#“probably not because he's away from home a lot”

[vrystalius]

Not saying “I love you“ back to the Squid game men.

How will they react if you don‘t say it back? In what scenario would they not say it back to you?

Pairing: The Recruiter, Thanos, Nam-gyu, Dae-ho, Gi-hun, In-ho x gn!reader

Summary: Them not saying “I love you“, their reaction to you not saying “I love you“

Genre: fluff, a lil bit of angst sprinkled on top

(Pre-Squid game)

˚✧₊⁎⁺˳

Gong Yoo // The Recruiter // The Salesman

♡— Him not saying I love you…

It barely ever happens, really. He adores everything about you, from your face, voice, body and the ground you walk on; that man is ready to worship you like a devoted follower would to the most merciful goddess. Therefor he would always be aware of how to make your day a little better, even if it‘s just a small “I love you” or a gentle kiss here and there.

The first thing you hear from him in the morning is a groggy voice mumbling a small “Good morning love...” into your ear while warm kisses were trailed down your back.

While standing in the kitchen and searching the fridge for any signs of a tasty breakfast, a small “I love you, I‘ll be back later!“ would echo slightly through the apartment as the front door closed.

Once, he did forget to say his usual I love you on the way out. He thought about how he possibly could forget? You‘re probably overthinking everything now and think what you might‘ve done wrong or do to offend him. You didn‘t, though! He was just too caught up in perfecting his appearance because his damn hair refused to obey and submit to his meticulous styling.

The poor man was almost scared to come home. As some sort of peace offering, he bought some of your favorite take-out food alongside some dessert, flowers and a new bracelet he thought you might like. Anything to try and make you know that he does really love you.

“Apologies, it completely slipped my mind. It will never happen again my sunshine. I love you.”

˚✧₊⁎⁺˳

♡— You not saying I love you back…

His face may be neutral and his expressions calculated but his features soften up immensely when you show even an ounce of affection. His smirk shifts into a dreamy smile, the crinkles around his mouth shifting and becoming bigger, his eyes twinkling just a little. He just can’t suppress when you even look at him.

Your kisses and words energise him, gift him life, so whenever you don’t give him that little boost of dopamine, he gets visibly more tense in a way.

The silence that followed after his usual “I love you my darling, I’ll be back later!” was almost eerie to him. He stuck his head back into the kitchen to check if you even heard him. You glanced back at him for a moment and gave your husband a dismissive head nod. So you did hear him?

Silently, he left the apartment and went on with his usual day during that time of the year. For some reason, today he is especially looking forward to slap his elders for loosing a damn children’s game. His face remained neutral and had his usual smirk on his face, but deep inside, he’s offended, confused, worried, stressed; all the negative emotions someone can feel after their spouse doesn’t reincorporate ones affection.

Do you want a divorce? Because hell no, he’d never let you go no matter how hard you

But once he got a little text message on his phone that read a simple: “Need cuddles in bed later pls. Got some snacks too. Love you.”, all of his worries washed away in an instant. You probably were still too sleepy to answer this morning.

A smile spread over his face as he thought about slipping into your arms tonight. Isn’t it ridiculous how he melt like putty in your hands?

“You forgot something this morning and it did worry me a lot. But it doesn’t matter, it’s silly anyway.”

Thanos // Su-bong // Player 230

♡— Him not saying I love you…

It’s actually quite rare to hear Thanos say “I love you” word for word. He still feels awkward committing himself to the relationship you have and those three magic words feel so heavy on his tongue, so he’ll rephrase them to suit his level of comfort. “Love ya”, “Thanos loves you” and “Me too” are his ways to dodge the action to reincorporate those sweets words you shower him with.

Thanos only really says “I love you” if you two are alone, sober and you holding him in your arms. To be cradled by someone he admires, cares and loves so much makes him want to cry for some reason, but he suppresses those emotions and instead buries his face in your shoulder as your hand soothingly runs up and down his back.

Those are the times you hear a small “I love you…” being mumbled against your warm skin.

So quiet it’s almost unnoticeable, yet it was there. You know Su-bong needs time to get used to everything, so you’ll settle with a small audio message-rap in reply to your usual “I love you” text message.

“Back to the kitty ‘cause she kinda pretty, I can’t stop looking at her ti- ti- ti-face.. Anyways, thinking of you babygirl. Iloveyatoo.” (You barely caught him saying this the way how quietly he mumbled it into the mic)

˚✧₊⁎⁺˳

♡— You not saying I love you back…

It’s fine. It’s cool. You don’t have to reassure him every day that you love him, it’s totally fine. You still love him like you did the day before.

It causes a deep panic inside of Thanos when you don’t give him his usual “I love you” text in the morning after he had woken up. He kept checking his phone like a madman, while he was brushing his teeth, peeking his arm and head out of the shower in the middle of shampooing, staring at his text messages while microwaving himself an convenience store meal. Nothing.

Not wanting to reach out first and appear clingy, he decided to write you like he is not having a full blown eternal panic attack. A small voice message here, a picture of his food there, a selfie from the bottom to show off his double chin, anything really.

You replied like normal but still, his eyes searched for the three key words. I. Love. You.

Thanos doesn’t want to admit to himself or to anyone for that matter that your calls, texts, hell, you coming over is like the most addictive drug to him. And he had his share of all kinds of colourful drugs.

His foot was nervously tapping the ground while his finger kept ringing your poor doorbell until you were forced to answer. He gave you a close look up and down, his lips formed into a pout of sorts.

“You okay? You didn’t text me you love me this morning. It’s totally cool and all but like… do you want to break up with me or something?”

Nam-gyu // Player 124

♡— Him not saying I love you…

Similar to Thanos, at first, Nam-gyu barely ever told you how much he loved you, liked you even. He just assumed you already knew and his actions were enough. A small side hug there and ruffling your hair here had to be enough for the rest of the week anyway.

He is guarded, afraid of commitment and to be frank in belief that you’re using him for the longest of time. Maybe you’re just “dating” him to get access to high-end drugs, all kinds of clubs or whatever else reason there is there to date him but for love.

You had to say those three magic words first for him to get comfortable with the thought that you are actually just want to date and love him. It came to him in the middle of a night shift at a random club he was supposed to promote. A moment of enlightenment.

Nam-gyu hid in a bathroom stall with his phone and ignored whatever the couple was doing next door, writing you a whole paragraph about what he was thinking, feeling, before deleting everything again because he thought he’d come off as some kind of pussy if he’d sent that.

His first time telling you how much he loved you was at your place. A casual evening watching some random movie you picked out while being arms deep in a bag of chips and dressed like a homeless person, Nam-gyu was staring up at you as if you were the most beautiful person in the universe even during this ungraceful moment of yours, admiring you in silence until finally…

“I love you.”

˚✧₊⁎⁺˳

♡— You not saying I love you…

Did he fuck up again? Do or say something wrong? Don’t you love him anymore? Was there someone else?? His thoughts go ballistic as he stared at the screen of his phone with a deadpan-expression, trying to shake the crippling fear and nervousness off while looking nonchalant.

Nam-gyu’s finger kept hovering over the call button to check on you in case something happened because there could be a whole other person talking to him by how there were no affirmations at all.

He doesn’t want to appear clingy or too attached to you as that may scare you off or even disgust you, so Nam-gyu’s casually mention that one time you didn’t say “I love you” while fidgeting with his ring, trying to appear indifferent about it while intensely watching your facial expression shift to try and detect if you’re lying about your reasoning or not.

Your boyfriend is afraid to not be good enough, too much, too little. Your little affirmations give him reassurance, every day a little more until he’s full convinced that you do really, really love him.

“Hey, uhhh. Did you forget anything today?… No? You sure? Mkay.”

Dae-ho // Player 388

♡— Him not saying I love you…

Never happens. Either he is dead and not able to reply to you or already said it multiple times throughout the day. Dae-ho has separation anxiety and gets nervous when he doesn’t have you in line of his sight or not around him in general, that’s why he always tells you how much he loves you whenever he can.

Off to the bathroom? I love you. Bringing the trash out? I love you. Getting dressed? You’re gorgeous and I love you. You could be simply existing and Dae-ho would bury his face in your neck and mumble a soft I love you into your warm skin, his lips planting a soft kiss here and there.

Dae-ho is just a little scared about saying his usual affirmation in front of his family, mostly his father. He’s a very affectionate and physical man but he still wants to look like the tough-marine-son his dad wants to see.

His sisters know better though, they see how their brother’s eyes twinkle in delight when you help his mom out in the kitchen with the dinner.

He does make it up to you after coming home though. Your boyfriend will stuff the leftovers his mom gave him into the microwave and usher to you made yourself comfortable on the couch while he makes some preparations to completely pamper you for the rest of the evening.

Sometimes Dae-ho’ll even try to flirt a little but he’s still a little awkward in that department.

“Hey, do you want some snacks with that? A drink? O-Or am I enough of a snack…?”

˚✧₊⁎⁺˳

♡— You not saying I love you…

Every time Dae-ho tells you that he loves you, you always reply with equal enthusiasm. How could you not? That golden retriever of a man gets that almost childish smile of his whenever you kiss his cheek or just tell him that he looks handsome today.

Once, you tested how he’d react when you don’t give him his hourly dose of dopamine by deflecting or ignoring his touches.

As his arms securely snaked around your waist and gently pulled you against his torso, you paid him no mind and continued to stir the ramen in the food container. He watched the noodles move in circles and gave your waist a gentle poke, trying to pull your attention to him. Dae-ho’s eyes slowly dimmed and the edges of his smile turned downwards.

The silence made him seriously nervous. You could feel his rapidly increasing heartbeat drum against your back.

“Hey… is everything okay? Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry. Can you talk to me?…”

Gi-hun // Player 456 (post s1)

♡— Him not saying I love you…

Gi-hun always reassures you of his love, even during arguments. He wants you to know that he cherishes and loves you for the rest of his life and that you are his everything. Whenever he doesn’t say I love you, something must’ve happened.

He has been missing for a whole week and you had no idea where your boyfriend went. Gi-hun didn’t leave a note, a voice mail, no nothing!

And after he returned and suddenly began giving you expensive gifts, the same boyfriend that used to ask you for money to get himself an convenience store dinner, now began buying you new headphones, bracelet and whatever else you even eyed.

It was nice, sure, but you were more worried about his mental state. He was paranoid and quiet, kept checking his whole body for some kind of tracker and barely ever spoke what was on his mind. Gi-hun began having panic attacks and you were barely able to leave his side because of how terrified he was to leave you alone.

He barely touched you, gave you kisses or affection. He changed after whatever happened during that week he went missing.

While running your fingers through his hair, trying to make him fall asleep after being awake for two days straight, he sleepily stared up at you through his dyed-red hair. His voice was quiet, broken almost.

“I’m sorry. Please… know that I love you. I love you so much.. Don’t leave me, please… please...”

˚✧₊⁎⁺˳

♡— You not saying I love you back…

Your boyfriend called out to you but you didn’t quite hear what he said, so you replied with an “yeah!” and just hoped that that’s an appropriate response to whatever he tried to tell or ask you. It wasn’t.

Gi-hun stood there for a couple of moments, waiting on your reply to yelling “I love you!” across the whole apartment. When nothing came, he didn’t call out to you again. You were probably busy with something or don’t want him with your right now, he gets that.

Later though, thoughts of self-doubt began to cook up inside his mind. As he bit all his nails to shreds he overthought about how you had enough of him now. Maybe you are falling out of love now after how the death games fucked up his mind and body. You’re surely fed up with his paranoia and secretive behaviour, how much he has been obsession over finding a weird salesman. Surely.

The metallic taste that spread inside his mouth after biting the skin surrounding his nails began to open and bleed finally pulled Gi-hun out of his self-destructive thoughts that continued to circle like a toy train. Picking up his throwaway phone and choosing the one contact he saved on every single burner phone he had as “Reason to smile ❤️” and pressing the call button.

“Gi-hun? What’s wrong?” Your voice forced a small smile to form on his face. He hesitated

“Hey. Just wanted to ask if I should bring some take out home tonight. That’s all.”

In-ho // The Frontman // Player 001

♡— Him not saying I love you…

It’s purely just to tease you. When bored, In-ho will make you his greatest entertainment.

He likes making you annoyed and flustered, so he’ll intentionally ignore you just to make you react and pout at him adorably while he was trying so hard to keep his stone cold face and not break into a shit-eating grin and maybe even pull on your cheek to make you whine even more.

In-ho adores your whole being and cherishes all of your affections, so he’ll let himself get showered in them any tome he can.

Expect you to he cuddled up on his lap while he was leaning back in the leather chair, mumbling a complaint about how you covered his whole face in kisses but managed to miss the bridge of his nose. He will not allow you to move off his lap until you covered his whole face in kisses again as compensation for that mistake of yours.

So, In-ho’ll intentionally not give you affection so you pay even more attention to him. He is like a cat in that way weirdly enough.

Once you finally break his facade, the flood gates will open and you will be showered, bathed, drowned in his affection, physical and verbal.

“Fine. I’ll say it just because you’ve been so good to me today. I love you, my dearest, lovely darling.”

˚✧₊⁎⁺˳

♡— You not saying I love you back…

In-ho has a dedicated frequency on his walkie-talkie for you, so he can call in and ask you to come to his office for a kiss that cannot wait, to inform you that he is in the bedroom and retiring for the day or just to tell you that he loves you randomly throughout the day.

Of course, you’d always reply back with your own gadget, but to pay back his infinite teasing he has done to you, you decided to ignore him the way he sometimes does to you. Payback.

Your husband called into your frequency. “Dove, are you free right now? Come to my office, I miss you.” and so your game begins. You simply ignored his request and continued getting comfortable in your bed and all the sheets surrounding you, grinning to yourself as you awaited the next time In-ho calls in again, for which you don’t have to wait long for.

“Darling, I am waiting. Do you want me to send someone to pick you up?” Your grin widened as you heard how impatient he was slowly getting with the lack of your response. “I can see you in the bedroom.” That one caught you off guard. Did he install cameras in your shared bedroom??

Almost on cue, your bedroom door opened, revealing the masked Frontman. His shoulders were tense and you could feel his intense state through the mask. You stared back, not expecting how quickly your husband would cave in and visit you himself. Innocently, you batted your lashes at him.

In-ho slipped his mask off and carelessly tossed it on the nightstand. “Why are you ignoring me? Are you upset or just moody?” Unimpressed, you silently glared at him. He gave you an equally uninterested look and leaned down to your face to give you a small peck on your cheek. “Not enough. More.”

A chuckle escaped his lips as his lips cracked into a smile.

“Demanding, aren’t we? Fine. As you wish.”

💠

Author’s note. Thank you for reading <3

Watch me announce that I’m going to post In-ho’s yandere profile and proceed to get hit with the most ungodly group-assignment in Chemistry. Anyways, take this as an apology! Had to write a little fluff for them since the only thing I’m finding is smut 🙏😭 I’m not complaining but this fluff prompt came to me like a truck during a class of mine. It was originally inspired by this post and I made a similar one before for the Demon Slayer hashira. Check it out if you’re interested!!

Anyways, make sure to EAT, SLEEP and DRINK enough!!

Take care of yourselves <33

[hoahoahoahoahoa]

I’m not quite done with this idea but i don't think i'm in a place to sit down and write a fic so i'll just word vomit here

First of all, my two fav side effects of this AU:

Not only does Edward not have the edge on Bella that he has on everyone, but she has that edge on him. He's forced to be vulnerable to her the same way everyone but her is forced to be with him. He's getting a taste of his own medicine in the worst way. (not that he's invading others' privacy on purpose most of the time, but it is what it is)

2a. Edward does a lot of romanticizing Bella, because he can. She's the one person onto whom he can project. It sounds nastier than it is-- that's how all relationships are to some degree, especially at first before you get to know the person. The difference is how much of a novelty this is for Edward. Finally, he can get to know someone at a normally pace, not privy to private events they don't mean to share. He goes a little overboard idealizing her because she's the first mystery he's had in a long ass time. Except now... Bella can catch him doing it.

2b. Bella's got the reverse now. She gets all Edward's dirty laundry from the jump. She meets him at his very worst... and she sees him rise above it, and how quickly he turns around.

Okay busting out my copy of Midnight Sun for this play-by-play of the first book:

Obviously a big plot change is Bella knows Edward is a vampire from day one. Even if she doesn't clue in from anything she hears from him in the cafeteria (she might not even fully realize what's happening in the cafeteria; maybe Bella's telepathy doesn't have as long a range as Edward's b/c she's human and also "borrowing" the gift), it's super obvious as soon as her scent hits him in Biology.

She's frozen in place from the shock of suddenly having telepathy + the revelation that vampires are real + Edward's a telepath (that can't hear her?) + the sheer violence in Edward's thoughts. She manages to gather her thoughts enough to consider running out of the room or even asking to be excused, but she doesn't trust her voice to not give away her terror, which would escalate the situation.

Class ends and Edward runs out and Bella decides very, very quickly that Edward Cullen cannot know that she can read his mind and knows about him being a vampire. Surely he would follow through on killing her if he knew. She's got to play it cool like none of this ever happened. She can't tell anyone, because he (and his vampire family?) would kill them too.

Some of Edward's thoughts in Biology involved following her home and eating her there so there'd be less casualties. She has no way of knowing that he ran away to Alaska. It's not even a comfort that he doesn't return to school; she spends the whole time he's away waiting for him to appear out of thin air and kill her. She sharpens a stick from her backyard into a stake which she keeps in her backpack because she has no way of knowing it couldn't work, and she doesn't want to feel totally helpless, even if it's a silly gesture. No harm in trying.

In this time she does get some flashes of Alice's visions during lunch now that Alice has turned her "eye" on her. She has no clue what to make of them. Her with red eyes?? Her smiling with Alice?? Her with Edward?? These cannot be coming from her own imagination what the fuck is going on, she must be losing her mind from everything that's been happening

Edward comes back to school and Bella's picking up snippets from him from across the room. he seems much less murder-y. but she's not ready to trust that after everything she heard that first day. It doesn't help that Edward is coming in with every intention of gaslighting her ("Why didn’t she look up? Probably she was frightened. I must be sure to leave her with a different impression this time. Make her think she’d been imagining things before.")

The thing about Bella trying to hide her telepathy, which becomes very apparent in Biology on Edward's first day back, is she's never had to do that before. It's very difficult. It doesn't help that Edward's internal monologue is trained on how helpless she isa nd how it hurts to breathe near her because she smells so tasty

Talking to Edward is just difficult I’m general bc vampires are canonically capable of having multiple trains of thought at once and we know Bella is frequently ~dazzled~ by his beauty so Edward quickly becomes very concerned for this poor girl she’s hanging on by a THREAD

And of course Bella hears this worry so she’s in a positive feedback loop of anxiety. RIP

anyway Bella doesn’t do a perfect job of hiding her fear and her newfound ability. She slips up juuuust enough that Edward is Suspicious. But she makes it through

The tipping point for Bella going from "terrified" to "oh this is a complicated creature" is the incident with Tyler's van. For a horrible moment, Bella's absorbed in Alice's vision of her getting squished. Then she hears Not her! in her head in Edward's voice, clear as day. And she hears all Edward's anxiety over the potential for exposure but also how he just really, really doesn't want her to die (even if it's confusing him). She laughs a little too hard at his "no blood, no foul" joke at the hospital because she's in on it now and she's too stressed to think better of it.

I think her mind also, like. Snaps. at this point. She's done worrying. He's gonna kill her or he's not. He can't even seem to decide, and she can't do anything about it anyway, she's just going to keep on keeping on and if she dies, well, at least the end of her life will have been the most interesting bit? And yeah she's a little bit of a freak and she's fascinated by this guy. What is his deal. She’s along for the ride now

Bella doesn't grill Edward for the truth of how he got over to her so fast but she does slip up and thank him for risking so much to save her and he's like wait. Does she mean risking his life with the van or risking exposure of him and his family? There's no way she could know about that??

Of course that day is the day Alice lets it slip to Edward that he's going to fall in love with Bella. Bella isn't present for that but the next month, Edward refuses to talk to Bella but she hears a constant stream of I do NOT have a crush on her, I AM going to kill Mike Newton, I am NOT falling for her, even if it'd be so easy to fall for her, I wonder what she's thinking right now, I will NOT destroy her future, my throat HURTS and honestly it's still freaky as hell to be privy to a vampire's mind but her mind's kinda. Snapped. by now. and she can't help but be a tiny bit amused. At least he's not fighting "the monster within" anymore? Is this some weird strategy to keep from killing her? Sure, fine, whatever, thanks

Bella catches snippets of memories of the family meeting about killing her too. Btw. Much 2 think about

When Edward finally asks her if she wants a ride to Seattle, she hears how genuinely nervous he is, and she knows, fucking knows exactly how dangerous he is, so she honestly shocks herself when she says yes. He hasn’t killed her yet, and he’s genuinely fascinating, at this point she’s Into him but also studying him like a bug

At lunch that day Bella hears in Edward’s head that he’s ditching because they’re blood typing. She can’t think of a good excuse to also ditch. Edward is extremely confused that she leaves for Biology like she’s about to walk into a war zone

Port Angeles happens much the same as in canon with Bella feigning ignorance and acting like she hasn’t known about Edward being a vampire from day one. It seems silly to admit she figured out the vampire thing but not mention the telepathy, but every time she opens her mouth to admit to the telepathy, she remembers the snippets of the family meeting about killing her and she chokes on her tongue. It’s one thing for a vampire to choose to confirm a human’s suspicions about the existence of vampires. It’s another entirely for a human to have direct access to a vampire’s mind and the whole coven’s secrets, right?

So now Bella’s stuck herself in a horrible situation where Edward’s trying to be honest with her and she’s lying to his face. Angst angst angst

Bella doesn’t realize that night that she’s in love with Edward.

Edward has a really conflicting image of Bella because on the one hand nothing ever seems to surprise her. On the other, she seems nervous every time she opens her mouth. The idea that she can read his mind is just so far-fetched it just doesn’t occur to him— even he couldn’t read thoughts as a human

Bella hears the Bug Calculations in the meadow. I just wanted to point that out. It’s hilarious

Bella finally breaks. I’m thinking Midnight Sun page 349, right after this exchange:

…but when she says “you know, the rest of us feel that way all the time” it’s absolutely stricken with guilt and nerves. He never gets a choice in telling her what he’s thinking. It’s finally being thrown in her face. She can’t keep this up anymore. This can’t go on— not without him knowing

So of course replace “I was wishing I could know what you’re thinking” with a horrible minute of absolute silence from Bella. Her heart rate spikes and she finally braces herself says “no, ‘the rest of us’ includes your family. They can’t read minds, either.”

Even with his vampiric supercomputer brain™ it takes a good 5 seconds for him to register that she’s responding to something he didn’t say out loud. He chokes out her name in a strangled cry. This is the quietest his mind has ever been to her. She broke him. Good lord did she trigger something is he going to kill her— no, he wouldn’t, but what if—

Bella immediately starts crying. Sorry, babygirl. Yeah she terrified. She thinks Here it comes. She starts babbling. She blurts out the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. “I’m not like you. Not really. I can only ‘hear’ you. And I don’t think my range is as far as yours, from what you’ve described. I’ve been afraid to tell you because I figured someone like you couldn’t let someone like me live with the knowledge I have now but because I was afraid to let you suspect I knew anything, I got to know you“ etc etc

Edward is still through all of it. Deathly (hah) still. Straight corpsin’. She’s now getting static from his brain— too many thoughts too fast for her human mind to pick anything comprehensible out.

