#;; i WAS SAVING MY FOREARMS BUT I DECIDED TO GO AHEAD . . . AND GET ONE DONE
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kaerinio · 7 months ago
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i just laid on a table for four hours kfdfkdj. i will be around tomorrow between plans with my cousin and playing with kittens! i hope you've all had a wonderful friday!!! 💖😘
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sunarinluvr · 4 years ago
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|| haikyuu boys catching you awake at 3am ||
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includes: suna rintarou, kuroo tetsurou, & iwaizumi hajime
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a/n- hiii!! wow i did not expect my previous work to get that much attention :,) thank u all so so much i appreciate it a lot <33 anyways this is a very self-indulgent imagine (??) for my touch starved and lonely ass :D hope u enjoy!! 
warnings: has a bit of cursing !!
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SUNA - 
suna is a light sleeper so it was only natural for him to get up when he heard noises coming from the kitchen at the crack of dawn. slowly opening his eyes, he instinctively reaches out for you and scowls when he felt nothing but cold empty sheets.
getting up from bed wearing nothing but a pair of gray sweats, he quickly checks his phone for the time then makes his way over to the kitchen where said noises came from. meanwhile you were sitting in the kitchen wearing your earphones and doing work on your laptop oblivious to anything happening around you.
there suna stood staring at you while you typed away on your laptop with the occasional singing into an imaginary mic with a hand on your chest and head bop. he just stood there with a smile on his face admiring how cute his s/o is.
after a few minutes you finally noticed your boyfriends presence and almost flinched at the sight of him. “rin..what the fuck are you doing there?!” you looked at him and maybe stared at his exposed chest a bit too long, but immediately snapping your gaze back up to meet his eyes  while giving him an unamused look.
he smirks as he walks over to you, not missing the way you looked at him “i heard random noises coming from the kitchen so i checked it out. what are you even doing? its 3 in the morning.”with a scoff you bring your attention back to your laptop “i’m working.”
sitting on the chair beside yours a comfortable silence envelopes you as he rests his head on his forearm, watching you type away. right as you finished your work, you hear growling which prompts you to stop quickly turning your head in the direction of your boyfriend who’s now pouting at you as he pats his stomach.
looking at him you let out a laugh “do you want ramen? i’m kinda hungry too.” lifting his head up a bit to see your face better he smirks “only if you make it” standing up from your seat feigning offense as you roll your eyes at him “who else would cook it then?”
after eating ramen and staying up to watch the sunrise, the both of you ended up sleeping on the couch with you cuddled beside him with one arm around your waist and the other behind your head.
KUROO -
kuroo is a very organized person, he takes his job very seriously and that’s why he is in his office at 3am trying to get a paper due in a week done ahead of time. you on the other hand decided to show your support by staying up with him while singing along to your shared playlist and scrolling through pinterest and twitter.
he was just about done with his work when he noticed how quiet its been the past few minutes, which confused him since you were just singing a few moments ago, so out of curiosity he stretched his arms and got up from his chair. slowly and quietly making his way out to the living room
once he entered the room he saw your laptop and blanket shoved to the side of the couch, and quickly realizes that you probably went to the bathroom since you rarely went to bed before him. kuroo being kuroo took this as an opportunity to scare you.
he padded over to the bathroom making sure to be as quiet as possible and stood beside the door waiting for you to finish. after washing your hands you go to grab the doorknob and just as you open it.. “BOO!” your idiot boyfriend shouted.
“AHH WHAT THE FUCK TETSU!!” you shrieked hand on your chest. “not funny tetsu. you almost gave me a heart attack.” you murmured glaring at your boyfriend who was now clutching his stomach and laughing obnoxiously. “hey kitten” he finally gets out.
you walked past him and back to the couch with an annoyed look on your face. following you back to the couch he plops down right beside you, but you ignore him and put on your earphones. “kitten” he drawls out “don’t be so upset, it was a harmless prank” poking your arm continuously.
now looking at him with a pout “i stay up for you and you decide to almost give me a heart attack??” he cups your face gently and gives your lips a quick peck “it was a prank. plus you’re not staying up for me, you just want to watch cat videos on twitter”
you hit his arm playfully as you sigh “whatever.....but you owe me ice cream tomorrow.” laughing he replied “deal.” then you pulled out your computer and watched cat videos cuddled up next to him for another 30 minutes before he drags you with him to bed.
IWAIZUMI -
iwaizumi was sleeping peacefully until he felt an itch in his throat, he tried ignoring it hoping it would go away, but alas it seemed like it wasn't going to go any time soon. so with a groan, he sits up  to get water. once he fully opened his eyes, he realized that you werent in bed meaning you were probably still doing your work.
sighing he gets up and makes his way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where he saw you sitting down with one leg up on the chair as you type on your laptop. “babe” he says making his presence known. you look up at him and give him a sheepish smile
“hi haji...” walking towards you he sighs “why are you still doing that dumbass” he glances at the clock and continues “its 3am you should be sleeping” as he looks at you unamused. “i was just working so that i wouldn't have to do anything tomorrow and i didn't notice the time, also im almost done!”
you announced looking at him proudly. “what about you huh? why are you up haji?” he gets up and grabs a cup of water and drinks it, while you follow him with your eyes and a raised eyebrow. “my throat was itchy, so i went to get water”
walking back to you he hands you the cup signaling for you to drink it, and you do. he pulls out a chair and sits beside you “hurry up so we can go to sleep” you look at him with a teasing smile painted on your face “aww can't sleep without me?” you tease not missing the slight pink tint on his ears.
“just shut up and finish your work.” giggling softly you save your work and close your laptop “actually i kinda want some ice cream from the store” he just deadpans at you, groaning he got up went into the bedroom and came out wearing a jacket ready to head out.
“you are unbelievable” he tells you as you give him the biggest smile and a wave goodbye. he comes back to you asleep with your head resting on your forearm, iwaizumi tsks and grumpily puts the ice cream in the fridge while he puts your laptop away and carries you to the bedroom bridal style
after he gently gets you into bed and gets the both of you under covers, he is quick to wrap his arms around your waist while burying his face into your hair. smiling to himself because his s/o is adorable, he softly whispers “goodnight dumbass.”
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reblogs are highly appreciated!!
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storiesofsvu · 2 years ago
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Journey To The Past Ch 2
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Bryan Kneef x reader Warnings: language, alcohol consumption, that's about it so far.
The rest of your week after running into Bryan went by agonizingly slow, you were at the point in all of your cases that you were simply stuck at your desk doing the boring, menial paperwork. The only reason you were even going into the office was because it made you get out of bed, and then you’d actually get some human interaction rather than socializing with your cat all day. It was both driving you insane and yet somehow saving your sanity. Friday itself was already rather boring, most people working from home already or taking a half day, the office rather empty after the lunch hour was over. You’d gone out for lunch with Kim, one of the few other colleagues you’d actually call a friend, before she called it a day and you said your goodbyes as she left the firm. You stopped halfway back to your office, glancing between it and the direction of the breakroom, wondering if another coffee would help or hinder the focus for the afternoon before you decided enough was enough, if you had to be stuck with mind numbing work the least you could do was be in the privacy of your own home.
When you got home you decided to try and avoid the afternoon slump, dropping your files and laptop on the kitchen island and quickly changing into workout gear. Your building very thankfully had a gym on the top floor and you figured if you took advantage now, it would be empty and you’d be able to check a workout off your weekend to do list. An hour and a half later and you returned, stripping yourself of the sweaty clothing and jumping into a very well deserved shower. You took the time to wash your hair, exfoliating your skin and getting rid of any unwanted hair, you always felt better and enjoyed your weekends more when you felt completely refreshed, and at the least, Kim had promised drinks on her on Saturday night so you had something to look forward to.  Skincare complete, wrapped in a robe you padded out to the kitchen, rolling your eyes as you glanced down to the pile of things you’d brought home from the office. Rather than make yourself suffer, you pulled open the fridge to grab a bottle of pinot, pouring yourself a large glass before taking a sip. It was Friday, it was almost five, you could consider yourself done with work if you wanted. At the very least you opened your laptop to reply to a couple of last minute emails before starting your weekend and picking up your phone.
Your brow furrowed when you noticed you had a text from a number not saved in your phone, you replied to a couple of other messages before swiping open on the unknown contact.
‘Hey, it’s Bry. Was wondering if you were maybe free for a drink tonight? I know it’s a little late notice, but thought it was worth a shot.’
A small smile crept onto your lips as you placed down the wine glass to first save his contact and then reply to the message.
‘It’s as if you read my mind.’ You snapped a pic of the wine glass, attaching it to the message, ‘already a step ahead of you though.’
‘Great minds think alike.’ He replied, a winking emoji at the end of the message, ‘where are you? I could meet you?’
‘I’m boring and drinking alone in my kitchen currently. I think we can find somewhere a little more upscale.’
‘It’s a nice day, have you ever been to the Godfrey?’
‘That rooftop lounge over on W Huron? I’ve heard good things.’
‘What do you say to seven thirty?’
‘I’d say it sounds perfect.’
‘I can send a car for you?’
‘It’s only a few blocks from me, I can walk. I’ll see you tonight.’
‘Looking forward to it.’
*
You arrived at the Godfrey right on time, the elevator whisking you up to the rooftop lounge, you were just about to approach the hostess stand when you caught sight of Bryan out on the terrace. He was dressed down a bit, same as you had, a crisp light blue button up, sleeves rolled up exposing those gorgeous forearms and just enough buttons undone to tease at the dark chest hair underneath, complete with dark wash jeans. You’d chosen a casual black dress, one that the neckline exposed just enough while still being somewhat tasteful, your hair loose around your shoulders.
Bryan was leant back in his chair, an arm thrown over the back of it as he gazed out over the horizon, one foot propped up on the opposite knee. His other arm lifted his whiskey to his lips, taking a sip before his gaze drifted through the lounge and landed on you. A small smirk broke over his lips, tilting his head in a greeting as you smiled, your dress exposed your cleavage and ended right above your knee, more skin for his eyes to roam over than during office hours. He had to hold back the urge to lick his lips and immediately make a sexual comment, making the mental reminder that he had to at least try to be the respectable gentleman at first.
You flashed a glittering smile to the hostess, pointing towards Bryan, giving her a nod before you crossed through the lounge, your smile shifting to one that was nearly shy as you approached the table.
“Hey.” You greeted softly, slinking into the seat across from him.
“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” He replied with a grin and you let out a little laugh, shaking your head at his antics, “you look great.”
“Thank you.” You ducked your eyes for a second, trying not to drag them up his body before you spoke again, “you clean up pretty well yourself.” Bryan simply chuckled in return,
“You hungry? Or did you eat already?”
“I had a late lunch, but it’s probably a good idea to have something small.” You replied with a laugh, hands picking up the menu to peruse through it.
The waiter came over a few moments later and you were able to order an old fashioned while the two of you continued to look over the menus. A bit of small talk overtook the table before you decided on plates of truffle fries, hummus, sliders and mini tacos. Drink in hand you finally sucked back a large sip, humming in satisfaction as the liquor sunk through your body, relaxing away all the stressors and bullshit from the week behind you.
“So….” You started with a smile, glancing across the table, “how did little bashful Bry become the oh so well known Bryan Kneef of STR?” You asked and Bryan chuckled, wondering just how much reading up on him you’d been doing since the run in earlier that week. He certainly had done his own fair share of digging on you, finding out that you were a senior partner at a very esteemed firm on the North side of town. That your win rate was exactly what he’d expected after watching the way you eviscerated classmates in mock trials back in college. You were highly involved in the community, large donations to charities throughout the years, a flood of photos from fancy galas, press releases and the like. And in each one, you were flying solo, no man on your arm or date in sight. You seemed pretty well set up in the Chicago community he was surprised that you hadn’t crossed paths earlier, his interest piqued at just how long you’d been in the city and if there was a particular reason as to your choice to appear single.
“A hell of a lot of time and even more work.” He replied, “how’d you even end up in Chicago? I thought New York was the ultimate dream? You wouldn’t stop talking about your perfect life, the brownstone on the Upper West side close enough to run in Central Park every morning, date nights at The Met, Hamptons trips every summer? You had it all planned out.”
“I did.” You smiled fondly, your gaze in the distance, “and for a while… it was.” You sighed, taking a large sip of your drink, “then it became the absolute nightmare and I had to sacrifice all those things to save my fuckin’ sanity.”
“Real estate just too expensive?” He teased with a laugh and you let out a huff, chucking darkly before sucking back more of your drink.
“I wish it was that simple.”
“What happened?” Bryan asked, watching the melancholy drift through your eyes before your attention returned to him.
“I made the terrible mistake of falling in love with the wrong guy.” You risked a glance up at Bryan, whose expression was one of curiosity, his head tilted, eyes soft in the sense that he felt sorry for whatever happened to you.
“Grade A jerk?”
“Even worse.” You laughed, taking another sip of your drink, “I was young, new to the city and trying to make a name for myself, got caught up in a whirlwind romance. Mike was great, perfect gentleman, showed me pieces of New York I never would’ve discovered otherwise. He was older, established in the city already, a few people tried to caution me about him when we got engaged but I blew them off.”
“He only in it for the money?”
“More like grooming.” You scoffed and Bryan rolled his eyes, “he wanted the perfect little wife and I was ready to be just that. Much to his disdain I kept working after we got married, he blamed the stress of the job when we started trying for kids with no luck.” You drained your drink, “then one night I came home to find him packing up his stuff, divorce papers on the dining table. Turns out he had a mistress I didn’t know about that he’d gotten pregnant and she was more than okay just being a trophy wife who wouldn’t talk back.”
“Sounds like scum.”
“Thank god for prenups.” You huffed, “after everything went down I had to get out of the city. Colleague heard of a job opening out here that paid better and the rest is history.”
“I’m sorry.” Bryan’s hand dared to slide across the table, squeezing at yours, sympathy in his eyes despite his own unsavory dating history “you deserve so much better than that.”
“Thanks Bry.” You flashed him a smile, squeezing at his hand before pulling away, “but enough about my bullshit, how’ve you been? I hear you’re pretty high up at STR?”
“I am.” He chuckled, “took a bit to get my feet under me but once the ball was rolling it was like second nature.”
“I’m proud of you.” You smiled, “you’ve come a long way.”
“So have you.” He grinned back at you, the conversation interrupted by the server coming over with food and the offer to refill drinks that you both said yes to. As you ate your eyes darted to Bryan’s left hand, the conversation easily flowing still.
“No ring?” You asked, “you seeing anyone?”
“If I was, I don’t think they’d be pretty happy with me being out on a Friday night with someone as gorgeous as you.” He grinned back and you felt your cheeks heat, laughing at his retort.
“Way to dodge the question.” You teased and it was his turn to chuckle.
“What about you? You find prince charming of Chicago?”
“Nah.” You waved him off, “found it a little weird attempting to get back into the dating pool while also working full time.”
“The job certainly does take priority.” He muttered over the rim of his drink.
“That why you stayed single at Harvard? Or just cause you were shy?” You teased and Bryan tossed a straw wrapper in your direction.
“I was focussed on graduating. Just like you were.”
“You got me there.” You laughed, taking the time to take a couple bites of food, “how’s STR as a firm?”
“Good enough.” He shrugged, “as you said I was able to work my way up to the top, I’m one of their highest appointed attorneys, and I love what I do. Nothing like being the ruthless lawyer, right?”
“Exactly.” You let out a small laugh, trying to hide the blush on your cheeks as you ducked your gaze, distracting yourself with your drink as Bryan continued to tell you all about his life in Chicago.
The two of you fell into an easy rhythm, this one even more relaxed than the one you shared back in the day, this conversation one that you continually shot back and fourth. You laughed, you reminisced and you shared stories of your lives, how your sister had moved out to LA and exiled herself from the family, how your parents had basically shunned you, thinking your divorce had been a terrible mistake. How Bryan had mourned the loss of his mother, someone you’d become close to on vacations from Harvard back in the day. How he ended up enjoying Chicago more than he’d originally expected, making the city into the home he needed.
You continued talking far longer than either of you had ever thought you would, the lounge emptying out around you as you kept going. You barely noticed until the server came by a second time asking about the cheque and you apologised profusely. Bryan swiped the bill before you could even think about looking at it, the credit card receipt signed within minutes. You thanked the staff and swiftly made your way out of the hotel, lingering on the sidewalk outside, neither of you really wanting the night to end yet.  
You glanced back to Bryan, catching him palming a tip to the doorman and you couldn’t ignore the fluttering in your stomach. At first thought your mind went straight to something you ate not sitting well before you realized that it was butterflies. It had been far too long since you’d felt them you’d completely forgotten the feeling. They were only amplified when Bryan turned to you, grin on his cheeks as he spoke.
“Can I walk you home?”
“Of course.” You smiled up at him, the fluttering in your stomach increasing as his arm wound around your waist. “Thank you.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
“You’re miles above the usual date night already, I doubt you’ve got anything to worry about Bry.”
“So what I’m hearing is that this was a date?” He raised a brow in your direction and you laughed.
“It could be.” You shrugged, “or it could be just two old friends catching up.”
“I think I prefer the first option.”
“Well then it was definitely a date.” You smiled, pausing in your step to wait for the light to change, feeling Bryan’s arm tighten around you while a comfortable silence washed over you.
“Are you happy in Chicago?” He asked suddenly, his voice quieter than before, “I know it’s not exactly the big apple and…. You had your heart set.”
“Things change.” You shrugged, glancing up at him with a smile, “and I am. I’ve made Chicago my home, made a name for myself that I don’t think I could’ve achieved in the cutthroat competitive place that is New York.”
“Good.”
You suddenly stalled in your steps stopping in front of an apartment, “this is me.”
“You are nice and close.” He murmured, smiling as you turned back to him.
“Just like I said…” you murmured, leaning even closer toward him when his arm pulled you to him. Your heart thundered in your chest, feeling his body against yours, his cologne invading your senses, clouding your thoughts.
Your eyes darted up to his, flicking down to his lips before returning to his eyes, your lips parted as you caught him mirroring your motions. You decided to take the plunge, popping up on your toes to gently press your lips to his and even within a second you knew you’d made the right decision.
At first his eyes widened, surprised that you’d been the one to make the first move, though he relaxed into the kiss in a matter of seconds, his arm winding tightly around your waist, pulling you to him. His other hand came up to cup your cheek, thumb rubbing across your skin and you let out a soft sigh into the kiss. You were surprised with how easily you lips moved against each other, like they were made to connect, that waiting all these years didn’t mean you’d missed your only chance. Bryan’s tongue was just about to sneak into your mouth when a neighbour burst from the apartment, pulling you back to reality and the two of you broke apart with a small laugh, a blush taking over you cheeks before you glanced up at Bryan.
“Well that’s one hell of a reunion.” You grinned and he chuckled.
“You wanna let me up now?”
“Mmhmm.” You shook your head, “sorry Bry, I don’t fuck on the first date.”
“Oh? What’s your magic number then?” He smirked and you laughed.
“Well, considering how long we’ve known each other I’ll give you the half off discount and say date number three.”
“You really let these schmucks wait six dates?” Bryan laughed.
“Well….” You shrugged, “there are some pretty big douche bags out there. A girl’s gotta be careful.”
Bryan let out a soft sigh, collecting his words as he thought about where he would stand on your scale of douche bag men now. His hand reached out, stroking at your cheek before he leant in, pressing a soft kiss to your lips that you hummed at.
“Well, for what it’s worth, you don’t have to be careful around me.” He murmured and you grinned softly.
“I already know that.” You giggled, “you may have come a long way from that lil bashful Bry at Harvard, but he’s still in there somewhere, I can tell. And not to sound terribly cliché and cheesy, but…. Maybe it was always meant to happen this way? If we’d dated in college it would’ve ended in heartbreak, I was so dead set on New York I wouldn’t have taken anything else for an answer. This way? I’d say there’s a decent chance.”
“That was horribly cliché and cheesy.” He laughed in response, “but I get what you mean, and I look forward to date number three.”
“Of course you do.” You let out a bark of a laugh, “better have something good set for number two.”
“Oh I will.” He smiled, pressing a kiss to your cheek, “now go on, get upstairs so I know you’re nice and safe and I’ll text you in the morning.”
“Yes sir.” You teased with a small salute and a grin you retreated into your building, Bryan watching as you disappeared into the elevator.
_________________- @newyorker14 @detective-giggles @teamsladsandgents @thatesqcrush @witches-unruly-heart @beccabarba @bisexual-dreamer02 @amelia-song-pond @madamsnape921 @whimsicallymad @mrsrafaelbarba @mysticfalls01 @ssaic-jareau @caracalwithchips @barbasbodaciousbeard @alwaysachorusgirl @beardedbarba @michael-rooker @rafivadafreddy @lustvolle-liebe @anlin2058 @fandom-princess-forevermore @tinyboxxtink @alexusonfire @xovalliegirlxo @nobody-important1212 @somethingimaginative17 @momlifebehard
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oneshot-wxnderland · 3 years ago
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Lab Partners With Benefits Pt. 3 | Percy Jackson
Summary: Another week, another lab and Y/n and Percy are feeling a different kind of tension this time.
Category: fluff 
Part 1 | Part 2
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          Percy had been kicking himself all week. He had forgotten to ask you for your number before you left his place and now you probably thought he was just some asshole looking for a one-time hookup. And he didn’t want that. And he hoped you didn’t want that either. But he wasn’t really sure what he wanted. 
         It’d been a hot minute since Percy was in any kind of relationship and he wasn’t sure if he was even the relationship kind. Even if he did want to be, his life just didn’t lend itself to dating mortals. There was always some monster popping up that he’d have to fight, or quest he’d have to go on, or emergency at camp he’d have to run off to, and Percy was a shit liar. It’s what messed up the last time he’d tried to date somebody. He was constantly blowing off dates and rain-checking everything because the gods are needy attention seekers. 
          He’d seen superhero movies before and related a lot to when they had similar issues. Percy’s not saying he’s Spiderman or anything, but he does live in New York and save it from constant peril – so yeah, he’s Spiderman. 
          This time, however, he was really considering trying again. Trying with you. And Percy had a plan. 
          Sliding into his seat when there were only a few other people in the room yet, Percy felt pumped up. He woke up early, showered, had a FaceTime with the boys to discuss the game plan, and got to class ahead of you so that he was ready to give you his number the first chance he got before he lost his nerve. That was part of Jason’s advice: offer his number to you instead of asking for yours. He claimed it would make Percy come off more vulnerable and less pushy. Leo mostly just spouted different cheesy lines that Percy would never use. Frank didn’t say much but Hazel piped in every now and then when she took the phone from him. 
          “So, you’re lab partners,” Hazel started. “Do you talk outside of your lab?”
          “No, that’s why I need her number.”
          “But you said you did homework together at your place right? So how’d that go? Did she seem interested?”
          Percy paused. 
          “Yeah, it went... fine.”
          Hazel was blissfully unaware of the blush that was creeping up his neck but Jason didn’t miss it. Or the way he suddenly needed to roll up his sleeves and fiddle with them. 
          “Did you just do the homework?” Jason asked suspiciously. 
          “We uh... kissed...” 
          “Niiiiiicee, Percy!” Leo hollered. “That’s my boy!”
          Frank retook the phone from Hazel and hastily gave an excuse to go before leaving the call and cutting off Hazel’s confused protests.
          “I don’t know what to tell you, man,” Jason shook his head. “This is way beyond my level now. Piper and Annabeth are nearby I’ll go get them-.”
          “No!” Percy cut him off. That’s the last thing he wanted. The girl’s won’t know or care what to do so they’d ask Piper’s siblings and then the entirety of camp would know. “It doesn’t really change anything. I’m going to give her my number and then the ball’s in her court and I don’t have to worry about it.”
          “But your balls were in her court, weren’t they Percy.” 
          “Leo I am going to kill you when I get back to camp and that is a threat.”
          Leo left the call.
          “I’m sure it’ll be fine, just don’t do your game-time face because it’ll scare her off,” Jason tried to get the conversation back on track.
          “What face? I don’t have a scary face?” Percy added another item to the list of things to not do when he saw her.
          “Yes you do. It’s when you’re charging into battle but this isn’t battle is it Percy?” 
          “You’re lucky,” Percy lamented while he grabbed his backpack. “You just woke up and were already with Piper. All the hard work done for you.” 
          “You got this man, just be yourself.” 
          Percy decided to throw that particular bit of garbage advice away. 
          Now he was sitting in his seat, got there early, and he was even wearing his nice t-shirt, so what could go wrong.
          As soon as you walked in the door all of his carefully curated bravado deflated inside of him. You walked towards your shared table and he had to expel childish nerves he hadn’t felt in years. He’s in college now, for Hades’ sake. He was a man.
          “Hey,” you greeted as you sat down.
          “Hi.” That was stupid. Men don’t say ‘hi’. He should’ve said ‘hey’ back.
          “You’re here early,” you commented and Percy just nodded like an idiot. 
          The plan was to giver you his number as soon as he saw you, but he couldn’t just blurt that out of nowhere. 
          “How’ve you been?” 
          There. Establishing a conversation and definitely not stalling.
          “I’ve been good.” The small amused smile on your face calmed him down a little. He’s got this.
          Class started before he could slip his number in casually but Percy wasn’t deterred. He wasn’t going to let geology get in his way.
                    While you were reading the data you had to chart on the graph, you noticed Percy’s usual fidgeting get even worse. Glancing at him from the corner of your eye, you saw him concentrating intensely on the paper and trying to contain his frustration. You recognized the signs since one of your friends has dyslexia, but you knew he wouldn’t ask for help.
          “So we have to plot the points on the graph and then draw the elevation lines, right?” You asked casually, looking over to him for confirmation. He nodded his head, but still continued to squint at the numbers which all were very small print and close to each other.
         Muttering the numbers as if to yourself but loud enough for him to hear, you got to work. 
          Percy sat back and smiled a little, knowing what you were doing. He looked over at you, from your furrowed brow to your crossed legs bouncing with your tapping foot. With a contented sigh, he recalled what it felt like to be in between those legs. Having them wrapped around his hips while you moaned his name. 
          His eyes trailed up your body, memories that were attached to each part flooding through him like a highlight reel of his deepest fantasies. Then he got to your bare arms and the goosebumps on the skin shook him out of it.
          “Cold?” he asked, interrupting you trying to help him which he really should have been listening to. 
          “Yeah, a little.” 
          “Here.” Percy shrugged off his hoodie and held it out to you before pausing (and slightly panicking.)
          Hold up, is this weird? Am I being weird right now? Should giving her my hoodie come before or after we exchange numbers? I guess doing it before could be a good test of whether she would be interested in exchanging numbers. But this is couple stuff. Her wearing my hoodie. That usually comes after numbers. But she’s cold now and I can’t seem like an asshole withholding warmth unless she accepts or declines my number. 
           Luckily, you didn’t seem to notice his panic as you took the hoodie from him without hesitation and put it on. “Thanks.”
          He calmed down as he watched you roll up the sleeves so that your hands were free to work and he felt a different kind of warmth spread through him. He liked the way you looked in his hoodie. 
          You caught him watching you and it threw you off. This wasn’t the heated gaze that had made you melt before, this was... softer. But the moment was ruined when you glanced down and saw that he hadn’t drawn a single point yet.
          “Hey,” you tapped your pencil on his paper. “Focus.”
          “Sorry.”
          You worked well together for a while. The rhythm of plotting points distracted Percy from his nerves. That is until he felt your hand on his forearm.
          “What’s this?” You asked, finger tracing the SPQR of his tattoo and making him shiver.
          “Oh, it’s a band.” 
          “What band?”
          “The Super Popular... Cool Rockers.”
          “They spell Cool with a Q?”
          “That’s what makes it cool.”
          “Ah.”
          Percy went back to the worksheet, congratulating himself on his quick thinking when he saw you pull out your phone. 
          “What are you doing?” he asked, totally nonchalant. 
          “Looking up the Super Popular Qool Rockers.”
          Percy snatched your phone. 
          “Oh, you won’t find them.” He dodged your attempts to grab it. “They’re really underground.”
          “You’ll be really underground if you don’t give me my phone back.” Percy hastily returned your phone, as if the threat scared him. You tried to glare at him, but found it too hard to suppress your smile once his broke out. “Thank you. Now will you tell me what it really means?”
          “Maybe one day.” People started packing their things and leaving since class had flown by faster than Percy liked. Sensing his window of opportunity closing he decided to Hades with it. “Depends if you go on a date with me.”
          You took your time standing up and gathering your things while pretending to mull it over in your head. Which Percy really did not appreciate. 
          “Maybe one day,” you answered him with a coquettish smile and took a few steps towards the door. “Well, aren’t you coming?”
          Percy was too concentrated on restraining a fist pump to puzzle out your meaning. 
          “We didn’t get much work done today, so we better finish what we started at your place.” You winked at him and strided out the door.
          With a mischievous grin, Percy was quick to follow. 
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imaslutforremusandsirius · 4 years ago
Note
hellooo i would just like to request a poly!marauders x reader smut where Remus and James are just absolutely dominating her and Sirius. of course Sirius is gonna have a bit of an attitude. i don’t really care what it’s about, i mean who doesn’t love smut with no plot? i appreciate you taking your time to answer my request, i love you and your writing so much💕
Trouble
I love you too, thank you sm!! 🥰
Don't know if I like this... :(
Warning: 18+
---
„We leave you for a few minutes and come back to this?“ Remus' voice was controlled, but the underlying threat was still there.
Sirius and you shared an apprehensive glance, already regretting your little make out session, although it had felt so right just a few seconds ago.
„We-“ Sirius' swallowed tensely once James threw him a sharp look, the dom only having to raise his hand to silence the bright eyed boy.
„I said I don‘t want to hear shit from either of you“ Remus said angrily, before he put his cigarette out to walk over. He gently tilted your head up to meet his eyes and you nervously fidgeted with your hands as he stared you down.
„I know he‘s a brat“ Remus said mildly, „but you do remember what you promised me this morning, right little one?“
You blinked submissively, nodding your head softly. „Yes, Remus.“
„Well“ Remus coaxed softly, „what was it?“
You cleared your throat and took a glimpse at Sirius' curious face. „I promised to keep Sirius in check.“
Remus nodded in confirmation and his hand tightened around your chin.
„You break your promise and I break you.“
You whimpered at that, brows creasing worriedly. Remus ignored you and turned his attention to James.
„Remus“ James rumbled, „take care of her. I‘ll take this one.“ His tone was absolute and it made Sirius antsy, his lips parting to apologize.
„Jam-“
His eyes stayed fixed on Sirius, who had the audacity to at least look scared. And he should be. James doesn‘t play.
„Shush“ James ground out, „you‘ve done enough.“
As ruthless as Remus was, he did hold back at least a little during punishments, maybe because you always made an effort to be a good girl for them. Sirius could only be kept in check through James‘ punishments, probably because James loved the way he could make Sirius’ pretty grey eyes tear up in pain. And he loved that Sirius even then wouldn‘t give in, too proud to admit his fault. Oh fuck yes, James loved a challenge.
„Sirius“ James said in an overly cheery way, „you‘re not cumming tonight, unless you admit your fault.“
Sirius‘ scared expression turned sour and he wouldn‘t be the brat of the relationship if he didn‘t immediately make his displeasure know.
„Kissing involves two people“ he put the emphasis on two, „so the way I see it, she shouldn‘t cum as well!“
Remus spoke up this time, a mocking smile on his lips. „Sirius. Get on your fucking hands and knees before I spank you so hard that you‘ll bleed all over.“
Sirius‘ eyes widened and he scrambled to get on his hands and knees, his face directly in front of yours. The accusation was so clear in his eyes that you glanced down at your hands guiltily to avoid his pointed glare.
„I have a special kind of punishment for you both“ James drawled, hands ghosting over Sirius‘ pale legs. Sirius closed his eyes tightly when he felt James‘ callous fingers dip into the crease of his behind, middle finger rubbing teasingly against the tight ring of muscle.
Sirius gasped quietly when James pushed inside, hissing in pain at the dry stretch. Remus snapped his fingers to get your attention and nodded his head towards the groaning boy in front of you.
„Shut him up.“
You pressed your lips on his to silence his next moans, kissing him deeply to swallow any noise. His breathing was coming out in short puffs, letting you pull him closer by his long hair. Biting his lip you continued to drown out any whine and whimper that escaped him, trying to save him from an additional punishment.
Suddenly Sirius was pushed forward so hard that he fell against your chest, mouth opening wide to let out a pained cry. James had pushed in another finger and was fucking into Sirius‘ ass steadily while Remus was squeezing the base of his cock to hold off his pleasure.
„Shut. Him. Up“ James growled, curling his fingers to hit Sirius‘ g-spot with every word.
„I have an idea“ you said meekly, flushing when your doms pinned you with their intense gazes.
„This should be good“ Remus grinned and raised a brow, „Go ahead.“
Slowly peeling off your panties you tugged at Sirius‘ hair until his face was between your legs. Sirius groaned at the sight of your cunt so openly on display and dove tight in like a madman, sucking and licking you with so much vigor that you had to hold him back sometimes so he wouldn‘t accidentally make you cum.
„Quiet, Sirius“ you said breathlessly, „Oh fuck, just like that!“
Sirius‘ breath came out rugged against your soaked cunt and you bit your tongue to keep in any of your own moans. God the way his perfect face was contorted in utter pleasure made you so fucking hot and you pulled him back by his hair in a silent plea.
„Sirius, you will fuck her while I fuck you.“
You froze at James‘ next command and you saw the same fear reflect in Sirius‘ eyes. How the hell would you be able to stop yourself from cumming like that? Sirius‘ mouth opened and before he could make it worse for any of you, you decided to jump right in.
„But-“
„Yes!“ You glared at Sirius for good measure and softened your expression when your eyes wandered to your dom again, „Yes, James.“
Sirius clenched his jaw angrily and pulled you down by your waist so you would be situated directly under him. You saw the anger simmering right under the surface and winced, knowing that he wouldn‘t make it easy for you. As if he knew what you were thinking he gave you a menacing smile, grey eyes twinkling with a mirth.
James pushed Sirius forward with a jolt, his impossibly hard cock dragging across your cunt harshly and you pushed back against him, letting him sink into your body with a single push of James‘ hands.
„Remember Sirius“ James chidded upon seeing Sirius‘ pained expression, „no cumming without permisson.“
With that he curled his fingers and fucked Sirius earnest, the brat crying out with the hot feeling of you wrapped around him and James making him feel so full with only his fingers.
Remus made his way over to you after he finished his cigarette and gave you a pout, stroking your cheeks so gently as if you weren‘t being fucked right now.
„Remus“ you gasped, enclosing your small hands on his scarred forearms, „please!“
Remus gave you a patient smile and crawled closer, his cock brushing against your lips but Sirius beat you to it, taking Remus as far down as he could in his position. Oh the sight of Sirius was a crass one. With James fucking his ass and his cock deep inside your cunt he sucked Remus messily to help himself not make any noise.
„You little slut“ Remus spit out but made no moves to stop him, „need to fill every hole huh?“
Sirius fixated his eyes on Remus and pulled away with an obscene pop, guiding his cock into your mouth and bobbing your head up and down like a little fucktoy.
„Yes Remus“ he moaned coyly, „need to be fucked, please?“ He batted his eyelashes so prettily and Remus gave in, hissing at James to finally fuck him good.
James had already prepared himself and thrust into Sirius with an aggressive shove, forcing himself as deep as possible. Sirius, being the brat he is, didn‘t want to give James the satisfaction of seeing him in pain, so he rushed forward and wrapped his lips around Remus‘ cock as well.
„Oh no you fucking don‘t!“ James grabbed Sirius by his hair and pulled his back against his chest, restraining him in a headlock.
„James!“ Sirius shouted and convulsed in his arms, the impending threat of his orgasm approaching rapidly. It spread in his veins and made him boil over, forcing Sirius to forget about his pride and start begging.
„Please!“ Sirius wailed and trashed around, trying to escape the oneslaught of his cock clenched in your cunt.
„No!“ James roared, lost in the pleasure himself and held Sirius‘ mouth closed with his big palm, „Don‘t you fucking dare.“
Remus had pulled you away from his cock with the promise of cumming inside of you and made you watch, your own orgasm not far off with Sirius‘ being constantly tugged back and forth between your thighs.
