#this takes place in an AU where Alpha-17 helps Echo

[blouisparadise]

We frequently get asked what our members favorite fics are, so for today’s rec list, we asked each member of BLP to choose FIVE favorite fics for this list - no repeats allowed. Please keep in mind that this is not a complete list of our favorites - there are so many amazing BL fics out there that we all have a lot more than this! Still, we hope you enjoy. Happy reading!

1) Take Off Your Business Suit | Explicit | 3082 words

“Yes, let me get another chair.” Louis said, leaning up off of the desk. He stood up but before he could leave the office to get another chair, Harry was grabbing his hand.

The words that came out of Harry’s mouth made Louis’ knees weak and heart beat quicken. “Just sit on my lap.” Harry said. Whatever he said afterwards didn’t make it into Louis’ ears as he was moving quickly over to Harry and placing himself on Harry’s lap.

Louis would take anything Harry wanted to give him; hand touching, lap sitting, all of it. Louis hadn't realized he was holding his breath until it came out in a quiet sigh. “Okay so th-this one will be slightly different right?” He asked as he pointed at the sheet of paper in front of him.

2) Quietly Our Hearts Beat | Explicit | 7539 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

Louis and Harry in the universe of ‘A Quiet Place’.

3) A Love Reaction | Explicit | 9968 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

Louis’s staring up at him, head tilted slightly back, and his blue eyes are glassy, locked with Harry’s in an unblinking and gentle gaze. He looks ready to do whatever Harry says, to please him whatever way.

4) To Love Without Reason | Explicit | 8854 words

“Come on in, soldier,” Louis pats Harry’s chest and walks away, leaving Harry to follow behind.

Harry stands in the living room, looking around at Louis’ dwelling. Family pictures placed high on a shelf, certificates of Louis’ practice, and other trinkets that make Harry entirely too nostalgic.

“I have to warn you,” Louis says as he puts the kettle on, the water droplets from his hair trickling down the golden skin of his back. “The door jams if you lock it so you'll have to leave it ajar.”

Harry acknowledges with a soft hum, too entranced by Louis’ glistening skin to form a coherent reply.

5) No Good Unless It’s Real | Explicit | 17021 words

Louis is a very busy farmer who’s just trying to make it to his next nap and Harry’s the new hot vet that’s determined to infiltrate every area of his life.

6) A Springtime’s Wilt, An Autumn’s Bloom | Explicit | 20593 words

Harry is Louis' personal chauffeur, and although he hides his feelings for his boss behind a wall of rigid professionalism, Louis still manages to squeeze through the cracks.

7) Ready To Fall | Explicit | 21220 words

“Ninety and rising,” Nick says triumphantly, as though making Harry’s heartbeat pick up by thrusting an obscenely attractive person in front of his face is any kind of success. “Louis Tomlinson has just walked into our control room and suddenly our dear Harry Styles has lost all ability to speak. Could this be some kind of strange coincidence?”

“I hate you,” Harry hisses, forcing his eyes back into Nick’s direction, uncaring that the mic must have picked it up. “I thought we agreed that you were going to play fair.”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Nick denies, except he’s holding up a picture of Louis’ face now, sharp cheekbones prominent, soft lashes nearly sweeping against his cheeks as he looks down, and his fucking mouth –

“A hundred and two!” Nick crows, all but clapping his hands together in glee. “The highest it’s ever been!”

“To be fair, I did bend over the desk on purpose,” Louis’ voice comes crackling in the headphones. Harry practically breaks his neck whipping his head around at the sound of it, gaping at him through the glass panel. “You can’t really blame him for getting a little excited about that, can you?”

8) Written In The Stars (That’s You And Me) | Explicit | 22632 words

Louis pushes himself up on one elbow and stretches enough to just barely trace his fingertips over Harry’s jawline. Harry’s eyes drop to track his movements as he does it again. “D’you feel that?” he whispers.

To him, it feels like all of the universe’s magic lives just beneath his skin when he touches Harry with intent. It feels like something special. Louis watches Harry’s lips part and wants to touch that too. He almost does, but then Harry shakes his head. “Feel what?”

9) Middle Ground | Explicit | 23561 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

Harry moves to a new town for work where he meets the enigma that is Louis Tomlinson.

10) England Has My Bones | Explicit | 24087 words

The next time Harry thinks about calling, it’s 4.14 in the morning on a Parisian hotel balcony.

11) Like A Siren In The Night | Explicit | 24868 words

“There is an infestation in my home,” Louis hisses, righting himself quickly and pushing his way past Harry, heading directly for the kitchen. He’s rather haphazardly dressed himself, a coat thrown on over a loose flannel shirt and black pants, slippers on his feet.

Harry resists the urge to sigh, closing the door and trailing behind him slowly. “What kind of infestation?”

For all he knows, Louis is going to claim that there’s a ghost infestation. Harry has no idea what the end game is here – all he knows is that Louis has found at least three complaints a week to bring up since he’s been living on Harry’s property, and he’s been living here for six months.

It’s way too many fucking complaints, is what Harry is saying. Especially when most of them are ridiculous to start with.

12) Hold Onto This Heaven (Of Yours) | Explicit | 25213 words

An ode to being too young, too sad, and too in love.

13) The Devil’s In The Details | Explicit | 25372 words

He squeals when Harry smacks his bum as he bends over to pick up his bag, swinging it over his shoulder. Harry smiles smugly at him, bottom lip caught between his teeth. “When are you going to start calling me professor?” He asks.

“When you actually are one,” Louis says with his hand on the doorknob. He cocks his head to the side in curiosity. “Isn’t that how words work? You did study English, right?”

Louis’ quick to slip out the door before Harry can smack him again, his laugh echoing through the hallways as he makes his way to his next class with flushed cheeks and a bright smile.

14) A Trail Of Honey Through It All | Explicit | 27086 words

The boy in front of him, well really, the man in front of him, was like something out of a confusing wet dream. Built, tall, tan and muscular, his skin glistened with sweat after a long day of working outdoors with his hands. He was wearing a cut up old American football shirt, the bottom hem was torn and the sleeves were cut off to the point where the t-shirt was really just a loose tank top. The shorts he had on had clearly been full length jeans at one point, and were now just crudely cut off above the knee. His white socks were pulled up too high on his calves, and the brown work boots he had on were old as fuck, the leather peeling along the edges of the soles. Curly brown hair stuck out from the edges of his backwards snapback, and there was a smudge of grease wiped along his brow bone. The smattering of hair along his jaw proved that he hadn’t shaved in a week or two, the hair growing in thicker across his upper lip and around his chin. His sinfully bowed mouth was pink and plump, and Louis was suddenly hyper-focused on the way that he chewed at the toothpick stuck between his lips. He looked like he needed a shower. Louis wanted to lick him.

15) You Fit In My Poems (Like A Perfect Rhyme) | Explicit | 27598 words

The one where Harry works in an old bookshop and Louis is the pretty stranger that ends up stranded there in the middle of a storm.

16) Where The Lights Are Beautiful | Mature | 31170 words | Sequel

The accidental bonding A/B/O fic.

17) Once Upon A Dream | Explicit | 33319 words | Sequel

Louis is psychic and gets caught in the middle of a murder investigation led by FBI Special Agent Harry Styles.

18) Stuck On You | Explicit | 33983 words

Louis’ life revolves around his stickers. Harry’s life revolves around his job. The universe has decided their worlds should revolve around each other.

19) Coeur De Pirate | Explicit | 34207 words

He tilts his chin up as the Captain strides across the deck, his footfalls falling loudly against the planks. The crew watches them from afar.

Stepping into his space, the Captain wraps an arm around Louis’ waist and pulls him in. He lowers his head to breathe his words against Louis’ cheeks. “I won,” he whispers, “I’ve come to claim my prize.”

20) What This World Is About | Explicit | 34472 words

An eighties American high school AU; there are first times, football games, and feelings.

Alternatively titled: the beginning.

21) Close To Nowhere | Explicit | 34589 words

Louis and Harry are psychics who kind of hate each other. They go to Tennessee to investigate a haunting.

22) Before We Knew | Explicit | 39830 words

Louis has been skeptical of soulmates for years so it seems like fate when he finally bumps into the owner of the obnoxiously large signature printed onto his skin since age sixteen: Harry Styles, a human rights attorney who is firmly against soulmates.

23) The Space Between | Explicit | 39917 words

Harry Styles is the alpha rockstar who can’t sleep and doesn’t know why.

Louis Tomlinson is the omega PhD student who helps him figure it out.

24) The Sweetest Incantation | Explicit | 40580 words

Harry is a witch who's still working on developing his powers and Louis is a werecat who falls into his life and turns it upside down.

25) Worth Dying For | Explicit | 44906 words

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Louis says, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. In the center of the table, a set of three glossy photos stares up at him, mocking him.

“A security detail is non-negotiable, Louis, you know this,” his mum reminds him, tapping the middle photo with two fingers.

Louis doesn’t look back down at the pictures, gesturing towards them wildly, over-dramatically. “This is not a security detail!” he protests. “This is a lanky college student. In what world do you hire someone like this kid to protect me?”

26) Tastes Like Summer, Smiles Like May | Explicit | 47519 words

A cold prince, an alpha with nothing left to lose and a kingdom with a secret.

27) Love’s Truest Language | Explicit | 48195 words

The first part was meant as a joke. He didn't really expect Harry to buy anything. It was just Louis’ way of softening the ‘get the fuck out’ blow.

“Where's your order forms, then?”

“I don't want your flowers.” Louis chided before directing all of his attention to the arrangement in front of him.

Harry laughed under his breath as he stood to his full height, “Who said anything about them being for you, love?”

28) Through The Wheatfields And The Coastlines | Explicit | 52855 words

The one where Louis needs inspiration, and a certain cowboy and his lamb are the perfect distraction.

29) Latibule | Mature | 54322 words

A Spirited Away AU of sorts where Louis just wants to heal and be left alone, only for all his plans to be destroyed by the hands of an infuriating British God.

30) Warming Up To You | Explicit | 56227 words

Prompt 111: Louis and Harry are strangers that somehow got stranded during a blizzard. They find themselves in an abandoned cabin and have to cuddle for warmth. Cuddling leads to much more.

31) Feeling Borrowed, Always Blue | Explicit | 68214 words

Louis has been dreaming of his wedding since he was young - he just never expected it to happen like this.

32) Curly Bun Man | Not Rated | 68597 words

I just paid for these Doritos but they're stuck in the vending machine and I know you've been waiting but I am not going to let you buy something until you help me. AU.

33) Waiting On You | Explicit | 76584 words | Sequel

“Vampires,” Louis says with disgust, glaring over at the vampire who is noisily slurping from the woman’s neck nearby.

Zayn gives the neat fang marks on Louis’ neck a meaningful look.

“Can’t live with them, can’t live without them,” Louis finishes, ignoring Zayn when he rolls his eyes.

Louis takes a long sip of his milkshake, presses his fingers against the marks on his neck, and definitely doesn’t think about the vampire who left them there.

34) Through Struggles, To The Stars | Explicit | 80582 words

Louis is a Starfleet captain trying to find his place in the universe. Harry is a prince just trying to do what's right.

35) I Want You So Much (But I Hate Your Guts) | Mature | 83648 words

AU in which Louis gets accepted to play for the Manchester University Alpha-Beta Football Team. The only problem: Louis is actually an Omega. He is determined to make it big in the football world, though, and he can't do that bound to an Omega team. With the help of a faked doctor's certificate and some pretty strong suppressants he is ready to fight for his dream.

That Harry Styles (Alpha, second year and youngest football captain of the A-B team in ages) doesn't seem to like him complicates matters, though.

36) Where You Lay | Explicit | 86038 words

When Louis's upcoming heat threatens his success at his new dream job, he asks the best (and only) person he can think of to help him through it: his best mates' best mate, Harry Styles.  Harry reluctantly accepts, and together the two navigate a strange friends with benefits relationship that quickly turns complicated.

37) And Down The Long And Silent Street | Mature | 86090 words

Wherein Louis and Harry are on the opposite ends of the social ladder, but their paths still cross on the filthy streets Louis calls his home. The odds are staked against them from the beginning, and even more when Louis' past finally catches up with him.

38) Swim In The Smoke | Explicit | 101778 words

“What about this, Captain?” Liam asks, nudging the boy kneeling between their feet with the toe of his boot. The boy hisses and swipes at him, slurring out something unintelligible around the makeshift gag Niall had to stuff in his mouth. He misses by a mile and tries again, just as ineffectively.

Harry looks down at him, at the way the sun streams over his face and shoulders, at the way the gag stretches his mouth, lips pink and chapped. He’s lithe and pretty, smudged all over with dirt. They had found him tied up below deck, mostly unconscious, next to a barrel full of gold. He’s clearly a prisoner, but there’s something familiar about him, something that niggles at Harry’s brain. Something he can’t quite put his finger on.

“Put him in my cabin,” Harry decides, turning back to deal with the rest of the loot. The boys screams out jumbled curse words at Harry’s back, muffled by the gag, and Harry can’t understand any of it.

39) The Galaxy’s Edge | Explicit | 113921 words

Things never quite go as they are planned during a simple rescue job.

40) Tainted Saints And Velvet Vices | Explicit | 126057 words | Sequel (WIP)

A self-fulfilling Hogwarts AU in which Louis is new to seventh year and Harry is the resident devil-may-care Slytherin set to make his entire experience a living misery. Due to less than favourable circumstances they're forced to forge an unwilling, tentative relationship for their own survival. Repressed emotions, decidedly unromantic ballroom dancing, Triwizard Tournament tasks, creative jinxes and twilight flying above the Forbidden Forest ensue.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

#fic recs #blp fic recs #bottom louis #top harry #larry

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

do you have any fics where stiles is treated badly? It could be by the pack, or by family, or something. I just need angst

Here’s some angst. I’ll just be crying over here, don’t mind me.

We Were Not Born to Drown by cutflowersound

(1/1 I 3,497 I Teen I Sterek)

After Gerard tortures Stiles, he is left alone to deal with it.

Derek saves him.

Scratch that, they save eachother.

You Were Never Meant to Know by Mooneye

(1/1 I 8,521 I Teen I Sterek)

“Not a fan of exorcisms, Stiles?” the figure asked as though he were enquiring about the rain.

“Not really. I could spew black bile if you’d like more authenticity,” Stiles answered.

“Stiles, what’s going on?” Scott demanded, unease growing.

Stiles is a demon, always has been, and never intended for anyone to know. Unfortunately, his secret is forcefully revealed and he has nowhere to hide.

Birds Eye View by HappyJuicyfruit

(2/2 I 20,956 I Teen I Sterek)

Derek’s eyes widened, and his first instinct was to look towards Scott, but he already knew what he was searching for wouldn’t be there. Hadn’t been there this whole time.

Stiles was missing.

Derek growled and turned to Scott, “what did you do?”

Scott, pale and wide eyed, looked between Derek and Chris, who were both looking at him for answers. “I- Deaton said he wouldn’t notice!”

Chris sighed, “wouldn’t notice what?”

Derek growled in agreement.

