#[ Making dinner and just cackled at the thought. Found family really is the best.]

[splicedskies]

"So I was grilling some mushrooms over the campfire earlier and I had a sudden thought. Cause.. my Pokémon started talking about families.. And Albert started talking about his and.." He hummed.

"And I realized that even with my Mom missing-"

"Sometimes a family is a bunch of animals that barely come up to my knees, an adult with a dark aura and lots of gadgets, a weird train uncle that jumpscares you, and a chaotic best friend who could probably fight the world if they were allowed to.." He hummed, chewing on a berry.

[lqveharrington]

so high school with rodrick heffley, pretty please

congrats on 2k!! 💞💞💞

So High School | R.H.

summary: your romcom life with rodrick heffley <3

pairing: rodrick heffley x fem!reader

includes: fluff! reader’s last name is Reynolds, kissing, making out, underage drinking, mrs. heffley being a saint, greg being greg

a/n: this one was really fun 😜

You were Crossland Highschool's best girls tennis player. You were the number one player since sophomore year. Now that you were a senior, all eyes were on you to carry the team to states. You've been practicing all summer and had indoor practices during winter until it was finally time for spring sports.

The free time you used to have was all poured into hours of countless work toward tennis. But that never stopped you from being committed to a perfectly good rom-com relationship in high school. You found your mind wandering to him every so often whenever you took your water breaks, a faint blush tinting your cheeks every time.

After all, he kept you motivated to pursue the sport.

The sun was beginning to set as your team finished practice. You had a white towel wrapped behind your neck as your friends left the court one by one, each exhausted but happy with how they practiced.

“I’ll see you tomorrow — Mmph!” You got cut off with a loving yet bruising kiss, your hands coming to rest on the chest of the person before pulling away, eyes fogged with lust before you shook it off. You smiled brightly up at the boy who you learned to love. “Hi, R. What’re you doing here?”

He smirked and kissed your temple, reaching for your tennis bag. “I caught the last bit of your practice with Jen.”

You flush and rest your head on his shoulder as he lead you away from the courts and toward the van, intertwining your hand with his free one. “Gosh, my form was bad today.”

“I thought it was absolutely perfect.” He squeezed your hand softly and tilted his head when he recounted what he last saw. “Although, you were laughing a lot.”

You bit your tongue and held back another laugh. It wasn't your fault you kept laughing whenever you served. A stupid memory kept popping up and it made you cackle every single time.

“I was thinking of dinner last week with your family.” You grinned cheekily and shook your head at the thought. “When your father made a horrid joke and you mimicked him the entire ride back to my house.”

He snorted and pulled you closer to him, resting his hand loosely around your hips. “He sounded so corny. Talking about his mini figures like they aren't toys we found at Toys"R"Us.”

You hummed and let a small laugh fall from your lips, sighing when he pressed a kiss to your forehead this time. The warmth from him felt calming compared to your three hours of practice.

“When’s your game?” He asked and adjusted your bag over his shoulder, the rackets clinking together and the loose balls rolling around the inside.

“On the fifth. It’s the final match in regionals before we move onto state.” You smile confidently. Your team has worked too hard to just lose your final match, you wouldn't allow it. Still wearing your bright smile, you looked up at him, “You’ll come watch?”

Rodrick raised his brows at you and scrunched his nose, pulling the passenger side door open. “Duh. If I don’t, you have permission to slap me across the face.”

“And you know I would never do that.” You pat his cheek and turn to enter the van, putting on a sarcastic smile and gesturing toward the van floor. “Charming.”

“I cleaned!” He protested and entered the driver's side, starting the van up before resting his hand on your thigh. He gently massaged the space and began to drive, occasionally glancing at you from the corner of his eye.

You look down at his hand and the thick ring around his middle finger, blinking furiously to rid yourself of any thoughts before you arrived to his house. “Mhm, you say that every time.”

“Like you were judging the inside of my van the first time we met.” Rodrick squeezed your upper thigh, making you hold your breath before you recounted the first day you met.

“How could I ever forget?”

Flashback

“You’re drunk, Reynolds.” Alison carried you out of the house and stumbled down the stairs to stabilize your drunken figure.

“Am not!” You hiccup and giggle when she made a face at you. Taking a strand of your hair, you twirled it in front of your face, making you cross-eyed. “Okay, maybe just a little.”

“In truth or dare, you were dared to kiss the hottest guy at the party.” She sat you down and put her hands on her hips, eyebrows furrowed like you kissed the weirdest man in the room. “You kissed Heffley.”

You sigh softly and tilt your head back, giggling when you remembered his initial reaction to you kissing him. “What? He’s hot.”

“Luckily for you, he’s sober and driving you home.” Alison patted your head gently. You pouted and gave her puppy eyes, making her cover her eyes in affliction. “Don’t look at me like that! You have practice first thing in the morning and you would hate yourself if you couldn’t even get out of bed.”

“Fine.” You huff and cross your arms, wobbling again when you stood up from the stairs. You grabbed on to her arms and giggled when you poked her cheek. “Lead me to Heffley.”

Alison shook her head and lead you over to the white van, speaking to Rodrick quietly while you looked up the sky in awe of the stars and airplanes. You leaned against the van before you felt yourself being moved into the van itself.

You look at the person and gasp, cupping his face at pulling it close to your own. You looked at his features, smiling giddily at his reddened cheeks. “You’re pretty.”

His eyes widened and looked back at your friend with a flushed face. “Uhm— Am I supposed to—?”

“Yep! Good luck! She’s a clingy drunk!” Alison called out as she raced back inside the house, leaving you to be with the man you kissed merely an hour ago.

Rodrick gently removed your hands from his face and buckled you in, holding back a laugh when you pouted. He switched over to his side of the van and drove over to your place, which was written on his hand in messy ink. He kept watching you to make sure you didn’t throw up or fall asleep on him, but you kept reaching for his hand like a baby. It was like you needed to have physical touch at all time.

Eventually, he gave up trying to keep you at bay and gave you his hand, seeing you grin happily from the corner of his eyes. You played with his singular ring and looked at the intricate details, smiling to yourself.

“Where are you taking me?” You ask and hiccup, looking out the window to try and identify where you were even in you intoxicated state. “To your place?”

He gave you a surprised look, jaw dropping ever so slightly before shaking his head. “Wow, you really are drunk.”

You pout again and lean your head back on the window, looking out at the stars and dark sky. Your laughter filled the silence until Rodrick realized what you were doing.

“Hey hey! No, you’ll get hurt.” He tugged your hand and pulled you back inside the van, pulling your window up. Your pout deepens, huffing when he shakes his head at you.

After he watched you for a little longer, you looked around the interior of the van and hiccuped when he went over a curb. “Your van is nice. I like the paint on the outside.”

Rodrick hummed and squeezed your hand gently, “Thank you. I did it myself.”

“That’s amazing!” You beam and mentally praise him for his craftsmanship.

You looked back outside the window and you noticed the houses began to blur together, making you confused. You blinked a couple of times until your vision cleared up, giggling when you caught Rodrick's eyes again.

“Wait, are we going back to your place? I like talking to you. You’re a very secure person, Heffley.” You let go of his hand and fix your hair, humming to yourself.

He glanced at you before speaking, “Rodrick.”

Your head laid on the back of the seat, tilting it when he spoke. “Mm?”

“You can call me Rodrick, Reynolds.” He parked the car in front of your house and dug in his console for a water bottle. He uncapped the bottle and watched your drink the water before helping you out of the car.

“Well then you can call me…” You tap your chin and shrug, clinging onto his arm like a koala when he led you to the front porch. “I’m not sure. But you can always call me on my number!”

“Jesus.” Rodrick chuckled at your words and held you steady, meeting your glazed eyes. “We’ll talk when you’re not drunk and confusing words together.”

“Yay!” You giggle and push up on your toes to kiss his cheek before leaving him to enter your house. “See ya’ later, Rodrick!”

End of Flashblack

Rodrick helped you out of his van and sent you a teasing smile, kiss your cheek when you stepped out. “You so wanted to kiss me on the lips again when I dropped you off.”

“I did,” You link your hands with his as you made your way to the Heffleys’ front door. You look up at him and match his smile. “But not after you took me out on an actual date — “

“Then pulled me to the backseat of the van to make out afterwards.” He cut you off and pulled you into his arms, leaning down to press a quick kiss to your lips.

“Is it my fault you look handsome?” You pinch his cheek and laugh when he swatted your hand away from his face. “Besides, I know you liked it.”

He cocked an eyebrow up and crossed his arms at you, subconsciously reaching a hand up to his neck. “You gave me hickeys!”

You copied his movements and tilted your chin up, challenging his accusation. “So did you—!”

“Hi, kids!” Mrs. Heffley cut you off as the door jerked open at an alarmingly fast rate, causing the both of you to jump back in surprise.

You blinked at her before smiling brightly, “Good afternoon, Mrs. Heffley!” She pulled you in for a tight hug, loving you like you were her own child. “How are you?”

“Oh, I’m doing well, don’t worry about me. How was your practice?” She brought you inside and gestured for Rodrick to close the door behind him. He grumbled as he did shut the door. His mother took his own girlfriend away from him the second they got home.

“It was great. I did individuals against Jen, then we did doubles with the other players on the court. I need to work on some of my backhand, but otherwise I should be set for my game.” You shrugged and moved to stand by Rodrick, feeling his annoyance toward his mother growing the more she kept you from him.

“That’s wonderful.” Mrs. Heffley reached over to squeeze your shoulder. “You two wash up for dinner, okay? I’ll call you down when we’re going to eat.”

“Yes, ma’am.” You gave her an innocent grin and make quick steps up the stairs, Rodrick's hand hot against your back as he led you up to his room. “She’s so delightful, I love your mom.”

Rodrick rolled his eyes and picked you up by the last step, tossing you onto his bed before crawling above you. “More than me?”

“When did I say that, Rodrick?” You murmur when he dropped his full body weight on you. You ran your fingers through his messy hair as he buried his face into your neck.

“Mm, just a few seconds ago.” He mumbled into your neck and slowly began kissing your more sensitive spots, earning quiet gasps from you. “Think I could skip dinner and get away with just dessert?”

“Rodrick Heffley!” You tried glaring at him but were met with a kiss to your lips instead.

He parted from you and looked into your eyes, planting extra kisses to your lips until you looked dazed. “Yes, baby?”

You mouth parted a little and you shook your head, pulling his face closer yours. “Never mind.”

In a blink of a crinkling eye, small kisses became a thirty minute make out session. You fell deeper and deeper into him as your kisses became more and more passionate. His lips covered every part of your face, neck, and above your chest, your fingers carding his hair every so often when you weren't busy reciprocating his kisses to your lips.

His hands settled on the curve of your hips, fingers thumbing the hem of your tennis skirt before you both heard stomps coming from the stairway.

“Rodrick, mom’s been yelling at you for the past whatever to get down for— Oh, my god!” Greg shouted at the sight in front of him and turned away, covering his face with both hands as he felt his face redden and warm.

Instinctively, you kicked Rodrick off of you and you gasped, looking over his bed to see him holding his head. “Sorry—!” You quickly fix your hair and adjust your top, not meeting the younger Heffley's eyes. “Greg, what are you doing?”

“W—well mom wanted me to get you both down for dinner.” He stuttered and began walking down the stairs when he met his brother's deathly glare. “I’m just gonna go!”

“You distracted me.” You pouted at Rodrick as he stood and thumbed your bottom lip.

He kissed your lips before you stood from your spot on his bed and grabbed fresh clothes of yours from one of his drawers, pushing his face away from you when he rested his head on your shoulder and met your eyes in the mirror.

“Look away, Heffley.”

Rodrick raised a brow and turned around, tapping his foot on the floor impatiently. “I’ve seen you in less—“

“Rodrick.”

“Whatever, fine.” He put his hands up, making you smile when you saw him through the mirror. You threw your skirt at him when you finished changing, making him turn around as you fixed your hair from its messy state. “Don’t sweep your hair to the side.”

“Why not?” You frown and look at your neck, eyes widening at how many hickeys there were. They were darker than you’ve ever seen on yourself before. It was like a vampire got to you. “I have dinner with your entire family soon!”

“I couldn’t help it.” He wrapped his arms around your waist and kissed a kiss to your cheek, meeting your glare. “Ah, you’ll be fine.”

“Rodrick!” You rest your forehead on his chest before rolling your eyes. There wasn't much you could do now, you didn't even have any makeup to help conceal it. Sighing, you reached for his hand and crossed his room to head down to dinner. “We need to go before Greg wants to be a baby and snitch.”

“He’s just jealous.” Rodrick chuckled and earned a smack to the chest from you. He smiled and leaned closer to you when you made your way down. “Think my dad will make another horrible joke?”

“Probably.” You mumble and smile at said father as you rounded the dinner table, quietly thanking Rodrick when he pulled the seat out for you. “As long as your mom’s cooking is top tier again, I’ll be too busy to notice it and your parents will be too busy to notice the darkening hickeys.”

Rodrick grinned at you and rested his hand on your thigh. It was going to be a long dinner.

©lqveharrington - all rights reserved. do not copy, translate or share my work on other media platforms

[zepskies]

Aww yay!! So excited to read your thoughts on Part 2! 💕

I knew you'd appreciate the opening scene. 😂😂 I also love the image of Ben getting grumpier and grumpier like the old man he is. (It reminds me of my dad, TBH.)

And then all of it just melting away when he sees her. 🥹 I LOVE that you used Cinderella Story as a gif reference because I literally just rewatched it a couple of weeks ago. 🤣🤣

I freakin' SO wish I could've found a good bearded Jensen gif in a gray suit. That would've been perfect. But alas, we must use our imaginations. 😜 And I just love the common phrase "prideful as a peacock." I think it fits Ben all too well loll.

I really loved writing that aspect of the scene where they're admiring each other's Christmas gifts to one another (perfume, earrings, Rolex watch). Really it's the first time they've given each other meaningful gifts (or at least that I've written lol). I think it just adds another little dimension of development to their relationship. 🥰 "Growth" is the perfect word for Ben, especially in "Love Actually" as a transition from BMD.

I'm so glad you liked the dynamic between her family! They're an eclectic cast of characters lol.

George was a complete sweetheart and it was hilarious that Ben got on with him best considering that’s probably his best age match. He is practically a grandpa after all 😂 them reminiscing together and the grandpa having the same sense of humour as the reader was a great addition to the family to hopefully make it more bearable for Ben.

First of all, LOVE that you shouted this out. George is my favorite loll. And you're so right. 🤣🤣 These old guys, bonding over "classics" and good wine and baseball.

And then...GD Trina puts a monkey wrench in things. 😂 The reader didn't back down against Soldier Boy. She's not gonna back down for her nosey aunt, especially after everything she's gone through in the past year lol.

I'm sorry your great grandma used to make comments like that. My grandmother also used to make uncalled for comments about my body that I didn't appreciate either. It's definitely not fun. 🙃 I think as women we tend to go through this a lot with our female family members.

So Louisa to the rescue! lol She knows her sister's kettle was about to start whistling.

But it was really important to me for the sisters to have that conversation about how Louisa truly feels about Ben, and how she really just doesn't know him well enough yet to judge his character fairly. And in BMD I implied that she's in her early 20s, so she's still very young as well (even though her points are valid and rooted in love and concern).

“Especially to you,” she said. “He kidnapped you.” You gave a wan smile. “Not technically.”” Cackling at this. I mean they both have a point 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

LOL right?? But she ultimately agrees to give Ben a chance, and that's what matters. 🤣🤣

As for the ending, that's why I didn't put the "cliffhanger" as a warning loll. Let's call it a "soft cliffhanger?" 🤣 We'll see how that plays out, along with the family dinner in Part 3...

Thank you so much as always for your thoughts, my lovely friend!! 💞💞

Love Actually - Part 2

Paring: Soldier Boy/Ben x Reader

Summary: You and Ben steel yourselves in order to meet your crazy family for Christmas dinner.

AN: Here’s the requested Part 2! It got too long, so I had to break it up lol. There will be a Part 3 after this (final part). I also tried really hard to find an image/gif that would match this chapter better, but alas, there are only so many pictures of this scruffy guy. (And none in a real suit. 😂)

Read Part 1

Remember, this story is set in the same world as “Break Me Down,” and set before “Checkerboard.” But this can be read as a stand-alone! Hope you enjoy…

Word Count: 4,800 Tags/Warnings: Tense situations, bit of angst, lots of sexy fluff

Part 2: "Seasons Greetings"

Ben checked his watched again. 

He’d lost count of how many times, how many minutes, how long he’d been waiting for you to come down the goddamn stairs so he could get this night over with. 

You’d been getting ready for this dinner with your family for four hours. How long did it take you to slap on some makeup and throw on a dress?

Finally, he heaved a sigh and got up from the couch, adjusting the watch on his wrist. He stayed by the foot of the stairs and called up to you.

“Hey. What’s taking so damn long?” he asked. His brows were furrowed, mouth set in an aggravated frown. “I already told you. I’m not planning on being at this thing all night. So if you don’t come down here in the next ten minutes, I swear to fucking Christ—” 

Ben stopped short, as he heard your footsteps at the top of the stairs. When he looked up with expectant, pursed lips, his face subtly froze. 

“What? What’re you gonna do?” you teased. Tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, you grasped the guardrail and carefully made your way down the stairs. These heels were no joke. 

You had a black suede clutch tucked in your other hand, but Ben was drawn to the bright red of your dress. The color alone appealed to him. It called back a memory of a musty club, rich whiskey, and the dulcet tones of your voice.

But now, this dress was shorter. It also hugged your every curve and stopped just a few inches above the knee. He noticed a tantalizing little slit in the back, at the hem, leading his eyes down your sheer pantyhose and down to the tall, black heels.

His lips formed a teasing smile. “You sure you can walk in those?” 

But you could see the truth in his eyes; he liked what he saw. They raked back up your body, taking in the short sleeves, the slight plunge of the neckline, the red lipstick as bright as your dress, the soft sweep of eyeliner and dark lashes—and you hoped he noticed the way you’d painstakingly done your hair into soft, ‘40s style waves.

“Do I look shaky to you?” you countered.

Ben tilted his head slightly as he stared up at you. “Not one bit.”

He reached out for you on the last step of the stairs. You took his hand and gave him a grateful look, but your hand didn’t stop there. It grazed up the sleeve of his suit jacket as you took him in with a smile.

Not often one to don a simple black suit, Ben went with a charcoal gray against a crisp black undershirt. No tie though, leaving the first couple of buttons casually open. 

“Look at my man, all sharp and modern and sexy as hell,” you purred. He accepted the praise with a pleased quirk of his lips. 

Normally you wouldn’t try to feed his peacock-level pride too much. He knew he was a damn fine-looking man. However, you also knew he wasn’t totally into meeting the rest of your family tonight. You knew you needed to give him a (well earned) ego boost.

“Gotta match my girl,” said Ben. Though he fingered the ends of your softly curled hair with a more genuine glint to his smile. “Though you’ve gone a bit vintage.”

“Compromise.” You grinned, and you leaned up for a soft kiss. 

He met you there, even pressing his luck when his tongue begged entrance against your lips. You held his cheek and brushed your thumb there tenderly, but you soon broke away. 

“We’ve got somewhere to be,” you reminded him. Ben sighed through his nose, though his hands molded to your waist.  

“I didn’t realize you were that kinky,” he said. His voice was deep and suggestive. Your face started to heat up, even as your brows knitted with confusion.

“What?” you asked. 

“I know you’re not gonna make me wait all night to get a taste of this,” he said. And he leaned down to begin plying you with his heavy hands and his lips along your neck. “I gotta assume you want me to fuck you in your mom’s house.”

You uttered a shocked laugh. You batted his shoulder, even though it didn’t even make him blink. His lips curved as they grazed your neck. He inhaled under your ear, making a pleasant shudder run down your spine. He hummed in approval.

“Is that the perfume I got you?” he asked. 

“Mhmm,” you nodded. “I like it a lot. Makes me feel all warm and spicy.”

Ben chuckled into your neck. He did pull back eventually to thumb around the edge of one of your earrings—the second part of his Christmas gift to you. The white stone and silver filigree shone in the light. 

“They look good,” he remarked, giving you a charming smile. “Better on you than the catalogue girl.”

Now that was an image. Soldier Boy: browsing through a magazine of women’s jewelry. You smiled brightly at him. 

“Thank you, baby,” you replied. “They really are beautiful.”

Then you glanced down to find your gift to him on his wrist: a new silver Rolex. You turned his hand over to make sure that it fit him right.

“Not too tight, right? Not too loose.” you asked.

He shook his head. “Nah, it’s good.”

“Just good? Does it still need adjusting? We can go back to the store and have them fix it—”

“It’s perfect, sweetheart. Stop fussing,” he said. Your lips pursed as you looked up at him from the watch. 

“I just want to make sure you’re happy with it, that’s all,” you said. 

“I am,” he replied. But his smile, the hidden glint of something in his eyes, made you blush. Inside, you were warm and pleased.  

“All right, let’s go then,” you said. “I’ve got the rum cake, and the actual rum ready to go in the kitchen. And the presents are lined up by the door. Can you load those up in the car for me while I get the food?”

Ben obliged you, though he soon balked at the army of presents waiting for him by the door. When did you have time to get all of these? He didn’t remember you buying all this shit. 

Though he realized, this must’ve been how you filled your time after work, while he was gone for the past two weeks on that mission. 

As he loaded the gifts into the car, Ben reluctantly remembered that it had been…strange, to be away from you. For the past few months, you two had fallen into a rhythm. Waking up to each other, busy morning routines before work, sharing your evenings afterwards. 

You had also been making it your mission to find new things to do together. Like paintballing, of all things. Or comedy shows, new movies and restaurants, concerts, club nights with your friends. Though it was weird for him, sometimes, to go to a show without all the celebrity fanfare he used to get as Soldier Boy.    

Well, he was still Soldier Boy. He just wasn’t getting paid anywhere near the same as he used to. (But let’s face it, he didn’t need the damn money. He’d earned plenty in 40 years of fame and family inheritance.) 

People still knew his name, still worshiped him at times, but it wasn’t the same. He wasn’t part of Vought’s machine anymore. No one really told him what to do, but if he wanted this life—here, in upstate New York—he was forced to make efforts to color within the lines of the law (mostly). Hell, he actually worked for a living. Even if it was for the government.  

The point was, he was part of something. And it wasn’t totally shit, even if he was surrounded by morons on a daily basis…  

By the time you opened the passenger side door to interrupt his musings, Ben remembered to actually start the car. 

“You okay?” you asked as you clicked in your seatbelt. You were keeping a close eye on him tonight, trying to gauge his shifting moods. 

Ben hesitated, but when he glanced over at you, he reached over and thumbed at your chin, under those ruby red lips. It made you smile. 

“Yeah,” he replied. Though he let out a subtle breath as he faced the road and took the wheel of the car. Ever perceptive though, you sent him an assessing look. 

“You’re not nervous, are you?” you asked. His brows furrowed slightly.

“Why would I be?” he asked, his voice a bit sharp. Defensive, you interpreted. 

Instead of answering, you leaned over and laid a hand on his thigh.

“Look, my mom already likes you. Louisa’s going to come around,” you said. Your mouth edged into a smile, of sorts. “I just need you to stop me from killing my aunt with a ladle.” 

Ben snorted in response. “All right.”

When the two of you arrived at your mother’s house, she opened the door to her home and greeted your boyfriend like a long-lost son. 

“Oh, Ben! Come in, please,” she beckoned, grabbing his arm and guiding him inside. “You look so handsome, my goodness!” 

Ben couldn’t help offering a smile. It was infused with his usual charm. 

“Marie,” he greeted with a nod. You shook your head, despite your own smile. Ben liked attention—along with a bit of praise and fanfare went without saying. And you knew your mom wouldn’t be the only one to play into that tonight. 

“Hi, Mom,” you said pointedly, with a hand on your hip. Marie turned to you with a bright smile. 

“Oh! Honey, there you are. Merry Christmas!” She brought you in and hugged you tight. She then fairly gushed as she took in your dress and touched your hair. “Oh, you look so beautiful. I wish you’d come earlier though. I need you to help me and Trina. Come on.”

Marie glanced up at Ben again. “Oh, you too, hun! We can introduce you to everyone.”

Ben nodded. He followed your lead behind your mother, and you inwardly steeled yourself on the way to the kitchen. The familiar smells awaiting you brought you back to the better parts of your childhood. Ones that were filled with music, laughs, and good food.    

And if there was one redeeming quality about your Aunt Trina, it was that she could cook her ass off. Since your mom had always been more of the “boxed meal” variety cook, Trina always took over at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and just about every other family gathering. 

She was putting the ham in the oven while your sister sat at the kitchen table with your Grandpa George, peeling potatoes. The bigger table in the dining room was currently set up with appetizers and wine. 

But the sounds of chatter and pots and pans and cabinets closing—it all stopped when you and Ben entered the kitchen. You felt his hand at the small of your back, and whether he meant it to or not, that familiar touch stabilized you. 

Even Trina stopped giving Louisa directions on how to correctly peel and cut the potatoes for boiling. Her mouth opened when she took in the sight of Ben, from head to toe. 

“Good evening,” he said, if only to break the silence. 

But you knew the rest was up to you. You curled a hand around his solid arm and gave him a smile, before looking to your family. 

“Hey, guys. Merry Christmas!” you greeted. “This is my boyfriend, Ben.”

Trina squealed in excitement. She came over (with a wooden spoon in hand) to give you an enthusiastic hug and kiss. She held your arms and looked between you and Ben. 

“Your mom said you were dating a superhero, but I had no idea…” she twittered. “I mean…it’s Soldier Boy. He’s in my kitchen!” 

“It’s Mom’s kitchen, actually,” you muttered. Trina’s excitement dimmed slightly as she rolled her eyes at you.

“Ever the smart mouth,” she said, playfully whacking you in the ass with her spoon. 

Ben smirked. He certainly agreed with your aunt’s assessment. He turned to her to offer something in greeting, but before he could, Louisa’s voice cut in from across the room. 

“What should we call you? Ben, or Soldier Boy?” she asked dryly. 

You frowned, gave your sister a look. Meanwhile, Ben didn’t quite make it to a smile, but he was civil when he answered her. 

“Ben’s fine.”

You remained in the kitchen to help out, while Ben migrated to the living room with your grandfather. Ben grabbed a large glass of wine on his way there, along with a few mini quiche to tide him over until dinner. 

He then noticed an old woman sleeping on the leather recliner. 

“Who’s that?” he asked George. 

“Oh, that’s Great Aunt Sylvia,” George said. “She just took an oxy for her hip. She’ll be passed out ‘til dinner.”  

Ben blinked at the casual mention of oxycodone, but he wouldn’t mind a few of what Sylvia was having. Oxy gave him such a nice buzz. 

But instead, he and George sat on opposite ends of the couch while Sylvia snored away. 

For a moment, it was quiet, save for the soft crooning of Nat King Cole playing (and Sylvia). The music came from a small round speaker on the coffee table, Ben noticed. You’d told him about Alexa and Siri and all those techno bitches out there now, controlling people’s houses. He didn’t trust it. 

“You like baseball?” George asked as he turned on the TV. Ben nodded, and the other man put on a game. Mets versus the Cubs, three to one. The men were silent for a while as they watched the game. 

Unfortunately for Ben, that peace couldn’t last. 

“So,” George started. “You’re a supe, huh?”

Ben inclined his head, sipping at his wine. This was what he fucking hated. Small talk. 

“I remember you,” George said. “My wife and I liked that movie you made…King of Kings. With Charlton Heston. What a classic that guy was.”