„Ah Remus fuck“ you cried out as your eyes teared up with anxiety at the thought of how close you were to cumming, „pleaseplease let me cum!“
„Beg.“ Remus barked out, teeth nipping at your nipples and it made your vision turn a blazing white light for a second.
„Please“ You were screaming now, nails leaving little bloodstains on his hands, „Please! James! Remus! Please!“
Remus pulled back to watch your face and gave you a curt nod. Your eyes fell shut and your voice broke with the volume of your screams as your release rushed hot and cold over your entire body, momentarily freezing your heart, before a particularly strong pound made you snap out of your trance. Remus had to hold his own cock to deny himself, cursing softly at the sight of you letting go after being denied for so long.
Sirius and James were so engrossed in their fucking that they didn't even notice when Remus pulled you away and made you sit down on his cock.
"See Sirius" James huffed out between groans, "See how she got to cum? See fuck see what happens when you're being good ah-"
"Jaaames" Sirius cried out, clawing at the sheets. His head fell on the matress between his shoulders and he let out such a pitiful, pathetic whimper that you whined with him, sharing his pain from being overstimulated by Remus.
That’s what they always do. Punish Sirius with orgasm denial and you with overstimulation.
"Remus please wait" Your cries mixed with Sirius' and your sounds, mixed with the deep groans and degredations of your doms made all of you fall into that hazy trance, the only thing on your mind was fucking.
"No" Remus growled out, raking his blunt nails down your back, "No, wanna have you mmm yes fuck-"
Holding you down by your shoulders he pounded you, leaving hot open mouthed kisses on your throat and chest, hands wandering all over your back and ass, moving you in time with his thrusts. You were sweating all over, pressing his head on your chest. Your muscles tightened as Remus moaned his orgasm into your ear, and you came for the second time this night, sobbing as you felt his cum in your cunt.
James had manhandled Sirius on his back, locking his hands over the dark long hair and staring into hsi eyes. Not only was he deniying Sirius, but also himself.
"Tell me what I want to hear" James was seething with anger, growing desperate himself for Sirius to admit his fault.
"No!" Sirius yelled back, muscles flexed with determination not to cum. He knew that he'll have to beg eventually, but Sirius would do anything in his power to delay that.
James wrapped his hand around Sirius' delicate neck, squeezing the sides and Sirius nearly exploded when his circulation cut off.
"Beg!"
"N- ah James!" Sirius cried out, the surprise clear in his high-pitched voice and you and Remus watched contentedly as his walls broke into a million pieces. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry please god please anything!"
"Cum!" James finally allowed him to let go, jerking him off in time with his harsh thrusts, a choked groan escaping him while they clung to each other, riding out their orgasms.
Sirius couldn't stop shaking and glanced back at you to reassure him, James' dominating aura always made him hypersensitive after sex. You gave him a tired smile and pulled him on top of your body, shushing him gently while Remus went over to cuddle James.
After some time Sirius' breathing slowed down and he called James' and Remus' name.
"Prongs, Moony, get up here.."
Settling in a big pile on top of each other you enjoyed the closeness, breathing each other in and dosing off in minutes.
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l-r-christian · 3 years ago
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Title: 'The noble stag's daughter; A Halloween romance'
First Meeting - Thunder Monster - First Crush - First Family Ball - First Heartbreak - First Christmas - A Day With Grandfather
Warnings: Fluff just all of the fluff, Cute Mikaelson moments
It was the first of October as Rebekah smiled dressing Y/N who was smiling up at her aunt kicking her feet as she sat on a chair while Rebekah placed a hat on her head then place the girl down watching the eight year old skip out giggling. Rebekah had placed green tights and a pumpkin dress on the girl as her aunt was going to make sure the girl was going to have the best Halloween since they couldn't give her one the las few years.
"Well well look at this Nik. A cute little pumpkin." Kol said picking up the girl who squealed happily as Klaus smiled and Rebekah walked out smirking.
"I have out done myself. Got a costume for each day up until Halloween."
"I see, going to take her trick-or-treating also?" Kol asked placing Y/N down with a smile seeing Klaus crouched down holding his hands out to the girl smiling soft as she grabbed them.
"That we are."
"Is that my baby pumpkin?" Elijah cooed crouched down as Y/N saw her father and pure joy came over her face running up to Elijah. Y/N placed kisses on his face as Elijah grabbed her little hands kissing them then scooped his daughter up into his arms smiling feeling her cuddle up to him and Elijah fixed her little hat.
"Adorable Rebekah. You have out done yourself."
"Thank you Elijah. Be ready because I have more."
Four days into October and Rebekah had dressed Y/N as a little bat and was running down stairs stopping smiling seeing Elijah with Gia. Both were talking about something as the girl just wanted to see her father happy since Elijah had been only focused on his daughter. So when Y/N saw Elijah getting closer to the younger vampire, the girl began to push them together.
"What are you doing small one?" Mikael asked getting down behind Y/N since saving the girl a month ago. Mikael had been wrapped around his grand daughter's finger unable to say no to the girl, doing whatever she asked of the vampire. Much like her uncles and father, Mikael was willing to slaughter anyone to protect the girl.
"Watching daddy with Gia. See daddy likes Gia and she likes him back so I been trying to get them together.....Daddy deserve to be happy."
"I see. And why are you a bat?"
"Aunt Beka picked out my costumes all the way up to til Halloween." Y/N chirped looking up at her grandfather smiling brightly as Mikael nodded taking in the information.
"Why hasn't your father act on his feelings?"
"Busy, also the scary suit people papa."
"I see then I shall help you on this little endeavor." Mikael said smiling as Y/N brighten up as operation make Elijah happy went into affect to which Mikael got to see just how much of a Mikaelson Y/N was. Elijah smiled seeing Mikael with Y/N believing he was drawing with the girl unaware his daughter was working with his father to get him a girlfriend.
"Okay! We find out what Gia likes then hint it at daddy." Y/N said showing Mikael as Rebekah raised an eyebrow seeing Mikael nodding listening intently to the young Mikaelson.
"What are you plotting Y/N?"
"Getting daddy and Gia together. Papa is help." Y/N tells Rebekah who smirked sitting joining in. A week away from Halloween with Y/N dressed as Wednesday Addams of the Mikaelson Halloween ball as a Halloween block party was passing out candy to the children. Elijah stood watching Mikael hold Y/N up away from boys her own age and it was amusing to Elijah when he spotted Gia making his breathing hitch.
"I hope you don't mind but Y/N want to match costumes so we took Gia to get a Morticia Addams dress. By the way Gia is amazing with Y/N." Rebekah says watching Y/N run to Gia who pick the girl up with a smile as Mikael was glaring at the young boys. Rebekah knew the quickest way for a woman to earn Elijah's affections was how they treated Y/N so to see Gia adore Y/N was a winner in Elijah's eyes.
"You planned this?"
"You'll be surprised to know I did not." Rebekah said as Elijah looked at her then walked over to Gia and Y/N. The vampire jumped feeling a hand on her lower back looking to see Elijah smiling softly as he kissed his daughter's head.
"Looks like you are the Morticia to our Wednesday and Gomez." Elijah teased lightly seeing the vampire flushing as Y/N smiled hugging Gia saying how pretty she was. Hours into the night Y/N sat on Mikael's forearm watching Elijah dance with Gia making the young witch excited.
"It is working!"
"What is working?" Klaus asked spotting the brightness in his niece's eyes as Mikael smirked looking at his son.
"Your niece as planned to get Elijah with young Gia."
"Oh?" Klaus said smirking deciding to join in getting Elijah with Gia also. The day of Halloween Y/N was excited dressed as a Viking warrior she rush down stairs getting Mikael's and Hayley's attention hearing her let out a battle cry waving a fake axe pretending to kill Mikael who played along. Hope squealed happy to see her cousin as Mikael played dead and Y/N looked to Hayley who was trying to not to laugh.
"Had me the princess."
"Okay please don't hurt me." Hayley says placing Hope in a wagon the girl brought with her and Hayley smiled watching Y/N take off with Hope and pretend attack Marcel. Klaus walked into the den with a raised eyebrow seeing Mikael getting up and the sounds of Kol dying dramatically.
"Do I want to know?"
"Y/N wanted to be a Viking warrior princess this year." Rebekah says carrying two bowls of candy getting ready for trick-or-treaters seeing Gia crouched down in front of Y/N with a smile.
"I take it Gia and Elijah are taking the girls?"
"Yes since Mikael had scared the neighborhood boys. And hopefully Elijah and Gia get together at the end of the night."
Elijah smiled watching Gia with his daughter and niece as they got back from trick-or-treating and Y/N had asked the vampire to help her get ready for bed. Next thing both vampires knew they were in Elijah's bed panting when a roll of thunder reached their ears. Gia flushed when Elijah placed one of his shirts on her before kissing her lightly when Y/N came running in carrying a teddy bear Gia got her.
"Daddy, thunder monster and Thor are being scary."
"I know babygirl, come here." Elijah said opening his arms to his daughter but saw her climb into Gia's arms and Elijah smiled softly wrapping his arms around both girls. Y/N smiled snuggling between them falling asleep as Elijah rubbing her back.
"You know, Y/N and my family had been plotting to get us together."
"Oh! I.....but...why?" Gia asked feeling shy as Elijah cupped her cheek rubbing it with his thumb eyes twinkling with adoration as seeing Gia holding his daughter with such care made him love her even more.
"Y/N wants me happy. The clever girl found out my feelings for you and had been pushing us together."
"Truly your daughter. Always thinking ten steps ahead to which I am glad for." Gia says softly leaning forward kissing Elijah making him smile against her lips before both fell asleep.
Morning light shined though Elijah's window as the vampire woke surprised to find Gia and Y/N curled into one another while snuggling into his warmth. Elijah smiled softly watching them both for a moment.
"Goodmorning beautiful." Elijah said softly seeing Gia wake up catching her flushing face. Y/N caught both of their attention whe she rolled over snuggling back into Gia and Elijah chuckled softly kissing his daughter's head before gently kissing Gia.
"I'll go make my favorite girls breakfast. And Gia.....do know I care for you deeply."
"I know.....I care for you deeply too." Gia says smiling knowing that she wasn't going anywhere as she adored both daughter and father too much to leave. Gia breathed deeply smiling burying her nose in Y/N's curls happily listening to the girl breath softly cuddling into the vampire.
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matwith1t · 4 years ago
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A/N: Hiiii!! More writing! Yay! This was a fun one!! It’s 98% fluff with 2% angst, but I promise it has a happy ending 🙂 Thank you all so much for your encouraging words!! I cherish them all & hold them close to my heart 🥺 Any and all feedback is appreciated! I hope you enjoy !
Summary: From your first date, first kiss, first hockey game of Mat’s, first I love you, to your first fight…You always learned something new about him.
MASTERLIST | LET’S CHAT 🥂 | Mat Barzal x Reader
Warnings: One swear word & brief allusion to smut // WC: 11.6K // Fluff & Slight Angst
It was your first date.
A blind date.
The nerves got the best of you, so you arrived at the coffee shop early. What if the subway line you had to take was late? What if you missed a stop? What if you took a wrong turn down a street? Twenty minutes might be a bit too early, but it was the only way to ease your anxiety.
You don’t even know the last time you were on a blind date. Your friend, Hayden, had set it up. After a drunken confession over a shared bottle of wine, you admitted you were scared that you were running out of time to find your person. And that’s when an idea clicked in her mind.
She said she had a friend––Mat––who was tired of flings and wanted to really date someone. You waved her off, the idea of being set up seemed too middle school for you. But after she showed you a picture of him…you gave her the go ahead to send him your number.
She contacted Mat, and he said that he was all in for a blind date with you.
You tapped your foot on the pavement as you stood outside of the coffee shop entrance you agreed to meet at. After scrolling through your social media a few times, you clicked on your messages. Were you at the right coffee shop? You clicked on his name, and triple checked that you had the correct place and time.
“Uh, Y/N?”
At the sound of your name, you peered up from your phone and saw a nervous looking boy––a boy you recognized from the picture your friend showed you on a drunken Friday night. With a nervous breath, you offered him a tight lipped smile, “Mat?”
He visibly relaxed at your confirmation that he didn’t walk up a stranger. He ran a hand through his messy styled hair and easily smiled, “Yeah, I––Hi.”
“Hi,” you let out a small laugh.
Oh my God, this is so awkward, you thought to yourself. This was why blind dates were only met for middle school. A blind date was not meant for anytime after that.
While you hadn’t even spent five minutes in his presence, your mind already jumped to the worst conclusion of this not working out as either of you planned. While dating might not work out, maybe you could get a friend out of this.
Mat took a step around you and opened the door, “Should we head in?”
With a nod, you thanked him for holding the door open. Walking in, you were instantly engulfed with the smell of freshly ground coffee beans and the sound of hardworking espresso machines. The shop was bustling with city goers, but there were enough empty tables that you didn’t feel the need to rush to save one. You let out another deep breath as you felt Mat’s shoulder slightly brush yours as he stood next to you in line.
“What are you getting?” He looked down at you.
You tilted your head as you read the menu board that hung behind the counter, “Maybe one of their house lattes?” You then moved your gaze to look up at him, “What about you?”
He shrugged his shoulders, eyes not nearly looking at the menu for as long as you did to decide on a drink, before his eyes landed back on you with a smile, “An iced coffee.”
His smile was infectious. His smile was pretty. And you felt your stomach twist in knots the more you paid attention to the way his smile affected you.
“Also, you can––uh––get whatever you want,” his checks turned a bright shade of red as he stumbled over his words, “I’ll buy.”
You shook your head, but before you could say anything, the two of you were at the front of the line.
Mat was first with his order––an iced coffee––and then he turned his body to look at you, “And whatever she’s having.” You smiled in appreciation and gave the barista your order. You were about to move out of the way, and wait for Mat to be done paying, but he asked you another question, “Do you want anything to eat?”
You felt bad having him pay for coffee and something to eat. It was a coffee shop in New York after all, but the sound of your stomach making a high-pitched grumble sold you out. You felt yourself grow hot with embarrassment, and asked for a croissant. Mat tacked on two croissants to the order and swiped his credit card as if the steep price for two coffees and two pastries in a New York coffee shop wasn’t a concern.
From the two details Hayden had told you––which were his name and age––you knew he was young like you. If you wanted to splurge on a day like this, you needed to budget ahead of time correctly. While you were appreciative of Mat paying for you…it was a blind date. And you didn’t expect him to put so much effort into it
Maybe he budgeted his money better than you.
With your croissants on a plate, the two of you found a place to sit by a window. You tapped your fingers on the wooden table top. It was still awkward, you thought to yourself, as you counted down the seconds until your drinks came. Mat seemed to feel the awkwardness in the air too, but he braved his way through the weird atmosphere.
“So…” he nodded his head for ten seconds straight, eyes darting around the coffee shop, as he cut through the silence, “Where are you from?”
You answered his question, rambling a bit to fill the void, and then asked him the same question. It went back and forth like that for maybe thirteen minutes until your drinks were brought out to your table. Thankful that you had something to sip on if there was a lull in conversation, you circled your hands around the hot mug.
But the conversation never hit a lull; it was fun not knowing anything about Mat before you met him. And he seemed to enjoy it as much as you. You struggled to drink your coffee in a reasonable amount of time to save it from growing cold because of how much the two of you consecutively talked.
“So what do you do?” You took a sip of your lukewarm coffee.
He raised an eyebrow, “What do I do?”
You hummed a simple mhm at him as you swallowed down your drink, “Like, for work,” you set your mug down on the table and leaned forward, “What’s your job?”
“My job…” Mat muttered under his breath as he leaned back on the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Your eyes flickered down to see the slight flex of his muscles, and when you reconnected eyes with him, he smirked, “I play hockey.”
You scrunched your eyebrows together, “Hockey?”
Mat nodded his head, the smirk on his face growing, as he kept silent. The two of you had been doing so well in avoiding silences, but you caught yourself in one. So, you took a sip of your drink, in hopes he would say something more about his job. But he continued to confidently sit back in his seat.
Not enjoying the sudden awkwardness, you added a futile point to your conversation, “I––I have some friends who play hockey. Only on the weekends though. Kind of like a rec league? Or just a pick up game––”
If you thought his smile was infectious, all you had to do was hear his laugh.
It was soft, a little more high-pitched than you imagined, as he slightly shook his head back and forth. The corners of his eyes crinkled slightly as his eyes shut for a few seconds. As his soft laughter settled down, he scratched the bridge of his nose, eyes glimmering under the natural light that shined through the window next to him.
It was a glimpse into how he sounded when he felt happy. And you wanted nothing more than to hear a real––eyes screwed shut tight, nose wrinkling, head tilted back––laugh from him.
Mat mirrored you; he leaned slightly forward, forearms resting against the table as his smile slowly transformed back into a smirk, “I play professional hockey.”
Professional hockey…But he looked so young. The only rational explanation you could think of in your head was that he played hockey for a minor league team in New York.
With a nod of your head, you took another sip of your drink. The hour you had spent with Mat flowed easily, but for some reason, finding out that he was some sort of professional athlete produced a feeling of insecurity inside of you.
You took another long sip of your coffee.
“You’ll have to come to a game,” Mat’s confident voice dropped to a hesitant whisper, “If you want to.”
Setting the empty mug down on the table, you bit the inside of your cheek to conceal your growing smile. You let out a silent deep breath, collecting your thoughts, because if he wanted you to come watch him play, that meant he had to see some sort of future with you.
Whether the future be two and a half weeks, five months, or four years…He saw you in his life somehow.
“I’d like to see you play,” you assured him.
His eyebrows animatedly rose up, almost getting lost under the loose strands of hair that fell a little too perfectly against his forehead, and smiled wide, “Awesome, that’s––Okay, yeah, I’ll text you about it.”
Neither of you could hide the smiles on your face.
After sitting at the table with empty coffee mugs for quite some time, the only reason why the date ended was because Mat said he had to go dog sit for one of his teammates. Regretfully, both of you brought your empty coffee mugs to the counter, and walked out the door with smiles, laughter, and a promise from Mat to text you about attending one of his games.
As you made the journey back to your place, you didn’t know the last time you felt this giddy after a first date. While you learned surface level information about him; you also learned the sound of his laugh, and that he wasn’t too fond of dogs.
And you couldn’t wait to learn more about him.
–––
It was your first kiss with Mat.
A nervous first kiss.
It came close to a month after your first date, and admittedly, it was probably the longest you had waited for a first kiss, but Mat had a streak of away games that kept him from New York and the two of you had only hung out in public. While a first kiss walking through a park had been romanticized one too many times, it would have left you in a daydream––but whenever it felt right––someone always came up to Mat to talk about hockey. While he wasn’t approached in public often, it seemed like whenever he was, it ruined the moment.
Maybe it was a sign he would be better off as just a friend.
But that thought always disappeared whenever he gently slid his hand into yours, intertwining your fingers and giving your hand a squeeze. And just like the first time you held his hand, there was an explosion of ecstasy in your chest.  A good tightness in your chest you felt whenever he held your hand.
You were at a bar with Mat and some friends, your fingers interlocked and resting on his thigh, pressed close up to his side. A smile lit up your face whenever you felt his chest lightly shake with laughter or his thumb softly graze the top of your hand. The only part of the night where your smile tugged downward was when everyone decided to call it an early night.
As if Mat felt the same disappointment, he whispered in your ear, “I’ll take you back to your place.”
You wished he would ask if you wanted to get ice-cream at the parlor a few blocks over, or ask if you wanted to stay at the bar, but you knew he had an early morning tomorrow. All you wanted was to spend more time with him, and if him making sure you got home alright was how you spent more time with him, you would take it.
After tabs were paid off and goodbyes were said, everyone was off in their separate directions. Except for you and Mat.
Surprisingly, the streets weren’t that crowded for it being the early evening in New York, but Mat tugged you close to his side; fingers still intertwined. The walk to the subway was full of quiet conversation of observations the two of you made down the street with a few small laughs. And when you were on the platform for your train, your laughs turned to whispers.
“If Beau was a little too much, let me know,” Mat leaned down to whisper softly in your ear, “and I’ll beat him up.”
A soft chuckle left your lips as you leaned your head against his bicep, shaking your head, you looked up at him, “You said that last time. He’s nice, I like him.”
Mat hummed, “Sometimes his teasing goes a little too far.”
His voice was light-hearted, just like how Tito sounded when he teased Mat whenever he whispered in your ear throughout the evening, but there was an underlying uncertainty in his voice. Almost like he was concerned that if Tito teased you too much you wouldn’t want to spend anymore time with Mat. But that was quite the opposite. Whenever a best friend poked fun at the other, it was almost always meant in good nature, and it also showed that Mat confided his feelings about you with Tito.
You mirrored his soft hum, and squeezed his hand, as you shrugged your shoulders, “I wouldn’t mind more of his teasing,” you smiled up at him, hoping that he caught the hidden meaning behind your sentence; you seeing a future together with more interactions with his best friend. “My friends are the same way.”
Mat raised his eyebrows, and you ducked your chin into your chest out of nervousness at his next words, “So is that our next date? I meet your friends?”
Next date.
The thought of going on countless more dates with Mat caused an electric jolt to shoot down your spine. And when you flicked your eyes up to stare into his, you felt as if you were caught in one of your dreams. His eyes were already gazing on you in awe, with the corners of his lips lightly tuned upward into a soft closed lipped smile.
He moved his head closer to yours, it was just a centimeter of movement, but you noticed it. And you held your breath as you looked down at his lips, hoping that you would finally have your first kiss with Mat.
But like all of the people who interrupted the two of you whenever you were on a walk in the park, the harsh breaking sounds of the subway coming to a halt caused Mat to move away and stand up straight.
Mat cleared his throat and you let out a sigh at the ruined moment.
The train stopped, you waited until people were off the train car, and Mat swiftly tugged on your hand to make sure that the train didn’t escape before you had the chance to get on. The train car was empty, also a very rare sight on a still relatively early evening in New York. You made your way to sit on one of the empty seats, but your stretched out arm snapped back into Mat’s chest as he held tight onto your hand.
“Do you not want to sit?” You looked up at him as he gripped onto the pole in the center of the subway car.
Mat shook his head as he dropped your hand. But you didn’t have time to be sad at the loss of contact for long because Mat curled his arm around your waist, “Too dirty,” he mumbled under his breath as he pulled you close to his chest, “And we’ve been sitting all night, kinda wanna stand.”
You rolled your eyes at him and pressed your palms flat against his chest as the train jolted to a start.
Standing in silence with Mat on the empty subway was more relaxing than it should have been. Because while the unpleasant sound of the subway on the tracks echoed through the tunnel, with your head resting on Mat’s chest, all you heard was the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
You could feel yourself dozing off as his thumb rubbed soothing circles on your hip, but your senses heightened when he trailed his hand slowly up your back. The feeling of his fingertips making contact with your spine caused goosebumps along your skin. And you swore your breathing stopped when you felt his hand trail up your neck, his fingers cradling the back of your head with his thumb on your cheek.
Hesitantly––hoping that you knew what was to come in the next few moments––you looked up at Mat through your eyelashes.
His bottom lip was pulled between his teeth as he stared down at you with a crease in between his eyebrows. With your hands still firmly placed on his chest, you could feel the deep breath he let out through his nose.
“I like you,” Mat blurted out.
You let out a breathy chuckle at his admission. You knew that he liked you by the way he always held your hand and how he liked to call you more than text, but to hear him verbalize his feelings felt nice.
You bit the inside of your cheek to contain your smile as you saw his head move a centimeter closer to yours, “I like you, too.”
Mat glanced at your lips, and then at your eyes, and even with a slight nod of your head, Mat still hesitated as if he was waiting for you to pull away. But you weren’t going to pull away––you didn’t want to pull away––because you had been waiting for this moment where your heart hammered in your chest, and your breath got caught in your throat.
And as you felt him let out another shaky breath, you closed your eyes and leaned up on your toes to press a kiss to his lips. His lips touched yours gently at first, a tender brush, as if he anticipated being electrocuted by a spark. But when nothing happened, Mat tucked his lower lip between yours in another gentle, but lingering kiss.
You had plenty of first kisses before in your life; there had been first kisses that had been harder, more rushed, more chaste…but never had you felt a first kiss that was so simple and right than you did with Mat. Your lips were merely pressed together, but you could still feel him everywhere.
There was something so innocent about the kiss, as if both of you were afraid to mess up.
The two of you separated just as softly as you’d come together, just enough room to where you could peer up at him and still feel his breath across your face. Then the two of you laughed. Shy, whispery giggles that had more to do with nerves rather than humor. And as the two of you continued to stare into each other’s eyes, it was as if instinct kicked in and Mat’s lips were back on yours.
This time, your lips met with more certainty, eager to feel. A soft sigh escaped your lips when Mat parted his lips further and you felt the tip of his tongue. The hand that had previously cupped your cheek, was now on around your lower back as he pressed you close to him. And to keep yourself steady as the subway car went around a bend, one of your hands gripped his shirt as the other clutched onto his bicep.
As the two of you shared your first kiss on an empty New York subway, you learned a few more things about Mat. You finally learned what his lips felt like pressed against yours, and that he was absolutely terrible at navigating the subway after the two of you missed your stop.
With the way he made you feel during your first kiss, you couldn’t wait to feel that spark of joy again.
–––
It was your first hockey game.
Your first New York Islanders hockey game where you knew a player on the ice…and more importantly, where a player was your boyfriend.
“Oh he will love it,” Hayden smirked at the #13 jersey you wore as the two of you walked with the crowd toward the arena, “I still can’t believe you thought he was a minor league hockey player.”
You lightly knocked your shoulder against hers as you let out a small laugh, “How was I supposed to know he played for the National Hockey League?” You raised your eyebrows at her, “You literally only told me his name and that we were around the same age when you set us up.”
She tipped her head back in laughter, “I thought you paid attention to sports!”
“I do!” You mirrored her smile as the two of you took out your tickets to be scanned, “But you can’t see what they look like under their helmets clearly.”
After the two of you passed security, you found yourself amongst a sea of white, navy blue, and orange as you walked to your seats, “I still can’t believe he didn’t tell you he played for the Isles.” She snickered, “He has way too big of an ego to let that slide.”
You felt your stomach churn with embarrassment as your whole body heated up.
While Mat said that he played professional hockey on your first date, he conveniently left out that he played for the New York Islanders. It was a week and a half after your first date when you found out that detail. Mat was away for a few road games, and as the two of you were texting, he casually slipped in that you should watch the game on T.V.
You thought he was joking because you didn’t think that they broadcasted minor league hockey games on television. But he called you to give you his NHL TV login and informed you to tune in at 7 PM for the New York Islanders game. Again, you thought he was joking, but you tuned in anyway.
The shock you felt through your body was unlike anything else you felt when you heard the announcers talk about how amazing Mat Barzal has played for years as an Islander. And when the camera focused in on him for a few seconds, you scrambled to text Hayden for confirmation.
But now, nearly three months into your relationship, you had found a time where your schedule worked with Mat’s to go to one of his games. He asked if you wanted to sit with his teammate’s significant others, but you said you would be more comfortable with Hayden for your first hockey game of his.
As the two of you sat down a few rows behind the Islanders bench, you tugged the sleeves of your #13 Barzal jersey over your hands. He’s your boyfriend, you thought to yourself as you felt self-conscious wearing his jersey, no need to be nervous…other people are wearing his jersey too.
But those other people didn’t share intimate moments with him. Other people didn’t know how his calloused hands felt as they delicately touched your skin. Other people didn’t know he slightly snored when he napped.
Sure, other people idolized him as a hockey player, but you were always in awe of him when you learned a specific trait about him that he didn’t share with the rest of the world.
“Do you see him?” Hayden leaned over to speak in your ear as she pointed to Mat skating on the ice, “Right there.”
With a hockey stick in his hands, Mat skated in circles to practice his puck movement. The face you admired so much was hidden under his helmet, but you could clearly see his number and last name on his jersey.
You smiled wide and nodded your head, “This is exciting.”
Hayden laughed at your eagerness to have the game start as you practically bounced in your seat. Soon enough, the players finished their warm ups and skated toward the bench. One by one, they hopped off the ice.
“I’m gonna call out his name,” Hayden smirked as she cupped her hands around her mouth.
But with wide eyes and embarrassment already in the pit of your stomach, you pulled her hands away from her mouth, “Don’t you dare––”
“Looks like he’s already found you,” Hayden’s smirk widened as she waved her hand at who you presumed was Mat.
You whipped your head around to the bench and saw Mat, with his helmet off, awkwardly half-turned around on the bench as he sat next to a number #18 and #27. And like every time you saw him, a smile that you couldn’t contain instantly made its way onto your face. You picked up your hand and animatedly waved at him with a beaming smile.
Mat lowered his head for a moment, hair slightly falling onto his forehead, and when he picked his head up to wave at you, you saw his cheeks twinged with pink coloring.
Feeling too excited watching your boyfriend play live for the first time tonight, you couldn’t help but turn your shoulder toward him as you showed off the #13 on your sleeve. When you dropped the hand that stretched out the sleeve to show him his number, you expected to see a smile as wide as yours on his face. But instead, you saw his eyes wide open and mouth formed in a straight line, jaw slightly clenched, as his chest expanded; taking in a deep breath.
Confused, you tilted your head and looked at Hayden, “Is he not happy that I’m wearing––”
Letting out her loudest laugh of the night, Hayden bent forward and clutched her stomach, “Oh, you don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
Hayden had known Mat longer than you, so you knew that she knew things about him that you weren’t privy to yet. But her comment intrigued you.
“What do you mean?”
She just shook her head as her shoulders still slightly shook.
You turned back around in hopes to see Mat, but when your eyes landed on the bench, you saw Mat being jostled between the two players he sat next to. And upon further inspection, you read the last names on the jersey’s; Beauvillier and Lee.
Lee was still elbowing Mat when Tito turned around with a wicked smile. He cupped a hand around his mouth, “Nice jersey! He loves it!”
Tito’s voice fell a little flat among the crowd that started to fill their way to their seats, but you still heard him. And his comment only spurred on more laughter from Hayden.
At this point in your relationship with Mat, you were used to Tito’s teasing. And in the time you had been in the arena, you had grown accustomed to Hayden’s laughs. You didn’t think too much of their actions, your mind still wrapped around how all you wanted was for the game to begin.
And soon enough, the game started.
You were on the edge of your seat for the entire first period, clutching Hayden’s hand anytime Mat was shoved from behind or slammed into the boards. The second period was just as thrilling, and even though a penalty was called on Mat, he caught your eye briefly before he sat down in the penalty box. And the third period…While you stood up and cheered with the rest of the arena whenever the Islanders scored, no amount of excitement in the first two periods felt as exhilarating as when you watched Mat score.
With Hayden, you leaped up and hugged her tight as you cheered with a blinding smile.
“He scored!” You held her at arm's length away before turning your attention back on the ice.
His line-mates gathered him up in a hug, patting his helmet, and then he skated out with a wide smile. Mat was on his way to high-five his teammates on the bench, but before he held his glove out for them, he quickly pointed in the general direction of where you were sitting.
To anyone, it looked like he was pointing toward the Islanders bench, or even at the fans. And while there was an increase of cheers from your section at Mat’s little call out, you knew he was pointing out one specific fan in the crowd.
After the third period ended––with the Islanders winning by three––fans could either be heard still celebrating, or seen walking up the aisles to beat the traffic. But you and Hayden stayed in your seats, and especially paid attention to Mat who was out on the ice giving a post-game interview. His voice boomed through the arena, but all you could focus on was his heavy breathing and how his hair stuck to his sweaty forehead.
With most of your section cleared out, you and Hayden walked down to the row right behind the glass that was closest to the ice. Not one to shy away from being heard, Hayden pounded her fist against the glass and shouted your boyfriend’s name, “Mat!”
She continued to pound on the glass and call out his name until his post-game interview ended. And when the camera cut, Mat’s eyebrows automatically rose as he skated toward the two of you with a smile.
Through the glass, you waved at him, “You played so well! So amazing––And that goal?! You were so incredible.” His wide smile slowly transformed into a smirk as his eyes darkened just a bit, “That was so much fun.”
Mat chuckled and shook out his hair, “‘I’m glad you had a good time.”
“You two!” Hayden called out. You and Mat both broke eye contact with each other to see your mutual friend standing a few rows up with her phone pointed at the two of you, “Smile! It’s your first hockey game together.”
You let out a soft laugh as you turned around and leaned your back against the glass, standing up on your tiptoes so you didn’t look shorter next to Mat who wore skates. And as if he was physically next to you, and not separated by plexiglass, you leaned your head towards him and smiled wider than you had ever in your life.
After Hayden finished taking more than enough photos to commemorate your first hockey game of Mat’s, you spun around to face him again. From behind, you heard an usher say that it was time for fans to leave the arena, but you clearly heard Hayden say, I’m with her and that’s her boyfriend.
You rolled your eyes at Hayden and scratched the bridge of your nose as you stared at Mat through the glass.
“I need to change,” He chuckled, “But I’ll meet you outside? Hayden knows where the exit is.”
You nodded your head vigorously, “That sounds good, yeah,” the smile you had when you took your picture together never left your face, “I still can’t believe how well you played, it was––Oh my God. I can’t wait to come to more games.”
The smirk Mat had on his face as you praised his performance morphed into a faint smile as he poked the glass with his glove where your face was, “Keep the compliments coming when I’m off the ice.” You rolled your eyes at him as he waved at you, “I’ll see you soon.”
You raised your hand to touch the cold glass, “Bye,” you whispered as your fingertips slowly trailed down the glass as you watched Mat skate away backwards.
Feeling like you were on top of the world, you spun around with a lovesick smile on your face, ready to meet your boyfriend at the exit. Walking up the aisle and out of the arena, Hayden sent you the pictures she took of you and Mat. And as you waited by the exit Mat said Hayden knew, you set your lock screen and home screen to one of the pictures taken just twenty minutes ago.
When you heard the familiar laugh of your boyfriend, your ears perked up and you put your phone in your bag. And when you saw him walking out in his game day suit with Tito––who shoved Mat’s shoulder––for the hundredth time that day, you smiled.
Standing up from the stone ledge you sat on with Hayden, you rocked on your heels as you waited for Mat to come closer. And once he wasn’t too far away, you sped walked over to Mat as Hayden walked more slowly behind you as she snorted at your eagerness.
While you found it fun to watch Mat skate around the ice having the time of his life, there was nothing you enjoyed more than hugging him. You almost didn’t see his glowing smile––one that showcased all of his teeth––before you barreled into him.
Arms wrapped tightly around his waist, you hugged him impossibly close to you, “That was––Ah!––I’m still not over how fun that was,” you pressed a kiss to his neck before tilting your head up to look at him, “I know I already said how good your goal was so good––And I’ll stop after this––But really, that was so cool how you skated around those defenders and––”
Both Tito and Hayden’s laugh caused you to stop complimenting Mat on his goal. You caught a glimpse of Mat’s glare on his two friends, and then turned your head over your shoulder to see them hanging off each other as they laughed. You felt Mat’s hands tighten around your waist, the tips of his fingers felt like they burned a hole through your clothes and scorched your skin.
“Oh don’t––Don’t mind us,” Hayden wiped a few tears away from the corners of her eyes, “Please, carry on––”
You scrunched your eyebrows together in confusion.
“Barz, will––He’ll––” Tito’s face went red as he found it harder to breathe through his laughter. But once he calmed down, he chuckled, “Don’t stop praising him, he loves it.”
Mat flipped off his friends as he raised his hand to where the 13 patch was on your shoulder. With a small smile, he tugged on your sleeve a few times, “Hayden, send me the pictures you took,” he yelled over to his still laughing friends before he pressed a quick kiss to your lips.
As the night continued on, the four of you celebrated the win and Mat’s goal with drinks at a bar. As you leaned your head on Mat’s shoulder, you learned how fun it was to attend one of his games. And you learned that the rush of joy you felt course through your veins when you saw Mat succeed was unparalleled to any feeling of happiness you had ever felt with a partner.
And late that night in Mat’s apartment, as your hands wandered through his hair, over his biceps, and across his chest…He trailed his lips across your cheek, down your neck, and down past the valley of your breasts…You also learned that Mat liked to be praised in more ways than one.
–––
It was your first I love you.
The first I love you that you said to a person where you felt the sensation of those words taking over every crevice of your body…but like your first date, those words made you anxious and light-headed at the thought of admitting it.