Boy oh boy if Edward was struggling with the mortifying ordeal of being known before… he just found out the woman he’s in love with has been live-streaming his inner monologue every second they’ve been together. Noice 👌

He’s really, really angry. At Bella, for hiding this. At himself, for not seeing it sooner. At himself again, for every wicked thought he’s had in her presence (I know he’s prob not catholic but the catholic guilt is strong in this one). Every shared moment with her flashes before his eyes in reverse chronological order, leaving him off with the first day in Biology. Truly the most heinous thoughts he’s ever thunk, in his opinion, and she heard it all. “You’re here.” He says. “You know exactly how close I’ve come to killing you, over and over again… and you’re here.” It occurs to him that Bella could’ve been going along with his plans and pretending to be his friend for fear of her life, but she hears that train of thought and shuts it down: “Yes, I’m here. Because I want to be.” Edward winces because okay, yes, it does suck being on this side of the telepathy, confirmed.

Still, he tells her in short order, because he thinks it needs to be said: “You can leave right now. You can never talk to me again. I won’t come after you, and I’ll protect you from my family.” He silently prays that Alice loves Bella enough to not tell Rose or Jasper about this if she’s seen it, and then winces when he realizes Bella can probably hear that he’s not 100% certain he could protect her from his family.

She takes his hand. Gives him a really sad smile. “I’ll stay… if you’re sure you want me to.”

Edward starts choking/laughing/sobbing. Here’s this girl who’s seen him at pretty much his lowest, laughed her way through his feeble disguise, and somehow still accepts him.

Hearing this thought, something occurs to Bella: she loves him. Isn’t that what love is? Seeing someone’s worst, and taking their hand? Maybe she’s not in love with him yet, but… yeah, that’s some kind of love.

Now she’s looking at him like she loves him. Edward doesn’t dare believe that’s the expression she’s wearing, so her softened gaze and slight smile are driving him crazy: “Tell me what you’re thinking— I think I’m justified in asking, now” he’s still reeling so he’s gonna crack a joke, ok

“I meant it when I said you’re beautiful.” He can appreciate that more now— she knew how truly monstrous he was when she said that. He’s been dead wrong about her not understanding, or underestimating— she knows. It doesn’t really connect in his brain. So the word “Beautiful” sends him off on his canon tangent about being designed to kill (“aS iF yOu CoUlD oUtRuN mE”)— maybe an in-person demonstration will drill it into her that he’s too dangerous to want to be around

Instead of calling herself an idiot for still wanting to be around him, Bella argues that she’s aware of all that, but she’s also aware of the horrible pain he endures just to be around her, and all the control he’s shown so far.

Okay this is long enough already djdjxjxdjsjs TBC if there’s any demand for it

AU where Bella’s gift is not so much a shield as it is an Uno reverse card

Edward can read everyone’s mind but Bella’s as in canon, but now she can read Edward’s mind

Alice’s visions are blank where she’s concerned (like the werewolves in canon), but Bella can see visions of the future involving Alice, or has visions when she’s around Alice. Jasper’s gift is already kinda 2-way so he can still sense/manipulate her emotions, but she can do it back to him. She can hurt Jane, zap Kate, etc etc

Bella would have the weirdest fucking first day of school anyone has ever had, ever. There’s a voice in her head saying “yeah okay I guess she’s pretty but kind of plain and— wait why can’t I hear her” and then Biology is just. The worst hour of her life. but being Bella she’s just sitting there like

…while Edward plans the death of her and all her classmates right next to her

[pepstarvanmoon]

Someone please get El out of there

Is it not obvious what this is? Do you really not know what you should be doing? SAY THE DAMN WORDS.

Why do you think she’s doubting you? Can you really not tell?

Mike, sweetheart, your relationship balancing skills are a terror to your friends, family, and romantic partners.

This is why people found Midleven cuter in S1/2, because the day you made it official marked the beginning of El’s doubts in your feelings for her.

You cannot seem to grasp that El is your friend AND your girlfriend, and somehow treating El like a girlfriend equates to treating her like shit.

You cannot make this up. El needs WORDS because Mike’s ACTIONS actively make her feel unloved. She does not feel it, so she wants some kind of verbal/written affirmation because of how emotionally distant Mike feels.

(someone talented please edit Elmike to Hamilton’s Burn or send an existing edit my way, thank you ♡)

His actions do not align to her expectations of love, not that it’s a good idea to let TV define romance for you, but you’re allowed to want/expect certain things in a relationship, and El isn’t getting that.

And let’s not act like Mike isn’t good at making people feel loved/cared for. Will is in love with him for a reason. El loves him for a reason.

(It was difficult to pick scenes for this because I’ve read arguments for how these aren’t really romantic at all, but from 12/13-year old, “fresh out the lab” Eleven, it’s as romantic as romance gets imo)

El has been trying to convince herself that their relationship is better than it is, because once she admits to herself that it’s not working, what does she do?

Her day-to-day life isn’t that great. Sure, she has her new family in the Byers, but her dad recently passed away and she’s being bullied at school. She has no friends outside of Will, and while I’m sure their relationship is great (wasn’t explored that much tbh), he can’t keep her from feeling isolated, and his own trauma with bullying keeps him from standing up for her.

One good, unchanging thing she has is her relationship with Mike. He’s the one who took her in and housed her, he taught her what it meant to be a friend, and… I’m having a bit of trouble here lol. I was going to say:

Never used her for her powers (not true lol)

When she was burnt out, he never expected more from her (not true LOL)

Never treated her differently for her powers (for this one, he found her awesome in an awestruck way rather than a Brenner “I’m gonna exploit this” way, but when he thought she lied about Will/hurt Lucas he was on her ass lmao)

My girl has those ‘first love’ blinders on. I keep having to ask myself what she sees in him besides ‘first person to accept me + we kissed’ like besides the latter, Dustin was right there. A lot of the parts of Mike I enjoy don’t reveal themselves around El outside S1 (barely S2). He’s shown as caring and protective, but he’s like that for all of his friends?? Especially when they’re in danger so idk what’s different. I’d have to peruse the milkvan tag to get a hint, but I’ll probably get a better idea watching Sleeping Beauty.

I’m a firm believer that Mike kept it ambiguous because he didn’t want to admit what the real problem was to Will.

“I couldn’t tell El that I love her.” - simple as that. Must be something about Will that has him holding his tongue because after S3 I doubt he’d have that much trouble telling Lucas.

Are you embarrassed? If you thought it wasn’t that serious you wouldn’t have told Will that it was something you “can’t come back from”. Is love serious to you, Mike? Because you can’t love El in the way she wants, do you think you’re incapable of it? Do you feel wrong? Do you not want Will to know?

Hit a little too close to home, huh.

(and let’s not get into the "team, friends, best friends" scene they had together like what was the point in having them make contact a SECOND time.

They already established a connection between them. Mike could’ve asked to be a team after the "guess it's gonna be up to us again," and Will could’ve taken the painting offscreen (the focus shot of Will grabbing the painting gets me so bad like WHY), but instead they wanted them to blush and giggle over each other AGAIN before they got to the van.

Make it make non-Byler sense I'm begging.)

You’d think that’d be good enough, but Mike still feels conflicted and has to make it Will’s problem (actually, Will kinda made it his problem. The way they shot the triple take makes it seem like Will dragged Mike away for another talk because of how spacey he was being. Who knows.)

Tf do you mean you didn’t know what to say? “Maybe if I said that thing” so you DO know? It’s painfully cut and dry if you take emotions out of it. El wants Mike to say that he loves her, so to fix this, to come back from that fight, Mike has to say he loves her.

Why is it such an internal battle for him? If I were to take it at face value, I’d chalk it up to what he said in the van scene.

So your solution is to push your relationship to a point that has El crying and throwing all the loveless letters you sent to the floor? To tell her that she’s incredible and a superhero and that she should know how you feel about her because, despite the tears streaming down her face and her DIRECTLY asking you if you still love her, she must know how amazing she is too?

NEWSFLASH, Queerler! She’s learning just how much she doesn’t need you right now, so I guess it’s time to face your fears!

This isn’t what I meant, but go off ig (don’t, actually, this is awful for everyone involved).

No way you expect El to buy this. You’ve expressed this fear of "losing El" to Will, I’ll give you that, but nothing you’ve done IN FRONT OF EL has conveyed this. Your letters weren’t helping, and you being there in person only made it worse.

Eagerly awaiting the day Michael Wheeler stops lying.

Well, I guess he doesn’t lie ALL the time.

[justastraymoa]

Yet Unnamed

Chapter 3

Masterlist

Korean is in italics.

Warnings for Yet Unnamed: Kidnapping, cuffs, injuries, drugging by injection, mentions of needles, lots of swearing, kissing, fluff, angst, idiots in love all around.

Nothing within reflects anyone or anything irl. Pics off pinterest.

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When you woke next, it was morning, and you were in Chan's bed. Well. Your bed. You could smell the unmistakable scent of breakfast foods.

Groaning through a stretch you were awake, but not ready to get out of bed yet. You were warm and comfortable. The mattress on this bed was so good!

Your muscles were sore from stress and using them to the max to fight off the kidnappers. The ache only making itself known after a hot shower and a good nights rest.

"Y/n! Breakfast's ready!" Someone shouted from outside the room.

You groaned again trying to decide if you were hungry enough to get up. Also weighing the odds of the others leaving you alone if you didn't make an appearance soon.

The second question was answered not even a full minute later when your door opened and a mass off messy blonde hair crawled into the bed next to you.

"Did you hear Lino?" Felix asked as he snuggled up to you.

"Mhm. Comfy." You grumble.

"I helped him." Felix revealed with a hint of pride.

You snort. "I remember your attempt at pancakes."

"I've gotten better since then. Been practicing." He whined. The sound made you giggle.

"Is everyone here?" You had met most everyone last night, but you were still nervous today.

Today there would be questions. And small talk. Getting to know each other and not knowing how to act around the other. Talking about the future.

Felix flung a leg over me. "Yah. Hyune and Lino are excited to officially meet you. Lino insisted on carrying you to bed last night and everything."

You blushed at the thought of THE Lee Know carrying you to bed princess style. Your head resting on his chest and possibly drooling all over him. You probably drooled on Felixs lap too. Ugh!

Eventually you both got out of bed.

"You are tiny." Lee Know stated as soon as he saw you.

You look down at your body. You were average height and weight. Overweight by Korean standards for sure. You wouldn't say tiny at all. "Um, thanks?" You weren't sure he meant it as a compliment, but generally being 'tiny' isn't a negative thing.

Lee Know handed me a plate of food. "You need to eat."

You shrugged not arguing. Breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day after all. "Your food is very good." You complimented as you sat and started on your food.

You smirked as Lee Knows cheeks reddened tomato red. He rubbed his nose and turned away with a nod, not saying anything.

Hyunjin sat across from you with a shy smile. You smiled back easily, insides melting at how cutely shy he was being.

Felix sat near Hyunjin, picking at his plate of food instead of getting his own. It was oddly domestic and adorable to watch. And it must have been a normal occurrence because Hyunjin seemed to be moving bits of food closer to Felix for him to grab. Making sure he got a good mix of all the items available.

Everyone chatted idly as you ate but seemed to be giving you some space. You were thankful. Not awake enough yet for the world and its insanity. At the same time, you kinda felt anxious, like the moments before removing a band aid when you know its gunna hurt so you are clenched tight and psyching yourself up.

It was time to rip off the band aid. Proverbially. "I am sorry for kicking you out of your own home last night." You looked at Lee Know, Hyunjin, I.N, and Seungmin when you said this. Even if I.N and Seungmin ended up coming home early.

Hyunjin waved your apology off. "Don't worry about it. Lee Know and I had a wonderful date night." He smiled over at Lee Know when he said this, who had a soft look on his face.

That reminded you of one of your questions regarding this soul bond group. STAYS had theories of course, but neither JYPE nor Stray Kids have ever confirmed any relationships within the group. "So, you two are together?"

Hyunjin nodded and shrugged, mouth full of pancake.

"We are all kind of in an open poly relationship thing with each other." Chan tried to explain.

"We don't so much think about labels as much as being with who we want , doing what we want. What feels right in that moment." I.N helped out.

You nod in understanding. It wasn't unheard of in soul groups. Other famous people have described it as finding the person you needed in that moment. I.N was saying the same.

And it explains why they never confirmed relationships to the media. Honestly STAY loved it though. They could ship whoever they wanted, and they would be right. Even if they didn't know it for sure.

"Is that...is that okay?" Felix asked. He looked worried, studying your facial expressions for a negative reaction.

You smile. "Absolutely. I was just thinking that no matter who STAY shipped they would be right. And we go feral for ships."

"Are you STAY then?" Changbin asked. He was sat close beside you.

You thought about it. You were in kind of an odd position now. "Yes? I mean I was, you know, before. And I guess my love of your music and stage personas hasn't changed."

"And JYP didn't make anything any easier." Bin scoffed.

"He went about it wrong, but he was only trying to help everyone." Chan was trying to play devil's advocate so there wouldn't be a more hostile work environment than usual. It was understandable.

However, Bin was not having any of it. Chans words seemed to piss him off. He snatched my arm and thrust it towards Chan. "He hurt y/n! Kidnapped her, drugged her! Left physical marks on her!" He snapped. Even angry his grip on my arm was gentle, careful of the bruising.

Reminding himself of all this seemed to really upset him and Bin pulled you into his lap, arms around you loosely in case you didn't want to be there.

Your heart skipped about 7 beats and you could feel your face burn, but you didn't move to get off either. As odd and new as all this was, that place in your chest felt good whenever one of them was affectionate with you.

Instead of overthinking it you let yourself lean back into Bins chest, dragging your plate of food closer so you could continue eating.

"I know exactly what he did, Bin. And I said he was wrong. I only meant that his intentions were in the right place."

"Plus, I mean, he did bring y/n to us." Han pointed out.

"And because of what JYP did we almost lost her, and we have to keep her a hidden. Keep her tucked away like a dirty secret." Bin squeezed your middle tighter as he said this, his voice thinning as he talked about almost losing you.

Absentmindedly you rubbed his forearm in comfort. You couldn't exactly say he was wrong. You knew the consequences of anyone finding out how you got to Korea. The kidnapping would linger over the group for a long time.

The room was silent after this. The air thick with sadness and frustration.

"I really want to show you off." Felix mumbled. The broken look on his face squeezed your heart uncomfortably.

"Its not possible. Not right now." You reply into the following silence.

"Easy fix. We show you off! Screw what anyone says!" Lee Know snapped glaring at you.

I looked away. "What he did - how this started - it will always hang over our heads if we let it get out."

"It doesn't have to! You are making it!"

You knew he was lashing out in hurt, but you couldn't help the defensive anger building in your chest. You push away your plate and sat forward. "And when they question our soul bond? When it ends Stray Kids? Everything you have ever worked for. It's dangerous enough even keeping me hidden!"

The reminder of the consequences seemed to bring everyone up short. You don't think anyone really thought that far ahead. Didn't think of how the world and its harshness would tear apart everything they were everything you all were.

Chan took a shaky breath. "She is right. It would end Stray Kids, and we can't risk it."

Lee Know hit the table with his fist before storming off, a door slamming a couple seconds later making me flinch lightly in surprise.

Sighing and blinking back frustrated tears you pat Bins hand before standing up. "I'm going to go talk to him." You whisper.

"Third door." Seungmin responded.

You knocked on my door lightly, knowing everyone was listening. "Lee Know?" You called.

"Go away!" Came the reply.

"Do you really want that?" You would leave if he wanted, but for some reason you didn't think that was what he really, truly wanted.

There was silence before the door opened just enough for Lee Know to pull you in and shut the door again firmly.

You immediately had and armful of Lee Know as he wrapped around you and hid in your hair with a suspiciously wet sniff.

"Just got you and I don't want to leave you behind."

You rubbed his back gently. "I'm sorry, Lee Know. I can't be the reason all your hard work goes to waste."

"What's the point of it? It won't ever feel like we are whole when we are away!"

"You will still have each other. That will never change. And you will always come back to me."

"It hurts. Without you, it hurts. It's like you are the center - the heart of our soul group. And it hurts when you aren't with us."

You knew it hurt, you knew because even thinking and talking about them leaving you behind hurt. But there was no other way. Not until someone came up with a way to hide your origin story.

"You will get used to the hurt eventually. And you will be too busy while you are working to really notice it. It will become normal." Even if you never wanted it to feel normal. You never wanted to be left behind, abandoned all alone in this apartment. In this country and city you didn't know.

Lee Know didn't answer, just kept holding onto you, sniffing occasionally.

Your moment was interrupted by raised voices from out in the living room. Sounds of slamming and shouts in Korean muffled through the closed door you were behind. You pulled apart and glanced at each other before leaving the room cautiously. Lee Know took the lead, hand reaching back to keep you behind him and so he knew where you were.

What - or rather who - you saw made you wish you stayed in the bedroom.

JYPs nasty self stood in the doorway.

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A/N: I had originally planned on posting every Friday. However, I can already see that I am not going to stick to that.

Since this one is already written and all I am doing is typing it up and changing/adding things as I go, I am already up to chapter 7 being ready to be posted and it makes me itch to have them just sit them.

That being said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to more in the future. (the near future most likely)

Yet Unnamed Taglist: @fackeraccount @velvetmoonlght @hyunjinstolemyheart @vampkittenb82 @happy-jj @estella-novella @demigoddreamon-blog @tiana-maxivar @ms-flowergirl @jennibahng @whatdoyouwanttocallmefor @mimimiloomeelomi @simpforskz143148 @xxeiraxx @lil-bear08 @brbwritingfanfic

General Taglist @stellasays45 @beebee18 @weird-bookworm @velvetmoonlght

[curlysfist]

04. Bass Fugato

Coda

Synopsis: Eventually, the bile rises back from his throat, smears his teeth, and burns him whole. (tw suicidal ideation, unethical medical practices, curly’s misogynistic + trad awakening, manhandling, likely ooc curly. MINORS DNI.)

Word count: 2.5k

Chapter Navigation: [1] [2] [3] [4]

Notes: hehe. this is what i was building up to write... i love you misogynistic curly my beloved.

Call it an impulse, call it a consequence, or the price of free will.

Curly didn’t know what exactly called him to scale the abandoned parking lot; nor did he understand why he was so compelled to stand on the rooftop, feet planted on the very edge of it. It’s not like he wanted to die. He hadn’t a single suicidal bone in his body.

But he was curious, what stood between where he was, and the plummeting depths below. A conclusion to his lifetime of cowardice, probably. Likely something more, beyond the bleak loneliness of space. 

You were at home, sleeping. He was rougher with you, in all the places he hadn’t before. You seemed to take it well, enjoy what was never in his nature. 

Fuck. Just what did any of this mean? And why was he so compelled to find the answer to this stupid question? It was only a step and a short fall away. Maybe everything he’d wanted in his life would be there. His past would be meaningless. 

But was it cowardly to abandon what he had now, or cowardly to forego a future possibility?

He closed his eyes, feeling the wind tug at him, daring him to let go. A part of him wanted to. But a deeper, quieter part whispered something else—stay. Not for you, not for love, not even for the hollow comfort of familiarity. Stay, because nothing else had worked, and maybe, just maybe, there was something left to try.

With a sharp exhale, Curly stepped back from the edge. All this will be a reliable end if that ache gets worse. It’s all it should ever be. 

It’s as good a day as any could be.

He’d finished with what little he had to do early: went on a run, did some pumps that bit his muscles in all the right places, and made breakfast. He even cleaned up after himself. It was only 9 AM. Not much else to do.

Curly rolled his shoulders, feeling the pleasant ache settle in his muscles. For a fleeting moment, there was a quiet satisfaction in the routine, in the control of it. But the moment passed quickly, leaving him restless, an itch under his skin that had nowhere to go.

His feet carried him without thought, wandering through the apartment, past the things that were once his, now softened by your touch, your choices. He found himself outside your study, the door ajar just enough to peek inside.

He hesitated.

It wasn’t like he was snooping. Just looking.

The desk was cluttered, as it always was. Your laptop sat open, but it was the papers strewn across the surface that caught his eye. 

His name. Over and over. Scattered across the desk like the pieces of a shattered mirror, each page imaged detailed pieces of himself to form a dirty, wounded reflection. Curly stepped in, his stomach twisting with a visceral unease. He reached for one of the papers, fingers brushing it like touching something dangerous, and scanned the words before his brain could keep up.

‘Unresolved attachment issues. Aversion to emotional vulnerability.’

His jaw tightened. He shuffled through the stack. Psychological assessments; evaluations of him.

‘Need for control rooted in a lack of foundational self-worth.’

‘Reluctance to assert needs or boundaries due to chronic validation-seeking behaviour.’

It was accurate. Too accurate. But as he read, that accuracy only made it worse. Every carefully worded observation, every neat, clinical summation of his entire fucking life reduced him to a collection of symptoms, carving away anything human until all that remained was a hollowed-out list of defects. His life—his essence—is compressed into bullet points and diagnoses. 

A project. A broken thing to be analyzed, studied, fixed.

It didn’t say anything about the nights he stayed up with you, laughing at dumb movies. It didn’t mention how he still carried the lessons he learned from falling on his ass a thousand times, or the times he made people feel safe just by being around. None of that was here. Just deficits. Weaknesses.

‘Subject exhibits passive tendencies that indicate a deep-seated need for external guidance.’

Subject. Subject.

His grip tightened on the paper, fingers curling so tight the edges crumpled. Is that all he was to you? A case study? A puzzle you were piecing together in your spare time?

His eyes landed on another section; this one made his stomach twist.

‘Potential paths for improvement: Encourage assertive behaviour within a structured environment to counteract learned helplessness.’

Learned helplessness. Fuck.

His breathing grew uneven, heat rising to his face. Is this what you thought of him? That he was just some helpless thing trailing in your shadow, waiting for you to guide him to salvation? His fists clenched at his sides, muscles twitching with restrained anger.

And then, there it was: the final blow.

A note, scrawled in the margins, like an afterthought.

‘Sometimes I think he doesn't even know what he wants. Maybe he never has.’

Curly’s heart slammed against his ribs. He swallowed the lump in his throat, but it did nothing to smother the sick, simmering feeling inside him.

This wasn’t just disregard. This was everything. Every ounce of himself, every scrap of pride and autonomy he had left, compressed down into a neat little file for your convenience.

He let the papers fall from his hand, his pulse a steady, pounding drum in his ears.

You thought he didn’t know what he wanted?

Curly’s lips curled into a humorless smile, something dark and bitter rising inside him.

He stood there for a long moment, the papers scattered at his feet like the remnants of something he should have seen coming. His hands flexed and curled at his sides, itching for something—anything—to ground himself. But there was nothing. Just the quiet hum of your study, the soft scent of your perfume lingering in the air, and the sharp, suffocating realization that you’d been dissecting him like some kind of fucking specimen.

He exhaled sharply through his nose, running a hand down his face.

Alright. Fine.

He turned and left the room without a sound, but each step felt heavier than the last. He could feel the tension coiling inside him, wrapping tight around his chest like a wire about to snap. Every second, every breath, the weight of it pressed harder.

By the time he found you in the living room, curled up on the couch with a book in your hands, he wasn’t even sure what he was going to say. But it didn’t matter, because the second you looked up at him, eyes soft and warm like you hadn’t just shattered something inside him, it all came rushing out.

“Is that what I am to you?” His voice was low, rough, edged with something. “A fucking case study?”

Your brows knit together in confusion. “What?”

Curly’s jaw tightened, and he took a slow, measured step forward. “Don’t do that.” His voice was sharper now. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

You blinked at him, setting the book down. “Curly, what—”

“I saw them.” His words cut through your sentence, and the shift in his tone made your lips part slightly in surprise. He scoffed, running a hand through his hair. “The psych evaluations. My life—my mind—spread out like some kind of fucking school project.” He took another step forward, and this time you leaned back slightly. “Is that what I am to you?”