“Deaton gave me pills, full of mountain ash, to replace Gerard’s cancer pills. That way after Derek bit him, Gerard would die.”

Chris crossed his arms, “you didn’t think a cancer patient, or the doctor he checks in with regularly, would notice that he wasn’t taking his pills?”

He Is a Secret Born From a Legend Born From a Myth by LuneFaitLaFolie

(22/22 I 29,907 I Not Rated I Sterek)

Which leads him to where he is now, waking up in Derek’s bed, the pack, Deaton, Melissa and his dad all present. All of them looking worried sick and concerned, trying to distract themselves with something, anything to not go near Derek’s bed. Derek’s bed which he was currently occupying. He slowly looked down to his arms and yep, there they were, his invisible tattoos that were no longer invisible.

The Mating Privilege by Kikileduc

(12/12 I 35,380 I Teen I Sterek)

Stiles and Derek have been happily mated. The pack is doing well, but in hopes of creating alliances for it to do better, Derek accepts a neighboring pack's request to allow two wolves to join the Hale-McCall pack for a full moon cycle. They hope to form a blood-tie, or at least a long term friendship between the two packs. The issue is Kohona, the tribal leader's daughter, has her eyes set on an unavailable alpha wolf. This could have drastic consequences for their young emissary, however...

Only he saw. by obsessedbutonline

(31/31 I 45,781 I Teen I Steter)

When the pack stopped telling him about meetings, Stiles laughed. It wasn't surprising that they forgot to update his number when their phones kept getting destroyed by the monster of the week...right? They just forgot. That happened. All the time! Too often. When the pack stopped giving excuses for forgetting, a deserving prickle of fear and trepidation etched its way into his heart, making his usually cocky and brave smile falter and leave. Only when they weren't watching. When they went out of their way to stop him going to meetings, he stopped smiling altogether. Only where they couldn't see. But it's fine, right? He was part of a family that loved him and just wanted to keep him safe...right? But when Derek used the door instead of the window to get into Stile's house, as small and insignificant a fact that may be, he accepted that something was wrong.

Residents of Bad Wolf Bay by Lunabell_Marauder_Knyte

(8/? I 49,769 I Not Rated I Sterek)

“Time travel is a tricky thing, Stiles.In your world...you lived, you ran with wolves, you fought...and you died. But I couldn't let you really die. But you couldn't be there anymore.” The Doctor said.

“...where am I now?” Stiles asked numbly.

“There are parallel universes. All mostly the same minus a few changes in each one. This is the one the Tardis is familiar with.Like before I am burning up a sun just to make sure you've made it alright.” the Doctor's hands are in his pockets as he looks at him with a sad smile. “In this life you were never born...so there won't be a problem of accidentally causing a paradox. I sent you to a point in time where you can make a difference. I know you're smart enough to figure things out...just...be careful. I am so, so sorry.”

“...Take care of my dad.” was the last thing he got to say before the Doctor vanished.

Or In which the pack's neglect and his father's indifference drive Stiles away. He becomes the Doctor's companion and we know that eventually all companion's adventures end. Some endings are happy, some are sad. Some are bitter sweet.

Or

The Doctor tells the Sheriff and the Pack that Stiles won't be making it for dinner. Now...or ever.

Backstage is Full of Parasites by Falln_Grce

(14/14 I 61,349 I Explicit I Sterek)

Stiles learned to take care of himself from a young age. And despite going through trauma as a child, he's 17 now and has adjusted to the new normal as well as he can. With a soulmate-AU just to keep things interesting.

What if the Sheriff didn't turn to alcohol when his wife died... What if he focused all of his attention on helping a seven year old, recently removed from an abusive home, Isaac get settled into the Stilinski household... Where would Stiles fit into that world?

Escape From Eichen by MelodramaticSalad

(24/24 I 139,993 I Explicit I Sterek)

There's a reason why we have dreams we can't remember. What if those dreams had the possibility to show others and ourselves what our innermost desires were, even if they were completely unknown to ourselves? That is, until it was time for them to surface. It was 2018 when this new technology was first released to the public, four years ago. A company called the Eichen Corporation started up and had three very distinct things that they specialized in.

Derek Hale found himself trapped in an Eichen facility by mistake, he was completely normal, there was no reason for him to be there. One thing was for certain though, he was going to get out of this place, and he was going to take them down.

Do Not Go Gentle by MojoFlower

(51/51 I 195,878 I Explicit I Sterek)

Derek Hale, Beacon Hills Alpha and Dom, wakes up in a dark cell already housing another captive – a mute, traumatized sub with a cruel collar around his neck. His only goal is to get them both free of their brutal circumstances; but even as he tries to get his young companion home, a bond between them grows. Nothing comes easily: danger and harrowing echoes of their ordeal shadow every step they take.

Blue Monday by ExpectNothingGainEverything

(18/? I 511,120 I Explicit I Sterek)

Stiles would have never guessed that the star player of the lacrosse team and presumably the hottest guy in school who everyone wanted a piece of and one of his most hated bullies would turn out to be his soulmate.

Derek would never have dreamed that fate would be so cruel to pair him up with a freak like Stilinski.

#teen wolf #sterek #stiles stilinski #derek hale #injured!stiles #steter #peter hale #angst #hurt/comfort #Anonymous

[marshmallow-phd]

Midnight Hours

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Sehun x Reader

Summary: For you, being a good witch was easier said than done. Something dark was lurking inside of you and the others knew it. When you’re forced to tag along with Soomi and help a local wolfpack face a coming evil, you’re sent on a path that breaks into a crossroads. While you struggle with your inner demons, could the wolf Sehun be the key to your ultimate fate?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I 15 I 16 I 17 I Final

**

You scrambled back, falling back on your butt as you shook your head feverishly. “No. I don’t want that. Not ever.”

“It’s not so bad,” Molia cooed. She tried to reach out comfortingly, but you flinched away from her touch. It was an involuntary reaction, fearful that she would force the change upon you anyway. She “hmphed” at your response, pursing her lips in a very displeased manner. “I don’t know what you’re finding so bad about living forever – especially as a person free to choose whoever she wants.”

Your head was spinning. Here she was, offering you a way out… and you didn’t want it. As if fighting against her words, your own mind reminded you of the better moments with Sehun – moments so soft and so loving that you’d wondered if you were dreaming. You thought of his smile when he looked at you or when one of his brothers did something dumb. Your hand burned from the absence of his. And that’s when you knew you couldn’t do it. 

Can I tell you something?

Sure.

I love you.

A tear nearly fell down your cheek as you listened to that brief exchange over and over in your head. What had you been doing this whole time? Going on some misguided quest to prove that you were someone who could stand on their own two feet? Your entire life was testament to that. 

You’d screwed up. And at this point, it didn’t matter how pretty a picture Molia painted of a possible future, it was worthless without him.  

“I’d still choose him.”

The vampire blinked. “Excuse me?”

You smiled, wiping away the tear that had indeed fallen down with your sleeve as you stood to your feet. “Even if things were different and I had a choice, I’d still choose him.” It sounded so cheesy to your own ears, but you couldn’t hold back to the truth. “Yeah, he said some things that were hurtful, but I’m not innocent either. So, I’m sorry, Molia, but I can’t help you. No matter how nice it sounds, I can’t go through with it if it means fighting Sehun.”

Molia’s reaction was not what you expected. She didn’t yell or explode. She didn’t bare her fangs or pounce. No, all she did was sigh, as if she’d expected this all along.

“Some bits of magic really irritate me,” she murmured to herself. Straightening up, she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I wanted to avoid this, (y/n), but you leave me no choice.”

Before the thought of running could even cross your mind, Molia had you pinned to the ground, the air forced out of your lungs from the impact. The back of your skull bounced off the dirt, causing little black dots to dance around your vision. 

“What are you doing?” you grunted through your teeth as you tried to fight her off. But the vampire was stronger, sturdier. You were no more than a fly entangled in the black widow’s web. The more you struggled, the more trapped you became. 

“When you have unlimited time, you tend to practice a few things,” Molia laughed. Her eyes shined at your sad attempts to get away, like it was her favorite game. “I can’t do this without you and if that mutt is the reason you won’t be by my side, then I guess I’ll just have to take away your knowledge of him. Don’t worry, you’ll get back the memories by sunrise. But by then he may be nothing more than a pelt on my wall.”

“NO!” 

You fought harder, screaming Sehun’s name over and over, praying he would hear you. The sun was already beginning to set in the sky. Soon, the blood moon would rise. You couldn’t let her do this; you had to stop her. But as Molia placed her ice cold fingertips against your temples, murmuring an incantation, you could already feel yourself losing grip of the one thing that kept you grounded. Molia’s laugh echoed in your ears as your vision went black. 

**

Sehun stared up at the stars, shifting from foot to foot. It was here. 

Well… not here here, but tonight was the night. Tonight, the moon would rise high in the sky, the earth moving just so in between the moon and the sun, casting a reddish shadow on the large rock. How that could have any bearings on magic, Sehun didn’t know, but according to Soomi, magic stirred when nature chose so. 

The woods were quiet. It was unnatural how little sound was coming from the trees. 

On an average night, creatures of all sizes could be heard scurrying the forest floor, searching for their evening meal or getting ready to hide for the night so they would be safe while they slept. The silence that came from the lack of life was eerie, causing the hair to stand up on the back of Sehun’s neck. Had they all deserted the area knowing what was coming? That was common, wasn’t it? The animals in a certain area running for their lives just before a natural disaster? Even if it was a miniscule amount, Sehun hoped the damage wouldn’t be so devastating. He wasn’t sure how much more he could lose. 

“It’s time.”

Sehun snapped his head to look at the old woman he recognized from all those years ago when the pack rescued Jiyoung from being sacrificed. She hadn’t changed much since that day, but then again, she was already pretty haggard looking so there probably wasn’t much change that could be done. 

The old woman shifted her gaze from the sky to the crowd around her. Wolves and witches alike intermingled in the clearing outside the farmhouse. 

After two days of constantly searching the woods and still finding no trace of you, Junmyeon and Kris consulted with Soomi on any other options. The decision was made to bring in the head witches of the local coven to strengthen the power behind the locator spell. But they, too, had to wait for the moon. Thankfully not the blood moon, just for that stupid rock to be in the sky. At this moment, it was starting to peek over the pines, its white glow illuminating the area as if it were mid-day. 

The witches gathered in a circle around, joining hands around the unlit cluster of logs Soomi had carefully stacked earlier in the day. Sehun stayed close, not understanding a word the head crone was saying. After one stanza, the rest of the witches joined in. Their eyes were honed in on the logs. At first, nothing seemed to be happening. But magic always worked that way. 

A spark. A flicker of fame. A tiny fleck of ember rising into the sky. Then the ground shook, nearly knocking Sehun off his feet. The witches stayed in their positions unaffected. A fire burst forth from the wood, dancing nearly five feet in the air. But as quickly as they came… they disappeared. Only the slightest wisps of smoke gave any sign that a fire had been present. Not even the logs glowed in the aftermath. 

The witches broke the circle and the old woman shuffled over to Soomi, nodding once. 

“She knows where they are,” Soomi announced to the rest of the group.

“How?” Baekhyun asked. A few others in the pack exchanged similar looks of skepticism. 

“The flames told her,” was all Soomi explained. 

Junmyeon, Kris, and Sehun approached the two witches, eager for more details. 

“Where is she?” Sehun’s desperation was coming to a boiling point. The very edge of the moon was starting to darken. They were running out of time. 

The old woman pointed north. “There’s a hidden clearing a few miles out hidden by magic. Strong magic.”

“But you did find it?” asked Junmyeon. She nodded. “Then we go. Now.”

Kris frowned. “If we come across the clearing, will we see it?”

“Not at first,” Soomi answered. “That’s why we’re going with you.”

“It’s too dangerous.” Junmyeon shook his head, as if that was all it would take. 

“Junmyeon,” Soomi’s voice came out even and low. There was not an ounce of her usual bubbliness or positivity. Her face was ashen and grave. “Right now, the only thing we know is that (y/n) is out there. We don’t know if she’s hurt or if she’s joined with the witch that is hiding the two of them. Either way, you’ll be facing something powerful.”

“We’re immune to your magic.”

Soomi shook her head. “To direct spells and attacks, yes. But there are always loopholes. That immunity will not save you from drowning, or fire, or being crushed by rocks. You will need power on your side.”

As much as Sehun agreed with her, there was one part of her speech that stuck out to him. 

“Are you saying that we might have to fight (y/n)?” Sehun could feel his throat closing in, cutting off air from the lungs that were screaming for relief. 

“I don’t know what possibilities await us in that clearing,” Soomi admitted. “But we should be ready for every possibility.”

“What makes you think (y/n) might have sided with this… other witch?” Kris questioned. 

Soomi chewed on the inside of her cheek, not wanting to answer. But she had to. She was the one who’d voiced the original theory. “She’s been gone for several days. And she’s a fighter. She would have tried to escape or gotten out word where she was. Unless she was staying voluntarily.”

Kris cursed. Loudly. “So now Sehun’s mate might try to kill us.”

“She wouldn’t do that!” Sehun roared. You wouldn’t. He had enough faith in you to believe that. An exasperated huff pushed its way out of Kris’ mouth as he ran a stressed hand through his hair. 

“We still have to go, Kris,” Junmyeon said in a quiet voice. 

“I know,” Kris grumbled.

“Then let’s go.” Soomi looked back between the alphas before walking away. 

The rest of the pack joined them, waiting for orders. 

“We’ll shift here. Our wolveselves are our strongest forms, so it’s best to go all in.” As much as he tried to hide it, nervousness and anxiety was clearly exposed on Junmyeon’s face. This was the battle they all wish they could avoid.

Years ago, they were worried about an average witch. Easy enough to battle. Then there was the pack of hybrids. A harder fight, but they still came out on the other side. Even the hunters didn’t seem to be as big of a threat as they would have guessed. But this was different. This felt… impossible, if anyone were to ask Sehun. He couldn’t fight you. He certainly couldn’t watch his brothers try to harm you. 

So what was he going to do?

“Sehun!”

Snapping back, Sehun looked up to see the rest of the pack - save Junmyeon - had already shifted and was slowly working their way over to the northern treeline. Eight of them had a witch straddling their back. Sehun only nodded once before stripping away his shirt and pants, hitting the ground with all four paws in the blink of an eye. 

“Sehun?”

This time the voice was quieter, softer. Soomi approached him slowly. “May I?”

He motioned hard for her to get on. As soon as she was sitting on his back and her fingers were interlocked into his fur, he took off. 

Browning trees blurred all around him as he raced through the forest behind Junmyeon and the old woman. Sehun knew her name, but right he just couldn’t muster the concentration it would take to remember. All he could think about was going, keep going.  Get to the clearing. Get to you. Said old woman suddenly waved her hand in the air, prompting the rest of the witches to do the same. 

A shimmer caught Sehun’s eye in the darkness. The line of trees up ahead faded away to reveal the clearing they’d been searching for. Up in the sky, the moon was nearly completely in shadow. Only a sliver of silver remained. They were running out of time. 

