Anime-Inspired RPG ‘Plus Adventure’ Features A Familiar Heroic Cast

Us Before You

(BTS HYBRID HOUSE) 

🐾  (PART 1)  🐾  (PART 2)  🐾  (PART 3)  🐾 EPILOGUE 🐾

Summary; Hybrid house consists of humans; Seokjin, Namjoon, and Hoseok, and Hybrids DOGBOY! Taehyung, DOGBOY! Jimin, and CAT! Yoongi. together they have the happiest family possible, everyone loves everyone equally. So what happens when stray hybrid FOX! Jungkook turns up at the edge of their property? they love him too of course…

Pairings: Jeon Jungkook x Everyone, Jungkook centric, Everyone x everyone, poly! au, eventual Reader X Everyone. 

Word count: 5.5K

Tags: hybrid, polyamory, smut, fluff, mentions of Abuse, stray hybrids, blood, gore, gangbang, threesome, hurt/comfort, mentions of suicide, 

Authors note; this piece definitely has its ups and downs, the graphic part where the reader comes in is at the end- this is the first part of a two-part series. Enjoy ~ M

- Hybrid house consists of humans, Namjoon, Hoseok, and Seokjin who are all in a relationship together.

- Namjoon and Seokjin met in college and the two where longtime friends before one drunk night changed it all. drunk kisses and drunk words come to mean sober thoughts. 

- And Namjoon didn’t even think he was gay before that night that but fuck he defiantly is. and Seokjin has been casually bi since he could breathe.

- And then 2 years into their relationship the two of them both meet this gorgeous dancer at a friends Halloween party; a sunshiney man named Hoseok, and they decide to invite him into their relationship after a few hangouts turn into dates which turned into sleep overs which turned into sharing kisses after hoseok had said it had been years since he was kissed. 

- But of course- to talk about any of them- is to talk about their hybrids too. 

- Jin has a dog hybrid named Taehyung, (given to Seokjin as a pet when he was a child- but who his parents gave away when he went to college. Seokjin finds him in a shelter years later and recognizes him instantly, and adopts him on the spot). 

- Hoseok has a cat hybrid named Yoongi (stray- adopted after Hoseok and Namjoon found him by the train tracks on their morning run soon after the 3 of them moved into their first apartment together).

- And Namjoon has a dog hybrid Jimin (adopted from his original owner who abused him, Namjoon witnessed the abuse and convinced the owner to give Jimin to him by threatening to call the police)

- With all of the hybrids and 3 people living in a two-bedroom apartment nothing fit well. They piled two kings into one room and made a giant bed out of it but still, someone always ended up suffocated, legs fall asleep when the puppies pile over seokjin’s chest and yoongi can never get out to get his evening quiet time. The other room was just a closet for the 6 of them, and even then clothes were spilling out the door- nothing organized, nothing perfect or just the way that they wanted- with a yard and more than one bedroom and a kitchen large enough so that seokjin dosent hipcheck jimin when the puppy lingers in the morning so sleepy he can barely hold onto his cup of coffee.   

- But they didn’t have a lot of options. Hoseok owns a successful dance studio that makes a fair amount of money, but it fluctuates with the market- when people have more money to spend on extra classes for their kids he has a little bit more wiggle room- but not enough to take on a mortgage or pricey rent. 

- Namjoon is a fairly well-known lawyer but his career has barely begun to take off and he doesn’t make nearly enough to afford the size of house they need even if he combined his savings with Hoseok’s.

- But there is another factor- Seokjin, who has wanted to be an actor since the time he could watch movies. But he works at a café in-between jobs and most of it goes into the communal pool of money that’s used for rent and untilites and feeding 6 people.  And he’s a bit of a trust fund baby- his father is a Ceo and wants him to run his company and forget about his wild (and childish in his words) dreams of being an actor. 

- He even paid for Seokjin’s college (where he was a business major but a secret double major in acting and dance). Most of his access to family funds were cut off when his father found out, but luckily it was after he graduated with honors for both. 

- as they look at houses, little cottages that are barely larger than their apartment- or attached units that have strict no- noise polices after 9pm- he can’t help but wonder if he’s making the right choice, his dream over finiaantial stability. he knows that if he agreed to take over the family business they would be able to afford a house much much larger than they would ever need. that the’d be able to live comfortably for good, and never have to worry about another late bill every again. 

- he makes his choice without telling the others, and He takes Namjoon and Hoseok and their hybrids to look at this cozy half glass modern cabin on the outskirts of town. 

- And the entire time their hybrids are running around- saying how much they love it and how much they want to stay- for the house to be their new home.It has a room for each of them, a wide backyard that borders some woods and a lovely garden, a theater room, a large kitchen, and a dining room. there’s even a little cozy breakfast nook that namjoon can already see himself turning into a little office. floor to ceiling modern windows that open onto the backyard and woods out back- a little nature preserve that apparently has walking trails too- or so the realtor boasts. 

- Jimin and Tae roll around in the grass of the backyard and the kept garden getting their clothes all grass stained but no one has the heart to tell them to stop. While Yoongi falls asleep on one of the lounge chairs in the sun, butterflies hanging on the purple bushes here and there. 

- Meanwhile, Namjoon just reaches for Hoseok and Seokjin’s hands. Lifting their palms to his lips. But his eyes are dark with longing and sadness- not happiness. Because they can’t have this. 

- “We can’t afford this, why would you show them what they can never have Seokjin?” Namjoon isn’t mad, not really- but their hybrids are a little sensitive. Jimin especially. 

- Yoongi would let the memory of the house fade quickly; Tae would get over it eventually. But he’s thinking of the conversation he’s going to have with Jimin when they get home and how disappointed he’s going to be; he’s going to cry. his puppy has always been the most sensitve of their little cadre and it’s one thing that namjoon’s always loved about it- and sought to protect. 

- Seokjin smiles at Namjoon and Hoseok before he reaches into the pocket of his jacket and pulls out the deed to this house. “How the fuck did you do this Hyung” Hoseok says, amazed because the asking price was well over their budget- there are even bank papers here- and on the line to cosign, it’s not just Seokjin’s name- but Hoseoks and namjoon’s, all they have to do is sign it over and it’s theirs.

- But Namjoon doesn’t buy it- the two of him know Seokjin’s history- what he’s had to give up for the sake of his dream.  “What did you agree to do Seokjin? Please tell me you didn’t go to him…”

- Seokjin just smiles sadly “I start as CO on Monday at his company.” 

- Hoseok recoils “but your dream Seokjin- you can’t give up.” 

- Seokjin stuffs his hand in his pockets and looks at the two puppy hybrids lounging in the grass, at sleepy Yoongi who looks at home already, and at the two men he’s come to love so much it hurts him sometimes. They already look at home next to purple butterfly bushes that are just beginning to bloom in the early spring air. seokjin dosent hesitate- never would when it comes to the people he loves and his dream- he’ll choose them every time. 

- “This is my dream.” 

Keep reading

Oscar the Matchmaker: Chapter Eight

Oscar Piastri x Reader x Max Verstappen

Summary: Reader travels back home to see her family with Max and Oscar. Things escalate a bit more then intended.

Warnings: religious things/trauma, sucky parents, talks of sexual activity

Notes: As someone who comes from a toxic church… this was much needed

Masterlist

Normally, Oscar is not a smug person. He doesn't rub things in people's faces (unless it's Lando). But in this moment, he allows himself to be a little smug.

The trio had made their way back to the females home for a weekend of their summer break. The last interaction he had with her parents was in formula two when they’d come to watch a race and got a glimpse of her terrible partners and her kissing around the corner.

He had to hold back his anger when he saw how uncomfortable she looked. Then he expected maybe her parents to do something about it. Instead they ridiculed her. Berated her. Essentially told her the devil had invaded her life.

She just stood there and took it. To the point where he stepped in and pulled her away because she looked distant. Numb to the world.

He hadn’t seen them since, and neither had she. Though he knows they talk occasionally.

Max, on the other hand, has never met them. Oscar had tried to give him a few pointers, but he'd already seen the fire behind his eyes. This was going to be a long weekend if Max had already settled for being an agent of chaos.

The trio makes their way to where their car is waiting to take them. The car where her parent are standing and waiting for them. Oscar wants nothing more then to see them pass out over their daughter and how well off she is. How successful she’s become without them.

She hugs them both when they get to the car. They look uncomfortable with the other two being around. “Welcome home. I thought it was just going to be you?” Questions her father. Oscar and Max both smile and go to shake his hand to introduce themselves, but he doesn’t reciprocate. Instead he frowns. And turns his attention back to his daughter.

“I said I wasn’t coming without them. If that makes you uncomfortable then we can always get back on the jet.”

“It’s fine- just be… decent, please.”

Oscar can hear Max inhale sharply. A look of annoyance crosses his features.

The Aussie is shocked that Max even agreed to such a thing. The entire point in coming here is to go to church with her parents, prove they aren’t possessed (or something like that) then leave. and frankly, max doesn’t seem like the kind of person to try to hold his tongue about his opinion for an entire weekend.

Their things go into the back and they climb into the (smaller then imagined) car. It’s certainly not something they normally travel in, but it feels like cuddling since its the three of them. So- Oscar can hardly complain much.

The majority of the ride is awkward small talk. Max eventually starts animatedly explaining something and in the heat of the moment his filter slips.

“Sorry- we don’t normally talk like that.”

“Good thing I can swear enough for the both of us then.” Max chuckles and the other two in the back start wheezing.

Yeah… it’s going to be a long weekend.

~

The house is relatively standard. Definitely not what they are used to seeing. Or at least, that’s what the female thinks as they they enter the house.

Her room has been emptied. It’s a little heartbreaking since they didn’t tell her. It’s like any trace of her existence has been erased. The bed is bigger then her old one and the room is void of any kind of decoration.

“Home sweet home.”

Max closes the door behind him. “I’m shocked they are letting us sleep together. They aren’t going to attempt an exorcism are them?”

all three of them toss their bodies onto the bed. “You have no idea how glad I am your here. It would suck to do this alone.”

“So- anyone up for purposely being as loud as possible and making the prudes out there think we’re having sex?” Max looks entirely to innocent. But Oscar looks even more so.

“Why fake it when we can do the real thing?”

“You two are terrible.”

The next morning is what she is absolutely dreading. Waking up when it’s still dark outside is not something any of them are good at. Add in that it’s for a religious event- They are rushing around getting ready.

It’s also sucks when they step out of the room, ready to go, the strength to face the inevitable.

“You’re not leaving in that.” Her father looks her up and down and her jaw tightens. The nerve of the man. She’s a fucking adult!

“I mean- she could be naked.” Oscar shrugs. It’s Max’s turn to keel over at a comment made. In reality, he’s not wrong. She wonders if it’s the lack of leggings for a dress that brushes the backs of her thighs. Or maybe it’s that he can see her shoulders.

Her parents start on some tangent that she tuned out about two sentences in. She makes eye contact with both boys. One looks exasperated like her and on the verge of just leaving early. The other is seething. Entirely red in the face.

Max’s hand hits the wall with an unrelenting force. “Sorry, I was compelled by the spirit… of anger! What the fuck are either of you talking about? either we leave here to whatever cult event this is, or we go home. But let her wear what she’s going to wear.”

The car ride is silent. Though she’s glad, because her nerves pick up immensely when they arrive. Max and Oscar pick up easily on her shaky hands. The product ends with her in-between them, the two males swinging her back and forth. She feels mildly like a child, but it’s calming, so she could care less.

The church is dead inside. Only a singular office light on. One that she dreads as she spent many hours inside of it. “Please tell me we’re not here to meet with the pastor.”

Her worst fear are come to life. Sitting on the sofa between Oscar and Max. Her parents on the other side and the pastor in a chair staring directly at her.

“I didn’t think you’d be back, y/n.” The voice she hates makes her shiver when it says her name.

“That makes two of us.”

“Are these your… friends?”

Max clicks his tongue. “Boyfriends.”

“It’s impossible to have two partners.” He sighs. Dissatisfied with Max’s correction. “You can’t possibly have a good sexual relationship between three people.”

Oscar coughs. “I beg to differ.” He shrugs and the pastor eyes him suspiciously.

“And why’s that?”

“I mean if you really want the details- just remember that you asked for it.” Oscar sits up in his seat and leans over his elbows. His hands now clasped in front of him. “Me and Max have a game we play that usually ends up in some kind of unpredictable scenario. I wouldn’t say we fight for control, we just race for it. She’s a bottom through and through and will do anything either of us says so that part is pretty easy. Plus, not to brag, but my rope work is getting better.” There is a few breaths of stunned silence as Oscar sits back into the couch.

The pastor looks at her parents. “Can we step outside for a moment?” Then the three get up and leave.

“That was the most brilliant display I have ever seen.l Max finally lets out the laughter he’s been biting back. “Did you see their faces? Priceless!”

“I don’t think my parents will ever talk to me again after this.”

“Maybe that’s not such a bad thing? All they do is make you feel horrible about yourself. It might not be a bad idea to cut contact for a while.” Oscar draws circles on to her thing. The pattern being one of comfort that he uses often.