Ben smiled. “He was a good time. Drank like a fucking fish.”

George raised a brow. “Did he? Well, we all need a glass every now and then.”

Ben nodded, taking a pointed sip of his wine. 

“Heston. One of the few celebrities I gave a shit about when he died,” George said with a shake of his head. “Wasn’t long before my wife’s passing.”

You’d told Ben a lot about your grandmother. When your parents got divorced, she’d insisted that you, your mom, and your sister live with her and George. She didn’t want to take any chances with your dad, who’d been more than unstable at the time in his drinking. 

Ben didn’t often pray. But he drank then with a silent toast, that good ole’ Jon was getting hot coals up the ass right about now. In hell.

Ben then considered your grandfather’s musings, realizing he hadn’t thought about his old pal Heston in a long time.  

“How’d he die?” Ben asked. George glanced over at him.

“Well, official case was pneumonia. But it wasn’t all that clear,” he said. “However, I think he had a flare up.”

“Of what?” Ben asked.

George gave him a wry look. “The fate that all men fear. Ass cancer.”

Ben raised a brow, his mouth twitching. He had a feeling he knew where your sense of humor came from. 

“You probably don’t have to worry about that,” George waved a dismissive hand. “You’re still young. Well, sort of…I mean, being superhuman and all that. I’m sure that comes in handy with the normal stuff, like the sniffles and whatnot…and hey! At least you won’t have to worry about your asshole fallin’ out.”

Ben actually smiled. Now he knew you were related to this man. 

In the kitchen, you were trying and failing to dodge a game of “Twenty Questions” with your aunt, while you and your sister finished cutting potatoes. All of the questions were predictably centered around Ben. Luckily, you had a plate of mini quiche, cheese, and salami between you and Louisa to keep you pacified. 

“Well, you’ve done well for yourself, I’ll give you that,” Trina said. “But why on God’s green Earth didn’t you tell us you were dating Soldier Boy? How the hell did you even meet him?”

Shit. There was more than one reason you hadn’t told the rest of your family yet, and this was partly it. How the hell were you supposed to explain this? 

Louisa shot you a knowing look, along with a raised brow. 

“Well, I was actually assigned to find him after he…went missing last year,” you said, keeping things purposefully vague. “We met and…things just kind of took off from there.”

Your mom and your sister didn’t even know all the details, but they knew this much. After Soldier Boy used his nuclear power to end Homelander, he’d escaped in the aftermath. 

You’d been working a year in Surveillance at Supe Affairs, but you’d been a private investigator by trade, previously working at your father’s firm. You’d even worked at Vought for a few years, before joining the S.A. 

You were then recruited by Grace Mallory to track down Soldier Boy, along with Butcher and his team. 

…And that’s where things got complicated. 

“But isn’t Soldier Boy the one who killed Homelander?” Trina asked. She stopped in her stirring of the cranberry sauce to look back at you. And you met her stare directly. 

“Yes. He was partnered with the CIA on that.” Sort of. You added, “Homelander wasn’t the hero you all thought you knew, remember? He was a raging psychopath.”

Trina huffed at that. 

“So was your father. And you still worked with him for years,” she remarked, even off-handedly as she went back to stirring.

Your entire body stilled. Inside, your temper was a lit fuse, preparing to ignite. You stuffed a mini quiche into your mouth to stop you from exploding. 

And your mom and your sister recognized the danger. Louisa frowned tightly and touched your arm. 

She had been too young to form a true relationship with your father by the time your parents were divorced, and your grandparents (and later you) hadn’t allowed Jon to interfere too much with Louisa's life. So Jon’s death, a mere seven months ago, hadn’t truly affected her as deeply as it had you. 

And that in itself was complicated. 

Marie paused in preparing the sweet potato casserole to give her sister a warning look. 

“Trina, that’s not fair,” said Marie. 

Your aunt shrugged. “It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

Slowly, you stood. You grabbed a hand towel and brushed the velvety remains of potato skin from your hands. You also took the plate of cheese cubes and salami with you. 

“Honey, she just means—” 

“I know what she meant, Mom,” you said. Your mother wasn’t confrontational. She would never tell her sister to shut the fuck up when she was being out of pocket. 

But you had no problem doing so. You walked over to Trina, who saw the look in your eye and actually relented, realizing that there was, in fact, a line, and she had crossed it. 

“Look, I’d like us to continue having a nice evening,” you told her. “Mention my father again, and it won’t be.” 

After a moment, Trina nodded. 

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that. Don’t mind me,” she said. But then, she smiled. “I’m really happy for you, sweetheart. You’ve got a superhero! Who knew you’d pull that one off, huh?”

Your flat smile remained. “Oh, yeah? How do you mean?” 

Trina faltered. Apparently, she hadn’t expected that. 

“Oh. Well, you know…”

“No. I really don’t. Can you clarify for me?” you asked, using the same even tone you employed with testy co-workers on the Surveillance team. 

Trina sighed. “Oh, honey. You’re a beautiful girl, but…”

“What?” you challenged. “Just say it.”

Behind Trina’s coil of dark hair piled on her head, Marie looked worried. Louisa was also on tenterhooks, gripping the kitchen table. She slowly got to her feet though, in case she needed to intervene. 

“Well, I wasn’t gonna say anything,” Trina said. She gestured to you, after grabbing a cheese cube off your plate. “But your hips, hun. I mean, I enjoy a snack. A bon bon. A chocolate eclair. The occasional croissant, but the weight don’t come off easier as you get older, does it?” 

You were officially burning like a tea kettle.  

“And with a man like that…” Trina fanned herself with the discarded, empty bag of cranberries. “Mother of God. He’s gotta be beating ‘em off with a fucking stick.” 

Your mom pursed her lips at the salty language, giving Trina a sharp glance (for multiple reasons). 

Trina noticed, but she only popped another piece of salami into her mouth. “Sorry, hun.” 

But then she turned back to you. 

“And have you talked about kids yet? That’ll be some serious weight gain.” 

You let out a sharp breath and raised your gaze heavenward, pleading for mercy. 

“Jesus Christ,” you muttered.  

“I’m just sayin’!” she said. “He might have forever, but you certainly don’t.” 

Now that one struck a nerve. Perhaps not the one she intended, but it cut deeply into you all the same. You and Ben had agreed to pin that conversation for now, but the fact was, he would continue to age much slower than you. 

At your steely glare, Trina again raised her hands. This time in placating defense. “I’m trying to help you, is all I’m saying.” 

You gripped the edge of the kitchen counter so tight you thought a manicured nail might break off. You’d reached the end of your tether. 

“I’ve been here for all of five minutes—” 

“Okay, you know what?” Louisa finally stepped in and grabbed your arm. “I need your help. Let’s find the red tablecloth so we can set the table.”

She led you out of the kitchen and into the hall, but you stopped short so fast that you skidded a bit in your heels. You took deep breaths and braced a hand against the wall.  

You turned to your sister. “Why doesn’t she attack you like that?” 

“Oh, believe me,” Louisa said, rolling her eyes. “I had my turn before you got here. I’ve been locked in with these clucking hens all morning.” 

A grin twitched at the corner of your lips. 

“My condolences,” you said. But then, you look at your sister a bit harder. “And you. What’s your problem, huh? How long are you going to give Ben a hard time?” 

It took her a moment, but Louisa eventually sighed. 

“I mean, Aunt Trina’s an asshole, but she kind of said it. He’s literally a century-years-old,” she said. “How do you not have a problem with that?” 

You crossed your arms, though you knew you didn’t have a good answer for that one. 

“Age is…relative.” You struggled against a wince. 

“He lived through the damn Dust Bowl,” Louisa deadpanned. “He’s fucking ancient.” 

You glared back at her. “Okay, enough. What’s your real problem, huh? I mean really.”

Louisa let out another sigh. Her hands went to her hips. You hadn’t had a chance to tell her, but she looked pretty tonight too in her black dress. It flared at the waist and reached her knees, and she’d paired it with some chunky red heels. She was a little taller than you normally, but not by much. As the older sister, you enjoyed finally being taller than her for once in your higher heels. 

Still, you were annoyed with her right now. You sensed she had something deeper against Ben, and it wasn’t all about his age. When she eventually answered, it just confirmed your suspicions. 

“He’s dangerous,” she said at last. “He’s so fucking dangerous.” 

That disheartened you. Your lips pressed, and you held onto your own arms a bit tighter. 

“Not to me,” you replied. Louisa’s frown deepened as her brows knitted together.

“Especially to you,” she said. “He kidnapped you.” 

You gave a wan smile. “Not technically.” 

That had been one of his subordinates, who’d taken you outside of Ben’s orders…

It was a long and complicated story, but basically, it had worked out for both of you in the end. 

Louisa gave you a more incredulous look. “He’s got an atomic bomb in his chest.” 

“He’s working on controlling it,” you insisted. “He’s gotten a lot better!” 

Louisa threw her hands upward in exasperation and turned to leave you in the hall. You stopped her with a hand on her arm. 

“Look, I get it,” you said, meeting her gaze directly. “You’re worried about me. But here’s the thing…you don’t have to do that. I’m the one who looks out for you, remember?” 

Once again, she frowned at you. “Why, just because you’re older?” 

You gave her a teasing smile. 

“Well, yeah.” Still, you grasped both of her arms, now crossed in front of her chest. “Lou, haven’t I always taken care of you?” 

“Okay, yeah,” she said. “But who takes care of you? Who makes sure you’re all right?” 

You gave her a patient, if knowing look. 

She grimaced. “Oh, don’t you say it.” 

“Honestly, Lou. He does take care of me…he makes me feel safe.” You bit your lip, and your eyes began to well up with the sting of tears, emotion rising in your throat. “I’ve never had that. Ever.” 

Your sister released a heavy sigh. “I know.” 

“Then can you actually try to get to know him? Please?” You rubbed her arms, pleading with your eyes. You wanted your family to like your boyfriend, but it was so much more than that. You didn’t want to have separate worlds. Everyone in this house was part of your family, and that now included Ben.

The longer she looked into your imploring eyes, Louisa’s grimace lightened, just a touch. “I’ll think about it.” 

You smiled then, warmly as you hugged your sister. You then kissed her on the cheek, leaving the bright red imprint of your lipstick.

When you went back into the kitchen, your better mood was ruined pretty quickly by watching your aunt run your mother around the kitchen with demands and instructions. You decided to jump into the fray, taking a large serving bowl out of Marie’s hands before it tipped over.

“How’s the ham doing?” you asked. 

“About half an hour or so, I think,” Trina said. “Maybe forty-five.”

“Okay, and what’s left?”

“Let’s get the desserts ready.”

While your help sorely relieved your mother, it was actually a terrible idea for your mental health. When you could take no more of Trina’s irritating, commanding voice in your ear, you had to take a breath (as well as down a full glass of wine). 

You wordlessly asked Louisa to tag in for you before you traveled into the living room. 

There you found Ben immersed in a baseball game with Grandpa George. Both men only looked up at you when you stood near the couch with crossed arms. Your nerves were on edge, your blood still just short of boiling, but you took pains to look pleasant.

“Who’s winning?” you asked.

Ben quirked a smile at the sight of you, while George gave his more freely.

“5 to 3. It’s close on the Mets,” he said. You realized then that you hadn’t even hugged your grandfather yet. 

“Oh my God, Grandpa! I’m so sorry,” you said with a frown. You went over to hug him. “Trina has me all out of whack.”

George chuckled and patted you warmly on the back. “Why do you think I’m out here?”

You sighed with a wry smile. You then turned to Great Aunt Sylvia, who was still passed out in the recliner. 

“Aunt Sylvia?” you tried. You went over to her and touched her arm. 

“Leave her be, hun,” George told you. “Only the smell of food’ll rouse that woman.” 

Your smile deepened. Then you turned to Ben, who’d been watching you with reserved interest. He’d never seen you with the rest of your family before.

You went to him on his side of the couch and asked, in a tone deceptively light, “How about a tour of the house? You haven’t even seen it all.”

He could admit, it was a fairly big house for just your mother, but he was more interested in the game. 

“I’m watching this,” he said, gesturing at the screen. However, when he saw the tight press of your lips, he knew something wasn’t right with you. You were trying to tell him something with your eyes, he just didn’t know what.

You leaned down, subtly grabbing his thigh.

“I need you,” you whispered in his ear. “Now.” 

The tone of your voice set his blood alight with new interest.

Ben’s resulting smirk was subtle, but edged. 

“A tour it is.” 

AN: Just when you thought you'd seen the last of my BMD cliffhangers. 😏

How'd you like Ben's introduction to his girlfriend's family? I also sincerely hope you don't have an "Aunt Trina" in your life. 🙄

Next Time:

He grabbed your arms and meant to kiss you, but you stopped him with your fingers against his lips. 

“Two rules: this lipstick doesn’t come off. And no. Ripping. The dress.”

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[kyberphilosopher]

Smile

Word Count: 3467 Requested: yes. Based off ‘505′ Warnings: strong hints to sexual disposition. Spoilers if you squint.

“I’d probably still adore you with your hands around my neck... I did last time I checked.” -Arctic Monkeys, ‘505′.

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

With hoarse breath and unwavering eyes, you look up to the stars as you speak. “So, you’re really going to do it then?”

“I have to,” you hear him say. His voice has gotten far more mature and calm since the first time you’d heard him speak. Still angry and determined, but in an intelligent, adult way. Eren is a more capable person now. The only thing left to do is wait and see if that’s a good thing, or a bad thing. 

“What do you think are the chances of winning?” you question. A shooting star whizzes across the sky at that very moment, and it’s gone before you can think of a wish. 

You turn around to face him, but his eyes are already on you. Once upon a time, Eren’s eyes were emerald and teal and deep. Now they’re paler. They are cold and steady as a byproduct of who he’s become. It’s hard not to wonder what he’s thinking about when he looks at you like this, especially since he’s become harder to read over the years.

At first, Eren was one of the most insufferable people you’d ever met. He acted out so often, it was hard to see him as another person of intelligent life. You mostly just minded your business through your cadet years, usually hanging around Reiner, who was also difficult to see as intelligent life. Sometimes you and Eren would argue, but it was never passionate. You just had different world views. 

Things got better when you found out what Eren really was. Since you hadn’t made top ten, you could only choose between the Garrison Regiment, or the Scout Regiment. And with Eren’s newly discovered power showing the promise of hope, you decided on the Scouts. He liked that. 

After that, it was hard not to mature at the same time as he. Eren often blamed himself for the death and carnage that surrounded the regiment. You were solely responsible for the passing of your best friend. And after everything that happened with the government, almost dying at Shiganshina- you knew you couldn’t stand this much longer. With your relationship with Eren still budding in its early and steamy stages, he was the only one you told of your desertion. You abandoned the corps, finding a small, abandoned farm within wall Maria to hide out in. 

Eren was too tired and sick of everything to think you were being cowardly. He wanted to leave too. Maybe come with you. But Eren had plans in the works that he couldn’t leave alone. He visited you less and less. Luckily you never made a fuss. 

And now Eren wants to end the world, to save the world. How does he expect you to react to this?

“I just thought I should see you,” Eren replies. You know he’s deflecting your question. You’re not stupid. 

You nod slowly, blinking as you think. “Am I going to die?”

Your companion crosses his arms calmly. “Yes,” he tells you. 

There it is. 

“You know I can’t support you in this, right?” you tell Eren, equally as calm. 

He only replies after a moment, also in deep thought. “I know.”

You look back up to the sky, sighing out through your nose. “Why did you come, Eren? Did you want me to tell you that I think you’re doing the right thing? Or was it because you need to let out some anger? I wonder.”

“I did want to see you.”

“Do you still?”

Silence. 

“Yes.”

“And I suppose there’s nothing I can do to change your mind?”

“No.”

The stars are glittering with pastel hues, like a rainbow, or kaleidoscope. Each one is a different size, bordering on different shapes, all fusing and melting together like your idea of heaven. You can barely even see the midnight color of the sky through all them. It is beautiful, but it’s also bitter. Everything is bitter, here. 

“I didn’t make myself any dinner yet,” you say. “Couldn’t think of anything.”

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

When she was alive, Eren’s mother would make a soup for the family. It was creamy, hot, filled with meat and cheese at the bottom. Eren never liked soup, but he did love that dish. She was always sure to make extra for him, so that he could enjoy it for several days. And although it wasn’t until after she was gone that Eren realized he rarely ever thanked her for it, it was still one of the warmest memories Eren had. 

He fills your wooden bowl with it, being awfully generous. He knows that even though you haven’t eaten much in the last few years, you too had grown fond of the soup. He knows no matter how slowly you force it down, you are enjoying it. It burns the roof of your mouth every time, but you’ve never cared. All that matters is the creamy sauce, and the cow cooked to perfection. 

You stare at the fireplace beside you, flames cackling and licking upward. Eren sets the bowl in front of you, and takes the seat on the other side. You know he sets his long hair behind his shoulders. You’re already prepared. From your pocket, you produce a stretchy brown hair tie on the verge of snapping, handing it to him. 

“Thanks,” he says, even though this routine has happened however many times he’s seen you. 

“You’re welcome.”

The soup is as amazing as usual. You’re willing to bet Eren makes it even better than his mother did, but you dare not say it aloud. It’s creamy, perfectly seasoned. It goes down your throat, still steaming. 

“Does Mikasa know about this?” you question, taking one more delicious bite. 

“No. None of them do,” Eren answers. “Armin will figure it out soon.”

“You want me to kill ‘em?”

Eren shakes his head. To a lot of people, this would be taken as a joke. But this is nowhere near it. Your tone is too casual, too low for it to be humor of any kind. And the way the man across from you reacts- he’s thinking the same thing. 

“No.”

“How are they, then?”

Eren thinks as he takes another bite, the warmth creeping up his chest sweetly. “They’re alright for now. I don’t know for how much longer. I can’t see everything.”

“Can you see who’s next?”

He squints at his bowl as if he were angry, but his eyebrows barely move. “Sasha.” 

Sasha. She was always a good presence to have around. While she seemed like the type of person who would annoy you, it was hard to hate her. And you admired her keen intuition anyway. 

“Will you give her something for me?”

Eren nods. Then you both go back to eating for a few seconds, basking in the orange glow from the flames. 

“How are things here?” he questions after a minute. 

“The same,” you tell him. “I think the cow might die soon.”

Some people might reply with condolences, or sympathy. But your lover does not, and you do not expect him to. “I’ll get you a new one,” he says flatly, almost like a promise. You nod once.

Despite the atmosphere which can only be described as bitter, you’re glad to see Eren again. You’re glad that he’s alive, and as alright as he can be. The bed is always colder without him, heated up only by your lingering fingers that you pretend are his every other night. Whenever he leaves an article of clothing behind, usually on purpose, you hold off on washing it so it can smell like him for you as long as possible. Then there are the hair ties you keep either in your pocket or on your wrist, specifically for him. The razors in your cabinet he often didn’t even bother using. 

Even with the sullen demeanor that had managed to overtake both of you, there was at least one thing you cared about in the world still. Maybe it wasn’t the most conventional kind of caring, or the healthiest coping mechanism. But it was still caring. And all that you cared about was him. 

You knew you weren’t Eren’s first priority. You were probably second, or third. It didn’t bother you. Eren’s head was one of the first things lost when the truth was presented to him. It came back coldly and sternly, in contrast to how previously hot and impatient it had been. But by then your head had also grown colder and sterner. In simpler terms, Eren did care for you. He did love you. But he would consider letting you die if it meant achieving what he set out to do, and you knew this. 

Across the table, Eren lifts his head to look up at you as he chews slowly. The burning meal slides down his throat easily, albeit painfully. It doesn’t even register with him, his piercing eyes slowly gaining a glint from the fire light. 

You meet his eyes after a few seconds, feeling them on you. You don’t say a word, don’t even give a questioning look. You just hold him patiently, which is something the two of you find yourself doing often. 

“You can’t stop it,” Eren speaks, looking you dead in the eyes with a steady gaze. There is love behind his eyes, far behind the anger, but you can tell from the tone of voice he is trying to tell you something as if it were an order. Your lips part slightly from the intensity radiating from your lover, who doesn’t move a muscle. “You’ll be free soon.” 

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Dinner ends. Eren helps clean up the dishes for you and goes to get water from your well so you can clean easier. You already know from the way his thumb brushed against your own when you took the bowls that you’ll likely be bent over the sink in a few minutes, which you don’t mind, but you wonder if he’ll be willing to be softer than usual as an apology for what he’d said earlier. 

He’d meant to scare you. You’re intelligent enough to figure that out. Even though you don’t scare easy, and you didn’t even give an extreme reaction, the look in Eren’s eyes had made your heart drop to your stomach. Sometimes you forget that Eren sees everything. Then he says something like that to remind you in the most memorable way. 

The wooden door opens and closes behind you. Boots scuff the ground for a few seconds, drawing closer and closer as something in you sparks with anticipation, as it always does. A pail of water hits the surface beside you, partially sloshing over the sides, shining silver in the moonlight from the tall window in front of you. Finally, ultra hot hands slide around your waist and push gently but tightly against where your ribs diverge. 

A jaw leans down on your right shoulder, chin poking against your collarbone. Locks of hair brush against your own, just as the hand on the left runs across your side to finally put a small band in your pocket. 

“I did miss you,” Eren’s low voice seemingly growls, his chest rumbling softly against your back. 

“I was thinking about you,” you admit with monotone, knowing your lover can read through it like as easily as a knife slices through skin. 

“I hope I didn’t worry you,” he says, though you can also read through his own tone. He probably didn’t care about worrying you. He definitely doesn’t still. 

“You didn’t.”

You place a both bowls in the sink, running your fingers over the dirty spoons. Eren’s orbs follow your movement. You can feel his chin change positions ever so slightly in the coming seconds. 

“Can you pass me the rag?” you ask, eyes focused on a piece of food on the spoon that doesn’t even exist. 

In response, Eren doesn’t pass you anything. Only his right hand gives you any kind of acknowledgement, passing from on your ribs to down lower. His fingertips skin over the erogenous zone under the waistband of your undergarments. 

“I worried about you,” Eren murmurs boldly. The hot fingertips pass under the cloth finally, pricks of stubble on his jaw scratching your neck and shoulder as he shifts. “I wanted you to be okay.” His left hand raises to grasp the breast above it. Slowly at first, then firmly, like a warning. Everything is a warning with him. 

Your head lulls back uncontrollably. The back of your hair matts up as it rolls against his own shoulder. 

“I said you worried me,” your partner grumbles. “Did you hear me?”

“No,” you lie lowly, refusing to let your voice shake despite the shiver in your throat. 

“Mm,” Eren hums in condescending understanding. A force presses against your core, which has turned burning hot and ice cold at the same time. The force pulls away, a string of something smooth and slimy following it that makes a sound draw from your lips. It’s high pitched, weak, and unstoppable. You’d be embarrassed if you weren’t so associated with Eren. 

His hand gives your breast a firm squeeze, soreness blossoming from the center. Your back arches quickly and returns lax against him, though now something pokes against your bottom that makes your eyes pop open with a new alertness. Eren’s hand gives you no time again. From your chest, it flies to your throat, holding it back with soft strictness as the other finally dips into the hot pool between your hips. 

“I worried about you.”

A strangled groan releases from between your lips again, this time fully carried up through the air. To Eren, it must sound like nothing more than music, or background noise. 

Thick cylinders pump inside you to the knuckle. They feel better than your own. They always have. 

It feels good. Full. Tight and fast and like the inside of you is quivering under the weight of something that you can’t see or hear. Eren is like a blanket supporting you from falling over, keeping you upright with his grip and his fingers buried inside of you. Prodding every angle, every spot. Not necessarily romantically, but still lovingly. He has always had this goal during intimacy. Nothing matters but communicating to you just how close he wants to be. 

“Eren,” you choke, a dribble of spit sliding from the corner of your lips. 

“Again,” he hisses in response. His fingers hit a tight spot, making every muscle in your body clench at the same time. 

You don’t say another word, your mouth hanging partially open as you focus on everything around you. And it’s all Eren Jaeger. His smell, his growls, his voice, his breathing, his chest, his muscles, his hair, his anger, his bitterness, his intelligence, his determination. It’s overwhelming. It reminds you of getting swept in one of those waves at the ocean he described to you. He’s yours. No- more likely, you’re his. End of story. 

“I said again.”

“Eren,” you moan.  

His head nuzzles into your neck comfortingly, his fingers pushing faster and harder. You can feel how warm you are, never mind how slick. And the way your own body holds around his digits every time he pulls away is enough to make you all the more warm and slick. 

But then...

What is he doing?

He had said “you’ll be free soon”. And yet, here he is, gripping you tightly as he forces you into the corner of submitting. And yes, it is hot. It arouses you as it always has. But something about it makes your stomach turn into a knot of unpleasantness, in contrast to the other one of liquid pleasure. 

“Eren,” you strain, squirming against him. 

Eren speeds up again. A grunt falls from his own mouth from his own power, and you know he’s getting off almost as much as you are. It doesn’t stop feeling good. Feeling euphoric. 

It’s getting rougher. Rougher and harder and faster, more intense. 

“Eren.”

Another gruff moan from him. 

“Eren! Stop! Stop!”

Eren’s palm softens away at once. It lifts away, his eyes opening and his hand stilling inside of you. He watches you shake as you gaze up to the ceiling, wide eyed. Your thighs sputter, entire body twitching. You didn’t cum. 

His eyes trail over you. You’ve worked up a steady sweat glistening and glowing, shivering and shaking and quaking because of him in the best way. You’re his. His partner, his friend, his ally he knows for a fact he can rely on.

“C-can we... Eren...” 

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Drips of water dribbling down Eren’s temple. One of your hands are threaded in his brunette locks, holding them back so you can have an uninterrupted view. The other hand is dabbing cloth against his forehead and hairline, bathing him softly. 

He’d gone a while without bathing again. You could tell. Eren’s eyes are glued to yours, deep teal memorizing all the flecks in your own as if he hadn’t a million times over. 

Eren loves you. Dearly. He’d travel all seven hours and forty five minutes just to tell you that. He doesn’t know what made you stop earlier. He doesn’t ask. But he’s not mad. Overall, Eren understands that it doesn’t matter what you asked to stop for. You give the word, he obeys. Not because he has to, but because he loves you. 

Still, he knows something is wrong. You don’t show it. You’re steady, calm, mature, apathetic as always. But in the pit of Eren’s stomach, something brews. A warm, strange feeling of intuition and omniscience. 

“You look very pretty today,” Eren ventures, wondering only of your response. “Did I tell you that?”

Your eyes squint. “Thank you,” you reply back. 

The cloth continues to rub against his skin, cleaning something that probably doesn’t even exist. Dirt, maybe. Eren’s stopped taking care of his skin in the past few years. 

“You’re welcome.”

Your eyes squint again. This time, they gloss over with sharp wetness like glass. The eyebrows crease like a break, your bottom lip trembling as you suck it between your teeth. 

He doesn’t know what he was expecting. But your lover wasn’t expecting this. 

Eren hates when you cry. He can remember the first time he’d seen it, but not the most recent. You didn’t cry often- you were strong. Crying over something as useless and flimsy as emotions didn’t seem worth it. So what was this for? What were you about to make Eren break down inside over?

Your hand falls limply from his forehead. Shoulders hunch over in defeat, staring down at the floor as your hair covers over your face. And then the sniffles come, choked out coughs like sobs. 

Eren can see the lightest of bruises he’d left on you from earlier, but you’d never had a problem with it before. No, it was something else. But what?

Silent, your teeth grit together as you wince, tears streaming down your face inexplicably. 