Junmyeon screeched to a halt and they all followed suit. The witches slid off the backs of the wolves, ready for a fight. And one was apparently waiting for them. 

Near the center of the clearing were two figures, one familiar, the other… the other sent a shiver down Sehun’s spine. Standing next to you was a small woman with white blonde hair and ghostly skin. Even from this distance in the dark, he could make out the glowing red eyes. 

Definitely not Mina. But who the hell was she? An immortal, bloodthirsty witch could not be a good thing. 

“You came just in time,” the vampire said loudly. 

Sehun ignored her. His eyes went to you.

You were standing there, hands clenched into fists by your sides. You weren’t looking at him. Instead your eyes roamed over the entire group, settling on Soomi for a moment. He couldn’t help himself. He charged forward towards you. From the ground shot up a column of solid rock. It sent Sehun off his feet, flinging him to the grass and landing on his side hard enough to make him whimper. 

Shaking off the sudden attack, Sehun growled and looked up. But it wasn’t the blonde witch that had blocked his path. It was you. 

It was your hand that was outstretched, eyes narrowed at him. The witch next to you smirked. 

“You can’t fight us all,” Soomi yelled. “Just give it up now and we’ll have mercy on you.”

“Silly girl,” the vampire laughed. “You underestimate the both of us. Before you are the most powerful witches that Mother Nature has ever blessed. And together, we’ll make you all see who should truly be in charge of the covens.”

Soomi shook her head. “We’re not meant to be under one person. There is a reason the covens are individually self-ruled. (y/n), please, listen to me.”

You scoffed. “Listen to you? Why would I listen to you? All you’ve ever done is lie to me. You were always telling the elders what I was up to. Did you even think about defending me when they wanted to bind my powers? All the elders have ever wanted to do was take away the thing that made me special? Were you that jealous that you were willing to go along with them?”

“(y/n), I would never let them bind your powers!” Soomi stepped forward, arm outstretched towards the one she always thought of as her sister. 

“LIAR!”

With a scowl on her face, you swiped your arm in front of you, sending a burst of air that sent Soomi backwards through the air. Several witches ran towards her to see if she’d been hurt. From the way she gently pushed her helpers away, she seemed fine. For now. 

Pushing herself from her feet, Soomi started chanting. The witches next to her joined hands and started citing the incantation along with her. The vampire seemed unaffected. Her eyes turned up to the sky and she smirked. 

“The moon is red, (y/n). Can you feel it?”

You nodded, staring at the bright red-orange orb in the sky. “I can.”

“Remember what I told you.”

Again, you nodded. In sync, the two of you lifted your arms, curling the fingers to make claws of the hands that had once held Sehun so kindly. You shoved your gnarled hands downwards and the line of witches crumbled as well, crying out in pain. 

What were you doing?

Sehun took a different approach, crawling towards you with his ears back, hoping you would recognize him in this form. It was the wrong choice. 

Your eyes flickered towards him. Still keeping one hand towards the witches, you switched your concentration, twisting your fingers. 

Sehun cried out in pain as he stopped. It felt like his very veins were being stretched and choked. He had no control over his muscles no matter how loudly he commanded his limbs to move. Was this your doing? How was this even possible?

Sehun, what’s wrong? Junmyeon cried out in their shared connection

I don’t know, Sehun huffed back. I can’t move. And it hurts. I can’t fight it. I think- I think it might be (y/n) doing it.  

Chanyeol, Minseok, you approach from the front, Kris ordered. Tao and I will come from behind and take them out that way. 

No! Sehun let out a warning growl. 

I don’t take orders from you, Sehun. 

They won’t harm her, Junmyeon promised. 

Sehun whimpered. He didn’t want them going anywhere near you with their claws and teeth. He just needed to get closer to you then you would see, then you would be fine. 

Chanyeol and Minseok charged forward, flying past the line of witches. It was distracting enough. 

You let go of your hold on some of your coven and on Sehun to block the wolves’ way. You sent column after column of soil and rock into the air, but they were quick, dodging each strike with only the slightest of hesitation. 

The vampire’s attention was also occupied by the oncoming wolves. Behind the two of you, Kris and Tao rushed, tackling you both to the ground. Sehun was quick to shift as his gray brother pinned you down. 

“No! Tao!” He ran to you on his slower, human legs. Tao wasn’t harming you, but he was strong enough to keep you from escaping. Until you sent a kick into his stomach with your boot.

Tao whined and you were able to somehow get him off of you with a gust of wind. You struggled to get up to your feet. Tao was disoriented enough to not attack you a second time. 

“(y/n)!” Sehun was just about to reach you, just about to hold you again when suddenly a wall of water grew from the ground, freezing solid and blocking his path once more. 

A whimper cut through the air. The vampire’s hands were on fire and Kris was now sporting two charred spots near his shoulders. Sehun ran around the wall to find you hovering in the air, staring down at the old woman who had made her way to you. 

“(y/n), you know in your heart this is wrong.”

Your face twisted into one of rage. “You were supposed to protect me! But what have you really done? You’ve stopped me from using my own gifts. I’ve learned more in the past few days than I ever have under you.”

“And that was wrong of me,” the old woman admitted. “I should have nurtured you better. Your parents left you in my care and I failed in letting you understand your true self. But I know this isn’t it. This person who is raising herself above others, talking of ruling the witches of this world, that’s not you.”

“You don’t know me at all,” you hissed. 

“I know the little girl I raised, that I held when she was sick and sang to sleep when she had nightmares.”

If the old woman thought bringing up those memories would get through to you, she was utterly wrong. All it did was fuel your long suppressed anger.

Vines sprung up from the dirt. The tick green ropes wrapped around her wrists and ankles, holding her hostage. 

“(y/n), come down please!” Sehun pleaded. Even though he was sure this wouldn’t work, he’d hoped that maybe he could get you to lower yourself enough for him to pull you down the rest of the way. While chaos was happening all around you, in the sky, there seemed to be nothing but peace. Your hair wasn’t whipping around you nor your clothes ruffled. You simply stood there, feet supported by nothing, as you stared down at him curiously. 

“How do you know my name?” you asked calmly. 

What? “(y/n), it’s me. It’s Sehun!”

“I don’t know a Sehun.”

If he had the ability, Sehun would have disintegrated into a million pieces right then and there. How could you not know who he was? He clutched his chest, but the emptiness of a severed connection wasn’t there. He still felt you as strongly as ever. 

“I don’t know you,” you repeated. “And you don’t know me.”

Sehun swallowed. He had to pick up the challenge you’d unconsciously thrown down. To his left, the pack and witches were busy fighting your still unnamed partner. The blonde threw balls of fire at their heads with one hand, barely missing within centimeters of their ears. With her other hand, she controlled the few she could with the strange, impossible magic he’d experienced from you. 

“I know you pick at your fingernails when you’re nervous.” He took a cautious step. When you didn’t strike him down, he took another. “I know wind and fire were easier for you to handle, but you like the way the rain feels against your skin. I know you still hurt from your parents leaving you behind.” You seemed to be listening, even lowering your altitude little by little until your feet were once again on solid ground. “I know what makes you laugh and smile. I know the different ways you roll your eyes, when you’re trying not to laugh and when you’re truly annoyed. I know you like to be alone when you need to think and I know you care about others even though you’re afraid to show it.” 

There was almost no room between the two of you now. Tears made your eyes glassy. He was touching something inside of you, he just knew it.

“How do you know all that?” you whispered. Deciding to take another risk, he reached out and took your hand. He placed your palm against his bare chest, letting you feel the warmth of his skin and beating of his heart. “Why do you feel so familiar?”

“Because you’re my mate, (y/n). I don’t know why you don’t remember that, but I will help you remember. I would go to the ends of the earth for you. Because I love you.”

You snatched your hand away, a coldness left behind. “No, you don’t. No one does. No one really cares.”

“That’s a lie,” Sehun snapped back. “You know it is. We all love you. Soomi, Harper, Chanyeol, even Little Mei. You are loved, (y/n). And you don’t need to take over the world to see that.”

They were losing. Sehun didn’t know if he was winning in getting through to you, but the others were now locked in a ring of fire. The blonde laughed maniacally as she forced two of the witches to their feet, seemingly forcing them to walk towards the flames. He needed to succeed. He knew only you could defeat this woman. 

“I don’t want to take over the world,” you said so quietly it was almost as if the words hadn’t really been said at all. “I just want to be myself.”

“With me, you will always be yourself. You’ll be free. I swear to you.” And with that, he took his final risk. He reached out and tucked your hair behind your ear. Leaning in little by little, he came closer with your lips in his sights. If there was one thing you should remember, even subconsciously, it was how he showed you his love. 

Whoosh! 

Pain flared on his back. A cry left his throat and he fell down to the ground. Already he could smell burning flesh, the stinging singe spreading between his shoulder blades. 

“No!” You dropped to your knees just as fast. 

“Don’t listen to him, (y/n),” the vampire ordered. “His pretty words are meaningless.”

But it was too late. He could see the recognition in your eyes. 

“I’m sorry,” you sniffed, taking his face in your hands. “Sehun, I’m so sorry.”

“You’re back,” he sighed. “That’s all that matters.”

You pulled your gaze away from him to the woman who’d caused all of this. “It’s over, Molia. Just let them go.”

The woman named Molia took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “I’m disappointed. I didn’t realize you would be so weak, so easily swayed.”

“I’m sorry, too,” you replied as you and Sehun stood. You positioned yourself in between the witch and Sehun. “But this isn’t right. You know it isn’t.”

“You know nothing, child! And I’ll show you what happens when you turn against me.”

“Molia, don’t- AH!” 

Your arms constricted to your sides and your knees buckled. Sehun charged at the witch, claws bared. But she took him down with another shot to the chest. 

“No! Sehun!” 

The witch stood over him. Triumph sang in her eyes. “Maybe when I get rid of you, she’ll see reason again.”

“That won’t matter,” Sehun choked out. “She knows what’s right. She always has.”

Flame burst forth from her fingers, the oranges and reds telling Sehun exactly what his fate would be. However, a miracle happened.

The blood moon was over. Once again, silver shined in the moon. Sehun didn’t understand the connection, but he was thankful for it. 

Somehow that event allowed you to break free from the witch’s power. As she raised her hand, you screamed out. Blue lightning sparked on your fingers before shooting forward and hitting the vampire in the chest. Cries of agony echoed through the clearing as she burst into flames, transforming into ashes that would never again cause harm. 

Sehun was happy. He was relieved. But he could feel something was wrong. His vision was beginning to blur. He knew you were calling his name, but it sounded far away. As hard as he tried to fight it, soon, the darkness took over.

#exo #exo wolf au #exo wolf!au #sehun x reader #oh sehun #exo werewolf!au #exo werewolf au #exo supernatural au #exo series #exo fanfic #exo fanfiction #Midnight Hours #untamed wolf universe

[thatmultifandomhoe]

Strawberry Cream and BBQ - 6

Pairing: Hybrid Hoseok and Human Reader

Overview: Your best friend knows she can count on you for anything, so when she asks you to watch her hybrid while she’s gone for a study abroad trip for four months, you can’t say no. But when these four months are over, things have changed in a way no one expected.

Word Count: 1,782

Genre: Hybrid AU, Fluff, Future smut, Angst, Best friends to Lovers

Warning: None, except for a visit made by Namjoon.

Master List

Sneak Peak - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24 - Part 25 (Final) - Move in Day: A SC&BBQ Drabble

©thatmultifandomhoe Do not repost, translate, or use my stories without permission.

Over the course of the next couple weeks, Hoseok and you had fallen into an easy and comfortable routine. He got up early to go teach dance over at the Dance Studio, and on the two days when he didn’t have to go in, he either lounged at the apartment or hung out with his friends while you were at class or the shop. Sometimes he joined you at the bookstore to help out. He called it helping, you considered it another place for him to stretch out.

Today, he was at the Dance Studio. This time he was teaching a group of college students who wanted to learn about street dancing. It had him all excited since street dance was one of his passions and specialties.

You were sitting behind the counter at the bookstore you worked at. It was slow and nobody had entered the store in the last few hours, so you were sitting back and catching up on the reading. The semester recently started back up and you were already behind.

Sue had sent a text saying she safely landed and was in her bed two days after her flight. Apparently, the plane ride went smoothly, but there had been some babies on board that cried the entire time and as soon as she got to her host family’s home, she crashed on her bed and didn’t wake up until the next day. Jet lag was a bitch.

The text, while short, had relaxed Hoseok greatly. Now that he knew she was there and safe, he was able to focus with one less thing to worry about.

The silver Christmas bells that were hung above the door jingled in the small bookstore, capturing your attention. When the familiar face came into view, you smiled. Namjoon headed towards you with a soft smile, his ears alert while his tail lazily went back and forth.

“Morning Joonie,” you greeted, setting your text book down as he reached the counter.

His smile revealed his deep dimples, his light brown hair styled so it was off his forehead. “Afternoon, bookworm.”

You teasingly rolled your eyes and leaned back in your chair as you crossed your arms under your chest. With a quick look at the table clock, it wasn’t surprising to learn that it was two in the afternoon. Time passed either at snail’s pace or as fast as a whirlwind at the bookstore. “Are we really going to argue about who’s the bigger bookworm in this room?”

Namjoon merely shrugged, glancing around the store. “Who let the wolf out of the bag?” He asked, his brown eyes glinting in amusement.

You laughed, and Namjoon’s own soft giggles joined in. It had taken a long time for the wolf hybrid to be comfortable about making jokes that reflected on himself. It wasn’t too long ago when he first joined your group of friends. Back then, you had wondered if he was ever going to accept everyone. It had taken some time, but he eventually found his home with everyone.

“What can I help you with hun?” You finally asked.

“Do you have any more sonnets in stock?” He sheepishly asked, his head ducking down in a cute manner.

Pressing your lips together, you shook the computer mouse to wake up the screen. “Let me check.”

“Thank you.”

Searching for what Namjoon was looking for, you groaned as the computer screen froze, making your shoulders slump. “I swear we need better internet. Dare I even say, a better system. Let me check the bookcase for them, and if they’re not there I can go down to the basement.”

His ears perked up, chuckling as he led the way. He had that path to the bookcase that held his beloved sonnets memorized after his first trip to the bookstore. At the time, he hadn’t known that you worked at the bookstore and had been almost embarrassed when he set the books he found on the counter. You thought it had been sweet to see the alpha wolf hybrid to be purchasing them.

“It’s nice to see that someone else still loves to read sonnets,” you told Namjoon. Scanning the books, you gently smiled when his ears perked up.

“They’re…hard to come by.” Namjoon had softly spoke, watching as you placed them in the bag. “Everyone just likes reading poetry these days.”

Nodding, you swiped his card. “True. Both are pretty great, but there’s something about a sonnet that just seems more romantic. If you’re interested, I can keep an eye out for them or I can order them if you have a specific title in mind.”

He had been signing the receipt when you spoke, his hand pausing as he looked at you. He was still weary of you, of everyone in fact, but after a few moments, he had nodded. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”

It didn’t seem like much, but for Namjoon it was progress in the right direction. After that, he made a habit to come into the bookstore once every few weeks, always finding a book to take home as he tried to make small talk. Eventually, he worked his way up to where he is now, coming into the store once or twice a week and completely at ease.