“Can we call a cab or something? I am very ready to go.” She sighs.

“Great plan! But first I think we should really piss them off.” Max’s suggestive smirk can’t mean anything good.

~

It doesn’t take the three long to locate her parents outside of the office. They gasp when they see what she looks like. A few lovely hickies down her neck and shoulder. Her hair misplaced in all kinds of directions. They say nothing about it.

“It’s been nice seeing you, but we’re going to head back to Monaco now. Also, please don’t try to contact me again.”

They jump into some kind of lecture, but it’s to late. The trio heads for their ride that’s waiting for them outside the doors

Max, however, takes the opportunity to flip them off as they walk away.

Masterlist

My Masterlist, I am always taking requests: Acotar, My Hero Academia, She-ra, Voltron, Haikyuu, Venom, Kamisama Kiss, Legacies, Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Percy Jackson, Greek and Egyptian Gods.

Will add on with more as time goes on!

———————————————————————————————————–

ACOTAR Lovers of Shadow (Azriel x Fem Reader): Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10

I Make Things (Lucien x Reader (One-Shot): Chapter 1

My Hero Academia  Chained To Him (Bakugou x Fem Reader): Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

Dabi x Hero In Training Reader: Chapter 1  Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4  Chapter 5 Chapter 6

Love Isn’t An Illusion (TodoBakuReader): Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Black Panther:  A True Warrior (M’Baku x Fem Reader (Oneshot)): Chapter 1

She-ra  Home Is Where The Heart Is (Catdora(One-Shot)): Chapter 1

Better

Kang Yeosang x reader

enemies to lover au

word count: 9.4?k

genre and warnings: angst, suggestive, violence

synopsis: ateez au in which kang yeosang and you are sworn enemies belonging to rival gangs until you both are at the mercy of a common enemy and have to work together, discovering those strong feelings you had for each other might not be hate.

Seconds. Minutes. Hours.

Days. Months. Years?

You had no idea how much time had passed, but you finally opened your eyes and saw light- the door to your cell opened and a tall figure stood with another figure which was now pushed roughly to the concrete floor, hands cuffed, a groan of pain escaping them.

You squinted your eyes, the world a blur as you tried to make what you could see of their face- who was it this time?

The figure finally got up on its knees and sighed, having sit back, their shoes brushing against your feet, and you wished it was day so the sunlight would have revealed the identity of the figure.

"Are you... okay?" You managed to say, your throat parched. In this pitch dark, you couldn't make out anything, and you were glad, because you weren't sure the figure in front of you would like the sight of you-

"You sound strangely familiar," the voice said- clearly a man, and very, very familiar to you too.

In fact, you recognized him instantly.

Kang Yeosang.

But it couldn't be. What was Kang Yeosang, basically the right hand to his boss doing in your cell?

But then, what were you, also your own boss' most trustworthy employee and his assassin doing in this cell?

"I'm sure you don't know me," you scoffed internally at the irony of the situation. Kang Yeosang, your worst nightmare and enemy, now in front of you. You should take this chance and kill him, except you were tied to the post as well, and you were in no condition to move.

"I'm sure I do, actually," you could hear the haughtiness in his voice which indicated that yes, he recognized your voice too. You suddenly regretted the pointless verbal arguments and fights you've had with him over the years which had left your voices printed in each other's memories- as well as habits, such as-

"Fancy seeing you here."

- how to make you angry instantly.

But it went both ways.

"Miss me too much, Yeosang?" You laughed sarcastically, "Can't spend three days without seeing me?"

As a matter of fact, he was used to seeing you, and you him. You both worked for the top drug dealers- rivals though sometimes business partners. And nothing was dramatic about it save for the fact that you and Yeosang hadn't hit it off very well and had infamously become sworn enemies, both of you bent on driving the other to the edge.

"How many days do you think have passed?" Yeosang asked, genuinely worried because you thought it had only been three days. And you dreaded answering because you weren't sure you would like what you had to hear.

"Don't tell me," panic laced your voice, and in that moment, an understanding passed between you two- and both of you were glad the other couldn't see your face.

"How did you even get here?" You asked, "I didn't think you could slip. Losing your touch already?"

"Well, you wouldn't believe it," Yeosang's voice was low, "But it's a deal between our gangs gone wrong. I came to save you."

"Ha," you scoffed loudly, "As if."

"I'm not lying," Yeosang simply said, "You've been missing for 3 weeks now. We were working together after all, even though I hated the idea of it from the beginning. And when you got taken, your boss might have... lost it a bit."

Though you did feel as if a bucket of water had been dumped on you because 3 weeks? but you had to scoff at the mention of your boss.

"As if he cares."

The bitterness with which you spat those words had Yeosang raising his brows. His own boss, Hongjoong, was like a friend to Yeosang, so he couldn't imagine why you were so bitter. Were you not close to your boss?

"He does, I guess, because he chose me to get you. Though now that I'm here... I think it was a wrong decision. Maybe I should just get out of here alone..."

"Did he really send you?" You had to ask, "I can't imagine why- oh."

You had almost forgotten about it, and you loudly cursed as you realized just why your boss cared so much about getting you back-

You had the key.

The key to all his wealth that he had slipped in your hand when you both had found yourself at your enemy's den, the small key that you had hid in your shoe first, occasionally changing its spot according to the situation.

"Oh?" Yeosang echoed, "Must be a big reason."

"Oh you have no idea," you had to laugh, "You have no idea."

Silence fell as you thought about the whole situation, finally breaking it as you said, "Think about it- my boss sent his rival's right hand- basically an enemy- to retrieve me. Now what value would a person like me have? Why did he not send one of his cronies?"

"Ah," Yeosang said, "You either have or know something that's valuable to him, and he can't let you die right now."

"Bingo," you said, "And now that I have the chance, I would die before letting him have it."

Yeosang was shaken at your words- just what had you gone through these past three weeks? And what fate awaited him?

"What's happened to you?"

"Worry about yourself," you sighed, "you're gonna regret making a deal with my boss real soon."

And regret he did, to some extent.

He blamed himself for getting caught and being put in this tiny cell. As daylight poured and woke him up from his sleep, he looked at you and his heart sank dangerously at the sight of you-

Your button up shirt was okay from the front, but tattered at the back, hanging only from the sleeves, covering your front- but your back had to be bare and he couldn't see it. Your hair was matted to your face and neck and fell down messily, and your face-

So pale. Void of colour. Your cheekbones were protruding rather sharply, and Yeosang had to commend you because you were still hanging on to life even though you looked as good as dead.

You were one stubborn soul, after all.

"Like what you see?" A voice boomed and Yeosang's head whipped to the source- one of the men who had caught him watching you from the window.

Yeosang didn't dare reply as he unlocked the door and arrived with a tray of food- rather good treatment seeing the food consisted of rice and chicken and put it in front of Yeosang, injecting a drug in him- the same drug they had used to catch both him and you- rendering him weak enough to not fight back but not weak enough to not eat his own food.

"Eat," he ordered, "Boss has asked for special treatment for you- maybe your boss is good to you, after all. He's trying to strike a deal to get you out unharmed. As for her-"

The man looked at you and you grinned at him, infuriating him (because why not?) and he went out for a moment, coming with a bowl of soup only, pushing it on your lips and forcing you to drink, drops of it dripping down and your tongue burned because it was too hot but you couldn't retort- you had to eat whatever they gave or else you'd starve.

But Yeosang there had lost his appetite at the sight of this- why wasn't your boss trying anything to get you out, he wondered? Especially when you supposedly had something he wanted? Was he scared the enemy would figure out? Or was he just a coward, hoping you'd die with the item in question?

Why were these people keeping you alive then?

Just what had you caught yourself into?

Yeosang took a chicken leg and hid it behind him, his hands shaking from the effects of the drugs, eating the rest as the man watched him the whole time, saying he'd be back in an hour so they could go to relieve themselves.

As the man shut the cell and went away, Yeosang waited for a good five minutes before calling your name and grabbing your attention.

"Just what have you caught yourself into?"

"Forget that," you said, your eyes bright as you worked out a plan, "Can you get me out of here? Or will you go alone?"

"Of course I will get you out," Yeosang said, and you raised your brow at the quick response- it didn't sound right coming from his mouth, since you two, in normal circumstances, would have done anything to get the other in trouble. And Yeosang understood, rolling his eyes, "They're basically torturing you here. And even though we're... enemies, as everyone likes to call us... I wouldn't wish this sort of a treatment on anyone."

"Not even me?" You smiled.

"Not even you."

You were impressed- he had principles, after all.

"Okay, here's the plan. When that scumbag comes back and takes us, you need to somehow get close to the man and take one of his hairpins out- keep it hidden. Don't reveal it until we're back and I say so- you'll be tied and so will I, but you need to give me the pin before you get out, Yeosang, you hear me? From the looks of it, your boss is gonna get you out by tomorrow night. Can you do this for me?"

Yeosang nodded, figuring he could do that for you, but still surprised at how you believed you were doomed if not for him.

And he really couldn't stand how tired you looked- as if you had given up altogether. Your hands tied up made it difficult for you to sit in a position other than being on your knees- and it was brutal. And about your back-

He had a glimpse, and he wasn't sure he wanted to see what damage they had done.

So one hour later when the man came and drugged the two again, waiting for a minute before uncuffing the two and dragging you both rather easily to the toilet, Yeosang went in first. When he came out and you tried going in, Yeosang purposely bumped into the man, rather swiftly turning and apologizing to nobody in general, the man groaning in warning.

Tied back at their usual spots, you looked at him, worry lacing your eyes. "Tell me you did it."

Yeosang stuck out his tongue and you laughed in disbelief- he had done it, the hairpin right in the middle of his tongue, of all the goddamn places. "I can't uncuff myself, or you," Yeosang said, his hands tied behind him, "But you... you can."

"I can," you admitted, "after the effects of the drug wears off."

"And you know I'll get out on my own, but will you... uncuff me too?"

"Well," you sighed, "We may have a problem- I can't exactly fight on my own anymore. I may have a broken something and my back hurts like hell. You're pretty fresh, so if you're up for it..."

"And what do I get out of it?" Yeosang smirked, and you rolled your eyes because this wasn't the time to get playful.

"What do you want?"

"What do I want... interesting."

"Yeosang, we don't have all day, and if you come up with something disgustingly evil I'll personally end you after we get out of here."

"Nothing... for now," Yeosang announced, "But you owe me one after this."

"Done. Now hand it over."

Yeosang smirked as he slid closer to you, the chains on his cuff preventing him from getting too close but it was enough- he stretched until his face was near you, and you brought your face closer too, rolling your eyes at the devilish smirk as he pushed the pin out of his mouth, holding it at the tip from his teeth, and you caught the pin from the other end, your lips slightly brushing with his, a sigh of relief escaping you as you drew back, because the key of freedom was now in your mouth.

Yeosang drew back and watched as you pushed yourself up with excruciating effort, working your mouth expertly and uncuffing yourself in a minute, falling to your knees in a very abrupt motion and almost crying in relief-

But Yeosang's breath stuck in his throat, because your back-

Your back was littered with scars- and the worst thing was that only a few of them were new.

"Who did this to you?"

Yeosang's voice was grim, and you looked up to see his gaze fixed at your back.

"That scumbag, of course-"

"Not those scars," Yeosang shook his head, "The others."

You bit your lips, having completely forgotten about the long scars that decorated your back. "Nothing you need to know."

You wobbled behind Yeosang, uncuffing him and almost falling down, Yeosang holding you up, making you lean at his side and use him for support. He brought the chicken leg in front of you, making you laugh and shake your head as you took it rather gladly, eating it and oh, you haven't had something normal in weeks now.

You didn't notice how Yeosang was absently tucking your hair behind- you were too busy eating. And when he took off his own outer shirt and wrapped it around you, it was only then you noticed his gaze that made you flush because of a number of reasons-

First- the gesture itself. All your lives you had hated each other just for the sake of it, and this... this was making you wonder why you both ever got stuck in that meaningless cycle of hate.

And second- he was extremely buff, his biceps now visible in the black half sleeved shirt he was left with. His streaked hair contrasted rather well with it, and you had to stop your eyes from roaming all around him, praying he hadn't noticed.

"So," Yeosang's deep voice broke you out of your trance, "What's the plan?"

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

The two of you pretended to be chained for the remainder of the evening, waiting for the time when the man would come for interrogation- it was a fixed time of the day, you had noted. So anyone who peeked in out of curiosity would find you both chained well, but right before the man arrived, Yeosang stationed himself next to the door, punching the man once and knocking him out instantly.

"Wow," you breathed, "Forgot for a second you were strong."

"Forgot?" Yeosang huffed, "Do you not remember the time I knocked you out with just a-"

"Let's not dwell on the past," You weakly got up, "Chain him like he did me."

Yeosang understood, chaining him just like you had been for the past weeks, taking all his weapons, handing two daggers to you and keeping one and a gun for himself. He finally looked at you, thinking.

"Can you run?"

Which was how you both found yourselves running for your lives, you gathering all your energy to fight close range while Yeosang covered you with the gun, encountering a good five men before Yeosang jumped out of the first floor window to the truck, promising to catch you and urging you to jump instantly.