“Earlier w-when you,” you gulp, snot beginning to form, “when you- I did worry a-about you. I- I don’t know why I didn’t...”

You stumble forward. Eren stands from your bath tub to catch you as you slump against him tiredly. 

“I hate it when you go.”

Eren switches positions with you, pushing you down to sit on the edge of the tub. He takes the wet rag from your hand and holds your shoulder back so he can have a good look at you. Then the cloth dabs against your own forehead, just as you had done to him. 

“I hate it here,” you sigh, a single tear drop blurring your vision as it falls finally. 

Your lover moves the cloth from your head to your cheeks, smearing the wetness into your skin and away. They moisten and dry, your eyes red and shiny. Eren tilts your head up under your jaw, creasing his brows and using the towel to clean closer to your eyes. 

“If it helps,” he says, looking straight into your eyes, “you’re crying, but I still think you look pretty.”

You’d be lying if you said that didn’t help even a little, because you love him. 

A soft smile creeps to your lips, your hands dropping in between your thighs. 

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

No I didn’t reread this lmfao enjoy. Hope I did you justice anon

[ray-ray-writings]

Defending Family-Technoblade, Wilbur Soot, and Tommyinnit

This is a Brother!Technoblade & Brother!Wilbur Soot &Brother!Tommyinnit x gn!reader. This is not in the dreamsmp but it is in the SBI AU where Philza is the father of Wilbur, Technoblade, Tommy and in this imagine, Y/N! In this, Y/N is younger than Wilbur and Techno but older than Tommy

When Y/N hears the school bully talking shit about their family… Well it’s no surprise when that bully gets hit. 

Y/N’s POV

“Y/N! Wake up!” The annoying voice of my even more annoying brother sounded as a pillow smacked me in the face waking me from my sleep. My eyes shot open and I made contact with Tommy’s blue eyes, “Ow Tommy! What the hell?!?” I exclaimed, sitting myself up, rubbing the bridge of my nose trying to ease the throbbing pain. Tommy simply threw his head back and cackled before bolting out of the room. 

I let out a sigh before throwing the blankets off of me before getting out of bed to get ready for the day. It didn’t take long. I stripped off my PJs and threw on a random outfit before making my way to the bathroom to do my business. As I was brushing my hair, Tommy pounded on the door, “HURRY UP Y/N! I need in there!” He yelled from the other side of the door. I rolled my eyes and yelled back, “You should have thought of that before you woke me up! You can wait!” Tommy continued to knock on the door, annoying me even further. 

Finally, once I was done, I swung the door open causing Tommy to stumble forward. I smirked as he caught himself and looked at me in annoyance, “Finally!” He let out, walking further in while I walked out. “Shut up,” I responded, the door slamming closed behind me. 

I made my way downstairs to the kitchen where I found my father over the stove and my two other brothers sitting at the kitchen island waiting for my dad to finish making breakfast. “Good morning,” I beamed, sitting on the stool in between Wilbur and Techno causing everyone to turn to me for a moment. Dadza grinned at me before going back to his skillet, “Morning honey, how’d you sleep?” “I slept fine. I would have preferred a different wake up call though,” I answered, rolling my eyes at the thought. My older brothers both let out laughs as Dadza sighed, “What did he do this time?” Dadza questioned, turning around, bringing the pan with him. “He smacked my face with a pillow and yelled at me… Nothing new, but still not something preferred.” Dadza nodded as he scooped eggs from the skillet onto the plate before me. He then proceeded to turn and also place a pancake and a couple slices of bacon on my plate as well. “Thank you,” I thanked sincerely, picking up my fork and knife, digging in. “Anytime kiddo.” 

As the three of us ate, footsteps bounded down the stairs behind. “Morning,” Tommy called, sitting on the open stool next to Wilbur. “Morning,” the three responded. Dadza moved quickly and filled Tommy’s plate with breakfast before moving to fill his own. “Sleep well Tommy?” He asked, sitting on the one stool that sat across from us. “Yep! Had an amazing dream where I married a hot woman and then I woke up and smacked Y/N in the face to wake them up. Pretty Pogchamp morning,” Tommy babbled, his mouth full of eggs as he spoke. Dadza made a face of disgust, “Please don’t speak with your mouth full Tommy. And please stop smacking your sibling in the face to wake them up, you know they hate it.” “Oh I know they hate it. That’s why I keep doing it,” Tommy announced, smirking at me from the other side of our brother. “If Wilbur wasn’t here right now, I’d smack you,” I hissed, glaring at my little brother. “But he is and so you can’t do anything,” Tommy teased, sticking his tongue out at me. I looked up to Wilbur, my eyes pleading at him to do something. Wilbur got the message and raised his hand and smacked the back of Tommy’s head, causing him to yelp. “Hey!” “You asked for it!” 

“Kids! Kids! Please, can we just have a calm morning for once?” our dad slightly pleaded. I let out a deep breath and nodded, “Anything for you dad,” I muttered before shoving more pancake into my mouth. Tommy huffed, but also went back to his breakfast. “Now that that’s over, what are you doing today?” Techno questioned, looking to our father. Philza smiled at the change of topic, “Well there are a few new clients at work that I have been in charge of so I’ll mostly be pretty busy all day. I’ll be home in time for dinner though, do you guys want me to pick something up or can you handle it.” Before Tommy or I could ask for pizza, Techno and Wilbur spoke up at the same time, “We can handle it.” I couldn’t help but huff and slightly pout. I really wanted pizza. 

I didn’t have time to dwell on it though because an alarm went off causing the four of us kids to jump into action. The alarm was set in order to get us out of the house because if we didn’t leave at that specific time, we would be late for school. Techno and Wilbur no longer went to high school, they both graduated three years ago. But the two still took us to school everyday so Dadza wouldn’t have to worry about it. Wilbur was the only one that could drive, and as much as he hates to admit it, Techno hates being left alone so he always came along. 

The four of us finished the food on our plates, placing them in the sink. “Bye Dadza,” I chimed, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before heading to the door. I could hear the other three doing the same before they joined me by the door. I slipped on my back pack, Tommy doing the same, before exiting the house and piling into Wilbur’s car. The ride to school consisted of Wilbur, Tommy, and I screaming along to whatever music was playing, and Techno pretending to be annoyed by the three of us. 

“Alright. Get out,” Wilbur demanded, putting the car in park outside the front of the high school. “Thank you Will. Bye Tech! Love you both!” I chimed before getting out of the car. “Bye Y/N, love you too” They responded before I shut the door. Tommy echoed what I had said, getting the same response before he closed his door as well. Wilbur drove away leaving Tommy and I standing there. “Come on Tommathy” I stated before walking toward the entrance of the school. “Don’t call me that” Tommy demanded, but followed close behind me. I threw my head back in laughter and shook my head. “I’ll do what I please thank you.” 

Once we were inside, Tommy and I went separate ways. He went to his locker to meet up with his best friend, Tubbo and I went to mine meeting up with my best friend, Sapnap. Sapnap and I became best friends due to our brothers. Dream and George were pretty good friends with Wilbur and Techno and when they went places Dadza sometimes forced them to take me with them so he could take care of Tommy. Dream and George would in turn bring their younger brother, Sapnap, so that we would stay out of their way. We grew very close through all the hang out time and it was like I had yet another brother. 

“Hey dork,” I greeted my best friend as I opened my locker. “Hey loser. Have a good night?” He greeted back, leaning against the locker next to me. I hummed and nodded at his question, “Yeah, it was pretty good. Did you get the math homework done?” I asked, closing my locker and turning to him. A panicked look over took his face, “We had math homework?” I couldn’t help but laugh at my best friend’s forgetfulness. “Yes we did. And lucky for you I did it… Yes you can copy it.” I answered his unasked question. Sapnap immediately relaxed. A chuckle escaped his lips as he slung an arm around my shoulder, “You’re the best.” “Yeah, yeah.” 

Together the two of us made our way to our first class, but a familiar voice caused me to stop in my tracks, “Come on man. Just give it back!” It was Tommy. Sapnap gave me a confused look as I turned around and marched toward the sound of my brother’s voice. My blood began to boil at the sight in front of me. There, in front of my brother, stood Chad, the school bully. In his hand was one of Tommy’s most prized possessions, his music disc. That was the last thing that our mom gave to him before she passed. He loved it so dearly and was very careful with it. Why was it here and why the hell does Chad have it? 

“Oh what? You gonna cry about it? Cry like you did when your mommy died?” Chad taunted, holding the disc close to his chest. It didn’t take a detective to tell that Tommy’s eyes were welling with tears. “Please, just give it back,” Tommy practically begged, holding his hand out. “Oh I’ll give it back alright. I’ll give it back in pieces.” Chad brought the disc out and put both hands on it. Before he could begin to bend it, I snapped. “HEY!” I shouted, stomping up to the three boys, Sapnap following behind me. Chad stopped what he was doing, surprised at the new voice, but the smirk returned to his face once he recognized who it was. “Well, looky at what we have here,” He taunted. Paying no mind to his taunt, “Give me the music disc. Now.” I demanded, glaring at the boy. Chad simply threw his head back and laughed, “No, I don’t think I will.” 

“You’re a jerk Chad,” Sapnap spoke up, momentarily distracting the bully, allowing me to rip the disc from Chad’s hands. “Hey!” He let out, his head whipping back to me. “Here Tommy,” I spoke gently, handing the possession back to its rightful owner. Tommy carefully took it before wrapping it back up and sliding it carefully in his book bag. “Thanks Y/N” Tommy thanked quietly. “Anytime Tommy. Let’s go boys,” I demanded before slightly pushing Tommy and Tubbo so they would walk in front of me. 

“That’s right! Run away! Just like your father did when things got tough!” Chad called from behind us. His words caused me to stop in my tracks. “What did you just say?” I hissed over my shoulder. Chad simply smirked and crossed his arms, “You heard me, your father’s a coward. So are your other brothers. Wilbur and Techno? Yeah they’re freaks and you’re just like them,” He responded smugly. I felt a tug on my arm. I looked back in front of me and found Tommy standing there with an extremely worried look on his face. “Come on Y/N. It’s not worth it.” I let out a deep breath before nodding and taking a few steps forward once more. 

As I was walking, a force shoved me from behind causing me to stumble, “That’s right, walk away.” For the third time today, I stopped walking. A smirk covered my face as I slid my backpack off of my back. I mean hey, he started it by pushing me. “What? Did I make you upset? What are you-” I didn’t let Chad finish. 

In one swift motion, I turned on my heel and punched Chad in the face as hard as I could. Chad stumbled back in utter shock, his hand coming up to cover his nose. When he pulled his hand back, it was covered in blood. “You punched me!” He shouted incredulously. “You punched me in the face!” “And I’ll do it again!” In one quick moment, we both rushed forward at each other. Punches were being thrown left and right. A few landed on me, but I didn’t care. The only thing I cared about was defending my family. 

At one point, I stomped on Chad’s toes causing him to lose balance and I pushed him to the ground on his back. I dropped on top of him, straddling his chest and just began wailing on him. “Y/N! Y/N stop! You’ve got him! Stop!” Someone yelled from behind me. I didn’t care to listen to them, the sight of Chad helpless under me too much to pass up. As I wound up for another punch, my arm was being pinned to my side and I was pulled off of the bully. “Let me go!” I screeched, trying so hard to wiggle out of the person’s arms. They turned me around to face them and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me slightly. “Y/N!” It was Sapnap, “It’s over. You knocked him out. It’s done!” His words finally hit me and I stopped fighting in his arms. 

I looked over at Chad and noticed his eyes were closed and his face was bloody and beaten. I looked down at my hands and found them also covered in blood and my knuckles were busted and would surely bruise. I also knew from the feeling that my face was also covered in blood. I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at what had just happened. Sapnap looked at me like I was actually crazy. I gave him a little shrug, “Oops.” “Y/N MINECRAFT! TO THE OFFICE NOW!” 

So there I found myself sitting in the principal’s office, holding an ice pack to my knuckles. Tommy, Tubbo, Sapnap had given their testimony as to what had happened to the principal before they were sent back to class. Chad was still laid up in the nurse’s office. He was waiting there until his parents could come. They had informed me they had to call my parents as well. I begged them not to call my dad, I knew today was a big important day for his business. The secretary, who knew me very well and knew I was a good kid, agreed and instead called my big brothers to come pick me up. That almost made me more nervous than if my father were to pick me up. 

It didn’t take long for Wilbur and Techno to show up. Neither of them looked at me when they walked in, which caused a pit to form in my stomach. The principal gave them a very brief description as to what had happened, just that I had got in a physical fight and was suspended for today and the next two days. “Let’s go,” Wilbur muttered as he passed me, walking out the door, Techno following behind him. I scrambled up quickly, wishing the secretary goodbye before following my brother’s out the door. 

The car ride back home was deadly silent. The radio wasn’t even on. Wilbur and Techno didn’t talk to me or each other the entire ride. Wilbur pulled into our driveway, parked, and killed the engine. He remained in his seat though, and didn't make a move to get out of the car, causing me to remain seated as well. “This isn’t like you, Y/N. What the hell happened?” Wilbur asked quietly, not turning to look at me. “He took Tommy’s disc,” I murmured quietly. “What? Speak up,” Wilbur demanded, looking at me through the rear-view mirror. “He took Tommy’s disc!” I spilled, getting it off my chest. “He took Tommy’s disc and wouldn’t give it back. So I got it back and then when we were walking away, he made fun of dad and you two and Tommy pulled me along, but then Chad shoved me so I turned around and punched him. When he continued to come at me, I fought him. I knocked him out. But he deserved it. He can’t just make fun of you and Techno and dad and Tommy and get away with it and-” “Y/N!” Techno interjected, cutting me off. “Yeah?” I asked, kind of breathless. “He took Tommy’s disc? And then made fun of our family? And proceeded to shove you?” Techno questioned, making sure he understood the story. I nodded, “Yeah”

There was a brief moment of silence before Techno broke out in a laugh, causing Wilbur to grin. “Well good on you then!” Techno cheered, belly laughing. “You’re not mad?” I questioned, still a bit hesitant. Wilbur let out a sigh and shook his head no, “I was at first… Well maybe not. I think I was more surprised than anything. We’ve never had that problem with you and it shocked me to the core to get that phone call. If anything I thought it would be Tommy first.” We all had a laugh about that. “But hearing you did that to defend us. Our family. How could I be mad at that?” 

Wilbur took off his seatbelt and got out of the car, causing Techno and I to do the same. As I got out, Wilbur scooped me up in a big hug. Techno quickly made his way around the car and joined our hug. “I’m so proud of you for defending yourself and your family. Although, next time I would prefer it if you did it without the violence,” Wilbur claimed, pressing a soft kiss to the top of my head. “I wouldn’t. The more violence the better!” Techno chimed in. Giggles escaped my lips at that, of course he would say something like that. “I think I’ll try and lay low for a while. Although now everyone knows not to mess with Y/N Minecraft!” The other two joined in my laughter. “Come on Y/N. Let’s get you cleaned and bandaged up and then we’ll go for ice cream.” Wilbur said, pulling away from the hug and dragging me toward the house. I raised my eyebrow as we got inside, “It’s 8 in the morning?” Wilbur shook his head and rolled his eyes as he sat me down in the kitchen, Techno leaving to get the first aid kit. “There is never a wrong time for ice cream”

There you have it! I hope you enjoyed! If so, please be sure to leave a like!!

[obsessive-ego]

Late night chats

Musical beetlejuice x reader

Beej chats with you when he knows you're not listening

Fluff, pining

It was a long rough week, you were absolutely exhausted, you could barely stand, your knees wobbled as you finally arrived home, everyday this week has been hell between work using you to cover everyone and do everything, and personal family drama you had to attend too, you were glad to finally be home, safe, quiet, where nothing was expected of you, you could finally recharge.

Kicking your shoes off and tossing your bag and jacket aside to deal with later.

As you shamble to your bedroom, eager to swap your work clothes to something less constricting, you tap away on your phone, ordering dinner, you were too tired to cook anyway.

In your bedroom, you were quick to ditch your uniform in replacement for an over sized shirt and a pair of pajama pants.

Removing your bra felt like a weight has been lifted, as you slip on your pajamas you felt 100 pounds lighter, you flop down on your bed, barely clinging to being awake, as you were about to doze off, your phone blares to life with its loud ringtone, you groan in frustration, you force your body to get up and dig for your phone in your pants pocket, you miss the call by a second, before you could check who it was it buzzes again, you nearly drop the phone, startled, you fumble with the gadget, quickly answering the call, assuming it was your incompetent coworkers needing a question asked.

"What are you wearing?~"

You frown, knowing that voice anywhere

"Beetlejuice-"

"Oh baby, you will be wearing me by the time I'm done with you~" he moans

You scowl at this joke, too tired to really deal with his sense of humor, yes the ghoul could easily make you laugh with their lewd jokes, but honestly you were so tired nothing else really mattered.

"What-"

"So we gonna hook up? Or are you standing me up?"

"What?"

"Y/n what day is it?"

You're silent for longer then youd like to admit, beetlejuice starts before you could respond

"Friday, movie night, so, let's hear that magic b word sweetheart~" he chimes in a sing song tone.

As tired as you were, I guess a chill movie night would be fine, if you doze off during you could survive the teasing, wouldnt be the first time.

"Hello? Sugar? I'm not hearing my name come from that pretty little mouth of yours~"

You snap back, guess you zoned out longer then you thought, you utter a quick sorry, and shuffle to the living room.

"Beetlejuice, beetlejuice, beetlejuice"

Your apartment goes dark, you sigh, the ghoul had a thing for making an entrance

"HONEY IM HOME" the ghoul shouts, within seconds you are hoisted up from behind in a tight bear hug, Beetlejuice's head resting on you shoulder "babes I missed ya, you're such a mean little thing forgetting about our movie night, or were you just playing hard to get~" he purrs that last part.

Clearly embarrassed you try your best to squirm out of your predicament, the demon only cackles at your actions

"Keep wiggling like that sugar and your gonna give me a-"

The ghoul was interrupted by a knocking at your door, his eyes light up, before you could get a word in, you are dragged along to the front door

"Its showtime"

...

It was amazing how you were still able to order take out with all the nonsense beetlejuice did to the delivery guys, but it just goes to show that it's all about money, and let's be honest, nobody is gonna believe them, yeah sure, a zombie looking guy took the pizza and then turned into a pile of snakes.

...

Movie night was the same as always, Beej successfully snuggling up close with an arm around your shoulder, ever since the change of seasons he found you no longer took the lead on getting up close and personal, meaning he had to take initiative, not that he minded, since regardless of the temperature, you didnt mind him cuddling up, which was nice, you were so warm to the touch, he adored it.

Movie night was always a blast with the demon, yes you've seen this horror films 100 times, but watching them with Beej always made them more lively, his enthusiasm was so contagious. But as much fun as the evening together was you were officially out of energy, you tired in vain to keep awake, last movie night you dozed off midway through you delt with merciless teasing for a week, but all your effort was for not as you felt yourself slip into dreamland.

"Alright Doll what's up next in our-" the demon finally noticed you were out, he frowns, yeah it was cute, and sexy when you fell asleep on him, but it was really becoming kind of a pain on how hard you worked and how much it drained you, breathers are delicate, and besides he wanted to spend some real legit alone time with you.

The demon snaps his fingers and the two of you reappear in your bedroom, you being tucked into your bed, beej floats up beside you in a lounging position.

The ghoul stares at you, watching you naturally settle into a deep sleep, once a few moments have past and beetlejuice was sure you were out cold, he leans back placing his hands behind his head and let's out a deep sigh.

"Ya know doll, the other week I was in the netherworld for business, bumped into an old pal, buddy was going on and on about this demon he was banging, and boy, the look on his face when I told him I was banging a hot little breather, man, fucker was jealous, I mean we arent technically banging, yet." He whispered

This was a habit of Bj's chatting to you when you were asleep, he didnt need to sleep, so this was a nice way to pass the time.

"I showed him that photo of us lyds took, ya know the one, you were sitting on the couch playing with you phone and I had my head on your lap? Yeah, I keep it in my wallet, hell, it's the only thing in there" he snickers

You mumble something unintelligible, Beej hums in response

"Of course not sugar, I dont keep condoms in there, i prefer to go raw, demons cant get breathers pregnant anyways, wink wink"

The ghoul sighs reclining back and putting his hands behind his head

"Ya know, while I was down there, I had to file some paperwork with my Mom, the bitch she is, was going on and on about how I need to stop screwing around with breathers, she just doesnt get me, you know how it is"

You grumble in response

"Oh, yeah I know I told ya a sandworm ate her, shes back, it's a long story" he huffs with a scowl.

"Yeah she was saying how theres no point of me tricking another breather for a green card to live again, and I should leave you alone, fuck her, ya know, I dont need to trick ya for a green card, i know you're head over heels for me babes, and once you finally admit you love me and we fuck around for a bit, then I'll pop the question." He trails off looking in your direction, your were laying on your side facing the demon, as if you were awake listening to his every word, the demon sighs, staring at you sleeping form, god slash satan  he had no idea what he did to deserve you, his sweet caring breather. He could always come back to you, you were all his, you just didnt know it yet, and that was fine, for now, soon he'll get you to confess your undying love.

"What would I do without our little chats" he sighs, his eyes fixated on you, a purple hue begins to creep into his hair, he sighs again

"The only time I can be honest with ya huh babes?"

You mumble in response

"Its not like I dont WANT to be honest with ya, its just, come on, you gonna believe me? A demon from hell falling head over heels for a sweet little breather? I can barely believe it" he stares at you, his hair now completely purple.

"You know I love ya right?" The confidence in his voice fading, the question sounding more desperate then anything, as if the ghoul needed you to know or hed die again.

"...beee" you sigh

Beetlejuice perks up at the sound of your voice "bee?" Were you dreaming of him? The ghoul could just melt at the thought

"...beetlejuice"

You were

The purple in the demon's hair began to mix with hints of pink, his little breather was dreaming of him, the ghoul leans into you, his face inches from yours, studying your face in hopes to crack the mystery of what kind of dream you were having

"...beetlejuice" Again you mumble his name in your sleep

"Do you dream about me often babes? Ya know I dream of you~" he chuckles

"Beetle-"

Before you could finish the b word the demon shakes you awake

"Fuck" you say with a start "beetlejuice what are you doing" you grumble less then thrilled to be woken like this

"You were about to say the b word 3 times babes, had to put a stop to it" he chuckles sheepishly "you were babbling my name away in your sleep, guess you missed me huh?" His nervousness turned into a more confident jab

"I was? I-" you babble

"If you REALLY miss me baby cakes I could slip into bed with ya? Keep ya company" he leans in inches from your face, a moment passes and beetlejuice can see the hesitation in your face, yes he's snuck into bed with you multiple times, but he always left before you noticed.

"I wont do anything creepy" he begs grasping your hand as if to reassure you

"....okay" you whisper

The ghoul's eyes light up at your response in a flash he sheds his suit, leaving only a pair of boxers and slides under the covers next to you, the ghoul is over come by the warmth beneath the covers, and quickly latches on to your even warmer body.

"Good night Bee" you sigh "I'll try not to say your name 3 times"

"Night sugar♡" he cuddles into your chest making you the bigger spoon, though you were the smaller out of the two of you.

As you drift back into a deep sleep beetlejuice begins talking to you again

"You really know how to spoil a guy huh sugar, I guess I can wait a little longer till you say the 3 little words, as long as ya keep treating me like this♡ good night y/n, I love you"

[frankiekatt]

Wowy hii, saw that you're writing for slasher, so here I am!

Can I plz have some hcs about any slashers with s/o, but their s/o is a literal gremlin, like they're not serious at all, always joking and annoying people around, but sometimes might be quite soft and quiet.

Thank you and have a nice day! ❤️

This was fun to write lmao

Warnings: Sexual harassment, NSFW, murder, blood, canabilism

Characters: Thomas Hewitt, Bo Sinclair, Lester Sinclair, Billy Lenz, Stu Macher, Michal Myers

Slashers With An S/O That Never Takes Anything Seriously:

Thomas Hewitt:

Thomas is a little overwhelmed by your personality at first.

He’s a quiet and reserved man who’s never had any kind of friends, so goofiness and jokes can make him feel uneasy at first.

But!! He gets used to everything very quickly!!!

Thomas loves everything about you and he finds you to be incredibly charming.

He can get a little anxious when he sees you annoying Hoyt because he doesn’t want his uncle to do anything bad to you in irritation/retaliation.

Your jokes are always a stress reliever for him, since he spends most of his days in a dark basement, surrounded by blood and gore. Your humor just shines a little bit of light on his day, and he loves you for that!

While Luda Mae and Hoyt might not like the fact that you never take anything seriously, Thomas finds it relieving. At the beginning of your relationship, Thomas was terrified of losing you because he thought you would be terrified of all screams, murder, and cannabilism, but he was pleasantly surprised to see that you didn’t pay much mind to it.

Thomas’ family mostly saw you as a clown, but Thomas could only ever look at you as the brightest ray of sunshine that has ever graced his life.

After all, he was the only one that saw your softer side.

Your soft and quiet side mostly shone through during the evening. Something about the sunset and cicada chirping calmed your heart.

You would often take Thomas by the hand and lead him outside to sit on the front porch with you, so the two of you could cuddle and watch the sunset together.

Thomas was always so used to your voice, because you loved to talk about anything and everything, so your temporary quiet nature was new, yet comforting.

During these moments, there didn’t need to be any talking between the two of you. You deep emotional bond allowed you both to communicate through actions.

You would lay your head on Thomas shoulder, stroking his chest, and Thomas would wrap his big arms around your smaller frame, resting his masked cheek against the top of your head.

This was Thomas’ way of saying, “I love you, you’re the best thing in my life,” and your way of saying “I could never live without you.”

Bo Sinclair:

:|

You’re gonna annoy the fuck out of this boy

Sometimes you both wonder how the two of you even got together, but the nights you and Bo spent pleasuring each other, going round after round, reminded you both how. (Your both just sexy okay its that simple)

Bo was a serious guy, so he was a little miffed that he was always the one having to take the lead in everything since you just couldn’t stop making a joke out of everything.

Sometimes you would actually make him really irritated due to your tendency to irk people endlessly, so he would have to step away to cool off and blow off some steam.

Sometimes he would yell at you in anger, which always made him feel like shit after, so he tended to stalk off to his shop to calm down before speaking to you.

You would have to go see him a couple hours later to wrap your arms around him from behind and shyly apologize to him.

He favored these moments the most.

Your voice quieter than usual, focusing on just him, touching him gently.

He would always accept your apologies, of course, and would let you know by kissing your lips softly.

Bo liked to take advantage of your softer side by lifting you up by your waist and setting you on the hood of whatever car he had been working on and kissing down your neck.

As revenge, Bo liked to draw out his teasing as long as possible. Kissing down your neck, chest, stomach, massaging your pussy through your skirt, palming your breast roughly.

It gets to a point where you just have to tell him, “Bo, I need you to fuck me.”

And he would oblige.

He would take you right then and there, on the hood of the car.

The metal beneath you was always shockingly cold, making you shiver against Bo’s chest.

“You cold, Darlin,” Bo would ask teasingly as he pulled your panties off. “Don’t worry, I’ll warm you right up.”

He would spend hours licking your pretty pink pussy if he could. He licks and sucks and kisses your most intimate part until you're shaking and crying above him, begging him to fuck you sensless.

After he’s satisfied with your helplessness, he’ll lean back up and ram himself inside of you. There have been many nights where he has taken you gently and slowly in his garage, holding your hand with every thrust, kissing your sweet lips to quiet your whimpers, but tonight was different. There was a primal need shared between you two. Bo wanted to let his frustrations on through loving you, and you wanted to be taken hard and fast.

