quick to fetch you a glass of water. he asks you if you have any fever or headache medication and you shake your head lightly indicating that you didn’t have any. he tells you he’ll be back, that he’s just going to the pharmacy around the corner and you lay in bed, under the covers. the throbbing in your head only gets worse and you start to tear up. you fall asleep for a few minutes but awaken when you hear wonwoo’s softly call out to you. you turn around, sniffling and wonwoo can tell you were crying, his expression softening as he sits down next to you. 

he helps you take the medication for your fever, telling you that it is going to be okay, that he was right here. your hand brushes against his as you lay as you slowly fall asleep. you feel when his hand move and you reach out, grabbing onto his fingers. “stay, please”, you mumble, half asleep, holding onto his hand as you finally fall asleep. 

you wake up in the morning and feel a bit better, sitting up. you’re about to get up when wonwoo enters, spotting you awake. “how are you feeling?”, he asks. “a bit better”, you tell, still feeling a little tired.

“i’m sorry for keeping you up”, you add softly, looking at him. “you can take the day off today, i’m just gonna be at home”, you add. 

“it’s not an issue”, he fills in. “i got you some rice porridge, you should eat some and take the medication again”, wonwoo informs. he offers to bring it to you but you decline, saying you wanted to get out of bed anyway. he’s a little hesitant but walks with you to the dining table where he brings the bowl of porridge to you.

you nibble on a few bites of the food, wonwoo keenly watching you and you feel like you’re being stripped bare again by the way he looks at you. “sorry if i kept you awake”, you tell, feeling a little bad. 

“don’t apologise yn, i’m more than happy to be around and help”, he says.

after you eat a bit and take your medication, you sleep for a bit more, while wonwoo arranges for your windows to get fixed. you wake up after a few hours and you walk out. wonwoo is there, talking to one of the workers before he spots you in the corner of his eye. he’s dressed in rather casual clothes compared to his daily suits. today was just trousers with a shirt and blazer jacket. he still managed to look good. you were sure he would look good in everything. but the one thing you noticed was his hair, it was down, his bangs falling over his head. and somehow it softened his look, he looked so pretty. wonwoo makes his way towards you, greeting you. 

“sorry if all the noise woke you up”, he says as he takes in your appearance.

“it’s okay, i was up anyway", you say.

“they’re almost done”, he adds and you retreat back to your room, crashing in bed as you cuddle your pillow and you’re falling asleep again.

later that week, wonwoo was extra tight on security, he installed cctv cameras outside and the guy who was stalking you was put on a restraining order and fined. jeonghan had also messaged you about all the details about the charity business ball you had to attend in your fathers place. he said going to the ball would sort of put in a good word about your father while jeonghan was working on the trials, even though everything still looked uncertain as ever and the hate for your father just got worse.

the only thing you hated more than parties were parties that were held in the middle of nowhere. your dad always hosted this party at this venue in the middle of nowhere really, far from the city, saying the change of scenery added to the value and taste of the ball. you’d never gone to this charity business ball he’d hosted even though he’d invite you. you hated parties and all the people that came with it. it was tiresome and you’d much rather be at the comfort of your own home.

the charity ball was the news of the week, everyone was covering this and you’d bet some media people were going to be there being their nosy selves as usual. you end up meeting with your usual stylist - hwasa and she’s more than happy to curate a bunch of outfits for you to try on and see which one works for the event. wonwoo accompanies you, standing in the corner of the room while you try on the twelfth dress, already exhausted by the whole process.

but out of all the dresses you tried, you’d liked this one the best. it was a white satin dress with full sleeves and you loved it.  it fits you the best too. you step out, looking for hwasa but she’s not there, probably gone to get a few more dresses. you see wonwoo, his eyes catching yours and you see the way they change, widening a little before going back to his stoic expression. 

“how do i look?”, you ask wonwoo, looking at him expectantly. he clears his throat before speaking. “you look pretty”, he says and you give him a look. “just pretty? you have to give me more wonwoo. how do we like it from the other dresses?”, you ask, prodding him.

“it’s the best fit compared to the others and compliments you well”, he adds. “right! i thought so too!”, you tell, smiling. just then hwasa appears, smiling as she sees you. “this is the one”, she says as she looks at you and you do a little twirl for her. “yup, let's go with this one”, you tell.

you decide to get an outfit for wonwoo too, you wanted him to look good so you send him with hwasa to get him an outfit, even though he said that he was alright, you insisted.

after the day is over, you head home, tired. the charity ball was on the weekend and it was already wednesday. you were not looking forward to this at all but you were only doing it for your father’s sake. and after all, the company was going to come into your hands later so you might as well show them who you are and what you were capable of, right?

you were supposed to ideally leave on friday night to the venue and stay at a hotel nearby, but you were nervous and somehow at last minute, the hotel you booked cancelled on you, so you just decided to go on the same evening, except it would be a three hour drive. you’re a frantic mess that morning. from going to hwasa’s studio to get your makeup and hair done, and you go back home, leaving from there after changing. the only hitch was they didn’t have the shoes you chose in your size even though it was ordered but it didn’t come on time, so now you were stuck with shoes that were a tad bit tight, but you had to put up with it in the name of fashion. 

you’re all ready and you hear a knock on your door. “the car is ready, i’ll be waiting outside”, you hear wonwoo tell.

"i'll be there in a minute", you yell out as you quickly check your appearance in the mirror before you head out. it was going to be okay hopefully, but you couldn’t help the feeling of dread already pooling in your stomach. you give yourself a smile in the mirror before walking out, your shoes already starting to feel uncomfortable. you have your small handbag with your stuff and grab your house key, locking up before turning around and your jaw almost drops on the floor because holy shit.

wonwoo. he looked gorgeous. he was wearing a black turtleneck paired with a black blazer. his hair was styled but over his forehead and he was wearing glasses. god. you stand there for a whole 30 seconds just staring at wonwoo because wow, he looks so hot right now. you’re not even looking when you take the next step, completely misplacing where you put your foot, tripping down the step but you feel a pair of hands grab your waist, steadying you as wonwoo is quick to catch you. your hands are draped on wonwoo as you look up at him and suddenly he’s so close and he smells so good. you can smell his cologne and it just draws you in more. you’re staring at wonwoo, surprised and your eyes flicker down to his lips for a split second before glancing back up. 

“woah are you okay”, he asks, worried as he helps you get back on your feet, his hands still lingering around your waist. 

“y-yeah”, you mumble out, clearing your throat, and you’re acutely aware of his hands on your body again, making your cheeks heat up. your hand is still clutching wonwoo’s hand before you pull your hand away, gulping as you look down.

you sit behind because your dress needs space so it won’t crease and you glance at wonwoo occasionally as he drives, his side profile is so pretty. he looked pretty hot with glasses and you were suddenly wondering why he didn’t wear them more often. you shift your legs and feel a dull pinch in your feet as you look at your heels. you’d have ideally removed them in the car but it had the most confusing way to tie them up and they’d been tied nicely already. you didn’t want to ruin that so you let it be, sighing. but little did you know that wonwoo would also occasionally look back at you through the rearview mirror. he thought you looked gorgeous tonight.

the car ride is silent except for some soft music playing and your mind starts wandering to the event, trying to prepare yourself for what was to come.

you can tell you’re close when you see all the lights and the venue up front along with the bunch of cars. you take a deep breath, trying to ease your nervousness. your nerves start to hit you more as the car stands in line to walk to the red carpet. you can hear the people, the fans and see the countless media and news reporters who’ve come to cover the event. 

soon it’s your turn to walk the red carpet and get to the ball. you’re so nervous that your hands are almost shaking and you hate it. you hate the flashes and the crowd already. the car comes to a halt and wonwoo gets down, rushing to your side and opening the door for you. now that the door was open, all the noise was amplified. you take a breath before you see wonwoo offer his hand to you and you look up at him, the look of panic evident on your face as you get up, and wonwoo can feel the way your hand shakes in his, giving you a small but somewhat comforting squeeze as you put on a fake smile as you step out. you walk ahead, posing for a few pictures before you walk ahead, wonwoo walking behind you. 

you get in and you’re greeted by a bunch of people, some you know, some you don���t. most of them were your father’s business partners, people he worked with or were friends and relatives. the rest were just invited for courtesy. 

you’re offered a glass of champagne as you enter and you take it, and walk ahead. but as you walk you can feel everyone’s eyes on you, you can feel the weight of their gazes and they all talk in hushed voices as you walk past. you see your father’s friends and go up to them, greeting him.

“hello”, you say nicely and they greet you but are rather hostile. they make small remarks about your father and his situation, joking about not wanting to be seen with you as to protect their reputation. they’re laughing as you’re just standing there, trying not to lose it as you excuse yourself and walk away. your father really had shitty friends, you had to say that. you turn around and spot wonwoo to the side of the room at the back, along with all the other bodyguards as his eyes find yours. you give him a small smile and he nods, smiling ever so softly.

you walk around and talk around to a few people, some feigning sympathy and pity for your dad while others downright insult him. you countered these claims to every person, saying he didn’t do it but they all just laughed or shook their heads. finally, it was time for the ball and event to begin and you took a seat. as you were the host have to technically open the thing so here you were, walking up to the stage, your feet killing you already and your nerves ready to snap at any second. as you take the stage and see the sea of people in front of you, you feel the anxiety pool in your stomach and you gulp. you can feel everyone’s eyes on you, boring into you and suddenly you feel like you’d committed a thousand crimes and everyone was judging you.

“good evening ladies and gentlemen”, you say, giving the audience a small smile. 

“i am here tonight on behalf of my father, but i welcome you all and would like to thank you all for coming. the proceeds raised at this ball will be going to children and people in need. thank you for coming once again and have a great night”, you tell, people clapping and you walk off.

another host takes over from here and you walk down the stage, holding your dress up as you look down and see someone you really did not want to be seeing right now - your dad’s business partner's son, who was a #1 asshole.

he’d always been a snob and you almost roll your eyes at the sight of him. you see people writing cheques and putting them in the donation box and in the other room people were dancing to the live band who were playing music.

“hello yn, long time no see”, he says, flashing you his smile, which you didn’t reciprocate. “hi”, you say.

“nice party”, he adds. “thanks”, you say.

“i would like to offer you the first dance”, he asks, giving you a mischievous smile. “oh no that’s alright”, you say but he doesn’t listen.

“come on, don’t be a spoilsport”, he says, taking your hand and taking you along with him to the other side of the room. and soon, his hand is on your waist and he’s smirking at you as you both slowly move. you can see people looking at you but you try to ignore it.

“how’s your dad? i bet things are hard right now”, he says.

“yeah, but i’m sure the truth will be revealed at the end”, you say.

he laughs, making a few snide remarks about your father, which you try to ignore. but suddenly you feel the thread you’re trying to hold onto snap and suddenly the music is too loud, you don’t like the way he’s holding your hand too tight or the way his hand on your waist is going lower and you try to pull away but he doesn’t let you. 

“oh i’m sure the truth will be revealed soon”, he says and he leans in, whispering in your ear. “that your father is a crook”, he tells, smirking and he looks at you and you pull your hand away. you walk away, watching as people’s gaze turn towards you but you ignore it, the tears pooling in your eyes as you make your way to the restroom. you enter and lock yourself in one of the stalls, letting a few tears roll down. you hear the door open and a few girls.

“did you see her?”, one of them says.

“i can’t believe she had the audacity to come really”, another girl says.

“she’s so shameless. if my father was jailed i would like never to show my face to anyone.”, a girl adds and the others laugh.

“probably got spoiled from her father’s rotten money”, another girl tells, and they all snicker as they leave.

hearing this only makes you more upset and more tears well in your eyes as you cry silently. you didn’t want to be here anymore, you wanted to be alone, you wanted to leave. you wanted to leave now. panic rises in your chest again along with anger. your eyes well with tears as you walk down the basement where the cars were parked. thank god you had your spare car key with you and you locate your car, getting in and driving off. you grip the steering wheel hard, making your knuckles turn white as you drive. you don’t even know here you’re going, you just know you had to get out of here. you don’t know how long you’ve been driving for, when you realise you don’t even know where you are. you had gotten a couple of texts from wonwoo but you ignore it and soon wonwoo was calling you but you ignored it too. you didn’t have the energy to deal with him right now. you wanted to be alone. 

your car suddenly sputters and breaks down in the middle of the road in almost the middle of nowhere. the road was empty and you couldn’t see anyone or any other cars, people or buildings, fuck. you bury your head in your hands, crying out in frustration as you think about what to do. well you guess now was a good time to call wonwoo. 

wonwoo picks up your phone almost immediately. he’d seen you dancing but after that, during the entire party he didn’t see you. now that it was almost over and he still couldn’t locate you, he was obviously worried. he’d texted you and called you countless times but you weren’t responding, leading him to think something might have happened. he’s a frantic mess as he desperately tries to look for you, calling you, but you don’t respond. 

“yn? yn are you okay”, wonwoo’s voice is urgent on the other line of the phone.

“wonwoo”, you tell softly, nearly on the verge of tears again. 

“where are you? are you okay?”, he asks and that’s all it takes for you to burst into tears again, feeling like the whole weight of the world was on your shoulders.

“yn, please tell me where you are”, he pleads, concern laced in his voice.

“i don’t know”, you tell, your voice cracking, more tears rolling down your already tear stained cheek. 

“i got overwhelmed and i left, i took the car and i drove and i-i don’t know where i am”, you tell through broken sobs. “and now the car broke down, god knows where”, you add, sniffling. 

“send me your live location, i’ll track you”, he says. “stay in the car and lock the doors, i’m coming”, he assures. “can you stay on the line with me”, you ask. “of course”, he fills in.

wonwoo discovers you’ve driven a whole 45 minutes away and he assures you that he’s coming. but only ten minutes in your phone dies. “fucking phone”, you mumble as you look at the dark road. ten minutes pass and now you start getting scared. wonwoo was going to come right? blame your stupid anxiety but you thought of the worst scenarios that could happen, only psyching yourself more. the car feels more suffocating by the minute and your shoes feel like they're getting tighter. panic sets in stronger and you can’t take it anymore, can’t take the tightness in your shoes and you hastily undo the laces and pull off your shoes, wincing slightly when you feel it scrape against the back of your ankle. you close your eyes and try to take a few deep breaths.

after what feels like an eternity, you see a car pull up near you. you can’t make out anyone, the light almost blinding, but you see someone step out, making their way to your car. you open the door and step out, hearing the voice calling your name - wonwoo. relief immediately floods through your body as you run towards him, crashing into his arms as you start sobbing in his chest, your arms wrapped tightly around his body. he’s a little taken aback but his hands engulf you, pulling you in for a warm embrace.

“i thought you weren’t going to make it”, you mumble out, your arms wrapped around wonwoo as you start to cry. “of course i’d come yn, i gave you my word”, he says, his hand coming up to cradle your head.

“my phone died and i-i didn’t know what i was going to do”, you mumble out, looking up at wonwoo. he studies your face, his gaze softening as he takes in your state and your tear-stained cheeks. you’ve cried a lot today. you finally drop your hands from around wonwoo, letting him go. wonwoo looks down and sees you’re barefoot. “where are your shoes?”, he asks. “they’re in the car, it was getting uncomfortable”, you say. wonwoo is quick to grab your phone, keys and bag from your car and to your surprise, there’s a pair of sneakers. he puts them in front of you, bending down to help you put them on. “where did you get those?”, you ask, surprised. “i like to be prepared”, he informs, helping you wear the shoes before standing back up and your hand automatically grab his hand, intertwining your fingers in his, hoping to find some grounding through his touch.

wonwoo asks the cab to take you both to the nearest hotel, which was roughly ten minutes away from where you were according to the cab driver. you’re still holding wonwoo’s hand and he lets you as you try to calm down. you see a building up ahead and the cab driver tells you that this is the location. you both enter, walking up to the reception and the lady there looks up as you both up.

“we’d like two rooms please”, wonwoo asks. 

“unfortunately we only have one room left”, the lady says.

“we’ll take it”, you chirp in and wonwoo looks at you. 

“it’s a couple suite so i can only book couples in it”, she says, chewing on gum, looking bored to even be there. “are you a couple or”, she asks.

“no” “yes”, you say and you both look at each other.

“we are, ignore him, he’s a little shy”, you tell and she just looks between you both again. 

“alright, how would you like to pay, cash or card?” the lady asks. you dig through your purse and find your card, handing it over and you have your room key. wonwoo notices the way you’re walking slowly this time, watching your face contour in the slightest of winces with each step. “are you hurt?”, he asks, walking forward as he puts his hands on your shoulder, his eyes raking your body for any sign of discomfort or hurt. “no-my shoes-ouch-were the wrong fit”, you fill in. “i think i got a shoebite from them”, you say as you look up the flight of stairs you’d have to climb mentally bracing yourself when you feel wonwoo’s hands wrap around you and lifting you up bridal style. you let out a small surprised yelp, your arms wrapping around wonwoo’s neck for support. 

“woah w-what are you doing?”, you stutter out, looking at wonwoo, whose face is barely inches from yours. “your feet are already hurt, i don’t want you climbing up the stairs in that state”, he announces, carrying you as he walks up the stairs. you feel that familiar heat creep up your cheeks and that tiny feeling of butterflies as you look at wonwoo. he looked really pretty up close, his hair falling over his forehead as his glasses sat perfectly on the bridge of his nose. you reach your room and unlock the door, wonwoo still carrying you and he sets you down. you tell him a quiet thank you as your hands are quick to slide off the sneakers, feeling instant relief. but just has you had predicted, you got shoebites. both the sides of your pinky toes and heels were bruised and raw.

wonwoo fetches something from his wallet - bandaids. you’re surprised. “so you just carry around bandaids in your wallet??”, you ask, amused. “like i said, i have to be prepared”, he says. you try to take the bandaid from his hand, telling him that you’d put it on but he doesn’t let you as he bends down on one knee so now he’s matching your height. he gently places your foot on his knee has he puts the bandaid your heel. he repeats the same for your other heel before you put your leg down and wonwoo looks at you.

“i’m sorry”, you tell softly, gazing into his alluring eyes. “are you mad at me? it’s valid if you’re mad at me because i just ran off and completely ignored your calls and-”. you stop when you feel his hand gently squeeze yours, a small act of assurance. “you’re safe now and that’s all that matters”, he says, his voice deeply soothing. you smile, leaning in to peck his cheek. “thank you wonwoo”, you tell and he gives you a soft smile as he gets up. little did you know that wonwoo’s heart was racing from your little action as he tried to maintain his composure.

wonwoo wanders off to another room but comes back outside. “there’s only one bed”, he says, like it’s a fact. “so?”, you ask, getting up.

“i guess i’ll sleep on the couch over there”, he says, pointing towards the couch that looked like anyone would wake up with back pain if they slept on it. 

“wonwoo it’s fine, we’re just gonna sleep”, you tell. “you’re acting like sleeping in the same bed is a crime”, you say. “i would prefer not to interfere-” “sleep on the bed or i’ll take the couch”, you threaten.

but now there was a bigger problem than the bed, you didn’t have any change of clothes. thankfully the hotel sold some stuff as merchandise and t-shirts and pants were in the collection too. 

you go to the bathroom and change, finally stripping out of your dress and you hang it up to air, changing into the clothes you got.  your feet still hurt a bit when you walked because they’d been cramped up in those tiny shoes for too long. you walk out, your eyes widening as you catch wonwoo changing his shirt and you immediately turn around, your cheeks flushing. “sorry”, you mumble before turning around after a few seconds. but you did not miss the peek you got at his abs, oh my gosh. 

you mentally slap yourself and sit on the corner of the bed, a yawn taking over you as you glance at the time - 2am. you were tired, it had been a long and exhausting day. you settle in bed, wonwoo sitting on the single couch opposite you, his hair slightly ruffled now from him running his hands through it, and yet it somehow still looked fluffy. wonwoo told you he’d sleep in a bit and you close your eyes, dozing off immediately, sleep overtaking your tired body. but you wake up an hour later because of a loud crack and boom and the heavy downpour of rain. you stir awake and another lighting strikes, flashing into the room before a low rumble follows. you open your eyes and see wonwoo, who’s busy reading a book under the dim lights. you sit up slightly, another loud thunder hitting making you jump as you hit your head on the headboard, startling wonwoo as well. 

“yn? are you okay?”, he asks, putting the book down and coming up to you. another loud thunder rumbles, shaking the ground and you cover your eyes, closing your eyes. you hated thunderstorms. “what’s wrong?”, wonwoo asks, sitting down beside you on the other side of the bed. “n-nothing i just don’t like loud noises and thunder”, you meekly say, still sleepy from the sudden intrusion. “it’s dumb i-”, you stop when another earth rumbling thunder hits, making you jump again. “can i hold your hand? it helps me calm down”, you ask softly, a little embarrassed, but wonwoo offers you his hand. it feels warm, soft and safe as you hold it and wonwoo makes himself a bit more comfortable as he sits next to you. 

“what were you reading? '', you ask, letting wonwoo’s hand go after two minutes and now that you are a bit more awake, you take in wonwoo’s look. even in the dark, you could make out his hair was now messily dishevelled which only added to the charm and the glasses god, he looked so hot. you weren’t even listening to what he was saying as your hand fiddles with your ring on your finger. wonwoo looks at you and tilts his head to the side ever so slightly.  

“what are you thinking about?”, he asks, his voice deep.

“n-nothing”, you fill in, feeling embarrassed about your thoughts. “how do you know i’m thinking about something”, you ask, trying to get the upper hand on wonwoo, only for it to backfire on you.

“you’re fiddling with your ring, and you only do that when you’re thinking about something or something is bothering you”, he says. well damn, he was a keen observer. 

“oh”, is all you say as you look at your ring, biting your lip before you look back up at him.

“nothing, it’s really stupid”, you tell but wonwoo looks like he wasn’t going to budge until you gave him an answer.

“i’m sure it’s not stupid”, he adds, trying to reassure you, waiting expectantly. fuck it you think.

“i was just thinking about um”, you start getting nervous, your cheeks heating up and you avoid his gaze, stuttering out the next words. “i was thinking about how-um-how good you look with glasses. it really brings out your features you know and it makes you look really hot. you should wear them more often”, you confess, whispering the last bit, the familiar heat creeping up your cheeks. he doesn’t say anything, but you swear you can see the faint smirk as his lips curve up. you look away, his gaze on you suddenly too intense for you to bear. 

“okay your turn, what are you thinking about”, you ask in a hurry, hoping it would turn the attention away from you.

“do you really want to know?”, he asks slowly and you nod your head, looking at him. “you don’t talk much do you, so i’m guessing there must be a lot on your mind”, you prompt. he’s silent for a few seconds before he speaks.

“i’m thinking about what a wonderful person you are”, he says, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “i’m thinking about how you are only so caring and attentive towards others but yourself. i’m thinking about how the whole world seems to have a wrong impression of you, and that you don’t deserve any of the shitty things happening to you right now. i’m thinking about when it will all end and when you’ll be able to be happy”, he says, his words completely catching you off guard. each of his thoughts strike a chord in you and you almost tear up. out of everyone, it seemed like only wonwoo was on your side. 

“wonwoo”, you say softly, at a loss for words. you don’t even know when you leaned towards wonwoo but your eyes flicker down to his lips for a split second before you look back up. “i’m thinking about how gorgeous you looked tonight and that if i had the chance i would have asked you for a dance earlier tonight if not given the current circumstances”, he adds, his gaze never leaving yours as he stares into you deeply, fondly as he opens up to you.

“and as of this moment, i’m thinking about how it would be to kiss you”, he fills in and you blink up at him, getting nervous at his confession. you answer him by leaning in and softly pecking his lips, lingering for a few seconds before you pull away but still close enough that has your heart beating rapidly. 

wonwoo leans in, kissing you, properly this time. his hand gently cups your cheek as he moves his lips against yours and you swear you feel butterflies erupt in your stomach at that moment. you kiss him back and you move your head, accidentally knocking his glasses, making you both pull away. “oops sorry”, you say, a little breathless as your hands reach out to take off his glasses and he is quick to put them on the side table before turning his attention back to you. you look up at him. “what are you thinking about now?”, you ask, your lips centimetres away from his, and you can feel your heart racing again, the echoes of the beats loud in your chest.