And he didn't let you down; he caught you rather carefully, as if afraid to hurt you further, grabbing your hand and jumping down, running further down the alley, taking two turns and you stopped him abruptly, pointing at the narrow alley where a couple were making out rather heatedly, and Yeosang understood, dragging you in the alley, grabbing the fur jacket on the bike of the couple and wearing it over himself, turning and embracing you in what would look like a make-out session to anyone passing by-

Except it was his forehead on yours, noses brushing, his hands in your hair, your arms automatically going around his waist for support as he bent you back a bit.

You were suddenly conscious of how you hadn't washed in days- one of the people in that building, a woman, had attended to your scars about three days ago and had washed you as best as she could, saying the boss didn't like his captives dirty when he came during interrogations.

But this should be the last of your concerns right now-

"They're gone?" Yeosang whispered, his breath warm against your skin, the statement coming out more like a question- not what he had intended. But his heart was beating like crazy and it was a surprise his voice hadn't cracked-

"I think so," you whispered back, eyes meeting his-

And that was a mistake.

Because his eyes locked back, and you couldn't pull away from his gaze, having noticed for the first time just how light his eyes were-

"That's my jacket!"

Yeosang rolled his eyes, taking it off and apologizing, saying he was hiding from his friends. Thankfully, the man didn't argue further, and Yeosang grabbed your hand, walking to the next street and getting into a convenience store, your eyes scanning your surroundings for any signs of the enemy.

Yeosang used the phone to contact one of his friends while you waited, wrapping Yeosang's shirt tighter around yourself since it was a bit chilly. Yeosang came back with two bowls of ramen, preparing them and waiting for it to be cooked.

"You've got nowhere to go, do you?"

You pursed your lips, "Boss... he'll kill me once he finds me and gets what he needs."

"Why?"

"Because he'll never believe I kept his secret to myself and did not betray him," your lips quivered, "Because... because I kept the secret to myself after going through everything-"

You didn't know whether it was the relief of escaping alive or the thought of death at your doorstep, or simply the fact that your boss, that bastard would never believe you didn't sell him out- but you were suddenly crying, and you hid your face, turning away from Yeosang as you sobbed, trying to stop but you held it in too long-

Yeosang said your name, which just made you cry harder, telling him between hiccups that you didn't know why you were crying, but he understood. He only rubbed your shoulders as you sniffed, cursing yourself because you were crying in front of Yeosang, of all the people, which could also be the reason why you were crying harder.

"Come with me," Yeosang simply said, turning you to face him, "We'll figure something out. For now, come with me."

"Yeosang," you shook your head, "my boss will go at war with your gang if he knows you guys have me. And he will know, because those men we just escaped from? They're gonna tell him that you, Kang bloody Yeosang, helped me escape. So just drop me off at the port or something- no need to involve yourself-"

"Oh, the ramen's getting soggy," Yeosang, completely ignoring you, handed you chopsticks and blew at his noodles, wowing at how good it tasted, urging you to eat. And you did- because he clearly wasn't ready to have this conversation.

Just as you finished eating, a car stopped in front of the store and Yeosang motioned for you to follow him. Unsure, you did- ironically, he was the only one you could trust right now.

"Why am I even following you when we hate each other," you muttered, and Yeosang scoffed.

"Why am I even inviting you, huh? Get in," he held the door open for you and you sat at the backseat, Yeosang going in the front and when the driver turned to get a look at you-

"You!"

You were going to escape- you weren't sure you would survive the ride to wherever the destination was when the driver was none other than Wooyoung.

"Oh how the tables have turned!" He laughed, Yeosang slapping his arms and looking apologetically at you, as if saying that yes, this was his only option and he's sorry.

"She's been a captive for 3 weeks, can you tone it down a bit?" Yeosang glared at Wooyoung who couldn't stop grinning as he drove.

"Almost didn't recognize you, you poor thing," Wooyoung looked at you from the rear-view mirror and you just stared out of the window, "Did they not feed you there?"

You and Wooyoung were actually on friendlier terms than you and Yeosang had ever been, which came as quite a surprise to everyone who learned that, since Yeosang and Wooyoung went quite a way back and well... Wooyoung was friends with basically everyone. He was someone you warmed up to instantly. And though you weren't his 'friend', you could easily have been because you had never found it difficult to have a simple chat with him whenever they met up for business- or as rivals, in a fight.

"They did not, actually, if you can't tell from my face," you retorted, Wooyoung ooh-ing at your response, noticing that you were very angry right now.

"What do you wanna eat? Come on, I still owe you a meal, don't I? Or was it the other way round?"

It was the other way round, but you weren't going to admit it. "You do. And I would like some coffee and anything with sugar very, very much."

Which was how you ended up in Yeosang's room, wide awake with coffee in your system, digging into the brownies as Yeosang and Wooyoung examined your back, allowing Wooyoung only because apparently he was 'good at this'.

As for Yeosang... he had already seen it.

"I would ask about the old scars, but I feel like it's not my place," Wooyoung bit his lips, meeting Yeosang's gaze and Yeosang nodded, the both of them strangely feeling angered at the sight of her torn back, but you- you were trying to distract yourself.

"Gosh, I could eat the whole box," you muttered as you took a third brownie, and Yeosang shook his head at you, but he was internally pleased to see you eat.

"You'll end up throwing up if you eat too much," Wooyoung warned, "Take the box away, Yeosang."

"No!" You wailed, trying to get up but Yeosang was quicker, the brownies out of reach now. Grumpily, you nibbled at the one in your hand.

"I have to go," Wooyoung read a text from his phone and announced, "Business calls. Yeosang, patch up the wound- you can wash up if you want to first."

"Oh I do," you got up, finishing the brownie, "You better have a good fucking shampoo, Yeosang."

After a very long shower, your back literally burning as you stifled your screams, the shampoo residue stinging the still open wounds, you wrapped yourself in the bathrobe, coming out to get your wounds treated.

Yeosang cleared his throat, realizing that you'd be quite naked as he tended to your back. But all thoughts left him when he beheld your now red wounds.

"Maybe you shouldn't have showered..."

"Please, I felt filthy," you muttered, "Just get it over with."

Yeosang applied ointment to your wounds, his hands gentle, then taped bandages, and before he knew, he was running his finger across an old scar-

And you noticed.

"Who did this to you?"

His voice barely came out as a whisper, and you just ignored the question, asking for clothes. Yeosang handed you new clothes which included a soft button up shirt, trousers and even undergarments, and you eyes him suspiciously.

"Got these at the store," Yeosang simply said, and you realized he had planned all this before hand. Thanking him, you ditched the bra- it would only hurt your wounds and you wore the rest. Coming out of the bathroom, you stood awkwardly, and Yeosang motioned at the chair next to him, where he had been sitting and gazing out at the sky.

You turned on the dim lamp and turned off all other lights before you joined him, and he offered you water, which you gladly took.

"My boss... you know he practically raised me, right?"

Yeosang hadn't expected you to chat with him so he was caught off-guard, but he shook his head yes.

"Well... let's just say he didn't quite know how to tame me."

Yeosang was about to speak but then he realized what you were talking about-

The scars.

"You know nothing justifies what he did to you."

"I know," you sighed, "I know."

"And now... the fact that he'll kill you the first chance he gets-" Yeosang let out a frustrated sigh as he ran his hands through his hair.

"I still have to go-"

"Don't," Yeosang practically begged, surprising you with the desperation that laced his voice, "Don't go back."

"Yeosang-"

"No," he took your hand, surprising you yet again, your heart picking pace, "You don't need to go back, okay? He will find out that you're here and he'll come after us anyway, even if we let you go... but we got you, okay? I got your back. So trust me, and don't go."

You scanned his face- there was no hint of mischief in his eyes anymore, in fact it was worry that you saw. And you were conflicted- in any other situation, you would have known this was a simple prank- something you both often did; making bold confessions out of nowhere just to rile the other person up, but this...

You looked down at the hand that held yours, caressing it absently. And you knew there was nothing but truth here.

"If you insist," you scoffed, "What's got you all chummy, Kang Yeosang?"

Yeosang laughed shyly- shyly? You hadn't expected this either.

"You know what," Yeosang got up, helping you up and taking you to one of the single beds in the room, "We don't have to fight anymore. Why did we fight anyway? Let's be friends instead."

"Now where would the fun in that be?" You retorted, and Yeosang clapped.

"I was going to make fun of you if you were going to say yes," Yeosang smirked, and you realized some of this was a prank after all. You couldn't figure him out. "Get some sleep. It's gonna be a big day tomorrow."

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

"Bloody hell."

All it took was one look at your face for those words to escape Kim Hongjoong's mouth- the gang leader. And you knew you had to be looking horrible for him to lose his demeanor.

Truth be told, you hadn't taken one look in the mirror ever since you got back, and you weren't eager to as well. But you bit your lip as you looked at Yeosang, and he nodded in confirmation.

Bloody hell indeed.

"Tell me you're feeding her," Hongjoong slumped back, "You're all skin and bones."

"I can imagine," you took your seat in front of Hongjoong, only three of you in his office, "now, shall we?"

"So tell me," Hongjoong leaned forward, elbows on the table, "What do I get out of this?"

"Well," you cleared your throat, "I don't have any idea how valuable this key is," you picked it out from your shoe, waving it in the air, "but I am sure it is too valuable to lose. I'll have to see the contents to be sure."

"And you said it belongs to a safe, which is located..."

"We'll have to raid one of my boss' resorts, it seems."

It was Yeosang's idea- all night he had been thinking while you had slept comfortably for the first time- and you had been out for a good 26 hours, especially with the fever. You were force-fed medicines and you were finally able to walk without falling after two days.

So Yeosang had suggested that she join their gang- or stay on the run forever. You couldn't imagine joining their gang since the 8 of them were so closely knit, and you told him, but he was having none of it. Wooyoung came by, agreeing that it was a good idea- all of them already were familiar with you so it wouldn't be too awkward, plus, according to Wooyoung, 'this place needs a feminine touch'.

You could run away- but you knew the life ahead wouldn't be easy that way. You would always be cautious of every step you took and you'd have to look behind your back everywhere. Your boss wouldn't let you live peacefully, ever.

"Raiding is a specialty of ours," Hongjoong grinned, "And you have the key to access something so valuable to your boss that he couldn't risk getting out his most trustworthy employee."

"Correct," you nodded, "What do I get in return?"

"Welcome to the gang," Hongjoong announced, "You'll work with Yeosang and San- you're all assassins, so it shouldn't be a problem. However, you'll have to be faithful."

"Of course," you set your chin high, "I was faithful to my boss even in captivity, but it looks like he betrayed me. So yes, I can guarantee my loyalty as long as you guarantee yours."

Hongjoong scanned your face, slowly nodding, "I say we got ourselves quite a gem, eh Yeosang?"

Yeosang laughed, "Are we not enough for you Hongjoong?"

You were surprised at how casually Yeosang and Hongjoong could interact- with your boss, it had been all formalities and him practicing his authority on anyone and everyone, but this...

It felt warm, and you couldn't help but smile.

"We need to be quick with this operation," Hongjoong said, "We have planted a false trail indicating you ran away, but your former fellow employees will soon realize it's us you're with. How quick can you be?"

"Tonight," you said, nodding at Yeosang, "Let's do it tonight."

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

"Are you sure you can do this?" Yeosang asked for the fifth time, and you stopped in the middle of wearing your gear.

"Yeosang," you sighed, "What's got you so worried about me?"

Yeosang noticed the playfulness in your tone, "A number of things, actually. Apart from the fact that this could still be a trap that you're setting us up for, apart from the fact that you might possibly betray us tonight, I do think your physical health isn't so fit right now."

You jumped in the air, "I feel lighter, which means I'll be quicker."

Yeosang raised his brow, waiting for you to address the other problem in question. You counted your daggers and bullets, finally looking at him.

"I can't prove it with words, so you'll just have to see if I pass the test tonight."

"She does have a point," San said as he handed you a bulletproof vest and night vision glasses, "It's not like she'll tell you if she plans on betraying us."

"See," you smirked, "He knows. You're asking dumb questions, Yeosang."

"Well," Yeosang waited for San to leave before slowly stepping forward, until he was almost touching you, his figure towering over you and he glared at you.

"If any of my friends get hurt tonight because of you," Yeosang's voice was deep, making a shiver run down your spine, "I won't spare you."

"Well," you retorted, glaring back, standing on your tip toes, "If you hand me over to the very person who has tortured me all my life and who I finally have the chance to escape from... I'll never forgive you, Kang Yeosang."

Something flashed in Yeosang's eyes, but he only matched your glare, the two of you thinking, none of you moving.

"The tension between them is so obvious," Wooyoung muttered to San, the two of them giggling, and you just hmph-ed at Yeosang before turning away.

"Are we going or what?"

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

"Are you sure this is the right place?"

"I have a good memory, Seonghwa," you tsk-ed at his question, "And when I tell you I saw a glimpse of the address to the resort he most frequently visits, it has to be this- or the one least frequently visited."