When the two of you are done, you lounge around inside the car to catch your breath, holding hands. Everything seems so perfect.

Until-

“Hey, Bo? What did the toaster say to the slice of bread?”

“.....”

“I want you inside me! Eh ha ha..”

:////

Lester Sinclair:

!!!!!

You like constantly joking and never taking things seriously? He does too!!

Lester would find you absolutely hilarious. Every joke you cracked would have him doubling over in laughter. Which would make you double over in laughter. Which would make Lester laugh harder, because now you both have the giggles and both of your laughs are just too infectious.

Everytime the two of you would go to Ambrose to visit his brothers, you guys would annoy the hell out of Bo and Vincent. Bo just wants to be left alone to work in his shop but instead he’s stuck listening to you tell a 40 minutes story about how you burnt dinner last night.

And Vincent just wants to be left alone to paint and sculpt but instead he’s here listening to Lester crack jokes that are a.) not funny and b.) don’t make any sense. -_-

Your and Lester’s trailer is always filled with so much love and laughter and the two of you could not be any happier.

You both have your own soft and quiet moments that hit at random times.

Sometimes it happens when the two of you are play fighting in the living room, howling with laughter. You both fall to the floor, wrestling and giggling until the both of you run out of breath and just gaze at each other as you lay on the carpet.

“You look so cute,” he giggles.

“No, YOU look so cute!”

“W-well!!! I love you!!”

“Uhm...well...I love you MORE.”

And it just turns into an argument about who adores the other more.

Billy Lenz (1974):

The perfect couple.

Literally.

The two of you are always joking around, cackling and goofing about every little thing.

Billy has finally found his soulmate and he could not be happier.

He two of you prank the sorority girls together, making sex sounds in unison to sound even more vulgar.

Everytime you crack a joke, you get worried Billy is joking because of how hard he’s laughing.

“Umm Billy you okay? It wasn’t even that funny.”

“HA haha...piggy makes me laugh...Billy loves your jokes.”

Needless to say, your relationship is filled with smiles, laughter, and praise.

Billy will tell you you’re the funniest person he’s ever met and he wants to keep you forever.

You tell Billy you love how much he laughs at your antics and that you can’t live without him.

It’s impossible to annoy Billy. It’s just not feasible.

Any time you try, he’ll just giggle and pat your head, telling you you’re his ‘favorite piggy ever.’

He LOVES when you annoy the sorority girls thoug!

Hearing you moan and squeal and speak so sexily vulgarly to Barb and Jess makes Billy so proud. And horny.

Almost all of your sexual encounters are filled with complete silliness.

Sometimes, however, the joking and cackling subside. The two of you will just be chilling, nothing else to do, and you just feel the need to profess your love for your boyfriend.

“I love you so much Billy.”

Billy will look startled at your sudden outburst, before he breaks out in a huge grin, launching across the room to tackle you into a hug.

“Billy loves you too! Billy loves you more than anything!!!”

Now the rest of your day will be spent in Billy’s arms, whispering sweet nothings to each other.

Stu Macher:

Match made in Heaven!

Stu loves to joke around.

He hardly ever takes anything seriously.

He annoys everyone.

And once he meets you? It's love at first sight.

The two of you are always in detention because you guys just cannot shut up in class. You are always disrupting something.

But you know what that means!

Detention dates <3

As long as the two of you together, Stu couldn't care less about where he was.

He and Billy appreciate your habit of not taking anything seriously because once the murders start occuring, you don't think too much about it, never asking questions or arousing suspicion around your boyfriend and his bestie.

When Billy had told Stu his plan to kill Sydney, and asked him if he was going to kill you as well, Stu’s heart sank.

He remembers when he was dating Tatum, just a few months ago, before he broke up with her for you, he had no qualms about killing her,

But you?

He loved you. You were his other half. The one person who understood him, who accepted him. He could never hurt you.

“Nah dude. I’m leaving her out of this.”

That night, he sneaks through your bedroom window to see you.

“Stu! (where the hell have you been loca) What’re you doing here?”

The sparkling smile you flash at him and the love swimming in your big, beautiful eyes makes him feel even guitler.

He feels bad that you’re dating a serial killer. He thinks you deserve better, but he would never let you go.

“Hey babe! I just missed you!”

You rushed over to him, dressed in kitty cat pajamas, and hugged him tight. He had only snuck through your bedroom window a couple of times before, and they had all been planned. Seeing him in your room as a surprise made your heart burst with happiness.

Stu led you to your bed and pulled you up onto his chest to cuddle you. It was late, and the both of you were tired. Stu just wanted to lay with you in silence, appreciating your presence.

You didn’t feel like releasing your usual high energy at the moment. Right now, you just wanted to fall asleep on your boyfriend’s chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

Michael Myers:

Girl

Michael does not appreciate your antics.

Annoying him is easy, but you would never know that.

He keeps his emotions very private, so when he is annoyed he’ll just stalk away from you.

He does not think you’re funny :(

He does enjoy your quiet moments. He likes to come home when your energy is low.

He’s usually covered in blood when this happens, so you clean him up without cracking a joke which he appreciates.

You’ll turn on a movie for the both of you, and Michael lets you cuddle up with him.

He does like you, he just doesn’t want you to know that...

[luminnara]

Goddamn, Shit-Sucking Vampires | Lost Boys x OC  CH 1

Summary: Vera is an unusually vicious bloodsucker who's never stuck in one place for very long...until a mysterious feeling pulls her right to the murder capital of the world: Santa Carla, California. Now, she needs to figure out why exactly she's there, where she fits in amongst the boardwalk's nighttime denizens, and how to cope with her own personal vampire-related problems. Poly Lost Boys/OC, starts just before the movie

Also posted on AO3

My requests are open!

Chapter one | Chapter two

Warnings: Blood, gore, smut, all that good stuff

Vera had been to a lot of cities, some of them twice, some of them three times, some even more, but none of them were quite as unique as Santa Carla. The boardwalk was crawling with lost souls, kids with nowhere else to go, and she was one of them; no family to call her own, no real friends, barely any possessions…Vera was a wanderer, a lone soul, a lost girl. She drifted from town to town, hanging around for a day or two if nothing interesting happened before moving on...and honestly, nothing very interesting ever happened. 

Sometimes she took the bus, if she had the money from odd jobs or pick pocketing her meals, but for the most part, she was left to her own devices. She traveled on foot when she had to, avoiding major highways unless she was feeling up to a fight. During the day, she took refuge under bridges if she was broke, or motel rooms if she had a little cash. If she felt particularly frisky, sometimes she even managed to seduce locals into helping out, but for the most part, she only had herself as company, traveling by night for no reason other than an insatiable wanderlust and nobody else to spend her time with.

Nothing had ever held her in one place. She had started traveling a long time ago, when she realized she had no reason to stay in her hometown. Plus...people started to grow a little bit suspicious when they noticed too many bodies cropping up. The world was changing, and for someone like her, it was best to stay on the move.

After that, it became a habit, and she got used to wandering and never having a place to call home. Did it ever bother her? Sometimes, when she was resting, it did. She could stop and look at the stars, with some kind of foreign aching in her chest, but it was rare that she thought about it. It had started up years ago, and she had forced herself to get used to it. She had never found any cure, and while she lingered around the east coast, it had finally dulled to a strange, quiet pain. A constant throb in her chest, next to her heart, some kind of strange tightness that she was happy to forget whenever she could. It was becoming more frequent, though, as she neared California, and she chalked it up to the fact that she had been alone and hungry for far too long.

She would have to do something about that soon. She hated feeling hungry.

Vera hopped off the bus when it stopped in Santa Carla, a coastal town that boasted a crowded boardwalk and just the kind of nightlife she needed. From the road, she could see the bright lights of a Ferris wheel and even a roller coaster, and she couldn’t help but smile. She had always liked fairs and carnivals. They were fun and exciting, and good places to pickpocket. Plus, the chaos made it easier for her to go unnoticed.

At the bus stop, she was greeted with boards and telephone poles covered in missing persons ads, and it was an oddly comforting sight. She would fit right in.

“Murder capital of the world, huh?” she said to herself, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. She had seen the graffiti on the back of a big WELCOME TO SANTA CARLA sign on the way in, and the flyers only added to the town’s reputation.

Yeah, this place was worth checking out.

The pier was bright, neon signs and carnival rides lighting up the night. Kids and adults alike were enjoying their summer, stuffing themselves with treats or screaming their way around the roller coaster. It all looked fun, she had to admit, and maybe once she had a chance to grab some cash she could hang around and enjoy herself. She could use a break from running constantly, and she was finding that the boardwalk was already making her happy. 

As she walked through the crowds, Vera spotted every kind of person, from middle aged parents toting along a family of four to dirty vagrant children to punks to a couple of weird kids lurking around the comic book store. There were pizza places, cotton candy carts, all sorts of dine in restaurants and bars...Santa Carla seemed like it had everything, but mostly, it was a good place for someone like her to spend some time. 

She sat herself down on a railing, trying to ignore the hunger pains she was feeling as she people watched. Beyond the homeless kids and the weirdos, the boardwalk was full of partygoers, and it looked like summer vacation was in full swing. There were a million smells in the air—cigarettes, weed, funnel cakes—but none of them really caught her attention. She let out a sigh, leaning her chin on her hand. She hated being indecisive about dinner. 

“Ugh, Surf Nazis,” a woman whispered to her friend as they ran by. 

“Gross,” the other wrinkled her nose.

Vera looked past them to the men that were shouting about their asses as they left and she snorted. 

“What’s wrong, girls?” One of them yelled. 

“Come back, we’ll show you a good time!” Another cackled, tossing an empty beer can over his shoulder. 

Vera rolled her eyes. Disgusting, pathetic creatures, all standing around a trash can as they smoked. They smelled awful, she realized with a wrinkle of her nose, and it wasn’t just from their smoke. They were nasty, leering at girls and laughing loudly with each other when the women they were bothering scampered away. 

Well, they weren’t her first choice, but at least she had found a meal.

She hopped off the fence and sauntered in their direction for a moment before turning, giving them just enough time to notice her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw them perk up, and before long, all four of them were following her through the crowd, shouting profanities as she made her way down to the pier. 

“Hey baby, where you goin’?” one yelled, jogging to keep up with her pace. 

Vera looked over her shoulder. “Down under the boardwalk...unless you’re chicken.”

She heard a chorus of hoots and whistles and grinned to herself. Men were so easy. 

“I call first dibs!”

“I wanna piece of that ass!” Another yelled.

They always did. Vera was a short girl, only around five feet tall, and stocky. She carried her weight in her legs, giving her thick thighs and a round butt that could never quite stay covered by the denim shorts she loved to wear so much. 

Boys liked the way she looked. They liked how she seemed so easy to grab, so soft, so touchable. As the Surf Nazis followed her down the rickety stairs to a secluded spot under the boardwalk, their hands were already moving, unbuttoning pants and reaching for Vera as if they were entitled to her. She smiled sweetly as she backed into the shadows, cooing for them to follow, grinning sickly when they obeyed. They always did, like lambs to the slaughter, never clever enough to recognize her predatory gaze and dangerous movements until it was too late. 

Sometimes, if they were lucky, they could catch a glimpse of her bra or panties before it was over, but tonight, Vera had little patience for the dirty fingers that tried to pull her shirt off and her shorts down. Their faces leered down at her, even in the darkness, grunting as they palmed themselves through their pants.

She gave them a second to enjoy it before her lips twisted into a sick grin and she reached for them, nails like claws and teeth like fangs. The air was suddenly filled with the sound of their screams, but the waves crashing against the sand drowned the grisly noises out. As she tore into them, she laughed, loving the way they were so terrified now that they had completely lost any sense of power over her.

 Boys always liked the way she looked, until she was covered in their friends’ blood.

-o-

David was having a boring night. 

His boys were under control for the time being, lounging on their bikes next to him. Paul and Marko were laughing loudly, occasionally punching each other just for the hell of it, and Laddie was reading a comic as he clung to Dwayne. Star had decided to stay home for the night, and nobody was complaining about that; at the thought of her, David growled to himself, grimacing at the reminder of the troublesome bitch. Max had wanted a daughter and a good mother for Laddie, and what had they ended up with? A mopey, whiny little cunt who refused to kill and feed like everyone else.

Feed...damn, he could go for a snack. He could practically taste blood in the air as he thought about grabbing a bite, fangs threatening to lengthen. He hadn’t even thought he was that hungry, but now that he was thinking about it, it was bugging him, and when David got the urge to feed, there were very few things that could stop him. The hunger would sometimes gnaw at him the way it did a newborn, and even Max was occasionally put off by it. It was something he expected from a younger vampire, like Marko, maybe, but David? His appetite could be insatiable, truly monstrous in a way that most others’ weren’t. 

The boys picked up on his hunger and he heard a few growls of agreement before he nodded for Dwayne to take Laddie back to the cave. The kid was never allowed to go with them when they hunted, and Dwayne was capable enough to grab something for himself if he didn’t catch up with them. Ever since Laddie had gotten his pesky little hands on their bloody wine bottle, they had been stuck with him, and if Dwayne hadn’t turned out to be so good with the kid, David would’ve been irritated beyond belief. 

It all worked out, though, and Laddie fit in well with the rest of the group. David just had to keep reminding himself to be patient. 

“Anybody catch your eye?” Paul asked as his brother took off down the beach with their youngest member.

“Absolutely fucking no one.” David sneered.

The tall blonde straightened up to sniff the air. “Get a whiff of that, though…”

David paused, mimicking Paul. He was right. There was a metallic scent on the breeze, the sweet smell of fresh blood. It made him thirsty, and as he led Paul and Marko down the boardwalk, it only grew stronger.

“Shit,” Marko mumbled as they started down the stairs to the beach. Once they had broken free of the crowd, the scent had hit them like a train, and even David was having trouble controlling himself.

“Careful,” he warned, voice coming out with a ragged, heavy breath. 

Murders happened in Santa Carla all the time, and not only because of the Lost Boys. It was a rough place, full of drugs and vagrants, and the violence only helped them blend in. Someone had probably gotten themselves in trouble under the boardwalk, and at this point David was just hoping that the killer was still around to sate his hunger. They never fed from corpses, so stumbling across them never yielded any good results unless they were in the mood to rip them apart for shits and giggles.

David was not in the mood.

He led Paul and Marko off the stairs and through the sand, hurrying now as the blood filled his senses. It was so fresh, and there was so much of it...this wasn’t normal, even for the murder capital of the world. What kind of sadistic human would cut someone up enough to spill so much blood? What the fuck was going on under his boardwalk? Sure, it was something he would do, but other than his boys, who could possibly be that brutal?

It was in the shadows of the pier that he finally got the answers to all of his questions. 

Just like the blood had, her scent hit him like a freight train. He could tell Paul and Marko were just as confused by the way they stopped and hissed, fangs already out as they looked down at the bodies littering the sand. It was a gorey scene, throats and stomachs ripped open, Surf Nazis gutted with their pants down. 

And in the middle of it all, she had the audacity to glance up at David, and then completely disregard him as she turned back to her final victim. She wasn’t worried in the slightest about the three males, and that pissed David off a little. When he would have snarled a warning at her insolence, he found himself distracted instead, head tilted and lips parted as he drank in her scent and checked her out.

She was wearing shorts that barely covered her bloody legs, ratty combat boots on her feet and an equally ratty denim vest over a ripped up black shirt. Her ebony hair was cut into some sort of shaggy mullet,  falling around her shoulders. It was long and wavy and glossy, but tousled and messy, no doubt thanks to feeding. 

He could only stare in shock at the black-haired girl that was feasting on a Surf Nazi. He couldn’t decide if he was angry at someone else hunting on his turf or happy to find a real female vampire, one that wasn’t stupid and whiny like Star, but the one thing he knew for sure as he took a step towards her was that he was just the tiniest bit turned on.

Paul and Marko could both smell the tiniest hint of their leader’s arousal, and it excited them. They weren’t used to supernatural girls, and the thought of getting a turn with her was enough to make the air heavy with the scent of lust as they followed David. 

Paul let out a low whistle behind him. “Shit, first time I wouldn’t mind bein’ a Surfer. I’d take a little of that sugar right now, know what I’m sayin?”

The vampiress lifted her head from her victim and smiled, drunk on blood and high off the hunt. “I don’t usually share meals, but I’ll give you the rest of this one if it gives me a free pass back outta here.”

Paul tensed to take her up on the offer, but David stopped him. “Free pass?”

The girl sat back from the still-whimpering Surf Nazi, blood running down her chin. “Figure you wouldn’t want me in your territory. Sorry. Didn’t realize anybody else was here, else I’d have been moving on already.”

David smirked. “No need, sweetheart.”

She furrowed her brow. 

“It’s feeding time, boys. Grab a snack.” David grinned, allowing Paul and Marko to surge forward and rip into the Surf Nazi. He watched with a twinge of annoyance as Paul turned from his meal and pressed his bloody lips to the girl’s, but that annoyance turned into surprise when she kissed back, albeit lazily. 

She smiled as her lips moved against his, a hand moving to tangle in his wild hair. Fire tore through Paul and he growled, pushing her down until her back hit the sand and her chest touched his as her breaths turned into frenzied pants. 

Hands ran down her sides, hard nails digging into her skin as Paul nipped at her lower lip. With a whine, she arched up against him, tugging at his hair until he snarled.

“Paul,” David growled a warning. 

Paul sat back up with an irritated grumble, licking his lips before plunging his fangs into the Surf Nazi and leaving Vera alone.

David had to admit, he had never met a female vampire that wasn’t stuck in limbo like Star. They seemed rare, or at least they were around California, but Max had always told him that girls of their kind were a special breed. He was already feeling a tug toward her, some kind of something pulling at his chest whenever she moved, and before he knew what he was doing, he was crouching down to suck up the last few drops of blood while his boys turned their attention to the killer.

“What’s your name, beautiful?” Marko asked, playing with a strand of her hair. 

“Vera,” she answered with the sweetest voice either of them had ever heard, practically a purr. 

Paul sighed, leaning in again. He was head over heels already. “What brings you here to our little corner of the world, Miss Vera?”

She blinked, and they were fucking mesmerized by those lashes and those hazel eyes. “Just passing through, boys. Don’t wanna step on any toes.”

Paul groaned. He wanted her to stay. She smelled amazing, and when she had returned the kiss he hadn’t even realized he was giving her, he felt jolts of electricity shoot through every part of his body. 

He wanted more.

“Damn, babe, you’re breakin’ my heart,” he said, holding her face so that he could lick blood off her chin.

“No fair,” Marko nudged his brother. “I want a taste…”

David looked up from the drained corpse, listening as his boys slurred with love drunk voices. Max had warned him about females, about those with foreign sires. They could trap you in a web of lust, keep you dumb and happy there for as long as they wanted, rob you blind and kill your entire family...but somehow, he got the feeling that Vera wasn’t even trying to fuck with them. There was no misty, foggy sensation that would signify magic, no eye contact, no focus. As he rose to his feet, he realized he was walking towards her of his own accord, the only spell being that strange, unspoken one that kept pulling him to her.

He had an inkling of what it could be, but he didn’t dare get his hopes up.

“Got a place to stay, darling?” He asked as he shoved his boys out of the way and knelt before Vera. 

She leaned toward him, a sweet smile on those bloody lips that told him she was confident enough in her ability to handle them all. She was calm, completely in control of herself, even when faced with three healthy male vampires. Her eyes were half-lidded, long lashes fluttering whenever she blinked. 

When her tongue slipped out to lick blood off her lips, David’s eyes widened at the sight of something he had never seen before. It was split in two, each side moving of its own accord easily. Paul let out an eager noise, Marko shoving him with his shoulder to try to get a better look. Vera just laughed at their fascination, pulling her tongue back into her mouth and smiling. 

David could feel her breath on his cheek as she took in his scent and he couldn’t help the shiver that went up his spine. He wanted to touch her, to kiss her better than Paul had, to fuck her and hear his name on her lips. He wanted to show her how strong he was, to impress her, to prove himself for some reason. He would kill a hundred surfers if he had to, if it would grant him her favor. He would sit out in the sun and burn himself if it meant he could be hers. 

He had never felt this way about anyone, and it was pissing him off.

Vera laughed to herself. She could smell his desire, and she knew that it was because of her. Just like those Surf Nazis, these vampires wanted her, but at least she liked this little pack. What’s more, that aching in her chest had stopped when they showed up, and she had a feeling she knew why. 

It was a little bit terrifying, though, and she wasn’t about to stop and think about it. 

“What are you suggesting?” She asked, brushing her fingers along his cheek, a smear of blood following. 

“Stay with us,” he breathed, blue eyes locked with hers. 

“Darling, I don’t even know your name,” she quipped, never shifting her gaze. 

“David,” he said with a slight growl as he felt himself getting lost in her eyes. 

“David,” she repeated, voice soft and breathy. Her hand moved to cup his cheek and he leaned into it, nose twitching as he smelled the fresh blood in her wrist. It was sweet, sweeter than any blood he had ever encountered before, and all he wanted to do was sink his fangs into her flesh and get a taste.

Vera heard a sigh and finally took her eyes off David. The other two were watching, just off to the side, staring hungrily at their leader and the new girl. 

“And what about you two?” She asked, hand sliding down to the side of David’s neck to keep him in check. She was confident enough in herself to handle him, but at the same time, he put her on edge. There was no way she was going to let her guard down around him yet.

That was the thing about female vampires, though; they had the uncanny ability to always put on a facade, and Vera was no exception. David made her nervous—they all did, honestly—but she wasn’t about to let them know that. 

“Paul,” the tall blonde said quickly, rushing forward as if he would die without her touch. He pressed his nose against her throat, breathing her scent as if he was starving. 

“Marko,” the smaller one followed, desperately reaching out to touch her hair. 

“Paul,” she purred, earning a growl. “...Marko…”

Another growl. 

They acted like they needed her, all three of them, but they were behaving themselves. She had no doubt that if she gave them the go ahead, she would be naked within seconds, but for the moment, they were listening to her. She had never experienced something like this before; usually, other vampires ignored her, or threatened her until she left their territory. These boys seemed to adore her, and she had to admit, she liked it. 

“Paul, Marko,” David said roughly. “Clean up so we can go home.”

With a groan, the younger two did as they were told, dragging Surf Nazi corpses into the ocean before wiping their hands and faces clean. 

“You’re their leader,” Vera said, more as an observation than anything else. “Are you their sire?”

David smirked as he helped her to her feet. “Depends on how you look at it.”

She raised an eyebrow. “There’s only one way to look at that, David.”

He melted when she said his name, leaning in to catch another whiff of her scent. It was sweet, like honey, sticky and sick, and all he wanted was to drown in it. “What have you done to me, Vera?”

She smiled and took his hand, raising it to lick blood off of his fingers. “Nothing on purpose, I promise.”

“Whatever it is, I don’t mind,” Paul suddenly grabbed her from behind, arms snaking around her waist as he buried his nose in her black hair, inhaling deeply and letting out a happy sigh. The feeling of her there in his arms, pressed up against him, was enough to make his fangs slide out again, and he couldn’t help but swipe his tongue up the side of her neck.

David snarled, snapping only inches from his brother’s face. “Behave.”

“You say as if you are,” Vera snorted, giving David a gentle push and easing her way out of Paul’s grip. “But you boys are all very sweet. I don’t mind the attention.”

“Oh, you have our attention, sweets,” Paul whistled as she turned and bent over to wash her face and hands at the water’s edge, giving them all a good view of her ass. A low rumble rose in David’s throat as he appreciated the sight, and Marko echoed it. 

“So greedy,” Vera mocked as she straightened up again. “Are you this nice to every bloodsucker that hangs out on your boardwalk, or is it just me?”

“Just you, that’s for sure,” Marko said, almost cackling.

“The others aren’t so delicious,” Paul cooed with that signature laugh. 

“Oh, aren’t you a charmer?” Vera said, walking back to them. Now that her arms and legs were clean of blood, they could see that she was covered in tattoos, and David wondered if she had them as a human before she was turned, or if she had found some way to make the ink stay in her regenerative skin.

Paul gave her a cocky grin and David rolled his eyes. His brother was such a flirtatious bastard. He was a lady killer, literally, even more than David was, but Vera didn’t seem to mind his advances. She seemed comfortable with Paul, taking it all in stride.

It made David just the tiniest bit jealous. 

“Come with us.” He said it more as an order than an offer, extending his hand out to her. 

“Unless you got somewhere better to go,” Marko joked. 

“And there ain’t nowhere better,” Paul snickered.

“There aren’t too many places to hide from the sun on a boardwalk,” Vera snorted. She was finally coming down from her high, the thrill of the hunt fading again and giving way to her less monstrous personality. “I was going to have to find a good spot anyways…”

Now that she wasn’t operating solely on instinct, she could take a moment and think about her situation. Three male vampires, none of whom had tried to kill her for stealing prey in their territory, seemed to be absolutely obsessed with everything about her and wanted her to go home with them. One had even kissed her and she had kissed him back, because it had felt so right. She allowed them to touch her, to taste her skin, to share her meal. They were stronger than her, and they outnumbered her, but she still felt like she was...in charge? 

David, the definite leader of the little pack, was looking at her hopefully. His face was stony, but she could see excitement in his blue eyes, and when she smiled, there was a spark of something in those irises. 

“Just don’t kill me in my sleep,” Vera joked as David took her hand and began leading her back up to the boardwalk. 

“No promises,” Marko leered as they followed.

“You look good enough to eat, babe,” Paul growled playfully, lunging forward to cop a feel of her ass. 

Vera only laughed, but David snarled dangerously at his brother, moving his arm to Vera’s shoulders and pulling her against his side. 

“Relax, you big angry beast,” Vera said with a grin, raising her hand to his chin and giving a teasing scratch. 

David huffed and Marko hooted with laughter. “Damn, she’s way more fun than you, David!”

“I dig this chick,” Paul snickered.

“You better share her,” Marko whined.

David smirked as they climbed the stairs back up to the boardwalk. Could he manage that? He only ever shared things with his brothers, but even then, he was terrible at it. Vera had some kind of magnetic pull on him, yeah, and his mouth watered at the thought of keeping her around, but Marko and Paul were both obviously into her...and she was into them. 

She was into all of them.

He needed to talk to Max. He honestly hated having to ask his sire for help or advice, and he avoided it whenever he could. Max had never been very nurturing, despite wanting everyone to act like a big family. It worked out for the boys, sure, but Max was…not a great father. A patriarch, yes, always seated at the head of the metaphorical table, but he was cruel and cold towards David, and he had been from the very start. He thought they all needed a stern hand to keep them in check, and David didn’t like that. 

Still, Max let them run free, and he knew more than David did about their own kind. He was helpful, sometimes, in his own way, and his son was going to have to defer to him. He had questions about Vera, about the pull he felt toward her, and Max was the only one with the answers.

As they returned to the boardwalk and joined the crowd of humans, Vera was pleased to see that the sea of people parted for the boys. They stepped aside, glancing with mixtures of emotions at the little pack. Girls looked dreamy, parents grabbed their children, Surf Nazis raised their lips in sneers. Was it because of their reputation, or did the humans somehow know that they should be afraid of the predators that stalked Santa Carla? She hoped it was both. She hoped that these boys were wild and rowdy enough to rule this boardwalk, and she hoped that they liked her enough to keep her around. 

