#“Should I dig out my winter clothes” no that is the devil talking

[scarlettohairdye]

It is dark and rainy outside and I regret to inform everyone that I have once again discovered I am just a slightly more complicated plant, as I wish to enter a state of dormancy (crawl back under my covers and go to sleep)

[sgwrscrsh]

winter days: underneath the tree

☁️a/n☁️ this made my heart very warm to write even though i pulled an all-nighter to get it done because my time-management has gone to shit after finals. requested by @sachirou-senpai​. thank you, ellie, for giving me a reason to bring back my boys. i’ve missed ‘summer on you’ so much. this can be read as a stand-alone or as a spin off of ending b, my fave. either way, merry christmas to my babes who celebrate! i have one more christmas fic for tmr and then i’m hiding away to plan + write an smau.

includes: female!reader, poly!seijoh four, post-timeskip (very minor manga spoilers), lots of domesticity, a little suggestive bit, a lot of eating and sleeping now that i realize, a christmas tree, matching pajamas, a very special christmas gift, makki slapping your ass once, a lil teary moment w tooru, homemade curry + pancakes (but not together), lots of cuddling, lots of love, happy holidays, 4.35k words

☁️masterlist☁️

shivering slightly, you unlock the door to the rather spacious apartment you shared with your four boyfriends later into the evening than you would’ve liked. 

yes, four boyfriends. whom you love very much and are loved by in return.

living with four towering hunks has it’s ups and downs, but you wouldn’t trade tooru’s extensive skin care regiment sprawled across the bathroom counter; hajime’s bag of protein powder that he always forgets to put away; issei’s boots that you always tripped over when you came through the front door; or takahiro’s costco-sized box of cream puffs in the freezer that he insisted he would finish by the end of the month, almost half a year ago, for the world.

you made sure to stomp off the snow stuck on your boots before entering the building, but you couldn’t help but sigh at the warmth that greets you once you toe them off.

“ahhh,” you think. “thank goodness tooru convinced us to invest in heated floors.” another perk of having four boyfriends was that two of them brought in enough bank for you to seriously consider becoming their cute little housewife. snorting, you shake your head, though the idea of prancing around in a maid outfit to tease them seemed very appealing. “maybe we should make hiro dress up and clean the house since he still hasn’t found a new job yet.” 

“what’s so funny, sweets?” speak of the devil. makki’s head pops out from the bathroom nearest to the front door, steam rolling out and droplets falling from his hair, signifying that he had just taken a hot shower. wordlessly, you stare at him, lost in thought imagining the water caressing his toned body, but a second later, he gets a better look at you and laughs. “you look like a wet dog!” your glare loses some of its edge when he takes in your own damp strands. 

“did someone say something about a dog?” tooru comes bounding round the corner, and you could’ve sworn he drooped a little when he realized it was just you in the hallway sans dog. turning your icy glance on the setter, you open your mouth to complain about how mean the two of them were being to you when your prince charming comes in to save the day.

“you two, stop bullying the poor girl and let her take a warm bath before she gets sick!” iwa chides as he helps you unbundle the layers that protected you from the snow and sharp winds of the winter. pressing a sweet kiss to your forehead and promising to pick out comfy clothes for you, he ushers you into your spacious en suite where a steaming tub full of rose petals awaits you. hajime chuckles at the starry eyes you give him, heart warming at the love and appreciation shining clear as day on your face, before he leaves to grab a clean pair of underwear, one of issei’s t-shirts, and a pair of his own sweats, knowing you much prefer to wear their clothes at home.

submerged in the bath, you exhale contentedly, eyelids fluttering shut as you enjoy the product of iwa’s consideration and foresight. letting the stress of work and the chill of the outdoors melt from you, you stay in the water until it cools and your fingers prune. a lone thought of how much more you would’ve enjoyed the bath if the boys had joined you flits through your mind, but you jolt when you open your eyes and find issei sitting on the counter with a towel and your robe in his lap, some of the water sloshing over the side of the tub. 

“oh thank god, i was scared you fell asleep and would drown or choke on a rose petal.” you giggle while he wraps you up in your robe before gently toweling your hair dry. “you can’t leave me to deal with the three of them alone.” 

rolling your eyes, you retort easily, “if anything, i’d feel bad about leaving hajime to deal with the three of you alone. the poor man puts up with enough from his team, he doesn’t need you guys ganging up on him, too.”

“well i’ll have you know, sometimes he really enjoys us ganging up on him.” his cheeky quip paired with his wiggling eyebrows earns him a smack on the chest but regardless, you let him sweep you up into his arms and drop you on the massive bed the five of you shared. “get dressed, babygirl. as much as i’d love to spend more time with you naked, i gotta help haji finish dinner.” with a quick peck on your lips, issei leaves you to do just as he said. 

emerging revitalized and relaxed, your mouth waters at the smell of homemade curry, distracted enough to not notice tooru’s arms wrapping around your shoulders and waist. 

“hey, cutie, i’ve missed you,” he sings, face snuggled into the junction of your shoulder and neck. you spin around in his hold to slip your arms around his slim torso, relishing his firm lines against your soft curves. 

“‘ve missed you too, tooru.” and you really did, grateful that all of you were able to take time off work and he was able to come home a week before the holidays, giving the five of you a whole month to spend together before he had to jet back to argentina for his next bout of training and practice games.

“hell yea! group hug!” makki comes running towards you guys, only for you to twist out of his reach at the last second, sending him straight into the sofa behind you. “oof, that was cold, y/n.”

you stick your tongue out at the strawberry boy. “yea, well that’s what you get for laughing at me when i got home. sucker.” still entangled in tooru’s embrace, you feel his body shake with mirth and bite the inside of your cheek to prevent yourself from dissolving into giggles when you see a pout take over hiro’s pretty face.

“dinner’s ready,” comes iwa’s call, beckoning the three of you into the kitchen before you could antagonize each other some more. once you all got your servings of curry, you settle into your proclaimed seats on the large sofa, your body comically small compared to their tall frames dwarfing the cushions. noting the way tooru threw his long legs over iwa’s and how mattsun and makki leaned against each other as they ate, you fold your legs to tuck your feet under takahiro’s thigh and dig in to your meal with some trashy reality show lighting up the tv screen, completely certain that the warmth in your chest was from the company of your loved ones more so than the piping hot potatoes in your stomach.

during breakfast the next day, you blearily rub the sleep out of your eyes before taking a sip of your coffee, a satisfied “ahhh” escaping your parted lips as you lean against the kitchen counter. slowly peeling your eyelids open, you notice all of their gazes were focused on you. “yes? can i help you?” you ask amusedly, awake now that caffeine had be introduced to your tired body.

“how are you still so gorgeous in the morning?” you blink at the dreamy look on iwa’s face propped up in his hands with his elbows on the surface of the island. looking around, you see the other three matching the athletic trainer’s pose and expression next to him. thinking over your messy bedhead, mysteriously stained pajamas, and almost impressively dark eyebags, you want to scoff, but the unfairly handsome men giving you their undivided attention despite all of that (“because of all of that, y/n-chan,” tooru would argue) make you blush instead.

“you’re one to talk, haji,” you opt to remark, hoping to divert their focus from you and your rosy cheeks. “and don’t look at me like that,” your pointed finger swinging wildly between the four of them like the needle of a compass. “you already know you guys are way outta my league, you don’t need me to tell you that.” with one last flourish, you wave your hand dismissively before grabbing your mug with both hands, palms warming against the ceramic.

“as wrong as you are, you can’t blame us for wanting to hear the love of our lives compliment us first thing in the morning as we admire her natural beauty,” mattsun grins once he sees the success his words have at deepening the flush on your face. tooru nods gravely in agreement, but it’s makki’s one-two combo of a wink and an air kiss that breaks you. you roll your bottom lip between your teeth to stifle a laugh but release it immediately when the playful atmosphere takes a heady turn. clearing your throat, you pay no heed to their hungry expressions, knowing full well that they all noticed your little action and how they would react to it.

“a-anyways,” you stutter, “i’m gonna go get ready ‘cause i have things to do today so-” you try to slip by, leaving your empty cup in the sink, only to get caught in your tracks by hiro’s long arms. 

“ah, ah, ah, princess. and where do you think you’re going?” soon enough, you find yourself surrounded by your smoking hot boyfriends and heat up in anticipation of their next moves. 

“this so isn’t fair,” you complain aloud, though you were just as eager as they were to get you out of your worn sleep clothes. 

“tough shit, babygirl. guess you’re just gonna have to add four more things to your to-do list, huh?” 

naturally, you leave your errands for some day later in the week when you’re able to walk properly again.

the opportunity comes when you rise earlier than the rest of them, a rare occasion where you found yourself graced with the freedom of sleeping on the outside instead of being sandwiched in the middle of the bed. tiptoeing about, you brush your teeth and get dressed, somehow managing to not wake any of the sleeping beauties. you scribble little love-filled messages on post-it notes and stick them around your apartment on your way out, but not without one last soft smile in the direction of the bedroom, the sight of the four of them cuddled together through the door left ajar renewing your motivation to accomplish your tasks and come home sooner. 

with your laptop bag in tow, you set out for your first destination, settling into a corner booth at the coffee shop with a full cup and a pastry. once you finish your breakfast, you pull out your laptop and get to work, scouring the internet for the perfect gifts for your lovably imperfect partners. you rack your brain for any recollection of any moment where they would’ve let a potential present slip into conversation and light up when you come across volleyball print pajama pants. you check the availability of the sizes you needed and upon realizing that they were all in stock and would be delivered before christmas, you place your order without a moment’s hesitation. satisfied with your progress, you pull up the animal shelter’s hours before heading out of the cafe, the barista’s greetings and the jingling bells echoing behind you. 

by the time you return home, it’s late in the afternoon and you’re greeted by a wall of warm bodies as soon as you step through the front door. 

“where’ve you been, babe?” once again, takahiro is the first to meet your return, but this time he plants a sweet kiss on your lips with his long fingers encircling your waist after his inquiry. 

“oh, you know,” you sigh, dazed from the saccharine embrace. “out and about.”

“busy day? hope it was productive.” you nuzzle into tooru’s chest, feeling the timbre of his voice through your skin, and nod.

“as a matter of fact, it was.” their eyes soften at the proud grin stretched across your face. but your grumbling stomach just had to ruin the moment, making the three of you stare at each other before bursting out in chuckles.

“you skipped lunch?” oiks asks, wrapping each arm around yours and hiro’s waists and guiding you into the kitchen. you rub the back of your neck sheepishly.

“i guess so? i didn’t really notice i was hungry until now.”

“good thing we saved your favorite from that chinese place down the street for you,” mattsun comes up behind you and lands a kiss on the crown of your head. you beam gratefully up at him and skip over to the fridge to retrieve the takeout.

“welcome home, love,” iwaizumi emerges from the bathroom to complete the set and gives you a once over. “you look tired.”

“gee thanks, hajime.” he rolls his eyes playfully at you while you wait for your food to heat up in the microwave.

“what time did you get up this morning?” 

“uhhh,” you start, mouth full. at iwa’s stern glare, you swallow before answering, “seven-ish? earlier than i would’ve like for a vacation day but it was worth it.”

“hm, well i’m glad you had a good day at least.” you shuffle over to kiss his cheek before dropping yourself on top of where tooru and hiro were cuddling on the sofa, eyes drifting around the room to take in the holiday decorations adorning the space.

“thanks, haji. but you’re right, i am sleepy.” suppressing a yawn, you lean back against the broad chests behind you and tuck back into the paper container. “can we take a nap once i’m done?”

“sure thing, babygirl.” the innocent smile mattsun sends your way turns mischievous with his added comment. “we really tuckered ourselves out while you were gone.” you nearly choke but makki’s hand thumping your back helps you dislodge whatever food got caught in your throat. iwa shakes his head and looks to the side in an attempt to hide his face, but the reddening tips of his ears give him away. meanwhile, oikawa catches your eye and winks.

“how else did you suppose we keep ourselves occupied when our baby wasn’t home?” you get up to toss your now empty container, shaking your head as you go. 

“i’m glad to see you at least got the christmas tree up before going at it. god, you’re all insatiable.”

“i mean, it’s hard not to be in this relationship,” hajime grumbles.

“aww, iwa,” makki pushes his lips into an overexaggerated pout. “you make me hard, too.” full-bellied chortles escape the four of you, ignoring iwaizumi’s indignant huffs.

“whatever,” comes his miffed reply, but you know he takes all your antics in stride. soon enough, he returns to the living room with a stack of blankets and finds you and issei added to the pile of limbs tooru and hiro founded. somehow, hajime situates himself to fit perfectly in your cuddle fest, blankets sprawled about to keep you warm.

one last yawn leaves your mouth before you mutter a sleepy, “night, guys. love you,” barely registering the quiet “love you”s you get in return as you drift off, the lights adorning your christmas tree twinkling above you.

christmas day, you wake up before the others again, this time more than willing to feign sleep and revel in the warmth of your shared bed. luckily, you don’t have to wait long for your boys to stir. sitting up, you stretch your arms above you head and begin to climb out of bed only to be caught by the wrist and dragged back down.

“haji, please,” you draw out. “we can finally open the presents under the tree!”

“i don’t care, it’s too early for you to leave me, princess.” you hum as he pulls you closer to him, revisiting your mental note that iwa is much more openly (and selfishly) affectionate in the mornings. 

“oi, the rest of us are still here you know.” face buried against tooru’s back, mattsun’s muffled complaint gets hajime to loosen his hold on you. 

“yea, yea,” he props himself up on his elbow to lean over you and kisses the former middle blocker’s temple. “unfortunately.”

“so mean, iwa-chan,” oikawa pipes up, stretching his arm across you to caress your boyfriend’s toned arm before lacing his fingers with makki’s. the pink haired man himself, still half-asleep, squeezes tooru’s hand before sitting up.

“hey, wait. it’s christmas, isn’t it?” takahiro’s question reminds you of the package you received a couple days prior, prompting you to spring out of bed before one of them could reel you back in. the four watch you rifle through the closet and resurface with the pajama pants you ordered.

“merry christmas!” you cry excitedly, tossing each boy their respective pair and eagerly awaiting their reactions. “they’re matching pj’s! look, i got one for myself, too.” thankful that you chose to go to bed in just one of iwa’s godzilla t-shirts and underwear last night, you rush to slip on your volleyball print pants. the boys take in your childlike joy, chests tightening at how precious you are. “hurry up, i want you to try them on so we can match!” at your insistence, they roll out of bed and dutifully don your gifts. 

“oh these are actually really soft,” tooru murmurs thoughtfully, fingering the fabric on his thigh.

“right?” you pipe up, nearly bouncing off the walls. “i wanted to do something to commemorate our first christmas together in this apartment and i thought these were really cute since volleyball is what brought us together in the first place.” eyes meet each other as you all reminisce that special summer, grateful that you stayed close despite your individual journeys after graduation.

suddenly, the doorbell ringing catches your attention. a brief glance at the clock on the bedside table tells you it’s much later in the morning than you though, but you’re quick to answer the door.

“who could that be?” the boys are left wondering, wandering out into the living room in time to see you wave goodbye to whoever it was with a large gift-wrapped box sitting on the floor next to you. 

“babe? who was it?” tooru is the first to ask the question on all of their minds. 

“oh, just my best friend. they wanted to drop this off on their way to their parents’ house.” you gingerly pick up the box and bring it to where your boys were waiting for you. “go ahead!”

“go ahead?” hajime parrots. 

“yea! open it!”

“it’s not for you?” takahiro ponders.

“well yes and no. c’mon just open it already!” you’re bouncing on the balls of your feet at this point. tooru finally takes the initiative to remove the lid of the box, eyes widening when he sees what it hid.

“oh my gosh,” he breathes. the other three nearly knock heads with how quickly they lean over the opening.

“is that-?” a furry little head pops up over the edge of the box, round eyes peering up at the four of them.

“a dog! yes!” you squeal. “he’s a shelter dog!”

“he is?” hiro is in awe, slowly reaching out to cradle the little guy in his arms.

“i met him the other day when i woke up early and ran errands without you guys. isn’t he just the cutest?” big hands dwarf the small pooch as they gently pet his head and stroke his fur.

“does he have a name?” tooru has the good sense to ask. 

“mhm, the lady at the shelter said his previous owner named him ponyo.”

“ponyo…” issei whispered, eyes shining. 

“i know we’re nowhere near ready to start thinking about kids,” you start, the topic of the conversation instantly drawing their attention. tooru even ignored ponyo’s little tongue lapping at his fingers. “but i thought we could use an addition to our family.” 

“y/n, princess, we obviously all love him already, but we’re busy with work- well, most of us are. who’s gonna take care of him?” hajime questions, almost reluctantly.

“i mean, hiro is home all the time since he’s still unemployed (“i said i was looking, damn!”), but i actually got promoted so my schedule is way more flexible and i can work from home most of the time.” your voice trails off bashfully, but they give you no time to be embarrassed, swallowing you up in a huge hug. 

“why didn’t you say anything sooner, baby? we’re so proud of you!” now you know how the dog felt being smothered by their affection, not that it was anything new for you.

“uhh, surprise?”

“fuck yea, surprise! god, you’re incredible. lemme make a list of things we’ll need to get for ponyo once the stores reopen tomorrow.”

“actually…”

“you didn’t.”

“i did, with help from my best friend.” going into the lowest cupboards in the kitchen, you show off the bag of dog food and water and food bowls you bought soon after visiting the shelter. “his bed and crate are in the other closet by the washroom.”

“how did we get so lucky?” takahiro asks aloud, making you blush as the others nod in sync, all of them blown away by your thoughtfulness.

“this is nothing. i just wanted to show you guys how much i love you.” you play with your fingers, a little overwhelmed now that the initial excitement has worn off. “oh wait!”

“there’s more?” tooru asks, shocked.

“but wait, there’s more!” mattsun and makki chime in simultaneously, making you laugh as you retrieve the last present. you hop over to where tooru was sitting on the sofa with ponyo on his lap, scooping the dog up and locking the two of you in the bathroom. a couple minutes later, you open the door to let ponyo scurry over to his dads, who coo softly once they see him come around the sofa.

“when did you have time to do this?”

“my pants were a little long, so i hemmed them one night after you guys passed out on the sofa watching your old volleyball matches. i kinda guessed ponyo’s measurements based on standard info i found on the internet, but it fits perfectly so i’m glad!” looking at the little sweater you made for your new family member out of the extra fabric from your pj pants, you couldn’t stop the pleased grin that broke out on your face. “now even ponyo matches with us!”

while your gaze was trained on the tiny dog that was exploring his new home, theirs were stuck on you, your resemblance with a proud mother struck something in them, giving them thoughts of you with their children. yes, children. but for now they shoved those images to the backs of their minds, meeting each other’s stares to confirm they were all in silent agreement.

“we’re gonna make breakfast, you just sit there ‘n look pretty while you watch ponyo, yea?” issei announces before pulling you into a searing kiss as he walks by. 

“not that that’s hard for you,” iwa tags on, kissing your cheek and ruffling your hair following mattsun into the kitchen.

“but i’m always hard for you.” you yelp when hiro playfully slaps your ass, flipping him off as he trails after the other two with a loud hoot. tooru comes up behind you and rubs your sore cheek, spinning you around so that you were face to face.

“why’d you do this to me, y/n-chan?” you meet his frown with a confused look of your own. “now it’s gonna be even harder for me to go back to argentina.”

“oh, tooru,” you wrap your arms around his neck, standing on your tiptoes to bring him close. “you have the next few weeks to spend with us and our new baby.” as if he knew you were talking about him, ponyo pads over to sit by your feet, tail wagging. oikawa sighs melodramatically.

“a few weeks is nothing compared to the months i’ll be gone!” 

“oi, shittykawa, you better not be complaining after everything this morning,” hajime hollers from the kitchen.

“love you, too, iwa-chan!” tooru calls back instinctively then he looks back down at you, his eyes giving away how much leaving will hurt him and it nearly makes you tear up with him.

“tooru, baby, it sucks every time you leave us, but you’re following your dreams and doing what you love. and we want to support you all the way, even if it means doing so from across the world. but with my new work schedule, i’ll be able to call or text you pretty much whenever. and just think how much sweeter it’ll be the next time you do come home to us. so don’t be too sad, okay, my love? we’ll all be here waiting for you.” 

as the last words leave your lips, tooru has you pulled flush against him, arms wrapped tight around your body. his face was hidden, but you could feel the sobs in hot breaths against your shoulder. you guided him over to the sofa and let him cry, petting his hair and peppering kisses on his tear-streaked face until he tired himself out. 

issei, hajime, and takahiro come out of the kitchen with stacks of pancakes and all the fixings, setting them down on the coffee table in front of you once they see tooru snoozing in your lap. iwa picks ponyo up before he could get a bite of your breakfast while you gently shake your boyfriend awake. mattsun and makki set up ponyo’s crate and bedding, leaving him with a toy to keep him occupied while the five of you filled up your plates.

sitting in the living room of the apartment you shared with your four boyfriends on christmas day, stuffing your face with fruit and whipped cream topped pancakes that they made, in matching pajamas with your new rescue dog scampering about, you couldn’t ask for a better gift underneath the tree.

taglist: @lovemeafterhrs​ @sachirou-senpai​ @honey-makki​ @kenmaki​

[colorseeingchick]

Onigiri and Second Chances

Pairing: Osamu Miya x Reader

Summary: The Black Jackals are hosting a Christmas party, and Osamu agrees to come. But there’s some details Atsumu forgot to tell him- 1, he’s supposed to mass-make Onigiri for the party, and 2, a figure from his past is making a reappearance. 

Warnings: Mostly Fluff, some Angst, suggestive content, swearing 

Word Count: 3.7k 

A/N: Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays everyone! This is far from my best work but I hope its fun regardless !

Osamu swears he can see his breath crystalize before him in his kitchen as he plots the murder of his damned brother. 

Well, plotting his brother’s demise is currently secondary to the molding of the  onigiri in his hand. It feels odd, the contrast between the soft, squishy rice warming his palms as he meticulously works at it and the prickly cold that bites his forearms, bare and at the mercy of the cold air of his kitchen, unprotected by his rolled up sleeves. 

Now, you probably have a lot of questions! 

Why’s Osamu Miya making some lip-smacking onigiri at 4 pm on Christmas Eve? 

Because his bitch of a brother tricked him.

Why’s he making 70? 

Ask Atsumu smh (if it’s not abundantly clear, my boy Osamu is VERY salty).

Has he been here for like, 3 hours already? 

Yeah, he sure as hell has. 

Will he be here for a good few more?

Uh huh. 

Why? 

Well, Osamu doesn’t take onigiri lightly. 1. If he’s gonna make em for Atsumu’s party, he was gonna do em right. Even though Atsumu forgot to mention that onigiri was gonna be the special dish to Osamu- the one making the onigiri- until 10 am the day of, (I’m sure y’all get why Osamu is mad now) there wasn’t a chance in hell he was gonna let his dishes fall flat, especially for a party this big. He has a bunch of specialty flavors he’s been wanting to showcase anyways, and in the process of making so many for such a large number, he knows it’s easy to get lost in a ‘quantity over quality’ mindset. No matter the amount, Onigiri Miya’s quality never wavers (A/N: period king as you should). 

But the AC being broken? That’s not a part of his plan. And it was just kinda, icing on his metaphorical cake of reasons why he’s pissed as hell right now. It makes him question if all this effort is really worth it, at least for tonight. 

Osamu’s initially thought that, because his brother’s the host for this party, that maybe he should try to spruce up a bit, come in lookin like an acceptable counterpart to his charismatic, showy brother. But now? He’ll realistically be here in this kitchen till the time of the party, so he’ll show up lookin a lil rough. Effort that should’ve gone into his looks is not being put into his food.  If Atsumu complains, Osamu will not hesitate to shove an onigiri up his-

It’s whatever. It’s not like he has anyone he needs to impress there anyways. He’s just the onigiri twin tonight. 

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The party is in full swing when Osamu arrives. But unlike Atsumu’s usual parties, the music wasn’t blaring- it’s festive and moderate. And despite being ‘party’ attire, everyone seems a little less scandalous. I guess that’s natural when some business representatives and officials from the volleyball world are also present. Unfortunately, this does mean that Osamu is the most underdressed, but he’s come to terms with it. 

But knowing his brother, there’s no way a Miya party would be fully professional. There has to be some element of childishness or stupidity somewhere in this party-

And Osamu gets his answer when he looks up. 

Mistletoe. And lots of it. It’s not everywhere everywhere. But there’s more than one, and they are seemingly strategically placed. 

Osamu chuckles. Leave it to his brother to try and start shit. All this means is that he has to be careful to not end up in the wrong spot with some random person. He’ll be fine. 

Giant container filled with onigiri in hand, he maneuvers his way to the kitchen, nodding and smiling at his acquaintances as he goes. As he’s about to step onto the cold tile of the kitchen, he stops dead in his tracks. 

Fuck his brother. 

He didn’t say anything about you being here. Somebody’ll have to stop him from slugging his asshat of a twin across the face. 

“SAMMMMUUUU!!!!!” Speak of the devil. 

Atsumu slings his arm over his twin’s shoulder,  a cup in his other hand.

“Are ya drunk?” 

“Huh? No. Gotta keep it together! I’m the host after all.” Atsumu smiles wide, rather stupidly. 

“Great. If yer sober, that means I can beat the ever livin’ shit outta ya and yer gonna remember.” 

“Oi, oi, what did I do!? Ya just got here!” Fear shined Atsumu’s bright eyes. 

“If you could like, not beat my boyfriend up, I’d appreciate it a bit, Samu-kun,” a female voice gently chimes in. 

“Homura-chan, hello.” Osamu’s shoulders relax as his brother’s level-headed girlfriend pops up in between the two, giving Osamu a side hug only to watch Atsumu pout. 

“Homura…” Atsumu’s whine is enough for her to placate him with a tight hug, but she continues to face Osamu. 

“Why do you wanna kill him this time? Not that you’re wrong for wanting to. I’m just curious.”

“Hey!”

“He didn’t tell me they were gon be here.” Osamu’s eyes shift to you, laughing in the kitchen, talking to Hinata and Bokuto, while filling cups with hot chocolate. 

“Oh I thought you were gonna yell at him for not telling you about the onigiris till this morning.”

“That too.”

“HEY!” 

“But I guess it’s my fault they’re here. I invited them, they are my best friend after all. But I should have told you. I’m sorry, Samu.”

“No, no. Its fine Homura-chan. I just…” 

Osamu doesn’t know how to verbalize it. He’s had a crush on you since 2nd year, and it didn’t go anywhere even through college. You two knew each other pretty well, and he almost asked you out. Emphasis on almost. Being honest, he abandoned ship when he saw some guy kissing you after class one day- he figured he had waited for too long. He cut off communication with you soon after, despite your attempts to reach out. Homura had time and time again reminded Osamu that you didn’t hate him, and he did trust her. But that didn’t help him shake off the feeling you did, and always would, resent him. 

It also did not help that his stomach jumped the moment he heard your beautiful laugh resonate in the kitchen, or that his face heated up when he saw you warmly hug your cup of hot chocolate, sipping it so gently. So cute. 

He’s still whipped. Fuck. 

Homura nudges his shoulder, one hand intertwined with Atsumu’s. “We’re not gonna make you talk to them-”

“maybe...” adds in Atsumu.

“-But if they come up to ya, maybe it won’t be the worst thing.”

Osamu looks down, tightly gripping the strap attached to his container. “Okay,” he quietly agrees.

Atsumu slaps his brother’s shoulder with a smile and comments, “ya know where my clothes are, grab em if ya need em” before taking his leave to go entertain other guests.

“I’m assuming you have more containers?” Homura asks, standing by Osamu’s side.

“70 onigiris definitely do not fit in here.” Osamu smiles with his quip, and she smiles back. 

“Figured. I’ll help ya grab the rest. Go and put that down first.” She heads towards the front door, leaving him in the doorway. 

He takes a deep breath before recomposing himself, restoring his classic blank n’ bored expression. He strides into the kitchen, placing the black container down softly and attracts eyes in the process, including yours. He feels your soft gaze somehow dig into the back of his head once he swiftly turns around, walking away back to the front door. As he steps back into the winter breeze, he’s met with Homura’s knowing gaze. 

“They’re single, ya know.” 

Osamu huffs out cold hair, eyes closing at the sting of the wind. And somehow, the cold sting filling his lungs eased the fear in his stomach. 

“I look like shit.”

“Atsu said you could take his clothes. Let’s go pick somethin’ nice out for ya.” 

This is gonna be a long night. 

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

Osamu sits himself on the couch, a glass of champagne in one hand. Atsumu’s maroon button-up faintly smells like his signature cologne, and although he usually hates it, something about it helps Osamu channel his brother’s cockiness confidence, which feels very helpful right about now. 

But the confidence he’s tryna channel can only do so much. Suna and Akaashi are both worried as they watch Osamu space out mid conversation. Its far from normal. Suna knows exactly what’s on his best friend’s mind, while Akaashi is astute enough to make a guess. 

“Myaa-sam.” Akaashi gently calls to Osamu. No response. 

So Suna gives him a nice kick. 

“Oi!” Osamu rubs his shin. 

“Talk to them, before ya go crazy and take us all down with ya,” Suna’s tone is flat and bored, but the intensity of the statement is clear. 

“I dunno…” 

“Myaa-sam, don’t you think it's worth a try?” Akaashi’s approach is different, soft and coaxing. 

“Ya know how awkward it’s gonna be?” His leg is bouncing now.

He wants to. Very badly. But he can’t. It might only make things worse. 

“It’s only awkward if ya make it awkward. And that’s comin’ from me. Ya know, from both of our personal experiences, waiting too long is the worst mistake you can make.” Suna turns his gaze back to the kitchen, wistfulness is his voice. 