Once you reached the bookcase, you tilted your head a little to read the titles, your finger gently trailing on the spines. “Hm. There’s a couple here, but it looks like the majority is just regular poetry. But I can check down in the basement if you want.”

Namjoon shook his head though. “No that’s alright. You don’t need to go through that trouble for me. I’m going to look at these though.”

“Okay,” you rubbed his shoulder and informed him that you’d be at the counter if he needed anything else. He nodded, but his attention was already focused on the books in front of him. With your back to him, you pressed your lips together to hide a smile. You knew the minute once you sat back down, he’d be asking if you could sit with him. He did it every time he came in.

“Hey, bookworm?” He hesitantly called out.

Without speaking, you went back to where you had left him. Namjoon’s ears were flat against his head but quickly went back up as he watched you sit next to him. “So, what’s new with you?”

He shrugged. “Not much. I just came from visiting Hobi at the Dance Studio.”

“I thought he was teaching street dance today?” You asked.

“That was this morning,” Namjoon explained, looking up from one of the books he was inspecting. The cover was green with no design on it, not even a title. The pages were yellowed with age and was small enough to fit in one’s pocket with no problem. “He’s been free since noon. Although he’s staying at the studio to practice for the upcoming show they’re hosting. He has a solo this year.”

At the mention of the show, bells went off in your mind. The Dance Studio put on an annual show every May to showcase the hard work that the students put in to their dancing that year.

The show was always a hit, especially since the company had students ranging anywhere from six-years-old to their late twenties. Even the employees got the chance to perform in group performances, but solos were hard to get. Any money made from ticket sales, as well as from any fundraising that happened, went back to the studio to pay for travel costs for competitions, new equipment, and any repairs that the building needed.

“I knew about the show of course, but he never said he was in it.”

The studio was Hoseok’s life. He had been going there long before Sue even adopted him. From what he’s told you, after she adopted him, he started helping out at the Dance Studio every chance he had, first as a volunteer and then a part time employee. He took classes whenever he could and then one day, the company hired him as a full-time dance instructor.

That caught Namjoon’s attention, closing the book he had been reading as he straightened up. “That’s odd. Usually he can’t stop talking about it, especially since he has such an important part.”

“Did he just recently find out about the solo?”

Namjoon shook his head though. “No, he’s known for months.” He frowned and chewed on his bottom lip. “You sure he never said anything? I know the two of you are almost as close mates.”

Your eyes widened at Namjoon’s last comment, making you completely forget about Hoseok’s solo for the time being. Mates were not a topic that was just casually thrown around. It was an intimate bond that was seen in hybrids; it was the equivalent of marriage for them, except it couldn’t be broken. Usually they mated with their own kind, but there were plenty who took humans as their mates too.

But you…as Hoseok’s mate?

“No, no, no,” you rushed to get out, your cheeks turning a light pink. “Hoseok and I…we’re just best friends Joonie.”

The wolf hybrid released a chuckle that resembled a bark, making your cheeks flush a little more. “Sure thing, bookworm.”

Raising an eyebrow, you merely licked your lips before standing, stuttering something out about checking out the books in the basement before getting out of there. His chuckles echoed in your mind as he let you go, whether it was to give you space to clear your mind, or for the possibility of you finding more sonnets for him. You didn’t really care which it was really.

Digging through the boxes your boss had thrown down here filled with books made you sigh. You and Hoseok told each other everything, so why didn’t he mention having a solo? Maybe he figured that Sue had told you at some point? But that didn’t feel right either. She would have called you up if she couldn’t tell you in person.

So why didn’t he say anything?

You ran a hand through your hair, coughing as you breathed in the musty smell that always lingered in the basement. No matter how many candles you burned or cans of Febreze you sprayed, the smell never really went away.

By the time you went back upstairs, you had found three other books of sonnets for Namjoon and set them on the counter for when he was ready to ring up his purchases. Meanwhile, you couldn’t help but wonder about what he said.

Did you and Hoseok really appear to be that close to each other? And did he know?

#bts hybrid au #Strawberry Cream and BBQ #bts #hoseok #hoseok hybrid #hybrid hoseok #j-hope #hoseok dog hybrid #hoseok x reader #jung hoseok #bangtan sonyeondan #bts hoseok #hybrid j-hope #hybrid au #hybrid au! #hybrid #bts hybrid #hybrid bts #namjoon #rm #bts namjoon #bts rm #namjoon hybrid #hybrid namjoon #kpop #kpop fandom #kpop fanfic #kpop fanfiction #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction

[shipmistress9]

FTLOAP - 41: Don’t Let Me Go

Fandom: HTTYD

Theme: Hiccstrid - Medieval-style AU - Romance - Angst/Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Reduced to little more than a stable boy, Hiccup, despite his noble birth, has few prospects for more in life. But when he meets a girl who came to look at the horses, being a stable boy might not be enough anymore. Together, they have tough choices to make and great risks to navigate if they want to survive and be together.

Rating: Explicit

FF-net  -  AO3 -

Discord-server for discussions and questions

Part 1: Prologue; Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7; Chapter 8; Chapter 9; Chapter 10; Chapter 11;

Part 2: Chapter 12; Chapter 13; Chapter 14; Interlude 1; Chapter 15; Chapter 16; Chapter 17; Chapter 18; Chapter 19; Chapter 20; Chapter 21; Chapter 22; Chapter 23; Chapter 24; Chapter 25; Chapter 26; Interlude 2; Chapter 27: Chapter 28 ; Chapter 29 ; Chapter 30; Chapter 31; Chapter 32; Interlude 3; Bonus 1; Chapter 33

Part 3: Chapter 34; Chapter 35; Chapter 36; Interlude 4; Chapter 37; Chapter 38; Chapter 39; Chapter 40; Interlude 5

Alpha/Co-author: @athingofvikings

. – * – _ . o O o . _ – * – .

AN: Yay, we're back again! Thank you all for your patience.

This chapter... I'm going to say a little more at the end, but just this: It didn't turn out as I imagined it since last summer. But due to reasons, I had to change things, leave things out, or right out ignore entire points, so, yeah... I just hope it's still good enough.

As for the title... This too changed many times over the past year. I was never in a situation where I wouldn't have a title, it was more like I have too many that would fit. Up until last week, I was sure it would be  Your Arms Are My Castle from Cascada's Every Time We Touch. But, well, things changes. A lot! So now it's from Don't Let Me Go - Acoustic by RAIGN. With the theme I Only Want You from the Castle TV-show as the underlying soundtrack... probably...

. o O o .

Hiccup reacted without even a heartbeat's hesitation. Without a doubt, that scream had come from Markor, and there were few reasons why he would scream like that. And none of them meant anything good.

Before anything else around registered in his mind, Hiccup rode Cassie to the side. A nudge of his heels and she was galloping freely past the general chaos of frightened horses and confused men, and towards the direction of the scream. He was so focused on getting there as quickly as he could that it took him a moment to notice Eret riding directly in front of him, and then to remember that him rushing to the Princess's aid like this might draw unwanted attention. But right now, none of that mattered, not when Astrid was in possible danger – and with Eret around, he even had a valid excuse anyway.

The sounds were coming from a small copse of aspen trees, and Hiccup directed Cassie to it.  As they approached, he spotted Astrid quickly, her colourful dress standing out starkly against the muted browns and greens of the forest, even though she was covered in dirt, grass, leaves, and twigs. Thankfully no reds, though. She wasn’t moving as if injured, just impeded by her dress, as she crawled over the ground in a hurry towards– 

His breath caught in his throat as his eyes followed her path and instantly took in what had happened. Markor was lying on the ground as well, and as Hiccup watched, was trying to get back on his feet, even as more cries of pain came from him. But Hiccup didn’t even need to take a closer look to know that, with an injured leg like that, the gelding would never stand again...

The realisation made new pain shoot into his heart, and not just for Astrid's sake but also for his own. Behind his mind’s eye, the months Hiccup had spent with the horse rushed past him in a heartbeat; how he’d first met the late yearling upon his arriving at the stud farm, how they’d built a bond of trust and friendship that had only grown stronger when Hiccup had trained him to be gifted to the Princess, and that first meeting in the stables months ago where rubbing down the gelding together had brought him and Astrid closer. All that were happy memories, memories Hiccup treasured – and now, there was no way to save Markor...

"Swanja, don't," cut Eret's voice into his mind. He'd dismounted Crusher and was already at her side, holding her back from the reeling horse. "Don't get any closer, he might hurt you."

"B-but I have t-to help him," she sobbed. "Please, I... let me..." She was fighting against Eret's arms around her, trying to get past him, but he wouldn't let her.

"We can't help him anymore," he implored. "Not with an injury like that. You know that, Swanja. All we can do now is end his suffering. Please, let me–"

"No! No, please no! You can't do that, please!" she wailed. However, she stopped fighting Eret, and as Hiccup dismounted, she turned and clutched at Eret’s tunic, her knuckles standing out white against the dark red fabric, and as he wrapped his arms around her, she sagged into his embrace and started to weep.

Hiccup just stood next to Cassie, watching it all with a sense of painful hollowness in his chest. He wanted to push his cousin away, to be the one to comfort her. He wanted her pain to go away, to distract her or offer her something to make it easier. But none of that was possible. It wasn't his place to hold her in his arms, not anymore, and there was no way to lessen her pain. His eyes flickered back toward the injured horse, and the lump in his throat grew even bigger. He knew what they had to do, and the sooner the better. But that didn’t mean he had to like it.

Hiccup glanced back at Eret just as his cousin cleared his throat and gave him an indicative nod. He knew that Eret would have done it himself, having spent his entire life around horses. But with Astrid still holding on to him as if he was all that kept her together he couldn't move, and they both knew that Hiccup knew what to do well enough, too.

With a curt nod, he took a dagger from his riding pack, hid it in his boot, and approached Markor, humming and with his hands raised to calm him at least a little bit. "Shh, it's okay, boy. It's okay. Calm down." The words came automatically and without him even thinking about them. He couldn't think right now anyway, could only function. He had a task to do. With the soothing noises and the familiar hands on his head, Markor soon calmed down until he lay still with only the occasional low whinny. For a minute, Hiccup kept stroking his fur and talked in a low voice, further calming the large horse while his left hand reached for the hidden dagger. It was done quickly, just one well-placed movement, and only a few heartbeats later, Markor lay entirely still.

Behind him, he could hear Astrid cry out again and Eret's low whispering, but in that moment, neither of that truly reached him. Instead, the words from his dream suddenly echoed through his mind again.

“You can hold your beloved in your arms again. But first, you will end the life of someone dear to her.”

Hiccup's breath caught in his throat as he stared down into Markor's lifeless eye, at his own hands covered in blood. Could this be it? Was this what the Goddess had meant? But how? 

Slowly, he shook his head. He'd thought he'd have to kill someone who was in their way. He’d struggled for hours whether he could do that, whether he could become a murderer just to be with her again, and whether he'd even still be worthy of her if he did. His mind had conjured up one scenario after the other in which him killing someone who was about to stop them might be acceptable, self-defence, but they all had felt hollow and surreal. 

But now that he thought about it... that hadn't been what the Goddess had said. She hadn't said that he'd ‘have to kill someone to be with her’. No, she'd only said that ‘he would end a life before he could hold her again’.

A low sob escaped him and he slumped down until his head rested against Markor's. "I'm so sorry," he gasped into the still-warm fur. "You didn't deserve this." But none of this was about what anyone deserved, the slightly more practical part of him realised. Markor's death hadn't been a condition for their happiness, just something that would happen before they could hope again.

But still, he found himself wishing it had been something else. It wasn't that he wanted Eret or Daniel or anyone else to die – but he hadn't wanted Markor to die either, and even though he understood that it made no logical sense to blame himself, he felt guilty nonetheless. Foresight was a painful gift indeed...

Hiccup had no idea how long he'd knelt there next to Markor's still body. He wasn’t paying attention to what was happening around him beyond the assurance that Eret would care for Astrid, so he flinched when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

"Hey, you better get up," Dagur muttered in a gloomy voice. When Hiccup looked up, a hint of confusion in his empty eyes, he added, "We're all heading back. And Uncle Osmond decided that Swanja is to ride with you."

From one breath to the next, Hiccup's heartbeat accelerated from barely there to a stampede. "What?" he gasped, his eyes unerringly darting to where she was still hiding from everyone against Eret's chest.

"Don't ask me," Dagur replied with a shrug. "She was about to ride with Eret, but there was something about not giving advantages, and... I don't know, but this is what the King decided."

With his mind reeling, Hiccup struggled to stand back up onto his legs, and stumbled as his left cramped. Only Dagur's quick reaction kept him from falling again.

"Careful there. And... can I give you a bit of free advice?" He waited, and when Hiccup didn't object seemed to take that as agreement. "First, you should be careful. I know that she wouldn't mind the touch of a friend, but they’re all looking for something to discredit Eret with. You better make sure not to touch her more than absolutely necessary, or this all might turn into an even bigger mess. And second... well... you might want to clean up before you go over there."

Dagur gestured down at his hands, and when Hiccup’s followed the gesture, he found them still covered in red. Mechanically, he nodded.  "Yes… Yes, I'll..."

"There's a stream over there," Dagur pointed helpfully. "But you better hurry, we're all just waiting for you."

Hiccup nodded again, then staggered in the direction Dagur had indicated, quickly finding the stream. The water was cold, but it felt good after the heat of Markor’s blood, and he cleaned his hands as best he could, not wanting to upset Astrid further by letting her see any traces. That done, he headed to where the others were waiting for him. Upon Eret's sign, he mounted Cassie then made room for Eret to lift Astrid up until she sat in front of him. And only then did the full weight of what was happening truly hit him.

She was going to ride with him? The whole way back to the castle, the entire two hours? And he wasn't to interact with her in any way, let alone touch her? How was he supposed to do that, when all his heart, mind, body, and soul longed for was to hold her close and never let go of her again? 

With his entire body trembling, he led Cassie until they rode in the centre of the group of guards assigned to them. The stern looks the men gave them only reinforced Dagur’s warning – they wouldn’t treat any breach of decorum lightly, not in Astrid’s currently brittle state. So he was careful to keep his arms in an awkward half-bent and raised manner, holding Cassie’s reigns without touching Astrid – even as the mayweed scent wafting from her hair made him dizzy and he had to fight the urge and longing to hold her tight at every single second. Again and again, he kept reminding himself that this wasn’t the right place to do so, not with so many people watching them... 

–and not without knowing how she feels about me, he realised with a start. It was two weeks now since they’d last talked of some sort, one week since she’d at least moved on a little and had turned to Eret for comfort. For Hiccup, last night had been a turning point, the realisation that he couldn’t simply give up on them and the revelation that there still was hope… But that didn’t mean that she felt the same. 

“You can hold your beloved in your arms again.”

Holding her in his arms… Wasn’t that what he was doing right now, in a way at least? Was this all the Goddess had referred to? Had Markor died just for him to spend this last ride with her?