She glanced up at the sky, a few stars twinkling despite the light pollution from the city. For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t itching to hop on a bus or hitch hike to the next town. For once in her life, Something was occupying her mind, and the wanderlust was giving way to another, completely foreign feeling. The ache in her chest was gone, but it was replaced by a strange, burning, almost longing that she had never felt before. It was almost similar to the emotions she experienced during bloodlust, but she was in control of herself. Her fangs weren’t poking through, her eyes weren’t shining...she was happy and her hunger was sated, so where was this coming from? 

She was still avoiding the one train of thought that would bring her to the right conclusion. It was just too much to consider, especially with everything happening so quickly all of the sudden. 

They came to a halt when they reached their bikes, Dwayne already back from dropping Laddie off. From the looks of it, he had grabbed a bite on the way, jeans stained with fresh blood that the humans would just assume was from a fight. 

Vera stopped. There was another male here? She was finding it hard to believe that she had stumbled across a pack of four males without any females, but she couldn’t smell much in the way of estrogen on them. It was just odd; vampires didn’t usually live in bachelor groups like these, but she supposed it wasn’t entirely unheard of. It was just strange that they hadn’t found any girls they wanted to keep around for all eternity.

Most people got lonely eventually. Maybe these four were all actually lovers...but she hadn’t seen any marks that would mean they were claimed, and she hadn’t smelled or sensed anything that would lead her to believe that they were serious.

Odd.

The one leaning against the bike was tall, long dark hair falling around his shoulders and a curious, but serious, expression on his handsome face. She felt frozen under his gaze, uncharacteristically nervous, like a deer in the headlights. It was like he could see right through her, and she didn’t know if she liked that or not.

“Dwayne, this is Vera,” David said as he tugged her along. She found a way to make her legs work again and followed, letting a smile curl its way onto her lips when Dwayne bowed his head to her. 

“And she’s tough,” Marko said, bouncing over to his bike. 

“And she’s gorgeous,” Paul took her hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss as he passed her.

“I can see that,” Dwayne said, his voice deep and smooth, a seductive smile on his lips. 

David narrowed his eyes, but tried to hide the movement with a smirk. “Keep an eye on her. I’m going to visit Max.”

“Oh, I’ll keep both eyes on her,” Paul winked as he beckoned for her to sit behind him on his motorcycle. 

David rolled his eyes, desperately trying to not make a scene. “Control yourself. I’ll be back.” 

He pressed a kiss to Vera’s head, inhaling deeply before leaving her side and stalking off down the boardwalk. He could already feel his sire tugging questioningly at his consciousness, curious as to why David was so eager to speak to him. His son had always been good at blocking him out, keeping his mind locked down unless he needed something or there was trouble that called for Max’s attention. The others were more open, but Max didn’t have as strong a link with them, and while David was supposed to be his prodigal son, he was so...secretive. Private. Closed off. For him to be willingly heading to the VideoMax store for anything other than annoying him or hitting on Maria out of boredom, something very important had to be going on, and Max was beyond itching to know what it could be. 

“Who’s Max?” Vera asked, joining Paul to perch on the back of his bike. 

“David’s sire,” Marko answered. 

“A grouchy old bloodsucker,” Paul grinned. 

“He runs the video store. He hates it when we crash.” Marko laughed. 

“But...that cashier is pretty cute,” Paul said, thinking of Maria. “I’d love for a bite of—”

He was cut off by the breath leaving his body when Vera wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his back. 

Marko hooted with laughter at his brother’s reaction and Dwayne let out a chuckle. Paul was absolutely speechless, and Vera wasn’t even making skin on skin contact with him. 

Until she felt him tense, smirked against his back, and slid her hands under his mesh shirt. 

If Paul could blush, he would have. He would have been a shade past tomato red. The feeling of her fingers running over his abs was all he could focus on for a moment, and all he wanted was to kiss her again, feel her again, maybe get a little tongue action...

“You’re supposed to behave yourself, Paul,” Marko taunted as he caught a whiff of the lust in the air and felt his brother’s excited thoughts.

“Yeah, yeah,” Paul snarled. “I don’t need this shit from you.”

“I’m just repeating what David said,” Marko said defensively. “You’re the one who can’t keep it in his pants.”

“Well, aren’t you just the perfect little angel?” Paul shot back. “I’m the one with a goddess on his bike, might I remind you.”

Marko scoffed, lip raised in a nasty little snarl. “Not for long, Paul!”

Vera smiled as they bickered. Paul’s arousal hung in the air, but she didn’t mind; in fact, she liked it, and she hugged her arms around him tighter as he squabbled with Marko. She was eager to get back to wherever it was that they called home, and she was eager to sleep surrounded by them and feel truly safe for once. She was used to being alone, and she wasn’t scared of it, but she was always on edge, always ready to run or fight. It made her a light sleeper, and the concept of not having to worry was more tantalizing than any of these boys were on their own. 

[sylverstorms]

Cassandra x Maiden----Anonymity Ch.2

Chapter 1.

From a molten orb in the sky, the sun descends to nothingness and gives way to the pale light of the moon.

Another day has come to its end. And somehow, you’re still alive.

Still alive and still cleaning the massive library of castle Dimitrescu. It took you the entire evening, but you’re finally almost done. Only a couple more shelves to go and you can get some much-needed rest.

The cloth in your hand doesn’t slow for even a second as it rubs over every mahogany inch within your reach. You keep your eyes on the rows upon rows of ancient books and their decorated spines, to forget exactly how high up you currently stand.

You don’t think you could breathe normally if you look down. No, your eyes refuse to go that route…

That is, until something small and black dances in out the corner of your vision. An insect, barely the size of your pinky nail, decides this is a good time to distract you. It is not. You ignore the creature to the best of your ability, but its insistent buzzing around your head, closer to your ear every time, eventually drives you to madness.

You swat it off. Unsuccessfully.

The ladder gives a tiny creak in protest that sends your heart into overdrive. Fuck you, you think. This stupid fly isn’t worth the danger.

But then…

A painful sting comes at the crook of your neck, like a curved needle driven harshly into your flesh. It is more of a slash than a bite; your eyes immediately prickle with unshed tears, your back tenses so hard you nearly pull a muscle right there. Instinctively, you jerk and slap the creature off of you.

The ladder wobbles from the sudden movement.

Your fall becomes a certainty.

What a messed-up sense of humor the universe has. In a house full of killers, you muse, you’ll die from a cracked skull because of a bloody fly. It’s so pathetic it is almost laughable.

A rush of air whooshes behind you, followed by the sound of a thousand tiny wings batting. By the time you realize what just transpired, a familiar body crashes into your back, half pinning you against the bookshelves and half supporting you on the now steady ladder.

Of course. Cassandra.

You know it’s her because you recognize her spicy perfume and subtle hint of bath salts underneath its fragrance. You don’t want to, but it is a scent that has lingered in your senses longer than you’d like. Longer than makes sense, considering you haven’t seen her in nearly three whole weeks.

You don’t know if you should be grateful for her saving you, since she’s also the reason you damn near fell to your death.

How did you not think it was one of the daughters messing with you, you wonder, when you saw the odd fly? Then again, you didn’t think they were capable of remote controlling just one and so precisely.

“Hello again, Miss Delicious.” she purrs by your ear. “Miss me?”

You somehow fight off the shiver that threatens to roll down your spine. She’s far too close to your neck, while blood steadily oozes, warm and thick, out of the wound there. What’s worse is your hands are glued to the sides of the wooden ladder from the shock, with no hope of releasing it anytime soon. You can’t push her away. Not that it would have made any real difference, considering her strength. But the thought you just can’t makes the situation ten times worse.

You are helpless. You are prey.

Cassandra’s breath ghosts over your skin. The fabric of her hood tickles your ear as she leans in. She’ll lick the blood away, you think. You brace yourself for it. Just a quick brush of tongue –hopefully— and that will be it.

You are not so lucky.

As if this isn’t already too much, Cassandra adds her tongue into the mix. She licks you like you’re her ice-cream, getting a small taste at first, then pressing into the wound when it doesn’t supply enough blood to satisfy her. Your lips part soundlessly; you don’t want to know if the sound that would have escaped them is a cry or a moan.

Instead, you feel soft lips close around the injury, trapping the precious beading crimson there. A languid suck comes that seems to last forever.

Your stomach free-falls with how it drops. Your arms tremble for reasons beyond the strain you’ve put on them.

It—hurts.

It hurts, but. The proximity, how she keeps her mouth on you and the way she’s starting to almost grind into your backside are so unbearably erotic the pain only heightens sensation. You are holding your breath, at this point, because you don’t know what is happening, if you like it, if you hate it –but oh God what is she doing with her tongue— if she’s killing you or having sex with your neck.

“Cassaaandraaa!”

Lady Dimitrescu’s voice echoes throughout dark corridors to reach your ears. The sound is faint to you but it must be blaring for the daughter because she jumps, startled.

It is time for dinner and she’s late. the small part of your brain that still functions and hasn’t yet been reduced to a hormonal mess is quick to point out.

Cassandra lets out a shaky breath –growl?— past her teeth that feels way more frustrated than it sounds. For a second, you think she’s leaning back towards your ear as if to whisper a secret…

But then, the solidity of her form breaks into hundreds of buzzing insects. She is gone the next instant past the open doors as though a ghost, an apparition never truly there in the first place.

You stand on shaky legs, confused on all levels and desperately trying to catch your breath. You want to just get down from this fucking ladder and take a shower, then dress your injury and finally go to sleep. You want to forget whatever the hell this was and you do not want to see her unreasonably attractive face in your dreams.

Your legs don’t feel like they can adequately support you, but you clench your jaw and fight your way down regardless.

The long route is taken to the maids’ rooms, just to avoid going anywhere near the Dimitrescu family. Once you’re safely in your bedchambers, you shrug off your clothes and head straight for the showers.

The cool water does wonders for your body after the hours of work you’ve endured. Being in its embrace for a while, you think you’ve washed the day completely off of you. Yet as soon as you brace your arms on the wall, it’s like you’re trapped one hour back in time. Suspended mid-air with her behind you, her mouth perfectly fitted to the junction of your neck.

The faucet nearly breaks with the force you put into shutting it. This accursed family has already taken your life under their control. They cannot be allowed to take your thoughts, as well.

It takes a long time for your shivers to die down under the heavy covers of your bed. When you’re finally warm enough, exhaustion takes over. Your eyes droop shut and you fall into the world of dreams. Yet even there, it seems, there is no escape. No sanctuary to be found.

You are chased down corridors filled with gore, while insects nibble at your arms and back. Creatures with way too many rows of teeth groan and hiss and gain in on you. You don’t want to die. You don’t want to die—

Somewhere in the depths of your nightmare, you feel the bed beside you dip. A cold touch that you later tell yourself is just a leftover from the nightmare brushes over the fresh cut that’s reopened from you straining your throat.

When your eyes snap open in the darkness of your room, however…

You are all alone.

-

-

-

Meanwhile somewhere in castle Dimitrescu…

Cassandra steps out of the shadows to join her two sisters, seated opposite from each other on the luxurious couch and playing Snakes and Ladders. Of course, they didn’t have the decency to wait for her. Their mother is off to the side, smoking at the balcony.

Three sets of eyes briefly fall on the middle daughter and she doesn’t like it one bit. Daniela’s subtly heterochrome gaze lingers, her mouth twists into the shit-eating grin that signals only trouble and Cassandra knows to wrap her fingers –lightning-fast—around her neck before she can call her out for being late. Some things are just better left unsaid.

Except, Bela looks up at her under her hood and gives a little smirk. Cassandra can only really choke one of them. Don’t say anything stupid. She warns with her eyes.

Bela, the traitor, speaks up anyway. “Not like you to be late twice in a row, sister. Especially at dinner. What has you so distracted, lately?”

“You’re dead.” Cassandra mouths, fingers tightening around Daniela’s neck, who is trying, unsuccessfully, to hit her. Then, in her nicest voice, since their mother can now hear, she replies “Some of us have actual hobbies, Bela.”

“Sounds interesting.” the elder sister hums.

Cassandra makes the mistake of releasing Daniela to advance on her, but— it is a grave mistake. “Hobbies as in the huuuuman you’re thirsting after—” A swift elbow flies at the youngest Dimitrescu’s side but she blocks it. “Hey. Hey, Bela. What do you call something that’s both horny and hungry?”

“…Horngry?” Bela chuckles.

“Cassandra.” Daniela cackles and Bela –this fucking traitor— snickers. The brunette doesn’t even want to check their mother’s reaction—

Alcina drops her forehead onto her palm.

It’s decided. Cassandra is killing Daniela for the greater good.

.

Ko-Fi

[absolutebl]

Hi hi! I watched We Best Love 1 & 2 and thought I would share my thoughts.

Short thoughts

My personal rating would be a 6/10. I had to force myself to continue after part 1 ended in heartbreak, and then again after finishing episode 3 of part 2. The rating is mostly driven by the fact I didn’t enjoy the main plotline nor the main secondary plotline and therefore probably wouldn’t ever rewatch it.

Longer thoughts

Things I liked

* The acting was superb, especially YU, who had such incredible facial control and emotiveness throughout. The hugs between Zhou Shu Yi and Gao Shi De hit me harder than the kisses or other things; they just felt so weighty and emotional, and like they were genuinely taking so much comfort from each other.

* The way the Japanese dialogue was sprinkled in so naturally was extremely charming and made me smile a lot.

* The scene in part 1 where Zhou Shu Yi and Gao Shi De’s mom are ganging up on Gao Shi De at the dinner table is probably one of my favorite BL scenes ever. I cackled so hard through the whole thing. Shu Yi and Shi De’s mom’s dynamic in general I just found so fun.

* Set design and styling of the actors, especially in part 2. I want Zhou Shu Yi’s house so badly, and few BL actors have looked quite as good in suits as those two. (Although I wanted so much to put a pair of suspenders on Shu Yi’s pants so his white shirt wouldn’t pop out between his black vest and trousers when he sat down.)

* Shi Zhe Yu and Liu Bing Wei’s side storyline. They had immediate chemistry in part 1, and after a rocky start in ep 1 of part 2, I thought they were very cute together. I loved the “donkey and carrot” dynamic.

* “You can consider it my dowry” literally made me choke on my tea. Epic line, especially delivered so nonchalantly. That whole conversation between Zhou Shu Yi’s dad and Gao Shi De was great—“No worries; he can join my family instead” was such a great table-turn, and very fitting for a couple that took turns pursuing each other and always felt like equals. I also appreciated that they tried hard to make Zhou Shu Yi’s father a more three-dimensional and likable version of the ultrapowerful homophobic dad character than normal, and it was clear Yoza Eriku was having a lot of fun playing him.

Things I didn’t like:

* The entire main plotline. I simply personally don’t enjoy the “interfering powerful homophobic parents” and “forced/prolonged separation” tropes. The five year separation, the misunderstanding, and the dad’s involvement just turned me off dramatically. If the show hadn’t been so short (and so highly recommended) I don’t think I would have finished it. Also, you described the plot as “classic”; the down-side of that is there was nothing in the main plot that felt new. Is this the best iteration of these common plots? Maybe. But coming to it after almost 30 other BLs (and the show coming out in 2021 after it had all been down before), there just wasn’t much that felt fresh in the plot or characters.

* Pei Shou Yi and Yu Zhen Xuan’s entire storyline. When Pei Shou Yi was explaining to Yu Zhen Xuan about his affective disorder (which is not a correct use of that term I don’t think, but that’s beside the point), I was super intrigued. (That line, “For me, it was just 12 years,” hit so hard.) I still think it’s a really cool and fascinating idea for a BL character. But I didn’t feel that that core concept connected to any of his actions in a way that made him suddenly make sense and feel like a well-developed, 3D character, so it just felt like a waste. For example, I still couldn’t tell you why he left Yu Zhen Xuan at the end of the year, although I wasn’t paying a ton of attention by that point. Even still, if at the end of that speech Pei Shou Yi had been like, “Look, if it makes you happy to be here with me then go ahead; as you now know, it literally doesn’t make a difference to me so I guess knock yourself out,” I could have dug that as a satisfying ending for them. The extra episode of drama and sudden U-turn from Shou Yi felt unnecessary and unearned. And I just didn’t really find Yu Zhen Xuan to be particularly likable or sympathetic as a character.

* Even though part 2 picked up literally where part 1 ended, and it was clear both parts were shot together, the further I got into part 2 the harder it was to feel like I was watching the same characters as in part 1. In particular, connecting the somewhat playful, lovesick Shu Yi of part 1 to the ambitious Shu Yi whose dream in life is to be chairman of a business conglomerate was a bit of a challenge.

* The whole business setting wasn’t badly done (it was oddly charming) but it wasn’t super well done either. Yu Zhen Xuan as CTO of a tech company was pretty hard to swallow. There also just wasn’t a lot of actual plot in part 2. The corporate espionage storyline didn’t seem to have a point, and largely seemed to exist so something besides a flashback would happen, and to justify the use of a business setting.

* The sheer amount of heterosexuality in part 1.

* The sheer amount of questions never answered in part 2. (“Who did Zhou Shu Yi see in America?” is the biggest one that I’m not aware was answered.)

Miscellanea:

* I don’t know if this is a Taiwanese accent thing or something general for Mandarin that I just never picked up on, but I noticed a lot of “sh” sounds devolving into “s” sounds throughout the show and from multiple characters. In particular, both main characters’ names got the treatment (Shu Yi being pronounced as Su Yi and Shi De as Si De), and the words 說 and 什麼 getting pronounced as “suō” and “sénme” respectively.

Other BL thoughts:

* I finished Manner of Death; personal rating is 8/10. I loved the couples and the setting, and the ending was extremely cute and satisfying. The two stars it loses are (1) for the unbelievably grim material the plot is actually about; and (2) because at times the romance and the mystery seemed really poorly integrated and to detract from one another. Would rewatch but with a lot of skipping around to avoid the really grim bits.

* I started Until We Meet Again. Just from the first episode I really love it. I think I know what’s going on with Pharm’s dreams, and if I’m right it’s going to be so cool. I already love the desserts angle. Manaow is my favorite female side character since Yihwa stole the show in Together with Me; her and Pharm’s banter and laughter feel so natural that I kept wondering if they were improv-ing. Probably the best 1st episode I’ve seen from a Thai BL, so I have very high expectations from here.

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

I hope you're having a greta weekend too!

Excellent thoughts all.

The only thing I'll point out, just in case you didn't know, is Taiwanese Mandarin is different from the Mainland in a few ways. (Most notably its written standards, like they did in Hong Kong.) But when spoken Standard Guoyu (used in education, businesses, govt offices, the news etc... see Guoyu Cidian《國語辭典》) seems quite formal and, to me, a little stiff sounding. 

But your ear (better a than mine) is, I think, picking up on Taiwan Guoyu - it’s a colloquial, localized form. Slightly influenced by Hokkien and a few other things. 

Languages do crazy things on islands. 

---

On a different note if you liked the first few eps of UWMA then you are going to really love the rest. At least I hope so. Clearly we don’t have an exact match in taste, but UWMA is wonderful on story. There is a bit of a blushing maiden trope with Pharm but that’s the only flag I really have for that show (apart from old school trigger warning, which you kinda know you’re in for form the get go). 

[quirrrky]

A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS — HIRUGAMI SACHIROU

𖧵 900+ words 𖧵 hirugami sachirou never believed in christmas; fluff 𖧵 christmas gift for the adorable @charlie-jay 🎁 for @momochimo's secret santa event!

Hirugami Sachirou never believed in Christmas. What’s the point of it anyway? It’s not in his religion to celebrate such. Yes, he smiled and generously gave gifts to his loved ones and friends but he certainly couldn’t see the main point for doing all this just for one “special” day. He didn’t even know why his family threw special Christmas dinner every year.

Disposing his used paper plate, he came across his cute dog and saw him wearing a Santa hat. “Even you, Koutarou?” He said, disappointingly, as he petted his dog which looked like he’s also enjoying the festivities with the amount of affection and treats he’d been receiving.

With slumped shoulders, he leaned himself onto the door frame and glanced around to observe the unexplainable happiness coming from everyone. His parents were laughing loudly with their friends, his sister was canoodling with her boyfriend…okay. So how could he cleanse his eyes off that?

He realized that his inner-scrooge could be showing and it’d be best if he’d just go to his bedroom and pretend to be studying, until he saw you—seated alone in the couch, holding a cup of hot choco in between your hands. You were someone new. Perhaps, one of his parents’ new friend’s child? Or one of his sister’s new friend? It didn’t matter. His eyes sparked as if there’s something alighted within him.

Without hesitation, he sat beside you and asked, “Not enjoying Christmas that much?”

“Not really…it’s just that I didn’t know anyone here.”

Hirugami was disappointed. For a second there, he thought he found a soulmate in you—someone who didn’t believe in Christmas too, but you ended up just like the rest.

You, on the other hand, were quite nervous though as the random guy just suddenly sat beside you and initiated a conversation. Okay, he was both pretty and tall too.

Before the both of you could even deepen the conversation or excuse yourselves out of it, Sachirou’s parents called out for the exchange gift.

Sachirou luckily got his sister’s boyfriend. The moment his name was announced he was excited to give his little present—a jacket in the color he knew his sister despised.

“Does it look nice on me?” The boyfriend asked while Sachirou’s sister gave a brief pause.

Sachirou was internally cackling.

“Yes, it does. You look handsome, babe.”

Ridiculous. Sachirou rolled his eyes.

As expected his name was rolled next and you were surprised that it’s him that you got.

“Oh, so you were Sachirou?” You asked.

“Yes.”

You handed out a box to him. “It’s not that much, but I hope you like it. I just made them before I get here.”

Opening the box, he was surprised to see cute animal cookies. “I love animals. How do you know that?” His eyes had that childlike gleam in them.

You chuckled. “I just happened to love them too.”

And his face was split in a grin like a kid finally receiving their gift from Santa.

Hirugami Sachirou never believed in Christmas until he found himself anticipating the next in hopes of seeing you again. Maybe? He had also gotten you a gift just in case you would actually visit again. And with the right stroke of luck, he’s more than delighted that you actually did. At that very moment, he also realized that he couldn’t wait another Christmas to see and talk to you again and asked of your number before you leave the party.

Hirugami Sachirou never believed in Christmas until he found himself buying you the most beautiful diamond ring and making a reservation at one of the most elegant hotels so you could have the view of the giant Christmas tree outside as he proposed to you. It had only been a year since you became friends last Christmas but your relationship progressed quickly. You both felt like you’ve known each other for more than a year and it’s just about right that you accepted his proposal.

Hirugami Sachirou never believed in Christmas, but if he told you that you probably wouldn’t believe him, because he made every Christmas special for the both of you. Just like the day you got married and just like today.

He was all cuddled up to you, giving you occasional kisses as you watched the film with your furbabies snuggled so close to you as well.

“We ran out of cookies.” He said after dipping his hand into the now empty jar.

“It must’ve been the cats.” You reasoned out and the cats looked at you like they understood what you just did, giving you the look.

Sachirou chuckled and wiped the little crumbs from the corner of your lips with the back of his finger. “Really, the cats, huh?”

You both laughed at the realization that you’d been caught until his eyes got lost in yours. Looking at you, he really wondered how he got so lucky. Santa must’ve made a mistake and put his name on the nice list for him to receive a present as perfect as you are. He tucked a few strands of your hair behind your ear and leaned in close for a kiss, sealing your lips with his.

Hirugami Sachirou once never believed in Christmas until the very first time he saw you. He never believed until he wanted to celebrate each and every Christmas with you. He never believed until he found it in you. To him, you’re the hope, the joy and something he’d been waiting for. However, unlike the others, he needed not wait another year because he have you, his Christmas, in his arms everyday.

REBLOGS ARE DEEPLY APPRECIATED ♡ Please help me reach other viewers. Thank you so so much!

COLLECTIONS: Haikyuu ✧ DAYDREAM MUSEUM

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[spacexcowgirl]

All About The Chase - F.W.

Fred Weasley x Reader

Summary: Y/N will do anything for her best friend—and crush—Fred Weasley. Even if that means fake dating him so he can catch the eye of her cousin.

Word Count: 6.5k

Warnings: Light swearing, one allusion to sex (blink and you’ll miss it), brief mention of intoxication (again, blink and you’ll miss it), super mean awful cousin, food, a little angsty with a happy ending, 

A/N: For the anon who asked for Fred fake dating his friend to make her relative jealous! I decided to make her the twins age, and I may have went a little overboard with the cousin rivalry, but oh well. Thank you for feeding into my love of cliches! Also, I played around with using third person rather than second, it just felt right for this one. Pictures are from Pinterest.

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When Y/N was six years old, her parents—well, Santa—got her the most amazing art set. She had always liked to draw, and now she had an array of more colors than she could even really name. When her family was set to head to her Aunt’s house for Christmas dinner, she packed up all of her new markers, a stack of fresh paper, and a few of her drawings she was most proud of to show off.

The night had started wonderfully. She got a few more gifts from her grandparents, a beautiful doll from her aunt and uncle, and enough sweets and candy to last her months. When it was time to finally eat, Y/N left all of her new toys and her cherished art set in her relatives’ living room. Y/N doesn’t remember much about the dinner—why should she? It was a decade prior—but what she does remember vividly is the excitement that bubbled up in her tiny body when her mother suggested she go grab some of her artwork to show off.

Y/N slid out of her chair and raced into the living room. Only when she got there did she find all of her finished art completely destroyed, covered in scribbles from her new markers. Her brows had furrowed and her eyes welled with tears, and that’s when she heard it. The sinister little cackle of her cousin, Annalise. Y/N turned on her heels and saw the girl, uncapped marker in hand, looking at her as if she was the most pitiful thing in the world.

Y/N returned to dinner empty handed, claiming she had forgotten the drawings at home—even though her parents were certain she hadn’t. Annalise returned with an innocent smile and a portrait of their Nan in hand—one Y/N was certain she just made with her markers—and all of the adults cooed and awed at the small girl’s talent.

A few years later, Y/N was set to star in their primary school’s theater production. Looking back, she now recognized that her landing that part had little to do with any real talents she had, and more to do with how adults always seemed to fawn over her. She was always revered as ‘just the cutest little thing!’ Which evidently preceded talent at the ripe age of eight.

Right before she was set to go on stage and deliver her three lines (that’s all a star can really handle so young, right?), she found her angel wings shredded and her halo headband bent in half. The teacher didn’t have any time to fix her costume, so in a fluster she threw out her part all together, and sent Y/N to stand with the rest of the year 3 ensemble. It didn’t take long for Y/N to catch Annalise’s eye amongst the other students, only she was smirking. Y/N had to force her eyes back out onto the crowd and desperately search for her parents to keep herself from bawling on the spot.

As if things couldn’t get any worse between the pair of cousins, when Y/N was ten, her and her parents were astonished to find a letter tucked into their usual mail, accepting her into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The letter gave an answer to the many strange things Y/N had been able to make happen with her emotions alone, and her chest swelled with pride to learn just how special she truly was. Not to mention, this was finally her opportunity to escape Annalise once and for all.

Until, it wasn’t. Y/N didn’t know that Annalise was a witch as well until the two families spotted each other on the platform, preparing to send both of their daughters off. Neither parents had revealed the truths of their daughters abilities to the other prior, because they knew it must be kept with the upmost secrecy. Y/N’s parents and Annalise’s parents were overjoyed to know their little girls wouldn’t be all alone, and they had someone to share their apprehensions with. Y/N and Annalise were far less enthused by the news.

A little over five years later, Y/N sat in the Gryffindor Common room, rifling through beginning of the year work that had already been assigned. In the half-decade since she’d started at Hogwarts, she had managed to avoid Annalise as best she could. It turned out to be somewhat easy, seeing as they were sorted into different house. Still, whenever Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were forced into classes together, Y/N couldn’t help but feel dread pooling in her stomach. Annalise was always sure to make those classes a living hell for her.