“We fucked up. But yer gettin’ a second chance. Don’t do it again.” 

Osamu knows Suna’s pain. He knows he’s right. 

“How the hell do I even start?” 

Suna’s gaze shifts to something, or someone, else before quickly locking eyes with Akaashi. 

“Don’t run.” He then gets up wordlessly and walks away. 

Akaashi brushes his pants off before standing, a small smile resting on his face. 

“Just remember Myaa-sam, you’ll only regret the things you don’t do. It’s best to be honest,” and with that, Akaashi also walks away. 

As Osamu’s eyes trace Akaashi’s path of escape, his eyes are caught by you, happily bounding towards him- a smile on your face and onigiri in hand. 

Yeah, that’s you for sure. Osamu is caught between the nerves in his stomach and the fuzziness in his mind as you come up to him. 

“Osamu, hello! Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, L/N.”

“Can, can I sit here?”

Don’t run. 

“Yeah.”

As you sit down, he notes the distance, he notes how your arms are in front of you, he notes your smile, and he notes how your eyes shine. He notes how cute you look with the onigiri tightly held in your hands. 

“Your onigiri’s are amazing! I always knew you were a great cook, but I’m so sad I never got to try them before!”

“Thank you, L/N. These definitely aren’t my best, Tsumu didn’t tell me I needed to make em till this mornin’ so… I was worried they weren’t as good.”

A lie. He knows they’re not bad. But he wants you to think they can be much better. 

“If this is bad then I’ll definitely have to come by and try more! Because this is the best onigiri I’ve ever had. But maybe that’s because you’re the one who made em.” You quickly move on from your comment by taking a giant bite out of your onigiri, and Osamu hopes that you don’t see how intensely his face heats up. 

Are ya, flirting? With him? Nah, yer just being you, all nice and all. But that doesn’t do anything to mitigate how much you’ve just stroked his ego. 

“Sounds like classic Atsumu, to forget to tell ya something important. What was your day like? Having to prep all this so fast.” You look up at him, expectantly, eagerly ready to listen to him.

Your undivided attention does illegal things to his heart, ya know. 

But just like that, you two fall into your usual pace, as if y’all had never stopped talking in the first place. He tells you stories, you add in charismatic quips, you both share laughs, and slowly the gap between you two closes. Osamu’s hand is now empty of any glasses and lounges against the back of the chair right by your head. You, on the other hand, have your legs pulled up under you, your knees gently pushing against his thigh. 

“Oh my gosh I should be at more Black Jackals games from now on, this sounds amazing,” you say as you wipe a tear from your eye after laughing too hard. 

“If yer goin, lemme know, I can keep ya company,” Osamu lets the words fall from his mouth before he processes what he’s saying. 

You pause, soaking in his words. “Really?”

Now it’s his turn to process his offer. “Uh.. only… if yer interested-”

“I’d love that.” You smile at him, excitement clear in your voice. 

As Osamu indulges himself in the sight of your smile, he realizes that some rice clung to the corner of your face. Out of instinct and enabled by proximity, his hand resting in his lap reaches out to you. His hand caresses your jaw while his thumb drags against the corner of your mouth, down over your bottom lip. Out of shock, you could do nothing but stare at him as his eyes meet yours. 

In this moment, in this place, time has stopped. Osamu has one thought on his mind as he thumbs at your lips. 

I need to kiss them. Now.

But then he didn’t. 

Osamu sharply retracts his hand, a “ah, sorry,” running off his tongue. 

“You’re, you’re fine.” You look down, flustered. “I’ll, be right back.” Osamu sighs and feels his heart start to sting as you walk away, head lowered. 

Fuck me. I fucked up again, didn’t I? I just didn’t want to do anything they didn’t want. 

 Osamu snaps back to reality as he feels a hard slap against the back of his head. 

He’s ready to fight when he turns around, only to see Homura and Atsumu behind the couch. 

“The fuck was that, Samu?” Atsumu aggressively yell whispers. 

“What doya mean!” He knows what Atsumu means. He hates admitting Tsumu is right, but he can’t admit that. 

Homura’s disappointed glare quiets him down. “Don’t do anything you don’t want to, Osamu. But if you want it, you can’t keep running away. And don’t lead them on either, that ain’t fair.” 

“I didn’t know if they wanted to…” Hasn’t that always been the problem? Osamu is a confident guy. He pulls a lotta people, pretty consistently too. But you were different, always had been. Osamu never wanted to hurt you, never wanted to make you uncomfortable. Never wanted to ruin your friendship. But in trying to do that, once it was too late, he knew that’s exactly what he did. And he couldn’t find it in himself to do that again. 

“They want it. I know my best friend. They want you as much as you want them, headass. So if you’re not gonna make a move, I will.” With that, Homura turns on her heels and walks away, Atsumu glaring at his brother while his girlfriend pulls him along. 

That’s definitely a threat. What does it mean? Who knows! But better to not find out.

Osamu’s eyes scan the room and he finds Suna leaning up against a wall, Akaashi standing next to him. Suna’s lazy gaze makes contact with Osamu’s for a moment before closing while sipping at his hot chocolate. Akaashi’s squint also feels more piercing in this moment. 

My boys are talkin’ shit about me? Incorrect, Samu. In case you have not realized, your boys are not the type to talk in the first place. 

I deserve it this time though. He rubs the back of his neck as he stands up to stretch. 

You do regret the things you don’t do. Dammit Akaashi. Time to talk it out. 

Osamu strides through the house tryna find you. He finds you stepping down the stairs, wiping at your face. His heart shatters and he really wants nothing but to hug you. But he resists, mind determined. 

“L/N.”

“Osamu! Hi um… I’m so sorry if I’ve been bothering you.” 

“L/N.”

“I’ll just let you go, I don’t wanna make you anymore uncomfortable.”

“Y/N.” Osamu grabs your arm as you try and walk away and gently tugs you to face him. “Please. Can we talk?” 

You pause, take a deep breath, and then turn to him, eyes still ensuring him that he has your undivided attention. 

With butterflies fluttering in his stomach, he calmly speaks. “I like you.”

Your eyes widen.

“I like you a lot. Since 2nd year-”

“In college?”

“High school.” 

You shudder and tears pool in the corners of your eyes. Instinct takes over Osamu as he pulls you forward with all his weight, throwing you against his chest as he wraps his arms around you. 

“I’m sorry I never told ya,” he whispers to you as he rocks you side to side, your face buried in his chest and your arms tight around his back. 

“I’ve always been so scared of, hurtin ya. You were one of my close friends, and I didn’t wanna mess it up over feelings. I didn’t wanna lose ya.” 

You nuzzle against his chest as he feels you start to shake.

“But when I saw that guy kissin ya one day, I thought… I thought I lost you anyways. I realized I waited too long and that I made a mistake. And then I proceeded to do everythin’ I never wanted to do, I hurt ya and I fucked up our friendship.”

“Osamu, I never wanted him to kiss me.” Your voice cracks. 

“...What?” His eyes go wide with concern and confusion. 

“He kissed me outta the blue. I thought we were just friends but he didn’t see it that way. I was just being myself, though. But right after that I told him there was someone else I liked.” 

Osamu internally hits himself. Maybe he should just ask Atsumu to punch him. How could he be so fuckin’ stupid? 

“I was gonna confess to you after that, but that’s when you dipped on me. I didn’t know what I did, and Homura told me to talk to you and find out for myself- she said it’d be fine if I talked to you, and that I should learn to communicate with you but I… I didn’t reach out. That’s my fault.”

Osamu pulls you closer to him, crushing you as much as he could. It’s his turn to shed a few tears, in frustration and pain. He coulda been with you all this time, but he was being a headass. Maybe Homura should punch him instead. 

“I’m...I’m so so sorry Y/N. I missed ya so much.” He cradles you in his arms, a calming (self-calming) sigh falling through his lips. 

“I’ve missed you too, Samu.”

You two look at each other for a good, long moment before small smiles crawl onto your faces. Osamu pulls you against him once more. 

“Let’s try this again. I wanna get it right this time.”

“Sounds good to me.” You say, sniffles stopping and giggles rising out of your chest. 

He buries his nose into the top of your head drawing in the sweet smell of your shampoo while his hands grab onto your fluffy sweater. 

“So cute! NOW KISS.” You and Osamu jolt out of your hug when Atsumu barks. All Osamu’s (and your) friends had now come to look at you two, smiles all around. 

Akaashi smiles fondly. Suna smiles lazily, and your favorite dumb Black Jackals (Bokuto and Hinata), who were unaware of any history between you two, are now in shock while also smiling like crazy. 

“Get it, Mya-samm!” Bokuto cheers out, causing everyone to erupt into laughter. 

“Wait, wait!” Atsumu runs down the hall, jumps, and then runs right up to his twin. He then proceeds to hold a mistletoe right above yours and Osamu’s head. 

“ I’ve been waitin’ for this shit to happen for Ion even know how many years. No chickenin’ out of it this time.” 

“Wasn’t planning on it, jackass.” 

Osamu’s hands find their way to your cheeks, gently caressing it with his fingers running up and down your jaw. His eyes take their time inspecting every inch of your face, mentally mapping every beautiful feature that adorns you. With the fire hot in his stomach and his lips aching, he pulls your face to meet his, lips gently massaging yours, telling you everything he had said earlier all over again, but this time with his actions. 

He likes you. A lot. For years. And he’s missed you so much. 

He slows the kiss down, taking his time to let you feel his lips against yours. When your hands reach up to hold his face he can’t help but try and pull you closer. 

As he pulls away after a mere 30 seconds, which did indeed feel like forever, his adrenaline is pumping and his smile is uncontrollable. The whooping and hollering slowly starts to die down, not that either of you heard it while so focused on the other. 

Osamu’s eyes find Suna’s. Suna has his camera out, as per usual, but his face has a small smile on it, and he nods to his best friend. With that, he nudges Akaashi and they walk back to to the family room. 

“Alright alright let’s get going boys. We have games that need to be played.” Homura grabs Bokuto and Hinata by the arm and collar (respectively) after giving a look to you. 

In that moment, Atsumu winked at Osamu while doing the ‘okay’ sign with his hands before walking to the room with everyone else. 

It was a signal the two had established way back in high school, when he and Homura started dating. It was their nonverbal sign of permission to the other twin for guaranteed privacy- which was important in a household of shared rooms and shared, well, everything. 

“What now Samu?” You look up at him, tugging him closer now that everyone else was gone. 

“I’m not done with ya just yet.” He smiles down at you, his eyes mischievous. 

You tilt your head in confusion. 

“I’m throwin ya over my shoulder, okay?” 

“Yes but why-” 

With that, Osamu sweeps you off the floor and throws you over his right shoulder easily.

“I messed up for years of my life, and now I have to make up for lost time. I told ya I’m not done with ya just yet.” 

Osamu proceeds to carry you up the stairs, giggles falling from your mouth. 

He’s gonna make sure you know much he really likes you. He’ll shower you in so much love, there won’t be a doubt left in your mind. 

He promises.

Epilogue- the next day

As the Black Jackals all slept like logs in their rooms, the smell of pancakes and coffee filled the air, attracting some of the other guests.

Some of the other boys, Suna, Akaashi, and Osamu, had all slept over, and were the among the first to find their way to the kitchen. 

“Samu, did Y/N get home ok?” Homura asks him while flipping some pancakes at the stove. 

Rubbing his eyes as he approaches her with a cup of coffee in hand, he nods. “Happy n’ safe.” 

“I’m very glad.”

“Homura-chan, I have a question for ya.” 

“Yes?”

“You knew both of our sides of the story from a long time ago. Why did ya never say anythin’? I’m not mad but I’m tryna figure it out.”

She smiles before saying, “It didn’t feel right. I love you both. A lot, obviously. But I think we both know intervening can... make things worse. A lot worse.”

A shared memory flashes through their minds. 

“And on top of that, I don’t think it would’ve solved the real issue both of you had. I wanted y’all to be happy in a relationship, but that meant y’all would have some barriers to cross. Y’all needed to grow before you could work as a couple. So I figured time would do its work.” 

“Although!!” Atsumu’s bright voice cuts in as he marches into the kitchen, wrapping his girlfriend in his arms, “us not telling you they were coming yesterday was 100% planned.” 

“And not telling me about onigiris?”

“Yeah that was intentional. Had to keep ya away from the house long enough.” 

“I’m gonna fuckin’ kill ya, Tsumu.” 

A/N: I hope y’all enjoyed! The ambiguity with Suna, Osamu, and Homura was intentional, so stay tuned!!!

[thiswasinevitableid]

88. I dropped my watch in an open grave, jumped in to get it, and while you were visiting your dead grandmother, you saw me climbing out of the grave (credit to @enchantedcass)

Indruck, sfw or nsfw, please!

Here it is! This is technically SFW, though there's some discussion of sex and a bit of steaminess at the end.

“Here, these are fresh.” Indrid sets the wildflowers on the small, stone marker, so covered with moss and worn with age that no one can read it. He only knows where to find her because he watched from the Barrens as she was put in the ground.

Temperance Leeds. His grandmother, the one who narrowly avoided accusations of witchcraft, the only human who ever set foot deep enough in the trees to bring him food, to drape blankets over his shaking shoulders. She never forgot him, and he shall return the favor as long as he lives.

There’s a thump of earth behind him and he whirls; it’s midnight in a graveyard, who could possibly be here? The ghosthunters usually wait for darker nights to come. In his periphery, a hand rises from an open grave.

Great, if the dead rise he’ll probably be blamed for that too.

“Fuck” A young man pulls himself from the grave, staring at his cell phone, “c’mon, please don’t be fuckin cracked.” Light illuminates his face and sighs, “thank fuckin christ.”

The light disappears and he blinks, eyes adjusting to the dark. Indrid, too caught up in working out why he’s in the ground, hasn’t bothered to hide as he should. The human notices.

“Uh. I. Uh. Dropped my phone checkin the time. I, uh, definitely wasn’t smokin in the off limits, uh, fuck, graveyard I, uh, I fuck, promise I’ll clean up my beer bottles I mean, uh, fuck.” He scratches the back of his neck, “please don’t call the cops?”

“Can you see me?” Indrid cocks his head.

“Yeah?”

“And you are worried about me alerting the police?”

“I mean, guess we’re both breakin the rules but I kinda figured you were staff here because of the clothes.” He gestures to the ensemble Indrid cobbled together from clothes lines.

Indrid stands, stretches his wings, flicks his tail and watches the human slowly notice the color of his eyes and the outline of his horns.

“Fuck. Look, man, whatever you are, I swear I won’t tell, I’m just tryin to keep busy, please, my folks are already worried about me-”

“I’m not going to harm you.” Lightning cracks through the sky, flashing his shadow across the frightened human, “I just wanted you to see me clearly.”

Rain patters on the leather of his wings. The man looks up at the sky, face seeming even younger as it fills with resignation. Indrid recognizes it’s source.

“You have nowhere to go, do you?”

“No. I, uh, decided I wanted to get outta town and never come back, made it as far as here before I ran outta money.”

Indrid offers his hand, watches the man’s face zero in on the claws, “You may spend the night with me, if you wish. My home is a ways into the woods, but it is dry and warm.”

“Okay.” The young man replies softly, letting Indrid help him up as the dirt turns to mud. Indrid shelters him as best he can with a wing until they reach the cottage. Indrid kneels by the fireplace, lumps kindling into a pile as the young man sets his backpack on a chair.

“Nice place. Gotta admit I was expectin somethin more dilapidated. On account of the whole, uh, y��know.” He gestures to Indrid’s horns and cloven feet.

“It was much like you expected, once upon a time. But a human named Arlo Thacker took pity on me and helped me build it with the aid of a few friends. There.” The fire flickers merrily, “that should keep us warm. You may--ah, what are you doing?”

The young man has removed his jacket and shirt, revealing what Indrid recognizes from human magazines as a sports bra. His hands are now on the fly of his jeans.

“You said I was supposed to, uh, spend the night with you?”

“Yes, in that you may sleep here to be safe from the weather and any who might wish you harm. Not so that you may keep me warm. So to speak.”

“You’re not gonna fuck me?”

Indrid flicks his tail, surprised, “You would offer yourself to me, looking like this?”

The man nods in a way that suggests he’s run a calculus in his head and decided Indrid’s desire was less abhorrent than some other option. Indrid crosses the small living room, bringing them face to face. He reaches out a hand, runs his claws through black hair until the human closes his eyes. Then his hand slides to cup his cheek, one nail tracing fond little shapes on the skin as the man sighs. Against his better judgement, he tilts his head down to nose the dark locks; smoke lingers there, just as alcohol hangs on his breath. He’s so warm, so willing and so very soft. Indrid wants nothing more than to undress him further, carry him to his cozy bedroom and discover what sounds come when he fits their bodies together.

“What’s your name?”

“Duck. It’s a nickname.”

“A charming one. But no, Duck, I will not take such advantage of you. I may be called a devil, but I do not believe in making one trade their body for basic kindness. Come along, the bedroom will allow you more privacy.”

“Thanks.” Duck sways, and Indrid senses a weariness he’s not certain a good nights rest will fix. Tomorrow he will be sure to be gone when Duck awakens, leaving his dry clothes and a map back to town outside his door so that he can do what Indrid can dare to; leave the Barrens and find a life waiting for him in the world beyond.

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

There are some days when Duck thinks his encounter in the woods was a dream. The hand-drawn map he keeps folded among his books tells him otherwise.

He’d come home after that night, made his peace with Kepler for a few years more, and often awoke from dreams where he was pushing through brush in pursuit of a strange shadow. He never cites these as a reason for his taking a job at a state forest in New Jersey that includes the Barrens.

Now, he’s decided to upgrade from his apartment to a house in the woods that’s been listed for over two years and is a goddamn steal because of that.

“As you can see, there’s another residence across the clearing; that’s why the company that built this lovely dwelling was able to do so. They intended to build a nice little community here.”

“The fact that ain’t happened got anythin to do with the reason I gotta stay the night before I make an offer?”

Ned’s smile falters, “Indeed, dear boy. I like you, so I’ll be forthcoming; we’ve never seen anyone in the other house. But they have most certainly seen us.”

Duck settles in for an uneventful afternoon and evening, reads his book and considers whether he could fit some windowboxes on the house for garden space. It’s not until it’s pitch black outside that it starts; footsteps on the roof, followed shortly by red eyes peering in through the living room window.

He opens the front door, the undergrowth rustling hurriedly to his left.

“Uh, hey there. You may not remember me but, uh, we’ve actually met before. About ten years ago. You uh, you let me stay the night?”

Only some crickets, unaware of the tension in the air, reply to him. Then the bushes grow two, ruby red flowers.

“Duck?”

“Yep. Y’know, you never told me your name. If we’re gonna be neighbors, feels like I oughta know what to call you.”

A shadow moves from the trees, stopping when it reaches the light spilling from the windows. He’s as Duck remembers him; short horns sprouting from a mop of silver hair, claws on his fingers and black wings folded on his back. His skin is a swirl of ashy grey and ember red. And his face, while striking, is human. That was the part that always tripped Duck up; the Jersey Devil was always drawn with a goat or horse face, making him question whether that’s who he met all those years ago.

“Indrid. My name is Indrid.”

“Nice to see you again, Indrid.”

The other man smiles, and Duck knows what will replace the mad hunt through the brush in his dreams, “Likewise.”

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

“You know, she had three more children after me. None of them suffered the same curse.” Indrid kicks idly at the long decayed remains of his family home. Their nightly walk brough them close to it this time around, and Duck had been curious. His interest is never prurient or morbid; Duck wants to get to know Indrid, not his legend.

“That fuckin sucks.”

Indrid chuckles, “I do enjoy how you put things so plainly.”

“I’m serious, what kind of folks put their kid out when it’s a baby? I mean, mine weren't always the fuckin parents of the year but at least they understood lookin after me was part of the deal.”

“It was a different time.”

“Fine, but I’m still judgin the hell outta them.”

Indrid looks fondly down at the human, “That’s as fair a fate for them as any.”

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

“It don’t weird you out?” Juno indicates Indrid’s house from where she and Duck are sitting on his front porch. The twin Adirondack chairs are a new addition, as the warmer months mean he and Indrid spend ample time trying to see the stars through the treetops.

“Nah. Indrid’s a real good neighbor when he’s around. He’s uh, from an old family so he don’t gotta work. Part of why he keeps such weird hours.” Duck wishes he could introduce them; it’d be nice for the three of them to have dinner before Juno heads south again. But Indrid has several centuries of shitty human encounters that dig under his skin like splinters, and Duck will never push him to ignore that pain. Besides, there will be other visits.

The summer and fall pass in much the same ways last winter and spring did. Duck works in the park, visits friends in town, runs errands, and generally goes about all the mundane moments that make up a life. Then he spends his evenings in one of the two cottages, or walking alongside Indrid on long-overgrown pathways.

The hardest part of it all is not mentioning Indrid in every single conversation; Duck is already tempting disaster being unable to lie and the neighbor of a cryptid. He doesn’t want to also drive his friends up the wall talking about said cryptids art, or his laugh, or the little herb garden Duck is helping him grow.

They’re in the stretch of days between Christmas and New Year, and Indrid has just finished opening the gift Duck brought him; a thick, soft sweater that Duck stitched a “I” into the front of along with a few little pine tree patches. Indrid smiles at him and notices that Duck’s sweater is done in a similar fashion (in fact, everyone in the Newton family wears one like this). The grin turns bashful and Indrid rubs his cheek against the fabric.

“Thank you, Duck. I, ah, I’m sorry I do not have anything to give you. Holidays are not my strong suit.”

“Just gettin to see you is enough.” Duck stands to refill his tea, Indrid’s gaze caressing his back as he moves through the room. He almost hadn’t gone home, had offered to stay and keep Indrid company. But his friend insisted, reminding him that while it felt odd to be without each other, they both had spent plenty of time apart and been fine. All the same, when he got home yesterday Indrid was knocking on his door before he even put his bag down.

Duck didn’t mind at all. No more than he minds when Indrid sleeps with his head in his lap or strokes his hair while they read on the couch.

The cryptid stokes the fire as the snow gives way to sleet, streaking the windows with icy drops.

“Goodness, what a frigid night.”

“No kiddin.” Duck sets his mug down, turns just as Indrid gets to his feet, “can’t say I mind, kinda reminds me of the night we met.”

The colors of Indrid’s skin make a blush difficult to spot, but Duck’s learned which dip of his head and quirk of his lip means it’s there.

“‘Drid? Did you ever think about that night? Because I did. I, uh, I do.”

“Yes.” Indrid’s tail twitches.

“What do you think about?”

“I, ah, I...you first.”

Duck crosses the creaking floorboards, looking up into red eyes, “I think about how safe it felt when you brought me here. How when I woke up, I felt like this was some kinda weird sign, that I needed to rethink some things and that’s how come I went home, which turned out to be a good call. And” he smirks, “I think about how I was drunk and desperate enough to ask the fuckin Jersey Devil if he was gonna fuck me.”

Indrid blushes once more, studies the ground as Duck touches his shoulder, “I must say that is the part that dominated most of my thoughts. Not right away; for the first few weeks when I thought of you I only hoped you were alright. Then I would let myself imagine that I had been devilish indeed.”

Gently, Duck raises Indrid’s hand and cradles his cheek with it as they did that night, “What would you have done, devil of mine?”

A snicker, “I will answer that only if you tell me whether you are angling for the demonstration that I think you are.”

“Damn right.” He closes his eyes, heart swelling and skin prickling as Indrid steps closer and nuzzles the top of his head.

“I would have asked if you were tired of running. If you wanted a home. And would you like to make it here, so that we could keep each other company. I know in my heart this would have been a selfish offer. I am glad I did not make it, did not trap you here, resign you to a fate that was not what you would have chosen freely.”

“I’m pretty fuckin free these days.”

“And that all on it’s own fills me with joy. But yes, there were nights where I wished I’d been selfish.”

Duck tips his head up, brushing their noses together, “Say you made that offer and I accepted. What then?”

Indrid cups his face with both hands. The kiss is chaste, Indrid sighing against his lips as he twines his claws in his hair. Duck wraps his arms around his waist, lightly teasing the edge of one wing.

“Then” Indrid murmurs, “I’d carry you to bed.”

“Yeah, that part woulda been easier when I was seventeEEN” he laughs as Indrid scoops him into a bridal carry with ease. He’s never been in Indrid’s bed, so he giggles again when he discovers it’s ten times squishier than his own. The cryptid sinks onto it with him, guiding him so they’re face to face on their sides.

“May I undress you?”

“Knock yourself out, darlin.” Affection deep and warm as a thermal spring wells up in him as Indrid carefully removes his sweater and shirt before dainty setting his claws to work on his fly. When Duck is down to his boxers, hunger enters Indrid’s eyes for the first time.

“Oh you are divine.” One hand strokes his leg, pausing at the crease of his thigh each time it reaches there. The other curves along his belly up to his chest before caressing his face, the black claws making his skin seem oddly pale and very fragile in comparison.

Duck touches the hem of Indrid’s shirt and the cryptid freezes.

“‘Drid? Is this okay?”

“Do you...truly wish to see me unclothed?”

Duck surges forward to kiss him as he rucks up his shirt, the movement a sufficient answer for Indrid to raise his arms and let him pull the sweater and battered shirt beneath it away. His skin here is the same swirl of colors as the rest of him, but there’s a dusting of peach fuzz fur across it. It’s delightful under Duck’s tongue, though the little keen of pleasure from Indrid is even better.

“It’s strange” Indrid traces hearts and zig-zags with his claws along Duck’s sides as the human continues kissing his chest and neck, “I thought that seeing you like this would so overwhelm me with need that I’d beg to have you this instant. But it seems I feel much the same way I did in my fantasies of that night.”

“Oh” Duck reaches up to toy with the base of a horn and Indrid groans happily before continuing.

“Had you stayed, knowing you were now mine, I’d have taken my time. Nestled you under the blankets, opened you up on my tongue until you were weak from pleasure. That way it would be easy to take you when I was ready. Perhaps on your back, so you had me to hold onto if you needed. Or on your belly, so you would be even more sheltered from the cold, cruel world by my body and wings. And I’d stay there for hours, make up for decade after decade of touch starvation by glutting myself on your young, willing body.”

“Holy fuck, ‘Drid.” Duck pulls him down into a kiss, “christ that’s a fuckin good image.”

“Mmmm” the cryptid licks his cheek, “it is, isn’t it. But since you are not going anywhere, and we are not limited by the confines of my imagination, I am even less inclined to rush. Will you indulge me with just kisse tonight?”

Duck brushes silver hair from his forehead, planting a kiss there when he’s done, “Of course.”

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

The morning brings several feet of snow and announcement that those who can stay in their homes and shelter from the ongoing storm should. The pines drop heaps of white across the ground, and frost makes the windows so icy it’s better to draw the curtains and stay curled up in the dark.

Duck doesn’t mind at all.

[queenrose730]

Reckless

The Winter Solider 

Master List

2014

It had been a while since you had been back to the Avengers tower. Once SHIELD got all official after the Battle of New York, they got a big fancy building in DC. You decided to keep an apartment at the tower but honestly spent most of your time now in DC. Now though, you had been forced back by Steve. All because of a broken leg. It didn’t even happen on a mission, although that might have been better. You were sparing with another agent when a mistake happened and your left leg was broken. Steve nearly took the guys head off when he heard you scream. Somehow between the pain you got Steve to focus on you. After all it wasn’t the others guy’s fault.

The doctors put you in a cast and told you to use the crutches for at least 3 months. Then they would reevaluate the leg. Steve caught you once without your crutches and set you back to New York. It forced you to take your job slower and you couldn’t do as much. Plus, Tony and Bruce kept an eye on you. After a week there, Tony broke down and figured out how to make an exoskeleton cast. This way you could get around more easily and hopefully complain less. After some trial and error, and the ok from the doctor, you had a brace. It came up around your thigh and had a plate that slid under your foot. The knee joint move freely but the ankle was locked, but could be loosened as you healed.

“Well it looks like your leg is pretty well healed agent.” It was almost three months to the day.

“Thank god.”

“I would still recommend the brace for another month but the ankle can be set to move freely.”

“Awesome. I’ll get Tony to do that.” The doctor at the tower was so much nicer than at SHIELD. Probably because they were ex-military docs. They somehow always were dicks.

“I’ll want to see you again in a month. But other than that you are free to go.” You hopped of the bed and shook the doctors hand.

“Thanks again. I appreciate you working with me.”

“You didn’t give me much of a choice.” He raised an eyebrow. To which you just shrugged your shoulders and headed out. The doctor just laughed as you walked out the door.

“Hey Jarvis. Let Tony know I’m on my way down!” It took all you had not to skip down the hall.

“Certainly Miss yln.”

As you reached the elevator you grabbed your phone to let Steve know how your leg was and maybe drop the hint about getting back to your regular work. Before you could type your message, number came up on your screen.

“Speak of the devil! I was just about to text you. I got the all clear from the doc.”

“That’s good yn.” His voices sounded off.

“What’s wrong Steve? How’d the mission go?”

“It was complicated.” He let out a sigh over the phone.

“How complicated?” Suddenly the conversation was serious. You changed the floor you were headed to, now going to your apartment.

“What do you know about something call Project Insight?”

“I’ve never heard of it.” The door to the elevator opened and you walked down the hall.

“Fury showed it to me. I need you to see if you can find anything out about it. Something doesn’t feel right.”

“Sure. Hang on a sec while I get my computer up and running.” You sat down at your desk. Setting the phone down and putting Steve on speaker. If something did sit right with him, it was trouble. You learned quick to trust Steve gut.

“Alright let’s see what I can find.” A quick search of shield records didn’t provide much.

“All I can see is that there is a file under that name but it pretty high clearance. Like Fury and a few others. What is it?” You kept click through files that you could open while listening to Steve.