You opened your mouth, but nothing came out at first. When you finally spoke, it was quiet, careful. “Curly, it’s not like that.”

He let out a breathless, bitter laugh. “Then what the hell is it like?”

You hesitated, and that hesitation was enough. It was all he needed. His patience, his restraint—whatever fragile thing had been holding him together—shattered in an instant.

Before you could react, he was on you, hands gripping the arms of the couch on either side of you, caging you in. His face was inches from yours, his breathing heavy, controlled, but his eyes—his eyes were something else entirely.

“You think you get to decide what I need? What’s best for me?” His voice was a low, dangerous rasp, the weight of it pressing down on you like a physical force. “You think I don’t know myself well enough, so you had to do it for me?”

Your lips parted in protest, but he cut you off again, his voice rising just enough to make your breath hitch.

“No. Not this time.” His grip on the couch tightened, knuckles white. “I’m done letting you make the calls. I’m done being your goddamn… pet project.” He leaned in closer, his lips almost brushing yours, but there was no tenderness in it—just the sharp, electric tension that had been building for too long. “If you want to stay in my life, you do it my way. Do you hear me?”

Your breath trembled against his skin, and for the first time in a long time, he saw something other than certainty in your eyes. Doubt.

Good.

After a moment, your fingers hesitantly found his shirt, grasping it tightly as your face pressed itself into his neck. He doesn’t waver, and he doesn’t breathe a word, even when your hands tremble, and dampness smears the skin of his neck.

He lets you breathe for a moment, a small mercy he allows, before sitting on the couch and dragging you right onto his lap. His instincts war against the rational part of his mind, leading to a palpable stiffness in his limbs as he struggles to not hold you too tight. For all your indifference and unwavering nature, you always have bruised so easily.

But was it wrong that everything felt so fucking right, seeing you tremble on his lap with the uncertainty that plagued him, weighing on your shoulders? 

Thumbing your cheek with a calloused thumb, coaxing you to shamefully meet his gaze, he spoke quietly.

“You don’t respect me.”

“I—I do—”

“You don’t do this to a man you respect.”

“I just wanted to help you.”

“You didn’t. You made everything worse,” he muttered, pinching your cheek gently while the other hand settled on your hip, squeezing the flesh. You don’t push at him, instead shifting your hips to sit more comfortably on his lap, straddling his thighs. 

Curly’s hand on your hip, though tense, wasn’t threatening anymore. It felt like an anchor, like he was trying to keep both of you from spiraling into something neither of you could come back from. His fingers dug into your skin, but the pressure was different now, not out of anger, but as if he was grounding himself—and you.

He leaned closer, his breath warm against your cheek, his voice a quiet command. “Just stop talking.” His words weren’t laced with venom, but with something harder—something like control. He’d taken the papers, the clinical assessments, the theories, and thrown them out the window. His being isn’t a collection of issues. 

“You think you’re the one who’s been hurt in this, don’t you?” Curly’s voice was low, steady

You opened your mouth, but he cut you off, palm pressing to your lips.

“You’ve been so busy trying to make everything right that you’ve lost track of what really matters,” he continued, his voice rough but calm, measured. “What matters is us. And you don’t get to decide what that looks like.

“I want kids. I want a small home near the woods. Away from the noise of this stupid fucking city. We’ll get married, we’ll pack our shit, and we’ll leave. On my dime.”

Your head bows, nose brushing against the stubble of his jaw. A pause, and then you spoke. 

“You’re serious?” The words barely made it out, caught somewhere between disbelief and something darker you didn’t want to name. You were so close now, so tangled in the warmth of his presence that it was hard to tell where you ended and he began.

“When have you ever known me to joke about something like this?” His voice was calm. Calmer than the turmoil in your mind.

You leaned back just enough to look at him, your eyes searching his face for cracks—some sign that he wasn’t as steady as he seemed. But his expression was unyielding.

“Curly,” you began, your voice softer than you intended, “this isn’t something you just decide on a whim. People don’t—”

He cut you off, his head tilting as if he were observing something small and fragile. “People don’t what? Make decisions for themselves? Take control of their own lives?” His lips quirked, not quite a smile. “Sounds exhausting, being the one holding the reins all the time. Maybe you should try letting go.”

“That’s not what I meant.” The words rushed out, defensive, but they felt hollow even as you said them.

He let out a quiet laugh, low and bitter, his gaze locking onto yours. “Of course not. You never mean anything, do you? You just... guide. Shape. Mold. All for my own good though, right?”

“Don’t twist this,” you snapped, though your voice trembled. “I’ve always been trying to help you.”

“Help?” He scoffs softly, his hand slithering to cup the back of your neck, then gently tugging your hair, goading you to look at him. It was hard to. “You mean help me become the version of me that fits your description? That’s not help.”

You opened your mouth, but no words came. There was something about the way he was looking at you now that froze the thoughts in your mind before you could grab hold of them.

“I let you steer for years,” he said, voice steady but cutting. “Told myself it was safer that way, easier. But letting someone else lead? It’s never where you need to go. It’s always where they think you should be."

“I didn’t—”

“Didn’t what?” He leaned in, close enough that his breath ghosted over your skin, close enough that his presence felt overwhelming. “Didn’t mean to strip me down piece by piece? Didn’t mean to leave me feeling like nothing I do is ever enough?”

“That’s not fair,” you whispered, but the words carried no weight.

“No,” he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous softness. “It’s not. But fair doesn’t matter, does it?”

The air between you felt too heavy, oppressive, and you realized too late that he wasn’t waiting for a response. He wasn’t asking.

“Curly—”

“No. Enough. I’m sick of your voice. I made myself clear. Once I get some things put together, we’ll start preparing for a baby and move into the countryside.”

Again, you opened your mouth to speak, but he tugged your hair again, a little rougher.

“Enough.”

You fall quiet.

“...Good. Good girl,” he sighs, softening the slightest bit, cupping your jaw, fingers digging to the soft of your cheek. “I get that in your field, drugging your patients is the key to happiness. I wouldn’t be surprised if you eventually would’ve tried to prescribe me something.

“...”

“Hundreds of years, societies found happiness in their homestead. The answer doesn’t need to be some bullshit established just a couple of decades ago. So be quiet, and I’ll bring us somewhere peaceful. Spiritually and physically, because God help me, I’m done with this shit.”

A pause. You contemplate.

Then, with uncertainty, you nod quietly. With a huff of a laugh, he kisses your forehead.

“I knew you’d understand. You’ve always been smart.”

[maple-the-awesome]

Another Link Crushes On You || Part 2

Part 1 ||

Pairings: Legend, Twilight, Wind x GN Reader

Overview: You've known Link for years - Well, a version of Link. Neither of you have seen yourselves as being anything more than friends, although it seems not all Link's think the same, in fact when you're introduced to the Chain, one of the boys falls pretty hard for you. I spun a wheel to let fate decide upon random pairs this time. Needless to say, I had a lot of fun with some of them😁

Zelda Masterlist 💚 Fandom Masterlist

Legend isn't a big fan of Skyloft which is something he decided rather quickly upon arrival - and no, it has nothing to do with the cold, thin air or hair-raising heights, although he’s also not a big fan of either. His problem lies solely on the cheerful atmosphere created by this village’s inhabitants. It’s all too easy going and mundane to fit an adventurer’s heart. Too familiar and painful, to boot. 

The others may think of him as aloof and, quite frankly, Sky might be a little offended, but Legend has no interest in exploring these islands or making friends with the locals. Never again. Instead of joining any guided tours or trading stories with inquisitive knights, he sinks into his own isolation, finding a quiet place to sit amongst the shore of Skyloft’s only large water source.

All by his lonesome, he’s free to find a good boulder to hide behind and tear away at his hair in a desperate attempt at calming his unsteady anxiety…That is, until he hears a sound - No, not a sound, a voice. A beautiful voice that doesn’t speak, but rather hums a delicate melody he’s certain he’s heard before, probably from Sky who has a habit of mumbling certain songs to himself while plucking his harp.

…And there you are, blissfully unaware of anyone else's presence by the lake as you approach the water's edge. Dropping a laundry basket in the sand, you carefully roll up your pant legs and kick off your boots, prepared to step into the cold water until you suddenly halt.

As if having developed some sort of sixth sense, you glance over your shoulder, quickly spotting the pink haired boy peeking at you from beside a boulder. The sight understandably startles you, yet despite how awkward this situation might look without context - what, to catch a total stranger apparently 'spying' from afar - you give him a kind, that be it nervous smile. People in Skyloft truly are too trusting for their own good.

"Oh hello there! …So sorry, I don't think we’ve met yet."

Legend sighs, realizing it would be creepier if he were to just ignore you. With his place of solace now ruined, he stands and dusts the sand off his tunic, "...That's because I'm not from around here."

"Oh?" You tilt your head cutely, likely confused as to what he could possibly mean, after all, where else would he have come from if not Skyloft? Looking him over, you take notice of his outfit, “Are you a knight? I see you have the uniform of one.”

The angel on Legend's shoulder begs him to be honest, after all there's no reason not to be. Naturally, Sky seems to be pretty well known around Skyloft, so maybe you wouldn't be too surprised to learn your local hero has become ensnared in another adventure, bringing home a handful of other heroes. You might even find Legend more interesting if he were truthfully, awed by the rare chance to meet someone outside of your own timeline...yet staying true to his own bad habits, he decides to dig his own grave instead:

"...Yeah, I’m a knight. I'm just usually really busy, so that's probably why you haven't seen me around, you know,” He explains boldly.

You furrow your eyebrows while finally stepping into the water, taking a handful of clothing items with you, "...Huh...I still could've sworn I knew everyone here, what, with the island being so small and all."

Legend cringes. He can't tell if you're simply speaking on your confusion or slyly catching him in a lie, although the uncertainty isn't enough to deter him, "W-Well, I don't live 'here' exactly. I live on one of the...outer islands - And I spend a lot of time there instead of here which would make it easy to miss me."

You give him a strange look that feels as if it could burn right through him, however you fortunately turn away before his heart can ignite, "...May I ask your name?"

"My...name?" He blinks as if that’s the strangest question you could’ve asked.

"I just feel a bit rude for never having noticed you before, but if I were to learn a name to put to the face, I doubt I'll ever walk past you again without a smile," And oh, how deadly your smile is, flashed over your shoulder so innocently, yet those eyes - They hold mischief behind them.

 "My name is Li - Ravio. That's my name," Another needless lie...

"Li Ravio?" You repeat, not looking very convinced, "That's certainly...a name, alright."

"W-Well, I didn't pick it!" Yes, yes he did...

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean any offense. It's a unique name, that's all, but that will make it easier to remember," You laugh at his misery, your eyes crinkling with the action. You then introduce yourself, your name sounding vaguely familiar, although Legend's in too much of a daze to think of why, "It's nice to meet you, Li Ravio."

He bites back a grumble, already regretting his life choices up until this point. Seriously, if he was going to give himself a cover name and story, couldn't he have picked something a little better? You probably think he's a weirdo, just showing up out of the blue with some half-assed backstory that sounds totally fake - Wait, what does he even care? It's not like he knows you! You're a random civilian from a timeline that comes generations before his own. If he wanted, he could march off and never see or think about you again...but does he want to?

Despite his previous desire for isolation, Legend remains standing there dumbly in the sand, entranced by the song you go back to humming while carefully scrubbing away at your laundry. You take no shame in your singing - which is good, because there's no reason to be. You sound nothing short of holy, and quite honestly, you match the look, practically glowing in the beams of sunlight. Even your movements are graceful, so much so that as you wade out of the water, you hardly disturb the water lilies around you.

"Where'd you learn to sing like that?" The question slips before Legend can help it, but there's no taking it back. You stop mid-step onto the sand, eyes quickly darting up to look at him in surprise. It's as if no one's ever been smart enough to give you that compliment before...or perhaps no one has ever sounded quite so astonished while saying it.

"My cousin and I sing every evening at the Lumpy Pumpkin," You explain, bashfully tucking a strand of hair behind your ear after dropping your laundry back into its basket and picking it up, "You should come by sometime. It’s on an island south east of here - Very cozy, and a great place to get to know new people, too.”

"I'll, um...think about it,” Legend answers awkwardly with a cough. Will they even be staying in Skyloft that long? How would he even get to another island, especially without anyone else following - Wait, why is he even considering this?! 

You seem to have lost some of your cheer. Perhaps that wasn’t the exact answer you were hoping to hear, however Legend, once again, has no way of taking it back.

“...Well, I, um, should get going. These clothes won’t dry themselves,” You mumble, gesturing to the basket you keep against your hip. Without waiting for any goodbye, you make your way up the shoreline, only stopping temporarily to shout over your shoulder, “Oh, and Li Ravio? I should probably tell you that Link was looking for you earlier! He wanted to make sure all you boys knew not to get too close to any edges! It’s quite the fall!”

Legend doesn’t respond, too stunned to form words as you chuckle to yourself before skipping off on your merry way. So you were aware of his lies the entire time!

Faced with tired bones and a sinking sun that plummets the world into night, the Chain has no choice but to call it a day (not that they have any objections towards rest). They practically collapse where they stand, taking a few greedy minutes to catch their breaths before picking up the work once again.

Setting up bedrolls, sparking a fire, organizing supplies, and chopping vegetables, the heroes are kept active for a decent hour or two until they can take another breather. Gathered around a wonky circle, their conversation is light and mostly focused upon their hunger which is only fueled by the pleasant smell of soup until it can be dished out.

About half the boys have bowls in their hands before a sudden snap of a twig causes them to trade their meals for weapons, senses on heightened alert especially when a stranger soon steps out of the shadows. At such a distance, the fire's light only barely outlines their silhouette, but that’s apparently all it takes for someone in their group to realize this is no actual stranger who's stumbled across them.

Hyrule's face lights up as he exclaims your name. Your own reaction is quite similar, switching from caution to excitement within the same second that you remove the hood from your head. The way you both move to greet each other, holding the other's arms with bright smiles and disbelief is quick to calm the other heroes. If you're a friend of the wary traveler's, then you'll be a friend to them.

"I thought it was your voice I heard from the trail, but then again, I haven't heard you in ages! And to find you in such a large group of companions? Never before! Where have you been for all this time, old friend?" You seem to go through several emotions all at once - a steady flow from relief, confusion, sorrow, and joy. Hyrule is hardly any better.

"It's a long story, but I haven't exactly been around to be seen," When you give him a bewildered look, he’s quick to brush it off, "I'll tell you all about it some other time - Hey, why don't you join us for dinner? There's plenty to go around!”

Your eyes instantly widen as you wave your hands in front of yourself, your smile suddenly strained, "Oh, no - no thanks! That's a kind offer, really, but I, um, ate not too long ago -"

"- Pss! He's not the one who does the cooking here," Someone whispers. At that, your shoulders visibly relax.

"...Oh...Well, uh, now that I think about it, it was really more of a light snack earlier. I suppose I could stand to eat something more."

Hyrule beams at this, clearly happy to have someone he knows so well stick around even if only for a night. It's then that he finally introduces you to the group, explaining that you're a fellow traveler he often crossed paths with during his own adventures. Seeing how dangerous this time can be, you had a habit of sharing supplies, camps, and stories to feel less alone in the world, so it's no wonder that you'd be so relieved to see each other safe again.

"Mind if I sit by you, stranger?" You ask, peeking around at Twilight while Hyrule grabs you a bowl of soup. Despite your tired eyes and worn expression, you still manage a friendly smile that causes the rancher to nearly choke on his spoon.

With a cough and blush, he scoots to the side, probably making far more room than you actually need, "...Not one bit."

"Thanks!" Fortunately, you don't seem to think anything of his reaction as you gratefully take a seat nor do you take any notice of the way he steals another curious glance at you.

Seeing as you're a new face within the group, it's only natural that you become the center of attention. Questions are thrown your way left and right, many interested to know your story which you modestly tell with little fanfare. Apparently, you've been a traveler for the last few years, wandering from place to place while making a living off trading the resources you collect throughout your journey. Before then, though, you used to live at your family's ranch.

"You grew up on a ranch?" Twilight asks a bit too eagerly once the topic's mentioned, earning himself a lot of strange looks including one from yourself, although you at least seem more forgiving than his friends, quickly letting your confusion go with a gentle nod.

"I did - For most my life, actually," That's all you say before going back to stirring your soup which you're thankful not to find any bone fragments in.

"What made you move on from that life?" Perhaps it's an out-of-line question a gentleman shouldn't be asking, after all he's no more than a stranger to you, but learning a pretty thing such as yourself may have a similar background to himself makes him forget all manners.

"...It was destroyed by monsters some time back," You answer simply while taking a bite.

Twilight bows his head, shame burning inside, "...Oh. I'm real sorry to hear that."

Despite his fears of having caused offense, you merely shrug off any discomfort, “My family made it out alright and we make do with what we have now. Can't go complaining about that."

"...I'm from a farming village myself - From Ordon,” He goes on to tell in a quiet ramble, “I’ve worked there as a ranch hand practically all my life, overseeing the goats we’re famous for. It’s quaint, and about as far from the big towns as you can get, but homely. And the people there - Why, I don’t think you’ll find anyone more kind and welcoming. Like livin’ in one big family.”

Once again, this probably isn't something he should be saying. If it were him, he'd be beyond distraught to lose the ranch to the point that any reminders would send him spiraling, yet to his continued good fortune, you take his story for what it's meant to be, setting down your spoon with a comforted smile.

"I'd love to see that…" Orondian, how you enchant him with such a soft gaze, taking him hostage in the sea of your sparkling eyes. If Hyrule's tales are any indication for the horrors of this broken world, you must be a true diamond in the rough to be from a place so cruel. Any less personal control and Twilight wouldn't hesitate to ask you to join them - to come along on this adventure and see how beautiful life will someday be. He could take you to Ordon and show you all he’s come to adore - let you breathe the fresh air scented like hay and pine while overlooking the familiar green fields you’ve dearly missed. Who knows? Maybe you’d even ask to stay. 

“I’d love to show you…”

"...Is this still a group conversation ooor?" Wild pipes in awkwardly from Twilight’s side, seeming to speak on everyone else’s discomfort as the poor, stricken young man loses himself to this yearning in his heart. This might be a long night and an even longer day tomorrow if they get stuck listening to him fawning over you...

You’re starting to doubt this shift will ever end…

It feels like you’ve been stuck in here for hours with nothing to do aside from sit at the counter and beg the sun to set just a little faster. You've already restocked inventory twice, organized stock to perfection, and swept the floor until your broom broke…If this keeps up, your sanity might just break, too.

Ringing from the front door’s bell gives you at least something to do as you sigh your typical greeting: "Welcome to Gia's General Store, where we have all your - LINK?!"

With a complete shift in mood, you happily leap up from your stool and race around the corner to meet your friend halfway in a tight embrace that you've both gone far too long without, "It's been ages! How have you been? Where have you been?"

Four chuckles at your eager questioning, "It hasn't been that long."

"Really? Because I swear five years have passed from this shift alone…" You groan dramatically before breaking away from the hug to get a solid look at him. Despite the months that have passed, he looks no different than when he had first set out. Good. You like him just the way he is anyway. 

"Please tell me you're planning on sticking around for a bit. I’ve been dying for something interesting to happen around here and your stories are just the salvation I need! I only have an hour to go until I can close up, though I'm afraid I might stab myself with a fire arrow before then. It’s been terribly boring!” 

That, Four doesn’t doubt. Your home village is as serene as they come which isn’t always a favorable trait in the judgement of two teenagers with more energy coursing through their bones than they know what to do with. Of course, he’s probably done no good helping matters by always filling your head with envious dreams of adventure and mystery. 

“We’ll probably be spending the night in town,” He tells you, much to your relief, “In the meantime, we have quite the list of supplies that we need to restock on, if you don’t mind.”

"We?" Somehow you only just notice the group of young men who managed to sneak into the store after Four. A few of them are already looking around at the items you have to offer, while others wait patiently with the hope that they'll be introduced to...Well, whoever you are to their dear friend.

"I would introduce everyone, but we all share the same name."

"All of you?" You look at Four in shock, yet he nods as if it's the most normal thing in the world to him...Then again, it probably is at this rate. Honestly you shouldn't be that surprised yourself. This is Link you're talking to.

"...Huh...Well, feel free to have a look around, I guess, and let me know if you need anything in particular. Arrows are buy one get two free right now, and fully in stock, too, since Link - Er, this Link, hasn't been in town to buy us out,” You explain to the group, jutting a thumb towards Four who rolls his eyes.

Now, usually you become a bit overwhelmed whenever large groups enter your shop, but seeing as these guys are Four's friends, you feel comfortable letting them wander freely. It helps that they seem to know exactly what they're looking for, too, making your job all the easier.

For the most part, the group allows Four and you privacy to catch up, only interrupting your conversation occasionally whenever they have questions about your prices or the quality of your goods, however you aren’t blind to the curious glances they spare you even in silence. No doubt they’re wondering how deep your relationship with Four goes, finding it endearing how at peace the young hero has become in your simple presence.

Most of these glances are quick enough, although you can’t help noticing that one of the boys seems to lack the same subtlety as his friends. Each time you steal a peek through the corners of your eyes, you spot him staring in your direction with an awed look overtaking his face. Whenever someone else nudges him to ask a question, he blinks rapidly with a stammer before bashfully looking away.

‘Cute…’ You’re tempted to think, but then you take notice of how young the boy seems to be. He must be at least a few years younger than Four and you - still a just child, at least by your standards which is an upsetting thought since context clues point to him being a hero, too. If that’s true, that must mean he was as young as Four was when he first set out on all this hero business himself, if not even younger. Poor kid…

Soon enough, Four confirms your suspicions about his traveling companions’ identities, telling you all about the strange portals they’ve traveled through and the journey they’ve been on up until this point. It was mere hours ago that they found themselves this close to home and, well, he couldn’t bear to pass by without seeing you or his uncle.

“Smart. I would’ve been livid had I found out you were in the area and didn’t stop by,” You elbow Four who pushes you back with his shoulder playfully before suddenly glancing behind you. Following his attention, you find the youngest hero standing there shyly, a minish feather necklace in one hand and a small pouch of rupees in the other.

Wind startles, seeming to have not expected your turn, “I, uh, wanted to know how much this was - um, is…So that I can buy it, if I may - for my little sister!”

You notice Four hiding his smirk behind his hand, yet you elect to ignore him for now, instead giving the younger boy your full focus with a kind smile, “How sweet of you. Consider it on the house, kid.”

“R - Really?” He brightens with possibly the widest eyes you’ve ever seen.

“‘course. Think of it as payment for helping my friend here find his way home safely.”

“Wow, thank you miss!” Oh goddesses above, his smile is adorable! He reminds you of the village children who often come here seeking sweet treats, such a simple delight to create lasting joy in their hearts. How you wish you could return to those days yourself - to no longer bear the weight of the world and its troubles in your thoughts. Alas, you could never so skillfully rewind time, but at least you can help protect that same innocence in others, even if only for a moment.

And protect it you do. Even late into the evening, Wind still cherishes that necklace in hand, carefully inspecting its details while kicking his feet giddily in memory of you, the pretty shopkeeper from Four’s Hyrule.

Sure, it probably isn’t that big of a deal. You gave the entire Chain a rather generous discount on their supplies despite their protests, but he was the only one who received your kindness personally without having to share. No one else aside from Four had the joy of seeing your beautiful smile directed his way, your expression soft and comforting like a warm breeze on the summer’s beach. 

He hadn’t lied. He does plan on giving the necklace to Aryll once this journey is over, but until then, he’ll probably admire it a little longer, at least until this crush of his settles within his heart.

[deadqueerboys]

Hair pulling

NSFW HEADCANONS - MALE READER

Plot; Hair pulling mid make out.