Love.
Love was a commitment; a feeling that shouldn’t be taken lightly when in relation to two people who mutually cared and respected each other. It was a word you cherished, a feeling you craved nothing more in the world; and it was exactly how you felt about Mat.
Eleven months into your relationship with Mat––that you didn’t even think would get this far––you knew you were in love with him. There were times the sentence almost slipped past your lips, and there were moments where you thought he would say it too…but like your first kiss, both of you were hesitant.
Since the day you met him, you learned something new about him each day, and you didn’t want to stop getting to know him.
“So, what are you doing with your break?” You spoke through your phone as you waited at a street corner for the light to change with a group of people.
Mat scoffed, “This is hardly a break,” he bitterly whispered into his phone, “Literally not even a five minute water break.”
You gripped the brown paper bag of small groceries in your hand as your heart ached at his exhausted voice. Mat explained to you that the Islanders were going through some sort of bootcamp to get them out of their losing slump. But the bootcamp was on top of their already packed schedule of games and practices.
“And they can do this?” The light changed and you moved with the crowd, “It doesn’t seem fair.”
Mat let out an exasperated breath, and you could picture him running a hand over his face, “I miss you.”
Him changing the subject wasn’t lost on you, but with the limited time Mat had and how drained he sounded, you knew better than to press the subject further.
“I miss you too,” you smiled softly as you dodged a few people walking down the opposite direction of you on the sidewalk, “I just bought stuff for dinner tonight though, so that’s––”
But your sentence was cut off as someone rudely knocked into your shoulder hard––Watch it, they sneered at you––and caused you to stumble into a few people walking next to you.
“Sorry, sorry,” you apologized to the people you crashed into. They smiled in appreciation, knowing full well that if it wasn’t for the person who bumped your shoulder, the accident would’ve been averted.
“What was that?”
Mat’s worn out voice from before disappeared as he now sounded on high alert.
“Nothing,” you let out a sigh, because while you knew it wasn’t your fault you stumbled into people, it still felt embarrassing, “But as I was saying, for dinner––”
“No, that––I heard someone yell at you,” Mat’s voice was low, insistent on what he heard on your end, “What happened? Are you okay?”
You sucked in a deep breath, “Yeah, someone just bumped into my shoulder.” Because while it was New York, and you had been bumped into plenty of times before, it had been a bit of a rough day. But you didn’t want that one thing to tip you over the edge, especially when you knew Mat was having it worse than you, “It’s fine, I’m fine. The eggs didn’t crack so it’s a win.”
Mat didn’t laugh at your attempt at a joke.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” He paused before his voice dropped to an earnest whisper, “If you need me I can leave to come get you.”
“But practice––”
“No,” Mat cut you off, “If you need me I can leave.”
You thought about it. You thought hard about just waiting off in a park for Mat to come pick you up. But the subway station you needed to enter came into your eyesight. Even though he couldn’t see you, you shook your head, “I’m fine, I’ll just need a hug when I see you later.”
At that, Mat let out a breathy chuckle, “You and me both.”
You smiled, the familiar feeling of love that started with the squeeze of your heart spread through the rest of your body.
“Dinner at your place?”
“Yeah, my place tonight,” you answered him, “How much longer of this practice?”
You could hear the eye roll Mat gave off with his irritated voice, “Three fucking hours.”
Even though you weren’t a professional athlete, you rolled your eyes with him at how ridiculous all of the intense practice sounded, “As much as I want to keep talking with you,” you dreamily smiled to yourself because there was nothing you loved more than hearing Mat’s voice, “I know you said if players were late they have to run laps after practice.” You grimaced, “And I’m about to go under for the subway.”
Mat let out a sigh, he didn’t want to stop talking with you either, “Yeah…Running laps is the penalty.”
“You should be used to those.”
Mat scoffed at your comment, ”I’ll see you later at your place.”
“Mhm, bye Mat,” you hummed as you began to make your descent below ground, “I love you.”
“Wait, what––”
You ended the call and slid your phone into your bag as you took out your subway card. Easily, you swiped your card past tourists, and walked through the turnstile to the platform back to your place. While the rest of the day wasn’t on your side, the subway was, because your train pulled up right as you got to the platform.
While there were still seats available for you to sit in, you had grown accustomed to standing in the middle of the subway cart. You hooked your elbow around the pole, so that your hand wasn’t directly touching it, as you thought about the day on your way home.
It started off normal; waking up, getting ready for work, arriving at the office. But then small things started to happen; you forgot your laptop charger back at your apartment, someone had accidentally taken your lunch from the communal fridge because they thought it was theirs, and then someone spilled coffee on your freshly printed reports. But then the day got worse; Mat texted you saying he wouldn’t be done practice until late, your co-worker best friend said they were leaving the company for a new job, and then that stranger hit your shoulder.
But hearing Mat’s voice made your day a little better.
Knowing that he took time out of his grueling schedule to check in on you made your heart flutter even more with love.
Love.
Your eyes widened as the grip you had on the handle of the paper bag dropped. Your grocery bag fell to the ground just as fast as your heart. Because the last sentence you said to Mat replayed in your mind like a broken record.
I love you.
You didn’t even realize that you had said those words. You clutched those words close to your chest; held them so tight as if it was a secret Mat didn’t already know. And now all of a sudden…Your secret was out in the open.
The bile churning in your stomach caused your body to overheat and you wanted nothing more than to be out of the subway. You picked a loose piece of skin by your thumb so hard that it started to bleed. You swore under your breath as it began to sting, and curled your hand into a tight fist––with your thumb on the inside––to put pressure on the cut.
Unable to stand still with your anxiety, you got off a stop early and walked the rest of the way back to your apartment.
You had nearly walked into several people, almost walked across the street on a red light, and more or less banged your forehead against your front door. You thought you had unlocked the door, so when you turned the door handle, stepped forward, and walked into the wooden door…you saw that your keys had fallen to the ground.
Once you properly unlocked the door, you quickly walked into your apartment and hastily set the grocery bag down on the island. With shaking hands, you buried your face into them and let out a muffled whine. Because how could you let those words out so casually? How could you have been so careless?
Mat had three more hours left of practice. And that left you with three hours in your apartment alone.
You couldn’t even bring yourself to look at your phone to see if he was still coming over. So you cleaned. You changed out of your work clothes––into a pair of athletic shorts and one of Mat’s Islander shirts––and deep cleaned as much of your apartment as you could.
And it was when you were bent sideways, windex and paper towel in hand, as you scrubbed the inside of your microwave that you heard a key in your door. You felt your heart freeze and you scrubbed the microwave even harder.
The creek of the door echoed through your modestly sized one bedroom apartment just as loud as your heartbeat pounded in your ears. The door shut the same time you heard the thump of his practice bag hit the hardwood floor.
And if you listened closely, you could hear him let out the same anxious deep breath as you.
Mat ever so slowly made his way out of the little hallway, and when you saw him appear in front of you––still bent at your awkward angle––it was as if you saw him in a different way.
Mat inhaled deeply, and then in one breath, his shoulders relaxed as he smiled at you, “I love you.”
You stared into his eyes enough times to know they were hazel, but where he stood in your kitchen, his eyes were dark brown. They weren’t illuminated with flecks of gold or green like you had seen in the past, but they were warm and inviting as his eyes captivated you in a different way than ever before. You loved his eyes.
You ran your fingers through his hair enough times to memorize the feeling how soft it felt, but his hair was a little longer in the front than usual. And with him looking like he ran right off the ice to be with you, his loose strands of scraggly hair fell messily against his forehead. You loved the way his hair framed his face.
Everything about him…from the slight stubble on his face that came close to breaking the Islanders facial hair policy, to the way he never got mad at you when you stuck your cold feet under his warm legs when you sat on the couch together. From his annoying traits, to the quirks only you knew about him, you loved everything about him
You released a breath you didn’t know you held because this…this was what it felt like to feel in love. It was fresh and exciting with hearts pounding. It was desire pouring through veins. It was a give and take; intertwined lives.
As the two of you stood in your kitchen, you learned what it felt like to feel entirely at ease with your place in the universe. For better or for worse, love is learning everything there is to know about a person.
And you couldn’t wait to learn how he loved.
–––
It was your first real fight with Mat.
And it terrified you.
The day had felt odd from the start; your routine not flowing like usual. And as the day continued on, you didn’t know what caused the negative feeling in the pit of your stomach to grow with every hour that passed. And even at the end of the work day, when you were in your own apartment, the feeling still lingered.
Already in a bad mood, you should’ve known better than to turn on a hockey game. But you knew that seeing Mat, even if it was through a T.V. screen, would make you feel better. He always made you feel better.
But he played a careless game.
It wasn’t even that he was playing bad, because honestly, he was playing really well. By the end of the first period he had two assists and handled the puck well. When the second period came around, he had scored his own goal. But Mat being Mat…he let the goal get to his head. The newfound confidence he had led him to be more aggressive with the opposing team’s players and more mouthy with the referees.
And with only six minutes left in the third period––the Islanders trailing by a few points––Mat dropped his gloves and instigated a fairly bad altercation with another player. You turned the television off before you could see Mat skate away to the penalty box.
Around an hour later when Mat walked through your apartment door the two of you stared at each other. You were curled up on the couch with a book, and he stood at the opposite end of the couch in his game day suit. He squinted his discolored left eye, his swollen bottom lip was bruised red, and you saw a few dried spots of blood on his face.
Neither of you were in the best mood, but that still wasn’t an excuse. Maybe you each expected the other to comfort you on your bad days…but that wasn’t the case for either of you now.
“I wish you were more careful,” you whispered up at him. You were still on the couch and he stood stiffly at the opposite end from you, “I don’t get why you have to fight.”
Mat let out an irritated breath out through his nostrils, “Did you even watch the game?”
Stunned by his attitude, you shut your book and rolled your eyes, “Of course I did. But that doesn’t mean––”
“Then you should know why I got in a fight.”
With a scoff, you flung the blanket off you and stood up. You mirrored his stiff position––jaw clenched, arms glued to your sides, and eyes narrowed in at him. The couch being the only barrier between the harsh words you threw at each other.
“That has nothing to do with what I said,” you huffed out, “I said you should be more careful––”
“I heard what you said,” Mat interrupted you with a snap in his tone as he shrugged off his suit jacket, “But I can’t control a fight if it happens.”
You pinched the bridge of your nose, “I watched the game, Mat. I saw that you started it.”
“So it’s my fault?” He didn’t look at you as he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, “Look, I don’t expect you to understand everything that goes on on the ice––”
“Excuse me?”
Mat rolled his eyes and his already irritable tone of voice sharpened, “Maybe if you cared a little less you wouldn’t be mad.”
His words felt like a punch to your gut. If you cared a little less. The squeeze of your heart was different than what it felt like when he told you he loved you a few months ago. Because instead of a warm tingly feeling that lifted you up, you felt a harsh burn throughout your body that made you want to shrivel up and hide.
Mat was one of the people you cared most about in the world.
But with both of your bad attitudes, like water and oil, your words caused more separation.
Your response was harsh––If I cared a little less, then who would care about you––and it sparked Mat’s short temper. He told you there were other people, people who wouldn’t make a big deal if he got in a fight because it was hockey. The yelling continued, intentional words of hurt shouted between the two of you. And soon enough, with both of you too blinded by rage, neither of you remembered why the argument even started in the first place.
“There are other people,” Mat spat out as he breathed heavily, “People who know me better. If we weren’t together, there would be other people who––”
His cruel words caused complete and utter devastation to flood your body. And you let the anger and agony of Mat’s ill fated words overtake every logical thought in your mind.
“If you don’t need me, then what are you waiting for?!” You threw your hands up as your shrill voice cracked as bad as you felt your soul shatter. Chin wobbling and chest heaving with erratic breaths, you repeated the question. Although this time, your voice was a whisper as the destruction of your words caught up to you, “What are you waiting for?”
Mat ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head as he squeezed his eyes shut. And in a hurry, he scooped up his suit jacket from the couch and turned around. His heavy footsteps echoed through your silent apartment as you followed him to the door.
You choked on your words, “Where are you going?”
With his hand gripping the doorknob, you saw his shoulders tighten as he took a deep breath, “I can’t be with you.”
It felt as if the world froze, but at the same time, everything felt like it went too fast. A whirling sensation of grief caused you to lift your hand to cover your mouth. I can’t be with you.
You felt dizzy, unsure of if you wanted an answer to your question, “Are you…Does that mean just for now?” You bit your bottom lip as you tried your hardest to sniffle back your tears,”Or as in, you don’t want to be with me…anymore?”
Mat���s shoulders expanded in another deep breath as he mustered up the courage to turn around. Part of you wished he didn’t turn around because the heartbreak on his face looked just as bad as you felt. His chin wobbled like yours, lips pressed together in a firm line to keep his emotions to himself. His eyes were bloodshot, wide and scared like a child afraid of thunderstorms. And like yours, his chest heaved with small breaths, failing to keep his breathing under control.
“I don’t…” he shut his eyes tight and rubbed the corners of his eyes with his thumb and index finger, “Just for now.” Although his answer relieved only a sliver of anxiety you felt in the middle of your chest, it looked like he was still going to leave, “I need to leave before either of us say anything else we regret.”
Blinking rapidly, you still felt a few tears roll down your cheek as you nodded your head just as fast. You hugged your arms around your stomach and anxiously tapped your foot, “Will you…Are you coming back?”
A flash of pain crossed his face as he sucked in another deep breath, “Don't wait up for me.”
Before you could process his vague answer, his hand pressed down on the door handle and he was gone before he put his jacket back on. The door closed gently, but you would have rather it slammed shut so you would have that sound echoing in your mind instead of your insecurities.
Still hugging your stomach, you bit the inside of your cheek and slowly made your way back to the couch. As if it took all of your energy, you picked the blanket back up, wrapped it around your shoulders, and tucked yourself into the far corner. You sat alone, cold feet tucked in between the cushions, as you leaned your head back on the couch and let out a sob.
You purposefully said words to hurt him, and he had done the same with you. While the two of you had arguments before, they were never this blown out of proportion. There was never any screaming, there were never any tears, and neither of you had ever left the other’s place without reconciling. But with this fight…There was shouting, tears fell from both of you, and Mat left your place without a promise to come back.
You don’t know how many hours had passed as you stared at the wall ahead of you. But it was enough time for your cries to settle down and for the sound of a key to echo your silent home. And just like earlier in the night, Mat stood at the opposite end of the couch as you sat curled up in a blanket.
As the two of you stared at each other in silence, you learned what it felt like to sit in purgatory; not knowing if Mat was to come back that night or if you were to go days without seeing him. You learned what raw heartache truly felt like without his presence when all you wanted was a hug. And when he moved to sit next to you on the couch––finally receiving a hug from him––you also learned that he was just as sorry as you and didn’t mean any of the words he said.
You never wished to learn what a life without Mat truly felt like.
–––
The nerves you felt were worse than your first date with Mat. They had been with you for months, but they were now at an all time high that caused your hands to shake. And just like the nerves you felt before the blind date, they caused you to be twenty minutes early to the venue.
What if there was traffic? What if the piano player you and Mat hired brought the wrong sheet music? What if there weren’t enough seats? While you were twenty minutes earlier than your scheduled time that was designed to make sure you already arrived early to avoid any mishaps, it was the only way to ease your anxiety.
As you fiddled with the dress you always dreamed of wearing on this day, you inhaled a shaky breath as you stood in the private room alone. You needed space to concentrate on the fact that in less than a few hours you would have a different last name.
“Y/N?”
A light knock on the door and the call of your name caused you to whip your head. Hurriedly, you made your way to the door and leaned your shoulder against it as you made sure it was locked.
You cleared your throat, “Yeah?”
“It’s just me,” you saw the locked door handle jiggle as you heard a soft laugh on the other side, “Mat’s not with me.”
“I don’t trust you.”
You heard another laugh, this one more gentle, as Tito reassured you, “He knows about your superstitions, he wouldn’t try and sneak a glance.”
You thought about turning the best man at your wedding away, but the more you thought about it, the more you trusted him when he said Mat wasn’t with him. Mat knew you had certain superstitions you didn’t mess with; like lifting your feet up when you drove over railroad tracks or how you threw salt over your left shoulder if you spilled it.
He had learned all of those things about you.
The click of the lock coming undone caused you to hold your breath. Slowly, you cracked open the door and peered out the tiny slit with one eye. Tito had his face pressed close to the crack and you saw him close up. He didn’t pry the door like you thought, so hesitantly, you opened the door as you looked both ways to make sure your fiancé was nowhere in sight.
With the door fully open, Tito’s smile was brighter than you’d ever seen it before. He let out a low whistle, “Are you sure you I can’t marry you?”
Tito’s teasing had been a constant in the years of your relationship with Mat, and for better or for worse, it was about to extend into a lifetime.
You shoved his shoulder with your left hand, the engagement ring Mat picked out for you sparkling slightly in the light, “Shut up.”
“But really,” Tito slid both of his hands into the front pockets of his pants as he shook his head in disbelief, “You look beautiful. Mat won’t know what to do.”
“Hopefully he’ll say I do.”
Tito chuckled at your comment and then the two of you stood in silence. But when he slightly bowed his head and awkwardly rocked on his feet, you knew there was a purpose for his visit when he looked up at you.
“There is…Mat…” He took a deep breath, preparing himself for your answer, “He wants to talk with you.” Your eyes bulged out of your head as you immediately stepped back into the private room and went to slam the door shut. But Tito stuck his foot out in time to stop the door from slamming shut, “He’s not here––he’s still out there talking with people, but he heard you got here early early started sweating, and he just wants to hear your voice––”
You shook your head behind the door, “No.”
“C’mon,” Tito pleaded with you, “I’m sure it’ll calm you down to hear him––”
“What if he sees me?” You exasperatedly said, “Even if it was an accident. That would––”
“He won’t,” Tito’s voice held just as much firmness to it as he had confidence in his best friend, “He knows you too well to break your superstition.”
He knows you.
Hearing Mat’s voice would calm you down, but the anxiety of him accidentally seeing you before you walked down the aisle was too much. It was almost too much nervousness for you to handle on your own, so with a deep breath and a silent prayer that this wouldn’t blow up in your face, you whispered to Tito that Mat could talk to you.
Tito had spun around to retrieve Mat before you could finish your sentence. He rushed away from you, afraid you would back out on your word. But just as fast as Tito ran away, you slammed the door shut and relocked it.
You turned around and leaned your back against the door. Pinching the bridge of your nose to relieve some of the stress, you let out a deep breath. With only a few moments to yourself, you did a few breathing exercises before a shallow knock sounded from the other side of the door.
“Uh, Y/N?”
You could pick out his voice from anywhere, and you let out an audible sigh of relief, “Mat?”
He also let out a deep breath, and you could picture his shoulders relaxing at confirmation he didn’t walk up to an empty room. You turned around and placed your hand softly on top of the door handle; resting your forehead on the door you whispered, “I’m so nervous.”
“So am I,” Mat let out an airy laugh, “We’re the ones who decided to marry each other, yet we’re both a mess.”
You replicated his laugh and it went back to silence. You had spent years together with Mat, but no silence had ever been more poignant than this. You could hear his love, almost feel it, but you couldn’t see him. Not yet.
It was his trembling voice that broke through the silence, “Can I hold your hand?”
“Mat––”
“I’ll turn around,” he rushed out, knowing how strongly you felt about this superstition, “You can stay behind the door––just with your arm sticking out––We can both turn around so we make sure we don’t chance anything, because I––” he cut himself off, calming himself down with a single breath, “I really need a hug, but we can’t do that.” He let out another deep breath, “Please?”
You loved him more than anyone else in the world, and in turn, you would do anything for him; including holding his hand.
You couldn’t wipe the smile off your face, and you were positive he could hear it, “Turn around.”
And with a click of the door unlocking, you opened it just a sliver of a bit open and turned around yourself. You stuck your left hand out for him, and in an instant, his hand found yours. You felt tears well up in your eyes out of happiness, because even though you could feel him now you still couldn’t believe you were going to spend the rest of your life with him.
You filled the silent void with your voice and added a futile point to the non-existent conversation. But you wanted him to know this about you, “I showed up to our first date twenty minutes early.”
Mat chuckled as he repeatedly stroked his thumb on top of your engagement ring, “I know.”
You squeezed his hand, “You know?”
Again, Mat let out another soft laugh, “I was thirty minutes early to our first date.” You felt your wide open mouth transform into a smile, “I was across the street and saw you waiting.” He lowered his voice, “I was so scared.”
You were convinced that was maybe the only thing he didn’t know about you, but he proved you wrong. Time and time again he proved himself to know you better than you knew yourself.
“Tell me something I don’t know about you,” you whispered.
“You know me better than anyone else.”
The way he continued to trace around your engagement ring caused your heart to squeeze; it only made you more excited for when there would be a second ring on your finger, “There has to be something.”
You felt your heart pound against your ribcage as a few beats of silence passed over. From his drawn out silence, you knew he had something, you knew he was debating on whether to tell you or not.
“The picture we took together at the first hockey game you came to,” you could hear the shy smile on his face, “I’ve kept it in my locker since then.”
You felt your heart melt and chin wobble; this was something new you were learning about him.
“And I…” He let out a nervous laugh, and ever since the first time heard the sound of it, it was infectious, “I have it with me now in the inner-pocket of my jacket.”
A lone tear trailed down your cheek as you tried to sniffle the rest of the tears you felt behind your eyes away. It was your wedding day, of course you were going to cry, but you didn’t think it would be this soon.
Mat’s hand briefly dropped yours as you heard a crinkle of photo paper being taken out of Mat’s jacket pocket. You felt the corner of a piece of paper hit the palm of your hand a few times. Gently, and without looking down, you took the picture from Mat’s hand. And when you brought the picture up to your face, you squeezed Mat’s hand hard as an audible gasp left your lips.
The two of you looked so young. Which made sense considering the picture was taken a few years ago. You smiled at the memory as if it happened yesterday; you in your #13 Barzal jersey, tilting your head toward Mat as if you were leaning your head on his shoulder if the plexiglass wasn’t there. Hayden had taken a hundred pictures of the two of you, but this was different than the one you kept framed at your office.
You looked the same, but Mat looked different.
He still had his hockey stick in hand, but instead of looking at the camera like you, his head was faced down toward you. His eyes were locked in on your smile, wide in admiration. His closed-lipped smile was bashful, but you could clearly see the happiness radiating off him. That day, while you looked into the camera, still high off excitement from watching him on the ice; he looked down at you with all the love he held for you in his soft eyes.
“I even take it with me on road games.”
Tracing your fingers down the worn down, slightly torn up, and bent edges of the picture, you felt another tear roll down your cheek.
While you wanted nothing more to look at the well loved photograph of the two of you in love before either of you knew it, you didn’t want to cry too much before walking down the aisle. You handed the picture back to him so he had it for safekeeping, and squeezed his hand again.
“I love you so much,” you breathed out.
“I love you, too.”
As the two of you continued to hold hands until Mat was called away in order for you to start the last of your wedding preparations, you learned that Mat cherished the small moments. Whether he wanted to memorize the first time he fell in love with you by carrying around a photograph from early on in your relationship, or how he wanted to hold your hand before the two of you committed to a lifetime together…You learned more about him in those moments than ever before.
And when Mat would eventually slide a ring onto your finger––and you to his––it felt as if the rings held a promise heavier than til death do us part. From the moment you met Mat until now, the most important thing you learned about him was how good of a friend he was to you.
You couldn’t wait to spend the rest of your life as his friend.
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adorerdraco · 4 years ago
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Healing Heart ✧ Draco x Reader Mini-Series PART 1
Summary: Draco meets and accidentally falls in love with reader during his sixth year (HBP). Part 1 of a upcoming series.
Warnings: angst, some fluff, mentions of blood, crying, panic attacks
Words: 6.4K words (I made this so longgg)
A/N: my first Draco writing !!! i am sorry ahead of time if there are any misspellings, typing with long acrylics is hard omg. ALSO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SEND ME REQUESTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also i do not own this gif.
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It was almost satirical how Draco managed to fall in love with someone at what might be, is, the lowest point in his life. It was his sixth year at Hogwarts, the dark mark burned into his left forearm, the restless mending of the vanishing cabinet, the impossible task of killing his Headmaster, the Dark Lord looming over him and his family with promises of torture and death if he didn’t follow through with the orders he was given.
Draco was an empty shell of what he used to be. The playful and mean remarks that would leave his mouth to anyone that stood in his path were gone. The devious twinkle in his eye and the smug smirk that used to grace his face almost 24/7 was reduced to a permanent scowl and red-rimmed eyes. He looked as if he had aged a rough 10 years since the last year he was at school. Everyone noticed it.
Everyone noticed the skipped meals, the lack of sleep, the empty look in his eyes, the falling behind in class. But no one dared say a thing to him. It almost seems as though people were afraid of him now more than ever. The sneer on his face and the reckless and impulsive attitude he held now was like a repellent for anyone that tried to come near. He was completely alone, whether he liked it or not and he decided to keep it that way.
That all changed a few months into the year, however, when you were rushing to DADA, your long house colored scarf getting tangled underneath your feet causing you to trip and lurch forward, dropping all your books, your wand, and crashing into, you guessed it, Draco Malfoy himself. There was a loud cracking sound as you both tumbled onto the ground, a yelp slipping past Draco’s lips as he held his hand in pain.
"Oh, Merlin,” you gasped, Draco shooting you the dirtiest glare. “Draco, I’m so sorry.”
Before he could open his mouth to tell you off and incessantly insult you into oblivion, you reached forward and took his wounded hand in yours, the softness of your hands and tender touch throwing him off guard. He watched you as you examined the damage on one of his fingers.
“It’s just a sprain,” you finalized after inspecting it for a couple seconds. Draco recoiled his hand from yours as if he had touched a hot surface. He moved to get up and you huffed out a “wait, hold on,” as you scrambled around the ground for your wand. When you felt the wood underneath your fingertips, you clutched it and jumped to your feet, gently grabbing onto the sleeve of Draco’s robe who was already trying to retreat.
“Get away,” he snarled, snatching his arm out of your grasp.
“Let me help,” you pleaded softly, “it’ll be quick, I promise.”
Draco looked down at you with annoyance. He was about to leave again until he felt that same tender touch from just a few moments ago. The feeling stunning him again as he looked down at his hand that was now lying palm up in yours.
“Episkey,” you drawled the wand over his injured finger, the both of you watching the swollen and purple bruise beginning to form suddenly fade away.
Draco gave you one last scowl before he snatched his hand out of yours and turned around to leave the corridor, leaving you standing there dumbfounded as he quickly walked away, his cloak floating behind him like the professor, who’s class you now realized you were very late for.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:* 
That night, Draco lied awake staring at his ceiling he had charmed to resemble a starry night sky. His mind wandered off to think about spells he could try to help fix the vanishing cabinet and different ways he could kill Dumbledore without actually having to face him. He thought of his parents, mostly his mom, and how much he wishes he could save her and himself from this life. He thought of this school and how much he missed being an unknowing child who just did his schoolwork, played quidditch and bully the Golden Trio. He missed the two-dimensional life he used to live. Even if he used to be a complete ignorant and snobby arse, he was a happy one at that. Only now he knows that life isn’t what mummy or daddy say it is, in fact, it is so much worse.
He found his mind wandering to his uneventful day of dragging himself through his classes and failed attempts on the cabinet in the room of requirement. He then all of a sudden remembered the klutzy y/h/c girl that tripped into him and sprained his finger. He remembered how soft her touch was and how gentle she was in fixing said finger. That feeling was hard to forget. He hasn’t felt such tenderness since he doesn’t know how long. He recalled his mother’s hug before he boarded the train to Hogwarts, but that was ages ago.
In his ever growing turmoil, there wasn’t an ounce of warmth in Draco’s life since he’s returned to school. The coldness he was feeling on the inside was just as apparent as it was in his surroundings. He catches himself wishing he could feel that touch again, something about you radiated warmth, and just as quick as that thought appeared, he pushed it away. 
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*
The next day, as Draco was leaving the room of requirement and into the empty corridor, he felt the familiar ache in his chest that began to flow through his body. He had made little to no progress today on the cabinet. He felt a panic attack on the horizon, his breathing becoming staggered and tears pricking his eyes. He hated it. He hated feeling so weak.
He began rushing towards Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, his tears blurring his vision and just like the day before, he crashed right into someone. Instinctively, he held the other person in place by their biceps so neither of them would fall. But that still didn’t stop how upon impact, the other person’s head had collided with his bottom lip. He squeezed his eyes in pain as he felt the skin break and blood quickly escaping it. When he pulled back, he focused on the figure in front of him and realized it was you. The same klutzy girl he bumped into yesterday. 
“Oh no, not again,” you frown, placing your hand on the part of your head that met Draco’s lip.
“You ought to watch where you’re going, you twit,” he snarls, stepping away from you in anger.
“It was an accident,” you responded just as harshly. You take a deep breath and throw the attitude aside. He was bleeding for Merlin’s sake and you felt bad that it was because of you. “I’m sorry, please let me heal you again,” you offer, taking a step towards him, closing up the space he had made.
“I think you’ve done enough,” he backs up, eyeing you down.
“Draco, please, just let me heal your lip and i’ll be out of your way,” you ask again, your soft and guilt ridden e/c eyes peering up at him through your lashes. Draco’s heart flutters, his anger subsiding for a second and he nods.
You step towards him once more and unexpectedly place a warm hand on his face while the other brings your wand up to his lip where it hovers. It was a non-verbal spell you used this time and he felt the pulsating pain in his lip subside to nothing. 
Even though he was healed, you both stayed in that position, your hand still on his cheek and his eyes gazing into yours. He didn’t realize it at that moment, but the pain in chest had also subsided, just a little. The tears had gone. His breathing was drastically slower.
“What’s your name?” the question tumbled from his lips before he could stop it. You gave him a small smile, your hand falling from his face and he frowns when he feels the cold on his skin from the loss of contact.
“It’s Y/N, Y/N Y/L/N” you answer. “We have potions together this year, actually.”
Draco thought back to that class, now that Slughorn was teaching it he hardly paid attention, especially since he felt he was skilled in it anyways so he would let himself slip into his thoughts and let the whole period pass by in a haze. He feels as though he might have heard your name here and there, but he wasn’t so sure.
“Hm, funny, I’ve never noticed you,” he says, not intending it to sound rude but it did. He watches your face fall and he feels a slight guilt poke at him.
“Well, like I said, I’ll be out of your way now,” you mumble to him, brushing past him softly as you continued your path out of the corridor and out of his sight.
He didn’t know why, but he felt a little sad to see you go. He shook his head, shaking the thought from his mind and instead of the bathroom, he decided to go to his room, no longer feeling like he did before your little encounter.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*
As days went on, Draco ended up paying more attention in Slughorn’s class. Not to the chubby old professor, but to you, who he shared subtle glances with throughout classes and half-hearted smiles.
You wanted nothing more than to continue talking to him. To be in his presence. He was like a magnet to you, while everyone else thought the opposite of him. Even Pansy, who usually was up his ass, distanced herself from the ghost of the boy she once obsessed over. You couldn’t lie, the small crush you harbored on Draco had only grown more and more each day. It started about three years ago, during your third year when you had seen him in the hospital wing after his run-in with Buckbeak.
You remember the sheer shock you felt when you had seen him for the first time that year. The slicked back hair was gone, he had grown several inches taller, maybe even a foot taller now that you thought about it. His voice had deepened into that haughty tone you somehow couldn’t get enough of. But just like you, many other girls noticed these changes too and began pursuing him. Something you’d never had the guts to do.
Until now.
The feelings you had been suppressing for the past 3 years had come back in overflow the second you bumped into him the other day. Even worse this time since you’ve actually had a conversation with him now and the fact that he won’t stop looking at you.
Slughorn pulled you out of your thoughts when he announced to everyone to partner up to brew the potion he had been lecturing us on all week. Draught of Peace.
“This is your chance,” your friend besides you sings to you as you looked longingly in Draco’s direction who hasn’t moved from his spot.
“No, he usually works by himself, I don’t want to bother him anymore than I have,” you sigh, slumping down in your seat.
“Y/N, you’ve been in love with him since third year,” she huffs, “besides, maybe he only works alone because no one can stand being near him.”
“Shhh, someone might hear you,” you hiss, slumping even lower into your seat. “I am not in love with him, it’s just a stupid crush,” you whisper angrily to her while she only rolls her eyes.
“Okay, well, have fun working alone,” she smirks, getting up from her seat and scurrying across the room to join another classmate. You gape at her in distress, she returns the same gesture, mocking you. She then points over to Draco and smiles, giving you an encouraging thumbs up.
You rest your head in your hand for a second, feeling the hot blush that had made its way onto your face and focused your gaze onto the table in front of you. You mentally hexed your friend, who thought it’d be a good idea if she were ditch you so you would be forced to look for another partner. Jokes on her, you’re not getting up from this seat.
‘I can’t go up to him,” you thought, ‘he probably thinks I’m some annoying creep who won’t leave him alone. I’ll just work by myself.”
Draco looks over at you, noticing the empty space beside you and the frown on your face as you pushed your Potions book to the side and sat up to get your cauldron ready. You were alone, and so was he. He fought himself on whether or not he should join you. It was a bold move, especially for him. He was used to working alone, but the longer he looked at you, the more he found himself missing the sound of your honey sweet voice and soft eyes. Before he had any more time to argue with himself about it, he gathered up all his things and walked over to the empty spot next to you.
“Do you want help?” Draco asked awkwardly, immediately regretting his decision to move. Your eyes shot up from the potion book, not expecting to see the blond next to you with a faint blush on his cheeks.
“Um, yes, actually, that’d be nice,” you mutter out to him, moving some stuff around on the table so that he would have space for his. You could hardly contain the deep red blush that was already on your face from intensifying at his presence. You swallowed thickly as the realization set in that your longtime crush was right beside you and even offering a helping hand. Which in Draco’s case was extremely rare, almost unheard of. Matter of fact, this is something the Slytherin Prince has never done.
He sets his bag down and his supplies and takes a seat, rolling up his sleeves so that he could get started on crushing the porcupine quills into the moonstone powder. The amount of times he has made this potion by now for himself was sad, but good in this case since he would be able to impress you with his skill.
He worked diligently and quietly and you watched as his long slender fingers worked everything with attention and precision. You were looking up at him every now and then which you now realized was a terrible idea considering you were in the middle of cutting ginger root and you weren’t exactly coordinated to begin with. You felt the sharp blade slide across your finger and a small gasp left your mouth when the pain instantly began once the first drop of blood fell.
Draco looked at you in confusion, his eyes widening slightly when he saw the blood dripping from your hand and your face contorted in pain. You ignored the looks Draco was giving you, afraid that he might be looking at you with contempt for being sloppy.
“Y/L/N, perhaps you should go to Madam Pomfrey,” Draco suggests, now seeing that the cut was very deep as you inspected it. In fact, it was so deep he swore he could’ve seen bone.
“No, it’s fine, I can heal it,” you ignored the sharp pain and placed your hand on the table and pointed your wand at the cut with your uninjured hand. You focused on the cut and closed your eyes, letting your wand do its magic with your unspoken spell. When you opened your eyes, the cut was gone, just a small scar in its place and drying blood around it. “You see,” you smile, turning towards Draco and waving your finger, “brand new.”
“You don’t want dittany for the scarring?” Draco asked with an eyebrow raised.
“No, I don’t mind them and this one is small anyways. They’re like memories to me. Some come from good experiences, some bad. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a little clumsy,” you explain, a small smile on your lips.
“Trust me, I’ve noticed,” he sighs, “so you’ve managed to become your own healer because of that?”
“Exactly that,” you hummed. “That’s actually what I’m studying to be. I plan on being at St. Mungo’s once we graduate. I’ve been studying for it my whole life.”
Draco was silent for a moment. He watched as you carefully threw ingredients into the cauldron and stirred them with caution. He noticed that despite your clumsiness, you handled everything you touched with a care and gentleness. It was a calming sight to him for some reason and he faintly smiled.
“I think you’d be a great healer,” he complimented quietly. You looked at him with one of the brightest smiles he’s ever seen and his heart swells at the thought of it being because of him. He feels a smile mirroring yours that tries to break through, but he fights it.