“He’s got three helicarriers. At armed to the nines. He said it’s a way to neutralize threats before they happen.”

“What? So shield is building their own nuclear deterrent? How is Fury ok with that?”

“I don’t know. Can you see anything else?”

“No Steve. Not without hacking in and they would know it was me. I doubt even the people working on it know what they are building.”

“Ok. Well I’m going to have to do some more digging around here.”

“I can come down there Steve. My leg is fine.”

“No yn. Just stay there. Keep digging though files and see what you can find.”

“Ok. Be careful Steve.”

“You too sweetheart.”

You spent the rest of the night combing through any file you could get your hands on. Tony came up sometime after dinner. He was going to yell at you for not eating or coming down to have him loosen your brace. But changed his mind when he saw the mess around you on the desk. Instead he went back and grabbed you a plate. Pulling you away for only a moment so you could eat and he could take care of the brace.

“So how bad is it kiddo?”

“I don’t know Tony. The more I dig the more inaccuracies I find in all kinds of files.” You stared at the computer twirling your fork. “I think I might head down to DC.”

“Well I’ll get a jet ready for you. It’ll be on standby.” He stood from his seat and walked to the door. “And what is it the Rogers always tell you? He gave another pause and you turned to him. That’s right! Don’t do anything stupid of reckless yn.” With that he was out the door.

You took one more look at the computer before standing up and heading to the bed. If shit was about to hit the fan you at least need to get some rest.

Apparently you needed more than you thought. It was almost 8am when you finally woke up. You decided against breakfast for the moment. You checked for phone for any messages then hit the shower. After your shower, you started to pack your bag. A change of regular clothes along with your tac suit. Some toiletries and a few extras. Lastly was the fun stuff. In the hall Closet was your own mini armory. You pack your usual two pistols and a few blades. You also grabbed a couple auto injectors. Can never be to safe. While you were packing though you missed the alert on your computer. Something big was happening.

“Miss yn. You jet is ready for takeoff.”

“Thank you Jarvis.” You walked to the door and laced up your boots.

“There was also an alert that came up on your computer miss.”

“What?” You stood up and headed to your desk. Leaving your bag by the door.

Sure enough there was an alert. Nick Fury was dead and Steve was wanted by Shield.

“What the fuck!” You nearly topped your chair when you stood. Instantly grabbing for your phone to call Steve. There was no answer. Shit. Shit. Shit. You grabbed you bag and ran to the jet. Shit was hitting the fan. A lot of shit.

“Jarvis let Tony know I’m leaving.”

“Certainly.”

You flicked through your takeoff procedures and grabbed the controls.

“Jarvis try Steve again.” You shot up into the sky heading to DC.

“I’m sorry miss. He did not answer.”

“Fuck. Try Maria.” She was always close to fury. Hopefully she would know what the hell was going on.

“Hill.”

“Maria. What the fuck is going on?”

“Yn.” She paused. It sounded like she was taking to someone.

“I’m on my way to DC. Tell me what the fuck is going on.”

“Yn. I’m sending you Coordinates to land at. Do not enter DC air space.” Fuck. This was bad.

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you when. You get here. Just get here.” She hung up. You pushed the engines to max speed.

You made it to the coordinates Maria gave you in almost record time. 20 minutes from her hanging up to when you touched down outside an old dam. Maria was out waiting for you.

“Tell me what the fuck is going on!” By the time you landed you were fuming. Not at anyone particularly but at the whole situation. “What happened to Fury? Where is Steve?”

“Come on in yn.” She turned to lead you into the damn. All you wanted to do was cuss and scream at her nonchalant attitude towards everything. You followed her down the damp hallways of the dam until it opened up into a small room.

“I could hear you cursing from in here yn.”

“Fury! What the fuck” He held back a laugh. “SHIELD said you were dead. How?”

“They needed to think he was actually dead but we got him out of the hospital and here for treatment.” Maria moved around the bed and started talking to one of the doctors. You took a seat next to fury.

“What is going on?”

“Shield has been compromised.”

“By who?”

“HYDRA.”

“Project insight is them.” You sat back in your seat. That would explain all the odd bits of info you had been picking up while digging through files. Fury nodded at your response. “How long?”

“I’m not sure. At this point we don’t know who to trust.”

“So why I am here? Why did you let me know you’re alive?”

“Because other than Captain Rogers, you would be the second person in line to kill anyone that might be affiliated with HYDRA.” He wasn’t wrong.

“So where is Steve now? What’s are next play?”

“Hill is working on how to get Steve. Then we stop Insight.”

Sitting around was not your style, but Fury told you to wait. Maria was on trying to track down Steve. Doctors where still working on patching up fury. All you could do was sit and wait. You knew that if Steve was running he would have ditched his cell. At this point it really wasn’t safe to call anyone else. Fury didn’t even want you call Nat. You only slipped a call to Tony to let him know you landed. He tried to press for more info but you shut him down quickly. You could hear the news playing in the background about Fury and Steve.

It was well into the night when Maria finally found something. A STRIKE team had been sent to a mall then Camp Lehigh was bombed. There was still no indication where Steve was at.

Then around mid-morning the next day more alerts started going off. Sitwell was kidnapped.

“That has to be Steve right?” You had taken up a post with Maria going through any SHIELD alerts.

“It’s a good chance. Keep digging.”

“God I should have come down here when he called me the other night.”

“There’s nothing you could have done. You would just be on the run with him.” Maria looked up at you over her computer. “And do you think Steve would want you out there or here?” You caught the smirk on her face.

“Yea yea.” You waved her off. Steve did just about anything to keep you safe. He learned quickly that your self-preservation was about as good as his.

“This is it!” She stood up quickly and spun her computer around. A STRIKE team orders to grab them on the freeway. They were helping out “the asset”.  “If I can get into one of those prisoner transports, I can get them out.” Before you could respond she was off to Fury.

“Take the team and get him.”

“Yes, sir.” She turned and started ordering the men around.

“I’m coming with you Maria.”

“No you’re not yn. I need you here.” It was an order from Fury.

“Fine.” You just watched as Maria and her team suited up.  

“I don’t what you doing anything stupid out there yn.”

“I know Fury. I know.” He was right. The likelihood you would do something stupid was pretty high. All you could do now is wait.

  The plan was easy enough. Steve, Sam and you each had a chip to place into the helicarriers. Linking them and taking them out of the air. Nat and Fury would take down SHIELD. Exposing everything to the world. Steve was on edge even though he didn’t show it.

“I want you to get on and off that helicarrier quick. Don’t mess around.”

“Steve I’m fine. If it’s about the leg, it’s ok.”

“Yn. It won’t take much for you to rebreak it.”

“Yep. And it doesn’t take much to break my other bones either.” You teased and jogged off to your starting point.

“Yn I’m serious.” He said over comms. You just laughed to yourself and continued on.

The guys gave you a head start. You listened to Steve talk over the intercom. People that you passed looking nervously between each other. Once you reached you carrier, it was mostly unguarded for the moment. Steve drawing the attention away from it for the moment. Just a few bad guys to take down. Suddenly the door above the carrier began to open.

“Uh, guys they are getting ready to launch.”

“Get that chip in place and get back to Maria yn.” You rolled your eyes at Steve even though he couldn’t see you.

You pushed harder to get to the control center to get your chip in place. Thankfully it seemed most people hadn’t quite realized you were already on the ship. Outside you could see that Sam and Steve were drawing the most attention.

“I got my chip in place. How are you guys doing?” Getting out was going to be a bit more difficult.

“I’m locked.” Sam shouted.

“Two down. Captain how are you looking?” Maria was running the ground.

“Working on it.”

“Steve where are you? I’m coming to you.” You started working your way to the flight deck.

“Yn get back to Maria. I got this.”

“Oh fuck you Steve.”  You heard Sam laugh.

“I like her.” That earned a groan from Steve.

“Since you like me so much want to give a lift Sam?” You kept working your way to the deck. First plan was to grab a jet and head to Steve. You just had to get up there.

“6 minutes until it reached altitude.”

“Sam! Where is that ride!”

“I’m grounded. Steve’s on the carrier.”

“What happened!”

“Winter Solider.”

“Shit.” You pushed off from where you were hiding. Steve told you that somehow that was Bucky. That whatever happened to him when he was captured during the war must have helped him survive the fall. You knew Steve would be blinded by his friend. Even if he didn’t recognize him.

“Steve you copy? I’m on my way.” No response.

“Falcon. I got Rumlow.” Maria broke in.

“I’m on it.”

“Maria can you get into one of these jets and get it started for me?” You kept clearing a path.

“Space five. Staring engines now.” The jet just ahead of you roared to life and the hatch opened.

“I could kiss you girl!” You climbed in and headed to the last carrier.

By the time you reached the control center Steve and the Solider were already locked. You took aim and started firing at the Solider. It caused just enough distraction for him that Steve was able to lock him in a hold.

“Yn.” He hissed over the comms.

“Just get me that chip Steve!” Steve shoved the Solider off of him and started toward you. Climbing up the structure.

“Steve!” The Solider was back up an aiming at Steve. He tossed the chip at you. You barely got your fingers on it, leaning every part of your body over the railing. A shot rang out.

“Go yn!” Steve kept climbing as you rushed to the computer. More shots were fired. This time they hit you. First in your leg.

“Yn!”

“I got it Steve!”

“One minute!” Maria shouted over comms. This was it you just had to reach- Another shot. It hits you in the shoulder propelling you forward. You slam into the control center. Pressing the keys as fast as you could the door slid open. Just as you reached to put your chip in another shot hit your stomach. You fell before you could get the chip placed.

“Damnit.” Steve had reached you. He grabbed the chip from you and slammed it home. “We’re locked.”

“Get out of there guys.”

Steve reached down to scoop you up when he was shot in the shoulder.

“Maria. Fire.”

“Yn.” Maria questioned you.

“I said fire!” You shouted. Steve didn’t have words to say. Suddenly there was an explosion.

“Why?”

“Steve.” You gave him a sad look. He dug in you suit to find an injector. Quickly stabbing it into your arm.

“That was stupid.”

“So is this.” You pushed him off of you. “Where is the Solider?” Steve looked around. When he stopped you followed his eye line. The Solider was trapped under a large piece of metal from the carrier. “Go.”

Steve looked back to you.

“Go Steve.” You reached into your pocket and grabbed another injector. Slamming that one into your thigh. Steve nodded.

“Here.” He handed you the shield. The carrier started to tip. A quick glance saw that it was colliding with the building.

“Stupid and reckless.” You gave him a grin then stood the best you could. At the railing you gave a look down. There was a break in the glass directly below you and water beyond that.

“Get your friend Steve.” Before he could question you, you heaved yourself over the railing and out the bottom of the ship.

You used the shield to help break the water as you hit it. It still nearly took all the air out of you. Once you bobbed back to the surface you looked back up. The building seemed to have caught the carrier and it just sat there. The extra injector gave you enough strength to slowly swim to the edge of the water.

“Where’s Steve and yn!” Your comms still worked!

“I’m in the water under the ship! I’m trying to get to shore. Steve’s still on the carrier.”

“I’ll get a vehicle and get her Fury.”

“Copy that Hill.”

You just have to get to the edge before that carrier comes down. Pushing your muscles as they ached. The pain meds quickly wearing off even with the extra dose. You glanced back. Shit. The carrier was coming down. You didn’t know if you were clear but you hoped you were. Maybe the wave it caused would give you the extra push to the shore.

Tags- @ginger-swag-rapunzel

[vostara]

Hypnophobia - 05

fünf — and there’s no escape

pairing: ares x original female character (beatrix)

blurb: “Loyalty can be rather expensive.”

word count: 2.1k+

title inspiration: game of survival - ruelle

apologies for the incredibly long wait. in mid-july, i moved across the country and immediately got sick due to 3-4 weeks of nearly continuous heatwaves (uncommon for the area i’m living in). my apartment does not have a/c, so all i had was one fan and an unbearable amount of humidity. my apartment was in the high 90s nearly every day, with the low end being.... the low 90s.....

just to note: i am starting graduate studies this monday. i am working on getting an mfa in creative writing, so all of my school-related writing projects will take priority over fanfics.

This work is cross-posted on Ao3.

… | 04 | 05 | [discontinued notice] … series masterlist

In theory, Santino’s new task is easy.

“You want me to meet with your seller?” Beatrix asks, a request for confirmation that she had not misheard the man.

“You will be accompanying Ares,” Santino clarifies. “She is the one meeting the buyer.”

“You’re not going to meet him yourself?”

The Camorra boss frowns, leaning back into his armchair. “I’ve been asked to return to Naples and I can’t push it back any longer than I already have. I’m entrusting Ares with closing the deal and I want you there for support.”

“Why send me?” The woman says. “Why not send one of your men?”

Santino shrugs. “You know sign language,” he replies.

A simple assignment, really: be the translator.

As the driver eases the car into a stop, Beatrix glances out of the window. Her eyes scan their surroundings, noting the clusters of people showing off their overpriced designer jewelry and the borderline scandalous hemlines of their clothing. The New Yorkers loiter the space outside of a ritzy expensive nightclub, Das Schwein, a club that is embedded into the bottom three levels of the high-rise building.

To get the woman’s attention, Ares reaches out towards Beatrix, brushing her fingertips against the top of her hand. And when Beatrix turns to look at her, Ares pulls her hand away, signing, We are here.

The assassin nods, before opening the door and stepping out of the vehicle. She smooths the sides of her burgundy dress and takes a moment to straighten the plunging neckline. Though the winter chill encourages a splattering of goosebumps to form along her bare arms, it, for the moment, lacks the biting cold that had permeated the Chicago air.

Ares, dressed in a matching suit, takes the lead and approaches the building. Do not speak unprompted, she commands. Do not leave my side.

Falling into step behind the woman, Beatrix nods. “I understand,” she says.

When the bouncer sees the pair approach, he steps aside before waving them through the entrance. Without even acknowledging the man, Ares steps between the doors. She scrutinizes the first floor of the club, scanning over the patrons boozed up with fine liquor, the grinding bodies on the dance floor, and the sloppy touches exchanged between indiscrete temporary lovers in the booths. Her eyes land on a private elevator tucked away in the corner of the room, protected by a couple of guards.

Ares and Beatrix approach them and the guard on the left greets them with a nod of his head. “Mr. Brecher is on the top floor,” he says, pressing a button to open the doors.

Beatrix tenses at his words.

Brecher?

No, it couldn’t be.

He wouldn’t be here, not in New York. Not right now.

Ares enters the elevator and Beatrix steps in beside her. She clicks on the button for the top floor and takes a small step back when the doors slide shut. They ride in silence, undisturbed by the subtle hum of the ascending machine.

But for Beatrix uneasiness fills the silence, floods her senses with a flight response that’s impossible to act upon in this enclosed space. Threads are tugged in the pit of her stomach, snapping as they attempt to suppress the building worry, anxiety, dread.

It could be a coincidence; a different man with a shared surname.

A button dings, signaling their arrival.

When the doors open, Beatrix realizes that this easy job, this simple task of being the translator, is a far more complicated situation. Her eyes land on the silhouette of a person she had hoped to avoid for as long as she could. And her gaze drifts to the left side of his face, confirming his identity with a familiar scar etched into the skin. One that begins just beneath his eye, before curving to slice into the side of his lips.

Matthias Brecher.

Her last thread breaks, drowning Beatrix with a renewed realization that she has spent too much time dancing next to the growing flames. That frequently tempting fate would encourage it to retaliate with the most severe consequences.

The man notices the Camorra woman first. “Ares,” he greets.

She exits the elevator, stepping into the private room.

Matthias shifts his gaze to Beatrix. His eyes flicker with surprise, before an amused grin weaves itself into his features. “Well,” he says, “I wasn’t prepared for quite the surprise.”

“Matthias,” Beatrix acknowledges.

Ares’ footsteps come to a halt and she turns her head to glance back at the other woman. She watches her, studying the assassin’s face for any subtle twitches that would give away her thoughts, betray her motives.

“I didn’t think we would meet again so soon,” the man says.

Beatrix smiles, but the false joy never reaches her eyes. “Perhaps we meet again too soon,” she forces the joke between her lips.

And the words deepen the frown that’s already forming in the corners of Ares’ mouth.

Matthias slides his hands into the pockets of his dress slacks and takes a step closer to Beatrix. He chuckles, “I thought I was having a meeting with Camorra’s people, not Lilith.”

The woman straights her back, lifting her chin just a tad higher off of the ground. “You are having a meeting with Camorra,” she states. “I am here to translate on Ares’ behalf.”

The man hums, pondering over the woman’s response. “But Lilith would never loan you away for something this trivial.” He nudges his head towards Ares, “especially when it involves one party in particular.”

“I wanted a change of pace.”

“Or,” the man leans down, “perhaps the rumors are true. Perhaps Lilith’s favored rosebud has fluttered away with the wind. I’ve found that loyalty is a tough commodity to find,” he whispers, “nowadays.”

“Loyalty can be rather expensive,” Beatrix says.

Matthias takes a step away from the woman, turning to face Ares. “Would you mind if we postpone our meeting, for a just a few minutes?”

Ares narrows her eyes.

“Miss Amsler and I are old acquittances,” he continues. “Conversations with her are always a treat. And I do enjoy splurging on a bit of pleasure before getting into business.” Matthias chuckles, “You never know which job is going to be your last.”

Ares shifts her gaze to meet Beatrix. When the other woman gives her a slight nod of assurance, her eyes dart back to Matthias. She gives him a nonchalant shrug and then retreats to the small bar on the left. She sits down on one of the stools, before gluing her eyes back onto the pair.

“Come, Süsse,” Matthias places the palm of his hand against the small of the woman’s back, directing Beatrix towards the open balcony on the other side of the room. “We have much to discuss.”

When they are just far enough away that Ares is unable to listen to their conversation, Beatrix pulls herself away from Matthias. “You said there are rumors that I’ve been disloyal,” she says. “Did you know that I was working with Santino?”

“It wasn’t my first guess,” he admits. “But I knew you wouldn’t stay with Lilith forever.”

Beatrix frowns.

“I am surprised,” Matthias continues. “The last person I expected you to align yourself with would be such a prominent figure for the Camorra.”

“People have stooped to less for a few extra dollars in their pocket.”

“I’m almost offended,” the man says. “You would choose his company, before committing yourself to someone like Tarasov, or to someone like me?”

“At the time,” Beatrix leans towards the man, “I found this to be a more favorable business opportunity.”

“Must be quite the pay,” Matthias says. “Perhaps I should consider dropping my lifestyle as the boss, huh? Work as one of D’Antonio’s lackeys. After all, you must be swimming in riches. The pay must be good, good enough to convince you to work for the man who told his people to brutally torture and murder your best friend.”

The woman tenses, nails digging themselves into the palms of her hands.

“Tell me how you sleep at night,” he continues, “knowing that you’ve chosen to snuggle up to the devil himself. Do you still think of Evie? Do you hear her screams? Her pleading cries for help?”

Beatrix takes a small step away, increasing the distance between them.

But Matthias inches closer. “Or do you hear the wails of your baby?”

“Fuck you,” Beatrix shoves the man away from her. “Don’t you dare—”

“—No wonder you look so tired.”

The woman scoffs. “Is there a reason why we’re discussing this?”

“Süsse, we’re just having a conversation,” he says. “But if you want a change of topic, let’s talk about Ares.” Matthias smiles, briefly shifting his gaze to the Camorra woman. “She’s your type, no? Deadly, powerful, commands the room, when she wants to. And stuffed full with information that you could sell for quite the pretty penny.”

The man chuckles. “I know you, more than you’d care to admit. You’d never work for Santino, but you would target him, hurt him, cripple him. So, are you going to seduce his right-hand woman? Manipulate her? Convince her to confess all of those valuable secrets?”

“Targeting her would be pointless,” Beatrix says.

“Why? Because she understands the concept of sworn, unfaltering loyalty?”

“Because it would take too long,” she says. “I have no interest in wasting my time with a pointless task.”

Matthias smirks and pulls a phone out of his pocket. His fingers press against the screen, tapping on the buttons, before angling the item towards the woman. “Is that why poor Luca got chopped up into itty bitty pieces?” He taunts. “Because he wouldn’t spill any of Camorra’s dirty secrets? Was he a waste of time?”

Beatrix glances down at the phone, swallowing the nerves brewing in the bottom of her throat. Filling the screen is the image of a body, blood spilling out of appendages that had been sliced into manageable pieces. The body had been placed inside of bathtub, one that Beatrix recognized.

“Izzy may be your friend, but she is still under my employment,” Matthias explains.

“Does she give you documentation on every job she takes?”

“Just for the handful of people I care to keep tabs on,” the man shrugs. “Is your contract for intel or disposal?”

“I think it’s best that I keep that information to myself,” Beatrix says.

“I disagree.” Matthias puts the phone away, before reaching inside of the pocket concealed beneath the jacket of his suit. He pulls out a small circular object, which he holds up, displaying it for Beatrix.

It’s a Marker.

Her Marker.

Beatrix can feel the intensity of Ares’ stare, can feel her processing and examining the situation as it unfolds. And though she wants to look at her, wants to tell Ares that she wants, no, that she needs this conversation to end, she chooses to ignore the Camorra woman. She maintains eye contact with Matthias, determined to not shudder, to not buckle, beneath his gaze.

“You owe me,” he says. “We’ve made an oath, you and I, a blood contract. I’ve completed my end of the bargain, but I still need to cash in on your side.”

Beatrix remains silent.

“Tell me the truth,” Matthias continues. “Which of your many skills have you been hired to perform?”

“What would you do with that information?” She says, “If you sell it to the right buyer, I’ll end up killed, regardless of my answer.”

The man frowns. He raises a hand towards Beatrix and weaves her loose curls between his fingers. “You think so little of me,” he says. His fingers tighten around the hair, and he pulls Beatrix towards him, before shoving her towards the railing at the edge of the balcony.

The assassin gasps when the metal slams against the bottom of her ribcage. Instinct kicks in and her fingers latch onto the rails.

“If I wanted to kill you,” Matthias growls, “there are much more convenient ways for me to do so.” He releases his grip on her hair and takes a step closer. With his chest pressed against her back, he traps her between himself and the metal that is preventing her from tumbling to her death. “I have every intention of using the task you owe me. Ratting you out would be a waste of time and resources. You owe me, Beatrix,” he hisses, “not the other around.”

“Boss,” a man calls.

“What?” Matthias answers, ever so slightly relaxing his stance.

“Do I shoot?”

The man pulls away from the woman, turning towards his henchmen.

When Beatrix turns to see what the man was referring to, her eyes widen at the sight of Ares. All thirteen of Matthias’ men have their weapons trained on the woman, whom has a gun pointed directly at the their leader’s head.

“How fascinating,” Matthias says.

a/n: thank you so much for reading. if you liked what you read, please considering reblogging this chapter. every reblog truly does help a small author like me! but any likes, comments, or other indications that you enjoy this story is also appreciated!

this chapter was meant to be much longer, but i didn’t to split it into two pieces in order to prevent even further delays in getting an update out. the next chapter’s rough draft is over halfway done. if all goes well it will be published before the end of next month.

if you’re interested, you can also follow me for more updates on twitter @ VostaraFics

[lordseochangbin]

room nine- h.h.j

a/n: ok sorry guys this is long only because i wanted to add some narrative haha. 

warning: smut, anal, lots and lots and lots of dirty talk omg. this is probably one of the most dirtiest things i’ve ever wrote and im surprised its not about changbin sksksk

»»————-��♡　————-««

from high school nerds to the most popular instagram users-- your school had it all. known for academic excellence and most drug addicts, lordseochangbin high school [my inspiration is wack im sorry] was almost like it’s own city. cafe’s and restaurants filled the lunch area’s and a small police station near the corner ensured it’s safety.

you were no part of this typical society however, you in fact were like the small crumb that fell from the loaf of bread that we call “the social status”. at the top of the social triangle, or piece of bread i guess, was the queen of all churches and god’s brightest angel- jennifer. jennifer in fact didn’t seem too holy when she wore those see-through tank tops and short plaid skirts to amuse her fuckboy, hwang hyunjin. you’re probably thinking, “oh this is way too typical--” and that’s because it is. hyunjin at the top, you.. somewhere in the bottom. 

anyways, it was finally winter break which meant the annual “party at the hwang’s” but word has it this year his little girlfriend wasn’t going to be there. that’s right, jennifer was going on vacay. this meant everyone was invited to hyunjin’s party, something that jennifer would’ve disapproved of if she knew. “come on y/n! just put a little makeup on, you’ll look gorgeous” you rolled your eyes at your friend before finally obliging, “finee, let’s just go and come back”. you closed your eyes as your friend applied some eye shadow and did some finishing touches, and after a couple outfits you finally decided on a black dress and thigh-high boots. 

“how do i look?” you said, doing a little twirl to show off the outfit.

your friend slapped your shoulder, her last drink obviously taking its toll. “fucking sexy, now lets go!”

»»————-　♡　————-««

the hwang’s mansion was huge, music blasting through the roof as you walked in. in the midst of time, all eyes turned to your beautiful figure, quickly acknowledging the arrival of a beautiful stranger- little did they know it was the shy girl in the corner of science class everyday. the makeup bought you some confidence, something you wished you had when jennifer bullied you everyday.

in hyunjin’s eyes she probably looked like an angel, but to you and everyone else she was worse than the devil. now that she wasn’t here you decided to let it all go. the trauma of having to pull out garbage from your hair to cleaning your soaked p.e. clothes, you decided to forget them on the dance floor. 

grabbing a drink from the servant, you noticed a note with a number reflecting on the disco lights. this caught your attention, forcing you to finish the drink and turn the cup around. on the bottom it read, “you’re invited to room nine”

“room nine?” you muttered to yourself, looking up at the top floor of the mansion home. you noticed each door was in fact labeled, the number nine of the detailed door almost glowing and compelling you to come inside. 

»»————-　♡　————-««

before you knew it, you found yourself opening the door to room nine. your curiosity got the best of you and now here you were, no one knowing your whereabouts as you secretively stepped inside.

“welcome” a somewhat familiar voice said. you turned around to see hyunjin sitting on a love sofa, one hand patting the seat next to him for you to sit down.

“thank you” you replied, sitting next to him with your voice soft and gentle. you weren’t sure of his intentions, which actually frightened you considering he was your bully’s boyfriend. did you do something wrong? hurt jessica in some way? concerns of what hyunjin was going to do to you filled your thoughts before he could continue.

“no problem, how are you?” he rested his chin on his hand, facing towards you as you adjusted your dress in your seat.

“im doing alright, yourself?” 

“im great, just horny as usual” he casually replied. these words ran through your head in a millisecond, sending spirals of hormones through your veins and making you more eager than ever. 

you took a deep breath as you quickly processed what he could possibly be suggesting. hyunjin wouldn’t fuck with the school’s outcast, he’d wreck his reputation. unless... he didn’t know it was you. maybe he thought you were someone else with the fancy attire, decent makeup and somewhat overflowing confidence. 

you sat up straight, placing a hand on his thigh before giving it a squeeze. “you need help with that?” you asked, looking him right in the eyes.

“well, if you offer i cant refuse” he said, adjusting himself in his seat to be comfortable. “you enjoy helping strangers?” he asked.

god, he really had no idea who you were. you took a deep breath before accepting the fact that you were merely a stranger to him before putting on your facade.

“i don’t usually make this offer, if that’s what you’re asking” you replied vaguely.

hyunjin leaned back on the couch, his hands grazing yours. “why am i so lucky then? you’re making me curious now” he pouted

“hmm.. let’s just say i know a good guy when i see one” 

to your surprise, hyunjin got up. he walked over to the bed behind the sofa stripping himself until he had the bare minimum. you sat in shock as he freed his throbbing dick from his blue jeans and watched as he sat down on the edge of the bed. 

“is this what you call a good boy?” you got up from your seat, a chuckle leaving your lips as you watched him pump himself. “i can tell you’re gonna do such a good job” you whispered seductively in front of him

hyunjin looked up to you curiously, “i thought you’d be the one doing a good job” a smirk formed with hyunjin’s lips as he watched you fall on your knees to him. “let me show you what i can do” you licked a strip down his angry red member before taking it in your mouth whole, your hands pumping anything that couldn’t fit. you felt hyunjin’s hips buck, slowly thrusting into your mouth as desperate grunts left his plump lips.

“fuck” he cursed, his nails digging into the comforter as you bobbed your head.

you sucked him off, standing up to raise his chin. “i never fuck with boys at parties, but look at you.. got me like your little slut” you said, your thumb brushing over his blush cheeks.

his hands wrapped around your waist as you fit in between his legs, your core throbbing from the heat and impatience. “im not complaining, you’re sucking so nicely babygirl” he replied as he ran his fingertips up and down the sides of your arms.

“though you could take this off” he suggested, tugging the bottom of your dress

“is that what you’d like daddy?” you said, pulling your dress up to give him a peek of your erected nipples

“mmm.. yes” he helped you get rid of your clothing before you were in between his legs again, his hands grabbing your ass

“you have such a nice ass.. do you appreciate anal?” he whispered, both his hands squeezing your ass tight so you were right against his body.

you leaned down so your hyunjin could feel your breath near his ear. the feeling of hyunjin teasing his member so close made you speechless but you managed to regain some strength to whisper back, “w-with you.. i’d love to”

“really? don’t stutter. give me a reason why i should” he said, spanking your ass so you knew it’d leave a perfect hand print of his till the morning.