Tommy is x Ftm! Reader because I wanted to.

Wilbur, Tommy and Quackity (separate).

Wilbur

He wasn't ready for that, but it seemed natural. Will got feral with that, as soon as your hand grabbed his hair he let out a big moan and he rolled his eyes. He smirked and grabbed your hips, looking at you a little more needy than before. You two were in his room, he sat on your lap while he was riding your cock. Your body was feeling funny, with a mix of horny and worried. He didn't want people to find out about they making out, especially after the allegations. Wilbur always tried to make the best for you, even if that means keeping you as a secret.

He wanted more of it, begging you to do that again. With sweetness, he grabs your hands and spreads a lot of kisses on them. Will knows that you liked that too, so he made everything to see you doing that. His eyes close when he leans to kiss you, way more soft and passionate than before. One more pull, and he's already crazy for you, his hand going down to touch your zipper. He looks at you with those eyes, so needy and possessive, you love it. Of course you do, or else you wouldn't be doing him all day and night while he's not on tour.

Tommy

You two just got home. As soon as he closed the door, he had already jumped on you. His hands touch your chest under your shirt, touching the scars of your surgery. It was still recent, but not enough to bother you during sex or when Tom touched it. He loves doing that, his fingers on the line of the scars, smiling at you. When he looks up, he kisses you, just as needy as his touch. Tommy pressed you against the wall, his hips rolling against yours, he was probably thinking about it since he saw you with those clothes.

He was surprised when you pulled his hair, and he suddenly widened his eyes. Just a second after it, he giggles and kisses you again. He denied the whimper, just smiling at grinding more aggressively. Tommy was weak for this. He needed more of you. It would never be enough. His legs were getting weak, and he could feel himself lost on the thoughts of his boyfriend pulling his hair. Then, you did it again, and he whimpered. A small moan and his smirk at you, not innocent, totally nasty and lustful.

Quackity

Quacks is wearing his beanie, always with some hat or anything to cover his hair. He was caressing your thighs, running his hand up and down while he worked on something on his computer. Probably a new video or adjusting stuff for a stream. You lay your head on his shoulder, and he leans closer. His hand on your chin as he kisses you. It was soft, nothing too much. But, both of you were needy.. he moves from his chair, pinning you on yours. His arms are blocking your way out, and you bring your hands up to grab his hair.

He says a "what the fuck?" with a chuckle. He loved that, nodding for you to do that again. He's a simple man. If he liked, of course, he would want it again. He's strong enough to keep himself quiet while you do that, even tho his hands are directly on your belt, opening it while you're busy with his hair. He wants your dick so bad. He wants to taste you before you go away again or before he needs to work.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

What do you think, Azula and Zuko are more alike than their fans want to admit or are they completely opposite and going in different directions?

ANON, YOU FOOL, YOU OPENED THE FLOODGATES!

Azula and Zuko are a classic case of "same writing, different font." Just two sides of the same coin. Zuko is who Azula would be if she had been the scapegoat of the family, wore her heart on her sleeve, was just a good bender instead of a prodigy, and was willing to question Ozai. Azula is who Zuko would be if he managed to suppress emotions, didn't get in his own way due to impatience/desperate need to prove himself, was the golden child and never questioned Ozai in any way.

They have MANY things in common. Both are stubborn, proud, deeply patriotic, ambitious, social disasters yet super badass when in their element, passionate about their beliefs and, more importantly, take their roles VERY seriously - what creates contrast between them is what said roles are. Azula is the "perfect", ruthless, cunning princess that was taught to be proud about not caring for others. Zuko is disgraced son that has to prove himself (to himself, to Ozai, and, later on, to the world) that he is worthy of being the future Fire Lord.

This point is even highlighted by the role reversal that happened in the Last Agni Kai, in which Zuko is winning by using Azula's tactics, letting her attack and waste all her energy, while he saves up his own so he can strike full force once she's too tired - he even tries to goad her into using lightining so he can redirect it and win, and it would have probably worked if Azula hadn't found an easy target in Katara. Their strategies, levels of confidence and even personalities change to be more like their sibling's based on their situation.

They're also driven by the same fears: of not being good enough, of not being worthy enough, of not being loved. Fiting considering they were indoctrinated/traumatized by the same system/person, under the same roof, even if they were abused in different ways.

We see them making a ton of the same mistakes as well.

Zuko wants to make the ship go through a dangerous storm to chase the Avatar because "the safety of the grew doesn't matter", Azula has her infamous "Do the tides command this ship?" moment.

Azula banishes everyone because she's struggling to cope with her friends' "betrayal", Zuko becomes a much more cruel and self person after being disfigured by Ozai and even tries to get away from Iroh several times.

Azula is verbally abusive to her brother and sometimes her friends, Zuko is verbally abusive to their uncle.

Azula throws Zuko under the bus to be in Ozai's good graces, Zuko throws Iroh under the bus to win his dad's affection.

That last one is also part of a very noticeable pattern: Whenever Zuko is being unapologetic about being a villain, he tends to be VERY cunning and one hell of backstaber.

The Avatar returned but he couldn't capture him? He tried to keep it a secret. If no one else knows about it, they can't steal his chance to go home by capturing him first.

Some pirates want to attack the Gaang because they stole a scroll? Free henchmen. He just has to pretend this kid he wants to capture is not the Avatar, and thus not worth A LOT more than what these guys are getting as a reward. Zuko even has the nerve to go "Don't listen to him, he's just trying to divide us" when Sokka points out that he's REALLY screwing them over with this deal (they should make a support group with Long Feng).

Zhao captured the Avatar before he could? Go kidnap that monk back. It doesn't matter that Aang's capture means the nation Zuko genuinely loves will have no true obstacle in it's path for victory: If he's not the one scoring that major win, NO ONE is. His nation and his family can have their moment of glory AFTER he got his, not a second earlier.

Zhao tried to kill him and is going after the Avatar again? Time to dress up as one of his men to be taken by the idiot himself to the North Pole so he can interfere with his plans - literally the same as Azula pretending to be Suki, taking over Ba Sing Se and as a bonus discovering about their plans for the eclipse.

Azula is tracking Aang to capture him? Just follow right behind her and wait until she doesn't have her friends along so he has a better chance of winning the fight against her and being the one to take the Avatar to Ozai.

Oh, he was brought home because the Avatar is "dead"... except that might not be true, so maybe he'll be banished again? Mouth shut, Azula is the one who "killed" him anyways. Worse comes to worse, send an assassin to finish the job.

Hell, even when he's already determined to be a good person, he calls himself stupid for not blaming the whole assassin thing on his sister. Literally blaming her for his fuck up, the same way she did with that "Zuko was the one who killed the Avatar" thing.

His POV in Earth Kingdom Chronicles also give us some insight into what exactly he was thinking during the events of Crossroads of Destiny:

Zuko, I’m begging you,” Uncle said. “Look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want.” “You are free to choose,” Azula said. Then she and the Dai Li left. She is right. I am free to choose. And Uncle is right too. I must look into my heart and find what it is I truly want. That is easy. It’s what I’ve always wanted. I cannot deny my heart, my heritage, and who I truly am. I raced from the cell out into an open courtyard, where Azula was battling Katara and the Avatar. They had reached a stalemate, and then they were each waiting to see who would strike next. I did. I sent a fire blast that landed right between them. They were all looking at me, wondering what my next move would be. Good. I will show them my choice, the choice I always knew I would make.

Uncle looked at me without saying a word. Then he looked away. I can tell he’s very disappointed in me. But I had to do what I did.

Zuko is, to the Gaang, what Azula is to him: the wildcard, a huge pain in the ass, the unreliable son of a bitch that every so often gets them to chill just enough that they forget they REALLY shouldn't trust him, as he has a tendency of putting himself first, screw everyobody else. And much like he struggled to win their forgiveness and friendship after all that nonsense, Azula has to deal with Zuko's understandable suspicion of her intentions whenever she actually feels like genuinely being a good sister to him.

And what makes that parallel even more obvious (deliberately or not on the show's part) is that, when fighting Azula, Zuko is represented by the color red, but when compared to the Gaang, Zuko is constantly represented by the color blue. That's Azula's signature color, her name was literally chosen by the showrunners because of her blue flames - yet Zuko is the Blue Spirit, and is represented by the blue dragon when he and Aang meet Ran and Shaw.

And speaking of blue dragons, the "shoulder devil" in his fever dream has Azula's voice, while the "shoulder angel" has Iroh's voice... yet when he's trying to be one of the good guys, not only does Zuko explicitly ask himself "What would AZULA do?, he actually manages to be accurate when putting himself in her shoes, unlike when he tries to think/talk like Iroh, which always comes out as pure giberish.

So while the part of him that is more Azula-esque is very much treated as his "bad" side, it is still clearly a side that isn't going away, and sometimes it represents him better (and is far easier for him to understand/connect with) than the part of him that is more like Iroh - again, especially when Zuko's being compared to more "moral" people - and the writers are VERY aware of that pattern of Azula being THE person who knows how to get into Zuko's head like no one else can, mainly because of their familial relationship.

This quote about it by Bryan Konietzko in an interview was very interesting (and yes, I needed the wiki to let me know which half of "Bryke" he was 'cause I still can't tell them apart)

"When you study Eastern philosophies, the ego is a really tough enemy or antagonist. Again, we like to treat our characters very realistically. In real life, people have moments of great weakness, usually tied in with the ego. Your siblings can push your buttons. I have four siblings, a brother and three sisters, and no one can get you like your siblings. Azula knew ALL the right buttons to push to play at his weaknesses, parts of his ego which were susceptible to her. She did it well, and it was a moment where he just tasted this thing which he's wanted and focused on, obsessed over, for so long. I think it was very realistic."

Azula being Zuko's "ego" (or at least the person that can use it to their advantage the most due to her understanding of it) ties into her being his "bad" side, and makes for a nice parallel with her POV in the book Earth Kingdom Chronicles

I sent a message to Iroh’s tea shop — making it look as if the note had come from the Earth King — requesting that he and Zuko come to the palace as guests of the king, to personally serve him tea. There was no way Iroh could resist such an offer. The next day, I watched from the shadows as Iroh and Zuko set up tea in the palace tea room. I marveled at how soft and so pitifully domesticated they had both become. The once great general, who was called the Dragon of the West, and the Fire Lord’s firstborn, preparing tea like servants. If my father could see his son … Well, no matter. Soon they will be back in the Fire Nation, or else they will be destroyed.

I know he doesn’t believe Iroh and all his talk of turning to goodness. I know what Zuko wants deep in his heart. I have always known him better than anyone else. He can’t hide his true feelings and desires from me, no matter what he says, no matter how noble a face he puts on for others. I know what choice he will make, even if he doesn’t know.

It's interesting how Azula knew how to appeal to Iroh's ego as well - and that she's almost offended on their behalf, seeing them acting as servants, because, whatever her issues with them, they're still from the same bloodline as herself, and she very much would NOT accept being in such position, therefore they shouldn't be playing that role either (and it's clear she'll deal with them harshly if they fail to prove they were not, indeed, "domesticated").

But it's also obvious that she has a much better understanding of how to bring Zuko to her side - and that she doesn't care that much if Iroh follows along or just gets destroyed. Zuko was very much the true goal, and she actually lets us know why.

Poor, poor Zuko. I actually feel sorry for him. He still doesn’t understand, even at his moment of ultimate achievement. “Father doesn’t need to restore your honor, Zuko,” I explained. “Today you restored your own honor.” My brother looked away from me with a pained expression across his face. I hope he can eventually believe what I have told him: that by choosing his family, by choosing me over the Avatar, he has come back to his rightful place in the Fire Nation. And I welcome him by my side.

If Azula is Zuko's ego, the part of him that encourages his manipulative, selfish, cruel tendencies, Zuko is Azula's heart. That part of her that is still, in some way, innocent. Just a young girl that wants her brother to come home, so they can be a family again. The part of her that wants to be beside him, not three steps ahead of him in everything, taunting him about how he'll never catch up - because if he doesn't, she's alone.

Zuko's mistake was indulging his ego way too much, Azula's mistake was neglecting her heart - and both mistakes are a result of the same thing, namely Ozai and what he thought made someone strong or weak. Admiting fault and caring for others is weakness, and needs to be punished harshly. Burning everything down to be king of the ashes is strength.

And loyalty is something he demands from, and imposes on, others, not something HE is to ever give to anyone, hence him leaving Azula behind in the finale, to which she argues "You can't treat me like that, you can't treat me like Zuko."

She played by his rules, she neglected her heart so she would be worthy of Ozai's love - and then he took his love back anyway, just because he could. And then Zuko shows up and gets his happy ending after having asked Katara "How would you like to help me put Azula in her place?" He tamed his ego, and was rewarded for it.

Now, there is one big problem with that dynamic of "Zuko has to be loved, Azula has to be controled" which is when an incompetent writer crosses the line from making that literal instead of symbolic - which is how we end up with the Yang comics, in which Zuko cannot be described as anything but Azula's abuser, whom she's both loyal to and incredibly hateful towards.

He's the new Ozai, which is very ironic considering that was what Azula wanted him to be, and what the comics are telling us Zuko is fighting back against, even though he's constantly framed as the good guy for showing his sister the back of his hand (or an asylum to be neglected in, or the edge of a cliff to be thrown off of) when she's in the middle of a psychotic breakdown.

The show avoided that gross narrative with one simple solution: Ego's (Azula's) "Death" is not the triumph one would expect. She's humanized more than ever in the finale (and before in The Beach), the music is somber, and Zuko looks at her with pity by the end of the battle because this is a tragedy.

Because Azula is not just part of him, a symbolic element of his arc, she's her own person - and Ehasz making it clear that he planted the seeds for Zuko to help Azula redeem herself by showing her unconditional love frames his return as being not just her foe coming back to defeat her, but as her Heart sweeping in to rescue her.

Because, despite all the false dichotomy about how it's either him or her ("born lucky, lucky to be born", "I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child", "the showdown that was always meant to be") it simply is not a true victory for Zuko if the consequence is Azula's demise - and clearly the same applied to her, since she went out of her way to bring him back home.

...And to give credit where credit is due, even Gene Yang didn't fuck that up completely as, in Smoke and Shadow, when Azula is talking to Zuko (in a crypt belonging to a former Fire Lord's most trusted advisor no less) the man has Azula herself tell Zuko that sooner or later he'll realize they're one in the same.

(Even if I suspect that is just a result of him continuing trying to make Azula "Avatar's Joker" and since Zuko would be Batman, she would be obsessed with being his opposite and "completing" him, but hey, accidentally getting something right is still getting something right)

Oh, and they're both really pretty. That has nothing to do with anything, but I felt the need to mention it anyway.

[littlestarbigsky]

The Asthma Attack Stevepop was absolutely amazing!!! Also, hahaa, I made the request because you started posting Asthma Sodapop things,

Is there anything with Two-Bit and Marcia that you would want to write? (Any Headcanons for Two-Bit or Marcia that's similar in nature to being sick or hurting or something happening and the other being able to help?)

Sorry, I don't know if this makes much sense,

- 🍀

my mind decided to wander a little (a lot) with this one💗 i wrote this chetcherrycola fic not too long ago and hinted at marbit in it and then this request came in like two days later sooooo i had no choice ;)

cw: they end up in the bath together and marcia washes two-bit’s hair, nothing sexual but it’s definitely intimate, perhaps not entirely sfw

hope this is okay🩷

her heart was pounding heavily in her chest as she hurried home from cherry’s house, umbrella open and her jacket fastened tightly around her. she could feel the rain seeping into her new suede shoes, her parents would probably kill her if they noticed…

“did soda make it to cherry’s?” a voice asked, and she already knew whose it was.

marcia saw his silhouette slouched on her front steps before she saw his face, and yet there was still that sick feeling in her stomach telling her that something was wrong. it only got worse as she got closer and finally saw how much of a mess he was.

“oh my god,” she sprinted forward, her kitten heels almost falling off as she ran. “oh, sweetheart…”

two-bit looked up at her, and it felt like a lead weight had dropped into her stomach. he was soaked to the bone, his curly hair plastered to his forehead. it seemed like his entire body was littered with bruises, his face covered in blood and one of his eyes was swollen shut.

“i…” he winced, but cut himself off as the split in his lip tightened and she hurried forward, making sure he was fully covered by the awning as her cold fingers fiddled with her house keys.

“shh,” she hushed him, a hand grazing over his cheek as she unlocked the front door. “here, get inside.”

he pushed himself off the stairs and onto his feet with a sharp gasp, limping through the door and stopping on the doormat. he started to wipe his boots off as marcia kicked off her shoes and hurried further inside to the bathroom, coming back with a couple of towels. she wrapped one of them around his shoulders, using another to start drying his curls and wiping away some of the blood splattered across his face.

“what happened?” she asked, trying her best to be gentle with him as she guided him over to sit on the stairs. “it was just a rumble… you’ve never been this roughed up before…”

his big brown doe eyes gazed up at her and blinked sadly, “they found us… me ‘n soda… he managed to get them off pretty fast but they…”

he winced, and she sat down on the stair just above him, rubbing his back and running her hand along his sleeve of tattoos. he sucked his teeth for a moment before stuttering out, “they had me pinned down. you can’t wear rings in a rumble… but apparently you can when you’re jumping someone after.”

marcia felt sick to her stomach, so much that she couldn’t speak for a few moments, but she still asked slowly, “it was trip… wasn’t it?”

he grimaced and looked away before nodding slightly. marcia felt tears in her eyes, she felt guilty, heartbroken, angry, and none of it could help him.

“i’m sorry,” she gasped, tenderly pulling him into her arms, his head resting in her lap. “i’m so sorry…”

he shrugged, “that’s just life around here, i’ll be okay.”

she gasped out something that could have been a laugh if she wasn’t so devastated, “it shouldn’t have to be! you don’t deserve any of this mess… just because i broke up with him doesn’t make it your problem!”

he lifted his head and looked up at her, “look at me, babydoll.”

she blinked out a couple of tears, but didn’t dare look down at him. he reached up and gently grabbed her cheek, slowly turning her head to look him in the eyes.

“i’m okay.”

he pushed himself up gingerly and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips. she huffed, a few more tears sliding down her cheeks, and he stuck his tongue out playfully.

she let a smile break through, giggling softly and kissing him again, “can i get you anything, honey? some frozen peas? do you want to shower?”

two-bit shrugged, “i’m just a little cut up, baby, just some stuff that won’t feel too good in the morning.”

marcia mulled it over for a moment, running the towel over his wet hair while she thought.

finally, she perked up, “how about i run you a hot bath and throw these clothes in the wash? my parents will be gone until tuesday, you can stay here tonight.”

he smiled up at her and nodded.

“okay,” she blushed, pushing herself off the stairs and hurrying up to start running a bath for him.

she let the water run and warm up for a few minutes before she shutting the drain, pouring in some sweet smelling bubble bath, and turning back around to dry her hands off. two-bit was watching her fondly, leaning against the doorway.

marcia blushed under his gaze, “c’mon, you’re gonna get sick if you stay in those wet clothes.”

she ushered him back to her bedroom, grabbing another towel from the bathroom and following him back to her bedroom. he started to strip off his overalls as she began to sift through one of her dresser drawers, producing a t-shirt and flannel pants that he’d left there ages ago.

she giggled as she tossed them onto the bed, “you may as well have your own drawer now.”

“your dad would probably have a heart attack,” two-bit laughed, slowly pulling off his shirt, careful not to hit any of the cuts on his face.

he finished taking off the rest of his clothes and tied the towel around his waist, heading over to the bathroom.

“go ahead and get started, i’ll be right there,” she waved to him as he looked back curiously.

marcia leaned up against the dresser for a minute and took a couple of steadying breaths before she started to pull off her dress and cardigan and threw them into the laundry basket. she reached for a set of pajamas from the open drawer, but thought better of getting them wet and instead pulled off the rest of her clothes and grabbed the bathrobe hanging by her door.

when she pushed the bathroom door open, two-bit was up to his neck in the hot water and bubbles, his eyes closed and his head leaned back against the ceramic lip of the tub. she pulled the step stool in the corner over to sit by his head. she brushed back some of his hair and he opened his eyes, or at least as much as he could from how swollen one of them was.

“you okay?” she asked him gently, her thumb running over a small cut next to his eye. he nodded slowly, and she bit the inside of her cheek for a moment, “can i start cleaning these up? i don’t want anything to get infected.”

“you sure the bath won’t clean ‘em up alright for me?” he smiled, but marcia still stood up and grabbed the first aid kit from the medicine cabinet.

“did soda make it back to cherry’s? and chet? ah-” he winced as she started to clean his split lip with a piece of gauze.

“i think so,” she grabbed some more antiseptic and sprayed down the gauze as she folded it. “chet got there first… told me he saw you on your way over here.”

“but what about soda?” he asked again.

marcia sighed, “he’s okay, i didn’t see him, but he was right behind chet.”

“you don’t know, then,” two-bit readjusted in the bath, as if he was about to march over to cherry’s then and there.

“yes, i do,” marcia smiled, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder and guiding him back down. “if something was wrong, cherry would have called. he’s fine, baby.”

he sunk back down, low enough to where he could blow bubbles in the water, and marcia giggled loudly. he pushed himself up and smiled knowingly over at her.

she realized what he wanted and her eyebrows shot up, “no, you’re all banged up, i don’t want to hurt you, and now is not the time for that.”

he gave her another goofy smile, “we don’t have to do that, is it so bad that i wanna hold you?”

marcia sighed heavily and he smirked, “you don’t have anything on under that robe, baby.”

she knew he was going to win, she wasn’t upset about it, just that he was right. she was trying hard not to smile, but she could tell it wasn’t working.

“c’mere,” he held out a hand and she rolled her eyes, slowly untying the robe and letting it fall to the ground. he gave her a small giggle as she stepped into the water and sat down opposite him.

he playfully splashed her, and she gasped, “two! i don’t wanna get my hair wet!”

two-bit rolled his eyes and grabbed at her ankles, pulling her down. her hands slipped out from under her and she fell in up to her eyes in the bubbles. she popped back up quickly, her mouth hanging open in an incredulous smile.

“oh, you absolute menace,” she pushed herself up and fell forward so that their chests were flush together.

he pressed a quick kiss to her lips, barely concealing his look of glee, “you love me.”

“aren’t you lucky…” she laid her head down against his shoulder, pressing a kiss to his collarbone.

they lay together, two-bit turning on the tap to let the warm water run whenever the water started to cool down. two-bit traced patterns on marcia’s back and over her sides, occasionally jabbing at tender spots and earning soft giggles.

eventually, she sat up, tapping his shoulder gently, “c’mon, let me wash that hair of yours.”

two-bit sat up slightly and tilted his head back to get the rest of his hair wet as she poured out some of her shampoo into her hands.

“so… did you win?” she asked gingerly as she started massaging the shampoo through his curls.

“hm?” he hummed, glancing up at her.

“the rumble,” she amended. “did you guys win?”

two-bit shrugged, some suds falling from his head and onto his shoulders, “i don’t think anyone wins at a rumble anymore, babydoll.”

marcia hummed, gently tipping his head back with her index finger to give him the go-ahead to rinse out the shampoo. when he popped back up, she had conditioner at the ready and began giving him the same treatment.