“i’m thinking about how i want to kiss you again”, he says, closing the gap between you both as he captures your lips in his this time you sigh into the kiss as wonwoo cups your cheek, deepening the kiss as his arm encircles your waist, pulling you closer to him. wonwoo quite literally knocks the breath out of you as he pulls away slowly, watching your chest rise and fall. you kiss him again, getting giddy at the feeling of his lips on yours as he kisses you breathlessly again, softly pushing you down on the bed as your head rests on the pillow, wonwoo’s body hovers over yours, careful not to put his weight on you as he kisses you sweetly, the drumming of the rain outside as your soundtrack.

you wake up, wonwoo’s arms around your waist as you blink your eyes open. the sun was filtering through the white curtains, rays of sunshine adorning the floor and wall. wonwoo is still fast asleep beside you and you take this chance to look at him, really look at him. his hair is messy but cutely dishevelled, his eyes closed as soft breaths leave him as he sleeps, peaceful. he’s so pretty you think to yourself as you smile softly to yourself. you remember the events of last night, the kiss, and suddenly feel yourself getting very very shy as you bite your lips to contain the silly smile that aims to erupt across your face. you continue to admire wonwoo, his big warm hands still engulfing you as you shift slightly to check the time. when you turn back, wonwoo softly stirs awake, his pretty eyes fluttering open as he awakens. 

“hi”, you say softly.

“hi”, he says, his morning voice deeply attractive.

you both look at each other, not saying anything but just taking in each other’s presence. “did you sleep okay?”, he asks, searching your face and you shake your head, mumbling something about how you’re still tired.

his hand comes up to hold yours as he gently lifts it to his lips, giving it a soft kiss, his eyes never leaving yours, making you laugh softly. god, he was so dreamy. 

“what do you want to do today?”, he asks.

“sleep, i just wanna sleep”, you groan, burying your face into the pillow. wonwoo’s hand wraps around your waist as he pulls you closer towards him. “then sleep”, he says, placing a soft kiss to your cheek, making you smile. you close your eyes and soon drift off to sleep, wonwoo’s embrace making you feel safe and comfortable. and soon, wonwoo was also sleeping with you, both of you sleeping soundly in each other’s embrace.

it’s only around lunchtime that you both stir awake again and mostly because someone was knocking on your door, leading you to both wake up to the sudden noise. 

“we have to checkout by 5pm or pay to stay another night”, he tells you. “we should leave, but the car!”, you tell, sitting up in bed.

“i’ll get it fixed, i’ve arranged for it, " he says. “i’ll go get our clothes from the hotel’s drycleaning," he says. you’d have to wear the same dress again but you didn’t mind. 

wonwoo is quick to have a shower and he's changed into his suit from yesterday, that’s all clean and freshly pressed for the day minus the blazer as he tells you he’ll bring the car. you ask him if you can come along but he says it’s best to stay back. you feel a bit bummed about it but stay back nonetheless. all your luggage was in the car, in a rush you and wonwoo had forgotten it, but could change when he was back. wonwoo is finally back and you manage to get your luggage, and you change into something comfortable, ready to leave for home.

you check out and head towards the car as wonwoo loads in your luggage before spotting you, opening the car door for you. you sit upfront this time and the journey home begins. you end up talking a bit but get hungry since you really haven’t eaten anything yet. wonwoo is quick to stop by a nearby restaurant once you guys enter the city and you gladly inhale some food.

it’s been two weeks since you and wonwoo kissed and every time you thought about it, it made you all shy. wonwoo was his usual self, back in business mode but his touches now lingered and he’d talk to you sweetly, opening up to you more, and maybe somehow a little more protective of you.

you were now in jeonghan’s office, upset and mostly scared of the way your father’s trial was going. it seemed like things were going in favour of the prosecution and not your father.

“what’s going wrong”, you ask jeonghan, who only sighs at your question. “i’m really trying my best here yn”, jeonghan says, looking at you. “i really don’t know where the prosecution is getting all this new evidence from”, he says. “i’m doing my best yn but at this rate maybe it’s better for your father to serve the jail time”, he says, making you immediately protest at the thought. 

“what? why should he go to jail for something he didn’t even do?”, you almost yell out.

“given the circumstances, serving ten years looks the best for him. i can even try to reduce it to seven along with community service and probation”, he adds and you click your tongue, upset at the whole idea and proposition. 

he takes a few moments to think before speaking to you again. "his company has come to a standstill, someone needs to step up in the meantime and run things around there”, he starts off, being careful with his words.

“but you know what would help? if i was maybe given the power of attorney. it would help big time in trying to smooth over the company and business until things with your father are settled”, he says, giving you an assuring smile. 

“you should ask my father about that”, you say. “oh i know but maybe you could also ask him, it would be helpful”, he asks.

“i’ll see”, you say. “just make sure my father gets out of this soon”, you ask jeonghan. he gives you a smile, which for some reason runs a shiver down your spine but you shake it off, getting up. 

wonwoo drops you home that night after your meeting with jeonghan and walks you back inside. he can tell you’re stressed and anxious about your father’s situation as both of you linger at the doorstep. he reaches out for your hand, as he looks at you, his thumb caressing your hand in an attempt to comfort and soothe you. after a few seconds he takes a few steps forward, bringing his arms around you as he engulfs you in a much needed hug. you sigh in his arms as you close your eyes, letting yourself sink his hold.

“i’m going to be here with you every step of the way”, he reassures. 

“thank you wonwoo”, you respond as you pull away and look at him.

“it’s going to be okay”, he says as he looks at you. 

“i hope so”, you say, almost defeated after what jeonghan told you about earlier. 

he looks at you with the most loving eyes before he leans in and kisses you, his hand coming up to cup your cheek as he softly moves his lips against yours as he kisses you sweetly.

“goodnight”, he says softly, sweetly. “goodnight”, you whisper back, stealing another kiss from wonwoo before you retreat back inside.

the next week when wonwoo comes to your house in the morning there’s something different about him, in his demeanour and the way he acts. he strictly keeps to himself, not indulging in small talk with you at all, and brushing your hand off when you try to hold his hand. you felt hurt but decided to brush it off. maybe he had a reason for it, but the thought that he’d be so blunt about it hurt. you wanted to ask him but you didn’t. you decide to go see your father today at the detention centre he was being kept at. you had gotten used to wonwoo’s silence but today it felt odd, suffocating almost, but you don’t say anything, suddenly feeling like a burden to wonwoo. 

you’re waiting for your father as you sit on the other end of the room, a plastic divider dividing you and him. you stand up as soon as he walks in and he gives you a small smile. he looks tired. 

“are you okay?”, you ask, sitting down. “i can manage," he says. 

“so things aren’t going in your favour”, you say, looking at your father. “i am aware”, he says.

“what about the company? and your business? what’s going to happen to that?”, you ask.

“yn, you know i always intended for you to take over the company at some point”, he says. “but maybe you’ll have to take over earlier than i thought”, he says. 

“what do you mean?”, you prompt.

“i mean that you will have to take over”, he says. “it is going to be hard, there are going to be obstacles and people are going to try and bring you down but i have faith and trust in you”, he says. 

“what if i’m not ready”, you say.

“i’ll always be here and you know what they say, fake it till you make it”, your father tells, making you chuckle as you hold back your tears.

“jeonghan was asking about you giving him the power of attorney”, you say as you see your father's gaze change. 

“no, if i were to give anyone the power of attorney right now, it should be you”, he says.

“but don’t you trust jeonghan? i’m sure he’ll be able to help run things until i’m ready to take over”, you say.

“i wouldn’t trust anyone right now”, your father says. “i would rather have my own child act on my behalf than jeonghan”, he says. “a power of attorney is a powerful thing and i would trust you with it more than jeonghan”, he says and you nod as you take in his words.

that evening wonwoo leaves again, and he was still cold towards you. you decided to bring it up to him tomorrow because it was starting to make you feel weird, uneasy and bad. the next day, your doorbell rings a few times. you wonder why wonwoo hasn’t bothered just entering your house like he always has. was this a new thing now? you really had to talk this out with him. 

“wonwoo what are-”, you start but stop because the person in front of you wasn’t wonwoo. “who are you?”, you ask. “i’m your new bodyguard from today”, he says. you look him up and down because he didn’t look very bodyguard material. 

“what happened to wonwoo?”, you ask, taken aback by this. he just shrugs. “i don't know, jeonghan sent me so you should talk to him”, he says before stepping in, uninvited if you had to say. 

you go to your room to fetch your phone and come back to see the guy just sitting on your couch, scrolling through his phone, wow. talk about being professional. 

you glare at him as you dial jeonghan. he picks up after a few rings. 

“what happened to wonwoo?”, you ask, not wasting a second.

“no hi?”, he says, sensing the urgency in your voice.

“where’s wonwoo”, you ask again.

“wonwoo quit”, jeonghan says like it was no big deal.

“what do you mean he quit?”, you ask in shock. “he quit yn, he told me a few days back. he said he didn’t want to work for you anymore”, he adds, making your heart drop.

“but why, there must have been a reason right?”, you ask jeonghan.

“i think it’s for the best yn, and besides, i told you not to get too close to him”, jeonghan says and you didn’t like the tone of his voice.

after that you call wonwoo but he doesn’t pick up but you keep calling. he couldn’t just quit on you like that. there must have been a reason. and you think back to yesterday and how he was acting so cold towards you for the last few days. you tear up at the thought. why? why would he do that? did he really just use you?

you watch as your new bodyguard sits on your couch lazily, not even bothered about trying to do his job right. you were pretty sure that if you went out the door right now, this guy wouldn’t even notice. you roll your eyes at the thought and sigh.

“i’m going to see jeonghan”, you tell. “sure, i guess i should drive you right, just let me finish this level, i’ve almost cracked it”, he says. he was not being serious right now.

after five minutes you get his attention. “excuse me?? can we go or shall i go myself?”, you ask. “i’m coming jeez, you’re so stuck up”, he says. 

as soon as you burst into jeonghan’s office, he looks at you with a glint in his eyes. 

“what do i owe this pleasure to”, he says.

“you could have at least hired a competent replacement, this new guy sucks actually, he doesn’t even have basic manners”, you tell jeonghan. 

“he was the best replacement i could find”, jeonghan tells nonchalantly and you scoff.

“best replacement? you’ve got to be kidding me right now. wonwoo was the best and he was actually qualified. this guy looks like someone you just picked off the street”, you argue.

jeonghan doesn’t say anything as he filters through the stack of papers on his desk, finding what he was looking for before he looks back up at you. “did you ask your father about the power of attorney thing?”, he asks, changing the topic.

“i did and he wasn’t too keen on it. he said he’d rather give me the power of attorney power than you”, you say but jeonghan doesn’t seem fazed at all. 

“i expected that, so why don’t we start processing the papers to give you power of attorney. and then you can transfer it to me right? i can hold fort until you’re ready”, he says, more like he’d had it all planned out rather than asking you.

“i’ll process the papers to make you power of attorney for now”, he says. “okay”, you say. “now if you’ll excuse me, i have a lot of work of work to do”, he tells. 

“what did wonwoo tell you when he quit”, you quickly ask. 

“yn we are not going there”

“just tell me, please”

“he said he didn’t want to work for you anymore”, jeonghan says.

“that’s all he said?”, you ask.

“yes”, and suddenly all your hopes sink.

you get back home and in the following days you just stay at home. you were somehow on the news these days, and for the dumbest reason really, it was like people were trying to nitpick you apart and post things about you. you called wonwoo again and texted him a bunch of times but there was not one single response. you couldn’t believe that wonwoo would do something like that, after all you guys shared. it broke your heart really.

and to say your new bodyguard was incompetent was an understatement. the other day he couldn’t even protect you from being mobbed or spot the paparazzi that you caught in a blink of an eye. you wanted wonwoo, you missed him.

you go to jeonghan’s office and go to the detention centre again to get the power of attorney transferred to you because your dad also had to be present. 

your dad carefully reads the document, making sure everything was right, even the fine print that people tend to ignore before deeming it legal and everything was good. he signs it and puts his stamp on it and so do you.

“use this power wisely yn, i’m trusting you”, he says and you nod.

when you reach home, you’re just waiting for the new guy to go. 

“give me your phone”, the new guy says, coming up to you and he doesn’t even wait for you to answer before he’s plucking your phone out of your hand. 

“what the hell?”, you ask, trying to take your phone back but he doesn’t let you.

“no more phone for you for the time being, jeonghan’s orders, with all these headlines about you going around he says it’s for the best”, he says.

“no give me my phone back”, you demand but he grabs your hand, pushing you towards your room, slamming the door shut and you hear the lock engage. you try to open the door but it doesn’t.

“hey open this door right now”, you tell, beating your hand on the door. “that’s not going to change anything”, he says, chucking as you hear his footsteps around the hallway.

“she’s locked up”, he says, talking to someone on the phone.

“let me out”, you yell again, banging your fist on the door again. 

“shut it”, he says, kicking the door, only prompting you to bang your fist on the door harder. 

but after no avail you stop, sinking to the ground, tears already welling in your eyes. your life just really kept getting shitty and shittier didn’t it. 

you open your eyes as you hear the key rattle on the other side, the doorknob rattling and the door opening. you’re quick to stand up.

“what the fuck is wrong with you”, you yell but the new guy doesn’t seem fazed at all. “he wants to see you”, he tells, grabbing your hand but you pull it out of his grip. “move”, he demands and you reluctantly move towards the hall and your eyes go wide at who you see - jeonghan. 

“did you do this?”, you ask, in shock.

“i have to get things done don’t i yn”, he says, giving you that creepy smile again. “and now you’re going to be a good girl and sign these papers”. he says, holding out in front of you.

“what is that”, you ask. “the transfer of power of attorney from you to me”, he says. 

“there’s no way in hell i’m doing that after what you just fucking did”, you spit out, getting upset.

“getting feisty now are we? let’s not forget that your father’s fate lies in my hands and if you do not sign this paper right now, i will send your father to rot in jail for the rest of his life”, he says, threatening you. 

“what-you can’t-you wouldn’t”, you say.

“oh believe me yn, i would. so choose. your father goes to jail or you sign these papers and save his life”, he demands. 

“why are you doing this”, you ask bitterly.

“because your father is an idiot and this is the one time i’ve outsmarted him”, jeonghan tells, smug. 

“what are you talking about? if you want money give me a number, i’ll give it to you, just stop all this”, you plead.

“oh i’ll get my money yn, but i need to see your father crumble down, that’s what he deserves”, jeonghan says.

 he thrusts the papers towards your face. “sign it”, he demands. 

“over your dead body, i’m not signing shit jeonghan”, you spit back. 

“i don’t think right now is the time to be rebellious yn”, he says, pursing his lips in a thin line.

“oh i’ve always been rebellious jeonghan and i’m not going to let you get away with this”, you tell. 

“i doubt that”, he tells, signalling for the bodyguard as he grabs your arm and drags you to your room, pushing you inside and locking the door again. 

“think again yn, you’re only getting out of here when these documents are signed and by then it’ll be too late to do anything”, jeonghan says from the other side of the door.

“fuck you jeonghan, you just wait, i’m gonna get you”, you spit out.

you hear him say something only catching the last words being ‘don’t let her out’ .

what the fuck was happening to your life. fuck. you bang your fist on the door, letting out your frustration, sinking to your knees as you try to hold it in, keep it together but you can't. you bang the door a couple more times as tears roll down your cheeks. and yet, the only person you could think of in this situation was wonwoo. only he could help you now, he would know what to do. but you had no means to contact him after your phone was taken away and you were now locked in the room.

you bury your head in your knees, trying to breathe and think. think yn and that’s when you get an idea - your laptop. it was synced to your phone contacts. you get up, rushing to grab your laptop, frantically opening it and you open the messages app and find wonwoo. all your previous texts to him are still unread. no you needed to find him, texting him wasn’t going to work right now. but the question was how? and that’s when you remember the thing jeonghan had sent you before , wonwoo’s resume, which had his address, bingo. 

you open your chat logs with jeonghan, scrolling up till the part when jeonghan had sent you wonwoo’s resume and just as you guessed, his address was on it. you grab a pen and jot down the address on a scrap piece of paper. but how were you going to get there? you looked up and at the window behind your desk. you get up, pushing your table to the side slowly trying not to make any loud noises, huffing and puffing. 

after you manage to push the table aside enough, you slide the window open and poke your head out, looking at the distance but the jump wasn’t too bad. you slowly swing your legs over, taking a breath before reaching down with your feet and them jumping. the only protection you had against the bare ground was your socks right now. you close the window behind you and look left and right. you slowly and quietly walk towards the back gate and open it slowly, making a quick escape and you jog down the road. you look at the address that’s now crumpled in your hand and it wasn’t too far. you didn’t have cash or anything on your to take the bus so walking you were.

fifteen minutes in and you're getting tired and you put on the hood of your hoodie, hoping no one would recognise you but continue speed walking to the address in your hand. wonwoo would know what to do. wonwoo could help you. wonwoo. you start picking up your speed as you walk without even realising and soon you're running, your legs are working on their own, desperate for an escape and to find wonwoo. after sprinting and jogging for a bit you finally come up to the address, his apartment and you bend down, resting your hands on your knees as you try to catch your breath.

you’re about to walk in when security stops you. “i’m here to see wonwoo, he lives here right”, you ask between breaths. 

“mr. jeon? are you his guest?”, the security asks.

“yes, yes, please which building does he live in”, you ask, pulling your hood down in an aim to not let the man recognise you.

“wouldn’t you know that if you know him?”

“please, it’s urgent”, you ask. “he knows me i swear”, you tell. “it's an emergency just, please tell me”, you plead.

the man finally tells you the information and you sprint to the building and run up the stairs, not bothering to wait for the elevator to come. you open the staircase door, entering the main floor, your chest heaving from the effort of running up the stairs. you were lucky you didn’t fall on your face at the pace you were going at. you locate his door number and you stand in front of it and suddenly you’re scared. what if he didn’t open the door? what if he wasn’t here? you can hear your heart pounding in your chest as you raise your hand to ring his doorbell. a few moments pass and nothing and you ring it again and again. shit was he not home?

you take a step back, your head down, suddenly feeling defeated when you hear the doorknob rattle and the door opens. you look up and wonwoo is in front of you. he was really here. you found him.

“yn?”, he asks, as he adjusts the glasses on his face as if he couldn't believe it was you at his doorstep. you get hit with a wave of emotions at that minute and wonwoo is asking you something but you’re not listening as your vision gets blurry and all you can do in that moment in crash into wonwoo’s arms as you start to sob in his chest, the impact making wonwoo stumble before he held onto you. you weren’t crying because you were upset, you were crying because you felt relief - relief that you finally found wonwoo.

you pull away from him and look up and he finally sees the state you’re in, bare feet and he’s quick to spot the bruises on your knuckles and hands from banging on the door as you wipe your tears. wonwoo looks you up and down as he takes both your hands in, his expression suddenly dark as he looks at you. 

“who did this to you”, he asks sternly as another tear escapes you.

“j-jeonghan”, you stutter out through a sob. “they’re working together and t-they locked me in the room”, you tell and you can see the rage burning behind wonwoo’s eyes.

“jeonghan did this?”, he asks, anger seething in his eyes and you nod.

“he’s-he’s been behind all this the whole time, the whole reason my father is in jail a-and he was threatening me”, you tell in a rush, not making a coherent sentence.

wonwoo pulls you in a hug, holding you tight. “where were you, why did you leave?”, you demand through a broken sob as the door behind you closes. “i missed you”, you tell softly, your voice cracking as a few more sobs escape you.

“fuck, i missed you too”, he says as he hugs you tighter. you feel something soft rub around your legs and look down, seeing wonwoo’s cat near your feet. “your cat”, you say as you sniffle.

you’re on the couch now, wonwoo giving you new socks and slippers to wear as freshen up, washing your face and feet. wonwoo’s cat is inquisitive of you, sitting on the floor in front of you as she looks at you. “hi oreo”, you say and she meows, making you smile. 

wonwoo busies himself in the kitchen as he makes you some chamomile tea to help you calm down and sets the steaming mug in front of you. wonwoo also sets down an envelope next to the mug, signalling for you to open it. you look at him before your hand reaches out for the envelope and you open it, the contents inside making you gasp.

“what’s this?”, you ask, as you sift through the pile of photos, each one making you upset and even more confused. they were pictures of you and wonwoo at the hotel that night after the event, but the person who took them captured you wonwoo sharing a kiss and you sleeping in his wonwoo’s arms. you feel a surge of rage in your body as you look at this.

“this is what jeonghan gave me and he tried to blackmail me with this”, wonwoo says, breaking the silence. “he threatened me with these, saying if i didn’t quit that he would give these photos to the press. i don’t know what he was planning but i did what he said because i didn’t want you getting hurt”, he says. “the bastard probably had someone tail us and take this”, he adds.

“i know it was sudden but there was nothing i could do, he was strict on not making any sort of contact with you afterwards. he said he was watching me and that otherwise these pictures would get leaked in a second if i contacted you and i didn’t want that. i don’t know what sort of twisted sick game he’s playing but i didn’t want you waking up one day and seeing these pictures in the headlines. you’re already going through hell right now and this was the least i could do to protect your reputation, to protect you”, he says, his hand finding yours as he gives it a small squeeze.

‘i’m going to kill jeonghan i swear to god”, you mutter under your breath. 

“we have to help my father, we have to do something, you’ll help me right?”, you ask, pleading almost.

“of course yn. i was dying everyday i couldn't see you or tell you what really happened, i was just praying you wouldn’t hate me for it”, he tells.

after things between you both get cleared up, you promptly end up falling asleep, curled up in his arms on the couch. when you were with wonwoo you felt safe, secure, like the world was going to be okay, that you were going to be okay. wonwoo gently carries you to his bed, tucking you in as he slips inside the sheets beside you, watching you sleep and he vowed to himself - that no matter what, he was going to protect you.

you stir awake in the morning in wonwoo’s soft sheets, turning around and seeing the other side of the bed empty. you walk outside, seeing wonwoo busy in the kitchen as he sets a pot on the table. he spots you.

“good morning”, he says and you give him a small smile. “morning”, you tell as you move closer to wonwoo, seeing the small breakfast spread laid out on the table. you hear a meow, followed by another and another. 

“someone is hungry”, you joke as you look at oreo waiting for wonwoo to give her food. 

“she’s usually patient, aren’t you oreo”, wonwoo says and oreo meows in agreement and protest. you chuckle, this side of wonwoo was adorable.

you both sit down to eat and you’re grateful for the meal, later insisting that you help wonwoo clean up and wash the dishes, even though he insists you don’t need to but your stubbornness wins and he leans on the side of the counter as he watches you wash the dishes, looking defeated.

just then there’s a knock on the door. wonwoo stands alert and checks who it is. 

“it’s jeonghan” wonwoo says softly.

“shit, what do we do?”

“go to my room, close the door and stay there till i tell you to come out”, wonwoo instructs and you’re quick to go to his room, closing the door.

wonwoo opens his front door and jeonghan stands there looking irritated.

“what is it?”, wonwoo asks, giving jeonghan a cold stare.

“where’s yn?”, he asks, running a hand through his hair, frustrated.

“how should i know”, wonwoo says.

“listen wonwoo, lying right now is not going to help”

“i don’t know where yn is”, wonwoo repeated.

“if she contacts you, you tell me right away, got it”, jeonghan says as he points a finger at wonwoo.

“did something happen?”, wonwoo asks, trying to assess the situation.

“oh nothing, yn just seems to have gone off without informing anyone, i was just worried”, he tells, giving wonwoo a fake smile before leaving.

you hear the door close, wonwoo telling you that jeonghan was gone. 

“he’s looking for you alright. i think it’s better you don’t go out for the time being. you can stay with me till then and we can come up with a plan together okay”, he says, one hand caressing your cheek. you nod. 

later that day, wonwoo says he’ll hire a new lawyer for your father and appeal to the court and also indict jeonghan. but the only problem was that how were you going to prove everything that jeonghan was doing? if you only had that evidence it would also help in proving your father innocent. 

“i could hire someone to raid his house maybe”, wonwoo says.

“what, you can do that?”you asked him, shocked but liking the idea.

“i mean he’s not playing fair either is he? let’s mess with him a little”, wonwoo says.

“but how will you find someone to do that?”, you ask curiously.

“i have connections sweetheart”, he tells. “i’m an impressive man you know”, he adds and you smile. “i'm sure you are”.

over the next few days, things move quickly. wonwoo makes the required arrangements and the meeting with the new lawyer is online because jeonghan likely putting someone to stakeout and watch wonwoo’s place in case you showed up. wonwoo is smart to keep the curtains drawn at all times so no one could peek inside either. the first priority was indicting jeonghan which would make him suspend him from working, and your father’s case would have more time and more time right now was good. 

the next week jeonghan is indicted, and a legal notice is sent to his office courtesy of the impressive new lawyer that wonwoo hired. with the indictment jeonghan could not go anywhere, he couldn’t flee or travel and he’d be called for a formal court hearing on wednesday. as you got ready on wednesday morning to go to the court hearing because you were the one indicting jeonghan so you had to be there. you were nervous, standing in front of the mirror in wonwoo’s room. wonwoo was accompanying you too of course, he wasn’t going to let you go out there alone when you were going to go fight. you were going to show the world who you really were.

you reach the courthouse where the hearing will take place and it seems like everything is already on the news, the hoard of journalists and news reporters already crowding the place. you walk inside with wonwoo and head to the courtroom. as soon as you enter you see jeonghan, who clenches his jaw as he makes his way towards you, clearly upset and shocked.

