some stories only come out after dark

warm  light     𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬  𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫  𝐭𝐡𝐞  𝐛𝐚𝐫     in  a  manner  meant  to  be     𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆  .     it  dyes  eren’s  olive –  toned  skin  a     blood  orange ,     drowning  out  the  frigid  demeanor  for  which  he  is    𝕶𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐍     &     𝕱𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐃  ,     both     𝚊𝚍𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍    &     𝚊𝚍𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍     for  being  about  as  approachable  as     𝖙𝖍𝖊  𝖌𝖗𝖎𝖒  𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖕𝖊𝖗  .     but  jean  hadn’t  seemed  to  mind     ━━━━     even  after  their  first  encounter  saw  eren ,     so     ᴜɴᴠᴇʀsᴇᴅ     in  matters  of    pursuing  others     with  romantic  intent ,     𝙶𝙾𝙰𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶  𝙷𝙸𝙼     into  unraveling  that     ᴜᴘsᴛᴀɴᴅɪɴɢ  ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇᴍᴀɴ     disposition .     they’d  wanted  to  see  his    𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗗  𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘  ,     testing  the  waters  to  see  if  he  even     had  it  in  him     to  handle  eren’s  unending  chaos .     𝐚𝐧𝐝  𝐡𝐞  𝐡𝐚𝐝  ;     he’d  met  eren  right  where  eren  had  wanted  him  to  and  exceeded  expectations ,    𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚑𝚒𝚜  𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎     even  as  things  had  escalated  from  banter  to  violence  to    moaning  each  other’s  names .

            ɪᴛ  ᴏɴʟʏ  ᴍᴀᴋᴇs  ᴇʀᴇɴ  ᴡᴀɴᴛ  ʜɪᴍ  ᴍᴏʀᴇ  ,     and  it’s     𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆  ,     hence  why  he’d    𝖗𝖚𝖓  𝖆𝖜𝖆𝖞     after  the  deed  had  been  done ,     before  jean  could  wake  to  ask  what  happens  next .    𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧  𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭  𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞  𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝  𝐡𝐢𝐦  ,     anyway ,     because  he  didn’t  know    [     .  .  .     ]     he’d  never  felt  like  someone  could  light  his     𝙶𝚄𝚃𝚂  𝙾𝙽  𝙵𝙸𝚁𝙴     just  by  looking  at  him ,     could  make  the    unruly  beast     at  their  core  mad  with  desire  with  a     𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞  𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡     ━━━━     with     𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚢     of  his  touch .     he’d  intended  for  that  to  be  the  first  and  last  time ;    𝕵𝐄𝐀𝐍  𝕶𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐈𝐍  𝐈𝐒  𝕯𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒  ,     and  eren  ought  to    ɢᴇᴛ  ᴀᴡᴀʏ     while  they  still  can .   

           only ,     it  never  could  have  ended  there .     𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖓  𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖘  𝖉𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖊𝖗  .     and  even  if  he’s  not  sure     ᴡʜᴀᴛ  ᴛᴏ  ᴍᴀᴋᴇ     of  this  growing  obsession  he  has  with  jean ,     he  can  say     with  certainty     that  trying  to    𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐄  𝐈𝐓     only  makes  it  worse .     and  everyone  around  him     [     𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍  𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜  ,     𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜  ,    𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚏𝚏     ]     had     𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙸𝙲𝙴𝙳  𝚃𝙷𝙴  𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙵𝚃     in  his  demeanor ,     his  focus .     something  had  to  give ,     lest  eren  would  burn  to  ash  in  the     𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠  𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬     of  this  insatiable  craving .

