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"I lost the bet...didn't I?"

Psyche voiced.

Jimin shifted on his heels and blinked at the girl in front of him. "Yes."

His face wasn't only flecked with little bits of blood and gore from all the men he'd just assassinated, but contained a vast, sparkling smile from ear to ear. Gazing into Psyche's face, he saw the same thing radiating from her. It was an outstanding force--raising her cheekbones, lifting her shoulders...hugging ever inch of her ethereal being...there was this unspoken feeling in the air that coincided with the bet they had made with each other. Had Psyche won the bet, this feeling would have been much less magical, Jimin thought, but he probably would have stolen a kiss from her regardless. How could he not?

How could he not steal a kiss, staring at Psyche now? Staring at the woman who stole his breath away every time they met up?

Psyche, the gorgeous woman with flaming red hair, muscled physique, sharp, logical mind...possessing an unbeatable, astute way to handle any problem tossed her way...a katana supporting her front side-

"Hey, I'm hungry, Jimin." Pan spoke up from his spot nearest the stage. In his hand was the dangling end of the thick cloth used to support Psyche when she fell from the ceiling. "What's for dinner? Practice went later than usual."

Right as Jimin was about to scold Pan for interrupting his beautiful moment with Psyche, X nodded his head.

"Right. We were supposed to get out of here thirty minutes ago. Before the brutal attack happened..."

"Pfft! Brutal attack?" Jimin swung to face the handstand performer, baring his teeth in a mockery of X's words. "That's what you call brutal? That's what I call a walk in the park, chico. Talk about simple concepts. Shoot the bad guys, dodge the bullets. Like brushing fucking dust off the shoulders, bro. As easy as luring in your mom, X, and asking her to-"

"You don't have to go that deep into comparisons. X gets the point." Psyche placed a light hand on Jimin's shoulder, turning towards X. "But yeah, the battle was kind of easy. The only reason I fell from the ceiling was because of chance, because the ceiling in this place is weak shit. If the location was a bit more revamped, I could've had V's head on a platter now for you to see."

Jimin scoffed, leaning into her. "Nah, I would've killed him first."

"You wish. I don't think Powpow would get through to that guy-"

"And your katana would? Pretty sure V knows how to dodge a sword-"

"Pretty sure V knows what moves you'd make during an attack. He'd counter you easily. He was your boyfriend, after all."

Jimin flinched. "Oh, shame on you for bringing that up! Full, gooey shame on you, Psyche-"

"Shame? I'm telling the truth!"

X cleared his throat suddenly, eyeing both arguing individuals. "The truth is...no one can kill V. It's kind of...impossible."

"What garbage just poured from your mouth?" Jimin stepped closer to X, jutting out his chin in a pantomime of toughness and intimidation, although he was a few inches shorter than the man. "Did you just say that no one can kill V? That it's impossible?"

X averted his eyes. "Yes, well. V...at least, from what I've heard, uh...he's super intelligent. His brain is wired differently. To the point that all calculations, internal or external, occur subconsciously. Automatically. Anything you ask him, any problem or strange question you present him, only moments later he'll provide an entirely sufficient, thorough, and analytical production of-"

"Yeah so you wanna get pizza with me after this?" Jimin, totally ignoring X's complicated speech, faced Psyche with a chillness that left X baffled.

"Wait, did you hear anything I said about V?" X's forehead scrunched into disbelief. His eyes darted briefly over to Psyche, as if urging her to get the ringleader back on track. Psyche caught his confused glare and bit her lip.

"Yeah." She made a point to stare X straight in the eyes. "I'll get pizza with you after this, Jimin. That is, only if Pan comes."

"Only if Pan comes!" Prada squawked, repeating the statement.

"Yeah, consider it done. Pan can come, only if he doesn't order pineapple on his pizza. Pineapple is pineasshole." 

"No, I don't eat yellows on my pizzas." Pan answered. 