A shiver ran down his spine and he choked back a sob as a spark of desperation rose inside him. Was it possible that he’d deceived himself like this, that this ride was all they would ever get? But no, that couldn’t be. That hadn’t been all the Goddess had said. She’d also said that there was always hope, that he only had to do what came naturally to him, and that he would hold his prize in his arms if he did the Gods’ work – whatever that would be.

He would have to hold onto that thought, or he would lose his mind. 

However, the question about how she thought about him was burning at the front of his mind, especially as her face was nothing but a stony mask with rivulets of silent tears running down her cheeks. He wished he could ask her or even comfort her in any way... but that wasn’t possible. Not now, not when they were surrounded by so many people, with so many eyes watching them intently for any slip-ups. 

And thus went the ride; Hiccup felt every moment as they blurred together like grains of sharp glass under his bare feet, each one distinct and painful, yet identical to the others, as they stretched on and on... He didn’t even try to distract himself from the thought of how the only thing separating them was their clothes and a finger width's space between them, knowing that that would be futile anyway. With every step Cassie made, they swayed and shook, just a little but it was enough for her shoulders to brush against his arms or for her hair to tickle at his neck every now and then. It was wonderful and agonising at the same time, being so close to her and yet unable to do or say anything. All he could do to ward off the rising desperation in his heart was to focus on his love for her, on the warmth and tenderness and comfort, and try to send all those emotions through their bond, hoping that they might reach her…

… and to pray for a miracle, for a chance to talk to her – before it was too late.

. o O o .

Astrid felt as if she would break apart at any moment now. 

No, that wasn’t true. She’d already fallen apart. It was only her well-trained mask that followed Tuff through the corridors and to her rooms, while inside she'd already crumbled into a million tiny pieces. 

This day… she’d looked forward to and dreaded it at the same time. The ball tonight with her unofficial choice was supposed to give her comfort, stabilising her in the path she’d taken. But the closer the day had come the more simply thinking about it, about renouncing everything that had been between her and Hiccup, had seemed impossible. And the ride… The ride had been a gift from Eret to her. It had been meant to be at least a tiny bit of freedom, of doing what she loved amidst this entire mess. Contrary to what she’d told her father, she had been looking forward to spending a few hours on Markor’s back, even with knowing that the pace and the company would be annoying. 

But now, the ride had turned into her worst nightmare, and within only a few short moments everything had changed. Thuggory approaching her and his stallion snapping at Markor who'd already been skittish all day. Him shying away from any stallion had happened so often before and she’d always known how to rein him in again. But today, with her heart and mind being entirely somewhere else and with the cursed side-saddle having given her less control, she hadn’t been fast enough – hadn’t been good enough. She hadn’t been able to keep him calm, Markor had run away from his attacker, and the only thing Astrid had been able to do about it had been holding on to him as best she could. Then she’d lost her balance as the broad back beneath her had suddenly dropped. She’d fallen, landing painfully on the ground, and that scream… 

It had all happened so fast and she barely remembered anything of what had happened afterwards, but that sound… Never in her life would she be able to forget that scream.

When they reached her chambers, Astrid barely registered how Tuff warded off any questions his sister tried to ask her. Instead, she stumbled past her maidservant and… she didn’t even think about where to go. It seemed inevitable, like there was only one place to go, one object that could soothe her in her current state. 

Unable to hold herself on her legs any longer, she slumped down into the chair in front of her desk. Her fingers were trembling when she opened the lid to her treasure chest but still didn’t waver as they reached for her trusted music box. The familiar tune would help her, it always did. She just needed a few minutes to pull herself together again, just watching the tiny dancer for a few rounds. Surely, this would centre her enough to, somehow, survive the ball and everything attached to it. 

Taking the music box out of the coffer and getting it started happened without her even having to think about it. But even as she was doing that, her eyes had fallen on another object in her box, a simple object that was still able to stir up new emotions inside her whenever she looked at it: the wooden carving of a horse that looked so much like Markor and that Hiccup had given her – as a reminder.

Astrid’s entire body shook as she fought to keep her feelings locked deep inside her. She couldn't let them loose, not ever, or she wasn't sure whether she would be able to contain them again. But...

Markor – her beloved horse, Eret's gift, the witness to those first hours she'd spent with Hiccup, the tiny grasp of freedom her father had granted her – was dead! Nothing could return him to her. She would never see him again, never hear his happy snort when she came to visit him, never again feel the warmth of his fur beneath her hands or the simple comfort they could give each other when he playfully rubbed his nose against her chest. And she hadn't even been able to say goodbye. 

A desperate sob tore itself from her throat at that realisation, of how utterly insurmountable it was to retrieve what was lost forever. How was she supposed to pull herself together enough for the ball? It was only an hour or two before she would have to be presentable and face all those men again. It felt impossible, and she wasn't sure whether her soothing music box would be enough. 

On the pure reflex of having done the same motion countless times before,  she reached out to shake the music box as it approached the usual sticking point in the music – except that it didn't get stuck.

Because Hiccup had repaired it.

With wide eyes, Astrid gazed at the music box, at the tiny dancer as it twirled in time with the unfamiliar tune. She could feel it as the last dam insider her cracked at that moment. All she got out was a weak whimper before the flood wave of sorrow crashed down on her, drowning her in all those memories and emotions she'd tried to lock away forever.

Hiccup.

She'd forbidden herself to think about him. For roughly a week now, she'd tried to convince herself that she was okay, or would be at least. That she could be happy with Eret, could live a life other than at his side. But she'd been deceiving herself, she now realised – and probably had known it the entire time. 

Even when she'd tried to focus on talking to Eret or had found some form of comfort in his closeness, she'd still been so aware of Hiccup, of where exactly he stood or whether he was in the same room at all. Even without her help, her eyes had wandered through the room only to glide over him in passing, never lingering but unable to stay away from him either. Yes, she'd been a fool… but it had taken this day to realise it.

Losing Markor had hurt like nothing else – and still did – but in a strangely different way, the ride back to the castle had hurt just as much. Hiccup had been so close! His warmth had radiated toward her even without him touching her, and his breath on her neck had sent pleasant shivers down her spine. It could have been perfect; she'd just needed to lean back a tiny little bit then she could have basked in his embrace, could have imagined his love and comfort around her like a blanket. She could have imagined that there was still hope for them.

But there was no hope.

Hiccup had made it clear that, no matter how much they both might long for it, there was no way for them. He'd given up. And no matter how desperate she still might be for there to just be something, his behaviour today had proven that nothing had changed. He hadn't even made a single attempt at talking to her or holding her; not even a hug or the comforting words of a friend. Just silence and distance despite the longing she thought she'd felt thrumming through their bond. 

It was then when she broke down for real, half-draped across her desk and with the melody of the music box taunting her until it ran out. She cried, harder and more abundantly than even during the nights before. Markor was lost forever and so was Hiccup and their future. Over and over her mind circled around the same thoughts, unable to find a way out.

She couldn't go on any longer. Markor was dead. Her future with Hiccup was lost. And yet, every fibre of her being still longed for him, his warm embrace, his sweet kisses, and the ease and comfort of simply being with him. She needed him like she needed the air to breathe. She couldn't go on any longer…

. o O o .

Astrid stood at the head of the big ballroom, hidden from everyone by a thick curtain. She only dimly recalled how she’d gotten here; Ruff had eventually shaken her out of her stupor and whispered the only words that still held some meaning. 

For Eret. 

Her own life had no worth to her, not anymore. All she still could do was help to make her best friend's life easier. It was only a small comfort, but it would have to be enough. It was all that was left to her. So she'd let Ruff make her presentable; she'd gotten her hair and makeup in order and had dressed her in the most extravagant outfit Astrid had worn so far; the bust had a beautiful intricate pattern of different shades of blue, ranging from dark midnight to a rich sky blue, while the skirt was made of countless layers of the lightest silk she'd ever seen, floating around her like a cloud of nearly white light blue. Her silver swan coronet and a pair of silken dark-blue gloves that reached up to her elbows completed her appearance, and under different circumstances, she probably would have complimented the exquisite handiwork of the dressmaker.

Now though, she simply stood there behind her curtain, apathetically waiting for her sign to join the celebrating crowd. She could hear them talking and laughing, and there was music too, many couples certainly dancing already.  

A part of her wanted to charge into the room and scream at them all; how could they celebrate on a day like this? 

But, of course, to them, nothing bad had happened today. Nothing but a small accident with no casualties except for a dumb horse. Nothing serious. Nothing but exciting gossip on this day of socialising and forming bonds. There was a reason the invited guests had also brought their daughters, after all; with so many eligible noblemen looking for a bride, her unofficial choice tonight would certainly discourage some of those who'd been courting her, enough so that they might turn their attention to other young noblewomen instead. Hers wouldn't be the only betrothal that would soon be celebrated. 

Astrid was torn between hating having to wait here and dreading the moment she would have to step in front of the crowd. People would expect a decision from her – and she wasn't ready! How could she ever be ready to renounce their divine connection? But all too soon, the music paused and with a whispered "It's your turn now, milady. Make me proud," her governess shooed her out of her hiding place. If Astrid had possessed the energy, she would have wanted to scratch the woman’s eyes out for her words. But as it was, all she could do was mutely take her place at her father's side, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest, and she felt dizzy as all eyes in the room turned toward her. She was sure that the King said some important-sounding words, announcing the next dance to be ladies' choice with only implying the deeper meaning of her choice, but she didn't hear any of it. 

Slowly, as if in a trance, she took the couple of steps leading down from the dais to the dance floor. She couldn't hear anything over her blood rushing through her ears, could barely see more than blurry faces swimming in a sea of meaningless colours. And then, even those were gone, and even though she could feel her body moving on, the scene playing out behind her mind's eye was another.

“One day, we will dance together,” he promised, murmuring against her skin. “I’ll come to you, open and for everyone to see, and ask you for a dance. Maybe they would stare and wonder, but it won’t matter. There will be only you and me. Forever.”

Astrid chuckled at his mellow words, even as the picture they painted was a beautiful one. “What makes you think you’ll be the one to ask?” she replied, and turned her head to seek his skin with her lips. “Maybe it’ll be ladies’ choice. I’d walk along the line of waiting men, not seeing any of them, only you…”

A hiccupy sob tore itself from her chest before she could hold it back and recompose herself. Oh, how she wished those words from what seemed to be another life could become reality. 

Without her help, her eyes landed on his and for the first time in days stayed there as she kept walking along the line of watching people. And what she saw there nearly broke her all over again. She saw his longing that found its echo in her own heart, saw his love and warmth just like she felt it all thrumming in her chest. She had no doubt that he'd remembered their conversation about dancing together just now too, knew that he wanted it to be real just like she did.

But that was impossible. This wasn't about what they wanted anymore, and never had been. There was no hope for their dream of a shared future, and indulging in this wish of at least dancing with him this one time would only cause problems, possibly even his death. 

There was no hope...

She'd almost reached him before she managed to squelch those thoughts and turn her eyes away from him. It was lucky, really, that Eret would stand right next to him, or people would have wondered why she'd come here in the first place. With her last strength, she turned her head, her hollow eyes finding those of her friend. Her hand reaching out to him was only half asking him for the dance; the other half was seeking something to hold on to as the entire room started to spin around her. 

She felt as if she was falling; when Eret took her hand, when he led her back into the middle of the room, even when the music started and they began to move in time with the melody. She was falling, falling, falling, and not even Eret's arms around her were able to hold her anymore. The whole room around her was spinning faster and faster, and not just because of their dancing. Everything around her was nothing but a blur – except for one single face amidst the crowd, the only face she would always find, no matter what. He was moving, walking away from the dancefloor and the crowd and toward the large glass doors that led out into the garden. Before he left her sight, however, he turned and their eyes met once more.

And the way he looked at her… sadness and pain mixed with desperate longing, the same turmoil of emotions she was feeling too. But there was also something else, something more, another emotion she couldn’t quite name right away. It took her another moment or three, time in which he slipped out of the room, before she understood. And when she did, the sensation of falling and of the world around her spinning too fast became even worse. 

Hiccup had looked disappointed.

As if he’d hoped!

It was all too much... Astrid couldn’t take any more, and from one moment to the other, everything around her turned black...

. o O o .

Astrid awoke to a mild headache, a bitter taste on her tongue, and the room still spinning around her. It wasn’t as bad as before though, which was good. She blinked, trying to clear her head and remember what had happened. But after walking past the waiting men, there was nothing.

The room around her was only dimly lit by a small lamp somewhere to her side. It wasn't her bedroom that much was clear, but it took her a moment before she realised where she was: in one of the smaller parlours that were attached to the ballroom and that usually provided space for people to talk more privately. Someone must have brought her here, after…

"Are you feeling better, milady?"

Astrid flinched at those words – she'd thought she was alone – but it was just Ruff who leaned over her, concern clear on her face. Instead of an answer, Astrid tried to sit up, groaning, and only managed when Ruff took hold of her hand and shoulder to help her up.

"Careful, don’t rush it now. You’ve been out for about twenty minutes. Here, drink this and give yourself a few minutes before you get up." She handed her a glass of watered wine, but also placed her other hand on her shoulder to keep her from standing up.

Astrid accepted the glass gratefully and took a careful sip. She could practically feel how her body absorbed the liquid; had she eaten or drunk anything at all since breakfast? She couldn’t remember. After a minute or so of silence, she asked in a weak voice, “What happened?”

Ruff watched her with a concerned grimace. “You fainted during your opening dance with Eret. He caught you – which, granted, wasn’t too hard with you already being in his arms, I guess – and directly brought you here. I’m a little impressed, actually. Another man would have gotten annoyed at this grand moment – your first official dance as nearly-betrothed – getting interrupted. But he acted more like an apprehensive mother hen; it got so bad that I sent him away to fetch… whatever I was thinking about at that moment. Tuff is guarding the door, so you can rest here until you feel better. He won’t let anyone in for now.”

Astrid nodded mutely and slowly sipped her wine, her lips twitching into something like a faint smile at Ruff’s words. She wondered how Tuff would react if the King himself demanded entrance – not that that was very likely – and was fairly sure that her warder would even try to keep him away if he thought it necessary. 

As she drank, memories of what had happened before her blackout slowly came back to her though, even if only in fractions. The sensation of falling, and a single face in a sea of colours with an impossible expression on it. He’d made it clear that there was no hope left for them, no chance of ever being together. And yet, he’d been disconcerted when she turned to Eret after all. He still hoped!

“I need to talk to him,” she murmured, startling Ruff when her words broke the silence between them. She placed the glass on a low side table and pushed herself up onto shaky legs, her eyes darting to where another set of doors led into the gardens, before Ruff could hold her back. She couldn’t let anyone hold her back now! If there was even the tiniest bit of hope left for her and Hiccup, then she had to take it.

“Wait, wait,” Ruff tried to interfere hastily. “Who do you mean? Eret? I can tell Tuff to call him in, no problem. No need for you to–”

Astrid interrupted her. “No, I don’t mean Eret.” 