“yn what the hell is all this”, jeonghan nearly shouts, his hand reaching out to grab yours but wonwoo grabs his hand instead, stopping him. 

“watch it jeonghan”, wonwoo warns as jeonghan pulls his arm out from wonwoo’s grip.

“you’re not going to get away with all this”, you tell.

the hearing starts and you’re sitting with wonwoo’s lawyer and beside you on the other side is jeonghan and his lawyer.

“miss yn has made an indictment to mr. yoon over criminal activity and fraud”, the judge says, looking at you.

“yes your honour”, your lawyer fills in.

“what is the accused stand on this matter?”, the judge asks.

“my client mr.yoon is not guilty your honour”, jeonghan’s lawyer says and you scoff, glaring at him.

“does the plaintiff have evidence to support these claims?”, the judge asks.

“not yet but we are working on it”, your lawyer explains.

“i request the charges against my client to be dropped because they are completely baseless and defamatory”, jeonghan’s lawyer demands.

“given the nature of the accusations and that mr.yoon is also a well known person in his respective industry, i will give the plaintiff one week to gather sufficient evidence otherwise the charges and case will be dropped due to lack of evidence”, the judge grants before dismissing the court.

you’re laying wonwoo’s bed lost in thought. now the only problem was trying to find evidence. sure, you could still testify but without any evidence, your claims would be useless. there had to be a way and you were sure you were missing a vital piece of information. if only there had been cameras you think and it hits you. you get up in a gasp. that was it, the cctv cameras at your home. you get up, rushing to find wonwoo, who’s in the other room doing something on his computer. 

“i figured it out wonwoo”, you tell and he looks up at you. “the cctv cameras you installed at my home, they would have captured jeonghan on it and what he did”, you say and you watch wonwoo’s eyes light up as he follows what you’re saying. 

“he was at your house that night?”, he asks.

“yes! and the cameras would have picked it up”, you say.

“and it must have picked up on the audio too”, he states.

"audio?", you ask.

"yes, i installed one's that recorded audio too", he fills in. “yn this is amazing”, he adds “and the best part, i have access to the cctv cameras”, wonwoo adds.

“i just hope jeonghan didn’t get to them”, you tell, worried.

“no, he doesn’t know about them, i didn’t tell him”, wonwoo says.

“you are a genius”, you tell, leaning down to pepper his cheek with a kiss.

“i could say the same thing about you”, he tells, his hands finding your waist. 

you smile, looking down at him, frowning when you notice the fingerprints on his glasses. your hands move up, carefully sliding them off as you clean them with the corner of your shirt, asking how he could even see as you gently put the glasses back on his face. 

“we might have found some information from jeonghan’s computer and files”, wonwoo adds. “i’ll pass it on to my lawyer, he’ll handle it”. 

“do you think we can pull this off?”, you ask wonwoo, your hands resting on his shoulders as you look down at him, wonwoo still seated on his chair.

“i think we can”, he tells, assuring you.

that night, wonwoo filters through the cctv footage to that night and just like you’d predicted, the whole incident where he came to your home and basically confessed what he was doing was recorded, the audio was impeccable too. jeonghan could kiss his life goodbye now. wonwoo hands off this evidence to his lawyer and now you can just wait.

it’s finally the day. you were ready but also nervous and anxious. a thousand what if’s went through your mind as you got ready that morning. you had been informed that your father would also be present at the court hearing since the case indirectly involved him. wonwoo drops you off at the court that morning.

“where are you going?”, you ask, grabbing onto his hand.

“the lawyer just called me, i need to quickly pick up something for him, but i’ll be back okay”, he assures. you nod and wait outside. there was still time for the hearing to take place in 30 minutes approximately. 

wonwoo isn’t back even after your lawyer arrives. you’re constantly checking your watch and seeing the time, looking out to see if you can spot wonwoo but you can’t see him. 

“i can’t see wonwoo? didn’t he come with you?”, the lawyer asks and you furrow your brows in confusion.

“what do you mean? he told me you called him asking him to get something”, you tell and he looks back at you equally confused. “i did no such thing”, he says. 

you fish out your phone and try to call him but it goes unanswered. you try again but no answer. 

“yn it’s time, let’s go”, your lawyer says and you put your phone back inside, hoping wonwoo was okay.

-at court-

“your honour, if you look here, you will see the cctv footage of mr.yoon and his men who were at my client's house on the night of the 8th. you can see the person, who was supposed to be yn’s bodyguard, lock up my client in the room and call mr.yoon, who arrives shortly. you can see clearly how mr.yoon threatened my clinet yn and even confessed to what he’s been doing, saying that he intentionally manipulated and betrayed yn’s father and set him up because he has an ulterior motive”, your lawyer states. 

the video of that night plays and there’s no way that anyone would not believe you anymore. it was clear as crystal what jeonghan was up to now and his true motives were revealed.

“does the defendant have anything to say?” the judge asks. 

“yes, i’d like to cross examine the client”, jeonghan lawyer says, stepping up and coming up to the witness stand where you were sitting. after your cross examination is done the judge announces that the final verdict will be delivered next week, on friday. given the high profile individuals that were involved in the case, a prompt but careful decision would be made. friday is a week away from now. the court is adjourned and you get up and leave, jeonghan purposely bumping into you as you go out, giving you a smirk.

you pick up your phone and call wonwoo again and the call is finally answered. “wonwoo where are you?”, you ask.

“hello is this someone that mr.jeon is acquainted with?”, the other person on the line asks, a female.

“yes, can i know who this is?”

“i’m calling from goodwill hospital, mr. jeon has been in an accident”, she says and your heart drops.

your feet start moving on their own as you run outside, pushing through the crowd of reporters and almost tripping as you try to hail a taxi, on your way to the hospital. you rush into the hospital asking for wonwoo at the front desk. you’re guided to his room, where the doctor explains that he was extremely lucky and only suffered from minor injuries. he would need a few days of rest and he could then be discharged. you’re instantly relieved to hear that but you’re still anxious. 

you peek into his room, slowly sliding the door open as you walk in, taking in his state and you instantly teared up. you sit beside him, reaching out to hold his hand as you keep your head down, looking at your hand on top of his. a couple of minutes pass by and you feel a soft squeeze of your hand and you look up seeing wonwoo awake.

“wonwoo”, you are relieved he was awake. “are you okay-shit no that’s a stupid question, you’re obviously not okay”, you tell in a rush.

he sits up slowly, wincing in pain but otherwise keeping a straight face.

“what happened?”, you ask softly. 

“i got jumped by jeonghan’s men. i only figured when i was already back at the apartment that the call was indeed not the lawyer”, wonwoo explains.

“shit”, you say.

“i shouldn’t have let you go, i should have insisted you stay”, you tell, feeling like this was all your fault now. 

“hey, hey look at me”, wonwoo says. 

“i just don’t want you to end up getting hurt because of me”, you tell. 

“i’m okay yn, i’m a tough guy you know”, he says, trying to lighten the mood.

after he’s rested enough and the doctors deem him okay, he’s discharged and you take him home. you tell wonwoo all about the court hearing today and now the only thing you could do was wait.

-final hearing-

the media has been on fire the last few days, jeonghan’s case gaining the entire country's attention. but even then, people were 50/50 about the chances of who would win even though the evidence was pretty clear. but you could never tell, the law wasn’t always fair sometimes and you just prayed that it would be fair to you. wonwoo was much better now and was healing well and he insisted on accompanying you, even though you told him he should stay at home and rest. 

you’re sitting in front, jeonghan on the opposite side and the court house was crowded, the media causing an uproar outside, eager to report every single second and eager to find out the final verdict of the case. the judge looks at you, and then at jeonghan before they announce the verdict.

“given the high profile of the case and the evidence submitted from both ends, we have carefully reviewed the evidence and points of this case. it has come to a unanimous decision that the defendant, mr. yoon jeonghan is found guilty and will serve ten years in jail and have to pay a fine as well for the damages done and emotional distress caused to the plaintiff. 

you cover your mouth in shock. you did it. you won! you couldn’t believe it as you cover your mouth in shock, tears filling your eyes. your father looks at you and the look he gave you was nothing short of proud. you won, your father was going to be free and jeonghan was going to go to jail, he was going to get punished and things were going to be okay now.

as people start filtering out, you’re looking for wonwoo, whom you can’t seem to spot anywhere. you had to tell him. through the crowd, you manage to head out of the courtroom where people start congratulating you and your father. but you were only focused on finding wonwoo.

you run out, only to end up getting ambushed by all the news reporters and journalists, all of them eager to know your thoughts as they bombard you with questions.

“how do you feel yn?”

“how does it feel to know your father is free”

“please share a few words”

you were being bombarded with questions that were going straight through your head and that’s when you heard someone call out your name - wonwoo. you turn around, spotting him on the other side, a few feet away from you. you smile and run towards him, running into his arms as he picks you up and spins you around.

“we did it”, you whisper, your face inches away from his. “we did it”, he repeats, giving you a proud smile. you lean in, kissing him, not caring about what people were going to think anymore. wonwoo kisses you back with the same fierceness, like he was telling you that he was going to stand by you, so that you could conquer the world with him.

-epilogue-

after your father was dropped from all the accusations and was free, his company was slowly starting to gain traction again. the people were now in support of him, now more than ever and people wanted to know his story. but he always said one thing - that he wouldn't have been able to do it without you by his side. you ended up finally graduating college after your father approached them and they did give you extra credits for the trouble they caused you. you’d gotten your own office space in your dad’s building to work from and you were on your way to build your own company that stood for what it believed it.

you’re standing in front of wonwoo in your office with your arms crossed over your chest as you stare him down. he only stands, blinking down at you.

“what is it love?”, he asks.

“we can’t do this anymore wonwoo”, you tell and a wave of emotion seems to go through wonwoo’s face.

“do what?”, he asks calmly.

“this!”, you say, gesturing your hands between him and you.

“i don’t want you to be my bodyguard anymore”, you state and he furrows his brows, confused. 

“what do you mean?”, he asks. “did i do something wrong?”, he asks, taking a small step towards you.

“i don’t need a bodyguard anymore”, you tell sternly.

“i beg to differ”, he says calmly.

“i want you to be my boyfriend”, you say and he raises a brow at this proposition.

“i thought i already was”, he mumbles as he bashfully pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“no more of this bodyguard business, you can be my full-time boyfriend now”, you tell and you can see the small smile playing on wonwoo’s lips.

“but isn’t a bodyguard and boyfriend in one an advantage?”, he asks.

“but i just want you to be my boyfriend instead”, you say, pouting.

“but the perks of having a bodyguard and a boyfriend is truly one of a kind”, he says, stepping closer as hands wrap around your waist, pulling you closer to him.

“oh really?”, you ask, tilting you heard to the side.

“and what might that be?”, you ask, settling your hands on wonwoo’s shoulders.

“you know, i can protect you, plus you get to see my handsome face 24/7”, he says and you snort. 

“what i know you love it. if i had a dollar everytime i caught you staring at me-”, 

“shut up”, you tell, giggling.

“and the most important perk of all, free kisses”, he tells and you chuckle even more. “what? you’re always stealing kisses from me and-”, you cut him off by kissing him, which only seems to prove the point he was making.

“see, you can’t do that”, he tells, leaning in.

“why not”, you ask, playing along.

“because you’re distracting me from my work”, he says, leaning in and kissing you again.

“that’s why you need to stop this bodyguard stuff and just be my boyfriend instead”, you whisper against his lips. 

“but then you won’t see me 24/7”, he tells.

“but then i can distract you”, you fill in.

“hm we’ll see about that love”, he says, before he captures your lips and kisses you breathlessly.

the end

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#ahh #please lmk your thoughts on this <3! #sugar and spice by skye! #caratlibrary #k-labels #seventeen imagines #seventeen fanfic #seventeen fluff #seventeen scenarios #seventeen x reader #svt imagines #wonwoo imagines #wonwoo fluff #wonwoo x reader #svt fluff #svt x reader #jeon wonwoo imagines #jeon wonwoo x reader #jeon wonwoo fluff #svt scenarios #wonwoo scenarios #wonwoo fanfic #seventeen au #svt au

[i-thirsty-boi]

Your human child x ronal and tonowari was so wholesome can you do a part 2 plz .🥺

~A/N: This took longer than I thought it would, but it's here now! As always, I try my best to keep the reader as gender neutral as possible, the only real descriptors are you being tiny and having long hair.

~Masterlist

Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3

CW: yandere behavior (platonic), obsessive behavior, possessive behavior, illness stuff, mention of nudity (bathing)

~

-You had been sleeping on your sister’s shoulder for a little while after you waved at the new people. She had her hand resting on your lower back as she was showing the newcomers around the village and to their new home. 

-You were only lightly sleeping, from being gently rocked from your sister walking around with you, but periodically woke up and looked at the new people’s reactions to things. You thought their faces were amusing, and just barely giggled before closing your eyes again. 

-While they were being shown around, they kept looking over at you on the young metkayina girl. They were just so confused on how you got here, and why the tsahik was so fond of you when she was so hostile to them. It just didn’t make sense. 

-Once they had made it to their marui, Tsireya had stayed at the door while they were looking around, she rubbed your back and kissed the top of your head before looking back up once she heard a loud thud. It was the mother, she had dropped the big mat with a sigh. But Tsireya was just worried because you flinched at the sudden noise and woke up. 

-She lightly glared, but continued to rub your back and lightly bounce you to get you back to sleep. She said to have the kids meet her on the beach in an hour, enough time to settle in a bit, put their things in their places. Process the situation a little bit. 

-She walked out and went back to your family’s marui to talk with your brother on how the lesson should go. They woke you up to give you some more water and a light snack while they talked. They had taken almost the hour she gave the new people before getting up, with you now on your sister’s back, and going to the beach near the Sully’s marui. 

You felt better after eating and drinking something, so you were still fast asleep while strapped to Tsireya. She looked over her shoulder at you, and smiled at your cute and peaceful face. Aonung also smiled at you, and got closer to rub your back as they made it to the shore. 

They looked away from you as they saw the Sully siblings walk towards them. As they all stood in front of them, they formally introduced themselves, and you, before saying what would be part of the lessons that day. The other family was very curious about you, so they asked if they could know how you got there. 

The two older siblings looked at each other, and after having a silent conversation, both nodded before turning back to the forest navi. They took turns explaining how you ended up with them. From when you came here, to getting thrown out of a flying contraption, to becoming a part of their family. You were still peacefully sleeping, and they added the information of you being sick, and told them you would be much more lively once you were better. 

The Sullys were in shock. They knew more humans had showed up at some point, but not that they would do something like that. They felt bad for you, but told the metkayina that it was good that she found better people to be around. The water navi smiled before gesturing to the water. 

Aonung had unstrapped you from your sister and held you as he walked into the water with everyone, your sister right beside him. The older forest girl, Kiri maybe, had looked over and asked if you felt warm. Aonung frowned before putting a hand on your forehead and telling her that you were a bit warm. She looked thoughtful, before saying that some swimming might make you feel better, and maybe get your fever down. 

They asked what a ‘fever’ was. They had never heard that word before. The forest girl said that is why you felt warm, and that it meant that your body was fighting the sickness, but that being too warm was a bad thing and could make you feel worse. Aonung and Tsireya were so worried about that since you had been a bit warm for a few days now. They went over to her and asked her if she thought you were too warm. Kiri felt your head, and after a bit said that you were a little too warm, but that being in the water would help that. 

They each sighed before waking you up to tell you to float by them while they taught the new people. You looked around confused before paddling off to the deeper water and floating on your back, going into a light sleep. They taught them how to breathe properly after seeing how bad they were at it, with Roxto joining them to help. The older girl got it right away, but the others were struggling a bit. They eventually got it, and they let them swim around and explore a bit while they went over to you to check if you were as warm as before. You didn’t feel as warm, so they were hopeful, but they were still gonna tell their mother about this once the lessons were over. 

Once they resurfaced, they said they would teach them more the next day, then grabbed you and hurried to their mother, grabbing the wrapping on the beach then speeding off. The group of siblings still in the water just looked at each other, shrugged, then went back to exploring together. 

-It didn’t take them long to make it to their mother. You grumble in their arms from them waking you and moving you so suddenly. One second you were floating in the water, the next you were entering your mother’s healing hut. 

-They both hurriedly got your mother’s attention, which made her very worried because they hadn’t been this frantic with you since the day you arrived. They both started talking at the same time, before looking at each other and sighing. Aonung then explained everything they had learned from the forest girl about the situation while Tsireya laid you down on a mat in the hut. 

-Ronal was even more worried now, knowing that letting you be warm could be hurting you. She didn’t know anything about humans so she asked one of them to go get JakeSully and bring him there. Since he must know alot more about this than them. 

-Tsireya was the one to race off and get him while your mother and brother stayed with you, making you sit up and drink some more water. They gave you a light snack as well, since that always made you feel a bit better. 

-Meanwhile Tsireya was sprinting along the beach to try to find her father, knowing he was with JakeSully. She finally saw them, and hurried into the water to get to them, which got their attention pretty quickly. Tonowari was very concerned about what had made his daughter this distraught, and Jake was confused about the situation as a whole. 

-Once she got to them, she put her hand on Jake’s arm to have his full attention. She almost pleaded with him to come with her to help figure out what was wrong with you. She said that his daughter told them you were too warm for your illness and that it could hurt you. She was almost in tears, so worried for you. 

-Jake put his hand on her shoulder and told her to calm down, and that he would go with her once she took some deep breaths. Tonowari was very concerned for you and immediately started guiding them out of the water. Jake just walked with the young girl while still very confused. 

-Once he got to where you were, he sighed. He went and sat next to you to ask you some questions. He asked what was wrong, so you told him you thought you had a cold. He just sighed and felt your forehead, which was still pretty warm. You laid down in this process, and were asleep again by the time he was done. He chuckled before turning to the other family. 

-He told them you would be fine, it was a very minor illness that humans typically get multiple times a year. The fever was a little bad, but told them that a cool damp cloth on your forehead a couple times a day, and maybe some time in the water would bring it down. 

-Ronal was relieved with the information, but confused by how it just suddenly showed up out of nowhere. She asked why this had happened, and if they could prevent it. Jake just shook his head and told them that human kids get sick like this frequently while they built immunity to things. He said he could get them some human medicines from the scientists for them, as they can shorten the time you’re sick. 

-They all quickly nodded to that, they would do anything to help you not feel bad. You were their baby and it was tough seeing you feel so bad. 

-He asked them how much you had been eating, and how much water you had been drinking. They told him you were eating your normal amount of food, and some light snacks here and there. And that you've been drinking a little more water than normal during it. 

-Jake nodded along and told them that that was perfect to help you get better. He explained that your body was using more energy and water to help you get better, so more food and water were a must while sick, at least for humans. 

-The family was happy that they were doing good, but worried about how little they knew about humans, especially with you in their care now. They asked to have the medical human teach them more about humans when they were here, and Jake told them that that would be no problem. 

-He asked if they had any more questions while he was there, and they all started thinking on it. Ronal asked if any navi medicines would work for you, and Jake said he didn’t know but wouldn’t try it right now. She frowned but nodded. 

-Tonowari asked if it was normal for you to feel cold while having a ‘fever’ and Jake told them that it was unusual for humans to NOT feel cold when they had them. He also nodded, and sighed in relief at that. 

-The siblings just asked if he truly thought you would be okay, and he said that this probably wasn’t the first time you had been sick in your life, so you would get better by the end of the week. They both smiled before moving closer to you and stroking your head while you slept. 

The next day, a single ikran came to the village, and a navi with human clothes got off of it and went to Jake with a small bag. He said he had some general medicines, and asked why they were needed. He got his answer when Ronal rushed over to them, with you strapped to her chest, and dragged him and his things with her to the healer’s hut. 

He looked at Jake for help, but only got a smile and a shrug in return. He gulped as the intimidating navi woman pushed him to sit down, then sat in front of him before unstrapping you from her and sitting you in her lap, facing him. 

Norm looked at you with confusion before asking her what she needed. She explained that her daughter, you, had been sick for the majority of a week and had been ‘too warm’ with your ‘fever’, and that JakeSully told her that he, Norm, would bring medicine and teach her more about humans and how to care for them. 

Norm was a bit overwhelmed, but agreed to it anyway. He opened the little bag and set everything out in front of her. One by one, he told her what everything was and what it was for. She listened intently, nodding along to all of the explanations. He took the liquid cold medicine, showed her how to open the cap, and what line of the tiny cup to fill it for a child your size. He told her that that amount of the cold medicine once or twice a day would shorten your cold to about four days total, if taken from the start of it. 

She repeated what he had done, opened the bottle and poured the small amount of it in the cup before gently waking you and telling you to drink the medicine. You groaned and grumbled, but took the cup from your mother and quickly drank it anyway, you were tired of being sick. She smiled at you and kissed your head before closing the bottle and putting it back in the bag of human medicine. She looked back up at Norm when she was done with that. 

He awkwardly smiled back and asked what she wanted to know. She said she wanted to know the differences in human versus navi health. He sighed before going over the basics of it in general terms. The woman was giving him her full attention, which made him kind of nervous, but he continued for the child’s sake. He said that humans and navi were very similar, so there were really only the obvious differences between them. Plus, the medicines the navi use do work on humans, but they're a little too harsh on their bodies and use a ton of their energy. They don’t really hurt humans, but he doesn’t recommend using them regardless because of the side effects they can have; such as fatigue, some nausea, some body aches, and a few other minor things. 

Ronal was happy that she could use her usual medicine on you if she needed to, but unhappy that it would also make you feel bad while making you better. She had been hugging you to her body the whole time. She had just remembered to ask him what ‘fever’ meant and how to tell if her daughter was ‘too warm’. 

Norm gently opened one of the pockets on his cargo pants and pulled out a tiny stick. He explained that it was a tool to take your temperature. It tells her exactly how warm you were. And that the normal number on it should be about a 98, and anything over 100 is bad for you. He turned it on and instructed her to put it under your tongue and wait until it beeps. After a few seconds it makes a noise and he gently takes it out of your mouth. He holds it up and looks at the number. He winces when he sees that it says 102. He shows it to her and tells her that, by the number, your fever was high and needed to be brought down. 

Ronal was devastated that she had allowed you to get this sick. She hugged you tighter and asked how she could do that quickly. Norm just looked to the side, wide eyed, and said that a cool damp cloth, or just submerging you in cool water regularly could help it go down faster, but that the medicine should help with it too. Just not to give her another dose of it for a few more hours. 

-Ronal was determined to help you. You had seemed so miserable being sick. And it was frustrating not being able to help you. But she had more hope now that she had been able to speak with this dreamwalker. 

-She gathered the bag of human medicine, plus the ‘thermometer’ and restrapped you to her chest, now facing her. She got up to her feet, and motioned him to follow her out of the hut. 

-Norm quickly stood up and followed her back out to the beach, where Jake still was, but now the olo’eyktan of the metkayina was there with him. He, once again, looked at Jake for help, who again just smiled and shrugged at him. He looked down and sighed. 

-Ronal stopped once she reached her mate, who had reached over to rub their baby’s back once she stopped. She looked up at the dreamwalker and gave the motion for ‘I see you’ and thanked him for his help. 

-Jake’s eyes went wide at that, surprised that she would ever acknowledge an avatar like that. He turned to Norm, bewildered, as Ronal was walking off with Tonowari. Norm also had wide eyes at the action, but deflated with relief now that she was gone. She made him very nervous.

-He got interrogated by Jake about what happened right after the metkayina couple went out of sight. He told him exactly what happened, which made Jake furrow his brows. He quietly said that they must really love you to go through all of that. 

-Norm just quietly agreed before getting on his ikran and going back to the forest. He really hoped he wouldn’t have to go back for a while. 

Ronal and Tonowari knew their kids were busy with lessons with the forest children. So, she filled him in on the things she learned from the dreamwalker while going to the bathing pool of their village. It was a freshwater pool with colder water. She said that having you soak in it for a bit could help your ‘temperature’ go down. Meaning you wouldn’t be too warm anymore. She also said that the ‘fever’ you had was bad, meaning it had been hurting you for potentially days. Which upset her greatly. 

This also upset Tonowari, now knowing that you were in worse condition than they originally thought. But was partially soothed by the assurance that they now had the knowledge to help you truly get better. 

It took them nearly half an hour to reach the bathing pool. Once they got there, they set down all of the things they were carrying, then unstrapped you from your mother’s chest. They both figured that they would bathe you and themselves while they were there, so they also have the things they need to get all of you clean. Tonowari helped get you undressed, then held you while his mate did the same. He handed you back to her so she could get in the pool and then undressed himself. 