Jimin beamed. "Great! That's good news."

On a whim, Jimin reached down and grabbed Psyche's hand in his. Her palm was warm, light, and partially covered in dust and blood. But Jimin didn't care. If anything, dust, dirt, grime, blood--they felt right up his alley. He lived in a junkyard. Any form of dirt felt right at home.

"So y'all wanna go to the pizzeria then? It's on me." Jimin ignored the entirety of the cast that stared at him, expecting him to answer to the big question that lingered in the air: what the fuck just happened with V?

Psyche lifted her eyebrows. "Which pizzeria? The one next to the-"

"The dog saloon. Right." A silly, pink rogue melted into Jimin's cheeks when Psyche squeezed his hand back. "Yeah, that one. I'll order all the pizza you want. I'm kind of a fat ass when it comes to pizza, so I normally order five full pepperoni platters to -"

"Did you HEAR what I said, Jimin?" X fumed, crossing the neat sleeves of his nicely pressed suit. "V is dangerous, unstoppable. You got away this round, but there's no telling what will happen next time. Are you really going to put your entire cast in danger again? What happens if V picks them off one by one?"

Jimin raised a hand to shush the man.

"V won't and can't. V is an incompetent Nerdwang. I don't know what pills you've been taking to get those crazy ideas in your head that he's some invincible god. V is a butthole that only shits out lies. LIES, X. So anything that has to do with his image is probably a lie, since he controls the image. I've been with him, I know how he is. He's infected."

X bristled. "He has more power than you think-"

"Think shrink. Fuck off." Jimin waved him off, turning sharply around with Psyche at his side. As he moved to face the exit, a loose board from the ceiling plummeted down to the dusty auditorium floor, landing within inches of the duo with an echoing whoosh. Jimin kicked it with his heeled platform shoes, sending it into the seats. A deep laugh rumbled from his chest. "Wow. Today Death really wants to say hi to us I guess. Greetings, fucking Lifestealer."

Psyche wiggled her hand at the board. "Hi, Death. OH! Are you coming, Pan? Hurry! Yes, be careful, come on! Take my free hand."

Pan, racing to catch up to his makeshift guardians in this period of his parentless life, cheesed as he took Psyche's warm hand in his own. The three of them resembled something of an extremely discombobulated, bloody, and unorthodox family, but it was a sweet family nevertheless. 

All three of them had seemingly nothing in common that tied them together...but the 22nd letter of the alphabet truly did connect their hearts.

V...

V, that awful letter. Wrapping the trio in a mutual bow of destiny: the destruction of the man named V. Their undying goal to rid that consonant from the world prompted their close relation. 

The trio's meeting was the silver lining of the horrible man sitting somewhere within his massive mansion...he was the impetus for their union...the shocking motivation behind their three connected hands, bobbing heads, and rotten smiles heading outside the auditorium to the pizzeria. V (viewed in an alternative light) was a wonderful letter.

"So." Jimin started when they were in the smoggy outdoor air that characterized nearly every part of Mither. "So."

"So what?" Pan stared at the remaining motorcycles left behind from the men. A few of the motorcycles still had their keys in the ignition, as if the thugs expected to return from the shootout unharmed for a quick getaway.

"So..." Jimin smacked his lips together a few times.

"So..." Psyche used her strong thumb to crack Jimin's finger in their shared grip. Jimin ahhed and overdramatically winced before grinning nastily. "So...what are you going to do about those dead bodies?"

"The ones in the auditorium? Oh, the cast will take care of those. That's not what I'm worried about."

Pan sniffed in disdain at one of the black tire streaks left behind by V's hurried motorcycle. It was fresh, and it reminded him of his old owner. The disgusting man who had stolen Pan for personal pleasure. 

Impassioned, Pan broke away from holding Psyche's hand in a sudden fit, rushing towards one of the motorcycles. With all the force that his young body could muster, he launched himself at it and shoved the beast over on its side.