"Have you ever seen the safe?" Seonghwa asked, using his binoculars to count the number of men stationed outside, "I have to say, with the number of men stationed outside..."

"My boss is... a dumb man, actually," you admitted, and Seonghwa grinned because you both knew it was true, "He doesn't believe in the art of deception. He's straightforward like that- stationing 40 men outside a single resort? You'd think it was made of gold."

"How has no one robbed him till date?"

"Me," you flipped your hair and Yeosang, who was right next to you, scoffed, "Plus manpower. Simple and efficient."

"Right," Seonghwa slid down from the tree, motioning for everyone to gather for the plan.

"Alright, we have to get her inside since she won't just hand over the key to us," Seonghwa gave you a side-eye and you stuck your tongue out, "Our first priority is getting Yeosang and her inside, and we'll prevent any of those men entering the house."

"I'll distract them," Wooyoung said, winking once before acting like a drunken person, a bottle in his hand as he sang a song about illusions, slowly trailing to the path that led to the gate. Meanwhile, San went at the back, acting the same and you and Yeosang waited for the cue while Yunho and Seonghwa went to clear the path.

And a few moments later, when fire lit the sky, you and Yeosang jumped over the wall, swiftly running to the nearest window and getting down.

"I know where the alarms are, but there's no guarantee if boss replaced some after I got caught," you whispered, motioning for him to follow you, "The safe is actually in the basement, or so the rumours say."

"Let's get inside," Yeosang said, breaking the window with a rock and clearing the glass with his sleeve, entering first and making sure it was clear before allowing you to enter, and as soon as you did-

You jumped on Yeosang, landing on the floor, the bullet narrowly escaping his head, and in a quick motion your dagger went flying for the attacker's heart, rendering him immobile. Yeosang was breathless for a few moments before getting up.

"Watch your back," you said, taking the dagger out and sliding it back, letting the man bleed to death- you didn't look at his face, because you knew you'd recognize him- or anyone who dies tonight, as a matter of fact.

"Thanks," Yeosang breathed, and you led the way to the stairs, noticing two men stationed at the door of the single room in the basement.

"Now that's an upgrade too," you muttered, turning to look at Yeosang who was so close to you as he peeked over you that your face bumped on his shoulder, "Back off a bit, give me space to breathe."

Yeosang purposely got closer, almost making you lose your step and fall in front of the guards, and you slapped his arm as he stifled a giggle, "This is no time to play!"

"Oh? What time do we play then, pray tell?"

Ignoring him, you loaded your gun with tranquilizers, Yeosang doing the same, aiming to take the guards one on one since they had the element of surprise. Knocking them out in seconds and unarming them, you tried opening the door that was locked.

"Okay, hear me out," you said, raising your hands in surrender, "I have no idea what's inside. This could be a trap, we could find too much inside, I don't know what happens, okay?"

"Okay," Yeosang practically dismissed your statement, bending over to unlock the door with pins, and you sighed.

"I'm serious," you warned, "I'm not responsible for whatever happens."

Having unlocked the door, Yeosang sighed, putting his hands on your shoulders as he scanned your surprised face.

"I... I know. I know you can be trusted, just don't let me down on your part, will you?"

The dim lights were making Yeosang's facial structure seem like art- truly a sculpture. You gulped, nodding, and didn't miss the smirk as he took his hands off, nodding at you once and opening the door.

It was a simple room set like an office, but-

Another room.

"I'm betting 10 that there's an assassin who's not me or you in this room-"

Yeosang almost knocked the breath out of you as he whirled you at the side, meeting the said assassin's dagger with his own, the two engaging in close combat and it took you a few seconds to grasp the situation, taking a dagger in each hand and waiting for an opening-

But the two were blindingly quick and a grunt of pain escaped Yeosang as the dagger sliced his arm, and at the very moment when Yeosang's defense dropped and the assassin let loose-

You sent the dagger flying for the nape of his neck, grinning when it hit home.

"Go easy with the killings, will you?" Yeosang shook his head, examining his arm, "Who pissed you off tonight?"

"I can't believe my boss stationed a person here who is not me when I'm the one he's supposed to have been trusting the most."

Yeosang stared at you- your training had taught you to kill brutally and that was a fact known to everyone, and he realized you were your boss' right hand for a reason.

You were practically invincible, and oh, he never realized how hot you looked in your assassin gear.

"You done gawking?" You said, bending down to unlock the door you hoped was the last door tonight, and Yeosang shook his head as he grinned.

"The old you is back, it seems," he said, referring to your tone.

"That's still me, don't expect me to be all chummy with you-"

"Easy with this pin," Yeosang's hand slid over yours, guiding it to twist the pin in the door and you didn't hear the door unlock because all you could hear was Yeosang's breath near your ears.

He was getting to you, and both of you knew it.

As if on purpose, he slid his hand across your arm before withdrawing it away, opening the door before you could question his actions-

"That is one big ass safe."

You breathed- Yeosang was right. It was one big ass safe alright. You took out the key that you had safely taped to your bra, Yeosang watching with his mouth agape, and you both held your breath unconsciously when you put in the key, marveling at how it fit right in and turned it.

You opened the door to reveal a shitload of papers- documents, probably property documents and whatnot, but in the middle of it was another password protected safe.

"Should we just, I don't know, carry it with us?"

"Boss isn't that dumb," you let out a short laugh at Yeosang's question, motioning at the wire behind the locker, indicating it was either going to combust or activate an alarm if anything went wrong.

"Now what?" Yeosang said.

"First of all, now you know I can be trusted."

Yeosang scanned you. "For all I know, there's gonna be a 'got you' card inside."

You rolled your eyes, burning holes as you glared at the locker- as if your eyes could unlock them. "Now what could the password be?"

"Try 0000."

"Yeosang," you sighed, running a frustrated hand through your hair, "It must be a date- an important date to him."

Yeosang's phone vibrated, and he picked it up, his eyebrows furrowed in worry as he listened.

"They're largely outnumbered now," Yeosang said, "We have two minutes max. Think."

"I can't think right now," you groaned, clenching your hair, "There must be a number of possibilities. I can't go back without checking the locker, Yeosang, without taking what he has, he'll come and get me-"

"Hey, hey," Yeosang called your name, grabbing you by the arms and making you sit on a chair he dragged, rubbing your shoulders in comfort.

"You are a genius, you know that, right? You know you got a brain that works, right?"

You nodded, "Not working."

Yeosang shook his head at your words, watching your leg fidget and your hands tremble as time ran out, and you had to stand up because this was too much-

"Look at me," Yeosang said, and you turned, not expecting what happened next, which was Yeosang's hands cupping your face, tucking your hair aside gently, basically just...

Comfort touch. That's what it was.

"Relax," he whispered, "You'll be safe whether we get this or not. I won't let anything happen to you, you hear me?"

You couldn't really hear him, in fact, because your heart was pounding loudly because of the pressure and the situation you were in right now. Yeosang brought you closer, wrapping his arms around you, his hand caressing your head.

"Take a deep breath, with me, come on," he instructed, and you followed, your breaths syncing, "You've done so well. You've held on for so long, any one would have given in by now. But not you. You know why?"

Yeosang drew back, caressing your face.

"Because you're strong. You're the strongest person I know, you hear me?"

You knew it wasn't the time to cry, but you couldn't stop the tears that pricked your eyes, and Yeosang only smiled as he wiped your eyes, planting a lingering kiss on your forehead.

"You have 3 tries. We can try, or we can turn back. It's your choice."

"We have to try," you said, and Yeosang nodded.

"Do your best. I got you."

You were glad for the words and were convinced there was some magic to all this because suddenly your head was clear, and you stepped inside the safe, entering your boss' birthday-

The beep that sounded was awful.

"It's okay, go on," Yeosang rubbed your back gently, and you nodded, entering the date he became the leader of this gang-

Wrong.

"I don't know," you cried, but Yeosang only hugged you again, assuring you it didn't matter, and though you told him it could be dangerous, he only said they'd had enough time to take cover in case that happened.

You wracked your brain- what was so important to him that he'd use it as a password?

It felt like you were downed in ice as realization dawned upon you-

He had handed you the key.

He had always told people that you were his most important asset.

It had to be the date he met you for the first time.

You went down memory lane as you recalled the events of that time 15 years ago- when you had just been a child, freshly orphaned and left with what people presumed was your father's insurmountable wealth all passed down to you (but had been passed to charity, from what you knew)- but because your father had enemies, you had been running for your life until your boss- your father's friend- had found you and taken you in.

You were suddenly dreading what the locker held in.

Your fingers felt numb as you pressed the date and waited for that awful beep to sound- but the only sound you heard was Yeosang's gasp as the locker clicked open.

"You did it," Yeosang breathed, clapping.

"I did it," you laughed, looking at Yeosang, "I did it."

"Take whatever you want," Yeosang said, "No time to look, fill our bags and let's get away."

You nodded, Yeosang opening the bags and you filling it with the cash, the gold bars and some documents- you made sure the locker was as empty as new before you shut it, shutting the safe too and taking the key with you, Yunho joining you as soon as you exited the building, and you stopped for a second, burying the key beneath a random plant only you would remember.

You saw all the men knocked out on the way and you had to praise Seonghwa, Wooyoung, Yunho and San for so efficiently having done the job, only minor cuts and bruises as the damage. You didn't dare open the bags until you were back in the room with Yeosang, the rest giving you the space you needed because it was your right to see it first.

And yours alone- however Yeosang had tagged along casually, and you didn't mind.

"I can't believe this," you groaned, "In my enemy's room, with my boss' wealth at my feet."

"That sounds... interesting," Yeosang smirked, and you rolled your eyes, "I like it better when we're not at each other's throats."

"I don't," you said casually, but it looked like Yeosang had other plans as he slid behind you, drawing your hair at one side and whispering in your ear-

"How about being at each other's throats... like this?"

You had to squeeze your eyes shut at the feel of his breath on your skin as he breathed in, his nose tingling your neck-

"Yeosang-"

"Shh," he whispered, his arms wrapping around your waist, "I want you so bad."

You couldn't tell if this was him getting at you like he used to- back when things were normal. He'd do things like this to rile you up, and though you both would never admit it, it turned you both on in inexplainable ways. However, you were always confused as to what he wanted-

You turned around, grabbing Yeosang's hands before he could try anything, "Can you stop being a dick for two minutes?"

"You think I don't want you?" Yeosang raised his brow as he pulled you dangerously close, "You think I'm lying?"

"I wouldn't believe you, Kang Yeosang," you glared at him, "All you do is lie anyway."

"I've never lied about how I felt about you."

"And that's a lie too."

Yeosang groaned in frustration, "Why do you think I never made a move on you?"

You pursed your lips- was he actually serious about this?

"All this... flirting we did, as 'enemies'- and what a title for us when all I wanted was you this close to me," Yeosang sighed, and you couldn't believe what you were hearing, "I didn't want to get you in trouble with your boss- I knew he was an animal. I care about you, even though it might not seem like it. And now that I know what an absolute monster he's been to you..."

You watched Yeosang's brows furrow in a pained expression as he brought his hand to your face.

"I'm never going to let you go back."

You sighed, leaning into his touch, and that was all the confirmation he needed as he brought his face closer until your lips brushed-

And then he drew back.

"You might want to make sure nothing in there would change your mind," Yeosang's voice was hoarse, "I don't... I'm not doing this if you are going to go away."

Your knees were already weak and truth be told, you knew nothing in there would change your mind- you were never going back, not to him. You sighed, resting your head against Yeosang's chest as you calmed your breathing, not looking at him as you made your way to the bag which contained the documents.

You examined them one by one, Yeosang counting the cash and the gold in the meanwhile, and by the time you were done, you were crying rather hysterically.

"What's the matter?" Yeosang rubbed your back but you just slumped further down in the bed as you muffled your cries, muffled your screams. Yeosang held you as you cried, and between your sobs you managed to say some words-

Lies. Betrayal.

Your boss... he had never been that dumb, alright. He'd given 10 year old you the proof you needed- fake documents that said your father's wealth had been passed down to charity except a small amount for you, which wasn't enough in any way. However, the documents in your hands now said otherwise-

Your father, one of the wealthiest businessman of his time, had left all his wealth to his sole heir- you. He'd left nothing to his friend- your boss. Everything inside the locker, all the contents belonged to you alone- all legal money so you wouldn't get in trouble for it.

You cried for the life you could have had, for the pain of the scars you had on your back.

And Yeosang was fuming as he heard that, promising to teach your boss a lesson- and his tone said he was serious.

Sipping from the cup of coffee that Yeosang got for you, you finally calmed down, looking at the cash and the gold spread around you in sets.

"All of this... it's only yours."

"What am I gonna do, with all of this?"

"Anything you want," Yeosang's smile was genuine.

"Tell me one thing, Yeosang," you set your cup down, "Why do you like me?"

Yeosang sighed, smiling, "You got me good since the day we met. I did hate you at first, just like you must have hated me, but... somehow, I started looking forward to our interactions."

You smiled, shaking your head, making him laugh out loud- the laugh that had always been music to your ears.