“unless you wanted to know if i kicked ass,” he grinned goofily around her hands. “in which case, of course i did.”

she laughed, pressing a quick kiss to his lips and resting their foreheads together.

he fiddled with the ends of her hair, which were finally drying, “can’t i wash your hair, too, pretty girl?”

she smoothed his hair back and kissed his forehead sweetly, “today’s not wash day, check back in on sunday and we’ll talk. i think it’s time we get you in bed, sweetheart, you’re exhausted.”

he chuckled lightly, “molly’s gonna kill me for not comin’ home…”

“you can call her,” marcia reassured him. “now rinse out that conditioner, i want to go to bed.“

he dipped his head back and she carded her fingers through his hair, making sure all of the product was rinsed before guiding him back up and pulling the stopper out of the tub. marcia stood up and grabbed a towel, drying off as much as she could before wrapping it around herself and stepping out of the tub. she grabbed another towel and turned around to hand it to two-bit as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, the soreness from the fight still deep in his bones.

she ushered him back to her bedroom, closing the door behind them even though she knew they would be alone. she slipped on a fresh set of pajamas as two-bit pulled on the clothes they had set out on the dresser. marcia fell into bed with two-bit ready to follow suit, her collection of blankets and pillows like a balm after the commotion of the rumble, and all that came after it.

“you should call molly,” she sat up, half blocking his side of the bed with her arm. “she’s not gonna sleep until she knows you’re alright. just tell her you’re here and that you’re okay.”

two-bit rolled his eyes but didn’t wait for her to tell him again to hurry down the hallway to where he knew the phone was. he called back to her, “i’m gonna grab those frozen peas from the freezer!”

“okay!” marcia peeled back the covers on his side of the bed and fluffed up the pillows while he was gone, snuggling down into her own blankets.

two-bit popped back into the room a few minutes later, his smile firmly back in place and the bag of peas from marcia’s freezer pressed against his shoulder.

“you talk to her?” she asked gently as he crawled in next to her.

he nodded, readjusting the bag as he laid down, “yeah, she’s at soda’s with darry and pony, mama’s gonna pick her up in the morning.”

marcia nodded, scooting closer under the covers. he looked over at her, silently asking permission, before plastering himself to her side. she could tell he was hitting a brick wall of exhaustion now that he’d burned through the adrenaline high.

she brushed some of his damp curls back, twisting one around her finger, “can i get you anything? water, aspirin?”

he shook his head, his cheek pressed against her collarbone, “mmm, no, i just wanna sleep.”

she smiled and kissed his head sweetly, “i think we can do that.”

[sweetiesicheng]

mingyu - lights out

word count : 565

-

suddenly, the lights flicker a few times before turning off. you look out the window and notice that the power is out everywhere. a few lights linger, most likely being batter powered items or generators kicking in for certain buildings.

"oh come on!" you hear mingyu shout from the kitchen. you leave the bedroom and find him standing in the dark.

"everything okay?" you ask him.

"yea, i'm fine. it's just the stove is off," he mentions, turning the stove knob, "it’s fine. i was going to cook something else, but this will have to do.”

"put the lid on, that should help," you say to him. you grab your phone off of a charger in the living room and turn the flashlight on. you walk over to mingyu and shine the light towards the stove. "y/n's light service is here to help you!" you announce.

mingyu smiles with a chuckle, "oh thank you so much y/n from y/n's light service. mingyu's food service will be done in a few moments.

"isn't this the second time the power has gone off this week?" you question.

"has it? you've been home more than me this week," mingyu says and moves the pot to the table.

you nod, "yea, this is the second time. maybe there's something wrong," you say and go to the table. "can you hand me a water bottle?" you ask.

"oh, sure," mingyu replies. he opens the fridge and grabs a water bottle. "catch," he says before tossing the bottle to you.

you catch the bottle and place it on top of the flashlight on your phone. the light reflects in the water to sort of make a makeshift lamp. it illuminates enough so you roughly see the kitchen, but it's still dark around the condo.

mingyu brings over some side dishes and extra small bowls.

"the stuff in the freezer should be fine, right?" you ask mingyu.

"huh? yea, just don't open it. the fridge should be fine too, that is, if the power comes back on soon. if not, then we're probably gonna have a lot to throw away tomorrow," mingyu says and sits down across from you. "i like the light," he comments about the water bottle sitting on your phone.

"better than nothing," you reply to him. "you know what, i bet it's because of the weather. with all of the rain we've been getting lately," you say to him as he starts taking a portion of noodles from the pot. "but this is taking awhile for the power to come back on," you comment.

"it'll probably come back on soon. probably just a little hiccup," he says to you.

"mm. you're right," you say and put a portion of noodles into your bowl. "thanks for cooking."

"oh, this was nothing. we're lucky that this didn't take too long to cook," he replies. "and thank you to y/n from y/n's light service for providing a light for tonight’s dinner," he says with a smile, nodding his head towards the water bottle that's still on top of your phone.

you laugh, "of course. and thank you to mingyu from mingyu's food service for providing tonight's dinner," you say. both of you laugh together.

"you're cute," mingyu comments.

"you're cuter," you say to him.

"you're cutest. boom, i win."

"oh whatever mingyu from mingyu's food service."

[quibbs126]

I’m thinking about it, and I think Optimus banishing Megatron from Iacon with the High Guard was probably one of the worst decisions he could have made to deal with this situation

Because Optimus pretty much left him alone, outside of his home and I’m fairly certain the only remaining city on Cybertron, so to live out in the wilds of the surface, with a bunch of complete strangers whom they literally call nut-jobs and have a strong belief of “strength of one bot over another”, and are also much older and more experienced than him

And in leaving him with the High Guard, he’s likely isolated Megatron even more than if he was banished alone. Because while Optimus and the others have friends they can be vulnerable with and be comfortable talk about their feelings, Megatron does not know these people, and they don’t know him. But he’s now their leader in a group that values strength above all else, and emotions are usually considered a weakness in these sorts of settings. So not only does he have no one to talk to, he has to bottle up his very strong and raw emotions to appear stronger and worthy of his position, thus making them far worse and probably leading to unhealthy coping mechanisms

This could end up not being the case, and the High Guard are very considerate of his emotions. But it’s also very possible the case that they aren’t, or Megatron believes he can’t be vulnerable around them. They (the quartet I mean) don’t know these people, and they’ve really only seen them be violent and aggressive, and Megatron knows he’s an outsider to them. It’s a more likely scenario that they’ll be harmful to Megatron’s mental state rather than helpful

And again, they’re a lot older than him too, and they probably all know this, at least on some level. And thus, he’s far more likely to be influenced by the High Guard’s mentality and beliefs, which we already know aren’t great (even if it’s somewhat justified why they’re the way they are by this point). And assuming they’re pissed at Optimus as well, they could very well try to have Megatron distance himself from his old friends, and it be more successful than if he was alone

But moving away from the High Guard, there’s the fact that Optimus banished him from his home and left him to fend for himself, which Megatron would absolutely take personally just on its own. He was clearly not in a mentally stable place at that point and I think he thinks what he’s doing is right, he’s the one not being like Sentinel while Optimus is. It definitely isn’t right, but he thinks he is. And the banishment to him could not only be Optimus/Orion standing against him, but essentially him saying he’s given up on Megatron, making him leave his home. And I mean, Sentinel did kind of do this to the High Guard 50 cycles ago, so yet another parallel to be made between Optimus and Sentinel

But note that when I say all this, I don’t mean it as a criticism of the movie, that this is a flaw of the plot. I’m fairly certain this was 100% intentional by the writers. It wasn’t just Megatron that created Megatron and led to the war, it was Optimus too, even if he didn’t intend to

Optimus probably thought at the time that this was the best solution in dealing with him. He doesn’t agree with Megatron’s actions but he understands where it all comes from, and he was someone very important to him. So he probably doesn’t want to arrest him, punishing him for what he thought was right and making himself more like Sentinel, oppressing those who were supposed to be on his side. But he still has to be punished for his actions. So by banishment, he is punished while still being allowed to essentially be free, just not in Iacon, and maybe in turn he’ll see his wrongdoings and come back better. And even if the High Guard aren’t ideal, they did help Optimus and Elita rescue their friends, and maybe he thought at least with them he wouldn’t be alone in his thoughts. Also they agreed with Megatron’s ideals and probably shouldn’t be allowed to just roam free in Iacon, especially in this politically fragile state it is right now

But in doing so, Optimus essentially threw Megatron to the wolves and created the perfect environment for his anger and pain to fester and cause him to become more like the Megatron we know in the future

I’m not sure what the actual best solution would have been to this issue though. Maybe it would have been just jailing Megatron? Granted in the short term, it’d probably sting even worse for Megatron, that his own friend would lock him up, and it’d probably make him even more resentful. But at least there, he’d still be in Iacon, with his friends and people who want to help him, and with Optimus and Elita at the helm, they can probably see that he gets treated well and has access to people that can really help him work through it all and see what he did was wrong

But that’s not what happened

[shegotheruby]

REUNION.

Coming home for your high school reunion (where your high school ex lives) maybe wasn't the best idea.

Good thing you've got Jihoon to come home to at the end of it all.

wc: 8,000

tw: violence, original characters, attempt of coercion (not from woozi), smut, fluff..so much fluff.

18+ MDNI.

---

Dating Seventeen’s Producer has it’s perks, and it’s downfalls.

Perk: He writes you little verses sometimes to express his love. Jihoon has never been super comfortable with bringing up his feelings verbally, but somehow singing them or writing them down makes it easier for him. You appreciate everything because you like to keep his little napkin notes and 30 second melodies jotted down on a crumpled paper locked away inside a box in your closet. You love him - and he knows it. He loves you too.

Downfall: You do have to hide the relationship. You’re the extroverted one in the pair, always excited to share things with the people you trust. If it were up to you, your instagram feed would be full of the cute pictures you have stored away of him. If it were up to you, you’d scream from the rooftops how happy he makes you. You would tell everyone and their dog about how Jihoon is the most attentive and most wonderful boyfriend you could have ever dreamed of.

Perk: He’s secretly an amazing masseuse. You assume it’s because of his ability to play so many instruments - but he is so good at sensing when you are stressed or tense. He’ll lay you on your stomach and tease the knots out of your neck and shoulders, peppering your back with soft kisses before taking you into the bathroom for a hot bath. He’ll bring you a coke zero to sip on, even though he’ll drink half of it before it even reaches your lips. Neither of you have much of an affinity for drinking alcohol, but you often bring each other random sodas and snacks to share.

Downfall: He travels a lot. You always miss him when he is away, cuddling a pillow to fall asleep. The pillows are never as warm as he is..and they don’t hug you back. But you’re proud of him. You’re always proudly watching the live streams and giggling like a fangirl when he does something hot. The way his sultry eyes lock into the camera sends heat into your stomach, knowing that stare really is for you, and you alone despite the many people watching.

Perk: There was once an article written about your boyfriend in a Japanese magazine. It said “He probably seems shy and blunt, but he has profound emotion, and once he becomes close to someone, such a close relationship will continue forever.” You couldn’t have said it better yourself. His emotional intelligence far surpasses any other man you’ve met.

You could go on and on listing the pros and cons, but the pros will always far, far outweigh any negatives. You are completely head over heels in love with him. He is sweet and thoughtful, and he somehow knows exactly how to tailor to your appreciation of all five love languages. He pretends to hate hugging and physical touch, but he’s so soft for you, always giving you back hugs and cheek kisses.

With all of that said…you really wish on nights like tonight that people knew what he was to you.

---

You’re sitting in the middle of your high school reunion, dressed to the nines. You’re wearing every accessory your friends would die to have, luxury brands your boyfriend spoils you with daily, but you’d rather have him on your arm instead. You’re sitting at a round table with your high school best friends, who know nothing about your current relationship due to the fact that you moved away after graduation.

You didn’t move far, only about two hours away, but the natural business of university -and eventually jobs- did interfere with your efforts to stay in touch. It didn’t help that all of your friends stayed in the same town, dating each other and eventually settling down. It was weird seeing the people you ate lunch with every day now kissing each other and wearing wedding rings, but here you were. It was funny, the way this night brought so many memories flooding back. Thoughts of the time you snuck into the school in the middle of the night to make out with your senior year boyfriend. The memories of competing on the dance team, and of the time you convinced the librarian her car was being towed so you could change all of the computer’s background screens.

You’re pulled out of your little trance by said ex boyfriend (Dae), sitting across from you.

“So, Y/N…Nobody has talked to you in a while, what have you been up to?”

“Honestly I’ve been super busy” you share your memorized speech, “I’ve been working really hard on writing my next book and hope to release it by the end of the year.”

Your girl friends all start to make “ooh” sounds, and you hope you’ve thoroughly distracted them from asking more details about your life - but Dae isn’t having it.

“Social media could tell me that. I hope the book is going to tell us about your love life.” He half heartedly jokes.

Your cheeks blush red. This was the one question you were hoping to avoid all night, and yet, here it is during the first 20 minutes of dinner.

Your other friends take the bait and chime in “yes have you been dating?” and “I was wondering if there was a special someone who gave you that necklace.”

Yes … the necklace IS from your boyfriend, but you’re going to leave that out for now.

You talked about this with Jihoon while making the drive to your hometown. He came along with you, opting to spend some time with your parents while you attended the event. You came up with a bunch of answers to this question, and even through every practiced response, you felt a bit of pain not being able to share the full truth. He understands, because he has to hide this too, but the company would freak if they found out their precious Woozi isn’t a single heartthrob they want to market him as.

If you had it your way, the response to the question would be snarky and a little bit petty. The fact that Dae asked you about your love life feels hurtful and inappropriate, given the fact that it was his fault your high school relationship ended. Even after five years, you would love to put him in his place.

And yet, you can hear Jihoon’s voice in your head. “Be the bigger person, Jigiya. Your love life is plenty fulfilled, right?” And even the Jihoon in your mind is always right, So, you reluctantly begin your pre-planned speech.

“I’ve dated, In fact I do have a boyfriend right now. His name is J and I could have dragged him here tonight, but he’s on a business trip.”

You accept the questions that fly your way with a practiced grace.

Where did you meet him? At work.

What does he do for work? He’s also a writer (not completely a lie).

Do you have a picture together? You just got a new phone, so regretfully no.

What about social media? He doesn’t use it and you haven’t actually posted him yet. You’ve been to busy updating about your writing, (also not completely a lie).

No picture? You must be lying…

Yeah it does kind of sound that way, believe what you want.

The one question you weren’t expecting, comes from your old friend, Tyler.

“Relationship aside, why didn’t you stay in touch with any of us? Personally, I would have loved to hear that you were dating after such an intense and sudden goodbye.” He makes a face towards your ex, and you almost sense some tension between the two of them.

You felt his question like a stab to the heart. It’s true, your goodbye was painful. You found out Dae had cheated on you just days before moving to Seoul, and you didn’t take it well at all. Not only did you throw a textbook at him, resulting in a black eye, you iced out the entire friend group.

You were hurt, and it sucked even more to find out that some of them knew about the infidelity. You’re not even sure why you’re here tonight - you suppose there is just something tugging you towards resolving the unresolved things in your life.

---

You know it was immature to pull away from the group as a whole. There's a part of you that believes this reunion might be a good place to pick up the pieces. A place to take out some of that hurt still sitting like weight inside your ribcage, like it’s a game of operation.

Jihoon was originally the one who picked up your broken pieces and glued them back together again. You were working on a writing project at Anyang University when you bumped into him, knocking some papers out of his hands. You bent down to pick them up and locked eyes. The rest was history, and truly made you believe in love at first sight. He was the one who made you laugh when you wanted to cry. The one who kissed you until you were out of breath, and the man who rebuilt your self confidence brick by brick.

You helped him too. It was no secret to the rest of the world that your boyfriend earned a graduate degree, but what the world doesn’t know is that you were there, every day with him, studying for tests and proof reading his essays.

---

“I..don’t know, Tyler” you admit, eyes dropping to your lap. “I missed all of you, I just had a hard time adjusting to a different life after I left.”

“We missed you too, Y/N. Please keep in touch from now on.” Tyler responds, voice kind.

You smile and begin to ask them questions about what they’ve been doing for the past few years

Having the focus off of you and onto the others does help you to feel more comfortable. The conversation begins to naturally flow and you almost don’t realize it’s time to wrap up dinner until your class president stands at the front of the room with a microphone.

“Everyone, thank you so much for attending our class reunion!” She begins, “throughout the past five years each of you has branched out and created an adult life for yourselves. In celebration of everyone’s life changes, and out of a little selfish nostalgia, the other class officers and myself have created a presentation for the night.”

The large screen behind her hums to life and your class picture, taken at graduation, appears on the screen. She guides the group through a journey down memory lane, sharing old pictures and memories from your time together. You see the dance team, and your heart warms seeing the trophy you were holding in the center of it all. The presentation moves through different clubs, sports events, awards, pranks, lunchtime selfies, etc. It soon shows screen grabs of the pages in your yearbook where everyone filled out superlatives. You had been voted “most likely to become a celebrity” and everyone at your table laughed, because let’s be honest… you kind of are famous.

After graduation you poured your emotions into your book series, and you’re now halfway through the end of the romance trilogy. The first two books immediately started trending online and you have a strong fanbase welcoming the upcoming third.

“Oh we actually guessed one right” your class president jokes, after realizing the other superlatives were not even close to true after the passing of time. “Y/N, would you like to say some words?”

You’re shocked at the sudden attention on you, not having any sort of speech prepared. You feel lucky that you’ve watched Jihoon practice for so many interviews, because you do feel like you can kind of make something up on the spot. You stand from your chair and walk to the front of the room, aware of some sudden phones recording you.

“Hi everyone, It’s nice to see your smiling faces!” you grin, turning on what Jihoon calls your ‘cute girl charm.’ “I don’t know if I would call myself a Celebrity like the yearbook does…” You gesture towards the screen, “But I do feel extremely grateful for all of the love and support I’ve received through the release of my first two books. I’ve never actually shared this publicly before, but I was originally inspired to write the series after moving away from here.” You gesture towards the building you’d spent so much time in. “I was feeling nostalgic one night and decided to pour that emotion in a story. I won’t take much time, but I guess this is my way of saying thank you to everyone for giving me something good to remember when I write.”

You give the room a quick bow before returning to your seat, cameras still following you.

---

The rest of the night proceeds like normal, but Dae doesn’t seem to look away from you. Anywhere you look, every way you turn, you can feel his eyes burning into the back of your skull. It’s making you kind of uncomfortable. There is music blaring through some overhead speakers and everyone is dancing, lights dimmed low. In another life you would be dancing with them, but all you can think about is your Ex who is staring at you, and your current boyfriend who is likely curled up on the couch gossiping with your parents as they show him baby pictures.

You want nothing more than to be curled up into his side, comfy sweats and a cup of tea in your hand.

Your plan was to walk home with your friend Shin who lives next door to your parent’s house, but you’ve decided to leave earlier than her. She tries to convince you to stay, but you make up a fake excuse about having a headache and tell her you’ll be fine, it’s just a few blocks and your town is safe.

At least it was.

You’re barely outside of the front doors when you feel a strong hand grabbing your arm. You turn around and find yourself face to face with the man you’re so ready to get away from, and a pit of worry starts to form in your stomach.

“Don’t go.” Dae begs, hand still on your arm.

You try to wiggle a bit so he’ll let go, but he doesn’t budge.

“Why not? My head is hurting.” You act, pulling back again.

He makes an annoyed face, “That’s bullshit and we both know it.”

“Why the fuck would you know anything about me?” You retort, finally pulling out of his grip - which doesn’t help because he just grabs you on the shoulders with both hands anyways.

“I used to know everything about you.”

“Before you cheated and broke my heart.” you almost spit at him. “please let go.”

“If I let go are you going to run away again?”

“I didn’t run away the first time. I moved to college. Like normal people my age.”

“look, y/n…” his voice trails, “i made a mistake and I’ve thought about you every day since.”

your entire body stills. You feel your blood chill at the way he’s looking at you like you’re everything he’s ever wanted. There was a time when that was all YOU wanted, but now it just makes you cringe.

You think about Jihoon, and how being this close to another man is disrespecting the intense love you have for him. You think about the times you spent crying over the thought that you weren’t good enough, not pretty enough or thin enough for Dae to want you. Yes your blood is chilled to your core, but it’s also simultaneously on fire. Boiling with rage because how dare he say this to you now? All these years later. After you healed and moved on.

It’s only hands that are gripping your shoulders, but they might as well be needles from the way you want them off of you. You peek downwards for just enough time to speed dial Jihoon’s number before shoving your phone into your clutch, out of sight.

“Don’t say that. You’re here with another woman.” You point out.

“That was only to make you jealous. I miss you.”

“Don’t say that either. I’m in a very happy relationship.”

“I don’t believe that either. I think you want me to think you’ve moved on when in reality you still want me too.”

“No. I don’t want you. I haven’t wanted you for years. And I Most definitely, DO have a boyfriend. Please get off of me.”

“Y/N come on. Remember when we used to sneak around this school, kissing in the shadows?”

He steps towards you, and you try to step away with no luck. He has you pinned against a wall, and there’s definitely nobody else around to stop him from what he does next. He leans forward to try to kiss you, but you turn your face so he manages only to kiss your cheek.

“Please stop” you try to sound firm, but a little bit of your fear seeps out. “I don’t want to kiss you.”

“Just give up the act, baby” he breaths into your ear, sending painful shivers down your spine. “I can still make you feel good.”

“No you fucking can’t, and no you fucking won’t” you shove, kneeing him in the groin and maneuvering out of his hold.

“Y/N?” you turn towards the entrance of the school and see Tyler and Shin standing in the doorway, mouths dropped wide open. The other friends in the group standing behind them, whispering about what they must have just witnessed. Tears are threatening to spill from your eyes, but you’ll be damned if you let this son of a bitch make you cry again.

“um..it’s fine..” you start to lie, but they saw it. They saw you knee your ex boyfriend and push him away from trying to coerce you into consent.

“No, I don’t think it is…” Shin says, glaring at Dae.

The other friends start to nod in agreement when their attention is suddenly focused on something behind you. You turn to see a black car - your dad’s car - in the roundabout used for dropping off students. The passenger side swings open and within 3 seconds your boyfriend is storming out of the car and towards you.

“is that…?”

“What is Woozi doing here?”

“Oh my god that’s Woozi!”

you hear a chorus of realization singing from the girls behind you, but all you can do is freeze in terror because

1. You’re about to blow your carefully crafted cover 2. He looks absolutely divine. White dress shirt rolled up to the elbows, black hair perfectly styled and black slacks framing his figure. You’d cry at how attractive he looks were it not for the feral anger brimming in his eyes as he storms towards you and your former group.

“Are you Dae?” He asks, stepping up to the man.

“Um.. Yes?” He answers, obviously confused why an Idol knows his name.

He doesn’t have much time to register the interaction before Jihoon is throwing a punch straight into his jaw.

Everyone gasps - including you - because in all of the years you’ve known him, you’ve never actually seen Jihoon get ANGRY. Sure you’ve seen him frustrated or a bit mad, but never fuming like this, and certainly never violent.

“If you ever touch my girlfriend again I’ll put you in a fucking hospital.” He barks, hand snaking around your waist.

“We’re leaving.” He announces, grabbing your clutch with his other hand and ushering you towards the car.

A few steps away you hear one of your girl friends call out to you. “Y/N…?” her voice trails.

You turn back and count 7 faces. 7 people that witnessed your famous boyfriend throw a punch and whisk you away without so much as a nod in their direction. 7 faces that will probably post all over the internet that “Seventeen’s Woozi isn’t so single after all.”

“Um…Hang on” you stop walking, turning to face Jihoon. Your hand is on his arm and you don’t even have to say anything. Simply looking into his eyes is all you need to communicate what you want, and he wordlessly understands you. He nods and you turn to face your friends.

“I’m sorry I lied to you…just…please don’t say anything..” you bite your lip.

Shin’s jaw is still on the floor, and Tyler is still just glaring at Dae, seemingly frozen in confusion.

“We…won’t” Tyler promises.

“I understand why you didn’t say anything.” Shin agrees. and you nod, ready to walk away again.