Y/N’s attention was pulled from her work from the sound of a small group of people bounding into the common room. She glanced back over the couch, only to see her best friends—Fred and George—laughing and pushing each other around.

“She totally wants me!” Fred argued, a cocky grin alit on his face.

“Oh, please, she hates your guts, mate.” George teased back.

Fred looked as if he were about to respond, until his eyes met Y/N’s across the room. A more genuine smile found its way onto his face as he tugged his brother towards the couch, then plopped down next to her. George then took a seat in one of the chairs across from them. Y/N neatly gathered her work into a pile, knowing for certain there was no way she would make any progress with them around.

“Y/N, will you please tell my dear brother that your cousin is absolutely mad for me, she just has a different way of showing it?” Fred threw his arm lazily around the back of the couch, right behind her, as he looked at her expectantly.

Y/N couldn’t help the sour mood that the conversation immediately put her in. There was two reasons for this; one, the most obvious, any topic that involved Annalise always brought her down. She couldn’t help it, and she tried not to hate the girl, but everything about her was draining. The second reason was that Y/N was absolutely head over heels for Fred. She had been ever since he pranked Graham Montague for making her cry in third year. The idea of Fred and Annalise together was truly the epitome of her worst nightmare.

“I don’t know, she might really just hate you.” Y/N shrugged, doing her best to keep her voice even and her face straight. Her words caused Fred to scowl and George to erupt into fits of laughter.

“Oh come on, not you too!” Fred whined as he threw his head back. 

“What do you even see in her anyways?” Y/N wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to the question, but she couldn’t help but ask it. 

“Well, she’s quite fit.” This answer earned a swift slap to the arm from Y/N, which only made Fred snicker. “And!” He continued, persistent to point out that looks weren’t all he cared about. “She’s feisty, and smart. And, she acts completely not interested in me.”

“So that’s why you like her?” Y/N snorted.

“Ah, dearest Y/N, one day you’ll learn that it’s all about the chase.” Fred began to twiddle some of her hair between his fingers.

“There’s plenty of girls who aren’t interested in you! You could ‘chase’ any of them.” Y/N reasoned, batting his hand away.

“You’ve got that right.” George snorted, causing his brother to shoot him a glare.

“Well, even if that were true, I’ve got my sights set on her.” Fred shrugged.

“Well, if you really want Annalise to go out with you, you should just date me.” Y/N teased as she sat forward, beginning to pluck through her papers once again. When no one laughed or responded, she quickly shot her eyes up. “I’m only kidding.”

“No, no that could work.” Fred sat up abruptly and pointed a finger towards her. “Y/N, you’re a genius!”

“I’m really not.” Y/N shook her head quickly. “That might breach the list of dumbest things I’ve ever said.”

“Yeah, right, don’t forget we’ve been around you drunk, Y/L/N. That doesn’t even make the top ten.” George grinned at her, but her nerves kept her from even smiling at his little joke.

Y/N was growing desperate now, because neither of the twins were brushing off her silly joke. Fred was looking at her as if she just handed him the key to solve all of his problems, and George was doing nothing to tame his brother. Y/N glanced expectantly between the two of them as she drew her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Come on, what better way to make her jealous than to see me dating her cousin?”

Y/N had mentioned on occasion the way that Annalise always had to ruin everything for her as a child, but never in full detail. Some part of her knew if she had just been transparent about how truly awful the girl had treated her, Fred would never give Annalise a second glance. But now, he thought they were nothing more than cousins with a small childhood rivalry, and for that he could justify going after her.

“Please, Y/N,” Fred got down on his knees in front of her, dawning his best puppy dog eyes, and put his hands in a pleading gesture. “Be my fake girlfriend for a month—two, tops.”

Y/N chewed harder on her bottom lip as she gazed at him, already feeling her reluctance slipping away. She could never say no to him, especially when he looked so adorable. Y/n breathed out a sigh and dropped her head to look at her folded hands in her lap. All thoughts of self preservation and protecting her heart went out the door; she knew she would say yes to him.

“Fine.” Her voice was quiet, so much so that it took Fred a second to make sure he had heard her properly. 

“Really? Just like that? I was about to start bribing you with sugar quills and a month of Herbology homework—”

“Well, if you’re offering—”

“Nope, too late. You agreed before I had to.” Fred grinned at the girl before swooping in and placing a kiss on her cheek. “Now, let’s set up some ground rules.”

Fred began to drone on about what they would and wouldn’t do. Things like holding hands in the corridors, sitting close at meals, kisses on the cheeks and forehead. Which pet names they would and wouldn’t use. Number one, though, was no kissing on the lips. 

Y/N only listened halfheartedly as Fred rambled on, offering a slight head nod ever now and then to show she was in agreement. As Y/N thought over just what she had gotten herself into, she realized the next few weeks were going to be awful.

-

It didn’t take long for rumors of Fred and Y/N’s budding romance to swirl. She often found herself walking hand in hand with him through the corridors, light whispers trailing behind them. Often times, people she had hardly ever spoken to would come up to her and gush about how they always just knew Fred and her would be perfect together. Y/N would always politely smile, then wonder if they could hear her heartbreaking as loudly as she could.

To make matters worse, Fred was the perfect ‘boyfriend.’ Just as she always assumed he would be. He’d carry her books in one arm, swing their intertwined hands with the other, and walk her to each of her classes. At night, he’d sit with her in the library while she poured over her notes for the day—even though she knew he wanted nothing more than to be out pranking with George and Lee. She adored all of the extra time they were getting to spend together, until she’d remember that it was only temporary, and if he were lucky, he’d be doing all of these things with Annalise in a month.

It wasn’t until about three weeks into their agreement that Annalise approached her. Fred had walked her to potions that day, like he always did. He was making her laugh loudly, not caring at all about the many eyes upon them.

“It’s a wonder your mum didn’t ship you and George off when you were toddlers,” Y/n snorted. “It sounds like you two were menaces.”

“Oh, we were.” Fred nodded, a small grin on his face. “But I reckon we were the cutest babies she had so far, so she kept us around.”

Y/N snorted and rolled her eyes before nudging him lightly with her shoulder. They had finally made it to the potions classroom, so it was time for them to part. Fred handed her back her books and dropped her hand, but didn’t walk away until he had placed a soft kiss to her temple.

“Meet you outside of here after to walk to lunch?” He confirmed, but there was no need. It was the routine they had fallen into.

“Mhm.” Y/N gazed up at him, unable to contain the giddy smile on her lips. With that, he turned and began walking down the hallway, but not before shooting her a wink over his shoulder.

Y/N watched his retreating figure, a lovesick grin plastered to her face. Just when she had pulled herself from her daydreams and was about to enter the classroom, she ran hard into a firmly planted body.

“So, you and Weasley are pretty serious then, huh?” Annalise stood with her hands on her hips, a look that read as both disgust and amusement riddled on her face.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Y/N quickly recovered, hugging her books closer to her chest. This year, she had more classes with Annalise than any year prior, seeing as they both received a significant amount of O.W.L.s.

“Hm.” Annalise’s eyes trailed down the hallway where Fred had once been, before letting them snap back to Y/N. “Don’t know how you managed that.”

Y/N felt her blood run cold, but couldn’t find the energy within her to talk any further. So, she simply brushed past Annalise and into the classroom, ignoring the scoff that left Annalise’s lips when she pushed her out of the way. Y/N found her usual seat in the back and trained her eyes ahead, careful to keep her expression calm. That was, until Annalise slid into the seat next to her.

“What are you doing?” Y/N gaped at her. It wasn’t like they had assigned seats, but Y/N had always sat next to Patricia Stimpson. The girl was constantly fussing and nervous, always afraid to make a wrong move, but she certainly wasn’t the worst person Y/N could be stuck with.

“Asked Stimpson to trade seats.” Annalise shrugged nonchalantly, before a wicked grin grew on her face. “Figured we could get some good, cousin, bonding time.”

Y/N wanted to groan, but then Snape was gliding into the room and silencing everyone. She was certain this would be the longest lecture of her life.

-

When the class ended, Y/N didn’t wait for Fred outside. Instead, she had pushed up from her seat and hurried through the corridors, skipping lunch entirely to go wallow in her dorm room. Annalise had made the lecture a living hell, whether it be from snide comments she’d whisper over or by purposefully ruining their potion, then blaming it on Y/N. Internally, she cursed Fred—although it wasn’t really his fault—for putting her in the position to be in Annalise’s line of fire once again.

Y/N ended up avoiding Fred the rest of the day, scurrying between classes before he could find her. When she was finally done for the day, she wanted nothing more than to hide out in her dorm and cry. That’s exactly what she had started doing, too, before her door creeped open.

Y/N held her breath, assuming it was either Angelina or Alicia coming back before dinner. But, when her mattress dipped slightly from the weight of someone sitting down, she quickly spun around, coming face to face with Fred.

“Darling,” He cooed. It was a nickname he had taken to calling her ever since they started ‘dating,’ although no one was around now, and he was still using it. “What’s wrong? Have you been crying?”

“How’d you get in here?” Y/N croaked, avoiding his question entirely.

“Figured out how to get past the charm ages ago.” Fred rested a gentle hand on her knee. “Then, Ang gave me her key. Said she saw you run up her. So, are you going to tell me what’s wrong? And why’ve you been avoiding me all day?”

At that, Y/N lost it once again. Tears began streaming down her face freely, and she quickly sat up and accepted Fred’s opened arms. He raked his fingers through her messy hair and let her cry on his shoulder, gently soothing her to a place where she’d be able to speak.

“It’s just…” It was on the tip of her tongue. Y/N wanted desperately to tell him the truth about how awful Annalise truly was. But, just like when she was younger and never ratted Annalise out, she just couldn’t now. She didn’t know why it was, but it always felt like if she spoke the words out loud, then Annalise had won. “I’ve just had an awful day.”

“Snape will do that to you.” Fred tutted, clearly assuming her change in behavior post-potions was brought on by the professor. “I’m sorry, love.”

Y/N sniffled a few more times into his shoulder, wishing desperately that he was holding her in a way that wasn’t platonic. She craved nothing more than for him to want her like she’d always wanted him. But that seemed to be just a fantasy. The muggle fairytales she had been told growing up weren’t real, and the wicked witch was winning.

“Why don’t we go for a walk, get some fresh air?” Fred pulled back to look over her face, concern filled in his eyes. 

“But, you’re missing dinner…” 

“Eh, the house elves love me. I’ll just sneak down to the kitchens and grab something later.” Fred shrugged, a small smile now growing on his face. “You and me, we can make a whole night of it. I’ll sneak some snacks up and we can watch one of those old muggle movies you love so much.”

While Y/N was far from being completely okay, the tenderness he was exhibiting towards her made her heart swell. She knew he had plans with George and Lee that night, some big prank on a few Slytherins, but here he was, throwing it all away for her. He gently reached out and cupped her cheek, brushing a few stray tears away with his thumb. Y/N avoided his eyes, afraid that they would communicate all of the non-platonic love she felt for him, then nodded.

“Perfect.” Fred grinned before jumping up and extended his hand out to her. “Well, let’s go.”

Fred guided her the whole way out of the castle, keeping her close as they walked through the grounds. The autumn air was cool, and at the very second that Y/N shivered, Fred was wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into his side. 

They walked around and talked for a little over an hour, giddy smiles on their faces all the while. Fred made her laugh so hard she abandoned all thoughts of Annalise, her mind completely filled with the tall red head beside her. He just had this way about him that could make anything that was possibly wrong seem miniscule. He reminded her of everything good in the world.

Once the sun was fully down and the temperature had dropped significantly, the two could no longer justify being outside in the cold. Fred made a show of wrapping her hands in his own, rubbing them together to bring her some warmth, before guiding her back to the castle.

They parted ways shortly, just so Fred could sneak into the kitchens and Y/N could get the movie set up in the common room. She laid out a few blankets and pillows then pushed the couch back a bit, thankful that it was a Wednesday night and most students seemed to have already gone to bed. When Fred returned, he handed Y/N a plate of food then sat down cross-legged beside her, balancing his own plate in his lap.

Y/N started the movie and dug into her food, giggling lightly at Fred’s ravenous way of eating. He had certainly been hungry earlier, but she needed him, so evidently he pushed his hunger aside. When their plates were finished, they stacked them neatly on the table behind them, before completely turning their attention to the movie.

“Okay, wait, who’s the green girl again?” Fred questioned as he pointed towards the screen, brows furrowed.

“If you would pay attention, you would know.” Y/N giggled. “She’s the Wicked Witch of The West.”

“She’s supposed to be a witch?” Fred crinkled up his nose, confusion clear on his face. “I don’t know any green witches.”

“It’s a muggle movie, Fred.” Y/N lightly rolled her eyes.

“And who’s she?”

“Glinda, the good witch.”

“Okay, I definitely know witches don’t dress like that.” Fred teased, eyeing the woman on the screen’s frilly pink dress

“Maybe I should start.” Y/N giggled, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders. “Think I could pull it off?”

“Darling, you’d look beautiful in anything.” Fred winked at her, causing her face to heat up. Some part of her knew it was nothing more than harmless joking, but she couldn’t help the way he lit something alive within her. 

“Ya think?” Y/N scooted a bit closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder so he couldn’t see her giddy smile.

“I know.” His voice was soft, and the two of them remained quiet for the next few scenes of the movie.

At some point, the two of them had shifted to lay down in order to get more comfortable on the floor. Fred was laying on his back with one hand behind his head, the other resting idly in between them. Y/N was sprawled out on her stomach, her face down by his feet. Every little bit her eyes would light up and she’d glance back to tell him that her favorite part was coming up, only for him to realize that every part seemed to be her favorite part. Still, he never pointed that out, but instead just smiled fondly at her and nodded.

“Ugh.” Y/N grimaced, a slight shiver running down her spine. “Those monkeys always terrified me when I was little.”

“Oh yeah?” Fred sat up now, leaning closer to her. “You scared now?”

“Psh, no.” Y/N rolled her eyes and glanced back over at him, only to find him slowly inching towards her. She pointed a finger out warningly. “Fred, don’t.”

It was no use, Fred’s hands latched themselves to her sides and began tickling her feverishly. Y/N squealed and tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but it was no use. In the process, she had flipped over onto her back and was now kicking her legs out, trying to get him to stop, but that only egged him on further.

“You sure you’re not scared, Y/L/N?” Fred teased. “I could comfort you, if you were.”

“Freddie! Stop!” Y/N breathed out, tears beginning to pool in her eyes from her laughter.

Y/N now had the front of his jumper balled in her fists, trying desperately to get him to stop. After another minute, he did, and her wriggling ceased. Still, he loomed over top of her while she gripped onto his jumper tightly. Both of them were silent as they stared into each other’s eyes, faces only inches apart. For half a second, Y/N swore she saw Fred’s eyes flicker down to her lips, but then she convinced herself she must have dreamed it.

The sounds of the movie seemed to draw them back to the present, and Y/N let go of Fred’s jumper, causing him to sit up. She followed suit, clearing her throat in hopes of easing the tension between them. Fred was never one to let any awkwardness linger, so he nudged her with his elbow before laying back down in the spot he had been before.

“Cuddle up, Y/N. I’ll keep you safe from the big scary winged monkeys.” He winked as he opened his arms for her.

Y/N rolled her eyes lightly, trying desperately to calm the nerves in her stomach, before obliging and cuddling into his side. She let her head rest on his chest, her hand placed just over his heart, as he tightened his arm around her. Y/N found that she couldn’t pay attention to the rest of the movie, what with Fred pulling a blanket up around them and gently stroking her hair. She was lulled to sleep by the action, finding that she wished every night, she could fall asleep in his arms.

The two were startled awake the next morning by a bout of loud laughter. As Y/N quickly sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she spotted George, fully dressed in his school uniform, gazing down at them with an amused grin. Fred groaned from where he still laid on the floor, pulling a pillow over his face to block out the light.

“And what’s this?” George cocked his head to the side. “You guys are really taking this ‘fake dating’ thing pretty seriously. Honestly, you’ve got me convinced.”

Fred shot up quickly at that, nervously looking around the common room to make sure no one heard. When he realized it was only the three of them, he let out a breath of relief.

“Come off it, will you? We just fell asleep after watching a movie.” Fred shot his brother a glare.

Y/N felt sick at the reminder that everything between them was fake. Every little moment she had foolishly convinced herself could mean something more was nothing but wishful thinking. Drawing in a deep sigh, Y/N forced herself up and gestured for Fred to move with a flick of her wand. Once he obliged, she flicked her wand again and gathered all of the blankets and pillows before pushing the couch back. Without another word, she stalked back up the steps to her dorm, and prepared herself for another long day.

-

When Y/N arrived to the potions classroom, her stomach dropped at the sight of Annalise once again in the seat next to her usual one. She gazed around the room, grumbling slightly when she realized she had no other choice but to sit next to the girl. 

“Wow, you look like hell.” Annalise sneered when she trudged over.

“Probably because I was up all night with Fred.” Y/N shot back, before truly registering her words. “Not… Not like that.”

Annalise snorted at the insinuation and rolled her eyes. It seemed she was about to say something, no doubt some snide comment, but was cut off by Snape walking into the room. Y/N straightened up and began to listen to the professor drone on, her stomach twisting in knots when she realized what that day’s lecture would entail. A cauldron sat at the front of the classroom, an alluring steam rising off of it. Y/N knew, it was Amortentia.

After giving a brief lecture on it, Snape used his wand to lift the cauldron in the air, slowly letting it stop by each desk for the students to gaze at. He appeared completely uninterested by the kids’ excitement from what they smelled. Finally, it arrived at Y/N and Annalise’s table.

Y/N leaned forward and took a breath in, her nose being filled with the scent of fireworks, chocolate, and the shampoo Fred used. She sat back in her seat and crossed her arms, not needing the reminder that she felt so deeply for someone who didn’t return her affections.

Annalise leaned forward and breathed in a deep breath, a dreamy smile gracing her face. Her eyes flickered towards the front of the classroom, finding Snape deep in conversation with another Ravenclaw student. Quickly, she pulled an empty glass bottle from her bag and dipped it into the cauldron, filling it entirely.

“What’re you doing?” Y/N hissed, sitting up abruptly.

“I’m gonna use it as perfume. So everyone smells what they’re attracted to on me, and wants to be around me.” Annalise shrugged, placing a cork on the bottle and sliding it back into her bag. Y/N knew she could get in loads of trouble for carrying such a dangerous and potent potion, yet she didn’t speak up to turn her in. “Professor Snape, we’re all done back here!”

And with that, Snape was whisking the cauldron away and carrying on with his lecture. Y/N watched Annalise out of the corner of her eye, certain she was up to something from the glint in her eye. Still, like always, she stayed silent.

-

A week later, all thoughts of Annalise’s odd behavior had completely left Y/N’s mind. She was so caught up in falling for Fred even more each day, she could hardly focus on anything else. The fact that he hadn’t brought up Annalise once since their movie night didn’t go unnoticed to her, and she found herself chasing the familiar hope that maybe he was starting to fall for her too.

“I’ve gotta catch up with Georgie and Lee—they’re still mad I ditched them last week.” Fred informed her as he finished his dinner. “Catch you later?”

She nodded, a bright smile lighting up her face when he swooped down and kissed her cheek before hurrying off. Y/N was so in a daze that she didn’t even notice someone slide in the seat beside her, occupying the space Fred was once in.

“Ah, so you two are still together, are you?” Annalise spoke up, making her presence known. She wore a devilish grin as she feigned a casual act, picking at her nails.

“Obviously.” Y/N rolled her eyes. 

“What a shame, I just hate to be the one to tell you this.” She sighed.

“Tell me what?” Y/N’s brows furrowed as she turned to look at Annalise full on.

“Well, I’ve been wearing my perfume, you see.” She craned her neck and circled her hand, gesturing for Y/N to lean in and take a whiff. The smell was undeniable, and as much as she hated being in the presence of her cousin, it kept her reeled in. “Smell Freddie, do you?”

“Why do you care?” Y/N gritted her teeth, hating the way his nickname sounded coming from her mouth.

“Because, he doesn’t smell you.” Annalise shrugged. “In fact, what was it he told me he smelled? Right, fresh ink, my peach shampoo, and… Oh, I can’t remember. It was so hard to pay attention while he was snogging me in that broom closet.”

Y/N instantly dropped the utensils in her hand, ignoring the way they clattered to the ground. The sound drew a few eyes towards them, and Annalise simply smirked at her cousin. Y/N could feel tears welling behind her eyes, but she was also angry. At Fred, for not just telling her that he had finally gotten what he wanted. And at Annalise, for always being so dead set on ruining everything for her.

“What did I ever do to you?” Y/N heard her voice crack, and she felt just as pathetic as Annalise wanted her to feel. When she spoke again, her tone increased significantly. “Why must you always ruin everything for me?”

Some part of her knew she shouldn’t be freaking out, because this had always been the plan. She knew Annalise could never let anything be hers, so she should simply take it in stride and move on. But she couldn’t. She had been so sure that Fred and her were starting to build something real, that she’d finally be with the boy she’d crushed on for years, and now all of that hope was shattered.

“I’m just being a good cousin.” Annalise slapped a hand to her chest, feigning some sort of dignity that she certainly didn’t have. “Really, he was bound to cheat on you at some point. I just made it happen sooner rather than later. You should be thanking me.”

Y/N reached for her wand and gripped it tightly in her fist, ready to point it at her and fire off whatever hex came to mind. In an instant, fear was in Annalise’s eyes and she was cowering back. Professor McGonagall was now rushing forward, shouting her surname and ordering her to stop. In response, Y/N lowered her wand and wiped at her eyes, forcing none of her tears to fall.

“You know what, you’re not even worth it.”

And with that, she was marching out of the Great Hall, ignoring any calls of her name.

-

When Y/N made it back to the common room, she found George, Lee, and Fred gathered around a small table in the corner. A few other students were littered throughout the room, as well. Y/N almost just stormed right up to her dorm, intent on never speaking to Fred again, but she was sick of always letting people treat her like rubbish. So, right as she made it to the base of the steps, she turned on her heels and marched to their table, causing all of their eyes to fall on her.

“Hello, love—”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” She shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Fred. “Godric, I know I agreed to help the two of you get together, but cheating on me? Leaving me embarrassed in front of the whole school? What is wrong with you?”

Lee and George glanced at each other with wide eyes before signally towards their steps and quietly sneaking away. This left Fred in open-mouthed shock, gaping at Y/N in all of her fury.

“I don’t know what—”

“And don’t even tell me how it wasn’t really cheating, because we weren’t really together, I know. But the rest of the school doesn’t know that! Annalise doesn’t know that! And now you’ve fed directly into her only wish of making my life utterly horrible.” Y/N fumed, although her hands were shaking slightly. “So, congrats Fred. You finally got the girl. And Annalise got what she wanted, too. Looks like you two are perfect for each other.”

After saying her piece, she quickly turned around and began making her way back towards her steps. She ignored the many sets of bewildered eyes on her, too angry and hurt to even care. She was only stopped by the feeling of Fred gripping onto her wrist and spinning her back around to face him.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Fred searched her eyes. “I didn’t cheat on you, fake or not.”

“But—” 

“Annalise yanked me into a broom closet earlier, asking me to smell her neck like a bloody lunatic. So, I did, because I’m always enticed by strange offers.” He quipped with a smile, but when Y/N shot him a pointed look, he became serious once again. “Not the time? Right, okay. So, I smelled her, and I asked if she cornered me in there just to tell me she nicked your perfume, and she got all huffy, so I left. I didn’t cheat on you. I didn’t even mention it because it was too weird to explain.”

“You…” The words got caught in Y/N’s throat, all of her anger leaving her body. “You smelled my perfume?”

“Yeah, and faintly my mum’s roast, but I didn’t question it.” Fred shrugged. “Why?”

Y/N slowly raised a hand up to her mouth, gazing between where his hand still held her wrist and his eyes. Fred had never been very good at potions, so she knew just saying Annalise was wearing ‘Amortentia’ would explain very little.

“She was wearing a love potion, Fred.” Y/N spoke up, much quieter than before. “You smell what you’re attracted to in it.”

In an instant, Fred’s face was a bright shade of red and he quickly dropped her wrist. His eyes dipped down as he avoided her gaze, and Y/N realized this was the first time she’d ever seen him nervous.

“I…” Fred struggled to find words. “I don’t—I mean, I do… But I didn’t want you to—”

“Ask me what I smell in mine.” Y/N urged, cutting off his rambling. Fred shot his head back up at that, looking at her quizzically. 

“What do you smell in yours?” There was a hopeful glint behind his eyes, though his words were soft.

“Fireworks, chocolate…” Y/N took a step closer to him. “And your shampoo.”

The second that Fred fully registered what her words meant, he was closing the distance between the two of them. Y/N let out a shocked giggle as he wrapped her up in his arms, pressing his lips fully to hers for the first time. Although she had seen fireworks before, and she had smelled them almost every time Fred and George were around, neither compared to what it was like to feel fireworks. Y/N’s arms wound around his neck as she pulled him closer to her, prepared to live in the moment forever if she could.

When they pulled apart, there was nothing left either of them had to say. Fred could apologize for putting her through hell for the past few weeks, and Y/N could apologize for being so harsh, but that didn’t matter to either of them at the moment. All that mattered, was they both finally realized what had always been right in front of them.

-

Very early on in the start of Y/N and Fred’s real relationship, she finally opened up to him about just how awful Annalise really was. His jaw clenched at everything she told him, and he quickly expressed that he never would’ve wanted to be with her had he known. Y/N assured him she didn’t care, because this time, Annalise truly lost.

Although Y/N had been quick to brush off her feud with her cousin, telling Fred it was best to just leave it alone, she couldn’t say she was surprised when she walked into the Great Hall one morning, finding Annalise cowering at her table with neon green hair. It was the exact shade she had used when they were six to ruin Y/N’s drawing. While Fred and George vehemently denied any involvement in the prank, Y/N simply placed a short kiss to Fred’s lips, and quietly thanked him.

TAGS: @theweasleysredhair @letsgotothehop​ @wand3ringr0s3 @sarcasticallywitty15​

[sankyeom]

let’s play pretend | l.jh

pairings: lee jaehyun x reader (she/her/hers pronouns, reader wears a dress at one point, which isn’t specific to women but i realised it might not suit your style so sorry about that) genre: fake dating au, friends to lovers, a lot of pining, y’all are both kinda of blind ngl summary: in which your sister’s wedding is right around the corner, and you don’t want to spend the day telling your relatives that your boyfriend cheated on you, so you ask hyunjae to accompany you word count: 6.6k series: sankyeom’s 2k followers celebration

masterlist

When you found out that your boyfriend was cheating on you, you were happy to let him go and completely cut him out of your life. Of course it was a huge blow to your confidence that he had decided to cheat on you; relationships were supposed to make you feel comfortable and supported, not lied to and betrayed. However, you were lucky to have some pretty amazing friends that helped you through it all.

The only problem was that when your sister sent out her wedding invitations, you had told her that you were bringing your ex-boyfriend as a date. This might not sound too bad, but your family loved to pry into your personal life, and you weren’t sure you could handle an entire weekend of questions about why you and your ex were no longer together, along with the pitiful glances you knew they would send you.

You groaned. “I’m literally dreading my sister’s wedding. Isn’t that horrible? I’m the maid of honour, I’m supposed to be excited for her and super supportive. But all I can think about is how miserable my extended family is going to make me.”