"What am I going to do with you, Kang Yeosang?"

Yeosang couldn't take it anymore- he climbed on the bed, crawling forward until his lips met yours, and the sigh that escaped you said enough.

Finally.

Fucking finally.

Your arms immediately wrapped around his neck as he pushed you back, getting on top of you and kissing you, the kisses picking pace with every passing second, and he had to break apart when you groaned into the kiss.

"I wish I did this earlier," he couldn't breathe.

"Never too late," you smirked, and he brought his mouth back on yours, moving in unison, and you marveled at how they fit as if made for each other. One of his hands guided your face, holding at your neck, his thumb caressing your face while the other roamed around your waist, teasingly slow.

Yeosang broke the kiss, catching his breath as he took his time to memorize your face, his eyes roaming slowly around, taking in the curves and angles.

He caught you by surprise when he started peppering soft kisses all over your face- on your forehead, cheeks, nose, until you were a blushing mess and you couldn't take it anymore.

"You owe me one, remember?"

It took you a good moment to realize what he was talking about: when he had freed you from captivity.

You did owe him one.

You scanned his face, biting your lip. What was he thinking?

Before you could ask, he was kissing your jaw, travelling down your neck, satisfied grunts escaping both of you and you almost forgot what he had just said until he mumbled-

"I want you. So. Bad."

Your stomach sank dangerously at his words, and you just responded by fisting his shirt and connecting your mouths again, and Yeosang started unbuttoning your shirt and broke apart only to take off his own, going to attack your neck, wringing out moans from you as he teased your bare skin, his hands going lower and lower, stopping again as he scanned your eyes for any sign of discomfort, smiling when he found them dazed instead.

"You owe me one." He caressed your face so gently, as if it held something fragile, "Don't leave. Stay here, with me. That's what I want."

"I was going to tell you to keep it for later because I was going to stay anyway," you smirked, "too bad you've lost your opportunity-"

"I take it back," Yeosang laughed, kissing your forehead, "How come you've decided to stay?"

You took a deep breath, thinking how to word it and Yeosang lay down with you, "I've always admired how close knit the 8 of you are, and work like friends, without hierarchies, without pulling ranks. And the way you're willing to accept me, no questions asked... I'm overwhelmed, to be honest."

Yeosang smiled, tracing shapes on your waist, making you tickle slightly, "We're practically friends, the guys adored you anyway."

"You hated me!"

"Never," Yeosang shook his head, "I just needed a reason to talk to you and rile you up. You know how I love it when you frown at me or glare at me-"

You slapped Yeosang's hand, making him laugh out loud, "I hate you."

"Do you, now?"

"Anyways," you gulped, ignoring the devilish smirk on his face, "You have to let me do one thing."

Though Yeosang strongly rejected your idea, you only pushed forward, seeing it as a sort of investment, promising it wasn't a gift and you were getting something out of it too- though everyone thought it was too much to accept, especially Hongjoong. But you told them you weren't going to take the money to your grave-

And you had to take your property back from your boss.

The very lavish house he lived in that belonged to you- you had to take it back. He wasn't allowed to dwell there anymore. You were going to whip him like he did to you all those years, and if you felt merciful enough, you would give him the gift of death. And then you'd get your boys out of the old mansion they currently lived in, and make your house the new residence.

You didn't let yourself be distracted by anyone- especially Yeosang- as you planned the downfall of your previous gang, and when you stood outside your home, the 8 of them by your side, you kissed Yeosang and made him promise he wouldn't interfere and wouldn't risk his life, making everyone promise the same.

"Once night time comes," Yeosang growled in your ear, "I am gonna make you mine."

You practically melted right there- you wanted to tell him that he already owned you. But you only sighed, nodding.

He had you alright.

And he only proved it when it was the middle of the night, your bodies still sore from all the fighting, your minds relieved because you were now in your home, safe, and your boss was... well, dead, not before you made him sign a document that made you the sole heir to all his property and wealth as well. The men and women, his employees, either died fighting or surrendered- most of them had known you and hated their boss like you did.

It had been laughably easy.

And you could have said you were prepared for how the events turned out, but nothing could have prepared you for when you and Yeosang finally went in your room and he shut the door, practically slamming you against the wall as he kissed the living soul out of you.

And you knew it was gonna be a long, long night, especially with the both of you fighting for dominance, none of you giving in, clothes off in a hurried motion, slamming on basically every wall and furniture, marking each other's skin and making each other moan so loud you were positive everyone heard it.

And as you lay in bed, in Yeosang's embrace, you felt safe, for the first time in your life.

"I think I like us better when we're at each other's throats after all," you grinned, making Yeosang open one eye to see what you actually meant. And his smile told you he wasn't disappointed.

"I like us better like that too," Yeosang said, making you squeal as he attacked your neck with kisses and bites again.

love poem

— summary: for years you’ve suffered for the longest time and for years they’ve hurt without understanding the true meaning behind it all. soulmates connected through the hearts, soulmates connected through the slightest touches, and when they finally meet their last soulmate, the seven gods vowed to themselves that they will love and protect you for the rest of their immortal lives

— pairing: bts x reader

— genre: fluff, angst, soulmates!au, poly!au, gods!au, god of knowledge!namjoon, god of stars!seokjin, god of music!yoongi, god of sun!hoseok, god of spring!jimin, god of ocean!taehyung, god of hearth!jungkook

— word count: 29.0K

— warnings: mentions of death, mentions of war, minor character deaths

— prompt: “It won’t be easy you know…trying to love me”

— a/n: i hope you guys haven’t forgotten the dear; sweet bubbies project. sorry i’ve been so slow on these requests but here is the second installment! for you bubs @hope122598​

Soft crispy crunches follow your footsteps as you walk among the snowy path, the wind seeming more restless than ever this morning. Little bits of snowflakes descend from the sky, falling and falling in an endless cycle for the snowy mountains will never come to understand what Spring looks like.

For days upon days and years upon years, you have always prayed to see what it will be like to live with warmth, in a home of hearth, in a shelter that can provide comfort and heat to your body and mind. But you know that as you walk up the path of the mountain, stairway long ruined since over many years ago, with the hood of your cloak constantly hoping to leave your head and the wind howling all around, wishing alone will only get you so far.

The morning sun brings no heat for you, icy particles kissing your cheeks from time to time and leaving you bright red from how cold it is.

But you’re used to this.

It’s okay. 

Keep reading

Chapter 1

Map My Heart: A KiriBaku x Male Reader fic Words: 1.8k

a/n: haha there’s angst at the beginning of this be prepared

Keep reading

bts drabbles masterlist 2

He Comes Home From Tour

A Valuable Patient Of Yours Dies

He’s Your First Boyfriend

He Drops The Lunch You Made For Him

Friends With Benefits

You’re Fearful Of Being Touched

Your Daughter’s First Day Of High School

He Calls You Clingy

Celebrating His Birthday

Baking Christmas Cookies Together

Watching A Pantomime Together

Crisis Talks

He Makes You Feel Bad About Your Weight

Cooking A Meal Together

Celebrating Your Anniversary 

He Forgets Date Night

You Break Up, But His Son Tries To Bring You Back Together (Part 2)

Helping Him When He Gets Embarrassed

You Feel Insecure About Your Weight

He Meets Your Parents

Seeing Him After Your Breakup

Headcanons:

Dating Jin Headcanon A-Z

He Asks You Out In College

You Write A Song Together

The Boys Visit Your Newborn For The First Time

Celebrating Their Daesang Award Win

Talking About The Future

You Suffer With Chronic Pain

Coffee Shop!AU

Helping Him To Tie His Tie

You Have Essential Tremors

Winter Mornings

You Think He Likes You But He Gets With A Different Girl

He Breaks Down From A Lack Of Sleep

Remembering When You First Met

Your Daughter Asks Him To Be Her Dad

You’re Admitted To Hospital, But You Don’t Tell Him

Giving Birth To Your First Child

Comforting You When You’re Feeling Low

He’s Scared You’ll Break Up With Him

Fans Are Rude To You At An Awards Ceremony

You Feel Insecure About Money

Surprising Him After Your Surgery

Taking Care Of His Diet

He Proposes

You Walk Out From An Argument

Cuddling You After An Argument

He Meets Your Daughter

Celebrating Your Anniversary

He Helps When You’re Feeling Homesick

He Calls You On Tour

He Calls You By His Ex’s Name

Celebrating Your Daughter’s First Birthday

Looking After Him When He’s Ill

He Comes Home But You Aren’t Around

He Wakes Up But You’re Not There

Exposing His Vulnerable Side To You

Telling Him You’re Pregnant After You Break Up

Attending A Christmas Lights Switch On Together

He Calls You Clingy

You Get Rejected From A Job Offer

Writing Letters For Him Whilst He’s On Tour

Love Letters

Looking After Him After A Long Day

Getting Lost In A Foreign City Together

Coming Home To You After A Long Day At College

You Pick Up On Each Other’s Habits

Helping Your Learn A BTS Routine

You Have A Breakdown From Stress

You’re Scared To Date Because Of The Fans

He Comes Home From Tour

He’s Your First Kiss

You Injure Yourself

You Give Birth To Twins

Looking After You When You’re Ill

Rainy Days

You’re A Tour Guide In A Museum

He Feels Insecure About His Talents

My Puerto Rican Princess

Writing A Song About Him

You Can’t Sleep At Night

Telling Him You’re Gay

Deciding Where You’ll Spend Christmas

You Fall Asleep Backstage Together

Decorating The Christmas Tree

Meeting At The United Nations

You Overhear Fans Being Rude About Him

Taking Care Of You On Your Period

He Comes Home Early From Tour

Taking Care Of Him When He’s Drunk

Looking After Him After A Long Shift ~ Doctor!Namjoon

Helping His Daughter With Her Homework

Simply Just Friends

He Surprises You On Your Birthday

Please Notice

He Takes Care Of You When You’re Ill ~ Doctor!AU

He Accuses You Of Being A Gold Digger

He’s Insecure About His Height

The Boys Find You Crying At A Movie

Telling Him You’re Pregnant After You Break Up

He’s Insecure About The Bond You Have With Your Child

He Gives You His Varsity Jacket ~ College!AU

Going On Your First Holiday Together

Cooking Italian For Him

Helping You With Your Chronic Pain

Your Parents Divorce

You Have A Fear Of Needles

Helping You Through A Hard Time

You Think He’s Cheating On You

He Takes Care Of You During Your Pregnancy

Helping You Cope Through A Stressful Time

Finding That His Hands Are Bigger Than Yours

You Can’t Fall Asleep Without Him

The Morning After The Night Before

Helping You Through A Panic Attack

Going Christmas Shopping Together

He Does Your Makeup

He Faints At The Studio

He Calls You In The Middle Of The Night After An Argument

Watching Christmas Movies Together

You Cheat On Him

He Invites You To Live With Him In Korea

Saying Goodbye At The Airport

Telling Him You’re Bisexual

Taking Your Daughter To Visit The Boys At The Studio

Helping Him With His Chronic Pain

Meeting The Boys For The First Time

Helping You Cope With Your Homesickness

Getting Your Daughter Ready For Kindergarten

Lover

He Feels Insecure About His Height

He Cheats On You

You Get Jealous

He Has A Panic Attack

Falling In Love With Taehyung’s Best Friend

He Meets Your Family

He Takes Care Of You When Your Cramps Are Bad

He Proposes To You

He Feels Insecure About Going Back On Tour

Seeing Him After Your Break Up

He Comforts You After A Breakup ~ Best Friend!Jimin

Filter

You Adopt A Cat

He Finds You Practicing Your Hula

You Cheer Him Up When He’s Down

Doing A Gucci Photoshoot Together

Taking A Trip To Paris Together

Treating Him On Date Night

Kissing On A Rollercoaster

Red Lipstick

Spending Time With Your Family At Christmas

Cosy Nights By The Fire

Taking His Son To Visit Him On Tour

Telling Your Son That You’re Pregnant

Celebrating His Birthday

He Proposes To You

Saying Goodbye At The Airport

Seeing Him After Your Break Up

Taking Your Bubbly Baby To The Studio

Your Child Has Down Syndrome

You Move Out Of His Home

Finding Out You Can’t Have Children

He Likes You, But You Are Already In A Relationship

You Join Him On A V Live

You Get Jealous

You Interrupt His V Live

You Accuse Him Of Cheating

He Introduces You To The Wooga Squad

He Forgets Date Night

You Overhear Fans Being Rude About Your Relationship

Showering Him With Affection When He Comes Home From Tour

Telling Him You’re Pregnant

You Bump Into Your Ex

Having A Fear Of The Airport Because Of Fans

He Says Something Hurtful In The Middle Of An Argument

He Draws Tattoos On You

Meeting On The Set Of A MV Shoot

You Suffer With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

You Dye Your Hair

Making You Walk Home In The Rain

The Fans Find Out About Your Relationship

Red Lipstick

Taking Care Of You After Surgery

Showing You Around Korea

Helping Him To Shave In The Morning 

You Have A Secret Podcast Together

He Takes Your Virginity On Your Wedding Night

Helping You Through Pregnancy

Promise

Opening The First Door Of Your Advent Calendar

Arguing At Christmas

Going To A Christmas Market Together

Arguing With You Whilst Pregnant

Looking After Him After A Long Day

Writing Christmas Cards Together

He Gets Protective ~ Brother!Jungkook

Finding Out Your Young Daughter Is Pregnant

Exposure (Part 2)