“b-because you want it too” you replied hesitantly

“mhmm” he hummed, “you want to take my fat cock in your ass? i’d love to fuck you.. you’re so beautiful” he said, placing you on his lap

you jerked your hips against his, grabbing his hair as he assisted you in riding him. “i love it when you ride me like that babygirl” he held a tight grip on your waist making you whimper and you felt your stomach turning all kinds of reds and blues. 

you took a second to step back however, looking at hyunjin as he looked back at you. he was handsome, you had to admit. his hair stuck to his forehead, his face glistening in sweat, and the way his eyes closed in pleasure as you sped up. you pressed your lips against his, humming into the kiss as he laid on the bed and got on top of you.

he kissed your whole body up and down, you finding yourself squirming in pleasure as his touch cools you down. his hands roam around your luscious  curves before lifting your legs so your lips can meet again while his dick rubs against your pussy.

hyunjin slowly penetrates though your wet walls, stretching them with his swollen mushroom and sucking your tongue.

the feeling of his cock inside you makes you grab his hands, something the both of you weren’t used to, as your fingers intertwine. hyunjin wasn’t complaining about his however as he shoved more and more of his member down your pussy, stretching it to shape his thickness while you moan into his mouth.

“god, you’re so tight” hyunjin pounded your pussy harder, his balls slapping against your ass and you grab his hair as you feel his walls clench around him.

“you feel so good inside me” you whispered into his neck. hyunjin could simply stare into your eyes while kissing you, his fat cock pounding you faster and harder with every touch.

“it seems youre enjoying my dick after all” he said, you humming in agreement

hyunjin pulls out, taking a second to move your hair away from your face before gliding his dick in your ass. he steadily forces his juicy bell-end against you to break in. “mmm” he hums, “ im gonna enjoy your ass so much”

he glides his member in your booty and pounds you while kissing you, “make me cum in your ass babygirl” he grabs your ass and lifts you up faster, enjoying how your big tits rub against his chest

“i’m gonna cum” he says, your eyes closing at the feeling of him hitting your sweet spot before you could unconsciously reply, “fill me up love”

“i already have a girlfriend you know?” he replied, his hands intertwining with yours again

“what a dick..” you suddenly remember jennifer, someone you didn’t want to think about tonight. but this facade of yours covered the outcast who was bullied everyday, and you wanted payback. “does she do you like this?”

“no.. oh god no. no one does it like you, but you call me love and i don’t wanna break your heart baby”

you smirked, knowing he liked what he was doing before hyunjin’s fingers could tighten around yours as he cummed inside you, your high following after. your deep breaths filled the whole room as hyunjin collapsed onto the bed. he still held onto you however, kissing your knuckles. 

“you make me feel so dirty, knowing you have a girlfriend already” you said, making him laugh

“i’m such an asshole, i cheat on her so much. don’t you have a boyfriend?”

“used to..” you lied, “now i just wait until someone decent comes along”

“well i’m sure as hell not decent” he said, running his fingers though his hair as the two of you stared at the roof

“and i surely wasn’t considering you either” you said with a smile on your face. 

“hmph, glad you could just use me as your sextoy”

“im sorry, weren’t you the one that said you were horny?” hyunjin threw his hands up in defense, “okay, okay then. thank you for helping me though. you wanna stay here for the night? let me get you cleaned up”

he got up, releasing his fingers from yours but you wouldn’t let go. “can we just stay like this? put on a movie or something” 

hyunjin smiled, “i don’t think thats how this works, but ill stay with you since you took me in so well” 

for the rest of the night you laid on hyunjin’s chest as his fingers brushed through your hair, the perfect feeling to fall asleep to.

»»————-　♡　————-««

on monday morning, your friends went to grab some coffee before the three of you could receive a notification. 

“oh my god, hyunjin broke up with jennifer !” you spat out your coffee, your friends rushing to grab some tissues. 

“y/n! are you okay?!” 

“i’m fine.. lets just go to class” you said, your friends grabbing your coffee for you as the three of you walked to the school

you parted ways with your friends, soon after being encountered by the one and only jennifer. “oh hey! look it’s my favorite outcast!” she said sarcastically, shoving you onto the floor. your hands were quick to hold you up, avoiding you from a tragic fall. you couldn’t help but to laugh however, if only jennifer knew you fucked her mans and got him to admit you gave him better sex. 

“no response? maybe i should just-” she raised her leg, making your eyes squint before someone could step in between you two.

he held out a hand, helping you up. “shall i walk you to class?” he asked, ignoring jennifer’s presence. 

“me?” you asked.

“yes, you dumbass. lets go” hyunjin dragged you away from the scene.

“you knew it was me all along?” you asked

“of course, what do you take me for? some horny fuckboy?” he sarcastically asked, making you laugh. “ i actually had a good time that night, lets go on an actual date next time” he said before stopping in front of your classroom.

“ill be here after” he said, kissing your forehead. “later” you replied. 

you watched hyunjin as he walked to his class, staring in disbelief. so maybe you weren’t an outcast anymore? or maybe you were just a lucky guest of room number nine.

[alloftheimagines]

billy hargrove | heaven-sent | part six

masterlist | series | part five

words: 2k+

warnings: mentions of death, abuse, fighting, swearing, drinking, aggression, non-consensual kiss

disclaimer: i in no way support the actions of billy. i just find his character interesting and want to explore it more with my oc. takes place from season 2. OC is hopper’s daughter.

summary:  she’s an angel. he may as well be the devil. one would not exist without the other.

The gentle hum of the engine is peaceful as the Camaro cruises through Hawkins. Billy doesn’t try to cover it with his music the way he usually would. After the night he’s had, he’s grateful for the quiet. He’s unable to forget the way his father’s fist collided with his face earlier, his cheek still throbbing painfully. His jaw aches, too, and he realises he’s been clenching it for hours. He relaxes it now as best he can, his attention drawn away from it entirely when they pass a bunch of wilted flowers placed randomly on the side of the road. There are unlit candles, too, the wax melted into the concrete.

“Someone die there or somethin’?” he asks without thinking.

From the corner of his eye, he sees Frances flinch and regrets asking. “Yeah. Her name was Barb.”

“Did you know her?” He glances at her, but she isn’t looking at him, her head turned away as she gazes out of the window.

“She was my best friend.”

Jesus. I’m—” He sucks in a breath, his grip tightening on the steering wheel sub-consciously. Sorry, he wants to say, but somehow the word doesn’t do it justice. “What happened to her?”

“She was killed.” She tucks a strand of brown hair behind her ear, her eyes hardening as she turns them back on the road ahead. She still won’t look at him.

“Shit,” he whispers. “Did they catch ‘em?”

“No.” She shakes her head, her voice cracking. Her chest is heaving as though she’s suppressing a sob or is struggling to breathe. He shuffles in his seat, unsure what to do or say. He doesn’t need to force anything out: she continues before the right words come. “I should have been there that night. She begged and begged for me to come to this stupid party with her at Steve Harrington’s house. Nancy was forcing her. She wasn’t really part of that crowd and she didn’t wanna be alone, always said it was easier for her when I was there. She died alone.”

“It’s not your fault,” Billy replies softly. It’s easier for him to be soft in the dark; easier to allow himself to sound as though he gives a damn. “You couldn’t have known.”

“But I did,” she hits back, looking at him now. Her eyes are shiny with tears, her hands clinging to her camera desperately. “I had this awful feeling in my chest, like I couldn’t breathe, all fucking night—only I thought it was because Jonathan’s brother was missing. I was so busy looking for him with my dad that I wasn’t there for Barb. Now she’s gone. And I knew.”

Her face is illuminated in the pale headlights passing on the other side of the road, and for a moment her eyes seem to flicker, blaze, change. Her irises, once a green that reminded Billy of the Californian sea on a rare, grey day, are now golden. He does a double take, almost swerving the car in the process, but when he looks again they look as they always did: murky ocean eyes half-hiding behind dark lashes and unruly bangs.

“Shit,” he curses, forcing his eyes back on the road. “Your eyes.”

She frowns, paling and pulling down the overhead mirror with enough force that Billy is worried she might break his damn car. “What?”

“Nothin’, I—” he stutters, blinking and looking at her again. Had he imagined it? Was it the light off the other car? “I thought you had something in your eye. It was nothin’.”

He pulls into the clearing where the trailer stands, lonely and grey against the black lake. The tyres roll against the gravel unevenly, the engine cutting out and replaced with silence.

“Your dad home?” he asks, just as he had the previous night. The trailer’s windows are dark, the house empty and solitary where it stands. He can’t imagine calling this place a home, even with his own circumstances.

“No,” she replies, unfastening her seat-belt slowly. “You wanna come in for a while? I could use that drink, now.”

He nods, a small smile playing on his lips as he takes the keys out of the ignition and grabs the bottle of whisky from beside him. “Sure. Why not?”

* * *

The trailer isn’t as small as it looks from the outside. It’s cosy, earthy, and he can imagine Frances pottering about on it on a Saturday, drinking coffee with the patterned curtains closed to block out the low winter sun. Still, he can’t imagine sleeping in this thing alone. They’re basically in the middle of nowhere. He can’t even smell cow shit out here, and the lake is eerily still even in the wind.

“Your dad work a lot?” He places the whiskey on the kitchen counter and she pulls out two glasses from the oak cupboards, standing on her tip-toes and arching her back to reach.

“Yeah. I’m used to it now.”

“You don’t get scared out here alone?” he teases, leaning against the counter.

She pours the whiskey carefully and slides his tumbler towards him, taking a sip of her own. If the burn fazes her, she doesn’t show it. “I’m always scared. Doesn’t make a difference if I’m out here or in the middle of town.”

“Because of Barb?”

She shrugs. Her cheeks are flushed from the short walk between the car and the trailer, making the small cut on her cheek appear redder than it did before. “Because of a lot of things. You need ice for that bruise?”

He had forgotten about it for the first time tonight. He touches it now as if to remind himself, trying to hide his wince as he realises how tender it is. “I’m good,” he says despite himself.

She rolls her eyes, kneeling down to rifle through the freezer. When she comes up, she’s holding frozen peas. She chucks them at him, and he catches reluctantly, pressing them gently to his face. “Thanks.”

“So, where did you move from?” she questions, leading him to the couch and sitting down, whiskey in hand. He follows, sitting beside her, perhaps a little closer than he had meant to. He doesn’t make an effort to budge down.

“California.”

“Yeah?” Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “That’s a little different than Hawkins. What was it like?”

“It was …,” he sighs, unable to find the right words. Nobody had asked him that yet, really. Nobody in Hawkins cared about Billy’s old life. Sometimes, it no longer feels as though it exists at all. “It was home. I basically lived on the beach. Had bonfires most nights, spent my days out in the sun. There was always something happening, too. Carnivals, fairs, gigs. You’d love it. You'd get some amazing photographs.”

“Yeah,” she smiles, hanging on his every word. He can’t help but look at her again, at her eyes that he’d been sure had changed. They were still green, still the closest he could get to his favourite place. “I bet. You must miss it like crazy.”

“More than anything,” he admits, sipping his drink to distract himself from the sudden attention. “What about you, you lived here your whole life?”

“Actually, I lived in New York for a while when I was a kid. My mom still lives there with her new husband.”

“Did you like it?”

She shakes her head, leaning back into the couch as her eyes glaze over for a moment, remembering. “I did. Now, it just reminds me of things I’d rather forget.”

“Like?”

“I think I’ve told you enough of my little sob story tonight,” she laughs, but Billy can tell it isn’t genuine. He can’t help but wonder if they’re more alike than he thought, looking at the cut on her cheek again. Did the chief do that? He seems to walk around town in an eternally foul mood: it wouldn’t necessarily surprise him if he took it out on her.

He finds himself inching closer to her, so close that their foreheads are almost touching. “I like talking to you. You’re the only person in this shitty town I can stand to be around, even if you are all gloom and doom.”

“Gee, thanks.” Sarcasm drips from her words without conviction. He can hear her breath coming out quicker as he looks down at her soft, pink lips longingly. She doesn’t close the distance, so he takes it upon himself.

Their lips press together for only a moment before her hands are on his stomach, pushing him away. She stands up, crossing her arms over her chest as though she’s naked rather than fully clothed with layers of knitwear. Her face is bright red, her eyes blazing. “What the fuck, Billy?”

“What?” he replies cluelessly, raking his hand through his hair and pretending as though his cheeks aren’t heating up in embarrassment. He can’t remember the last time he was rejected.

“What?” Frances repeats in disbelief. “God, what was this? Were you just trying to get into my pants the entire fucking time? Driving me home, getting back my camera, listening to me when I talk about my dead friend and my cheating boyfriend because I’m a fucking idiot who thought that maybe you weren’t so bad, that maybe you actually gave a shit?”

He’s speechless, licking his dry lips as he tries to figure out what to say. “I thought that’s what you wanted.”

“Why would I ever want that? I just ended a two-year relationship with my best fucking friend.”

“And I’m great at rebound sex,” he answers as though it’s obvious. He can feel anger beginning to bubble in him, not because he’s mad at her words, but because she’s yelling—and he still doesn’t know why. “Why else am I hear, Fran? You wanna talk about feelings all night while you braid my damn hair? Cuddle by the fuckin’ fire with a mug of hot cocoa, marshmallows on top? You’re not stupid. You know I’m not that guy.”

Tears are pricking her eyes again, and this time she doesn’t blink them back. He’s not sure she even knows she’s crying in her own, blind rage. “So all of this was just for sex? All of it?”

Billy softens at the sadness in her voice, his elbows digging painfully into his thighs as he puts his head in his hands and takes a breath. “No, it wasn’t like that. I didn’t plan all this just to screw you. I just … When you invited me in, I thought—”

“Thought you’d shoot your shot,” she finished bitterly. “Of course you did; of course opening my door to you automatically meant opening my legs, too. You’re a fucking asshole, Billy. I don’t know why I let you in. I don’t know why I let any of this happen. Just get out.”

“Fran—” he says desperately, standing up from the couch and walking around the coffee table to meet her.

“Get out, Billy!” Frances shouts. “Get the fuck out!”

She pushes him backwards with more force than he’d been expecting, sending him flying straight into the door. It falls open against his weight, and he falls with it, landing on the porch. His defeated, shocked body is illuminated by the white porch light.

Frances stands in the doorway, speechless. Clearly, she had been expecting this as much as he had.

“Jesus!” he yells when he’s able to find the words. It hurts him, being treated this way. He could take it from his father, his friends, the shitheads he beats up at school and parties, but he hadn’t been expecting her to touch him like that—and it’s clear she hadn’t meant to by the way she looks at him as though he’s broken, as though she’s broken him, though she can’t know what this means to him. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You’re a crazy bitch, you know that?”

“Fuck you,” she whispers weakly as he pulls himself up, using the fence as support. “Leave me alone, Hargrove.”

“Gladly,” he responds, his upper lip curling in contempt. His hands are balled into fists as he marches away, barely sparing her a glance as he slams the door of the Camaro shut after sliding into the driver’s seat. His tyres struggle against the gravel, spitting out dust and dirt as he speeds away, watching her retreating figure standing in the threshold of the trailer in the rear-view mirror.

part seven

[chromium7sky]

The Devil wears Armani | Chapter 9

A/n: ayyy guys, another update! I hope you guys enjoy it . ❤️❤️ You can follow this series with these #damirae and #devil wears armani tag. P.s- making pattern for brushes are fun! 😆😆

A sudden knock echoing his room. Damian looked at the door. "Come in."

Jon's head suddenly popped up as soon as the door open.

"Oh, it you." Damian said it in bore tone then continue to concentrate with his work on the computer. "Have a seat."

"Is that how you greet your best friend who came all the way from Metropolis?"

"Well, I didn't ask you to come visit me." Damian sneered at him.

"Hah, typical Damian." Jon chuckled. "Guess you haven't change a bit."

"If I would then it must be apocalypse then?" Damian sarcastically remark on that statement.

"Who knows..." Jon shrugged. "I saw you on talk show with Jimmy. You said you were in charge with Wayne's annual 50th gala."

"Yeah. As soon as I'm back from Middle East, Father seems to dump responsible on me one by one." As Damian type on his keyboard.

"So, have you met her?"

"Met who?"

"That girl."

Damian again leaned on his executive chair narrowed his eyes at Jon who has silly grin on his face. "And why are you asking?"

"I saw both of you kissing."

That answer instant makes Damian choke on his breath and almost back flip from his chair, however, slowly he steadily his composure, clearing his throat. What answer should he give? Should he lie about it? " No you don't."

"Dang it, Dami. Why you have to be secretive about her?" Jon shooked his head. He's kinda disappointed with his best friend.

"And you gonna spread to the media about US?" Damian raised his eyebrow.

"Oh my God, It IS her!" Jon snapped his finger as he caught the reference.

Damian muttered cursed word in different language but Jon swear it was in Arabic as he heard it.

"So, is there any one knows about it? Other than me?"

Jon crossed his arm and tilt his head as he celebrate his victory in digging his best friend's secret.

"Tell me which one you prefer to die, instantly or slowly?" Damian grumbled.

Jon seems doesn't mind about the threat, he knew Damian wasn't serious about it. "Sure... just after you tell the truth about Ms Rachel Roth."

"And you knew her name too." Damian lips are in tight line.

"I did told you I have interview her during the successful of Lenore collection by Raven?" Jon adjust his spectacle.

Damian raise his eyebrow in response to his question.

"In fact that, Rachel Roth and Raven are the same person." Jon presented his theory about the head of AMZ company.

"Oh."

"See the connection? I suspect that she -"

"I knew she's Raven from the start." Damian huffed as he crossed his arm.

"Wait, you knew?"

"From her sketch book." He spoken in monotone.

"Oh..oh!" As Jon remember something. "Your nude drawing!"

Damian wanted to hide his face as he heard that. Fuck. "Damn it, Jon. Quiet down!" Damian glared at him.

"I bet your sibling might be interested with ZEE sketch book." Jon make air quotation as he said 'sketch book'.

"I will murder them and you If anyone knows about it." Damian popped his knuckle then continue on typing his report.

"By the way, can't wait for the Wayne's Gala though." Jon smiled. "I try my best to do some coverage on it. Perhaps let other people know about the community service by Wayne Enterprise and Leviathan Industries collaboration."

"They were happy."

"I'm sorry, what?" Jon try to understand Damian's word.

"Them. They were happy as soon we bought clothes from Lenore collection." Damian rest his back on lumbar support of his chair. "It's cheap, quality and suitable for the weather."

As he remember the face of refugees getting their winter clothes as soon as he purchase in large quantity and distribute among them for incoming winter season.

"Ah, that. Quite impressive product no?" Jon rest his hands on his chin as he remember the Lenore collection. "How about yours, Dami? The Rook signature?"

Damian seems to be in the zone as Jon said about his fashion brand, 'The Rook.' "I might try to enter market in US as soon as I reveal my collection during Gala."

"But that means, Raven's Collection would..."

"And Collab with Raven."

"Oh?I smell scandalous."

Damian clicked his tongue as he annoyed and return doing his work. "Make yourself at home. There's kitchen at the corner if you're hungry." As he buried his face to the computer screen.

"Gladly."

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

Raven were staring at the monitor after she's back from his office. Her mind start to wonder far away after they were having a talk, measurement session, confession, kisses and intimacy.

Everything happen all at once. She sighed and rest her chin on her hand propped at her chair handle, is this what she wants?

She sighed then cover her face with her hand. This is not how it goes.

Her eyes caught up with with her notebook that she use to write his measurement on the table along with her sample colors and her tools.

She straighten her back and grab it, flip it open. As she streaming the pages, she found the page which has numbers to be presumed Damian's measuring.

Pulling some paper from the tray near her desk and pencil from her stationary compartment she started to sketches her ideas on how Damian's suit would be.

Still can't help for NOT to think about what happen in his office which makes her keep chanting, 'think professional, Rachel' several times.

On the paper there's at least three type design she came on for suit. First is inspired with ballroom tuxedo with the touch according to the Gala's theme, Black and Gold.

Second are inspired by their final project, east oriented suit, with the touch of sharp and dangerous angle on shoulder and golden crest rope to add majestic on the suit.

Third are fusion between the western, east and middle east. She tried to remember the sketches from the book where Damian point out before the deal or all of these nonsense things happen. A suit that has open neck like eastern culture, embroidery like middle eastern on the neck border in tuxedo cut.

All she have to is choose which one match with Gala's theme or perhaps let Damian see the sketches?

Wait. Let Damian see the sketches?

[buns-with-a-book]

The Maiden of the Blue Cloak

Inspired by @beyond-the-mirror​‘s Dante/LittleRed!Reader series. Fic is spicy.

Fandom: Devil May Cry Characters: Devil Trigger!Vergil/OC, mentioned Devil Trigger!Dante Tags: @nimnox​ @furyeclipse​ @synchronmurmurs​ @harlot-of-oblivion​ @queenmuzz​

Summary: The Tale of Little Red Riding Hood is iconic indeed...but have you heard the tale of the Maiden of the Blue Cloak? 

Cassandra Sagefire rode through the snowy forest, her horse visibly nervous as they rode through. Across her chest was a satchel full of food and elixirs, to be delivered to the leader of the village on the other side of Red Grave Forest. The forest was known for being full of demons, with the main path being laiden with protective charms to keep the demons at bay. Cassandra wondered why no effort was made to seek a way to eradicate the demons but, given the charms that surrounding the road, perhaps the demons were too numerous to try. 

She threw the thought out of her head, keeping the reigns of the horse tight in her hand. She had a task at hand and that was delivering the goods that had been bequeathed to her. 

The horse stopped and whinnied out it’s distress. Cassandra looked up, seeing a pile of trees between her and the rest of the path. The horse paced unhappily at the blockade, earning a sigh from Cassandra. She turned the horse around and got off. After adjusting the bag across her chest, she reached up and slapped the hind of the horse. Startled, it ran off down the path. She watched the horse disappear into the faint snowfall, back to her village. She turned back around, towards the village she was meant to be at, and began to walk into the forest proper to find a different path. 

As she strode bravely through the snow-covered woods, she faintly saw her breath float upward from her, a sign of the chill that gripped the forest in the dead of winter. She could feel the demonic presence surrounding her. She didn’t dare let her fear be known, the anxiety of wondering if what she was doing was the right thing. Demons could sense fear, after all, and fear made one a walking target for demons to devour. Cassandra closed her eyes, thinking of the ways she could employ to keep herself calm as she walked through the snow-draped forest. 

Well, her mind went right to song. It was a way, after all, and if she was soft enough she wouldn’t attract demons. She took a deep breath and began to murmur-sing under her breath. 

I am a queen’s daughter Bravery is in my blood I will not fear the dark woods Nor blackened hearts of man Hì rì hoireann hó Hì rì hoireann hó

“Are you now?” 

She snapped up, looking around. Her eyes met a demon, a powerful one if she had to guess. His scales were a deep azure blue, covering every part of him. His head was, from appearances, armored in demon metal. At his side was an elegant but unusual weapon, a weapon not normally found in the frozen forest, but she never questioned how demons got their strange weaponry. What caught her eye were his own eyes, glowing ice blue and completely focused on her. 

“Who are you?”

“I should ask the same for you.” He growled, circling her. She did the same, the two carefully studying the other. “Why are you here?”

“The road was blocked and the bundles I bear must reach the village on the other side of this forest.”

“And yet, you are above the role of messenger.” He lowered his head, just slightly, giving off the impression of narrowed eyes. “Unless you speak in riddles.” That was something she couldn’t answer. Her father had been strangely insistent on taking the bundle to the village as if no other runner could hold its contents. 

“What do you want? Me gone? Or a fight?” She asked, tensing up in preparation for a scuffle. It was a deflection tactic, that much was obvious, but the demon reached over to the handle of his weapon. Cassandra let out a sharp inhale, a silver and deep blue rapier snapping into existence by her own will, the divine rapier Astra. She kept her gaze on the demon, letting out a soft exhale as she watched the demon slid into a battle stance. 

She took in a breath, just moments before the demon shot forward. She parried the thrust, spinning the blade away from her. The demon slashed forward, meeting the rapier again. Cassandra groaned as she held the blade in place, meeting the demon’s gaze. It was intense, like the conflict between his weapon and Astra. Cassandra growled as she kept her hand steady, arms aching from the battle between demonic and divine steel. Finally, she pushed back. Her eyes followed the movements of the demon of the snowy forest. He charged forward. Cassandra deftly undid her dark blue cloak, throwing it at it. He collided into the cloth and yelped, giving Cassandra the perfect opportunity to pin him down into the snow. Her rapier pressed into the demon’s neck, Cassandra straddling him, with the two heaving as they caught their breath. His sword was sticking out in the snow next to him, just out of reach. She pulled back the hood of the cloak, letting their eyes meet. 

“Clever…” He whispered, equal parts amused and irritated at his loss.

“Heh...you’re the best fight I’ve had in awhile.” She panted. She rested her head against his, catching her breath. “...now may I...have your name?” A quiet fell between her and the demon, the demon seeming to mull over her question. 

“Vergil.” The demon finally said, his voice as soft as the snow that fell around them. The rapier disappeared from his neck, Cassandra pulling off him. She held out her hand, to which Vergil hesitantly took. She pulled him out of the snow, her blue cloak fluttering to the ground. She reached down to take it, shaking the snow off before reclasping it around her neck.

“My name is Cassandra.” She said at last. “Would you like to accompany me to the forest’s edge?” 

“It’s only fitting, since you bested me.” The demon snorted, moving to retake his blade and sheath it back into its scabbard. Cassandra smiled softly. 

“Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself, Vergil.” The demon let out a hum at her question. “I can only presume you’re the most powerful demon in the forest.”

“Because I am.” Vergil huffed. Cassandra noticed his horns flared with blue fire, perhaps to prove his point. It certainly made the area around them briefly warmer, along with scorching the nearby trees. Cassandra shrugged at the display. 

“Does that mean I’m the most powerful person in the forest because I bested you?” A quiet fell between them, she could feel Vergil seethe at the thought.

“By technicality.” He growled. Cassandra closed her eyes at the sound. She wouldn’t dare admit that her body shivered at the growl. She opened her eyes and leaned a little closer to the warmth-radiating devil. 

“What about your sword? It’s certainly unique, not something that one would find around here.” Cassandra asked, glancing at the blade at his hip. The demon’s eyes followed her gaze down to the blade. 

“It was my father’s. When he was slain, it was left in my care.” He said, his voice soft as if he was remembering one last fond moment with his father. Cassandra sighed and looked out into the snowy forest.

“I wish I had a strong bond with my father. He’s been distant lately, ever since my mother died.” Cassandra murmured. “It makes one wonder…”

“We are here.” Cassandra stopped, seeing the village in question just beyond the trees. She looked up to Vergil.

“Will you escort me home? I’m quite fond of your company. It’s better than talking to a horse.” Vergil snorted at that.

“Perhaps. I’ll think about it.” Cassandra smiled.

“I hope you do.” She turned to him. “Goodbye for now, Vergil.” With that, she walked to the village. She could feel Vergil watch her leave the forest and hoped that he would meet her again.

---

Cassandra held the clasp of her blue cloak tight as she ran through the wintry forests. Behind her, she could faintly hear the shouting of the men that pursued her. It had all been a ruse, she had been sent to marry the leader of that village. Cassandra would rather be demon food than be married to a man that she didn’t know. Even then, she would rather be married for love than be married for reputation.  

She felt a demonic presence and ducked, barely missing a blur of purple and black. There was a scream behind her but she ignored it in favor of running. The blue cloak fluttered in the wind as she ran, leaping over rotted logs and dashing across ice-cold streams. After what felt like miles of running, she hid behind a large birch tree, her heart hammering in her head. She closed her eyes, shaking and heaving from the running. 

“Vergil…” She panted out, sliding down the birch tree into the snow. Everything hurt from her mad dash to freedom. A hand suddenly grabbed her arm and she snapped up, seeing one of the village guards next to her.

“I found her!” He yelled back into the cold. Cassandra tried to pull away from him.

“Let go of me! I said no!” Cassandra snarled, digging her heels in the snow. The village guard was about to snap at her when a scarlet-stained katana shot out from his chest. It retracted, causing the guard to fall to the ground dead. She stared at the owner of the blade, a bloodied devil that she knew as Vergil. His eyes regarded her, the bloodlust of demonkind replaced with concern, before he held out his hand. She took it without hesitation, allowing him to help her up. “Thank you, Vergil.”

“Those men, why were they pursuing you.” He asked coldly. Cassandra looked to the guard. 

“Because my father sent me to the village to marry me to their ruler. I ran away from that. I didn’t want to marry a man I had never met before.” Vergil stared down at their hands. “I can’t go back now...and I can’t go to my own village.” 

“Then I will take you in.” Cassandra blinked at his words.

“You would?” She asked, watching as he expertly flicked the blood off his katana before sheathing it again.

“I would.” He picked her up bridal style, earning a surprised yelp from her. She wrapped his arms around his neck, watching as his wings flared out. He shot up into the sky and took flight, the forest below nothing more than a sea of black with white peppered throughout. He soared across the midnight sky, Cassandra staring down in awe at Red Grave Forest. She felt his face rub against her collarbone, making her squeak. 

“What was that for!?”

“You’ll see soon enough.” He mumbled, flying downward towards a cave. He landed with grace, carrying her into the cave. Cassandra noticed the glow that filled it, perhaps with the aid of some demonic magic. He turned into a cavern, Cassandra quickly noticing it was quite home-like. He set her down in a bed of pelts, Cassandra could tell they were made from the local fauna. She unclasped her cloak, letting it fall upon the pelts.

“Thank you, Vergil.” Cassandra smiled at him. Vergil let out a soft hum.

“My brother lives here with me, the cavern across this one. I’ll let him know of your arrival, that you are…” He trailed off, as if he didn’t know what word he wanted to use. 

“I didn’t know you had a brother.” Cassandra said with a soft smile on her face. 

“He’s a nuisance. He’s my nuisance.” Cassandra chuckled at his words. “Just...rest.” 

“Alright. Thank you.” She curled up on the nest of pelts, using the cloak as a blanket. Vergil watched her quietly for a few more moments before leaving the cavern.