“You know, you’re a lot nicer than you let on,” you say quietly, waiting for his reaction from the corner of his eye. Draco wants to give you a snarky remark, just to uphold his cold reputation he’s given himself since his first day back at Hogwarts, but he doesn’t.
Instead of saying anything, he just shrugged and gave you a small smile, turning his attention back to the task at hand. You do the same, choosing to enjoy the comfortable silence that had settled.
When Slughorn came by to check when you finished, he eyed you and Draco and smiled.
"Ahh, Mr. Malfoy, I’m glad you’ve finally decided to partner up with someone,” he gleamed. “Miss Y/L/N here is an excellent potions student such as yourself.”
“Yes, she is,” Draco responded, keeping his eyes trained on the professor. He didn’t want to look at you, feeling embarrassed that he has now complimented you twice in the last 20 minutes. You smiled to yourself, something you’ve been doing a lot of since the slytherin boy sat next to you.
“Well, I suppose you’ll be pleased to know the two of you have brewed an outstanding potion,” Slughorn grins, “both of you will receive perfect marks on this. You can be excused from today’s class now.”
“Thank you, Professor,” you begin gathering your things and turn towards Draco. “I’ll see you next class? Or maybe somewhere around the castle when I accidentally bump into you.”
Draco chuckles and shakes his head, “perhaps. I’ll see you soon, Y/L/N.”
With that, he strides out of the class, you staring at the back of his platinum blond head with a stupid smile on your face.
“You’re welcome,” your friend suddenly appeared next to you, playfully slapping your arm. “I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen Draco look so... calm.”
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*
Weeks had gone by, and several Potions classes. The seat beside you now belonged to Draco and the two of you had in a sense, become friends. Or acquaintances. You couldn’t quite say. 
He was still brooding and mostly kept to himself, but he would converse with you here and there about things, almost always school. The two of you continuously getting outstanding marks on everything you produced much to Slughorn’s delight.
Sometimes he would come to class looking disheveled or angry and those were the days where no matter how much you tried to talk to him to at least maybe get his mind off things, he would ignore you. Wouldn’t even look at you. You couldn’t deny how it had hurt your feelings, but you would brush off the hurt and remind yourself that it wasn’t personal. He was obviously going through something, you didn’t know what, but you had to respect that sometimes he just didn’t want to talk. That was hard. Especially because you just wanted to hear his voice or see him give you that rare smile when you would say something he found amusing or you would accidentally drop something off the table with your elbows or knocked over with your hands. 
You were rounding a corridor when you saw the flash of blond zoom past you. He didn’t see you, but you saw the pointed look in his eyes and the tears that were pooling in the stormy gray eyes that you adored. You mentally fought yourself on whether or not you should follow him, he looked so upset and all you wanted to do was give him a peace of mind. So you followed him, all through two corridors until he disappeared into Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.
Your heart broke at the sobs that filled the bathroom. They were full of pain and despair. The sound of his rapid breathing mixed in with his cries was more than enough to let you know that he was having a panic attack. You pushed open the door slightly to see him hunched over a sink, his robe discarded on the ground along with his vest and tie leaving him in only a white long sleeved dress shirt. 
You wanted to run in and help, but stayed back, realizing that this was something that was extremely personal. You knew he would be livid if you or anyone saw him like this, so broken and emotional. You were about to leave, all of a sudden feeling very ashamed for even following him in here. You watched as he looked up into the mirror, an anger flashing in his eyes as he stared at the reflection looking back at him. Not yours, but his. All he could see was a monster staring back at him. A failure. A weak man. He was disgusted and angry with what he saw and before he knew what he was doing, he had pulled his fist back and you watched it collide with the middle of the mirror where he had been. The glass shattered upon impact, the shards now flying in all different directions and embedding into his knuckles. He fell to the ground on his knees, in pain and clutching his fist as his cries only got louder. 
That was when you threw open the door, rushing in to help him, not caring that you were going to have to put up a fight in order to even get near him. Draco’s eyes shot up to meet yours, and just like you thought, he was beyond pissed to see you. 
Draco has never felt such humiliation in his life. The beautiful and kind y/h girl he had acquainted himself with, was now looking at him with pity. He grabbed his wand from his pocket, pointing it at you with such quickness that you faltered in your steps.
“Get. Out!” He yelled, his wand shaking violently in his uninjured hand. He would never hex you, but he figured you would fall for his bluff and leave. But you didn’t. You only sat yourself down a few feet away from him and felt your own tears begin to fall. “Y/L/N, I swear to Merlin, if you don’t leave, I’ll-”
“You’ll what?” you challenged. “I just want to help.”
“I don’t need your help,” he sneered, his wand still pointed at you.
“You’re bleeding, a lot, Draco,” you point to his bloodied hand that curled to his chest. “You know I can save you a trip to the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey’s interrogation.”
After a few moments of silence and a wand still pointed at you, you slowly scoot towards him. Your hand encloses around the one holding his wand and you lower it for him while he watches you. He was still crying and breathing heavily. His panic attack somehow getting worse now and no longer having the energy to fight you. You finally reach him, now knee to knee with him and you place a hand on his shoulder.
“Draco, just breath with me,” you say calmly. “In,” you took a long exaggerated inhale, and after a few seconds, “out,” and let out an equally exaggerated exhale. You did that with him for a while, his pained gray eyes focused on yours the whole time, never breaking eye contact. Once he was calmed down enough and was just left with the post crying hiccoughs, you took his injured hand in yours. There was shards and particles of glass stuck in his reddened and bloody skin.
You reached into your robe pocket and pulled out a set of tweezers you kept with you. You often found yourself getting splinters or tiny rocks stuck in your skin when your hands hit the pavement when you’d fall you try and catch yourself.
“This might hurt,” you warn, starting to remove one of the biggest pieces. He sharply inhales as you try your best to do take it out carefully.
It was quiet the rest of the process, just sniffles and gasps from Draco when you had removed a piece that especially hurt. When you were done, you waved your wand over the gashes and watched as they faded into faint pink scars. You got up, pulling him with you and took him to the sink where you rinsed off the blood from both your hands and his. 
He couldn’t say anything. He didn’t know what. He just stared at you, dumbfounded and confused. You turned your body to face his and he did the same, eyeing you carefully and still very cautious to any move you made.
“I can leave now, if you’d like me to,” you offer quietly. He stayed silent, wondering if he should just send you off. But he didn’t want to. You had already seen him at his worst, and he was terribly alone, so he just shook his head ‘no.’ You looked up at him and decided to risk it all. “Can I give you a hug?”
Draco was stunned at the question, his heart pounding against his chest. “I suppose,” he managed to let out in a strained voice.
You slowly stepped closer to him and slid your arms up his biceps until your hands met behind his neck. You stood on your tippy toes and pulled him into you, his chin now resting on your shoulder as your hand smoothed the back of his head. You felt him stiff under your touch and as he got comfortable in your embrace, his arms raised from his sides and snaked around your waist, pushing you flush against him. You stayed like that for what felt like forever, and he held you tightly, not wanting to let go.
This was the first time in a long time that he had felt any type of relief. It had been such a constant uphill battle for him, day after day. He took a deep inhale accidentally, but the smell of your perfume and shampoo filling his nose and his mind made him feel at ease. The warmth of your body from underneath his fingertips brought him peace and succor.
“Thank you,” he whispered into your hair so quietly that if you weren’t so focused on him, you would’ve missed it.
“Anytime.”
That was the day Draco Malfoy became your friend.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*
Potions class was no longer the only place you would see Draco. Now that the two of you were comfortable with one another and he trusted you more than anyone else, he found himself hanging out with you every day during his free time when he would be done messing with the cabinet.
It would be taking walks around the castle. Sneaking out at night and meeting behind statues to talk. Sitting together at a bench in the courtyard. Skipping stones along the Black Lake. It’s been months of this. Months of friendship he so desperately needed. You had helped him through several more panic attacks and meltdowns, each time coming closer together. He never told you about what caused them. The worst ones were when he found he had almost killed Katie Bell and Ron Weasley, and as much as you begged him to tell you, he kept his mouth shut. 
He had spent so much time with you that it was affecting him. But for the better. He found himself eating again at the Slytherin table and his friends were more than excited to have him back. He still wasn’t too buddy-buddy with everyone as he once was, but he joined conversations and shared a couple jokes. He was even sleeping a little more. He was still beyond stressed, but it wasn’t as gut-wrenching. He enjoyed Potions again and even started paying a little more attention in his other classes. His new found energy even helped him greatly progress in mending the vanishing cabinet, finally making a breakthrough in fixing it.
He would lie awake at night sometimes and thank Merlin you crashed into his life, literally. You were like an angel to him, healing his heart with every word and smile and touch you sent his way. It was easy with you. He tried his best to keep his emotions at bay, reminding himself that when he would have to follow through with his task, he would lose you and that thought pained him to no end. But he was selfish, and he adored you with every fiber of his being so he couldn’t leave you alone. And especially not when he needed you most.
Today, you lied in the grass, shoulder to shoulder and staring up at the sky and watching the clouds. You were a little ways from the castle, away from all your other classmates and teachers and it was nice. Finally being able to enjoy time with the Slytherin Prince without people gawking at the two of you.
“My mother used to do this with me when I was a small,” Draco trailed off, his eyes following a particular funny shaped cloud. “She would take me out to the garden behind the Manor, usually when father was doing some work at the ministry. But we would sit against this tall oak tree and I’d be on her lap and she’d have her arms wrapped around me and she would point out the funniest shaped clouds and try to pinpoint what they resemble. Sometimes she’d even joke around and say the weirdest shaped cloud looked like father.”
You giggled at that last part, your heart swelling at the story. He rarely talked about his family, but when he did, it would always be of his mother and a happy memory he had with her, never his father.
“Draco, can I ask you something?” you turn onto your side, your elbow holding you up as you gazed down at him.
“What do you wanna know, darling?” you blushed at the nickname but brushed it aside, knowing he only meant it in a friendly way.
“Forgive me if it’s rude, you don’t have to answer,” you begin, “but do you miss your father? I know it’s none of my business and I’m so sorry the Daily Prophet put your family business on blast like that. I can’t imagine how that must have felt.”
Draco frowned and followed you in turning onto his side and propping himself up with his elbow to face you. You remembered the image of Draco and his mother on the newspaper, bright lights flashing across their faces as all the press tried to get picture of them after the sentencing of Lucius Malfoy to Azkaban. You remembered seeing Draco look so sad, yet strong beside his mother as he looked from her and then into the camera with disdain. 
“Sometimes, I do,” he answers, eyebrows furrowed as he thought of his father. “My whole life, he’s expected nothing short of perfection from me. There were no room for mistakes, and if I made any, I would be punished for them. I remember coming to Hogwarts was like an escape, a place where I could finally sort of relax and be a child. I don’t miss his scolding or his coldness. But I miss having a father, I miss going home on that first day of summer and seeing both my parents even if he was going to reprimand me for something later on in the day. He’s been with me my whole life, and now he’s gone, stuck in a cell in Azkaban. He’s never going to be the same. Home is never going to be the same.”
You felt tears prick your eyes as you listened to the boy beside you, a distant look in his eyes as he turned back over on his back to look at the sky in the middle of his explanation. You sat up and he did the same, looking at you with a frown when he noticed you were about to cry. You took your hand in his and held it tightly.
“I’m sorry, Draco,” you mumble. “You don’t deserve any of the bad things you’ve been through.”
“I do,” he shrugs. “I’ve been a real git since I’ve been at Hogwarts, you know.”
“You’re different now,” you say. “Sure, you still haven’t lost a little bit of the Malfoy snobbishness and you’re still a bit of a git, but you’re kinder and more gentle. You’re a lot more empathetic and perceptive. I mean, I’ve never spoken to you prior to this year, but your reputation follows and the Draco in front of me doesn’t seem anything like the Draco you were.”
“How you’ve managed to insult me while complimenting me is something I’ve never seen anyone be able to do successfully is astonishing,” he laughs, a smile growing on his face as you laughed with him.
“I’m serious, Dray,” you giggle, “I think you’re a good person.”
“I’m not good,” he thinks to himself. The compliment leaving your lips made him feel foul. He didn’t deserve to have such a kind soul complimenting him to be something he’d never amount to. He frowned and harshly stood up, and you quickly followed. Suddenly afraid that you might have overstepped your boundaries.
“Where are you going?” You ask, fear trembling in your voice. He begins to hurriedly walk off and you chase after him, stopping in front of him so you could place your hands on his chest to stop him. 
“Y/N, let me go,” he pleads. “I’m not who you think I am.”
“I think I’ve been around you long enough to know who you are.”
“Not long enough.”
You stare up at him, but he refuses to look at you. His body feels rigid under your touch and it pains you to see him beginning to shut down again.
“I know something has been bothering you this year, and I know it’s not just because of what happened with your father,” you start. “I don’t know what is hurting you so deeply enough to make you hate yourself, but I’m here to tell you that whatever that thing is, it doesn’t define you.”
Draco swallows thickly, the tears already falling down his cheeks. “It does, it does.”
“No, it doesn’t,” you cry with him. “Even if you don’t see your goodness, I do.”
Both you and Draco are crying, the tree you were now standing under was swaying violently in the wind, as if it was picking up on your guys’ emotions. You placed a hand on his cheek, and he leaned down, pressing his forehead against yours.
“I’m not good,” he whispers to you, “and once you see that, you’re going to hate me.”
“I could never hate you, Draco Malfoy,” you promise, a complete sincerity in your voice that it makes his heart jump.
Draco lifts his head up and sniffles, he watched you do the same, peering up at him through your wet lashes. He brought his thumb up to smooth the crease in between your eyebrows, letting it fall down to your cheeks where he wiped away the stray tears that had stilled. His hand then landed on your mouth that was pulled down in a grimace that matched his own. His thumb grazed over your lips, the softness of them nearly driving him mad. He wanted nothing more than to feel them against his own, but he couldn’t bring himself to kiss you. He didn’t want to drag you into the darkness of his life more than he already has.
“Kiss me,” you said to him, so softly but it rang loud in his ears. You had seen the way he looked at you and how he seemed so focused on your lips. You knew what he was thinking because it was exactly what you were thinking. You wanted this just as badly as he did. “Kiss me.”
Every argument he had in his head vanished and suddenly he closed the small space between the two of you and gently placed his lips onto yours. It was a fluid movement, like two puzzle pieces fitting together.
Your hands found their way in his hair, holding him closer to you and he did the same by gripping onto your hips. His lips were soft against yours, filled with fervor and desire. He was gentle with you, but you could still feel the deepness of his kiss and how it intensified with each second. He had put all his emotions into it, his care, his appreciation, his want, his sadness, his grief, his love.
When he pulled away and the two of you stood there staring at each other with love stricken eyes, he realized he had made a grave mistake.
He realized he was in love with you. He realized that he would never be able to let you go, and you would never let him go. And he knew that with the direction his life was going in, one way or another, you would get hurt and he would lose you, maybe even to death itself.
So in that moment he knew. As much as he loved you and wanted more than anything to be with you, he couldn’t put you in that position where you would be staring evil and death in the face. He wouldn’t tarnish your beautiful soul like that.
“I have to go,” he breathed out. “Please, leave me alone. For good.”
And with that he turned away, leaving you standing under the tree with tears falling down your face, a sob escaping your throat and the sound of your knees hitting the grass below you. He held back his own cries and walked faster away from you, knowing you had finally done damage to yourself that you couldn’t heal, and it was all his fault.
PART 2
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nctsworld · 4 years ago
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the yuletide boyfriend
✩‌ yangyang ‌x‌ ‌reader‌ ‌|‌ fluff | angst | smut | friends to lovers | ‌college au | 9k
SUMMARY‌ ‌⇾‌ your one wish this year is to not be single during the holidays. yangyang, as your best friend, takes it upon himself to be your temporary boyfriend. soon enough, both parties begin to wish this new arrangement could last beyond the holidays. // part of the x-mas in ncity collection WARNINGS‌ ‌⇾‌ implied ‌anxiety attack (during the first part of dec 24th – skip if need to), smut, mutual m*sturbation, couch s*x, angst, miscommunication, swearing RATING‌ ‌⇾‌ mature TAGLIST ⇾ @infnteen​ 
AUTHOR’S NOTE ⇾ this is my longest fic to date and also... might be my worst b/c i feel like the angst plot points don’t really make sense... but i hope y’all still enjoy!!! 
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⇾ gif created by me, please don’t share or repost without credit!
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NOVEMBER 30th
“So, anything special on your wishlist this year?”
Your best friend, Yangyang, asks you as you two sit next to each other on one of the many plush lounge couches in the Psychology building. It’s the usual lunch spot where you meet with him during your break between lectures.
The Psych building held much sentimental value for both of you because you met in Psych 101 during first year. Fast-forward three years later, neither of you expected to be the close friends that you are today.  
Chewing your sandwich, you ponder on his question for a bit. Through the transparent glass walls leading to outside, you see the trickle of students heading towards the building since class is about to start for the noon round of lectures. A couple, you assume by the tight hand-holding and nose kissing, giggles as they enter the building, glued to one another by the hip.
“Not really.” You drop your head downward to your lunch container, smiling to yourself. “I’m honestly just happy to have Mark in my life, especially at this point in the year.”
Yangyang nods in accordance and smiles too, understanding the story behind your sentiment.
The boyfriends you’ve had since first year have always broken up with you before the holidays, right before the end of November. Since you only became close during second year, Yangyang’s been around for two out of three of your cursed holiday break-ups.
To have Mark, your latest boyfriend, be with you and it being already December tomorrow, it was truly a blessing for you and a silver lining that maybe this was the year to break the curse. Yangyang was grateful too, wanting you to have the utmost happiness.    
You take another bite of your sandwich and tilt your chin toward the ramen eater.
“You?”
Yangyang slurps a few more noodles before he answers.
“I mean, the new Playstation would be nice,” he hums, mouth full.
Pointing the tip of your sandwich, you joke, “I’ll get it for you, but only if we share custody over it.”
“Mm-mm,” he shakes his head during a mid-slurp. “You know I can’t promise that.”
Both of you laugh in unison, living in the calm before the oncoming storm.
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DECEMBER 5th
The E-Sports club for the university is hosting a party tonight and because Yangyang’s on one of the professional teams, he asked a few weeks ago if you and Mark wanted to attend. Of course you accepted; Mark also had some friends in the club.
However, when you text Yangyang in the afternoon, stating a change of mind, he knows something’s off.
Half an hour before the party starts, Yangyang decides to visit you. Thankfully you both lived on campus, but even if you lived across town, he’d still bus out to see how you were doing. He does it all the time to visit his family, anyway.  
In the living room, the two sudden knocks at your door startle you. Peering through the peephole, you see the usual sight of your best friend, his lips curled upward and thumbs tucked in his pockets as he rocks on the balls of his feet.
It feels like an eternity for him when you unlock your door. The hinges squeal as you open it hesitatingly, your face barely appearing through the agape crack.
Immediately, his smile dissolves. Your face is drained and blood-shot eyes avoiding his own confront him.
Yangyang has only seen you cry twice in the three years he’s known you:
Once, when you were freaking the fuck out over potentially failing a course (but, on the upside, you ended up passing the final to save your grade).
The second time was at his house for a family dinner, when his mom accidentally added too much hot chili sauce to her homemade beef noodle soup (let’s just say you weren’t the only one crying that night).
Those were tears of dread and physical discomfort.
But this… this was crying he’s never seen from you before. His chest collapses inward, fearful of the reason behind your tears.  
His voice shakes as he asks, “What happened? Are you okay?”
Neither of you are major huggers and only exchange them on the rare occasion.
However, this situation screams the necessity of it, so Yangyang lunges towards you, the collision swinging the door out of the way. His arms embrace you like a large, warm blanket. Comforting and safe.  
Despite the affection, emptiness has taken over your body. Tonight, you’re a dead, empty shell of who you normally are.
You feel weak to the bone, but you muster up enough energy to scarcely raise your arms over his back to return the hug. Your eyes are dry from all the crying you’ve done all day, but apparently you have more tears left in you to spare.
Your eyelids snap shut and your jaw clenches.  
“Mark broke up with me.”
Your words are muffled into his shoulder, but Yangyang hears it crystal clear.  
You break down, sobbing out of control over the statement.
As aforementioned, Yangyang’s been around for your last two, now three, break-ups. Sure, he’s aware of how grumpy and distant you can get, but you never cried in front of him. You made an effort to never have him see you at your lowest point.
And yet, here you are, drowning him in your misery. Guilt washes over you for drenching his bomber jacket, but Yangyang couldn’t give two shits. His arms squeeze tighter while he rubs your back tenderly.
After several minutes pass and your waterworks abate, you peel away from him. You sniffle and rub your nose with the back of your hand.
“Sorry about cancelling last minute.”
“Hey, no need to apologize,” he whispers soothingly.
“I’m just… so fucking frustrated.”
With fatigued eyes, you drag yourself back inside your apartment. Yangyang discreetly closes the door behind him and hurriedly uses his feet to push off his shoes. As he does so, your mouth begins to run off while you slowly pace around aimlessly.  
“Fucking done with boyfriends, especially when they think it’s so fucking awesome to keep breaking up with me right before the holidays.”
He kicks off his last stubborn shoe and catches you raking your hands through your hair, pulling it back firmly. Your lips are trembling, along with your entire frame.  
“Like I get that I’m horrible and needy and emotional—”
His mouth opens, wanting to cut in to disagree with you with all his heart, but he clamps it back shut and swallows, allowing you to blow your steam off.
“—but can’t they wait until the fucking new year? I don’t know, or maybe just don’t date me in the first place! I don’t know, I don’t fucking know anymore. I’m just cursed, Yangyang...”
You flop down onto the couch and sink into the ocean of shiny pleather, shutting your eyes and trying to stop crying for the nth time. The deep sting behind your eyelids pain you, but it pains Yangyang more to watch the events unfolding ahead of him.  
Unsure of what to say, Yangyang walks around the room. His gaze falls on your laptop screen and he frowns at the mostly bare Word document that stares back at him:  
“WISHLIST:   -KEEP ONE (1) FUCKING BOYFRIEND DURING THE CHRISTMAS SEASON!!!!!!!! GOD FUCKING SDKMFLDS”
There are a few more lines below it with more profanities and keyboard smashing. He quickly darts away, a pang of guilt striking for invading your privacy.
Then, he turns to you on the couch again. You’re now covering your eyes with your forearm, pressing your lips together. His chest twists and his throat is arid as a desert.
You’re in shambles and he’s dying to pick up the shattered pieces of you, wants to glue you back together. On a regular basis, Yangyang’s a talking machine and can talk your ear off for hours, but right now, he doesn’t know what to say to you in your current state. He second-guesses himself, wonders if he’s even that great of a friend if he can’t comfort you in your worst times.
Blowing out a long sigh and removing your arm, you speak aloud, “You should get going to the party.”
Like awakening from a deep slumber, you rise up sluggishly and sit up on the couch, slouched over. The other figure in the room steps closer to you.  
“Sorry about your jacket, by the way,” you say. Your body is still, but your glazed eyes move to the dark spot on the middle of his shoulder. He glances at it and shrugs.  
“It’s better like this anyway,” he says with a gentle smile, and the tight knot in his heart softens at the flicker of your own smile, albeit a small one. Unfortunately, it fades in a few seconds. “I don’t want to leave you like this, though.”
You stare at the used, crumpled balls of tissues scattered on the living room table. Some also ended up on the floor. Break-ups are shit and 98% inevitable, but you know you’ll eventually get over it. You always do.
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
He raises an eyebrow, as if asking, “Are you sure?” The lack of a worded reply causes you to notice the question written on his face.  
“Go,” you plead with a feeble laugh. “Have fun for me.”
Both of you head towards your front door again. Crossing your arms, you lean your head against the door frame and attempt a smile for your best friend.
“Thanks again for checking up on me.”
Yangyang nods with a half-smile, half-pout, “Of course.”
You give him a departing wave prior to sealing your door.
Usually, Yangyang would bus from your place to the student union building, where the party is being held. Instead, he zippers up his jacket and stuffs his fists into his pockets, opting to bear the early winter chill to walk his thoughts off. His blazing self-doubt burns at first, but he overcomes it by focusing on ideas to fix your accursed dating rut instead.  
Halfway through the walk, a light bulb moment occurs. A plan begins to brew on the surface of his mind and he thinks on it for the rest of the week.  
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DECEMBER 11th
It’s been almost a week since you last saw Yangyang.
Finals started already, so classes were done for the semester and thus, your lunch meet-ups halted too. On top of that, since you were simultaneously moping and studying, you hadn’t really texted him much, nor had he, besides the occasional check-up text on how studying was going and random memes. Yangyang knew you preferred time alone to heal and he respected that.  
He also thought six days was enough time to get yourself back on your feet.  
Yangyang’s at your front door once again, but this time with two bowls of his mom’s beef noodle soup in tow.  
“Long time, no see,” you greet. Your tone is chipper, but your eyes look heavy, which could be partially from studying, Yangyang thinks. His smile deepens, content that you seem a lot better than the last time he visited.
“Delivery for two,” he raises the bag in his hand.
“And if I told you I already ate dinner?” you playfully retort.
The boyish man shrugs defeatedly, “Then I’ll tell my mom you hate her cooking—”
“You didn’t say it was your mom’s, Yangyang. Oh, my God,” you gasp, half-mockingly. You rush to grab the bags out of his hand and stroll towards your tiny kitchen. “Start off with that next time.”
As you remove the containers from the bag and onto the granite countertop, Yangyang shuts the door and takes his shoes off.  
“So, I’m gonna be upfront and say that I may have come here with a proposal.”
“Changed your mind about the shared custody of the Playstation?”
“I’m still considering that one.” Finally in his socks, he slings his backpack off his shoulder and plops it onto the couch along with his jacket. He stands next to you by the counter. “But it’s on the same page as that. Remember that day we were talking about wishlists?”
“Mm-hmm,” you hum as you rip off the lid of one of the bowls. Blatant wisps fly upward and you inhale the savoury aroma, followed by a heavenly sigh.  
“Last time I was here… I might’ve seen what you wrote on your laptop.”
Your expression immediately changes into full-on cringe. You bring a palm over to your face.
“Oh, God. Let’s not talk about that. That was just weepy, lonely me talking.”
Yangyang pops off the lid for his bowl and steps into your kitchen, rummaging through your drawers for chopsticks. “So you’re telling me you don’t want a boyfriend for Christmas?”
Your hand flies off your face. Eyes widening, you spew, “Do you have a boyfriend in your pocket, ready for me to have?”
In your open hand, he places a pair of chopsticks into it. “Well, actually, I was thinking—”
Sternly, you point the chopsticks at him. “Don’t you dare set me up with your friends.”
He counters and points his at you, “Even better than that.”
With your interest piqued, you slide yourself onto the counter stool and mix the noodles around, anticipating to hear Yangyang’s fantastic plan. Your friend sits on the other stool, facing you. He pauses for a second, taking a deep breath.  
“Why don’t I be your boyfriend for the holidays?”
You freeze, and the noodles’ drips above your bowl are deafening to both individuals. Laughing awkwardly, you break your frozen state to drop your chopsticks and turn your head to look at him.
Sputtering, you say, “What?”
Unnerved, his mouth pinches to one side, thinking maybe he shouldn’t have even said anything in the first place. This was stupid, so stupid, but it’s out in the open and Yangyang already dug his grave—he may as well lay in it.  
“Well, for one, it’s something on your wishlist that I can easily get,” he pauses mid-sentence, glancing upward in thought. “Well, really, fill? Is that a better way to put it?”
He continues, eyes back on you, “And two, I’m not setting you up with a stranger or someone you wouldn’t be comfortable with. I assume you know me well enough that you’re comfortable around me?”
Yangyang lifts an upturned palm and raises an eyebrow, waiting for a response to his assumption. Petulantly, you shake your head playfully and stick out your tongue at him.  
Rubbing the back of his neck, his gaze drops down to the floor for his last point. His voice lowers.
“And, I don’t know, we’d just hang out like we usually do during that time, except we’d do more couple-y things.”
Realizing the implication of his words, he widens his eyes. “I mean, we'll do whatever you’re comfortable with, obviously. We don’t have to do any of the physical stuff—”
You burst into a giggle at his rambling and hold a hand out, cutting him off. “Okay, Yang. I get it.”  
Yangyang watches your next moves carefully. You’re peering off to one side and picking at the tips of your fingers. After a minute that feels like forever, you nod slowly.
“I guess you have a point. We are sorta like a couple already.”
Your best friend sighs in relief, grinning that you’re not outright rejecting the idea.
“So,” you meet his eyes and bunch a shoulder up towards your ear. “We’ll just be a couple until what, New Year’s?”
“Yeah, sure,” he shrugs indifferently. “Whatever you want. It’s your Christmas wish.”
You chuckle and shake your head in disbelief that you two are actually making an agreement for Yangyang to be your temporary, holiday boyfriend.
Honestly, it’s a little crazy... but maybe it’s the perfect thing to get your mind off of Mark and the handful of holiday exes hanging above your head.
“Okay, since my last final is on the 21st, let’s start ‘dating’ then and we’ll play everything by ear, see how it goes.”
Yangyang bobs his head eagerly. “Sounds good, soon-to-be girlfriend.”
He sticks a hand out for you to shake. You take it firmly, sealing the deal and flashing him a grin.
“Soon-to-be boyfriend.”  
Although the night goes on like usual between the two of you, you couldn’t deny how ecstatic you are to finally have a boyfriend during the holidays, even if it was technically your best friend as a stand-in.
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DECEMBER 21st
Tonight’s your first date with Yangyang.
That sounds weird to say, you admit to yourself, but it’s the truth.
After you stroll out of your last final of the semester, Yangyang’s waiting for you inside near the main exit of the building with several layers on, including his hoodie over his head and a knitted scarf underneath. His attention leaves his phone and he stuffs it into pocket as he notices you heading over.  
“Hey, girlfriend,” he welcomes you, beaming.
You snicker at the unfamiliar label. You wonder if you’re going to get used to this, even if it’s only for two weeks.  
“Hey, boyfriend,” you grin harder as the word falls from your lips, trying your best not to outright burst into laughter. “Where we heading off to?”
Although you said both of you could play the dating by ear, Yangyang’s been keen on scheduling plans for the upcoming days. You told him he didn’t have to, however, he insisted by saying that he wouldn’t only be a horrible boyfriend, but a horrible friend if he couldn’t make the next weeks fun for you.
Yangyang was anything but a horrible friend, and the fact that he was willing to be your holiday boyfriend to make you happy proved it further. Nevertheless, you gladly let him take the reins.
“I was thinking the movies tonight? See the latest Marvel film?”
Concurring to the idea, you scurry towards the bus stop and are movie-theatre bound to the nearest one off-campus. Arriving at the theatre, Yangyang and you buy your tickets and a popcorn to share, then head into the respective auditorium where the movie is playing. Since the movie’s been running for a couple of weeks, the auditorium is fairly empty, giving you two the chance to snag perfect middle seats with nobody else is in the row.  
Up to this point, aside from the name-dropping of boyfriend and girlfriend, this feels less like a date and more like any other hang-out with him. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing awkward.
But that changes during a third of the movie.
You’re both so immersed by the screen that neither party notices the other’s hand when both of you reach for the popcorn in Yangyang’s lap at the same time.  
A jolt runs through as your hands brush together. The duo’s eyes tear away from the screen and flit to the action happening in real-time. The touch lingers for several moments.  
“Sorry,” you quickly mumble, drawing your hand back slightly, but still hovering over the popcorn.    
“Uhm,” Yangyang licks his lips and visibly gulps under the screen’s bright glare.
He whispers, his voice almost cracking, “As your boyfriend, can I hold your hand?”
Okay, this is just your best friend, acting as your temporary boyfriend, asking to hold your hand. No big deal, no big deal at all.
Yet, the thunderous knocking in your ears, louder than the explosions blasting through the theatre’s speakers, suggests otherwise.
You don’t even register it, but you’re already nodding in response. Your breathing slows to the rate of Yangyang’s hand inching over. At the anticipated contact, you gasp softly. His smooth fingers clasp over yours. Since the arm rest in the middle of you is positioned upward, there’s no obtrusion and you relax, letting your hands mingle in between the empty space.
Without looking at one another, both of you smile bashfully to yourselves as you try to continue to focus on the screen.
After a while, because you aren’t exactly holding hands, you spread your fingers, hastily doing so because you don’t want him to think you’re breaking the interaction, and twist your palm to properly interlock hands with him. You give Yangyang’s hand a warm, gentle squeeze. He does the same and even strokes his thumb against your skin.
Talk about playing everything by ear. Who knew you’d be hand in hand on the first date?
You attempt to not think much on it, but Yangyang’s hand in yours feels... so right, like your hand was made for this, for his to hold. Like you should’ve done this way sooner.
And if Yangyang’s thoughts could be heard, he’s thinking the same.
Despite the mutual fear of sweaty palms, neither of you desire to let go, so much that you not only hold hands during the rest of the movie, but throughout the bus ride back to campus and all the way until he escorts you to your front door.
With a certain charge in the atmosphere, you exchange sweet good-byes. That night, after the culmination of stress from finals and your worries of your holiday exes, you finally have a peaceful sleep, looking forward to your date with Yangyang tomorrow.
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DECEMBER 22nd
“Babe, how do I look?”
“Very pretty, honey.” A bundled up Yangyang winks at you from behind his phone.
The second date is an evening at a Christmas light festival at a botanical garden on the outskirts of town. The lights illuminate so strongly; there was a glowing dome-like hue over the location that seemed to reach the dark sky as you got off the bus.
When stepping foot into the garden, all the encompassing lights mesmerize you. Lights on the various greenery, lights as decorative art pieces, lights lining the pathways. Different shades of colours and shapes engulf the massive area.
Yangyang’s currently in the middle of taking your photo near an arch tangled with dark blue, gold, and white bulbs. All night long, you’ve been mockingly using endearing terms, but, despite the frigid air, your cheeks heat up over something else he just said.
“You think I’m pretty?” you genuinely ask, breaking your pose.  
He lowers his phone a bit, his jaw dangling.
“Uh, I mean,” he giggles awkwardly, nodding softly. “Yeah.”
Yangyang never told you, but he initially sat near you in Psych 101 because he thought you were the most stunning girl in the class. And sure, he was a little disappointed at the time to find out you had a boyfriend, but that didn’t mean you two couldn’t still be friends. Other than the first few weeks he had a crush on you, he’s never thought of you as more than a friend.  
But those feelings are resurfacing, hitting him in the chest like a bag of bricks, due to moments like this one—you’re batting your eyelids, gaze straying elsewhere, and adorably chewing on your lower lip.  
“And you’re not just saying that as my holiday boyfriend?”
Pouting to one side, he shakes his head cutely. “Mm-mm.”
On the flipside, the beginning with Yangyang for you was strictly platonic. You were dating Haechan at the time you met him. When Haechan broke up with you later that fall, you kept a distance from dating for a while, heartbroken from the high school love gone sour. During that period, you never told him, but you did run through the possibility of dating Yangyang since you got along so well... until you met Jaemin earlier the next semester, who stole your heart. Ever since then, you’ve never seen Yangyang under that light again.
Despite that, you can’t deny how attractive he is, and now that you’re single and technically dating him, you embrace the fact with open arms.  
Beaming as bright as the lights, you tug him by the end of his puffer jacket’s sleeve to bring him closer to you.
“C’mon, handsome, let’s take some pictures together.” Prickles rise under Yangyang’s cheeks from the off-hand compliment.  
Holding your phone up in the air at about an arm’s length away, the side of your heads touch to prepare for a few selfies. When you finish capturing them, Yangyang’s hovering over your shoulder as you scroll through to glance through the photos.
“We look good together,” you comment. “Don’t you think?”
In sync, your heads turn to meet each other. Your eyes waver from the blatant clouds of your breaths and over to his lips. The clouds become rapid bursts as you begin to lean forward. So does Yangyang.
“Do you guys want a picture together?” someone suddenly asks. The abrupt voice drags you both apart instantly, crushing the moment into pieces.
“Sure,” you peep, fumbling to hand your phone over to the stranger.
Posing, Yangyang’s hand rests around the middle of your back, which is the norm when you take pictures with him, but he pulls you in snugly. You smile even wider, relishing in the new-level of intimacy and allow yourself to be truly content among his presence.