Your Pet Dies

You Forget Date Night

Meeting The Boys For The First Time

Games Night

He Loses His Wedding Ring

Helping You Sleep Whilst Pregnant

Cuddling Him Back To Sleep

Meeting At A Karaoke Bar

Calling Him On Tour

Telling The Fans You’re Pregnant

He Calls You Annoying

He Gets Jealous

Taking Your Daughter To The Studio

He Finds You Skipping Meals

My Time

He Finds Out You’re Fluent In Korean

Telling Him Your Deaf

You Cook Together

Your Son Ignores His Korean Culture

He Gets Competitive During Games Night

You’re A Writer

Finding Out You Were A Bet

He Takes Your Child To The Studio, Not School

You’re Hesitant With Affection

He Has A Breakdown From Stress

You Discuss Having Children

He Finds Your Tattoos

You Suffer From Depersonalisation Disorder

Spending Time With His Young Family

He Cooks For Your Birthday

Vlogging Your Pregnancy During Lockdown

You Think He’s Cheating On You

Dating A British Girl

Tease

You’re In A Relationship, But He Confesses To You

He Convinces You To Take A Break From Your Studies

He Confesses To You

You Meet During Bon Voyage

He Encourages You To Eat On Your Birthday

He Sings A Song You Wrote On The Album

Headcanons:

Seasons with Jungkook Headcanon

—

masterlist

Best Of Us

Chapter 8: Focus

Summary: Being an Omega is hard, it could be so lonely. The hardships that you would sometimes feel seemed to much, always expected of things you could never fully reach. Always seen as a piece of meat to some, seen as weak and stupid. So you worked your ass off to finally work your dream job. And the world all changed when you met one of the bosses. And couldn’t help but end up falling.

Paring: Rap Line X Fem!Chubby OmegaReader

Warning: A/O/B!VERS, mentions of sexual harassment, heats, ruts, knotting, breeding, angst, possessive behavior, more warnings will be added as needed.

An(IMPORTANT…kinda of lol): Hello my sweets! I just wanted to give you all a heads up that I will be closing the Tag list after I realize Chapter Ten, just for a bit it will open back up eventually its just getting be to much to keep up with at the momment! So defiently keep an eyes out in the next couple of weeks of the tag list closing and when it should open back up if that makes senses lol. Also I was woundering if you guys would like to talk about the story togthers after each chapter? Like a reading party where you guys send in your thoughts and I will respound to as many, if not all of the replys, asks and anons! Defeintly tell my your thoughts on that if you fine it intresting or not! I hope you like this chapter, it’s most defitnly on the long side compared to the perivous chapters, and they only seem to keep getting longer lol. Anyway have a great day, and I hope you enjoy reading!!!

PREV._.NEXT

God you were crazy, you had to be.

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i really really really want a ghost tattoo *cries in too many bills to pay* I may set up tattoo tickets if anyone is interested, they would be $35AUD and you would receive cleaner artwork and a ticket download that grants written permission to use my work for a tattoo

Flowers [K. B]

Kaz Brekker x reader

word count: 8.4k

summary: some jealousy motivates Kaz to finally face how he feels about you

A/N: I have literally weeks writing this and I hope I got it right, I tried to write the reaction of jealousy as appropriate to Kaz as possible lmao. Also, when this Freddy photoshoot came out I just imagined. You'll find out later, I hope you enjoy it!

taglist: @rustyyyyspoonz @be-lla-vie @milkshake0 @ladespedidas

Kaz took a deep breath before opening the door, bracing himself for what he would face as he crossed into the next room, already a tremendous hubbub.

It was Inej's birthday and you had insisted on throwing her a celebration, something everyone else was excited about, because you thought that of all of you she was the most likely not to have had such a party. Well, actually the main candidate was Kaz but he would kill all of you when he found out that you had arranged a surprise for him.

You had decorated the room in The Slat and you had invited (threatened, rather) the members of The Dregs so that they would celebrate your friend and you also invited (to them, kindly) some girls from The Menagerie, with the security that if someone tried to touch them you would defend them. You also told the criminals that if they thought of bringing a gift they would make sure that it was not stolen, nor was it stained with blood, nor was it from the corpse of a dead person. And so far everything was perfect.

"Kaz!" he was greeted by Per Haskell, who had been playing cards at a table and already had a couple of drinks on him "Son, I admit that when you said you wanted to have a party I thought you were crazy, but this is great."

"Y/N wanted to do it, I didn't" he murmured sincerely and Per just laughed. Parties weren't really his thing, though he'd probably feel better after some alcohol. He looked for his usual group to get closer to them and not die from the anxiety that social situations generated in him.

He found five of his crows chatting and laughing at a table on which was an empty chair, which Kaz thought was surely for him.

"Look who decided to join the party" Nina mocked, looking at the black-haired boy with a smile.

"Happy birthday, Inej" he murmured politely, as he handed the girl a leather case containing a nice set of knives. Her eyes lit up as she thanked her friend and Kaz allowed himself to smile "Is anyone sitting here?"

"Y/N" replied Jesper, who had an arm around Wylan's shoulders "But she's been missing for a while."

"Maybe she's helping out in the kitchen," suggested Matthias, who was feeling more relaxed than usual.

"Huh-uh" Wylan denied, with a mischievous smile, while he took a sip of his drink "Look there" he exclaimed and his head pointed surreptitiously in one direction.

All eyes at the table looked at you at the bar and Kaz, who hadn't seen you before, was surprised by how jovial you looked. You had left your hair loose and you were wearing light-colored clothing, very different from the usual black, gray, or brown, along with ribbon adorning your hair, but the smile that this generated in the black-haired man was replaced by a frown upon noticing that you were smiling broadly towards another person. Towards a man.

"That girl is on fire" the Grisha mocked, quite proud, and the others made similar comments, between laughs.

"Who is that?" Kaz hissed, sounding angrier than he intended, at Inej, who was closest to him and most likely to know the answer due to your friendship.

“A new guy that Per hired, I thought you knew him. I heard that he comes from Shu Han”

At that moment he turned around and he could see the features that demonstrated that theory: tanned skin, slightly slanted eyes, and black hair. He wore a simple outfit, in very poor taste according to Kaz, and he couldn't have been more than 17 years old. He was just a brat who was too close to you.

Although he didn't say anything, you only needed to see the expression on his face to know that he wasn't happy, something that fortunately no one paid attention to, because they assumed that it was just a normal reaction in Kaz when seeing any kind of displays of affection.

"He's handsome," Jesper muttered, and Wylan turned to give him a pointed glare. "I mean, not like you, nobody's as handsome as you, but he… got his stuff."

Was he really handsome? Kaz didn't know if he was in a position to judge that, since he didn't even know if he was what someone would consider 'attractive'. That had never bothered him, of course, he was simply curious as to what the others might think. What could you think about, actually.

Most of them decided that the matter didn't deserve any more importance and they continued talking about other things, almost all of them logically related to Inej, however, he couldn't take his eyes off you and your peculiar company for even a second. He noticed you chuckled softly and when you did, he could see the guy across from you reach out to tuck a piece of your hair behind your ear; Kaz squeezed his cane to appease the urge to go do the same to the aforementioned neck.

Almost as if you felt the heavy gaze you looked in his direction and when your eyes met you smiled reflexively, making his heart race. You still chatted for a while, but your attention wasn't entirely on your new friend now that you were aware of Kaz in the great room. In due course you apologized to him and before saying goodbye he stroked your arm too confidently, promising that he would make sure to look for you later. After he left you practically ran to the table where your friends were.

"Y/N" Inej laughed, feeling you hug her from behind.

“How is the most beautiful birthday girl in the place doing?” you asked excitedly, kissing her on the top of the head and hearing her reply that everything was excellent “Oh, hello, Mr. Brekker. What a joy that you honor us with your presence” you joked as if you had barely noticed, and you were disappointed to see the unfriendly look he gave you.

“Who was the young man you were talking to?” Nina asked casually, while her boyfriend shook his head at how gossipy she was sometimes.

"Lior?" you muttered. So that was the name that should be written on the tombstone "It's huh... a new guy, he was thanking me for inviting him"

“I hope he doesn't get used to it,” Kaz said grudgingly. “Don't think there will be any more birthday parties. Much less with all these Dregs”

A collective groan was heard, alleging that the boss was very bitter and appealing to 'healthy coexistence', which amused you.

"That was my chair, shall I sit on your lap or shall we bring a new one?" you exclaimed, close to the man's ear. Kaz didn't expect that and it was obvious you didn't mean it, but he had to abruptly get up from his chair and walk away, leaving all of you stunned.

"What did you say to him?"

"Nothing! I just told him that I was sitting there, but I was kidding, I didn't want him to leave”

“That's how he is,” Inej said, with a touch of bitterness and a shrug. But you didn't take that so lightly, you hated that Kaz was mad at you because he made you feel so guilty, even if you didn't know what he was mad at. Maybe you had crossed some line? You weren't even going to! It had only been nonsense that had escaped your lips for the liquid value that you had ingested.

You ended up taking the chair that he had left empty and although you participated actively in the conversation you couldn't help but feel restless. Of course you didn't know that Kaz had left there to prevent you from noticing his cheeks flushed with fury at the scene he had seen and the way you had said the name of this Lior guy, a blush that only increased when he felt your breath so close to his skin and hear your soft voice.

First he had to calm down, why had that bothered him in the first place? Although he was aware of a certain protective relationship that he had towards all of you, it was not normal to feel that anger when you were talking to someone else, or when another man was touching you. Jesper was constantly holding your hand, once he had found you and Wylan cuddled up sleeping on a couch and you always challenged Matthias to fights you knew you weren't going to win and he just laughed it off, making no effort. But that was different, he had touched you… with other intentions. Kaz was no fool and he knew better than anyone that you were beautiful in every way, no matter how hard he tried to deny it. He maybe couldn't appreciate the masculine beauty, but, although it was not in his total interest, he could judge the feminine. So he was mad because a guy was interested in you? Was that what explained the heat that grew in his chest and that now he himself was torturing him? But why?

“Kaz Brekker?” said a voice behind him. He had gone outside to get some air and didn't recognize who had called him until he turned around. Today was his damn lucky day "My name is Lior, Per said that you are like the boss"

"I'm not like the boss" Kaz replied with total contempt "I'm the boss"

"Huh, yeah, sure. I'm sorry. I just wanted to introduce myself” Kaz looked at him without saying anything, obviously trying to make the other understand that he had no interest in meeting him, and the boy took the opportunity to clear his throat before speaking again “And… ask you if… a girl I was talking to is from your team. She mentioned you before, her name is Y/N”

Kaz didn't know what that Lior had in mind to go and ask him such a thing, but for a moment he believed in the Saints and thanked them for making him so stupid.

"And what does that interest you, silly boy?" he muttered. Lior was probably the same age as Kaz, but the black-haired man had the advantage of being a few inches taller, of having an imposing presence leaning on his cane, and of… well, being the fucking boss.

"In nothing, I just thought I'd ask you" replied Lior, visibly dismayed by the unexpected hostility of his new leader, and mistakenly thinking that he would fix something, he continued: "She's very kind and I wanted to get to know her better, I thought you could help me”

“You're here to steal, spy and obey orders, you're not here to meet girls, let alone someone like her. So I recommend you keep your distance and focus on the job, which is why we hired you”

and that the contrary had contained himself a little. For a moment he thought that Kaz took his job very, very seriously (it was partly true) so that's why he had been so annoyed at the suggestion of him looking for one of his close friends. He never knew that he was mad to hear that someone so vulgar wanted to befriend his Y/N.

"Kaz!" for a second he thought he was imagining your voice, but when you appeared a few seconds later he knew it wasn't like that "I was looking for you, you... Lior" you interrupted yourself, looking at the other young man who had paled a little "I see that you are already met"

"Yes, we already had the fortune" he answered with all the sarcasm existing in his body, although you didn't notice it.

"I was leaving, anyway"

“Wait, have this,” you said, handing the boy a piece of paper “It's a restaurant, Nina and I go there for breakfast all the time. If you ever want to join us, just say so” Your tone was so kind and your face so happy that Kaz was afraid he would start foaming at the mouth.

"Yes, I..." Lior didn't dare look at Kaz, who was watching him with murderous eyes "I'll think about it, bye"

"Bye," you replied, a little disappointed by his lack of effusiveness.

"You really want to make new friends," he snorted with inevitable scorn.