"Woah, pop off, Pan!" Jimin's eyes grew wide as the heavy motorcycle tipped over. "That takes a lot of strength...what's the matter? Actually, no, don't answer that. I get sudden urges for destruction too. Actually, I get them all the time. Kinda like right now, I kinda really wanna smash-"

"Don't say it!" Psyche squeezed his hand hard. "I swear, Jimin...don't say it in front of Pan."

Jimin shook his head.

"No! I wasn't going to say you. I was going to say, I want to smash...my lips against yours."

Psyche froze in her spot, recognizing a sudden draft of orange butterflies flitting into her guts. "Ah...the bet. Right."

"Right."

Jimin faced her.

"Right."

"Right."

"Right." Pan said, leaning up against the tipped motorcycle.

"Right."

"Would you stop!" Pan shouted. "Just kiss!"

Jimin took a deep breath. "Riiiigghhhtt..."

Psyche felt her heart rate increase. "Right. So. Maybe we should wait until-"

"No, it has to be here."

"Why?" Psyche peered into his eyes, searching for an answer. However, she didn't see anything there but a bright, mischievous set of stars that twinkled like crazy. "Why here?"

"Um...cuz..." Jimin dug around for an answer. "Look around us! We're still on the battlefield, still in the vicinity of our victory today. Right by the auditorium. By the place where we almost killed V. Isn't that, uh...romantic? You know? And motorcycles are dope as fuck, like you, and they are tough as shit and perfect and...right. You catch my drift? We can do it here."

"Do it?" 

Psyche felt her mouth run dry. She was suddenly hyperaware of every placement of Jimin's fingers against the flesh of her hand, every heart beat that racketed her chest, every movement of his eyes on her face, every breath of air they took between them.

"Not like that! Not that kind of do it! I mean, unless you want...okay! No, we won't! You don't have to look at me like that, Psyche."

"Just making sure." Psyche licked her lips. "So, uh...how do you want to..."

"You can just, um...put your hands here..." Jimin motioned to his neck. Psyche followed directions, wrapping her hands around the backside of Jimin's hot neck.

"Are you...should we even be doing this now? With Pan here?"

"Do it! Do it!" Pan cheered, kicking a motorcycle with every shout.

"See?" Jimin raised his eyebrows. "He doesn't mind. Don't back out though, please...we bet on this! And don't psych me out, cause all I ask is one kiss-"

Rapidly, Psyche leaned in and pecked him on the cheek. Jimin was taken aback only for a moment, blinking a few times before he shook his head and frowned.

"No, no! That doesn't count!"

As a response, Psyche pecked him on the cheek again, unable to hold back her smile.

"You missed my mouth again!! HOW CAN YOU MISS!? Come here."

Suddenly, Jimin's face descended closer to hers, dipping low enough so that Psyche could make out the tiny black grains of Jimin's LOVE tattoo. His lips too, those were close enough so that she could make out the little cracks and quivers that lined their pinkish edges. She could smell the gun smoke on his cheeks, spot the flickering flame of ecstatic warmth in his irises...she could sense more than feel the slight nerves that radiated off of his all-confident frame as his fingers settled on the back of her red head of hair and pulled her close...close...

"Wait." Psyche breathed. Their mouths were only a few hair-breadths apart at this point. "Wait...I have a question."

"A...question...?" Each syllable was dragged slowly, tasted succulently. Psyche could tell by the jitter in Jimin's knuckles that he was pushed to the limit of his self-control, and it made her cheeks grow rosier. This close, Jimin's face was half-vibrating, buzzing expectantly, and fully focused on her parted lips. "You better hurry and ask. I'm sure I'll have an answer."

Gingerly, Psyche pulled her hands away from Jimin's neck, dragging them to cup the edges of his face instead. The ringleader's jawline was speckled with dried blood, but surprisingly, Psyche liked how each splotch felt underneath her fingertips. Jimin felt layered, complex, alive. He was breathing, beating...nothing like the dead soul that animated V's rude body. 