This whole process only took about five minutes, and they were both in the pool with you. Because of their height, you weren’t even touching the water in the pool while they were standing. Tonowari reached over to get their pouch of bathing supplies, and drug it closer while Ronal slowly lowered herself to kneel in the water so you were submerged as well. 

You flinched a little bit and woke up from the cool water touching you. You looked around and saw your parents were at the bathing pool with you. After a few seconds the cooler water felt amazing on your warm skin, so you settled further down into it and your mother’s arms. 

Ronal just smiled at you while taking off your headpiece and slowly undoing your hair. She looked at her mate and motioned for him to hand her your brush. He did that quickly and she quickly and gently brushed out your hair. Once she was done, she tossed your brush to where the rest of their bathing products were and flattened you out to have you float in the water while they both helped each other bathe. They took their time so you could have extra time to soak in the cool water. They each took almost twenty minutes to fully clean their hair and bodies. Not counting the time it took to take out of the braids they had in. 

So, you got to float around in the water for almost a full hour before they gently grabbed you to clean you off. Your hair was gently scrubbed and rinsed before they did the same with your body. It didn’t take them long with both of them doing it, along with how tiny you were. You were just soaking up the attention from them. Along with feeling a bit better from being clean. 

They sat you down in the edge of the pool so they could rebraid each other’s hair and oil their scalps. You were laid down with your feet still in the water, more relaxed than you had been since you first got sick. You were relaxed, but not as tired as you had been, so you chose to stay awake until after dinner time. 

-Once your parents were both done, they got out of the water and got their clothes back on, then helped you get yours back on. They kept your headpiece off, deciding to redo your hair in a new style after they had dinner. You were very cute with your hair down. 

-Ronal had dug through the bag of human medicines and got out the ‘thermometer’. Tonowari looked at her, confused, as she pushed the tiny button on it and put it in your mouth. She waited until the tiny stick made a noise before taking it back out and looking at it closer. 

-She saw that it now said 100. She was very relieved that the number was closer to what it was supposed to be. She gave her mate the rundown of the purpose of it, and the correct number it should be while you're not sick. She told him that 100 was an improvement from the 102 it was earlier. 

-This made him very happy that they had helped you get better with their efforts, along with getting you clean. Both adults were all smiles as they gathered you and their things and walked back to the village. 

-Right as they made it back, they saw their children walking around, probably looking for them. They waved them over and continued walking back to their home with, now, all of their children. They made it there quickly. 

-They told their kids the good news, that you were finally getting better. Begrudgingly with the help of a dreamwalker. Both of the kids were now smiling with their parents. Tsireya had pulled you into her arms and tightly hugged you, relieved that you were getting better. 

-Their mother got out a… tiny stick? And she told them all they needed to know about its purpose and how it works. Along with telling them the correct number to look for in healthy humans. They both eagerly absorbed the information given to them. 

-Anything to help their baby sister. 

-They each asked if they could take you on a small adventure with them and the forest kids. The adults looked at each other, and eventually nodded. They said that they would only allow it if they made sure you didn’t strain yourself during it. 

-Both of the older kids eagerly nodded, excited for you to hang out with them while awake again. 

Aonung had taken you into his arms before both of them walked out of their home and to the arranged meeting spot with the Sully children. Tsireya eagerly waved at them as her and her siblings made their way over to the group of kids. 

The Sullys were a bit surprised that you were with them, and fully awake this time. Even if you still looked a little bit tired. You were looking at them a bit curiously, finally able to. You eagerly waved at them as well as you got closer to them. As you and your sibling came right next to them you wiggled to get put down. 

Once you were on your feet, you introduced yourself, even if you thought your siblings already told them a little about you. You told them your name and age, and apologized for still being a little sick, but told them that you would get better soon. They all gave you a smile before the youngest came up to you and introduced herself animatedly. You were excited to talk to someone close in age to you. You both giggled while semi-seriously shaking hands. Seeing their younger sister accepting the situation, the older three also introduced themselves. 

You told them it was nice to meet them before going back over to your brother to get picked up again. Once you were settled in his arms again, you looked at the group and asked what you guys would be doing. 

Your siblings said that they could just explore the small forest since you shouldn’t be straining yourself too much yet, you’re still sick after all. You just eagerly nodded before looking over at the other siblings. They looked at each other before shrugging, then nodding. Your smile got even bigger at that. 

Everyone had smiles as you headed into the forest, still in your brother’s arms. You were happy to just look around at the trees while the older kids talked. You guys quickly came across a small clearing with plants lining it that you knew would move if you touched them. You used to play with them when you were still with your Aunt and the other scientists. 

You wiggled to be put down, which your brother immediately did. You ran over to Tuk and dragged her with you as you went to one of the plants and poked it, making it bloom out and gently grab your hand. You looked over at the other kid and pointed to the same plant right next to it, and she quickly did the same thing as you. You both giggled as you shook the plant around before moving on to new ones. You guys were having a blast moving around the edge of the clearing and playing with all of the plants at the edge. 

-All of the older Sully kids were surprised that you knew what those plants were. But they were all amused seeing their younger siblings having fun with some plants. 

-Once you got tired, you ran back over to your siblings to get picked back up, which Aonung did again happily. You nuzzled into his shoulder after laying your head down. 

-Neteyam had picked up Tuk as well. Then he asked how you knew what those plants were and what they did. 

-You told him that you found them all the time when your Aunt was studying stuff in the forest, before they went to a different place. It was the only thing you could do while locked out of the labs. Then you were thrown out here and the rest they already know. 

-Once again your siblings were upset about you being put in danger. But it got you here, so they can’t be too pissed off about it. 

-Meanwhile, the Sully siblings were shocked that they haven’t seen you before, since you were once in the forest with them. But oh well, they didn’t like almost any humans anyway. 

-Since you were asleep again, they went a little deeper into the forest until Tuk also fell asleep. 

-This prompted them to turn around and go back to the beach. They made it there quickly and said their goodbyes before parting ways. They had been gone for a few hours and figured they would let you sleep until dinner. 

Once they got back to their home, they got out your blanket and wrapped you up in it before both laying down with you. You all were asleep together within about ten minutes. You had all been so deeply sleeping that you didn’t notice when both of your parents came home to start making dinner. They both looked around before spotting all of you in the hammock. 

Ronal and Tonowari had big smiles while looking at all of their children asleep together. It was just too cute to them, all of their precious children cuddling together. They both put a hand over their heart before quietly making their way over to start making dinner. 

When they were halfway done with making dinner, their son woke up and made his way over to them, staring hard at the food in front of him. They just laughed that he woke up from the smell of food cooking. He stood there right by them blinking the sleep out of his eyes while they finished up. 

They sent him to go wake you two up and get them to their dining space. He quickly went over and shook Tsireya awake and told her dinner was ready. She just blinked before slowly getting up with you still in her arms. She made her way over to the dining area and plopped down with you in her lap, both of you groggily blinking while waiting for your food. 

Your parents gave you both fond smiles. It was refreshing to see their older children regain some time to be childish with you around. It really warmed their hearts. 

They handed over your and your sister’s plates, prompting everyone to start eating as well. You all ate in relative silence, just enjoying each other’s company. Once you were done, you set down your plate and leaned back against your sister. The rest of your family was done not too long after you were.

-Once everyone was done, Ronal got up and brought back over the pouch of human medicines, and took out the liquid medicine from earlier. She opened the cap and poured out the amount she was shown before handing the tiny cup over to you. 

-You frowned but drank it quickly. She just gave you a sympathetic look and took the cup back and closed the bottle. Then put it back in the pouch. 

-She saw the confused looks on her older childrens’ faces, so she gave them a brief explanation of the human medicine she gave you. And that the dreamwalker gave her other human medicines as well. 

-Your older sibling just gave a small look of understanding before smiling at you. They were very happy that you were finally getting better. 

-Ronal said she would take your ‘temperature’ again in the morning to see if your fever went down again. 

-After that was said, she gently took you from Tsireya’s lap and put you in hers. Your brush and ‘ponytails’ set down next to her. She asked what you wanted done with your hair, and you thought about it before asking for space buns lower on your head. She said that she would have it done quickly. Gently brushing out your hair before parting it and doing the strange hairstyle you taught her to do on you. 

-She couldn’t deny how adorable all of your human hairstyles looked on you. It was very endearing, and she was glad to get to bond with you over you teaching her new things to do with and for you. 

-She gently kissed your head when she was done. She passed you back over to Tsireya, before going to get a cloth to soak in water. Once she had wrung it out a little bit, she went over to you and put it on your forehead. Explaining to the family that this is something else the dreamwalker said would help. 

-You just leaned back into your sister while enjoying the cold cloth on your head. Drifting back off to sleep for the night. Your sister quickly noticed that you went back to sleep, so she took you back over to the family hammock and bundled you in your blanket so you could stay asleep until the rest of them joined you. 

-They each sat around you in the bed talking about their day in the time between them eating dinner and feeling tired enough to go to sleep for the night. 

-Your siblings talked about your trek in the forest, playing with the plants with the youngest Sully. They smiled as they recalled both of your happy giggles. 

-Both of your parents were happy that you had a good time. They described their time earlier this morning, Ronal with her time with the dreamwalker ‘Norm’ and Tonowari talking with Jake before helping you bathe and cool down. 

-They nodded at that before both of them yawned. They each went to one of your sides and snuggled close to you again before each drifting off. 

-The adults just smiled before going to either side of the small pile and sharing a small kiss before going to sleep themselves. 

~A/N: This is set up for a part 3, but I don't have any ideas at the moment. Please feel free to comment some ideas for what happens next, or send them to my requests!

Tags (for those who ask): @ladylovegood-69 , @jjkclub

#awotw x child reader #awotw x reader #platonic yandere #child reader #ronal x tonowari #tsireya #aonung

[squerlly]

flames of desire chapter 4: I'm creepy?...

Alastor x (f! bunny reader)

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your POV:

back at the hotel, I went straight to my room, putting all of my clothes that angel bought for me in there drawers and hangers. angel said that there weren't any shoes that work for my paws so he said to try and wear toeless socks....there comfortable but I just have to be carful were I step. walking to the lobby I decided to grab a drink, sitting on the stool "what do you want kid?" "nothing strong" sliding the drink over to me I decide to ask about what happened earlier "hay husk right..." "yeah?" "do you know who valentino is?", setting down the glass he was cleaning he turns "hes an overlord, part of the Vees ...owns a strip club angel works at" well that explains it "what's an overlord?" "you ask to many damn questions kid" "sorry...just asking since I'm still getting used to the permeant damnation thing..." "overlords are powerful demons, ranked by there power over others. humans deal in favors and money, but down here...you deal in souls. and fuckers like radio face abuse that power" radio face? that's new "you mean Alastor? "yeah kid, hes an overlord, haven't you ever seen those posters outside?" now that I think about it, no...I haven't but that would explain his whole dark and twistedness "is that why hes so creepy.." "I'm creepy?...", whipping my head around my heart feels like it just fell out of my ass "oh how you wound me dear, tell me what makes me so creepy hmm..." "well I- no I didn't mean- how long have you been standing there..." "well I heard my name and couldn't help but listen, tell me what is it that has peeked your interest in me?", "w-well husk was telling me about overlords and that you were uhm-...one" "ah yes my dear, husker is correct!, what brought up such a subject?" "oh well... me and angel ran into this Valentino guy and when I asked angel he looked so scared..." "hmm well if he works for valentino, then there's a high chance he made a contract" "contract?" "yes, a contract for his soul~" of course, a contract or a deal for a soul "husk also said something about the Vees who are they?" hearing loud static I look up, Alastors smile was tight and his expression was that of irritation, the static getting louder "oh nobody important..." "oookk..." I'm not gonna pry into that anymore, I like my second life...sorta.

Alastors POV:

so our little bunny got into some trouble with the Vees? and it seems valentino has caught interest in her, I cant have that... "tell me dear what did valentino say to you?" "hmm he asked me if I wanted to work for him, said he could make me rich or something like that" oh Valentino, how does one fine joy in taking advantage of young women, maybe he has an animal fetish or something, for once that makes my skin crawl "and what did you say?" "I told him no naturally, the guy has no boundaries, and from the way he treated angel I don't think I would want to work for somebody like him" hmm smart girl~ "well its good to know your alright!" wouldn't want my toy to be broken before iv played with it first... "i just hope angel is ok" "you need not worry about angel, I'm sure hes doing just fine dear, you shouldn't get involved" especially with the likes of such nasty people like valentino, how dare he attempt to steal my plaything, I guess ill have to show him that I don't like sharing.

your POV:

chatting with Alastor and husk I feel a bit tired, probably had one to many refills of my drink, iv always been a light weight... "its getting a bit late, I think I'm gonna head to bed now" husk takes my half empty glass as I stand from the stool "well goodnight my dear, sweet dreams~..."

I had writers block for like 30min because I just felt like adding a whole extra part for Alastor and it nearly killed me!!! but anyways I love you guys and please enjoy this chapter stay tuned~

-squerlly

@pooplyface1423 @strippezzz

for more stories and more chapters please click this masterlist

#hazbin #alastor x reader #alastor #hazbin alastor x reader #hazbin hotel x you #alastor x reader smut #hazbin hotel smut #hazbin hotel x reader

[jaeyunsz]

a writer’s main character - lee heeseung

pairing: heeseung x fem!reader (she/her)

genre: college!au, writer!heeseung, ill!reader, ANGST

expected word count: 25k+

warnings: mentions of death and sickness, unrequited love, cursing, smut (more will be added when it is finalized)

summary:  in your whole life, you have never fallen in love. love was a feeling that you wanted to experience and after finding out that you have just a little more than a year to live, you become more desperate to fall in love with someone. lucky for you, the head editor of your university’s newspaper is determined find a muse for their best writer, lee heeseung, for him to finish up his last article before he graduates. you only accept in one condition; heeseung would help you fall in love.

a/n: reposting this bc i decided to finish it and hope to post it in the upcoming weeks!

It was already April and Heeseung still had zero idea what to write about. He had recently turned in his latest article. He wanted to start writing his last article for the year immediately so it wouldn’t bother him when he gets busy with graduation. He didn’t expect to be out of ideas since his mind was always clouded with new stuff to type on his laptop. Well, there was a first time for everything, right? He just wanted his last article to be big and original, never been done before. He wanted to leave an impact.

Being a literature major, Heeseung had always liked to read books and write in his dusty notebook. His dream was to publish a book and he would do everything to make his dream come true. He was still young and had a lot to learn. Throughout the years, he worked next to different writers and publishers.

Heeseung had been writing for the university’s newspaper since the freshmen year. People barely got the chance to publish their own writings in the newspaper so it came as a surprise when Heeseung’s article was seen on the first page as a first year student. He was on cloud nine to see that he had given a chance to prove himself as a writer.

But now, he was on writer’s block and the head editor was getting on his nerves.

‘’Have you thought about what you’re going to write about Heeseung?’’ Yeonjun asked during a meeting, making Heeseung bite the inside of his cheek.

‘’I’m stuck.’’ Heeseung replied, not taking his eyes off from his phone as he scrolled through empty apps. Yeonjun eyed him up and down, watching the writer closely.

‘’I can see that you’re stressed about it. Don’t you seriously have nothing to write about? It’s just- I’ve never seen you like this before. You always have something up your sleeve.’’ The older boy confronted him.

Yeonjun was also surprised by this outcome since Heeseung always had magnificent ideas. Heeseung locked his phone and put it on the table in front of him. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh before looking at Yeonjun again.

‘’I know you don’t like to ask about others for ideas but listen to me for a second before you try to punch me. I think I have certain person in my mind that you might want to write about.’’ Yeonjun continued, his words making Heeseung sit straight up.

‘’I’m desperate at this point. I’m all ears.’’

Yeonjun let released a relieved sigh, a tiny smile replacing the frown on his face. ‘’Have you ever met Beomgyu’s friend, Y/N?’’

‘’Not in person but I think I’ve seen her around.’’

‘’Heeseung, she is dying-‘’

‘’What do you mean she is dying?’’ Heeseung said with a serious expression.

‘’Heeseung, she is literally dying. Beomgyu mentioned that she had a heart condition. It does not look good and her doctor says that she only has around a year before… you know. The interesting part is; after she found all about that she told Beomyu that she wanted to fall in love so why don’t you write about her? Follow her around for a couple months until she finds somebody. Your article will be ready by then. Also the story will stay as a memory in her honor. So what do you say?’’

#heeseung scenarios #heeseung smut #enhypen scenarios #enhypen smut #enhypen #heeseung

[kckt88]

Petitions & Final Tributes.

Summary:

Rhaenyra returns to Kings Landing to defend Luke's claim to Driftmark and Aemond delivers a tribute to his nephews.

Warning(s): Anger, Swearing, Violence, Death & Mentions of Sexual Actions.

Word Count: 2605

Author Note: A companion piece to Wedding & Consummation/Arrival(s)/Mother & Father/The Hand, The King & The Dragon/Dragonstone/A Time for Grief/The Gullet & Harrenhal and the Rivers, but can be read as a one-shot.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the House of The Dragon or Fire & Blood characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used.

Comments, likes, and reblogs are very much appreciated.

“Vaemond Velaryon is coming to Kings Landing to petition for his right to claim Driftmark”.

“Lord Corlys isn’t even dead yet, and the vultures already circle” muttered Vaera.

“He means to challenge Lucerys’ claim as heir,” said Otto.

A young squire entered the room, nervously wringing his hands.

"Apologise Lord Hand, but the dragons Meleys, and Moondancer have landed at the dragon pit."

"Oh, Do you suppose she has come to petition herself or claim Baela as heir?" asked Alicent.

It was a good question. Rhaenys has ruled in the absence of her husband with Baela as her ward, so if anyone had a claim, it could be Rhaenys. And Baela was the true born daughter of a Velaryon. But Vaemond would no doubt argue against both of them as they were women.

"Rhaenys is smart, she knows that Vaemond has more of a claim than her” said Aemond.

"Baela is her ward, and she is the trueborn daughter of Lady Laena. Baela would be a good option to rule” said Vaera.

“I doubt Vaemond would accept Baela being named heir,” said Otto.

“What of Rhaenyra?” asked Aemond.

“No doubt she will fight for Luke’s claim. What choice does she have” replied Vaera.

“What of Viserys?” asked Alicent.

“The King is far too ill to sit the Iron Throne. As Queen it shall be you who sits in judgement over who shall claim Driftmark” said Otto firmly.

In the last two years, Viserys health had seriously declined. He appeared almost skeletal, his flesh decaying at a rapid rate. He’d lost his right eye and most of his cheek, he spent his days in bed so dosed up on milk of the poppy that he was barely coherent.

He had no idea who he was, or where he was. He also had no idea who anyone else was either. Several times he’d mistaken Vaera for his beloved Rhaenyra. He’d even grasped her hand once and breathed ‘Rhaenyra. My only child’. Vaera stopped visiting him after that, and she certainly never told Aemond what he’d said.

Later that day, Vaera was pacing around the nursery she really didn’t want to see her mother or Daemon, but she had no choice, no doubt they’d heard of Vaemond’s plan to petition for the right to Driftmark which would essentially call Luke’s legitimacy into question as it was announced earlier in the day that they were on their way to Kings Landing.

“I hate feeling like this” muttered Vaera.

“How do you feel?” asked Aemond.

“Upset. Confused. Angry. Pick one”.

“Try not to worry Issa jorrāelagon” replied Aemond (My love).

“Easier said than done I’m afraid”.

“I know things with your mother and Daemon were never easy. But the petition tomorrow is important. We have to be there” said Aemond.

“I know we do, that was never in doubt. I just hope they don’t stay too long. This is our home. Our children’s home and I don’t want them spoiling our happiness”.

“I can assure you that won’t happen and if they even try, I’ll see their tongues ripped from their mouths” said Aemond.

“So violent” muttered Vaera as she pressed a kiss to her husband’s lips.

“Oh, you have no idea. But for now, let’s just focus on getting the petition out of the way and not worrying about anything or anyone that comes along with it” said Aemond.

“With you by my side. I’ll try” said Vaera.

“I’ll always be by your side” exclaimed Aemond.

“You are joking right?” asked Vaera stunned.

“I’m afraid not Princess. Your mother has requested to see you, she has also asked that you bring the children”.

“Apologise but you can tell my mother that I do not wish to see her, and she will not be seeing my sons” said Vaera firmly as she gently brushed Aemon’s hair.

“Princess” said the maid bowing respectfully before she left.

“She requests to see you now?” snarked Aemond as he lifted Rhaegar onto his knee.

“I have not seen or heard from my mother since our wedding. She didn’t even come to see her grandsons when they were born, but she can come to Kings Landing to defend Luke’s claim to Driftmark” snapped Vaera as she started braiding Aemon’s hair.

“She’s up to something” replied Aemond as he bounded Rhaegar on his knee, his son squealing gleefully.

“No doubt she wants to see me and the boys, so she can pretend to be the doting mother and grandmother to sweet talk me into standing by her at the petition as a show of support”.

“A pointless endeavour if I ever saw one” muttered Aemond.

“Not a chance will I give in to her whims. I mean can you imagine the trouble it would cause if I was to stand by her” snapped Vaera.

“It would definitely keep the court gossips busy” said Aemond.

"Amongst other things" muttered Vaera.

Vaera could feel the cold glare of Daemon as she stood next to Aemond, Helaena and Aegon in the Throne room.

“Looks like he’s about to piss himself” muttered Aegon as he nodded towards Luke.

Vaera tutted at Aegon’s comment, but now it was time for the petitions to begin.

Vaemond spoke first. When Rhaenyra interrupted him, Vaera was actually pleased that Alicent put her in her place. Did she really think she could just interrupt him? If he had interrupted her, she would have raised hell.

But he was done, and it was her turn.

“If I am to answer this farce with any sort of grace, then I should start by reminding the court that almost twenty years-“

“-King Viserys of House Targaryen, the First of His Name, King of the Andals, and the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm" said Ser Erryk loudly.

Vaera shook her head in disbelief.

It was over.

Vaemond was never going to win against Rhaenyra, not now Viserys had miraculously roused himself from his medicated stupor to come to the defence of his favourite child.

It took an age for the ailing King to reach the Irone Throne, but he made it, albeit with some help from Daemon.

"I do not understand why petitions are being heard over a settled succession. The only one present who might offer keener insight into Lord Corlys' wishes is the Princess Rhaenys" said Viserys between pants and gasps for air. 

"It was ever my husband's will that Driftmark passes through Ser Laenor to his, trueborn son, Lucerys Velaryon. His mind never changed, nor did my support of him. As a matter of fact, Princess Rhaenyra has just informed me of her desire to marry Jace, and Luke to Lord Corlys’ granddaughters Baela and Rhaena. A proposal to which I heartily agree" said Rhaenys.

Naturally, Vaemond was furious at his failure to seize control of Driftmark.

“You break law and centuries of tradition to install your daughter as heir. Yet you dare tell me who deserves to inherit the name Velaryon. No. I will not allow it."

"'Allow it'? Do not forget yourself, Vaemond. Lucerys is my trueborn grandson, and you are no more than a second son of Driftmark" snapped Viserys. 

Vaemond was aghast at the King’s words.

"That is no true Velaryon, and certainly no nephew of mine!" yelled Vaemond as he pointed towards Luke.

Vaera reached for Aemond's hand.

"Go to your chambers. You have said enough," ordered Rhaenyra frowning.

In all her faults, Rhaenyra never tolerated anyone for calling her children bastards, not even Vaera. But that was then, this is now, and much had changed.

"You may run your house as you see fit, but you will not decide the future of mine. My house survived the Doom, and a thousand tribulations besides. And gods be damned, I will not see it ended on the account of this-"

Vaemond paused.

"Say it” urged Daemon smirking.

"Her children. ARE BASTARDS! Even the one standing over there that calls herself Targaryen, they are the products of their WHORE mother!" screamed Vaemond.

Aemond squeezed Vaera’s hand.

"I will have your tongue for this!" hissed Viserys.

But it was too late.

Daemon sliced Dark Sister through Vaemond's skull like it was jelly. Alicent, Helaena and Aegon all back up in horror as Vaemond's lifeless body hit the stone floor, but Vaera and Aemond stayed put, staring down at Vaemond’s decapitated corpse as the blood pooled across the stone floor.

Vaera looked at Daemon who smirked at her.

"Disarm him!" yelled Otto. 

"No need," said Daemon as he turned away and cleaned his blade.

Viserys soon fell back onto the throne groaning and Alicent ran to him.

"Call the maesters! Please, my love, you must take something for the pain” urged Alicent as she helped Viserys to his feet.