“Well yeah, my old friends run away from me,” you muttered, keeping your tone playful no matter how upset he was. Then you sighed and got a little more serious, “Listen, I know you hate parties and people, but I would really appreciate it if you were with us at the table. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but I did this to have a fun time and to make Inej happy. There is alcohol inside, if you don't like it, I can find you something better to prepare the drink you prefer but, please, stay even for a while"

His frown on him relaxed considerably as he watched your pleading eyes looking down at him but the unknown feeling towards the new guy grew like flames consuming an entire forest. You had told him where you used to go for breakfast, which meant you wanted to see him again.

“Only if you promise not to go out with that idiot” 

“With Lior? And why shouldn't I?

"I already told you. He's an idiot" he said simply and you laughed.

"And how do you know?"

"He looks like one"

"You're going to need a better reason than that and probably a bouquet to convince me otherwise," you muttered, totally sure that the latter was so ridiculous that it would only prove that you weren't going to change your mind. Lior wasn't the most handsome guy for you, that place was reserved for someone special, but you had decided that giving him a chance wasn't such a bad idea “Come on, don't be grumpy, and let's go in there. I got a cake and you don't want to miss it,” you said, starting to walk back inside, and after sighing Kaz followed you without question.

Once morning came the birthday cheer was gone and things went on as usual; going to the Crow club, keeping order at The Barrel, odd jobs, and a couple of unfortunate fights.

In the span of a week you had already seen Lior at least three times, and he always seemed to be conveniently close to various places you frequented. Being with him was nice and little by little you were getting used to his company, the only thing that seemed too strange to you was that every time Kaz appeared in the same place as you he said goodbye and left immediately before your boss could see it. You assumed he was just afraid of him, like most people, and you didn't say anything.

Suddenly you began to think that you had hardly seen the man in those days and you wondered if he was attending to your basic needs since you had hardly seen him go to the kitchen of the place for the food that you prepared. Sometimes loaves of bread would disappear, but that was Fahey's trademark.

"You are listening?" asked Lior, who was in front of you at a betting table and had brought you out of your musings. You were taking a break at the club and again he was hanging around so you thought about having a drink but right now you only remembered the beginning of what he had been saying to you so you couldn't lie to him even if you wanted to. You just smiled embarrassedly in response, making him laugh. "Too much to think about?"

"No, none of that. I was only gone for a moment"

"Well," he started to say, with what you'd already recognized as a flirtatious smile, "I hope I can find you when that happens."

You were going to answer something when you heard a fight near you. A couple of drunks had a disagreement over who had won the game and they thought the most effective way to settle it was beating. You quickly got up from your chair to separate them and had to dodge the fists several times, having no luck a couple of times. Lior was about to jump in to help you when suddenly one of the men fell to the ground with a thud. Everyone in the room looked in the direction of whoever had knocked him down and there was the only logical option.

"If you guys want to beat up each other like animals, do it outside my establishment," was all Kaz said. You were still holding the other man back, but he didn't put up much of a fight when he and his friend were escorted outside. You shook off your jacket and rubbed your arm where one of them had managed to hit you.

This time Lior couldn't escape the boss's eyes and Kaz felt his blood boil again at the sight of his face. He still didn't fully understand the nature of his feelings, but it was clear to him that he didn't want you near that boy after a couple of days when you no longer stopped by to say hello in his office or struck up a conversation with him. Although, indeed, he was never the most sociable now he wanted to make an effort to spend more time with you, but he had difficulties finding ways to do it.

"Damn drunks, huh?"

“Did they hurt you?" he asked quietly. You looked up in confusion and took a moment to process it. Was Kaz worrying about you?

I mean, he cared for all of you during missions and times of real danger, but on those occasions he just saw to it that you stayed alive and continued his duties. It was weird hearing something verbal.

"Nothing I can't handle," you replied, with a challenging little smile.

“I want you to help me with some things. Unless you're busy…”

Saying this he looked at the skinny boy behind you, who looked away immediately. If there was one thing to be recognized about Kaz, it was how he never showed fragility and therefore forced others to surrender first.

"It's that urgent?"

"So I would say"

Now it was you who held his gaze for a few seconds, looking for something implicit that would reveal why he now wanted to take you to another place, but there was nothing. There was only neutrality in those beautiful blue eyes.

“Lior, I have to go. Some work" you exclaimed and he internally celebrated the apparent victory that you had chosen him over someone else, although the satisfaction was short-lived when he saw that you took a step and planted a kiss on the boy's cheek.

Kaz thought about how he wasn't mad at you, but at him, and it suddenly dawned on him that he was actually jealous. That was what he was feeling like a plague.

Jealousy.

You noticed the radical change in his attitude when he didn't even look at you and began to walk quickly down the hall, so you had to speed up to keep up with him. Worst of all, he didn't really have anything he needed help with, he'd just said it so you wouldn't be with the Shu boy, so when you set foot in the office he was stunned.

“I want you to help me sort these documents by date,” he said, extending in your direction a huge folder that he found in a drawer that only contained papers from the previous year. It was not necessary to order that because he had already used it, but he preferred to ask you that than look completely dumb. 

"And the magic words?"

"Abracadabra?" he said sarcastically, but he sighed heavily at the sight of your crossed arms and your clear intentions of not taking the folder until he said so "Please, Y/N"

“Do you see how cute you sound being a polite child?” you exclaimed to annoy him and before another complaint you took the things and placed yourself in an empty end of the desk.

Kaz watched you from time to time, intent on your task, your lips slightly pouting, and each time he did he felt his heart swell. 

What was happening to him? he was afraid that he would find out and not like the answer.

You finished in record time and he let you off to wherever you wanted to go through the door, a little worried that it was with the new kid. As soon as you left he took his hat, coat, and cane to go directly to The Slat, hoping that the person he needed was there.

He knocked on the door a couple of times, but no one answered and for a moment he felt desperate. He badly needed the help of the one person he knew who wouldn't judge him for asking obvious questions and also had enough discretion so that others wouldn't realize he suspected he had feelings for you. He suspected. 

He was going to make one last attempt which wasn't necessary as the door swung open as he raised his fist, revealing a small figure with loose hair and less weaponry than usual.

“Kaz?”

"Hello, Inej"

You were sitting in the dining room of your shared house, pouring yourself some coffee in a chipped cup hoping it was strong enough to wake you up, while you racked your brains trying to solve the mystery that had been bothering you for a few days ago. 

Turns out, after the drunken brawl incident and helping Kaz, you had gone to rest, falling asleep on the bed almost immediately. No problem with that. The strange thing was that the next day you had woken up with a bouquet of wildflowers of various colors resting on the nightstand. The first time you thought that you had put it there and you didn’t remember it, so you just sniffed it with pleasure and placed it in a glass of water. Normal day, you went to sleep at the end and the next morning there it was again. You knew that it was not the one you had collected the day before because these were in the glass. A little confused, you put the new flowers with the old ones and continued with your day, without imagining that the next morning things would repeat themselves. Three times in a row was already disturbing, so you made an effort to imagine who was the author of all this. If it was the girls, it was nice that they had such detail, and you could have even tolerated it from Jes, Wylan, or Matthias, but if it was an outsider then it was a worrying situation because it implied that a lunatic had been messing around to your room at night for a week straight. You made sure to lock your room and still, the flowers appeared there, as if it were a magic trick.

Was it Lior? Impossible, or you would have seen him come in in the morning or at night. Also, one day you had woken up earlier than usual and even that time the flowers were there.

"Bonjour" greeted an energetic Jesper, who had appeared still in nightwear, and ruffled your hair as he approached you "You don't look very lively"

"I am not a morning person," you said sipping your coffee.

One by one your other companions joined the morning coffee, Kaz being the last to arrive. It was funny how much 'morning drinks' could say about each of you: Inej drank coffee with some sugar, Jesper coffee with cream, Wylan drank tea, Matthias just milk, Nina hot chocolate and lastly you and Kaz shared a taste for the coffee bitter and very hot, so it was not a surprise that when he arrived you already had a cup for him.

“We're running low on supplies,” Matthias announced, pointing to the empty cupboard, to which you groaned.

None of you had any culinary skills, but since you were the least likely to give them food poisoning, they had all decided that you would be the designated cook, which included doing the shopping.

"I'll go to the market later"

“I will accompany you,” Kaz said, so fast that they all fell silent and turned their heads to look at him. Observing the situation, he adopted a defensive attitude "I need to buy some things too and I have to make sure Y/N isn't wasting money"

“Sure, my specialty is diverting resources by saying I bought potatoes,” you joked, rolling your eyes. “If you want to go with me, let's go now. At this time there are fewer people" you explained and he nodded. You just finished drinking your coffee and grabbed a large bag in which you loaded the food before leaving the building.

As soon as you got out, they started speculating.

"Why did Kaz want to go?"

"I wonder the same thing"

“Maybe he really did have things to buy,” Matthias said, and though Nina heard her black-haired man's racing heart, she decided not to contradict anyone. Inej looked at her almost as if she read her thoughts and they both shared a knowing look without saying anything.

On the way to the market, neither of you spoke, but he noted that you were right when you said that the city was quieter at that time, probably because life in The Barrel really began when night fell.

The market was quite a distance away, but he put up with it like a champ, so when you got there you were very hungry and you assumed he was the same.

“Eat,” you said suddenly, extending to Kaz a piece of bread with jam inside that you loved to buy when you went there “I pay for this with my own money, by the way. So you don't accuse me of being a thief."

"You are a thief," he reminded you, grimacing and taking a bite of the piece of food. It was sweet, freshly made, and melted in the mouth.

You two walked for a couple of blocks, still in silence, while you were choosing food. You were wondering what those 'things' were that Kaz needed to buy and when he would ask you to make a detour to a store, but the moment didn’t seem to come, which made you suspect that there was really no such reason and it was just an excuse. You were curious as to what he might be looking for by doing that and you let your mind wander to possible answers, from when he was looking for advice he didn't yet know how to ask to when he just needed some fresh air and jumped at the chance, without you being involved in any way.

Kaz, for his part, was entering a crisis. He wanted to talk to you and have a nice time but he didn't know how to do it. He had thought that, once you were alone, the words would sprout by themselves and then you would continue the conversation, however, he had limited himself to watching you feel the fruits to decide which was ripe and which was not.

“Do you think she really likes that boy?”

“I don't know” Inej had told him “But I don't think that's the case either” she continued and her friend nodded her head “I think what she likes about him is that she listens to her and keeps her company; he is attentive to her. You could start there."

"Are you hungry?"

"A little, nothing that will kill me"

"Let's have breakfast" he murmured. Did it sound like an order? Yes, but he hoped to get a little better with practice.

"Only if you pay" you answered with a mischievous smile.

He led you to a small establishment you'd never been to, which he probably chose because he was all alone, and you sat at one of the little tables with worn cushioned chairs, facing each other. The question you wanted to ask him was on the tip of your tongue, but you were still working up the courage to gesticulate it.

Kaz ordered some eggs and bacon and since you were craving something sweet you ordered some fried dough stuffed with currants, on the recommendation of your companion, and both of you ordered the second coffee of the day.

"And what is?"

"What is what?"

“The deal” you exclaimed, as if it were obvious, but he didn't seem to understand “I suppose if we came here alone it's so you can ask me to make a deal. Steal, spy on someone right?"

He was stunned for a moment. Didn't you notice the effort he was making? Was that your idea of his actions? Honestly he couldn't blame you, because, probably, in other circumstances that would have been the case to isolate himself from the others in the group. But not now.

"There's nothing" he replied, but you narrowed your eyes to let him know that you didn't believe him "No tricks, I promise"

"So does that mean I'm the boss's favorite?" you asked with mock enthusiasm, deciding to play with his patience a bit.

"Shut up or you're going to lose your privileges," he countered. It felt good to tease you, have a little fun for a change.

You were sitting there until the mass of people that gathered at noon allowed it and then you returned to The Slat with your hands loaded with bags that at some point in the day you would place in the cupboard, not wanting to do it immediately so as not to spoil the atmosphere of peace between you and Kaz, who hadn't left you yet.

“Anything in particular you want for lunch?” you asked, moving closer to him. It was just the two of you in the kitchen and the rest of the place was relatively quiet. "You know, to offer you privileges to threaten you with later."

He almost laughed, but the suppressed smile you saw on him was enough to make you want to see more. You and Kaz were friends (or so you hoped, at least) but there weren't many memories between you like that, almost all of them were related to work or at the club or with one of you saving the other's ass. You had only once helped him heal a wound, just because he couldn't reach that section of his back and then he justified himself by asking for your help by saying that it had been partly your fault, which was totally false but that you weren't going to argue with him if that made him feel less embarrassed.

It felt different, like something more relaxed, soft… more domestic. You had just returned from shopping together, you had eaten an exquisite breakfast that he paid for and now you were asking him what he wanted you to prepare for him to eat… were you a couple of criminals or a newly married couple? 

The thought of a marriage with Kaz warmed your cheeks and you wanted to laugh at how absurd that would be.

"Whatever you want, anyway, my stomach already has enough defenses against indigestion" upon hearing this you barely pushed his arm, but as soon as you did, your eyes widened as you remembered who you were talking to, although to your surprise he didn’t complain.

"I'll make pea soup," you informed. You knew it was one of his favorites because of the second course he always served himself when he thought no one else was looking. You did, you looked at Kaz Brekker all the time.