Tyler’s voice stops you again as he calls, “Y/N… we meant it when we all said we missed you. Please keep in touch.”

your eyes scan back towards Dae, who is holding his jaw and leaning against the wall. He looks pissed.

“We’ll take care of him.” Tyler finishes, taking a step towards your ex.

That’s all you need to continue towards the car. Jihoon opens the backseat door for you and you slide inside before he closes it and walks around to the other side of the backseat. He climbs in and you drive away.

“Hi dad.” You almost whisper, noting his presence in the driver’s seat.

“Hi pumpkin.” He answers. “are you okay?”

You sit for a brief moment in silence.

“no” you admit, finally allowing your tears to fall.

Jihoon is wrapping his body around you in an instant, petting your hair and enveloping you in his comforting scent.

“he wanted me to kiss him” you sob “and I didn’t want to and he pushed me up against the wall and I couldn’t move.” you shake, recounting the experience in your mind.

“shhhh i’m here” Jihoon comforts.

“and now people know we’re dating and your company is going to be mad” you cry even harder.

“no they won’t” he reassures, kissing the top of your head.

“how do you know?”

“I just do. It’s okay. everything is okay, baby.”

The drive to your house is literally only two minutes long, so you’re still crying by the time you pull into the driveway.

“Can you lay down with me?” You ask your boyfriend when he has gotten out and opened your door again for you.

“Yes.” He answers, holding your hand as you walk inside.

Your parent’s make themselves scarce, stepping into their own room as Jihoon makes you a cup of tea and walks with you upstairs to your childhood bedroom. He helps you strip your dress and step into a cozy black sweat/ hoodie set that he bought you for your one year anniversary. He has his own matching set but doesn’t put it on. He just wants to take care of you right now. He holds your hand as you crawl into bed, curling into him like he’s simply an extension of your own body. Your arm is crossed over his waist, and one leg is too, but he wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I love you.” you mumble into his chest.

“I love you too.” He mumbles back, already sleepy and comfortable. “I’m sorry I punched your ex boyfriend.”

You finally chuckle a little about the situation. “You actually punched someone, Ji! I didn’t know you had it in you!”

“Me neither” he admits, hand rubbing aimless patterns across your back. “I have never done that before.”

“Does your hand hurt?”

“Only a little.” He looks at his knuckles, flushed a soft shade of pink. “I think i punched with decent form so it’s not too bad.”

You giggle at the fact that despite his anger, he was concerned about ‘proper form.’ -typical Jihoon.

“Thank you.” You whisper into his chest. “For protecting me.”

“I’ll always protect you. You’re my world.”

“You’re my world too.”

You allow the warm blankets to ease the last of your tension and you fall into a comfortable silence. You’re not quite sleeping - but resting. You’re not sure if he is asleep or not, but you couldn’t be bothered to ask. For now you’re just enjoying the quiet, enjoying how he allows his walls to break down when he’s around you. His tough facade completely gone, he’s just your person. Your forever pillow to curl up with at nap time and night time and every time in between.

His presence wraps you in a string of pride and power. ‘I can do anything as long as he is by my side. He is the reason I fight for the things I want in life. He pushes me and challenges me and supports me if I fall.’ All of these are the thoughts that consume you as you lay by his strong figure.

You’re not sure how long you stay in that position, probably about an hour, before Jihoon wiggles his arm out from underneath you.

You mumble at the sudden loss of support under your neck, and he just laughs at you and whines.

“My arm is numb”

“Okay so time switch positions” you smile, sitting up to kneel over him. Your bed is large enough that there’s still a sliver of space on the other side of his body, which you steal and curl into him, basically an identical position but flipped. “I’ll make this arm numb too so you can be even.” You joke.

“Nope, I liked the other spot better.” He furrows his eyebrows.

You reluctantly sit up to move back, but once your knees are straddling over him he stops your momentum, grabbing your hips and holding you hostage above him.

“See? much better.” He wets his lips.

“OH, I see” you smirk, leaning forward to ghost your lips over his, “You just wanted to make out in my childhood room like a horny teenager.”

“guilty”

He leans up, filling the last few inches of space to capture your lips in a passionate kiss. And you let him. You return the passion and settle into a rhythm. His hands leave your hips and drag along your arms, moving upwards to where you’re caging him in, holding yourself up. He pushes blindly on your elbows so you fall onto them, allowing more of your bodies to touch, separating any space between your hearts.

“Love you so much” he mumbles into the kiss, basically hugging you as you worship each other’s lips.

“Love you more” you answer, breathing as he moves aside, trailing kisses over towards your jawline, and the top of your neck.

“Not possible.”

“Is too.”

“is not.”

“You know what I don’t love?” he says, more of a statement than a question. “the fact that this hoodie is in the way of your perfectly beautiful neck.” He tugs at the neckline, as if it’s going to budge much. The fabric is comfy, sure, stretchy? not really.

You giggle at the prospect of your boyfriend being angry at your clothing - clothing he bought you - because it’s separating you by a whole inch.

“Need to get it off.” He announces, tugging and pulling in an effort to make you move. Your smile is completely printed onto your face as he tries (and fails) to get your hoodie off without your help. He continues to try but you’re literally laying on top of him. There’s no way it’s coming off without you sitting up at least a tiny bit.

“say I love you more.” You tease, pressing into him harder so the clothing is completely pinned in place. You kiss his jawline.

“I won’t.”

“Then you’ll just have to kiss above the neck.” you move your own lips down towards his collarbone, teasing him.

“Y/N” he stops you, pulling you up to look him in his (super beautiful dreamy) eyes. “I love you with every ounce of my soul. From the roots of my hair all the way down to my toes, every pore, every cell, it belongs to you. I can’t say you love me more because I’ve never loved any person, any song, any thing, more than I love you.”

You reach up a hand to rest on his cheek, brushing lightly and gazing into his eyes. You have no response because you’ll probably cry if you try to speak.

you belong to him. He loves you and you love him. He belongs to you too. His hands, his heart, his lips, all yours.

“So let me take this damn hoodie off and prove to you just how much I love you, huh?” He pulls the fabric up your stomach and despite the butterfly zoo going on inside, you manage to nod and sit up, raising your hands above your head to allow your boyfriend to remove it. There’s nothing underneath, and he knew that from the get go, but he still gazes at you like you’re the most beautiful peice of art he’s ever seen.

He tends to do that - make you feel like you’re more than you are. Average in your opinion, but extraordinary in his. and ‘don’t you trust his opinion? he’s got a master’s degree after all.’

He rolls you over so you’re the one on your back now, and starts right where he left off, kissing along your neck, moving along your collarbone and shoulder. You lay your head to the side, fully opening up the space for him to worship you and ‘prove’ how much he means his words. (he doesn’t need to prove anything - he’s proved it enough every day you’ve known him).

He loves the way you get like this when he’s kissing you, soft and pliable under his hold. You always lay your head to the side and close your eyes, enhancing the sensations he is creating. Allowing him to make art on your skin that you don’t have the permission to leave on his (though you sometimes do where nobody will see). He loves the way you begin to get worked up after a while. Breathing slightly heavier, causing your chest to rise and fall, back muscles tensing enough to push your chest forward. He likes to think it’s your body involuntarily screaming ‘Take me Jihoon, Here��s my heart, take it.’

And take it he does.

First, he takes it into his mouth. (Well… your tits, but same thing, right?) You let out a sweet, soft moan when his warm tongue laves over your nipple, bringing up a hand into his hair. You love his hair this length, so shiny and soft.

and easy to pull.

He plays with the other nipple while he sucks and licks the first, making sure to switch back and forth, never leaving one abandoned for too long.

You imagine Jihoon’s fans think him tired and lazy outside of producing and working as an Idol, but that’s where they are just fully dead wrong. Your boyfriend does nothing - and he means NOTHING - half way. And that includes pleasuring you. He has practiced, and practiced, and practiced figuring out exactly what makes you tick. What makes you squirm, what makes you squirt. He knows it all. Every detail.

He rolls your nipple and then pinches it, the perfect amount of pleasure to pull a moan from your lips.

“Hoonie” you sigh “My parents are downstairs.”

“Yes, baby. I know.”

“If you keep making me feel like that, they’re going to hear me moaning a lot louder very soon.”

“Something tells me they’ll understand.” He begins his work downwards, trailing kisses from your sternum and down towards your stomach. “but still better be quiet for me, baby.” His hands remain cupping each breast, kneading at them, fingers brushing the sides. His hands are so big, long fingers leaving you ticklish and sensitive. “can you do that?”

He looks into your eyes and you see how wide his pupils are blown already. You’re sure you look similar, so you just nod your head and bite your lip.

Once he reaches the waistband of your sweats, he kisses across your stomach horizontally, following along the line of the elastic holding them up.

“Need these off too, princess.” He speaks into your skin, the vibrations of his voice shooting sparks into your core.

“Not fair, you haven’t even taken your shirt off” You whine, and yet still lift your hips so he can pull your pants off.

“I was a bit distracted” he laughs into the skin on your hip, but listens to you and kneels up, making a show of unbuttoning his dress shirt. And oh how it is a show you enjoy. The way his forearm muscles flex, emphasized by the sleeves that are still rolled up to the elbows. The way his chest muscles are so defined that they were already pushing just right on the shirt, pulling it tight. The way his abs shine in the lamp light of your mostly dark room.

You reach upwards to help him slide it off, tossing it off to the side and dragging your hands downwards, starting at his shoulders and making sure to feel the line of every ab muscle as you lower your fingers to his belt loop. You don’t miss the way he shivers at the touch, extra sensitive when you passed his nipples.

He likes to pretend he’s all tough and strong, but he’s weak for your touches. He hates to admit that touching his nipples ARE, in fact, a sure way to have him whimpering, so you don’t tease him about it (at least not tonight).

“Why are you all dressed up anyways?” You question as you work on the belt buckle. “I thought you were staying home with my Parents?”

“Not that I want to talk about your parents during foreplay,” He helps you with the zipper and wiggles his pants off, leaning forward to give you a kiss on the forehead. “But I decided to take them out for dinner tonight.”

“That’s sweet of you” You grab his face and pull him back again, kissing him on the lips. “Almost as sweet as your kisses.” You give him a few loving pecks, pulling away with a final “mwah” before he works back down your body, fingers sliding off the last layer of fabric you’re wearing (a lacy red thong you picked out just for him).

“Not even going to appreciate my choice of underwe…..oh” you’re cut off by the feeling of Jihoon’s tongue flat and hot licking up your cunt. He doesn’t waste a second of time before he’s pushing your thighs open with those big hands you’re so in love with, and sucking on your clit with his mouth you’re equally in love with.

He sucks with fervor, breath warm and strong and much better than any toy or vibrator you tried before him. (and there was a night when you compared them side by side. Your favorite toy and him. Jihoon’s mouth? MUCH better).

“Oh fuck” you moan towards the sky, fingers latching into his hair.

“Shhh” He laughs, pulling off of you to lock eyes. “You’re right. We’re not alone.”

“No need to remind me” you breathe, eyes hazy with lust as you look down at the sight of him between your legs. “Pass me your shirt.”

He reaches behind him to his discarded shirt, barely hanging onto the end of the bed. “Why do you want this?” He questions, eyes widening as you take it and bunch it up, shoving it in your mouth to gag your moans.

“Oh, shit you’re so hot.” He flushes, hiding his red cheeks back in between your legs. He continues worshiping your core and you roll your hips in time with him, slowly and sensually chasing your high. You continue to moan and swear into the gag of fabric. He still hears you, can still tell when he’s making you feel good, but something about you NEEDING to be gagged ignites a fire in Jihoon that he didn’t know existed. Reminds him that while you’re a switch by nature, you easily fall into a subspace the second he wants you to.

“Feel good baby?” he asks, two fingers entering into your wet hole. “Does falling apart on my fingers help you feel better?”

“mph” you groan, nodding your head and bucking your hips upwards.

He takes that as a yes and continues his ministrations, latching back onto your sensitive bud. He brings you all the way to the very edge, you’re seeing white. Seeing stars, and he pulls away, holding your hips flat onto the mattress.

You start to whine before he pulls his shirt away and drowns the sounds with a hot kiss instead. His tongue enters your mouth and you taste yourself. He’s hungry, kissing you with a messy desire, grinding his own hips into your leg.

“Need you.” You both say at the same time, but there’s no need to say ‘jinx’ because what you really - really need in that moment is for Jihoon to take his boxers off and help you finish the orgasm that he so rudely stole moments ago. “Please” you sigh, gripping the sheets. “Please hurry, I’m so hot.”

“I agree” he scans his eyes up and down your naked body, laid out and dripping for him like a wet dream he’s had many times. “So hot and sexy.” He compliments, fishing a condom out of his carry on bag abandoned on the floor by the bed. He wastes no time ripping the package and rolling it onto his fully hard length, pumping once or twice to secure it in place.

He doesn’t really need it. You’re on birth control and regularly like to feel him raw,. However Jihoon, ever the gentleman, is thinking about keeping this round contained and easy to clean up. (And easier to hide from the people who raised you when it’s time for laundry).

He takes you in missionary position.

It’s romantic, and sensual, and best of all, he can kiss you to keep you quiet.

Your hands helped him line up with your hole and the rest became a frenzy of stimulation, Jihoon pushing halfway in with one go, and sinking the rest of the way slowly. Once given the go ahead, he starts grinding his hips, rotating in circular motion with pressure, almost like the build up to the finale of a dance. He’s warming you up, preparing you for the fast and hard that surely will come. He pulls out, dick dragging slow and hard against your spongy walls, as if inviting your pussy to leak for him. You’re dripping, squelching around him, providing lubrication for a smooth glide.

If your moaning wasn’t enough to alert the downstairs audience, the noises of your skin slapping against each other might be. You throw your head back, another groan escaping your lips but being chased and drowned by his kiss again. He’s always been smarter and faster during sex - able to predict exactly when a noise is building in your throat and capturing it before you get yourselves caught.

He’s had to use this talent many times before: In hotel rooms on tour, in dressing rooms backstage, even in a bedroom at a party once (sorry Soonyoung….) Nonetheless, he makes you want to scream. Makes you feel so good that the only thing capable of stopping you is the feeling of his tongue meeting your tongue, the feeling of his plump, slightly puffy lips tangling with yours. The feeling of his teeth lightly biting your bottom lip only for you to nip and tease right back. Because that’s your dynamic - being so bonded together as soul mates that what one does, the other follows.

He bites your lip? You bite his right back. He steals your rice at dinner? You take his last bite of chicken. He makes you orgasm? Your walls flutter around him so tight and so intense that he has no choice but to come with you, groaning into your neck and wrapping his hands underneath your waist, hugging you tight as he spills into the condom, both of you breathing heavily.

Jihoon is quicker to return back to his senses, walking to the en-suite bathroom to toss the condom and wet a washcloth for you. He comes back with one - warm water like you always prefer - and cleans you up softly. He’s gentle and in tune with your sensitivity, making sure you’re cared for and comfortable as he pulls your red panties back on. He gives them a silly little kiss on the bow before urging you to lift your hips, this time pulling your sweat pants back on.

Your hoodie comes next, except it’s actually his. He pulled it out of his bag at your request, because cuddling in his oversized one is always more comfy than yours, which is more fitted. (You claim this as the reason, but he knows you just like wearing something because it’s his. And that makes him happier than words can say). He tugs on a new pair of boxers and his matching sweats. You try to convince him to wear your smaller hoodie but he just laughs at you and pulls on a black T-Shirt instead.

He’s fully prepared to crawl up next to you, curling together for sleep, but a noise downstairs distracts you both.

“Is that…music?” You ask him, tilting your ear towards the door.

His cheeks flush a sweet shade of pink and he scratches the back of his neck, “Yeah. It’s your mom playing the piano.”

“Both of my parent’s play the piano, how do you know it’s my mom?” You pinch him in the side.

“Because your dad is about to start playing the guitar in three, two…” he points at the door just as you hear your father join in with his acoustic six string.

“How on earth did you know that?” You scrunch your eyebrows at him.

“Well I didn’t expect them to choose now to do this…” His voice trails off, “I assumed we’d postpone to tomorrow night after your call…..but I guess this is better than if they had chosen ten minutes ago…”

“Chosen to do what?” You ask again.

“Come here.” He pulls you to your feet and holds your hand, leading you downstairs to where your parents are playing a soft melody in the living room. The lights are off and there are candles lit. Your parents are still dressed in their fine attire from dinner, grinning like fools when they see you enter the room.

“What is going on?” You smile, feeling Jihoon hug you from behind. You naturally start to sway to the tune a bit before he releases himself from the grasp and moves you to your favorite chair in the corner. It’s the chair you used to spend hours reading in, and everyone in this room knows it’s your happy place. Or was - before your happy place became a living, breathing, moving, person.

“Y/N” He says, sitting you down and moving away to stand by your parents. “I wrote you a song, and your parents offered to help me gift it to you for our anniversary.”

Your face makes a cute little ‘oh’ shape and your manicured hands cover your mouth in surprise. He thinks you look sweet when you’re surprised, and plans to keep surprising you in the future.

“These are also for you” He says, reaching on top of the piano and grabbing a large bouquet of red roses, cliche maybe, but still your absolute favorite. He brings them to you and you grab them with one hand. He takes your other hand and gives it a kiss before resting it back on your lap and nodding towards your parents.

They begin playing that same melody again from the start, and this time Jihoon begins to sing to you. It’s a soft flow of words, wrapping around your heart like a hug. You try your best to capture everything he’s saying, but you feel overwhelmed with gratitude that all you really hear is just his voice…words half way registering. You catch the obvious things. The I love you’s and the stay with me’s. The things he finds easier to write in a song than to say out loud.

At least for everyone else. You’ve always found him better at speaking his feelings than many people would say. His other group members often grumble and complain when they hear him say “I love you” because he apparently doesn’t voice it to them as often. You usually stick your tongue out and rub it in a little bit.

Jokes aside though, you really are grateful to be that one person for him. The one person he can express himself to, both in song and on a regular day. At the dinner table, in bed, walking along the river at night. He’s always made sure you know how he feels.

His song reminds you of all the times he’s sung you a lullaby when your insomnia is keeping you awake at night, voice soothing and sweet like honey. He sings about wanting to share you with the world, and you blush at the thought. Boy do you wish that too. You wish you could post a picture of him online, wish his management company would allow you to be seen together in public. You wish everything for your future, and you know it will come one day, just not yet.

As his ballad comes to an end, he approaches you again, and leans over to grab something out of the drawer on the side table.

His eyes well with tears as he sings the last line of his song “You’ll always be my everything, so will you marry me?”

He kneels down and opens up a ring box. It’s beautiful, shining with a gold band and a diamond in the middle. It’s exactly what you’ve always imagined your wedding ring would look like, just like everything in his life, he chose this perfectly.

“Jihoon” you gasp, covering your mouth again with your free hand and setting the flowers behind you on the chair. You feel your own tears welling in your eyes as you shake your head uncontrollably up and down. You think you said “yes” but it also might have just been a muttered jumble of letters. You hold out your shaking hand for your fiancé to put your ring on, and he does, linking your fingers and standing up.

He pulls you up from the chair and you wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him into a long and love-filled kiss. “Yes, yes, yes” you mumble in between kisses, and eventually you pull away and give him a hug. You curl into his chest and he rests his chin on your head, smiling like an idiot towards the wall.

“Congratulations!” Your mom finally breaks you out of your daze, and you look up to see both of your parents holding a cake saying “Mrs. Lee to be.” on it. You smile and walk over to give them both a hug.

You spend the rest of the evening celebrating your engagement. You share the cake and discover that Jihoon never planned on having a quiet night in with your parents. He’s been talking marriage and proposal details with them for two months now, and tonight he brought them to dinner as a thank you for all of their help. You blush at the realization that he’s been talking with your family about having a future with you for such a long time. You’re happy to feel so much support and warmth from your family.

You FaceTime call the other Seventeen members, and they wish you well. It’s Dokyeom who spills the fact that “Jihoon Hyung has been such a stress case lately, glad he’s finally gotten a yes out of you so he can calm down.”

You giggle and reassure him that it would have been a yes from the start, you would never in a million years want anyone other than him to be your husband.

And so he will be.

[runningupthatvecna]

the law of seat partners | the sequel

eddie munson x fem!reader

masterlist

summary: your grand return to Hawkins after your little field trip isn't exactly what you pictured it as, since your new boyfriend wants you all to himself. like, immediately. 9k.

cw: new relationship, this eddie still has abandonment issues and lets you see them, a tinge of angst that quickly gets resolved, 18+ smut mdni, car sex, softdom!eddie because he's my weakness, eddie is very ... talkative (meaning if you don't like dirty talk, this really isn't for you) and also a little pervy but we don't mind, unprotected vp, cumming inside, soft aftercare, lots of fluff, reader has a vulnerability kink bc i said so. this is straight up filth because eddie is down baaaaad and these two just went from cinnamon in part 4 to feral and unhinged real quick, whoops. both reader and eddie are at least 20, reader's appearance is mostly unspecified except being afab, no use of y/n.

a/n: i couldn't let these two off the hook just like that so this is a sequel to my most prized law of seat partners, but can also be read as a stand-alone. would recommend reading the whole thing though for more context since the build-up to this will probably be worth it .. yeehaw. also this took me for-fucking-ever because life was lifeing so hard and bc english isn't my first language i got upset 583 times at myself for not knowing more diverse vocab. anywho, i so appreciate everyone reading, reblogging, leaving comments and all that sweet stuff, your words mean the world to me ok love you all byeeee <3 if you see any typos, no you didn't.

lovely divider by strangergraphics-archive

The parking lot was filled with cars, cars, parents sitting in said cars, more parents and more cars.

Heavy rain with clouds hanging as low as everyone's mood welcomed you back, and you hadn't missed it in the slightest.

Fumbling for your car keys in your bag to make your transition from bus to another roof over your head as smooth and dry as possible, you sighed as you looked out the window for a few seconds as the bus came to its final halt.

For the last hour or so, Eddie's (still very warm) hand had been resting on your bare thigh, slightly calloused fingertips rubbing up and down softly every now and then, a silent reminder of what was running through his mind like an unstoppable train.

It had been building ever since he had woken up next to your sleep-doused body in the early morning, display of softness dancing over the slivers of skin he'd gotten a first taste of – which, if he was honest, only amplified this seemingly insatiable urge to be close to you in him tenfold – unallowed to take things back to where you'd left them the night before.

Mainly due to a lack of time, but also: privacy.

And your (re-clothed) exit after dawn had left him high (on oxytocin) and literally dry, destined to spend the last few hours at the camp inhaling breakfast and chaotically throwing his belongings into his bag again, all with only one thing on his mind, and it was far from new.

You.

You, you and your light.

A few kids had left the bus already to go hide under their parents' umbrellas or disappear behind the rear doors of their respective cars, and after waving hasty goodbyes to everyone in the aisle of the bus, Dustin had eagerly climbed the passenger seat of his mom's old mercedes in anticipation, since the two of them had further plans to visit family over the weekend.

Joyce had come to pick up Will and Jonathan, and well, Nancy since she'd let everyone know that she'd be spending the following days at the Byers house, while Robin and Max and Lucas would be driven to their respective residences by mother Steve in his beamer.

Your initial plan had entailed to drive that car of yours home and bury yourself in bed, the time away from each other with the intention to recharge the social batteries being the general consensus of your friend group.

You'd all meet again the following week anyway.

Something you hadn't calculated into that plan though was returning from a trip of this kind with something as foreign to you as a relationship, so naturally, you'd looked at Eddie a bit puzzled when you felt his fingers find yours and sneakily intertwine, palm to slightly smaller palm, as you both stood in the aisle while the bus got emptier, waiting for Harrington and Buckley to yeet their asses out of the back door one final time.