She didn’t elaborate, just threw her maidservant a desperate look. Ruff had witnessed her crying into her pillows night after night; she had to know who she was talking about. And she clearly did. Astrid could see the understanding dawn in her eyes. Her hand on Astrid’s shoulder tightened, and for a second, it seemed as if she would hold her back, would call Tuff back in and whoever else might be waiting for her to come back to her senses. One witness, and Astrid sneaking out into the night would become impossible. But then she drew her hand back and gave her a tight nod. 

“Go. Do what you have to; Tuff and I will buy you as much time as we can.”

Astrid swallowed, touched by Ruff’s words. She’d never doubted the twins’ loyalty to her, and after learning that they’d known about her sneaking away but hadn’t told anyone, Astrid had begun to understand that this loyalty was stronger than she’d thought. But only now did she realise just how deep in really went. She would have to find a way to thank them later. But for now, all she could do was breathe a heartfelt, “Thank you,” before slipping out into the night. The cool air bit into the skin of her bare upper arms; maybe it would have been more prudent to take some form of cloak with her, but she didn’t care. She had no idea how much time she would have; she wouldn’t waste what she had with something that trivial. 

Logically, she should have been worried whether Hiccup would even still be out here or how she was supposed to find him among the ample labyrinth of hedges and flower beds and bushes and trees. But somehow, she knew exactly where to find him; it was just like it had been in that first night, Eret’s accolade, when some inner sense had told her where he was at any moment. Maybe it was the separation that had let their bond intensify like this or it was the Gods’ interference that guided her, she didn’t know – but she also didn’t care. All she cared about was that she could feel how she got closer to him with every step or turn, that it would only be a matter of a few more heartbeats, until– 

She stopped dead in her tracks when she reached an opening amidst the hedges and spotted him standing at the other end, only a handful of steps away from her. So close and they were entirely alone out here. This was exactly what a part of her – the part that still was and always would be his Astrid – had longed for ever since he’d fled from the armoury almost two weeks ago; the chance to talk freely, to be just them again. 

But now that it was here, she didn’t know what to do or say. He’d clearly noticed her arrival; his shoulders had visibly tensed and, surely, he had felt her approach just like she had felt him, too. He didn’t react though, didn’t say or do anything, and for a moment, Astrid feared she might have read too much into that moment of shared desperate looks. What if she’d been wrong, if nothing had changed? She wasn’t sure whether either of them would be strong enough to live through another meeting like their last one. 

So she stood still, eyes fixed on his hunched-over figure and uncertain what to do, before she reminded herself of something she’d learned during the happy months she’d spend with him: that she could ask him everything, that with him, she didn’t need to hold back. She only hoped that was still true. 

“What just happened in there?” she blurted out before she could overthink again.

At first, she thought Hiccup wouldn’t respond though, his shoulders only growing even tenser. But eventually, he did react, if not as she’d hoped he would. 

“What do you mean?” he asked in a low, nearly inaudible whisper. His back was still turned toward her and with a breeze rustling the twigs around them, she shouldn’t have been able to understand him. But right now, she would’ve picked out his voice amidst a thunderstorm. 

“I mean… I mean the way you looked, right before you left. Wha-what was that supposed to mean?” 

Hiccup grunted out something like a harsh and unamused laugh before he finally turned his head to look at her. It was dark out here, the lights of the castle barely reaching them, but she could still see that his eyes were hollow and tired. “I know I suggested it,” he murmured. “But… it’s so hard to watch you two together. I’m sorry that I’m not strong enough; I didn’t mean to let you see this. You… you should go back, I’m sure everyone is missing you already.” 

And what about you? she wanted to demand, but kept herself from blurting out those harsh words. They weren’t necessary, she didn’t doubt that he was missing her too. But that wasn’t the point. 

“That’s not what I meant,” she replied instead, her voice gentle and soothing, if a little weak. If he only felt half as brittle as she did, then harsh words wouldn’t help right now. “You looked… disappointed, as if you’d expected me to do something else. And I… I just…” she trailed off, again unsure of what to say. 

Hiccup turned a little more, eyeing her with the intensity she’d missed dearly. “You… what?”

“I… I need to know what you were thinking,” she added. “Please…”

There was an uncomfortable pause in which nothing but both their breathing was audible, his getting heavier by the second, as if he was struggling with some inner fight. Then he sighed, his shoulders slumping, and he gave a weak nod. “You’re right,” he murmured. “For a moment, I thought… I thought you’d come to me instead. I know how stupid that was, given everything that happened, but–” he paused, shrugging helplessly– “I guess I was hoping for a miracle, for this nightmare to end. I just… I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Astrid could do little but stare at him as her mind tried to work through his words. Oh, they were simple enough and she knew what he meant, had felt the same. But there was one thing he’d said, one single word that threatened to make everything around her fall apart again. 

“You’ve… You’ve been hoping?” she gasped, her knees going weak. 

Hiccup obviously understood the implication and met her eyes with a clear look. “Yes.”

For the second time this night, the whole world around her was spinning. Everything she’d done lately – giving up her dreams and giving in to the expectations placed on her, accepting the thought of becoming Eret’s wife and trying to find comfort in that fate – all that she’d done based on one single fact: that Hiccup had given up and that there was nothing she could do either. That there was no hope left for them. But if that wasn’t true, if Hiccup still hoped…

The feeling of spinning got worse, as if she might pass out again at any moment. This was too much. The day had been too much, worse than any before, and the thought that she might have given up too soon... She was falling again, idly wondering whether hitting the soft grass beneath her would hurt or whether she’d even still feel the impact – but it never came to that. 

From one heartbeat to the next, she was suddenly caught in an embrace she’d thought she would never feel again. His warmth and closeness washed through her like a healing wave that made her whimper helplessly. It felt so good. Weakly, she huddled closer against his chest, seeking more of what she’d missed so desperately: His warmth, his scent, his closeness, the feeling of rightness and security he always gave her. She didn’t say anything for a while, only basked in it all until the world stopped spinning and her mind became a little clearer again. 

“I thought there was no hope left for us,” she eventually mumbled against his chest. They were both back on their feet now, but still entangled in a tight embrace with one another. Her arms wrapped around his waist to hold on to him. She never wanted to let go of him again. 

“There is always hope,” he seemed to mumble into her hair.

Her mind went blank for a moment. No. She must have misheard him. Her mind was playing tricks on her, taunting her. “What?” she gasped out and turned her head until she could look up at him. She needed more than just words, needed to see it for herself.

Hiccup looked at her as well, a mixture of soft adoration and desperate longing in his eyes. “‘There is always hope’,” he repeated and loosened his hold around her to brush a few loose strands of hair out of her eyes. “That’s what the Goddess told me.” He paused, hesitantly licking his lips. “I… had another vision last night,” he explained upon her confused look. “She visited me in my dreams and, among other things, told me that there’s always hope. That… that I would only have to do what comes naturally for me and then we can be together.” He shrugged self-consciously.

Astrid leaned her forehead back against his chest as she tried to grasp what he’d just told her. She wanted to believe him, only the Gods knew how much she wanted. But did she dare to do so? She took a minute to try and make sense of it all, all whilst holding on to him as tightly as she could. She wanted it to be true, wanted to be with him for the rest of her life. But could she rebuild her hope based on nothing but this? Could she give in to the growing longing that was about to burst through her inner walls and tear down the brittle construct of another life she’d build over the last week? Did she even have a choice?

“Are you sure it wasn’t just a dream, just wishful thinking?” she asked, her voice close to breaking. His heartbeat was thrumming in her ear as her hands tightened in his tunic at his back, desperate to believe it as well but also afraid of renewed pain. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to endure that.

“Yes, I’m sure,” he eventually murmured, hesitantly, and when she looked up again, he had his face averted, chewing at his lip in thoughts. “It’s a… a long story. Not something to tell you now. But yes, I have enough reason to believe that it wasn’t just an ordinary dream. She told me things, knew things that…” 

He trailed off when she began to tremble uncontrollably, keening, and his arms around her tightened until he was almost crushing her. It still wasn’t enough. In that moment, as the emotional tide she’d tried to hold back burst through her and washed away every reasonable thought left, she only wanted him to hold her tighter, closer, until they were merged together, inseparably. 

For a few minutes, neither of them spoke. They didn’t need to. For now, it was enough to just hold each other, to be this close again after a separation that had lasted for far too long. Again, Astrid was basking in it all, his warmth and comfort, in the reassurance and safety she felt radiating from him. But it was so much more intense now compared to earlier as it came with the hope that their suffering might be over. She was amazed at how simple it was, at how easily they clicked back together. The torn pieces of her heart slid back into place, the edges reconnecting as if nothing had ever happened. She was back in Hiccup’s arms and, for this moment, everything was perfect. 

But she knew that reality couldn’t be warded off forever. Even with how good and right it felt to be with him again, they couldn’t stay out here in the cool gardens forever. Sooner rather than later, she would have to get back. People would start to look for her, if they hadn’t already; Ruff wouldn’t be able to appease them for much longer. She had to get back to the ball before someone noticed her absence, had to get back to her mask, to playing her part. She had to get back to become Eret’s wife. 

She sobbed as this realisation hit her. She loved Eret, as her friend and her brother, she really did. But the idea of actually marrying him now that new hope for her being with her soulmate had taken root inside her…

“I can’t do this,” she whispered weakly. Hiccup tensed up and made attempts to pull away from her, but she wouldn’t let him and instead clung to him with all the strength she had left. “I can’t go back in there and pretend anymore,” she elaborated instead. “Not when this is still possible. Please, Hiccup. What can we do?”

“I-I don’t know.” He sounded incredibly brittle, vulnerable. “All I know is that there must be a way, but I don’t know what it is. Nothing has changed there. But… but I will find a way through this!” 

His words, muffled into her hair, did little to calm her. Without a doubt, it was soothing to know that they were on the same page again. But he was right; nothing had changed. There still was no way out for them, and their time to find one was limited. Not marrying Eret after tonight would cause some turmoil, but it would pass. Her choice at the ball hadn’t been binding, after all. But that left them only two more weeks until that choice would become official, until going back on her word would cause a great amount of trouble, no matter how close the Houses Hofferson and Jag’r were. But if they couldn’t find a way... 

“Take me away from here.” The words were out before she could think about it. It didn’t matter that they’d talked about that option before, didn’t matter that, logically, she knew it was insane. It was the only solution she could think of. 

“Astrid, that’s–”

But before Hiccup could say any more, object to her idea as she expected, she cut him off with a quick shake of her head. She wasn’t sure whether some part of her had thought this through before or whether she was making it up as she went, but from one second to the other, the idea was in her head, crystal clear and simple.

“Not right now,” she clarified. “We have a few days to plan ahead. When we choose the right moment, some busy time over a longer hunt, for example, it could take up to an entire day before someone notices I’m gone. We can pack provisions to last us a few days and then we can hunt and live off the forest until they give up. There’s no need for us to stick to taverns and inns where people can easily find us. We can stay away from the roads, travel through the forests and fields to avoid search parties, at least for a while. It’s possible, I know it is.” And if someone finds us, she added mentally. Then they will have to get through me to get to you. Out loud, she added, “And once we’re free of any hunters, we can go somewhere safe, build that simple home we saw. I’m sure you can find work wherever we go, be it working with livestock or as a mechanic, or maybe even as a blacksmith’s apprentice. And I can learn how to cook, I’ll take care of our home and raise our children. I know it won’t always be easy, but together we can do it. Please, at least consider it.”

Hiccup had listened to every word she’d said, quietly and without interrupting her. She had fully expected him to do so or to object now, to come up with some logical reasoning why that wouldn’t be possible. But nothing like that happened. Instead, he lifted one hand to cup her face, his thumb gently caressing her cheekbone. 

“I wasn’t going to turn that idea down,” he said in a low, hoarse whisper, his eyes fixed on hers. There was a sincerity in them, a determination that she hadn’t seen there before. “If I’ve learned one thing from these past weeks, then it’s that I’m ready to do everything to not lose you again. Even something as crazy as eloping with you.” His lips twitched into something of a smile despite his somewhat sad expression. “But you’re right, that won’t be easy. I’ve lived on the road for long enough to know how hard it can be, how cold the nights can get and how merciless hunger can become. And we wouldn’t even simply live on the road, but on the run; that would make everything so much harder. So let’s keep that as a last resort, okay?”

Smiling, Astrid relaxed a little more. “Okay,” she breathed, smiling. A ‘last resort’ was good, a backup plan, the assurance that nothing could separate them. It was hope. However, there was one thing she needed before she could go back, one more assurance. “Just... promise me one thing.” 

“Everything!” he replied without hesitation, a weak chuckle vibrating through his chest. “Whatever you want, Milady, the answer is yes.”

Oh, it was so good to see and hear and feel him like this again, so light and free, with at least a spark of confidence. Astrid wanted these minutes with him to never end. She knew that they only had a little time left though, and she didn’t want to waste that. This was important to her, important for her sanity. “Don’t let me go,” she pleaded. “Not ever again. Whatever happens, there’s no giving up anymore.”

Pain sparked up in his eyes at the reminder, but it disappeared almost instantly and got replaced by burning sincerity. “I won’t let go,” he vowed. “Not ever again. Whatever happens, I will fight for us.”

Him wording his reply exactly like her request before made her smile turn a few shades warmer and softer, and with a sighed, “Thank you!” she rested her head back against his chest. She would have to go back any minute now, but until then, she wanted to soak up as much of his warmth and closeness as she could. She was sure that she would need it. 

The minutes stretched though, and every time she felt as if the moment to part, at least for now, had come, she found another reason to stay just a tiny bit longer. Like how much she’d missed his scent of leather and sunshine, how good his fingers felt as they caressed her bare upper arms, or how much the even sound of his breathing calmed her. Gods, she’d missed him so much! Being here with him now after all the pain of the past weeks, it almost felt like a dream in itself, like it was too good to be true. But it was true; it had to be with the cool breeze slowly getting uncomfortable through the thin fabric of her dress and with the distant music of the ball echoing toward them no matter how hard she tried to tune it out. 

She was about to retreat, for real this time, when some unexpected sounds made them both flinch. No, not unexpected, not really, but… but… Astrid felt panic rise inside her as the noises, footsteps and the low whispering of clearly more than one person, came closer and closer to where they were ‘hiding’ – in a separate clearing, yes, but still in full view should someone enter. 

Shaking with the old fear of getting caught, Astrid’s eyes darted around over the hedges and scrubs. She was looking for a place to hide, making a step backwards – or tried to, at least. Hiccup’s arms around her didn’t loosen to let her move away; on the contrary, it felt as if he held her even tighter.

“Hiccup, what… Let me… I need to hide!” There was panic in her voice now as it was in her eyes as she looked up at him, pleading, begging him to– 

“I won’t let go,” he whispered urgently, something like frantic desperation gleaming in his eyes. “Not ever again…”

For a moment, her fear grew even stronger as she tried to struggle free. They mustn’t be found like this, in full view of whoever might happen upon them and tightly entangled, without leaving any doubt about the nature of this meeting. They had to part, to hide, had to pray and hope that whoever was coming in their direction wouldn’t spot them. It would only make everything worse. 