“You guys are such a cute couple,” the stranger gushes while they return your phone prior to walking away.
“I guess we are, huh, babe?” you jut your tongue out in jest at him. This time, you indulge in the endearing term without a sliver of mockery.  
Yangyang copies you, jutting his tongue out further than yours, and seizes your hand to continue the tour around the gleaming garden.
The almost-kiss isn’t mentioned for the rest of the night, nor is it acted upon, but both individuals dwell on the near occurrence before sleep that evening, staring longingly at their bedroom ceiling.
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DECEMBER 23rd
For the third date, you find yourselves at the campus’ dedicated ice rink arena to partake in ice skating.
You’ve skated a few times in the past, but you’re by no means a pro. On the other hand, this is apparently Yangyang’s first time, and he’s already skating circles around you.
“Show off,” you grumble as he does another lap past you. Your gloved hands are splayed out in front of you, careful not to fall flat on your face.
Turning on his blades, he rebounds over to you.
“Sorry,” he pants. His raised cheeks glow an adorable shade of pink. “This is really fun when you get the hang of it.”
Yangyang intertwines his fingers with yours before you can say anything. “C’mon, take my hand.”  
At first, it was sweet to skate alongside your holiday boyfriend, notwithstanding the few times you almost trip. As the minutes pass, you think you’re getting the hang of it, but suddenly, Yangyang unleashes your hand and glides ahead of you, abandoning you to slide at a swift pace that is definitely out of your comfort zone.  
“Yangyang, what the fuck?!” you screech, completely disregarding the handful of surrounding parents with their kids, the former sending daggers your direction. Your ankles struggle to make a T-shape to stop, but the struggling only somehow makes you move faster.  
As he spins to face you, now skating backwards with ease, he says, “See, you got the hang of it-oomph—”
Air’s struck from his lungs when you crash into his body. Thankfully, Yangyang skids his blades harshly against the ice and is able to steady and support you within his arms.
“You little fucker,” you gripe, lightly punching him in the arm.
He chuckles blithely, “Sorry, but it was kinda funny, you gotta admit.”
You breathe a large huff, which makes you note how your hair is falling over your face after the catastrophe. You’re about to lift your hand to rearrange the strands, but Yangyang beats you to it and is in the midst of tucking them behind your ear.
The knocking in your ears reappears with a vengeance and the physical source of the knocking is thrashing violently against your chest.
Your scorching breaths fuse in the refrigerated rink as Yangyang eliminates the inches of space between, his plush mouth ultimately converging with yours.
You have to constantly remind yourself to breathe under Yangyang’s intensity, and remind yourself that you’re in a public space and shouldn’t be making out like this.
But everyone’s skating around the couple, daring to not disrupt the affectionate display.
God, you don’t know when was the last time you’ve been kissed like this. Have you ever even experienced a kiss that was a fraction of this? Yangyang daintily cups your cheeks like you’re glass, but his lips press ruggedly into yours, inflaming your entirety and melting any existence of your figurative fragility.  
You ignore the echo in the back of your mind that reminds you he’s your temporary boyfriend.
The Talk will inevitably occur, but your future self could deal with it. Presently, you’re too caught up, drowning in Yangyang’s embrace.
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DECEMBER 24th
On Christmas Eve, Yangyang decides to bring you to an outdoor Christmas market.
Understandably, since it’s the day before Christmas, the place is absolutely packed. For the first fifteen minutes or so, it’s joyous being immersed in the Christmas spirit with the assorted little shops and their respective products. You’re holding Yangyang’s hand tightly, pointing and half-shouting over the bustle about the items that catch your eye.
Unfortunately, someone accidentally bumps against your arms and your hand is gone from his.
Swivelling your head, searching through the crowd, it occurs to you that you officially lost Yangyang.
Your feet come to a halt as your hand attempts to dig into your jacket pocket to pluck your phone out, but the moving crowd forces you to constantly follow the stream.
You yell for him, but words can’t materialize. Your windpipe tightens. Your breath is becoming shallower and shallower. Blood pulses in your ears alarmingly, blocking out the clamour from around you. Your mind’s running everywhere without control.
Where is your boyfriend?
No, scratch that, he’s not your actual boyfriend—where is your best friend?
Did he leave you? He would never.
Right?
But what happens when all of this is over? Will you still have your best friend?
You’ve avoided The Talk long enough, but you didn’t expect to catch feelings for him. Not like this.  
Maybe you’re just destined to be alone.
Is this how it feels to actually lose him?
Tears fight your vision. You hear a faint call of your name, but you can’t urge yourself to turn around, sinking only further into the sea of anonymity. You’re just a face in a crowd, all alone, with no one who cares—
Yangyang grasps you by the arm and maneuvers you aside to a less busy area behind one of the vendor stands.
“Oh, God, thought I lost you there—”
You cut him off, hugging him with all your might and stuff your face in his chest cushioned by the downy layers of his winter jacket. Yangyang immediately drapes his arms securely around you, reading your uneasiness.  
“Hey, I got you. I got you,” he soothes, running a hand through your hair. “God, not my best idea. Sorry for bringing you here.”
You shake your head, wordlessly informing him that it’s okay. You’re just glad to be with him again.
“Wanna go home?”
You nod solemnly, and Yangyang zips you out of there in minutes with his arm tucked by your side,  ensuring he doesn’t lose you in the crowd again.
Fortunately, the jitters mostly disappear when you arrive at your place in the late afternoon. You’re in the middle of rummaging through your keys to unlock your door.
“Sorry I didn’t have anything else planned for today,” he mumbles, leaning with folded arms against the wall.
“Did you...” You insert the correct key and turn the lock, clicking the door open. Your gaze lifts to match his. “Did you wanna maybe have dinner with me tonight? I was thinking of ordering pizza in.”
The grin that reaches his eyes is a sufficient answer for you.
“Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” He hangs his arm around your shoulder and plants a kiss atop your head.
After chomping down pizza and playing a few rounds of Super Smash Bros. on Yangyang’s Switch, you peer over to him on your living room couch while he’s figuring out which character he should play next.  
The little mental voice in the back of your mind prods you, reminding that you should really, really have The Talk soon. The Talk that you swept under the rug at the start by saying you’d play everything by ear.
Four dates later, and the thought of this ending scares the living daylights out of you. This not only including the interim relationship, but the dire possibility of the friendship itself too. Is it possible to go back to how you were, flipping it off like a light switch?
But the internal voice is smothered as you’re drawn to his pouting lips in thought. His pouting, oh-so kissable lips. Following the ice skating kiss yesterday, you only shared a good-bye kiss when he dropped you off. Since then, you’ve been itching to have his lips on yours again.
Yangyang eventually detects your lack of focus and finds you gawking at his mouth. Your gaze dashes to his eyes, blinking innocently, but then his eyes flicker to your mouth.
The tension in the room snaps. You two carefully throw the Switch controllers off to one side and attach yourselves together. Unlike the crashing of your bodies at the ice rink, this one is purposeful. Deliberated, as his forehead presses into yours and his tender caress carries your cheek. Your body plummets backwards until Yangyang pins you completely into the couch.
Initially, the lip-locking is gentle and mild. Your fingers lay in the vicinity of his angular visage and sturdy upper frame, in contrast to his hand curling around your waist in a light squeeze.
Soon, hands traverse to other regions—his back, your thigh, his stomach, your ass. Each touch seeking, craving, whining. Tongues slinking and dancing with appetite. Your bodies buzz for more.
Open-mouthed kisses transition from the damp lips to each other’s necks. The touches dig deeper, thriving with hunger. Your back bows, body curving into his. Grinding ensues and his robust desire is blatant against your own pulsing passion.
“You don’t happen to have any condoms on you, do you?” you groan upwards to the ceiling.
He retracts from your neck to swing his head side to side, grumbling a “Sorry, we can stop...” yet you interrupt his apology by cupping his covered length. The guttural groan he exhales into your lips makes you shiver with pleasure.
“Doesn’t mean we still can’t have fun with our hands...” you say slyly.
“Fuck yeah,” he rasps, smirking, before diving in again to taste your mouth.
Clothes are stripped with the assistance of each other, leaving you with only your bra on while Yangyang opts to be completely bare. He tops your body in the same position once more.
On the couch arm rest, your head is perched with his hand clutching the space next to it for leverage. Both figures are too scatter-brained to delve into the exquisite nudity of one another, hands flying desperately to your respective arousals.
Your pretty fingers wrap around his possession almost exactly when he dips two digits into your warmth. In unison, two sharp, quiet gasps pierce the room.
“Shit, you’re so wet,” he hisses observantly. You’re so overwhelmed by the bliss that you can’t assemble any sort of response.
Your mouth’s parted to one side, chest soaring with each plunge. Through his clouded vision, he ambles over your curves and lines and yearns to see your breasts, but he respects your choice of keeping it on and opts to ambush the expanse with kisses. Your chest is launched further into his mouth and Yangyang assumes you’re enjoying this.
Fearing friction burn, you drop him from your grip momentarily, swiping a few licks over your palm. When your hand pumps him again, now drenched with saliva, grunts reverberate against your skin.  
“Yangyang?” you whimper, causing his face to pull away from the temple of your body.
“Yeah, baby?”
“I’m-I’m close.” And he can attest to it; the contractions around him are increasing, harshly squeezing his fingers.    
“Same,” he pants.
Your best friend flicks his wrist with ignition, securing your waves of elation. You attempt to do the same, but it’s difficult when he’s also sloppily thrusting himself into your fist, so you simply clench your grasp harder. His features pinch and choppy moans dribble as he yields to his climax, gushing himself over your stomach.  
Still sucking in lungfuls of air, Yangyang kisses you tenderly before removing himself to clean up the mess he made.
Following the clean-up, while putting on your clothes, Yangyang expresses how he should get going since it’s getting late.
“Did you wanna stay the night?” you pipe up.
His mind races, debating on whether to leave or not, anxious to blur the lines of your relationship even further.
Sure, he’s your temporary boyfriend, thus staying over at your place shouldn’t mean anything. But this agreement is ending next week, and he’s questioning if you two can stay just friends after this, knowing that he’s going to want more. Yangyang has had a taste of the what if, and it’s now irrevocable.
He wants you all for himself. Selfishly, but deeply.
For the sake of keeping this a great thing for you, he shoves his thoughts aside. This is all about you and for your benefit, anyhow.
“Uh, sure, I can take the couch like I always—”
“Yangyang, you just put your fingers inside of me,” you snicker, snagging him by the hand to your bedroom. “C’mon.”
The rest of the night is relatively chaste with some kisses and touches here and there. Eventually, you fall asleep facing each other with your fingers interlocked, excited for the big day tomorrow.
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DECEMBER 25th
Normally on Christmas, Yangyang and you spend it with your respective families, but coincidentally, both of your families, your parents being retired and all, ended up vacationing this year, leaving the two of you to spend it with each other.
After getting up around noon, Yangyang heads to his place to grab his gift. He takes longer than you expected because, as it turns out, he also went home to grab baking goods he bought beforehand since he wants to make butter cookies with you today.
The cookies end up fine, but the mess is another story. Besides the chaos on the counter, your faces and aprons are splotched with flour (you swear he started it, but he disagrees and stands his ground that you’re the perpetrator). With a damp cloth, Yangyang aids you to clean, but not forgetting to wipe your face and giving you pecks over your cheeks and nose.  
The baking and aftermath occupies most of the afternoon, so dinner comes in the form of fancy, romantic instant ramen for two. Afterwards, you two sit in your living room and start to exchange gifts.  
Yangyang hands his over to you first. From the size of the gift and the crumpled, oddly-shaped wrapping, you already can guess it’s a stuffed plushie of a cute animal to add to your never ending collection. You hug it tightly with a large smile.
“It’s so cute, thank you!” you squeal, but you change your expression in an instant to a serious pout. “But you can’t steal this one like you did with my Ice Bear plushie.”
“Hey, I didn’t steal Ice Bear, I just forgot to give him back.” You roll your eyes sarcastically and he laughs. “I’ll bring him over tomorrow, if it makes you feel better.”  
Then, when it’s your turn, you head into your bedroom and come out with a large, white shopping bag. His eyebrows raise, unsure of what could warrant a gift this size.
“For being my holiday boyfriend,” you grin, placing the bag in front of his feet.  
Despite the hugest smile on your face, his heart sinks at the label for a second, but he blinks and wills himself to look inside the bag.
His eyes shoot open, so much that you’re scared you might have to stuff them back into his sockets.
Yangyang slips the box out of the bag with precision and stares at it speechlessly.
It’s the new Playstation.
He shifts his eyes toward you. You’re swaying on the couch, pleased by his reaction.  
“Your parents paid for most of it, so I can’t take all the credit.” Sticking a finger in the air, you add, “You just gotta promise to share custody with me though—”
A hand behind your head yanks you into a deep kiss. He’s not the only one left speechless on the couch. He places the top of his head against yours.
“You’re crazy, but I love—” He quickly catches himself from saying something he might regret. “—I love it so much, thank you. Now I feel bad for getting you only the stuffed animal...”
You shake your head softly, brushing your thumb against his cheekbone.
“Thank you for everything.” Your eyes twinkle. “I couldn’t have asked to spend the holidays with anyone else.”
Carefully, like a newborn baby, he safely situates the boxed Playstation to one side and nabs your lips with his again. The scene feels like repeat of last night as your bodies wrestle passionately on the couch.
“Not to be presumptuous,” he mutters between the kisses upon your neck. Your eyelids flutter at the sensation. “But I also grabbed condoms from my place when I stopped by.”
His words sends the two of you leaping towards your bedroom. Under the dim lighting, you fall into the bed as Yangyang pares your layers off, one by one. With each peel, his lips roam the revealing bare skin. You swear he has kissed you from your literal head to toe when you’re fully nude in front of him.
Your companion drags his shirt over his head, throws it off to your floor, and immediately targets in onto your nub with his mouth, finally satiating his craving from last night.
Fingers thread into his hair and over his flexed back. His tongue swirls and his teeth lightly tug on your perkiness, making your eyes roll to the back of your head. And he still isn’t even inside you yet.
After leaving love upon your other bosom, Yangyang fumbles with the condom, forgetting which way it should go on. Giggling, you perch yourself onto your elbows and assist him. Rolling it over his possession, you recline yourself back and spread your legs for him.
Pensively, he sticks his tongue out as he adjusts himself between your sex, easing himself into you, and upon the full impact, you meet his gaze head-on. His stare makes you feel vulnerable and exposed beyond the physical plane.  
But, unlike the others you have been with, you trust him with everything, like you always have, and be free with him. Losing your inhibitions and submitting to your whims, you entangle and become one with Yangyang.  
Behind his hazy vision, Yangyang’s simply thinking how beautiful you are, how he can’t imagine anyone else under his touch but you, how he is willing to give up anything to make you smile.
Well, in this case, he’s willing to give up anything to make you pleased.
However, it doesn’t seem like he needs to do much because you’re howling his name and clinging onto his skin and the sheets in a frenzy, like you’re about to die of exhaustion.
You perish a few times under him before he finally reaches his little death himself, convulsing into the sheath.
When air’s replenished into your bodies, you rest on his chest under your blanket. Glancing up at him, you move some of his tousled hair off his sleek forehead.
“Merry Christmas, Yangyang,” you whisper, snuggling him with a satisfied smile.
“Merry Christmas, babe,” he whispers back, giving you one last peck before you both drift into a deep slumber together.  
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DECEMBER 26th
Last night took so much out of the both of you, you don’t get out of bed until about the middle of the afternoon. Yangyang doesn’t have anything planned for today since it’s Boxing Day, since the crowds might be crazy wherever you go, so it’s officially a chill, rest day for you both.
When you step out of the shower in fresh clothes, from behind the couch, you watch Yangyang gaming on his Switch.
The little voice in your head looms, prompting that now is the time to have The Talk, and speaks up on your behalf.
“Do we have to end things next week?” you croak.
You see Yangyang’s shoulders stiffen, then he pauses the game and turns around to face you. His gaze follows you as you step closer to the couch, opting to stand.  
“Uhm.” His Adam’s apple bobs and he shrugs. “It’s up to you, it’s your—”
“Yangyang, that’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking what you think, how do you feel?”
His lips press together and he’s staring at the floor. You can tell the gears are moving, but you can’t read his expression clearly.
“I’m down for whatever you want to do,” he says slowly, eyes still averting yours.
That’s a I’m-your-best-friend answer, you deduce. Not a I-want-to-be-your-actual-boyfriend answer.  
He adds, stuttering, “I mean, I wouldn’t mind doing this a little longer if that’s what you want—”
Your face scrunches in annoyance. “Did you just sign up to be my short-term boyfriend so you can fill my empty heart?”
His eyebrows crease with confusion. “I mean, I never want to see you unhappy.”
“So it’s pity dating then?” you lash, raising your voice.
“No, I—” Yangyang bites down on his tongue, almost letting the one word slip out again. He blows out a lengthy sigh and runs a hand through his hair. “I care about you, so much. I’d do anything to make you happy.”
You’re defining his words as an affirmation of friendship and as an underlying rejection of your love.
You need to know for certain.
“Do you love me, Yangyang?” you blurt. “As more than a friend?”
This is it, Yangyang thinks. This is your chance to let her know how you feel.
But the distress written on your face makes him wonder if he should even go through with it, and it’s intensifying with every passing moment that he’s not speaking.  
If only he knew your distress was deepening because you took his hesitance as absolute rejection.  
Your heart is breaking because of him, and he technically wasn’t even yours to begin with.
You smack your lips together and gulp a few times, trying to make the huge knot in your throat disappear.
“You know what, maybe let’s just forget this arrangement and leave it all behind and forget about the sex and—”
“You wanna stop this?” he utters quietly.
The word “this” hangs heavy in the air. This, carrying the weight of not only being the temporary agreement, but also your friendship.
“Yeah,” you whisper, tears beginning to blur your eyes. “I think I do.”
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DECEMBER 28th
Two days have passed since you last saw Yangyang.
That day before he left, Yangyang, feeling guilty for how events unfolded, wanted to give back the Playstation, but you insisted for him to keep it. In spite of everything, it was a Christmas gift to him from you and his parents.
But both of you weren’t sure if the shared custody promise was going to be held up.  
In hopes that things would eventually get better and heal itself, Yangyang thought it’d be best to leave you alone for a while, like how he usually did.
And maybe he was right to do so, but this time is different.
Because he’s on the other end of the stick now; he’s the one who broke your heart.  
Under regular circumstances, whenever you needed space, he was always ready to be there by your side.
But Yangyang’s uncertain if you’re going to let him comfort you this time.  
And you’re uncertain if you even want him to.
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DECEMBER 30th
Today, Yangyang finally makes the move to get in touch with you, texting you to call him, but you don’t, so he leaves a voicemail later in the evening.
“There’s a New Year’s party I’m going to tomorrow,” he starts off, then spews the specific details.
There’s a pause and you hear shuffling in the background. You assume he’s pacing around.
“I know you ended our agreement, but I wouldn’t mind fulfilling my end since New Year’s is the last day tomorrow. I’d be really glad if you came to the party with me, whether it be as my friend or my girlfriend.”
Another pause.
On the other end, Yangyang rubs his palm over his face, considering whether or not he should say it. If you picked up the phone call, he was going to do it anyway, but this just felt improper. He wants to say it when he knows you’re listening in real-time, so he ends off the message with:
“I miss you. So much.”
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DECEMBER 31st
It’s 8:40PM. Before Yangyang buses out to the party, he’s back at your front door for one more shot. His fist taps at your door, cognizant that you wouldn’t be elsewhere since your other friends are out of town for the holidays. Despite that, you don’t come to the door. Nevertheless, he speaks to you through the wooden barrier.
“Hey, I know you want to be left alone, but I just wanted to see if you changed your mind about the party.”
Still no answer. He lets out a sigh and prays the following will incite a reaction from you.  
“About the question that you asked me that night...”
He closes his eyes and allows his mouth to carry him.
“I do. I do love you. As both my best friend and more. I’m sorry if I hurt you that night by not saying anything, but I love you so much and I think we should give us a shot.”
Still no answer. Yangyang continues.
“Look, I know it’s scary and crazy to date your best friend. I’m scared too, but you know what? I’m okay with being scared. I’ve watched you gone through those assholes over the last few years and maybe you’re scared I’ll end up like one of them, but unlike them, I don’t think you’re horrible or needy or emotional—you’re beautiful, intelligent, and strong for putting up with all those fuckers.”
He leans his forehead gently against the door.
“And even if we ever do break up, and this is a big if because I’ll always try my hardest with you to make it work, I’ll still be your friend. I promise. You won’t lose me ‘cause I need you in my life. I gotta keep my end up for the custody of the Playstation, right?”
A smile breaks over his face from his joke, but still. Radio silence.  
“Can you at least say something?” he begs.
After a few minutes, realizing he needs to probably give you more time to be left alone, he departs and heads to the party.
Originally, you actually were planning on attending the party to see Yangyang to make-up with him.
Unfortunately, out of all the days you had to take a late afternoon nap, it had to be today.
And you overslept. Big time. 
At 10:55PM, you scramble awake, realizing you’re absolutely late to the event. Since the party’s downtown, you know calling an Uber or Lyft there would be fast, but tonight’s the worst night for any share riding service and there aren’t any available drivers. Thus, you have to manage with busing there.
It’s 11:40PM when you finally reach downtown, but the bus can’t take you all the way to the core centre where the party is; hordes of people are out on the streets and traffic is dreadful. God, you’re going to be cutting it close to midnight, but you make a run for it.
You’re grateful the party is on the second floor of a small building because you slide in right through the entrance at 11:58PM. You rush to call Yangyang’s phone, hoping he’ll pick up as you try to find him in the scattered groups of people.
You begin to holler for him in hopes he can hear you, but the countdown is happening, drowning out your voice. Thirty seconds left until the clock strikes for the new year.
When his number finally goes to voicemail, you redial his number. Suddenly, a hand grasps you by the wrist.
Yangyang looks at you, dumbfounded.
“When did you get here?”  
The harmonious chanting around you floods your surroundings.
“Ten, nine, eight...”
Getting closer to him, you practically scream into Yangyang’s face, trusting he’ll hear what you’re about to say.
“I know Christmas is over, but I want to change my wish.”
“Seven, six, five...”
“I know you might not feel the same and I know things might not work out.”
“Four, three, two...”
”But I wish to date you past New Year’s until whenever, however long we last.”
“One...”
“I love you, Yangyang—”
The one you love snatches you by the waist and your cheek, stealing your lips at the last millisecond before midnight.
“Happy New Year!”
A wave of noisemakers, clappers, and hollering erupt around the room. After it dies down a bit, Yangyang shocks you with a scolding.
“Why didn’t you say anything when I came over?!”
Confusion rushes over you. You realize he probably came by when you were sleeping. 
“You came over?!”
“Yeah, I confessed my love for you.”
“Wait,” you blink blankly, unsure if you heard him correctly. “Your love?”
“Yeah,” he nods, giving you his cheesy, adorable smile.  “I love you.”
“As more than a friend?” you clarify.
“Babe,” Yangyang’s thumb caresses your cheek. “I don’t think I could ever go back to wanting less with you.”
Your lips tremble with relief as your gaze melts in his.
“And, anyway, who else am I going to share the Playstation with?”
“Well, I mean, you do have Hendery, Xiaojun, Winwin...” you start to count his infinite list of friends on your fingers.  
“Yeah, but I need you so I can constantly beat your cute little butt at games.”
“You do not constantly beat my cute little butt at games, I’ll have you know that I beat you at—”  
Yangyang shuts you up with another kiss, the one of many for the rest of the night.
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JANUARY 2nd
It’s your second morning at Yangyang’s place. You’ve only done it a few times now, but you realize that waking up in his arms is one of the greatest feelings in the world, second only to his kisses.  
In his bed, spooning you from behind, he grumbles into the nape of your neck, “Morning, girlfriend.”  
Half-awake, you mumble back, “Morning, boyfriend,” and sink deeper into the curve of his body.
Content, you finally broke your string of cursed holiday break-ups for good.  
And all it took was to be with the one who was in front of you all this time.
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danses-with-dogmeat · 3 years ago
Note
Howdy! I got an ask/react for the Fo4 companions! How would a romanced companion react to Sole (preferably female) doing things to make them feel 'stronger' or 'protective' over her? Some random examples: Sole "can't" open something and has to ask for help/Sole conveniently forgets her overcoat when she knows it's going to be cold out, etc. the little things :) (Extra thing: you don't have to but if you could go into a bit more depth for Deacon and Hancock's response that'd be great :D )
Okay, this was so. much. fun. I took a few... creative liberties with the prompt, but I hope it’s still in the realm of what you were looking for! And, of course, thank you so much for the ask! I hope you like it!
Cait: 
     Sole pressed a cold cloth to Cait's cheekbone, and she hissed at the pressure of the contact on her swollen cheek. 
"Shit, sorry, Cait." 
"Eh, I've had worse licks than this."
"I know, but still… this one is definitely my fault." 
"It's hardly yer fault, luv, I'm the one who got meself inte this."
"How? I'm the one who started the fight." Sole protested, pulling her hand back so she could look her companion in the eye. 
"Maybe, but I'm the one who gave you yer drinkin’ problem, and that's what got us inte the fight in the first place." Sole chuckled at that, shaking her head. The two had had this discussion what seemed like a hundred times, both trying to take the blame for the constant slew of bar fights that they found themselves getting into. 
Tonight, it had been four intoxicated men who had decided it was a neat idea to discuss the details of what they’d do to Cait if they could get her drunk enough. While the redhead hadn’t seemed to hear, Sole had briskly made her way over to the group to give her two cents on these ideas of theirs. So, Cait had a point, maybe if Sole hadn’t had quite so much whiskey, she could’ve tried to solve the problem more... verbally. But alas, her confrontation had officially started with her fist landing at the temple of the man nearest to her, effectively knocking him out. And it had ended with Cait hauling Sole to her feet after disposing of the man’s companions. 
Cait picked absent-mindedly at the scabs forming on her knuckles as Sole brought the wet rag up to her face once more, dabbing at the blood next to Cait's lip. 
"God, how is it that you always end up with the injuries? All I got was a bruise to the cheek, and yet, here you are, looking like a human punching bag."
"I can tell ya that. It's cus it's always me rushin' in te save your arse. Why do you always take on more than ye can handle?" Sole snickered, not knowing if Cait found her own words as amusing as she had. 
"Because, I know no matter how many assholes I take on, you'll always be there to save me." Cait made a disgusted sound, rolling her eyes at that, much like Sole thought she would, before letting her emerald gaze meet Sole's eyes. 
"I wish you weren't, but yer damn right." Cait said, and Sole felt a little jump in her chest at the sentiment. Cait wasn’t the most tender person in the wasteland, but somehow, she always seemed to know what to say; to Sole, anyway.
The pair sat silently for a bit as Sole finished cleaning up her defender. Wiping down her bloodied hands, and the remainder of the crusted crimson on her face.
"Are ya done fussin yet? I'm tellin’ you, I'm fine. Can we just go te sleep already?"
"One more spot left." She told her, bringing the rag up to her bruised face once more. Sole's eyes fell to Cait's swollen lips as she drew the cool fabric over them, before leaning in to press her mouth softly to Cait's. Sole pulled away, but stayed close enough for Cait to feel her warm, whiskey-tinged breath fan over her as she whispered, 
"Thank you for saving me tonight. I really was way in over my head." Sole looked down, embarrassed at her admission, as Cait smiled at her. 
"It was my pleasure, luv. As you said, I'll always be there te save yer arse." 
Curie: 
     "You know, you don't have to come to me for something as small as zhis." Curie said as she examined the minor cut on Sole’s arm. “You could patch zhis up yourself easily!” 
“Well…” Sole felt heat rise to her cheeks as she searched for an explanation. She knew that every time she came to Curie for something like this, she was taking up the doctor’s precious time, but she couldn’t help herself. What was she supposed to do when Curie insisted on working all day when they were at a settlement? They usually came to settlements to relax, to help make repairs and look into any problems the settlers might be having, but Curie always insisted on doing check-ups for everyone in their vicinity. Sole loved her selflessness and dedication to her work, but… When were they supposed to spend time together? This is what I get for having a workaholic for a girlfriend.
“You know, infection is a big problem out here. I just thought it would be best to seek the help of a professional.” 
“Oh, of course, of course. How responsible of you.” Sole bit at her lip as Curie laughed at her. Well, she really has caught onto the whole ‘sarcasm’ thing.
 “Fortunately, you do not need to worry about infection in zhis, it iz not deep. But come here, with me.” Curie urged Sole off of the cot she was seated on and brought her to a table at the back of the clinic. 
“Wait here, se vous plait.” With that, Curie disappeared around the corner, and Sole stood around, twiddling her thumbs, as she tried to think of an excuse to get Curie off of work early. 
“I was going to clean my supplies with zhis, but we can do your arm first.” Curie said as she came around the corner, a bucket of soapy water in-hand. 
“Here.” Curie set the bucket onto the table and had Sole hold out her arm as she produced a clean rag from the pocket of her lab coat, and dunked it into the warm water. Sole watched as Curie wrung out the cloth, and brought it to the miniscule wound on her arm. 
It was comical, really, the care that Curie took in cleaning the cut that couldn’t have been more than an inch long, and was almost too thin to see. Another rush of heat made its way to Sole’s cheeks as she realized how ridiculous she must seem to the doctor, but Curie made no complaints as she used the other side of the rag to dry off her arm. 
“Zhere! It should be all better. I can wrap it for you too, if you’d like.” 
“Thanks Curie, you’re a lifesaver. But I don’t think you really need to wrap it.” The synth laughed at her as she threw the rag into a basket and picked up the bucket again. 
“Oh, mon dieu, I don’t know about zhat.” She shook her head, a pink tint coming to her pale cheeks at Sole’s flattery as she turned to go into the back of the clinic again. 
“Wait!” Sole said, reaching out her “good” arm to stop Curie before she could vanish around the corner once more. Curie looked at her, a questioning expression on her face. Sole stood, her hand still wrapped around Curie’s forearm, utterly at a loss of what to say. I just don’t want you to go. It’ll be another four hours until you get off. 
I think you should take a break?
Maybe you should have a half day?
Do you need some help here at the clinic? God, when did I become so damn clingy?
“Hmm.” Curie’s eyes pierced into Sole’s as a knowing look washed over her face. “I zhink I know what it is you want.” Sole just stared ahead, wondering silently if that were true. The doctor set down the bucket yet again, delicately taking a hold of Sole’s “injured” arm once more. Slowly, she brought it upwards, then lowered her head to place her lips gently over the cut. “Iz zhat better?” 
Sole giggled, still embarrassed, but definitely glad she had come to interrupt Curie’s work. I guess I can wait a little longer. Maybe make us a nice dinner for tonight...
“Much. Thanks again, Curie.” 
“Of course! Anytime, mon amour.”
Danse: 
     Sole sat at the kitchen table, draining the last of her coffee as her gaze fell to Danse, where he was seated on the steps outside the front door of her Sanctuary home. He stared ahead blankly, brows knitted together above his lusterless eyes as his hands worked to remove a spot of rust from a piece of power armor he had taken off his suit temporarily. Lately, the ex-paladin had been adept in putting on a show for Sole, making her think that he was okay, even after everything that had changed in his life over the course of a few hours. It had been over a week since he had found out about his true identity, and in that time,  Sole could tell that he had tried to remain strong. For whom, she wasn’t sure. She thought she had made it clear to him that she didn’t care about his “strength” in these times, she just wanted him to get through them, whatever the means. Yet, he only seemed to don this look of despair and hopelessness whenever he thought she wasn’t looking, and if she tried to bring it up, he would always attempt to change the subject, or he would tell her not to worry and simply say that he was still working on “adjusting.” 
She hated when he didn’t talk to her. The seemingly insensitive man was always happy to listen to Sole’s problems and offer what advice he could, often suggesting that she discuss her own issues as a form of therapy. But God forbid she tries to get him to do the same. Sole sighed as she mulled over what to do, and noticed Danse’s head twitch to the side, listening, before his gaze dropped down to focus on his task.
He’s been working on that same spot for almost an hour. If it’s not out yet, I don’t think it ever will be. Sole looked around the room, trying to find something that could possibly serve as a proper distraction for Danse, and her eyes fell to the wooden stereo below the window in the living room. She had left it there because she simply didn’t have the heart to scrap the old thing. Too many good memories surrounded it. Memories of her and Nate, dancing the night away as the records spun on and on playing soft love songs until the sun rose; of her rocking Shaun in her arms as she mosied around the living room, listening to the nursery rhyme vinyls that she had received as gifts at her baby shower... But those memories, they were from another life.
Sole shook her head. This is about him, she thought, not me. I can deal with my shit later. Right now, I need to focus on Danse.
She huffed another sigh, this time a bit louder, and watched as Danse ceased his hand movements and tilted his ear towards her again.
“Is everything alright?” He turned to look at where she sat, and Sole tried to look melancholic.
“It’s just… You know… nevermind, it’s not important.” Just as she assumed he would, Danse stood up and walked inside the house, setting the piece of armor and the rag on the table, and pulled out a chair so he could sit beside her. He looked down at her hands, which rested on top of the table near her empty coffee mug. She could practically see the sweat beading on his forehead as he hesitantly brought one of his large hands to rest over the top of her own. Ever since he found out what he was, he’s been afraid to touch me. So... this is a good sign, at least.
“If something’s wrong, I want to know.” He said as he looked up to meet her gaze, his worried expression matching the concern she was feeling towards him. Sole took a breath to appear as though she was steadying herself.
“It’s just… being in this house. It’s great, I mean, it’s still my home and everything, and I don’t want to go anywhere else, but…” she trailed off, her troubled expression only half-feigned at this point, given the truth behind her words. His eyes never wavered, silently encouraging her to continue.
“Some things are harder to look at than others. And that damn stereo over there just has to be staring straight at me every time I sit down at the table, it’s the hardest one for me to see. It's just, it was a house-warming present from my parents. They gave it to me and Nate after the wedding, and now… well, there are no more records to play on it. They were all ruined, and even if they weren't, I don’t think the thing would work anyway. But every time I see it, it reminds me of the people I’ve lost. My parents… Nate… even Shaun.” Sole didn’t have to fake the tears that came unbidden to her eyes as she recalled the memories of her loved ones, and she knew Danse hadn’t missed a thing when he started rubbing her hand softly with his. They sat there in silence for a moment, as Danse tried to reassure her with his gentle touch.
Then, still remaining silent, Danse stood, reaching his hand forward to brush his thumb over Sole’s cheek, wiping away the tear that had fallen. He then turned towards the living room, but instead of going straight to the stereo, as Sole thought he might, Danse opened the side door that led to the covered driveway. She watched as he doubled back, now approaching the stereo. Sole wasn’t sure what she had expected him to do when she mentioned her problem to him; maybe offer to help her take the thing apart, or try and see if it still worked, or simply give her another perspective on how she should view the piece of 200-year-old furniture. Whatever she expected, it certainly hadn’t been this. 
Danse squatted down in front of the large wooden beast of a stereo, wrapped his broad arms almost all the way around it, and stood, lifting the whole damn thing up until he was standing completely upright with the stereo held firmly to his chest. Sole’s mouth hung open as she remained seated at the table, seemingly paralyzed by the shock of what she was witnessing, as Danse sauntered awkwardly towards the exit. A thick vein protruded from his neck as he twisted the piece of furniture to fit through the door, and made his way out into the driveway.
Sole heard a groan from outside, accompanied by the sound of something hard hitting concrete. She stood up, prepared to head outside and see what exactly he’d done with her “problem,” but before she reached the doorway, she heard him call from outside,
“You can’t still see it, can you?”
“Um… no. But Danse, is it-- I mean, are you okay? It took like, four people to bring that thing in when we first moved it to the house.” The brawny ex-soldier appeared in the doorway, his chest still heaving from the effort of wrestling the wooden monster outside. He nodded to her,
“I'm fine." He huffed, "You don’t need to go out there. I’ll take it apart later, if you’d like. Or we can store it somewhere for the time being.” She shook her head at him, a little smile touching her lips. Even after everything he’s been through, he's still always looking out for me. Even with something as small and insignificant as this.
“You know,” she said quietly, “you didn’t have to do that.” Danse looked down at his feet, seemingly searching for something to say in response.