"What?", he inquired about the very prominent question mark on your face at the feeling of him not wanting to let go, "I got word just this morning that the sacred and powerful seat law council has gathered to discuss potential extensions to um, vans, .. in-in case no one told you, yet."

Eddie sheepishly grinned as he remembered your words from last night with a vividness only a dungeon master could have, the mere thought of you in that utterly blissful state he'd been dreaming for so long to fuck you into sent a tinge of want straight to his dick, giving your hand a light squeeze before pushing his black leather jacket into your chest with a ringed hand.

The gesture itself an outpour of affection, a simple reminder that he was looking out for you.

Even if it came down to something as simple as you not getting rain-soaked, and as a result, end up sick in bed.

While observing the pores, lines and muscles in your face closely and interpreting the confusion displayed there – added your obvious speechlessness – as uncertainty, Eddie started wondering if this was the moment in which you were finally realizing the gravity of your decision.

The impact that last night at the camp really, truly had.

"Unless you just want to go home of course and be all by your pretty self .. in peace", he spoke again, big brown doe eyes starting to resemble the shape of full moons as they soulfully pierced through you, "I need you to know though that this circumstance would very much feel like a dagger through the heart and I would most likely perish from the absence–", a nervous chuckle escaped him as he cut himself off, "no seriously, just say a word and I'll let y–"

"Eddie", you interrupted him with a soft reciprocation of his gaze, which he had already expertly averted towards the top of the seat that you were leaning yourself against.

A desperate attempt to avoid you hearing the loud, uneasy thunder processing through his mind.

A sign he was getting in his own head about your hesitation, which wasn't even hesitation in the first place, but to the very convincing irrational anxiety-driven part of his brain, nervous system on full alert preparing for the familiar inevitable, it certainly looked like you were just reevaluating the situation he had soooo selfishly maneuvered you into.

The situation of being seen more frequently now with Hawkins' one and only local head of the freaks. Obnoxious nerd. Too dramatic for his own good, should be avoided at all costs.

Eddie felt a sting in his heart region.

"I'd totally let you go home, I could drive you even, but then you'd have to get your car at some point, or no, wait! I– I could get it for you later mayb–"

"Eddie!"

It was hard for him to look you in the eyes.

Instead, he squeezed his own shut as he cupped the back of your hand that was still entwined with his other and brought all three of them up to press the back of yours against his chest.

His free one softly grabbed and wrapped around your forearm, visibly trying to hold on to you.

In hopes that it would lead to you holding on to him in turn, and prevent the all too painfully familiar default he had learned to accept at a time he was too uncomfortable about to recall for too long.

There was so much body heat seeping through that shirt.

"It's– I mean, it's no big deal if you don't want to be around me any longer than you had to, I would totally get that and I wouldn't even bother you anym–"

"Eddie!"

Boisterous demeanor long gone with you, the doubt in himself creeping back up into his consciousness tugged at your heartstrings.

Your hand squeezed his, softly. One of his eyes carefully opened slightly, corners of his lips pulled back, face squished upwards as if he was awaiting the verdict. You could tell that the boy was even holding his breath.

"Yeah?"

"I couldn't stand to see you perish. What I really, really do want though is spending the weekend with you", you smiled at him with your warm eyes as you slightly leaned further into his space.

Feeling your body closer (you also booped his cute nose), his eyelids fluttered open, face relaxing instantly, his lungs releasing the stored air in a huff.

"Where's this coming from?"

"It's just–", he sighed breathing out through his nose, eyes darting to the ceiling as if he was going to find the courage to open up about his traumatic childhood troubles there, before those full moons returned to you, "you looked a little confused and I .. I miiight have read that as disinterest when I proposed for you to uh, take a seat."

Those warm brown orbs, to die for.

They made you melt once again, swimming in that deep ocean of him for a second before you scrambled for an explanation with a valley between your eyebrows, "oh Eds, that's not at all– that's not what I wanted you to think. I was just in my own head because this?", you paused to gesture the index of your free hand between yourself and him, "is not what I thought was gonna happen. Like, at all", you shook your head, "it’s so new to me and no one's ever been so eager to spend time with me like that, it's just.. it's confusing me out of previous experience, or better said lack thereof, so I just didn't expect this, and I'm sorry it came across as me feeling indifferent or even uninterested, because–because I'm not."

Ding dong, you've reached Eddie's cortex.

"No no, I'm sorry", he paused to take a breath as his head was slightly turned to the side, eyes not quite daring to reciprocate your gaze yet when instead they observed the scenery outside the bus, "I can get a little needy when someone doesn't shove me away from them and my head can be a bit mean to me sometimes."

Gut wrencher.

The internal tug at his confession was overwhelming, urge to kiss all those bad thoughts out of him and away for good creating another wave of awareness for your feelings, hence why you took a deep breath before speaking, "don't ever think you need to apologize for having needs, sweet bean", your thumb with the ring on it swiped over his own before you took a step closer, wrapping your free arm around his back in an attempt to convey your intentions more clearly, "when I said I'm all yours, I meant it."

You'd stay with him. Of course you would. Your Eddie.

His hands squeezed yours again.

"And I'm all yours, always been."

Smiling, you pressed yourself against his body lightly, the urge to be as close to him as physically possible coursing through your entire system, all the way into every single nerve ending your skin encased.

It made the bridge of your nose kiss his jaw and the tip rub up towards his cheek to where you then dipped it.

Taking him in.

Eddie's arms showed their temporary decor, as he allowed his guard to drop and felt the goosebumps spread.

There were so many more things he wanted to let you know. So many things he wanted to tell you, explain to you. He didn't determine the bus aisle to be the perfect location for that conversation, though.

This sweet moment of him allowing your light to shine through the cracks of his armour, filling the few existent gaps between the both of you, adding onto the events of the past few days, made it real difficult for you to go home and leave him to his own devices anyway.

Probably even more so now, back in Hawkins and at home, with no teacherly scrutiny looming around the corner.

"Let's obey the law then, hm?", you let your nose bump against his softly, a surge of hot and heavy feelings for him spreading through your entire system once again as you noticed him observing you intently, before your head nodded towards the exit.

You decided right there and then that you would always make him and his wellbeing your first priority.

Eddie decided right there and then that he couldn't be more madly in love with you.

You made each other feel so seen.

Without letting go of your hand he lead you to his van as you shielded your head with the leather, clutching your bag to your chest while the boy just let his casually dangle down from his shoulder.

It looked like you were pretty much alone in the parking lot now, and since Eddie had noticed this fact as well, he wasted no second longer to have his warm lips back on the skin of your neck and his hands on your cheek and hip with a low, almost relieved sigh from the depths of his chest as he squished you between the wet metal of his van and his hot and very bothered body.

Yours was getting more hot and more bothered by the millisecond.

The memory of the way it had been held by him last night had already recoded every nerve ending.

His soft touch, the care he'd bathed you in.

Skin abundantly ablaze from the thought alone.

Gently attacking your lips next, his arm dropped his bag onto the asphalt carelessly, dark curls already soaking wet due to the rain, hands instantly back on your bare waist underneath your shirt, ringed fingers digging into the plush warm skin as small droplets ran down the bridge of his nose, landing right where the tip of it was nudging your cheek softly.

The need to feel each other again so very prominent in every cell of your being.

And Eddie's, apparently.

Without any care in the world about anything else.

The nudge soon turned into an up and down rub from your jaw to just below your lower eyelid, another pleased and relieved hum escaping his lungs through smiling lips, before they returned to your own, warm and wet and all yours, a little out of breath he broke the kiss then to pull away just enough to be able to speak, "do you want to– fuck, is this okay?"

"Very okay, yeah", you replied instantly, minding that now existent gap between your faces way too much.

Eddie's touch starvation fervently groaned into your mouth as if to say thank you. For letting him be close to you. Do this to you.

Letting him surround your senses, make you feel good, be your anchor when you needed to feel safe.

Yearning incarnate.

A soft squeeze to your hip followed when you lifted his jacket, extending it over his head.

Slotting your lower lip between his again with a whimper, granting his tongue access after your hands had found their way into the mop of his sopping curls, one of them parked in the back of his neck to caress his scalp softly, the other slowly coming around to cradle his wet cheek.

With this sense of urgency, lovingly demonstrated by the bulge in his pants which you could definitely feel, his hips pinned yours against the backdoor, behind his back another empty SUV, parked a meter or so away, shielding both of you from potentially any bypasser's periphery.

Breaking apart for another second, dark brown hues were scanning your face and finding infatuation there, before returning home, goosebumps spreading over your arms now as well, and you could feel your chest tighten at the way he looked you in the eyes, dimples making an adorable appearance.

He was stunning.

So fucking pretty you thought your heart was going to burst if he'd stay close to you like this for just another second.

The hint of stubble that decorated his jaw and chin and the space between nose and lip was now even more visible than last night, because he just hadn't been able to find the nerve to shave this morning either (if he was honest, it was because he hadn't wanted to borrow Steve's razor again just because he'd simply forgotten his own shaving supplies on Wayne's side of the bathroom cabinet in the first place).

Wet rosy cheeks, which you thought looked very underkissed, a mix of rain and spit almost dripping from his lower lip, mouth hanging slightly open to get the oxygen refill you had kept him from inhaling.

A brush of your thumb over his cheekbone caused his eyes to slowly close, just for a bit more than a second.

Eddie wanted to savour each and every moment in your presence and copy and paste the feeling of you surrounding him, of you actually liking him into every cell of his existence.

That bit more of a second, it was time enough for him to let out a content hum and for your heart to basically combust in your ribcage.

His warmth and softness, the way he just was with you – it was simply said driving you nuts.

The grip on your waist loosened just for his eager hands to teasingly slowly continue the journey upwards, pushing your shirt along with them until his thumbs reached the underside of your tits, releasing another pleased hum through smiling lips, an acknowledgement of you having sat hours and hours next to him without any fucking bra on.

A detail his observant gaze hadn't missed in the morning when you'd floated down that bus aisle, straight towards him, the sight of softly pebbled nipples through the cotton being the reason for his jeans to already feel a little tighter.

Thrill of being touched again now, receiving Eddie's attention, vibrated through your entire system, heat of the moment making your eyelids flutter shut.

And of course Eddie noticed.

As if he wanted to learn and study every atom of your very existence, consume you, his eyes wandered over the peak of your cute nose, the soft lines around your closed eyes and your eyebrows, the soft rosy apples of your cheeks that were wettened from the rain, that cute cupid's bow sitting above your pillowy lips, a rain drop that had gathered on the edge of your chin.

The raindrop he was itching to kiss away.

He thought he was gonna lose his goddamn mind over you.

"Eddie, please", you breathed out in a whiny tone, desperate to have his lips back on yours and for his hands to continue their expedition.

Pulling back, he looked at your worked up expression wistfully once more.

It was so foreign to you, being perceived like that, by someone like him, it turned every single nerve in your body into live wires and messed with your sense of reality.

"Please what, hm? What do you want, baby?"

Already grinding himself against your hip in slow rolls, Eddie decided to reattach his mouth to yours after you gave him the answer he wanted to hear you say, sucking lightly on your lower lip, hands finally reaching further up to fully grab your tits and roll your hardened nipples against the sides of his index fingers with the pads of his thumbs, soft whimpers and moans and subtle twitches from you only spurring him on.

The rain was loudly thudding against the leather of Eddie's jacket, dripping down onto his shirt, your shirt, soaking the both of you further anyway as you left it hanging over your heads.

As though it didn't really serve Eddie's intended purpose, it did have the effect of keeping your faces really close together, noses digging into each others' cheeks as you explored each other with your tongues, your hands still cradling his face, before one of them slowly wandered down over his chest, his belly, continuing its journey until your fingertips reached that familiar handcuff buckle.

They even dared to dip a little lower, ghosting over the very noticeable bulge protesting against its confinement, making the boy in front of you hiss after you both broke apart.

It fed your ego, being the compelling reason, and it reignited that spark of curiosity in you about all the other reactions you'd possibly be able to elicit out of Eddie.

You made it your mission just like you had last night, attaching your lips to his neck, kissing, licking, sucking on the tendons and muscles and slightly salty skin between his jaw and junction of throat and shoulder, hidden underneath the dripping wet curtain of dark waves.

"Mhhm baby, you're driving me insane, .. ngh, fuck, need you .. s-so bad", Eddie moaned out in almost only a whisper, one hand leaving the warmth of your tits to reach behind you, pulling the back door open and throwing both your bags in, before leaving the roof you'd created and blinking at you through his dark, wet lashes, holding five fingers and a palm out to you.

Ever the gentleman, huh?

It was quite dark in there since the windows were tinted and you had to move around with a ducked head.

Random papers, a box of tissues, a few empty cans and items of random blankets, clothing and even a carpet were spluttered around on the floor, reflecting the chaotic aspect of Eddie's personality perfectly.

You didn't mind the mess at all.

There was a small box with guitar picks somewhere in the mix, a black bandana tied to the passenger seats' headrest. The chain of a pair of handcuffs dangling down from the metal bar holding the headrest.

The sight made you swallow on instinct.

A bunch of dried wildflowers stuck out from the slit between windshield and dashboard, a black and white sticker of The Hideout reminding everyone that sat in the front of the metalhead's preferred whereabouts on his Tuesday evenings.

An open can of coke – hopefully empty – sat in the drink holder patiently, alongside a wild and varied collection of tapes surrounded by random clutter in the middle console.

"Don't even say anything, it's cleaner than usual."

You chuckled at him before he shut the van's door behind his back, not even intending to comment anything, since your body and brain were practically buzzing with the thrill of getting to be with the boy in front of you again like you'd been dreaming of for so long.

"I couldn't care less right now, to be honest."

Eddie chuckled.

"Thank fuck."

Increasingly bothered by the lack of his lips on yours, you decided to fist your hand into the wetness of his shirt covering his chest, pulling him back towards you as you reconnected, and soon, his hands were everywhere.

Heated breathing into each others mouths, barely able to break apart for even just a second to rid each other of your shirts, just to pull each other back into an oddly bent embrace with kiss bitten lips as you reached for his belt buckle, while Eddie let the back of his index finger slide down your chest, featherlight touch against one of your freed nipples, peaks standing to his attention from the chilly air.

The soft moan slipping through your lips was swallowed by him, fuel to the fire burning for you somewhere in his abdominal region.

Facing your back, he let himself fall onto the backseat after unzipping his rain-splattered jeans and letting them pool around his ankles.

Those ten hours (turned into eleven, thanks to the traffic jam just outside Chicago) had already felt like a lifetime, and it had taken Eddie at least seven points of damage having to keep his hands to himself for most of the ride, so naturally he allowed himself some forthrightness now that he had the chance to get you alone.

Being manhandled into his lap hadn't been on your bingo card for the day, but you really couldn't say that you minded, either.

That familiar heat, the need for him had been pooling between your thighs and crawling up your spine, spreading through your entire system ever since he'd fallen asleep on your shoulder on the bus in the morning.

So yeah, there was no more time to be wasted.

Eddie had you leaning against his chest, lips already pressing kisses to the junction of neck and shoulder, while his ringed hands went home, roughly kneading your bare tits, an occasional slap against them making your eyes roll and your back arch.

You could feel his eyes burning holes through your skin as he ate up your reactions, pulling you against him so his lips could start nibbling on the skin below your ear as your eyes fluttered shut at his gentle roughness, your back now flush against his heaving chest.

He knew exactly what he was doing and it surely was having the desired effect.

A) getting you impossibly soaked for him

and

B) also finding out, learning more about what you liked to be done to you.

"Mhh baby, you're such a dream, letting me have you like this", a low voice hummed against your ear as his left ring clad hand stayed on your right tit, kneading softly while his other slowly trailed over your belly, straight towards the fire pit between your thighs, and suddenly the whole inside of the van felt like a sauna.

"Not even able to wait until I get you home, hm?", a gentle lick and bite to your neck as he let the flesh go with a small pop, "it does make me wonder", the whispery ton his voice had just dropped to driving your senses to capitulation as the tip of his nose nudged the hinge of your jaw, "if I go just a bit lower", a small peck landing right below your earlobe, while his warm breath trickling down your neck was doing the rest, "are you gonna be wet for me?"

A small chuckle escaped you, surprised at your own ability to even get anything out in your current state, "you'd like that, wouldn't you, Munson?", your gaze meeting his own as you craned your head, not even awaiting a response to your rethorical question but since it was Eddie's lap you were finding yourself seated on, he didn't waste the chance to say something in return, "damn right, I would in fact die for it, sweetness."

Dramatic ass.

Another small peck on your cheek a delightful juxtapose to the nature of the grip he had you in.

You also let out a soft whimper at his words, the pet name, the tantalizingly raspy sounding voice he uttered them in, and a thrilling shiver ran down your spine as he let his middle finger slowly feel over the wet patch that had formed on the fabric of your panties.

A smug hum from the depths of his lungs met your neck and acknowledged the sensation, "you wanna know about all the countless nights I thought about this, about you, sweet stuff– like this", Eddie paused, the same finger now finding its destiny behind the cotton, the fabric being pushed to the side as he let the digit softly gather the slick and rub back and forth over your already swollen clit skillfully, making you wince at the sudden direct contact and your pussy clench around emptiness.

Another soft moan from your lungs made him continue his tale of vulgarity, "with my hand wrapped around my rock hard dick, thinking about how fucking hot you'd sound, how perfect you'd feel, all the filth you'd let me to do to you."

As if on cue, that finger slowly dipped in, your breath getting stuck in your throat as he traced it back up in the same speed, slow circles over the swollen nub along with his whispery confession making it hard for your brain to process any thought at all.

"Oh my god, Eds", his touch was clouding your mind, and with the high he was causing you to experience, you couldn't help yourself but respond with bucking your hips against his hand, a soft and desperate plea for him to give you more, more of his body, more of his love and with that, keep you safe in his arms.

"Yeah baby? S'good?"

"Mhm", you nodded quickly, "feels s-so good, you're so hot, fuck!"

The dark haired boy behind you let out a warm and deep hum against your neck at your soft, vulnerable admission and the feeling of having your warm juices coat his knuckles, the feeling of him solely being the reason for that stickiness gathering between your legs.

Eddie was eating it up, having that effect on your body and you letting this happen.

The exposed state, the trust you graced him with.

You on the other hand felt the hardness digging into your lower back with every squirm over his lap and the way goosebumps arose on your skin at the thought of giving yourself to him again.

Letting him do these things to you.

Feeling like you could let yourself fall, trust him. After imagining it for so many nights, you had stopped counting months ago.

"Eddie, please", you breathed out into the warm, slightly stuffy air inside the van, one of your hands had found a life of its own by caressing Eddie's forearm draped across your torso.

Every sense in your body so alert that you could feel his arm hair tickling your fingertips.

"Yeah, needing me that bad, hm? Wanna ride me, sweet thing?"

"Mhm yes", you whined, hips intuitively grinding down, adding emphasis to your response.

"Fuck", he groaned into your ear without any hesitation as his hand left your slick folds, shimmied your panties down and off quickly and grabbed his cock, letting it glide through your heat in an agonizingly slow pace, making sure you'd definitely feel that silky head nudge your sensitive bundle of nerves.

The mere thought and anticipation of getting filled again made you even more dizzy with want, soft caress turning into a grip of the arm that was still slung around your waist as it held you in place while still giving your nipple some love.

Eddie couldn't believe his fucking luck either. He had you spread out and open for him on his lap, a sopping wet mess, light grinding of his hips causing the purply red tip of his cock to catch your clit deliciously over and over again.

And you were all his. By far the best thing to come out of this trip.

The bestest day of possible best days in the Munson books.

"No idea how I just survived sitting next to you for ten hours without getting to touch you like this, shit."

The metalhead buried his face in your neck, lips pressed tightly to your soft skin while he let the tip of his cock breach your entrance.

You welcomed him with tightness and a sinful moan, the incredible feeling of fullness you'd been missing since last night spreading through your abdomen like a warm wave.

"Want you to fuck me, baby, please."

Eddie chuckled, his need for you evident in the way he was gripping your flesh, passionately trying not to blow already as he felt your cunt adjust to the welcome intrusion.

"Jesus christ, gonna make me cum already if you're gonna say stuff like that, fuck."

Time stood still.

Just for a glimpse, a fragment of the situation, and it made you realise just how much you'd been missing having someone in your life this way.

It made you want nothing more than to make the boy underneath you feel good. Make him feel loved and appreciated and worthy.

Eddie let his hand rest on your mound as you started slowly grinding your hips down into his, answering the gentle bucking of his own, the lewd sound of your wetness filling the space around the two of you.

"Mhm, yeah baby fuck me back, god you're doing soooo good", he raised his head a little to nuzzle his nose into your cheek as his lips brushed against it with a smile, "taking me so well, perfect little cunt just made for me."

"Yeah?"

You craned your head towards his face as it was lolled back and resting on the top of the seat behind him, lips almost touching his, which were pulled into the widest smile.

"Yeah."

The Prince of Metal closed the gap.

A sickeningly sweet moment blossoming between the both of you as you slowly melted into each other.

The smile so contagious it made breaking apart again almost impossible.

And then, in true Eddie fashion, his tongue darted out to lick up a broad stripe from the dip of your shoulder up to your jaw, tasting the thinnest sheen of sweat and rain on your skin before coming down again to suck a deep purple bruise into the tender flesh of your throat.

It made your head fall back against the headrest again, having him express his desire in such an indecent way.

Letting him mark you, his need for you on display for all of fucking Hawkins to see.

And it made your cunt clench around the hardness that was still slowly pumping in and out of your drenched walls, eliciting a deep breathy moan from Eddie's lungs.

Eyes half lidded, he brought his hand up from between your thighs to have you suck the stickiness off his fingers and the sight and feel of your warm tongue connected to his skin like that made Eddie nearly bust, so naturally, he did the next logical thing.

Collaring your throat and giving it a brief squeeze before travelling down south, the twitch of your legs imminent when two of his fingertips reestablished contact with your throbbing clit, rubbing soft circles over it, setting every cell of your existence up to burst into flames at any second.

"Feels so good Eds, you f-feel so so good", you breathed out under more soft whimpers, head facing him again so he could get a good look at your needy expression.

It drove him mad. It was like a switch had been flipped.

"Yeah, s'that how my girl likes it?"

You were pretty sure your eyes just hit the back of your skull.

My girl? Did you even hear that right?

And he was far from stopping, those skilled fingers slightly increasing their speed instead as he released a guttural moan at the way you were clenching around him once more, "shiiiit baby, gonna let me fuck you all weekend, yeah? Gonna fuck you so good and so deep, gonna make you feel so good around my cock ... yeah, that's what you want, isn't it baby? God you're so f-fucking tight and so beautiful and so warm and wet and all for me", Eddie paused his breathy responses to your sweet whimpers, the hand that was still on your chest pinching your nipple hard at the sensation of your pussy throbbing around him eagerly, a lewd moan ripping though your vocal cords as he continued, "see what you do to me baby, feel how fucking hard you got me? This is all you, for you only, s-shit."

His hips thrusted upwards at his last sentence adding emphasis, and you let him take control, set a rather harsh pace while the attention he gave to your most sensitive spot remained the same, a beautiful contrast to the way he was pounding your sopping cunt in his lap, accompanied by the lewd deep grunts and groans coming from his lungs.

Entirely incapable of forming any coherent word at this point, you just let him make you feel good and use you for his pleasure.

Anything spilling over your lips in this moment would have probably been utter nonsense.

Every nerve felt like a live wire, his words adding onto a neediness you didn't know you had within yourself.

Instead, his comments on your little noises continued. You couldn't deny your surprise at his talkativeness, but you were also eating it up.