But then, she remembered her own thought from earlier. ‘Then they will have to get through me to get to you.’ In an instant, she stopped struggling and sought his eyes with her own, sought confirmation. Her hand landed on his chest, over his heart, at the same moment as he touched her in the same way, and they shared a short but decisive nod. If necessary, they would fight every battle for each other, for their right to be together. 

All of a sudden, she felt incredibly light, with all fear and worries having evaporated in a heartbeat. This was where she was supposed to be, where the Gods had placed her. Where she belonged. It wasn’t even a choice when she stretched then, her free hand moving up to curl around his neck, and pressed her lips to his. It was inevitable, the only logical thing to do. 

Hiccup didn’t even seem surprised, welcomed her even with a soft sigh that sounded as if an incredible weight had been lifted off his soul. And Astrid felt the same. The moment their lips met it was as if she could breathe freely for the first time in a long while, as if she’d been drowning and now had broken through the surface again. She’d meant for this to be a gentle kiss, one that spoke of reconciliation and reassurance. But after only one heartbeat, it became something else, something more. Reconciliation turned into reconnecting, reassurance into the promise that they would never deny their love again. Their lips and tongues moved together, more eager and demanding after the long break, just like their entire bodies thought more contact, clutching and pulling. Hiccup’s hand curled around the base of her head, and for once neither of them cared that he might ruin the intricate pattern of her braids. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered to them except each other.

Maybe it wasn’t the powerful connecting of their first true kiss, not the meeting and melding of a thunderstorm and a flood wave. But it felt like so much more, like the force of nature brewing between them had finally reached its full power, ready to strike out at whoever dared to get too close. At that moment, with them clutching at each other and with their moans and their gasping breaths mingling between hungry mouths, she felt invincible.

And not even the footsteps behind her coming to an abrupt halt and the whispering turning into stunned silence could change that. 

 . o O o .

So, yeah... This last scene didn't turn out as I always imagined it. In my mind, it always was a highly emotional and tragic scene, still a reunion, but not as hopeful as it is now, but more one that happened by luck. Ah, well. It now is as it is. And I'm still kinda happy how it turned out, even with aaaall the things I had to cut out because they didn't fit to how the story had developed anymore or wouldn't work with these characters at all.

I hope it was still satisfying enough...

Next chapter

#FTLOAP #For The Love Of A Princess #Hiccstrid #Fanfiction #hiccstrid fanfiction #Romance #Angst #hurt/comfort #medieval au #Hiccstrid Medieval AU #hiccstrid royal au #royalty au #Hiccup and Astrid #httyd

[marshmallow-phd]

Midnight Hours

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Sehun x Reader

Summary: For you, being a good witch was easier said than done. Something dark was lurking inside of you and the others knew it. When you’re forced to tag along with Soomi and help a local wolfpack face a coming evil, you’re sent on a path that breaks into a crossroads. While you struggle with your inner demons, could the wolf Sehun be the key to your ultimate fate?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I 15 I 16 I 17 I Final

**

You didn’t speak to Sehun as he pulled into the garage and shut off the engine. Hell, you were half tempted to jump out of the car when he’d first rolled onto the grass, but you thought that might be a little overdramatic. Besides, slamming the door to his “baby” as hard as you could was much more satisfying. You caught the flinch as soon as the metal hit and echoed through the building. Yes, satisfying indeed. 

“(y/n)….”

Nope. You were not in the mood to listen to anymore of his doubts or his tries to persuade you out of your opinion. 

Your anger and frustration must have been written all over your face. As soon as Soomi saw your face, she jumped up from the couch. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked. 

You glanced over your shoulder as Sehun’s sour face before replying. “Nothing.”

Clearly ignoring the hint that you didn’t want to talk about it, Soomi looked to the wolf behind you. “What happened?”

“(y/n) thinks she knows who the woman is, but I disagree,” he said in a very simplified version. 

Soomi’s eyes lit up with hope. “You do? Who?”

You swallowed thickly. What if she had the same reaction as Sehun? What if absolutely no one believed you? “I think,” you said quietly, “that it might be Mina.”

“Mina? Dana’s friend? Why?”

“Because she looks like the woman in my visions,” you explained confidently. 

“Whose face you’ve never seen,” Sehun argued as he stepped up next to you, an annoyed glare in his eyes. 

You didn’t even look at him. “No, but I am the one who has had the visions, so I have the clues, as I said before.”

“But there are millions of people with blonde hair and pale skin,” Sehun pushed further. “That’s hardly enough to go by.”

“I don’t know,” Soomi muttered, her eyebrows knitted together as she weighed the issue in front of her. Just when it seemed that you would be on your own once again, she surprised you. “The timing is suspicious. For her to show up now and look so similar….”

“Oh, come on, Soomi, not you, too,” Sehun whined. 

“What’s going on?”

Junmyeon entered with Kita by his side and several others behind him. Why did every little happening in this house have to have an audience?

“(y/n) thinks Mina might be the woman from her visions,” Sehun grumbled. It seemed he, too, was a little irritated at how big this was scene was getting. Since you saw it as his fault, you didn’t feel the least bit sorry for him. “I’m trying to make her see that there’s no way it could be Mina.”

“You don’t know that,” Hae In interjected. Oh thank god someone had some sense. 

“She’s Dana’s friend.”

“So?” Hae In snapped. “We don’t know her. I’d trust (y/n) over Mina.”

Sehun rolled his eyes. “It’s not that I don’t trust (y/n). Of course I do. But I don’t think we should be jumping to conclusions. Blonde hair and pale skin? That could describe you, Hae In.”

“Maybe it is me,” she smirked. “Maybe I got sick of you and decided to form a rebellion and take (y/n) with me.”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Baekhyun muttered. 

“Kyungsoo would kill you if he heard that,” said Jongin. 

Luhan shrugged. “I doubt it. He’s not a big fan of Mina either.”

“But Mina is still Dana’s friend,” Kimberly argued. “I don’t think we should be singling her out off of circumstantial evidence.”

“Another wonderful sentence from the future crime reporter,” Jongdae grunted. Jongin didn’t take too kindly to the remark, a deep growl rumbling in his chest. 

“Okay, that’s enough!” Junmyeon barked. Shifting his attention to you, he said in a calmer voice, “(y/n), thank you for bringing this to our attention. We’ll keep a close eye on Mina. I’ll go call Kyungsoo. It’ll be difficult, but he should be able to keep this from Dana for the time being. We don’t want to cause her unneeded stress.”

You nodded, accepting that answer for now. It felt nice that you were being taken seriously by at least one of the alphas. But that didn’t make the initial betrayal hurt any less. 

Pushing past the crowd, you took the stairs two at a time until you reached the second floor in record time. You should have known better than to try and use this place as an escape, but there was no turning back now. 

“Hey, wait-”

“I don’t feel like talking to you right now.” You tried to open the door to the bedroom, but Sehun put his hand over yours, holding it shut. Damn the contact, you snatched your hand away. You were sure the boys used the hormonal seizure that happened in the mates’ body at the skin to skin contact to their advantage. This would not be one such occasion. Not on your watch. 

“Well, I do,” he grunted as he pushed himself between you and the door. 

“Unless it’s a genuine apology, I don’t want to hear it.”

He sighed heavily. “I’m sorry that I can’t believe that it’s Mina.”

“Wrong kind of apology.” You tried to shove passed him, but the big lug wouldn’t budge. 

Sehun roared. “Why are you so difficult?”

“Why can’t you just trust me?” you fired back. 

“It’s not that I don’t trust you! I just don’t want you to jump to conclusions!”

“I’m not jumping to conclusions, I’m following the clues!” You wanted to rip your hair out. Why wouldn’t he just take you at your word? “I can’t change what I saw in my visions!”

Sehun shook his head defiantly. “Sometimes I really hate that you have those.”

Knife? Meet heart. 

Yes, you hated them sometimes, too, but at the end of the day they were still apart of you. They were a part of your gifts – gifts that frustrated you and put you on the outside, but still yours. You couldn’t get rid of them, you couldn’t just make them stop, so you accepted them. It was one thing for you to have animosities about the visions, it was another for him to. Saying that he hated your visions made you feel like he hated a part of you. Those visions were the reason you were here in the first place. They were what brought you to the farmhouse where you could meet this so-called love of your life. This was the man who was supposed to stand by your side and accept every part of you. Apparently, nice things didn’t last too long in your life. 

“Excuse me, then, I’ll just turn them off for your convenience.”

Sehun groaned. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what could you have possibly meant, Sehun? Huh?” You didn’t really give him a chance to reply. “Why don’t you just admit that being mated to me wasn’t all you thought it would be?”

Sehun’s eyes widened in shock. “(y/n), where is this coming from?”

 A million little facets of insecurity and doubt, that’s where. But you decided to throw his behavior in his face instead. That was a less vulnerable - and not as truthful - “Oh, I don’t know. How about the fact that you’re fine until the topic of my powers come up. Then you start acting weird and change the subject. Everyone else wants to see them, but you just sit there with this sour frown on your face. You used to be fascinated by it too, you know.” Tears pricked at your eyes. Fantastic. There was no way for you to hide them, so you just let them collect and pool. “You used to stare at me in awe when I used my powers. It’s part of why I fell for you in the first place, before knowing I was your mate. But now I just feel like a burden to you.”

“You have never been a burden, (y/n).”

“But it’d be easier, right?” you snapped back. “Now that the shine is gone, it’d be easier if I were normal, boring human like the others, wouldn’t it? Less complicated that way?”

At first, he said nothing. He stared at you with his mouth pressed in a tight line, the same look he always had when he was thinking hard. His hesitation wasn’t doing your self-esteem any favors. Air blew out of his lungs, ending the pause. 

“Yes, it would be, but-”

You shook your head almost violently. “No, thanks. I don’t need any explanations. Not from you.”

“(y/n), listen to me-”

Slam! You’d made it to the bathroom down the hall and locked the door behind you before he could even finish his sentence. 

You hated him. You hated him more than the ones who used to torture and bully you for being different, for being more. It was idiotic to feel accepted and at peace around him. You’d settled into content and it’d blown up in your face. He’d backed away as soon as things didn’t line up for him perfectly. 

“(y/n)! Open the door, please! Just let me explain!”

No. He didn’t give you the benefit of listening to your suspicions, why should you listen to him now?

You didn’t yell at him to go away or to shut up or any words at all. Instead, you sat there on the cold tile silently, legs folded and back against the wooden door. Each time Sehun knocked against the thin barrier with his fist, you felt the vibrations through your shoulder blades. Still you didn’t moved. 

Eventually he gave up and you listened to his footsteps fade away through the hall and down the stairs. 

Now would have been the time to cry. Now would have been the time to let out all the tears. The wall of hurt that had built up inside you, each brick of molded out of the words and doubt given by Sehun, would easily come crashing down upon if you simply tapped on it with your finger. But you never touched it. 

Sitting there you were just… existing. Time no longer felt real the longer you stayed in that small room. You could almost imagine yourself living inside a bubble connected to another dimension, another world. If only you could really escape to another place and no longer have to deal with the happenings of this place. But that wasn’t possible. Even magic had its limitations. 

But you could do something. 

You needed space. You needed to get away, have some time to yourself, and maybe even find some proof that you weren’t crazy. Maybe if you could connect more dots between the visions and Mina, you could-

You weren’t sure what you wanted at this point. To be right? To get back at Sehun? There was no telling what currently drove you. 

Leave. Now. 

It almost felt like a whisper in your ear, urging you to get up and go, to not waste time, but no true source could be found for the urge. 

Taking a risk, you peeked out the bathroom to check that the coast was clear before scurrying to the bedroom. You didn’t stuff much into Soomi’s knapsack she packed for emergencies as you figured you’d only be gone for a day or so. It was fully your intention to be back before the blood moon. So with the pull-string bag slung over your shoulder, you checked the hallway once again and headed back for the bathroom. 

You knew that your best bet of getting away was to make them think that you were still locked away in the bathroom throwing a tantrum. So you headed back, locking the door once again as quietly as you could before going over to the window.

The drop didn’t seem that bad, but it would have been dumb to jump and hope for the best. To your luck, however, there was a bush off to the side. Closing your eyes, you concentrated on the leaves and branches of the plant, imagining them growing and expanding into a pad that was safe to land on. By the time you opened your eyes, your imagination had become reality. 

You gritted your teeth as you swung a leg over the sill. And then another. 

Were you really about to do this?

Sehun’s face floated in your mind. 

Yes. Yes, you were. 

Shoving off, you twisted your body so you landed on the oversized bush on your side, rolling off the branches and landing a bit hard on the grass beside it. But you didn’t have time to think about the pain as you jumped up to your feet and ran for the forest. Breathing grew difficult the farther you pushed yourself. However, slowing down was not an option. 

The closer you made it to the treeline, the more your determination grew. You were going to show him and you were going to do it on your own. 

**

Sehun sat at the breakfast booth, staring at the glass of alcohol he’d poured with himself. He hadn’t touched it. The ice was melting and small dots of condensation were building up on the side of the cup, sliding down the surface before pooling on the table top. He’d poured it more out of habit, like a ritual that would suddenly make him feel better. But he knew that was a crock. The only thing that would make him feel better would be you talking to him again. 

He knew he messed up. He should have just kept his mouth shut no matter what he thought. How could he explain that he didn’t sense any danger from Mina and that’s why he didn’t think she was behind the coming danger? Wolves had a knack for this sort of thing. 

In the end, he figured that you needed space. After you’d calmed down, you’d let him explain what he meant by the words he’d said. Especially the stupid response to you being a witch. 

He loved that you were different. He loved that you grew up in the same world as he did. It was a connection that was missing from the other couples. But you didn’t know how worried he was. You didn’t know that the reason he made that face every time you used your powers in front of the guys was because he was worried about you. He worried about you losing control and hurting yourself.

The fire still haunted him, even though he’d never admit it outloud. He’d been able to sense the danger and make it to before the flames got out of control, but who could say he could it again? He needed to protect you. It was his very instinct.

He wouldn’t change a single thing about you. And you needed to know that. 

Sliding out from the booth, Sehun headed back up the stairs. It was worth another shot getting you to talk to him. 

With an unsure fist, he knocked against the door. “(y/n)?”

No answer. 

He tried the handle, but it was still locked. So you were still in there. “(y/n), can we please talk now?” You still didn’t reply. Wow. You were really going to keep going, weren’t you? “Okay, fine. Keep the door between us, but please listen. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just didn’t want to rush to judgement. Dana’s been through… a lot. And Mina’s been her closest friend for years. I didn’t want to ruin that without being absolutely sure. Of course I trust you. I know that you’re the only one who has seen - well, what you’ve seen.”

Still nothing. What was he going to have to do to hear your voice again? Keep apologizing was the only thing he could come up with. 

“And… I know that you said you didn’t want to hear anymore excuses, but I have to say it. I don’t care that you’re a witch - no. I love it. I love how special you are. I wouldn’t change that at all. It- It’s just complicated. If you were human, I could protect you differently. I could make sure that you’re out of danger. But with as powerful as you are, I know I can’t keep you out of the fight. I can’t sideline you like Evie or Jiyeon or Kita. And… I’m scared. I’m scared to death to lose you. But I think I might have done that anyway.”