“But thank you.” Sole finished, and his eyes came back up to meet hers. For a moment, she saw a spark return to Danse’s amber eyes as the smallest hint of a smile softened his expression, and Sole felt hope. Hope for him overcoming his grief in this time of crisis, and hope for herself in being able to move on from the memories that had kept her chained to her past for so long. Together, she felt like the two of them could overcome anything.
Deacon:
     “Yes. Two please.” Sole said as Takahashi voiced the only question he ever seemed to ask. The robot placed two bowls of scrumptious smelling power noodles in front of her, and she reached for the bag of caps hanging from her belt. As she looked down to count her money, she heard a clatter of bottlecaps hitting the counter beside her.
“Got it covered. Come on, let’s dig in.” Deacon grabbed a bowl in each hand and headed over to a couple of empty seats at the bar.
“I thought you were still trying to stay undercover?" Sole gestured to the Diamond City guard outfit that the spy donned. "Doesn’t it kinda ruin the illusion if you’re seen in public with me?” She said as she followed him over, sealing up her cap purse once again.
“What? You’ve never seen one of these guys at the noodle stand? Cuz I sure have. Just don’t talk to me, and I’ll be good.” Sole shook her head as she took a seat beside him, instantly deciding to ignore his request.
“Hey officer, I’ve got a question.” Sole swirled her chopsticks around the steaming bowl in front of her, before taking a bite.
“Yes, citizen?”
“Hold on--” she said through a mouthful of noodles.
Deacon laughed as he looked at her full mouth,
“Why--” He tried to talk through his bout of chuckling, “Why would you say you’re going to ask me a question and then take a big bite of food? What did you think would happen?”
Deacon thought he heard her tell him to ‘shut up,’ but it was hard to tell, given the noodles that filled her mouth, and the fact that she was nearly choking in her own fit of laughter.
Eventually, she managed to swallow her food successfully, and was finally able to get some words out.
"No, okay, serious question--" Deacon interrupted her with a snap of his fingers,
"Serious answer." Her genuine curiosity forced Sole to ignore him, and continue with her question.
"Tell me, why do you always pay for everything?" She asked.
"Ma'am, I am a law-abiding security officer. I always pay for the products that I intend to consume."
"I said serious, Deacon."
"Hey, shush!" He brought a hand up to Sole's mouth at the mention of his name, "What part of undercover did you not get?" She cocked a brow at his faked panic expression, noting the grin that he was trying to hide, as he lowered his head and turned back to his noodles.
"Like, okay," she continued, expanding on her inquiry, "whenever we go anywhere, you always pay for everything, and it's really odd. I've never met anyone in the wasteland who's done that, everyone's too busy trying to keep themselves alive to worry about paying for others. So, what? Are you, like, rich or something? I mean, c'mon, what's the deal? I have caps on me all the time, you know that, right?"
"Oh?" Sole saw his eyebrows rise above the tops of his sunglasses as he turned to look at her, "you don't think I'm doing this out of the goodness of my cold, black, heart, do you? No, I'm running a tab over here, honey. You owe me, big time." Sole narrowed her eyes at him, her uncertainty keeping her lips sealed.
"You mean, you didn’t know? Look, I don't know what to tell you," Deacon continued, "I thought you knew! Man, I'm glad you found out this way. Now it won't be such a rude awakening when the invoice comes."
Deacon turned back to his noodles, shaking his head at the thought. Sole's gaze bore into him, trying to figure out his level of seriousness. I really wish I was better at this. This is why I believed he was a synth for a month and a half.
"And if I don't have the money… you're not gonna call out a hit on me or anything, are you?"
“Hmm," he brought a hand to his chin, stroking his finger over it animatedly, "surely there must be some way you could pay me back…” He turned to look at her, wiggling his eyebrows as he did so, and she rolled her eyes, looking back to her noodles as she scoffed.
"Hey! What's with the face! I was talking about community service. Y'know, helping the children, and the elderly, all that good stuff. Get your mind out of the gutter, perv. And to think, I was going to have you volunteering at the children's hospital next week."
Sole instantly regretted taking another bite, as she tried desperately to fend off a fit of giggling in an effort to keep from choking again.
"I can't keep up with you Deacon," she said as she swallowed her food. "You're gonna kill me one of these days."
"Eh, don't worry, I can pay for the funeral." Sole raised a hand and shoved him in the shoulder playfully as he grinned at her.
"Okay, really, though. You do know I can pay occasionally, right?"
"Yeah, I know, I'm your partner, remember? I'm pretty much right next to you whenever you get paid.”
"So… then, why do you do it?"
"Do what?" Sole's nostrils flared at his obnoxious question.
"No? Joke didn’t land? Okay. Serious time," he flung his hands in the air as if surrendering, "I read about something… wasn't it, like, customary before the war to pay for stuff for your… friends?" Sole scrunched her eyebrows in thought,
"Friends? Not really. Significant other? Yeah, a little more common." She looked to where Deacon stared down at his noodles.
Is that, is he... blushing?
"But hey, I don't mind if you don't." She finished, tilting her head forward, in an attempt to catch Deacon's eye. She spotted a flushed little grin spread on his face, before he leaned his head back, restoring his cool composure.
"Oopsies, sorry about that, then. But I did warn you, I'm pretty new to this whole friend thing. So… you know, that's on you."
Hancock: 
     The ghoul lounged comfortably on the couch in the Old State House, idly playing with his combat knife as he waited for Sole to finish readying herself for their outing.
“Ahhh!” 
Hancock leapt from his place on the couch at the sound of Sole’s shriek, his combat knife instinctively falling into a position poised for violence.
He ran across the hall, crashing through the door and into the bedroom. Teeth bared and eyes wide, his head lashed from side to side in search of Sole’s assailant. He spotted her, cowering in the corner as she raised a shaky hand to point at the opposite side of the room.
Hancock’s glare followed Sole’s fear-stricken gaze, and he started towards the desk in the corner she had pointed to, but ultimately failed to see what it was causing her distress.
He turned back to her, an eyebrow cocked, as he raised the silent question of what had been the cause of her terror.
“On the desk!” She said, pointing towards it again, this time with greater intensity. Hancock slowly approached the corner of the room, knife still at the ready, as his eyes continued to search for any sign of… well, anything, really. An exasperated smile spread across his lips as his eyes fell to your attacker. A small, brown, spider picked its way through the objects littering the top of the desk, and Hancock had to hold back a laugh. 
“This is what had you all riled up? Oh, sweetheart, he’s just a little spider. C’mon now, he won’t hurt ya.”
“You don't know that.” She said firmly, her round eyes still trained on the desk. It had sounded like a joke, but her expression remained serious.
“Alright, you want me to get rid of him for you?” She nodded her head vigorously, and he chuckled as he turned his attention to the unsuspecting arachnid. He watched as it delicately stepped over a series of writing utensils, and Hancock frowned. Bringing his knife up to the top of the desk, he rested the flat of his blade directly in the spider’s path,
“That’s it, up you go, little guy.” He said quietly, as it stepped onto his steel vessel. Hancock twisted the knife around in his grip as the spider crawled around it, and made his way to the balcony. Once outside, he tipped his knife to the railing, encouraging the spider to crawl off the tip of the blade. Once the spider was safely making its way along the top of the railing, Hancock turned back towards the doorway.
“There,” he said, stepping back inside, “Now he can’t hurt ya, he’s all the way out there.”
“You… you didn’t kill it?” She asked, tentatively standing up.
“Nah, we only hurt the ones who hurt somebody else first, remember?”
“You don’t know that he didn’t hurt anybody.” She mumbled as Hancock sauntered over to her.
“Aw, give him a chance, maybe he can change, y’know? He doesn't really seem like the troublemaking type to me, anyhow.” He brought his hands to your waist, a smug expression playing on his face.
“Oh yeah, just like the way you always tell people you’ve changed?” She said, sliding her hands up his chest to rest them on his shoulders. “Way I see it, you’re still just as bad an influence on me as when I met you.” She said, a playful glint dancing in her eyes.
“Hmm, maybe you’re right, sunshine. Maybe I can't change any more. Maybe it's just my nature to be a bad influence on you.” He said quietly, a wolfish grin spreading across his face as he leaned into her. 
“Huh, maybe so. But bad influence or not," she pulled away from him slightly, to look up into his smoky eyes, "you really did save me back there. And, I know it seems silly... but I am grateful." His eyes softened at her little confession and, though he knew this too was silly, he couldn’t help but feel a swell in his chest at the thought of "saving" her. 
“And I’ll always be here to save you... from any spiders we happen to come across.” He pecked her lips tenderly, their close proximity practically forcing his mouth to hers. He should’ve known better, once he had a taste, he couldn’t get enough of her. 
“Even though,” He continued, as he pressed a kiss to her nose, “I’ve seen you,” then to her right cheek, “take down,” now her left, “deathclaws,” another to her jaw, “single handedly,” and now down to her neck, “I’ll be sure to handle all the unruly arachnids.” He whispered into the crook of her neck, before moving upwards again and pressing one more kiss to her forehead. He watched, grinning like an idiot in love, as a crimson flush crept up her cheeks. He wasn’t sure if it was from the embarrassment she felt regarding her phobia, or from the heat of his lips on her skin, but he decided it didn’t matter. Either way, he found it irresistibly adorable, and with that, he set his sights on her lips once more. 
MacCready: 
     MacCready sat on the floor, legs crossed, as he counted his ammunition cartridges. There were four of the .308, six of the .50, ten of the 10mm, and a few of the .38. There certainly wasn’t as much as he’d hoped there’d be, but he wasn't worried. Sole always seemed to have ammo to spare, and she wasn't stingy with it like he was. It was yet another perk to being with her.
He gathered his full magazines together near the ammo bag resting beside him, so he could begin placing them inside in preparation for their next outing.
"How are you doing over there, babe?" He asked as he stored the outlying bullets in little bags.
"I think... you know what, nevermind. I'm good." MacCready ceased his action, turning to look at where Sole knelt on the carpet of her Diamond City home. A pile of bullets and empty magazines surrounded her, the stack of seemingly full cartridges was pitifully small compared to his own.
"You, ah, need some help?"
"... No.” 
"Mmhm, okay.” he narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, but she wouldn’t look up at him.
“Well,” he continued, “I'm going to put my full mags in the ammo bag, why don't I grab yours too." The sniper stood up, and made his way over to her, bending down to grab the cartridges that looked full.
"Wait! No, these, um, these ones aren't done yet." MacCready's eyebrows furrowed, but the shadow of a smile began to spread to his lips as he realized what was going on.
"So," he said, kneeling down so he could see her pretty little embarrassed face. "You haven't finished loading any of them?"
“No." She said quietly, refusing to meet his gaze. MacCready lowered his head so that he was looking up at her as her eyes stayed fixed on the floor. A lock of hair was draped over her forehead, obstructing his view. He reached a hand up and gently pushed it behind her ear, leaning in to give her nose a small peck with his lips.
"You want some help?" He said as Sole raised her gaze to meet his, a small blush forming on her cheeks. She didn't say anything, only nodded yes.
"Alright, you know, you could’ve just asked. I might have said ‘no’ the first time, but you know me, I eventually would’ve come around." MacCready said as he set to work with the magazines that had appeared full, but in reality, only housed half of the amount of ammunition that they could fit within them. He snickered in understanding, it really was the second half of bullets that was hard to load.
"Thank you, sweetie. You’re just so much better at it than I am." She said as she watched his practiced fingers make quick work of what probably would've taken her another hour.
"Of course... but, you are paying me for this, right?"
"Ohh, I think we might be able to work something out." She said, a sly grin playing at her lips.
He just chuckled at her words, but she could've sworn his fingers starting moving a whole lot faster at her suggestive phrasing.
Nick: 
“Tell me, why is this now a regular part of my job duties?" Ellie asked as she finished sewing up yet another tear in Nick's trench coat. "You know you're just going to end up with more holes in this coat every time you leave the office, and I don't seem to recall you ever caring about this old thing's appearance before…" she trailed off.
Nick knew that Ellie was fishing for answers. One specific one in particular, but he liked the ambiguity of the situation. It was this little game he and his secretary would play. He would leave clues here and there that pointed to the nature of his and Sole's relationship and wait to see if Ellie would say anything. All while she continued to try and force the truth from him verbally. He wasn't going to lose this round.
"What? A private detective can't keep up appearances for his clients? I think it's just good for business."
"I think it's a load of bologna. You know we gave Sole her own trench coat after she saved you, right? She could just wear her own, rather than steal yours every time you two go out on a case."
"What kinda fun would that be? I don't mind it, it's not like I get cold anyway. And the poor little lady never knows how long we're going to be gone, so I don't think it's her fault when we're out after dark and she wants to wear it."
Ellie rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh as she poked the needle back through the worn, beige fabric once again.
"She's got you so tightly wound around her finger, it's a wonder she doesn't call you 'Jared'."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know, it’s something I’ve read about, I guess it was a ring shop, or a jewelry company, or something before the war. I thought it sounded clever. Just humor me, won't you?"
The synth just shook his head, uttering a low chuckle as he watched Ellie tighten the thread, forcing the last hole closed.
"There." She said, tying up the last bit of string left over, before cutting off the excess. "It's done." 
"Perfect, thanks a million, doll. I'll see you soon, I've just gotta head out for a--"
"Date?" She finished the sentence for him suggestively, raising her eyebrows in question.
"A case. We're going to head out on a case, Ellie."
"Uh huh, sure. Well, here," she handed him back the coat, "now she doesn't need to worry about the cold air seeping in through all those holes. Let me know if you want me to insulate the damn thing when winter rolls around."
Valentine smiled, an uncharacteristically goofy smile, at Ellie's words. He was so obvious, why didn't he just come clean already? 
"Will do, I’m sure she’ll enjoy that. Thanks again, Ellie. You're the best."
"And don't you forget it." She said, turning back to the mound of paperwork still on her desk beside her sewing supplies.
“Ah well, I’ll get him to admit to it one of these days.” Ellie mumbled as she began sorting through the files in front of her.
Piper:
     Piper looked up at Scarlet from the table in the corner of the Dugout Inn, 
"Yes, so I think we'll both have a nuka cola to start off. Then I'll do the crispy squirrel bits, and she'll have the Salisbury steak." Piper pointed her finger to Sole, who was busy looking down at the table, before making a last-minute decision, "Aaand you'd better bring some of those snack cakes at the end, too." 
"Hm, as usual." Scarlet chuckled at that as her pen scribbled across the notepad in her hand. 
"But that sounds good, you two. I'll have that out in just a minute." The waitress grabbed their menus, Sole reaching up to hand it to her with a smile on her face before turning to peer at her partner from across the table. She waited for Scarlet to disappear around the corner to the kitchen before speaking.
"You really don't find it annoying?" She asked. 
"What?" Piper loosened the scarf around her neck as she looked questioningly at Sole. 
"I know that I ask you to order for me whenever we go out to eat, or drink, and it's gotta be getting a little old at this point, right?" 
"No, not at all, Blue!" Piper said as she took her hat off and placed it on the table, mussing her hair a bit with one hand. "This reporter actually finds it to be pret-ty endearing. It's like, the one thing you can't do. You’re good at, like, everything else, but this I get to help you with. It's a welcome change." Piper's hands dropped to the top of the table as she began absent-mindedly fiddling with her silverware. But her eyes stayed on the woman across the table as Sole smiled at her, still appearing a little embarrassed. 
"I don't know why I can't do it," Sole tried to explain, "I've just never been able to order for myself, even before the war. Just one of those bizarre anxiety things, I guess."
"Well, like I said, I don’t mind at all. In fact, I think it's cute." 
 Preston:
     Sole approached her Lieutenant, shaking her head at him, and she saw him sigh.
“No, the river just keeps going until it reaches a ravine." She told him, "And it’s too steep to climb down. Any luck on your end?”
“Hmm, not really. It's a little more shallow upstream, but it’s still about ten feet wide.”
“Damn.” She said, “We need to get across.” A settlement had sent a distress call across radio freedom almost an hour ago, if Sole and Preston took any longer, they might be too late.
“I guess we’ll just have to go for it.” She said, her face painting a picture of clear disgust at the thought of wading through the murky water.
“Well, let’s at least head upstream a bit. To the shallow part.”
“Okay.” Sole said begrudgingly, her footsteps unconsciously heavy as she followed her companion to the shallow part. Not shallow enough, I bet.
And she was right. As the pair arrived, Preston turned to Sole to gauge her reaction, noticing the way her nose wrinkled at the sight of the brown, swirling water.
Preston heaved a sigh, and started forward. Before he reached the waterline, he turned to see Sole still standing back, feet seemingly glued to the muddy ground. He couldn’t help but smile sympathetically at her, eyebrows creasing upwards as he watched her eyes look longingly at the far shore.
“Come here.” He said.
“I know, I know. Just start going, I’ll follow.” Preston chuckled at the exasperation in her voice. Instead of repeating his command, he simply walked over to her as her eyes remained locked on the other side of the river, when he reached her, he slowly pressed his hand to the small of her back.
“Hey, what are you--?” Before Sole could finish her question, Preston had scooped her up into his arms, bridal style. She let out a squeak of surprise, and he couldn’t keep himself from grinning.
“Is this okay? He asked, the brim of his hat pressing against Sole’s forehead as he looked at her.
“A warning would’ve been nice.” Preston laughed, shaking his head as he adjusted his grip on her, ensuring she was secure before making his way towards the river.
“Hold onto me.” He said, and Sole wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders.
“Ready?” Sole nodded to him, and Preston took a step forward, frigid water seeping in through his boots as he waded in.
“Wait, are you sure you want to do this?” She said, her eyes trained on the river as it raised up to Preston’s knees.
“I might be wrong, General, but I think I already am.” He said, the amusement in his voice faint as he gritted his teeth against the cold.
She felt his body shutter as he continued forward, the water reaching up almost to his waist, as he held Sole up higher to ensure it wouldn’t reach her. She let out a small sigh of relief as they reached the end of the channel. The water became more shallow, and Preston quickened his pace with each step that brought him closer to their destination.
Once completely out of the water, and past the muddy shoreline, Preston finally set Sole down gently. As her feet touched the ground, Sole kept her arms wound about Preston’s neck.
“Thank you, love.” She said, her voice soft as she addressed him as her partner rather than her Lieutenant.
“It was my pleasure, m’lady.” He said, briefly removing his hat from his head as he did so. Sole smiled at him warmly, but detected the faint chattering of his teeth, and when she looked down, she couldn’t help but notice the goosebumps littering his skin. 
“Oh, Preston…” Sole said as she pressed herself to him, rubbing her hands against his back and arms quickly, in an attempt to warm him with her friction. She felt hot air wash over her neck as he released a shaky breath of relief, leaning into her touch. The pair stood there for a moment, Preston syphoning off Sole’s warmth as she tried to repay him for his earlier act of kindness. Her hands slowed from her vigorous rubbing to a more tender sort of touch, before Preston’s head shot up.
“Shit, Sole, the settlement! We’ve got to move!”
X6-88: 
     This had become a common routine of theirs, and X6 wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about it. Every time they were in Sole’s Diamond City home, she would insist on making dinner for the two of them. That, X6 didn’t mind too much; although, after consuming nothing but food supplements in the Institute for so long, it did take some getting used to. But eating the food wasn’t the issue, it was the making of it that had him perplexed. 
As far as he knew, Sole had been the one to install the shelves in her kitchen; and yet, every time she was in need of a spice of some sort, or a condiment, or one of her dishes, she would ask X6 for assistance, given that the shelves were apparently too high for her to reach. Why Sole continued to store her items on the too-tall shelves, he couldn’t begin to guess. But here she went again, asking him to reach for the box of blamco mac n’ cheese on the top shelf, the highest one, one that he could barely even reach. X6 decided it was time to voice his confusion.
“Ma’am?”
“Yes?” She asked distractedly as she focused on the strength of the flame burning on her stove.
“Why do you use these shelves?”
“What else would I use, silly?” X6 scrunched up his face at that, trying to hold back a verbal scoff at her wording.
“Would you rather I just store everything on the floor?”
“Well, no. That would… hardly be sanitary.” He wasn’t sure if she was joking with him or not. Did she think he was joking with her?
“Why do you ask, X?” She grabbed the box from his hand as he extended it towards her, and began tearing at the top of it with her finger.
“Well, it seems nonsensical to me, for you to continue placing all of your items out of your reach. What happens if I’m not here?” Sole placed a saucepan filled with water over the stove and turned to look at him.
“But you are here.” she said, shrugging, “What? Don’t you like helping me out in the kitchen?”
X6 blinked. What the hell did this have to do with what he liked?
“Well… I don’t dislike it. I’m just having trouble with-- I don’t-- I just... do you want me to fix the shelves so they are the right height for you?”
“No, I like them the way they are.”
X6 felt his eye twitch from beneath his shades. Confusion built up inside him, making the courser feel as though he might explode.
“Ma’am--” His voice faltered as he realized he didn’t know what else to say.
“I know they’re not practical, X. But you can reach them, and I like that about them. Even when I’m here alone, the fact that I can’t make dinner without you makes me smile.” X6 furrowed his eyebrows. That explanation didn’t help at all.
“Don’t you get hungry?”
“I'm not completely helpless, you know, I can usually figure something out.” She attempted to look annoyed at his question, but her grin gave her away. X6 narrowed his eyes at her, still not completely satisfied with the way the conversation had gone. He was still just as confused as he was before.
“Huh.” He said, mulling over all she had said on the subject. “Perhaps... in that case, we should ensure that I am by your side for any missions near Diamond City. That way, I can be sure the future director of the Institute doesn’t go hungry.”
“Well, if you think that’s necessary, who am I to argue?” The left side of X6’s lip tilted upwards in an expression of amusement, and Sole openly smiled at him, laughing a little to herself as she turned her attention back to the boiling water on the stove.
“Can you hand me the pepper mill? Second shelf.”
“I know which shelf. But yes, I can.” He said, turning around to grab it, as Sole continued grinning to herself.
Now I just have to make sure he never looks under my bed. Sole thought. If X6 ever found the step stool she had hidden there, what would happen to her kitchen helper?
361 notes · View notes
nyuksw · 3 years ago
Text
Unexpected Date — Sangyeon
genre: angst, smut, fluff | warnings: unprotected sex, fingering, car sex, marking
“Nope, no way.” You quickly said before your friend could even finish his sentence, starting to walk again as fast as you could.
“Y/N please!” Jacob pleaded once again, rushing after you and stepping in front of you to stop you.
You rolled your eyes, “No Jacob I’m sorry, find someone else.” You gave him an apologetic smile and started to walk away leaving him behind.
“But I already told him and he agreed.” He said, making you stop on your tracks and spin around with wide eyes.
“You did what?!”
Jacob smiled sheepishly, starting to fidget with his fingers as a soft chuckle left his lips. “I told him a few days ago and he agreed to be your date for the event.”
You scoffed, “There’s no way he could’ve agreed to that.”
“He did! You know he still l-“
“I don’t want to hear it. I’m not doing this, not with him.” You crossed your arms in front of your chest, throwing him a serious look.
“How do you plan to get another date if the event is tomorrow night?” He raised an eyebrow at you.
“Are you saying I can’t find a date?” You raised both of your eyebrows in surprise at him but he quickly shook his head.
“No, all I’m saying is tomorrow is friday. Most people already have plans, I doubt you would be able to find someone available.”
“Then I’m going without a date.” You shrugged but he only sighed and whined loudly.
“Y/N why are you so stubborn! You must get a date to be able to join the event. Just go with him, it won’t be the end of the world if you do.”
You were taken aback by his sudden loud voice, seeing the poor guy all frustrated in front of you. You sighed, unfolding your arms and waving your hands in the air in surrender.
“Fine, I’ll go.”
“Really?! Thank you!” Jacob picked you up by the waist on his arms and spun you around.
“Yeah yeah, whatever. Just tell him to pick me up on time.” You said fixing your clothes once he placed you back down.
You glared at him one more time but broke into a smile seconds later upon seeing him happy. Shaking your head you turned around and continued walking until you made it into the elevator.
Jacob waved at you, “Oh I gave him your new number so he will contact you!” He yelled but just before you could complain and scold him again, the elevator doors closed.
You arrived back home, doing your daily night routine before getting into bed. You pushed the blankets to the side so you could get in when your phone suddenly buzzed. You took it and unlocked the phone only to find a message from an unknown number.
> Hello Y/N, it 's Sangyeon. I’m just texting you so you can save my number
> That is if you want to
> Jacob already sent me your address, I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 7
You rolled your eyes and threw the phone into the nightstand. How can he text you so easily and act all friendly as if nothing ever happened between you two. You inhaled deeply, getting comfortable on bed and extending your arm to turn off the light but just as you were doing it, the phone buzzed again. It was another message from him,
> Can’t wait to see you again, sleep well :)
You turned off your phone to avoid any other message waking you up. But even then you couldn’t really sleep just by thinking about seeing him again, you were nervous, not even sure why because you two broke up a long time ago. So why was he still the reason for you losing sleep?
Next day came and you started to get ready by 5pm, starting with your makeup and hair. Making sure to take your time without anyone rushing you, you haven’t decided yet what to wear, deciding to leave it at last knowing it would take you some time.
It was around 6 pm and you had already finished, only needing to pick a dress and you’ll be done, but before you could get to it you heard the doorbell ring, frowning you walked out of the bathroom and towards the front door to open it.
“Sangyeon.” You said, voice coming out as a whisper as you were surprised to see him. Of course you were expecting him but you weren’t expecting to meet this new muscular version of him.
“Like what you see?” He said tilting his head to the side with a smirk on his face.
You scoffed, the sudden happiness of seeing him again quickly disappearing, “Come in.” You simply said opening the door for him to walk in, “I need to change, take a seat. I won’t take too long so we can leave.” You glanced at him and turned around to walk towards your room.
But he didn’t stay in the living room, instead he followed you quietly into your room.
“I like the new place.” He said, surprised by his sudden presence you slightly jumped on the spot and turned around. “Why did you move?”
“The other place had so many memories and I wanted to forget everything, I wanted a new fresh start.” You simply said before disappearing into the bathroom again to get changed.
He looked at you, a flash of hurt across his eyes knowing exactly what you meant with that, you were talking about him. Sighing, he went to sit on your bed, patiently waiting for you to come out. A few minutes later the bathroom door opened again and you came out, eyes looking up from his phone only to be glued to your body. You decided to wear a black dress, matching his clothes since you two were on a date for the night, the dress wasn’t too tight but it hugged your curves perfectly.
“You are not going out wearing that.” He said, his face turning very serious as well as his voice.
“Excuse me? Since when do you give me orders?” You frowned.
“You are my date and I’m telling you, you are not wearing that. It’s too revealing, I don’t want every male’s eyes on y-“
“And what if it is? I look good on it and it’s appropriate for the event actually. So I’m going to dress like this whether you like it or not. I'm not asking for your permission and you are not my boyfriend anymore, so keep your opinions to yourself.” You snapped and grabbed your purse, storming out of the room.
The car ride was silent, you could tell he was angry by the way his hands were gripping the steering wheel, glaring at you every chance he got and eyes landing each time on your thighs, the dress slowly riding up. Not only was he already jealous that every guy out there was going to see your body looking so good in that dress, but because he still wanted you as much as he did when you were still dating. Not being able to touch you and kiss you again like he did back then, was harder than what he imagined when he agreed the moment Jacob asked him to be your date for this event.
You on the other hand also kept stealing glances at him. The way you could see his muscles even through the thick material of his dressing shirt, how he rolled up the sleeves with his forearms. The way he gripped the steering wheel, the veins on his arms became more clear every time he did. You started to feel some kind of tingling sensation between your legs and you closed your eyes quickly turning to look out the window, making sure to mentally scold yourself for getting turned on.
He noticed you were looking away and his eyes dropped to look at the way you suddenly pushed your legs together, smirking to himself and raising an eyebrow. He looked ahead of the road while moving his free hand to rest just above your knee. The sudden contact made you whip your head around to look at him but his eyes were glued ahead on the road. You didn’t move his hand away and instead looked ahead too, trying to focus on something else but failing when you felt his hand moving up towards your thigh and stopped there. Again, you turned around to look at him but he was simply driving, acting like nothing was happening. You inhaled deeply when you felt his hand massage the skin, almost squeezing your thigh.
“I told you the dress was too revealing, didn’t I? Just look at the way it rides up, barely covering you.” He clicked his tongue. His fingertips ghosting over the skin, leaving goosebumps as they moved further up until they felt the hem of your dress, tugging it slightly. “Looks so inviting.” He said moving his fingertips to caress your inner thigh, almost too close to your clothed core just to suddenly pull them back eyeing you “But I can’t do anything about it since we are not dating anymore.” smirking when you pressed your legs together again.
“Sangyeon...” you said, your voice coming out lower than expected, in a needy tone.
“What is it, Y/N?” He was faking a sweet concerned voice.
“Please touch me.” Your voice came out as a whine, but you didn’t care at the moment. You just wanted him to do something about it.
“Right now? But I’m driving.” He was playing hard to get and if it wasn’t because you were really horny at the moment you would’ve done something about it. But here you were, being at his mercy without him even doing something yet.
“Please, just use your free hand, your fingers… please.”
He licked his lips, swallowing hard. “Alright, open your legs for me.”
You did as he said and opened your legs, leaning back against the seat as his hand sneaked between your legs, pushing the panties to the side and groaning when he felt your wet pussy, running his fingers across your slit teasingly before pressing two digits against your clit and rubbing the sensitive bud, eyes still glued on the road as your moans filled his ears.
“You know what, this won’t do.” He said pulling his hand away from you, making you whimper at the sudden loss of contact.
He pulled up into a dark and empty alley between buildings, where people wouldn’t pass by or notice the activities happening inside the car. He removed his seat belt and climbed on top of you while pushing back the seat even further so that you two were laying down. He positioned himself between your legs, taking a moment to look at your exposed and wet pussy while biting his lip.
“You wore this to get my attention, didn’t you?” He said, moving his eyes to look at yours.
“Get over yourself, you’re not that important.” You rolled your eyes.
He clicked his tongue, “Don’t be a brat or I’ll stop and drive back to the party.” he slid his hand up your body to wrap around your neck firmly. “You wanted to get the attention of every male at the party, didn’t you?”
His other hand slid down his own body to unbutton his pants, pulling them down along with his underwear until his dick sprung free against your inner thigh, making you buck your hips against him but he pressed you back down into the seat firmly.
“You’re still mine, no matter how hard you try to forget me and how many guys you sleep with, no one fucks you the way I do.” He said starting to grind on you, his cock rubbing against your folds making you clench around nothing. “See? Even your body knows it.”
He leaned down and kissed you roughly, he aligned the tip at your entrance and thrusted into you, making you moan against his lips. “Only I can make love to you.” He murmured against your lips.
His thrusts were slow but deep, hitting your spot each time. His mouth was busy trailing kisses all over your neck making sure to leave marks on you. “I want everyone to know you’re mine.” His hand moved to cup your boobs and pulled down the dress and bra, immediately moving to kiss all over them and suck on your nipples, twirling the hard buds with his tongue. His head was buried in your chest, starting to move his hips faster.
He lifted his head and moved to kiss you again, “I missed this, I missed you.” You murmured against your lips. His hands took yours in his and pinning them above your head as he started to thrust harder. You wrapped your legs around him, pushing him even further against you with your feet. You were moaning softly, almost holding them back and he noticed. Sneaking a hand between your bodies until he found your clit, quickly stimulating it and moving his lips next to your ear.
“I know you can be louder than that.” He growled into your ear, taking your earlobe between his teeth and pulling it. “I want you to scream my name, I need to know that you also missed me as much as I did.”
“I-I’m close.” You said between moans, starting to clench around him and you closed your eyes. Nails digging on his back as you loudly moaned his name once you reached your orgasm. “Can I cum inside you?” He asked, head buried in your neck and you nodded. He thrusted a few more times, hips slowing down when you felt him twitch inside you, feeling warm from his cum coating your walls.
He collapsed on top of you, being careful not to hurt you, both of you laying there and catching your breath. He lifted his head to look at you, placing a sweet kiss on your cheek and pulling out. He extended an arm to the backseat and grabbed a box of tissues, helping you to clean the mess. Once you both fixed your clothes in silence, he returned to the driver's seat but didn’t start the car and instead looked down to his lap.
“I’m sorry.” Was all he said. You didn’t know how to respond and before you could even think about it he spoke again, “Breaking up with you has been my biggest mistake.”
“Why did you do it? You left without giving me any explanation. Do you know how bad I felt every day just overthinking every single thing trying to tell what could’ve been the reason for you to break up with me.” You said with hurt evident in your voice but feeling like weight was lifted off from you now that you get to talk about it with him.
“I was dumb and immature back then and it wasn’t easy for me to commit in a relationship, I guess it was easier for me to leave before I could hurt you.”
“But you did hurt me in the end.” You whispered.
“I know and I have regretted it every single day since then. I realized that commitment wasn’t the problem, because I was so sure and determined to be with you. But I was actually scared because I have never felt that way before, I loved you so much. I... I still do.”
You looked at him, he was avoiding eye contact at first but the moment he turned to look at you, you could see it in his eyes that he was telling the truth. All this time you thought he simply didn’t love you enough, and truth be told you still loved him too. You tried to forget about him by dating other people but no one ever made you feel the way he did.
“I still love you too, Sangyeon.” You whispered and you saw the way his eyes sparkled when he heard those words.
“You do?” He asked and you nodded, smiling at him.
“Would you like to start again with me?” His eyes glistened with hope.
“Yes.” You smiled softly at him.
He broke into a big grin and a cute giggle escaped his lips, leaning in towards you he cupped your face and caressed your cheek with his thumb. “This time I’ll do things right.” He whispered and with that he closed the gap between you two, kissing you softly yet pouring all his emotions into it.
You pulled away and he rubbed the tip of his nose against yours, smiling to himself as he felt a wave of happiness wash over him.
“Now let’s go or we will arrive late!”
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johnsamericano · 3 years ago
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“ƁҽɑմեíƒմƖ Տեɾɑղցҽɾs.” ղ.ყ.ե.
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Part of the Rockct! Collab I'm holding. Click here to check out the works of other amazing authors.
warnings: sex, drinking, cursing.
~
“You played so well tonight!” A horde of people, not older than 30, approached Yuta as soon as he jumped off the stage, red guitar still hanging from his shoulders. “Can I get an autograph?”
“You played so well tonight!” A horde of people, not older than 30, approached Yuta as soon as he jumped off the stage, red guitar still hanging from his shoulders. “Can I get an autograph?”
Getting asked for things like that was a sign that they were getting bigger, nonetheless, he wasn't a big fan of signing boobs or asses.
It's all for the greater good, Jaehyun would always say.
“Alright, guys. That's enough for the night.” He left behind a round of sighs as he approached the bar, asking the woman serving the drinks for a whiskey, straight.
“Right away, boss.” They already knew each other from previous gigs, even had shared some drinks outside of the stinky bar. He would've made a move on her if she hadn’t clarified she wasn't interested in him, or in any men for that matter.
His hand straightened the short hairs of the shaved side of his head. It was a new style the hairdresser suggested, and the audience seemed to like it almost as much as him.
“Can I have another beer, please?” The person sitting beside him asked in a funny accent that had his head turning to the side before he even realized.
“You’re not from around here, are you?”
“What gave me away?” Your tone had a certain humor to it that your face couldn't quite match. Your lips were as straight as a ruler, as if they'd never curved into a smile. “Are you going to keep staring?”
“Sorry.” He smiled with his mouth wide open, revealing all of his pearly, straight teeth. “I’m a foreigner as well.”
“Well, a toast to the foreigners.” You raised the bottle of beer, proceeding to chug down the remaining of the amber-colored liquid.
Both of your drinks arrived, the barwoman sliding them your way and spilling some of it while doing so.
“Did you like the show?”
“I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention.”
“Ouch.” His face was plastered on posters all over the place, so naturally, you were aware he was part of the band that was playing only a few minutes before your encounter.
“Is that guitar part of the whole rocker fit?”
“Is that attitude part of the whole beautiful stranger concept?”
“Touché.” You dragged the bottle over your lips, letting the glass caress the delicate skin. “So you think I'm beautiful?”
“If I said yes, would that give me points?” His elbow was supported uncomfortably on the counter, showing off the muscle of his naked bicep.