---

It had been a few months since that daring rescue, those months going by swiftly but peacefully. Cassandra had devoted herself to learning new skills and learning how exactly Red Grave Forest operated, from hunting for her own to gathering herbs for consumption to trying her hand at making her own clothes (to varying degrees of success...but she tried). Compared to her old life, this was far simpler and happier. It also helped that she not only had Vergil, who she thought of quite fondly, but she had Dante as well. 

Dante, being of course, Vergil’s nuisance of a little brother. Vergil regarded him as a nuisance but Cassandra found him endearing. When Vergil was off making the rounds of Red Grave Forest, Cassandra was busy entertaining the younger of the devil twins. She found his antics entertaining, which passed the time during the hours Vergil was gone. With Dante’s help, the shed demon scales of her demonic roommates became protective armor and insulated clothing for herself. Demons may not have a need for such things but she, certifiably not demonic, did. 

Over the past few days, Vergil had become more protective of her in regards to his brother, even snarling in demonic tongue at the red-hued devil. Cassandra noticed this change in behavior and wasn’t pleased by his sudden possessiveness. Vergil may have saved her life all those months ago but she wasn’t going to let him hoard her time like a dragon. 

“Vergil.” Cassandra said with a huff, arms crossed. She wore a demonscale tunic and skirt, covered by reindeer fur. The spring night was cool with a nip of chill. Dante was out, taking over Vergil’s duty of scouting Red Grave Forest. The demon in question glared at her. “We need to talk.”

“About what?” 

“Your behavior. I’ve noticed you’re getting far more possessive of me lately.” She crossed her arms. “At your own brother no less.” 

“And?” 

“And!? You dingus, that’s your brother. Why would he try to steal me from you?” 

“You’ve been spending time with him.” Vergil hissed. “You reek of him.” 

“Because you’re off patrolling the forest during the day. He’s teaching me skills while you’re gone, such as what’s edible and what’s not and how to make clothes because I need things to wear to protect myself from the weather.” Cassandra pointed out, striding closer to him. “What’s the matter Vergil. You need to tell me.” There was a silence that fell between them, the two staring at each other and daring the other to step down. Finally, Vergil let out a sigh.

“Demons...go through a week of intense need for their mates. It is known amongst us as heat week. My instincts consider you as my mate. It makes me hunger for you…” He held her arms loosely. “I...I need you.” He pressed his head against hers, letting out a deep rumble. “I want you. Now.” 

“...because of heat week?”

“Yes.” He looked away, almost ashamed of himself.

“Well, if you just said that earlier, I wouldn’t have to yell at you.” She pulled him down to their nest. The demon let out an audible noise of approval, hands moving to hold her hips. 

“I will ravish you, as you deserve.” He growled, his hand moving to cup her face. His claws dug into her skin a little, not enough to break skin. His other hand moved under her tunic. “And then I will apologize to my brother, if it makes you happy.” 

“It would. Dante’s been nothing but helpful to me.” She leaned up to press kisses against his fangs, tasting ash against her lips. 

“Enough about him.” The demon groaned softly before pulling back, pulling her tunic off her body. Throwing it aside, he took quick care of her skirt to have her fully nude before him. He grinned at the sight. “You will be crying out my name soon enough.” He leaned down, pressing kisses and nibbles on her neck and collarbone. His hands groped her body hungrily, sucking hard on the skin. Cassandra gripped his horns as he kissed and sucked, she could feel his teeth dig into her skin and leave purple-black bruises of claiming in their wake. His lips moved downward, nuzzling the soft skin as he went. He settled herself between her thighs, holding her legs apart to gain access to the slick forbidden fruit of her cunt. He dove in, his tongue swirling around inside her entrance. He let her rest her legs around his shoulder, relishing the sounds of her moans and his name on her lips. She grinded her cunt against his mouth, moaning out. He relished the sound and her movement, continuing to happily eat her out. He pulled back a little, his tongue moving to circle her clit. His hand let go of her hip to allow a finger to carefully push into her entrance. She let out a cry of pleasure, legs trembling on his shoulders. He carefully thrust his finger into her, mindful of his claws. As he moved his finger, he glanced up to the trembling form of his mate. He relished the sight of her, nude before him with a thin sheet of sweat on her body. He let out an almost-silent purr before pushing a second finger inside. He stretched her out with his two fingers, looking up to her occasionally to make sure she was still ok. 

“I-I’m close…!” She whimpered. He pulled back his fingers, earning a rather upset whine from her.  

“And I am not, my mate.” He growled, sitting up and letting her legs fall limp on the nest of pelts and cloth. She glanced down, seeing his cock peer out from his armored slit. It was a deep azure hue, lengthy and ridged with a single drop of hot precum dripping onto her leg. She shivered when it landed on her bare skin. He leaned over her, rubbing the tip of his cock against her entrance. She reached up to rest her hand on his shoulder, the other clinging onto the pelts that made their nest. 

“Vergil…” She whispered. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. 

“Tell me when it becomes too much.” He murmured, slowly pushing into her. Cassandra gasped as each inch slowly pushed into her. He paused when her whining became more pained, patiently waiting for her to get used to his girth half-way inside her. Despite the burning hunger to mate coiled in his core, he couldn’t hurt her. He would never forgive himself if he did. He leaned down, gently pressing kisses to the dark purple bites he left upon her skin. Cassandra glanced down and wiggled downward, pushing more of his cock into her. He hissed at the movement, continuing the slow push until he was sheathed inside her. They stayed there, joined together and panting. Cassandra leaned forward, kissing him slowly and earning a low pleased rumble from him. The demon hummed at the soft almost reverent murmurs of his name between breaths and kisses, pride and heat roiling within him. He felt her hips roll experimentally against him, testing the waters before she pulled back.

“I’m ready, Vergil.” She whispered. The demon let out a hungry purr, slowly pulling back until the tip was sheathed inside her before thrusting forward. She gasped out, arching her back, her chest pressing against his. He hissed from the contact, rolling his hips against her. He groaned and growled as he thrust into her, relishing the warmth around his cock. As he continued to thrust into her, his chest rumbled with demonic purring, the purr to deter any nearby demons from bursting in. He kept thrusting, clinging onto his new mate. 

“Mine…” Vergil growled as his pace increased, the thrusts now harsh and short as demon instinct took over. A hand clung to her hip, claws digging into the skin. She gasped at the grab, shivering at the slight pain from his claws. She let go of the pelts, moving her hand down to rub her clit. Vergil moved his hand to cup hers, feeling the hint of slickness against the bundle of nerves. The sounds he received from her only made his thrusts intensify, his control fraying from the woman underneath him. 

“Vergil!” Cassandra gasped, shaking as she came with him. He growled as he filled her with his cum, keeping her close. His wings had flared out as he came, trembling as he kept her close. After a few minutes, accented by their labored breaths as they came down from their high. He slowly pulled out of her, growling softly. He looked down, seeing his seed seep out of her entrance. Instinctively, he reached down to push it back into her, ever mindful of his claws. She whimpered at the touch. 

“Shh…” He murmured, sliding into their nest. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing her against his chest. He covered her with his wing, pressing his forehead against hers. “Rest.” 

“Jeez, not much for pillow talk.” Cassandra mumbled, too tired to be playful. Vergil let out a snort. 

“Rest.” He repeated, a little more insistent. “You know how insatiable demons can be…” 

“Alright alright, you big baby.” She chuckled and curled up against him. “I love you.” The demon gasped softly before sighing. 

“I...I love you too.”

[toho-literature]

Curiosities of Lotus Asia - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Ultra-Violet Light

Gensokyo is separated from the human world by a barrier. However, amongst the youkai there are those who can cross this barrier. On the border between the inside and outside, Rinnosuke, who was in need of fuel for his heater, was dealing with such a youkai, but... lured by a white box, his thoughts transcend the border!

Ultra-Violet Light

There was an ear-shattering clamor like nothing I’ve ever heard before.

Even though it was almost winter, the air was unpleasantly warm.

Even with my eyes closed, a flood of light pushed through.

Horrified, I couldn’t open my eyes.

The rich, colorful outdoor scenery was being blown away along with the falling red leaves, and the winter colors were gradually setting in...

The tree leaves, now red, that symbolize life are little by little becoming warped, but as far as human comprehension goes, it only means they are turning red. For most of these leaves, they won’t be able to endure their own transformation and will fall to the ground, but there are some that will become completely warped. Those leaves will transcend red, into a color that the human eyes can’t see. The inhabitants of Gensokyo call this color after the leaves have fallen “the winter color”. Humans then say that the scenery has lost its colors, but it’s possible that amongst the youkai there are some that can see these winter colors.

The interior of the shop is also painted in the colors of winter, but it’s not so bad compared to the outside. And that is thanks to human ingenuity.

I had readied one such product of human ingenuity, namely, a “heater.” However...

Knock, knock.

“Damn, it’s freezin’ outside! It’s so cold ya can’t even hibernate! ...Hey, s’cold in here, too. What happened to that heater ya always have?”

“Ah, Marisa? Well, I ran out of fuel for the heater.”

“Huh? Fuel?”

The heater I use was a discovery from the outside world, and its fuel is also of the outside world. That means that once I run out of fuel, it’s rather difficult to obtain more. I’ve always used the fuel that was in it when I found it, the fuel from other items I’ve gathered, or some other, similar liquid.

“Don’t matter how cold it is, what happened to properly greetin’ visitors?”

“I always greet customers, no matter how cold it is.”

“Ahh, if I’dda known your shop’d be like this, I wudda brought the Mini-Hakkero. Anyway, what’cha gonna do about the fuel?”

Marisa is weak against cold. The intense winter cold reduces her “sharpness” to one third its usual level.

“For some reason, almost no heaters appeared this year. That’s why I couldn’t get any fuel.”

“Maybe tha outside world’s winter isn’t cold anymore. Lucky devils!”

“I doubt there is any way their winters would be warm.”

“So what, then? Do ya plan to just freeze to death like this?”

“I think ‘hibernation’ would be more appropriate. But I don’t plan on doing either. However, it seems I’ve no other choice. I will find some way to obtain fuel before I truly become frozen.”

It’s not like there aren’t other ways to get fuel. Like going to the outside world, or getting it from some youkai. Realistically, it would be the second choice, but... that involves dealing with youkai...

“Want me to clue you in on somethin’, Kourin? There’s someone besides you with a whole bunch of stuff from the outside world. And I just so happen to be an acquaintance o’ hers. Just the other day, she was saying ‘One can speak with someone from far away if they are using this item.’ while using it to talk to her own shikigami... I was kinda suspicious about it being for real though. But I bet someone like her would at least have some fuel.”

“Is she a youkai?”

“Of course, she’s a youkai.”

Knock, knock, knock.

“Aaah, so cold, so cold! It seems it got all cold all of a sudden.”

“Ah, Reimu? Welcome.”

About now, people everywhere are making preparations for the winter season. Reimu too has certainly come to pick up some winter clothes. That’s why I’m treating her as a customer today.

“Hey, it’s cold in here too! What happened to that over-heating heater you always had?”

“Looks like it went for a long summer vacation to me.”

“Huh? You’re here too, Marisa?”

“Yeah, right in front o’ ya.”

Marisa explained to Reimu for me about me running out of fuel and how I could obtain some. Looks like Marisa really is weak against cold.

“This youkai you’re talking about... It’s Yukari, right?”

“Yup, she’s closest to the outside world. I bet that you’d know where to find her.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t even know where she lives. She just comes to the shrine when I don’t want her to, and of course, sometimes she doesn’t come when I don’t want her to.”

“...So, you never want her to come.”

“Anyway, Yukari won’t be showing up for a while.”

“Taking a wild guess?”

“It’s not like drawing ‘Great Fortune’ from the omikuji. Yukari never shows up in the winter.”

The verbal duel between Reimu and Marisa—which I could never know if it was for real or not—continued. Of course, I never actually said I was going to ask anything of this youkai. It’s just that, if I were to stay without the fuel like this, I’d really be in trouble.

“Come to think of it, if you scatter some fried tofu, she will certainly come visit. Yukari’s servant, that is.”

The next day, I tried putting some fried tofu on the storefront. I didn’t have any particular expectation; I just did it as a sort of charm.

The temperature has naturally dropped some more today. Seems it really is becoming winter. It’s very inconvenient not being able to use my heater as I always have, but it cannot be helped. Maybe I’ll have to think of another way of warming myself up.

I got this heater a few years ago. At first, I was considering putting it up for sale, but I changed my mind after trying to use it. I couldn’t possibly sell a tool so convenient. I mean, hard to use.

It could warm up every nook and cranny of the room, and it wouldn’t even feel like it was winter. And I didn’t have to bother with firewood or dirty chimneys, nor did I need a big installation like a fireplace. I even ended up not getting enough exercise because I didn’t have to move around that much. I soon started to think that it would be a shame to sell this item, or rather, like I couldn’t sell it.

However, it has been a long time since I really felt the winter. It’s cold. Have Gensokyo’s winters really been so cold...? Should I try digging up the magical heating furnace I made long ago...? Wait, I gave that to Marisa.

A knocking sound came from the shop’s entrance. Did it trap someone already?

It hasn’t been more than one or two hours since I put the fried tofu there. It must be someone that really likes fried tofu, to get caught so quickly.

...But there was no one inside.

“Ah, do you have a moment? I have some business for your master...”

I opened the door, but no one was there. And my fried tofu was gone without a trace too. Someone had certainly been there, but I didn’t think it would be someone so quick to disappear like that. Could it have been the work of a fox...?

It seems I was wrong to think I could get what I wanted without making an effort myself. Just preparing some fried tofu and putting it out is about the same amount of effort as doing nothing.

“Well, this way is a little cold... But if I do it like this, there’s no way my prey can escape the trap.”

“...So, how long have ya been standing in front of yer shop holding fried tofu? That’s not the kind of effort y’have to make.”

“Ah, Marisa. You were there?”

“Yup, right in front of you.”

“Oh, would you help me by luring in the youkai in my place?”

“And why’d anyone have to do something so stupid?”

“I’m not an expert in luring youkai, you see. I just don’t know how to do it...”

Marisa said, “Fine, fine... let’s just go inside for now.” and entered the shop.

Since I had the fried tofu in hand anyway, I left it by the entrance and went in after Marisa.

“Not even a dumb fox youkai would fall for that kinda trap.”

“Even so, a while ago it looked like it caught something.”

“Whatever. If you can’t use your heater, how can I come hang out at your place? I’ll go and search for Yukari.”

“Do you really think you can find her?”

“Even though Reimu said what she did yesterday, I’ve seen Yukari at the shrine sometimes. She’s gotta live around there, I’m sure.”

Marisa went out to search for Yukari in my place.

Do I... really want to meet this youkai? Even without the heater, I can find another way to warm up. After all, everyone else in Gensokyo is able to survive the weather without this useful device. And besides, even if I meet this youkai, there’s no guarantee that she can supply me with the fuel.

Didn’t I just want to know more about the outside world? By using an item connected to the outside world and by being interested in a youkai connected to it, couldn’t it be that I just want to get some more information?

I do deal with a lot of mysterious merchandise. And, being surrounded by all these items, I am always wondering about the outside world.

For instance, there’s this box, much smaller than a music box, and made of a white, inorganic material. My ability tells me that this box is an item that can store and play a lot of music. However, until now, it has never played any music for me. Just how do they use it in the outside world, and what kind of sounds does it play...?

I took the small, white metallic box, put it to my ear and closed my eyes. Maybe I could hear some sounds from the outside.

I got the impression that there was a conversation coming from outside. Maybe Marisa had already came back, or else a youkai had come by, lured by the fried tofu... No, I don’t think that’s it.

There was an ear-shattering clamor like nothing I’d ever heard before. I couldn’t believe such a painful sound could be made by any living creature.

I felt an unpleasant warm air all over my skin. It was as if the ambient temperature had changed all of a sudden. In a winter like this, I don’t think I would need heating.

Even with my eyes closed, a flood of light pushed through. What could be shining so brightly to do that? It’s a cold brightness, unlike sunlight or magic light.

Then I had a flash of intuition. Right now... I must be in the outside world. Riding on the outside items surrounding me, my thoughts had flown across the barrier.

But... I didn’t open my eyes. What if, after seeing the outside world, I couldn’t return to Gensokyo anymore? Humans that are spirited away almost never have a chance to come back again. On the other hand, if I open my eyes believing this to be only a visual and auditory illusion, my thoughts wouldn’t cross the border and would be back to Gensokyo, but I could miss my chance to see the outside world. Which choice would I prefer?

That’s right, wasn’t my goal to obtain fuel? I did have a clear objective. I didn’t want to get lost in the outside world, only to visit it to complete my task. I had to leave my thoughts at Kourindou—no, at Gensokyo—and let only my body cross over there. Yes, that’s a feat humans couldn’t pull off... but I’m sure I could.

For the sake of getting fuel for making my shop warm again, I slowly opened my eyes.

Hakurei Shrine. The shrine at the very edge of Gensokyo.

Marisa went there to look for Yukari. When leaving Kourindou, she noticed the fried tofu still in front of the shop and decided to take it with her, so it could be put to a more effective use.

“Heeey! Are ya here?”

“Hmm? I am, right in front of you.”

“Not you, Reimu. I mean Yukari.”

“What happened? And why are you holding that fried tofu?”

“You were the one who said she’d show up for fried tofu.”

“Well, her shikigami is a fox.”

“Exactly, and since Kourin obviously has no idea how to catch a youkai, I had no choice but to come here so you could catch one for me.”

“Oh, I see... Rather selfish of you, isn’t it? Anyway, how about we have tea while we talk?”

Marisa and Reimu drank tea while they argued about how to catch Yukari.

“Hm, Yukari... Maybe she’s already hibernating?”

“When ya say ‘hibernate’, that just means she never shows up anywhere, right? And we don’t have a clue where she lives. What if she’s actually gone vacationin’ in the southern islands?”

“That may be. By the way... Where are those southern islands?”

“We don’t hafta go that far. But there really isn’t any way to call her?”

“I guess there’s only one other way. But if I do that, she’ll get angry...”

“So there is a way?”

“Well, there is... But if I do it, she’ll show up only to tell me that it’s dangerous and I should stop.”

“But she’ll show up, and that’s all that matters, right?”

To these girls, words like “dangerous” are hardly a deterrent.

“But it means weakening Gensokyo’s border. What if the ones who are close to the outside world get sucked into it?”

There was a flood of light. It was a very bright, cold light. It was so bright I could hardly see. And there were some voices speaking in what didn’t seem to be Japanese. The hot, foul air was making my head hurt. So this is the outside world... I had seen it in things like books that drifted in, but I never imagined it would be so noisy and unpleasant.

I had to calm down and look for some fuel, and then I should calmly look for a way to go back to Gensokyo.

...My eyes were becoming accustomed to the light. This archway here was something I recognized... Is this a shrine? And there are a great number of people here too...

“Oh, this will not do! You ended up all the way here... You shouldn’t come here, because you are not human, you see?”

“!?”

The cacophony suddenly stopped. The light also went away, and I had the white box in my hand again. The surroundings were gloomy, but somehow I could see... it was the usual interior of Kourindou.

It looked like I had just fallen asleep for a little while. Since it was so dim, I lit a small lamp and put the white box back on the shelf.

If I just keep falling asleep like this, there was no way I could achieve my goal. I was curious if the fried tofu in front of the store had lured any youkai, so I opened the front door. Unfortunately, all that had happened was that the fried tofu had been taken.

“Then it was a fox’s doing, after all?”

I could see the shapes of Marisa and Reimu in the distance. And of yet another girl, who seemed to be lecturing them as they walked. Quite an unusual scene.

“Why, nice to meet you. Please call me Yukari Yakumo. Are you the person who wanted to meet me?”

The youkai in front of me, wearing gaudy clothes and carrying a gaudy parasol, had the sharp eyes characteristic of someone who isn’t human. And she had an ominous smile.

“Ahh, greetings. I was just wanting to meet you for a bit of a business proposal…”

I guided Yukari inside the shop and explained the circumstances that had led to me calling her, like the fuel for the heater.

“Is it electric? Or kerosene? Or maybe even nitroglycerin? Well, whatever the case, it’s a simple request. I have an unending supply of any of those... and we should help each other in times of need, after all.”

She wore a wide smile. I knew it was definitely ominous.

“As expected from a youkai.”

“As expected from me.”

Having said that, Yukari started to walk around the store, her long skirt fluttering silently.

“This shop of yours... It only has articles that are quite out of fashion. The latest trend, you see, is in portable objects. Portable things to speak with people far away, or portable devices that display the records of other people on a small screen...”

“We don’t particularly care about fashion here. I just deal with items that I like.”

“Ah, this white box... This is a fashionable item.”

“Oh, that... That is supposed to carry a lot of music, but I have yet to understand how to use it.”

I have the ability to know the name and the use of an unknown item just by looking at something. However, this ability doesn’t tell me how to use it.

“If you put this to your ear, you will have odd visions like the ones you had earlier. That’s because you are not a human.”

Again, the wide, ominous smile.

“Hey, turn that heater on already! It’s freezing.”

“Aren’t you a little impatient, Marisa? I have barely begun to speak to the lady.”

“Oh, I already turned it on. See, it’s full of fuel, is it not?”

Indeed, it was now completely filled.

“When did... But I was here the whole time. How in the world did you do that?”

“We should help each other in times of need.”

With that, Yukari stuffed the white box she was holding into her clothes. I was quickly regretting having met this youkai girl.

[21stcenturyyfoxx]

7 Devils part 3

Hell Fire —-

Chapter 3 ;;; this is a long ass chapter!!! Xx

Warnings: Smutttt, dirty talk, flashbacks.

Darkness glided across the streets of New York; the moonlight prevailed its harrowing decent onto the streets.

It wasn’t long before the familiar sounds of souls being torn from their bodies erupted below you; your eyes shut at the horrors you could only imagine as you sat there with John, your breathing rapid. His hand found your back, rubbing sweet circles with his thumb against your spine.

“Breathe, Y/N.” He said softly as to not startle you with the sound of his gravely voice. You looked at him as if you were a lost child, unable to keep composure.

His eyes had fire in them but yet held a special residue of something like honey, maybe dust of the books he bound. Bourbon and 15th century novels.

You thought back on the four years, four tiring and alone but never in fact lonely years.

Flashing to the past; a grip on your wrist, your father in a death glare battle for the upper hand; your life.

“You hear me and you hear me now —.” He seethed, his anger and worry melting together in a disgusting act of possessiveness. “If you do so much as to get killed out there — I will make sure he has a price on his head.” He glared at the figure who had already had a strict grip on his weapon, ready to take on the most revered man in the underworld; The Elder, your own father.

“Papa, I will be fine. I can handle myself.” You said rubbing his hand that held its ferocious latch onto you.

With a final warning to John your father made his threat known.

“If you come back to tell me my daughter is dead... there will be a heavy price on your head.” He spoke through his gritted teeth; John simply nodded to your father.

———————————————————

Four years of making your way through a mans world, a heavy weight on any female; but you weren’t just any female — you were firstly, the Elders precious and targeted, daughter and secondly you were the Baba Yaga’s partner; that was also a target on your back.

John would never stop worrying about you; if you had eaten or gotten enough sleep before a mission; you were such a bright young thing but quick to get angry and shoot the gun. John would have to come calm your rage with soft words.

His touch made you break into a cold sweat even in the heart of winter in Moscow. It was an uneventful evening as you two had made your way into a hole in the wall bar; but however, shadows do lurk.

Soon enough there were words exchanged with some local gang, and soon thereafter, a fire fight engaged. You had taken a bullet to the chest; no Kevlar to protect your most important organ — your heart. John quickly rushed to you, you were laid sprawled on your back, you were in shock as you tried to get up.

“Johnathan let me up, I’m ok, I just got the wind knocked out of me. That’s all.” You said looking at him, your attempts to gain a solid breath came to no avail. His eyes broke into a sorrowful expression.

“Mia Amata, you’ve been shot.” He said with a tone only known as regret, his hand pushing onto the wound to stop the profusion of the blood that leaked. Your eyes shut in horror and pain. Soon darkness wrapped you up in its warm blanket.

“We’re losing her!” A voice shouted, your eyes fighting to open but the heavy black spots wouldn’t allow that; your body fell back into the darkened state it was formerly in.

“She’s stable, Mr. Wick. However, we aren’t out of the woods yet.” A heavy Russian accent pierced your ear.

“Yes, thank you. Please thank your staff for me.” John’s voice rang into your mind followed by a gentle grasp of your hand. You subconsciously relaxed into his touch, still unable to force your eyes open.

“Is she dead, Johnathan?” He spewed hatefully — Papa.

“I told you I’d keep her safe. Even though I don’t see what business it is to you.” John spoke fiery without fear.

“Seeing as I’m her father —..” the voices fell off as you had succumbed to the darkness once more.

———————————————————

“Y/N?” A soft voice called out to you.

Ringing in your ear began to sound, as if a satellite was falling out of orbit, your eyes snapped out of the daze.

Suddenly you were under John’s touch, his hand on your back still. His eyes burning into you, trying to figure you out.

“Are you alright, Mia Amata?” There was that name again, but this time it made lightening and fire erupt in the pit of your stomach — anger.

“Would you stop calling me that?!” You hissed as you stood, suddenly his touch burned and all the fever rushed over you.

You grunted as you began pacing the darkened floor, only illumination was the pale moonlight that shown through the slit in the curtain.

John sat there, bewildered at your actions; unusual behavior for a girl like you. His index finger tapped on his leg; it was like every movement of his illicit a violent response from your being.

“You need to calm down...” He began, shortly a hiss erupted from your lips as you began to start verbally tearing him a new one. But before you could begin your assault he silenced you with a hand over your mouth. “Before you dig yourself into a deep filthy hole you cannot escape.” His eyes glared down at you as he was now standing, his frame hovering over yours. Your lips parted, sneaking your tongue forward, tasting the sweat from his palm.

“This damn moonlight...” he muttered quietly as he watched your eyes. His sharp intake of breath reverberated through the room as he felt your tongue glide over his palm. Soon, his fingers gripped your chin forcing you to directly look into his eyes.

“Don’t fight me on what I should call you. You’re Mia Amata, understood?” He said lowly, his voice changing. You nodded silently as you gazed up at him, a sensation making its way to your lower body. Arousal.

“What do you say?” He said anticipating your correct response.

“Yes sir.” You said softly, innocently.

“Tell me — should I punish you for that little tantrum?” He asked as he slid his arm around your waist pulling you closer to him; his grip still firmly on your chin, pushing his index thumb into your bones, hurting a bit but secretly welcomed.

“Mm, I - I..” You stumbled out, unsure of what to even speak.

A smirk placed on his lips, his eyes were seemingly darker even though really you couldn’t tell. You just knew one thing; you were ready for whatever he gave you.

“You wanted to play with Hell Fire, Mia Amata?” He purred devilishly.

“You’re about to fucking get it.” He growled lowly into your ear.

———————————————————

His hands swiftly forced you over the desk that was tucked away in the corner of the room, the sounds of his belt being ripped from its loops made your wetness grow; you subconsciously squeezed your thighs together as if to stop it.

“Spread your legs, now.” He commanded.

“Squeezing your thighs together won’t make you any less wet for me.”

His hand quickly found its way to your ass, warming the flesh with a firm grip and kneading motion before it was replaced by a stinging slap of the belt. Then another, then another.

“You.. know how many times...” He said through pleasurable grunts as if he were getting off to your pain. “I’ve thought of taking you, taking every hole you had to offer to me.. you know how many fucking times I’ve came to the thought of you.. even when you were sleeping right beside me..” His unholy confessions made you involuntarily moan out, your red and bruising backside pushed into his clothed erection; making him grunt loudly.

“You’re such a needy little thing... I don’t even know what to do with you..“ He said leaning over you, his mouth next to your ear, growling and whispering nasty praises to you. “I need to feel how tight you are.. how you fuck.. how you taste.. fuck even how you smell.." he groaned pulling her to him, his hips snapping as he bounced her backside off his clothed erection, simulating fucking her.

“Tell me, Mia Amata, what do you want me to do? Huh? Tell me.” He growled.

———————————————————————

Tags: @johnfuckingwick @keanuchillz @meetmeinthematinee @fanficsrusz @fan-wicktion and to whomever I forget, may this find you —— satisfied.. for now. 🖤

[liw-the-melancholic-apple]

How it may have gone - Humble Beginnings

A fic taking place in the marauders era. While the political climate seems to head to a conflict, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter are still just teenagers. Dealing with typical teenage problems.

But this year their little group grows. Who would have known that more prefects would be a good thing?

Masterlist

Six: The Christmas Party I

“I hate the fact that you have all afternoon to pack and sort things out and we have to rush tomorrow!” Nica glared at me.

“It only means that you have something to do tomorrow. I’ll just have to wait until it’s time to get ready for the party.”

“I expect you to help me”, Milla said passing the pumpkin juice.

We finished our lunch and walked over to the Gryffindor table where the Potter-posse was still ferociously digging into their food.

“Sit, sit, sit”, Pettigrew said while grabbing the big  bowl of chocolate pudding.

“Why do you act like you haven’t eaten in days?”, Nica asked, when she sat down next to Potter.

“We were carrying out a very important mission this morning and missed breakfast”, he answered.

“What could possibly be so important that you’d miss breakfast for it?” Blair sat down between Pettigrew and Milla and eyed the fruit cake but didn’t take it.

“Somebody needed to be taught a lesson in respect”, answered Black while waving at the water bottle in front of me, I passed it.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Flint said some nasty things yesterday in Charms”, Black explained.

“So, we decided to die his hair pink and give him some matching robes”, Potter smirked.

“How did you get into his dorm?”

“We didn’t. We waited for him in the foyer, hexed him and then spent an hour in McGonnagal’s office”, Remus sighed. “Hey, is there still a blueberry muffin in that basket?”

“Yep!”, Chloe threw him one.