"I will not cloud my mind. I must make things right" gasped Viserys as he was escorted out of the Throne room by a maester and Ser Erryk.

“You look beautiful” muttered Aemond.

“What are you after?” asked Vaera smiling as she placed a gentle kiss on Aemond’s jaw.

“My wife. Moaning my name as I fuck her. Hard” whispered Aemond as he nuzzled the side of Vaera’s face, ignoring the gaze of his mother.

“Mērī lo nyke kostagon bībagon aōha orvorta ēlī” (Only if I can suck your cock first).

“Nyke kostagon rȳbagon ao” said Aegon grimacing slightly (I can hear you).

Vaera blushes as Aemond presses his lips against her cheek just as Rhaenyra entered, with Daemon and the children following.

Soon the King entered, and everyone rose from their seats as Viserys was carried to the table.

"How good it is to see you all tonight together" wheezed Viserys once everyone was seated.

"Prayer before we begin. May the Mother smile down on this gathering with love. May the Smith mend the bonds that have been broken for far too long. And to Vaemond Velaryon, may the gods give him rest”.

Vaera hadn't closed her eyes, but Aemond had. So, he hadn't noticed Daemon's smirk when Alicent prayed for Vaemond. 

"This is a cause for celebration. My grandsons, Jace and Luke, shall marry their cousins, Rhaena and Baela, to further strengthen the bond between our families. A toast to the young princes, and their betrothed" said Viserys.

Vaera saw Aegon lean over to Jace and whisper something to him. By the reaction Jace had, Vaera could only imagine how lewd Aegon had been.

"And to Lucerys Velaryon, future Lord of the Tides!"

"Hear, hear!" said Daemon loudly.

More whispering before Jace snapped.

"You can play the jester if you wish but hold your tongue before my betrothed"

Aegon looked over at his brother with a smirk and Vaera tried to hide her smirk.

Viserys seemed keen to start another speech. "It both gladdens my heart and fills me with sorrow to see these faces around the table. The faces most dear to me in all the world yet grown so distant from each other in the years past. My own face is no longer a handsome one, if indeed it ever was. But tonight, I wish you to see me as I am”.

The mask came off, and Vaera was still horrified by the sight of his disintegrated cheek and hallowed out eye socket. Rather poetic though, to be missing an eye. Given his lack of reaction to Aemond losing an eye.

"Not just a king, but your father. Your brother. Your husband, and your grandsire. Who may not, it seems, walk much longer among you. Let us no longer hold ill feelings in our hearts. The crown cannot stand strong if the House of the Dragon remains divided. But set aside your grievances. If not for the sake of the crown ... then for the sake of this old man who loves you all so dearly" said Viserys.

Quite ironic coming from the man who divided the house in the first place, by marrying Alicent Hightower instead of Laena Velaryon. But then again if he didn’t, Aemond wouldn’t exist, and neither would their sons.

Rhaenyra stood and made a toast for Alicent, which earned an eye roll from Vaera, then she had the audacity to make another toast.

“A toast to my daughter Vaera and my grandsons Aemon and Rhaegar, whom I have yet to meet, I wish them health and happiness” Rhaenyra.

“Who’s fault is that?” muttered Aemond.

“My love, leave it” begged Vaera.

Aegon seemed to have unfished business. For he whispered something else to Jace and he stood, angered. Aemond quickly stood in defence of his brother.

"Jace, no," whispered Rhaenyra.

So Jace raised his cup, looking at his two uncles.

"To Prince Aegon, Prince Aemond. We have not seen each other in years, but I have fond memories of our shared youth. To you and your family's good health, dear uncles. And my sweet sister of course"

Vaera noticed that Aemond seemed somewhere else. Fond memories? He couldn't think of a single one with Jace involved. 

But Helaena stood to make a toast, and his attention was now on her.

"I would like to toast to Baela and Rhaena. They'll soon be married. If they don't fall in love like Vaera and Aemond did, it won't be too bad. Not every relationship can be that wonderful. But it isn't so bad, mostly he ignores you. Except sometimes when he's drunk,” said Helaena.

“Apologise for the interruption. But Prince Rhaegar is calling for his mother,” said Mayla.

“If you’ll excuse me Your Grace” said Vaera as she gave Aemond a kiss on the cheek and swiftly left the dining room.

Having little to no idea of the chaos that would soon erupt in her absence.

“Jēda syt ēdrugon issa dōna byka zaldrīzes” whispered Vaera as she tucked Rhaegar in his bed, making sure that he had his stuffed dragon teddy within his reach (Time for sleep my sweet little dragon).

“Avy jorrāelan muña” muttered Rhaegar as he closed his eyes (I love you mother).

“Avy jorrāelan tolī” replied Vaera smiling (I love you too).

Vaera checked on Aemon who was fast asleep, his hands clutching his favourite blue blanket to his chest.

“Don’t forget to keep the fire going. Aemon doesn’t like the dark” said Vaera.

“Yes Princess” replied Myla.

“Goodnight Myla” said Vaera quietly.

“Goodnight Princess”.

Vaera closed the door to the nursery and crossed the corridor to her shared chambers with Aemond.

Deciding to forgo bathing until the morning, Vaera had barely changed into her shift before her husband came storming in.

“A-Aemond. What’s wrong?” asked Vaera.

“Tell me you love me” muttered Aemond as he pulled Vaera too him.

“I love you”.

“Tell me you need me” begged Aemond as he lowered his head and pressed his face into Vaera’s shoulder.

“I need you”.

“Tell me you want me” whispered Aemond placing gentle kisses along the column of Vaera’s neck.

“I want you”.

“Hm” muttered Aemond as his fingers began untying the laces of her shift.

“I-I haven’t bathed tonight” said Vaera shivering as the shift slipped from her body, leaving her standing naked.

“I don’t care. I need you. Please” muttered Aemond as he began pulling off his own clothes.

Vaera nodded wordlessly as Aemond kissed her, walking them backwards towards the bed.

As Viserys lay on his bed wheezing into the darkness, he knew his time had come.

His family was finally united, and he could leave this world with the knowledge that House Targaryen would continue. The blood of old Valyria would live on.

“A-Aemma. I-I’m coming”

She’s here. She’s come for me. I’m ready. Take me with you.

“M-My love” whispered Viserys his hand stretched into the darkness.

#house of the dragon #aemond targaryen #aemond fanfiction #aemond x oc #hotd aemond #hotd fanfic #aemond fic

[thenerdnextdoorxo]

Can I request a fic where Y/N is a teen avengers and has a sister they don't know about but she has an illness so she's in the hospital. the treatment for her illness costs a fortune and she doesn't want to ask tony for help bc she doesn't want to come off as needy so Y/N starts to lose hope but she still visits her whenever she's gets the chance bc her mom doesn't let her out the house much.

One day the avengers come to the hospital bc they can't make it to the tower fast enough and peter notices Y/N has snuck off somewhere and he tells the team and they ask around for her. they eventually find her in her sisters room and they're confused at first but they realize the situation. Y/N almost pushes them away but her sister is happy to see the team so she doesn't. then they ask her what's going on and she tells them and tony offers to pay for treatment but Y/N declined the offer bc again she doesn't want to seem needy and says she'll get the money somehow. but they insist she let him do it so she obliges. maybe something where they try to cheer Y/N up by watching a bunch of movies together. she usually doesn't participate in team bonding so they're surprised she says yes and they all just have a good time.

I was diagnosed with an illness last month so this is kind of relatable

Everyone refused to let you in the team because you were so young. They barely made Peter part of the team, but he was a bit older than you. You begged them though, you told them that you always dreamed of becoming an avenger, but in reality, you just wanted to earn some money for your sister's treatments and you had great archery skills so this role really fits you.

Your sister was diagnosed with a chronic illness a few years back and the treatment for her disease costs a huge amount of money. Your parents aren't really around really around so you were stuck working part-time jobs and trying to afford the treatment but it's not enough at all. When you saw that Peter was training under Tony, you decided to talk to him about training with him and Tony as well, and it took a lot of time and effort to convince them to let you join.

From the beginning, all of them noticed how you worked so hard and was always finishing tasks at time and they just assumed that you were hard-working by nature. But after a while they started to tell you to take it easy a little since you were pushing yourself past your limits. It wasn't uncommon to find you napping somewhere around the tower and they always felt sympathetic about it but every time they asked you to take a break you tell them that you're fine and you don't need a break.

During a mission that you and Peter were sent to, Peter got hurt badly and the others came in for back up and you, Tony, Natasha, and Peter had to rush to the nearest hospital to help Peter. For some reason, the nearest hospital was the hospital that your sister was in. After you made sure that Peter was taken care of, you went to catch up with your sister. You didn't notice the time and after a while Natasha walked into the room and looked at you confused. "Y/N, we were looking for, what are you doing here?" You quickly glanced at the clock and noticed that you stayed with your sister for 2 hours and you sighed. There is no way out of this.

"Natasha, this is my sister, Y/S/N, this is Natasha," You said defeatedly. You told Natasha everything about your situation, including why you insisted on joining the avengers. She started to feel bad for you, all you wanted to do was to get money for your sister's treatment, but she also felt bad that you had to take such a big responsibility at a young age.

When you returned to the tower, Natasha told everyone about your situation in order to figure out a way to help you. Since Tony trained you personally, he had a HUGE soft spot for you so he felt that he had to help you, so he decided to pay for the treatment himself, he can't allow a kid to pay that much money when he has hundred times more, no way.

You felt like you were a burden to the team, but they assured you that you were way far from it, they also told you that they are all a family and families help each other. To cheer you up, they ordered pizza and decided to have a movie night and let you pick the movie, and for the first time in a long time, you laughed, and the avengers made sure that it wasn't the last.

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

I was to busy to upload yesterday so I decided to skip lol

My requests are open

<3333

#avengers x reader #marvel imagine #platonic marvel #marvel x reader #tony x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #peter parker x reader #wanda maximoff x reader #steve x reader #bruce banner x reader

[angelsanarchy]

Glass Houses: Jack Thurlow x Y/N Series CH 11 -> CH 12

"Are you knocking over a pharmacy?”

“Medication alternatives.”

Tagging: @roryculkinluvr @thatsthewrongwallcraig @icarus-star @cc-luvr @madamemaximoff06 @shady-the-simp @quicksilversg1rl @s-0lar @kristennero-wallacewellsver @ophelialaufey @mayathepsychic1999

Jack made sure to get up at a decent hour so he could shower and give Ace an impromptu bath. Nothing special, just a quick rinse and fluff. Jack wouldn't exactly say he was trying to earn some brownie points but he hoped that if he returned Ace in top condition, maybe Y/n would bring him by more often to stay.

Jack was sitting on a lawn chair in the backyard tossing the ball to Ace when Y/n came around the corner, sunglasses pushed up to hold her hair back.

"Well look at you two, looking especially fluffy." Y/n handed Jack his coffee and took the seat across from him.

"I gave him a quick rinse this morning." Jack nodded as Ace jumped up on the seat giving Y/n kisses.

"Ah yes, thank you for washing the stench of your lust from my dog. I'm sure my mom would appreciate that." Y/n tossed him the burrito and he kissed the aluminum it was wrapped in.

"You are my new favorite neighbor. Have I told you that?" Jack complimented.

"Considering you don't talk to literally any other neighbors, I will accept that begrudgingly." Y/n reached in the bag and pulled out her own breakfast burrito so they both could eat.

"Oh I also brought you this." Y/n reached into her bag and pulled out a slip of paper, handing it over. Jack eyeballed it unsure of what he was reading.

"Are you knocking over a pharmacy?" Jack joked and she shook her head with a mouth full of food.

"Medication alternatives. I don't know what your exact ailments are but if they're psychological, these can absolutely help with negative side effects." Jack examined the list and noticed she had put little notes next to certain medications.

"Wow this is...extensive. You must think I'm really fucked up." Jack tried to play it off as a joke but she shrugged.

"The whole world is mentally ill, Jack. The only truly sane people are the ones smart enough to realize they need the help. There's nothing wrong with that." She took another bite of her burrito.

"I've been fucked up since I was a kid so medication has always been a part of my life. As you get older, shit changes and you've got to adjust some things." She roots around in her bag and pulls out a pill bottle.

"I've had manic depression since I was about 15 but by the time I was 18, I had asked my doctor about the longevity of the pills and he acted like a fucking prick about it. Who was I to question his methods as an actual doctor. The bastard took me off the meds cold turkey and I spiraled. It was fucking hell." Y/n had no hesitation explaining her medical history.

"After I changed doctors, I had to start taking medication for an extreme anxiety disorder that was caused by the bullshit he put my body through, which in turn completely shut off all sexual desires until I was at least 21." Jack's attention piqued.

"You had zero sexual desires going into your 20's? I feel like I fucked more at 20 than I have in my whole life." Jack commented.

"It just wasn't there. I would watch porn, read it, try different kink scenes and nothing even got me remotely turned on. Plus the anxiety meds dried my pussy out to an insanely uncomfortable level. It was like sandpaper just trying to masturbate." Jack winced.

"Jesus...what did you do?" He was enthralled now. She was so open with him and it felt good to be able to talk to someone who experienced some shitty medication side effects. He felt less alone in the struggle.

"After being sexless for almost 6 years, I finally said enough. Told my doctor it had to change because I was too young to not get off and I was tired of feeling like my cunt was a wasteland for tumbleweeds." Jack almost spit his coffee from a chuckle.

"Slight medication adjustment and you'll be happy to know I broke the sexless streak and have never been wetter." She held up her coffee cup and Jack clinked his cup to hers.

"Well I'm happy that you've regained a wet pussy and all the sex a nurse has the time for." Jack smirked and she tossed a hash brown at him.

"No pressure obviously. I just think it's stupid to put yourself through bullshit for no reason. We have mental illness but they don't have us. Fuck those stupid chemical imbalanced bullshit. Take back your life, man." Y/n continued to encourage and Jack nodded.

"I really appreciate this. Thank you. You didn't have to do all this but I really do feel like I might be able to use it." Jack tucked the paper into his pocket and Y/n nodded feeling accomplished.

"I will not only commend you on the strides of being able to finally jerk off but to be able to multitask while doing so is pretty impressive." Y/n continued to pick at her food and Jack pinned his eyebrows together confused.

"Multitask? It's pretty simple: point and shoot." Jack chuckled.

"No I meant jerking off while smoking. I would probably set my bed a blaze." She teased making crimson creep up Jack's neck.

"You...how did-"

"Smoke rises sweetheart. The window was open and you weren't exactly being a church mouse." Y/n crumpled her trash and threw it into the brown bag. Jack covered his face with his hands and wanted to silently melt into the chair.

"You're welcome by the way for the free show. I was going to buy you a new ashtray but since you said you were able to cum, I feel like I've completed my job on that one." Y/n reached out and tugged on Jack's elbow.

"Don't be embarrassed. Next time don't be such a tease and get naked yourself." Y/n waited until Jack looked at her before smiling.

"Yeah...I'll be sure to do that...if I don't just throw myself out the window first." Jack scoffed as she got to her feet and whistled to Ace.

"Where's the fun in that?" She smirked giving him a wink.

"Enjoy your day, Thurlow." She called over her shoulder as Ace followed closely behind her. Jack watched her hips sway as she walked away, ass bouncing in light washed jeans. It was the little shake she gave that made him shake his head.

She knew he had seen her. She had seen him. She still got naked. He owes his doctor a fruit basket.

#Jack Thurlow #Jack Thurlow x Y/N #Jack Goes Home #Glass Houses #Glass Houses Series #One Shot Series #Rory Culkin #Culkin Cult #11/38

[insertyourselfhere]

Body Swap Part 3

AN: Sorry for taking so damn long, there's a bit of a gap here in the story as it doesn't follow their whole journey, just because its almost filler like if I want to later ill do some in-between bits as one shots but I know we want to actually see Gwen and Y/N Interacting so I'm trying to get us to that point which I did! Also the timing in this fic from ITSV and ATSV are off but meh.

Description: It was starting to get tedious now, it had been a few months at least of you swapping with Gwen, being able to talk to her in your mind and nothing else developing. You and Gwen had tried on a number of occasions to work out what your existential crisis was that was stopping you both from moving on with your lives. Gwen had told you her tragic story and you had told her yours, about your parents, your uncle, even your Aunt was involved trying to help both of you out. It was hard to admit at first but you had grown some sort of feelings towards the girl, its hard not too when she’s in your head almost all the time. Thankfully you hadn’t thought that out loud to her just yet but there had been a couple times that you were almost caught slipping. You’ve had to lie a few times saying its about a girl in your dimension but played it off and changed the subject. Everything was continuing like normal, or so you thought.

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

It was the day before you guys swapped bodies on your usual rotation, you laid in bed ready for the next day to come when you swapped over with Gwen. You reflected a little about what you and Gwen had been talking about, what has happened over the last few months and there were no changes. You rolled onto your back staring at your ceiling.

‘Can’t sleep?’ You heard in the back of your mind, seems like you weren’t the only one.

‘Not really I’m just confused’

‘Same’ She said softly.

‘Okay well how about this, lets kill the time, I know all about the tragic backstory that is Gwen Stacy and I know I’ve lived as you as well but in your own words tell me about you. What makes you tick, what are your favorite things to do’

(A/N: This might get a little OC here cause Ive never read any of the Gwen Stacy comics so I don’t know much about actual Gwen so this will be just from what I think she would like)

‘Okay sure lets do that! At a super young age I did gymnastics, dad taught me and got me involved when I was 4, I also was heavily involved in ballet too. I always wanted to be a ballerina when I was growing up but who didn’t at such a young age’

‘I still want to be a ballerina those moves you can pull off are out of this world’ You said and you heard her chuckle.

‘I guess it goes with my fighting style though I would love to teach you one day’ She said, you smiled at those words hoping they would come true.

‘Please do, if that means I get to actually see you and not me you, you get me?’ She laughed again and you wouldn’t get sick of hearing that ever.

‘So because I started growing up, managed to get some teen angst going I wanted to do something different, my whole attitude on life changed, I got these powers, I didn’t know how to deal with all this added pressure so I joined a band’

‘Ah yes the Mary Janes! I was wondering how that came about, you just needed a distraction’ You asked knowing full well what that meant, that’s why you joined the football team, You needed a distraction yourself.

‘Yeah actually, I was struggling with who I was, being Spider-Woman and Gwen Stacy’

‘It is a lot of pressure but I can tell you with all my heart that you are killing it’

‘Thanks Y/N I needed to hear that’ The line went quiet and you could feel yourself slowing starting to fall asleep.

‘Hey I got a spider emergency! I gotta go but get some rest okay’

‘Be safe Gwen, Don’t rough them up too much’ She chuckled and it went dead silent.

You managed to stay awake for a couple minutes before Your eye lids grew heavy and you succumb to sleep.

The next morning you woke up only to notice you were still in your bed. You woke up startled throwing your legs off your bed and walking towards your bedroom door opening it and looking at your Aunt.

“Morning Gwen” She said so used to this charade you 2 had, you gulped knowing it was the next day, you saw the date on your phone and looked back at your Aunt.

“Not Gwen” You said and her head shot up. It has been more than 6 months at this point that you had started swapping with Gwen, nothing seemed to stop it, nothing seemed to hint towards it ever slowing down and then one day it just stopped.

“Not Gwen?” She asked walking towards you with her hand out, you grabbed it nodding saying it was you and you didn’t know how to feel.

“Amazing it’s finally stopped! Now you can go back to living your normal spidey life” She said with a little hooray and then a sip of her drink, Your Aunt turned around towards the kitchen table where you could see a 2nd coffee cup laid out.

She picked it up ready to pour out the drink and you could see her hand shaking, you quickly ran over to her to help with the cup and she let out a small sob.

“I am so happy for you that you don’t have to go through this anymore but she was around so often it’s like she was apart of our little family you know” You slowly shook your head and hugged your aunt.

“I’m not happy” You said quietly in your Aunts shoulder, you both pulled away and you had small tears in your eyes. “Neither am I” She finally admitted to you. You slumped in the chair in the kitchen and looked at your Aunt. You were devastated. “Have your little telepathic abilities stopped working too?” You shrugged your shoulders but focused on trying to reach out to her.

‘Gwen can you hear me?’ You asked, your face concentrating to push your sub consciousness out there hoping to get a response. After a few minutes of silence nothing came back. You stood up with a frustrating sigh and leaned over the kitchen counter.

“Nothing?” Your aunt asked rubbing your back, you shook your head. You didn’t know what else to do, you couldn’t even think straight, your alarm started going off symbolising you had to go to school but you just didn’t have the heart to get up. It’s almost like you had genuinely lost a part of yourself, it had felt very unfinished.

“We are taking the rest of the day off today, you and me I think we need this…”

“What if something happened?” You ask out loud cutting off your aunt. “What if something’s happened and she needs me?” You said looking at your aunt.

“There’s nothing you can….”

“Don’t finish that sentence, there’s something I can do I am a Spider, I have all these powers I have to be able to do something” Your aunt could see the hurt in your eyes, the panic, every emotion flashing through you all at once worried that the absolute worst thing happened.

“Y/N look, I don’t understand your situation at all, I honestly couldn’t think of anyone in the entire world could really to relate to your feelings but all I can tell you is that Gwen is one of the toughest girls I have ever met. She is fine, maybe you figured out whatever the universe was telling you or your no longer needed to heal her very broken heart.” You Aunt said smiling softly.

“But mines broken now…” You said quietly. Your aunt gave you a look and you shuffled your feet. “Okay she’s fine, we did what we needed to do, whatever that was and she’s safe in her dimension.” Your aunt nodded and you smiled a little.

“I’m gunna get ready and go to school. Just to distract myself a bit today” You said, your aunt nodded. “I will be mourning the loss of a daughter so I’ll be here quietly sobbing over the cup I bought her” You giggled a little knowing your aunt was joking but only a tiny bit, you could see she was just as hurt as well so you hugged her again.

“She’s fine, she doesn’t need us anymore we fixed her broken heart” You both smiled and walked away doing your own things. You headed to school getting ready for your first class pulling out the books you needed. You saw the drawings, pictures, difference in handwriting even in all your books and smiled. As you went through wondering from class to class you failed to notice an unwanted guest appear out of nowhere.

As you were heading towards gym you heard commotion coming from some other students. “quick everybody evacuate theres a guy in a rhino suit running rampant around the school!” As students began to pile out of the gym and into the hallways running towards safety you ran around a corner and did the opposite trying to find your stashed suit. You ran into the bathroom, lift up one of the tiles on the roof and promptly changed into your suit.

“A man in a Rhino suit? We don’t have that here we have a lady who’s half rhino half human.” You managed to find all the commotion and saw a couple of kids in the way.

“Quick get out of here!”

“Spidey thank you!” They all ran out, you could feel the building shaking and hear walls crumbling.

“Hello tiny spider” He said as he walked around the corner, and sure enough it was a big buff dude in a rhino suit.

“Look I don’t know what your doing here, but I need to get to gym and your in my way” You got into your signature pose.

“Get out of the way tiny spider, I need to go home!” You looked confused for a split second but immediately knew what the issue was. ‘He’s not from this dimension, Im gunna have to lock him up tight and stop him from hurting anyone’ You thought quietly to yourself. A tiny part of you was hoping you would hear Gwen voice in your head again but it was no where to be found. Rhino charged towards you, without missing a beat you punched him clean in the jaw and he was knocked out cold.

“Wow that was….NO don’t say that, it never works out well when you put things like that into the universe.” You webbed up Rhino and dragged him outside, as you got outside a hexagon shaped portal opened up in front of you, you let go of Rhino and folded your arms only to be met with a lady who had a motorbike and an afro.

“Oh hello! You must be the Spider of this dimension” You unfolded your arms feeling the tingle as soon as you saw her.

“I am! The names Y/N” She walked up and shook your hand. “Nice to meet you Im Jessica Drew, I see you caught the guy I’m here for, relatively easy it seems to” You gave a modest look but shrugged your shoulders.

“It was nothing” You said with a small smile under your mask.

“Look, Miguel is totally going to hate me but I think you should come with me” She said gesturing to the portal behind her, you looked in and saw nothing but a tube looking thing.

“In there? That looks like death?” You said pointing at the portal. “I promise it’s not, I’ll explain once we get there but I think you should come with me” She said, you shook your head knowing you shouldn’t follow strangers into very suspicious portals but all that was going through your head was Gwen.

“This might be my only chance to find her” You said out loud. “Find who?” She asked and you coughed and walked into the portal not realising you were talking out loud. As soon as you stepped in you were teleported to a new world.

Once you landed Jessica following behind you, your face dropped, you took your mask off staring at the Nueva York. It was so futuristic and chrome, very shiny, everything was shiny it was burning your retina’s.