He waited. With no air leaving or entering his lungs, he waited. But no response to his confession came. In fact, no noises whatsoever came from the bathroom. Now that he was concentrating, he realized that not even your heartbeat was reaching his ears. 

“(y/n)!” 

Screw propriety. Kicking his foot out, he broke the lock and swung the door open. 

It was empty.

#exo #exo wolf au #exo wolf!au #sehun x reader #oh sehun #exo werewolf!au #exo werewolf au #exo fanfiction #exo fanfic #exo series #exo supernatural au #untamed wolf universe #Midnight Hours

[marshmallow-phd]

Midnight Hours

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Sehun x Reader

Summary: For you, being a good witch was easier said than done. Something dark was lurking inside of you and the others knew it. When you’re forced to tag along with Soomi and help a local wolfpack face a coming evil, you’re sent on a path that breaks into a crossroads. While you struggle with your inner demons, could the wolf Sehun be the key to your ultimate fate?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I 15 I 16 I 17 I Final

**

You woke up alone and confused. None of your surroundings looked familiar and you racked your brain trying to remember where you were. 

Ah, right. The wolf pack. This was their house. And you were in some random wolf’s room. 

Soomi was no longer beside you, nothing but rustled sheets where she’d fallen asleep so easily last night. She must have already gone downstairs. Great. Now you’d have to make the descension on your own. Gathering up your toiletries, you slowly pulled open the door and searched around the hallway. Voices echoed up from the living spaces below, but besides that there didn’t seem to be a soul around. 

With the coast clear, you hightailed it over to the bathroom, finding it made easy by the fact that someone had left it wide open. Double checking that the door was securely locked, you went through a quick version of your morning routine and then rushed back to the bedroom to get changed. 

Once you were ready to head downstairs, you found yourself frozen, unable to tackle that first step. 

Come on, (y/n). They’re just wolves. They won’t hurt you. What’s the worst that could happen?

Bravery at its highpoint, you buckled down the nerves bubbling in your stomach and headed down the stairs. 

The kitchen felt like chaos personified as soon as you stepped foot in its boundaries. 

Wolves and their mates were scattered all over the linoleum; eating, standing, talking loudly, and overall creating an atmosphere that made you want to turn around and jump back in between the covers. Unfortunately, you were spotted before you could even try. 

“(y/n), you’re up!” Soomi oh-so-graciously pointed you out as soon as she saw you. Too many eyes to be even remotely comfortable whirled on you, creating a silence that was even more compressing than the noise. 

Unsure of what else to do, you waved with a strained smile on your lips. “Hi.”

“(y/n), go ahead and sit down,” Junmyeon offered as he half-shoved, half-urged one of the wolves out of a chair from the table. 

“Hey!” the black-haired wolf whined with a pout as he stumbled to his feet. 

“You’re done eating, Jongdae, and she’s a guest,” Junmyeon huffed. He said it like such a mom you couldn’t help but choke back a snort. 

You tried to cover it up with a cough while several of the wolves smirked at you. Waving your hands in front of you, you insisted, “No, really, it’s okay. I’d rather stand.”

“Aren’t you hungry?” Soomi asked, concerned. 

“I’m good for now,” you said. It was mostly true. You were too nervous even think about trying to get food down to your stomach. Feeling a bit exposed in your current position, you shuffled across the room until you were next to Soomi at the counter. 

One of the wolves dressed in very casual athletic wear handed you a fresh mug that was a comfort to your sweaty cold fingers. 

“Thank you,” you told him quietly. He gave you a wide gummy smile before walking away. 

“So, should we get started?” Junmyeon suggested as he clapped his hands. 

“What about Sehun?” a tall wolf with ears sticking out asked. 

“He stayed out late last night,” said the imposing wolf with a deep voice and an air that radiated authority. He was seated at the breakfast booth with an adorable little girl with long hair sitting on his lap. “If he wants to keep sleeping, let him. We’ll catch him up later.”

Sehun? Was that who you saw last night? Too bad you didn’t have a face to add to the name. All you had were a pair of shoulders in a white t-shirt. If you were going to be here a while, you might as well start learning the names of the crowd. Junmyeon was the only one you knew and that was from a brief encounter several years ago. He wasn’t mated back then….

“(y/n)?”

You blinked, coming back to the present. “Yeah?”

“Can you go into detail about your last vision, please?” Junmyeon asked. 

“Um, sure.” Scratching the back of your head, you searched for the best way to verbalize what you had seen so that they would understand. “This one was the most clear, I guess? I was in the woods, at night. The blood moon was high and bright. A woman I didn’t recognize was there. She had platinum hair, but that’s all I could tell. I couldn’t see her face.”

“So, in your visions, you’re physically there as well?” one of the wolves asked. 

You nodded in response. “That’s what it feels like anyway.”

“Is it possible that this woman might be a witch?” Junmyeon hypothesized. 

The wolf named Jongdae growled threateningly and pulled the woman standing next to him in closer to his chest. 

“Calm down, Jongdae,” said the authoritative wolf. “That business is over. I doubt someone else is coming after your mate. Especially now that she’s marked.”

“Well excuse me for being cautious over the witch and blood moon combination,” Jongdae scoffed. The woman in his arms patted his hands caringly. 

“So what should we do?” one of the younger wolves asked with great concern. His face was a strange combination of sharp and soft. Judging against the others, you guessed that he was one of the younger ones of the pack. 

The wolf with the ears pushed his mouth into a pout. “Is there anything we can do?”

Junmyeon ran a hand through his hair. “Soomi and I are going to do more research on who this woman could be or what significant events could happen under a blood moon. Kita is looking into it as well and will update me if she’s found anything when she gets back.”

You couldn’t help it. Even if you’d been fully awake you didn’t think you would have been to hold back your facial muscles from forming a look of disgust and sending it Soomi’s way. Was she really going to put herself through that?

As soon as she caught your stare, Soomi elbowed you in the stomach to make it go away. 

“Ow,” you hissed under your breath. Rubbing the sore spot by your hip, you happened to look up and meet eyes with a blonde haired wolf. He looked at you curiously, his head tilted to the side and a confused frown pulling on his eyebrows. You looked away as you formed your face back into a neutral expression. 

“Do you realize how much significance a blood moon has in different cultures?” another wolf scoffed. 

“Baekhyun’s right,” the authoritative wolf agreed. “You might be able to narrow it down, but there’s no way to get a definite answer. What good does that do?”

“It gives us a starting point at least,” Junmyeon argued. “In the meantime, we’ll see if (y/n) has anymore visions. Since the girls are staying here, we’ll know right away and be able to add whatever she sees to what we already know.”

“Which is an extremely short list.”

“Wait, they’re staying here?” Baekhyun looked like his alpha had just told him he wasn’t allowed to phase for a month. “Isn’t this place crowded enough?”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Junmyeon was getting visibly frustrated. You felt a little sorry for the alpha. He was only trying his best. The circumstances didn’t exactly allow for much wiggle room. Granted, you weren’t too pleased about this whole thing either, but you’d done your arguing. Now you were going to just take whatever hits were sent your way. It couldn’t get any worse anyway. Right?

“I know construction on the other house isn’t finished yet, but we’ll have to make do. I promised Mother Willow that we would keep Soomi and (y/n) safe. I’m not going to risk them staying an hour away in the city where we can’t protect them.”

“We’ll stay out of your way as much as possible,” Soomi promised before looking pointedly down at you. 

With an obviously fake cheerfulness, you added, “Staying invisible is what I do best!”

Junmyeon didn’t find the joke particularly funny. “(y/n), that’s not neces-”

“Why is everyone having a meeting without me?”

All heads in the room turned to look at the newcomer. 

Standing at the bottom of the steps just inside the kitchen was the final wolf, the one you’d barely caught a glimpse of the night before. He was just as tall as you’d thought and your memory hadn’t exaggerated his wide shoulders. But when your eyes settled on his face, your heart did a cartwheel, banging against your sternum painfully. You looked away quickly, pretending to be uninterested in hopes of getting your heart rate back to normal. 

“Nice for you to finally join us, Sehun,” Jongdae said mockingly. 

“What did you do to your hair?” Junmyeon exclaimed in a very parental voice. But Sehun didn’t reply. 

Too curious for your own good, you looked back at the wolf to see why he didn’t answer. When you did, you frowned. 

Because he was staring right back at you, a confused expression scrunching his features. Was he not expecting you like the others? 

Your heart was nearly in your throat by now and you couldn’t get it to calm down. What the hell was wrong with you?

“Sehun!”

**

Sehun blinked, finally pulled from his confused state of mind. 

“What?” he snapped. Everyone was staring at him, including Soomi and another female he’d never seen before. 

“I asked ‘what did you do to your hair?’” Junmyeon repeated. 

Sehun bit back a smirk as he ran a hand over his new hair. 

It was supposed to come out as a more neon orange, but he didn’t completely hate the more copper tone it took on. That’s what he got for dying his hair blonde for years, he guessed. The new length was taking some getting used to, but he liked the lightness of it, already feeling cooler than the heaviness of the longer hair. 

Shrugging, he finally answered, “I wanted to try something different. Not like you haven’t done it before.”

Junmyeon looked like he wanted to argue back, but he held it back, only releasing a sigh and shaking his head. 

“So what did I miss?” Sehun asked, refusing to allow his eyes to flicker over to the additional females. Well, to one specific female really and it wasn’t Junmyeon’s old crush. 

When he’d first reached the kitchen, he’d been surprised at the fact that literally everyone in the pack – mates, members, and even little Mei – was shoved inside the food area. The atmosphere felt serious and tense, which was the exact opposite of what Sehun was wanting this morning after had gotten very little sleep. He wanted the chaotic yelling and roughhousing that he was used to. And food. He really wanted food. 

Stepping further into the kitchen, he forced himself to a stop when he realized what direction he was headed for. Why his body was headed for you was lost on him. Now he was stuck awkwardly standing in the middle of the kitchen with no way to play if off. 

“We were talking about what to do about (y/n)’s visions?” Kris answered. 

Sehun frowned. “Who?”

“That would be me.”

Turning to the voice that had called out, Sehun braced himself. Now he had a name to go with the face that had made him feel so confused. But why was he so confused? You were the witch who had seen something coming after them. Okay. Big deal. They were a large pack. They could hold their own against whatever came their way. They’d proven that with the hybrids years ago. So what were you doing here now and when would you leave?

The wolf in Sehun’s chest growled at his last question. What was that about? Sure, you were pretty, but that never moved Sehun before. He never cared about looks or anything like that before. But now there you were, holding a hand up and wiggling your fingers at him sarcastically and he was feeling… something. 

It took effort, but Sehun managed to tear his gaze away from you to look at his alpha. “Did she actually see anything this time?”

“Excuse you! I’m standing right here!” you barked. 

Rolling his eyes, Sehun shifted to face you head on. He could feel his heart pounding in his ears as your eyes met. There was no control over it no matter how hard he tried to shove it down. Even if he couldn’t put a stop to it on the inside, he managed to stay composed on the outside. “Alright, then. Did you actually see something this time? Or do we still only have to go by what you felt?”

“Screw you!” 

Having touch a very sensitive nerve, you pushed off the counter and stormed up to him. However, instead of stopping in his face, you kept going, checking him with your shoulder before you continued on your way out the door. 

In any other given situation, Sehun would have mouthed off some sarcastic comment to get the last word in. But in the shove, your bare arm made contact with his, sending a shockwave through his body. It was a hot electricity - not the kind that hurt, but the kind he might find himself chasing after. Unable to help himself, he turned and watched you disappear into the backyard. 

“Was that entirely necessary?” Junmyeon whined. 

“Leave it to Sehun to piss off the witch,” Tao snickered behind him. 

Sighing, Soomi started for the back door. “It’s alright. She’s just having a hard time right now.”

“I think Sehun should go apologize to her.” Junmyeon gave the younger wolf a very pointed look. And for once, he wasn’t going to argue. He’d even taken a step to go find you. 

“No, that’s not a good idea right now,” Soomi argued. “Trust me. It’s better if it’s me that goes after her.”

Sehun didn’t argue. In fact, he whirled on his heels and headed in the opposite direction, right out the front door. As soon as his bare feet hit the grassy carpet, he shifted. 

He was only beginning to understand what had happened when he first saw you. And to be honest, he didn’t know how to feel. So, for now, he’d simply ignore it. He didn’t know if you felt or understood what was happening and he didn’t really feel like explaining it to you while everything else was going on. As long as you didn’t outright reject him, he had time. 

So, he was going to take all the time he wanted. 

**

You’d found a rather large tree to hide behind once you thought you were deep enough into the woods. Right now you wanted to be alone. There were too many bodies, too many eyes watching you and you hated it. How did they live so cramped in there? How were you supposed to live like that?

The worst was you were going to have to be around him. Sehun. 

Sure, you’d had similar thoughts in the beginning, when the visions first started. You thought everyone was making a bigger deal of them than necessary. But you got past that. You came to terms with the fact that this was truly something to be worried about. And now no one understood that more than you. To be questioned now...

Leaning your head back against the trunk, you tried to push away the scene from the kitchen. The best way to ignore your hurt feelings was to focus on something else. So you did. 

You were all alone out here and, while there wasn’t any water, you had plenty to work with. There was a slight breeze in the air, rustling the fallen leaves that were scattered around the forest floor. Closing your eyes, you concentrated on moving the air at a faster speed. 

At first, nothing happened, but then you could feel the wind picking up against your skin. For some reason, that element was always the easiest for you to manipulate. All you had to do was let go, be light. And then you could make it move. 

“(y/n)?”

Your eyes snapped open and you peeked around the tree. Then you snorted. Soomi was standing just a few feet away, her hair whipped all around her face and stuck in her mouth. She blew out the hair and fixed it the best she could with her hand before taking a few more steps forward. 

“You really need to relearn restraint, (y/n),” she scolded as she sat down beside you. “These wolves are weary enough as it is. If they found out what you could do… I’m worried about how they’d react. I don’t want them to be scared of you.”

“So, I’ll always have to hide who I am, huh?” you scoffed. Why should you expect anything different?

“It’s not hiding who you are,” she insisted. “It’s simply protecting yourself. The last thing I want is for you to get used.”

“I can take care of myself,” you argued. 

Soomi gave you a smile before pulling you in close. “I know. But that won’t ever stop me from being protective over you.”

You couldn’t resist. You wrapped your arms around her waist and shuffled in deeper to the hug. After a few minutes of silence, you commented, “Coming here was pointless, just like I said.”

Soomi huffed. “It’s not pointless. We’ll find out the answers we’re looking for. Just give it time. Please?”

You didn’t answer. Because you didn’t want to. Even though you were out of Mother Willow’s house and away from the coven for the first time, you were feeling just as trapped. All you wanted was to be free. Free to see the world. Free to be who you were. 

It seemed no matter how hard you chased it, however, it would always be just out of your reach.

#exo #exo wolf au #exo wolf!au #sehun x reader #oh sehun #exo werewolf!au #exo werewolf au #exo fanfiction #exo fanfic #exo supernatural au #exo series #Midnight Hours #untamed wolf universe