“What did he say?”, Blair asked. The boys all remained suspiciously quiet for a while. In the end it was Remus who answered, consciously calm and through clenched teeth: “Flint found out that Milla is muggleborn.”

“Guess you can imagine the kinds of things he said”, added Black.

“You hexed him for me?” Milla’s big blue doll-eyes welled up a bit as she looked from one of the boys to the other.

“That’s what friends are for, right?”, Potter winked at her.

Milla jumped up and first hugged Pettigrew, then Potter on her side of the table, ran around the whole thing and threw herself in Black’s and Remus’ arms. As Remus awkwardly hugged her back, Black and I grinned at each other.

“Thank you!”, Milla whispered trying not to cry.

“Anytime”, Pettigrew answered. “Don’t you dare cry, by the way, I’m not good with tears. Or girls, for that matter.”

That last comment was enough to have us all laugh for a couple of minutes.

When we strolled into the foyer Black had an arm around the still teary-eyed Milla and the conversation turned to Christmas break, which we would all leave for in two days.

“Are you guys gonna see each other, then?”, Potter inquired, with his lighter in front of my face.

“Usually, Milla and I woud see each other – thanks – but she’s chosen to abandon me”, I answered before inhaling the smoke.

“Please, abandon you! I’m going on holiday with my family. And you’ll survive! Crick, Jonas and Tristan will all be home for Christmas.”

“Wait, you live close to Cricket?”, Remus suddenly asked.

“Yep, we all grew up together in Marlowe’s Creek, why?”

“We live in Godric’s Hollow”, Potter answered. “And the boys all visit the second week of break.”

“Why’s that interesting?”, Blair asked.

“I told you about the party Crick and I go to on New Year’s Eve, right?” She nodded her head yes.

“That pub is in Godric’s Hollow. It’s the next town over from where we live.”

“So you’ll get to see each other over break? That’s not fair!”, Nica cried out. Potter looked me up and down for moment. “That pub is not Morgana’s Raven by any chance, is it?”

“You’re going, too?!”

“All of us”, Black answered and high-fived me.

“Not fair!”, Nica cried again.

Pettigrew wondered why Potter, Milla and I had never run into each other if we lived so closely to one another and Milla explained that we usually only went to Godric’s Hollow between Christmas and New Year’s to go to the Winter Market, which Potter found boring and childish.

We stayed outside and chatted until the first bell rang and all of my friends had to run like the devil was after them to make their classes in time.

I decided to smoke another cigarette and make a plan for packing my trunk. As much as I hated getting ready to leave, I was really looking forward to Christmas.

Upon entering the foyer I ran into Crick who told me that his parents would also take Felix and me home. Our parents were good friends and usually didn’t bother to all come to the platform. Last summer my parents had dropped the four of us off.

We went to the common room together and found ourselves in our favourite nook, discussing the plans for the holidays, Jonas’ progress with Elaine – none – and the party that would take place tomorrow.

Crick wasn’t sure how he should talk to Blair, because they both knew it wasn’t really a date and I told him to just be his lovely self and maybe compliment her.

“Tell her how amazing she looks in her dress! She’ll love to hear that”, I suggested thinking back to the weekend before and the dressing room incident. I had kept my promise to not tell anybody but I had also gotten a lot more conscious of what I said about my clothes or my body in front of her. Maybe, I thought, if she got some more self-esteem I could stop overthinking every single conversation.

From his date we moved on to mine who I’d meet on the third floor with his friends. Crick found that it was nice of me to go with him although I didn’t fancy him just so he could spent the night with his friends and not be the odd one out. I told him that Nica had cried the year before when all of us had gotten invited and she hadn’t. So, I knew how much it probably meant to Pettigrew to be able to go. He always was outshone by his three friends, either by their performance in the classes, their witty comments, or – if I was being honest – their looks.

Although Remus had all of those nasty scars in his face and on his arms that he was very tightlipped about and would never explain, his jawline was nothing short of a super model and his sandy hair looked always perfect. And then there was his infectious smile and outrageous height, that had enough girls gushing over him.

Black wasn’t the most wanted chap in the entire school for nothing either. He wore his dark brown hair to his chin and always in a “I-just-got-out-of-bed” kind of way that was effortlessly handsome. Combine that with the way his face looked as if it was chiselled out of marble, his dark grey eyes that always seemed to look into your soul and had that stormy mysterious quality to them and his bad-boy demeanour and you knew most girls dreamed of him when he gave them his signature smirk.

Potter was more ruggedly handsome than his friends. His messy hair and crooked smile made you feel safe but also invoked a sense of adventure. He was taller than Black and had a gangly quality to him, but he knew how to control his body and he had that confidence. Add to that his protectiveness – that not everybody got to see, Lily Evans was the best example of that – and you got yourself quite the charming chap.

Pettigrew was by no means ugly, but in comparison to his friends he was very average looking. His dirty blond hair just sat on his head, without doing much for him. His freckles were sort of cute, but not manly and his blue eyes always seemed watered down. Aside from that he was shorter than Black and the tiniest bit podgy. All in all he just didn’t stand out.

Crick listened to me describe the other boys with an open mouth. When I had finished he asked me to describe him as objectively as possible just so he knew I paid attention to him.

I closed my eyes, so I wouldn’t cheat and started: Crick was roughly the same height as Potter, towering over most girls in the school. He was built like a rugby player, broad shoulders, muscular arms and flat stomach. His blond curls were usually fairly short and gave him an American look that paired perfectly with his greenish blue eyes, diamond cut jawline, bushy eyebrows and toothpaste commercial smile. I knew for a fact that he was one of the most wanted guys in school.

“Why, thank you, Tea. That did wonders for my self-confidence.”

“You do not need any more self-confidence.”

We bickered a bit about whether or not he was self-conscious before he asked me whether Milla was going to the party alone. She was. Remus hadn’t asked her to go with her. Just yesterday Black and I had gotten worked up about that after dinner. According to Black Remus had made a couple more remarks about her and that he didn’t have a date for the party but he didn’t take any of Black’s hints that she would definitely say yes if he asked.

Milla had actually turned down two blokes in the last week. Ratchett from our year in Ravenclaw – an arrogant know-it-all none of us could stand – and Lamar, a seventh year Hufflepuff. She had told both of them that she had promised my little brother to be his date so he wouldn’t feel intimidated. The boldest lie I’d ever heard her tell, since Felix had given in to Siobhan Johnston after all.

When I asked her about it she denied that it had anything to do with Remus and said she just wanted to have fun with us girls and the boys without being held back by some random chap. I didn’t push it any further but I was sure she still waited for Remus to ask her.

“Why doesn’t she just ask him?” Crick’s face was covered in confused wrinkles.

“Because ‘a’ she still isn’t sure whether she’s into him and ‘b’ Milla is the most traditional girl you’ve ever met. Nica would go and grab the boy, bully him into saying yes, but Milla will wait for the boy to ask her. Simple as that.”

After an hour of gossiping and theorising we both headed to our dorms to start packing. A daunting task. I was never a tidy person and the idea of having to pack up my life terrified me. I decided to start with the big wardrobe and just threw everything that was in it on my bed. I would need clothes for tomorrow during the day, the dress for the party and my travel outfit. With those things on my desk I folded up the remaining clothes and sorted them into piles according to the kind of stuff they were.

I moved on to my drawers of bras, knickers and socks and by the time the other girls got back to the dorm my bed was covered in neat piles of clothes. Before I cleaned out my nightstand and the bathroom I got the huge trunk from under my bed and opened it.

“I don’t believe it!”, I yelled. “Remember how I went on about being stupid for having left my favourite ring at home?”, I asked the other four who had all turned to look at me.

“Yes, hard to forget.”

I held up the silver ring with a gigantic black gemstone on it, that I had gotten from my grandma for my last birthday.

“It fell out of my jewelbag and I didn’t see it…”

I put the ring on my desk to wear Saturday and Sunday and started filling the now empty trunk with my clothes while the other four stood in front of their wardrobes sighing. My nightstand could be cleared out completely, the only thing I left on it was the hated alarm clock. The book I was currently reading I threw into my backpack to take on the train.

A quick look around the bathroom informed me that I would need all of the things over the next two days. So, I came back into the dorm and took Milla to the terrace at the common room to smoke. After that I helped her sort her clothes onto her bed and then we went to dinner.

The others spent the evening packing while I teased Felix about his date with Siobhan.

If ever there was a long day, it was going to be this Saturday. While Slughorn’s club meeting were usually rather uneventful, his parties were legendary and an absolute highlight. Waiting for one of them to begin was therefore torture.

The girls and I had decided to sleep in to shorten the day and catch breakfast in the last half hour. That plan worked out rather well. When we entered the foyer four boys stood in front of the staircase shaking their heads.

“D’you know how long we’ve been waiting here?”, Remus asked with a stern look.

“Sorry, we don’t do waiting for parties well”, Chloe answered with a grin as she walked right past him.

“Why don’t you just have your smoke now? Just today we’ll break the pattern. I’m sure Peter will survive that”, Nica suggested.

“Or we could have second breakfast at your table”, Pettigrew countered.

His idea found a lot of supporters and so the nine of us sat down at the fairly empty Hufflepuff table. Before I could even scan it for coffee, Black held up a huge mug filled to the rim and shoved it in my hand. Then he filled one for himself.

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!” We clonked our mugs together and wiggled our eyebrows when we saw Remus and Milla sitting next to each other arguing about the last raisin roll.

“You already had breakfast! Be a gentleman for Merlin’s sake!”  Milla won the argument and chewed her roll triumphantly while Remus buttered a scone grinning.

“What are you gonna do until the party starts?”, Potter asked Blair.

“No idea. I still have some packing to do but other than that, I think it’s gonna be a lot of sitting around…”

“Oh no!”, Pettigrew screamed. “No sitting around on the last day in Hogwarts this year. You will do something adventurous.”

“Like what?”, Nica asked eyebrows raised.

“We were thinking a snowball fight first, followed by a round or two of truth or dare, lunch, maybe we could introduce you to some our favourite short cuts in the castle and we also thought of playing a round or two of quidditch. After all we represent the two winning teams of this season.”

Potter was right. Hufflepuff had positively diminished Slytherin in the December game a few weeks back, which had probably led to the comments Flint had made about Milla and the insults  I had to endure since then.

“I don’t know about the truth or dare”, Chloe said eybrows furrowed, “but the rest sounds great! If we went for the snowball fight first at around…”, she checked her watch, “ eleven we could take lunch at one o’clock and fully warm up for the tour of the secret passages.”

“Spoil sport”, Black smirked. “Fine we cut the truth or dare”, he sighed stealing a muffin from her plate.

“That was the last one, Black!”, she growled.

“Shouldn’t steal my fun, then…”

We finished breakfast, went for a quick smoke and made plans to meet in the foyer at eleven.

[gromvillage]

all even numbers. do it coward

oh for fuck’s sake let’s go bois

2. Are you outgoing or shy?

depends on my mood and the situation, i feel like i’ve been a lot quieter lately 

4. Are you easy to get along with?

i’d like to think so but i know that’s not completely true, i can be pretty stubborn about ideas i have in a group setting and always kinda take charge in situations

6. What kind of people are you attracted to?

people who care about me and respect me, people who are adventurous, literally anyone that can pick me up/is willing to carry me

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?

this guy i’m into right now but shouldn’t be cause he’ll probably never be into me lmao

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?

ohhh i don’t remember. i feel like recently i haven’t really had any deep conversations with anyone sadly

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now?

ohhh really into the kids see ghosts album, a bunch of hobo johnson’s stuff, grrrls by aviva (this isn’t five songs but,,,,suck it)

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles?

not really

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

prolly not

18. Do you still talk to your first crush?

don’t remember who my first crush was but i know i don’t talk to them anymore thank you, i had horrible taste when i was younger

20. Do you like your neighbors?

yeah!! most of them are pretty cool and i’m fairly close with them! there are a few that i’m not huge on but that’s life

22. Where would you like to travel?

oh all kinds of places. i want to go to antartica and the himalayas and the andes and the atacama desert and colorado and the sierras and all america’s national parks and tons of places in europe and mongolia and so many other places

24. Favorite part of your daily routine?

at the end of the day i like decompressing in my room and i also really love my art classes!

26. What do you do when you wake up?

check my phone (sadly), watch the news for like ten minutes, shower, pack my lunch/make something for breakfast, go to school

28. Who are you most comfortable around?

my close friends, though recently i’ve struggled a lot with my thoughts on my relationships with those around me

30. Do you ever want to get married?

it’s not a top priority but i think if i found the right person maybe

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with?

ohhh boi there are many options.....timothee chalamet, bella heathcote, cara delevingne, russel wilson, harry styles, anothony ramos, tons of mountain athletes

34. Do you play sports? What sports?

i don’t play sports per say but i do a lot of stuff outdoors!! hiking, backpacking, wakeboarding, skiing, that kinda stuff

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them?

oh hell yeah have you even met me i am constantly liking people and not telling them

38. Describe your dream girl/guy?

ummm kind the same answer as 6 but like someone who would be goofy with me and go on adventures and listen to me ramble about random shit and not get mad with me when i struggle with my thoughts

40. What do you want to do after high school?

hopefully go to college out west (fuck the south) and then get a job doing something outdoorsy!!

42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean?

i’m either tired, pissed, sad, feeling left out, or a mix of all of em

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean?

ohhh tough but prolly go with space, there’s so much that we don’t know and also i wanna be weightless 

46. What are you paranoid about?

oh lots of things, my parents finding out i’m gay, being abandoned by those close to me, ending up with everyone hating me, good stuff like that

48. Have you ever been drunk?

nope, not into that kinda stuff

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore?

maroon! i stay wearing that color

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself?

i think that i’m insecure about a lot of things and internalize that insecurity and let it stew, which is unhealthy and leaves me constantly questioning the world and people around me

54. Favourite store?

really any outdoor store 

56. Favourite colour?

pretty partial to red but i also like kind of a forest green

58. Last thing you ate?

seasoned oyster crackers, those dudes slap

60. Ever won a competition? For what?

i came in third at our friendsgiving cook-off this past weekend?? i made bacon poptarts and it was cool to place cause i was competing against all adults who are pretty good cooks

62. Been arrested? For what?

negative ghostrider

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?

pretty sure it was this dude in like second grade on the playground, which is hella lame

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends?

the only real tumblr friends i have are people i know in real life so,,,,

68. Twitter or Tumblr?

tumblr, though i’ve thought about getting a twitter recently 

70. Names of your bestfriends?

wouldn’t you like to know weather boy

72. What colour are your towels?

i have some that are blue and some that are white

72. How many pillows do you sleep with?

one usually, but two if it’s sad boi hour

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have?

oh i don’t know that i have any?? yeah don’t think i have any 

76. What colour is your underwear?

today it’s kinda that boring peach tan color

78. Favourite ice cream flavour?

really love chocolate raspberry but i also love pretty much all tillamook ice cream flavors

80. What colour pants?

today they’re a dark khaki 

82. Favourite movie?

maybe bill and ted’s excellent adventure?? they’re just out living life and aren’t super stressed about school (other than the part where it’s the whole plot) and also really dig their clothes

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street?

haven’t seen either

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo?

crush maybe? he’s just doing his thing and i dig it. also his voice is sick

88. Last person you talked to today?

@perpetualpatchwork!!

90. Name a person you love?

myself, sometimes

92. In a fight with someone?

at the moment no, though my brother and i argued a ton over thanksgiving break

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have?

ohhh lots probably close to like 10 or 15

96. Favourite actress?

don’t really have a favorite but  saoirse ronan is pretty cool

98. Do you tan a lot?

nah, i stay pretty pale throughout the summer though i do get nice freckles! 

100. How are you feeling?

tired and stressed at the moment, but aren’t we all

102. Do you regret anything from your past?

oh yeah there are quite a few things

104. Do you miss anyone from your past?

there were a couple people i was close to in elementary and middle school i would like to reconnect with 

106. Ever broken someone’s heart?

only my own

108. What should you be doing?

hella homework and getting ready for my scout meeting

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?

there have been a couple times,,,,

112. Who was the last person you cried in front of?

my mom a couple weeks ago

114. Have you ever been out of your province/state?

yep!! i have traveled the country quite a bit and was lucky enough to leave the country for the first time this summer!

116. Are you listening to music right now?

yeah, nirvana’s heart shaped box

118. Do you like Chinese food?

not hugely, i’d really like to try the authentic stuff though!

120. Are you afraid of the dark?

in some cases, mostly when i’m camping 

122. Is cheating ever okay?

negative ghostrider 

124. Do you believe in love at first sight?

how can you love someone you’ve never talked to?

126. Are you currently bored?

somewhat with my life, though there is so much i could do to try and improve it but i just don’t put in the effort and instead just complain 

128. Would you change your name?

not really?? i liked to think about other names i wanted as a kid (tori was a particularly embarrassing one) but i’m pretty happy with my name now

130. Do you like subway?

i have to admit yes, it slaps when you’re on a road trip and stop and get a sandwich and then find a park or overlook to eat it at

132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?

this is the same as number 10???

134. Can you count to one million?

i’m sure i could because i know how numbers work but i don’t think i would ever want to

136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed?

closed bruh gotta keep the monsters out

138. Curly or Straight hair?

oh it’s so freaking straight it doesn’t hold a curl at all

140. Summer or Winter?

winter, cause i can go skiing and sit by the fire and drink hot chocolate and cuddle up with blankets and wear jackets all the time

142. Favourite month?

big fan of december, though i like most of fall and the beginning of spring

144. Dark, milk or white chocolate?

dark or milk, white chocolate is the work of the devil

146. Was today a good day?

ehhh not great, we been out here struggling with a lot of stuff 

148. What’s your favourite quote?

i don’t know that i have a favorite but i like “be excellent to each other” from bill and ted’s excellent adventure, “anyone can cook” from ratatouille, and “the idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders” from edward abbey

150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page?

the book is my bullet journal and the first thing written on the page is monday from one of my weekly spreads, which isn’t a very exciting first line

[trihearts-bull-corner]

Prompt Challenge

So this is my writing prompt challenge. It is a very long list, and some of the quotes are very long. Every line is from my favorite author, Sherrilyn McQueen (previously known as Sherrilyn Kenyon). Quotes that inspire fluff, romance, and/or angst

[[MORE]]

You have the optimism of a child. (Julian) Peter Pan all the way. (Grace)

Life isn't finding shelter in the storm. It's about learning to dance in the rain.

But as the Roman playwright Terence once wrote, From many a bad beginning great friendships have formed

I don't suffer from my insanity -- I enjoy every minute of it.

I marvel at the fact you’ve lived to your age and no one’s taken those rose-colored glasses and shoved them up your ass.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Oh contraire, mon frère. I’m able to annoy anyone in ten syllables or less. Sometimes, I don’t even have to speak at all. I just walk into the room and it rankles them.

It's easy to look at people and make quick judgments about them, their present and their past, but you'd be amazed at the pain and tears a single smile hides. What a person shows to the world is only one tiny facet of the iceberg hidden from sight. And more often then not, it's lined with cracks and scars that go all the way to the foundation of their soul.

You’re not done with me entirely, human. I’m the mother of his daughter. (CharacterA) You’re right. You are ____'s mother, poor her. But you’re wrong about one thing. (characterB) And that is? (CharacterA) I’m no longer human. I’m the Atlantie Kedemonia Theony – the guardian of the Atlantean gods. And right now there’s only one of them walking about and to save him from one more bad memory created by you, I’d bathe in your entrails, bitch. As for ___, she’s a big girl – I know, I used to live with her. She’ll survive the death of her mother. Trust me, I have firsthand experience with the subject. (characterB)

"How can anyone be afraid of love?" (CharacterA) "When you love someone... truly love them, friend or lover, you lay your heart open to them. You give them a part of yourself that you give to no one else, and you let them inside a part of you that only they can hurt—you literally hand them the razor with a map of where to cut deepest and most painfully on your heart and soul. And when they do strike, it's crippling—like having your heart carved out. It leaves you naked and exposed, wondering what you did to make them want to hurt you so badly when all you did was love them. What is so wrong with you that no one can keep faith with you? That no one can love you? To have it happen once is bad enough... but to have it repeated? Who in their right mind would not be terrified of that?" (characterB)

Aren't you an enigma wrapped in a thick coating of contradictions.

Sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right.

Do you want my input or is this just an angry tirade you need to vent? (CharacterA) Both! (characterB) Okay, you rant and I’ll add my comments at the end. (CharacterA)

We have three kinds of family. Those we are born to, those who are born to us, and those we let into our hearts

I assure you, princess, if you saw the real me, you’d run for cover. (CharacterA) Only if I knew you’d be waiting under that cover for me. (characterB)

"Oh God, I just kissed a vampire!" "Oh Gods, I just kissed a human!"

I have a computer, a vibrator, and pizza delivery. Why should I leave the house?

Bitch please...you haven't seen mean yet.

"____! I won’t leave you here to die." (CharacterA) It’s okay, princess. I don’t mind dying for you. (characterB)

Life is a tapestry woven by the decisions we make.

If brute force doesn't work, you aren't using enough

You know the incredible thing about hearts is their unbelievable capacity for forgiveness. You’d be amazed what people will overlook when they love someone

my balls if you crawl inside a bottle and pickle yourself solid. I’ve got other things to think about now. But let me remind you of something a good friend once said to me when I was being eaten alive by feelings I didn’t understand. ‘Even when my marriage was bad, it was good.’ I had no real idea what you meant that night, but now I do and I’m grateful to the gods I can finally believe in that I took a chance on something that almost killed me. The life I have now…no, the woman I have now is worth every rotten moment of my worthless existence that led me to her door, and I would relive it all to have one kiss from her lips. You’re the one who told me that the right woman was a shelter from the storm

I wasn't born, I was unleashed.

She couldn’t very well let him join her in bed like that. Sure you could. No I can’t. Please? Hush, self, let me think.

We almost made it to thirty seconds without an insult. I think we set a new record

Get off me, you lard-ass, halitosis, flea-infested horror-movie reject! 

I thought only a wooden stake through the heart killed a vampire. (CharacterA) A wooden stake through the heart will kill just about anything. And if it doesn't, run like hell (characterB)

You’re the only thing I’ve ever done right in my entire life and if anything ever happened to you, they’d have to dig two graves ‘cause I couldn’t live a single day without my baby beside me. (parent to child)

You know, I would date, if I could find a man worth shaving my legs for. 

C'mon, Tabitha. You stabbed me the night we met without even blinking. (CharacterA) Yeah, but you were a dirtbag then. (characterB) I think I'm offended. (CharacterA)

I learned a long time ago not to judge people by what they look like, sound like, or by the clothes they wear. Just because a house is nice and shiny out front doesn’t mean it’s not rotting on the inside.

you're right ___. I am a selfish bastard. I had to be, because no one else gave a single shit about me except me

I have found my star. She is beauty and grace. Elegance and goodness. My laughter in winter. She is courageous and strong. Bold and tempting. Unlike any other in all the universe, and I cannot touch her. I dare not even try

I’m here because I know the sadness inside you. I know what it feels like to wake in the morning, lost and lonely and aching for someone to be there with me

What are you doing? (CharacterA) I'm getting into my car. (characterB) You own this?! (CharacterA) No. I'm stealing it with the key in my hand. (characterB)

So, does this make you visibly challenged? (CharacterA) No, but if you don’t lay off me, I’m going to make you breathing impaired. (characterB)

I'm the top of the food chain and well...you're the food

___ says that tragedy and adversity are the stones we sharpen our swords against ao that we can fight new battles.

Sure. My ego's had enough time to recover a modicum of dignity. Let's make sure we crush it again before I mistake myself for a god

Human will is the strongest will ever created. There are those who are born to succeed and those who are determined to succeed. The former fall into it, and the latter pursue it at all costs. They won’t be denied. Nothing daunts them.

You know when people say fine, it generally means ‘leave me the hell alone because I don’t want to talk about what’s really bothering me

Baby, I ain't trash. Trash is something you throw away. My people keep me.

We're not the damned, folks, we're the categorically fucked. 

So is there any part of you that’s not a lethal weapon? (CharacterA) No. Even my wits are sharpened. (characterB)

The worst wounds, the deadliest of them, aren't the ones people see on the outside. They're the ones that make us bleed internally

The past is dead. Tomorrow will become whatever decision you make it.

Strength through adversity. The strongest steel is forged by the fires of hell. It is pounded and struck repeatedly before it’s plunged back into the molten fire. The fire gives it power and flexibility, and the blows give it strength. Those two things make the metal pliable and able to withstand every battle it’s called upon to fight.

Love is deceitful and sublime. In its truest form, it brings out the best in all beings. At its worse, It's a tool used to manipulate and ruin any one who is stupid enough to hold it. Don't be stupid

Forgiveness is the best part of valor...Discretion is easy. It's finding the courage to forgive yourself and others that is hard

Even if I were lying on the sun itself, I would be freezing there without you

I learned the bad guys are not always bad, the good guys are not always good, and to quote Captain Barbossa, the parameters are like rules, mostly guidelines. And that it takes a little bit of bad boy to fight the evil in the world.

Laugh it up, asshole. But she who laughs last laughs longest, and I intend to belly roll tonight

I think infatuation is like a garden. If tended and cared for, it grows into love. If neglected or abused it dies. The only way to have eternal love is to never let your heart forget what it's like to live without it.

What? It's not my fault I stab all the fanged people. They shouldn't look like vampires. (CharacterA) I didn't look like a vampire, but you stabbed me. (characterB) Yeah, well, you looked like a lawyer so I had to kill you. It was a moral imperative. (CharacterA)

Where are you anyway? (CharacterA) I don't know. I hear some godawful kind of music from outside, horns blaring, and I'm in a house with a Mohawk cuckoo bird, a transvestite, and a knife-wielding lunatic. (characterB) Why are you at ____'s? (CharacterA)

You’re selfish and you’re cold, and I’m tired of getting frostbite when I touch you

He who lets fear rule him, has fear for a master

Be kind to dragons, for thou art crunchy when toasted and taste good with ketchup

If you have any care for ____ at all, don't leave him in darkness. It's not fair to show someone the sun and then to banish him from it. Even the devil may cry when he looks around hell and realizes that he's there alone

Have you ever wanted something that you knew was bad for you? Something that you ached for so much you could think of nothing else?

Gee, thanks Dad. I promise to be a good boy and play nice with the other kids.(CharacterA) Smart ass. (characterB) Better than a dumb ass.(CharacterA)

I'm too young, too smart and too good-looking to die.

You're so afraid of being hurt that you attack first. Only those who really care about you will weather the assault of your verbal attacks and stay. The rest will fall away.

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live

The most beautiful heart of all is the one that can still love even while it bleeds, and especially after its been broken into thousands of pieces.

Just how many sisters do you have? (CharacterA) Eight. (characterB) Eight? (CharacterA) What? (characterB) I'm just pitying whatever poor males lived in that house with all of you. It must have been truly frightening at least one week out of every month. (CharacterA) Was that a joke? (characterB) Merely a frightening statement of fact. (CharacterA)

There, there, baby. We'll hide her body in the trunk later.

Sorrow spares no one, and scars respect no person.

Yeah, it never fails to amaze me how a single lie can undo an entire lifetime of good

Is he a good boy? (CharacterA) No, Mom, he’s Satan incarnate. In fact, once it’s over, we’re going to get liquored up and tattooed, then find some cheap hos and have a good time with his trust fund. (characterB)

Oh no, no, no! Are you going to suck my blood? (CharacterA) Do I look like a lawyer to you? (characterB)

Hey, yummy leather guy? Can you hear me? 

Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss other people. Life's too short to worry about what other people do or don't do. Tend your own backyard, not theirs, because yours is the one you have to live in

It would have really cramped my future plans had I died. 

No power from above can make one human love another. Love comes from within the heart.

There are always three sides to every memory…yours, theirs, and the truth, which lies somewhere in between the two

You don’t knock on the devil’s door, boy, unless you want him to answer.

Take care of him, ____. And remember it takes great courage and heart for a man who knows no kindness to show it to another. Even the wildest of beasts can be tamed by a patient and gentle hand.

To infinity then. (CharacterA)  What’s that mean? (characterB) It’s something my dad used to say when I was a kid. To infinity, meaning you’d see something through to the end. (CharacterA) Infinity is never-ending. (CharacterB) That’s right, which means you keep going and going no matter what happens or what obstacles you meet. Over, under, around or through. There’s always a way. And if you have to chase something to infinity, strap on your big-boy pants, hiking boots, and go. (CharacterA)

Whoa, what is this? Battle of the Sarcastic and Pissed? Should I make popcorn? Forget American Idol, man. This is much more entertaining

Life is serious. (CharacterA)  No, life is an adventure. It's thrilling and scary. Sometimes it's even a bit boring, but it should never be serious. (characterB)

You can take my life, but you'll never break me. So bring me your worst… And I will definitely give you mine.

Just remember, anger is always your enemy. You must keep your emotions in check. The moment you lose control of them, you lose the fight every time.

It’s a responsibility that I take most seriously, so excuse me for banning you from killing them because you have reverse PMS. (CharacterA) Reverse PMS? (characterB) Yeah, unlike a normal woman, you’re cranky twenty-eight days out of the month. (CharacterA)

You are the only warmth in my heart. The only sunshine my winter has ever known

I wonder why no one called the police about the rocket launcher? God knows my neighbors usually report it if I so much as fart in my backyard.

I am a socially awkward mandork. 

What else can I do to piss you off? (CharacterA) You can leave me. (characterB) I would never do that, ____. No one can live without their heart and that’s what you are to me. (CharacterA)

What planet are you from? Obviously Planet Insanity was missing a local, long-term resident.'

Actions that sometimes seem mean aren’t. Rather they are done by the ones we love in order to protect us without our knowing it.