“Come on I want you to come meet Miguel” You follow Jessica until you came to a high tech room in a dark looking alley. He even looked like a bad guy, his aura oozed “I am a villain” but even you were slightly jealous of his gym regime whatever it was cause dude looked good.

“Jessica what did you do?” You blocked out their argument taking in the sights and sounds around you. They started bickering and you felt a little awkward to be standing there, it was like you were a child getting scolded from your parents for ditching school.

“Look they’re here and I know Y/N will do a fantastic job, plus with the large amount of animalities running around thanks to 1610 we need all the help we can get”

“We have over 1500 different peters you think this other variant will help out”

“They’re a lot stronger than most of the others Peter’s surprisingly took down Rhino with a swift punch”

Your feet shuffled and you looked down taking in the compliments Jessica was throwing your way. Miguel looked at you and threw up his hands.

“Whatever, kid heres your watch go hang around I’ll call you if I need anything” Jessica smiled and you looked at the watch in your hand, you put it on and started walking out hearing Jessica and Miguel start up again.

You made your way out and went to sit at the top of the tower which seemed to be everyone’s favourite spot it seems. You met a couple of the other Spider, a few peter parkers…a lot of peter parkers actually, your favourite though had to be the T-rex running around.

Your world was 1405 as deemed by the I guess lords of the multi-verse, you weren’t too sure how it worked but you kinda just rolled with it, you wanted to make sure Gwen was okay but deep down you knew she was, for now you would go about your business and hopefully save some other worlds, who can put that on their resume.

“Alright Y/N ready for your first mission” You looked at your watch and saw Jessica on the other end of it.

“As ready as I’ll ever be” you said holding the watch up.

“Alright this one’s easy so I’ll be going with you but mostly to observe” She said with a small smile, you nodded your head and typed in the co-ordinates she sent you.

15 minutes later

You and Jessica were standing next to each other back in the Spider Society, you had your web wrapped around the prisoner and she stood next to you with the biggest surprise look on her face.

“Okay that was very quick, you are very efficient” She said and you just stood there nodding holding onto your villain. He started to groan and you knocked him out again with a swift punch.

“Alright well um go hang around, catch more sights and I’ll get back to you with another mission” You could tell she was still stunned, she didn’t really know what to do but walked away with your prisoner attached. You made your way back up to the top of the building again however instead of sitting you made the rounds, getting to know other people and know who all the different Spiders you could. After a couple hours of wondering around, getting lost and meeting MORE people you finally got another call but it wasn’t from Jessica. It was from Miguel’s Ai friend LYLA.

“Hey could you go help Miguel over on world 65 please” You were shocked at first to hear that you were going to help Miguel but You didn’t even hesitate you immediately input that number and jumped straight into the portal. As you exited the portal you went straight towards the parchment vulture in front of you and punched him square in the jaw.

“Nice!” You said, Miguel got up from his rubble and walked over to you, “Good punch rook alright lets take this guy down” You got your fist’s ready to fight with Miguel not taking in your surroundings fully (You should really work on this btw) when a quiet familiar voice hit your ears.

“Y/N” Your head whipped around so quickly but before you could say anything vulture had punched you right back sending you into a pillar.

“That wasn’t nice, okay rook new plan” Miguel said as he shot you with one of his webs and flung you towards vulture, you managed to clock him again but this time he was ready, he grabbed your arm and readied one of his wings, but before he sliced you with it you saw a web holding it back and Gwen had kicked him in the back of his head causing him to go crashing in the ground.

“Your moves are so much better when you do it” You said towards Gwen, she gave you a quick fist bump and you both propelled down.

“Do you 2 know each other” Miguel said pointing at both of you “It’s a long story we’ll explain later but right now he needs to go back” You said pointing at vulture.

“So whats this guys deal anyway” Gwen said asking you, you managed to talk while fighting and dodging all the vultures attacks.

“Well he’s made of parchment so you can assume he doesn’t belong here.” Gwen rolled her eyes “I gathered that much this isn’t my first run in with the multi-verse” She said kicking a few rocks towards the vulture who dodged all but 1.

“This isn’t your first run in?” You asked, she gave you a look and you nodded your head. “Oh right yes us” She webbed towards the vulture holding his wings down and punched him again, he broke free clambering up the pillar up into the night sky, Miguel went after him attacking him leaving you and Gwen alone.

“So crazy that we didn’t swap bodies right?” You said looking at her. “I actually have an excuse for that” She said and you looked at her intently.

“The night before we usually swap I was out fighting one of my villains when a portal opened up and sucked me in, I was blown into another dimension that had this really cool Spider-Man named Miles” You looked shocked, so because she wasn’t in her universe you couldn’t swap. Makes sense.

“I’ll tell you the rest of the story later” she said as she webbed away, you looked up to see a helicopter flying down towards you, both Miguel and Gwen had managed to get their webs under it to slow it down you jumped on a rock that was sticking up and stood waiting for the impact of the helicopter when its nose reached the palm of your hands you used your strength to push against it and put a stop to it. Everyone started cheering, Miguel grabbed vulture and you were both getting ready to leave, you wanted Gwen to come with so you asked Miguel to wait. When you looked up though you couldn’t see her anymore but you could hear shouting.

 “She needs to come with us she’d be an asset to the team” You said to Miguel, he looked at you and grunted before jumping up there, you followed after him witnessing Miguel throwing one of his barriers on the ground and tying up George Stacy. You walked over to Gwen who looked frightened and grabbed her shoulders gently.

Miguel opened a portal and threw vulture in it, he turned around to you and Gwen and asked. “So what’s it going to be kid?” He said, she nodded, Miguel gave her a watch and jumped in the portal. You followed after him but looked back at Gwen and George, your heart breaking for both of them.

As soon as both you and Gwen got back to universe 928 she let out a big sigh of relief and her legs collapsed under her. She was on the verge of tears but you could see that she was fighting the urge to let them fall.

“Hey” You said.

“Hey yourself” She said wiping away her tears, you couldn’t believe that you had managed to find her. You were so relieved but you could see all the mending you guys had down over the last few months was slowly starting to break all because her dad found out who she was.

She pulled off her mask and you saw half her head was shaved.

“Whoa! That’s new!” You said looking at her new haircut, she looked at it and rolled her eyes.

“It’s a long story but I had to shave it”

“I like it, it suits you” You said looking at her hair, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked away, she coughed and turn back to you.

“Thank you, I think we owe each other an explanation” She said trying to change the subject, but you being dense didn’t notice.

“Y/N Show the newbie around Ill put our prisoner away, you owe me an explanation for how you 2 know each other by the way.” He started walking away and you looked back at Gwen.

“Come follow me Ill introduce you to everyone!” You grabbed Gwen’s hand and pulled her towards everyone.

“Hey Y/N!” You walked pass a group of Peters and waved towards them. “Hey Peter this is Gwen!” They all waved and went back into their groups.

“Wow there sure a lot of Peter’s”

“Yeah Peter seems to be the most common canon, there are a very rare amount of us that aren’t Peters but I guess there’s almost an infinite amount of universes so there’s infinite possibilities” you replied looking back at Gwen who was taking everything in

“This place is so big” she said in awe watching all the other spiders running around

“This is the lobby” You replied whispering in her ear.

“Your kidding” She said turning back to you with her eyes wide.

“Not even in the slightest, here Ill show you where I like to hang out!”

You took her to the tallest building and hung out at the top looking down at Nueva York. You didn’t know how you felt about the whole situation but was surprised about how the whole situation went down, you had a crazy 48 hours that’s for sure. Shoot you didn’t check in with your Aunt. You both sat down over the edge of the tower, she looked down at her watch and then looked back at you.

“I guess I owe you an explanation it seems” You looked back at her and then back to the view.

“Nah, you’re safe that’s all I care about” You said looking away, she smiled and hit your shoulder gently.

“I’m so happy I can finally do that as me and not looking at you in the mirror” She said looking out towards the skyline again, she tucked her leg up towards her face and leant on it.

“It’s weird, I’ve seen you so much the past few months but not like this, its nice” You replied smiling.

“I know you said I don’t owe you an explanation but I have to tell you what happened it was crazy!” You folded your legs and shuffled so you were looking at Gwen as she told you all about her trip to 1610. She told you about Miles, about how what happened to her hair, you couldn’t help but laugh at that part knowing full well how hard it was to control your powers when you first got them.

She told you about Peter B Parker, Penni, Spider-Ham and Spider-Noir, You could see how happy she was about her little band of misfits. Maybe you and your Aunt had managed to heal her enough that she let herself open to gain other friends.

She told you about the collider, how Miles came through and gained the ability to somewhat control his powers, she showed you a photo of him on her phone and she was smiling.

“Gwen that sounds like a long week you had” She giggled and then an idea formed.

“Hey can we take a photo” You looked shocked but you nodded. You got ready but she leaned into your side and smiled, you followed suit as she took the picture.

“Thank you” She said looking down at her phone “So what happened to you” You laughed and looked ack at her “Oh nothing, an anomaly came through while I was at school, I knocked him out, Jessica saw my potential and I got recruited. That’s about it” She laughed hearing how easy your time was compared to hers.

“Y/N, Gwen theres a couple of people I need you to come meet” Miguel said over the watch, you both got up and headed towards his Spider-Cave, his fortress off Spidertude, his lair? And were met with what seems like a familiar face to gwen but someone knew.

“Y/N This is Hobie Brown! You’ll be working with him in the upcoming missions. This Spider over here is Peter B Parker” You saw Gwen hugging the other Peter who was surprised to see him so soon.

“Gwen when did you get here!”

“Today actually Y/N came and helped me”

“Is this the famous Y/N I’ve heard so much about hey! The one you’ve been swapping bodies with” You looked shocked that Gwen told someone that and she was blushing furiously.

“Shut it Parker” He laughed and swung towards you.

“Nice to meet you buddy I’m Peter”

“Y/N” You said shaking his hand, You shook a little too hard and he winced.

“Strong grip I like it, you were right they are very…” Before Peter could finish what he was saying Gwen webbed his mouth and he glared at her.

“Anyway cute reunion, Gwen you’ll stay here and train with Jessica, Y/N you’ll head out with Hobie, theres a Kraven In the wrong universe I need you guys to go get” You nodded and started walking with Hobie, you looked back and saw Gwen, she gave you a small wave and you waved back. With an extra hop in your step you turned towards Hobie.

“Dude love your hair”

“Thanks its natural”

“How does that fit under your…”

“Hammer Space” He said and you shook it off, you both input the co-ordinates and were off to another dimension.

#gwen stacy x reader #across the spiderverse #reader insert #spider gwen x reader #gwen stacy imagine #gwen stacy #spider woman #spiderman: across the spiderverse #spiderman into the verse #into the spider verse #spiderverse #spider gwen #spider woman x reader #ghost spider #ghost spider x reader #spider man: across the spider verse #gwendolyn stacy #miles morales #peter parker #spiderman across the spiderverse

[intrepidacious]

every dream gone

summary: After the events of Winter Soldier, Bucky slowly realizes just how much he lost after his fall.

pairing: bucky barnes x f!reader

word count: 3.2k

warnings: bucky being sad; vague mentions of brainwashing and a whole lot of guilt; don't look for a happy ending with this one folks (i'm sorry 🥲)

please note that my blog is rated 18+. minors dni. ageless/empty blogs will be blocked without warning.

a/n: i started writing this fic back in september and it took me until now to gather the emotional willpower to finish it. blame this song that inspired the whole thing.

masterlist | read on ao3

It took Bucky a while to remember you, after everything, but he did.

The first memory came back while he was on the run. He'd been in Europe for a while by then, sleeping in freight cars, never staying anywhere for longer than a week, trying to keep a low profile while both HYDRA and Steve were still frantically looking for him everywhere. Those early days were the worst.

He spent most of his time on trains and tried to figure out why he hated it so much.

Being in England calmed him a bit. It was nice getting used to hearing people speak English around him again, and not in a tone that commanded obedience.

He didn't have much to go off, just scattered memories that didn't quite seem to fit together. There was always something off about them, something like the taste of metal where it shouldn't be. This time, the fragments led him to a flea market.

There were only a handful of people dotted in between the stands, which was probably for the best. His long sleeves usually attracted some curious glances this late into July.

He didn't exactly have money to spare for knick-knacks or secondhand souvenirs, but his feet carried him straight to one stand in particular, without him even realizing. His fingertips grazed along the spines of old paperbacks that were lined up like soldiers, but Bucky didn't spare them more than a glance.

He stopped at the next table over, a small frown on his face.

"Look at all those colors, Buck!"

Pastels and acrylics, steel nib fountain pens and piles of hand-bound sketchbooks. The woman selling them looked up from her novel when he didn't move for a whole minute, his eyes fixed on the notebooks.

"You can pick 'em up if you can't decide, you know," she said.

He nodded, blinked, almost embarrassed at the way his fingers shook as he picked up one of the books. It was bound in blue linen, and the deckle edged pages stuck to his gloves.

"You draw?" the woman asked, in a way that was more politeness than actual interest.

"My friend did," Bucky found himself saying.

Hands covered in charcoal. The smell of paper and something else.

"How dare you!" A laugh, carelessly loud and graceless. The most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. "My nose looks nothing like that!"

The memory passed through him softly, almost dreamlike, and for a second, he didn't know whether he wanted to cry or scream. He did neither.

The woman was looking at him strangely, but she accepted the note he handed her for the sketchbook, even though it wasn't Sterling.

"Young man," she called after him, and he almost wanted to laugh. "You're gonna need this, too." And she handed him a pen, as if she'd known, as if there was something in his face that told her how lost he felt.

It was cheap, surely, but it was also the first gift he'd gotten in decades, and so he kept it in his chest pocket. Right above his heart.

***

The next memory came not too long after that.

He was sitting in a rundown coffee shop in Edinburgh, barely paying attention to the room around him while he tried putting his past onto the page. The book was filling so achingly slowly it made him want to throw it against a wall most days.

A good chunk of it was about Steve.

Bucky supposed that was to be expected, because he'd been the one to first make him remember, and because it was Steve.

So page after page was detailing pneumonias and ill-fitting jackets and bruised knuckles in Bucky's narrow writing, trying to piece together a life that should have stayed his. It was desperate work, futile work most days, but he tried anyway.

And then the café owner switched stations on the old, dusty radio in the corner, and there was the song.

It took only a couple of notes until the images struck like lightning.

Swinging skirts and heels clacking on wooden floors. The smell of sweat and hairspray and something else. Something like May bells.

"You're quite good at this, aren't you?" Hands tightening around his neck in the most pleasant embrace.

"Only as good as my partner."

How could a simple hum sound so content? "And I ain't exactly called Rogers, either. But you’re the one leading."

"And thank God for both."

A dip, a scream. And that laugh again. He wanted to bottle it up and get drunk on it for the rest of eternity.

When the song ended, Bucky was shaking with it. He'd broken the pen in his hand, and the dark ink smeared all over his palm like black blood.

He didn’t do so well with presents these days.

***

He remembered your name when he heard a mother call out for her child in a park and it stopped him in his tracks because the corners of his mouth started to lift on their own accord. It was like you were muscle memory, your name so deeply ingrained that his body remembered you long before his mind could catch up.

And your name.

Whispered in darkened picture theaters until your skin prickled with goosebumps, shouted across dance halls sweltering with heat, spoken with reverence on dizzying fair rides. Bucky’d said it again, and again, and again, and for so long he couldn’t think of anything sweeter than the taste of it on his tongue.

He tried it out now, and it came out like ash.

The sound of his name on your lips came to him only hours later, because he kept prodding at that part of his mind that kept you hidden from him, kept trying to unlock the gate to his forgotten memories until finally it slid open an inch.

He was trying to make dinner.

He’d not had a warm meal for weeks at that point, but the past few days had been good and he’d bought vanilla extract for pancakes. The sugary smell filled his tiny apartment, but he didn’t even notice at first, not until he opened the window and then turned back to the stove.

“Bucky.”

Like a breath of air that echoed from deep within until it reached him and left him shaken.

He said your name again, called it into the silence of the room. It didn’t answer him.

He wasn’t sure if that was better or worse than going crazy, and so he breathed in again.

“James! It’s almost nine, we’re gonna be late.” Nails drumming against the wood of a dresser. You’d painted it with flowers, purple and blue and yellow. Beautiful.

“And whose fault is that, sweetheart?”

His fingers wrapping around your waist, pulling you close, so young, so human. Your perfume, soft and lingering mist-like between you, and something else. Something like Christmas morning.

Smiles had come so easy to him back then. “I’ve been sittin’ by the door for a good twenty minutes now, waitin’ anxiously for you to finish up.”

“If you’re getting so anxious over me, you needn’t have waited, Buck.”

“I’d wait my whole life if it went you’re comin’ down the stairs, sweetheart.”

He hadn’t noticed he’d slid to the floor, trembling.

The pancakes burned.

***

Your name was so much and yet so little at the same time.

Bucky tried finding any record of you, in libraries, newspaper archives, even using a computer once he figured out how to go online. But you’d been a normal girl, a lovely, perfect, beautiful, normal girl. That had never been enough for the history books.

He had to put you together again himself, slowly. The smallest details took him months.

You would always get holes in your tights and scold him for prodding at them. You used to hate getting your picture taken, but you would benignly let Steve draw you as long as he kept you entertained. You’d liked dancing, and flowers, and sweet things, and somehow, inexplicably, you’d liked him.

“You are the worst date I’ve ever had.”

The taste of whipped cream and chocolate on your lips, and the feeling of your fingers curling into the hair at the base of his neck. That little sound at the back of your throat.

“You were saying, sweetheart?”

Bucky’s hand balled into a fist. It wasn’t fair.

The worst part was that you were barely more than the memory of a beautiful dream, hazy and blurred. He was well aware he didn’t deserve good things anymore, but these faint half-images collecting in his brain were nothing short of cruel.

"I can't remember her face,” he told the only person who might have understood, because he himself didn’t. “Why can I remember every single person that I had to ...” He trailed off, dragging his hand over his face. “And yet I can't remember her face?"

Steve's hand was on his shoulder, a gesture that should feel comforting in its familiarity. Instead, Bucky had never felt this small in his own skin.

Wrong shoulder.

"I'll see what I can do," Steve said calmly, but there was a helplessness in his voice that made Bucky’s stomach churn.

It wasn’t supposed to spill out of his own eyes.

***

You would have loved Wakandan sunsets.

They were richer, more colorful than the ones Bucky remembered, but maybe that didn’t actually mean much. The beautiful things had a habit of evading him.

Sometimes, he was selfish enough to wish it had stayed that way, because at least in forgetting, he hadn’t known to miss anything at all. Years and decades worth of lack came crashing through to drown him now, more and more frequent, as if they were trying to make up for lost time. Or mocking him.

But you would have loved the sunsets, and so he tried to love them, too, just like he was always meant to do.

“Do you have to leave already?”

A sniff, a petulant sigh, his limbs heavy and warm, but resolve unwavering. He’d fancied himself so smart, then. “You know I do.”

Daybreak kisses that tasted contently like sleep. Slowly untangling his fingers from yours, something cool grazing them.

Steve brought back a small package, and that was all that was left to find of the part of the past that he’d shared with you. A thin stack of official papers, the dog tags he’d worn in Austria, and a ring.

Bucky sat down.

He knew, rationally, that you were long gone even before he saw the official documents. He’d never expected you to wait for him when it had always been the other way around. Still, to read it so plainly was like his insides were being twisted into the tightest knot, and his heart, his carefully guarded heart that had only just started to remember its own rhythm stuttered painfully. Like it was sick of this whole dance, the waiting, the longing for something so out of reach. So lost to time.

He didn’t want this, any of this, but there was nothing he could do but stare and wait for his vision to clear.

“There’s something else,” Steve said, his voice far away like he’d been wrapped in cotton. “Do you remember the house?”

A rickety porch swing and a picket fence that needed bleaching. Thorny rose bushes blooming in all your favorite colors. Two spare rooms.

“Are we going to be hostin’ a lot of guests, then?” That smug little curl of your lip he liked to kiss.

“I hope not.” Arms wrapping around your waist, pulling you close. Always the same gesture, as familiar as the smell. Vanilla and peonies, and something else. “We could find a more permanent use, don’t you think?”

“She kept it. It’s still there.”

Bucky traced the letters of your name with his thumb as if somehow, somewhere, you might have felt the familiar caress. It looked lonely there, all on its own.

Maybe it was lucky that he’d long run out of screams, because he might have never stopped.

“Thank you,” he said, and even though it didn’t seem sufficient, Steve nodded.

Bucky threaded your ring onto the chain of his dog tags and closed it around his neck before he hid them under his vest, the metal like a ghostly touch over his heart.

***

It took Bucky five more years to make it back to New York. Well. Five more years passed.

He’d lost so many of them it didn’t even seem to matter at this point.

The slip of paper had been kept inside an envelope he’d found between the books in Steve’s apartment, waiting for him, just like he’d said it would. At least some things were still there.

The bus drive took an eternity, but his feet found their way on their own accord. They’d known it well, once, after all.

He thought the hardest part would be to turn around the final corner and see it again, but that wasn’t it. He’d dreaded the drawn shades, the overgrown garden, the withered flowers, the faded paint on the front door. Dreading things made them easier to bare, sometimes, he’d learned that.

No, the hardest part was seeing the sign. Cottage for sale.

And the quiet.

The mailbox was battered from decades of wind and weather, but underneath the rust he could still see the remnants of your handprint, cracked golden yellow on the dark metal. It disappeared under his vibranium fingers.

“See? We left our mark now. We have to stay here forever.”

He found the key still inside. He used to scold you for leaving it so recklessly, but you kept losing every spare you got made, and besides, times were different, then. You knew the neighbors. So did he.

“Don’t forget, it’s Mrs Hopper’s birthday on Wednesday, and you promised to mow her lawn.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

“And the Sawyers asked if you could take a look at their furnace, because it’s been acting up.”

“You’d think they’d hire a professional for that sorta thing.”

“Maybe you’re just nicer to look at.”

The plot next door had been leveled. The curtains in all the other houses were drawn, even though it was a lovely spring evening.

Bucky’s steps were heavy as he climbed the steps to the red front door. It was like he could hear whispers coming from all sides, his head pounding with the weight of something that was not quite there yet, not quite clear, not quite something.

The key slid into the lock.

“Leave your shoes outside, Buck, you’ll track mud everywhere.”

He almost did.

The first step inside was like going through the looking glass and finding himself in a world so different, and yet so familiar. Because he didn’t recognize the painting on the wall, or the color of the cabinets, or the rug next to the stairs.

But there was that smell. Vanilla and peonies. Something like baking and spring, something like home.

He carefully pulled the door closed behind him, the floorboards softly creaking. Dust billowed.

And then more memories came rushing in, as if they'd been waiting for the moment he crossed the threshold.

"Ready?"

"Yes!" He could feel your cheeks lift in a smile and grinned as he slowly pulled his hands away from your eyes. Could feel the gasp that fell from your lips as you took in the sight in front of you.

"Do you like it?"

"Are you kidding me? I love it!"

“I love you.”

He thought he saw movement just out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned, it was only his own grave reflection staring back at him out of one of the dirty windows. Still, he couldn’t help but feel like the ghosts of the past were surrounding him.

“There you are,” they seemed to say. “What took you so long?”

“Just picking up something sweet for my best girl.”

“This is exactly why I’m gonna marry you.”

“Just that? Really? What about my other qualities?”

“Those I tolerate.”

The plates his ma had given you, the porcellain chipped with decades of use, stacked neatly in the cabinets, gathering dust. Your favorite brass pot was out next to the sink, as if you’d just left it there to dry, intending to use it again in a couple of hours.

In the living room, the horrible curtains your aunt had forced upon you had finally disappeared, and despite everything, Bucky could feel himself smile. The bookshelf was still overflowing.

“We’re gonna run out of space soon, you know that, right?”

“Well, build me a new shelf, then!”

Another promise he’d broken.

He had to go upstairs. He knew it, even though every single cell of his body was screaming at him not to go.

Seventeen steps. The second to last was the one that creaked.

Deciding which door to open first was like choosing his own hell. In the end, the house decided for him, because the wailing behind the one to the far right sounded so alive he almost bolted through the entrance.

It had been locked, and Bucky only realized why when it was already too late.

It was the most desolate room yet, cobwebbed and stale, furniture hidden underneath white linens. A dusty wooden mobile dangled from the ceiling, trembling as the house settled, casting eery shadows over the dirtied green walls.

“Aren’t you a bit overzealous there, love?” He dotted some green on your nose and you shrieked.

“Do you wanna be caught unawares?”

“As far as I know, there’s a bit of a preparation period involved.”

“Hm. Maybe we should just get a head start, then.”

He couldn’t bear it a second time, so he took a lung full of stale air and opened the bedroom door.