"Yeah baby? Like how good my cock feels? You like how fucking hard it is for you, yeah? God you look so fucking pretty soaking it for me, feels so f-fucking good", something close to a whisper gently invaded your ear and it sent one of your hands grabbing at the back of his neck and pull on his hair a little, holding him right there.

"Ye-yeah, love your pretty dick Eds, f-feels so good getting u-used like that", you babbled out, every cell of skin on fire as he helped you grind down into his lap.

Eddie was about to lose his mind.

He was also wondering how on mother earth it was possible for him to hold out this long. Fucking you like this and hearing the filth and praise spill from your lips without having blown his load through your abdomen yet.

Another pinch of your nipple had you whimper out his name followed by a string of unholy profanities, the carnal need to feel him this way being satisfied was sending your brain into another dimension.

"Wanna cum Eds, wanna cum for you, please", you moaned out into the air, the inside of the van still feeling more like a sauna to you. Due to your .. activities.

"Mh fuck– god that's so hot, such a good girl using your words like that, turn around baby, wanna see your pretty face when you cum."

With a slap to the side of your ass, cause for the fat of it to jiggle from the impact, Eddie's bucking hips came to a stall, the trance you'd found yourself getting fucked into slowly fizzling out.

You did as you were told once your brain registered his unholy instruction, trying to stand up on really fucking wobbly legs and turning around just to admire the view for a second.

Legs spread with you between them and his ass near the edge of the seat, dark curls still birthed small rivers onto his heaving chest, only for them to turn into subject to gravity as your infatuated gaze followed their trail.

The sheen of sweat on his skin accentuated the tattoos that you'd swore yourself to examine more closely in the near future.

Eddie's face popped a downright naughty smirk that had all the abilities to melt the north pole, and the only difference between the cherry tone of colour in his cheeks and his dick was that the latter was additionally glistening with your juices while it rested on the soft expanse of his belly right along that happy trail which also presented itself sticky with sin, and your eyes couldn't help but take in the beads of your arousal that had already dripped down onto his balls and decorated his trim of the dark thatch sitting around the base of his dick.

It was like he had emerged straight from your hottest wet dream, and your brain was currently making you very aware of the damp emptiness between your own thighs as your gaze took in the vision.

"Like what you see, huh?", said vision commented the desire written all over your facial features, and without breaking eye contact nor that lethal smirk he leaned forward, fingertips softly grazing the outsides of your plush thighs in an upward motion and towards the backs of them, further up to grab at your behind, while he let his searing gaze cascade down over your pebbled nipples, flushed chest and stomach, decorated with droplets of rain, until it arrived at your belly.

"C'mere sweet thing", he nuzzled his face into the softness of it by pulling you another step towards him with his ringed palms right below your ass, an attempt to convey his pure intentions with you, confirmed by a soft kiss right above your belly button.

Eddie leaned back while pulling you further, making you straddle him as he then helped you guide his soaked, rock hard length back to where you both needed it to be.

Moaning in unison you lowered yourself back down until he was fully seated inside of you again, the new angle causing your clit to rub along the top of his cock with such delicacy, you knew it wouldn't take long for you to see stars.

"God fucking damn it baby", it spilled from his lips as he felt the wet warmth envelop his dick again, "can't believe this is real, fucking love your pretty pussy."

It felt like you were floating whenever you were around him. Literally.

"'Fuck, f-feels so fucking good, Eds", you whined into his hair as you grappled with balance, instinct to slowly grind yourself over his lap, that hunger for him taking over, his strong arms coming to wrap around you protectively, pulling you further into his chest.

Holding you as close as possible.

Needing you as close as possible.

It made shivers run down your spine, overwhelming need to engrave this moment and all these feelings for him into every cell of your being.

You'd never felt this safe.

Eddie buried his face in your neck, nipping at your slightly salty skin followed by soothing licks over the blossoms of purple he'd left earlier.

He didn't mind the wet strands of your hair sticking to his cheeks.

And then, his hands ventured out to travel once more.

Grabbed your ass again, gave it a generous spank, making you hiss in return, before his fingertips slid up over your waist and back, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

He slid them all the way around your figure just so his thumbs could catch the underside of your tits, moaning your name over and over again as each grind of your hips over his own caused him to nearly see stars with how turned on he was.

"That's it baby yeees, use me juuust like that, fucking love seeing this side of you come out", he commented the pleasure slowly building behind your eyelids, the steady bounce of your slick pussy on his used swollen cock, and just when you steadied yourself with your hands on the seat behind him, he seized the opportunity to catch one of your nipples with his mouth, sucking on the bud eagerly as the symphony of your whimpers combined with his muffled moans returned to fill the inside of his van.

Wayne had given it to him as a present-slash-reward for not failing driving school, and for the past couple years he had undeniably rocked it into the condition it was today with selfless help from his bandmates, but never in a hundred centuries had he expected to ever use this space to fuck you senseless.

How he ended up here right now was beyond him, but he also wasn't really in the headspace to question it, not while your sweet wet cunt was happily wrapped around his dick, bouncing and bouncing relentlessly while his dark round hues were glued to your facial features, needing to soak up your reactions to his actions like a sponge.

It didn't take long for you to reach the peak from here, your hips finding a mind of their own as you chased that euphoric feeling, speeding up while he kept swirling his warm, wet tongue around your sensitive bud and his moans transpired into your skin, "gonna cum Eds, oh my fucking god", you mewled, the head which you had thrown back a while ago coming back up to look the metalhead in the eyes through heavy lids as you pulled him off your tits.

Hitting the headrest, he was hotly out of breath, patterns drawn on his neck with wet strands of dark hair, and you couldn't tell anymore if it was the rain or sweat that caused his beautiful skin to glisten.

He was biting down on his lower lip, that dark pair of eyes fixated on your own, fully in the moment with you as one of his hands moved back down and between your bodies, sinfully rubbing over your soaking wet clit again to help you along.

"Yeah pretty baby, that sweet warm cunt getting me so close, oh shit– c'mon, lose it for me", Eddie's voice echoed through your lustclouded mind like a prayer as he instinctively bucked his hips up into you, following your rhythm and pace.

And with this intense combination of stimulations you were receiving from him, that spot inside you being nudged over and over and over again and his eyes on your own, you sensed that it wouldn't take much more for you to finally feel those hot white flashes quake through your system.

"Inside, w-want you i-inside", you muttered out into the air with all your senses on fire, one of your hands coming around the back of his neck to bury your fingers in the mess of damp curls once again as you added emphasis to your words by giving him a few sloppy grinds over his sweat-sticky lap.

"Shit, are you s-sure?"

"Yeah I'm f-fucking sure, go on baby, fuck I'm gonna cuuum", you huffed out, entirely out of breath, just before the build up reached its peak and the most mind-numbing pleasure ripped though your being, vision going blurry and all as Eddie's dark eyes watched you fuck yourself into a trance until he furrowed his brows, a first hint at the announcement of his own release, and verbalized in soft repetitions of your name.

With a softly mumbled "so fucking filthy, so good for me sweetness, gonna make me– oh shit" and a guttural groan he imminently followed your lead, the vibration and rhythmical clench of your cunt along with those sweet whimpers of his name doing enough to send him over the edge right with you as he let you ride out both your highs, accompanied by a few little oh fucks as his ringed hands helped keeping your hips from stuttering.

It was so easy to just let yourself fall.

With him.

Not long after you both caught your breath, his arms sneaked around your figure wordlessly, gently pulling you into his embrace, hot breath fanning your shoulder, lips releasing a satisfied little hum as it stuck to your warm skin.

Cheeks flushed a bright rose and half lidded dark brown orbs gazed warmly at you from underneath his damp bangs, the infatuation with your being embellishing his face, chest heaving with the aftermath of his climax.

A sweet moment spread through the inside of the van, full of serenity and bliss, everything that existed on the outside already long forgotten.

"Didn't realize you could have such a filthy mouth on you, Munson", your hand reached to grab his face once you came back down to earth, pulling his chin up slightly to press your lips against his again, grinning widely as an eyebrow quirked up at you.

"Oh yeah? I know yesterday you mentioned dreaming of me, but– a-are you telling me that you also thought about what I'd be like before?"

The smirk spreading over his lips and mild twitch of his dick at the thought, which you definitely felt, doing absolutely nothing to hide the effect of your words.

"I might have imagined a thing or two, yeah."

If you were totally honest, the question of what he'd be like in bed had been the main content of most of your daydreams.

Not to mention those at night.

Eddie chuckled smugly, the newly acquired knowledge pouring oil into the fire that had already set his humble ego aflame.

"Didn't realize you could get even hotter than you already are, sweetheart."

You rolled your eyes with a smile dancing over your face.

One of his hands that had lazily massaged your ass came up to cup your face, pulling you towards him again as he pressed a sweet kiss to your lips followed by a smile against them, thumb softly stroking the skin.

Another peck to your forehead before he gently let you move down and rest your head on his collarbone with your nose tucked just below his jaw, snuggle into his embrace.

Comforting silence. A minute or two to breathe. With each other.

"Thank you", voice coming out as gentle as you'd intended, you lifted your head and placed a kiss on his neck before humming against it.

"For what?"

"Making me feel safe? You're the first person to ever succeed at that, you know?"

His chest rose and fell from a deep breath.

Draped around your figure, Eddie's arms squeezed you to his body.

"Sweetness, I am honoured. I'll always keep you safe, I promise."

"So will I."

Another peck landed on the same spot and your hand cradling the other side of his head felt his cheek push up.

God, you loved him.

Meanwhile, Eddie considered himself as lucky as someone who'd won the lottery.

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed since you both had successfully escaped the rain, inside of your mind still fuzzy from all those feelings for him and the remnants of that head spinning orgasm he'd just given you.

Eddie didn't know either since he had most certainly left his last couple braincells on that bus, and to be fair, he also couldn't find a care in his body.

A lifetime with you wouldn't be long enough.

What he did care about though were the noticeable goosebumps that had spread over your arms, your back and your thighs, that familiar urge to keep you safe which had kept him up for countless nights crawling back into his conscience, "wanna get you home and under a warm shower, and then we can order pizza or something. How's that sound?"

A soft sigh spilled from your lips, stuck in between the promise of a warm shower and the torment of having to get off of him, losing that skin on skin contact you both were so drawn to.

Touch as the love language, huh.

A nod and a smile.

To your own displeasure, that empty, dull feeling returned instantly once he slipped out of your swollen cunt as you got up, followed by the equally unpleasant attempt to get redressed.

Not that you didn't like clothes on you, it was just that literally everything was soaked from the rain at this point, and you only noticed this totally surprising fact once you started rummaging through your own bag of pieces to wear.

The extra pair of panties you had quick-wittedly packed and a shirt you'd worn on day three of the camp had survived the flood outside, and the metalhead who was crouched down next to you in search of anything dry faced a similar fate.

He did have to put his damp boxers back on though, unfortunate but bearable considering the short ride to the trailer park.

Just like the heavy rain had on the way, the tape that had played over the stereo during the ride stopped abruptly as Eddie turned the engine off, mere seconds after he'd put the vehicle in park right outside the Munson trailer.

"Wayne's left already so we've got the space to ourselves and all the time in the world, babe. Well, at least twelve hours until he comes home", Eddie whipped his head around to you, sending those dark damp curls flying before he flashed his teeth at you in an adorably goofy grin.

Slipping out of the driver's seat he stood in the open door as he fumbled with the seatbelt that had wrapped around his left arm, inwardly cursing the dumb thing, while you got up to climb out of the van a little more gracefully.

Your eyes fell to the space where you'd sat as you were about to shut the door, instant heat creeping into your cheeks and mouth going completely dry at the sight of what had come into your periphery.

This was irreversible. You weren't sure if your body was frozen from the chilly post-storm air or the realization of your mistake.

"Uhm, Eddie?"

Everything else you intended to say died in your throat.

He stopped in his tracks with a gleeful yes, sweetheart?, gaze coming up to eye you curiously, totally unaware of your discomfort about the situation presenting itself to your eyes.

Only when you didn't give him an answer he tried to follow your line of sight from the point he was situated at, eyebrows disappearing behind the bangs.

"Oh fuck, .. that's really hot", with an amused chuckle he commented the small patch of your mixed cum that had seeped through your panties and onto the fabric of the passenger seat.

Your brain was short-circuiting.

"You're– you're not mad?"

"Mad?", Eddie slapped his door shut and practically speedwalked around the front of his van, and when he arrived in front of your slightly shivering body, he pulled you against him, making sure the view of your backside was shielded by the open door, "baby no, why would I? This is perfect. You know what this means?"

It came out as a soft almost whisper to your ear, his stubble scratching the side of your face as his jaw moved.

Shaking your head, you shot him a questioning look, the nervousness in you floating away as quickly as it had risen, as he reciprocated your gaze with another goofy grin.

"It's a commemoration of our bond. Because now we'll literally be seat partners forever."

The sentiment made you snort.

Eddie grabbed the bags before escorting you to the trailer door, silly grin decorating his silly face for another silly hour.

Your car stayed in the school's parking lot for the whole week.

––––

taglist: @josephfakingquinn, @ghost-proofbaby, @spellbounddd, @imjuststeddietrashatthispoint, @mystars123, @gothmingguk, @kennafild, @chloe-6123, @michaelfuckinglangdon, @analogkraken, @mrsjellymunson, @kimmi-kat, @bakugouswh0r3, @sapphire4082, @trixyvixx, @wtf-lindsay, @mystra-midnight, @lonelysatellites, @trashmouth-richie,

[corner-collects-rocks]

elaborating time bc one person asked and that was enough :)

so this started bc i was thinking abt how Nathan and Riko died in very similar fashions. Shot by ex-brothers, ones which were most likely never considered as family(Nathan by his brother in law, who was only married into the family for to strengthen connections in the states. Riko by a brother once removed, who maybe in another world could’ve loved him like a brother but not in this one.)

then i started thinking about other ways that riko and nathan paralleled each other and over all it boiled down to: they are both monsters you have to look over your shoulder for. yet they gain a lot of their power from attempting(or succeeding) to seem like they are the top of the food chain and that they can get away with whatever they want. they will also go to extreme lengths to ensure your compliance and or suffering(torture, “hunting” neil ((riko back tracing his finger print, nathan actually chasing him)) willing to wait to get what they want because in their minds they will get it (this ones a little bit of a stretch but for Riko he was sure Neil would become a raven. Nathan and his countdown) so on and so forth. they had pretty similar playbooks when it came to getting neil to do what they wanted (threaten the foxes or andrew) and im sure theres more stuff i had in my head that im not thinking of now.

now why would Nathan want Riko as a son (hypothetically) I dont think Nathan would necessarily want the exact form of Riko we get in the books but i think if Riko had been raised by Nathan instead of Tetsuji or if Riko had apprenticed under Nathan I feel like it would’ve been a deadly combo. this is largely due to riko’s Intricate and Endless Daddy Issues™️. in my mind Riko would take every command and order Nathan would give him and he’d do it with pride. now at the end of the day this still probably would’ve ended up with Riko in the nest, but i think if Riko had bern groomed by Nathan to take over the Butcher’s business and made being a second son a staple of pride and a way to still be involved/help out the family while still being subservient to the first son i think he could’ve been a real menace and maybe even an asset to the main family.

idk this really comes down to is i think riko is very much a product of his environment (and his lack of ability to cope with the fact that not matter what he did he’d never be enough and he has to live with it) but i think had he been given a chance like this to prove himself useful? well he probably still would’ve gotten over eager and fucked it for himself but i think for a solid little bit he would’ve been the perfect butcher prodigy

(i think thats everything i wanted to say, i just came home from work so apologies if this doesnt make sense or isnt exactly what i wanted to say but i am tired and i aint rereading allat.)

[abnormal-vacuum]

A closer look at Simon "Ghost" Riley's interpersonal guilt

chapter 1

ghost/soap 1,365 words - ao3 Tags: guilt? mentions of abuse, complicated feelings.. hello this is my first fanfic in like 5 or 6 years. its hopefully gonna be part of a series.

Simon “Ghost” Riley considers himself a man sewn together by his mistakes. Every decision, right and wrong, has led him to become who and what he is today. Since his birth, he’s made nearly every mistake he possibly could. If he was one to believe in separate timelines and alternate realities, he’d think he was the worst version of himself out there. Despite this, he's still able to recognize that he's made some good decisions. He’s defused bombs, sniped terrorists and saved countless lives by doing his job. But those feel weightless in comparison to the sheer amount of loss he views himself as responsible for. Tommy, his nephews, countless soldiers and civilians whose names he doesn't know but faces he’ll remember forever.

Point being, Simon doesn't deem himself a good person, despite the frequent assurance from people around him that he’s an honest (enough) man. He thinks he was a good kid dealt a shitty hand, but that kid has long since rotted away. Although, if you asked that kid if he felt like a good person, he probably wouldn't know how to respond. He would take far too long of a pause between the question being asked and his inevitable, “oh, yeah. ‘Course I’m a good person.” Because realistically, at least at the time, he’d never done anything to make him a bad person. Maybe sometimes he was selfish, but that's just how kids are. Maybe it was the fact that he was born into an unkind environment. A den of snakes, the last place a child should have to be. Households like that breed uncomfortable feelings. Maybe Simon was born with a seed of evil deep in his heart that has yet to have the opportunity to corrupt him fully. Maybe he just needs to go to therapy.

He’s also thought that maybe he’s just too close to his current self to view things objectively. Maybe when he’s older and retired he’ll pity this present iteration in the way Simon pities his teenage self. Realistically, that's where he’s headed. Sure, he’ll have regrets… but that's just a part of life. Especially a life like his. He knows what the team thinks of him. Price thinks he’s a good man. He makes sure to assure him of this whenever he notices Simon having an ‘off’ day. He knows Gaz and Soap like him, but they aren't exactly privy to his life before becoming Ghost, at least not enough to clue them into what he really deems as ‘Bad’. Price does know this, yet he still insists that Simon is one of his best. Not pure, not without blame or blood, but still good. Somehow, despite how much he tells his captain, Simon still manages to persuade himself into believing that he's wrong. John Price, whose judgement he trusts nearly wholeheartedly in every other situation… he doesn't believe. If he really thought about it, he might be able to recognize how absurd that really sounds. But he doesn't. So it remains unresolved.

This is how he thinks whenever he has a moment alone that lasts just a hair too long. When he's shaving, taking a shower, or buzzing his head. When he can't fall asleep, which is more often than not. When he’s on leave, eating a microwave meal all alone. At the gym if he forgets his headphones, or if his sniping position reminds him a little too much of home. Wherever home is.

He hates silence, despite how often he surrounds himself with it. Which, he thinks, is one of the many reasons that Johnny has managed to lure him in. He talks. A lot. Not too much, but a lot. He keeps the comms warm and manages to bring out Simon's chatty side. He’s somehow able to talk at the perfect times, as if he can sense when Simon’s brain starts to steer him down a dark, well trodden path. He tells a shitty joke, or nudges Ghost's knee to make some snide comment about a private he saw trip on his way to the heli, and suddenly everything is okay again. He makes things easy, and Ghost feels a little pathetic over the whole situation. Especially because he knows it’s fucking effortless for the Scot. Easy as breathing-- he's probably not even aware how much of a crutch his presence has become. Times previously taken up by brooding and reliving painful memories have now been filled by Soap prattling on about some larger than life feat of his. Or even worse, Simon will lie awake in bed and think about him. That stupid mohawk and the scar on his chin. He keeps forgetting to ask where that came from. None of this is to say that Johnny makes Ghost feel like a good person, because he doesn't. But he does fill up the space that previously allowed him to think too hard about his own morality. And, at least right now, that might be more useful.

Johnny is bright in more ways than one. He’s smart, one of the smartest people Simon has ever met. But he's also bright. Bright as in painful to look at. Like the sun, at least to Simon. Not based on looks (although he is quite handsome), but on… demeanor, maybe. The way he carries himself. Simon hasn't been able to put a finger on what he's trying to describe. His confidence, his… charm. John MacTavish is something else entirely. Separate from what, Ghost isn't sure. They’ve only known each other for about four months, which is one of the many reasons Ghost finds this… fondness for the sergeant so frustrating. Because he was hooked from day one. It took no time for Soap to worm himself in the spot between Ghost’s lungs and his ribcage. It's one thing for him to be attracted to the man. He's been attracted to plenty of soldiers in the past, but he typically does nothing about it. And most of them haven't been on the same damn task force as him. He's a professional, for Christ's sake, and those feelings are almost always fleeting. But they’ve never felt like this. Luckily he's good at keeping quiet, especially in situations like this.

He doesnt idolize Johnny. He knows he's not perfect. You don’t get this high up into the SAS by keeping your hands clean. But he’s sure that whatever Soap has done is nothing in comparison to his mountain of mistakes. Gaz has hinted that he may return his feelings. Ghost always chooses to take this as either Gaz being a right prick, or those feelings simply being lust. It can't be anything more than that, he won’t allow for it. He's not even sure that Soap likes men. He's never caught him with a woman before, but that doesn’t mean it hasn't happened. But that's not really important in the grand scheme of things. Ghost would never get involved with him. At least that's what he tells himself every time something particularly… tempting occurs.

Like that time they were trapped in a closet together. It was all knees against groins and pained grunts. It was only 45 minutes but it felt like hours. Soap was chewing gum, making loud smacking noises. It got to the point where Simon nearly knocked him upside the head. As soon as Ghost snapped at him to quit it, Soap stuck it beneath one of the shelves behind them. They made eye contact the whole time. Not a word of protest. It seems innocuous, but given the man's reputation of being… insubordinate, his eagerness to follow orders was surprising. If everything was right in the world he would have kissed him right there. They talked about nothing for the remainder of the time, whispering close in each other's ear as to not be caught. They both smelled rank, yet neither of them mentioned it. Safe to say that was all Simon thought about in bed for several weeks afterwards.

Anyways, Simon doesn't want Johnny to become another mistake in his past, whatever that means. So he’ll remain where he is, firmly planted on the already blurry line between colleague, superior and friend.

[thilien]

Good morning~! Tell me about the "Wetlands are wet" idea? Because I love me some nascent feelings 🥰

Okay so this basically came from a combination of ‘Rook can’t swim’ with ‘and the Wetlands are in the Anderfels so that water will be cold’.

These two thoughts collided in my head and then met up with ‘but what if two emotionally repressed idiots had to actually look after each other’. Which in turn coincided with me having an atrocious bout of flu while I was away for work and wishing desperately that I was at home so my husband could look after me.

The result is a part-sickfic, part-awkward hurt/comfort with, I hope, some fluff and lots of feels.

Here’s a snippet:

Of all the ignoble ways to die, Amaya decided, drowning in what could, at best, be described as a pond, was probably somewhere near the top of the list. Certainly, it was considerably below her own level of expectation given the sharp right turn into the world-endingly ridiculous that her life had taken since she’d agreed to help Varric and Harding track down Solas. Indeed, having survived Solas’ ritual, the fall of Minrathous, the siege of Weisshaupt, and several encounters with not one but two of the Evanuris and their blighted dragons, she was rather hoping that, if she had to go out at all, it might at least be in the sort of self-sacrificing blaze of glory that would finally make Viago admit that she had, after all, been something of an asset to his house.

As the murk of the water closed over her head yet again, however, Amaya could only conclude that the Maker, if he existed, had a deep sense of irony. Because clearly this particular fate could only be the work of someone who had heard her glib dismissal of Viago’s suggestion that ‘anyone who trained on Treviso’s rooftops might do well to learn how to swim’ (“Or I could just use it as an incentive not to fall, Viago”. Maker above, no wonder he’d kicked her out) and decided a lesson was in order.

Just before her lungs gave out and forced her to inhale a fatal dose of blighted pondwater, Amaya felt herself being hauled upwards.