Knock, knock. (CharacterA) Now, ain't this a bitch. Here I am, trying to kiss my girl, and you have to interrupt us. What, were you raised in a barn? By the way, touch the woman, or the Lamborghini, and you're a dead man. (characterB)

The wealth of a soul is measured by how much it can feel... its poverty by how little

You’re human. No one cares if you sleep with a whore. (CharacterA) (characterB did something she’d never in her life done before. She slapped another person.) You ever insult ____ again and so help me, I’ll do to you what you allowed your brother to do to him. I’ll cut your tongue out for it. ____ is the man I love and no one, ever, takes issue with him without having issues with me. (characterB)

Your destiny is shaped by choice, never by chance. Beware the decisions you make, no matter how small, for they will be your salvation...or your death.

Wake up, ____. Your psychotic criminal is playing with knives.

I accept you as you are, and I will always hold you close in my heart. I will walk beside you forever

Words are easy to say, but emotions betray the best intentions.

Because I have no boobs. My ears stand out, and I have freckles all over me. (CharacterA) Boobs? (characterB) Breasts. (CharacterA) You have very nice breasts. (CharacterB) Thanks. What about you? (CharacterA) I have no breasts. (characterB)

I love you, I love you, I love you! And if you ever die on me again, I'll kill you so dead!

I'm old enough to make you look like an embryo. 

How did you get me here? (CharacterA)I have my evil Jedi ways. The Force is strong with this one. (characterB)

Have you ever noticed that salvation, much like your car keys, is usually found where and when you least expect it?

The man may not be dead, but he was certainly stiff. And this had nothing to do with rigor mortis

He was like some wild, untamed creature that you could keep and feed for a time, but in the end you knew you'd have to let it go for its own sake as well as yours

I will fear no evil for I am the baddest bitch in the land

Ironically no one ever wants to hear what I have to say about anything. They usually argue with me to the point I want to put them through a wall. Hopefully you won’t be so dense

So you're the infamous ____. (CharacterA) Lord and Master of the great barbarian horde that roams the night. (characterB)

No one should have to pay for love in flesh or blood. 

Should I ask about the handcuffs? (CharacterA) Not unless you want to live...otherwise if anyone asks, tell them I died of a heart attack during a wild sexcapade with her. (characterB)

A flower can't grow without rain. (CharacterA) Too much rain and it drowns. (characterB) And yet the most beautiful of the lotus flowers are the ones that grow in the deepest mud. (CharacterA)

I’ve spent my entire life listening to people tell me why I can’t be loved and how I’m nothing but a worthless piece of shit. I always told myself that I didn’t care, that I didn’t need anyone else. It was a lie, you know. I do care and I want ____. If it costs me my life to be with her, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already lived past my prime, anyway. I get up every morning with more pain in my joints than the day before. If I have to die, I’d rather die knowing someone cared about me, just once. Is that really too much to ask? (CharacterA) For us? Yes. It is. We are the gutter and the gutter is all we’ll ever be. Don’t reach out for the stars. They’ll burn you until there’s nothing left. (characterB) Then let me burn. (CharacterA)

Should I warm the oven and bake you a batch of hero cookies? 

I don’t even know what to say to you. (CharacterA) Me, either. I guess we’ll just stand here and cry at each other, huh? (characterB)

Everyone cries sometimes, ____. There are some pains that run too deep for even the strongest to take without breaking. I don’t think any less of you for it.

Please nothing, she’s a vicious piranha. She looks all cute and cuddly, then she opens that mouth and lets loose so much venom she could double as a nest of scorpions

Don't worry, ___. I'm an acquired taste. Most of my best friends had to know me for years before they could even stand my presence. I'm like mold, I usually grow on you very slowly

You know, I've walked this earth for over eleven thousand years, my lady. I have seen things in my life that are unimaginable to you, and you ask me if I doubt you? Lady, I doubt the very air you breathe

(CharacterA) "You are naked."......"You are so naked" (characterB) - "I know" (CharacterA) "You are naked!" (characterB)  "We've established that." (CharacterA) "You're happy and naked." (characterB)"What?

Please don’t let it be another cop. I’m outta bail money. Wait a minute…I could sell you on eBay and make a killing. (CharacterA) Not in my current condition. You’d have to sell ___ or ____. I’m sure there’s someone willing to buy two perfectly good white boys. (characterB)

Hey!" (CharacterA) snapped as he realized (CharacterB) was about to lock him on the outside with their attackers. He pushed the door open and glared at him. "No man left behind." (characterB) scoffed. "This aint' the army, boy. It's every man for himself. Fall behind. Get eaten!"

I marvel at the fact you’ve lived to your age and no one’s taken those rose-colored glasses and shoved them up your ass.

Because I don’t feel broken when you look at me. (CharacterA) How could you feel broken? (characterB) I was shattered as a child and thrown away, like a piece of trash no on wanted. But you don’t treat me like that. You see in me the human bit and you touch that part of me. You make me feel whole and wanted. (CharacterA)

Fate is a bitch with a wicked since of humor and today I'm her punchline

If you're going to hell buddy, I'm driving the bus

I'd rather be judged by twelve than carried by six

If I am to be judged it will be for who I am. Not for who I'm trying to become

I will count the heartbeats until I see you again

It's official take a psycho to work day. Why else would I be here?

The bitterest pain of all is when you can only hold someone in your heart who you used to hold in your arms

Pain baptizes us all without prejudice or mercy

Whatever doesn't kill me better run like hell

True love will always find it's way through paths where even feral lorinas fear to prey

So goes my incentive to fight fairly. You want fair, play with kids. You wanna come at me, make out a will.

People who don't know me, think I'm quiet. People who do, wish I was.

Shall I show you to the door... Or would you rather go out through the wall?

Before you rattle my cage, you'd best make sure I'm padlocked in it

There are two ways out of this room. The window behind you and the door behind me..... You might survive the window.

Everyday do one thing that scares you. Or one thing that scares other people

The truth spills as quickly from furious lips as a lie. The trick is to learn which is meant to wound and which is meant to enlighten.

We all have out burdens... Just some of us have the ones that strike to kill us vindictively

If you want to see exactly how angry someone can get, tell them to calm down when they're already pissed off!

Don't be afraid to love. Yes its a weakness, but it's a source of greatest strength you'll ever know.

Because you are taking the most important parts of me with you, ___..... My heart and my soul. You are not just my wife. You are what sustains me.

Talk is cheap. Pain is free and I'm peddling the shit out of it. So you come and get some.

Why be difficult when with a little bit of effort you can be impossible

The lies we tell ourselves to survive seldom bring peace to our hearts

Destruction is good for my soul, but it sucks to be you

Family isn't perfect, just perfectly ours

[wonderlustlucas]

joie de vivre - kim yugyeom

⇢ prompt “What an odd individual. What an odd joy.” ⇢ pairing yugyeom x female reader ⇢ word count 10.7k ⇢ genre fluff & comedy ⇢ warnings swearing & a gross amount of fluff ⇢ summary (i couldn’t come up w a summary but camille did so here u go heheh) In this sweet and relatable story of hopeful romance and inner girl power, you find yourself meeting and getting to know the effervescent boys of GOT7. With exotic food orders and the unmistakable heart-fluttering that defines young love, Joie de Vivre delivers a humorous and cleverly fun take on the awesomeness of your favorite K-pop stars.—beach!au ⇢ a/n wow i can’t believe i’m finally posting this. since july i have deserted & gone back to this damn chapter so many times & i’m just so happy i can finally post it. nevertheless, considering it’s almost christmas & i have zero summer vibes left, this is probably going to be on hold for a looong time since i have so many autumn & winter inspired works i wanna write, so i apologize for the tease. i’d also like to give a big shoutout to my friend camille who edited this for me (along with helping me in various other ways) since i didn’t have time:) & last but not least, i wanted to have this up for yugyeom’s birthday but couldn’t make time, so happy belated birthday to my love, i hope your year is full of all the happiness in the world❥

i ii iii iv v vi vii

moodboard

Contrary to all the whining and complaining that ensues at the start of each grueling summer year, it truly is the beginning of the most thrilling months.

A time when, despite the startlingly tremendous surge of obnoxious, vape-induced teenagers hoarding the boardwalk like flies drawn to an outdoor barbeque, and the influx of ignorant young children flopping through the ocean waves like they are training to become fish, there is always a milieu of genuine elation hanging in the air.

This constant joy—whether it is emanating from the relaxation that oozes from unwinding vacationers flooding the beach and boardwalk, continuous hours wasted away doing nothing and days melting into one another, or simply the enkindling of town—makes up for all the downsides that arise with the start of summer.

Over years of enduring this unnamed cycle of life, you have come to appreciate that there are four types of joy; the expected, the unexpected, the habitual, and the unknown.

The expected—a joy with which you are familiar and the elation it will give you.

The unexpected���aware of the plan, but not expecting the joy that will result from it.

The habitual—occurring so frequently that, while still appealing, is more of a routine rather than a new and exciting experience.

And the unknown—any choice resulting in a different ending, a different joy.

However, despite recognizing these, the unknown sort of joy is the most enigmatic because, named for this specific reason, you never know when it is happening or when it will be.

Even so, one such occurrence is most certainly not a habitual joy. Rather, a royal pain in your ass: when Kim Jinae, in an effort that you could never grasp entirely, decides to wake not only herself but also the two of you up at a time that you should most definitely still be dead asleep nearly every day during your months off.

“You know,” you huff, deeply inhaling the morning ocean hair to fill your lungs. Your body is sagging in sheer exhaustion as you follow her peppy steps—how is she still so fired up?—a few feet behind, sneakers skidding lazily against the worn wood of the boardwalk. "I really miss when your shift was in the morning, and we worked out at night. I hope you know I hate you for guilt-tripping me into this."

Jinae scoffs, coming to a stop and whipping around. “I’m sorry, but who wants to spend the whole damn day down at the beach? And who guilt-tripped who into switching shifts?”

You huff heavily, accepting defeat because she's right, but you would never tell her. You look away to peek at the waves approaching the shore nearly a football field away that reflect apricots and azaleas on the horizon from the remaining sunrise. Your irritated thoughts are replaced with the wonder of today’s plan. “Speaking of, what are we doing today?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugs. You make a mental note to never ask her anything again because—Lord knows—Jinae is zero help. “I assumed we were just doing the usual.”

You sigh, following her silently down the wooden steps from the boardwalk, the ocean now faintly hushed behind you. You wipe away a bead of sweat dripping down from your hairline. “Can you make breakfast before I have to leave?”

Jinae mutters something under her breath, then twists around to face you. “You’re a real brat, you know?”

You beam. “Learned it from the best.”

Your first joy, practically your best friend since you could walk, quite possibly your soulmate—Kim Jinae.

While some days do in fact seem to drag on endlessly, working only four hours a day and four days a week during the summer months is a bargain worth paying for and an opportunity sent by the heavens. It pays what your parents don’t, you tell yourself when service is slow and customers bark at you as if you’re the one doing the cooking. A little extra in the cookie jar, you whisper under your breath after covering eight tables at once, shifting uncomfortably in your uniform as perspiration dribbles down your spine while darting from the sweltering kitchen to each consecutive table.

However, most days seemingly fly by. After all, eight to twelve are prime breakfast hours, and so the quaint diner is not half as cruel as some prior jobs. Not to mention, it is right on the boardwalk, which makes meeting up with Jinae for the rest of the day well spent at the beach even simpler.

Upon setting down the check for your last table and offering a polite farewell, you scan the room curiously until, after a few seconds of concern, your gaze lands on a certain busboy setting down silverware on a recently cleaned booth. "Hey Markipooh," you coo, greeting the unacceptably gorgeous brunette and sliding across the tiled marble floor to stand beside him and to help finish laying out paper placemats.

Mark Tuan—the Devil in Disguise. During your first few days at the new job, you were quietly aware of the only other employee that took advantage of the locker room, initially an exceptionally attractive blonde who had not even graced you with a glance since you started.

That was, until hardly a week later, you found yourself packing up for the day when he entered to do the same.

“Woah, you’re a brunette now.” It slipped out before your brain could truly even process the sentence, gears positively malfunctioning in your head because God, he’s hot but God, you’re an idiot. He blinked, running a hand through his darkened locks and eyeing you curiously for an agonizingly long heartbeat before he straightforwardly said, “It’s pink, actually.”

Oh, so he’s sarcastic. “Hilarious,” you retorted, watching curiously as he made way for his own locker. “I’m glad to see that you do in fact talk, though.”

He laughed lightly, a percussion that made your heart soar. He disregarded a chiming notification from his phone to stare intensely back at your inquiring gaze, saying, “Is that what keeps you up at night? Whether or not your incredibly hot co-worker is mute?”

You wrinkled your nose. “Don’t flatter yourself, you're not that special.”

And so, it came to be that the busboy was not who he seemed to be. Like two puzzle pieces that fit together seamlessly, you clicked with Mark so quickly that even Jinae seemed to impatiently grow jealous. Tirelessly cunning, Mark is a perfect force against your own quick-wittedness. However, he is a precious munchkin of a boy when he wants to be. The fact that he has not only been to but has lived in so many places in the span of twenty-four years, plus his expansive knowledge of more languages than you could ever possibly grasp, has heartily drawn you in until, you have realized your second joy—Mark Tuan.

And here you are, hardly two months later.

Instead of replying verbally, Mark only glares at you coldly before, finally, "You're going to use that against me for the rest of my life, aren't you?"

You grin mischievously at the mathematics major—well, the mathematics major working on his Master’s, as he likes to remind you at every chance that presents itself—and follow him once he makes way to the otherwise empty locker room.

“Probably,” you chuckle while slipping the suffocatingly hot sneakers off your feet. You check the door behind you once more before peeling your top and bra off and replacing them with the navy-blue bathing suit top shoved haphazardly into your locker. You add, “It’s really funny seeing you get annoyed.”

“It’s really funny seeing you get annoyed,” Mark mimics under his breath, voice uncharacteristically high to impersonate your own, as you slip a plain tee-shirt from high school over your head. “I had to become friends with the spawn of Satan, of all people.”

You laugh, shimmying out of your pants and underwear and swiftly pulling up the matching bathing suit bottoms. “You know I love you.”

“Nuh-uh,” Mark grumbles from somewhere behind you. You are too preoccupied with trying to fold your clothes as nicely as possible into your bag. He continues, “Don’t pull that shit on me. Just ‘cos you’re a senior now doesn’t mean I’m gonna deal with your crap.”

“Just because you’re a senior now,” you mimic as he had, only he interrupts your shenanigans with a hard punch to your arm as the two of you head outside. “Anyway,” he sighs, ignoring your scowl and pausing to inhale the briny aroma that never seems to leave the thick ocean air, “I don’t know what your plans are, but some of my friends are working at a joint that opened recently, and I was hoping you’d come?”

“Is this just another sneaky plan to hang out with Jinae?” You chuckle, digging into his side with your elbow. He gasps, “Hey! Maybe I’m just being a nice friend.”

“Oh, yeah, a friend,” you snort. At the genuine pout that clouds his expression, however, you stop and hook your arm through his. “Don’t worry, I promised I would be your wingwoman, didn’t I?”

Mark sighs, shrugging. Then he says, “Why couldn’t I have fallen for you instead?”

With a noise of amusement and disbelief that sounds like something between a snicker and a choke, you rest your head against his bicep momentarily before glancing up at him. “You’re too hot for me.”

“Sure, and pigs fly. I’m actually kind of worried that my friends are going to pounce on you.”

You scoff. “Yeah, okay. Speaking of, who are these friends of yours?”

“Oh!” Mark exclaims, visibly brightening, his white teeth dazzling as he smiles. “So there’s six of ‘em. We all ended up meeting each other at the studio for the first dance class.”

“Pause,” you interject, surprised. “They all go to the same school as us?”

He nods eagerly. “They’re all getting their Master’s, too. Youngjae just graduated with Jinae, and I think BamBam is in your class. Yugyeom is a grade below, I believe.”

Your jaw nearly hits the floor. “BamBam? Like, the—”

“The really cute, bubbly loudmouth?”

“Yeah! You’re friends with BamBam?” You gape. What a small world, you think. When you glance up you happen to notice Jinae waving like a madwoman several feet ahead. You wave back, however, Mark’s snort interrupts you. “What?” He says. “Am I not cool enough to be friends with him?”

You giggle. Though it is tempting to agree, you do not feel like delving into a full roasting session. You instead opt for, “No, shut up and stop being insecure. I was just surprised. I never spoke with him, but we had calculus together.”

Mark only hums in agreement. You assume that by reaching Jinae he has suddenly clammed up. You clear your throat. “Jinae! Mark has plans for us!”

Whether Mark notices it or not, you certainly catch the way Jinae’s face brightens, her enchanting brown eyes scrunching in delight. They’re so into one another, you think, just as she gushes, “No way! Let’s go, then! Where at?”

Your gut truly twists as a result of the saccharine sweetness between the two, an indisputable and perpetual attracting force that all people but the pair can recognize. In an instant, you clear your throat after a disgustingly long amount of time passes of them just staring at each other before you end up with a cavity. “C’mon, then. I’m not going to wait all day.”

Mark jolts, turning to you as the apples of his cheeks bloom pink. He scratches the back of his neck. “Yeah—Yeah, let’s go.”

You cannot help the satisfied smirk that comes with him rushing ahead and Jinae positively melting into a pile of mush. You snort, patting her flushed cheeks and following Mark’s speedy path ahead of Jinae’s delayed trailing.

Like most shops and grills lining the boardwalk, JJ’s—as you learned several minutes later once the two bounced back after whatever happened moments ago—is just the same.

With an entirely open entrance, aside from two small table-and-chair sets halfway on the boardwalk and halfway under the ceiling and walls painted butterscotch orange, the grill is squeezed between an unnecessarily expensive jewelry store and a bustling candy shop. The mouthwatering aroma of bulgogi and honey soy filling your senses is a grand contrast to the briny odor from outside. It’s so small you wonder if customers even order to stay, yet it is not cramped in any way—within a space of ten feet, give or take, there is shelving on each set of parallel walls, wide enough to dine at, with two metal chairs tucked in front, a black refrigerator stocked with cold drinks, the counter, which is checkered marble and decorated with a change jar and a vase of snapdragons, is to the right of a sliding barn door painted with doodles of the beach and a lighthouse.

Beyond the counter is a small kitchen with deep fryers to the left and three large aluminum dishes full of fried chicken resting on an island in the middle of the room. The archway that leads to an unknown area occupying the rest of the space is blocked by a plain maroon curtain; with one last scan of the quaint space and another deep inhale, you conclude that, even before tasting anything, this may be your new favorite place to eat.

Your captivated daze is cut short by the voice working behind the counter.

“Mark-hyung!” None other than BamBam calls from his perch on a stool, silver hair pushed up and over his forehead in a messy comma-shaped style. Mark scoffs, “Stop calling me hyung in front of my friends. It makes me feel old.”

“Is that Mark?” Shouts a disembodied voice as BamBam hops from his seat and slides open the drawn-on door. You glance to Jinae, whose baffled expression most certainly mirrors your own, just as said voice bolts over to greet your eldest friend.

“Mark!” Roars an unreasonably attractive brunette, shoving BamBam to the side so roughly that you lean back a bit just to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.

“Jesus, you guys are so fake. Stop putting on a show. My friends are normal,” huffs Mark, sending the loud newcomer a condescending glare. Just as you begin to think you have gone invisible, he twists to you with a beaming boyish grin that reaches his eyes. “Jackson, BamBam, this is ___,” he says, introducing you and resting his palm on the small of your back. “and Jinae,” he adds.

“Hello!” Shouts another figure who you had not spotted working behind the counter. Like BamBam and this Jackson, he too is classically handsome, and you practically feel your stomach twist into knots at the sudden intensity of it all, not one but four strikingly gorgeous young men—where have they been your whole life?—in one room that is most definitely tinier now, and you cannot breathe, and there’s still three more you have yet to meet?

“Hey.” BamBam’s chirpy voice—having not heard it since sophomore year, you reckon that it matches the sweetness of his facial features—interrupts your short-lived tizzy of emotions. “weren’t you in my calculus class?”

“Yeah, that would be me,” you nod, smiling in response to his own heartwarming grin. “I didn’t know you lived around here.”

“Youngjae?” Jinae’s gasp cuts into BamBam’s potential answer. Evident surprise is laced in her tone as the aforementioned employee rounds the counter. Your gaze flicks back and forth from her and Mark to his three friends, not knowing where to focus. You decide on Jackson—Hell, he’s nice to look at—and find yourself thanking the heavens that fate has made it so Mark entered your life and has ultimately led you to a much too small grill, containing way too many blessed genes all at once.

“You look lost,” says the brunette god himself, catching on to your hazy staring and shuffling to stand beside you, “not that I blame you.” You laugh lightly, dragging your gaze from the distracting way his dark hair falls over his forehead to Jinae and Youngjae bubbling away, something about not having seen one another since graduation, and how they both will be working on their Master’s. Finally you look to Mark, who stands beside BamBam with an expression of delight gracing his features, watching two separate groups of friends intermingle.

“Yeah, this is a bit much,” you admit at last, refocusing on him once the cogs inside your brain begin working again. “I like it, though.”

Jackson grins widely and you positively swoon. He laughs. “Sorry to break it to you, but if you’ve survived three years avoiding Bam, your life is probably going to go downhill from here.”

“Hey!” The plump-lipped model—oh, he could definitely be a model parading down the runway with that face—cuts in, his brows drawn together in mock irritation. You choke, making a noise of surprise when he continues, pulling you into a tight side hug. “This is the beginning of the best chapters of their lives.”

“Keep dreaming, bud,” Mark snorts, slapping his shoulder. You watch from under his chin as BamBam frowns, shooting your friend a glare that could most definitely kill if it weren’t for the dazzling grin that follows.

“Where’s everyone else?” Mark questions as BamBam unwinds his arms from around you—why do they have to be hot and nice?

“Dad and Dad are trying to fix the sink and Yugyeom is...” Jackson says. Rubbing at his bottom lip, he trails off, looking to Youngjae and BamBam. “Where is Yugyeom?”

“I think he went to get chocolate milk,” Youngjae chuckles, dark hair falling over his eye as he does so. “You know how he is.” You look to Jackson, whispering, “Who’s Dad and Dad?”

“Jaebum and Jinyoung. They own this place, plus we’re all pretty certain that they’re an item, so we call them that. They’re in the back,” he explains, nodding to the archway. At this, you hear the muffled noises bustling from behind the curtain that you had not noticed beforehand.

“And Yugyeom?”

“Oh,” Jackson smirks again—trouble—and makes his way back to the counter, “He’s the big ol’ goof. You’ll like him.”

“You guys have bubble tea, right?” Mark changes the subject as Youngjae and BamBam follow Jackson. With them not clustered around you any longer, you take another moment to glance all around, pausing your meandering to glance over the options on the menu. Fried chicken, tacos, rice bowls, kimchi fried riceballs... kimchi cheese fries? You jab your elbow into Jinae's side, nodding to the overhanging menu, "Kimchi cheese fries, dude."

"That's definitely not part of my diet."

"Oh, fuck the diet," you hiss, earning a sharp glare, but you roll your eyes nevertheless.

"No, the bubble tea menu is just there for fun," Jackson snorts, finally responding to Mark’s question and grinning like a madman. Youngjae is howling, smiling so bright you fear his whole jaw may break. "Hilarious," Mark grumbles, turning to you for backup. When he finds you mirroring Jackson's expression, though, he frowns. "This was a mistake."

"Oh, lighten up," you coo, ruffling his parted hair, but he smacks your hand away with a huff. You roll your eyes and look to BamBam, who stands ready for your order. You say, "I'll have a large black milk with tapioca and, uh, hm—a chicken rice bowl."

"Sure," he hums, tapping the screen. "That's gonna be fifteen ninety-one.”

"Make it ten," Jackson butts in, grinning like he just won the lottery. Oh, you're burning up now. You smile to the floor but hide it as you fish for money in your pocket. "Thanks," you manage to croak out, passing the cash to BamBam. After he’s finished, he smacks Jackson on the shoulder, muttering something about his discounts for hot girls putting them out of business, which causes the elder to howl in faux pain while shuffling to the archway to yell back your order. You watch the entire episode with an amused smile that can’t seem to leave your face. You shake your head and at last move to sit on one of the barstools while Jinae orders.

“Should I pay for hers?” Mark whispers, leaning onto the ledge with an expression of apprehension etched onto his face. He chews on his lip. “Yeah, that’s sweet,” you grin, and with an encouraging squish of his cheeks, you push him forward.

You watch, utterly zoned in and praying to every god out there that he does not turn into an awkward pile of mush. The grin can’t seem to leave your face when he steps up beside her and—

“Oh my God, he’s become a man,” says a voice from beside you suddenly. You nearly jump out of your skin, jerking in your seat. “Holy fucking shit!” You wheeze, clapping a hand over your heart but, alas, this does not comfort the additional torment your essential organ faces once you look up to said tormentor.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” the boy-man-squish giggles—he giggles—with pinkpinkpink, heart-shaped lips pulling back to reveal quite possibly the cutest and most endearing smile you have ever seen.

And, just like that, you sit there, dumbfounded, positively enamored by this—this attacker, with every last working brain cell stuttering to a halt to admire him. “Oh,” you laugh—or was that another wheeze?—with a cough, then you clear your throat, squinting in some sort of weak attempt to make eye contact instead of gawking at his windblown, light golden brown hair that, conveniently, falls right into his eyes. However, as soon as you focus on the darkness of his irises, you realize you are totally, unquestionably screwed, lost in the depths of his nearly black eyes—obsidian is a better word—and even though there is nothing astoundingly exceptional or different about him, you simply cannot help feeling absolutely overwhelmed within a matter of seconds.

“That’s okay,” you finally force out. “I just didn’t see you come in.”

He smiles softer this time, and while your heart still jumps at the expression, you force yourself to look back to Mark and Jinae before a heart attack ensues. You come to find you missed whatever proceeded Mark’s initiative. However, judging by the threatening smiles and rosy cheeks, you assume it had to have gone well, and so your interest that's burning like a wildfire to peek at the boy that remains beside you proves to be preeminent.

Upon twisting back around, you take notice to the plastic twenty-two-ounce convenience store cup, full of what looks like chocolate milk, gripped lazily in his hand, an outrageous juxtaposition to his height and strong features. Condensation drips from the bottom and onto the tiled floor. You ask, hardly without thinking, “Are you Yugyeom?”

“That’s me,” Yugyeom hums, eyes scrunching into precious crescents as he smiles. “How’d you know?”

“They were talking about where you were earlier,” you say, waving your hand to the others. “Mentioned chocolate milk, so I assumed that was you.”

“Of course. That seems to be my only known trait,” snorts Yugyeom, sending his friends a condescending glare despite them being deep in their own conversations. You snort out a laugh, covering your mouth with your hand when his eyes fly back to soak in your reaction. You compose yourself, then say, “That’s not true. Jackson called you a goof.”

“Wow,” he sighs, frowning, and you watch with a grin etched onto your face as he slaps a hand over his chest. “What did Jinyoung say? Do I have to kill him?”

Snorting quieter this time, you shake your head. “I haven’t met him, so he didn’t say anything. Homicide is not necessary today, bud.”

Yugyeom beams—fuck, it is so unfair to be this good-looking—lifting his cup up to take a long sip. “Hold up,” he pauses, chewing on the straw, “are you ___?” Upon hearing your name fall from his lips, you sit up straighter in your seat as if being on a name-basis suddenly changes things. “Yeah. How’d you know?”

“Mark has a habit of talking about you and Jinae when he’s with us, seeing that you’re his only other friends,” Yugyeom says proudly, diverting his gaze to the aforementioned boy who is settled beside Jinae at the other seats. He takes another sip of his drink. “Well, it’s mostly about your friend, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget how many days he went on about there being a girl in the locker room.”

Your mouth falls open. “No way!”

“Totally serious. He was annoyed about not having the room for himself for a while, but he always whined about you being pretty, and then one day he started complaining about how sarcastic you are and how he can never win with you, so I guess his little crush ended. And then he met Jinae,” Yugyeom explains, grinning mischievously. “And we all know how it is now.”

“I’m—wow,” you whisper, flabbergasted, mostly from the clarification but also, deep down, hearing the unfairly tall boy use the adjective pretty while talking about you. “I’m glad they met, then. He’s too stinky and old for me.”

“Wait, aren’t—”

BamBam’s sudden calling of your name interrupts whatever the blonde was about to ask. You nearly stumble out of the barstool but relax upon realizing he has only placed your order on the counter, ready for you to grab. “I got it,” pipes Yugyeom from beside you and, heart hammering in your chest, you watch with starry eyes as he places his cup beside you before skipping over and taking your tea and a disposable paper bowl from the counter.

“Thanks,” you smile appreciatively as he places the order in front of you. You twist to sit correctly in your seat. Instead of staring at the wall, you watch curiously as the iced chocolate boy shimmies onto the chair next to you. You clear your throat. “You were saying?”

“Hm?—Oh! Yeah, aren’t you in the class above mine?”

You nod, tearing open the chopstick packet and diving right into the dangmyeon and honey soy chicken. “That’s what Mark told me.” You pause, stuffing food into your mouth. “Although, if I were to judge you by your height,” you chew, letting out a mesmerized sigh at the unacceptably delicious flavors,  “I would have thought you were older.”

Yugyeom, smiling charmingly once more, breaks into laughter. “Would you want to try that again without your mouth full?”

You gape, kicking his shin before silently realizing you’re not close enough with him to do that. Grumbling, you say, “What else am I supposed to do when you’re trying to talk to me when I’m eating?”

“Sorry, sorry, I’ll leave you be,” he chuckles to himself, taking a slow sip of his milk, and you look back to your meal, digging down to the rice and prodding tacky clumps into your mouth. Your neck suddenly begins to prickle at the notion that you’re being watched. With another mouthful, you slurp up a dangling noodle before building up the courage to look at the blonde only to find him already watching you intently, a lazy smile softening his features.