“I love you, I love you, I love you!”

Everything smelled like you, had your loving touch on it, had been allowed to live alongside you for all this time when he hadn’t been. The wilted flowers in the vase by the window. A book on the nightstand, your bookmark tucked between the pages because you weren’t quite done with it yet.

You weren’t done yet.

A pair of reading glasses lay on top of it, and Bucky almost laughed because he couldn’t quite picture you wearing them, and then, suddenly, he realized he could picture you, and his hand reached out blindly because he remembered that it was there.

“You know I hate these things.”

He didn’t let go of your hand for a second. “Come on, sweetheart. Don’t you want me to have something’a yours to keep me company?”

Your laugh, again, and again. “You’re so lucky I love you.”

The bed creaked softly when he sat down on its edge, the frame shaking in his grip, and hey. There you were.

There was your smile.

It seemed to echo, or maybe he only wished it did.

“I’ll be back so soon, you won’t even notice I’m gone, sweetheart.”

“You better.”

The way you looked at him. Like you really believed him when he told the both of you that everything was going to be fine. That you would be the lucky ones. The exception.

He hated himself for letting you hope, but maybe this was his punishment; to be the one left behind, despite everything.

“I’m sorry,” he must have said, or cried, or screamed, because the house repeated it back to him, over and over.

“I’m sorry.”

And then, there was nothing.

anyone else need a tissue?

thank you so much for reading!! if you liked this, please consider leaving a comment or a reblog, or just come scream at me in my inbox. to see the less heartbreaking rest of my writing, check out my masterlist or follow @intrepidacious-fics for update notifications <3

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes x you #bucky x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes oneshot #marvel fanfic #mcu fanfic #every dream gone

[pokegalla]

New idea from @theneurodivergentdummy

It was a very fluffy idea. I just HAD to write it. Enjoy chaotic fluff!!!

Family Comes First

“Tamaaaaaaaa! I’m booooooored”

Saitama glanced back from his manga, “Hi bored. I’m Saitama.”

(Y/n) glared at him and went to the fridge, with ill intent. She knew Saitama was abnormal in his strength and reflects, but he always lets his guard around her. She grabbed a slice of cheese and yeeted it across the room. It landed on Saitama’s head….with a loud slap.

“(Y/N)!!!!” He shouted.

“Oh alas! The caped baldy has been defeated! But eh….,” (Y/n) made a shit eating grin, “I like yah cut G-“ She ran as Saitama chased her around the small apartment. He managed to nab her but Genos suddenly broke into the wall.

“Master! I have heard screams. Are you in danger?!” He shouted. He looked to see Saitama about to throw her over the couch.

Genos sweat dropped, “Oh….false alarm then.”

“Gigi!!!” (Y/n) shouted excitingly. Saitama threw her but towards Genos to which he caught her.

“What have I told you about messing with my master, Ms.(Y/n)?” Genos asked sternly. He sighed when she pouted, “Please act your age. You are around my age. You must act accordingly.”

“Hmmmm….no~,” (Y/n) said. She got down from his arms and grabbed her belongings, “I’m off Tama! There’s a sale on ice cream today!”

“Atta girl! Get those sales!” Saitama said proudly, “Just be careful, k?”

(Y/n) smiled, “Ok~!”

She happily trotted away as they watched, “….Master? I have been meaning to ask you. What is your relations to this girl? How come she has been staying here?”

Saitama stretched, “Oh yeah mmm forgot to tell yah….she’s my niece. She’s going to be staying here from now on. Her folks just died recently from a threat level demon.”

Genos looked shocked, “Really? I-Is she alright?”

Saitama smiled, “She’s a tough one Genos. She won’t let it bother her.”

“Oh….it is still very unfortunate. But that is very nice of you to take her under your wing Master,” Genos added.

Saitama looked slightly embarrassed, “Well yeah she’s family so….I mean she and I were close when we were younger. Wanted to be heros too. But we never got powers. I trained but she’s just living life without a care, enjoying it to the fullest. Kinda envious of her really….” He noticed Genos wasn’t paying attention, “OH COME ON!!! I’m having a heart to heart talk you jackass! At least enjoy it while it lasts!!!”

Genos simply points at the tv, “M-Master….look”

Saitama looked in an annoyed huff only to freeze up. On the tv was a young girl sizing up a monster, waving a gun around and flipping it off. Oh no….

“That’s her isn’t it?” Saitama asked.

Geno nodded, “She’s….not going to actually engage in combat is she?”

“Yup. She would,” Saitama said, popping the p. They looked at each other then RUSHED to get over there. “Dammit kid-!!!”

The sun was already going down. Genos was injured again but not too badly this time. Saitama had him hold himself up with his shoulders to help him walk while (Y/n) was being carried in one arm. They rushed to save her….and they were surprised to see she managed to take down the ringleader with the gun. Unfortunately the minions weren’t too happy about that….luckily Saitama took them out in seconds.

“Mind telling me where you got a GUN from,” Saitama asked.

“Oh right! Guess this is kinda random huh? My dad made this for me in case I’m in trouble since I don’t have powers,” (Y/n) smiled sweetly, “Pretty nifty huh? My old man was a smart guy. It’s very special to me….”

Saitama stared at her thoughtfully before sighing, “Jeez next time warn me about stuff like that. Can’t have you running around with a gun like that. Do you even have a license for that?”

(Y/n) gulped, “Oh….right. That’s a thing.”

“Oh great. First you get ballsy and try to face a whole monster group by yourself, but you also RUN AROUND THE CITY WITH AN UNLICENSED GUN. What you want to get arrested?!” Saitama shouted.

“I BEAT HIM DIDN’T I?!” (Y/n) shouted back, “And I lost my ice cream cause of you! Can’t you be a LITTLE more careful where you punch?!” They kept going back and forth until Genos waved a few dollar bills in front of our faces.

“Do not worry. We can buy ice cream in the nearest grocer at 0.5 miles. We can get there in 2 minutes and 45 seconds with my turbo boosters or at approximately 25 seconds with Master’s speed,” Genos explained. Saitama and (Y/n) exchanged glances.

Saitama shrugged, “Sure. I’ll run. Just take it easy Genos.”

“Thank you Gigi,” (Y/n) said happily.

And they went to buy their ice cream. People gave them odd looks but they couldn’t care less as they happily munched on ice cream and headed home.

#my writing #self insert #funny #cute #fluff #anime oneshot #Saitama #Genos #one punch man #chaotic #saitama x reader #Genos x reader #reader is Saitama’s niece #writing prompt

[grippingbeskar]

Aaaah! So happy that you take fic requests!

Could I possibly get an Obi Wan x Fem!Jedi Reader based on the song As the World Caves in and it’s super fluffy and angsty with maybe some smut if you’re comfortable with that?

Thanks so much for taking this request you’re awesome and I love love love your stories!

May the force be with you ✨

as the world caves in | obi-wan kenobi

obi wan x fem!jedi reader

word count: 4.5k

warnings: ADULT CONTENT MINORS DNI (mxf intercourse, inappropriate use of the force sort of?) swearing, mentions of death and violence, canon typical violence, slight allusions to ptsd themes and mental illness.

a/n: okay PLSSS forgive me with how long this took but i absolutely adore this idea and this song. i made it a little bit darker in the beginning bc i just get those vibes from the song BUT i promise it gets fluffy after. also ignore canon for anything after order 66 because we are all happy and thriving in my world!!!! thank you so much for your request i hope you like it!! also i’m not entirely sure if this was ‘angsty’ enough, please forgive me i tried.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Get to the bridge." Obi-Wan's hand comes to your face, a desperate look in his eye. Blaster shots and screams surrounded you, and you could feel the pure terror from the younglings behind you. It was overwhelming, but you tried your best to concentrate on what he was saying. "Don't wait for me. Get out, and go as far from here as you can."

"I won't leave you. I won't! I-" Shaking your head, you could feel the tears falling down, scalding your cheeks, and Obi-Wan's thumb brushed over, catching them like he always did. Breathing out, you tried to collect your mind. "What is happening?"

"Anakin. I need to get to him." Was all he said, but you could feel it. The young boy, Obi-Wan's padawan, had come back different this time. The last mission had changed him, somehow, but you could never imagine that this would be the result. "You must go. Take the younglings and go."

"I'll come back for you." He went to argue, but you were already moving, igniting your lightsaber and ushering the small group of children you had with you to the door. "I will come back."

Charging ahead, you could still hear the intense blaring of alarms coming from the speakers of the Jedi temple. There were flashes of lights, but you didn’t know what it meant, just that Obi-Wan told you to leave, and you trusted him. Troopers were shooting left and right, and you had no time to dwell on what was lost, on how many bodies you and the children passed by. You kept them behind you, striking out to take down three troopers guarding the next door. The children screamed, and you tried to calm them. They were only babies - the youngest could only just keep up on his own, stumbling his way through the middle of the group.

"I need you all to be very, very brave for the next fifteen minutes. Can you do that?" You had them standing off to the side, taking cover behind a wall and half blown off door.

"We can do it, Master." The oldest, only nine, stands at the front, arms protectively held in front of the younger ones. Another tear streams down your cheek at the sight.

"Of course you can. I know you can. We are going to get to the jet, the one we all used to watch the clones on perimeter check last week. Do you remember where that is?" All eight little faces nodded in understanding. Even at this age, you knew they would become great Jedi. "Okay, good. You stay here, and I will clear a path. Keep your minds open, and I will tell you when to run. The door will be unlocked. You go in and press the big red button, and it will take you to the safe base off-world. Now, when you get there-"

"But Master, you have to come with us!" A small boy calls from behind the arms of the oldest, his face bright red.

"I will try my very best, but Master Kenobi needs help, and I-" Swallowing the lump in your throat, you heard the blaster shots getting closer. "Get to that ship, press the red button, and go to the safe base. There will be people there that will help you."

"Yes, Master." They say in unison, and you reach out, squeezing them all in a short hug.

"You will all be amazing Jedi Knights one day, I know it. I am so proud to be one of your teachers." You turn and sprint down the hall, and feel your sadness turn to anger.

Red blaster shots sizzle and shatter against your blue saber, and you send them soaring straight back into their attackers. You swing and slice, using all that expert control you have honed over the past few years to cut the invaders into pieces. Your mind was full of screams, you could hear them even if you didn't know where they were coming from. Connections you had formed over decades were being ripped away, the Force running through your body feeling emptier by the second.

There was only one connection you were really focused on. You could still feel Obi-Wan; feel his heart racing as he ran through the halls on the other side of the temple. He hadn't told you everything, but he didn't need to. You could feel his genuine fear and guilt, and you knew it had to do with Anakin. That, and the way he gripped his lightsaber as he ran off, made you know this was serious.

The smell of death and burnt armour filled your senses, but you came up on the last trooper, not blinking as you took him down, and sent the strongest message you could to the kids, hoping they would run straight across the bridge and into the jet. From your position, you would be able to cover them with a blaster and watch them clear the bridge.

As eight little heads darted out and ran towards the jet, you saw three troopers come out the side door and start shooting immediately. Straight away, they shot at the children, without a second of hesitation. With your free hand, you froze the bullets in the air and sent them backwards, all the while laying out cover fire. The kids never stopped once, the perfect students they are, and disappeared into the jet. The sound of the engine roaring to life had you breathing a sigh of relief, shoulders sagging as you watched the jet disappear into the galaxy, getting far, far away from here. You had to trust the people they met on the other side would take care of them.

With the children out and safe, you only had one thing on your mind. You used the Force to fly yourself up a few levels, and you stopped when you felt him. He was fighting, and losing. You could tell, you could feel the way he was backing up, almost hitting a wall as troopers surrounded him. You had never moved faster in your life.

Not sparing a second you threw yourself into the fight, slashing at white armor and hearing the moans of pain of the troopers you didn't completely finish off. Blaster shots rang in your ears, and you felt Obi-Wan's hand yank your forearm down, saving your life as you ducked out of the way.

"I told you to leave." He shouted, his eyes looking at you with soft adoration. Even with the harsh words, nothing about his tone says he wanted you to listen.

"When have I ever done what you told me to do?" Spinning around, you fought the troopers back to back, blue and red lights filling your vision. Having him at your back, solid and still fighting, took your breath away. With all the death and destruction that had erupted, either of you could have easily been lost, but he was here, still fighting for the light.

As the troopers numbers thinned, you both took the opportunity to gain ground. You knew you couldn't stay here, there would be nothing left of the temple in a few hours. Fire was burning somewhere down the hall, and if you didn't get to a ship soon, the hope you were letting simmer in your chest would be flattened, and you would both die here.

Obi-Wan took down the last trooper in eye sight, and he turned to where you were looking. The entire temple was on fire. Everything you had worked for, everyone you knew was dead or dying, every personal affect, every night spent alone meditating, or falling asleep in Obi-Wan's arms; it had all happened here. Your life was being set ablaze, and you watched as a giant panel of wall finally gave in, cracking and falling through to the ground below.

Obi-Wan's hand linked into yours, fingers threading together. He stood in front of you, the bright orange fire to his back. He was a mess, ash and blood over his face. It was horrific, to look at him like that, but you realised in that moment how lucky you were. As everything burnt around you, as your world caved in, Obi-Wan stood in front of it all, prepared to shield you.

You leant in and kissed him. You could taste the salt of his tears mixed with your own, but he kissed you back anyways. It was desperate and pleading, begging for forgiveness from each other for whatever atrocities you had committed. He pulls away just for a second.

"I have to kill him." He sobs, and slams back into you, this time his head tucking into the crook of your neck. There were a thousand things you needed to do right now, but being here with him, holding him was about the only thing you wanted to do. You know he means Anakin, you can hear it in his mind, and you cry with him, standing as the sounds of crackling metal echo all around you.

If he never pulled away, you would have stayed right there. In his moment, where his mind was completely open to you, showing you just how much he needed you, you would have stood there and burnt to the ground with him. But this was Obi-Wan, and he would never give up.

"We should-" You nod, knowing, and take his hand again, both of you sprinting to the maintenance hull. The screaming has stopped completely, which was almost worse than before, because you might be the only two people still alive in the temple. “My ship. Up there.”

“It’s all nearly gone.” You say, breathless and heartbroken, giving one last look to the Jedi temple you called home.

“My love… we- Stars. We have to go.” He’s tugging on your arm, and he is about the only person in the entire galaxy that could get you to move. So you do, climbing into the cockpit, and when you finally pull away from the temple, you burst into tears, Obi-Wan still clinging to your hand.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

[three weeks later]

“Anything?” Obi-Wan shakes his head, banging the holo device on his hand.

“It must be the connection on this planet. We would know if they were...”

“We would know.” You had been trying to reach the off-world base for the past few weeks, but since landing on this small Outer Rim planet that neither of you even knew the name of, there had been no word of the younglings reaching them. You knew they had to lay low, stay off the grid as much as possible, so this is where you would wait. Stay safe, out of sight, and wait for word from the base.

“I fixed the compressor in the ship last night.” He puts the holo device down and stands, coming around the other side of the small fire you had made to sit next to you. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“I know. I couldn’t either. I listened to you cursing the transmission wires for half an hour.” He cracks a smile, the sight making you feel warmer than the fire is.

“You could have helped.” He nudges into you playfully with his arm, but doesn’t pull away, keeping himself as close to you as possible on the log seats.

“I was hoping you would come back to bed.” He stops breathing for a second beside you, swallowing hard. You love that even after all the years you have spent together in secret, you still have this effect over him. “You know, I was thinking...”

“Oh dear.”

“Shut up. I was thinking about how we always talked about doing this.” He cocks his head, an arm wrapping around the small of your back.

“Landing on a planet we have never heard of and listening to me fix compressors?” This time, you are the one to shove him, but your hand grabs the one of his snaked around your waist, and pulls him back.

“You are such a smart-ass. No, I mean getting away. Being alone. I always said you needed a holiday.”

“You did.” His head falls onto your shoulder, and you can’t help but press a kiss to his forehead.

“I always pictured us like this, spending hours doing nothing but being together. Not worrying who was watching, how we would look.” You drift into silence, realising that now there really wasn’t anyone who would reprimand you. Nothing of the Jedi order you knew was left, except for the man in front of you. This is what the last three weeks have been like. Both of you were so used to hiding what you held between you, you had never experienced being able to just be together. 

The looming fear and devastation was more prevalent in the first two weeks, both of you just simply holding each other while you mourned the loss of everything you had ever known, but as this last week closes out, you have almost fallen into a new routine. Training, trying to make contact with the base, and touching each other in every spare moment, no prying eyes to shelter from. Back in the temple, you had never even spent a full night together. Usually, Obi-Wan would sneak into your quarters in the dead of night, hands sliding around your body, pulling you from sleep and driving you insane again and again, and just as you had gotten comfortable to sleep again, he would have to disappear, not able to risk being caught leaving in the morning.

  Here, on this desolate, bright green planet, there was none of that. He laid next to you the entire night, and was there in the morning when you woke, watching as the sun rose and lit up his face. The only time he really slept was just when the sun was rising, like he knew he wouldn’t have time to dream.

“We need to go for water tomorrow. I saw a lake overhead when we were landing. We will have to check the traps from yesterday as well, the ones near the mountain.” His head had turned so his nose was lightly touching the crook of your neck, his words kissing their way across the sensitive skin. It made you shiver, and Obi-Wan looked up slightly, his lips just an inch from your neck. “Are you cold?”

“If I say yes, will you come closer?” You feel him laugh against you, and his other arm comes across him to touch your waist.

“I don’t think I could get any closer, my love.”

“I can think of a few ways.” You expect a gasp of surprise, like you so usually got from him. Even after all your time together, he was still almost shocked when you came on to him. Instead, though, he presses a kiss to your collarbone, and you almost melt into the floor.

“I will never be able to thank you enough, for coming back for me.” He kisses you again, a little higher up this time, and your brain buzzes. It was the first time since you landed that he had brought the night up.

“It- Obi-Wan. Of course I would come for you, I couldn’t-” His teeth graze against your skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake. “You are the only person I could focus on. The only one I tried to hear.” His hands tightened on your waist, and he pulled you into his lap in one movement. Your shins were slightly digging into the wood on either side of his body, but his mouth on you had you forgetting all about it.

“You are all I can think about. I needed to know you were safe, and then you came back and I thought-”

“If you say you thought I would die, I’ll hit you.” He nips at the most sensitive spot of your neck in reprimand, and you moan as he kisses and sucks, leaving marks in a way that has you squirming.

  “My sweet girl.” You hear him murmur against your skin, and you thread your fingers in his hair. You rock your hips just once, and he moans loudly against your neck.

“Obi, if you want to talk about it-”

“I don’t want-” He kisses your jaw “to talk. What I want-” He switches sides “-is” kissing slightly higher, nearly on your cheek “-to hear you say my name. How you do when I-”

“Oh, fuck Obi-Wan.” His hand had slipped right in between your bodies, fingers lightly brushing along your core, already finding you soaking for him.

“When I do that.” Your mind was putty in his hands, and he applied a little more pressure as his lips found yours. He kissed you deeply, with the kind of force that reminds you just how long it’s been since he’s done so. You give him everything you have, needing to tell him so much, but not having the words. He stands and steps over the log, a squeal of surprise making you break the kiss, and he laughs. The sound is soft behind the crackling of the fire, and you tuck your head into his neck, the smell of fire, wood and him filling your senses.

“Walk faster.” Your hands grab his jacket harshly and pull, and he stops halfway up the ramp to the ship.

“I could just drop you.” He’s still not moving, so you move your hands off his jacket and grab his face, pulling him into a kiss. Your tongue moves with his, easily taking control in his surprised state, and soon you feel him moving so fast you could swear he was sprinting, nearly slamming you both into the rear wall. You can’t stop the smile that breaks the kiss, and his teeth bite down softly on your bottom lip, snapping your attention back.

  He snakes a hand up behind your head to duck you down as you walk through the doorway to your shared room. This ship was Obi-Wan’s, so there was only one bed, but considering how you have been sneaking into each others rooms like teenagers for two years, the sight is a welcomed one.

He lays you down gently, slotting himself between your legs and crawling back up to your mouth, kissing you slow and sweet. You moan into him, his hips rolling against you, and the kiss breaks when he opens his mouth to say your name.

“I-” His eyes were wide, almost like he was panicking, pupils flitting all over your face. “You need- I love you. You know that I love you, yes?”

“Of course. I love you, too.” Your eyebrows furrow at his worry, and he squeezes his eyes shut to kiss you before pulling away abruptly. “What’s wrong?”

“If I were here with anyone else, I would be lost. Everything is gone, and nothing would be- nothing would make sense. Being a Jedi is all that I am. Without it, I had nothing. Until you.” You nearly cry at his words, but he rolls his hips again and it makes you see stars. He begins to take his jacket off. “You are everything to me. I want you to know that. You are the reason I am able to think, to think of something after all of this. To even think of living a life after so much…” He fades off, struggling to focus with how your hand is tugging at the hem of his pants.

“I know, Obi-Wan.” You did. Through the Force, you could feel everything. His grief at losing Anakin, his grief at losing everyone, losing the life he has known. The anger at the Sith, the dark side, at himself. You could feel his sadness, the waves of it as it came and went, but most of all, you could feel his heart, and how it beat for you, and only you.

  Everything he was, everything you both were has been taken, but the one thing they could not take is this. You let him feel your energy, how you understand him, understand all that he is feeling and mirror it in your own heart, and he begins to take your shirt over your head.  

“You are gorgeous, my love.” He looms over you, taking his time drinking in the sight below him, but denies himself from running his hands over you. He wants to wait, wants you desperate and whining for him. You can read his mind now, you always could like this, just as he could read yours.

There must be something about being with another Jedi, especially ones as connected as you and Obi-Wan, but it was like the doors to your minds were pulled down, and you became one. It had always been like that between you, even from the first time.

  Rough fingertips scrape just barely along the skin above your jeans, and he undoes the buttons and slides them down painfully slow, all the while he has you fidgeting, trying to hurry the process. He sits back on his knees to take his own shirt off, and as soon as he leans down on his forearms to kiss you again, you take the chance and run your hands down his back, almost massaging with long strokes.

“My sweet girl. So good to me.” He was rolling his hips harder, having you arching your back to meet him while he moved his mouth down your neck.

“Anything you want, Obi. I’m here.” He sighs and leans most of his body weight on top of you, and you can feel him finally start to relax. You know you both should be concentrating on a million other things right now, dealing with your grief and confronting the hazy path of your futures, but right now all you wanted was to be with him, and you could hear in his mind how very badly he echoed the same thought.

He laughed as you fidgeted below him, a sound you were worried for a while would be lost forever, and it warmed every part of your bare skin. Hands tangled in hair, his body pressing into yours, your minds bleeding into one space neither of you had full control over. You were both completely at each other’s mercy, the ultimate equals in this moment.

“Please.” You breathed into him, and although he loved nothing more than taking the utmost time with you, you were both just as desperate to be close to each other. This fragile thing was the life raft you clung to in the darkness of the Force, and he was what drove you back to the light.

He kisses you again, and you feel his hand trailing softly down your tummy, over each ridge and curve like he wants to feel every part of you, remind himself you were here, warm and alive and practically panting for him. He guided himself into you slowly, as he always did, eyes never leaving yours. You both sigh in relief and ecstasy as he hits the deepest part of you, and you can see how Obi-Wan's eyebrows knit together, how his mouth opens just slightly to breathe your name before attaching to your neck. He leaves a trail of proof he was there down to your breasts, sliding out of you and setting a slow, earth shattering pace.

One of his hands comes back up your body to lock his fingers in your own, and he plants a soft kiss on your brow before catching your eye.

“I love you.” He gasps and thrusts into you again, getting a little faster when he hears your desperate sounds.

“Stars- I love you. Always.” The hand not holding yours slips underneath your arched back, forearm bracing you as he increases his speed.

“Does this feel good, love?” Your lip between your teeth muffled your response, a strained ‘mhmm’ ending off in a moan of his name. He kisses you again, the hand locked with your own squeezing gently, making your eyes open. “Fuck. That’s it.”

“S’huh?” You were so blissed out, you had no idea what he was saying or what he wanted you to do, but your eyes nearly crossed when he picked up the pace again, the sound of him hitting you impossibly deeper almost drowned out in the sound of you screaming his name.

“Kee-eep. Keep saying my name.” He groans into your ear, body tightening against yours.

“Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan.” It’s the only word you can say, all you can think of as he sets your body alight, each drag of his cock making every nerve ending stand on the edge. You weren’t going to last much longer, and managed to say his name one final time before you toppled into your release.

With a gasp he cums straight after you, the feeling of your warmth squeezing tight around him mixed with the euphoria you projected through the Force all too consuming. He knew he sounded desperate, the way he moaned out your name, but you stroked his hair and held him, rocking your hips in time with his as you both rode through your highs at the same time. It was as close to being on spice as Obi-Wan would ever get, and he doubted anything but you would make him feel this good.