He just hummed in the affirmative and left without another word.

During the course of the morning you did more activities, but you couldn't stop thinking about him and the walk they had taken together. Suddenly you would surprise yourself remembering his expressions at your bad jokes and smiling like a fool when you thought about how beautiful his eyes looked with the brightness of that morning.

Kaz ever had a partner? Did he like someone? Was he even interested in those things? You didn't know, but it wasn't a crime to have some admiration for him either, right? Jeez, he'd only been a little nice to you, why were you so excited about that?

You had never thought about whether you had feelings for him, beyond the initial working relationship that had now become a kind of family bond, although now you were reflecting on it.

And later, when his expression brightened from the plate of food you served him, you felt that it might not be such a wrong idea.

I like your smile.

It was the only note that had been left with the flowers, which you had been receiving for quite some time. Always without fail, always on the nightstand in your room.

Although you were worried about who this "secret admirer" might be, your curiosity was greater and you had been careful not to mention anything to your friends. Well, it was really just the boys, because Inej and Nina knew a lot about things, since the jobs to steal were scarce lately, you guys had more time to do anything else. 

Kaz trusted any of you so he let you roam the Crow club as you please, but also to check that things were in order: no scammers, control fights, check that the girls weren't harassed by the clients, things like that.

That night the club was short of a barista, so you and Wylan had split the responsibility for it by taking turns meeting the demand.

He was more skilled than you at making cocktails, perhaps due to his chemical mixing skills, but still the boy was patient with you and he only laughed when you messed up.

"I prefer this to be like poor Jes” you muttered amused, because from where you could see the boy sitting next to the door playing with one of his guns, obviously annoyed because Kaz had ordered him to stay away from the gaming tables. You thought that Wylan also had something to do with it, because they both hated that it fueled their gambling problem "But I need to distract myself a bit, will you be okay by yourself?" you asked. You knew he would be fine so you walked out of the bar without much guilt.

You were taking a walk among the tables when you felt someone grab your arm and you turned defensively. It was Lior, who you had already served too many drinks for a person of his size and now he was suffering the consequences. After serving perhaps the fifth in a row you got a little worried, but you didn't want to intervene because you thought it was none of your business. As long as he paid them, you had no objection.

"Y/N," he said, drawing out his tongue. Several of the Dregs were standing around him, apparently also drinking some beer, and were watching you curiously. "Sit with us," he ordered, patting an unoccupied chair next to him.

You didn't want to be rude and tried to say you were working now, but he was insistent until you agreed to sit down for a few minutes. The other men weren't chatting with you, probably as a matter of avoiding trouble with the boss, but Lior was particularly eloquent. As an effect of alcohol, he didn’t measure distances and sometimes he would spill some beer near you or invade your personal space to talk to you. You let it go because you didn't want to cause a conflict and, to a certain extent, it was tolerable.

But after a while, his behavior became more annoying. He was holding your hand and even tried to stroke your leg, but what made you jump back was when he leaned in for a kiss. Luckily you had been faster.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" you asked flustered, drawing the attention of the others at the table.

"Oh, don't pretend you don't want to" he replied. His body leaned towards you again and you moved further away, which made him annoyed "I've seen how you look at me"

"Sorry, what?"

"You want me," he stated. You were suddenly startled by the confidence with which he was saying that and how deep his voice sounded, like that of a wild animal. And, from his perception, you played the role of the prey.

"That’s not true, fuck you," you spat, getting up from your chair, but you were stopped by his strong grip on your forearm.

"Come on, Y/N. You like me and I like you, stop making yourself difficult"

"I told you no" you exclaimed with a trembling voice. The problem wasn't whether or not you could face the boy, but that he had caught you off guard. Although it was true that you liked him a little, you weren't going to allow him to want to kiss you just like that, to say the least… because judging from his insistence, you doubted that a kiss was all he wanted.

You almost screamed as he pulled you towards him and this caught the attention of several people around you, but before you could do anything an object came between you and threw Lior back into his chair in one movement.

It was a cane.

It was clear that by this point several tables had already stopped their games to pay attention to the menacing expression of the bastard with the barrel hovering over a drunken kid imprisoned in his chair.

"No means no" Kaz said slowly and quite close to the challenging face of the opponent. It was almost like he had been watching you the whole time, waiting for the perfect moment to intervene, or maybe he just had a sixth sense that would alert him when one of his crows was in trouble.

He thought that this would be enough to scare the boy and withdrew the cane from his chest, intending to turn around to check on your well-being, but he did not count on the fact that Lior's drunken state also gave him the courage to dare to jump in to hit him. The black-haired man's instinct made him turn around just in time to stop the drunk and throw him face-first against the table, holding his folded hand against his back.

If there was anyone left who hadn't noticed the discussion that was enough for them to notice, including Wylan, Jesper, and Matthias who had risen from their places to intervene if necessary. But it probably wouldn't. Kaz was furious.

You saw him whisper in the boy's ear and you knew it was a threat from the expression on his face, in addition to the groan of pain that the youngest emanated when Kaz mercilessly pulled his arm.

He remained in that position for a moment, completely blinded by anger, enjoying the cries of pain the shu boy was making.

"Get him out of here" Kaz ordered The Dregs, who had been watching everything in silence. You also didn't get to hear what he said to one of them, but the chances of Lior waking up the next day in pain from a beating were pretty high.

As you backed away you collided with a huge body and calmed down to see that it was Matthias, asking if you were okay. It didn't take long for all the men of the team to gather around you to ask what had happened, but you were still a little stunned to answer coherently.

Even so, you looked for Kaz's gaze just to realize him and he didn't look angry, but worried and his eyes were in charge of communicating everything that his mouth didn't. Somehow you quietly reassured him too, but he couldn't bear to see the glitter that threatened to turn to tears.

"Thank you" you managed to whisper, still a little nervous.

“Take the night off,” the black-haired man murmured, again sounding more like an order than a suggestion. “Walk her to The Slat, Jesper. Matthias, stay at the door”

The three of them returned to their respective posts and for a moment you thought that Kaz was also going to accompany you, but when you looked back he was already rushing with a firm step towards the door where the rest of his men had left.

Once you were in your room, and Jesper made sure for the thousandth time that you were okay, the feeling of discomfort eased considerably, but you noticed the bruise already beginning to form on your forearm from the man's grip.

What had happened to him? He had always been kind to you and respectful... you didn't even think that he would behave like that with you. You were disgusted and even scared by how quickly things had happened, but you were infinitely grateful that Kaz had come like a guardian angel to help you. You probably could have handled that on your own, however, the shock of receiving that kind of treatment from a person you were beginning to trust and even care for was what put you at a disadvantage.

You struggled a lot to fall asleep, because a part of you felt very hurt and sad to think that you didn’t deserve to have sincere love, but one where they only wanted you for physical matters.

Also, the flowers didn't arrive that morning.

When you finally got out of bed you were having trouble concentrating on anything and Nina had to take care of breakfast because you were too sensitive to do anything. This didn’t go unnoticed and everyone insisted that you rest a little more, but when Kaz arrived and realized the situation he didn’t wait to take action on the matter.

“We’re going out,” he said, when he finally intercepted you alone in the kitchen area, even though you weren't in much of a mood at all.

"A job?"

"A walk" he corrected you. You looked confused but didn't say anything and when it was time to leave The Slat you realized that Kaz wasn't talking about hanging out in a group, but just the two of you.

You didn't know where he was taking you, yet the road was as silent as usual. He watched you out of the corner of his eye just to see if your features changed in any way with the landscape, the aromas, or the morning breeze, but he felt a little disappointed when he noticed that your expression was still serious and even a little sad.

He wished he had taken more time with Lior last night.

"He won't bother you again" when he remembered that, he felt the need to let you know that now you could rest easy, and that you know that he himself had taken care of dealing with the matter.

"I don't doubt it," you said, letting out a bitter laugh. You knew what Kaz was capable of when he was angry. "It's just... I feel silly."

"Did you love him?" the man asked. You had already arrived at the place where he wanted to take you in the first place: it was a small meadow, with a lonely bench and too much life to be in the sad and gloomy Ketterdam. It was like finding a little piece of heaven on earth.

“Love him? By God, no, of course not. It was nice to be with him, but… talking about love is too strong. He was just an idiot”

"I'm sorry this has happened" he exclaimed, a little calmer after hearing your negative words about the other man, and at the same time the fact that you were alone gave him a little more confidence to say what he was thinking without being judged, trying to make you realize that he really cared about you.

"It's okay" you smiled to reassure him. He was going to say something else when a purple stain caught his attention under the sleeve of your dress that you had already risked up to the biceps. The night before he didn't notice that the boy had hurt you when he struggled and at that moment his blood boiled with anger "It's nice"

"What?"

"The place," you said, looking everywhere; the slightly gray sky, the birds flying around, the flowers growing next to your feet, and Kaz right in front of you. All of that made up the beauty you were talking about. "Why did you bring me here?"

"I thought maybe you needed to calm down a bit"

"Then you're a good friend," you said softly. Kaz couldn't remember anyone using that term with as much fondness filtered into their voices as you just did.

Friends. You were friends, you loved him at least a little.

"I hope so. I don't have much practice” he confessed and you smiled tenderly. Although you wanted to keep seeing Kaz, something in you forced you to look at the floor, as if there was something there calling you.

The flowers… were those flowers. You could recognize them after receiving them for days and keeping them fresh in the vase: there were the yellow ones and the lilac ones, both with small petals and a brown center.

You paused for a moment to make sure you weren't misreading or confusing things, but when you knelt down to pick up a cluster you knew for a fact that your theory was correct.

"What a curious thing"

"The flowers?" he asked, trying to sound as calm as possible. Even though you couldn't see his face, you somehow knew he was frowning.

“I've been getting exactly these kinds of flowers every weekday for a while now,” you said, getting up and showing Kaz the plants. “The stranger places them on my nightstand before I wake up, every time, without fail. Except for today"

"Maybe I wanted you to come to see them in person"

You froze in place, not expecting such a quick confession from him, and he looked at your face for a reaction. You were still holding the cluster in your hand and you unconsciously squeezed it hard.

In a panic you tried to find another interpretation of his words that didn’t imply the fact that he was the author of those signs of love, but you couldn’t find it. And from the man's slightly embarrassed face, you assumed that was true.

But the worst thing about it was the existence of the note that had kept you tossing and turning the day you received it. I like your smile. Kaz had written that too?

"So... it was you"

"Who did you have in mind?" he asked, a bit defensive, and you smiled, shaking your head.

“No one, I didn’t imagine who it could be. Honestly, at first, it scared me to think that someone was stalking me” you said sincerely. You looked at the bouquet of flowers again and noticed that some were withered, thinking that Kaz probably always chose the prettiest ones to take with you. You fell silent, not of your choice, but because he wasn't saying anything, and then you closed the distance between you by taking a small step forward, still respecting his personal space but enough to make the conversation intimate. “Why did you do that?”

Words were never Kaz's strong suit and he felt his throat tighten as he tried to answer you. What could I tell you about that? Did he himself have a coherent reason for doing that?

He thought you were going to get mad at his silence, but you smiled tenderly because, although he didn't realize it, once again his eyes had been in charge of telling you everything he was keeping quiet about.

"I like them a lot" you spoke again. If he wasn't ready to tell you, you weren't going to push him "I put them in a vase every day and when they're withered I put them in a box" you confessed. Fearing rejection, you lowered your hand to his, took it for a moment to place it higher, and then placed your own flowers in his hand. He held them tremblingly "Calm down, I'm not going to tell anyone"

"Tell them what?"

"I'm the boss’s favorite" you joked and a knot formed in Kaz's stomach when he saw that your eyes dropped for a second to his lips and you licked yours, perhaps unconsciously. You pulled away from him because you thought he might be uncomfortable with the closeness and instead, you left him wanting to have been in that position a little longer “Do you want us to sit here? I like to watch the birds”

He ignored you and a few minutes later you two were sitting next to each other, still saying nothing. Kaz was looking at you out of the corner of his eye and he thought he couldn't be prouder that your sad expression was gone.

And how was I to be? If you had just discovered that you had the sympathy of the man you admired most in all of Kerch.

"You were right," he spoke suddenly, snapping you out of your thoughts about what it would feel like to be a bird and be able to fly.

"About what?"

"You're my favorite. As a person. You are my favorite person” he managed to say. His look from him was sweet and sincere "And I like to see you smile"

"You already told me," you said, trying to suppress a smile and feeling how the blood rose to your cheeks. It took you a moment to dare to say what you were thinking. “I appreciate you, Kaz. I mean it very seriously."

You two stayed there for what seemed like hours and just enjoyed each other's quiet company, the sound of the wind, and the sight of the place. You looked at the horizon and he watched you covertly, thinking about everything he would be able to do to keep you out of the dangers of the world and what he had not realized until the night before when your integrity was threatened. 

One of your knees collided with his and Kaz, instead of pulling away from him, moved his knee slightly to rub against yours.

That day a silent pact had been sealed between you. He loved you and so did you.

No more words were necessary. Just lots of flowers.