“You know,” you say as he raises a brow. You take a sip of your tea for effect, nearly choking on an unexpected tapioca ball. You continue, “A stranger watching you eat is rather uncomfortable, especially when it comes to noodles.”

“What else is there to do? Talk to Mark and his girlfriend?” Yugyeom retorts playfully, nodding to the pair, and you smack yourself when the idea of pushing away a stray strand of hair that falls into his left eye arises. Instead, you follow his gaze to Jinae and Mark cheerfully talking away.

“Point taken. Don’t you work here, or something?”

“I get out at one,” he confirms, chuckling when you oh-so-gracefully miss your mouth. Rice lands on your bare thigh. His gaze trails the grains and, upon realizing your lack of clothing, his cheeks flush cherry red, and you fight back a laugh. Deciding to save him from his internal, middle school boy panic, you continue, checking the time on your phone, “It’s one now. Yet when I got here, you weren’t working.”

“I had to get my iced choco.”

“But… don’t you need to work?”

“Eh,” he twists to look at the three behind the counter. “They don’t need me.”

“I don’t think that’s how jobs work, but okay,” you laugh, picking up the dumpling—Jesus, why is everything so good?—and, panicking over the fact that the conversation is ending, you opt to continue, devouring your meal in silence.

Barely two swallows later, a hand slaps against your shoulder and you drop yet another mound of rice as you lurch in surprise.

“Do you like swimming? In the ocean?”

Jackson, looking way more handsome than your average employee should—you’d love to meet the parents of everyone in this room—grins mischievously down at you, dropping his hand.

“Of course. My parents practically threw me into the sea the day I was born,” you joke, slapping yourself on the back when he rears his head to let out a roaring, high-pitched laugh. “Why?”

“On days when we get out at the same time, we always head down and stay until, like, seven. Do you guys want to come with us?”

“Oh.” Nearly choking on the lack of a response, you twist to look at Yugyeom, who watches with the same gentle smile that has not left his face. You cough, turning back around. “Definitely! That’ll be fun. Who is us, though?”

“Me, Jackson, Youngjae, and Bam,” Yugyeom interjects. Once more you turn and offer him a thankful smile before glancing back to Jackson, then past him to Mark and Jinae still chattering away over their meals like two doves sharing a bird bath. You sigh, half out of the dejection that comes with achieving the role of a third wheel but partially over the greedy realization that this means you may have these new friends to yourself. You clear your throat, glancing back between Yugyeom and Jackson before you say, “Are you the type of guys who like to yell ‘shark’ when we’re swimming?”

Jackson smirks. “Shit, are you not into that?”

Within the span of the time it takes for the foursome to change behind a dumpster outside of the grill and join you on your walk down through the sand, you have come to learn four things.

One—these five boys together are louder than any colony of seagulls fighting over a half-bite of a sandwich (if you have ever been the victim of that scene).

Two—Youngjae and Mark are co-parents to a fur child.

“You’re a dad?” You initially hissed, nearly dropping all the belongings you carried. “Coco is a dog,” Mark sighed, clearly exasperated by your conclusion-jumping. You rolled your eyes. “You never told me you had a dog.”

Three—Mark’s friends have a very in-depth plan to give him and Jinae their final push.

“You have to stay as distant from them as possible. We’re going to be your new best friends,” Jackson whispered once you fell in step beside him. “How do you plan on getting them together?” You whispered back, laughter lacing your tone at the idea of scheming on their future relationship. Jackson paused, blinking. He looked to Yugyeom on your side, who casually shrugged.

“We’ll have to leave during random times so they’re left alone together,” BamBam piped up from beside Jackson, nodding to the aforementioned pair walking ahead.

And four—when you are not used to it, insecurity has the claws of a vulture and the weight of an anchor.

And yet, insecurity may be the wrong word. Whatever it is, it sparks a small fire in your tummy, and butterflies are gradually coming to life at your obvious delay, barely there until you proceed to remove your tee. At this, you are startlingly aware of the quick glances thrown your way, and this is when it grows. Or, were there even glances? Had you imagined it? Yeah, that’s what happened, you tell yourself, laying your blanket onto the lumpy sand with unexpected accuracy that only comes with years of doing so. No, they’re staring, definitely staring. An internal panic—an unknown panic—now a forest fire, heart thumping against a glass ribcage. No, nobody is even looking.

You cast an inspecting glance over your newfound group, all mindlessly busy with their own belongings, until—there it is!—there's a fleeting peek from choco boy. You gulp, catching the way the right side of his mouth quirks up. Once you catch his agonizingly long stare, you look away, focusing on flattening the edges of the blanket until you realize, fuck, your boobs, practically spilling out like the Niagara Falls broadcasted on television for all to see with this position. Scrambling to stand upright—fuck the blanket—you skip on the sunscreen orgy and hurry towards the white blanket of froth that forms as the tide gradually approaches the shore, sighing in relief as your toes come into contact with the nippiness of the waves.

So. That’s what it was. Who it was. Shivering against the waves, you trudge on, dodging a wailing child who stomps madly toward his mother. You sigh blissfully as the burning temperature of your skin—whether it be from your fizzing nerves or from the sun beating down relentlessly—drastically cools once you duck through a wave.

In the past you were able to brush off passing thoughts of those around you, those watching you and possibly judging you, by starting up a conversation with Jinae, and even when Mark began joining you, he was so enamored by her that you knew you had nothing to worry about.

However, this is the first time in years you are at the beach with a group predominantly male.

Pushing back your now saturated hair and kicking your legs to stay afloat, you spin to look for your crowd, squinting at the shore that fades into liquid gold, vivid in the brilliant light, and search through the masses of gaudily colored umbrellas and chairs until you catch sight of your blanket and what looks like Mark practicing a backflip in the sand. Mark, Jinae, Youngjae, BamBam… fuck. Recounting, with your fingers this time, and still coming up with a measly four, you shudder into a silent panic all over again, rifling through the clustered vacationers for two certain boys. However, once you do in fact locate the duo resurfacing after diving with aesthetic synchronization under a wave, it seems to only benefit in their search for you, seeing as the older of the two beams like a star and quickens his pace.

“Thought we lost you there for a second,” Jackson greets. At this, you conclude that you may never get over his smile, and you force yourself to turn to the horizon in order to gather your thoughts. “Well,” you grin, looking between him and Yugyeom, both tanned honey gold from daily exposure to the sun, “You found me.”

“What happened back there? You looked like you saw a ghost,” Yugyeom continues, staring up at him. You wonder whether or not the glint in his eyes is innocent but brush it off as simple, playful banter. “I don’t know,” you lie, shrugging. “I think I just got really hot.”

Jackson hums, oblivious to the unexpected tension that has you longing to swim off to another nation and never return. “Do you think it’ll work?”

Yugyeom shrugs, finally breaking eye contact in order to look to his hyung. “Yeah, I mean, at least in the beginning. Don’tcha think they’ll catch on eventually, though?”

In the midst of focusing on jumping up with the current of the waves, you process their words, realizing you really do not even know what they are talking about. “Does this have to do with Mark and Jinae?”

“Mhm,” Jackson starts. “While we’re here, Bam and Youngjae are conveniently going to take a nap.”

“Oh, smart. You guys are really serious about setting them up, aren’t you?”

“At this rate, they aren’t going to do it themselves,” Jackson chuckles, running a hand through his darkened locks, pushing wet strands back. Your gaze absently follows the action. Barely a heartbeat later, salt water is splashed at your face, stinging at your eyes, but you are quick to squeeze them closed. Upon opening them again, you come to find Jackson, eyes wide and honest, and Yugyeom, biting down on rosy lips to hide his laughter.

“Did you just—” splash.

He does it again!

“Oh, you ass!” You yelp, lunging forward and reaching out for the younger boy’s shoulders. No matter how new of a friend he is, this is war. You fight against the strong tug of the ocean at your body. Cackling like a hyena, Yugyeom dodges your weak attempt of a punch, smacking away your insistent hands and shit, you can’t touch the floor anymore. In a split-second decision, you dive beneath the surface and peel open your eyes as much as you can despite the salty sting prompting you to close them. You swim toward your assailant, wrapping your hands around his leg, just above the knee. When you dig your nails lightly into his skin, you nearly choke on a mouthful of water at just how muscular his thigh is. When he starts to squirm away from your grasp, all mouthwatering daydreams about the thighs your new friend possess disappear, and you regain your pose, releasing his leg for hardly a second, just long enough to dig your fingers instead into his side and resurface.

“Stop!” He whines, thrashing away from your tickling. He splashes more water your way as a result. Once he finally trips over his own feet and his head submerges under an approaching wave you finally relent, backstroking away from him to an amused Jackson. “What a thot,” you grumble, rubbing the sting away from your eyes and warily watching the child as he recovers from your attack. “I met you guys hardly an hour ago and suddenly we’re close enough to beat one another up.”

Jackson shrugs, flicking your shoulder, and you shoot him a warning glare.

“I told you we’re going to have to be your new best friends,” he says.

“You! I could’ve died!” Shouts a bewildered Yugyeom as he swims over, looking way too gorgeous for someone who just got knocked by a wave. Despite his playful exaggeration, you smack away the finger he waggles in your face with an eye roll. “You splashed water in my face! Twice!”

“You were staring!”

“Staring? Staring at what?” You snort, unable to even recall what was happening before he suddenly splashed you. “I—hm. Nothing,” he sighs, the apples of his cheeks blooming pink. He looks down and focuses on the ripples of the water. “Never mind.”

“Ooh. ‘Kay,” you laugh awkwardly, looking to Jackson, who mirrors your puzzled expression. Finally letting silence settle in comfortably, you look to the shore in search of Jinae’s obnoxious rainbow umbrella to find all four lying on their towels.

“Anyway, I’m going to see how things are going. Try not to kill each other,” Jackson smirks—how dare he—before moving with the current to shallower waters.

Now what?

Praying to every god out there that conversation will come as fluidly as it did back at JJ’s, you look to Yugyeom, only to witness him with his leg held to his chest as he pulls a shell from between his toes. You wrinkle your nose, laughing, “Did you just pick that up with your foot?”

“It bit me!” He whines, frowning.

“The shell bit you?”

“No,” he caves, grinning stunningly. “It’s a hermit crab.” As he speaks, he moves closer to you, rolling the small cerith shell onto his palm before holding it out to you. “Aw,” you pout, pushing your wet hair away from your face to lean closer as the crab hesitantly taps Yugyeom’s hand with its claws. “They’re so cute.”

He snorts. “Not when they bite you.”

“That’s called karma,” you smirk, cupping your hands for him to drop the crab into. “People who splash their new friends and practically blind them get bitten by crabbies.”

“You’re very dramatic,” Yugyeom says, watching you the same way you adoringly watch the hermit crab. Your attention, however, is not so fixated on the small crustacean in your hand as it is on the slow rise and fall of Yugyeom’s chest—right there in front of you. Tears of water race down the toned muscles of his stomach each time the water level climbs and retreats. You’re just in the middle of ogling when you take notice to the sharp, black edges of tattoos on his sides, more so to the intricate pattern you can only partially see on his right. No, you scold yourself. What are you doing? You just met him today. Shaking your head to rid your mouthwatering daydreaming, you say, “So are you, Mr. I-splashed-you-for-staring. By the way, let me see your tattoo.”

“You’re not going to have it pinch me, right?” He chuckles cautiously, casting a wary glance to said it, and you laugh, gently letting the waves take the hermit crab out of your hands with a shake of your head. “I said I wanted to see it, not pinch it.”

Rolling his eyes, Yugyeom finally lifts his toned arm up to offer a better view to the precise design of a flower, a rose, on his side. You ignore his quiet intake of breath when your fingers subconsciously trace at the detailed ink. “It’s so pretty. I’d kill to do something like this.”

Yugyeom shrugs. “You should, then.”

You scoff, finally stepping back. “I wish, but then I’d have to deal with my parents. They already threw a tantrum when I got my first.”

“Can I see?”

“Oh,” you chuckle, heat rising to your cheeks—God, how old are you?—at the realization that answering his question would take a bit more effort considering you’re shoulder-deep in the ocean, “I’ll have to show you when we get out.”

“Sure,” he hums with a pretty smile, looking around quietly as you drop beneath the surface to once again cool the heat scorching your body. Then, when you come up, he says, “Do you want to get out now?”

“Yeah. We should tell Jackson we smacked each other or something,” you grin, beginning to head back to shore with him trailing a few steps behind. Once you get to the point where the waves start to break, you cross your arms over your chest to keep the girls in place, angling your body to avoid being knocked to the ground for an inevitably sandy, humiliating death.

“Oh, yeah, we’ll think of something,” says Yugyeom.

The sarcasm lacing his tone has not even registered in your brain when his hands are on your waist, shoving you forward until you helplessly trip over the force of the current, flailing ungracefully into the sand with a cry that only gets smothered with the wave passing over your head. That son of a bitch.

When you surface and rub the stinging water from your eyes, you watch unamused as he reels back in laughter, louder than any of the children around you, and with him not paying attention you grab at his ankles, tripping him into his own sandy misery and ignoring all the judgmental stares from bothered teenagers sent your way. Although, you realize much too late that you should have taken him falling on you into consideration. This still does not prepare you for an elbow in the gut and his unfairly giant build squashing you further into the sand. To make it worse, as a wave recedes and another surges forward, all you can focus on is the gritty sand smearing your skin as you tussle in battle with Yugyeom.

“You are,” you spit, finally shoving him off once you’ve gained some safety from the waves, “a royal pain in the ass.”

Unable to contain his laughter, Yugyeom stays on the ground. You wrinkle your nose grossly at the sand not only coating your hair but also his lightened locks. At his lack of a reply, you scoop up a handful of wet sand and slap it onto his stomach. “Hey! That wasn’t cool,” he whines, reclining up on his elbows and glaring at the glop of sand spreading over his abdomen, torso heaving with laughter, “c’mon, that was pretty funny.”

Your irritated façade finally breaks once he flashes an unfairly adorable, boyish grin, and you finally join in with his laughing, scooping up more soppy sand and dribbling it on his toned arm. It does not hit you until he only frowns playfully instead of stopping you how unexpectantly intimate yet natural it is for someone you just met. “I like the tattoo,” Yugyeom suddenly states, poking at the lavender and coral shaded scallop shell right above the waist of your bottoms. You jolt in surprise, cheeks burning at his friendly gesture that only further supports your earlier thoughts.

“Thanks,” you smile. With the last bit of sand glopping onto his stomach, you cringe at your own state of filthiness. “c’mon, we should wash this off. And no more tackling.”

With another quiet laugh, Yugyeom stands to his feet, watching sickeningly as wet sand slides off his body and back into the shallow water with an unpleasant plop! Then, much to your surprise, he reaches his arm down to help you up. “I think your knee went up my ass,” he giggles once you’re up, walking ahead and using the waves to wash off. you grimace at the thought while walking out further to rinse out your hair. “Yeah, and you nearly pulled my top off,” you scoff, cupping water into your hands and scrubbing the sand off your skin. “You’re like a little kid.”

“And you complain too much,” he fires back once you start heading back. This time you keep a watchful eye on him in case he tries to pull another stunt. You gasp playfully, slapping a hand over your heart. “Ouch.”

“Don’t worry,” Yugyeom says. You look over to catch his playful expression. His lips are curled up into a sly smile and his dark eyes twinkle mischievously. “it’s hot.”

You blink, suddenly overwhelmed. Walking alongside the unfairly tall boy you look back to your feet, wary of holes dug and left exposed as a tripping hazard by reckless children. You scoff. “Since when is being a bitch hot?”

“Technically I paused in between those phrases, so I could’ve been talking about the temperature,” Yugyeom says, smirking like the little jerk he is as you lean down to pick up your towel. “What are the first three letters of assuming?”

Scowling, you contemplate kicking up a shower of dry sand if Jackson was not snoozing peacefully next to your own layout. Instead, you punch his arm and watch in satisfaction as he grimaces. “Ha, ha. Very funny. Please leave me alone now.”

“I need help putting on suntan lotion, though,” he pouts just as you plop down onto your blanket, towel wrapped snugly around your shoulders.

“Jesus Christ, how old are you?” You groan, falling back and glaring upside down at him, biting back your laughter when he lets out a loud sigh. “Please? Just my back.”

“Oh my God. Fine, you big baby. I’m not moving, though, so pop a squat.” Finally giving in, you lean up with a defeated sigh, scooting over to leave enough room for his tall ass. You watch disgruntledly as he drops beside you, crossing his legs with his back faced to you. Once he passes back the bottle, you give it a good shake before twisting the cap off. Spraying routinely over is skin, you mutter an apology when he breaks out in goosebumps. “Here,” you mumble, tossing the bottle into his lap before rubbing the greasy spray further over his back and shoulders. You cringe for a millisecond before quickly swiping over the lowest area at the waistband of his bottoms and slapping his shoulder. “Begone, thot.”

When he spirals to face you, you are momentarily whiplashed, and you almost—almost—tell him that he’s so pretty with the mole under his eye and indisputably gorgeous face. However, you quickly remind yourself, oh yeah, you have only known him for a few hours. Fortunately, he replies to your banter, concluding your drool-worthy trance.

“I’m not moving. Just because you called me that.”

You watch, dumbfounded, as he casually flops over and onto his stomach, burying his face between crossed arms without another word. “You—You’re despicable. You have a whole towel to yourself. Leave me be,” you protest, poking his ribs with your foot, still wrapped cozily in your towel.

At your insistent jabbing, he finally pulls an arm away and seizes your ankle, holding it still with an amused smile while he stares up at you. He looks way too hot for someone so incredibly, undeniably annoying. “Yugyeom,” you whine defeatedly, poking his thigh with your other foot. You watch the confidence only grow over his features. You say, “Stop being an ass.”

“Jesus Christ, I thought we were here to set up Mark and Jinae, not you two children,” BamBam suddenly grumbles from beside Jackson, leaning up on his elbows and scowling in your direction. “We’re the same age as you,” Yugyeom retorts, looking to him with a glare. You wait for him to deny BamBam’s accusation, heart thumping loudly in your chest, and yet he doesn’t. “Shut up or I’ll kill you,” BamBam grumbles, realizing it’s not worth the fight. He returns to his interrupted napping.

Laughing, you accept defeat as well and remove yourself from your towel’s shielding concealment, crumpling it into a ball as a pillow and placing it down a few inches from Yugyeom’s head. You lay on your stomach beside him. “Your friends threaten to kill you a lot.”

“It’s because I’m the baby,” he grumbles, resting his head on his wrists to look at you. You do the same.

He continues. “It’s whatever, though. They’re just jealous I’m taller than them.”

“No, you’re just annoying,” faintly, you hear BamBam mumble. Laughing, you cover your mouth with your hand. “I agree with him,” you whisper, the smirk growing harder to hide when Yugyeom frowns in playful hurt. “Shut up,” he grumbles, kicking your ankle with his own. “Don’t you need sun lotion?”

“I put some on before work.”

“But you went in the water,” he pouts, “and that was hours ago.”

“It’s fine,” you smile, heart warm at his concern. “It’s almost four, anyway. The sun isn’t as strong.”

“Oh,” Yugyeom seems to accept this, eyes traveling to your shoulder and lingering there long enough until you feel the heat spread from your head to your toes. Then he looks back to your face, expression soft. “You don’t actually mind if I nap here, right?”

Smiling against the dampness of your crumpled towel, you quietly say, “I don’t mind. As long as you don’t kick me, or something.”

“I can’t make that promise,” he smiles once more before finally resting his forehead on his forearms. You study what you can see of his relaxed silhouette for a moment before messily tying up your damp hair and comfortably burying your face into the towel with a peaceful sigh. What an odd individual.

What an odd joy.

Two hours and a series of blurred insignificant events later, you find yourself lying on your back. A hand jerks your shoulder and brings you back to blurred consciousness. “What?” You grumble, your mind hazy as a result of a long, hot nap that has your brain momentarily reeling at where you are. “It’s a little after six. I’m leaving. Are you good?”

Squeezing your eyes as a sort of fine tuning to get your mind back into business, you finally blink up to Jinae. Holding beach items in her arms, she tells you she's heading back up to your apartment. “Um,” you pause, straining to sit up and scan to see if the others are up. “I’m good. I’ll see you tonight.”

Once she’s off, a tired sigh escapes from your lips as you flip back onto your stomach. You easily drift off for another fifteen minutes or so before waking once more, this time to a screaming baby. Rubbing sandy knuckles over your eyes, you look to your side. Yugyeom, still fast asleep, remains spread out across your blanket, right hand positioned into a small hole in the sand an arm’s length away. You wonder if he dug it in his sleep.

“He sleeps like a dead man. Once we left without him and he came to me and Mark’s apartment at, like, two in the morning ready to kill us,” a voice grumbles ahead of you. Jackson is lying just as you are with a messy case of beachhead, strands dried and awkwardly sticking up in all directions. You laugh, momentarily looking away from the brunette to the dimming sun, which is much lower in the sky at this point. You finally respond, “I can tell. Every time I woke up, he was still knocked. Also, I didn’t know you were Mark’s roommate.”

Wrinkling his nose, Jackson glances over his shoulder to the other three boys still passed out on the sand. “Is that good or bad?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I just hear a lot about you. And now I have a face to match all the stories with.”

“Gosh, what does he say?”

You contemplate it for a moment. It's not like Mark has ever really talked shit. You decide on messing with him. “He says when you sleep, you talk about feet.”

Mouth hanging open, Jackson absorbs your bullshit before his face drains of color, spewing nonsense like a child caught in a lie. “What? Oh my God, you’re joking. You’re joking! Shit, you probably think I have a thing for feet or something. I swear I don’t, oh my—oh my God, bro. I definitely don’t talk about feet.” In an attempt to hold back your laughter resulting from his panic, you force your gaze elsewhere. You focus on Youngjae’s hair billowing from the light breeze until Jackson has exhausted himself breathless.

“I was joking,” you finally cave, but only when you glimpse the deep puppy frown he holds. “All he’s ever said it that you’re too loud in the morning.”

It takes Jackson a few seconds to process your trickery. He blinks. “Wow,” he heaves, sitting up onto his haunches. “I see how it is. You have betrayed me. I guess we’re enemies now.”

“Ha!” BamBam roars somewhere behind. “You really had him!”

“That was pretty good,” pipes Youngjae, sitting up and lifting his sunglasses to push back his hair. He pokes Mark beside him. “Yo, your side girl just flamed Jackson.”

“Side girl?” You snort just as Jackson flails to stand up, kicking sand in the process.

“No, she didn’t!” Jackson shouts defiantly, hands on his hips.

“What’d she say?” Mark grumbles tiredly, blinking to keep his eyes open. He reclines on his elbows.

While Youngjae fills him in, you look to Jackson, who shoots daggers your way but fails to hide his own humored grin. You stifle a laugh as Yugyeom stirs beside you. He mumbles, “What’s all the commotion for?”

“She,” Jackson says, looking at Yugyeom and pointing a finger at you, “is a bitch.” He smirks, flicking your forehead on his way back to his towel. You stick out your tongue. In response he adds, “But a smart bitch.”

“I thought we already established that.” Yugyeom sighs. You shoot him a glare, and he returns the gesture with a sleepy smile that extinguishes your urge to smack him.

“Hey,” you wrinkle your nose. “Since when is it ‘national attack ___ day?’ For a group of guys, you sure are babies.”

Jackson gasps. “Shit, she’s Jinyoung in female form.” He shakes BamBam by the shoulders. “We can’t let them meet. They’ll be too powerful.”

“You’re so whiny,” Yugyeom says sharply. All eyes fly to him. He shrugs. “They’ll be too powerful.”

“Oh shit,” BamBam snorts, moments before Jackson shoots up and charges for the younger boy. Yugyeom flounders away in time to run away. You dodge the sheet of sand sent your way with a prepared duck and watch the two sprint up the beach. “Tragic,” Mark comments as Yugyeom stumbles face-first into the sand and Jackson hops on top of him to choke him in a headlock.

“Well, that’s my queue to go,” you quip, patting around for your crumpled tee shirt, finding it, and pulling it over your head. “This was fun. We should do it again sometime.” Shaking the sand out from your blanket, you become startlingly aware of the sudden silence hanging over the four like fog. You realize before Mark even speaks up that, chances are, this will be a regular thing.

He hesitantly says, “Well, I was thinking… maybe we could—”

“Yes. I know what you’re gonna say. I don’t think Jinae would mind hanging out, either. Anyway, I feel like I’ve known everyone for years, and the teasing is kind of fun,” you say, cutting him off. You return the smile he tries to hide before swinging your bag over your shoulder and waving to the others. “See you tomorrow, then.”

“Wait!” Youngjae yelps. You watch with wide eyes as he jumps up and gives you a warm hug, encasing his arms around you only for a moment but still long enough for your heart to warm. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” you smile, patting his cheek and waving once more to BamBam and Mark. You start up looser sands when Jackson finally separates from Yugyeom after shoving him once more into the sand for good measure. “Careful you don’t kill him!” You shout over, watching with a laugh as the older boy whips his head up like a dog summoned by the shaking of the treat bag.

“Are you leaving?” He shouts, bouncing away from Yugyeom and jogging to you. Abs. “Yeah,” you say once he has reached you. “A shower is calling my name.”

“Are we hanging tomorrow?”

Looking to the three still lying out a few yards away, you shrug. “I’ll be here. Who knows with Jinae, though. Sometimes she gets bored of beachin’ every day.”

“Oh, well, whatever you guys decide to do, we’ll be here,” Jackson grins sinfully, slapping your arm before walking away. Of course you couldn’t have gotten a hug from him. “Keep your eyes out for the baby!” He suddenly calls, and you twist around to dumbly watch the tanned boy return to his friends. Your heart is suddenly beating loudly in your ears, and your internal fire only intensifies when said baby whines, pulling you into his chest, “Why are you leaving?”

Sucking in a necessary breath, you practically fall limp against Yugyeom’s hold, pressing your cheek against his chest but turning away from his friends in fear that they’re looking. “I want to shower. And eat. Plus, I have some dramas to catch up on.” At this he leans back, gazing down at you peculiarly. You’re painfully aware that his arms are still looped around your waist. He’s just a touchy guy, you tell yourself as he continues to groan like a child denied what he wants. “We could get food together.”

“Don't fret; I'll be back tomorrow,” you offer, satisfied when his lips quirk up and the corners of his eyes crinkle. “And probably all the days after that. Also, when school starts, I bet we’ll all be hanging together. We have plenty of days to get food.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He smiles, his expression soft. Then he pulls you in for another hug. “Text me when you get home.”

Flustered, heart beating frantically, you choke out, “I don’t have your number?” Grunting in realization, Yugyeom reaches for your phone in your hand. You watch with a held breath as he tries each of your fingers for the correct fingerprint scan until it unlocks. He goes into the Messages app and puts in a new number. “You do now,” he smiles, irises reflecting gold specks. He hands your phone back, and it’s not until you cross both arms over your chest that you notice the goosebumps painting your skin. “Thanks,” you force, spinning on your heels and making way for the sandy walkway up the dunes.

“Come back to the grill tomorrow with Mark and Jinae!”

“I will!” You shout back, not daring to look back for fear that the tall boy will make your heart hurt more, in a way that it most certainly should not. You sigh and concentrate on the sand dried on your feet rather than how you hope he will decide to crash on your beach blanket again tomorrow.

“Pussy,” Jinae taunts as you crash onto her mattress. You struggle to stretch your leg out far enough to give her bare ass a feeble kick as she changes out of her uniform. Scoffing, you tumble to lie on your stomach, twirling a strand of recently washed hair in between your fingers. “Like you’re any better. I just met him today while you and Mark have been galloping around each other like eighth graders since summer started.”

“Touché,” Jinae says, accepting defeat. She tightens the strings of her sweatpants before thumping down on the bed to be beside you. The bed dips as she rolls to curl her form around your own. “I bet you’ll both be in love with one another by Saturday.”

You laugh and wrap your arm around her shoulders, running your fingers through her dark corkscrew curls, the only thing she fully acquired from her mother’s genes. “You and Mark already are in love. You just refuse to act on it.”

“Yeah, whatever, I don’t wanna talk about him.”

Sighing, you tug harshly on a curl. “It’s gonna happen this week. You and Mark will be official.”

“Mhm,” she hums, smirking. “And so will you and Yugyeom, Miss We-Practically-Fucked-In-The-Ocean.”

“Stop,” you whine. You retract your arm and drape it over your face, shielding the burn that is creeping its way up. “Seriously, though,” Jinae giggles, tugging at your elbow. “I can’t believe you met each other today. The attraction was unbelievable. Chemistry classes across the world are quaking.”

“Shut up.” Groaning, you roll away from her relentless probing. “Listen, he’s cute. Really cute and yeah, sure, we got along great. But who said that I’m ready to date again? And you don’t even know if he would be interested.”

“You could always ask Mark,” Jinae says as you struggle off her bed, leaving her sprawled out alone. “Double dates!”

“Yeah, sure, Jinae. Keep dreaming.”

She pouts. “You’re no fun,” she huffs, reaching for her phone. “Get out, it’s almost two-thirty, and we have to get up soon.”

“Can’t we skip the jogging for one day? Sleep in? No one wants to see the literal ass crack of dawn,” you yawn. Folding your hands in prayer, you beg her to give you a break for one day. Jinae ponders it for a moment, rubbing her bottom lip with her index finger, before an open-mouthed grin evilly lights up her features. “Sure.”

Squinting, you waggle an accusing finger at her while slowly backing out of her room. “I don’t trust you. Try anything, Kim Jinae, and your ass is out on the street!”

“You can’t kick me out!”

“Yes, I can!” You shout, finally allowing your grin to show once you have closed her door.

Maybe some days are just a tad more joyous than others.