           so  he’d    𝗧𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗘𝗗  𝗛𝗜𝗠  .     it  had  been  just  over  a  week  since  their  hookup ,     and  though  eren  knows  they  ought  not  fuel  floch’s    cyberstalking  habits ,     when  he’d  offered  to     𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝  𝐣𝐞𝐚𝐧’𝐬  𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭  𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧     for  them  for  the  millionth  time ,     they’d     finally  relented .     but  desperation    𝙸𝚂𝙽’𝚃  𝙰𝙽  𝙾𝙿𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽  ;     eren  couldn’t  show  his  hand  and  reveal  the  fact  that  jean  hasn’t  left  his  mind  for     ᴍᴏʀᴇ  ᴛʜᴀɴ  ᴀ  ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ     since  they’d  met  at  that     𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝  𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠  𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲  .     he  can’t  say  that  he’d     𝕷𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐃     that  jean  didn’t  know  who  he  was ,     wasn’t  fazed  by  his  celebrity  given  he  hadn’t  even  been    𝖈𝖔𝖌𝖓𝖎𝖟𝖆𝖓𝖙  𝖔𝖋  𝖎𝖙  ,     and  eren  found  it     𝚜𝚘  𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐     that  it  made  jean  impossibly  more  attractive  to  him .     and  he    𝐀𝐁𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐘  𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐓  𝐒𝐀𝐘     that  he’s  dreamt  of  him ,     relived  the  feel  of  his  hands  on  eren’s  skin ,     tracing  the  intricacies  of  their     𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐭  𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤  𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐨 ,    the  taste  of  his  lips ,     the     ᴀᴅᴅɪᴄᴛɪɴɢ  ғʀɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ     of  their  most  intimate  parts  interlocking .   

           no ,     that     𝖏𝖚𝖘𝖙  𝖜𝖆𝖘𝖓’𝖙  𝖕𝖔𝖘𝖘𝖎𝖇𝖑𝖊    [     .  .  .     ]     thus ,     eren  had  only  sent  him  a  selfie .     innocent  enough ,     though  he’d  been     ᴄᴇʀᴛᴀɪɴ  ᴛᴏ  sʜᴏᴡ     that  he  was     𝐢𝐧  𝐛𝐞𝐝  𝐚𝐭  𝐭𝐡𝐞  𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞  ,     and  not  wearing  much  beneath  his  sheets .

           jean  must  have  been  thinking  about  eren     𝙹𝚄𝚂𝚃  𝙰𝚂  𝙼𝚄𝙲𝙷  ,     for  he’d  come  running  into  the     𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲  𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩  .     and  with  the  odds  in  their  favor ,     eren  had     sᴇɪᴢᴇᴅ  ᴛʜᴇ  ᴏᴘᴘᴏʀᴛᴜɴɪᴛʏ     to  make     a  simple  request .

            i’m  headlining  a  show  in    𝐓𝐖𝐎  𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊𝐒  .    𝚢𝚘𝚞  𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍  𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎  .     i’ll  make  sure  you  can  get  in .

           he  came .     𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡  𝐭𝐨  𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲  𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬  𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞  ,     but  eren  had  practically     𝙵𝙴𝙻𝚃  𝙷𝙸𝙼     the  moment  he’d  walked  in ,     even  in  a  venue  of     sixty –  thousand .

           both  had  agreed  it  would  be    𝖙𝖔𝖔  𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖞  𝖊𝖞𝖊𝖘     for  their     ᴘʀᴏᴘᴇʀ  ʀᴇᴜɴɪᴏɴ  ,     thus ,     eren  had  proposed  they  meet  afterwards  at  a    𝙽𝙴𝙰𝚁𝙱𝚈  𝙱𝙰𝚁     owned  by  a     friend  of  a  friend .     he  still  finds  himself  earning  some  lingering  looks ,     but  no  one  bothers  him     ━━━━      or  he’s  too  high  on    𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭  –  𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰  𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞     and     𝕻𝐔𝐑𝐄  𝕯𝐎𝐏𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄     at  the  prospect  of  having  jean  right  in  front  of  him  again     [    𝚊𝚝  𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐  𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝     ]     to  care  about  anything     anyone  around  him      is  doing .   

           finally ,     a    ʙʀᴀᴠᴇ  sᴏᴜʟ     dares  to  join  eren  at  the  bar .     their  heart     𝙷𝙰𝙼𝙼𝙴𝚁𝚂  𝙸𝙽  𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙸𝚁  𝙲𝙷𝙴𝚂𝚃  ,     but  they  can’t  help  but     𝐭𝐚𝐩  𝐭𝐡𝐞  𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧     of  their  phone  to  display  the  time ,     at  which  they     scoff    &    roll  their  eyes .