“Perhaps.”
Interrupting at the worst timing, his band members walked up to ask him if he needed a ride home. Your flirty eyes almost looked as if they were challenging him to leave.
“I think I'll stay for a while longer.”
“Oh, will you, now?”
“Guess we’ll see you tomorrow...” They shrugged before leaving with their belongings in hands.
People started leaving quickly after that, the mood now dead with the absence of live music. But Yuta was far from wanting to leave, mesmerized with the aura that surrounded the stranger beneath him.
“What’s your name?”
“Let’s not do that.” Your bottle of beer was once again empty. “It’d ruin the vibe.”
“And what exactly is the vibe?” He asked, amused by your bizarre antics.
“Two strangers that pretend to be interested in each other so that they can have a good fuck.” Your sincerity took him aback, yet, he couldn't deny that the idea had crossed his mind once or twice.
“What makes you think I'm pretending?” Your face inched closer to his, lips ready to crash at his signal.
“Cause that's what they all do.” You whispered, the light breeze coming from your mouth crashing with his soft pillows.
“Let me prove you wrong.” He replied in the same tone. Your hands grabbed the nape of his neck, closing the distance between your lips.
“Go ahead. My hotel room is just across the street.”
“Lead the way.”
The bartender had insisted your drinks were on the house, allowing you to reach your hotel room faster. Even while the elevator ascended, he couldn't take his hands off you, admiring your body from behind through the mirror.
“Needy, much.” You snickered, hiding your face in his neck to pepper kisses all over the silky skin.
The elevator doors to your floor opened, forcing you to let go of each other while you walked to your room. You hurried to take out the card from your purse, quickly sliding it over the sensor to open the wooden door.
It was a small room, which is why it didn't take you long to find the soft comforter of your bed. Yuta was under you, your legs straddling his torso as you took off his sleeveless, denim jacket. There was a strange tattoo on his forearm, a detail you hadn't noticed before.
“Still not gonna tell me your name?” You smiled for the first time in the night, and Yuta could've sworn the room seemed more illuminated.
“We gotta keep the whole mysterious stranger concept, remember?” His hands rested just above the curve of your ass, too shy to move them any lower.
“You’re so annoying.” His lips curved into a smile, mimicking your own.
Your hands had already busied themselves lifting his shirt above his arms, his naked chest, now in display, lit by the dim moonlight coming in from your window.
“You seem to be the only one having fun here.” With a swift movement of his hips, the positions had changed. The new angle allowed him to see your face better, every single twitch of your eyebrows, he noticed. “What a beautiful stranger you are.”
As much as you wanted to deny it, a pleasant, warm feeling started bubbling up at the pit of your stomach. Without wasting another second, you threw your shirt somewhere in the bedroom. Your breasts were naked. How come he hadn't noticed you weren't wearing a bra?
“Don’t tell me you're having second thoughts.” He snapped out of it, hands quickly sliding up your torso, all the way to the small mountains that rose in your chest.
“No, just admiring the view.”
It was curious how comfortable you were around each other, almost as if you hadn't met only a couple of hours ago. The way his hands worked tortuously slow through your clothes had you squirming in desperation more than once.
“Don’t rush me.” He kept saying throughout the night, working his magic to find every sensitive spot in your body.
By the time you were both done, your bodies were hugging tightly to each other, fluids combining as your breaths slowly calmed down. He was the first to speak.
“I should be the one to leave tomorrow morning, right?” You hummed, not a single hint of sadness in your tone. “What if I don't want to?”
“Then I'll have to leave, though it would be weird since it's my room.”
“Then I'll have to hug you tightly so you can't escape.” You slapped his arm softly, hiding your face between his chiseled pecs.
“You’re ruining the concept.”
Sleepiness was washing over both of you, and before you knew it, you were into a deep slumber. Yuta kept his promise, holding you tightly from dusk till dawn. But not tightly enough, since you were gone once he opened his eyes.
With a bruised heart, he stood up from the bed, not bothering to cover his noble parts since there was no one to look. His mind ran through the possibility of waiting for you to come back, but the note left on the small nightstand made it clear you didn't want that.
-See you next time, Yuta.
There was something odd about the note, but he couldn't quite figure it out. It wasn't until he was walking back home, his hands tucked inside the front pockets of his jeans, he realized something. He pulled out the note, examining it to confirm his suspicions. You knew his name.
“Fuck you.” He muttered, grinning at your cleverness. Of course, you knew his name. Everyone at the club did. But you were careful enough not to show it, for it would mean you'd have to tell him your own.
He folded the note carefully and saved it back in his pocket. It was the only proof none of it was a product of his imagination, a mere dream caused by the drinks he'd had.
But he could do nothing about it, only wait until you decided to find him again.
“Until the next time, stranger.”
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adorethedistance · 4 years ago
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A Pretty Good Bad Idea - Owen Joyner x Reader
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JATP masterlist
Warnings: swearing, peer pressure kinda, very mild n fluffy
Words: 1865
Summary: Touring with the Julie and The Phantoms cast as a dancer has been the best time of your life, and the only thing that could make it better is the reciprocated affections of a cute, blond drummer.
A/N: So this piece is 1) inspired by this interview and 2) entirely self indulgent. It’s something I haven’t been able to get out of my mind every time I’m doing warm ups, and putting it down on ,, digital paper is my only way to get rid of it lmao. I hope y’all enjoy bc I know this scenario makes me really happy and I love sharing my joy with y’all.
I let out an involuntary whine when I roll forward into my almost-center splits. My hips are so sore from yesterday’s performance I had to force myself to start stretching in the first place. Getting a head start, I arrived at the concert venue an hour earlier than call time to get my lengthy stretching routine out of the way before the other girls show up. Slowly but surely, the rest of the dancers arrived and we began getting ready together.
“I have a speaker!” Tori announces to the room upon entering which makes me jump up from my seat.
“Yes! May I do the honors and bless y’all with my musical theatre playlist?” The rest of the group cheers, exposing themselves for the theatre kids that we are. After hearing the chime that signifies the speaker-phone pairing, a few seconds pass before “Cell Block Tango” begins to play. The entire group feigns outrage but we know all the words and soon indulge in such shameful pandering. A good pre-show playlist is what really gets me amped up for performing and after yesterday’s queue of ‘today’s hits’ pop, the musical theatre is a nice change of pace.
Since I’d gotten here so early, I decided to do my makeup before stretching and I still had time to spare. The only thing left for me to do was to get in costume but I’d wait until a little closer to showtime so that I could still eat and drink for the time being. This also meant I was free to roam and bother other people as they got ready, doing what I’d done almost an hour ago.
“So, Y/n?”
“Hm?”
“What’s going on with you and Owen?” I feel my breathing halt for a microsecond before looking up at, one of the other dancers and also my friend, Ella. My eyebrows are cinched in confusion as I try my best to figure out what it is she’s getting at.
“I don’t know, Ella. What is going on with me and Owen?”
“Oh come on. Your Instagram story from yesterday?” Oh. That.
“We just went to lunch?” I seemingly ask more than state.
“Yeah. Just the two of you. Don’t hold out on us, we wanna know what’s going on!”
“Really, Ella, there’s nothing going on. We’re just getting to know each other better.”
“Just getting to know each other better? Or getting to know each other better?” Tori butts in, dusting her cheeks with a subtle highlight.
“The first one?”
“How many times have you hung out?”
“Just the once.”
“Are you planning another date?”
“It wasn’t a date-”
“Do you want us to help wingman you?”
“I really don’t-”
“Hey.” The rapid-fire of questions cease when the gang of us look up to see Owen himself standing in the doorway.
“Speak of the devil,” Tori snickers as the rest of the girls slowly disperse and smugly resume doing their makeup. Owen makes a face in reaction to her comment but chooses not to pry.
“Could I borrow some hairspray? This one piece of hair won’t stay.” Despite each of the girls having a full can of hairspray on hand, nobody makes a move to give him the product, indicating that I should be the one to help him out. Rolling my eyes at the look Ella is giving me through the mirror, I stand from my chair and hand Owen the can of hairspray. He then looks straight ahead and moves to use the product but I stop him before he can.
“What’s your plan?”
“What?”
“Are you just gonna spray the piece?”
“...yeah?”
“That’s not gonna work since the rest of your hair already has product in it. Can I help you?” Owen nods amiably and takes a seat after I gesture for him to sit in my chair. I then realize my mistake as I need the comb on the grey countertop, and have to consequently reach past Owen in a way that wouldn’t be so compromising had I not worn such a low-cut top. Thankfully it’s over as fast as it began, and walking to the sink in the corner of the dressing room, I run the cool water over the bristles. It isn’t until I turn off the tap that I notice how eerily quiet the room had gotten. None of the girls are talking, attentively studying my every move as I cross back to Owen.
“Is this Chicago?”
“Uh, yeah, We’re listening to my musical theatre playlist though, not the whole soundtrack,” I respond in spite of the nervous laugh that falls from my lips. The slight slouch in Owen’s posture doesn’t help me to see what I’m doing clearly enough. Using my index finger and an upturned palm, I tilt his chin up to get a better look at his hair, willfully ignoring the fact that he’s staring at me right now.
Still, silence fills the room as I take the wet comb through the front section of his hair where the stubborn strand won’t stay put. Once the water binds the pieces together, I grab my can of hairspray and struggle to uncap it. The outside is slick from god knows what, but thankfully Owen doesn’t let me struggle anymore and holds up his hands to wordlessly offer his help. I hand him the can, and he pops the top off after barely struggling. Handing the can back to me, he holds onto the lid, and the entire exchange remains completely silent.
I have to work quickly in my next step, but it’s not enough to distract from the fact that everyone in the room is watching me intently. Holding the aerosol can away from the crowd of people, I put some of the product on the comb and quickly work it into Owen’s hair while it’s still wet. Once the comb has formed his hair to my liking, I stop brushing it through in fear of the now dry hairspray ruining the shape. Then, I use my left hand to shield Owen’s eyes from getting any product in them before spraying the offending area to seal in my hard work.
The sound of a cell door sliding closed signifies the end of the song, and I wait for a second, eagerly anticipating the next song to play. Upon hearing the staccato piano notes of “Bad Idea” from Waitress, a smile appears on my face.
“I love this song.” Lunging back on my right leg, I create a little distance between us to make sure I didn’t completely butcher the rest of his hair, singing as I do.
“It’s a bad idea, me and you.”
“I know, I totally agree.” Pleasantly surprised by his joining in, my smile grows bigger.
“It’s a bad idea, me and you.”
“I’ve never known anything so true-”
“It’s a terrible idea, me and you.” The effortlessness that the two of us find in harmonizing is a genuine shock and an absolute thrill all at once. Once Owen sees how excited I am by his joining in me, it’s like a switch had been flipped; the two of us immediately slip into Actor Mode and begin to sing the song as if we were performing it on a Broadway stage.
“You have a wife.” I take a small step back out of the character’s hesitation.
“You have a husband.” Owen mirrors my action.
“You’re my doctor-” I cross my arms across my chest, but release my right hand to gesture to Owen standing in front of me.
“You’ve got a baby coming-” He uses both hands to gesture back to me in my ‘pregnant’ state.
“It’s a bad idea, me and you,” the two of us turn slightly away from facing one another in false bashfulness. When the music picks up, the two of us avidly step toward one another to come together. In perfect synchronization, I grab Owen’s forearms and his hands face upwards to hold onto my elbows.
“Let’s just keep kissing ‘til we come to.”
“Heart, stop racing, let’s face it-” Owen pivots his step out to the side to face forward, extending his right arm which cues me to turn into him and take his other hand to spin out.
“Making mistakes like this will make worse what is already pretty bad.” Then he extends his right arm forward, and I turn into him once again.
“Mind, stop running. It’s time we just let this thing go.” Instead of spinning out again, I stop in front of him where he wraps both of his arms around me.
“It was a pretty good bad idea,” in our harmony I cast my gaze upward to see Owen staring right back down at me, and I feel like I’m seeing stars, “Wasn’t it though?”
The two of us continue dancing and singing with one another as if the rest of the world doesn’t exist. It’s only the two of us, here and now. The other girls in the room don’t miss the way I seem to smile like never before, and I sure as hell don’t miss the way my stomach fills with butterflies. When he holds me so close and dear for each intimate moment of the song, I’m seeing stars. A bold happiness consumes me, the same happiness I felt when Owen and I laughed over lunch in that small pizzeria.
The final harmony draws the song to a close and when it finishes, the two of us fall into a breathless kind of laughter.
“I didn’t take a big enough breath for that last part.”
“Me neither.”
“Your hair stayed intact.”
“I must have a pretty good stylist.”
After recovering from our laughter the two of us wind up in a palpable stupor as we stare into one another’s eyes. A few blinks and my trance is broken, I become aware of our surroundings.
“I should get dressed soon, and you definitely need to get dressed.” Owen nods still somewhat breathless.
“Yeah. See you later for pulse?”
“Save me a spot,” I joke as he backs out of the threshold of our dressing room. Leaning against the doorframe I watch him disappear into his assigned dressing room with a small smile still lingering on my features.
“Just getting to know each other my ass!”
“What the heck was that?”
“Are you sure you don’t want us to wingman you?”
“Do you even need a wingman after something like that?”
Turning on my heel, I face the bunch of insatiable dancers and shake my head in disbelief.
“We were just acting, you guys.”
“Liar.”
“Excuse me?”
“Maybe you were acting, but he sure as hell wasn’t. Did you see the way he was looking at you? He is totally in love with you.” Ella shakes me by my shoulders.
“He’s just a really good performer is all.”
“When is your next date?” she completely ignores me.
“Okay-”
“Oh, and I want to be the maid of honor at your wedding-”
“It was just a song, Ella.”
“-Oh my god you guys are gonna have the cutest kids! I mean, your hair with his eyes and cheekbones? Ahh! The cutest.”
***
A/n: the way that being on tour isn’t the most unrealistic part of this fic, but instead Owen actually knowing the lyrics is? Work diva.
Taglist: @caitsymichelle13​ @kaitlyn2907​ @itz-jas​ @crybabyddl​ @kcd15​ @kinda-really-lost​ @calamitykaty​ @morganayenneferburnham​ @n0wornever​ @dream-a-little-bigger-x​ @mrstodorooki @vicesvsvirturesfanfic @curlybrownhairedboys​ @amazinggracy​ @kaitieskidmore1​ @asdfghjkl-fanfics​ @ghostlygreenbean​ @juliefromaustralia @merceret​ @jemimah-b99​ @ifilwtmfc​ @thesweetestsinner​ @imsydneywalker​ @lovesanimals​ @thebloodthirstyvampress​ @bumbleberry-pie​ @losers-club6​ @tefilovesreading​ @dmcfarland1​@joynerxmercer @kexrtiz​ @talk-on-the-street​ @phantompogues​ @konciousdreamer​ @sunsetcurvej​ @warmnesss0ul​ @celestialmolina​ @lilyjoyner​ 
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leossmoonn · 4 years ago
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About Time [Klaus Mikaelson] || Part 2
PART ONE masterlist
pairing - klaus mikaelson x fem!vamp!reader
type - angst, fluff
summary - you and klaus are frienemies and realize that you two are in love with each other 
warnings - mild language, mild violence, makeout scene
————
*gif isn’t mine*
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You kicked down the Salvatore’s door. 
“Honey! I’m home!” You shouted and entered the house with your hands on your hips, posing all movie-like. 
“I like your dramatics. Nice touch with the pose,” Klaus joked. 
“Oh, I know. Thank you,” you looked behind your shoulder and smiled at him. 
“I actually think you could’ve done more,” Damon remarked, coming to view in front of you. 
“Oh, really? Like what?” You asked, raising your brows.  
“An explosion would’ve been more dramatic,” Damon said and glared at you. He then lunged at you, to which you kicked him him the stomach, sending him flying across the room. 
“Oh, Damon. When will you learn that it’s bad to fight vampires that are older than you?” You taunted and strutted over to him. 
Damon growled at you. While walking over to him, Klaus eyed you up and down. A satisfied smile sat on his face. He was the one who taught you how to fight. He was happy and proud of you. Not to mention, you looked hot as hell, too. 
Damon got up and sped over to you, grabbing your neck. He was about to snap it when your pulled out a syringe and stuck it in his neck. You felt his grip loosen up on you. 
“Down down, doggie,” you sneered as he fell to the floor. 
“Good job,” Klaus smiled.
You looked to him, beginning to feel embarrassed. You forgot he was even there.
“Thank you,” you said sheepishly. “Where is Stefan?” “Right here.” You heard his voice at the top of the stairs. You saw him carrying a regular stake and a white oak stake. 
“Ah, I see you’ve brought weapons. Smart,” Klaus said, eyeing the white oak stake. 
“Yep, but I won't use them, unless you give me a reason to,” Stefan spoke. 
You rolled your eyes. “C’mon, Stefan. Wouldn’t you just love to drive a stake through our hearts? See us die right on your floor, and Klaus burn to ashes? Don’t be so hesitant. Have courage, be brave.”
Stefan glared at you, “No, that’s not me.”
“But it is Ripper Stefan,” you smirked. 
“Stop with the games,” Stefan demanded. 
“I’ll stop with the games once you give us all the white oak stakes,” you said. 
“No,” Stefan shook his head. 
“Sorry, Stef, but looks like you chose death,” you shrugged. With that, your fangs and veins came out, and you lunged at him. Stefan aimed the wooden stake at you, which you dodged by an inch. 
“Looks you gotta work on your aim,” you smirked. Klaus flew up to Stefan and stuck the syringe in his neck. 
“My knight and shining armour,” you smiled, swooning slightly from Klaus’s actions. You would never admit it, but you loved when he helped you and saved you.
“It’s my pleasure, love,” he smiled and picked up the white oak stake that Stefan was carrying. “ Now, let’s go and find the rest of the stakes.”
You nodded, “I’ll search up here, you search downstairs and the basement. I’ll meet you where they have that creepy dungeon.”
Klaus nodded in agreement and sped off. You walked towards one of the bedrooms, hesitantly pushing the door open. You looked around, seeing clothes on the floor, books everywhere, and lots of bourbon bottles. 
Must be Damon’s room, you thought.
You walked further into the room, going to the dresser. You quickly dug through the drawers, trying to find a stake. You got to one drawer, which had a bunch of lingerie. 
Must be Elena’s. Gross, you grimaced to yourself. 
You dug through her laundry, though, and was about to give up when you felt something hard. Your eyes widened and you held the object up. It was, indeed, a white oak stake. 
You snickered to yourself, “Not so slick, huh, Damon.”
You put the white oak steak in a pocket on the inside of your jacket. You searched more in Damon’s room, knowing you probably wouldn’t find anything, but you thought just in case. Like you thought, you found nothing, so you went to the next bedroom. 
This room looked neat and like a guest bedroom. 
“Oh, they probably have the whole stash here,” you remarked to yourself. 
You searched the whole room, evidently finding nothing. It wasn’t until you went to the bed, when you finally found two stakes. They were hidden in the pillow cases, under the over-fluffed pillows. You went out of the room and entered the next. You searched this room, which you found to be Stefan’s, and found nothing.  
The stake he had in his hand was probably the one from his room.
You decided to go back downstairs and meet with Klaus. You sped down the stairs, but was quickly stopped. An arm went around you and threw you against the wall. 
“OW! Good God!” You groaned, your head pounding from the collusion. You looked to see who had thrown you, and found Damon and Stefan stalking towards you. 
“I knew I should’ve shot you with a bigger dose,” you said.
“Well, you didn’t, so good job at being a villain,” Stefan smiled. 
“You guys are all really bad. After 300 years of this, I thought you’d be good,” Damon snickered. 
“I haven’t been a villain all my life. I only started a hundred years ago. So, excuse me if I’m not up to par with Katherine Pierce or Klaus,” you growled. 
Stefan and Damon looked at each other, surprised by that information. 
“I guess we should let you go since you are a new villain,” Stefan said.
“Yes, that’d be much appreciated,” you groaned, straightening yourself up against the wall. 
“Or not,” Damon said. He then ran over to you, ready to knock you out, but you were faster. 
“Nice try, but a little knock to the head won’t weaken me,” you smirked. You ran across the room using your vamp speed. You took a part of the stairs off, ripping it into two so you had two stakes. 
“I didn't want to kill you, but it looks like I have to. Hope you’ve said goodbyes to your friends. Especially to your play thing, Elena,” you smirked while walking towards them. You threw one of the stakes and it plunged into Damon’s shoulder. 
Damon fell to the floor and you hoped that you would have the stake in Stefan’s heart before Damon regained his strength. 
You threw your stake at Stefan, getting it stuck right below his heart. 
“Damnit!” You exclaimed. 
Damon started to get up and he held the bloody stake in his hand. He was about to throw it at you when you heard Klaus’s voice in the hallway. 
“You hurt her, and I will kill everyone you have every loved,” Klaus threatened. 
Damon looked at Klaus. “I’ll kill you first.”
“Damon! Elena loves you. Think about her. Don’t kill us because of her,” you pleaded with Damon. You were embarrassed to be begging for your life, but you had no stakes with you and no more shots. 
Damon thought for a moment, realizing that you were right. 
“Good thing she doesn’t love me anymore,” Stefan got up and held the stake high in his hand. He aimed it at Klaus.
He threw the stake and you saw that it was a perfect shot at Klaus’s heart. 
“NO!” You screamed and ran in front of him. The stake pierced just to the right of your heart. You gasped, gripping the stake. You fell to the floor, trying to get it out. 
Klaus looked at Stefan and Damon, and back at you. He picked you up and cradled you to his chest. 
“I’ll call off Rebekah and she’ll let Elena go if you let me go and help Y/n,” Klaus said. 
“How do we know you will call Rebekah off?” Stefan asked. 
“You have my word. Now, please, can we go?” Klaus asked. 
Damon smirked, “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
Klaus rolled his eyes. “Yes, I am. I believe that she’s the love of my life. Now, can we go? Please? She could die if the stake moves to her heart. I-I can’t lose her.”
Stefan nodded. “Go, go. Don’t forget to call off Rebekah.”
“I won’t. Thank you,” Klaus said. He ran out of the house and ran straight back to his house. While doing so, he called Rebekah, telling her to let Elena go and come and help him. 
You were going in-and-out of consciousness. You look up through hooded eyes and saw Klaus crying. 
“N-Nik?” You asked, your voice weak and hoarse. 
Y/n? It’s okay, we’ll get the stake out of you. I promise,” he looked at you. He then turned his head upwards. “Rebekah!”
You heard heels clicking and rushing towards you.You moved your head to see Rebekah shuffling towards you.  
“Sorry, I couldn’t find A positive, but I finally did. Go ahead and lay her on the floor, and take the stake out,” Rebekah said. 
You felt the cold, hardwood floor on your burning skin. You groaned and turned your head, seeing Klaus with his hands over your chest. He looked at you with fear in his eyes. It was the first time you ever saw him afraid of something.
You felt the stake shift inside of you and you screamed. 
“Y/n, it’s okay. I’ll save you. Just, just... hold on to Rebekah’s hand,” Klaus said through streaming tears. 
Rebekah’s hand found yours and you squeezed her hand hard. Little by little, you felt the stake come out of you. You screamed in agony and gasped for air. The stake finally exited your chest cavity. You took a deep breath of relief. Your hand found Klaus’s cheek. 
Tears left your eyes as the pain gradually disappeared. Klaus smiled at you, nuzzling into your hand. His hand went over yours, running his hand up and down your forearm. You smiled back at him, bringing his head close to yours. Your forehead’s touched, making you anxious for what was about to happen.
“Y/n, drink this blood,” Rebekah interrupted the moment and shoved a blood bag in your face. You furrowed your brows and your hand left Klaus’s face. Klaus moved away from you and stood up. 
You ripped the blood bag open and downed it. You felt yourself slowly regain your strength. You stood up, giving the empty blood bag to Rebekah. 
“You really had to interrupt our moment?” You asked. 
“Yes! I was there. Plus, you really wanted your first kiss with him to be with you lying on the floor, helpless and weak?” Rebekah chuckled.  “Maybe,” you shrugged. “It would’ve been romantic.”
“Well, you can recreate it and make it be even more romantic with you fully conscious now. He went upstairs,” Rebekah said and pointed to the stairs. 
“Thanks, Bex,” you smiled. You jogged up the stairs and found Klaus sitting on his bed, head in his hands. 
“Nik?” You asked softly. 
Klaus looked up to you, his eyes red and his cheeks wet from tears. 
“What’s wrong?” You asked and sat next to him. 
“I... I thought I almost lost you,” Klaus spoke. 
You smiled sweetly at him. “No one can kill me, Klaus. I’m just that cool.”
Klaus chuckled at your joke. You laughed with him and put your hand on his.
“Did you really mean what you said to the Salvatores?” You asked. 
“That I’m in love with you? You heard that?” Klaus asked. You nodded in anticipation. 
“Well, yes. Yes, I am in love with you,” Klaus said. 
Your lips upturned into a bright smile. You crashed your lips onto his in an instant. Your hands flew up to his hair. Your fingers started to play with his dirty-blond locks. 
Your swiped your tongue on his lips and he opened his mouth. His lips felt like heaven. They were soft, smooth, and great at kissing. As your tongue explored his mouth, you noticed that he tasted like blood. The taste made you lean into the kiss more, deepening it. 
His hand found your cheek and cupped your face, His other hand went down to your thigh, lighting your skin on fire. Without breaking the kiss, you climbed on top of him, straddling his waist. Klaus’s hands went on your hips, using his hybrid strength to switch places so he towered over you. 
Your hands trailed down to his shirt, sneaking your hands under his shirt. Klaus moaned into the kiss, enjoying the feeling of your fingertips on his skin. While you were tracing around his. chest, Klaus’s hands went down to your waist, also snaking his hands up your shirt. 
“Nik,” you moaned as his touch put your skin on fire, but in a good way. You felt alive, excited, like you finally found your missing puzzle piece.
You pulled away, your chest heaving up and down. Klaus looked down at you, smiling as if he’d seen the most beautiful thing ever. Your face was flushed, lips swollen and wet from kissing. 
“About time you kissed me. I was beginning to think you’d never do it,” Klaus smirked at you. 
You rolled your eyes, “Like you ever knew I had a crush on you.”
“True, but I do now. So, are you just going to sit here, or are you going to makeout with me?” Klaus asked. 
You giggled and pressed your lips back onto his, your mind and body going to a state of pure bliss. 
————
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secondhand-trash · 4 years ago
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Kinktober 2020 — under the table
A/N: omg it has been half a year since I last wrote any ghost!shinsou this is why I should never do series- but anyways here is out first fic for kinktober, kicking it off with the return of ghost boyfriend!^^
Warning: oral (receiving), fingering
Word count: 2641
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Q:
What kind of street do ghosts prefer to live on?
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Shinsou sat on the kitchen counter crossed leg as you paced around the room, mumbling to yourself as you checked off everything that was laid out.
“Remind me, why are you suddenly in need of learning how to cook again?" 
You turned around with a sigh, shoving your hands into the pockets of your apron. (The purple apron with cats printed all over it was Shinsou’s, he had spent hours looking for it when you suddenly came to him saying that you needed to learn how to cook a decent proper meal within a week.)
It all started when you got a message from your mom one Sunday afternoon. You were sitting cross legged on the living room floor, all the old records left in the house by one of its previous owners sprawled out all around you. You had decided that it was not ok to just stack all of them up in the corner and pulled your ghost boyfriend to sort everything out so you could store them properly. He had protested but got shut down when you made the very valid argument that he literally didn’t have anything else better to do, to which he claimed that you were abusing his status as a ghost to get him to provide labour. 
You were still trying to explain to him why arranging everything by alphabetical order was a better way of sorting than doing it by genre when your passionate rambling was disrupted by a ping from your phone. Shinsou watched as you picked it up with a smile, then freezing in place when you read the message, and your eyes going from dead to contemplating to panicking in a matter of seconds.
He shifted to sit closer to you when you put your phone onto the ground, your eyes as wide as saucers while staring blankly ahead.
“Is everything ok?” he asked, giving you a light tap on your forearm.
“Toshi,”
“Yes?”
You blinked, before opening your mouth slowly, “Can you teach me how to cook?”
Fast forward a few days ahead and there he was, pondering how long it had been since he last tried to cook anything. Shinsou was not a master chef by all means, but in the short period of time when he was alive and actually needed food to survive, he had trained himself to be somewhat of a decent cook in order to save money from buying takeout. He never really thought much about it but now that he watched you struggle to chop up an onion with oddly placed hands and slicing down cutting only the thinnest slice at a time, he realised that he had never seen you cook something more elaborate than sunny-side up on instant noodles since you moved into the house he haunted.
“You can always order take out and then transfer them onto your own plates or something,” he leaned to the side, his brows locked together at how clumsy you were, “I’m sure your parents won’t notice.”
You turned around with an exasperated sigh and he immediately reached out to warn you from waving the knife around, “Yes but this is the first time they’ll come over and I want to show that I, you know, have my shit together!”
“If you keep swinging that thing around then you won’t even have all five fingers together,” he clicked his tongue, hopping off the kitchen counter when you flashed him a sheepish smile as you slowly put the knife down. He walked over, blinking a few times at the poor onion that looked like it just suffered from a failed beheading. He sighed pitifully, and you happily handed him the blade when he extended his hand to you. 
“Here, I’ll show you how it’s done,” his fingers were arched up against the vegetable as he skillfully sliced them up, “did you microwave the potatoes as I told you to?”
“Yeah, I put them in there directly.”
He paused, “Didn’t you put the dices into a metal bowl?”
You tiled your head, not understanding why he would bring that up. “Yeah?”
"...metals will explode in the microwave.”
“Oh fuck-”
-
You solved the issue of your hopelessness in the kitchen by not going in at all. 
Shinsou took up the task of cooking on the night your parents would be visiting after witnessing you almost burning yourself on the stove from boiling water. Humans could be such fragile creatures sometimes, he thought to himself as he picked the pot up from the fire with his bare hands, feeling not even a tickle on his deadly cold skin. 
He still thought that you were being way too dramatic with the way you checked the table every time you passed by and adjusting the utensils on top even though the difference would not be noticed by anyone that wasn’t you. 
But still, when he saw you getting yourself into near death situations from the smallest of tasks, he decided that if he couldn’t get you to give up your plan of serving up a homemade supper then he would take the matter into his own hands. 
Your mortality was far more important over his cynicism and the last thing he wanted was to chain you down in this house with him for a cause as dumb as you accidentally blowing the kitchen up.
“Kitten,” he sighed as he put down the salad bowl in the center of the table, holding onto your fidgeting hands, “you are starting to make me nervous and they can’t even see me.” 
You paused, and he felt the dread building up in his chest when he realised that he had said the wrong thing as your eyes widened. “Oh god, what if they can see you too? How should I explain to them that I’m living with someone? I-”
Your rambling was interrupted a ring of the bell that echoed through the house. You sucked in a deep breath, squeezing his hand tight as if you could calm yourself down with the coldness of his skin.
“Should I hide?” he asked when you got to the door.
You ran your hand down your face, your knuckles popping out as you gripped onto the metal doorknob. “They can’t see you, right?”
Shinsou felt a strange stir in his chest when he saw the dramatic change in expression on your face the moment the door was opened. Shivers crept up on him when your parents looked around the house, their gaze going directly past him even though he was standing right next to you. He sighed. He had gotten so used to you that he had instinctively expected to be noticed when most people would not even pick up on his existence at all. 
“Who were you talking to just then?”
“What?” you let out a forced chuckle, hoping that the panic that flashed through your eyes would not be recognisable, “No, no one. It’s just me.”
He was left at the side as you showed your guests to the dining room, walking straight past him. He stood there as the familiar feeling of being invisible caught up to him like a wave. 
Would you have introduced him to your parents had he been alive?
It wasn’t often that he thought of the possibilities had he stayed alive. In fact, he truly did think he had reached the point where he was content with the situation he was stuck in. There were lonely times, times when he was very much so here but didn’t feel like it as the world past him by, leaving him as nothing but a fragment in the past that was sealed within these walls. But then you showed up, and then suddenly he had company. Someone to hold at night, someone to laugh with, someone who would correct him when he did the wrong steps while clumsily following dance tracks. Everything seemed to be great, even though he still had limits to be bound to.
“This is amazing,” an unexplained irritation welled up in his chest at the surprised gasp of your mother reached his ear. “did you really make this yourself?”
“Of course, I’ve been learning how to cook since I moved out!”
It was always odd to watch a family interact from the point of view of a complete stranger. He could see everything more clearly but also knew nothing about the dynamic or the nuance behind each word. He thought of his own family for the first time in years as he watched you smiled cordially at the table.
He wondered what they would think about you too.
Perhaps he had underestimated how much years of loneliness had affected him, or he just wasn’t keen on being reminded that no matter how real this all was, you two were still very much so on the different side of life and death, and the sudden emptiness was suffocating him. 
It was like you had forgotten that he was still there too, and he wasn’t happy about it.
You sat at the table, pushing the food on your plate around as you eyed your parent’s reaction nervously. They seemed to be enjoying it, giving “your cooking" compliment after compliment. You would have to really reward Shinsou for his help later on, you thought to yourself as the knots in your stomach slowly loosened up.
Where was he now? Did he really hide up? You tried to glance around as subtly as you could manage, seeing if you could catch a glimpse of violet hair poking out from the corners.
You dropped your knife when you felt something cold touching your calf. 
“Is something wrong?” 
“No, everything is fine,” you forced out a smile but inside you were panicking. What the fuck? What was he doing under there?
You nearly couldn’t hold in the gasp you were about to let out when his head slid up from your calf to your knees, pushing them apart. Your hand instinctively gripped onto the edge of the tabletop, not able to move away in fear that your parents who were sitting right opposite to you would pick up on the way your jaw was clenched.
You had no way of ignoring his touch as he gripped onto your thighs. His ice cold fingers sent shivers down your spine as he danced them across your warm skin, each tap and each stroke of his fingertip along the root of your leg had you sitting straighter and straighter against the back of your chair.
“So, what have you been up to lately?”
“Oh, nothing much-” you coughed when his finger brushed past your clothed slit. You tried to close your legs shut but you were stuck with him being right in between. Your breath hitched when your panties were peeled off, your now bare cunt clenched around nothing reflectively when the layer of fabric was suddenly gone.
You felt terribly vulnerable with your legs being pushed back and for a split second, you were hyper aware of even the tiniest twitch of your muscles. Your parents didn’t seem to notice that you were sitting awfully stiff in your seat, your legs feeling like they were about to cramp up with how hard you were trying to close them up.
“Mm-” you bit down on your lips when he licked a long strip up from the very bottom of your folds all the way up to your hooded clit, his tongue pulling away with a flick against the small bud.
“Did you just say something?”
“Oh no, you must have misheard,” the muscles around your face was twitching as you tried to remain a neutral expression as he continued to alternate between swirling and pressing down on your clit with the tip of his tongue.
Fuck him for knowing your body so well.
Your legs were shaking under the jolts of electricity that shot up from your core all the way up to the back of your neck. He seemed to only get more vigorous with his licks and sucks, lapping up on the wetness that was starting to seep out of you. Your toes curled and uncurled, gripping onto the floor to your desperation as his cold breath fanned across your sopping pussy. Each drag of his tongue had you spasming, the lack of temperature on his lips numbing your senses as he dipped his tongue in with each flick. 
“Anybody you are seeing?”
All movements paused. His teeth graced past your clit tentatively, as if questioning what you were gonna do. You gulped, feeling the tip of your ears burned up.
“No-”
You jolted forward when he placed a hard suck on your clit. Your parents eyed you with a confused stare and you gripped onto the glass on the table, bringing it to your trembling lips to take a sip. 
He slipped his tongue in, dragging it along your walls at a rough pace. The corner of your lips was twitching, dreading the fact that your parents seemed to take your choked answer as a sign that you were hiding something. You gritted through your teeth, trying hard to not let any of the moans that were threatening to slip out leaked.
You could hear the slurping, like he had done a sloppy job concealing each pop and lap on purpose. It was like the two of you were in your own world, and the other people were intruders sitting there with a veil separating the two of you. He paid close attention to the way you reacted to each touch, the muscle of your legs flexing under his hand as the heaving of your chest got heavier and heavier.