Jimin to her was...attractive in a wild, unkempt way. Sexy, even if she wouldn't admit it out loud.

Jimin responded to her hands tracing his face with a slight dip of his head. Almost demurely, the tips of their noses brushed.

"I want to know..."

"Yes?" Jimin's breath fanned gently against her face.

"Do you...do you really like me? Be honest. Or whenever you say those things about me...like this kiss, is this just...are you joking when you say those things? Do you only like my body? Or is it...is it more? Uh...sorry if that ruined the mood but...I need to know."

Slowly, Jimin moved his head back to look at her. For a while, Jimin said absolutely nothing. He continued to gaze deeply between both of her eyes, trying to find something there. After a while of them just blinking in silence, Jimin tightened his grip on the back of her head and moved in wordlessly.

Their noses nudged again, pensively, then with more strength. Finally, their lips ghosted over each other. Psyche allowed Jimin to close the distance between them, testing out the waters. Her eyes fluttered shut as she felt his mouth lightly contact hers, brushing against her lower lip as if he was afraid she would flinch back in disgust from the kiss.

But Psyche acted in quite the contrary fashion.

Her lips now fully attached to the show director's, she moved her hands to tilt his head to the side, allowing them to deepen the kiss at a different angle. Slowly, their lips lapped and separated for brief moments only to dive back in for more, like a pot of intoxicating honey dew. Jimin's hands moved from Psyche's hair to rest on her hips, pulling her body flush against his.

Psyche reflexively gasped as her body molded against Jimin's. The ringleader took the lucky opportunity her mouth was open to introduce his tongue into the kiss, stroking Psyche's side as her own kissing grew heated, competing to catch up to Jimin's fast pace. Her heart hammered maniacally in her chest as Jimin's fingers gently probed under her battle vest, sending little electric jolts at the points where they made contact with her skin. Unconsciously, her hands moved from their maneuvering position on his cheeks to card and tug at his hair.

One tug in particular against Jimin's dark hair forced a rumbling sound out of his throat that vibrated against her lips. 

The deep, breathy noise made her pull herself back for a moment, collect herself. The prize for winning the bet was one kiss, nothing more. And if they kept going down this path, Psyche wasn't sure if she'd be able to reign herself in. Plus, Pan was nearby, and she still hadn't received an answer to her question.

"Woah." 

She exhaled against his face, aware that his hands were still firmly planted on her hips. His eyes were anything but collected and controlled, instead fogged over with an expression she'd never seen on him before. His mouth hung slightly ajar, and the swollen, cherry tinge of his lips spoke of the harshness of their kissing. His eyes lingered on her lips, and he looked completely spaced out.

"Jimin?"

"Yes?" Jimin's dark eyes gradually rose to meet hers, but they were still soaked with something dark, something dreamy, something lost even. Psyche shook his head around a little with her hands to wake him up from whatever state the kiss had put him into. His eyelids shuttered open and closed a few times to clear his mind, and he seemed to recover his previous curious expression. "Oh...uh, yes?"

"My question, are you going to answer it?"

"Your...your question? The answer?" Jimin furrowed his brows, moving his thumb along the inside of her shirt. Psyche felt the soft line his thumb drew up her side. She suppressed the shiver that it sent along her spine, biting down her urge to press herself further into his touch. "Wasn't that an answer?"

"Wasn't what an answer?" The thumb continued to rub circles.

"Wasn't that the answer?" Jimin scrunched his nose.

"Did you say something I didn't hear?" Psyche pondered.

"No! Ugh, wasn't this the answer?" Jimin leaned in again, passionately kissing Psyche for a few seconds before he removed his lips and grinned. "That! Wasn't that a great answer to your question?"