“You are truly the most beautiful person I have ever seen.” Obi-Wan whispers in your ear, and you can see his eyes caressing down your body, liquid heat spreading through your veins under his gaze even in the darkness. He kisses your collarbone, and you know there are hickeys there, but you were on a desolate planet with no one to see you, and you would wear them with pride anyways.

“I love you, Obi-Wan. We will figure this out. You and me. I promise.” He lays down beside you, and you tuck a lock of his hair behind his ear.

“With you, I have no doubt.” His face disappears from view as he tucks himself into you, head buried under your chin. He’s saying something but you can no longer hear it, just the feeling of his words, the vibration of it against the base of your throat, and knowing he was there is enough to send you to sleep. You wake before him, to the holo device beeping rapidly. It’s a message, confirming all eight children had made it safely to the base, and they would wait for your reply on their next move.

When Obi-Wan woke, there was more messages on the holo device than you could keep up with. Scattered Jedi and allies all over the galaxy, confirming their position, and waiting for orders. You looked at Obi-Wan, face framed by the morning sunlight, and smiled.

“Well, what do we tell them?” You asked, and watched as that stern, council like look fell over his face. A mountain of ideas poured from his chest, like he had been saving them up, and the smile never left your face as he pulled the ship into space, speeding you into the light.

#obi wan kenobi x y/n #obi wan kenobi x you #obi wan kenobi x reader #obi wan kenobi #obi wan x y/n #obi wan x you #obi wan x reader #obi wan fic #obi wan smut #obi wan kenobi fic #star wars fan fiction #star wars fanfiction #star wars #star wars tv

[archduchessofnowhere]

“I can bring her comfort and respond to her pain, which few can understand as I can”

Past May 29 was the 166th anniversary of the death of Archduchess Sophie, the eldest child of Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth; and because of a turn of fate, the day before that was the 151th anniversary of the death Sophie’s namesake, her grandmother Archduchess Sophie, born a Princess of Bavaria.

In Elisabeth's biographies Baby Sophie's death tends to be portrayed as the first in what would be a long list of tragedies in the Empress' life. And yet many of them also pay little attention to it, dedicating it one or two paragraphs. But a piece of information they (almost) never fail to give in the few lines they use is this: that Archduchess Sophie actively blamed the infant’s death on her daughter-in-law, adding more pain to the already devastated young mother.

There are different variations in each biography, but the story goes as it follows: after the Hungarian tour was announced, Elisabeth had insisted in taking both of her daughters to the trip, which infuriated the Archduchess, since she thought the girls were to delicate to make the trip. A fight broke out. The court doctor decided that the archduchesses were in conditions to go to Hungary, so they went. But the girls fell ill soon after arriving, and eventually the eldest died. Archduchess Sophie thought that the child's death was Elisabeth's fault for taking her against her wishes, and told her so. This story is no more harshly portrayed than in the miniseries Sisi (2009), where Sophie tells “it’s your fault” to Elisabeth as she cries over her daughter's coffin.

This was what I read when I first learned about the little girl’s passing, and, as a newby, I didn’t question it. But as I continued to research Elisabeth and the Imperial family, I became interested in Sophie not as Sisi’s mother-in-law, but as an individual, and since then I started to grab this kind of statements with a grain of salt. Where does this come from, anyway? From someone’s correspondance? From a witness? Did this story originated around the time of the girl's death, or only later on?

Lately I finally got my hands on Unsere liebe Sisi, a collection of Sophie’s letters regarding her daughter-in-law. I read the chapter dedicated to Baby Sophie's death, and what I found in those letters was a far cry from what was depicted in Sisi (2009). So what was Archduchess Sophie's reaction to her granddaughter's death?

Before I beging sharing the letters, I must make the disclaimer that I don't know German and that I used a machine translation, so the nuances are lost. Also Sophie had the habit of abbreviating words, I could guess most of them with my very limited knowledge of German vocabulary but some I had no idea. So that affected the translation in some cases. Lastly, all the bolding in the letters is mine. That being said, let's beging.

First let's put the 1857 trip into context. This was a planned State visit, not a vacation. Relations with Hungary remained tense after the 1849 counter-revolution, so the goal of the tour was to try to reconcile the Hungarians with the still unpopular Emperor. Since the Italian tour of 1856 had gone relatively well, mainly do the young Empress' presence, they tried to replicate the effect in Hungary. They were set to depart on May 4 and stay until June 23. Everyday was packed with activities: meeting with dignitaries and Church representatives, attending to Mass, public parades, visits to every important city in Hungary, gala dinners, etc. The imperial couple's daughters were not meant to appear at any public event, they had been taken to be closer to their parents, but still they were to stay in Buda with their nannies for the entirety of the tour.

Although I'm yet to find a biography that cites a single source about the alleged fight between Elisabeth and her mother-in-law on whether taking the girls to Hungary or not, it could be possible, since Sophie doesn't sound terribly excited about the girls going. In a letter to her son Archduke Max dated May 7 she wrote of the enthusiasm which the imperial couple had been received. On the arrival of the little archduchesses to Hungary a day after their parents she says:

The children arrived on Tuesday at half past seven in the evening in bad weather, but were nevertheless received by a large crowd with stormy cheers; I only hope that they did not scream and cry in their terror…

Only a few days after the tour begun, Gisela fell ill with fever. At first it was thought that it was do to teething, but the next day Baby Sophie also fell ill. As the days passed Gisela got better, but her sister only got worse. When this happened Archduchess Sophie was in Saxony with her twin sister Queen Marie. Slowly, news on the girls’ health reached her. Again to Max she wrote on May 22:

Franzi writes me much and in detail about our poor little Sophie's unfortunately very serious illness, which, however, on the 19th, when he wrote to me, he did not yet seem to believe was dangerous.

(…) I immediately asked Franzi by telegraph for news of the evening, and when we returned yesterday from a beautiful promenade... I received a very reassuring telegraphic dispatch, which I read with fear and anxiety in the presence of good old Cuz.... [not identified], who had taken such deep pity on me and who had prayed so fervently with Aunt Marie and me for our poor baby during the afternoon service in the Chapel on the hill...

In this letter Sophie goes in detail on Baby Sophie’s agony and her parents desperation, but what I wanted to highlight was the ending, which shows how anguished the Archduchess was over her granddaughter’s condition.

Two days later Sophie improved and the parents were given the all-clear to continue their trip. Sophie informed her son Archduke Karl Ludwig on May 24:

... I am now doubly enjoying the pleasant life with good Aunt Marie, since the news from Ofen about our poor baby has been so reassuring. The poor parents were able to leave the children on Saturday with a lighter heart [in order to continue their journey through Hungary], but it takes me a lot to have to be separated from them now. By the way, Gisela has been well and fresh again for a long time

But sadly Baby Sophie's recovery was only momentary, and she died five days later. The whole family was heartbroken. Sophie's pain comes across her letters, but also her faith. She, like her son, tried to accept the child's death with Catholic resignation. She opens this letter from May 31 to her sister Ludovika, Elisabeth's mother, like this:

So we still had to give up our beloved child. She was to die in Hungary; that was God's will; we must hold fast to this faith so as not to perish in lamentation.

She describes Ludovika of the miserable state she found her son and his wife, then she tells her that:

In the short time during which God lent us the sweet child, she spread so much love, joy and happiness over all of us, as her small but already quite abundant powers made possible. There is one thought that is firmly in my mind, which I thought over and over again when I saw the great sacrifice that God demanded of our poor children coming ever closer, namely, thanks to God that you, my poor, much-tried Luise, did not know our dear baby in all her freshness of life, cheerfulness and such charming, loving kindness as I did, for this memory is now my greatest torment.

Sophie was no stranger to this kind of grief. She herself had once lost an infant daughter, Maria Anna, who died after a seizure aged only four-years-old. There is no doubt her little girl was on her mind, since she said it herself. To Karl Ludwig she wrote on June 6:

Sisi feels the need to speak of her beloved child, to surround herself with everything that reminds her of her child, so I can thank God that I can bring her comfort and respond to her pain, which few can understand as I can.

She also remembered her in a letter to Max dated June 4:

...The poor little girl still suffered a lot the last night, but when, thank God, her parents arrived on the 29th at half past ten in the morning, wonderfully fast from Debrecen, which they had left about noon the day before, she was already completely exhausted, but calm and remained conscious until 10 minutes before her death, which took place at half past ten in the evening. The agony began at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, but despite some involuntary cries - as with Anna - she does not seem to have suffered

It had been seventeen years since the little Archduchess Maria Anna passed away, but her memory was still present in her mother. Sophie truly understood better than anyone else the pain of loosing a young daughter to an illness, and had nothing but sympathy towards Elisabeth. To think that she, out of all people, would tell her daughter-in-law that her beloved child’s death was her fault seems almost vile to me after reading Sophie’s letters.

But, even if she didn’t say it to her face, did Sophie think Elisabeth somehow was to blame?

If she did, she never wrote it down. I'm sure that if a letter or diary entry from Sophie explicitly blaming Elisabeth existed, it would've been published in every single book about the empress in existence. But in her letters she only talks about the grief of the family and trusting God's will, though in this letter to Max there is an indication that she did thought Hungary had been the cause of the girl's illness:

It was as if the poor child clearly felt that the air in Hungary was not good for her, for even before and during her illness she often said 'Please go to Milan', where she was so well (...) Sisi and Franzi told me that the little one had been so beautiful in the last hour and after death, she also looked so friendly the other day [the day after her death], where the parents still saw her before and after mass before her departure. It hurt Sisi so much to have to leave her, she would have liked to come back with her, but she did not want to let the Emperor leave alone. It was also a heavy sacrifice for her to have to leave the dear poor child on the 23rd, when she was only apparently better, in order to continue the journey through Hungary. She only gave in to [Archduke] Albrecht's imploring plea, who was so keen to give the ever-loyal Jazyphians and Cumanians [?] the good fortune of being able to admire the Empress, who made such a favorable impression everywhere in Hungary as well as in Italy. Now it is so painful for the poorest woman to think that she was away from her beloved child for the last days of her life. I told her in consolation that God would certainly give her credit for the difficult sacrifice.

Not only seems that Elisabeth herself felt guilty about having been away from her child while she was ill, but Sophie actually tried to put her mind at ease, instead of making her feel even more guilty. Also in this letter a figure rather forgotten in the 1857 Hungarian tour emerges, and whom perhaps did had some blame to bear: Archduke Albrecht.

Albrecht was a grandson of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, and the head of the Teschen Habsburg branch. He was the archduke who had the most influence on Franz Josef, and had been governor of Hungary since 1851. Every step of the tour had been planned by him, and it was because of his insistance that the imperial couple continued with their trip when Baby Sophie only seemed to have improved, despite Elisabeth wanting to stay with her child. We don't know if he ever felt remorse for continuing the tour during the last days of Baby Sophie's life, but interestingly Archduchess Sophie notes that she found Albrecht in Laxemburg, where the young Empress was staying:

(...) The day before yesterday I took Ludwig [Viktor] with me, who was just due for a few hours without lessons, and found Albrecht and Hildegard [his wife, and also a first cousin of Elisabeth] in Laxenburg.... Albrecht returns to Ofen (Budapest) on Friday.

Albrecht and Hildegard probably went to give their condolences to the grieving mother, but we don't know how their meeting went down.

So, if it isn't in the Archduchess' correspondance, where did the idea of Sophie blaming Elisabeth originated?

This time I didn't need to look for some obscure source to find a (likely) answer: it's Egon Corti's classic biography of Empress Elisabeth.

Elizabeth wept from morning till night and talked of nothing but her baby, and she felt her first meeting with the archduchess Sophie most terribly. Seeing the Empress’ grief, her mother-in-law tactfully refrained from comment, but in every order and every word Elizabeth thought she could detect an unspoken reproach, suggesting that the disaster would not have happened if only they had listened to the Archduchess’ wise and experienced advice. Elizabeth was now nineteen, but she felt as though she had been married for at least ten years and could not understand that Sophie’s attitude toward her was still that of a sensible old mother toward an inexperienced child.

Although his biography is generally well-sourced, he doesn't provide any source for this statement. Perhaps it's Countess Mária Festetics' diary? But if that is the source, why not say? Or directly quote it?

It should be noted, however, that according to Corti, Elisabeth thought that her mother-in-law blamed her, not that Sophie told her so. The Empress was full of guilt, so it wouldn't surprise me if she truly felt that everyone, and specially Sophie, held her responsible for what happened. I don't know if Corti was the first biographer in making this claim (during the 1920s there were a couple of biographies of Elisabeth that I hadn't had access), but his work is both very popular and highly regarded, so posterior biographers were likely quoting him when they repeated this claim. But the more the story was repeated, the more it changed, until Sophie turned into a wicked mother-in-law torturing a young grieving mother for something she had no control of, instead of the heartbroken grandmother that, again, had lost her little girl.

#in my sophie apologist era #i wanted this to be out for the 29 or the 30 but life (university) happened #sophie of bavaria archduchess of austria #empress elisabeth of austria #archduchess sophie of austria #archduke albrecht of austria duke of teschen #franz josef i of austria #sisi (2009)

[aita-blorbos]

Am I the asshole for leaving my family to save the world?

I (100+ M) have been trying to prevent a homunculus (100+) from becoming a god. His plot involves sacrificing many, many human lives, and I believe that in his hubris, he will destroy the entire world.

The same homunculus granted me what is essentially immortality against my will, which is why I’m still alive after all these years. I have always felt it was my responsibility to stop him, both because of our history and because I’m the only person who will live long enough to have a chance to do it.

For many, many years, destroying him was my sole purpose in life. I was alone, save for the students I taught in hopes that my knowledge of alchemy might help future generations should I fail in my mission.

Then I met her (20F at the time), the love of my life. Let’s call her T. Soon after, we had a child together, and a year later we had another. We’ll call them E (now 16M) and A (now 15M).

After the birth of our second son, I realized that I couldn’t stay. As much as I loved, and still do love, my family, I have a duty to protect this world. That must always be my first priority.

Admittedly, I did not handle my departure as well as I could have. I said my goodbyes to T, but did not explain myself to my sons, as I believed they were too young to understand. I also told T that I would return one day, and while I truly did intend to, life had other plans.

T fell ill and died before I could return, leaving our sons effectively orphaned. While I never expected her to pass so young, human lives are unfortunately fragile, and I don’t believe it could’ve been avoided. My son, E, thinks otherwise, and blames me for his mother’s death.

My sons suffered greatly after their mother’s death, and in their grief, attempted to bring her back using a forbidden alchemy technique. Their plan ultimately failed, damaging their bodies and not reviving T. It also caught the attention of the homunculus.

While I do not condone my sons’ actions, I do understand them.

Both of my sons are now alchemical prodigies, and have uncovered the homunculus’ plot on their own accord. I never meant for them to get involved, but now that they are, I will do my best to protect them.

Today, I finally reunited with E. And he greeted me by punching me in the face with this metal arm. He didn’t even warn me first! He also calls me by my name, rather than “dad,” “father,” etc. It seems harsh, but I can’t help but wonder if I deserve it for everything I’ve done.

I have made many mistakes over my long life, and I will spend what’s left of it regretting this one above all others.

I’ve come here in search of an unbiased perspective. Tumblr, am I the asshole?

#aita #am i the asshole #unreality

[uummi]

Written for @dicktimweek 2023

Day 3: Vampire King!Dick | Talon!Tim | Daemons AU

Words Count: 1668

Title: Delish

Pairing: Dick Grayson/Tim Drake

Warnings: Emotional Manipulation| Blood Drinking| Implied Hypnosis

Tim was sure that Dick had a problem

His older brother has been trying to stay away from the other people living in the mansion as much as possible for the last few days, usually preferring to spend his day in his room with closed curtains and a gloomy environment

And this was not a situation that he would ever identify with him

Tim could never claim that the young man had never been like that, of course, but if Dick had an incident that made him unhappy, he usually camped next to one of his younger brothers and watched their movements

Which often resulted in Tim finding himself between muscular arms that wanted to edge his entire body into and hide him from everything

Dick mentioned that the reason he visited Tim the most when he was feeling unhappy was because he was his little baby

He talked about how a voice from inside constantly whispers that he needs to protect his tiny body, and because there are moments when he refuses to fall asleep, that creates a desire to have a peaceful sleep in each other's warmth by holding him in his arms

Or even though he knows that Tim is capable enough to take care of himself, he said that he can't relax if he's not constantly ready to help

And although Tim blinked his nose that day and grumbled about being an adult, he didn't care much about being seen as younger and maybe a little more in need of help for most things than he was when he was listening to the older boy's laughter

Now, at the moment when he received a routine response from every person he asked that everything is good, Tim could not help being nervous

Because even though all of the people in the manor said there was nothing wrong, no one was letting him go near Dick

There must be a situation and everyone was hiding it from Tim

In short, he had to get to the bottom of the incident...

Although Dick refused to go out during the day, he mostly did not neglect to go out on patrol. However, he had told Alfred, who had left his breakfast on his doorstep in the morning, that he would not be going out for this evening

In short, if the young boy stated that he was ill and made a few movements indicating that he felt bad, no one would question why he did not go on patrol

After almost an hour had passed after everyone had gone down to the cave, he began to move towards Dick's room, knowing that no one could turn around and stop him anymore

He waited outside the door for a few seconds. He had a really bad feeling inside and that's why he could also feel his stomach starting to contract

But if Dick had a problem, Tim had to fix it

He would do anything for him...

He raised his hand, tapped the wood gently several times, and turned the knocker of the door. It was locked, another thing Dick wouldn't normally do

The young man never locked his door because he knew that Tim used to use his room after the nightmares he had when he was Robin. Tim, on the other hand, would use that situation to his advantage to get a more comfortable sleep in an environment where Dick's smell was widespread

The rapid breathing situations that continued to come from behind the wall suddenly stopped upon the forcing of the door. With the creaking of the bed and the sounds of broken wood coming from the floor, the body inside had stood up

'Dick, may I come in?'

There was silence again for a few seconds. Tim would start gnawing on the skin next to his fingertips from the tension

The door opened a little and only Dick's tangled hair and blue eyes appeared. His knuckles had whitened

'Can you promise me you won't be afraid of me if you come, Timmy? I can put up with anything but...'

The sentence was interrupted and a painful moaning sound was heard. Tim thereupon, without answering the sentence that was said, entered and took Dick's face between his hands, getting up on tiptoe

His older brother's face was white. Lips were torn apart from being bitten, irises were growing and shrinking erratically. At the same time, his thin fingers were constantly lifting up in the air as if he wanted to hold something, and then he was forcibly coming down

Tim began to gently stroke the face he was holding in his hands. Soft, the touch of the skin caused tears to fall from the blues

The only problem was that what was flowing was blood instead of water...

That's when he realized that everything made sense. A dark room with no sunlight, Dick's attempt to stay away from everyone else was only to protect himself and those who remained

He brought to his mind Bruce's conversation about vampires being captured a few months ago, and his lips moved with an uneasy curl

There must be someone who had been overlooked, and he had caught Dick unprepared and condemned him to this state

When he noticed that his brother started crying more and more as the silence got longer, he tried to come to his senses by shaking his head from side to side. It wasn't him who was important right now

He needed to show Dick that he would love him in any way...

Holding the hands of the tall man, whom he could not move if the other side did not allow, he sat them both on the bed

He picked up one of the napkins that was on the nightstand and tried to wipe off the red spots smeared on the whiteness. Dick smiled slightly at this effort, put his thin fingers between his hair and began to decouple the tangled strands

They continued to work in silence, and as soon as Tim believed he was clean enough, he stood up straight and tried to show that he was ready for a conversation

Dick understood his purpose, as usual, put on a serious face himself, and began to explain

He talked about how one of the captured vampires escaped and met him by chance and bit him, turning him into a monster, and most importantly, how Bruce and the others now believe that he is a danger to everyone and must be imprisoned

Tim frowned nervously. So that's why they were trying to prevent him from learning. Because it was a universal truth that Tim would not believe that Dick would harm anyone

His anger towards his family became more and more inflamed. They had confined Dick to his room and deprived him of a normal life

Yes, maybe he could be a vampire right now but this would not indicate that his eldest brother should be considered as a killing machine

If they believe there is a danger, then why is he allowed to patrol?

No, that wasn't the important question, the main issue was that he must show Dick that he would always be there for him and Tim would always believe that he would never lose control

And how could he show it?

Tim's fingers rested on the buttons of his shirt for a few seconds. It would be a lie if he said he wasn't afraid because he was too nervous

It would even have been considered madness for him to allow Dick to drink from himself by opening his neck

But the ice-blue-eyed youth noticed that during the time they were not see each other, the young man was getting weaker and thiner, it seemed that he had never been fed, which was the result that Bruce and the others found him after transforming

Ignoring Dick's confused yell, he tore off the buttons as if to rip them off and grabbed him by the cervix and guided him to his neck

He knew that his brother was trying to escape, but he wasn't moving much because he wasn't sure of the size of his strength yet, and Tim used this to his advantage and began stroking the black wavy hair

'I trust you Dick, I know you won't hurt me if you can but you are suffering and it makes me very sad. Please let me help you'

After a short period of waiting, he felt a burning-like pain inside his neck and tried to pull his toes inward with a reflex

At the same time, his body was constantly trying to escape, but Dick's arms wrapped around his waist area were preventing him from leaving

And with every draw of his blood, Tim was starting to ferment. It's like a piece of your soul is being pulled out

He knew that for no extra reason his dick was planted right on Dick's stomach, but neither of them did anything to fix it

When the swallowing sounds that filled the room for a few minutes stopped, Tim opened his closed eyes and looked at the young man opposite. Along with the kisses placed on his forehead and the rest of his body, he also felt that his eyelids were getting heavier

The last thing he saw before going to sleep was his big brother's warm smile

He didn't notice that Dick was smiling a little bit more when he put Tim in a suitable position on the bed and covered him up with a blanket or how when he opened the curtains and let the sun come in which didn't burn him with a dangerous grin

He was just feeling happy because he had helped the person he loved the most

Besides, how could he have known that a vampire drinking blood from his real mate would become immune to sunlight with extra power, or that everyone in the manor was under Dick's control expect him?

#dicktim #batcest #dicktimweek #dicktimweek2023

[genshinimpactlife]

*breaks through your window* *trips and falls on my face* My friend told me about your blog and its wonderful, so get comfortable Ill be staying here for a while

Do you have any headcannons about a Child!reader who was pretty much adopted by zhongli?

Lets say child!reader is like one of those blue onis and their family fled to Liyue after staying in inazuma for so long. Surprise surprise on the way to Liyue their boat goes plop, everyone dies and child!reader is the only survivor who managed to get to liyue

Zhongli finds this smol child with blue marks and blue horns lying on the coast of liyue and mentally asks "Is anyone gonna adopt the blue child?" and not wait for an answer

(This was originally gonna be a normal shower thought but my mind said 'no add some more trauma' and there the backstory is sad )

Zhongli with Child Oni Reader

You remembered everything about that horrible day. The sound of the storm raging outside, the boat rocking wildly back and forth.

You could hear his mother and father yelling at each other, but once you started crying, they stopped, your mother holding you to calm him.

You had managed to fall asleep but awoke just as a wave taller than the boat crashed into your boat. It ripped the ship in half, and you were separated from your mother, who had been holding you since you were upset.

You managed to grab onto a floating piece of wood and passed out while floating on it, ending up somewhere on Liyue's coast.

Zhongli happened to see the small Oni as he was out on his morning walk, and once he made sure you were breathing, he tried to find your parents. But, to no avail, he carried the young child back to his house.

You were wary of Zhongli when you first woke up, crying for your parents, which Zhongli tried to explain he would find them for you.

He put up found child posters and asked around Liyue, but nobody knew who you were.

"Well… I guess your mine now, kid."

It took you a long time to start opening up and be a cheerful child again, but Zhongli was up for the task.

Every night, Zhongli tells you a new story to lull you to sleep; because of it, you know much about Liyue's past.

You love trying to imitate Zhongli. For example, whenever Zhongli is sipping tea, you get your own cup full of juice. You also get your own book when Zhongli is reading something, even though it's too complicated for you to read.

You love going to work with Zhongli at the funeral parlor and playing with Hu Tao. She's your favorite aunt.

Zhongli doesn't allow anyone to speak badly of you as a blue Oni. The moment someone does, he isn't Zhongli anymore, he's Morax.

The day that you called Zhongli Dad for the first time made him sob for hours.

I accidentally read this as Childe as a child and had to go back and rewrite the entire thing. I'm so glad your friend showed you my blog, i'm always happy when people stick around! I hope you enjoy! <3

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