You could almost feel blood on your lips from how hard you were biting down when he slipped his fingers in, matching the rhythm of his tongue with the pumping of his digits. You brought your napkin to your lips, covering your parted mouth.
You nearly screamed into your napkin when he crooked his finger, the prodding of his joints inside of your spongey walls had your muscles clenching down. 
His mouth left your folds with a lingered lick before pulling his fingers out with a languish drag, his lips ghosted along your inner thigh until he was gone completely. No more touches on your skin, not even a puff of air anywhere near you. He was just gone, vanished into thin air with nothing but your fluttering folds and the mess between your legs to remind you that he had very much so been kneeling there and making you crumble down just moments earlier.
You gave a slight shake of your head when your parents once again questioned the way your face scrunched up, your hand shaking as you dropped the napkin down onto your lap.
Stupid fucking ghost and their disappearing acts.
-
“We had been worry about you when you said you want to move out but it seems like you are doing fine, perhaps we really worried too much...”
“I told you so,” you said as you opened the door.  Your smile was rigid on your face as you walked your parents to the door, trying very hard to ignore the dullness between your legs, “come back at any time!”
Your smile dropped the moment the door shut in front of your eyes. Turning around on your heels, Shinsou was right there, a lazy smile tugging on his face with no remorse.
He had his arms crossed, leaning all his weight on one leg in a posture that was not fitted for someone who nearly had you moaning out loud in front of your parents.
You grinned, and he felt goosebumps rising on his skin at how innocent and sweet the smile was.
“You’re sleeping in the guest room tonight.”
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A:
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falcor-thee-luck-dragon · 4 years ago
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Of Monsters and Men
Chapter 11- At Last
Summary: Finally reunited with Geralt, the two of you attempt to avoid Nilfgaard and find a tavern for the evening, although it appears destiny has other plans.
Warning: angst, fluff
 Masterlist
-last and final chapter my Witcher friends, that is until next season, and yes I will be continuing reader and Geralt’s story. There’ll be more monster slaying and adventures to come!
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Within minutes after reuniting with your silver haired lover, did the two of you immediately find a spot elsewhere from the main trail for well...you know. A place hidden away from any unwanted prying eyes so that you both could show one another just how much you've desperately missed each other, in more ways then one. You couldn't remember the last time you'd felt so euphoric, perhaps that's just what making sweet love to your Witcher does to you. Even when he's pounding you against a tree while whispering the most dirtiest of sweet nothings into your ear.
You hadn't touched him like this in weeks, nor seen him for that matter, but he felt wonderful and seemed to be enjoying his time with you just the same. Though all too soon would your bodies have to part from one another's close embrace. All to your utter disappointment did the two of you end your hasty love making session, seeing as the land is closely crawling with Nilfgaard soldiers and who knows what else.
You got what you could get, and anyways, that won't be the first nor last time you two fuck in the woods.
The grass feels soft against your clothed bottom as you lace up your boot, your gaze set to the individual across from you as your eyes unbashfuly admire Geralt while he lays in the grass shirtless. His beautiful golden irises staring up into the tree tops as the wind sways the leaves every which way.
You pull at the leather strings, tying a confident knot with skilled hands while a small breeze blows your hair back, you're admittedly feeling quite delightful if you're being honest. Though when your crimson eyes glance up at the snowy haired man again, he's turned his head to you.
Your eyes meet at once, sending a blissful smirk upon your lips, "Anyone ever tell you it's rude to stare?" You teased, narrowing your eyes in a playful manner.
Geralt's lips curl into a half smile as he lets out a small hum in reply. Setting your arms upon your propped up knees, you freely show him an eye roll. Earning a proper chuckle from the man, "Y/N I was simply cherishing your stunning appearance."
Shaking your head you smile, "Yes, of course you were. And I am simply looking at a shirtless man with the most utter respect and clean of thoughts in my mind." You casually shrug, "Nothing else going on in here, I promise."
Geralt raises a greyish brow, moving to prop himself up upon his elbow, "That sounds honest." He hums, "But you are no virtuous maiden my love, and by that telling look on your face only moments ago. I can only imagine what things you may have been thinking of then."
You let out a snort before deciding to crawl over to him, where he lets you push him back into the grass, "Indeed I am not." You whisper close, leaning on an elbow as your other hand caresses his cheek, "But I am undoubtedly in love with a Witcher of all creatures to walk this earth, so if we're using our heads, what does that truly say of me then?"
His golden eyes keep to yours as he brings a hand to rest over your arm, "I would say it means perhaps I am a fool to fall for one of my enemies' creations, my dear Y/N..." He pauses for a moment, taking this brief second to focus on you and only you as he holds you with the most care, "you are most cunning and beautiful."
Leaning into his small touch you grin blissfully, a feeling of ease and calmness setting over you as Geralt studies your face, "You are no fool my White Wolf. That I am sure of without a doubt in my mind, I can't seem to be able to even jest about it." You chuckle, "Though you tempt me at times." The smile that he gives you is the most precious thing your eyes could ever be blessed with, its warm and genuine, filled with the deepest and most purest of love for you. His lady of night, the one monster he could never slay, nor would he ever dare.
Though your heart fills with joy for him, a sudden sadness seeps into your soul, obstructing your happiness. Your eyes fall downcast as you move to lay yourself next to Geralt in the grass, he follows you closely, a frown displaying itself upon his handsome features at your sudden spurt of melancholy.
"What troubles you Y/N?" Wonders Geralt, shifting his body so that he can rest an arm over your chest, pulling you in close as he studies your face.
Resting a hand on Geralt's muscular arm, you frown once again, "I was brief about my short time in Aretuza and the Elven keep, I know I told you about all those bastard soldiers I killed and when I helped the mages the best I could.....it's just. I haven't told you everything." Your voice feels so small in the large forest, now since you think about it. You haven't had the time to completely process what happened at Sodden's Hill, with all those soldiers, the other mages, and especially Yennefer.
So much death.
His brow furrows in thought, unsure of what you're going to reveal next, all he knows is that he doesn't plan on letting you go for awhile longer. Your Witcher hums in reply, giving you a moment to find your words. Taking a deep heavy sigh you turn your head to look out at the clouds. "We tried to protect the North from Nilfgaard, those fuckers had their own spout of powerful mages to test against our own. For the whole day we all fought together...every man, woman, child, and mage. Fucking farmers and tired refugees, they weren't warriors, Geralt. None of them were."
You take another shaky breath as Geralt presses his head against your cheek, "I did what I could to save them. But I'm just one person, I couldn't save them all....though I must admit, those people fought braver then most royal soldiers I've ever seen. They have good heart in them....well, I guess did. Not many survivors I think, just the ones who had enough sense to get the fuck out of there.....and of course myself, Tissaia, Triss, and Yenn..." A small lump forms in your throat as you remember what happened, causing you to choke on your own words for a moment.
You bite your lip hard, your hand squeezing tightly onto Geralt's muscular forearm as you collect yourself enough to speak, though your voice is raspy and broken, "Yennefer, right. She fought valiantly like a true warrior, she was like a phoenix, like a raging mighty dragon of power and flame...Geralt you should have seen her." A tear falls down the side of your face as you smile into the cloud covered sun, your voice above a whisper, "I'd never seen anything like it....it was.....beautiful."
A light kiss is placed gently over your tear streak while his hand moves to find yours, "What I would have given to see you slay those dogs alongside Yennefer, Y/N. I'm sure she is proud to call you a friend."
"She's dead." Those two words leave your lips so quietly that Geralt almost doesn't catch them, but he does.
The heavy weight of this news takes him off guard, he did not expect you to just lay such tragic tidings over him like that, he may have been greatly annoyed by Yennefer but he did see that stubborn mage as a friend. Though his heart hurts for how broken and defeated you feel from the terrors you'd underwent only yesterday, the great loss you've experienced, all of your traumas crashing down atop your soul in this moment. He wants to comfort you the best he can.
He listens to the steady beating of your heart, understanding how sad yet angry you're feeling, "I'm sorry Y/N. Truly I am."
A tired smile forms at the corners of your lips as you turn teary eyes over to your Witcher, your faces mere inches from one another, "She was my first real friend you know, and I think I was hers. I'm grateful to have spent the last of her hours on this earth by her side then.....glad she wasn't alone. I just wish..." Swallowing the lump in your throat, you focus on Geralt's shimmering irises once again, "I just wish the world wouldn't take everyone I give a shit about, so don't plan on doing anything stupid, okay? I can't lose anyone else or so help me god or whoever is listening out there, I will slaughter the bastards who dare take you away from me."
"I do not doubt it my love, and don't worry Y/N. I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon." He speaks honestly before pressing a soft kiss against your lips, "You have my word."
——
Geralt holds tightly to Roach's leather reigns as he keeps a firm hand over your lower abdomen, a small content smile gracing over your features while you sit comfortably in front of him on the large mare. Just as you always have.
Your hands rest over his as you keep a steady lookout over the trail ahead, silently overjoyed to be leaning against Geralt and all of his godly body holding you up. A blissfully drunken grin keeps to your face while your mind tumbles and reels with everything that he's just confided about from the last four weeks, like what you'd done earlier after a fine quick session of love making.
Apparently he's been busy.
Though for the second time today, another troubling thought randomly pops into your mind as things tend to do, and now you feel this time is as good as ever to actually address it. Squeezing his arm a bit you let out a half amused huff, showing that you're about to speak your mind on something idiotic Geralt has done, and he knows it.
Your Witcher figured you'd eventually spill your two cents, as you always seem to do.
"So." You begin, slow and filled with something Geralt's not quite sure of, he mentally cringes as you squeeze his arm again, "you just told him to fuck off and that you'd prefer to never see him ever again? Just like that? To our bard. Jaskier."
Geralt pauses for a moment as you wait for an answer, "Yes." Is all he whispers, low and filled with regret. He told you all about Jaskier and himself hours ago, hoping you wouldn't bring it back up, but of course you would. He's never that lucky, there's nothing you don't ever catch.
You raise a brow and shrug, "Can't say I blame you. That idiot has gotten our asses in a lot of shit over the years." He lets out a breath, glad you're not fuming at his heated rash actions on the mountainside after you dramatically parted ways. Suddenly you grip his arm tight, enough to actually feel uncomfortable, he sucks in a breath as you squeeze, "Although, I don't believe Jaskier completely deserved that." You seethe through clenched teeth before letting go of your iron grip. So you are angry after all, thinks Geralt, funny way of showing it.
"I know....I was just....I'm sorry Y/N." He replies, his voice much softer then he'd intended.
Your face falls as you feel the hurt in his words for what he's done, "I know Geralt." You sigh, "Enough with the sorry's and regrets okay....what's done is done and there's nothing we can do about it now. And anyways, as I like to say "we'll cross that bridge when we get there" so don't feel shitty about it now." He gives you a hidden smile as you chuckle to yourself, "You can feel shitty about it later."
Geralt lets out an amused snort, "Always one for wise words Y/N. What would I do without your kind intellect?"
"Dunno." You casually shrug, "Be a far less intriguing creature I suppose."
He tenderly kisses the top of your head, "I'd be a fool to argue against that logic."
"You're still a fool either way." You jest, cackling at your friendly jab at him, earning a gentle squeeze on your hip that sends butterflies into your stomach.
Gods the things he does to you.
For a couple more hours would you both ride Roach down the trail, past countless trees and a few streams until the sun would begin her descent over the land. Through this time you've been admittedly back to your old habits of amusing your Witcher to pass the time, mixed with seeing how long it would take to annoy him before he threatened to kick you off the mare.
It had been quite the eventful stretch of time before you caught the nasty pheromones of war seeping throughout the forest from some place close by, but not seen by your skilled eyes just yet. You held your tongue, not wanting to worry Geralt over something as insignificant as rotting corpses in the woods. But as Roach gets closer and closer, you begin to feel more strange, your scarlet irises suddenly catch a ripped tent behind a few trees.
Nilfgaard. Smell of death, more destroyed tents. Those bastards did this.
Your nose crinkles in disgust, the scent of freshly decaying corpses overloading your senses just about making your eyes water, you can't smell anything else but the stench of death.
"What I would give to be in a flower meadow right now." You seethe, blinking away the reactive tears in your eyes, Geralt looks down to you, unsure of what you mean considering his sense of smell is not nearly as prominent as yours. "I think Nilfgaard found a camp just over there, gods it reaks."
His grey brows furrow in thought, though he's left his words in the back of his throat as Roach walks closer to the carnage. Suddenly the three of you are face to face with an older man and his horse cart as he desperately and stupidly does his best to move the dead in piles for whatever it is that he's intended for them.
What a strange man.
Geralt shifts from behind you, tilting his head at the bearded man, "Ill winds follow grave robbers." States your Witcher as he hugs you closer protectively, or perhaps to keep you from doing anything destructive. The greyed man looks to the two of you, quietly acknowledging your existence before turning around to continue his doings.
"If I was a grave robber, I'd be taking their belongings, Butcher." He adds gruffly, squatting down to examine another slain body, "So best keep your beast with you." He adds, side eyeing you cautiously as he goes to move another of the deceased. Well, he knows Geralt's a Witcher and that you're not human. Maybe he's not that idiotic?
Geralt smirks, "If I was to let her satiate her appetite, you'd be amongst the corpses." The man falls silent, looking wearily between the two of you as your scarlet eyes trail over the nervous man.
He lets out a sigh, finally breaking under both your hard gazes, "I was goin' home to my family when I came upon these poor souls." He points towards the rotting bodies, "Cintran refugees. Dead at least a week. Now they're a feast for the crows."
"They're not for crows." You implore, shifting your ruby irises across the shadowy wood line while you listen to the buzzing of feasting flies. You had previously forgotten about what else may lurk in the shadows ready to feed, until now.
"Wolves?" He wonders.
"No."
Shaking his head, he ignores your odd wary vigilance, turning to glance at the two of you, "With more hands I could move quicker."
Yeah, fuck that.
"The only thing you should do quickly is flee." Warns Geralt, alert to the same understanding of what creatures may be hiding close by. The strange man grunts as he drags a body over the leaves, ignorantly discounting both your warnings.
With a click of his tongue, Geralt pulls at the mares reigns, "Come on, Roach, back to Kaer Morhen." You shake your head at the man as Roach begins to take a couple steps forward.
"Don't leave!" Pleads the bearded man, while dragging another, "Look at these people. Innocent people, killed for what?" He exclaims, sucking in labored breaths as he stands to look out over the mass of dead refugees, "So Nilfgaard can have more land? We owe it to 'em to do better."
"I'm not better." Mutters Geralt as he directs Roach away.
Always so dramatic huh.
You don't make it even three feet before your sensitive ears prick at the sound of crawling under the dirt. You know exactly what's now hunting the man, without a second thought do you break from Geralt's muscular arms to jump off of Roach.
Your feet move inhumanly fast as you race for the panicked man who's now scrambling away on the forest floor as two hungry ghouls claw for a taste. Realizing all too late that your silver dagger is lost to the ages you quickly adapt to instead aim for electrocuting the ugly fuckers.
Your palms spread wide as white hot lightening crackles and sparks in the misty night air, piercing the grotesque bodies of the living undead.
They screech in pain, giving Geralt just enough time to cut them down before they're able to recover, the man stops whimpering in fear as he turns his head up to you and Geralt. Who's now crouched a couple feet from the wide eyed man while he cleans off his sword, his eyes now two pools of glistening obsidian.
Sparks crackle in your palms as you huff in annoyance, "Go home." Your voice strong and steady.
The man snaps his attention over to you, "I can help." He insists urgently, causing you to roll your crimson eyes.
"One bite will kill you." Implores Geralt sternly.
The man turns to him, "Or you two." Then back to you again, his eyes fretful as you notice how he's just about shaking. He's terrified.
You let out a frustrated sigh, "I'm immune." You conclude gruffly, pointing to both himself and Geralt, "But not you two, so if you want to see your wife again...go home." The man stays still, breathing heavily as he sits on the soft ground, his mind swirling.
Geralt slowly stands, glaring at the man, "Go...home!" He snaps in that gravely voice of his, the petrified man stares at him before looking to your equally as stoic face. The blood red glow of your irises and the low crackling of lighting in your palm shifting his mind to a new understanding of his current situation.
He lets out a shaky breath, "All right..." Huffs the bearded man before scrambling to his feet, his boots carrying him over to his cart as he throws something into the back.
You ignore him and watch as Geralt walks slowly forward, his black eyes cautiously surveying over the land as you take a step, "Let me be the first to say, but I don't happen to feel very fond of what else follows." You whisper softly, your voice laced with concern as you sniff the foggy damp air, smelling nothing but decaying flesh as it wafts into your nostrils.
Geralt holds his weapon tightly, opening his mouth to answer, but before he's able to say anything a piercing screech breaks out from the woods. His sword flashes in the moonlight as he cuts down another hungry ghoul. Without warning another one breaks out of the earth to his right, dead in a flash as he slashes it across the throat.
The dirt bulges upward as another crawls from underneath the ground, heading directly for Geralt, the beast doesn't stand a chance as your Witcher stabs the soil directly in front of him. Killing the damn ghoul in an instant. Suddenly a black screaming flash races past you and tackles him to the ground.
"Oh fuck!" Unknowingly leaves you lips as you race to his aid, five of them have him pinned to the ground already as you pull his silver sword from the earth that he had left behind in the scuffle. These starving bastards don't see you coming as you begin slashing and hacking violently away at the ghouls. Trying your damn best to get them off of Geralt, they scream in agony as you end their half-lives.
More race out from the shadows to surround the two of you, Geralt pushes and punches more off of him as you slice through their grotesque inhuman bodies. So caught up in your own world that you don't have time to make sure if Geralt is all right when another one jumps for your arm, only to be greeted with a hard cut to its sunken in stomach.
Your chest rises and falls with heavy breaths as you turn your head left and right, readying for anything else. When nothing appears to move you lower his sword to your side, turning around to give Geralt a smirk and no less a cocky comment.
Your face instantly falls when he whispers a harsh "fuck" while he leans down to look at something on his left thigh. He shakes his snowy mane, standing to his full height as he takes a limped step towards you. His obsidian eyes finally finding yours as he takes another troubled step forward, he looks like a mess.
Your eyes glance down at the bite mark revealing itself from an opened spot in his dark pants, you suck in a sharp breath, your face dead serious as you watch him with wide glossy eyes. His face looks rough and sweaty as he limps closer, suddenly falling to his knees as he stares at you, almost pleadingly, his dark eyes full of pain.
"Geralt?" You whisper, your nerves standing on end at the sight of him, no way he's just been bitten, it can't be.
Your lip quivers as you drop the forgotten sword upon the earth, taking hasty steps as he looks tiredly into your frightened face. You quickly kneel down to meet his eye level as he lets out a shaky breath, your hands gently touch his dirt smudged face as he wills his hands to grasp your arms.
His grip is unnaturally weak as you look deeply into his eyes, your voice shaky, "You're fine. You're fine, it's just a small wound nothing worth worrying over....it's just..it's nothing...you're fi...." His head falls downward in your palms as his hands slip from their place on your arms, "No, no, no, no....Geralt, love look at me! Look at me!" He answers back with a low groan, you swallow the building lump in your throat as he struggles to lift his tired gaze to yours.
The weakest of smiles displays over his handsome features as he lets out a tired sigh, "You're beautiful....you know that?" His voice is soft and broken as you hold up his face, biting your lip to keep from crying. He smiles sluggishly, "Thank you for loving me...I....Y/N...I...love y..."
Suddenly his eyes shut as he goes limp against you, you catch him and quickly move to gently position his body so that his head can rest in your lap, "Geralt no!" You exclaim desperately through tears that are starting to blur your vision, "Wake up! Wake the fuck up you dick...you can't leave me here!" You shake his shoulder but to no avail, "Fuck! No, no, no....I just got you back." Tears race down your cheeks as a sob racks through your entire body, you suck in a breath, trying to contain your pain.
This isn't fucking fair!
The old man hustles to your side, now made aware of the dire circumstances, "Ohhh, dear...Uh....we can take him to my house, if you will.....Just, keep him awake." Proposes the man, you hold Geralt closer, your wet cheeks glistening in the moonlight as your crimson eyes glow blood red.
"If you help me save him I won't end your pathetic life because of your stupidity!" You snap, making him flinch backwards as you glare at him, a low growl emitting from deep within your throat. If Geralt dies you might tear this man to shreds.
He quickly regains his bearings, now understanding that his life is at stake if Geralt dies under his care. The man walks around you, reaching down to pull Geralt from out of your lap. Once you're free he looks to you, "Miss he's quite heavy, this one. Could you lift his legs and help me carry him to...."
He's left with nothing but a genuinely bewildered look as you pick your sleeping Witcher up, holding him in both your arms while ignoring the mans shocked expression as you walk over to the large wooden cart. Setting Geralt in the back on a couple soft bags of goods.
Jumping in next to him, you kneel down by his side while the man quickly ties Roach to the back. It's going to be a long night. Until dawn broke out over the horizon, the great sun coating the land in daylight would you lay by his side as he slept through the multitude of hours.
Finally coming to in the late morning, looking more pale then usual and clearly disoriented, his golden irises trying so hard to focus on your blurry face. The man, who revealed himself to be Yurga, kept his horses at a fast trot while you continued to hold tightly onto your Witcher's arm, squeezing it every time he would begin to close his eyes. Just keep him awake.
"I don't know about you." Starts Yurga, "But I'm not liking the sound of those explosions in the distance....bloody Nilfgaard better keep themselves far away from here. We don't need trouble like that round these parts. Not after everything they've done."
Geralt stirs underneath your touch, snapping your attention back down to him, you watch as his eyelids open and close, his golden irises looking rather lost and hazy. He's so pale, too pale.
"Easy does it Butcher." Affirms Yurga as he turns his head to the side, "You got bit, best keep your sights trained on the pretty lady in front of you."
Geralt's brows furrow as he turns his own head to the side at the sound of the mans voice, confusion clear on his face since the poison from the ghouls has begun to mess with his mind. Seated closely on his right, his muscular arm on your left and his broad body on your right, his face is much more faded in color now. Too pale and sickly looking for your liking.
Reaching an arm out, you gently touch his face, turning his head back to you, "Geralt, keep those fine golden eyes on me, you gotta focus love....you're becoming delirious, but you're not dead. Just stay awake Geralt I'll be right here." He blinks hard, his face appearing dazed as he listens, suddenly trying to sit himself up.
You quickly react, leaning over him to grasp both his arms, stopping him from moving anymore, "Be still Geralt. You'll only make things worse if you try and move, your bite is spreading slowly but moving will only bring you more pain." His face grimaces in discomfort, you release your grip, sitting normally once again.
Oh Geralt, be strong for me.
Your face a mask of deep worry at his reaction, he may be a Witcher, but if his wounds are not treated properly he will die. Leaving you completely and utterly alone in this world whether you're ready for it or not. You rest a hand over his chest, listening to the slow thud of his heartbeat, he stares up at the sky, his gaze lost in the clouds.
You can tell he's probably watching some hallucination playing out before him, his gaze seems so far away while you sit here on this stupid hay covered cart pulled by the slowest two horses you've ever seen. He stirs again, his pale face trying to find yours as he focuses in on your worried appearance.
You can tell he's back, especially when his left arm quickly takes yours that was previously resting over his chest. He squeezes your hand, "My bag. Y/N I need my bag." His voice his gravelly and urgent, you quickly turn to look around, the pull of the cart jostling you while your eyes hunt for the bag.
"Yurga stop the fucking horses for a moment!" You yell, letting go of Geralt's hand as you grab the leather bag. Yurga directs his horses to stop, turning abruptly around to see what's the matter.
"The bottle....Y/N.....you know which one." Rasps Geralt as your eyes quickly find the small glass bottle containing some dark liquid, a type of healing potion for sure.
Handing the potion to your Witcher he hastily takes it, ripping off the cork with his teeth before making a face and chugging most of it. He groans, pouring the rest over his infected wound, more groans of pain sounding as you listen to the sizzle of flesh take to the healing mixture.
Gently patting his arm you hand him a small smile of reassurance, "You definitely need a healer, I'm afraid not even my blood can heal these wounds. Those fucking ghouls." You growl as Yurga urges his horses to begin trotting down the trail again.
His body rests against the piles of clothes and hay while his hand reaches out for yours, "I need to go to the Blue Mountains....Y/N...tell him I need to...." Mutters Geralt with tired eyes.
You squeeze his hand, "What? No, we don't have....you don't have enough time, Geralt you'll die."
"He'll heal me....I just need to go...."
"No!" You cry, there is absolutely no way you'd both make it to the Blue Mountains before his heart stops beating, "Stay awake you fucker, we'll heal you soon enough, just stay awake....we're almost to Yurga's farm. You'll get proper treatment there....just stay awake."
Until the sun would set and the darkness of night crept over the land would you constantly play as an ever continuous jostling annoyance to Geralt, doing all that you must to keep him awake and alive. Soon enough would Yurga have to stop and let his old horses rest for awhile. In the meantime, you'd help Geralt to lean against a tree as you went off in search of healing plants that could help to temporarily stop the spread.
With not much to give from your herb hunting, you walked forth from out of the bushes and into the grassy tree covered opening where you're greeted with the sight of a dark-red haired mage tending to your Witcher's infected bite wound. You immediately freeze, though she's too focused to even realize that you're watching her work. For a couple minutes would you observe her talents before blinking once and suddenly she's gone. Just like that, gone.
Well that was fucking bizarre.
Suddenly Geralt bolts upright, your brows furrow as he looks all around him, his wide eyes shifting right and left until they finally find your familiar form walking closer. He lets out an audible sigh of relief, before his grey brows furrow once again in thought.
"Where'd she go? The woman?" He wonders, confusion clear on his face as he watches you crouch down to meet his eye level.
You raise a brow, "Can't say I'd know, but I wish I'd have time to thank her for doing whatever magical mage shit she did to your infected bite mark." You reply with a chuckle, "Now you've gotten yourself a new scar added to the collection. Though still a very handsome work of art in my humble opinion."
His face softens at your relaxed tone, suddenly realizing that there's no need to worry anymore, "Thank you Y/N."
You laugh, "What for? I didn't do that much, I didn't even know how to properly heal you. And I definitely wasn't planning on turning you into a vampire just to have you around longer."
A small smile tugs at the corners of his lips as you study his face, "For keeping me awake this long, no matter how much I wanted to shove you off the wagon."
"I knew you wanted to do it, I could see it in your face. That is, when you weren't staring off into nothing like a lost boy who had too many special herbs." You jest, earning a pleasing chuckle from your sweaty Witcher. You smile, "Now. Come on my love, let's go." You reach a hand out for him to take, without a second thought he accepts, letting you pull him to his feet.
He shakes his head, steadying himself as he holds your arms, "Geralt you're acting like you've just downed half a dozen mugs of ale, lets rest on the cart yeah? Yurga will take us to his farm where we can get some proper food and drink, and if we're lucky....you some new pants."
His smile is soft as he looks down at you, Geralt touches your chin affectionately, "That sounds rather lovely."
Before he can do anything else you grasp the hand that's touching your chin, "I know exactly where your mind is going next and all I have to say is you're getting a bit more cleaned up before those pretty lips of yours are allowed to kiss me." He closes his eyes, resting his head against yours as he releases his hand from your chin. Now pulling you closer with his large strong hands.
"I could have died." He mutters, his gravely voice laced with a friendly playfulness.
"But you didn't."
"I could have."
"I know." You finally sigh, "You're still sweaty and smell like a dog who rolled in cow shit."
He lightly chuckles, "That's rude." Before pressing a feather light kiss onto your forehead where he then pulls away after a moment, "Guess we should help the old man pack the rest of his bags away."
Gripping his torso tighter you lean in close, "I'm enjoying myself too much." You admit, "Even though you smell rather atrocious at the moment."
"Oh please Y/N." Muses Geralt, his face inches from yours, "You still called be pretty when I was covered head to toe in Selkiemore guts, if I do recall."
"Did I? Must have slipped." You mutter lowly, brushing your lips past his.
"Y/N." Warns Geralt, his hot breath fanning over your smirking face as your ruby irises flicker from his plush lips to his golden eyes.
"On second thought. Perhaps you do look rather lovely at the moment, I think I'll just have to..." He's left guessing what you would have said next as your lips press firmly against his, both your arms pulling one another even closer now. Despite all he's just endured, Geralt tastes quite nice, his muscular body feeling even better holding you so close.
His lips move with yours in some pleasurable heated dance, soon enough does his calloused hands reach up to place themselves on either side of your face, you smile into the kiss at his urgency to hold you close. A couple more lingering blissful moments are shared flush against one another before your Witcher inevitably pulls away, first pressing a kiss to your cheek, then your lips once again before finally pulling away to look into your glistening eyes.
His hands still gently holding your cheeks, while your own ones grip around his forearms, "I hope there's more of that for when we find a tavern later." You muse, biting your lip as Geralt's eyes stare deeply into yours.
"Y/N. I'll let you take me any way you want." Mutters Geralt in that low and gravelly voice of his, "Just me and you."
"I think I'd like that very much." His lips find yours once again as your fingers trail down his back, wishing so hard that you were both laying on a soft warm bed in some hidden tavern in the mountains.
While you're both unbashfully exploring each others bodies like it was the first time, a sudden cough is heard from behind you causing the two of you to abruptly pull apart and look in that direction, "Uh...don't mean to intrude, but uh.....could we get moving if ya both don't mind?" Asks Yurga politely, trying not to find either of your amused gazes as he looks at a stick on the ground.
Right, you'd probably want to get out of the woods first.
The merchant Yurga had been true to his word, he had finally at long last made it to his home placed in a great clearing within the woods. A comfortable farmhouse on an open spot of land away from the fighting and battles nearby. His cart came to an abrupt halt as his wife quickly opened up the door and raced out to meet him, excitement flowing through her veins as a huge smile graced her face.
"We're all okay. The war is close, but we're okay. I need to tell you something." Exclaims Yurga's blonde curly haired wife.
"Me too." Affirms the older man with a slight thrill lacing his words.
His wife smiles, "I met a girl. An orphan, I found her in the woods nearby." Geralt halts all movement at the startling words, you doing the same as both of your furrowed gazes find one another.
No way this is who you think she's actually talking about. Hundreds of girls have been orphaned by the war.
"I met a Witcher." Speaks Yurga with a nod, "And a dhampir, if you'll believe it." Without warning Geralt jumps down from the cart and begins walking towards the woods much to your confusion, "They saved my life. Now fetch 'em some ale before they go to Kaer Mor-somthing." Urges Yurga, while you jump down from the cart, making hasty steps in Geralt's direction as Yurga and his wife finally look over to watch as the two of you make for the woods, "Hey, Butcher. Butcher! Where you goin'?" Shouts Yurga as Geralt continues onward, almost caught in a trance as he ignores the rambling merchant.
"Y/N?" Shouts the older man, causing you to stop and turn to him, "Where you two goin'?"
Your brows furrow, not completely sure of yourself, "I don't know." You whisper, keeping your body still as you look out at the thick greenery where Geralt had just wandered into for some unknown reason. You can't explain why, but you feel as though this is a path that only he must take.
The girl in the woods will be with him always.
He walks through the forest, his feet taking him somewhere or rather to someone who's been hiding from him for a long time. He can't even fully explain it, the call he feels to find what he's seeking. He suddenly stops, thinking his thoughts must be false and this urge to find who lingers in the wood is simply horseshit as per usual. A false sense of destiny. He turns around, walking a couple steps further back the way he came before an undeniable urge to look back consumes him.
The girl in the woods will be with you always.
And there she is, Princess Cirilla of Cintra, a shining beacon of hope in the dull wet gloom of the towering forest.
Destiny has prevailed.
Your boots shift from right to left as you stand idly in the morning air, your thoughts swimming around in your head of what could be taking Geralt so damn long, even if it's only realistically been about three minutes. Your new friends from behind you have instead left you to yourself and decided to tend to their horses, much to your relief.
Hugging yourself closer, you shiver, though you're not cold. A kind of magic of sorts seems to catch you in the misty air, a feeling you haven't felt since that night at Pavetta's banquet pulls around you like leaves on the wind.
How odd it feels, yet this seems right.
Two heartbeats reach your heightened ears, one so slow. But the other, beats normally like that of a child's.
You take a step back, steadying yourself as you wait for who you're expecting to inevitably appear. Shoes move across earth and leaves, signaling their close arrival. Your nerves die as two shadows emerge from the bushes and into the sunlight, the two of them are talking, unaware of your presence in the yard.
The child suddenly looks, her enchanted blue green irises falling onto you as she quickly comes to a halt, her eyes full of wonder and nervous apprehension. Geralt's brows furrow as he stops as well, his face turning to find the source of the girls fear.
His golden eyes spot you in an instant, he finds you staring curiously at the small blonde girl, the tiniest of smiles gracing your lips as you fiddle with your hands. You can't help but feel ridiculous for how you've been feeling about meeting this Child Surprise after so long, she is just a girl, a survivor of the unspeakable. Though you may not be the best with children in general, you feel no ill will against this one, all those previous feelings of loathing and judgement are gone to the wind.
Geralt's eyes are kind as he gently rests a comforting hand over her thin shoulder, she looks to him now then back to you as he speaks, "This is Y/N of Alkatraz, the dhampir princess of the High Northern Kingdom. My uh, lover?" He says cautiously, a bit unsure of what to truly call you before he thankfully finds his words, "Well...uh, my immortal companion, and someone who I love very deeply."
Oh, Geralt you adorable idiot.
Ciri's brows furrow in thought for a moment as she finds her courage, "My grandmother told me of that kingdom, she said it is ruled by vampires. Are you one?" She wonders, her voice a small nervous whisper.
The corners of your eyes crinkle in amusement as you smile, shaking your head, "No my dear princess, I am of that blood and character, but a dhampir is what I am as Geralt said. It's someone who is half vampire and half human." You assure the small girl, "No need to fear me, I promise you princess that I would never harm you in any way, you have my word."
A small grin tugs at the corners of her lips before her eyes fall downcast, "That's very kind, most people I've met so far out here have tried to kill me." She hands you the flash of a smile, "Glad to know not everyone is like them." She reveals freely to you with her small voice, so this is truly the Child Surprise.
The princess of Cintra.
"With us, you will not have to fear the damned talons of Nilfgaard Princess Cirilla...I will protect you with my life now."
Her brows furrow in thought at your truthful words, "You know of me? But how?"
You smile kindly, your scarlet irises flashing over to Geralt for a brief moment, "I have traveled with this handsome Witcher for almost fifty years, I know everything he knows. Even who you are." You take a couple steps forward, kneeling down to face her sad eyes, "And I am truly sorry for your loss, no child deserves the pain and fear you have endured since Cintra's fall. No less the horrors you have witnessed since your escape, these lands are undoubtedly deadly."
"Thank you, Y/N." She looks from you to Geralt, "I'm glad to have found you both then." You smile, standing up fully to lace your arm with Geralt's.
"Now, I think these kind people here may have breakfast waiting for us and some ale if I'm lucky, so my small friend Ciri, would you join us for a decently peaceful morning?" Ciri gifts your ears with a small giggle as Geralt hums in amusement. Proud that you're taking so well to the newest addition to your group of two.
You turn around just as the curly haired woman waves, "Would you all mind joining us for breakfast?" She calls out as a satisfied grin breaks out upon your face, "Of course we would be delighted!" You shout back, probably with too much excitement but you're trying to look as non threatening as possible. Also you are admittedly very hungry.
The three of you begin walking toward the farmhouse, Ciri follows the woman and her husband inside as Geralt stops near the entrance, you turn a raised brow to him, "What is it now? You planning on finding another magical orphan in the woods again?"
He looks down at the muddy ground before finding your lingering gaze once again, "No, just trying to figure out what to do next." Grumbles your Witcher in that lovable gravely voice of his.
You gently squeeze his hand as a smirk plays at your lips, "How bout we think of breakfast first? Then we can set our sights on paying our friends at Kaer Morhen a little visit. Bet they'd love that." You add sarcastically, wiggling your brows.
Your Witcher finally gives you a small smile, "Oh, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to see you again." He jests.
Lightly smacking his arm you take a step into the doorway, turning back to look at him, "What? Am I not nice and lovable? Can't believe you'd even say that."
"Only when you want to be." Mutters Geralt before gently kissing the side of your head while walking past you, "Now lets get some ale."
-
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