Younghoon and Kevin had been listening to your ranting, the three of you cuddled up together on the couch of your apartment. “So bring a date,” Kevin stated the obvious, raising his shoulders and arms in a shrug. “Problem solved.”

“Except, not really,” you denied. “It could work, but I don’t have anyone who’s close enough to me that I wouldn’t have to fake the chemistry and strong bond of a long-term relationship. I don’t think it’d be convincing if I just took anyone and asked them to pretend we’re dating.”

“Then take Hyunjae,” Younghoon suggested, moving his head off of your shoulder to make eye contact with you.

“I guess we have been friends for a long time…” you allowed, thinking it over. You had met Hyunjae in college where you met most of your friends, but the two of you clicked really easily and got along incredibly well. Your humour played really well off of his and you, Hyunjae, and Eric often got up to mischief to the point where you gave Changmin and Sangyeon a headache. “Do you think he’d do it?”

“If he thinks it’ll help you, I don’t see why he wouldn’t,” Younghoon said, grabbing his phone from the coffee table before resting his head on your shoulder again. “Now can we finally agree on what to order for dinner? Waffles for dessert, no discussion.”

Hyunjae’s deep, loud laugh wasn’t what you expected to hear after explaining your predicament to him. After a moment of letting him chortle to himself, he seemed to realise that you weren’t laughing with him, causing his eyes to widen. “Wait, you’re serious?” he exclaimed, sitting up from where he was slouched on your couch and pulling the hood of his sweatshirt off his head.

“This is way too pathetic to joke about,” you retorted, slightly embarrassed at the whole ordeal.

“Let me get this straight,” Hyunjae folded his hands together on his knees. “You want me to go to your sister’s wedding with you and pretend to be your scumbag ex-boyfriend?” At the mention of your ex, an uncharacteristic scowl appeared on Hyunjae’s face.

“No, I want you to come with me to my sister’s wedding and pretend to be yourself, just that we’re dating,” you corrected. “You get to be yourself; name, personality, and all. We’ll just be fibbing about that fact that we’re dating.”

Hyunjae nodded at your words. “Is telling your family really not an option?” he wondered.

You sighed. “I want good memories of my sister’s wedding,” you admitted. “I don’t want the memory of her night to be filled with embarrassment and humiliation from my distant relatives who only have horrible things to say.”

Hyunjae grimaced, familiar with how often you ranted about your harsh your extended family could be. “If it really means that much to you, then I’ll do to,” Hyunjae told you slowly, as if he wasn’t quite sure of himself.

“Really?” you eyes lit up, the relief and excitement in your irises enough to fully convince Hyunjae that he wanted to help you.

“Of course,” Hyunjae smiled, the outer corners of his eyes crinkling adorable like they always did. “When are we going?”

“In three weeks,” you informed him. “Thank you, Hyunjae. I think we’ll actually have fun together! The trip is paid for and it’s a really sweet beach wedding.”

A beach wedding. Hyunjae couldn’t help but think about how romantic a beach wedding was. Getting married surrounded by nature, then spending the evening partying with your friends at the beach… Shaking himself out of his thoughts before he started picturing you in white, Hyunjae cleared his throat and nodded. “That does sound fun. I’ll be there.”

“You’re so screwed,” Eric cackled when Hyunjae told him and Jacob about your sister’s wedding. The three of them had gone for dinner after Hyunjae left your apartment, Hyunjae citing it as a way for him to clear his head and talk. Jacob nudged their youngest friend, although the smile on his face indicated that he somewhat agreed with Eric’s sentiment.

“What are you talking about?” Hyunjae asked.

Eric rested his elbows on the table. “You and Y/n are going on a romantic beach getaway together-“

“It’s her sister’s wedding, not a romantic beach getaway,” Hyunaje corrected.

“Whatever it is, you shoot hearts out of your eyes whenever you’re around her,” Eric reminded his older friend, causing Hyunjae to shut his mouth for a moment to actually listen. “You can barely keep it to yourself when she’s in sweatpants and a t-shirt. Do you really think you won’t be obvious about it when you see her in a beautiful dress, walking down the aisle?” Eric asked, an amused smile on his lips.

Hyunjae pondered his point. “I mean… It’s not like she’s the bride.”

“You’ve never been to a wedding with a partner before, have you?” Jacob realised. Hyunjae nodded. “Whether or not Y/n’s the bride doesn’t make a difference. Surrounded by the flowers and the ceremony… watching a couple confess their deepest feelings for one another and commit to each other for life…” Jacob trailed off, and Hyunjae could see what he was getting at.

“Oh,” he breathed out, speechless. Even after their food arrived and Jacob and Eric dug into their meals, Hyunjae was still staring blankly into space. It took Jacob nudging him gently, handing him his cutlery, and telling him to eat before Hyunjae snapped out of it. “I don’t want to slip up and confess to Y/n,” Hyunjae said after they had each eaten some of their meals.

“What’s the worst thing that could happen, even if you do confess?” Eric challenged.

“Well, if I confess, Y/n could reject me and I might ruin our friendship and make things really awkward until we drift apart and she’s out of my life all together,” Hyunjae said easily, as if this was on his mind frequently.

Eric paused his eating, “Damn, that does sound pretty bad. I have no idea what I’d do if I were you,” he admitted, looking incredulously at his older friend.

Hyunjae gave him a frustrated look, as if Eric’s comment hadn’t put Hyunjae at ease but made him even more worried.

“You don’t have to feel pressured to confess or not confess,” Jacob assured Hyunjae. “You guys can just have a fun weekend trip together as friends. It’s not a big deal. The ceremony is going to be very emotional and that might be tricky for you, but the rest of it should be a breeze. You guys have been good friends since college, I’m sure you can get through a friendly weekend together.”

Jacob’s words were far more comforting and assuring than Eric’s. Hyunjae took his words to heart and agreed, allowing the three of them to properly get to their dinner. A cloud of doubt still obscured Hyunjae’s thoughts, but he did his best to push them to the back of his mind. He had decided to help you, and he knew that he could get through it without messing anything up between the two of you.

Or, at least he hoped he could.

The Friday before your sister’s wedding, you swung by Hyunjae’s place to pick him up for your flight. You would be spending three nights at the beach, all paid for by your sister and her fiancé, returning back home on Monday after they married on Sunday afternoon. When you arrived at Hyunjae’s place, he was already waiting for you outside in a black hoodie and grey sweatpants, looking comfortable for the plane ride. He smiled when he noticed you, even taking the time to excitedly wave his neck cushion in the air at the sight of your car.

“Mr Lee Jaehyun?” you asked, rolling down the window so he could hear you. “I’ve been sent to pick you up.”

“Sorry,” Hyunjae said with a small shrug, making his way to your car. “I’m actually waiting for my girlfriend. We’re going to a wedding together this weekend.”

You laughed at his way of getting into character, unlocking your doors to let him hop into the passenger seat of your car. He tossed his duffel bag into the back seat with yours. “I guess I’m going to have to get used to that,” you mused. “Calling you my boyfriend and being called your girlfriend.”

“I guess so,” Hyunjae grinned. “Unless you want to tell your family that you picked me up on the plane ride?”

You burst into more laughter at his words. “Sure,” you joked. “I can tell them that you’re married and have two kids but I just had to have you, so I seduced you by giving you my in-flight snacks in hopes that you’d be my date.”

“That doesn’t sound bad,” Hyunjae admitted. “I’ll take your snacks as payment.”

“No way,” you denied, driving towards the airport after Hyunjae had his seatbelt on. “You’re getting a beach weekend with your favourite person in the whole world as payment.”

Hyunjae sat up straight, clapping his hands together in excitement. “Jacob’s coming too?!” he exclaimed.

You gasped. “I’m so telling Eric that you said Jacob’s your favourite.”

“Like Juyeon isn’t his favourite anyway,” Hyunjae physically swatted your words away with a scoff. You grinned at this, knowing that Hyunjae and Eric were two peas in a pod.

The plane ride was fun enough; you and Hyunjae spent the first half hour of the flight playing games and trying not to irritate the passengers around you too much, until the both of you got tired and eventually fell asleep. Hyunjae had let you rest your head on his shoulder and the two of you shared a blanket that you had brought with you, knowing how much Hyunjae hated the plane blankets.

By the time the both of you woke up, you had taken a nice nap and already arrived in Jeju Island. You took the car that your sister had sent for you and made your way to the hotel where everyone was staying. Your flight had been in the afternoon, so by the time you arrived at the hotel, it had already gotten dark. Once your sister spotted you, she squealed in excitement and pulled you into a hug.

“I missed you!” she told you, genuinely meaning it. The two of you hadn’t lived in the same city ever since she finished college six years before you, and it was getting harder and harder to make time to see each other. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Of course I’m here,” you rolled your eyes, pulling away from her tight grip. “You’re getting married, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Your sister winked at you before giving Hyunjae her attention. “You must be the boyfriend,” she said, holding her hand out for Hyunjae to shake.

He took her hand, giving her his best smile as he introduced himself. Even though your sister was getting married and completely in love with her fiancé, you could see the way she was instantly smitten by Hyunjae’s sweet smile and voice. He simply had that effect on people.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m so glad you could make it, too! Y/n’s been avoiding all of my questions about you recently so I’ll just have to grill you myself,” your sister joked.

Hyunjae laughed nervously. Even though he wasn’t really your boyfriend, he still wanted your sister to like him. The two of you had always been close, and it was important to Hyunjae that he get your family’s approval.

“If you have time,” you corrected your sister. “It’s your wedding weekend, don’t count on having so much spare time to interrogate Hyunjae,” you added, giving Hyunjae a reassuring smile.

“I’ll make time,” you sister replied, giving you one last hug before rushing off to tend to something the wedding planner was asking her about.

You and Hyunjae decided to take her absence as a chance to check in at the front desk. The concierge gave you two keys for your room, and you followed the numbers on the doors until you could see your room. As you entered, you couldn’t help but think about how lovely the room was. It was open and bright, windows cracked just enough for the breeze from the ocean to waft throughout the space freely.

There was only one problem.

“One bed?” Hyunjae stammered, the large queen-sized bed being the first thing he spotted.

“Oh,” you hadn’t given it much thought when you came in, instead taking the time to step out onto the balcony and admire the night view of the ocean. “Well, I was with my ex for almost a year so… I guess my sister thought this would be okay,” you explained. “I don’t mind sharing.”

“Oh that’s fine,” Hyunjae smiled, placing his duffel bag on the floor under the desk. “I’ll sleep on the sofa,” he decided, taking a seat on said sofa.

It looked big enough for him to sleep on, but you didn’t think it was necessary. “Really, I don’t mind,” you repeated. “This bed is huge. And I know that you don’t have any weird sleep habits that I need to worry about.”

“I insist,” Hyunjae said, lying down on the sofa and stretching out to demonstrate. “See! I fit perfectly.”

You bit your bottom lip. You didn’t realise that the idea of sleeping in the same bed as you was something that Hyunjae was so against. The two of you had been friends for years, and you considered Hyunjae one of your closest friends amongst Younghoon and Kevin.

You supposed it meant that Hyunjae was uncomfortable with the idea of you interpreting his actions as romantic instead of platonic; which you understood. You didn’t realise it would hurt so much to realise that Hyunjae didn’t see you romantically at all.

To hide this, you gave Hyunjae a shrug and sat down on the bed. “I propose that we order room service, watch a few movies, and leave the meeting of the extended family until tomorrow,” you suggested. “Thoughts?”

Having already closed his eyes, Hyunjae hummed in agreement. “Sounds good,” he said sleepily. “I’ll take whatever burger they have.”

You nodded, taking out the room service menu and flipping through it.

One overly large meal and two movies later, Hyunjae had trudged off into the bathroom to get ready for bed once you were done. You took your phone out to check your social media and found that your sister had also spent the night in for the most part; according to her Snapchat story. She and her fiancé had a similar evening to your and Hyunjae, except they shared a romantic bath amongst other things in their suite.

You laughed suddenly. “Hey Jae,” you called out to Hyunjae. “Have you ever had the urge to see what Eric and Sunwoo look like dancing salsa? Because if the answer is yes, you have to see Changmin’s Snapchat story,” you added.

Hyunjae emerged from the bathroom in his pyjamas, taking a seat next to you on the bed as you showed him the footage. The two of you giggled together, fondly making fun of your friends as you fabricated funny texts to send to the youngest two. Soon, the two of you had comfortably burrowed yourselves under the covers in the bed, yawning.

“You really don’t have to sleep on the sofa,” you told Hyunjae once more, just in case he changed his mind.

Hyunjae smiled timidly, shaking his head before pressing a kiss to the top of your head as he stood up. “I should get to sleep,” he said in lieu of an answer, making his way over to the sofa.

With a quiet sigh, you nodded and tucked yourself into bed alone, turning the lights off after sharing a good night.

You woke up with a start, having experienced a pretty weird dream you couldn’t recall anymore. Sitting up, you looked around to gage your surroundings and found Hyunjae shivering on the couch as he flinched and mumbled in his sleep.

Realising that he was having a bad dream, you quietly got out of bed and collected the blanket you brought from home to use on the plane from where it sat in your bag. Kneeling next to the sofa, you covered Hyunjae with the blanket over the thin sheet he had as a blanket to warm him up better. Then, you gently combed your fingers through his hair until he stopped shivering and his expression softened to a peaceful smile.

Fatigued, you trudged back to your bed and soon fell back asleep.

The next morning, Hyunjae woke up to the sound of the shower running. Sitting up, he realised that you weren’t in your bed and connected the dots in his tired state. Rubbing his eyes, he felt around the sofa for his phone an realised that a soft blanket was covering the sheets he was using last night. Realising that you had covered him after he had fallen asleep, a smile appeared on his lips.

The thought of you going out of your way to make him more comfortable caused butterflies to rise in his stomach. Hyunjae leaned back against the sofa, letting out something like a giggle as giddy emotions overwhelmed him. Your scent on the blanket was so comforting that he could have fallen back asleep again. Instead, he got up to make your bed along with his, and stepped out onto the balcony to look at the view.

“Morning,” you soon joined Hyunjae outside, your hair wet from your shower as you were dressed in your clothes for the day. Most of the day would be spent during the wedding rehearsal and other family activities, so you had put on a semi-formal little blue dress so you would be set for the evening as well.

“You look nice,” Hyunjae complimented in return, opening his arms for a hug. You chuckled, stepping into his arms and wrapping your arms around his waist. After being friends with Hyunjae for years, you knew that he was always in the mood for skinship in the morning when he was still waking up. “What’s the occasion?” he joked, perfectly well knowing the occasion was your sister’s wedding preparations.

“You’re hilarious,” you replied, pulling away and admiring the view during the day for the first time. “You should wash up. We have to be at brunch soon, and my family is going to be so much worse if we’re late.”

Hyunjae nodded, going to wash up. Knowing that he wouldn’t have the chance to change for the rehearsal dinner that evening, Hyunjae decided on a pair of jeans and a more formal shirt so that he didn’t stick out too much amongst your family.

For the majority of the day, you had helped your sister with her wedding rehearsal because you were the maid of honour. Hyunjae stuck around for a while to help, but you soon sent him off to have fun at the beach or do something else, feeling guilty that he was just sitting there helplessly. Once rehearsals were over and it was time for the rehearsal dinner, you and Hyunjae trailed off to the dining room, giggling as you kept trying to tickle each other.

“You guys are so cute,” your sister pouted when you entered. “Seriously. I can’t believe we’ve never met Hyunjae,” she added. “I mean, I’ve heard about you since Y/n went to college and yet this is the first time we’re introduced.”

“That’s my fault,” Hyunjae said. “I’m horribly shy.” Even after meeting once, your sister could tell this wasn’t true, earning a loud laugh out of her.

“Y/n,” one of your cousins greeted. You and Hyunjae had just taken your seats to eat at the large table your sister and her fiancé were to sit on the evening of their wedding. “Is this that boyfriend your mother’s been telling me about?” she asked. You greeted her, and the rest of your family, before confirming her question. “It’s so nice to meet you! After all this time, none of us have ever met you. Even the ones that live in Seoul…” she trailed off, eyeing Hyunjae with curiosity.

That’s because Y/n says you’re old-fashioned, rude, judgemental jerks, Hyunjae thought to himself, masking his thoughts with a smile and a vague introduction. “My job keeps me pretty busy,” he said vaguely.

“Of course,” your cousin nodded, her tone disbelieving. As dinner was served, you couldn’t help but laugh as Hyunjae confusedly used all the different sets of cutlery for all the wrong reasons. It didn’t matter to you at all, and the surprised looks from your family were priceless as well.

“Here,” you handed him the outermost fork. “You work your way in to your plate with each course,” you explained.

Hyunjae only smiled, grabbing onto your hand. “What would I do without you?”

“The two of you are just precious!” One of your favourite aunts exclaimed as she passed by. “How did the two of you meet?” she asked, smiling encouragingly.

“At college,” you told her simply, not having come up with a fake story beforehand. This was one of the reasons that you had invited Hyunjae; the two of you had a history and connection that you didn’t have to lie about. You only fibbed a little about the nature of your relationship.

Hyunjae laughed. “That’s a story you won’t want to miss,” he said, inviting your aunt to sit in the vacant seat next to him. “The first time I met Y/n was in the coffee shop on campus,” Hyunjae began. “I saw her leave a textbook in the cafe when she left. Later she came back for it and I told her that I had seen her and held onto it in case she came back.”

“How romantic,” a different aunt of yours cooed.

Hyunjae shook his head, an amused glint in his eyes as he remembered the story. “That’s what I thought,” he said, remembering how badly he wished for you to return so he had an excuse to talk to you. “I told her that the only way she could have her textbook back was if she agreed to go on a date with me,” Hyunjae continued.

You raised an eyebrow at this. You had always thought that when Hyunjae said he wanted to get coffee with you that day, it was a casual invitation. Now that you thought about it, you could have interpreted it as a date as well. You wondered what Hyunjae thought it was.

“She told me I could keep the book,” Hyunjae added, making your family complain around you. “She left and I held onto her book, hoping that she’d change her mind. A month later, I get a call from the University library saying that Y/n’s book was rented and that I owed them $100 for keeping it past the rented time.”

You laughed at this, remembering how you had purposely let Hyunjae keep the book to teach him a lesson about ultimatums. This caused all of your family to scold you. Still, they were completely hooked onto Hyunjae’s story.

“Eventually, Y/n found out about the $100 I had to pay and felt bad. So, she reached out to me and said that she wanted to pay me back because she didn’t realise how much the fee would be. I told her that I’d just settle on getting to know her better. The rest is history,” Hyunjae finished, looking proud of the way he had intrigued your relatives.

“I don’t like ultimatums,” you defended yourself. “I thought I should teach you a lesson for trying to force a poor girl to go out with you.”

“Lesson learned,” Hyunjae nodded. “Now, I’ll only ever force you to go out with me,” he winked. You felt your face warm at this, your family’s attention on the two of you not helping with your embarrassment. Somehow, Hyunjae was perfectly executing his position of fake boyfriend; so well that even you were momentarily convinced by his act.

“Alright, let’s stop hounding them,” your sister interrupted, taking her seat with her fiancé in tow. “Hyunjae, I’m glad that you didn’t give up on my sister,” she added, sending him an encouraging wink. Hyunjae smiled at her, pleased that your family seemed to warm up to him.

As the evening went on, your sister pulled you aside to speak with you in private. “Hyunjae is way sweeter and funnier than you described,” she admitted to you.

“Really?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Plus he’s really handsome. He has very honest eyes,” she added thoughtfully. “When he sees you, he gets little sparkles in his eyes. Like he can’t believe the treasure he’s looking at.”

You scoffed. “I highly doubt that,” causing your sister to nudge you with her elbow.

“Trust me. I’m about to be a married woman,” she said with an air of wisdom that made you smile. “Hyunjae has it bad for you. I’m just glad he’s not as vacant as you described him to be.”

You had indeed described your ex boyfriend to your sister in detail. And of course you knew that Hyunjae was everything your ex wasn’t: warm, playful, inviting, charming, open; you could go on for days about all the amazing qualities you saw in Hyunjae that you wanted in a partner.

By the time dinner was over, you, Hyunjae, and most of the people at the rehearsal dinner were just a little bit tipsy. You and Hyunjae were mostly just a little bit buzzed, easily making your way back to your hotel room without any trouble or confusion. “That was fun,” you said, lying down on the bed as soon as you arrived. Hyunjae helped you with your shoes before he followed suit, lying down next to you on the bed. “I can’t remember the last time I actually had fun around my extended family.”

Hyunjae smiled. “I’m really glad you had a good time.”

You turned to face him, seeing him already watching you with his head propped up on his hand. Seeing him there, you were reminded of what your sister said about Hyunjae having honest eyes. There was certainly fondness and affection in his eyes, though you couldn’t tell if it was romantic or platonic.

Up until last night, you had never realised you wanted it to be romantic. That evening only seemed to confirm that you did.

“Thank you, Hyunjae,” you whispered. “I genuinely don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here.”

Hyunjae raised the hand he wasn’t leaning on to brush your hair out of your face. “You would’ve done just fine,” he assured you. “Now let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow’s a long day.”

You nodded, getting up to change into your pyjamas. By the time you returned, Hyunjae had done the same, tucking himself under the covers of the bed. “I hope that offer still stands,” he added, referring to how you said he could join you in the bed.

“Just don’t steal the duvet,” you mumbled, getting under the covers and cuddling up to Hyunjae for comfort. He grinned, reaching around to turn the lights off before wrapping an arm around you and nodding off to sleep.

Your sister was having a meltdown.

You had heard of brides getting cold feet right before the wedding ceremony, but you hadn’t expected it from your sister. You were in your silver silk cami bridesmaid dress, having your hair and makeup done perfectly for the occasion so that your sister was happy with how everything looked. And yet, your control-freak sister was freaking out about the idea of marriage.

“I don’t know if I can commit to someone for my whole life,” she ranted, pacing in her wedding dress as you and her bridesmaids tried to calm her breathing.

“But you love him,” you reminded your sister. “You love him so much that commitment isn’t scary around him,” you added.

“But marriage?” she exclaimed. “I don’t know if I can do it,” your sister stopped her pacing when she spotted your concerned expression. “Do you love Hyunjae?” she inquired.

The question threw you. “W-what?” you stammered.

“Do you love Hyunjae?” she repeated. “Could you do this with him? Commit?”

You thought it over.

You and Hyunjae had a long history of friendship together, but you always knew that your friendship with him was special. Sometimes it felt like you could read each other’s minds. Even though your friend group was extremely large, you always made time for one another and would drop anything to help the other person.

Hyunjae was your rock, somebody who steadied you and helped to point you in the right direction when you were lost. And he was beautiful; not just because he was handsome but because he had a heart of absolute gold. He even agreed to come here and pretend to be your boyfriend just to stop you from having one uncomfortable weekend.

“Of course I love him,” you admitted. It was the first time you had said it out loud to yourself, and you were saying it to your sister and all of her bridesmaids. “Of course I would commit to Hyunjae.”

“Isn’t that scary?” your sister whined. “I would give everything to my fiancé. That scares me.”

“It’s terrifying,” you agree. “But the fact that you’re both here means that your love for one another outweighs the fears and uncertainty. Now are you going to leave him standing here alone or are you going to be with the man you love?”

You weren’t sure who you were talking about anymore.

Hyunjae understood what Jacob was talking about when he said that attending a wedding with the person you love is different.

The moment you walked up the aisle in your silver dress, Hyunjae felt all the air leave his lungs. It almost hurt how stunning you were, and how much Hyunjae wanted to run up to you and kiss you. You smiled at your sister’s guests, winking at Hyunjae as you passed him to stand up by the alter, waiting for your sister. You gave her fiancé encouraging smiles, knowing that he felt nervous about the ceremony too.

Hyunjae was sat somewhere in the middle of the chairs, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself since he didn’t know your sister or her fiancé personally. He had taken a seat with your kind aunt, the one who had asked him how the two of you met the night before, and she could see exactly what Hyunjae was thinking.

“Are you thinking of proposing?” she wondered, causing Hyunjae to choke on air in surprise.

“M-me?” he asked. “Oh. No. Um, not yet,” Hyunjae admitted to your aunt, feeling shy that she had just asked him out of nowhere. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, the way you look at her,” your aunt said, as if this explained everything. “It looks like you’re ready to walk up that aisle to meet her at the alter at any moment.”

“Oh,” Hyunjae blushed a deep red.

Everyone stood for your sister when it was time, compliments and happy sighs filling the room at the sight of her in her wedding gown.

As the wedding proceeded, Hyunjae could feel his eyes filling with tears. Your sister and her fiancé loved each other so openly and intensely. Everything they said perfectly matched what Hyunjae wanted to tell you.

You seemed to be in a similar situation, on the verge of tears because you knew your sister was going to marry the love of your life, and because you knew you had found yours. It was always easy for you to find Hyunjae in a crowd; the two of you were like opposite sides of a magnet, constantly pulling towards each other. You smiled at him, a small laugh leaving your lips when you saw how emotional Hyunjae was getting.

If Hyunjae’s eyes were as honest as your sister said they were, then Hyunjae must have loved you.

“You look so beautiful,” Hyunjae complimented as the two of you danced. Your sister’s wedding reception was in full swing. She had thanked you profusely for helping her through her meltdown, citing the day as the most wonderful in her entire life. Her husband looked at her with so much affection that you felt your heart stutter when your sister returned his every emotion with a single glance.

“Thanks, Hyunjae,” you thanked him. “You look very handsome this evening, too,” you admitted, adjusting your hands around Hyunjae’s shoulders to be more comfortable. “How did you like the ceremony? I hope this weekend wasn’t a total waste for you,” you added.

“Not at all,” Hyunjae shook his head. “I had a lot of fun this weekend. Your sister’s interesting, she’s a lot like you.”

“I hope that’s a compliment,” you joked.

“You are magnificent,” Hyunjae said as seriously as he could. “It’s the highest compliment I could grant her.”

You smiled, leaning forward to press a kiss to his cheek. “Aw, is that it?” your sister’s familiar voice teased as she and her husband danced next to you and Hyunjae. “Come on, I want to see a real kiss!”

“Dude,” you hissed, embarrassed at her prodding.

“Oh come on,” your sister rolled her eyes. “It’s my wedding day! You can’t say no to a bride on her wedding day, it’s bad luck.”

“Isn’t that only before the wedding?” you changed the subject, not wanting to make Hyunjae uncomfortable. You could see him shuffling his feet as his grip on your waist loosened.

“No, it’s the whole day,” your sister insisted cheekily.

Hyunjae was growing exceedingly nervous. “Excuse me,” he muttered to your sister, bowing his head just slightly before releasing his gentle grip on you and stepping off the dance floor.

You were left alone, surprised by his sudden exit. Your sister and her husband seemed just as startled. “Is he really uncomfortable with PDA?” your sister asked. “I’m sorry, Y/n, I didn’t mean to-“

“It’s fine,” you assured her, giving her what you hoped was a convincing smile. “I’m just going to go check on him. Congratulations again, you two,” you gave them both a hug and followed in Hyunjae’s footsteps. You found him further down by the beach, sitting in the slightly damp sand and staring out into the dark ocean. “Hey,” you greeted, taking a seat next to him. “I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be,” Hyunjae replied, purposely keeping his eyes trained on the ocean despite seeing you trying to meet his gaze. “It’s fine. You always kissed your ex in front of us, I should have realised that your sister would ask about something like that.”

The mention of your ex boyfriend made you raise an eyebrow. “Right,” you said, discouraged that Hyunjae was acting so cold. “I didn’t realise that the idea of kissing me was so horrible that you had to leave,” you tried to say it as a joke but though your tone gave away how his actions had burned you.