            ❛❛     you  finally  decided  to     𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖜  𝖚𝖕  ,    ❜❜     he  mutters ,     mindlessly  swishing  the     amber  colored  liquid     in  his  glass  as    𝙵𝙸𝙴𝚁𝚈  𝙰𝚀𝚄𝙰𝙼𝙰𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙴𝚂     flash  with    𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞  𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭    as  they  settle  upon  jean’s  face .     ❛❛     you  got  a  thing  for  being  late  ,     or  for     𝚝𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚖𝚢  𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎  .ᐣ    ❜❜

             ➣          𝙿𝙻𝙾𝚃𝚃𝙴𝙳  :          @givingnightcall  .

⠀sure, he's YOUNG and yet to be under certain obligations while he is yet becoming the best version of himself ── or so he's told by those that surround him and keep telling him to follow the narrow path towards his future ── but jean has absolutely no way of justifying the way he'd been ever since meeting them.

⠀a headache, for sure. that had been his first impression of eren at that party ( ONE HE DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO ATTEND IN THE FIRST PLACE! ) at realizing that he was more than just bark. a pleasant interaction quickly becomes a full-on brawl until every single sound coming from either of their mouths melt into moans and gasps, hands searching and exploring and grasping for something that jean hadn't even known he wanted at the time.

⠀because he didn't, right? last person he had feelings for had turned him down ── even as polite as it had been, it still wounded his pride and brought an ache to his heart ── so jean had told himself he'd focus on his future. on his STUDIES AND CAREER, leave the matters of the heart for those foolish enough to want to put that as their priority.

⠀⠀⠀idiots, he'd called them at the time.

⠀⠀⠀well, GUESS WHO'S THE IDIOT NOW.

⠀it had hurt nearly as much, waking up to an empty bed; though not unexpected, jean could've sworn that... well, nevermind that thought. eren was GONE and since he was apparently rather famous, there was no way in hell he'd ever see him ever again. he was just JEAN. no one special ( even if he pretended for himself to be someone RELEVANT ). that was it. eren hadn't even asked him for his full name or asked for a number or even stayed.

⠀⠀⠀that's that.

⠀except, it wasn't. not when a week later jean gets a selfie from an unknown number and from there on, he couldn't pretend like he didn't like him. like the sheer thought of the time they'd spent together had meant nothing. even if jean is painfully aware that there's a very good chance that eren only wants something easy and quick. someone to call upon whenever the mood strikes. being famous surely had it's downsides and finding someone to fuck amidst fans and possible scandals was no easy task.

⠀yet here he was, nonetheless. taking that step, taking the risk. knowing that he's setting himself up again for heartache but wanting eren too much to even pretend like he cares.

⠀⠀⠀that's a problem for future him.

⠀❛❛ I can always LEAVE, your highness. ❜❜ there's a frown as he speaks, neatly folding into the seat right next to eren. there's no real strength behind his words, though ── his gaze leaves his companion only to signal down the bartender, pointing a thumb at the drink they're holding to signal he'd want the same with a polite smile. he probably should keep his wits about himself and avoid drinking but... as his friends would say ( fuck it, we ball ).

The woman confirmed his number back to him and then sent him a cheeky message.

Hey, it's your damsel in distress. Hope to hang out again soon x

She sent it with a smile, before shoving her phone back in her pocket. She took a deep breath and laughed at his feigned shock.