"But you didn't say anything." Psyche, now semi-aware of what Jimin was getting at, knew she could prolong Jimin's touch and these continued kisses if she feigned ignorance. So she did. "Can you do it again...so I can understand the answer? I must've missed something the first few times."

Rolling his eyes with a small grin on his lips, Jimin reconnected their lips for the third time. This round of kissing, his fingertips tapped the skin of her muscled stomach, sending an uncontrollable shiver up her spine. As she partially convulsed under his touch, he snickered against her lips and separated.

"You liar! You know what my answer is, Psyche. Your body just told me the truth. You knew this whole time that I really...you knew the answer!"

Psyche jutted out her lower lip, gaining satisfaction as Jimin's eyes remained fixated on it. "Did not. You didn't say any words, dumbass. How was I supposed to know what your answer was?"

"It's called inference!" Jimin, now slightly irked and totally turned on, raised his fingertips higher on her skin, resting just above her navel. "In-fer-ence. You're smarter than this, Psyche."

"Shit...am I?" Psyche grinned and shook her head hard, finally coming to terms with what she'd been denying these past few weeks after meeting Booboo Crazypants. "Am I smarter than this? If so...if I'm so smart, then why in fucking Mither's junkyard do I like you too? Why do I like you back? Why?"

This admittance struck Jimin like a blow to the face, minus all pain and filled with all the graciousness that miracles induce. "WHAT? Wait! Did I JUST HEAR THAT RIGHT!?"

"Hear what right?" Pan shouted from somewhere behind a long line of tipped motorcycles. "I didn't say anything!"

Jimin turned, laughing his ass off to face the location of Pan's voice behind all of the motorcycles. "NOT YOU, PAN! I'M TALKING TO PSYCHEAD OVER HERE!"

"Oh, you did not just call me Psychead."

"And you did not just say you liked me back! But you did! You really did! I have proof, in my memories! You really...you really do like me? Are you sure you're not dreaming? Are you lying? to me? Are you lying to yourself? Prove it then!"

"We just made out for a good five minutes, Jimin. I'm pretty sure that answers the question from both sides."

"I know." Jimin whispered, resting his forehead against hers. "But I really really really just want you to kiss me again. I really fucking...ugh, Psyche. I really fucking like you. Like...more than the stars in the sky type bullshit kinda like. More than Prada. And that really says something."

Psyche clicked her tongue. "Now those were the words I was looking for."

"PSYCHE!" Pan shouted suddenly, breaking the two lovebirds' conversation. "I FOUND SOMETHING! COME HERE!"

"Well...we better go check that out..." Jimin mumbled, making sure to withdraw his fingers off Psyche's skin excruciatingly slow.

"Mhm." Psyche flicked the side of Jimin's head hard. "No more dirty thoughts, okay? We have to stay on guard. Just because we kicked the shit out of the guard inside the auditorium, it doesn't mean V doesn't have spies on us. Plus, we need to see what Pan found...also, the most important thing here. Pizza."

"Oh, right!" Jimin leapt away from her, jogging over to the purple boy with delight. "I forgot about the pizza!"

Psyche watched as the buffoon with a raggedy brown long coat sprinted away from her without looking back. She soon followed suit, a new, vivacious pep instilled into her every booted step.

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izzizz thoughts

hello! 

a brief disturbing description of something haha-worthy that happened to me today!

so, if you ever get canned corn for any kind of chili or soup, please make sure there are no caterpillars inside! today (in an unopened can of sweet corn) there was a dead caterpillar inside! what in the actual motherxxxxxxx hexx is godxxxx wrong with the packaging industry! i'm disturbed! 

no, i didn't eat the caterpillar! even if it does have some kind of nutritional value, i'm not taking that risk, no thank you! always check your cans! you never know what's going to be inside of them! no joke! oh my fxxxxxx Jexxx Chxxxx!

alas! hahahahah!

have a wonderful sleep! or, a wonderful day! whatever floats your beautiful, capable, everlasting boat of wisdom!

love & light!

izzy