“Don’t joke about that,” Hyunjae said.

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t find it funny,” Hyunjae snapped. “Okay? I don’t find it funny that kissing me is a joke to you.”

You backtracked. “Hyunjae, that’s not what I meant.”

“Isn’t it?” Hyunjae asked, finally turning his head to meet your eyes. His usually bright eyes were clouded with negativity; insecurity and sadness prominent in them. “You joke that the idea of kissing you repulses me, when that’s exactly how you feel about me.”

“That’s not true,” you denied immediately. “I would never think that about you, nor would I joke about that, Hyunjae,” you sighed, closing your eyes tightly. The image of Hyunjae being upset with you only made your head spin. “I just said that because I didn’t want you to feel pressured or anything. Of course I don’t hold the fact that you don’t see me romantically against you, I just didn’t know that you were so against it, is all. I guess that’s good to know,” you mumbled.

“You don’t really believe that, do you?” Hyunjae inquired. “After all these years, you can’t possibly think that I don’t have feelings for you.”

Your eyes opened. “Well, you never said anything…” you trailed off. “I’m not one to make assumptions.”

Hyunjae gathered all the courage he had left in him, ignoring the rising beating of his heart. “I’m saying something now.” he said. “And I’m telling you that I’ve loved you since that day you called me to compensate me for the $100 fee I paid the library for your textbook. I loved you then, and I love you now.”

You smiled, leaning in to kiss Hyunjae’s lips. “I love you too, Lee Jaehyun,” you told him as sincerely as you could muster, stroking his cheek with your thumb and relishing in the way his arms came to wrap around you. Hyunjae leaned in to kiss you again, longer this time and with more eagerness than the first time. You felt your lips bruise just slightly at the pressure and duration of your kiss, allowing Hyunjae to pull away so you could both catch your breath.

Hyunjae smiled, pulling you into a hug and pressing a kiss to your nose, cheek, and temple. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to stop pretending to be your boyfriend.”

You laughed, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and pulling Hyunjae closer to you, inhaling his scent and memorising the way you felt in his grasp. “I think I’m okay with that.” You sat like that for a while, listening to the ocean waves and letting your hair blow in the breeze.

“Hey Y/n?” Hyunjae asked, earning a hum. “Beach wedding or church wedding?” he asked.

Chuckling, you pull away from the hug to take his face in your hands. Observing his eyes and the way they glittered with love, you shrugged. “Whatever you want.”

note: i feel like this one the cutest one so far but idk. what did you guys think? i hope you enjoyed it!!

[tefilovesreading]

Things I love about you (Charlie Gillespie x Reader)

Pairing: Charlie Gillespie x Fem!Reader

Word count:1,6k

Warning: Some swearing (not really), a little bit of French, mention of wine bc why not. Other than that is just fluff, like loads of it.

Edited by @theamazingtomholland​

MASTERLIST

Charlie always thought people were crazy when they used to list things they loved about their partners, maybe because he never fell in love as hard as he did for the girl sleeping peacefully, tangled in the sheets, and wearing nothing but his t-shirt. He kissed her shoulder before leaving the room, ready for his morning run.

He knew very well she’d still be fast asleep once he came back with breakfast, even if that meant coming back in almost an hour. And Charlie was right. When he came back an hour later, with sweat glistening his skin and the bagels he bought for breakfast, his girlfriend was still sleeping, and he let out a chuckle when he saw the nest made of pillows she always made in her sleep whenever she was sleeping on her own.

That was one of the little things she did that he completely loved. It was as if she needed to feel something holding her in her sleep, especially if he wasn’t sleeping next to her. They would cuddle before they fell asleep, but even if she wasn’t in his arms the whole night, somehow they always were touching each other in their sleep. It could be their hands, a foot, or their backs, but they were always close.

After a quick shower, he sat next to his sleeping girlfriend, caressing her arm to wake her up.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he said in a soft voice when the girl stretched out, opening her eyes slowly.

“Morning, Charlie,” Y/N said, her voice laced with sleep, “Are you going for a run?”

“I already went for a run, my love,” the boy laughed softly, “I got us breakfast, so get your pretty ass out of bed, because I’m starving.”

“I’ll be right there, honey,” she smiled at him and rubbed her face against the pillow one last time before getting up.

Charlie handed her a warm cup of coffee, pointed to the bagels on the table. Y/N picked the one she thought was hers, knowing her boyfriend preferred the one with the beacon.

“This smells so damn good,” Charlie heard her say, and when he looked at her, she was sneakily sniffing the bagel. 

And that was one of the little things Y/N did that he found adorable. Every time she had to eat or drink something, she’d smell it slightly, as if she wanted to find out the flavors beforehand.

“Who said that one was yours?” Charlie questioned jokingly just before she took the first bite. Y/N furrowed her eyebrows and put the bagel down.

“But you always order the one with avocado and tomato for me, baby,” she pouted and Charlie laughed. He got closer to the girl and pecked her lips.

“I was messing with you,” he clarified.

“What do you have to do today?” Y/N asked, before taking a sip of her coffee.

“I have an interview in like an hour,” he checked his phone with a grimace, “I should probably start getting ready. Do you have to go to the office?”

“No, but I need to catch up on some work,” Y/N answered with a shrug, “Other than that, I guess I’m just gonna chill here.”

“Lucky you,” Charlie stuck his tongue out playfully.

Later that day, when Charlie came back to Y/N’s apartment, he found her sitting on the floor with her chin resting on one of her knees. She always was sitting in the weirdest positions, and then she’d complain about back pain or having pins and needles in her legs. He thought it was cute because it was her way of finding the best position to concentrate on her work.

“You’re gonna end up with back pain, my love,” Charlie warned her and sat on the floor next to her, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Char,” the girl said, turning her attention to the hazel-eyed boy. She laced her fingers behind his neck and pulled him closer, rubbing their noses together before pressing her lips to his in a welcoming kiss.

“I love you, you know that, right?” Charlie murmured against her lips. She hummed in response and he kissed her again.

“I love you too, baby,” she whispered back. 

They sat there in silence, while she finished with whatever project she was working on, and once she turned off her laptop, Charlie put on a movie.

“Are we gonna make the effort to cook dinner or do you wanna order something?” He asked, making himself comfortable on the couch and patting the spot next to him, inviting her to join him.

“I’m in the mood for pizza,” she told him and cuddled up next to her boyfriend. 

“Five minutes and I’ll call,” Charlie mentioned, wrapping his arms around Y/N and holding her tight against him. Her hair tickled him right in the nose, and he could smell the soft fragrance of her shampoo. “Is it mango or lemon?” He questioned after a while, grabbing a strand of her hair.

“Mango, do you like it?”

“Yeah! it smells great, babe.” Charlie pressed a kiss on top of her head and then struggled a bit to get hold of his phone.

After a quick call to the pizza place they always ordered from, they stayed on the couch, enjoying being in the arms of the other. It was small moments like that one, a movie playing on the tv, but their attention fixed on each other. Charlie loved to hear her laugh every time he tickled her or the funny faces she made whenever he faked pushing her off the couch.

“Pizza’s here!” She chirped when the ring bell resonated through the apartment, standing up quickly and making her way to the door.

“Do you want wine or beer?” Charlie asked, walking to the kitchen.

“Wine,” Y/N put the pizza box on the counter and pointed to the small wine cabinet, “my mom sent me one the other day and she said it was perfect for pizza and pasta.”

“No plates, babe,” Charlie mentioned when he saw his girlfriend trying to reach a couple of plates, “that way we only have to wash the glasses.”

“You’re getting lazy, Gillespie,” Y/N teased the boy, but did as he told her.

With a new movie playing on the tv, pizza, and a bottle of wine they sat again on the couch, bickering over small things like Charlie muttering the dialogues because he knows all the lines or the fact that Y/N can’t sit still while watching a movie.

“If you kick me one more time, Y/N,” he warned her, putting his glass of wine on the coffee table before she could make him spill it on the couch.

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Y/N batted her eyelashes and pouted at her boyfriend, “What are you gonna do about it anyway?” 

“Y/N stop it,” Charlie warned again, but Y/N kicked his thigh again softly, it was more a nudge than a real kick. 

He glanced at her, a grin forming on his lips before he grabbed the girl by her feet and pulled her into a laying position, and attacked her sides with his fingers.

“No, Charlie!” The girl squealed, trying to move away from his hands, “please!”

“That’s not gonna work, my love,” he cackled, moving one of his hands up to her neck knowing that was her weak spot.

“Charlie!” Their laughter filled the room, and Y/N squirmed under the boy, “S’il te plaît, babe!”

“Oh! Tu parles français, mon amour.” Charlie knew his girlfriend only knew how to say a few things in French, please being one of them. He stopped his attack and left a soft kiss on her nose, before pressing their lips together in a kiss. 

Y/N pulled away from the kiss first, still short of breath because of the tickles, with a smile on her face, she brought her hands up to cup her boyfriend’s face and pulled him into a kiss again.

“I love you, my idiot,” she breathed against his lips, “now get off, you’re crushing me.”

“I love you too, mon amour.”

Charlie was about to get in bed when Y/N walked in with a towel wrapped around her body and her hair wet. He let out a sigh, too tired to complain now.

“Sit so we can’t get this done fast,” he pointed to the bed and plugged in the hairdryer. 

Sure, he was exhausted, but he loved to help his girl dry her hair, and be a part of her little night routine. That was one of the things he loved about her, she had a tendency to be unpredictable, but no matter what, she’d always take a shower before bed, take her time putting on lotions and skincare, and he’d always help her dry her hair if he was staying over. 

He loved the fact that he could tell if Y/N was laying next to him just by her fruity fragrance. He loved to help her relax at the end of the day, and somehow, drying her hair helped him relax too. 

After her hair was finally dry, he covered himself with the covers and sent a quick goodnight message to his family group chat, while he waited for his girl to finish her night routine.

“Vanilla or coconut?” She wondered, fumbling things in her nightstand drawer. He saw the two hand creams she was holding and smiled.

“Vanilla.”

She squeezed the tube to put cream on her own hands and then squeezed cream on his hands.

“You know I love your sexy guitarist hands, but we don’t like dry hands in this house,” Y/N commented with a sweet smile.

“Goodnight, Y/N,” Charlie said, shaking his head in amusement. 

“Goodnight, Charlie,” the girl answered, cuddling next to him.

“I love you,” he wrapped an arm around her and closed his eyes, happy to spend another night next to the girl he loved so much.

“I love you too, babe.”

[kcrtia]

LEE YUNA &&. LEE INSU @bemyuse​

     he already hated it so much that he was willing to hold his breath and kill himself right in this moment, as he sat around a desk filled with faces he detested. his father directly in front of him and their campaign manager besides his father, his sister in between him and their father because if not for the buffer between them, they would be at each other’s necks— and maybe just maybe, insu would have beaten their father up in front of their campaign manager. and it’s evident in the way he sits with a slouch, their father immediately pointing that out with stern features directed at him, to which he ignores completely and continues to drink the champagne in his glass. 

     it wasn’t too long ago since his sister had found out about their father’s affair with the campaign manager and for once he was glad he didn’t have to keep hearing about why he should behave more and be more fair to their father. for once, he didn’t have to go through nine million lectures from his sister who clearly had too much free time to be preaching stuff that he made clear, he didn’t care about. he lets out a sigh, placing his glass back down onto the table, right as their campaign manager insists on asking him how he was feeling, “fine.” is all that he manages to reply, staring right at her as their father clears his throat, insu’s gaze averting to meet with their father’s own. “get to it, you said this was an obligatory dinner. obviously you wouldn’t be so insistent on me showing up simply for seollal, right?” knowing full well lee insik wasn’t a man of up keeping traditions, not since their mother had moved out of the estate. “and why is she here?” his finger hovers to point at their campaign manager, “she’s not even family— employee at best.” a scoff leaving him, tone condescending.

     “well?” a brow raising, and he was met with a suppressed version of their father, to which he only assumes it’s because their campaign manager was present. a good sign that insu could push boundaries and not get decked to the face, a smirk unknowingly appearing on his features at the thought alone. ‘i was looking into possible engagement arrangements for you, insu. daughter’s of wealthy family’s are interested in making you a part of their family.’ his darkened hues widening, “you what? you want me to be engaged?” he lets out a good laugh, to which was met with an awkward silence, “you’re joking. you think i’m that fucking stupid to be like yuna and marry some random person?” rolling his eyes, accompanied by a scoff. and he senses his father’s anger in the way he had his fists curled on top of the table, the way his veins threatened to pop out from his forward and the gritted teeth. the campaign manager placing her hand on their father’s balled up fist, gently patting him and insu’s gaze narrows in on her, to which she hastily retrieves her hand.

     he lets out a sigh, “fine, you know what? who are they? what are my options? do i even have options?” adjusting himself in his seat, ‘you have three.’ their father replies. “three?” an audible hah leaving him, turning to yuna, “you only had one.” as if cackling, he laughs at her. ‘you have suyin from the tsai family who are big lawyers in the country. chanmi, from the han family who own major banks internationally. and you have mirabelle, from the yoon family who are famous in the industry and the media. good exposure and positive coverage.’ their father adds. his own brows raising, amused by his options. 

     “maybe suyin, at least then it’ll be easier for yuna to have a way into getting a job after she graduates.” turning to his sister, raising his brows mockingly. “though chanmi is good for business, no? ties in with mum’s line of work? could help in the financing sector of mum’s car manufacturing company?” he’s trying to sound as genuinely interested as he can, really selling the fact that was indeed debating on which bride to wed himself to for the rest of his life, “euijin might get bored being the only famous person in the family, so maybe mirabelle will keep him company?” 

[pascalpanic]

hey babe you’re the best ily very much, not to be wild but ah ha ha... may i make i request please? 🥺🥺 i’m feeling extra self indulgent so maybe just a bit of fluff? (with whatever pedro boy you’re feelin) where like, fem! rc is rlly insecure about her laugh (like i snort and laugh so loud it’s not even funny i get so nervous laughing around people skdjdjjd) so because of that he’s never really seen her let go so he’s like “no i really wanna make you laugh” and yes. stay hydrated and you’re wonderful :D

Mesh’la Kaab (Din Djarin x f!Reader)

Summary: You confide to your Mandalorian that you hate your laugh. That sets Din on a mission to hear your real, true laugh.

W/C: 2.8k

Warnings: mentions of food, but that’s all. let me know if I missed any or you’d like me to tag anything in here. Reader is called “mama” in reference to Grogu, din is called “daddy” but in reference to being Grogu’s dad.

A/N: you guys, this is the cutest fluff ever. I love Din with my entire soul. Sunny and I worked together a little to add a few things unique to her but it should be relevant to anyone! I hope u guys like it :))

mesh’la kaab- beautiful sound

A giggle rings out throughout the Razor Crest, pinging off the walls and making its way into the cockpit. 

There was a lot of other noise going on down there, Mando could tell, but it’s your laugh that makes his face warm under his helmet. He listens more carefully, trying to tell exactly what’s going on.

What was going on, exactly, was chaos. Mando’s little green son had gotten hold of your ukulele and was deciding to mimic his mama, you. You often sang and played the ukulele around the ship, bringing music and light into the cold, metallic space. It was part of what Mando loved most about you, what brought him comfort when you thought he couldn’t hear you. 

Mando had brought you on board a few months ago, and your soft and warming nature caused him to let his guard down almost immediately. He’d never been a touchy man, never one to cuddle or give keldabe kisses, but you stole his heart the moment he saw your smile.

Over time, your relationship with Mando had warmed. He’d press his hand to the small of your back as he walked past, let his ungloved fingertips brush over your hands. You were soft and kind and all he wanted.

He gave in a few weeks into your stay. He told you he cared for you, that he liked you, and a relationship had blossomed. He’d wrap his arms around you when he returned from a job, pressing his forehead to yours. He’d turn off all of the lights in the ship and press soft kisses to your lips and forehead and the tip of your nose. He’d sleep in your bunk with you and the child, pulling you to his chest and murmuring how much you meant to him. Helmetless, shirtless. Human again.

You’d learned his name late one night, his lips next to your ear- Din. It was one simple syllable, soft yet strong, a beautiful sound when his raspy voice was unmodulated. The child cooed, waking from his slumber, crawling between the two of you and nestling in. “That’s right, baby boy. Your daddy’s name is Din,” you’d hummed, pressing a soft kiss to the baby’s head and stroking his large green ears. The three of you were family now. 

Din was a romantic at heart, bringing you gifts from missions and holding you gently as he traces his fingertips across your collarbones and neck while you slept. One thing he didn’t have, you had come to realize, was a sense of humor- at least, not one you understood. It was there, you supposed, but dry. Sarcastic quips. Words with double-meanings. A joke that had to be explained after he said it. You were happy, he knew that, but you rarely laughed. 

That’s part of what transfixes him as he hears your giggle for the first time. It’s not a hard, tear-wrenching, gut-bursting laugh, but it’s a beautiful sound. Just as melodic as your beautiful voice when you sing along with your ukulele.

Din climbs down from the cockpit. You can’t see his face but his body is relaxed- he’s happy. You look up at him with a grin. “Your son thinks he wants to be a musician,” you tease, holding the ukulele above your head, sitting cross-legged on an old cape of his. 

The baby is trying to climb up on you, little green hands grabbing at your shirt in an attempt to reach the ukulele again. It makes Din’s heart warm, the way the son he had come to love is playing with the woman who makes his heart soar. “Really?” He asks, sitting down across from you and tilting his head.

“Really. And I must say, he’s not a very good one,” you tease the child, setting the ukulele down next to you and scooping your baby up in your arms. You press a soft kiss to his head and squeeze him against your chest. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“Maybe the two of you would perform for me. I’ve been told I’m a good judge of talent,” he offers in that tone where you can tell he’s teasing, but it’s with all of the love in his heart. 

You look down at the baby and raise an eyebrow. “Well, baby boy? Should we show your daddy how wonderful you are?” you ask with excitement in your tone. The baby coos excitedly and nods. He’s starting to pick up on the human mannerisms that you and his father display. “Okay, let’s show him.” You set the ukulele in your lap, one hand on the fretboard. You set the child in front of you. “I’ll do the part up here, you play with the strings and sing for him, okay?” You instruct the baby, who giggles excitedly.

You look up at Din with a smile, and you can tell he’s smiling back. “Go for it, ad’ika,” Din tells the child.

His son agrees. He randomly plucks at the strings and squeals loudly. It’s utter cacophony, the farthest thing from music, but the little green baby seems to think it’s a masterpiece. He coos and shouts, little hands grabbing at the strings with no particular rhyme or reason.

You giggle but play around with the frets, letting the child choose his strings. He ends his song with a final shriek and you bite your lip to hold back from bursting into honest-to-god laughter. “Good job, bean!” You coo happily, clapping your hands. 

Din claps too, leather-covered hands muffling the noise. “You’re a fantastic musician, kid,” he tells the little green child, who runs and jumps into his father’s lap, cuddling against his chest. “You have a beautiful laugh,” he tells you honestly, looking up at you and stroking the kid’s head. 

You shake your head and look down at the ukulele, playing a few chords that come to mind. “That’s not my real laugh,” you admit, staring down at the instrument. “My laugh is really ugly. It sounds like a blurrg in labor.”

Din shakes his head, chuckling softly at the comparison. “I can’t possibly think you’d have an ugly laugh, ner mesh’la,” he tells you, resting a hand on your knee. 

“Oh, it is. And you don’t wanna hear it,” you inform him, looking up at him. 

“There’s not a thing about you that could be ugly,” he tells you, his voice sincere and solid. “I want to hear your laugh.”

“Then you’ll have to be funny for once, Din,” you tease, a small smile growing on your face. You stand, pressing a kiss to the top of his helmet and moving away to put your ukulele back in its case. 

That’s the moment Din decides he’s going to make you laugh, in a way that you can’t possibly hold back. It’s a mission.

-

Later that night, you cook dinner for your little family. It’s makeshift at best, a tiny portable flame that you had found in a junk shop on Nevarro, but you have to admit it’s charming. You sauté some vegetables, native from your current planet, that you picked up today. The smell wafts to the cockpit, where Din is fiddling with an electrical wiring problem. He can’t smell it, not with the helmet, but the child can. 

The baby coos at his father and tugs on his pant leg, gesturing towards the ladder. He wants to get down. “What is it, ad’ika?” He asks gruffly, nodding once he sees where the child points. 

Din climbs down the ladder with the baby in tow, smiling as he sees you lost in your own little world.

You’re surprisingly good with electronics, Din discovered after he took you on board, and you’d found that the Razor Crest has a stereo system. It had become your pet project, and now some music was drifting through the hull of the ship. He stands there for a second and smiles at the way you dance around and cook the food, the pan sizzling. It’s a beautiful sight. 

This is the perfect moment, Din thinks. Someone as caring and unguarded as you must be ticklish. Setting down the child and making a gesture for him to be quiet, Din quietly creeps behind you. He has no armor on except his helmet now, allowing him to be stealthy. 

He creeps up behind you, fingers wiggling along your sides. Nothing happens except you squealing in surprise and whipping around in his arms. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” You exclaim as you look up at him with wide eyes.

“Just, uh… wanted to see if you were ticklish,” he admits, wrapping his arms around you fully now.

“Well, I’m not,” you roll your eyes, tossing your arms around his neck and looking up at him.

“You’re trying to hear my witch’s cackle, aren’t you?” You ask teasingly, smiling contently at the man holding you.

He shrugs lightly. “Maybe.”

“Din,” you coo and press a kiss to his cold beskar cheek. “Well, I’m almost done cooking. You might as well stay down here,” you tell him and start swaying him along to the music playing. It’s nice; he dances along with you. “You can come out, green bean,” you call to the child.

The child squeals as he jumps out from around a corner, and you mock surprise, jumping. “Oh my Maker, you almost gave me a heart attack,” you cry out to the child, who giggles excitedly. “C’mere, baby,” you laugh and pick him up, holding him between you and Din as you sway along to the music. “You and your daddy are a handful,” you coo to him and press a kiss to the baby’s head. 

“I’m going to get it out of you,” Din declares.

“Sure you are, Djarin,” you roll your eyes and smile softly, pressing your forehead to his in a keldabe kiss. “You know I’m happy here, right? I really couldn’t be any happier. I have you and the kid and I get to travel the galaxy with my two favorite boys.”

He nods. “Of course I do. It’s just… happy people laugh more.”

“I laugh plenty. When you tell me a bad joke, when the kid does something stupid.”

“You giggle or you chuckle. You never laugh.

“Neither do you.”

Din thinks on it for a second. “I suppose that’s true,” he nods in acknowledgment.

“Then you don’t need to make it such a mission, ner verd,” you tease, a loving smile on your face. You break away, keeping the child in your arms as you walk back to the vegetables. “Looks like the food is ready.”

-

It doesn’t come the way he wants it to, but Din finally makes you laugh.

Two days later, you’re dancing around with the baby in the hull of the ship, singing to the child’s favorite song. He squeals along, waving his little hands in the air and spinning in circles. “Din, come down here,” you call out happily. 

“Little busy,” a gruff voice shouts back from the cockpit.

“Din Djarin, you get your tin-can head down here!”

“Later, ner kar’ta.”

You pout and pick up the baby, heading off to the refresher with the child. You suppose it’s time for a bath for the green bean anyway. You change the song and hum along, undressing the child from his tiny brown robes and filling the sink with warm water. You drizzle some of your shampoo into the water, making the top fill with bubbles. 

The child giggles excitedly as you place a rubber ewok in the water. “I know! Isn’t it exciting?” You coo to him, nuzzling your face into his fuzzy little green head. “Oh, you’re going to smell so nice for your buir. Even if he can’t smell you with that tin can on his head. When we cuddle tonight, he’ll just want to eat you up,” you tease, your nose scrunching with a smile. 

When the sink is properly filled, you place the child in it. It’s deep enough to reach just below his armpits, and he splashes around tranquilly. “I know, isn’t it fun?” you laugh softly, scrubbing him down with a bright green sponge in the shape of a frog. 

Getting the baby’s head wet is a challenge. He doesn’t like the feeling, so you know you have to get creative. You grab the little rubber ewok and hold it up. “You want it?” You ask, and he nods. You drag it around beneath the water and he tries to grab it, dunking his head under. Perfect. He takes it from your hand and pops back up giggling. “Good job, squirt!” you coo and rub his head with the sponge.

You dry him with a fluffy towel when you’re done and redress him in a new set of clothing, smiling. “You’re such a cutie,” you murmur and press a kiss to his head. “I love you, you know that?”

And somehow, you know he knows. He can tell, and you can tell he loves you too. 

My mama, my protector, she plays with me and feeds me and snuggles with me. Love. Love love love my mama and my buir. Buir is shiny and quiet but he loves me and sneaks me snacks after bedtime when mama’s sleeping and boops me on the nose and wraps me up in his cape when it’s cold.

You’re taken aback by the sensation before Din descends down the ladder from the cockpit. He walks over to the two of you, giving you a keldabe kiss before heading to the ‘fresher. Clearing your throat, you clear the thought from your mind. You must’ve imagined it. “Well, let’s get ready for bed,” you tell the child. The water runs in the ‘fresher- Din must be showering. You change into a pair of comfortable clothes then turn off the lights and get into the bunk with the child. 

“Are the lights off?” He calls.

“Yes, love,” you shout back. Din emerges from the refresher and snuggles into bed with you and your son. His hair is damp and his face is clean-shaven, you can feel both when you reach for him as the bed dips with his weight. “Hi there,” you smile and press a soft kiss to his lips. 

“Hi,” he chuckles and kisses you a little deeper for a moment. Your hand drifts to his side- he’s shirtless, leaving him only in pants- and his finds your chest, pressing a hand over your heart. The moment is disrupted as one three-fingered hand finds each of your faces and pushes you apart. “Hello, ad’ika,” Din laughs, grabbing the child and snuggling him between the two of you. He presses a soft kiss to the baby’s head, you can hear it, and breathes in deeply. “Mm, your mama gave you a bath.”

“Sure did,” you chuckle. You know Din loves the smell of your shampoo; it reminds him of when you first showered in the Crest, and his helmet was off when he went to the ‘fresher next and it smelled clean and soft and feminine and beautiful.

“Maybe your mama will have to give me a bath sometime,” he murmurs as he kisses your face.

It’s the single most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard the man say. Before you can help yourself, a genuine laugh bursts forth from your throat. It’s loud and obnoxious, making you wiggle and wheeze and even snort. It’s a cackle, almost, but it’s the most beautiful noise Din Djarin has ever heard. He starts laughing along too, burying his face in your chest, chest heaving. Even the child joins in on the giggles, even though he doesn’t know why. 

The three of you lie like that for a minute, wheezing hard and breathing heavily. The laughter ends and you find yourself catching your breath, Din’s face still buried in your chest. His nose nudges between your breasts and you stroke the back of his head, giving a soft giggle. You feel yourself flood with the warmth of embarrassment as you realize you just let loose such an ugly sound. “Din-”

“Don’t even try to apologize, ner mesh’la,” he chuckles, pressing a kiss over your breast, where your heart lies. “That was the most beautiful noise I’ve ever heard.”

“No it’s not.”

“Yes it is,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to your collarbone. “It’s you being happy, the sound of me making you smile. What could be better than that?” He asks before capturing your lips in a slow kiss. “I’m never going a day without making you laugh again.”

-

Mando’a translations:

ner kar’ta- my heart

ner verd- my warrior

buir- parent (gender neutral word)

ner mesh’la- beautiful

ad’ika- little one

-

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