There's a second of confusion when she speaks and he realizes that, yeah, they barely know each other, huh? He could probably smell every single one of her mood changes, but she doesn't know a single thing about him, does she? "Oh - I'm single. Never dated, actually." There's a small sense of pride when he says so - he remembers college and the large amount of people interested in him but he'd never even given them a second glance. Always politely declined their advances, kept to himself and his studies and hobbies but romance... It never really crossed his mind. Not until... Well, now.

the warmth is fleeting, however, as bakugou releases his hold to break his way into the building, managing to unlock a window for the two of them to crawl through-- he finds himself frowning as he struggles to climb inside; he's freezing, tragically underdressed for the unexpected bluster, and his limbs have gone slightly numb. he does manage eventually, of course, though not without nearly stumbling over once he's made it to the other side.

it's warmer here. not by much, granted, but at least inside it's dry and the wind is no longer whipping painfully at his face. small victories, he supposes.

right! safety, supplies! 'yeah-- yeah, okay! i can do that.'

he's shivering, running low on power, and there's a pain that throbs along his lower back, but he's yet to be rendered useless and is, furthermore, determined not to be. least of all now when their situation had become so dire.

he could still help. and he would. and so he does, slowly wandering about the building, surveying; examining the door, the windows and the frigid and blustering world beyond the glass. everything seemed secure enough and it didn't appear as though they'd been followed, which was a huge plus.

There's a bedroom in the corner of the building that appears to be their salvation: while the makeshift bed has no full on bedding, there are a couple of blankets that will more than suffice. He's also pleasantly surprised by the shirts and shorts strewn around the place.

Bakugou comes to one conclusion rather fast: this place is probably normally used during the summer and whoever came through last had ravaged most useful things. Homeless people, robbers, whoever they were, they'd taken anything of value (if there ever was any) and left whatever they thought wouldn't be needed.

Good.

Bakugou quickly removes his hero suit, throwing the soaked through fabric on the floor before wiping drying himself off with the piece of clothing he'd found in worst condition (what he assumes was once a sweater, now torn to shreds), quickly realizing that it was more than just snow and rain that had felt sickly wet, crimson staining the article of clothing he now held. Figures, his aching back was more than just a sprain, it seemed.

No mind, he'd keep pushing forward.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, allowing herself to feel the music, before she turned and looked at him once more. "I'd like that too." She said, before picking up her phone that unfortunately now had a crack in the screen from dropping it during her encounter with the men in the alley. A permanent reminder of it...

He gives her a soft laugh, momentarily looking over to her phone to spot the dog emoji next to his name. He feels bile rise in his throat at the sight of the crack on her screen - he knows it'll be a horrible reminder of the attack for as long as it's there, and in that moment Valko makes a promise to himself that he'll replace her phone sooner rather than later. He keeps quiet, though, opting instead on rattling on his number, eyes quickly returning to the road, hands deftly twisting and turning the wheel as he inched the car towards their destination.

She gave a small, exasperated laugh. "I appreciate your offer. I don't have anyone to tell, though." This was true. She didn't like to get close to people. She held them at arms length. She had 'friends' at work and people she would hang out with from time to time, but she had no one who would rescue her if she needed it. No one that would notice if she went missing.

Should she really be in a stranger's car right now going on a drive? Probably not. Was she going to do it anyway? Yes. With a deep breath in and a sigh, she looked at him and smiled.

"Sounds like a plan."

She smiled, leaning over and grabbing his face gently with one hand, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you, Valko." She whispered again, before buckling herself into the seat.

But he manages to calm his increasingly beating heart, instead giving her a nod and hoping the crimson on his cheeks calms down by the time she's done buckling herself in.

Yet... she was too scared to let anyone in. Especially after being abandoned by her father at such a young age. Left to fend for herself since her young adolescence.

She laughed at Valko's comment. Yeah, he was right. She did sound silly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you involved in this. I'll be okay. I don't want to interrupt your day any further." She said, before carefully freeing her hands from his and beginning to fold up the blanket, her hand on the car door handle.

There's a hint of sadness in his eyes that he attempts to hide, quickly speaking up before he loses the chance and she walks out of his life possibly for good.

"Don't thank me yet - I mean - I'd like to help you forget this ever happened. I'm sure it'll stick with you for a while but maybe I can take you for a drive? Even if it is while I take you home?" He scratches the back of his head nervously, awkwardly laughing at how much he's feeling. Unsure, scared, hopeful... Too much to name.